Panetta to Lead Presidential Delegation to Saudi Arabia

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2012 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta will lead a delegation representing the United States to offer its sympathies to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia following the death of Crown Prince Nayif bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, the White House announced today.

“President Barack Obama today announced the designation of a presidential delegation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to offer condolences to the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, on the passing of HRH Nayif bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, crown prince and deputy premier and minister of interior,” the statement said.

The delegation, scheduled to depart June 20, 2012, will also include James B. Smith, United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism; and Robert S. Mueller III, director of the FBI.

The White House statement also noted that A. Elizabeth Jones, acting assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs; George J. Tenet, former director of the CIA; and Frances Fragos Townsend, former assistant to the president for counterterrorism and homeland security will serve as part of the delegation.

Secretary General Kicks Off NATO Summit in Chicago

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

CHICAGO  – NATO’s largest-ever summit opened here today to focus on keeping Afghanistan secure, ensuring NATO’s capability in the 21st century, and enhancing the alliance’s global network of partners, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

Representatives from 60 countries and organizations have gathered in this busy midwestern U.S. city for a meeting that NATO officials characterize as preparation for the alliance’s future.

President Barack Obama arrived this morning after hosting a daylong G-8 summit at Camp David in Maryland with leaders of Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is here to participate in discussions and attend North Atlantic Council sessions on 21st-century NATO capabilities, the long-term commitment of nations participating in the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and NATO partnerships.

Panetta also will convene a working dinner of his fellow defense ministers, attend a signing ceremony for the purchase by 13 NATO allies of a ground surveillance system for future alliance operations, and join Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki for a visit to a first-of-its-kind joint Defense Department-VA hospital in north Chicago.

During a short preliminary briefing on the first day of the two-day international meeting, Rasmussen said discussions today will focus on security in an age of austerity.

“We will ensure that the alliance has the capabilities to deal with the security challenges of the future, even as we tackle the economic challenges of the present,” he told reporters at the summit’s media center at McCormick Place on the shore of Lake Michigan.

“We will adopt a concrete package of multinational projects which can provide greater security for all our citizens at lower cost, we will embrace a renewed culture of cooperation which we call ‘smart defense,’ and I expect we will take the first step to make our missile defense system operational,” he added.

Tomorrow, on the second day of the summit, Rasmussen said, “we will meet 13 of our most active partners around the globe, from Europe to Asia and the Middle East, because today’s security challenges are global and they need global solutions.”

NATO will continue to cooperate with partners from around the world, building on successes “so that we can provide more security for NATO, for our partners, and for the world,” he added.

Tomorrow also will be the day that summit participants shape the next stage of NATO’s engagement with Afghanistan. “We will complete transition of security responsibility to the Afghans by the end of 2014, but we will continue to support them for the long term,” Rasmussen said.

NATO officials and ISAF partners will meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, leaders of many countries in the region and beyond, and key international organizations, the secretary general added.

“This will be a powerful demonstration of the commitment of the whole international community to the future of Afghanistan,” he said.

Wisconsin unit ready to respond to natural disaster, WMD scenarios

By Tech. Sgt. Jon LaDue

Wisconsin National Guard

If there was one unit that could symbolize the Wisconsin National Guard's domestic operations role, an argument could be made for the 54th Civil Support Team, which held a change-of-command ceremony Wednesday (May 16) at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Madison. 

The 54th CST is a joint unit - encompassing Wisconsin Soldiers and Airmen - that is a round-the-clock team postured for response to natural disasters, toxic industrial chemical incidents and terrorists situations with an emphasis on weapons of mass destruction.

The CST is also joint in the aspect that it frequently coordinates, trains and responds with local, state and federal organizations. The unit is often looked to for initial reports and analysis of unknown materials which could potentially pose a threat to the public's safety.

"Their ability to analyze materials and respond, both from their training standpoint and equipment standpoint, far exceeds what we have here locally," said FBI supervisory agent Christopher Cole. "So in an incident we're going to rely heavily upon them." 

The FBI and the CST share the domestic WMD mission and the partnership between the two agencies is extremely important, Cole said.

The 54th works with more than just the FBI, however, having trained and worked with more than 90 civil agencies. And according to Col. Paul Russell, commander of the Wisconsin Army National Guard's 64th Troop Command, the CST has responded 100 percent of the time they've been requested.

"On average you spend one-third of the fiscal year away from your friends and family. Remember the importance of what you do," Russell said. "We are counting on you, Wisconsin is counting on you - as are the citizens of our great nation."

Air Guard Lt. Col. David May assumed command of the 54th CST, from Army Guard Lt. Col. Timothy Covington during the formal ceremony. May becomes the first Air National Guard officer to lead the unit, which is part of the Department of Defense's program to assist local authorities in any WMD event.

"This is an incredibly exciting and humbling day for me," May said. "While I never could have foreseen a unique opportunity such as this one … I consider it a dream come true to be at this particular unit.

"Today starts a new chapter for us and it will be a chapter we will write together," May continued. "I can only come to the conclusion that as we build on the many successes of the past, this CST team is destined for continued greatness and a well deserved place in the top tier of CSTs across the nation."

Nursing Community Pledges Support for Troops, Families

By Lisa Daniel

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2012 – First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden today announced a major pledge by the nation’s nursing community to better understand the unique health needs of service members, veterans, and their families, and to reach out to provide treatment wherever it is needed.

