By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. William J. Crowe died early today at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He was 82. Crowe served as chairman from 1985 to 1989 under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
His Navy career spanned the entirety of the Cold War, from his entry to the service following graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946 to his retirement as the highest-ranking officer in the military in 1989 as the Soviet Union began to crumble.
"Every man and woman of the U.S. military joins me in mourning the death of retired Admiral William Crowe, Vietnam and Cold War veteran and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," said Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We extend humbly to his family our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies in their time of grief and sorrow.
"As we mourn his passing, so too should we reflect on his contributions to our national security -- of the thousands of lives he guided, the careers he mentored, the difference he made simply by virtue of his leadership," Mullen continued. "We are a stronger, more capable military today in large part because of his efforts to make us so. We would all do well to remember that and to never forget the remarkable legacy of this truly humble, truly noble man."
The Soviet Union and terrorism dominated Crowe's tenure as chairman. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced perestroika and glasnost – literally, "restructuring" and "openness" -- to his nation. Gorbachev meant for the policies to strengthen the Soviet Union and make the country economically competitive with the West.
The openness that Gorbachev wanted included military relations. Crowe was at the epicenter of these changes. The admiral hosted Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Akhromeyev during a visit to the Pentagon in 1987. Akhromeyev, the chief of the Soviet General Staff, even attended a meeting with the Joint Chiefs in "The Tank," the secure room the chiefs use to discuss military matters.
The admiral also confronted the plague of terrorism. Palestinian terrorists were active, with the most famous terrorist act being the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985. Navy fighters intercepted an Egyptian airliner flying the terrorists to safety and forced the plane to land in Sicily, where Italian authorities took the men into custody.
In addition, Crowe confronted the threat posed by Libya's Muammar Qadhafi. The state sponsored terrorism and proclaimed a "Line of Death" in the Mediterranean's Gulf of Sidra. On April 5, 1986, the oil-rich nation sponsored terrorists who bombed a disco in West Berlin, killing two soldiers and a Turkish woman. Ten days later, U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft attacked military targets in Tripoli and Benghazi.
The admiral was a devotee of the TV show "Cheers," and played himself in a short appearance on the hit show.
A career submariner, Crowe was born in Kentucky and grew up in Oklahoma City. Following graduation from the Naval Academy, he served aboard the USS Carmick, USS Flying Fish and USS Clamagore. He was executive officer of the USS Wahoo and commanded the USS Trout from 1960 to 1962.
At 44, Crowe volunteered to serve in Vietnam as the senior advisor to the South Vietnamese Riverine Force from 1970 to 1971.
Crowe became a rear admiral in 1973 and held a number of staff jobs in the Pentagon before becoming the commander of the Middle East Force in Bahrain in 1976. After pinning on his fourth star, Crowe commanded Allied Forces Southern Europe from 1980 to 1983 and then served as commander in chief of U.S. Pacific Command in 1983.
Crowe was the first chairman to serve under the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Department Reorganization Act of 1986. The act made the chairman the principal military advisor to the president, defense secretary and the rest of the National Security Council.
Along the way, Crowe received a master's degree from Stanford University and a doctorate from Princeton.
After his retirement, the admiral served as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom and on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. The admiral taught political science at the Naval Academy. His book "The Line of Fire" was a memoir of his time in the military.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Shirley, his daughter, Bambi, and his sons, Brent and Blake.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Odierno Calls on Safety Team to Help Cut Non-Hostile Fatalities
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - An Army safety team soon will wrap up its month-long analysis conducted at the Multinational Corps Iraq commander's request to find ways to stop the recent uptick in non-combat injuries and fatalities among deployed troops. A team from the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center left its Fort Rucker, Ala., headquarters Sept. 29 at the bidding of Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno to get to the bottom of the problem. It is expected to return Oct. 21.
At issue is the increase in deaths and injuries unrelated to combat. Non-combat deaths began climbing in July and increased each month through September. The Defense Department reported 12 non-combat and 66 combat fatalities in July, 29 non-combat and 55 combat deaths in August, and 23 non-combat and 42 combat deaths in September.
The vast majority of fatalities were in the Army, which reported 27 non-combat deaths in August and 21 in September.
Seven soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team "Falcon Brigade" were killed Sept. 10 in western Baghdad when their 5-ton truck overturned. The wreck, which occurred as the unit was returning from a raid, left 10 soldiers injured. The accident is under investigation, but officials said it occurred when a tire blew out.
Fourteen soldiers died in an Aug. 22 Black Hawk helicopter crash during night operations in Multaka, killing all aboard. Four of the troops were assigned to the Fort Lewis, Wash.-based 4th Squadron, 6th U.S. Air Cavalry Regiment, and 10 were from the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Officials said a mechanical malfunction is the likely cause of the crash.
Ground commanders in Iraq are "very focused" on the problem and have asked for help, Army Lt. Gen. Carter F. Ham, the Joint Staff's operations director, told Pentagon reporters Oct. 16. "Safety is paramount and is a very, very high priority," he said.
He noted that with the surge still in effect in Iraq and troop numbers up, it's understandable that non-battle casualties might increase. He emphasized, however, that "even one non-battle casualty is one too many."
Officials at the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center call "leader engagement" vital to raising safety awareness and reducing accident rates. By identifying the problem and calling in safety experts for assistance, Odierno already has increased awareness throughout the theater, center spokeswoman Kelly Widener said.
"The MNCI command's initiative and the actions to address safety demonstrate the commitment the Army has to protect its soldiers and formations from accidental loss," Widener said. "The chain of command noted the recent trend and is actively engaging to address the situation and reverse the trend."
In Iraq, the six-person safety team is collecting and analyzing information about accidents, not losses due to suicide, medical, criminal or other factors. Army Brig. Gen. William H. Forrester, commander of the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center and Army safety director, joined the team Oct. 14 to review the team's ongoing efforts and confer with commanders before briefing the Multinational Corps Iraq command group, Widener said.
He is expected to provide the team's detailed analysis and recommend ways to stop deaths and injuries related to accidents "proactively and aggressively," she said.
Non-hostile deaths have long been a problem for the military, both in peacetime and war. Especially during wartime, increased training and combat preparation pose additional risk, Widener noted.
"However, it is one of the Army's top priorities to minimize that loss and learn from past trends," she said. "Engaged leaders, awareness of best safety practices, accident trend recognition, and valuable safety tools ... will fight against this accident loss and increased exposure."
Trends point to factors that often contribute to non-combat-related accidents. In Army aviation, it's frequently aircrews' assumption that a mission is low-risk, coordination failures, or overconfidence, Widener reported. Ground losses commonly result from vehicle accidents, sports injuries, maintenance operations and weapons handling.
The military has introduced a wide variety of safety tools and initiatives to help increase safety awareness and reduce accidents, Widener noted.
The Commanders Aviation Risk Tool, for example, is an automated risk-management tool used in mission planning to assess each aviation mission's risk.
Several tools focus on reducing ground accidents. Among them is the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer, developed to reduce deaths from vehicle rollovers; improved emergency procedures in the event of a rollover; a driver's training toolbox; and a pamphlet on safe weapons handling. Videos, newsletter, posters, magazines and other materials constantly reinforce the safety message, Widener said.
In addition, Army Materiel Command continually enhances military equipment to make it safer for troops, officials said. Among its initiatives are improved restraint systems, communication systems, fire-suppression systems and personal protective equipment, Widener said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - An Army safety team soon will wrap up its month-long analysis conducted at the Multinational Corps Iraq commander's request to find ways to stop the recent uptick in non-combat injuries and fatalities among deployed troops. A team from the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center left its Fort Rucker, Ala., headquarters Sept. 29 at the bidding of Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno to get to the bottom of the problem. It is expected to return Oct. 21.
At issue is the increase in deaths and injuries unrelated to combat. Non-combat deaths began climbing in July and increased each month through September. The Defense Department reported 12 non-combat and 66 combat fatalities in July, 29 non-combat and 55 combat deaths in August, and 23 non-combat and 42 combat deaths in September.
The vast majority of fatalities were in the Army, which reported 27 non-combat deaths in August and 21 in September.
Seven soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team "Falcon Brigade" were killed Sept. 10 in western Baghdad when their 5-ton truck overturned. The wreck, which occurred as the unit was returning from a raid, left 10 soldiers injured. The accident is under investigation, but officials said it occurred when a tire blew out.
Fourteen soldiers died in an Aug. 22 Black Hawk helicopter crash during night operations in Multaka, killing all aboard. Four of the troops were assigned to the Fort Lewis, Wash.-based 4th Squadron, 6th U.S. Air Cavalry Regiment, and 10 were from the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Officials said a mechanical malfunction is the likely cause of the crash.
Ground commanders in Iraq are "very focused" on the problem and have asked for help, Army Lt. Gen. Carter F. Ham, the Joint Staff's operations director, told Pentagon reporters Oct. 16. "Safety is paramount and is a very, very high priority," he said.
He noted that with the surge still in effect in Iraq and troop numbers up, it's understandable that non-battle casualties might increase. He emphasized, however, that "even one non-battle casualty is one too many."
Officials at the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center call "leader engagement" vital to raising safety awareness and reducing accident rates. By identifying the problem and calling in safety experts for assistance, Odierno already has increased awareness throughout the theater, center spokeswoman Kelly Widener said.
"The MNCI command's initiative and the actions to address safety demonstrate the commitment the Army has to protect its soldiers and formations from accidental loss," Widener said. "The chain of command noted the recent trend and is actively engaging to address the situation and reverse the trend."
In Iraq, the six-person safety team is collecting and analyzing information about accidents, not losses due to suicide, medical, criminal or other factors. Army Brig. Gen. William H. Forrester, commander of the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center and Army safety director, joined the team Oct. 14 to review the team's ongoing efforts and confer with commanders before briefing the Multinational Corps Iraq command group, Widener said.
He is expected to provide the team's detailed analysis and recommend ways to stop deaths and injuries related to accidents "proactively and aggressively," she said.
Non-hostile deaths have long been a problem for the military, both in peacetime and war. Especially during wartime, increased training and combat preparation pose additional risk, Widener noted.
"However, it is one of the Army's top priorities to minimize that loss and learn from past trends," she said. "Engaged leaders, awareness of best safety practices, accident trend recognition, and valuable safety tools ... will fight against this accident loss and increased exposure."
Trends point to factors that often contribute to non-combat-related accidents. In Army aviation, it's frequently aircrews' assumption that a mission is low-risk, coordination failures, or overconfidence, Widener reported. Ground losses commonly result from vehicle accidents, sports injuries, maintenance operations and weapons handling.
The military has introduced a wide variety of safety tools and initiatives to help increase safety awareness and reduce accidents, Widener noted.
The Commanders Aviation Risk Tool, for example, is an automated risk-management tool used in mission planning to assess each aviation mission's risk.
Several tools focus on reducing ground accidents. Among them is the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer, developed to reduce deaths from vehicle rollovers; improved emergency procedures in the event of a rollover; a driver's training toolbox; and a pamphlet on safe weapons handling. Videos, newsletter, posters, magazines and other materials constantly reinforce the safety message, Widener said.
In addition, Army Materiel Command continually enhances military equipment to make it safer for troops, officials said. Among its initiatives are improved restraint systems, communication systems, fire-suppression systems and personal protective equipment, Widener said.
Doonesbury Creator, Military Bloggers Compile New Book
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - War can inspire great writing, like a series of superlative dispatches from servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan compiled in a new book that offers an arresting glimpse of life on the front lines. Conceived by Garry Trudeau, creator of the long-running, satirical comic strip Doonesbury, "The Sandbox" is a 309-page compilation of roughly 90 online journal entries penned by scores of the military's most talented scribes.
"In fascinating and compelling posts, soldiers write passionately, eloquently and movingly of their day-to-day lives, of their mission, and of the drama that unfolds daily around them," Trudeau said during an interview at the Pentagon yesterday.
"In the military they call it 'hotwash,' I understand; this kind of downloading, debriefing of experiences right after they happen," he said. "It's the kind of first-person journalism that you really can't find anyplace else."
Thousands of military bloggers, or milbloggers, in Afghanistan and Iraq use the Internet to tell an unfiltered version of war, sharing stories of compassion, hope, anguish and suspense to primarily niche audiences of family members and friends. Trudeau, who said he began reading milblogs as a source of inspiration and information at the wars' outset, decided last year to help the authors tap into a wider readership.
"I have a Web site -- doonesebury.com -- that does have a fairly broad reach," he said, "and so we thought maybe this would be a good place to set up an aggregate site, a site that compiles the very best of what we could find of the milblogs."
In October 2006, Trudeau and editor David Stanford, duty officer at the Doonesbury Web site, began hosting milblogs online. To draw attention to the nascent site, Trudeau used cammie-clad Doonesbury character Ray Hightower -- apparently an Army noncommissioned officer of undisclosed rank -- to spread the message via word-of-mouth.
"At The Sandbox, contributors can operate in a clean, lightly edited debriefing environment where all content, no matter how robust, is secured by the first amendment!" reads the text next to Hightower's helmet-covered head in the Oct. 8, 2006, Doonesbury strip, to lure comic-strip readers to the new site. Hightower adds, "So if you support the troops -- but haven't a clue what they're actually up to -- you owe it to yourself to log onto The Sandbox!"
Meanwhile, Stanford scoured some 2,000 milblogs in search of compelling posts. The editor also opened the Web site to submissions, resulting in an encouraging response of surprising quality and depth.
