By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
March 28, 2007 – First lady Laura Bush joined military leaders and other luminaries here last night in praising the United Service Organizations for its support for the military as she accepted the 2007 USO of Metropolitan Washington Service Award. The first lady joined Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Veterans Affairs Secretary R. James Nicholson and the top brass from the military services at the USO of Metropolitan Washington's 25th annual awards dinner. The star-studded gala, which featured Miss America 2007 Lauren Nelson, longtime USO star Connie Stevens, country music stars Michael Peterson and Trace Adkins, and American tenor Daniel Rodriguez, raised $500,000 for USO-Metro programs, officials announced.
"Americans have a responsibility to support our troops, and certainly, no one does it better than the USO," Bush told some 650 attendees at the dinner in Arlington, Va.'s Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
"For 66 years, the USO has lifted the spirits of our troops," she said, recalling the organization's long history of bringing entertainers from Bob Hope and Rita Hayworth to Marilyn Monroe and Ann-Margret to combat zones.
Pace joined the first lady in praising the USO for its long history of supporting U.S. troops around the world. He and Nicholson shared memories of what the USO offered them personally during their military careers, particularly when they served in Vietnam.
The chairman told the audience he remembered what it meant to him, while deployed during the Christmas of 1972, to have Bob Hope and Connie Stevens visit him and his fellow Marines during a USO tour. "It was incredible, a little bit of home," he said.
Addressing Stevens, Pace added with a laugh, "You made a young captain's heart beat pretty hard."
That support for the troops continues today, with the USO providing troops around the world a cup of coffee and someone to talk to when they feel far from home, Pace said. "In so many ways, the USO has taken great care of all of us in uniform, and we are grateful for that," he said.
Bush said the USO's support is more important than ever as an all-volunteer military fights the war on terror. She noted USO-Metro's huge outreach to more than half a million servicemembers and their families, with support ranging from troop-appreciation events to job fairs for military spouses to free phone cards "so that the reassuring voices of loved ones can reach our troops deployed overseas."
Last year alone, USO-Metro volunteers gave 60,000 hours of service. "In every capacity, they've gone above and beyond for our troops," the first lady said.
She described one particular incident in which a Marine returning home from Iraq on emergency leave after learning that his mother had died found himself stranded at the USO lounge in Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Airport. "After 42 hours of travel, the Marine arrived at BWI with no tickets or money and too late at night to make travel plans," Bush said.
A quick-thinking USO volunteer wasn't going to let those circumstances stop the Marine from getting home in time for his mother's funeral, Bush said. The volunteer got on the phone and arranged for Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey state troopers to drive the Marine home. "Thanks to these police officers -- and to a resourceful USO volunteer -- the Marine arrived in time to comfort his family, and pay his respects to his mother," she said.
Bush recognized the USO's extensive work visiting wounded servicemembers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here and the National Naval Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md., arranging for them to attend sporting events and concerts and bringing celebrity entertainers to cheer them. Even more importantly, she said, the group provides free housing for visiting families to ensure "no soldier has to face the recovery process without their moms and dads, sons and daughters, wives or husbands by their side."
The USO also provides critical emotional support, the first lady said. She noted an exceptional incident in which the USO arranged for Joe Grady, a Marine who lost his arm to a roadside bomb in Fallujah, Iraq, and his wife, Ashley, who he married while hospitalized, take a honeymoon to the Mexican Rivera. "Throughout Joe's recovery, Ashley recalls the kindness and the support of USO volunteers and staff was overwhelming," Bush said.
"Our armed forces are filled with courageous young people like Joe Grady. They're supported by loving parents, children and spouses like Ashley," she said. "By supporting organizations like the USO, the American people can show their gratitude to these troops and families, who sacrifice so much to keep us safe."
Pace said a common question he and other military leaders get when they visit deployed troops is if the American people are still behind them. "And I always, with great pride, smile and say, 'Your USO is the prime example of how the American people support you.'
"That support is a real, tangible part of saying, 'Yes, the American people are behind us. They are there to help support our servicemembers and their families. ... They have always been there for us, (and they) make a huge impact on our troops."
"The most important thing we can do as Americans is to make sure they know how much they are appreciated for their service and their sacrifice," Nicholson agreed. "That goes the same for those who reach out and support them, ... and the USO does that because it gives a lot of Americans a chance to say thank you."
Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called last night's gala a way to recognize the USO's service to the military.
"The USO is important because it recognizes all the wonderful armed services personnel and what they contribute to the country," he said. "It's a great organization."
During the gala, USO and military officials honored several servicemembers and longtime USO supporters.
Air Force Master Sgt. David Glinski II, who serves with the White House Communications Agency, received the 2007 C. Haskell Small Award and a $1,000 Savings Bond for volunteerism as a firefighter with the Dumfries-Triangle Volunteer Fire Department, in Prince William County, Va.
"It's a humbling experience," Glinski said of last night's recognition. "Volunteering isn't something I do for recognition. It comes from the heart. It's an honor to serve my country and my community."
Pace presented a Bronze Star with "V" device for valor to Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael Bryant, a special agent for the Office of Special Investigations who helped capture 200 insurgents near Kirkuk, Iraq, and protected coalition forces during a terrorist attack on a convoy traveling near Kirkuk Air Base.
Bryant said it felt "a little overwhelming" to be honored so publicly by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and downplayed his personal role in the actions he was honored for. "I really, truly owe this to my team's actions and our training," he said. "When you're in a situation like that, your training takes over. It's an instinct. And we reacted as a team, just like we are supposed to do."
Pace, Giambastiani and Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, Pace's senior enlisted advisor, offered special honors to several servicemembers at last night's event:
-- Retired Army Col. Jack Hyde, who served in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II and stopped Gen. George Patton from going through a roadblock, saving his life;
-- Air Force Sgt. Eric Ezell, who lost an eye in Iraq while serving with the 20th Special Operations Squadron but will remain on active duty after his discharge next week from Walter Reed;
-- Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Patrick Hyde, who was hit by an improvised explosive device while assigned to Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, but ignored his injuries to help save his comrades;
-- Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Steven Ruth, who braved eight- to 10-foot seas and 30 knot winds to save a woman being battered at the base of a rocky cliff during a thunderstorm from drowning;
-- Army Sgt. David John Brown, who served as a USO volunteer while recovering at Walter Reed from injuries received from a roadside bomb near an Iraqi police station; and
-- Marine Cpl. Dylan Gray, who lost both legs to an IED attack during his third tour in Iraq and completed his final surgery at the National Naval Medical Center earlier this week before being transferred to Walter Reed for rehabilitation.
Pace also recognized the troops' families, who accompanied them to the gala. "These are the unsung heroes, whose support is so vital," he said.
As the evening drew to a close, Nicholson presented the 2007 USO of Metropolitan Washington Merit Award to country music legend Trace Adkins for his participation in USO tours and ongoing support for U.S. servicemembers.
Adkins said he felt the award was the second time in his career he received recognition he felt he didn't deserve. The first, he said, was when he awarded entry into the Grand Ole Opry.
He acknowledges that he sometimes gets tired of hearing people say they support the troops simply because it's the popular thing to say, but without any real conviction. "I support the troops, ... I support what they do," he said, rousing the group to a standing ovation. I support their mission."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Defense Department Emphasizes Employee Safety, Occupational Health
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
March 28, 2007 – Safety is critical to readiness, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness told safety officers attending the Voluntary Protection Program conference here yesterday. "Every asset we keep in peacetime is an asset we can apply against the enemy in war," Joseph Angello said. "Every person we keep healthy and fit is a person in our unit who is serving against the enemy."
DoD spends more than $3 billion in direct costs associated with aviation and ground accidents, military injuries, and civilian worker compensation, Angello told the audience. "Those are resources we could be using for systems and people to defend our country."
Defense officials are pushing for leaders to better understand the importance of safety and are aiming for a 75 percent accident reduction rate throughout the force, Angello said.
For a second year, DoD is participating in the Voluntary Protection Program, designed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to improve safety records and readiness of its civilian and military personnel.
The program is recognized as an accident reduction "best practice" for the private sector to improve safety in industrial operations and has been adopted by the Defense Safety Oversight Council's Installations Task Force, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Environment Safety and Occupational Health Tad Davis said.
Private sector VPP participants have seen a 60 percent reduction in injuries, 20 percent reduction in worker's compensation costs, and a 150 percent return on investments, program officials said.
"We saw VPP as one of private industry's best practices," Davis said. "Our needs are similar but unique compared to the private sector."
Army safety officials, with Davis in the lead, created the DoD VPP Center of Excellence to ensure that 40 new installations each year work to implement injury reduction throughout the armed forces.
"If we can apply lessons learned from the first two years, then we'll have insights that will allow us to do it smarter, quicker and more economically at these installations down the road," Davis said.
The focus of the two-day conference is to acknowledge good work that has been done thus far on installations and gain insights from the installations that have already implemented the program, he said. Participants also came together to discuss ways to improve the processes installations are using to prevent injuries and improve mishap prevention.
Panel members and speakers repeatedly expressed the importance of senior military and installation leaders championing safety efforts and filtering that information down to each individual. "People don't really care what you have to say until you show you care about them," Navy Capt. Mike McKinnon, commander or Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., said. "The key to success is the leadership at the top."
McKinnon said the key to VPP success is attitude. "It's not just eight hours while you're at work; it's 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," he said.
To date, four Navy bases and an Army installation have been recognized by OSHA as attaining "star status" for their safety efforts. DoD has set the goal of participating VPP installations to achieve this status within two years of joining the program.
By incorporating leadership and employees into worksite analysis, hazard prevention, and safety and health training, officials hope ultimately to save DoD billions of dollars.
"The lynchpin has been the tremendous support from senior leadership," Davis said. "This has to start at the top and permeate down to individual soldiers, civilians and contractors."
"The Department of Defense is a world-class organization," Angello said. "We're going to demonstrate our commitment to this program where the rubber meets the rank."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
American Forces Press Service
March 28, 2007 – Safety is critical to readiness, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness told safety officers attending the Voluntary Protection Program conference here yesterday. "Every asset we keep in peacetime is an asset we can apply against the enemy in war," Joseph Angello said. "Every person we keep healthy and fit is a person in our unit who is serving against the enemy."
DoD spends more than $3 billion in direct costs associated with aviation and ground accidents, military injuries, and civilian worker compensation, Angello told the audience. "Those are resources we could be using for systems and people to defend our country."
Defense officials are pushing for leaders to better understand the importance of safety and are aiming for a 75 percent accident reduction rate throughout the force, Angello said.
For a second year, DoD is participating in the Voluntary Protection Program, designed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to improve safety records and readiness of its civilian and military personnel.
The program is recognized as an accident reduction "best practice" for the private sector to improve safety in industrial operations and has been adopted by the Defense Safety Oversight Council's Installations Task Force, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Environment Safety and Occupational Health Tad Davis said.
Private sector VPP participants have seen a 60 percent reduction in injuries, 20 percent reduction in worker's compensation costs, and a 150 percent return on investments, program officials said.
"We saw VPP as one of private industry's best practices," Davis said. "Our needs are similar but unique compared to the private sector."
Army safety officials, with Davis in the lead, created the DoD VPP Center of Excellence to ensure that 40 new installations each year work to implement injury reduction throughout the armed forces.
"If we can apply lessons learned from the first two years, then we'll have insights that will allow us to do it smarter, quicker and more economically at these installations down the road," Davis said.
The focus of the two-day conference is to acknowledge good work that has been done thus far on installations and gain insights from the installations that have already implemented the program, he said. Participants also came together to discuss ways to improve the processes installations are using to prevent injuries and improve mishap prevention.
Panel members and speakers repeatedly expressed the importance of senior military and installation leaders championing safety efforts and filtering that information down to each individual. "People don't really care what you have to say until you show you care about them," Navy Capt. Mike McKinnon, commander or Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., said. "The key to success is the leadership at the top."
McKinnon said the key to VPP success is attitude. "It's not just eight hours while you're at work; it's 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," he said.
To date, four Navy bases and an Army installation have been recognized by OSHA as attaining "star status" for their safety efforts. DoD has set the goal of participating VPP installations to achieve this status within two years of joining the program.
By incorporating leadership and employees into worksite analysis, hazard prevention, and safety and health training, officials hope ultimately to save DoD billions of dollars.
"The lynchpin has been the tremendous support from senior leadership," Davis said. "This has to start at the top and permeate down to individual soldiers, civilians and contractors."
"The Department of Defense is a world-class organization," Angello said. "We're going to demonstrate our commitment to this program where the rubber meets the rank."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
U.S. Marines Thank Lebanese Military for Efforts
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
March 28, 2007 – The commander of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit today honored the Lebanese army for its assistance in the largest evacuation of U.S. civilians from a foreign country. In a Pentagon ceremony, U.S. Marine Col. Ron Johnson expressed his appreciation to the Lebanese armed forces for their assistance in evacuating 15,000 Americans from the country in July following an eruption in violence when the militant group Hezbollah kidnapped an Israeli soldier.
