By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – NASCAR Nextel Cup points leader Jeff Gordon today unveiled a new design for his No. 24 Dupont-sponsored car sporting a Department of Defense color scheme and the America Supports You logo emblazoned on its hood. America Supports You is a Defense Department program that showcases America's support for the men and women of the armed forces and their families.
"May is 'Military Appreciation Month,' and there is no better place to honor our military than at the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day, particularly when Jeff Gordon takes to the track in his new blue America Supports You car," said Roxie Merritt, chief of Integrated Communications for the Department of Defense.
Merritt was the America Supports You representative at the unveiling ceremony. "We truly appreciate Jeff's commitment to our troops and their families and NASCAR for amplifying the message to our servicemembers that Americans stand behind them," she said.
The design is showcased as part of the American Heroes Memorial Day salute to the Armed Forces on May 27 at Lowe's Motor Speedway here. Gordon and sponsor DuPont created the commemorative paint scheme for the salute.
Eight Nextel Cup drivers and two Busch drivers are sporting new looks with military themes during the Coca Cola 600 to help kick off a nationwide effort to raise funds for military families in need. The NASCAR team owners, sponsors, drivers and employees donated the space on their cars.
Participating drivers include Greg Biffle, Ward Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Shane Huffman, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Casey Mears and Jon Wood.
The number of drivers and sponsors willing to participate surprised Gordon, who headed the initiative. Advertising alone on the hoods of some of the cars can bring up to $1 million per race, said Larry Deas, manager of Dupont Motor Sports.
"These men and women fight with their lives on the line for our peace and our freedom. When you think about that, there's not enough that you can do," Gordon said. "It's a no-brainer."
Deas said his group jumped at the opportunity.
"I appreciate all (servicemembers) do," he said. "I hope this is just a little bit of a message from Dupont to say how much we appreciate what (the troops) do as a corporation. The fact that we supply a lot of products for them that help make them safer and more likely to come back home to their loved ones is something that I'm very proud of."
Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, Army National Guard chief, represented the Defense Department at the ceremony. He said the morale boost from the cars' new paint jobs will be felt around the globe in the 177 countries where U.S. troops are serving.
"It sends an enormous message of the commitment of NASCAR and the genuine care that they have for our American servicemembers," Vaughn said. "It has an impact on morale to know that there is a significant amount of the population that is strongly behind everything that (the troops are) doing and what they stand for."
Marshall Carlson, Hendrick Motor Sports general manager said he has seen servicemembers over the years show their support to NASCAR, and his company appreciates the opportunity to express its gratitude for their service. His team runs the No. 25 National Guard car with driver Casey Meers.
"When this opportunity came up, every one of our folks jumped all over it," he said. "We recognize the sacrifice and the hard work that all of the servicemembers give to the rest of us without any expectation of thanks. When you have the opportunity to express that gratitude to them, it's an opportunity you don't want to pass up."
Gordon's Chevrolet features Defense Department colors of medium and dark blue, gold and red. "America Supports You" tops the circular logo against a dark blue background, with "Department of Defense" lettered along the bottom. Within the circle, against a medium-blue background, is the America Supports You program logo with its red heart and reversed white stars and stripes supported by a dark blue ribbon with a reversed white dog tag. The dog tag with the America Supports You logo is the official emblem of the program.
The American Heroes Memorial Day Tribute is being supported by Nextel, which will conduct a national fundraising campaign encouraging its customers support the troops with donations to the United Service Organizations.
The American Heroes program hopes to raise more than $1 million for American military families in need through the effort.
"The USO is proud to be the beneficiary of the American Heroes campaign," said Edward A. Powee, USO president and chief executive officer, in a release to the media. "We thank Speedway Motorsports, Nextel, the NASCAR community and its fans for their support of our men and women in uniform and the USO."
Four organizations are promoting the American Heroes Memorial Day Tribute and fundraising efforts: the USO, America Supports You, Speedway Children's Charities, and the Special Operations Hero Fund.
