Gala Honors Outstanding Leadership

American Forces Press Service

Sept. 14, 2007 - Paralyzed Veterans of America held its annual Americana Gala at the National Building Museum here last night. In keeping with the evening's theme of "Building a Better Tomorrow," the event paid tribute to visionary individuals and corporate leaders who have championed improved quality of life for veterans and people with disabilities. These improvements include working toward an accessible, barrier-free America and ensuring better access to job-seeking tools and employment opportunities.

"Imagine an America where veterans with disabilities and their families have everything they need to thrive," said Homer S. Townsend Jr., the organization's acting executive director. "Through their leadership, the people and businesses we honor tonight are helping paralyzed veterans make this vision a reality."

Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao received the 2007 Honor for Public Service Award for her enduring service and her advocacy for the veteran community. U.S. Rep. James Langevin of Rhode Island received the 2007 Congressional Award for his long-time support of both the Paralyzed Veterans of America and veterans. Former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia received the 2007 Patriotic Award for his longtime advocacy for veterans with disabilities.

Additionally, the group presented Michael Graves of the Michael Graves and Associates architectural firm with the 2007 Health and Design Award for his efforts to maximize the independence of people with disabilities and his leadership and innovation in the creation of quality medical devices. United Parcel Service received the 2007 Award for Corporate Leadership for its enduring advocacy for people and veterans with disabilities.

Founded in 1946, Paralyzed Veterans of America is the only congressionally chartered veterans service organization solely for the benefit and representation of individuals with spinal cord injury or disease. The organization has more than 19,000 members in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

(From a Paralyzed Veterans of America news release.)

Editor's Note: To find out about more individuals, groups and organizations that are helping support the troops, visit www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil. America Supports You directly connects military members to the support of the America people and offers a tool to the general public in their quest to find meaningful ways to support the military community.

New Center Makes Good on Military's Commitment to Wounded Warriors

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 14, 2007 - The new Military Advanced Training Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here represents "an evolution in how we embrace, treat and honor," wounded warriors, the Army vice chief of staff said at yesterday's opening ceremony.
Gen. Richard A. Cody said the new center demonstrates the military's commitment to doing everything within its power to help wounded troops heal and go on to live productive lives.

The 31,000-square-foot, $10 million center offers some of the most state-of-the-art care found anywhere in the world and makes good on the military's promise to take care of people "no matter the time, no matter the cost," Cody said. "This nation will always stand behind you and your families," he told the patients at the ceremony.

Cody said the new center will be a source of inspiration, both through the care provided and the drive patients show as they work to move beyond their injuries.

"On a daily basis, this center will be witness to incredible acts of kindness and medical professionalism and of personal courage and our warriors' indomitable spirit," the general said.

The center will become the focus of "hard-won victories, painful breakthroughs, investment of sweat and tears and heart" that will become a source of pride to all who witness the fortitude and courage of young men and women within the ranks, Cody said.

Retired Army Gen. Frederick M. Franks Jr., who continued his military career after losing the lower half of his left leg during the Vietnam War, said he's inspired by the heroism he's seen among wounded troops being treated at Walter Reed.

"You are immediately struck by their quiet courage, go-forward attitude, fierce determination and commitment to their fellow soldiers and to our country," he said.

The opening of the new Military Advanced Training Center demonstrates that the military reaches out to its wounded troops and makes good on its commitment to them, Franks told the audience. "Such a bond of trust is powerful and will be sustained," he said.

Veteran Affairs Secretary James Nicholson joined Cody and Franks in praising the new center that "brings together heroism, miracles, competence, compassion and a nation's kept promise to our wounded warriors." Battlefield wounds no longer mean that wounded troops must shelve their personal dreams or settle for less than fulfilling careers, he said.

"Today, with the opening of this training center, the lives of our soldiers wounded in the defense of freedom will have the opportunity for new avenues of hope and reality, new hope for a brighter future, including, for many, that of staying on active duty," he said.

Nicholson said he's often struck during visits to patients at Walter Reed that their biggest wish is to get back to duty with their units.

