There's about to be an announcement on the new PT program. If you haven't heard about it yet, you will in a few days.

Essentially, the new AFI 10-248 will not become effective until 1 July 2010...a 6 month delay. During this time, Airmen will still test under the current rules, with unit PTLs, and will receive an official score with the charts as they stand today. However, the PTL will also tell the Airmen what he would have scored had he taken the new test (but your official score will still be calculated by the current charts).

The AF is coining this as a "hybrid" approach. I call it a 6-month delay because they obviously got ahead of themselves.

Edit: after reading the message again, I forgot to leave one detail out. You will will still have to test twice in 2010. The 6-month cycle begins in Jan, but the old scoring charts will count until 1 Jul. Here's how it works: if your last official test was between 1 Jan 09 and 30 Jun 09, you will test 12 months out from that date, and then every 6 months thereafter. If your last test was between 1 Jul 09 and 31 Dec 09, then you will test every 6 months from that date. So either way, you will test twice in 2010.

G.D. ELECTRONICS LIMITED,We specializes in the distributions of Mobile phones , Laptops , Games , Mobile accessories e.t.c. Our objective is to develop long-term relationships with our customers. To do so, we continuously provide our existing customers new products, advanced designs, and patented innovations so that they can stay on the top of their markets. We offer a 10days return policy , and offer a secure payment method . We shipout worldwide through Professional and reliable courier company e.g FEDEX EXPRESS , DHL and UPS within 48hrs of contract sealed . Customers never experience what is called Breach of contract since our operation. Fidelity guarantee our service , our product are 100% international waranty and guarantee . Contact us today for your order at our marketing

We look forward in placing your Order with Us
and giving you the most competent services as we are Using this
Medium to Look For Buyers Of Various Electronics Product we Stock.

ORDER INFORMATION :
Minimum Order : 1-10 units
Shipping Method : FedEx and UPS.
Delivery Time : 2-3days Delivery To Your Door Step.

Email:electronics_dg_39@yahoo.com


Our phones are imported from Finland,Hungary and Singapore; they are factory sealed with original packets with complete accessory, e.g. charger, extra battery and software c d. The phones are sim free and it's never lock to any network, specification: (europeans/usa-specifications) general network gsm 900/gsm 1800/gsm 1900 platform - tri band (gsm900 + 1800 + 1900 MHz: country of manufactured origin: Finland,Hungary and Singapore.

1. Complete accessories(Well packed and sealed in original company box)
2. Unlocked / sim free.
3. Brand new (original manufacturer) box - no copies
4. All phones have English language as default
5. All material (software, manual) - car chargers - home chargers - usb data cables -holsters/belt clips - wireless headsets(bluetooth) -leather and non-leather carrying cases - batteries.
If you are interested, forward your questions and inquires to us via email your order and shipping details. we give 1 year warranty for every product sold out to our costumers, our product are company class 1 tested and approved by global standard organization of wireless industries, Brand new merchandise with complete accessories, extra charger and battery.


Shipping fees : Free shipping for bulk purchase : FedEx, DHL or UPS
Delivery Time : 2 days maximum.

T-Mobile Sidekick:
T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2008–$135
T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009–$160
T-Mobile Sidekick LX — $105
T-Mobile Shadow — $120
T-Mobile G1 — $130
T-Mobile Sidekick 3 — $100
Juicy Couture Sidekick 2 — $80

Apple iPhone:
Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB- $250
Apple iPhone 3GS 16GB- $200
Apple iPhone 4GB — $100
Apple iPhone 8GB — $120
Apple iPhone 16GB — $130
Apple iPhone 3G 8GB — $140
Apple iPhone 3G 16GB — $150


BlackBerry:
BlackBerry Storm2 9520---$250
BlackBerry Bold 9700------$230
Blackberry 8800 indigo....$220
Blackberry 8700g......$180
BlackBerry Tour 9630 ——$200
Blackberry Curve 8900 — $170
Blackberry Storm 9500 — $140
Blackberry Storm 9530 — $155
Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 — $105
Blackberry Bold 9000 — $135
Blackberry Curve 8320 — $125



HTC:
HTC HD2------$230
HTC-------------$225
HTC Tattoo-----$215
HTC Snap ——$200
HTC Hero ——-$200
HTC Touch Pro — $155
HTC Touch Diamond 2 — $200
HTC Touch Diamond — $140
HTC Touch Cruise — $140
HTC Touch Pro2 $200
HTC Touch Dual — $130
HTC Dream — $195
HTC Touch Cruise 09 — $215
HTC MAX 4G — $200
HTC Touch HD — $165
HTC Touch 3G — $155
HTC Touch Viva — $145
HTC S740 — $155

Eten:
Acer Tempo DX900 —-$190
Eten glofiish X610 — $135
Eten glofiish V900 — $235
Eten glofiish X900 — $185
Eten glofiish DX900 — $165
Eten glofiish M810 — $155
Eten glofiish X650 — $145
Eten glofiish M800 — $160

Nokia:
Nokia 6760 slide–$250
Nokia Surge -$230
Nokia N98—–$250
Nokia N85——$190
Nokia N96 16GB– $175
Nokia E90 — $155
Nokia N97 — $195
Nokia N79 — $175
Nokia E72 — $190
Nokia E71 — $180
Nokia E75 – $185
Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte — $205
Nokia N93i — $125
Nokia 8600 Luna — $145
Nokia 5530 XpressMusic –$190
Nokia 5800 XPress Music—-$185



Sony Ericsson:
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2--$250
Sony Ericsson Jalou D&G edition---$230
Sony Ericsson Jalou------------------$255
Sony Ericsson Satio --$210
Sony Ericsson Idou—–$200
Sony Ericsson C510 — $185
Sony Ericsson P1 — $125
Sony Ericsson W995 -$190
Sony Ericsson C905 — $145
Sony Ericsson W960 — $130
Sony Ericsson G900 — $150
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 — $175
Sony Ericsson C902 — $130
Sony Ericsson W902 — $145

Samsung:
Samsung S5560-----------------$250
Samsung I5700 Galaxy Spica--$230
Samsung I8000 Omnia II —— $220
Samsung B7320 OmniaPRO —— $200
Samsung B7300 Omnia LITE——$190
Samsung i8910 Omnia HD ——-$170
Samsung i900 Omnia 16GB — $165
Samsung Omnia 8GB ——-$160
Samsung S8000 Jet ————
Samsung T929 Memoir — $195
Samsung T919 Behold — $185
Samsung Giorgio Armani P520 — $135
Samsung U900 Soul — $160
Samsung G800 — $155
Samsung F490 — $145

LG Phones
LG GW550—— $205
LG Incite——$200
LG GD910—–$195
LG KS500—-$190
LG KF900 Prada—–$195
LG KC780—-$200
LG KP500 Cookie—–$215
LG KC910 Renoir——$210
LG KB770——$200
LG CB630 Invision——$200
LG KS360——-$190

Video Games Console:
Playstation:
Sony PSP Slim Giga Bundle — $105
Sony PlayStation 3 80GB Motorstorm Pack — $155
Sony Playstation 3 60GB — $140
Sony PlayStation 3 40GB — $125

Microsoft Xbox:
Xbox 360 Arcade Console — $115
Xbox 360 Pro 60GB Console — $145
Xbox 360 Elite 120GB Console — $165

Nintendo:
Nintendo DS Lite — $70
Nintendo Wii Console — $125

APPLE IPODS:
Apple iPod 60GB (Video) New – $150usd
Apple iPod 30GB (Video) New – $140usd
Apple ipod 80 GB – $140usd
Apple iPod U2 SE 20 GB – $120usd
Apple iPod Photo 60 GB – $120usd
Apple iPod Mini 6 GB – $100usd
Apple iPod 20 GB – $100usd
Apple iPod Photo 30 GB – $110usd
Apple iPod Nano 4GB New! – $90usd
Apple iPod Nano 2GB New! – $80usd
Apple iPod Shuffle 1 GB – $80usd
Apple iPod Mini 4 GB – $70usd
Apple iPod Shuffle 512 MB – $60usd

APPLE LAPTOPS
Apple Macbook Air……………………….$600
Apple MacBook (MA700LL/A) Mac Notebook…$500usd
Apple MacBook Pro (MA611LL/A) Notebook…$500usd
Apple MacBook (MA254LL/A) Mac Notebook…$450usd
Apple iBook G3 (M7698LL/A) Mac Notebook..$400usd
Apple MacBook Pro (MA609LL/A) Notebook…$550usd
Apple MacBook Pro (MA600LLA) Notebook…$500usd
Apple MacBook Pro (MA610LL/A) Notebook…$450usd
Apple Macbook Pro (885909119400) Notebook..$445usd



COMPANY NAME:G.D. ELECTRONICS LIMITED

COMPANY ADDRESS: 5 NORTH STREET, HAILSHAM, EAST SUSSEX, BN27 1DQ,UNITED KINGDOM.

