National Guard Ready for Fires' Aftermath

By Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

Oct. 31, 2007 - Under a sky still smoky from active wildfires, National Guard citizen-soldiers prepared for the flash floods and mudslides that will come long after the flames are extinguished. About 50 citizen-soldiers from the California Army National Guard's Battery A, 1st Battalion, 144th Field Artillery, set out to fill about 5,000 sandbags for residents in the Valley Center area north of San Diego. Other National Guard units performed the same service in other communities hit by the Southern California wildfires.

"The purpose is to help residents out here when the rainy season starts, so they're sure to have something to protect their houses so they don't get flooded," 1st Lt. Nelson Varas, of Battery A, said.

Wildfires like the ones that have hit Southern California this month are typically followed by flash floods and mudslides. That's because rain runs off faster when vegetation is gone and also because fire changes the chemistry of the soil.

In some places, the burning process creates a waxy coating on the soil, hindering the absorption of water and speeding its flow, fire officials explained. The phenomenon is known as "hydrophobicity." Water beads and runs over hydrophobic soil instead of soaking in, increasing the likelihood of flash floods and mudslides for months following wildfires.

Sandbags can protect homes and businesses from water and mud damage. The sandbags will be stored for distribution by area fire departments and the California Department of Forestry, Army 1st Sgt. John Wood, of Battery A, said.

Like many of the citizen-soldiers working through the weekend to fill sandbags, Varas has served in Iraq. He balances a civilian job with his family, overseas deployments and homeland missions. "We're all dedicated," he said. "We know what we signed up for."

He said he was particularly pleased to serve in his own backyard. "That's what we're here for," he said. "That's our mission. We're National Guard. We're part of the state, and since we've got a crisis going on and people need help, the National Guard's here for that."

For the battery's Army Spc. Angel Flores, the sandbag mission was only his second time reporting to his unit after a stint on active duty. During his year in Baghdad, Flores's thoughts frequently turned to the family, friends and community that his service separated him from. He was still thinking of them as he filled sandbags Oct. 27.

"I figure that the people who need it most are the people that I was thinking about while I was gone," Flores said.

National Guardmembers said the gratitude they get from the neighbors they're helping only makes the task easier. In Southern California, restaurants have refused to let soldiers and airmen pay for meals, retailers have declined payment for supplies, and residents have offered handshakes and pats on the back. "It's been outstanding support," Varas said.

"We're happy to be here to help," Sgt. Timothy Miller said. "You have to take care of home. Home comes first."

More than 2,500 citizen-soldiers and –airmen have been assisting civilian authorities tackling the Southern California wildfires. The National Guard has provided communications capabilities, supplied fire incident commanders with aerial images of the fires, dropped water from helicopters and retardant from aircraft, patrolled evacuated neighborhoods, handed out relief supplies, and performed numerous other tasks.

(Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill is assigned to the National Guard Bureau.)

Bush Proclaims 'National Veterans Awareness Week'

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 31, 2007 - President Bush is urging Americans to recognize veterans' valor and sacrifice through ceremonies and prayers during "National Veterans Awareness Week" next month. From Veterans Day on Nov. 11 through Nov. 17, the president encourages Americans to remember the brave men and women who have served as members of the U.S. armed forces, according to a proclamation released by the White House today.

"Throughout our history, America has been protected by patriots who cherished liberty and made great sacrifices to advance the cause of freedom," Bush said. "On Veterans Day, we honor these extraordinary Americans for their service and sacrifice, and we pay tribute to the legacy of freedom and peace that they have given our great nation."

In times of war and of peace, servicemembers have shouldered great responsibility and lived up to the highest standards of duty and honor to defend their fellow citizens and the country they love, Bush said.

"Our veterans held fast against determined and ruthless enemies and helped save the world from tyranny and terror," he said. "They ensured that America remained what our founders meant her to be: a light to the nations, spreading the good news of human freedom to the darkest corners of the earth."

Like the heroes before them, Bush said, today a new generation of men and women are fighting for freedom around the globe. "Their determination, courage, and sacrifice are laying the foundation for a more secure and peaceful world," the president added.

Bush said Veterans Day is dedicated to the extraordinary Americans who protected our freedom in years past and to those who protect it today. They represent the very best of our nation, he said.

"Every soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, and Coast Guardsman has earned the lasting gratitude of the American people, and their service and sacrifice will be remembered forever," Bush said. "In the words of Abraham Lincoln, 'Let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle.'"

The president called upon federal, state and local officials to display the American flag and support and participate in patriotic activities in their communities. Bush also invited civic and fraternal organizations, places of worship, schools, businesses, unions, and the media to support this national observance with commemorative expressions and programs.

America Supports You: Adventure Trip Hits Mark With Veterans

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 31, 2007 - Five days after their adventure began, seven injured veterans packed up with the satisfaction of knowing they'd done what they set out to do: conquer sand, sea and the cloud of mosquitoes that seemed to follow them everywhere. Their adaptive-sports adventure in the Virgin Islands was organized by the nonprofit group Team River Runner. Team River Runner is a chapter of Disabled Sports USA, a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program that connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

"I'm glad to get the opportunity, ... because this is stuff that just doesn't happen on a normal basis," said Scott Morgan, a former soldier whose legs were severely damaged in a mortar attack Feb. 18, 2004, in Taji, Iraq. "It's pretty awesome. It makes me want to go home and start pursuing some of this stuff just so I can get out on the open water."

Kevin Pannell, a former soldier who lost both legs above the knee when a hand grenade exploded during a foot patrol in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, agrees. He said trips like the adaptive paddling trip Pannell and six other wounded warriors went on are a great benefit for servicemembers dealing with life after a catastrophic injury.

"There's a real isolation whenever you get home," Pannell said, explaining that he thinks he is the only person in his hometown of Hot Springs, Ark., whose amputation is the result of combat. "(The trip) is great. You compare notes and find out about new stuff."

The trip had some simpler benefits, as well. Aside from being a safe way to test some boundaries and talk to others who face the same situations, it was a chance to get away from the daily grind and relax. For most of the participants, it provided new experiences, as well.

"I've never snorkeled, but I've done a little bit of kayaking," Pannell said, adding that "hands down" snorkeling was his favorite part of the trip. "I saw like a five-foot barracuda."

The fish startled Pannell, who said he wasn't scared, just curious what the fish, famous for its own curiosity, would think of his prosthetic legs. "They're attracted to shiny things, and I have all the little screws and twinkles on my legs," he said. "I didn't know how into that he was going to be.

"I guess if he attacked my legs it'd be all right," Pannell said with a chuckle.

The troops' spouses may not have been as flippant about being so near a barracuda, but they all agreed the trip was better than anything the doctor could have ordered.

"The water is absolutely beautiful," Amber Jones said. "I have never in my life seen water this clear. Even in Hawaii, which I've always considered the best of the best, ... the water doesn't even compare."

Amber's husband, former Marine John Jones, lost both his legs below the knee on Jan. 3, 2005, when the vehicle he was riding in hit a double-stacked land mine in Qaim, Iraq.

