By John J. Kruzel
Dec. 3, 2006 – As the sun sank below Philadelphia's skyline yesterday, gold helmets shone under the Lincoln Financial Field lights while the Naval Academy Midshipmen ground out a 26-14 win over the Black Knights of the Military Academy in the 107th Army-Navy football game. The Midshipmen's hard-fought victory yesterday before a crowd of 68,000 - including thousands of current and graduated midshipmen, cadets, and their families -- puts Navy ahead of Army 51-49-7 in the overall series record and extends the Midshipmen's winning streak to four years.
Coming into the game, the well-calibrated Navy team had committed the fifth-fewest penalties of NCAA Division I teams this season, and oddsmakers expected the Midshipmen to beat the Black Knights by almost three touchdowns. But the firmly-rooted attitude shared by both sides is that the season begins and ends with the Army-Navy Game.
"It's the biggest game of the year," Frank DeMaro, a spokesman for the Military Academy, told American Forces Press Service. "It's our bowl game."
As fans filed into the stands before kickoff, thousands of cadets and midshipmen marched across the field in perfect matrices and jet engines roared over spectators' heads leaving mouths agape, as the percussion sections of the academy marching bands banged the cadence.
First played in 1890, this historic meeting continued through four wars, and is distinct from other college rivalries. Height and weight restraints on the academies' incoming class member, including athletic recruits, make their football lineups look leaner and shorter than those of non-service schools. And because military training is required at Annapolis and West Point, the academies are rare examples of schools that boast cheerleaders trained in both pom-pom technique and hand-to-hand combat.
The Army-Navy game's camaraderie resonates across the globe, from alumni reuniting at tailgate parties in the stadium parking lot before kickoff to deployed forces overseas huddled around televisions with satellite feeds.
The vital role Army and Navy servicemembers play away from the football field and bleachers was emphasized in the invocation presented by Navy chaplain Lt. Cmdr. Richard Bonnet before the game.
"In many ways this game is brother against brother," said Bonnet, "but when this day is over, our athletes will stand side by side on the field and our seniors will prepare to take their place alongside those who protect our precious freedoms around the world."
For Phil Panzarella, a 1979 West Point graduate in Philadelphia for the game, the Army-Navy rivalry is a rare instance in sports that encourages cohesion between opponents. "This is one of the few college games where each team stands at attention for the others' alma mater," Panzarella said. "At the end of the game, it's about patriotism and defending our country and working as one team."
Navy's win guaranteed the 9-3 Midshipmen a post-season bowl game bid and secures their fourth straight Commander in Chief's Trophy, awarded annually for the most successful year in athletic competition among the nation's service academies. The seniors on Navy's football team are the first in the school's history to go 8-0 in matchups against their Army and Air Force counterparts.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online and police officer and military personnel who have authored books.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Friday, December 01, 2006
Commissaries, Fisher House Offer Scholarships
By Gerry J. Gilmore
Dec. 1, 2006 – The Defense Commissary Agency and the Fisher House Foundation have teamed up for the seventh year to offer educational scholarships to children of military families and retirees. The Scholarships for Military Children Program helps children of servicemembers pay for college by providing at least one $1,500 scholarship for each of DeCA's more than 260 commissaries worldwide, DeCA spokesman Kevin Robinson said.
"We consider the commissary to be one of the pillars of the military community," Robinson said. "As such, it is important that we invest in the future of the families we serve."
Nearly 3,000 scholarships, totaling more than $4 million, have been awarded since the program began in 2001, he said.
Authorized applicants include unmarried children under age 21 of active duty, Guard, reserve, or retired military families, Robinson said. Applicants also may range up to 23 years in age if they are enrolled in school.
Scholarship eligibility will be determined using the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System database. Applicants should ensure that they, as well as their sponsor, are enrolled in the DEERS database and have a current ID card.
The application period for this year's DeCA-Fisher House scholarship program began Nov. 1 and closes Feb. 21, 2007, Robinson said.
Application forms for the program are available for pick-up at commissaries worldwide and for download via the Internet at www.commissaries.com, www.militaryscholar.org or www.dodea.edu.
A significant number of scholarships, about 10 percent each year, go to high school students attending DoD schools overseas.
"Every cent that community organizations can mobilize to support college-bound students is an investment in the future," Joseph Tafoya, director of the Department of Defense Education Activity, said.
The Fisher House Foundation administers the scholarship program, Robinson said. Funding for the program is provided by manufacturers and suppliers of groceries and services in the commissary system.
"We're excited to see this worthwhile program gaining recognition and funding from the community at large, Jim Weiskopf, vice president of communications at Fisher House Foundation, said. Increased public support helps ensure that the Scholarships for Military Children program will continue to benefit the military community for years to come.
Fisher House is renowned for building and managing living quarters on the grounds of major military installations and Veterans Affairs medical centers so military family members can be close to hospitalized loved ones. The organization is a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which highlights grassroots and corporate support for U.S. military members and their families.
Donations for the scholarship program can be made through the program's official web link at militaryscholar.org.
Completed applications must be turned in at a commissary by the close of business on Feb. 21, 2007. The application includes an essay section where applicants are to describe how and why they'd change a historical event.
Eligible applicants must be planning to attend or already attending an accredited college or university full time in the fall term of 2007, or be enrolled in a program of studies designed to transfer directly into a four-year program.
(Bonnie Powell, chief of marketing at the Defense Commissary Agency, contributed to this report.)
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
Dec. 1, 2006 – The Defense Commissary Agency and the Fisher House Foundation have teamed up for the seventh year to offer educational scholarships to children of military families and retirees. The Scholarships for Military Children Program helps children of servicemembers pay for college by providing at least one $1,500 scholarship for each of DeCA's more than 260 commissaries worldwide, DeCA spokesman Kevin Robinson said.
"We consider the commissary to be one of the pillars of the military community," Robinson said. "As such, it is important that we invest in the future of the families we serve."
Nearly 3,000 scholarships, totaling more than $4 million, have been awarded since the program began in 2001, he said.
Authorized applicants include unmarried children under age 21 of active duty, Guard, reserve, or retired military families, Robinson said. Applicants also may range up to 23 years in age if they are enrolled in school.
Scholarship eligibility will be determined using the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System database. Applicants should ensure that they, as well as their sponsor, are enrolled in the DEERS database and have a current ID card.
The application period for this year's DeCA-Fisher House scholarship program began Nov. 1 and closes Feb. 21, 2007, Robinson said.
Application forms for the program are available for pick-up at commissaries worldwide and for download via the Internet at www.commissaries.com, www.militaryscholar.org or www.dodea.edu.
A significant number of scholarships, about 10 percent each year, go to high school students attending DoD schools overseas.
"Every cent that community organizations can mobilize to support college-bound students is an investment in the future," Joseph Tafoya, director of the Department of Defense Education Activity, said.
The Fisher House Foundation administers the scholarship program, Robinson said. Funding for the program is provided by manufacturers and suppliers of groceries and services in the commissary system.
"We're excited to see this worthwhile program gaining recognition and funding from the community at large, Jim Weiskopf, vice president of communications at Fisher House Foundation, said. Increased public support helps ensure that the Scholarships for Military Children program will continue to benefit the military community for years to come.
Fisher House is renowned for building and managing living quarters on the grounds of major military installations and Veterans Affairs medical centers so military family members can be close to hospitalized loved ones. The organization is a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which highlights grassroots and corporate support for U.S. military members and their families.
Donations for the scholarship program can be made through the program's official web link at militaryscholar.org.
Completed applications must be turned in at a commissary by the close of business on Feb. 21, 2007. The application includes an essay section where applicants are to describe how and why they'd change a historical event.
Eligible applicants must be planning to attend or already attending an accredited college or university full time in the fall term of 2007, or be enrolled in a program of studies designed to transfer directly into a four-year program.
(Bonnie Powell, chief of marketing at the Defense Commissary Agency, contributed to this report.)
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
Guard Chief: Relief on Way for Guard's Equipment Shortages
By Donna Miles
Dec. 1, 2006 – The National Guard Bureau chief assured members of the Army and Air National Guard during a visit here earlier this week that relief is on the way for the Guard's chronic equipment shortages. The Army National Guard alone will receive almost $29 billion during the next five years to reequip its units, and the Air National Guard will receive a similar sum, Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum told National Guard troops serving here along the southwestern U.S. border in Operation Jump Start during his Nov. 29 visit.