Contact MR.FRED WRIGTROOT

Email: electronics_dg_39@yahoo.com

Just want to pass on that OlSkoolRaven is not as old school as I thought.
My Better half and I have a little airman on the way. Due in June. Not bad for my age:D

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — About 300 people gathered at Camp Pendleton's chapel to honor two Marines who were killed in a collision with a Coast Guard airplane off the San Diego coast.

Four Cobra helicopters flew in formation in clear skies after Thursday's memorial service. One broke off — an exercise to pay tribute to the fallen Marines.

Marines spokeswoman Lt. Cassandra Gesecki says the memorial was attended by the families of both victims, Maj. Samuel Leigh of Belgrade, Maine, and 1st Lt. Thomas Claiborne of Parker, Colo.

They died on a training exercise Oct. 29 when their AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter collided with a Coast Guard C-130 plane on a mission to rescue a missing boater about 50 miles offshore. Seven Coast Guard members also died.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.


Article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news...ervice_112009/

OKLAHOMA CITY — A separated Marine faces six counts of first-degree murder in the fatal shootings of four people whose bodies were found inside a burning house.

Prosecutors accused David Allen Tyner on Friday of shooting, stabbing and then burning Brooke Phillips, Jennifer Ermey, Milagrous Barrera and Mark Barrientos on Nov. 9. Because Phillips and Barrera were pregnant, two more murder counts were filed.

Phillips was a prostitute who was featured on the HBO reality series “Cathouse.”

According to a police affidavit, a witness who was inside the residence that day told police that a person known as “Hooligan” was arguing with one of the victims when the shootings occurred. The witness ran away.

Investigators say “Hooligan” was later identified as Tyner.

An attorney for Tyner couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.


Article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news...harges_112009/

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command welcomed a new commander Friday.

Maj. Gen. Paul Lefebvre took command during a morning ceremony in front of MarSOC’s new headquarters building at Stone Bay. He replaces Maj. Gen. Mastin Robeson, MarSOC’s second commander, who retired after 34 years in the Corps.

“I am stunned at how far and how fast [MarSOC] has come,” Robeson said.

MarSOC was activated at Camp Lejeune in February 2006 and has grown to more than 2,200 Marines and sailors, reaching nearly 85 percent of its 2,600-person capacity. The command has Marines operating in countries throughout the world, including areas in western Afghanistan, where companies have conducted missions since 2007. Earlier this month, MarSOC sent its first special operations task force into Afghanistan, where it commands spec ops units within a region.

MarSOC will stay busy, said Adm. Eric Olson, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, one of the dozens of brass at the change of command.

“The missions of MarSOC Marines are clear,” he said. “Our nation will ask a lot of you.”

The command recently moved into its new 151,000-square-foot headquarters building. Three new barracks will open to MarSOC Marines next year and the command’s education facility is being expanded.

Construction of more than 40 MarSOC facilities will be completed around the time Lefebvre will have served his first full year as MarSOC commander.

Lefebvre, who was the deputy commander of II Marine Expeditionary Force at Lejeune before moving to MarSOC, was commissioned in April 1977. He has led various units throughout his career, including Lejeune’s 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. He was awarded the Leftwich Trophy in 1987.


Article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news...arsoc_112009w/

MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — U.S. Air Force officials and representatives of the Republic of Singapore marked their cooperation in the Idaho desert, where the Asian nation's pilots train at the Mountain Home Air Force base in their F-15 fighter jets.

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said during a ceremony Thursday, "This is the latest step in a long and fruitful relationship between the two militaries."

Personnel from Singapore began arriving in Idaho just over a year ago, to take advantage of the desert training range near the Snake River and the state's spacious skies — something they don't have in their crowded air space at home.

KTVB-TV reported Deputy Prime Minister Chee Hean Teo told the crowd that about 250 active duty personnel and their families from the small island country — a former British trading colony — felt at home, far from home.


Article: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/20..._idaho_112009/

LOS ANGELES — The military’s top officer in charge of nuclear weapons issued a warning Thursday about the state of the nation’s nuclear programs, saying that new nuclear weapons need to be developed and lamenting the declining numbers of nuclear experts and scientists.

Calling the nuclear arsenal the foundation of the nation’s strategic deterrence capability, Gen. Kevin Chilton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said the military must invest more in the nuclear enterprise.

“First we need to fix the infrastructure that supports our nuclear stockpile,” said Chilton, speaking at an Air Force Association conference in Los Angeles. But “we can’t just continue to sustain [Cold War weapons] in our inventory. … It’s a new world in the 21st century, and we need weapons that were designed for and support the needs of the 21st century.”

Of particular concern, Chilton said, is the deterioration of the nation’s nuclear laboratories, which he called “decrepit.” These laboratories must be modernized in order to attract and retain the scientists needed to sustain a weapons program, he said.

He also said that since the U.S. no longer tests nuclear weapons, the nation must continue to invest in an aggressive stockpile management program to ensure that existing weapons remain reliable and safe.

Chilton warned that the community of nuclear experts has become dangerously small and the military has failed to replenish the talent pool since the 1980s and 1990s.

“We have skipped a generation,” he said. “We’ve got to do something about that.”

Chilton credited the 2007 incident at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., in which the Air Force lost track of nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, for returning the military’s focus to the nuclear business.

“We had a wakeup call a couple of years ago in the nuclear business … and thank goodness for it,” he said.

The reverberations of that incident are still being felt: Two wing commanders at Minot were fired in October because of their failure to bring about sufficient improvement in their units.


Article: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/20...ilton_111909w/

To understand just how much the role of women has changed in the Air Force, talk with the service’s senior female officer.

Lt. Gen. Terry Gabreski is officially retiring Jan. 1 but will say her goodbyes Friday to airmen at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where she has served as vice commander of Air Materiel Command.

In her 35-year career, Gabreski has seen women take on nearly every career field.

Gabreski’s first assignment as a second lieutenant and maintenance officer came in 1974 with the 3242nd Avionics Maintenance Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Back then, female maintenance officers were rare. Today, 16 percent of the 1,384 aircraft maintenance officers are women but only 6 percent of the 55,262 enlisted aircraft maintainers are women.

“When I reported for duty, it was a surprise to my squadron commander,” Gabreski recalled. “He was expecting a man and assumed I was his new admin officer.”

And on the shop floor, the enlisted maintainers were all men.

Dealing with airmen who have been repairing planes for years is often a challenge for a second lieutenant. In the mid-1970s, being a female second lieutenant made the task of gaining their confidence that much tougher.

“It didn’t occur to me that I should be intimidated, and I wasn’t,” Gabreski said.

Gabreski was an Air Force brat. Her dad was Brig. Gen. Alonzo Walter, both a fighter and a test pilot. Her mother, Doris Walter, was a second lieutenant who had to leave the service since she was pregnant with Gabreski.

Going into the Air Force, though, wasn’t the career Gabreski planned in 1973 when she graduated from Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in history.

