Bureau Orders Refunds for Troops After Faulty Car Loans

By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2013 – About 50,000 service members will get refunds averaging $100 -- though some will be far higher --- after an enforcement action involving auto loans that Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials announced today.

The bureau is ordering U.S. Bank and one of its nonbank partners, Dealers Financial Services, to return about $6.5 million to service members across the country, CFPB Director Richard Cordray told reporters during a conference call today.

“We’ve determined that the companies developed a joint program that engaged in deceptive marketing and lending practices while providing subprime auto loans to tens of thousands of active-duty military members,” he said.

Cordray explained that U.S. Bank and DFS created the Military Installment Loans and Educational Services program, better known as MILES, to sell subprime auto loans to active-duty service members at communities across the country located near military bases.

The consumer bureau found that MILES used the military discretionary allotment system to its advantage. Service members were required to pay by allotment, which he noted is “straight from their paycheck before the money hit their personal bank accounts,” without disclosing all associated fees and the way the program worked.

Specifically, he said, MILES failed to accurately disclose the finance charge, annual percentage rate, payment schedule and total payments for the loans.

“The examination also found that the MILES program deceived service members by understating the cost and scope of certain add-on products, such as a service contract, marketed and sold in connection with the loans,” he said.

Today’s action requires return of at least $3.2 million in undisclosed fees and costs, he said, and $3.3 million for the cost of the add-on products.

CFPB won’t impose civil penalties, he said, in part “because of the manner in which U.S. Bank and DFS cooperated with the bureau to resolve these matters.”

“Today’s action reflects our determination to act to protect service members against harmful practices in the consumer financial marketplace. … Everyone at the bureau will continue to stand side by side with our military and veterans,” Cordray said.

The director said he is pleased that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered an interagency effort to determine whether the allotment system should be changed to further protect service members.

Holly Petraeus, CFPB’s assistant director for service member affairs, joined Cordray on the call and echoed his sentiments about allotments.

The system has been around since long before electronic fund transfers existed, she noted, and has been extremely useful for troops who need to make regular payments to their creditors, especially when deployed or on the move.

But allotments have drawbacks, she added. They may include costs for third-party processors, “as we saw in this case,” she said, and they reduce budget flexibility, because an allotment comes out before a service member receives his or her pay.

Allotments also offer less protection and less transparency than electronic bank transfers, she said.
Noting Hagel’s interagency working group to study allotments, Petraeus said, “I hope all of us can work together to try to eliminate the risks to military consumers that have grown up around the use of the allotment system.”

The third CFPB official on today’s call was Kent Markus, the bureau’s assistant director for enforcement, who told reporters service members due refunds don’t need to take action. They will receive them either through an account credit or by check.

Markus noted the enforcement action also mandates that MILES drop the allotment requirement, and that the institutions involved make no further deceptive statements or omissions.

The New Golden Boys in the Military

Commentary by Lt. Colonel John Lewis Cook, USA (ret.)

 

Just when you think the Obama administration cannot possibly engage in any more stupid, embarrassing episodes, you suddenly discover that you are wrong.  This administration’s capacity for insanity appears to be limitless.  The latest example of this occurred on Tuesday when the Pentagon hosted something called the Second Annual Gay Appreciation Day.
 

This tribute to the Lavender Set took place in the Pentagon’s auditorium which is in the basement of the building.  Normally, special events such as this take place in the bright sunlight of the center courtyard.  In any event, the basement is the perfect place for this venue.  

Valerie Jarrett, the president’s all purpose, all weather cheer leader was in charge and she was definitely ready for the challenge.  Ms. Jarrett is famous for other-the-top statements that bear little resemblance to reality and on Tuesday, she did not disappoint. 

“Because we repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, our military is stronger and our country is safer now that homosexuals may serve openly,” she told the cheering audience.  This is a most sweeping assertion and it would, under normal circumstances, be accompanied with something in the way of proof to lend it credibility.  After all, she is making the gay soldiers sound like supermen and, without them, the nation would be in grave danger.  However, there is nothing normal about these circumstances we are facing today with this administration.  It’s as if Obama has repealed the requirement for any supporting documentation, on any issue.  In short, if the administration says it, it has to be true.  If the administration decides to make gays in the military the new Golden Boys, then they become Golden Boys.  Period.  

Next up was Chuck Hagel, the current Secretary of Defense who was selected to be the fall guy for the loss of Afghanistan.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t know it yet.  Taking his cue from Ms. Jarrett, he fell right in line.  “We’re very proud of everything the gay and lesbian community have contributed and continue to contribute,” he echoed, with the same amount of proof and less enthusiasm that Ms. Jarrett offered, which was none.  

Then Eric Fanning, Air Force Secretary, heaped praise on a gay Marine Captain and said when he deploys in August, “he’ll be taking his husband with him.”  (I admit, it will take some  of us some time to get used to these odd possessive pronouns, such as “his husband,” and “her wife,” but I suppose we should all make the effort because they are not going away. However, in the interim, it does appear a bit, well, queer.)

