By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 17, 2008 - It was a Valentine's Day lunch, and there was a lot of love in the air for wounded warriors at the Marine Barracks here yesterday. Retired Marine Gen. Peter Pace and his wife, Lynne, continued a tradition they started during his service as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Paces hosted picnics at their quarters for wounded warriors and their families, and hosted this at historic Crawford Hall – a beautifully restored section of the Marine Barracks founded in 1801. The Marine Band's "Free Country Quartet" – down to a trio due to sickness – provided the entertainment.
"This is quite simply to say that we love you," Pace told the warriors. "(This event) is in some small way a chance to tell you your fellow countrymen respect you and what you've done for all of us."
Pace told the servicemembers and their families, "There are no rules: just relax and enjoy yourselves."
And they did. More than 30 wounded personnel undergoing treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., enjoyed a meal donated by Franco Nuchese, owner of Café Milano – an A-list Georgetown restaurant.
"I'm not sure what I just ate," said Army Sgt. Brad Judd, a Utah National Guardsman undergoing treatment at Walter Reed. Told it was eggplant parmegian, he said, "Who'd have thought eggplant could taste so good?"
Vice President Richard B. Cheney's daughters Mary and Elizabeth turned out to help serve and to speak with the servicemembers and their families, and the Marine Corps leadership turned out in force. Marine Commandant Gen. James T. Conway, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, Assistant Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Magnus and Marine Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, the Joint Staff's strategy chief, and their ladies came to meet and mingle with the wounded servicemembers.
Enlisted aides from all services donated their time and expertise to the event. "We sent a e-mail out asking for volunteers, and everyone responded," said Marine Gunnery Sgt. Patrick Modreski, an enlisted aide who works with the Cartwrights.
Three of the wounded warriors had one leg among them – and that one had just had an operation.
"I was doing well; I was up and walking, but had a setback. They had to do the operation," said Marine Cpl. Chad Watson. "But that was it. I'll be up and walking again in no time." Watson's goal is to walk down the aisle in August for his marriage to his fiancée, Jillian.
Family was a big part of the lunch, and children soon hit a sugar high with the candied hearts and chocolate that decorated each of the 17 tables. Three-year-old Kelsey Hennagin was a perpetual motion machine, running between the tables and charming everyone in sight. When she finally ran down, she sat in her father's lap in his motorized wheelchair – he lost both legs to an improvised explosive device in June 2007. Marine Cpl. Ray Hennagin showed one and all a cell-phone picture of him standing on his new legs. "Just got fitted two days ago," he said. "Looks pretty good, huh?"
"None of these young men or women see themselves as victims," said Ambassador Lloyd Hand, who also attended. "They all want to get through recovery and move on."
In fact, Hand told Marine 1st Lt. Andrew Kinnard, a severely wounded platoon leader who is working in DoD's general counsel's office, to give him a call after he gets his law degree.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
America Supports You: Troops Battle Pro Athletes Via Xbox
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 15, 2008 - Deployed troops have no doubt been in fights they'd rather have avoided, but thanks to a new program, they can now pick their battles, and have some fun doing it. "Pros vs. GI Joes" is a California-based troop-support group that's offering servicemembers deployed throughout the Middle East the chance to challenge professional athletes on their favorite Electronic Arts game via Xbox Live.
"(It's) not your typical 'support the troops' nonprofit organization that packages up all the good stuff that our troops miss when they're deployed," said Greg Zinone, founder of Pros vs. GI Joes. "I created (the program) with my wife, who's a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and currently serving her second tour in Iraq, for the simple reason of wanting to give a little something to our troops that they can only get because they are ... overseas."
At United Service Organizations centers throughout the Middle East, selected troops will sit in ultimate game chairs and play their favorite games against their favorite pro athletes back home. The games will play on a big-screen TV. Two additional sets will allow for live interaction between the two competitors, Zinone said.
Matches will be held on a rolling basis as the athletes make themselves available. Additionally, Pros vs. GI Joes plans to hold three five-week, cross-country tours that will coincide with major league sports seasons as well as special-event matches throughout the year, he added.
"Supporting our troops is a no-brainer," Zinone said. "Pros vs. GI Joes gives those people that love sports and video games, or those that just feel that it's a heck of an idea, a chance to do something for the troops that they ... would love to do while, at the same time, feeling a personal connection."
Pros vs. GI Joes recently became a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
The group hopes to gain some exposure from the affiliation, exposure they would gladly share with other troop-support groups, Zinone said. "There are a lot of amazing (troop-support) organizations out there, and each one deserves all the attention it can get," he said. "If some of that attention can run through Pros vs. GI Joes, well, then let it flow!"
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 15, 2008 - Deployed troops have no doubt been in fights they'd rather have avoided, but thanks to a new program, they can now pick their battles, and have some fun doing it. "Pros vs. GI Joes" is a California-based troop-support group that's offering servicemembers deployed throughout the Middle East the chance to challenge professional athletes on their favorite Electronic Arts game via Xbox Live.
"(It's) not your typical 'support the troops' nonprofit organization that packages up all the good stuff that our troops miss when they're deployed," said Greg Zinone, founder of Pros vs. GI Joes. "I created (the program) with my wife, who's a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and currently serving her second tour in Iraq, for the simple reason of wanting to give a little something to our troops that they can only get because they are ... overseas."
At United Service Organizations centers throughout the Middle East, selected troops will sit in ultimate game chairs and play their favorite games against their favorite pro athletes back home. The games will play on a big-screen TV. Two additional sets will allow for live interaction between the two competitors, Zinone said.
Matches will be held on a rolling basis as the athletes make themselves available. Additionally, Pros vs. GI Joes plans to hold three five-week, cross-country tours that will coincide with major league sports seasons as well as special-event matches throughout the year, he added.
"Supporting our troops is a no-brainer," Zinone said. "Pros vs. GI Joes gives those people that love sports and video games, or those that just feel that it's a heck of an idea, a chance to do something for the troops that they ... would love to do while, at the same time, feeling a personal connection."
Pros vs. GI Joes recently became a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
The group hopes to gain some exposure from the affiliation, exposure they would gladly share with other troop-support groups, Zinone said. "There are a lot of amazing (troop-support) organizations out there, and each one deserves all the attention it can get," he said. "If some of that attention can run through Pros vs. GI Joes, well, then let it flow!"
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Top Army Doc Cites Progress One Year After Walter Reed Revelations
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 15, 2008 - The Army has made huge improvements in the way it cares for combat-wounded troops during the year since news reports brought problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to light, the Army surgeon general told Congress today. Army Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Eric Schoomaker, who also commands U.S. Army Medical Command, told the House Armed Service Committee's Military Personnel Subcommittee the Army's medical action plan "is continuing to move forward" and making steady progress in improving care for wounded warriors.
"We as an Army are committed to getting this right and providing a level of care and support to our warriors and families that's equal to the quality of their service," he said.
Navy Vice Adm. (Dr.) Adam Robinson and Air Force Lt. Gen. (Dr.) James Roudebush, their services' surgeons general, joined Schoomaker at the table during today's hearing. However, one year after a Washington Post series outlined serious gaps in care at the Army's premier medical center, the bulk of the discussion focused on the Army's efforts through its medical action plan.
Schoomaker called the day the first of those articles appeared "a painful day" for Army medicine, but one he said has strengthened the Army's collective resolve to do better. Because of those revelations and the Army leadership's response, "we truly are a better Army today with respect to how we care for our soldiers," he told the panel.
Schoomaker called new warrior transition units the backbone of the Army medical action plan designed to address the problem.
More than 2,400 soldier-leaders -- up from fewer than 400 this time last year -- now are assigned as cadre to 35 of these units, he told the panel.
The warrior transition units, collocated Army-wide with medical treatment facilities, offer a "triad" that includes a soldier's primary-care physician, nurse case manager and squad leader, he explained. All work together to attend to the needs of wounded soldiers and their families.
The triad provides "a web of overlapping responsibility" to ensure no soldiers ever fall between bureaucratic cracks for the duration of their treatment, recovery, rehabilitation and transition back to military service or to civilian life, Schoomaker said.
A new Medical Command-wide ombudsman program is another improvement in the care provided to wounded, ill or injured troops, he said. Ombudsman at 26 installations work outside the chain of command but have direct access to the hospital, garrison and installation commanders "to get problems fixed," Schoomaker said.
The Army also has established a toll-free hotline for wounded soldiers and their families, he said. The Department of Veterans Affairs has expressed interest in setting up a similar hotline, which gives wounded soldiers and family members 24-hour access to assistance regarding their care or administrative concerns.
"We have fielded in excess of 7,000 calls to date, and we answer that call and find a solution for them and get the process going to get it ultimately fixed within 24 hours," Schoomaker said.
Schoomaker pointed to the hotline and ombudsman programs as examples of multiple feedback mechanisms now in place to ensure Army leaders are "seeing the full picture" in ways they didn't a year ago. The Army is now able to monitor and evaluate its performance through 18 internal and external means, including patient surveys. These "provide a very granular view of how our patients and families feel we're doing for them," Schoomaker said.
Despite these successes, he said, there's much still to be done. More research is needed into psychological health and traumatic brain injury, he said. The physical disability and evaluation system needs to be changed to make it less antagonistic, more understandable, more user-friendly and more equitable.
A good start, he said, is a pilot program under way in the Washington, D.C., area designed to bring the Defense Department's and VA's programs more in line. "I want to continue to pursue changes in the disability evaluation system as aggressively as possible and to get legislative relief for a single system of adjudication," he said.
Schoomaker thanked the panel for its support for these and other initiatives to help wounded warriors and their families, and he reiterated the Army's resolve in ensuring they're treated fairly.
"The Army's unwavering commitment and a key element of our warrior ethos is that we never leave a soldier behind on the battlefield or lost in a bureaucracy," he said. "We are doing a better job of honoring that commitment today than we were at this date last year. ... We have turned the corner."
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 15, 2008 - The Army has made huge improvements in the way it cares for combat-wounded troops during the year since news reports brought problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to light, the Army surgeon general told Congress today. Army Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Eric Schoomaker, who also commands U.S. Army Medical Command, told the House Armed Service Committee's Military Personnel Subcommittee the Army's medical action plan "is continuing to move forward" and making steady progress in improving care for wounded warriors.
"We as an Army are committed to getting this right and providing a level of care and support to our warriors and families that's equal to the quality of their service," he said.
Navy Vice Adm. (Dr.) Adam Robinson and Air Force Lt. Gen. (Dr.) James Roudebush, their services' surgeons general, joined Schoomaker at the table during today's hearing. However, one year after a Washington Post series outlined serious gaps in care at the Army's premier medical center, the bulk of the discussion focused on the Army's efforts through its medical action plan.
Schoomaker called the day the first of those articles appeared "a painful day" for Army medicine, but one he said has strengthened the Army's collective resolve to do better. Because of those revelations and the Army leadership's response, "we truly are a better Army today with respect to how we care for our soldiers," he told the panel.
Schoomaker called new warrior transition units the backbone of the Army medical action plan designed to address the problem.
More than 2,400 soldier-leaders -- up from fewer than 400 this time last year -- now are assigned as cadre to 35 of these units, he told the panel.
The warrior transition units, collocated Army-wide with medical treatment facilities, offer a "triad" that includes a soldier's primary-care physician, nurse case manager and squad leader, he explained. All work together to attend to the needs of wounded soldiers and their families.
