Defense Department Will Not Relent in MIA Efforts, Leaders Pledge

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 21, 2007 - The United States military will "neither forget our duty to bring home all POWs and MIAs, nor relent in our efforts to do so," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. The secretary, along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace, spoke at the POW/MIA Day ceremony at the Pentagon today.

Roughly 30,000 Americans alive today were once held as prisoners of war, Pace said. Millions of Americans have taken the oath to become servicemembers, he said, but few "have been called to sacrifice the way our prisoners of war have been called to sacrifice and to be tested in the belief in that oath."

The general spoke of the incredible way that former prisoners of war fulfilled their oaths, and he said they hand a legacy of service to servicemembers today.

"We hope and pray that if we were to be in the same state that they were in, that we might discharge our duties as well as they have discharged theirs," Pace said. "That legacy spurs us on to serve this nation out of respect for their honor and their service."

Gates gave a special welcome to former POWs in the audience and to the families of Americans still listed as missing in action.

"Missing-in-action status is marked by ambiguity and uncertainty, a severe test of spirit and resolve for anyone seeking closure," he said. "Your attendance today proves once again that the bond of love transcends the passage of time, that while our nation's heroes may remain missing in body, they are always present in spirit."

The POW/MIA commemoration is a time to remember and recommit, the secretary said. The day will be linked to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by coincidence of the calendar, but when the day was chosen it was picked because it was unconnected to any specific war or cause, Gates said.

But, he added, it is also fitting that POW/MIA Day be linked to Sept. 11.

"Throughout our nation's history, it has always fallen to the men and women of the armed forces to respond to aggressors and adversaries; to endure arduous and Spartan conditions; to risk life and limb on the battlefield; to make the sacrifices that are, in the final analysis, both our nation's tragedy and our glory," he said.

Servicemembers have again answered the call to duty and are fighting a conflict that is global in scope and generational in duration, Gates said. "And, as in the past, the honor, courage and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform will be our nation's glory," he said. "As in the past, losing them on the battlefield is ever our tragedy."

Gates paid special tribute to four soldiers missing in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom: Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin, captured April 9, 2004; Spc. Ahmed Altaei, captured Oct. 23, 2006; and Spc. Alex Jimenez and Pvt. Byron Fouty, both captured May 12, 2007. "They may not be well known to the public, but within the brotherhood of arms, they will never be forgotten or left behind," Gates pledged.

"These men are the latest additions to the ranks of tens of thousands who remain missing from previous conflicts," the secretary said. "And they are the latest additions to the ranks of those we remember today."

Pace spoke about the families of those missing in action. "Our families, although they never stood in a formation or raised their right hand, ... especially the families of our missing in action, serve our nation as well as anyone who has ever worn the uniform," he said.

The families of the missing "are sacrificing in ways that only those sacrificing with them can possibly understand," he continued. "I don't know how any of us can ease that pain, but I hope in some small way, formations like this today and personal prayers might bring peace and comfort to the families of those missing in action and those members of the armed force who are MIA."

DoD Joins The Civil Air Navigation Services Organization

The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration and Chief Information Officer John Grimes announced today that the Department of Defense, represented by the DoD Policy Board on Federal Aviation (PBFA), has joined the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) as an associate member.

"This membership in CANSO better enables the Defense Department to address the network-centric environment which links air traffic management and air security systems," said Grimes. "Moving toward network-enabled operations is vital to the transformation of the air navigation system and will enhance efficiency, safety and operational flexibility."

The move is one aspect of DoD's strategy to participate in the worldwide effort to create a new era of global collaboration in air navigation services. As a CANSO associate member, the PBFA will advocate the defense department's position in support of the U.S. National Airspace System as a partner with the Federal Aviation Administration. The PBFA provides strategic vision and policy for DoD's participation and partnering in U.S. and global air transportation systems as well as serving as the primary point of contact between the Defense Department and the Department of Transportation on domestic and international civil aviation issues.

CANSO is the 'voice' of the world's air traffic management community. Its air navigation service providers manage over 80% of the world's air traffic. The CANSO seeks to ensure the world's air transport system can meet the demands of growing traffic in an increasingly safe, efficient and environmentally sustainable manner.

Membership in CANSO is significant because of the Defense Department's unique role in aviation. Alongside the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the DoD is an air navigation service provider within the National Airspace System, as well as one of the largest operators of aircraft in the world. The DoD and FAA provide the same capability in terms of safety and security of civil and military air traffic, providing air traffic control services in the U.S. and globally in accordance with current FAA and military guidelines.