To make the event complete, there was actually a gay General officer in the audience.  Not much of a General, to be sure, only a Brigadier and not active duty but reserve, but technically, a General none the less.  BG Tammy Smith is duly noted as the groundbreaking General officer that actually came out of the closet. She and her wife were duly recognized.  At next year’s event, I’m sure the organizers are praying for a two or three star active duty General just to give the whole thing a touch of class.  

While it is all too easy to make fun of these officials fawning over gays as if they were rock stars or an endangered species, there is a far darker side to gays serving openly in the military and none of these officials have the courage to address it.  The dirty little secret is this.  During 2012, the first full year where gays could serve openly in the military, there were 26,000 sexual assaults across all services.  Of these 26,000, 14,000 were male-on-male assaults.  Yes, you read that correctly.  More men in the military were sexually assaulted than women in 2012.  So who is committing the majority of sexual assaults in the military?  Well, it’s the new hero who “is making our country safer,” according to Ms. Jarrett, the homosexual serving openly.  It’s the same homosexual soldier that Chuck Hagel is “so proud of.”  In fact, Hagel is “proud of everything the homosexuals and lesbians are doing.”    Well, do you think he’s proud of this report that was reluctantly released last month that blamed the “homosexual community”  for most sexual assaults in 2012?  And why was there a 35% increase in sexual assaults from 2011 to 2012, most involving male-on-male assault?  Could it be that throughout all of 2012, gays were serving openly and apparently taking full advantage of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, came out of the closet in droves, determined to celebrate their liberation with anyone they encountered, regardless of consent?   

When viewed through this lens of cold, hard reality, free from the distortion of political correctness, the whole gay issue quickly ceases to be humorous.  In fact, it becomes utterly disgusting.  The truth is, gay soldiers are a real threat to real soldiers and this report bears that out.  Instead of putting them on a pedestal, they should be tried and put in jail.  If this is allowed to continue, this virus has the potential of killing the military from the inside.  For anyone who still has doubts about this, then I advise them to read the “Annual Report on Sexual Assault In The Military,” May 2013.  So,  what is being done about this epidemic of male rape in the military?  Precious little because if it is forced into the bright light of day, it is an admission that the great gay experiment was a total failure. 

 Meanwhile, as the  military leadership was partying with gays in the basement on Tuesday, the last remaining grownups in the Pentagon, the operational folks who always have to make the hard calls during times like this, were wrestling with the latest orders from the President to cut ten combat brigades from a force that is already too lean.  That will be roughly 45,000 soldiers who will, eventually, lose their jobs and the chance to finish their careers.  Soldiers who have done nothing wrong, raped no one, just doing their job, will be cut loose.  But have no fear.  None of those who get cut will be gay.  God knows, in this environment, being gay is being golden and the gays will keep getting a free pass until sanity is restored to the system.  When that will happen is anybody’s guess because there are no George Patton’s on the horizons.  Like those guys at Benghazi, the military right now is on its own.  No help will be coming from this administration.  

About the Author

Lieutenant Colonel John Lewis Cook, United States Army (Retired), “served as the Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Interior in Kabul, Afghanistan, with responsibility for developing the force structure for the entire Afghan National Police.  As of 2012, this force totals 157,000.  From March 2008 until August 2012, his access and intimate associations with all levels of the Afghan government and coalition forces have provided him with an unprecedented insight into the policies which will determine the outcome of the war.  It is this insight, coupled with his contacts and associations throughout Afghanistan that form the basis of Afghanistan: The Perfect Failure."

More about Lt. Colonel John Lewis Cook

 

 

 

Acting Air Force Secretary Recounts Journey to Equality

By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2013 – During a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month event at the Pentagon today, the highest-ranking openly gay member of the Defense Department described his experiences witnessing the evolution of the law that banned openly gay service members, from its implementation to its eventual repeal.

Acting Air Force Secretary Eric Fanning noted the significance of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel kicking off the DOD’s pride celebration, as just two years ago, gay and lesbian service members could not openly serve in the military.

Absent an association like DOD Pride to lend support, Fanning described the difficulties and sense of isolation that he and others at the Pentagon endured as the repeal process ran its course. “There were no other open LGBT appointees, and anyone serving openly in uniform was surely in the process of being discharged,” he said.

Fanning began working in the Pentagon 20 years ago, a time he described as a personally painful experience as DOD began to implement the law that came to be known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“It was a deeply conflicting time for me,” the Air Force’s top civilian official said. “I was launching a career with strong support from amazing bosses who knew about my personal life. … I was being given opportunities that were being denied to people just like me. I was working for an institution that discriminated -- against people just like me.”

