Operation Story to Donate Storybook Packages to Freedom Alliance/Hannity Freedom Concerts

Raleigh, NC, August 1, 2007: Operation Story has announced the donation of five storybook packages to the Hannity Freedom Concerts to be held this summer in locations around the country. The recipient of each storybook package will receive an 8x8 hardbound storybook, filled with their own military story or the story of a loved one. An Operation Story representative will assist the winner in compiling the story and photographs, then the book will be delivered to the recipient's door.

Freedom Concerts have already been held in Atlanta, Georgia and San Diego, California. Remaining dates are August 9 in Cincinnati, Ohio; August 14 in Dallas, Texas; and September 11 in Jackson, New Jersey.

Operation Story accepts donations to provide free storybooks detailing the stories of active duty soldiers, wounded warriors, and those killed in the War on Terror. For more information, visit www.operationstory.org or contact Jennifer Knight at 919-557-5313. The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund honors the bravery and dedication of Americans in our armed forces who have sacrificed life or limb in the defense of our country by providing college scholarships to their children. For more information, visit www.freedomalliance.org.

Contact: Jennifer Knight
Operation Story
Phone 919 557 5313
Fax 919 552 7928 Post Office Box 174
Kipling, NC 27543

Operation Story Formed in Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, NC, August 1, 2007: A passion for preserving the stories of our troops is the foundation of Operation Story, an organization recently founded by two Raleigh-area moms and businesswomen, Jennifer Knight and Kellie Stobie. "Telling our Nation's Story, One Hero at a Time" is their motto.

"Each member of our military has a unique story of their experiences. They are all heroes, and we want their families to have their stories documented," Kellie Stobie explains. With the assistance of an internet-based publishing system, troops can create their own hardbound books, or Operation Story will assist them in writing their story. Within three weeks, the hardbound, archival quality, library bound book will arrive at the recipient's home.

Operation Story offers a military discount of 15 percent to all current and former military members, and offers a free book to active duty families, injured soldiers, or families of soldiers killed in the War on Terror.

Operation Story has a special interest in providing tribute books to the families of servicemen/women killed in the War on Terror and in working with wounded warriors in telling their story of recovery.

For more information, contact Kellie Stobie at 727-992-8007, Jennifer Knight at 919-557-5313, or visit www.operationstory.org.

Military Books

Military-Writers.com is a website committed to listing military servicemembers who have authored books. The website added three former servicemembers: James T. Born, Victor Sims and James Walker.

Prior to his law enforcement career, James T. Born was a member of the United States Navy. In 1967, James Born was deployed to Vietnam as a Boatswain’s Mate Third Class. He received a Bronze Star “while serving as Assistant Boat Captain with Mobile Support Team II, on a Heavy SEAL Support Craft (HSSC), operating in the MeKong Delta.”

James T. Born graduated from the Los Angeles Police Department academy in 1969. During his ten year career in law enforcement he served as a Los Angeles Police Officer and a Deputy Sheriff. The highest rank he attained in law enforcement was as a Sheriff’s Captain, Chief of the Detective Bureau. In 1978, James Born was licensed as a private investigator in California. And, in 1989, he was licensed as a private investigator in Nevada.

James Born is a District Court Certified Forensic and Fingerprint Expert and has taught Crime Scene Technology and Investigation to law enforcement officers in eleven states. Jim born is a recipient of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution “Law Enforcement Commendation Medal” the highest civilian law enforcement medal in the United States. He is a graduate of Los Angeles Pierce College and has further attended fours years of University instruction in his field of Criminal Justice Administration. James Born has graduated from 82 law enforcement training schools. He is also the author of Coping with Marital Infidelity: How to Catch your Spouse Cheating.

According to the description of Coping with Marital Infidelity, “If you are a victim or know someone who is a victim of marital infidelity (cheating mates), this unique "How to" book will grab held of your life in a way you could never dream of and give you the tools needed that will help you to cope with this problem. Coping with Marital Infidelity. The author has investigated thousands of such cases and has consulted with many thousands of other victims having the same problem, who couldn't afford to hire an investigator and needed advice.”

According to the Southern Oregon University Retirees Association Newsletter (Spring 2007 edition) Dr. Victor H. Sims “died on April 27, 2007. Victor Sims joined the University’s Department of Criminology in 1994 and retired in 2006. He had extensive experience in service and leadership positions, serving as a Company Commander in the U. S. Army Military Police Corps, a police officer in Berkeley, Phoenix, and Anchorage. In Nome, Alaska he served as chief of police.

