American Forces Press Service
Nov. 10, 2009 - In the midst of providing mental health services and other support to the Fort Hood, Texas, community following the recent shooting there, the Department of Veterans Affairs learned about its own losses from the violence. Two VA employees, both serving on active duty with their Army Reserve units, were among the slain. A third VA health care worker on reserve duty was seriously wounded.
"Speaking for the entire VA family, I offer heartfelt condolences to the families of these dedicated VA employees," said Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. "They devoted their working lives to care for our veterans, and they died in uniform, preparing to safeguard our nation's freedom."
Russell G. Seager a 51-year old nurse practitioner at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee and a captain in the Army Reserve, was killed in the deadly attack. In his VA duties, he led a mental health team treating a wide variety of veteran patients, from the youngest combat veterans just back from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan to World War II veterans dealing with depression.
Seager signed up for the Army Reserve four years ago and was preparing for his first overseas deployment when he was killed. VA officials said he was motivated to prevent the mental health problems of young combat soldiers from occurring in the first place. He was to be assigned to a combat stress control unit to watch for warning signs, such as anger and insubordination, among front-line soldiers.
Seager, who held a doctorate degree and was a well-respected teacher at Bryant and Stratton College in Milwaukee, leaves behind a wife and son.
VA's other fatality was Juanita L. Warman, 55, a nurse practitioner at VA's medical center in Perry Point, Md. She was a lieutenant colonel in the Maryland National Guard, with two daughters and six grandchildren. She was the daughter of a career Air Force member and held a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Warman volunteered for "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon," a program to help members of the Maryland National Guard readjust after returning from overseas deployments. She provided mental health counseling and helped to develop a program about the myths and realities of post-traumatic stress disorder. She was preparing for deployment to Iraq at the time of her death.
Dorothy Carskadon, 47, a captain in the Army Reserve and a social worker and team leader at the VA Vet Center in Madison, Wis., was wounded. She was reported to be in stable condition in the intensive care unit at Fort Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center.
As a VA team leader, Carskadon oversees other social workers in providing individual and group counseling for combat veterans experiencing difficulty readjusting to the civilian community following military service. A new Army officer, Carskadon was preparing for her first deployment.
On an average day, officials said, more than 850 VA employees don uniforms to serve military commitments in Reserve and National Guard units across the country and overseas.
VA has been responding to the Fort Hood tragedy since shortly after the sound of gunfire was replaced by the sirens of emergency responders. Through official agreements and the shared sense of mission to care for military members and veterans in the central Texas region, VA has provided clinical supplies, including pharmaceuticals, and sent mental health teams from nearby facilities as well as four fully staffed, portable Vet Centers to aid in counseling military members and families.
Teams of physicians, nurses and other VA clinical and support personnel were placed on stand-by for possible deployment to Fort Hood or to receive additional patients following the shooting.
VA operates several clinical and benefits processing locations on Fort Hood, and routinely has about 18 employees working on the post. Initial actions included confirming the safety and security of those employees.
VA continues to coordinate with the Defense Department in providing care and support to all those affected by the tragedy, officials said.
(From a Department of Veterans Affairs news release.)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Fort Hood Soldiers Reach Out to Families, Each Other
By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service
Nov. 10, 2009 - Waiting at the airport last night for the last families to arrive for today's ceremony honoring victims of the fatal shooting rampage at nearby Fort Hood, several soldiers were dealing with their own pain and confusion by reaching out to families of the fallen and to each other. Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Hall, Army Sgt. 1st Class Marcus Rodriquez and Army Spc. Laurence Palmer manned a table near the airport's baggage claim area, where they welcomed arriving families of the 13 people killed and 38 others wounded during the Nov. 5 incident.
"We're here to meet the families, to hug then and tell them God is looking out for them," said Hall, a member of the U.S. Army Garrison. "We hope to give them a sense of comfort and community and to make sure they know that the Army is there for them."
Army Chief Warrant Officer 1 John Mabry, a human intelligence collection technician with 3rd Corps, stood with a list of incoming family members, checking to make sure all had transportation, a place to sleep and contacts for anything they might need while at Fort Hood.
"We want to be gracious hosts," he said. "What we're really doing is trying to help them through the worst time of their life."
Army Chaplain (Capt.) Kehmes Lands stood by to offer spiritual support. "Some of the families are taking it really bad," he said. "With others, you see them trying to hold it together in the airport. But as a chaplain, I can see through it, so I reach out to them."
Lands took several of the arriving families aside last night, praying with them and telling them about services available for them through the post's spiritual fitness center. Many of the families were gathered there last night, he said, seeking strength from each other through their shared sense of loss.
Memorial services are an all-too-familiar occurrence at Fort Hood, where the 1st Cavalry Division alone typically holds about one a month to honor combat casualties.
But Rodriguez, a U.S. Army Garrison soldier who's been stationed at Fort Hood for two and a half years, was struggling last night to come to terms with how a soldier could have turned on his fellow soldiers.
"I have mixed emotions," he said, including anger that the suspect is a soldier. "That has a lot of people upset," he said. It's just a tragic incident."
"You expect something like this when you go to war," said Army Staff Sgt. Andrea Hopkins, a reservist from the 1972nd Combat Stress Control Unit, who was among the mental-health team members called to Fort Hood after the shooting. "But it's just not something you expect at home."
Especially painful, she said, is the fact that the alleged shooter was a fellow mental-health provider, and that one of the soldiers wounded was a reservist from her Seattle-based unit.
As Hopkins stood at the airport last night awaiting another unit member's arrival, she struggled with her own cloud of emotions, including guilt that she hadn't been there for her fellow soldiers.
She and 12 other members of her unit had been slated to deploy to Iraq, but Hopkins' name had been taken off the list, she explained. She hadn't pushed to have her name reinstated -- mostly because she'd just returned from a deployment in 2007 -- and as a result, hadn't been with them at Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Processing Station on Nov. 5.
One of her fellow reservists was shot and ended up hospitalized. Another, Hopkins' battle buddy, hadn't been hurt, but was badly shaken by the incident. "It makes you feel responsible when they are your soldiers," Hopkins said. "My soldiers were there, and I wasn't there for my battle buddy."
If there's one positive takeaway from the tragedy, Rodriquez said, it's knowing how his fellow soldiers stood up to protect and help each other while in the line of fire.
"I'm so proud of these guys," he said. "They did exactly what the Army taught them. They took care of their battle buddies and watched out for them. And when you think about what they did, the pride comes back."
Lands predicted that today's ceremony will help the entire Fort Hood community share that sense of pride, while helping families "get over the hump" to begin the long process of healing.
"They are going to see the good part of what we do: the perfection of the military, and how we honor soldiers, how we honor families and friends," he said.
Lands said he's been amazed at tragedy's unexpected impact. "I've seen the community come together like never before," he said. "We're stronger today than we ever were before."
Monday, November 09, 2009
MILITARY CONTRACTS November 9, 2009
AIR FORCE
Booz Allen & Hamilton, Inc., of Herndon, Va., was awarded a $108,771,191 contract which will provide for the operation of a survivability/vulnerability information analysis center for a three-year option period. At this time, no money has been obligated. The contracting activity is 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., (SP0700-03-D-1380).
NAVY
General Atomics, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $102,200,000 modification to the previously awarded Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System Ship-set undefinitized contract action (N68335-09-C-0573) to provide for the production of one advanced arresting gear system ship-set for CVN-78. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (35 percent); Mt. Pleasant, Pa. (28 percent); Tupelo, Miss. (15 percent); Waltham, Mass. (12 percent); and Aston, Pa. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contracting activity is the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Bethpage, N.Y., is being awarded a $15,570,058 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-03-C-0057) to provide Phase I aircraft data management efforts in support of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye System Development and Demonstration program. Work will be performed in Bethpage, N.Y. (71.3 percent); Grand Rapids, Mich. (9.3 percent); Woodland Hills, Calif. (6 percent); St. Augustine, Fla. (5.4 percent); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (3 percent); Norfolk, Va. (2.2 percent); and various locations within the United States (2.8 percent). Work is expected to be completed in July 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $11,030,005 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contracting activity is the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md.
NexGen Communications LLC, Dulles, Va., is being awarded a $9,687,500 firm-fixed-price contract for the supply of 1,450 distributed tactical communication systems- radio only (DTCS-RO) communication devices. The DTCS-RO communication devices are communications systems that are hand-held, on-the-move, over-the-horizon, beyond line-of-sight command and control systems suitable for tactical operations. Work will be performed in Dulles, Va., and is expected to be completed by March 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $9,687,500 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The contracting activity is the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Va., (N00178-10-C-3056).
Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems – Marine Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded a $6,793,942 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract to provide preliminary SSP Alteration (SPALT) design of the D5 missile, hoist S/N 0002 upgrade for shipyard use only. As part of the preliminary SPALT design effort, the contractor shall refurbish, modify or replace parts of the existing hoist to bring the hoist to a condition and configuration capable of accomplishing active inert missile moves on a ballistic missile submarine. Work will be performed in Sunnyvale, Calif. (20 percent), and Kings Bay, Ga. (80 percent). Work is expected to be completed July 31, 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was not competitively procured. The contracting activity is the Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., (N00030-10-C-0028).
Booz Allen & Hamilton, Inc., of Herndon, Va., was awarded a $108,771,191 contract which will provide for the operation of a survivability/vulnerability information analysis center for a three-year option period. At this time, no money has been obligated. The contracting activity is 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., (SP0700-03-D-1380).
NAVY
General Atomics, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $102,200,000 modification to the previously awarded Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System Ship-set undefinitized contract action (N68335-09-C-0573) to provide for the production of one advanced arresting gear system ship-set for CVN-78. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (35 percent); Mt. Pleasant, Pa. (28 percent); Tupelo, Miss. (15 percent); Waltham, Mass. (12 percent); and Aston, Pa. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contracting activity is the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Bethpage, N.Y., is being awarded a $15,570,058 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-03-C-0057) to provide Phase I aircraft data management efforts in support of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye System Development and Demonstration program. Work will be performed in Bethpage, N.Y. (71.3 percent); Grand Rapids, Mich. (9.3 percent); Woodland Hills, Calif. (6 percent); St. Augustine, Fla. (5.4 percent); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (3 percent); Norfolk, Va. (2.2 percent); and various locations within the United States (2.8 percent). Work is expected to be completed in July 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $11,030,005 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contracting activity is the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md.
NexGen Communications LLC, Dulles, Va., is being awarded a $9,687,500 firm-fixed-price contract for the supply of 1,450 distributed tactical communication systems- radio only (DTCS-RO) communication devices. The DTCS-RO communication devices are communications systems that are hand-held, on-the-move, over-the-horizon, beyond line-of-sight command and control systems suitable for tactical operations. Work will be performed in Dulles, Va., and is expected to be completed by March 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $9,687,500 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The contracting activity is the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Va., (N00178-10-C-3056).
Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems – Marine Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded a $6,793,942 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract to provide preliminary SSP Alteration (SPALT) design of the D5 missile, hoist S/N 0002 upgrade for shipyard use only. As part of the preliminary SPALT design effort, the contractor shall refurbish, modify or replace parts of the existing hoist to bring the hoist to a condition and configuration capable of accomplishing active inert missile moves on a ballistic missile submarine. Work will be performed in Sunnyvale, Calif. (20 percent), and Kings Bay, Ga. (80 percent). Work is expected to be completed July 31, 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was not competitively procured. The contracting activity is the Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., (N00030-10-C-0028).
Symposium Draws Top Medical Professionals
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - The conference room was filled with doctors, nurses, scientists and top officials, all subject-matter experts in their respective medical fields. Some wore military uniforms, others business suits. Some were versed on the science of traumatic brain injuries. Others were veterans of combat hospital trauma.
They gathered here Nov. 6 to discuss how to be better partners in research and care. For the good of the troops, both sides need to work together, they said.
But for all the slides, illustrations, videos and questions, the reality of such a partnership walked to the podium during lunch.
"I stand here today as an example of a miracle -- the power of military and civilian medicine coming together," said Army Lt. Col. Gregory Gadson.
Gadson was the guest of award-winning singer Faith Hill at the Partnership for Military Medicine symposium, a two-day event aimed at promoting better cooperation between military and civilian research and medicine. Standing before the crowd on two of the most advanced prosthetic legs in the world, Gadson served as testament to benefits of a partnership between the two medical worlds.
"It makes it possible for me to live. But not only live, but stand here and talk to you today," he said.
A roadside bomb in Iraq destroyed Gadson's legs in May 2007. In the two years that have followed, he has tested some of the most advance prosthetic devices available.
Gadson was the first person to use the finished version of the Power Knee2, a next-generation powered prosthetic knee featuring new artificial intelligence and sensor technology that makes it possible for above-the-knee amputees to walk with increased confidence, safety and a more natural gait.
The Army officer became involved in the project when the designers asked him to walk on the original Power Knee produced in 2006. Gadson traveled to Iceland, where the designer is based, to participate in the development.
He praised both his military and civilian doctors for their efforts to "push the envelope" in advancing prosthetic devices.
"They realize that we can still be courageous, not only on the battlefield, but as we try to get our lives together," Gadson said.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have produced similar advancements in other medical fields, officials at the seminar said. The lessons the military learns feed civilian medical professionals, and vice versa.
"Every major conflict since the civil war has produced improvements in military medicine that have also had a direct impact on civilian health," said Ellen P. Embrey, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs and acting director of Tricare Management Activity, speaking at the symposium.
Medical lessons learned in wartime spurred the development of mobile hospitals and improved amputation procedures. They documented links between immediate treatment and survival and sanitation and infection.
In the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the enemy's use of improvised explosive devices have led to advancements in treating injuries that in past wars would have been fatal, Embrey said.
The advancements have spread to the lowest level. In the field, new bandages are fielded that can stop severe bleeding almost instantly.
Even Gadson noted the advancements in the field first-aid kits from the time he served in the 1991 Gulf War until now. He went through 129 pints of blood the night of his injury. Gadson acknowledged that if he had suffered the same injuries in his first deployment, he likely would not be alive today.
The development of prosthetic devices has seen a revolution in the past eight years, Embrey said, including a hand that can be moved by thought, developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Other recent military medical advances include a portable sensor system that guides combat medics during resuscitation; robotic support for battlefield tele-surgery; and regenerative medicine that includes techniques that prompt the body to regenerate cells and tissues.
Embrey cited remarkable advances in head injury treatment, as well as facial reconstruction and efforts to identify and treat traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Defense Department officials would like to accelerate the translation of medical technology into deployed products, Embrey said, and collaboration with civilian partners accelerates this opportunity.
She cited a recent department initiative that offers special funding for medical programs for which research can be translated quickly into treatments for wounded warriors to restore form and function and help them reclaim independence. Recipients of the funds have to achieve clinical use within 18 months.
Last month, two civilian hospitals were awarded such funding -- one was for facial reconstruction and the second for surgical techniques that can precisely shape facial features.
But for all of the advances to date, Embrey said, the future includes closer cooperation between civilian and military medical professionals.
"Today, the military cannot make all of these advancements without collaboration with our civilian partners," she said. "And the pace of making medical improvements depends on that collaboration."
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - The conference room was filled with doctors, nurses, scientists and top officials, all subject-matter experts in their respective medical fields. Some wore military uniforms, others business suits. Some were versed on the science of traumatic brain injuries. Others were veterans of combat hospital trauma.
They gathered here Nov. 6 to discuss how to be better partners in research and care. For the good of the troops, both sides need to work together, they said.