The Speedway Children's Charities was founded in 1982 and provides medical, educational and social services to underprivileged children. In 2006, they awarded more than $2.8 million to more than 470 organizations, according to a news release. The Special Operations Hero Fund provides scholarships and educational grants to children of special operations personnel killed in training or combat.
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., or NASCAR, began in 1948. It is the top U.S. spectator sport holding 17 of the top 20 attended sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2 rated regular season sport on network television with broadcasts in 150 countries and has 75 million fans. More Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport, according to the NASCAR web site. Gordon is a four-time series champion.
NASCAR has been a corporate team member of America Supports You since July 2005.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Navy Helicopter Crashes in Nevada
American Forces Press Service
AUSTIN, Nev., May 8, 2007 – All five crew members of a Navy SH-60F Seahawk helicopter died yesterday in a crash about 10 miles west of here. Officials are investigating the cause of the accident. Press reports indicate the helicopter may have hit power lines in the area.
Military aircraft initially located the crash site at 9:40 p.m. local time, 15 minutes after the helicopter crashed. A Navy UH-1N Huey search-and-rescue helicopter dispatched from Naval Air Station Fallon arrived at the scene at about 10:15 p.m.
The helicopter, assigned to Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 7 based in Jacksonville, Fla., was conducting a routine training mission from NAS Fallon. The squadron, part of Carrier Air Wing 3, which deploys on USS Harry S. Truman, began a month-long training detachment at NAS Fallon on April 30.
The names of the aircrew are being withheld pending notification of their next of kin.
(From Naval Air Station Fallon Public Affairs.)
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
AUSTIN, Nev., May 8, 2007 – All five crew members of a Navy SH-60F Seahawk helicopter died yesterday in a crash about 10 miles west of here. Officials are investigating the cause of the accident. Press reports indicate the helicopter may have hit power lines in the area.
Military aircraft initially located the crash site at 9:40 p.m. local time, 15 minutes after the helicopter crashed. A Navy UH-1N Huey search-and-rescue helicopter dispatched from Naval Air Station Fallon arrived at the scene at about 10:15 p.m.
The helicopter, assigned to Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 7 based in Jacksonville, Fla., was conducting a routine training mission from NAS Fallon. The squadron, part of Carrier Air Wing 3, which deploys on USS Harry S. Truman, began a month-long training detachment at NAS Fallon on April 30.
The names of the aircrew are being withheld pending notification of their next of kin.
(From Naval Air Station Fallon Public Affairs.)
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Former Marine Helps Heroes Get Hired
by Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – A national program is working to help make it easier for veterans to find meaningful jobs. "Hire A Hero," a program of the nonprofit California-based Armed Forces Support Foundation, can help take the frustration out of that process, Dan Caulfield, the program's executive director, said.
The program originated as a job program for National Guard members and their families. It was piloted in Georgia and Florida as a way for the National Guard to help recruit and retain members. Today, the Hire A Hero program has expanded across all branches and helps transitioning active military personnel, Guardsmen and reservists find jobs across all industries.
Unemployment among young military veterans can be up to three times as high as their civilian counterparts, he added.
"Even worse, the thing that's harder to prove is the underemployment of military veterans," he said.
There is no reason for this when the economy is dying for this type of quality work force, he added.
"They way we see it is, here are the people we've invested the most in to protect the American dream and they're not getting their fair share of the American dream," Caulfield said.
That's why the Hire A Hero program has stepped up to help veterans, like Michael Sinicrope, grab their piece of the pie.
Sinicrope, a former Marine, transitioned back into civilian life on Oct. 1 after serving his country for four years. During his service he worked as a parachute rigger and air delivery specialist.
"A few months after I transitioned out, my wife called me from work and told me about a program called Hire A Hero," he said in a letter to the organization. "In just 10 minutes I found a job that interested me, and I applied for it."
The employer, the Estancia La Jolla Resort and Spa in California, hired Sinicrope as a security agent soon after the interview.
"I believe my work ethic and everything about being a Marine has incorporated into my new job," he said. "My discipline and integrity gained while serving has also proven to be invaluable traits for what I do now."
