By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here today to discuss the way ahead for the alliance with his NATO counterparts and encourage members to live up to commitments they've made to help in Afghanistan. Gates and the other NATO defense ministers will hold two days of informal meetings -- meaning no official decisions will be made -- at this North Sea resort town to talk about ways to ensure NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo get the resources they need.
The group is expected to lay important groundwork for decision making at its next formal session, the April 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania.
The ministers are slated to consider the NATO International Security Assistance Force's role in Afghanistan as part of broader international efforts to support national security, governance and development there.
Gates told reporters in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he attended the Southeast Europe Defense Ministerial conference on Oct. 22, that he'll pressure NATO members here to live up to troop commitments they made at the 2006 NATO summit in Riga, Latvia.
"I am not satisfied that an alliance whose members have over 2 million soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen can't find the modest additional resources that have been committed for Afghanistan," he told participants, some of them NATO members.
"This will be clearly the principal theme" of the Noordwijk meeting, he said.
All NATO allies have personnel in Afghanistan serving in some capacity, John Colston, NATO's assistant secretary general for defense policy and planning, noted during an Oct. 22 news conference here leading up to the informal ministerial conference.
He said the Noordwijk meeting "will not be a force-generation conference," but that he expects participants to focus on capabilities.
A senior defense official traveling with Gates told reporters the secretary is likely to urge the alliance to take a hard look at the ISAF mission to evaluate what's working well, what needs improvement, and what needs to be built upon.
Colston predicted that the session will include talks about the best way to support Afghan national security forces while helping to establish stability and deal with narcotics issues in Afghanistan.
Talks also are expected to cover NATO's role in Kosovo as part of the Kosovo Force peacekeeping mission. Earlier this week in Kyiv, Gates urged the southeastern Europe ministers to keep their troops in Kosovo "regardless of what happens after Dec. 10," the deadline for negotiations on the disputed Serbian territory.
"We are giving the Troika talks a chance, but we are realistic," Gates told the group, referring to mediators from the United States, the European Union and Russia.
He urged NATO to complete its planning for missions directed by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who has advocated an EU-supervised independence for Kosovo that gives broad autonomy for its Serb minority. Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Ahtisaari in 2005 as his special envoy to lead the political process to determine Kosovo's future status.
Gates said in Kyiv he opposes expanding KFOR's mandate. "The EU has an important role to play in Kosovo, and we support its efforts to establish a rule-of-law mission there," he said.
Plans to further expand the 26-member NATO alliance to include Croatia, Albania and Macedonia also will be discussed, although no decision is expected until April, when the ministers meet in Romania.
Gates met with the NATO aspirants in Kyiv to talk with them about progress toward satisfying NATO membership requirements.
The NATO agenda also includes talks about how the transformation of the alliance's defense capabilities is going. Ministers will discuss ways to ensure NATO continues to have the forces and capabilities to support its operations, including those of the NATO Response Force.
During an informal NATO-Russia Council meeting, the 27 ministers will address civil and military activities, as well as cooperation in Afghanistan and in the framework Operation Active Endeavour, NATO's counter terrorism operation in the Mediterranean.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Chairman Asks Straight Questions, Gets Hard Answers
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen yesterday heard some hard truths when he asked hundreds of soldiers about their service. "All I want to do is start a family, buy a house and have some stability," an Army captain ready to leave the service to better meet the needs of his family said in Fort Sill, Okla.
"We need something better. That's just not good enough," another captain said of the 12-month home-station time between deployments.
Still another young officer said he was planning to end his military service, not because he was ready to be finished, but because his family was.
The newly appointed chairman, only four weeks into the job, stood in his Navy khakis in front of the battle-hardened Army officers and didn't even flinch. In fact, he said he welcomed their candor.
"I got that it's not good enough. And how do we change that as rapidly as we can, keeping in mind that there's reality out there ... for all of us that there are requirements?" Mullen responded.
"Your questions have very adequately described the challenges that we have," he said. "If there was an answer, then I could just grab it off the shelf and say, 'This is it.' But it's just not there. But I think it's very widely understood where we are."
Yesterday was the first leg of a two-day trip to visit three Army installations to talk to soldiers and gauge stress levels caused by the service's high operational tempo since the beginning of the war on terror.
This is the admiral's first trip as chairman to Army posts within the United States, and he held a handful of informal question-and-answer sessions with soldiers at Fort Sill, Okla., and Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Mullen also made a stop at an Army recruiting conference here. His wife, Deborah, is with him on the trip and is meeting with soldiers' families.
Second only to the war, the chairman said, his priority is resetting and revitalizing the force, and this trip will allow him personally to hear concerns of soldiers.
His first stop was at southwestern Oklahoma's home of field artillery, where the chairman fielded questions from the Army and Marine students in the Captain's Career Course. He then spoke to nearly 1,000 students in the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Today, Mullen will travel Fort Riley, Kan., where he will view military transition team training, have lunch with troops and visit patients at the post hospital. Fort Riley is home to 1st Infantry Division, the Army's oldest continuously serving division.
The admiral started yesterday's sessions by saying he is grateful for the sacrifices and duty of the servicemembers and families. He said the nation's force is serving at the most dangerous time he has witnessed in his 37-year career.
"We have, as a nation, asked the young people in our country for over 231 years to bear the burden of our national security and pay for it, as they are right now, with the ultimate sacrifice," Mullen said. "I am extremely grateful ... for your service."
The chairman told troops that ground forces are the "center of gravity." He promised no immediate answers, but took names and e-mail addresses and promised more detailed answers later.
He said uncertainty in the Middle East and other regions has made it nearly impossible to predict what the future would hold for U.S. servicemembers. "Our ability to predict based on what we understand the future is going to be is pretty tough. The world's getting more interconnected and more challenging, ... and what that speaks to is that we're living in a time of incredible change," he said.
"I think we're going to change everything about the military," he said, including how the force trains, recruits, educates and develops its troops.
He noted that many of these issues already are in the throes of change. "All those things are changing in front of us. Some things so rapidly that it is difficult to predict exactly where we are and, in some cases, where we're going," Mullen said.
Despite what might be considered indecisive indications, Mullen's sessions with the troops were anything but wishy-washy. In a booming voice, somewhat louder than one would expect from his grandfatherly demeanor, the chairman pledged his support to the troops and their families.
"Without family support we couldn't get the job done," he said. "We have to have a healthy force for the future, ... so where you are, what you're doing, ... whether you stay or go and make a difference in the armed services with us in the future is a big deal. I don't take that for granted. Your service, your family's service for what we're doing right now is truly extraordinary."
He also detailed his vision for extending dwell time between rotations. First, rotations need to allow for 12 months between 15-month rotations. Longer-term plans call for a flip, with 15 months dwell time between 12-month deployments. Eventually, Mullen said, he plans for 12-month deployments with 24 months between, and even sees a peacetime plan of 12-month deployments with 36 months between.
But he cautioned the mantra must remain "mission first" for the force and that changes would not happen soon. "We can't wave a wand and get there overnight. We understand that, but those are the goals. That's the vision," the admiral said.
Surge brigades starting their return at the end of this year will "prime that pump," and "how far and how fast we can get there after they get back is a question to be determined."
But, the chairman added, "I believe that the leadership has got to keep this issue front and center to know exactly where we are at all times."
The chairman also extolled the need for the Army to be able to return to its conventional skill-specific training that has, in many instances, been sidelined for deploying troops in favor of needed counterinsurgency training.
"I think it would be high risk to hang our hat on that this is going to be (counterinsurgency) for a long, long time. So we can't let these skills, which are critical warfighting skills, we can't let them atrophy," Mullen said.
How much the reserves will be used in the future is also a question that has to be answered by senior leaders and will have an impact on deployment rates for the total force. Mullen called the reserve components' performance since the start of the war on terror "absolutely stunning." But officials need to decide how much of the force will return to a strategic reserve and how much will stay as an operational reserve with shorter deployment-readiness times and more regular deployments.
"The dependency we have on the Guard and Reserve, we're going to continue to have," he said.
Finally, the nation's top servicemember called on the troops to demonstrate exceptional leadership during this time of difficult change.
"Leading in a time of change is particularly challenging," he said.
Mullen challenged them to help come up with ideas and solutions for some of the problems they identified today. "In addition to explaining what the problems are, we also need solutions," he said, and urged them to use their time at the schools to brainstorm ideas and submit proposals to their leadership.
But, most importantly, as leaders they have to take care of the troops, Mullen said.
"We can have the greatest missions in the world, we can have the greatest equipment in the world, (and) it's not going to make any difference if we don't take care of each other, if we don't take care of the people that make it happen," Mullen said. "You represent the most important resource. We've got to make sure we get it right for our people."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen yesterday heard some hard truths when he asked hundreds of soldiers about their service. "All I want to do is start a family, buy a house and have some stability," an Army captain ready to leave the service to better meet the needs of his family said in Fort Sill, Okla.
"We need something better. That's just not good enough," another captain said of the 12-month home-station time between deployments.
Still another young officer said he was planning to end his military service, not because he was ready to be finished, but because his family was.
The newly appointed chairman, only four weeks into the job, stood in his Navy khakis in front of the battle-hardened Army officers and didn't even flinch. In fact, he said he welcomed their candor.
"I got that it's not good enough. And how do we change that as rapidly as we can, keeping in mind that there's reality out there ... for all of us that there are requirements?" Mullen responded.
"Your questions have very adequately described the challenges that we have," he said. "If there was an answer, then I could just grab it off the shelf and say, 'This is it.' But it's just not there. But I think it's very widely understood where we are."
Yesterday was the first leg of a two-day trip to visit three Army installations to talk to soldiers and gauge stress levels caused by the service's high operational tempo since the beginning of the war on terror.
This is the admiral's first trip as chairman to Army posts within the United States, and he held a handful of informal question-and-answer sessions with soldiers at Fort Sill, Okla., and Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Mullen also made a stop at an Army recruiting conference here. His wife, Deborah, is with him on the trip and is meeting with soldiers' families.
Second only to the war, the chairman said, his priority is resetting and revitalizing the force, and this trip will allow him personally to hear concerns of soldiers.
His first stop was at southwestern Oklahoma's home of field artillery, where the chairman fielded questions from the Army and Marine students in the Captain's Career Course. He then spoke to nearly 1,000 students in the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Today, Mullen will travel Fort Riley, Kan., where he will view military transition team training, have lunch with troops and visit patients at the post hospital. Fort Riley is home to 1st Infantry Division, the Army's oldest continuously serving division.
The admiral started yesterday's sessions by saying he is grateful for the sacrifices and duty of the servicemembers and families. He said the nation's force is serving at the most dangerous time he has witnessed in his 37-year career.
"We have, as a nation, asked the young people in our country for over 231 years to bear the burden of our national security and pay for it, as they are right now, with the ultimate sacrifice," Mullen said. "I am extremely grateful ... for your service."
The chairman told troops that ground forces are the "center of gravity." He promised no immediate answers, but took names and e-mail addresses and promised more detailed answers later.
He said uncertainty in the Middle East and other regions has made it nearly impossible to predict what the future would hold for U.S. servicemembers. "Our ability to predict based on what we understand the future is going to be is pretty tough. The world's getting more interconnected and more challenging, ... and what that speaks to is that we're living in a time of incredible change," he said.
"I think we're going to change everything about the military," he said, including how the force trains, recruits, educates and develops its troops.
He noted that many of these issues already are in the throes of change. "All those things are changing in front of us. Some things so rapidly that it is difficult to predict exactly where we are and, in some cases, where we're going," Mullen said.
Despite what might be considered indecisive indications, Mullen's sessions with the troops were anything but wishy-washy. In a booming voice, somewhat louder than one would expect from his grandfatherly demeanor, the chairman pledged his support to the troops and their families.
"Without family support we couldn't get the job done," he said. "We have to have a healthy force for the future, ... so where you are, what you're doing, ... whether you stay or go and make a difference in the armed services with us in the future is a big deal. I don't take that for granted. Your service, your family's service for what we're doing right now is truly extraordinary."
He also detailed his vision for extending dwell time between rotations. First, rotations need to allow for 12 months between 15-month rotations. Longer-term plans call for a flip, with 15 months dwell time between 12-month deployments. Eventually, Mullen said, he plans for 12-month deployments with 24 months between, and even sees a peacetime plan of 12-month deployments with 36 months between.
But he cautioned the mantra must remain "mission first" for the force and that changes would not happen soon. "We can't wave a wand and get there overnight. We understand that, but those are the goals. That's the vision," the admiral said.
Surge brigades starting their return at the end of this year will "prime that pump," and "how far and how fast we can get there after they get back is a question to be determined."
But, the chairman added, "I believe that the leadership has got to keep this issue front and center to know exactly where we are at all times."
The chairman also extolled the need for the Army to be able to return to its conventional skill-specific training that has, in many instances, been sidelined for deploying troops in favor of needed counterinsurgency training.
"I think it would be high risk to hang our hat on that this is going to be (counterinsurgency) for a long, long time. So we can't let these skills, which are critical warfighting skills, we can't let them atrophy," Mullen said.
How much the reserves will be used in the future is also a question that has to be answered by senior leaders and will have an impact on deployment rates for the total force. Mullen called the reserve components' performance since the start of the war on terror "absolutely stunning." But officials need to decide how much of the force will return to a strategic reserve and how much will stay as an operational reserve with shorter deployment-readiness times and more regular deployments.
"The dependency we have on the Guard and Reserve, we're going to continue to have," he said.
Finally, the nation's top servicemember called on the troops to demonstrate exceptional leadership during this time of difficult change.
"Leading in a time of change is particularly challenging," he said.
Mullen challenged them to help come up with ideas and solutions for some of the problems they identified today. "In addition to explaining what the problems are, we also need solutions," he said, and urged them to use their time at the schools to brainstorm ideas and submit proposals to their leadership.
But, most importantly, as leaders they have to take care of the troops, Mullen said.
"We can have the greatest missions in the world, we can have the greatest equipment in the world, (and) it's not going to make any difference if we don't take care of each other, if we don't take care of the people that make it happen," Mullen said. "You represent the most important resource. We've got to make sure we get it right for our people."
