By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
July 23, 2007 - Portraits created by "Project Compassion" capture so much -- the twinkle in an eye, the smallest hint of a smile, the evident pride of a newly minted Marine, everything good families remember about loved ones killed fighting the war on terrorism. Project Compassion's sole mission is providing an "heirloom legacy of courage" to families of fallen servicemembers. That heirloom comes in the form of an 18-by-24-inch gallery-quality oil-on-canvas portrait of any servicemember who has died in the global war on terrorism.
Kaziah M. Hancock, the organization's founder, set out on this mission in 2003. Since then, five artists have joined her in her efforts, but the process is still the same. The portraits, painted from photos, are presented to servicemembers' families at no cost to the families.
"We remain determined that these oil paintings of a fallen soldier will never cost the family a dime," Hancock said in a letter on the group's Web site. "They have paid the ultimate high price."
Project Compassion is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
To Hancock, the portraits represent "a simple act of kindness from one human being to another."
She said she hopes the paintings make the high emotional cost of losing a loved one a little more bearable for the families.
A letter from one mother is posted on the group's Web site: "When I brought Darron's painting home, it really helped me feel better. You really captured the light in his eyes!" the mother wrote. "Just looking at it reminds me of his zest for life! I miss him sooooo much! But the painting helped so much. You made my heart glad!"
The James R. Greenbaum Jr. Family Foundation has funded the group's efforts to date. "The foundation funds the material expenses of paint, canvas, framing and shipping of completed paintings to (the primary next of kin)," Marie Woolf, the project's executive director, said.
The overwhelming success of the program, however, is dictating the need for additional sources of funding. Hancock, with the help of five other artists who sought to participate in the project, has completed more than 600 portraits so far.
In May 2005, with the help of Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Utah-based program established official partnerships with the military services.
"Except for the Army, all of the services now include Project Compassion information, including our invitation to contact us, with standard paperwork personally delivered by casualty officers" to families of servicemembers killed in the war on terror, Woolf said.
The Army does things a little differently. Project Compassion is allowed to send monthly mailings to the families of fallen soldiers who agreed to allow third parties to contact them.
Families who have lost a servicemember, regardless of the cause, since Sept. 11, are eligible to receive a portrait. Those interested can contact Project Compassion via the group's Web site, www.heropaintings.com.
Hancock, an award-winning artist, and those bolstering her efforts, often work on 10 to 25 canvases at a time, but they have dedicated themselves to completing each request they receive.
"No one had ever expected the amount of causalities," Hancock said her letter to Project Compassion's Web site visitors. "(However) we remain committed to continue this project, (so) that for generations to come the world will know the beautiful people that have been sacrificed for all that we have."
Monday, July 23, 2007
COMMENTARY: Guests Visit HMS Illustrious, Get Sneak Preview of War Game
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
July 23, 2007 - On July 18, I flew to British soil on 15 minutes' notice. Marine Brig. Gen. Robert Walsh, who would escort a group of 16 guests to a British aircraft carrier that morning, discovered at the last minute that he had an extra spot for a reporter, and I volunteered to fill it.
Collecting my things, I raced to the pre-flight briefing and learned the basics of the day's trip: an MV-22 Osprey, the dual-hatted Marine aircraft that alternates between being a helicopter and airplane, would carry us from the Pentagon helipad and deliver us to the flight deck of England's HMS Illustrious, which floated somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean near North Carolina's coast.
As Marines briefed us, they distributed itineraries, which allotted time for the group to watch Marines work side by side with British Royal Navy sailors and Royal Air Force members as they prepared for a joint exercise to take place July 25-31. Underscoring differences in military culture, our English hosts had slated a chunk of time to treat guests to pre-luncheon cocktails.
Anxious guests gathered near the Pentagon helipad, or Penpad, awaiting the Osprey's arrival. Around 10 a.m., an eagle-eyed guest spied the Osprey across the Potomac River, rearing its head around the Washington Monument obelisk. Like a predator with wings erect as it descends on prey, the MV-22's tilt-rotors tipped upward in "helicopter mode" as it swooped toward us. The Osprey's massive propellers puffed huge packets of air that sent shirts and pants fluttering like sails luffing in the wind.
After passengers secured their seat belts and chest harnesses, the MV-22 floated from the ground so gingerly it was like someone had momentarily switched off earth's gravitational pull. Once airborne, a mid-range humming seeped under cranial gear and headphones, signaling that the craft was morphing from a helicopter to a plane that would propel us to speeds of 300 mph en route to HMS Illustrious.
Known as the United Kingdom's "high readiness strike center," HMS Illustrious' flight deck has two characteristics distinguishing it from a sprawling U.S. carrier: its runway is shorter by roughly 450 feet, and Illustrious' deck ends in a "ski jump" ramp. But since this was the first carrier I'd seen, I had no first-hand basis to compare it to an American counterpart.
A host of foreign stimulus bombarded my senses as I walked through the gallery's long stretches, gripping onto arched doorways from time to time when the sea's motion threatened to break my feeble landlubber's balance threshold. The temperature rose noticeably in the hangar, and cockney accents hung on palpable swelter as British air crews worked on idle machines. Scents from cream of broccoli -- the soup du jour -- and other English staples wafted from the mess hall.
U.S. Marines were on board HMS Illustrious in part to learn how to operate in a foreign environment alongside coalition counterparts. With members of England's Royal Navy and Air Force, they transformed the Eastern seaboard into a coalition-force classroom, exchanging operational expertise while strengthening international bonds that are increasingly vital to global security.
Perhaps counterintuitively, Marines onboard say the greatest barrier in the partnership lay in communication. Despite sharing English as the mother tongue, many have found that contrasts in each nation's military language are conspicuous.
"The gear that they use and our hand signals are all different. We've had to learn everything different than what we've been taught," said Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Smith, of the Marine Attack Squadron 223 "Bulldogs," who works with British personnel onboard, fueling and maintaining idle aircrafts and directing jet aviators as a member of the flight line crew.
"Chains, chocks," he said, "it's all different words, which is very challenging as far as the language barrier goes."
While on HMS Illustrious, Smith said he became irked when he tried to buy a snack but was denied. "I can't use my money. I've tried it," he said. "Even If I want to buy a soda or a bag of chips, I've got to go downstairs and change it for the British sterling pound."
Smith said he recognizes that coalition exercises, despite the occasional cultural snag, are significant in forging combat partnerships. "I think in the future we'll probably see a lot more of this," he said. "It's important to start now so that when we do get out there and we're partnered up more, we have a feel for what's going on on both sides."
