By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
March 21, 2007 – The latest round of the Base Realignment and Closure process is the most extensive, transformational round the nation has ever seen, and will require full funding to implement, a senior Defense Department official said here yesterday.
Philip W. Grone, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment, told a House Appropriations Committee panel that this round of BRAC involves 24 major base closures, 24 major realignments, more than 760 other discrete actions, and supports the repositioning of U.S. forces worldwide.
Calling it "a fairly extensive and important BRAC round," Grone said the question of cost is "a critically important one."
DoD asked for $8.2 billion for BRAC implementation in its fiscal 2008 budget request. This bumps the estimated five-year cost for BRAC implementation up to $30.8 billion, a more than 60 percent increase from last year's estimate of $18.3 billion.
One of the reasons for the increase is that this BRAC round is 75 percent military construction, Grone said. The construction costs inflate as the program goes from analysis into implementation, he explained. Also, he said, additional requirements have surfaced, such as the Army's need to improve quality of life for soldiers and families, and additional training ranges.
Included in the BRAC recommendations is the decision to close Walter Reed Army Medical Center and consolidate it with the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Recently publicized problems with outpatient care and bureaucracy for wounded troops at Walter Reed have sparked some debate about whether that decision should be overturned and Walter Reed should remain open.
In the budget request, about $481 million is allocated for the construction at Bethesda and a new hospital at Fort Belvoir, Va., Grone said. Keeping Walter Reed open would save that money initially, but would have a negative long-term effect on the estimated savings the consolidation would have, he said.
"The recommendation is estimated to save $170 million annually," Grone said. "So if we were to keep in the status-quo environment, we would forego savings that could be better put back into the mission that we know are being inefficiently expended today in the management of the entirety of the catchment area."
Grone noted that this BRAC round allowed DoD officials to think about positioning forces where they would best fit, as opposed to where there was room. Also, he said, it allowed a comprehensive look at force structure from a joint perspective.
"Forty percent of the recommendations we will carry out affect more than one component," he said. "And that's not just a question of whether it affects the active Army and the Army Reserve. It's a question of whether it affects the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, defense agencies, missions that are complex, missions that are truly joint."
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
STRATCOM Commander: Safe, Reliable Deterrence Critical to Defense
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
March 21, 2007 – As the United States works to reduce its nuclear weapons stockpile, it must ensure it has enough safe, reliable weapons -- both nuclear and conventional -- to deter against the threats it faces, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command told the House Armed Services Committee today. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright joined the commanders of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Transportation Command and U.S. Southern Command during a hearing on the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Budget request.
The threats facing the United States -- whether from conventional nation-states, rogue states, extremists, or even cyber-terrorists -- are broader than ever before, he noted. That's driven the entire military, including STRATCOM, in an effort to "define a deterrent strategy for the 21st century and the capabilities necessary to lend credibility to that deterrent," he said.
Cartwright reported solid strides toward meeting objectives of the Moscow Treaty, which sets limits in both the U.S. and Russian active nuclear stockpiles. Both counties are ahead of the schedule leading to 2012 in drawing down their stocks, he said.
The U.S. goal, Cartwright said, is to have the "lowest number of nuclear weapons for national security."
But while moving forward to carry out mandates of the Moscow Treaty, "we need to increase our other capabilities as alternatives and replacements for the drawdown of the nuclear weapons that we have in our stockpile," Cartwright told the committee.
The current stockpile is being refurbished "to ensure the weapons that we have are the safest they can be for the people who use them and handle them, that they are as secure as modern technology will allow us to make them, and that they are reliable," he said.
He cited progress under way in developing a reliable replacement warhead to sustain the country's nuclear weapons stockpile for the long term without underground nuclear testing. Cartwright has described that system, now entering its second study phase, as a key component in transforming the aging Cold War nuclear weapons stockpile.
A key feature, he said, is that the reliable replacement warhead requires no new delivery vehicle.
"This is taking my 1966 Mustang and making sure that it has got four-wheel disc brakes, it's got seat belts, it's got all of the things that it ought to have to be responsible, to maintain control over and be able to use and develop these weapons in a safe, secure way," he explained. "That is our intention with the reliable replacement warhead."
Once fielded, the system will ensure the United States can respond to both technological and political surprise while reducing its current stockpile of nuclear warheads, Cartwright said.
The general cited a gap in existing defense capabilities that weigh heavily on a nuclear response.
"Today, if something happens quickly and we need to respond quickly, the only choice we have in a global capability is a nuclear weapon," he said. "That is unacceptable for the range of threats we are going to face in the future. We need a conventional capability (more appropriate to other scenarios)."
Another factor in a credible defense is a balanced offense-defense capability, he said. "Offense is not always the right answer, and it is usually where you don't want to end up," Cartwright said. "What we want to be able to do is to drive this to a nonconfrontational issue."
A defensive capability gives the United States the ability to defuse threats before they escalate, he said.
Cartwright pointed to proliferation of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, noting that the country must be able to discourage adversaries from using them. "How do you make the governments who have them think twice about using them ... and about the effect they are doing to have?" he said.
Similarly, the United States must be ready to deal with the proliferation of cruise missiles, particularly in light of their increased sophistication. Cartwright said STRATCOM is convinced the best defense isn't a system dedicated specifically to cruise missiles.
"You want to leverage the lessons that we've learned and the capabilities in command and control and sensor management that we've learned in ballistic missiles and apply that to cruise missiles rather than building a separate system," he said. "And that is the path that we are on."
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 21, 2007 – As the United States works to reduce its nuclear weapons stockpile, it must ensure it has enough safe, reliable weapons -- both nuclear and conventional -- to deter against the threats it faces, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command told the House Armed Services Committee today. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright joined the commanders of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Transportation Command and U.S. Southern Command during a hearing on the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Budget request.
The threats facing the United States -- whether from conventional nation-states, rogue states, extremists, or even cyber-terrorists -- are broader than ever before, he noted. That's driven the entire military, including STRATCOM, in an effort to "define a deterrent strategy for the 21st century and the capabilities necessary to lend credibility to that deterrent," he said.
Cartwright reported solid strides toward meeting objectives of the Moscow Treaty, which sets limits in both the U.S. and Russian active nuclear stockpiles. Both counties are ahead of the schedule leading to 2012 in drawing down their stocks, he said.
The U.S. goal, Cartwright said, is to have the "lowest number of nuclear weapons for national security."
But while moving forward to carry out mandates of the Moscow Treaty, "we need to increase our other capabilities as alternatives and replacements for the drawdown of the nuclear weapons that we have in our stockpile," Cartwright told the committee.
The current stockpile is being refurbished "to ensure the weapons that we have are the safest they can be for the people who use them and handle them, that they are as secure as modern technology will allow us to make them, and that they are reliable," he said.
He cited progress under way in developing a reliable replacement warhead to sustain the country's nuclear weapons stockpile for the long term without underground nuclear testing. Cartwright has described that system, now entering its second study phase, as a key component in transforming the aging Cold War nuclear weapons stockpile.
A key feature, he said, is that the reliable replacement warhead requires no new delivery vehicle.
"This is taking my 1966 Mustang and making sure that it has got four-wheel disc brakes, it's got seat belts, it's got all of the things that it ought to have to be responsible, to maintain control over and be able to use and develop these weapons in a safe, secure way," he explained. "That is our intention with the reliable replacement warhead."
Once fielded, the system will ensure the United States can respond to both technological and political surprise while reducing its current stockpile of nuclear warheads, Cartwright said.
The general cited a gap in existing defense capabilities that weigh heavily on a nuclear response.
"Today, if something happens quickly and we need to respond quickly, the only choice we have in a global capability is a nuclear weapon," he said. "That is unacceptable for the range of threats we are going to face in the future. We need a conventional capability (more appropriate to other scenarios)."
Another factor in a credible defense is a balanced offense-defense capability, he said. "Offense is not always the right answer, and it is usually where you don't want to end up," Cartwright said. "What we want to be able to do is to drive this to a nonconfrontational issue."
A defensive capability gives the United States the ability to defuse threats before they escalate, he said.
Cartwright pointed to proliferation of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, noting that the country must be able to discourage adversaries from using them. "How do you make the governments who have them think twice about using them ... and about the effect they are doing to have?" he said.
Similarly, the United States must be ready to deal with the proliferation of cruise missiles, particularly in light of their increased sophistication. Cartwright said STRATCOM is convinced the best defense isn't a system dedicated specifically to cruise missiles.
"You want to leverage the lessons that we've learned and the capabilities in command and control and sensor management that we've learned in ballistic missiles and apply that to cruise missiles rather than building a separate system," he said. "And that is the path that we are on."
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Book Gives Voice to World War II Nisei Linguists
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
March 21, 2007 – A group of Japanese-Americans who served as interpreters and interrogators helped America "fight smart" during World War II, a top military historian said today. A new 514-page book, "Nisei Linguists: Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service During WWII," by James C. McNaughton, command historian for U.S. European Command, is the culmination of two senators' efforts.
Both of Hawaii's U.S. senators -- Daniel K. Akaka and fellow World War II veteran Daniel K. Inouye -- championed the Army-endorsed project to recognize the roughly 6,000 Nisei linguists who served and the Military Intelligence Service that trained them.
"I am delighted this project is finally done," Akaka said during a Senate speech here March 19. "For decades after their service, a complete documentation of their exemplary deeds was sorely lacking. Now the heroic work of these translators ... will forever be remembered and honored by future generations."
McNaughton said his book sheds light on what he called an "undiscovered little niche" of history.
"I was pretty familiar with the official historical literature of the Second World War, and there was virtually no mention of them," McNaughton said here during an interview. "Once I got to meet some of these veterans and started doing oral history interviews, (I realized) they're great guys with wonderful stories."
When the U.S. military began conscripting young men for armed service, McNaughton explained, the Army drafted several thousand Japanese-American men, "so when the war broke out, the Army had a pool of potential linguists."
"In 1943, the Army decided to organize a segregated infantry unit called the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and then called for volunteers," he said. "Most people who know about Japanese-American history know about that, but what they don't know is that a quarter of those volunteers were siphoned off into the language training route."
This select group of Japanese-Americans learned to interrogate prisoners, intercept messages, translate captured documents and infiltrate enemy lines at the Military Intelligence Service's Language School near San Francisco.
McNaughton's favorite anecdote, he said, is about a begrudging MIS graduate who tried to avoid linguistic training.
"Sgt. Hoichi Kubo was a student at the University of Hawaii when the war broke out, and he got drafted and wanted to go with the 442nd because he wanted to fight," McNaughton said. "His (Japanese) language skills were good enough that the Army pulled him out.
"He told me that he deliberately put down the wrong answer on every single question during the screening exam, but the interviewers knew he was faking it and took him (to MIS) anyway," McNaughton said. "He was really mad about that."
Kubo served four tours in Japan as a military linguist and remained there to help rebuild the country after the war ended.
One day, Kubo's diplomatic skills were tested when he discovered about 100 civilians being held hostage in a cave by four Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender, McNaughton said.
"Kubo took a .45 (caliber) pistol, tucked it into the back of his belt, stuffed some K rations in his pockets, climbed down alone into that cave and talked to the Japanese soldiers," he said. "He explained to them, 'If you want to die for the emperor, that's your business. But these women and children have no reason to die for the emperor; let them go.'"
After an hour talking with the desperate soldiers, Kubo negotiated the prisoners' release.
"One by one, the civilians crawled out of the cave," McNaughton said. "For that, (Kubo) was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, not for an act of valor on the battlefield, but for an act of valor after the battle."
Nisei linguists, McNaughton said, were the Defense Department's "first experiment" in training and using military linguists during a major conflict and the ensuing occupation.
Though their efforts in World War II have gone largely undocumented, he said, Nisei linguists played a major role. Twenty of them earned the Silver Star.
"Every battle or campaign they talked about, they would say, 'Oh yeah, we translated this document, we interrogated this prisoner, and we told the regimental commander or division commander there's going to be an attack tomorrow night,'" he said.
McNaughton said the Army-funded project gives military linguists a sense of their heritage.
"It's an honorable tradition, within all the services, going back to the Second World War," he said.
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 21, 2007 – A group of Japanese-Americans who served as interpreters and interrogators helped America "fight smart" during World War II, a top military historian said today. A new 514-page book, "Nisei Linguists: Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service During WWII," by James C. McNaughton, command historian for U.S. European Command, is the culmination of two senators' efforts.
