SWAT EXPO

The International Tactical Officers Training Association (ITOTA) is proud and excited to partner with ADS and host the 2008 SWAT Evolution Expo to be held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center located in Newark, New Jersey. The SWAT Evolution Expois scheduled for October 29th and 30th, 2008, and will be a first-class production with all levels of the law enforcement and military special operations community in attendance.

The ITOTA is an association designed to bring the international tactical community closer together through training and information sharing by focusing on the wealth of knowledge, experience and technology that exists in the global tactical community today. Our association scrupulously seeks out ways to meet the needs of our community and is ecstatic to partner with ADS. We are more than confident that this event will surpass our expectations in providing the most up-to-date, tactical, academic training and product showcase available today.

The SWAT Evolution Expo is based on the concept of how “fifth” generation warfare has pushed Tactical Operations and training into a new evolution bringing the civilian Law Enforcement and Military Special Operations communities closer together—SWAT Evolution. Military and Law Enforcement tactical concepts are advancing and merging together by utilizing the best from both worlds. This is happening as a result of the War on Terrorism and direct urban conflict.

The SWAT Evolution Expo was developed to provide a “main stream,” educational and interesting platform that meshes tactical skills, training and knowledge of both law enforcement and military special operations. You will hear from some of ITOTA’s finest international speakers and partners; from top U.S, Canadian and German Tactical Law Enforcement to U.S. Army, Navy and British Military Counter Terrorist Units. We are posed to provide the most innovative and main stream training and equipment solutions available.

The courses scheduled for the academic portion of the SWAT Evolution Expo are designed to show how tactics are evolving to generate enhanced results for the operator utilizing them. It’s about providing options and securing the homeland from within and abroad.

MORE INFORMATION
http://www.adstactical.com/lawenforcement/swat_evo_expo.htm

Indy Motor Speedway Salutes New Recruits

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

May 18, 2008 - While race car drivers sped around the track trying to bump slower competitors out of next week's 92nd Indianapolis 500 lineup, 55 military recruits took a step to shift their lives into high gear. Coinciding with "Bump Day," the last day of timed driver qualifications, the track hosted its Armed Forces Day celebration. The day included a military band, an F-16 flyover by the 122nd Fighter Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard and the annual trackside enlistment ceremony.

"Our armed forces have the ... ability to make a supreme difference," said U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, who administered the oath of enlistment. "I thank these young people for their service every day."

Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communication and public liaison, offered her thanks and encouragement as well.

"At no time in our nation's history have we seen more support for our men and women in the military than we do today," she told the recruits and their families and friends. "That's a good news story for all of us."

Barber went on to tell the recruits about a friend who originally enlisted in the Army with thoughts of serving for just a few years. Just last week that friend was promoted to the rank of general.

"She's an example of what Abraham Lincoln meant when he said, 'Whatever you are, be a good one,'" Barber said. "Whether you're joining for a few years or if you're going to stay to be a general, I ask you to be a good one."

Mindy Andrews said she's joining the Navy to be a better mom to her 17-month-old daughter.

"I'm a single mom," the 26-year-old from Shelbyville, Ind., said. "I have a little girl [and] I want her to have a real positive, strong, female role model."

Other recruits said they realized the military was the right choice for them and now was the right time to enlist.

"Things at home were kind of slowing down," said Jerad Maxwell, who chose to join the Coast Guard. "I'm not really getting anywhere with school or my job, so I figured I better go in the military."

The Fort Wayne, Ind., volunteer firefighter enjoys responding to emergency situations and staying in the country was important to him. "So I kind of figured the Coast Guard was for me," he said.

One recruit in particular said had always known he wanted to enlist in the Army. He just had to wait until he was old enough.

"I've always wanted to be in the Army, ever since I was in first grade with my friend ... We'd play Army in the backyard," said Devon Pollard, an Army National Guard enlistee from Indianapolis. "It's something I've always wanted to do."

Pollard, who enlisted through the Delayed Entry Program, will spend the summer before his high school senior year in basic training at Fort Benning, Ga.

He's not bemoaning the fact, though. In fact, Pollard was so enthusiastic about the enlistment ceremony that he had trouble finding words to express himself. "I'm honored. I'm actually speechless," he said. "I don't know what else to say."

Nickolas Stafford of Martinsville, Ind., who enlisted in the Marine Corps today, didn't have that problem.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I couldn't pass it up," he said, adding that the ceremony was his first trip to the Indianapolis track. "It's really quite awesome."

