By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
May 28, 2007 – Memorial Day is a time when troops remember the oath they took for their country and rededicate themselves to those who have gone before, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told servicemembers, drivers and fans here at NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 yesterday. "Thank you for what you have done and what you are about to do for your country," Marine Gen. Peter Pace told 6,000 soldiers and families from Fort Bragg, N.C., and Fort Campbell, Ky., before the race. "We simply couldn't be doing this without you."
Pace thanked the troops' families for the sacrifices they also make for the country. He said that they are the ones who love the troops and stay behind praying for them while they are in harm's way.
"We know that our families - spouses, kids, moms and dads - are the real strength behind our armed forces," he said. "Families serve this nation as well as any of us in uniform."
The general served as the race's grand marshal and spoke to the crowd of 180,000 at Lowe's Motor Speedway before making a ceremonial lap in the pace car to kick off the event.
"NASCAR has done a wonderful thing this weekend to reach out to the American public and to say thanks to the men and women of the armed forces," Pace said. "It makes a huge difference to American servicemembers to know the American people value our service," Pace said.
The teamwork is similar between NASCAR and the military, Pace said.
"I think that's why there is such an affinity between NASCAR and the armed forces," he noted.
"No one in the armed forces is successful without the men and women to their right and left," he said. "It's that way with NASCAR as well - drivers and crew members have to pull together to be successful."
NASCAR and speedway officials dedicated the weekend's races to the men and women of the armed forces by painting military logos and messages of support for the troops on eight Nextel Cup and two Busch series cars.
For yesterday's race, many of the drivers took the opportunity to show their support for the troops. Dale Earnhardt Jr. covered his car with a military uniform's desert camouflage pattern. Mark Martin drove a yellow and black Army car. Denny Hamlin represented the Marines. Bill Elliott paid tribute to the Air Force. Jimmie Johnson drove the "Power of Pride" Chevrolet. Race winner Casey Mears drove the National Guard/American Heroes car, and Jeff Gordon's car had the Defense Department seal on the hood of his car.
Members of the 82nd Airborne Division Chorus, the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team and the U.S. Army Drill Team performed for cheering crowds. Army helicopters, including Apaches, Blackhawks and Kiowa Warriors, and Air Force F-22s performed flyovers brought the speedway to its feet.
"We have a largely patriotic fan base," said Larry Deas, who is the Dupont racing team manager. "It is a natural fit for NASCAR to salute the military this weekend."
Deas said that the crowd's patriotism is evident when seeing the reverence shown during the playing of the National Anthem and the way race fans display the American flag on their cars, tents and clothing.
During the pre-race driver's meeting, David Hoots, the managing event director for NASCAR, encouraged the drivers to emphasize the importance of the meaning behind the race to their crews.
"When you're on the track with your team before the start of the race, remind your crew that we are here to honor those men and women who've made the ultimate sacrifice," Hoots said. "It's important to show the nation how much we appreciate these folks."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Bush Honors Fallen Heroes on Memorial Day at Arlington
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
May 28, 2007 – Evoking the memories of citizens who died defending America throughout history and urging a new generation to safeguard freedoms for which previous generations made sacrifices, President Bush commemorated Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery here today. "Today we honor the warriors who fought our nation's enemies, defended the cause of liberty, and gave their lives in the cause of freedom," Bush said to a crowd of more than 5,000 people after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. "We offer our love and our heartfelt compassion to the families who mourn them. We pray that our country may always prove worthy of the sacrifices they made."
Bush was joined by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace, members of Congress and military leaders in paying tribute to the nation's fallen. This year was the 139th observance of Memorial Day at Arlington. Military veterans, servicemembers, families and other citizens gathered for the ceremony, which was precluded by a performance from the U.S. Marine Corps Band.
In welcoming the crowd to the ceremony, Pace called today a time to reflect on the "incredible heroes" who have served the nation, and also on the families they left behind. He also pledged that those in uniform today will stay dedicated to defending freedom.
"We will not let down those who have gone before us," he said. Bush noted that Arlington is home to the remains of many well-known American heroes, as well as hundreds of thousands who served in the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam and other places. Now, the cemetery is receiving a new generation of heroes in the servicemembers who have died in the war on terror.
"Like those who came before them, they did not want war -- but they answered the call when it came," Bush said of the troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. "They believed in something larger than themselves. They fought for our country, and our country unites to mourn them as one."
These troops gave their lives at a time when America is under attack and underestimated, Bush said. However, the sacrifices they made have ensured that America is still a bastion of freedom, and is still producing citizens who are willing to answer the call to duty.
"The greatest memorial to our fallen troops cannot be found in the words we say or the places we gather. The more lasting tribute is all around us -- a country where citizens have the right to worship as they want, to march for what they believe, and to say what they think," Bush said. "These freedoms came at great costs -- and they will survive only as long as there are those willing to step forward to defend them against determined enemies."
The war on terrorism will end one day, as all wars do, Bush acknowledged. The duty of this generation is to ensure that the war's outcome justifies the sacrifices of those who have fought and died, he said.
"From their deaths must come a world where the cruel dreams of tyrants and terrorists are frustrated and foiled -- where our nation is more secure from attack, and where the gift of liberty is secured for millions who have never known it," he said.
It is America's destiny to pursue this future of freedom and liberty, Bush said, and though the journey may be rough, it is the bravery of the men and women in uniform that keeps the country going.
"On this day of memory, we mourn brave citizens who laid their lives down for our freedom," he said. "They lived and died as Americans. May we always honor them. May we always embrace them. And may we always be faithful to who they were and what they fought for."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 28, 2007 – Evoking the memories of citizens who died defending America throughout history and urging a new generation to safeguard freedoms for which previous generations made sacrifices, President Bush commemorated Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery here today. "Today we honor the warriors who fought our nation's enemies, defended the cause of liberty, and gave their lives in the cause of freedom," Bush said to a crowd of more than 5,000 people after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. "We offer our love and our heartfelt compassion to the families who mourn them. We pray that our country may always prove worthy of the sacrifices they made."
Bush was joined by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace, members of Congress and military leaders in paying tribute to the nation's fallen. This year was the 139th observance of Memorial Day at Arlington. Military veterans, servicemembers, families and other citizens gathered for the ceremony, which was precluded by a performance from the U.S. Marine Corps Band.
In welcoming the crowd to the ceremony, Pace called today a time to reflect on the "incredible heroes" who have served the nation, and also on the families they left behind. He also pledged that those in uniform today will stay dedicated to defending freedom.
"We will not let down those who have gone before us," he said. Bush noted that Arlington is home to the remains of many well-known American heroes, as well as hundreds of thousands who served in the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam and other places. Now, the cemetery is receiving a new generation of heroes in the servicemembers who have died in the war on terror.
"Like those who came before them, they did not want war -- but they answered the call when it came," Bush said of the troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. "They believed in something larger than themselves. They fought for our country, and our country unites to mourn them as one."
These troops gave their lives at a time when America is under attack and underestimated, Bush said. However, the sacrifices they made have ensured that America is still a bastion of freedom, and is still producing citizens who are willing to answer the call to duty.
"The greatest memorial to our fallen troops cannot be found in the words we say or the places we gather. The more lasting tribute is all around us -- a country where citizens have the right to worship as they want, to march for what they believe, and to say what they think," Bush said. "These freedoms came at great costs -- and they will survive only as long as there are those willing to step forward to defend them against determined enemies."
The war on terrorism will end one day, as all wars do, Bush acknowledged. The duty of this generation is to ensure that the war's outcome justifies the sacrifices of those who have fought and died, he said.
"From their deaths must come a world where the cruel dreams of tyrants and terrorists are frustrated and foiled -- where our nation is more secure from attack, and where the gift of liberty is secured for millions who have never known it," he said.
It is America's destiny to pursue this future of freedom and liberty, Bush said, and though the journey may be rough, it is the bravery of the men and women in uniform that keeps the country going.
"On this day of memory, we mourn brave citizens who laid their lives down for our freedom," he said. "They lived and died as Americans. May we always honor them. May we always embrace them. And may we always be faithful to who they were and what they fought for."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Memorial Day Ceremony Celebrates Women's Military Service
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
May 28, 2007 – Women in uniform have performed illustrious service in the U.S. military in the past and they continue to serve with distinction to the present day, a senior Coast Guard officer said here today. “On this Memorial Day, as we remember the men and women who gallantly gave up their lives for this nation, let us also celebrate their legacy," Vice Adm. Vivien S. Crea, vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, told about 160 attendees at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial's annual Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
"Through their ultimate sacrifice they have inspired the very best in those they were with and in generations of those who follow in their lead," said Crea, the ceremony's keynote speaker.
About 15 percent of today's active-duty military members are women, Crea said, noting one in every seven U.S. servicemembers deployed in Iraq today is a woman.
Today's "courageous and selfless military women in all the armed forces serve with distinction alongside their male counterparts throughout this country and around the world in virtually every specialty and theater of operations," she said.
Women's military service "symbolizes the pride, strength, realism and idealism of this great nation," Crea said. "You are our next greatest generation and I thank you on behalf of every man and women in the United States of America."
The WIMSA foundation's president, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma L. Vaught, was on hand to greet attendees, noting the women's memorial will celebrate its 10th anniversary this fall.
It's a WIMSA tradition, Vaught noted, to have servicewomen or veterans speak at the organization's annual Memorial Day observance.
"This memorial pays tribute, individually and collectively, to all of the women who have served," Vaught said. "And, who better to speak for them than one of them." Another tradition is the tossing of rose petals into the Women's Memorial reflecting pool, she said.
One former and four present-day women servicemembers spoke during the event: former Army Spc. Antoinette V. Scott, Marine Cpl. Ashley A. Mohr, Navy Chief Petty Officer Diane Paddock, Air Force Master Sgt. Lisa D. Crawford, and Coast Guard Lt. Eva J. Van Camp.
Scott, 37, is an Iraq war veteran who was medically retired because of wounds she'd received in November 2003 when an improvised explosive device detonated as she was driving her five-ton truck in Baghdad.
"We are here to honor Memorial Day because we have served in one of the U.S. armed forces or we know someone who has served," Scott, a Washington, D.C., resident, said.
Scott urged her fellow veterans to "look deeper into ourselves, pay tribute to all who have fallen, and most of all make your story the way you definitely want to be remembered."
"I am very proud of all the women I've heard today. I thought they spoke very well," said 92-year-old World War II veteran Ruthanna Maxwell Weber, a Chevy Chase, Md., resident, who attended the event in her dark blue Navy lieutenant's uniform.
WIMSA's Memorial Day observance is "a great opportunity for us to show that women are really there" and contributing throughout today's military, while also honoring their past accomplishments, Weber said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 28, 2007 – Women in uniform have performed illustrious service in the U.S. military in the past and they continue to serve with distinction to the present day, a senior Coast Guard officer said here today. “On this Memorial Day, as we remember the men and women who gallantly gave up their lives for this nation, let us also celebrate their legacy," Vice Adm. Vivien S. Crea, vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, told about 160 attendees at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial's annual Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
"Through their ultimate sacrifice they have inspired the very best in those they were with and in generations of those who follow in their lead," said Crea, the ceremony's keynote speaker.
About 15 percent of today's active-duty military members are women, Crea said, noting one in every seven U.S. servicemembers deployed in Iraq today is a woman.
Today's "courageous and selfless military women in all the armed forces serve with distinction alongside their male counterparts throughout this country and around the world in virtually every specialty and theater of operations," she said.
Women's military service "symbolizes the pride, strength, realism and idealism of this great nation," Crea said. "You are our next greatest generation and I thank you on behalf of every man and women in the United States of America."
The WIMSA foundation's president, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma L. Vaught, was on hand to greet attendees, noting the women's memorial will celebrate its 10th anniversary this fall.
It's a WIMSA tradition, Vaught noted, to have servicewomen or veterans speak at the organization's annual Memorial Day observance.
"This memorial pays tribute, individually and collectively, to all of the women who have served," Vaught said. "And, who better to speak for them than one of them." Another tradition is the tossing of rose petals into the Women's Memorial reflecting pool, she said.
One former and four present-day women servicemembers spoke during the event: former Army Spc. Antoinette V. Scott, Marine Cpl. Ashley A. Mohr, Navy Chief Petty Officer Diane Paddock, Air Force Master Sgt. Lisa D. Crawford, and Coast Guard Lt. Eva J. Van Camp.
Scott, 37, is an Iraq war veteran who was medically retired because of wounds she'd received in November 2003 when an improvised explosive device detonated as she was driving her five-ton truck in Baghdad.
"We are here to honor Memorial Day because we have served in one of the U.S. armed forces or we know someone who has served," Scott, a Washington, D.C., resident, said.
Scott urged her fellow veterans to "look deeper into ourselves, pay tribute to all who have fallen, and most of all make your story the way you definitely want to be remembered."
"I am very proud of all the women I've heard today. I thought they spoke very well," said 92-year-old World War II veteran Ruthanna Maxwell Weber, a Chevy Chase, Md., resident, who attended the event in her dark blue Navy lieutenant's uniform.