Both of Hawaii's U.S. senators -- Daniel K. Akaka and fellow World War II veteran Daniel K. Inouye -- championed the Army-endorsed project to recognize the roughly 6,000 Nisei linguists who served and the Military Intelligence Service that trained them.
"I am delighted this project is finally done," Akaka said during a Senate speech here March 19. "For decades after their service, a complete documentation of their exemplary deeds was sorely lacking. Now the heroic work of these translators ... will forever be remembered and honored by future generations."
McNaughton said his book sheds light on what he called an "undiscovered little niche" of history.
"I was pretty familiar with the official historical literature of the Second World War, and there was virtually no mention of them," McNaughton said here during an interview. "Once I got to meet some of these veterans and started doing oral history interviews, (I realized) they're great guys with wonderful stories."
When the U.S. military began conscripting young men for armed service, McNaughton explained, the Army drafted several thousand Japanese-American men, "so when the war broke out, the Army had a pool of potential linguists."
"In 1943, the Army decided to organize a segregated infantry unit called the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and then called for volunteers," he said. "Most people who know about Japanese-American history know about that, but what they don't know is that a quarter of those volunteers were siphoned off into the language training route."
This select group of Japanese-Americans learned to interrogate prisoners, intercept messages, translate captured documents and infiltrate enemy lines at the Military Intelligence Service's Language School near San Francisco.
McNaughton's favorite anecdote, he said, is about a begrudging MIS graduate who tried to avoid linguistic training.
"Sgt. Hoichi Kubo was a student at the University of Hawaii when the war broke out, and he got drafted and wanted to go with the 442nd because he wanted to fight," McNaughton said. "His (Japanese) language skills were good enough that the Army pulled him out.
"He told me that he deliberately put down the wrong answer on every single question during the screening exam, but the interviewers knew he was faking it and took him (to MIS) anyway," McNaughton said. "He was really mad about that."
Kubo served four tours in Japan as a military linguist and remained there to help rebuild the country after the war ended.
One day, Kubo's diplomatic skills were tested when he discovered about 100 civilians being held hostage in a cave by four Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender, McNaughton said.
"Kubo took a .45 (caliber) pistol, tucked it into the back of his belt, stuffed some K rations in his pockets, climbed down alone into that cave and talked to the Japanese soldiers," he said. "He explained to them, 'If you want to die for the emperor, that's your business. But these women and children have no reason to die for the emperor; let them go.'"
After an hour talking with the desperate soldiers, Kubo negotiated the prisoners' release.
"One by one, the civilians crawled out of the cave," McNaughton said. "For that, (Kubo) was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, not for an act of valor on the battlefield, but for an act of valor after the battle."
Nisei linguists, McNaughton said, were the Defense Department's "first experiment" in training and using military linguists during a major conflict and the ensuing occupation.
Though their efforts in World War II have gone largely undocumented, he said, Nisei linguists played a major role. Twenty of them earned the Silver Star.
"Every battle or campaign they talked about, they would say, 'Oh yeah, we translated this document, we interrogated this prisoner, and we told the regimental commander or division commander there's going to be an attack tomorrow night,'" he said.
McNaughton said the Army-funded project gives military linguists a sense of their heritage.
"It's an honorable tradition, within all the services, going back to the Second World War," he said.
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Senate Confirms Keating, Renuart to Key Commands
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
March 20, 2007 – The U.S. Senate confirmed the nominees to the top posts at U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Pacific Command during last night's session. The full Senate confirmed Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating as PACOM commander and Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., to receive his fourth star and to become commander of NORTHCOM and North American Aerospace Defense Command.
Renuart, who currently serves as Gates' senior military assistant, will assume Keating's NORTHCOM post.
In announcing both officers' nominations in February, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates praised them for establishing a record of accomplishments in a variety of complex and challenging assignments. "Each has shown the requisite combination of military, diplomatic and intellectual skills to be successful in these two positions," he said.
"They both have served this country extremely well, and if confirmed, they both will continue to do so," agreed Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Keating, a native of Dayton, Ohio, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971. Before assuming his current post in November 2004, he served as director of the Joint Staff.
Renuart entered the Air Force in 1971 following graduation from Indiana University and received his commission through Officer Training School in 1972. He was director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Staff before becoming the defense secretary's senior military assistant in August 2006.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 20, 2007 – The U.S. Senate confirmed the nominees to the top posts at U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Pacific Command during last night's session. The full Senate confirmed Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating as PACOM commander and Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., to receive his fourth star and to become commander of NORTHCOM and North American Aerospace Defense Command.
Renuart, who currently serves as Gates' senior military assistant, will assume Keating's NORTHCOM post.
In announcing both officers' nominations in February, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates praised them for establishing a record of accomplishments in a variety of complex and challenging assignments. "Each has shown the requisite combination of military, diplomatic and intellectual skills to be successful in these two positions," he said.
"They both have served this country extremely well, and if confirmed, they both will continue to do so," agreed Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Keating, a native of Dayton, Ohio, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971. Before assuming his current post in November 2004, he served as director of the Joint Staff.
Renuart entered the Air Force in 1971 following graduation from Indiana University and received his commission through Officer Training School in 1972. He was director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Staff before becoming the defense secretary's senior military assistant in August 2006.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Alabama Declares May 1 'Silver Star Day'
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
March 20, 2007 – May 1 will be "Silver Star Day" in Alabama, as Gov. Bob Riley signed a proclamation officially declaring the observance in a brief ceremony yesterday. The Silver Star Day initiative was started in November, when Silver Star Families of America drafted a resolution to create the day and sent it to every state. Alabama joins 20 states and the city of Madison, Wis., which also set aside May 1 to honor wounded servicemembers, Steve Newton, the group's founder and president said. Newton is a veteran who served in both the Navy and Marine Corps.
Silver Star Families of America is a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which highlights the ways Americans and the corporate sector support the nation's servicemembers.
"I know I and the members of our group are gratified to see the wonderful patriotism and care for the wounded that these states are exhibiting by declaring May 1 Silver Star Day for the wounded," Newton said. "We have worked long and hard to make this happen, but it takes the caring of governors and the people in the states to make things work."
The group, founded in 2005, has presented hundreds of Silver Star banners to wounded servicemembers and their families. The banners, which the group is working to make a government-recognized service banner, like those of the Gold Star Mothers, serve as a reminder to everyone who sees them of individuals' sacrifices.
Alabama State Rep. Greg Wren said he introduced the legislation to ensure that the "blood sacrifice of those who were wounded while wearing the uniform of the United States" is recognized. His efforts paid off with unanimous approval in both the state's house and senate.
Wren also had a personal reason for working to have May 1 declared as Silver Star Day in Alabama. His family has a long history of military service, including his father, retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. James Wren, he said.
After Riley singed the proclamation, Wren held a reception to honor four wounded veterans. David M. Cox, a World War II veteran; Leroy Arceneaux, a Korean War veteran; Robert Jones, a veteran of Vietnam; and Sean Phillips, a veteran of the war in Iraq, all received Silver Star banners.
"Alabama's citizens have supported our nation's military in unprecedented numbers in relation to our state's population," Wren said. "Alabamians stand for freedom and salute each person who has worn a military uniform, especially those who have been wounded or lost their life in defending the United States of America."
States observing Silver Star Day in a little over a month are planning rallies and special events, Janie Orman, Silver Star Families of America's vice president, said, adding that the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars are have been very supportive. The group's hope is that Silver Star Day will become an American tradition.
"We are asking people to visit the wounded, volunteer at a (Veterans Affairs) hospital, write cards and letters to our wounded and, of course, fly the Silver Star Banner in support," Newton said. "May we never forget the sacrifices made by so many of our kids."
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 20, 2007 – May 1 will be "Silver Star Day" in Alabama, as Gov. Bob Riley signed a proclamation officially declaring the observance in a brief ceremony yesterday. The Silver Star Day initiative was started in November, when Silver Star Families of America drafted a resolution to create the day and sent it to every state. Alabama joins 20 states and the city of Madison, Wis., which also set aside May 1 to honor wounded servicemembers, Steve Newton, the group's founder and president said. Newton is a veteran who served in both the Navy and Marine Corps.
Silver Star Families of America is a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which highlights the ways Americans and the corporate sector support the nation's servicemembers.
"I know I and the members of our group are gratified to see the wonderful patriotism and care for the wounded that these states are exhibiting by declaring May 1 Silver Star Day for the wounded," Newton said. "We have worked long and hard to make this happen, but it takes the caring of governors and the people in the states to make things work."
The group, founded in 2005, has presented hundreds of Silver Star banners to wounded servicemembers and their families. The banners, which the group is working to make a government-recognized service banner, like those of the Gold Star Mothers, serve as a reminder to everyone who sees them of individuals' sacrifices.
Alabama State Rep. Greg Wren said he introduced the legislation to ensure that the "blood sacrifice of those who were wounded while wearing the uniform of the United States" is recognized. His efforts paid off with unanimous approval in both the state's house and senate.
Wren also had a personal reason for working to have May 1 declared as Silver Star Day in Alabama. His family has a long history of military service, including his father, retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. James Wren, he said.
After Riley singed the proclamation, Wren held a reception to honor four wounded veterans. David M. Cox, a World War II veteran; Leroy Arceneaux, a Korean War veteran; Robert Jones, a veteran of Vietnam; and Sean Phillips, a veteran of the war in Iraq, all received Silver Star banners.
"Alabama's citizens have supported our nation's military in unprecedented numbers in relation to our state's population," Wren said. "Alabamians stand for freedom and salute each person who has worn a military uniform, especially those who have been wounded or lost their life in defending the United States of America."
States observing Silver Star Day in a little over a month are planning rallies and special events, Janie Orman, Silver Star Families of America's vice president, said, adding that the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars are have been very supportive. The group's hope is that Silver Star Day will become an American tradition.
"We are asking people to visit the wounded, volunteer at a (Veterans Affairs) hospital, write cards and letters to our wounded and, of course, fly the Silver Star Banner in support," Newton said. "May we never forget the sacrifices made by so many of our kids."
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Army Launches Wounded Warrior, Family Hotline
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2007 – Army officials this morning launched a new hotline to help wounded warriors and their family members to get information or assistance with medical or other issues. The "Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline," 1-800-984-8523, also will help Army leaders improve services to wounded soldiers and their families, officials said.
"We have designed this call center to be able to collectively hear what the soldiers say about their health care issues, so as issues are raised, we can identify systemic faults or problematic areas and senior leaders can better allocate resources," said Maj. Gen. Sean J. Byrne, commander of U.S. Army Human Resources Command.
"It's all about serving our wounded and injured soldiers and their families," he added. "If we can find a way to improve our system, we will. It's that simple."
In a statement, Army officials acknowledged that many soldiers wounded in the global war on terror and their families are "enduring hardships in navigating through our medical care system."
"The Army is committed to providing outstanding medical care for the men and women who have volunteered to serve this great nation," officials said in the statement.
Care of wounded soldiers has been in the spotlight since a February series of articles in the Washington Post revealed shortcomings in outpatient care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, here. Since then, the hospital's commander was relieved, Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey resigned, and the service's surgeon general submitted his retirement request over the issue.
"Recent events made it clear the Army needs to revise how it meets the needs of our wounded and injured Soldiers and their families," Army officials said in yesterday's statement. "In certain cases, the soldiers' chain of command could have done a better job in helping to resolve medically related issues."
Officials stressed that the hotline is not intended to circumvent the chain of command, but is "another step in the direction of improvement."
"Wounded and injured soldiers and their families expect and deserve the very best care and leadership from America's Army," officials said. "The Army's intent is to ensure wounded and injured soldiers and their families that they receive the best medical care possible. The Army chain of command will ensure every soldier is assisted in navigating the military health care system.
The Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline can be reached from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday at 1-800-984-8523. As additional personnel are trained to receive calls and refer them to the proper organization or agency for resolution, the hotline hours of operation will expand to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, officials said.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
March 19, 2007 – Army officials this morning launched a new hotline to help wounded warriors and their family members to get information or assistance with medical or other issues. The "Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline," 1-800-984-8523, also will help Army leaders improve services to wounded soldiers and their families, officials said.
"We have designed this call center to be able to collectively hear what the soldiers say about their health care issues, so as issues are raised, we can identify systemic faults or problematic areas and senior leaders can better allocate resources," said Maj. Gen. Sean J. Byrne, commander of U.S. Army Human Resources Command.