"This speaks volumes about the quality of leadership in their chain of command and about their satisfaction in what they are doing to thwart terrorism and to protect America," he said. "It also speaks volumes about the quality of medical care and rehabilitation services that they receive here at Walter Reed."

The new center will help enhance programs already available to help them. "And it will do so with the state-of-the-art, new, 21st-century technologies and advances in rehabilitation, and the most dedicated staff that I've ever met," Nicholson said.

"Those warriors did not stop serving their country when they were wounded. Most of them will tell you they've only been sidelined," he continued. "And now, with the tools of the 21st century at our disposal ... and the staff of these miracle workers here at the Military Advanced Training Center, we will be helping those young men and women put back on their uniforms wherever possible."

For those unable to do so, who go on to the VA medical-care system, Nicholson promised "that same blend of competence and compassion."

Marine Missing From Korean War Is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Pfc. Carl A. West, U.S. Marine Corps, of Amanda Park, Washington. He will be buried Oct. 4 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

West was a member of Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment, of the 1st Marine Division deployed near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. On Nov. 27, 1950, three Communist Chinese divisions launched an attack on the Marine positions. Over the next several days, U.S. forces staged a fighting withdrawal to the south, first to Hagaru-ri, then Koto-ri, and eventually to defensive positions at Hungnam. West died on Dec. 8, 1950, as a result of enemy action near Koto-ri. He was buried by fellow Marines in a temporary U.N. military cemetery in Hungnam, which fell to the North Koreans in December 1950. His identity was later verified by the FBI from a fingerprint taken at the time of the burial.

During "Operation Glory" in 1954, the North Korean government repatriated the remains of 2,944 U.S. soldiers and Marines. Included in this repatriation were remains associated with West's burial. The staff at the U.S. Army mortuary in Kokura, Japan, however, cited suspected discrepancies between the dental remains and West's dental file as well as discrepancies between the biological profile derived from the remains and West's physical characteristics. The remains were among 416 subsequently buried as "unknowns" in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (The Punchbowl) in Hawaii.

In May 2006, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command exhumed remains from The Punchbowl believed to be those of West. Although the remains did not yield usable DNA data, a reevaluation of the skeletal and dental remains led to West's identification.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

Top Army Reserve NCO Cites Challenges Ahead in Transforming Force

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 14, 2007 - For perspective about how much the Army Reserve has changed as it has evolved from a strategic reserve to an operational force that's a key player in the war on terror, few could offer as much insight as its senior enlisted soldier. Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie was drafted into the Army in 1970 and served as an infantryman in Vietnam. After returning home, he joined an Army Reserve far different from the one he helps to lead today.

The little equipment reserve units had at the time was cast off from active-duty units. The training "weekend warriors" got when they gathered in their reserve centers typically consisted of reading military training manuals. If they went to the range for weapons qualification, they borrowed weapons from an active unit. Annual training was all but devoid of training.

Caffie remembers his first reserve AT, at Fort Jackson, S.C. He and his fellow reservists had to cut through the weeds to get to the condemned buildings they'd been assigned to work in. Their biggest task, Caffie recalls, was to put together the unit's annual AT party.

"They really didn't expect us to do anything," he said. "We were more of a nuisance to the active component than we were assets."

Flash forward 33 years, and Caffie is happy to report: "That legacy force no longer exists."

The Army Reserve has changed from a force of last resort to an integral part of the Army structure, he said. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, more than 102,000 of the Army Reserve's 200,000 members have mobilized to support the war effort.

As the 10th senior enlisted advisor to the Army Reserve chief, Caffie is helping the Army Reserve continue to move beyond the legacy force he once served in. And a big part of that task, he said, is looking out for soldiers' interests.

Army Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz interviewed 16 people before selecting Caffie to the job last year. Impressed by Caffie's ability to impose strict standards and his genuine concern for the troops, Stultz said, he knew he had his man to help move the Army Reserve transformation forward.