He received his PhD from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1982 and taught
at Stephen F. Austin State University, at the University of Southern Mississippi, and Lamar State University before coming to SOU as Associate Professor of Criminology. Vic’s scholarship included research on rural and small town policing. He helped the department connect with regional law enforcement agencies and brought a chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma (the Criminal Justice Honor Society) to SOU. He received an Elmo award for his leadership in motivating students to come to the University. During his life he was also a commercial pilot, a marathon runner and triathlete.” Victor Sims was also the author of Small Town and Rural Police.

James Harper Walker served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1956. He began his law enforcement career with the Willoughby Police Department (Ohio) where he served in patrol for two years. He then joined the Waite Hill Police Department (Ohio) were he served for eight years, attaining the rank of detective. He then became the Assistant Chief of Police for the Huron Road Police Department (Ohio). James Walker then moved into the private security field where he held a number of managerial and executive level positions. He has a BA in Business Administration and is the author of four books: Man in Blue; Bushytail the Squirrel; Rambling in Rhyme; and, the novel Inside your Local Police.

According to the book description of Inside your Local Police, “follow police Lieutenant James MacDonald (Mac) as he tries to solve The Claw Hammer murder case. While being constantly interrupted with assorted armed robbers, gang fights, gun fights and domestics.”

Military-Writers.com currently lists 44 current or former military servicemembers and their 92 books.

Chairman Urges Servicemembers to Honor Sacrifice of Fallen Comrades

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 2, 2007 - Sgt. 1st Class Rocky Herrera, Sgt. Cory Clark and Sgt. Bryce Howard are men to whom every American owes a debt that can't be repaid, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today. Marine Gen. Peter Pace visited servicemembers of Task Force Rugged – built around the Army's 36th Engineer Brigade. The task force lost the three soldiers to an improvised explosive device explosion on Aug. 28. Soldiers, sailors and airmen of the task force met with the chairman before a memorial service for the men.

Army Maj. (Chaplain) Bill Sayer asked the chairman what he thought of when confronted with such loss.

"I can tell you what is going through my head right now," Pace said. "For me, for 40 years (it's) Lance Cpl. Guido Farinaro, Lance Cpl. Chubby Hale, Lance Cpl. Mike Witt, Cpl. Whitey Travers, Staff Sgt. Freddy Williams, Cpl. Joe Arnold, Cpl. John Miller and others with names that live in my head and in my heart.

"For you today, the names of these three soldiers will forever be emblazoned in your heads and your hearts," he continued.

Pace said he is still on active duty to try to repay the sacrifice of the Marines who died following his orders in Vietnam in 1968-1969, and now he feels the same debt to a new generation of servicemembers.

"In my current position, I have to make damn sure that their sacrifice has been for a mission that is worthwhile and a mission that will be sustained," he said.

He told the young men and women that Americans will support the mission in Afghanistan and will continue to sustain the effort against terror.

But the chairman asked the servicemembers to go beyond the memorial service as a means to pay respects to their fallen friends.

"I commend to each of you the thought that those of us who go to memorial services, those of us who survive, take on an extra measure of responsibility for those fellow soldiers of ours who have been killed, whose families will now live without them, whose kids will live without them," Pace said.

"If you can all live your lives whichever way it takes you to the best of your ability, then I think we will have paid proper respect," he said. "For me there are names that I've recited and others. But there is also the 3,000-plus that have died in this conflict who I think about. Not in a maudlin way, but with enormous respect and renewed personal energy to do my job the best way I know how to properly pay respect to them."

All those who service should remember the sacrifices made, but understand that the sacrifice is worth it.

"Just remember, this country is going to be better, the people are going to be more free and their lives are going to be better because of what you are doing," Pace said.

GM to Receive Freedom Award for Support to Reservists

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 2, 2007 - The Defense Department is recognizing General Motors for its procedures and policies to support its mobilized reserve component employees. The company, the largest car maker in America, will receive the Secretary of Defense Freedom Award. A total of 15 companies of all sizes will receive the award at during a ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building here Sept. 12.

The company has about 20 reservists serving in Iraq and Afghanistan now, said Greg Martin, a GM spokesman here. Navy reservist Chris Shortridge nominated GM for the honor. Another GM employee, a soldier named Douglas Waite, also nominated GM for the award, but he is serving in Iraq and could not be reached for comment.