Danielle Pannell, Kevin's wife, said the trip offered the spouses almost as much benefit as it did the veterans. "It's just neat getting to see that I'm not the only one that gets frustrated sometimes," she said. "For so long I was like, 'It's just me.' But I got to talk to (the wife of another veteran with post traumatic stress disorder), and we were sharing stories, and I was like, 'My husband does that!'"

As the trip all-too-quickly came to an end, Joe Mornini, Team River Runner's director and the trip's organizer, contemplated the recent events and looked forward to making the next trip even better.

"I can't believe that I'm sitting here in the Virgin Islands with all these people," Mornini said. "We've accomplished some great snorkeling. We've (paddled) to the British Virgin Islands, and we've got seven guys here that all of them are either amputees or mobility impaired.

"I just knew that if we did it right it would work, but I didn't know what right was," he added.

He may still not know exactly what "right" is, but he's relying on feedback from the group to get him closer for the next trip. "I'm really going to feel better about this trip after I hear from people after it's over," Mornini said.

While challenges cropped up -- sand and broken prosthetics topping the list -- and Mornini took notes on lessons learned, the trip seemed to come off exactly as he envisioned it. It allowed wounded warriors to push boundaries, learn some new skills and heal just a little more.

Defense Department Works to Battle Remaining California Fires

American Forces Press Service

Oct. 30, 2007 - Defense Department personnel continue to help state authorities battle five wildfires still burning in California, Pentagon officials said today. According to U.S. Northern Command officials, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard C-130s flew 10 sorties yesterday dropping fire retardant. They will continue the mission today. The aircraft have flown 74 sorties since arriving in southern California.

The Global Hawk, the Air Force's state-of-the-art unmanned aerial vehicle, flew missions to spot fires, as did an Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane and a Navy P-3C Orion.

On the ground, more than 2,700 California Guardsmen are working in a variety of roles from firefighting to security and communications assistance.

In addition, the Army Corps of Engineers is helping to coordinate public works and engineering support for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, NORTHCOM officials said. The Corps is addressing four emergency support missions under FEMA: temporary power, temporary housing, planning, and debris removal and disposal.

The wildfires destroyed 2,772 structures and damaged another 437. At their height, the fires forced more than 500,000 people from their homes from an area north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border. California officials said the fires killed seven people and hurt 117. California fire control officials said they expect the fires to be out by Nov. 2.

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Landstuhl Outpatient Facility Makes Good on Promise to Wounded

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Germany, Oct. 30, 2007 - Patients at a new medical transient detachment barracks that opened here earlier this month point to the facility as proof that the military is living up to its promises to ensure troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan get the best care possible.

When word broke in February of substandard conditions at Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Center, outpatients at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center here were getting shuttled to their appointments from a barracks almost 20 miles away.

Their 10-person, open-bay rooms at Kaiserslautern's Kleber Kaserne were noisy and offered little privacy. But the biggest headache was the 30-minute bus ride back and forth to meet with doctors, case managers and liaisons.

Those days are gone. Two weeks ago, wounded and sick servicemembers from the combat theater undergoing outpatient treatment here transferred to the new facility, which offers a higher quality of life and easier access to care.

The four-story, two-building facility -- a former Air Force hotel transformed by a $2.5 million renovation -- sits directly on the Landstuhl hospital grounds. It boasts one- and two-person rooms equipped with computers with free Internet access, cable TV with DVD players, and telephones to stay in touch with loved ones.

Up to 230 residents can pop popcorn in their in-room microwaves and keep sodas cold in their own mini refrigerators. They can wander down the hall to play video games, use the full-service laundry, or follow the aroma that wafts through the facility to pour themselves a fresh cup of coffee.

Work on the new facility started in the spring, shortly after news of problems at Walter Reed came to light and officials promised quick fixes throughout the military medical system. The Air Force donated the buildings and most of the money for renovations, and construction moved along quickly until the recent ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"They went all out for the warriors, I have to say," said Army Capt. Katrina Gawlik, medical transient detachment commander.

Gawlik called the conditions optimal for soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen who typically spend up to two weeks here getting care. "We tell our warriors who come here their only mission is to heal," she said.

About 60 percent of the patients who leave here will go on to other treatment facilities in the continental United States, including Walter Reed. The other 40 percent will return to duty -- most in Iraq and Afghanistan, but others in Djibouti or Kosovo.

Among those to return to their units is Army Capt. Paul Tarman, a 1st Cavalry Division soldier evacuated out of Iraq due to a shoulder injury. After 16 years in the military, Tarman has seen the full range of military medical care facilities, including some that needed improvement. When facilities aren't up to snuff, "you lose a little bit of hope," he said.

Tarman raved about the new Landstuhl facility and said it goes a long way in promoting healing. "You have everything you physically need," he said, adding that the amenities "put you in a different mindset," to focus on getting better.

He called the new outpatient treatment unit here a perfect example of the military living up to its promise to pull out all stops in caring for wounded and sick soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. "You want to believe that people care about what you've gone through," he said. "This is a perfect example" of that care.

Army Col. Kirk Lawrence, deputy chief of staff for U.S. Army Europe, pointed to the new facility as an example of the services working together to care for wounded warriors. "All we want is the best care for our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines," he said.

Gates Considers Extending Brigades in Europe

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 30, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is leaning toward approving a proposal to temporarily hold two Army brigade combat teams in Europe rather than move them to the United States, a defense official said today. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said that Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, commander of U.S. European Command, has proposed a short-term solution that would keep a greater force presence in Europe to accomplish theater security engagement missions.

"It's not a request for an indefinite period," Whitman said.

Four brigades are currently based in Europe: 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, in Grafenwoehr, Germany; 173rd Airborne Brigade, in Vicenza, Italy; 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, in Baumholder, Germany; and 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, in Schweinfurt, Germany.

Craddock's proposal would keep the two brigades due to rotate back to the United States in Germany for another year, Whitman said. This will enable Craddock to carry out EUCOM's theater engagement mission of military-to-military contacts among European nations and the U.S. military, U.S. Army Europe officials speaking on background said.

EUCOM officials have expressed concern that a reduction to two brigade combat teams would cut manpower on the continent to a point that the organization could not meet currently scheduled theater cooperation exercises.

Keeping the two brigades in place "would enable the U.S. military to continue engaging with the new democracies and our established allies in Europe," the official said.

Defense officials are looking at the proposal and working out issues that would be raised if the brigades remained in place. Among them are Base Realignment and Closure issues, building at stateside bases, and closing bases in Germany.

Unless Gates approves the extension, the brigades are due to rotate back to the United States in fiscal 2008 and 2009.

Adaptive Adventure Equals Healing for Injured Vets

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 30, 2007 - A group of injured war veterans on a 12-mile round-trip kayak adventure paused on the shores of this small British island earlier this month for a two-night stay at a campground locally known as "Ivan's." The most structured thing about Ivan's, or as it's formally known, White Bay Campground, is "Ivan's Local Flavor Stress Free Bar," which still works on the honor system; take a beverage, write it down and pay up before you leave. Decorated from floor to ceiling, inside and out, with shells and shell art from previous patrons, it exudes relaxation.

"It's like being deserted on a tropical island, but you know you're going to be rescued," said Army Sgt. Peter Rooney, who lost both legs above the knee in April when the Humvee he was riding in hit a roadside bomb near Ramadi, Iraq. "Peaceful, but at the same time you know you're in a remote location, so it has that edge to it."