"The Lebanese armed forces and international security forces performed superbly and gave us everything we needed to get our mission accomplished," Johnson said. "I thought it important that our Lebanese friends know just how much we appreciate their cooperation during the evacuation."
Due to the heightened tension following the kidnapping, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon authorized the departure of embassy personnel from the country July 15. Since Beirut International Airport had been bombed, military assistance was required to transport U.S. citizens to safety by other means.
Johnson, whose unit was conducting a training exercise in the Jordanian desert at the time, sent a detachment of more than 100 Marines and three helicopters to the island of Cyprus to lay the groundwork for the arrival of the rest of the unit to assist in civilian evacuation efforts.
Within 24 hours, the Marines secured the U.S. Embassy and airlifted the first group of citizens to Cyprus.
The Lebanese military's assistance was imperative, Johnson said. "We didn't have access to a port, but the Lebanese not only secured a beach for us, they assisted by providing security along evacuation routes and debarkation points."
By working with embassy officials and using a combination of aircraft and sea vessels, the 24th MEU and the USS Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group worked to assist 15,000 U.S. citizens to safety within two weeks of the start of evacuation efforts.
"Thanks in no small part to (Lebanese) efforts, the operation concluded without a single loss of life or serious injury," Johnson said.
"I am very proud to hear such praise from a U.S. officer," said Brig. Gen. Abdul Hamid Darwich, Lebanese defense attache to the United States. "It was our duty to get all our American guests out of the country to safety."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
American Forces Press Service
March 28, 2007 – The commander of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit today honored the Lebanese army for its assistance in the largest evacuation of U.S. civilians from a foreign country. In a Pentagon ceremony, U.S. Marine Col. Ron Johnson expressed his appreciation to the Lebanese armed forces for their assistance in evacuating 15,000 Americans from the country in July following an eruption in violence when the militant group Hezbollah kidnapped an Israeli soldier.
"The Lebanese armed forces and international security forces performed superbly and gave us everything we needed to get our mission accomplished," Johnson said. "I thought it important that our Lebanese friends know just how much we appreciate their cooperation during the evacuation."
Due to the heightened tension following the kidnapping, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon authorized the departure of embassy personnel from the country July 15. Since Beirut International Airport had been bombed, military assistance was required to transport U.S. citizens to safety by other means.
Johnson, whose unit was conducting a training exercise in the Jordanian desert at the time, sent a detachment of more than 100 Marines and three helicopters to the island of Cyprus to lay the groundwork for the arrival of the rest of the unit to assist in civilian evacuation efforts.
Within 24 hours, the Marines secured the U.S. Embassy and airlifted the first group of citizens to Cyprus.
The Lebanese military's assistance was imperative, Johnson said. "We didn't have access to a port, but the Lebanese not only secured a beach for us, they assisted by providing security along evacuation routes and debarkation points."
By working with embassy officials and using a combination of aircraft and sea vessels, the 24th MEU and the USS Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group worked to assist 15,000 U.S. citizens to safety within two weeks of the start of evacuation efforts.
"Thanks in no small part to (Lebanese) efforts, the operation concluded without a single loss of life or serious injury," Johnson said.
"I am very proud to hear such praise from a U.S. officer," said Brig. Gen. Abdul Hamid Darwich, Lebanese defense attache to the United States. "It was our duty to get all our American guests out of the country to safety."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
Angles on Corrections
Editor's Note: One of the writers is a former airborne.
Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books, added three writers who give different perspectives on the corrections system; one is a cop who is an expert in conducting investigations in prisons; one is a cop who went to prison; and, the third wrote a thriller were the offenders skip the prison experience.
William Bell comes from a family whose involvement with law enforcement dates back to the Civil War. His own education and career spans more than thirty years. Greatly influenced by his father, a retired Police Inspector, he began with the Dearborn Police Department (Michigan) where his responsibilities included work in road patrol, SWAT, undercover narcotics, and pattern crime. For nearly twenty years the author has been employed by the Colorado Department of Corrections, where he ultimately gained his expertise with the Criminal Investigation Division. He is noted for taking the investigation of prison crime into the streets. He reflects is practical as well as academic excellence in his book, Practical Criminal Investigations in Correctional Facilities.
Lines Crossed is the true story of Alex Richardson, a Lake County Sheriff’s Department (Indiana) a narcotics detective who was ultimately sentenced to federal prison for taking a bribe from a drug dealer. His book, Lines Crossed: the True Story of an Undercover Cop, describes the activities of the County drug task force; and, “he also reveals his gambling habit, and the corruption that takes place while working narcotics.”
Alex Richardson grew up in Gary, Indiana. He left at the age of 18, joining the Army where he was a military policeman. He graduated Airborne School becoming a paratrooper, then finished his enlistment by serving in a special operations unit at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. After his military duties he served as a patrolman on the Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Department before serving over two years as an undercover detective on the Lake County Drug Task Force.
Mark Osterman, a Detroit Police Department police officer wrote two crime thrillers: Happiness is a Green Light and Justifiable Homicide. According to the book description from Justifiable Homicide, “In this sad aftermath, Jack began his secret war on crime. He joined the Detroit Police Department and rose through the ranks to become a detective. However, Jack's after-hours activities included a different method for reducing crime statistics. This one-man crusade served as judge, jury and executioner.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 429 police officers (representing 189 police departments) and their 908 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books, added three writers who give different perspectives on the corrections system; one is a cop who is an expert in conducting investigations in prisons; one is a cop who went to prison; and, the third wrote a thriller were the offenders skip the prison experience.
William Bell comes from a family whose involvement with law enforcement dates back to the Civil War. His own education and career spans more than thirty years. Greatly influenced by his father, a retired Police Inspector, he began with the Dearborn Police Department (Michigan) where his responsibilities included work in road patrol, SWAT, undercover narcotics, and pattern crime. For nearly twenty years the author has been employed by the Colorado Department of Corrections, where he ultimately gained his expertise with the Criminal Investigation Division. He is noted for taking the investigation of prison crime into the streets. He reflects is practical as well as academic excellence in his book, Practical Criminal Investigations in Correctional Facilities.
Lines Crossed is the true story of Alex Richardson, a Lake County Sheriff’s Department (Indiana) a narcotics detective who was ultimately sentenced to federal prison for taking a bribe from a drug dealer. His book, Lines Crossed: the True Story of an Undercover Cop, describes the activities of the County drug task force; and, “he also reveals his gambling habit, and the corruption that takes place while working narcotics.”
Alex Richardson grew up in Gary, Indiana. He left at the age of 18, joining the Army where he was a military policeman. He graduated Airborne School becoming a paratrooper, then finished his enlistment by serving in a special operations unit at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. After his military duties he served as a patrolman on the Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Department before serving over two years as an undercover detective on the Lake County Drug Task Force.
Mark Osterman, a Detroit Police Department police officer wrote two crime thrillers: Happiness is a Green Light and Justifiable Homicide. According to the book description from Justifiable Homicide, “In this sad aftermath, Jack began his secret war on crime. He joined the Detroit Police Department and rose through the ranks to become a detective. However, Jack's after-hours activities included a different method for reducing crime statistics. This one-man crusade served as judge, jury and executioner.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 429 police officers (representing 189 police departments) and their 908 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Congress Honors Tuskegee Airmen With Its Most Distinguished Civilian Award
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
March 29, 2007 – Before a U.S. aircraft broke the sound barrier, the Tuskegee Airmen overcame a daunting social hurdle: breaking the Air Force's color barrier. In the Capitol Rotunda here today, President Bush and Congress awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen, more than 60 years after the 332nd Fighter Group's World War II achievements that were made bittersweet by the racial discrimination they endured after returning home.
"I thank you for the honor you have brought to our country, and the medal you are about to receive means that our country honors you," Bush said to the roughly 300-member audience of surviving airmen, Tuskegee Airmen widows and other relatives, before presenting the congressional award.
Bush said he has a strong interest in World War II airmen because one raised him.
"(My father) flew with a group of brave young men who endured difficult times in the defense of our country. Yet for all they sacrificed and all they lost, in a way they were very fortunate," he said. "They never had the burden of having their every mission, their every success, their every failure viewed through the color of their skin; ... nobody refused their salutes."
The Tuskegee Airmen fought two wars -- one in the European theater and another in the hearts and minds of the nation's citizens, he said.
Saying he wanted to "offer a gesture to help atone for all the unreturned salutes and unforgivable indignities," Bush held his straightened right hand to his brow and saluted the airmen. After returning his salute, the airmen remained standing and applauded.
Speaking on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen, Dr. Roscoe Brown, a former commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, thanked Bush and the House and Senate for "voting unanimously to award this medal collectively to the pilots, bombardiers, the navigators, the mechanics, the ground officers, the enlisted men and women who served with the Tuskegee Airmen."
"Over 60 years ago we were flying in the skies over Europe defending our country, and at the same time fighting the battle against racial segregation," he said. "Because of our great record and our persistence, we inspired revolutionary reform which led to integration in the armed forces in 1948. As the president said, (this) provided a symbol for America that all people can contribute to this country and be treated fairly."
Brown, a Distinguished Flying Cross recipient and the first U.S. pilot to down a German Messerschmitt jet, said that the Tuskegee Airmen are very pleased to have been in the forefront of the struggle for freedom and justice in this country.
Sen. Carl Levin and Rep. Charles Rangel were the chief congressional champions in the House and Senate to get the medal awarded to the airmen.
"Nobody, white or black, in this country can understand how God has given you so much courage," Rangel said, addressing the airmen. "From a nation that had rejected you because of your color, said you couldn't fly, said you just weren't worthy, you had to go out there and prove to them just how wrong they were.
"And how tragic was it to see, ... after you came back to this great country, how German prisoners of war were treated better than you were on your return?" he said. "But somehow, whatever God had given you, it didn't cause you to stop. Every one of you in the different towns that I've been to are still continuing to protect this great country, though perhaps not in the skies, but in the battles on the streets, talking to the kids, giving them self-esteem."
Levis listed some of the airmen's feats: 15,000 combat sorties flown, 260 enemy aircraft destroyed, 1,000 black pilots flew missions, 150 Flying Crosses and Legions of Merit earned, and more than 700 Air Medals and clusters earned.
Recognizing other African-American groundbreakers, former U.S. Secretary of State and retired Gen. Colin L. Powell named the Golden 13, the Montford Point Marines and the 555th Paratroopers -- the Tuskegee Airmen's naval, Marine, and Army counterparts, respectively.
"I benefited from what you and so many others did. It is a rich history," he said. "I stand so proudly before you today but I know in the depth of my heart that the only reason I'm able to stand proudly before you today is because you stood proudly for America 60 years ago."
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 29, 2007 – Before a U.S. aircraft broke the sound barrier, the Tuskegee Airmen overcame a daunting social hurdle: breaking the Air Force's color barrier. In the Capitol Rotunda here today, President Bush and Congress awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen, more than 60 years after the 332nd Fighter Group's World War II achievements that were made bittersweet by the racial discrimination they endured after returning home.
"I thank you for the honor you have brought to our country, and the medal you are about to receive means that our country honors you," Bush said to the roughly 300-member audience of surviving airmen, Tuskegee Airmen widows and other relatives, before presenting the congressional award.
Bush said he has a strong interest in World War II airmen because one raised him.
"(My father) flew with a group of brave young men who endured difficult times in the defense of our country. Yet for all they sacrificed and all they lost, in a way they were very fortunate," he said. "They never had the burden of having their every mission, their every success, their every failure viewed through the color of their skin; ... nobody refused their salutes."
The Tuskegee Airmen fought two wars -- one in the European theater and another in the hearts and minds of the nation's citizens, he said.
Saying he wanted to "offer a gesture to help atone for all the unreturned salutes and unforgivable indignities," Bush held his straightened right hand to his brow and saluted the airmen. After returning his salute, the airmen remained standing and applauded.
Speaking on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen, Dr. Roscoe Brown, a former commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, thanked Bush and the House and Senate for "voting unanimously to award this medal collectively to the pilots, bombardiers, the navigators, the mechanics, the ground officers, the enlisted men and women who served with the Tuskegee Airmen."
"Over 60 years ago we were flying in the skies over Europe defending our country, and at the same time fighting the battle against racial segregation," he said. "Because of our great record and our persistence, we inspired revolutionary reform which led to integration in the armed forces in 1948. As the president said, (this) provided a symbol for America that all people can contribute to this country and be treated fairly."
Brown, a Distinguished Flying Cross recipient and the first U.S. pilot to down a German Messerschmitt jet, said that the Tuskegee Airmen are very pleased to have been in the forefront of the struggle for freedom and justice in this country.