He also recalled how during that time, people spoke about gays and lesbians in “blistering and emotional ways,” denigrating them for simply wanting the right to serve their country while being honest about who they were.

Still, Fanning said, the military underwent the difficult process of opening doors to those it previously denied or constrained: women, immigrants looking to prove their patriotism and earn their citizenship, and to gays and lesbians.

“At times, it seemed agonizingly slow, or even that we were losing ground,” Fanning said. “But never once did we doubt we were on the right path.”

Relying on the diverse talents of a broader pool of people who are willing and able to serve has fortified the military, Fanning explained. “We are stronger for looking more like the society we are charged with protecting, and we are today … the finest military the world has ever known,” he said.

In the two years leading up to the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” the debate had a remarkably different tone, due in great part to the support of the president and the then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen.
"I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens,” the admiral testified before Congress. “It comes down to integrity -- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.”

Looking back to almost two decades earlier as a junior aide, Fanning said, he could never imagine having a chairman say things like Mullen did.

Fanning said most people had begun to accept the possibility of repeal long before it occurred, though he was fortunate enough to be present when the president signed the historic document.

Among the celebrations and congratulations, he said, many supporters asked what it was like to be in the Pentagon after the repeal.

“I answered honestly, and I think disappointingly, that … we went back to the building, and in my view, the building had already moved on past the decision and we talked about what we talk about every single day: the budget,” he said in a deadpan tone.

Fanning also said he’s received a bit of attention since he was nominated to be undersecretary of the Air Force -- not all of it welcome, some quite negative, and some that he described as “rather imaginative.”
“Many have speculated as to my agenda, what color I'll paint the planes, what designs I have on the uniforms,” he said. But like almost everyone else, he added, he remains focused on simply doing his job, and chiding comments are dwarfed by the outpouring of support he’s received in and out of the Pentagon.
“It reminds me that, as important as events like this are for our community, they're also important opportunities for our allies to identify themselves and to let us know they're right alongside us,” Fanning said.

“Events like this give voice not just to us, but to those who support us.”

Face of Defense: Squadron’s Lone Female Gunner Aims High

By Air Force Senior Airman Daniel Hughes
99th Air Base Wing

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev., June 26, 2013 – Fresh out of training, Air Force Airman 1st Class Natasha Libby is the only female aerial gunner assigned to the 66th Rescue Squadron here.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Natasha Libby, 66th Rescue Squadron aerial gunner, stands next to an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., June 20, 2013. Libby is the only female among more than 30 gunners assigned to the squadron. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Daniel Hughes   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Libby, the younger of two children, bore great responsibility growing up and working on her family’s farm in Yakima, Wash.

After graduating from East Valley High School in 2010, Libby said, she realized she couldn’t afford college. She found a job at a sandwich shop, where she worked for 11 months. During that time, an Army recruiter contacted her about joining.

Libby said she developed a desire to leave her hometown and become something more. “I realized I wasn’t going anywhere, … so I made the choice to pursue a career in the Air Force,” she added. She went to an Air Force recruiter, hoping to start a career that would be interesting and fulfill her childhood dream of flying.

Initially, Libby was designated to be an aircraft environmental systems apprentice. But two months before shipping out for basic training, her recruiter asked if she would like to be an aerial gunner.

“I was stoked,” she said. “I thought that was the coolest job ever. I might have been excited, but my family had mixed emotions. My father was very proud, and my mother was scared.”

While many see moving away from home for the first time as an obstacle, Libby saw it as a new beginning, providing her the opportunity to make the change in her life that she wanted. During training, she learned how to handle a weapon while flying, how to use different radios and how to survive during a crash or mishap.

“I was introduced to Libby in Aerial Gunner School at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas,” said Air Force Airman 1st Class Kevin Lerner, a fellow 66th Rescue Squadron aerial gunner. “From the day I met Libby, I could tell she was a natural leader, and someone who you could count on. She always had her nose in the books, trying to learn as much as she could about the subject we were learning at any given time.”

Libby operates weapons systems on an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter, but that is not her only responsibility. She also briefs passengers on safety and procedures and performs in-flight maintenance of airborne weapons systems.

Libby said she is dedicated to mastering her craft so that when a real-world mission comes, she will excel at the highest level. Being a woman never has added pressure, she added, but instead has given her motivation to work harder.

“Something I learned during training is I can achieve my goals as long as I use my mind,” she said, “Everyone had to work hard during training, but I feel being a female, I had to work a little harder to maintain the same level or better than the males in my class.”

Growing up on a cattle farm, Libby said, she grew physically and mentally tough at a young age. The work ethic and morals she learned on the farm are the same ones she applies to her job now. The Air Force’s core values -- integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do -- reinforce those morals.

“Those weren’t new values to me,” she said. “I was able to see what my parents taught me, what I learned in life, and what the Air Force has taught me, and I apply it in my everyday work environment. I don’t take those values lightly.”

