Navy Secretary Hosts USS Hudner Naming Ceremony

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus will host a ship naming ceremony in honor of the USS Thomas Hudner on Tuesday, May 22, 2012, at 11 a.m. EDT on board the USS Constitution at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, Mass.

Thomas J. Hudner Jr., a naval aviator who retired as a captain, received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman for displaying uncommon valor during an attack on his wingman, the first African American naval aviator to fly in combat, Ensign Jesse L. Brown.  During the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War, anti-aircraft fire hit Brown’s aircraft, damaging a fuel line and causing him to crash.  After it became clear Brown was seriously injured and unable to free himself, Hudner proceeded to purposefully crash his own aircraft to join Brown and provide aid.  Hudner injured his own back during his crash landing, but he stayed with Brown until a rescue helicopter arrived.  Hudner and the rescue pilot worked in the sub-zero, snow-laden area in an unsuccessful attempt to free Brown from the smoking wreckage.

Hudner is the last living Navy recipient of the Medal of Honor from the Korean War.

The Arleigh Burke class destroyer will be able to conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection.  It will be capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously and will contain a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime warfare in keeping with the Navy’s ability to execute the Department of Defense’s defense strategy.

Media interested in attending the event may call USS Constitution public affairs at 617-799-8198.  Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at 703-697-5342.  For more news from secretary of the Navy public affairs, visit http://www.navy.mil/SECNAV .

More information about the Arleigh Burke class destroyers is available online at http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=900&ct=4 .

Wyoming Air National Guard participates in first-of-its-kind state exercise

By Air National Guard 1st Lt. Rusty Ridley

Wyoming National Guard, 153rd Airlift Wing

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (5/21/12) - In a first for the state of Wyoming, Air National Guard members of the 153rd Airlift Wing participated in a Strategic National Stockpile exercise named Prairie Eagle May 14, 2012, delivering simulated vaccines via a C-130 Hercules in conjunction with the Wyoming Department of Health.

 While the Wyoming Air Guard and the Wyoming DoH flew a mission to Jackson Hole, Wyo., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was on-hand, inspecting the department’s ability to receive, deliver and distribute medical vaccines and supplies to various parts of the state within a specified timeframe from a distribution point in Cheyenne.

“If the supplies were to be driven to Jackson Hole, it would have taken over nine hours,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Gary Monroe, the 153rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander. “Working together with the Department of Health and the Wyoming Air National Guard, we delivered in four hours.”

Once the delivery truck arrived at the Wyoming Air National Guard base, Airmen assigned to the 153rd Logistics Readiness Squadron’s mall air terminal began unloading, inspecting, weighing, marking and loading the pallets onto the aircraft all under the watchful eye of exercise evaluators. Airmen also flew along to assist with unloading the aircraft in Jackson Hole.

“It helps us identify what we would need by way of equipment and better ways to execute a mission like this,” said Robert Sherard, the Wyoming Department of Health planning coordinator. “It gives us a timeline of unloading the material, loading onto the aircraft, arrival and off-loading again.”

Other agencies in the state also supported the exercise including the Wyoming Department of Homeland Security and the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

“The exercise also helps us identify any other operational considerations we might have missed along the line,” Sherard said. “If we had to deploy this [strategic national stockpile] package, we’re trying to get as much time as we can. We work within a tight window and we’re trying to train well so we can respond well.”

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead was briefed on the exercise and the role of the Wyoming National Guard and how its capabilities and assets can be utilized in times of emergency.

“This mission not only exercises the Air Guard, but the [processes that] the department of health, homeland security and [the] Joint Force Headquarters would need to use and what would be expected if the need were to arise,” Monroe said.

As part of the exercise, Soldiers from the Wyoming Army National Guard were dispatched to Jackson Hole, Casper, Lander and Rock Springs at disbursement sites as they worked with local emergency managers on logistics and security measures.

“It really comes down to being able to help people in the state,” Monroe said. “The training was a win-win for everyone involved.”

Leap Frogs Kick Off Wounded Warrior Warrior Relay

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Fletcher Gibson, U.S. Navy Parachute Team Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Members of the U.S. Navy Parachute Demonstration Team, the Leap Frogs, jumped into Rancho Bernardo High School May 20 to kick off a 12-hour relay marathon designed to raise awareness about wounded veterans of the U.S. armed forces.

The six-man Leap Frog jump team paraded the U.S. flag to the national anthem performed by the Rancho Bernardo Madrigals before touching down in the school's athletic field where the relay would take place.

"It was a great performance," said Paul Robinson, the school's principal. "It reminds us of the tremendous heart and skill of our armed forces."