That's "almost 29 billion with a 'b,'" Blum said for emphasis.
It also could be "b" for "bravo" for Blum, who's been on something of a crusade -- drawing top-level focus on National Guard equipment shortfalls. He's called the issue one of his biggest challenges, particularly in light of the Guard's vital role in both combat and domestic response missions.
During the National Guard Association's general conference in September, Blum reported that Guard troops "want for nothing in combat," but return home to a "dangerously low resourcing level" for their stateside missions.
This week, Blum told troops serving here of the challenges the Guard faced when Bush announced in mid-May that 6,000 National Guard troops would support the U.S. Border Patrol as it recruits and trains more agents. The operation, expected to last two years, uses National Guard members for support missions, freeing up more Border Patrol agents for front-line law enforcement missions.
"Look, half the problem with this mission was getting equipment, because most of it was overseas, ... and we didn't have that much back here to move around to you," Blum told the group, made up of volunteers from throughout the country.
The good news, he reported, is that there's now "a very real recognition" among Pentagon and congressional leaders of the need to reequip the Guard's worn-out equipment -- and it's being backed up with desperately needed funding.
Congress is "absolutely adamant that the Guard has to get reequipped" and is watching the issue "like a hawk," Blum said.
"They know how important you are, day to day," he told the troops, pointing to the wide range of missions the National Guard is carrying out throughout the United States and overseas.
"The Guard is busy," he said. "We have 55,000 of us in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, (the) Sinai (and) the Horn of Africa, a couple of hundred of us down at Guantanamo (Bay, Cuba), 6,000 of us on the southwest border this morning."
In addition, some 8,000 to 10,000 Guard members are serving throughout the United States, providing critical infrastructure protection and responding to disasters ranging from floods to forest fires, he said. In addition, just as hurricane season has come to an end, the National Guard already is geared up to respond to winter-weather emergencies, he said.
"It is unbelievable what the Guard is doing today," Blum told the group. "And you are part of the best Guard that this country has ever put on the ground in its 368 year history."
But all that activity has taken its toll on the National Guard's equipment, he quickly acknowledged. Gear, vehicles and other equipment is wearing out far faster than normal -- as much as five times faster, by some Pentagon estimates.
In addition, many Guard units return from Iraq and Afghanistan without their equipment, leaving it behind for replacement troops. Blum supports that measure, noting that it saves time, money and strain on the logistics system. But the flip side of the coin, he said, is that returning units often lack the equipment they need for training or to respond to a domestic crisis.
States across the country have entered into an agreement to share their National Guard resources to fill in gaps as needed. The Emergency Management Assistance Compact proved its value during the multistate response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when several states mobilized their National Guard assets and sent them to help the Gulf states.
But Blum has long emphasized that this kind of cooperation is not a long-term solution to the Guard's chronic equipment shortages. His big concern, he said, is that when the president or one of the 53 U.S. governors calls on their Guard troops, they won't have the equipment they need to provide the "Minuteman" response that's expected of them.
"It is a problem, and we are working it very hard," Blum told the Operation Jump Start troops.
While assuring them that relief is on the way, Blum counseled patience. "We didn't get here overnight," he said. "It took us three to five years to get here, and it will probably take us that long to get out of the hole we are in."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
Dec. 1, 2006 – The National Guard Bureau chief assured members of the Army and Air National Guard during a visit here earlier this week that relief is on the way for the Guard's chronic equipment shortages. The Army National Guard alone will receive almost $29 billion during the next five years to reequip its units, and the Air National Guard will receive a similar sum, Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum told National Guard troops serving here along the southwestern U.S. border in Operation Jump Start during his Nov. 29 visit.
That's "almost 29 billion with a 'b,'" Blum said for emphasis.
It also could be "b" for "bravo" for Blum, who's been on something of a crusade -- drawing top-level focus on National Guard equipment shortfalls. He's called the issue one of his biggest challenges, particularly in light of the Guard's vital role in both combat and domestic response missions.
During the National Guard Association's general conference in September, Blum reported that Guard troops "want for nothing in combat," but return home to a "dangerously low resourcing level" for their stateside missions.
This week, Blum told troops serving here of the challenges the Guard faced when Bush announced in mid-May that 6,000 National Guard troops would support the U.S. Border Patrol as it recruits and trains more agents. The operation, expected to last two years, uses National Guard members for support missions, freeing up more Border Patrol agents for front-line law enforcement missions.
"Look, half the problem with this mission was getting equipment, because most of it was overseas, ... and we didn't have that much back here to move around to you," Blum told the group, made up of volunteers from throughout the country.
The good news, he reported, is that there's now "a very real recognition" among Pentagon and congressional leaders of the need to reequip the Guard's worn-out equipment -- and it's being backed up with desperately needed funding.
Congress is "absolutely adamant that the Guard has to get reequipped" and is watching the issue "like a hawk," Blum said.
"They know how important you are, day to day," he told the troops, pointing to the wide range of missions the National Guard is carrying out throughout the United States and overseas.
"The Guard is busy," he said. "We have 55,000 of us in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, (the) Sinai (and) the Horn of Africa, a couple of hundred of us down at Guantanamo (Bay, Cuba), 6,000 of us on the southwest border this morning."
In addition, some 8,000 to 10,000 Guard members are serving throughout the United States, providing critical infrastructure protection and responding to disasters ranging from floods to forest fires, he said. In addition, just as hurricane season has come to an end, the National Guard already is geared up to respond to winter-weather emergencies, he said.
"It is unbelievable what the Guard is doing today," Blum told the group. "And you are part of the best Guard that this country has ever put on the ground in its 368 year history."
But all that activity has taken its toll on the National Guard's equipment, he quickly acknowledged. Gear, vehicles and other equipment is wearing out far faster than normal -- as much as five times faster, by some Pentagon estimates.
In addition, many Guard units return from Iraq and Afghanistan without their equipment, leaving it behind for replacement troops. Blum supports that measure, noting that it saves time, money and strain on the logistics system. But the flip side of the coin, he said, is that returning units often lack the equipment they need for training or to respond to a domestic crisis.
States across the country have entered into an agreement to share their National Guard resources to fill in gaps as needed. The Emergency Management Assistance Compact proved its value during the multistate response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when several states mobilized their National Guard assets and sent them to help the Gulf states.
But Blum has long emphasized that this kind of cooperation is not a long-term solution to the Guard's chronic equipment shortages. His big concern, he said, is that when the president or one of the 53 U.S. governors calls on their Guard troops, they won't have the equipment they need to provide the "Minuteman" response that's expected of them.
"It is a problem, and we are working it very hard," Blum told the Operation Jump Start troops.
While assuring them that relief is on the way, Blum counseled patience. "We didn't get here overnight," he said. "It took us three to five years to get here, and it will probably take us that long to get out of the hole we are in."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
Illinois Group Working Hard at Holidays
By Samantha L. Quigley
Dec. 1, 2006 – With its 4th annual "Holiday Hugs to Our Heroes" drive officially concluded, the SI Yellow Ribbon Campaign is unofficially still working to meet the group's goal of providing holiday packages to 1,000 troops. SI Yellow Ribbon Campaign is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program highlighting ways Americans and the corporate sector support the nation's servicemembers.
"Our goal was to try and hit about 1,000 troops, but it doesn't look like we're going to make that," Amy Oxford, the group's founder, said. "It's just so important to me not to give up on this."
The campaign has benefited from several groups' drives to collect gifts for the care packages and has enough to ship to at least 1,000 troops, but postage is a concern.
Working with flat-rate boxes that ship for $8.10 each, the group has cut its postage costs nearly in half from last year.
"I've got a lot of Christmas items here, and we even had a bunch more come in yesterday," Oxford said. "My problem is it just doesn't look like we're going to have the postage to get it out."
On the bright side, she said she anticipates getting boxes of holiday cheer -- candy, comfort and entertainment items -- to a number of troops. Oxford said the group will comfortably be able to send boxes to about 500 servicemembers.
The group's campaign started in March 2003 by sending packages tailored to the servicemember receiving them. The database of those requesting packages hovers between 2,000 and 2,300 servicemembers serving overseas.
Oxford said she likes to include phone cards in the boxes all year, especially at Christmas. The cards, as well as CDs and DVDs -- Christmas package staples -- are in short supply and she said she'd love to have enough to include in every package she sends out.