The triad provides "a web of overlapping responsibility" to ensure no soldiers ever fall between bureaucratic cracks for the duration of their treatment, recovery, rehabilitation and transition back to military service or to civilian life, Schoomaker said.
A new Medical Command-wide ombudsman program is another improvement in the care provided to wounded, ill or injured troops, he said. Ombudsman at 26 installations work outside the chain of command but have direct access to the hospital, garrison and installation commanders "to get problems fixed," Schoomaker said.
The Army also has established a toll-free hotline for wounded soldiers and their families, he said. The Department of Veterans Affairs has expressed interest in setting up a similar hotline, which gives wounded soldiers and family members 24-hour access to assistance regarding their care or administrative concerns.
"We have fielded in excess of 7,000 calls to date, and we answer that call and find a solution for them and get the process going to get it ultimately fixed within 24 hours," Schoomaker said.
Schoomaker pointed to the hotline and ombudsman programs as examples of multiple feedback mechanisms now in place to ensure Army leaders are "seeing the full picture" in ways they didn't a year ago. The Army is now able to monitor and evaluate its performance through 18 internal and external means, including patient surveys. These "provide a very granular view of how our patients and families feel we're doing for them," Schoomaker said.
Despite these successes, he said, there's much still to be done. More research is needed into psychological health and traumatic brain injury, he said. The physical disability and evaluation system needs to be changed to make it less antagonistic, more understandable, more user-friendly and more equitable.
A good start, he said, is a pilot program under way in the Washington, D.C., area designed to bring the Defense Department's and VA's programs more in line. "I want to continue to pursue changes in the disability evaluation system as aggressively as possible and to get legislative relief for a single system of adjudication," he said.
Schoomaker thanked the panel for its support for these and other initiatives to help wounded warriors and their families, and he reiterated the Army's resolve in ensuring they're treated fairly.
"The Army's unwavering commitment and a key element of our warrior ethos is that we never leave a soldier behind on the battlefield or lost in a bureaucracy," he said. "We are doing a better job of honoring that commitment today than we were at this date last year. ... We have turned the corner."
Face of Defense: Real Estate Agent Chooses to Serve
By Sgt. Brandon Little, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 14, 2008 - A little more than two years ago, Juliana Rizzo was a real estate agent living in Long Island, N.Y., with her two children, Angelo and Amanda, when she decided it was time to fulfill her childhood dream. That dream was to join the United States Army.
"As a little girl, I always wanted to join the Army, because my father and grandfather spent several years in the military and served their country proudly," said Rizzo, a supply specialist in Company E, 3rd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, Task Force 12, Multinational Division Baghdad.
"I don't know if my father ever deployed, but my grandfather served in the Korean War and Vietnam," she said. "They've both become very successful (in jobs outside the military), but they started their education in the Army."
Rizzo, the daughter of an airplane mechanic and granddaughter of a NASA radio communications transmitter, also has achieved plenty of her own success in the short time she's been in the military.
"When (Rizzo) arrived to unit, only three days after the unit was established, she was a private fresh out of advanced individual training and she had a hip problem that really bothered her," said Army 1st Sgt. Foy Dix, of Company E. "I had a talk with her and told her that being in the Army means sometimes you have to overcome pain. Within 60 days, she nearly scored (the maximum) 300 points on her physical fitness test."
In addition to overcoming physical adversity, the new private also had to learn her job quickly and with little supervision.
"Her supply sergeant went to the basic noncommissioned officer course while the unit was still being set up, so she had to set up the unit supply office by herself," said Dix, a native of Ventura, Calif. "She also helped run a company that had no commander -- just a first sergeant and three flight lieutenants."
Even though her leaders said they already were impressed by her work ethic and determination in keeping track of more than $3.5 million worth of unit equipment, Rizzo's most attention-grabbing performance was yet to come.
"When we were in (Hohenfels, Germany) going through 'Iron Warrior' training, she went up to the Iraqi role players and started talking to them in their own language," said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Chad Cuomo, 3rd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, a native of Troy, N.Y. "Nobody knew that she spoke Arabic, and it especially shocked the role players; she was definitely the hero of the battle out there."
"I learned Arabic in my Long Island neighborhood, and I pretty much taught myself a lot of the (words and phrases) I didn't know," Rizzo said. "I'm not very fluent in Arabic, but I do know enough to communicate. I also speak Spanish, and I know some phrases in Hindu."
Rizzo does a lot more than just handle unit supplies; she operates the company arms room, does public affairs for Company E, and she takes time to listen to some of the issues her fellow soldiers are having, Dix said.
She made such a strong impression throughout the battalion that she was sent to the Warrior Leadership Course as a private first class, Cuomo said. Soldiers usually attend the course at the rank of specialist or sergeant.
"I went down and talked with the WLC sergeant major two days after the course started, and I asked him, 'If I had a high-speed private first class, would you take that person?'" he said. "The course was a little rough for her, because she was the only private first class there, but she made it through and graduated in the top 17 percent of her class."
Rizzo was promoted to specialist shortly after arriving in Iraq and went to the sergeant's promotion board four months later. She received 150 points in the promotion board, and was recently laterally promoted to corporal. She continues to set the standard and then to exceed that standard, Dix said.
"I just try to give 100 percent in everything I do," Rizzo said, "and I always try to do above what is expected of me."
The soon-to-be sergeant is taking online classes toward a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. She said she hopes to one day be an Army career counselor or an Arabic linguist.
Dix said he won't be surprised if Rizzo is selected to be a staff sergeant by the end of her deployment.
"If she continues to do what she's doing know, I see her being a sergeant promotable before we leave Iraq," Dix said. "I know I couldn't do as much she does and continue to smile. I have no doubt that if I had five of her, I could run an entire platoon."
(Army Sgt. Brandon Little serves with Task Force 12 Public Affairs in Multinational Division Baghdad.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 14, 2008 - A little more than two years ago, Juliana Rizzo was a real estate agent living in Long Island, N.Y., with her two children, Angelo and Amanda, when she decided it was time to fulfill her childhood dream. That dream was to join the United States Army.
"As a little girl, I always wanted to join the Army, because my father and grandfather spent several years in the military and served their country proudly," said Rizzo, a supply specialist in Company E, 3rd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, Task Force 12, Multinational Division Baghdad.
"I don't know if my father ever deployed, but my grandfather served in the Korean War and Vietnam," she said. "They've both become very successful (in jobs outside the military), but they started their education in the Army."
Rizzo, the daughter of an airplane mechanic and granddaughter of a NASA radio communications transmitter, also has achieved plenty of her own success in the short time she's been in the military.
"When (Rizzo) arrived to unit, only three days after the unit was established, she was a private fresh out of advanced individual training and she had a hip problem that really bothered her," said Army 1st Sgt. Foy Dix, of Company E. "I had a talk with her and told her that being in the Army means sometimes you have to overcome pain. Within 60 days, she nearly scored (the maximum) 300 points on her physical fitness test."
In addition to overcoming physical adversity, the new private also had to learn her job quickly and with little supervision.
"Her supply sergeant went to the basic noncommissioned officer course while the unit was still being set up, so she had to set up the unit supply office by herself," said Dix, a native of Ventura, Calif. "She also helped run a company that had no commander -- just a first sergeant and three flight lieutenants."
Even though her leaders said they already were impressed by her work ethic and determination in keeping track of more than $3.5 million worth of unit equipment, Rizzo's most attention-grabbing performance was yet to come.
"When we were in (Hohenfels, Germany) going through 'Iron Warrior' training, she went up to the Iraqi role players and started talking to them in their own language," said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Chad Cuomo, 3rd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, a native of Troy, N.Y. "Nobody knew that she spoke Arabic, and it especially shocked the role players; she was definitely the hero of the battle out there."
"I learned Arabic in my Long Island neighborhood, and I pretty much taught myself a lot of the (words and phrases) I didn't know," Rizzo said. "I'm not very fluent in Arabic, but I do know enough to communicate. I also speak Spanish, and I know some phrases in Hindu."
Rizzo does a lot more than just handle unit supplies; she operates the company arms room, does public affairs for Company E, and she takes time to listen to some of the issues her fellow soldiers are having, Dix said.
She made such a strong impression throughout the battalion that she was sent to the Warrior Leadership Course as a private first class, Cuomo said. Soldiers usually attend the course at the rank of specialist or sergeant.
"I went down and talked with the WLC sergeant major two days after the course started, and I asked him, 'If I had a high-speed private first class, would you take that person?'" he said. "The course was a little rough for her, because she was the only private first class there, but she made it through and graduated in the top 17 percent of her class."
Rizzo was promoted to specialist shortly after arriving in Iraq and went to the sergeant's promotion board four months later. She received 150 points in the promotion board, and was recently laterally promoted to corporal. She continues to set the standard and then to exceed that standard, Dix said.
"I just try to give 100 percent in everything I do," Rizzo said, "and I always try to do above what is expected of me."
The soon-to-be sergeant is taking online classes toward a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. She said she hopes to one day be an Army career counselor or an Arabic linguist.
Dix said he won't be surprised if Rizzo is selected to be a staff sergeant by the end of her deployment.
"If she continues to do what she's doing know, I see her being a sergeant promotable before we leave Iraq," Dix said. "I know I couldn't do as much she does and continue to smile. I have no doubt that if I had five of her, I could run an entire platoon."
(Army Sgt. Brandon Little serves with Task Force 12 Public Affairs in Multinational Division Baghdad.)
Reserve-Component Units Cited for Superb Family Support
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 15, 2008 - Seven reserve-component units were recognized for their superlative support of families of deployed servicemembers during an award ceremony in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes today. Thomas F. Hall, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, hosted the annual Department of Defense Reserve Family Readiness Awards presentation, which highlighted the best National Guard and reserve unit family readiness support programs in 2007.
"You know, you recruit individuals and retain families," Hall said before presenting the awards. "It is so important that we emphasize families, and we're going to continue to do that."
The seven awardees are recognized as "the best of the best" in providing readiness and deployment-support programs for reserve-component servicemembers and their families, Hall said.
Each recognized unit received an engraved wood Defense Department plaque and a certificate signed by Hall. Award recipients also received a certificate and $1,000 from the Military Officers Association of America.
Sharon M. Semrow is a volunteer family-support coordinator for the award-winning Marine Corps Reserve 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment, 4th Marine Division, based in Chicago. Semrow works with families of Marines assigned to the battalion's Fox Company, which is located in Milwaukee.
"It is an honor to receive this award, and the whole battalion worked hard," Semrow said. Marines assigned to Fox Company are currently deployed to Iraq, she said.
"We pass information from the command to the family members," Semrow explained. Semrow's husband, Jeffrey, is a Marine gunnery sergeant in the reserve who served a duty tour in Iraq.
Family support is important, she said, "So the Marines can focus on the job that they're doing and not worry about us back at home."
Maintaining communications between deployed servicemembers and their families is important for morale, said Leslie B. Holland, a family-support coordinator for the award-winning Coast Guard Reserve Port Security Unit 308 based in Gulfport, Miss. PSU 308 personnel have deployed for duty at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, she said.
Holland maintains a list of phone numbers that can be used to quickly contact deployed servicemembers' commands in case of family emergencies or other contingencies back home.
"Within a matter of minutes, we can get a message out" to servicemembers at Guantanamo asking them to contact their families, Holland explained.
The Coast Guard members and spouses feel "relieved there is an extra group of people that are helping their families," Holland said.