“I was going to go to law school,” Gabreski said in a telephone interview from her office at Wright-Patterson. “My dad said, ‘Where are you going to get the money for law school?’ ”

The answer was the Air Force. Gabreski earned a commission through Officer Training School and was assigned to maintenance.

“I had no idea what that was,” she recalled.

Gabreski said she expected to work in intelligence, public affairs or administration. Flying planes was out of the question. Women couldn’t serve as pilots until 1976.

At first, Gabreski thought she would leave maintenance once she had the money for law school. But at Eglin, she discovered she enjoyed the teamwork of repairing planes and serving as an officer.

By 1975, Gabreski was looking for a new assignment. She heard the Air Force Academy needed female officers to help guide the initial cadre of female cadets through their freshman year.

Gabreski landed the assignment of “air training officer.”

“We were literally guinea pigs,” Gabreski said.

With Air Force officials uncertain if women could handle the stress of the academy, the air training officers were put through the regimen planned for the 157 female cadets arriving in the summer of 1976.

Decades later, Gabreski’s pride hasn’t diminished over what the air training officers and the Class of 1980 proved.

“I was the first woman to earn [parachute] jump wings with five jumps,” she recalled.

By the end of 1977, Gabreski’s career was back on a traditional career path. She served as commander of three maintenance squadrons and had two staff tours in the Pentagon.

Gabreski applied to be a pilot three times — and three times the Air Force turned her down because of her height. At 5 feet, Gabreski wasn’t tall enough to safely fly the T-38 Talon training jet.

“I knew the instructor was trying to tell me something when he had ‘Short People’ playing inside the plane,” Gabreski said, referring to 1977 hit by singer and songwriter Randy Newman.

In 1989, she married then-Lt. Col. Donald Gabreski, an Air Force pilot and son of World War II and Korean War ace retired Col. Stanley “Gabby” Gabreski.

Gabreski earned promotion to colonel in 1992 and command of a logistics group in 1994. As a colonel she gave birth to two sons, now ages 14 and 16.

Promotion to brigadier general came in March 1999 as Gabreski oversaw logistics for U.S. Air Forces in Europe during the air campaign over Kosovo.

In 2005, Gabreski was named vice commander of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson, and pinned on lieutenant general stars, making her the second Air Force woman to achieve the rank. Now-retired Lt. Gen. Leslie Kenne, who also started as a maintenance officer, was the first, in 1999.

Gabreski’s retirement leaves Maj. Gen. Polly Peyer, commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga., as the service’s senior female officer.

At Air Force gatherings, Gabreski attracts other female airmen, asking to have their picture taken with or talk with her. But she doesn’t focus on mentoring only women.

“As a lieutenant general,” Gabreski said, “I hope men and women ask for advice.”


Article: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/20...reski_112009w/

A Navy chief was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Tuesday for lying about his role in a credit card fraud scheme.

Chief Storekeeper Antonio Allen, 36, of Memphis, Tenn., pleaded guilty in April to making false statements about the wrongful use of government-issued credit cards used to steal more than $350,000 worth of computers and other items, according to the U.S. Attorney in Virginia’s Eastern District.

Allen was stationed at Naval Support Activity Norfolk, where his job was to oversee and approve credit card purchases. He supervised an employee accused of fraud and initially denied knowledge of the fraud. Allen later admitted that he knew about and participated in some of the fraud schemes, federal officials said.


Article: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/1...fraud_112009w/

After nearly a year in the works, the high-performance version of the Navy physical training uniform will hit some exchanges Nov. 27 — Black Friday, to shoppers.

The Navy also announced that, in addition to the higher quality “gender neutral” physical training gear, a “female-specific” version will go on sale. The clothing, made by New Balance, is designed to be more breathable.

The shirt and shorts will be $24.99 each — making a complete outfit just under $50. The 2010 price for the regular uniform is $13.50 for a shirt and $18.50 for a pair of shorts. Sailors must have two sets of shirts and shorts.

The high-performance clothes are considered optional uniform items. If purchased, they replace a sailor’s standard-issue gear.

Where to get it
Officials said the high-performance uniform would be available Nov. 27 in exchanges in:

• Norfolk, Oceana and Little Creek, Va.

• San Diego, Coronado and Port Hueneme, Calif.

• Bethesda, Md.

• Bangor, Bremerton, and Whidbey Island, Wash.

• Jacksonville and Mayport, Fla.

• Great Lakes, Ill.

• Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

• Kings Bay, Ga.

• New London, Conn.

• Charleston, S.C.

• Newport, R.I.

• Bahrain.

• Signonella, Italy.

• Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan.

• Guam.

Article: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/1...nsale_112009w/

MILWAUKEE — Detainees at a camp in Baghdad have found a way to get under the skin of guard troops from Wisconsin.

And it has to do with football and a painful chapter for some Green Bay Packers fans, who consider Brett Favre a traitor for joining the rival Minnesota Vikings.

Favre spent 16 seasons with the Packers and was the team’s starting quarterback for most of that time, leading Green Bay to a Super Bowl championship after the 1996 season. After playing for the New York Jets last year, Favre signed with the Packers’ rivals in the offseason.

Minnesota (8-1) has the second-best record in the NFC and is far ahead of Green Bay (5-4) in the NFC North Division standings. Favre is the NFL’s top rated quarterback and has helped lead the Vikings’ 2009 revival.

First Lieutenant Tim Boehnen said the detainees are familiar with Favre and picked up on the troops’ discussion about Favre’s performance with the Vikings.

Lt. Col. Tim Donovan said detainees at Camp Cropper needle the guards about Favre’s success with the Vikings.

Boehnen told WTMJ radio that since soccer is the main sport in Baghdad, it lacks a Vikings fan club.


Article: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/1..._favre_112009/

TORONTO — Canada’s Federal Court says the country’s refugee board must reconsider the case of a lesbian who deserted the U.S. Army.

Judge Yves de Montigny said Friday the board erred in February when it rejected Bethany Smith’s bid.

Smith says she fled to Canada instead of going to Afghanistan with her Army unit because she was harassed and threatened by fellow soldiers over her sexual orientation.

The U.S. military has a policy of discharging openly gay members, but Smith says she was denied a discharge because soldiers were needed for the Afghanistan mission.

The judge says the board unfairly dismissed evidence suggesting that gays face harsher treatment in the American military justice system.

Smith says she would fear for her life if she were returned to the Army.


Article: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/1...a_awol_112009/

The Army has continued a holiday tradition of the past five years by again not authorizing early outs during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Sources said the decision to cancel the 2009 Holiday Early Transition Program was not a difficult one given the press of deployments, and the manning and resetting of units.

Up until 2004, the Army usually authorized the phased, early release of soldiers whose service obligations expired during the final weeks of the year, when most installations, units and training centers experience an exodus of soldiers and families going home for the holidays.

“The Holiday Early Transition Program is cancelled until further notice,” according to a notice recently sent to field commands. “Current separation and out-processing procedures for soldiers remain in effect.”


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...liday_112009w/

A box of hollow-point bullets and an anonymous note threatening an incident like the one at Fort Hood, Texas, were discovered Thursday at Fort Benning, Ga., sparking a criminal investigation and greater police presence, a witness told Army Times.

According to a witness at the scene, a box of 20 hollow-point shells and a handwritten note were found in the motor pool area between 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry, under the 197th Infantry Training Brigade.

“The note said ‘tell the commanding general to call off all charges or there will be a re-enactment of Fort Hood,’ ” the witness told Army Times. He spoke on condition he wouldn’t be identified.

After the discovery, he said, military police arrived with dogs, cordoned off a 20-foot perimeter around the box and began dusting for fingerprints and questioning people.

“They’re talking with anyone with a pending [Uniform Code of Military Justice] charge and people who are getting chaptered out to see if they can find out who it is,” the witness said.

An official at Fort Benning would not comment on the details offered by the witness except to acknowledge “an ongoing investigation into a general threat at Fort Benning.”