"He won't tolerate substandard performance, and that's what soldiers appreciate – the fact that he demands and lives up to that warrior ethos and doesn't ask anything of a soldier that he's not willing to do himself," the general said at Caffie's swearing-in ceremony.

Even Caffie's job description represented a shift from the Army Reserve's old way of doing business. In the past, the Army Reserve had two enlisted leaders: one for the U.S. Army Reserve Command at Fort McPherson, Ga., and another for the chief of the Army Reserve in Washington. Stultz merged the two jobs into one position.

"This is symbolic of not only bringing in new leadership, but also of the fact that we're transforming the reserves into an operational force from an old, legacy force," Stultz said.

As he supports that transformation, Caffie focuses on training soldiers, developing leaders and helping reservists balance their military and civilian careers and family responsibilities.

Caffie has a keen appreciation of the juggling act citizen-soldiers face. He spent 28 years in law enforcement before retiring from the Alachua County Sheriff's Office in Florida, all while serving in increasingly responsible Army Reserve jobs.

Now that he's in a position to make a difference, Caffie said, he's committed to changing old-school ways to make it easier for citizen-soldiers to serve.

He's convinced, for example, that fixed battle assemblies – "drill weekends" in Caffie's earlier days – aren't the best way to train Army Reservists. He said he's encouraged to see more flexible schedules for reservists to enhance their skills.

When they train, Caffie wants reservists out in the field as much as possible, not in those "concrete cocoons that we call Army Reserve centers." Soldiers appreciate knowing that their training is worthwhile, and get motivated developing their leadership skills, he said.

"The key is to get the soldiers into a field environment. Show them appreciation. Challenge them with leadership roles," Caffie said. "And they will deliver."

They're delivering every day, he said, with some the vast majority of the 26,000 reservists currently mobilized serving in about 20 countries around the world, including Iraq. In addition to carrying out a broad range of critical missions overseas, about 6,000 reservists are training other troops about to deploy.

During his regular visits to check on these mobilized reservists, Caffie said, he's struck by the contrast to his early Army Reserve days. "You can walk into the theater today in Afghanistan and Iraq and I would wager that you could not distinguish the active-duty soldier from the reserve-component soldier," he said.

This, he said, shows that new approaches to training soldiers are paying off. "We've changed the paradigm and the old, mundane way of leadership. We're able to maintain the same high standards, but have torn down the boxes that we have built around ourselves," he said.

One big change is the way the Army Reserve looks at its members' civilian job responsibilities. Caffie said there's a growing recognition of the value of the vast civilian skills reservists bring to the military force beyond they military occupational specialties.

"It's important that we understand the force we have and the diversity that reservists bring to the fight," he said. "For too long, people have overlooked the wealth of experience reservists bring in terms of their education and civilian-acquired skills."

Caffie rattled off examples of the unique professional skills. Among them was the story of a young Army Reserve specialist the sergeant major met when visiting a medical unit deployed to Sarajevo. The soldier was working in a corner of the medical facility, hunched over a malfunctioning MRI machine he had torn apart.

"He told me he works for the company that makes the machines," Caffie said. "He said he knew what the problem was, that he'd called back to his company to get them to send the parts it needed, and that he'd put it back together and get it working.

"That's the kind of expertise you have in the Army Reserve, so it's important that you understand what you've got," he continued. "We have people with two unique professional skills – the one they train on as an MOS and the one they bring from their civilian careers."

These civilian-acquired skills make Army Reservists particularly value to the military, Caffie said.

With Stultz, he's working to remove some of the roadblocks that interfere with their ability to continue serving. They promote employer support programs and praise efforts being advanced through the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

They're also focusing on programs for families, particularly during reserve call-ups. "We recruit soldiers, but we sustain families," Caffie said. "We still have a ways to go, but I think we have made significant improvements in that arena."

Some of Caffie's focus boils down to issues as basic as clearing the way to pay reservists for out-of-pocket expenses associated with their military training. Caffie relayed the story of an Army Reserve specialist who regularly drives more than 250 miles to his battle assemblies, pays two nights' hotel costs to attend them and has to pick up the tab for two meals a day while he's away from home for training. At the end of a drill weekend, the soldier ends up in the red.