Through a series of strategic and symbolic events taking place on HMS Illustrious this month, the nations are demonstrating cooperation "in the air, on the sea, all over the globe, and in science and in industry" -- realizing hopes that Winston Churchill articulated in a famous 1946 speech lauding trans-Atlantic partnering.
Making history July 15, for example, 14 Marine AV-8B Harrier jets embarked on the ship, marking the highest number of foreign aircraft that HMS Illustrious has hosted in its battle-hardened 218-year military career. Likewise, it is the first time an American aviation unit of this scale embarked aboard a foreign warship.
From July 25-31, coalition members will engage in a U.S.-led joint task force exercise called Operation Bold Step. The exercise will test a range of ships across the spectrum of conflict, ranging from embargo operations involving British and U.S. boarding teams, to air strike missions dropping precision ordnance against simulated targets, English military officials said.
"The exercise is to stress the interoperability that we as Marines can operate with anybody," said Walsh, assistant deputy commandant for aviation who escorted American guests. "I think that it shows that the U.S. can operate with the coalition, not just working side by side, but actually aboard their ship."
Because U.S. Marines and Royal Navy sailors and Air Force operators have similar characteristics, Walsh said, achieving interoperability is an intuitive transition.
"I think the cultural piece there is that we're both naval in character," he said, "so if the (Royal Air Force) can operate on their navy ships, there's no reason why Marines, who are naval in character, can't jump aboard their ship and operate too."
Walsh brought the special guests and media members to HMS Illustrious to see the joint task force's inner-workings as it prepares for the war game. On the flight deck, we watched as Marine aviators in Harrier jets readied to blast off the "ski jump." Cutting through the deafening engines were British and American members of the flight line, working in concert to direct the assault aircrafts and speaking in hand signals.
As Harriers whizzed by spectators, then up and off the ramp, the engines bathed us in hot combusted jet fuel, which felt like sticking your face before a scalding oven and ripping the door open. Thickly-padded headphones couldn't damper the lion's roar of takeoff that rocked the flight deck and jostled onlookers' viscera.
In stoic terms, Marine aviator Maj. Stephan Bradicich, of the Marine Attack Squadron 542 "Tigers" described the drama involved in taking off from the short runway.
"When you're flying off a ship like this and you're looking 300 to 400 feet in front of you and then, all of a sudden, you're dropping off the end of the boat, there's a little apprehension," he said. "But the kick in the butt when you throw the power in the corner is absolutely phenomenal in the Harrier.
"Particularly with the ski jump on this ship," he said. "When you hit the end of the boat you're going up fast." With other visitors, I watched Bradicich and a team of Harrier pilots disappear over the horizon. When it dawned on me that the Marines' English counterparts were providing key information from the flight control tower as they flew mock sorties, I realized I was seeing a historically strong coalition partnership gain another dimension.
As Royal Air Force Commodore Phil Goodman, a visitor who accompanied Walsh, told me, "We've worked very closely with U.S. forces for many years in the air domain, and this is another string to that bow."
American Forces Press Service
July 23, 2007 - On July 18, I flew to British soil on 15 minutes' notice. Marine Brig. Gen. Robert Walsh, who would escort a group of 16 guests to a British aircraft carrier that morning, discovered at the last minute that he had an extra spot for a reporter, and I volunteered to fill it.
Collecting my things, I raced to the pre-flight briefing and learned the basics of the day's trip: an MV-22 Osprey, the dual-hatted Marine aircraft that alternates between being a helicopter and airplane, would carry us from the Pentagon helipad and deliver us to the flight deck of England's HMS Illustrious, which floated somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean near North Carolina's coast.
As Marines briefed us, they distributed itineraries, which allotted time for the group to watch Marines work side by side with British Royal Navy sailors and Royal Air Force members as they prepared for a joint exercise to take place July 25-31. Underscoring differences in military culture, our English hosts had slated a chunk of time to treat guests to pre-luncheon cocktails.
Anxious guests gathered near the Pentagon helipad, or Penpad, awaiting the Osprey's arrival. Around 10 a.m., an eagle-eyed guest spied the Osprey across the Potomac River, rearing its head around the Washington Monument obelisk. Like a predator with wings erect as it descends on prey, the MV-22's tilt-rotors tipped upward in "helicopter mode" as it swooped toward us. The Osprey's massive propellers puffed huge packets of air that sent shirts and pants fluttering like sails luffing in the wind.
After passengers secured their seat belts and chest harnesses, the MV-22 floated from the ground so gingerly it was like someone had momentarily switched off earth's gravitational pull. Once airborne, a mid-range humming seeped under cranial gear and headphones, signaling that the craft was morphing from a helicopter to a plane that would propel us to speeds of 300 mph en route to HMS Illustrious.
Known as the United Kingdom's "high readiness strike center," HMS Illustrious' flight deck has two characteristics distinguishing it from a sprawling U.S. carrier: its runway is shorter by roughly 450 feet, and Illustrious' deck ends in a "ski jump" ramp. But since this was the first carrier I'd seen, I had no first-hand basis to compare it to an American counterpart.
A host of foreign stimulus bombarded my senses as I walked through the gallery's long stretches, gripping onto arched doorways from time to time when the sea's motion threatened to break my feeble landlubber's balance threshold. The temperature rose noticeably in the hangar, and cockney accents hung on palpable swelter as British air crews worked on idle machines. Scents from cream of broccoli -- the soup du jour -- and other English staples wafted from the mess hall.
U.S. Marines were on board HMS Illustrious in part to learn how to operate in a foreign environment alongside coalition counterparts. With members of England's Royal Navy and Air Force, they transformed the Eastern seaboard into a coalition-force classroom, exchanging operational expertise while strengthening international bonds that are increasingly vital to global security.
Perhaps counterintuitively, Marines onboard say the greatest barrier in the partnership lay in communication. Despite sharing English as the mother tongue, many have found that contrasts in each nation's military language are conspicuous.
"The gear that they use and our hand signals are all different. We've had to learn everything different than what we've been taught," said Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Smith, of the Marine Attack Squadron 223 "Bulldogs," who works with British personnel onboard, fueling and maintaining idle aircrafts and directing jet aviators as a member of the flight line crew.
"Chains, chocks," he said, "it's all different words, which is very challenging as far as the language barrier goes."