Other units recognized at the ceremony include:
-- Air Force Reserve: 944th Mission Support Flight, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.;
-- Air National Guard: 144th Fighter Wing, Fresno, Calif.;
-- Army National Guard: 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery, Milwaukee;
-- Army Reserve: 108th Training Command, Charlotte, N.C., and;
-- Navy Reserve: Naval Air Systems Command 6066, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
The department's Reserve Family Readiness Awards program was established in 2000. Robust family support programs are important and vital to mission success, officials said, as significant numbers of servicemembers have deployed overseas in support of the global war on terrorism.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 15, 2008 - Seven reserve-component units were recognized for their superlative support of families of deployed servicemembers during an award ceremony in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes today. Thomas F. Hall, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, hosted the annual Department of Defense Reserve Family Readiness Awards presentation, which highlighted the best National Guard and reserve unit family readiness support programs in 2007.
"You know, you recruit individuals and retain families," Hall said before presenting the awards. "It is so important that we emphasize families, and we're going to continue to do that."
The seven awardees are recognized as "the best of the best" in providing readiness and deployment-support programs for reserve-component servicemembers and their families, Hall said.
Each recognized unit received an engraved wood Defense Department plaque and a certificate signed by Hall. Award recipients also received a certificate and $1,000 from the Military Officers Association of America.
Sharon M. Semrow is a volunteer family-support coordinator for the award-winning Marine Corps Reserve 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment, 4th Marine Division, based in Chicago. Semrow works with families of Marines assigned to the battalion's Fox Company, which is located in Milwaukee.
"It is an honor to receive this award, and the whole battalion worked hard," Semrow said. Marines assigned to Fox Company are currently deployed to Iraq, she said.
"We pass information from the command to the family members," Semrow explained. Semrow's husband, Jeffrey, is a Marine gunnery sergeant in the reserve who served a duty tour in Iraq.
Family support is important, she said, "So the Marines can focus on the job that they're doing and not worry about us back at home."
Maintaining communications between deployed servicemembers and their families is important for morale, said Leslie B. Holland, a family-support coordinator for the award-winning Coast Guard Reserve Port Security Unit 308 based in Gulfport, Miss. PSU 308 personnel have deployed for duty at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, she said.
Holland maintains a list of phone numbers that can be used to quickly contact deployed servicemembers' commands in case of family emergencies or other contingencies back home.
"Within a matter of minutes, we can get a message out" to servicemembers at Guantanamo asking them to contact their families, Holland explained.
The Coast Guard members and spouses feel "relieved there is an extra group of people that are helping their families," Holland said.
Other units recognized at the ceremony include:
-- Air Force Reserve: 944th Mission Support Flight, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.;
-- Air National Guard: 144th Fighter Wing, Fresno, Calif.;
-- Army National Guard: 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery, Milwaukee;
-- Army Reserve: 108th Training Command, Charlotte, N.C., and;
-- Navy Reserve: Naval Air Systems Command 6066, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
The department's Reserve Family Readiness Awards program was established in 2000. Robust family support programs are important and vital to mission success, officials said, as significant numbers of servicemembers have deployed overseas in support of the global war on terrorism.
Missing WWII Airmen Are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of three U.S. servicemen, missing from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are 2nd Lt. John F. Lubben, of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.; Sgt. Albert A. Forgue, of North Providence, R.I.; and Sgt. Charles L. Spiegel, of Chicago, Ill.; all U.S. Army Air Forces. They will be buried on April 18 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
On Dec. 12, 1944, these men crewed an A-20J Havoc aircraft departing from Coullomiers, France, to bomb enemy targets near Wollseifen, Germany. The aircraft was last seen entering a steep dive near Cologne, Germany. Several searches and investigations of this area and reviews of wartime documents failed to provide information concerning the incident.
In 1975, a German company clearing wartime mines and unexploded ordnance near Simmerath, Germany, reported the discovery of a gravesite northeast of Simmerath where American servicemembers were buried. U.S. officials evaluated the remains and determined they represented three individuals, but they could not make identifications at that time. The remains were subsequently buried as unknowns in the Ardennes American Military Cemetery in Neupre, Belgium.
In 2003, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) was notified that a group of German citizens had information correlating the three servicemembers who were buried as unknowns with the crew from the 1944 A-20J crash. Based on that information, JPAC exhumed the three unknown graves from the Ardennes American Military Cemetery in 2005.
Among dental records, other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ or call (703) 699-1169
They are 2nd Lt. John F. Lubben, of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.; Sgt. Albert A. Forgue, of North Providence, R.I.; and Sgt. Charles L. Spiegel, of Chicago, Ill.; all U.S. Army Air Forces. They will be buried on April 18 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
On Dec. 12, 1944, these men crewed an A-20J Havoc aircraft departing from Coullomiers, France, to bomb enemy targets near Wollseifen, Germany. The aircraft was last seen entering a steep dive near Cologne, Germany. Several searches and investigations of this area and reviews of wartime documents failed to provide information concerning the incident.
In 1975, a German company clearing wartime mines and unexploded ordnance near Simmerath, Germany, reported the discovery of a gravesite northeast of Simmerath where American servicemembers were buried. U.S. officials evaluated the remains and determined they represented three individuals, but they could not make identifications at that time. The remains were subsequently buried as unknowns in the Ardennes American Military Cemetery in Neupre, Belgium.
In 2003, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) was notified that a group of German citizens had information correlating the three servicemembers who were buried as unknowns with the crew from the 1944 A-20J crash. Based on that information, JPAC exhumed the three unknown graves from the Ardennes American Military Cemetery in 2005.
Among dental records, other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ or call (703) 699-1169
Pentagon to Set Up Nationwide Troop, Family Support Network
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 15, 2008 - The 2008 National Defense Authorization Act provides for the establishment of a nationwide center of excellence network that will assist servicemembers of all components in readjusting and reintegrating with their families when they return from overseas deployments, a senior Defense Department official said here today. Thomas F. Hall, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, announced the new initiative today at the Department of Defense Reserve Family Readiness Awards ceremony that highlighted the best National Guard and reserve unit family readiness and support programs in 2007.
The new organization will be established quickly, Hall said, noting it will assist and coordinate efforts of more than 700 military family-support centers located across the country.
Efforts to obtain funding and staffing for the organization are under way, Hall said, adding it will have a central staff based in the Washington, D.C., area, and will have a board of directors.
The new support network will assist active duty, National Guard and reserve servicemembers, as well as their families, Hall pointed out.
"We've got to get that 'jointness' throughout (the system), and this is one of the things that this center for excellence is going to talk about," Hall said.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 15, 2008 - The 2008 National Defense Authorization Act provides for the establishment of a nationwide center of excellence network that will assist servicemembers of all components in readjusting and reintegrating with their families when they return from overseas deployments, a senior Defense Department official said here today. Thomas F. Hall, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, announced the new initiative today at the Department of Defense Reserve Family Readiness Awards ceremony that highlighted the best National Guard and reserve unit family readiness and support programs in 2007.
The new organization will be established quickly, Hall said, noting it will assist and coordinate efforts of more than 700 military family-support centers located across the country.
Efforts to obtain funding and staffing for the organization are under way, Hall said, adding it will have a central staff based in the Washington, D.C., area, and will have a board of directors.
The new support network will assist active duty, National Guard and reserve servicemembers, as well as their families, Hall pointed out.
"We've got to get that 'jointness' throughout (the system), and this is one of the things that this center for excellence is going to talk about," Hall said.
Defense Agency Makes Big Advances in Prosthetics Research
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 15, 2008 - A Defense Department program is tapping into the realm of science fiction to develop life-like, functional prosthetic devices for wounded combat troops so they can go on to live normal lives. Army Col. Geoff Ling, manager of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Revolutionizing Prosthetics programs, said the agency is making tremendous headway in advancing technology considered unimaginable just a few years ago.
DARPA's initial prosthetics program, Revolutionizing Prosthetics 2007, "has done remarkably well" and is generating excitement among other federal agency heads that could someday lead to full-scale production, Ling said.
Researchers at DEKA Research and Development Corp. in Manchester, N.H., have developed what Ling calls a "strap-and-go-arm" that users activate with the flick of a switch.
"All you have to do is strap it on, and you're ready to go," he said. "It requires no surgery or any of that stuff. All you do is literally wake up in the morning and put it on like you could a jacket, and you just go."
Three volunteers in the test program reported strong acceptance for the device that comes in three models: one for amputees who have lost a complete arm and others for those with amputations above and below the elbow.
"These arms are working just beyond anyone's wildest imagination," Ling said, barely able to contain his enthusiasm.
Embedded electronics enable users to activate a switch, either with a foot or their chin, to activate it. By flicking the switch, they can cycle through five different gripping actions to match the task at hand, whether it's using a pen, picking up a key, lifting a coffee cup or using a power drill.
"It's very easy to master," Ling said. "Guys who have it will tell you they can master the use of the arm in an hour or two."
All were able to "perform remarkably" with the device, he said. One tester who lost his arm at the shoulder was able to field strip and reassemble an M-16 rifle using the prosthesis. An above-the-elbow amputee was able to grab a root beer bottle off a shelf, open it with a bottle opener and drink it. Another, who lost both hands in combat, reported he now feels able to take on a civilian job.
"When you watch it, you realize that what we have provided is not so much an arm, but really a functionality and a return to life," Ling said. "This is exactly what we had hoped for. It's tremendously gratifying."
The Department of Veterans Affairs, National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration have all shown interest in the program and are expected to join forces with the Defense Department in the months ahead to move it forward. "This is the government coming together, making things right for the right people," Ling said.
Getting a governmental agreement in place will be a big step forward to getting the devices mass-produced so they're available for wounded troops, veterans and ultimately, anyone else who might need them, he said.
As this effort advances, DARPA is pushing forward its even more ambitious Revolutionizing Prosthetics 2009 program that will enable a user to control the prosthesis through thought. The limb, as envisioned, would enable users to move as they normally do, without having to think about the actual process to make it happen.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore are exploring this technology, and Ling said he hopes to see a contract moving the project into its second phase finalized in the coming months.
The device connects directly into the peripheral and central nervous system so users can operate it naturally, just as they move their biological arm. "It will look as natural and smooth as you possibly can imagine, because it will be controlled directly by your nervous system," Ling said. "When you think about moving your arm to reach out and grab a coffee cup, that's exactly what you will do."
The prosthetic will provide capabilities even beyond what the DEKA prosthesis delivers, even enabling people to play the piano, he said. "I don't necessarily expect users to play at the level of Tchaikovsky, but it will be a clear improvement, even over the DEKA arm," he said. "And the DEKA arm is clearly a dramatic improvement over what's available today.
"DARPA is pushing the future," he said.
DARPA's prosthetics programs represents the largest pool of funding for prosthetics in at least a decade in a field that advanced at a snail's pace for centuries. "If you look at the history of prosthetics, especially in the upper arm, it's been incredibly slow," Ling said.
The metal hook, introduced in the 1600s, didn't get its first major upgrade until the 1900s, when new technology enabled the hook to open and close, he said. "Today, you can go to the finest hospitals in the land, and what they will give you is a rubber arm with a hook at the end that opens and closes," he said.
Ling said the technology being developed through DARPA will have a broad impact, improving the lives of wounded warriors and all other amputees as well.
"Amputees everywhere in the country and possibly the world are going to benefit from this," he said. "This is not a secret government program. We have been as transparent as you can possibly be. We plan on sharing this with the world. Out of the tragedy of war comes an opportunity for a lot of people."
Ling said it's exciting to be a part of developing such cutting-edge technology.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing to see. It will blow your socks off," he said. "We are really shooting for the stars, and actually achieving it is amazing."