"It's not fair, but that is the legacy way that we have done business," Caffie said. "We need to move away from that into an operational mindset. An operational mindset says that I have talented soldiers out there, and I will do anything within my power to ensure they are treated fairly and get what they are entitled to."

Fixing this problem is one of the "rocks" Caffie said his boss has "put into my rucksack."

"I got rid of some of them, but some are still there," he said. "I still have some I continue to work on."

As he picks away at these rocks, Caffie said he gets personal gratification knowing he's serving his soldiers and helping the Army Reserve move beyond that legacy force he joined back in 1974.

One indication of how far that force has come is reflected in Army Reserve retention rates. Attrition – at chronic levels during Caffie's early Army Reserve days – is at its lowest point in seven years as the Army Reserve exceeds all retention goals.

Caffie called these retention successes "remarkable," particularly among troops who have deployed to combat. "If you look at the stats for soldiers who have been deployed in the Army Reserve, those retention rates are astronomical as well," he said. "We have done a remarkable job of retaining soldiers with combat experience, who have deployed into either Afghanistan or Iraq."

These retention rates are no accident, he said, particularly when some Army Reserve troops already have served two deployments, and some are preparing for their third deployment.

"When you throw all those angles into the mix, and you are still able to retain them, we are doing something correct," he said. "I think that's about leadership. It starts at the top."

Ultimately, Caffie attributes the success of the Army Reserve and the fact that its members continue to serve to old-fashioned patriotism. Many reservists serve because they believe they're making a contribution to their country and helping preserve its freedoms, he said.

"That's the reason a lot of these soldiers continue to serve today -- because they figure that one must be willing to pay to be free," he said. "They're great American patriots."

Pentagon's 'Top Doc' Praises Advances at Walter Reed

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 14, 2007 - The Defense Department's top doctor yesterday praised improvements at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here and reaffirmed the department's commitment to ensuring its patients get care that's "the very best in the world." Speaking at the ribbon-cutting for the new Military Advanced Training Center, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. S. Ward Casscells said he's been impressed by the Walter Reed staff's efforts to ensure Walter Reed is "first class in every way."

From the top down, beginning with the hospital commander, Army Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Eric B. Schoomaker, the staff pulled together as problems revealed at the facility attracted widespread news coverage, overshadowing the positive work being done, Casscells said. He thanked the "doctors, nurses, corpsmen, medics, technicians, dieticians (and) psychologists who didn't quit when many of us in the military health system got a black eye that we didn't completely deserve."

Casscells noted that he spoke not only as an as administrator, but also as a former patient who was treated at Walter Reed after being wounded in Iraq when the Humvee he was riding in swerved to avoid an improvised-explosive-device tripwire.

"With your leadership decisions, you strengthened this hospital," he said. "You strengthened the whole military health system, you saved a lot of lives, (and) you saved lives of friends of mine. Some of them are in the audience. I've been your patient, and as your grateful patient, I want to thank you."

Casscells said the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, soon to be built in nearby Bethesda, Md., will continue the tradition of excellence that's been established at Walter Reed.

"This care will go beyond the bricks and mortar, but will include the best training that money can pay for and that the spirit can provide," he said.

A top-notch research program at the new facility, he said, will focus on efforts not being pursued in the civilian sector that are critical to U.S. servicemembers. In addition to looking into traumatic brain injury, researchers will explore new, light, durable prosthetics, tissue regeneration methods and devices that provide patients "the control that we need and deserve to be independent, to serve and to lead," Casscells said.

Casscells extended thanks to Veteran Affairs Secretary James Nicholson, thanking him for the service his department provides servicemembers who go into the VA health-care and benefit systems. "They're going on to the system which has objectively shown to be the best health care system in the world today," he told Nicholson. "We're honored to have a partner like you."