WIMSA's Memorial Day observance is "a great opportunity for us to show that women are really there" and contributing throughout today's military, while also honoring their past accomplishments, Weber said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Veteran's Pay Tribute on Vietnam Wall's 25th Anniversary
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
May 28, 2007 – About 2,000 veterans, former and current military personnel, families and other spectators marked the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial here today during the annual Memorial Day Observance. For a quarter of a century, family members, friends and cohorts have solemnly filed past the memorial commonly known as "The Wall," seeking their loved ones among the 58,000 names of the fallen etched on the black granite panels.
"I think this is place where people feel very comfortable and they really become a part of the memorial by getting closer to it," said Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and today's master of ceremonies.
"It's a good place for events that are patriotic and thoughtful in nature, and I think the spirits of the soldiers on the wall are probably always there for everybody," he said.
Three names were added to the wall recently, he noted, bringing the total to 58,256. Family members read the names of Navy Fireman Apprentice Joseph Gerald Krywicki of Holton, Mich.; Army Sgt. Richard Monroe Pruett of San Diego, Calif.; and Army Spc. Wesley Alvin Stiverson of Monticello, Ill.
"The past is part of the present and part of the future as well," he said, "so when it comes to military service, remembering those who have gone before is a part of honoring those who are serving us today."
Scruggs paid tribute to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who attended the ceremony to honor their brothers in arms who fought before them. Several young men stood at attention, and family members of Army Sgt. Samuel Floberg lifted him from his wheelchair while the crowd applauded with fervor.
Floberg, a member of the North Dakota National Guard, was wounded in Afghanistan Nov. 23, 2006 during an ambush on his patrol vehicle.
"The fourth (rocket-propelled grenade) went through the door of the Humvee and took out my leg and took out the driver, Cpl. Nathan Goodiron," said Floberg, whose right leg was amputated above his knee.
"The Wall heals," Floberg said, watching Vietnam veterans studying the engraved names on the glassy granite wall. "It's a place that people can come back and just reflect on their heroes, their brothers and sisters."
Veterans groups, including Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, The American Legion, Gold Star Wives, American Gold Star Mothers, Sons and Daughters in Touch, Jewish War Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Rolling Thunder, Inc. participated in the ceremony.
One of the Vietnam veterans among the hundreds of thousands of bikers riding in yesterday's Rolling Thunder, said it took a long time for him to visit the wall.
Retired Navy field hospital corpsman Jim Enos, president of the Wilmington, N.C., Rolling Thunder chapter, said he has rumbled to the nation's capital every year since 1996 for Vietnam veterans' motorcycle rally on the National Mall here.
But it took him 10 years, he said, to face familiar names on the memorial wall.
"I did not visit The Wall until last year," Enos said. "There are a lot of names on The Wall that I know, and it took me all those years."
"First time I went to it last year, I had a good cry," he said. "Now I can go to the Wall and I can just - I can handle it."
Joseph M. Lawler, national capital regional director for the National Park Service, co-host of the ceremony along with the Vietnam Memorial Fund, told the audience that few visitors are untouched by the memorial's symbolism.
"It's somewhat ironic how often the mention of walls invokes the immediate thought of separation or barrier," he said. "However, in this case the wall is a connector, a welcomed device, an instrument of unity."
Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, this year's keynote speaker, told the audience "there is no single Vietnam war experience." He implored veterans to think back on their unique reflections.
"As we remember all these experiences - and a lot of them are pretty darn positive, and we shouldn't forget that - friendship, trust, courage, intense humor; shared misery done so easily by youth," he said. "But a lot of that's clouded by those of us who could not come home, whose lives were ended so completely in combat."
"The pain is sharp ... there's a sense of permanent loss," he said. "That's why we're here to remember, to pay honor to those memories, to learn and take comfort in their sacrifice."
Teaching the lessons of fallen veterans' example is the most important aspect of preserving their memory, the general said.
"There will be a final day of reckoning," he said. "All of us here will again be reunited with these brave soldiers who we remember. The last time we saw them they were alive, frozen in time with their youth, their optimism."
Alluding to surviving veterans' mortality, including his own, McCaffrey said that everyone who fought in Vietnam will have a final homecoming.
"Then we'll be able to say, 'We have all come home together,'" he said. "God bless all of our 58,000 friends here. God bless you all."
Maj. Gen. Gale S. Pollock, acting Army surgeon general and commander for U.S. Army Medical Command, told audience members it was a privilege to join them in reaffirming a commitment to the men and women in uniform, and to the unknown number of civilians who served during Vietnam and other conflicts.
The U.S. is implementing ways to provide all veterans with the emotional and physical care and support they have earned, Pollock said. "Let us not forget the importance of talking about these invisible wounds so they can heal and not permanently scar and interfere with our lives," she said.
"As I look out on the crowd," she said, "I smile because I can only imagine how proud our fallen heroes would be to see all of you here today showing your appreciation for their selfless service for our incredible nation and simply saying 'Thanks,' to them for going the distance."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 28, 2007 – About 2,000 veterans, former and current military personnel, families and other spectators marked the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial here today during the annual Memorial Day Observance. For a quarter of a century, family members, friends and cohorts have solemnly filed past the memorial commonly known as "The Wall," seeking their loved ones among the 58,000 names of the fallen etched on the black granite panels.
"I think this is place where people feel very comfortable and they really become a part of the memorial by getting closer to it," said Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and today's master of ceremonies.
"It's a good place for events that are patriotic and thoughtful in nature, and I think the spirits of the soldiers on the wall are probably always there for everybody," he said.
Three names were added to the wall recently, he noted, bringing the total to 58,256. Family members read the names of Navy Fireman Apprentice Joseph Gerald Krywicki of Holton, Mich.; Army Sgt. Richard Monroe Pruett of San Diego, Calif.; and Army Spc. Wesley Alvin Stiverson of Monticello, Ill.
"The past is part of the present and part of the future as well," he said, "so when it comes to military service, remembering those who have gone before is a part of honoring those who are serving us today."
Scruggs paid tribute to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who attended the ceremony to honor their brothers in arms who fought before them. Several young men stood at attention, and family members of Army Sgt. Samuel Floberg lifted him from his wheelchair while the crowd applauded with fervor.
Floberg, a member of the North Dakota National Guard, was wounded in Afghanistan Nov. 23, 2006 during an ambush on his patrol vehicle.
"The fourth (rocket-propelled grenade) went through the door of the Humvee and took out my leg and took out the driver, Cpl. Nathan Goodiron," said Floberg, whose right leg was amputated above his knee.
"The Wall heals," Floberg said, watching Vietnam veterans studying the engraved names on the glassy granite wall. "It's a place that people can come back and just reflect on their heroes, their brothers and sisters."
Veterans groups, including Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, The American Legion, Gold Star Wives, American Gold Star Mothers, Sons and Daughters in Touch, Jewish War Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Rolling Thunder, Inc. participated in the ceremony.
One of the Vietnam veterans among the hundreds of thousands of bikers riding in yesterday's Rolling Thunder, said it took a long time for him to visit the wall.
Retired Navy field hospital corpsman Jim Enos, president of the Wilmington, N.C., Rolling Thunder chapter, said he has rumbled to the nation's capital every year since 1996 for Vietnam veterans' motorcycle rally on the National Mall here.
But it took him 10 years, he said, to face familiar names on the memorial wall.
"I did not visit The Wall until last year," Enos said. "There are a lot of names on The Wall that I know, and it took me all those years."
"First time I went to it last year, I had a good cry," he said. "Now I can go to the Wall and I can just - I can handle it."
Joseph M. Lawler, national capital regional director for the National Park Service, co-host of the ceremony along with the Vietnam Memorial Fund, told the audience that few visitors are untouched by the memorial's symbolism.
"It's somewhat ironic how often the mention of walls invokes the immediate thought of separation or barrier," he said. "However, in this case the wall is a connector, a welcomed device, an instrument of unity."
Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, this year's keynote speaker, told the audience "there is no single Vietnam war experience." He implored veterans to think back on their unique reflections.
"As we remember all these experiences - and a lot of them are pretty darn positive, and we shouldn't forget that - friendship, trust, courage, intense humor; shared misery done so easily by youth," he said. "But a lot of that's clouded by those of us who could not come home, whose lives were ended so completely in combat."
"The pain is sharp ... there's a sense of permanent loss," he said. "That's why we're here to remember, to pay honor to those memories, to learn and take comfort in their sacrifice."
Teaching the lessons of fallen veterans' example is the most important aspect of preserving their memory, the general said.
"There will be a final day of reckoning," he said. "All of us here will again be reunited with these brave soldiers who we remember. The last time we saw them they were alive, frozen in time with their youth, their optimism."
Alluding to surviving veterans' mortality, including his own, McCaffrey said that everyone who fought in Vietnam will have a final homecoming.
"Then we'll be able to say, 'We have all come home together,'" he said. "God bless all of our 58,000 friends here. God bless you all."
Maj. Gen. Gale S. Pollock, acting Army surgeon general and commander for U.S. Army Medical Command, told audience members it was a privilege to join them in reaffirming a commitment to the men and women in uniform, and to the unknown number of civilians who served during Vietnam and other conflicts.
The U.S. is implementing ways to provide all veterans with the emotional and physical care and support they have earned, Pollock said. "Let us not forget the importance of talking about these invisible wounds so they can heal and not permanently scar and interfere with our lives," she said.
"As I look out on the crowd," she said, "I smile because I can only imagine how proud our fallen heroes would be to see all of you here today showing your appreciation for their selfless service for our incredible nation and simply saying 'Thanks,' to them for going the distance."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
National Memorial Day Parade Honors Wounded Warriors
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
May 28, 2007 – Seven months ago, on Veterans Day, Army Spc. Jace Badia was carried off the battlefield in Ramadi after an insurgent bomb left him nearly dead -- his left leg gone, his right leg shattered and his right arm and back broken. A testament to the will of today's warriors and the miracles of 21st century combat medicine, Badia today joined a handful of other wounded soldiers being carried down historic Constitution Avenue, just blocks from the nation's Capitol, on the Grand Marshal's float in the National Memorial Day Parade.
With thousands of onlookers cheering, Badia joined eight other wounded warriors and Hollywood star Gary Sinise to lead the parade. Five rode in the lead float and two followed in a Hummer.
"I never in a million years thought I'd even be in a parade," said Badia. "I'm really glad I can be out here and able to show the people that, even though I'm injured, I'm still fighting in spirit."
As his red-white-and-blue float, sporting a golden American eagle, rolled down the 10-block route, Badia said he had one person specifically in mind - his friend and fellow infantryman, Cpl. Eric Palaciosrivera, who was killed by insurgent sniper fire three days after Badia was injured.
"I think about him every day. He was just a really good guy," Badia said.
Badia also said he thinks about "every single serviceman who has served and died for our country."
His message to those still serving is simple.
"Keep fighting. It's for a good cause - freedom," he said.
In its second year, the parade drew more than 150,000 spectators. This year's official estimates are not yet released. The parade included 160 elements, including 20 bands, youth groups, and veterans groups from every conflict since World War I. It is sponsored by the American Veterans Center, in association with the White House Commission on Remembrance.
Badia was joined on the float by Leslie Smith, a former Army National Guard captain. She developed a blood clot while deployed and lost her left leg and sight in her left eye.
Now Smith is trained as a peer visitor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and is active in encouraging wounded soldiers to get involved in sports programs.
Since losing her leg, Smith has completed four marathons, is a tri-athlete and enjoys kayaking and scuba diving. Most are sports that she didn't turn to until after her injuries, she said.
"It just really turns your life around and makes you want to get out there and do more and challenge yourself," Smith said.
Now, Smith is temporarily assigned to the president's commission on care for America's returning wounded warriors. She said being able to lead the parade is an honor for her and the others.
"It makes you feel very proud of yourself and service," Smith said.
But, she said, it is still the personal demonstrations of gratitude that mean the most for the servicemembers.
"It means the world for the soldiers coming back for anyone on the street ... if they stop and give you a personal thank you," Smith said. "That really seems to touch our hearts because we know that we are fighting for America and America's freedom, and we just hope that everybody knows that we're doing it 100 percent."
Leading the efforts to recruit volunteers to ride in the parade was fellow wounded warrior Army Cpt. D.J. Skelton. He lost his left eye and suffered other injuries while serving as a platoon leader in the second battle for Fallujah in 2004.
Skelton serves as a military advisor to the Deputy Defense Secretary and is helping rewrite policy on how the military manages its wounded servicemembers.
"The ultimate sacrifice is to give one's life. Right under that is this population," he said. "Their life is forever changed. For the rest of their life they will forever be reminded -- every time they look into a mirror -- of the sacrifice they made for their country.
"They truly need truly America's support," Skelton said. "When you look at them, you are forced to be reminded of this amazing group ... who allows us to live in a safe democracy.
Skelton said the appreciation shown to the soldiers demonstrates that their sacrifices were not in vain.
"It means a lot to know that America is still engaged and still cares and still recognizes that we sacrificed for something -- the greater good," Skelton said.
The soldiers serving as Grand Marshal's of the parade were: Army Cpts. D.J. Skelton and (retired) Leslie Smith, Staff Sgt. John Borders, Sgt. Ron Hawthorne, Cpl. John Callahan and Spcs. Jace Badia, Luke Markham and Robert Schubert.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 28, 2007 – Seven months ago, on Veterans Day, Army Spc. Jace Badia was carried off the battlefield in Ramadi after an insurgent bomb left him nearly dead -- his left leg gone, his right leg shattered and his right arm and back broken. A testament to the will of today's warriors and the miracles of 21st century combat medicine, Badia today joined a handful of other wounded soldiers being carried down historic Constitution Avenue, just blocks from the nation's Capitol, on the Grand Marshal's float in the National Memorial Day Parade.
