By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
May 9, 2007 – Delays in getting an emergency supplemental war-funding bill approved are causing disruption within the Defense Department, particularly among programs at home, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. The Army has slowed spending in numerous areas to free up money to fully fund wartime costs since President Bush vetoed war-spending legislation because it set a date for the return of combat forces from Iraq, Gates told the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee.
The bill included $93.4 billion to help fund U.S. forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the global war on terror, but stipulated that U.S. combat troops be out of Iraq by Aug. 31, 2008. It also included costs unrelated to the war.
Bush vetoed the bill because he rejects establishing a deadline for troop withdrawals, insisting that such decisions must be based on conditions in the war zone.
Gates told Congress today that delays in getting a spending bill approved are having "a growing impact here at home."
"The Army is already trying to cope with this," he said. Spending in various programs has slowed or stopped altogether, he said. Defense contracts are being withheld; hiring of civilian employees has slowed; and bases have begun resorting to month-to-month service contracts for services and supplies.
Gates noted several stopgap measures taken to close the funding gap: The Senate committee approved a $1.6 billion reprogramming from the Air Force and Navy to the Army yesterday, he said, and the Defense Department expects to make another reprogramming request within the next several days.
"That kind of a reprogramming will extend us about a week," Gates said.
Ultimately, this type of effort will stretch the Defense Department's capabilities only so far, he said.
"If we pulled out all the stops (and) used everything possible available to us, we could probably fund the war into July," Gates said. "But I would tell you, the impact on the Department of Defense in terms of disruption and cancelled contracts and programs would be huge if we had to do that."
Gates told committee members the costs of defending the country are high, but not as high as the cost of not doing so. "The only thing costlier, ultimately, would be to fail to commit the resources necessary to defend our homeland interests around the world and to fail to prepare for the inevitable threats of the future," he said.
He urged committee members to move quickly to approve the fiscal 2008 defense budget request, which includes the base budget requests as well as wartime operating costs.
Gates said the budget requests would accomplish several important objectives. Approving them would allow:
-- Modernizing and recapitalizing key capabilities, to include funding increases for the next generation of ships, strike aircraft and ground combat systems;
-- Sustaining the all-volunteer military by reducing stress on the force and improving the quality of life for troops and their families;
-- Improving readiness through additional training and maintenance, and by resetting forces following their overseas deployment;
-- Building capabilities of partner nations to combat extremists within their own borders by using new train-and-equip authorities to ultimately reduce the potential demand for U.S. troops; and
-- Funding U.S. military operations for fiscal 2008 in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the ongoing campaign against violence jihadist networks around the world.
Gates acknowledged the combined price tag of these efforts -- more than $700 billion -- gives new meaning to "sticker shock." But funding these operations is critical, he said, in light of current threats and those the country will face in the future.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
DoD Announces Release of Implementation Plan for Pandemic Influenza
The Department of Defense announced today the release of its implementation plan for preparing, planning and responding to a potential pandemic influenza outbreak.
This plan implements the White House "National Pandemic Influenza Strategy Implementation Plan." It provides strategic guidance to all Department of Defense components for preparation and response to an outbreak of pandemic influenza.
The plan can be found on the Web at: http://fhp.osd.mil/aiWatchboard/pdf/DoD_PI_Implementation_Plan_August_2006_Public_Release.pdf .
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
This plan implements the White House "National Pandemic Influenza Strategy Implementation Plan." It provides strategic guidance to all Department of Defense components for preparation and response to an outbreak of pandemic influenza.
The plan can be found on the Web at: http://fhp.osd.mil/aiWatchboard/pdf/DoD_PI_Implementation_Plan_August_2006_Public_Release.pdf .
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Limb Deficient Youth Earns Eagle Scout Award
May 9, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) On May 26, 2007, Zachary James Foster will be honored for having earned the Eagle Scout award, the highest advancement rank in Scouting. Only 2 in 100 scouts will achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. This is especially significant since Zach did it with only one arm; he was born missing his right forearm. That obviously did not stop him. As a member of Boy Scout Troop 423, Zach has earned merit badges in such taxing physical skills as canoeing, rowing, swimming, and horseback riding. He also completed the arduous Mile Swim twice. With the use of a prosthesis, he has rappelled down cliffs, gone rock climbing, boulder jumping, practiced archery, gymnastics and learned to tap dance.
To earn the Eagle Scout rank, a boy scout must fulfill requirements in the areas of leadership, service, and outdoor skills by earning at least 21 merit badges. Zach earned 24 merit badges. Not satisfied with just scouting, he volunteers for “A Touch of Love,” a support group for limb deficient children, and for Congressman David Drier’s office. Zach is a member of the nationally acclaimed Bonita High School Chamber Singers, has taken mostly Honors or Advanced Placement classes in high school, has learned to read and write Spanish fluently, is in the Bonita Book and Kung Fu Movie Clubs. Zach is now teaching himself Japanese because he is also in the Anime Club.
Zach’s Eagle Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 26, at 11:00 a.m., at the Via Verde Country Club in San Dimas. For more information on limb deficient support groups, contact “A Touch of Love” at 1(800) 493-5462. For more information on scouting, contact San Gabriel Valley Council at (626) 351-8815.
To earn the Eagle Scout rank, a boy scout must fulfill requirements in the areas of leadership, service, and outdoor skills by earning at least 21 merit badges. Zach earned 24 merit badges. Not satisfied with just scouting, he volunteers for “A Touch of Love,” a support group for limb deficient children, and for Congressman David Drier’s office. Zach is a member of the nationally acclaimed Bonita High School Chamber Singers, has taken mostly Honors or Advanced Placement classes in high school, has learned to read and write Spanish fluently, is in the Bonita Book and Kung Fu Movie Clubs. Zach is now teaching himself Japanese because he is also in the Anime Club.
Zach’s Eagle Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 26, at 11:00 a.m., at the Via Verde Country Club in San Dimas. For more information on limb deficient support groups, contact “A Touch of Love” at 1(800) 493-5462. For more information on scouting, contact San Gabriel Valley Council at (626) 351-8815.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Cops writing on how to do cop stuff
Note: One of the writers is prior military.
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Four police officers were added to the website who have significantly added to the written body of knowledge on how to perform the law enforcement function.
Craig Steckler is the chief of police of the Freemont Police Department. He holds a B.S. degree from CSU Los Angeles, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the POST Command College. The Chief Craig Steckler’s law enforcement career spans 31 years, and has included positions in San Clemente and Chief of Police in Piedmont, California. Chief Craig Steckler came to Fremont as Deputy Chief in 1986 and was promoted to Chief in 1992. He was the Year 2000 President of the California Police Chiefs Association.
Chief Craig Steckler is the co-author of two books on law enforcement subjects. According to the book description of Written and Interpersonal Communication: Methods for Law Enforcement, “The purpose of this book is to improve the reader’s communication skills, both oral and written. Particular attention is paid to the reports and forms commonly used in the criminal justice system.” According to the book description of Fundamentals of Police Administration, “This introductory text for police administration provides a balanced perspective between legal, practical, and scholarly information. The book provides in-depth coverage of patrol, administration, and the impact of local financing on the police budget.”
George T. Payton Is a former Patrol Sergeant with the San Jose Police Department. He has a B.A. and M.A. from San Jose State University and an Ed.D. from the University of Southern California. When he left the police department to become Department Chair at a local college, Dr. George Payton transferred to the San Jose Police Department Reserves in order to keep abreast of new developments in the field; he is a lieutenant in that organization. He also organized the first regional Criminal Justice Training Academy in Santa Clara County and established the first Campus Police in San Jose City College.
Dr. George Payton is a veteran of two wars. He served first in the U.S. Navy and was later commissioned in the military police. His is the author or co-author of seven books: Peace Officer's Guide to Criminal Law; One Thousand Police Questions and Answers: Concepts of California Criminal law; Peace Officer's Promotional Manual; California Criminal Law, for the Community College Student; Patrol Procedure and Enforcement Concepts; and, Patrol Operations & Enforcement Tactics.
Derrick Watkins and Richard Ashby are the co-authors of Gang Investigations: A Street Cop’s Guide. According to the book description, the book “provides a step-by-step guide to gang identification, arrest, search and seizure, prosecution, and other programs that have been used successfully by criminal justice agencies nationwide. Anti-gang strategies are discussed along with the results of their implementation. This guide will better prepare every police officer and detective to deal with the modern street gang. With Watkins’ and Ashby’s knowledge, departments and officers can develop better strategies to curb gang violence and the fear of street terrorists.”
Derrick Watkins is a retired gang detective from the Santa Ana Police Department, having worked in Los Angeles County prior to Santa Ana. He has focused his career in the area of gangs as a patrol officer, while in major narcotics and as a gang detective. He spent nine years of his career dedicated to criminal street gangs. He is a court-recognized expert in Hispanic and White Supremacist gangs, having testified in the superior and federal courts of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. He has conducted training for the California Department of Justice, the State Attorney General, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and numerous local, state, and federal agencies across California and in several neighboring states. He currently works as a private law enforcement consultant regarding the methods and attributes of criminal street gangs across the country.
Detective Corporal Richard Ashby is a 20-year veteran of the Santa Ana Police Department. He has focused his career in the area of gangs as a patrol officer, a member of special details, and as a gang detective. He is a court-recognized expert in Hispanic gangs and has spent twelve years as a detective with the Santa Ana Police Department’s Gang Detail. During those twelve years he worked as a gang suppression detective, investigating all gang related assaults and attempt murders within the city of Santa Ana. He was also assigned to the Santa Ana Gang Homicide Detail, investigating gang related homicides. In March of 2004 he was promoted to the rank of Corporal and supervised the Santa Ana Gang Homicide Detail until February of 2006.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 532 police officers (representing 219 police departments) and their 1132 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Four police officers were added to the website who have significantly added to the written body of knowledge on how to perform the law enforcement function.
Craig Steckler is the chief of police of the Freemont Police Department. He holds a B.S. degree from CSU Los Angeles, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the POST Command College. The Chief Craig Steckler’s law enforcement career spans 31 years, and has included positions in San Clemente and Chief of Police in Piedmont, California. Chief Craig Steckler came to Fremont as Deputy Chief in 1986 and was promoted to Chief in 1992. He was the Year 2000 President of the California Police Chiefs Association.
Chief Craig Steckler is the co-author of two books on law enforcement subjects. According to the book description of Written and Interpersonal Communication: Methods for Law Enforcement, “The purpose of this book is to improve the reader’s communication skills, both oral and written. Particular attention is paid to the reports and forms commonly used in the criminal justice system.” According to the book description of Fundamentals of Police Administration, “This introductory text for police administration provides a balanced perspective between legal, practical, and scholarly information. The book provides in-depth coverage of patrol, administration, and the impact of local financing on the police budget.”