Southern Command's Troops, Leaders Praise Outgoing Chairman

By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 14, 2007 - About 1,200 troops, family members and civilian employees of U.S. Southern Command came out here today here to bid farewell to their former commander. From the top to the bottom of the chain of command, the troops praised Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who retires at the end of the month.

Pace spent a year as the head of Southern Command, leaving in 2001 to become vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Four years later, he became the first Marine to serve as chairman. He chose to visit his former command here as a "bookend" to his 40-year military career before turning over the chairmanship Oct. 1 to Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, now the chief of naval operations.

Navy Adm. James Stavridis, Southern Command's current leader, introduced the chairman saying, "No one has had more impact on the military of the United States in this new 21st century than Pete Pace."

As is his custom, Pace stepped off the podium to be eye-to-eye with the troops. Thanking the admiral for the "incredible" introduction, Pace joked that "if I had more time on active duty I'd try to live up to it."

Pace stressed the importance of Southern Command's mission, praising the command's efforts to reach out and partner with countries in the region. "What you do from here is vital to the health of your nation and I want to thank you for that," he said.

He also thanked the troops' family members and reminded servicemembers to do the same and often. "Our families serve this nation as well as anyone who has ever worn the uniform," he said, "and we owe them a great debt of gratitude because they are the hidden strength of our services."

Southern Command's role will be even more important in the future, Pace noted. "We show who we are when there are natural disasters and this command responds with helicopters, ships, supplies and whatever it takes," he said.

"As democracy in this region ebbs and flows, the constant of the U.S. military interaction – being ready to help, reaching out when we can – will continue to have the impact it has over time," he said.

As Pace shook hands with members of the SOUTHCOM community, the current commander and others talked with American Forces Press Service about the chairman's legacy for the command and the military.

Stavridis noted that in 2000, Pace helped put together "Plan Colombia," which "helped bring Colombia from being on the verge of a failed state to a highly successful anchor for democracy in South America today.

"Yesterday, the Colombian military turned out an enormous parade to honor our chairman, our former commander," Stavridis continued. "The speeches that were made about him by the Colombian military were extraordinary. They personified things we're all trying to do here at SOUTHCOM to reach out to this region, to make it a better place, to be part of what is positive about the Americas."

The admiral also paid high tribute to the chairman as a military leader and role model.

"The thing that is absolutely unquestioned about Pete Pace is his honesty, integrity and his constant ability to speak truth to power," Stavridis said. "In that regard he is a role model for every officer and every enlisted person who wears a uniform as well as every civilian in the Department of Defense. He is an idol to us all."

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Balch, who's been on active duty for 32 years, noted that Pace has a great understanding of the importance of every servicemember.

"When you grow up in the environment that General Pace grew up in, a platoon in Vietnam," Balch said, "you rely on your buddy on your left and your right to have your back. You rely on that young private first class to take on his role in combat and in peace to do what he needs to do. That's what's so great about our institution -- they're there, and they're ready to do that."

"It's wonderful that the chairman has a great appreciation for people," Balch continued. "He's standing here in SOUTHCOM today shaking hands with the entire combatant command of over 1,200 people one at a time. It just shows you how much of a people person our chairman is. We're really going to miss his connection with all of the people in our force."

Marine Sgt. Robert Boyd, who's been on active duty for eight years, said when it comes to leadership there's no comparison to the first Marine to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"That's someone you want to strive to be like," Body said. "When you're wondering why you're still at work at 9 or 10 at night, and you look up there at the Pentagon and you see him – I wouldn't want to be like anyone else.

"At the end of the day, he's a Marine," Boyd stressed. "He's not afraid to roll up his sleeves and say, 'Hey, if we have to go to Iraq, we have to go to Iraq.' He's a motivator. He's the prime example of a leader. Outside of being chairman, outside of being in the news all the time, I know if we're out there in a fighting hole together, he'd be the one I'd want to lead me."

Today's Troops Reassure Outgoing Chairman

By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 14, 2007 - A young Army sergeant in Afghanistan recently reassured the nation's highest-ranking four-star general that it's OK to retire after 40 years on active duty. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the story today during a town hall meeting with about 1,200 troops at U.S. Southern Command headquarters here. He retires at the end of the month.