One sign verifies that past visitors agree with Rooney. In pieces of coral and shell it says, "Ivan's = Healing."

Getting to Ivan's was the reward for a long day that began with what surely sounded like a strange request to others staying at Cinnamon Bay campground on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands: "All legs in the dry bag!" yelled Joe Mornini, director of Team River Runner, which organized the trip for the veterans, most of whom have lost both legs serving in a combat zone.

The laughter his command drew only increased with Danielle Pannell's response. "Have legs will travel!" she said, dropping her husband's prosthetic legs into a blue rubber bag. A power boat carried the bag of legs as well as three of the veterans' wheelchairs on the trip to Jost Van Dyke.

Danielle's husband, Kevin Pannell, is a former soldier who lost both of his legs above the knee while on a foot patrol in Baghdad.

With hardware and passengers settled into their respective vessels, all left Cinnamon Bay on a trek across the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea.

About four hours later, the group was setting up camp and figuring out how to negotiate the new beach with its unique sand. The soft, almost powdery sand that makes up Ivan's campground was worse for traction than the variety found at Cinnamon Bay.

"Everybody's front axles are below the sand," Bill Johnston said of his and the other wheelchairs. Johnston, a former Marine, lost both of his legs nearly 40 years ago while serving in Vietnam.

The chairs, in fact, sank into the sand, making it difficult for Johnston and the others to move. The immediate solution was a plastic tarp that kept the wheels on the sand instead of in it.

The lack of mobility in the sand for those in wheelchairs - Johnston, Rooney and former Marine Christopher Fesmire - encouraged creativity and teamwork, however. Fesmire got a piggyback ride out of the surf from Phil Sayre, a member of Team River Runner's board of directors, after snorkeling.

"He described the sand to me," Mornini said of the director of the Arawak Expeditions, a local company that guided the international expedition. "Well, it's a hell of lot more sand than I thought it was going to be. Then the guys that are here say, 'Well, this is cool. We'll get through it. We'll make it, but next time, do this, bring this,'" he said.

To help battle the sand and the chafing it caused, Mornini said, he'd dig deep into his bag of parenting tricks for the next trip.

"If everybody had two bottles of baby powder, they wouldn't care about the sand," Mornini said. "When you get sand on your skin ... the talcum bonds with the sand, and you brush it all off and it's gone, and there's no abrasion.

"It's on my list now," he added. "It's on my list to get a wheelchair with balloon tires, too."

The second night on the island, the group ate dinner at "Foxy's" a restaurant favored among local residents and tourists alike. Here, the veterans and their wives discovered something that's definitely nice to have while camping so far from home. It won't be found on any packing list, however.

While the group ate in the open-air restaurant under rafters covered with mementoes of past diners, a patron picked up the tab and quietly left, asking an employee to pass along a message of thanks to the veterans.

As everyone packed up the next morning, Mornini declared it a successful trip of "yakking and snorking." He reserved his greatest praise, however, for the landing at Cruz Bay, St. John, after everyone had cleared U.S. Customs.

"That's where we just came from," he said pointing out the taxi window at Jost Van Dyke, seemingly forever away. "We did great."

Team River Runner is a chapter of Disabled Sports USA, a supporter of "America Supports You," a Defense Department program connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

Iraqi Police Learn Basics During Prep Course

By Spc. Shejal Pulivarti, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

Oct. 30, 2007 - The Military Police Platoon from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, has developed a 10-day preparatory class to implement the basics for Iraqi police recruits before they attend the Baghdad Police Academy, which initiates them as official police officers. This course is designed to give police recruits a basic understanding on what their job will consist of, said Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Brinson, the MP Platoon's top sergeant.

The trainees waiting to attend the academy come from various stations in the surrounding area to learn basic police skills, he added. It's an orientation, ensuring all new police cadets go into the academy with the same level of general knowledge.

"The training covers basics on ethics, principles, Iraqi law, first aid, basic rifle marksmanship, responding to a crime scene, and search techniques in various scenarios," said Brinson, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native. "The recruits follow a structured daily schedule emphasizing teamwork and discipline."

The 10 days are spent introducing the material in the classroom and then actively applying what they've learned. The last two days consist of practical exercises that incorporate the entirety of the course.

"Everything learned has to be applied during the hands-on scenarios. The situations gradually get harder to test their understanding," Brinson said.

"Everything is a perishable skill; they have to practice it in order to retain it," he continued. "They understand the task; they are definitely learning what they need to know to be successful."

"The trainees get better every day. The course helps them become good IPs and work with the coalition forces to do our job," said Iraqi Police 1st Lt. Hesham Saman Ali Sauba Boor, a course instructor.

Each Iraqi police station is responsible for sending an academy graduated officer to teach the new recruits. Military personnel rotate through as instructors from the MP Platoon and are assisted by Iraqi army liaison officers.

"Having the IP officers teach them accomplishes a lot; it mainly helps the Iraqi police force become self-sufficient," Brinson said. "It's another step in the progress to make security forces stronger."

As he watched the recruits successfully complete a bounding exercise, Brinson noted, "I see the trainees take more pride in themselves. This course is helping them to become a cohesive unit to accomplish the mission."

Staer Gabar Abedallah, a trainee, said he chose to become an Iraqi police officer to serve his country, secure his community and stop the terrorists.

"The training is a great opportunity to concentrate on training and help the Iraqi people move forward in self governance," said Stonington, Ill., native Army Sgt. David Ashbridge, a military police leader.

(Army Spc. Shejal Pulivarti is assigned to 1st Cavalry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)

Defense Official Calls U.S-India Partnerships Critical

By Donna Miles
Special to American Forces Press Service

Oct. 30, 2007 - Broad-based partnerships between the United States and India are critical as the South Asian republic increasingly exerts its influence on the world, a senior Defense Department policy maker said today. "The U.S.-India strategic potential is very, very profound," James Clad told online journalists and bloggers during a conference call from the Pentagon. Clad is deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia. "It's been slow in coming - I think it will be slow in coming in the future - but it is steady. The trend lines are unmistakable," he said.

While India's sometimes contentious neighbor, Pakistan, continues to search for Osama bin Laden and help wage the global war on terrorism, Clad explained, the U.S.-Indian relationship is more important in the long run.

"India simply must, as a long term consideration, matter more for us than Pakistan," he said. "India, I think, is seen as a potentially a power with global reach."

India is on a major course to ramp up its military infrastructure, Clad said, with a multi-billion budget at the ready to purchase, among other equipment, 126 multi-role combat aircraft.

"It is the largest external-announced defense procurement budget in the world," Clad said. "And people are obviously interested in this."

Clad noted that 52 U.S. defense corporations, including "brass nameplates" like Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, Ratheon, Honeywell and General Electric, have all set up offices in India. "That's a lot."

Each U.S. military service participates in training exercises with Indian troops, Clad explained, and Indian ports welcome U.S. Navy ships. He noted a recent visit by the USS Nimitz to Chennai, an Indian city situated along the Bay of Bengal.

"The visit was an enormous success, greeted with great interest by the people of the city," he said.

The U.S. Navy also recently refurbished its former USS Trenton and presented it as a gift to the Indian navy, Clad explained. "This is a substantial vessel which has been very well received in Indian naval circles."