Sen. Carl Levin and Rep. Charles Rangel were the chief congressional champions in the House and Senate to get the medal awarded to the airmen.
"Nobody, white or black, in this country can understand how God has given you so much courage," Rangel said, addressing the airmen. "From a nation that had rejected you because of your color, said you couldn't fly, said you just weren't worthy, you had to go out there and prove to them just how wrong they were.
"And how tragic was it to see, ... after you came back to this great country, how German prisoners of war were treated better than you were on your return?" he said. "But somehow, whatever God had given you, it didn't cause you to stop. Every one of you in the different towns that I've been to are still continuing to protect this great country, though perhaps not in the skies, but in the battles on the streets, talking to the kids, giving them self-esteem."
Levis listed some of the airmen's feats: 15,000 combat sorties flown, 260 enemy aircraft destroyed, 1,000 black pilots flew missions, 150 Flying Crosses and Legions of Merit earned, and more than 700 Air Medals and clusters earned.
Recognizing other African-American groundbreakers, former U.S. Secretary of State and retired Gen. Colin L. Powell named the Golden 13, the Montford Point Marines and the 555th Paratroopers -- the Tuskegee Airmen's naval, Marine, and Army counterparts, respectively.
"I benefited from what you and so many others did. It is a rich history," he said. "I stand so proudly before you today but I know in the depth of my heart that the only reason I'm able to stand proudly before you today is because you stood proudly for America 60 years ago."
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
'Salute Our Services' Supports GIs, Families
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
March 28, 2007 – A northern-Virginia-based nonprofit organization has provided worldwide assistance to families of deployed U.S. servicemembers for the past six years. Founded in mid-2001, Salute Our Services augments existing military family support programs by providing information and services for spouses and children of deployed military members, Patricia Johnson, the group's chief executive officer, said from her office in Reston, Va., during a phone interview with American Forces Press Service.
Sharing information and concerns with other military spouses who've experienced times when their spouses were deployed "provides you with perspective and makes you better prepared and equipped to handle it in a good way," Johnson, a military spouse herself, explained.
Johnson recalled feeling isolated years ago when her husband was away on deployments. Family members belonging to his Maryland-based Army reserve unit were dispersed across several states, she noted.
Johnson's unease was made worse, she said, because, "I wasn't part of a crowd that had military experience."
An SOS-sponsored virtual family readiness group Internet site was established in 2002, Johnson said. It provided spouses of deployed servicemembers who may live hundreds of miles apart the ability to share information of mutual interest.
Today, those secure sites are managed by U.S. Army Community and Family Services, she said, and they service at least 1,000 Army units across the United States.
SOS is proud to partner with America Supports You, a Defense-Department sponsored program highlighting the ways Americans are supporting the nation's servicemembers, Johnson said.
"America Supports You has been great," Johnson said. Association with the DoD program has helped her organization obtain assistance from high-profile celebrities such as National Basketball Association superstar Shaquille O'Neal, she said.
The SOS group manages a mentorship program that connects military family members experiencing a spouse's deployment for the first time with someone who's already been through that experience, Johnson said.
SOS-provided assistance for military families also includes grants and other programs, Johnson said. For example, one initiative provides military families with deployed spouses living in Fairfax County, Va., with free admission to county-provided recreational activities.
Other programs offer family outings to local professional sporting events, Johnson said. And O'Neal is participating in the SOS-sponsored "A Thousand Thanks to Military Children" program. The Miami Heat player is helping to send out thank you letters to children of deployed servicemembers.
Each letter is personalized "so that the child realizes that Dad or Mom, whoever is deployed, is thinking about them," Johnson said.
Studies show military members perform better during deployments if they're not distracted by family issues from back home, she said.
"If they don't have to worry about us back home, then they are better able to do their jobs," Johnson pointed out.
Karen McCoy, 42, the wife of a Virginia Army National Guard staff sergeant, obtained SOS grants for her son and daughter after her husband deployed in December 2005 for more than a year of duty in Kosovo.
McCoy used one grant for ballet lessons for her then-11-year-old daughter, she said. The other grant, she added, paid for her then-10-year-old actor son's voice lessons. These after-school activities, McCoy explained, helped to keep her children engaged in positive activities while their father was away.
SOS offers much-appreciated assistance for military families, McCoy, a Herndon, Va., resident, said. Organization representatives "were always asking if there was anything more that they could provide," she recalled.
"Salute Our Services was very responsive," McCoy said. "They are full of energy and very helpful."
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 28, 2007 – A northern-Virginia-based nonprofit organization has provided worldwide assistance to families of deployed U.S. servicemembers for the past six years. Founded in mid-2001, Salute Our Services augments existing military family support programs by providing information and services for spouses and children of deployed military members, Patricia Johnson, the group's chief executive officer, said from her office in Reston, Va., during a phone interview with American Forces Press Service.
Sharing information and concerns with other military spouses who've experienced times when their spouses were deployed "provides you with perspective and makes you better prepared and equipped to handle it in a good way," Johnson, a military spouse herself, explained.
Johnson recalled feeling isolated years ago when her husband was away on deployments. Family members belonging to his Maryland-based Army reserve unit were dispersed across several states, she noted.
Johnson's unease was made worse, she said, because, "I wasn't part of a crowd that had military experience."
An SOS-sponsored virtual family readiness group Internet site was established in 2002, Johnson said. It provided spouses of deployed servicemembers who may live hundreds of miles apart the ability to share information of mutual interest.
Today, those secure sites are managed by U.S. Army Community and Family Services, she said, and they service at least 1,000 Army units across the United States.
SOS is proud to partner with America Supports You, a Defense-Department sponsored program highlighting the ways Americans are supporting the nation's servicemembers, Johnson said.
"America Supports You has been great," Johnson said. Association with the DoD program has helped her organization obtain assistance from high-profile celebrities such as National Basketball Association superstar Shaquille O'Neal, she said.
The SOS group manages a mentorship program that connects military family members experiencing a spouse's deployment for the first time with someone who's already been through that experience, Johnson said.
SOS-provided assistance for military families also includes grants and other programs, Johnson said. For example, one initiative provides military families with deployed spouses living in Fairfax County, Va., with free admission to county-provided recreational activities.
Other programs offer family outings to local professional sporting events, Johnson said. And O'Neal is participating in the SOS-sponsored "A Thousand Thanks to Military Children" program. The Miami Heat player is helping to send out thank you letters to children of deployed servicemembers.
Each letter is personalized "so that the child realizes that Dad or Mom, whoever is deployed, is thinking about them," Johnson said.
Studies show military members perform better during deployments if they're not distracted by family issues from back home, she said.
"If they don't have to worry about us back home, then they are better able to do their jobs," Johnson pointed out.
Karen McCoy, 42, the wife of a Virginia Army National Guard staff sergeant, obtained SOS grants for her son and daughter after her husband deployed in December 2005 for more than a year of duty in Kosovo.
McCoy used one grant for ballet lessons for her then-11-year-old daughter, she said. The other grant, she added, paid for her then-10-year-old actor son's voice lessons. These after-school activities, McCoy explained, helped to keep her children engaged in positive activities while their father was away.
SOS offers much-appreciated assistance for military families, McCoy, a Herndon, Va., resident, said. Organization representatives "were always asking if there was anything more that they could provide," she recalled.
"Salute Our Services was very responsive," McCoy said. "They are full of energy and very helpful."
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Inspector General Nominee Finds Inspiration in Deployed Troops
By John D. Banusiewicz
American Forces Press Service
March 28, 2007 – Retired Army Lt. Gen. Claude M. "Mick" Kicklighter was in Afghanistan leading an assessment team for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in December when he was asked to consider being nominated by President Bush to be the Defense Department's inspector general. Kicklighter, who was a sergeant in the Army Reserve when he graduated from college and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, said past and present servicemembers have inspired him to continue a life of public service since he retired from the Army in 1991.
"I spent almost 36 years on active duty," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday at his confirmation hearing. "And as I was retiring, I was asked to plan and lead and oversee the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of World War II and assist our nation in thanking and honoring the men and women in the greatest generation, who saved not only this nation but literally saved the world."
This led to other jobs in the State, Defense and Veterans Affairs departments over the next 15 years, he said, and the opportunity to see today's military in action made him readily accept the challenge of becoming DoD's new IG.
"Having been on the ground a number of times in Iraq and Afghanistan with these magnificent men and women fighting this global war against terrorism," he said, "it is impossible for me not to want to do all I can to support this, another great generation of Americans."
Kicklighter promised to bring "leadership, management skills and a broad-gauge approach" to the position.
"There's no doubt there's much that I have to learn and relearn," he acknowledged. "But if confirmed, I look forward to joining the IG family, and together we'll continue to build the IG team that our troops, their families, the Department of Defense and this Congress and the American people have a right to expect."
He pledged that the IG's office would remain independent and objective and would keep keep Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and the Congress "fully and currently informed."
Kicklighter currently serves as director of the Iraq-Afghanistan Transition Planning Group. Prior to this, he served as chief of staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Earlier in his career, he served as special advisor for stabilization and security operations in Iraq and Afghanistan at the State Department.
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 28, 2007 – Retired Army Lt. Gen. Claude M. "Mick" Kicklighter was in Afghanistan leading an assessment team for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in December when he was asked to consider being nominated by President Bush to be the Defense Department's inspector general. Kicklighter, who was a sergeant in the Army Reserve when he graduated from college and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, said past and present servicemembers have inspired him to continue a life of public service since he retired from the Army in 1991.
"I spent almost 36 years on active duty," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday at his confirmation hearing. "And as I was retiring, I was asked to plan and lead and oversee the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of World War II and assist our nation in thanking and honoring the men and women in the greatest generation, who saved not only this nation but literally saved the world."
This led to other jobs in the State, Defense and Veterans Affairs departments over the next 15 years, he said, and the opportunity to see today's military in action made him readily accept the challenge of becoming DoD's new IG.
"Having been on the ground a number of times in Iraq and Afghanistan with these magnificent men and women fighting this global war against terrorism," he said, "it is impossible for me not to want to do all I can to support this, another great generation of Americans."
Kicklighter promised to bring "leadership, management skills and a broad-gauge approach" to the position.
"There's no doubt there's much that I have to learn and relearn," he acknowledged. "But if confirmed, I look forward to joining the IG family, and together we'll continue to build the IG team that our troops, their families, the Department of Defense and this Congress and the American people have a right to expect."
He pledged that the IG's office would remain independent and objective and would keep keep Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and the Congress "fully and currently informed."
Kicklighter currently serves as director of the Iraq-Afghanistan Transition Planning Group. Prior to this, he served as chief of staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Earlier in his career, he served as special advisor for stabilization and security operations in Iraq and Afghanistan at the State Department.
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Missile Defense System Protects United States, Allies
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
March 28, 2007 – The United States has been fielding a missile defense system aimed toward defending itself, its deployed forces and its allies against emerging threats, a top military official said today. “We initially turned our attention to North Korea, because we felt that that had the higher sense of urgency, and we believe that that was somewhat justified by the activities last summer," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. "Trey" Obering III, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, referring to North Korea's July 2006 missile tests.
"We have since begun to turn our attention to Iran, as well," he told reporters at a State Department foreign press briefing here on missile defense and Europe.
Obering said he's briefed the NATO-Russia Council and has opened discussions with German, French and Ukrainian officials in their respective European capitals. Talks with the Czech Republic and Poland are ongoing, and visits to Spain, Turkey, Greece and Hungary to discuss missile defense issues will take place in coming weeks, he said.
During these discussions, Obering said has been asked several recurring questions.
"I get asked, 'Well, first of all, doesn't this upset the balance that we've achieved in the past between deterrence? And what about arms control? Doesn't this contradict arms control measures?'" he said.
Obering said he reminds European officials that missile defense is part of a spectrum.
"It's part of an entire toolbox that we try to use to address the ballistic missile threat," he said. "At one end of that spectrum you have deterrence, and we believe that that is still a very viable concept.
"We also believe, though, that we may come into contact with nation-states or non-state actors that are not deterrable, that are not affected by arms control measures," he continued. "And when you have warheads flying in the air, it is a moral obligation to do something about that for the population (rather) than turning around and just saying, 'Sorry, we can't do anything about that.'"
Obering said ballistic missiles, which have proliferated for many years around the world, would be made less valuable by a global missile defense system.
"If you begin to deploy defensive capabilities to where you can negate these missiles, it begins to devalue them ... to the nations or to the organizations (that have them), because we believe we can render them ineffective," he said.
Obering emphasized that missile defense weapons are "defensive assets."
"These are not offensive missiles. They do not even carry warheads. There are no explosives on these missiles," he said. "We operate on a hit-to-kill technology, which is we actually drive a very small kill vehicle into an enemy warhead to destroy it."