Libby said it’s “cool” that she’s the only female aerial gunner in her squadron of more than 100 airmen, which includes 30 gunners. “But it doesn’t change anything,” she added. “I still come to work like everyone else.”
Libby may be at the beginning of her career, but she doesn’t see it that way. She already has goals and aspirations of becoming a chief master sergeant and counseling airmen to make a difference in their life.

“My whole life, I have been grateful for what I have been given. When I am ready, I want to pay it back,” she said. “The goal of joining [the Air Force] was to better my life, and if I can better other peoples’ lives, then that would be outstanding.”

Hagel Calls on Russia to Hand Snowden Over to U.S.

By Nick Simeone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2013 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today called on Russia to hand over Edward Snowden to the United States.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke with reporters at the Pentagon, June 26, 2013. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo    (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Hagel said he believes that Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor and now fugitive who has admitted to revealing highly classified U.S. government surveillance programs, is probably still at a Moscow airport.

“I would hope that the Russians do the right thing here and turn Snowden over to the United States,” Hagel told reporters during a Pentagon news conference, adding that he did not know if Moscow has made a final decision on what to do with the man now charged with espionage.

Hagel called the Snowden affair a negative in U.S.-Russian relations but nevertheless one that both nations must work through.

Hagel, along with Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that Snowden’s decision to reveal details about the NSA’s gathering of phone records of millions of Americans as well as a separate classified program that involved eavesdropping on Internet activity by foreigners overseas did uncalculated damage to U.S national security.

“We are assessing that now. But make no mistake. This violation of our laws was a serious security breach,” Hagel said. He added that he was in the Senate when the laws approving the programs were passed.
“They are legal,” Hagel said of those laws, “and they do protect the United States.”

Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, director of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command, has told Congress the classified surveillance programs have prevented more than 50 terrorist plots since the 9/11 attacks.

Snowden has not been seen in public since arriving in Russia June 23 from Hong Kong, where, despite a U.S. request that he be detained there, was allowed to board a flight to Moscow.

“We’re very disappointed in the Chinese government in how they’ve handled this,” Hagel said, adding that both countries could have chosen to cooperate.

“And this was an occasion, I think, where we had an opportunity to do that,” Hagel added. “But that was the decision of the Chinese government.” Even so, Hagel said, he did not foresee a disruption in Sino-U.S. military relations.

While steps are always being taken to evaluate insider threats and to counter them through upgraded systems and improved technologies, Hagel said, in the end, little can be done if someone with a top-secret security clearance is willing to break the law.

“I don’t know how you can ever completely 100-percent guard against someone who wants to break the law and violate the statutes and the interests of our nation,” Hagel said.

Capacity-building Central to Syria Strategy

By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2013 – In an effort to help prevent the violence in Syria from spreading to its neighbors, the Defense Department is focusing on building partner capacity in the region, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today during a joint Pentagon news conference with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addresses reporters during a press conference at the Pentagon, June 26, 2013. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel also participated, announcing that President Barack Obama has nominated Dempsey and Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to second terms. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

“Militarily, what we're doing is assisting our partners in the region, the neighbors of Syria, to ensure that they're prepared to account for the potential spillover effects,” Dempsey said.

As part of these efforts, the U.S. will leave some Patriot missile batteries and some F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft in Jordan and is working with its Iraqi counterparts, the Lebanese armed forces, and Turkey through NATO, the chairman said.

“And we've made a recommendation that, as we look at the challenges faced by the Lebanese armed forces, the Iraqi security forces with a re-emerging Al-Qaida in Iraq, and the Jordanians, that we would work with them to help them build additional capability,” he added.

The assistance would take the form of training teams or accelerated foreign military sales of equipment, the chairman said.

“This is about building their capability, not ours,” he added.

These actions are in addition to the recent decision to provide military aid to opponents of the Assad regime, Dempsey said.

The defense secretary acknowledged that delivering the military aid raises a number of challenges.

“The opposition represents many different groups,” Hagel said. “And we will always be and have to be assured that assistance we give to the Syrian military council gets to the right people, and that isn't a decision that can be answered quickly. It's a constant process of assessment.”

One option under consideration, a no-fly zone, would be difficult to impose, the chairman told reporters.
“My concern has been that ensuring that Syria's airplanes don't fly addresses about 10 percent of the problem, in terms of the casualties that are taken in Syria,” Dempsey said.

“The Syrian air defense system is sophisticated and it's dense,” he noted, adding that implementing a no-fly zone is essentially an act of war.

“I'd like to understand the plan to make peace before we start a war,” Dempsey said. But, he added, if the decision is made to impose a no-fly zone, “We’ll make it happen.”

Face of Defense: Soldier Meets Challenges Head-on

By Army Spc. Anthony Hooker
359th Signal Brigade

FORT GORDON, Ga., June 25, 2013 – Army Reserve Pfc. Mary Tang has no problem looking a challenge in the eye. Although she stands only 4 feet 10 inches tall, the Columbus, Ohio, native has quickly become known for meeting challenges head-on since joining the 490th Signal Company (Tactical Installation Network–Enhanced).