While on HMS Illustrious, Smith said he became irked when he tried to buy a snack but was denied. "I can't use my money. I've tried it," he said. "Even If I want to buy a soda or a bag of chips, I've got to go downstairs and change it for the British sterling pound."
Smith said he recognizes that coalition exercises, despite the occasional cultural snag, are significant in forging combat partnerships. "I think in the future we'll probably see a lot more of this," he said. "It's important to start now so that when we do get out there and we're partnered up more, we have a feel for what's going on on both sides."
Through a series of strategic and symbolic events taking place on HMS Illustrious this month, the nations are demonstrating cooperation "in the air, on the sea, all over the globe, and in science and in industry" -- realizing hopes that Winston Churchill articulated in a famous 1946 speech lauding trans-Atlantic partnering.
Making history July 15, for example, 14 Marine AV-8B Harrier jets embarked on the ship, marking the highest number of foreign aircraft that HMS Illustrious has hosted in its battle-hardened 218-year military career. Likewise, it is the first time an American aviation unit of this scale embarked aboard a foreign warship.
From July 25-31, coalition members will engage in a U.S.-led joint task force exercise called Operation Bold Step. The exercise will test a range of ships across the spectrum of conflict, ranging from embargo operations involving British and U.S. boarding teams, to air strike missions dropping precision ordnance against simulated targets, English military officials said.
"The exercise is to stress the interoperability that we as Marines can operate with anybody," said Walsh, assistant deputy commandant for aviation who escorted American guests. "I think that it shows that the U.S. can operate with the coalition, not just working side by side, but actually aboard their ship."
Because U.S. Marines and Royal Navy sailors and Air Force operators have similar characteristics, Walsh said, achieving interoperability is an intuitive transition.
"I think the cultural piece there is that we're both naval in character," he said, "so if the (Royal Air Force) can operate on their navy ships, there's no reason why Marines, who are naval in character, can't jump aboard their ship and operate too."
Walsh brought the special guests and media members to HMS Illustrious to see the joint task force's inner-workings as it prepares for the war game. On the flight deck, we watched as Marine aviators in Harrier jets readied to blast off the "ski jump." Cutting through the deafening engines were British and American members of the flight line, working in concert to direct the assault aircrafts and speaking in hand signals.
As Harriers whizzed by spectators, then up and off the ramp, the engines bathed us in hot combusted jet fuel, which felt like sticking your face before a scalding oven and ripping the door open. Thickly-padded headphones couldn't damper the lion's roar of takeoff that rocked the flight deck and jostled onlookers' viscera.
In stoic terms, Marine aviator Maj. Stephan Bradicich, of the Marine Attack Squadron 542 "Tigers" described the drama involved in taking off from the short runway.
"When you're flying off a ship like this and you're looking 300 to 400 feet in front of you and then, all of a sudden, you're dropping off the end of the boat, there's a little apprehension," he said. "But the kick in the butt when you throw the power in the corner is absolutely phenomenal in the Harrier.
"Particularly with the ski jump on this ship," he said. "When you hit the end of the boat you're going up fast." With other visitors, I watched Bradicich and a team of Harrier pilots disappear over the horizon. When it dawned on me that the Marines' English counterparts were providing key information from the flight control tower as they flew mock sorties, I realized I was seeing a historically strong coalition partnership gain another dimension.
As Royal Air Force Commodore Phil Goodman, a visitor who accompanied Walsh, told me, "We've worked very closely with U.S. forces for many years in the air domain, and this is another string to that bow."
Task Force Provides Iraq Training to Salvadoran Military
By Senior Airman Shaun Emery, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
El Salvador, July 23, 2007 - A task force of 26 personnel from Joint Task Force Bravo traveled here earlier this month to conduct military-to-military training for Salvadoran soldiers deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the week-long training mission July 16-20, Salvadoran soldiers were instructed on driving military vehicles, convoy and perimeter security, communications, how to avoid improvised explosive devices, civilian and military cooperation, and emergency first aid.
At the end of the week, the soldiers were put to the test with a culmination exercise to see if they could put their new skills use in a simulated convoy attack. By the end of the training, both the members of Joint Task Force Bravo and the Salvadoran military learned a lot from each other.
"They are an extremely professional force," said Lt. Col. Greg Jicha, the task force commander and commander of Army forces at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras. "They go into each day of training with ambition and the desire to learn. They understand the seriousness of the situation they'll face in Iraq."
El Salvador is the only country in Central America that provides personnel to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Col. Jose Atilio Benitez Parada, commandant of Battalion Cuscatlan, said his country knows the pains of terrorism. During the 12-year civil war in El Salvador, the colonel said, he was witness to many instances of terrorism. He said he is proud to support America, one of El Salvador's brother countries.
While in Iraq, Salvadoran soldiers will use American military equipment, so it is important they receive the training prior to deploying. Salvadoran drivers had never operated a Humvee; medics had not seen some of the life-saving tools the U.S. military uses; radio operators were seeing equipment for the fist time.
"The language barrier was the only tough part for me," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Saucer, a driver trainer. "But as far as their interest in learning about and operating the vehicle, we couldn't have asked for more."
Saucer, Army Staff Sgt. Brian Grishaw and Master Sgt. Elva Marquez went over basic preventive maintenance and the layout of the vehicle before drivers took to the road.
As Humvees and a 5-ton truck rolled by, medical personnel were busy learning techniques that could save their fellow soldiers' lives. From victim assessment to administering intravenous needles, students ran the full gamut of U.S. Army Combat Live Saver training. The medical instructors later said the only thing more impressive than the skills the Salvadoran soldiers demonstrated was their eagerness to learn more.
"I'm so proud of this group," said Army Capt. Marta Artiga, head medical instructor. "They came to training every day ready to take the next step. They grasped everything we taught them and were able to put it into practice.
At another site, a mass of soldiers huddled around waiting to get a chance to operate radios. One by one, they would get the chance to plug in frequencies and learn how the radios operated. Like their fellow soldiers, the radio students were eager to learn more.
"They asked really good questions," said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jeffery Scott, a communications instructor. "They wanted to know what kind of situations they would face in Iraq and how to deal with them. They are a motivated group."
Soldiers learning about convoy security, perimeter security and improvised explosive devices were able to show their stuff during the culmination exercise.
The exercise kicked off with the convoy getting hit with a simulated IED. From there, convoy security troops neutralized the enemy. At the same time, medical personnel were treating wounded soldiers in the back of the 5-ton truck. When the area was secure, the drivers quickly delivered the wounded to a triage center where the medical students offloaded the wounded.
