Exercise Tests Hurricane-Response Plans in Northeastern U.S.

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

April 30, 2007 – National Guard members today commenced a hurricane emergency preparedness and response exercise involving five states in the northeastern United States, a National Guard Bureau spokesman said. Code-named HURREX, the 11-day, command-post exercise involves Guard members from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York, National Guard spokesman Emanuel Pacheco told American Forces Press Service today. The exercise, he said, is part of the larger Operation Ardent Sentry-Northern Edge 2007, which also starts today.

"This exercise is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of the National Guard as the first military responder to any state crisis," Pacheco said.

A major focus of Ardent Sentry-Northern Edge 2007 is to test crisis-response coordination between federally controlled military forces and National Guard units, which come under the command of state governors, Peter F. Verga, acting assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, said during an April 25 interview.

HURREX also tests Guard units' interaction and coordination capabilities with federal disaster-management organizations like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Air National Guard Maj. Philip Nizoloski said today during a phone interview from Quonset State Airport, R.I. Operation Vigilant Guard is the Guard's contribution to the Ardent Sentry and HURREX exercises, he said.

The exercise scenario involves a fictitious Category 3 storm, "Hurricane Yvette," hitting Newport, R.I., Nizoloski said. The tabletop exercise will gauge the effectiveness of state, local and federal agencies' planning and coordinated response to such a catastrophe, he said.

"We're training the command staff and subordinate leaders basically to successfully plan, coordinate and synchronize (disaster relief) efforts during an emergency," Nizoloski explained. HURREX is slated to end May 10.

The hurricane season begins June 1, Nizoloski said, noting the National Guard and its partners are "doing everything we can to prepare."

This year's Ardent Sentry-Northern Edge exercise is the biggest yet, Verga pointed out. The hurricane scenario is one among 15 during the overall exercise, he said, which also includes a nuclear-weapon-explosion scenario involving the deployment of more than 2,000 active-duty troops and almost 1,000 Guard members to Camp Atterbury and the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Indiana.

The Indiana portion of the exercise will test emergency-response capabilities involving the fictitious detonation of a 10-kiloton nuclear device in an urban area, Verga said.

"National Guard soldiers ... will always be the first military forces to respond to an emergency because of their proximity, (and) will then be reinforced by the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives consequence-management response force in the active-duty force," Verga explained.

The Indiana sites provide "a very realistic environment that'll allow the soldiers to operate in an urban environment and see how they'll have to respond to that kind of emergency," Verga said.

Another scenario held off the Alaskan coast will feature a maritime situation, he said.

"There will be a ship with a 'suspicious cargo' that's going to need to be intercepted," Verga said. The Canadian navy will participate in that scenario and some other simulated incidents during the two-weeklong exercise, he added.

An air-defense exercise will feature Canadian military participation as well, Verga said. Canada's armed forces partner with the North American Aerospace Defense Command in the defense of North America.

Fighting the global war against terrorism is the U.S. military's main mission, but being ready to respond to potential homeland contingencies also is important, Verga said. "We also have to be prepared, at all times, to respond to an emergency at home," he said.

The exercise, directed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is slated to end May 18. It is co-sponsored by U.S. Northern Command and also includes participation by the U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Department of Homeland Security.

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Inspector General Nominee Finds Inspiration in Deployed Troops

By John D. Banusiewicz
American Forces Press Service

March 28, 2007 – Retired Army Lt. Gen. Claude M. "Mick" Kicklighter was in Afghanistan leading an assessment team for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in December when he was asked to consider being nominated by President Bush to be the Defense Department's inspector general. Kicklighter, who was a sergeant in the Army Reserve when he graduated from college and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, said past and present servicemembers have inspired him to continue a life of public service since he retired from the Army in 1991.

"I spent almost 36 years on active duty," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday at his confirmation hearing. "And as I was retiring, I was asked to plan and lead and oversee the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of World War II and assist our nation in thanking and honoring the men and women in the greatest generation, who saved not only this nation but literally saved the world."

This led to other jobs in the State, Defense and Veterans Affairs departments over the next 15 years, he said, and the opportunity to see today's military in action made him readily accept the challenge of becoming DoD's new IG.

"Having been on the ground a number of times in Iraq and Afghanistan with these magnificent men and women fighting this global war against terrorism," he said, "it is impossible for me not to want to do all I can to support this, another great generation of Americans."

Kicklighter promised to bring "leadership, management skills and a broad-gauge approach" to the position.

"There's no doubt there's much that I have to learn and relearn," he acknowledged. "But if confirmed, I look forward to joining the IG family, and together we'll continue to build the IG team that our troops, their families, the Department of Defense and this Congress and the American people have a right to expect."

He pledged that the IG's office would remain independent and objective and would keep keep Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and the Congress "fully and currently informed."

Kicklighter currently serves as director of the Iraq-Afghanistan Transition Planning Group. Prior to this, he served as chief of staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Earlier in his career, he served as special advisor for stabilization and security operations in Iraq and Afghanistan at the State Department.