Army Reserve Pfc. Mary Tang looks at a cable alignment during a class on Fort Gordon, Ga., June 2, 2013. Tang, a network cable systems installer with the 490th Signal Company (Tactical Installation Network-Enhanced), is preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Anthony Hooker   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Tang, a cable systems installer, has been training since early this year with her unit for a deployment to Afghanistan. Scheduled to leave later in the year, Tang said she is excited to serve her country. “I really enjoy the military,” Tang said, adding that she would like to become an officer. “It gives you a break from the routine, … and you have your mind pushed constantly.”

As a unit supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, the 490th Signal Company will dispatch signal support teams throughout Afghanistan. Tang and her teammates will provide network installation, quality assurance testing and troubleshooting as Army and joint task forces transition from tactical to semi-permanent automated communications. That means pulling cable, falling in on equipment used by a previous unit, or hauling equipment from base to base.

Tang, who said she weighs only 92 pounds, knows it is important that her co-workers see that she won’t compromise a mission because of her stature.

“We handle a lot of heavy equipment as signal soldiers,” Tang said. “I will get help from a battle buddy when a piece of equipment requires more than one soldier to handle it, but if it is something like an assault pack or personal protective equipment, I tell anyone offering to help, ‘No, thanks.’… I just want to make sure they are not worried about me.”

At 5 feet 2 inches tall, Staff Sgt. Israel Ramirez feels a kinship with Tang. The noncommissioned officer in charge of the company’s personal security detail team, Ramirez has served in the Army for 17 years, including successful deployments to Macedonia, Kosovo and Iraq. He said it doesn’t matter about your size, but how you train yourself or build yourself up for a task.

“I was as light as Tang when I joined the Army,” Ramirez said. “When we talked about her potential, I told her, ‘It’s not the size of the punch, but what comes behind the punch.’”

Ramirez said the Army doesn’t see size generally as a limitation to job effectiveness. “No soldier’s background, ethnicity or size should [limit your ability] as long as your mind and heart are in it,” Ramirez declared. “Equipment will be heavy or valuable or require a secret clearance,” he continued. “The point is, you don’t look at a problem as ‘I can’t do’ but as ‘How am I going to make it happen?’”

Tang has adopted the “can-do” attitude and applied it throughout her training. The first week of June, Tang accepted the unenviable job of student leader during a secure and nonsecure Internet protocol course here. That meant making sure everyone stayed focused in a class that sometimes ran 10 hours long while routinely subjected to the sweltering Georgia heat. Tang also was known for encouraging her fellow troops during early morning physical training sessions.

Pfc. Brittney Ricker-Schmitt, a cable systems installer from Lima, Ohio, said Tang sets a standard for everyone in a lot of ways. “A lot of people will complain about having long workdays or having to do PT,” she said. “Tang’s response would be ‘I don’t know why they are complaining -- this is easy.”

Ricker-Schmitt has been a classmate and battle-buddy to Tang in numerous training events. She said Tang has never let another person’s perception stop her from sharing her thoughts. “She’s always out front showing leadership, getting people to want to push themselves,” Ricker-Schmitt said. “She likes to be heard, to be loud and acknowledged.”

Tang said any motivation she projects comes from an emotional place. “Life is short,” she said. “I wanted the chance to realize my potential, and through the Army Reserve I’ve met so many people who feel like I do.”
Capt. Emil Hawkins, the company commander, said Tang’s mental approach gives her the edge soldiers need to do their duty successfully. A New Orleans native, Hawkins said Tang shows everyone that she is not afraid of challenges or obstacles and is also able to engage a peer or senior official respectfully.

“Tang has a lot to offer technically and physically, even though she is small in stature,” Hawkins said. “She brings attitude -- without overcompensating -- that’s bigger than she is.”

Just over a year ago, Tang wasn’t sure if she had enough nerve to enter a recruiting station. She expressed an interest in joining the Army at 18, but ultimately chose not to enlist because of complicated family matters; her father is Chinese, and her mother is Cambodian.

“My mother and father don’t speak English well and needed help with managing their bills,” Tang said. “They needed someone to take them places, and no one was in a better position to help them than me.”

Tang said although she’d never had any direct dealings with the military, her interest in joining never faded. As the years went by, Tang said, she decided she needed to do more for herself.

“I just wanted a change of pace -- specifically, something different and fast,” she said. “I felt a lot of guilt [over possibly leaving my parents], but I needed to do something different.”

After a few visits with a local recruiter, Tang decided she would join the Army Reserve. Deciding not to tell her parents until the night before she visited a military entrance processing station, Tang said the decision grew increasingly stressful.