At the triage station, medical students evaluated each patient, provided necessary treatment and prepared them for evacuation.
With all the action happening around them, radio operators relayed coordinates to a simulated helicopter to provide medical evacuation.
"The exercise was outstanding," Jicha, the task force commander, said. "They were able to incorporate all the new skills sets we taught throughout the week. I couldn't be more pleased."
Though all the chaos of the simulated battle, transportation, medical treatment and evacuation, one person running back and forth played a special role in the exercise.
Army Staff Sgt. Edgardo Alvarez, who was there to provide linguistic support, was handed the reigns to the exercise. He put together a plan and, working with the other instructors, devised the best way to accommodate everyone's training needs.
"He did an outstanding job," Jicha said. "And the results were evident."
"I am very proud of these guys," Alvarez said. "They worked hard and did their best. There are things they can work on because they can always get better, but overall they did a great job."
In the end, while members of Joint Task Force Bravo provided the training, they learned that the Salvadoran soldiers they may find themselves serving beside in Iraq are professional and eager to learn.
(Air Force Senior Airman Shaun Emery is assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo Public Affairs.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
El Salvador, July 23, 2007 - A task force of 26 personnel from Joint Task Force Bravo traveled here earlier this month to conduct military-to-military training for Salvadoran soldiers deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the week-long training mission July 16-20, Salvadoran soldiers were instructed on driving military vehicles, convoy and perimeter security, communications, how to avoid improvised explosive devices, civilian and military cooperation, and emergency first aid.
At the end of the week, the soldiers were put to the test with a culmination exercise to see if they could put their new skills use in a simulated convoy attack. By the end of the training, both the members of Joint Task Force Bravo and the Salvadoran military learned a lot from each other.
"They are an extremely professional force," said Lt. Col. Greg Jicha, the task force commander and commander of Army forces at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras. "They go into each day of training with ambition and the desire to learn. They understand the seriousness of the situation they'll face in Iraq."
El Salvador is the only country in Central America that provides personnel to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Col. Jose Atilio Benitez Parada, commandant of Battalion Cuscatlan, said his country knows the pains of terrorism. During the 12-year civil war in El Salvador, the colonel said, he was witness to many instances of terrorism. He said he is proud to support America, one of El Salvador's brother countries.
While in Iraq, Salvadoran soldiers will use American military equipment, so it is important they receive the training prior to deploying. Salvadoran drivers had never operated a Humvee; medics had not seen some of the life-saving tools the U.S. military uses; radio operators were seeing equipment for the fist time.
"The language barrier was the only tough part for me," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Saucer, a driver trainer. "But as far as their interest in learning about and operating the vehicle, we couldn't have asked for more."
Saucer, Army Staff Sgt. Brian Grishaw and Master Sgt. Elva Marquez went over basic preventive maintenance and the layout of the vehicle before drivers took to the road.
As Humvees and a 5-ton truck rolled by, medical personnel were busy learning techniques that could save their fellow soldiers' lives. From victim assessment to administering intravenous needles, students ran the full gamut of U.S. Army Combat Live Saver training. The medical instructors later said the only thing more impressive than the skills the Salvadoran soldiers demonstrated was their eagerness to learn more.
"I'm so proud of this group," said Army Capt. Marta Artiga, head medical instructor. "They came to training every day ready to take the next step. They grasped everything we taught them and were able to put it into practice.
At another site, a mass of soldiers huddled around waiting to get a chance to operate radios. One by one, they would get the chance to plug in frequencies and learn how the radios operated. Like their fellow soldiers, the radio students were eager to learn more.
"They asked really good questions," said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jeffery Scott, a communications instructor. "They wanted to know what kind of situations they would face in Iraq and how to deal with them. They are a motivated group."
Soldiers learning about convoy security, perimeter security and improvised explosive devices were able to show their stuff during the culmination exercise.
The exercise kicked off with the convoy getting hit with a simulated IED. From there, convoy security troops neutralized the enemy. At the same time, medical personnel were treating wounded soldiers in the back of the 5-ton truck. When the area was secure, the drivers quickly delivered the wounded to a triage center where the medical students offloaded the wounded.
At the triage station, medical students evaluated each patient, provided necessary treatment and prepared them for evacuation.
With all the action happening around them, radio operators relayed coordinates to a simulated helicopter to provide medical evacuation.
"The exercise was outstanding," Jicha, the task force commander, said. "They were able to incorporate all the new skills sets we taught throughout the week. I couldn't be more pleased."
Though all the chaos of the simulated battle, transportation, medical treatment and evacuation, one person running back and forth played a special role in the exercise.
Army Staff Sgt. Edgardo Alvarez, who was there to provide linguistic support, was handed the reigns to the exercise. He put together a plan and, working with the other instructors, devised the best way to accommodate everyone's training needs.
"He did an outstanding job," Jicha said. "And the results were evident."
"I am very proud of these guys," Alvarez said. "They worked hard and did their best. There are things they can work on because they can always get better, but overall they did a great job."
In the end, while members of Joint Task Force Bravo provided the training, they learned that the Salvadoran soldiers they may find themselves serving beside in Iraq are professional and eager to learn.
(Air Force Senior Airman Shaun Emery is assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo Public Affairs.)
Pace Visits Wounded Warriors at Landstuhl
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
July 21, 2007 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stopped by a military hospital here today to see servicemembers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Marine Gen. Peter Pace also awarded the Purple Heart to an Army specialist.
Pace awarded Army Spc. Colin Laird Pearcy the Purple Heart during a ceremony at his Landstuhl Regional Medical Center bedside. Pearcy, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, had been patrolling in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood when he was wounded. His Humvee was in a blocking position when an improvised explosive device hit.
"I got hit in the left arm," he said. "My legs got peppered pretty good and my face – well you can see. We were fortunate. I was the only one hit."
Pearcy told the general that he was "good to go" when the general asked how he was feeling.
After he received the award, a reporter traveling with Pace asked the specialist if he felt like a hero. "I feel like I just did my job," was his reply. The 24-year-old soldier said that he'd like to "drink a cold beer" as his next step toward recovery.
Pace went to other parts of the hospital to see wounded servicemembers and the caregivers at Landstuhl. He donned a sterile gown over his Marine desert camouflage uniform to visit a number of servicemembers in the intensive care unit of the hospital.
