Air Combat Command Public Affairs

9/3/2013 - LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va., -- Two Air Combat Command senior non-commissioned officers who made potentially career ending decisions have come forward to share their stories as part of the "Every Airman Counts" program.

Chief Master Sgt. Richard Parsons, ACC's command chief, found himself facing a potential court martial. His professional issues spilled over into his home life, affecting his wife and children.

"Much of what we face is normal, but we seem to think we are the only ones it has happened too. It is recoverable, we can turn things around," said Parsons. "Those who love you will forgive you if you truly commit to change."

He recalls dark days when he doubted his ability to recover from self-destructive decisions. In his mid-20s, upon graduating Army Ranger School, the fast-rising staff sergeant had been selected to lead a fire team and had flourished during Operation Desert Storm. After all these successes, he found himself facing a deferred promotion to technical sergeant, possible court-martial, and, potentially a divorce which would have affected his relation with his children.

He was an early adopter of the pillars of resilience, starting first with the spiritual pillar, which he cites as the most important pillar in his life.

"About a year into my assignment at Lackland AFB, my wife and I visited University Baptist Church," said Parsons. "A small group of people from the church would come to visit us and we soon were fully involved and growing in our faith. That is when I committed to reading the Bible daily."

His morning routine now includes working out, eating healthy, communicating with his family and focusing on the day ahead. In sharing his story, Parsons hopes to inspire Airmen to share their experiences, in order to build stronger ties as an Air Force family.

Today, CMSgt Parsons says he has a vibrant marriage and his family recently celebrated the marriage of his middle child. His career is successful according to most people's measure of success. He still guards himself from destructive behavior by relying on the spiritual, physical, social, and mental pillars of resilience.

Senior Master Sergeant Randall Renaud, 633rd Civil Engineer Squadron engineering flight superintendent at Langley Air Force Base, Va., has been sharing his story for some time. Following a DUI, court martial and full rank demotion from technical sergeant to staff sergeant, Renaud dedicated his time to rebuilding his reputation and focusing on how he could prevent fellow airmen from making the same mistake.

"I spoke with a dozen [First Term Airmen Center] classes and commander's calls at various squadrons to try to influence people not to do what I did, and think before you drink," he said.

Fourteen months after receiving the DUI and reconstructing his reputation, Renaud felt it was time to move on and volunteer for a new assignment.

"When you get an Article 15, there are two routes you can take: You can take the route where you give up, or you can take the route where you try to rebuild yourself," he said. "I wanted to take the route to rebuild myself, so I needed a fresh start. I took an assignment to Yokota Air Base, Japan."

Parsons and Renaud are participating in the Air Force initiative known as "Every Airman Counts."

To enable dialogue and spur resilience, the Air Force designed a blog to share ideas, collect suggestions, concerns, stories, and questions for Air Force leaders and SAPR officials. The SAPR blog site asks Airmen to make inputs on how the service can better combat sexual assault.

"We can't fix this issue sitting in the Pentagon," said Gen. Larry Spencer, the Air Force vice chief of staff. "We need each and every one of you to get engaged in addressing this issue... this crime, and it is a crime. We need to know exactly where you feel the issues are, so we can address them with laser focus. I need every one of you helping us find ways to ensure dignity and respect are prevailing qualities in our daily relationships."

Editor's Note: Benjamin Newell, Staff Sergeant Ashley Hawkins and the Air Force News Service contributed to this report.

CSAF outlines focus areas to Misawa Airmen

by Senior Airman Derek VanHorn
35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

8/30/2013 - MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- Airmen from the 35th Fighter Wing here reveled in the opportunity to welcome Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III to the base Aug. 28.

In his first official visit as chief of staff, Welsh was candid and amicable while speaking with hundreds of Airmen during an Airman's call where he touched on key issues regarding the current state of the Air Force and the role of Misawa Air Base.

In particular, he highlighted the 35 FW Wild Weasels F-16 Fighting Falcons who perform the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses mission as "operationally outstanding."

"Everything I have seen here at Misawa has been fantastic," Welsh said. "The mission you do here is very important; it's the only unit in this theater that does this full time and the people here are really good at their job. The Air Force is about being a great team, and Misawa is a great microcosm of that."

As part of his two-week tour in the Pacific, Welsh has met with Airmen and families to discuss opportunities and challenges in the region, while also taking time to discuss issues with partner Airmen in Korea and Japan.

"The partnership with Japan and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force is very important to regional security," Welsh continued. "There are all kinds of people who trust each other, and that's what partnerships are all about. You live that every day, so thank you for that."

With a year under his belt as chief of staff, Welsh shared what he considers vial focus areas to ensure Air Force success moving forward -- common sense, communication and caring.

"Common sense has to be the first standard we apply every time," said Welsh. "If you find a standard that doesn't agree with common sense, it's wrong."

Earlier this year, the Air Force launched a campaign called "Every Dollar Counts" where Airmen and civilians were encouraged to submit money-saving ideas to a website over a 30-day period. At the end of the month, more than 11,000 ideas were submitted. The feedback was overwhelming and there were many great ideas, but one looming question left Welsh a bit rattled: Why do 11,000 Airmen feel like they have to go to a website to bring up a good idea?