Obama and Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, announced at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia that 150 state and national nursing organizations and 500 nursing schools, representing the nation’s 3 million nurses, signed the pledge as the latest endeavor of their “Joining Forces” campaign to help military families.

Noting Penn’s reputation for having one of the nation’s best nursing schools, Obama and Biden announced that the American Nurses Association, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and the National League for Nursing have committed to educating current and future nurses on how to recognize and care for veterans with post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries, depression, and other combat-related issues, in ways appropriate to each nurse’s practice setting.

“Whether we’re in a hospital, a doctor’s office or a community health center, nurses are often the first people we see when we walk through the door,” Obama said in a prepared statement. “Because of their expertise, they are trusted to be the frontline of America’s health care system. That’s why Jill and I knew we could turn to America’s nurses and nursing students to help our veterans and military families get the world-class care that they’ve earned.”

The pledge follows an announcement in January that the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, with 105 and 25 schools, respectively, made a similar commitment among doctors to lead in the education, research, and clinical care of service members, veterans and their families.

“Nurses are at the center of providing life-saving care in communities across the country -- and their reach is particularly important because our veterans don't always seek care through the VA system,” Biden said today. “This commitment is essential to ensuring our returning service men and women receive the care they deserve.”

Amy Garcia, the American Nurses Association’s chief nursing officer, said nurses of every generation have cared for men and women suffering the visible and invisible wounds of war. Today’s new, evidence-based strategies and treatments provide hope, she added.

Some service members, veterans and their families may avoid seeking care for traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder or depression either because of a perceived stigma, or because they live far away from military or veterans’ health care facilities, Garcia said. “We want to change that, and ensure that nurses in every community have access to the most current, evidence-based treatments and resources,” she said.

Garcia understands the challenge firsthand. In a conference call with reporters yesterday, she described how her husband returned to their home state of Kansas with a traumatic brain injury suffered in combat in Iraq, when a dining hall full of U.S. service members was blown up in Fallujah in December 2004. “It’s been difficult to get care in rural areas of America,” she said. “The farther you get away, the less aware practitioners may be.”

The nurses’ Joining Forces pledge “is a positive effort to change that tide,” she said.

More than 300,000 veterans -- one of six returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq -- are believed to have post-traumatic stress or a traumatic brain injury, Garcia said.

Key commitments of the nurses’ pledge include:

-- Reaching 3.1 million registered nurses by 2015 to raise awareness of PTSD, TBI and depression;

-- Enriching nursing education to ensure that nurses are trained in the unique clinical challenges and best practices associated with caring for military service members, veterans, and their families;

-- Disseminating the most up-to-date information as it relates to TBI and psychological health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress;

-- Growing the body of knowledge leading to improvements in health care and wellness for our military service members, veterans, and their families; and

-- Leading and advancing the community of nurses, institutions, and health care providers dedicated to improving the health of military service members, veterans, and their families.

Blue Star Families joins the NEA for Read Across America Day

Military families Books on Bases programs help nationwide

Washington, D.C. (February 29, 2012) –  Blue Star Families is pleased to announce that its literacy program for military children, Books on Bases, has joined The National Education Association’s Read Across America Day, March 2, 2012, participating in the ongoing effort to “build a nation of readers.”

Marking the 15th anniversary for Read Across America, participation expected to reach over 45 million people nationwide. This year’s event is co-chaired by cast members of Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax” which premiers in theaters the same day as Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, March 2nd.

Furthering Blue Star Families’ commitment to increase literacy amongst military children and encouraging families to read together, BSF chapters around the country will host reading events on March 2, 2012.  Events planned include Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Fort Benning, Georgia and military impacted communities in California.  

“The first step in ensuring our children’s educational success is through reading,” said Tricia Ross, program manager for Books on Bases. “The ability to read shapes a child’s ability to learn, and literacy is the foundation that is needed to become a successful, life-long learner.  Parents that take an active role as their child’s first teacher help to establish the value of education in their home early on, which in turn, sets up a precedent of the importance of literacy and learning.”

Books on Bases, is a program created by Blue Star Families to positively impact the lives of military children through the power of reading.  Blue Star Families continues its mission to promote literacy among military children by providing books to military children, military base libraries, Department of Defense Schools, military impacted public schools and community libraries.  The program is dedicated to developing a love of reading among our military children; one of the best ways to accomplish this to simply read to them. The everyday lives of military families are challenging and books can be used as a tool to provide the opportunity for escapism, stress-relief, self-expression and dialogue over thoughtful matters that may otherwise be difficult.

Added Ross, “What better way to show the importance of reading then by celebrating one of the most inspiring children’s authors of all time? Blue Star Families is excited to participate in this year’s Read Across America Day and encourage military family’s bond through reading.”

About Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families is a national, nonprofit network of military families from all ranks and services, including guard and reserve, with a mission to support, connect and empower military families. In addition to morale and empowerment programs, Blue Star Families raises awareness of the challenges and strengths of military family life and works to make military life more sustainable. Membership includes military spouses, children and parents as well as service members, veterans and civilians. To learn more about Blue Star Families, visit http://www.bluestarfam.org.

About NEA’s Read Across America

The National Education Association is building a nation of readers through its signature program, NEA’s Read Across America. Now in its thirteenth year, this year-round program focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.NEA’s Read Across America Day, NEA’s national reading celebration takes place each year on or near March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. Across the country, thousands of schools, libraries, and community centers participate by bringing together kids, teens, and books.

Media requests may be directed to Stephanie Himel-Nelson at 703-472-6292 or Tricia Ross at 910-430-4216