The relay served as a focal point for the Rancho Bernardo community to come together and show their support for the nation's wounded warriors. Held in conjunction with "Team Red, White and Blue" and "Advocates in Action," the marathon featured athletic and educational teams from the school as well as members of the surrounding area going the distance for the injured veterans among them.

"When a soldier or sailor is wounded in action, they're returned to the States and separated from their unit or their ship," said Kathleen Kennedy, the event chairperson. "It's really hard for them to leave that brotherhood, and it's up to the community to provide what they're missing."

This was the inaugural event for what many are expecting to be an annual community tradition.

"Mark your calendars for next year," said Robinson to the Leap Frogs. "This will get better and better."

The Leap Frogs next scheduled performance is May 24 at Coney Island in New York.

The Leap Frogs are based in San Diego and perform aerial parachute demonstrations in support of Naval Special Warfare and Navy recruiting.

Clinton Affirms NATO Open-door Membership Policy

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2012 – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at NATO’s summit in Chicago today that member nations are committed to the organization’s open-door membership policy, which she called a “powerful motivation” for countries wishing to join the alliance.

Speaking at a meeting of NATO’s decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, Clinton said the prospect of gaining membership in the alliance spurs countries to “implement difficult but necessary reforms, resolve internal differences as well as differences with their neighbors, and contribute to security operations that benefit themselves and all of us.”

The open-door policy has produced some of the alliance’s most active and committed members, she said, and has helped to promote stability and cooperation in central and eastern Europe.

According to NATO agreements, the alliance is open to any European country able to meet the commitments and obligations of membership and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area.

Since 1949, NATO’s membership has increased from 12 to 28 countries through six rounds of enlargement. Albania and Croatia, which were invited to join NATO at the alliance’s April 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania, formally became members April 1, 2009.

Georgia is advancing toward NATO membership, and Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are also working to become alliance members.

Clinton said the United States is deeply committed to NATO’s open-door policy. “It is in that spirit that we welcome our aspirant nations here today,” she said.

“We will keep working with each of them, both bilaterally and through NATO, to help them implement finally the reforms needed to meet the standards for membership,” she added. “As I said yesterday, I believe this summit should be the last summit that is not an enlargement summit.”

Clinton said NATO looks to aspiring member nations to demonstrate that they share NATO’s values and =are willing and able to meet the standards for membership. “And we promise to help them as they do so because this is in our interest,” she added.

Gaining membership can be a lengthy and challenging process, Clinton acknowledged.

“We need to stick with it and remember our ultimate goal: a stronger, more durable, more effective NATO,” she said, adding that enlargement of the alliance, done right, is a core element of NATO’s purpose and its community.

Gov. Walker lauds Wisconsin National Guard during Armed Forces Week

By 1st Sgt. Vaughn R. Larson

Wisconsin National Guard

Gov. Scott Walker thanked members of the Wisconsin National Guard May 18, the eve of Armed Forces Day, for their commitment to the state and nation, and said he and other governors are committed to keeping a strong Guard.

"We're committed to working with our congressional delegation in the federal government because we believe a well-prepared, well-armed [military] is important for our nation," Walker said in Witmer Hall at Joint Force Headquarters in Madison, Wis. "But we also believe very strongly that the most efficient, the most cost-effective and the most practical way of doing that is investing in our Guard."

Walker noted that Wisconsin National Guard members bring not only their military training to the table, but their civilian work experience as well.

"That can't be replicated anywhere else," he continued, "so we're going to continue to fight for that because we want a strong Guard in Wisconsin and the 49 other states, and throughout this country."

Walker related an account where a woman approached him to meet her son's commander in chief.

"She gave me this bracelet," he said, pointing to one of two on his left wrist. "I told her I'd put it next to this one," worn in honor of a fallen service member from Janesville. "It reminds me of how words can't explain the debt of gratitude we have to all of you. To every one of you here, to the 10,000 strong in the Guard here in the state of Wisconsin, and to all others, in the Guard around the country, in the Reserves and in the active duty service, for what you do as a commitment to your country. We just can't thank you enough."

Walker said he is frequently asked how Wisconsin service members cope with deploying multiple times.

"It's part of our history - that's who we are," he explained. "From World War I, the 'Greatest Generation' of World War II, and Korea and Vietnam, two decades ago in Desert Storm … every step of the way we've had a proud tradition that dates all the way back to those first Soldiers from Wisconsin, who went out in record numbers to fight in our nation's Civil War.

"We're proud because of our heritage," Walker continued. "We're proud because of who we are. Thank you for helping that live on."