Sailors and Marines Invade Eisenhower Park from the Skies

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Donisha Burns, Fleet Week New York Public Affairs

NEW YORK (NNS) -- The sea services kicked off Memorial Day weekend in Nassau County by hosting a joint air and ground demonstration May 28, at Eisenhower Park, East Meadows, N.Y.

This successful event was just part of many of the exciting activities taking place as part of Fleet Week New York 2011, a celebration of the sea services that has been a tradition in the city since 1984. This demonstration allowed Sailors and Marines to display how tactics and technology has evolved. In return, the local community shook hands, took pictures and even received a few autographs from those in uniform.

"I had a great time, me and my friend even got soldiers to sign our shirt," said eight-year old, John Ranize.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Unit 12 of Virginia Beach, Va., conducted a rappel demonstration before landing and allowing tours and photo opportunities of their MH-60S Knight Hawk helicopter.

"This is perfect. I didn't expect we would be able to get on the helicopter or shake hands with the service members," said Ashish Chatur.

Following the Navy's EOD team, Marines from various units flew in a pair of AH-1W Cobras and MV-22B Ospreys. After landing the Marines conducted basic offloading tactics and showed spectators the proper wear of body armor and how to hold and operate some of the weapons systems.

Michael Counadis, a New Jersey native who usually spends his Memorial Day weekend in South Jersey watching the Air Show changed his plans this year. "This is my first time coming out, I'll rate it a 10, besides my nephew, Pvt. Milton is a part of the celebration this time," said Counadis.

After 24 years, Fleet week continues to be an unparalleled opportunity for Sea Service members and the citizens of New York and surrounding tri-state area to meet and share experiences.

Ceremony Honors Fallen EOD Warriors

By Ed Barker, Naval Education and Training Command Public Affairs

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (NNS) -- The names of 15 fallen EOD warriors were added to the EOD Memorial wall during a ceremony at the Kauffman Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Training Complex aboard Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., May 7.

The names were of Army, Marine Corps and Air Force EOD technicians killed in action last year in Iraq and Afghanistan. This 42nd annual ceremony gave family, friends and members of the EOD community, past and present, a chance to honor their fallen comrades.

The event is sponsored by the EOD Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring the legacy of fallen EOD warriors by providing for the maintenance and upkeep of the memorial at Eglin. Hosted by the Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, all preparations were coordinated and executed by staff volunteers from all four services at the school.

"The EOD Memorial Foundation funds the memorial's maintenance and assists EOD families with scholarships and travel expenses to and from the annual memorial ceremony," said Foundation President Robert Fay. "We work closely with the services to document and verify that the member was killed during an EOD-related incident to be eligible to earn a place on the memorial's wall."

Oversight and management of the EOD school is the responsibility of the Navy, with joint-service manning by the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and the Air Force. The school's mission is to train officers and enlisted personnel in the best methods of detection, identification, render safe, and disposal of explosive ordnance and related devices.

Capt. Adam Guziewicz, the school's commanding officer, said reading the new names placed on the wall at the annual memorial is a poignant reminder that EOD technicians are on the front lines, risking their lives every day. The fallen warriors added to the wall in this year's ceremony consisted of five Army, eight Marines and two Air Force EOD technicians. All received their training at the EOD School aboard Eglin.

"They sacrificed all for their country, and we will never know the countless lives they have saved," said Guziewicz. "Their legacy will live on in the lives of those they left behind."

Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos, served as the guest speaker for the ceremony.

"This memorial stands as a testament to the sacrifice and fidelity of our brothers and sisters-in-arms who gave everything so that Americans might live in peace," said Amos. "The explosive ordnance disposal family is a unique fraternity with a special bond, and we will always remember those noble warriors and their families for their supreme courage and steadfast loyalty to our nation and each other."

The EOD Memorial was originally built by EOD technicians in Indian Head, Md., the location of the first EOD School. The memorial was relocated to the Kauffman EOD Training Complex when the school moved to its present location in the late 1990's. The new memorial incorporates elements of the original in recognition of its history.