"They don't feel like someone is going to listen and no one wants to rock the boat," he said. "Those are horrible reasons and we have to change them. We have to listen to our Airmen."

Welsh said one change he would like to see in the Air Force is the way we care for people. He said 22 years of consistent deployments has been taxing on Airmen, and more importantly, it has also worn out their families. With all the questions about funding and the future of the service, Welsh said it's a priority of his to put a focus on the people.

"The better we take care of them, the prouder they are to be in this business and wear this uniform," he said. "The more challenge they feel, the more likely they are to stay in. I don't want to lose Airmen, they're fantastic."

Welsh talked about how he would also like to see improvements made to enhance the effectiveness of communication, using the recent challenges with tuition assistance as an example.

Last year alone, around 104,000 Airmen were paid TA that totaled approximately $200 million. When TA was cut earlier in the year, thousands of service members were quick to express their displeasure, causing legislative action for the Air Force to transfer funds to reinstate the program. Welsh said what many people didn't understand was where this money was forced to come from. The Air Force was left with no option but to cease operations for two flying squadrons critical to air superiority for the remainder of the year.

"Our job is to fight and win the country's wars. There's only one option there, and that is to win," Welsh said. "If we lose the next war, nobody will care how well we treat our people. This information was out there, but we need to do a better job of communicating it to everyone."

But he foot stomped that communication also includes just listening to them.

"Every Airman has a story and each one is unique. But if you don't know the story, you can't lead the Airman," Welsh said.

He also hit on the status of sequestration and civilian furloughs, apologizing and defining the unfortunate developments as a breach of faith.

"Our civilians are critical to every mission area we have," he said. "We're doing everything we can to make sure this doesn't happen again next year."

Airmen were provided the opportunity to ask the chief of staff questions in an open-floor format. Recurring questions were rightly centered on budget constraints and impacts of sequestration.

Welsh said both civilians and uniformed service members have felt the effects of budget cuts, and thanked everyone for their patience as Congress works through these big-picture issues.

"This is an unusual time; everyone is going to be affected financially, and we have to understand that," Welsh said. "We are going to get smaller as an Air Force. We have to focus on our core missions; they haven't changed since 1947 and that's who we are. Anything around the perimeter of that is going to go away."

Welsh finished by saying the Air Staff is working tirelessly to review and implement long-term programs across the board to provide stability to all those serving, and he expects to tangibly see the effects of many of these efforts in the coming months.

Partnership Mission Promotes Security, Capacity in West Africa

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3, 2013 – More than 90 U.S. Marines set sail this weekend for a three-month mission along the West African coast – but for the first time in the Africa Partnership Station program, it was aboard a Dutch navy ship, alongside their counterparts from Holland, Spain and the United Kingdom.

U.S. Marine Corps Africa Partnership Station Security Cooperation Task Force personnel embark from the Royal Netherlands Navy landing platform dock HNLMS Rotterdam in Rota, Spain, Aug. 30, 2013. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Travis S. Alston   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

The international task force departed Rota, Spain, early Aug. 31, aboard HNLMS Rotterdam, a Royal Netherlands Navy landing platform, reported U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Charles Watkins, security cooperation task force officer in charge for African Partnership Station 13.

Through the next three months, the crew will visit Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Benin, exercising security techniques and tactics with host-nation militaries, Watkins told American Forces Press Service during a telephone interview as the crew prepared to leave Rota.

The combined military engagements stem from Africa Partnership Station, one of U.S. Africa Command’s most successful programs. The international security cooperation initiative, established in 2007, aims to strengthen global maritime partnerships through training and shared activities.

The goal is to improve maritime safety and security along the Gulf of Guinea, Watkins explained. By building capacity among African partner nations, the mission increases their ability to strengthen their borders, control their territorial waters and crack down on illicit trafficking and other destabilizing activity.

Africa Partnership Station 13 includes a new dimension. Rotterdam, home ported in Den Helder, Netherlands, is supporting the mission under a companion capacity-building program called “African Winds.” The ship’s sailors will work with African partners to build capabilities in maritime activities such as visit, board, search and seizure; maritime operations center planning and execution; and small boat operations.

Meanwhile, the security cooperation task force will work with African ground forces to conduct amphibious landings and exchange best practices in jungle warfare, hand-to-hand combat, humanitarian assistance and noncombatant evacuations.

The 2nd Marine Division’s 2nd Assault Amphibious Battalion from Camp Lejeune, N.C., is contributing the ground forces. The Marine Corps Reserve’s Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773, headquartered at Warner Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is providing two UH-1N Huey helicopters and crews for the mission.

Watkins called the opportunity to help build capacity among African partners while working hand-in-hand with other NATO forces “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for the participants.
Some have never deployed before, and Watkins said he personally was looking forward to his first deployment in a noncombat role.

“The main, driving force is relationship building,” he said. “We want to build relationships, not only among the NATO forces, but also among the African forces. So getting to work hand in hand with the Dutch, the Spanish and the Royal Marines is a huge thing.”