“A suspicious package and note were found,” post spokeswoman Elsie Jackson said. “The soldier notified a noncommissioned officer, who alerted 911. The area was secured as is normal in these types of incidents.”

The witness said soldiers in the unit were asked to step forward and were nervous about the possibility of a copycat crime like the Nov. 5 shootings at Fort Hood, in which 13 people were killed while waiting for medical appointments.

The suspect in the Fort Hood shootings, Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, has been charged with 13 counts of murder.

Jackson said “appropriate force protection measures are in place while an investigation is underway to determine if this is a viable threat.”

The witness said he has seen an increase in MP patrols on post and that the Kelley Hill area of Fort Benning had been placed on a lockdown status for part of the day Friday.


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...g_box_112009w/

The Navy’s second Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) successfully completed its acceptance trials Thursday, paving the way for the ship to be transferred from its shipbuilder and enter naval service.

“Independence performed extremely well during trials,” Rear Adm. James Murdoch, LCS program manager, said in a Navy statement released late Thursday. “LCS 2 conducted two outstanding days at sea. We look forward to delivering this critical asset to the fleet.”

The Independence left its builder’s yard at Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., on Monday, running at speeds up to 45 knots and demonstrating its systems to a team from the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). Like most new ships on sea trials, the ship was crewed by workers from the builder, along with test-and-evaluation teams from prime contractor General Dynamics and several subcontractors. Sailors from the ship’s future Navy crew were also on board as observers and to operate weapons.

According to the statement released by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Independence “was presented to INSURV with high levels of completion in production and test. The official results of the trials, including the type and number of trial cards, are currently being reviewed by the Navy.”

Construction of the Independence began in November 2005. The ship, like the Freedom from LCS competitor Lockheed Martin, was originally programmed to take two years to build at a cost of $223 million. But a series of miscalculations by the Navy and its contractors, design adjustments and other technical issues doubled the construction time, and the cost for the first-of-class ship has gone over the $700 million mark.

Delivery of the Independence is expected in mid-December, with a formal commissioning ceremony scheduled for Jan. 16 at Mobile.

Lockheed’s Freedom, commissioned a year ago, is now conducting warfare tests, and is expected to carry out its first operational missions next year.

In addition to the first two ships, Lockheed and General Dynamics each are working on their second ship. The Navy plans to pick one design in mid-2010 on which to base another 51 LCS hulls.


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...909_LCStrials/

A congressional watchdog agency reported Thursday that the Defense Department cannot locate post-deployment health questionnaires for more than 72,000 people — about 23 percent of service members who have returned from combat since Jan. 1, 2007, when the detailed assessments were supposed to be kept for anyone deployed for 30 days or longer.

Missing questionnaires might be the result of returning service members deciding not to complete the form, which is supposed to detail any post-deployment health problems or concerns. But it is also possible that completed forms were lost, the Government Accountability Office says in a report to Congress.

Whatever the cause, the absence of such a large percentage of records is significant because one purpose for collecting the information was to look for trends in health issues and to be able to track people with similar reports of minor problems to see if they become something larger.

Defense officials acknowledge this is a serious issue. In a written response to the report, Ellen Embrey, the acting assistant defense secretary for health affairs, said, “We must be more aggressive.”

Every service has problems, according to the report, but the Army and Air Force seem to be doing a better job than the Navy and Marine Corps in getting completed questionnaires to a central repository, the report says.

The Army has 36,510 missing reports, the largest number of all of the services. But this represents just 19.6 percent of the people who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan, the report says.

The Air Force has 8,162 missing reports, 15.8 percent of those who had returned from the combat theaters.

The Navy has the lowest number of missing reports, 5,938, but it has the highest percentage gap, at 44.3 percent, because it has deployed far fewer people than the other services.

The Marine Corps is missing 21,751 questionnaires, which represents 32.1 percent of the returning Marines.

The Defense Department started using a post-deployment health assessment in 2005, with a goal of having everyone complete the form within 90 to 180 days of their return from Iraq or Afghanistan.

Some of the current form is voluntary and some is mandatory. Service members must complete the demographic data identifying who they are, where they deployed and other information. The self-assessment about their health, including mental health, is voluntary. The form is electronic, and it is supposed to be submitted to a central repository when completed and a copy added to the service members’ medical records.

The report notes that only about 1 percent of returning service members refuse to complete the health portion of the report, with the refusal rate being the greatest in the Air Force, where up to 5 percent don’t complete the health questions.

Every form is supposed to be reviewed by a health professional, and service members who report problems are supposed to be given a chance to discuss them, the report says.

Because everyone is supposed to fill out the form, the absence of so many questionnaires shows policy is not being followed, the report to Congress says.


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...aires_111909w/

Someone stole an urn containing the ashes of a deceased Satellite Beach, Fla., war hero a day before his burial at Arlington National Cemetery, leaving his relatives aghast.

Norbert Otto Schmidt Sr. died Aug. 4 at 83. The retired Army colonel earned a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts in the Korean War.

Military officials scheduled a Nov. 13 service at the cemetery. But on the afternoon of Nov. 12, someone broke into a family member's van parked at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and swiped Schmidt's bronze urn.

"It shocked us, for sure," said Donna Schmidt, Norbert's wife of 55 years. "We're just hoping that somebody comes to their senses pretty soon. An urn and ashes don't mean something to someone else, but it means a lot to our family."

Relatives went ahead with the service at the cemetery in Virginia.

U.S. Park Police Sgt. David Schlosser said there are no suspects. A laptop also was stolen from the van, and detectives are interviewing "known car-busters" for clues, Schlosser said.

"The main thing that we're interested in is recovery of the remains," he said. "We're not the slightest bit interested in making an arrest in this case. The only question our detectives are going to ask is, 'Where are the remains?' The reality is, I'm not that sure we'll ever see (the urn) again."

Schmidt graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and he was a geotechnical engineering professor. He moved to Satellite Beach in 1991.


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...stolen_112009/

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — The United States will do its part to reduce corruption in Afghanistan by examining its own contracts and projects, even as it is demanding the same from the Afghan government, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.

He said the U.S. can exert the most leverage when it is signing the checks.

“The place for us to start is to deal with corruption that may be associated with contracts we’re letting or work that we’re having done and development projects that we are undertaking in partnership with others including with the Afghans,” Gates said.

Gates was speaking to reporters at the historic military fort carved into Halifax’s Citadel Hill prior to the start of the first Halifax International Security Forum, which is exploring a broad range of issues from Afghanistan and China to Arctic and port security.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has promised to do more to head off corruption that outside analysts say is rampant. But the newly re-elected leader has also chafed under international criticism of corruption in his government. He has pointed out that the flood of development cash into his country over the past eight years has promoted some of the graft.

Standing with Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay, Gates said the U.S. military is planning for the eventual withdrawal of Canadian and Dutch troops, set for 2011 and 2010 respectively.

“I think it is sustainable,” he said, adding that the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, “is planning appropriately.”

President Barack Obama is expected to announce an increase of thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan in the coming weeks. And U.S. leaders have stressed the need for other nations to up their commitments as well.

But NATO and some allies, including Germany, have said they will wait to make any decisions until after the U.S. has made its announcement. The U.S. has more than 68,000 troops in Afghanistan.

Asked about Obama’s goal to not pass the conflict on to the next president, Gates declined to be specific. He would only say he hopes that “in a reasonable amount of time” the U.S. and its allies could begin transferring security to the Afghans and withdrawing U.S. forces.

“The exact timing will depend clearly on substantial measure on conditions on the ground, but I think everybody’s hope is that it will come sooner rather than later,” Gates said.


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...uption_112009/

A nonprofit medical foundation is trying to convince the Defense Department to loosen restrictions on the radio spectrum to allow wide use of micro-stimulators to treat spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries and other disorders that restrict or prevent movement.

