American Forces Press Service
July 27, 2007 - USNS Comfort has arrived in El Salvador, the hospital ship's fifth port of call during a four-month humanitarian deployment to more than a dozen Latin American and Caribbean nations. Before arriving in El Salvador July 25, the ship provided medical and veterinary care in Belize, Guatemala, Panama and Nicaragua. As of July 23, medical specialists aboard the Comfort had seen more than 83,000 patients, and veterinary specialists had seen 2,800 animals.
The Comfort set sail from Norfolk, Va., June 15, as part of U.S. Southern Command's "Partnership for the Americas," a training and readiness operation designed to strengthen multinational partnerships and improve interoperability. The floating hospital is also scheduled to visit Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Haiti, Peru, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago before completing its voyage in September.
In El Salvador, U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard and Public Health Service specialists, along with Canadian forces and non-government organizations like Project Hope, are providing free health care services -- adult and pediatric primary care, dentistry, optometry and veterinary services.
"Comfort's humanitarian mission has been a tremendous success so far and I know the men and women who work aboard Comfort will continue the outstanding job they've been doing by providing needed medical care to the people of El Salvador," said Capt. Bob Kapcio, Comfort's mission commander.
Comfort will be in El Salvador for seven days, treating patients at Unidad de Salud Acajutla, Caseria Costa Brava School, and Delfina Rivas School. Servicemembers from Comfort will also repair medical equipment at Hospital Sonsonate. Construction Battalion Maintenance 202 will renovate several of the work sites in El Salvador by repairing water systems, roofing, and re-building certain structures. Project Hope will train at Casa Comunal in Acajulta.
In Nicaragua, Vice President Jaime Morales and other local government officials visited the Comfort July 23 to tour the ship's facilities and meet crew members and patients.
"Having Vice President Morales here was a great honor," said Comfort's mission commander Capt. Bob Kapcio. "This really gave us a chance to show the Nicaraguan leadership our commitment to the people of Nicaragua and we hope that this visit strengthened the bond between us."
Following the tour, Morales and his party along with U.S. officials from the Comfort, visited the Realejo Health Care Center in Realejo, one of three Comfort work sites in Nicaragua. Comfort also provided medical assistance at the Jose Schendal Hospital in Corinto and the Quince de Julio Health Care Center in Chinandega.
U.S. Navy Seabees from aboard the Comfort spent July 20 to 24 repairing and restoring the water system at the 15 de Julio Health Care Center in Chinandega. For three years, the 15 de Julio Health Care Center, a facility that cares for 150 patients a day, has been without running potable water. All water used by the center comes from three 55-gallon drums, filled from a neighborhood water tank located down the road, then transported back by an aging pick-up truck.
"The water is vital for everything, most importantly sterilization and hygiene," said Eddy Artola Vasquez, director of the center. "It has to be rationed for the most serious patients that come to the clinic."
"The major city that supplies this village with water is 16 miles away. Ruptures and a lack of pressure have plagued the piping system. The people in charge have limited funds to provide an adequate water system with enough pressure to reach the center," he said.
The Seabees replaced a broken pump and created a piping system to take water from a newly-dug well to an elevated tank. The tank will provide running water with enough water pressure to accommodate the facility's needs.
"This job is important. It will better the lives and the living situation of these people that are trying to provide medical help to the people of Nicaragua," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Burton, with Construction Battalion Maintenance 202.
"By us completing our mission, the clinic staff can better complete their mission," continued Burton.
The veterinary team aboard Comfort provided services to more than 1,200 cattle, horses, pigs, and dogs at seven ranches in the Chinandega region of Nicaragua from July 20 to 23.
The team, comprised of U.S. Public Health Service officer Lt. Cmdr. Gregg Langham and Army Sgt. Leona Thomas, visited farms throughout the region providing preventive medicine including tetanus shots, deworming, flea and tick treatments, and anti-parasite vaccinations along with minor care for sick and injured animals.
"Since we've arrived here, we've been to several beef cattle farms and we've been deworming and vaccinating the cattle because either the people don't have access to these services or these services are too costly for the local people," Langham said.
Nicaraguan Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry officials worked alongside the Comfort veterinarian team. The ministry, an organization partially funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provided instructors from a veterinary school in Managua, along with a veterinarian and fourth-year veterinary school students for this cooperative mission with Comfort.
"It's such a positive collection of so many different talents and we all came together," Langham said. "Fortunately we have veterinarian instructors and students -- that's been a tremendous help to us. They're hungry to learn and we're both hungry to pass along information."
"I am delighted with the impact the veterinarian team is making in just a matter of a few days in Nicaragua," said Capt. Craig A. Shepherd, USPHS chief environmental health officer and officer in charge of USPHS aboard Comfort. "In addition to deworming and vaccinating hundreds of farm animals, a great opportunity to train and work with local veterinarians and third- and fourth-year veterinarian students occurred as well, and we look forward to doing the same in other countries we will visit."
Nicaragua is the first location that Comfort staff treated cattle. The inspection of cattle plays a vital role in regional public health as the cattle is destined for human consumption.
"These cattle are going to be consumed by the people so I think that it's a great service for the people," Thomas said. "The Comfort mission is a great place to be. I think it's great that the Army is participating in this and providing humanitarian services for the people of Nicaragua."
"I think that this is one of the most satisfying missions I've been doing so far in my military career and I'm glad to be here," Thomas said.
(Petty Officers 2nd Class Brandon Shelander, Steven King and Joshua Karsten of USNS Comfort Public Affairs contributed to this article.)
Friday, July 27, 2007
Why We Serve: Navy Lieutenant Promotes Volunteerism
By Meghan Vittrup
American Forces Press Service
July 26, 2007 - Growing up in Mobile, Ala., Judith L. Lemley never imagined being in the military. But after graduating with a bachelor's degree in secondary education, Lemley was inspired to follow in the footsteps of her father and enlisted in the Navy. "My father was proud of his time in the military, and he spoke highly of it," Lemley, now a Navy lieutenant, said.
Lemley enlisted 15 years ago and received her officer commission after completing the Limited Duty Officer Program.
Lemley has deployed four times on ships in the Persian Gulf and recently returned from a seven-month tour to Afghanistan, where she helped train Afghan National Army soldiers to use and maintain field radios.
The Afghan soldiers' training also incorporated cryptography to secure communications. It also established automatic link systems so soldiers could communicate without having to change wavelengths throughout the day.
After taking initiative and looking over program cost projections, Lemley was able to carve out $240 million, saving 41 percent over initial projections, when she realized things were being purchased haphazardly.
"I came in and said, 'Nope, I'm going to take this over," Lemley said. "And I carved it out, and I said, 'You know what? This is what we are going to do. We are not going to buy all this excess; we are going to trim the fat and make it happen.' And that's what we did; we stayed focused. What you save in one area someone can always use in another."
Lemley is one of eight servicemembers who served in Iraq, Afghanistan or the Horn of Africa selected to share their individual stories to Americans across the country through the Defense Department's "Why We Serve" public outreach program.
The "Why We Serve" program was initially the idea of Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The program began in fall of 2006. Groups that comprise two military servicemembers from each branch are selected to participate in the program for about 90 days.
"My experience will only help other people grow and stir interest to support the troops, and that's what it's about," Lemley said.
Holding a leadership position in the military, where women only make up a small percentage, can be a challenge. But training Afghan soldiers in a country where women and men are not treated equally can be intimidating, she said.
"The part I find fulfilling is that I did have to meet with (Afghan National Army) generals and colonels on an almost daily basis, and I was the one who kept the key to the kingdom because I fielded all communication equipment," Lemley said. "They found out early on that they couldn't yell at me and order me around. But as a woman, I learned all you have to do is stand your ground and be logical. Women do have value and can make sound decisions."
Lemley said she wants Americans to know that job satisfaction and challenging work are key components of success. "Job satisfaction is the most critical thing," she said. "Respect yourself, and others will respect you."
Lemley also said she wants people to understand the importance of volunteerism and of supporting the troops.
"I want Americans to know that the servicemembers are trying to do as we've been directed, and we really need their support," Lemley said. "Whether they agree with the war or not, we are Americans trying to protect their safety and security in the United States, and we would greatly appreciate their support."
American Forces Press Service
July 26, 2007 - Growing up in Mobile, Ala., Judith L. Lemley never imagined being in the military. But after graduating with a bachelor's degree in secondary education, Lemley was inspired to follow in the footsteps of her father and enlisted in the Navy. "My father was proud of his time in the military, and he spoke highly of it," Lemley, now a Navy lieutenant, said.
Lemley enlisted 15 years ago and received her officer commission after completing the Limited Duty Officer Program.
Lemley has deployed four times on ships in the Persian Gulf and recently returned from a seven-month tour to Afghanistan, where she helped train Afghan National Army soldiers to use and maintain field radios.
The Afghan soldiers' training also incorporated cryptography to secure communications. It also established automatic link systems so soldiers could communicate without having to change wavelengths throughout the day.
After taking initiative and looking over program cost projections, Lemley was able to carve out $240 million, saving 41 percent over initial projections, when she realized things were being purchased haphazardly.
"I came in and said, 'Nope, I'm going to take this over," Lemley said. "And I carved it out, and I said, 'You know what? This is what we are going to do. We are not going to buy all this excess; we are going to trim the fat and make it happen.' And that's what we did; we stayed focused. What you save in one area someone can always use in another."
Lemley is one of eight servicemembers who served in Iraq, Afghanistan or the Horn of Africa selected to share their individual stories to Americans across the country through the Defense Department's "Why We Serve" public outreach program.
The "Why We Serve" program was initially the idea of Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The program began in fall of 2006. Groups that comprise two military servicemembers from each branch are selected to participate in the program for about 90 days.
"My experience will only help other people grow and stir interest to support the troops, and that's what it's about," Lemley said.
Holding a leadership position in the military, where women only make up a small percentage, can be a challenge. But training Afghan soldiers in a country where women and men are not treated equally can be intimidating, she said.
"The part I find fulfilling is that I did have to meet with (Afghan National Army) generals and colonels on an almost daily basis, and I was the one who kept the key to the kingdom because I fielded all communication equipment," Lemley said. "They found out early on that they couldn't yell at me and order me around. But as a woman, I learned all you have to do is stand your ground and be logical. Women do have value and can make sound decisions."
Lemley said she wants Americans to know that job satisfaction and challenging work are key components of success. "Job satisfaction is the most critical thing," she said. "Respect yourself, and others will respect you."
Lemley also said she wants people to understand the importance of volunteerism and of supporting the troops.
"I want Americans to know that the servicemembers are trying to do as we've been directed, and we really need their support," Lemley said. "Whether they agree with the war or not, we are Americans trying to protect their safety and security in the United States, and we would greatly appreciate their support."
Course Offers 'Big Picture' Perspective for Future Guard, Reserve Leaders
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
July 26, 2007 - Recognizing that their missions are global in scope and often have strategic implications, about 140 reservists and National Guardsmen from every service are wrapping up a course here that's widening their operational apertures. The National Defense University here presents the Reserve Components National Security Course twice each year for senior reserve-component members moving on to joint command management and staff jobs in multinational, intergovernmental or joint national security settings, explained Army Col. Kashi Yatto, course director.
The current two-week class concludes tomorrow, with its graduates representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard reserves and the Army and Air National Guard. A small percentage of the group hails from other U.S. government agencies, as well as from Peru, Malta and Korea.
All have broad experience in the tactical and operational aspects of their missions. The vast majority have combat deployments under their belts.
Here, through a schedule chock-full of seminars, workshops and notional exercises, they're expanding their horizons to think strategically, said Col. Danny Bubp, a Marine Corps reservist who's serving as senior seminar leader.
"We're exposing the students to that next level" and preparing them to take on increasingly responsible positions within their organizations, he said.
Like Bubp, an Ohio state legislator, the students all bring civilian skills to their military jobs. They're teachers, farmers, doctors, lawyers and firemen, as well as reserve and Guard leaders. "We want to send them back to their communities with a broader perspective so they can take that knowledge with them when they're mobilized to be part of a staff," Bubp said.
Toward that end, the course takes a broad view of world affairs, helping students see the big picture and implications of military operations. "We're trying to produce more strategic leaders with a better grounding in what's going on in the world," Bubp said. "The smarter your people are, the better they are going to function, especially in a stressful environment."
Much of the course focuses on the importance of incorporating all aspects of national power, not just military power, into U.S. national strategy, Yatto said. Instructors here refer to it as the "DIME" principle -- diplomatic, informational, military and economic -- and say all play important and complementary roles.
"We're military, so the first option we think of is military," Yatto said. "But this course helps the students better appreciate the other entities, too."
Students at the course call it an eye-opening experience. "It gives you a whole different way of thinking about things," said Air Force Col. Chip Mattingly, a maintenance group commander for the Kansas Air National Guard. "I feel like a sponge here, and it's really giving me an appreciation of the bigger picture."
Mattingly said his military career, which hasn't yet exposed him to joint staff operations, has focused heavily on the "M" or "military" aspects of the DIME principle. "This course is great because it gives you an understanding that there are other ways to shape the world than boots on the ground -- and possibly more effectively," he said.
Navy Cmdr. Angela Brady, administrative officer for Florida's Volunteer Training Unit, said she sees great value in providing reservists and Guardsmen a strategic view of operations they could be called on to help lead.
"You definitely have to have a grasp of the big picture, and you don't always get that on the operational side," she said. "If everybody understands the overall objective, where you're headed and how they fit into it, you can get there a lot more effectively."
American Forces Press Service
July 26, 2007 - Recognizing that their missions are global in scope and often have strategic implications, about 140 reservists and National Guardsmen from every service are wrapping up a course here that's widening their operational apertures. The National Defense University here presents the Reserve Components National Security Course twice each year for senior reserve-component members moving on to joint command management and staff jobs in multinational, intergovernmental or joint national security settings, explained Army Col. Kashi Yatto, course director.