Burden-Sharing Urged as NATO Focuses on Afghanistan, Other Missions
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Dutch Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop joined NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer here today in opening a two-day ministerial conference, reminding members of the importance of sharing the NATO's responsibilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. Van Middelkoop, who is hosting the two-day meeting, acknowledged that some NATO members have been carrying the lion's share of the load in NATO missions.
One of the biggest imbalances, one Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he intends to address here, involves NATO's contributions to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
At issue is some countries' failure to live up to the commitments they agreed to at the 2006 NATO summit in Riga, Latvia. That's left the mission short in terms of troops, trainers and helicopters, a senior defense official traveling with Gates told reporters.
Gates, who has brought up the shortfall repeatedly during his tenure as defense secretary, rendered his most direct criticism when he addressed the Southeast Europe Defense Ministerial conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, earlier this week. "I am not satisfied that an alliance whose members have over 2 million soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen can't find the modest additional resources that have been committed for Afghanistan," he said.
Van Middelkoop opened today's session here by reminding participants: "One thing is certain: There is no such thing as a free ride to peace and security.
"It is not about what we are willing to say for a safer and more-just world. It ultimately depends on what we are willing to do," he said. "Fairness and burden sharing will remain a leading principle for this alliance."
De Hoop Scheffer said he will make the ISAF mission, being conducted under a U.N. Security Council mandate, a priority during the conference. "The most important thing we -- us, NATO, but also the international community -- can do is to strengthen Afghan capacity so that Afghanistan can stand on its own feet," he said. "NATO is helping to bring that day closer."
The secretary-general emphasized contributions the alliance is making: training and equipping the Afghan National Army, supporting local security and development through provincial reconstruction teams, and helping the Afghan government in its fight against illicit narcotics.
"And first and foremost, we are helping to provide a secure environment in which the Afghan people can build their country," he said. "We are fighting together with the Afghan forces against the Taliban and other extremists because we believe in fundamental human rights. And they know what the Taliban and the terrorists they support will do if they regain power."
Later today, NATO partners will discuss international support in Afghanistan with troop-contributing partners, Afghan Defense Ministers Abdul Rahim Wardak, and U.N., European Union and World Bank representatives, de Hoop Scheffer noted.
He praised the troops and civilians serving in NATO missions from Afghanistan to the Balkans and expressed condolences to families of those lost during these operations.
"Our men and women are courageously defending our security and our values in the most demanding circumstances," he said. "We are proud of them and of what they achieve every single day, and we are determined to see their operations and missions through to completion."
Setting the tone for the session, de Hoop Scheffer urged member nations to work together to deal with today's challenges and others the alliance will face in the future.
Van Middelkoop said he looks forward to "some real brainstorming in discussing the challenges our alliance is facing."
He told participants he considers this coastal North Sea venue a good omen for the sessions. "The sea breeze may blow away some of our old ideas and bring in some new fresh ones, and I think we need them," he said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Dutch Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop joined NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer here today in opening a two-day ministerial conference, reminding members of the importance of sharing the NATO's responsibilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. Van Middelkoop, who is hosting the two-day meeting, acknowledged that some NATO members have been carrying the lion's share of the load in NATO missions.
One of the biggest imbalances, one Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he intends to address here, involves NATO's contributions to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
At issue is some countries' failure to live up to the commitments they agreed to at the 2006 NATO summit in Riga, Latvia. That's left the mission short in terms of troops, trainers and helicopters, a senior defense official traveling with Gates told reporters.
Gates, who has brought up the shortfall repeatedly during his tenure as defense secretary, rendered his most direct criticism when he addressed the Southeast Europe Defense Ministerial conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, earlier this week. "I am not satisfied that an alliance whose members have over 2 million soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen can't find the modest additional resources that have been committed for Afghanistan," he said.
Van Middelkoop opened today's session here by reminding participants: "One thing is certain: There is no such thing as a free ride to peace and security.
"It is not about what we are willing to say for a safer and more-just world. It ultimately depends on what we are willing to do," he said. "Fairness and burden sharing will remain a leading principle for this alliance."
De Hoop Scheffer said he will make the ISAF mission, being conducted under a U.N. Security Council mandate, a priority during the conference. "The most important thing we -- us, NATO, but also the international community -- can do is to strengthen Afghan capacity so that Afghanistan can stand on its own feet," he said. "NATO is helping to bring that day closer."
The secretary-general emphasized contributions the alliance is making: training and equipping the Afghan National Army, supporting local security and development through provincial reconstruction teams, and helping the Afghan government in its fight against illicit narcotics.
"And first and foremost, we are helping to provide a secure environment in which the Afghan people can build their country," he said. "We are fighting together with the Afghan forces against the Taliban and other extremists because we believe in fundamental human rights. And they know what the Taliban and the terrorists they support will do if they regain power."
Later today, NATO partners will discuss international support in Afghanistan with troop-contributing partners, Afghan Defense Ministers Abdul Rahim Wardak, and U.N., European Union and World Bank representatives, de Hoop Scheffer noted.
He praised the troops and civilians serving in NATO missions from Afghanistan to the Balkans and expressed condolences to families of those lost during these operations.
"Our men and women are courageously defending our security and our values in the most demanding circumstances," he said. "We are proud of them and of what they achieve every single day, and we are determined to see their operations and missions through to completion."
Setting the tone for the session, de Hoop Scheffer urged member nations to work together to deal with today's challenges and others the alliance will face in the future.
Van Middelkoop said he looks forward to "some real brainstorming in discussing the challenges our alliance is facing."
He told participants he considers this coastal North Sea venue a good omen for the sessions. "The sea breeze may blow away some of our old ideas and bring in some new fresh ones, and I think we need them," he said.
U.S., Russia Not Headed for New Cold War, Gates Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - The United States and Russia are not headed toward a new Cold War, and the United States still considers Russia a strategic ally, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said during an interview with Radio Free Europe yesterday in Prague. Gates was in the Czech Republic as part of a European trip that also has included stops in Ukraine and at NATO meetings in the Netherlands.
The defense secretary maintained that Russia and the United States still have many common interests and can work together.
"I think our approach should be to consider Russia a strategic partner until and unless it proves otherwise," Gates said during the interview. "There has been a lot of rhetoric, but in terms of specific actions so far, the Russians have not taken any irreversible decisions. And they have, in some areas, continued to play a constructive role."
The United States should continue to work with Russia where it can, he said.
The U.S. relationship with Russia is not in danger of becoming a new Cold War, Gates said. During the heyday of the Soviet Union, the United States was in the midst of an ideological war with communism.
The Cold War took place in a different world, the secretary said, and while some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's rhetoric has been strong, Russia still is cooperating with the United States and European nations.
"We just don't have anything like the global competition or the global conflict that existed and where people were worried that we had our missiles pointed at each other all the time," Gates said. "Nobody wants a new Cold War, and I don't think the Russians do, either."
Gates shied away from the tendency of people to assume an "us vs. them" mindset, saying the world situation is more difficult and varied than during the Cold War. Kosovo is one example. "It's not just the United States that's dealing with Russia. Kosovo is above all a European matter, it's a NATO matter; it's for all of the Europeans -- the EU and so on," he said. "So it's not just the United States trying to get the Russians to take a particular point of view on Kosovo, but it's all of Europe that is in this.
"And it's the same way on some of these other challenges that we face where we're talking with the Russians," he added. The Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, relations with Iran, the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and North Korea are all issues that many nations have concerns about, the secretary said.
"This is an issue about how Russia is going to interrelate with the rest of Europe," the secretary said. "Does Russia wish to be a part of Europe and wish to be a strategic partner with the United States? I think they do. And I think that the increasing business investments, both in Russia and in Europe, can illustrate that that's true."
Gates said people shouldn't jump to conclusions over rhetoric from the Kremlin. Russia is much different from the former Soviet Union. While Russian leaders are more authoritarian than U.S. officials would wish, the country has not returned to the Soviet days. "As I said in my speech on democracy in Williamsburg a few weeks ago, it takes time to build the institutions of democracy," he said. "Just having an election doesn't mean you have a democracy, so these institutions have to grow.
"I think we need to encourage the development of freedom in Russia, we need to encourage the development of democratic institutions, but also think we need to understand that those things take time," Gates said.
Gates also discussed talks with Czech leaders about putting radar for an anti-ballistic missile system in the Czech Republic. Russia strongly resists this, even though Putin has received assurances that the system is not aimed at his country. Gates said the Czech leaders were intrigued by the new proposals the United States put on the table in Moscow.
"We made it perfectly clear in Russia that we were going to proceed with the negotiations with the Czech Republic and Poland regardless and, if those negotiations are successful, then to proceed to deploy, or build, these radars and interceptors," Gates said.
"However, we also said that if the question is about the threat," he continued, "then we might be willing to sit down and talk with the Russians about not activating the completed systems until the threat was apparent, in other words, until the Iranians or others in the Middle East had flight-tested missiles of a range that could hit Europe, as an example. And I think the government here, as in Moscow, was taken with it; even President Putin referred to the proposals as constructive."
Gates said the future is still open for the Russian people. He believes there will be a gradual increase in democratic reforms in Russia as the economy improves. "I think part of the problem in Russia was that because the economy collapsed along with the Soviet Union," he said. "In the minds of many Russians, democracy became confused with economic disaster, with criminal activities, with activities of the oligarchs and thievery and so on, and chaos."
Russia lost an opportunity at that time, Gates said. "I think now, with stability, with economic growth, with growing prosperity, my hope is that that opportunity that ... the Russians missed early in the 1990s will be recaptured, and that would be my hope for Russia over the next 10 years," he said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - The United States and Russia are not headed toward a new Cold War, and the United States still considers Russia a strategic ally, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said during an interview with Radio Free Europe yesterday in Prague. Gates was in the Czech Republic as part of a European trip that also has included stops in Ukraine and at NATO meetings in the Netherlands.
The defense secretary maintained that Russia and the United States still have many common interests and can work together.
"I think our approach should be to consider Russia a strategic partner until and unless it proves otherwise," Gates said during the interview. "There has been a lot of rhetoric, but in terms of specific actions so far, the Russians have not taken any irreversible decisions. And they have, in some areas, continued to play a constructive role."
The United States should continue to work with Russia where it can, he said.
The U.S. relationship with Russia is not in danger of becoming a new Cold War, Gates said. During the heyday of the Soviet Union, the United States was in the midst of an ideological war with communism.
The Cold War took place in a different world, the secretary said, and while some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's rhetoric has been strong, Russia still is cooperating with the United States and European nations.
"We just don't have anything like the global competition or the global conflict that existed and where people were worried that we had our missiles pointed at each other all the time," Gates said. "Nobody wants a new Cold War, and I don't think the Russians do, either."
Gates shied away from the tendency of people to assume an "us vs. them" mindset, saying the world situation is more difficult and varied than during the Cold War. Kosovo is one example. "It's not just the United States that's dealing with Russia. Kosovo is above all a European matter, it's a NATO matter; it's for all of the Europeans -- the EU and so on," he said. "So it's not just the United States trying to get the Russians to take a particular point of view on Kosovo, but it's all of Europe that is in this.
"And it's the same way on some of these other challenges that we face where we're talking with the Russians," he added. The Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, relations with Iran, the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and North Korea are all issues that many nations have concerns about, the secretary said.
"This is an issue about how Russia is going to interrelate with the rest of Europe," the secretary said. "Does Russia wish to be a part of Europe and wish to be a strategic partner with the United States? I think they do. And I think that the increasing business investments, both in Russia and in Europe, can illustrate that that's true."
Gates said people shouldn't jump to conclusions over rhetoric from the Kremlin. Russia is much different from the former Soviet Union. While Russian leaders are more authoritarian than U.S. officials would wish, the country has not returned to the Soviet days. "As I said in my speech on democracy in Williamsburg a few weeks ago, it takes time to build the institutions of democracy," he said. "Just having an election doesn't mean you have a democracy, so these institutions have to grow.
"I think we need to encourage the development of freedom in Russia, we need to encourage the development of democratic institutions, but also think we need to understand that those things take time," Gates said.
Gates also discussed talks with Czech leaders about putting radar for an anti-ballistic missile system in the Czech Republic. Russia strongly resists this, even though Putin has received assurances that the system is not aimed at his country. Gates said the Czech leaders were intrigued by the new proposals the United States put on the table in Moscow.
"We made it perfectly clear in Russia that we were going to proceed with the negotiations with the Czech Republic and Poland regardless and, if those negotiations are successful, then to proceed to deploy, or build, these radars and interceptors," Gates said.
"However, we also said that if the question is about the threat," he continued, "then we might be willing to sit down and talk with the Russians about not activating the completed systems until the threat was apparent, in other words, until the Iranians or others in the Middle East had flight-tested missiles of a range that could hit Europe, as an example. And I think the government here, as in Moscow, was taken with it; even President Putin referred to the proposals as constructive."
Gates said the future is still open for the Russian people. He believes there will be a gradual increase in democratic reforms in Russia as the economy improves. "I think part of the problem in Russia was that because the economy collapsed along with the Soviet Union," he said. "In the minds of many Russians, democracy became confused with economic disaster, with criminal activities, with activities of the oligarchs and thievery and so on, and chaos."
Russia lost an opportunity at that time, Gates said. "I think now, with stability, with economic growth, with growing prosperity, my hope is that that opportunity that ... the Russians missed early in the 1990s will be recaptured, and that would be my hope for Russia over the next 10 years," he said.
Defense Department Continues Aid on California's Fire Front
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Military C-130s with modular air firefighting systems this morning began dropping fire retardant and water on wildfires plaguing California. They will continue the effort as long as wind conditions allow, defense officials said. A total of 16 wildfires have burned more than 360,000 acres in Southern California, and hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from homes in danger areas, California National Guard officials said today.
California officials said that five people have died as a result of the fires; more than 2,100 homes and other structures have been destroyed or damaged; and more than 87,500 structures are in danger from the fast-moving fires. Santa Ana winds, often blowing at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, have complicated firefighting efforts, officials said.
Fourteen helicopters from the California National Guard, the Navy and Marine Corps are using buckets to drop water on the blazes, officials said.