Navy Supports Earth Week on Guam

By Anna-Victoria Crisostomo, U.S. Naval Forces, Marianas Public Affairs

GUAM (NNS) -- Volunteers from Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Marianas and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5 participated in a day-long cleanup effort to support events in recognition of Earth Week on Guam April 30.

The volunteers kicked off the day by cleaning up Tanguisson Beach and Park in Dededo. They collected 60 bags of trash that had once scattered the shoreline and Tanguisson park facility, and were able to separate bags of glass and plastic for recycling.

According to Paul Wenninger, NAVFAC Marianas natural resources specialist and coordinator of the event, volunteers removed more than 400 bags of trash from the Tanguisson area in the past three years.

"The Navy's very involved with helping the public and doing volunteer work, and this is an opportunity for us to clean a beach that has public access," Wenninger said. "We like to come out and go to a public beach and do a cleanup that can benefit the whole island."

Gunner's Mate 1st Class (EXW) Ronald Sherman, EODMU 5, said everyone should have a hand in preserving Guam's natural treasures.

"It's very important that we're out here at the beaches or where people hang out," Sherman said. "If you don't take care of the beaches then it's going to be overran by trash."

Wenninger agreed wholeheartedly with Sherman.

"We should take pride in our island," Wenninger said. "This is the Navy's way of giving back to the community."

Military representatives also participated in the Guahan (GWAH-hawn), or Guam, Earth Festival at the Governor Joseph Flores Beach Park in Tumon on the same day. Alongside government of Guam entities including the Guam Energy Office and Guam Environmental Protection Agency, Joint Region Marianas (JRM), NBG, and Andersen Air Force Base (AFB) energy managers promoted conservation, energy efficiency, and wildlife preservation and protection. They also passed out environmental-friendly, reusable shoulder bags, pens, pencils, and other items with conservation messages.

"Joint Region Marianas wants to support our sister villages and Guam in showing our support for an island sustainability concept – a 'one Guam concept' – and saving energy," said Kevin Evans, JRM energy manager. "We're all one community here. So, pardon the cliche, no one's an island. We have to work together, and we're all in this together."

Personnel from the Andersen AFB environmental team promoted the base's recycling program and Natural Resources Conservation Office. Barbara Torres, Andersen Environmental Team Pollution Prevention Program environmental protection specialist, said her team was there to give Guam residents a look at environmental measures being taken aboard Andersen AFB.

"For the recycling side, we just wanted to share with people what we do at Andersen; how we recycle in the offices and at the homes, and how from that recycling, how it goes to the facility and it gets recycled either on island or off island," she said.

To learn more about conservation measures, contact your installation energy manager.

Fallen Marine's Family Adopts His Best Friend

By Randy Roughton

Defense Media Activity-San Antonio

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, Feb. 4, 2011 – "Whatever is mine is his," Marine Corps Pfc. Colton W. Rusk wrote about Eli, his military working dog, in the final days of their deployment in Afghanistan.

Yesterday, Rusk's family helped to prove his words true when they adopted the black Labrador retriever in a retirement and adoption ceremony at the military working dog school here.

After Rusk, 20, was killed Dec. 5 in Afghanistan’s Helmand province by Taliban sniper fire, Marine Corps officials told Darrell and Kathy Rusk, his parents, that Eli, the young Marine’s infantry explosives detector dog, crawled on top of their son to protect him after he was shot.

The Rusks drove here from their home in Orange Grove, Texas, along with their sons -- Cody, 22, and Brady, 12 -- as well as Rusk's aunt, Yvonne Rusk, and his grandparents, Jan Rusk and Katy and Wayne O'Neal.

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jessy Eslick of the Defense Department’s military working dog research and development section handed the leash to the family, praising Eli as "a dog that brought Marines home to their families."

Eli immediately began licking Kathy Rusk's palms and fell into the arms of his former handler's father.