Shortridge, who works in GM's plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., was called up and served in Mosul, Iraq, with the Army's 4th Brigade Combat Team for nine months. He returned to Spring Hill in June. Shortridge is a first class petty officer who has been selected for promotion to chief petty officer. selectee Hewho says his job in civilian life is "to just build cars."

He Shortridge said GM's policies really helped his family out while he was deployed. He doesn't live near a military base, and has found it hard to find providers who accept the military's health care plan.

"Tricare is great if you are from around a military base, but if you are deployed from suburban America, it can be more of a pain than it's worth," he said in an interview. "The doctors here have no idea what Tricare is, and are often not set up to accept it."

GM continues its employees' health care insurance while they are deployed, allowing the families to continue with a familiar process.

"I was flying from Kuwait into Baghdad, and I hadn't heard from my wife, which was kind of strange," Shortridge said. "Turns out, my daughter had appendicitis and had to have an emergency operation. Because I had the same insurance, my wife was able to get her right into the hospital and there were no hassles, no headaches."

GM also makes up the difference between military pay and their regular wages for its workers called to the colors.

"We don't think it's right that one of our workers should lose financially for reserve duty," Martin said. "So we make up any difference between military pay and their civilian wages."

GM also guarantees reservists their job will be waiting for them when they return.

"It may sound trite, but it's the right thing to do," Martin said. "We try to match what we say with actions, and we do value our employees."

The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award recognizes U.S. employers that rise above the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Defense Department agency, manages the award process. ESGR assists Guard and Reserve members and their employers understand employee eligibility and job entitlements, employer obligations, benefits and remedies under the act.

Families Prepare for Stryker Brigade's Homecoming

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 31, 2007 - There's a sense of giddiness here as families prepare for their "Arrowhead Brigade" Strykers to return home after a 15-month deployment to Iraq. An advance party from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) is slated to arrive at neighboring McChord Air Force Base on Sept. 3, finalizing groundwork for almost 4,000 more troops to fly in beginning Sept. 11.

Jubilant and frequently tearful reunions will play out again and again over the next week to 10 days, as one plane after another touches down to bring the full brigade home.

Melissa Townsend, wife of Col. Steve Townsend, the brigade commander, reports that the families are ready and counting the days.

After a particularly challenging deployment – marred by 54 casualties and the announcement in April of a three-month extension – Townsend said families are on the edge of their seats waiting for the homecoming celebration to begin.

They've painted colorful welcome-home banners to decorate the route between McChord and Fort Lewis, as well as the Sheridan Gym, where families will reunite with their soldiers.

Earlier this week, the brigade's rear detachment and family support network sponsored the last of several redeployment seminars to help prepare families for the adjustments they'll go through during redeployment.

And to make sure its single soldiers feel welcome, too, several of the brigade wives got together last week to make more than 200 beds for troops whose barracks rooms have been vacant for more than a year. After they finished tucking in the corners and smoothing the sheets, the wives assembled care packages of toiletries and goodies to place in each room to greet the returning soldiers.

"You wouldn't think you'd be able to get so excited about making a bed," Townsend said. "But that's because it's tangible. It's an assurance that, yes, they are coming back."

Townsend called the welcome-home preparations a big relief after a long, lonely and, for many families, difficult summer as their loved ones led surge operations in and around Baghdad.

"It's a sign that there's light at the end of the tunnel," she said. "We can actually almost sigh."

Maj. Kyle Marsh, who returned from Iraq in May to serve as the brigade's rear detachment commander, said he's excited about the homecoming that's in store for his fellow Strykers.

As they step off the plane at McChord, the Fort Lewis audiovisual staff will beam live images to the families assembled at the Fort Lewis gym. Meanwhile, audio from the gym will blare over the airfield. "We'll have a camera at the bottom of the stairs and a speaker set up at the airfield so soldiers can hear everything going on at the gym," Marsh said.

The biggest thrill, he said, will be watching the soldiers reunite with their families. "Every soldier will be in tears. I know. I did this. They will be bawling," he said.

Marsh remembered his own experience reuniting with his family. "You come into the gym, you look around and you can't find them. And then you make eye contact," he said. "Your heart is beating a thousand miles an hour. It's absolutely awesome."