Sinicrope said he'd recommend Hire A Hero to his fellow servicemembers preparing to re-enter civilian life. "The jobs are tailored to us, and the employers that use Hire A Hero are looking for people with military experience," he said.
The California National Guard also sees value in the program. On May 4, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Hire A Hero.
"It is important to us that our Guard members are provided with quality civilian employment opportunities," Army Maj. Gen. William H. Wade II, adjutant general of the California National Guard, said in a press release. "We have partnered with Hire A Hero to make sure that our members and their families are taken care of."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – A national program is working to help make it easier for veterans to find meaningful jobs. "Hire A Hero," a program of the nonprofit California-based Armed Forces Support Foundation, can help take the frustration out of that process, Dan Caulfield, the program's executive director, said.
The program originated as a job program for National Guard members and their families. It was piloted in Georgia and Florida as a way for the National Guard to help recruit and retain members. Today, the Hire A Hero program has expanded across all branches and helps transitioning active military personnel, Guardsmen and reservists find jobs across all industries.
Unemployment among young military veterans can be up to three times as high as their civilian counterparts, he added.
"Even worse, the thing that's harder to prove is the underemployment of military veterans," he said.
There is no reason for this when the economy is dying for this type of quality work force, he added.
"They way we see it is, here are the people we've invested the most in to protect the American dream and they're not getting their fair share of the American dream," Caulfield said.
That's why the Hire A Hero program has stepped up to help veterans, like Michael Sinicrope, grab their piece of the pie.
Sinicrope, a former Marine, transitioned back into civilian life on Oct. 1 after serving his country for four years. During his service he worked as a parachute rigger and air delivery specialist.
"A few months after I transitioned out, my wife called me from work and told me about a program called Hire A Hero," he said in a letter to the organization. "In just 10 minutes I found a job that interested me, and I applied for it."
The employer, the Estancia La Jolla Resort and Spa in California, hired Sinicrope as a security agent soon after the interview.
"I believe my work ethic and everything about being a Marine has incorporated into my new job," he said. "My discipline and integrity gained while serving has also proven to be invaluable traits for what I do now."
Sinicrope said he'd recommend Hire A Hero to his fellow servicemembers preparing to re-enter civilian life. "The jobs are tailored to us, and the employers that use Hire A Hero are looking for people with military experience," he said.
The California National Guard also sees value in the program. On May 4, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Hire A Hero.
"It is important to us that our Guard members are provided with quality civilian employment opportunities," Army Maj. Gen. William H. Wade II, adjutant general of the California National Guard, said in a press release. "We have partnered with Hire A Hero to make sure that our members and their families are taken care of."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
National Guard Has Manpower, Assets Needed for Kansas Relief Effort
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – National Guard troops responding to a tornado that devastated Greensburg, Kan., have the manpower and resources they need and can tap into additional support if they need it, defense officials said today. "If the National Guard has it, Kansas will receive it," said Army Lt. Gen. H Stephen Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
Some 566 members of the Kansas National Guard -- 366 Army Guard, 200 Air Guard -- are on duty, conducting search-and-rescue missions, clearing debris, helping generate power, supporting law enforcement officials, and providing other support, National Guard Bureau officials reported.
The Kansas National Guard has 88 percent of its forces available and is working quickly and aggressively to save lives and reduce suffering, Guard Bureau officials reported. More than 6,800 additional Kansas Guard troops can be tapped, if needed, as well as more than 80,000 Guardsmen from surrounding states, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today.
Kansas Guardsmen responding to the disaster have 60 percent of their Army Guard dual-use equipment and more than 85 percent of their Air Guard equipment on hand, officials said.
Whitman reported a full range of Guard equipment on hand to support the mission. The Kansas Guard has 352 Humvees, 94 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks, 24 medium and light tactical vehicles, 152 2.5-ton cargo trucks, 76 series 5-ton trucks, 13 M916 tractors, 870 trailers, 52 Heavy Equipment Transport Systems, and 30 Palletized Load System Trucks.
In terms of engineering assets, the Kansas Guard has all -- and in some cases more than, -- its authorized vehicles. This includes five road graders, 15 bulldozers, eight scoop loaders and 72 dump trucks, he said.