This method is effective, Obering said, because the missiles used are so small and fast, they destroy enemy warheads with kinetic energy. "In fact, the kill vehicles that we're talking about that would be placed on the interceptors in Poland are no more than about 70 to 75 kilograms," he said.
Listing the system's recent benchmarks, Obering said that since 2001, the United States has had 24 successful hit-to-kill intercepts in about 32 attempts, including about 15 consecutive successful intercepts, over roughly the past two and a half years.
"We have had very good success in the past two and a half years with respect to testing of this system," he said. "It is a capability that does work, and that we will rely on as we move into this 21st century."
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 28, 2007 – The United States has been fielding a missile defense system aimed toward defending itself, its deployed forces and its allies against emerging threats, a top military official said today. “We initially turned our attention to North Korea, because we felt that that had the higher sense of urgency, and we believe that that was somewhat justified by the activities last summer," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. "Trey" Obering III, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, referring to North Korea's July 2006 missile tests.
"We have since begun to turn our attention to Iran, as well," he told reporters at a State Department foreign press briefing here on missile defense and Europe.
Obering said he's briefed the NATO-Russia Council and has opened discussions with German, French and Ukrainian officials in their respective European capitals. Talks with the Czech Republic and Poland are ongoing, and visits to Spain, Turkey, Greece and Hungary to discuss missile defense issues will take place in coming weeks, he said.
During these discussions, Obering said has been asked several recurring questions.
"I get asked, 'Well, first of all, doesn't this upset the balance that we've achieved in the past between deterrence? And what about arms control? Doesn't this contradict arms control measures?'" he said.
Obering said he reminds European officials that missile defense is part of a spectrum.
"It's part of an entire toolbox that we try to use to address the ballistic missile threat," he said. "At one end of that spectrum you have deterrence, and we believe that that is still a very viable concept.
"We also believe, though, that we may come into contact with nation-states or non-state actors that are not deterrable, that are not affected by arms control measures," he continued. "And when you have warheads flying in the air, it is a moral obligation to do something about that for the population (rather) than turning around and just saying, 'Sorry, we can't do anything about that.'"
Obering said ballistic missiles, which have proliferated for many years around the world, would be made less valuable by a global missile defense system.
"If you begin to deploy defensive capabilities to where you can negate these missiles, it begins to devalue them ... to the nations or to the organizations (that have them), because we believe we can render them ineffective," he said.
Obering emphasized that missile defense weapons are "defensive assets."
"These are not offensive missiles. They do not even carry warheads. There are no explosives on these missiles," he said. "We operate on a hit-to-kill technology, which is we actually drive a very small kill vehicle into an enemy warhead to destroy it."
This method is effective, Obering said, because the missiles used are so small and fast, they destroy enemy warheads with kinetic energy. "In fact, the kill vehicles that we're talking about that would be placed on the interceptors in Poland are no more than about 70 to 75 kilograms," he said.
Listing the system's recent benchmarks, Obering said that since 2001, the United States has had 24 successful hit-to-kill intercepts in about 32 attempts, including about 15 consecutive successful intercepts, over roughly the past two and a half years.
"We have had very good success in the past two and a half years with respect to testing of this system," he said. "It is a capability that does work, and that we will rely on as we move into this 21st century."
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Law Enforcement Jobs
So, you’re seriously considering a job in law enforcement. But, you have questions – What’s the job really like? How do I apply? Where can I find openings? What is the process like? How can I score the highest possible?
These are important questions. Indeed, anyone who has gone through the application process for a law enforcement job knows it is critical to score as high as possible. It’s your score that gets you in the door. Remember – the highest scores are passed on to the next phase of the application process for a law enforcement job and they are the ones who ultimately become the cop on the beat, the homicide detective, SWAT or tactical officer; or, even a future chief of police.
But, those dreams never happen if you don’t score as well as possible. Every cop gets asked these questions and two of them have taken the time to write down the answers. First, the Police Officer Exam, 3rd Edition, was edited by Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA. Many of the questions were updated to reflect current testing. More importantly, entire passages were re-written or developed to give you practical, down-to-earth advice on the process. Detective Lieutenant Barry Baker, Baltimore Police Department (ret.), has written “Becoming a Police Officer: An Insider’s Guide to a Career in Law Enforcement.” Lieutenant Baker’s book not only helps you with the process, but helps to visualize your career and to make that career happen.
Lieutenants Foster and Baker give you a coast-to-coast perspective on a career in law enforcement and the one-two punch you need to score high, get the job and begin your career. You need both books to be successful. Order both books today!
Click here for more information on the books
These are important questions. Indeed, anyone who has gone through the application process for a law enforcement job knows it is critical to score as high as possible. It’s your score that gets you in the door. Remember – the highest scores are passed on to the next phase of the application process for a law enforcement job and they are the ones who ultimately become the cop on the beat, the homicide detective, SWAT or tactical officer; or, even a future chief of police.
But, those dreams never happen if you don’t score as well as possible. Every cop gets asked these questions and two of them have taken the time to write down the answers. First, the Police Officer Exam, 3rd Edition, was edited by Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA. Many of the questions were updated to reflect current testing. More importantly, entire passages were re-written or developed to give you practical, down-to-earth advice on the process. Detective Lieutenant Barry Baker, Baltimore Police Department (ret.), has written “Becoming a Police Officer: An Insider’s Guide to a Career in Law Enforcement.” Lieutenant Baker’s book not only helps you with the process, but helps to visualize your career and to make that career happen.
Lieutenants Foster and Baker give you a coast-to-coast perspective on a career in law enforcement and the one-two punch you need to score high, get the job and begin your career. You need both books to be successful. Order both books today!
Click here for more information on the books
Police-Writers.com now hosts 420 police officers (representing 183 police departments) and their 894 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Ohio Police Writers
Editor's Note: One writer is Vietnam Veteran
March 27, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books, added three police writers from departments in the state of Ohio.
Drafted into the United States Army at age 19, and the height of the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam, Joseph Reass found himself suddenly transformed from a naïve teenager into a rifleman in the 25th Infantry Division, 9th Infantry Regiment. Arriving in Vietnam as a Private First Class, he survived a year of combat with the famed “Manchu” Regiment and returned to the United States with the rank of Sergeant. Back at home, he readjusted to civilian life by continuing his education. Earning a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Capital University and a master’s degree from Ohio University in Political Science, Joe put the war behind him and reentered the world.
After a 25 year career with Columbus Police Department (Ohio), including 13 years as a criminal investigator, he retired in 1997. Returning to Ohio University as a member of the faculty, he currently teaches in the Bachelor of Criminal Justice Program and is the director of the Southern Ohio Police Training Institute.
Joseph Reass’ first novel is Dragon Men. According to the book description, “In it he depicts real events pulled from long clouded memories of his combat experiences in Vietnam. Pieced together and told by a fictitious protagonist, David Reno, the story brings into perspective, true events, honest, tragic and even humorous that young men of Charlie Company, 4th Brigade, 9th Regiment, faced in the unconventional combat of the Vietnam War.
Along with graphic descriptions of combat and death, there are insights into men who served and how they coped with difficult situations of surviving not only the fighting, but the arduous life in the boonies. Live with young soldiers who deal with extreme situations of war, weather and military life.
It is an honest story that will interest anyone who served in combat, who want an unglorified glimpse of combat life or anyone who likes personal adventures told by real characters.”
David Swords is a retired Police Lieutenant, having served thirty years with the Springfield Police Department (Ohio). Nearly half of his police career was spent as an investigator, working on cases ranging from simple vandalisms to armed robberies and murders. His varied experience has given him a unique understanding of human nature; an understanding that brings the characters of “Shadows on the Soul” to life in the mind of the reader.
In David Swords’ book his proposes the questions what would have happened in the Nazis had won and the United States was occupied territory. According to his book description, “the story takes you with John as he tries his best to live a normal life as a government official in the 1960’s America that might have been - Nazi occupied America. John’s normal life is disrupted as he reluctantly helps a prisoner who has escaped from a labor camp; a man imprisoned for no crime, except the color of his skin.”
Edward A. Stein, Sr., a 35 year veteran of the Cleveland Police Department published an autobiography entitled My Badge is My Intergity.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 420 police officers (representing 183 police departments) and their 894 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
March 27, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books, added three police writers from departments in the state of Ohio.
Drafted into the United States Army at age 19, and the height of the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam, Joseph Reass found himself suddenly transformed from a naïve teenager into a rifleman in the 25th Infantry Division, 9th Infantry Regiment. Arriving in Vietnam as a Private First Class, he survived a year of combat with the famed “Manchu” Regiment and returned to the United States with the rank of Sergeant. Back at home, he readjusted to civilian life by continuing his education. Earning a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Capital University and a master’s degree from Ohio University in Political Science, Joe put the war behind him and reentered the world.
After a 25 year career with Columbus Police Department (Ohio), including 13 years as a criminal investigator, he retired in 1997. Returning to Ohio University as a member of the faculty, he currently teaches in the Bachelor of Criminal Justice Program and is the director of the Southern Ohio Police Training Institute.
Joseph Reass’ first novel is Dragon Men. According to the book description, “In it he depicts real events pulled from long clouded memories of his combat experiences in Vietnam. Pieced together and told by a fictitious protagonist, David Reno, the story brings into perspective, true events, honest, tragic and even humorous that young men of Charlie Company, 4th Brigade, 9th Regiment, faced in the unconventional combat of the Vietnam War.
Along with graphic descriptions of combat and death, there are insights into men who served and how they coped with difficult situations of surviving not only the fighting, but the arduous life in the boonies. Live with young soldiers who deal with extreme situations of war, weather and military life.
It is an honest story that will interest anyone who served in combat, who want an unglorified glimpse of combat life or anyone who likes personal adventures told by real characters.”
David Swords is a retired Police Lieutenant, having served thirty years with the Springfield Police Department (Ohio). Nearly half of his police career was spent as an investigator, working on cases ranging from simple vandalisms to armed robberies and murders. His varied experience has given him a unique understanding of human nature; an understanding that brings the characters of “Shadows on the Soul” to life in the mind of the reader.
In David Swords’ book his proposes the questions what would have happened in the Nazis had won and the United States was occupied territory. According to his book description, “the story takes you with John as he tries his best to live a normal life as a government official in the 1960’s America that might have been - Nazi occupied America. John’s normal life is disrupted as he reluctantly helps a prisoner who has escaped from a labor camp; a man imprisoned for no crime, except the color of his skin.”
Edward A. Stein, Sr., a 35 year veteran of the Cleveland Police Department published an autobiography entitled My Badge is My Intergity.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 420 police officers (representing 183 police departments) and their 894 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Enlisted Advisor's Presence in China Visits Highlights NCO Importance
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
March 27, 2007 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff emphasized just how important U.S. military leaders believe noncommissioned officers are by including his senior enlisted advisor in all his talks with senior Japanese and Chinese leaders. Marine Gen. Peter Pace made sure that Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey was in on every meeting, dinner and exercise during the weeklong trip March 19-27.
"It raised some eyebrows, especially with the Chinese," a Joint Staff official traveling with Pace said. "They are not used to enlisted personnel being anything more than technicians."
The general sees Gainey's participation as a plus for all involved. He gets another set of eyes examining problems, and the foreign military leaders get a firsthand look at what NCOs bring to the table.
"I think the Chinese have a much better understanding (of the role of NCOs in the U.S. military)," Pace said during an interview. "But because they don't have that concept in their military, they still don't have a complete understanding of what our NCO corps is all about."
Pace took every opportunity to talk about the sergeant major and his place in the NCO corps and how important the U.S. NCO corps is to American military success.
"I think that resonated with the Chinese," he said. "Having him side by side with me was a projection to the Chinese of the whole cloth of the leadership of our armed forces."
The chairman wants more military-to-military contacts between the United States and China. For his part, Gainey wants to see that some of those contacts are between NCOs.
The sergeant major offered to sponsor a senior Chinese NCO during the next Chinese delegation to visit Washington. "I hope they will allow the NCO to visit me, and I will have him meet with a group of U.S. NCOs," Gainey said during an interview. "It's important we create understanding between the militaries. The NCO corps is basic to understanding the U.S. military."
In China, NCOs are not trainers as they are in the United States.
"I had a full briefing on their NCO and enlisted policies by their (chief of personnel)," he said. "The general and I talked about how he could establish an NCO corps. He was taken aback by how General Pace would allow me to have as much authority. They were very open about it. The general told me that he could not understand it.
"I explained to him that General Pace delegates authority, but he cannot delegate responsibility," Gainey continued.
Gainey accompanied Pace to a military exercise at Dalian Military Training Area. The sergeant major, an Army scout, noticed that every tank or armored personnel carrier was commanded by an officer. "In our tank platoon, we have one officer and the tank commanders are NCOs," he said.
Follow-up will be interesting, Gainey said. He said he plans to work with the chairman and the Joint Staff to promote military-to-military contacts.
