By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 26, 2007 - If you are wounded in combat and discharged as a result, you will not have to pay back your enlistment bonus, Defense Department officials said here today. "Bonuses are not recouped simply for one's inability to complete an enlistment or re-enlistment agreement through no fault of the military member," a policy statement said.
Pentagon officials re-stated their policy after a wounded soldier in Pennsylvania received a bill from the Army. Jordan Fox was a private first class in Baqouba, Iraq, when he was wounded in the explosion of an improvised explosive device. Fox was partially blinded in his right eye and suffered a back injury when the bomb went off in May.
Fox was medically discharged and went home to his town near Pittsburgh. The Army sent him a letter asking him to repay $2,800 of his $7,500 enlistment bonus. He received a second letter telling him the Army would charge interest if he didn't make a payment within 30 days.
"Department policy prohibits recoupment when it would be contrary to equity and good conscience, or would be contrary to the nation's interests," according to the Defense Department policy statement. "Those circumstances include, for example, an inability to complete a service agreement because of illness, injury, disability, or other impairment that did not clearly result from misconduct."
Department policy on recoupment also establishes that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, the secretaries of the military departments "shall remit or cancel any and all theater debt incurred by military members who were medically evacuated from a combat zone due to injury or illness, except in the event of clear misconduct."
Army officials said Fox will not be required to pay back any enlistment money he received. "By all accounts, his case seems to be an isolated one," Army officials said. Anyone who does have an issue can call the Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline at 1-800-984-8523.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Gates Urges More Emphasis, Funding for All Aspects of National Power
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 26, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates called today for the United States to strengthen all elements of its national power – the "soft" power as well as "hard" military might -- to faces challenges in Iraq and Afghanistan and others it will confront in the future. "My message today is not about the defense budget or military power," Gates said during a Landon Lecture speech at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan.
"My message is that if we are to meet the myriad challenges around the world in the coming decades, this country must strengthen other important elements of national power both institutionally and financially, and create the capability to integrate and apply all of the elements of national power to problems and challenges abroad.
"In short," Gates told the attendees, "I am here to make the case for strengthening our capacity to use 'soft' power and for better integrating it with 'hard' power."
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated that military success alone isn't enough to win, the secretary said. He noted the long list of other critical elements: economic development, institution-building and the rule of law, internal reconciliation, good governance, basic services for the people, trained and equipped indigenous military and police forces, strategic communications and more.
"These, along with security, are essential ingredients for long-term success," Gates said.
The secretary cited important lessons learned from the U.S. experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the decisive role reconstruction, development and governance have played in the successes taking place there.
The Defense Department has taken on many of these efforts, but Gates urged better resourcing for civilian agencies so they can take the lead.
"Forced by circumstances, our brave men and women in uniform have stepped up to the task, with field artillerymen and tankers building schools and mentoring city councils – usually in a language they don't speak," he said. "They have done an admirable job."
The armed forces will need to institutionalize and retain these non-traditional capabilities, he said. "But there is no replacement for the real thing: civilian involvement and expertise."
Gates pointed to the example of provincial reconstruction teams and the successes they have demonstrated in Afghanistan, and more recently, in Iraq. These teams are designed to bring in civilians with experience in agricultural, governance and other aspects of development to work alongside the military to improve the local population's lives.
This initiative, "a key tenet of any counterinsurgency effort," is paying off in a big way, the secretary said. "Where (PRTs) are on the ground, even in small numbers, we have seen tangible and often dramatic changes," he said. He noted that an Army brigade commander in Baghdad called the embedded PRTs "pivotal" in getting Iraqis in his sector to better manage their affairs.
"We also have increased our effectiveness by joining with organizations and people outside the government – untapped resources with tremendous potential," he said. He noted a broad range of civilian experts who have supported rebuilding efforts: anthropologists, agricultural experts and veterinarians among them.