But for all the slides, illustrations, videos and questions, the reality of such a partnership walked to the podium during lunch.
"I stand here today as an example of a miracle -- the power of military and civilian medicine coming together," said Army Lt. Col. Gregory Gadson.
Gadson was the guest of award-winning singer Faith Hill at the Partnership for Military Medicine symposium, a two-day event aimed at promoting better cooperation between military and civilian research and medicine. Standing before the crowd on two of the most advanced prosthetic legs in the world, Gadson served as testament to benefits of a partnership between the two medical worlds.
"It makes it possible for me to live. But not only live, but stand here and talk to you today," he said.
A roadside bomb in Iraq destroyed Gadson's legs in May 2007. In the two years that have followed, he has tested some of the most advance prosthetic devices available.
Gadson was the first person to use the finished version of the Power Knee2, a next-generation powered prosthetic knee featuring new artificial intelligence and sensor technology that makes it possible for above-the-knee amputees to walk with increased confidence, safety and a more natural gait.
The Army officer became involved in the project when the designers asked him to walk on the original Power Knee produced in 2006. Gadson traveled to Iceland, where the designer is based, to participate in the development.
He praised both his military and civilian doctors for their efforts to "push the envelope" in advancing prosthetic devices.
"They realize that we can still be courageous, not only on the battlefield, but as we try to get our lives together," Gadson said.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have produced similar advancements in other medical fields, officials at the seminar said. The lessons the military learns feed civilian medical professionals, and vice versa.
"Every major conflict since the civil war has produced improvements in military medicine that have also had a direct impact on civilian health," said Ellen P. Embrey, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs and acting director of Tricare Management Activity, speaking at the symposium.
Medical lessons learned in wartime spurred the development of mobile hospitals and improved amputation procedures. They documented links between immediate treatment and survival and sanitation and infection.
In the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the enemy's use of improvised explosive devices have led to advancements in treating injuries that in past wars would have been fatal, Embrey said.
The advancements have spread to the lowest level. In the field, new bandages are fielded that can stop severe bleeding almost instantly.
Even Gadson noted the advancements in the field first-aid kits from the time he served in the 1991 Gulf War until now. He went through 129 pints of blood the night of his injury. Gadson acknowledged that if he had suffered the same injuries in his first deployment, he likely would not be alive today.
The development of prosthetic devices has seen a revolution in the past eight years, Embrey said, including a hand that can be moved by thought, developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Other recent military medical advances include a portable sensor system that guides combat medics during resuscitation; robotic support for battlefield tele-surgery; and regenerative medicine that includes techniques that prompt the body to regenerate cells and tissues.
Embrey cited remarkable advances in head injury treatment, as well as facial reconstruction and efforts to identify and treat traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Defense Department officials would like to accelerate the translation of medical technology into deployed products, Embrey said, and collaboration with civilian partners accelerates this opportunity.
She cited a recent department initiative that offers special funding for medical programs for which research can be translated quickly into treatments for wounded warriors to restore form and function and help them reclaim independence. Recipients of the funds have to achieve clinical use within 18 months.
Last month, two civilian hospitals were awarded such funding -- one was for facial reconstruction and the second for surgical techniques that can precisely shape facial features.
But for all of the advances to date, Embrey said, the future includes closer cooperation between civilian and military medical professionals.
"Today, the military cannot make all of these advancements without collaboration with our civilian partners," she said. "And the pace of making medical improvements depends on that collaboration."
Chaplain Helps Others Fight Stress
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - Readers of Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down" can put the book aside when they've had enough of their mind's reaction of the brutal 1993 battle of Mogadishu, Somalia. But Chaplain (Maj.) Jeff Struecker isn't that lucky. The decorated Army Ranger was charged with leading the ground assault force on all the targets that the task force hit in Somalia.
"I had been shot at and seen many dead warriors [before Mogadishu]," Struecker said. "I never experienced anything like the violence and the overwhelming sense of desperation like I experienced in Somalia. After losing one of my men and having many others wounded around me, I found a great sense of peace and courage through my faith."
Struecker, who also deployed to Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989 and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East in 1991, went back and forth into Mogadishu three times during the main firefight.
His experience in the Somalian capital was a turning point for the soldier who's currently deployed to Afghanistan with the 75th Ranger Regimental Special Troops Battalion.
"My wife, Dawn, and I had a great relationship before Somalia, but after the operation we both understood just how fragile human life is and how valuable our relationship is," he said. "Somalia helped me put my priorities in order."
It also led him to consider pursuing a different aspect of his military career.
"After the big firefight was over, I had many men that I work with asking me questions about matters of faith and how to deal with the trauma of an event like this," Struecker said. "It was this experience -- talking with my friends about combat stress and faith in Jesus Christ after the big firefight -- that caused me to start thinking about becoming an Army chaplain."
Since 2001, every time Struecker has deployed, it's been as a chaplain, drawing on the combat experiences he's had during his 22-year military career to help servicemembers dealing with the traumatic stress they may be feeling.
"I talk to them about what has helped me and others in similar situations like theirs," he said. "I [also] work diligently to stay abreast of resources for warriors who are struggling with the weight of their profession."
Those resources are much more plentiful than they were in the days surrounding Mogadishu, Struecker said.
"The task force had a unit psychologist and a chaplain available to answer questions and work with guys, but most of them were overloaded with the amount of people coming to see them," he said. "The U.S. military, and specifically the [Department of] Veterans Affairs, has done greater work in the past few years helping warriors deal with the stress of combat than I have ever seen in my life."
Struecker is deployed to Afghanistan from Fort Benning, Ga. He and his wife, Dawn, are both from Fort Dodge, Iowa, and have five children -- six, if you count the family's black Labrador retriever.
"[He] acts like one of our children most of the time," Struecker said.
Struecker, who enjoys reading and running in his off-duty hours, said he feels strongly about helping other servicemembers deal with the traumatic stress they may feel after combat.
"It is an enormous burden to carry for those warriors that have been directly affected by the stress of severe combat," Struecker said. "Our nation owes all our warriors a debt of gratitude. We especially need to honor these courageous men and women for their service to our country and for the sacrifices that their families have made for our freedoms."
Struecker recently received the "Unsung Hero" award for using his experiences to help others dealing with the effects of traumatic stress. The award was presented at the Country United Gala here, the final piece of a two-day event that included the Partnership for Military Medicine Symposium.
The symposium highlighted discoveries in military medicine and fostered collaborations among military and civilian partners to further advance research and clinical care. The Country United Gala recognized the efforts of medical researchers, clinicians, and educators, as well as friends of military medicine.
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine joined with the Tug McGraw Foundation to present the symposium and gala.
The Tug McGraw Foundation was established in 2003 to enhance the quality of life of children and adults with brain tumors, and in 2009 expanded programs to include post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - Readers of Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down" can put the book aside when they've had enough of their mind's reaction of the brutal 1993 battle of Mogadishu, Somalia. But Chaplain (Maj.) Jeff Struecker isn't that lucky. The decorated Army Ranger was charged with leading the ground assault force on all the targets that the task force hit in Somalia.
"I had been shot at and seen many dead warriors [before Mogadishu]," Struecker said. "I never experienced anything like the violence and the overwhelming sense of desperation like I experienced in Somalia. After losing one of my men and having many others wounded around me, I found a great sense of peace and courage through my faith."
Struecker, who also deployed to Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989 and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East in 1991, went back and forth into Mogadishu three times during the main firefight.
His experience in the Somalian capital was a turning point for the soldier who's currently deployed to Afghanistan with the 75th Ranger Regimental Special Troops Battalion.
"My wife, Dawn, and I had a great relationship before Somalia, but after the operation we both understood just how fragile human life is and how valuable our relationship is," he said. "Somalia helped me put my priorities in order."
It also led him to consider pursuing a different aspect of his military career.
"After the big firefight was over, I had many men that I work with asking me questions about matters of faith and how to deal with the trauma of an event like this," Struecker said. "It was this experience -- talking with my friends about combat stress and faith in Jesus Christ after the big firefight -- that caused me to start thinking about becoming an Army chaplain."
Since 2001, every time Struecker has deployed, it's been as a chaplain, drawing on the combat experiences he's had during his 22-year military career to help servicemembers dealing with the traumatic stress they may be feeling.
"I talk to them about what has helped me and others in similar situations like theirs," he said. "I [also] work diligently to stay abreast of resources for warriors who are struggling with the weight of their profession."
Those resources are much more plentiful than they were in the days surrounding Mogadishu, Struecker said.
"The task force had a unit psychologist and a chaplain available to answer questions and work with guys, but most of them were overloaded with the amount of people coming to see them," he said. "The U.S. military, and specifically the [Department of] Veterans Affairs, has done greater work in the past few years helping warriors deal with the stress of combat than I have ever seen in my life."
Struecker is deployed to Afghanistan from Fort Benning, Ga. He and his wife, Dawn, are both from Fort Dodge, Iowa, and have five children -- six, if you count the family's black Labrador retriever.
"[He] acts like one of our children most of the time," Struecker said.
Struecker, who enjoys reading and running in his off-duty hours, said he feels strongly about helping other servicemembers deal with the traumatic stress they may feel after combat.
"It is an enormous burden to carry for those warriors that have been directly affected by the stress of severe combat," Struecker said. "Our nation owes all our warriors a debt of gratitude. We especially need to honor these courageous men and women for their service to our country and for the sacrifices that their families have made for our freedoms."
Struecker recently received the "Unsung Hero" award for using his experiences to help others dealing with the effects of traumatic stress. The award was presented at the Country United Gala here, the final piece of a two-day event that included the Partnership for Military Medicine Symposium.
The symposium highlighted discoveries in military medicine and fostered collaborations among military and civilian partners to further advance research and clinical care. The Country United Gala recognized the efforts of medical researchers, clinicians, and educators, as well as friends of military medicine.
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine joined with the Tug McGraw Foundation to present the symposium and gala.
The Tug McGraw Foundation was established in 2003 to enhance the quality of life of children and adults with brain tumors, and in 2009 expanded programs to include post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
Officials Plan Fort Hood Memorial Service
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - President Barack Obama will join Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Army Secretary John M. McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. at Fort Hood, Texas, tomorrow for a ceremony to honor the victims of the Nov. 5 shooting rampage that left 13 dead and 38 wounded. Many of those wounded in the attack have recovered enough to attend the ceremony, said Army Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, commander of 3rd Corps and Fort Hood.
"We still have 15 of our great soldiers hospitalized; eight are in intensive care, and seven are in wards," Cone said during a news conference at Fort Hood today. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families during this difficult time."
Cone said he is most concerned that the healing phase begins. "I think what's absolutely critical is that we understand the nature of what has happened here," he told reporters. "There are probably about 600 people who were somehow directly touched by this incident."
Cone said authorities' initial focus in these last three days has been working on getting those 600 people the right behavioral assessments and counseling.
Now, officials are dealing with the larger population at the sprawling post. "I had a very good session yesterday with ... the civilian personnel and the soldiers who worked at the soldier readiness site, and had a good opportunity to address their concerns," Cone said. "And ... they began their processing through this critical-incident debrief process."
Soldiers are among the best prepared to deal with the stress of this incident, the general noted, because they have had training and experience. "Many of us are used to being in theater, and something like this happens, and we come back right away. We get on with the mission. We do the memorial service, we send our comrades home, and then we move on with the mission," he said.
But dealing with the civilians and families poses more of a challenge. They've always considered the base to be a safe place, Cone noted, and now officials must devise ways to help them. "We are right now in the process of executing a comprehensive program to address the needs of all of these populations," he said.
Officials also must find ways to help soldiers who suffered post-traumatic stress from earlier combat-related incidents, Cone said. They, too, saw Fort Hood as a safe place. "We don't really know what the impact of something like this has on them," the general acknowledged.
The Army has mobilized resources to help, with 27 military family life consultants, 18 combat stress control teams, 41 behavioral health specialists and 57 ministry support teams on the ground at Fort Hood.
"We have additional resources coming in as we need it," Cone said. "As General Casey tells me, the entire resources of the United States Army are at the disposal of Fort Hood and its population to help deal with the impact of this event."
People who wish to donate to aid the victims and the families have a number of options.
Checks can be mailed to:
Chaplain's Fund Office
Bldg 44, 761st Tank Battalion Ave.
Fort Hood, TX 76544-5000
Checks should be made payable to "CTOF" -- which stands for Chapel's Tithes and Offerings Fund -- with a note on the memo line stating "Nov. 5 Tragedy."
Contributions on behalf of Fort Hood soldiers also can be made to:
Fisher House
Bldg 36015, Fisher Lane
Fort Hood, TX 76544
For questions about the Fisher House operation, phone 254-286-7927 or 254-286-7929.
Donations also can be made through the Red Cross:
Killeen Red Cross
208 W. Ave. A
Killeen, TX 76541
Phone 254-200-4400 or visit http://www.waco.redcross.org.
Finally, donations can be made through the USO:
USO Fort Hood
Building 1871, 50th St.
Fort Hood, TX 76544
Phone: 254-768-2771 or visit http://www.uso.org.
In related news, the Army Criminal Investigation Command is seeking anyone who may have left the area of the shooting with gunshot damage to their vehicles or clothing, and anyone who may inadvertently have left the scene with material that could be used as evidence -- shell casings inside their boot, for example.
The evidence would aid CID and FBI investigators, officials said.
Officials said gunshot-damaged material needs to be inspected by the soldier's or civilian's supervisor or chain of command, and commanders or first sergeants must verify that the person providing the evidence was at the scene.
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - President Barack Obama will join Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Army Secretary John M. McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. at Fort Hood, Texas, tomorrow for a ceremony to honor the victims of the Nov. 5 shooting rampage that left 13 dead and 38 wounded. Many of those wounded in the attack have recovered enough to attend the ceremony, said Army Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, commander of 3rd Corps and Fort Hood.
"We still have 15 of our great soldiers hospitalized; eight are in intensive care, and seven are in wards," Cone said during a news conference at Fort Hood today. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families during this difficult time."
Cone said he is most concerned that the healing phase begins. "I think what's absolutely critical is that we understand the nature of what has happened here," he told reporters. "There are probably about 600 people who were somehow directly touched by this incident."
Cone said authorities' initial focus in these last three days has been working on getting those 600 people the right behavioral assessments and counseling.
Now, officials are dealing with the larger population at the sprawling post. "I had a very good session yesterday with ... the civilian personnel and the soldiers who worked at the soldier readiness site, and had a good opportunity to address their concerns," Cone said. "And ... they began their processing through this critical-incident debrief process."
Soldiers are among the best prepared to deal with the stress of this incident, the general noted, because they have had training and experience. "Many of us are used to being in theater, and something like this happens, and we come back right away. We get on with the mission. We do the memorial service, we send our comrades home, and then we move on with the mission," he said.
But dealing with the civilians and families poses more of a challenge. They've always considered the base to be a safe place, Cone noted, and now officials must devise ways to help them. "We are right now in the process of executing a comprehensive program to address the needs of all of these populations," he said.
Officials also must find ways to help soldiers who suffered post-traumatic stress from earlier combat-related incidents, Cone said. They, too, saw Fort Hood as a safe place. "We don't really know what the impact of something like this has on them," the general acknowledged.
The Army has mobilized resources to help, with 27 military family life consultants, 18 combat stress control teams, 41 behavioral health specialists and 57 ministry support teams on the ground at Fort Hood.
"We have additional resources coming in as we need it," Cone said. "As General Casey tells me, the entire resources of the United States Army are at the disposal of Fort Hood and its population to help deal with the impact of this event."