"I figured people maybe wouldn't have enough time to write, and maybe they'd be writing a brief piece here, a quick report there," he recalled. "But we were getting 2,000-, 3,000-word posts from people who would be out on a 15-hour mission and then just sit down and write a beautiful account of the entire thing with style."
Milblogger 1st Sgt. Troy Steward of the New York National Guard regrets the empty pages of the journal he sparsely kept during the first Persian Gulf War.
"It was 16 or 17 years ago, and there's a lot I've forgotten," he said during an interview yesterday.
When Steward deployed to Afghanistan in May 2006, he resolved to discipline himself as a writer. Over the course of his year-long deployment, the first sergeant maintained his bouhammer.com milblog, which attracted a readership of unexpectedly high volume.
"As people around America starting reading it, my readership of 200-300 hits per day was 70 percent people I'd never met," he recalled. "So many e-mails I received were from people that had family members -- sons, brothers, husbands, whatever -- deployed to Afghanistan that they hardly ever heard from. They would write me and say, 'Your blog gives me an idea of what they're going through. It gets me in touch with what they're going through.'"
Steward said many of his readers were Americans interested in but deprived of traditional media coverage about Operation Enduring Freedom. The war in Afghanistan, which "does not grab the headlines anymore," often is referred to by servicemembers deployed there as "the forgotten war," Steward said.
"In fact, when I came back on leave, people didn't even know we were still in Afghanistan," he said with an incredulous tone. "And that's amazing.
"Many people were just concerned citizens, great Americans that wanted to know what was going on and what servicemembers were going through," he continued. "It gave them a small glimpse into what life was like over there."
Three of Steward's posts appear in The Sandbox, including a dispatch titled "Lost Innocence," an account about an Afghan boy Steward met while on patrol near Sharana, Afghanistan.
"I wrote about a young boy -- probably about 10 years old -- that watched his father, who worked for the government, get murdered right in front of him very violently by enemy forces," he said. "No one in the village would go to the funeral, because they didn't want to be associated with helping out a member of the government.
"He and his mother and his siblings had to drag his father's body, dig the hole and bury him. So I wrote about how a 10-year-old boy will never have a chance to be a child," Steward said. "His innocence is lost forever."
Milblogger Army Sgt. Owen Powell became a regular contributor to the Doonesbury Web site while deployed in Iraq from June 2006 to July 2007. Seven posts by Powell, who blogs under the nom de guerre "Roy Batty," appear in The Sandbox compilation.
During an interview yesterday, the sergeant laughed when asked about the meaning behind his pseudonym, a homage to a character from the film "Bladerunner." "There's an awesome line at the end of the movie where it says, 'I have seen things that you people wouldn't believe.' And for me that resonated even when I was a kid, and as a soldier it really resonated.
"I wanted to just capture, 'What did it feel like to walk in the desert in Kuwait at night? What did it feel like to drive a Humvee through the mahalas (neighborhoods) of Baghdad? What did it feel like to get shot at or hit with an improvised explosive device?'" Powell said about his blog. "I was trying to bring out these images and these feelings and the visceral experience of being in Iraq."
Proceeds from The Sandbox, Trudeau's third in a series of military-related books, will be donated to the Fisher House Foundation. Located on the grounds of military and veterans hospitals, Fisher Houses offer a setting where family members can be close to loved ones hospitalized for an injury, illness or disease.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - War can inspire great writing, like a series of superlative dispatches from servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan compiled in a new book that offers an arresting glimpse of life on the front lines. Conceived by Garry Trudeau, creator of the long-running, satirical comic strip Doonesbury, "The Sandbox" is a 309-page compilation of roughly 90 online journal entries penned by scores of the military's most talented scribes.
"In fascinating and compelling posts, soldiers write passionately, eloquently and movingly of their day-to-day lives, of their mission, and of the drama that unfolds daily around them," Trudeau said during an interview at the Pentagon yesterday.
"In the military they call it 'hotwash,' I understand; this kind of downloading, debriefing of experiences right after they happen," he said. "It's the kind of first-person journalism that you really can't find anyplace else."
Thousands of military bloggers, or milbloggers, in Afghanistan and Iraq use the Internet to tell an unfiltered version of war, sharing stories of compassion, hope, anguish and suspense to primarily niche audiences of family members and friends. Trudeau, who said he began reading milblogs as a source of inspiration and information at the wars' outset, decided last year to help the authors tap into a wider readership.
"I have a Web site -- doonesebury.com -- that does have a fairly broad reach," he said, "and so we thought maybe this would be a good place to set up an aggregate site, a site that compiles the very best of what we could find of the milblogs."
In October 2006, Trudeau and editor David Stanford, duty officer at the Doonesbury Web site, began hosting milblogs online. To draw attention to the nascent site, Trudeau used cammie-clad Doonesbury character Ray Hightower -- apparently an Army noncommissioned officer of undisclosed rank -- to spread the message via word-of-mouth.
"At The Sandbox, contributors can operate in a clean, lightly edited debriefing environment where all content, no matter how robust, is secured by the first amendment!" reads the text next to Hightower's helmet-covered head in the Oct. 8, 2006, Doonesbury strip, to lure comic-strip readers to the new site. Hightower adds, "So if you support the troops -- but haven't a clue what they're actually up to -- you owe it to yourself to log onto The Sandbox!"
Meanwhile, Stanford scoured some 2,000 milblogs in search of compelling posts. The editor also opened the Web site to submissions, resulting in an encouraging response of surprising quality and depth.
"I figured people maybe wouldn't have enough time to write, and maybe they'd be writing a brief piece here, a quick report there," he recalled. "But we were getting 2,000-, 3,000-word posts from people who would be out on a 15-hour mission and then just sit down and write a beautiful account of the entire thing with style."
Milblogger 1st Sgt. Troy Steward of the New York National Guard regrets the empty pages of the journal he sparsely kept during the first Persian Gulf War.
"It was 16 or 17 years ago, and there's a lot I've forgotten," he said during an interview yesterday.
When Steward deployed to Afghanistan in May 2006, he resolved to discipline himself as a writer. Over the course of his year-long deployment, the first sergeant maintained his bouhammer.com milblog, which attracted a readership of unexpectedly high volume.
"As people around America starting reading it, my readership of 200-300 hits per day was 70 percent people I'd never met," he recalled. "So many e-mails I received were from people that had family members -- sons, brothers, husbands, whatever -- deployed to Afghanistan that they hardly ever heard from. They would write me and say, 'Your blog gives me an idea of what they're going through. It gets me in touch with what they're going through.'"
Steward said many of his readers were Americans interested in but deprived of traditional media coverage about Operation Enduring Freedom. The war in Afghanistan, which "does not grab the headlines anymore," often is referred to by servicemembers deployed there as "the forgotten war," Steward said.
"In fact, when I came back on leave, people didn't even know we were still in Afghanistan," he said with an incredulous tone. "And that's amazing.
"Many people were just concerned citizens, great Americans that wanted to know what was going on and what servicemembers were going through," he continued. "It gave them a small glimpse into what life was like over there."
Three of Steward's posts appear in The Sandbox, including a dispatch titled "Lost Innocence," an account about an Afghan boy Steward met while on patrol near Sharana, Afghanistan.
"I wrote about a young boy -- probably about 10 years old -- that watched his father, who worked for the government, get murdered right in front of him very violently by enemy forces," he said. "No one in the village would go to the funeral, because they didn't want to be associated with helping out a member of the government.
"He and his mother and his siblings had to drag his father's body, dig the hole and bury him. So I wrote about how a 10-year-old boy will never have a chance to be a child," Steward said. "His innocence is lost forever."
Milblogger Army Sgt. Owen Powell became a regular contributor to the Doonesbury Web site while deployed in Iraq from June 2006 to July 2007. Seven posts by Powell, who blogs under the nom de guerre "Roy Batty," appear in The Sandbox compilation.
During an interview yesterday, the sergeant laughed when asked about the meaning behind his pseudonym, a homage to a character from the film "Bladerunner." "There's an awesome line at the end of the movie where it says, 'I have seen things that you people wouldn't believe.' And for me that resonated even when I was a kid, and as a soldier it really resonated.
"I wanted to just capture, 'What did it feel like to walk in the desert in Kuwait at night? What did it feel like to drive a Humvee through the mahalas (neighborhoods) of Baghdad? What did it feel like to get shot at or hit with an improvised explosive device?'" Powell said about his blog. "I was trying to bring out these images and these feelings and the visceral experience of being in Iraq."
Proceeds from The Sandbox, Trudeau's third in a series of military-related books, will be donated to the Fisher House Foundation. Located on the grounds of military and veterans hospitals, Fisher Houses offer a setting where family members can be close to loved ones hospitalized for an injury, illness or disease.
Predictable Deployments, Future Fleets Crucial to New Navy Chief
By David Mays
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - Sailors can continue to expect predictable deployment lengths and new ships on which to serve, the new chief of naval operations said today. "If you look at our deployment patterns, only on a couple of occasions have we exceeded our objective of six months," Adm. Gary Roughead explained.
"We have been able to live within those with the exception of a couple unique deployments, and also with the exception of some of our high-demand, low-density forces that I continue to watch very carefully, specifically our SEALs, our explosive ordnance disposal (teams), and then some of our medical people."
Roughead spoke with online journalists and "bloggers" during a conference call from the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., where he is attending the International Seapower Symposium. Yesterday, he and the commandants of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard released the first "unified maritime strategy." Today the admiral elaborated on that plan and the Navy's future, including the aggressive goal of greatly expanding its fleet.
"With regard to the 313 shipbuilding plan, I consider that to be the floor," Roughead said. "We are introducing several not just new classes, but new concepts. The littoral combat ship is new, LPD-17 (amphibious transport dock ship) is new. There's a new class of aircraft carrier. We've just taken delivery of some of our new Virginia-class submarines. So we're at a period where we're making some significant changes in capability and operating concepts."
As the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard each continue to build capacity and capability, Roughead has been working with his colleagues in the sister services to figure out what the country expects of its maritime forces and how those forces might best align to serve in a time of increasing globalization.
"The American people want our maritime forces to remain strong, to protect them and their homeland and then a significant desire for us to work with partners around the world," the admiral said. "And that's a theme that continued to echo as we held our conversation and worked and discussed our way ahead with some of the strategic thinkers."
The result of those conversations is a 20-page document called "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower." It was presented at the Navy War College yesterday to 90 navy and coast guard commanders from 98 countries attending the symposium, the largest such maritime gathering ever, the admiral said.
"It is not a document that we will print and have a glossy and leave it on a coffee table someplace," Roughead said. "We intend to continue to have the discussions and the dialogue. We intend to make the investments that enhance our ability and capability."
The strategy pledges to bind the maritime services more closely than they have ever been in order to advance America's prosperity and security despite the demands of an uncertain world, and stresses not just the ability to employ military might, but the need not to.
"It is equally important to prevent wars as it is to win wars and to make the decisions on that which contribute to both," the admiral said.
A key part of the strategy is to concentrate our "credible combat power" in parts of the world where the United States has "historic and current interests," Roughead explained, including the Western Pacific, the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean regions.
"By having these forces distributed globally, we are able to deepen and foster relationships with friends and international partners and our allies and then use relationships and our forces to prevent and contain local disruptions," the admiral said.
The strategy also stresses enhancing global maritime security and increasing the forces' combined ability to respond effectively and efficiently whenever and wherever disaster strikes.
"For me, having been out in the Pacific, the tsunami was something that had a great effect on me professionally and personally," Roughead said. "But it was shortly followed by Hurricane Katrina, and we realized that those types of disasters, that we're not immune to those."
Enabling his sailors to serve in concert with maritime forces around the planet, during times of war and peace, is a commitment the admiral said he takes seriously.
"Our Navy is globally deployed. It is well trained, well prepared, well equipped," he said. "And my responsibilities are to be able to ensure that the Navy remains that way."
(David Mays works for the New Media branch of American Forces Information Service.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - Sailors can continue to expect predictable deployment lengths and new ships on which to serve, the new chief of naval operations said today. "If you look at our deployment patterns, only on a couple of occasions have we exceeded our objective of six months," Adm. Gary Roughead explained.
"We have been able to live within those with the exception of a couple unique deployments, and also with the exception of some of our high-demand, low-density forces that I continue to watch very carefully, specifically our SEALs, our explosive ordnance disposal (teams), and then some of our medical people."
Roughead spoke with online journalists and "bloggers" during a conference call from the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., where he is attending the International Seapower Symposium. Yesterday, he and the commandants of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard released the first "unified maritime strategy." Today the admiral elaborated on that plan and the Navy's future, including the aggressive goal of greatly expanding its fleet.
"With regard to the 313 shipbuilding plan, I consider that to be the floor," Roughead said. "We are introducing several not just new classes, but new concepts. The littoral combat ship is new, LPD-17 (amphibious transport dock ship) is new. There's a new class of aircraft carrier. We've just taken delivery of some of our new Virginia-class submarines. So we're at a period where we're making some significant changes in capability and operating concepts."
As the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard each continue to build capacity and capability, Roughead has been working with his colleagues in the sister services to figure out what the country expects of its maritime forces and how those forces might best align to serve in a time of increasing globalization.