The emotion hits everyone who comes to welcome the troops home, said Darlene Pacheco, the brigade's full-time family assistance advisor. "Even if it's not your soldier coming back that day, you get caught up in the excitement," she said.

As the troops return, Fort Lewis is planning its big official homecoming celebration, slated for Oct. 11. That's when the brigade will form up and uncase the unit colors. Afterward, its members will be treated to a big barbecue, courtesy of the local community.

Townsend, the brigade commander, will send invitations to the brigade's wounded troops, recovering here and at other medical facilities around the country. "We've had a lot of wounded, a lot," said Marsh. "And he wants to give them a personal invitation to be a part of the welcome home."

"If the kids at Walter Reed (Army Medical Center in Washington) and amputees at Brooke (Army Medical Center in San Antonio) are ambulatory and able to move, they are going to get an invitation," he said. "We would love to have them there."

Marsh anticipated the emotion that will overcome the brigade when its wounded warriors join the troops they served with in Iraq. After the newly returned soldiers form up on the parade field, the commander of troops will turn around and tell Townsend, "Sir, the command is formed."

Townsend will respond, "No it's not, as we have several of our brothers who need to rejoin our formations."

At that point, the wounded troops will join the formation. "Maybe they'll go out in a wheelchair. Maybe they'll go out in a hospital bed," Marsh said. "The sergeant major said, 'Hey, if I have a kid who can't stand, I'll put him in a chair next to the formation and he can sit there."

"Talk about powerful," Marsh said. "That will be huge."

Family time and reintegrating back into the community will be the big focus for the troops until they take block leave during the holidays, Marsh said. Rear detachment soldiers will take care of the never-ending taskings to give the newly returned troops a chance to rejuvenate.

That's critical, Marsh said, because after they return from block leave, they'll be back to the same demanding training routine they left behind. "Once they come back in January, guess what?" he said. "We're right back at it again, getting ready for the next time we go back to Iraq."

American Legion Recognizes Servicemembers' Volunteer Efforts

American Forces Press Service

Aug. 31, 2007 - Enlisted representatives from the five armed services were honored this week by the nation's largest wartime veterans' organization. The American Legion presented the Spirit of Service award to Army Sgt. Korey W. Chandler, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Gaurav R. Patel, Marine Corps Sgt. Matthew W. Stone, Air Force Airman 1st Class Robb K. Hulet, and Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class David B. Edelson on Aug. 28 during the organization's 89th National Convention here.

The award was presented for each of the recipient's volunteer service in their local communities, American Legion officials said. This is the eighth annual presentation of the award, which includes shaped, etched glass mounted on a marble base, as well as a one-year membership in the American Legion.

National Commander Paul A. Morin, who presented the awards to the servicemembers along with Gen. Charles C. Campbell, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, explained the purpose of the award.

"As an organization of wartime veterans, we truly understand and cherish the concept of service to community, state and nation," Morin said. "These outstanding representatives of our armed forces demonstrate the very heart of every Legionnaire – a relentless commitment to serving their country and their fellow Americans."

To receive this recognition, the individual must be an outstanding military professional and be actively involved in volunteer projects in the community during off-duty hours.

"Volunteerism is at the heart of what the American Legion does, ... and it is this dedication to community volunteerism that keeps the nation's largest veterans organization growing," Morin said.

"We know about service to others. We also know that those in uniform today – America's newest veterans in this war against terrorism – often go out of their way to make a difference for others in the communities in which they live," he continued. "Today, Legionnaires honor these outstanding Americans who reflect the great spirit of service to others that the founders of our organization considered essential."

Morin said that the servicemembers being honored fit the bill and are representative of thousands of their peers who make up the finest fighting force in the world.

"Each of them has demonstrated a strong commitment to serving others, a spirit of service that deserves the highest recognition The American Legion can provide," he said.

The servicemembers were selected by their individual services to receive the award. The American Legion provided for accommodations, meals and travel during their time in Reno. They participated in the ceremonial opening of the convention, rode in the American Legion parade, attended the National Commander's Banquet as distinguished guests and, as the newest members of the American Legion, interacted with their fellow veterans of several generations.