Everything California has asked the Defense Department for has been delivered, U.S. Northern Command officials said, and command officials are leaning forward to anticipate what the state might need as the crisis continues.
Thirty-two active-duty servicemembers, 67 defense civilians and 1,500 National Guardsmen are directly engaged in immediate response, supporting firefighting response, command and control, logistics support, security, communications and relief operations, U.S. Northern Command officials said. U.S. Northern Command is responsible for coordinating defense support to civil authorities in emergencies.
A total of 550 Marines and 17,301 California National Guardsmen are standing by, available for duty if needed. The Marines are going through firefighting training in anticipation of being called. Officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, said that federal firefighters will flow into the area over the next few days
About 1,400 Navy personnel and their families have been evacuated onto three Navy bases: Coronado, El Centro and San Diego. This clears civilian shelters for more evacuees.
The Marine Corps has evacuated about 40 aircraft from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, officials said.
An Aegis cruiser, a guided-missile destroyer and two fast frigates will remain in port to support evacuation and movement of dependents.
Local military installations have provided about 10,000 cots to local evacuation sites, NORTHCOM officials said. In response to a request from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Defense Department has designated March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif., and North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego for use as forward staging areas for federal supplies flowing south from the FEMA logistics center at Moffitt Field, Calif.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Military C-130s with modular air firefighting systems this morning began dropping fire retardant and water on wildfires plaguing California. They will continue the effort as long as wind conditions allow, defense officials said. A total of 16 wildfires have burned more than 360,000 acres in Southern California, and hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from homes in danger areas, California National Guard officials said today.
California officials said that five people have died as a result of the fires; more than 2,100 homes and other structures have been destroyed or damaged; and more than 87,500 structures are in danger from the fast-moving fires. Santa Ana winds, often blowing at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, have complicated firefighting efforts, officials said.
Fourteen helicopters from the California National Guard, the Navy and Marine Corps are using buckets to drop water on the blazes, officials said.
Everything California has asked the Defense Department for has been delivered, U.S. Northern Command officials said, and command officials are leaning forward to anticipate what the state might need as the crisis continues.
Thirty-two active-duty servicemembers, 67 defense civilians and 1,500 National Guardsmen are directly engaged in immediate response, supporting firefighting response, command and control, logistics support, security, communications and relief operations, U.S. Northern Command officials said. U.S. Northern Command is responsible for coordinating defense support to civil authorities in emergencies.
A total of 550 Marines and 17,301 California National Guardsmen are standing by, available for duty if needed. The Marines are going through firefighting training in anticipation of being called. Officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, said that federal firefighters will flow into the area over the next few days
About 1,400 Navy personnel and their families have been evacuated onto three Navy bases: Coronado, El Centro and San Diego. This clears civilian shelters for more evacuees.
The Marine Corps has evacuated about 40 aircraft from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, officials said.
An Aegis cruiser, a guided-missile destroyer and two fast frigates will remain in port to support evacuation and movement of dependents.
Local military installations have provided about 10,000 cots to local evacuation sites, NORTHCOM officials said. In response to a request from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Defense Department has designated March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif., and North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego for use as forward staging areas for federal supplies flowing south from the FEMA logistics center at Moffitt Field, Calif.
NORTHCOM Commander Outlines California Wildfire Response
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina are helping U.S. Northern Command and its interagency partners efficiently and effectively support current wildfire response efforts in California, the organization's commander said yesterday. Air Force Gen. Victor R. Renuart Jr. briefed reporters at NORTHCOM's headquarters here on the command's wildfire support efforts in the San Diego area.
NORTHCOM is the joint combatant command formed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to provide homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities. The command is responsible for the operational control of all active duty military responses to a disaster when requested by the state and ordered by the president and the secretary of defense.
"We're really working hard to make every effort (to ensure) that the citizens of California get the right kind of support that they need and that it gets to them in a timely fashion," Renuart said. "We are the lead command for the Department of Defense for military support for civil authorities and, as such, we are closely tied to the state of California, with the Department of Defense and with the National Guard Bureau to provide the right kind of capability to ensure the response is appropriate."
Renuart said the involvement of more than 2,000 personnel at NORTHCOM headquarters, more than 500 at U.S. Army North, and elements that have been deployed to the affected areas would not be possible if the interagency community and NORTHCOM had not applied and practiced the lessons learned during the Hurricane Katrina response in 2005.
The challenges presented to NORTHCOM by the Katrina relief effort included coordinating the efforts of federal civilian responders and federal military responders with the states and the National Guard, Renuart said.
"We learned a lot out of Katrina on how to prepare for a disaster like that by exercising and training and building a real planning culture among all of those interagency participants," he said. "We really do anticipate the needs of a particular disaster ahead of time, and we're able to pre-position resources."
Renuart said the members of the command are proud to be of help during the California wildfire crisis.
"The thoughts and prayers of all of the team here at NORTHCOM and NORAD are with the families in southern California during this time," he said.
Oct. 24, 2007 - Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina are helping U.S. Northern Command and its interagency partners efficiently and effectively support current wildfire response efforts in California, the organization's commander said yesterday. Air Force Gen. Victor R. Renuart Jr. briefed reporters at NORTHCOM's headquarters here on the command's wildfire support efforts in the San Diego area.
NORTHCOM is the joint combatant command formed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to provide homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities. The command is responsible for the operational control of all active duty military responses to a disaster when requested by the state and ordered by the president and the secretary of defense.
"We're really working hard to make every effort (to ensure) that the citizens of California get the right kind of support that they need and that it gets to them in a timely fashion," Renuart said. "We are the lead command for the Department of Defense for military support for civil authorities and, as such, we are closely tied to the state of California, with the Department of Defense and with the National Guard Bureau to provide the right kind of capability to ensure the response is appropriate."
Renuart said the involvement of more than 2,000 personnel at NORTHCOM headquarters, more than 500 at U.S. Army North, and elements that have been deployed to the affected areas would not be possible if the interagency community and NORTHCOM had not applied and practiced the lessons learned during the Hurricane Katrina response in 2005.
The challenges presented to NORTHCOM by the Katrina relief effort included coordinating the efforts of federal civilian responders and federal military responders with the states and the National Guard, Renuart said.
"We learned a lot out of Katrina on how to prepare for a disaster like that by exercising and training and building a real planning culture among all of those interagency participants," he said. "We really do anticipate the needs of a particular disaster ahead of time, and we're able to pre-position resources."
Renuart said the members of the command are proud to be of help during the California wildfire crisis.
"The thoughts and prayers of all of the team here at NORTHCOM and NORAD are with the families in southern California during this time," he said.
NATO Allies Promise More Support in Afghanistan
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Talks here today appear to be paying off, with several NATO members here offering more support in Afghanistan for a mission Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates called "a litmus test for the effectiveness of the alliance in the 21st century." Gates told reporters after the first of two days at the NATO informal ministerial conference here that he's pleased to hear more countries are upping their contribution in Afghanistan or considering such a measure.
"Today was a considerably more positive day than I anticipated," he said. "On the whole, I think today was a very good day."
Army Gen. Dan K. McNeill, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force since February, opened today's discussions with a commander's view of the effort. Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of U.S. European Command, presented the strategic picture.
"Their first message was that we are winning in Afghanistan," a senior U.S. official who observed the session told reporters. "But their second message was: in order to maintain the pace -- and particularly to maintain the operational pace and increase our training commitment to the Afghans -- we have all got to do more."
The commanders noted progress in training the Afghan National Army, which now is starting to take the lead in some operations. They pointed to the Afghan National Police as "the weak link" that needs more attention, the official said.
Gates said he's seen a growing recognition in the alliance that success in training Afghan security forces is central to success in Afghanistan. "To this end, there has been a steady increase in contributions of training teams, and I was pleased that today more offers were put on the table," he said.
The secretary noted, for example, that only 36 of some 72 non-U.S. operational mentoring and liaison teams needed by mid-2008 had been committed before today. "Some of the things I heard today lead me to believe that we will be nearer to the requirement by next summer," he said.
Gates said he'd leave it to individual countries to announce their additional ISAF contributions. He declined to comment on media reports that France is among them, but said that "any greater French involvement would be most welcome." The reports said France, which currently has its 1,000 ISAF troops in Kabul and Kandahar, could for the first time send dozens of military trainers into southern Afghanistan. A U.S. official said the decision would represent a major strategic shift for France.
While pleased by today's progress, Gates said gaps remain within ISAF. "The mission still requires more maneuver elements and fewer restraints in how forces can be used," he said. Also still lacking are enough helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Gates said the ministers discussed these shortfalls "openly and honestly," with some of the larger contributors speaking "very strongly about the need for increased contributions so that the burden is shared more equally by all."
Among them was Netherlands, which is hosting the NATO ministerial conference just as the mandate for the Dutch forces in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province is about to expire. Although Dutch government officials expect to keep some troops in Afghanistan, they would like to "lighten their force somewhat," the official said, because they've been "punching well above their weight class, and they need some relief."
She noted that several allies stepped forward today and said they'd be ready to offer help in Oruzgan next year.
Gates noted today that while NATO members have lived up to their individual commitments made at the 2006 NATO summit in Riga, Latvia, they've left "five baskets of broad commitments" required for success in Afghanistan unfilled.
"We need to lift our sights, it seems, to see what is needed long-term for success, beyond the specific commitments that have already been made," he said. "And that includes efforts in economic development (and) civil institutions areas, as well as counter-narcotics."
The NATO ministers reiterated their understanding today that success in Afghanistan requires a strategy that integrates all these efforts. "I think all of these things are important, and we need to do them all -- and more is required in each of these areas," Gates told reporters. "My view is that it is not one or the other. It has to be a combination of all of the above."
Gates said he'd like to see a central official appointed to coordinate efforts some 42 countries and about a dozen non-governmental organizations are making to support the non-military aspects of the mission. This person – and he specified that it shouldn't be an American -- would help improve cooperation, share best practices learned and fill gaps, he said.
As important as these resources are to the mission, Gates said, effective strategic communication also is vital to success. The ministers acknowledged that "in some countries, there has to be a better effort to tell the story of Afghanistan," the U.S. official said.
"It's a long way from the hearts and minds and kitchen tables in Europe," she said, "and there needs to be a continued effort to explain why we are there (and) the strategic importance for our countries."
Gates said there's solid agreement on the importance of succeeding in Afghanistan. "No one doubts the justice or necessity of the alliance mission in Afghanistan," he said. "What we need now are actions, deeds and a sense of urgency and commitment to back up our pledges and promises."
The secretary said he has no reason to doubt the participants will follow through with commitments voiced here during NATO's force-generation session in early November. "I'm confident that NATO can rise to the occasion," he said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Talks here today appear to be paying off, with several NATO members here offering more support in Afghanistan for a mission Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates called "a litmus test for the effectiveness of the alliance in the 21st century." Gates told reporters after the first of two days at the NATO informal ministerial conference here that he's pleased to hear more countries are upping their contribution in Afghanistan or considering such a measure.
"Today was a considerably more positive day than I anticipated," he said. "On the whole, I think today was a very good day."
Army Gen. Dan K. McNeill, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force since February, opened today's discussions with a commander's view of the effort. Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of U.S. European Command, presented the strategic picture.
"Their first message was that we are winning in Afghanistan," a senior U.S. official who observed the session told reporters. "But their second message was: in order to maintain the pace -- and particularly to maintain the operational pace and increase our training commitment to the Afghans -- we have all got to do more."
The commanders noted progress in training the Afghan National Army, which now is starting to take the lead in some operations. They pointed to the Afghan National Police as "the weak link" that needs more attention, the official said.
Gates said he's seen a growing recognition in the alliance that success in training Afghan security forces is central to success in Afghanistan. "To this end, there has been a steady increase in contributions of training teams, and I was pleased that today more offers were put on the table," he said.
The secretary noted, for example, that only 36 of some 72 non-U.S. operational mentoring and liaison teams needed by mid-2008 had been committed before today. "Some of the things I heard today lead me to believe that we will be nearer to the requirement by next summer," he said.
Gates said he'd leave it to individual countries to announce their additional ISAF contributions. He declined to comment on media reports that France is among them, but said that "any greater French involvement would be most welcome." The reports said France, which currently has its 1,000 ISAF troops in Kabul and Kandahar, could for the first time send dozens of military trainers into southern Afghanistan. A U.S. official said the decision would represent a major strategic shift for France.
While pleased by today's progress, Gates said gaps remain within ISAF. "The mission still requires more maneuver elements and fewer restraints in how forces can be used," he said. Also still lacking are enough helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Gates said the ministers discussed these shortfalls "openly and honestly," with some of the larger contributors speaking "very strongly about the need for increased contributions so that the burden is shared more equally by all."
Among them was Netherlands, which is hosting the NATO ministerial conference just as the mandate for the Dutch forces in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province is about to expire. Although Dutch government officials expect to keep some troops in Afghanistan, they would like to "lighten their force somewhat," the official said, because they've been "punching well above their weight class, and they need some relief."
She noted that several allies stepped forward today and said they'd be ready to offer help in Oruzgan next year.
Gates noted today that while NATO members have lived up to their individual commitments made at the 2006 NATO summit in Riga, Latvia, they've left "five baskets of broad commitments" required for success in Afghanistan unfilled.
"We need to lift our sights, it seems, to see what is needed long-term for success, beyond the specific commitments that have already been made," he said. "And that includes efforts in economic development (and) civil institutions areas, as well as counter-narcotics."
The NATO ministers reiterated their understanding today that success in Afghanistan requires a strategy that integrates all these efforts. "I think all of these things are important, and we need to do them all -- and more is required in each of these areas," Gates told reporters. "My view is that it is not one or the other. It has to be a combination of all of the above."
Gates said he'd like to see a central official appointed to coordinate efforts some 42 countries and about a dozen non-governmental organizations are making to support the non-military aspects of the mission. This person – and he specified that it shouldn't be an American -- would help improve cooperation, share best practices learned and fill gaps, he said.
As important as these resources are to the mission, Gates said, effective strategic communication also is vital to success. The ministers acknowledged that "in some countries, there has to be a better effort to tell the story of Afghanistan," the U.S. official said.