The current two-week class concludes tomorrow, with its graduates representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard reserves and the Army and Air National Guard. A small percentage of the group hails from other U.S. government agencies, as well as from Peru, Malta and Korea.
All have broad experience in the tactical and operational aspects of their missions. The vast majority have combat deployments under their belts.
Here, through a schedule chock-full of seminars, workshops and notional exercises, they're expanding their horizons to think strategically, said Col. Danny Bubp, a Marine Corps reservist who's serving as senior seminar leader.
"We're exposing the students to that next level" and preparing them to take on increasingly responsible positions within their organizations, he said.
Like Bubp, an Ohio state legislator, the students all bring civilian skills to their military jobs. They're teachers, farmers, doctors, lawyers and firemen, as well as reserve and Guard leaders. "We want to send them back to their communities with a broader perspective so they can take that knowledge with them when they're mobilized to be part of a staff," Bubp said.
Toward that end, the course takes a broad view of world affairs, helping students see the big picture and implications of military operations. "We're trying to produce more strategic leaders with a better grounding in what's going on in the world," Bubp said. "The smarter your people are, the better they are going to function, especially in a stressful environment."
Much of the course focuses on the importance of incorporating all aspects of national power, not just military power, into U.S. national strategy, Yatto said. Instructors here refer to it as the "DIME" principle -- diplomatic, informational, military and economic -- and say all play important and complementary roles.
"We're military, so the first option we think of is military," Yatto said. "But this course helps the students better appreciate the other entities, too."
Students at the course call it an eye-opening experience. "It gives you a whole different way of thinking about things," said Air Force Col. Chip Mattingly, a maintenance group commander for the Kansas Air National Guard. "I feel like a sponge here, and it's really giving me an appreciation of the bigger picture."
Mattingly said his military career, which hasn't yet exposed him to joint staff operations, has focused heavily on the "M" or "military" aspects of the DIME principle. "This course is great because it gives you an understanding that there are other ways to shape the world than boots on the ground -- and possibly more effectively," he said.
Navy Cmdr. Angela Brady, administrative officer for Florida's Volunteer Training Unit, said she sees great value in providing reservists and Guardsmen a strategic view of operations they could be called on to help lead.
"You definitely have to have a grasp of the big picture, and you don't always get that on the operational side," she said. "If everybody understands the overall objective, where you're headed and how they fit into it, you can get there a lot more effectively."
'Sesame Street' Deployment Show Nominated for Emmy
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
July 26, 2007 - A television special that looks closely at challenges military families face when a parent is deployed has been nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program. Defense Department officials were thrilled to hear the program, called "When Parents Are Deployed" and produced by Sesame Workshop, received such recognition.
"We were delighted to hear of the Emmy nomination of Sesame Workshop's 'When Parents Are Deployed,'" said Leslye A. Arsht, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy. "For those who are not part of the military family, the impact of deployments and how families cope may be difficult to understand.
"The program ... helps bridge that gap in powerful ways and -- to borrow a phrase from 'Sesame Street' -- it shows that a servicemember and his or her family are 'people in your neighborhood,'" she added.
Of course, the program's creators were ecstatic about the recognition, as well. "It was really very exciting just to hear about it and the fact that it was nominated," said Jeanette Betancourt, the vice president for outreach and educational practices at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind "Sesame Street."
The primetime special, hosted by actor Cuba Gooding Jr., evolved from the Sesame Workshop's initial outreach initiative, "Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment." The DVD was created and distributed to military families with the help of Wal-Mart and Military OneSource.
Military OneSource is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, toll-free information and referral telephone service, as well as a supporter of the America Supports You network. America Support You is a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
"What started to happen is that a lot of families started to really open up to us," Betancourt said. "We had that sudden awareness that there was so much more that we can do. As a result, we created a separate primetime special through PBS."
"When Parents Are Deployed," geared toward parents, depicts the challenges of military families enduring deployments through the stories of those who have been there, some more than once. The program originally aired Dec. 29, 2006, on PBS and will continue to air periodically for two years from that date. PBS has scheduled the next airings for July 29 and Aug. 2.
"Its intent was for both military families, as well as the general public, to understand ... the challenges as well as the dedication military families have during this time of deployment," Betancourt said.
The program offers strategies for coping with the different stages of deployment. For example, some of the military parents who shared their stories also shared how they prepare their children for deployment.
A clip from the "Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment," DVD also appears in the primetime special. It shows how Elmo, a popular fuzzy, red Sesame Street character, and his dad, who is preparing to deploy, will keep up special routines while they're apart.
"This topic of military families and how they are impacted is so relevant right now. We're glad that we're able to at least fulfill a niche that I think was missing for quite a long time," Betancourt said.
She added that the military community responded very positively to the program.
"When Parents Are Deployed" is keeping good company as a primetime Emmy nominee. The Hallmark Channel's original movie "The Christmas Card" also received a nomination. The movie tells of a soldier who is home on leave visiting a small town where he falls for the woman who wrote an anonymous Christmas card that buoyed his morale while he was deployed overseas.
The Hallmark Channel is a corporate supporter of the America Supports You program
American Forces Press Service
July 26, 2007 - A television special that looks closely at challenges military families face when a parent is deployed has been nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program. Defense Department officials were thrilled to hear the program, called "When Parents Are Deployed" and produced by Sesame Workshop, received such recognition.
"We were delighted to hear of the Emmy nomination of Sesame Workshop's 'When Parents Are Deployed,'" said Leslye A. Arsht, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy. "For those who are not part of the military family, the impact of deployments and how families cope may be difficult to understand.
"The program ... helps bridge that gap in powerful ways and -- to borrow a phrase from 'Sesame Street' -- it shows that a servicemember and his or her family are 'people in your neighborhood,'" she added.
Of course, the program's creators were ecstatic about the recognition, as well. "It was really very exciting just to hear about it and the fact that it was nominated," said Jeanette Betancourt, the vice president for outreach and educational practices at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind "Sesame Street."
The primetime special, hosted by actor Cuba Gooding Jr., evolved from the Sesame Workshop's initial outreach initiative, "Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment." The DVD was created and distributed to military families with the help of Wal-Mart and Military OneSource.
Military OneSource is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, toll-free information and referral telephone service, as well as a supporter of the America Supports You network. America Support You is a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
"What started to happen is that a lot of families started to really open up to us," Betancourt said. "We had that sudden awareness that there was so much more that we can do. As a result, we created a separate primetime special through PBS."
"When Parents Are Deployed," geared toward parents, depicts the challenges of military families enduring deployments through the stories of those who have been there, some more than once. The program originally aired Dec. 29, 2006, on PBS and will continue to air periodically for two years from that date. PBS has scheduled the next airings for July 29 and Aug. 2.
"Its intent was for both military families, as well as the general public, to understand ... the challenges as well as the dedication military families have during this time of deployment," Betancourt said.
The program offers strategies for coping with the different stages of deployment. For example, some of the military parents who shared their stories also shared how they prepare their children for deployment.
A clip from the "Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment," DVD also appears in the primetime special. It shows how Elmo, a popular fuzzy, red Sesame Street character, and his dad, who is preparing to deploy, will keep up special routines while they're apart.
"This topic of military families and how they are impacted is so relevant right now. We're glad that we're able to at least fulfill a niche that I think was missing for quite a long time," Betancourt said.
She added that the military community responded very positively to the program.
"When Parents Are Deployed" is keeping good company as a primetime Emmy nominee. The Hallmark Channel's original movie "The Christmas Card" also received a nomination. The movie tells of a soldier who is home on leave visiting a small town where he falls for the woman who wrote an anonymous Christmas card that buoyed his morale while he was deployed overseas.
The Hallmark Channel is a corporate supporter of the America Supports You program
Tactics and Use of Force
Editor's Note: One the writers is former US Army.
July 26, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three police officers: Dennis Nasci; Howard Rahtz; and, Robert D. Emerson.
In February 2007, Dennis Nasci joined the Village of West Milwaukee Police Department (Wisconsin) as its first assistant chief of police. Assistant Chief Dennis Nasci began his law enforcement career in 1981 as a deputy sheriff with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department (New Mexico). He retired in 2002 at the rank of lieutenant. Moving to Wisconsin, he was appointed lieutenant and second-in-command of the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh Police Department. Dennis Nasci holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Wayland Baptist University in Albuquerque, New Mexico and graduated from the 190th session of the FBI National Academy. He possesses numerous police instructor certifications and is the co-author of Tactical Attitude.
According to one reader/review of Tactical Attitude, “This book is about surviving a deadly encounter, mainly at the mental perspective. The book covers such topics as command presence, mental rehearsal, off-duty survival, sudden stress syndrome, and many others. Almost half of the text is real-life stories told by cops. This makes the book an interesting read. The most interesting chapter tells about sudden stress syndrome.”
In August of 2005, Howard Rahtz was promoted to Captain on the Cincinnati Police Department. He hold a BA in business administration and a master's degree in counseling; and, he also completed the program at Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command and the Law Enforcement Foundation's Police Executive Leadership College. In 1988 Howard Rahtz joined the Cincinnati Police Department. He has held progressively responsible law enforcement and leadership positions within the police department. Prior to his promotion, he was the Cincinnati Police Department’s coordinator for the SWAT Crisis Negotiations Team.
Outside of his department career he is an adjunct instructor at the University of Cincinnati and the Tri-State Regional Community Policing Institute; a member of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association; and, editor of their Use of Force Journal. Captain Howard Rahtz has authored two books on law enforcement: Understanding Police Use of Force and Community Policing: A Handbook for Beat Cops and Supervisors.
According to the book description of Understanding Police Use of Force, “This even-handed and comprehensive discussion is intended to facilitate informed discussion among citizens, police and students on the use of force in law enforcement. Topics include: definitions; the legal framework; options for the use of force; steps to minimize the use of force; what to do when the worst happens; the racial divide; and towards better policy and understanding.”
Robert D. Emerson entered the United States Army in 1953. His lengthy law enforcement career began when he worked as a Special Agent for the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). In 1957, after leaving the ONI he joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 1963, he joined the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations. He left the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations to enter the realm of private corporate security. Robert Emerson is the author of Dancing with Devils.
According to one reader/reviewer of Dancing with Devils, Emerson's series of law enforcement "tales" presents an interesting weave of the inner thoughts of man who was "born" into law enforcement and made law enforcement his vocation and his passion. I was reared in Chatham County, North Carolina and grew up under the jurisdiction of the author's father, the long term Sheriff of Chatham County, John Emerson. Many stories still circulate of the integrity and ability of Sheriff Emerson.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 668 police officers (representing 298 police departments) and their 1428 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.
July 26, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three police officers: Dennis Nasci; Howard Rahtz; and, Robert D. Emerson.
In February 2007, Dennis Nasci joined the Village of West Milwaukee Police Department (Wisconsin) as its first assistant chief of police. Assistant Chief Dennis Nasci began his law enforcement career in 1981 as a deputy sheriff with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department (New Mexico). He retired in 2002 at the rank of lieutenant. Moving to Wisconsin, he was appointed lieutenant and second-in-command of the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh Police Department. Dennis Nasci holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Wayland Baptist University in Albuquerque, New Mexico and graduated from the 190th session of the FBI National Academy. He possesses numerous police instructor certifications and is the co-author of Tactical Attitude.
According to one reader/review of Tactical Attitude, “This book is about surviving a deadly encounter, mainly at the mental perspective. The book covers such topics as command presence, mental rehearsal, off-duty survival, sudden stress syndrome, and many others. Almost half of the text is real-life stories told by cops. This makes the book an interesting read. The most interesting chapter tells about sudden stress syndrome.”
In August of 2005, Howard Rahtz was promoted to Captain on the Cincinnati Police Department. He hold a BA in business administration and a master's degree in counseling; and, he also completed the program at Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command and the Law Enforcement Foundation's Police Executive Leadership College. In 1988 Howard Rahtz joined the Cincinnati Police Department. He has held progressively responsible law enforcement and leadership positions within the police department. Prior to his promotion, he was the Cincinnati Police Department’s coordinator for the SWAT Crisis Negotiations Team.
Outside of his department career he is an adjunct instructor at the University of Cincinnati and the Tri-State Regional Community Policing Institute; a member of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association; and, editor of their Use of Force Journal. Captain Howard Rahtz has authored two books on law enforcement: Understanding Police Use of Force and Community Policing: A Handbook for Beat Cops and Supervisors.
According to the book description of Understanding Police Use of Force, “This even-handed and comprehensive discussion is intended to facilitate informed discussion among citizens, police and students on the use of force in law enforcement. Topics include: definitions; the legal framework; options for the use of force; steps to minimize the use of force; what to do when the worst happens; the racial divide; and towards better policy and understanding.”
Robert D. Emerson entered the United States Army in 1953. His lengthy law enforcement career began when he worked as a Special Agent for the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). In 1957, after leaving the ONI he joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 1963, he joined the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations. He left the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations to enter the realm of private corporate security. Robert Emerson is the author of Dancing with Devils.
According to one reader/reviewer of Dancing with Devils, Emerson's series of law enforcement "tales" presents an interesting weave of the inner thoughts of man who was "born" into law enforcement and made law enforcement his vocation and his passion. I was reared in Chatham County, North Carolina and grew up under the jurisdiction of the author's father, the long term Sheriff of Chatham County, John Emerson. Many stories still circulate of the integrity and ability of Sheriff Emerson.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 668 police officers (representing 298 police departments) and their 1428 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.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Fund Memorializes Soldier by Honoring Others
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
July 25, 2007 - Through scholarships, care packages and emergency financial relief, the Scott Vallely Soldiers Memorial Fund, a troop-support group in Montana, honors its namesake. Army Pfc. Scott Paul Vallely was attending special-operations training at Fort Bragg, N.C., when he died on April 20, 2004. The 29-year-old, who entered the Army in October 2003, had just completed infantry training at Fort Benning, Ga.