"We're going to ship as long as we can, and if they're late, I still think it's the thought that counts," Oxford said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
Dec. 1, 2006 – With its 4th annual "Holiday Hugs to Our Heroes" drive officially concluded, the SI Yellow Ribbon Campaign is unofficially still working to meet the group's goal of providing holiday packages to 1,000 troops. SI Yellow Ribbon Campaign is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program highlighting ways Americans and the corporate sector support the nation's servicemembers.
"Our goal was to try and hit about 1,000 troops, but it doesn't look like we're going to make that," Amy Oxford, the group's founder, said. "It's just so important to me not to give up on this."
The campaign has benefited from several groups' drives to collect gifts for the care packages and has enough to ship to at least 1,000 troops, but postage is a concern.
Working with flat-rate boxes that ship for $8.10 each, the group has cut its postage costs nearly in half from last year.
"I've got a lot of Christmas items here, and we even had a bunch more come in yesterday," Oxford said. "My problem is it just doesn't look like we're going to have the postage to get it out."
On the bright side, she said she anticipates getting boxes of holiday cheer -- candy, comfort and entertainment items -- to a number of troops. Oxford said the group will comfortably be able to send boxes to about 500 servicemembers.
The group's campaign started in March 2003 by sending packages tailored to the servicemember receiving them. The database of those requesting packages hovers between 2,000 and 2,300 servicemembers serving overseas.
Oxford said she likes to include phone cards in the boxes all year, especially at Christmas. The cards, as well as CDs and DVDs -- Christmas package staples -- are in short supply and she said she'd love to have enough to include in every package she sends out.
"We're going to ship as long as we can, and if they're late, I still think it's the thought that counts," Oxford said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
DoD Promoting Businesses Owned by Wounded Vets
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
Dec. 1, 2006 – In an effort to increase the supplier base in key acquisition areas and smooth the transition of wounded veterans into the civilian business world, the Defense Department is showcasing its program aimed at small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. DoD's Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program, developed in response to a 2004 executive order and subsequent legislation, helps wounded veterans start their own businesses, get certification to bid on DoD contracts as a prime or subcontractor, and network with other DoD prime and subcontractors. The organization is sponsoring a conference to showcase what they do in Dallas Dec. 4 to 7.
"I think that if there's any program that I have to manage here that has the greatest amount of job satisfaction and purpose of being in this position, it's the service-disabled veterans program," Frank Ramos, director of small business programs for DoD, said in a media roundtable yesterday.
Ramos, whose family has a rich history of military service, said the veterans of today's conflicts come home to a much more welcome reception than those of other decades, and DoD is trying to make sure they have business opportunities as well.
"When I reflect on what we're trying to do with the service-disabled veteran program, there's a vast difference in terms of how the country, and the public, and the Department of Defense, and the federal government, and the Congress, and the president are seeking to find innovative and fresh approaches to giving these warriors a sense of a transitional role for them to come back into the mainstream community," Ramos said. "We're trying to find niche industries that this new era of service-disabled veterans can come into the entrepreneurial mainstream."
Under this program, DoD drafted a five-year plan to reach a goal established by Congress to have 3 percent of DoD contracts go to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. The plan was stretched over five years because DoD officials knew it would take time to build a base of veteran-owned businesses with the expertise and knowledge to supply to DoD, said Charles Cervantes, director of the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.
To qualify for the program, businesses must be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by a service-disabled veteran.
Since its inception, the program has achieved some significant accomplishments, Cervantes said. In the past year, the organization grew from 5,000 member businesses registered in DoD's centralized contractor registry to more than 12,000. The contracts landed by these companies grew from $513 million to $1.1 billion, he added. This is still only a fraction of the 3 percent goal, he noted, but is still strong progress.
Another notable accomplishment in the first year was the beginning of the Mentor-Protege Program, in which a small, veteran-owned business is matched with a large corporation, Cervantes said. In the first year, two small businesses -- one in information technology, the other in construction -- participated in this program. Their success stories will be on display at the conference to encourage more participation, he said.
Also under this program, DoD is encouraging teaming agreements, which are partnerships between multiple small businesses to increase capacity and capabilities, Cervantes said. Army Materiel Command recently took a $1.2 billion contract for bullets and split it between five small service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, he said.
At the conference in Dallas, DoD plans to focus on the three major niche areas for service-disabled veterans: information technology, manufacturing and construction. Many veterans bring unique expertise to these fields, and DoD has a large need in these areas, Ramos said.
The conference will feature many high-level experts in procurement and acquisition, Cervantes said. "This is a terrific faculty, and it shows the commitment of our director ... to make these numbers go up dramatically within our five-year plan," he said.
For those small-business owners who can't make it to the conference, the eight key training modules will be taped and put into the Defense Acquisition University's online catalogue, Cervantes said. All of this is part of the effort to educate more service-disabled veterans about how to do business with DoD, he said.
"We want people to know that they can come back, they can have a serious disability and do business," he said. "This statute, this executive order, this plan is not going to go away. It's here for the long term; it's here for people that haven't even been born yet that will fight wars that we haven't even conceived of yet, and they will be beneficiaries of these programs."
In addition to the conference, DoD is working with other agencies and veterans service organizations to promote the service-disabled veteran-owned small business program, Ramos said. Each of the military services has a robust program to educate veterans and servicemembers about their opportunities in doing business with DoD, he said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
Dec. 1, 2006 – In an effort to increase the supplier base in key acquisition areas and smooth the transition of wounded veterans into the civilian business world, the Defense Department is showcasing its program aimed at small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. DoD's Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program, developed in response to a 2004 executive order and subsequent legislation, helps wounded veterans start their own businesses, get certification to bid on DoD contracts as a prime or subcontractor, and network with other DoD prime and subcontractors. The organization is sponsoring a conference to showcase what they do in Dallas Dec. 4 to 7.
"I think that if there's any program that I have to manage here that has the greatest amount of job satisfaction and purpose of being in this position, it's the service-disabled veterans program," Frank Ramos, director of small business programs for DoD, said in a media roundtable yesterday.
Ramos, whose family has a rich history of military service, said the veterans of today's conflicts come home to a much more welcome reception than those of other decades, and DoD is trying to make sure they have business opportunities as well.
"When I reflect on what we're trying to do with the service-disabled veteran program, there's a vast difference in terms of how the country, and the public, and the Department of Defense, and the federal government, and the Congress, and the president are seeking to find innovative and fresh approaches to giving these warriors a sense of a transitional role for them to come back into the mainstream community," Ramos said. "We're trying to find niche industries that this new era of service-disabled veterans can come into the entrepreneurial mainstream."
Under this program, DoD drafted a five-year plan to reach a goal established by Congress to have 3 percent of DoD contracts go to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. The plan was stretched over five years because DoD officials knew it would take time to build a base of veteran-owned businesses with the expertise and knowledge to supply to DoD, said Charles Cervantes, director of the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.
To qualify for the program, businesses must be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by a service-disabled veteran.
Since its inception, the program has achieved some significant accomplishments, Cervantes said. In the past year, the organization grew from 5,000 member businesses registered in DoD's centralized contractor registry to more than 12,000. The contracts landed by these companies grew from $513 million to $1.1 billion, he added. This is still only a fraction of the 3 percent goal, he noted, but is still strong progress.
Another notable accomplishment in the first year was the beginning of the Mentor-Protege Program, in which a small, veteran-owned business is matched with a large corporation, Cervantes said. In the first year, two small businesses -- one in information technology, the other in construction -- participated in this program. Their success stories will be on display at the conference to encourage more participation, he said.
Also under this program, DoD is encouraging teaming agreements, which are partnerships between multiple small businesses to increase capacity and capabilities, Cervantes said. Army Materiel Command recently took a $1.2 billion contract for bullets and split it between five small service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, he said.
At the conference in Dallas, DoD plans to focus on the three major niche areas for service-disabled veterans: information technology, manufacturing and construction. Many veterans bring unique expertise to these fields, and DoD has a large need in these areas, Ramos said.
The conference will feature many high-level experts in procurement and acquisition, Cervantes said. "This is a terrific faculty, and it shows the commitment of our director ... to make these numbers go up dramatically within our five-year plan," he said.
For those small-business owners who can't make it to the conference, the eight key training modules will be taped and put into the Defense Acquisition University's online catalogue, Cervantes said. All of this is part of the effort to educate more service-disabled veterans about how to do business with DoD, he said.