People who wish to donate to aid the victims and the families have a number of options.
Checks can be mailed to:
Chaplain's Fund Office
Bldg 44, 761st Tank Battalion Ave.
Fort Hood, TX 76544-5000
Checks should be made payable to "CTOF" -- which stands for Chapel's Tithes and Offerings Fund -- with a note on the memo line stating "Nov. 5 Tragedy."
Contributions on behalf of Fort Hood soldiers also can be made to:
Fisher House
Bldg 36015, Fisher Lane
Fort Hood, TX 76544
For questions about the Fisher House operation, phone 254-286-7927 or 254-286-7929.
Donations also can be made through the Red Cross:
Killeen Red Cross
208 W. Ave. A
Killeen, TX 76541
Phone 254-200-4400 or visit http://www.waco.redcross.org.
Finally, donations can be made through the USO:
USO Fort Hood
Building 1871, 50th St.
Fort Hood, TX 76544
Phone: 254-768-2771 or visit http://www.uso.org.
In related news, the Army Criminal Investigation Command is seeking anyone who may have left the area of the shooting with gunshot damage to their vehicles or clothing, and anyone who may inadvertently have left the scene with material that could be used as evidence -- shell casings inside their boot, for example.
The evidence would aid CID and FBI investigators, officials said.
Officials said gunshot-damaged material needs to be inspected by the soldier's or civilian's supervisor or chain of command, and commanders or first sergeants must verify that the person providing the evidence was at the scene.
VFW Gives Troops Free Talk Time on Veterans Day
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - Deployed and hospitalized servicemembers are expected to make about 120,000 calls home this Veterans Day, and it won't cost them one thin dime. The Veterans of Foreign Wars organization is once again offering "Free Call Day" through its Operation Uplink program. USAA, which offers financial services to servicemembers, is sponsoring the day of free phoning, which is expected to total some 1 million minutes.
"We are very pleased to join forces with USAA, an association recognized as a devoted friend and advocate of the military community, to offer a special Veterans Day Free Call Day," said Dan Shea, director of the VFW Foundation. "Calling home, even for a few brief minutes, is a tremendous morale boost for our soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen, and helps families stay connected despite deployments."
Servicemembers can visit one of nearly 900 Internet cafes in Iraq and Afghanistan between midnight and 11:59 p.m. Iraq time to place their free call home. Callers will need a SPAWAR prepaid personal identification number. The PINs can be obtained by visiting the SPAWAR site, http://www.oif.spawareurope.net/index.htm. SPAWAR is a contractor that provides voice-over-Internet phone service for deployed forces.
In other locations where a PIN number has been requested, the free calls also will be available at hospitals and morale, welfare and recreation service centers on bases worldwide. Users will have to make their calls between the same hours Iraqi time, as well.
Internet café managers may have a PIN available for non-account holders to use on Nov. 11 only.
"At USAA ... it is our privilege to support the VFW's Operation Uplink, which gives [servicemembers] an opportunity to hear their loved ones' voices, helping ease the burden of separation that military service often requires," said retired Navy Rear Adm. John Townes, vice president of military affairs for USAA. "As we expand our business to serve many more military veterans, we look forward to additional opportunities to work with the VFW to help those who serve our nation as well as those who have served."
The VFW launched Operation Uplink in 1996. It has contributed more than 105 million minutes of free calling time to U.S. servicemembers. The program works exclusively with DRS Technical Services to provide the Free Call Day program.
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - Deployed and hospitalized servicemembers are expected to make about 120,000 calls home this Veterans Day, and it won't cost them one thin dime. The Veterans of Foreign Wars organization is once again offering "Free Call Day" through its Operation Uplink program. USAA, which offers financial services to servicemembers, is sponsoring the day of free phoning, which is expected to total some 1 million minutes.
"We are very pleased to join forces with USAA, an association recognized as a devoted friend and advocate of the military community, to offer a special Veterans Day Free Call Day," said Dan Shea, director of the VFW Foundation. "Calling home, even for a few brief minutes, is a tremendous morale boost for our soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen, and helps families stay connected despite deployments."
Servicemembers can visit one of nearly 900 Internet cafes in Iraq and Afghanistan between midnight and 11:59 p.m. Iraq time to place their free call home. Callers will need a SPAWAR prepaid personal identification number. The PINs can be obtained by visiting the SPAWAR site, http://www.oif.spawareurope.net/index.htm. SPAWAR is a contractor that provides voice-over-Internet phone service for deployed forces.
In other locations where a PIN number has been requested, the free calls also will be available at hospitals and morale, welfare and recreation service centers on bases worldwide. Users will have to make their calls between the same hours Iraqi time, as well.
Internet café managers may have a PIN available for non-account holders to use on Nov. 11 only.
"At USAA ... it is our privilege to support the VFW's Operation Uplink, which gives [servicemembers] an opportunity to hear their loved ones' voices, helping ease the burden of separation that military service often requires," said retired Navy Rear Adm. John Townes, vice president of military affairs for USAA. "As we expand our business to serve many more military veterans, we look forward to additional opportunities to work with the VFW to help those who serve our nation as well as those who have served."
The VFW launched Operation Uplink in 1996. It has contributed more than 105 million minutes of free calling time to U.S. servicemembers. The program works exclusively with DRS Technical Services to provide the Free Call Day program.
USA Cares Announces Details of Fort Hood
Family Emergency Fund
Emergency fund will assist families with travel, housing and meals
Radcliff, KY—USA Cares has established the Fort Hood Family Emergency Fund in response to the tragic events that occurred last Thursday afternoon on the base of the Army’s largest installation. The fund, which serves to assist the immediate families of those wounded and killed, will provide for travel, housing and meals.
Bill Nelson, USA Cares Executive Director remarked, “Our goal is to ensure that victim’s family members do not have to worry about the financial hardships of travel at this time—we encourage them to visit our website for information on eligibility and benefits. Further, we ask Americans everywhere to go to www.usacares.org and donate in light of this tragedy.”
Those needing assistance may contact Forest Bruner of USA Cares directly at 800.773.0387. Bruner, a 20-year US Army retiree, is fielding calls directly in lieu of the normal online application. Visit www.usacares.org to donate to USA Care’s Fort Hood Family Emergency Fund.
About USA Cares
USA Cares is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that helps post 9/11 military families bear the burdens of service with financial and advocacy support. Its mission: To help with basic needs during financial crisis, to assist combat injured veterans and their families and to prevent private military home foreclosures and evictions. In six years, USA Cares has received over 19,000 requests and responded with more than $6 million in grants. US military families anywhere can apply for assistance through the USA Cares web site or by calling 800.773.0387. For more information on USA Cares contact John Revell or call 270.352.5451.
Emergency fund will assist families with travel, housing and meals
Radcliff, KY—USA Cares has established the Fort Hood Family Emergency Fund in response to the tragic events that occurred last Thursday afternoon on the base of the Army’s largest installation. The fund, which serves to assist the immediate families of those wounded and killed, will provide for travel, housing and meals.
Bill Nelson, USA Cares Executive Director remarked, “Our goal is to ensure that victim’s family members do not have to worry about the financial hardships of travel at this time—we encourage them to visit our website for information on eligibility and benefits. Further, we ask Americans everywhere to go to www.usacares.org and donate in light of this tragedy.”
Those needing assistance may contact Forest Bruner of USA Cares directly at 800.773.0387. Bruner, a 20-year US Army retiree, is fielding calls directly in lieu of the normal online application. Visit www.usacares.org to donate to USA Care’s Fort Hood Family Emergency Fund.
About USA Cares
USA Cares is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that helps post 9/11 military families bear the burdens of service with financial and advocacy support. Its mission: To help with basic needs during financial crisis, to assist combat injured veterans and their families and to prevent private military home foreclosures and evictions. In six years, USA Cares has received over 19,000 requests and responded with more than $6 million in grants. US military families anywhere can apply for assistance through the USA Cares web site or by calling 800.773.0387. For more information on USA Cares contact John Revell or call 270.352.5451.
Casey Pledges Progress on Mental Health Resources
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - The Army has worked hard on developing programs to maintain the psychological health of the service, but much more needs to be done, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said yesterday. Appearing on the CNN program "State of the Union," Casey reflected on his "gut-wrenching" and "up-lifting" visit to Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 6, the day after 13 people were murdered in a shooting spree, allegedly by an Army psychiatrist.
The general said the experience was gut-wrenching "because the suspect is one of our own, and it happened on one of our bases." But he added that he was heartened by stories of soldiers rushing to one another's aid. "But it's a kick in the gut," he said.
Because the alleged gunman is Muslim, the general expressed concern about the possibility of backlash against other Muslim soldiers. "I've asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that," he said. "As great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."
About 3,000 Muslim soldiers serve in the Army. The general said he doesn't believe there is discrimination against them, but that continued speculation on the alleged gunman's motivation might cause a backlash.
Casey emphasized that the Army has stressed mental fitness for several years and has launched campaigns to reduce the stigma associated with seeking health for psychological trauma. The service needs to do more, the general acknowledged, but has made a good start in bringing to the forefront the need to seek help for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury – the signature psychological wounds of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
The stigma attached to seeking mental health treatment is not just an Army problem, Casey noted. "This is a societal problem that we all have to wrestle with," he said.
The Army has hired more than 900 additional medical health providers in the last two years, Casey said, and the Tricare military health system has hired more than 2,800.
In addition, Casey said, a Defense Department military family life consultants program sends certified behavioral health specialists to Army brigades returning from deployment.
"It is a challenge, across the country, in the number of mental health providers that are available, particularly in rural areas," Casey said. "It's something that we all need to work together."
The Army is stressed and out of balance, Casey acknowledged. Many soldiers have deployed a number of times, and the service needs to increase the amount of "dwell time" soldiers spend at home stations between deployments. "We started in 2007 with a program to get ourselves back in balance by 2011," he said.
The Army has added 40,000 active duty soldiers since 2007 and has ended the 15-month deployments that were necessary to maintain the surge in Iraq. Officials also are working to eliminate the practice known as "Stop-Loss," in which the Army holds on to selected soldiers beyond their enlistment contracts.
"We're beginning to come off of Stop-Loss, and we're beginning to gradually increase the time the soldiers spend at home between deployments," Casey said. "We need to continue to make progress toward that goal of one year out, two years back, for the active force [and] one year out, four years back, for the Guard and Reserve."
Studies show that after a year in combat, it takes about two years to get stress levels back to normal garrison levels, Casey said.
Suicides have increased in the Army since 2004, and last year, the service exceeded the civilian rate.
"Unfortunately, the progression will remain about the same this year," Casey said. "We'll exceed the number of suicides last year."
The general noted the Army conducted a "suicide stand-down" across the entire force.
"One of the things as we looked at the challenges facing the Army was that we felt we were a little light on the preventive measures -- in giving soldiers the skills that they need to prevent mental problems and suicides," he said. "So we instituted in October a program called Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, which is a long-term development program designed to build resilience in our soldiers. And it's already implemented across the force.
"Tomorrow, we'll have 150 sergeants and a few family members up at University of Pennsylvania going through the first course to build master resilience trainers," he continued. "And our goal is by next year to have one of these trainers in every battalion in the Army. So we're looking at it both from the preventive side and from the assistance and treatment side."
The service continues to learn from incidents, and will learn from the suicide prevention program and the Fort Hood tragedy, the general said.
"We have to go back and look at ourselves and ask ourselves the hard questions. Are we doing the right things?" he said. "It's way too early to draw any kind of specific conclusions from it, but we'll ask ourselves the hard questions about what we're doing and about what changes we should make as a result of this incident at Fort Hood."
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - The Army has worked hard on developing programs to maintain the psychological health of the service, but much more needs to be done, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said yesterday. Appearing on the CNN program "State of the Union," Casey reflected on his "gut-wrenching" and "up-lifting" visit to Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 6, the day after 13 people were murdered in a shooting spree, allegedly by an Army psychiatrist.
The general said the experience was gut-wrenching "because the suspect is one of our own, and it happened on one of our bases." But he added that he was heartened by stories of soldiers rushing to one another's aid. "But it's a kick in the gut," he said.
Because the alleged gunman is Muslim, the general expressed concern about the possibility of backlash against other Muslim soldiers. "I've asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that," he said. "As great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."
About 3,000 Muslim soldiers serve in the Army. The general said he doesn't believe there is discrimination against them, but that continued speculation on the alleged gunman's motivation might cause a backlash.
Casey emphasized that the Army has stressed mental fitness for several years and has launched campaigns to reduce the stigma associated with seeking health for psychological trauma. The service needs to do more, the general acknowledged, but has made a good start in bringing to the forefront the need to seek help for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury – the signature psychological wounds of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
The stigma attached to seeking mental health treatment is not just an Army problem, Casey noted. "This is a societal problem that we all have to wrestle with," he said.
The Army has hired more than 900 additional medical health providers in the last two years, Casey said, and the Tricare military health system has hired more than 2,800.
In addition, Casey said, a Defense Department military family life consultants program sends certified behavioral health specialists to Army brigades returning from deployment.
"It is a challenge, across the country, in the number of mental health providers that are available, particularly in rural areas," Casey said. "It's something that we all need to work together."
The Army is stressed and out of balance, Casey acknowledged. Many soldiers have deployed a number of times, and the service needs to increase the amount of "dwell time" soldiers spend at home stations between deployments. "We started in 2007 with a program to get ourselves back in balance by 2011," he said.
The Army has added 40,000 active duty soldiers since 2007 and has ended the 15-month deployments that were necessary to maintain the surge in Iraq. Officials also are working to eliminate the practice known as "Stop-Loss," in which the Army holds on to selected soldiers beyond their enlistment contracts.
"We're beginning to come off of Stop-Loss, and we're beginning to gradually increase the time the soldiers spend at home between deployments," Casey said. "We need to continue to make progress toward that goal of one year out, two years back, for the active force [and] one year out, four years back, for the Guard and Reserve."
Studies show that after a year in combat, it takes about two years to get stress levels back to normal garrison levels, Casey said.
Suicides have increased in the Army since 2004, and last year, the service exceeded the civilian rate.
"Unfortunately, the progression will remain about the same this year," Casey said. "We'll exceed the number of suicides last year."
The general noted the Army conducted a "suicide stand-down" across the entire force.
"One of the things as we looked at the challenges facing the Army was that we felt we were a little light on the preventive measures -- in giving soldiers the skills that they need to prevent mental problems and suicides," he said. "So we instituted in October a program called Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, which is a long-term development program designed to build resilience in our soldiers. And it's already implemented across the force.
"Tomorrow, we'll have 150 sergeants and a few family members up at University of Pennsylvania going through the first course to build master resilience trainers," he continued. "And our goal is by next year to have one of these trainers in every battalion in the Army. So we're looking at it both from the preventive side and from the assistance and treatment side."
The service continues to learn from incidents, and will learn from the suicide prevention program and the Fort Hood tragedy, the general said.
"We have to go back and look at ourselves and ask ourselves the hard questions. Are we doing the right things?" he said. "It's way too early to draw any kind of specific conclusions from it, but we'll ask ourselves the hard questions about what we're doing and about what changes we should make as a result of this incident at Fort Hood."
Gates Delegates Training Decision to Army Secretary
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has delegated the authority to order up to 45 days of pre-mobilization training for reserve-component soldiers to the secretary of the Army. The change will allow Army Secretary John M. McHugh to authorize "contiguous training" for selected National Guard and Army Reserve units. The delegation authority will last for one year.
The term refers to inactive duty training or annual training conducted immediately before units are mobilized for federal service.