Adding to that excitement, he said, is knowing that the effort is helping wounded warfighters return to a normal life.
"I don't think any of us could have a better way of spending our time than being able to provide care and comfort to the most deserving Americans anyone could find," he said. "For me, it's a tremendous honor."
Entry sponsored by Police Books.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 15, 2008 - A Defense Department program is tapping into the realm of science fiction to develop life-like, functional prosthetic devices for wounded combat troops so they can go on to live normal lives. Army Col. Geoff Ling, manager of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Revolutionizing Prosthetics programs, said the agency is making tremendous headway in advancing technology considered unimaginable just a few years ago.
DARPA's initial prosthetics program, Revolutionizing Prosthetics 2007, "has done remarkably well" and is generating excitement among other federal agency heads that could someday lead to full-scale production, Ling said.
Researchers at DEKA Research and Development Corp. in Manchester, N.H., have developed what Ling calls a "strap-and-go-arm" that users activate with the flick of a switch.
"All you have to do is strap it on, and you're ready to go," he said. "It requires no surgery or any of that stuff. All you do is literally wake up in the morning and put it on like you could a jacket, and you just go."
Three volunteers in the test program reported strong acceptance for the device that comes in three models: one for amputees who have lost a complete arm and others for those with amputations above and below the elbow.
"These arms are working just beyond anyone's wildest imagination," Ling said, barely able to contain his enthusiasm.
Embedded electronics enable users to activate a switch, either with a foot or their chin, to activate it. By flicking the switch, they can cycle through five different gripping actions to match the task at hand, whether it's using a pen, picking up a key, lifting a coffee cup or using a power drill.
"It's very easy to master," Ling said. "Guys who have it will tell you they can master the use of the arm in an hour or two."
All were able to "perform remarkably" with the device, he said. One tester who lost his arm at the shoulder was able to field strip and reassemble an M-16 rifle using the prosthesis. An above-the-elbow amputee was able to grab a root beer bottle off a shelf, open it with a bottle opener and drink it. Another, who lost both hands in combat, reported he now feels able to take on a civilian job.
"When you watch it, you realize that what we have provided is not so much an arm, but really a functionality and a return to life," Ling said. "This is exactly what we had hoped for. It's tremendously gratifying."
The Department of Veterans Affairs, National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration have all shown interest in the program and are expected to join forces with the Defense Department in the months ahead to move it forward. "This is the government coming together, making things right for the right people," Ling said.
Getting a governmental agreement in place will be a big step forward to getting the devices mass-produced so they're available for wounded troops, veterans and ultimately, anyone else who might need them, he said.
As this effort advances, DARPA is pushing forward its even more ambitious Revolutionizing Prosthetics 2009 program that will enable a user to control the prosthesis through thought. The limb, as envisioned, would enable users to move as they normally do, without having to think about the actual process to make it happen.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore are exploring this technology, and Ling said he hopes to see a contract moving the project into its second phase finalized in the coming months.
The device connects directly into the peripheral and central nervous system so users can operate it naturally, just as they move their biological arm. "It will look as natural and smooth as you possibly can imagine, because it will be controlled directly by your nervous system," Ling said. "When you think about moving your arm to reach out and grab a coffee cup, that's exactly what you will do."
The prosthetic will provide capabilities even beyond what the DEKA prosthesis delivers, even enabling people to play the piano, he said. "I don't necessarily expect users to play at the level of Tchaikovsky, but it will be a clear improvement, even over the DEKA arm," he said. "And the DEKA arm is clearly a dramatic improvement over what's available today.
"DARPA is pushing the future," he said.
DARPA's prosthetics programs represents the largest pool of funding for prosthetics in at least a decade in a field that advanced at a snail's pace for centuries. "If you look at the history of prosthetics, especially in the upper arm, it's been incredibly slow," Ling said.
The metal hook, introduced in the 1600s, didn't get its first major upgrade until the 1900s, when new technology enabled the hook to open and close, he said. "Today, you can go to the finest hospitals in the land, and what they will give you is a rubber arm with a hook at the end that opens and closes," he said.
Ling said the technology being developed through DARPA will have a broad impact, improving the lives of wounded warriors and all other amputees as well.
"Amputees everywhere in the country and possibly the world are going to benefit from this," he said. "This is not a secret government program. We have been as transparent as you can possibly be. We plan on sharing this with the world. Out of the tragedy of war comes an opportunity for a lot of people."
Ling said it's exciting to be a part of developing such cutting-edge technology.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing to see. It will blow your socks off," he said. "We are really shooting for the stars, and actually achieving it is amazing."
Adding to that excitement, he said, is knowing that the effort is helping wounded warfighters return to a normal life.
"I don't think any of us could have a better way of spending our time than being able to provide care and comfort to the most deserving Americans anyone could find," he said. "For me, it's a tremendous honor."
Entry sponsored by Police Books.
Friday, February 15, 2008
MILITARY CONTRACTS
Missile Defense Agency
Raytheon Missile Systems of Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $1,015,601,310 cost-plus-incentive-fee sole source contract modification to manufacture seventy-five (75) Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) block IA for the United States, and twenty-seven (27) SM-3 Foreign Military Sales Block IA missiles in support of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. The principle place of performance is Tucson, Ariz. Work will also be performed in Elkton, Md., by a major subcontractor, Alliant Techsystems, Incorporated and is expected to be complete by Feb. 2012. The FY 07 research and development contract funds will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C. is the contracting activity (N00024-07-C-6119). FY 07 research and development and Japanese Foreign Military Sales funds will be used for the initial funding. The contract modification will be incrementally funded and at award will obligate $92,790,383 ($85.9M FMS and $6.9 FY 07).
NAVY
Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $13,171,418 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-07-C-0008) to provide FY 2008 technical support for Lot 8 production AIM-9X Tactical Missiles for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force. This modification combines purchases for the U.S. Navy ($8,672,933; 66 percent) and the U.S. Air Force ($4,498,485; 34 percent). Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., (90 percent), Eglin Air Force Base, Eglin, Fla., (5 percent); and the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in Nov. 2008. Contract funds in the amount of $11,028,637 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
EG&G Technical Services, Inc., Dumfries, Va., was awarded $11,267,986 for task order #0060 under previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (M67854-02-A-9016) to provide on-going acquisition and technical support to the Joint Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle Program (JMVP). This includes contractor support directly to the Joint Program Manager (JPM), product and functional team leaders and their deputies. This effort will include comprehensive Joint Program Management services for all MRAP vehicles and systems; systems engineering; production, test and evaluation, integration, transportation, logistics and acquisition management support. Key events include expedited testing, integration, fielding, and training for MRAP vehicles; concurrent integration of system and component improvements to both MRAP and related low density vehicles and comprehensive assessments, selection, and fielding of other Improvised Explosive Device countermeasure equipment, all in response to Urgent Universal Needs Statements (UUNS) generated by the Operating Forces (OPFORs). The Secretary of Defense designated the JMVP the highest priority DoD acquisition program. The program requires a highly competent and agile program management structure to respond to a myriad of urgent and priority requests for information and action. The program has transitioned from a component rapid deployment capability to an ACAT ID program that is currently producing, fielding, upgrading and sustaining life-saving vehicles for Warfighters. Work will be performed in Stafford, Va., and work is expected to be completed in Feb. 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Portsmouth, R.I., is being awarded a $ 7,733,484 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-03-C-6310 for three Low Rate Initial Production units of the Airborne Mine Neutralization System (AMNS). The purpose of the AMNS is to reacquire and neutralize mines after detection. The AMNS will be employed by the MH-60S helicopter to explosively neutralize unburied bottom, close tethered and moored sea mines that are impractical or unsafe to counter using existing minesweeping/mine neutralization techniques. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, R.I., (56 percent); Waterlooville, United Kingdom (23 percent); Claremont, N.H., (11 percent); Windber, Pa., (5 percent); West Wareham, Mass., (3 percent); Biddford, Maine (1%), and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (1 percent) and is expected to be completed by Nov. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
United Technologies, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a maximum $119,524,002.22 firm fixed price, indefinite quantity contract for engines. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Navy and Air Force. There were originally two proposals solicited with one response. This modification is to exercise the fourth option period of a ten year contract with a three-year base period and seven one-year option periods. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Date of performance completion is Feb. 15, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR), Richmond, Va., (SPM400-01-D-9405).
Tennier Industries, Pamona, N.Y., is being awarded a maximum $28,703,000.00 firm fixed price, total set aside contract for parkas and trousers. Other location of performance is Tenn. Using service is Air Force. This proposal was originally solicited on Dibbs with five responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Date of performance completion is Feb. 14, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa.
Metals USA i-Solutions, Fort Washington, Pa., is being awarded a maximum $22,300,000.00 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity, tailored vendor relationship contract for metals and metal products. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Federal Civilian Agencies. There were originally 63 proposals solicited with three responses. This is a five year contract with three one-year options. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Date of performance completion is Dec. 6, 2008. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM500-06-D-BP17).
Metals USA i-Solutions, Fort Washington, Pa., is being awarded a maximum $15,500,000.00 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity, tailored vendor relationship contract for metals and metal products. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Federal Civilian Agencies. There were originally 63 proposals solicited with three responses. This is a fire year contract with three one-year options. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Date of performance completion is Nov. 16, 2008. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM500-06-D-BP16).
Mobile Energy Products, Inc., Colorado Springs, Colo., is being awarded a maximum $5,039,807.43 firm fixed price, indefinite quantity contract for batteries. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Army. There were originally five proposals solicited with one response. This contract consists of a two-year base with three one-year option periods. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Date of performance completion is Feb. 14, 2010. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Richmond, Richmond, Va. (SPM4LG-08-D-0005).
AIR FORCE
Rockwell Collins, Inc., of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is being awarded a contract modification for $116,467,023. This action exercises production options for the purchase of 52,039 Defense Advanced GPS Receivers (DAGRs) and accessories. The DAGR will provide authorized Department of Defense and Foreign Military Sales users of GPS User Equipment a Precise Positioning System, hand-held, dual-frequency (L1/L2), lightweight receiver (less than one pound) that incorporates the next generation, tamper-resistant GPS "SAASM" (Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module) security module. The DAGR will serve as a replacement for the Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver in integrated platforms as well as for the advanced and basic GPS user. At this time all funds have been obligated. GPSW/PK, El Segundo Calif., is the contracting activity (F04701-02-C-0011; Modification P00059).
The Boeing Co., of Anaheim, Calif., is being awarded a contract modification for $49,780,000. This undefinitized contract action to incorporate Engineering Change Proposal 0034, New Platform Requirements and Advanced EHF System Interface Changes, into the Family of Advanced Beyond-Line-of-Sight Terminals. At this time $17,000,000 has been obligated. 653 ELSG/PKX, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (F19628-02-C-0048/P00138).
DeCA
Raymond Express International, 320 Harbor Way, San Francisco, CA., 94080-6900 is being awarded an indefinite delivery, requirements type contract on Feb. 14, 2008, to provide as needed, fresh fruits and vegetables for resale at 29 commissary store locations throughout South Korea, Guam, and Japan/Okinawa. The estimated award amount is $26,284,506. The contract is for a two year base period beginning Apr. 1, 2008, through Mar. 31, 2010. Two one-year option periods are available. If both option periods are exercised, the contract will be completed Mar. 31, 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Sixty-seven firms were solicited and seven offers were received. The contracting activity is the Defense Commissary Agency, Resale Contracting Division, Produce Support Branch, 1300 E Avenue, Fort Lee, VA 23801-1800. (HDEC02-08-D-0001)
America Supports You: Postal Service Offers Discount
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 14, 2008 - Military families have long used the U.S. Postal Service's flat-rate shipping boxes to send care packages around the globe. Beginning March 3, they'll get a price break. The discount applies only to the new "Priority Mail Large Flat-Rate Box," which normally carries a $12.95 price tag for shipping. However, when the 12-by-12-by-5.5-inch box is sent to an AFO or FPO address, a $2 discount applies, dropping the cost to $10.95.