Why We Serve: Air Force NCO Shares His View on Service

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 31, 2007 - A 17-year Air Force veteran who led vehicles more than 20,000 miles across Kuwait and Iraq during 18 missions -- rolling over streets often flanked with armed insurgents and littered with roadside bombs -- is sharing the message of his service with the American people. Tech. Sgt. Howard L. Watkins served as a convoy commander with the 70th Medium Truck Detachment based at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Through the Defense Department's "Why We Serve" speakers program, he carries the lessons of his military experience and shares them with the American public at speaking events across the country.

One night, a 155 mm homemade artillery round strapped to a propane tank detonated next to a civilian truck attached to Watkins' convoy. "That truck was completely engulfed in flames in 20 seconds," he recalled.

Watkins ran to the burning truck to rescue victims inside. He and a fellow airman found the truck driver, who suffered wounds to his head and torso in the blast, and moved him away from the truck. Mindful that his team was vulnerable to ambush while standing still, Watkins got the convoy moving again, calling for medical assistance for the injured driver on the radio while coordinating the vehicles to drive toward safety.

"One of the great things about my job when I deploy as a convoy commander is that I have a great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment in what I do," he said. "When you go on deployment like this most recent one, you develop an immensely strong bond with the people that you're working with. You really are dependent on these people for your life."

The story of Watkins' first step into service begins like many others. His small hometown -- Seligman, Mo., which boasts a population under 1,000 -- presented few job opportunities. As a high school senior, Watkins' ambition stretched as far as graduation, but not much further. He lacked direction, he said.

"About a quarter of the way through my senior year, I knew I wanted to get out of the area. The military seemed like the best way to go," said Watkins, who decided to enlist in the Army and follow the footsteps of his father, who served in the 101st Airborne Division during the World War II.

"But when I went to the recruiting station in Joplin, Mo., of course they've got all the different branches of service next to each other," he said. "I got there right around lunch time, and both the Air Force and Army recruiter were going to eat at the same time.

"The Army recruiter just sort of looked at me and passed me by, whereas the Air Force recruiter was the one that actually stopped and talked to me," Watkins said. "I remember his name and everything. It was Tech. Sergeant Fitzner."

The decision to join the Air Force has worked out for Watkins. He was named Air Combat Command's transportation noncommissioned officer of the year for 2006. He has earned the Bronze Star Medal, three Air Force Commendation Medals and three Air Force Achievement Medals.

"I believe that everything happens for a reason," Watkins said about his decision to join the Air Force. "I was probably an easier sell to the Army recruiter," he joked, "if he hadn't been quite as hungry that day."

Watkins is one of eight servicemembers who have served overseas in the war on terrorism who are traveling throughout the United States to speak to community groups and businesses in the "Why We Serve" public outreach program.

The program was initially the idea of Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and began in the fall of 2006. Eight servicemembers, two from each branch of the military, are chosen to participate in the program each quarter.

Steel Producer Earns Honor for Reserve Employee Support

By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 31, 2007 - The Defense Department is recognizing a Charlotte, North Carolina.-based steel producer with plants all over the United States for its exemplary support of an employee who serves in the National Guard. Nucor Corp. is one of 15 businesses and organizations selected to receive this year's Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, which honors businesses and organizations that provide support for their employees in the Guard or reserves.

Steven Garrett, who works for Nucor Steel Jackson in Flowood, Miss., nominated the company for the award. Garrett is a sergeant in the Mississippi National Guard, and when he was deployed for Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Nucor stepped up to support him and his family.

While Garrett was deployed, Nucor paid the difference between his military salary and Nucor salary, factoring in bonuses and other financial rewards. The company also provided full benefits to Garrett and his family, including life insurance.

Garrett's fellow employees in Flowood checked in regularly on his family while he was gone, he said, offering to help mow the lawn, pay bills, or do anything else they needed. "They always made it known that I didn't have anything to worry about, that if I needed anything, they would pretty much be there," said Garrett, who has worked for Nucor for three years.

Nucor's 45 plants, which employ about 14,000 people in all, tend to be located in small, rural communities, said Jim Coblin of Nucor Corp. The small-town atmosphere lends to the family environment that's fostered within the plants, he said.

Coblin said Nucor values its employees with military experience, because they bring discipline and special skills to the job. "We found that people coming out of the military are well-disciplined, they're motivated, they're highly trained in their skill, they know how to get along on teams," he said. "They tend to work out very well for Nucor."

Garrett said Nucor made his military service easier, because he didn't have to worry about his job security or whether his family was taken care of. "You focus more on the mission instead of worrying about things going on back home," he said.