"It's all about serving our wounded and injured soldiers and their families," he added. "If we can find a way to improve our system, we will. It's that simple."
In a statement, Army officials acknowledged that many soldiers wounded in the global war on terror and their families are "enduring hardships in navigating through our medical care system."
"The Army is committed to providing outstanding medical care for the men and women who have volunteered to serve this great nation," officials said in the statement.
Care of wounded soldiers has been in the spotlight since a February series of articles in the Washington Post revealed shortcomings in outpatient care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, here. Since then, the hospital's commander was relieved, Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey resigned, and the service's surgeon general submitted his retirement request over the issue.
"Recent events made it clear the Army needs to revise how it meets the needs of our wounded and injured Soldiers and their families," Army officials said in yesterday's statement. "In certain cases, the soldiers' chain of command could have done a better job in helping to resolve medically related issues."
Officials stressed that the hotline is not intended to circumvent the chain of command, but is "another step in the direction of improvement."
"Wounded and injured soldiers and their families expect and deserve the very best care and leadership from America's Army," officials said. "The Army's intent is to ensure wounded and injured soldiers and their families that they receive the best medical care possible. The Army chain of command will ensure every soldier is assisted in navigating the military health care system.
The Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline can be reached from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday at 1-800-984-8523. As additional personnel are trained to receive calls and refer them to the proper organization or agency for resolution, the hotline hours of operation will expand to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, officials said.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Company Gives Troops Break on Rent
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2007 – Covering the rent just got a little bit easier for military personnel in Ohio thanks to Empirian Property Management's "Service Appreciation Program." Through the company's program, military personnel and civil servants can get $50 to $100 off their rent, Julie Yesnick, a senior regional manger in Ohio, said.
"We felt that it was a good way to honor people that are serving our country," she said.
The program honors active-duty, reserve-component and retired military personnel, as well as fire and police department employees, Yesnick said.
Though the management company would eventually like to offer the program in all its markets, it selected its Ohio market to test the Service Appreciation Program. This is largely Yesnick's doing.
"I volunteered my region because I knew what it was like to be an enlisted soldier and be kind of strapped for cash and not know where the best place to live was," Yesnick, a former Ohio National Guardsman, said. "This presents a lot of options for enlisted personnel in the ... military and other hometown heroes."
Empirian has set some guidelines for the program, however, she said. Five percent of its participating properties have been reserved for renters eligible for the Service Appreciation Program. Military personnel wishing to rent under this program must be new customers and be able to provide a valid military identification card or discharge papers for veterans.
The discounted rents are fixed for the one-year lease, and start as low as $299 for a one-bedroom apartment, Yesnick said. Lease renewal rates have not been determined, however.
Since the program launched March 1, the Cleveland market has shown the most interest, she said. Reservists have rented all five apartments rented through the Service Appreciation Program.
Full details and a listing of properties eligible for the program are available at Empirian's Web site.
"What we're doing is trying to make it possible for our service personnel ... here to have the benefit of having housing that doesn't place a burden on them," Yesnick said.
Editor's Note: Military families can also avail themselves of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which highlights home-front groups across the nation that are providing a variety of services and support to troops and their families. A listing of these groups and information about their efforts is available at www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2007 – Covering the rent just got a little bit easier for military personnel in Ohio thanks to Empirian Property Management's "Service Appreciation Program." Through the company's program, military personnel and civil servants can get $50 to $100 off their rent, Julie Yesnick, a senior regional manger in Ohio, said.
"We felt that it was a good way to honor people that are serving our country," she said.
The program honors active-duty, reserve-component and retired military personnel, as well as fire and police department employees, Yesnick said.
Though the management company would eventually like to offer the program in all its markets, it selected its Ohio market to test the Service Appreciation Program. This is largely Yesnick's doing.
"I volunteered my region because I knew what it was like to be an enlisted soldier and be kind of strapped for cash and not know where the best place to live was," Yesnick, a former Ohio National Guardsman, said. "This presents a lot of options for enlisted personnel in the ... military and other hometown heroes."
Empirian has set some guidelines for the program, however, she said. Five percent of its participating properties have been reserved for renters eligible for the Service Appreciation Program. Military personnel wishing to rent under this program must be new customers and be able to provide a valid military identification card or discharge papers for veterans.
The discounted rents are fixed for the one-year lease, and start as low as $299 for a one-bedroom apartment, Yesnick said. Lease renewal rates have not been determined, however.
Since the program launched March 1, the Cleveland market has shown the most interest, she said. Reservists have rented all five apartments rented through the Service Appreciation Program.
Full details and a listing of properties eligible for the program are available at Empirian's Web site.
"What we're doing is trying to make it possible for our service personnel ... here to have the benefit of having housing that doesn't place a burden on them," Yesnick said.
Editor's Note: Military families can also avail themselves of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which highlights home-front groups across the nation that are providing a variety of services and support to troops and their families. A listing of these groups and information about their efforts is available at www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Pentagon Channel Documentary Focuses on Guard, Reserve Members
By David Mays
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2007 – They were once known as "weekend warriors," ordinary citizens who gave up just a little bit of their time for minimal military training and a paycheck. "What we advertised was one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer, that's all we asked," said Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command. "We were not going to mobilize and go to war unless the Russians came across the Fulda Gap (in Germany); ... we were going to have plenty of time before we were needed to mobilize, to train, to get organized."
That changed forever on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the United States launched the global war on terror. Since that war began, first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq, tens of thousands of National Guardsmen and reservists have been mobilized with lightning speed and shipped off for a year or more -- leaving behind jobs and families -- to fight battles thousands of miles from home.
The Pentagon Channel is dedicating its latest half-hour monthly documentary, "Recon," to an in-depth look at the people and the units that comprise today's reserve components. "Citizens in Service" takes a look at the history of the Guard and reserves and the gritty reality "part time" servicemembers face alongside their active-duty counterparts.
"These days, the men and women who make up our Guard and Reserve forces are more integrated into the Department of Defense missions around the world that even before," Air Force Master Sgt. Daniela Marchus, host of the documentary, said. "In fact, they're usually indistinguishable from those who've chosen the military as a full-time career. Like their active-duty counterparts, they spend more time away from home, families and friends. And they face the same dangers."
The documentary features servicemembers who have served in both active duty and reserve-component capacity and share their candid experiences from the present and the past. "You know, back then you got leftovers from the regular Army," said Sgt. Maj. Lana Labay who volunteered in Vietnam, served active duty stateside, then joined the Army Reserve. "We got the old uniforms, the old boots. It was really outdated."
"To me it was insulting," said Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie, who heads the U.S. Army Reserve Command. "I came from the active component to the reserve component that was basically a social group. We had organizations that had no idea what they were doing. They were looking for 14 days annual training which in most cases was a big party."
"Remember, before Sept. 11, it was a strategic reserve," Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said. "The nation made a strategic decision to accept risk and not equip the Guard fully."
The documentary traces the massive call up of Guard members and reservists members during operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield in the early 1990s when American forces were assembled to force Saddam Hussein's army out of Kuwait after it invaded and tried to annex Iraq's tiny border country.
"I think Desert Storm was a test of our ability to mobilize the force and deploy it," Stultz said. "But what it did not test was our ability to sustain it."
This "Recon" shows how lessons learned from the first Gulf War and subsequent missions, such as enforcing the no-fly zones over Iraq, helped fine tune the role of the Guard and reserves as modern warfighters.
It also shows how even greater changes became necessary after the Sept. 11 attacks and looks into the future of the reserve components, including goals laid out by Defense Department leaders. "One thing the attacks made obvious was that the fight in our future would be nothing like those of the past," Marchus said.
"Citizens Who Serve" debuts Friday, March 23rd and encores throughout the month of April. It is also available via podcast and video on demand at www.PentagonChannel.mil.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2007 – They were once known as "weekend warriors," ordinary citizens who gave up just a little bit of their time for minimal military training and a paycheck. "What we advertised was one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer, that's all we asked," said Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command. "We were not going to mobilize and go to war unless the Russians came across the Fulda Gap (in Germany); ... we were going to have plenty of time before we were needed to mobilize, to train, to get organized."
That changed forever on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the United States launched the global war on terror. Since that war began, first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq, tens of thousands of National Guardsmen and reservists have been mobilized with lightning speed and shipped off for a year or more -- leaving behind jobs and families -- to fight battles thousands of miles from home.
The Pentagon Channel is dedicating its latest half-hour monthly documentary, "Recon," to an in-depth look at the people and the units that comprise today's reserve components. "Citizens in Service" takes a look at the history of the Guard and reserves and the gritty reality "part time" servicemembers face alongside their active-duty counterparts.
"These days, the men and women who make up our Guard and Reserve forces are more integrated into the Department of Defense missions around the world that even before," Air Force Master Sgt. Daniela Marchus, host of the documentary, said. "In fact, they're usually indistinguishable from those who've chosen the military as a full-time career. Like their active-duty counterparts, they spend more time away from home, families and friends. And they face the same dangers."
The documentary features servicemembers who have served in both active duty and reserve-component capacity and share their candid experiences from the present and the past. "You know, back then you got leftovers from the regular Army," said Sgt. Maj. Lana Labay who volunteered in Vietnam, served active duty stateside, then joined the Army Reserve. "We got the old uniforms, the old boots. It was really outdated."
"To me it was insulting," said Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie, who heads the U.S. Army Reserve Command. "I came from the active component to the reserve component that was basically a social group. We had organizations that had no idea what they were doing. They were looking for 14 days annual training which in most cases was a big party."
"Remember, before Sept. 11, it was a strategic reserve," Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said. "The nation made a strategic decision to accept risk and not equip the Guard fully."
The documentary traces the massive call up of Guard members and reservists members during operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield in the early 1990s when American forces were assembled to force Saddam Hussein's army out of Kuwait after it invaded and tried to annex Iraq's tiny border country.
"I think Desert Storm was a test of our ability to mobilize the force and deploy it," Stultz said. "But what it did not test was our ability to sustain it."
This "Recon" shows how lessons learned from the first Gulf War and subsequent missions, such as enforcing the no-fly zones over Iraq, helped fine tune the role of the Guard and reserves as modern warfighters.
It also shows how even greater changes became necessary after the Sept. 11 attacks and looks into the future of the reserve components, including goals laid out by Defense Department leaders. "One thing the attacks made obvious was that the fight in our future would be nothing like those of the past," Marchus said.
"Citizens Who Serve" debuts Friday, March 23rd and encores throughout the month of April. It is also available via podcast and video on demand at www.PentagonChannel.mil.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
DoD Urges Education Officials to Work with Local Businesses
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2007 – Local education officials should seek partnerships with chambers of commerce and other business organizations to explain the financial needs of schools that serve students from military families, a senior Defense Department official said here today. "All possible partners" should be engaged when addressing the needs of schools that educate students from military families, Leslye A. Arsht, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy, said in remarks to members of the National Military Impacted Schools Association.
Many school districts in the United States serving students from military families are eligible to receive federal payments, called impact aid, that are used to offset the potential loss of property-tax revenue. Many military families live in military-provided housing that's not subject to local property taxes, which are used to maintain schools. DoD has a separate impact aid program that augments the original federal program that was instituted in 1950.
However, community requirements for building new schools and renovating older facilities will likely become more acute in coming years as 2005 Base Realignment and Closure actions kick in, and thousands of U.S. troops and their families are redeployed from Europe to stateside locations, Arsht said.
In fact, more than 63,000 students from military families are expected to be moving to local school systems in the United States through 2011, according to DoD documents.
It's therefore prudent that local school officials and business leaders collaborate "to share innovative and successful ways to plan for quality education expansion," Arsht explained.
Arsht said "a consensus of cooperation" was reached at the conclusion of a DoD-sponsored conference on education for military-connected communities that was held in Atlanta in November.
"Despite the challenges, we believe these significant (student) relocations offer an exceptional opportunity to strengthen our working relationships with the communities and schools that are the home to our military families," Arsht said.
During visits to military communities around the country, Arsht said, she discovered schools "eager to share innovative and collaborative ways" to provide a quality education.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement "is a valuable partner," Arsht said, that can identify educational resources in addition to impact aid.
The Department of Defense Education Activity also provides useful information and ideas to school districts that will be affected by 2005 BRAC actions or troop redeployments, Arsht said.