"It's a long way from the hearts and minds and kitchen tables in Europe," she said, "and there needs to be a continued effort to explain why we are there (and) the strategic importance for our countries."
Gates said there's solid agreement on the importance of succeeding in Afghanistan. "No one doubts the justice or necessity of the alliance mission in Afghanistan," he said. "What we need now are actions, deeds and a sense of urgency and commitment to back up our pledges and promises."
The secretary said he has no reason to doubt the participants will follow through with commitments voiced here during NATO's force-generation session in early November. "I'm confident that NATO can rise to the occasion," he said.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Africa Command Gives Top Priority to Aggressive Maritime Security
By David Mays
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Maritime security, which has long been overshadowed by other coalition missions in African nations, will be a top priority for the newly created U.S. Africa Command, a senior Defense Department policymaker said today. "It's something that we hadn't really paid too much attention to for awhile, because we've been focusing more on the peacekeeping problem and ... the political and conflict turmoil on the continent," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs Theresa Whelan said. "But maritime security is an area that's very important for the continent."
During a conference call from the Pentagon with online journalists and bloggers, Whelan explained that African nations such as Mozambique and Tanzania typically lose more than a billion dollars a year to illegal fishing in their waters, reef destruction and species depletion.
"Maritime security is important economically to African nations. It's also, though, important from a security standpoint, because what we're seeing is more and more drugs being moved through Africa via maritime routes, arms (are) being moved, there's trafficking in persons through maritime routes, and then of course there's piracy, which is influencing or impacting negatively on international shipping," she said. "That's something I think that is somewhat new in some ways that AFRICOM will be focusing on and that we think is important."
U.S. Africa Command officially became operational Oct. 1. As America's newest unified command, it eventually will assume Defense Department responsibility on the entire African continent. But unlike three traditional combatant commands that for decades had shared the responsibility, AFRICOM will focus not on combat, but on supporting, advising and building the capacity of professional, civilian-controlled African forces.
"We are not going to be building new bases or putting troops (or) operational forces on the continent," Whelan explained. "We will have presence on the continent, but that presence will be in the form of staff personnel in order to manage our relationship with African countries more effectively."
Part of that relationship, Whelan noted, is identifying what tools African nations need to help themselves.
"The African countries want to try to address the security problems that they face in their own backyards," she said. "And the challenge that they have had is just simply not having the wherewithal to do so."
For instance, Whelan pointed out, the U.S. Air Force earlier this week used a C-17 Globemaster III to airlift hundreds of Rwandan soldiers supporting the African Union peacekeeping mission in the Darfur region of Sudan.
"This has become something that is important to the Africans, to be able to address these crises in their backyards so that they don't necessarily spread and become larger problems," she said. "Hopefully, we would enable the AU to better handle crises like Somalia or Darfur or Congo or Burundi -- there's a whole host of them out there."
In some cases, such as Somalia, which "defies the imagination" because of its incredible instability, Whelan explained, AFRICOM can be of little direct and immediate assistance, but in other countries, key partnerships already have begun.
"In most cases in Africa, actually, we will be focusing on maintaining and hopefully expanding, and deepening maybe is a better word, our existing military-to-military relations with African nations, stable African nations, and that are trying to make a greater contribution to stability in their neighborhood and in the continent," she said. "Our actions are ultimately going to speak louder than our words."
(David Mays works in New Media at American Forces Information Service.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Maritime security, which has long been overshadowed by other coalition missions in African nations, will be a top priority for the newly created U.S. Africa Command, a senior Defense Department policymaker said today. "It's something that we hadn't really paid too much attention to for awhile, because we've been focusing more on the peacekeeping problem and ... the political and conflict turmoil on the continent," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs Theresa Whelan said. "But maritime security is an area that's very important for the continent."
During a conference call from the Pentagon with online journalists and bloggers, Whelan explained that African nations such as Mozambique and Tanzania typically lose more than a billion dollars a year to illegal fishing in their waters, reef destruction and species depletion.
"Maritime security is important economically to African nations. It's also, though, important from a security standpoint, because what we're seeing is more and more drugs being moved through Africa via maritime routes, arms (are) being moved, there's trafficking in persons through maritime routes, and then of course there's piracy, which is influencing or impacting negatively on international shipping," she said. "That's something I think that is somewhat new in some ways that AFRICOM will be focusing on and that we think is important."
U.S. Africa Command officially became operational Oct. 1. As America's newest unified command, it eventually will assume Defense Department responsibility on the entire African continent. But unlike three traditional combatant commands that for decades had shared the responsibility, AFRICOM will focus not on combat, but on supporting, advising and building the capacity of professional, civilian-controlled African forces.
"We are not going to be building new bases or putting troops (or) operational forces on the continent," Whelan explained. "We will have presence on the continent, but that presence will be in the form of staff personnel in order to manage our relationship with African countries more effectively."
Part of that relationship, Whelan noted, is identifying what tools African nations need to help themselves.
"The African countries want to try to address the security problems that they face in their own backyards," she said. "And the challenge that they have had is just simply not having the wherewithal to do so."
For instance, Whelan pointed out, the U.S. Air Force earlier this week used a C-17 Globemaster III to airlift hundreds of Rwandan soldiers supporting the African Union peacekeeping mission in the Darfur region of Sudan.
"This has become something that is important to the Africans, to be able to address these crises in their backyards so that they don't necessarily spread and become larger problems," she said. "Hopefully, we would enable the AU to better handle crises like Somalia or Darfur or Congo or Burundi -- there's a whole host of them out there."
In some cases, such as Somalia, which "defies the imagination" because of its incredible instability, Whelan explained, AFRICOM can be of little direct and immediate assistance, but in other countries, key partnerships already have begun.
"In most cases in Africa, actually, we will be focusing on maintaining and hopefully expanding, and deepening maybe is a better word, our existing military-to-military relations with African nations, stable African nations, and that are trying to make a greater contribution to stability in their neighborhood and in the continent," she said. "Our actions are ultimately going to speak louder than our words."
(David Mays works in New Media at American Forces Information Service.)
Literacy Group Reaches Out to Military Families
By Toni Maltagliati
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - More than 12,000 children of servicemembers each year are getting a foundation for lifelong literacy from their doctors through an effort called "Reach Out and Read." "Reach Out and Read presents a unique opportunity to support and strengthen military families with young children," said Carolyn Merrifield, a communications associate with Reach Out and Read. "While reading together provides important advantages for all families, military families who face the unique challenges of separation and deployment can reap special benefit from the comfort of this routine."
Reach Out and Read is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
The group is different from other national literacy programs in that it takes advantage of the trust parents have for pediatricians to plant the seed of reading. The group trains physicians and nurse practitioners to emphasize during preschool medical check-ups the importance of reading aloud to children. The benefits to tots can start as young as 6 months old, according to the group.
Every year, about 24,000 new, developmentally appropriate books are given to youngsters at seven military medical facilities to take home and read, according to a statement from the group. The Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Va.; Moncrief Army Community Hospital at Fort Jackson, S.C.; Air Force medical facilities at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.; and the 121st General Hospital at Yongson Army Garrison, South Korea, currently participate.
Medical facilities at eight additional military sites are slated to become Reach Out and Read participants, according to Brian Gallagher, the group's national expansion manager.
"They went through the process, and they've been told that their programs are on hold for now," Gallagher said. The Defense Department funding has been obligated, he said, so now it's a matter of waiting until the funds are allocated and disbursed.
Adding eight military medical facilities to the program could more than double the number of military families whose children will get a head start on learning to recognize letters and other language skills. Reading failure, according to the group, has been linked to many problems for children later on in life, from dropping out of school to substance abuse.
"In order or learn to read in school, children's brains to be 'prepped' by robust exposure to words and language, shaping the brain architecture that provides the foundation for later reading ability," said Merrifield.
About one-third of children in the United States start kindergarten without the language skills they need to learn how to read, according to the group. Reach Out and Read officials say they aim to remedy this, one book at a time.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - More than 12,000 children of servicemembers each year are getting a foundation for lifelong literacy from their doctors through an effort called "Reach Out and Read." "Reach Out and Read presents a unique opportunity to support and strengthen military families with young children," said Carolyn Merrifield, a communications associate with Reach Out and Read. "While reading together provides important advantages for all families, military families who face the unique challenges of separation and deployment can reap special benefit from the comfort of this routine."
Reach Out and Read is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
The group is different from other national literacy programs in that it takes advantage of the trust parents have for pediatricians to plant the seed of reading. The group trains physicians and nurse practitioners to emphasize during preschool medical check-ups the importance of reading aloud to children. The benefits to tots can start as young as 6 months old, according to the group.
Every year, about 24,000 new, developmentally appropriate books are given to youngsters at seven military medical facilities to take home and read, according to a statement from the group. The Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Va.; Moncrief Army Community Hospital at Fort Jackson, S.C.; Air Force medical facilities at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.; and the 121st General Hospital at Yongson Army Garrison, South Korea, currently participate.
Medical facilities at eight additional military sites are slated to become Reach Out and Read participants, according to Brian Gallagher, the group's national expansion manager.
"They went through the process, and they've been told that their programs are on hold for now," Gallagher said. The Defense Department funding has been obligated, he said, so now it's a matter of waiting until the funds are allocated and disbursed.
Adding eight military medical facilities to the program could more than double the number of military families whose children will get a head start on learning to recognize letters and other language skills. Reading failure, according to the group, has been linked to many problems for children later on in life, from dropping out of school to substance abuse.
"In order or learn to read in school, children's brains to be 'prepped' by robust exposure to words and language, shaping the brain architecture that provides the foundation for later reading ability," said Merrifield.
About one-third of children in the United States start kindergarten without the language skills they need to learn how to read, according to the group. Reach Out and Read officials say they aim to remedy this, one book at a time.
Soldiers Help Celebrate Sadr City School Renovation
By Sgt. Mike Pryor, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - When students at the Yarmook Girl's School in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood returned from summer vacation last month, they found that their school had received an extreme makeover thanks to the government of Iraq and the U.S. Army. U.S. soldiers and Iraqi National Police visited the recently renovated school Oct. 22 to see the improvements and hand out backpacks and soccer balls to the students.
The renovations to the school totaled $200,000 of improvements, including a new roof, a new lighting system, repairs to cracks in the pavement and stairs, and a paint job, said Glen Allen, Va., native Capt. Alex Carter, a U.S. Army civil affairs team chief who helped oversee the project.
Nine other schools in Sadr City also have been renovated over the past few months, as part of the same program that refurbished the Yarmook Girl's School, Carter said. The school improvement program was made possible by cooperation among the Ministry of Education, the local neighborhood councils, school officials, the Iraqi National Police, and the U.S. Army's 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, which operates in the Sadr City area, he said.
"What makes this special to me is that this really validates how effective we are working with the Iraqi police in Sadr City," Carter said.
The top Iraqi police official present at the school visit, Brig. Gen. Ali Ibrahim Daboun, commander of 8th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi National Police Division, said he also was pleased by cooperation between the Iraqi government, the Iraqi security forces, and the U.S. military.
He said he hopes that the school improvement program would show the 2.5 million residents of Sadr City that they are a priority of the Iraqi government.
"In the past, they were neglected, but the new government will serve them," he said.
(Army Sgt. Mike Pryor is assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - When students at the Yarmook Girl's School in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood returned from summer vacation last month, they found that their school had received an extreme makeover thanks to the government of Iraq and the U.S. Army. U.S. soldiers and Iraqi National Police visited the recently renovated school Oct. 22 to see the improvements and hand out backpacks and soccer balls to the students.
The renovations to the school totaled $200,000 of improvements, including a new roof, a new lighting system, repairs to cracks in the pavement and stairs, and a paint job, said Glen Allen, Va., native Capt. Alex Carter, a U.S. Army civil affairs team chief who helped oversee the project.
Nine other schools in Sadr City also have been renovated over the past few months, as part of the same program that refurbished the Yarmook Girl's School, Carter said. The school improvement program was made possible by cooperation among the Ministry of Education, the local neighborhood councils, school officials, the Iraqi National Police, and the U.S. Army's 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, which operates in the Sadr City area, he said.
"What makes this special to me is that this really validates how effective we are working with the Iraqi police in Sadr City," Carter said.
The top Iraqi police official present at the school visit, Brig. Gen. Ali Ibrahim Daboun, commander of 8th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi National Police Division, said he also was pleased by cooperation between the Iraqi government, the Iraqi security forces, and the U.S. military.
He said he hopes that the school improvement program would show the 2.5 million residents of Sadr City that they are a priority of the Iraqi government.
"In the past, they were neglected, but the new government will serve them," he said.
(Army Sgt. Mike Pryor is assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.)
Airborne Buddies Are Friends for Life
By Micah E. Clare, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Sitting in their turrets manning their guns as tracers whizzed over their heads from all directions, Army Sgt. Damon Bligh and Spc. Rick Crothers knew they always had somebody they could count on: each other. Serving in Iraq together, the two soldiers can't remember how many times they were attacked by the enemy, but they've been through it all, thick and thin, for close to three years now.
Bligh, from Boston, and Crothers, from Mascoutah, Ill., drivers in Company A, 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, have served together in the same units since Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. in 2004.
The two drivers were in the same squad while learning how to jump from airplanes, but they didn't really become friends until they ran into each other again at the 19th Replacement Detachment at Fort Bragg, N.C., waiting to receive their unit assignments, Bligh remembers.
"I saw this guy looking for the (dining facility)," he said.
"And I said, 'Hey you were at Airborne School, right?'" Crothers finished.
The two hit it off from then on and thought it was fortunate when they were both assigned to 546th Transportation Company, 1st Corps Support Command. However, it was only a matter of time until they were both sent right into the thick of things.
"This sergeant major (at replacement) asked us what our jobs were, and I told him we were drivers," Bligh explained. "He replied, 'You're outta here!' I seriously thought he meant we were getting kicked out of replacement, but as I found out, he meant something completely different."
Less than two months later, the two were boarding a plane, beginning a deployment to Iraq, an experience neither of them would ever forget.