Taking care of employees in the military stems not only from a patriotic foundation as an American company, but also from a desire to keep valuable employees, Coblin said. "We need to take care of the employee while they're off serving in the military so that they will come back to us gladly and happily and want to come back to us, because we have a lot invested in them, in their training and background," he said.

The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award recognizes U.S. employers that rise above the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Defense Department agency, manages the award process. ESGR assists Guard and Reserve members and their employers understand employee eligibility and job entitlements, employer obligations, benefits and remedies under the act.

The Freedom awards will be presented Sept. 12 in a ceremony here.

Bush Salutes Employer Support of Guardsmen, Reservists

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 31, 2007 - President Bush yesterday signed a federal proclamation declaring Sept. 9-15 as National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week for 2007. The Defense Department will honor 15 employers of Guardsmen and reservists in a Sept. 12 ceremony here. They'll receive the Secretary of Defense Freedom Award for the support they've given to their citizen-warrior employees.

"During National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week, we recognize the vital contributions of the brave men and women who serve our great nation, and we pay tribute to the employers who support them," the commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces stated in the proclamation.

The courageous men and women in the reserve components deployed overseas "are fighting a new and unprecedented war, having answered the call to defend our freedom and way of life," Bush stated. "At home, the National Guard is working to protect our borders, and provide vital aid and assistance in times of crisis and natural disasters."

Members of the National Guard and reserves represent "the best of America," Bush said. All Americans, he said, are "proud to stand behind the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve."

Bush also saluted "the sacrifice of employers across our country, who support the important mission of our National Guard and reserve personnel." Employers support their employees in the Guard or reserves by providing time off, pay, health care benefits and job security, he said.

Supportive employers also assist employees in the Guard or reserves by helping them to return to their families and civilian life after military missions, the president said.

"The commitment of our nation's employers is a vital and integral part of the success of our armed forces," Bush asserted.

National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week reflects America's "deepest gratitude to the dedicated men and women of the National Guard and Reserve and to the employers who support them in their important service to our nation," Bush said.

Bush called upon state and local officials, private organizations, businesses, and all military commanders to observe the week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

Road Provides Training for Troops, Lifeline for Village

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 30, 2007 - Bumping down a dusty, narrow logging trail away from camp in an old red truck, Army Col. Frederick J. West talked about a project that, after 10 years, has literally left him at the end of the road. It started with him walking more than 14 miles across Annette Island's coastal wilderness, surveying its virgin land, intent on cutting a road into its rugged, rocky landscape. It will end next month with a gravel-coated lifeline that will connect a small Indian village to year-around access to jobs, education and health care.

"I think that most people, when they depart from this good Earth, want to leave something behind. This certainly does that for me," West said.

What lay between the start and the finish is dubbed Joint Task Force Operation Alaskan Road, or the Walden Point Road project, as the local citizens call it. Designated as a Defense Department Innovative Readiness Training program, the road has provided training opportunities for engineers, medics, cooks, fuelers and a host of others from all service branches, both active duty and reserve component. In all, 12,000 troops from some 300 units have come here to train.

This month, the Metlakatla Indian Community, along with military and political dignitaries, celebrated the turnover of the road to the community. West and his crews are putting final touches on the road until Sept. 15, the official day the mission ends. After that, West will begin the process of turning the camp over to U.S. Pacific Command's Alaskan Command.

West has served the longest of anyone on the project, joining at the start as the operations officer and later as the commander of Joint Force Engineer Component Command, tasked with running the project's operations and the camp. For the Missouri Army National Guard engineer officer, it was the right project at the right time of his life, he said.

"I fell in love with the project," West said. "If I didn't think it was worthwhile, I certainly wouldn't have spent 10 years of my life doing it."

It truly had to be a labor of love, at least at the start, for those landing on the remote, southeast Alaska island. At first there was no running water, no septic system, no electricity and the servicemembers shared camp with a logging company. The crews would ferry to nearby Ketchikan for supplies and showers every few days.

Originally, officials estimated the project would take about seven years, but with design modifications and because crews were training as they were building, the project was extended. West's job basically was to "clear, grub, burn, drill, blast and build" the road to a subgrade that is ready to be finished by the Metlakatla Indian Community, which will pave and stripe the road and install guard rails. The Alaska Department of Transportation plans to build a ferry terminal at the end of the new road.