Besides military partnerships, Clad said, Indian-American economic partnerships also are important, and in many cases already are in place.

"You hit a golf ball on the Bangalore golf course, and that ball, unless you're careful, is going to go right through a window of IBM, which is right next to Infosys, which is an Indian firm staffed by Indian-Americans who are also listed on the New York Stock Exchange. So it's a much bigger relationship."

That relationship, Clad explained, consists of multiple, rich layers.

"The India relationship now is more comprehensive in trade, information technology, movement of its peoples, he said. "There are 2 million Indian-Americans now living in the United States."

Rather than fear India's global transformation, Clad said, The United States should embrace the opportunity to assist and advise the country.

"It's about maintaining a type of equilibrium, about accepting India's rise into a type of maturity and power and prowess I think we broadly welcome," he said. "We're coming into something that's naturally there. It's like a seat which is already at the table, and we're sliding into it."

(David Mays is assigned to New Media at American Forces Informations Service.)

Auditor Finds Tallil Fish 'Most Finicky'

By John Connor
Special to American Forces Press Service

Oct. 29, 2007 - Bill Zett, an auditor with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, believes it's nice to catch a fish when fishing, but not always necessary. Zett goes fishing most Friday mornings at Lake Wisconsin, a manmade lake not far from the headquarters of the Corps' Gulf Region South district on this sprawling onetime Iraqi air base. He said it is peaceful and relaxing and helps break up the routine of long work weeks.

Zett said he has been told Lake Wisconsin is so named because it was built by a National Guard unit from Wisconsin. He said it is home to three kinds of fish: asp, which he likened to small-mouth bass back home, catfish and carp.

On his most recent outing, Zett caught none of the above. In fact, he only had a few nibbles and saw just one fish break the surface. "I can't believe they're not biting," he said at one point.

"These are the most finicky fish I've ever been around," he added later.

Still, Zett said, it was a most enjoyable couple hours, a pleasant break from his work as the command's internal auditor. And he applied some homespun wisdom to the fishless fishing expedition, saying, "All I know is if you don't fish, you won't catch anything."

On this day, Zett used dates as bait. He said Patricia Biltoft, the Gulf Region South administrative chief, accompanied him to the fishing hole recently and caught seven fish using corn and peas as bait.

He said he has caught some 3- or 4-pounders in Lake Wisconsin and remarked that people believe all sorts of things about the key to catching fish, such as the fullness of the moon or the time of day.

When he does land some fish, he said, he throws them back.

Zett, a native Texan who worked for the Texas National Guard since 1969, is on his second year in Iraq, having extended for a year. He left the Texas Guard altogether "to support my country" in Iraq. He said his work can be taxing at times, but that he enjoys the people and the mission and serving his country, something his family has done before.

Zett said his father and two other relatives were at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when the Japanese attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, and that his father managed to get off the USS Utah before it sank. He said all three survived and that his father spent nearly two years afloat during World War II without touching land.

(John Connor is a public affairs officer with the Gulf Region South District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Iraq.)

Senior Enlisted Leader Visits Fort Knox

By Maureen Rose
Special to American Forces Press Service

Oct. 29, 2007 - The military's top enlisted servicemember visited this Kentucky base Oct. 26 and addressed an audience for the post's Retiree Appreciation Days event. "We owe a good deal to retirees sitting in the coffee shops talking about the good old days. The past is the reason we're a great nation," Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey said. "We all focus on the young men and women of now, but if it were not for the young men and women of the past, we would not be in the position we're in now -- which is free."

Gainey, a former Armor Center command sergeant major, is the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a position created by the former chairman, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, and filled by Gainey since its inception in 2004.

Gainey's primary job is to gather information for his boss, Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, who succeeded Pace as chairman Oct. 1. "He uses me as his eyes and ears to get out where he can't travel to and come back and, no kidding, tell him how the young men and women on the ground are feeling," Gainey said.

However, the information flow is in the opposite direction this time. "I told Admiral Mullen I was going to be here," Gainey said, "and he wanted me to express how proud he is of (the retirees)."

Gainey observed a retiree wearing a Vietnam logo on his cap talking to a younger, active-duty Marine who was traveling with Gainey.

"I try to make our generation -- the young people I'm with every day -- understand every time they pass a retiree, like this former Marine sitting right here, stop and look them in the face and say, 'Thank you for your service,'" he explained. "That's the message; I'm trying to let them all know to do it. Every time we pass a retiree, we should all say 'thank you.'"

The street of gratitude goes two ways, Gainey said. When he visits young people serving in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, he tells them Americans appreciate their service.

"It's not all me saying, 'Hooah, we're doing a great job.' I let them know constantly, because I travel a good bit, how proud our country is," he said. "It's important, no matter what political affiliation you belong to, that we support our soldiers, men and women, Marines, airmen, Coasties -- anybody, our warriors who fight this war -- it's important that we let them know that we're behind them. We might not agree to the overall policy, but who cares? We have to support those men and women."

Gainey said he always thanks new enlistees, as well. "I see the guys and gals coming in off the streets and, with the mission they're about to hit, I thank them, too," he said. "They're enlisting knowing they're going to go to war."

Interrupted frequently during his visit by those who recognized Gainey from previous assignments, he waved and shook hands like a politician.

One retiree, however, got a bear hug from Gainey. His name is Dale Cleveland. "He's the reason I am what I am today," Gainey said with a laugh. "He was my platoon sergeant years ago, so if you don't like me, blame him!"

Cleveland returned the compliment, thumping Gainey on the back. "I can give you the skinny on him," said Cleveland, a retired Fort Knox first sergeant.

"We used to have young soldiers over to our house for dinner all the time in Germany, but we had no idea he would end up there," Cleveland's wife, Gabi, said with a gesture skyward.

Crystel Swaite also wanted a chance to shake hands with Gainey. She was the soldier of the year in 2002 at Fort Hood, Texas, where Gainey was her post sergeant major. "He was very motivational; he's one of the reasons I stayed in," she said.

Realizing that retirees sometimes are overlooked, Gainey said he soon will understand firsthand how that feels. "I'm retiring April 25, after 33-1/2 years," he said. "I'm nothing more than a torch-carrier for (the retirees).

"And someday," he added, pointing to his young aide, "he will be a torch carrier for me."

(Maureen Rose is a staff writer for the Fort Knox Turret.)

Industry, Academic Leaders Pool Brainpower to Address IED Threat

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 29, 2007 - The head of the Defense Department's counter-improvised explosive device effort today challenged some of the best minds in industry, academia, the national laboratories and the military to come up with better ways to thwart these deadly weapons. Retired Army Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, opened a two-day conference here designed to spark better solutions to the IED problem.

The conference is focusing on three parts of the attack plan against what's become terrorists' weapon of choice in Iraq and, increasingly, in Afghanistan: Attack the network; defeat the device; and train the force.

Meigs thanked the roughly 750 participants for technological advances they've helped develop, particularly in the intelligence and training realms. What's needed now, he said, are better technologies so troops can identify IEDs sooner, before they inflict damage.

Defense Department officials say IEDs have caused nearly half of all casualties in Iraq and nearly 30 percent of those in Afghanistan since the start of combat operations.