The Defense Department has over 150 facilities (tower, radar, or combination) including overseas locations such as Afghanistan, Germany, United Kingdom, Guam, Honduras, Italy, Iraq, Japan, and Qatar. In addition, DoD employs over 9,000 uniformed, civilian and contract controllers. With transparency to the U.S. National Airspace System, DoD is responsible for over 13 million traffic movements of which 23-25% are commercial and general aviation.

'Junior' Set to Drive National Guard Car in 2008

By Master Sgt. Bob Haskell, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

Sept. 20, 2007 - Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose family's name is part and parcel with American motorsports legend, will drive the Chevrolet the National Guard will sponsor in NASCAR's top-level Sprint Cup series in 2008. Earnhardt -- "Junior" to the millions who follow the sport -- will drive the 88 car for Hendrick Motorsports' new team that will have PepsiCo products' Mountain Dew and AMP Energy as its other major sponsors, officials announced during a nationally televised news conference here yesterday.

The popularity of the Earnhardt name raises the Guard's participation in one of America's two most popular spectator sports, the National Football League being the other, to a new level, said Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, director of the Army National Guard.

NASCAR appeals to the same age group, 18-24, that is the prime recruiting group for the Guard and the other military services, Vaughn pointed out. The Army Guard has to recruit about 70,000 new people every year, he said at the Dallas Convention Center.

"If the strength of our recruiting is the same place that you run NASCAR, which it is, and if Dale Earnhardt Jr., is the most popular of all the NASCAR drivers, which he is, then you would think that would make a difference in the number of people who will follow the Guard, the Guard car, and maybe effectively think about joining our team," he said.

"And that's all we ask him to do. Dale will have an enormous, enormous impact on that effort," Vaughn predicted. "People will look at the partnership this way: 'The Guard is a great way to serve. It's a first-class organization. And I like Dale Earnhardt Jr. So does the Guard. I'm going to have to think about that.'"

"I think it's important to support the military, especially now," Earnhardt said about his new affiliation with the National Guard.

Todd Bodine and Greg Biffle, who finished second in the Nextel Cup Series in 2005, have been previous Guard car drivers. Casey Mears is this year's driver.

Earnhardt, 32, has won 17 Cup-level races and two NASCAR Busch Series championships. He is the son of racing legend Dale Earnhardt Sr., who was killed in a crash on the final corner of the final lap of the NASCAR season's inaugural race, the Daytona 500, in February 2001. He is the grandson and nephew of, respectively, NASCAR pioneers Ralph Earnhardt and Morgan Shepherd. His mother's father, Robert Gee, built NASCAR cars.

Earnhardt will replace Mears as the driver for the Guard car and will add his name and pedigree to the Hendrick lineup of dominating drivers that includes Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

Mears will replace Kyle Busch, who is leaving the Hendrick team for the Joe Gibbs team, after one season as the No. 25 Guard/GMAC Chevrolet car driver, and Earnhardt will begin racing for Hendrick Motorsports after severing his ties with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company that his father founded.

Earnhardt announced in June that he signed a five-year contract with Hendrick Motorsports. His new car number is no accident. He has driven the No. 8 Chevrolet since he entered the Cup Series in 1999. His grandfather raced with that number, as well as 88, and Dale Sr. drove the 8 car early in his career. Earnhardt family politics, however, precluded Junior from bringing the famed single-digit number to the Hendrick team.

"We considered every number with 8 in it that was available," he told a room filled with media and Texas Army Guard recruiters, distinctive in their Army combat uniforms.

Earnhardt is currently in 13th place, and out of this year's 12-car chase for the Nextel Cup, after finishing 16th in the Sylvania 300 on Sept. 16 at the New Hampshire International Speedway. He has started on the pole, in first place, once this season but has yet to win a race. He has finished among the top five six times, and he has been among the top 10 drivers in 10 races.

He did qualify for the chase last year, beginning the season's 10-race championship series in sixth place and finishing fifth, 147 points behind Cup victor Jimmie Johnson.

Earnhardt is joining the Hendricks team that has ruled the NASCAR roost in 2007. Johnson and Gordon, with 10 victories and 30 top-five finishes between them, are tied for the lead with 5,210 points after 27 races. Kyle Busch, with one victory and a total of 22 top-five and top-10 finishes, is fifth in the Nextel Cup standings.