"This is the first time the Postal Service has offered a special price for our armed forces serving overseas," said Postmaster General John Potter. "We're proud that family and friends will be able to use the new, larger-sized box to send much-appreciated packages from home to our dedicated troops overseas."
The new boxes will be available in post offices nationwide on March 3. Those who can't wait to start packing the boxes, however, can order them from www.usps.com/supplies beginning Feb. 20. They're also available by calling 1-800-610-8734.
Some of the new boxes carry the America Supports You logo. America Supports You is a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
"It's terrific that the Postal Service continues to think of ways to help Americans support our troops and their families," said Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communication, community relations and public liaison. "Postage is always a concern when shipping care packages, and this new flat-rate box means our home-front groups and supportive citizens can do more with their resources.
"We're especially pleased that some of the boxes will bear the America Supports You logo, reminding our servicemembers that they have our nation's support," she added.
The boxes bearing the America Supports You logo will be available only online or at select post offices near military bases. All flat-rate boxes are available for international shipping, though the discount applies only to the large flat-rate box, and only if it's being shipped to an APO or FPO address.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 14, 2008 - Military families have long used the U.S. Postal Service's flat-rate shipping boxes to send care packages around the globe. Beginning March 3, they'll get a price break. The discount applies only to the new "Priority Mail Large Flat-Rate Box," which normally carries a $12.95 price tag for shipping. However, when the 12-by-12-by-5.5-inch box is sent to an AFO or FPO address, a $2 discount applies, dropping the cost to $10.95.
"This is the first time the Postal Service has offered a special price for our armed forces serving overseas," said Postmaster General John Potter. "We're proud that family and friends will be able to use the new, larger-sized box to send much-appreciated packages from home to our dedicated troops overseas."
The new boxes will be available in post offices nationwide on March 3. Those who can't wait to start packing the boxes, however, can order them from www.usps.com/supplies beginning Feb. 20. They're also available by calling 1-800-610-8734.
Some of the new boxes carry the America Supports You logo. America Supports You is a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
"It's terrific that the Postal Service continues to think of ways to help Americans support our troops and their families," said Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communication, community relations and public liaison. "Postage is always a concern when shipping care packages, and this new flat-rate box means our home-front groups and supportive citizens can do more with their resources.
"We're especially pleased that some of the boxes will bear the America Supports You logo, reminding our servicemembers that they have our nation's support," she added.
The boxes bearing the America Supports You logo will be available only online or at select post offices near military bases. All flat-rate boxes are available for international shipping, though the discount applies only to the large flat-rate box, and only if it's being shipped to an APO or FPO address.
DoD To Engage Decaying Satellite
An uncontrollable U.S. experimental satellite which was launched in December 2006 is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere between the end of February and early March. Because the satellite was never operational, analysis indicate that approximately 2,500 pounds (1134 kgs) of satellite mass will survive reentry, including 1,000 pounds (453 kgs) of propellant fuel (hydrazine), a hazardous material.
Although the chances of an impact in a populated area are small, the potential consequences would be of enough concern to consider mitigating actions. Therefore, the President has decided to take action to mitigate the risk to human lives by engaging the non-functioning satellite. Because our missile defense system is not designed to engage satellites, extraordinary measures have been taken to temporarily modify three sea-based tactical missiles and three ships to carry out the engagement.
Based on modeling and analysis, our officials have high confidence that the engagement will be successful. As for when this engagement will occur, we will determine the optimal time, location, and geometry for a successful engagement based on a number of factors. As the satellite's path continues to decay, there will be a window of opportunity between late February and early March to conduct this engagement. The decision to engage the satellite has to be made before a precise prediction of impact location is available.
Contact with hydrazine is hazardous. Direct contact with skin or eyes, ingestion or inhalations from hydrazine released from the tank upon impact could result in immediate danger. If this operation is successful, the hydrazine will then no longer pose a risk to humans.
The U.S. government has been and continues to track and monitor this satellite. Various government agencies are planning for the reentry of the satellite. In the event the engagement is not successful, all appropriate elements of the U.S. Government are working together to explore options to mitigate the danger to humans and to ensure that all parties are properly prepared to respond. In the unlikely event satellite pieces land in a populated area, people are strongly advised to avoid the impact area until trained hazardous materials (HAZMAT) teams are able to properly dispose of any remaining hydrazine.
Although the chances of an impact in a populated area are small, the potential consequences would be of enough concern to consider mitigating actions. Therefore, the President has decided to take action to mitigate the risk to human lives by engaging the non-functioning satellite. Because our missile defense system is not designed to engage satellites, extraordinary measures have been taken to temporarily modify three sea-based tactical missiles and three ships to carry out the engagement.
Based on modeling and analysis, our officials have high confidence that the engagement will be successful. As for when this engagement will occur, we will determine the optimal time, location, and geometry for a successful engagement based on a number of factors. As the satellite's path continues to decay, there will be a window of opportunity between late February and early March to conduct this engagement. The decision to engage the satellite has to be made before a precise prediction of impact location is available.
Contact with hydrazine is hazardous. Direct contact with skin or eyes, ingestion or inhalations from hydrazine released from the tank upon impact could result in immediate danger. If this operation is successful, the hydrazine will then no longer pose a risk to humans.
The U.S. government has been and continues to track and monitor this satellite. Various government agencies are planning for the reentry of the satellite. In the event the engagement is not successful, all appropriate elements of the U.S. Government are working together to explore options to mitigate the danger to humans and to ensure that all parties are properly prepared to respond. In the unlikely event satellite pieces land in a populated area, people are strongly advised to avoid the impact area until trained hazardous materials (HAZMAT) teams are able to properly dispose of any remaining hydrazine.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Marines Sign Up for Mission, Mystique, General Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 14, 2008 - The Marine Corps' mission and mystique continue to attract high-quality recruits who join up to fight America's enemies, that service's senior officer said here today. All of the military services continue to meet their recruiting quotas. Yet, while some services offer recruiting bonuses or other monetary enticements, the Marines' warrior image is the key factor that convinces sufficient numbers of young people to enlist in the Corps, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway said at a breakfast event hosted by Government Executive Magazine at the National Press Club.
"Our theme is that you are going to be a Marine if you get through training successfully," Conway explained. "You are going to fight for your country; you should not have any doubt about that."
The Marines are to add about 5,000 additional recruits each year as part of efforts over the next several years to bring up the service's total active-duty strength to around 202,000 members, Conway said. Last year, he noted, the Corps signed up 7,000 of these additional enlistees.
Asked about other services' practices of paying bonuses to attract recruits, Conway responded that the Marines "purposely are not doing it."
Recruiters in the field tell him bonuses aren't necessary to attract good recruits, Conway explained. In fact, he added, recruiters also said they tell prospects who want a signing bonus to inquire at the other military services.
The general said his staff noncommissioned officers are adamant in the advice they give him on the subject. They say, "Please Sir, don't start throwing money at people. One, we can't compete. And secondly, that's not the kind of individual we're looking for," the Marine Corps commandant said.
The general praised the Marines' sister services and emphasized that he wasn't disparaging their important contributions to the nation's defense.
It's just that the Marine Corps is different, he said.
Joining the Marines is a way of life and "an emblem" of duty to country, Conway said. The Marine Corp's fighting ability and its unique eagle, globe and anchor insignia are known worldwide.
A person who joins the Marines is required to provide an intense level of dedication to the Corps, Conway pointed out. In return, the Marine Corps strives to take good care of its members. For example, a Conway-championed initiative now provides the free-of-charge issue of the Corp's distinctive dress uniform to recruits at boot camp. Previously, Marines had to pay for the expensive uniform out of their own pockets.
Although recruiting bonuses aren't part of his service's lexicon, the Marines "are paying large amounts of money to keep people" in the Corps, Conway pointed out.
"Once we get a Marine in (and) we get to know him or her and like them, our re-enlistment bonuses probably compete with anybody's," the general said.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 14, 2008 - The Marine Corps' mission and mystique continue to attract high-quality recruits who join up to fight America's enemies, that service's senior officer said here today. All of the military services continue to meet their recruiting quotas. Yet, while some services offer recruiting bonuses or other monetary enticements, the Marines' warrior image is the key factor that convinces sufficient numbers of young people to enlist in the Corps, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway said at a breakfast event hosted by Government Executive Magazine at the National Press Club.
"Our theme is that you are going to be a Marine if you get through training successfully," Conway explained. "You are going to fight for your country; you should not have any doubt about that."
The Marines are to add about 5,000 additional recruits each year as part of efforts over the next several years to bring up the service's total active-duty strength to around 202,000 members, Conway said. Last year, he noted, the Corps signed up 7,000 of these additional enlistees.
Asked about other services' practices of paying bonuses to attract recruits, Conway responded that the Marines "purposely are not doing it."
Recruiters in the field tell him bonuses aren't necessary to attract good recruits, Conway explained. In fact, he added, recruiters also said they tell prospects who want a signing bonus to inquire at the other military services.
The general said his staff noncommissioned officers are adamant in the advice they give him on the subject. They say, "Please Sir, don't start throwing money at people. One, we can't compete. And secondly, that's not the kind of individual we're looking for," the Marine Corps commandant said.
The general praised the Marines' sister services and emphasized that he wasn't disparaging their important contributions to the nation's defense.
It's just that the Marine Corps is different, he said.
Joining the Marines is a way of life and "an emblem" of duty to country, Conway said. The Marine Corp's fighting ability and its unique eagle, globe and anchor insignia are known worldwide.
A person who joins the Marines is required to provide an intense level of dedication to the Corps, Conway pointed out. In return, the Marine Corps strives to take good care of its members. For example, a Conway-championed initiative now provides the free-of-charge issue of the Corp's distinctive dress uniform to recruits at boot camp. Previously, Marines had to pay for the expensive uniform out of their own pockets.
Although recruiting bonuses aren't part of his service's lexicon, the Marines "are paying large amounts of money to keep people" in the Corps, Conway pointed out.
"Once we get a Marine in (and) we get to know him or her and like them, our re-enlistment bonuses probably compete with anybody's," the general said.
Face of Defense: Sergeant Faces New 'Normal' After Injury
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 13, 2008 - "Normal" is a relative term, and for one former North Carolina Army National Guard sergeant, it's distinctly different today from what it was in 2004. On Nov. 15 of that year, Army Sgt. Andrew Butterworth was serving in Iraq. After patrolling in the northeastern part of the country, he and members of his unit were heading home.
"They were waiting for us," he said. "(We) had an RPG, a rocket-propelled grenade, hit our Bradley (fighting vehicle). It went right through the turret."
While the grenade caused some severe injuries, it could have been worse. Of the nine soldiers in the vehicle, Butterworth and his lieutenant were the only two seriously injured.
"I lost my right leg, and my lieutenant lost his left leg," he said. "Nobody was killed, except (the insurgents)."
Both Butterworth and his lieutenant got to Walter Reed Army Medical Center shortly after their injuries occurred. Their stays were short-lived, though.