“When I told them the news, they were, of course, upset with me,” Tang said. “We got into a big argument, because they didn’t understand my choice.

“The whole time I was at MEPS, I was thinking about the repercussions of my decision,” she continued. “When I was getting my blood drawn, I kept thinking, ‘Should I just get up and leave?’ Even when I was waiting to sign the contract, I kept wondering if things would work out. But I knew I needed to make this choice.”

Tang said her parents slowly have begun to accept her decision. “They knew I was committed, but were generally worried about my health,” she said. “Over time, especially after I returned from basic and [advanced individual training], they have not been as opposed.”

Hawkins said soldiers like Tang remind him not to judge a book by its cover.

“Self-realization makes a soldier effective,” he said. “[Tang] realizes what she brings to the table, whether it is physical fitness, technical proficiency, and even combatives. You may beat her, but you will come out with some scars. … That’s what we need from soldiers -- someone who is not afraid of a challenge.

Air Force aerial firefighting continues against Rocky Mountain fires

by Tech. Sgt. Stephen J. Collier
302nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

6/25/2013 - PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Air Force aerial firefighting aircraft continued dropping thousands of gallons of fire retardant June 24 in an effort to contain growing Rocky Mountain wildland fires.

Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard C-130 aircraft equipped with the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System performed two drops on Colorado's West Fork Complex. They delivered 6,000 gallons of retardant on the fire.

The MAFFS aircraft also supported firefighters on the ground with 3,000 gallons of fire retardant on a small fire in Jefferson County, Colo., near Waterton Canyon.

As of 9 a.m. June 25, the West Fork Complex, consisting of three fires burning close to one another, totaled 75,150 acres with zero percent containment, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The East Peak fire, located about 120 miles east of the West Fork Complex and burning near Walsenburg, Colo., totaled 13,491 acres and is the second-largest burning in Colorado. It was last reported at 50 percent containment.

Red flag warnings were still in effect for much of the Rocky Mountain region, meaning low humidity, high winds and increased temperatures were expected.

Since MAFFS aircraft first provided support to the Black Forest fire June 12, more than 117,000 gallons of fire retardant have been dropped on Colorado wildfires.

Aircraft and Airmen from the Air Force Reserve's 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson AFB and the 146th AW from the California ANG are providing MAFFS assistance to the U.S. Forest Service.

The 145th AW from the North Carolina ANG is providing the MAFFS Air Expeditionary Group command element directly coordinating the use of MAFFS with the U.S. Forest Service at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

The MAFFS units are owned by the U.S. Forest Service, one of several federal and state government agencies and organizations with roles and responsibilities in wildland fire suppression that comprise the NIFC.

MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system that can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than five seconds over an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide. Once the load is discharged, it can be refilled in less than 12 minutes.

The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, provides unique military support to firefighting efforts when requested by the NIFC and approved by the secretary of defense. These diverse mission assets are prepared to respond quickly and effectively to protect lives, property, critical infrastructure and natural resources. This capability can include but is not limited to MAFFS, military helicopters and ground forces capable of supporting the firefighting efforts.

Joint mass casualty exercise tests Fort Worth personnel

by Senior Airman Melissa Harvey
301st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

6/23/2013 - NAVAL AIR STATION FORT WORTH JOINT RESERVE BASE, Texas -- Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, Navy and Civil Air Patrol personnel conducted a joint mass casualty exercise here June 23. 

"The goal is to facilitate learning in a joint effort as well as individual training requirements so that we could actually answer and work a mass casualty," said Maj. Carol Jones, 301st Medical Squadron pharmacist.

The exercise was held on the base softball field where medical and moulage tents, a pharmacy, along with other needed supplies, such as a water buffalo, were set up surrounding an open area where the action took place.

For the exercise, events leading up to the casualties included careless social networking posts.

"A unit was to report for drug urine testing, so people got on their Facebook and Twitter accounts and reported it," Jones said. "A terrorist pulled up to the front of the command post with a truck loaded with a fertilizer bomb and it exploded. They have casualties that have been exposed to fertilizer, nitrogen and also now we have been told there is an anthrax exposure as well."

Indicative of how quickly a situation can occur, conditions on the "playing field" changed rapidly.

One moment, the field was busy with the sound of preparations and the next, moulage participant's screams and cries for help filled the air. They were covered with simulated blood and visible injuries such as cuts, eye damage, and one person in particular had a stick protruding from his midsection.

Most of the injured were played by civil air patrol cadets who have a mission to assist the Air Force in any way that they can, according to 2nd Lt. Dwight Tutton, a senior member of the Civil Air Patrol Composite Squadron 413 from Denton, Texas.

"It's awesome, it's really cool. I'm glad the cadets are getting to do something like this. Some of them have done it before and for some of them it's their first time," he said.

When the injured came onto the field, they were met with medics coming to their aid. Each injured person held a card that gave specific symptoms they were experiencing. This aided the medical personnel in their assessment of the injured and to help them decide what their next step was going to be.