David Hankin, chief executive officer of the Alfred Mann Foundation, said Friday the California-based medical research organization has been working for nine years on technology that implants micro-stimulators in paralyzed or impaired limbs to produce small electrical pulses that stimulate nerves and muscle tissue. In some cases, this allows mobility or function in limbs. In other cases, it prevents atrophy, Hankin said.

The tiny devices, about the size of a car fuse, are magnetically rechargeable so they can remain implanted for up to 10 years, Hankin said.

The foundation has been involved with research and development of several advanced medical devices, including a hearing implant, retinal prosthesis and an implantable glucose sensor for diabetics.

The technology was tested in November 2008 on a Walter Reed Army Medical Center patient who had suffered a spinal cord injury in a bicycle accident, succeeding in restoring hip, knee and ankle function, Hankin said. The former Army officer, who did not want his name released, was able to move his limbs without electrical stimulation five months after they were inserted. This is a sign of the potential of the device that is expected to be part of clinic trials in Army and Navy hospitals and within the Veterans Affairs Department, Hankin said.

Micro-simulators that send the electrical pulses are implanted in the limbs and are controlled by a master unit that communicates by radio signal. It communicates using a portion of the radio spectrum reserved for the federal government. Hankin said the part of the spectrum needed by the device is used by the Defense Department, which is considering the foundation’s request to share the space.

The Defense Department “has not said no, which is a good thing,” Hankin said.

Military officials have expressed concern that radar signals could overpower the tiny micro-stimulators, which could cause dangerous situations for those who had the devices implanted, Hankin said. However, the foundation doesn’t think there would be any problem because radar uses long pulse signals while the stimulators use extremely short and frequent pulses, with a default setting to change bands if three successive pulse orders are interrupted, Hankin said.

The Defense Department’s Joint Spectrum Center, which allocates space within radio bands under the military’s control, is trying to determine if the medical micro-stimulators would interfere with military use. In this case, the question is whether military radar systems and the medical devices could operate on the same radio band.

The foundation is so sure that there would not be any trouble, it has written a $253,000 check to the Joint Spectrum Center to pay for tests to reveal if there is a problem. Hankin said the check was delivered to the military in September but nothing has happened. The last word he received is that a contractor would do the tests, and that there could be a meeting in December to discuss it.

Hankin has been meeting with military medical care officials and with members of Congress and their staff to drum up support for the system.


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...ators_112009w/

Legislation granting Air Force and Navy veterans a better shot at receiving disability benefits for Agent Orange-related illness now has 204 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, 14 short of the number needed to guarantee passage.

The bill, HR 2254, is the Agent Orange Equity Act. It would grant people who served in the waters off Vietnam and the airspace above it the same presumptions as people who set foot there: that certain diseases are the result of exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange, widely used to defoliate jungle around U.S. bases and outposts.

If enacted, the bill would cover veterans who had received a Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal or who served on Johnston Island, a Navy outpost, beginning April 1, 1972, and ending Sept. 30, 1977.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman who is the measure’s chief sponsor, said the bill goes a long way toward providing benefits to veterans whom the Veterans Affairs Department “illogically refuses to acknowledge.”

“Current law requires VA to provide care for service members exposed to Agent Orange by virtue of their ‘boots on the ground,’ but ignores veterans that served in the blue waters and the blue skies of Vietnam,” Filner said. His bill would provide the same presumptions “to all combat veterans of the Vietnam War, regardless of where they served.”

Filner said he hopes Congress acts soon. “Time is running out for these Vietnam veterans. Many are dying from their Agent Orange-related diseases, uncompensated for their sacrifice.”

Achieving the 218 votes needed to guarantee passage of a bill through the House does not guarantee the change will become law. There is a Senate version of the bill, S 1939, sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., that has eight co-sponsors, far short of the 51 needed to guarantee passage.


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...range_112009w/

WASHINGTON — Many more mental health specialists were wounded in the Nov. 5 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, than previously reported, decimating the two units deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq, a commanding general said.

Despite their wounds, however, eight of the specialists were still willing to deploy, said Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Lie-Ping Chang.

The units are rebuilding quickly, Chang said. Eight of the wounded have returned to duty, and 14 other mental health reservists have volunteered to fill vacancies and go to Iraq or Afghanistan, he said.

Two reservists have volunteered to immediately deploy with the units in December, and 12 have said they will be ready by early January, Chang said.

“I think we can do it,” Chang said, referring to replenishing his ranks. “The response was so overwhelming, and the people wanted to do the right thing.”

Two vacancies remain, said Chang, who is a family physician and commands the 807th Medical Command, under which the two combat stress control units are assigned.

Five mental health workers were among 13 people shot to death when Army Maj. Nidal Hasan allegedly opened fire at a Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood. Nineteen behavioral health specialists were wounded, Chang said. Members of the 467th and 1908th Army Reserve Combat Stress Control detachments were at the center preparing for deployment.

“They happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Chang said.

Hasan was charged last week with 13 counts of murder.

He was one of three regular Army soldiers who had been assigned to the 467th Combat Stress Control Detachment deploying to Afghanistan next month, Chang said. The unit is slotted for 46 soldiers.

The Army said last week that there is a dire need for more mental health workers in Afghanistan, where the terrain and distances make it difficult to provide behavioral health support to soldiers in far-flung outposts. With the surge in troops to Afghanistan this year, mental health support was lagging, Army Surgeon Gen. Eric Schoomaker said last week.

The Army typically strives to provide one mental health clinician for every 700 deployed soldiers. That ratio slipped to 1-to-1,123 last spring.

The 467th Combat Stress Control Detachment was to help fix that problem by December, Army Lt. Col. Ed Brusher said.

Chang had each mental health worker undergo a psychological assessment to determine fitness for combat. “I want to make sure when we deploy this unit they have been thoroughly vetted and checked,” he said.

“I told the soldiers, ‘I understand how stressful being in that room (where the shooting occurred) was. You see people get killed.’ You think of 13 killed and 30 injured, that’s 43 people laying there (wounded and dead),” Chang said. “That’s a pretty strong psychological shock.”

He said one mental health worker suffering psychological problems from the attack was excused from deployment, and he anticipates there may be a few other such cases.

This was not the first tragedy for the 1908th unit heading for Iraq, Chang said. One of that unit’s psychiatrists, Matthew Houseal, 54, volunteered this year to deploy to Iraq with another Reserve unit, the 55th Combat Stress Control Team. Houseal was working at a clinic on an installation outside Baghdad on May 11 when Army Sgt. John Russell allegedly opened fire, killing Houseal and four others.

Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...eploy_111909w/

Promised December congressional hearings into President Barack Obama’s proposed repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on service by gays will be postponed until next year so the Senate Armed Services Committee can concentrate on investigating the Fort Hood shootings, according to the committee chairman.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., in an interview on the C-SPAN Newsmaker program to be broadcast Sunday, said his resolve toward helping repeal the military’s ban on openly serving gays has not changed, but the need to investigate the Nov. 5 shooting at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Center takes priority.

Since a vote on repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” isn’t likely until next year, at the soonest, during considering of the 2011 defense budget, Levin said postponing the hearings is not a delay in changing the policy.

Levin said the key to changing the policy is a “careful review” of military attitudes about gays and what it would take for the military to accept the change. Levin said his conversations with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lead him to believe such a review is underway.

“This time is not being lost,” he said of postponing hearings until next year.

The House Armed Services Committee also plans to have a series of hearings about the Obama proposal to lift the Clinton-era “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and the long-standing ban on open service by gays, but it has not announced any dates. Committee aides, speaking on the condition of not being identified, said they did not expect any House hearings to be held until next year, especially not if the Senate is delaying.

The likely vehicle for changing the policy would be an amendment to the 2011 defense authorization act, which would be next year’s version of an annual defense policy bill. Levin said he did not know if an attempt would be made to attach a repeal to that bill or to another bill.