George T. Payton Is a former Patrol Sergeant with the San Jose Police Department. He has a B.A. and M.A. from San Jose State University and an Ed.D. from the University of Southern California. When he left the police department to become Department Chair at a local college, Dr. George Payton transferred to the San Jose Police Department Reserves in order to keep abreast of new developments in the field; he is a lieutenant in that organization. He also organized the first regional Criminal Justice Training Academy in Santa Clara County and established the first Campus Police in San Jose City College.
Dr. George Payton is a veteran of two wars. He served first in the U.S. Navy and was later commissioned in the military police. His is the author or co-author of seven books: Peace Officer's Guide to Criminal Law; One Thousand Police Questions and Answers: Concepts of California Criminal law; Peace Officer's Promotional Manual; California Criminal Law, for the Community College Student; Patrol Procedure and Enforcement Concepts; and, Patrol Operations & Enforcement Tactics.
Derrick Watkins and Richard Ashby are the co-authors of Gang Investigations: A Street Cop’s Guide. According to the book description, the book “provides a step-by-step guide to gang identification, arrest, search and seizure, prosecution, and other programs that have been used successfully by criminal justice agencies nationwide. Anti-gang strategies are discussed along with the results of their implementation. This guide will better prepare every police officer and detective to deal with the modern street gang. With Watkins’ and Ashby’s knowledge, departments and officers can develop better strategies to curb gang violence and the fear of street terrorists.”
Derrick Watkins is a retired gang detective from the Santa Ana Police Department, having worked in Los Angeles County prior to Santa Ana. He has focused his career in the area of gangs as a patrol officer, while in major narcotics and as a gang detective. He spent nine years of his career dedicated to criminal street gangs. He is a court-recognized expert in Hispanic and White Supremacist gangs, having testified in the superior and federal courts of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. He has conducted training for the California Department of Justice, the State Attorney General, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and numerous local, state, and federal agencies across California and in several neighboring states. He currently works as a private law enforcement consultant regarding the methods and attributes of criminal street gangs across the country.
Detective Corporal Richard Ashby is a 20-year veteran of the Santa Ana Police Department. He has focused his career in the area of gangs as a patrol officer, a member of special details, and as a gang detective. He is a court-recognized expert in Hispanic gangs and has spent twelve years as a detective with the Santa Ana Police Department’s Gang Detail. During those twelve years he worked as a gang suppression detective, investigating all gang related assaults and attempt murders within the city of Santa Ana. He was also assigned to the Santa Ana Gang Homicide Detail, investigating gang related homicides. In March of 2004 he was promoted to the rank of Corporal and supervised the Santa Ana Gang Homicide Detail until February of 2006.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 532 police officers (representing 219 police departments) and their 1132 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Car Showcases Program Logo
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – NASCAR Nextel Cup points leader Jeff Gordon today unveiled a new design for his No. 24 Dupont-sponsored car sporting a Department of Defense color scheme and the America Supports You logo emblazoned on its hood. America Supports You is a Defense Department program that showcases America's support for the men and women of the armed forces and their families.
"May is 'Military Appreciation Month,' and there is no better place to honor our military than at the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day, particularly when Jeff Gordon takes to the track in his new blue America Supports You car," said Roxie Merritt, chief of Integrated Communications for the Department of Defense.
Merritt was the America Supports You representative at the unveiling ceremony. "We truly appreciate Jeff's commitment to our troops and their families and NASCAR for amplifying the message to our servicemembers that Americans stand behind them," she said.
The design is showcased as part of the American Heroes Memorial Day salute to the Armed Forces on May 27 at Lowe's Motor Speedway here. Gordon and sponsor DuPont created the commemorative paint scheme for the salute.
Eight Nextel Cup drivers and two Busch drivers are sporting new looks with military themes during the Coca Cola 600 to help kick off a nationwide effort to raise funds for military families in need. The NASCAR team owners, sponsors, drivers and employees donated the space on their cars.
Participating drivers include Greg Biffle, Ward Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Shane Huffman, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Casey Mears and Jon Wood.
The number of drivers and sponsors willing to participate surprised Gordon, who headed the initiative. Advertising alone on the hoods of some of the cars can bring up to $1 million per race, said Larry Deas, manager of Dupont Motor Sports.
"These men and women fight with their lives on the line for our peace and our freedom. When you think about that, there's not enough that you can do," Gordon said. "It's a no-brainer."
Deas said his group jumped at the opportunity.
"I appreciate all (servicemembers) do," he said. "I hope this is just a little bit of a message from Dupont to say how much we appreciate what (the troops) do as a corporation. The fact that we supply a lot of products for them that help make them safer and more likely to come back home to their loved ones is something that I'm very proud of."
Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, Army National Guard chief, represented the Defense Department at the ceremony. He said the morale boost from the cars' new paint jobs will be felt around the globe in the 177 countries where U.S. troops are serving.
"It sends an enormous message of the commitment of NASCAR and the genuine care that they have for our American servicemembers," Vaughn said. "It has an impact on morale to know that there is a significant amount of the population that is strongly behind everything that (the troops are) doing and what they stand for."
Marshall Carlson, Hendrick Motor Sports general manager said he has seen servicemembers over the years show their support to NASCAR, and his company appreciates the opportunity to express its gratitude for their service. His team runs the No. 25 National Guard car with driver Casey Meers.
"When this opportunity came up, every one of our folks jumped all over it," he said. "We recognize the sacrifice and the hard work that all of the servicemembers give to the rest of us without any expectation of thanks. When you have the opportunity to express that gratitude to them, it's an opportunity you don't want to pass up."
Gordon's Chevrolet features Defense Department colors of medium and dark blue, gold and red. "America Supports You" tops the circular logo against a dark blue background, with "Department of Defense" lettered along the bottom. Within the circle, against a medium-blue background, is the America Supports You program logo with its red heart and reversed white stars and stripes supported by a dark blue ribbon with a reversed white dog tag. The dog tag with the America Supports You logo is the official emblem of the program.
The American Heroes Memorial Day Tribute is being supported by Nextel, which will conduct a national fundraising campaign encouraging its customers support the troops with donations to the United Service Organizations.
The American Heroes program hopes to raise more than $1 million for American military families in need through the effort.
"The USO is proud to be the beneficiary of the American Heroes campaign," said Edward A. Powee, USO president and chief executive officer, in a release to the media. "We thank Speedway Motorsports, Nextel, the NASCAR community and its fans for their support of our men and women in uniform and the USO."
Four organizations are promoting the American Heroes Memorial Day Tribute and fundraising efforts: the USO, America Supports You, Speedway Children's Charities, and the Special Operations Hero Fund.
The Speedway Children's Charities was founded in 1982 and provides medical, educational and social services to underprivileged children. In 2006, they awarded more than $2.8 million to more than 470 organizations, according to a news release. The Special Operations Hero Fund provides scholarships and educational grants to children of special operations personnel killed in training or combat.
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., or NASCAR, began in 1948. It is the top U.S. spectator sport holding 17 of the top 20 attended sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2 rated regular season sport on network television with broadcasts in 150 countries and has 75 million fans. More Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport, according to the NASCAR web site. Gordon is a four-time series champion.
NASCAR has been a corporate team member of America Supports You since July 2005.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – NASCAR Nextel Cup points leader Jeff Gordon today unveiled a new design for his No. 24 Dupont-sponsored car sporting a Department of Defense color scheme and the America Supports You logo emblazoned on its hood. America Supports You is a Defense Department program that showcases America's support for the men and women of the armed forces and their families.
"May is 'Military Appreciation Month,' and there is no better place to honor our military than at the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day, particularly when Jeff Gordon takes to the track in his new blue America Supports You car," said Roxie Merritt, chief of Integrated Communications for the Department of Defense.
Merritt was the America Supports You representative at the unveiling ceremony. "We truly appreciate Jeff's commitment to our troops and their families and NASCAR for amplifying the message to our servicemembers that Americans stand behind them," she said.
The design is showcased as part of the American Heroes Memorial Day salute to the Armed Forces on May 27 at Lowe's Motor Speedway here. Gordon and sponsor DuPont created the commemorative paint scheme for the salute.
Eight Nextel Cup drivers and two Busch drivers are sporting new looks with military themes during the Coca Cola 600 to help kick off a nationwide effort to raise funds for military families in need. The NASCAR team owners, sponsors, drivers and employees donated the space on their cars.
Participating drivers include Greg Biffle, Ward Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Shane Huffman, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Casey Mears and Jon Wood.
The number of drivers and sponsors willing to participate surprised Gordon, who headed the initiative. Advertising alone on the hoods of some of the cars can bring up to $1 million per race, said Larry Deas, manager of Dupont Motor Sports.
"These men and women fight with their lives on the line for our peace and our freedom. When you think about that, there's not enough that you can do," Gordon said. "It's a no-brainer."
Deas said his group jumped at the opportunity.
"I appreciate all (servicemembers) do," he said. "I hope this is just a little bit of a message from Dupont to say how much we appreciate what (the troops) do as a corporation. The fact that we supply a lot of products for them that help make them safer and more likely to come back home to their loved ones is something that I'm very proud of."
Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, Army National Guard chief, represented the Defense Department at the ceremony. He said the morale boost from the cars' new paint jobs will be felt around the globe in the 177 countries where U.S. troops are serving.
"It sends an enormous message of the commitment of NASCAR and the genuine care that they have for our American servicemembers," Vaughn said. "It has an impact on morale to know that there is a significant amount of the population that is strongly behind everything that (the troops are) doing and what they stand for."
Marshall Carlson, Hendrick Motor Sports general manager said he has seen servicemembers over the years show their support to NASCAR, and his company appreciates the opportunity to express its gratitude for their service. His team runs the No. 25 National Guard car with driver Casey Meers.
"When this opportunity came up, every one of our folks jumped all over it," he said. "We recognize the sacrifice and the hard work that all of the servicemembers give to the rest of us without any expectation of thanks. When you have the opportunity to express that gratitude to them, it's an opportunity you don't want to pass up."
Gordon's Chevrolet features Defense Department colors of medium and dark blue, gold and red. "America Supports You" tops the circular logo against a dark blue background, with "Department of Defense" lettered along the bottom. Within the circle, against a medium-blue background, is the America Supports You program logo with its red heart and reversed white stars and stripes supported by a dark blue ribbon with a reversed white dog tag. The dog tag with the America Supports You logo is the official emblem of the program.
The American Heroes Memorial Day Tribute is being supported by Nextel, which will conduct a national fundraising campaign encouraging its customers support the troops with donations to the United Service Organizations.
The American Heroes program hopes to raise more than $1 million for American military families in need through the effort.
"The USO is proud to be the beneficiary of the American Heroes campaign," said Edward A. Powee, USO president and chief executive officer, in a release to the media. "We thank Speedway Motorsports, Nextel, the NASCAR community and its fans for their support of our men and women in uniform and the USO."
Four organizations are promoting the American Heroes Memorial Day Tribute and fundraising efforts: the USO, America Supports You, Speedway Children's Charities, and the Special Operations Hero Fund.
The Speedway Children's Charities was founded in 1982 and provides medical, educational and social services to underprivileged children. In 2006, they awarded more than $2.8 million to more than 470 organizations, according to a news release. The Special Operations Hero Fund provides scholarships and educational grants to children of special operations personnel killed in training or combat.