"The American people want our maritime forces to remain strong, to protect them and their homeland and then a significant desire for us to work with partners around the world," the admiral said. "And that's a theme that continued to echo as we held our conversation and worked and discussed our way ahead with some of the strategic thinkers."
The result of those conversations is a 20-page document called "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower." It was presented at the Navy War College yesterday to 90 navy and coast guard commanders from 98 countries attending the symposium, the largest such maritime gathering ever, the admiral said.
"It is not a document that we will print and have a glossy and leave it on a coffee table someplace," Roughead said. "We intend to continue to have the discussions and the dialogue. We intend to make the investments that enhance our ability and capability."
The strategy pledges to bind the maritime services more closely than they have ever been in order to advance America's prosperity and security despite the demands of an uncertain world, and stresses not just the ability to employ military might, but the need not to.
"It is equally important to prevent wars as it is to win wars and to make the decisions on that which contribute to both," the admiral said.
A key part of the strategy is to concentrate our "credible combat power" in parts of the world where the United States has "historic and current interests," Roughead explained, including the Western Pacific, the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean regions.
"By having these forces distributed globally, we are able to deepen and foster relationships with friends and international partners and our allies and then use relationships and our forces to prevent and contain local disruptions," the admiral said.
The strategy also stresses enhancing global maritime security and increasing the forces' combined ability to respond effectively and efficiently whenever and wherever disaster strikes.
"For me, having been out in the Pacific, the tsunami was something that had a great effect on me professionally and personally," Roughead said. "But it was shortly followed by Hurricane Katrina, and we realized that those types of disasters, that we're not immune to those."
Enabling his sailors to serve in concert with maritime forces around the planet, during times of war and peace, is a commitment the admiral said he takes seriously.
"Our Navy is globally deployed. It is well trained, well prepared, well equipped," he said. "And my responsibilities are to be able to ensure that the Navy remains that way."
(David Mays works for the New Media branch of American Forces Information Service.)
AFRICOM Won't Change Defense Department Security Policy in Africa
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - The new U.S. unified command being established for Africa will consolidate Defense Department efforts on the continent, but will not change the department's long-standing policy of partnership with African nations, the department official in charge of African affairs said today. AFRICOM, which became operational Oct. 1, eventually will take over responsibility for Defense Department activity in all of Africa. For now, AFRICOM is operating under U.S. European Command, which has responsibility for the bulk of U.S.-African military relations. U.S. Central Command and U.S. Pacific Command also share responsibility for Africa.
AFRICOM's purpose is to consolidate the efforts of the three combatant commands into one unified command that includes representatives from other government agencies, Theresa Whelan, deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, said in a conference call. However, the focus of the Defense Department in Africa will remain on security cooperation and capacity building with African nations, she said.
"Our security policy -- the things that (the Defense Department) is doing in Africa -- don't change," Whelan said. "The what remains the same. What AFRICOM represents is changing how we do business, not what we do. Our focus is on civilian control of the military and defense reform, military professionalization, and capacity building. That has been the focus of our activities in Africa for the past seven or eight years."
The Defense Department also does not intend to put any operational forces on the African continent, beyond troops that already are stationed in Djibouti, Whelan said. The department will have a presence on the continent to facilitate its mission, but it will be a staff presence, not forces, she said. She noted that the State Department is still in charge of foreign policy, and the Defense Department is in a supporting role.
The Defense Department will work with African nations on developing professional military forces that can provide security, which will help the rule of law and democracy flourish, Whelan said. A number of countries in Africa have made great strides with their militaries, she noted, and the U.S. wants to help that success spread by helping local militaries learn to train themselves.
"It doesn't mean that we think that we are going to solve the security problems on the continent," Whelan said. "What we see as our role is being enablers, facilitators, supporters, the helping hand. The Africans have to solve the problem themselves. If they don't solve the problem, if they're not invested in the solution, then we'll never have a solution. We cannot give them a solution, but we can give them a helping hand towards a solution."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - The new U.S. unified command being established for Africa will consolidate Defense Department efforts on the continent, but will not change the department's long-standing policy of partnership with African nations, the department official in charge of African affairs said today. AFRICOM, which became operational Oct. 1, eventually will take over responsibility for Defense Department activity in all of Africa. For now, AFRICOM is operating under U.S. European Command, which has responsibility for the bulk of U.S.-African military relations. U.S. Central Command and U.S. Pacific Command also share responsibility for Africa.
AFRICOM's purpose is to consolidate the efforts of the three combatant commands into one unified command that includes representatives from other government agencies, Theresa Whelan, deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, said in a conference call. However, the focus of the Defense Department in Africa will remain on security cooperation and capacity building with African nations, she said.
"Our security policy -- the things that (the Defense Department) is doing in Africa -- don't change," Whelan said. "The what remains the same. What AFRICOM represents is changing how we do business, not what we do. Our focus is on civilian control of the military and defense reform, military professionalization, and capacity building. That has been the focus of our activities in Africa for the past seven or eight years."
The Defense Department also does not intend to put any operational forces on the African continent, beyond troops that already are stationed in Djibouti, Whelan said. The department will have a presence on the continent to facilitate its mission, but it will be a staff presence, not forces, she said. She noted that the State Department is still in charge of foreign policy, and the Defense Department is in a supporting role.
The Defense Department will work with African nations on developing professional military forces that can provide security, which will help the rule of law and democracy flourish, Whelan said. A number of countries in Africa have made great strides with their militaries, she noted, and the U.S. wants to help that success spread by helping local militaries learn to train themselves.
"It doesn't mean that we think that we are going to solve the security problems on the continent," Whelan said. "What we see as our role is being enablers, facilitators, supporters, the helping hand. The Africans have to solve the problem themselves. If they don't solve the problem, if they're not invested in the solution, then we'll never have a solution. We cannot give them a solution, but we can give them a helping hand towards a solution."
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Air Force Pilot Missing From Vietnam War is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Maj. Robert G. Lapham, U.S. Air Force, of Marshall, Mich. He will be buried Friday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
On Feb. 8, 1968, Lapham was flying the lead A-1G Skyraider in a flight of two in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. The aircraft were alerted to join an airborne forward air controller to destroy enemy tanks that had overrun the Lang Vei Special Forces Camp. After completing one pass on the tanks, Lapham was nearing his target on the second pass when he crashed. The crew of the other aircraft involved in the mission reported seeing no parachute.
Between 1993 and 1998, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), traveled to Quang Tri Province two times to investigate the incident and interview witnesses. One team also surveyed the crash site and found aircraft wreckage.
In 2003, another joint team investigated the incident and resurveyed the crash site. The team found more wreckage and pilot-related evidence, including Lapham's identification tag.
Between 2004 and 2006, JPAC teams traveled to Quang Tri Province four times to excavate the crash site. The teams recovered human remains, aircraft wreckage and pilot-related items.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information of the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
He is Maj. Robert G. Lapham, U.S. Air Force, of Marshall, Mich. He will be buried Friday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
On Feb. 8, 1968, Lapham was flying the lead A-1G Skyraider in a flight of two in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. The aircraft were alerted to join an airborne forward air controller to destroy enemy tanks that had overrun the Lang Vei Special Forces Camp. After completing one pass on the tanks, Lapham was nearing his target on the second pass when he crashed. The crew of the other aircraft involved in the mission reported seeing no parachute.
Between 1993 and 1998, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), traveled to Quang Tri Province two times to investigate the incident and interview witnesses. One team also surveyed the crash site and found aircraft wreckage.
In 2003, another joint team investigated the incident and resurveyed the crash site. The team found more wreckage and pilot-related evidence, including Lapham's identification tag.
Between 2004 and 2006, JPAC teams traveled to Quang Tri Province four times to excavate the crash site. The teams recovered human remains, aircraft wreckage and pilot-related items.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information of the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Defense Department Consolidates, Redefines Abuse Policies
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - The Defense Department has consolidated 14 previous domestic abuse policies into one document that more clearly defines the roles and training of those who deal with the problem. The new publication, "Domestic Abuse Involving DoD Military and Certain Affiliated Personnel," was introduced by senior officials this month to coincide with the department's observance of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
"Providing a safe and wholesome environment for our families is a key quality-of-life objective. Publication of this instruction is a significant milestone for the department of Defense and represents a major step forward in our efforts to prevent domestic abuse," said Leslye A. Arsht, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy. "Domestic violence destroys families, scars children and harms military readiness. ... We will continue to work to ensure that every home is a safe home."
The publication more clearly defines roles and training requirements for those the department calls "key responders," said Mike Hoskins, a special assistant in the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy. Key responders include local commanders, law enforcement officials, legal representatives, health care providers, family advocacy staff and chaplains.
The publication is the result of an effort that started more than six years ago with a congressionally mandated task force formed to help the department stop domestic violence within its ranks. After three years, the panel made nearly 200 recommendations to the department on how to improve its response to reports of domestic violence.
Most of the recommendations are addressed in the new publication, Hoskins said, and include:
-- The need for a comprehensive, coordinated community response to reports of abuse;
-- The requirement to seek agreements with civilian counterparts to increase information sharing regarding abuse incidents;
-- Training needed for key responders; and
-- The need for the Defense Department to conduct sound criminal investigations of domestic abuse reported to the system.
Since the task force made its recommendations, there have been several initiatives and additional funding addressing domestic violence within the department, Hoskins said. Also, initiatives were launched in cooperation with other federal agencies. For example, the Defense and Justice departments teamed to train victim advocates and law enforcement personnel, Hoskins said.
In 1998, the reported rate of spouse abuse in the Defense Department was about 20 per every 1,000 families. In 2006 that dropped by about half, for 313 reports of domestic violence.
But, Hoskins said, "The true scope of the problem is difficult to understand." He said reporting has historically been inconsistent between agencies investigating incidents. Officials say domestic violence is one of the most underreported crimes in the country.
"We shouldn't necessarily take comfort in reduced rates of domestic violence. It is highly likely that is a good-news story, in that prevention, education and awareness efforts are working, but we need to be also cognizant of the possibility that we are making it more difficult for victims to come forward and receive assistance. So we have to interpret with caution those numbers," Hoskins said.
Hoskins said that reported victims of domestic violence are all ages, sexes and military ranks, but the majority are women. A common misconception, he said, is that abuse can be caused by stress or deployments.
"I think some of the most common misperceptions are that it is caused by stress, anger, alcohol, deployment, and although abusers may certainly experience those, they do not cause domestic abuse. Individuals choose whether or not they are going to be abusive," Hoskins said. "In fact, if everyone in our system who experienced stress, anger, deployment in fact were abusive, we would have numbers that would be so high that we wouldn't know what to do with them."
Hoskins said sometimes victims are afraid to come forward because of the fear of damaging their spouse's military career. He said a report of abuse doesn't necessarily mean an end to a career or the family, but that the report should be handled as any other reported crime.
"The Defense Department has made it very clear that victims will be treated with dignity and respect and that offenders will be held appropriately accountable," Hoskins said.
"The goals of all the programs in the system haven't changed. Those are to help people live healthy lifestyles and, in those cases where families want to stay together, the focus is on helping them stay together," he said. "What we encourage commanders to do is to respond to reports of domestic abuse as they would the credible reports of any other crime, and to initiate ... a law enforcement investigation to determine if a crime occurred," he said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 18, 2007 - The Defense Department has consolidated 14 previous domestic abuse policies into one document that more clearly defines the roles and training of those who deal with the problem. The new publication, "Domestic Abuse Involving DoD Military and Certain Affiliated Personnel," was introduced by senior officials this month to coincide with the department's observance of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
"Providing a safe and wholesome environment for our families is a key quality-of-life objective. Publication of this instruction is a significant milestone for the department of Defense and represents a major step forward in our efforts to prevent domestic abuse," said Leslye A. Arsht, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy. "Domestic violence destroys families, scars children and harms military readiness. ... We will continue to work to ensure that every home is a safe home."
The publication more clearly defines roles and training requirements for those the department calls "key responders," said Mike Hoskins, a special assistant in the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy. Key responders include local commanders, law enforcement officials, legal representatives, health care providers, family advocacy staff and chaplains.
The publication is the result of an effort that started more than six years ago with a congressionally mandated task force formed to help the department stop domestic violence within its ranks. After three years, the panel made nearly 200 recommendations to the department on how to improve its response to reports of domestic violence.
Most of the recommendations are addressed in the new publication, Hoskins said, and include:
-- The need for a comprehensive, coordinated community response to reports of abuse;
-- The requirement to seek agreements with civilian counterparts to increase information sharing regarding abuse incidents;
-- Training needed for key responders; and
-- The need for the Defense Department to conduct sound criminal investigations of domestic abuse reported to the system.
Since the task force made its recommendations, there have been several initiatives and additional funding addressing domestic violence within the department, Hoskins said. Also, initiatives were launched in cooperation with other federal agencies. For example, the Defense and Justice departments teamed to train victim advocates and law enforcement personnel, Hoskins said.
In 1998, the reported rate of spouse abuse in the Defense Department was about 20 per every 1,000 families. In 2006 that dropped by about half, for 313 reports of domestic violence.
But, Hoskins said, "The true scope of the problem is difficult to understand." He said reporting has historically been inconsistent between agencies investigating incidents. Officials say domestic violence is one of the most underreported crimes in the country.
"We shouldn't necessarily take comfort in reduced rates of domestic violence. It is highly likely that is a good-news story, in that prevention, education and awareness efforts are working, but we need to be also cognizant of the possibility that we are making it more difficult for victims to come forward and receive assistance. So we have to interpret with caution those numbers," Hoskins said.