This year's Guard car driver, Mears, is in 15th place after his strong performance at New Hampshire, where he started 15th. He has one victory in the Guard/GMAC Chevrolet, coincidentally in the Memorial Day Coca-Cola 600, which raised money for the families of U.S. military troops. Ten drivers raced in cars painted in military camouflage patterns to signal their support for that cause.

(Army Master Sgt. Bob Haskell is assigned to the National Guard Bureau.)

Pace Honors Families Who Lost Loved Ones

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 19, 2007 - Marine Gen. Peter Pace honored families who have lost military family members during Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation's third annual dinner here yesterday evening. Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been a member of the board of the charitable organization for many years. He said he was "overwhelmed, humbled and uncomfortable" after the foundation surprised him with honors during the dinner.

Marine Commandant Gen. James T. Conway and retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones Jr., a former Marine Corps commandant and former NATO supreme allied commander in Europe, praised Pace during the event. Pace thanked his friends and the other members of the group, but got right back to the point of the dinner.

"Tonight is about families who have lost loved ones," he said. "As much as I appreciate the incredible words from my good friend Jim Jones and my good friend Jim Conway, to the extent that it takes the focus off these families who need our help, I feel guilty."

The group was founded on the premise that Americans owe a debt to those who die to protect them. The foundation provides $35,000 scholarship bonds to the children of Marines, Navy corpsmen, Navy SEALs, and federal law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. To date, the group has distributed $35 million to those children since it was founded in 1995. Last night's event raised $1.2 million for the fund.

Marines fight to uphold the legacy of those who came before them, the general said. Marines revere those who fought at Belleau Wood in World War I and at Iwo Jima in the Second World War. Future generations will feel the same way about the Marines who fought in Fallujah and Ramadi, Iraq, he said.

"It is not because Marines are fearless," Pace said. "You show me a Marine who knows no fear, and I will show you a Marine I don't want to be anywhere near. Marines do know fear in combat. But what makes Marines get up and do their job is a greater fear that somehow those of us who have the privilege of serving our corps and country that our actions will not measure up to those who have gone before, that somehow the legacy might stop because we didn't do what Marines always do, that somehow we will let down the Marine on our left and on our right. And it is the fear of letting down our fellow Marines and our corps that drives us forward."

Pace said three things help Marines as they confront combat: Navy corpsmen, Navy chaplains and "the absolute certainty that if we fall in combat our families will be taken care of."

"That is what this night is all about," he said. "It is not about these incredible gifts; it is not about the incredible words said about me. It's about these incredible Americans who have sacrificed their lives that we can do this in Chicago any d_mn time we feel like it."

Pace, whose wife, Lynne, accompanied him to the dinner, admitted he is sad about leaving active duty at the end of the month. "I'm not sad about putting down my pack," he said. "I'm sad because I will not be able to walk out to the battlefields and hug Marines. I'm sad because I will not be able to be with them and tell them face to face wearing the same uniform that they are wearing that I love them."

The general said he intends to remain involved in the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation and vowed "to do all I can for this support group for the Marines and sailors ... for as long as God gives me the ability to draw breath and contribute."

Pace met with a number of wounded warriors before and after the dinner. Following the dinner he presented Marine NCO swords to Lance Cpl. Kenneth Carleton-Smith and Sgt. Christopher Marron. Both men were wounded in Iraq and medically retired. He also presented a Navy cutlass to Petty Officer 1st Class Mark Robbins, assigned to SEAL Team 5 in San Diego.

New San Antonio Center for Wounded Warriors to Replace Current Facility

By Minnie Jones
Special to American Forces Press Service

Sept. 20, 2007 - A new Warrior and Family Support Center being built here will be 10 times the size of the current facility. A Sept. 15 groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of construction on the new 12,000-square-foot facility located across from the post's Fisher Houses, where many wounded warriors and their families stay during long rehabilitations.

The new Warrior and Family Support Center will provide a nurturing and comfortable environment where returning soldiers and their families can rest and recover. The new building will replace the 1,200-square-foot facility currently housed on the second floor of the Powless Guest House here.

"President Theodore Roosevelt once said: 'A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that, no man is entitled to, and less than that, no man shall have,'" Maj. Gen. Russell Czerw, commander of Army Medical Department Center and School and Fort Sam Houston, said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

"In my mind, Roosevelt would approve of what we are doing here today for our wounded soldiers," Czerw said. "He would be proud. Not only are we taking care of the soldier, but we are also taking care of their entire family."