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Group Remains 'Always Faithful' to Injured Warriors

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

March 16, 2007 – A four-year-old servicemember support group has proved to be "Always Faithful" as it continues to assist Marines, sailors and other military members who have been injured during their service in the global war against terrorism. The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund's genesis occurred at Camp Pendleton, Calif., in April 2003, when registered nurse and Marine spouse Karen Guenther and other volunteers organized activities for wounded Marines and sailors as they returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Guenther's husband was deployed overseas at the time, she recalled.

"My husband was in Iraq, and I knew he could be on one of those stretchers at any point of time," Guenther said. "It became very personal, and I saw the needs."

The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, a nonprofit organization, has provided more than $8 million in assistance to injured servicemembers and their families since the group was incorporated in May 2004, said Guenther, who now lives in Colorado with her Marine husband.

Guenther's group is affiliated with America Supports You, a Defense Department-sponsored program highlighting the ways Americans are supporting the nation's servicemembers.

"We're thrilled to be a part of America Supports You. I think it is a wonderful campaign. It helps provide visibility and support and assists nonprofit organizations like ours to help those who serve our country," Guenther said.

The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund assists wounded Marines, sailors and other servicemembers who have been injured while supporting Marine units, Guenther explained. The group has about 95 volunteers, she said, who work at military and Veterans Affairs hospitals worldwide.

Most donations come from private individuals, Guenther said. Corporate donations, she said, also are accepted.

Donations are used for home renovations, to purchase special vans and wheelchairs, and for other needs of wounded servicemembers, Guenther said.

For example, the group just bought a $23,000 customized wheelchair for a Marine who'd been paralyzed from the waist down as the result of injuries suffered in Iraq, she said. The Marine, she noted, was honorably discharged and has dreams of becoming a chef.

That former Marine now works in one of the best restaurants in New Orleans and is studying at a culinary school there, Guenther said.

"It's all because of this chair; without the chair he wouldn't be able to do it," she said. "He has his future back."

The group provided $84,000 to help establish the Wounded Warrior Center at Camp Pendleton, a 26-bed facility that opened in August and provides accommodations for recovering wounded Marines and sailors.

Wendy Lethin, director of business operations at the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund's office at Camp Pendleton, has been with the group since its inception.

"I have the wonderful opportunity to work with our wounded heroes," Lethin said. "I also get to talk to great Americans who want to support our troops."

The Marine Corps' motto, "Semper Fidelis" -- often shortened to "Semper Fi" -- is Latin for "Always Faithful," Guenther said. The group, she noted, strives to live up to that motto as it assists wounded servicemembers and their families.

"We're 'Always Faithful' to our Marines and other servicemembers who come back injured," she declared. "We help from the moment they get to the hospital and we stay with the family through their recovery."

Donations can be forwarded by accessing the group's Web site at www.semperfifund.org, or they can be mailed to: Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd., Suite 102, Personal Mailbox 609, Oceanside, CA, 92057.

The group's Camp Pendleton office telephone number is 760-725-3680. It has another office at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., which can be reached at 703-640-0181.

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New U.S. Task Force Commander, Staff Prepare for Posting to Africa

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

Jan. 18, 2007 – The new headquarters commander and staff for Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa are nearing the end of training before their posting to a region of vital strategic importance in the global war against terrorism. Navy Rear Adm. James M. Hart is slated to take command of the task force, which has its headquarters at Camp Lemonier, in Djibouti City, the capital of Djibouti, in early February.

Hart and his staff have been preparing for their one-year assignment in Africa since mid-October through specialized training provided by U.S. Joint Forces Command, in Suffolk, Va., Hart told reporters today during a phone interview from Suffolk. That training, he said, has included two trips to Africa.

Hart called the training for his new assignment "extraordinary" and said it stresses interagency cooperation and emphasizes diplomacy, defense and development.

"I think it's been very advantageous that I've been given the opportunity since mid-October to get out and about and go to places like the State Department and spend time with (the United States Agency for International Development) and learn the interagency process," Hart said.

As CJTF-HOA commander, Hart will command 1,800 to 2,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, and coalition partners. The task force's area of responsibility covers operations in Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Ethiopia in Africa, and Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula.

Hart said the task force's mission centers on conflict prevention, stability operations and helping countries develop good governance practices.

The United States' policy in Somalia is to help its citizens regain political and economic stability, to counter terrorism, and to provide humanitarian assistance, the admiral said.

"We are about helping Africans help themselves," Hart said, noting CJTF-HOA conducts joint military training and border security missions with the Ethiopian, Kenyan and other regional militaries.

Recent fighting in Somalia featured Islamic terrorists being defeated by moderate forces. That conflict "doesn't really change our mission or our objectives" in Somalia, Hart said.

The task force oversees a region that's vital to U.S. national security interests, Hart said. Offering a better life to people living in Africa and the Middle East is especially important because of the global war against terrorism, he said.

"We're arriving there early enough with an opportunity to help shape the environment, work towards a more secure environment, and hopefully, to allow people the opportunity to choose a direction to go in their lives that steers them away from extremism," Hart said. "And, that's what I think is one of our primary reasons for being there."

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