"We are really looking at ways to interact with you as we seek best practices," DoDEA Director Joseph D. Tafoya told he audience. For example, DoDEA is inviting Hawaiian public school teachers to attend a DoDEA-sponsored mathematics training seminar that's slated to be conducted in Honolulu this summer, Tafoya said.
The nationwide Military Impacted Schools Association also partners with DoD's America Supports You program, which is an ongoing, nationwide program connecting America's support for the troops to the men and women of the armed forces and their families.
John Deegan, MISA's chief executive officer and just-named president of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, MISA's umbrella organization, attended today's meeting. He said in a recent news release that MISA is proud to be a part of America Supports You.
America Supports You "continues to demonstrate the importance of the role our military families play each day to defend our nation," Deegan stated.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2007 – Local education officials should seek partnerships with chambers of commerce and other business organizations to explain the financial needs of schools that serve students from military families, a senior Defense Department official said here today. "All possible partners" should be engaged when addressing the needs of schools that educate students from military families, Leslye A. Arsht, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy, said in remarks to members of the National Military Impacted Schools Association.
Many school districts in the United States serving students from military families are eligible to receive federal payments, called impact aid, that are used to offset the potential loss of property-tax revenue. Many military families live in military-provided housing that's not subject to local property taxes, which are used to maintain schools. DoD has a separate impact aid program that augments the original federal program that was instituted in 1950.
However, community requirements for building new schools and renovating older facilities will likely become more acute in coming years as 2005 Base Realignment and Closure actions kick in, and thousands of U.S. troops and their families are redeployed from Europe to stateside locations, Arsht said.
In fact, more than 63,000 students from military families are expected to be moving to local school systems in the United States through 2011, according to DoD documents.
It's therefore prudent that local school officials and business leaders collaborate "to share innovative and successful ways to plan for quality education expansion," Arsht explained.
Arsht said "a consensus of cooperation" was reached at the conclusion of a DoD-sponsored conference on education for military-connected communities that was held in Atlanta in November.
"Despite the challenges, we believe these significant (student) relocations offer an exceptional opportunity to strengthen our working relationships with the communities and schools that are the home to our military families," Arsht said.
During visits to military communities around the country, Arsht said, she discovered schools "eager to share innovative and collaborative ways" to provide a quality education.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement "is a valuable partner," Arsht said, that can identify educational resources in addition to impact aid.
The Department of Defense Education Activity also provides useful information and ideas to school districts that will be affected by 2005 BRAC actions or troop redeployments, Arsht said.
"We are really looking at ways to interact with you as we seek best practices," DoDEA Director Joseph D. Tafoya told he audience. For example, DoDEA is inviting Hawaiian public school teachers to attend a DoDEA-sponsored mathematics training seminar that's slated to be conducted in Honolulu this summer, Tafoya said.
The nationwide Military Impacted Schools Association also partners with DoD's America Supports You program, which is an ongoing, nationwide program connecting America's support for the troops to the men and women of the armed forces and their families.
John Deegan, MISA's chief executive officer and just-named president of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, MISA's umbrella organization, attended today's meeting. He said in a recent news release that MISA is proud to be a part of America Supports You.
America Supports You "continues to demonstrate the importance of the role our military families play each day to defend our nation," Deegan stated.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
VFW Ladies Auxiliary Has Tradition of Military Support
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2007 – Since 1914, members of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars have supported U.S. servicemembers and their families and worked to ensure that America's military veterans are never forgotten, auxiliary officials said. Today, the auxiliary's almost 600,000 sisters, daughters, wives, mothers and grandmothers carry on that tradition, Cara Day, director of communication and publications at the organization's headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., said.
"Auxiliary members support troops in a number of ways," Day said, including the sending of care packages to overseas-deployed military members, "adoption" of military units, sponsorship of servicemember-support programs at schools, and other programs.
The group partners with America Supports You, a Defense Department-sponsored program highlighting the ways Americans are supporting the nation's servicemembers.
"Everything we do is centered on honoring our veterans and helping them in any way possible," Day said. "Being able to share with 'America Supports You' what the nearly 600,000 members of this organization do for veterans and servicemembers is just one of the many ways we hope to tell them that we're here for them."
The Ladies Auxiliary also donates money to Operation Uplink, which provides free long-distance phone cards to servicemembers serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and other locales, Day said.
The Unmet Needs program is another auxiliary-sponsored initiative, Day said, where anyone can donate money that's used to assist military families in need by providing funds for mortgage payments, medical or grocery bills, car repairs and other purposes.
The Ladies Auxiliary also encourages skilled people like mechanics, lawyers and baby sitters to donate their time to help military families whose sponsors are deployed in support of the war against terrorism, Day said.
Most auxiliary members are in their 50s and 60s and thereby old enough to remember America's participation in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War, Connie Atkinson, the auxiliary's national secretary and treasurer, said.
"It's important to support the families of veterans, whether we're at war or not at war," Atkinson said. "We are the mothers and sisters and daughters of veterans and we know what our servicemembers and their families are going through today.
"They need all the support they can get. They need to know that America cares for her veterans," she added.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2007 – Since 1914, members of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars have supported U.S. servicemembers and their families and worked to ensure that America's military veterans are never forgotten, auxiliary officials said. Today, the auxiliary's almost 600,000 sisters, daughters, wives, mothers and grandmothers carry on that tradition, Cara Day, director of communication and publications at the organization's headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., said.
"Auxiliary members support troops in a number of ways," Day said, including the sending of care packages to overseas-deployed military members, "adoption" of military units, sponsorship of servicemember-support programs at schools, and other programs.
The group partners with America Supports You, a Defense Department-sponsored program highlighting the ways Americans are supporting the nation's servicemembers.
"Everything we do is centered on honoring our veterans and helping them in any way possible," Day said. "Being able to share with 'America Supports You' what the nearly 600,000 members of this organization do for veterans and servicemembers is just one of the many ways we hope to tell them that we're here for them."
The Ladies Auxiliary also donates money to Operation Uplink, which provides free long-distance phone cards to servicemembers serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and other locales, Day said.
The Unmet Needs program is another auxiliary-sponsored initiative, Day said, where anyone can donate money that's used to assist military families in need by providing funds for mortgage payments, medical or grocery bills, car repairs and other purposes.
The Ladies Auxiliary also encourages skilled people like mechanics, lawyers and baby sitters to donate their time to help military families whose sponsors are deployed in support of the war against terrorism, Day said.
Most auxiliary members are in their 50s and 60s and thereby old enough to remember America's participation in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War, Connie Atkinson, the auxiliary's national secretary and treasurer, said.
"It's important to support the families of veterans, whether we're at war or not at war," Atkinson said. "We are the mothers and sisters and daughters of veterans and we know what our servicemembers and their families are going through today.
"They need all the support they can get. They need to know that America cares for her veterans," she added.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Gates Says Committed to Fixing Walter Reed Problems, Praises Medical Staff
By Steven Donald Smith
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates acknowledged today on CBS's "Face the Nation" that he was "angered and offended" when he learned of problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, but recognizes they don't reflect on the hospital's top-notch medical staff. Gates said he learned about substandard living conditions for recovering troops at the facility in Washington Post articles and took immediate action to fix them. "I think I did something unheard of in this town," he said. "I actually thanked the reporters for bringing it to our attention."
Pentagon officials are now looking at the bureaucratic problems and the administrative issues associated with the hospital. "We're acting, the Army has an action plan for dealing with the situation with outpatients at Walter Reed. I'm getting reports on that action plans implementation every two weeks, so we're trying to stay very much on top of it," the secretary said.
"Frankly, like everybody else I was both angered and offended by the fact that we had allowed a situation to develop that made the hospital administration ... an adversary rather than an ally," he said.
The problems at Walter Reed are not a reflection on the medical staff at the hospital, he said. "The doctors and nurses and staff at Walter Reed are the best in the world," he said. "They're immensely dedicated, they're immensely talented, and we own a lot to them."
Gates said he recognizes the dedication of servicemembers throughout the military, as well as the sacrifices they and their families are making. He said he writes personal letters to each family who has lost a loved one in Iraq.
"I feel a personal responsibility for each one of these men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country," he said. "It's a small gesture to the families that I personally am involved and that I personally very much care and have great sorrow over the sacrifice that their son or daughter or husband or wife have made."
This article is sponsored by police and military personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates acknowledged today on CBS's "Face the Nation" that he was "angered and offended" when he learned of problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, but recognizes they don't reflect on the hospital's top-notch medical staff. Gates said he learned about substandard living conditions for recovering troops at the facility in Washington Post articles and took immediate action to fix them. "I think I did something unheard of in this town," he said. "I actually thanked the reporters for bringing it to our attention."
Pentagon officials are now looking at the bureaucratic problems and the administrative issues associated with the hospital. "We're acting, the Army has an action plan for dealing with the situation with outpatients at Walter Reed. I'm getting reports on that action plans implementation every two weeks, so we're trying to stay very much on top of it," the secretary said.
"Frankly, like everybody else I was both angered and offended by the fact that we had allowed a situation to develop that made the hospital administration ... an adversary rather than an ally," he said.
The problems at Walter Reed are not a reflection on the medical staff at the hospital, he said. "The doctors and nurses and staff at Walter Reed are the best in the world," he said. "They're immensely dedicated, they're immensely talented, and we own a lot to them."
Gates said he recognizes the dedication of servicemembers throughout the military, as well as the sacrifices they and their families are making. He said he writes personal letters to each family who has lost a loved one in Iraq.
"I feel a personal responsibility for each one of these men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country," he said. "It's a small gesture to the families that I personally am involved and that I personally very much care and have great sorrow over the sacrifice that their son or daughter or husband or wife have made."
This article is sponsored by police and military personnel who have authored books as well as criminal justice online leadership.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
CENTCOM Coordination Center Represents Strong Coalition
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – In a nondescript building at U.S. Central Command headquarters here, officers from 64 countries work together daily to ensure the coalition fighting terrorism in the Middle East remains strong and well organized. Despite inevitable debate about the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, this coalition coordination center demonstrates the strong international will in the struggle against terrorism, the center's deputy director said in an interview yesterday.
"I think the state of support for the war on terror is still good," Marine Col. David Greco said. "We are talking to countries every day. We talk to the 64 that are resident here, and many others that don't have a senior national representative here, we talk to them via the State Department and via our attache system, where we have defense attaches throughout the world, helping those coalition partners."
The countries represented here support the war on terror in various ways, Greco said. Some provide troops directly to the fight, some provide air assets, others provide access basing and overflight for coalition forces, and still others offer capital support. Japan, for example, has an oiler ship deployed to the CENTCOM region to refuel coalition ships, he said.
The United States and a few key allies formed the coalition coordination center right after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. From there, more countries joined the coalition and therefore sent representatives to CENTCOM, Greco said. "It's a pretty dynamic coalition, in that there's countries involved from the Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East, and European countries," he said.
Many officers in the coalition coordination center are connected to the senior levels of their home governments and can ease communication among the coalition countries, Greco said. Also, the officers represent countries that have forces working together in specific regions of Iraq and Afghanistan, so deployment planning is made easier. This camaraderie and interaction strengthens the coalition and translates to effectiveness on the battlefield, he said.
Every country in the coalition recognizes that the solutions in Iraq and Afghanistan will not be military force, but political and economic effort, Greco said. The Middle East has what leaders call a "youth bulge," where the majority of the population is young people. Many of these young people are unemployed or underemployed, so economic development is especially important, he said.
CENTCOM also has a security cooperation division, which works to help coalition partners help themselves, whether through training military police or border guards, participation in military exercises, or help with funding and reform, Greco said. CENTCOM works closely with the State Department, the Defense Department and the Joint Staff to encourage increased engagement from international countries in the war on terror, he said.
"We have all recognized that the solutions in both Iraq and Afghanistan are not going to be solved with military power," Greco said. "It is a pretty recognized and pretty well understood concept that there are diplomatic, economic, military and informational concepts that need to be talked about in those countries, and all that needs to be brought to bear."
Provincial reconstruction teams are important in the rebuilding of Iraqi and Afghan society, Greco said, and CENTCOM is working to encourage coalition partners to contribute civilian experts to these teams.
"What we're doing is working on coming up with the requirements of what kinds of job skills we need," he said. "And we're going to our coalition partners and we're saying, 'We're not looking for military guys; we're not looking for people to kick in doors and search for bad guys. We're looking for people that can help rebuild the Iraqi and even the Afghan infrastructure.'"