"I am so convinced that the way you take the initiative away from the enemy is to find the IED, locate it before the soldier, sailor, airmen or Marine, or perhaps in the future, a civilian, gets within the blast range of the thing," Meigs said during today's unclassified opening session.

"When the individual is within the blast range of an IED, we have lost all opportunity for our initiative. The initiative is in the hands of the enemy," he said.

Meigs acknowledged that the easy answers already have been explored. "We have all picked the low-hanging fruit in this area," he said. "If we are going to develop that capability, it is going to require a full-court press by the scientific and technical base of our country and our allies."

Robin L. Keesee, deputy director of the Joint IED Defeat Organization, told reporters technical conferences like this one help focus some of the best brainpower in the country and among U.S. allies on the scope and complexity of the IED challenge.

The sessions promote information sharing that generates the broadest range of plausible solutions, reduces redundancy of effort, and helps weed out initiatives that already have been tried, he said.

JIEDDO's past two industry conferences yielded better-quality, more-focused technological proposals, many within the first week of the session, Keesee said.

Speed is critical in an environment where insurgents, unrestricted by any formal hierarchy, are able to quickly alter their tactics, techniques and procedures, he said.

"They are watching what works and doesn't in a neighborhood and are adapting on that basis," Keesee said. "Our soldiers and Marines and others are adapting their tactics and techniques at that level. The challenge for us is, how do we adapt the technology as well to support the Marines and soldiers?"

Another challenge is getting an acquisition system based on annual budgets and usually focused three to five years ahead to respond to circumstances that morph within days, weeks or months. "We need to work toward adapting our acquisition practices to the global war on terror," Keesee said.

JIEDDO has come a long way toward that end, reducing time to get funding approval for a new idea to as little as three weeks. That's the time it takes to run the idea through a panel of scientists and engineers who verify it makes operational sense, military experts to ensure it makes tactical and operational sense, and service-level and Defense Department levels to agree it makes investment sense.

Investing in an effort that can amount of millions or even tens of millions of dollars "is really unheard-of in the rest of the Department of Defense," Keesee said. "That's usually a process that takes years."

Keesee credited the combination of better technology; better tactics, techniques and procedures; and better troop protection with helping to reduce IED casualties. "It all goes together to make it more difficult for insurgents, and to make our soldiers and Marines and others more survivable (and) more surviving when attacked," he said.

He reiterated Meigs' assertion that insurgents now have to work four to six times harder to inflict the level of damage they once did.

Retired Army Gen. John Abizaid, former commander of U.S. Central Command and today's keynote speaker, told conference participants he's "absolutely, 1,000 percent convinced" that cooperation between JIEDDO and industry has helped reduce the IED threat troops face on the battlefield.

Abizaid said the threat isn't likely to go away any time soon, because the enemy views IEDs as their opportunity to gain high ground over an enemy they can't confront any other way.

"We need to continue to close this gap," with an eye to future battlefields as well as those troops are fighting on today, he said.

Injured Veterans Tackle New Adventure

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 29, 2007 - Seven injured veterans geared up to pit themselves against sand and the Caribbean Sea on Oct. 18 as part of an inaugural adaptive adventure trip. Before the veterans and their wives had a chance to test any of those boundaries, however, they had visitors to greet.

Members of the St. John American Legion and its auxiliary, which had met the group at the ferry the night before, arrived bright and early with nothing short of a full breakfast. The gesture, which included a certificate of appreciation and a lifetime membership to the American Legion, awed the veterans.

As the Legionnaires left the campground, so did the veterans. They headed to the beach to learn the sport of sea kayaking adapted to their individual situations.

"I hope that they're having an opportunity to have an adventure and push their barriers and boundaries a little bit," said Joe Mornini, director of Team River Runner. "These guys, they're just going to appreciate more what they do under their own steam."
Being in paradise doesn't negate all frustrations, however.

The veterans found that slicing through two-plus miles of turquoise waters in "sit-on-top" kayaks was a piece of cake. That was only after they'd negotiated the sandy beach to get to the boats, however.

For those with prosthetic legs, that challenge was minor. Former Marine John Jones, who lost both legs below the knee when the Stryker vehicle he was riding in hit a double-stacked anti-tank mine near Qaim, Iraq, nature caused him no problems.

"The sand, no, it wasn't anything really," Jones said. "The only thing that really screwed me up was not having (full use of) my leg that broke on me."

Army Sgt. Peter Rooney agreed that sand posed more problems for those using wheelchairs than actually getting the boat to glide through the water.

When the veterans returned from a paddle around nearby Whistling Cay, a small island, they graduated to sea kayaks, which have a cockpit. That cockpit allows a kayaker to sit below the surface of the boat.

Arawak Expeditions, a local company specializing in sea kayak adventures, provided instruction in both types of boats, including how to get out of, and back into, a sea kayak should it flip in open water. That was a lesson some of the veterans who have worked with Team River Runner in the therapy pool at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are very familiar with.

That wasn't necessarily so for the spouses, some of whom found the exercise a little more difficult than promised.

"They said that was easy!" said Danielle Pannell, wife of former Army Sgt. Kevin Pannell, who lost both of his legs above the knee when an insurgent threw a grenade at his foot patrol in Sadr City, Iraq. "It wasn't. It was hard!"

The day ended on a much more pleasant note, as the group set out on its first snorkel of the trip in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea. The fish stories included sightings of a barracuda, a large tarpon, and the wing of a long-ago crashed plane.

Team River Runner is a chapter of Disabled Sports USA, a supporter of "America Supports You," a Defense Department program connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

Kosovo Situation 'Stable, But Fragile,' Commander Says

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 29, 2007 - The situation in Kosovo is "stable, but potentially fragile," the commander of U.S. forces there said. Army Brig. Gen. Douglas B. Earhart, commander of the American contingent in the NATO-led Kosovo Force, said he is proud of the job that his 1,500-member force has done and believes the province is ready for several key events.

Earhart commands a multinational force based around the National Guard's 29th Infantry Division. The 39th Infantry Division will take over the command Nov. 2.

The first event Earhart referenced is Kosovo-wide elections scheduled for Nov. 17, followed by the end of the 120-day supplemental negotiation process that Serbia, Kosovo and a team of international negotiators have been holding on the status of the province.

"Things are calm, but underneath the surface people are anxious, and they are not sure of what the outcome is going to be," the general told American Forces Press Service. "People are tired of waiting; they just want this thing resolved. It doesn't matter if you are Kosovar Albanian or Kosovar Serbian; you just want it over so you can get on with normal life."

The NATO-led Kosovo Force is keeping the province stable, but there are challenges, he said. Reports of paramilitary groups operating on both sides of the provincial border add to the fragility of the situation. "When the media report on those groups, we see the population getting anxious about that," Earhart said.

The general discounts these organizations. "They operate on the fringe and have no legitimacy," he said, adding that these groups are more like gangs than any type of organized political movement.

"They are rogue criminals living in the hills with nothing better to do than to stir up trouble," he said. "They stir up trouble because it serves their purposes to have a lawless area."

The criminal elements want uncertainty; they want disruption, because this allows them to operate. The government needs to get into these areas and establish control, Earhart said. "Where you don't have a lot of tax collection, you don't have a lot of police activity," he said.