Today's ceremony concluded with a medley of the service anthems before cars reemerged on the track to continue their dizzying laps.

Commander’s Handbook for Unit Leader Development

Leaders develop from a combination of new challenges and experiences, new knowledge, and time for reflection. Leader development in the Army is a deliberate, continuous, sequential, and progressive process, grounded in Army values (FM 7-0). The result is Soldiers and civilians who are competent and confident leaders capable of decisive action.

The operational (unit) assignment is the most effective setting for leader development. In a 2006 leader development survey, captains and majors ranked leading a unit along with personal examples and mentoring as the three most effective ways their leadership qualities are developed. The consensus among private sector leader development professionals is that a full 70 percent of leader development occurs on the job, 20 percent from other people (leaders, mentors), and 10 percent from training courses.

The organization and content of this handbook provide you with key principles, TTPs, and applications to implement the most effective methods of leader development.

First – Set conditions for leader development. Personally model behaviors that encourage leader development, create an environment that encourages on-the-job learning, and get to know the leaders within your command.

Second – Provide feedback on a leader’s actions. Immediate, short bursts of feedback on actual leadership actions enhance leader development in operational assignments.

Third – Integrate Learning. Leverage leaders who are role models in your unit. Encourage mentoring, training, reflection, and study. Learning from other leaders is one of the most effective and efficient methods of development.

Fourth – Create a legacy. Modify job assignments to challenge leaders. Be deliberate about the selection and succession of leaders. Integrate leader development across day-to-day unit activities. Evaluate its effectiveness.

DOWNLOAD THE HANDBOOK
http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/Repository/Materials/CAL_CommandersHandbook.pdf

Colonel Chamberlain at Gettysburg

In late June 1863 General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia passed through western Maryland and invaded Pennsylvania. For five days, the Army of the Potomac hurried to get between the Confederates and the national capital. On 1 July 1863, the 20th Maine received word to press on to Gettysburg. The Union Army had engaged the Confederates there, and Union commanders were hurrying all available forces to the hills south of the little town.

The 20th Maine arrived at Gettysburg near midday on 2 July, after marching more than one hundred miles in five days. They had had only two hours sleep and no hot food during the previous 24 hours.

The regiment was preparing to go into a defensive position as part of the brigade commanded by COL Strong Vincent when a staff officer rode up to COL Vincent and began gesturing towards a little hill at the extreme southern end of the Union line. The hill, Little Round Top, dominated the Union position and, at that moment, was unoccupied. If the Confederates placed artillery on it, they could force the entire Union Army to withdraw. The hill had been left unprotected through a series of mistakes—wrong assumptions, the failure to communicate clearly, and the failure to check. The situation was critical.

READ ON
http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/CAL/lessons_in_leadership/Chamberlain_at_Gettysburg.doc

Mission First—Never Quit!

When SGT Leigh Ann Hester and members of the 617th Military Police Company, Kentucky National Guard set out for a routine convoy escort mission in March 2005, she never knew what challenges awaited her and her team.

SGT Hester was the vehicle commander riding in the second HMMWV behind a convoy of 26 supply vehicles when her squad leader, SSG Timothy Nein, observed the convoy under attack and moved to contact.

READ ON
http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/CAL/lessons_in_leadership/Mission_first_never_quit.doc

A Fearless Leader-Twice a Hero

One of the “young Soldiers” who fought with LTC Harold Moore at the well-known battle of Ia Drang in late 1965 was a lieutenant named Cyril Richard “Rick” Rescorla. He was British, the epitome of the young warriors that country had bred for centuries, already battle-hardened by time spent in Cyprus and Rhodesia at the age of 24. Rescorla came to America to join the fight in Vietnam.

LTC Moore called him the best platoon leader he ever saw. His troops loved him for his spirit and fearlessness. The night after an entire company of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry was virtually wiped out at Landing Zone (LZ) X-Ray, Rescorla’s company was ordered to replace them on the perimeter at the foot of the Chu Pong mountain ridge.

READ ON
http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/CAL/lessons_in_leadership/Fearless_leader.doc

Army Leadership

As the keystone leadership manual for the United States Army, FM 6-22 establishes leadership doctrine, the fundamental principles by which Army leaders act to accomplish their mission and care for their people. FM 6-22 applies to officers, warrant officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted Soldiers of all Army components, and to Army civilians.

