Gates Praises U.S., Jordan Strategic Partnership

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

July 27, 2009 - The United States and Jordan enjoy a strategic partnership aimed at promoting peace in the greater Middle East, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Gates spoke at the American embassy here following a meeting with King Abdullah and defense leaders. Gates arrived here after a short flight from Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Jordanian reporters wanted to know if Gates had received assurances from the Israelis that Israel would not launch air strikes at Iran's nuclear sites.

"They are perfectly willing to allow the process of attempted engagement to go forward," Gates said. "They know ... that this is not an open-ended process, but I had every sense that the Israeli government is prepared to let our strategy play out in terms of trying to use a combination of diplomatic pressures, economic sanctions and other peaceful means to try to get the Iranian government to change its mind in terms of its nuclear ambitions."

If that engagement process with Iran is not successful, the United States is prepared to press for significant additional sanctions that would be nonincremental, the secretary said.

"Our hope remains that Iran will respond to [President Barack Obama's] outstretched hand in a positive way," he said. "But we'll see."

Jordan is promoting security in the region by helping to train both Palestinian Authority and Iraqi security forces. Gates noted the professionalism of the Jordanian military, and that it is investing in providing world-class training for its own forces and others in the region.

U.S. Central Command Commander Army Gen. David Petraeus was recently in Jordan for the opening of the King Abdullah Special Operations Training Center.

"That state-of-the-art facility will be the foundation upon which other nations in the region will build their counter-terrorism forces," Gates said.

Jordan is promoting Arab contributions to a comprehensive Middle East peace including the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. "I also commend Jordan for leading the way in assisting Iraq as it seeks renewed engagement with its neighbors," Gates said. Abdullah was the first Arab head of state to visit the new Iraq. Jordan is actively pursuing better economic and diplomatic ties between the countries.

Other countries should follow Jordan's example and help Iraq fully reintegrate back into the region, Gates said. "This is the only way to forge a stable and prosperous Iraq -- a goal that is in all the interests of the Middle East," he said.

Extremism is still a threat in the region as is Iran's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons. The United States will provide Jordan with $360 million this year in economic-support funds and roughly $300 million in security-assistance funds. These amounts will remain constant for at least the next few years, the secretary said.

Petraeus Visits Sailors, Awards Maersk Rescuers

By Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan Schaeffer
Special to American Forces Press Service

July 27, 2009 - The head of U.S. Central Command visited the guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge while in port here today to thank sailors for their work while deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet, as well as for their role in the rescue of Richard Phillips, the Maersk Alabama cargo ship captain held captive by Somali pirates. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus held an all-hands call with Bainbridge's sailors and presented awards to three sailors for rescuing Phillips after he was held by pirates for five days in April.

"The eyes of the world were upon you that Easter weekend," Petraeus said. "You played important roles and should be proud of what you did. In moments of danger and decision during the rescue of Captain Phillips, you did what you were trained to do. You remembered your skills. You did your duty. You stood your watch. And you brought Captain Phillips home alive."

Petraeus presented Senior Chief Joel Steinbach with the Meritorious Service Medal, and Petty Officers 2nd Class Matthew Olin and Joshua Waters with the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for their exemplary service during the rescue.

Steinbach served as the chief negotiator and liaison between the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group/Crisis Negotiation Unit and the pirates holding Phillips.

"I am honored to be recognized with this award and to receive it from General Petraeus," Steinbach said. "However, the credit for the rescue of Captain Phillips belongs to all the sailors who took part in the successful operation."

Olin and Waters led a boat crew in the covert recovery of U.S. Navy SEALs, served as coxswain as their boats approached the pirate lifeboat holding Phillips despite coming under hostile fire on the initial approach, and navigated their boats alongside the lifeboat to direct negotiations for the release and subsequent rescue of Phillips.

"I am proud that I was part of this mission and that I made a difference," Olin said. "I am proud of all the sailors involved who not only risked their lives, but brought honor upon our ship."

Bainbridge Commanding Officer Cmdr. Frank X. Castellano said it was an honor to host Petraeus. He praised his crew for their role in the rescue and counter-piracy operations.

"The success of Captain Phillips' rescue belongs not to a single commander or a team of SEALs," Castellano said. "Those few days belong to everyone involved -- officers and enlisted, not on one ship, but several – who diligently stood their watch. It belongs to the many."

(Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan Schaeffer serves in U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.)

Face of Defense: Reservist Spreads Word of Military Good

By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Amaani Lyle
Special to American Forces Press Service

July 27, 2009 - Tech Sgt. Alyson Angeles-Kimbrell has found in the Air Force Reserve a way to make a big difference in her life and that of many others. Angeles-Kimbrell was here earlier this month to attend the 2009 League of United Latin American Citizens convention on a quest to inspire a new generation of local Latino students with personal stories of hope and inspiration.

Angeles-Kimbrell, a native of Lima, Peru, is an information manager on full-time orders with the 349th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Reserve Base, Calif. She credits the Air Force with bringing game-changing value to her life, and says she feels strongly about planting the seeds of success for others.

In seven years, Angeles-Kimbrell mastered English well enough to earn multiple degrees, became a U.S. citizen, joined the Air Force, then return to her native country through an Air Force humanitarian mission to help abused children in an orphanage.

Although her father served in the Peruvian navy, Angeles-Kimbrell said she struggled growing up to undo the cultural restraints that prevented so many women from being encouraged to join the military. To further complicate matters, she tried in earnest to overcome the language and cultural barriers in the United States. Since Angeles-Kimbrell spoke no English when she arrived in San Francisco at age 11, she recalled a fairly rudderless existence by the time she graduated from high school.

"It took me a while to learn English," she said. "When I graduated from high school, I didn't know what career to pursue, and college didn't work for me at first."

Knowing she wanted benefits, education and stability, Angeles-Kimbrell initially considered the Army, before finally enlisting in the Air Force. After eight years of watching her parents complete the U.S. residency process for their family, she finally opted to become a U.S. citizen when she joined the Air Force in April 2002. She spent three years on active duty at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., where she earned her Community College of the Air Force associate's degree. After that, Angeles-Kimbrell said she got the "education bug."

"I became a traditional reservist so I could continue pursuing my college education, and I just kept working harder and harder," she said.

She worked so hard, that in just one year she earned her bachelor's degree in political science, before completing her master's degree in health administration last year.

While many would consider using the Montgomery GI Bill to earn multiple degrees to be a significant feat, Angeles-Kimbrell said the Air Force Reserve afforded her an unexpected and even more meaningful experience.

When the Air Force Reserve offered her the opportunity to go back to her native Lima to work in the U. S. Embassy for four months, Angeles-Kimbrell said she jumped at the chance. She didn't realize that trying to relearn her native tongue would pose a significant challenge.

"It was tough working with the other branches because of cultural differences and language barriers," she said. "Even though I spoke Spanish, I didn't use it much in the U.S. and it's easy to forget."

Linguistically shifting gears proved relatively mild compared to the challenge of turning money into usable supplies and goods to help hundreds of children at three orphanages in Peru.

With the help of U.S. Southern Command in Miami, a 15-member friendship soccer team came to Peru with cash donations totaling $15,000 to buy items for the orphanages, and Angeles-Kimbrell said she emphatically wanted to help.

"I was in charge of going to the stores, spending the money and trying to make things happen with washers, dryers, medical kits and even a swimming pool to be used for physical therapy for the children. We knew the money would really make a difference because of the exchange rate there," she said.