Hoskins said that reported victims of domestic violence are all ages, sexes and military ranks, but the majority are women. A common misconception, he said, is that abuse can be caused by stress or deployments.
"I think some of the most common misperceptions are that it is caused by stress, anger, alcohol, deployment, and although abusers may certainly experience those, they do not cause domestic abuse. Individuals choose whether or not they are going to be abusive," Hoskins said. "In fact, if everyone in our system who experienced stress, anger, deployment in fact were abusive, we would have numbers that would be so high that we wouldn't know what to do with them."
Hoskins said sometimes victims are afraid to come forward because of the fear of damaging their spouse's military career. He said a report of abuse doesn't necessarily mean an end to a career or the family, but that the report should be handled as any other reported crime.
"The Defense Department has made it very clear that victims will be treated with dignity and respect and that offenders will be held appropriately accountable," Hoskins said.
"The goals of all the programs in the system haven't changed. Those are to help people live healthy lifestyles and, in those cases where families want to stay together, the focus is on helping them stay together," he said. "What we encourage commanders to do is to respond to reports of domestic abuse as they would the credible reports of any other crime, and to initiate ... a law enforcement investigation to determine if a crime occurred," he said.
Criminal Justice Agencies Expand Search for Missing Persons
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, NamUs, is the first national online repository for missing persons records and unidentified decedent cases. It was launched in July 2007 by the Office of Justice Program’s National Institute of Justice.
NamUs is made up of two databases: Records of unidentified decedents (select "Unidentified Decedents”); and, missing persons reports (select “Missing Persons”).
Currently, the unidentified decedents database is searchable and available for medical examiners and coroners to upload their cases. The search capability of the missing persons database is in development; the site currently provides resources on State clearinghouses and other criminal justice agencies.
In 2009, the two databases will be linked. Families, law enforcement agencies, other criminal justice entities and the general public will be able to search for matches between missing persons and unidentified decedent records.
Visit the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
Featured Criminal Justice Resource:
Online Criminal Justice Degrees
Search accredited colleges and universities offering online criminal justice. eLearners.com offers degree programs from accredited schools and request free information packet.
NamUs is made up of two databases: Records of unidentified decedents (select "Unidentified Decedents”); and, missing persons reports (select “Missing Persons”).
Currently, the unidentified decedents database is searchable and available for medical examiners and coroners to upload their cases. The search capability of the missing persons database is in development; the site currently provides resources on State clearinghouses and other criminal justice agencies.
In 2009, the two databases will be linked. Families, law enforcement agencies, other criminal justice entities and the general public will be able to search for matches between missing persons and unidentified decedent records.
Visit the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
Featured Criminal Justice Resource:
Online Criminal Justice Degrees
Search accredited colleges and universities offering online criminal justice. eLearners.com offers degree programs from accredited schools and request free information packet.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Chilton Takes U.S. Strategic Command Helm
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 17, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today praised Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton as the general ceremonially took the reins of U.S. Strategic Command. Gates said Chilton, who began his tenure at STRATCOM on Oct. 3 after having commanded Air Force Space Command, has the skills and experience to lead the command forward in its critical role in the fight against terrorist threats.
Speaking at today's assumption-of-command ceremony at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., the secretary pointed to Chilton's long, trail-blazing career as prime experience for the STRATCOM job. Chilton was a test pilot on the F-4 Phantom II and F-15 Eagle aircraft, laid new groundwork during assignments at Air Force Space Command, and served as an astronaut aboard three space shuttle missions.
Chilton will tap into this experience to help the United States confront some of the most destructive threats it faces. These include terrorist groups working to get control of weapons of mass destruction and potential adversaries who might leverage information and space technologies to threaten the United States and its interests.
Gates called space-based capabilities critical in stopping the proliferation of dangerous materials. "It is through space that we can monitor the weapons we already know exist," he said. "It is through space that we can track adversaries attempting to acquire these weapons and then do something about it. It is through space that our troops and our leadership monitor the battlefield and communicate with each other.
"Therefore," Gates continued, "it is space that we must protect, especially as we expand its use."
China's successful test of an anti-satellite weapon earlier this year reinforced the importance of maintaining unfettered access to space, he said. "This test and other developments show that our own near-earth satellites are vulnerable and must be protected," he said.
As a former CIA director, Gates said he understands the importance of a strong intelligence-gathering system and the need to analyze that intelligence and plan a U.S. response.
He told Chilton he's confident the general will be able to tackle the challenges ahead and build on the accomplishments Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright began during his three years at STRATCOM. Cartwright served as commander until August, when he became the eighth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Cartwright "flattened the organization," speeding up information flow throughout the command, Gates said. He also introduced the Global Innovation and Strategy Center, which brings together outside experts to focus on a specific issue, brainstorming solutions and developing recommendations for STRATCOM leaders to follow up on.
Gates said he knew filling Cartwright's shoes at STRATCOM would be challenging, but that he believes Chilton is the person to take the command forward. "General Chilton, we look to you for the way ahead during these turbulent times," he said.
Chilton said he feels honored to lead the organization that is "called on to be the most responsive combatant command in the U.S. arsenal."
He noted STRATCOM's broad responsibilities. "We are responsible today for providing the secretary of defense time-sensitive planning to conduct global strike operations anywhere on the planet. We are tasked to conduct operations in support of the global fight we are engaged in today," he said. "And we are tasked to be the masters and defenders of domains that have become ever more critical, not only to the way we fight as a nation, but to our way of life as a nation ... -- the domains of space and cyberspace."
With the "tsunami change" that ushered in STRATCOM's reorganization and adoption of a 24/7 operational mission beginning to settle, Chilton said, he's ready to increase the command's focus on future threats as well as today's fight.
"The type of combat we will face in the 21st century will go beyond the physical force on force and the battles of centuries gone by," he said. It will require "innovation, ... speed, agility and focus."
He called the men and women serving at STRATCOM "just the team America needs to defend her today and tomorrow."
"I am excited and proud and humbled to join this great team in our noble endeavor," Chilton said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 17, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today praised Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton as the general ceremonially took the reins of U.S. Strategic Command. Gates said Chilton, who began his tenure at STRATCOM on Oct. 3 after having commanded Air Force Space Command, has the skills and experience to lead the command forward in its critical role in the fight against terrorist threats.
Speaking at today's assumption-of-command ceremony at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., the secretary pointed to Chilton's long, trail-blazing career as prime experience for the STRATCOM job. Chilton was a test pilot on the F-4 Phantom II and F-15 Eagle aircraft, laid new groundwork during assignments at Air Force Space Command, and served as an astronaut aboard three space shuttle missions.
Chilton will tap into this experience to help the United States confront some of the most destructive threats it faces. These include terrorist groups working to get control of weapons of mass destruction and potential adversaries who might leverage information and space technologies to threaten the United States and its interests.
Gates called space-based capabilities critical in stopping the proliferation of dangerous materials. "It is through space that we can monitor the weapons we already know exist," he said. "It is through space that we can track adversaries attempting to acquire these weapons and then do something about it. It is through space that our troops and our leadership monitor the battlefield and communicate with each other.
"Therefore," Gates continued, "it is space that we must protect, especially as we expand its use."
China's successful test of an anti-satellite weapon earlier this year reinforced the importance of maintaining unfettered access to space, he said. "This test and other developments show that our own near-earth satellites are vulnerable and must be protected," he said.
As a former CIA director, Gates said he understands the importance of a strong intelligence-gathering system and the need to analyze that intelligence and plan a U.S. response.
He told Chilton he's confident the general will be able to tackle the challenges ahead and build on the accomplishments Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright began during his three years at STRATCOM. Cartwright served as commander until August, when he became the eighth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Cartwright "flattened the organization," speeding up information flow throughout the command, Gates said. He also introduced the Global Innovation and Strategy Center, which brings together outside experts to focus on a specific issue, brainstorming solutions and developing recommendations for STRATCOM leaders to follow up on.
Gates said he knew filling Cartwright's shoes at STRATCOM would be challenging, but that he believes Chilton is the person to take the command forward. "General Chilton, we look to you for the way ahead during these turbulent times," he said.
Chilton said he feels honored to lead the organization that is "called on to be the most responsive combatant command in the U.S. arsenal."
He noted STRATCOM's broad responsibilities. "We are responsible today for providing the secretary of defense time-sensitive planning to conduct global strike operations anywhere on the planet. We are tasked to conduct operations in support of the global fight we are engaged in today," he said. "And we are tasked to be the masters and defenders of domains that have become ever more critical, not only to the way we fight as a nation, but to our way of life as a nation ... -- the domains of space and cyberspace."
With the "tsunami change" that ushered in STRATCOM's reorganization and adoption of a 24/7 operational mission beginning to settle, Chilton said, he's ready to increase the command's focus on future threats as well as today's fight.
"The type of combat we will face in the 21st century will go beyond the physical force on force and the battles of centuries gone by," he said. It will require "innovation, ... speed, agility and focus."
He called the men and women serving at STRATCOM "just the team America needs to defend her today and tomorrow."
"I am excited and proud and humbled to join this great team in our noble endeavor," Chilton said.
West Virginia Group Boosts Troop Morale
By Toni Maltagliati
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 17, 2007 - From stocking hats to shower shoes, a West Virginia-based group is actively filling requests from U.S. troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, sending them about 50 boxfuls of care packages each week. "'Boatsie's Boxes' began when my son, Patrick, a master sergeant in the United States Air Force, forwarded an urgent personal request from the deputy director of programs in Baghdad asking for our help," said Gail "Boatsie" Van Vranken, president and founder of Boatsie's Boxes Inc. "We will continue to support our troops in whatever way will bring them comfort."
Boatsie's Boxes is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
Van Vranken and her family, along with volunteers in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, began gathering supplies to send to servicemembers in 2004.
"Our boxes are going to several hospitals, groups of young troops (deployed for the first time), and -- thanks to our very dedicated United States airmen, Marines, soldiers and sailors -- items are now reaching the forward lines of operation all over Iraq and Afghanistan," Van Vranken said.
Along with weekly care packages, Boatsie's Boxes conducts three seasonal projects each year. The first, a Valentine's Day campaign called "Hearts to Our Troops," is held to gather heart-shaped greetings and candy expressing support for military members.
The second seasonal push, "Operation Jelly Bean Express," is held in the spring and ensures troops get a taste of home wherever they are serving.
Summer brings "Beat the Heat," a drive for donations focused on products to help protect troops from the harsh sun and sand.
Boatsie's Boxes currently is conducting its annual "Operation Christmas Stocking." Through this project, the group will send 20,000 gift-filled stockings overseas this December.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 17, 2007 - From stocking hats to shower shoes, a West Virginia-based group is actively filling requests from U.S. troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, sending them about 50 boxfuls of care packages each week. "'Boatsie's Boxes' began when my son, Patrick, a master sergeant in the United States Air Force, forwarded an urgent personal request from the deputy director of programs in Baghdad asking for our help," said Gail "Boatsie" Van Vranken, president and founder of Boatsie's Boxes Inc. "We will continue to support our troops in whatever way will bring them comfort."
Boatsie's Boxes is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
Van Vranken and her family, along with volunteers in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, began gathering supplies to send to servicemembers in 2004.
"Our boxes are going to several hospitals, groups of young troops (deployed for the first time), and -- thanks to our very dedicated United States airmen, Marines, soldiers and sailors -- items are now reaching the forward lines of operation all over Iraq and Afghanistan," Van Vranken said.
Along with weekly care packages, Boatsie's Boxes conducts three seasonal projects each year. The first, a Valentine's Day campaign called "Hearts to Our Troops," is held to gather heart-shaped greetings and candy expressing support for military members.
The second seasonal push, "Operation Jelly Bean Express," is held in the spring and ensures troops get a taste of home wherever they are serving.
Summer brings "Beat the Heat," a drive for donations focused on products to help protect troops from the harsh sun and sand.
Boatsie's Boxes currently is conducting its annual "Operation Christmas Stocking." Through this project, the group will send 20,000 gift-filled stockings overseas this December.
Bush, Commission Urge Congress to Fix Troop Health Care
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 17, 2007 - President Bush urged Congress today to pass legislation that will realize recommendations made by a bipartisan commission tasked to fix problems with wounded servicemembers' care. Meanwhile, the group's leaders are slated to testify on the matter before lawmakers. At a White House news conference today, Bush urged Congress promptly to consider a legislation package he submitted yesterday "so that those injured while defending our freedom can get the quality care they deserve."
In the wake of reports that troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here were receiving sub-par treatment, the president created the nine-member panel in March, citing a "moral obligation" to provide the best possible care to men and women in uniform. Joined yesterday by commission co-chairs Donna Shalala, a former secretary of health and human services, and former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, Bush endorsed the group's comprehensive findings.
"My administration strongly supports the commission's recommendations," Bush said during a news conference at the White House Rose Garden. "We've taken steps to implement them where we can through administrative action, and today we're sending Congress legislation to implement the recommendations that require legislative action."
The Bush administration has implemented 90 percent of the recommendations outlined last summer in a 29-page proposal; the remaining 10 percent require congressional approval. According to a fact sheet published by the White House yesterday, the administration is working with lawmakers to fully implement suggestions from six categories:
-- Modernizing and improving the disability and compensation systems;
-- Aggressively preventing and treating post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury;
-- Significantly strengthening support for families;
-- Immediately creating comprehensive recovery plans to provide the right care and support at the right time in the right place;
-- Rapidly transferring patient information between the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs; and
-- Strongly supporting Walter Reed by recruiting and retaining first-rate professionals through 2011.