"Scott always helped other people and was a very generous person," Marian Vallely, Scott's mother, said in a statement on the fund's Web site. "The Memorial Fund has been established to assist and provide monetary support to members of the armed forces and/or their families in (their) time of need.
"The fund will also serve to provide scholarship assistance to those young men and women who will be serving in the armed forces," she added.
Each spring the Soldiers Memorial Fund presents cash leadership awards to graduates entering military service. More than 15 such awards were presented to ROTC and high school students in 2006 alone, according to the Web site.
In addition to the leadership awards and the care package program, the group is working to ensure fallen heroes are never forgotten.
The goal of the fund is "to honor, memorialize and pay tribute to those men and women who have fallen in combat and training -- either giving their lives or being wounded in the global war on terror," Scott's father, retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, said.
The Scott Vallely Soldiers Memorial Fund also supports the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which works to connect citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
American Forces Press Service
July 25, 2007 - Through scholarships, care packages and emergency financial relief, the Scott Vallely Soldiers Memorial Fund, a troop-support group in Montana, honors its namesake. Army Pfc. Scott Paul Vallely was attending special-operations training at Fort Bragg, N.C., when he died on April 20, 2004. The 29-year-old, who entered the Army in October 2003, had just completed infantry training at Fort Benning, Ga.
"Scott always helped other people and was a very generous person," Marian Vallely, Scott's mother, said in a statement on the fund's Web site. "The Memorial Fund has been established to assist and provide monetary support to members of the armed forces and/or their families in (their) time of need.
"The fund will also serve to provide scholarship assistance to those young men and women who will be serving in the armed forces," she added.
Each spring the Soldiers Memorial Fund presents cash leadership awards to graduates entering military service. More than 15 such awards were presented to ROTC and high school students in 2006 alone, according to the Web site.
In addition to the leadership awards and the care package program, the group is working to ensure fallen heroes are never forgotten.
The goal of the fund is "to honor, memorialize and pay tribute to those men and women who have fallen in combat and training -- either giving their lives or being wounded in the global war on terror," Scott's father, retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, said.
The Scott Vallely Soldiers Memorial Fund also supports the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which works to connect citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
Civilian Hospital Provides Training for Texas National Guard Medics
By Tech. Sgt. Gregory Ripps, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service
July 25, 2007 - Patients in the emergency room at the Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital here may find themselves being treated by someone in a camouflage uniform. That's because a dozen health care specialists in the Texas National Guard's 386th Engineer Battalion, based here, are training there during their drill weekends.
At the hospital, they have the opportunity for hands-on training with real patients that they don't have at their armory. This way they can better ensure their skills are up to Army standards, officials said.
Unit medics whose civilian jobs are in the medical field can rely on those jobs to keep them current. However, most of the unit's medics don't have a corresponding civilian career, and the time they have to practice their skills is limited to drill weekends and annual training.
Army Lt. Col. John Besignano, an individual ready reservist who works with the battalion and also works full time at Christus Spohn Healthcare System, explored the idea of training the medics at the hospital. With the assistance and guidance of Army Lt. Col. Francisco Zuniga, the battalion's commander, the Christus Spohn Healthcare System administration, and some of his hospital colleagues, the idea became a reality.
"The ability to work side by side with hospital personnel presents the medics with an opportunity to keep their skills fresh and to learn about current practices from fellow medical professionals," Besignano said.
The battalion's 12 health care specialists, all qualified in their military occupational specialty, have been training at Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital since December 2006. The only Level Three trauma center in the Corpus Christi area, the hospital has the capability, personnel and resources for emergency resuscitation, trauma surgery and a trauma intensive care.
The Guard medics are split up into three groups of four under a clinical supervisor, currently Besignano. They are assigned to the hospital's Emergency Department to work in triage, fast track or trauma, and work side by side with the hospital personnel. Although the agreement with the hospital restricts what care they can provide, their training still encompasses most of the 107 tasks Army medics are trained and qualified to perform.
"The training in the three sections provides the medics with experience in areas they will see in their military duty," Besignano noted. "They are incorporated into the hospital teams covering these areas and perform many of the same duties that hospital personnel do."
The training emphasizes teamwork, which Besignano said was a significant aspect of care "as important to patient outcomes as the clinical skills involved."
The medics have been involved in assisting with a number of real-world cases, including multiple traumas from motor vehicle accidents, gunshot wounds, stabbings, and many common medical emergencies that the medics will treat in real-world situations.
"They have done everything from taking vital signs, to starting an IV, to translating, to stopping bleeding, to comforting a patient in pain," Besignano said. "They have witnessed and participated in efforts to save lives and also have been there when the efforts failed and the patient passed away."
In short, the hospital staff seems to have been using every opportunity to teach the medics and to share their skills with the soldiers, he said.
"The doctors and nurses have gone out of their way to not only provide our troops with tightly supervised hands-on experience with actual patients but to help them understand the clinical reasons behind the care and help the soldiers improve their abilities," Besignano said. "Our soldiers are gaining not only experience but confidence."
"The (emergency) staff has been very receptive to the National Guard training," added Wally Fears, a registered nurse and the Central Emergency Department/Trauma Education Program coordinator. "I think it just puts our job as 'teachers' in a different perspective. We are accustomed to teaching people that will be working in our community, but helping prepare someone that may be deployed to a war zone really makes you stop and think about the opportunity we have to make a contribution to supporting our troops."
Zuniga observed that the hospital training "has increased the readiness of the medics for their state and federal missions while contributing positively to the overall training of the unit."
(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Gregory Ripps is assigned to Texas National Guard Public Affairs.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
July 25, 2007 - Patients in the emergency room at the Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital here may find themselves being treated by someone in a camouflage uniform. That's because a dozen health care specialists in the Texas National Guard's 386th Engineer Battalion, based here, are training there during their drill weekends.
At the hospital, they have the opportunity for hands-on training with real patients that they don't have at their armory. This way they can better ensure their skills are up to Army standards, officials said.
Unit medics whose civilian jobs are in the medical field can rely on those jobs to keep them current. However, most of the unit's medics don't have a corresponding civilian career, and the time they have to practice their skills is limited to drill weekends and annual training.
Army Lt. Col. John Besignano, an individual ready reservist who works with the battalion and also works full time at Christus Spohn Healthcare System, explored the idea of training the medics at the hospital. With the assistance and guidance of Army Lt. Col. Francisco Zuniga, the battalion's commander, the Christus Spohn Healthcare System administration, and some of his hospital colleagues, the idea became a reality.
"The ability to work side by side with hospital personnel presents the medics with an opportunity to keep their skills fresh and to learn about current practices from fellow medical professionals," Besignano said.
The battalion's 12 health care specialists, all qualified in their military occupational specialty, have been training at Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital since December 2006. The only Level Three trauma center in the Corpus Christi area, the hospital has the capability, personnel and resources for emergency resuscitation, trauma surgery and a trauma intensive care.
The Guard medics are split up into three groups of four under a clinical supervisor, currently Besignano. They are assigned to the hospital's Emergency Department to work in triage, fast track or trauma, and work side by side with the hospital personnel. Although the agreement with the hospital restricts what care they can provide, their training still encompasses most of the 107 tasks Army medics are trained and qualified to perform.
"The training in the three sections provides the medics with experience in areas they will see in their military duty," Besignano noted. "They are incorporated into the hospital teams covering these areas and perform many of the same duties that hospital personnel do."
The training emphasizes teamwork, which Besignano said was a significant aspect of care "as important to patient outcomes as the clinical skills involved."
The medics have been involved in assisting with a number of real-world cases, including multiple traumas from motor vehicle accidents, gunshot wounds, stabbings, and many common medical emergencies that the medics will treat in real-world situations.
"They have done everything from taking vital signs, to starting an IV, to translating, to stopping bleeding, to comforting a patient in pain," Besignano said. "They have witnessed and participated in efforts to save lives and also have been there when the efforts failed and the patient passed away."
In short, the hospital staff seems to have been using every opportunity to teach the medics and to share their skills with the soldiers, he said.
"The doctors and nurses have gone out of their way to not only provide our troops with tightly supervised hands-on experience with actual patients but to help them understand the clinical reasons behind the care and help the soldiers improve their abilities," Besignano said. "Our soldiers are gaining not only experience but confidence."
"The (emergency) staff has been very receptive to the National Guard training," added Wally Fears, a registered nurse and the Central Emergency Department/Trauma Education Program coordinator. "I think it just puts our job as 'teachers' in a different perspective. We are accustomed to teaching people that will be working in our community, but helping prepare someone that may be deployed to a war zone really makes you stop and think about the opportunity we have to make a contribution to supporting our troops."
Zuniga observed that the hospital training "has increased the readiness of the medics for their state and federal missions while contributing positively to the overall training of the unit."
(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Gregory Ripps is assigned to Texas National Guard Public Affairs.)
Commission Urges Improvements to Servicemembers' Care
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
July 25, 2007 - A commission tasked to fix problems with wounded servicemembers' care today presented a 29-page proposal to President Bush that suggests overhauling the disability-rating system and urges more attention be paid to returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffering from brain injuries. In the wake of reports that servicemembers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here were receiving sub-par treatment, President Bush created the bi-partisan panel in March, citing a "moral obligation" to provide the best possible care to men and women in uniform.
Bush welcomed the recommendations at the Oval Office, where he received the draft report, calling the analysis an "extensive search" that highlights "important suggestions" for the best government response to the current system's shortcomings.
"We owe a wounded solider the very best care and the very best benefits and the very easiest-to-understand system," Bush said.
Today, the nine-member panel outlined six recommendations:
-- Create comprehensive health recovery plans and develop a corps of highly trained coordinators to help servicemembers transition back to military duty or civilian life every step of the way.
-- Simplify the way disabilities are determined and make the compensation system less confusing.
-- Improve the system for diagnosing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, and work to make servicemembers less vulnerable to these two signature ailments of the war on terror.
-- Significantly strengthen support for families.
-- Develop "My eBenefits," a one-stop Web site and information source for servicemembers that combines Defense Department and Veterans Affairs databases.
-- Keep Walter Reed staffed with first-rate professionals until it closes in 2011.
"These are bold, innovative recommendations that are doable and can be acted upon quickly. Our motto is 'Put patients and families first,'" said Donna Shalala, a former secretary of health and human services and current co-chair of Bush's panel.
"The system should work for the patient, instead of the patient working for the system," she added.
Shalala and former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole chair the nine-member commission. Other members include two veterans wounded in Iraq, the wife of an Army staff sergeant wounded in Iraq, the chairman and chief executive officer of a nonprofit group that builds "comfort homes" for families of hospitalized military personnel and veterans, two leaders in the health care industry, and an expert on veterans affairs and military health care.
"Our injured servicemembers deserve a system that serves their different needs, supports them and their families while they recover, and simplifies the delivery of care and services," Dole said. "We will not let these recommendations sit on a shelf. They need to be acted upon now to improve the quality of lives for our brave men and women and their families."
The final commission report, including reports from subcommittees and survey findings, will be made available to the public by July 31.
American Forces Press Service
July 25, 2007 - A commission tasked to fix problems with wounded servicemembers' care today presented a 29-page proposal to President Bush that suggests overhauling the disability-rating system and urges more attention be paid to returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffering from brain injuries. In the wake of reports that servicemembers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here were receiving sub-par treatment, President Bush created the bi-partisan panel in March, citing a "moral obligation" to provide the best possible care to men and women in uniform.
Bush welcomed the recommendations at the Oval Office, where he received the draft report, calling the analysis an "extensive search" that highlights "important suggestions" for the best government response to the current system's shortcomings.
"We owe a wounded solider the very best care and the very best benefits and the very easiest-to-understand system," Bush said.
Today, the nine-member panel outlined six recommendations:
-- Create comprehensive health recovery plans and develop a corps of highly trained coordinators to help servicemembers transition back to military duty or civilian life every step of the way.
-- Simplify the way disabilities are determined and make the compensation system less confusing.
-- Improve the system for diagnosing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, and work to make servicemembers less vulnerable to these two signature ailments of the war on terror.
-- Significantly strengthen support for families.
-- Develop "My eBenefits," a one-stop Web site and information source for servicemembers that combines Defense Department and Veterans Affairs databases.
-- Keep Walter Reed staffed with first-rate professionals until it closes in 2011.
"These are bold, innovative recommendations that are doable and can be acted upon quickly. Our motto is 'Put patients and families first,'" said Donna Shalala, a former secretary of health and human services and current co-chair of Bush's panel.
"The system should work for the patient, instead of the patient working for the system," she added.
Shalala and former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole chair the nine-member commission. Other members include two veterans wounded in Iraq, the wife of an Army staff sergeant wounded in Iraq, the chairman and chief executive officer of a nonprofit group that builds "comfort homes" for families of hospitalized military personnel and veterans, two leaders in the health care industry, and an expert on veterans affairs and military health care.
"Our injured servicemembers deserve a system that serves their different needs, supports them and their families while they recover, and simplifies the delivery of care and services," Dole said. "We will not let these recommendations sit on a shelf. They need to be acted upon now to improve the quality of lives for our brave men and women and their families."
The final commission report, including reports from subcommittees and survey findings, will be made available to the public by July 31.
Keating: Pacific Rim Enjoys Widespread Peace, Stability
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
July 25, 2007 - Pacific Rim nations are enjoying peace, wealth and stability made possible by free-market economic forces, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command said here yesterday. "Things are better," Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating said during remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. U.S. trade in the Pacific region has increased six-fold since 1985, he said.
"Peace and stability are the watchwords of all the countries we've visited," said Keating, who assumed command of PACOM on March 23.
Quality of life, including medical care, continues to improve across the Pacific region, the admiral reported, with some nations' economies having grown "dramatically."
Keating cited Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, and Japan as robust U.S. regional allies. And, other dynamic Pacific-region countries, like Indonesia and Malaysia, want to work with the United States as partners to defeat global terrorism, he said.