Africa Partnership Station 13 provides a forum to increase interoperability as participants work through the challenges of different languages, equipment and standard operating procedures, he said.
For example, as a pilot, Watkins described the challenges of landing a U.S. helicopter aboard a Dutch ship. The crews practiced the procedures they and their Dutch hosts had worked through during a planning conference in Amsterdam before departing Rota, he reported.

For participants aboard Rotterdam as well as in Africa, the mission “is an opportunity for all the Marines to work side by side, working on [standard operating procedures], sharing with our partners and learning from each other and learning how we can work better together,” Watkins said.

 That understanding, he said, strengthens their ability to mutually respond to a future crisis, if required.
U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa welcomed the Rotterdam’s contributions as an extension of Africa Partnership Station’s international collaboration.

“We are thankful for the U.S.-Dutch partnership, as well as the involvement of the U.K. and Spanish Marines, and our African partners as we collaboratively seek to enhance the security environment in Africa,” said Navy Capt. John B. Nowell Jr., deputy chief of staff for strategy, resources and plans. “African navies have made great strides to increase their maritime capabilities, and this iteration of APS sets the stage to further sharpen those skills.”

Other participants shared Nowell’s enthusiasm about the mission.

“The Royal Netherlands Navy recognizes the U.S. Africa Command APS program as the most effective way of gradually improving the West African maritime security environment,” said Dutch Marine Corps Col. Frederik R. Swart, commander of Netherland Landing Forces participating in the mission. “Also, working with an international marine task force enhances interoperability among all coalition forces involved.”

This year is the second time the Dutch Navy has contributed a major naval asset to Africa Partnership Station. HNLM Johan De Witt, a landing platform dock ship, participated in 2009.

“The U.K. sees this engagement as an excellent opportunity to contribute to the security of the West African maritime environment and to conduct some valuable cross training with African partners and members of the combined security cooperation task force,” agreed Royal Marines Maj. Anthony Liva, officer in charge of the Royal Marines’ Whisky Company of the 45 Commando aboard Rotterdam.
“Training will be progressive and focused,” Liva said. “I have no doubt that every nation involved in this initiative will benefit immensely.”

Hagel Urges Congress to Support Military Action Against Syria

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3, 2013 – Emphasizing the need to protect U.S. national security interests, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today he supports President Barack Obama’s decision to seek congressional authorization for the use of force in Syria.

Hagel joined Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in making the administration's case for the use of force in response to a large-scale sarin gas assault which the administration says was carried out by the Syrian government against its own people.

Explaining the rationale behind what he acknowledged was a difficult decision for the national security team, Hagel urged Congress to consider not only “the risks and consequences of action,” but also the consequences of inaction.

Hagel reiterated the president’s assertion that Syria’s use of chemical weapons represents “a serious threat to America's national security interests and those of our closest allies.” It poses a grave risk to partners along Syria’s borders, including Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq, he said.

Even more concerning, he said, is the possibility that terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, which has forces in Syria supporting President Bashar Assad’s regime, could acquire and use them.

“This risk of chemical weapons proliferation poses a direct threat to our friends and partners and to U.S. personnel in the region,” Hagel said. “We cannot afford for Hezbollah or any terrorist group determined to strike the United States to have incentives to acquire or use chemical weapons.”

Syria’s actions risk eroding the nearly century-old international norm against the use of chemical weapons that has helped to protect the U.S. homeland and U.S. forces operating across the globe, the secretary said. Weakening that norm, he said, could embolden other regimes, such as North Korea, to acquire or use chemical weapons.

“Given these threats to our national security, the United States must demonstrate through our actions that the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable,” Hagel said.

The military objectives in Syria would be “to hold the Assad regime accountable, degrade its ability to carry out these kinds of attacks and deter the regime from further use of chemical weapons,” he said.

The Defense Department has developed military options to achieve these objectives and positioned U.S. assets throughout the region to successfully execute this mission, he reported. “We believe we can achieve them with a military action that would be limited in duration and scope,” he told the Senate panel.

Hagel said he and Dempsey have assured Obama that U.S. forces will be ready to act whenever the president gives the order.

Meanwhile, officials are working with U.S. allies and partners, he said. “Key partners, including France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and [other] friends in the region have assured us of their strong support for U.S. action,” he reported.

Hagel underscored that the military force would not be used to resolve the underlying conflict in Syria – an issue he said must be settled through a political solution by the Syrian people themselves. He noted that Kerry is leading international efforts to help the parties move toward a negotiated transition, and expressed a commitment to “doing more to assist the Syrian opposition.”

Military actions being contemplated would be tailored specifically to the use of chemical weapons, he assured the panel. “Assad must be held accountable for using these weapons in defiance of the international community,” he said.

In presenting the case for military action, Hagel urged the committee to recognize the consequences of not doing so.

“There are always risks in taking action, but there are also risks with inaction,” he warned. “The Assad regime, under increasing pressure by the Syrian opposition, could feel empowered to carry out even more devastating chemical weapons attacks” that he recognized make no distinction between combatants and innocent civilians.”

Refusing to act also would undermine the credibility of other U.S. security commitments, Hagel said, including Obama’s commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

“The word of the United States must mean something,” the secretary said. “It is vital currency in foreign relations and international and allied commitments.”