"This whole request originated with the state and territory adjutants general," said Dennis M. McCarthy, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs. State National Guard leaders asked for clarification of Gates' policy on the use of reserve-component forces. A big part of the policy is that federal mobilization would last for one year, including train-up and deployment.
Previously, Gates personally approved contiguous training for some units where it made sense, McCarthy said, and this is the reason for the delegation of authority to the Army, where the same rules will apply. Reserve-component aviation units can receive up to 45 days of contiguous training. Other types of units can receive up to 30 days contiguous training.
Contiguous training also helps to ensure unit soldiers get sufficient training, even in cases of late notification or personnel fills. "We do not expect every unit will want or need contiguous training," McCarthy said.
This will mean less turmoil among servicemembers, their families and employers, McCarthy said. Under the old system, units would train in weeklong or two-week increments. "This meant an on-again, off-again cycle of training, and employers, particularly, found this difficult," he said.
Allowing contiguous training means soldiers go through the training closer to home and often can spend nights or weekends at home. "The bottom line for the adjutants general was they felt this was a less disruptive policy for soldiers, families and employers," McCarthy said.
Gates put the one-year limit in place in 2007 because some reservists were being called to active duty and spending 16 to 24 months away from home. The defense secretary wanted to cut the stress on reservists, their families and their employers, and move to the ideal of one year deployed to five years at home.
"The bottom-line key question for Secretary Gates on this was whether approving it would break faith with soldiers and their families," McCarthy said. "He studied the proposal long and hard, and met with all those involved."
The proposal moved up the chain and picked up the concurrence of the chief of the Army Reserve, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, the Army chief of staff, the Army secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Joint Chiefs chairman, concurred with their recommendation in a July 22 letter to the secretary.
McCarthy has met with mobilizing soldiers. "It's not universal, but the vast majority feel this is a better way to go," he said.
Gates has tasked McCarthy to study the situation and address pre- and post-deployment requirements. McCarthy must submit his report by June 30.
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 9, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has delegated the authority to order up to 45 days of pre-mobilization training for reserve-component soldiers to the secretary of the Army. The change will allow Army Secretary John M. McHugh to authorize "contiguous training" for selected National Guard and Army Reserve units. The delegation authority will last for one year.
The term refers to inactive duty training or annual training conducted immediately before units are mobilized for federal service.
"This whole request originated with the state and territory adjutants general," said Dennis M. McCarthy, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs. State National Guard leaders asked for clarification of Gates' policy on the use of reserve-component forces. A big part of the policy is that federal mobilization would last for one year, including train-up and deployment.
Previously, Gates personally approved contiguous training for some units where it made sense, McCarthy said, and this is the reason for the delegation of authority to the Army, where the same rules will apply. Reserve-component aviation units can receive up to 45 days of contiguous training. Other types of units can receive up to 30 days contiguous training.
Contiguous training also helps to ensure unit soldiers get sufficient training, even in cases of late notification or personnel fills. "We do not expect every unit will want or need contiguous training," McCarthy said.
This will mean less turmoil among servicemembers, their families and employers, McCarthy said. Under the old system, units would train in weeklong or two-week increments. "This meant an on-again, off-again cycle of training, and employers, particularly, found this difficult," he said.
Allowing contiguous training means soldiers go through the training closer to home and often can spend nights or weekends at home. "The bottom line for the adjutants general was they felt this was a less disruptive policy for soldiers, families and employers," McCarthy said.
Gates put the one-year limit in place in 2007 because some reservists were being called to active duty and spending 16 to 24 months away from home. The defense secretary wanted to cut the stress on reservists, their families and their employers, and move to the ideal of one year deployed to five years at home.
"The bottom-line key question for Secretary Gates on this was whether approving it would break faith with soldiers and their families," McCarthy said. "He studied the proposal long and hard, and met with all those involved."
The proposal moved up the chain and picked up the concurrence of the chief of the Army Reserve, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, the Army chief of staff, the Army secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Joint Chiefs chairman, concurred with their recommendation in a July 22 letter to the secretary.
McCarthy has met with mobilizing soldiers. "It's not universal, but the vast majority feel this is a better way to go," he said.
Gates has tasked McCarthy to study the situation and address pre- and post-deployment requirements. McCarthy must submit his report by June 30.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
USS New York Receives Official Commission
By Gerry J. GilmoreAmerican Forces Press Service
Nov. 7, 2009 - A new Navy ship named in honor of the courage displayed by New York City's residents during and after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks received its official commission today. The USS New York recalls "the searing memories of Sept. 11" as well as "the bravery of the rescuers, the resolve of the survivors, the compassion of this city and the patriotism of this great country," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said during the ship's commissioning ceremony at New York City harbor. Clinton was a member of the U.S. Senate representing New York state during 9/11.
Part of the bow, or front, of the new ship, Clinton said, is constructed of 7.5 tons of melted-down steel taken from the wreckage of the World Trade Center's twin towers that were destroyed during the terrorist attacks.
The motto of the USS New York, Clinton said, is "Strength Forged through Sacrifice: Never Forget."
No one "will ever forget the image of twisted girders and shattered beams looming above the smoldering pile" of wreckage, Clinton said.
The USS New York is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship. It was christened March 1 in a New Orleans' shipyard by Dotty England, the ship's sponsor and wife of former Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England.
The USS New York and its crew, Clinton said, will join in the fight against terrorism and extremism and also perform humanitarian missions worldwide.
The new ship's first commander is Navy Cmdr. F. Curtis Jones, a native of Binghamton, N.Y. The vessel has a crew of more than 350 sailors and can transport a landing force of 800 Marines and their equipment.
Clinton was accompanied at the ceremony by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus; Navy Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations; Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway; and other senior officials.
Mabus hailed the USS New York as "a visible testament to our resilience, to the character of this city, to the strength of this country."
The 9/11 attacks, Mabus said, failed to destroy neither America's spirit nor its resolve to defeat worldwide extremism.
"And, that's what this ship represents," he said.
Mabus saluted the men and women who comprise the New York's crew.
"The nation and our Navy are incredibly proud of you and all that you have done to prepare the New York for her operational life," Mabus said of the ship's crew. "You have begun to shape the spirit and the soul of this ship, just as surely as the builders laid the keel, placed the engines, [and] installed the weapons."
The New York and her sailors and Marines are now "ready to sail in harm's way, on any point on any of the world's oceans, to prevent conflict, when possible, and to win decisively, when necessary," Roughead said.
The U.S. flag that waves above the New York's decks, Roughead said, serves "as a symbol and a message of freedom, of commitment and of resolve."
As the New York embarks on her maiden voyage, Conway said, the warship "will carry the spirit, the determination, and the defiance that has always been America."
And, though terrorists attacked the American homeland eight years ago, they "will not change who we are or what we believe," Conway vowed.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
In the Line of Fire: Fort Hood First Responders Heroically Save Lives
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Joy Pariante
Special to American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - "Pop, pop, pop." Those were the sounds Fort Hood's first responders heard when they arrived at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center here Thursday. Inside the center, among rows of waiting chairs and blood draw stations, innocent people were dying. A gunman was shooting into the crowded screening area. Panicked soldiers, desperate to survive, were breaking out windows and trying their hardest to find a way to safety.
Soldiers' excitement and anxiety about an upcoming deployment were tossed aside, replaced by the reality of broken glass, blood and bullets when Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, allegedly shot and killed 13 soldiers and wounded 30 others.
Army Secretary John McHugh said it was the heroic actions of Fort Hood's first responders that prevented a bad situation from getting worse.
"Their actions saved lives," he said during a press conference here Friday.
Hoping to bring an end to the chaos inside the post deployment readiness center, Sgt. Kimberly Munley, an officer with Fort Hood's Department of Emergency Services, and Senior Sgt. Mark Todd, K-9 Division, DES, moved in to the fight. According to Todd, as soon as officers pulled up to the scene, people were pointing them in the direction of the shooter.
Hasan reportedly started firing on Todd and Munley, who took cover behind a vehicle. Munley left her cover to pursue the shooter and Todd followed around the other side of the building, where the major was hiding. When Todd looked around the corner of the building, he saw Munley on the ground. She had been shot.
Hasan was hiding behind a light post and firing at people who were fleeing the scene. Todd recalls firing five shots at Hasan. The major fell. Todd then confiscated Hasan's weapons and cuffed him. The entire exchange between Todd and the gunman lasted less than 45 seconds.
"We did just like we were trained to do...shouting commands and working as a team," Todd said. "We had no time to feel anything, just to react."
While law enforcement officers drew fire away from the trapped soldiers, medics from the site and the neighboring graduation ceremony at Howze Theater began treating the wounded as best they could. Plastic tables were used as makeshift stretchers to move the wounded from the bloody building and get them evacuated to medical facilities.
Todd then started helping provide lifesaving care to wounded troops who were scattered around the readiness area; both inside and outside. Afterwards, Todd had the time to reflect on all that had happened.
"I felt so much for the wounded and the dead and their families," he said.. "I didn't feel guilty about shooting someone while doing my job; the only guilty feeling I had was that we didn't get there sooner."
After ambulances cleared out the wounded and most of the concerned crowd had dispersed, units across Fort Hood began the emotionally exhausting mission of dealing with their losses.
The 36th Engineer Brigade had about 200 soldiers at the site working on deployment preparations after lunch. Less than two hours later, the engineer unit had more soldiers wounded and killed than any other unit on post during the incident.
"Every member of our organization was impacted by this tragic incident in some way," said Lt. Col. Jason E. Kelly, deputy commander, 36th Engineer Brigade.
"Commanders and senior noncommissioned officers were able to visit with these brave young men and women last night and their spirits are extremely high," Kelly said. "These soldiers represent everything that is good about America."
Many of the soldiers visited by the brigade leadership downplayed the severity of their injuries. The wounded showed more concern about the welfare of their fellow troops and families, he said.
The post and local community are making sure those soldiers are taken care of and helping to put those soldiers' minds at ease. A Fort Hood Grieving Center has been established and has both chaplains and counselors available to soldiers and families.
"We take care of our own. We will grieve as a family," said Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey during a Friday press conference on Sadowski Field. "We will stay focused on our missions around the world."
(Army Staff Sgt. Joy Pariante is with Special Troops Battalion, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - "Pop, pop, pop." Those were the sounds Fort Hood's first responders heard when they arrived at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center here Thursday. Inside the center, among rows of waiting chairs and blood draw stations, innocent people were dying. A gunman was shooting into the crowded screening area. Panicked soldiers, desperate to survive, were breaking out windows and trying their hardest to find a way to safety.
Soldiers' excitement and anxiety about an upcoming deployment were tossed aside, replaced by the reality of broken glass, blood and bullets when Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, allegedly shot and killed 13 soldiers and wounded 30 others.
Army Secretary John McHugh said it was the heroic actions of Fort Hood's first responders that prevented a bad situation from getting worse.
"Their actions saved lives," he said during a press conference here Friday.
Hoping to bring an end to the chaos inside the post deployment readiness center, Sgt. Kimberly Munley, an officer with Fort Hood's Department of Emergency Services, and Senior Sgt. Mark Todd, K-9 Division, DES, moved in to the fight. According to Todd, as soon as officers pulled up to the scene, people were pointing them in the direction of the shooter.
Hasan reportedly started firing on Todd and Munley, who took cover behind a vehicle. Munley left her cover to pursue the shooter and Todd followed around the other side of the building, where the major was hiding. When Todd looked around the corner of the building, he saw Munley on the ground. She had been shot.
Hasan was hiding behind a light post and firing at people who were fleeing the scene. Todd recalls firing five shots at Hasan. The major fell. Todd then confiscated Hasan's weapons and cuffed him. The entire exchange between Todd and the gunman lasted less than 45 seconds.
"We did just like we were trained to do...shouting commands and working as a team," Todd said. "We had no time to feel anything, just to react."
While law enforcement officers drew fire away from the trapped soldiers, medics from the site and the neighboring graduation ceremony at Howze Theater began treating the wounded as best they could. Plastic tables were used as makeshift stretchers to move the wounded from the bloody building and get them evacuated to medical facilities.
Todd then started helping provide lifesaving care to wounded troops who were scattered around the readiness area; both inside and outside. Afterwards, Todd had the time to reflect on all that had happened.
"I felt so much for the wounded and the dead and their families," he said.. "I didn't feel guilty about shooting someone while doing my job; the only guilty feeling I had was that we didn't get there sooner."
After ambulances cleared out the wounded and most of the concerned crowd had dispersed, units across Fort Hood began the emotionally exhausting mission of dealing with their losses.
The 36th Engineer Brigade had about 200 soldiers at the site working on deployment preparations after lunch. Less than two hours later, the engineer unit had more soldiers wounded and killed than any other unit on post during the incident.
"Every member of our organization was impacted by this tragic incident in some way," said Lt. Col. Jason E. Kelly, deputy commander, 36th Engineer Brigade.
"Commanders and senior noncommissioned officers were able to visit with these brave young men and women last night and their spirits are extremely high," Kelly said. "These soldiers represent everything that is good about America."
Many of the soldiers visited by the brigade leadership downplayed the severity of their injuries. The wounded showed more concern about the welfare of their fellow troops and families, he said.
The post and local community are making sure those soldiers are taken care of and helping to put those soldiers' minds at ease. A Fort Hood Grieving Center has been established and has both chaplains and counselors available to soldiers and families.
"We take care of our own. We will grieve as a family," said Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey during a Friday press conference on Sadowski Field. "We will stay focused on our missions around the world."
(Army Staff Sgt. Joy Pariante is with Special Troops Battalion, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas)
Obama Praises Fort Hood Responders in Weekly Address
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 7, 2009 - President Barack Obama expressed his sorrow over the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas, and praised the soldiers and civilians who responded to aid the wounded in his weekly address to the nation today. Here is the president's address:
"I'd like to speak with you for a few minutes today about the tragedy that took place at Ft. Hood. This past Thursday, on a clear Texas afternoon, an Army psychiatrist walked into the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, and began shooting his fellow soldiers.
"It is an act of violence that would have been heartbreaking had it occurred anyplace in America. It is a crime that would have horrified us had its victims been Americans of any background. But it's all the more heartbreaking and all the more despicable because of the place where it occurred and the patriots who were its victims.
"The SRP is where our men and women in uniform go before getting deployed. It's where they get their teeth checked and their medical records updated and make sure everything is in order before getting shipped out. It was in this place, on a base where our soldiers ought to feel most safe, where those brave Americans who are preparing to risk their lives in defense of our nation, lost their lives in a crime against our nation.
"Soldiers stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world called and emailed loved ones at Ft. Hood, all expressing the same stunned reaction: I'm supposed to be the one in harm's way, not you.
"Thursday's shooting was one of the most devastating ever committed on an American military base. And yet, even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America. We saw soldiers and civilians alike rushing to aid fallen comrades; tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured; using blouses as tourniquets; taking down the shooter even as they bore wounds themselves.
"We saw soldiers bringing to bear on our own soil the skills they had been trained to use abroad; skills that been honed through years of determined effort for one purpose and one purpose only: to protect and defend the United States of America.
"We saw the valor, selflessness, and unity of purpose that make our servicemen and women the finest fighting force on Earth; that make the United States military the best the world has ever known; and that make all of us proud to be Americans.
"On Friday, I met with FBI Director Mueller, Defense Secretary Gates, and representatives of the relevant agencies to discuss their ongoing investigation into what led to this terrible crime. And I'll continue to be in close contact with them as new information comes in.