Despite the fact that the U.S. dollar is worth about three times as much as the Peruvian peso, the challenge at hand was getting local stores to dispense the goods and supplies as they waited to receive checks since regulations prohibit cash donations.

With supplies dispensed and yet another challenge overcome, Angeles-Kimbrell surveyed the donated items in action. Some of the goods went to orphanages that housed severely abused children or those who suffered psychological disorders.

El Hogar Ermelinda Carrera is one of several boarding schools for sexually abused girls, ages 5 to 18. While the school teaches the girls trades and crafts, Angeles-Kimbrell's efforts to obtain and distribute the goods in Peru directly provided the orphanage residents with desperately needed educational and hygienic supplies.

Angeles-Kimbrell said she will never forget or regret her Air Force experience in Peru.

"I was actually glad that I came back to do something for my country after not being there for 14 years," she said. "Being in the Air Force Reserve made me appreciate what I have. Hopefully the children at the orphanages and schools there have the tools they need to at least have the opportunity to do what they want when they get out of that place."

Angeles-Kimbrell said she hopes her experiences can be the impetus to change young people's lives both in her homeland and here in the United States.

"Joining the Air Force was obviously the greatest thing I've ever done," she said. "If I can mentor someone with a similar background as mine, then maybe they can do something in their life too -- just because you're Latin or female doesn't mean that you're not able to achieve your goals."

(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Amaani Lyle serves in the 459th Air Refueling Wing public affairs office.)

Leadership: Texas Hold 'Em Style

Editor's Note: The presenter is a former servicemember.

5 Cards for Employee Performance: Creating your own Full House
AN ONLINE WORKSHOP
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
12:00 - 1:30 pm (EDT)
$99.00

Like the player at the table, we all draw for the same deck. Your employees come from the same pool as your competitors. Your edge is leadership; leading your people beyond your competitors through increased performance, innovation and loyalty. In this workshop Raymond E. Foster will use his latest book, Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style, to give you a Full House.

What will I learn?
Using five chapters from his book, Raymond will give you five practical, sound and doable leadership chips.

• Goal of Leadership (Two of Spades)
• Teamwork (Two of Diamonds)
• Leadership Approaches (King of Spades)
• Morale (King of Hearts)
• Building Loyalty (King of Diamonds)

More Information:
http://www.myprofessionalmojo.com/events-texasholdem.html

That Gates Thing

In a recent post I discussed my general disdain for suburban police. Of course, the Gates arrest has been in the news lately, and I have to admit, that at first I sided with the good professor from Harvard.

But I am forced to admit, that as I have learned more, there is no doubt in my mind that Officer Crowley acted appropriately. I was most impressed with his interview; his dedication, professionalism, and general good sense
were on display.

Professor Gates seems to be compeltely out of line. I don't blame him for being upset that the police showed up, I would be too. That said, you don't give the cops a hard time. A piece of your mind, absolutley, but don't follow them down the sidewalk, screaming. This is America, no one needs to be deferntial to anyone else, but Gates was almost asking for it.

Gates showed Sgt Crowley his driver's liscence and his Harvard ID. But why? Did he think his Harvard ID would intimidate Sgt Crowley. Sgt. Crowly is in the Fraternal Order of Police. Like the SEU or the NEA its a big union with a lot of muscle. Gates is a university professor, a job category with a big union all its own. He knows this. Sgt. Corlwey's job was and is safe.


Gates bio reveals a man who has been in the academy his entire life, some good ideas, some bad. Maybe he's been hastled by the cops before, but I bet he hasn't, at least not much, not being the chosen black professor at an Ivy League school. Even if he has, I hate to break it to him, but that's nothing special. I got pulled over late one night becuase I swerved a little ( he thought I'd been drinking), and once got in a shouting match with PA cop at Newark airport becuase I felt he wasn't allowing me enough time in front of the terminal (big mistake by the way, only my clean record kept me from getting a ticket). And in 1998, when a friend and I set of the alarm trying to get into his parents house, the cops showed up too.

Will's book about the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the Battle of 73 Easting, is called A Line Through the Desert. It may be purchased at Amazon.

Soldiers in Colorado slayings tell of Iraq horrors

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Soldiers from an Army unit that had 10 infantrymen accused of murder, attempted murder or manslaughter after returning to civilian life described a breakdown in discipline during their Iraq deployment in which troops murdered civilians, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Some Fort Carson, Colo.-based soldiers have had trouble adjusting to life back in the United States, saying they refused to seek help, or were belittled or punished for seeking help. Others say they were ignored by their commanders, or coped through drug and alcohol abuse before they allegedly committed crimes, The Gazette of Colorado Springs said.

The Gazette based its report on months of interviews with soldiers and their families, medical and military records, court documents and photographs.

Several soldiers said unit discipline deteriorated while in Iraq.

"Toward the end, we were so mad and tired and frustrated," said Daniel Freeman. "You came too close, we lit you up. You didn't stop, we ran your car over with the Bradley," an armored fighting vehicle.

With each roadside bombing, soldiers would fire in all directions "and just light the whole area up," said Anthony Marquez, a friend of Freeman in the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment. "If anyone was around, that was their fault. We smoked 'em."

Taxi drivers got shot for no reason, and others were dropped off bridges after interrogations, said Marcus Mifflin, who was eventually discharged with post traumatic stress syndrome.

"You didn't get blamed unless someone could be absolutely sure you did something wrong," he said

Soldiers interviewed by The Gazette cited lengthy deployments, being sent back into battle after surviving war injuries that would have been fatal in previous conflicts, and engaging in some of the bloodiest combat in Iraq. The soldiers describing those experiences were part of the 3,500-soldier unit now called the 4th Infantry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team.

Since 2005, some brigade soldiers also have been involved in brawls, beatings, rapes, DUIs, drug deals, domestic violence, shootings, stabbings, kidnapping and suicides.

The unit was deployed for a year to Iraq's Sunni Triangle in September 2004. Sixty-four unit soldiers were killed and more than 400 wounded — about double the average for Army brigades in Iraq, according to Fort Carson. In 2007, the unit served a bloody 15-month mission in Baghdad. It's currently deployed to the Khyber Pass region in Afghanistan.

Marquez was the first in his brigade to kill someone after an Iraq tour. In 2006, he used a stun gun to shock a drug dealer in Widefield, Colo., in a dispute over a marijuana sale, then shot and killed him.

Marquez's mother, Teresa Hernandez, warned Marquez's sergeant at Fort Carson her son was showing signs of violent behavior, abusing alcohol and pain pills and carrying a gun. "I told them he was a walking time bomb," she said.

Hernandez said the sergeant later taunted Marquez about her phone call.

"If I was just a guy off the street, I might have hesitated to shoot," Marquez told The Gazette in the Bent County Correctional Facility, where he is serving a 30-year prison term. "But after Iraq, it was just natural."

The Army trains soldiers to be that way, said Kenneth Eastridge, an infantry specialist serving 10 years for accessory to murder.

"The Army pounds it into your head until it is instinct: Kill everybody, kill everybody," he said. "And you do. Then they just think you can just come home and turn it off."

Both soldiers were wounded, sent back into action and saw friends and officers killed in their first deployment. On numerous occasions, explosions shredded the bodies of civilians, others were slain in sectarian violence — and the unit had to bag the bodies.