The path for the road was surveyed in the late 1940s, and updated in the 1970s. But the majority of the initial survey was done by air. Once on foot on the proposed path, West and his counterparts at the Federal Highways Administration, along with surveyors and designers, knew that steep drop-offs and mountains of rock would require some route modifications. They also modified the plans to reduce the speed limit from 55 to 35 mph. This allowed for sharper turns and more dips, making the project more manageable, West explained.

Still, most of the route left crews between a rock and a soft place. Crews had to drill and blast through 300,000 more meters of solid rock than anticipated. Where they didn't find mountains of rock, crews had to dig out of the boggy, indigenous muskeg -- layers of decomposing dead plants and trees. The muskeg, sometimes as much as 30 feet deep, had to be dug out and refilled with rock and soil. One strip, dubbed "Muskeg Flats" was 3,000 meters long, or nearly two miles. While muskeg sometimes can be solid enough to stand on, crews had to be especially careful not to sink their 100,000-pound excavators and loaders into the mossy mess.

Much of the road follows the island's scenic coast, offering sweeping views of the ocean and village on a clear day. Because it follows the coast, though, in some spots crews had to fill nearly 100 feet up the side of the mountain, while blasting hundreds of feet down through rock to meet in the middle, where the road was supposed to run.

Some inclines were so steep that one crew used its excavator's bucket to reach up, claw into the rock, and drag itself up the side of the mountain to get to where they needed to start drilling and blasting.

The rock added to the training value of the job, West said, as most military engineers are used to working primarily with dirt.

"Most of the engineers units are not used to working with rock. Building a road with rock is a totally different situation," West said.

Crews pecked through the landscape, averaging a little more than mile's progress each season. In 2002, crews progressed nearly three miles. In 2001, the crews made it only three-quarters of a mile.

Every winter except last, the camp would be winterized and abandoned. A handful of people would stay in Ketchikan and return to check on the camp intermittently during the winter months. West would return to Missouri to continue making arrangements for the next year's portion of the project and to recruit staff and units. This past winter, though, to mark off another two-tenths of a mile and to ensure the project would be finished on time, West and a small crew braved the winter elements to continue the work.

West said he didn't originally intend to stay on the project this long.

"When I first started this, I didn't know I would be here 10 years. But after the first three or four, you just say 'Heck, let's finish it,'" he said.

A "duration" staff of about 100 active duty and reserve component servicemembers runs the camp, living on the island from March through September. Typically, the force was divided into thirds among active duty, reserve and Guard personnel. The rotating units started arriving in April. Troops from engineer, medical, water purification, bulk fuel, mess and even naval boat operations fell in on the camp for training. Some deployed to the camp as units, others as individual augmentees.

Support jobs often received training as valuable to them as that the engineers received, West said. For example, he said, bulk fuelers who often train with only water had the opportunity to offload bulk fuel from a barge.

Learning to work with other services was another valuable training experience for the road project participants, West said. But while the diversity is good for training, it can make managing a staff and building a road difficult at times, especially at the season's start, the colonel said.

"Put yourself in a position of owning a company and every six months you get a whole new company, and that's basically it," West said. "Here, you get 100 people who have never met each other, and you're trying to meld them and you're trying to go into a high op tempo right off the bat. That is a training challenge."

West said he tried to get duration troops to return, but most didn't because the employment is seasonal and most of the positions were for only six months.

"Most people can't afford to come back every season," West said. "If I get somebody to repeat a second year, that's great, but those are few."

Usually, about 70 traditional National Guard members rotated in and out through the summer, helping to build the road or providing support.

Over time, West built his camp to include a small gym, a base exchange, an Internet cafe, and a dayroom with pool and pingpong tables. Troops lived in open-bay, 16- by 32-foot plywood "sea huts" that provided a bunk bed, mattress, and a dry place to sleep – dry being key in a temperate rainforest region that gets 165 inches of precipitation annually.

Local people measure the rain in feet, not inches. West said one summer he counted fewer than 10 sunny days. That summer, it rained every day for 35 days.

"I think I could write a paper on the effects of sunshine on personalities. It can be raining for two weeks and when that sun comes out you just see a change in people's attitudes," West said.

Other than the rain, the field time there offered some advantages over the "lower 48." There are no chiggers, ticks, snakes or poison ivy on the island.