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...layed_112009w/

hi i thought this might help try people to talk to that know what this is like. my boyfriend just joined the air force. he should be leaving in january. i have no idea what is gonna happen. we have been together for over 6 years now. anybody to talk would be great

Ah, the old days...
Is it just me or are all the Chiefs now fit, sharp, got
their degrees and have every block filled?
I remember my old skool Chiefs, smoking at the desk,
not a care in the world about being PC. Even
my old MSgt who had a purple heart from Vietnam; he lived
but the guy on his bottom bunk didn't...None of them ever
pushed the stuff that's being pushed today. The mission was
the prioirty and everything else was not, it was that simple.

Attached Images

 

About a year ago in northwestern Iraq, I was sitting in the operations center (OPCEN) awaiting my approval letter to conduct a simple ISF interaction mission. It was a familiar sight: HMMWVs were outside idling, my Soldiers either hanging around or sleeping on top of whatever could be found. I was sitting there and not patrolling despite having sent my concept of operation (CONOP) for approval 14 hours prior to the mission start time. This wasn’t the first instance that I was waiting for a decision to be made an hour before launch time. Even though my company commander was just down the hall, he couldn’t help as it took no less than a LTC’s signature to approve even the most mundane of missions. 50 minutes from SP the CONOP was approved without changes.
On my way to my HMMWV, I thought back to a day about two years prior. On that day I was in Colombia assisting their commandos with a mission into an area that had been designated as a ‘RED ZONE’. A commando battalion sent in the previous day had been compromised and was still in contact with FARC elements. In less than twelve hours total, a decision to conduct a nighttime battalion-size Air Assault (AA) into a hot LZ was made, and the operation was planned for, rehearsed, and executed. The lift element consisted of two UH-60 gunships and four UH-60s. The opportunity to conduct casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) was also taken advantage of. A second world country had done in twelve hours what we the U.S. Army is seemingly incapable of due to one primary factor-- our risk aversion.
I bring up the previous two anecdotes to make a point-- that the same mission conducted by the Colombian commando battalion would have been nearly impossible for the U.S. Army to execute. There is also a lack of trust in the judgment of junior leaders. A cursory examination of the CONOP process reveals that a brigade commander is not authorized to tell his battalions to do a mission. Every single CONOP process I have been witness to has a division commander as the approval authority for battalion-size operations. I believe we are a part of the most technologically advanced and simultaneously risk averse military in the world.
Today’s Army is extremely risk averse so much so that it is impeding our ability to properly conduct the Global War on Terrorism. Part of this is due to years of peace time leadership that eventually produced the ‘Zero- Defect’ promotion system. Promotions were based on an impossible model of perfection which led to the development of an extreme operational conservatism. If your battle space gets more violent but you do not have an Abu Ghraib-type incident then you get a Bronze Star Medal and a promotion. If you take chances, think outside of the box and make decisions rapidly you have a higher probability of making a questionable decision. As a result, commanders are conservative and maximize their ability to minimize risk, following the example of their superiors and passing on such risk aversion to their subordinates.
The counterargument is that the Army is actually not risk averse. We can debunk this with a short discussion. What is the leading cause of American combat casualties in Iraq? There have been over 1,700 deaths from IEDs alone. Even taking into account non-combat injuries in Iraq (<900), there have been 800 more deaths from just IEDs. (Feb 09) Now go to the AKO home page and look for IED-related topics. Having difficulty finding it? While there is a whole tab on the front page of AKO devoted to risk and avoiding it, if you want information on IEDs you have to go near the mid-bottom of the page. There you will find a link to other links. For example, listed after the My Clothing and Eagle Cash links is the IED-D link. Now either look around or think back to your FOB. How many posters and signs are/were there telling soldiers to be safe, do not speed, do not take risks, etc? How many showed you how to identify or avoid an IED, signs of an ambush, or how to conduct SSE? What if we had told the soldiers on D-day not to take any risks and played it safe?
What follows is a discussion on some policies that I have personally encountered and believe hinder our ability to prosecute the GWOT, utilizing the familiar problem, discussion, solution format. Some solutions are equipment upgrades or training focuses that will increase the effectiveness of our forces. I will limit pointing out which units or branches had these ‘policies’ in place as they are being presented to demonstrate how risk aversion is limiting our effects on the enemy, not to chastise specifics units or people.

1) Problem: Orders from higher directing combat arms units not to attack interdict or make contact with the enemy.

Discussion: I encountered one order that specifically stated ‘[element] is to take all measures to avoid contact or association with enemy elements’. Considering the mission was to go find the enemy, the order presented a dilemma. These orders specifically included a prohibition against interdiction of actionable targets or enemy movements detected by other assets including ISR. The premise of this order was based on the assumption that other units would action these targets once located. The battle space owning unit usually refused to do so. As a result no one actioned these targets. The elements higher command was repeatedly asked to action those targets by both the battle space owner and the company level leadership. This is a classic case of risk aversion. If the unit did nothing but report then nothing but the report can be wrong. The effects of this risk aversion are not directly traceable, however there is a good argument that extra flags have been given to family members as a result of enemy elements not acted upon.

Solution: Any command that does not take every opportunity to kill capture the enemy when proper intelligence is provided should be removed immediately.
Never place combat arms units under the command or influence of non-combat arms units to include ADCON.

2) Problem: All operations/movements stop or are cancelled if weather hinders MEDEVAC by helicopter.

Discussion: I did a quick daily historical weather search for Fort Bragg in May ’08. There were approximately eleven inclement weather days. That is roughly 33% of the month. Due to these factors, ground units can only conduct operations when supporting MEDEVAC launch sites have VFR conditions. For those that think it is unthinkable to conduct military operations under MEDEVAC status red conditions, I point out that every war prior to Korea was conducted completely under what today would be classified as MEDEVAC ‘BLACK’ status. The existence of a tool should not predicate reliance upon that tool. Having been an 18D I understand the desire to always be able to call in for a MEDEVAC. However, every bad or marginal weather day that units do not maneuver grants the enemy freedom of maneuver for that period of time.

Solution: Train and equip the medics to be able to stabilize their patients for the expected ground MEDEVAC time from the furthest point in the battle space. Usually this is not more than a couple of hours. Give more training to MEDEVAC pilots in order for them to comfortably operate on instruments-only. Have these same pilots cross train with Coast Guard helicopter pilots who routinely conduct inclement weather rescues. Add a doctor, medic or if possible 18D to the FOB QRF package. This would allow operations to occur in MEDEVAC red status and only stop any non-essential operations i.e. transporting soda and bread up MSR Tampa.

3) Problem: No air assault operations can be conducted during periods of ‘low’ illumination.

Discussion: May 2008 had several nights of ‘low’ illumination. Once we add in MEDEVAC status requirements it is a wonder that the U.S. Army can maneuver at all. This is a problem that needs to be resolved before we get involved in combat outside of a desert region.

Solution: Utilize IR landing lights and IR pyrotechnical devices. Pilots can use their PVS-15s. Conduct night training starting at Ft. Rucker. This training should gradually decrease the amount of illumination to the point where the pilots are dependent on active devices. Design a computer program to aid in LZ familiarization. This program needs to be able to calculate slope, visibility, and display 3D pictures of potential LZs. Utilize reconnaissance aircraft or ISR assets that can take detailed photos of proposed LZs.

4) Problem: Due to risk assessment requirements, currently, upon receiving a mission a junior leader has to have their commander ask a higher ranking officer if they are even authorized to do the mission.

Discussion: You are a company commander. You tell 1st Platoon go conduct a presence patrol in NAI 100. The 1st Platoon PL does a risk assessment. The PL decides that this is a ‘HIGH’ risk operation so now the PL sends the risk assessment to the first O-6 in the chain of command. Now the O-6 decides whether or not the mission you gave the PL was too risky. While this risk assessment is considered for approval/disapproval, on the other side of the world, we are fighting an enemy that will steal a fishing boat to use as a mother ship, infiltrate ten men by rubber boat to conduct several simultaneous raids, with no QRF, no air support, no body armor, and MEDEVAC status black.