"Guys with drill bits in their eyes," Eastridge said. "Guys with nails in their heads."

Last week, the Army released a study of soldiers at Fort Carson that found that the trauma of fierce combat and soldier refusals or obstacles to seeking mental health care may have helped drive some to violence at home. It said more study is needed.

While most unit soldiers coped post-deployment, a handful went on to kill back home in Colorado.

Many returning soldiers did seek counseling.

"We're used to seeing people who are depressed and want to hurt themselves. We're trained to deal with that," said Davida Hoffman, director of the privately operated First Choice Counseling Center in Colorado Springs. "But these soldiers were depressed and saying, 'I've got this anger, I want to hurt somebody.' We weren't accustomed to that."

At Fort Carson, Eastridge and other soldiers said they lied during an army screening about their deployment that was designed to detect potential behavioral problems.

Sergeants sometimes refused to let soldiers get PTSD help or taunted them, said Andrew Pogany, a former Fort Carson special forces sergeant who investigates complaints for the advocacy group Veterans for America.

Soldier John Needham described a number of alleged crimes in a December 2007 letter to the Inspector General's Office of Fort Carson. In the letter, obtained by The Gazette, Needham said that a sergeant shot a boy riding a bicycle down the street for no reason.

Another sergeant shot a man in the head while questioning him, lashed the man's body to his Humvee and drove around the neighborhood. Needham also claimed sergeants removed victims' brains.

The Army's criminal investigation division interviewed unit soldiers and said it couldn't substantiate the allegations.

The Army has declared soldiers' mental health a top priority.

"When we see a problem, we try to identify it and really learn what we can do about it. That is what we are trying to do here," said Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, Fort Carson's commander. "There is a culture and a stigma that needs to change."

Fort Carson officers are trained to help troops showing stress signs, and the base has doubled its number of behavioral-health counselors. Soldiers seeing an Army doctor for any reason undergo a mental health evaluation.

___

On the Net:

Colorado Springs Gazette: http://www.gazette.com

American Heroes Radio

July 26, 2009 (San Dimas, CA) American Heroes Radio reorganized its platform and launched a new website today. American Heroes Radio provides a platform for the lives, stories and accomplishments of our American Heroes. Each week, a different member of our military, law enforcement, firefighting and emergency services are guests. Previous guests have included: a World War II fighter pilot speaking about his experiences over Iwo Jima; a Navy captain tell his story of Cold War submarine hunting; an Iraq war veteran who was wounded in the head by an RPG; or, any of the large numbers of interviews of law enforcement officials around the country speaking about their expertise, careers and often hair-raising adventures.

American Heroes Radio now has 63 episodes in the archive and weekly shows scheduled through September 2009. You can explore the radio program here:

American Heroes Radio

Talk Leadership

Editor's Note: Both the program host and the guest are former servicemembers.

July 25, 2009 (San Dimas, CA) American Heroes Press announced that the co-author of Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style, Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.) will be a guest on the internet-based radio program Talk Radio Portal.

Date: July 26, 2009
Time: 6PM Pacific
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Talk-Radio-Portal/2009/07/27/LEADERSHIP-Texas-Holdem-Style

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
MoJoe, the host of Talk Radio Portal says of his program, it is “where we try to invoke you with subjects from Today's News, Sports, Music, and of course a little Politics. I am passionate when it comes to those serving in the Military. I love to dabble in Sports and occasionally will address the controversial events within. I have a different attitude when it comes to Politics, I will listen to the views and then give everyone my common sense opinion. There's no need to wrap things up in a pretty package, and then jam it down everyone's throat. Let the everyday person be heard!”

ABOUT RAYMOND E. FOSTER
Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton. He has completed his doctoral studies in business research. Raymond is a graduate of the West Point Leadership program and has attended law enforcement, technology and leadership programs such as the National Institute for Justice, Technology Institute, Washington, DC.

Raymond has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and is currently a faculty advisor and chair of the Criminal Justice Program at the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.

His first book, Police Technology is used in over 100 colleges and universities nationwide. He latest book, Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style has been adopted by several universities for course work in leadership; by several civil service organizations and required reading for promotion; and, has been well received in the wider market.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Using poker as analogy for leadership, Captain Andrew Harvey, CPD (ret.), Ed.D. and Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA found the right mix of practical experience and academic credentials to write a definitive book for leaders. Working together, Harvey and Foster have written Leadership: Texas Hold em Style. Most often leaders find they are given a set of resources people, equipment, funds, experience and a mission. As Foster noted, "You're dealt a certain hand. How you play that hand as a leader determines your success."

More than a book: A fun and entertaining journey through leadership that includes an interactive website to supplement knowledge gained from the book.
Proven and Tested: Not an academic approach to leadership, but rather a road-tested guide that has been developed through 50-years of author experience.
High Impact: Through the use of perspective, reflection, and knowledge, provides information that turns leadership potential into leadership practice.
Ease of Application: Theory is reinforced with real-life experience, which results in accessible and practical tools leaders can put to use immediately.
High Road Approach: Personal character and ethical beliefs are woven into each leadership approach, so leaders do the right thing for the right reasons.
Uses Game of Poker: Rather than a dry approach that is all fact and no flavor, the game of poker is used as a lens through which to view leadership concepts.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret)
909.599.7530
raymond@hitechcj.com
www.police-writers.com

Many Veterans Need Mental Health Care

Those returning from Iraq may not show sign of problems right away, study notes

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- More than 40 percent of the U.S. soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars seen at VA hospitals suffer from mental health disorders or psychosocial behavioral problems, a new study shows.

Curiously, the researchers from the San Francisco VA Medical Center found that most mental health diagnoses were not made in the first year that a veteran entered the VA health-care system, but several years after. This finding supports the recent move to extend VA benefits to five years of free health care, which allows VA doctors the time to detect and treat more mental illness in returning combat veterans, the researchers noted.

"After the start of the Iraq War, there is a growing burden of mental illness, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that will require increased allocation of resources for better detection and early intervention to prevent chronic mental illness, which threatens individual veterans, their families and communities," said lead researcher Dr. Karen Seal, an assistant professor of medicine and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.

The report is published in the July 16 online edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

For the study, Seal's team collected data on 289,328 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who sought health care at VA medical centers from 2002 to 2008.

Among these returning vets, 106,726 were given mental health care. These included 62,929 diagnosed with PTSD and 50,432 diagnosed with depression. That's nearly 37 percent of veterans, the authors noted.

"When the definition is expanded to include diagnoses of mental health disorders or psychosocial behavioral problems such as homelessness, or both, 43 percent of these veterans received these diagnoses," Seal added.

The diagnoses included 22 percent with PTSD, 17 percent with depression, 7 percent with alcohol use disorder, and 3 percent with drug use disorder. Many vets had several of these problems. In fact, 29 percent of veterans with mental health problems were diagnosed with two different conditions, and 33 percent were diagnosed with three or more, Seal said.

In addition, women had a higher risk for depression, but men had more than twice the risk for drug use problems, the researchers found.

Since the start of the Iraq war, mental health problems increased more than fourfold among active-duty personnel and sevenfold for members of the National Guard or Reserve, Seal said.

Age also played a role in the risk for PTSD, Seal said. While younger active-duty veterans had a higher risk for PTSD, "among Guard and Reserve members, those over 40 were at significantly higher risk for PTSD than their colleagues under 25," she said.