Escorted by the medical center commander, Army Col. Brian Lein, Pace spoke with members of the staff. All services contribute medical personnel to the hospital, which also employs Defense Department civilians and local nationals.
Landstuhl is a Level 3 hospital, meaning it can treat the most serious cases. It is located near Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and medical evacuation planes arrive at the air base daily, a Landstuhl spokesman said. Other nations' wounded also benefit from the world-class care at the center. Service personnel from 40 nations have received care at Landstuhl.
Pace thanked the staff at the hospital for the work they do. "The treatment here is incredible, and the record of success of folks who make it to this hospital is phenomenal," he said.
Pace has visited the medical center many times and said he always leaves feeling humbled. "You feel a mixture of humility, because the troops invariably say to you that all they want to do is get back to their units," he said. "No matter how badly wounded they are, what they are thinking about is the guys and gals they left on the battlefield."
He said he also feels thankful for the medical professionals in the hospital and for the groups who donate time, money and materials for the wounded warriors and their families.
American Forces Press Service
July 21, 2007 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stopped by a military hospital here today to see servicemembers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Marine Gen. Peter Pace also awarded the Purple Heart to an Army specialist.
Pace awarded Army Spc. Colin Laird Pearcy the Purple Heart during a ceremony at his Landstuhl Regional Medical Center bedside. Pearcy, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, had been patrolling in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood when he was wounded. His Humvee was in a blocking position when an improvised explosive device hit.
"I got hit in the left arm," he said. "My legs got peppered pretty good and my face – well you can see. We were fortunate. I was the only one hit."
Pearcy told the general that he was "good to go" when the general asked how he was feeling.
After he received the award, a reporter traveling with Pace asked the specialist if he felt like a hero. "I feel like I just did my job," was his reply. The 24-year-old soldier said that he'd like to "drink a cold beer" as his next step toward recovery.
Pace went to other parts of the hospital to see wounded servicemembers and the caregivers at Landstuhl. He donned a sterile gown over his Marine desert camouflage uniform to visit a number of servicemembers in the intensive care unit of the hospital.
Escorted by the medical center commander, Army Col. Brian Lein, Pace spoke with members of the staff. All services contribute medical personnel to the hospital, which also employs Defense Department civilians and local nationals.
Landstuhl is a Level 3 hospital, meaning it can treat the most serious cases. It is located near Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and medical evacuation planes arrive at the air base daily, a Landstuhl spokesman said. Other nations' wounded also benefit from the world-class care at the center. Service personnel from 40 nations have received care at Landstuhl.
Pace thanked the staff at the hospital for the work they do. "The treatment here is incredible, and the record of success of folks who make it to this hospital is phenomenal," he said.
Pace has visited the medical center many times and said he always leaves feeling humbled. "You feel a mixture of humility, because the troops invariably say to you that all they want to do is get back to their units," he said. "No matter how badly wounded they are, what they are thinking about is the guys and gals they left on the battlefield."
He said he also feels thankful for the medical professionals in the hospital and for the groups who donate time, money and materials for the wounded warriors and their families.
Chairman Wraps Up Overseas Trip
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
July 22, 2007 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is back from an overseas trip that included an impromptu visit to a former insurgent stronghold in Iraq. A previously unscheduled visit to downtown Ramadi on July 17 highlighted Marine Gen. Peter Pace's weeklong trip to Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany. After visiting with soldiers and Marines at a forward operating base in Ramadi, the chairman was due to fly to Tikrit, but a dust storm blew in and grounded all the helicopters, leaving th chairman with time on his hands.
Army Col. John Charlton, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, invited Pace to use the unscheduled time on the ground in Ramadi to see for himself what it was like downtown. The trip would have been impossible just three months ago. Al Qaeda terrorists had intimidated the population and had the run of the city. Marines and soldiers could not move inside the city without drawing small-arms fire.
But the trip downtown went without incident. Pace and his party visited the city's mayor, and the general walked through a bazaar and met with vendors as children, parents and Iraqis of every stripe gathered to see what was happening.
Pace next visited a joint security station and a combat outpost, where he met with Marines in the same battalion he served with in Vietnam in 1968 – the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines.
There were no incidents, no firing, no improvised explosive devices during the trip. Pace called the change in Ramadi a "sea change" in Iraq, one that has spread to all of Anbar province and is making inroads in Baghdad.
Pace started the Iraq portion of his overseas trip in Baghdad for a series of meetings with Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker. Pace spoke with the men in anticipation of the assessment of progress in Iraq that's due to Congress in September.
Pace said the Joint Staff has been working for months on any number of possibilities that could unfold in Iraq. "That way, we have the planning done no matter what the decision – plus-up, go-down or maintain," he said to reporters traveling with him. "From my perspective in D.C., I've got to do the homework that allows the national leadership to do whatever route they want to take."
Pace said it is important that Petraeus and his staff, Navy Adm. William J. Fallon's staff at CENTCOM, and the Joint Staff continue to examine the situation in Iraq from their different perspectives.
"As we get closer to September, we'll start sharing ideas, but none of us wants to get too wrapped up in the other team's thinking, so we don't end up with groupthink," Pace said.
Pace capped the long day with meetings with Multinational Corps Iraq leader Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno.
The next day, Pace met with leaders of Multinational Division Baghdad at Camp Victory. After the meeting he met with servicemembers of the division and held a question-and-answer session with them, a practice that proved to be an important part of every stop for the chairman.
Pace said he wanted to thank servicemembers for their service, and to explain personally to soldiers the reasoning behind the decision to extend their deployments to 15 months.
"I owe it to them to stand in front of them and explain to them the process that we went through from July through December last year," he said to reporters traveling with him. "(I want to tell them) how my thinking emerged, why I made the recommendations I did, and most importantly, tell them that we understand their sacrifice."
He next went to Multinational Division Central, where he re-enlisted 42 soldiers and held another town hall meeting before traveling to Ramadi.
After leaving Ramadi, the chairman flew via C-17 to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, where he arrived at 2:30 a.m. He got up at 6 a.m. and engaged in a full day of activities, first meeting with leaders of Combined Joint Task Force 82 and then holding a town hall meeting at the base's clamshell-shaped auditorium.
He then traveled to the Afghan capital of Kabul and went to meetings with U.S. Army Gen. Dan McNeill, commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, and with Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak. With the minister, he discussed accelerating training of the Afghan security forces and the possibility of sending another U.S. brigade in the future to help the training mission.