The People's Republic of China also experienced great economic growth in recent years, Keating said, noting he's had several meetings with senior Chinese military officials since he assumed command. Two decades ago, he recalled, thousands of bicycles, but few cars, could be seen traversing Beijing's busy Tiananmen Square.
"Today, not so many bikes, but an awful lot of automobiles" are plying Beijing's streets, the admiral noted. The change from bicycles to cars has increased China's need for oil and gasoline, he added.
Consequently, China has stated that critical regional sea lanes must be available for it to import the billions of barrels of oil needed for its still-growing economy, Keating observed.
He pointed to the Strait of Malacca, a potential oil "choke point" that runs between Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Half of China's imported oil passes through the strait, Keating said, as well as 95 percent of the oil shipped to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
China is embarked on a military build-up that includes establishing a deep-water navy that likely will be used to ensure the country's use of the Strait of Malacca, Keating said. U.S. officials have taken notice of China's military buildup and are watching it with interest, he added.
The Chinese say their military buildup is for defensive purposes only, but the United States has expressed concern about China's recent testing of satellite-killing technology, Keating said. "So, there is a difference between the way the People's Liberation Army and the Pacific Command view China's military development and Chinese military capabilities," he said.
"This commerce moves through a maritime domain, and China wants to develop a blue-water navy, they say, so they can protect their right to use" important ocean trade routes, like the Malacca Strait.
In light of that scenario, it's hard to argue against China's logic, the admiral said.
China also wants to build aircraft carriers, Keating said.
"We said to them, essentially, 'Knock yourselves out,'" he recalled, adding that operating aircraft carriers "is very difficult technology to master."
A modern aircraft carrier is a very sophisticated piece of military hardware that's extremely expensive to build and maintain, Keating said. The Chinese reserved their right to build an aircraft carrier, if they wanted to, he said.
The Chinese, who've toured many U.S. ships of the line, including aircraft carriers, made the observation: "'There is no more prominent and visible signal of a nation's resolve and might than an aircraft carrier coming into a port,'" Keating recalled.
American Forces Press Service
July 25, 2007 - Pacific Rim nations are enjoying peace, wealth and stability made possible by free-market economic forces, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command said here yesterday. "Things are better," Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating said during remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. U.S. trade in the Pacific region has increased six-fold since 1985, he said.
"Peace and stability are the watchwords of all the countries we've visited," said Keating, who assumed command of PACOM on March 23.
Quality of life, including medical care, continues to improve across the Pacific region, the admiral reported, with some nations' economies having grown "dramatically."
Keating cited Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, and Japan as robust U.S. regional allies. And, other dynamic Pacific-region countries, like Indonesia and Malaysia, want to work with the United States as partners to defeat global terrorism, he said.
The People's Republic of China also experienced great economic growth in recent years, Keating said, noting he's had several meetings with senior Chinese military officials since he assumed command. Two decades ago, he recalled, thousands of bicycles, but few cars, could be seen traversing Beijing's busy Tiananmen Square.
"Today, not so many bikes, but an awful lot of automobiles" are plying Beijing's streets, the admiral noted. The change from bicycles to cars has increased China's need for oil and gasoline, he added.
Consequently, China has stated that critical regional sea lanes must be available for it to import the billions of barrels of oil needed for its still-growing economy, Keating observed.
He pointed to the Strait of Malacca, a potential oil "choke point" that runs between Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Half of China's imported oil passes through the strait, Keating said, as well as 95 percent of the oil shipped to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
China is embarked on a military build-up that includes establishing a deep-water navy that likely will be used to ensure the country's use of the Strait of Malacca, Keating said. U.S. officials have taken notice of China's military buildup and are watching it with interest, he added.
The Chinese say their military buildup is for defensive purposes only, but the United States has expressed concern about China's recent testing of satellite-killing technology, Keating said. "So, there is a difference between the way the People's Liberation Army and the Pacific Command view China's military development and Chinese military capabilities," he said.
"This commerce moves through a maritime domain, and China wants to develop a blue-water navy, they say, so they can protect their right to use" important ocean trade routes, like the Malacca Strait.
In light of that scenario, it's hard to argue against China's logic, the admiral said.
China also wants to build aircraft carriers, Keating said.
"We said to them, essentially, 'Knock yourselves out,'" he recalled, adding that operating aircraft carriers "is very difficult technology to master."
A modern aircraft carrier is a very sophisticated piece of military hardware that's extremely expensive to build and maintain, Keating said. The Chinese reserved their right to build an aircraft carrier, if they wanted to, he said.
The Chinese, who've toured many U.S. ships of the line, including aircraft carriers, made the observation: "'There is no more prominent and visible signal of a nation's resolve and might than an aircraft carrier coming into a port,'" Keating recalled.
Wanted: Wearable Power System, Batteries Included
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
July 25, 2007 - The Defense Department is offering $1 million to the person who invents a way for servicemembers to take a load off. During a conference call with Internet "bloggers" today, William Rees, deputy undersecretary of defense for laboratories and basic sciences, explained the department's "wearable power" competition announced earlier this month.
Currently, an individual servicemember on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan carries roughly 40 pounds of batteries to provide four days' worth of power. The department's goal, he explained, is to lower the load to less than 9 pounds.
The essential electronic equipment that dismounted warfighters carry today -- radios, night-vision devices, global positioning systems -- runs on batteries. This competition will gather and test good ideas for reducing the weight of batteries that servicemembers carry.
"We are setting the bar high," Rees told the bloggers. "We don't think it's unrealistically high, but we acknowledge it's a challenge."
To spur private citizens, companies or international organizations into designing a light, wearable electric power system for warfighters, the department is offering $1 million for first place, $500,000 for second place and $250,000 for third place in the competition.
Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams in a final competitive demonstration, planned for fall 2008. At this "wear-off," individuals or teams will demonstrate their prototype systems under realistic conditions, Defense Department officials said.
The top three competitors that demonstrate a complete, wearable system that produces 20 watts average power for 96 hours but weighs less than 4 kilograms will win the prizes.
"The mantra is four days, 4 kilograms," Rees said during an interview earlier this month.
Information about the technical details, contest rules and qualification requirements is posted on the Defense Department Web site. A forum to be held in Washington in September will review these details for potential competitors.
Competitors must register to participate in the prize program by Nov. 30. The competition is open for international participation; however the individual or team leader must provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Details on the forum, as well as contest registration and rules, are posted on the Defense Research and Engineering Prize Web site, www.dod.mil/ddre/prize.
American Forces Press Service
July 25, 2007 - The Defense Department is offering $1 million to the person who invents a way for servicemembers to take a load off. During a conference call with Internet "bloggers" today, William Rees, deputy undersecretary of defense for laboratories and basic sciences, explained the department's "wearable power" competition announced earlier this month.
Currently, an individual servicemember on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan carries roughly 40 pounds of batteries to provide four days' worth of power. The department's goal, he explained, is to lower the load to less than 9 pounds.
The essential electronic equipment that dismounted warfighters carry today -- radios, night-vision devices, global positioning systems -- runs on batteries. This competition will gather and test good ideas for reducing the weight of batteries that servicemembers carry.
"We are setting the bar high," Rees told the bloggers. "We don't think it's unrealistically high, but we acknowledge it's a challenge."
To spur private citizens, companies or international organizations into designing a light, wearable electric power system for warfighters, the department is offering $1 million for first place, $500,000 for second place and $250,000 for third place in the competition.
Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams in a final competitive demonstration, planned for fall 2008. At this "wear-off," individuals or teams will demonstrate their prototype systems under realistic conditions, Defense Department officials said.
The top three competitors that demonstrate a complete, wearable system that produces 20 watts average power for 96 hours but weighs less than 4 kilograms will win the prizes.
"The mantra is four days, 4 kilograms," Rees said during an interview earlier this month.
Information about the technical details, contest rules and qualification requirements is posted on the Defense Department Web site. A forum to be held in Washington in September will review these details for potential competitors.
Competitors must register to participate in the prize program by Nov. 30. The competition is open for international participation; however the individual or team leader must provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Details on the forum, as well as contest registration and rules, are posted on the Defense Research and Engineering Prize Web site, www.dod.mil/ddre/prize.
Medical Personnel Bring Comfort to Nicaragua
American Forces Press Service
July 24, 2007 - Medical personnel aboard the USNS Comfort hospital ship are providing free medical assistance to thousands of people in Nicaragua. The Comfort sailed out of Norfolk, Va., June 15 on a four-month humanitarian assistance deployment to more than a dozen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Before arriving in Nicaragua, personnel aboard the ship provided medical care to more than 55,000 patients in Belize, Guatemala and Panama.
"This deployment provides an opportunity for us to work together with countries in the region to make a lasting contribution across our hemisphere," Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said before the ship departed. "Comfort's mission will reach far beyond the patients we will see each day."
The ship's medical treatment facility is staffed by about 500 medical personnel, covering a wide variety of medical fields and areas of expertise. In addition to Navy personnel, the staff includes members from other military services, other government agencies and even non-government organizations.
One such organization is "Operation Smile," whose members are providing medical care to children from Nicaragua with facial deformities, primarily cleft lips and palates. About 25 volunteers from Operation Smile will complete 35 surgeries by tomorrow in Nicaragua. They started working in that country July 19.
"We have a whole team of nurses, anesthesiologists, plastic surgeons, dentists, orthodontists, a speech therapist, a nutritionist and a psychologist, because it is all connected," said Lily Montealegre, president of the board for Operation Smile in Nicaragua. "Once the operation is done, we do follow-up, and that is what the local Nicaraguan mission also takes care of."
Operation Comfort and the Navy began working together during a mission aboard the USNS Mercy in Bangladesh. The "positive experience" during that mission led to the organization's continued collaboration with the Navy, said Linda Highfield, a registered nurse and clinical coordinator for Operation Smile aboard Comfort.
"I think it just goes to show, both with Operation Smile and everyone helping this mission, how we feel about the people around the world," said Highfield. "We want to be helpful, and that is why we are here."
Dr. Arash Babaoff, the Operation Smile pediatrician aboard Comfort, said the partnership with the military is working out very well.
"I can't think of a better alliance than working with the U.S. Navy, or any of the forces, for that matter," said Babaoff. "I really hope we get more opportunities to work together in other countries. I have been personally so impressed by what I have seen here and what we are doing. I always knew that our military was helping people in other places, but to really see this firsthand, for me, has been a really great experience."
In addition to the work done by Operation Comfort in Nicaragua, the ship's personnel are providing thousands of people with various other health care services. One of three locations the Comfort team is serving is the Quince de Julio Health Care Center, lying at the foot of the San Cristobal Volcano in the rural area of Chinandega.
Medical doctors and personnel from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Public Health Service and volunteers from Project Hope and Operation Smile were operating a full medical clinic within moments of arrival. The services provided at Quince de Julio included adult and pediatric primary care, dentistry, optometry, immunizations, and prescription services. Navy Seabees from Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202 also made repairs to the site.
"We're putting a footprint here and hopefully someday they'll remember the U.S. was here," said Cmdr. Linda Nash, Comfort's director of nursing services. "We were able to administer health care to the people and take care of ongoing health problems that they hadn't been able to take care of before.
"By helping these people and training them by practicing with other professionals, they'll carry that knowledge and that relationship with them for many years and always remember it," Nash said. "Hopefully that's what we are doing here in Nicaragua is establishing some long-term relationships."
Children from the Montica Berio Education Center supported Comfort's mission by providing translation assistance to the medical personnel so they could better understand each patient's needs.
"We are helping our community by translating for the doctors and patients," said Ana Villanueva, a Nicaraguan translator. "I feel great about being here working with the U.S. to help with translating generally because we think that it pleases our heart to do something good."
Comfort is spending three days at la Rancheria Clinic and is also providing care at the Jose Schendal Hospital in Corinto and Health Care Center Realejo in Chinandega.
During the mission in Nicaragua, surgeons aboard the removed an extra toe from a five-year-old Nicaraguan boy on July 21.
Darwin Padilla, was born with the extra toe, which prevented him from wearing shoes or attending school. His mother, Paula Padilla, said she heard about Comfort's humanitarian mission three days before service members and civilians from Comfort started seeing patients at Jose Schendal Health Center in Corinto, Nicaragua, and had a friend put her son's name on the list to be seen.
Padilla said they traveled for two hours by bus from the town of Somotillo along the Nicaraguan border to reach the hospital where Darwin was evaluated by medical staff and flown by helicopter to Comfort for surgery.
Padilla was very impressed when she came aboard Comfort.
"I like the ship, but what I like most about it is the people," Padilla said. "They are loving and caring. It's good to know that there are people that care about other countries and are willing to help."
Lt. Cmdr. Eric Shirley, the pediatric orthopedic surgeon aboard Comfort, operated on Darwin and said the surgery went well and Darwin should be able to function normally from now on.
"He'll have no problems running or wearing normal shoes. He's going to do very well when he gets back, though I'll have to put him in a cast for the first couple of weeks to keep him out of trouble," Shirley said.
Comfort's mission is part of U.S. Southern Command's Partnership for the Americas initiative, an on-going training and readiness operation designed to strengthen regional partnerships and improve multinational interoperability. The ship is also scheduled to visit Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago before completing its voyage in September.
(Compiled from reports by U.S. Navy Seaman Jeff Hall, Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Karsten and Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Shelander, USNS Comfort Public Affairs.)
July 24, 2007 - Medical personnel aboard the USNS Comfort hospital ship are providing free medical assistance to thousands of people in Nicaragua. The Comfort sailed out of Norfolk, Va., June 15 on a four-month humanitarian assistance deployment to more than a dozen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Before arriving in Nicaragua, personnel aboard the ship provided medical care to more than 55,000 patients in Belize, Guatemala and Panama.
"This deployment provides an opportunity for us to work together with countries in the region to make a lasting contribution across our hemisphere," Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said before the ship departed. "Comfort's mission will reach far beyond the patients we will see each day."
The ship's medical treatment facility is staffed by about 500 medical personnel, covering a wide variety of medical fields and areas of expertise. In addition to Navy personnel, the staff includes members from other military services, other government agencies and even non-government organizations.