"I have been heartened by the works of individuals and groups like these," Gates said. "But I am concerned that we need even more civilians involved in the effort, and that our efforts must be better integrated. And I remain concerned that we have yet to create any permanent capability or institutions to rapidly create and deploy these kinds of skills in the future."
Gates repeated President Bush's call during his 2007 State of the Union Address for the country to develop a permanent, sizeable cadre of experts with disparate skills that can be deployed immediately when it's needed.
The State Department is working on its initiative to build a civilian response corps, but Gates said the need goes even deeper. "We also need new thinking about how to integrate our government's capabilities in these areas, and then how to integrate government capabilities with those in the private sector, in universities, in other non-governmental organizations, with the capabilities of our allies and friends," he said.
Also to be considered, he said, are the emerging capabilities of those the United States is working to help.
For these efforts to succeed, Gates said, there's a desperate need for better funding for the programs that support them.
"Funding for non-military foreign-affairs programs has increased since 2001, but remains disproportionately small relative to what we spend on the military and to the importance of such capabilities," he said. He noted that the State Department's entire foreign affairs budget request for fiscal 2008 is $36 billion, less than what the Pentagon spends on health care.
With military spending at 4 percent of gross domestic product – below historic norms and well below previous wartime periods – there's no similar benchmark for other departments and institutions, he said.
"What is clear to me is that there is a need for a dramatic increase in spending on the civilian instruments of national security: diplomacy, strategic communications, foreign assistance, civic action and economic reconstruction and development,' he said. "We must focus our energies beyond the guns and steels of the military, beyond our brave soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen We must also focus our energies on all the other elements of national power that will be so critical in the years to come."
Gates acknowledged it's unusual for a defense secretary to travel halfway across the country to make a pitch to increase the budgets of other agencies. But he emphasized that military leaders recognize the important role civilian experts play in U.S. national defense, and that success in those arenas could reduce the demands placed on the military.
"After all, civilian participation is both necessary to making military operations successful and to relieving stress on the men and women of our armed services who have endured so much these last few years, and done so with such unflagging bravery and devotion," he said.
"Indeed, having robust civilian capabilities available could make it less likely that military force will have to be used in the first place, as local problems might be dealt with before they become crises."
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 26, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates called today for the United States to strengthen all elements of its national power – the "soft" power as well as "hard" military might -- to faces challenges in Iraq and Afghanistan and others it will confront in the future. "My message today is not about the defense budget or military power," Gates said during a Landon Lecture speech at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan.
"My message is that if we are to meet the myriad challenges around the world in the coming decades, this country must strengthen other important elements of national power both institutionally and financially, and create the capability to integrate and apply all of the elements of national power to problems and challenges abroad.
"In short," Gates told the attendees, "I am here to make the case for strengthening our capacity to use 'soft' power and for better integrating it with 'hard' power."
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated that military success alone isn't enough to win, the secretary said. He noted the long list of other critical elements: economic development, institution-building and the rule of law, internal reconciliation, good governance, basic services for the people, trained and equipped indigenous military and police forces, strategic communications and more.
"These, along with security, are essential ingredients for long-term success," Gates said.
The secretary cited important lessons learned from the U.S. experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the decisive role reconstruction, development and governance have played in the successes taking place there.
The Defense Department has taken on many of these efforts, but Gates urged better resourcing for civilian agencies so they can take the lead.
"Forced by circumstances, our brave men and women in uniform have stepped up to the task, with field artillerymen and tankers building schools and mentoring city councils – usually in a language they don't speak," he said. "They have done an admirable job."
The armed forces will need to institutionalize and retain these non-traditional capabilities, he said. "But there is no replacement for the real thing: civilian involvement and expertise."
Gates pointed to the example of provincial reconstruction teams and the successes they have demonstrated in Afghanistan, and more recently, in Iraq. These teams are designed to bring in civilians with experience in agricultural, governance and other aspects of development to work alongside the military to improve the local population's lives.