"I think we learned a lot from each other, and I think we broke some new, very positive ground," he said of the Chinese. "We need to keep moving."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 27, 2007 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff emphasized just how important U.S. military leaders believe noncommissioned officers are by including his senior enlisted advisor in all his talks with senior Japanese and Chinese leaders. Marine Gen. Peter Pace made sure that Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey was in on every meeting, dinner and exercise during the weeklong trip March 19-27.
"It raised some eyebrows, especially with the Chinese," a Joint Staff official traveling with Pace said. "They are not used to enlisted personnel being anything more than technicians."
The general sees Gainey's participation as a plus for all involved. He gets another set of eyes examining problems, and the foreign military leaders get a firsthand look at what NCOs bring to the table.
"I think the Chinese have a much better understanding (of the role of NCOs in the U.S. military)," Pace said during an interview. "But because they don't have that concept in their military, they still don't have a complete understanding of what our NCO corps is all about."
Pace took every opportunity to talk about the sergeant major and his place in the NCO corps and how important the U.S. NCO corps is to American military success.
"I think that resonated with the Chinese," he said. "Having him side by side with me was a projection to the Chinese of the whole cloth of the leadership of our armed forces."
The chairman wants more military-to-military contacts between the United States and China. For his part, Gainey wants to see that some of those contacts are between NCOs.
The sergeant major offered to sponsor a senior Chinese NCO during the next Chinese delegation to visit Washington. "I hope they will allow the NCO to visit me, and I will have him meet with a group of U.S. NCOs," Gainey said during an interview. "It's important we create understanding between the militaries. The NCO corps is basic to understanding the U.S. military."
In China, NCOs are not trainers as they are in the United States.
"I had a full briefing on their NCO and enlisted policies by their (chief of personnel)," he said. "The general and I talked about how he could establish an NCO corps. He was taken aback by how General Pace would allow me to have as much authority. They were very open about it. The general told me that he could not understand it.
"I explained to him that General Pace delegates authority, but he cannot delegate responsibility," Gainey continued.
Gainey accompanied Pace to a military exercise at Dalian Military Training Area. The sergeant major, an Army scout, noticed that every tank or armored personnel carrier was commanded by an officer. "In our tank platoon, we have one officer and the tank commanders are NCOs," he said.
Follow-up will be interesting, Gainey said. He said he plans to work with the chairman and the Joint Staff to promote military-to-military contacts.
"I think we learned a lot from each other, and I think we broke some new, very positive ground," he said of the Chinese. "We need to keep moving."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Arizona Group Honors One of State's Soldiers
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
March 27, 2007 – A letter from a soldier added bittersweet importance to Packages From Home's participation in Tucson Navy Week's weekend activities at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and an Arizona Diamondbacks preseason baseball game. Kathleen Lewis, founder of the Phoenix-based troop-support group, received a letter March 15 from Army Staff Sgt. Darrel Kasson thanking her for the last of the three care packages the group had sent him in Iraq. The letter touched Lewis, and she planned to send the soldier a "really, really great box" the following Saturday.
"Friday morning I got the call, and he had been killed in action with (a roadside bomb)," Lewis said. "What we decided to do was take our weekend -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday -- and dedicate it to him."
It seemed appropriate, since Kasson was from the Tucson area and the group would be spending March 16-18 there, she said. The group offered those who attended the Tucson Navy Week a chance to leave personal messages to Kasson's family at both venues.
"We had lines at our booth ... for people to sign their sentiments to both our troops and to Staff Sergeant Kasson and his family," she said. "The same was true at the Diamondbacks' game."
In addition, Packages From Home included a note in each box packed that weekend indicating the package was being sent in his honor and memory, Lewis said.
"It's never easy to hear when you lose one of your soldiers," she said. "With Sergeant Kasson, I had his letter ... on my counter and I had big plans for him.
"So we did things a little bit differently," she added.
Packages From Home is a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which highlights what Americans and the corporate sector are doing to support the nation's military members and their families.
While honoring Kasson, Lewis said, she and her volunteers also got to spread the word about how others could help support servicemembers like him. At times, 10 to 20 people were at the booth, curious to learn more about Packages From Home and America Supports You.
With so many visitors to the state in the spring, it was a golden opportunity, she said
"Someone might come to our booth and (think Packages From Home is just an Arizona group)," she said. "We wanted to say, ... 'You can go to America Supports You and find out where in your state you can join a group like ours.'"
Packages From Home also was able to arrange a public service announcement about the group and America Supports You during a pre-season game. Lewis said the group hopes to work with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the state's hockey team, the Coyotes, in the future to help encourage fans to support the troops.
"As I've said a thousand times, the best of America is in Iraq and Afghanistan today," Lewis said. "That's where our best citizens are, and I love them so much."
That love is evident in the more than 85,000 packages the group has shipped to deployed servicemembers since March 2004, she said.
Tucson Navy Week, which took place March 14-20, is a weeklong series of awareness events held in conjunction with Major League Baseball Spring Training and Aerospace & Arizona Days. Twenty-six Navy weeks are planned across the country to show Americans the investment they have made in their Navy and increase awareness in cities that do not have a significant everyday Navy presence.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 27, 2007 – A letter from a soldier added bittersweet importance to Packages From Home's participation in Tucson Navy Week's weekend activities at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and an Arizona Diamondbacks preseason baseball game. Kathleen Lewis, founder of the Phoenix-based troop-support group, received a letter March 15 from Army Staff Sgt. Darrel Kasson thanking her for the last of the three care packages the group had sent him in Iraq. The letter touched Lewis, and she planned to send the soldier a "really, really great box" the following Saturday.
"Friday morning I got the call, and he had been killed in action with (a roadside bomb)," Lewis said. "What we decided to do was take our weekend -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday -- and dedicate it to him."
It seemed appropriate, since Kasson was from the Tucson area and the group would be spending March 16-18 there, she said. The group offered those who attended the Tucson Navy Week a chance to leave personal messages to Kasson's family at both venues.
"We had lines at our booth ... for people to sign their sentiments to both our troops and to Staff Sergeant Kasson and his family," she said. "The same was true at the Diamondbacks' game."
In addition, Packages From Home included a note in each box packed that weekend indicating the package was being sent in his honor and memory, Lewis said.
"It's never easy to hear when you lose one of your soldiers," she said. "With Sergeant Kasson, I had his letter ... on my counter and I had big plans for him.
"So we did things a little bit differently," she added.
Packages From Home is a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which highlights what Americans and the corporate sector are doing to support the nation's military members and their families.
While honoring Kasson, Lewis said, she and her volunteers also got to spread the word about how others could help support servicemembers like him. At times, 10 to 20 people were at the booth, curious to learn more about Packages From Home and America Supports You.
With so many visitors to the state in the spring, it was a golden opportunity, she said
"Someone might come to our booth and (think Packages From Home is just an Arizona group)," she said. "We wanted to say, ... 'You can go to America Supports You and find out where in your state you can join a group like ours.'"
Packages From Home also was able to arrange a public service announcement about the group and America Supports You during a pre-season game. Lewis said the group hopes to work with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the state's hockey team, the Coyotes, in the future to help encourage fans to support the troops.
"As I've said a thousand times, the best of America is in Iraq and Afghanistan today," Lewis said. "That's where our best citizens are, and I love them so much."
That love is evident in the more than 85,000 packages the group has shipped to deployed servicemembers since March 2004, she said.
Tucson Navy Week, which took place March 14-20, is a weeklong series of awareness events held in conjunction with Major League Baseball Spring Training and Aerospace & Arizona Days. Twenty-six Navy weeks are planned across the country to show Americans the investment they have made in their Navy and increase awareness in cities that do not have a significant everyday Navy presence.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
USS John C. Stennis Now Operating in Persian Gulf
American Forces Press Service
March 27, 2007 – The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis entered the Persian Gulf today escorted by the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam. While in the gulf, the flagship of the USS John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group and its air wing, Carrier Air Wing 9, will conduct a dual-carrier exercise with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group. This marks the first time the Stennis and Eisenhower strike groups have operated together in a joint exercise while deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.
"This exercise demonstrates the importance of both strike groups' ability to plan and conduct dual task force operations as part of the U.S. long-standing commitment to maintaining maritime security and stability in this region," officials said.
Two air wings from the aircraft carriers will conduct air warfare exercises, while the surface components will conduct exercises in three general disciplines: anti-submarine, anti-surface and mine warfare.
John C. Stennis left its homeport of Bremerton, Wash., on Jan. 16 for deployment and began operating alongside coalition maritime forces in the region Feb. 19. After arriving, the strike group began conducting maritime security operations and providing direct support to coalition ground forces participating in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. During the 33 days of operations over Afghanistan, Carrier Air Wing 9 provided close-air support and reconnaissance to International Security Assistance Force troops on the ground.
Maritime security operations help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as complement counterterrorism and security efforts of regional nations. These operations deny international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material, officials said.
The Carrier Air Wing 9 squadrons include the "Black Knights" of Strike Fighter Squadron 154, "Blue Diamonds" of Strike Fighter Squadron 146, "Argonauts" of Strike Fighter Squadron 147, "Death Rattlers" of Marine Strike Fighter Squadron 323, "Yellowjackets" of Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 138, "Golden Hawks" of Carrier Early Warning Squadron 112, "Topcats" of Sea Control Squadron 31, "Eightballers" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 8, and "Providers" of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 30.
The John C. Stennis Strike Group includes John C. Stennis, Carrier Air Wing 9, Destroyer Squadron 21, USS Antietam, the guided-missile destroyers USS O'Kane and USS Preble, and the fast combat-support ship USNS Bridge. More than 6,500 sailors and Marines are assigned to the strike group.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
March 27, 2007 – The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis entered the Persian Gulf today escorted by the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam. While in the gulf, the flagship of the USS John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group and its air wing, Carrier Air Wing 9, will conduct a dual-carrier exercise with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group. This marks the first time the Stennis and Eisenhower strike groups have operated together in a joint exercise while deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.
"This exercise demonstrates the importance of both strike groups' ability to plan and conduct dual task force operations as part of the U.S. long-standing commitment to maintaining maritime security and stability in this region," officials said.
Two air wings from the aircraft carriers will conduct air warfare exercises, while the surface components will conduct exercises in three general disciplines: anti-submarine, anti-surface and mine warfare.
John C. Stennis left its homeport of Bremerton, Wash., on Jan. 16 for deployment and began operating alongside coalition maritime forces in the region Feb. 19. After arriving, the strike group began conducting maritime security operations and providing direct support to coalition ground forces participating in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. During the 33 days of operations over Afghanistan, Carrier Air Wing 9 provided close-air support and reconnaissance to International Security Assistance Force troops on the ground.
Maritime security operations help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as complement counterterrorism and security efforts of regional nations. These operations deny international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material, officials said.
The Carrier Air Wing 9 squadrons include the "Black Knights" of Strike Fighter Squadron 154, "Blue Diamonds" of Strike Fighter Squadron 146, "Argonauts" of Strike Fighter Squadron 147, "Death Rattlers" of Marine Strike Fighter Squadron 323, "Yellowjackets" of Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 138, "Golden Hawks" of Carrier Early Warning Squadron 112, "Topcats" of Sea Control Squadron 31, "Eightballers" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 8, and "Providers" of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 30.
The John C. Stennis Strike Group includes John C. Stennis, Carrier Air Wing 9, Destroyer Squadron 21, USS Antietam, the guided-missile destroyers USS O'Kane and USS Preble, and the fast combat-support ship USNS Bridge. More than 6,500 sailors and Marines are assigned to the strike group.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
U.S.-Turkey Relationship Vital to National Security, Gates Says
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
March 27, 2007 – The U.S. relationship with Turkey is "under valued and under appreciated" and the country's geographical position is vitally important to security challenges facing the U.S., Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today told the American-Turkish Council. Gates spoke to about 500 attendees at a D.C. luncheon during the council's annual conference. The ATC is a business association that promotes commercial, defense, technology and cultural relations between the two countries.
In the 20-minute speech, the defense secretary acknowledged that U.S.-Turkey relations have had struggles in recent years, but added, "Our military, economic, political and personal ties remain strong."
He heralded Turkey's $175 million role in the Joint Strike Fighter program. The country has agreed to buy 100 of the F-35 Lightning II supersonic stealth fighters in development.
Gates also commended the country for allowing 16 U.S. Navy ships to make port calls there in 2006.
In support of the war on terror, Turkey has commanded two rotations of NATO's International Security Assistance Force and a provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan, and has provided the U.S. access to Iraq through an air base in Turkey. Without that access, Gates said, operations in Iraq would be "exceedingly more difficult and vastly more expensive."
Still, all relationships need work to remain strong, the secretary said.
"The two nations should oppose measures and rhetoric that needlessly and destructively antagonize each other. That includes symbolic resolutions by the United States Congress as well as the type of anti-American and extremist rhetoric that sometimes finds a home in Turkey's political discourse," Gates said.