One such organization is "Operation Smile," whose members are providing medical care to children from Nicaragua with facial deformities, primarily cleft lips and palates. About 25 volunteers from Operation Smile will complete 35 surgeries by tomorrow in Nicaragua. They started working in that country July 19.
"We have a whole team of nurses, anesthesiologists, plastic surgeons, dentists, orthodontists, a speech therapist, a nutritionist and a psychologist, because it is all connected," said Lily Montealegre, president of the board for Operation Smile in Nicaragua. "Once the operation is done, we do follow-up, and that is what the local Nicaraguan mission also takes care of."
Operation Comfort and the Navy began working together during a mission aboard the USNS Mercy in Bangladesh. The "positive experience" during that mission led to the organization's continued collaboration with the Navy, said Linda Highfield, a registered nurse and clinical coordinator for Operation Smile aboard Comfort.
"I think it just goes to show, both with Operation Smile and everyone helping this mission, how we feel about the people around the world," said Highfield. "We want to be helpful, and that is why we are here."
Dr. Arash Babaoff, the Operation Smile pediatrician aboard Comfort, said the partnership with the military is working out very well.
"I can't think of a better alliance than working with the U.S. Navy, or any of the forces, for that matter," said Babaoff. "I really hope we get more opportunities to work together in other countries. I have been personally so impressed by what I have seen here and what we are doing. I always knew that our military was helping people in other places, but to really see this firsthand, for me, has been a really great experience."
In addition to the work done by Operation Comfort in Nicaragua, the ship's personnel are providing thousands of people with various other health care services. One of three locations the Comfort team is serving is the Quince de Julio Health Care Center, lying at the foot of the San Cristobal Volcano in the rural area of Chinandega.
Medical doctors and personnel from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Public Health Service and volunteers from Project Hope and Operation Smile were operating a full medical clinic within moments of arrival. The services provided at Quince de Julio included adult and pediatric primary care, dentistry, optometry, immunizations, and prescription services. Navy Seabees from Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202 also made repairs to the site.
"We're putting a footprint here and hopefully someday they'll remember the U.S. was here," said Cmdr. Linda Nash, Comfort's director of nursing services. "We were able to administer health care to the people and take care of ongoing health problems that they hadn't been able to take care of before.
"By helping these people and training them by practicing with other professionals, they'll carry that knowledge and that relationship with them for many years and always remember it," Nash said. "Hopefully that's what we are doing here in Nicaragua is establishing some long-term relationships."
Children from the Montica Berio Education Center supported Comfort's mission by providing translation assistance to the medical personnel so they could better understand each patient's needs.
"We are helping our community by translating for the doctors and patients," said Ana Villanueva, a Nicaraguan translator. "I feel great about being here working with the U.S. to help with translating generally because we think that it pleases our heart to do something good."
Comfort is spending three days at la Rancheria Clinic and is also providing care at the Jose Schendal Hospital in Corinto and Health Care Center Realejo in Chinandega.
During the mission in Nicaragua, surgeons aboard the removed an extra toe from a five-year-old Nicaraguan boy on July 21.
Darwin Padilla, was born with the extra toe, which prevented him from wearing shoes or attending school. His mother, Paula Padilla, said she heard about Comfort's humanitarian mission three days before service members and civilians from Comfort started seeing patients at Jose Schendal Health Center in Corinto, Nicaragua, and had a friend put her son's name on the list to be seen.
Padilla said they traveled for two hours by bus from the town of Somotillo along the Nicaraguan border to reach the hospital where Darwin was evaluated by medical staff and flown by helicopter to Comfort for surgery.
Padilla was very impressed when she came aboard Comfort.
"I like the ship, but what I like most about it is the people," Padilla said. "They are loving and caring. It's good to know that there are people that care about other countries and are willing to help."
Lt. Cmdr. Eric Shirley, the pediatric orthopedic surgeon aboard Comfort, operated on Darwin and said the surgery went well and Darwin should be able to function normally from now on.
"He'll have no problems running or wearing normal shoes. He's going to do very well when he gets back, though I'll have to put him in a cast for the first couple of weeks to keep him out of trouble," Shirley said.
Comfort's mission is part of U.S. Southern Command's Partnership for the Americas initiative, an on-going training and readiness operation designed to strengthen regional partnerships and improve multinational interoperability. The ship is also scheduled to visit Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago before completing its voyage in September.
(Compiled from reports by U.S. Navy Seaman Jeff Hall, Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Karsten and Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Shelander, USNS Comfort Public Affairs.)
Bush: Defeating al Qaeda in Iraq Key to Defeating al Qaeda Worldwide
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
July 24, 2007 - Defeating al Qaeda in Iraq is critical to defeating the larger al Qaeda terrorist network, and the United States won't stop short of that goal, President Bush said today at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. Bush told airmen and their families at the base that some people call Iraq a distraction from the war on terror and argue that al Qaeda in Iraq is unrelated to Osama bin Laden's larger al Qaeda network.
"That would be news to Osama bin Laden," the president said. "He's proclaimed that the third world war is raging in Iraq."
Nearly six years since al Qaeda launched the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Iraq has become a key theater in the global war on terror, the president said. Troops fighting there are opposing ruthless enemies, "and no enemy is more ruthless in Iraq than al Qaeda."
As its members work to bring down Iraq's democracy and create a terrorist safe haven, al Qaeda in Iraq's leaders are trying to trick their Iraqi followers into thinking they're serving fellow Iraqis, Bush said.
In fact, the Qaeda in Iraq network was founded by foreign terrorists, is led largely by foreign terrorists, and pays allegiance to a foreign terrorist, Bush said. Foreign-born terrorists carry out 80 to 90 percent of the suicide attacks in Iraq and inflict the most suffering on the Iraqi people, he said.
"They know they're al Qaeda. The Iraqi people know they are al Qaeda. People across the Muslim world know they are al Qaeda, and there's a good reason they are called al Qaeda in Iraq," Bush said. "They are al Qaeda, in Iraq."
Bush called the merger between al Qaeda and its Iraqi affiliate "an allegiance of killers." Its members share a common ideology, a desire to establish a terrorist safe haven in Iraq and a goal of attacking the United States, he said.
That's why "the finest military in the world is on their trail," the president said.
Bush quoted Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, who declared al Qaeda "public enemy No. 1 for the Iraqi people."
The group is public enemy No. 1 for the American people, too, Bush said. "And that is why, for the security of our country, we will stay on the hunt, we'll deny them safe haven, and we will defeat them where they have made their stand," he said.
Bush said leaving Iraq too early would be surrendering the country's future to al Qaeda. "Those who justify withdrawing our troops from Iraq by denying the threat of al Qaeda in Iraq and its ties to Osama bin Laden ignore the clear consequences of such a retreat," he said. "If we were to follow their advice, it would be dangerous for the world and disastrous for America."
The president vowed not to let that happen and said he's counting on U.S. servicemembers to continue supporting that effort.
"Every man and woman who serves at this base and around the world is playing a vital role in this war on terror," he said. "With your selfless spirit and devotion to duty, we will confront this mortal threat to our country, and we're going to prevail. I have confidence in our country, and I have faith in our cause, because I know the character of the men and women gathered before me."
American Forces Press Service
July 24, 2007 - Defeating al Qaeda in Iraq is critical to defeating the larger al Qaeda terrorist network, and the United States won't stop short of that goal, President Bush said today at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. Bush told airmen and their families at the base that some people call Iraq a distraction from the war on terror and argue that al Qaeda in Iraq is unrelated to Osama bin Laden's larger al Qaeda network.
"That would be news to Osama bin Laden," the president said. "He's proclaimed that the third world war is raging in Iraq."
Nearly six years since al Qaeda launched the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Iraq has become a key theater in the global war on terror, the president said. Troops fighting there are opposing ruthless enemies, "and no enemy is more ruthless in Iraq than al Qaeda."
As its members work to bring down Iraq's democracy and create a terrorist safe haven, al Qaeda in Iraq's leaders are trying to trick their Iraqi followers into thinking they're serving fellow Iraqis, Bush said.
In fact, the Qaeda in Iraq network was founded by foreign terrorists, is led largely by foreign terrorists, and pays allegiance to a foreign terrorist, Bush said. Foreign-born terrorists carry out 80 to 90 percent of the suicide attacks in Iraq and inflict the most suffering on the Iraqi people, he said.
"They know they're al Qaeda. The Iraqi people know they are al Qaeda. People across the Muslim world know they are al Qaeda, and there's a good reason they are called al Qaeda in Iraq," Bush said. "They are al Qaeda, in Iraq."
Bush called the merger between al Qaeda and its Iraqi affiliate "an allegiance of killers." Its members share a common ideology, a desire to establish a terrorist safe haven in Iraq and a goal of attacking the United States, he said.
That's why "the finest military in the world is on their trail," the president said.
Bush quoted Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, who declared al Qaeda "public enemy No. 1 for the Iraqi people."
The group is public enemy No. 1 for the American people, too, Bush said. "And that is why, for the security of our country, we will stay on the hunt, we'll deny them safe haven, and we will defeat them where they have made their stand," he said.
Bush said leaving Iraq too early would be surrendering the country's future to al Qaeda. "Those who justify withdrawing our troops from Iraq by denying the threat of al Qaeda in Iraq and its ties to Osama bin Laden ignore the clear consequences of such a retreat," he said. "If we were to follow their advice, it would be dangerous for the world and disastrous for America."
The president vowed not to let that happen and said he's counting on U.S. servicemembers to continue supporting that effort.
"Every man and woman who serves at this base and around the world is playing a vital role in this war on terror," he said. "With your selfless spirit and devotion to duty, we will confront this mortal threat to our country, and we're going to prevail. I have confidence in our country, and I have faith in our cause, because I know the character of the men and women gathered before me."
Joint Contracting Command Helps Boost Iraq's Economy
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
July 24, 2007 - More Iraqi firms are obtaining more reconstruction contracts, which in turn creates more jobs and strengthens Iraq's economy, a senior U.S. military officer said today. Iraqi firms have now received more than $1 billion in reconstruction contracts, Navy Capt. Robert J. Gilbeau, deputy commander and chief of staff for Joint Contracting Command Iraq/Afghanistan, told stateside-based online journalists and "bloggers."
"That's a real milestone for the Iraqi economy and for the Iraqi people, as it employs a good number of local nationals," Gilbeau pointed out.
The availability of jobs provides Iraq's young people with hope for a better future, he said, thus keeping them out of insurgents' clutches.
JCC I/A, a major subordinate command of Multinational Force Iraq, also manages contracting operations in Afghanistan, Gilbeau said. The command has 157 contracting officers at more than 18 locations throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.
Last year, the command awarded more than $6.5 billion in overall contracts, Gilbeau said. Nearly $2.5 billion worth of contracts have been awarded so far this fiscal year.
The command's Iraqi First Program seeks to develop economic expansion and create entrepreneurship to better the lives of Iraq's people, Gilbeau explained, noting that a similar program exists in Afghanistan.
"Our efforts under this program were to remove barriers that prevented Iraqi-owned businesses from competing on a level playing field with the rest of the world's businesses," Gilbeau explained.
As more Iraqi firms obtain reconstruction-related contract work, more Iraqis are gaining employment, Gilbeau observed. This produces "a trickle-down effect" across Iraq's free-market economy, he said.
Iraqi contractors are doing everything from providing pens and pencils to furnishing cement barrier walls used in security zones, the captain said.
The increased prevalence of Iraqi contractors represents a shift in thinking, Gilbeau said, compared to the past when most of goods and services were procured from non-Iraqi firms and vendors.
Gilbeau recalled the success of an Iraqi expatriate who returned to his native land in 2003 to start a business with about $3,000 in initial capital. Today, that company employs thousands of Iraqis and does more than $300 million in contracted business to supply building material to U.S. bases, Gilbeau said.
Today, more than 50 percent of contract dollars go to Iraqi and Afghan firms doing business in their respective countries, Gilbeau noted.
JCC I/A follows federal and defense department contracting compliance and oversight regulations, Gilbeau said.
"We safeguard against corruption, and we execute prudent stewardship of the taxpayer's dollar, because we think it's paramount that we continue to keep the confidence of those we support here on the battlefield, as well as back home," he said.
American Forces Press Service
July 24, 2007 - More Iraqi firms are obtaining more reconstruction contracts, which in turn creates more jobs and strengthens Iraq's economy, a senior U.S. military officer said today. Iraqi firms have now received more than $1 billion in reconstruction contracts, Navy Capt. Robert J. Gilbeau, deputy commander and chief of staff for Joint Contracting Command Iraq/Afghanistan, told stateside-based online journalists and "bloggers."
"That's a real milestone for the Iraqi economy and for the Iraqi people, as it employs a good number of local nationals," Gilbeau pointed out.
The availability of jobs provides Iraq's young people with hope for a better future, he said, thus keeping them out of insurgents' clutches.
JCC I/A, a major subordinate command of Multinational Force Iraq, also manages contracting operations in Afghanistan, Gilbeau said. The command has 157 contracting officers at more than 18 locations throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.
Last year, the command awarded more than $6.5 billion in overall contracts, Gilbeau said. Nearly $2.5 billion worth of contracts have been awarded so far this fiscal year.
The command's Iraqi First Program seeks to develop economic expansion and create entrepreneurship to better the lives of Iraq's people, Gilbeau explained, noting that a similar program exists in Afghanistan.
"Our efforts under this program were to remove barriers that prevented Iraqi-owned businesses from competing on a level playing field with the rest of the world's businesses," Gilbeau explained.
As more Iraqi firms obtain reconstruction-related contract work, more Iraqis are gaining employment, Gilbeau observed. This produces "a trickle-down effect" across Iraq's free-market economy, he said.
Iraqi contractors are doing everything from providing pens and pencils to furnishing cement barrier walls used in security zones, the captain said.
The increased prevalence of Iraqi contractors represents a shift in thinking, Gilbeau said, compared to the past when most of goods and services were procured from non-Iraqi firms and vendors.