"I was talking to a group of soldiers, and I was telling them that I was sad that I was leaving, not because I'm leaving, but because I won't have the chance to reach out and hug troops in uniform any more," Pace told the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

"At the end, I was standing there, and I wish I had been smart enough to catch this soldier's name," he continued. "He came up to me and he said, 'Sir, thanks for your service. We'll take it from here.'"

"It was a perfect thing for him to say, and he was right," Pace concluded.

The same message came through loud and clear, he noted, when he made his last visit to a unit in a combat zone.

Pace chose to visit Company G, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, as the last thing he would do on active duty in combat. The visit would bring his career full circle, as his first assignment in the Marine Corps was in Vietnam as the platoon leader of G Company's 2nd Platoon.

He found the Marines in Karmah, Iraq.

"We rumbled out there in a convoy and sat around for about an hour and a half just talking and taking pictures," Pace said, noting that the visit was a "bookend" on his career that provided a sense of closure.

"My platoon had 14 guys left in it when I took command," he said. The Marines in Iraq "were standing there about 40 strong -- great, young guys, sharp-eyed, with clear vision, energized, and proud of what they were doing.

"Their platoon leader -- who was in my job, standing in my spot -- (was) a former sergeant who had gotten a Silver Star Medal during a previous tour in Iraq, got commissioned and was back there now as a platoon leader," he said.

"I was looking at these Marines, saying to myself, 'What that Army sergeant told me two days before in Afghanistan, was absolutely true. All of our services are in great shape.

"My sadness (about leaving) is all about a selfish desire to continue to wear the uniform and serve the nation," he said. "My happiness, as that great sergeant said, is that you all will take it from here."

Closing his remarks, the chairman then took questions from the Southern Command troops.

When a female soldier asked, "What are you going to do next?' he replied, "The honest answer is, I don't have a clue," drawing laughter from the troops.

"It's not because there aren't opportunities out there," he explained. "Some very nice folks have asked me to talk with them, and I've asked them all to please wait until after 1 October.

"I cannot possibly be thinking about my next life and finish this life properly," he said. "I'm going to run through the finish line. I'm going to pay attention to Pfc. Pace in Baghdad and Iraq and Miami as best I can and continue to contribute until midnight on 30 September."

At the chairman's invitation, more than 1,200 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, family members, contractors, and even local police, then stood in line to shake hands with Peter Pace.

Texas, Louisiana Guard Troops Stand Ready in Hurricane's Wake

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 13, 2007 - Texas and Louisiana National Guard troops are standing by to assist residents affected by strong winds, heavy rains and flooding caused by Hurricane Humberto, state military officials said today. The Texas National Guard has staged 150 personnel and 50 vehicles to respond to local authorities' needs if requested, said Army Lt. Col. Daniel Quick, who is posted at an emergency operations center in Houston.

"We've not had to respond at this point," Quick said. "The rain in the area where we have people is less than we'd expected."

The Category 1 storm crashed ashore early today in southeastern Texas. Its 80 mph winds and sheets of rain caused power outages in several Texas coastal communities.

"There was some wind-related power outages, but localized," Quick said. "It is mainly excessive rain, causing flooding."

The storm made landfall just east of Galveston, Texas, and then veered northeastward toward Louisiana, Quick said. Texas emergency-response authorities have been communicating with their Louisiana counterparts, he noted.

Louisiana seemed poised to take "the brunt of the hit" from Humberto, Quick said, noting that state is being pelted by wind-driven heavy rains.

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco has declared a state of emergency, and about 300 of that state's Guard troops are on standby to respond to storm-caused emergencies, if called upon by local authorities, Louisiana Army National Guard spokeswoman Capt. Taysha P. Deaton reported today from Lafayette, La.

"We're having a lot of rain. It's just pouring," Deaton said.

