Face of Defense: Army Amputee Keeps Innate Optimism

By Elaine Sanchez

Brooke Army Medical Center

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Aug. 28, 2014 – A hit-and-run driver robbed Staff Sgt. Michael Smith of his arm and nearly his life, but failed to impact his single-minded determination.

“My commitment was to staying in the Army for 20 [years],” Smith said. “There was no way I was going to be shortchanged due to someone else’s negligence.”

After two years of intense rehabilitation and training at Brooke Army Medical Center, Smith’s persistence paid off. An above-the-elbow amputee, Smith met every standard and was approved earlier this month to return to duty as a career soldier.

“I’m very excited about what the future holds,” the 15-year veteran said. “With or without my injury, I want my daughter to know what true commitment looks like.”

Commitment never wavered

In the years since his accident, Smith’s commitment has never wavered.

A recruiter in Nashville, Tennessee, at the time, Smith was riding his motorcycle when a texting driver slammed into him from behind. He flew over the guardrail and was then hit midair by a driver coming from the opposite direction.

“I was knocked unconscious on impact, and when I woke up I was lying on the highway,” Smith recalled. “My boots and helmet had come off, and my arm was hanging on by the skin inside my jacket sleeve.”

Smith tried to move off the road but was unable. The texting driver had driven off but the second driver, a Navy corpsman, rushed over and tended to his wounds until the ambulance arrived. In the coming months, Smith underwent six surgeries due to infection, which eventually claimed most of his right arm.

Miraculous turnaround and rehabilitation

Not long afterward, Smith had another brush with death when he suffered kidney failure. His father drove up from Amarillo, Texas, he said, and sat by his bedside praying for hours.

“The next couple of days, I made a miraculous turnaround,” Smith recalled.

Facing a long rehabilitation and based on a recommendation from his cousin, who works at Brooke Army Medical Center here, Smith requested to be assigned to BAMC’s Warrior Transition Battalion.

A week-and-a-half later, he arrived at the Center for the Intrepid, BAMC’s outpatient rehabilitation center. Smith’s goal was to return to active duty, but he knew he was facing an uphill battle.

“I spoke to the CFI staff and they pushed me to do everything,” he said. “I knew I had to prove I could do just as much if not more than anyone else.”

Focusing on sports

With this goal in mind, the former high school athlete dove into every sport possible. He mastered shooting firearms. He ran Spartan races, Tough Mudders, and half-marathons. Tough Mudders are 10- to 12-mile obstacle courses designed to test strength, stamina and teamwork skills.

Smith also went rock climbing, skiing and snowboarding. He swam, cycled and took part in track and field. He joined soccer, basketball and kickball leagues.

Earlier this month, Smith nervously appeared before the Physical Evaluation Board. Yet he felt confident they’d approve his request to remain in the Army. He was thrilled when they declared him fit for active duty.

“I’ve been committed to the Army my entire adult life,” he said. “I feel very blessed that I have the opportunity to continue to serve.”

Return to duty, promotion

Smith, who is slated to be promoted to sergeant first class this week, hopes to resume his prior career in field artillery.

“I just want to be a regular soldier, go to combat if needed,” he said. “I honestly feel like there’s nothing I can’t do now, thanks to the support from my family, friends and the staff at the CFI who were with me every step of the way.”

As he awaits orders, Smith is filling his time with his other passion: sports. He’s slated to represent the Army in track and field and swimming at the Warrior Games next month, and continues to cycle daily in hopes of making the 2016 Paralympic team.

Motivating others

Smith said he believes to this day that he lost his arm for a reason.

“I would like to inspire and motivate others struggling with mental or physical challenges,” he said. “No one should let their injury determine who they are or who they want to be.”

Nuclear deterrence: The silent sentinel

by Staff Sgt. Torri Ingalsbe
Air Force Public Affairs Agency, Operating Location - P

8/28/2014 - WASHINGTON (AFNS)  -- Global conflict and instability have always been a part of human history, and America's nuclear forces serve as the nation's ultimate form of deterrence in a world where global engagements are becoming increasingly complex.

It has been almost 70 years since the last nuclear weapon was detonated during conflict. According to the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction, a full-scale use of high-yield weapons of mass destruction by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.

"Nuclear weapons remain the gravest threat to the U.S. and our allies because of their extraordinary destructive power, a fact that's unlikely to change in the decades to come," said Maj. Gen. Garret Harencak, the Air Force assistant chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration. "As long as these weapons exist, it's imperative the U.S. maintain a robust and credible deterrent."