With thousands of onlookers cheering, Badia joined eight other wounded warriors and Hollywood star Gary Sinise to lead the parade. Five rode in the lead float and two followed in a Hummer.
"I never in a million years thought I'd even be in a parade," said Badia. "I'm really glad I can be out here and able to show the people that, even though I'm injured, I'm still fighting in spirit."
As his red-white-and-blue float, sporting a golden American eagle, rolled down the 10-block route, Badia said he had one person specifically in mind - his friend and fellow infantryman, Cpl. Eric Palaciosrivera, who was killed by insurgent sniper fire three days after Badia was injured.
"I think about him every day. He was just a really good guy," Badia said.
Badia also said he thinks about "every single serviceman who has served and died for our country."
His message to those still serving is simple.
"Keep fighting. It's for a good cause - freedom," he said.
In its second year, the parade drew more than 150,000 spectators. This year's official estimates are not yet released. The parade included 160 elements, including 20 bands, youth groups, and veterans groups from every conflict since World War I. It is sponsored by the American Veterans Center, in association with the White House Commission on Remembrance.
Badia was joined on the float by Leslie Smith, a former Army National Guard captain. She developed a blood clot while deployed and lost her left leg and sight in her left eye.
Now Smith is trained as a peer visitor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and is active in encouraging wounded soldiers to get involved in sports programs.
Since losing her leg, Smith has completed four marathons, is a tri-athlete and enjoys kayaking and scuba diving. Most are sports that she didn't turn to until after her injuries, she said.
"It just really turns your life around and makes you want to get out there and do more and challenge yourself," Smith said.
Now, Smith is temporarily assigned to the president's commission on care for America's returning wounded warriors. She said being able to lead the parade is an honor for her and the others.
"It makes you feel very proud of yourself and service," Smith said.
But, she said, it is still the personal demonstrations of gratitude that mean the most for the servicemembers.
"It means the world for the soldiers coming back for anyone on the street ... if they stop and give you a personal thank you," Smith said. "That really seems to touch our hearts because we know that we are fighting for America and America's freedom, and we just hope that everybody knows that we're doing it 100 percent."
Leading the efforts to recruit volunteers to ride in the parade was fellow wounded warrior Army Cpt. D.J. Skelton. He lost his left eye and suffered other injuries while serving as a platoon leader in the second battle for Fallujah in 2004.
Skelton serves as a military advisor to the Deputy Defense Secretary and is helping rewrite policy on how the military manages its wounded servicemembers.
"The ultimate sacrifice is to give one's life. Right under that is this population," he said. "Their life is forever changed. For the rest of their life they will forever be reminded -- every time they look into a mirror -- of the sacrifice they made for their country.
"They truly need truly America's support," Skelton said. "When you look at them, you are forced to be reminded of this amazing group ... who allows us to live in a safe democracy.
Skelton said the appreciation shown to the soldiers demonstrates that their sacrifices were not in vain.
"It means a lot to know that America is still engaged and still cares and still recognizes that we sacrificed for something -- the greater good," Skelton said.
The soldiers serving as Grand Marshal's of the parade were: Army Cpts. D.J. Skelton and (retired) Leslie Smith, Staff Sgt. John Borders, Sgt. Ron Hawthorne, Cpl. John Callahan and Spcs. Jace Badia, Luke Markham and Robert Schubert.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Arizona, Arkansas and Georgia
Editor's Note: One of the police writers is former United States Air Force.
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Four police officers from Arizona, Arkansas and Georgia was added to the website: Bryan Muth; Frank Gillette; Cory Harris; and, Harold Goldhagen.
Bryan Muth was a police officer for the Phoenix Police Department (Arizona). After his retirement in 2005, he began working as a private investigator in the Phoenix area. Bryan Muth is the author of Judging the Police. According to the book description, “the post Rodney King era police officer is more tenuous fearful of citizen complaint or prosecution than ever before in history. The "L" word (liability) is fast becoming the first concern of a cop not public safety. Officers are being reviewed through citizen groups, ADHOC committees, or civil juries whose members only yesterday told a police officer "I wouldn't do your job for a million bucks". Offenders as young as ten years old are trying to intimidate an officer from doing his job by demanding to talk to the officer's supervisor. Unfortunately, it is working! You are not as safe from crime as you would think or that police administrators and politicians would like you to believe.”
Bryan Muth is currently working on his second book, How Near Anarchy. A portion of the proceeds from his second book are slated to go a law enforcement legal defense fund based in Washington, DC, that defends police officers from unwarranted prosecution.
Frank V. Gillette retired from the Arizona Department of Public Safety. He is the author of two books, A Cop’s Diary and Pleasant Valley. In addition to his writing, he apparently stayed alert and involved. According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety monthly newsletter, in August 1984, Frank Gillette was gathering firewood west of Young Airport when he saw a large aircraft making its final approach. Frank Gillette also noted unusual activity on nearby roads. He called a narcotics officer and reported the activity, leading to one of the largest cocaine seizures in Arizona history; over 1,370 pounds with a street value of $148 million.
Cory B. Harris has over 13 years of military and law enforcement experience. He has served with The United States Air Force, Little Rock Police Department (Arkansas), United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the United States Marshal Service. He has law enforcement training and experience in field training, crime prevention, investigations, operations, apprehension, and protection. He is also a recipient of the Little Rock Police Department’s Medal of Merit. Moreover, he is the first law enforcement official from the state of Arkansas to be added to the website.
Cory B. Harris is the author of Zipper Le Series One: Outlook on Leadership And Liability Issues in the Criminal Justice System. According to the book description, Cory B. Harris’ book, “takes you behind the badge to examine tough issues in the criminal justice system. It tackles civil liability, race, and leadership issues to name a few from the outlook of the author. The author gives examples using his own experiences that are simple and easy to understand to give the reader unique insight. The book contains many case studies, and stories that are interesting yet they have a simple meaning. The book explores how different groups of people look at these issues in different ways, as well as how important it is for criminal justice officials to stay mentally fit.”
Harold Goldhagen is a retired captain from the Atlanta Police Department. He is also the author of Signal 63: Officer Needs Help. According to the book description, “As the Civil Rights Movement changed everything, Atlanta, Georgia could be any city. Cops are cops; people are people; crime is crime. Serving in the police is tough, and Officer Harold's circumstances were anything but ordinary.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 557 police officers (representing 231 police departments) and their 1174 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 from Arizona, Arkansas and Georgia was added to the website: Bryan Muth; Frank Gillette; Cory Harris; and, Harold Goldhagen.
Bryan Muth was a police officer for the Phoenix Police Department (Arizona). After his retirement in 2005, he began working as a private investigator in the Phoenix area. Bryan Muth is the author of Judging the Police. According to the book description, “the post Rodney King era police officer is more tenuous fearful of citizen complaint or prosecution than ever before in history. The "L" word (liability) is fast becoming the first concern of a cop not public safety. Officers are being reviewed through citizen groups, ADHOC committees, or civil juries whose members only yesterday told a police officer "I wouldn't do your job for a million bucks". Offenders as young as ten years old are trying to intimidate an officer from doing his job by demanding to talk to the officer's supervisor. Unfortunately, it is working! You are not as safe from crime as you would think or that police administrators and politicians would like you to believe.”
Bryan Muth is currently working on his second book, How Near Anarchy. A portion of the proceeds from his second book are slated to go a law enforcement legal defense fund based in Washington, DC, that defends police officers from unwarranted prosecution.
Frank V. Gillette retired from the Arizona Department of Public Safety. He is the author of two books, A Cop’s Diary and Pleasant Valley. In addition to his writing, he apparently stayed alert and involved. According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety monthly newsletter, in August 1984, Frank Gillette was gathering firewood west of Young Airport when he saw a large aircraft making its final approach. Frank Gillette also noted unusual activity on nearby roads. He called a narcotics officer and reported the activity, leading to one of the largest cocaine seizures in Arizona history; over 1,370 pounds with a street value of $148 million.
Cory B. Harris has over 13 years of military and law enforcement experience. He has served with The United States Air Force, Little Rock Police Department (Arkansas), United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the United States Marshal Service. He has law enforcement training and experience in field training, crime prevention, investigations, operations, apprehension, and protection. He is also a recipient of the Little Rock Police Department’s Medal of Merit. Moreover, he is the first law enforcement official from the state of Arkansas to be added to the website.
Cory B. Harris is the author of Zipper Le Series One: Outlook on Leadership And Liability Issues in the Criminal Justice System. According to the book description, Cory B. Harris’ book, “takes you behind the badge to examine tough issues in the criminal justice system. It tackles civil liability, race, and leadership issues to name a few from the outlook of the author. The author gives examples using his own experiences that are simple and easy to understand to give the reader unique insight. The book contains many case studies, and stories that are interesting yet they have a simple meaning. The book explores how different groups of people look at these issues in different ways, as well as how important it is for criminal justice officials to stay mentally fit.”
Harold Goldhagen is a retired captain from the Atlanta Police Department. He is also the author of Signal 63: Officer Needs Help. According to the book description, “As the Civil Rights Movement changed everything, Atlanta, Georgia could be any city. Cops are cops; people are people; crime is crime. Serving in the police is tough, and Officer Harold's circumstances were anything but ordinary.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 557 police officers (representing 231 police departments) and their 1174 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.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
May 27, 2007 – People across the country will take a moment from their afternoons tomorrow to pause and honor the sacrifices of America's military. Major League Baseball stadiums, NASCAR tracks, train stations, grocery stores, and even the astronauts on the International Space Station will be participating in the "Moment of Remembrance," which is observed every Memorial Day at 3 p.m.
"The national Moment of Remembrance is a time for Americans to contemplate those things that bind us together by remembering the legacy of those who died to better our country," Carmella LaSpada, executive director of the White House Commission on Remembrance, said in a news release. "We encourage all Americans, no matter where they are and what they are doing, at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, to stop and give thanks."
The Moment of Remembrance is an initiative of the White House Commission on Remembrance, which was established by Congress and made into public law in 2000. The commission encourages Americans to remember the sacrifices of fallen military members, as well as the families they leave behind. According to its mission statement, the commission "promotes acts of remembrance throughout the year and asks Americans to pay our debt of gratitude in memory of our fallen by giving something back to the nation."
The Moment of Remembrance, which lasts one minute, is being observed at the Liberty Bell and National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, the Empire State Building and Port Authority of New York, the USS New Jersey, USS Arizona and Greyhound stations. Additionally, volunteer buglers across the country will play "Taps" during the moment.
In his Memorial Day proclamation, President Bush will call on the citizens of the United States to participate in the Moment of Remembrance, according to the news release. Citizens can participate by observing a moment of silence, or doing something symbolic, like ringing a bell.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 27, 2007 – People across the country will take a moment from their afternoons tomorrow to pause and honor the sacrifices of America's military. Major League Baseball stadiums, NASCAR tracks, train stations, grocery stores, and even the astronauts on the International Space Station will be participating in the "Moment of Remembrance," which is observed every Memorial Day at 3 p.m.
"The national Moment of Remembrance is a time for Americans to contemplate those things that bind us together by remembering the legacy of those who died to better our country," Carmella LaSpada, executive director of the White House Commission on Remembrance, said in a news release. "We encourage all Americans, no matter where they are and what they are doing, at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, to stop and give thanks."
The Moment of Remembrance is an initiative of the White House Commission on Remembrance, which was established by Congress and made into public law in 2000. The commission encourages Americans to remember the sacrifices of fallen military members, as well as the families they leave behind. According to its mission statement, the commission "promotes acts of remembrance throughout the year and asks Americans to pay our debt of gratitude in memory of our fallen by giving something back to the nation."
The Moment of Remembrance, which lasts one minute, is being observed at the Liberty Bell and National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, the Empire State Building and Port Authority of New York, the USS New Jersey, USS Arizona and Greyhound stations. Additionally, volunteer buglers across the country will play "Taps" during the moment.
In his Memorial Day proclamation, President Bush will call on the citizens of the United States to participate in the Moment of Remembrance, according to the news release. Citizens can participate by observing a moment of silence, or doing something symbolic, like ringing a bell.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Indy 500 Helps Build Homes For Disabled Veterans
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
May 27, 2007 – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is helping make adaptive homes available to disabled veterans through support for a group called Homes for Our Troops. The group builds or adapts homes to meet the needs of servicemembers severely injured while serving in the global war on terrorism. The group has completed 17 homes to date, and it will receive the proceeds of T-shirt and dog tag sales in the weeks leading up to today's Indy 500 race.
Though the total amount of funds raised has not been calculated yet, the racetrack estimated that they will have raised at least $16,000 to help the group.
That money will certainly help, said John Gonsalves, founder of Homes for Our Troops. The funds will go toward the 21 houses on which Homes for Our Troops is currently working. But it's perhaps not the best thing to come out of the speedway's support.
"We always need to raise money," he said, adding that "raising awareness is equally, if not a little bit more, important."
Homes for Our Troops is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
It's that program which brought the speedway and the home-front group together, said Gina Friedholdt, the speedway's licensing coordinator. The speedway is a corporate member of America Supports You.