"As far as I know, and unless somebody tells me different, I think we got out of there the fastest of all the amputees there," he said. "They were telling my family that I'd probably be there for six to eight months to a year or more."
But after only three and a half months, with the help of a cane, Butterworth walked out of Walter Reed on his good leg and a new prosthetic. The amazing progress was the result of friendly competition between Butterworth, also known as "Butter," and his lieutenant.
"It was who could do what first," he said. "That really helped both of us out."
On April 1, 2006, Butterworth was officially medically retired and began to embrace his new version of normal by attending a winter sports clinic in Aspen, Colo. During that trip he decided that life may be different, but he wouldn't let his injury shape the future.
"I threw the cane away and started waling without it," he said. "I knew if I didn't start walking without it, I never would, so I just got rid of it."
With that act, Butterworth began to make good on a promise he made. When he first saw his family after the injury, he told them he wasn't going to let it slow him down.
"I guess it's just the way I was raised," he said. "It was just something else for me to learn how to do.
"I just kind of took it in stride, no pun intended," he chuckled.
Butterworth, who used to do electrical work for a living, now works as the Wounded Warrior Project's benefits liaison for the southeast region of the country. The job means a lot of time on the road and away from Bonzo, the orange tabby cat he said helps him keep his sanity, but he calls it his dream job.
The former soldier has a couple other dreams as well: a family and a college education.
He's already learned some important lessons not taught in a classroom, including the fact that there are two types of amputees: "those that have fallen and those that are about to."
And he's taught a few along the way.
"(Wounded warriors) aren't done. There's nothing that they can't do," Butterworth said. "You just have to meet it head-on and take it for what it is and see it as a new challenge."
This shouldn't be anything new for servicemembers, he said.
"We've always got hard things to do, physically and mentally, emotionally," he said. "There's no reason to complain. We all have our days."
Some of those days leave him feeling like a 70-year-old man, he said. Some days that feeling wins out, and he can stay in bed. More often than not, though, he feels pretty good and enjoys some of his favorite activities, including hiking, camping, skiing and riding his motorcycle.
"People are like, 'You still ride a motorcycle? You're missing a leg,'" he said. "So what? Physically, I guess you would think I'm somewhat normal, besides the fact that I'm missing a leg.
"At some point you're going to be just as 'normal' as anybody else," he added.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 13, 2008 - "Normal" is a relative term, and for one former North Carolina Army National Guard sergeant, it's distinctly different today from what it was in 2004. On Nov. 15 of that year, Army Sgt. Andrew Butterworth was serving in Iraq. After patrolling in the northeastern part of the country, he and members of his unit were heading home.
"They were waiting for us," he said. "(We) had an RPG, a rocket-propelled grenade, hit our Bradley (fighting vehicle). It went right through the turret."
While the grenade caused some severe injuries, it could have been worse. Of the nine soldiers in the vehicle, Butterworth and his lieutenant were the only two seriously injured.
"I lost my right leg, and my lieutenant lost his left leg," he said. "Nobody was killed, except (the insurgents)."
Both Butterworth and his lieutenant got to Walter Reed Army Medical Center shortly after their injuries occurred. Their stays were short-lived, though.
"As far as I know, and unless somebody tells me different, I think we got out of there the fastest of all the amputees there," he said. "They were telling my family that I'd probably be there for six to eight months to a year or more."
But after only three and a half months, with the help of a cane, Butterworth walked out of Walter Reed on his good leg and a new prosthetic. The amazing progress was the result of friendly competition between Butterworth, also known as "Butter," and his lieutenant.
"It was who could do what first," he said. "That really helped both of us out."
On April 1, 2006, Butterworth was officially medically retired and began to embrace his new version of normal by attending a winter sports clinic in Aspen, Colo. During that trip he decided that life may be different, but he wouldn't let his injury shape the future.
"I threw the cane away and started waling without it," he said. "I knew if I didn't start walking without it, I never would, so I just got rid of it."
With that act, Butterworth began to make good on a promise he made. When he first saw his family after the injury, he told them he wasn't going to let it slow him down.
"I guess it's just the way I was raised," he said. "It was just something else for me to learn how to do.
"I just kind of took it in stride, no pun intended," he chuckled.
Butterworth, who used to do electrical work for a living, now works as the Wounded Warrior Project's benefits liaison for the southeast region of the country. The job means a lot of time on the road and away from Bonzo, the orange tabby cat he said helps him keep his sanity, but he calls it his dream job.
The former soldier has a couple other dreams as well: a family and a college education.
He's already learned some important lessons not taught in a classroom, including the fact that there are two types of amputees: "those that have fallen and those that are about to."
And he's taught a few along the way.
"(Wounded warriors) aren't done. There's nothing that they can't do," Butterworth said. "You just have to meet it head-on and take it for what it is and see it as a new challenge."
This shouldn't be anything new for servicemembers, he said.
"We've always got hard things to do, physically and mentally, emotionally," he said. "There's no reason to complain. We all have our days."
Some of those days leave him feeling like a 70-year-old man, he said. Some days that feeling wins out, and he can stay in bed. More often than not, though, he feels pretty good and enjoys some of his favorite activities, including hiking, camping, skiing and riding his motorcycle.
"People are like, 'You still ride a motorcycle? You're missing a leg,'" he said. "So what? Physically, I guess you would think I'm somewhat normal, besides the fact that I'm missing a leg.
"At some point you're going to be just as 'normal' as anybody else," he added.
America Supports You: Wounded Vets Connect With Resources
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 13, 2008 - Wounded servicemembers have a helping hand available when it comes to transitioning back into their communities. The VetConnect program is designed to "provide wounded warriors with a critical link to resources ... and to engage local community and business leaders in the reorientation of disabled veterans to their communities," Scott Heintz, the program's director, said.
The program is run by "Enable America," a non-profit group dedicated to increasing employment opportunities for Americans with disabilities.
VetConnect also offers early intervention support by matching wounded warriors with casualty mentors and coordinating their participation in wellness activities, he said. This program has been expanded to wounded special operations troops through the Care Coalition Recovery Pilot Program. The program, similar to VetConnect's mentoring program, was developed and implemented with the help of U.S. Special Operations Command.
"The objective of the pilot program is to improve the recovery outcome of special operations forces wounded warriors through the early introduction of casualty mentors and wellness activities designed to boost wounded warriors' confidence and self-esteem," Heintz said.
The mentors, wounded warriors themselves, are matched with a newly wounded warrior and trained to provide support and guidance throughout and beyond the recovery process. The matches are made based on similarity of injures, unit affiliations and family situations.
"Mentors offer valuable insight and counsel from the perspective of someone who has successfully navigated similar physical and emotional challenges," Heintz said. "Spouses and family members of wounded (special operations force members) also serve as mentors and provide guidance to their counterparts."
When servicemembers and their family members are ready to try Enable America's wellness activities, the organization will help them find the right one. All of the activities -- camping, skiing, yoga and photography, to name a few -- are offered through organizations that are able to accommodate the participant's needs.
"As their recovery progresses, Enable America provides wounded warriors and their families with access to a comprehensive network of community and employment resources," Heintz said. "The final component of the program is that of providing the wounded warrior with an employment resource network that will (offer) them meaningful and challenging work that is commensurate with their unique skill sets."
Enable America recently became a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving and home and abroad.
"(America Supports You) provides us with the opportunity to network with other supporting organizations as well as to increase our exposure to those who would benefit from our services," Heintz said.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 13, 2008 - Wounded servicemembers have a helping hand available when it comes to transitioning back into their communities. The VetConnect program is designed to "provide wounded warriors with a critical link to resources ... and to engage local community and business leaders in the reorientation of disabled veterans to their communities," Scott Heintz, the program's director, said.
The program is run by "Enable America," a non-profit group dedicated to increasing employment opportunities for Americans with disabilities.
VetConnect also offers early intervention support by matching wounded warriors with casualty mentors and coordinating their participation in wellness activities, he said. This program has been expanded to wounded special operations troops through the Care Coalition Recovery Pilot Program. The program, similar to VetConnect's mentoring program, was developed and implemented with the help of U.S. Special Operations Command.
"The objective of the pilot program is to improve the recovery outcome of special operations forces wounded warriors through the early introduction of casualty mentors and wellness activities designed to boost wounded warriors' confidence and self-esteem," Heintz said.
The mentors, wounded warriors themselves, are matched with a newly wounded warrior and trained to provide support and guidance throughout and beyond the recovery process. The matches are made based on similarity of injures, unit affiliations and family situations.
"Mentors offer valuable insight and counsel from the perspective of someone who has successfully navigated similar physical and emotional challenges," Heintz said. "Spouses and family members of wounded (special operations force members) also serve as mentors and provide guidance to their counterparts."
When servicemembers and their family members are ready to try Enable America's wellness activities, the organization will help them find the right one. All of the activities -- camping, skiing, yoga and photography, to name a few -- are offered through organizations that are able to accommodate the participant's needs.
"As their recovery progresses, Enable America provides wounded warriors and their families with access to a comprehensive network of community and employment resources," Heintz said. "The final component of the program is that of providing the wounded warrior with an employment resource network that will (offer) them meaningful and challenging work that is commensurate with their unique skill sets."
Enable America recently became a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving and home and abroad.
"(America Supports You) provides us with the opportunity to network with other supporting organizations as well as to increase our exposure to those who would benefit from our services," Heintz said.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Pentagon Officials Press Congress to Pass Defense Budget
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 13, 2008 - Top Pentagon officials today urged Congress to approve a fiscal 2009 defense budget that would grow and modernize the U.S. military, and enhance servicemembers' quality of life. The $491 billion budget presented to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense allocates about $179 billion to maintain the 2.2 million-member armed forces and increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps. It also dedicates $183.8 billion to modernizing U.S. forces and about $150 billion to fund troops' health care and other benefits.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the budget request reflects a strategic landscape being threatened by terrorism, extremism and violent jihadism. Additional challenges, he said, include tribal conflicts, the proliferation of weapons, failed states and other destabilizing factors.
"In light of this strategic environment, we must make the choices and investments necessary to protect the security, prosperity and freedom of Americans for today and for future generations," Gates said in opening remarks.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England read the prepared remarks on behalf of Gates, who was unable to attend the hearing for medical reasons.
Gates' statement said the total budget request, which marks a $35.9 billion increase over fiscal 2008 funding, accounts for about 4 percent of the United States' gross domestic product, the total market value produced by goods and services in a fiscal year. By comparison, defense spending during the Korean War accounted for 14 percent of the GDP, and 9 percent during the Vietnam War, he said.
The fiscal 2009 budget provides $15.5 billion to increase the active-duty Army to 532,400 soldiers, which includes an increase of 7,000 over the fiscal 2008 request. The Army also will increase the number of active brigade combat teams from 40 to 42, toward a goal of 48.
Similarly, the budget provides $5 billion to increase Marine Corps strength to 194,000, which includes an increase of 5,000 Marines over the fiscal 2008 request. To achieve three balanced expeditionary units, and to increase time at home between deployments, the Corps plans to increase end strength by a total of 27,000, to 202,000, by fiscal 2011.
To meet future threats, the budget requests $183.8 billion in modernization, research and development -- an $8.3 billion, or 4.7 percent, increase over fiscal 2008. Funding would maintain and strengthen joint ground capabilities, continue development of the Army's Future Combat System, boost joint maritime efficiency and bolster joint air capabilities. Among other programs, appropriations would subsidize space-based and information technology systems.