Moreover, active-duty enlisted veterans in the Army rather than other service branches, or who had multiple tours of duty, thus more combat exposure, were at greater risk for PTSD, Seal said. This was not seen in National Guard and Reserve personnel, she noted.

Mark Kaplan, a professor of community health at the School of Community Health at Portland State University in Oregon, noted that the study only covers vets who have received care at the VA, but there are many more with serious mental health problems that are either seeking care privately or not at all, he said.

"This study adds to what we know about this population, however, that's the veterans who seek care at the VA system. But if you look at the total population of veterans from all wars, there are one-third of all veterans who have these problems," Kaplan said.

Doctors who are not connected with the VA but who see veterans need to ask them about any mental health issues they have, Kaplan said. "They need to be aware of the risks associated with veteran status, and in particular those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

Kaplan added that it is not uncommon for problems such as PTSD to arise years, even decades, after service. "We don't know the full emotional toll of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

Simon A. Rego, associate director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, says that "while the results may be somewhat inflated due to the researchers' inability to assess data on clinical outcomes, potential treatment outside of the VA system, or even subsequent deployments, they are nevertheless, stunning."

The authors found a much higher percentage of veterans enrolling in the VA now than at any other time in history: 41 percent since 2002 versus 10 percent of Vietnam veterans. And, Rego noted, new mental health diagnoses in 2008 were six times higher than in 2002 -- 37 percent versus 6.4 percent.

"An important and often overlooked finding here was that a lack of social support -- being separated, divorced, widowed, etc.-- may pose a serious risk for new post-deployment mental health problems," Rego said.

This underscores the need for ancillary social support services for returning veterans who are unmarried and/or without social support, he said. "All too often we focus on treating the symptoms but fail to address the individual's social context. Based on the data here, a failure to do so could lead to increased risk in developing new mental health problems."

More information

For more information on the mental health toll on soldiers of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, visit the U.S. National Center for PTSD .

SOURCES: Karen Seal, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor, medicine and psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco; Mark Kaplan, Dr.PH., professor, community health, School of Community Health, Portland State University, Oregon; Simon A. Rego, Psy.D., associate director, psychology training, Montefiore Medical Center, New York City; July 16, 2009, American Journal of Public Health, online

Crew Leaves USNS Comfort Changed by Mission

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

July 24, 2009 - It's just after 9 a.m. in this hot, humid town, and Navy Capt. Colleen Gallagher already looks tired. She is in the throes of running a medical site manned by health care providers from the Navy hospital ship, the USNS Comfort. While the ship circles just off the coast about 12 miles away, hundreds of local residents pack the streets around the town's medical clinic, hoping to be seen by one of the ship's doctors.

The scene could pass for a street fair. Vendors work the crowd selling cold drinks, snacks and fruit. Skinny, stray dogs slip through people's legs, looking for a dropped treat. Babies cling to their mothers, some crying, others breastfeeding. Bigger children kick an empty plastic soda bottle back and forth across the cobblestone.

Umbrellas blossom over the crowd as the tropical sun breaks through the overcast morning, and a local disc jockey blasts a mix of current hip-hop hits and Latin American music.

Sitting on a wooden bench outside of her operations center, which is little more than a small corner room of the clinic with a couple of computers and wires strung everywhere, Gallagher said she hopes a journalist will not take her picture.

"It's been a long trip -- very rewarding, but very exhausting. Kind of a surreal experience," she said.

Gallagher and the Comfort crew have for the past four months served on the front lines of the United States' "soft power" efforts. The ship has charted the course for aligning the U.S. military with humanitarian groups, foreign militaries and political bureaucracies at home and abroad in a synchronized effort to provide health care to some of the Western Hemisphere's poorest countries.

The ship's surgeons have seen some patients on board, but most are treated on shore at sites such as this one. The physicians, dentists, nurses and others are flown to the sites by helicopter, or shuttled on small boats. They are housed overnight in small towns and villages, sleeping several to a room in hotels that sometimes have hot water, but always have tasty local food.

The health care providers rotate to and from the ship, switching out with other staff, spending a few days at a time ashore. They work long hours – up to 16 hours a day – for 10 or 11 days straight, until they leave each country. They get their rest at sea as they head toward their next destination.

Gallagher, a Navy nurse, has led sites in each of the seven countries where the Comfort stopped. She will close this site, the final stop of the mission dubbed Continuing Promise 2009.

The staff has only one more day here. And there are still hundreds waiting for care. It's emotionally difficult for the providers to turn people away, Gallagher said. During this mission, the Comfort filtered more than 100,000 people through its ship and medical sites, but almost always not everyone who came could be seen.

The mission runs, in reality, as a military operation, and the demands of logistics mostly govern the hours the site remains open.

"There's always going to be more walking up to be seen, and we have to shut down at a certain time," Gallagher said. Still, this sometimes grates at the will of the doctors, nurses and volunteers who come with a passion for caring for the poor.

Nicaraguan military troops hold the throng at bay as volunteers work to screen them one by one and route them through the clinic. For those who make it past the guards and the yellow caution tape, this may be the first and last time they are treated by a doctor.

To prevent what officials termed "compassion fatigue," the providers must focus, Gallagher said. "Focus on the one in front of you and the next one you're going to see, and you can't worry about the hundred that may be out there that won't get in today," she said.

The Comfort's commanding officer, Navy Capt. James Ware, said some crew struggle emotionally at the start of the mission. "Initially, you have to learn to understand that the people that you're dealing with truly have much less than you have," he said. "I think most providers were able to overcome the focus on every patient and realize that they can't do everything for everybody every time."

Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) John Fortunato is a reservist and a civilian pediatric gastroenterologist. Normally, he sees about 40 children a week, he said. In his month aboard the Comfort, he averaged about 90 a day.

Because he is a specialist, Fortunato typically sees patients who already have been seen by several doctors and undergone expensive testing. On this trip, he saw his patients from "scratch," without the inches-thick folders of test results and medical reports.

The trip allowed him, though, to hone his diagnostic skills, Fortunato said, forcing him to use his hands and his brains, rather than relying on technology. But that worked against him when he pressed against the belly of a boy who likely had a large tumor growing inside. Without those expensive tests, there was no way to know if the tumor was operable. There was little he could do beyond emphasizing the seriousness of the tumor to the parents and hoping they seek treatment.

"It is hard for us ... to not be able to do everything that is physically available, even though it's not readily available," Fortunato said. "We live in a society where we don't like to lose. We don't like to say it can't be done because we can't get the resources to you."

Most serious cases are referred to the local health ministries for follow-up care. Because care is limited, and because the patients have little money, the reality of them receiving that care is iffy.

But in this boy's case, Fortunato did not settle for a paperwork referral. He summoned a health ministry official to the site, personally briefing the case in the hopes of getting a hospital bed and care for the child.

"It's hard for us ... to say 'Well, you have a tumor – next patient,'" he said. "We really wanted to make sure we got this kid tied into ... the Ministry of Health and the local hospital."

Still, Fortunato said, he wished he could have done more. "You want to fix them. That's the way we're trained," he said. "You don't accept [sending] them to someone else."

Not all of Fortunato's cases were as grim. Most were typical colds, headaches, stomach pain. The patients were sent away with prescriptions for pain relievers and directions to drink more water.