When they first got to Forward Operating Base Sietz in Iraq, they had just set down their bags and had only been at their bunks for a few minutes, when they heard the whistle and explosion of an incoming round, followed by a blaring alarm.
"We were just laying there in our bunks," Crothers said, laughing. "We just looked at each other, thinking, 'What is going on?' We had no idea what to do."
A seasoned noncommissioned officer came running in and saw them lying there and yelled at them to get their gear and get to the nearest bunker. "'Welcome to Hell! From now on, get to the bunkers,' he yelled at us," Bligh said. "I'm just glad I wasn't the only one who didn't know what to do."
It wasn't long before the two became accustomed to the almost daily attacks. When they began to get out on the road more often, frequent firefights became the norm, they said.
Some of these situations were pretty stressful, but they were always together on missions, Bligh in one truck, and Crothers in another.
After that deployment, Bligh and Crothers watched as their other friends were split up and sent to different units, thinking the same thing was going to happen to them.
"I got orders for the 82nd," Crothers said. "I said, 'See you later Bligh! You're stuck here.'"
Weeks later, Bligh got orders to a different brigade in the 82nd, but soon enough they found out they were both going to 4th Brigade, then to 782nd BSB, and finally to Company A.
"It's happening again," Bligh said he remembered thinking when he saw Crothers' name again in his new unit roster.
It was a completely different situation from their previous assignment, though. This time, they were the ones who knew what was going on, Bligh said.
"When we first got to the company, there were only 20 of us, but it quickly became 120. Most of them were right out of basic (training), and we were pretty much the only ones wearing combat patches," he said.
Crothers, who had trained and qualified on many different weapons systems and had attended armorer courses, was able to contribute much to the new unit. "I was giving weapons classes as a (private first class)," he explained. "So I was able to hand off that knowledge to the other soldiers in our platoon and get them ready for the upcoming deployment."
Crothers and Bligh then deployed to Afghanistan with the 782nd BSB in January 2007 and have spent the last nine months in a combat logistics patrol running supplies to far-reaching and isolated bases throughout the southeastern area of the country.
This is sometimes a challenging mission, but the deep-rooted friendship of the two paratroopers helps them get through it, Crothers explained.
"It would be really tough if (Bligh) wasn't here," he said. "He's got a quick comeback for everything."
"Crothers keeps me sane sometimes being out here," Bligh added. "We always have something to talk about, and we joke around about everything. We look forward to getting back home, though."
By the time they redeploy in the spring, they'll have both been in combat together for close to 25 months.
"We've became really close," Crothers said. "Being in stressful situations will do that to people."
"We've roomed together, bunked together, and been to war together," Bligh said. "We got to know each other so well, even on days we didn't want to."
At home, they plan on getting their families together for barbecues and parties, because their wives have become good friends, as well, the two said.
Even though Bligh's time in service is finished soon after he returns from Afghanistan, the fact that the two will no longer be serving together won't dampen their camaraderie, they said.
"We'll definitely always be friends," Crothers and Bligh said.
(Army Spc. Micah E. Clare is assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Sitting in their turrets manning their guns as tracers whizzed over their heads from all directions, Army Sgt. Damon Bligh and Spc. Rick Crothers knew they always had somebody they could count on: each other. Serving in Iraq together, the two soldiers can't remember how many times they were attacked by the enemy, but they've been through it all, thick and thin, for close to three years now.
Bligh, from Boston, and Crothers, from Mascoutah, Ill., drivers in Company A, 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, have served together in the same units since Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. in 2004.
The two drivers were in the same squad while learning how to jump from airplanes, but they didn't really become friends until they ran into each other again at the 19th Replacement Detachment at Fort Bragg, N.C., waiting to receive their unit assignments, Bligh remembers.
"I saw this guy looking for the (dining facility)," he said.
"And I said, 'Hey you were at Airborne School, right?'" Crothers finished.
The two hit it off from then on and thought it was fortunate when they were both assigned to 546th Transportation Company, 1st Corps Support Command. However, it was only a matter of time until they were both sent right into the thick of things.
"This sergeant major (at replacement) asked us what our jobs were, and I told him we were drivers," Bligh explained. "He replied, 'You're outta here!' I seriously thought he meant we were getting kicked out of replacement, but as I found out, he meant something completely different."
Less than two months later, the two were boarding a plane, beginning a deployment to Iraq, an experience neither of them would ever forget.
When they first got to Forward Operating Base Sietz in Iraq, they had just set down their bags and had only been at their bunks for a few minutes, when they heard the whistle and explosion of an incoming round, followed by a blaring alarm.
"We were just laying there in our bunks," Crothers said, laughing. "We just looked at each other, thinking, 'What is going on?' We had no idea what to do."
A seasoned noncommissioned officer came running in and saw them lying there and yelled at them to get their gear and get to the nearest bunker. "'Welcome to Hell! From now on, get to the bunkers,' he yelled at us," Bligh said. "I'm just glad I wasn't the only one who didn't know what to do."
It wasn't long before the two became accustomed to the almost daily attacks. When they began to get out on the road more often, frequent firefights became the norm, they said.
Some of these situations were pretty stressful, but they were always together on missions, Bligh in one truck, and Crothers in another.
After that deployment, Bligh and Crothers watched as their other friends were split up and sent to different units, thinking the same thing was going to happen to them.
"I got orders for the 82nd," Crothers said. "I said, 'See you later Bligh! You're stuck here.'"
Weeks later, Bligh got orders to a different brigade in the 82nd, but soon enough they found out they were both going to 4th Brigade, then to 782nd BSB, and finally to Company A.
"It's happening again," Bligh said he remembered thinking when he saw Crothers' name again in his new unit roster.
It was a completely different situation from their previous assignment, though. This time, they were the ones who knew what was going on, Bligh said.
"When we first got to the company, there were only 20 of us, but it quickly became 120. Most of them were right out of basic (training), and we were pretty much the only ones wearing combat patches," he said.
Crothers, who had trained and qualified on many different weapons systems and had attended armorer courses, was able to contribute much to the new unit. "I was giving weapons classes as a (private first class)," he explained. "So I was able to hand off that knowledge to the other soldiers in our platoon and get them ready for the upcoming deployment."
Crothers and Bligh then deployed to Afghanistan with the 782nd BSB in January 2007 and have spent the last nine months in a combat logistics patrol running supplies to far-reaching and isolated bases throughout the southeastern area of the country.
This is sometimes a challenging mission, but the deep-rooted friendship of the two paratroopers helps them get through it, Crothers explained.
"It would be really tough if (Bligh) wasn't here," he said. "He's got a quick comeback for everything."
"Crothers keeps me sane sometimes being out here," Bligh added. "We always have something to talk about, and we joke around about everything. We look forward to getting back home, though."
By the time they redeploy in the spring, they'll have both been in combat together for close to 25 months.
"We've became really close," Crothers said. "Being in stressful situations will do that to people."
"We've roomed together, bunked together, and been to war together," Bligh said. "We got to know each other so well, even on days we didn't want to."
At home, they plan on getting their families together for barbecues and parties, because their wives have become good friends, as well, the two said.
Even though Bligh's time in service is finished soon after he returns from Afghanistan, the fact that the two will no longer be serving together won't dampen their camaraderie, they said.
"We'll definitely always be friends," Crothers and Bligh said.
(Army Spc. Micah E. Clare is assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)
Bush: California Wildfires Constitute Major Disaster
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Destruction caused by wildfires now raging across southern California constitutes a major disaster requiring additional federal assistance, President Bush declared today after meeting with his most-senior advisors at the White House. The federal government was mobilized early on to assist beleaguered "Golden State" residents, as state National Guard, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency and active-duty military assets have flowed in to help battle the flames and assist displaced residents.
"Today, I've just signed a major disaster declaration, which will then enable federal funds to start heading toward the families who have been affected by these fires," Bush told reporters after meeting with members of his Cabinet.
Hundreds of thousands of Californians have abandoned their homes over the past few days as part of widespread evacuations caused by almost uncontrollable wildfires that have been spread by near-100 mph winds.
Yesterday, the president declared seven Southern California counties disaster areas, as more than 270,000 acres have burned. More than 1,300 homes along the Pacific Coast corridor between Los Angeles and San Diego have been consumed by flames.
"All of us across this nation are concerned for the families who have lost their homes and the many families who have been evacuated from their homes," Bush said yesterday during a speech at the National Defense University here. "We send our prayers and thoughts with those who've been affected, and we send the help of the federal government, as well."
Bush said he asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier today if Californians are getting the help they need from federal agencies.
"His answer was, 'Yes,'" Bush said. "I assured him that if he needs anything and we're able to provide it, we'll do so."
Tomorrow, Bush is going to California to get a first-hand look at the situation.
"I will continue to make sure that our efforts are coordinated and that we are responsive to the needs of people," Bush said. "But, most importantly, I want the people in southern California to know that Americans all across this land care deeply about them."
Californians should know "the federal government will do everything we can to help put out these fires," Bush said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Destruction caused by wildfires now raging across southern California constitutes a major disaster requiring additional federal assistance, President Bush declared today after meeting with his most-senior advisors at the White House. The federal government was mobilized early on to assist beleaguered "Golden State" residents, as state National Guard, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency and active-duty military assets have flowed in to help battle the flames and assist displaced residents.
"Today, I've just signed a major disaster declaration, which will then enable federal funds to start heading toward the families who have been affected by these fires," Bush told reporters after meeting with members of his Cabinet.
Hundreds of thousands of Californians have abandoned their homes over the past few days as part of widespread evacuations caused by almost uncontrollable wildfires that have been spread by near-100 mph winds.
Yesterday, the president declared seven Southern California counties disaster areas, as more than 270,000 acres have burned. More than 1,300 homes along the Pacific Coast corridor between Los Angeles and San Diego have been consumed by flames.
"All of us across this nation are concerned for the families who have lost their homes and the many families who have been evacuated from their homes," Bush said yesterday during a speech at the National Defense University here. "We send our prayers and thoughts with those who've been affected, and we send the help of the federal government, as well."
Bush said he asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier today if Californians are getting the help they need from federal agencies.
"His answer was, 'Yes,'" Bush said. "I assured him that if he needs anything and we're able to provide it, we'll do so."
Tomorrow, Bush is going to California to get a first-hand look at the situation.
"I will continue to make sure that our efforts are coordinated and that we are responsive to the needs of people," Bush said. "But, most importantly, I want the people in southern California to know that Americans all across this land care deeply about them."
Californians should know "the federal government will do everything we can to help put out these fires," Bush said.
Air Force Assists in Darfur Troop Movement
By Capt. Erin Dorrance, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - The U.S. Air Force provided airlift support Oct. 20 to 400 Rwandan soldiers who are supporting the African Union peacekeeping mission in the Darfur region of Sudan. The 786th Air Expeditionary Squadron includes airmen from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, providing expeditionary airfield operations focusing on cargo and personnel movement, and two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and aircrews from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.
This is the seventh deployment in which airmen have assisted in rotating Rwandan troops in and out of Darfur.
"We are happy to be able to assist the African Union's efforts in Darfur," said Lt. Col. Kevin Therrien, 786th AES commander. "My incredible team of professional airmen has been dedicated to this mission since 2004."
As a Rwandan military band played, soldiers marched with rifles onto the C-17 on their way to Darfur.
"We feel happy to relieve the situation in Darfur," said Rwandan Lt. Col. Ludovick Mugisha, who noted that his last name means "Good luck" in Kenyar-Rwandan. "My troops are trained and ready to fight."
The band once again played in the afternoon, as the C-17s returned with Rwandan soldiers coming home after their eight-month deployment in Darfur.
"I am very happy to see my family and enjoy my country," said Rwandan Lt. Népo Mulindabyuma, who was returning home to his wife and three children.
The returning soldiers were dismissed only after the Rwandan Chief of General Staff Gen. James Kabarebe thanked them for their service and participated in a celebratory traditional dance with his soldiers.
The 786th AES will continue to support the multi-day mission based out of the Kigali International Airport in Rwanda. They expect to assist in transporting about 2,200 Rwandan troops and heavy equipment into and out of the Darfur region.
(Air Force Capt. Erin Dorrance is assigned to 786th Air Expeditionary Squadron Public Affairs.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - The U.S. Air Force provided airlift support Oct. 20 to 400 Rwandan soldiers who are supporting the African Union peacekeeping mission in the Darfur region of Sudan. The 786th Air Expeditionary Squadron includes airmen from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, providing expeditionary airfield operations focusing on cargo and personnel movement, and two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and aircrews from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.
This is the seventh deployment in which airmen have assisted in rotating Rwandan troops in and out of Darfur.
"We are happy to be able to assist the African Union's efforts in Darfur," said Lt. Col. Kevin Therrien, 786th AES commander. "My incredible team of professional airmen has been dedicated to this mission since 2004."
As a Rwandan military band played, soldiers marched with rifles onto the C-17 on their way to Darfur.
"We feel happy to relieve the situation in Darfur," said Rwandan Lt. Col. Ludovick Mugisha, who noted that his last name means "Good luck" in Kenyar-Rwandan. "My troops are trained and ready to fight."
The band once again played in the afternoon, as the C-17s returned with Rwandan soldiers coming home after their eight-month deployment in Darfur.
"I am very happy to see my family and enjoy my country," said Rwandan Lt. Népo Mulindabyuma, who was returning home to his wife and three children.
The returning soldiers were dismissed only after the Rwandan Chief of General Staff Gen. James Kabarebe thanked them for their service and participated in a celebratory traditional dance with his soldiers.
The 786th AES will continue to support the multi-day mission based out of the Kigali International Airport in Rwanda. They expect to assist in transporting about 2,200 Rwandan troops and heavy equipment into and out of the Darfur region.
(Air Force Capt. Erin Dorrance is assigned to 786th Air Expeditionary Squadron Public Affairs.)
Missile Defense Dominates Gates Meetings in Czech Republic
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told reporters after meeting today with Czech leaders he's confident negotiations to place a radar here for a missile defense system are on track and likely to wrap up within the next few months. The proposed X-band radar dominated Gates' meetings today with Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanova and Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, Gates told reporters during a news conference following the sessions.