"We want people to know that they can come back, they can have a serious disability and do business," he said. "This statute, this executive order, this plan is not going to go away. It's here for the long term; it's here for people that haven't even been born yet that will fight wars that we haven't even conceived of yet, and they will be beneficiaries of these programs."
In addition to the conference, DoD is working with other agencies and veterans service organizations to promote the service-disabled veteran-owned small business program, Ramos said. Each of the military services has a robust program to educate veterans and servicemembers about their opportunities in doing business with DoD, he said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
AAFES Civilians Voluntarily Deploying to Middle East
By Judd Antsey
DALLAS, Dec. 1, 2006 – While most Americans plan to spend the next few weeks eating, shopping and generally having a great time with friends and family, many Defense Department civilians will be leaving their homes and families for 6- to-12 month voluntary deployments to support Army and Air Force Exchange Service post and base exchanges throughout Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Friends for more than 25 years, graphic designers Gloria Michael and Kelly Northcutt have talked about deploying to live and work with the troops. With Michael getting closer to retirement, the two friends who live only six houses away from each other in Red Oak, Texas, decided now was the time to trek more than 7,000 miles to support troops half a world away.
Considering it will be her first time to travel outside the United States, Michael is understandably anxious. "I'm a bit nervous, because I haven't traveled a whole lot, but it is important that I take my support to our soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines on the front lines before I retire."
With an itinerary that calls for the two "battle buddies" to depart for the Middle East on Dec. 17, both Michael and Northcutt are coming to terms with the fact that this upcoming holiday season will be their first away from spouses, children and grandchildren.
"We made the most out of Thanksgiving and loaded up on holiday cheer," said Northcutt. "Hopefully, we can take some of that warmth and caring we shared to our troops in Iraq or Afghanistan."
While Northcutt and Michael prepare for their first deployment, some civilians, like Kadena Air Base, Japan, Burger King manager Marjorie Granvle, will be redeploying this month. A 13-year AAFES associate, Granvle's last deployment to Bosnia in 2000 was so rewarding that she signed up to spend the first half of 2007 with troops in the desert.
A wife and mother of two who has served the armed forces from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to her current position in Okinawa, Granvle says her family is supportive of her decision to deploy again. "They are sad to see me leave, but with the faith, love and support that we share in our hearts, we will be together for the holidays. This is my opportunity to support the troops and my country."
More than 450 volunteer AAFES associates like Granvle, Michael and Northcutt are deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. To date, 1,800 AAFES civilians have deployed to provide comfort items and necessities in combat and contingency locations. Servicemembers depend on the PX/BX facilities these associates support for day-to-day health and comfort items such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, snacks, beverages and entertainment items.
The merchandise assortment in the deployed environments typically includes basic health and hygiene items and snacks. Over time, that assortment is expanded to other items needed and requested by troops downrange. Today, AAFES stocks electronics, magazines, DVDs and even small appliances at its 58 PX/BX locations scattered throughout the contingency theater.
(Judd Antsey is assigned to the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.)
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
DALLAS, Dec. 1, 2006 – While most Americans plan to spend the next few weeks eating, shopping and generally having a great time with friends and family, many Defense Department civilians will be leaving their homes and families for 6- to-12 month voluntary deployments to support Army and Air Force Exchange Service post and base exchanges throughout Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Friends for more than 25 years, graphic designers Gloria Michael and Kelly Northcutt have talked about deploying to live and work with the troops. With Michael getting closer to retirement, the two friends who live only six houses away from each other in Red Oak, Texas, decided now was the time to trek more than 7,000 miles to support troops half a world away.
Considering it will be her first time to travel outside the United States, Michael is understandably anxious. "I'm a bit nervous, because I haven't traveled a whole lot, but it is important that I take my support to our soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines on the front lines before I retire."
With an itinerary that calls for the two "battle buddies" to depart for the Middle East on Dec. 17, both Michael and Northcutt are coming to terms with the fact that this upcoming holiday season will be their first away from spouses, children and grandchildren.
"We made the most out of Thanksgiving and loaded up on holiday cheer," said Northcutt. "Hopefully, we can take some of that warmth and caring we shared to our troops in Iraq or Afghanistan."
While Northcutt and Michael prepare for their first deployment, some civilians, like Kadena Air Base, Japan, Burger King manager Marjorie Granvle, will be redeploying this month. A 13-year AAFES associate, Granvle's last deployment to Bosnia in 2000 was so rewarding that she signed up to spend the first half of 2007 with troops in the desert.
A wife and mother of two who has served the armed forces from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to her current position in Okinawa, Granvle says her family is supportive of her decision to deploy again. "They are sad to see me leave, but with the faith, love and support that we share in our hearts, we will be together for the holidays. This is my opportunity to support the troops and my country."
More than 450 volunteer AAFES associates like Granvle, Michael and Northcutt are deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. To date, 1,800 AAFES civilians have deployed to provide comfort items and necessities in combat and contingency locations. Servicemembers depend on the PX/BX facilities these associates support for day-to-day health and comfort items such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, snacks, beverages and entertainment items.
The merchandise assortment in the deployed environments typically includes basic health and hygiene items and snacks. Over time, that assortment is expanded to other items needed and requested by troops downrange. Today, AAFES stocks electronics, magazines, DVDs and even small appliances at its 58 PX/BX locations scattered throughout the contingency theater.
(Judd Antsey is assigned to the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.)
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
Cadets, Midshipmen Gear Up for Annual Army-Navy Gridiron Showdown
By John J. Kruzel
Dec. 1, 2006 – Thumps from bass drums marked the cadence of the Army and Navy marching bands and cheerleaders as they made their rounds through the halls of the Pentagon in the buildup toward the 107th Army-Navy football game tomorrow. The processions, today and yesterday, respectively, capped off a week of celebration building up to the big game at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field.
The U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen and U.S. Military Academy Black Knights will face off tomorrow, continuing a rivalry that dates back to 1890.
The Midshipmen lead the series 50 wins to Army's 49, and will attempt to extend their three-year winning streak tomorrow.
On the other hand, tomorrow's game represents the final opportunity for West Point's graduating class to secure the coveted bragging rights that accompany a victory. The Black Knights are 20-point underdogs going into the game. If the cadets lose, the class of 2007 will graduate without having beaten Navy during its four years at the Military Academy.
During the lead-up to the Army-Navy Game, tradition and ritual are visible across both campuses, and school spirit is running rampant.
Teams of marathon runners from both schools are on their way to Philadelphia to deliver game balls in time for the 2:30 p.m. kickoff. West Point's runners left New York last night following the school's "Spirit Dinner," Frank DeMaro, a spokesman for the academy, told American Forces Press Service.
Today, a team of midshipman marathoners left Bancroft Hall, on the academy's Annapolis, Md., campus, en route to Philadelphia, carrying a ball dedicated to those who have served and continue to serve the nation in wartime, Naval Academy public affairs officials said.
A full schedule of activities at both schools has boosted enthusiasm for the upcoming game.
"There's always excitement," DeMaro said. "It's the biggest game of the year; it's our bowl game."
At West Point, cadets held the annual "Go Engineer" event last night, pitting the top 20 percent of the corps of cadets against the bottom 20 percent in a game of tackle football. Following the game (in which the top 20 percent team won), the cadets enjoyed a Spirit Dinner in the mess hall.
The Naval Academy sponsored its traditional pep rally and bonfire with fireworks at the academy's Farragut Field Nov. 29. A group of midshipmen met with the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon yesterday.
Students at both schools said they welcome the festivity and fun surrounding the annual Army-Navy games. "A midshipman once told me, 'This is the only week of the year we're allowed to act like college kids,'" said Frederick Smith, a former Naval Academy instructor.
For alumni, the tradition of the Army-Navy Game -- which emboldens one academy with a year of bragging rights and deprives the other -- often runs deeper than the good-natured ribbing between academies.
"It's a chance to see what your military counterparts are made of," said Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, who graduated from the Naval Academy in 1992.
But Carpenter said it also offers a chance for students at the two schools to share their common values. "There's a greater sense that you are enjoying a break from reality with other people who have volunteered to take the difficult task of defending our country," he said.
For Army Lt. Col. Brian Maka, a 1987 West Point graduate, the Army-Navy Game conjures up fond childhood memories that led him to a military career. "I wear my (West Point) ring because it was a privilege to go there and fulfilled my dream as a kid," he said. "And I got that dream growing up and watching the Army-Navy Game. It resonated with me."