Pace moved on and met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The president surprised Pace by awarding him the Order of General Kahn, the highest decoration Afghanistan gives to foreigners.
The next day, Pace flew via C-130 to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where he met with troopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. He had an operations briefing and then conducted a town hall meeting with the paratroopers and their supporting units.
Pace left Jalalabad and flew to Kandahar, where he and his party boarded Black Hawk helicopters and flew to Qalat, the capital of Jalat province. He had met the governor of the province, Del Bar Jan Aman, during a previous visit. The governor wrote the chairman a letter and thanked him for all the Americans are doing in his province and invited him to drop by for another meeting if he had the chance. The chairman did just that.
Pace met with the governor and the governor's staff. Before leaving, the governor presented the chairman with a turban called a "longy" and the cape that Karzai has become identified with, called a "balla push."
Pace then flew back to Kandahar and shifted to a C-17 for the seven-hour trip to Nurnberg to begin the Germany leg of his overseas trip.
The next day, Pace flew to Schweinfurt, where he met with the spouses of deployed servicemembers. Pace thanked the spouses for all they do to support their deployed servicemembers and for all they do to hold their families together. "You serve as well as anyone who has worn the uniform," Pace told them.
After the meeting, Pace spoke with every spouse and soldier present. He then visited U.S. European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, where he met with the EUCOM Commander Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock and held a town hall for the staff.
The next day, Pace flew to Ramstein Air Base and then motored over to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. He visited with wounded servicemembers and presented the Purple Heart to an 82nd Airborne Division soldier, Spc. Colin Laird Pearcy, who was wounded in Sadr City, Iraq.
Pace has visited the medical center many times, and said he always leaves feeling humbled.
"You feel a mixture of humility, because the troops invariably say to you that all they want to do is get back to their units," he said. "No matter how badly wounded they are, what they are thinking about is the guys and gals they left on the battlefield."
The chairman spoke to the medical professionals and thanked them for their work in caring for returning servicemembers.
American Forces Press Service
July 22, 2007 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is back from an overseas trip that included an impromptu visit to a former insurgent stronghold in Iraq. A previously unscheduled visit to downtown Ramadi on July 17 highlighted Marine Gen. Peter Pace's weeklong trip to Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany. After visiting with soldiers and Marines at a forward operating base in Ramadi, the chairman was due to fly to Tikrit, but a dust storm blew in and grounded all the helicopters, leaving th chairman with time on his hands.
Army Col. John Charlton, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, invited Pace to use the unscheduled time on the ground in Ramadi to see for himself what it was like downtown. The trip would have been impossible just three months ago. Al Qaeda terrorists had intimidated the population and had the run of the city. Marines and soldiers could not move inside the city without drawing small-arms fire.
But the trip downtown went without incident. Pace and his party visited the city's mayor, and the general walked through a bazaar and met with vendors as children, parents and Iraqis of every stripe gathered to see what was happening.
Pace next visited a joint security station and a combat outpost, where he met with Marines in the same battalion he served with in Vietnam in 1968 – the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines.
There were no incidents, no firing, no improvised explosive devices during the trip. Pace called the change in Ramadi a "sea change" in Iraq, one that has spread to all of Anbar province and is making inroads in Baghdad.
Pace started the Iraq portion of his overseas trip in Baghdad for a series of meetings with Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker. Pace spoke with the men in anticipation of the assessment of progress in Iraq that's due to Congress in September.
Pace said the Joint Staff has been working for months on any number of possibilities that could unfold in Iraq. "That way, we have the planning done no matter what the decision – plus-up, go-down or maintain," he said to reporters traveling with him. "From my perspective in D.C., I've got to do the homework that allows the national leadership to do whatever route they want to take."
Pace said it is important that Petraeus and his staff, Navy Adm. William J. Fallon's staff at CENTCOM, and the Joint Staff continue to examine the situation in Iraq from their different perspectives.
"As we get closer to September, we'll start sharing ideas, but none of us wants to get too wrapped up in the other team's thinking, so we don't end up with groupthink," Pace said.
Pace capped the long day with meetings with Multinational Corps Iraq leader Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno.
The next day, Pace met with leaders of Multinational Division Baghdad at Camp Victory. After the meeting he met with servicemembers of the division and held a question-and-answer session with them, a practice that proved to be an important part of every stop for the chairman.
Pace said he wanted to thank servicemembers for their service, and to explain personally to soldiers the reasoning behind the decision to extend their deployments to 15 months.
"I owe it to them to stand in front of them and explain to them the process that we went through from July through December last year," he said to reporters traveling with him. "(I want to tell them) how my thinking emerged, why I made the recommendations I did, and most importantly, tell them that we understand their sacrifice."
He next went to Multinational Division Central, where he re-enlisted 42 soldiers and held another town hall meeting before traveling to Ramadi.
After leaving Ramadi, the chairman flew via C-17 to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, where he arrived at 2:30 a.m. He got up at 6 a.m. and engaged in a full day of activities, first meeting with leaders of Combined Joint Task Force 82 and then holding a town hall meeting at the base's clamshell-shaped auditorium.
He then traveled to the Afghan capital of Kabul and went to meetings with U.S. Army Gen. Dan McNeill, commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, and with Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak. With the minister, he discussed accelerating training of the Afghan security forces and the possibility of sending another U.S. brigade in the future to help the training mission.
Pace moved on and met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The president surprised Pace by awarding him the Order of General Kahn, the highest decoration Afghanistan gives to foreigners.
The next day, Pace flew via C-130 to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where he met with troopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. He had an operations briefing and then conducted a town hall meeting with the paratroopers and their supporting units.
Pace left Jalalabad and flew to Kandahar, where he and his party boarded Black Hawk helicopters and flew to Qalat, the capital of Jalat province. He had met the governor of the province, Del Bar Jan Aman, during a previous visit. The governor wrote the chairman a letter and thanked him for all the Americans are doing in his province and invited him to drop by for another meeting if he had the chance. The chairman did just that.
Pace met with the governor and the governor's staff. Before leaving, the governor presented the chairman with a turban called a "longy" and the cape that Karzai has become identified with, called a "balla push."
Pace then flew back to Kandahar and shifted to a C-17 for the seven-hour trip to Nurnberg to begin the Germany leg of his overseas trip.
The next day, Pace flew to Schweinfurt, where he met with the spouses of deployed servicemembers. Pace thanked the spouses for all they do to support their deployed servicemembers and for all they do to hold their families together. "You serve as well as anyone who has worn the uniform," Pace told them.