For most parents, just having a doctor say their child is OK is reassuring. They think something dreadful is going to happen, but the exam eases their minds, Fortunato said.

One 15-year-old girl came through his line, complaining of stomach pain. She was coughing up blood, the girl said. Her parents were frightened, thinking the worst. Because it fell within his specialty, Fortunato arranged to perform an endoscopy, which involves running a scope from her mouth to her stomach to look for the cause of the pain and bleeding.

As luck would have it, there was an endoscopy nurse aboard the ship who could assist, and officials agreed to allow him to perform the procedure in their surgical ward.

The parents lived two hours away from the ship, though, and had to pay to get there. They sold a pig, bought bus tickets for about $23, and soon were aboard the Comfort.

Fortunato performed the procedure and found only mild inflammation in the stomach, much to the parents' and the child's relief. A huge celebration was planned – they wanted Fortunato to come to their house for a feast. He had to decline, but that didn't dampen their spirits.

"The father said he wanted to go into medicine after that and help Nicaragua," Fortunato said, adding that he, like many others on the trip, found the experience "eye-opening."

Fortunato said he learned to be more patient on this trip. He used to whine about his staff double-booking a patient at 4 p.m. on Fridays, he said.

"I think it kind of puts it in perspective in a lot of ways," he said. "We don't know how lucky we have it."

The ship's commanding officer said Fortunato's experience is typical. While most are tired at the end of the mission, they are not discouraged, Ware said. In fact, they are proud of their work, hopeful that their efforts made a difference. No one steps off the ship the same as they came on.

"I think it makes people stronger," Ware said. "I think makes them more compassionate, and I think it makes them appreciate what they really have."

MILITARY CONTACTS July 24, 2009

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Graybar Electric Company, St. Louis, Mo. is being awarded a maximum $660,000,000 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for maintenance, repair and operation supplies and related services. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, federal civilian agencies and Defense Logistics Agency. The original proposal was Web solicited with six responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the fourth option year period. The date of performance completion is July 28, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM500-04-D-BP11).

Supplycore, Inc., Rockford, Ill. is being awarded a maximum $320,000,000 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for maintenance, repair and operation supplies and related services. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, federal civilian agencies and Defense Logistics Agency. The original proposal was Web solicited with six responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the fourth option year period. The date of performance completion is July 28, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM500-04-D-BP10).

Science Applications International Corporation, Fairfield, N.J. is being awarded a maximum $40,000,000 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for maintenance, repair and operation supplies and related services. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. The original proposal was Web solicited with six responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the fourth option year period. The date of performance completion is July 28, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM500-04-D-BP12).

AIR FORCE
Science Application International Corporations, San Diego, CA; L-3 Services, Inc, Chantilly, VA; and Northrop Grumman, Herndon, VA were awarded a combined $495,000,000 force protection security system contract to support any or all of ten essential elements of integrated base defense that include deceive, deter, anticipate, deny, detect, delay assess, deploy, neutralize, and mitigate at Air Force and other DoD sites throughout the world. At this time, $5,000 has been awarded to each contractor. 642nd Electronic Systems Squadron, Hanscom Air Force Base is the contracting activity. (FA8728-09-D-0004; FA8728-09- D-0007; FA8728-09-D-0009)

NAVY
Integrated Marine Services, Inc., Chula Vista, Calif., is being awarded a $36,400,000 ceiling indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide ventilation cleaning services to the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center's commercial industrial services code in support of Navy ships and other government vessels within a 50-mile radius of San Diego, Calif. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by July 2014. Contract funds in the amount of $3,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured as a HUBZone set-aside via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with five offers received. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N55236-09-D-0018).

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $7,085,710 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, contract to provide continued development of a container security device (CSD), a small, low-power sensor mounted on or within a shipping container to detect and warn of the opening or removal of container doors. The contract includes a three-year ordering period without options. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed July 23, 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured; this is a sole source, follow-on, contract under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1: only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Development of the CSD was initiated by SAIC under contract N66001-05-D-6013 which was competitively awarded. SAIC is the only source qualified and capable of performing the work at a reasonable price to the Government; the use of any other contractor would involve a substantial duplication of costs not expected to be recovered through competition. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific is the contracting activity (N66001-09-D-0034).

ARMY
Rayhteon Company, Integrated Defense Company, Andover, Mass. was awarded on July 23, 2009 a $8,926,847 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for FY09 PATRIOT engineering services contract option award for 37,822 man-hours of effort. Work is to be performed in Andover, Mass. (1.39%), and Tewksbury, Mass. (98.61%) with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2014. One bid solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-09-C-0057).

R. Zoppo Corporation, Stoughton, Mass. was awarded on July 22, 2009 a $ 5,534,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the deck repair and paving of Sagamore and Bourne Bridges located in Bourne, Mass. Work will include the removal of existing pavement and waterproofing membrane for the full length of the Sagamore Bridge deck and the Bourne Bridge abutments. Necessary repairs to the underlying concrete will be made. A new single component modified bituminous pavement containing a waterproofing additive will be applied to the repaired bridge deck and abutments. At the bridges the following work will be performed; concrete parapets at the north and south abutments will be replaced and repairs to the concrete sidewalk, curb, expansion joints and electrical work. Work is to be performed in Bourne, Mass. with an estimated completion date of June 2, 2010. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid received. Corps of Engineers-New England District, Concord, Mass. is the contracting activity (W912WJ-09-C-0007).

Mullen Encourages Young People to Pursue Global Service

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

July 24, 2009 - The U.S. military's senior uniformed officer saluted a group of high school student leaders interested in learning about the U.S. government and political processes during a meeting at the Pentagon Auditorium today. "I think of you as our future," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told some 200 members of the Junior State of America, a student-managed, nonpartisan civic-education group that cultivates young peoples' interest in governmental and political affairs.

"We help channel and train students who are interested in civic engagement and politics and law," said Chris McMahon, associate executive director of the San Mateo, Calif.,-based Junior Statesmen Foundation that supports the JSA. About 15,000 JSA members, he said, participate at about 500 high schools across the country. The JSA membership also includes international students.

The students at today's Pentagon program, McMahon said, had competed to participate in the annual Junior Statesmen Summer School program. Participants spend three or four weeks at one of four universities -- Georgetown in Washington, D.C.; Princeton in Princeton, N.J.; Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif.; and Yale in New Haven, Conn. -- where they take advanced courses in U.S. government and politics, history and public speaking.

Mullen, who also addressed a JSA group last year, congratulated the participants in this year's summer school program. "There is a huge need," he said, for young Americans to serve as paid or volunteer participants in U.S.-government-sponsored endeavors conducted both stateside and around the world.

In addition to military service, Americans can serve others through teaching, volunteering, the Peace Corps and other parts of government, Mullen said, and the nation needs young, bright people to join in that service.

Mullen said he didn't know he'd become a career Navy officer when he enrolled at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1964. Today, Mullen is the senior military adviser to President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

"So, you just never know" where life can take you, Mullen pointed out. Therefore, he urged the students to be aware of their career options and not to "burn any bridges early."

Mullen said he decided to stay in the military after graduating from the Naval Academy in large part because he was impressed by his fellow midshipmen, noting they were "the best people I've ever been around."

The chairman added that he continues to admire the "extraordinary" young men and women in today's military who "are serving something bigger than themselves."