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., or NASCAR, began in 1948. It is the top U.S. spectator sport holding 17 of the top 20 attended sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2 rated regular season sport on network television with broadcasts in 150 countries and has 75 million fans. More Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport, according to the NASCAR web site. Gordon is a four-time series champion.
NASCAR has been a corporate team member of America Supports You since July 2005.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Navy Helicopter Crashes in Nevada
American Forces Press Service
AUSTIN, Nev., May 8, 2007 – All five crew members of a Navy SH-60F Seahawk helicopter died yesterday in a crash about 10 miles west of here. Officials are investigating the cause of the accident. Press reports indicate the helicopter may have hit power lines in the area.
Military aircraft initially located the crash site at 9:40 p.m. local time, 15 minutes after the helicopter crashed. A Navy UH-1N Huey search-and-rescue helicopter dispatched from Naval Air Station Fallon arrived at the scene at about 10:15 p.m.
The helicopter, assigned to Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 7 based in Jacksonville, Fla., was conducting a routine training mission from NAS Fallon. The squadron, part of Carrier Air Wing 3, which deploys on USS Harry S. Truman, began a month-long training detachment at NAS Fallon on April 30.
The names of the aircrew are being withheld pending notification of their next of kin.
(From Naval Air Station Fallon Public Affairs.)
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
AUSTIN, Nev., May 8, 2007 – All five crew members of a Navy SH-60F Seahawk helicopter died yesterday in a crash about 10 miles west of here. Officials are investigating the cause of the accident. Press reports indicate the helicopter may have hit power lines in the area.
Military aircraft initially located the crash site at 9:40 p.m. local time, 15 minutes after the helicopter crashed. A Navy UH-1N Huey search-and-rescue helicopter dispatched from Naval Air Station Fallon arrived at the scene at about 10:15 p.m.
The helicopter, assigned to Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 7 based in Jacksonville, Fla., was conducting a routine training mission from NAS Fallon. The squadron, part of Carrier Air Wing 3, which deploys on USS Harry S. Truman, began a month-long training detachment at NAS Fallon on April 30.
The names of the aircrew are being withheld pending notification of their next of kin.
(From Naval Air Station Fallon Public Affairs.)
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Former Marine Helps Heroes Get Hired
by Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – A national program is working to help make it easier for veterans to find meaningful jobs. "Hire A Hero," a program of the nonprofit California-based Armed Forces Support Foundation, can help take the frustration out of that process, Dan Caulfield, the program's executive director, said.
The program originated as a job program for National Guard members and their families. It was piloted in Georgia and Florida as a way for the National Guard to help recruit and retain members. Today, the Hire A Hero program has expanded across all branches and helps transitioning active military personnel, Guardsmen and reservists find jobs across all industries.
Unemployment among young military veterans can be up to three times as high as their civilian counterparts, he added.
"Even worse, the thing that's harder to prove is the underemployment of military veterans," he said.
There is no reason for this when the economy is dying for this type of quality work force, he added.
"They way we see it is, here are the people we've invested the most in to protect the American dream and they're not getting their fair share of the American dream," Caulfield said.
That's why the Hire A Hero program has stepped up to help veterans, like Michael Sinicrope, grab their piece of the pie.
Sinicrope, a former Marine, transitioned back into civilian life on Oct. 1 after serving his country for four years. During his service he worked as a parachute rigger and air delivery specialist.
"A few months after I transitioned out, my wife called me from work and told me about a program called Hire A Hero," he said in a letter to the organization. "In just 10 minutes I found a job that interested me, and I applied for it."
The employer, the Estancia La Jolla Resort and Spa in California, hired Sinicrope as a security agent soon after the interview.
"I believe my work ethic and everything about being a Marine has incorporated into my new job," he said. "My discipline and integrity gained while serving has also proven to be invaluable traits for what I do now."
Sinicrope said he'd recommend Hire A Hero to his fellow servicemembers preparing to re-enter civilian life. "The jobs are tailored to us, and the employers that use Hire A Hero are looking for people with military experience," he said.
The California National Guard also sees value in the program. On May 4, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Hire A Hero.
"It is important to us that our Guard members are provided with quality civilian employment opportunities," Army Maj. Gen. William H. Wade II, adjutant general of the California National Guard, said in a press release. "We have partnered with Hire A Hero to make sure that our members and their families are taken care of."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – A national program is working to help make it easier for veterans to find meaningful jobs. "Hire A Hero," a program of the nonprofit California-based Armed Forces Support Foundation, can help take the frustration out of that process, Dan Caulfield, the program's executive director, said.
The program originated as a job program for National Guard members and their families. It was piloted in Georgia and Florida as a way for the National Guard to help recruit and retain members. Today, the Hire A Hero program has expanded across all branches and helps transitioning active military personnel, Guardsmen and reservists find jobs across all industries.
Unemployment among young military veterans can be up to three times as high as their civilian counterparts, he added.
"Even worse, the thing that's harder to prove is the underemployment of military veterans," he said.
There is no reason for this when the economy is dying for this type of quality work force, he added.
"They way we see it is, here are the people we've invested the most in to protect the American dream and they're not getting their fair share of the American dream," Caulfield said.
That's why the Hire A Hero program has stepped up to help veterans, like Michael Sinicrope, grab their piece of the pie.
Sinicrope, a former Marine, transitioned back into civilian life on Oct. 1 after serving his country for four years. During his service he worked as a parachute rigger and air delivery specialist.
"A few months after I transitioned out, my wife called me from work and told me about a program called Hire A Hero," he said in a letter to the organization. "In just 10 minutes I found a job that interested me, and I applied for it."
The employer, the Estancia La Jolla Resort and Spa in California, hired Sinicrope as a security agent soon after the interview.
"I believe my work ethic and everything about being a Marine has incorporated into my new job," he said. "My discipline and integrity gained while serving has also proven to be invaluable traits for what I do now."
Sinicrope said he'd recommend Hire A Hero to his fellow servicemembers preparing to re-enter civilian life. "The jobs are tailored to us, and the employers that use Hire A Hero are looking for people with military experience," he said.
The California National Guard also sees value in the program. On May 4, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Hire A Hero.
"It is important to us that our Guard members are provided with quality civilian employment opportunities," Army Maj. Gen. William H. Wade II, adjutant general of the California National Guard, said in a press release. "We have partnered with Hire A Hero to make sure that our members and their families are taken care of."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
National Guard Has Manpower, Assets Needed for Kansas Relief Effort
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – National Guard troops responding to a tornado that devastated Greensburg, Kan., have the manpower and resources they need and can tap into additional support if they need it, defense officials said today. "If the National Guard has it, Kansas will receive it," said Army Lt. Gen. H Stephen Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
Some 566 members of the Kansas National Guard -- 366 Army Guard, 200 Air Guard -- are on duty, conducting search-and-rescue missions, clearing debris, helping generate power, supporting law enforcement officials, and providing other support, National Guard Bureau officials reported.
The Kansas National Guard has 88 percent of its forces available and is working quickly and aggressively to save lives and reduce suffering, Guard Bureau officials reported. More than 6,800 additional Kansas Guard troops can be tapped, if needed, as well as more than 80,000 Guardsmen from surrounding states, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today.
Kansas Guardsmen responding to the disaster have 60 percent of their Army Guard dual-use equipment and more than 85 percent of their Air Guard equipment on hand, officials said.
Whitman reported a full range of Guard equipment on hand to support the mission. The Kansas Guard has 352 Humvees, 94 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks, 24 medium and light tactical vehicles, 152 2.5-ton cargo trucks, 76 series 5-ton trucks, 13 M916 tractors, 870 trailers, 52 Heavy Equipment Transport Systems, and 30 Palletized Load System Trucks.
In terms of engineering assets, the Kansas Guard has all -- and in some cases more than, -- its authorized vehicles. This includes five road graders, 15 bulldozers, eight scoop loaders and 72 dump trucks, he said.
Whitman said he was unable to report which of these assets is undergoing maintenance and might not be immediately available to provide tornado relief.
Meanwhile, the National Guard Bureau is coordinating requests for additional support through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. This national partnership agreement paves the way for states to share resources during governor- or federally declared emergencies.
"The states are poised to help one another when their own resources are overwhelmed," said Air Force Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
Initial out-of-state assets to be committed to the mission include six UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for search-and-rescue operations; power generation assets to be fielded to Macksville, in Stafford County; and a deployable communications package with voice, data, video and radio interoperability.
"Saving lives and protecting property is what the American people expect the National Guard to do, and that's exactly what we are seeing take place in the wake of the Kansas tornado disaster," Krenke said.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius mobilized the troops after a tornado rated at F-5, the highest rating given by the National Weather Service, ripped through the state May 5.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – National Guard troops responding to a tornado that devastated Greensburg, Kan., have the manpower and resources they need and can tap into additional support if they need it, defense officials said today. "If the National Guard has it, Kansas will receive it," said Army Lt. Gen. H Stephen Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
Some 566 members of the Kansas National Guard -- 366 Army Guard, 200 Air Guard -- are on duty, conducting search-and-rescue missions, clearing debris, helping generate power, supporting law enforcement officials, and providing other support, National Guard Bureau officials reported.
The Kansas National Guard has 88 percent of its forces available and is working quickly and aggressively to save lives and reduce suffering, Guard Bureau officials reported. More than 6,800 additional Kansas Guard troops can be tapped, if needed, as well as more than 80,000 Guardsmen from surrounding states, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today.
Kansas Guardsmen responding to the disaster have 60 percent of their Army Guard dual-use equipment and more than 85 percent of their Air Guard equipment on hand, officials said.
Whitman reported a full range of Guard equipment on hand to support the mission. The Kansas Guard has 352 Humvees, 94 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks, 24 medium and light tactical vehicles, 152 2.5-ton cargo trucks, 76 series 5-ton trucks, 13 M916 tractors, 870 trailers, 52 Heavy Equipment Transport Systems, and 30 Palletized Load System Trucks.
In terms of engineering assets, the Kansas Guard has all -- and in some cases more than, -- its authorized vehicles. This includes five road graders, 15 bulldozers, eight scoop loaders and 72 dump trucks, he said.
Whitman said he was unable to report which of these assets is undergoing maintenance and might not be immediately available to provide tornado relief.
Meanwhile, the National Guard Bureau is coordinating requests for additional support through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. This national partnership agreement paves the way for states to share resources during governor- or federally declared emergencies.
"The states are poised to help one another when their own resources are overwhelmed," said Air Force Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
Initial out-of-state assets to be committed to the mission include six UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for search-and-rescue operations; power generation assets to be fielded to Macksville, in Stafford County; and a deployable communications package with voice, data, video and radio interoperability.