Gates conceded that the war in Iraq is a point of contention for Turkey, as well as many of America's allies. Adding to the tension is fighting on the Turkey-Iraq border against fighters for the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as PKK.
"The situation on Turkey's border with Iraq's Kurdish region is of particular concern," Gates said. "Every Turkey citizen killed by the PKK is a setback for success in Iraq and a setback in our relationship with Turkey."
Gates said he has tapped former NATO supreme allied commander in Europe Air Force Gen. Joseph W. Ralston as special envoy for countering the PKK, but acknowledged, "We know more needs to be done."
Regarding the situation in Iraq, Army Gen. David Petraeus, the new Multinational Force Iraq commander, is applying "sound counterinsurgency principles" that are aimed at giving the newly established Iraqi government breathing room, Gates said. Coalition forces are securing and holding neighborhoods, and the Iraqi government has committed the forces need to secure its capitol, he added.
He said, though, that Iraq's disposition will not be finally determined by military action, but by the political influence of its neighbors in the region.
"Whatever disagreements we might have over how we got to this point in Iraq, the consequences of a failed state in Iraq, of chaos there, will adversely affect every member of the Atlantic alliance and none more so than Turkey," he said.
"Iraq's neighbors will need to play a constructive role going forward even if they haven't done so in the past -- especially in encouraging political reconciliation and a reduction in violence within Iraq. This is certainly the case with Syria and Iran. They have not been helpful," Gates said.
He called recent talks in Baghdad "a good start," but said that the U.S. is "open to higher level exchanges."
Finally, Gates called Iraq's future an interest and a responsibility "that we will not abandon."
"Abandoning Iraq and leaving regional chaos in the wake clearly would be an offense to our interests as well as our values and a set back for the cause of freedom as well as the goal of stability," Gates said.
"In this strategic environment we have to be willing to spend the resources, absorb the costs, take the risks and meet the commitments we make to one another. It means having the creditability, ingenuity and skill to dissuade and divide our potential adversaries while reassuring and uniting our friends."
Gates closed his remarks with the Turkish proverb, "A wise man remembers his friends at all times, a fool only when he has need of them."
"The United States and Turkey have wisely remembered our friendship at all times," he said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 27, 2007 – The U.S. relationship with Turkey is "under valued and under appreciated" and the country's geographical position is vitally important to security challenges facing the U.S., Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today told the American-Turkish Council. Gates spoke to about 500 attendees at a D.C. luncheon during the council's annual conference. The ATC is a business association that promotes commercial, defense, technology and cultural relations between the two countries.
In the 20-minute speech, the defense secretary acknowledged that U.S.-Turkey relations have had struggles in recent years, but added, "Our military, economic, political and personal ties remain strong."
He heralded Turkey's $175 million role in the Joint Strike Fighter program. The country has agreed to buy 100 of the F-35 Lightning II supersonic stealth fighters in development.
Gates also commended the country for allowing 16 U.S. Navy ships to make port calls there in 2006.
In support of the war on terror, Turkey has commanded two rotations of NATO's International Security Assistance Force and a provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan, and has provided the U.S. access to Iraq through an air base in Turkey. Without that access, Gates said, operations in Iraq would be "exceedingly more difficult and vastly more expensive."
Still, all relationships need work to remain strong, the secretary said.
"The two nations should oppose measures and rhetoric that needlessly and destructively antagonize each other. That includes symbolic resolutions by the United States Congress as well as the type of anti-American and extremist rhetoric that sometimes finds a home in Turkey's political discourse," Gates said.
Gates conceded that the war in Iraq is a point of contention for Turkey, as well as many of America's allies. Adding to the tension is fighting on the Turkey-Iraq border against fighters for the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as PKK.
"The situation on Turkey's border with Iraq's Kurdish region is of particular concern," Gates said. "Every Turkey citizen killed by the PKK is a setback for success in Iraq and a setback in our relationship with Turkey."
Gates said he has tapped former NATO supreme allied commander in Europe Air Force Gen. Joseph W. Ralston as special envoy for countering the PKK, but acknowledged, "We know more needs to be done."
Regarding the situation in Iraq, Army Gen. David Petraeus, the new Multinational Force Iraq commander, is applying "sound counterinsurgency principles" that are aimed at giving the newly established Iraqi government breathing room, Gates said. Coalition forces are securing and holding neighborhoods, and the Iraqi government has committed the forces need to secure its capitol, he added.
He said, though, that Iraq's disposition will not be finally determined by military action, but by the political influence of its neighbors in the region.
"Whatever disagreements we might have over how we got to this point in Iraq, the consequences of a failed state in Iraq, of chaos there, will adversely affect every member of the Atlantic alliance and none more so than Turkey," he said.
"Iraq's neighbors will need to play a constructive role going forward even if they haven't done so in the past -- especially in encouraging political reconciliation and a reduction in violence within Iraq. This is certainly the case with Syria and Iran. They have not been helpful," Gates said.
He called recent talks in Baghdad "a good start," but said that the U.S. is "open to higher level exchanges."
Finally, Gates called Iraq's future an interest and a responsibility "that we will not abandon."
"Abandoning Iraq and leaving regional chaos in the wake clearly would be an offense to our interests as well as our values and a set back for the cause of freedom as well as the goal of stability," Gates said.
"In this strategic environment we have to be willing to spend the resources, absorb the costs, take the risks and meet the commitments we make to one another. It means having the creditability, ingenuity and skill to dissuade and divide our potential adversaries while reassuring and uniting our friends."
Gates closed his remarks with the Turkish proverb, "A wise man remembers his friends at all times, a fool only when he has need of them."
"The United States and Turkey have wisely remembered our friendship at all times," he said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Crime fiction and other police procedurals
Editor's Note: Two of the three are retired military
March 27, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books, added three writers of crime fiction.
Robert Ruble quit high school to join the United States Marine Corps (USMC), where he was hoping for Korea, but instead was selected to be a Drill Instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD), San Diego. Later he changed his specialty to Tank Crewman. He left the Marine Corps and joined the Tampa Police Department. After a few years as a police officer he re-enlisted in the Marine Corps and served a 20 year career, including two tours in Vietnam.
After retirement from the USMC, he worked for a variety of law enforcement agencies culminating his law enforcement career as the Chief of Police of the Kennesaw Police Department (Georgia). He was their chief from 1980 through 1986. He has written two thrillers - Have No Mercy and Black Rosebud: Have No Mercy II
George Galjan was born in 1942 in Berlin, Germany. In 1956, he immigrated to the United States with his family. After high school, he enlisted in the Navy. He served two tours in Vietnam and later transferred to the Navy Reserves. He retired from the Reserves with the rank of senior chief. In 1969, George Galjan joined the Cleveland Police Department. He retired in 1998, at the rank of lieutenant.
George Galjan’s book, Cops, Donuts and Murder, is a mystery set in the City of Cleveland. As one reviewer/reader remarked, “This is the best mystery book I've read for quite sometime. It is filled with twists and interesting characters. The ending was a total surprise. The book is written using dialog and it is so true-to-life that I couldn't put it down.”
Earl Kratzer is a retired Detective Sergeant from the Cleveland Police Department. During his career he worked on a number of interesting cases and is the recipient of the Rotary Valor Award for Heroism Beyond the Call of Duty. His book, My Baby, My Baby, is a classic police procedural that follows “a fictional account of a child abduction that is set in Cleveland, Ohio. The twists and turns that develop while the detectives are investigating this case, show the reader what actually occurs while following leads a criminal investigation.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 417 police officers (representing 182 police departments) and their 891 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
March 27, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books, added three writers of crime fiction.
Robert Ruble quit high school to join the United States Marine Corps (USMC), where he was hoping for Korea, but instead was selected to be a Drill Instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD), San Diego. Later he changed his specialty to Tank Crewman. He left the Marine Corps and joined the Tampa Police Department. After a few years as a police officer he re-enlisted in the Marine Corps and served a 20 year career, including two tours in Vietnam.
After retirement from the USMC, he worked for a variety of law enforcement agencies culminating his law enforcement career as the Chief of Police of the Kennesaw Police Department (Georgia). He was their chief from 1980 through 1986. He has written two thrillers - Have No Mercy and Black Rosebud: Have No Mercy II
George Galjan was born in 1942 in Berlin, Germany. In 1956, he immigrated to the United States with his family. After high school, he enlisted in the Navy. He served two tours in Vietnam and later transferred to the Navy Reserves. He retired from the Reserves with the rank of senior chief. In 1969, George Galjan joined the Cleveland Police Department. He retired in 1998, at the rank of lieutenant.
George Galjan’s book, Cops, Donuts and Murder, is a mystery set in the City of Cleveland. As one reviewer/reader remarked, “This is the best mystery book I've read for quite sometime. It is filled with twists and interesting characters. The ending was a total surprise. The book is written using dialog and it is so true-to-life that I couldn't put it down.”
Earl Kratzer is a retired Detective Sergeant from the Cleveland Police Department. During his career he worked on a number of interesting cases and is the recipient of the Rotary Valor Award for Heroism Beyond the Call of Duty. His book, My Baby, My Baby, is a classic police procedural that follows “a fictional account of a child abduction that is set in Cleveland, Ohio. The twists and turns that develop while the detectives are investigating this case, show the reader what actually occurs while following leads a criminal investigation.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 417 police officers (representing 182 police departments) and their 891 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Monday, March 26, 2007
'First Response' Helps Wounded Troops
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
March 26, 2007 – The soldier's eyelids fluttered as he heard his mother's voice over the phone. In a coma, it was the first time there had been any response from Army Spc. Jerry De La Cruz since he had arrived to Germany's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center from the combat zone in Iraq.
By holding a cell phone to his ear, a perfect stranger made it possible for Cathy Holcomb to whisper words of encouragement to her son from the other side of the world, telling him that she loved him and wanted him to make it home alive.
Tears ran down Carolyn Crossley's checks as she held the phone to his ear and tenderly grasped his hand that day.
An Army wife whose son had been a Marine, Crossley understood this mother's agony in not being by her son's side. At the same time, her heart went out to all the war-torn troops in the hospital ward who didn't have families with them in their time of need.
It was on that day that she silently promised herself that she would be by their sides when their own families could not and she would be there to help support those families who were.
Only two days before, Crossley had linked up with Peggy Baker to offer her assistance in helping troops after coming across Baker's name on the Internet. Baker, whose son was in the Army, had been visiting the wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here for more than a year, but she wanted to do more.
Baker, in Culpeper, Va., was the one who initially received the phone call from the desperate mother and contacted her new-found counterpart in Germany for assistance.
Crossley said she was hooked from the very beginning. Her obvious love for the troops and previous medical experience led hospital leadership to immediately ask her to join their ranks by working as a nurse on the ward, and the groundwork for Operation First Response was laid.
Operation First Response is one of the first members of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, a program helping connect home-front groups with servicemembers and their families.
Initially, the nonprofit group focused on supplying patients with backpacks filled with a new set of clothes, personal hygiene items, a phone card and a handmade blanket upon their arrival to medical centers. The group since has branched out to assist servicemembers with financial needs, such as helping to provide airfare for families or offsetting living costs when spouses or parents miss work to stay by a wounded relative's bedside.
Since the duo joined forces in 2004, they have touched the lives of more than 2,000 families who have come through Landstuhl and Walter Reed, in addition to other medical facilities.
The Operation First Response staff has grown to five members who work around the clock to help servicemembers. Crossley's husband has since been stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. She said she hopes to continue her outreach efforts for wounded troops at the installation's Womack Army Medical Center.
"It's an honor to be making an impact on these heroes' lives," Baker said. "The mere fact that these young men and women step up to the plate and putting their lives on the line for the country is ... well, more than words can express."
More than offering tangible donations, the organization gives emotional support as well.
"My focus has always been working with families and offering a shoulder for them to cry on," Crossley said.
Many families are on emotional roller coasters when seeing their injured soldier for the first time, she said. The emotions usually go from anger, to grief, to sadness and, with the help of First Response volunteers, to hope.
Volunteers from the organization visit wounded troops weekly, bringing by their favorite soda, or food in case a patient misses a meal due to an appointment, or giving them a little cash to live off of while in the hospital.
Most importantly, Baker said, they bring friendship. She considers each one to be part of her extended family.
"When you do that every week, you become very close with a family," she said. "You develop a bond. I can't find the words to describe how this has impacted me."
"It comforts me to know that there is an organization like yours out there to give families like mine comfort when they need it most," an Army wife said on the organization's Web site. "There is nothing like an organization that can give you love and emotional support."
In cases when their organization can't meet the requests of families, Baker and Crossley are quick to point them in the direction of support groups who can. By networking with other America Supports You members, Operation First Response can help fulfill the needs of a soldier or their family.