Shalala and Dole today are expected to testify before Congress and implore lawmakers to further implement their panel's recommendations beyond the limits of administrative action.
"More than anything else, Congress now ... must modernize the disability system," Shalala said during yesterday's news conference. "It is old-fashioned; it doesn't reflect modern medicine; it's too slow; it's too confusing. We need a system in which any soldier, any sailor, any Marine, any member of their family understand it and can make it work."
The former health and human services secretary said she shares Bush's optimism that Congress will wholly endorse the panel's recommendations. "Our commission members believe we can do it; the young Americans who have been injured, many of them severely, believe we can do it. And we must do it," she said.
Dole said the mission of the commission -- which boasts four members who themselves are injured veterans -- transcends partisanship or political biases.
"Whatever your views may be on the war, we have one common view on taking care of those who are wounded or injured: whatever it takes," he said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 17, 2007 - President Bush urged Congress today to pass legislation that will realize recommendations made by a bipartisan commission tasked to fix problems with wounded servicemembers' care. Meanwhile, the group's leaders are slated to testify on the matter before lawmakers. At a White House news conference today, Bush urged Congress promptly to consider a legislation package he submitted yesterday "so that those injured while defending our freedom can get the quality care they deserve."
In the wake of reports that troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here were receiving sub-par treatment, the president created the nine-member panel in March, citing a "moral obligation" to provide the best possible care to men and women in uniform. Joined yesterday by commission co-chairs Donna Shalala, a former secretary of health and human services, and former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, Bush endorsed the group's comprehensive findings.
"My administration strongly supports the commission's recommendations," Bush said during a news conference at the White House Rose Garden. "We've taken steps to implement them where we can through administrative action, and today we're sending Congress legislation to implement the recommendations that require legislative action."
The Bush administration has implemented 90 percent of the recommendations outlined last summer in a 29-page proposal; the remaining 10 percent require congressional approval. According to a fact sheet published by the White House yesterday, the administration is working with lawmakers to fully implement suggestions from six categories:
-- Modernizing and improving the disability and compensation systems;
-- Aggressively preventing and treating post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury;
-- Significantly strengthening support for families;
-- Immediately creating comprehensive recovery plans to provide the right care and support at the right time in the right place;
-- Rapidly transferring patient information between the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs; and
-- Strongly supporting Walter Reed by recruiting and retaining first-rate professionals through 2011.
Shalala and Dole today are expected to testify before Congress and implore lawmakers to further implement their panel's recommendations beyond the limits of administrative action.
"More than anything else, Congress now ... must modernize the disability system," Shalala said during yesterday's news conference. "It is old-fashioned; it doesn't reflect modern medicine; it's too slow; it's too confusing. We need a system in which any soldier, any sailor, any Marine, any member of their family understand it and can make it work."
The former health and human services secretary said she shares Bush's optimism that Congress will wholly endorse the panel's recommendations. "Our commission members believe we can do it; the young Americans who have been injured, many of them severely, believe we can do it. And we must do it," she said.
Dole said the mission of the commission -- which boasts four members who themselves are injured veterans -- transcends partisanship or political biases.
"Whatever your views may be on the war, we have one common view on taking care of those who are wounded or injured: whatever it takes," he said.
Sea Services Unveil New Maritime Strategy
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 17, 2007 - The new U.S. maritime strategy elevates war prevention to the same level of importance as warfighting. Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations; Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps; and Adm. Thad W. Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard, today unveiled "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower" at the International Seapower Symposium, in Newport, R.I.
Representatives from 98 countries attended the symposium. Roughead said it was fitting that the new strategy was briefed at the event, because it is an outgrowth of talks with allies that began at the symposium two years ago.
"The American people expect -- demand -- that we as a Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard remain strong," the admiral said. "They also expect our services to defend their territory and to be able to protect our citizens."
This is the traditional mission of a maritime strategy, but the American people also expect U.S. naval forces to cooperate with maritime forces of other nations. U.S. security and prosperity "is completely linked to security and prosperity of other nations around the world," Roughead said.
The new maritime strategy calls on the Navy to develop certain strategic imperatives. "We believe we must be a global force, a globally positioned force," the Roughead said.
U.S. maritime forces must have credible combat power "that can limit various regional issues, that can deter conflict, and that can fight and win when called upon to do so." The Navy must be able to work with others, but also must be able to fight and win without allies, if needed, he said.
U.S. naval forces will be globally distributed but will be concentrated in two general areas: the western Pacific and the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean region. Those forces must be able to be moved, brought together, shaped and structured so the U.S. Navy can conduct operations around the world, Roughead said. They also need to be able to work with long-standing allies and new partners.
Maritime forces must be able to conduct sea-control operations, and they must be able to project power. "When access is denied, we must have the capability to project power and to maintain those capabilities as enduring capabilities," the admiral said.
But in addition to maritime security, the strategy calls for an expanded core capability: disaster response and humanitarian assistance. The Indonesian tsunami that ravaged the Indian Ocean basin in 2004 is a case in point for the need for this capability. Maritime forces of many nations converged upon the area and saved countless lives.
But there has to be a basis for those forces to come together. "We develop the relationships; we develop the procedures; we develop the methods that allow us to be more effective should something like that happen," Roughead said.
And this is not just an international issue, as the military and maritime response following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 proves, he said.
The key to the maritime strategy is trust, Roughead said. "We believe that trust cannot be surged. Trust is not something that has a switch and you can turn on and off," he said. "Trust is something that must be built over time. Trust is built through discussions, operations, activities and exercises and through initiatives that each of us may undertake and bring others into. It is built on seeking opportunities to work more closely together."
The admiral said he especially wants young naval officers and sailors to participate in military-to-military exchanges. Relationships with members of other navies must be developed so that when the maritime forces serve together it is not the first time the sailors have met.
Conway said the Marine Corps absolutely agrees with the new strategy. But, given the pressure of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it may be some time before his service can embrace it fully, he added. "We are closer to the United States Army than we have been for a long, long time," Conway said. "We have been operating alongside them -- intertwined with them really -- over the last four, five years."
The Marine Corps is an expeditionary force by nature, and having 26,000 Marines in a land battle in Anbar province takes some of that capability from the corps. "We go down to the sea in ships," he said. "But right now, we are very much taking on the profile of a second land army.
"We have to go through an expeditionary filter when we get out of there to get back to a lighter, faster, more hard-hitting capability that is deployable aboard our nation's ships."
Allen said the U.S. Coast Guard completely subscribes to the strategy. "It reinforces the time-honored missions we carried out in this country since 1790," he said. "It reinforces the Coast Guard maritime strategy of safety, security and stewardship, and it reflects not only the global reach of our maritime services but the need to integrate and synchronize and act with our coalition and international partners to not only win wars ... but to prevent wars."
Allen called the new strategy a "convergence of ideas and leadership" and said it represents a step "forward in a very uncertain future and an era of persistent, irregular conflict."
Roughead said the global system in place today requires this maritime strategy. The global system changes every day as changes occur among people, nations, economies, law and knowledge. "Change is a good thing, because change gives us the opportunities to make adjustments to pursue new initiatives, and that's what the strategy is about," he said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 17, 2007 - The new U.S. maritime strategy elevates war prevention to the same level of importance as warfighting. Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations; Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps; and Adm. Thad W. Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard, today unveiled "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower" at the International Seapower Symposium, in Newport, R.I.
Representatives from 98 countries attended the symposium. Roughead said it was fitting that the new strategy was briefed at the event, because it is an outgrowth of talks with allies that began at the symposium two years ago.
"The American people expect -- demand -- that we as a Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard remain strong," the admiral said. "They also expect our services to defend their territory and to be able to protect our citizens."
This is the traditional mission of a maritime strategy, but the American people also expect U.S. naval forces to cooperate with maritime forces of other nations. U.S. security and prosperity "is completely linked to security and prosperity of other nations around the world," Roughead said.
The new maritime strategy calls on the Navy to develop certain strategic imperatives. "We believe we must be a global force, a globally positioned force," the Roughead said.
U.S. maritime forces must have credible combat power "that can limit various regional issues, that can deter conflict, and that can fight and win when called upon to do so." The Navy must be able to work with others, but also must be able to fight and win without allies, if needed, he said.
U.S. naval forces will be globally distributed but will be concentrated in two general areas: the western Pacific and the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean region. Those forces must be able to be moved, brought together, shaped and structured so the U.S. Navy can conduct operations around the world, Roughead said. They also need to be able to work with long-standing allies and new partners.
Maritime forces must be able to conduct sea-control operations, and they must be able to project power. "When access is denied, we must have the capability to project power and to maintain those capabilities as enduring capabilities," the admiral said.
But in addition to maritime security, the strategy calls for an expanded core capability: disaster response and humanitarian assistance. The Indonesian tsunami that ravaged the Indian Ocean basin in 2004 is a case in point for the need for this capability. Maritime forces of many nations converged upon the area and saved countless lives.
But there has to be a basis for those forces to come together. "We develop the relationships; we develop the procedures; we develop the methods that allow us to be more effective should something like that happen," Roughead said.
And this is not just an international issue, as the military and maritime response following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 proves, he said.
The key to the maritime strategy is trust, Roughead said. "We believe that trust cannot be surged. Trust is not something that has a switch and you can turn on and off," he said. "Trust is something that must be built over time. Trust is built through discussions, operations, activities and exercises and through initiatives that each of us may undertake and bring others into. It is built on seeking opportunities to work more closely together."
The admiral said he especially wants young naval officers and sailors to participate in military-to-military exchanges. Relationships with members of other navies must be developed so that when the maritime forces serve together it is not the first time the sailors have met.
Conway said the Marine Corps absolutely agrees with the new strategy. But, given the pressure of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it may be some time before his service can embrace it fully, he added. "We are closer to the United States Army than we have been for a long, long time," Conway said. "We have been operating alongside them -- intertwined with them really -- over the last four, five years."
The Marine Corps is an expeditionary force by nature, and having 26,000 Marines in a land battle in Anbar province takes some of that capability from the corps. "We go down to the sea in ships," he said. "But right now, we are very much taking on the profile of a second land army.
"We have to go through an expeditionary filter when we get out of there to get back to a lighter, faster, more hard-hitting capability that is deployable aboard our nation's ships."
Allen said the U.S. Coast Guard completely subscribes to the strategy. "It reinforces the time-honored missions we carried out in this country since 1790," he said. "It reinforces the Coast Guard maritime strategy of safety, security and stewardship, and it reflects not only the global reach of our maritime services but the need to integrate and synchronize and act with our coalition and international partners to not only win wars ... but to prevent wars."
Allen called the new strategy a "convergence of ideas and leadership" and said it represents a step "forward in a very uncertain future and an era of persistent, irregular conflict."
Roughead said the global system in place today requires this maritime strategy. The global system changes every day as changes occur among people, nations, economies, law and knowledge. "Change is a good thing, because change gives us the opportunities to make adjustments to pursue new initiatives, and that's what the strategy is about," he said.
San Diego Police Officers
Editor's Note: One of the authors is a former servicemember.
October 17, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists nearly 800 state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three San Diego police officers.
Jay Farrington has been a police officer since 1995. He is a member of the San Diego Police Department where he has worked in assignments such as patrol, SWAT/Primary Response Team and a Graffiti Strike Force. He is a court recognized expert in gangs and graffiti related crimes. Jay Farrington is the author of the novel Domestic Terrorism.
According to the book description of Domestic Terrorism, “Somewhere between reality and fiction lies the essence of Jay Farrington's compelling first novel, Domestic Terrorism. A real-life street cop, Farrington expertly tells the tale of Wes MacGregor - a street-wise law enforcement veteran whose prophetic vision of the degeneration of America's teenagers comes hauntingly true. Farrington introduces us to child armies who have turned away from their dysfunctional families, to gain the acceptance of a maniacal father figure, hell-bent on exacting his revenge on society in general, and Wes in particular. Ripped from real life events, Domestic Terrorism is a shockingly smart page-turner you won't soon forget.”
A twenty-five year veteran of law enforcement, Kevin Means is a Flight Officer with the San Diego Police Department’s Air Support Unit. Kevin Means is also the past president of the Airborne Law Enforcement Association and the author of Tactical Helicopter Missions. According to the Airborne Law Enforcement Association, Kevin Means has published the “how to” book on tactical helicopter operations. The book covers everything from the basic to the complex tasks of law enforcement operations to enhance the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of the airborne operation. Means takes the reader along a very well organized journey from understanding technology to dissecting the various types of missions that airborne law enforcement units are now conducting.
Although the book is not all-inclusive, Means addresses the age-old problem with law enforcement operations in confronting the “we’ve always done it this way” attitude. Realizing that it would be unrealistic to think his book can and will work for all operations, Means gives us something to ponder about all facets of a safe airborne law enforcement operation.”
Lieutenant John Morrison served in combat as a Marine sergeant, and retired as a senior lieutenant from the San Diego Police Department, having served there as Director of Training, Commanding Officer of SWAT and division executive officer. He has taught, written and lectured widely on training, tactics and leadership. John Morrison is the co-author of Contact & Cover: Two-Officer Suspect Control.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 777 police officers (representing 350 police departments) and their 1660 law enforcement books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
October 17, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists nearly 800 state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three San Diego police officers.