"It really stems from us supporting the America Supports You program run by Allison Barber," she said. "We thought it would be a good initiative to try to support some of the programs that were falling under America Supports You."
In fact, the speedway actually found Homes for Our Troops on the America Supports You Web site. Friedholdt said the speedway looked on the site for universally appealing troop-support groups that would be supported by race fans, who are a diverse crowd. And it seems they were successful. Many race fans expressed great support for the troops.
"I think it's something that needs to be done and I think they're doing a really good job," said Daniel Moore, of Mitchell, Ind. "We need to do something for them. They went over and risked everything they can, their lives, and ... everybody can help in some way. This is the least I can do."
Moore, who was at the track working as a safety official, understands the sacrifices servicemembers make. His father and uncle both served in the Korean War.
For Robert Watson, who came to Indiana from Crosby, Texas, for the race, the reason to purchase one of the shirts to help Homes For Our Troops was a very simple way to show great appreciation.
"They're our troops. They're over there protecting us," he said. "I never was in the war, but I know what they're doing and I appreciate it."
The T-shirts, which went on sale May 11, were on pace to sell out just before the race began as they have in the past. The shirts were sponsored by Homes for Our Troops corporate sponsor, Simonton Windows, and specially designed for today's race. They sell for $20 and come with a free dog tag, Friedholdt said. Fans also can buy the dog tags for $5 each, Gina Friedholdt.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 27, 2007 – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is helping make adaptive homes available to disabled veterans through support for a group called Homes for Our Troops. The group builds or adapts homes to meet the needs of servicemembers severely injured while serving in the global war on terrorism. The group has completed 17 homes to date, and it will receive the proceeds of T-shirt and dog tag sales in the weeks leading up to today's Indy 500 race.
Though the total amount of funds raised has not been calculated yet, the racetrack estimated that they will have raised at least $16,000 to help the group.
That money will certainly help, said John Gonsalves, founder of Homes for Our Troops. The funds will go toward the 21 houses on which Homes for Our Troops is currently working. But it's perhaps not the best thing to come out of the speedway's support.
"We always need to raise money," he said, adding that "raising awareness is equally, if not a little bit more, important."
Homes for Our Troops is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
It's that program which brought the speedway and the home-front group together, said Gina Friedholdt, the speedway's licensing coordinator. The speedway is a corporate member of America Supports You.
"It really stems from us supporting the America Supports You program run by Allison Barber," she said. "We thought it would be a good initiative to try to support some of the programs that were falling under America Supports You."
In fact, the speedway actually found Homes for Our Troops on the America Supports You Web site. Friedholdt said the speedway looked on the site for universally appealing troop-support groups that would be supported by race fans, who are a diverse crowd. And it seems they were successful. Many race fans expressed great support for the troops.
"I think it's something that needs to be done and I think they're doing a really good job," said Daniel Moore, of Mitchell, Ind. "We need to do something for them. They went over and risked everything they can, their lives, and ... everybody can help in some way. This is the least I can do."
Moore, who was at the track working as a safety official, understands the sacrifices servicemembers make. His father and uncle both served in the Korean War.
For Robert Watson, who came to Indiana from Crosby, Texas, for the race, the reason to purchase one of the shirts to help Homes For Our Troops was a very simple way to show great appreciation.
"They're our troops. They're over there protecting us," he said. "I never was in the war, but I know what they're doing and I appreciate it."
The T-shirts, which went on sale May 11, were on pace to sell out just before the race began as they have in the past. The shirts were sponsored by Homes for Our Troops corporate sponsor, Simonton Windows, and specially designed for today's race. They sell for $20 and come with a free dog tag, Friedholdt said. Fans also can buy the dog tags for $5 each, Gina Friedholdt.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
TAPS Helps Families Cope With Loss of Loved Ones
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2007 – Families members who have lost loved ones serving in the military are gathered here this Memorial Day weekend for a survivors' national support group seminar. Five hundred older family members and 300 young people are attending this year's survivors' seminars and associated events, said Bonnie Carroll, chairman of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS).
Established in 1994, TAPS is a nonprofit organization that helps survivors cope and heal after their loss through a variety of programs that include a national peer-support network, crisis intervention care, grief and trauma resources, and a 24-hour hotline.
Over the Memorial Day weekend the young TAPS members will visit national monuments and "spend time around Washington learning how America honors their families," Carroll said. "Their loss is part of the legacy of this nation."
Marine Gen. John F. Sattler, director for strategic plans and policy with the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed the family members today during the TAPS' 13th Annual National Good Grief Camp for Young Survivors in Arlington, Va.
"It's extremely important that we have groups (like TAPS) where you can open up and share and discuss and talk," he said. Talking over grief issues, he noted, "is not a sign of weakness, it's actually a sign of strength, and I applaud you for your strength.
"We constantly tell the warriors, 'You have got to talk these things through,' Sattler said. "Men and women with shared experiences have the opportunity to talk to others and I would please encourage you to do that."
Sattler told the young people America's military members "cannot do their jobs without strong family support."
Singing star Pat Boone also addressed a group of older TAPS members.
Wearing a red, white and blue shirt patterned like a U.S. flag, Boone told a group of older TAPS members that he was in the nation's capital to participate in Memorial Day observance events. Boone also is in town to unveil "For My Country," an anthem and documentary dedicated to America's National Guard.
"I had not known about TAPS until just recently," the 73-year-old Boone said. "When I heard about this (meeting) I was delighted to be invited just to come."
Army Maj. Gen. Guy C. Swan III, commanding general of the Military District of Washington, also was on hand to address the older TAPS members.
"There is nothing nobler than what your loved ones have done and we're just privileged to be here and to be part of this," Swan said.
TAPS members Stella Maynard, 53, and Randy Beard, 49, both lost soldier-sons who'd died two weeks apart during separate operations in Ramadi, Iraq, in October 2004.
Maynard said her son, 30-year-old Army Spc. Stephen Paul Downing II, and Beard's son, 22-year-old Army Spc. Bradley S. Beard, both served with Service Battery, 217th Field Artillery, attached to the 2nd Infantry Division.
Maynard, of Burkesville, Ky., is intensely proud of her son's and others' military service and sacrifices.
"None of them die in vain. Anyone that thinks that ... I would probably have words with," she said, noting that U.S. servicemembers are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to preserve freedom for all Americans.
Yet, memories of Stephen can unexpectedly leap into her thoughts, causing a sharp flow of tears, Maynard said. "All of a sudden it's there, but you go through it and it is gone," she said.
"We're not going to recover our sons; we're going to learn to readjust and go on without them," said Beard, a resident of Chapel Hill, N.C. TAPS "can empathize" with the survivors, he noted, and assist members in moving forward.
"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about my son, but you just learn how to go on," Beard said.
Letitia Imel, a 17-year-old teenager from Rochester, Ind., was among the group of young people attending the seminar. Imel's uncle, Jeff McLochlin, was an Army National Guardsman who was killed in Afghanistan on July 5, 2006. Imel said her uncle had essentially taken over the duties of her real father, who had died four years previously.
"This is my first day, but it's really good so far," Imel said of the TAPS program.
Ashley McLain, 31, is a volunteer mentor who is helping Imel with her loss.
"It's humbling to be around individuals who have lost a loved one," said McLain, a resident of Berryville, Va. "It's difficult and challenging, but it is also very rewarding to help someone else out in their time of grief.
TAPS is among the more than 250 businesses and organizations nationwide that participate 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.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2007 – Families members who have lost loved ones serving in the military are gathered here this Memorial Day weekend for a survivors' national support group seminar. Five hundred older family members and 300 young people are attending this year's survivors' seminars and associated events, said Bonnie Carroll, chairman of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS).
Established in 1994, TAPS is a nonprofit organization that helps survivors cope and heal after their loss through a variety of programs that include a national peer-support network, crisis intervention care, grief and trauma resources, and a 24-hour hotline.
Over the Memorial Day weekend the young TAPS members will visit national monuments and "spend time around Washington learning how America honors their families," Carroll said. "Their loss is part of the legacy of this nation."
Marine Gen. John F. Sattler, director for strategic plans and policy with the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed the family members today during the TAPS' 13th Annual National Good Grief Camp for Young Survivors in Arlington, Va.
"It's extremely important that we have groups (like TAPS) where you can open up and share and discuss and talk," he said. Talking over grief issues, he noted, "is not a sign of weakness, it's actually a sign of strength, and I applaud you for your strength.
"We constantly tell the warriors, 'You have got to talk these things through,' Sattler said. "Men and women with shared experiences have the opportunity to talk to others and I would please encourage you to do that."
Sattler told the young people America's military members "cannot do their jobs without strong family support."
Singing star Pat Boone also addressed a group of older TAPS members.
Wearing a red, white and blue shirt patterned like a U.S. flag, Boone told a group of older TAPS members that he was in the nation's capital to participate in Memorial Day observance events. Boone also is in town to unveil "For My Country," an anthem and documentary dedicated to America's National Guard.
"I had not known about TAPS until just recently," the 73-year-old Boone said. "When I heard about this (meeting) I was delighted to be invited just to come."
Army Maj. Gen. Guy C. Swan III, commanding general of the Military District of Washington, also was on hand to address the older TAPS members.
"There is nothing nobler than what your loved ones have done and we're just privileged to be here and to be part of this," Swan said.
TAPS members Stella Maynard, 53, and Randy Beard, 49, both lost soldier-sons who'd died two weeks apart during separate operations in Ramadi, Iraq, in October 2004.
Maynard said her son, 30-year-old Army Spc. Stephen Paul Downing II, and Beard's son, 22-year-old Army Spc. Bradley S. Beard, both served with Service Battery, 217th Field Artillery, attached to the 2nd Infantry Division.
Maynard, of Burkesville, Ky., is intensely proud of her son's and others' military service and sacrifices.
"None of them die in vain. Anyone that thinks that ... I would probably have words with," she said, noting that U.S. servicemembers are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to preserve freedom for all Americans.
Yet, memories of Stephen can unexpectedly leap into her thoughts, causing a sharp flow of tears, Maynard said. "All of a sudden it's there, but you go through it and it is gone," she said.
"We're not going to recover our sons; we're going to learn to readjust and go on without them," said Beard, a resident of Chapel Hill, N.C. TAPS "can empathize" with the survivors, he noted, and assist members in moving forward.
"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about my son, but you just learn how to go on," Beard said.
Letitia Imel, a 17-year-old teenager from Rochester, Ind., was among the group of young people attending the seminar. Imel's uncle, Jeff McLochlin, was an Army National Guardsman who was killed in Afghanistan on July 5, 2006. Imel said her uncle had essentially taken over the duties of her real father, who had died four years previously.
"This is my first day, but it's really good so far," Imel said of the TAPS program.
Ashley McLain, 31, is a volunteer mentor who is helping Imel with her loss.
"It's humbling to be around individuals who have lost a loved one," said McLain, a resident of Berryville, Va. "It's difficult and challenging, but it is also very rewarding to help someone else out in their time of grief.
TAPS is among the more than 250 businesses and organizations nationwide that participate 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.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Cheney Says West Pointers Understand Need for War on Terrorism
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
May 26, 2007 – The 978 new second lieutenants who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., today, knew from the start of their military education that they were joining an Army at war, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said during the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2007. "You came here knowing these four years would pass; the courses would be finished; this day of commissioning would arrive -- and you would then become responsible for the well being of men and women under your command," Cheney said to the 978 members of the class.
The vice president said West Point prepared the new second lieutenants for battlefield leadership. In fact, some of the newly minted officers are already combat veterans, having served in Operation Enduring Freedom as enlisted personnel.
"More than 25 graduates of this academy now on active duty have earned the Silver Star, and in Iraq, the Multinational Force is led by a superb officer, Gen. Dave Petraeus, class of 1974," Cheney said.
The new officers understand the threats facing the United States. He said the Army must surmount unprecedented challenges, but it is still the finest force ever fielded by the United States of America.
Cheney, who served as defense secretary during Operation Desert Storm, said he wished all Americans could visit the service academies.
"Year in and year out, the academies prepare the finest of young Americans to protect our people, to defend the land we call home, and to serve the ideals that define this nation," he said. "In an often cynical age, the armed forces and their academies are all the more exceptional. The values of a military education -- the sense of rectitude, the devotion to duty, and the daily acceptance of personal responsibility -- are a credit to the students and to the instructors, and an example for our entire country."
The new officers understand the reason America is fighting terrorists: the United States was attacked. He said if al Qaeda could, they would launch far more destructive attacks on the United States than those that killed 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001.
"They are working feverishly to obtain ever more destructive weapons, and using every form of technology they can get their hands on," he said. "This makes the business of fighting this war as urgent and time-sensitive as any task this nation has ever taken on."
While the U.S. government has taken steps to defend against more terror attacks, the true strategy is to go after the terrorists where they live, to "shut down their training camps, take down their networks, deny them sanctuary and bring them to justice," the vice president said. "In that effort, some of the most difficult and dangerous work has been carried out by the U.S. Army. America is the kind of country that stands up to brutality, terror, and injustice. And you are the kind of people we depend on to get the job done."
The new officers represent the best standards and ethics, and they are pitted against an enemy who oppose and despise everything an American stands for. "Capture one of these killers, and he'll be quick to demand the protections of the Geneva Convention and the Constitution of the United States," Cheney said. "Yet when they wage attacks or take captives, their delicate sensibilities seem to fall away.