Whitman said he was unable to report which of these assets is undergoing maintenance and might not be immediately available to provide tornado relief.
Meanwhile, the National Guard Bureau is coordinating requests for additional support through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. This national partnership agreement paves the way for states to share resources during governor- or federally declared emergencies.
"The states are poised to help one another when their own resources are overwhelmed," said Air Force Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
Initial out-of-state assets to be committed to the mission include six UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for search-and-rescue operations; power generation assets to be fielded to Macksville, in Stafford County; and a deployable communications package with voice, data, video and radio interoperability.
"Saving lives and protecting property is what the American people expect the National Guard to do, and that's exactly what we are seeing take place in the wake of the Kansas tornado disaster," Krenke said.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius mobilized the troops after a tornado rated at F-5, the highest rating given by the National Weather Service, ripped through the state May 5.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – National Guard troops responding to a tornado that devastated Greensburg, Kan., have the manpower and resources they need and can tap into additional support if they need it, defense officials said today. "If the National Guard has it, Kansas will receive it," said Army Lt. Gen. H Stephen Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
Some 566 members of the Kansas National Guard -- 366 Army Guard, 200 Air Guard -- are on duty, conducting search-and-rescue missions, clearing debris, helping generate power, supporting law enforcement officials, and providing other support, National Guard Bureau officials reported.
The Kansas National Guard has 88 percent of its forces available and is working quickly and aggressively to save lives and reduce suffering, Guard Bureau officials reported. More than 6,800 additional Kansas Guard troops can be tapped, if needed, as well as more than 80,000 Guardsmen from surrounding states, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today.
Kansas Guardsmen responding to the disaster have 60 percent of their Army Guard dual-use equipment and more than 85 percent of their Air Guard equipment on hand, officials said.
Whitman reported a full range of Guard equipment on hand to support the mission. The Kansas Guard has 352 Humvees, 94 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks, 24 medium and light tactical vehicles, 152 2.5-ton cargo trucks, 76 series 5-ton trucks, 13 M916 tractors, 870 trailers, 52 Heavy Equipment Transport Systems, and 30 Palletized Load System Trucks.
In terms of engineering assets, the Kansas Guard has all -- and in some cases more than, -- its authorized vehicles. This includes five road graders, 15 bulldozers, eight scoop loaders and 72 dump trucks, he said.
Whitman said he was unable to report which of these assets is undergoing maintenance and might not be immediately available to provide tornado relief.
Meanwhile, the National Guard Bureau is coordinating requests for additional support through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. This national partnership agreement paves the way for states to share resources during governor- or federally declared emergencies.
"The states are poised to help one another when their own resources are overwhelmed," said Air Force Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
Initial out-of-state assets to be committed to the mission include six UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for search-and-rescue operations; power generation assets to be fielded to Macksville, in Stafford County; and a deployable communications package with voice, data, video and radio interoperability.
"Saving lives and protecting property is what the American people expect the National Guard to do, and that's exactly what we are seeing take place in the wake of the Kansas tornado disaster," Krenke said.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius mobilized the troops after a tornado rated at F-5, the highest rating given by the National Weather Service, ripped through the state May 5.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Defense Department Announces Next Iraq Troop Rotation
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – Defense Department officials today announced the next 10 Army brigade combat teams to deploy to Iraq to replace units currently operating there. The announcement affects about 35,000 active-duty troops, who all will deploy between August and the year's end to serve as replacement forces for those returning home, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.
The units will deploy for up to 15 months.
Whitman emphasized that the announcement is unrelated to the troop surge under way to increase security in and around Baghdad.
"Let me be real clear about this," he said. "This deployment ... is not a decision with respect to the surge. It is simply identifying the next 10 units that will receive deployment orders and to provide the kind of predictability" they need to prepare.
Any decision regarding the surge will be based "entirely upon the conditions on the ground," Whitman said.
Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, is expected to assess those conditions later this year and make recommendations regarding the surge to the commander of U.S. Central Command, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defense secretary and president, Whitman said.