The bottom line is that there are pockets of these criminals in the province, but nothing widespread, he added.

Kosovo police are getting better, and they are extending the government's control. NATO forces are working with them to improve their capabilities, the general said.

He also noted a lot of rebuilding is going on in the province. "In one sense, economically, there is something going on. Someone is doing better," he said. "I think there is a more entrepreneurial spirit today than there was two or three years ago.

"There is still money coming in from the diaspora -- Kosovars who moved to Switzerland, Italy and Germany -- and that fuels a lot of the economy here," he continued, adding that such income cannot fuel an economy for long.

Unemployment in the province still is very high; officials estimate that it is around 70 percent. "We have a very large population of people between 18 and 30 years old, and those folks are not working, and that is troublesome," Earhart said.

Building employment opportunities is important to the security situation. "With people sitting around, it's more likely that folks get involved in activities that are not productive," he said.

Earhart said members of the Kosovo Force want a quick resolution to the diplomatic process so economic development offered by the international community can flow into the province.

"I think that's something that most people on the ground here wish for," he said. "They hope for a situation stable enough so that international investors will come in here and really start to get things going here."

Earhart said the task force works with soldiers from five other countries: Greece, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Romania. "This relationship has been gong since 2003, and it gets better every year," he said.

He said he is working to transfer responsibility to the men and women of the 39th Infantry Division. "When the KFOR 9 soldiers arrive, we walk through every task that's required of soldiers on the ground here," he said. "We do that in three weeks, then we give our successors an opportunity to lead that same activity. At the end of that period, we feel confident that replacements are set."

Officials intend for Kosovars to see no difference in competence in the soldiers. "That's important, because we've done a lot of good work in building up the trust and confidence in KFOR, and so we obviously want to maintain that," he said.

The general also discussed how experiences that National Guardsmen have in their civilian lives help them in Kosovo. "I see it every day," he said. "The only way you can really successfully engage the civilian population is by getting out and walking among the people and talking with them. If you've been a teacher, if you've been a police officer, if you've been a nurse, if you've had any kind of civilian job where you have to deal with people, then you generally know how to communicate. Just from that basic standpoint, you can tell there's a difference there.

"The other part is, we have soldiers that have specialty skills; we have a lot of police officers and teachers on the task force. They can sense when things are not quite normal," he continued. "We have plumbers who have worked on schools' bathrooms; we've had water hydrologists look at well systems; we've had firefighters go to fire stations to help the Kosovars improve their training and update their equipment. We've had people here who have a direct influence on the community due to their civilian experiences."

When his unit first got to Kosovo, the general said, he immediately was struck by the reception the Kosovars gave his unit. "I was instantly struck by the friendliness with which I was greeted," he said. "From that moment to today, I considered myself to be a member of the Kosovo family, and I've been treated with respect and friendship from all segments of the society: Kosovars and Serbs."

Specifically, Earhart said, he remembers a visit he made to a local school, which teaches more than 5,000 children in three shifts. He was met by 300 children singing an American song. "I thanked them for their song and told them that they are the hope for the future of Kosovo," he said. "At the end of that, two 5th grade girls gave me a beautiful picture. It has an American flag in the foreground and a picture of the globe. Around the globe are children holding hands and above that is the NATO cross.

"I was so struck by that. It's a beautiful piece of art, and the message is tremendous."

Defense Logistics Agency Supports Wildfire Relief Effort

American Forces Press Service

Oct. 29, 2007 - In the midst of fires raging in California, the Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Department's largest combat support agency, has come to the aid of the thousands of evacuees and Marines and sailors supporting wildfire relief efforts by supplying the Federal Emergency Management Agency with meals and other supplies necessary to sustain the evacuees and fight fires.

DLA's Joint Logistics Operations Center is the DLA office responsible for coordinating and monitoring the agency's support to federal and other Defense Department and government agencies. In response to a FEMA tasking, the JLOC and Defense Distribution Center coordinated the shipment of packaged meals from Defense Distribution Depot San Joaquin, Calif., to March Air Reserve Base, just north of San Diego near Riverside, Calif.

Defense Distribution Depot San Joaquin worked with the California Highway Patrol to coordinate escort assistance to ensure the trucks transporting the meals could quickly and safely get to displaced residents affected by the fires.

"I want to congratulate the warehousing team at (the depot) for their mobility and flexibility to meet the challenge of resources," said the depot's Shipping Division chief, Bob Mahan. "I stand in awe of the folks in shipment planning, truck control and customer service who never thought of getting up from their desks to leave at 3:30 p.m., but hunkered down and got the food rolling to those in need."

Two hundred fourteen active-duty personnel, 72 Defense Department civilians and 2,492 National Guardsmen are engaged in either ground or airborne firefighting or security and relief operations, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

FEMA requested 42,624 packaged meals on Oct. 23, and the Marine Corps requested seven truckloads of the meals be delivered to Camp Pendleton, Calif. -- totaling 120,000 meals -- and an additional 600 meals went to the Naval Special Warfare Group at San Diego.

DLA also augmented FEMA's National Response Coordination Center with an onsite liaison officer to facilitate DLA support In addition to supporting FEMA, the Joint Logistics Operations Center also coordinated DLA's military support.

Defense Distribution Depot San Joaquin also shipped 200 fire retardant gloves and 200 fire retardant coveralls to Camp Pendleton. Defense Supply Center Philadelphia coordinated the delivery of 200 additional fire retardant coveralls directly from vendors.

"The (packaged meals) will augment local-level efforts to provide subsistence to evacuees," said Marine Lt. Col. Todd Lloyd, the JLOC's operations information management chief. "The fire retardant material will enable the United States Marine Corps to execute its mission in assisting the firefighting efforts.

"DLA stands ready to respond to any request for assistance that is received from FEMA, U.S. Northern Command or the military services" he said. "The JLOC is operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until further notice in order to receive, process and support requests for assistance."

DLA provides supply support, and technical and logistics services to the U.S. military services and several federal civilian agencies. With headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Va., the agency is the source for nearly every consumable item, whether for combat readiness, emergency preparedness or day-to-day operations inside the Department of Defense.

(From a Defense Logistics Agency news release.)

Army, Marines Release Counterinsurgency Manual

"Learn" and "adapt" are the key messages of the new Army and Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, which just hit the streets. The Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24 and Marine Corps Warfighting Publication 3-33.5, is a unique joint effort between the Army and Marines to put in place doctrine to help operators as they face the challenges of asymmetric warfare.

The manual codifies an important lesson of insurgencies: it takes more than the military to win. "There are more than just lethal operations involved in a counterinsurgency campaign," said Conrad Crane, director of the U.S. Army Military History Institute, in Carlisle, Pa., and one of the leaders of the effort.

Download the Manual
http://www.military-writers.com/counterinsurgency_manual.html

C-130 Firefighters Face Special Challenges

By 1st Lt. Jody Ritchie, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service

Oct. 28, 2007 - Military crews in the planes dropping fire retardant on wildfires in southern California face hazards and challenges unique to their humanitarian mission. First is the low altitude at which they fly, and the sudden, violent updrafts and downdrafts caused by the heat of the fire. Another factor is sudden changes in aircraft behavior when more than 20,000 pounds of fire retardant slurry are released from the plane. Then there's the smoke that reduces visibility as the crew maneuvers in airspace shared by other aircraft. The crews have a fully engaging experience every time they fly.