With eight known countries in possession of nuclear weapons and others trying to acquire them it's imperative the U.S. maintains a safe, secure and effective nuclear capability. In other words, the U.S. nuclear deterrence mission is here to stay.

Harencak explained although the threat of an all-out nuclear war has significantly declined throughout the last couple of decades, there are an increasing number of nuclear-capable entities around the world.

"There's no doubt that today's multi-polar, proliferated environment creates new and complex challenges," Harencak said. "The threat of nuclear terrorism and nuclear proliferation has increased. Not only has the world seen a rise in the number of nuclear weapons states since the Cold War, but established nuclear powers like China and Russia are investing billions in modernization of their stockpiles and delivery systems. In light of these developments, the strategic stability provided by the Air Force's nuclear deterrence forces is vital to ensuring an aggressor can't coerce the U.S. or escalate their way out of conflict."

Airmen stationed within Air Force Global Strike Command operate and maintain two-thirds of the nation's nuclear triad, including intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear-capable bombers.

"With its diverse, flexible, responsive and survivable mix of capabilities, the triad provides the best hedge against future uncertainty," Harencak said. "Those unique attributes become even more important as the U.S. reduces its number of deployed nuclear weapons to meet treaty obligations."

He said the Air Force plays a crucial role in the equation.

"ICBMs are valued most for the stability they produce and their high level of responsiveness," he explained. "Their dispersed basing and alert posture creates an extraordinarily high threshold for adversary attack against the homeland. Nuclear-capable bombers are highly flexible and resilient and can be deployed worldwide to signal resolve and intent. They're integral to extending deterrence globally and assuring our allies and partners. Dual-capable fighters perform an important role in assuring our NATO allies."

The Air Force's execution of its nuclear deterrence mission is not something that is changing anytime soon.

"For more than 50 years, our nation's nuclear forces have provided the U.S. with the ultimate guarantee against its only existential threat," Harencak said. "Every day, Air Force ICBMs, nuclear-capable bombers and fighters, and the Airmen who operate and maintain them help preserve the strategic stability that is foundational to that guarantee."

Five Things You Need to Know about Vella Gulf's Time in the Black Sea

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob D. Moore, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs

NAPLES, Italy (NNS) -- The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) departed the Black Sea Aug. 26, after a series of engagements in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. Here are five things you need to know about Vella Gulf's time in the Black Sea:

1. This was Vella Gulf's third time in the Black Sea. She first entered the Black Sea May 23. She departed June 12, entered again July 7, and departed July 14 after participating in the Bulgarian-led exercise Breeze 2014. Her most recent period in the Black Sea began Aug. 6.

2. Vella Gulf's port visits in the region included: Varna and Burgas, Bulgaria; Constanta, Romania (twice) and Batumi, Georgia. Sailors had the opportunity to explore the local cultures, conducted community service projects and hosted ship tours.

3. Vella Gulf has participated in numerous exercises with NATO allies and partners in the Black Sea since May. In addition to Breeze 2014, Vella Gulf conducted separate bilateral engagements with the Romanian navy's frigate ROS Regina Maria (F 222) and the Turkish navy corvette TCG Bykada (F-512), a division tactics exercise with the Turkish navy fast attack craft TCG Tuzla (P 1200) and participated in Romanian navy day, which involved landing a Romanian navy SA-330 Puma helicopter on the flight deck. Vella Gulf also participated in a joint training exercise with the Georgian coast guard, following her departure from Batumi.

4. Vella Gulf hosted distinguished visitors including U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

Hagel, while speaking to Sailors over the ship's 1MC, June 5 in Constanta, said: "I want to thank all of you, especially with what you're doing on this mission particularly. As we partner with Romania and the rest of our NATO allies, I want all of you to know that I am proud of you, and the President of the United States is proud of you."

Garibashvili, in his speech to the crew in Batumi, said, "Partnership with the United States of America is one of the top priorities in our country's foreign policy. We prize the U.S. support of Georgia's sovereignty, territorial integrity, democratic development, and integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions. The friendship and support of America is of utmost importance to us."

5. Vella Gulf and the U.S. Navy's presence in the Black Sea represents efforts by the United States to reaffirm its commitment to strengthening ties with NATO allies and partners, while working toward mutual goals of promoting peace and stability in the region.