After the meeting, Pace spoke with every spouse and soldier present. He then visited U.S. European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, where he met with the EUCOM Commander Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock and held a town hall for the staff.
The next day, Pace flew to Ramstein Air Base and then motored over to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. He visited with wounded servicemembers and presented the Purple Heart to an 82nd Airborne Division soldier, Spc. Colin Laird Pearcy, who was wounded in Sadr City, Iraq.
Pace has visited the medical center many times, and said he always leaves feeling humbled.
"You feel a mixture of humility, because the troops invariably say to you that all they want to do is get back to their units," he said. "No matter how badly wounded they are, what they are thinking about is the guys and gals they left on the battlefield."
The chairman spoke to the medical professionals and thanked them for their work in caring for returning servicemembers.
Budweiser, NASCAR Fans Race to Support Troops
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 – Earlier this season, Budweiser and race-car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. drew attention to a little-known charity with big aspirations. The NASCAR nation responded en masse, allowing Budweiser to donate $100,000 to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides full-ride college scholarships to surviving children of special operations personnel killed in combat or training missions, and immediate financial assistance to special operations personnel severely wounded in the global war on terror.
"Special operations personnel are hand-picked for the most treacherous of missions, and we felt Budweiser needed to show these brave men and women that Americans support and appreciate their courage," said Randall Blackford, director for Anheuser-Bush's Budweiser brand. "Anheuser-Busch has supported our nation's military and their families for more than 150 years, and we're honored to make this contribution to the efforts of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation."
Budweiser and Earnhardt raced two military-themed paint schemes in 2007. Budweiser's brown and beige "Desert Camo" car raced Memorial Day weekend during the Coca-Cola 600 in honor of fallen soldiers. The red, white and blue "Stars and Stripes" car ran in the Pepsi 400 and served as a salute to all those who currently serve.
The proceeds from the sale of collectible die-cast cars were earmarked for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
"Through the generosity of Budweiser and the support of NASCAR fans, children of fallen special operations personnel will be reminded that there are caring Americans who recognize the sacrifices that their parents have made and that they want them to succeed in life with a college education," said John T. Carney Jr., Special Operations Warrior Foundation's president and chief executive officer. "This donation also serves as a salute to all of the men and women serving in harm's way all around the globe."
The Special Operation Warrior Foundation is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
For more than 27 years, the foundation has provided college scholarship grants for tuition, books, fees, room and board to surviving children of special operations personnel killed in combat or training missions.
The foundation has nearly 700 children in its program, and provided $1.5 million in college scholarship grants, educational, financial aid and family counseling for 109 students who attended 73 colleges and universities in 2006. With an estimated 120-125 students eligible for college each year, the Foundation's estimated financial need is nearly $76 million.
July 20, 2007 – Earlier this season, Budweiser and race-car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. drew attention to a little-known charity with big aspirations. The NASCAR nation responded en masse, allowing Budweiser to donate $100,000 to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides full-ride college scholarships to surviving children of special operations personnel killed in combat or training missions, and immediate financial assistance to special operations personnel severely wounded in the global war on terror.
"Special operations personnel are hand-picked for the most treacherous of missions, and we felt Budweiser needed to show these brave men and women that Americans support and appreciate their courage," said Randall Blackford, director for Anheuser-Bush's Budweiser brand. "Anheuser-Busch has supported our nation's military and their families for more than 150 years, and we're honored to make this contribution to the efforts of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation."
Budweiser and Earnhardt raced two military-themed paint schemes in 2007. Budweiser's brown and beige "Desert Camo" car raced Memorial Day weekend during the Coca-Cola 600 in honor of fallen soldiers. The red, white and blue "Stars and Stripes" car ran in the Pepsi 400 and served as a salute to all those who currently serve.
The proceeds from the sale of collectible die-cast cars were earmarked for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
"Through the generosity of Budweiser and the support of NASCAR fans, children of fallen special operations personnel will be reminded that there are caring Americans who recognize the sacrifices that their parents have made and that they want them to succeed in life with a college education," said John T. Carney Jr., Special Operations Warrior Foundation's president and chief executive officer. "This donation also serves as a salute to all of the men and women serving in harm's way all around the globe."
The Special Operation Warrior Foundation is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
For more than 27 years, the foundation has provided college scholarship grants for tuition, books, fees, room and board to surviving children of special operations personnel killed in combat or training missions.
The foundation has nearly 700 children in its program, and provided $1.5 million in college scholarship grants, educational, financial aid and family counseling for 109 students who attended 73 colleges and universities in 2006. With an estimated 120-125 students eligible for college each year, the Foundation's estimated financial need is nearly $76 million.
Missing WWII Sailor is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is Fireman 3rd Class Alfred E. Livingston, U.S. Navy, of Worthington, Ind. He will be buried on Saturday in Worthington.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Livingston was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma when it was attacked by Japanese torpedo aircraft and capsized in Pearl Harbor. The ship sustained massive casualties. Livingston was one of hundreds declared killed in action whose body was not recovered. In the aftermath of the attack, some remains were recovered from the waters of Pearl Harbor. One set of sailor's remains was recovered and thought to be associated with the USS Arizona losses. However, when efforts to identify the sailor failed, it was inconclusive what ship he was assigned to and he was buried as an unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as The Punchbowl.
In 2006, a Pearl Harbor survivor and researcher, contacted the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and suggested that the biological and dental information on file for the unknown sailor may be correlated with Livingston's personnel file. JPAC's analysts studied the documentation and found enough evidence to support the researcher's findings that Livingston was actually recovered after the war even though he was originally listed as one of the hundreds of unrecoverable servicemen from the attack on Pearl Harbor. In February 2007, the grave for the unknown sailor was exhumed.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of Livingston's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ or call (703) 699-1420.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Livingston was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma when it was attacked by Japanese torpedo aircraft and capsized in Pearl Harbor. The ship sustained massive casualties. Livingston was one of hundreds declared killed in action whose body was not recovered. In the aftermath of the attack, some remains were recovered from the waters of Pearl Harbor. One set of sailor's remains was recovered and thought to be associated with the USS Arizona losses. However, when efforts to identify the sailor failed, it was inconclusive what ship he was assigned to and he was buried as an unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as The Punchbowl.