"We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing. But what we do know is that our thoughts are with every single one of the men and women who were injured at Ft. Hood. Our thoughts are with all the families who've lost a loved one in this national tragedy. And our thoughts are with all the Americans who wear – or who've worn – the proud uniform of the United States of America; our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and coast guardsmen, and the military families who love and support them.
"In tribute to those who fell at Ft. Hood, I've ordered flags flying over the White House, and other federal buildings to be lowered to half-staff from now until Veterans Day next Wednesday. Veterans Day is our chance to honor those Americans who've served on battlefields from Lexington to Antietam, Normandy to Manila, Inchon to Khe Sanh, Ramadi to Kandahar.
"They are Americans of every race, faith, and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers. They are descendents of immigrants and immigrants themselves. They reflect the diversity that makes this America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other. What they share is a commitment to country that has been tested and proved worthy. What they share is the same unflinching courage, unblinking compassion, and uncommon camaraderie that the soldiers and civilians of Ft. Hood showed America and showed the world.
"These are the men and women we honor today. These are the men and women we'll honor on Veterans Day. And these are the men and women we shall honor every day, in times of war and times of peace, so long as our nation endures."
Nov. 7, 2009 - President Barack Obama expressed his sorrow over the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas, and praised the soldiers and civilians who responded to aid the wounded in his weekly address to the nation today. Here is the president's address:
"I'd like to speak with you for a few minutes today about the tragedy that took place at Ft. Hood. This past Thursday, on a clear Texas afternoon, an Army psychiatrist walked into the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, and began shooting his fellow soldiers.
"It is an act of violence that would have been heartbreaking had it occurred anyplace in America. It is a crime that would have horrified us had its victims been Americans of any background. But it's all the more heartbreaking and all the more despicable because of the place where it occurred and the patriots who were its victims.
"The SRP is where our men and women in uniform go before getting deployed. It's where they get their teeth checked and their medical records updated and make sure everything is in order before getting shipped out. It was in this place, on a base where our soldiers ought to feel most safe, where those brave Americans who are preparing to risk their lives in defense of our nation, lost their lives in a crime against our nation.
"Soldiers stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world called and emailed loved ones at Ft. Hood, all expressing the same stunned reaction: I'm supposed to be the one in harm's way, not you.
"Thursday's shooting was one of the most devastating ever committed on an American military base. And yet, even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America. We saw soldiers and civilians alike rushing to aid fallen comrades; tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured; using blouses as tourniquets; taking down the shooter even as they bore wounds themselves.
"We saw soldiers bringing to bear on our own soil the skills they had been trained to use abroad; skills that been honed through years of determined effort for one purpose and one purpose only: to protect and defend the United States of America.
"We saw the valor, selflessness, and unity of purpose that make our servicemen and women the finest fighting force on Earth; that make the United States military the best the world has ever known; and that make all of us proud to be Americans.
"On Friday, I met with FBI Director Mueller, Defense Secretary Gates, and representatives of the relevant agencies to discuss their ongoing investigation into what led to this terrible crime. And I'll continue to be in close contact with them as new information comes in.
"We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing. But what we do know is that our thoughts are with every single one of the men and women who were injured at Ft. Hood. Our thoughts are with all the families who've lost a loved one in this national tragedy. And our thoughts are with all the Americans who wear – or who've worn – the proud uniform of the United States of America; our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and coast guardsmen, and the military families who love and support them.
"In tribute to those who fell at Ft. Hood, I've ordered flags flying over the White House, and other federal buildings to be lowered to half-staff from now until Veterans Day next Wednesday. Veterans Day is our chance to honor those Americans who've served on battlefields from Lexington to Antietam, Normandy to Manila, Inchon to Khe Sanh, Ramadi to Kandahar.
"They are Americans of every race, faith, and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers. They are descendents of immigrants and immigrants themselves. They reflect the diversity that makes this America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other. What they share is a commitment to country that has been tested and proved worthy. What they share is the same unflinching courage, unblinking compassion, and uncommon camaraderie that the soldiers and civilians of Ft. Hood showed America and showed the world.
"These are the men and women we honor today. These are the men and women we'll honor on Veterans Day. And these are the men and women we shall honor every day, in times of war and times of peace, so long as our nation endures."
Friday, November 06, 2009
Mullen Cancels Trip to Focus on Fort Hood Response
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff cancelled a trip to the University of Notre Dame to focus on the soldiers and families affected by the tragic shootings at Fort Hood, Texas. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and his wife, Deborah, were set to attend the Navy-Marine Corps Ball at the university in South Bend, Ind., tonight.
But the suffering of the families at Fort Hood certainly takes precedence, the admiral said in a videotaped greeting to the students and faculty at the university.
"We're at a point now where we really have to move forward to aid those families, the wounded and those who are suffering so much," the chairman said. "That's really where we are putting our main effort."
The attack killed 13 and wounded 30 at the Soldier-Family Readiness Center on the sprawling base.
"Where we're focused right now as a military and as an Army is very much on these people who suffered so much in the last 24 hours, and in fact are members of units that have given so much to make such a difference in our nation in these wars," Mullen said.
The chairman said there will be many challenges, but the military will reach out to the families and the adjacent community of Killeen to help all heal and find closure.
Military officials are speaking with the leaders of Virginia Tech. The college in Blacksburg suffered a similar incident in April 2007, when 32 students and faculty were killed. Military leaders are working with Virginia Tech "to try to understand how they handled this and take those lessons that are relevant from there and fold them into how we move forward," Mullen said. "And I am reminded that almost a decade ago now, we lost 17 sailors on the USS Cole and there was a requirement and effort to put our arms around those families and to help heal."
The chairman promised to make it to Notre Dame sometime in the next year. In closing, he asked all to keep the families of Fort Hood in their thoughts and prayers.
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff cancelled a trip to the University of Notre Dame to focus on the soldiers and families affected by the tragic shootings at Fort Hood, Texas. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and his wife, Deborah, were set to attend the Navy-Marine Corps Ball at the university in South Bend, Ind., tonight.
But the suffering of the families at Fort Hood certainly takes precedence, the admiral said in a videotaped greeting to the students and faculty at the university.
"We're at a point now where we really have to move forward to aid those families, the wounded and those who are suffering so much," the chairman said. "That's really where we are putting our main effort."
The attack killed 13 and wounded 30 at the Soldier-Family Readiness Center on the sprawling base.
"Where we're focused right now as a military and as an Army is very much on these people who suffered so much in the last 24 hours, and in fact are members of units that have given so much to make such a difference in our nation in these wars," Mullen said.
The chairman said there will be many challenges, but the military will reach out to the families and the adjacent community of Killeen to help all heal and find closure.
Military officials are speaking with the leaders of Virginia Tech. The college in Blacksburg suffered a similar incident in April 2007, when 32 students and faculty were killed. Military leaders are working with Virginia Tech "to try to understand how they handled this and take those lessons that are relevant from there and fold them into how we move forward," Mullen said. "And I am reminded that almost a decade ago now, we lost 17 sailors on the USS Cole and there was a requirement and effort to put our arms around those families and to help heal."
The chairman promised to make it to Notre Dame sometime in the next year. In closing, he asked all to keep the families of Fort Hood in their thoughts and prayers.
Blood Donations Aid Fort Hood Victims
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - Blood donations came from nine different sources in overwhelming quantities in response to yesterday's shooting on Fort Hood, Texas, showing strong pride around the nation for the military community, the director of the Army's blood program at the said at the Pentagon today. Twelve soldiers and one civilian were killed, and 30 people were injured in the shooting at Fort Hood's Soldier-Family Readiness Center.
As of this morning, at least 17 of the wounded were treated with some form of blood transfusion at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center on Fort Hood, whether by plasma, red blood cells or platelets, Army Col. Ron Fryar said in a Pentagon Channel interview.
Several of the other wounded were evacuated to civilian hospitals in Killen and Austin, Texas, but Fryar said he did not have statistics available for those who may have received blood transfusions outside of Fort Hood.
Fort Hood's Robertson Blood Center maintains an inventory of 30 to 40 units of blood products. But almost immediately after yesterday's shooting, more than 800 products were moved there and to other nearby civilian medical facilities, he said.
"I'm extremely proud of how our folks reacted across the Army blood program and across the armed services," Fryar said, also noting his satisfaction for support from civilian blood clinics. "Across the U.S., blood came pouring down to central Texas to help."
Most of the patients are now stable or nearly so, so the Army is asking all of its blood centers to stand down their collection transfers, he said.
The unused blood products from civilian blood centers are expected to be returned, and the blood from military blood centers will be redistributed based on routine needs, the colonel said.
Fryar also pointed out that blood donations aren't in need only amid a mass-casualty crisis, and he encouraged the population, particularly young people, to donate when and as often as they can. Donations support a host of routine needs throughout the medical community, he said.
Someone somewhere always is in need of blood, Fryar said.
"Just don't lose that thought or that feeling of wanting to help our fellow citizens out," he said. "We can do that all year long. A blood donation is one of those ways you can contribute to your community."
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - Blood donations came from nine different sources in overwhelming quantities in response to yesterday's shooting on Fort Hood, Texas, showing strong pride around the nation for the military community, the director of the Army's blood program at the said at the Pentagon today. Twelve soldiers and one civilian were killed, and 30 people were injured in the shooting at Fort Hood's Soldier-Family Readiness Center.
As of this morning, at least 17 of the wounded were treated with some form of blood transfusion at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center on Fort Hood, whether by plasma, red blood cells or platelets, Army Col. Ron Fryar said in a Pentagon Channel interview.
Several of the other wounded were evacuated to civilian hospitals in Killen and Austin, Texas, but Fryar said he did not have statistics available for those who may have received blood transfusions outside of Fort Hood.
Fort Hood's Robertson Blood Center maintains an inventory of 30 to 40 units of blood products. But almost immediately after yesterday's shooting, more than 800 products were moved there and to other nearby civilian medical facilities, he said.
"I'm extremely proud of how our folks reacted across the Army blood program and across the armed services," Fryar said, also noting his satisfaction for support from civilian blood clinics. "Across the U.S., blood came pouring down to central Texas to help."
Most of the patients are now stable or nearly so, so the Army is asking all of its blood centers to stand down their collection transfers, he said.
The unused blood products from civilian blood centers are expected to be returned, and the blood from military blood centers will be redistributed based on routine needs, the colonel said.
Fryar also pointed out that blood donations aren't in need only amid a mass-casualty crisis, and he encouraged the population, particularly young people, to donate when and as often as they can. Donations support a host of routine needs throughout the medical community, he said.
Someone somewhere always is in need of blood, Fryar said.
"Just don't lose that thought or that feeling of wanting to help our fellow citizens out," he said. "We can do that all year long. A blood donation is one of those ways you can contribute to your community."
Leaders Promise Fort Hood All Resources Necessary
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - The attack that killed 13 people and wounded 30 more at Fort Hood, Texas, yesterday "was a kick in the gut," not only for Fort Hood, but also for the entire Army, the Army chief of staff said today. Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and Army Secretary John M. McHugh visited Fort Hood and observed a moment of silence for the victims. Soon after, both men spoke at a news conference on the incident.
Casey said he's asked all soldiers to come together in support of the victims, their families and the Fort Hood community. He also told leaders to examine their force-protection measures and take appropriate action if they feel it is warranted.
"I've asked them to keep their soldiers informed and not rush to judgment," Casey said. "And I've asked them to stay focused on their missions."
McHugh said all members of the Army family have the victims and their families in their thoughts. "These were soldiers who were preparing to do what they love for the country they love," the secretary said. "We want them to know, and we want America to know, the United States Army and the United States government ... stand ready to provide them every possible assistance, not just today, not just through the weekend, but for what will undoubtedly be very troubling times ahead."
McHugh and Casey visited the Soldier-Family Readiness Center, the scene of the tragedy. The two leaders spoke with Army and law enforcement people investigating the incident. They visited with medical staff and spoke to those wounded in the attack who were undergoing treatment at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at the post. They also met with soldiers of the 36th Engineer Brigade. Four of the unit's soldiers were killed in the attack, and 11 were wounded.
McHugh and Casey expressed admiration and thanks to the first responders – both military and civilian – whose prompt actions they said definitely saved lives. The two men also delivered a message from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates "that every possible resource, every possible form of support will be made available to the soldiers, families and command here at Fort Hood," McHugh said.
The Army family is strong, McHugh said, and soldiers and their families are resilient. "But a great source of that strength is what we derive from each other in times of crisis and challenge -- how we hold each other straight, and how we make a difference," the secretary said. "Most of all, we want the soldiers and families here at Fort Hood and across every Army facility everywhere in the world to know this is a time for the Army family to stand together. This is a time when 'Army Strong' must mean what it says."
Servicemembers around the world observed a moment of silence for the victims of the attack. In the Pentagon, thousands of military and civilian employees went to the center courtyard for the observance. Phones went unanswered in offices as members of the Defense Department paid tribute to those who died. The members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff observed the moment of silence in "The Tank," their secure meeting room in the Pentagon.
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - The attack that killed 13 people and wounded 30 more at Fort Hood, Texas, yesterday "was a kick in the gut," not only for Fort Hood, but also for the entire Army, the Army chief of staff said today. Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and Army Secretary John M. McHugh visited Fort Hood and observed a moment of silence for the victims. Soon after, both men spoke at a news conference on the incident.
Casey said he's asked all soldiers to come together in support of the victims, their families and the Fort Hood community. He also told leaders to examine their force-protection measures and take appropriate action if they feel it is warranted.
"I've asked them to keep their soldiers informed and not rush to judgment," Casey said. "And I've asked them to stay focused on their missions."
McHugh said all members of the Army family have the victims and their families in their thoughts. "These were soldiers who were preparing to do what they love for the country they love," the secretary said. "We want them to know, and we want America to know, the United States Army and the United States government ... stand ready to provide them every possible assistance, not just today, not just through the weekend, but for what will undoubtedly be very troubling times ahead."
McHugh and Casey visited the Soldier-Family Readiness Center, the scene of the tragedy. The two leaders spoke with Army and law enforcement people investigating the incident. They visited with medical staff and spoke to those wounded in the attack who were undergoing treatment at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at the post. They also met with soldiers of the 36th Engineer Brigade. Four of the unit's soldiers were killed in the attack, and 11 were wounded.
McHugh and Casey expressed admiration and thanks to the first responders – both military and civilian – whose prompt actions they said definitely saved lives. The two men also delivered a message from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates "that every possible resource, every possible form of support will be made available to the soldiers, families and command here at Fort Hood," McHugh said.
The Army family is strong, McHugh said, and soldiers and their families are resilient. "But a great source of that strength is what we derive from each other in times of crisis and challenge -- how we hold each other straight, and how we make a difference," the secretary said. "Most of all, we want the soldiers and families here at Fort Hood and across every Army facility everywhere in the world to know this is a time for the Army family to stand together. This is a time when 'Army Strong' must mean what it says."
Servicemembers around the world observed a moment of silence for the victims of the attack. In the Pentagon, thousands of military and civilian employees went to the center courtyard for the observance. Phones went unanswered in offices as members of the Defense Department paid tribute to those who died. The members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff observed the moment of silence in "The Tank," their secure meeting room in the Pentagon.
Military, Civilian Partnerships Improve Troop Care
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - The photo splashed onto the two large screens in the conference room looked scary. The man's black hair was choppy and tousled. Looking straight into the camera, his eyelids drooped abnormally, revealing the dark-red tissue deep in the sockets. His swollen lips sagged to bare his bottom teeth. Scars cut across his face.