Solution: I propose building in a default risk assessment into the planning process. As part of their planning every leader should come up with 3 courses of action (COA). The leader will then sit down and figure out which of the COAs is most likely to achieve mission success. Now the junior leaders are no longer asking their boss’s boss or boss’s boss’s boss if they actually have to do what they have been ordered to do. Not only that but they now actually evaluate the situation and figure out the best way and by default safest way to achieve mission success. NOTE: This will also force junior leaders to do something other than copy and paste a risk assessment. It will also force leaders to stop pretending that a CONOP replaces an OPORD.

I originally wrote this in March. It is meant to spark a conversion about how we are fighting the war. OPSEC was cleared by an S-2 at the time.

5) Problem: No night-time raids unless approved by O-6 or higher.

Discussion: This was a part of several control measures that were handed down to all units in Afghanistan. I am pretty sure I read in an FM somewhere that “Control measures are not intended to restrict the exercise of initiative. Each control measure should have a specific purpose that contributes to mission accomplishment. If a control measure fails the purpose test, leaders should not use it.” FM 7-8. In defense of this policy it was intended to reduce the amount of raids conducted before sunrise when most targets would be asleep. By not conducting operations at night, the command could reduce the loss of rapport with the locals as a result of dry holes. Unfortunately, this also reduces our chances of surprising the enemy and defeating early warning systems. This helps to even the playing field with the enemy and produces more dry holes. We would not want to be unsportsmanlike now would we?

Solution: Adapt a plan to regain rapport lost by raids conducted on bad intelligence. Find commanders able to make tough decisions. This will mean getting rid of zero defect promotion system, as there is not a way to guarantee a lack of mistakes.

6) Problem: Platoon/ODA and smaller element operations require O-5 approval, company-level operations require O-6, battalion-combined operations require an O-8 approval and so on.

Discussion: Even an ODA requires a LTC to approve a split-team presence patrol within small arms range of their own Fire Base (FB). How’s that for micromanagement and eliminating initiative? Take a look at the CONOP approval process. Considering a Special Forces (SF) captain is supposed to be able to handle a host-nation battalion-sized element in the field, this does not say a whole lot for how SF views the capabilities of their captains. In the end, the CONOP approval process does protect the battalion and higher commanders. It allows them to ensure nothing bad will happen, again a result of the zero-defect policy.

Solution: There are two possibilities. First put an O-5 in charge of every platoon, an O-6 as Company Commander, ODA Team Leader etc. I am betting this will be popular with SF field grades. The second option is to hire competent people to take charge of these elements. Set up lower ranking people called lieutenants to be in charge of platoons and a rank called captain to command companies and ODAs. These leaders would give operations orders to their respective subordinate units. (NOTE: I did not write CONOP.) As part of this OPORD they will include a part that tells what their intent is and what the subordinate unit’s mission is. They will then receive back briefs as necessary and supervise.

7) Problem: Operations take six hours or more to be approved. (QRF and MEDEVAC packages not included)

Discussion: The U.S. Army at war takes pride in ‘being inside the decision curve of the enemy.’ I remember missing the birthday party for the provincial Governor’s son in Afghanistan. The party took place 450 meters from the front gate of my FB. After having our ‘5W’ (type of CONOP designed for rapid approval) delayed for hours it was denied on the basis that we did not have at least two checkpoints on the route in addition to the start point and end point. These checkpoints had to be at least 250 meters apart despite the fact that our final destination was a mere 450 meters from our FB. After some ‘spirited’ emails involving math and two hours after the party was over we received approval to go to the party that was within grazing fire range from the FB. Needless to say some rapport was lost with the governor who had personally driven to the FB to invite us to the party. In addition, we got our butts chewed for not executing an approved CONOP. Meanwhile a patrol pulls out of a base in Iraq and 30 minutes later it receives small arms fire from a well-positioned enemy element that received early warning from observers near the FOB. Looks like we need to add ‘decision curves’ to our math class because the enemy is well within ours. Now imagine a cyber attack that only jams up the internet or eats email. So much for fighting the war during that deployment.
[NOTE: I promised to only use personally experienced events so I did not use the story about the ODA that had Bin Laden pinpointed during TORA BORA but had to wait for hours for approval to conduct the raid. For arguments sake lets say it was a dry hole to begin with. Can someone explain to me why it would take hours to approve an ODA to attempt to capture the most wanted man alive during an operation that was specifically executed to capture said most wanted man alive.]

Solution: See solution for problem 6.

8) Problem: No less than eight ‘Trigger Pullers’ are allowed on a mission or outside the wire.

Discussion: This is another ‘policy’ put in place that really does not meet the purpose or common sense test. Rumor has it that the ‘Policy’ was put in place after a two man sniper team was killed. Doctrine still states that scout sniper teams are two men, LRS teams are six men, and ODAs should be able to conduct split team (six men) ops. If we are not going to train as we fight then why train? Losing soldiers is never a good thing. Losing a war because you are unwilling to take casualties is not only worse, it will result in higher casualties and wasted sacrifice.

Solution: Either update our doctrine and MTOE or stop being risk averse.

9) Problem: Even if conducting reconnaissance operations, vehicles will be marked with reflective tape, VS-17 panels, unit frequency, and use IR strobes.

Discussion: How many times have we heard about the enemy’s top-notch early warning (EW) system? My three year old daughter could warn me if you tried to sneak up on me like that. If we’re going to put all of these requirements on the vehicles, why did we even paint the vehicles tan to begin with. The good thing is the enemy has NVGs so the strobes help to keep contact to a minimum unless they want to hit us. I fail to see where putting your communications channel in big numbers on the back of your vehicles constitutes being OPSEC-savvy. I have seen some units take off their 6” bumper numbers for OPSEC reasons. This way the enemy can not tell what unit you are in. That is, until the enemy sees 2’ tall numbers spelling out the communications channel written on the back of you vehicle. Since different units use different channels guess what other piece of info you gave the enemy. Now there is the argument that helicopters and airplanes can not distinguish friend from foe. For some reason they cannot tell that the large box-like HMMWV, MRAP, Bradley, Stryker, etc located in the same place as the BFT marker is friendly. There is also an argument for the comms channels on the back of vehicles that derives from a need to talk with ground units from the air despite every battle space having a common frequency that is supposed to be monitored. There are also supposed to be at least two BFTs per patrol. Let us pretend that US soldiers are driving you down a road that has a lot of IED activity. They can take one of two vehicles. Vehicle #1 is marked with all the above listed items and vehicle #2 is only painted desert tan. Illumination is at 25% and the enemy has one set of Russian NVGs and an EFP. Which vehicle do you want to take?

Solution: Buy the pilots that can not tell an MRAP from a Toyota Hilux some eyeglasses. Add BFTs to helicopters and airplanes. Set up a universal ‘Go to hell’ everything is broken SC PT freq for everyone to be able to use anywhere in theater. Train the GFC to call in air strikes so that they can control the aircraft and not get bombed. Maybe even put a preformatted call for fire format in the BFT so that less experienced soldiers can send the order. Develop a doctrine for following noise and light discipline as mush as possible. i.e. engine noise can not be helped but IR strobes and reflective tape will get you pinpointed.

10) Problem: Units can not conduct operations longer than 96 hours long.

Discussion: Why did we do a ten day patrol in Florida phase? I thought we trained as we fought. Did I miss something or did we unionize? A patrol or mission should be ‘out of the wire’ as long as necessary. Can you imagine fighting D-Day the way we fight now? In theory, the limited duration of operations helps maintain the troops. Have we gotten so used to 96 hour Banana Republic
wars that we cannot be more than 96 hours away from going to the MWR again. I will point out the purpose test again. One of the major shifts in tactics with the surge was getting people off the FOBs not trying to keep them there.

Solution: Conduct missions to standard not time. Conduct training that increases the endurance of our soldiers.