"It is important to support and reassure our partners, we hope our presence in the Black Sea continues to strengthen those bonds," said Vella Gulf's Commanding Officer Capt. Robert Katz.

Vella Gulf, homeported in Norfolk, Virginia, returned to the Aegean Sea yesterday, where she is deployed in a multi-mission role in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations to contribute to regional maritime security, conduct bilateral and multilateral training missions, and to support NATO operations and deployments throughout the region.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

PASM and AMARG set new record

by Airman 1st Class Betty R. Chevalier
355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

8/28/2014 - DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz.  -- The Pima Air and Space Museum (PASM) and the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) set a new record for tours administered in the month of July.

The non-profit museum and D-M's "Boneyard" brought in 2,060 visitors, surpassing the previous record of 1,740 set in July 2008.

The PASM, run by the Arizona Aerospace Foundation, operates tours through AMARG Monday through Friday year round. Bus tours run twice daily throughout the summer, and four times per day during th cooler winter months.

"It's all about the heat," said Yvonne Morris, Arizona Aerospace Foundation executive director. "Our tourism season peaks in the wintertime because we get a lot of snowbird visitors from out of town."

AMARG opened in 1946 as a housing location for B-29s and C-47s. D-M was chosen for the group due to the low humidity and hard soil. Today, AMARG stores nearly 4,000 aircraft and 7,000 engines on more than 2,600 acres of land for all branches of service. About 15 years ago, the museum, D-M and AMARG worked out an agreement which would allow PASM to run the bus tours through the boneyard.

The tours cost $7 for adults, $4 for children and run about 90 minutes. Guests cannot leave the bus during the tour, but can take photos through the bus windows. During the tour, the guide goes over the history of AMARG and PASM as well as each aircraft and how and why they are preserved.

"We drive this highway all the time and never knew what [the Boneyard] was," said Ovida Scales, a tour participant. "We had some extra time and thought we'd stop for the tour."

Cecil Scales, a former Navy-Air aviation electrician and tour participant, said he was glad to hear the aircraft are preserved and still used for parts even after they are decommissioned.

Morris expressed that most of those who visit Monday-Friday, are from outside Tucson's local area. When Col. Robert Lepper, former AMARG commander, realized this, he started to work with the base commander and Morris to make a day available where AMARG and PASM could reach the local community.

"We have wanted to do Saturday tours because we knew we could reach Tucsonans," Morris said. "Last year we ran our first 'Labor Saturday' tour and it was a big success, so we are repeating it this year."

According to the museum's press release, the once-per-year Saturday tour will operate August 30 with four different run times. Last year, tickets sold out.

CNO Visits NAS Key West

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian Morales, Naval Air Station Key West Public Affairs

KEY WEST, Fla. (NNS) -- Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert visited Naval Air Station Key West for an all-hands call and tour of enlisted housing, Aug. 27.

Greenert's visit was part of a Southeast U.S. tour, which included stops at Southern Command, Joint Interagency Task Force-South, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Central Command, and Special Operations Command. At each of the stops Greenert met with leadership and Sailors to listen and learn what was on their minds.

During an all-hands call, Greenert reenlisted 19 Sailors and presented awards to 11 Sailors and one civilian assigned to NAS Key West and its tenant commands. Being reenlisted by the CNO was a unique experience, according to Electrician's Mate 2nd Class Jesse Oakes, of NAS Key West.

"I feel it's a very rare opportunity; something that you don't get to do every day," said Oakes.

Oakes' wife Kurumi and other reenlistee family members present were called up by Greenert to join their Sailors as he presented them with their certificates of reenlistment.

After the reenlistment and awards presentation Greenert thanked Navy civilians, Sailors and their family members for their service in Key West before continuing on with the big picture of today's Navy and where Key West comes into play.

"This place is incredibly crucial to our training," said Greenert. "We can do our most advanced air wing tactics here and here is where we will develop our future for our air wings. Key West is a part of our future, as far out as I can possibly see."

The CNO took questions from Sailors concerning personnel detailing, the CNO's Navigation Plan, commissioning programs, selective reenlistment bonuses and upcoming changes to the final multiple score on advancement exams.

Greenert ended the visit with a call to be good shipmates.

"Lastly, we've got to take care of each other," he said, imploring the audience to be vigilant in suicide awareness and overall mental health in order to keep our Sailors and Navy strong.