Since opening its doors in December 2003, the Warrior and Family Support Center, formerly the Soldier and Family Assistance Center, has accommodated more than 180,000 visits from wounded warriors and their families -- family members who have left their jobs and homes to come to Fort Sam Houston to help with the rehabilitation of their loved ones.

The current center has outgrown its space, due to the length of the war and an increase in wounded warriors, officials said. The additional influx requires a permanent facility to meet all of the Warrior and Family Support Center operations.

The new building will provide a "living room" environment, a place for social interaction and recreation between wounded warriors and their families. It was designed with wounded warriors' requirements in mind -- fully wheelchair-accessible, with an atmosphere that will encourage healing. The new facility will have a computer classroom, kitchen, dining room, conference room, adequate bathrooms, and storage and social-gathering areas. It also will provide opportunities in training for new job skills.

In attendance at the groundbreaking was Jayne Webber-Hardy, the mother of Sgt. Matthew Webber, a member of the Michigan National Guard who died of injuries he suffered in Iraq. Webber-Hardy explained how the center helped her during her stay here by her son's side and how she would have been lost without the assistance and help provided by Judith Markelz, the center's program manager, and her staff.

"This new building is absolutely the most wonderful, precious gift of healing that you as a community, the sponsors and parents can give to these soldiers and their families," Webber-Hardy said.

Army Spc. Francesca Duke, who was injured by a car bomb in Ramadi, Iraq, is now an outpatient receiving treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center. She recalled her first encounter with the center.

"The Warrior and Family Support Center is where my mother and I found solace; it is one of the beginning steps in aiding in the recovery process for all heroes injured in support of operations Enduring (Freedom) and Iraqi Freedom. This is your home away from home," Duke said.

Markelz said she is thrilled about the new facility. "This is a place to honor (wounded warriors), a place where they can come and be themselves."

Steve Huffman, president of Huffman Developments and the Returning Heroes Home Board of Directors, attended the ceremony along with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and several local and state politicians.

Huffman helped to organize the effort to build the facility, and the fund has raised more than $800,000. Construction of the $3.5 million building is scheduled for completion in 2008, and Huffman said he expects that the remainder of the funds will be raised by the end of this year.

This project is just one of many pledges under the new Army Medical Action Plan that soldiers returning home from fighting the battles of war will not have fight a bureaucracy to obtain health care and other services during their recovery at Brooke Army Medical Center and elsewhere and their transition back to service or to civilian life afterwards.

"I have never seen a more collaborative and successful team. The plans were completed, reviewed and submitted to Washington for approval within one week," Huffman said. "From the time the plans left the post and sent to Washington, it was approved and accepted in record time by Pete Geren, the secretary of the Army. This project was a clear reflection of the efforts of the entire team – Col. Wendy Martinson (commander of U.S. Army Garrison Fort Sam Houston), Randy Robinson (director of Installation Management Command West Region) and their outstanding staff.

"Why did we get involved? The answer is simple: the men and women, our warriors and their families who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that we can enjoy the liberties and freedom that we too many times take for granted," he said.

(Minnie Jones works at the Fort Sam Houston Public Information Office.)

DoD CAP Director Recieves Service to America Award

The Department of Defense (DoD) Director of the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) Dinah F.B. Cohen received the Service to America Medal (SAMMIES) for leading the world's largest assistive technology program recently.

The Service to America Medals award program recognizes outstanding members of the federal workforce whose innovative and dedicated efforts result in significant contributions addressing national needs.

CAP is a centrally-funded assistive technology program that buys and delivers the hardware, software, and services that people with disabilities need to function in the workplace. The technology makes the electronic environment accessible to and usable by individuals with hearing, visual, dexterity, cognitive, and communications disabilities.

"At a time when our uniformed medical professionals are saving more lives than ever before in the Global War on Terror, the CAP program provides wounded and disabled
servicemembers and other federal employees a wonderful opportunity to live and work better with assistive technology," said Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

Since 2004, Cohen's program has been instrumental in assessing needs to accommodate severely injured servicemembers returning home from the Global War on Terror. She has provided guidance for over 2,400 accommodations to wounded servicemembers and she has partnered with DoD Military Treatment Facilities to integrate assistive technologies into occupational therapy and rehabilitation services, housing facilities, and employment training centers to support the transition back to reemployment.