"Saving lives and protecting property is what the American people expect the National Guard to do, and that's exactly what we are seeing take place in the wake of the Kansas tornado disaster," Krenke said.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius mobilized the troops after a tornado rated at F-5, the highest rating given by the National Weather Service, ripped through the state May 5.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Defense Department Announces Next Iraq Troop Rotation
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – Defense Department officials today announced the next 10 Army brigade combat teams to deploy to Iraq to replace units currently operating there. The announcement affects about 35,000 active-duty troops, who all will deploy between August and the year's end to serve as replacement forces for those returning home, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.
The units will deploy for up to 15 months.
Whitman emphasized that the announcement is unrelated to the troop surge under way to increase security in and around Baghdad.
"Let me be real clear about this," he said. "This deployment ... is not a decision with respect to the surge. It is simply identifying the next 10 units that will receive deployment orders and to provide the kind of predictability" they need to prepare.
Any decision regarding the surge will be based "entirely upon the conditions on the ground," Whitman said.
Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, is expected to assess those conditions later this year and make recommendations regarding the surge to the commander of U.S. Central Command, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defense secretary and president, Whitman said.
Major Army units receiving deployment orders include:
-- 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas;
-- 1st, 2nd and 3rd Brigades, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.;
-- 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.;
-- 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood;
-- 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.;
-- 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii;
-- 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Stryker), Vilseck, Germany; and
-- 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 8, 2007 – Defense Department officials today announced the next 10 Army brigade combat teams to deploy to Iraq to replace units currently operating there. The announcement affects about 35,000 active-duty troops, who all will deploy between August and the year's end to serve as replacement forces for those returning home, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.
The units will deploy for up to 15 months.
Whitman emphasized that the announcement is unrelated to the troop surge under way to increase security in and around Baghdad.
"Let me be real clear about this," he said. "This deployment ... is not a decision with respect to the surge. It is simply identifying the next 10 units that will receive deployment orders and to provide the kind of predictability" they need to prepare.
Any decision regarding the surge will be based "entirely upon the conditions on the ground," Whitman said.
Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, is expected to assess those conditions later this year and make recommendations regarding the surge to the commander of U.S. Central Command, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defense secretary and president, Whitman said.
Major Army units receiving deployment orders include:
-- 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas;
-- 1st, 2nd and 3rd Brigades, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.;
-- 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.;
-- 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood;
-- 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.;
-- 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii;
-- 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Stryker), Vilseck, Germany; and
-- 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
True Crime and True Law Enforcement History
Note: One of the writers is a former Marine.
May 8, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Police-Writers.com added three police officer authors who have added to our understanding of law enforcement history through their work on true crime and histories of their agencies.
Riverside Police Department detective Christine Keers is the Co-author of The Riverside Killer. According to a book synopsis, “Between 1986 and 1992, Riverside County, California became the scene of a series of savage sex murders that shocked the nation. Nineteen prostitutes were raped and sexually mutilated by a killer who left his grisly trademark on each victim. For almost 6 years he terrorized the city, leaving a trail of false leads, few clues and even fewer suspects.”
According to David Lockeretz, “For someone who lives in southern California (particularly the Riverside area, where the crimes took place) this is an interesting and frightening book to read, and even people who have never heard of Suff before will likely feel revolt at the heinousness of his crimes. No matter how one judges the prostitutes he murdered, it is hard not to recoil at the mention of a light bulb stuffed deep inside one of the naked bodies post mortem and of other sadistic details.”
Matthew J. Lyons, a corporal on the Oceanside Police Department (California) and former Marine is the author of Oceanside Police Department. According to the book description, “The Oceanside Police Department has provided a century of service to a community that has grown from a small seaside resort—doubling as a bedroom community for the U.S. Marine Corps’s nearby Camp Pendleton—into a city of more than 170,000 people. City marshals patrolled Oceanside from 1888 to 1906, and it is indicative of the city’s formative years that the first lawman, former Texas Ranger Charlie Wilson, was also the first to be killed in the line of duty.
The photographs in this remarkable collection inventory the department’s past, covering the administrations of city marshal J. Keno Wilson (Charlie Wilson’s brother), Chiefs Charles Goss, Ward Ratcliff, and others. Showcased are images from the archives of the Oceanside Police Department and the collection of Delores Davis Sloan, the daughter of former captain Harold B. Davis, Oceanside’s top cop of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.”
Matthew J. Lyons has donated the royalties from his book to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund.
Author and historian M. David DeSoucy is a retired veteran of 25 years of service in the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. He is the author of San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, a history of that department. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the county of San Bernardino. San Bernardino County (California) is geographically the largest in the nation, encompassing 20,186 square miles. In 1853, the County’s first sheriff, Robert Cliff, established Central Station which current serves unincorporated areas of the City of San Bernardino as well as nearby contract cities.
According to the book description, “The largest county in the continental United States has seen its share of colorful pursuits of suspects and fugitives, including the search for the last Native American in the United States to be tracked to his tragic end by a lawman's posse: "Willie Boy" at Ruby Mountain. San Bernardino County also was the setting for the shoot-outs at Baldy Mesa and Lytle Creek. Yet gunplay lore is only one aspect of the epic of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Today the department deploys nearly 5,000 salaried and volunteer employees to protect and serve its 20,186 square miles of deserts, mountains, forests, and increasingly urban areas. This original cow-county sheriff's office went through many developments that are detailed in these vintage photographs sheriffs' administrations, equipment, investigations, and other exploits all culled from the department's archives, private collections, the California Room of the San Bernardino Public Library, and the San Bernardino Pioneer Historical Society.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 528 police officers (representing 218 police departments) and their 1122 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
May 8, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Police-Writers.com added three police officer authors who have added to our understanding of law enforcement history through their work on true crime and histories of their agencies.
Riverside Police Department detective Christine Keers is the Co-author of The Riverside Killer. According to a book synopsis, “Between 1986 and 1992, Riverside County, California became the scene of a series of savage sex murders that shocked the nation. Nineteen prostitutes were raped and sexually mutilated by a killer who left his grisly trademark on each victim. For almost 6 years he terrorized the city, leaving a trail of false leads, few clues and even fewer suspects.”
According to David Lockeretz, “For someone who lives in southern California (particularly the Riverside area, where the crimes took place) this is an interesting and frightening book to read, and even people who have never heard of Suff before will likely feel revolt at the heinousness of his crimes. No matter how one judges the prostitutes he murdered, it is hard not to recoil at the mention of a light bulb stuffed deep inside one of the naked bodies post mortem and of other sadistic details.”
Matthew J. Lyons, a corporal on the Oceanside Police Department (California) and former Marine is the author of Oceanside Police Department. According to the book description, “The Oceanside Police Department has provided a century of service to a community that has grown from a small seaside resort—doubling as a bedroom community for the U.S. Marine Corps’s nearby Camp Pendleton—into a city of more than 170,000 people. City marshals patrolled Oceanside from 1888 to 1906, and it is indicative of the city’s formative years that the first lawman, former Texas Ranger Charlie Wilson, was also the first to be killed in the line of duty.
The photographs in this remarkable collection inventory the department’s past, covering the administrations of city marshal J. Keno Wilson (Charlie Wilson’s brother), Chiefs Charles Goss, Ward Ratcliff, and others. Showcased are images from the archives of the Oceanside Police Department and the collection of Delores Davis Sloan, the daughter of former captain Harold B. Davis, Oceanside’s top cop of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.”
Matthew J. Lyons has donated the royalties from his book to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund.
Author and historian M. David DeSoucy is a retired veteran of 25 years of service in the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. He is the author of San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, a history of that department. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the county of San Bernardino. San Bernardino County (California) is geographically the largest in the nation, encompassing 20,186 square miles. In 1853, the County’s first sheriff, Robert Cliff, established Central Station which current serves unincorporated areas of the City of San Bernardino as well as nearby contract cities.
According to the book description, “The largest county in the continental United States has seen its share of colorful pursuits of suspects and fugitives, including the search for the last Native American in the United States to be tracked to his tragic end by a lawman's posse: "Willie Boy" at Ruby Mountain. San Bernardino County also was the setting for the shoot-outs at Baldy Mesa and Lytle Creek. Yet gunplay lore is only one aspect of the epic of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Today the department deploys nearly 5,000 salaried and volunteer employees to protect and serve its 20,186 square miles of deserts, mountains, forests, and increasingly urban areas. This original cow-county sheriff's office went through many developments that are detailed in these vintage photographs sheriffs' administrations, equipment, investigations, and other exploits all culled from the department's archives, private collections, the California Room of the San Bernardino Public Library, and the San Bernardino Pioneer Historical Society.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 528 police officers (representing 218 police departments) and their 1122 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Guard, Reserve Employer-Support Agency Gains New Chief
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
May 7, 2007 – Maintaining good communications with civilian employers of National Guardsmen and reservists is a major component of mission success at the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, the agency's new chief said in an interview. Gordon Sumner Jr., a retired Army lieutenant colonel, was appointed as the committee's new executive director March 29.
It is critical, Sumner emphasized, that ESGR maintain open lines of communication with employers of Guard members and reservists, regardless of where they're located.
Created in 1972, the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is a Defense Department agency that provides information and education for employers of members of the reserve components. In addition, the agency can mediate potential disputes between employers and their employees in the Guard or reserves.
The national committee's more than 4,200 volunteers at 56 field committees across the United States and its territories serve as advocates for good relations between employers and their military employees, Sumner said during an interview with American Forces Press Service during a National Military Appreciation Month event at Opa Locka Airport here on May 3.
"Volunteers are absolutely the most important piece of this organization," Sumner said. "Our job is to get that information out through an outreach program that is robust, timely and strongly supported, as well as keeping lines of communication that go both ways."
ESGR has logged more than 282,000 hours of volunteer work since the start of the current fiscal year, Sumner said.
Increased communication and interface between ESGR's Arlington, Va., headquarters group, its field committees, and employers of Guardsmen and reservists is paying off, Sumner said, citing a decreasing caseload between ESGR ombudsmen and employers.
Sumner traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to attend a May 3 awards ceremony and symposium with local employers. Seven southern Florida employers received Above and Beyond awards, one of a series of honors the committee bestows to employers providing programs and policies that exceed the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. USERRA specifies re-employment protection and other benefits for veterans and employees returning from military duty.
The seven awardees also signed ESGR 5-Star Statements of Support as symbols of their rededicated support of employees in the Guardsmen or reservists.
"The ombudsman cases are declining rapidly as we grow the Statement of Support (program)," Sumner pointed out. Today, he said, there are only 130 ombudsman-support cases across the country, compared to thousands experienced in past years.
As the war against global terrorism continues, it's more important than ever "to ensure employers are supporting" their employees in the National Guard or reserves, Sumner said.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 7, 2007 – Maintaining good communications with civilian employers of National Guardsmen and reservists is a major component of mission success at the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, the agency's new chief said in an interview. Gordon Sumner Jr., a retired Army lieutenant colonel, was appointed as the committee's new executive director March 29.
It is critical, Sumner emphasized, that ESGR maintain open lines of communication with employers of Guard members and reservists, regardless of where they're located.
Created in 1972, the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is a Defense Department agency that provides information and education for employers of members of the reserve components. In addition, the agency can mediate potential disputes between employers and their employees in the Guard or reserves.