Major Army units receiving deployment orders include:
-- 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas;
-- 1st, 2nd and 3rd Brigades, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.;
-- 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.;
-- 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood;
-- 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.;
-- 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii;
-- 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Stryker), Vilseck, Germany; and
-- 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – Defense Department officials today announced the next 10 Army brigade combat teams to deploy to Iraq to replace units currently operating there. The announcement affects about 35,000 active-duty troops, who all will deploy between August and the year's end to serve as replacement forces for those returning home, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.
The units will deploy for up to 15 months.
Whitman emphasized that the announcement is unrelated to the troop surge under way to increase security in and around Baghdad.
"Let me be real clear about this," he said. "This deployment ... is not a decision with respect to the surge. It is simply identifying the next 10 units that will receive deployment orders and to provide the kind of predictability" they need to prepare.
Any decision regarding the surge will be based "entirely upon the conditions on the ground," Whitman said.
Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, is expected to assess those conditions later this year and make recommendations regarding the surge to the commander of U.S. Central Command, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defense secretary and president, Whitman said.
Major Army units receiving deployment orders include:
-- 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas;
-- 1st, 2nd and 3rd Brigades, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.;
-- 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.;
-- 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood;
-- 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.;
-- 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii;
-- 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Stryker), Vilseck, Germany; and
-- 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
True Crime and True Law Enforcement History
Note: One of the writers is a former Marine.
May 8, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Police-Writers.com added three police officer authors who have added to our understanding of law enforcement history through their work on true crime and histories of their agencies.
Riverside Police Department detective Christine Keers is the Co-author of The Riverside Killer. According to a book synopsis, “Between 1986 and 1992, Riverside County, California became the scene of a series of savage sex murders that shocked the nation. Nineteen prostitutes were raped and sexually mutilated by a killer who left his grisly trademark on each victim. For almost 6 years he terrorized the city, leaving a trail of false leads, few clues and even fewer suspects.”
According to David Lockeretz, “For someone who lives in southern California (particularly the Riverside area, where the crimes took place) this is an interesting and frightening book to read, and even people who have never heard of Suff before will likely feel revolt at the heinousness of his crimes. No matter how one judges the prostitutes he murdered, it is hard not to recoil at the mention of a light bulb stuffed deep inside one of the naked bodies post mortem and of other sadistic details.”
Matthew J. Lyons, a corporal on the Oceanside Police Department (California) and former Marine is the author of Oceanside Police Department. According to the book description, “The Oceanside Police Department has provided a century of service to a community that has grown from a small seaside resort—doubling as a bedroom community for the U.S. Marine Corps’s nearby Camp Pendleton—into a city of more than 170,000 people. City marshals patrolled Oceanside from 1888 to 1906, and it is indicative of the city’s formative years that the first lawman, former Texas Ranger Charlie Wilson, was also the first to be killed in the line of duty.
The photographs in this remarkable collection inventory the department’s past, covering the administrations of city marshal J. Keno Wilson (Charlie Wilson’s brother), Chiefs Charles Goss, Ward Ratcliff, and others. Showcased are images from the archives of the Oceanside Police Department and the collection of Delores Davis Sloan, the daughter of former captain Harold B. Davis, Oceanside’s top cop of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.”
Matthew J. Lyons has donated the royalties from his book to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund.
Author and historian M. David DeSoucy is a retired veteran of 25 years of service in the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. He is the author of San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, a history of that department. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the county of San Bernardino. San Bernardino County (California) is geographically the largest in the nation, encompassing 20,186 square miles. In 1853, the County’s first sheriff, Robert Cliff, established Central Station which current serves unincorporated areas of the City of San Bernardino as well as nearby contract cities.
According to the book description, “The largest county in the continental United States has seen its share of colorful pursuits of suspects and fugitives, including the search for the last Native American in the United States to be tracked to his tragic end by a lawman's posse: "Willie Boy" at Ruby Mountain. San Bernardino County also was the setting for the shoot-outs at Baldy Mesa and Lytle Creek. Yet gunplay lore is only one aspect of the epic of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Today the department deploys nearly 5,000 salaried and volunteer employees to protect and serve its 20,186 square miles of deserts, mountains, forests, and increasingly urban areas. This original cow-county sheriff's office went through many developments that are detailed in these vintage photographs sheriffs' administrations, equipment, investigations, and other exploits all culled from the department's archives, private collections, the California Room of the San Bernardino Public Library, and the San Bernardino Pioneer Historical Society.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 528 police officers (representing 218 police departments) and their 1122 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.