Maka, a Pentagon spokesman, said he's developed close friendships with many Annapolis graduates during his career and recognizes the similar experiences they've shared -- experiences he said are unique from those most Americans have had.
He enjoys the friendly rivalry between the two services, but said that, ultimately, it doesn't really matter which team wins.
"There's a lot of friendly jabbing and rivalry and trash-talking that happens," Maka said, "but it's all in good fun. In few other college games will you see as much mutual respect for each other's schools."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
Dec. 1, 2006 – Thumps from bass drums marked the cadence of the Army and Navy marching bands and cheerleaders as they made their rounds through the halls of the Pentagon in the buildup toward the 107th Army-Navy football game tomorrow. The processions, today and yesterday, respectively, capped off a week of celebration building up to the big game at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field.
The U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen and U.S. Military Academy Black Knights will face off tomorrow, continuing a rivalry that dates back to 1890.
The Midshipmen lead the series 50 wins to Army's 49, and will attempt to extend their three-year winning streak tomorrow.
On the other hand, tomorrow's game represents the final opportunity for West Point's graduating class to secure the coveted bragging rights that accompany a victory. The Black Knights are 20-point underdogs going into the game. If the cadets lose, the class of 2007 will graduate without having beaten Navy during its four years at the Military Academy.
During the lead-up to the Army-Navy Game, tradition and ritual are visible across both campuses, and school spirit is running rampant.
Teams of marathon runners from both schools are on their way to Philadelphia to deliver game balls in time for the 2:30 p.m. kickoff. West Point's runners left New York last night following the school's "Spirit Dinner," Frank DeMaro, a spokesman for the academy, told American Forces Press Service.
Today, a team of midshipman marathoners left Bancroft Hall, on the academy's Annapolis, Md., campus, en route to Philadelphia, carrying a ball dedicated to those who have served and continue to serve the nation in wartime, Naval Academy public affairs officials said.
A full schedule of activities at both schools has boosted enthusiasm for the upcoming game.
"There's always excitement," DeMaro said. "It's the biggest game of the year; it's our bowl game."
At West Point, cadets held the annual "Go Engineer" event last night, pitting the top 20 percent of the corps of cadets against the bottom 20 percent in a game of tackle football. Following the game (in which the top 20 percent team won), the cadets enjoyed a Spirit Dinner in the mess hall.
The Naval Academy sponsored its traditional pep rally and bonfire with fireworks at the academy's Farragut Field Nov. 29. A group of midshipmen met with the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon yesterday.
Students at both schools said they welcome the festivity and fun surrounding the annual Army-Navy games. "A midshipman once told me, 'This is the only week of the year we're allowed to act like college kids,'" said Frederick Smith, a former Naval Academy instructor.
For alumni, the tradition of the Army-Navy Game -- which emboldens one academy with a year of bragging rights and deprives the other -- often runs deeper than the good-natured ribbing between academies.
"It's a chance to see what your military counterparts are made of," said Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, who graduated from the Naval Academy in 1992.
But Carpenter said it also offers a chance for students at the two schools to share their common values. "There's a greater sense that you are enjoying a break from reality with other people who have volunteered to take the difficult task of defending our country," he said.
For Army Lt. Col. Brian Maka, a 1987 West Point graduate, the Army-Navy Game conjures up fond childhood memories that led him to a military career. "I wear my (West Point) ring because it was a privilege to go there and fulfilled my dream as a kid," he said. "And I got that dream growing up and watching the Army-Navy Game. It resonated with me."
Maka, a Pentagon spokesman, said he's developed close friendships with many Annapolis graduates during his career and recognizes the similar experiences they've shared -- experiences he said are unique from those most Americans have had.
He enjoys the friendly rivalry between the two services, but said that, ultimately, it doesn't really matter which team wins.
"There's a lot of friendly jabbing and rivalry and trash-talking that happens," Maka said, "but it's all in good fun. In few other college games will you see as much mutual respect for each other's schools."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
Soldiers Missing in Action from the Korean War Are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of eight U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Master Sgt. Alfred H. Alonzo Sr., of Tampa, Fla.; Sgt. 1st Class Robert C. Bucheit, of Hamilton, Ohio; Sgt. Francis E. Lindsay, of Esther, Mo.; Cpl. Joseph Gregori, of West Pittston, Pa.; Cpl. Darrell W. Scarbrough, of Fayetteville, W.Va.; Cpl. Homer L. Sisk Jr., of Ducor, Calif.; Cpl. Charles E. Sizemore, of Rushville, Ind.; and Cpl. William E. Wood, of Moorhead, Minn.; all U.S. Army. Gregori was buried in August; Bucheit was buried in September; Scarbrough, Sisk and Sizemore were buried in October; Alonzo was buried in November; and Lindsay and Wood's burial dates are being set by their families.
Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
The soldiers were assigned to the U.S. 8th Cavalry Regiment and attached units (1st Cavalry Division), when their unit came under attack by Chinese forces near Unsan, North Korea on the night of Nov. 1-2, 1950. During the battle, these eight and nearly 400 others from the 8th Cavalry Regiment were declared missing or killed in action.
In 2000, a joint U.S. and Democratic People's Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), interviewed a farmer living in the vicinity of Unsan who told the team that while doing land reclamation work, he uncovered remains he believed were those of U.S. soldiers.
The team excavated the burial site and uncovered the remains of at least 10 different individuals. They also recovered other items and identification tags belonging to these eight men.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains. Some of the remains could not be identified and will be held for further research and analysis. For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
They are Master Sgt. Alfred H. Alonzo Sr., of Tampa, Fla.; Sgt. 1st Class Robert C. Bucheit, of Hamilton, Ohio; Sgt. Francis E. Lindsay, of Esther, Mo.; Cpl. Joseph Gregori, of West Pittston, Pa.; Cpl. Darrell W. Scarbrough, of Fayetteville, W.Va.; Cpl. Homer L. Sisk Jr., of Ducor, Calif.; Cpl. Charles E. Sizemore, of Rushville, Ind.; and Cpl. William E. Wood, of Moorhead, Minn.; all U.S. Army. Gregori was buried in August; Bucheit was buried in September; Scarbrough, Sisk and Sizemore were buried in October; Alonzo was buried in November; and Lindsay and Wood's burial dates are being set by their families.
Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
The soldiers were assigned to the U.S. 8th Cavalry Regiment and attached units (1st Cavalry Division), when their unit came under attack by Chinese forces near Unsan, North Korea on the night of Nov. 1-2, 1950. During the battle, these eight and nearly 400 others from the 8th Cavalry Regiment were declared missing or killed in action.
In 2000, a joint U.S. and Democratic People's Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), interviewed a farmer living in the vicinity of Unsan who told the team that while doing land reclamation work, he uncovered remains he believed were those of U.S. soldiers.
The team excavated the burial site and uncovered the remains of at least 10 different individuals. They also recovered other items and identification tags belonging to these eight men.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains. Some of the remains could not be identified and will be held for further research and analysis. For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online; and police officers and military personnel who have become writers.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Blum: Requirements, Not Budget, Should Drive Air Guard Strength
By Donna Miles
Nov. 30, 2006 – Although the active Air Force and Air Force Reserve are downsizing their ranks to free up funds for new aircraft and equipment, the chief of the National Guard Bureau said he wants any force changes within the Air National Guard to be driven by requirements, not numbers. Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum responded to an airman's question yesterday during a town hall session with National Guardsmen serving here in Operation Jump Start, the Guard's mission in support of the U.S. Border Police.
Blum acknowledged that the active Air Force and Air Force Reserve had a decision to make as they grappled with the challenge of paying for their equipment modernization effort. Ultimately, he said, they opted to do it by cutting their manpower 10 percent.
"The Air Force has made the corporate decision that they are going to downsize their force and take the money savings from paying that force ... and apply it to having a smaller Air Force that's more modernized," Blum told the group.
But the general said he's not convinced that's the best strategy for the Air National Guard.
When Air Force leaders asked him to cut the Air Guard by 16 percent, Blum said he simply said "no."
"I am not sure the Air National Guard needs to be 16 percent smaller," he said. In fact, he said, he's not convinced the National Guard should be smaller at all, and even sees arguments that it might need to grow.
Blum pointed to the active-duty members leaving the Air Force and questioned, "Where are these skilled veterans going to go if we don't have any spaces for them?"