"These are men who glorify murder and suicide," he continued. "Their cruelty is not rebuked by human suffering, only fed by it. They have given themselves to an ideology that rejects tolerance, denies freedom of conscience and demands that women be pushed to the margins of society. The terrorists are defined entirely by their hatreds, and they hate nothing more than the country you have volunteered to defend."
The terrorists will follow their strategy and attempt to impose a fundamentalist dictatorship based on a safe haven in Iraq. "In Iraq today, the al Qaeda network that struck America is one of the elements trying to destroy a democratic government," Cheney said. "They are surging their capabilities, attacking Iraqi and American forces and killing innocent civilians.
U.S. servicemembers are serving in Iraq because that is where the enemy has gathered" he said.
"We are there because, after 9/11, we decided to deny terrorists any safe haven," he said. "We are there because, having removed Saddam Hussein, we promised not to allow another dictator to rise in his place. And we are there because the security of this nation depends on a successful outcome."
Cheney said the war on terror does not have to be an endless war. To prevail, the United States and its allies must alleviate the conditions that produce terrorists. "We know from history that when people live in freedom, answering to their own conscience and charting their own destiny, they will not be drawn to the ideologies of hatred and violence," Cheney said. "We know, as well, that when people are given the chance to live in freedom, most of them will make that choice."
Cheney said the Iraqi government is making progress, and Americans should have confidence. But he said there is another reason for confidence in Iraq.
"The single most reliable fact of this war is the skill and courage of the American soldiers fighting it," he said. "You're about to become leaders in an amazing Army -- an all-volunteer force that has carried out tough missions in a time of great need for our country. They have endured long deployments, separation from family, and loss of comrades. They have fought boldly and courageously, from the cold mountains of Afghanistan to the dust and heat of the Middle Eastern desert. Now they're going to look to you for leadership, and it'll be your job to provide that leadership and to take care of them."
Cheney said the new officers must take this job seriously. They must look to the needs of their soldiers and they must accomplish their missions. "And you're entitled to expect some things in return," he said. "You deserve the tools and the backing to do your work, wherever duty takes you. At the same time, you deserve the support that makes life easier for your loved ones."
The United States is a country that fights for ideas and ideals. U.S. soldiers stand for freedom. "This world we live in is a better place for the power, and influence, and the values of the United States of America," Cheney said. "Americans are rightly proud of our country. We're a patriotic people, and we show that devotion in many different ways. And the bravest way of all is to take up the profession of arms."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 26, 2007 – The 978 new second lieutenants who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., today, knew from the start of their military education that they were joining an Army at war, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said during the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2007. "You came here knowing these four years would pass; the courses would be finished; this day of commissioning would arrive -- and you would then become responsible for the well being of men and women under your command," Cheney said to the 978 members of the class.
The vice president said West Point prepared the new second lieutenants for battlefield leadership. In fact, some of the newly minted officers are already combat veterans, having served in Operation Enduring Freedom as enlisted personnel.
"More than 25 graduates of this academy now on active duty have earned the Silver Star, and in Iraq, the Multinational Force is led by a superb officer, Gen. Dave Petraeus, class of 1974," Cheney said.
The new officers understand the threats facing the United States. He said the Army must surmount unprecedented challenges, but it is still the finest force ever fielded by the United States of America.
Cheney, who served as defense secretary during Operation Desert Storm, said he wished all Americans could visit the service academies.
"Year in and year out, the academies prepare the finest of young Americans to protect our people, to defend the land we call home, and to serve the ideals that define this nation," he said. "In an often cynical age, the armed forces and their academies are all the more exceptional. The values of a military education -- the sense of rectitude, the devotion to duty, and the daily acceptance of personal responsibility -- are a credit to the students and to the instructors, and an example for our entire country."
The new officers understand the reason America is fighting terrorists: the United States was attacked. He said if al Qaeda could, they would launch far more destructive attacks on the United States than those that killed 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001.
"They are working feverishly to obtain ever more destructive weapons, and using every form of technology they can get their hands on," he said. "This makes the business of fighting this war as urgent and time-sensitive as any task this nation has ever taken on."
While the U.S. government has taken steps to defend against more terror attacks, the true strategy is to go after the terrorists where they live, to "shut down their training camps, take down their networks, deny them sanctuary and bring them to justice," the vice president said. "In that effort, some of the most difficult and dangerous work has been carried out by the U.S. Army. America is the kind of country that stands up to brutality, terror, and injustice. And you are the kind of people we depend on to get the job done."
The new officers represent the best standards and ethics, and they are pitted against an enemy who oppose and despise everything an American stands for. "Capture one of these killers, and he'll be quick to demand the protections of the Geneva Convention and the Constitution of the United States," Cheney said. "Yet when they wage attacks or take captives, their delicate sensibilities seem to fall away.
"These are men who glorify murder and suicide," he continued. "Their cruelty is not rebuked by human suffering, only fed by it. They have given themselves to an ideology that rejects tolerance, denies freedom of conscience and demands that women be pushed to the margins of society. The terrorists are defined entirely by their hatreds, and they hate nothing more than the country you have volunteered to defend."
The terrorists will follow their strategy and attempt to impose a fundamentalist dictatorship based on a safe haven in Iraq. "In Iraq today, the al Qaeda network that struck America is one of the elements trying to destroy a democratic government," Cheney said. "They are surging their capabilities, attacking Iraqi and American forces and killing innocent civilians.
U.S. servicemembers are serving in Iraq because that is where the enemy has gathered" he said.
"We are there because, after 9/11, we decided to deny terrorists any safe haven," he said. "We are there because, having removed Saddam Hussein, we promised not to allow another dictator to rise in his place. And we are there because the security of this nation depends on a successful outcome."
Cheney said the war on terror does not have to be an endless war. To prevail, the United States and its allies must alleviate the conditions that produce terrorists. "We know from history that when people live in freedom, answering to their own conscience and charting their own destiny, they will not be drawn to the ideologies of hatred and violence," Cheney said. "We know, as well, that when people are given the chance to live in freedom, most of them will make that choice."
Cheney said the Iraqi government is making progress, and Americans should have confidence. But he said there is another reason for confidence in Iraq.
"The single most reliable fact of this war is the skill and courage of the American soldiers fighting it," he said. "You're about to become leaders in an amazing Army -- an all-volunteer force that has carried out tough missions in a time of great need for our country. They have endured long deployments, separation from family, and loss of comrades. They have fought boldly and courageously, from the cold mountains of Afghanistan to the dust and heat of the Middle Eastern desert. Now they're going to look to you for leadership, and it'll be your job to provide that leadership and to take care of them."
Cheney said the new officers must take this job seriously. They must look to the needs of their soldiers and they must accomplish their missions. "And you're entitled to expect some things in return," he said. "You deserve the tools and the backing to do your work, wherever duty takes you. At the same time, you deserve the support that makes life easier for your loved ones."
The United States is a country that fights for ideas and ideals. U.S. soldiers stand for freedom. "This world we live in is a better place for the power, and influence, and the values of the United States of America," Cheney said. "Americans are rightly proud of our country. We're a patriotic people, and we show that devotion in many different ways. And the bravest way of all is to take up the profession of arms."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Bush Calls on Americans to Remember Sacrifices for Freedom
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
May 26, 2007 – President Bush today asked all Americans to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. In his weekly radio address, Bush asked Americans to remember those who died defending the nation, and to also remember the sacrifice of their families. He asked Americans to rededicate themselves to freedom.
"On Memorial Day, we also pay tribute to Americans from every generation who have given their lives for our freedom," Bush said. "From Valley Forge to Vietnam, from Kuwait to Kandahar, from Berlin to Baghdad, brave men and women have given up their own futures so that others might have a future of freedom. Because of their sacrifice, millions here and around the world enjoy the blessings of liberty. And wherever these patriots rest, we offer them the respect and gratitude of our nation."
Currently, U.S. forces are helping the Iraqis and Afghans build democracies that respect the rights of all, he said. Iraqi and Afghan security forces stand alongside American servicemembers in battling the forces of extremism.
"In Iraq and Afghanistan, millions have shown their desire to be free, Bush said. "We are determined to help them secure their liberty."
"With the valor and determination of our men and women in uniform, I am confident that we will succeed and leave a world that is safer and more peaceful for our children and grandchildren," he said.
The president said Americans live in freedom because patriots of all generations were willing to serve, and sometimes die. He spoke of Marine Sgt. David Christoff Jr., of Rossford, Ohio. Christoff enlisted immediately after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He deployed to Iraq, fought street by street in the battle of Fallujah and earned a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in action.
"While on leave back home, David learned his company was headed for combat in Afghanistan," the president said. "But he knew there was also a job to finish in Iraq. So he asked to be reassigned to a unit headed for Iraq, and last May he died in Anbar province where the Marines are taking the fight to al Qaeda. When his family received his belongings, his mother and his father each found a letter from David. He asked that they pray for his fellow Marines and all those still serving overseas."
"On Memorial Day, our nation honors Sgt. Christoff's final request," Bush continued. "We pray for our men and women serving in harm's way. We pray for their safe return. And we pray for their families and loved ones, who also serve our country with their support and sacrifice."
To date, 3,433 servicemembers and Defense Department civilians have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. About 26,000 have been wounded in action. A total of 387 U.S. servicemembers and Defense civilians have been killed in Operation Enduring Freedom, with more than 1,200 wounded.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 26, 2007 – President Bush today asked all Americans to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. In his weekly radio address, Bush asked Americans to remember those who died defending the nation, and to also remember the sacrifice of their families. He asked Americans to rededicate themselves to freedom.
"On Memorial Day, we also pay tribute to Americans from every generation who have given their lives for our freedom," Bush said. "From Valley Forge to Vietnam, from Kuwait to Kandahar, from Berlin to Baghdad, brave men and women have given up their own futures so that others might have a future of freedom. Because of their sacrifice, millions here and around the world enjoy the blessings of liberty. And wherever these patriots rest, we offer them the respect and gratitude of our nation."
Currently, U.S. forces are helping the Iraqis and Afghans build democracies that respect the rights of all, he said. Iraqi and Afghan security forces stand alongside American servicemembers in battling the forces of extremism.
"In Iraq and Afghanistan, millions have shown their desire to be free, Bush said. "We are determined to help them secure their liberty."
"With the valor and determination of our men and women in uniform, I am confident that we will succeed and leave a world that is safer and more peaceful for our children and grandchildren," he said.
The president said Americans live in freedom because patriots of all generations were willing to serve, and sometimes die. He spoke of Marine Sgt. David Christoff Jr., of Rossford, Ohio. Christoff enlisted immediately after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He deployed to Iraq, fought street by street in the battle of Fallujah and earned a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in action.
"While on leave back home, David learned his company was headed for combat in Afghanistan," the president said. "But he knew there was also a job to finish in Iraq. So he asked to be reassigned to a unit headed for Iraq, and last May he died in Anbar province where the Marines are taking the fight to al Qaeda. When his family received his belongings, his mother and his father each found a letter from David. He asked that they pray for his fellow Marines and all those still serving overseas."
"On Memorial Day, our nation honors Sgt. Christoff's final request," Bush continued. "We pray for our men and women serving in harm's way. We pray for their safe return. And we pray for their families and loved ones, who also serve our country with their support and sacrifice."
To date, 3,433 servicemembers and Defense Department civilians have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. About 26,000 have been wounded in action. A total of 387 U.S. servicemembers and Defense civilians have been killed in Operation Enduring Freedom, with more than 1,200 wounded.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Actor Gary Sinise Receives 'G.I. Spirit Award'
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
May 27, 2007 – Actor Gary Sinise received the G.I. Spirit Award yesterday during the first G.I. Film Festival, held over the Memorial Day weekend at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center here. Retired Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife Mary Jo Myers, presented Sinise with the award, which is meant to honor the entertainer who most embodies the spirit of the American G.I. and his work.
Despite many other film and television roles, Sinise may still be best known as Lt. Dan, a turbulent, resilient character in the 1994 film adaptation of Winston Groom's novel Forrest Gump. Lt. Dan struggled to find his place in America after being wounded in Vietnam and returning home with two below-knee amputations.
Sinise's portrayal of the wounded war vet was received with cheers and applause during a screening last night by guests who gathered at the film festival. The three-day event is showing 22 movies, conducting panel discussions and welcoming scores of current and retired servicemembers.
"We watched the screening of Forrest Gump and one thing it reminded me of was coming home from Vietnam in 1970 and being told to take off my uniform before I went through the international airport in San Francisco," Richard Myers said. "I said, 'Why would that be?' They said, 'They're going to harass you all the way from the front of the airport as you get to the gate because you have your uniform on.'
"That's not a very impressive thing to come home to when you've seen your friends injured, die and you've been doing what you think you're country has asked you to do, and do it in good faith," he said. "How different it is today."
Before presenting Sinise with the award, Myers called Sinise a "one-man effort to make sure people understand that America loves the troops," and a man who truly represents the Air Force's core value, "Service Before Self."
Mary Jo Myers said Sinise's compassion goes beyond caring for men and women in uniform.
"In 2003, he visited an Iraqi school with some of the members of the military and saw that these children were learning in a building that had a dirt floor; they were sharing pencils," she said. "(Sinise) came home and through his own children's school, he helped drive for school supplies to send to children in Iraq."