With those challenges in mind, crews train to ensure they can handle the hazards of flying the C-130 Hercules aircraft equipped with the U.S. Forest Service's Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems, or MAFFS.

"Not everybody can do this. You have to prove you can handle it," said Maj. Wiley D. Walno II, a pilot with the Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing based in Cheyenne, Wyo.

When the first fire started in southern California this month, the news had the attention of reserve component airmen across the country. It wasn't long before members of the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard joined forces to assist the firefighters battling the blazes on the ground. The Air Force Reserve's 302nd Airlift Wing in Colorado, the Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing in Wyoming and the 145th Airlift Wing in North Carolina responded quickly.

"I enjoy this job. If I didn't, I wouldn't be doing it," said Walno, who has been flying MAFFS missions for 13 years.

"We've got people that wait for years to get an opportunity to get certified for this mission," said Lt. Col. Dave Condit, the Air Force Reserve Command MAFFS program coordinator and a 302nd Airlift Wing pilot based at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. "We only take the most experienced aircrew members, and we go through a lot of training and preparation for this."

The training ensures Defense Department assets are ready to use the equipment when called upon by civil authorities.

The complexity of the air traffic associated with nearby Los Angeles International Airport makes the current activation a little different from others, Walno said.

"It's real busy up there with all the LAX traffic," he noted, "but our traffic alert and collision avoidance system keeps us away from other aircraft."

That system communicates with traffic alert and collision avoidance systems on other aircraft, and it's required on jets carrying more than 30 passengers. Pilots flying aircraft that get too close to one another are warned by the system to steer the aircraft away from each other.

As the aircraft get close to their retardant drop location, they must change their communication channels so they can talk to the incident commander assigned to the fire, who coordinates all the ground and air assets to provide the most effective fire fighting possible.

"Logistically, there are a lot of pieces that fit together," Walno said. "It's amazing."

(From a U.S. Northern Command news release.)

San Francisco Police Officers

Editor's Note: One of the authors ia a former servicemember.

October 26, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists nearly 800 state and local police officers who have written books. The Website added three San Francisco Police Department police officers.

Sergeant Peter Thoshinsky graduated from San Jose State University in 1982 with a degree in Criminal Justice. In June of 1982, he joined the San Francisco Police Department. He was promoted to sergeant in 1990. He worked the Poterero, Central, Southern and Ingleside Stations as well as the Narcotics Bureau. A 20 year veteran of law enforcement he also served as a member and supervisor on the San Francisco Police Department’s SWAT team. A photograph for almost 30 years, he is the author of Blue in Black & White, a collection of photographs relating to law enforcement.

Inspector Mark Hawthorne is a 28 year veteran of the San Francisco Police Department. He has been assigned patrol, field operations and investigations. His current assignment is Crime Scene Investigations. As a POST instructor he specializes in Instructor Development, Preliminary Investigations and Crime Scenes. As a an adjunct faculty member of the City College of San Francisco Administration of Justice and Fire Science Department he acts as an advisor to the Forensic Science Club. Inspector Mark Hawthorne is the author of First Unit Responder: A Guide for Physical Evidence Collection for Patrol Officers and Fingerprints: Analysis and Understanding.

According to the book description of First Unit Responder: A Guide for Physical Evidence Collection for Patrol Officers, “Physical evidence cannot be wrong; it cannot perjure itself; it cannot be wholly absent. Only its interpretation can err. Only human failure to find it, study and understand it, can diminish its value." -Presiding Judge, Harris v U.S., 331 U.S. 145 (1947) HOW TO MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF THE CRIME SCENE WHILE CONDUCTING AN INVESTIGATION. First Unit Responder: A Guide to Physical Evidence Collection for Patrol Officers is a training guide and reference for patrol officers and criminal investigators, who conduct preliminary investigations of crime scene, to aid in identification, collection, and booking of physical evidence. Written by a veteran of 24 years of law enforcement, the book stresses the importance of understanding the critical nature of physical evidence and preservation of the crime scene as part of the case against a criminal defendant. This book is an important tool for police academies that train recruits and veteran patrol officers, as well as for students of criminal justice who seek guidelines for proper collection and handling of physical evidence”

According to Corporal Andreas K. Mendel, NCO in Charge, Forensic Identification Section, West Vancouver Police, in Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal, “Mark Hawthorne's easy writing style and use of personal anecdotes make this book a relaxed read. First Unit Responder is a good resource for recruit training or criminal justice/criminology students, or as review material for seasoned investigators.”

Prentice E. Sanders was the Chief of Police of the San Francisco Police Department for fourteen months in 2002 and 2003. He was born in Texas and moved to San Francisco's Laurel Heights at the age of fourteen. After serving in the Army, he then received Bachelor's and Masters Degrees from Golden Gate University. Prentice Earl Sanders joined the San Francisco Police Department in 1964, becoming the San Francisco Police Department's first African American chief of police. In 2006, Prentice Earl Sanders and co- authored The Zebra Murders: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights.

According to Publisher’s Weekly, The Zebra Murders: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights is a “look at a largely forgotten reign of terror in San Francisco in 1973 and 1974 is an interesting if superficial true police procedural. Sanders, the SFPD's first African-American chief of police, was one of the lead detectives on the case code-named the Zebra Murders, involving a group of African-American men who, apparently racially motivated, were targeting whites in vicious random acts of violence that claimed 15 lives. The book reads less like an objective assessment of these events than a memoir of Sanders's experiences with the investigation and his role in a civil lawsuit against the SFPD to combat rampant racial discrimination. Oddly, about halfway in, the authors break the linear narrative with information derived only at the case's end, rather than lay out the police work and discoveries as they happened. The efforts to compare the police tactics with post-9/11 targeting of Muslims will strike most readers as labored despite Sanders's insistence that the killings were acts of political terror, not mere serial killings. Nonetheless, this serves as a useful introduction to the case.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 786 police officers (representing 352 police departments) and their 1674 law enforcement books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Mullen Pledges Best Effort 'To Prevent Forces From Breaking'

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 26, 2007 - U.S. ground forces are not broken, but they are capable of breaking, the military's highest-ranking officer said last night, while vowing to make relieving strains on troops a top priority. In his first public speech as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen said he aims to "reset, reconstitute, and revitalize our forces," by overseeing a reduction of deployment length, an increase in the overall force size and improvements to incentives the military offers potential recruits.

"Are the ground forces broken? Absolutely not," Mullen told the audience at the Center for a New American Security here. "Are they breakable? They are. And I will do everything I can to prevent them from breaking."

Now approaching the sixth year of war, the Army and Marine Corps have been stretched, Mullen said. The Army is on a 15 month-deployment, 12 months-home rotation cycle, and the Marines are on a seven month-deployment, seven months-home cycle.

"Many of them have done two, three, and four deployments," he added, "and that's tough."

The chairman praised Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for his decision in January to limit deployments to 15 months in theater with 12 months home. He added that Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Army chief of staff, said he needs to move soldiers toward 12 month deployments and 15 months of "dwell time" as rapidly as possible.