Noting that he, Kerry and Dempsey all have served in uniform, Hagel said they have witnessed the “ugly realities” of conflict up close. “But we also understand that America must protect its people and its national interests,” he said. “That is our highest responsibility.”

Hagel called the decision to use military force “the most difficult decision America’s leaders can make,” and urged vigorous congressional debate on the issue.

“All of those who are privileged to serve our nation have a responsibility to ask tough questions before that commitment is made,” he said. “The American people must be assured that their leaders are acting according to U.S. national interests, with well-defined military objectives, and with an understanding of the risks and consequences involved.”

U.S. Navy, Australian Defence Force Recover and Dispose of Jettisoned Ordnance

From U.S. Seventh Fleet Public Affairs

SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy and Australian Defense Force (ADF) successfully recovered and disposed of the live ordnance emergency-jettisoned by two AV-8B Harrier aircraft on July 16 off the coast of Queensland, Australia.

The two inert and two unarmed live rounds were located by Royal Australian Navy minehunter HMAS Gascoyne on August 16. The two unarmed live rounds were retrieved by divers from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) Five Aug 29 and 30, using lift balloons to bring the ordnance safely to the water surface, after which they were transported to the approved Triangular Island ordnance demolition area and destroyed.

In conducting the retrieval Seventh Fleet coordinated closely with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and ADF to ensure the environment was protected with the greatest care. No immediate environmental damage was seen during either the search or recovery of the ordnance and GBRMPA officers will continue to monitor the area.

With agreement from the GBRMPA, the two inert rounds, which are cement-filled training facsimiles of the real ordnance, were left on the sandy bottom floor due to difficult diving conditions. They pose no danger to the environment. Inert ordnance is a cement filled training device that resembles actual ordnance but does not have explosives, electronics, propellant or fusing mechanisms.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Chairman Russell Reichelt said he was pleased at the successful outcome of the operation and the strong and rapid response by both the Australian and US defence teams.

"I am very grateful for the extensive effort that the Australian and U.S. defence personnel have put into finding and retrieving the ordnance so quickly and for the cautious approach they've taken," he said.

"There's been a high level of cooperation between our agency, the ADF and the US Navy throughout this operation. Survey images confirm the ordnance landed on a sandy bottom, well away from coral and any sensitive habitat.

"Our personnel will continue to monitor the area in the coming days for any potential impacts following the recovery and disposal part of the operation. Two unarmed pieces of ordnance were disposed of safely at an existing defence training beach using well-established procedures approved by GBRMPA for detonations. We supported the U.S. Navy's decision to leave the inert rounds on the seafloor due to the challenging and potentially unsafe diving conditions - these devices are not actual ordnance and pose no risk to people or the environment, as they are simply made of steel filled with concrete," said Reichelt.

U.S. Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich congratulated the joint U.S. Navy and Australian Defence Force teams on this effort.

"Americans join Australians in commending our joint forces in successfully removing and disposing of this training ordnance. One of the reasons we train is to ensure that -- even in an emergency situation -- we take care to protect sensitive environments. Our forces demonstrated precisely that approach first by jettisoning the ordnance away from sensitive locations, and then by safely retrieving the live ordnance so quickly and responsibly," said Bleich.

ADF Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Ash Power also said he was pleased with the success of the operation.

"Each step of this operation has demonstrated the successful working relationship between the USN, ADF and GBRMPA. The United States and Royal Australian Navy's should be congratulated on the successful recovery and disposal of the ordnance, while ensuring that all environmental and safety requirements were met," said LTGEN Power.

The recovery and disposal was a joint effort that included assets from the US Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit Five, airlift provided by the US Air Force, search assets from the RAN, and observers from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

"This successful joint operation demonstrates our commitment to the environment, close working relationship with our Australian allies, and full cooperation with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority," said Vice Admiral Robert Thomas, Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet.

Army Launches 50th Anniversary Commemoration of Vietnam War

By J.D. Leipold
Army News Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2013 – The afternoon in the Pentagon auditorium on Aug. 28 was a time for reflection on a war that spanned 10 years and cost the country the lives of more than 58,000 young men and women. It was also an occasion to honor and thank nine Vietnam War veterans who’d served a total of 14 tours in-country and 225 years in uniform.

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. John F. Campbell praises nine Vietnam War veterans for their service, Aug. 28, 2013, at the Pentagon's kick-off of the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the Vietnam War, which spanned from 1965 to 1975. U.S. Army photo by J.D. Leipold   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Kicking off the Pentagon's first event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the conflict, Army Lt. Gen. Raymond V. Mason, deputy chief of staff for logistics, opened the ceremony recalling personal memories as well as his broader experiences as a young American citizen.

"I was a young Army brat and it was difficult for me to watch my dad come back after his third tour in Vietnam and not get treated appropriately, at least in my mind," Mason said. "I was just a pretty young guy at that time, but I could feel that it wasn't right. It struck me, and I knew if I ever had the opportunity to make that right I would do the best I could.

"Today, we are recognizing nine of our patriots and their families who stood up to the test of their generation and their decade," he continued. "I think it's well overdue. Nothing is more important than pausing and reflecting on the sacrifices of what these great men and women did and those who gave their last full measure."