"I believe we have made and continue to make good progress," Gates said, expressing confidence that the negotiations will wrap up within the next few months.
A sticking point -- but one Gates said won't stop the forward momentum – is Russian opposition to the proposed system that would include 10 interceptor missiles in Poland as well as the radar here.
Gates told reporters today he and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "made quite clear" during their recent visit to Russia "that we will continue our negotiations with the Czech Republic and Poland, and assuming those negotiations are successfully concluded, we will begin the deploying of these sites."
The secretary and other U.S. officials have emphasized that the proposed system would be designed to protect Europe and the United States from ballistic missile attacks launched from the Middle East.
Gates said he told Czech leaders today about his and Rice's efforts during their Moscow visit to reassure the Russians the system wouldn't threat them. "We continue to encourage the Russians to partner with us in missile defense and continue our efforts to reassure them that these facilities are not aimed at Russia and could benefit Russia," he said.
As part of that effort, Gates said, he and Rice offered two possible ways to "encourage transparency and greater information on the part of Russia as to what is going on at these sites."
One option might be to allow Russian observers at the sites, he said, but Gates said the Czech Republic has to agree to the measure. "Let me repeat for emphasis: Nothing will be done in this regard without the consent of the Czech government," he said.
Topolanek declined to comment when asked by a reporter if his government would consider such a measure.
Another way to increase transparency about the system might be to tie its activation in to "definitive proof of the threat," including Iranian missile tests, Gates said. "The idea was that we would go forward with the negotiations, ... complete the negotiations, ... develop the sites (and) build the sites, but perhaps delay activating them until there was concrete proof of the threat from Iran," he said.
That proposal isn't yet fully developed, he said.
The United States asked the Czech government in January to begin negotiations about the proposed radar, conceivably to be built at a military base between Prague and Pilsen. The first round of negotiations with the Czechs took place in May, and the second in September.
Discussions are expected to resume later this month, initially focusing on a status-of-forces agreement to govern up to 200 U.S. troops who would operate and secure the system here. Those talks would lead up to the next round of negotiations about the missile defense site early next month.
The goal is for the system to reach initial operating capability in 2011 and to become fully operational by mid-2013, a senior defense official traveling with Gates told reporters.
Although Russia objects to missile defenses in Eastern Europe, the official said, it acknowledges that Iran is pursing a ballistic missile program. "The difference is over timelines, how soon the ballistic missiles with the range that could reach the United States or greater parts of Europe can be achieved," he said. "The Russians say later rather than sooner. We say sooner rather than later."
Iran may be the most troubling, but not the only threat in the region, the official said. Intelligence indicates that "about 20 countries or actors are pursing ballistic missile technology," he said. Of these, Iran is the most advanced in its pursuit of this weaponry. "But even if Iran was to turn in all its missiles (and) all its technology, there would still be concerns and threats emanating from the Middle East region," he said.
Gates said today he ultimately hopes the proposed missile defense system becomes part of a larger effort that addresses the full range of potential threats. He said he told Czech leaders he'll bring up the issue at the NATO informal ministerial conference that begins tomorrow in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, and hopes NATO will take formal action on the concept during its 2008 summit in Bucharest, Hungary.
"It is our hope that one of the outcomes of the Bucharest Summit next year will be a resolution to go forward and develop short- and medium-range missile defenses for NATO that would go together with the American longer-range protection," he said. "Our goal is an integrated system that would protect all the members of the alliance against threats such as from Iranian ballistic missile."
Gates said he's confident that both foreign and defense ministers within NATO support the approach.
Tomas Pojar, the Czech Republic's deputy foreign minister, told reporters today negotiations are expected to continue without a hitch, but that getting passage of the measure by the Czech parliament "will not be easy."
Any resistance to the measure comes from politicians and the media, not the Czech people, he said. "The public is not interested in the issue," he said.
Pojar cited three reasons the Czech Republic agreed to enter negotiations over the radar: its historical ties to the United States, its recognition of the ballistic missile threat, and its desire for a U.S. and NATO presence in Central Europe.
The Czech Republic has a "historic, moral reason," for supporting the United States and hasn't forgotten that "the U.S. has saved us several times in the past century," Pojar said.
Another factor is the increasing likelihood that a weapon of mass destruction could be launched from the Middle East. Pojar said there's a "30 to 50 percent chance" such a weapon could be ready for a potential attack on Europe as soon as 2015. "We should be ready for that scenario," he said.
Pojar said there's also a geopolitical reason for a U.S. presence in Central Europe, and said the Czech Republic welcomes other countries, too.
The Czechs joined NATO in 1999 and have been seeking to expand their participation in NATO and European Union activities. Failing to move forward with a missile defense system would weaken NATO and leave Europe vulnerable, he said.
"Our future depends on a strong NATO and strong trans-Atlantic ties," he said.
Gates praised Czech support for the missile defense system effort as another step in a longstanding relationship between the two allies.
"For a number of years, the U.S. and the Czech Republic have cooperated on a wide variety of security issues," Gates said. "And today, facing new challenges, our relationship is as strong as it has ever been."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told reporters after meeting today with Czech leaders he's confident negotiations to place a radar here for a missile defense system are on track and likely to wrap up within the next few months. The proposed X-band radar dominated Gates' meetings today with Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanova and Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, Gates told reporters during a news conference following the sessions.
"I believe we have made and continue to make good progress," Gates said, expressing confidence that the negotiations will wrap up within the next few months.
A sticking point -- but one Gates said won't stop the forward momentum – is Russian opposition to the proposed system that would include 10 interceptor missiles in Poland as well as the radar here.
Gates told reporters today he and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "made quite clear" during their recent visit to Russia "that we will continue our negotiations with the Czech Republic and Poland, and assuming those negotiations are successfully concluded, we will begin the deploying of these sites."
The secretary and other U.S. officials have emphasized that the proposed system would be designed to protect Europe and the United States from ballistic missile attacks launched from the Middle East.
Gates said he told Czech leaders today about his and Rice's efforts during their Moscow visit to reassure the Russians the system wouldn't threat them. "We continue to encourage the Russians to partner with us in missile defense and continue our efforts to reassure them that these facilities are not aimed at Russia and could benefit Russia," he said.
As part of that effort, Gates said, he and Rice offered two possible ways to "encourage transparency and greater information on the part of Russia as to what is going on at these sites."
One option might be to allow Russian observers at the sites, he said, but Gates said the Czech Republic has to agree to the measure. "Let me repeat for emphasis: Nothing will be done in this regard without the consent of the Czech government," he said.
Topolanek declined to comment when asked by a reporter if his government would consider such a measure.
Another way to increase transparency about the system might be to tie its activation in to "definitive proof of the threat," including Iranian missile tests, Gates said. "The idea was that we would go forward with the negotiations, ... complete the negotiations, ... develop the sites (and) build the sites, but perhaps delay activating them until there was concrete proof of the threat from Iran," he said.
That proposal isn't yet fully developed, he said.
The United States asked the Czech government in January to begin negotiations about the proposed radar, conceivably to be built at a military base between Prague and Pilsen. The first round of negotiations with the Czechs took place in May, and the second in September.
Discussions are expected to resume later this month, initially focusing on a status-of-forces agreement to govern up to 200 U.S. troops who would operate and secure the system here. Those talks would lead up to the next round of negotiations about the missile defense site early next month.
The goal is for the system to reach initial operating capability in 2011 and to become fully operational by mid-2013, a senior defense official traveling with Gates told reporters.
Although Russia objects to missile defenses in Eastern Europe, the official said, it acknowledges that Iran is pursing a ballistic missile program. "The difference is over timelines, how soon the ballistic missiles with the range that could reach the United States or greater parts of Europe can be achieved," he said. "The Russians say later rather than sooner. We say sooner rather than later."
Iran may be the most troubling, but not the only threat in the region, the official said. Intelligence indicates that "about 20 countries or actors are pursing ballistic missile technology," he said. Of these, Iran is the most advanced in its pursuit of this weaponry. "But even if Iran was to turn in all its missiles (and) all its technology, there would still be concerns and threats emanating from the Middle East region," he said.
Gates said today he ultimately hopes the proposed missile defense system becomes part of a larger effort that addresses the full range of potential threats. He said he told Czech leaders he'll bring up the issue at the NATO informal ministerial conference that begins tomorrow in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, and hopes NATO will take formal action on the concept during its 2008 summit in Bucharest, Hungary.
"It is our hope that one of the outcomes of the Bucharest Summit next year will be a resolution to go forward and develop short- and medium-range missile defenses for NATO that would go together with the American longer-range protection," he said. "Our goal is an integrated system that would protect all the members of the alliance against threats such as from Iranian ballistic missile."
Gates said he's confident that both foreign and defense ministers within NATO support the approach.
Tomas Pojar, the Czech Republic's deputy foreign minister, told reporters today negotiations are expected to continue without a hitch, but that getting passage of the measure by the Czech parliament "will not be easy."
Any resistance to the measure comes from politicians and the media, not the Czech people, he said. "The public is not interested in the issue," he said.
Pojar cited three reasons the Czech Republic agreed to enter negotiations over the radar: its historical ties to the United States, its recognition of the ballistic missile threat, and its desire for a U.S. and NATO presence in Central Europe.
The Czech Republic has a "historic, moral reason," for supporting the United States and hasn't forgotten that "the U.S. has saved us several times in the past century," Pojar said.
Another factor is the increasing likelihood that a weapon of mass destruction could be launched from the Middle East. Pojar said there's a "30 to 50 percent chance" such a weapon could be ready for a potential attack on Europe as soon as 2015. "We should be ready for that scenario," he said.
Pojar said there's also a geopolitical reason for a U.S. presence in Central Europe, and said the Czech Republic welcomes other countries, too.
The Czechs joined NATO in 1999 and have been seeking to expand their participation in NATO and European Union activities. Failing to move forward with a missile defense system would weaken NATO and leave Europe vulnerable, he said.
"Our future depends on a strong NATO and strong trans-Atlantic ties," he said.
Gates praised Czech support for the missile defense system effort as another step in a longstanding relationship between the two allies.
"For a number of years, the U.S. and the Czech Republic have cooperated on a wide variety of security issues," Gates said. "And today, facing new challenges, our relationship is as strong as it has ever been."
Gates Lauds Increased Czech Commitment to Afghanistan
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today welcomed news of the Czech Republic's decision to send additional troops to Afghanistan as he prepares to pressure other NATO countries to live up to their troop commitments there. Speaking with reporters today after meetings with Czech leaders, Gates praised the Czech parliament's vote to commit 480 troops to Afghanistan, up from about 250 currently serving there.
The bulk of the Czech troops will take command of a new provincial reconstruction team to be stood up in Loghar province in March 2008, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told reporters today during a joint news conference with Gates.
The Czech parliament also approved a plan to send additional special operations forces to support British operations in Afghanistan.
As part of the measure, the Czech Republic will pull about 80 troops from Iraq, where they are guarding a base in the British sector in Basra, Deputy Foreign Minister Tomas Pojar told reporters traveling with Gates. The move will leave just 20 Czech soldiers in Iraq, most to serve as trainers.
Here during his first visit to Prague, and the first visit by a U.S. defense secretary since 2002, Gates focused on the positive news and thanked the Czech Republic for stepping up its support in Afghanistan.
"Clearly the announcement of the Czech government of the increased presence in Afghanistan is welcome news, particularly as I head for a NATO defense ministers meeting where I will discuss the importance of members of the alliance meeting the commitments they made in Riga," Gates told reporters today.
Yesterday in Kiev, Ukraine, Gates said he plans to press at the NATO informal ministerial meeting that starts tomorrow in Noordwijk, Netherlands, for countries to follow through with troop commitments made at the 2006 NATO summit in Riga, Latvia.
"I am not satisfied that an alliance whose members have over 2 million soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen can't mind the modest additional resources that have been committed for Afghanistan," he told members of the Southeastern Europe Defense Ministerial who met in Kiev.
Gates today thanked the Czech government and citizens "for their strong support of the United States these past few years, and particularly their troop contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan."
"We are grateful for their sacrifice, and we are also grateful that the Czech Republic continues to look for ways to help, most recently by volunteering to lead a PRT in Afghanistan," he said. "We welcome further contributions to any part of the mission in Afghanistan or elsewhere."
The Czech Republic's presence in Afghanistan is important to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force there and recognizes that "having a democratic government in Afghanistan is in the security interest of the alliance as a whole," Gates said.
Of about 250 Czech troops currently serving in Afghanistan, some are based in Kabul, where the Czechs have command of the international airport. Others serve in the PRT in Faizabad province or as part of a 70-man field hospital that deployed to Afghanistan in March 2007.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today welcomed news of the Czech Republic's decision to send additional troops to Afghanistan as he prepares to pressure other NATO countries to live up to their troop commitments there. Speaking with reporters today after meetings with Czech leaders, Gates praised the Czech parliament's vote to commit 480 troops to Afghanistan, up from about 250 currently serving there.
The bulk of the Czech troops will take command of a new provincial reconstruction team to be stood up in Loghar province in March 2008, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told reporters today during a joint news conference with Gates.
The Czech parliament also approved a plan to send additional special operations forces to support British operations in Afghanistan.
As part of the measure, the Czech Republic will pull about 80 troops from Iraq, where they are guarding a base in the British sector in Basra, Deputy Foreign Minister Tomas Pojar told reporters traveling with Gates. The move will leave just 20 Czech soldiers in Iraq, most to serve as trainers.
Here during his first visit to Prague, and the first visit by a U.S. defense secretary since 2002, Gates focused on the positive news and thanked the Czech Republic for stepping up its support in Afghanistan.
"Clearly the announcement of the Czech government of the increased presence in Afghanistan is welcome news, particularly as I head for a NATO defense ministers meeting where I will discuss the importance of members of the alliance meeting the commitments they made in Riga," Gates told reporters today.
Yesterday in Kiev, Ukraine, Gates said he plans to press at the NATO informal ministerial meeting that starts tomorrow in Noordwijk, Netherlands, for countries to follow through with troop commitments made at the 2006 NATO summit in Riga, Latvia.