"In his last letter we got the day before we buried him, at the very top was a little smudge that said 'Eli's kisses,'" said the fallen Marine’s mother, who wore a two-sided pendant with a photo of her son on one side and another snapshot of him with Eli on the other. "[Colton] thought whatever was [his] was Eli's. "We're Colton's family, so it's just right that we're Eli's family now."

Eli, who was trained in the military working dog program here, reportedly is the second working dog the Marines discharged to permit adoption by a fallen handler's family. Cpl. Dustin J. Lee's family adopted his German shepherd, Lex, after the Quitman, Miss., Marine died from wounds he received in a mortar attack in Iraq’s Anbar province March 21, 2007. The corporal's family worked for nine months with an online petition and congressional help to secure the adoption.

Kathy Rusk said her family didn't have as many obstacles in their quest to adopt Eli. Texas Gov. Rick Perry started the process of working with the Marines on the dog's discharge, and Scooter Kelo, who trained Eli and also taught Rusk on working with the dog, also helped to make the adoption possible.

"It gets our mind off the sadness of losing Colton," she said, "just knowing we're going to have a little piece of Colton in Eli. I just wished he could talk and tell us some stories. Just to know we're going to be able to share the love we have for our son with something that he loved dearly."

Rusk joined the Marines after he graduated from Orange Grove High School and committed himself to the Marines the same week that his best friend, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Justin Rokohl, lost both legs in southern Afghanistan. Rusk deployed to Afghanistan on his 20th birthday, with Eli, as part of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, from Camp Pendleton, Calif.

"He wanted to be a Marine since he was 10 years old," his mother said of her fallen son. "We talked to him about maybe going to college first, but he said he had to fight for his country first."

Rusk often told his parents how dogs like Eli were well-trained here and in South Carolina, where he was trained as a bomb detector dog handler.

"We've had dogs all of our lives," Darrell Rusk said. "Since all of the boys were babies, they had one. Colton was probably the better handler of the bunch. When he went to train in South Carolina, he said, 'Dad, we don't know how to train dogs. These dogs here will bring you a beer, they'll open the can for you, but sometimes they'll drink it for you, too.' He said that was how well-trained the dogs were, and he was really amazed how much you can do with a dog once you've worked with them."

The dog Rusk liked to call "My boy, Eli" earned a reputation for wanting to be wherever his handler was. Eli didn't want to sleep on the ground; he slept in Rusk's sleeping bag. They even ate together outside after Rusk found out that Eli wasn't allowed to eat in the chow hall.

"He told a story of when they were in the chow line one time," the fallen Marine’s father said. "One of the Marines kicked at the dog one time and told him to get the dog out. Colton and the Marine got into a little scuffle. They told Colton he could stay inside and leave the dog outside, but from then on, Colton and Eli ate outside. That's how tight he and the dog were."

The family met Eli once when they visited Rusk at Camp Pendleton the week he deployed. After the retirement and adoption ceremony, the Rusks took Eli to their home on more than 20 acres of land, which he will share with the family, their horses and three German shepherds.

Jan Rusk said this was another way to honor her grandson’s memory, but it also will help the family as they continue to cope with their loss.

"Eli was a part of Colton, and now they have a little part of Colton back," she said.

Acro to Supply 300 Peroxide Explosive Testers (ACRO-P.E.T.) to US Army

August 1, 2007 – Acro, Inc. (OTC BB:ACRI), a developer of explosive detection solutions, today announced that it has received a first order from the US Army for 300 of its ACRO-P.E.T. peroxide explosive testers. The order was received by Quality Performance, Inc., an Acro distributor in the United States.

Acro's revolutionary patented peroxide explosive tester – ACRO-P.E.T. – is an innovative, pen-like tester that can identify peroxide-based explosives, such as Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP), which may appear in a variety of shapes and forms, including liquid explosives. Peroxide-based explosives are almost impossible to identify, since they do not contain nitro groups and are colorless.