There will always be debate within the government about the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, Greco acknowledged, but countries in the coalition recognize political cycles and aren't discouraged by criticism within the United States. The rest of the world looks to the United States as an example of government and policy, but the internal debate isn't damaging to the international will in the Middle East, he said.
"While we debate, the rest of the world watches how the United States does business, and we all recognize that, but I don't think it's going to cause any problems in our coalition," he said.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – In a nondescript building at U.S. Central Command headquarters here, officers from 64 countries work together daily to ensure the coalition fighting terrorism in the Middle East remains strong and well organized. Despite inevitable debate about the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, this coalition coordination center demonstrates the strong international will in the struggle against terrorism, the center's deputy director said in an interview yesterday.
"I think the state of support for the war on terror is still good," Marine Col. David Greco said. "We are talking to countries every day. We talk to the 64 that are resident here, and many others that don't have a senior national representative here, we talk to them via the State Department and via our attache system, where we have defense attaches throughout the world, helping those coalition partners."
The countries represented here support the war on terror in various ways, Greco said. Some provide troops directly to the fight, some provide air assets, others provide access basing and overflight for coalition forces, and still others offer capital support. Japan, for example, has an oiler ship deployed to the CENTCOM region to refuel coalition ships, he said.
The United States and a few key allies formed the coalition coordination center right after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. From there, more countries joined the coalition and therefore sent representatives to CENTCOM, Greco said. "It's a pretty dynamic coalition, in that there's countries involved from the Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East, and European countries," he said.
Many officers in the coalition coordination center are connected to the senior levels of their home governments and can ease communication among the coalition countries, Greco said. Also, the officers represent countries that have forces working together in specific regions of Iraq and Afghanistan, so deployment planning is made easier. This camaraderie and interaction strengthens the coalition and translates to effectiveness on the battlefield, he said.
Every country in the coalition recognizes that the solutions in Iraq and Afghanistan will not be military force, but political and economic effort, Greco said. The Middle East has what leaders call a "youth bulge," where the majority of the population is young people. Many of these young people are unemployed or underemployed, so economic development is especially important, he said.
CENTCOM also has a security cooperation division, which works to help coalition partners help themselves, whether through training military police or border guards, participation in military exercises, or help with funding and reform, Greco said. CENTCOM works closely with the State Department, the Defense Department and the Joint Staff to encourage increased engagement from international countries in the war on terror, he said.
"We have all recognized that the solutions in both Iraq and Afghanistan are not going to be solved with military power," Greco said. "It is a pretty recognized and pretty well understood concept that there are diplomatic, economic, military and informational concepts that need to be talked about in those countries, and all that needs to be brought to bear."
Provincial reconstruction teams are important in the rebuilding of Iraqi and Afghan society, Greco said, and CENTCOM is working to encourage coalition partners to contribute civilian experts to these teams.
"What we're doing is working on coming up with the requirements of what kinds of job skills we need," he said. "And we're going to our coalition partners and we're saying, 'We're not looking for military guys; we're not looking for people to kick in doors and search for bad guys. We're looking for people that can help rebuild the Iraqi and even the Afghan infrastructure.'"
There will always be debate within the government about the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, Greco acknowledged, but countries in the coalition recognize political cycles and aren't discouraged by criticism within the United States. The rest of the world looks to the United States as an example of government and policy, but the internal debate isn't damaging to the international will in the Middle East, he said.
"While we debate, the rest of the world watches how the United States does business, and we all recognize that, but I don't think it's going to cause any problems in our coalition," he said.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Nature of War Makes Airlift Essential, General Says
By Capt. Travis Tougaw, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – Airlift is essential to success in the war in Afghanistan, the commander of U.S. Transportation Command said here March 14. Air Force Gen. Norton A. Schwartz visited Bagram to observe and speak about the airlift mission being performed throughout Afghanistan.
As the single manager for global air, land, and sea transportation for the Defense Department, Schwartz said he's familiar with the partnerships exhibited here among the U.S. services and coalition forces. "The team at Bagram is, in fact, a joint team," he said. "People appreciate what each other do and try to provide mutual support. Teamwork is evident, and it's very satisfying to see people committed to the mission."
Bases in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Europe and the United States make up the airlift team for Operation Enduring Freedom.
"My impression is that the team is effectively supporting the folks that need it -- the shooters," Schwartz said. "It is clear that there's a sense of urgency here. It is clear that people are engaged. They feel passionately about the mission. And as a guy who's seven or eight thousand miles away, to see it personally is very satisfying."
The nature of the war in Afghanistan requires successful airlift, Schwartz said.
"This kind of fight cannot be effectively prosecuted from main operating bases. It's a distributed fight, and that requires us to be able to sustain those forces while they're the deployed," he said. "It is absolutely clear that we're doing that with considerable effect."
In addition to delivering troops, food, water, ammunition, and other supplies to the field, the airlift assets here are also called upon to move injured personnel.
"Medevac is what I call the quiet mission, because it does not get that much attention unless the people who are being evacuated are very prominent like Bob Woodruff from ABC News last year," Schwartz said. "But the truth of the matter is, the treatment that Mr. Woodruff received is exactly the same as what our troops get."
The medical evacuation system underwrites the all-volunteer force, the general said.
"Our youngsters know that if they get banged up, we'll leave no stone unturned to return them as quickly as possible to the best medical care, and that is what we do. In my view, that's how you sustain an all-volunteer force."
Using the C-17 Globemaster III for aeromedical evacuation greatly enhances the care given to the patients, the general said, because that platform has power, lighting, oxygen and other tools available for patient treatment.
That kind of versatility will be a key feature in new airlift platforms the Air Force develops, Schwartz said. He used the KC-X, the next generation of tanker, as an example. The KC-X will "certainly be a tanker first, but will have passenger, cargo, and air-evac capability designed in from the beginning rather than as an afterthought," he said.
Military commanders of the 21st century shouldn't have to rely on aging aircraft designed and built for 20th century wars, Schwartz said.
"Future commanders will have modern platforms that operate with much higher reliability and that will be very versatile," he said. "I think people understand that aging airplanes are an issue. The battles that we're fighting and likely to fight for the next few years are distributed fights that need airlift more than ever."
(Air Force Capt. Travis Tougaw is assigned to 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs.)
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – Airlift is essential to success in the war in Afghanistan, the commander of U.S. Transportation Command said here March 14. Air Force Gen. Norton A. Schwartz visited Bagram to observe and speak about the airlift mission being performed throughout Afghanistan.
As the single manager for global air, land, and sea transportation for the Defense Department, Schwartz said he's familiar with the partnerships exhibited here among the U.S. services and coalition forces. "The team at Bagram is, in fact, a joint team," he said. "People appreciate what each other do and try to provide mutual support. Teamwork is evident, and it's very satisfying to see people committed to the mission."
Bases in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Europe and the United States make up the airlift team for Operation Enduring Freedom.
"My impression is that the team is effectively supporting the folks that need it -- the shooters," Schwartz said. "It is clear that there's a sense of urgency here. It is clear that people are engaged. They feel passionately about the mission. And as a guy who's seven or eight thousand miles away, to see it personally is very satisfying."
The nature of the war in Afghanistan requires successful airlift, Schwartz said.
"This kind of fight cannot be effectively prosecuted from main operating bases. It's a distributed fight, and that requires us to be able to sustain those forces while they're the deployed," he said. "It is absolutely clear that we're doing that with considerable effect."
In addition to delivering troops, food, water, ammunition, and other supplies to the field, the airlift assets here are also called upon to move injured personnel.
"Medevac is what I call the quiet mission, because it does not get that much attention unless the people who are being evacuated are very prominent like Bob Woodruff from ABC News last year," Schwartz said. "But the truth of the matter is, the treatment that Mr. Woodruff received is exactly the same as what our troops get."
The medical evacuation system underwrites the all-volunteer force, the general said.
"Our youngsters know that if they get banged up, we'll leave no stone unturned to return them as quickly as possible to the best medical care, and that is what we do. In my view, that's how you sustain an all-volunteer force."
Using the C-17 Globemaster III for aeromedical evacuation greatly enhances the care given to the patients, the general said, because that platform has power, lighting, oxygen and other tools available for patient treatment.
That kind of versatility will be a key feature in new airlift platforms the Air Force develops, Schwartz said. He used the KC-X, the next generation of tanker, as an example. The KC-X will "certainly be a tanker first, but will have passenger, cargo, and air-evac capability designed in from the beginning rather than as an afterthought," he said.
Military commanders of the 21st century shouldn't have to rely on aging aircraft designed and built for 20th century wars, Schwartz said.
"Future commanders will have modern platforms that operate with much higher reliability and that will be very versatile," he said. "I think people understand that aging airplanes are an issue. The battles that we're fighting and likely to fight for the next few years are distributed fights that need airlift more than ever."
(Air Force Capt. Travis Tougaw is assigned to 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs.)
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Group Remains 'Always Faithful' to Injured Warriors
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – A four-year-old servicemember support group has proved to be "Always Faithful" as it continues to assist Marines, sailors and other military members who have been injured during their service in the global war against terrorism. The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund's genesis occurred at Camp Pendleton, Calif., in April 2003, when registered nurse and Marine spouse Karen Guenther and other volunteers organized activities for wounded Marines and sailors as they returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Guenther's husband was deployed overseas at the time, she recalled.
"My husband was in Iraq, and I knew he could be on one of those stretchers at any point of time," Guenther said. "It became very personal, and I saw the needs."
The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, a nonprofit organization, has provided more than $8 million in assistance to injured servicemembers and their families since the group was incorporated in May 2004, said Guenther, who now lives in Colorado with her Marine husband.
Guenther's group is affiliated with America Supports You, a Defense Department-sponsored program highlighting the ways Americans are supporting the nation's servicemembers.
"We're thrilled to be a part of America Supports You. I think it is a wonderful campaign. It helps provide visibility and support and assists nonprofit organizations like ours to help those who serve our country," Guenther said.
The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund assists wounded Marines, sailors and other servicemembers who have been injured while supporting Marine units, Guenther explained. The group has about 95 volunteers, she said, who work at military and Veterans Affairs hospitals worldwide.
Most donations come from private individuals, Guenther said. Corporate donations, she said, also are accepted.
Donations are used for home renovations, to purchase special vans and wheelchairs, and for other needs of wounded servicemembers, Guenther said.
For example, the group just bought a $23,000 customized wheelchair for a Marine who'd been paralyzed from the waist down as the result of injuries suffered in Iraq, she said. The Marine, she noted, was honorably discharged and has dreams of becoming a chef.
That former Marine now works in one of the best restaurants in New Orleans and is studying at a culinary school there, Guenther said.
"It's all because of this chair; without the chair he wouldn't be able to do it," she said. "He has his future back."
The group provided $84,000 to help establish the Wounded Warrior Center at Camp Pendleton, a 26-bed facility that opened in August and provides accommodations for recovering wounded Marines and sailors.
Wendy Lethin, director of business operations at the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund's office at Camp Pendleton, has been with the group since its inception.
"I have the wonderful opportunity to work with our wounded heroes," Lethin said. "I also get to talk to great Americans who want to support our troops."
The Marine Corps' motto, "Semper Fidelis" -- often shortened to "Semper Fi" -- is Latin for "Always Faithful," Guenther said. The group, she noted, strives to live up to that motto as it assists wounded servicemembers and their families.
"We're 'Always Faithful' to our Marines and other servicemembers who come back injured," she declared. "We help from the moment they get to the hospital and we stay with the family through their recovery."
Donations can be forwarded by accessing the group's Web site at www.semperfifund.org, or they can be mailed to: Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd., Suite 102, Personal Mailbox 609, Oceanside, CA, 92057.
The group's Camp Pendleton office telephone number is 760-725-3680. It has another office at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., which can be reached at 703-640-0181.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – A four-year-old servicemember support group has proved to be "Always Faithful" as it continues to assist Marines, sailors and other military members who have been injured during their service in the global war against terrorism. The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund's genesis occurred at Camp Pendleton, Calif., in April 2003, when registered nurse and Marine spouse Karen Guenther and other volunteers organized activities for wounded Marines and sailors as they returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Guenther's husband was deployed overseas at the time, she recalled.
"My husband was in Iraq, and I knew he could be on one of those stretchers at any point of time," Guenther said. "It became very personal, and I saw the needs."