Since its inception in 1990, the CAP has filled more than 57,000 requests for accommodations. In addition to serving military departments and defense agencies, CAP partners with 64 other federal agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Pace Thanks Enlisted Force for Service, Sacrifices

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 20, 2007 - The success that Marine Gen. Peter Pace has had in a 40-year military career has been based "on my listening to the incredible enlisted leaders who have been my partners," the soon-to-retire chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today at the Pentagon. Pace thanked the enlisted force for their service. The Pentagon Channel broadcast the 20-minute talk to stations around the world.

In his talk, the chairman thanked the enlisted force for their support and spoke about the influence that enlisted personnel have had on him.

Most of the military is enlisted. In the chairman's own service, 49 percent of the personnel are lance corporals or below.

"General officers may very well plan battles, but it's lance corporals and sergeants, second and first lieutenants, and captains who make the difference on the battlefield by carrying out the intent of the order when faced with a thinking enemy," Pace said.

The chairman listed the names of those Marines killed while following his orders as a platoon leader in 1968. "Lance Corporal (Guido) Farinaro, Lance Corporal Chubby Hale, Lance Corporal Whitey Travers, Corporal Mike Witt, Staff Sergeant Freddy Williams, Lance Corporal Little Joe Arnold, Corporal John Miller -- all Marines who followed 2nd Lietenant Pete Pace in combat and in following my orders died for our country," he said.

Pace arrived in Vietnam at the height of the Tet Offensive and fought in the battle of Hue City. His platoon -- normally around 50 Marines -- had just 14 when he arrived. He was the third platoon leader in as many weeks.

Pace went through 13 months in Vietnam without a scratch. "There was never a doubt in my mind what I was supposed to do with the rest of my life when I came out of Vietnam ... and that was to try as best I could to serve this nation on active duty in a way that would pay proper respect to those Marines who followed me as their platoon leader and gave their lives for their country," he said. "(These were) enlisted Marines who taught me what love on the battlefield is all about."

Pace told the crowd of about 1,000 enlisted personnel in the Pentagon courtyard that he had vowed to give to the personnel under his command what he could no longer give to the Marines who died. "And an interesting thing happened along the way," he said. "Looking back on it, I was trying to do the right thing as a leader for my folks -- in my case, Marines -- and in doing so, they gave back to me more than I ever could have asked.

"I find myself at the end of 40-plus years of service hopelessly behind in trying to give back," he continued. "Because the more I have tried to give, the more that has been given to me. It's been an incredible cycle that makes me feel humble to have had the opportunity to associate myself with so many wonderful Americans."

At each step of his career, Pace had an enlisted advisor whispering in his ear about what he was doing right and what he was doing wrong. In 1968, Sgt. Reed B. Zachary was his platoon sergeant. "He helped me understand not only what I needed to know about the battlefield, but what I needed to know and understand about each of the Marines in our platoon in a way that helped me be a more effective leader," Pace said.

This continued when he was a company commander and up through the ranks to chairman. Pace said he could not imagine doing the job of chairman without a strong right arm. He chose Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey to be the first senior enlisted advisor to the chairman.

Pace will step down as chairman Oct. 1. "As I leave the active ranks, I'm sad," he said. "I'm not sad because I'm not going to be chairman any more; ... I'm sad because I won't be able to put the uniform on and on occasion get out on the battlefield and hug my fellow servicemembers, tell them I love them and thank them for what they are doing for their country."

Pace visited Afghanistan on Sept. 2 and spoke to troops at isolated bases all over the country. He thanked them for their service and spoke about how he was going to miss military life.

"At the end, the troops are coming by to let me say thanks to them, and one Army sergeant ... said to me: 'Sir, thanks for your service; we'll take it from here,'" the chairman said. "That is exactly right. For that sergeant to look the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the eye and say, 'It's OK; we've got it,' I think is pretty cool. But it also puts an exclamation point on why my sadness is not about the institution, but it's selfishly about me in my wanting time to serve alongside you."

Pace started with 2nd Platoon, Company G, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, in Vietnam in 1968. On Sept. 4, the chairman visited his old outfit in Iraq's Anbar province. "I was able to sit with those Marines in Karmah, Iraq, and see their eyes and see their enthusiasm for what they were doing," he said.

"To me, it was a perfect bookend from where I started to where I'm ending," he said. "And I hope in some small way in my opportunity to talk to them and in my opportunity to speak with you this morning that I can communicate to you what an incredible honor it has been to serve alongside of you and how thankful I am to all of you for what you do and how proud I am for what you have accomplished and what you will continue to accomplish."