Medics had to either walk with or get litters to assist the injured to the appropriate medical tent and then take the proper steps to treat them.

For Capt. Rose Adams, a clinical nurse with the 136th Medical Group the takeaway from this exercise is experience. "Training for most of the nurses and medical technicians because some of them don't have outside experience,'' she said. "So, it's good to get them this medical experience in what it could be like to actually be out in the field taking care of a mass amount of patients at one time."

This training gives medical personnel the opportunity to act under pressure in a learning environment, rather than in real life.

"Overall it is a good exercise," said Navy Hospitalman Melody Zemanek, who is stationed at the base medical clinic. "Definitely take the time to make sure you do things right. That one little extra second to think will help out a lot."

Not everything was simulated during the exercise.

"What's really nice for the 301st Medical Squadron is that we have actually had hands-on," said Jones. "We've been able to open up the medical packages and actually watch central lines being put in, ventilators being set up, we all have live oxygen. So we have the ability to see a lot of that stuff hands-on experience, not just simulated.

"It's just been great; it's been a good joint effort, she said. "I think both teams have really merged well together. Communication is huge and I think it's worked really great."

Army Initiates Collaborative Effort on TBI, PTSD

By David Vergun
Army News Service

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2013 – Over the last 12 years, many soldiers have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with wounds, some visible and some not, a leader in Army Medicine said here June 22.

Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) John M. Cho, Army Medical Command deputy chief of staff for operations, addresses the issues of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury during an awareness event on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., June 22, 2013. U.S. Army photo by David Vergun   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

"The invisible wounds -- post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury -- are just as damaging as the visible ones. They impact the families as well as the soldiers," said Brig. Gen. (Dr.) John M. Cho, deputy chief of staff for operations with Army Medical Command.

An Iraq War veteran himself, Cho spoke outside the U.S. Capitol as part of National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Day. This year's theme was "Visible Honor for Invisible Wounds."

Post-traumatic stress disorder, known as PTSD, and traumatic brain injury, or TBI, are not just military-specific issues, Cho said. "They deserve a national discussion."

A big part of that discussion, he said, needs to focus on reducing the stigma associated with mental health issues.

Besides a national discussion, Cho said, agencies both inside and outside the military need to come together to learn more about identifying and treating PTSD and TBI, as well as preventing it in the first place.
Cho said a PTSD diagnosis is particularly challenging, as "you can't simply get a lab test or take an X-ray to find it."

As part of its collaborative effort, the Army is participating in a $60 million research study for TBI, sponsored by the National Football League, General Electric and athletic apparel manufacturer Under Armour, he said.

Also, $700 million has been allocated toward both PTSD and TBI as the result of a White House executive order for a renewed effort in collaboration with the Veterans Affairs Department and other organizations.
Additionally, the Army has set up seven "restorative centers" in Afghanistan, where TBI can be identified and treated, often allowing soldiers to stay in theater as they improve, he said.

The general explained that PTSD often, but not always, occurs with TBI, and that relationship, too, is being researched. "We're nowhere near where we want to be, however, when it comes to researching PTSD and TBI," he acknowledged. "A lot more needs to be done."

Cho said PTSD affected him personally when his brother, who also is a U.S. Military Academy graduate, returned from Afghanistan suffering from PTSD. He sought treatment and is better now, he said, adding that his brother is telling his story to other soldiers in an effort to get them to seek care.

"We know treatment helps," Cho said. "We can help them get better, and they can continue to serve in our Army with honor and distinction."

As a result of his brother's experience, Cho said, he's a big believer in group therapy, particularly cognitive processing psychotherapy.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, unable to attend the day's event, wrote in a letter for the attendees: "PTSD is a combat injury. Veterans suffering from PTSD deserve the same dignity and respect as our fellow wounded warriors.

"With the continued support and encouragement of organizations like Honor for ALL, the Army and this nation have made enormous strides in treating this injury, removing the stigma and instilling dignity in our recovering veterans,” Odierno’s letter continued. “But more work must be done!"

Honor for ALL, a nonprofit organization sponsoring the event, is dedicated to eliminating the stigma of PTSD and supports research into finding the causes and treatment of the disorder.

Guard joins Reserve C-130s fighting Rocky Mountain fires

by MAFFS Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

6/24/2013 - PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The U.S. Forest Service, through the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, requested the activation of two additional Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped military C-130 aircraft to assist in battling wildland fires.

Two aircraft from the 146th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard, Port Hueneme, Calif., arrived here June 23 They joined two Air Force Reserve Command C-130s from the 302nd Airlift Wing, which have been engaged in aerial firefighting over seven fires in Colorado. The two California aircraft bring the activated MAFFS fleet to four airplanes.

The request came due to an increase in wildland fire activity in Southern Colorado and neighboring states and the significant fire potential forecast for the coming week.