The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, a nonprofit organization, has provided more than $8 million in assistance to injured servicemembers and their families since the group was incorporated in May 2004, said Guenther, who now lives in Colorado with her Marine husband.
Guenther's group is affiliated with America Supports You, a Defense Department-sponsored program highlighting the ways Americans are supporting the nation's servicemembers.
"We're thrilled to be a part of America Supports You. I think it is a wonderful campaign. It helps provide visibility and support and assists nonprofit organizations like ours to help those who serve our country," Guenther said.
The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund assists wounded Marines, sailors and other servicemembers who have been injured while supporting Marine units, Guenther explained. The group has about 95 volunteers, she said, who work at military and Veterans Affairs hospitals worldwide.
Most donations come from private individuals, Guenther said. Corporate donations, she said, also are accepted.
Donations are used for home renovations, to purchase special vans and wheelchairs, and for other needs of wounded servicemembers, Guenther said.
For example, the group just bought a $23,000 customized wheelchair for a Marine who'd been paralyzed from the waist down as the result of injuries suffered in Iraq, she said. The Marine, she noted, was honorably discharged and has dreams of becoming a chef.
That former Marine now works in one of the best restaurants in New Orleans and is studying at a culinary school there, Guenther said.
"It's all because of this chair; without the chair he wouldn't be able to do it," she said. "He has his future back."
The group provided $84,000 to help establish the Wounded Warrior Center at Camp Pendleton, a 26-bed facility that opened in August and provides accommodations for recovering wounded Marines and sailors.
Wendy Lethin, director of business operations at the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund's office at Camp Pendleton, has been with the group since its inception.
"I have the wonderful opportunity to work with our wounded heroes," Lethin said. "I also get to talk to great Americans who want to support our troops."
The Marine Corps' motto, "Semper Fidelis" -- often shortened to "Semper Fi" -- is Latin for "Always Faithful," Guenther said. The group, she noted, strives to live up to that motto as it assists wounded servicemembers and their families.
"We're 'Always Faithful' to our Marines and other servicemembers who come back injured," she declared. "We help from the moment they get to the hospital and we stay with the family through their recovery."
Donations can be forwarded by accessing the group's Web site at www.semperfifund.org, or they can be mailed to: Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd., Suite 102, Personal Mailbox 609, Oceanside, CA, 92057.
The group's Camp Pendleton office telephone number is 760-725-3680. It has another office at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., which can be reached at 703-640-0181.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Bush Assures Wounded Warrior Commission He'll Act on Recommendations
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – President Bush met this morning with members of the Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors to tell them he's behind their efforts and will act on the problems they identify. The president established the commission March 6 to conduct a comprehensive review of military medical care at both Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and outpatient facilities. He asked its members to recommend ways to improve the transition to other military service or civilian life; ensure high-quality services for wounded troops and increase their access to benefits and services.
"I assured the members of this committee that I will support their work and will address the problems that they find," the president told reporters after the meeting. "We owe it to those who wear the uniform and their families to make sure our troops have the best, and that is what this commission is meant to do."
Bush thanked the commission members for the contributions they are making - today and into the future. "You're doing the country a great service, because the commission report will ensure that service goes beyond my time in office," he said. "In other words, it'll really set the stage for this presidency and other presidencies (and) set a standard that we expect government to follow."
Former Sen. Bob Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala, currently president of the University of Miami, are co-chairing the committee.
Other commission members are:
-- Marc Giammatteo, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and former Army captain whose leg was severely injured during a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq in 2004. Giammatteo has undergone more than 30 surgeries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and served as an unofficial patient advocate at the hospital from 2004 to 2006. He currently is a student at Harvard Business School.
-- Jose Ramos, a former Navy petty officer 3rd class who lost an arm in combat during his second deployment to Iraq. Ramos, who previously served a tour of duty in Afghanistan, was a hospital corpsman who treated soldiers wounded in Iraq. He is currently a student at George Mason University.
-- Tammy Edwards, whose husband, Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Edwards, was severely burned in Iraq when a 500-pound bomb exploded under his vehicle. Since his injury, she has provided support for families of wounded veterans in her community of Cibolo, Texas. She is a research assistant at The Geneva Foundation.
-- Kenneth Fisher, chairman and chief executive officer of Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit organization that constructs homes for families of hospitalized military members and veterans. Fisher Houses serve 8,500 families a year at little or no cost.
-- C. Martin Harris, chief information officer and chairman of information technology at the Cleveland Clinic and a practicing physician since 1987. He has served on government and private-sector commissions that have addressed health care interoperability issues.
-- Edward Eckenhoff, president and CEO of the National Rehabilitation Hospital and a member of the District of Columbia Hospital Association Board of Directors who is an innovator in the field of rehabilitation medicine.
-- Gail Wilensky, an economist and senior fellow at Project Hope, an international health education foundation who also serves as co-chair of DoD's Task Force on Future Health Care.
Bush praised the qualifications and commitment of the commission members. "We've got compassionate people who all care about whether or not our government is fulfilling its responsibility to make sure our health care systems ... are meeting our obligations," he said.
As the commission conducts its review, DoD and the VA also are working to improve the way their agencies serve wounded warriors.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has formed an independent review group to assess outpatient treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center. The group held its first meeting March 1 and will report on its initial findings early next month.
"This deadline is relatively short for a reason: to make sure we identify additional flaws in the system and get on with fixing them as fast as possible," Gates told reporters during a Pentagon roundtable last week.
Gates told reporters he also has ordered acting Army Secretary Pete Geren to report to him later this month about the service's action plan to fix the outpatient situation at Walter Reed.
In addition, said he tasked David S.C. Chu, defense undersecretary for personnel and readiness, and Dr. William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, to conduct a comprehensive review of all medical care programs, facilities and procedures departmentwide to ensure DoD is providing servicemembers the standard of care they deserve. "I have told them that resources will not be an issue," he said.
Meanwhile, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson established a new interagency task force at Bush's direction to examine the processes for combat veterans seeking services and benefits from the VA and other federal agencies.
VA established a Web site that allows active-duty servicemembers, veterans, family members and others to provide input about their experiences to the task force.
"As the task force moves forward in studying how we can enhance services and cut red tape, we believe it's important to provide veterans, their family members and others with the opportunity to share their ideas and experiences," Nicholson said.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – President Bush met this morning with members of the Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors to tell them he's behind their efforts and will act on the problems they identify. The president established the commission March 6 to conduct a comprehensive review of military medical care at both Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and outpatient facilities. He asked its members to recommend ways to improve the transition to other military service or civilian life; ensure high-quality services for wounded troops and increase their access to benefits and services.
"I assured the members of this committee that I will support their work and will address the problems that they find," the president told reporters after the meeting. "We owe it to those who wear the uniform and their families to make sure our troops have the best, and that is what this commission is meant to do."
Bush thanked the commission members for the contributions they are making - today and into the future. "You're doing the country a great service, because the commission report will ensure that service goes beyond my time in office," he said. "In other words, it'll really set the stage for this presidency and other presidencies (and) set a standard that we expect government to follow."
Former Sen. Bob Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala, currently president of the University of Miami, are co-chairing the committee.
Other commission members are:
-- Marc Giammatteo, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and former Army captain whose leg was severely injured during a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq in 2004. Giammatteo has undergone more than 30 surgeries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and served as an unofficial patient advocate at the hospital from 2004 to 2006. He currently is a student at Harvard Business School.
-- Jose Ramos, a former Navy petty officer 3rd class who lost an arm in combat during his second deployment to Iraq. Ramos, who previously served a tour of duty in Afghanistan, was a hospital corpsman who treated soldiers wounded in Iraq. He is currently a student at George Mason University.
-- Tammy Edwards, whose husband, Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Edwards, was severely burned in Iraq when a 500-pound bomb exploded under his vehicle. Since his injury, she has provided support for families of wounded veterans in her community of Cibolo, Texas. She is a research assistant at The Geneva Foundation.
-- Kenneth Fisher, chairman and chief executive officer of Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit organization that constructs homes for families of hospitalized military members and veterans. Fisher Houses serve 8,500 families a year at little or no cost.
-- C. Martin Harris, chief information officer and chairman of information technology at the Cleveland Clinic and a practicing physician since 1987. He has served on government and private-sector commissions that have addressed health care interoperability issues.
-- Edward Eckenhoff, president and CEO of the National Rehabilitation Hospital and a member of the District of Columbia Hospital Association Board of Directors who is an innovator in the field of rehabilitation medicine.
-- Gail Wilensky, an economist and senior fellow at Project Hope, an international health education foundation who also serves as co-chair of DoD's Task Force on Future Health Care.
Bush praised the qualifications and commitment of the commission members. "We've got compassionate people who all care about whether or not our government is fulfilling its responsibility to make sure our health care systems ... are meeting our obligations," he said.
As the commission conducts its review, DoD and the VA also are working to improve the way their agencies serve wounded warriors.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has formed an independent review group to assess outpatient treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center. The group held its first meeting March 1 and will report on its initial findings early next month.
"This deadline is relatively short for a reason: to make sure we identify additional flaws in the system and get on with fixing them as fast as possible," Gates told reporters during a Pentagon roundtable last week.
Gates told reporters he also has ordered acting Army Secretary Pete Geren to report to him later this month about the service's action plan to fix the outpatient situation at Walter Reed.
In addition, said he tasked David S.C. Chu, defense undersecretary for personnel and readiness, and Dr. William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, to conduct a comprehensive review of all medical care programs, facilities and procedures departmentwide to ensure DoD is providing servicemembers the standard of care they deserve. "I have told them that resources will not be an issue," he said.
Meanwhile, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson established a new interagency task force at Bush's direction to examine the processes for combat veterans seeking services and benefits from the VA and other federal agencies.
VA established a Web site that allows active-duty servicemembers, veterans, family members and others to provide input about their experiences to the task force.
"As the task force moves forward in studying how we can enhance services and cut red tape, we believe it's important to provide veterans, their family members and others with the opportunity to share their ideas and experiences," Nicholson said.
This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Fallon Takes Reins of Central Command
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – For the first time since the United States created a combatant command with responsibility for the Middle East, Northern Africa and Southwest and Central Asia, a naval officer took over the helm of U.S. Central Command here today. Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, a naval aviator with almost 40 years of service, assumed duties as commander of CENTCOM from Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, who is retiring after leading CENTCOM for more than three years.
Fallon comes from commanding U.S. Pacific Command, the largest geographical command in the military, where he worked to improve military ties with China.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates presided over today's ceremony. He praised Abizaid for the work he did in the Middle East while commanding CENTCOM. Abizaid studied the region's culture extensively, becoming an expert and forging important relationships with the people, Gates said. Abizaid took over the command early in the Iraq conflict, at a time when there was much work to be done, he noted.
"He accepted enormous responsibility at a crucial time in history," Gates said of Abizaid.
Under Abizaid's leadership, CENTCOM helped Iraq conduct three elections, form a new government and constitution, and grow the Iraqi security forces threefold, Gates said. In Afghanistan, he noted, thanks in large part to Abizaid's efforts, NATO countries have stepped up and taken responsibility for the security of the country, in partnership with Afghan security forces.
Gates said he is confident that Fallon will build on Abizaid's good work, noting that the admiral brings decades of experience and a record of success to the command. He praised Fallon as one of the military's top strategic thinkers, who built important relationships with other nations during his time in Pacific Command.
After relinquishing command to Fallon, Abizaid thanked the members of the coalition for the work they do with CENTCOM. He also thanked the officers under his command, who he said do so much to fight the war on terror, provide humanitarian assistance, and strengthen partnerships around the world.
"Never has a commander been so blessed by a team of capable and heroic leaders," Abizaid said.
Abizaid noted that war is never easy, and the war on terror will be long and will require "courage and time." Victory against terror will require not only military effort, but also political and diplomatic work, he said.
"This conflict is greater than the sum of Iraq and Afghanistan," Abizaid said.
Upon taking command, Fallon thanked Abizaid for the legacy he left and pledged to strengthen and nurture relationships with members of his command and other nations. Fallon acknowledged that much work lies ahead of CENTCOM in the months ahead, and that Iraq and Afghanistan are both at critical points. However, he said, the troops and commanders of CENTCOM and allied countries are capable and dedicated, and can help the people of the Middle East achieve what most people in the world want: peace, security and stability.
"In concert with our allies, if we put our minds to it, there's very little we can't accomplish," Fallon said.