This initiative, "a key tenet of any counterinsurgency effort," is paying off in a big way, the secretary said. "Where (PRTs) are on the ground, even in small numbers, we have seen tangible and often dramatic changes," he said. He noted that an Army brigade commander in Baghdad called the embedded PRTs "pivotal" in getting Iraqis in his sector to better manage their affairs.
"We also have increased our effectiveness by joining with organizations and people outside the government – untapped resources with tremendous potential," he said. He noted a broad range of civilian experts who have supported rebuilding efforts: anthropologists, agricultural experts and veterinarians among them.
"I have been heartened by the works of individuals and groups like these," Gates said. "But I am concerned that we need even more civilians involved in the effort, and that our efforts must be better integrated. And I remain concerned that we have yet to create any permanent capability or institutions to rapidly create and deploy these kinds of skills in the future."
Gates repeated President Bush's call during his 2007 State of the Union Address for the country to develop a permanent, sizeable cadre of experts with disparate skills that can be deployed immediately when it's needed.
The State Department is working on its initiative to build a civilian response corps, but Gates said the need goes even deeper. "We also need new thinking about how to integrate our government's capabilities in these areas, and then how to integrate government capabilities with those in the private sector, in universities, in other non-governmental organizations, with the capabilities of our allies and friends," he said.
Also to be considered, he said, are the emerging capabilities of those the United States is working to help.
For these efforts to succeed, Gates said, there's a desperate need for better funding for the programs that support them.
"Funding for non-military foreign-affairs programs has increased since 2001, but remains disproportionately small relative to what we spend on the military and to the importance of such capabilities," he said. He noted that the State Department's entire foreign affairs budget request for fiscal 2008 is $36 billion, less than what the Pentagon spends on health care.
With military spending at 4 percent of gross domestic product – below historic norms and well below previous wartime periods – there's no similar benchmark for other departments and institutions, he said.
"What is clear to me is that there is a need for a dramatic increase in spending on the civilian instruments of national security: diplomacy, strategic communications, foreign assistance, civic action and economic reconstruction and development,' he said. "We must focus our energies beyond the guns and steels of the military, beyond our brave soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen We must also focus our energies on all the other elements of national power that will be so critical in the years to come."
Gates acknowledged it's unusual for a defense secretary to travel halfway across the country to make a pitch to increase the budgets of other agencies. But he emphasized that military leaders recognize the important role civilian experts play in U.S. national defense, and that success in those arenas could reduce the demands placed on the military.
"After all, civilian participation is both necessary to making military operations successful and to relieving stress on the men and women of our armed services who have endured so much these last few years, and done so with such unflagging bravery and devotion," he said.
"Indeed, having robust civilian capabilities available could make it less likely that military force will have to be used in the first place, as local problems might be dealt with before they become crises."
International Pressure Best Response to Iranian Threat, Gates Says
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 26, 2007 - The best way to confront Iran's nuclear weapons program is through international diplomatic pressure, and military force should remain a last resort, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today at Kansas State University. Gates told participants in the Landon Lecture series in Manhattan, Kan., he supports diplomatic pressure to get Iran to abandon its nuclear efforts.
"We are engaged in diplomacy with Iran," he said. "More importantly, we are engaged in diplomacy with a number of countries around the world and trying to secure their support for economic sanctions to bring pressure on the Iranian government to resolve this nuclear problem in a peaceful way."
Gates noted that most countries in the world, and all members of the U.N. Security Council, have called on the Iranians to halt.
Only if the Iranian leadership shows some indication it's willing to budge would higher-level meetings be appropriate, he said. "The administration has made clear that it is prepared to have broader dialog if (the Iranians) make commitments to stop enriching," he said.
As the United States works with other countries around the world to address threats posed by Iran and elsewhere, Gates said he's been pleased to see a shift in any anti-American sentiment that may have existed.
In his travels to 40 to 45 countries during his 11 months as defense secretary, Gates said, he "didn't run into a single one that does not want to work with the United States and does not want a better relationship with the United States." That included visits to Russia and China.
He pointed to shifts in both the French and German governments. "The new French president is amazingly pro-American and is looking for ways to cooperate with us," he said. "The German government of Angela Merkel is very different from the government of her predecessors."