It's a universal desire for parents around the world to want better lives for their children than they've had, he said. Yet, promoting peace and economic and social stability across the world, he said, also requires contributions from nonmilitary governmental agencies, as well as nongovernmental organizations.

"It's all of us together," Mullen said, nothing that the JSA students would "be more affected by the global world than any generation that we've ever had."

The current and future challenges America faces, he said, "will demand great leadership, demand great sacrifice, demand service from everybody, so that we all can move forward in a world that is stable and peaceful where people can prosper."

Little Bear 714

The following true story is a tribute to the men of A-Company, 25th Aviation Battalion also known by the call sign, "Little Bear", who served their country in the Republic of Vietnam.In the final days of October 1967, an armored personnel carrier with numerous troops on board rolled on top of a powerful anti-tank mine. The ensuing explosion killed four men and severely injured several others on and around the vehicle. Vulnerable and alone, their distress call for a dustoff (medical evacuation) was responded to by the closest helicopter in the area. The UH-1D ("Huey") Little Bear 714 was returning back to base from its lone previous mission. Two round trips were needed to deliver the wounded to a base hospital. It would take a perilous third trip in darkness to retrieve the bodies of the dead.

Hastily we loaded the last of the dead into the helicopter. Above me the rotor blades were spinning; frantically grasping for enough air to remove us from the engulfing jungle. A voice in my flight helmet cried out, "We're taking hits!" The crewchief's machine gun responded with a burst of yellowish orange tracers that disappeared into the night-shrouded jungle. "I'm in," I shouted and squeezed into the small space behind my own machine gun. We started to lift off when flashes of white appeared from the shrinking earth below. I could hear the splats as the bullets searched the ship for another host. I yanked back on the triggers of my weapon and fired and fired. The burning armored personnel carrier remained as a marker to soon fade and be forgotten, like its unfortunate crew. In the real world, grieving parents would be left with only tears and memories.
"Where are you hit?" "What?" I replied. "Where are you hit?" again questioned the medic. We were back at the landing pad of the base hospital. The last body was being carried away on an olive green colored stretcher. The medic pointed to my blooddrenched arm. "It's not mine," I informed him coldly and turned back to re-enter my ship. Light from the well-lit pad revealed a palette of blood left by our passengers. The rotor blades fan effect had spray painted the inside of the Huey with a red sticky coating. Three bullet holes ventilated the area around my perch. Jerry, the crewchief, was staring down at a puddle of reddish-black fluid growing under the tail boom. The pilot was shutting down the engine to examine a strange whistling sound coming from one of the rotor blades. It would soon reveal a .30 caliber incision.
Once again, in my seat behind the machine gun, I leaned back against the bulkhead and closed my eyes. "I'll be back in the States in ten more days and all of this will be forgotten," I said to myself. I was wrong.
I have never forgotten.

Spec. 4 Tony Lazzarini
Door Gunner-714
October 27, 1967 Iron Triangle

Author-HIGHEST TRADITIONS

By Army Sgt. James Waltz
Special to American Forces Press Service

July 24, 2009 - Army Spc. Amanda Cleveland is a self-described simple girl who is "not into drama." But it's tough for an Army medic to avoid dramatic situations, especially during a deployment to Iraq. Cleveland's comrades say it is her ability to consistently help people -- not the drama -- that drives the Williamsport, Pa., native to excel at her job.

Cleveland graduated from high school in 2007 at 17 and immediately took on basic combat training and combat medical school.

"I really wanted to go into the medical field and wasn't sure how I was going to do it," she said. "A recruiter was able to get me into the health care field and give me a $20,000 bonus on top of it."

Cleveland was 18 when her six months of rigorous medical training began. She admits being a bit nervous. "It was the longest time I had ever been away from my family," she said. "I don't know if I could have graduated if it had not been for a few older friends I had made who shared their previous experiences with me."

While at training, she learned the ins-and-outs of emergency medicine and basic medical skills. She recalled one exercise, which she called "blood lanes."

"We went through these blood lanes where we had to treat mock casualties in a stressful environment," she explained. "It was fast-paced training, and we had to deal with them screaming, among other things."

Cleveland went through similar training at the regional medical training site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., in preparation for her nine-month deployment here, where she is serving with Task Force Keystone. Leading up to the three-month, pre-deployment mobilization, she was one of several medics tasked with training 28th Combat Aviation Brigade soldiers in basic combat medical skills. The training allows each soldier to act as a bridge between an emergency and the arrival of a medic -- often the most critical time in ensuring a patient's survival.

Her supervisor, Army Sgt. 1st Class Collin Bowser of Indiana, Pa., said Cleveland is extremely proficient at medical training.

"She has done an excellent job teaching several hundred soldiers the basics of first aid," he said. "And these are mostly soldiers who are novices at this stuff and have minimal medical experience."

Cleveland is humble about her teaching ability, but is quick to acknowledge the importance of it. "I really enjoy teaching, but it's not always easy keeping a student's attention because I'm not a dominating person," she said. "I just keep reminding myself that what I am teaching these soldiers will not only affect them, but also the people they may have to save. I may be helping my students save a life."

Cleveland is the primary instructor of the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade's first aid refresher course here, which is taught monthly to a rotation of soldiers. When she is not training, she is receiving clinical experience in her unit's medical clinic. She takes vital signs, screens patients, performs asthma treatments and stitches sutures.

During her 12-hour shifts, she uses downtime to write home. Many soldiers here use e-mail, but Cleveland prefers to put pen to paper.

"I like to physically write letters for two reasons. First, some of my family members are technologically impaired," she joked. "But really it just feels more personal. It feels good to have that letter in your hand, knowing there was more time and energy put into it."

(Army Sgt. James Waltz serves in the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade public affairs office.)

West Bank Improves

The well travelled Michael Totten talks about a NYT report on the West Bank and relates it to his own experience there. He says cities like Ramallah and Nablus are doing 'OK' and said the former is actually a nicer place to visit than Cairo.

The corrupt kleptocracy of Makmud Abbas may pay lip service to the cause of Israeli destruction, but right now it is at war with its rival, Hamas. Whose presence in the West Bank is much weaker than in Gaza. Here the Israelis allow some movement, though there are still numerous

checkpoints and roadblocks, and there is some economic interaction between the two states.

(CLICK IMAGE)

Israel is using Abbas and his Fatah party to fight Hamas, and helping them by allowing arms shipments and fostering economic growth. This is the only effective way of fighting an insurgency, a proven method that has worked against numerous insurgencies, from the Apaches in Arizona to the Sunnis in Iraq.

It is now up to the United States to find some way to make it work in Afghanistan.

Will's book about the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the Battle of 73 Easting, is called A Line Through the Desert. It may be purchased at Amazon.

Biden Vows Support for Georgia's NATO Hopes

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

July 24, 2009 - Vice President Joe Biden emphasized U.S. support for Georgia's aspirations to join NATO and said a new bilateral charter will focus on modernizing the country's military. In a speech to the Parliament in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi yesterday, Biden also assured the audience that a reset of U.S.-Russian relations would not come at the expense of Georgia, a former Soviet satellite that became embroiled in a five-day conflict with Russia last August.

"We understand that Georgia aspires to join NATO. We fully support that aspiration," Biden said to applause. "And, members of Parliament, we will work to help you meet the standards of NATO membership."

Biden's backing of Georgia's NATO hopes echoes the support voiced by the alliance at an April 2008 summit meeting in Bucharest, Romania, when member nations promised that Georgia eventually would join the organization.