CENTCOM was created in 1983 and is responsible for U.S. military activity in a 27-country region in the area between U.S. European Command and Pacific Command. CENTCOM is responsible for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, focused on defeating terrorism, strengthening regional stability, building the capacity of partner nations, and protecting U.S. interests in the region.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – For the first time since the United States created a combatant command with responsibility for the Middle East, Northern Africa and Southwest and Central Asia, a naval officer took over the helm of U.S. Central Command here today. Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, a naval aviator with almost 40 years of service, assumed duties as commander of CENTCOM from Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, who is retiring after leading CENTCOM for more than three years.
Fallon comes from commanding U.S. Pacific Command, the largest geographical command in the military, where he worked to improve military ties with China.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates presided over today's ceremony. He praised Abizaid for the work he did in the Middle East while commanding CENTCOM. Abizaid studied the region's culture extensively, becoming an expert and forging important relationships with the people, Gates said. Abizaid took over the command early in the Iraq conflict, at a time when there was much work to be done, he noted.
"He accepted enormous responsibility at a crucial time in history," Gates said of Abizaid.
Under Abizaid's leadership, CENTCOM helped Iraq conduct three elections, form a new government and constitution, and grow the Iraqi security forces threefold, Gates said. In Afghanistan, he noted, thanks in large part to Abizaid's efforts, NATO countries have stepped up and taken responsibility for the security of the country, in partnership with Afghan security forces.
Gates said he is confident that Fallon will build on Abizaid's good work, noting that the admiral brings decades of experience and a record of success to the command. He praised Fallon as one of the military's top strategic thinkers, who built important relationships with other nations during his time in Pacific Command.
After relinquishing command to Fallon, Abizaid thanked the members of the coalition for the work they do with CENTCOM. He also thanked the officers under his command, who he said do so much to fight the war on terror, provide humanitarian assistance, and strengthen partnerships around the world.
"Never has a commander been so blessed by a team of capable and heroic leaders," Abizaid said.
Abizaid noted that war is never easy, and the war on terror will be long and will require "courage and time." Victory against terror will require not only military effort, but also political and diplomatic work, he said.
"This conflict is greater than the sum of Iraq and Afghanistan," Abizaid said.
Upon taking command, Fallon thanked Abizaid for the legacy he left and pledged to strengthen and nurture relationships with members of his command and other nations. Fallon acknowledged that much work lies ahead of CENTCOM in the months ahead, and that Iraq and Afghanistan are both at critical points. However, he said, the troops and commanders of CENTCOM and allied countries are capable and dedicated, and can help the people of the Middle East achieve what most people in the world want: peace, security and stability.
"In concert with our allies, if we put our minds to it, there's very little we can't accomplish," Fallon said.
CENTCOM was created in 1983 and is responsible for U.S. military activity in a 27-country region in the area between U.S. European Command and Pacific Command. CENTCOM is responsible for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, focused on defeating terrorism, strengthening regional stability, building the capacity of partner nations, and protecting U.S. interests in the region.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Utah Expresses Gratitude to Troops
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – Utah will observe "Thank a Soldier Day" tomorrow and March 19 to express gratitude to the servicemembers who protect America's freedoms. Tomorrow's public events will feature military equipment displays, a climbing wall, camouflage face-painting for children, concessions, and music. Speakers will include local and state politicians and military personnel.
March 19 is the official, state-designated day for the observance, but organizers said most activities take place on the Saturday before the official day to facilitate high participation.
"We want to create a culture of gratitude for the men and women that serve our country," Jared Gomez, president of Thank a Soldier Day, said. "We want to help especially the youth understand why it is that we can live the lives we do."
It doesn't matter how anyone feels about the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq, he added. "There are people that are sacrificing their lives every day for us, and we need to respect that," Gomez said.
To honor that sacrifice, the Thank a Soldier organization is sponsoring an injured servicemember who has recently returned from Iraq or Afghanistan. The organization will, through donations, provide assistance to that servicemember who may have needs the government is not able to meet, Gomez said.
"This is kind of our small way of showing our gratitude to them and that we appreciate their service," he said.
He also hopes that the public will take a moment to do just that on March 19, which is set aside to personally say "thank you" to a servicemember, he said.
"The idea is, whenever you walk past a soldier on the street ... you just stop and say, 'Thank you,'" Gomez said. "What I'd like to see happen is for all the news stations, all the radio stations on that day ... just stop and say, Today is Thank A Soldier Day.' We want to express our gratitude. Thank you for all you do.'"
Thank a Soldier Day was started by seniors at West Jordan High School three years ago. Rachelle Romero initiated the day for personal reasons, Gomez said.
"She has some family (members) that are members of the military, (and) she was really tired of all the negative news about the war and about soldiers," he said. "She didn't think it was right, so she wanted to do something."
That original "something" was creating a huge banner for her school to sign before it was sent to Iraq. That sparked interest in doing something more, and a small group of students worked with the high school's assistant principal to create a day of recognition for servicemembers, Gomez said.
This year, Thank a Solider Day's gratitude and goodwill are expanding to help America Supports You home-front member Operation Give, a care package group based out of Salt Lake City.
America Supports You is a Defense Department program highlighting ways Americans and the corporate sector are supporting the nation's servicemembers.
"They initially contacted me just to have me actually speak during (tomorrow's) program," Paul Holton, a chief warrant officer in the Utah Army National Guard, said. "They wanted to get more of an ongoing project or organization involved in the Thank a Soldier Day organization, so we came up with 'Thank a Soldier for the Week.'"
The groups have placed 15 drop boxes around the West Jordan area so residents who'd like to donate convenience items, food and entertainment items can do so. Those wishing to donate don't have to be local residents, though. Donations are accepted from across the country.
"The can either look at the list and send us things that are on the list, or we would prefer that they donate money ... to purchase things that are needed," Holton said, explaining that cash donations help keep the cost of shipping down. "But they can go on our Web site ... and donate."
Money donated through Operation Give's Web site can be earmarked for any specific project the group runs, including Operation Support the Troops, which the Thank a Soldier for a Week collection drive is benefiting. The Web site also provides the mailing address to donate items.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 16, 2007 – Utah will observe "Thank a Soldier Day" tomorrow and March 19 to express gratitude to the servicemembers who protect America's freedoms. Tomorrow's public events will feature military equipment displays, a climbing wall, camouflage face-painting for children, concessions, and music. Speakers will include local and state politicians and military personnel.
March 19 is the official, state-designated day for the observance, but organizers said most activities take place on the Saturday before the official day to facilitate high participation.
"We want to create a culture of gratitude for the men and women that serve our country," Jared Gomez, president of Thank a Soldier Day, said. "We want to help especially the youth understand why it is that we can live the lives we do."
It doesn't matter how anyone feels about the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq, he added. "There are people that are sacrificing their lives every day for us, and we need to respect that," Gomez said.
To honor that sacrifice, the Thank a Soldier organization is sponsoring an injured servicemember who has recently returned from Iraq or Afghanistan. The organization will, through donations, provide assistance to that servicemember who may have needs the government is not able to meet, Gomez said.
"This is kind of our small way of showing our gratitude to them and that we appreciate their service," he said.
He also hopes that the public will take a moment to do just that on March 19, which is set aside to personally say "thank you" to a servicemember, he said.
"The idea is, whenever you walk past a soldier on the street ... you just stop and say, 'Thank you,'" Gomez said. "What I'd like to see happen is for all the news stations, all the radio stations on that day ... just stop and say, Today is Thank A Soldier Day.' We want to express our gratitude. Thank you for all you do.'"
Thank a Soldier Day was started by seniors at West Jordan High School three years ago. Rachelle Romero initiated the day for personal reasons, Gomez said.
"She has some family (members) that are members of the military, (and) she was really tired of all the negative news about the war and about soldiers," he said. "She didn't think it was right, so she wanted to do something."
That original "something" was creating a huge banner for her school to sign before it was sent to Iraq. That sparked interest in doing something more, and a small group of students worked with the high school's assistant principal to create a day of recognition for servicemembers, Gomez said.
This year, Thank a Solider Day's gratitude and goodwill are expanding to help America Supports You home-front member Operation Give, a care package group based out of Salt Lake City.
America Supports You is a Defense Department program highlighting ways Americans and the corporate sector are supporting the nation's servicemembers.
"They initially contacted me just to have me actually speak during (tomorrow's) program," Paul Holton, a chief warrant officer in the Utah Army National Guard, said. "They wanted to get more of an ongoing project or organization involved in the Thank a Soldier Day organization, so we came up with 'Thank a Soldier for the Week.'"
The groups have placed 15 drop boxes around the West Jordan area so residents who'd like to donate convenience items, food and entertainment items can do so. Those wishing to donate don't have to be local residents, though. Donations are accepted from across the country.
"The can either look at the list and send us things that are on the list, or we would prefer that they donate money ... to purchase things that are needed," Holton said, explaining that cash donations help keep the cost of shipping down. "But they can go on our Web site ... and donate."
Money donated through Operation Give's Web site can be earmarked for any specific project the group runs, including Operation Support the Troops, which the Thank a Soldier for a Week collection drive is benefiting. The Web site also provides the mailing address to donate items.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Mom Asks Americans to 'Have a Heart'
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
March 15, 2007 – An Army mom in Malone, N.Y., is asking Americans to show their compassion and make life a little more pleasant for troops serving overseas through her Have a Heart/Adopt a Soldier program. Have a Heart/Adopt a Soldier is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program highlighting the ways Americans and the corporate sector are supporting the nation's servicemembers.
Gladys Walker started the organization in December 2002, when the popularity of her care packages spread beyond her son's unit.
"He called and said there were others ... that weren't getting any mail and they weren't getting any supplies, so we sponsored them," she said. "We deal with every branch of the military, plus we've even (helped) civilians that are stationed over there."
Her son, Army Sgt. Robert Collins, is serving his third tour in Iraq.
Each week, she and five of her 18 regular volunteers pack and ship 100 to 200 boxes of comfort, hygiene and entertainment items for troops from her list of nearly 1,000 servicemembers, Walker said.
"The most requested (item), believe it or not, is still those little tuna and cracker packets," she said, adding that needed items are sent when requested, as well.
While care packages are her main focus, Walker also works to help families with financial difficulties, she said. One instance found her helping to cover unexpected expenses of soldier's funeral that the family couldn't afford at the time. "We've done big things and little things," she said.
But it all comes with a price tag, and she sometimes has multiple fundraisers going at once. Yet there are bright spots.
Inclusion on the America Supports You site has given Walker's group visibility, drawing both requests and offers of assistance, she said.
A local group has agreed to adopt four soldiers for a year, a $10-per-month commitment, Walker said. Another group is sponsoring 50 servicemembers through the group's 2X program, which, at $20 per month, covers both the care package items and postage.
She also said America Supports You membership lends her group credibility. "(Potential donors) see that larger organizations are supportive of us little guys," Walker said. "That helps."
Visit Have a Heart/Adopt a Soldier
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 15, 2007 – An Army mom in Malone, N.Y., is asking Americans to show their compassion and make life a little more pleasant for troops serving overseas through her Have a Heart/Adopt a Soldier program. Have a Heart/Adopt a Soldier is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program highlighting the ways Americans and the corporate sector are supporting the nation's servicemembers.
Gladys Walker started the organization in December 2002, when the popularity of her care packages spread beyond her son's unit.
"He called and said there were others ... that weren't getting any mail and they weren't getting any supplies, so we sponsored them," she said. "We deal with every branch of the military, plus we've even (helped) civilians that are stationed over there."
Her son, Army Sgt. Robert Collins, is serving his third tour in Iraq.
Each week, she and five of her 18 regular volunteers pack and ship 100 to 200 boxes of comfort, hygiene and entertainment items for troops from her list of nearly 1,000 servicemembers, Walker said.
"The most requested (item), believe it or not, is still those little tuna and cracker packets," she said, adding that needed items are sent when requested, as well.
While care packages are her main focus, Walker also works to help families with financial difficulties, she said. One instance found her helping to cover unexpected expenses of soldier's funeral that the family couldn't afford at the time. "We've done big things and little things," she said.
But it all comes with a price tag, and she sometimes has multiple fundraisers going at once. Yet there are bright spots.
Inclusion on the America Supports You site has given Walker's group visibility, drawing both requests and offers of assistance, she said.