Gates pointed to broad interest in the U.S.-sponsored Annapolis Conference, which begins today, as another positive sign that nations of the world want to work with the United States.
"If you look at the number of Arab countries that have come to the Annapolis Conference, including Syria, I think it indicates the continuing and ensuring strength of our democracy," he said.
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 26, 2007 - The best way to confront Iran's nuclear weapons program is through international diplomatic pressure, and military force should remain a last resort, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today at Kansas State University. Gates told participants in the Landon Lecture series in Manhattan, Kan., he supports diplomatic pressure to get Iran to abandon its nuclear efforts.
"We are engaged in diplomacy with Iran," he said. "More importantly, we are engaged in diplomacy with a number of countries around the world and trying to secure their support for economic sanctions to bring pressure on the Iranian government to resolve this nuclear problem in a peaceful way."
Gates noted that most countries in the world, and all members of the U.N. Security Council, have called on the Iranians to halt.
Only if the Iranian leadership shows some indication it's willing to budge would higher-level meetings be appropriate, he said. "The administration has made clear that it is prepared to have broader dialog if (the Iranians) make commitments to stop enriching," he said.
As the United States works with other countries around the world to address threats posed by Iran and elsewhere, Gates said he's been pleased to see a shift in any anti-American sentiment that may have existed.
In his travels to 40 to 45 countries during his 11 months as defense secretary, Gates said, he "didn't run into a single one that does not want to work with the United States and does not want a better relationship with the United States." That included visits to Russia and China.
He pointed to shifts in both the French and German governments. "The new French president is amazingly pro-American and is looking for ways to cooperate with us," he said. "The German government of Angela Merkel is very different from the government of her predecessors."
Gates pointed to broad interest in the U.S.-sponsored Annapolis Conference, which begins today, as another positive sign that nations of the world want to work with the United States.
"If you look at the number of Arab countries that have come to the Annapolis Conference, including Syria, I think it indicates the continuing and ensuring strength of our democracy," he said.
Alaska Guard Conducts Operation Santa Claus
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 26, 2007 - The Alaska National Guard is bringing Christmas a month early to children in remote Alaskan villages, some whom might otherwise not get to see a Santa Claus or receive a holiday gift. The Guardsmen from the 144th Airlift Squadron are slated to fly a C-130 Hercules aircraft from Kulis Air National Guard Base to Kotlik, Alaska, tomorrow for the third and last major Operation Santa Claus flight of the season, said Kalei Brooks, a spokeswoman for Alaska's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
The airmen will carry Santa and Mrs. Claus and other community and business volunteers and join them in distributing toys, clothing, books, school supplies and holiday spirit to local residents. They'll also help serve up a feast of turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans, as well as ice cream sundaes donated by the Tastee-Freez company.
The Alaska National Guard has conducted Operation Santa Claus since 1956 to bring holiday cheer to children and families in remote villages across the state.
That year, spring floods devastated the fishing season, and a drought wiped out much of the wildlife hunters and trappers would normally have gathered, Brooks said. Nuns at a mission in St. Mary's, Alaska, worried that as they used all the money they had to ship in food for their orphanage, nothing would be left to buy gifts for the children.
A letter from one of the nuns found its way to the Alaska Air National Guard's 144th Airlift Squadron in Anchorage and gave birth to Operation Santa Claus. Since then, the effort has branched out to reach different remote villages every year. Last year, the Guard observed the program's 50th anniversary by returning to St. Mary's, among other villages.
The Alaska Guard and its elves kicked off this season's Operation Santa Claus Nov. 3 by flying two C-130s loaded with volunteer elves and goodies to Wainwright. The town, about 70 miles southwest of Barrow, has fewer than 600 residents. They flew another Operation Santa Claus flight Nov. 13 to Togiak, a village of just over 800 people at the head of Togiak Bay.