The budget emphasizes the quality of life for armed forces personnel and families, including a 3.4 percent military pay raise. With a fiscal year increase of nearly $10 billion, the budget includes improvements in health care and housing.
In addition to a $515.4 billion overall request in discretionary authorization, the Defense Department is requesting a separate $70 billion for funding the global war on terrorism, including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also appeared before the subcommittee. Mullen said the U.S. armed forces remains the most powerful and capable military that exists today, but conceded that "that power is not assured for tomorrow."
To maintain U.S. military power, Mullen said, the budget includes $6.5 billion to develop, test and produce 16 additional F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft, and $3.4 billion to procure 20 stealth F-22 Raptor aircraft. It also allocates money for building the next-generation aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer, and increases spending on the missile defense program and the new U.S. Africa Command, he noted.
Mullen said the Defense Department should take pride in the absence of "big surprises" in the budget.
"It says to me that we looked pragmatically at all of our requirements; we did our homework," he said. "And from a fiscal perspective, (it says) we have a good handle on where we want to go."
Mullen said that during a recent hearing at the House Armed Services Committee, he told congressional members that U.S. operations in Iraq are going well, as indicated by decreased levels of violence and increased commerce. Al Qaeda is on the run, he said, and Iraqi politics are beginning to make progress.
The chairman attributed the successes to the troop surge that began last year and to improved counterinsurgency implementation. He also credited Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker for their leadership and results.
"(But) as both men have made clear: progress is tenuous and must be very carefully watched," Mullen said.
To ensure operational progress, and to fund programs designed to mitigate stress on troops and their families, Mullen urged the committee to appropriate the remaining $102.5 billion of the fiscal 2008 global war on terrorism supplemental funding request.
In his remarks, Gates said the delay in the supplemental funding bill is degrading the Defense Department's ability to operate and sustain the force at home and in theater and is making it difficult to manage the department in a "fiscally sound" way.
"The Department of Defense is like the world's biggest supertanker: it cannot be steered like a skiff," he said. "I urge approval of the fiscal 2008 (global war on terrorism) request as quickly as possible."
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 13, 2008 - Top Pentagon officials today urged Congress to approve a fiscal 2009 defense budget that would grow and modernize the U.S. military, and enhance servicemembers' quality of life. The $491 billion budget presented to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense allocates about $179 billion to maintain the 2.2 million-member armed forces and increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps. It also dedicates $183.8 billion to modernizing U.S. forces and about $150 billion to fund troops' health care and other benefits.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the budget request reflects a strategic landscape being threatened by terrorism, extremism and violent jihadism. Additional challenges, he said, include tribal conflicts, the proliferation of weapons, failed states and other destabilizing factors.
"In light of this strategic environment, we must make the choices and investments necessary to protect the security, prosperity and freedom of Americans for today and for future generations," Gates said in opening remarks.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England read the prepared remarks on behalf of Gates, who was unable to attend the hearing for medical reasons.
Gates' statement said the total budget request, which marks a $35.9 billion increase over fiscal 2008 funding, accounts for about 4 percent of the United States' gross domestic product, the total market value produced by goods and services in a fiscal year. By comparison, defense spending during the Korean War accounted for 14 percent of the GDP, and 9 percent during the Vietnam War, he said.
The fiscal 2009 budget provides $15.5 billion to increase the active-duty Army to 532,400 soldiers, which includes an increase of 7,000 over the fiscal 2008 request. The Army also will increase the number of active brigade combat teams from 40 to 42, toward a goal of 48.
Similarly, the budget provides $5 billion to increase Marine Corps strength to 194,000, which includes an increase of 5,000 Marines over the fiscal 2008 request. To achieve three balanced expeditionary units, and to increase time at home between deployments, the Corps plans to increase end strength by a total of 27,000, to 202,000, by fiscal 2011.
To meet future threats, the budget requests $183.8 billion in modernization, research and development -- an $8.3 billion, or 4.7 percent, increase over fiscal 2008. Funding would maintain and strengthen joint ground capabilities, continue development of the Army's Future Combat System, boost joint maritime efficiency and bolster joint air capabilities. Among other programs, appropriations would subsidize space-based and information technology systems.
The budget emphasizes the quality of life for armed forces personnel and families, including a 3.4 percent military pay raise. With a fiscal year increase of nearly $10 billion, the budget includes improvements in health care and housing.
In addition to a $515.4 billion overall request in discretionary authorization, the Defense Department is requesting a separate $70 billion for funding the global war on terrorism, including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also appeared before the subcommittee. Mullen said the U.S. armed forces remains the most powerful and capable military that exists today, but conceded that "that power is not assured for tomorrow."
To maintain U.S. military power, Mullen said, the budget includes $6.5 billion to develop, test and produce 16 additional F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft, and $3.4 billion to procure 20 stealth F-22 Raptor aircraft. It also allocates money for building the next-generation aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer, and increases spending on the missile defense program and the new U.S. Africa Command, he noted.
Mullen said the Defense Department should take pride in the absence of "big surprises" in the budget.
"It says to me that we looked pragmatically at all of our requirements; we did our homework," he said. "And from a fiscal perspective, (it says) we have a good handle on where we want to go."
Mullen said that during a recent hearing at the House Armed Services Committee, he told congressional members that U.S. operations in Iraq are going well, as indicated by decreased levels of violence and increased commerce. Al Qaeda is on the run, he said, and Iraqi politics are beginning to make progress.
The chairman attributed the successes to the troop surge that began last year and to improved counterinsurgency implementation. He also credited Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker for their leadership and results.
"(But) as both men have made clear: progress is tenuous and must be very carefully watched," Mullen said.
To ensure operational progress, and to fund programs designed to mitigate stress on troops and their families, Mullen urged the committee to appropriate the remaining $102.5 billion of the fiscal 2008 global war on terrorism supplemental funding request.
In his remarks, Gates said the delay in the supplemental funding bill is degrading the Defense Department's ability to operate and sustain the force at home and in theater and is making it difficult to manage the department in a "fiscally sound" way.
"The Department of Defense is like the world's biggest supertanker: it cannot be steered like a skiff," he said. "I urge approval of the fiscal 2008 (global war on terrorism) request as quickly as possible."
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Market Fair Helps Baghdad Residents Plan for Economic Future
By Pfc. April Campbell, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 12, 2008 - In the late-morning sunlight, the crowd paid close attention to the speaker. He was one of them -- a home-grown leader. They heard this meeting would offer them benefits, and Fikrat Kareem, the neighborhood advisory council leader for Tunnis, was introducing the day's topic: their neighborhood economies.
An estimated 200 Iraqi residents from the Qahira, Suleikh and Tunnis neighborhoods in Baghdad's Adhamiya district began planning for the economic future of their areas by attending a Feb. 9 market fair in Suleikh.
Along with seminars providing business-management coaching, the event, coordinated through the combined efforts of Iraqi and coalition forces leaders in the area, also introduced these Iraqis to the concept of a market action committee. Such committees have proven successful in nearby neighborhoods within Adhamiya.
Army Col. Jeffery Bonner, a Fayetteville, Tenn., native who serves as an agricultural and commercial business-development officer with the local embedded provincial reconstruction team, is helping to implement the market action committee idea in neighborhoods throughout Adhamiya.
The idea behind the market action committee is "to get leaders (within) these specific areas to come together to form a council under the government of Iraq as a not-for-profit organization," Bonner explained.
As a nonprofit organization, the groups will be able to work with representatives from organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the colonel added.
Robert C. Dose, an agricultural market specialist with the USAID-sponsored Agribusiness Program, was present at the event.
"This area is on the edge of an agricultural production area and an urban area," Dose said. "We're here to provide new technology in areas such as food processing and packaging."
The ability of civilian representatives from such organizations to come to the area to work with Iraqi citizens is largely due to the improved level of security provided by the Iraqi security forces, citizen volunteers and Multinational Division Baghdad forces, he noted.
"This whole area has become permissive for us to work with the local leaders," Dose said. "Six months ago, we wouldn't have come here."
The market fair not only was a result, in large part, of better security, but also is a way to help ensure the area stays safe.
"In order to maintain the positive security momentum," Bonner said, "we have to have some vehicles to start bringing life back into the community and allow people the means of creating some personal revenue."
In addition to enabling USAID and representatives of other groups to work with the neighborhood business leaders, the market action committees also act as advocates from the business community to local governments.
Having an organization that can communicate with the local government about the forecast of different capitalization projects in the area is important when attempting to rebuild a neighborhood fixture such as the local marketplace, Bonner said.
It is important not to rebuild an entire market, he said, "only to find out that four months later, the local government is going to come and tear up the street and sidewalks to go put in water lines or gas lines."
Iraqis who attended the fair walked away with a sense of hope.
Muthier Salah Abidilkhalik, of Suleihk, said he attended the fair because he heard there would be projects to help his neighborhood people. The idea of the people working together to better the neighborhood economies will benefit the area now and also in the future, he said.
(Army Pfc. April Campbell serves in Multinational Division Baghdad with the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 12, 2008 - In the late-morning sunlight, the crowd paid close attention to the speaker. He was one of them -- a home-grown leader. They heard this meeting would offer them benefits, and Fikrat Kareem, the neighborhood advisory council leader for Tunnis, was introducing the day's topic: their neighborhood economies.
An estimated 200 Iraqi residents from the Qahira, Suleikh and Tunnis neighborhoods in Baghdad's Adhamiya district began planning for the economic future of their areas by attending a Feb. 9 market fair in Suleikh.
Along with seminars providing business-management coaching, the event, coordinated through the combined efforts of Iraqi and coalition forces leaders in the area, also introduced these Iraqis to the concept of a market action committee. Such committees have proven successful in nearby neighborhoods within Adhamiya.
Army Col. Jeffery Bonner, a Fayetteville, Tenn., native who serves as an agricultural and commercial business-development officer with the local embedded provincial reconstruction team, is helping to implement the market action committee idea in neighborhoods throughout Adhamiya.
The idea behind the market action committee is "to get leaders (within) these specific areas to come together to form a council under the government of Iraq as a not-for-profit organization," Bonner explained.
As a nonprofit organization, the groups will be able to work with representatives from organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the colonel added.
Robert C. Dose, an agricultural market specialist with the USAID-sponsored Agribusiness Program, was present at the event.
"This area is on the edge of an agricultural production area and an urban area," Dose said. "We're here to provide new technology in areas such as food processing and packaging."
The ability of civilian representatives from such organizations to come to the area to work with Iraqi citizens is largely due to the improved level of security provided by the Iraqi security forces, citizen volunteers and Multinational Division Baghdad forces, he noted.
"This whole area has become permissive for us to work with the local leaders," Dose said. "Six months ago, we wouldn't have come here."
The market fair not only was a result, in large part, of better security, but also is a way to help ensure the area stays safe.
"In order to maintain the positive security momentum," Bonner said, "we have to have some vehicles to start bringing life back into the community and allow people the means of creating some personal revenue."
In addition to enabling USAID and representatives of other groups to work with the neighborhood business leaders, the market action committees also act as advocates from the business community to local governments.
Having an organization that can communicate with the local government about the forecast of different capitalization projects in the area is important when attempting to rebuild a neighborhood fixture such as the local marketplace, Bonner said.
It is important not to rebuild an entire market, he said, "only to find out that four months later, the local government is going to come and tear up the street and sidewalks to go put in water lines or gas lines."
Iraqis who attended the fair walked away with a sense of hope.