From Soldiers in basic training to newly commissioned officers, new leaders learn how to lead with this manual as a basis. FM 6-22 is prepared under the direction of the Army Chief of Staff. It defines leadership, leadership roles and requirements, and how to develop leadership within the Army. It outlines the levels of leadership as direct, organizational, and strategic, and describes how to lead successfully at each level. It establishes and describes the core leader competencies that facilitate focused feedback, education, training, and development across all leadership levels.

It reiterates the Army Values. FM 6-22 defines how the Warrior Ethos is an integral part of every Soldier’s life. It incorporates the leadership qualities of self-awareness and adaptability and describes their critical impact on acquiring additional knowledge and improving in the core leader competencies while operating in constantly changing operational environments.

In line with evolving Army doctrine, FM 6-22 directly supports the Army’s capstone manuals, FM 1 and FM 3-0, as well as keystone manuals such as FM 5-0, FM 6-0, and FM 7-0. FM 6-22 connects Army doctrine to joint doctrine as expressed in the relevant joint doctrinal publications, JP 1 and JP 3-0. As outlined in FM 1, the Army uses the shorthand expression of BE-KNOW-DO to concentrate on key factors of leadership.

What leaders DO emerges from who they are (BE) and what they KNOW. Leaders are prepared throughout their lifetimes with respect to BE-KNOW-DO so they will be able to act at a moment’s notice and provide leadership for whatever challenge they may face.
FM 6-22 expands on the principles in FM 1 and describes the character attributes and core competencies required of contemporary leaders. Character is based on the attributes central to a leader’s make-up, and competence comes from how character combines with knowledge, skills, and behaviors to result in leadership.

Inextricably linked to the inherent qualities of the Army leader, the concept of BE-KNOW-DO represents specified elements of character, knowledge, and behavior described here in FM 6-22.

READ ON
http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/repository/materials/fm6-22.pdf

Air Show Celebrates Berlin Airlift Anniversary

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

May 17, 2008 - The historic humanitarian efforts of the Berlin Airlift 60 years ago demonstrated to U.S. allies and enemies alike that the country would not be deterred from its commitments, the Air Force secretary said today. "It displayed a U.S. dedication to a stable and prosperous rule of law and international system. It demonstrated truly the ingenuity of America's military to create sovereign options ... in response to a changing national security environment," said Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, speaking at the opening ceremonies of the Joint Service Open House at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

This year's open house coincided with the 60th anniversary of the airlift, the largest humanitarian mission in Air Force history. Officially named "Operation Vittles," but known as the Berlin Airlift, the U.S. and its allies delivered more than 2.3 million tons of food, fuel and other supplies to residents of the German capital. The Soviet Union had blocked them from receiving supplies by ground transportation.

For almost a year starting in June 1948, the U.S. and allies launched 750,000 flights to the beleaguered population. The flights delivered food for the starving, but also the parts to build an entire power plant.

Wynne likened the airlift to the humanitarian efforts the U.S. is providing in Burma and China today as the result of natural disasters in those regions. The airlift confirmed, he said, "the absolute criticality of strategic airlift to the nation."

"It demonstrated that our national leaders require an entire range of options to both, defend the United States and extend its vital interests, and provide that international security environment we all seek," Wynne said.

Klaus Scharioth, German ambassador to the United States, said freedom was at stake 60 years ago and called the airlift "one of the greatest humanitarian efforts of all times."

"I stand in awe (of) what these Americans did for my country," he said.

Scharioth said the airlift accomplished the impossible. "It was a truly heroic effort inspired by the will to preserve freedom. The common effort made allies and friends of former enemies that had fought each other in World War Two," he said.

"By keeping alive the hopes of the people of Berlin, the airlift laid the foundation of friendship."

Scharioth said the airlift demonstrates what it takes to change the course of history. "It takes your hand -- hard work and ingenuity -- and it takes your heart, sacrifice and perseverance, the will to be free and stand together as friends," he said.

The airlift inspired his generation and demonstrated that the United States stood for freedom and democracy and also forgiveness and generosity, the ambassador said.

"America's helping hands and humane hearts changed the course of history for my country. The Germans will always be grateful," he said.

Scharioth said the efforts and results of the airlift should inspire future generations as they deal with the new challenges of international terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, ensuring energy security and preserving the planet.
"Just as Germany and the United States stood together on the freedom's front line 60 years ago ... we will confront these challenges together," he said.

"The men and women of the airlift left us with a legacy of friendship. They tell us our friendship is based on shared fundamental interest and values," he said. "We will face the challenges of the future together."