May 8, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Police-Writers.com added three police officer authors who have added to our understanding of law enforcement history through their work on true crime and histories of their agencies.
Riverside Police Department detective Christine Keers is the Co-author of The Riverside Killer. According to a book synopsis, “Between 1986 and 1992, Riverside County, California became the scene of a series of savage sex murders that shocked the nation. Nineteen prostitutes were raped and sexually mutilated by a killer who left his grisly trademark on each victim. For almost 6 years he terrorized the city, leaving a trail of false leads, few clues and even fewer suspects.”
According to David Lockeretz, “For someone who lives in southern California (particularly the Riverside area, where the crimes took place) this is an interesting and frightening book to read, and even people who have never heard of Suff before will likely feel revolt at the heinousness of his crimes. No matter how one judges the prostitutes he murdered, it is hard not to recoil at the mention of a light bulb stuffed deep inside one of the naked bodies post mortem and of other sadistic details.”
Matthew J. Lyons, a corporal on the Oceanside Police Department (California) and former Marine is the author of Oceanside Police Department. According to the book description, “The Oceanside Police Department has provided a century of service to a community that has grown from a small seaside resort—doubling as a bedroom community for the U.S. Marine Corps’s nearby Camp Pendleton—into a city of more than 170,000 people. City marshals patrolled Oceanside from 1888 to 1906, and it is indicative of the city’s formative years that the first lawman, former Texas Ranger Charlie Wilson, was also the first to be killed in the line of duty.
The photographs in this remarkable collection inventory the department’s past, covering the administrations of city marshal J. Keno Wilson (Charlie Wilson’s brother), Chiefs Charles Goss, Ward Ratcliff, and others. Showcased are images from the archives of the Oceanside Police Department and the collection of Delores Davis Sloan, the daughter of former captain Harold B. Davis, Oceanside’s top cop of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.”
Matthew J. Lyons has donated the royalties from his book to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund.
Author and historian M. David DeSoucy is a retired veteran of 25 years of service in the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. He is the author of San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, a history of that department. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the county of San Bernardino. San Bernardino County (California) is geographically the largest in the nation, encompassing 20,186 square miles. In 1853, the County’s first sheriff, Robert Cliff, established Central Station which current serves unincorporated areas of the City of San Bernardino as well as nearby contract cities.
According to the book description, “The largest county in the continental United States has seen its share of colorful pursuits of suspects and fugitives, including the search for the last Native American in the United States to be tracked to his tragic end by a lawman's posse: "Willie Boy" at Ruby Mountain. San Bernardino County also was the setting for the shoot-outs at Baldy Mesa and Lytle Creek. Yet gunplay lore is only one aspect of the epic of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Today the department deploys nearly 5,000 salaried and volunteer employees to protect and serve its 20,186 square miles of deserts, mountains, forests, and increasingly urban areas. This original cow-county sheriff's office went through many developments that are detailed in these vintage photographs sheriffs' administrations, equipment, investigations, and other exploits all culled from the department's archives, private collections, the California Room of the San Bernardino Public Library, and the San Bernardino Pioneer Historical Society.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 528 police officers (representing 218 police departments) and their 1122 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.
Guard, Reserve Employer-Support Agency Gains New Chief
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
May 7, 2007 – Maintaining good communications with civilian employers of National Guardsmen and reservists is a major component of mission success at the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, the agency's new chief said in an interview. Gordon Sumner Jr., a retired Army lieutenant colonel, was appointed as the committee's new executive director March 29.
It is critical, Sumner emphasized, that ESGR maintain open lines of communication with employers of Guard members and reservists, regardless of where they're located.
