Military Brothers Compete in 'Titan Games' TV Show

May 26, 2020 | BY George A. Smith

Two brothers — an Air Force instructor pilot and an Army engineer — will battle it out in the NBC series "The Titan Games," which features people from across America competing in endurance-based mental and physical challenges.

Air Force Capt. Noah Palicia, stationed in Yokota, Japan, and his older brother, Army Lt. Col. Eric Palicia, stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany, have a very special person to thank.

I pushed myself to new limits, had a ton of fun, and, most importantly, bonded with my older brother doing something we both enjoy most — competition!"

Air Force Capt. Noah Palicia

"After winning the [Defense Department] Alpha Warrior Interservice Battle for the second year in a row, my wife posted a message on 'The Titan Games' Instagram, saying that they should choose the Palicia brothers for season 2," Noah Palicia said. "I received a phone call at 2 a.m. from the casting director, asking if I would like to submit an audition tape and try out for the show. After making the tape, I was invited to the combined tryout and found out my brother and I made the show."

The Palicias participated in the tryout Jan. 9-14 in Los Angeles, and they found out they made the show a week later. They traveled to Atlanta for the filming of the series.

"It was an experience I will never forget," Noah Palicia said. "Not only was I able to compete with some of the best athletes in the world on a larger stage than I have ever competed on, but I also was able to enjoy the whole experience with my brother. I pushed myself to new limits, had a ton of fun, and, most importantly, bonded with my older brother doing something we both enjoy most — competition!"

"It was so much more than a competition though," he continued. "Definitely a TV show first and a competition second. Never again do I wish to compete with makeup caked on my face and then have to answer hours of interview questions pre and post competition."

Now comes the interesting part — family, friends and comrades get to see them on TV.

"'I'm thrilled … and a little terrified!' I said from the moment that my brother and I were informed we were going to be on 'The Titan Games.' I just don't want to become a meme!" Noah Palicia said with a laugh. "I would be surprised and disappointed if my fellow aircrew didn't give me a hard time for some silly things I was either told to say on camera or let slip out of my mouth. My non-aircrew co-workers, family and friends will be impressed with my determination and be thrilled to see a friendly face on the big screen."

Six other service members and veterans are also competing in the series. "The Titan Games" airs Monday nights. 

(George A. Smith is assigned to the American Forces Network Broadcast Center.)

President Honors Newly Commissioned Officer for Leadership as Cadet

May 26, 2020 | BY Joe Lacdan , Army News Service

Army Second Lt. Lauren Shappell faced her first challenge as a military leader before she was commissioned.

Halfway through the spring semester of her senior year at the University of North Carolina, the school's administration told students to return home during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March.

Shappell, serving as a battalion commander for 70 cadets in her ROTC unit at Chapel Hill, had to adjust her communication and interaction with fellow students using virtual tools and online apps. Some cadets lived in different time zones, and others couldn't always make it to assigned online lab meetings.

"People had different situations, and I was kind of being empathetic to that," she said. "It was a lot of flexibility, a lot of communication with my senior class."

President Donald J. Trump honored Shappell and about 20 other college and high school students in a White House ceremony May 22, praising the newly- commissioned officer for her efforts during the semester.

"I'm very flattered," she said before the ceremony. "It's an opportunity of a lifetime."

Shappell hosted Zoom meetings with her battalion for the remainder of the spring, made online announcements addressing the concerns of her fellow cadets and offered encouraging words.

"It definitely challenged me," Shappell said. "I feel like I grew a lot in that position."

Now Shappell hopes to make the same impact on her Army career as a member of the Medical Service Corps at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Before assuming her new duties at Campbell, she will travel to Joint Base San Antonio for training.

Earlier this month, Shappell graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology without an in-person commencement. Shappell said the school hopes to have a formal ceremony for the class of 2020 in the fall.

Shappell is no stranger to adjusting to changing circumstances. As a military child, she and her family had to shift their lives, moving to Turkey and Germany when her father changed duty assignments. At age 4, she learned to speak Turkish while her father served as a battalion commander at the NATO Joint Command Southeast in Izmir, Turkey.

As a high school student, she later became interested in following in the footsteps of her father, Steven, a retired Army colonel and veteran of 33 years, and her mom, Cynthia, who served as an Army psychiatrist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

While maintaining a 3.69 GPA in college, she became one of UNC's top cadets, earning distinguished military graduate honors. She is a semifinalist for a Fulbright scholarship, and the former lacrosse and field hockey player also excelled in military courses and physical fitness.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself to have good grades for grad school," Shappell said. "I took [ROTC] seriously, basically, and I invested myself in academics and extracurriculars like going abroad and studying languages."

Shappell originally planned to enroll in medical school to work as an Army doctor, but after taking an overseas trip to East Africa, she now hopes to eventually work in public health. She expanded on her interest in foreign languages and other cultures at UNC by taking two years of both Swahili and Turkish.

After earning James Madison University's "Project GO" scholarship, she learned about the social and economic effects of colonialism in east African countries. The Virginia native traveled to places such as Zanzibar City on Tanzania's eastern island, Unguja, where she witnessed the impact of social injustice on Maasai people.

"It definitely changes your perspective," Shappell said. "It really broadened the scope of what I knew to be different ways people live, … and these are ways people make a living, and how they are threatened by environmental changes or policies."

She revisited learning Turkish at UNC, and before her junior year she traveled to Bulgaria to take part in the Army's Cultural Understanding Language Proficiency Program for cadets. There, she taught Bulgarian soldiers English to help them qualify for NATO positions.

Russia Deploys Military Fighter Aircraft to Libya

May 26, 2020

Russia recently deployed military fighter aircraft to Libya to support Russian state-sponsored private military contractors, or PMCs, operating on the ground there, U.S. Africa Command officials said.

Russian military aircraft are likely to provide close air support and offensive fires for the Wagner Group PMC, which is supporting the Libyan National Army's fight against the internationally recognized government of national accord, Africom officials said in a news release. The Russian fighter aircraft arrived in Libya from an air base in Russia after transiting Syria, where Africom officials assess they were repainted to camouflage their Russian origin.

''Russia is clearly trying to tip the scales in its favor in Libya. Just like I saw them doing in Syria, they are expanding their military footprint in Africa using government-supported mercenary groups like Wagner,'' said Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, Africom's commander. ''For too long, Russia has denied the full extent of its involvement in the ongoing Libyan conflict. Well, there is no denying it now. We watched as Russia flew fourth-generation jet fighters to Libya — every step of the way. Neither the LNA nor private military companies can arm, operate and sustain these fighters without state support — support they are getting from Russia."

Russia has employed state-sponsored Wagner in Libya to conceal its direct role and to afford Moscow plausible deniability of its malign actions, the Africom release said, adding the command's assessment that Moscow's military actions have prolonged the Libyan conflict and exacerbated casualties and human suffering on both sides.

Townsend said Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, who commands the Libyan National Army, had made his intentions clear. "The world heard Mr. Haftar declare he was about to unleash a new air campaign,'' the general said. “That will be Russian mercenary pilots flying Russian-supplied aircraft to bomb Libyans.''

Russia is not interested in what is best for the Libyan people, but is working to achieve its own strategic goals instead, Africom officials said.

''If Russia seizes basing on Libya's coast, the next logical step is they deploy permanent long-range anti-access area-denial capabilities," said Air Force Gen. Jeff Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa. ''If that day comes, it will create very real security concerns on Europe's southern flank.''  Russia's destabilizing actions in Libya also will exacerbate the regional instability that has driven the migration crisis affecting Europe, officials said.