The vice president's pledge comes at a time when President Barack Obama's administration is seeking to "push the reset button" with Russia, which saw its relations with NATO strained after last year's conflict with Georgia. Tension continues to surround two disputed enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia along the Georgia-Russia border -- flashpoints of the August war -- with Moscow last month ordering international peacekeepers to leave the provinces.

With NATO membership contingent on states resolving their border disputes, Biden cautioned Tbilisi against renewed fighting with Russia as its means for reclaiming the breakaway regions. He added that the United States does not recognize the provinces as independent states, and he urged the world to disregard their statements of independence.

"It is a sad certainty, but it is true there is no military option to reintegration," he said, adding that reintegration would be achieved by "showing those in Abkhazia and South Ossetia a Georgia where they can be free and their communities can flourish -- where they can enjoy autonomy within a federal system of government, where life can be so much better for them than it is now."

"Show them the real benefits of your nation's motto," he said. "Strength is in unity."

Georgia is one of the world's largest per capita recipients of American aid, and received $1 billion from the United States last year. Biden praised a charter signed last month by the United States and Georgia that will modernize Georgia's military and increasing the two countries' defense and security partnership.

"These partnerships are not being built against anyone," Biden said. "They are being built to the benefit of everyone who seeks a more democratic, prosperous and secure world."

Joy after Tragedy

Editor's Note: Program will be of interest to military families, as well.

On September 25, 2009, Conversations with American Heroes at the Watering Hole will feature a conversation with Sharon Knutson-Felix has served as Executive Director of the 100 Club of Arizona.

Program Date: September 25, 2009
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Joy after Tragedy
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/09/26/Joy-after-Tragedy

About the Guest
Sharon Knutson-Felix has served as Executive Director of the 100 Club of Arizona since 2001 but her first experience with the 100 Club came several years before, in 1998, when Sharon’s husband, DPS Officer Doug Knutson, was tragically killed in the line of duty. She received a check from an amazing organization that’s mission was to support the families of public safety in times of tragedy, which she found out was the 100 Club of Arizona. Having been a recipient, Sharon truly understands what the 100 Club’s benefits, both financial and emotional, mean to a public safety family in a time of crisis. She has become a passionate advocate of the 100 Club since becoming its Executive Director and has been instrumental in its recent growth.

Sharon’s experience in dealing with public safety and her commitment to supporting its men and women position her as the ideal leader for this public safety non-profit. Since being elected as the Executive Director, Sharon has led the organization to create and launch six new benefits and programs, including the non-line of duty death benefit and the safety enhancement stipend program which provides equipment to public safety agencies in an effort to prevent or minimize tragedy. Yearly benefits given out have increased from $100,000 in 2001 to over $800,000 in 2008. Membership has more than doubled and corporate sponsorships have increased phenomenally, including securing the largest corporate sponsorships in the history of the 100 Club.

Before coming to the 100 Club of Arizona , Sharon served two years as President of Arizona Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) which provides resources to help families of law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty rebuild their lives. She has also served, and continues to serve, in many community support groups. For the past nine years, Sharon has been a part of the Arizona Critical Incident Stress Management Team (CISM), a group that provides emotional support for public safety officers (and their families) who have been injured in the line of duty so that they may continue to serve their community in a law enforcement capacity. She has also been a part of her church support group, Soulcare Ministry, for the past four years that provides a system of peer support for people in the community dealing with difficult issues and tough life decisions.

Knutson-Felix is also the author of the successful book, Gifts My Father Gave Me: Finding Joy after Tragedy that is part memoir and part grief advisor. Sharon is also a sought after speaker and grief counselor. She is the wife of DPS Executive Officer David Felix, the loving mother of two children, and grandmother of five grandkids.

About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is Police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in Law Enforcement, public policy, Public Safety Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/09/26/Joy-after-Tragedy

Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530

Keating Reflects on POW/MIA Mission Ahead of Retirement

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

July 23, 2009 - Nearing the end of his 42-year career in the Navy, Adm. Timothy J. Keating today reflected on those who served alongside him, giving special emphasis to troops whose fates remain unknown. Keating, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, addressed the National League of POW/MIA Families, a group that strives to account for the more than 1,750 veterans of Vietnam and other wars still missing.

"We're going to do whatever it takes, with appropriate support, to have you reach some sort of conclusion in your minds and in your hearts as to where your loved one is," he said at the group's 40th anniversary annual meeting. "We're not going to rest."

For the 90 days until his retirement from active duty, Keating is slated to remain at the helm of the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, which also serves as headquarters of a task force responsible for POW/MIA accounting.

Keating told the audience that the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command does everything in its power to provide accountability.

"We want to be able to do that last muster," he said. "If not present, then accounted for. Nothing's more important to us."

The admiral paced the room and spoke without prepared notes, delivering an address filled with colorful anecdotes about his years in uniform and the personnel – ranking above, beside and below him – who shaped his military career.

"I'm proud to wear a couple of these ribbons because they recommend a certain period of service, a certain caliber of men and women," he said, pointing to the patchwork of military ribbons and honors on his chest.

"Now make no mistake, the kids you see around us this morning – the young professionals you see around us this morning – they're the best military, the best armed forces the world has ever known," he added. "I get to go to work with them every day, they keep us moving.

"But I'm reminded of great Americans who saluted...and off they went, and they haven't come back yet," he said.

Referring to the iconic black-and-white POW/MIA flag that features the silhouette of a servicemember set against a prison camp backdrop, Keating called the banner emblematic of commitment and honor.

"It's a symbol of your commitment, your honor, your courage and we pay close attention to that," he told the audience. "Each of your names, and the names of your loved ones – the name of the guy or girl that causes you to be in this room today – your names will be written in gold in the pages of history. You have earned that privilege."

National Guard Daughters Plan 'Sisterhood' Conference

By Army Master Sgt. Julie Avey
Special to American Forces Press Service

July 23, 2009 - Two California teenagers are honoring National Guard parents who have had travel to overseas locations or natural disasters at home in a project they have named "Sisterhood of the Traveling BDUs." BDUs is military shorthand for the battle-dress uniform.

The goal of the project -- inspired by the 2005 movie "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," in which four girlfriends develop a plan to stay connected -- is to bring military daughters from across California together to share their experiences as military family members.

Moranda Hern, 17, daughter of Air Force Lt. Col. Rick Hern of the 144th Fighter Wing, and Kaylei Deakin, 16, daughter of Army Maj. Lorren Deakin of the 578th Engineer Battalion, plan to host a Military Girls Conference in Clovis, Calif., March 12 to 14. They hope 400 teens and 100 female servicemembers will attend the event.

"The conference will bring dependent girls from all [military] units in California together and link them ... to share all of their experiences," Deakin said.

The teenagers said they hope to help other servicemembers' daughters by sharing their own experiences.

Hern and Deakin grew up differently, but connected as friends with common experiences, they said, which is what they want to show others through the project.

"At the conference, we want to connect on a deep level with our sisters by removing the mask and being a teenage girl," Hern said.

Their experience as daughters in National Guard families is the teenagers' common bond. They met at a National Guard Bureau symposium in St. Louis last year, and together they realized they had similar experiences as Guard children. For example, they noted, they did not live on a base like other military children, but they still dealt with a parent leaving on deployments or for natural disasters.