Gilbeau recalled the success of an Iraqi expatriate who returned to his native land in 2003 to start a business with about $3,000 in initial capital. Today, that company employs thousands of Iraqis and does more than $300 million in contracted business to supply building material to U.S. bases, Gilbeau said.
Today, more than 50 percent of contract dollars go to Iraqi and Afghan firms doing business in their respective countries, Gilbeau noted.
JCC I/A follows federal and defense department contracting compliance and oversight regulations, Gilbeau said.
"We safeguard against corruption, and we execute prudent stewardship of the taxpayer's dollar, because we think it's paramount that we continue to keep the confidence of those we support here on the battlefield, as well as back home," he said.
Student Recognized for Documentary on Military Medical Center
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
July 24, 2007 - It's hard enough for adults to get their voices heard in Washington, let alone a teenager. Ian Scott Wilson, 13, however, discovered a positive way to grab attention with his award-winning documentary, "When the Boys Come Home." The 10-minute film tells the story of poor conditions discovered earlier this year at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here and the Army's efforts to correct the problems.
The film, which won first place in the middle school division of C-SPAN's "Student Cam" contest, also garnered him an audience with Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.
Casscells expressed his pride in Wilson and thanked him for his efforts to even-handedly tell the story of Walter Reed's recent tribulations.
"What struck me is that he was so measured in his approach to things," said Casscells, who has children Wilson's age. "For a 13-year-old to grasp the shades of gray in this and not have a simplistic answer, to me, is amazing.
"I hope other kids will see you can get attention to your views without having extreme views," he added.
Casscells presented Wilson, his mother, Julie, younger sister Katherine and brother Sean with his commemorative coin. He thanked Wilson's family for supporting the aspiring filmmaker's efforts.
Walter Reed was the hot topic in all the newspapers when Wilson was deciding what his 10-minute entry into C-SPAN's contest should focus on. But it was the personal angle that truly inspired him to embrace the project so passionately.
"My brother is in the Army, and if he was hurt and had to go through the treatment (patients) went through at Walter Reed, he'd be wrecked," he said.
His brother, Army Sgt. Gordon Hamm, is serving in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division. Though the two didn't grow up together, Wilson said, they're close.
"When the Boys Come Home" included "man-on-the-street" interviews and C-SPAN footage of congressional hearings on the conditions at Walter Reed. It also included information on the Army's efforts to fix the problems.
Wilson, who is considering joining the Navy when he's old enough, said that gathering information for the film wasn't the hard part, however. "The hardest part was editing and getting all the different bits in the right spot," he said.
That minor difficulty didn't deter him, though, and the aspiring filmmaker already has started on his second documentary. This time he'll tackle how young people under 18 can influence the 2008 elections. He was able to gather one more interview today when he turned his camera on Casscells to get his opinion on the topic.
The first-place he earned with "When the Boys Come Home," came with a $1,000 prize that he has grand plans for, though they don't involve new video equipment or editing software.
"I'm giving it to a soldier (at Walter Reed)," he said. "They're the ones that defend us, that make us able to even buy that stuff. I just thought that that's the least we can do."
Before long, the soon-to-be former-Virginian will have a new world to document when his family moves to Cairo, Egypt, where his mother will continue her job with the U.S. Agency for International Development. This will be the family's second posting in the country.
American Forces Press Service
July 24, 2007 - It's hard enough for adults to get their voices heard in Washington, let alone a teenager. Ian Scott Wilson, 13, however, discovered a positive way to grab attention with his award-winning documentary, "When the Boys Come Home." The 10-minute film tells the story of poor conditions discovered earlier this year at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here and the Army's efforts to correct the problems.
The film, which won first place in the middle school division of C-SPAN's "Student Cam" contest, also garnered him an audience with Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.
Casscells expressed his pride in Wilson and thanked him for his efforts to even-handedly tell the story of Walter Reed's recent tribulations.
"What struck me is that he was so measured in his approach to things," said Casscells, who has children Wilson's age. "For a 13-year-old to grasp the shades of gray in this and not have a simplistic answer, to me, is amazing.
"I hope other kids will see you can get attention to your views without having extreme views," he added.
Casscells presented Wilson, his mother, Julie, younger sister Katherine and brother Sean with his commemorative coin. He thanked Wilson's family for supporting the aspiring filmmaker's efforts.
Walter Reed was the hot topic in all the newspapers when Wilson was deciding what his 10-minute entry into C-SPAN's contest should focus on. But it was the personal angle that truly inspired him to embrace the project so passionately.
"My brother is in the Army, and if he was hurt and had to go through the treatment (patients) went through at Walter Reed, he'd be wrecked," he said.
His brother, Army Sgt. Gordon Hamm, is serving in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division. Though the two didn't grow up together, Wilson said, they're close.
"When the Boys Come Home" included "man-on-the-street" interviews and C-SPAN footage of congressional hearings on the conditions at Walter Reed. It also included information on the Army's efforts to fix the problems.
Wilson, who is considering joining the Navy when he's old enough, said that gathering information for the film wasn't the hard part, however. "The hardest part was editing and getting all the different bits in the right spot," he said.
That minor difficulty didn't deter him, though, and the aspiring filmmaker already has started on his second documentary. This time he'll tackle how young people under 18 can influence the 2008 elections. He was able to gather one more interview today when he turned his camera on Casscells to get his opinion on the topic.
The first-place he earned with "When the Boys Come Home," came with a $1,000 prize that he has grand plans for, though they don't involve new video equipment or editing software.
"I'm giving it to a soldier (at Walter Reed)," he said. "They're the ones that defend us, that make us able to even buy that stuff. I just thought that that's the least we can do."
Before long, the soon-to-be former-Virginian will have a new world to document when his family moves to Cairo, Egypt, where his mother will continue her job with the U.S. Agency for International Development. This will be the family's second posting in the country.
'EagleCash' Helps OIF-Deployed Troops Manage Money
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
July 24, 2007 - Thousands of servicemembers deployed overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom have found it easy and convenient to use "EagleCash" cards when making financial transactions, officials said. Also known as stored-value cards, EagleCash cards are issued at no charge to servicemembers before deployment for use at overseas military exchange stores, postal facilities and vendor concessions, officials said. The cards are electronically-linked to users' stateside banking accounts.
"The EagleCash card is better than cash," Army Col. Stephen J. Riviere, commander of the 13th Finance Group, said in a recent news release. The Army is encouraging Middle East-deployed soldiers to use EagleCash, since use of the card precludes their not having to wait in long lines to cash their paper paychecks.
EagleCash recently celebrated its one-year anniversary in the Operation Iraqi Freedom theater-of-operations. More than 300,000 EagleCash transactions have been made in the past 12 months.
EagleCash is a cooperative effort between the U.S. Army's Finance Command and the U.S. Department of the Treasury's financial management service. Officials said use of the cards reduces the amount of U.S. currency in circulation overseas and also cuts the number of military financial specialists deployed in theater. This frees up servicemembers for other duties.
Card users can access specially-equipped kiosks to check their balances, transfer funds or access cash.
There are now more than 100 EagleCash kiosks and 1,200 sales transaction points across Multinational Corps Iraq's area-of-operations, Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno stated in a recent announcement to MNC-I troops.
Odierno requested that servicemembers, government civilians and contractors assigned to his command who use Army finance office services obtain EagleCash cards by August 1.
Thanks to EagleCash, "the military finance office is no longer the only location where individuals can access their funds to meet their financial needs," Odierno said.
"I ask leaders at every level to ensure our servicemembers and civilians are properly educated on all the benefits and capabilities of the EagleCash SVC program," he said.
American Forces Press Service
July 24, 2007 - Thousands of servicemembers deployed overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom have found it easy and convenient to use "EagleCash" cards when making financial transactions, officials said. Also known as stored-value cards, EagleCash cards are issued at no charge to servicemembers before deployment for use at overseas military exchange stores, postal facilities and vendor concessions, officials said. The cards are electronically-linked to users' stateside banking accounts.
"The EagleCash card is better than cash," Army Col. Stephen J. Riviere, commander of the 13th Finance Group, said in a recent news release. The Army is encouraging Middle East-deployed soldiers to use EagleCash, since use of the card precludes their not having to wait in long lines to cash their paper paychecks.
EagleCash recently celebrated its one-year anniversary in the Operation Iraqi Freedom theater-of-operations. More than 300,000 EagleCash transactions have been made in the past 12 months.
EagleCash is a cooperative effort between the U.S. Army's Finance Command and the U.S. Department of the Treasury's financial management service. Officials said use of the cards reduces the amount of U.S. currency in circulation overseas and also cuts the number of military financial specialists deployed in theater. This frees up servicemembers for other duties.
Card users can access specially-equipped kiosks to check their balances, transfer funds or access cash.
There are now more than 100 EagleCash kiosks and 1,200 sales transaction points across Multinational Corps Iraq's area-of-operations, Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno stated in a recent announcement to MNC-I troops.
Odierno requested that servicemembers, government civilians and contractors assigned to his command who use Army finance office services obtain EagleCash cards by August 1.
Thanks to EagleCash, "the military finance office is no longer the only location where individuals can access their funds to meet their financial needs," Odierno said.
"I ask leaders at every level to ensure our servicemembers and civilians are properly educated on all the benefits and capabilities of the EagleCash SVC program," he said.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Strategy Delivered To Congress
On Friday, 20 July 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates joined with the Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to submit to Congress a three-page statement on U.S. national security and nuclear weapons, entitled "Maintaining Deterrence in the 21st Century."
The statement underscores the President's policy for achieving "an effective strategic deterrent at the lowest level of nuclear weapons consistent with U.S. national security and our commitment to our allies." The statement acknowledges that the Cold War is behind us, but points out that a new, diverse array of potential adversaries must now be deterred. At the same time, U.S. allies must remain assured of America's continuing security commitment and capabilities.
To achieve this, the strategy paper states that it is crucial to have bipartisan support for a 21st century nuclear weapons strategy. The statement recommends that Congress initiate the Reliable Replacement Warhead program, and notes the importance of a responsive nuclear infrastructure for managing the technological and geo-political risks associated with drawing down the size of the nuclear arsenal.
The statement is available at:
http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/docs/factsheets/2007/NA-07-FS-04.pdf.
The statement underscores the President's policy for achieving "an effective strategic deterrent at the lowest level of nuclear weapons consistent with U.S. national security and our commitment to our allies." The statement acknowledges that the Cold War is behind us, but points out that a new, diverse array of potential adversaries must now be deterred. At the same time, U.S. allies must remain assured of America's continuing security commitment and capabilities.
To achieve this, the strategy paper states that it is crucial to have bipartisan support for a 21st century nuclear weapons strategy. The statement recommends that Congress initiate the Reliable Replacement Warhead program, and notes the importance of a responsive nuclear infrastructure for managing the technological and geo-political risks associated with drawing down the size of the nuclear arsenal.
The statement is available at:
http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/docs/factsheets/2007/NA-07-FS-04.pdf.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Project Embodies Art of Compassion
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
July 23, 2007 - Portraits created by "Project Compassion" capture so much -- the twinkle in an eye, the smallest hint of a smile, the evident pride of a newly minted Marine, everything good families remember about loved ones killed fighting the war on terrorism. Project Compassion's sole mission is providing an "heirloom legacy of courage" to families of fallen servicemembers. That heirloom comes in the form of an 18-by-24-inch gallery-quality oil-on-canvas portrait of any servicemember who has died in the global war on terrorism.
Kaziah M. Hancock, the organization's founder, set out on this mission in 2003. Since then, five artists have joined her in her efforts, but the process is still the same. The portraits, painted from photos, are presented to servicemembers' families at no cost to the families.
"We remain determined that these oil paintings of a fallen soldier will never cost the family a dime," Hancock said in a letter on the group's Web site. "They have paid the ultimate high price."
Project Compassion is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
To Hancock, the portraits represent "a simple act of kindness from one human being to another."
She said she hopes the paintings make the high emotional cost of losing a loved one a little more bearable for the families.
A letter from one mother is posted on the group's Web site: "When I brought Darron's painting home, it really helped me feel better. You really captured the light in his eyes!" the mother wrote. "Just looking at it reminds me of his zest for life! I miss him sooooo much! But the painting helped so much. You made my heart glad!"
The James R. Greenbaum Jr. Family Foundation has funded the group's efforts to date. "The foundation funds the material expenses of paint, canvas, framing and shipping of completed paintings to (the primary next of kin)," Marie Woolf, the project's executive director, said.
The overwhelming success of the program, however, is dictating the need for additional sources of funding. Hancock, with the help of five other artists who sought to participate in the project, has completed more than 600 portraits so far.
In May 2005, with the help of Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Utah-based program established official partnerships with the military services.
"Except for the Army, all of the services now include Project Compassion information, including our invitation to contact us, with standard paperwork personally delivered by casualty officers" to families of servicemembers killed in the war on terror, Woolf said.
The Army does things a little differently. Project Compassion is allowed to send monthly mailings to the families of fallen soldiers who agreed to allow third parties to contact them.
Families who have lost a servicemember, regardless of the cause, since Sept. 11, are eligible to receive a portrait. Those interested can contact Project Compassion via the group's Web site, www.heropaintings.com.
Hancock, an award-winning artist, and those bolstering her efforts, often work on 10 to 25 canvases at a time, but they have dedicated themselves to completing each request they receive.
"No one had ever expected the amount of causalities," Hancock said her letter to Project Compassion's Web site visitors. "(However) we remain committed to continue this project, (so) that for generations to come the world will know the beautiful people that have been sacrificed for all that we have."
American Forces Press Service
July 23, 2007 - Portraits created by "Project Compassion" capture so much -- the twinkle in an eye, the smallest hint of a smile, the evident pride of a newly minted Marine, everything good families remember about loved ones killed fighting the war on terrorism. Project Compassion's sole mission is providing an "heirloom legacy of courage" to families of fallen servicemembers. That heirloom comes in the form of an 18-by-24-inch gallery-quality oil-on-canvas portrait of any servicemember who has died in the global war on terrorism.