The national committee's more than 4,200 volunteers at 56 field committees across the United States and its territories serve as advocates for good relations between employers and their military employees, Sumner said during an interview with American Forces Press Service during a National Military Appreciation Month event at Opa Locka Airport here on May 3.
"Volunteers are absolutely the most important piece of this organization," Sumner said. "Our job is to get that information out through an outreach program that is robust, timely and strongly supported, as well as keeping lines of communication that go both ways."
ESGR has logged more than 282,000 hours of volunteer work since the start of the current fiscal year, Sumner said.
Increased communication and interface between ESGR's Arlington, Va., headquarters group, its field committees, and employers of Guardsmen and reservists is paying off, Sumner said, citing a decreasing caseload between ESGR ombudsmen and employers.
Sumner traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to attend a May 3 awards ceremony and symposium with local employers. Seven southern Florida employers received Above and Beyond awards, one of a series of honors the committee bestows to employers providing programs and policies that exceed the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. USERRA specifies re-employment protection and other benefits for veterans and employees returning from military duty.
The seven awardees also signed ESGR 5-Star Statements of Support as symbols of their rededicated support of employees in the Guardsmen or reservists.
"The ombudsman cases are declining rapidly as we grow the Statement of Support (program)," Sumner pointed out. Today, he said, there are only 130 ombudsman-support cases across the country, compared to thousands experienced in past years.
As the war against global terrorism continues, it's more important than ever "to ensure employers are supporting" their employees in the National Guard or reserves, Sumner said.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Group Helps Military Families in Crisis
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
May 7, 2007 – Operation Homefront takes its mission of caring for deployed servicemembers, the families they leave behind, and wounded troops very seriously. "Our primary focus is providing emergency assistance to military families and wounded warriors," Meredith Leyva, Operation Homefront's founder, said. "Most of military families live far from home and we aren't rich, so when a crisis comes up, it can send a family into a tailspin."
That tailspin at home can have ripple effects overseas. "It can distract a servicemember from the dangerous task at hand," she said.
Operation Homefront is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with members of the military and their families at home and abroad.
The group, which got its start after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, offers emergency funding to help cover rent, utilities and everyday expenses, with some exceptions. Goods and services, such as food, baby care items, and vehicle and appliance repair, also are offered.
In addition, Operation Homefront provides many programs that boost the morale and quality of life for wounded troops, deployed servicemembers and families on the home front, Leyva said. That includes providing assistance with moving, donating certain appliances, hosting community events, and donating computers and digital cameras to help keep families in touch with deployed servicemembers.
Most importantly, however, the group provides military families with a community. "CinCHouse.com," which Leyva started in 1999, is a supportive online community for military wives, families, girlfriends and women in uniform.
These efforts led the popular Internet community Yahoo to include CinCHouse.com as one of the 100 most important things to happen to the Internet in the last decade as part of Yahoo's 10th anniversary Netrospective in 2005.
Leyva said the group's America Supports You membership has helped the group better help military families.
"Very frankly, without America Supports You, we would not be able to generate all the donations needed to keep up with the demand for emergency assistance by military families," she said. "(It) has been invaluable in raising awareness, in partnering valued charities with individuals and businesses who want to support the troops."
One of those partnerships linked Operation Homefront and the Maid Brigade cleaning company, which, through Leyva's group, is providing emergency cleaning services to military families. A pregnant Army wife with a 3-year-old daughter recently used those services in Dallas. The woman's husband was a soldier recuperating from injuries caused by a bomb blast. He was being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, and the mom and daughter wanted to relocate to be nearer to him.
"She obviously couldn't move herself, so we helped take care of the moving, and Maid Brigade did the cleaning," Leyva said. "It's an incredibly invaluable service to a family that is already going through so much stress."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 7, 2007 – Operation Homefront takes its mission of caring for deployed servicemembers, the families they leave behind, and wounded troops very seriously. "Our primary focus is providing emergency assistance to military families and wounded warriors," Meredith Leyva, Operation Homefront's founder, said. "Most of military families live far from home and we aren't rich, so when a crisis comes up, it can send a family into a tailspin."
That tailspin at home can have ripple effects overseas. "It can distract a servicemember from the dangerous task at hand," she said.
Operation Homefront is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with members of the military and their families at home and abroad.
The group, which got its start after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, offers emergency funding to help cover rent, utilities and everyday expenses, with some exceptions. Goods and services, such as food, baby care items, and vehicle and appliance repair, also are offered.
In addition, Operation Homefront provides many programs that boost the morale and quality of life for wounded troops, deployed servicemembers and families on the home front, Leyva said. That includes providing assistance with moving, donating certain appliances, hosting community events, and donating computers and digital cameras to help keep families in touch with deployed servicemembers.
Most importantly, however, the group provides military families with a community. "CinCHouse.com," which Leyva started in 1999, is a supportive online community for military wives, families, girlfriends and women in uniform.
These efforts led the popular Internet community Yahoo to include CinCHouse.com as one of the 100 most important things to happen to the Internet in the last decade as part of Yahoo's 10th anniversary Netrospective in 2005.
Leyva said the group's America Supports You membership has helped the group better help military families.
"Very frankly, without America Supports You, we would not be able to generate all the donations needed to keep up with the demand for emergency assistance by military families," she said. "(It) has been invaluable in raising awareness, in partnering valued charities with individuals and businesses who want to support the troops."
One of those partnerships linked Operation Homefront and the Maid Brigade cleaning company, which, through Leyva's group, is providing emergency cleaning services to military families. A pregnant Army wife with a 3-year-old daughter recently used those services in Dallas. The woman's husband was a soldier recuperating from injuries caused by a bomb blast. He was being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, and the mom and daughter wanted to relocate to be nearer to him.
"She obviously couldn't move herself, so we helped take care of the moving, and Maid Brigade did the cleaning," Leyva said. "It's an incredibly invaluable service to a family that is already going through so much stress."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Gunner’s Mate, Cop and DA Investigator
Hi Tech Criminal Justice maintains three websites involving police officers and military personnel who have written books. LAPDAuthors.com lists Los Angeles Police Department police officers; Police-Writers.com lists American state and local police officers who have written books; and, Military-Writers.com lists Americans who have served in the military and written books. Garth Wean was added to all three websites.
During World War II Gareth “Gary” Wean served as a Gunner’s Mate in the United States Navy. After the war, in February 1946, Gary Wean joined the Los Angeles Police Department. As a LAPD police officer, Gary Wean worked a variety of assignments, including traffic enforcement, patrol and detectives.
According to Wade Frazier, In 1947, Gary Wean “was pursuing an armed robber through the streets of Los Angeles on a high-speed chase. The suspect crashed his car as it barreled along at ninety miles an hour through LA’s streets. He tried escaping on foot, and Gary cornered him in the dark. The suspect begged for his life. As Gary approached, the man stuck his pistol (which had already killed somebody during the robbery) into Gary’s abdomen and fired. He fired a second shot that hit Gary in his hand. Gary then emptied his pistol into the man, while his partner also fired, killing the robber instantly. Gary’s partner rushed him to the hospital. Although Gary’s abdomen was in great pain, he did not want to unbuckle his Sam Brown belt (a wide leather belt which held his firearm and other police equipment) as they rushed to the hospital, because he thought it might be all that was holding him together. When Gary finally took off his belt, his partner saw that the bullet hit the belt and did not penetrate Gary’s skin.”
In 1952, Gary Wean resigned from the Los Angeles Police Department but continued his career in law enforcement as a Detective Sergeant for the Ventura Police Department (California); an investigator for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Investigation; and, finally, in 1966, as the Chief Investigator for the Ventura County Public Defender. He retired from his law enforcement career in 1970.
Gary Wean is also the author of There's a Fish in the Courthouse. According to one reader/reviewer, Gary Wean’s books is “a very sad but true tale of corruption in Ventura County, California. Based on sprawl growth from Los Angeles and the artificially created energy crisis, petroleum rich Ventura County was a necessary plum for the picking by corrupt interest. But, only if controlled by the "right" people and entities. Billions of dollars have been made and are yet to be made as real estate development continues to replace farmland and petroleum is extracted from the Los Padres National Forest. The result has been necessary control by any means for a minimum of 40 years. This control has resulted in corruption is all levels of government, including elected local, state and national officials, government staff, law enforcement, the District Attorney and the entire judicial system of the County and State.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 525 police officers (representing 217 police departments) and their 1118 books; LAPDAuthors.com lists 54 Los Angeles Police Department police officers and their 99 books; and, Military-Writers.com lists 19 former military personnel and their 36 books.
During World War II Gareth “Gary” Wean served as a Gunner’s Mate in the United States Navy. After the war, in February 1946, Gary Wean joined the Los Angeles Police Department. As a LAPD police officer, Gary Wean worked a variety of assignments, including traffic enforcement, patrol and detectives.
According to Wade Frazier, In 1947, Gary Wean “was pursuing an armed robber through the streets of Los Angeles on a high-speed chase. The suspect crashed his car as it barreled along at ninety miles an hour through LA’s streets. He tried escaping on foot, and Gary cornered him in the dark. The suspect begged for his life. As Gary approached, the man stuck his pistol (which had already killed somebody during the robbery) into Gary’s abdomen and fired. He fired a second shot that hit Gary in his hand. Gary then emptied his pistol into the man, while his partner also fired, killing the robber instantly. Gary’s partner rushed him to the hospital. Although Gary’s abdomen was in great pain, he did not want to unbuckle his Sam Brown belt (a wide leather belt which held his firearm and other police equipment) as they rushed to the hospital, because he thought it might be all that was holding him together. When Gary finally took off his belt, his partner saw that the bullet hit the belt and did not penetrate Gary’s skin.”
In 1952, Gary Wean resigned from the Los Angeles Police Department but continued his career in law enforcement as a Detective Sergeant for the Ventura Police Department (California); an investigator for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Investigation; and, finally, in 1966, as the Chief Investigator for the Ventura County Public Defender. He retired from his law enforcement career in 1970.
Gary Wean is also the author of There's a Fish in the Courthouse. According to one reader/reviewer, Gary Wean’s books is “a very sad but true tale of corruption in Ventura County, California. Based on sprawl growth from Los Angeles and the artificially created energy crisis, petroleum rich Ventura County was a necessary plum for the picking by corrupt interest. But, only if controlled by the "right" people and entities. Billions of dollars have been made and are yet to be made as real estate development continues to replace farmland and petroleum is extracted from the Los Padres National Forest. The result has been necessary control by any means for a minimum of 40 years. This control has resulted in corruption is all levels of government, including elected local, state and national officials, government staff, law enforcement, the District Attorney and the entire judicial system of the County and State.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 525 police officers (representing 217 police departments) and their 1118 books; LAPDAuthors.com lists 54 Los Angeles Police Department police officers and their 99 books; and, Military-Writers.com lists 19 former military personnel and their 36 books.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Practical, academic and biographical law enforcement
Note: One of the authors, O.W. Wilson, served as a Lt. Colonel during WWII
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Three local police officers were added to the list: Thomas Lee, Terence Green and O.W. Wilson.