"This soldier would have been very welcome last Saturday night at Halloween," said Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps. "The kids in his neighborhood would have said 'Great costume. Who did your makeup?'"
The photo was not, however, of a soldier made up for Halloween. He was a disfigured casualty of war.
And while internally his wounds may have been well on their way to recovery, on the outside his scars would have made it difficult to return to any measure of normal life.
"We were sending him out into civilian life saying, 'This is as good as it gets. Thanks for serving your country,'" Amos said.
The next slide Amos projected showed the same soldier without most the disfiguring facial features. His lips were not as swollen. The scars were not as deep, and most of his nose was intact. His face was not the same as it was before his injuries, but the improvements were dramatic, and ongoing.
"He can walk out and go to his child's school play or PTA conference and without terrifying the kids," Amos said.
The general used the slides to illustrate the best of the military's partnership with civilian medical doctors.
Amos opened the Partnership for Military Medicine symposium held here today that aimed to bring together top military and civilian medical practitioners in an effort to boost the cooperation between the two to help troops recovering from the more advanced war wounds. About 150 doctors, nurses, scientists, military and civilian officials, and a handful of wounded warriors, turned out for the symposium. It offered panelists speaking on topics ranging from infectious diseases to humanitarian aid to traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Already, around the world, civilian experts have teamed with medical treatment facilities to provide historical breakthroughs in treating some of the complicated wounds suffered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still, there is more to be done, Amos said.
It was a civilian medical practice that restored the soldier's facial features. The general acknowledged that the military simply cannot afford to train and keep the more highly skilled, specialized medical practitioners. "We can't afford to keep them, yet they reside out there in civilian medicine and at great medical universities and hospitals across this country. And you know what I found? They want to help," Amos said.
Amos has seen his share of troops disfigured by war. He has traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan and all parts in between, meeting with troops and families in military treatment facilities. He praised military medicine, but said it was simply unprepared for the volume of injured troops that infused their overflowing facilities during peaks in the two wars.
"When I say we were ill-prepared, it's not because our hearts weren't right, but the magnitude of the numbers became staggering," he said. But military medicine, science and technology stepped up to the task, he added, and he praised advancements in amputee and burn-victim care.
Amos said he is hardly concerned now about simple gunshot wounds. They'll be well cared for, he said. Even some amputations -- such as a single, below-the-knee amputation -- have, sadly, become routine, and are no longer the threat they were at the start of the wars.
Two weeks ago, Amos visited a young Navy SEAL who lost his leg in the war.
"I can look him in the eye and tell him, and be completely honest, he will be fine," Amos said. "He will run again. He will serve again. And he will continue with a very happy and fruitful life because of the capabilities that we have."
But Amos's slides pointed to the more seriously injured troops, where military medicine stops, and the specialized skills found only in the civilian market start. Probably the starkest example was Marine Corps Capt. Josh Maloney, whose right hand was destroyed by a bomb in Iraq in 2007.
A civilian transplant specialist successfully attached a new hand to the Marine in March. Amos met with Maloney after the transplant.
"Josh walked up to me, grabbed my hand and shook it as firmly as I'd shake the hand of anybody in this room, and I went 'Holy smokes!'" Amos said.
It was Amos's final few slides, however, that pointed to he need for greater collaboration.
One picture, taken two years ago, showed Amos with a few young, healthy Marines, standing in the sun, looking very Marine-like. It was a celebration photo taken on one of Amos's trips to Iraq. The three Marines had survived the blast of a 200-pound bomb. The mine-resistant, armor-protected vehicle in which they were riding was mangled. But the three walked away with no apparent injuries.
"We sat out there when we had that picture taken and we high-fived each other, and it was great," he said.
Amos attributed their survival to the MRAP and to the billions of dollars spent by the Defense Department to provide the vehicles.
"I felt good. I said 'America saved your life,'" he said. "This is the reason we did it. Those three young men went home to their wives and families. They're OK."
The general paused.
"Not yet," he said.
Two months ago, Amos again met with one of the Marines in the picture. This time, it was at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Amos's final slide showed the once smiling and fit Marine lying in a hospital bed, swollen and disheveled, with wires strung from monitoring machines taped across his body.
When the Marine survived the blast, there were no scans in place to ensure there was no internal damage. He looked healthy on the outside. It turns out the Marine suffered a traumatic brain injury. It was the seventh blast the ordnance specialist had endured.
The young Marine's endocrine system was knocked "haywire," Amos said. The endocrine system is similar to the body's nervous system, but regulates metabolism, tissue function and internal functions such as temperature and water balance. His back also was broken. The Marine finished his deployment, but needed heavy painkillers to make it home.
For two years, it was one problem after another, Amos said. Now he stood before the Marine again, this time with his wife by his bed in tears.
"He lost his life in the two years that followed," Amos said. "I'll be honest with you, we let him down. And I'll just leave it at that."
Now, though, the Marine is receiving treatment at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, reportedly one of the best facilities for endocrine system treatment. Navy medicine "has their arms around him," Amos said, but they have to go outside to a civilian hospital for the care.
"That's collaboration. That's where that really, really deep talent on the bench resides," Amos said. "The wounds are so severe that we need your help."
Amos said he is sometimes frustrated by the resistance of some in military medicine to reach out to their civilian counterparts. But those walls are coming down, he promised. Now is the time to talk collaboration, the general said.
"If you're not wearing this uniform ... but you're out there [as] just a regular American scientist or doctor or technician, ... we need your help," he appealed. "We can't do this without you."
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - The photo splashed onto the two large screens in the conference room looked scary. The man's black hair was choppy and tousled. Looking straight into the camera, his eyelids drooped abnormally, revealing the dark-red tissue deep in the sockets. His swollen lips sagged to bare his bottom teeth. Scars cut across his face.
"This soldier would have been very welcome last Saturday night at Halloween," said Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps. "The kids in his neighborhood would have said 'Great costume. Who did your makeup?'"
The photo was not, however, of a soldier made up for Halloween. He was a disfigured casualty of war.
And while internally his wounds may have been well on their way to recovery, on the outside his scars would have made it difficult to return to any measure of normal life.
"We were sending him out into civilian life saying, 'This is as good as it gets. Thanks for serving your country,'" Amos said.
The next slide Amos projected showed the same soldier without most the disfiguring facial features. His lips were not as swollen. The scars were not as deep, and most of his nose was intact. His face was not the same as it was before his injuries, but the improvements were dramatic, and ongoing.
"He can walk out and go to his child's school play or PTA conference and without terrifying the kids," Amos said.
The general used the slides to illustrate the best of the military's partnership with civilian medical doctors.
Amos opened the Partnership for Military Medicine symposium held here today that aimed to bring together top military and civilian medical practitioners in an effort to boost the cooperation between the two to help troops recovering from the more advanced war wounds. About 150 doctors, nurses, scientists, military and civilian officials, and a handful of wounded warriors, turned out for the symposium. It offered panelists speaking on topics ranging from infectious diseases to humanitarian aid to traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Already, around the world, civilian experts have teamed with medical treatment facilities to provide historical breakthroughs in treating some of the complicated wounds suffered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still, there is more to be done, Amos said.
It was a civilian medical practice that restored the soldier's facial features. The general acknowledged that the military simply cannot afford to train and keep the more highly skilled, specialized medical practitioners. "We can't afford to keep them, yet they reside out there in civilian medicine and at great medical universities and hospitals across this country. And you know what I found? They want to help," Amos said.
Amos has seen his share of troops disfigured by war. He has traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan and all parts in between, meeting with troops and families in military treatment facilities. He praised military medicine, but said it was simply unprepared for the volume of injured troops that infused their overflowing facilities during peaks in the two wars.
"When I say we were ill-prepared, it's not because our hearts weren't right, but the magnitude of the numbers became staggering," he said. But military medicine, science and technology stepped up to the task, he added, and he praised advancements in amputee and burn-victim care.
Amos said he is hardly concerned now about simple gunshot wounds. They'll be well cared for, he said. Even some amputations -- such as a single, below-the-knee amputation -- have, sadly, become routine, and are no longer the threat they were at the start of the wars.
Two weeks ago, Amos visited a young Navy SEAL who lost his leg in the war.
"I can look him in the eye and tell him, and be completely honest, he will be fine," Amos said. "He will run again. He will serve again. And he will continue with a very happy and fruitful life because of the capabilities that we have."
But Amos's slides pointed to the more seriously injured troops, where military medicine stops, and the specialized skills found only in the civilian market start. Probably the starkest example was Marine Corps Capt. Josh Maloney, whose right hand was destroyed by a bomb in Iraq in 2007.
A civilian transplant specialist successfully attached a new hand to the Marine in March. Amos met with Maloney after the transplant.
"Josh walked up to me, grabbed my hand and shook it as firmly as I'd shake the hand of anybody in this room, and I went 'Holy smokes!'" Amos said.
It was Amos's final few slides, however, that pointed to he need for greater collaboration.
One picture, taken two years ago, showed Amos with a few young, healthy Marines, standing in the sun, looking very Marine-like. It was a celebration photo taken on one of Amos's trips to Iraq. The three Marines had survived the blast of a 200-pound bomb. The mine-resistant, armor-protected vehicle in which they were riding was mangled. But the three walked away with no apparent injuries.
"We sat out there when we had that picture taken and we high-fived each other, and it was great," he said.
Amos attributed their survival to the MRAP and to the billions of dollars spent by the Defense Department to provide the vehicles.
"I felt good. I said 'America saved your life,'" he said. "This is the reason we did it. Those three young men went home to their wives and families. They're OK."
The general paused.
"Not yet," he said.
Two months ago, Amos again met with one of the Marines in the picture. This time, it was at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Amos's final slide showed the once smiling and fit Marine lying in a hospital bed, swollen and disheveled, with wires strung from monitoring machines taped across his body.
When the Marine survived the blast, there were no scans in place to ensure there was no internal damage. He looked healthy on the outside. It turns out the Marine suffered a traumatic brain injury. It was the seventh blast the ordnance specialist had endured.
The young Marine's endocrine system was knocked "haywire," Amos said. The endocrine system is similar to the body's nervous system, but regulates metabolism, tissue function and internal functions such as temperature and water balance. His back also was broken. The Marine finished his deployment, but needed heavy painkillers to make it home.
For two years, it was one problem after another, Amos said. Now he stood before the Marine again, this time with his wife by his bed in tears.
"He lost his life in the two years that followed," Amos said. "I'll be honest with you, we let him down. And I'll just leave it at that."
Now, though, the Marine is receiving treatment at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, reportedly one of the best facilities for endocrine system treatment. Navy medicine "has their arms around him," Amos said, but they have to go outside to a civilian hospital for the care.
"That's collaboration. That's where that really, really deep talent on the bench resides," Amos said. "The wounds are so severe that we need your help."
Amos said he is sometimes frustrated by the resistance of some in military medicine to reach out to their civilian counterparts. But those walls are coming down, he promised. Now is the time to talk collaboration, the general said.
"If you're not wearing this uniform ... but you're out there [as] just a regular American scientist or doctor or technician, ... we need your help," he appealed. "We can't do this without you."
MILITARY CONTRACTS November 6, 2009
AIR FORCE
BEM-Bay West, JV, Saint Paul, Minn. (FA8903-10-D-8593); CAPE, Inc., San Antonio, Texas (FA8903-10-D-8593); North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, Idaho (FA8903-10-D-8597); Sullivan-Weston Services, JV, San Diego, Calif. (FA8903-10-D-8599); Bhate Environmental Associates, Inc., Birmingham, Ala. (FA8903-10-D-8596); Hydrogeologic, Inc., Reston, Va. (FA8903-10-D-8596); Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, Milwaukee, Wis., were awarded a $350,000,000 contract that will provide environmental restoration and remediation support. ITT Corporation, Systems Division, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., was awarded a $5,847,128 contract which will provide the Eastern and Western Range architecture and requirements option of an additional year. At this time, $3,000 for each contract has been obligated. The contracting activity is AFCEE/ACX, Brooks City-Base, Texas.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., was awarded a $143,212,054 contract which will provide C-5 Avionics Modernization Program sustainment support. At this time, no money has been obligated. The contracting activity is 330 SW, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., (FA8525-06-D-0001, P00013).
Berrie Hill Research Corp., of Dayton, Ohio, was awarded a $24,600,000 contract which will provide for research and development for radio frequency electro-optical subsystems, components and devices integration task order contract. At this time, $50,000 has been obligated. The contracting activity is AFRL/PKSE, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, (FA8650-10-D-1746, P0001 and P0002).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Signal Engineering, Inc., San Diego, Calif.*, is being awarded a maximum $12,294,000 firm-fixed-price, undefinitized contract for emergency radio beacon network. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Air Force. The original proposal was web solicited with one response. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is May 5, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Richmond, Richmond, Va., (SPM4A6-10-C-0023).
McRae Industries, Inc., Mount Gilead, N.C.*, is being awarded a maximum $8,795,175 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, total set aside contract for army combat boots. Other locations of performance are located in North Carolina and Illinois. Using services are Army and Air Force. The original proposal was web solicited with two responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the first option year period. The date of performance completion is Nov. 6, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM1C1-09-D-0011).
Buckeye Energy Services, LLC, Telford, Pa., is being awarded a maximum $5,944,272 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. There are other locations of performance throughout Pennsylvania. Using services are Army, Air Force and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is April 30, 2011. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-10-D-8500).
NAVY
Atlantic Marine Mayport, LLC, Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded a $9,962,133 firm-fixed-price contract for repair work onboard the USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49). This contract is for the drydock selected restricted availability of USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49) to include drydock and topside maintenance repair work. Extensive coordination is required for the drydock evolution, in addition to the numerous systems onboard to be repaired. This contract includes eight options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $11,960,293. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Fla., and is expected to be completed by March 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $9,962,133 willexpire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with five proposals solicited and two offers received. The contracting activity is the Southeast Regional Maintenance Center, Jacksonville, Fla., (N40027-10-C-0003).
BEM-Bay West, JV, Saint Paul, Minn. (FA8903-10-D-8593); CAPE, Inc., San Antonio, Texas (FA8903-10-D-8593); North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, Idaho (FA8903-10-D-8597); Sullivan-Weston Services, JV, San Diego, Calif. (FA8903-10-D-8599); Bhate Environmental Associates, Inc., Birmingham, Ala. (FA8903-10-D-8596); Hydrogeologic, Inc., Reston, Va. (FA8903-10-D-8596); Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, Milwaukee, Wis., were awarded a $350,000,000 contract that will provide environmental restoration and remediation support. ITT Corporation, Systems Division, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., was awarded a $5,847,128 contract which will provide the Eastern and Western Range architecture and requirements option of an additional year. At this time, $3,000 for each contract has been obligated. The contracting activity is AFCEE/ACX, Brooks City-Base, Texas.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., was awarded a $143,212,054 contract which will provide C-5 Avionics Modernization Program sustainment support. At this time, no money has been obligated. The contracting activity is 330 SW, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., (FA8525-06-D-0001, P00013).
Berrie Hill Research Corp., of Dayton, Ohio, was awarded a $24,600,000 contract which will provide for research and development for radio frequency electro-optical subsystems, components and devices integration task order contract. At this time, $50,000 has been obligated. The contracting activity is AFRL/PKSE, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, (FA8650-10-D-1746, P0001 and P0002).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Signal Engineering, Inc., San Diego, Calif.*, is being awarded a maximum $12,294,000 firm-fixed-price, undefinitized contract for emergency radio beacon network. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Air Force. The original proposal was web solicited with one response. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is May 5, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Richmond, Richmond, Va., (SPM4A6-10-C-0023).