Kaziah M. Hancock, the organization's founder, set out on this mission in 2003. Since then, five artists have joined her in her efforts, but the process is still the same. The portraits, painted from photos, are presented to servicemembers' families at no cost to the families.
"We remain determined that these oil paintings of a fallen soldier will never cost the family a dime," Hancock said in a letter on the group's Web site. "They have paid the ultimate high price."
Project Compassion is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
To Hancock, the portraits represent "a simple act of kindness from one human being to another."
She said she hopes the paintings make the high emotional cost of losing a loved one a little more bearable for the families.
A letter from one mother is posted on the group's Web site: "When I brought Darron's painting home, it really helped me feel better. You really captured the light in his eyes!" the mother wrote. "Just looking at it reminds me of his zest for life! I miss him sooooo much! But the painting helped so much. You made my heart glad!"
The James R. Greenbaum Jr. Family Foundation has funded the group's efforts to date. "The foundation funds the material expenses of paint, canvas, framing and shipping of completed paintings to (the primary next of kin)," Marie Woolf, the project's executive director, said.
The overwhelming success of the program, however, is dictating the need for additional sources of funding. Hancock, with the help of five other artists who sought to participate in the project, has completed more than 600 portraits so far.
In May 2005, with the help of Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Utah-based program established official partnerships with the military services.
"Except for the Army, all of the services now include Project Compassion information, including our invitation to contact us, with standard paperwork personally delivered by casualty officers" to families of servicemembers killed in the war on terror, Woolf said.
The Army does things a little differently. Project Compassion is allowed to send monthly mailings to the families of fallen soldiers who agreed to allow third parties to contact them.
Families who have lost a servicemember, regardless of the cause, since Sept. 11, are eligible to receive a portrait. Those interested can contact Project Compassion via the group's Web site, www.heropaintings.com.
Hancock, an award-winning artist, and those bolstering her efforts, often work on 10 to 25 canvases at a time, but they have dedicated themselves to completing each request they receive.
"No one had ever expected the amount of causalities," Hancock said her letter to Project Compassion's Web site visitors. "(However) we remain committed to continue this project, (so) that for generations to come the world will know the beautiful people that have been sacrificed for all that we have."
COMMENTARY: Guests Visit HMS Illustrious, Get Sneak Preview of War Game
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
July 23, 2007 - On July 18, I flew to British soil on 15 minutes' notice. Marine Brig. Gen. Robert Walsh, who would escort a group of 16 guests to a British aircraft carrier that morning, discovered at the last minute that he had an extra spot for a reporter, and I volunteered to fill it.
Collecting my things, I raced to the pre-flight briefing and learned the basics of the day's trip: an MV-22 Osprey, the dual-hatted Marine aircraft that alternates between being a helicopter and airplane, would carry us from the Pentagon helipad and deliver us to the flight deck of England's HMS Illustrious, which floated somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean near North Carolina's coast.
As Marines briefed us, they distributed itineraries, which allotted time for the group to watch Marines work side by side with British Royal Navy sailors and Royal Air Force members as they prepared for a joint exercise to take place July 25-31. Underscoring differences in military culture, our English hosts had slated a chunk of time to treat guests to pre-luncheon cocktails.
Anxious guests gathered near the Pentagon helipad, or Penpad, awaiting the Osprey's arrival. Around 10 a.m., an eagle-eyed guest spied the Osprey across the Potomac River, rearing its head around the Washington Monument obelisk. Like a predator with wings erect as it descends on prey, the MV-22's tilt-rotors tipped upward in "helicopter mode" as it swooped toward us. The Osprey's massive propellers puffed huge packets of air that sent shirts and pants fluttering like sails luffing in the wind.
After passengers secured their seat belts and chest harnesses, the MV-22 floated from the ground so gingerly it was like someone had momentarily switched off earth's gravitational pull. Once airborne, a mid-range humming seeped under cranial gear and headphones, signaling that the craft was morphing from a helicopter to a plane that would propel us to speeds of 300 mph en route to HMS Illustrious.
Known as the United Kingdom's "high readiness strike center," HMS Illustrious' flight deck has two characteristics distinguishing it from a sprawling U.S. carrier: its runway is shorter by roughly 450 feet, and Illustrious' deck ends in a "ski jump" ramp. But since this was the first carrier I'd seen, I had no first-hand basis to compare it to an American counterpart.
A host of foreign stimulus bombarded my senses as I walked through the gallery's long stretches, gripping onto arched doorways from time to time when the sea's motion threatened to break my feeble landlubber's balance threshold. The temperature rose noticeably in the hangar, and cockney accents hung on palpable swelter as British air crews worked on idle machines. Scents from cream of broccoli -- the soup du jour -- and other English staples wafted from the mess hall.
U.S. Marines were on board HMS Illustrious in part to learn how to operate in a foreign environment alongside coalition counterparts. With members of England's Royal Navy and Air Force, they transformed the Eastern seaboard into a coalition-force classroom, exchanging operational expertise while strengthening international bonds that are increasingly vital to global security.
Perhaps counterintuitively, Marines onboard say the greatest barrier in the partnership lay in communication. Despite sharing English as the mother tongue, many have found that contrasts in each nation's military language are conspicuous.
"The gear that they use and our hand signals are all different. We've had to learn everything different than what we've been taught," said Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Smith, of the Marine Attack Squadron 223 "Bulldogs," who works with British personnel onboard, fueling and maintaining idle aircrafts and directing jet aviators as a member of the flight line crew.
"Chains, chocks," he said, "it's all different words, which is very challenging as far as the language barrier goes."
While on HMS Illustrious, Smith said he became irked when he tried to buy a snack but was denied. "I can't use my money. I've tried it," he said. "Even If I want to buy a soda or a bag of chips, I've got to go downstairs and change it for the British sterling pound."
Smith said he recognizes that coalition exercises, despite the occasional cultural snag, are significant in forging combat partnerships. "I think in the future we'll probably see a lot more of this," he said. "It's important to start now so that when we do get out there and we're partnered up more, we have a feel for what's going on on both sides."
Through a series of strategic and symbolic events taking place on HMS Illustrious this month, the nations are demonstrating cooperation "in the air, on the sea, all over the globe, and in science and in industry" -- realizing hopes that Winston Churchill articulated in a famous 1946 speech lauding trans-Atlantic partnering.
Making history July 15, for example, 14 Marine AV-8B Harrier jets embarked on the ship, marking the highest number of foreign aircraft that HMS Illustrious has hosted in its battle-hardened 218-year military career. Likewise, it is the first time an American aviation unit of this scale embarked aboard a foreign warship.
From July 25-31, coalition members will engage in a U.S.-led joint task force exercise called Operation Bold Step. The exercise will test a range of ships across the spectrum of conflict, ranging from embargo operations involving British and U.S. boarding teams, to air strike missions dropping precision ordnance against simulated targets, English military officials said.
"The exercise is to stress the interoperability that we as Marines can operate with anybody," said Walsh, assistant deputy commandant for aviation who escorted American guests. "I think that it shows that the U.S. can operate with the coalition, not just working side by side, but actually aboard their ship."
Because U.S. Marines and Royal Navy sailors and Air Force operators have similar characteristics, Walsh said, achieving interoperability is an intuitive transition.
"I think the cultural piece there is that we're both naval in character," he said, "so if the (Royal Air Force) can operate on their navy ships, there's no reason why Marines, who are naval in character, can't jump aboard their ship and operate too."
Walsh brought the special guests and media members to HMS Illustrious to see the joint task force's inner-workings as it prepares for the war game. On the flight deck, we watched as Marine aviators in Harrier jets readied to blast off the "ski jump." Cutting through the deafening engines were British and American members of the flight line, working in concert to direct the assault aircrafts and speaking in hand signals.
As Harriers whizzed by spectators, then up and off the ramp, the engines bathed us in hot combusted jet fuel, which felt like sticking your face before a scalding oven and ripping the door open. Thickly-padded headphones couldn't damper the lion's roar of takeoff that rocked the flight deck and jostled onlookers' viscera.
In stoic terms, Marine aviator Maj. Stephan Bradicich, of the Marine Attack Squadron 542 "Tigers" described the drama involved in taking off from the short runway.
"When you're flying off a ship like this and you're looking 300 to 400 feet in front of you and then, all of a sudden, you're dropping off the end of the boat, there's a little apprehension," he said. "But the kick in the butt when you throw the power in the corner is absolutely phenomenal in the Harrier.
"Particularly with the ski jump on this ship," he said. "When you hit the end of the boat you're going up fast." With other visitors, I watched Bradicich and a team of Harrier pilots disappear over the horizon. When it dawned on me that the Marines' English counterparts were providing key information from the flight control tower as they flew mock sorties, I realized I was seeing a historically strong coalition partnership gain another dimension.
As Royal Air Force Commodore Phil Goodman, a visitor who accompanied Walsh, told me, "We've worked very closely with U.S. forces for many years in the air domain, and this is another string to that bow."
American Forces Press Service
July 23, 2007 - On July 18, I flew to British soil on 15 minutes' notice. Marine Brig. Gen. Robert Walsh, who would escort a group of 16 guests to a British aircraft carrier that morning, discovered at the last minute that he had an extra spot for a reporter, and I volunteered to fill it.
Collecting my things, I raced to the pre-flight briefing and learned the basics of the day's trip: an MV-22 Osprey, the dual-hatted Marine aircraft that alternates between being a helicopter and airplane, would carry us from the Pentagon helipad and deliver us to the flight deck of England's HMS Illustrious, which floated somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean near North Carolina's coast.
As Marines briefed us, they distributed itineraries, which allotted time for the group to watch Marines work side by side with British Royal Navy sailors and Royal Air Force members as they prepared for a joint exercise to take place July 25-31. Underscoring differences in military culture, our English hosts had slated a chunk of time to treat guests to pre-luncheon cocktails.
Anxious guests gathered near the Pentagon helipad, or Penpad, awaiting the Osprey's arrival. Around 10 a.m., an eagle-eyed guest spied the Osprey across the Potomac River, rearing its head around the Washington Monument obelisk. Like a predator with wings erect as it descends on prey, the MV-22's tilt-rotors tipped upward in "helicopter mode" as it swooped toward us. The Osprey's massive propellers puffed huge packets of air that sent shirts and pants fluttering like sails luffing in the wind.
After passengers secured their seat belts and chest harnesses, the MV-22 floated from the ground so gingerly it was like someone had momentarily switched off earth's gravitational pull. Once airborne, a mid-range humming seeped under cranial gear and headphones, signaling that the craft was morphing from a helicopter to a plane that would propel us to speeds of 300 mph en route to HMS Illustrious.
Known as the United Kingdom's "high readiness strike center," HMS Illustrious' flight deck has two characteristics distinguishing it from a sprawling U.S. carrier: its runway is shorter by roughly 450 feet, and Illustrious' deck ends in a "ski jump" ramp. But since this was the first carrier I'd seen, I had no first-hand basis to compare it to an American counterpart.
A host of foreign stimulus bombarded my senses as I walked through the gallery's long stretches, gripping onto arched doorways from time to time when the sea's motion threatened to break my feeble landlubber's balance threshold. The temperature rose noticeably in the hangar, and cockney accents hung on palpable swelter as British air crews worked on idle machines. Scents from cream of broccoli -- the soup du jour -- and other English staples wafted from the mess hall.
U.S. Marines were on board HMS Illustrious in part to learn how to operate in a foreign environment alongside coalition counterparts. With members of England's Royal Navy and Air Force, they transformed the Eastern seaboard into a coalition-force classroom, exchanging operational expertise while strengthening international bonds that are increasingly vital to global security.
Perhaps counterintuitively, Marines onboard say the greatest barrier in the partnership lay in communication. Despite sharing English as the mother tongue, many have found that contrasts in each nation's military language are conspicuous.
"The gear that they use and our hand signals are all different. We've had to learn everything different than what we've been taught," said Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Smith, of the Marine Attack Squadron 223 "Bulldogs," who works with British personnel onboard, fueling and maintaining idle aircrafts and directing jet aviators as a member of the flight line crew.
"Chains, chocks," he said, "it's all different words, which is very challenging as far as the language barrier goes."
While on HMS Illustrious, Smith said he became irked when he tried to buy a snack but was denied. "I can't use my money. I've tried it," he said. "Even If I want to buy a soda or a bag of chips, I've got to go downstairs and change it for the British sterling pound."
Smith said he recognizes that coalition exercises, despite the occasional cultural snag, are significant in forging combat partnerships. "I think in the future we'll probably see a lot more of this," he said. "It's important to start now so that when we do get out there and we're partnered up more, we have a feel for what's going on on both sides."
Through a series of strategic and symbolic events taking place on HMS Illustrious this month, the nations are demonstrating cooperation "in the air, on the sea, all over the globe, and in science and in industry" -- realizing hopes that Winston Churchill articulated in a famous 1946 speech lauding trans-Atlantic partnering.
Making history July 15, for example, 14 Marine AV-8B Harrier jets embarked on the ship, marking the highest number of foreign aircraft that HMS Illustrious has hosted in its battle-hardened 218-year military career. Likewise, it is the first time an American aviation unit of this scale embarked aboard a foreign warship.
From July 25-31, coalition members will engage in a U.S.-led joint task force exercise called Operation Bold Step. The exercise will test a range of ships across the spectrum of conflict, ranging from embargo operations involving British and U.S. boarding teams, to air strike missions dropping precision ordnance against simulated targets, English military officials said.
"The exercise is to stress the interoperability that we as Marines can operate with anybody," said Walsh, assistant deputy commandant for aviation who escorted American guests. "I think that it shows that the U.S. can operate with the coalition, not just working side by side, but actually aboard their ship."
Because U.S. Marines and Royal Navy sailors and Air Force operators have similar characteristics, Walsh said, achieving interoperability is an intuitive transition.