Muthier Salah Abidilkhalik, of Suleihk, said he attended the fair because he heard there would be projects to help his neighborhood people. The idea of the people working together to better the neighborhood economies will benefit the area now and also in the future, he said.
(Army Pfc. April Campbell serves in Multinational Division Baghdad with the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)
African-Americans Have Legacy of Military Service, Sacrifice
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 12, 2008 - Since the birth of America, African Americans have been fighting and dying alongside their countrymen as the United States has struggled for freedom and peace at home and abroad. African American soldiers have fought in every war the United States has participated in, including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the current war on terror.
African Americans, both free and slaves, participated in all the conflicts in the early days of America. About 5,000 African-American soldiers fought for the U.S. in the American Revolutionary War. African Americans distinguished themselves in the Boston Massacre in 1770, the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775, the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, and throughout the Revolution.
In the Civil War, 180,000 African Americans made up 163 units of the Union Army, and many more served in the Union Navy. African-Americans were used mostly for labor by the Confederate forces, although in 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis signed a bill authorizing the enlistment of slaves.
African American soldiers proved themselves early in the war, such as in 1863, when the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers, commanded by Gen. James G. Blunt, ran into a strong Confederate force in what is now Oklahoma. After a two-hour bloody engagement, the Confederate soldiers retreated. The 1st Kansas, which had held the center of the Union line, advanced to within fifty paces of the Confederate line and exchanged fire for some 20 minutes until the Confederates broke and ran.
After the battle, Blunt wrote, "I never saw such fighting as was done by the negro regiment. ... The question that negroes will fight is settled; besides they make better solders in every respect than any troops I have ever had under my command."
Fifteen African American soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in the Civil War, and another seven African American sailors were honored for their heroism.
In 1866, federal legislation was passed that allowed African Americans to enlist in the regular Army, and by 1869, the Army had four all-African-American units: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry regiments. The two infantry regiments were established by consolidating four infantry regiments that had been formed earlier.
It was these African American units that fought in the Indian Wars of 1867-1891, the Spanish-American War in 1898, the Philippines Insurrection from 1899 to 1901, and Gen. John Pershing's punitive expedition into Mexico in 1916. These units were dubbed "Buffalo Soldiers" by the Indians they fought against. It is thought that this nickname was given out of respect for the African-Americans' fierce fighting ability and naturally curly hair. The term "Buffalo Soldiers" became a generic term for all African American soldiers for many years.
The first African American general officer in the U.S. Army was Benjamin O. Davis, of Washington, D.C. Davis entered the military on July 13, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, as a temporary first lieutenant of the 8th United States Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out on March 6, 1899, and on June 18, 1899, he enlisted as a private in Troop 1, 9th Cavalry, of the regular Army. He then served as corporal and squadron sergeant major, and on Feb. 2, 1901, he was commissioned a second lieutenant of cavalry in the regular Army.
Davis reached the rank of brigadier general on Oct. 25, 1940. He retired on July 31, 1941, and was recalled to active duty with the rank of brigadier general the following day. During his career, Davis served with the 9th and 10th Cavalry; was a professor of military science and tactics at Wilberforce University, Ohio, and Tuskegee, Ala.; served as a brigade commander in 2nd Cavalry Division; and served as an assistant to the inspector general in Washington, D.C.
Davis' son, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., was the fourth African-American graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and the nation's second African-American general officer.
Although the U.S. armed forces remained segregated throughout World War I, many African Americans volunteered and fought with U.S. forces. By the end of the war, more than 350,000 African-Americans had served in the conflict, 1,400 of whom were commissioned officers.
Many African American units were relegated to support roles during World War I, but several units did distinguish themselves in combat. One of the most famous units was the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the "Harlem Hellfighters," which was on the front lines for six months. One hundred seventy-one members of the 396th were awarded the Legion of Merit medal. Cpl. Freddie Stowers, of 371st Infantry Regiment, was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor in 1991, making him the only African-American to be so honored for actions in World War I. Stowers led an assault on German trenches in France and continued to lead his men even after being wounded twice.
In World War II, more than 2.5 million African-Americans registered for service, but only 1 million actually served. African American servicemembers served in Casablanca, Italy, the Aleutians, Northern Ireland, Liberia, New Guinea, the China-Burma-India theater, Guam, Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Saipan, Okinawa, Peleliu, Australia, France, and England.
It was during World War II that the famed Tuskegee Airmen served. Actually the 332nd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps, the Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military pilots. The 332nd's most notable mission was escorting bombing raids into Austria, Hungary, Poland and Germany. The pilots flew more than 15,000 sorties and were awarded several Silver Stars, 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, eight Purple Hearts, 14 Bronze Stars, and 744 Air Medals.
In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981, integrating the armed forces and eliminating racial discrimination in federal employment. Segregation in the military officially ended in 1954, when the last all-African-American unit was abolished.
The Korean War and Vietnam War both saw many great accomplishments by African-American servicemembers. In the Korean War, Jesse L. Brown, the first African-American U.S. Navy aviator, was killed when his plane was shot down during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. The Navy honored Brown by naming an escort ship after him -- the USS Jesse L. Brown.
During the Vietnam War, African Americans continued to join the military in large numbers. Overall, 20 African-Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in that conflict, including the first living African American to receive the Medal of Honor since the Mexican-American War, the first African-American Marine to receive the medal, and the first African-American commissioned officer to receive the medal.
African American enlistment into the U.S. military jumped with the advent of the all-volunteer force in 1973. African-Americans made up about 17 percent of the military's enlisted force when the draft ended in 1973. By the early 1980s, African-Americans made up nearly 24 percent of the enlisted force. When the United States and its allies pushed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991, the most senior officer in the U.S. military was an African-American, Army Gen. Colin L. Powell, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Powell later served as secretary of state in President George W. Bush's administration.
Today, African Americans continue to serve the nation as members of the military during the war on terror. February is African-American History Month, which celebrates the contributions African Americans have made in the U.S. over the years.
(Information for this article was taken from several military, government and civilian sources.)
Feb. 12, 2008 - Since the birth of America, African Americans have been fighting and dying alongside their countrymen as the United States has struggled for freedom and peace at home and abroad. African American soldiers have fought in every war the United States has participated in, including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the current war on terror.
African Americans, both free and slaves, participated in all the conflicts in the early days of America. About 5,000 African-American soldiers fought for the U.S. in the American Revolutionary War. African Americans distinguished themselves in the Boston Massacre in 1770, the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775, the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, and throughout the Revolution.
In the Civil War, 180,000 African Americans made up 163 units of the Union Army, and many more served in the Union Navy. African-Americans were used mostly for labor by the Confederate forces, although in 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis signed a bill authorizing the enlistment of slaves.
African American soldiers proved themselves early in the war, such as in 1863, when the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers, commanded by Gen. James G. Blunt, ran into a strong Confederate force in what is now Oklahoma. After a two-hour bloody engagement, the Confederate soldiers retreated. The 1st Kansas, which had held the center of the Union line, advanced to within fifty paces of the Confederate line and exchanged fire for some 20 minutes until the Confederates broke and ran.
After the battle, Blunt wrote, "I never saw such fighting as was done by the negro regiment. ... The question that negroes will fight is settled; besides they make better solders in every respect than any troops I have ever had under my command."
Fifteen African American soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in the Civil War, and another seven African American sailors were honored for their heroism.
In 1866, federal legislation was passed that allowed African Americans to enlist in the regular Army, and by 1869, the Army had four all-African-American units: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry regiments. The two infantry regiments were established by consolidating four infantry regiments that had been formed earlier.
It was these African American units that fought in the Indian Wars of 1867-1891, the Spanish-American War in 1898, the Philippines Insurrection from 1899 to 1901, and Gen. John Pershing's punitive expedition into Mexico in 1916. These units were dubbed "Buffalo Soldiers" by the Indians they fought against. It is thought that this nickname was given out of respect for the African-Americans' fierce fighting ability and naturally curly hair. The term "Buffalo Soldiers" became a generic term for all African American soldiers for many years.
The first African American general officer in the U.S. Army was Benjamin O. Davis, of Washington, D.C. Davis entered the military on July 13, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, as a temporary first lieutenant of the 8th United States Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out on March 6, 1899, and on June 18, 1899, he enlisted as a private in Troop 1, 9th Cavalry, of the regular Army. He then served as corporal and squadron sergeant major, and on Feb. 2, 1901, he was commissioned a second lieutenant of cavalry in the regular Army.
Davis reached the rank of brigadier general on Oct. 25, 1940. He retired on July 31, 1941, and was recalled to active duty with the rank of brigadier general the following day. During his career, Davis served with the 9th and 10th Cavalry; was a professor of military science and tactics at Wilberforce University, Ohio, and Tuskegee, Ala.; served as a brigade commander in 2nd Cavalry Division; and served as an assistant to the inspector general in Washington, D.C.
Davis' son, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., was the fourth African-American graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and the nation's second African-American general officer.
Although the U.S. armed forces remained segregated throughout World War I, many African Americans volunteered and fought with U.S. forces. By the end of the war, more than 350,000 African-Americans had served in the conflict, 1,400 of whom were commissioned officers.
Many African American units were relegated to support roles during World War I, but several units did distinguish themselves in combat. One of the most famous units was the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the "Harlem Hellfighters," which was on the front lines for six months. One hundred seventy-one members of the 396th were awarded the Legion of Merit medal. Cpl. Freddie Stowers, of 371st Infantry Regiment, was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor in 1991, making him the only African-American to be so honored for actions in World War I. Stowers led an assault on German trenches in France and continued to lead his men even after being wounded twice.
In World War II, more than 2.5 million African-Americans registered for service, but only 1 million actually served. African American servicemembers served in Casablanca, Italy, the Aleutians, Northern Ireland, Liberia, New Guinea, the China-Burma-India theater, Guam, Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Saipan, Okinawa, Peleliu, Australia, France, and England.
It was during World War II that the famed Tuskegee Airmen served. Actually the 332nd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps, the Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military pilots. The 332nd's most notable mission was escorting bombing raids into Austria, Hungary, Poland and Germany. The pilots flew more than 15,000 sorties and were awarded several Silver Stars, 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, eight Purple Hearts, 14 Bronze Stars, and 744 Air Medals.
In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981, integrating the armed forces and eliminating racial discrimination in federal employment. Segregation in the military officially ended in 1954, when the last all-African-American unit was abolished.
The Korean War and Vietnam War both saw many great accomplishments by African-American servicemembers. In the Korean War, Jesse L. Brown, the first African-American U.S. Navy aviator, was killed when his plane was shot down during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. The Navy honored Brown by naming an escort ship after him -- the USS Jesse L. Brown.
During the Vietnam War, African Americans continued to join the military in large numbers. Overall, 20 African-Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in that conflict, including the first living African American to receive the Medal of Honor since the Mexican-American War, the first African-American Marine to receive the medal, and the first African-American commissioned officer to receive the medal.
African American enlistment into the U.S. military jumped with the advent of the all-volunteer force in 1973. African-Americans made up about 17 percent of the military's enlisted force when the draft ended in 1973. By the early 1980s, African-Americans made up nearly 24 percent of the enlisted force. When the United States and its allies pushed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991, the most senior officer in the U.S. military was an African-American, Army Gen. Colin L. Powell, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Powell later served as secretary of state in President George W. Bush's administration.
Today, African Americans continue to serve the nation as members of the military during the war on terror. February is African-American History Month, which celebrates the contributions African Americans have made in the U.S. over the years.
(Information for this article was taken from several military, government and civilian sources.)
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