Sinise's efforts led to "Operation Iraqi Children," a non-profit organization he co-founded with Laura Hillenbrand that has send more than 400,000 school supply kits to children in Iraq. The kits are prepared by American school children then hand-delivered by U.S. military members.
After receiving the award, Sinise told the audience that his two brothers-in-law served in Vietnam -- one as a helicopter pilot and the another who served his first tour as an Army lieutenant and second as a captain. Sinise described the West Point graduate and Vietnam veteran, who died in 1983, as an inspiration.
"I modeled part of Lt. Dan on him," Sinise said. "When the opportunity to play Lt. Dan came up, I thought of him a lot. He was like Lt. Dan - he was surely destined for four stars; he was that kind of person.
A decade before playing Lt. Dan, Sinise said he got involved with a group of Vietnam vets in the Chicago-area suffering from post-traumatic stress after returning from war.
"I stayed involved with them and really came to empathize and sympathize with what they went through when they came home. As Gen. Myers said, they had to take off their uniform and there was something not right about that," Sinise said. "When I got the opportunity to play Lt. Dan it was one of those things that felt like it was - as Lt. Dan says - kind of a destiny... to serve that role and to try to enlighten people about what happened to our Vietnam veterans."
The actor had just flown back from Iraq the night before. He was there visiting servicemembers, and he told the crowd that troops still refer to him as Lt. Dan.
"Some actors might choose to kind of run away, kind of put the roles behind them, get mad about being identified so much with one part. But because that character has so much significance in terms of how it has been received by our Vietnam veterans and our veterans around the world, that's something I can never run away from," he said. "I can never say, 'That was then and don't talk to me about that part anymore.'"
Sinise visits military hospitals, where he said wounded servicemembers often see themselves through the eyes of Lt. Dan.
"I was just at the hospital yesterday and one guy said, 'Hey, I'm just like you now,'" Sinise said. "And he laughed, but I knew it wasn't real funny to him. But I knew that also my presence there at the hospital, and the fact that I showed up and continue to show up and go back and visit our wounded has some meaning to them."
In addition to his film work, Sinise and his rock band, the Lt. Dan Band, have been very active in showing support for the troops through free concerts on military installations and in deployed locations, in conjunction with the Defense Department's America Supports You Program. The program recognizes support for the troops from American individuals, non-profit organizations and corporations, and it communicates that support to the men and women serving in uniform.
The G.I. Film Festival was also started as a way of supporting the troops by Brandon Millet and wife, Laura Law-Millet, a major in the Army Reserve. The festival is a not-for-profit organizations, and its founders have planned to make it an annual event.
"We started this film festival because we wanted to do something to foster a positive public image for our soldiers at a very critical time," Millet said. "We were surprised to find there had never been a film festival dedicated to American men and women in the military, so we decided to launch this festival."
The festival is sponsored by a number of organizations, including Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Disabled American Veterans, The American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, The National Memorial Day Parade, and many others.
Celebrity guests were on-hand for the festival, including actors R. Lee Erney and James McEachin, fitness guru Billy Blanks and musicians Pat Boone and Michael Peterson.
"In Vietnam, a lot of our soldiers came home and they were spit on, they had things thrown at them. Did that feel good?" said Peterson, a country music singer has performed for U.S. troops in Korea and Afghanistan.
"We all want to be appreciated, and when you make an extraordinary commitment for a purpose bigger than yourself, you deserve the recognition and appreciation," he said.
Iraq war veteran Army Capt. Dennis J. Skelton, who brought fellow servicemembers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center National and the Naval Medical Center at Bethesda to the event, recognizes that American support for military personnel has undergone a tremendous change.
"It's amazing to see the transition that has occurred in this country over the last four decades between the last major conflict, which was Vietnam, and the global war on terror," Skelton said. "There is definitely no shortage of patriotism in this country, and that's evident by the number of non-profit, philanthropic organizations, and attention that America has given.
Skelton, a former platoon leader with the 25th Infantry Division in Fallujah, Iraq, lost his left eye and suffered other injuries in a rocket-propelled-grenade attack.
"To me, and to all of my peers that are in hospitals recovering - sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines - it's amazing to watch and witness America understanding that there's a difference between those that make policy and those that enforce policy. And they will continue to support those who enforce, and while in the same breath, debating in a public forum, those who make it," he said. "It's just a beautiful thing to finally evolve to an area that we can professionally in the same forum do both simultaneously.
"It's great to know that even though there are some who may not agree with intentions or involvements and outcomes, they will forever support me as an individual that voluntarily made that choice to serve in a very complex environment," he said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 27, 2007 – Actor Gary Sinise received the G.I. Spirit Award yesterday during the first G.I. Film Festival, held over the Memorial Day weekend at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center here. Retired Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife Mary Jo Myers, presented Sinise with the award, which is meant to honor the entertainer who most embodies the spirit of the American G.I. and his work.
Despite many other film and television roles, Sinise may still be best known as Lt. Dan, a turbulent, resilient character in the 1994 film adaptation of Winston Groom's novel Forrest Gump. Lt. Dan struggled to find his place in America after being wounded in Vietnam and returning home with two below-knee amputations.
Sinise's portrayal of the wounded war vet was received with cheers and applause during a screening last night by guests who gathered at the film festival. The three-day event is showing 22 movies, conducting panel discussions and welcoming scores of current and retired servicemembers.
"We watched the screening of Forrest Gump and one thing it reminded me of was coming home from Vietnam in 1970 and being told to take off my uniform before I went through the international airport in San Francisco," Richard Myers said. "I said, 'Why would that be?' They said, 'They're going to harass you all the way from the front of the airport as you get to the gate because you have your uniform on.'
"That's not a very impressive thing to come home to when you've seen your friends injured, die and you've been doing what you think you're country has asked you to do, and do it in good faith," he said. "How different it is today."
Before presenting Sinise with the award, Myers called Sinise a "one-man effort to make sure people understand that America loves the troops," and a man who truly represents the Air Force's core value, "Service Before Self."
Mary Jo Myers said Sinise's compassion goes beyond caring for men and women in uniform.
"In 2003, he visited an Iraqi school with some of the members of the military and saw that these children were learning in a building that had a dirt floor; they were sharing pencils," she said. "(Sinise) came home and through his own children's school, he helped drive for school supplies to send to children in Iraq."
Sinise's efforts led to "Operation Iraqi Children," a non-profit organization he co-founded with Laura Hillenbrand that has send more than 400,000 school supply kits to children in Iraq. The kits are prepared by American school children then hand-delivered by U.S. military members.
After receiving the award, Sinise told the audience that his two brothers-in-law served in Vietnam -- one as a helicopter pilot and the another who served his first tour as an Army lieutenant and second as a captain. Sinise described the West Point graduate and Vietnam veteran, who died in 1983, as an inspiration.
"I modeled part of Lt. Dan on him," Sinise said. "When the opportunity to play Lt. Dan came up, I thought of him a lot. He was like Lt. Dan - he was surely destined for four stars; he was that kind of person.
A decade before playing Lt. Dan, Sinise said he got involved with a group of Vietnam vets in the Chicago-area suffering from post-traumatic stress after returning from war.
"I stayed involved with them and really came to empathize and sympathize with what they went through when they came home. As Gen. Myers said, they had to take off their uniform and there was something not right about that," Sinise said. "When I got the opportunity to play Lt. Dan it was one of those things that felt like it was - as Lt. Dan says - kind of a destiny... to serve that role and to try to enlighten people about what happened to our Vietnam veterans."
The actor had just flown back from Iraq the night before. He was there visiting servicemembers, and he told the crowd that troops still refer to him as Lt. Dan.
"Some actors might choose to kind of run away, kind of put the roles behind them, get mad about being identified so much with one part. But because that character has so much significance in terms of how it has been received by our Vietnam veterans and our veterans around the world, that's something I can never run away from," he said. "I can never say, 'That was then and don't talk to me about that part anymore.'"
Sinise visits military hospitals, where he said wounded servicemembers often see themselves through the eyes of Lt. Dan.
"I was just at the hospital yesterday and one guy said, 'Hey, I'm just like you now,'" Sinise said. "And he laughed, but I knew it wasn't real funny to him. But I knew that also my presence there at the hospital, and the fact that I showed up and continue to show up and go back and visit our wounded has some meaning to them."
In addition to his film work, Sinise and his rock band, the Lt. Dan Band, have been very active in showing support for the troops through free concerts on military installations and in deployed locations, in conjunction with the Defense Department's America Supports You Program. The program recognizes support for the troops from American individuals, non-profit organizations and corporations, and it communicates that support to the men and women serving in uniform.
The G.I. Film Festival was also started as a way of supporting the troops by Brandon Millet and wife, Laura Law-Millet, a major in the Army Reserve. The festival is a not-for-profit organizations, and its founders have planned to make it an annual event.
"We started this film festival because we wanted to do something to foster a positive public image for our soldiers at a very critical time," Millet said. "We were surprised to find there had never been a film festival dedicated to American men and women in the military, so we decided to launch this festival."
The festival is sponsored by a number of organizations, including Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Disabled American Veterans, The American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, The National Memorial Day Parade, and many others.
Celebrity guests were on-hand for the festival, including actors R. Lee Erney and James McEachin, fitness guru Billy Blanks and musicians Pat Boone and Michael Peterson.
"In Vietnam, a lot of our soldiers came home and they were spit on, they had things thrown at them. Did that feel good?" said Peterson, a country music singer has performed for U.S. troops in Korea and Afghanistan.
"We all want to be appreciated, and when you make an extraordinary commitment for a purpose bigger than yourself, you deserve the recognition and appreciation," he said.
Iraq war veteran Army Capt. Dennis J. Skelton, who brought fellow servicemembers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center National and the Naval Medical Center at Bethesda to the event, recognizes that American support for military personnel has undergone a tremendous change.
"It's amazing to see the transition that has occurred in this country over the last four decades between the last major conflict, which was Vietnam, and the global war on terror," Skelton said. "There is definitely no shortage of patriotism in this country, and that's evident by the number of non-profit, philanthropic organizations, and attention that America has given.
Skelton, a former platoon leader with the 25th Infantry Division in Fallujah, Iraq, lost his left eye and suffered other injuries in a rocket-propelled-grenade attack.
"To me, and to all of my peers that are in hospitals recovering - sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines - it's amazing to watch and witness America understanding that there's a difference between those that make policy and those that enforce policy. And they will continue to support those who enforce, and while in the same breath, debating in a public forum, those who make it," he said. "It's just a beautiful thing to finally evolve to an area that we can professionally in the same forum do both simultaneously.
"It's great to know that even though there are some who may not agree with intentions or involvements and outcomes, they will forever support me as an individual that voluntarily made that choice to serve in a very complex environment," he said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Indy 500 Festival Parade Salutes Troops
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
May 26, 2007 – Patriotism was on display during today's 50th annual Indy 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. People showed support for their country and their troops when patriotic displays and military parade participants marched past. Cheerleaders from Indiana University carried a banner heralding the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which proclaimed that "We Support You - Our Military Men and Women." Parade announcers told the crowd about the program, which connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad. The announcers invited people in the crowd to support the troops.
The type of appreciation shown by the parade-goers lifts the spirits of servicemembers, and the crowd's reaction is a real morale boost, said Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Dorian Sweatt.
"You have a smile on your face and ... you're just happy that you're taking care of them and keeping them safe," Sweatt, an aircraft mechanic stationed at NAS Indianapolis, said. "It kind of makes you feel good, kind of makes you feel like a celebrity a little bit."
Members of a joint color guard were certainly treated as celebrities as they marched the Stars and Stripes along the parade route. People cheered for them and showed their support.
"It brought tears to my eyes. I took my hat off and saluted them," said Ted Bruington, a retired schoolteacher from Cameron, Ill. "I think it's just great that everyone stood and honored the flag, and honored our men and women that gave us all these freedoms that we enjoy today."
More Americans need to understand the importance of the sacrifices troops are making, Bruington said. "This younger crowd has got to realize that we're fighting for a cause and that's their freedom and their future," he said.
Feelings of patriotism were even more evident as the American Legion float, "Heroes to Hometowns," rolled past.
"Those guys are fighting for our country and it's just a sense of pride," Julie Krizan of Brownsburg, Ind., said. "We know how brave they are."
She said she has a true appreciation for all servicemembers, and she learned that early on from her father after her uncle was killed fighting in Guam.
"I just grew up knowing that my father's brother had been killed fighting for the country," she said. "My dad just always taught me that you respect them and that you are proud of them no matter where they're at or where they're fighting because they're representing our country."
The lesson Krizan learned as a child is still being taught to young Hoosiers. Curtis Carey, 13, said he'd like to thank the nation's military men and women for serving the country. "We appreciate everything they're doing," he said.
His buddy, Sean Hahnen, 13, said he, too, was grateful for the troops.
"I'm glad that they're here for us," Hahnen said. "They do so much for us and without them our country would be nothing. In them you can find the real American."
The two are Boy Scouts with Troop 359 from Noblesville, Ind., and had helped set up for the parade.
The parade also featured the Indiana Army National Guard's 38th Division band. A group of servicemembers from each service also carried giant red, white and blue flags in the parade.