In 2006, a Pearl Harbor survivor and researcher, contacted the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and suggested that the biological and dental information on file for the unknown sailor may be correlated with Livingston's personnel file. JPAC's analysts studied the documentation and found enough evidence to support the researcher's findings that Livingston was actually recovered after the war even though he was originally listed as one of the hundreds of unrecoverable servicemen from the attack on Pearl Harbor. In February 2007, the grave for the unknown sailor was exhumed.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of Livingston's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ or call (703) 699-1420.
Recruiting Standards Remain High, Defense Official Says
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 - Today's military is a "remarkable, high-quality" group of people who are better educated, more physically fit and more "morally square" than the average American, a top military official told the American Forces Press Service. Despite recent media reports to the contrary, the Defense Department has not compromised its standards to meet recruiting goals, said Bill Carr, deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy.
"That's just not the case," Carr said. "Two-thirds of troops are drawn from the top half in math and verbal aptitude (tests); and 90 percent or more have a high school diploma, compared to about 80 percent of American youth. So, by any measure of the military, this is far above average."
Though the recruiting challenge often is ascribed simply to the operational circumstance, it is far bigger than that –the economy is the principal factor, he said. With the unemployment rate being at a low 4 and a half percent, there are numerous job opportunities for America's youth.
"As we try to meet the challenge of recruiting people in the midst of a very strong economy, then we'll look at ways that we can safely allow people who may have been disqualified to come aboard," Carr said.
Potential recruits may be disqualified from joining the military due to stringent medical, moral, aptitude or administrative requirements. However, the military has historically offered waivers to a small percentage of those who are disqualified on a case-by-case basis. And for the past four years, the number of recruiting waivers has remained near 20 percent.
"Waivers aren't new; waivers have been with us for a number of years," Carr said, "and the frequency of waivers continues to be pretty modest."
For example, Carr said, individuals with asthma often were judged too harshly and barred from joining the military. However, adjustments have been made to allow a wider group of people with asthma to safely serve in the military after being approved by an epidemiologist.
Waivers for conduct or character are allowed on an individual basis, he said.
"Sometimes the media will suggest they are for great and high crime," Carr said, "that's simply not the case; those would normally not be waived." Multiple traffic violations or misdemeanors are the most typical sources for character waivers, he said, but there are occasional instances when a waiver for a felony will be granted.
Most often these are felony arrests that have been dismissed or adjudicated as something less than a felony. For example, a young person sets a beehive on fire and it catches to a shed, therefore the charge is arson. "It was something that started out big in title, but was considered a small matter to the judge and to the community," he said.
Defense officials recognize that some young people have made mistakes, but have overcome their past behavior and have demonstrated the potential for being productive members of the military, Carr said.
"When we're looking at a waiver, we're looking at what the community had to say about a person – those are the parents, teachers, coaches and clergy," he said. "They know the person best, and if they recommend the person, then that carries some weight."
Carr said the waiver system is successful since the service of those who come in with a waiver is indistinguishable from those who don't.
For example, Army Cpl. Angelo Vaccaro enlisted as a combat medic in 2004 after being granted a waiver. While deployed with the 10th Mountain Division to Afghanistan in 2006, he was killed by enemy forces while attempting to recover wounded soldiers from the battlefield.
Vaccaro was the first servicemember to receive two Silver Star medals in the global war on terror. He and a fellow medic were honored by the division when an installation medical training facility was named after them in June.
"We're doing the right thing by listening to the community, and their performance bears it out," Carr said. "We occasionally allow a person to falter and still come aboard, and that's exactly what the nation would have us do."
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 - Today's military is a "remarkable, high-quality" group of people who are better educated, more physically fit and more "morally square" than the average American, a top military official told the American Forces Press Service. Despite recent media reports to the contrary, the Defense Department has not compromised its standards to meet recruiting goals, said Bill Carr, deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy.
"That's just not the case," Carr said. "Two-thirds of troops are drawn from the top half in math and verbal aptitude (tests); and 90 percent or more have a high school diploma, compared to about 80 percent of American youth. So, by any measure of the military, this is far above average."
Though the recruiting challenge often is ascribed simply to the operational circumstance, it is far bigger than that –the economy is the principal factor, he said. With the unemployment rate being at a low 4 and a half percent, there are numerous job opportunities for America's youth.
"As we try to meet the challenge of recruiting people in the midst of a very strong economy, then we'll look at ways that we can safely allow people who may have been disqualified to come aboard," Carr said.
Potential recruits may be disqualified from joining the military due to stringent medical, moral, aptitude or administrative requirements. However, the military has historically offered waivers to a small percentage of those who are disqualified on a case-by-case basis. And for the past four years, the number of recruiting waivers has remained near 20 percent.
"Waivers aren't new; waivers have been with us for a number of years," Carr said, "and the frequency of waivers continues to be pretty modest."
For example, Carr said, individuals with asthma often were judged too harshly and barred from joining the military. However, adjustments have been made to allow a wider group of people with asthma to safely serve in the military after being approved by an epidemiologist.
Waivers for conduct or character are allowed on an individual basis, he said.
"Sometimes the media will suggest they are for great and high crime," Carr said, "that's simply not the case; those would normally not be waived." Multiple traffic violations or misdemeanors are the most typical sources for character waivers, he said, but there are occasional instances when a waiver for a felony will be granted.
Most often these are felony arrests that have been dismissed or adjudicated as something less than a felony. For example, a young person sets a beehive on fire and it catches to a shed, therefore the charge is arson. "It was something that started out big in title, but was considered a small matter to the judge and to the community," he said.
Defense officials recognize that some young people have made mistakes, but have overcome their past behavior and have demonstrated the potential for being productive members of the military, Carr said.
"When we're looking at a waiver, we're looking at what the community had to say about a person – those are the parents, teachers, coaches and clergy," he said. "They know the person best, and if they recommend the person, then that carries some weight."
Carr said the waiver system is successful since the service of those who come in with a waiver is indistinguishable from those who don't.
For example, Army Cpl. Angelo Vaccaro enlisted as a combat medic in 2004 after being granted a waiver. While deployed with the 10th Mountain Division to Afghanistan in 2006, he was killed by enemy forces while attempting to recover wounded soldiers from the battlefield.
Vaccaro was the first servicemember to receive two Silver Star medals in the global war on terror. He and a fellow medic were honored by the division when an installation medical training facility was named after them in June.
"We're doing the right thing by listening to the community, and their performance bears it out," Carr said. "We occasionally allow a person to falter and still come aboard, and that's exactly what the nation would have us do."
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