Operational requirements are driving the need for such lengthy deployments, Mullen said. "We are still very much in the mission-accomplishment mode," he said. "We have a mission to accomplish, and we have to take all of this into consideration in balancing the risks that are associated with the mission as well as with the force."

Mullen spent two days this week meeting with soldiers at Fort Riley, Kan.; Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; and Fort Sill, Okla. "A common theme during my visits was that the Army was stretched," he said. "Our troops' desires to take care of their families was also prominent in the questions they raised routinely."

During recent trips to Iraq and Afghanistan, Mullen said, he was struck by the high morale of soldiers on the ground. "(Morale) is good, but they are tired, and in particular, one of the groups I spoke with had been there 14 months," he recalled. "They were ready to come home, and their families were ready to have them come home."

Mullen said that while troops and their families make sacrifices to support the pace of operations, their resilience has limits.

To alleviate troop strains, Mullen said, the Army will increase in size by more than 60,000 soldiers, and the Marine Corps by nearly 30,000 Marines. Such additions will allow the U.S. military to "preserve our ability to respond to other crises and contingencies around the world well into the future," he added.

"I know the increase in end strength won't relieve the pressure on our ground forces right away, but over time, it will certainly help," he said. "And in this era of persistent engagement and conflict, I don't see our global responsibilities diminishing any time soon."

During a recent meeting with some 30 Army majors at Fort Leavenworth, one officer asked Mullen how the U.S. military would compete against employers in the private sector or elsewhere.

"I gave an answer about how important it was, one, for the leadership to recognize we are in a competition," he said. "And we do need to incentivize this."

Mullen acknowledged that the current landscape for recruiting is harsh. Nevertheless, he said, the all-volunteer force is exceptionally capable.

"I know we are recruiting at a time that is a very, very tough time to recruit. The propensity to serve is going down," he said. "The influencers -- parents and coaches and teachers -- are not as inclined to recommend the military, and yet, when I go out and see them, they are the best military, the most professional, capable group of young people that I have ever served with in almost 40 years.

"What we have over anybody else is a noble calling where you, when you join, make a difference not just for yourself, but for those around you and for people throughout the world," he added.

Defense Personnel Continue Assault on California Blazes

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 26, 2007 - Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard C-130s fitted with modular air firefighting systems hit the California wildfires hard yesterday, flying 18 sorties, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said today. The six aircraft took advantage of dying Santa Ana winds to drop fire retardant and allow California firefighters to make progress against the widespread blazes that destroyed or damaged thousands of homes and forced hundreds of thousands of Californians to evacuate their homes.

The aviation assault on the fires was only one part of the total Defense Department effort in aid of California firefighters.

There are now 13 active fires in southern California, U.S. Northern Command officials said. NORTHCOM is the Defense Department's lead agency in the effort.

More than 461,000 acres have burned so far. At the Marines' Camp Pendleton, more than 17,000 acres have burned, but officials say the fire is now 40 to 50 percent contained, Whitman said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked the Defense Logistics Agency to deliver more than 42,000 field-ration meals from the depot in San Joaquin, Calif.

"On the personnel side, we have 287 active duty, 84 Defense civilians and 2,562 National Guardsmen fighting the fires," Whitman said. This leaves 17,000 California Guardsmen still available for duty if needed.

"We still have a Marine force of approximately 520 (Marines) and 18 helicopters available if needed," Whitman said. A total of 35 helicopters and 14 fixed-wing aircraft are committed to the firefighting operations.

The Air Force is providing imagery for firefighters. Yesterday, a U-2 reconnaissance plane and a Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle flew over the affected portions of the state and sent imagery to the ground.

"The aircraft have live-feed capability, and (the imagery) is being centralized for dissemination," Whitman said. Officials at NORTHCOM, the National Guard Bureau, the Joint Field Office, the state Emergency Operations Center and the Joint Task Force in California can directly download the information.

The imagery gives state authorities "situational awareness so they can prioritize where they send their firefighting assets," Whitman said.

The U-2 and Global Hawk will fly more missions today and will be joined by a Navy P-3C Orion. Eighteen Defense Department fire engines and 84 personnel are involved in battling the blazes, NORTHCOM officials said.

San Diego officials announced that most evacuees may go home today and that Qualcomm Stadium will close as an evacuation center. The stadium has been home to more than 12,000 fire refugees for the past few days. More than 2,600 Defense Department evacuees are taking shelter at five Navy bases: San Diego, Coronado, Point Lomo, North Island and El Centro.

Some military assets that California had requested, including a mobile aeromedical staging activity, are not needed, and can stand down, officials said. But other military groups continue to flow into California. This includes the Joint Task Force Civil Support Joint Planning Augmentation Cell, which will deploy to the headquarters in Sacramento.

The California National Guard is preparing to provide relief for law enforcement, linguistics support, shelter administration, and redistribution of commodities and personnel, officials said.

Chairman Identifies 'Tough Questions' Facing U.S.

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 26, 2007 - In his first public speech as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen last night identified pressing questions the United States faces as it attempts to counter emerging threats while maintaining a position of leadership. Speaking to an audience at the Center for a New American Security here, Mullen said the United States today is confronted by threats from transnational terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The country also must preserve the "freedom of action" to contend with regional instability, deter aggressive action by potentially hostile state actors, help manage the growing competition for natural resources, and mitigate the effects of natural disasters and pandemics, he said.

The nation will need to maintain a posture that takes advantage of all the opportunities for international cooperation and progress the globalized world has to offer, he added.

"So tonight, I invite you to consider some tough questions and help your military help me rigorously analyze the major strategic challenges we face as we develop a dynamic military strategy of cooperation for the 21st century," Mullen said. The questions the chairman posed are:

-- How can a violent extremist movement that increasingly targets the integrated nature of the largely globalized world be effectively eliminated in both the short and the long term?

-- How can the development of weapons of mass destruction by or the transfer of associated technologies to aggressive regimes and radical extremists like al Qaeda be prevented?

-- How can regional instability stemming from accelerating global integration, intense nationalist and religious movements, and the spread of technology throughout the world be mitigated and localized?

-- How can the United States military remain sufficiently capable to deter aggressive actions by nations like Iran, North Korea, and others who seek to expand their military capability?

-- How can countries like China and Russia be effectively engaged to ensure that their growing regional influence translates to cooperative participation in the global economic system?

-- How will global industrialization, world population expansion, and migration affect the consumption rates, the distribution, and the long term availability of vital resources such as water and energy?

-- How will competition for those resources affect global stability, and what role will the military play in managing these risks?

-- How can the local, regional, and potentially global effects of another tsunami like the one that hit in the Indian Ocean Basin almost three years ago or another earthquake like the one that devastated parts of Pakistan in 2005 or another Hurricane Katrina or even the California wildfires that dominate the news today be mitigated?

-- What impact will a massive natural disaster or a global pandemic have throughout the world, and how can militaries work together to alleviate the shock to the global system?

-- How can we do all that is required of us and still remain good stewards of our nation's resources?

Mullen described such queries as "tough questions with no easy answers." He encouraged Americans to consider the questions and use them to stimulate debate.

"I am eager to engage your diverse intellectual resources and thoughtful debate," he said, "and welcome your contributions in identifying potential answers to these and other critical questions."