On March 8, 1965, America's ground war in Vietnam began when 3,500 Marines were deployed with the American public's support. By Christmas, nearly 200,000 soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors were in the country. At war's end on April 30, 1975, nearly 3 million Americans had been on the ground, in the air and on rivers of Vietnam. More than 58,000 Americans lost their lives.

While the official 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War will be in 2015, the president and Congress requested the secretary of Defense to begin planning the Vietnam War commemoration in 2007.
The goal is to get more than 10,000 corporations, civic groups as well as government and community organizations to join as partners and help sponsor hometown events to honor Vietnam veterans, their families and those who were prisoners of war and missing in action.

To date, 4,921 commemorative partners have signed on, including Army logistics, or G-4, which became the first.

Following Mason's remarks, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. John F. Campbell thanked him and his team for leading the way to celebrate the contributions of Vietnam veterans.

The son of an Air Force senior master sergeant, Campbell told of his years growing up on military bases around the world before attending West Point, and then recalled his first interaction with Vietnam veterans while a lieutenant in Germany.

"Both the battalion commanders were Vietnam veterans ... all the platoon sergeants, all the first sergeants, all the company commanders were Vietnam veterans," Campbell said. The vets, he said, instilled in him their hard-fought lessons-learned from Vietnam and wanted to make sure the young lieutenants and soldiers wouldn't make the same mistakes they had.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Claude "Mick" Kicklighter serves as director of the U.S. Vietnam War Commemoration. During the Pentagon event he previewed the timeline of plans for honoring Vietnam veterans across the country over the next few years.

"Veterans of Valor," a 30-minute documentary with the nine honorees recalling humorous and somber anecdotes of their war experiences and interspersed with still photographs of themselves in Vietnam was also premiered.

Hagel Praises ‘Unbreakable’ U.S.-Philippine Alliance

By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

MANILA, Philippines, Aug. 30, 2013 – On the last stop of what he called a “very productive” trip to four countries in Southeast Asia, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met today with Philippine government and defense leaders and later paid his respects to U.S. troops laid to rest at the Manila American Cemetery.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, second from left, meets with Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III at the Malacanang Palace in Manila, Philippines, Aug. 30, 2013. DOD photo by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Aaron Hostutler   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

The secretary left Washington, D.C., Aug. 22 and visited his counterparts in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei before arriving today in Manila.

In Brunei on Aug. 28 he attended a meeting of defense ministers from 10 countries that belong to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. The 10 member states are Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Yesterday, he attended the second-ever meeting of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, a group made up of the 10 ASEAN defense ministers and eight dialogue partners: defense ministers from the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand and Russia.

Today in Manila, after meeting with President Benigno S. Aquino III at the Malacanang Palace, Hagel and National Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin held a press conference there.

“In my meeting with President Aquino I noted that the deep and unbreakable alliance between the United States and the Philippines is an anchor for peace and stability and prosperity in this region,” Hagel said.

“Our close ties to the Philippines have been forged through a history of shared sacrifice and common purpose,” he added, “and continuing to strengthen the close partnership between our nations is an important part of America’s long-term strategy of rebalancing in the Asia-Pacific.”

An important topic of discussion among the three men and Foreign Secretary Albert F. del Rosario involved ongoing negotiations for a Framework Agreement that would allow U.S. forces to operate on Philippine military bases and in Philippine territory and waters to help build Philippine armed forces capacity in maritime security and maritime domain awareness.

The last time the United States and the Philippines signed a mutual defense treaty was in 1951, and the new Framework Agreement would update the agreement for routine troop rotations and related activities, according to a senior defense official traveling with the secretary.

“The visit of U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to the Philippines coincides with an important date for Philippines-U.S. defense relations,” Gazmin said at the press conference. “For it was on 30 Aug. 1951 that the mutual defense treaty was signed. Today is the 62nd anniversary.”

“In the spirit of that [early] treaty and its continuing relevance today, President Aquino and I reaffirmed the progress being made in the ongoing discussions for our Framework Agreement,” Hagel said.

Hagel said the Framework Agreement will strengthen cooperation between the two militaries and help them work together more effectively. He noted that the negotiating teams are working hard to finish the agreement.

“The United States does not seek permanent bases in the Philippines,” Hagel said. “That would represent a return to an outdated Cold War mentality. Instead, we are using a new model of military-to-military cooperation befitting two great allies and friends.”

Increasing the United States’ rotational presence in the Philippines as it has done recently in Singapore and Australia will benefit the U.S. and Philippine militaries, Hagel said, by increasing their ability to train and operate together and support President Aquino’s defense modernization agenda.

The United States has a great deal of experience in building a modern military, the secretary said.
“And we would like to share what we’ve learned with our Philippine allies,” Hagel added.

The leaders also discussed the situation in the South China Sea, where many countries have overlapping claims on the area that could lead to tensions in the maritime domain.

Hagel called this “an issue the United States, our allies, partners and friends in this part of the world hope will be resolved peacefully and without coercion.”

The United States supports ASEAN efforts to negotiate a South China Sea Code of Conduct, which Hagel said would help peacefully manage disagreements and disputes that arise from competing territorial and maritime claims.

“In the meantime,” the secretary said, “we encourage nations to peacefully resolve their disputes through internationally accepted mechanisms in accordance with international law, including the Law of the Sea.”