McRae Industries, Inc., Mount Gilead, N.C.*, is being awarded a maximum $8,795,175 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, total set aside contract for army combat boots. Other locations of performance are located in North Carolina and Illinois. Using services are Army and Air Force. The original proposal was web solicited with two responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the first option year period. The date of performance completion is Nov. 6, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM1C1-09-D-0011).
Buckeye Energy Services, LLC, Telford, Pa., is being awarded a maximum $5,944,272 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. There are other locations of performance throughout Pennsylvania. Using services are Army, Air Force and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is April 30, 2011. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-10-D-8500).
NAVY
Atlantic Marine Mayport, LLC, Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded a $9,962,133 firm-fixed-price contract for repair work onboard the USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49). This contract is for the drydock selected restricted availability of USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49) to include drydock and topside maintenance repair work. Extensive coordination is required for the drydock evolution, in addition to the numerous systems onboard to be repaired. This contract includes eight options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $11,960,293. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Fla., and is expected to be completed by March 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $9,962,133 willexpire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with five proposals solicited and two offers received. The contracting activity is the Southeast Regional Maintenance Center, Jacksonville, Fla., (N40027-10-C-0003).
Fort Hood Shooting Underscores Need for Military Family Assistance
USA Cares responds by establishing a Ft. Hood Family Emergency Fund
USA Cares Executive Director Bill Nelson had just climbed the stairs on his way into a meeting with the Veteran’s Administration in Washington when his Blackberry mobile phone signaled him with an incoming email. The message was from his Dallas, Texas Field Representative informing him about the horrific event at the largest military installation in her area of responsibility.
Stephanie Melson is the USA Cares Field Representative who spends a large portion of her time interfacing with various support organizations on the base at Fort Hood. Her message to Bill Nelson was terse, “Bad news – they just broke in & mentioned that there has been a shooting at Ft Hood. 7 are dead, 12 injured & we don’t really know much other detail. The base is on lockdown at the moment”.
That sketchy and short message loomed very large in Nelson’s mind as he entered the VA Headquarters. For many at the VA, Nelson’s relayed message was the first they had heard about the shootings.
According to Nelson, “This tragedy certainly underscores the need for robust public and private sector support of America’s military personnel and their families”. He went on to add “this will result in many family members needing emergency travel, lodging and other resources. USA Cares has established a Fort Hood Family Emergency Fund to assist with these and other unforeseen difficulties”.
Nelson immediately contacted Dennis Miller, the National Spokesperson for USA Cares who announced the creation of this fund on his national talk radio program “The Dennis Miller Show”. He did this by saying on-air to the 220 or more stations carrying his show daily “I just want to let all of my Fort Hood listeners know that if any of the victim families need any assistance to contact USA Cares by calling 1-800-773-0387 and ask for Forest.”
Nelson had already assigned one of his senior Family Resource Coordinators in charge of this contingency. Forest (last name not published), a 20 plus year US Army retiree, was asked to field calls in lieu of the normal website application for assistance that the organization usually requires. He did this in order to be as responsive as possible to grieving and anxious family members needing to be near their loved one at Fort Hood.
Anyone wishing to donate to USA Cares’ Ft. Hood Family Emergency Fund can do so by visiting usacares.org, clicking the donate button and noting “Fort Hood Fund” along with their contribution of any amount.
About USA Cares
USA Cares is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that helps post 9/11 military families bear the burdens of service with financial and advocacy support. Its mission: To help with basic needs during financial crisis, to assist combat injured Veterans and their families and to prevent private military home foreclosures and evictions. In six years, USA Cares has received over 19,000 requests and responded with more than $6.3 million in grants. Military families anywhere in America can apply for assistance through the USA Cares web site, http://www.usacares.org/ or by calling 1-800-773-0387. For more information on USA Cares contact John Revell, jrevell@usacares.org or call (270) 352-5451 x101.
USA Cares Executive Director Bill Nelson had just climbed the stairs on his way into a meeting with the Veteran’s Administration in Washington when his Blackberry mobile phone signaled him with an incoming email. The message was from his Dallas, Texas Field Representative informing him about the horrific event at the largest military installation in her area of responsibility.
Stephanie Melson is the USA Cares Field Representative who spends a large portion of her time interfacing with various support organizations on the base at Fort Hood. Her message to Bill Nelson was terse, “Bad news – they just broke in & mentioned that there has been a shooting at Ft Hood. 7 are dead, 12 injured & we don’t really know much other detail. The base is on lockdown at the moment”.
That sketchy and short message loomed very large in Nelson’s mind as he entered the VA Headquarters. For many at the VA, Nelson’s relayed message was the first they had heard about the shootings.
According to Nelson, “This tragedy certainly underscores the need for robust public and private sector support of America’s military personnel and their families”. He went on to add “this will result in many family members needing emergency travel, lodging and other resources. USA Cares has established a Fort Hood Family Emergency Fund to assist with these and other unforeseen difficulties”.
Nelson immediately contacted Dennis Miller, the National Spokesperson for USA Cares who announced the creation of this fund on his national talk radio program “The Dennis Miller Show”. He did this by saying on-air to the 220 or more stations carrying his show daily “I just want to let all of my Fort Hood listeners know that if any of the victim families need any assistance to contact USA Cares by calling 1-800-773-0387 and ask for Forest.”
Nelson had already assigned one of his senior Family Resource Coordinators in charge of this contingency. Forest (last name not published), a 20 plus year US Army retiree, was asked to field calls in lieu of the normal website application for assistance that the organization usually requires. He did this in order to be as responsive as possible to grieving and anxious family members needing to be near their loved one at Fort Hood.
Anyone wishing to donate to USA Cares’ Ft. Hood Family Emergency Fund can do so by visiting usacares.org, clicking the donate button and noting “Fort Hood Fund” along with their contribution of any amount.
About USA Cares
USA Cares is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that helps post 9/11 military families bear the burdens of service with financial and advocacy support. Its mission: To help with basic needs during financial crisis, to assist combat injured Veterans and their families and to prevent private military home foreclosures and evictions. In six years, USA Cares has received over 19,000 requests and responded with more than $6.3 million in grants. Military families anywhere in America can apply for assistance through the USA Cares web site, http://www.usacares.org/ or by calling 1-800-773-0387. For more information on USA Cares contact John Revell, jrevell@usacares.org or call (270) 352-5451 x101.
Physicians Discuss H1N1 Lessons Learned
By Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg
Special to American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - Senior medical officials who successfully slowed the spread of H1N1 flu virus at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., published what they learned in an October article featured in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Catherine Witkop, a preventive medicine physician from the 10th Medical Group, told participants in a "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable yesterday that medical officials at the academy acted quickly to set up a team to look at some of the virus's characteristics.
"I was really pleased that we were able to capitalize on the opportunity to actually learn more about the virus and provide that information to the Centers for Disease Control, to the military, [and] to the United States at large," she said.
Witkop and Air Force Col. (Dr.) Kenneth K. Knight, 10th Medical Group commander, discussed what other institutions may be able to do to manage H1N1's spread. Witkop noted that some of the lessons learned from the summer outbreak can apply at other training facilities, such as Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
With a large population of trainees living in very close quarters, Witkop said, controlling the virus's spread at Lackland and limiting absenteeism from the six-week training period "is really crucial to completing that mission."
"So we've done our best to share as much information as possible, as quickly as possible," she said, "since this is such a timely issue."
During a four-week period in July, 11 percent of the Air Force Academy's basic cadet population became ill. "There are 134 confirmed cases of H1N1 and 33 suspect cases, meaning they had all the same symptoms, but were not tested," Witkop said.
Many challenges had to be considered quickly, Knight said, such as how to treat patients, how to limit interactions with others, when to hospitalize, and how to isolate the cadets.
"It was a medical issue that had a huge implication to what their job was about," he said. "We did lots of different approaches as we were scrambling with the line leadership as how to isolate, talking with CDC, [and] figuring out what the appropriate treatment is," Knight said.
"And it appears, then," he added, "with any epidemiologic conclusion, [that] what we did was effective."
Knight said the academy's medical group was careful to share lessons learned through the outbreak's many phases.
"When we were in the thick of things, we were daily sharing what our experience was with the public health department downtown, with all the other local military medical facilities, with the other academies, comparing notes as to what their experiences were with Lackland [and] with the line leadership," Knight said. "Our line leadership here was pushing information up to the chief of staff of the Air Force. So near-term, we were essentially getting out real-time information as to what was going on, to share that experience."
Witkop spearheaded the article submission to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine while sharing the lessons with the CDC.
"We've shared this information with the CDC well before it got published, so that they would have the information to adjust the guidelines that they were publishing," Knight explained.
Isolation has proven to be a key factor in controlling the outbreak at the academy, Witkop said.
"Our current approach is ... to isolate the cadets; however, they are self-isolating per the CDC's guidelines," she said. "So they would go back to their dorm rooms, continuing until they are seven days from onset of symptoms and 24 hours after being symptom-free."
Both said public health education reminders are the key ways academy officials are preventing another outbreak among cadets, and that messages to wash hands, use sanitizers and cover coughs are shared continuously.
Meanwhile, Witkop said, academy medical officials continue to monitor the situation closely and continue their public health efforts.
"We're continuing to follow very closely ... the numbers of cadets who are ill, to make sure that we're not approaching another outbreak situation," she said. "We have daily reports from all of our various clinics about the numbers of both cadets and those in the community."
To read more about the published article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, visit http://www.ajpm-online.net/content/advance.
(Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg serves in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - Senior medical officials who successfully slowed the spread of H1N1 flu virus at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., published what they learned in an October article featured in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Catherine Witkop, a preventive medicine physician from the 10th Medical Group, told participants in a "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable yesterday that medical officials at the academy acted quickly to set up a team to look at some of the virus's characteristics.
"I was really pleased that we were able to capitalize on the opportunity to actually learn more about the virus and provide that information to the Centers for Disease Control, to the military, [and] to the United States at large," she said.
Witkop and Air Force Col. (Dr.) Kenneth K. Knight, 10th Medical Group commander, discussed what other institutions may be able to do to manage H1N1's spread. Witkop noted that some of the lessons learned from the summer outbreak can apply at other training facilities, such as Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
With a large population of trainees living in very close quarters, Witkop said, controlling the virus's spread at Lackland and limiting absenteeism from the six-week training period "is really crucial to completing that mission."
"So we've done our best to share as much information as possible, as quickly as possible," she said, "since this is such a timely issue."
During a four-week period in July, 11 percent of the Air Force Academy's basic cadet population became ill. "There are 134 confirmed cases of H1N1 and 33 suspect cases, meaning they had all the same symptoms, but were not tested," Witkop said.
Many challenges had to be considered quickly, Knight said, such as how to treat patients, how to limit interactions with others, when to hospitalize, and how to isolate the cadets.
"It was a medical issue that had a huge implication to what their job was about," he said. "We did lots of different approaches as we were scrambling with the line leadership as how to isolate, talking with CDC, [and] figuring out what the appropriate treatment is," Knight said.
"And it appears, then," he added, "with any epidemiologic conclusion, [that] what we did was effective."
Knight said the academy's medical group was careful to share lessons learned through the outbreak's many phases.
"When we were in the thick of things, we were daily sharing what our experience was with the public health department downtown, with all the other local military medical facilities, with the other academies, comparing notes as to what their experiences were with Lackland [and] with the line leadership," Knight said. "Our line leadership here was pushing information up to the chief of staff of the Air Force. So near-term, we were essentially getting out real-time information as to what was going on, to share that experience."
Witkop spearheaded the article submission to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine while sharing the lessons with the CDC.
"We've shared this information with the CDC well before it got published, so that they would have the information to adjust the guidelines that they were publishing," Knight explained.
Isolation has proven to be a key factor in controlling the outbreak at the academy, Witkop said.
"Our current approach is ... to isolate the cadets; however, they are self-isolating per the CDC's guidelines," she said. "So they would go back to their dorm rooms, continuing until they are seven days from onset of symptoms and 24 hours after being symptom-free."
Both said public health education reminders are the key ways academy officials are preventing another outbreak among cadets, and that messages to wash hands, use sanitizers and cover coughs are shared continuously.
Meanwhile, Witkop said, academy medical officials continue to monitor the situation closely and continue their public health efforts.
"We're continuing to follow very closely ... the numbers of cadets who are ill, to make sure that we're not approaching another outbreak situation," she said. "We have daily reports from all of our various clinics about the numbers of both cadets and those in the community."
To read more about the published article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, visit http://www.ajpm-online.net/content/advance.
(Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg serves in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)
Obama Proclamation Honors Fort Hood Victims
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - President Barack Obama issued a formal proclamation today honoring the victims of yesterday's shootings at Fort Hood, Texas. Here is the complete text:
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Our Nation's thoughts and prayers are with the service members, civilians, and families affected by the tragic events at Fort Hood, Texas. The brave victims, who risked their lives to protect their fellow countrymen, serve as a constant source of strength and inspiration to all Americans. We ask God to watch over the fallen, the wounded, and all those who are suffering at this difficult hour.
As a mark of respect honoring the victims of the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, Tuesday, November 10, 2009.
I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
Barack Obama
Nov. 6, 2009 - President Barack Obama issued a formal proclamation today honoring the victims of yesterday's shootings at Fort Hood, Texas. Here is the complete text:
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Our Nation's thoughts and prayers are with the service members, civilians, and families affected by the tragic events at Fort Hood, Texas. The brave victims, who risked their lives to protect their fellow countrymen, serve as a constant source of strength and inspiration to all Americans. We ask God to watch over the fallen, the wounded, and all those who are suffering at this difficult hour.
As a mark of respect honoring the victims of the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, Tuesday, November 10, 2009.
I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
Barack Obama
National Guard Chief Offers Fort Hood Condolences
By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
Special to American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - Fort Hood, Texas, was uppermost in the minds of National Guard members today, especially with an Alabama citizen-soldier reportedly among the wounded after a deadly shooting rampage there. "The thoughts and prayers of the National Guard are with Fort Hood Soldiers, their families and the local community today," Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said in a tweet on Twitter.
The National Guard Bureau held a moment of remembrance at noon today. About 2,000 National Guard soldiers from six states are currently stationed at Fort Hood, Guard Bureau officials said. The Birmingham (Ala.) News reported that an Alabama Guard soldier is among the wounded, but Fort Hood officials could not confirm that information.
"Our hearts go out to everyone there at Fort Hood and to the families," said Army Lt. Col. Cynthia Bachus, public affairs officer for the Alabama National Guard. "Our concerns are with them. Our sympathies are with them." About 350 Alabama Guard members from the 135th Expeditionary Sustainment Command arrived at Fort Hood on Nov. 2 to prepare for a deployment to Afghanistan. "We are in constant contact with the chain of command to ensure that our soldiers' well-being is taken care of," Bachus said. "Any type of support that we can offer the families back here, we are offering them."
Alabama residents rallied to support their mobilized troops, Bachus said. "We have a lot of good support," she said. "The citizens of Alabama support the National Guard and all the military."
Other states with Guard members at Fort Hood included Arizona, Michigan, Nebraska, New York and Texas. Numbers range from an individual augmentee from New York – a single soldier on his way to join another unit in theater – to hundreds of deploying soldiers from the Texas Army National Guard.
The Army Times reported a flood of support through social media as Thursday's tragedy unfolded. McKinley expressed his condolences through Twitter, as did Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife, Deborah, among many other leaders, servicemembers and civilians. Mrs. Mullen said in her tweet that it was difficult for her to express how very sad she is at the "senseless" shooting and that she is praying for the victims, their families and their friends.