Created in 1972, the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is a Defense Department agency that provides information and education for employers of members of the reserve components. In addition, the agency can mediate potential disputes between employers and their employees in the Guard or reserves.
The national committee's more than 4,200 volunteers at 56 field committees across the United States and its territories serve as advocates for good relations between employers and their military employees, Sumner said during an interview with American Forces Press Service during a National Military Appreciation Month event at Opa Locka Airport here on May 3.
"Volunteers are absolutely the most important piece of this organization," Sumner said. "Our job is to get that information out through an outreach program that is robust, timely and strongly supported, as well as keeping lines of communication that go both ways."
ESGR has logged more than 282,000 hours of volunteer work since the start of the current fiscal year, Sumner said.
Increased communication and interface between ESGR's Arlington, Va., headquarters group, its field committees, and employers of Guardsmen and reservists is paying off, Sumner said, citing a decreasing caseload between ESGR ombudsmen and employers.
Sumner traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to attend a May 3 awards ceremony and symposium with local employers. Seven southern Florida employers received Above and Beyond awards, one of a series of honors the committee bestows to employers providing programs and policies that exceed the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. USERRA specifies re-employment protection and other benefits for veterans and employees returning from military duty.
The seven awardees also signed ESGR 5-Star Statements of Support as symbols of their rededicated support of employees in the Guardsmen or reservists.
"The ombudsman cases are declining rapidly as we grow the Statement of Support (program)," Sumner pointed out. Today, he said, there are only 130 ombudsman-support cases across the country, compared to thousands experienced in past years.
As the war against global terrorism continues, it's more important than ever "to ensure employers are supporting" their employees in the National Guard or reserves, Sumner said.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 7, 2007 – Maintaining good communications with civilian employers of National Guardsmen and reservists is a major component of mission success at the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, the agency's new chief said in an interview. Gordon Sumner Jr., a retired Army lieutenant colonel, was appointed as the committee's new executive director March 29.
It is critical, Sumner emphasized, that ESGR maintain open lines of communication with employers of Guard members and reservists, regardless of where they're located.
Created in 1972, the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is a Defense Department agency that provides information and education for employers of members of the reserve components. In addition, the agency can mediate potential disputes between employers and their employees in the Guard or reserves.
The national committee's more than 4,200 volunteers at 56 field committees across the United States and its territories serve as advocates for good relations between employers and their military employees, Sumner said during an interview with American Forces Press Service during a National Military Appreciation Month event at Opa Locka Airport here on May 3.
"Volunteers are absolutely the most important piece of this organization," Sumner said. "Our job is to get that information out through an outreach program that is robust, timely and strongly supported, as well as keeping lines of communication that go both ways."
ESGR has logged more than 282,000 hours of volunteer work since the start of the current fiscal year, Sumner said.
Increased communication and interface between ESGR's Arlington, Va., headquarters group, its field committees, and employers of Guardsmen and reservists is paying off, Sumner said, citing a decreasing caseload between ESGR ombudsmen and employers.
Sumner traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to attend a May 3 awards ceremony and symposium with local employers. Seven southern Florida employers received Above and Beyond awards, one of a series of honors the committee bestows to employers providing programs and policies that exceed the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. USERRA specifies re-employment protection and other benefits for veterans and employees returning from military duty.
The seven awardees also signed ESGR 5-Star Statements of Support as symbols of their rededicated support of employees in the Guardsmen or reservists.
"The ombudsman cases are declining rapidly as we grow the Statement of Support (program)," Sumner pointed out. Today, he said, there are only 130 ombudsman-support cases across the country, compared to thousands experienced in past years.
As the war against global terrorism continues, it's more important than ever "to ensure employers are supporting" their employees in the National Guard or reserves, Sumner said.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Group Helps Military Families in Crisis
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
May 7, 2007 – Operation Homefront takes its mission of caring for deployed servicemembers, the families they leave behind, and wounded troops very seriously. "Our primary focus is providing emergency assistance to military families and wounded warriors," Meredith Leyva, Operation Homefront's founder, said. "Most of military families live far from home and we aren't rich, so when a crisis comes up, it can send a family into a tailspin."