Giving them an opportunity to serve in the Air National Guard - a force that costs about 10 percent of what the active force costs because members get paid only when they're actually on duty - makes perfect sense, Blum said. "That is a tremendous bargain for the American taxpayer," he said, giving the country 24-7 on-call capability, ready to respond to a crisis, at a fraction of the cost of the active force.
"So to me, the logical thing is that if you're going to shrink the active (force), you ought to grow the Guard," he said. "Because it's a pretty dangerous world out there, and nobody has got a crystal ball any better than mine."
Ultimately, Blum said, decisions about Air Guard strength need to boil down to what requirements they will be required to fulfill. "I'm worried about capability," he said.
The bottom line, he said, is that every state and territory needs enough Air National Guard members to meet its state and federal commitments. "I want a capability that we are going to deliver 53 governors and one president of the United States, so that when they call on the Guard, we are always ready and we are always there," he said.
The missions the Air National Guard is performing around the world demand a lot of capability, he told the troops, who are among 6,000 National Guard volunteers from around the country serving along the Southwest U.S. border.
"I can't do this mission without the Air Guard," he said. "There is no Air Force Reserve in this mission, and there is no active Air Force in this mission."
Similarly, Blum said, he needs the 106,000 members of the Air National Guard to keep up with the demand for Air Expeditionary Force units overseas and Air Guard support during natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. "The response to Katrina couldn't have happened without the Air Guard," he said.
He cited the single biggest difference between Air National Guardsmen and their active and Air Force Reserve counterparts. "They don't have a dual mission," he said. "The active Air Force and Air Force Reserve don't get called out by their governors in the middle of the night to do things that you get called out to do in Guam, Tennessee, New Mexico and Georgia, every year when the hurricanes come.
"You have a different mission. So we have a different circumstance," Blum told the Air Guardsmen in the group. "And should we be a little bit smaller? Maybe, but not 16,000 smaller."
Blum admitted he's found himself having to do "a very delicate kabuki dance" with Air Force, Pentagon and congressional leaders as he tries to determine exactly what size the Air Guard should be.
He noted that Air Force leaders promised Congress they wouldn't change the size of the Air Guard, and language to that effect is included in the Base Realignment and Closure legislation. Cutting the Guard would go against Congress' intention, he said. "And the last thing the chief of the Guard Bureau is going to do is to defy the will of the Congress of the United States, because they do in fact set the size of the armed forces and the National Guard."
Blum said he's "not absolute" about what direction the Guard strength numbers ultimately will ultimately take, but is sure of one thing. "I am not going to get driven by a budget to a number," he said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writer.
Nov. 30, 2006 – Although the active Air Force and Air Force Reserve are downsizing their ranks to free up funds for new aircraft and equipment, the chief of the National Guard Bureau said he wants any force changes within the Air National Guard to be driven by requirements, not numbers. Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum responded to an airman's question yesterday during a town hall session with National Guardsmen serving here in Operation Jump Start, the Guard's mission in support of the U.S. Border Police.
Blum acknowledged that the active Air Force and Air Force Reserve had a decision to make as they grappled with the challenge of paying for their equipment modernization effort. Ultimately, he said, they opted to do it by cutting their manpower 10 percent.
"The Air Force has made the corporate decision that they are going to downsize their force and take the money savings from paying that force ... and apply it to having a smaller Air Force that's more modernized," Blum told the group.
But the general said he's not convinced that's the best strategy for the Air National Guard.
When Air Force leaders asked him to cut the Air Guard by 16 percent, Blum said he simply said "no."
"I am not sure the Air National Guard needs to be 16 percent smaller," he said. In fact, he said, he's not convinced the National Guard should be smaller at all, and even sees arguments that it might need to grow.
Blum pointed to the active-duty members leaving the Air Force and questioned, "Where are these skilled veterans going to go if we don't have any spaces for them?"
Giving them an opportunity to serve in the Air National Guard - a force that costs about 10 percent of what the active force costs because members get paid only when they're actually on duty - makes perfect sense, Blum said. "That is a tremendous bargain for the American taxpayer," he said, giving the country 24-7 on-call capability, ready to respond to a crisis, at a fraction of the cost of the active force.
"So to me, the logical thing is that if you're going to shrink the active (force), you ought to grow the Guard," he said. "Because it's a pretty dangerous world out there, and nobody has got a crystal ball any better than mine."
Ultimately, Blum said, decisions about Air Guard strength need to boil down to what requirements they will be required to fulfill. "I'm worried about capability," he said.
The bottom line, he said, is that every state and territory needs enough Air National Guard members to meet its state and federal commitments. "I want a capability that we are going to deliver 53 governors and one president of the United States, so that when they call on the Guard, we are always ready and we are always there," he said.
The missions the Air National Guard is performing around the world demand a lot of capability, he told the troops, who are among 6,000 National Guard volunteers from around the country serving along the Southwest U.S. border.
"I can't do this mission without the Air Guard," he said. "There is no Air Force Reserve in this mission, and there is no active Air Force in this mission."
Similarly, Blum said, he needs the 106,000 members of the Air National Guard to keep up with the demand for Air Expeditionary Force units overseas and Air Guard support during natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. "The response to Katrina couldn't have happened without the Air Guard," he said.
He cited the single biggest difference between Air National Guardsmen and their active and Air Force Reserve counterparts. "They don't have a dual mission," he said. "The active Air Force and Air Force Reserve don't get called out by their governors in the middle of the night to do things that you get called out to do in Guam, Tennessee, New Mexico and Georgia, every year when the hurricanes come.
"You have a different mission. So we have a different circumstance," Blum told the Air Guardsmen in the group. "And should we be a little bit smaller? Maybe, but not 16,000 smaller."
Blum admitted he's found himself having to do "a very delicate kabuki dance" with Air Force, Pentagon and congressional leaders as he tries to determine exactly what size the Air Guard should be.
He noted that Air Force leaders promised Congress they wouldn't change the size of the Air Guard, and language to that effect is included in the Base Realignment and Closure legislation. Cutting the Guard would go against Congress' intention, he said. "And the last thing the chief of the Guard Bureau is going to do is to defy the will of the Congress of the United States, because they do in fact set the size of the armed forces and the National Guard."
Blum said he's "not absolute" about what direction the Guard strength numbers ultimately will ultimately take, but is sure of one thing. "I am not going to get driven by a budget to a number," he said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writer.
Florida Guard Delivers Donations to Kabul Orphange
By Tech. Sgt. Christopher DeWitt, USAF
Nov. 30, 2006 – Blankets, school supplies and soccer balls made their way to hundreds of orphaned children here today thanks to a deployed Florida U.S. Army Guard unit and donations from Americans. "This demonstrates America's compassion," said Col. Andrew Verrett, commander of the 930th Army Liaison Team, from Homestead, Fla. "We tend to be a nation of doers not talkers, and this project demonstrates that."
The items -- nearly 2,000 blankets, 1,000 soccer balls and basic school supplies -- made their way from the United States to Kabul, where members of the 930th planned the distribution to the Allahoddin orphanage in Kabul.
"We wrote to newspapers back home and used the power of the Internet," said Army Lt. Col. Abe Conn, liaison officer with the 930th. "One friend told another and so on. Before we knew it, we had received the blankets, balls and $3,500 for shipping. The whole unit helped with planning, inflating balls and distributing the donations."
Though the items came in from across the United States, a multinational group helped deliver the goods, with Macedonian and British servicemembers helping the Guard unit unload the trucks and hand the items out to the children.
"It's a sense of hope to the children who might not have any," Conn said. "It is a promise of a brighter tomorrow."
This is the second tour to the Afghan capital for the 930th. During the first, from July 2002 to March 2003, the unit raised $7,000 and built tables and chairs for the orphanage. Conn said the unit's soldiers remembered the children kicking cans around and decided to give them something better to kick around.
"It's a great thing to help other people, and that's what we did here today," Conn said. "We had a choice. We could have done nothing or we could have done something; ... we chose to do something."
(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Christopher DeWitt is assigned to Combined Forces Command Afghanistan.)
Article sponsored by criminal justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writer.
Nov. 30, 2006 – Blankets, school supplies and soccer balls made their way to hundreds of orphaned children here today thanks to a deployed Florida U.S. Army Guard unit and donations from Americans. "This demonstrates America's compassion," said Col. Andrew Verrett, commander of the 930th Army Liaison Team, from Homestead, Fla. "We tend to be a nation of doers not talkers, and this project demonstrates that."