"The (Defense Department) support is invaluable," Baker said. "(Each home-front group's) scope is a slightly different, so if I can't help a troop, I know someone who can."
This article sponsored by military and police personnel who have written books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 26, 2007 – The soldier's eyelids fluttered as he heard his mother's voice over the phone. In a coma, it was the first time there had been any response from Army Spc. Jerry De La Cruz since he had arrived to Germany's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center from the combat zone in Iraq.
By holding a cell phone to his ear, a perfect stranger made it possible for Cathy Holcomb to whisper words of encouragement to her son from the other side of the world, telling him that she loved him and wanted him to make it home alive.
Tears ran down Carolyn Crossley's checks as she held the phone to his ear and tenderly grasped his hand that day.
An Army wife whose son had been a Marine, Crossley understood this mother's agony in not being by her son's side. At the same time, her heart went out to all the war-torn troops in the hospital ward who didn't have families with them in their time of need.
It was on that day that she silently promised herself that she would be by their sides when their own families could not and she would be there to help support those families who were.
Only two days before, Crossley had linked up with Peggy Baker to offer her assistance in helping troops after coming across Baker's name on the Internet. Baker, whose son was in the Army, had been visiting the wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here for more than a year, but she wanted to do more.
Baker, in Culpeper, Va., was the one who initially received the phone call from the desperate mother and contacted her new-found counterpart in Germany for assistance.
Crossley said she was hooked from the very beginning. Her obvious love for the troops and previous medical experience led hospital leadership to immediately ask her to join their ranks by working as a nurse on the ward, and the groundwork for Operation First Response was laid.
Operation First Response is one of the first members of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, a program helping connect home-front groups with servicemembers and their families.
Initially, the nonprofit group focused on supplying patients with backpacks filled with a new set of clothes, personal hygiene items, a phone card and a handmade blanket upon their arrival to medical centers. The group since has branched out to assist servicemembers with financial needs, such as helping to provide airfare for families or offsetting living costs when spouses or parents miss work to stay by a wounded relative's bedside.
Since the duo joined forces in 2004, they have touched the lives of more than 2,000 families who have come through Landstuhl and Walter Reed, in addition to other medical facilities.
The Operation First Response staff has grown to five members who work around the clock to help servicemembers. Crossley's husband has since been stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. She said she hopes to continue her outreach efforts for wounded troops at the installation's Womack Army Medical Center.
"It's an honor to be making an impact on these heroes' lives," Baker said. "The mere fact that these young men and women step up to the plate and putting their lives on the line for the country is ... well, more than words can express."
More than offering tangible donations, the organization gives emotional support as well.
"My focus has always been working with families and offering a shoulder for them to cry on," Crossley said.
Many families are on emotional roller coasters when seeing their injured soldier for the first time, she said. The emotions usually go from anger, to grief, to sadness and, with the help of First Response volunteers, to hope.
Volunteers from the organization visit wounded troops weekly, bringing by their favorite soda, or food in case a patient misses a meal due to an appointment, or giving them a little cash to live off of while in the hospital.
Most importantly, Baker said, they bring friendship. She considers each one to be part of her extended family.
"When you do that every week, you become very close with a family," she said. "You develop a bond. I can't find the words to describe how this has impacted me."
"It comforts me to know that there is an organization like yours out there to give families like mine comfort when they need it most," an Army wife said on the organization's Web site. "There is nothing like an organization that can give you love and emotional support."
In cases when their organization can't meet the requests of families, Baker and Crossley are quick to point them in the direction of support groups who can. By networking with other America Supports You members, Operation First Response can help fulfill the needs of a soldier or their family.
"The (Defense Department) support is invaluable," Baker said. "(Each home-front group's) scope is a slightly different, so if I can't help a troop, I know someone who can."
This article sponsored by military and police personnel who have written books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Marines to Alert 1,800 Individual Ready Reservists for Reactivation
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
March 26, 2007 – Over the next week, 1,800 Individual Ready Reserve Marines will receive notice from the Marine Corps that they are needed in Iraq, an official announced today. Marine Lt. Col. Jeff Riehl, Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs spokesman, told reporters at the Pentagon today that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates approved the notification March 23, and the letters are being mailed today.
All enlistees in all services incur an eight-year commitment in some capacity, generally a combination of active or reserve duty and then IRR service. The Marine Corps can call up to 2,500 Marines from its 60,000-member IRR pool to involuntary service at any one time, following a July 26 authorization from President Bush.
To date, the Corps has recalled 69 IRR members under this authorization, and today's announcement represents the largest involuntary recall in the Marine Corps since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
From the 1,800 IRR members notified, Riehl said, Marine Corps officials expect 1,200 to re-enter active duty, including 1,067 sergeants and 133 captains. The ratio of notified IRR Marines to those expected to reactivate is 1 and a half to 1, as some Marines will be unable to fulfill their orders due to various mitigating circumstances, he said.
"We've adopted the philosophy of 'do no harm to the Marine,'" Riehl said. "So if a Marine comes aboard during the muster and they have family issues, medical issues (or) they cannot be activated for that timeframe, we have a delay, deferment or exemption process."
In addition, the service is excluding Marines who are in their first year of IRR service. Only Marines in their second or third year of IRR service are being involuntarily recalled, Riehl said.
The service is targeting Marines in aviation maintenance, logistics support, combat arms, motor transportation, communications, intelligence and military police -- career fields that are experiencing personnel shortages, he said.
"We're doing this to help beef up the forces in the shortfalls that we have," Riehl said. "Marines who receive notifications will be instructed to muster April 10-30 at the Mobility Command in Kansas City, Mo., and they will report between Oct. 9 and Oct. 20 for one year of additional active duty, Riehl said. Unit deployment dates will be in early 2008, he added.
The service has set up a Web site, https://mcmps.manpower.usmc.mil/MCMPS/GIDA/, to allow IRR Marines and recent retirees to volunteer for war on terror assignments.
The breakdown of military occupational specialties for the 1,200 IRR members is:
-- 361 Aviation Maintenance
-- 225 Logistics and Support
-- 223 Infantry, Tanks and Artillery
-- 178 Motor Transport
-- 97 Communications
-- 95 Intelligence
-- 21 Military Police
This article sponsored by military and police personnel who have written books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 26, 2007 – Over the next week, 1,800 Individual Ready Reserve Marines will receive notice from the Marine Corps that they are needed in Iraq, an official announced today. Marine Lt. Col. Jeff Riehl, Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs spokesman, told reporters at the Pentagon today that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates approved the notification March 23, and the letters are being mailed today.
All enlistees in all services incur an eight-year commitment in some capacity, generally a combination of active or reserve duty and then IRR service. The Marine Corps can call up to 2,500 Marines from its 60,000-member IRR pool to involuntary service at any one time, following a July 26 authorization from President Bush.
To date, the Corps has recalled 69 IRR members under this authorization, and today's announcement represents the largest involuntary recall in the Marine Corps since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
From the 1,800 IRR members notified, Riehl said, Marine Corps officials expect 1,200 to re-enter active duty, including 1,067 sergeants and 133 captains. The ratio of notified IRR Marines to those expected to reactivate is 1 and a half to 1, as some Marines will be unable to fulfill their orders due to various mitigating circumstances, he said.
"We've adopted the philosophy of 'do no harm to the Marine,'" Riehl said. "So if a Marine comes aboard during the muster and they have family issues, medical issues (or) they cannot be activated for that timeframe, we have a delay, deferment or exemption process."
In addition, the service is excluding Marines who are in their first year of IRR service. Only Marines in their second or third year of IRR service are being involuntarily recalled, Riehl said.
The service is targeting Marines in aviation maintenance, logistics support, combat arms, motor transportation, communications, intelligence and military police -- career fields that are experiencing personnel shortages, he said.
"We're doing this to help beef up the forces in the shortfalls that we have," Riehl said. "Marines who receive notifications will be instructed to muster April 10-30 at the Mobility Command in Kansas City, Mo., and they will report between Oct. 9 and Oct. 20 for one year of additional active duty, Riehl said. Unit deployment dates will be in early 2008, he added.
The service has set up a Web site, https://mcmps.manpower.usmc.mil/MCMPS/GIDA/, to allow IRR Marines and recent retirees to volunteer for war on terror assignments.
The breakdown of military occupational specialties for the 1,200 IRR members is:
-- 361 Aviation Maintenance
-- 225 Logistics and Support
-- 223 Infantry, Tanks and Artillery
-- 178 Motor Transport
-- 97 Communications
-- 95 Intelligence
-- 21 Military Police
This article sponsored by military and police personnel who have written books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Home-front Group Draws Accolades
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
March 26, 2007 – A home-front group that alters clothing for wounded servicemembers received accolades for its efforts on an evening news show last week. "ABC's World News Tonight" named Ginger Dosedel, founder of Sew Much Comfort, as being the news organization's "Person of the Week" during its March 23 broadcast.
"It was wonderful of ABC to nominate us, and I truly look at that as an 'us,'" Dosedel said. "I am only one small part of this organization. For them to take time to recognize everything America is doing to support the troops -- I think that is incredibly important."
President Bush invited the Dosedel family for a visit to the White House today so he could meet the inspiration for the nonprofit organization - Dosedel's son, Michael.
When the 13-year-old was younger, he had to undergo multiple surgeries on his legs that prohibited his wearing of regular clothing. His mom started making him clothing to accommodate the casts and large metal braces while he recuperated.
Dosedel applied her knowledge of adaptive clothing to help wounded troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan when she formed her organization in 2004.
She now heads up more than 1,000 volunteer seamstresses throughout the nation to sew adaptive clothing to help wounded troops who have difficulty wearing normal clothing due to amputations, burns or cumbersome medical devices.
"It's nice that I can help all these people," Michael said. "It can benefit a lot of people not only because it can give them a sense of dignity, but they can also go out on the street and feel good about themselves."
Sew Much Comfort is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program helping grassroots groups show their support for members of the armed forces and their families.
"I know the volunteers work so hard doing something that is not easy," she said, as she described the difficulty the organization's volunteer seamstresses overcome in changing the way they think about making and adapting clothes for their recipients.
"It's important to them to get this recognition," she said.
The group's seamstresses stretch across the nation, and include prison inmates who put their skills to use to thank the men and women in uniform.
"It's huge for the inmates," Dosedel said. She added that sewing for troops gives inmates life skills that are a tremendous increase to their self-esteem, as it allows them to do something for the men and women in uniform.
"It's humbling to be part of something that does something that's really, really good," Dosedel said.
The adaptive clothing not only minimizes the visual impact of servicemembers' wounds, she said, but it allows them to feel more independent, more comfortable and more dignified.
Hospital staff members also play a big role in the organization's success at meeting the needs of wounded troops. They have frequently made recommendations on how to better adapt clothing for their patients.
Dosedel said small things like increasing the opening of a shirt to include the shoulder helps burn patients to more easily don clothing over the tender skin of their wounds. Amputees have difficulty with buttons, so she and her seamstresses make buttons decorative objects with fabric fasteners instead.
Dosedel said one servicemember who lost his arm in combat stands out in her mind. While he was going through the surgery amputating his right arm, she gave his wife a shirt made specifically for him. The next day she stopped by to see how he was doing.
"It's a good day," he said. "I got dressed by myself today."
This article sponsored by military and police personnel who have written books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 26, 2007 – A home-front group that alters clothing for wounded servicemembers received accolades for its efforts on an evening news show last week. "ABC's World News Tonight" named Ginger Dosedel, founder of Sew Much Comfort, as being the news organization's "Person of the Week" during its March 23 broadcast.
"It was wonderful of ABC to nominate us, and I truly look at that as an 'us,'" Dosedel said. "I am only one small part of this organization. For them to take time to recognize everything America is doing to support the troops -- I think that is incredibly important."
President Bush invited the Dosedel family for a visit to the White House today so he could meet the inspiration for the nonprofit organization - Dosedel's son, Michael.
When the 13-year-old was younger, he had to undergo multiple surgeries on his legs that prohibited his wearing of regular clothing. His mom started making him clothing to accommodate the casts and large metal braces while he recuperated.
Dosedel applied her knowledge of adaptive clothing to help wounded troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan when she formed her organization in 2004.
She now heads up more than 1,000 volunteer seamstresses throughout the nation to sew adaptive clothing to help wounded troops who have difficulty wearing normal clothing due to amputations, burns or cumbersome medical devices.
"It's nice that I can help all these people," Michael said. "It can benefit a lot of people not only because it can give them a sense of dignity, but they can also go out on the street and feel good about themselves."
Sew Much Comfort is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program helping grassroots groups show their support for members of the armed forces and their families.
"I know the volunteers work so hard doing something that is not easy," she said, as she described the difficulty the organization's volunteer seamstresses overcome in changing the way they think about making and adapting clothes for their recipients.