New Amputee Care Center Opens at Walter Reed

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 13, 2007 - Army National Guard Spc. Marco Robledo wants to go home to Arkansas in November standing on his own two feet. A roadside bomb claimed the combat engineer's left leg and arm in Iraq in May. Since then, he has been recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here. Every day he walks slowly around an indoor track attached to a harness. A lanyard connects the harness to a trolley locked into an aluminum track mounted to the ceiling. It makes a slow dragging sound as he steps forward with his prosthetic leg.

And so it slowly goes for Robledo -- step, drag, step, drag. He's making progress thanks, in part, to this one-of-a-kind walking system at Walter Reed's new Military Advanced Training Center.

The 31,000-square-foot, $10 million center opens today two months early and offers some of the most state-of-the-art care found anywhere in the world, officials said.

Patients began using parts of the facility, such as the indoor track and the Solo-Step system used by Robledo, last week.

The facility combines office and counseling space with workout facilities, data gathering, high-tech simulators, and even a family lounge with a full kitchen. It is designed to bring together all the hospital's elements of advanced amputee care, but much of it also will benefit other patients, such as those suffering from traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder.

The hospital's gait lab has nearly doubled its size in the new building. The lab electronically records patients' movements while wearing prosthetic devices to give feedback to the patients and specialists on rehabilitation efforts. It can now record movements from 23 camera angles, up from eight, and has six force plates, up from four, that measure pressure put on the ground as steps are taken. It also added a treadmill built into the floor that will allow specialists, for the first time, to collect force plate data from soldiers while running.

"This lab is going to allow us to do so much more on the research and clinical side than we were able to do before," Brian Baum, a biomechanical engineer.

Capturing the data allows for more focused and faster rehabilitation for soldiers, he said.

"We can give feedback to the clinicians to help expedite their rehabilitation. So, if the patient's goal is to return to duty, we now have a more solid baseline," he said. "We can now look at a broader picture and really pinpoint rehabilitation from multiple angles, rather than just looking at walking. Returning to duty is a lot more than walking. Returning to a functional life is also a lot more than walking."

One of only three in the world, a high-tech computer-assisted rehabilitation environment was added to the center to help amputee soldiers adapt to real-life scenarios.

In front of a large projection screen, soldiers stand on an elevated, multi-axis platform that rocks and sways as the computer-driven scenario changes. In one scenario, the patients stand as if in a boat as it moves through a course. In other scenarios, patients are required to raise their hands while moving to hit objects that appear to be flying by. This helps patients become more stable and confident using their prosthetic devices.

An indoor running track encircles "upper-extremities" workout areas. One half of the top floor is open to allow soldiers to look down on others using the lower-extremities workout equipment. A climbing wall rises from the lower level, and climbing ropes and a rappelling wall allow patients to develop overhead skills and confidence. Windows allow sunlight to stream throughout.

Most of the equipment is standard fitness-center equipment to allow soldiers to transition from the center to a gym in their hometown or Army installation with no adjustment to their workouts, officials said.

Also among the treatment rooms is a weapons simulator to get soldiers back to shooting, a vehicle simulator to help them relearn to drive using prostheses, and areas that offer practice walking on uneven terrain features, such as sand, gravel and cobblestone.

Counseling offices offer a private view of the workout areas through two-way mirrored glass. Psychologists, social workers, benefits counselors, and case managers all have office spaces, offering a virtual one-stop shop for amputee care at the clinic.

Officials said that initial amputee care will still be managed in the main hospital clinics. The new center is for those who are in the more advanced stages of rehabilitation. It is designed to transition patients from their basic recovery to either returning home or to duty, they said.

The building was funded in September 2004, but building plans were nearly nixed after the Base Realignment and Closure Commission set Walter Reed to close in 2011. But after officials considered alternatives and found that the center needed to be built and quickly, construction began in November 2006 using a fast-track system. This allowed designers to apportion the plans and deliver just what the builders needed to start. To start, they delivered the designs that allowed excavation to start, then the structural designs to order the steel, and so forth.

This also allowed for changes to be made along the way that would better benefit patients, said Elihu P. Hirsch, project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers. For example, the Solo-Step used by Robledo was not in the original proposal, he said.