"I am not satisfied that an alliance whose members have over 2 million soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen can't mind the modest additional resources that have been committed for Afghanistan," he told members of the Southeastern Europe Defense Ministerial who met in Kiev.
Gates today thanked the Czech government and citizens "for their strong support of the United States these past few years, and particularly their troop contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan."
"We are grateful for their sacrifice, and we are also grateful that the Czech Republic continues to look for ways to help, most recently by volunteering to lead a PRT in Afghanistan," he said. "We welcome further contributions to any part of the mission in Afghanistan or elsewhere."
The Czech Republic's presence in Afghanistan is important to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force there and recognizes that "having a democratic government in Afghanistan is in the security interest of the alliance as a whole," Gates said.
Of about 250 Czech troops currently serving in Afghanistan, some are based in Kabul, where the Czechs have command of the international airport. Others serve in the PRT in Faizabad province or as part of a 70-man field hospital that deployed to Afghanistan in March 2007.
Military Personnel, Assets Help to Battle California Fires
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - Military personnel and assets are helping out in the most serious outbreak of wildfires in California in years. California National Guard and California-based active duty personnel are providing some of the muscle needed to contain the fires, which have driven more than 300,000 people from their homes in 12 counties.
Officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, are working with representatives from U.S. Northern Command to coordinate requests for Defense Department personnel and assets. Northern Command also has personnel working in Southern California directly with local authorities.
With 11 fires burning out of control from Los Angeles to the Mexican border, some Defense installations are themselves in danger from the wildfires. Camp Pendleton, the San Diego Marine Recruit Depot and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station are among the installations asking only essential personnel to come in.
A total of 17,031 California National Guardsmen are available for employment if the situation calls for it, said officials at U.S. Northern Command. Some 33 active duty, 79 Defense civilian personnel and 1,500 California National Guardsmen are actively engaged or directly supporting firefighting response, security and relief operations.
Another 550 Marines from Camp Pendleton have volunteered to help local authorities fight the fires in San Diego County.
California authorities have requested and the Defense Department has sent significant firefighting assets to the area. Helicopters are the most effective airborne asset, as the Santa Ana winds – which are driving the fire – make flying fixed-wing aircraft dangerous. California Guardsmen are flying a CH-47 and five UH-60 helicopters in the effort.
Navy pilots are flying two MH-60 aircraft in support of local firefighting efforts. The Marines have a CH-46 and three CH-53 helicopters on standby at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and one additional helicopter on standby at Camp Pendleton. All of the choppers can drop water using buckets.
Yesterday, the National Interagency Fire Center requested six C-130 Hercules aircraft fitted with modular air firefighting systems.
The Air National Guard will deploy four of these aircraft to Naval Air Station Point Magu, Calif. They should arrive today. In addition, two C-130s from the 153rd Airlift Wing of the Wyoming Air National Guard, and two from the 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard, are on alert.
Two C-130s from the Air Force Reserve's 302nd Airlift Wing Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., also will arrive at Point Magu today.
On the ground, the Marine Corps and Navy have deployed six fire trucks each to support local fire fighting efforts. The Navy also has provided a brush truck. All these moves are under mutual aid agreements signed with local authorities.
San Diego is a huge Navy town, and an Aegis cruiser, a guided-missile destroyer and two fast frigates will remain in port to support evacuation and movement of family members if necessary.
Officials also have set up the Naval Base San Diego gymnasium as an evacuation center, with room for about 500 people. Sailors also are setting up a 500-person tent city at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, and space for 442 persons is being prepared at Naval Air Station El Centro.
Commanders have issued orders that all sailors ashore in barracks will move aboard ships to provide room for evacuees. The Navy also is providing 500 cots for a shelter at Qualcomm Stadium, home of the National Football League's San Diego Chargers.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked the Defense Department to identify a military installation in Southern California to be the forward staging area for supplies flowing south from the FEMA logistics center at Moffitt Field, Calif.
The California National Guard is doing heavy lifting in the effort. The 40th Special Troops Battalion, 40th Brigade Support Battalion and a military police battalion headquarters are providing command and control and logistics support at the Qualcomm Stadium shelter.
The 40th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has alerted two 500-person rapid reaction battalions and two 100-person quick reaction companies. About 100 National Guard medical personnel are augmenting the staff at the San Diego Veterans Center, which is experiencing critical staffing shortfalls resulting from voluntary and mandatory evacuation.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - Military personnel and assets are helping out in the most serious outbreak of wildfires in California in years. California National Guard and California-based active duty personnel are providing some of the muscle needed to contain the fires, which have driven more than 300,000 people from their homes in 12 counties.
Officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, are working with representatives from U.S. Northern Command to coordinate requests for Defense Department personnel and assets. Northern Command also has personnel working in Southern California directly with local authorities.
With 11 fires burning out of control from Los Angeles to the Mexican border, some Defense installations are themselves in danger from the wildfires. Camp Pendleton, the San Diego Marine Recruit Depot and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station are among the installations asking only essential personnel to come in.
A total of 17,031 California National Guardsmen are available for employment if the situation calls for it, said officials at U.S. Northern Command. Some 33 active duty, 79 Defense civilian personnel and 1,500 California National Guardsmen are actively engaged or directly supporting firefighting response, security and relief operations.
Another 550 Marines from Camp Pendleton have volunteered to help local authorities fight the fires in San Diego County.
California authorities have requested and the Defense Department has sent significant firefighting assets to the area. Helicopters are the most effective airborne asset, as the Santa Ana winds – which are driving the fire – make flying fixed-wing aircraft dangerous. California Guardsmen are flying a CH-47 and five UH-60 helicopters in the effort.
Navy pilots are flying two MH-60 aircraft in support of local firefighting efforts. The Marines have a CH-46 and three CH-53 helicopters on standby at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and one additional helicopter on standby at Camp Pendleton. All of the choppers can drop water using buckets.
Yesterday, the National Interagency Fire Center requested six C-130 Hercules aircraft fitted with modular air firefighting systems.
The Air National Guard will deploy four of these aircraft to Naval Air Station Point Magu, Calif. They should arrive today. In addition, two C-130s from the 153rd Airlift Wing of the Wyoming Air National Guard, and two from the 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard, are on alert.
Two C-130s from the Air Force Reserve's 302nd Airlift Wing Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., also will arrive at Point Magu today.
On the ground, the Marine Corps and Navy have deployed six fire trucks each to support local fire fighting efforts. The Navy also has provided a brush truck. All these moves are under mutual aid agreements signed with local authorities.
San Diego is a huge Navy town, and an Aegis cruiser, a guided-missile destroyer and two fast frigates will remain in port to support evacuation and movement of family members if necessary.
Officials also have set up the Naval Base San Diego gymnasium as an evacuation center, with room for about 500 people. Sailors also are setting up a 500-person tent city at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, and space for 442 persons is being prepared at Naval Air Station El Centro.
Commanders have issued orders that all sailors ashore in barracks will move aboard ships to provide room for evacuees. The Navy also is providing 500 cots for a shelter at Qualcomm Stadium, home of the National Football League's San Diego Chargers.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked the Defense Department to identify a military installation in Southern California to be the forward staging area for supplies flowing south from the FEMA logistics center at Moffitt Field, Calif.
The California National Guard is doing heavy lifting in the effort. The 40th Special Troops Battalion, 40th Brigade Support Battalion and a military police battalion headquarters are providing command and control and logistics support at the Qualcomm Stadium shelter.
The 40th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has alerted two 500-person rapid reaction battalions and two 100-person quick reaction companies. About 100 National Guard medical personnel are augmenting the staff at the San Diego Veterans Center, which is experiencing critical staffing shortfalls resulting from voluntary and mandatory evacuation.
Defense, VA Team Proposes Disability Process Changes
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates gave an interagency task force studying the disability rating system for wounded warriors its marching orders: "Aside from the war itself, we have no higher priority." The task force came back with a proposal that should cut the time wounded or sick servicemembers wait for a disability rating in half, said Bill Carr, the deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy and a member of the interagency team.
The streamlined disability evaluation system seeks to fix problems wounded personnel faced in the different evaluation processes that the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs used. Servicemembers often were in limbo for a year as the process continued.
The interagency group studied the Defense and VA processes with an eye to combining the processes within existing law. "We're going to eliminate the redundancy which takes the form of both of us doing a physical exam and then both of us rating what the physical exam told us about how severe the injury is," Carr said during a recent interview. "Because we consolidate, we cut the time about in half."
The changes all are within current law, Carr said. "We had to make improvements and do it fast, which means we couldn't assume that we had legislation enacted," he said.
In the past, a wounded or ill servicemember would have a military physical and then there would be a military decision about retention and a Defense Department disability rating. The servicemember would then go through the same process for the VA rating.
Now the defense and VA physicals are combined. The physical will be in a defense facility, "but a VA physician will administer it and document it to VA standards, which DoD will accept," Carr said. "But it comes back to DoD to make a decision on what that means in terms of retention."
If the service makes the decision that the servicemember cannot continue to serve, the packet goes to VA and "they tell us what the rating is for each condition listed."
"VA makes the disability rating call, tells us, and then we apply the law," Carr said.
"There's a lot of strong interest by the services – not VA, not anyone else, but the services – to determine if you are fit (to continue in the military)," Carr said. "But once they reach that determination, then we can simplify things quite a bit in the physical exam and the rating process."
The Defense Department and VA will launch a pilot of the program next month at Washington-area military hospitals -- Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Bethesda National Naval Medical Center in Maryland, and the Air Force's Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. "We will expand as quickly as we can," Carr said. "If this proves as successful as we think it might be, then we'll begin expanding as soon as we can train people in other military hospitals to do what Walter Reed and Bethesda will be doing."
The defense disability system handles about 20,000 cases each year of various degrees of disability, Carr said. Of those found unfit, the vast majority – nearly 90 percent – are less than 30 percent disabled and leave with a severance payment. The others are judged 30 percent or more disabled and are medically retired.
More changes in the system will come about as a result of the recommendations of a blue-ribbon panel headed by former Kansas Sen. Robert Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.
Also the Senate has a bill, the House has a bill and the president proposed a bill on Oct. 16. "No matter how that shakes out, the changes that we've made in this process are fundamentally sound and probably continue," Carr said.
"The big and almost revolutionary changes are accomplished with this interagency sharing and division of labor," he said. "The stuff that will come out in legislation will work in this framework very well."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates gave an interagency task force studying the disability rating system for wounded warriors its marching orders: "Aside from the war itself, we have no higher priority." The task force came back with a proposal that should cut the time wounded or sick servicemembers wait for a disability rating in half, said Bill Carr, the deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy and a member of the interagency team.
The streamlined disability evaluation system seeks to fix problems wounded personnel faced in the different evaluation processes that the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs used. Servicemembers often were in limbo for a year as the process continued.
The interagency group studied the Defense and VA processes with an eye to combining the processes within existing law. "We're going to eliminate the redundancy which takes the form of both of us doing a physical exam and then both of us rating what the physical exam told us about how severe the injury is," Carr said during a recent interview. "Because we consolidate, we cut the time about in half."
The changes all are within current law, Carr said. "We had to make improvements and do it fast, which means we couldn't assume that we had legislation enacted," he said.
In the past, a wounded or ill servicemember would have a military physical and then there would be a military decision about retention and a Defense Department disability rating. The servicemember would then go through the same process for the VA rating.
Now the defense and VA physicals are combined. The physical will be in a defense facility, "but a VA physician will administer it and document it to VA standards, which DoD will accept," Carr said. "But it comes back to DoD to make a decision on what that means in terms of retention."
If the service makes the decision that the servicemember cannot continue to serve, the packet goes to VA and "they tell us what the rating is for each condition listed."
"VA makes the disability rating call, tells us, and then we apply the law," Carr said.
"There's a lot of strong interest by the services – not VA, not anyone else, but the services – to determine if you are fit (to continue in the military)," Carr said. "But once they reach that determination, then we can simplify things quite a bit in the physical exam and the rating process."
The Defense Department and VA will launch a pilot of the program next month at Washington-area military hospitals -- Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Bethesda National Naval Medical Center in Maryland, and the Air Force's Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. "We will expand as quickly as we can," Carr said. "If this proves as successful as we think it might be, then we'll begin expanding as soon as we can train people in other military hospitals to do what Walter Reed and Bethesda will be doing."
The defense disability system handles about 20,000 cases each year of various degrees of disability, Carr said. Of those found unfit, the vast majority – nearly 90 percent – are less than 30 percent disabled and leave with a severance payment. The others are judged 30 percent or more disabled and are medically retired.
More changes in the system will come about as a result of the recommendations of a blue-ribbon panel headed by former Kansas Sen. Robert Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.
Also the Senate has a bill, the House has a bill and the president proposed a bill on Oct. 16. "No matter how that shakes out, the changes that we've made in this process are fundamentally sound and probably continue," Carr said.
"The big and almost revolutionary changes are accomplished with this interagency sharing and division of labor," he said. "The stuff that will come out in legislation will work in this framework very well."
Bush: Terrorists Seek to Strike America Again
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - America's memories of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks may recede with time, but citizens shouldn't become complacent about the real threat of another terrorist attack on the homeland, President Bush said at the National Defense University here today. "They intend to strike our country again," Bush said of global terrorists' plans.
And, if such an attack is made, it likely would "make 9/11 pale by comparison," the president emphasized.
The commander in chief's role in light of this situation "is to never forget the threat and to implement strategies that will protect the homeland," Bush pointed out.
Meanwhile, overseas-deployed U.S. military forces have captured or killed thousands of terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq since the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush said.
U.S. and coalition forces liberated 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq "from unspeakable tyranny," Bush said. Those forces now are helping those nations establish stable democracies for a better tomorrow, he added.
A key challenge for America and its allies during the global war on terror, Bush noted, is sustaining the belief that democracy can take root in places where dictators and terrorists had previously held sway.
"Will we ignore history, and not realize that liberty has got the capacity to yield the peace we want?" Bush asked his audience. "So, this administration, along with many in our military, will continue to spread the hope of liberty in order to defeat the ideology of darkness, the ideology of the terrorists, and work to secure a future of peace for generations to come."