Lieutenant Thomas O. Lee, New York State Police (retired), is the author of Firearms and Weapons Laws: Gun Control in New York. According to the book description, the book is a “complete source for answers to questions about the laws governing firearms licensing and use of weapons in New York. Contains all the statutes governing weapons possession, licensing and use, with expert commentary explaining what they mean and how they really work.”
Terence Green has spent over 29 years in local law enforcement. As an Oakland Police Department (California) police officer he has worked patrol, traffic, juvenile and detectives. He retired from the Oakland Police Department at the age of 50 and began working at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Behavior Science Unit. He worked there for 11 years.
Terence Green is the author of Old School. Old School “tells the true story of a career police officer as he advances through the ranks of the Oakland Police Department from a patrolman working a one man car to the Commander of the Homicide Detail.” According to one reader/reviewer, “This is a definite recommend to those interested in reading stories about how police work used to be. The book reads as if the author is sitting back in an easy chair with a glass of scotch telling you about the good old days. Definitely enjoyable and a good read that transcends generations.”
O.W. Wilson obtained his degree in Criminology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1924. To pay for his tuition, he joined the Berkeley Police Department, serving under another famous police officer, scholar and writer, August Vollmer. O.W. Wilson went on to become influential police scholar as well as the chief of police of the Fullerton Police Department (California) and chief of police of the Wichita Police Department (Kansas); and, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army as a public safety officer.
O.W. Wilson is the author of at least three books on policing and law enforcement: Police records: Their Installation and Use; Police Planning; and, Police Administration. O.W. Wilson’s book, Police Administration, is one of the most influential books in America on local law enforcement. Indeed, it was revised in 1996 and is used today in many colleges and universities. According to the revision description, “perhaps no other book in policing has captured more admiration and market share than O.W. Wilson's "Police Administration". Now Wilson's text has been revised by three top scholars in the field. This long awaited revision combines the nuts and bolts approach of the original with an up-to-date theoretical and policy perspective that makes it accessible to students and practitioners alike.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 518 police officers (representing 216 police departments) and their 1099 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Three local police officers were added to the list: Thomas Lee, Terence Green and O.W. Wilson.
Lieutenant Thomas O. Lee, New York State Police (retired), is the author of Firearms and Weapons Laws: Gun Control in New York. According to the book description, the book is a “complete source for answers to questions about the laws governing firearms licensing and use of weapons in New York. Contains all the statutes governing weapons possession, licensing and use, with expert commentary explaining what they mean and how they really work.”
Terence Green has spent over 29 years in local law enforcement. As an Oakland Police Department (California) police officer he has worked patrol, traffic, juvenile and detectives. He retired from the Oakland Police Department at the age of 50 and began working at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Behavior Science Unit. He worked there for 11 years.
Terence Green is the author of Old School. Old School “tells the true story of a career police officer as he advances through the ranks of the Oakland Police Department from a patrolman working a one man car to the Commander of the Homicide Detail.” According to one reader/reviewer, “This is a definite recommend to those interested in reading stories about how police work used to be. The book reads as if the author is sitting back in an easy chair with a glass of scotch telling you about the good old days. Definitely enjoyable and a good read that transcends generations.”
O.W. Wilson obtained his degree in Criminology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1924. To pay for his tuition, he joined the Berkeley Police Department, serving under another famous police officer, scholar and writer, August Vollmer. O.W. Wilson went on to become influential police scholar as well as the chief of police of the Fullerton Police Department (California) and chief of police of the Wichita Police Department (Kansas); and, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army as a public safety officer.
O.W. Wilson is the author of at least three books on policing and law enforcement: Police records: Their Installation and Use; Police Planning; and, Police Administration. O.W. Wilson’s book, Police Administration, is one of the most influential books in America on local law enforcement. Indeed, it was revised in 1996 and is used today in many colleges and universities. According to the revision description, “perhaps no other book in policing has captured more admiration and market share than O.W. Wilson's "Police Administration". Now Wilson's text has been revised by three top scholars in the field. This long awaited revision combines the nuts and bolts approach of the original with an up-to-date theoretical and policy perspective that makes it accessible to students and practitioners alike.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 518 police officers (representing 216 police departments) and their 1099 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Friday, May 04, 2007
New DoD Strategy Outlined For Information Sharing
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration and DoD Chief Information Officer John G. Grimes signed the "DoD Information Sharing Strategy" today and established a new information sharing vision for the Department of Defense:
"Delivering the power of information to ensure mission success through an agile enterprise with freedom of maneuverability across the information environment." "The Department of Defense must closely cooperate with our domestic and international partners to mutually reinforce each other's success," said Grimes. "To that end, we must be able to quickly and seamlessly share information. This strategy will help us achieve that goal in concert with our partners both at home and abroad."
"We are working closely with Ambassador Ted McNamara, the President's Information Sharing Environment program manager, and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Dale Meyerrose, Associate Director of National Intelligence and Chief Information Officer for the Director of National Intelligence, to ensure that our goals will support the national strategy," he added.
According to the DoD Information Sharing Strategy, the vision describes a future state where "transparent, open, agile, timely, and relevant information sharing occurs to promote freedom of maneuverability across a trusted information environment." To achieve this vision, the strategy describes four goals that form the necessary environment across the department. These include: (1) promote, encourage, and incentivize sharing; (2) achieve an extended enterprise; (3) strengthen agility in order to accommodate unanticipated partners and events; and (4) ensure trust across organizations.
Developed through the combined efforts of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the strategy was published in response to the President's information sharing imperatives and as outlined in the most recent Quadrennial Defense Review. It seeks to guide the Department's exchange of information within the DoD and with domestic and international partners; for example, federal, state, local, tribal, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, foreign nations, and international organizations.
It provides an approach to information sharing activities and operations for the Office of the Secretary of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the combatant commands, the military departments, the Office of the Inspector General of the DoD, the defense agencies, the DoD field activities, and all other organizational entities in the DoD.
"To realize these objectives, the strategy addresses necessary changes to information mobility and associated alignment of incentives, policies, processes and systems, while identifying the critical cultural shift required to support collaboration and improved knowledge sharing," said Grimes.
The DoD Information Sharing Strategy will be supplemented with additional integrated guidance to synchronize the many information sharing activities, initiatives and investments supported by the DoD. This guidance will expand on five implementation considerations identified in the strategy to focus development on the culture, governance, policies, economics and resources, and technology and infrastructure factors associated with solutions to information sharing challenges. The strategy also establishes a framework for DoD to support the Federal Information Sharing Environment mandated by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) of 2004.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
"Delivering the power of information to ensure mission success through an agile enterprise with freedom of maneuverability across the information environment." "The Department of Defense must closely cooperate with our domestic and international partners to mutually reinforce each other's success," said Grimes. "To that end, we must be able to quickly and seamlessly share information. This strategy will help us achieve that goal in concert with our partners both at home and abroad."
"We are working closely with Ambassador Ted McNamara, the President's Information Sharing Environment program manager, and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Dale Meyerrose, Associate Director of National Intelligence and Chief Information Officer for the Director of National Intelligence, to ensure that our goals will support the national strategy," he added.
According to the DoD Information Sharing Strategy, the vision describes a future state where "transparent, open, agile, timely, and relevant information sharing occurs to promote freedom of maneuverability across a trusted information environment." To achieve this vision, the strategy describes four goals that form the necessary environment across the department. These include: (1) promote, encourage, and incentivize sharing; (2) achieve an extended enterprise; (3) strengthen agility in order to accommodate unanticipated partners and events; and (4) ensure trust across organizations.
Developed through the combined efforts of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the strategy was published in response to the President's information sharing imperatives and as outlined in the most recent Quadrennial Defense Review. It seeks to guide the Department's exchange of information within the DoD and with domestic and international partners; for example, federal, state, local, tribal, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, foreign nations, and international organizations.
It provides an approach to information sharing activities and operations for the Office of the Secretary of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the combatant commands, the military departments, the Office of the Inspector General of the DoD, the defense agencies, the DoD field activities, and all other organizational entities in the DoD.
"To realize these objectives, the strategy addresses necessary changes to information mobility and associated alignment of incentives, policies, processes and systems, while identifying the critical cultural shift required to support collaboration and improved knowledge sharing," said Grimes.
The DoD Information Sharing Strategy will be supplemented with additional integrated guidance to synchronize the many information sharing activities, initiatives and investments supported by the DoD. This guidance will expand on five implementation considerations identified in the strategy to focus development on the culture, governance, policies, economics and resources, and technology and infrastructure factors associated with solutions to information sharing challenges. The strategy also establishes a framework for DoD to support the Federal Information Sharing Environment mandated by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) of 2004.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Pentagon Kicks Off Appreciation Month with Concert
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
May 4, 2007 – There aren't enough "thank yous" in the world to express the gratitude felt for the members of the armed forces, said up-and-coming vocalist Jenny Boyle, the entertainer for the Pentagon's kick off to Military Appreciation Month today. During the third annual America Supports You Military Appreciation Concert, Boyle entertained the audience with her rock and country stylings of crowd favorites, as the Pentagon Channel broadcast the hour-long concert live to 350 military installations worldwide.
America Supports You is a Defense Department program designed to connect grassroots support groups and corporate partners with the men and women of the U.S. armed forces and their families.
"(Jenny) is a real hero in my mind because she has gone everywhere we have people in uniform around the world, whether she had to wear a flak vest or not, to provide a taste of home to those folks that are away from their families and friends fighting for our freedom and our way of life," Navy Vice Admiral Nancy Brown, Joint Staff director of command, control, communications and computer systems, said during her opening remarks. "She has sacrificed on her own to do that."
Boyle has entertained troops at U.S. military installations during five tours with Armed Forces Entertainment and the United Service Organizations. She has performed in locations such as Germany, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Djibouti and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to name a few.
"(The men and women of the armed forces) have done so much for our country and they sacrifice so much on a daily basis," Boyle said. "It's the least that we can do to go overseas to entertain and support them. It's an honor."
For soldiers like Army Maj. Chew Leung, who works in the Army's personnel office, the concert briefly enjoyed during his lunch break had special meaning.
"I grew up during a time when the military was mostly disregarded," he said, referring to Vietnam-era days. "It's nice to have a performer come out and express her support for what we are doing. I really appreciate this."
Boyle said troops who are far away from friends and families especially appreciate her performances. "(Bringing) just a little bit of home to them means so much," she told American Forces Press Service. "And to be a part of that and being a part of America Supports You is such an honor."
"Have a great Military Appreciation Month," she said at the close of the concert. "You deserve every second of it!"
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 4, 2007 – There aren't enough "thank yous" in the world to express the gratitude felt for the members of the armed forces, said up-and-coming vocalist Jenny Boyle, the entertainer for the Pentagon's kick off to Military Appreciation Month today. During the third annual America Supports You Military Appreciation Concert, Boyle entertained the audience with her rock and country stylings of crowd favorites, as the Pentagon Channel broadcast the hour-long concert live to 350 military installations worldwide.