As West turns off of the logging trail and onto the wider, smoother, Walden Point Road, he can mark its progress, much like a parent describing key events in a child's growth. He talks of making it to the top of a "cut," where crews could begin drilling and blasting, to beating a specific deadline by only two days, to putting in culverts and bridges.

When the work is finished, military crews will have moved 3.2 million cubic yards of rock. That is the equivalent, West said, to filling a football field-size area 150 stories high with rock. Crews used more than 1.5 million pounds of explosives.

Engineers installed 145 culverts, which, if set end to end, would stretch more than 2.6 miles. One culvert was 25 feet wide, 180 feet long and was built with 210 1,000-pound panels. It took 3,000 bolts and two weeks to put it in place.

But the statistic West is most proud of, and grateful for, is that there have been no serious injuries or deaths during the project, he said.

"A bad day for me was when I heard on the radio that somebody got hurt and they were taking them to the hospital. Every time that happens, you just feel like you got kicked in the stomach. Fortunately, every time it turned out to be not serious," West said.

West said he considers this a "remarkable feat," given that for 10 years an inexperienced and transient work force operated in unfamiliar and dangerous territory with unfamiliar equipment.

In the end, though, West said what made this project special for him was that it matched invaluable training with a byproduct that could be the catalyst to a brighter future for the 1,500-plus Tsimshian Indian villagers on the island.

The local mayor, Victor C. Wellington Sr., said he thinks the road is essential. Unemployment in the village is as high as 80 percent seasonally. Two logging mills and a cannery, both huge employers offering good salaries, shut down more than a decade ago. Since then, most who are employed work for the local government, the medical clinic, or a cold-storage facility operating out of the former cannery, selling frozen salmon and other products. Most local residents hunt and fish during the summer for subsistence during the winter.

"What we're trying to do right now is dig out. And we're slowing coming out, and this road opens up a lot of possibilities for our people," Wellington said.

Wellington said the road will shorten the ferry travel time to Ketchikan. It is only a 15-minute trip from the site where the Alaska Department of Transportation plans to put the new ferry. Once it's open, Wellington said, he hopes residents will be able to drive on the road to the new ferry point in the morning, cross to go to work and return home by ferry in the evening. Currently, the Alaskan Marine Highway makes only two afternoon trips to the island, and it takes more than an hour each way from the current ferry point.

Also, officials hope to increase the frequency of the ferry once the new dock is opened to cash in on the tourism dollars that flood Ketchikan. Ketchikan is the first port of call for many cruise ships, and its restaurants and shops are visited by nearly a million tourists a year. Now, there is no convenient way for would-be visitors to tour the island during their stop in port.

The mayor also said the road will keep residents from risking poor weather and high seas to take private boats to Ketchikan. Even though most are experienced navigating the waters, their personal craft are no match for the winter's fog, 30-foot seas and 135-mph winds. People have died trying to make the trip, the mayor said. Even the 61-year-old mayor, a 33-year career fisherman, admits to making the journey when he was younger when it wasn't safe.

"I was nuts then," he said.

Residents will also have access to the hospital in Ketchikan. In the winter, the island is isolated when winds are too high. If medical aircraft can't land to evacuate those needing urgent care, that means a very long, rough ferry ride on ocean waters for critical patients. And even if patients can be flown from the island, that includes a rough drive, a flight, and another drive before they can receive care. The road and new ferry will allow an ambulance to transport the patient directly to the hospital.
A college education also is available in Ketchikan. The University of Alaska has a satellite campus in the town. Many in the village do not have the money to send their children away from the island for college, the mayor said. The road and ferry will allow them daily transport for classes.

The mayor said the road would not have been built except for the Alaskan Road Project. Without it, Wellington said he was not sure what the future would have held for his community.

West said he plans to return when the pavement is down and the finishing touches are complete, hopefully in the next two years. As he drives the road now, West calls it "pretty darn impressive" in an easy-going, small town manner. As he meets with the people along the route and in town, it is easy to see that friendships replaced partnerships somewhere along the way.

West said he isn't sure where the road will lead for him at the project's end. It is bittersweet, he said.

"I'm glad the road is done. I'd like to see people driving on it in 2009," West said. "But the working relationships, the friendships, ... I'm going to miss that."

But, West said, he will take home with him "a lot of memories and photographs," and the knowledge that he has, in part, changed forever the landscape of a small Alaskan community.

"Being part of someone else's dream and helping it become a reality, that's kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," West said.