Hirsch said the visual reminders of those who would be using the facility helped to motivate the crews. Only steps away from the building is the helipad where wounded soldiers are delivered. Patients also walk around the hospital and the construction site using their prostheses.

"All along, you have the tangible reminder of why you're building the facility, and that gave everybody the added incentive to increase production," Hirsch said. "Everybody who worked on the project has been walking away with great feelings of satisfaction."

As of June, the hospital has treated almost 500 limb-loss patients from operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. It serves an average of about 100 daily. Stays for rehabilitation range from eight months to two years.

DoD Holds Information Forum for Wearable Power Prize Competition

A public information forum regarding the first public competition to be sponsored by the director, defense research and engineering will be held Friday, Sept. 21, 2007, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. EDT at the Federal Gateway Conference Center, 1100 New Jersey Ave., Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20003.

The public will be briefed by the wearable power prize program managers on the details of the competition, objectives, rules, procedures, intent to compete notification, and the current plan for the Fall 2008 competition week. First prize for the wearable power competition will be awarded $1 million.

Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions of the U.S. Army Program Manager Soldier Warrior and the U.S. Marine Corps Program Executive Officer for Expeditionary Power offices to provide a better understanding of current warfighter power requirements and battery burden.

A list of acceptable battery chemistries and fuels for use in competition will be available and all presentations will be posted on the Web site: http://www.dod.mil/ddre/prize/topic.html.

This prize program seeks to elicit innovative solutions from a broad range of sources to provide superior technical solutions to the individual energy needs of servicemembers in the field. DoD seeks a wearable power system that lasts four days and significantly reduces the weight of the battery load typically carried by those in the field.

Media and the public are invited to attend and must register by Monday, Sept.17 at http://www.dod.mil/ddre/prize/topic_wearpwr_forum.html#1.

Troops Invited to Submit Original Songs

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 13, 2007 - The Dallas Songwriters Association is inviting aspiring songwriters who happen to wear a military uniform to enter their original tunes in its 2007/2008 "Songs from the Soul of Service" contest. "We've ramped up a little bit better technology this time so we can facilitate everything online," William Brown, the program's director, said of this second competition. "We have it set up for them to upload (submissions) directly to Broadjam music service."

Broadjam provides Web-based promotional tools and services for independent musicians, the music industry and fans around the world, according to the company's Web site.

He said he hopes this, and earlier publicity, will result in a bigger turnout than the last contest.

"We're hoping to double (the number of entries)," Brown said. "We got about 400 submissions last year (and) I'm hoping for 800.

The association also will accept cassette tapes or CDs via "snail mail" as well, he said. While e-mail is not a primary entry method, Brown said the group is flexible.

"E-mail is not an official entry method, but, if we get them, we take them," Brown said.

Servicemembers can submit their songs or those of an immediate family member into one of seven categories including country, world, instrumental, novelty, hip hop, pop or inspirational. Military personnel also may submit a song posthumously on behalf of an immediate family member or a fallen comrade.

Servicemembers are encouraged to follow their hearts when it comes to the songs.

"In the last contest, we had (a winning entry that) had some language on it that wasn't quite family friendly. So we had to kind of work with (the writer) on a kind of a radio edit of that one," he said. "We don't want to impose that kind of a thing on somebody at the beginning. If it gets to the end and it turns out to be ... a winning song, if there are things we need to do, we'll do that at the end."

Entries, which are currently being accepted, must be received no later than Dec. 31. Winners from each category will be notified in February, according the contest Web site. A grand prize winner will be selected from the category winners.

The grand-prize winner will receive a weekend stay at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas, as well as a premium Broadjam membership, Brown said.

"In addition to their premium services that they're making available as a prize ... they give you a free six-month basic membership," he said. "Broadjam is ... a great service for the aspiring musician and performer."

Category Winners will be included on a professionally produced compilation CD of the best songs from the contest. Other prizes will be announced throughout the contest.

For more information, and complete contest rules, please visit the Songs from the Soul of Service Web site.