Some state National Guard officials used Twitter and Facebook to provide updates on the status of their soldiers and offer condolences.
"Two Oregon Natl Guardsmen at Ft Hood are safe," OregonGuard said in a tweet. "Our prayers go out to all affected by this tragedy."
(Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill serves at the National Guard Bureau.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - Fort Hood, Texas, was uppermost in the minds of National Guard members today, especially with an Alabama citizen-soldier reportedly among the wounded after a deadly shooting rampage there. "The thoughts and prayers of the National Guard are with Fort Hood Soldiers, their families and the local community today," Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said in a tweet on Twitter.
The National Guard Bureau held a moment of remembrance at noon today. About 2,000 National Guard soldiers from six states are currently stationed at Fort Hood, Guard Bureau officials said. The Birmingham (Ala.) News reported that an Alabama Guard soldier is among the wounded, but Fort Hood officials could not confirm that information.
"Our hearts go out to everyone there at Fort Hood and to the families," said Army Lt. Col. Cynthia Bachus, public affairs officer for the Alabama National Guard. "Our concerns are with them. Our sympathies are with them." About 350 Alabama Guard members from the 135th Expeditionary Sustainment Command arrived at Fort Hood on Nov. 2 to prepare for a deployment to Afghanistan. "We are in constant contact with the chain of command to ensure that our soldiers' well-being is taken care of," Bachus said. "Any type of support that we can offer the families back here, we are offering them."
Alabama residents rallied to support their mobilized troops, Bachus said. "We have a lot of good support," she said. "The citizens of Alabama support the National Guard and all the military."
Other states with Guard members at Fort Hood included Arizona, Michigan, Nebraska, New York and Texas. Numbers range from an individual augmentee from New York – a single soldier on his way to join another unit in theater – to hundreds of deploying soldiers from the Texas Army National Guard.
The Army Times reported a flood of support through social media as Thursday's tragedy unfolded. McKinley expressed his condolences through Twitter, as did Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife, Deborah, among many other leaders, servicemembers and civilians. Mrs. Mullen said in her tweet that it was difficult for her to express how very sad she is at the "senseless" shooting and that she is praying for the victims, their families and their friends.
Some state National Guard officials used Twitter and Facebook to provide updates on the status of their soldiers and offer condolences.
"Two Oregon Natl Guardsmen at Ft Hood are safe," OregonGuard said in a tweet. "Our prayers go out to all affected by this tragedy."
(Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill serves at the National Guard Bureau.)
President Orders Flags to Half-Staff
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - President Barack Obama has ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff until Veterans Day in honor of the victims of yesterday's shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. Twelve soldiers and a civilian were killed and 30 others were wounded when Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan allegedly opened fire on the base in what the president described yesterday as a "horrific outburst of violence."
From now until the Nov. 11 Veterans Day observance, flags will fly at half-staff at the White House and other federal buildings.
"This is a modest tribute to those who lost their lives even as many were preparing to risk their lives for their country," Obama said today in the White House Rose Garden. "And it's also a recognition of the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect our safety and uphold our values.
"We honor their service, we stand in awe of their sacrifice, and we pray for the safety of those who fight and for the families of those who have fallen," he added.
Obama met this morning with FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and representatives of other relevant agencies to get an update on the ongoing investigation. He said his administration would continue providing details surrounding the attack as they emerge.
"We don't know all the answers yet, and I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts," the president said. "What we do know is that there are family, friends and an entire nation grieving right now for the valiant men and women who came under attack yesterday in one of the worst mass shootings ever to take place on an American military base."
The sprawling Central Texas base covers some 340 square miles and is home to 40,000 soldiers. Officials there said they are focused on caring for the wounded, securing the base, notifying victims' families and providing grief counseling.
A family hotline is available to obtain information at 254-288-7570.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today that Obama will attend a yet-to-be-scheduled memorial service for the victims. Noting that members of more than a dozen units from around the country were present when the shooting took place, Gibbs said notification of families was still ongoing and that any memorial service should be scheduled with the families' convenience in mind.
Officials have not established a motive for the shooting spree, Gibbs said, adding that the president discussed the attack's impact on troop morale in discussions yesterday with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - President Barack Obama has ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff until Veterans Day in honor of the victims of yesterday's shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. Twelve soldiers and a civilian were killed and 30 others were wounded when Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan allegedly opened fire on the base in what the president described yesterday as a "horrific outburst of violence."
From now until the Nov. 11 Veterans Day observance, flags will fly at half-staff at the White House and other federal buildings.
"This is a modest tribute to those who lost their lives even as many were preparing to risk their lives for their country," Obama said today in the White House Rose Garden. "And it's also a recognition of the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect our safety and uphold our values.
"We honor their service, we stand in awe of their sacrifice, and we pray for the safety of those who fight and for the families of those who have fallen," he added.
Obama met this morning with FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and representatives of other relevant agencies to get an update on the ongoing investigation. He said his administration would continue providing details surrounding the attack as they emerge.
"We don't know all the answers yet, and I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts," the president said. "What we do know is that there are family, friends and an entire nation grieving right now for the valiant men and women who came under attack yesterday in one of the worst mass shootings ever to take place on an American military base."
The sprawling Central Texas base covers some 340 square miles and is home to 40,000 soldiers. Officials there said they are focused on caring for the wounded, securing the base, notifying victims' families and providing grief counseling.
A family hotline is available to obtain information at 254-288-7570.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today that Obama will attend a yet-to-be-scheduled memorial service for the victims. Noting that members of more than a dozen units from around the country were present when the shooting took place, Gibbs said notification of families was still ongoing and that any memorial service should be scheduled with the families' convenience in mind.
Officials have not established a motive for the shooting spree, Gibbs said, adding that the president discussed the attack's impact on troop morale in discussions yesterday with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
Witnesses Recall Berlin Wall's Fall
By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - A divided Berlin symbolized the Cold War. The Berlin Wall was a concrete example of the divide between East and West, between totalitarianism and democracy, between communism and capitalism. For millions of U.S. servicemembers, the celebratory scenes at the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989, were cause for deep satisfaction.
Since World War II, millions of soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines held the line in West Germany. Their very presence was enough to secure half a continent for freedom. When the wall fell, more than 300,000 American servicemembers were in West Germany, witnessing history.
"We were watching developments for weeks as events unfolded," said Jeff Anderson a building contractor in San Antonio who was an Army infantry sergeant in the Berlin Brigade near Checkpoint Charlie at the time.
Restrictions had been loosening for weeks, he recalled, as Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Germans and other captive people streamed out of Eastern Europe to freedom in the West. After several weeks of unrest in East Germany, officials there announced that all citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin.
"As soon as the East Germans made the announcement, thousands of people came down to the wall in both the East and West," Anderson said. "We weren't sure what was happening.
"In the East, the border guards at first were pushing people back, they were trying to check identity cards," he continued. "But then the pressure became just too much, and they just let people stream through. When they met West Berliners, it was the start of the most joyous celebration I have ever seen."
The first wave of people came at night, and thousands more came the next day. People climbed atop the wall, and East German border guards finally knocked a hole in it to ease transit, Anderson said. Tens of thousands of people drank champagne and threw flowers. U.S. soldiers just waved everybody through. "We were as happy as they were," he said.
While the Berlin Wall was the most obvious symbol, the fence between East and West Germany was equally deadly, and opened just as quickly.
Army Lt. Col. Rich Dow works in the Joint Staff's operations section of the Pentagon now. In 1989, he was a second lieutenant platoon leader working military intelligence in the 5th Corps area of responsibility. "My job was to help stop the Soviet horde from coming through the Fulda Gap," Dow recalled with a smile.
"It was hard for us to believe it was happening, and we were all amazed at its speed," he said. "It was almost a fatalistic attitude when you consider that if we looked across the border, we saw they had a huge advantage in infantry and tanks and artillery. We fully understood that our job was to buy time until forces could come in to reinforce us."
As events proceeded, Dow and others realized just how hollow the forces were that faced West Germany. But they remained concerned about how events might play out.
"During all the changes, the idea of internal disturbances in East Germany had us all up on our guard," he said. "We feared the Soviets were losing control and that they might do something against us unilaterally. We were probably more at higher alert because the static situation that had existed since 1961 was far more dynamic. We were very concerned about a war happening inside East Germany, and that kept us awake at night."
But events proceeded well, and Dow and his wife actually went on a family trip to Berlin. "We stayed in West Berlin," he said. "There were still a lot of crowds. I took a small sledgehammer out of my trunk and took out a fist-sized chunk of the wall. I still have it."
One side of the piece of wall is decorated with graffiti; other is plain, gray concrete. "The one with the graffiti faced the West," Dow said.
Army Command Sgt. Maj. Delbert Hoskins was based with the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor, on the Fulda Gap that Nov. 9. He, too, came away with a souvenir.
"I have strands of razor wire," he said. "This is the kind of wire where if you grab hold and try to hoist yourself up, it will cut off your fingers."
Hoskins said he was surprised that no massive recall of U.S. forces took place when the media reported that the wall was coming down. But the sight of East German-made cars made a distinct impression. "What I remember was the number of Trabants that suddenly were on the road," he said.
The difference between East and West Berlin when the wall was in place is something that Tara Jones, now at the Pentagon's defense policy office, remembers.
"East Berlin was very gray. There was no color, and even the sky seemed gray," said Jones, who was in middle school in 1989 at the State's Department's John F. Kennedy International School in Berlin. "West Berlin was ablaze with lights. The streets were crowded, and there was a mystery associated with the city."
When the wall came down, Jones said, she was not afraid, but was astonished. "We went down to the Brandenburg Gate the next day," she said, "and my sister and I tried to count the Trabants parked on the side of the road and just gave up."
The day was emotional for Jones and others who witnessed it firsthand. "It was very emotional - hearing the stories of all these people who had been affected by the Iron Curtain, because that's what it literally was," she said.
Her father, Randy Jones, was chief of the regional contracting office in Berlin. "I was on site living in Berlin when the wall came down," he said via telephone from Austin, Texas. West Berlin was a magnet for Poles and Czechoslovaks leaving their countries. "It appeared to us that the East German border guards were being far less scrupulous in their examination of travel documents than they were in the past."
Mostly, Jones remembers a jubilant people. "As I remember, the next day was a holiday, and we had planned to go to East Berlin, just to see the people," he said.
The family loaded into their Jeep Cherokee with U.S. military identification and went to Checkpoint Charlie. "We processed through the American side just like we always did, but then we were surprised by being allowed to go right straight through the East German section," he said.
The family shopped and had lunch, and about 2 p.m., Jones suggested the family head home. "We drove our way back, and it took us hours and hours to get back through," he said. "As we neared Checkpoint Charlie, there was a wall of people clapping and cheering and seeing a car marked with a U.S. license plate, the people cheered even more loudly and yelled thank you and poured beer and champagne and flowers on the car.
"They were so happy, and I will never forget the wonderful celebrations, he said. "[The Berliners] demonstrated real gratitude and thankfulness, and it was for the American people. We just happened to be the Americans there."
The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which formally concluded on Oct. 3, 1990.
Gates Orders Moment of Silence for Fort Hood Victims
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has directed a moment of silence throughout the Defense Department today to honor the victims of yesterday's attack at Fort Hood, Texas. Twelve people were killed and 30 others were wounded when Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan allegedly opened fire in the post's Soldier Family Readiness Center. One of the wounded victims died overnight, bringing the death toll to 13. Malik was wounded and is in custody, Army officials said.
The attack occurred at 1:34 p.m. CST yesterday, and Defense Department personnel around the world will pause and mark the moment of silence at that same time today, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. For example, those in the U.S. Eastern time zone will observe the moment of silence at 2:34 p.m. local time, while those on the West Coast will observe it at 11:34 a.m.
Gates is at the White House this morning discussing the situation at Fort Hood with President Barack Obama, Morrell said. Army Secretary John McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. are at Fort Hood conferring with officials there.
Nov. 6, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has directed a moment of silence throughout the Defense Department today to honor the victims of yesterday's attack at Fort Hood, Texas. Twelve people were killed and 30 others were wounded when Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan allegedly opened fire in the post's Soldier Family Readiness Center. One of the wounded victims died overnight, bringing the death toll to 13. Malik was wounded and is in custody, Army officials said.
The attack occurred at 1:34 p.m. CST yesterday, and Defense Department personnel around the world will pause and mark the moment of silence at that same time today, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. For example, those in the U.S. Eastern time zone will observe the moment of silence at 2:34 p.m. local time, while those on the West Coast will observe it at 11:34 a.m.
Gates is at the White House this morning discussing the situation at Fort Hood with President Barack Obama, Morrell said. Army Secretary John McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. are at Fort Hood conferring with officials there.
Army Sends Support Teams to Hood to Aid Soldiers, Families
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - Resources to help those affected by the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas, are flowing to the post, Army officials said today. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan killed 13 Fort Hood personnel and wounded another 30 during a shooting spree at the post's Soldier-Family Readiness Center yesterday. Hassan was wounded and is in custody.
Army Secretary John M. McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. are at the post conferring with officials to determine the best way forward, said Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, chief of Army public affairs.
Army Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the commander of 3rd Corps and Fort Hood, has requested additional capabilities to help post personnel get through this tragedy. "We are already generating capabilities to deal with the consequences of the situation at Fort Hood," Bergner told reporters this morning.
The service is sending 13 unit ministry teams to the post. Each team has chaplains and chaplain assistants who can support the spiritual needs of soldiers, families and civilians at Fort Hood, Bergner said.
The Army also is sending 35 family life consultants to the base. "These are folks who specifically are trained and equipped to deal with the stress that military families confront – from the children to the spouses," the general explained.
The service also is sending 13 behavioral health specialists from to Fort Hood from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio to help with grief counseling.
Four Operation Homecoming counselors, 20 more behavioral health specialists and 17 critical-incident stress-management personnel will deploy to Fort Hood soon, Bergner said, and five combat stress teams are moving to the post to augment teams already at the base.
Some of the additional teams will arrive today and tomorrow, and others will flow in later, the general said. "If more is needed, we will provide it," he added.
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 6, 2009 - Resources to help those affected by the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas, are flowing to the post, Army officials said today. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan killed 13 Fort Hood personnel and wounded another 30 during a shooting spree at the post's Soldier-Family Readiness Center yesterday. Hassan was wounded and is in custody.
Army Secretary John M. McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. are at the post conferring with officials to determine the best way forward, said Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, chief of Army public affairs.
Army Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the commander of 3rd Corps and Fort Hood, has requested additional capabilities to help post personnel get through this tragedy. "We are already generating capabilities to deal with the consequences of the situation at Fort Hood," Bergner told reporters this morning.
The service is sending 13 unit ministry teams to the post. Each team has chaplains and chaplain assistants who can support the spiritual needs of soldiers, families and civilians at Fort Hood, Bergner said.
The Army also is sending 35 family life consultants to the base. "These are folks who specifically are trained and equipped to deal with the stress that military families confront – from the children to the spouses," the general explained.
The service also is sending 13 behavioral health specialists from to Fort Hood from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio to help with grief counseling.
Four Operation Homecoming counselors, 20 more behavioral health specialists and 17 critical-incident stress-management personnel will deploy to Fort Hood soon, Bergner said, and five combat stress teams are moving to the post to augment teams already at the base.
Some of the additional teams will arrive today and tomorrow, and others will flow in later, the general said. "If more is needed, we will provide it," he added.
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