The items -- nearly 2,000 blankets, 1,000 soccer balls and basic school supplies -- made their way from the United States to Kabul, where members of the 930th planned the distribution to the Allahoddin orphanage in Kabul.
"We wrote to newspapers back home and used the power of the Internet," said Army Lt. Col. Abe Conn, liaison officer with the 930th. "One friend told another and so on. Before we knew it, we had received the blankets, balls and $3,500 for shipping. The whole unit helped with planning, inflating balls and distributing the donations."
Though the items came in from across the United States, a multinational group helped deliver the goods, with Macedonian and British servicemembers helping the Guard unit unload the trucks and hand the items out to the children.
"It's a sense of hope to the children who might not have any," Conn said. "It is a promise of a brighter tomorrow."
This is the second tour to the Afghan capital for the 930th. During the first, from July 2002 to March 2003, the unit raised $7,000 and built tables and chairs for the orphanage. Conn said the unit's soldiers remembered the children kicking cans around and decided to give them something better to kick around.
"It's a great thing to help other people, and that's what we did here today," Conn said. "We had a choice. We could have done nothing or we could have done something; ... we chose to do something."
(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Christopher DeWitt is assigned to Combined Forces Command Afghanistan.)
Article sponsored by criminal justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writer.
America Supports You: Silver Star Families Undertakes Holiday Project
By Samantha L. Quigley
Nov. 30, 2006 – Silver Star Families of America, a group dedicated to supporting wounded servicemembers and their families, is thinking outside the box this Christmas. A member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program highlighting ways Americans and the corporate sector support the nation's servicemembers, the group has undertaken a program to send holiday cheer to military and veterans hospitals.
"We concentrate on sending Silver Star banners to the wounded," Steve Newton, the organization's founder, said. "But the members wanted to do something special for the wounded for Christmas."
Through "Project Christmas," Silver Star Families is sending at least one box of goodies to a military hospital, a Veterans Affairs medical center or a combat support hospital in every state in the U.S., and to Germany and Iraq, Newton said.
The effort got under way a mere three weeks ago, and the organization has nearly met its goal. All boxes for overseas locations have been shipped to ensure they arrived in time for the holidays. As for the stateside venture, only a handful of states remain to be checked off the list. "This has been a big project for us," Newton said. "We usually don't tackle care packages on this scale. But we've had a lot of support."
That support has come from within, with members donating items to stuff the boxes, and from the celebrity realm, including best-selling author Dean Koontz. The author shipped "cases and cases of autographed books," which meshed well with the group's goal of sending "fun" items. Other items donated for the packages include signed baseball, football and other sports memorabilia, as well as items with musicians' signatures.
"We got pencils from the Chicago Cubs, just hundreds and hundreds of pencils," he said. "The Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team sent us, I bet it was 150 ... T-shirts, beautiful T-shirts."
The Silver Star members also are taking it upon themselves to pick up any slack, Newton said. One member from the Washington area stepped up to cover the postage for all of the packages being sent from the national headquarters in Missouri. Other members are sending packages on their own to ensure as many wounded servicemembers as possible have a great Christmas.
"If you'd asked me a week or two ago, I'd have said, 'I don't ever, ever want to see any kind of box again," Newton said with a laugh. "But I think we'll do this every year."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writer.
Nov. 30, 2006 – Silver Star Families of America, a group dedicated to supporting wounded servicemembers and their families, is thinking outside the box this Christmas. A member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program highlighting ways Americans and the corporate sector support the nation's servicemembers, the group has undertaken a program to send holiday cheer to military and veterans hospitals.
"We concentrate on sending Silver Star banners to the wounded," Steve Newton, the organization's founder, said. "But the members wanted to do something special for the wounded for Christmas."
Through "Project Christmas," Silver Star Families is sending at least one box of goodies to a military hospital, a Veterans Affairs medical center or a combat support hospital in every state in the U.S., and to Germany and Iraq, Newton said.
The effort got under way a mere three weeks ago, and the organization has nearly met its goal. All boxes for overseas locations have been shipped to ensure they arrived in time for the holidays. As for the stateside venture, only a handful of states remain to be checked off the list. "This has been a big project for us," Newton said. "We usually don't tackle care packages on this scale. But we've had a lot of support."
That support has come from within, with members donating items to stuff the boxes, and from the celebrity realm, including best-selling author Dean Koontz. The author shipped "cases and cases of autographed books," which meshed well with the group's goal of sending "fun" items. Other items donated for the packages include signed baseball, football and other sports memorabilia, as well as items with musicians' signatures.
"We got pencils from the Chicago Cubs, just hundreds and hundreds of pencils," he said. "The Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team sent us, I bet it was 150 ... T-shirts, beautiful T-shirts."
The Silver Star members also are taking it upon themselves to pick up any slack, Newton said. One member from the Washington area stepped up to cover the postage for all of the packages being sent from the national headquarters in Missouri. Other members are sending packages on their own to ensure as many wounded servicemembers as possible have a great Christmas.
"If you'd asked me a week or two ago, I'd have said, 'I don't ever, ever want to see any kind of box again," Newton said with a laugh. "But I think we'll do this every year."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writer.
Cold War History Played Out at Guantanamo Bay Gate
By Sgt. Jim Greenhill, USA
Nov. 30, 2006 – Even as deployed National Guard members make history serving with Joint Task Force Guantanamo, they find history at the base's Northeast Gate. Minutemen and women helping fulfill JTF-GTMO's mission of providing safe care and custody for enemy combatants detained during the global war on terrorism can join Marine guides for an off-duty visit to a place where the world once seemed to hold its breath as superpowers stood eyeball-to-eyeball during the Cuban Missile Crisis. About 13 percent of JTF-GTMO is currently made up of National Guard troops, mostly from the Maryland National Guard.
The nation's oldest overseas naval base is also the only one in a country with which the United States does not have diplomatic relations. But the tensions that once surrounded the Northeast Gate, the only crossing point between the naval station and the rest of Cuba, have long since evaporated.
"We have a very good rapport with the Cuban army," a Marine Corps staff sergeant said at the gate in mid-November. He is not being identified for security reasons. "We talk to them quite often," he said. "There's no tension like there used to be."
A few feet away, a half-dozen uniformed Cuban soldiers trimmed grass and picked up trash on the Cuban side, preparing for the monthly meeting between naval station commander Navy Capt. Mark Leary and his Cuban military counterpart. The fence-line meetings alternate between the American and Cuban sides. One month, the two commanders meet in a former Marine reaction force room on the base; the next, they meet in a building on the Cuban side of the line. They discuss issues such as security, the fence and communications, the Marine staff sergeant said.
"We don't deal with politics," Leary said. "Even during the time of President (Fidel) Castro's recent illness, there was no discussion. It really is much more of a local and pragmatic relationship dealing with the base and the local area of eastern Cuba."
Once a year, troops from both sides perform a mass casualty drill, demonstrating both sides' willingness to set aside differences and help each other during a crisis.
Decades ago, the atmosphere was similar to that embodied by Jack Nicholson in a line from the movie "A Few Good Men." "I eat breakfast 300 yards from 4,000 Cubans who are trained to kill me," his character, a Marine colonel, said.
Tensions were so high that shots were fired, though there were no gun battles. Over several years, troops on both sides of the fence competed for national pride.
Cubans lobbed rocks onto the tin roof of the reaction room were Marines were trying to sleep, so the Marines built a 40-foot-high fence along a stretch of the base's perimeter.
Then Cubans hung coat hangers and other metal objects on the new fence to clatter in the night wind and disturb the Marines' sleep, so the Marines added barbed wire.
When Cubans raised their flag higher than the Stars and Stripes, Marines installed ever-higher flagpoles on the U.S. side. The Cubans ultimately won that face-off by moving their flag to the top of a distant ridge line on the Cuban side, an elevation the Marines could not achieve.
As tensions persisted, the Cubans beamed a powerful spotlight into the reaction room's windows. "Marines can't sleep, they're not happy Marines," the staff sergeant said. "So we've got to do something about it."
Vice Adm. John Bulkeley, the base commander in the 1960s, devised a way to deal with that problem.
For 30 days, laborers worked in a tent erected on a hillside below the Marine building. "On the 30th night, the Cuban light came on, the tent came down and if y'all walk this way you'll see what the Cubans saw that night," the Marine staff sergeant told a group of visitors to the gate area.