After being defeated on conventional battlefields overseas, the terrorists are attempting to infiltrate the United States to attack it from within, Bush said.
The terrorists "can't beat our Army; they can't defeat our military," the president observed, "and so, they try to sneak folks in our country to kill the innocent to achieve their objectives."
That's why the Patriot Act was enacted, Bush said. During the past six years, he noted, that legislation has enabled law enforcement officials to break up terrorist cells in California, New York, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, and other states.
The Protect America Act is another piece of anti-terror legislation that's helped law enforcement officials to disrupt plans and schemes made by overseas terrorists.
That legislation "closed a dangerous gap in our intelligence," Bush pointed out, noting the Protect America Act is slated to expire Feb. 1. Bush urged Congress to strengthen and make permanent the Protect America Act "to ensure our intelligence officials have the tools they need to keep us safe."
An interrogation program used by the CIA to question key captured terrorist leaders has provided critical information that has helped to derail several terrorist attacks, Bush said. These, he said, include an attack on the U.S. Marine camp in Djibouti, a plan to assault the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, a plan to hijack an airliner and fly it into a Los Angeles office building, and another scheme to hijack airliners at London's Heathrow Airport to kill innocents.
CIA professionals employ lawful techniques as part of the interrogation program, Bush pointed out, noting that critics continue to assail the program.
"Those who oppose this vital tool in the war on terror need to answer a simple question: Which of the attacks I have just described would they prefer we had not stopped?" Bush asked. Without the program, he said, U.S. intelligence officials believe that al Qaeda would have succeeded in launching another attack on America.
"The CIA program has saved lives. It is vital to the security of the American people," Bush emphasized.
The president also noted a U.S.-Russian partnership that helps ensure that nuclear weapons do not fall into the hands of terrorists, as well as initiatives to bolster security at U.S. air and sea ports.
"We're not going to allow mass murderers to gain access to the tools of mass destruction," the president vowed.
Bush also reviewed efforts to protect America and its allies from the threat of potential ballistic-missile attacks by rogue states through the installation of interceptors and radars in Eastern Europe.
"The ballistic-missile threat to America has been growing for decades," Bush said, noting that in 1972 just nine countries had ballistic missiles. Today, 27 nations have such missiles, including hostile regimes with terrorist ties, the president pointed out.
North Korea and Iran both possess ballistic missile capability that's of potential danger to the United States and its allies, Bush said.
"With continued foreign assistance, Iran could develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States and all of Europe before 2015," Bush said. That is a scenario the United States and its allies, "have to take seriously, now," the president said.
The Russians have so far balked at the U.S. missile-defense initiative, which calls for establishing missile interceptors in Poland and a radar-tracking site in the Czech Republic, both former satellite states of the now-defunct Soviet Union.
Bush said the anti-missile system will be limited in scope and doesn't threaten Russia in any way.
"The Cold War is over. Russia is not our enemy," Bush emphasized. In fact, the United States has invited Russia to participate in the program, he pointed out.
Rather than establishing missile-defense sites in the Czech Republic or Poland, Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed the use of radar facilities in Azerbaijan, and in southern Russia, Bush noted.
The president welcomed Putin's offer, noting it could be incorporated as part of the envisioned missile-defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic.
"We believe that these sites could be included as part of a wider threat monitoring system that could lead to an unprecedented level of strategic cooperation between our two countries," Bush said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - America's memories of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks may recede with time, but citizens shouldn't become complacent about the real threat of another terrorist attack on the homeland, President Bush said at the National Defense University here today. "They intend to strike our country again," Bush said of global terrorists' plans.
And, if such an attack is made, it likely would "make 9/11 pale by comparison," the president emphasized.
The commander in chief's role in light of this situation "is to never forget the threat and to implement strategies that will protect the homeland," Bush pointed out.
Meanwhile, overseas-deployed U.S. military forces have captured or killed thousands of terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq since the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush said.
U.S. and coalition forces liberated 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq "from unspeakable tyranny," Bush said. Those forces now are helping those nations establish stable democracies for a better tomorrow, he added.
A key challenge for America and its allies during the global war on terror, Bush noted, is sustaining the belief that democracy can take root in places where dictators and terrorists had previously held sway.
"Will we ignore history, and not realize that liberty has got the capacity to yield the peace we want?" Bush asked his audience. "So, this administration, along with many in our military, will continue to spread the hope of liberty in order to defeat the ideology of darkness, the ideology of the terrorists, and work to secure a future of peace for generations to come."
After being defeated on conventional battlefields overseas, the terrorists are attempting to infiltrate the United States to attack it from within, Bush said.
The terrorists "can't beat our Army; they can't defeat our military," the president observed, "and so, they try to sneak folks in our country to kill the innocent to achieve their objectives."
That's why the Patriot Act was enacted, Bush said. During the past six years, he noted, that legislation has enabled law enforcement officials to break up terrorist cells in California, New York, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, and other states.
The Protect America Act is another piece of anti-terror legislation that's helped law enforcement officials to disrupt plans and schemes made by overseas terrorists.
That legislation "closed a dangerous gap in our intelligence," Bush pointed out, noting the Protect America Act is slated to expire Feb. 1. Bush urged Congress to strengthen and make permanent the Protect America Act "to ensure our intelligence officials have the tools they need to keep us safe."
An interrogation program used by the CIA to question key captured terrorist leaders has provided critical information that has helped to derail several terrorist attacks, Bush said. These, he said, include an attack on the U.S. Marine camp in Djibouti, a plan to assault the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, a plan to hijack an airliner and fly it into a Los Angeles office building, and another scheme to hijack airliners at London's Heathrow Airport to kill innocents.
CIA professionals employ lawful techniques as part of the interrogation program, Bush pointed out, noting that critics continue to assail the program.
"Those who oppose this vital tool in the war on terror need to answer a simple question: Which of the attacks I have just described would they prefer we had not stopped?" Bush asked. Without the program, he said, U.S. intelligence officials believe that al Qaeda would have succeeded in launching another attack on America.
"The CIA program has saved lives. It is vital to the security of the American people," Bush emphasized.
The president also noted a U.S.-Russian partnership that helps ensure that nuclear weapons do not fall into the hands of terrorists, as well as initiatives to bolster security at U.S. air and sea ports.
"We're not going to allow mass murderers to gain access to the tools of mass destruction," the president vowed.
Bush also reviewed efforts to protect America and its allies from the threat of potential ballistic-missile attacks by rogue states through the installation of interceptors and radars in Eastern Europe.
"The ballistic-missile threat to America has been growing for decades," Bush said, noting that in 1972 just nine countries had ballistic missiles. Today, 27 nations have such missiles, including hostile regimes with terrorist ties, the president pointed out.
North Korea and Iran both possess ballistic missile capability that's of potential danger to the United States and its allies, Bush said.
"With continued foreign assistance, Iran could develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States and all of Europe before 2015," Bush said. That is a scenario the United States and its allies, "have to take seriously, now," the president said.
The Russians have so far balked at the U.S. missile-defense initiative, which calls for establishing missile interceptors in Poland and a radar-tracking site in the Czech Republic, both former satellite states of the now-defunct Soviet Union.
Bush said the anti-missile system will be limited in scope and doesn't threaten Russia in any way.
"The Cold War is over. Russia is not our enemy," Bush emphasized. In fact, the United States has invited Russia to participate in the program, he pointed out.
Rather than establishing missile-defense sites in the Czech Republic or Poland, Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed the use of radar facilities in Azerbaijan, and in southern Russia, Bush noted.
The president welcomed Putin's offer, noting it could be incorporated as part of the envisioned missile-defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic.
"We believe that these sites could be included as part of a wider threat monitoring system that could lead to an unprecedented level of strategic cooperation between our two countries," Bush said.
Defense Department 'Leaning Forward' to Help Californians
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - Defense Department officials have provided everything that California officials have asked for and are "leaning forward" to anticipate what they might need next, the department's assistant secretary for homeland defense and American security affairs said here today. California officials have ordered more than 500,000 people from their homes as the fast-burning wildfires continue their course of destruction.
President Bush has declared seven counties to be disaster areas, as more than 270,000 acres have burned. "All of us across this nation are concerned for the families who have lost their homes, and the many families who have been evacuated from their homes," Bush said during a speech at the National Defense University here today. "We send our prayers and thoughts with those who've been affected, and we send the help of the federal government, as well."
McHale said California officials have been pleased by the quickness of the federal response. He said all government agencies have a "sense of urgency and a recognition that lives are at stake" and are working together harmoniously.
The Defense Department has been providing support to state and local departments as the fire has progressed. "In this case, California needs help and DoD is prepared to provide assistance," McHale said.
Defense personnel have been tracking the danger the fires present for several days. As the Santa Ana winds began blowing local fires into tempests, Defense officials began speaking regularly with California officials and with officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, McHale said.
Defense support falls into two areas: fighting the fire and humanitarian relief. About 100 Defense civilians and active duty military personnel are engaged in firefighting.
"We have 12 teams and equipment actively engaged," McHale said. "There are 550 Marines who are preparing for possible deployment ... to be engaged in firefighting activities."
There has been no determination to put the Marines into the fight yet, and officials are using this time to train the Marines in firefighting techniques.
More than 17,000 California National Guardsmen also can aid in firefighting, McHale said.
In addition, six C-130 Hercules aircraft have modular air firefighting systems installed and will begin flying missions tomorrow morning, said Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau. Four of the aircraft are from the Montana and North Carolina Air National Guard and two are Air Force Reserve aircraft out of Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. All will drop fire retardant or water on the blazes.
National Guard, Navy and Marine Corps helicopters also are dropping water on the fire in an effort to contain the blazes.
Commanders of bases in the area have worked with local communities to provide cots, bedding, command and control and medical support to evacuation centers in the area. California National Guardsmen are working to ease the lives of about 10,000 Californians who are taking shelter in San Diego's QualComm Stadium.
The department's marching orders from Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England are to aggressively anticipate the missions that might be assigned to the Department of Defense and to begin preparing rapidly to respond without hesitation, McHale said.
An example of this forward-leaning approach was with the six C-130s fitted with modular air firefighting systems. "Lieutenant General Blum coordinated the training movements of the four MAFFs in the Air National Guard from Wyoming and North Carolina to train by flying to California so that if an operational mission materialized, those 'training' aircraft could quickly be converted to an operational aircraft," McHale said. "We have used our authorities under law, and pushed our authorities to the limit in order to enhance our readiness to respond."
McHale said he expects continued requirements for logistics support, transportation and perhaps additional requests for humanitarian relief.
Blum said that from his viewpoint, the effort against the California wildfires has been the "most proactive I have seen in my 40 years in the military."
Military bases themselves also are threatened from the fires. The Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton has two fires on base. Neither is considered an immediate threat, base officials said. "We continue to watch these fires closely and advise residents to maintain awareness of the current fire condition and exercise caution," said Marine Col. James B. Seaton III, the base commander.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 23, 2007 - Defense Department officials have provided everything that California officials have asked for and are "leaning forward" to anticipate what they might need next, the department's assistant secretary for homeland defense and American security affairs said here today. California officials have ordered more than 500,000 people from their homes as the fast-burning wildfires continue their course of destruction.
President Bush has declared seven counties to be disaster areas, as more than 270,000 acres have burned. "All of us across this nation are concerned for the families who have lost their homes, and the many families who have been evacuated from their homes," Bush said during a speech at the National Defense University here today. "We send our prayers and thoughts with those who've been affected, and we send the help of the federal government, as well."
McHale said California officials have been pleased by the quickness of the federal response. He said all government agencies have a "sense of urgency and a recognition that lives are at stake" and are working together harmoniously.
The Defense Department has been providing support to state and local departments as the fire has progressed. "In this case, California needs help and DoD is prepared to provide assistance," McHale said.
Defense personnel have been tracking the danger the fires present for several days. As the Santa Ana winds began blowing local fires into tempests, Defense officials began speaking regularly with California officials and with officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, McHale said.
Defense support falls into two areas: fighting the fire and humanitarian relief. About 100 Defense civilians and active duty military personnel are engaged in firefighting.
"We have 12 teams and equipment actively engaged," McHale said. "There are 550 Marines who are preparing for possible deployment ... to be engaged in firefighting activities."
There has been no determination to put the Marines into the fight yet, and officials are using this time to train the Marines in firefighting techniques.
More than 17,000 California National Guardsmen also can aid in firefighting, McHale said.
In addition, six C-130 Hercules aircraft have modular air firefighting systems installed and will begin flying missions tomorrow morning, said Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau. Four of the aircraft are from the Montana and North Carolina Air National Guard and two are Air Force Reserve aircraft out of Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. All will drop fire retardant or water on the blazes.
National Guard, Navy and Marine Corps helicopters also are dropping water on the fire in an effort to contain the blazes.
Commanders of bases in the area have worked with local communities to provide cots, bedding, command and control and medical support to evacuation centers in the area. California National Guardsmen are working to ease the lives of about 10,000 Californians who are taking shelter in San Diego's QualComm Stadium.
The department's marching orders from Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England are to aggressively anticipate the missions that might be assigned to the Department of Defense and to begin preparing rapidly to respond without hesitation, McHale said.
An example of this forward-leaning approach was with the six C-130s fitted with modular air firefighting systems. "Lieutenant General Blum coordinated the training movements of the four MAFFs in the Air National Guard from Wyoming and North Carolina to train by flying to California so that if an operational mission materialized, those 'training' aircraft could quickly be converted to an operational aircraft," McHale said. "We have used our authorities under law, and pushed our authorities to the limit in order to enhance our readiness to respond."
McHale said he expects continued requirements for logistics support, transportation and perhaps additional requests for humanitarian relief.
Blum said that from his viewpoint, the effort against the California wildfires has been the "most proactive I have seen in my 40 years in the military."
Military bases themselves also are threatened from the fires. The Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton has two fires on base. Neither is considered an immediate threat, base officials said. "We continue to watch these fires closely and advise residents to maintain awareness of the current fire condition and exercise caution," said Marine Col. James B. Seaton III, the base commander.
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