Jay Farrington has been a police officer since 1995. He is a member of the San Diego Police Department where he has worked in assignments such as patrol, SWAT/Primary Response Team and a Graffiti Strike Force. He is a court recognized expert in gangs and graffiti related crimes. Jay Farrington is the author of the novel Domestic Terrorism.
According to the book description of Domestic Terrorism, “Somewhere between reality and fiction lies the essence of Jay Farrington's compelling first novel, Domestic Terrorism. A real-life street cop, Farrington expertly tells the tale of Wes MacGregor - a street-wise law enforcement veteran whose prophetic vision of the degeneration of America's teenagers comes hauntingly true. Farrington introduces us to child armies who have turned away from their dysfunctional families, to gain the acceptance of a maniacal father figure, hell-bent on exacting his revenge on society in general, and Wes in particular. Ripped from real life events, Domestic Terrorism is a shockingly smart page-turner you won't soon forget.”
A twenty-five year veteran of law enforcement, Kevin Means is a Flight Officer with the San Diego Police Department’s Air Support Unit. Kevin Means is also the past president of the Airborne Law Enforcement Association and the author of Tactical Helicopter Missions. According to the Airborne Law Enforcement Association, Kevin Means has published the “how to” book on tactical helicopter operations. The book covers everything from the basic to the complex tasks of law enforcement operations to enhance the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of the airborne operation. Means takes the reader along a very well organized journey from understanding technology to dissecting the various types of missions that airborne law enforcement units are now conducting.
Although the book is not all-inclusive, Means addresses the age-old problem with law enforcement operations in confronting the “we’ve always done it this way” attitude. Realizing that it would be unrealistic to think his book can and will work for all operations, Means gives us something to ponder about all facets of a safe airborne law enforcement operation.”
Lieutenant John Morrison served in combat as a Marine sergeant, and retired as a senior lieutenant from the San Diego Police Department, having served there as Director of Training, Commanding Officer of SWAT and division executive officer. He has taught, written and lectured widely on training, tactics and leadership. John Morrison is the co-author of Contact & Cover: Two-Officer Suspect Control.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 777 police officers (representing 350 police departments) and their 1660 law enforcement books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Departing JFCOM Commander Reflects on Military Transformation
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 16, 2007 - Military transformation is a perpetual work in progress, the chief of U.S. Joint Forces Command said today in his last briefing with reporters before he retires next month. During a conference call from JFCOM headquarters in Norfolk, Va., Air Force Gen. Lance L. Smith was asked if military leaders will one day announce the completion of military transformation, to which the general responded earnestly, "I hope we can never say that."
"If you were to go back and look at the last six, seven years both in the U.S. and in NATO, I think it's fair to say that transformation is evident and has been hugely successful," he said. "But there's a lot longer road ahead of us and a lot more to do."
Since 2005, Smith has led JFCOM's efforts to ensure that 1.16 million active-duty, National Guard and reserve soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and civilians operate with each other seamlessly and interdependently. The general, who is dual-hatted as NATO's supreme allied commander for transformation, also has overseen the evolution of the international coalition's military structure, capabilities and doctrine.
Ahead of his Nov. 9 retirement, the general today reflected on his work to transform military capabilities over the past two years and described improvements he anticipates will occur over the next decade.
The general's No. 1 priority during his tenure was to balance JFCOM's focus on current operations while continuing to plan a future force among the four service branches that's equipped to handle the challenges of an unpredictable security environment.
"We can't (support current operations) at the exclusion of really looking towards the future," he said. "So we try to divide our responsibilities and make sure that we are giving equal time to taking looks at what the future force structure ought to look like, what we think the future security environment is going to look like, and what we think we need to do to work with the services to build the right forces to operate in the future."
Smith said the other part of his mission has been to increase cooperation -- or "synergies" -- between JFCOM and NATO's allied command transformation.
"It's a two-way street," he said. "Allied command transformation, and NATO in general, helps inform what we're trying to do, and (JFCOM) spends a considerable amount of money in areas that are of interest to NATO."
In operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and in efforts in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere, JFCOM and NATO have ramped up efforts to share lessons learned and innovations in technology and training, he added.
Speaking about NATO, the general said the coalition of 26 countries has evolved greatly since 1999 when NATO forces entered the Balkan province of Kosovo to stabilize the region by tamping down violence between Serbian and Kosovar paramilitary groups.
"When they started operating in the Balkans, it was the first time they had operated out of their geographic boundaries," he said. "To imagine that (NATO) is now in Afghanistan ... operating on the ground and sustaining that force a long way from the borders of NATO, (marks) a huge transformational capability, and it's getting better all the time."
To better prepare for future threats, JFCOM and NATO must look at all forms of warfare, Smith said, instead of a myopic outlook focused solely on countering insurgencies and irregular war.
"The danger now, of course, is that we get so focused on counterinsurgency and irregular kind of warfare that we are not prepared for a different kind of war," he said. "Whether that's conventional war or whether it's what I think is the likely future: a hybrid of large conventional war and irregular warfare."
Smith said JFCOM is working with civilians on how to marry military muscle with civilian expertise in a burgeoning use of government elements that he referred to as "effects-based." Some 3,300 civilians will comprise a deployable rapid-response team and reserve component made up of State Department and other agency members skilled in non-military fields such as law enforcement, diplomacy or agriculture.
During the upcoming fifth JFCOM-sponsored multinational exercise, such disparate "players," which also include the International Committee of the Red Cross, European Union, and United Nations, will train together, Smith said. For JFCOM, the goal of such exercises ostensibly is to prepare U.S. forces for increased interagency cooperation military officials expect in the future.
"It's really about bringing the military together with the diplomatic, economic, and the nongovernmental and international organizations all in an experiment to see how best to operate together," Smith said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 16, 2007 - Military transformation is a perpetual work in progress, the chief of U.S. Joint Forces Command said today in his last briefing with reporters before he retires next month. During a conference call from JFCOM headquarters in Norfolk, Va., Air Force Gen. Lance L. Smith was asked if military leaders will one day announce the completion of military transformation, to which the general responded earnestly, "I hope we can never say that."
"If you were to go back and look at the last six, seven years both in the U.S. and in NATO, I think it's fair to say that transformation is evident and has been hugely successful," he said. "But there's a lot longer road ahead of us and a lot more to do."
Since 2005, Smith has led JFCOM's efforts to ensure that 1.16 million active-duty, National Guard and reserve soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and civilians operate with each other seamlessly and interdependently. The general, who is dual-hatted as NATO's supreme allied commander for transformation, also has overseen the evolution of the international coalition's military structure, capabilities and doctrine.
Ahead of his Nov. 9 retirement, the general today reflected on his work to transform military capabilities over the past two years and described improvements he anticipates will occur over the next decade.
The general's No. 1 priority during his tenure was to balance JFCOM's focus on current operations while continuing to plan a future force among the four service branches that's equipped to handle the challenges of an unpredictable security environment.
"We can't (support current operations) at the exclusion of really looking towards the future," he said. "So we try to divide our responsibilities and make sure that we are giving equal time to taking looks at what the future force structure ought to look like, what we think the future security environment is going to look like, and what we think we need to do to work with the services to build the right forces to operate in the future."
Smith said the other part of his mission has been to increase cooperation -- or "synergies" -- between JFCOM and NATO's allied command transformation.
"It's a two-way street," he said. "Allied command transformation, and NATO in general, helps inform what we're trying to do, and (JFCOM) spends a considerable amount of money in areas that are of interest to NATO."
In operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and in efforts in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere, JFCOM and NATO have ramped up efforts to share lessons learned and innovations in technology and training, he added.
Speaking about NATO, the general said the coalition of 26 countries has evolved greatly since 1999 when NATO forces entered the Balkan province of Kosovo to stabilize the region by tamping down violence between Serbian and Kosovar paramilitary groups.
"When they started operating in the Balkans, it was the first time they had operated out of their geographic boundaries," he said. "To imagine that (NATO) is now in Afghanistan ... operating on the ground and sustaining that force a long way from the borders of NATO, (marks) a huge transformational capability, and it's getting better all the time."
To better prepare for future threats, JFCOM and NATO must look at all forms of warfare, Smith said, instead of a myopic outlook focused solely on countering insurgencies and irregular war.
"The danger now, of course, is that we get so focused on counterinsurgency and irregular kind of warfare that we are not prepared for a different kind of war," he said. "Whether that's conventional war or whether it's what I think is the likely future: a hybrid of large conventional war and irregular warfare."
Smith said JFCOM is working with civilians on how to marry military muscle with civilian expertise in a burgeoning use of government elements that he referred to as "effects-based." Some 3,300 civilians will comprise a deployable rapid-response team and reserve component made up of State Department and other agency members skilled in non-military fields such as law enforcement, diplomacy or agriculture.
During the upcoming fifth JFCOM-sponsored multinational exercise, such disparate "players," which also include the International Committee of the Red Cross, European Union, and United Nations, will train together, Smith said. For JFCOM, the goal of such exercises ostensibly is to prepare U.S. forces for increased interagency cooperation military officials expect in the future.
"It's really about bringing the military together with the diplomatic, economic, and the nongovernmental and international organizations all in an experiment to see how best to operate together," Smith said.
Senior Official: Diplomacy Best Approach to Turkey-Iraq Tensions
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 16, 2007 - Turkey is a strong NATO ally and partner in the war on terror, and the best way to handle its conflicts with neighboring Iraq over Kurdish rebels is diplomatically, a senior Joint Staff official told Pentagon reporters today. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is conducting "prudent planning" to evaluate how it would modify its operations in the event Turkey moves forward militarily and cuts off U.S. supply routes, said Army Lt. Gen Carter F. Ham, the Joint Staff's director of operations.
Ham's comments came a day after the Turkish government asked its parliament for authority to conduct military raids across the border into northern Iraq. The vote is expected tomorrow.
If approved, the one-year authorization would permit Turkey's military to move into the Kurdish region of Iraq to go after members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party who have been launching attacks into Turkey. Known as the PKK, the group wants an autonomous Kurdish region in eastern Turkey.
"This is obviously a very sensitive matter right now and largely a diplomatic effort," Ham said. He noted that Iraqi Vice President Tariq Al-Hashimi is in Turkey today to discuss possible diplomatic solutions.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in a statement released yesterday that Iraq shares Turkey's commitment to stopping the PKK attacks and will strive to work with Turkey to resolve the crisis. Maliki emphasized, however, that his government "will never accept a military solution to the differences between Turkey and Iraq."
Ham noted today that Iraq is a sovereign nation "and obviously would take their sovereignty and defense of their territory quite seriously."
An attack by Turkey would put the United States in a difficult position. The United States and NATO are committed to each member country's mutual defense, although Ham said he was unsure if the United States has a treaty obligation to help Turkey stop the PKK incursions.
Ham called Turkey "a highly valued NATO ally" and noted that the U.S. and Turkish militaries share "a longstanding and very close and professional relationship."
However, the United States also is committed to Iraq's sovereignty and its right to protect itself. While emphasizing that Iraq is a sovereign nation with primary responsibility for providing its own security, he said the United States would "want to assist them as best we can."
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department has designated the PKK a terrorist organization.
Further complicating the issue is the fact that Turkey serves as a transit route for support for U.S. military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In the event that Turkey launched an attack into Iraq, that access could be curtailed or cut.
Ham said the Defense Department is "looking at a broad range of options" it could pursue if that happened. "We are now addressing how we would modify our operations should the government of Turkey choose to change the access that we currently enjoy either by ground or air," he said. "And that is prudent military planning that you would expect us to do."
While expressing confidence the United States could continue supporting its military operations in Southwest Asia, albeit more expensively and more logistically challenging, Ham said he's hopeful it won't be necessary. "We would prefer to maintain the access that we have," he said.
Should diplomacy between Iraq and Turkey fail, the United States "will have to assess the situation," he said.
But for now, he expressed hope in a diplomatic breakthrough. "This is primarily and necessarily an opportunity to find a diplomatic solution," he said. "We think that is obviously the best way to approach this, diplomatically, rather than militarily."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 16, 2007 - Turkey is a strong NATO ally and partner in the war on terror, and the best way to handle its conflicts with neighboring Iraq over Kurdish rebels is diplomatically, a senior Joint Staff official told Pentagon reporters today. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is conducting "prudent planning" to evaluate how it would modify its operations in the event Turkey moves forward militarily and cuts off U.S. supply routes, said Army Lt. Gen Carter F. Ham, the Joint Staff's director of operations.
Ham's comments came a day after the Turkish government asked its parliament for authority to conduct military raids across the border into northern Iraq. The vote is expected tomorrow.
If approved, the one-year authorization would permit Turkey's military to move into the Kurdish region of Iraq to go after members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party who have been launching attacks into Turkey. Known as the PKK, the group wants an autonomous Kurdish region in eastern Turkey.
"This is obviously a very sensitive matter right now and largely a diplomatic effort," Ham said. He noted that Iraqi Vice President Tariq Al-Hashimi is in Turkey today to discuss possible diplomatic solutions.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in a statement released yesterday that Iraq shares Turkey's commitment to stopping the PKK attacks and will strive to work with Turkey to resolve the crisis. Maliki emphasized, however, that his government "will never accept a military solution to the differences between Turkey and Iraq."