They put their thoughts and feelings together, they recalled, and started realizing that they could make a difference in each other's lives and that they were feeling real emotions. They helped each other grow, get better grades and build each other's self-esteem.

Once they focused their energy toward building positive experiences as daughters of servicemembers, they said, they found more opportunities.

Last fall, Hern and Deakin briefed their Military Girls conference ideas to Air Force Brig. Gen. Mary J. Kight, California's assistant adjutant general, and Leslie Wade, wife of Army Maj. Gen. William H. Wade II, the state's adjutant general. In April, at the Adjutant General's Symposium on Family Readiness in Burlingame, Calif., the teenagers tugged on the audience's heart strings as they briefed their plans for next year's conference.

As a part of the briefing, they shared their childhood experiences as the daughters of Guard members. Noting how family separation can affect families, they said they struggled with their grades and self-image, but added that although their experiences sometimes were troubling, they also could be positive and full of opportunity.

Deakin received the National Teen Leadership Program's National Teen Leadership Award for spearheading an after-school club for military children at her high school, and Hern was honored with the Air National Guard Youth of the Year award. Now, they said, they want to continue making a difference by sharing how being a military child has opened up opportunities for them.

Topics for discussion at the "Sisterhood" conference will include college applications, self-defense, making decisions and setting goals. After the conference, Hern and Deakin said, they plan to use social networking tools such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to maintain the bonds they expect to grow at the conference.

They also plan to travel throughout California to interview military daughters for a video production, and they said they'd like to create public service announcements about military children.

(Army Master Sgt. Julie Avey serves with the California National Guard public affairs office.)

Unmanned Aircraft Take on Increased Importance

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

July 23, 2009 - The U.S. military's expanded overseas use of unmanned aircraft highlights the increased importance of such aerial platforms to current and future military operations, senior Air Force officers said here today. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan announced today will serve as a template for how the Air Force will look in 2047 – the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force -- Gen. William M. Fraser III, the Air Force's vice chief of staff, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

"The future of our systems is really now," Fraser said. "The Air Force today looks dramatically different than it did 35 years ago when I first came aboard on active duty."

The flight plan, he explained, lays out the Air Force's "vision for maximizing our efforts in unmanned aerial systems" today and in the future.

"We'll continue to push the UAS envelope," Fraser said, adding that unmanned systems are unmanned in name only.

"While there may be no airmen onboard the actual vehicle, there indeed are airmen involved in every step of the process," Fraser said, including the pilots who operate the vehicles' remote controls and sensors and maintenance personnel.

Unmanned aircraft systems "represent an important addition to our comprehensive set of Air Force capabilities that actually define air power," Fraser said.

Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, told reporters that unmanned aircraft systems have proven effective during aerial strike missions against insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan, while also performing surveillance and intelligence-gathering missions.

Persistent flight capability, Deptula said, is one of the advantages of employing unmanned aerial vehicles in military missions.

"What UASs bring to the table," Deptula explained, "is the ability to stay in position or maneuver over large areas for a long period of time – that's where a person in an aircraft becomes a limitation."

UAS mission success rates have resulted in high demand for the unmanned aerial platforms, Deptula said, noting that high- and medium-altitude UAS overseas combat missions have increased more than 600 percent during the past six years.

"What the Air Force wants to do," Deptula said, "is to get the most out of these systems to increase our joint warfighting capability, while promoting service interdependency and the wisest use of our taxpayer dollars."

Yet, Deptula said, the flight plan isn't just about how UASs are employed today, but also about how unmanned aerial technology could be applied in different mission realms in order to confront future challenges. For example, he said, UAS technology could one day be used in a modular platform that could perform a variety of tasks, such as cargo transport and aircraft refueling missions.

Deptula equated today's level of UAS development with the progress made in manned aircraft in the 1920s.

There's "lots of potential" for expanding UAS technology across the military in the coming years, Deptula said, but he also pointed out that replacing conventional fighter planes and pilots with unmanned aerial vehicles is a long way off.

The flight plan doesn't provide specific solutions, but it does address "concepts and possibilities that will fill in and morph over time," said Col. Eric Mathewson, the director of the Air Force's UAS Task Force.

The plan, Mathewson said, "allows us to reach out and talk to academia and industry, the other services, [Defense Department]-wide, our coalition and allied partners, and work together in a more efficient and synergistic way."

Entrepreneurial Leadership

Editor's Note: The author is a former servicemember:

July 23, 2009 (San Dimas, CA) American Heroes Press announced that the co-author of Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style, Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.) will be a guest on the Internet-based radio program Ladee 16 discussing entrepreneurial leadership on September 12, 2009 at 4PM Eastern.

Date: September 12, 2009
Time: 4PM Eastern
Listen Live: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ladee16

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Ladee 16, an internet marketer by profession, hosts a show that showcases entrepreneurs and artists. According to Ladee 16, “It is the goal of this show to promote as many people as possible to help them on their individual paths to their individual goals.”

ABOUT RAYMOND E. FOSTER
Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton. He has completed his doctoral studies in business research. Raymond is a graduate of the West Point Leadership program and has attended law enforcement, technology and leadership programs such as the National Institute for Justice, Technology Institute, Washington, DC.

Raymond has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and is currently a faculty advisor and chair of the Criminal Justice Program at the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.

His first book, Police Technology is used in over 100 colleges and universities nationwide. He latest book, Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style has been adopted by several universities for course work in leadership; by several civil service organizations and required reading for promotion; and, has been well received in the wider market.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Using poker as analogy for leadership, Captain Andrew Harvey, CPD (ret.), Ed.D. and Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA found the right mix of practical experience and academic credentials to write a definitive book for leaders. Working together, Harvey and Foster have written Leadership: Texas Hold em Style. Most often leaders find they are given a set of resources people, equipment, funds, experience and a mission. As Foster noted, "You're dealt a certain hand. How you play that hand as a leader determines your success."

More than a book: A fun and entertaining journey through leadership that includes an interactive website to supplement knowledge gained from the book.
Proven and Tested: Not an academic approach to leadership, but rather a road-tested guide that has been developed through 50-years of author experience.
High Impact: Through the use of perspective, reflection, and knowledge, provides information that turns leadership potential into leadership practice.
Ease of Application: Theory is reinforced with real-life experience, which results in accessible and practical tools leaders can put to use immediately.
High Road Approach: Personal character and ethical beliefs are woven into each leadership approach, so leaders do the right thing for the right reasons.
Uses Game of Poker: Rather than a dry approach that is all fact and no flavor, the game of poker is used as a lens through which to view leadership concepts.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret)
909.599.7530
raymond@hitechcj.com
www.police-writers.com

H&R Block Announces Donation to National Military Family Association

H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) today announced that in keeping with its ongoing support for Service members and their families, it is donating nearly $20,000 on behalf of Eurpac Services, Inc. to the National Military Family Association at its headquarters in Alexandria, Va.

H&R Block has a history of partnering with the U.S. Armed Services to create specialized programs including:

Military OneSource free online tax preparation offers for active military
Military Spouse Scholarship Program offering full scholarships to H&R Block’s Income Tax Course and career opportunities
Kiosks on military bases offering convenient tax preparation and tax expertise on military tax situations

H&R Block, the world’s largest tax services provider, is proud to continue its strong support of our Service members and their families. For more information on how H&R Block supports the U.S. Military, visit www.hrblock.com/military.