Later in the afternoon, Hagel took time from his schedule to honor 17,202 fallen troops from World War II, Americans and some Filipinos who fought shoulder to shoulder, buried at the Manila American Cemetery here on 152 acres of elegantly designed green space settled on gently rising ground.

On the rise is a simple tower that contains a small chapel and altar. On a regular schedule, a carillon plays the national songs of the Philippines and the United States, then Taps.

Flaring from each side like parentheses are two long narrow structures formed into a series of open rooms. Some rooms have stone benches but most have nothing except maps or names on the walls.
On some walls are drawn colorful maps that detail different World War II battles -- the defense of Luzon, 8 Dec. 1941 to 6 May 1942, for example, or the defense of Southeast Asia, December 1941 to May 1942.

Most walls contain the names and details of 36,286 of the missing. According to literature from the cemetery, 16,919 are from the U.S. Army and Army Air Force, 17,582 are from the U.S. Navy, 1,727 from the U.S. Marine Corps, and 58 are Coast Guard.

The Manila American Cemetery is located within the boundaries of the old U.S. Army reservation of Fort William McKinley.

Those resting forever in the cemetery here represent 40 percent of the burials made originally in temporary cemeteries in New Guinea, the Philippines and other islands of the Southwest Pacific, and in the Palau Islands of the Central Pacific, according to the cemetery booklet.

Most of these troops fell in the epic defense of the Philippines and East Indies in 1941 and 1942 or in the long but victorious return of the American forces through the vast island chain, the book said. The cemetery and memorial were finished in 1960. The cemetery was dedicated on Dec. 8, 1960.

At the cemetery, Hagel walked from the motorcade to an area across from the chapel and tower that was covered against the tropical sun. A large display of flowers filled the chapel doorway. He and a small group stood at attention while the carillon played through its songs to Taps.

The secretary approached the chapel and climbed the few steps. He stood for a moment before the display honoring the troops, then offered a quick salute and turned to walk down the stairs.

The graves area is divided into 11 curved lettered plots forming concentric bands around the high ground of the memorial. After examining the chapel, Hagel spent time walking among some of the cemetery’s 17,097 white-cross headstones.

Memorials honor memory of 19-year-old

by Alex Salinas
Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs

8/30/2013 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- A memorial 5K run/walk simultaneously took place at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph and Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Aug. 19 to honor the memory of Josie Seebeck, daughter of Lt. Col. Peter Seebeck, Air Education and Training Command deputy staff judge advocate.

Josie, a 19-year-old sophomore midfielder on the Central Michigan University women's soccer team, was injured in an automobile accident along with two other players Aug. 2 outside Lansing, Mich., and died Sunday, Aug. 4.

The 5K, organized by legal office staff members at JBSA-Randolph, fell on the same day as Josie's birthday and was a "dual-continent event which stood as a tribute to Jo's kindness, talent and athleticism," said Capt. Connie Wilkes, AETC judge advocate chief of commercial law.

Josie, who graduated from Ramstein High School in 2012, amassed numerous athletic accolades. She was selected for all-region, all-tournament and all-Europe first teams her junior and senior years and was named Most Valuable Player of the team, Wilkes said.

About 30 of Josie's friends and former soccer teammates at Ramstein participated in the memorial 5K in Germany. At JBSA-Randolph, more than 40 runners arrived on the running trail adjacent to the Rambler Fitness Center including Josie's mother Amy, and four younger sisters: Katherine, Margaret, Elizabeth and Madeline.

"She was a really nice kid and well loved," Peter said. "She went to (Catholic) Mass while in college and that moved her. She wanted to be a physical therapist and wanted to have a big family because she loved the one she was in.

"It was a beautiful life."

Before the event kicked off at noon at JBSA-Randolph - which was 7 p.m. at Ramstein - Maj. LaChandra Richardson, AETC judge advocate chief of strategic services, presented a portrait of Josie she drew as a commemorative birthday gift to the Seebeck family.

The gesture, followed by a prayer from Chaplain (Col.) Steven Schaick, AETC command chaplain, provided a brief moment for the family to shed some tears and rejoice in the company of those present.

"When tragedy strikes, communities large and small can step in to make all the difference," Richardson said.

Blue skies and warm temperatures marked the local 5K.

Some people ran while some walked, but everyone knew why they had to cross the finish line.

"Josie was undoubtedly an athletic person," Richardson said. "Everything she did bespoke how she pursued life: with purpose."

Luke students combat train with Navy Super Hornets

by Capt. Brandon Roth
62nd Fighter Squadron

8/29/2013 - LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- The 56th Fighter Wing recently hosted four F/A-18E Super Hornets from Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif. The aircraft were brought in to provide joint air combat training for students undergoing initial F-16 qualification training.

Pilots from Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 14 planned, briefed and debriefed at the 62nd FS and flew in support of 10 student air combat maneuvering upgrade missions during their three-day trip. Their support freed up enough 62nd FS sorties to complete five additional student upgrade missions and two flight evaluations.