Ham noted today that Iraq is a sovereign nation "and obviously would take their sovereignty and defense of their territory quite seriously."
An attack by Turkey would put the United States in a difficult position. The United States and NATO are committed to each member country's mutual defense, although Ham said he was unsure if the United States has a treaty obligation to help Turkey stop the PKK incursions.
Ham called Turkey "a highly valued NATO ally" and noted that the U.S. and Turkish militaries share "a longstanding and very close and professional relationship."
However, the United States also is committed to Iraq's sovereignty and its right to protect itself. While emphasizing that Iraq is a sovereign nation with primary responsibility for providing its own security, he said the United States would "want to assist them as best we can."
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department has designated the PKK a terrorist organization.
Further complicating the issue is the fact that Turkey serves as a transit route for support for U.S. military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In the event that Turkey launched an attack into Iraq, that access could be curtailed or cut.
Ham said the Defense Department is "looking at a broad range of options" it could pursue if that happened. "We are now addressing how we would modify our operations should the government of Turkey choose to change the access that we currently enjoy either by ground or air," he said. "And that is prudent military planning that you would expect us to do."
While expressing confidence the United States could continue supporting its military operations in Southwest Asia, albeit more expensively and more logistically challenging, Ham said he's hopeful it won't be necessary. "We would prefer to maintain the access that we have," he said.
Should diplomacy between Iraq and Turkey fail, the United States "will have to assess the situation," he said.
But for now, he expressed hope in a diplomatic breakthrough. "This is primarily and necessarily an opportunity to find a diplomatic solution," he said. "We think that is obviously the best way to approach this, diplomatically, rather than militarily."
Gates Salutes U.S. Servicemembers at Awards Dinner
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 16, 2007 - Six U.S. military members recognized by a local patriotic organization for their overseas service in the war on terror also received Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' personal thanks here yesterday evening. "You are the best, and we all owe you. And, in all sincerity, we're all humbled by you," Gates told the Grateful Nation Award recipients at the start of his remarks at the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs' annual award dinner.
"It's surreal," Grateful Nation Award honoree Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Jason T. Fetty said of his meeting with Gates. He said the experience was "an incredible honor."
Fetty received the Silver Star for actions in Afghanistan in February, when he stopped a suicide bomber from killing hundreds of innocent people at a hospital opening in Khost. The staff sergeant forcibly maneuvered the would-be killer away from the crowd when the bomb went off.
Fetty, who's recovering from his wounds from the blast, said he was pleased to learn later that the grateful Afghans had staged a huge anti-Taliban demonstration after the incident.
Other 2007 Grateful Nation Award recipients are:
-- Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jose Romero,
-- Navy Lt. Seth A. Stone,
-- Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Jesse K. Gitchel,
-- Air Force Staff Sgt. Elizabeth C. Spradley, and
-- Air Force Staff Sgt. Ryan A. Wallace.
It was "terrific" to visit with the servicemembers, Gates said as he thanked each one prior to the start of the dinner. "It's such an honor to be with them and meet them," he said.
Spradley, an explosive ordnance disposal technician, helped clear more than 5,000 miles of Iraqi roads from improvised explosive devices during her recent tour of duty in Kirkuk. She participated in 170 high-risk missions and neutralized 35 improvised explosive devices and two car bombs.
"We would disarm and mitigate any hazards along the roadways in Iraq," Spradley recalled, noting she was too focused on her missions to be distracted by the danger.
She said meeting the defense secretary and receiving the JINSA award "truly are an honor."
Stone, a Navy SEAL special warfare operations specialist, earned two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star with a "V" device for valor for service in Ramadi, Iraq, in September 2006, where he led his team in fighting off a group of insurgents that threatened to destroy another SEAL unit.
Coast Guardsman Gitchel was in temporary command of a 110-foot-long cutter when he and his crew stared down a group of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-crewed ships in the North Arabian Gulf in August 2007. The Iranians were threatening Iraqi oil rigs.
Romero served with distinction in combat with a tank battalion that participated in the drive to Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom in the spring of 2003. Afterward, he became a renowned Marine drill instructor noted for his leadership and team-building skills used in molding the lives of young Marines.
Wallace is an air combat controller who earned the Silver Star medal for more than 24 hours of continuous work calling in airstrikes against insurgents during combat in Najaf, Iraq, during his October 2006 to April 2007 service in Iraq. About 250 insurgents were killed in the battle.
"It was a surprise, and it is an honor, as well," Wallace said of receiving the Grateful Nation Award. Meeting Gates was an awesome experience, he added.
Gates received the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs Henry M. Jackson award for his contributions to national security as a former career Central Intelligence Agency officer who worked his way up to director. Later, Gates was a key national security advisor, and he now serves as defense secretary. Previous Jackson Award recipients include Vice President Richard B. Cheney and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace.
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright assisted David P. Steinmann, chairman of JINSA's board of advisors, during the Grateful Nation Award ceremony. Cartwright saluted the awardees as well as all U.S. servicemen and women engaged in the war against terrorism.
"These young people will just flat knock your socks off," the four-star general said. "They are our greatest generation and our greatest treasure, and we should never forget that."
"I think nothing gives JINSA greater institutional gratification than tonight," Steinmann said before the servicemembers' award ceremony. "We need our Grateful Nation Award winners. They represent the best that our country can produce.
"We need to be reminded that our country produces men and women like this," Steinmann said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 16, 2007 - Six U.S. military members recognized by a local patriotic organization for their overseas service in the war on terror also received Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' personal thanks here yesterday evening. "You are the best, and we all owe you. And, in all sincerity, we're all humbled by you," Gates told the Grateful Nation Award recipients at the start of his remarks at the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs' annual award dinner.
"It's surreal," Grateful Nation Award honoree Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Jason T. Fetty said of his meeting with Gates. He said the experience was "an incredible honor."
Fetty received the Silver Star for actions in Afghanistan in February, when he stopped a suicide bomber from killing hundreds of innocent people at a hospital opening in Khost. The staff sergeant forcibly maneuvered the would-be killer away from the crowd when the bomb went off.
Fetty, who's recovering from his wounds from the blast, said he was pleased to learn later that the grateful Afghans had staged a huge anti-Taliban demonstration after the incident.
Other 2007 Grateful Nation Award recipients are:
-- Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jose Romero,
-- Navy Lt. Seth A. Stone,
-- Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Jesse K. Gitchel,
-- Air Force Staff Sgt. Elizabeth C. Spradley, and
-- Air Force Staff Sgt. Ryan A. Wallace.
It was "terrific" to visit with the servicemembers, Gates said as he thanked each one prior to the start of the dinner. "It's such an honor to be with them and meet them," he said.
Spradley, an explosive ordnance disposal technician, helped clear more than 5,000 miles of Iraqi roads from improvised explosive devices during her recent tour of duty in Kirkuk. She participated in 170 high-risk missions and neutralized 35 improvised explosive devices and two car bombs.
"We would disarm and mitigate any hazards along the roadways in Iraq," Spradley recalled, noting she was too focused on her missions to be distracted by the danger.
She said meeting the defense secretary and receiving the JINSA award "truly are an honor."
Stone, a Navy SEAL special warfare operations specialist, earned two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star with a "V" device for valor for service in Ramadi, Iraq, in September 2006, where he led his team in fighting off a group of insurgents that threatened to destroy another SEAL unit.
Coast Guardsman Gitchel was in temporary command of a 110-foot-long cutter when he and his crew stared down a group of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-crewed ships in the North Arabian Gulf in August 2007. The Iranians were threatening Iraqi oil rigs.
Romero served with distinction in combat with a tank battalion that participated in the drive to Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom in the spring of 2003. Afterward, he became a renowned Marine drill instructor noted for his leadership and team-building skills used in molding the lives of young Marines.
Wallace is an air combat controller who earned the Silver Star medal for more than 24 hours of continuous work calling in airstrikes against insurgents during combat in Najaf, Iraq, during his October 2006 to April 2007 service in Iraq. About 250 insurgents were killed in the battle.
"It was a surprise, and it is an honor, as well," Wallace said of receiving the Grateful Nation Award. Meeting Gates was an awesome experience, he added.
Gates received the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs Henry M. Jackson award for his contributions to national security as a former career Central Intelligence Agency officer who worked his way up to director. Later, Gates was a key national security advisor, and he now serves as defense secretary. Previous Jackson Award recipients include Vice President Richard B. Cheney and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace.
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright assisted David P. Steinmann, chairman of JINSA's board of advisors, during the Grateful Nation Award ceremony. Cartwright saluted the awardees as well as all U.S. servicemen and women engaged in the war against terrorism.
"These young people will just flat knock your socks off," the four-star general said. "They are our greatest generation and our greatest treasure, and we should never forget that."
"I think nothing gives JINSA greater institutional gratification than tonight," Steinmann said before the servicemembers' award ceremony. "We need our Grateful Nation Award winners. They represent the best that our country can produce.
"We need to be reminded that our country produces men and women like this," Steinmann said.
Monday, October 15, 2007
JTF Bravo Runs 388 Miles in Remembrance of POW/MIAs
By Tech. Sgt. Sonny Cohrs, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 15, 2007 - Soldiers, airmen and sailors here completed a remembrance run Oct. 12 in honor of prisoners of war and those missing in action. About 170 runners took part in the 24-hour event at the base track. Laps were completed with each runner carrying a baton and reflecting on the sacrifice of those who are listed as POW or MIA. The runners logged a cumulative distance of 388 miles, with the ceremonial baton traveling 168 miles during the event.
"Each base organization had points of contacts who organized the volunteer runners," said Air Force Master Sgt. Daryl Brunelle, Soto Cano fire chief, who helped organize and plan the event. "The first group and the last group carried the POW/MIA flag, and the rest of the runners kept the baton moving throughout the night."
Air Force Col. Howard Jones, deputy commander of Joint Task Force Bravo, said the purpose of the ceremony was to remember those "who have endured special hardships and who have seen combat, and even human nature, from a very unique perspective."
"We're proud to demonstrate our strong bond to them and each other with a 24-hour run," he said. "Our remembrance, our recognition and our running tie us to something much larger than ourselves. POWs and MIAs still express the essence of what service to a higher calling really means."
During the run, at least two servicemembers went the "extra mile" to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brandon Williford, 612th Air Base Squadron, ran a total of 26.25 miles, and Army Sgt. Pete Schaffer ran a total of 29.5 miles during the event.
Williford said he credits his distance to his marathon training prior to his assignment to Soto Cano. "I had been training last year, and I ran a half-marathon in February," he said. "I felt really good after 12 miles. I figured I could split it up and do it as many (short) blocks."
Schaffer, who completed a 32-mile, two-day road march earlier this year, ran 14 laps with the baton and then paced himself as if it were a road march, putting "one foot in front of the other," he said. The sergeant said he stopped only for short naps and food between 8:15 p.m. and 9 a.m., the next morning.
"We're doing this in remembrance of all the POWs and MIAs," he said. "They were malnourished, beaten and had no sleep. They continued to push themselves through all of that, so there's no reason I couldn't push myself in memory of them."
The event had special meaning for Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mike Reynolds, 612th ABS. The remains of his great, great grandfather, Pvt. Wilson Wilkes Dozier, were identified last month in a Kentucky cemetery.
Private Dozier served during the Civil War with the Scoggins Light Artillery Battalion from Georgia and died on Sept. 23, 1862 from "black measles," which is believed to be an early form of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
"He was buried in an unmarked grave for 145 years," Reynolds said. "My grandfather started research 60 years ago, and we finished what he started. On Sept. 21, POW/MIA Day this year, he got a headstone."
Reynolds, who also helped organize the ceremony here, said he has always enjoyed planning POW/MIA recognition events. "My dad was a fighter jock in Vietnam and his best friend was lost over Laos. One of my earliest memories was the blue sedan pulling up to tell his family," he recalled of his days living in base housing as a military dependent.
(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sonny Cohrs is assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo Public Affairs.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 15, 2007 - Soldiers, airmen and sailors here completed a remembrance run Oct. 12 in honor of prisoners of war and those missing in action. About 170 runners took part in the 24-hour event at the base track. Laps were completed with each runner carrying a baton and reflecting on the sacrifice of those who are listed as POW or MIA. The runners logged a cumulative distance of 388 miles, with the ceremonial baton traveling 168 miles during the event.
"Each base organization had points of contacts who organized the volunteer runners," said Air Force Master Sgt. Daryl Brunelle, Soto Cano fire chief, who helped organize and plan the event. "The first group and the last group carried the POW/MIA flag, and the rest of the runners kept the baton moving throughout the night."
Air Force Col. Howard Jones, deputy commander of Joint Task Force Bravo, said the purpose of the ceremony was to remember those "who have endured special hardships and who have seen combat, and even human nature, from a very unique perspective."
"We're proud to demonstrate our strong bond to them and each other with a 24-hour run," he said. "Our remembrance, our recognition and our running tie us to something much larger than ourselves. POWs and MIAs still express the essence of what service to a higher calling really means."
During the run, at least two servicemembers went the "extra mile" to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brandon Williford, 612th Air Base Squadron, ran a total of 26.25 miles, and Army Sgt. Pete Schaffer ran a total of 29.5 miles during the event.
Williford said he credits his distance to his marathon training prior to his assignment to Soto Cano. "I had been training last year, and I ran a half-marathon in February," he said. "I felt really good after 12 miles. I figured I could split it up and do it as many (short) blocks."