A giant Marine Corps symbol painted on a massive concrete slab remains on the hillside. When the Cubans turned on their light on that 30th night, it spotlighted a super-sized eagle, globe and anchor. "The Cubans said, 'We're not going to spotlight that,'" the staff sergeant said. "They shut their spotlight off."
But the Marines favored highlighting the symbol. Anticipating the Cuban reaction, they had installed a light of their own that shines on the crest but not into their windows. At night, the single light can be seen from high ground throughout the 45-square-mile naval station.
Tensions grew more serious in 1964, when the U.S. arrested 17 Cuban fishermen for violating territorial waters off the Florida coast and Castro cut the fresh water supply the U.S. had for years pumped from a river several miles north of the naval station. "We stayed here," the staff sergeant said. "We didn't leave. He expected us to leave."
So Castro accused the U.S. of stealing water. To counter this, Bulkeley invited media to watch as the cast iron water pipe into the base was cut near the North East Gate. He sent a piece to Castro, with a photograph of the ceremony. Visitors still can see the exposed pipe.
The U.S. had shipped water into the base until a desalination plant that uses the same technology used on submarines was completed. The naval station uses wind turbines and diesel generators to supply power. Supplies are shipped or flown in. "We're totally self-sufficient," Leary said.
Marines and Cuban soldiers still face off from watch towers on hillsides on both sides of the 17-mile fence. No one goes to the Northeast Gate without permission from the Marines. The drive there crosses salt flats once dotted with 50,000 mines, which President Bill Clinton ordered removed in 1996. They were replaced with motion and sound sensors.
The Marines' respect for their Cuban counterparts is reflected in the order to visitors to not photograph them, point at them or make any gestures.
Only two people cross the fence line each day. An 85-year-old and a 79-year-old Cuban, the last two who still work on the naval station, arrive on the Cuban side at 6 a.m., walk across, work on the naval station and leave again at 6 p.m.
Once, about 4,000 Cubans came through the gate to work on the base. But Castro cut off the labor supply, later relenting to allow people who were working there before the ban to continue. Twice a month, Marines escort cash to the fence line so retired Cubans can collect their U.S. pensions.
Today, most naval station labor is supplied by nationals from Jamaica and the Philippines who live at GTMO.
Once or twice a month, Cubans who have attempted to cross into the naval station are returned to Cuba.
"Throughout history, the base has kind of cycled in importance," Leary said. "In the end, it's always been a good investment for the United States. It will continue to be a good investment. I don't know what the future missions would be. There are certainly other ones, (and) an extended-stay detainee mission is certainly possible."
(Army Sgt. Jim Greenhill is assigned to the National Guard Bureau.)
Article sponsored by criminal justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writer.
Nov. 30, 2006 – Even as deployed National Guard members make history serving with Joint Task Force Guantanamo, they find history at the base's Northeast Gate. Minutemen and women helping fulfill JTF-GTMO's mission of providing safe care and custody for enemy combatants detained during the global war on terrorism can join Marine guides for an off-duty visit to a place where the world once seemed to hold its breath as superpowers stood eyeball-to-eyeball during the Cuban Missile Crisis. About 13 percent of JTF-GTMO is currently made up of National Guard troops, mostly from the Maryland National Guard.
The nation's oldest overseas naval base is also the only one in a country with which the United States does not have diplomatic relations. But the tensions that once surrounded the Northeast Gate, the only crossing point between the naval station and the rest of Cuba, have long since evaporated.
"We have a very good rapport with the Cuban army," a Marine Corps staff sergeant said at the gate in mid-November. He is not being identified for security reasons. "We talk to them quite often," he said. "There's no tension like there used to be."
A few feet away, a half-dozen uniformed Cuban soldiers trimmed grass and picked up trash on the Cuban side, preparing for the monthly meeting between naval station commander Navy Capt. Mark Leary and his Cuban military counterpart. The fence-line meetings alternate between the American and Cuban sides. One month, the two commanders meet in a former Marine reaction force room on the base; the next, they meet in a building on the Cuban side of the line. They discuss issues such as security, the fence and communications, the Marine staff sergeant said.
"We don't deal with politics," Leary said. "Even during the time of President (Fidel) Castro's recent illness, there was no discussion. It really is much more of a local and pragmatic relationship dealing with the base and the local area of eastern Cuba."
Once a year, troops from both sides perform a mass casualty drill, demonstrating both sides' willingness to set aside differences and help each other during a crisis.
Decades ago, the atmosphere was similar to that embodied by Jack Nicholson in a line from the movie "A Few Good Men." "I eat breakfast 300 yards from 4,000 Cubans who are trained to kill me," his character, a Marine colonel, said.
Tensions were so high that shots were fired, though there were no gun battles. Over several years, troops on both sides of the fence competed for national pride.
Cubans lobbed rocks onto the tin roof of the reaction room were Marines were trying to sleep, so the Marines built a 40-foot-high fence along a stretch of the base's perimeter.
Then Cubans hung coat hangers and other metal objects on the new fence to clatter in the night wind and disturb the Marines' sleep, so the Marines added barbed wire.
When Cubans raised their flag higher than the Stars and Stripes, Marines installed ever-higher flagpoles on the U.S. side. The Cubans ultimately won that face-off by moving their flag to the top of a distant ridge line on the Cuban side, an elevation the Marines could not achieve.
As tensions persisted, the Cubans beamed a powerful spotlight into the reaction room's windows. "Marines can't sleep, they're not happy Marines," the staff sergeant said. "So we've got to do something about it."
Vice Adm. John Bulkeley, the base commander in the 1960s, devised a way to deal with that problem.
For 30 days, laborers worked in a tent erected on a hillside below the Marine building. "On the 30th night, the Cuban light came on, the tent came down and if y'all walk this way you'll see what the Cubans saw that night," the Marine staff sergeant told a group of visitors to the gate area.
A giant Marine Corps symbol painted on a massive concrete slab remains on the hillside. When the Cubans turned on their light on that 30th night, it spotlighted a super-sized eagle, globe and anchor. "The Cubans said, 'We're not going to spotlight that,'" the staff sergeant said. "They shut their spotlight off."
But the Marines favored highlighting the symbol. Anticipating the Cuban reaction, they had installed a light of their own that shines on the crest but not into their windows. At night, the single light can be seen from high ground throughout the 45-square-mile naval station.
Tensions grew more serious in 1964, when the U.S. arrested 17 Cuban fishermen for violating territorial waters off the Florida coast and Castro cut the fresh water supply the U.S. had for years pumped from a river several miles north of the naval station. "We stayed here," the staff sergeant said. "We didn't leave. He expected us to leave."
So Castro accused the U.S. of stealing water. To counter this, Bulkeley invited media to watch as the cast iron water pipe into the base was cut near the North East Gate. He sent a piece to Castro, with a photograph of the ceremony. Visitors still can see the exposed pipe.
The U.S. had shipped water into the base until a desalination plant that uses the same technology used on submarines was completed. The naval station uses wind turbines and diesel generators to supply power. Supplies are shipped or flown in. "We're totally self-sufficient," Leary said.
Marines and Cuban soldiers still face off from watch towers on hillsides on both sides of the 17-mile fence. No one goes to the Northeast Gate without permission from the Marines. The drive there crosses salt flats once dotted with 50,000 mines, which President Bill Clinton ordered removed in 1996. They were replaced with motion and sound sensors.
The Marines' respect for their Cuban counterparts is reflected in the order to visitors to not photograph them, point at them or make any gestures.
Only two people cross the fence line each day. An 85-year-old and a 79-year-old Cuban, the last two who still work on the naval station, arrive on the Cuban side at 6 a.m., walk across, work on the naval station and leave again at 6 p.m.
Once, about 4,000 Cubans came through the gate to work on the base. But Castro cut off the labor supply, later relenting to allow people who were working there before the ban to continue. Twice a month, Marines escort cash to the fence line so retired Cubans can collect their U.S. pensions.
Today, most naval station labor is supplied by nationals from Jamaica and the Philippines who live at GTMO.
Once or twice a month, Cubans who have attempted to cross into the naval station are returned to Cuba.
"Throughout history, the base has kind of cycled in importance," Leary said. "In the end, it's always been a good investment for the United States. It will continue to be a good investment. I don't know what the future missions would be. There are certainly other ones, (and) an extended-stay detainee mission is certainly possible."
(Army Sgt. Jim Greenhill is assigned to the National Guard Bureau.)
Article sponsored by criminal justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writer.
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