The procession passed through Monument Circle in the center of Indianapolis, which features a large obelisk. The spire honors Revolutionary War veterans. It's just one of many monuments dotting the city that honors war veterans.
The military tribute will continue tomorrow during pre-race festivities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Event planners are hoping that, as it did today, that the sun shines on Indianapolis.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 26, 2007 – Patriotism was on display during today's 50th annual Indy 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. People showed support for their country and their troops when patriotic displays and military parade participants marched past. Cheerleaders from Indiana University carried a banner heralding the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which proclaimed that "We Support You - Our Military Men and Women." Parade announcers told the crowd about the program, which connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad. The announcers invited people in the crowd to support the troops.
The type of appreciation shown by the parade-goers lifts the spirits of servicemembers, and the crowd's reaction is a real morale boost, said Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Dorian Sweatt.
"You have a smile on your face and ... you're just happy that you're taking care of them and keeping them safe," Sweatt, an aircraft mechanic stationed at NAS Indianapolis, said. "It kind of makes you feel good, kind of makes you feel like a celebrity a little bit."
Members of a joint color guard were certainly treated as celebrities as they marched the Stars and Stripes along the parade route. People cheered for them and showed their support.
"It brought tears to my eyes. I took my hat off and saluted them," said Ted Bruington, a retired schoolteacher from Cameron, Ill. "I think it's just great that everyone stood and honored the flag, and honored our men and women that gave us all these freedoms that we enjoy today."
More Americans need to understand the importance of the sacrifices troops are making, Bruington said. "This younger crowd has got to realize that we're fighting for a cause and that's their freedom and their future," he said.
Feelings of patriotism were even more evident as the American Legion float, "Heroes to Hometowns," rolled past.
"Those guys are fighting for our country and it's just a sense of pride," Julie Krizan of Brownsburg, Ind., said. "We know how brave they are."
She said she has a true appreciation for all servicemembers, and she learned that early on from her father after her uncle was killed fighting in Guam.
"I just grew up knowing that my father's brother had been killed fighting for the country," she said. "My dad just always taught me that you respect them and that you are proud of them no matter where they're at or where they're fighting because they're representing our country."
The lesson Krizan learned as a child is still being taught to young Hoosiers. Curtis Carey, 13, said he'd like to thank the nation's military men and women for serving the country. "We appreciate everything they're doing," he said.
His buddy, Sean Hahnen, 13, said he, too, was grateful for the troops.
"I'm glad that they're here for us," Hahnen said. "They do so much for us and without them our country would be nothing. In them you can find the real American."
The two are Boy Scouts with Troop 359 from Noblesville, Ind., and had helped set up for the parade.
The parade also featured the Indiana Army National Guard's 38th Division band. A group of servicemembers from each service also carried giant red, white and blue flags in the parade.
The procession passed through Monument Circle in the center of Indianapolis, which features a large obelisk. The spire honors Revolutionary War veterans. It's just one of many monuments dotting the city that honors war veterans.
The military tribute will continue tomorrow during pre-race festivities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Event planners are hoping that, as it did today, that the sun shines on Indianapolis.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Pace Urges Reflection in Memorial Day Message
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2007 – On the eve of the Memorial Day weekend, the top U.S. military officer today released a message reminding Americans to reflect on the sacrifices of servicemembers past and present. "On this Memorial Day, as we remember our fallen comrades in arms, let us reflect upon the countless battles with now familiar names such as Yorktown, Gettysburg, Iwo Jima, Chosin, Hue City, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Fallujah," Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a written Memorial Day message. "Each one reminds us that liberty has a cost, and that freedom is not free."
Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor the troops who have given their lives for freedom, Pace wrote.
"America honors those who gave their lives -- and all of their tomorrows -- so that we might live in peace," he wrote. "We acknowledge their sacrifice and pledge our own service to their memory -- emulating their courage and dedication. Their legacy sets an enduring example for our 2.4 million active, Guard, and Reserve military members serving today."
Pace reminded Americans that those who have died in service to the country left behind families, and that freedoms this country enjoys have come at a high price.
"The Joint Chiefs of Staff and I join the citizens of our great nation in tribute to our military men and women who have given their lives for our country," he wrote. "We hold them and their families in our hearts and prayers today, and every day."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2007 – On the eve of the Memorial Day weekend, the top U.S. military officer today released a message reminding Americans to reflect on the sacrifices of servicemembers past and present. "On this Memorial Day, as we remember our fallen comrades in arms, let us reflect upon the countless battles with now familiar names such as Yorktown, Gettysburg, Iwo Jima, Chosin, Hue City, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Fallujah," Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a written Memorial Day message. "Each one reminds us that liberty has a cost, and that freedom is not free."
Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor the troops who have given their lives for freedom, Pace wrote.
"America honors those who gave their lives -- and all of their tomorrows -- so that we might live in peace," he wrote. "We acknowledge their sacrifice and pledge our own service to their memory -- emulating their courage and dedication. Their legacy sets an enduring example for our 2.4 million active, Guard, and Reserve military members serving today."
Pace reminded Americans that those who have died in service to the country left behind families, and that freedoms this country enjoys have come at a high price.
"The Joint Chiefs of Staff and I join the citizens of our great nation in tribute to our military men and women who have given their lives for our country," he wrote. "We hold them and their families in our hearts and prayers today, and every day."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Texas Group Packages Morale for Troops
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2007 – The nearly 500 servicemembers who pass through the United Service Organizations lounge at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas each day receive a warm greeting from "Defenders of Freedom." Defenders of Freedom is a member organization of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which spotlights and facilitates support for U.S. servicemembers by private individuals and groups and the nation's corporate sector.
Donna Cranston, Defenders of Freedom founder, said members of her group greet servicemembers passing through the USO lounge in conjunction with leave, and that the group raises funds to send care packages to deployed servicemembers.
Defenders of Freedom's Web site offers a form that allows servicemembers to request a customized care package and specific items they'd like to receive, Cranston said.
In addition to sending care packages, the group works to encourage wounded servicemembers, especially those with no support, and provide them with needed items. Families of wounded servicemembers also are offered both physical and emotional support, Cranston said.
To cover the costs of this support, Cranston said, the group holds fundraisers.
On May 21, Defenders of Freedom and the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport's USO teamed up for a golf outing called "Tee It Up Fore the Troops." Cranston said the event raised $20,000, which will be divided between the two charitable organizations.
America Supports You membership has served the group well when it comes to meeting needs that don't fall within Defenders of Freedom's mission statement, Cranston said.
"When I get requests I can't fill, it has been wonderful to be able to suggest the America Supports You Web site, or to give them the name and number of another group I have met," she said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2007 – The nearly 500 servicemembers who pass through the United Service Organizations lounge at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas each day receive a warm greeting from "Defenders of Freedom." Defenders of Freedom is a member organization of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which spotlights and facilitates support for U.S. servicemembers by private individuals and groups and the nation's corporate sector.
Donna Cranston, Defenders of Freedom founder, said members of her group greet servicemembers passing through the USO lounge in conjunction with leave, and that the group raises funds to send care packages to deployed servicemembers.
Defenders of Freedom's Web site offers a form that allows servicemembers to request a customized care package and specific items they'd like to receive, Cranston said.
In addition to sending care packages, the group works to encourage wounded servicemembers, especially those with no support, and provide them with needed items. Families of wounded servicemembers also are offered both physical and emotional support, Cranston said.
To cover the costs of this support, Cranston said, the group holds fundraisers.
On May 21, Defenders of Freedom and the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport's USO teamed up for a golf outing called "Tee It Up Fore the Troops." Cranston said the event raised $20,000, which will be divided between the two charitable organizations.
America Supports You membership has served the group well when it comes to meeting needs that don't fall within Defenders of Freedom's mission statement, Cranston said.
"When I get requests I can't fill, it has been wonderful to be able to suggest the America Supports You Web site, or to give them the name and number of another group I have met," she said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Army Reserve Chief Applies Business Lessons to Military Force
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2007 – As an operations manager for Proctor and Gamble, Army Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz strived to recruit the best new workers, get them trained for their jobs, then retain them so they didn't take their skills and experience elsewhere. That's similar to the challenge Stultz faces now, serving as the Army Reserve chief during a four-year leave of absence from his civilian job.
"I come from the business world, and there are a whole lot of similarities," Stultz told American Forces Press Service during an interview marking his one-year anniversary leading the Army Reserve.
So when Stultz assesses the Army Reserve and its requirements, he tends to think as much like a businessman as a three-star general.
When it comes down to the product, Stultz said the Army Reserve is the best it's ever been in his entire 33 years of service. "It's the most professional, best-quality, best-trained force I've seen," he said.
Visiting deployed Army Reserve soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Kosovo, and just last week in Panama and Belize, Stultz said, he's struck by what they bring to their mission.
"It's just inspiring to see the quality, the dedication and the professionalism of the soldiers we've got," he said. "When you talk about the quality of the force, these are top-notch individuals that we have in our force."
Stultz knows firsthand what these soldiers have left behind to deploy; since leaving active duty to join the Army Reserve in 1979, he was deployed for Operation Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991, for Operation Joint Endeavor in 1997 and for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom from 2002 to 2004.
"Wherever I go, I see soldiers who, over and over again, have put their civilian careers on hold," he said. "They are well educated, have got a very bright future ahead of them, but they joined our ranks in the Army Reserve so they can serve their country."
The soldier in Stultz understands that most joined the Army Reserve out of patriotism. But the businessman in him knows that to keep them in the force, the Army Reserve will need to keep giving them fulfilling training and missions, a fair benefits package and more balance in their lives.
With more than 170,000 Army Reservists mobilized since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the force is more experienced than ever before, Stultz said.
Troops feel good about what they've accomplished and proven about the Army Reserve, but simply can't keep up the current operational pace, he said. They need more time at home with their families and civilian employers between deployments, and they need predictability about when they will deploy.
"We have got to put some predictability and some dwell time back in their life, because they can't keep going at this tempo," he said. "They have got to be able to get back home, back to their civilian jobs, back to the family life that they want."
In short, Stultz said, the Army Reserve needs to give its citizen-soldiers a bit more time to be "citizens."
He expressed optimism that the new Army Force Generation model will go a long way toward that goal. The model will set a cycle for reservists to deploy, return home, then get time at home and the opportunity to prepare for another deployment.
As he considers ways to bring balance to the "soldier-citizen" equation, Stultz also spends a lot of time trying to come up with better ways to keep troops in the force and to compensate them for their service.
After all, he said, it doesn't matter how strong the force is if you don't have soldiers who want to be a part of it.
Twenty-five years at Proctor and Gamble taught Stultz a lot about what motivates employers, and he'd like to see some of the same practices that work so well in the private sector applied in the military.
New employees, like new troops, are typically more interested in hearing about up-front cash payments than long-term benefits, he said. Mid-level workers, like mid-career soldiers, commonly want to know more about other benefits, particularly health care. Those toward the end of their careers, whether in the private sector or military, begin to think a lot about retirement benefits.
"At Proctor and Gamble, when you talked to an employee you were trying to retain, you looked at where they were in their life," he said. "And the same thing really does apply when you think about retaining a soldier."
Stultz said he'd like to see compensation packages better tailored to fit a particular soldier's interest.
For example, rather than automatically offering an up-front $15,000 re-enlistment bonus, the Army Reserve might give the soldier the option of applying that money somewhere else, he said. It could go toward pre-paying health insurance premiums, put into a retirement 401 plan or even pay off a child's college tuition costs through a program negotiated with the state.
Similarly, he said he'd like to see health-care programs better tailored to troops' particular needs. He's a big fan of a "continuity of care" concept that would prevent reserve troops from having to flip back and forth between their employers' and the military's systems when they deploy and return home.
"If we are truly going to have an operational force in the reserve components, if we are truly going to say to expect to be mobilized on a repeated basis on a regular frequency, we can't keep requiring the soldier to change medical plans every five years," he said. "We just can't keep doing that."
Stultz noted that changing medical plans affects entire families. "That is too much turmoil and stress on the family," he said.
He's considered ways to prevent this, possibly by having the military work with employers to share the cost of continuing corporate health-care benefits while a soldier is mobilized. Another option might be for the military to extend Tricare benefits for reservists to reservists who don't have health insurance elsewhere or at a lower cost than they can get it from their employers.
That could be a big enticement for civilian employers, particularly those in small business, to want to hire reservists, he said.
Stultz said he's "trying to explore all avenues right now" to come up with the best recommendation for providing health care to Army reservists on an ongoing basis.
He also likes the concept of a "continuum of service" that would enable soldiers to move between the active and reserve component during their military careers. This would enable soldiers to continuing serving as their life situation changes.
As a result, he said, the military would be able to retain their skills and experience, and they'd have the flexibility to continue serving and, if they choose to, to continue working toward a military retirement. Stultz noted that it could take them 35 years to acquire 20 active-duty years, but that they'd have that opportunity if they chose to pursue it.
As he considers incentives that have proven successful in corporate America and considers how they might work in the Army Reserve, Stultz is also eyeing the military retirement plan.
The current plan provides a retirement for reserve troops with 20 years of service, but they have to reach age 60 before collecting it. Stultz said he favors the idea of lowering the age, but only if it's tied into serving beyond 20 years.
He's intrigued by the concept of allowing reservists to draw retirement six months early for every year they serve beyond 20. Based on this formula, troops who served 22 years could draw it at age 59. Those with 26 years of service could draw it at 57. Those who stay 30 years - which Stultz recommends as the cap - could draw their retirement at age 55.