A local group has agreed to adopt four soldiers for a year, a $10-per-month commitment, Walker said. Another group is sponsoring 50 servicemembers through the group's 2X program, which, at $20 per month, covers both the care package items and postage.
She also said America Supports You membership lends her group credibility. "(Potential donors) see that larger organizations are supportive of us little guys," Walker said. "That helps."
Visit Have a Heart/Adopt a Soldier
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Acquisitions Chief Outlines Streamlined Processes
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
March 15, 2007 – As the Defense Department works to simplify its acquisitions processes, it can borrow best practices from business, but also must factor in variables businesses simply don't have to deal with, the Pentagon's acquisitions chief told reporters here yesterday. Ken Kreig, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters people often ask him, "Why don't you run this like a company?"
"First of all, no company would be this large (and) complex and try to structure this way," Kreig said. DoD is the largest, most complex organization in the world, owning more than 600,000 buildings in 146 countries, and with assets and liabilities that exceed those of WalMart, Exxon, Ford and IBM combined, defense officials noted.
But the differences go beyond mere scale, Kreig said. "No company would try to manage this level of risk. No company would try to surge and reduce like the Defense Department tries to do. And so managing it just like a company is hard," he said.
For-profit companies also have a concrete way to measure their efforts, based on the bottom line, Kreig said. That's not as simple within DoD, he noted, where effectiveness is measured not by numbers on a spread sheet, but by capability.
"At the end of the day, what we do in the Defense Department is provide capability to warfighters. ... Whether they're engaged in war or whether they're engaged in peacetime operations, like the tsunami, we provide them capability," Kreig said. "They take all the capability and they do amazing things with it."
Another big difference between how DoD and the private sector do business boils down to their ability to get across-the-board agreement to an initiative and sticking with it to ensure it succeeds, he said.
"In the private sector, if you make a decision to invest capital, particularly a sizeable decision to invest capital, that goes all the way to the chairman and probably to the board if it's a reasonable amount," he said. Everyone within the company - directors of the manufacturing, marketing, sales, finance and other departments - agrees to the decision and commits to making it work.
Not so in the government, he said, where a tremendous number of stakeholders often work toward contradictory goals, and year-to-year budget fluctuations can derail an initiative before it's able to bear fruit.
Despite these challenges, Kreig said he's confident efforts under way to improve DoD's acquisition processes are having a direct impact on warfighters while making more effective use of taxpayer dollars.
These initiatives, detailed in the newly released Defense Acquisition Transformation Report to Congress, aim to make acquisition systems more effective, efficient and responsive to warfighter needs, he said.
The report, sent to Congress last month, describes the departmentwide drive to transform enterprisewide acquisition processes, systems and management structures. It notes the basic strategic choice it boils down to: How DoD determines which assets and investments will best provide warfighter capability.
Kreig outlined seven basic goals DoD's acquisition transformation initiatives aim to achieve:
-- A top-quality work force that's critical to disciplined, accountable and ethical acquisition process;
-- DoD's core values, policy objectives, joint capability needs and resources, all focused together to reducing risk and provide predictable schedules and cost;
-- An acquisition system that's able to respond to combat commanders with product-ready capabilities, on time and on cost;
-- Realistic, cost-effective plans and programs essential to preserving flexible and responsive options;
-- An environment within DoD that encourages industry to create and sustain reliable and cost-effective industrial capabilities sufficient to meet the department's strategic objectives; and
-- Efficient and effective acquisition performance, achieved through effective structure and integration of efforts within the department and fewer layers of authority.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told the Senate during his confirmation hearing in December he will continue to champion acquisition reforms under way within DoD. "I will seek to balance the acquisition and operational testing processes between reducing costs and accelerating schedules," he told the panel.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 15, 2007 – As the Defense Department works to simplify its acquisitions processes, it can borrow best practices from business, but also must factor in variables businesses simply don't have to deal with, the Pentagon's acquisitions chief told reporters here yesterday. Ken Kreig, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters people often ask him, "Why don't you run this like a company?"
"First of all, no company would be this large (and) complex and try to structure this way," Kreig said. DoD is the largest, most complex organization in the world, owning more than 600,000 buildings in 146 countries, and with assets and liabilities that exceed those of WalMart, Exxon, Ford and IBM combined, defense officials noted.
But the differences go beyond mere scale, Kreig said. "No company would try to manage this level of risk. No company would try to surge and reduce like the Defense Department tries to do. And so managing it just like a company is hard," he said.
For-profit companies also have a concrete way to measure their efforts, based on the bottom line, Kreig said. That's not as simple within DoD, he noted, where effectiveness is measured not by numbers on a spread sheet, but by capability.
"At the end of the day, what we do in the Defense Department is provide capability to warfighters. ... Whether they're engaged in war or whether they're engaged in peacetime operations, like the tsunami, we provide them capability," Kreig said. "They take all the capability and they do amazing things with it."
Another big difference between how DoD and the private sector do business boils down to their ability to get across-the-board agreement to an initiative and sticking with it to ensure it succeeds, he said.
"In the private sector, if you make a decision to invest capital, particularly a sizeable decision to invest capital, that goes all the way to the chairman and probably to the board if it's a reasonable amount," he said. Everyone within the company - directors of the manufacturing, marketing, sales, finance and other departments - agrees to the decision and commits to making it work.
Not so in the government, he said, where a tremendous number of stakeholders often work toward contradictory goals, and year-to-year budget fluctuations can derail an initiative before it's able to bear fruit.
Despite these challenges, Kreig said he's confident efforts under way to improve DoD's acquisition processes are having a direct impact on warfighters while making more effective use of taxpayer dollars.
These initiatives, detailed in the newly released Defense Acquisition Transformation Report to Congress, aim to make acquisition systems more effective, efficient and responsive to warfighter needs, he said.
The report, sent to Congress last month, describes the departmentwide drive to transform enterprisewide acquisition processes, systems and management structures. It notes the basic strategic choice it boils down to: How DoD determines which assets and investments will best provide warfighter capability.
Kreig outlined seven basic goals DoD's acquisition transformation initiatives aim to achieve:
-- A top-quality work force that's critical to disciplined, accountable and ethical acquisition process;
-- DoD's core values, policy objectives, joint capability needs and resources, all focused together to reducing risk and provide predictable schedules and cost;
-- An acquisition system that's able to respond to combat commanders with product-ready capabilities, on time and on cost;
-- Realistic, cost-effective plans and programs essential to preserving flexible and responsive options;
-- An environment within DoD that encourages industry to create and sustain reliable and cost-effective industrial capabilities sufficient to meet the department's strategic objectives; and
-- Efficient and effective acquisition performance, achieved through effective structure and integration of efforts within the department and fewer layers of authority.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told the Senate during his confirmation hearing in December he will continue to champion acquisition reforms under way within DoD. "I will seek to balance the acquisition and operational testing processes between reducing costs and accelerating schedules," he told the panel.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Top Enlisted Servicemember Gets Special Delivery
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
March 15, 2007 – The military's top enlisted servicemember received a very special care package at his Pentagon office this morning. Jeanette Cram, founder of troop-support group Treat the Troops, personally delivered a box of chocolate chip cookies to Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Treat the Troops is a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program that highlights and facilitates support for the nation's men and women in uniform.
Cram has been shipping cookies to deployed servicemembers around the world for 17 years with the help of her volunteers, or "crumbs" in 38 states. "I do this for all of them," Cram said. "I can't imagine not doing it for the soldiers.
"There's a lot of us out here that love you, and we want you to come home safely, but we know you want to do the job," she added, directing her comment directly to the servicemembers.
When Cram began her effort in 1990, her first box of cookies went to an Army staff sergeant based out of Fort Stewart, Ga. Valeria Smith wrote to thank Cram for her kindness, but that was the last contact she had with the "Cookie Lady" as Cram has come to be known. "I've never found her," Cram said.
Cram acknowledges that after nearly two decades and more than 430,000 cookies, it's more complicated to send packages than it was when she sent Smith that first box in 1990. Now, her shipments typically require a servicemember's name and mailing address, and Cram said she understands why it's necessary.
"Back in 1990 ... when you would send a box, you could just send it to 'Any Soldier,'" she said. "I can understand they need that paperwork. They need to know who these cookies are coming from."
Gainey said Cram's long-term efforts, which send a message of total commitment, are even more important today than when she began. They prove to the troops that the people back home are behind them, and that's where the biggest risk of losing the war lies - with the American public, he said.
"We've got to stay strong at home," Gainey said, acknowledging that Cram is doing her part to make that happen. "She's building up the morale of all the troops that bite into one of those chocolate chip cookies.
"She's doing more for her country than she'll ever realize," he added.
What Cram does realize is that, while every cookie may bring a smile, perhaps not every servicemember wants a cookie. "America Supports You has a lot of organizations," she said. "There's a lot of things you might need, (and) we're going to connect you with the right people."
Treat the Troops was fortunate to be connected with the right people last year.
DuPont Teflon organized "The Great American Cookie Swap," which encouraged friends and family to come together and send homemade cookies to deployed troops. For each of the more than 17,000 cookie swap parties registered through the DuPont Teflon Web site, the company is making a donation to help offset Treat the Troops' cost of baking and shipping cookies.
"It's an honor and we're deeply appreciative to show our support for our combined efforts, and to made donations and provide support to groups like America Supports You and Treat the Troops," Dan Turner, a DuPont Teflon spokesman, said. "We're glad to be able to be a part of that effort."
Cram and Turner presented each other gifts of appreciation after meeting with Gainey.
As for the box of cookies Cram brought Gainey, he said he'd sample a couple and run some extra miles to work them off. The rest of the five dozen cookies will brighten the days of some of the injured servicemembers recovering at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., he said.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
March 15, 2007 – The military's top enlisted servicemember received a very special care package at his Pentagon office this morning. Jeanette Cram, founder of troop-support group Treat the Troops, personally delivered a box of chocolate chip cookies to Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Treat the Troops is a member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program that highlights and facilitates support for the nation's men and women in uniform.
Cram has been shipping cookies to deployed servicemembers around the world for 17 years with the help of her volunteers, or "crumbs" in 38 states. "I do this for all of them," Cram said. "I can't imagine not doing it for the soldiers.
"There's a lot of us out here that love you, and we want you to come home safely, but we know you want to do the job," she added, directing her comment directly to the servicemembers.
When Cram began her effort in 1990, her first box of cookies went to an Army staff sergeant based out of Fort Stewart, Ga. Valeria Smith wrote to thank Cram for her kindness, but that was the last contact she had with the "Cookie Lady" as Cram has come to be known. "I've never found her," Cram said.
Cram acknowledges that after nearly two decades and more than 430,000 cookies, it's more complicated to send packages than it was when she sent Smith that first box in 1990. Now, her shipments typically require a servicemember's name and mailing address, and Cram said she understands why it's necessary.
"Back in 1990 ... when you would send a box, you could just send it to 'Any Soldier,'" she said. "I can understand they need that paperwork. They need to know who these cookies are coming from."
Gainey said Cram's long-term efforts, which send a message of total commitment, are even more important today than when she began. They prove to the troops that the people back home are behind them, and that's where the biggest risk of losing the war lies - with the American public, he said.
"We've got to stay strong at home," Gainey said, acknowledging that Cram is doing her part to make that happen. "She's building up the morale of all the troops that bite into one of those chocolate chip cookies.
"She's doing more for her country than she'll ever realize," he added.
What Cram does realize is that, while every cookie may bring a smile, perhaps not every servicemember wants a cookie. "America Supports You has a lot of organizations," she said. "There's a lot of things you might need, (and) we're going to connect you with the right people."
Treat the Troops was fortunate to be connected with the right people last year.
DuPont Teflon organized "The Great American Cookie Swap," which encouraged friends and family to come together and send homemade cookies to deployed troops. For each of the more than 17,000 cookie swap parties registered through the DuPont Teflon Web site, the company is making a donation to help offset Treat the Troops' cost of baking and shipping cookies.
"It's an honor and we're deeply appreciative to show our support for our combined efforts, and to made donations and provide support to groups like America Supports You and Treat the Troops," Dan Turner, a DuPont Teflon spokesman, said. "We're glad to be able to be a part of that effort."
Cram and Turner presented each other gifts of appreciation after meeting with Gainey.
As for the box of cookies Cram brought Gainey, he said he'd sample a couple and run some extra miles to work them off. The rest of the five dozen cookies will brighten the days of some of the injured servicemembers recovering at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., he said.
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
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