America Supports You is a Defense Department program designed to connect grassroots support groups and corporate partners with the men and women of the U.S. armed forces and their families.
"(Jenny) is a real hero in my mind because she has gone everywhere we have people in uniform around the world, whether she had to wear a flak vest or not, to provide a taste of home to those folks that are away from their families and friends fighting for our freedom and our way of life," Navy Vice Admiral Nancy Brown, Joint Staff director of command, control, communications and computer systems, said during her opening remarks. "She has sacrificed on her own to do that."
Boyle has entertained troops at U.S. military installations during five tours with Armed Forces Entertainment and the United Service Organizations. She has performed in locations such as Germany, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Djibouti and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to name a few.
"(The men and women of the armed forces) have done so much for our country and they sacrifice so much on a daily basis," Boyle said. "It's the least that we can do to go overseas to entertain and support them. It's an honor."
For soldiers like Army Maj. Chew Leung, who works in the Army's personnel office, the concert briefly enjoyed during his lunch break had special meaning.
"I grew up during a time when the military was mostly disregarded," he said, referring to Vietnam-era days. "It's nice to have a performer come out and express her support for what we are doing. I really appreciate this."
Boyle said troops who are far away from friends and families especially appreciate her performances. "(Bringing) just a little bit of home to them means so much," she told American Forces Press Service. "And to be a part of that and being a part of America Supports You is such an honor."
"Have a great Military Appreciation Month," she said at the close of the concert. "You deserve every second of it!"
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
WWII Vet Notes Cell Phone's Value to Troops
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
May 4, 2007 – When Purple Heart recipient Earl "Scotty" MacKenzie was a World War II Army sergeant, communications with loved ones back home from the South Pacific where he was serving were extremely limited. "Oh my God, we had nothing, ... no telephones, nothing," he said, adding that a simple letter could take months to reach him -- "if they could catch up with us because we went from island to island."
Communication is no longer a problem for the former "fox hole technician." MacKenzie now works with "Cell Phones for Soldiers," an organization started by Massachusetts teen siblings Brittany and Robbie Bergquist.
The group recycles used cell phones and uses the cash to buy pre-paid calling cards for troops serving overseas.
The organization is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with members of the military and their families at home and abroad.
"I couldn't believe it that two young children would get involved like this, and they have just gone so far with the program. They're just great people," MacKenzie said. "The family (they're) just great people. I can't say enough about them."
MacKenzie has been very involved in helping collect cell phones in his region for the organization.
"I have drop sites at ... bases, (and) we've been collecting a heck of a lot of phones," he said. "I wish we had something like that in our war. I really do."
Because of his work on behalf of the group, Gail Bergquist, the teens' mother, asked MacKenzie to represent the group at the third annual America Supports You Salute Concert today at the Pentagon, which kicked off Military Appreciation Month.
He also brought along former Air Force Senior Airman Max Ford. Together they spread the word to the Pentagon work force about Cell Phones for Soldiers.
This isn't the first time Ford, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, has lent MacKenzie a helping hand.
"Scotty ... was trying to find a way to distribute the cards, and he asked me whether or not we had a lot of people deployed," Ford said. "We know that we always have somebody deployed."
He started helping MacKenzie distribute Cell Phones for Soldiers prepaid calling cards after he returned from his tour in Balad, Iraq, in October 2006. He worked with his family support center and with his unit, the 341st Logistics Readiness Squadron, to get the cards into the hands of those serving overseas before separating from the military.
Though he was never a recipient of a Cell Phones for Soldiers phone card, Ford attested to the importance of receiving such support while away from family and friends.
"It was always nice to receive a (package)," he said. "But it's not that, it's just knowing that the people back home remember you, care about you.
"Just knowing that boosts your morale," he said as he turned to watch local recording artist Jenny Boyle perform for the crowd gathered in the Pentagon courtyard.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 4, 2007 – When Purple Heart recipient Earl "Scotty" MacKenzie was a World War II Army sergeant, communications with loved ones back home from the South Pacific where he was serving were extremely limited. "Oh my God, we had nothing, ... no telephones, nothing," he said, adding that a simple letter could take months to reach him -- "if they could catch up with us because we went from island to island."
Communication is no longer a problem for the former "fox hole technician." MacKenzie now works with "Cell Phones for Soldiers," an organization started by Massachusetts teen siblings Brittany and Robbie Bergquist.
The group recycles used cell phones and uses the cash to buy pre-paid calling cards for troops serving overseas.
The organization is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with members of the military and their families at home and abroad.
"I couldn't believe it that two young children would get involved like this, and they have just gone so far with the program. They're just great people," MacKenzie said. "The family (they're) just great people. I can't say enough about them."
MacKenzie has been very involved in helping collect cell phones in his region for the organization.
"I have drop sites at ... bases, (and) we've been collecting a heck of a lot of phones," he said. "I wish we had something like that in our war. I really do."
Because of his work on behalf of the group, Gail Bergquist, the teens' mother, asked MacKenzie to represent the group at the third annual America Supports You Salute Concert today at the Pentagon, which kicked off Military Appreciation Month.
He also brought along former Air Force Senior Airman Max Ford. Together they spread the word to the Pentagon work force about Cell Phones for Soldiers.
This isn't the first time Ford, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, has lent MacKenzie a helping hand.
"Scotty ... was trying to find a way to distribute the cards, and he asked me whether or not we had a lot of people deployed," Ford said. "We know that we always have somebody deployed."
He started helping MacKenzie distribute Cell Phones for Soldiers prepaid calling cards after he returned from his tour in Balad, Iraq, in October 2006. He worked with his family support center and with his unit, the 341st Logistics Readiness Squadron, to get the cards into the hands of those serving overseas before separating from the military.
Though he was never a recipient of a Cell Phones for Soldiers phone card, Ford attested to the importance of receiving such support while away from family and friends.
"It was always nice to receive a (package)," he said. "But it's not that, it's just knowing that the people back home remember you, care about you.
"Just knowing that boosts your morale," he said as he turned to watch local recording artist Jenny Boyle perform for the crowd gathered in the Pentagon courtyard.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Armed Forces Recruits Take Oath of Enlistment at Florida Ceremony
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
May 4, 2007 – Scores of young people raised their right hands and joined America's armed forces during a joint enlistment ceremony here yesterday. The mass enlistment, held inside a hangar at Miami's Opa Locka Airport, inducted 120 new members into the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy or Coast Guard.
Thomas F. Hall, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs and a retired Navy rear admiral with 38 years of military service, attended the ceremony and praised the young people for their patriotism.
"I wish I could do it all over again," Hall said to the soon-to-be servicemembers. "But, it's your time to serve. And, you'll soon raise your hand and enter into the ranks of all of those that have served before you and will serve after you."
"I tip my hat to them for the service that they're going to provide to their country," Navy Vice Adm. Marty Chanik, commander of the U.S. 2nd Fleet, based at Norfolk, Va., told the inductees. "I really and deeply appreciate that, and I know that you'll find your service in the military to be a rewarding time. Congratulations to each and every one of you."
Air National Guard Lt. Gen. Craig R. McKinley, director of the Air National Guard, then swore in the group.
"It is such an honor to be wearing that uniform and to be a Marine," Miami Gardens resident Angeline Medina, 17, said after she took her oath of enlistment.
The swearing-in ceremony was part of Fleet Week USA and 2007 McDonald's Air and Sea Show media day activities held in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami region as part of National Military Appreciation Month in May.
The Navy sent some ships and its Leap Frogs Parachute Team to participate in Fleet Week and Air and Sea Show activities in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, noted Chanik, who's also the director of the "Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence," in Norfolk.
"We bring some equipment for folks to see, but that's not really what's important," Chanik said.
The key focus of such events, the admiral pointed out, is for civilians to meet and talk with servicemembers "who make a big difference for our country."
One of those servicemembers was Army Staff Sgt. Daniel P. Barnes, a 29-year-old Iraq veteran who hails from Saint Robert, Mo. Barnes lost both of his legs because of a rocket-propelled-grenade attack in Baghdad on September 4, 2006. He praised the "Wounded Warrior Project," a non-profit servicemember support group that helped him when he was recovering from his wounds at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
"They came to my room and brought me a backpack filled with clothes and toiletries," Barnes, who is still on active duty, recalled. "I think it is truly amazing; fellow soldiers helping out fellow soldiers."
The Wounded Warrior Project is among the more than 250 businesses and organizations nationwide participating in the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which recognizes citizens' support for military men and women and communicates that support to members of the U.S. armed forces here and abroad.
The media day was a preview of military-themed festivities along Fort Lauderdale's beachfront today. Other venues at the airport included a drill-and-ceremony demonstration by the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, flyovers by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, and static military displays, including Navy F-16 and Air Force F-15 aircraft.
A special surprise guest, the new F-22 Raptor fighter jet, landed on the tarmac. Excited spectators cheered their approval as the sleek aircraft slowly taxied up with its turbines whining.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 4, 2007 – Scores of young people raised their right hands and joined America's armed forces during a joint enlistment ceremony here yesterday. The mass enlistment, held inside a hangar at Miami's Opa Locka Airport, inducted 120 new members into the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy or Coast Guard.
Thomas F. Hall, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs and a retired Navy rear admiral with 38 years of military service, attended the ceremony and praised the young people for their patriotism.
"I wish I could do it all over again," Hall said to the soon-to-be servicemembers. "But, it's your time to serve. And, you'll soon raise your hand and enter into the ranks of all of those that have served before you and will serve after you."
"I tip my hat to them for the service that they're going to provide to their country," Navy Vice Adm. Marty Chanik, commander of the U.S. 2nd Fleet, based at Norfolk, Va., told the inductees. "I really and deeply appreciate that, and I know that you'll find your service in the military to be a rewarding time. Congratulations to each and every one of you."
Air National Guard Lt. Gen. Craig R. McKinley, director of the Air National Guard, then swore in the group.
"It is such an honor to be wearing that uniform and to be a Marine," Miami Gardens resident Angeline Medina, 17, said after she took her oath of enlistment.
The swearing-in ceremony was part of Fleet Week USA and 2007 McDonald's Air and Sea Show media day activities held in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami region as part of National Military Appreciation Month in May.
The Navy sent some ships and its Leap Frogs Parachute Team to participate in Fleet Week and Air and Sea Show activities in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, noted Chanik, who's also the director of the "Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence," in Norfolk.
"We bring some equipment for folks to see, but that's not really what's important," Chanik said.
The key focus of such events, the admiral pointed out, is for civilians to meet and talk with servicemembers "who make a big difference for our country."
One of those servicemembers was Army Staff Sgt. Daniel P. Barnes, a 29-year-old Iraq veteran who hails from Saint Robert, Mo. Barnes lost both of his legs because of a rocket-propelled-grenade attack in Baghdad on September 4, 2006. He praised the "Wounded Warrior Project," a non-profit servicemember support group that helped him when he was recovering from his wounds at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
"They came to my room and brought me a backpack filled with clothes and toiletries," Barnes, who is still on active duty, recalled. "I think it is truly amazing; fellow soldiers helping out fellow soldiers."