"It's important to them to get this recognition," she said.
The group's seamstresses stretch across the nation, and include prison inmates who put their skills to use to thank the men and women in uniform.
"It's huge for the inmates," Dosedel said. She added that sewing for troops gives inmates life skills that are a tremendous increase to their self-esteem, as it allows them to do something for the men and women in uniform.
"It's humbling to be part of something that does something that's really, really good," Dosedel said.
The adaptive clothing not only minimizes the visual impact of servicemembers' wounds, she said, but it allows them to feel more independent, more comfortable and more dignified.
Hospital staff members also play a big role in the organization's success at meeting the needs of wounded troops. They have frequently made recommendations on how to better adapt clothing for their patients.
Dosedel said small things like increasing the opening of a shirt to include the shoulder helps burn patients to more easily don clothing over the tender skin of their wounds. Amputees have difficulty with buttons, so she and her seamstresses make buttons decorative objects with fabric fasteners instead.
Dosedel said one servicemember who lost his arm in combat stands out in her mind. While he was going through the surgery amputating his right arm, she gave his wife a shirt made specifically for him. The next day she stopped by to see how he was doing.
"It's a good day," he said. "I got dressed by myself today."
This article sponsored by military and police personnel who have written books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Keating Becomes Commander of U.S. Pacific Command
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Hawaii, March 26, 2007 – Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating will bring the same good judgment and decisiveness to the U.S. Pacific Command that he demonstrated as commander of U.S. Northern Command, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Gates spoke at a ceremony in which Keating assumed command of the largest U.S. combatant command, which encompasses 51 percent of the Earth's surface and includes 43 countries.
Gates said the admiral has demonstrated being able to handle a wide variety of complex and challenging assignments.
"He commanded a carrier group based in Japan, and later the Navy's 5th Fleet during Operation Iraqi Freedom," Gates said.
As the commander of U.S. Northern Command, he was responsible for guarding the United States "against a range of threats and means of attack from weapons of all kinds - some so small that they could even fit inside a thimble. His area of responsibility ranged from our nation's cities and coastlines to outer space and everything in between."
Keating, whose father served in World War II, assumed command under a cloud-studded Hawaiian sky. Flags snapped in the tradewinds as he accepted the flag signifying the change of command. He said he believes in the "power of the Pacific," and that PACOM servicemembers and civilian employees will work collaboratively with other agencies and ambassadors to perform the missions needed to protect the United States, its allies and American interests in the region.
"We are going to work hard to minimize internal staff churn and 'self-licking ice cream cone' assessments and instead concentrate on working with our ambassadors and our forward troops throughout this theater," the admiral said.
Gates thanked the men and women of U.S. Pacific Command. "I know that Admiral Keating would agree that much of what has been accomplished in this region is due to your dedication and professionalism," he said. "You and your families have our appreciation and thanks for everything you do for our nation."
Representatives from many countries in the Pacific Command area of operations - including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand -- attended the ceremony.
"I suspect that Admiral Keating may be visiting many of your countries in the coming months," Gates said.
The secretary said the sheer size of the command demands any country's attention. "But more than that, the scope of relationships and challenges encompassed in this area of responsibility are key to the security and continued welfare of the United States," he said.
The area is home to some of America's oldest allies on one hand and some of its emerging relationships on the other, Gates said.
"A great many partnerships across this command - old and new - have grown considerably stronger in recent years," the secretary said. "The restoration of military relations with Indonesia comes to mind, as does the strengthening of our long-standing ties with Japan and Australia."
Gates said the nations of the region must face both the newest and oldest threats to security. Missile and nuclear proliferation are problems, as is the threat of piracy. But there are other uncertainties as well, he said.
"Countries with limited transparency are taking actions that seem contrary to international stability - causing other countries to question their intentions," the secretary said. "And violent jihadists are trying to undermine the foundations of free society that have allowed many countries in this region to prosper."
Keating understands today's challenges and opportunities, Gates said. "He is fully prepared to continue the record of accomplishments that the countries of this region have built together," Gates said.
"The opportunities are immense. They are profound," Keating said. "We are going to capitalize on that."
He said the command and all its members will work hard to ensure a better quality of life for people throughout the region, free lines of communication, and the development of free and democratic societies throughout the Pacific Command area of responsibility.
Keating succeeds Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, who took command of U.S. Central Command on March 16. Air Force Lt. Gen. Daniel P. Leaf, PACOM's deputy commander, served as interim commander until today's ceremony.
This article sponsored by military and police personnel who have written books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
Hawaii, March 26, 2007 – Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating will bring the same good judgment and decisiveness to the U.S. Pacific Command that he demonstrated as commander of U.S. Northern Command, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Gates spoke at a ceremony in which Keating assumed command of the largest U.S. combatant command, which encompasses 51 percent of the Earth's surface and includes 43 countries.
Gates said the admiral has demonstrated being able to handle a wide variety of complex and challenging assignments.
"He commanded a carrier group based in Japan, and later the Navy's 5th Fleet during Operation Iraqi Freedom," Gates said.
As the commander of U.S. Northern Command, he was responsible for guarding the United States "against a range of threats and means of attack from weapons of all kinds - some so small that they could even fit inside a thimble. His area of responsibility ranged from our nation's cities and coastlines to outer space and everything in between."
Keating, whose father served in World War II, assumed command under a cloud-studded Hawaiian sky. Flags snapped in the tradewinds as he accepted the flag signifying the change of command. He said he believes in the "power of the Pacific," and that PACOM servicemembers and civilian employees will work collaboratively with other agencies and ambassadors to perform the missions needed to protect the United States, its allies and American interests in the region.
"We are going to work hard to minimize internal staff churn and 'self-licking ice cream cone' assessments and instead concentrate on working with our ambassadors and our forward troops throughout this theater," the admiral said.
Gates thanked the men and women of U.S. Pacific Command. "I know that Admiral Keating would agree that much of what has been accomplished in this region is due to your dedication and professionalism," he said. "You and your families have our appreciation and thanks for everything you do for our nation."
Representatives from many countries in the Pacific Command area of operations - including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand -- attended the ceremony.
"I suspect that Admiral Keating may be visiting many of your countries in the coming months," Gates said.
The secretary said the sheer size of the command demands any country's attention. "But more than that, the scope of relationships and challenges encompassed in this area of responsibility are key to the security and continued welfare of the United States," he said.
The area is home to some of America's oldest allies on one hand and some of its emerging relationships on the other, Gates said.
"A great many partnerships across this command - old and new - have grown considerably stronger in recent years," the secretary said. "The restoration of military relations with Indonesia comes to mind, as does the strengthening of our long-standing ties with Japan and Australia."
Gates said the nations of the region must face both the newest and oldest threats to security. Missile and nuclear proliferation are problems, as is the threat of piracy. But there are other uncertainties as well, he said.
"Countries with limited transparency are taking actions that seem contrary to international stability - causing other countries to question their intentions," the secretary said. "And violent jihadists are trying to undermine the foundations of free society that have allowed many countries in this region to prosper."
Keating understands today's challenges and opportunities, Gates said. "He is fully prepared to continue the record of accomplishments that the countries of this region have built together," Gates said.
"The opportunities are immense. They are profound," Keating said. "We are going to capitalize on that."
He said the command and all its members will work hard to ensure a better quality of life for people throughout the region, free lines of communication, and the development of free and democratic societies throughout the Pacific Command area of responsibility.
Keating succeeds Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, who took command of U.S. Central Command on March 16. Air Force Lt. Gen. Daniel P. Leaf, PACOM's deputy commander, served as interim commander until today's ceremony.
This article sponsored by military and police personnel who have written books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
DoD, Army Conclude Tillman's Death Was Accidental
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
March 26, 2007 – Army Spc. Patrick D. Tillman was accidentally shot and killed by members of his divided Ranger unit after part of it had been ambushed by enemy fighters in a canyon in Afghanistan, senior Defense Department and Army officials told reporters here today. An early unit-level report listed Tillman as being killed by hostile fire, acting DoD Inspector General Thomas Gimble told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.
However, findings of follow-on investigations showed that Tillman was the accidental victim of friendly fire, Gimble said. Yet, Tillman's parents weren't told that their son had died in that manner, he said, until a memorial service held weeks after his death.
"What should have happened (is) the moment that they'd suspected fratricide, there should have been a supplemental notification that processed through (the chain of command and to Tillman's family)," Gimble said.
This situation represents "a failure to follow the directives," and it's inexplicable at this point as to why the supplemental notification wasn't made, Gimble said.
Follow-up investigations will determine why the proper notification was delayed, Gimble said. At least nine individuals, including a general, have been identified for further questioning involving this and other administrative aspects surrounding the reporting of Tillman's death, he added.
Tillman, who was posthumously promoted to corporal, died at age 27 on April 22, 2004, on a hillside located not far from Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, based at Fort Lewis, Wash.
Gimble and Army Brig. Gen. Rodney Johnson, commander of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, briefed reporters on the findings of two separate investigations into Tillman's death initiated by the DoD IG and Army investigators in 2005.
There was no criminal intent involved in the former National Football League player's death, Johnson said, noting that was the focus of his investigation. Soldiers in Tillman's unit bore him no ill will, he said.
Prior to the enemy attack, Tillman's company commander had divided the unit into two groups, Johnson said, and the command was towing a disabled vehicle. Tillman's section had just passed through a canyon, Johnson said, when enemy fighters engaged the trailing group.
Tillman requested and received permission to go back on foot with another American and an Afghan soldier to try to help the ambushed convoy, Johnson said. As the besieged Americans passed through the canyon in their vehicles, some of its soldiers mistook Tillman, standing midway on a hill overlooking the scene, for an enemy soldier. The American troops fired on Tillman, killing him, the Afghan soldier, and wounding the other U.S. soldier, Johnson said.
The DoD IG and Army investigations each performed a ground survey of the site where Tillman died, Gimble said. Investigators working the two investigations interviewed hundreds of people, he said, including eye-witnesses.
The DoD IG was focused on discovering if the proper administrative processes were followed surrounding reporting of Tillman's death, including the notification of his next of kin, as well as award processing, Gimble said. Not all of the information in Tillman's Silver Star Medal paperwork was accurate, he said, noting further investigation of this matter will be performed.
This article sponsored by military and police personnel who have written books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 26, 2007 – Army Spc. Patrick D. Tillman was accidentally shot and killed by members of his divided Ranger unit after part of it had been ambushed by enemy fighters in a canyon in Afghanistan, senior Defense Department and Army officials told reporters here today. An early unit-level report listed Tillman as being killed by hostile fire, acting DoD Inspector General Thomas Gimble told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.
However, findings of follow-on investigations showed that Tillman was the accidental victim of friendly fire, Gimble said. Yet, Tillman's parents weren't told that their son had died in that manner, he said, until a memorial service held weeks after his death.
"What should have happened (is) the moment that they'd suspected fratricide, there should have been a supplemental notification that processed through (the chain of command and to Tillman's family)," Gimble said.
This situation represents "a failure to follow the directives," and it's inexplicable at this point as to why the supplemental notification wasn't made, Gimble said.
Follow-up investigations will determine why the proper notification was delayed, Gimble said. At least nine individuals, including a general, have been identified for further questioning involving this and other administrative aspects surrounding the reporting of Tillman's death, he added.
Tillman, who was posthumously promoted to corporal, died at age 27 on April 22, 2004, on a hillside located not far from Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, based at Fort Lewis, Wash.
Gimble and Army Brig. Gen. Rodney Johnson, commander of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, briefed reporters on the findings of two separate investigations into Tillman's death initiated by the DoD IG and Army investigators in 2005.
There was no criminal intent involved in the former National Football League player's death, Johnson said, noting that was the focus of his investigation. Soldiers in Tillman's unit bore him no ill will, he said.
Prior to the enemy attack, Tillman's company commander had divided the unit into two groups, Johnson said, and the command was towing a disabled vehicle. Tillman's section had just passed through a canyon, Johnson said, when enemy fighters engaged the trailing group.
Tillman requested and received permission to go back on foot with another American and an Afghan soldier to try to help the ambushed convoy, Johnson said. As the besieged Americans passed through the canyon in their vehicles, some of its soldiers mistook Tillman, standing midway on a hill overlooking the scene, for an enemy soldier. The American troops fired on Tillman, killing him, the Afghan soldier, and wounding the other U.S. soldier, Johnson said.
The DoD IG and Army investigations each performed a ground survey of the site where Tillman died, Gimble said. Investigators working the two investigations interviewed hundreds of people, he said, including eye-witnesses.
The DoD IG was focused on discovering if the proper administrative processes were followed surrounding reporting of Tillman's death, including the notification of his next of kin, as well as award processing, Gimble said. Not all of the information in Tillman's Silver Star Medal paperwork was accurate, he said, noting further investigation of this matter will be performed.
This article sponsored by military and police personnel who have written books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
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