"I think the cultural piece there is that we're both naval in character," he said, "so if the (Royal Air Force) can operate on their navy ships, there's no reason why Marines, who are naval in character, can't jump aboard their ship and operate too."
Walsh brought the special guests and media members to HMS Illustrious to see the joint task force's inner-workings as it prepares for the war game. On the flight deck, we watched as Marine aviators in Harrier jets readied to blast off the "ski jump." Cutting through the deafening engines were British and American members of the flight line, working in concert to direct the assault aircrafts and speaking in hand signals.
As Harriers whizzed by spectators, then up and off the ramp, the engines bathed us in hot combusted jet fuel, which felt like sticking your face before a scalding oven and ripping the door open. Thickly-padded headphones couldn't damper the lion's roar of takeoff that rocked the flight deck and jostled onlookers' viscera.
In stoic terms, Marine aviator Maj. Stephan Bradicich, of the Marine Attack Squadron 542 "Tigers" described the drama involved in taking off from the short runway.
"When you're flying off a ship like this and you're looking 300 to 400 feet in front of you and then, all of a sudden, you're dropping off the end of the boat, there's a little apprehension," he said. "But the kick in the butt when you throw the power in the corner is absolutely phenomenal in the Harrier.
"Particularly with the ski jump on this ship," he said. "When you hit the end of the boat you're going up fast." With other visitors, I watched Bradicich and a team of Harrier pilots disappear over the horizon. When it dawned on me that the Marines' English counterparts were providing key information from the flight control tower as they flew mock sorties, I realized I was seeing a historically strong coalition partnership gain another dimension.
As Royal Air Force Commodore Phil Goodman, a visitor who accompanied Walsh, told me, "We've worked very closely with U.S. forces for many years in the air domain, and this is another string to that bow."
Task Force Provides Iraq Training to Salvadoran Military
By Senior Airman Shaun Emery, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
El Salvador, July 23, 2007 - A task force of 26 personnel from Joint Task Force Bravo traveled here earlier this month to conduct military-to-military training for Salvadoran soldiers deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the week-long training mission July 16-20, Salvadoran soldiers were instructed on driving military vehicles, convoy and perimeter security, communications, how to avoid improvised explosive devices, civilian and military cooperation, and emergency first aid.
At the end of the week, the soldiers were put to the test with a culmination exercise to see if they could put their new skills use in a simulated convoy attack. By the end of the training, both the members of Joint Task Force Bravo and the Salvadoran military learned a lot from each other.
"They are an extremely professional force," said Lt. Col. Greg Jicha, the task force commander and commander of Army forces at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras. "They go into each day of training with ambition and the desire to learn. They understand the seriousness of the situation they'll face in Iraq."
El Salvador is the only country in Central America that provides personnel to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Col. Jose Atilio Benitez Parada, commandant of Battalion Cuscatlan, said his country knows the pains of terrorism. During the 12-year civil war in El Salvador, the colonel said, he was witness to many instances of terrorism. He said he is proud to support America, one of El Salvador's brother countries.
While in Iraq, Salvadoran soldiers will use American military equipment, so it is important they receive the training prior to deploying. Salvadoran drivers had never operated a Humvee; medics had not seen some of the life-saving tools the U.S. military uses; radio operators were seeing equipment for the fist time.
"The language barrier was the only tough part for me," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Saucer, a driver trainer. "But as far as their interest in learning about and operating the vehicle, we couldn't have asked for more."
Saucer, Army Staff Sgt. Brian Grishaw and Master Sgt. Elva Marquez went over basic preventive maintenance and the layout of the vehicle before drivers took to the road.
As Humvees and a 5-ton truck rolled by, medical personnel were busy learning techniques that could save their fellow soldiers' lives. From victim assessment to administering intravenous needles, students ran the full gamut of U.S. Army Combat Live Saver training. The medical instructors later said the only thing more impressive than the skills the Salvadoran soldiers demonstrated was their eagerness to learn more.
"I'm so proud of this group," said Army Capt. Marta Artiga, head medical instructor. "They came to training every day ready to take the next step. They grasped everything we taught them and were able to put it into practice.
At another site, a mass of soldiers huddled around waiting to get a chance to operate radios. One by one, they would get the chance to plug in frequencies and learn how the radios operated. Like their fellow soldiers, the radio students were eager to learn more.
"They asked really good questions," said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jeffery Scott, a communications instructor. "They wanted to know what kind of situations they would face in Iraq and how to deal with them. They are a motivated group."
Soldiers learning about convoy security, perimeter security and improvised explosive devices were able to show their stuff during the culmination exercise.
The exercise kicked off with the convoy getting hit with a simulated IED. From there, convoy security troops neutralized the enemy. At the same time, medical personnel were treating wounded soldiers in the back of the 5-ton truck. When the area was secure, the drivers quickly delivered the wounded to a triage center where the medical students offloaded the wounded.
At the triage station, medical students evaluated each patient, provided necessary treatment and prepared them for evacuation.
With all the action happening around them, radio operators relayed coordinates to a simulated helicopter to provide medical evacuation.
"The exercise was outstanding," Jicha, the task force commander, said. "They were able to incorporate all the new skills sets we taught throughout the week. I couldn't be more pleased."
Though all the chaos of the simulated battle, transportation, medical treatment and evacuation, one person running back and forth played a special role in the exercise.
Army Staff Sgt. Edgardo Alvarez, who was there to provide linguistic support, was handed the reigns to the exercise. He put together a plan and, working with the other instructors, devised the best way to accommodate everyone's training needs.
"He did an outstanding job," Jicha said. "And the results were evident."
"I am very proud of these guys," Alvarez said. "They worked hard and did their best. There are things they can work on because they can always get better, but overall they did a great job."
In the end, while members of Joint Task Force Bravo provided the training, they learned that the Salvadoran soldiers they may find themselves serving beside in Iraq are professional and eager to learn.
(Air Force Senior Airman Shaun Emery is assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo Public Affairs.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
El Salvador, July 23, 2007 - A task force of 26 personnel from Joint Task Force Bravo traveled here earlier this month to conduct military-to-military training for Salvadoran soldiers deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the week-long training mission July 16-20, Salvadoran soldiers were instructed on driving military vehicles, convoy and perimeter security, communications, how to avoid improvised explosive devices, civilian and military cooperation, and emergency first aid.
At the end of the week, the soldiers were put to the test with a culmination exercise to see if they could put their new skills use in a simulated convoy attack. By the end of the training, both the members of Joint Task Force Bravo and the Salvadoran military learned a lot from each other.
"They are an extremely professional force," said Lt. Col. Greg Jicha, the task force commander and commander of Army forces at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras. "They go into each day of training with ambition and the desire to learn. They understand the seriousness of the situation they'll face in Iraq."
El Salvador is the only country in Central America that provides personnel to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Col. Jose Atilio Benitez Parada, commandant of Battalion Cuscatlan, said his country knows the pains of terrorism. During the 12-year civil war in El Salvador, the colonel said, he was witness to many instances of terrorism. He said he is proud to support America, one of El Salvador's brother countries.
While in Iraq, Salvadoran soldiers will use American military equipment, so it is important they receive the training prior to deploying. Salvadoran drivers had never operated a Humvee; medics had not seen some of the life-saving tools the U.S. military uses; radio operators were seeing equipment for the fist time.
"The language barrier was the only tough part for me," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Saucer, a driver trainer. "But as far as their interest in learning about and operating the vehicle, we couldn't have asked for more."
Saucer, Army Staff Sgt. Brian Grishaw and Master Sgt. Elva Marquez went over basic preventive maintenance and the layout of the vehicle before drivers took to the road.
As Humvees and a 5-ton truck rolled by, medical personnel were busy learning techniques that could save their fellow soldiers' lives. From victim assessment to administering intravenous needles, students ran the full gamut of U.S. Army Combat Live Saver training. The medical instructors later said the only thing more impressive than the skills the Salvadoran soldiers demonstrated was their eagerness to learn more.
"I'm so proud of this group," said Army Capt. Marta Artiga, head medical instructor. "They came to training every day ready to take the next step. They grasped everything we taught them and were able to put it into practice.
At another site, a mass of soldiers huddled around waiting to get a chance to operate radios. One by one, they would get the chance to plug in frequencies and learn how the radios operated. Like their fellow soldiers, the radio students were eager to learn more.
"They asked really good questions," said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jeffery Scott, a communications instructor. "They wanted to know what kind of situations they would face in Iraq and how to deal with them. They are a motivated group."
Soldiers learning about convoy security, perimeter security and improvised explosive devices were able to show their stuff during the culmination exercise.
The exercise kicked off with the convoy getting hit with a simulated IED. From there, convoy security troops neutralized the enemy. At the same time, medical personnel were treating wounded soldiers in the back of the 5-ton truck. When the area was secure, the drivers quickly delivered the wounded to a triage center where the medical students offloaded the wounded.
At the triage station, medical students evaluated each patient, provided necessary treatment and prepared them for evacuation.
With all the action happening around them, radio operators relayed coordinates to a simulated helicopter to provide medical evacuation.
"The exercise was outstanding," Jicha, the task force commander, said. "They were able to incorporate all the new skills sets we taught throughout the week. I couldn't be more pleased."
Though all the chaos of the simulated battle, transportation, medical treatment and evacuation, one person running back and forth played a special role in the exercise.
Army Staff Sgt. Edgardo Alvarez, who was there to provide linguistic support, was handed the reigns to the exercise. He put together a plan and, working with the other instructors, devised the best way to accommodate everyone's training needs.
"He did an outstanding job," Jicha said. "And the results were evident."
"I am very proud of these guys," Alvarez said. "They worked hard and did their best. There are things they can work on because they can always get better, but overall they did a great job."
In the end, while members of Joint Task Force Bravo provided the training, they learned that the Salvadoran soldiers they may find themselves serving beside in Iraq are professional and eager to learn.
(Air Force Senior Airman Shaun Emery is assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo Public Affairs.)
Pace Visits Wounded Warriors at Landstuhl
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
July 21, 2007 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stopped by a military hospital here today to see servicemembers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Marine Gen. Peter Pace also awarded the Purple Heart to an Army specialist.
Pace awarded Army Spc. Colin Laird Pearcy the Purple Heart during a ceremony at his Landstuhl Regional Medical Center bedside. Pearcy, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, had been patrolling in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood when he was wounded. His Humvee was in a blocking position when an improvised explosive device hit.
"I got hit in the left arm," he said. "My legs got peppered pretty good and my face – well you can see. We were fortunate. I was the only one hit."
Pearcy told the general that he was "good to go" when the general asked how he was feeling.
After he received the award, a reporter traveling with Pace asked the specialist if he felt like a hero. "I feel like I just did my job," was his reply. The 24-year-old soldier said that he'd like to "drink a cold beer" as his next step toward recovery.
Pace went to other parts of the hospital to see wounded servicemembers and the caregivers at Landstuhl. He donned a sterile gown over his Marine desert camouflage uniform to visit a number of servicemembers in the intensive care unit of the hospital.
Escorted by the medical center commander, Army Col. Brian Lein, Pace spoke with members of the staff. All services contribute medical personnel to the hospital, which also employs Defense Department civilians and local nationals.
Landstuhl is a Level 3 hospital, meaning it can treat the most serious cases. It is located near Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and medical evacuation planes arrive at the air base daily, a Landstuhl spokesman said. Other nations' wounded also benefit from the world-class care at the center. Service personnel from 40 nations have received care at Landstuhl.
Pace thanked the staff at the hospital for the work they do. "The treatment here is incredible, and the record of success of folks who make it to this hospital is phenomenal," he said.
Pace has visited the medical center many times and said he always leaves feeling humbled. "You feel a mixture of humility, because the troops invariably say to you that all they want to do is get back to their units," he said. "No matter how badly wounded they are, what they are thinking about is the guys and gals they left on the battlefield."
He said he also feels thankful for the medical professionals in the hospital and for the groups who donate time, money and materials for the wounded warriors and their families.
American Forces Press Service
July 21, 2007 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stopped by a military hospital here today to see servicemembers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Marine Gen. Peter Pace also awarded the Purple Heart to an Army specialist.
Pace awarded Army Spc. Colin Laird Pearcy the Purple Heart during a ceremony at his Landstuhl Regional Medical Center bedside. Pearcy, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, had been patrolling in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood when he was wounded. His Humvee was in a blocking position when an improvised explosive device hit.
"I got hit in the left arm," he said. "My legs got peppered pretty good and my face – well you can see. We were fortunate. I was the only one hit."
Pearcy told the general that he was "good to go" when the general asked how he was feeling.
After he received the award, a reporter traveling with Pace asked the specialist if he felt like a hero. "I feel like I just did my job," was his reply. The 24-year-old soldier said that he'd like to "drink a cold beer" as his next step toward recovery.
Pace went to other parts of the hospital to see wounded servicemembers and the caregivers at Landstuhl. He donned a sterile gown over his Marine desert camouflage uniform to visit a number of servicemembers in the intensive care unit of the hospital.
Escorted by the medical center commander, Army Col. Brian Lein, Pace spoke with members of the staff. All services contribute medical personnel to the hospital, which also employs Defense Department civilians and local nationals.
Landstuhl is a Level 3 hospital, meaning it can treat the most serious cases. It is located near Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and medical evacuation planes arrive at the air base daily, a Landstuhl spokesman said. Other nations' wounded also benefit from the world-class care at the center. Service personnel from 40 nations have received care at Landstuhl.
Pace thanked the staff at the hospital for the work they do. "The treatment here is incredible, and the record of success of folks who make it to this hospital is phenomenal," he said.
Pace has visited the medical center many times and said he always leaves feeling humbled. "You feel a mixture of humility, because the troops invariably say to you that all they want to do is get back to their units," he said. "No matter how badly wounded they are, what they are thinking about is the guys and gals they left on the battlefield."
He said he also feels thankful for the medical professionals in the hospital and for the groups who donate time, money and materials for the wounded warriors and their families.
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