Schaffer, who completed a 32-mile, two-day road march earlier this year, ran 14 laps with the baton and then paced himself as if it were a road march, putting "one foot in front of the other," he said. The sergeant said he stopped only for short naps and food between 8:15 p.m. and 9 a.m., the next morning.
"We're doing this in remembrance of all the POWs and MIAs," he said. "They were malnourished, beaten and had no sleep. They continued to push themselves through all of that, so there's no reason I couldn't push myself in memory of them."
The event had special meaning for Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mike Reynolds, 612th ABS. The remains of his great, great grandfather, Pvt. Wilson Wilkes Dozier, were identified last month in a Kentucky cemetery.
Private Dozier served during the Civil War with the Scoggins Light Artillery Battalion from Georgia and died on Sept. 23, 1862 from "black measles," which is believed to be an early form of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
"He was buried in an unmarked grave for 145 years," Reynolds said. "My grandfather started research 60 years ago, and we finished what he started. On Sept. 21, POW/MIA Day this year, he got a headstone."
Reynolds, who also helped organize the ceremony here, said he has always enjoyed planning POW/MIA recognition events. "My dad was a fighter jock in Vietnam and his best friend was lost over Laos. One of my earliest memories was the blue sedan pulling up to tell his family," he recalled of his days living in base housing as a military dependent.
(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sonny Cohrs is assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo Public Affairs.)
Senior Advisor to Deputy Secretary Focuses on Relationship Building
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 15, 2007 - If Hesham Islam's life story was translated into a screenplay -- and it's got all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster -- the director would be hard-pressed to come up with a more compelling chain of events landing him as a top advisor to the deputy defense secretary. The movie would open with Islam as a young boy growing up in Cairo, Egypt, huddling in terror as Israeli bombs came raining down, demolishing much of the building around him and his family.
Next would be the scene of the teenager who moves to Iraq when his Egyptian naval officer father is transferred to help establish the Arabian Gulf naval academy Islam would later attend.
The camera would then close in on a young merchant mariner adrift for three days in the Arabian Sea after an Iranian torpedo sunk his 16,000-ton cargo ship, drowning all but Islam and four of his crewmates.
Next viewers would see the young man, who after corresponding with an American pen-pal for more than three years, dares ask for the photograph that leaves him smitten with his future wife.
The action would shift to the United States, where the new husband, desperate to provide for his family, enlists in the Navy. Later he will be accepted into Officer Candidate School, then ultimately retire 20 years later as a Navy commander.
Today, Islam is drawing on those vast experiences to advise Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England on international affairs.
Although Islam's life lends itself to high-drama scenes typically seen on the big screen, England sees him more as a behind-the-scenes player with a special talent for bringing other actors together.
Before retiring from the Navy, Islam contributed this skill and his regional and language expertise on the staff of then-Navy Secretary England. Much of Islam's work focused on U.S. military engagement with the Middle East.
As England moved to the No. 2 Pentagon position, Islam followed, broadening his purview to "the whole globe."
"He's my interlocutor," England said. "He represents me to the international community. He assists me in my own outreach efforts, and he's extraordinarily good at it."
Islam is rarely at his Pentagon desk, believing the best way to serve as England's "man out in town in Washington, D.C." is to be out and about, building relationships.
"I am a strong believer that there are no relationships between countries," he said. "Relationships are between people, and those relationships are what bring countries together."
"It is all about friendships between people," agreed England, "and you build them one person at a time."
England calls relationship building "a contact sport." "You can't develop friendships unless you actually go out and take the effort to meet people and interact with people," he said.
As he represents the Defense Department around the country and the around the world, England said, he counts on Islam's insights and advice. "Hesham helps me understand people's different perspectives and how they see things," England said. "He has a cultural background that's very helpful, but he also works at it very hard to get a better understanding of people and how they think."
Islam works tirelessly to befriend diplomats from around the world, learning from each about their country, its sensitivities, and its requirements. "I help them understand us, as Americans, and help my boss understand them," he said. "My goal is to bridge the gap and help people understand each other, even if we are different."
Not all Islam's efforts are directed toward other countries. A Muslim, Islam works closely with the Muslim-American community, encouraging its members to integrate into American society and take an active stand with the United States in the war on violent extremism. "This war can't be won by just Americans," he said. "It's a war that has to be fought by Muslims. Islam has been hijacked, and it is time to take it back."
Islam said he's proud of the 5,000 Muslims actively supporting that effort in the U.S. military. Among them is his own son, Navy Lt. j.g. Rami Islam, who serves aboard the carrier USS Carl Vinson. "As a parent, I'm very proud that my son is serving this country," he said.
After growing up in wartime, first in Egypt, then in Iraq, Islam hopes this dialogue can help eliminate differences that can lead to misunderstanding and conflict. "If people talk, people don't fight. If they talk, they don't argue," he said. "I try to bring talking and understanding into the dialogue."
"Hesham has wonderful friendships and relationships, and therefore he can give me extraordinarily good advice in dealing with countries and people," England said. "I take his advice, and I listen to him all the time."
England said he rarely disagrees with Islam's guidance. "After all," he said, "if you have a good doctor, you listen to your doctor, right?"
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 15, 2007 - If Hesham Islam's life story was translated into a screenplay -- and it's got all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster -- the director would be hard-pressed to come up with a more compelling chain of events landing him as a top advisor to the deputy defense secretary. The movie would open with Islam as a young boy growing up in Cairo, Egypt, huddling in terror as Israeli bombs came raining down, demolishing much of the building around him and his family.
Next would be the scene of the teenager who moves to Iraq when his Egyptian naval officer father is transferred to help establish the Arabian Gulf naval academy Islam would later attend.
The camera would then close in on a young merchant mariner adrift for three days in the Arabian Sea after an Iranian torpedo sunk his 16,000-ton cargo ship, drowning all but Islam and four of his crewmates.
Next viewers would see the young man, who after corresponding with an American pen-pal for more than three years, dares ask for the photograph that leaves him smitten with his future wife.
The action would shift to the United States, where the new husband, desperate to provide for his family, enlists in the Navy. Later he will be accepted into Officer Candidate School, then ultimately retire 20 years later as a Navy commander.
Today, Islam is drawing on those vast experiences to advise Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England on international affairs.
Although Islam's life lends itself to high-drama scenes typically seen on the big screen, England sees him more as a behind-the-scenes player with a special talent for bringing other actors together.
Before retiring from the Navy, Islam contributed this skill and his regional and language expertise on the staff of then-Navy Secretary England. Much of Islam's work focused on U.S. military engagement with the Middle East.
As England moved to the No. 2 Pentagon position, Islam followed, broadening his purview to "the whole globe."
"He's my interlocutor," England said. "He represents me to the international community. He assists me in my own outreach efforts, and he's extraordinarily good at it."
Islam is rarely at his Pentagon desk, believing the best way to serve as England's "man out in town in Washington, D.C." is to be out and about, building relationships.
"I am a strong believer that there are no relationships between countries," he said. "Relationships are between people, and those relationships are what bring countries together."
"It is all about friendships between people," agreed England, "and you build them one person at a time."
England calls relationship building "a contact sport." "You can't develop friendships unless you actually go out and take the effort to meet people and interact with people," he said.
As he represents the Defense Department around the country and the around the world, England said, he counts on Islam's insights and advice. "Hesham helps me understand people's different perspectives and how they see things," England said. "He has a cultural background that's very helpful, but he also works at it very hard to get a better understanding of people and how they think."
Islam works tirelessly to befriend diplomats from around the world, learning from each about their country, its sensitivities, and its requirements. "I help them understand us, as Americans, and help my boss understand them," he said. "My goal is to bridge the gap and help people understand each other, even if we are different."
Not all Islam's efforts are directed toward other countries. A Muslim, Islam works closely with the Muslim-American community, encouraging its members to integrate into American society and take an active stand with the United States in the war on violent extremism. "This war can't be won by just Americans," he said. "It's a war that has to be fought by Muslims. Islam has been hijacked, and it is time to take it back."
Islam said he's proud of the 5,000 Muslims actively supporting that effort in the U.S. military. Among them is his own son, Navy Lt. j.g. Rami Islam, who serves aboard the carrier USS Carl Vinson. "As a parent, I'm very proud that my son is serving this country," he said.
After growing up in wartime, first in Egypt, then in Iraq, Islam hopes this dialogue can help eliminate differences that can lead to misunderstanding and conflict. "If people talk, people don't fight. If they talk, they don't argue," he said. "I try to bring talking and understanding into the dialogue."
"Hesham has wonderful friendships and relationships, and therefore he can give me extraordinarily good advice in dealing with countries and people," England said. "I take his advice, and I listen to him all the time."
England said he rarely disagrees with Islam's guidance. "After all," he said, "if you have a good doctor, you listen to your doctor, right?"
USS Fort McHenry Mission to Set Tone for U.S. Africa Command
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 15, 2007 - USS Fort McHenry is slated to leave Little Creek, Va., tomorrow for a seven-month deployment to the Gulf of Guinea that the chief of U.S. Africa Command said will exemplify how his new command will operate. The amphibious dock landing ship will serve as a platform for the Africa Partnership Station Initiative, which aims to work cooperatively with U.S. and international partners in promoting maritime security in Western Africa, Army Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward told Pentagon reporters.
USS Fort McHenry will sail to Spain to take on passengers from several European partners -- Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Germany, among them -- before heading to the Gulf of Guinea, explained Navy Adm. Henry G. "Harry" Ulrich III, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe.
Its full complement will include representatives of U.S. and partner nations' government agencies and non-governmental organizations, all working together to help African nations increase their ability to provide maritime security.
In addition to the U.S. military, U.S. agencies to participate will be the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Agency for International Development, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Coast Guard, Ulrich said.
High Speed Vessel Swift will join USS Fort McHenry in the Gulf of Guinea, where it will transport students as well as trainers during visits to Senegal, Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, and Sao Tome and Principe, he said.
Training teams will focus on a broad range of areas, including maritime domain awareness, leadership, seamanship and navigation, maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, civil engineering and logistics.
Support provided will vary between visits, Ward said. He emphasized that the Africa Partnership Station Initiative and AFRICOM as a whole will strive to help African countries build capacity. "Those things that are within our means to do, we look forward in working with the African nations in providing that kind of assistance," he said.
The new initiative "provides a good example of what the newly established U.S. Africa Command is all about as it relates to helping our partner nations on the continent of Africa build their capacity to better govern their spaces (and) to have more effect in providing for the security of their people," he said.
In addition, Ward said, the Africa Partnership Station Initiative will help globalize African economies and develop societies for the betterment of their people.
AFRICOM declared itself to have initial operating capability Oct. 1 and began bringing the military's activities on the continent under its umbrella.
Ward said the command will give a "consolidated focus" to work currently being conducted by three combatant commands: U.S. Central Command, U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. European Command.
"As we work over the course of the coming weeks and months to stand up the command, we are focused on building the team that will cause value added to be brought to the various programs we do on the continent," he said.
Ward said AFRICOM will reinforce efforts under way "by creating a greater synergy of the entirety of the work being done."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 15, 2007 - USS Fort McHenry is slated to leave Little Creek, Va., tomorrow for a seven-month deployment to the Gulf of Guinea that the chief of U.S. Africa Command said will exemplify how his new command will operate. The amphibious dock landing ship will serve as a platform for the Africa Partnership Station Initiative, which aims to work cooperatively with U.S. and international partners in promoting maritime security in Western Africa, Army Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward told Pentagon reporters.
USS Fort McHenry will sail to Spain to take on passengers from several European partners -- Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Germany, among them -- before heading to the Gulf of Guinea, explained Navy Adm. Henry G. "Harry" Ulrich III, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe.
Its full complement will include representatives of U.S. and partner nations' government agencies and non-governmental organizations, all working together to help African nations increase their ability to provide maritime security.
In addition to the U.S. military, U.S. agencies to participate will be the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Agency for International Development, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Coast Guard, Ulrich said.
High Speed Vessel Swift will join USS Fort McHenry in the Gulf of Guinea, where it will transport students as well as trainers during visits to Senegal, Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, and Sao Tome and Principe, he said.
Training teams will focus on a broad range of areas, including maritime domain awareness, leadership, seamanship and navigation, maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, civil engineering and logistics.
Support provided will vary between visits, Ward said. He emphasized that the Africa Partnership Station Initiative and AFRICOM as a whole will strive to help African countries build capacity. "Those things that are within our means to do, we look forward in working with the African nations in providing that kind of assistance," he said.
The new initiative "provides a good example of what the newly established U.S. Africa Command is all about as it relates to helping our partner nations on the continent of Africa build their capacity to better govern their spaces (and) to have more effect in providing for the security of their people," he said.
In addition, Ward said, the Africa Partnership Station Initiative will help globalize African economies and develop societies for the betterment of their people.
AFRICOM declared itself to have initial operating capability Oct. 1 and began bringing the military's activities on the continent under its umbrella.
Ward said the command will give a "consolidated focus" to work currently being conducted by three combatant commands: U.S. Central Command, U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. European Command.
"As we work over the course of the coming weeks and months to stand up the command, we are focused on building the team that will cause value added to be brought to the various programs we do on the continent," he said.
Ward said AFRICOM will reinforce efforts under way "by creating a greater synergy of the entirety of the work being done."
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