"So I would get 10 more years of service out of that individual, for five years of early retirement," he said.
One year into the job, Stultz said he recognizes he's got a lot on his plate, and that the concepts he's exploring are somewhat revolutionary to the military. But he said he's convinced that the corporate sector has some important lessons to offer. Much of it, he said, boils down to attracting, training and retaining the best people possible.
After all, he said, people are the bottom line in a successful Army.
"Training and equipping isn't important if you don't have any soldiers to train and equip," he said. "To me, manning the force and sustaining that is really the first priority."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2007 – As an operations manager for Proctor and Gamble, Army Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz strived to recruit the best new workers, get them trained for their jobs, then retain them so they didn't take their skills and experience elsewhere. That's similar to the challenge Stultz faces now, serving as the Army Reserve chief during a four-year leave of absence from his civilian job.
"I come from the business world, and there are a whole lot of similarities," Stultz told American Forces Press Service during an interview marking his one-year anniversary leading the Army Reserve.
So when Stultz assesses the Army Reserve and its requirements, he tends to think as much like a businessman as a three-star general.
When it comes down to the product, Stultz said the Army Reserve is the best it's ever been in his entire 33 years of service. "It's the most professional, best-quality, best-trained force I've seen," he said.
Visiting deployed Army Reserve soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Kosovo, and just last week in Panama and Belize, Stultz said, he's struck by what they bring to their mission.
"It's just inspiring to see the quality, the dedication and the professionalism of the soldiers we've got," he said. "When you talk about the quality of the force, these are top-notch individuals that we have in our force."
Stultz knows firsthand what these soldiers have left behind to deploy; since leaving active duty to join the Army Reserve in 1979, he was deployed for Operation Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991, for Operation Joint Endeavor in 1997 and for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom from 2002 to 2004.
"Wherever I go, I see soldiers who, over and over again, have put their civilian careers on hold," he said. "They are well educated, have got a very bright future ahead of them, but they joined our ranks in the Army Reserve so they can serve their country."
The soldier in Stultz understands that most joined the Army Reserve out of patriotism. But the businessman in him knows that to keep them in the force, the Army Reserve will need to keep giving them fulfilling training and missions, a fair benefits package and more balance in their lives.
With more than 170,000 Army Reservists mobilized since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the force is more experienced than ever before, Stultz said.
Troops feel good about what they've accomplished and proven about the Army Reserve, but simply can't keep up the current operational pace, he said. They need more time at home with their families and civilian employers between deployments, and they need predictability about when they will deploy.
"We have got to put some predictability and some dwell time back in their life, because they can't keep going at this tempo," he said. "They have got to be able to get back home, back to their civilian jobs, back to the family life that they want."
In short, Stultz said, the Army Reserve needs to give its citizen-soldiers a bit more time to be "citizens."
He expressed optimism that the new Army Force Generation model will go a long way toward that goal. The model will set a cycle for reservists to deploy, return home, then get time at home and the opportunity to prepare for another deployment.
As he considers ways to bring balance to the "soldier-citizen" equation, Stultz also spends a lot of time trying to come up with better ways to keep troops in the force and to compensate them for their service.
After all, he said, it doesn't matter how strong the force is if you don't have soldiers who want to be a part of it.
Twenty-five years at Proctor and Gamble taught Stultz a lot about what motivates employers, and he'd like to see some of the same practices that work so well in the private sector applied in the military.
New employees, like new troops, are typically more interested in hearing about up-front cash payments than long-term benefits, he said. Mid-level workers, like mid-career soldiers, commonly want to know more about other benefits, particularly health care. Those toward the end of their careers, whether in the private sector or military, begin to think a lot about retirement benefits.
"At Proctor and Gamble, when you talked to an employee you were trying to retain, you looked at where they were in their life," he said. "And the same thing really does apply when you think about retaining a soldier."
Stultz said he'd like to see compensation packages better tailored to fit a particular soldier's interest.
For example, rather than automatically offering an up-front $15,000 re-enlistment bonus, the Army Reserve might give the soldier the option of applying that money somewhere else, he said. It could go toward pre-paying health insurance premiums, put into a retirement 401 plan or even pay off a child's college tuition costs through a program negotiated with the state.
Similarly, he said he'd like to see health-care programs better tailored to troops' particular needs. He's a big fan of a "continuity of care" concept that would prevent reserve troops from having to flip back and forth between their employers' and the military's systems when they deploy and return home.
"If we are truly going to have an operational force in the reserve components, if we are truly going to say to expect to be mobilized on a repeated basis on a regular frequency, we can't keep requiring the soldier to change medical plans every five years," he said. "We just can't keep doing that."
Stultz noted that changing medical plans affects entire families. "That is too much turmoil and stress on the family," he said.
He's considered ways to prevent this, possibly by having the military work with employers to share the cost of continuing corporate health-care benefits while a soldier is mobilized. Another option might be for the military to extend Tricare benefits for reservists to reservists who don't have health insurance elsewhere or at a lower cost than they can get it from their employers.
That could be a big enticement for civilian employers, particularly those in small business, to want to hire reservists, he said.
Stultz said he's "trying to explore all avenues right now" to come up with the best recommendation for providing health care to Army reservists on an ongoing basis.
He also likes the concept of a "continuum of service" that would enable soldiers to move between the active and reserve component during their military careers. This would enable soldiers to continuing serving as their life situation changes.
As a result, he said, the military would be able to retain their skills and experience, and they'd have the flexibility to continue serving and, if they choose to, to continue working toward a military retirement. Stultz noted that it could take them 35 years to acquire 20 active-duty years, but that they'd have that opportunity if they chose to pursue it.
As he considers incentives that have proven successful in corporate America and considers how they might work in the Army Reserve, Stultz is also eyeing the military retirement plan.
The current plan provides a retirement for reserve troops with 20 years of service, but they have to reach age 60 before collecting it. Stultz said he favors the idea of lowering the age, but only if it's tied into serving beyond 20 years.
He's intrigued by the concept of allowing reservists to draw retirement six months early for every year they serve beyond 20. Based on this formula, troops who served 22 years could draw it at age 59. Those with 26 years of service could draw it at 57. Those who stay 30 years - which Stultz recommends as the cap - could draw their retirement at age 55.
"So I would get 10 more years of service out of that individual, for five years of early retirement," he said.
One year into the job, Stultz said he recognizes he's got a lot on his plate, and that the concepts he's exploring are somewhat revolutionary to the military. But he said he's convinced that the corporate sector has some important lessons to offer. Much of it, he said, boils down to attracting, training and retaining the best people possible.
After all, he said, people are the bottom line in a successful Army.
"Training and equipping isn't important if you don't have any soldiers to train and equip," he said. "To me, manning the force and sustaining that is really the first priority."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Pace: Naval Academy Experience Shaped His Career
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2007 – Sitting back in his Pentagon office, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, considered three decisions he said dramatically changed his life: to marry Lynne, his wife of 36 years; to join the Marine Corps, and to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Md. With the 40th anniversary of his graduation and commissioning ceremony just around the corner, Pace told American Forces Press Service he learned much of what's driven him and his military career on the shores of the Severn River.
He learned to set priorities. "At school, there was always too much to do, and in the Marine Corps, there has always been too much to do," he said. "And therefore, you really have to take the important and set it aside and do the critical."
Also critical, he said, is another lesson from Annapolis that has been reinforced throughout his military service. "The academy taught me the value of teamwork, because there were things at the academy, especially during plebe (the first) year, that you could not possibly get done by yourself," he said. "You needed your roommates to help you get through whatever you were told by the upperclassmen had to be done and in the time they told you it had to be done."
Pace said that lesson transferred readily to his experience as a Marine, especially one headed to Vietnam within months of finishing his Marine Corps Basic School at Quantico, Va. "In combat, there is nothing you do as an individual," he said. "It is all based on teamwork."
It was away from the Naval Academy -- during summer programs aboard a cruiser and a series of destroyers, and while enrolled in aviation and Marine Corps training -- that Pace said he came to appreciate the importance of enlisted leaders.
"Through those summer programs, probably through osmosis more than anything else, I got to watch ... the chiefs in the Navy and noncommissioned officers in the Marine Corps and see how essential they were to the functioning of an effective force," he said.
As he took note of their leadership styles, as well as those of his officers and fellow midshipmen at the academy, Pace said, he came to appreciate "the privilege of leadership" and started to develop his own personal style. "I learned a lot from observing good leadership and from observing bad leadership and through experimentation on my own part, trying things that worked or didn't work for me," he said.
Leadership, he realized, isn't a one-size-fits-all proposition. "I learned at the academy that you can admire somebody's leadership style and emulate it, and sometimes it will work for you and sometimes it won't," he said. "Everybody's personality is different, and you need to understand that just because it works for Captain So-and-So doesn't mean it will work for you. It is not cookie-cutter."
For example, Pace found he was very comfortable walking up to someone, putting his arm around him and simply asking how he was doing. "Well, some folks are not," he said. "And when you try doing something that works for someone else that you're not comfortable with, you know it and everybody else knows it.
"So it is fine to try to emulate the things you admire, but understand that it might not work for you," he said. "And if it doesn't, just stop doing that and do what feels comfortable for you. That way, you come across much more naturally."
As Pace approached graduation and commissioning in 1967 and began to reflect on his Annapolis experience, he said, he had one big regret. "It was apparent that I hadn't done as well as I could have and should have, academically," he said. "I had not taken full advantage of what the academy offered, and I hadn't studied as hard as I should have."
That realization turned out to be Pace's most lasting lesson at the Naval Academy and one that's perhaps had the biggest impact on his career.
"It drove me to decide that when I went into the Marine Corps and I went to the Basic School at Quantico, that I was going to work as hard as I possibly could and learn as much as I could," he said.
Pace said he credits that attitude with helping him forge a successful military career, including his appointment as the first Marine to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"That understanding of not having taken advantage of all that I should have and the decision not to let that happen again in my life has significantly impacted the success I've had," he said. "That is a fundamental part of what I learned at the academy."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2007 – Sitting back in his Pentagon office, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, considered three decisions he said dramatically changed his life: to marry Lynne, his wife of 36 years; to join the Marine Corps, and to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Md. With the 40th anniversary of his graduation and commissioning ceremony just around the corner, Pace told American Forces Press Service he learned much of what's driven him and his military career on the shores of the Severn River.
He learned to set priorities. "At school, there was always too much to do, and in the Marine Corps, there has always been too much to do," he said. "And therefore, you really have to take the important and set it aside and do the critical."
Also critical, he said, is another lesson from Annapolis that has been reinforced throughout his military service. "The academy taught me the value of teamwork, because there were things at the academy, especially during plebe (the first) year, that you could not possibly get done by yourself," he said. "You needed your roommates to help you get through whatever you were told by the upperclassmen had to be done and in the time they told you it had to be done."
Pace said that lesson transferred readily to his experience as a Marine, especially one headed to Vietnam within months of finishing his Marine Corps Basic School at Quantico, Va. "In combat, there is nothing you do as an individual," he said. "It is all based on teamwork."
It was away from the Naval Academy -- during summer programs aboard a cruiser and a series of destroyers, and while enrolled in aviation and Marine Corps training -- that Pace said he came to appreciate the importance of enlisted leaders.
"Through those summer programs, probably through osmosis more than anything else, I got to watch ... the chiefs in the Navy and noncommissioned officers in the Marine Corps and see how essential they were to the functioning of an effective force," he said.
As he took note of their leadership styles, as well as those of his officers and fellow midshipmen at the academy, Pace said, he came to appreciate "the privilege of leadership" and started to develop his own personal style. "I learned a lot from observing good leadership and from observing bad leadership and through experimentation on my own part, trying things that worked or didn't work for me," he said.
Leadership, he realized, isn't a one-size-fits-all proposition. "I learned at the academy that you can admire somebody's leadership style and emulate it, and sometimes it will work for you and sometimes it won't," he said. "Everybody's personality is different, and you need to understand that just because it works for Captain So-and-So doesn't mean it will work for you. It is not cookie-cutter."
For example, Pace found he was very comfortable walking up to someone, putting his arm around him and simply asking how he was doing. "Well, some folks are not," he said. "And when you try doing something that works for someone else that you're not comfortable with, you know it and everybody else knows it.
"So it is fine to try to emulate the things you admire, but understand that it might not work for you," he said. "And if it doesn't, just stop doing that and do what feels comfortable for you. That way, you come across much more naturally."
As Pace approached graduation and commissioning in 1967 and began to reflect on his Annapolis experience, he said, he had one big regret. "It was apparent that I hadn't done as well as I could have and should have, academically," he said. "I had not taken full advantage of what the academy offered, and I hadn't studied as hard as I should have."
That realization turned out to be Pace's most lasting lesson at the Naval Academy and one that's perhaps had the biggest impact on his career.
"It drove me to decide that when I went into the Marine Corps and I went to the Basic School at Quantico, that I was going to work as hard as I possibly could and learn as much as I could," he said.
Pace said he credits that attitude with helping him forge a successful military career, including his appointment as the first Marine to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"That understanding of not having taken advantage of all that I should have and the decision not to let that happen again in my life has significantly impacted the success I've had," he said. "That is a fundamental part of what I learned at the academy."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
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