The Wounded Warrior Project is among the more than 250 businesses and organizations nationwide participating in the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which recognizes citizens' support for military men and women and communicates that support to members of the U.S. armed forces here and abroad.
The media day was a preview of military-themed festivities along Fort Lauderdale's beachfront today. Other venues at the airport included a drill-and-ceremony demonstration by the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, flyovers by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, and static military displays, including Navy F-16 and Air Force F-15 aircraft.
A special surprise guest, the new F-22 Raptor fighter jet, landed on the tarmac. Excited spectators cheered their approval as the sleek aircraft slowly taxied up with its turbines whining.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Grassroots Groups Help Pentagon Celebrate
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
May 4, 2007 – Twenty-eight America Supports You home-front support groups converged on the Pentagon today to share information about their organizations with the men and women who work inside the building during the U.S. military headquarters kick-off ceremony for Military Appreciation Month. America Supports You is a Defense Department program that works to connect its more than 250 grassroots groups with members of the U.S. armed forces and their families.
"These folks are doing more for our troops than I can express in words," said Navy Vice Adm. Nancy Brown, Joint Staff director for command, control, communications and computer systems, during her welcome remarks at the ceremony. "To give them gratitude for their sacrifices, from making direct financial contributions to buying airline tickets to making clothes for those that have come back ... for their contributions and their sacrifices in supporting our troops. Thank you all very much."
Not only did the grassroots groups voice their support to the uniformed employees of the building, they also used the time to educate those who will be taking charge of troops in the future.
A lot of people don't know what's available to them, said Pat Stradley, family director of "USA Cares." "We get many referrals from unit commanders."
USA Cares provides financial assistance to military members and their families. Within the last three years the organization has assisted nearly 6,000 servicemembers by providing $3.4 million in funds and $1.2 million in alternative resources.
"Some of the stories we hear are heartbreaking," Stradley said, "but we really love what we do."
"It's very important to connect community groups with military families," said Caroline Peabody, who is the president of the Military Family Network, an organization that works to educate servicemembers on the benefits offered to them by state and federal agencies. "Our community connection program identifies neighborhoods that are reaching out to help military members and their families."
Many of the America Supports You home-front groups used the time in the Pentagon's courtyard to network with each other.
"There is no one group that can take care of all the needs of the troops and their families," said "Operation First Response" co-founder Peggy Baker. "By getting to know each other and what our specialties are, we can better help the troops. We end up touching each others' lives."
From providing financial assistance to servicemembers and recycling cell phones in order to purchase phone cards to providing comfort and relief items for hospitalized troops and providing custom-made clothing for wounded warriors, a vast array of services were represented during the festivities.
"The most important thing for people to know about those of us out here is that we're here to support the troops," said Debbie Rupert, from "Operation Quiet Comfort." "It's also important for troops to know that, no matter what, we support them."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 4, 2007 – Twenty-eight America Supports You home-front support groups converged on the Pentagon today to share information about their organizations with the men and women who work inside the building during the U.S. military headquarters kick-off ceremony for Military Appreciation Month. America Supports You is a Defense Department program that works to connect its more than 250 grassroots groups with members of the U.S. armed forces and their families.
"These folks are doing more for our troops than I can express in words," said Navy Vice Adm. Nancy Brown, Joint Staff director for command, control, communications and computer systems, during her welcome remarks at the ceremony. "To give them gratitude for their sacrifices, from making direct financial contributions to buying airline tickets to making clothes for those that have come back ... for their contributions and their sacrifices in supporting our troops. Thank you all very much."
Not only did the grassroots groups voice their support to the uniformed employees of the building, they also used the time to educate those who will be taking charge of troops in the future.
A lot of people don't know what's available to them, said Pat Stradley, family director of "USA Cares." "We get many referrals from unit commanders."
USA Cares provides financial assistance to military members and their families. Within the last three years the organization has assisted nearly 6,000 servicemembers by providing $3.4 million in funds and $1.2 million in alternative resources.
"Some of the stories we hear are heartbreaking," Stradley said, "but we really love what we do."
"It's very important to connect community groups with military families," said Caroline Peabody, who is the president of the Military Family Network, an organization that works to educate servicemembers on the benefits offered to them by state and federal agencies. "Our community connection program identifies neighborhoods that are reaching out to help military members and their families."
Many of the America Supports You home-front groups used the time in the Pentagon's courtyard to network with each other.
"There is no one group that can take care of all the needs of the troops and their families," said "Operation First Response" co-founder Peggy Baker. "By getting to know each other and what our specialties are, we can better help the troops. We end up touching each others' lives."
From providing financial assistance to servicemembers and recycling cell phones in order to purchase phone cards to providing comfort and relief items for hospitalized troops and providing custom-made clothing for wounded warriors, a vast array of services were represented during the festivities.
"The most important thing for people to know about those of us out here is that we're here to support the troops," said Debbie Rupert, from "Operation Quiet Comfort." "It's also important for troops to know that, no matter what, we support them."
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Why We Serve: Air Force Sergeant Dedicates Afghan Work to Fallen Comrades
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
May 4, 2007 – An Air Force construction specialist who served with a provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan last year has dedicated his humanitarian work there to two fallen comrades. Tech. Sgt. Robert P. Jubie, a 35-year-old carpenter who also has served in Iraq, recalled helping Afghans improve their lives through the construction of government buildings, homes, schools and roads during his PRT duty in Laghman province from June to December 2006.
The PRT's work in Afghanistan was often dangerous, Jubie said, citing the death of two soldiers, both of whom were his friends. They were killed in Kabul on Sept. 8, 2006, by a suicide-bent driver who detonated his vehicle's 300-pound load of high explosives.
"That really drove home to me to a great desire to continue the mission," Jubie, an Arlington, Wash., native said. "Unfortunately, their lives were ended short, but their legacy lives on through the PRTs."
Jubie is among a group of eight servicemembers with duty experience in Iraq, Afghanistan or the Horn of Africa selected to tell their stories to the American people at community, business, veterans and other gatherings as part of the Defense Department's "Why We Serve" public outreach program.
The "Why We Serve" program, initially the idea of Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, began last fall, noted Air Force Maj. Ann N. Biggers, the program's director. Eight military members, two from each service, are selected to participate in the program, which is conducted in quarterly segments, she explained.
"We know that the American public is hungry to hear about what these young men and women have been doing," Biggers said. "It's important for our speakers, as well, because they are out there serving their country, and they want to be able to tell their stories."
Jubie, who said he is an intensely patriotic person, joined the Air Force through the delayed enlistment program after graduating from Arlington High School in 1991. He'd already studied carpentry during two years at a local vocational-tech school.
Today, Jubie wears a black metal bracelet bearing the name of one of his two fallen friends. He said he never takes off his remembrance bracelet.
Afghanistan is a battered country that desperately wants to emerge from a centuries-old cycle of poverty and violence, Jubie said. The tribal folk that inhabit Afghanistan's outlands in the Hindu Kush Mountains are good-hearted, kind and mostly ignorant of the modern world, he said.
Education is a precious and valued commodity in Afghanistan, Jubie said. The radical Taliban, he said, conspire with like-minded local religious leaders to take advantage of the average Afghan's non-worldliness.
"They're a great and beautiful people," Jubie said of the Afghans.
However, because of illiteracy plaguing the country, most Afghans "don't really know if what's being preached in the mosques is true or not."
That's one of the reasons why it's so important that the Afghan people obtain increased opportunities for education and access to a higher standard of living, he said. The Afghans are especially appreciative of the PRT projects that build new schools for their children.
"That's why the Taliban fights us to this day," Jubie pointed out, noting that the terrorists want the Afghans to live in perpetual ignorance and poverty.
Afghans who are educated, forward-looking and focused on improving their lives would automatically reject the Taliban's dark, medieval philosophy, he said.
Education represents "the voice of democracy and freedom," Jubie said, as well as a path to a better life. These are opportunities that the Afghans long for, he said.
"And, we're providing that," Jubie said.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 4, 2007 – An Air Force construction specialist who served with a provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan last year has dedicated his humanitarian work there to two fallen comrades. Tech. Sgt. Robert P. Jubie, a 35-year-old carpenter who also has served in Iraq, recalled helping Afghans improve their lives through the construction of government buildings, homes, schools and roads during his PRT duty in Laghman province from June to December 2006.
The PRT's work in Afghanistan was often dangerous, Jubie said, citing the death of two soldiers, both of whom were his friends. They were killed in Kabul on Sept. 8, 2006, by a suicide-bent driver who detonated his vehicle's 300-pound load of high explosives.
"That really drove home to me to a great desire to continue the mission," Jubie, an Arlington, Wash., native said. "Unfortunately, their lives were ended short, but their legacy lives on through the PRTs."
Jubie is among a group of eight servicemembers with duty experience in Iraq, Afghanistan or the Horn of Africa selected to tell their stories to the American people at community, business, veterans and other gatherings as part of the Defense Department's "Why We Serve" public outreach program.
The "Why We Serve" program, initially the idea of Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, began last fall, noted Air Force Maj. Ann N. Biggers, the program's director. Eight military members, two from each service, are selected to participate in the program, which is conducted in quarterly segments, she explained.
"We know that the American public is hungry to hear about what these young men and women have been doing," Biggers said. "It's important for our speakers, as well, because they are out there serving their country, and they want to be able to tell their stories."
Jubie, who said he is an intensely patriotic person, joined the Air Force through the delayed enlistment program after graduating from Arlington High School in 1991. He'd already studied carpentry during two years at a local vocational-tech school.
Today, Jubie wears a black metal bracelet bearing the name of one of his two fallen friends. He said he never takes off his remembrance bracelet.
Afghanistan is a battered country that desperately wants to emerge from a centuries-old cycle of poverty and violence, Jubie said. The tribal folk that inhabit Afghanistan's outlands in the Hindu Kush Mountains are good-hearted, kind and mostly ignorant of the modern world, he said.
Education is a precious and valued commodity in Afghanistan, Jubie said. The radical Taliban, he said, conspire with like-minded local religious leaders to take advantage of the average Afghan's non-worldliness.
"They're a great and beautiful people," Jubie said of the Afghans.
However, because of illiteracy plaguing the country, most Afghans "don't really know if what's being preached in the mosques is true or not."
That's one of the reasons why it's so important that the Afghan people obtain increased opportunities for education and access to a higher standard of living, he said. The Afghans are especially appreciative of the PRT projects that build new schools for their children.
"That's why the Taliban fights us to this day," Jubie pointed out, noting that the terrorists want the Afghans to live in perpetual ignorance and poverty.
Afghans who are educated, forward-looking and focused on improving their lives would automatically reject the Taliban's dark, medieval philosophy, he said.
Education represents "the voice of democracy and freedom," Jubie said, as well as a path to a better life. These are opportunities that the Afghans long for, he said.
"And, we're providing that," Jubie said.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
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