That tailspin at home can have ripple effects overseas. "It can distract a servicemember from the dangerous task at hand," she said.
Operation Homefront is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with members of the military and their families at home and abroad.
The group, which got its start after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, offers emergency funding to help cover rent, utilities and everyday expenses, with some exceptions. Goods and services, such as food, baby care items, and vehicle and appliance repair, also are offered.
In addition, Operation Homefront provides many programs that boost the morale and quality of life for wounded troops, deployed servicemembers and families on the home front, Leyva said. That includes providing assistance with moving, donating certain appliances, hosting community events, and donating computers and digital cameras to help keep families in touch with deployed servicemembers.
Most importantly, however, the group provides military families with a community. "CinCHouse.com," which Leyva started in 1999, is a supportive online community for military wives, families, girlfriends and women in uniform.
These efforts led the popular Internet community Yahoo to include CinCHouse.com as one of the 100 most important things to happen to the Internet in the last decade as part of Yahoo's 10th anniversary Netrospective in 2005.
Leyva said the group's America Supports You membership has helped the group better help military families.
"Very frankly, without America Supports You, we would not be able to generate all the donations needed to keep up with the demand for emergency assistance by military families," she said. "(It) has been invaluable in raising awareness, in partnering valued charities with individuals and businesses who want to support the troops."
One of those partnerships linked Operation Homefront and the Maid Brigade cleaning company, which, through Leyva's group, is providing emergency cleaning services to military families. A pregnant Army wife with a 3-year-old daughter recently used those services in Dallas. The woman's husband was a soldier recuperating from injuries caused by a bomb blast. He was being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, and the mom and daughter wanted to relocate to be nearer to him.
"She obviously couldn't move herself, so we helped take care of the moving, and Maid Brigade did the cleaning," Leyva said. "It's an incredibly invaluable service to a family that is already going through so much stress."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 7, 2007 – Operation Homefront takes its mission of caring for deployed servicemembers, the families they leave behind, and wounded troops very seriously. "Our primary focus is providing emergency assistance to military families and wounded warriors," Meredith Leyva, Operation Homefront's founder, said. "Most of military families live far from home and we aren't rich, so when a crisis comes up, it can send a family into a tailspin."
That tailspin at home can have ripple effects overseas. "It can distract a servicemember from the dangerous task at hand," she said.
Operation Homefront is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with members of the military and their families at home and abroad.
The group, which got its start after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, offers emergency funding to help cover rent, utilities and everyday expenses, with some exceptions. Goods and services, such as food, baby care items, and vehicle and appliance repair, also are offered.
In addition, Operation Homefront provides many programs that boost the morale and quality of life for wounded troops, deployed servicemembers and families on the home front, Leyva said. That includes providing assistance with moving, donating certain appliances, hosting community events, and donating computers and digital cameras to help keep families in touch with deployed servicemembers.
Most importantly, however, the group provides military families with a community. "CinCHouse.com," which Leyva started in 1999, is a supportive online community for military wives, families, girlfriends and women in uniform.
These efforts led the popular Internet community Yahoo to include CinCHouse.com as one of the 100 most important things to happen to the Internet in the last decade as part of Yahoo's 10th anniversary Netrospective in 2005.
Leyva said the group's America Supports You membership has helped the group better help military families.
"Very frankly, without America Supports You, we would not be able to generate all the donations needed to keep up with the demand for emergency assistance by military families," she said. "(It) has been invaluable in raising awareness, in partnering valued charities with individuals and businesses who want to support the troops."
One of those partnerships linked Operation Homefront and the Maid Brigade cleaning company, which, through Leyva's group, is providing emergency cleaning services to military families. A pregnant Army wife with a 3-year-old daughter recently used those services in Dallas. The woman's husband was a soldier recuperating from injuries caused by a bomb blast. He was being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, and the mom and daughter wanted to relocate to be nearer to him.
"She obviously couldn't move herself, so we helped take care of the moving, and Maid Brigade did the cleaning," Leyva said. "It's an incredibly invaluable service to a family that is already going through so much stress."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
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