Training with Navy pilots was a rare but valuable chance for the 62nd FS instructor pilots to talk aircraft capabilities, compare fighter tactics and discuss student instruction. The students had an equally valuable opportunity to experience the way a fighter other than the F-16 Fighting Falcon flies and reacts.

"The Navy F-18s provided us with a unique and memorable opportunity to employ the Viper against a dissimilar adversary," said 1st Lt. Sean Foote, 62nd FS B-course student pilot. "As students, the experience was invaluable, and the lessons won't soon be forgotten."

The air combat maneuvers training the Navy pilots supported was the first step in teaching the F-16 pilots how to fight with a teammate, their instructor. These missions are normally flown with the instructor, the student and an adversary - all three flying F-16s. Seeing two other F-16s in a visual engagement for the first time can sometimes confuse the student or delay a student's weapons employment while they sort out which F-16 is their instructor and which F-16 is the enemy.

"Our students and instructors primarily train against F-16 adversaries," said Lt. Col. Shamsher Mann, 62nd FS commander. "While adequate, solely training against an adversary with similar performance can lead to drawing air-to-air combat lessons that aren't always valid. The chance to fight Hornets was an opportunity for our students and instructor pilots to execute our tactics against a jet with different strengths and weaknesses to either validate those tactics or show how to improve them.

"Stated in other terms, it was a chance to play a supersonic chess game with the unfamiliar kid from across town after months of playing only against your buddy next door," Mann added.

JBSA-Fort Sam Houston hosts Special Olympics Equestrian Camp

by Airman 1st Class Alexandria Slade
Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs

8/30/2013 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- An equestrian camp and competition for special-needs individuals ages 8 and older took place Aug. 12-16 at the Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Equestrian Center.

Hosted by the JBSA Exceptional Family Member Program and Special Olympics Texas-San Antonio, the camp consisted of four days of instruction in varying events before the competition Aug.16.

Coaches, volunteers and 12 athletes were carefully chosen to participate in this activity, Sackett Heejung, EFMP family support specialist, said. Staff members from the Fort Sam Houston Equestrian Center screened all of the athletes on their ability to ride horses prior to participating.

"My daughter, along with the other contestants, has learned not only how to ride horses, but also important problem-solving skills," said Army Staff Sgt. Julian Grim, father of one of the 12 participants. "All the athletes have learned how to steer and control the horse and how to use their voice and body movements to communicate with these animals enough to compete."

The purpose of this event was to provide opportunities for the participants to demonstrate courage, Heejung said. Sharing of talents, skills and friendship with their families, other athletes and the community were also goals.

EFMP, one of the main driving forces behind the event, is a mandatory enrollment program that works with other military and civilian agencies to provide varying aspects of comprehensive and coordinated community support to military families with special needs.

"The JBSA EFMP provides various activities and classes for exceptional family member sponsors and their families," Heejung said. "JBSA is one of the few installations that have equestrian centers on-post. We wanted to take advantage of having this facility with easy access to provide world-class family support."

"We are all winners today - athletes, parents, friends, spectators, coordinators and coaches," Grim said while speaking during the competition's closing ceremony. "Today we witnessed just a snapshot of our athletes' inner strength, courage and perseverance. Things we should all strive for."

Humanitarian assignments bring Airmen close to home, help them ‘be there”

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. --

When future Airmen begin their paperwork at a military entrance processing station, they are informed their assignments will largely be determined by “the needs of the Air Force.”

This need of an organization to fill job positions across the globe with qualified personnel often means Airmen will be stationed far away from their hometown, and the family who live there.

For many, this is part of the allure of military life -- yet when a family back home falls gravely ill or dies, being away can be a burden on morale and effectiveness for Airmen.

At the Air Force Personnel Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, a team of four NCO and two civilian personnel specialists work to bring, or keep Airmen close to home during emergencies involving immediate family members -- while still serving the needs of Air Force.

“We’re one of the few offices within AFPC that actually deals directly with people, families and faces,” said Lori Surgnier, the chief of the Humanitarian/Exceptional Family Members Program Assignments Branch at AFPC. “In the personnel world, you often only deal with numbers -- that’s just the nature of the job. But for us, it’s all about the people. That’s how I like to operate with my team to help our families who really need it.”

Currently, about 3,242 Airmen are directly benefiting from a humanitarian assignment at bases across the Air Force.

AF Heritage: Gen. Tinker still honored by native Indian tribe

By Randy Roughton, Air Force News Agency

PAWHUSKA INDIAN VILLAGE, Okla. (AFNS) --

During the early days of World War II, an Army Air Corps major general, who was an Oklahoma native, and member of the Osage Indian tribe, was named to lead the air effort in Hawaii following Pearl Harbor.

Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker managed to stay close to his tribe during his 30 plus years as a military aviator, and today, more than 70 years after his death, is still honored by that tribe.

Even after he became the Army’s highest ranking Native American, Tinker never lost his pride in his heritage, as he sometimes called home to his father George Edward Tinker, just to hear his native language.

Likewise, Tinker’s family and tribe never forgot him after his death in a mission over the Pacific in 1942 – from his descendants to the Osage Nation, who still sing and dance to a song written as a tribute to Tinker, one of their most honored heroes.