MAFFS initially activated June 11 to assist in fighting forest fires in Southern Colorado after the USFS sent a request for assistance to the Department of Defense though U.S. Northern Command. Since activating, MAFFS aircraft from the 302nd AW have made 41 drops releasing 108,305 gallons of fire retardant.

MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system owned by the USFS. MAFFS modules are loaded into the cargo bays of military C-130 aircraft. Led by small USFS planes, military aircrews can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant from the MAFFS modules along the leading edge of a fire in less than five seconds and cover an area a quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide. Once the load is discharged, ground crews at a MAFFS tanker base can refill the modules in less than 12 minutes.

A joint DOD and USFS program, MAFFS provides aerial firefighting resources when commercial and private air tankers are no longer able to meet the needs of the Forest Service. A military Air Expeditionary Group (Provisional) - Wildland Fire Fighting exercises control over the MAFFS resources at the direction of the USFS.

Four C-130 units perform the MAFFS mission, each providing two MAFFS-capable aircraft and the air and ground crews needed to operate them. They are the 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard; 146th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard; 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard; and the 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve Command, in Colorado.

No backyard mechanics

by Staff Sgt. Brigitte N. Brantley
509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

6/21/2013 - WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Everything about the B-2 Spirit screams stealth.

Its leading edges are curved to reflect radio waves. Its jet-black surface is coated with radar-absorbing material. Its four engines are buried inside the body.

Although these design characteristics are a major reason why the B-2 remains undetected, perhaps most important to its stealthiness are the maintainers behind the scenes.

Each time a Spirit lands on the Whiteman flightline, these highly trusted maintainers have only eight to 12 hours to get the $2.1 billion bomber back in the air. With millions of parts and endless possibilities for something to go wrong, it is a daunting task.

To make sure the process happens the way it should, instructors from the 372nd Training Squadron, Det. 6, take Airmen right from technical school, as well as experienced Airmen from other airframes, under their wings to teach them the ins and outs of working with the B-2.

"Training is critical; it's the way the Air Force provides security for the nation," said Master Sgt. James Boone, the detachment's production superintendent and propulsions instructor. "If we don't do it, or if we don't have the means or the money to do it, then all we have are backyard mechanics working on multibillion-dollar aircraft, and that can go south quickly."

Administratively, Det. 6 is supported by the 982nd Training Group at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, which provides them with the tools and means needed to fully support the B-2 mission.

The detachment's classes cover several detailed aspects of the bomber, including radar, avionics, propulsion, egress, fuels, pneudraulics, electro-environmental, wire repair, low observables, flight controls, aerospace ground equipment, aircraft general and weapons. The classes incorporate a balance of in-class instruction and hands-on application.

"On the flightline and in the backshop, we're always moving, always hustling to get the job done," said Airman 1st Class Jared Slaton, a B-2 propulsions specialist from the 509th Maintenance Squadron. "It's good to have training specifically on what we need to do. We also have more time to focus on what we're actually doing.

"Another thing I really enjoy about being in this class is working with other flightline guys," Slaton added. "This class helps us bond on a more personal level. We all work kind of differently, so it's not just learning the class' lessons ... it's also learning about the others and how they work and their way of doing things."

This coming together of different flightline-based Air Force specialty codes lasts anywhere from one to 32 academic days, and most classes have two to four students.
The low student-teacher ratio ensures the instructors can build a strong rapport with their students. Even with the low ratio, that can still sometimes be challenging given the needs and personalities of students in each course.

"The challenging part is being able to find the right balance of instructing different students," said Boone. "For example, the class I'm teaching now includes an airman first class who has been in for one year and a technical sergeant who has been in for 12 years, but I have to instruct them at the same time.

"I have to explain different things to the younger Airman, but he also has more experience with the engine interior, so it goes both ways," he added. "It's all about feeling out who needs what kind of attention and what kind of instruction is best for them."

Boone added that like the students, he also enjoys seeing the flightline and backshop guys interacting and sharing their knowledge. But more than anything, he likes seeing his students "get it."

"A good day for me is when that light bulb goes on," Boone said. "It feels great to see them apply what I've taught, read the technical order and then remove a piece off the engine. I can see when it clicks and all makes sense."

A typical morning at the detachment starts with a lesson on U.S. Air Force and 509th Bomb Wing history to help the students connect with their place in history, and then continues on to the day's objectives.

"Once we have all the technical orders open and we're working on the lesson, the instructor asks us questions and inspects our work like he's quality assurance," Slaton said. "It's really helpful to have that instant feedback."

In the end, all the lessons, questions and inspections culminate when the students are handed their diplomas and head back to the flightline to keep Whiteman's fleet of 20 B-2s in the air.

"There's a tragic end if we as engine mechanics don't do our job," said Boone. "People we don't want to die, die. People we want to die, don't. It's critical that we do it right."