While the Alaska Air National Guard flies C-130 missions, the Army National Guard participates in Operation Santa Claus, too, delivering goodies to local communities via UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, said Air Force Capt. Guy Hayes, the Alaska Guard's chief of public affairs.
To ensure there's a big supply of gifts to deliver, the Operation Santa Claus elves collect donations year-round. "A lot of hard work and a lot of volunteers go into this project," she said. "It's a year-round effort."
Volunteers go through lost-and-found boxes after the school year ends and get items professionally cleaned. They scour their local communities for books to donate, and collect donations from local organizations and businesses to distribute, she said.
Even gifts as simple as fresh fruit and bottled water are received in the villages with open arms. "Things like that are very expensive in remote Alaskan villages," she said. "So getting them is a treat."
Brooks, who plans to take part in tomorrow's flight for her fourth consecutive year supporting Operation Santa Claus, said it's gratifying to bring the holiday spirit to villagers who might otherwise go without a celebration.
"It's a way of showing that we as an organization – the Alaska National Guard – really do care about the community as a whole," she said. "We all want to get out there and integrate with the community and help our fellow Alaskans."
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 26, 2007 - The Alaska National Guard is bringing Christmas a month early to children in remote Alaskan villages, some whom might otherwise not get to see a Santa Claus or receive a holiday gift. The Guardsmen from the 144th Airlift Squadron are slated to fly a C-130 Hercules aircraft from Kulis Air National Guard Base to Kotlik, Alaska, tomorrow for the third and last major Operation Santa Claus flight of the season, said Kalei Brooks, a spokeswoman for Alaska's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
The airmen will carry Santa and Mrs. Claus and other community and business volunteers and join them in distributing toys, clothing, books, school supplies and holiday spirit to local residents. They'll also help serve up a feast of turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans, as well as ice cream sundaes donated by the Tastee-Freez company.
The Alaska National Guard has conducted Operation Santa Claus since 1956 to bring holiday cheer to children and families in remote villages across the state.
That year, spring floods devastated the fishing season, and a drought wiped out much of the wildlife hunters and trappers would normally have gathered, Brooks said. Nuns at a mission in St. Mary's, Alaska, worried that as they used all the money they had to ship in food for their orphanage, nothing would be left to buy gifts for the children.
A letter from one of the nuns found its way to the Alaska Air National Guard's 144th Airlift Squadron in Anchorage and gave birth to Operation Santa Claus. Since then, the effort has branched out to reach different remote villages every year. Last year, the Guard observed the program's 50th anniversary by returning to St. Mary's, among other villages.
The Alaska Guard and its elves kicked off this season's Operation Santa Claus Nov. 3 by flying two C-130s loaded with volunteer elves and goodies to Wainwright. The town, about 70 miles southwest of Barrow, has fewer than 600 residents. They flew another Operation Santa Claus flight Nov. 13 to Togiak, a village of just over 800 people at the head of Togiak Bay.
While the Alaska Air National Guard flies C-130 missions, the Army National Guard participates in Operation Santa Claus, too, delivering goodies to local communities via UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, said Air Force Capt. Guy Hayes, the Alaska Guard's chief of public affairs.
To ensure there's a big supply of gifts to deliver, the Operation Santa Claus elves collect donations year-round. "A lot of hard work and a lot of volunteers go into this project," she said. "It's a year-round effort."
Volunteers go through lost-and-found boxes after the school year ends and get items professionally cleaned. They scour their local communities for books to donate, and collect donations from local organizations and businesses to distribute, she said.
Even gifts as simple as fresh fruit and bottled water are received in the villages with open arms. "Things like that are very expensive in remote Alaskan villages," she said. "So getting them is a treat."
Brooks, who plans to take part in tomorrow's flight for her fourth consecutive year supporting Operation Santa Claus, said it's gratifying to bring the holiday spirit to villagers who might otherwise go without a celebration.
"It's a way of showing that we as an organization – the Alaska National Guard – really do care about the community as a whole," she said. "We all want to get out there and integrate with the community and help our fellow Alaskans."
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