Improvised explosive devices based on materials containing peroxide have increasingly been used in recent years by various terrorist organizations. The main reason is that such peroxide-based explosives can be easily “home-made” using inexpensive, readily available starting materials that can be purchased in most hardware and paint stores, even in bulk quantities.

"We are excited to receive this order, which is a major milestone for Acro," said Acro Chairman and CEO Gadi Aner. "ACRO-P.E.T. is a critical tool in the never-ending battle against terror. When every second counts, fast-acting ACRO-P.E.T. can provide life-saving protection against malicious terrorist attempts."

ACRO-P.E.T. has been designed for rapid, on-site detection of peroxide-based explosives using three chemical solutions, through direct contact with the suspicious substance. Its main advantages include high sensitivity, high selectivity, fast response, simple operation, small size and cost effectiveness. For example, ACRO-P.E.T. can detect less than 50 micrograms (0.00005 gram) of TATP.

About Acro, Inc.
Acro, Inc. develops explosives detection technologies. The company has developed a unique patented technology for identifying peroxide-based explosives, such as TATP. Acro’s Advisory Board includes Prof. K. Barry Sharpless, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, and Prof. Richard A. Lerner, President and CEO of The Scripps Research Institute, considered one of the world’s most influential scientific institutes. For more information about Acro, visit www.acrosec.com.

Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning our marketing and operations plans. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made based on management's current expectations and estimates, which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, risks related to the evolving homeland security market, our ability to successfully market and sell our "TATP" Explosive Tester product worldwide, and the ability to successfully demonstrate to governmental national security agencies and national police forces solutions, and additional orders from the U.S. Military, general economic conditions and other risk factors. Acro does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made herein.

Acro to Supply 300 Peroxide Explosive Testers (ACRO-P.E.T.) to US Army

August 1, 2007 – Acro, Inc. (OTC BB:ACRI), a developer of explosive detection solutions, today announced that it has received a first order from the US Army for 300 of its ACRO-P.E.T. peroxide explosive testers. The order was received by Quality Performance, Inc., an Acro distributor in the United States.

Acro's revolutionary patented peroxide explosive tester – ACRO-P.E.T. – is an innovative, pen-like tester that can identify peroxide-based explosives, such as Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP), which may appear in a variety of shapes and forms, including liquid explosives. Peroxide-based explosives are almost impossible to identify, since they do not contain nitro groups and are colorless.

Improvised explosive devices based on materials containing peroxide have increasingly been used in recent years by various terrorist organizations. The main reason is that such peroxide-based explosives can be easily “home-made” using inexpensive, readily available starting materials that can be purchased in most hardware and paint stores, even in bulk quantities.

"We are excited to receive this order, which is a major milestone for Acro," said Acro Chairman and CEO Gadi Aner. "ACRO-P.E.T. is a critical tool in the never-ending battle against terror. When every second counts, fast-acting ACRO-P.E.T. can provide life-saving protection against malicious terrorist attempts."

ACRO-P.E.T. has been designed for rapid, on-site detection of peroxide-based explosives using three chemical solutions, through direct contact with the suspicious substance. Its main advantages include high sensitivity, high selectivity, fast response, simple operation, small size and cost effectiveness. For example, ACRO-P.E.T. can detect less than 50 micrograms (0.00005 gram) of TATP.

About Acro, Inc.
Acro, Inc. develops explosives detection technologies. The company has developed a unique patented technology for identifying peroxide-based explosives, such as TATP. Acro’s Advisory Board includes Prof. K. Barry Sharpless, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, and Prof. Richard A. Lerner, President and CEO of The Scripps Research Institute, considered one of the world’s most influential scientific institutes. For more information about Acro, visit www.acrosec.com.

Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning our marketing and operations plans. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made based on management's current expectations and estimates, which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, risks related to the evolving homeland security market, our ability to successfully market and sell our "TATP" Explosive Tester product worldwide, and the ability to successfully demonstrate to governmental national security agencies and national police forces solutions, and additional orders from the U.S. Military, general economic conditions and other risk factors. Acro does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made herein.