Each year, the Osage dance to the song during In-lon-shka, an annual four-day celebration that emphasizes the culture and values that date back to the 1880s, after they moved to their current reservation in Oklahoma. The Tinker family met this year in Pawhuska, as they do every year with most of the men participating in the dancing, including the grandson of 90-year-old George Edward Tinker III, the general’s nephew. Chris Tinker, the son of Tinker’s daughter Tanya Scholz, prepared his mind even as he dressed in Osage attire for the last day of In-lon-shka.

“The biggest emotion for me is humility because I know I could never do what he did,” he said. “When I go out there, I’m a little afraid because it’s bigger than me. It’s generations of people going all the way back, who helped him become who he was. It’s about this way of life. When you have that kind of unity and sense of responsibility, obligation and service to one another, you want to be a part of it, and you can lead. You have the kind of courage that comes from all of those ways and prayers that made you who you are. That’s what they say about this dance. You can become a man out here.”

Even though Tinker was only one-eighth Osage, he grew up on the reservation, and was often kept in line with tales of being sent to live with the white man if he misbehaved.

“When my children were growing up, I used to tell them that unless they behaved themselves, I would give them to the white man,” the senior Tinker said several months before his son’s death in an article in The Milwaukee Journal on Feb. 14, 1942. “They were more afraid of the white man than the white children were of Indians. Clarence gave us some trouble, especially when he served as a printer’s devil in the newspaper office, and I scared him into good behavior many times with the warning that the white man would get him.”

When his son assumed command of the 7th Air Force, his father reassured friends in the corner drugstore in Pawhuska, “You can go home and sleep peacefully now. The Tinkers have got the situation well in hand.”

While growing up in Pawhuska, and later in school in Kansas, Tinker and his friends idolized Osage military veterans like Indian scouts for the U.S. cavalry and Bonnycastle, chief of the Osages who earned his reputation in the Chinese Boxer Rebellion, according to Dr. James Crowder in his book, “Osage General: Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker.”

After Tinker graduated from Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Mo., in 1908, he was commissioned as a third lieutenant in the Philippine Constabulary. Four years later, he was a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

During his early years, Tinker served with the 25th Infantry Division, originally in Spokane, Wash., and later moved with the division to Hawaii.  In 1919, Tinker took an interest in flying, earned his pilot’s license and entered the Army Air Service in 1922. In 1927, Tinker was named the commandant of the Air Service Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas, and later commanded several pursuit and bomber units. In 1940 he pinned on his first star and, after Pearl Harbor, was named commander of the Army Air Corps in Hawaii and promoted to major general. Before Dec. 7, 1941, Tinker warned that the Japanese were the biggest threat instead of Germany, and he also believed the Air Force would be the major factor during World War II. He also believed that a long-strike attack against Japan would be the key to war in the Pacific. He died on June 7, 1942, when his B-24 Liberator disappeared through a formation of clouds over the Pacific Ocean during a mission on Wake Island that he chose to personally lead. Neither the plane nor the eight crewmembers were ever found.

“I was visiting with the Osages in Holmes County and asked the question, ‘Why would he do that?’” said Crowder, Air Force Sustainment Center historian at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. “They said an Osage leader is never at the back of his band of warriors. All of the key documents from that time showed that he didn’t have to be on that mission. I think it was more of his Osage upbringing that led him to believe he should lead that flight more than anything the military taught him.”

Chief John D. Red Eagle remembers his father and World War II veteran Edward Red Eagle telling him about the Osages’ days around the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.  His father told him how the Osages were mighty warriors, often growing to 7 feet in height. He also told him about Tinker.

“When they sing that song, it’s got words that are talking about (Tinker),” said Red Eagle, the principal chief of the Osage Nation. “It talks about how he’s gone on to fight in foreign lands. That was the interpretation my father gave me about that song.

“We have veteran dances that honor our soldiers. My father was a World War II veteran, and we honor him during that time, as well as other families who honor their soldiers. We talk about when they were in the war because they were very proud to be a part of the military. That’s the way they felt about General Tinker because of his service to the United States as a soldier. It’s a big honor to have a song in that dance.”

Anita West, an Osage who still lives in the village in Pawhuska, remembers her grandmother dressing her to dance. Her grandparents were Chief Fred Lookout, who was the principal Osage chief for three terms beginning in 1916, and Julia Mongrain Lookout, who had the song written for Tinker.

“We’d dance on individual songs, if we were related to them in any way,” she said. “She always told me to dance on the Tinker song. Later, I found out she was the one who had that song put in there. I don’t believe there was blood, but a closeness they had with the Tinker family because there was a bond between them.”

More than seven decades since his disappearance over the Pacific, there are still signs of Tinker’s legacy on the Oklahoma base that bears his name. A bust of the general greets visitors to the Air Force Sustainment Center headquarters, and there are several paintings and a display of his awards and medals in the Tinker Club, not to mention the olive footlocker in Crowder’s office. The locker contains the general’s personal papers and original decorations that his widow, Madeline Tinker McCormick, gave to the base before her death in 2000 at the age of 104. But Tinker is equally remembered in the Osage Nation, where his life began.

On the final day of In-lon-shka, all Osages under the Arbor stand to show their respect for their Osage general. Some say it’s the only family song the Osages sing that requires all to stand.