11) Problem: All dismounted operations to include reconnaissance operations will be compromised from the start.

Discussion: Fact: as soon as you pull out the gate or drive by a town the enemy starts keeping tabs on you. Translation: you are compromised. Another technique is to come in by helicopter. After all, they are harder to track. While in some cases it maybe possible to use this technique, truth is the enemy is almost always aware of helicopter landings. False insertions help by increasing the amount of possible sites thereby diluting the tracking capability of the enemy. There are only two ways to be inserted without the enemy knowing something is up from the start: falling from the sky and rising from the water. These will probably up the risk assessment a bit. If we use the COA idea I proposed and add the fact that now that small reconnaissance team is not starting out compromised then that will no longer be an issue.

Solution: Create schools that teach airborne and subsurface infiltration techniques. Create units that can use these techniques to defeat enemy EW.
Commanders unwilling to use these techniques should be removed from the chain of command for units capable of performing these techniques.

12) Problem: All operations to include dismounted operations will require the soldiers to carry no less than 60 lbs. of gear.

Discussion: A Taliban soldier once said ‘I move through the mountains caring a loaf of bread an AK-47 and two magazines. You chase me carrying tens of kilos of equipment. Why do you think you will catch me?’ This is another instance of a tool predicating reliance upon it. Several units have a rule about wearing every bit of the issued body armor 24/7. That is approximately 40 pounds and we still have not picked up a gun. This is also approximately 20 quarts of water. Why are we wearing a CQB uniform on a dismounted patrol in the mountains?

Solution: Make uniform wear a commander’s decision as part of the COA development.


13) Problem: Units are told to avoid areas where enemy contact has been made.

Discussion: There stood a Brigade CSM asking why a unit would want to go to an area that another unit “Got their asses handed to them.” While the unit did take a couple of WIA no soldiers on our side died. Now here is a CSM questioning a soldiers desire to go to an area now confirmed to have an enemy presence. I am glad no one said that to the 101st during the Battle of the Bulge

Solution: We need to get rid of leadership that is so scared of casualties that it does not want to go where the enemy is or we will start losing wars.

14) Problem: Not being able to conduct night-time operations or drive off road.

Discussion: Assets were sending a live feed of 17 Scania trucks coming from another country straight into a suspected enemy logistical area in Iraq. Sense the Infantry unit controlling the feed was not allowed interdict the intelligence was passed immediately to the battle space owner. The battle space owner decisively responded with. ‘We do not have anything that rolls at night.’ There went over 200 tons of supplies. Second example CF is to conduct a cordon of a village in support of an IA air assault. The IA was to land at dawn the cordon was to be in place 30 minutes prior. One of the tank drivers was asked why they were using the hardball instead of the dirt roads with less EW and why they were setting up their cordon almost six hour early; he responded we do not know how to drive off road or at night never mind both. Both these units were CAV units. I only mention that because this was not some 82nd soldier given a tank. It was a branch devoted to driving around a battle field.

Solution: I suggest we make a Mission Essential Tasks List (METL).
All units should be required to be able to perform the tasks on there list.
One example might be a vehicle borne unit’s ability to drive at night cross-country. All commanders should report their ability to perform the tasks on their list. Any commander found to falsify that report be relieved. We have captured several enemy truck drivers. We should turn as many of them as possible so that they can teach the U.S. Army how to drive our off road vehicle at night off road. After all they can drive convoys of Scania trucks at night off road without thermals, NVGs, and BFTs.

15) Problem: Not conducting Air Assaults within small arms range of an objective. Hot LZs are automatic aborts. Not conducting helicopter flight at night because it is too dangerous. Not conducting helicopter operations during the day because it is too dangerous

Discussion: I added these together because of similar solutions. Oddly enough I encountered this in the same theater during the same day by 2 different aviation units to go to the same PZ. Sadly enough it was for a CASEVAC.

Solution: Bring back the Vietnam-era pilots. Train soldiers and pilots to do thing like repel and fast rope onto an objective. Cross train with Colombian pilots. They frequently deliver soldiers into the jungle and land in hot LZs. Devote part of Paragraph 1 of the OPORD to enemy situation take measures to avoid specific threats.

General Marshall removed many general officers who moved up in the ranks in a peacetime Army just prior to the start of WWII. Right now, many of my peers, motivated company grade officers who have only known war are getting discouraged and leaving the Army in droves. Furthermore, Soldiers do not understand why they cannot simply seek and destroy the enemy. Soldiers are asking why they do not look like the soldier on the right hand side of the Infantry home page banner when on patrol. Soldiers are asking why the chain of command is so scared. If we do not organizationally rid ourselves of this scourge called risk aversion we will lose wars. It is time to bring back the Warrior Ethos in spirit instead of just in writing.

new here
IN branch
O type 1 ea
16 years total service

Just got back from commanders call. According to him, the current PT standards have been extended to 1 June. Anybody heard the same?

The Swine flu pandemic has been a hot topic for months now. There is still so much unknown about the virus, and there are so many weaknesses in response to the outbreak that include the understanding of symptoms, vaccine shortages, and proper medical treatment. Has the risk of Swine Flu exposure been addressed by your family? What personal precautions do you take? Have you been vaccinated?

I went status "3" as of 30 October. I am curious how long it typically takes (and also max time and can take) to go status "5" or else get disapproved.

I am asking this due to our current Political Situation. We have basically one party rule, which is a bad thing no matter which Political Party it may be.

What that means is:

Card Check: Where everyone has to join a Union, so the Union can collect some of your paycheck in Union Dues, spend part of it on a Political Candidate not of your choice, and barter off Your Benefits until nothing is left.

Cap and Trade: Where Al Gore and General Electric will barter carbon credits from one company to another, taking a piece of the action in a Carbon Exchange based in Chicago. This will make folks that live in the mid west who are heavily dependent on Coal Fired Electric Plants pay "a lot" more for Electricity, while shutting down projects such as the Lock and Dam Generator Plant that is about a mile from my house because when completed in 2010/2011, the generator plant would only recoup $1.75 for every tax dollar spent, which is below the "new standard" of $2.50 recouped for every tax dollar spent.

Health Care: Where there exists an emergency to cover people who cannot currently be refused medical treatment. I will admit some of the Insurance Companies exploit "Pre-existing Conditions" which needs to stop as these are just risk factors in the Insured Pool, but we do no need to overhaul the entire system to fix this or the other "minor" problems in our health care system. Besides, where am I to go when the VA screws me out of my service connected medicine again because of budget shortfalls? In the past my VA Physician would write a prescription I could get filled at my expense to hold me over until the problem was fixed. Folks, universal government health care will suck, big time!


There is much, much more, very bad cram down legislation being proposed, besides what has been passed already..., so please knock yourselves out.

hi my name is william m tharpe III , i was a sgt with 2nd tank bn and did 2 combat tours to iraq oif1 and oif 2
I served 18 months in the reserves and went active duty in 2002 , i completed a honerable tour of duty and then reinlisted after being back from iraq only 4 months . well in my reinlistment package i relinsted for orders to do a b bilit at parris island, with my bonus , i was insured by my command that if i reinlisted I wouldnt be going back to iraq . so I threw my damn hand up , with my wife 2 months pregnant i felt it
would be good for my family to closer to georgia where we were from . Before i was to go thru with these
i was taking time to complete pme's BNOC/Tank commanders course and go to sgts course , so could further my carrer . well once back from my schools I was only back 2 weeks , when i was called into 1st sgts office and was told i was going back to iraq on tactis training team , this i didnt like , so i called my monitor master sgt Ayala and tol him what was going on and i spoke with the carrer recruiter they worked out arrangments to cut my orders an pcs , i made contact with the Sgt major in parris island and told him i was on my way.
The next day my orders came thru so i prosecces them and when it cam time for me to check out of the battalion my command was pissed , they wanted me to take the staff billit in iraq in place of 5 staff sgts that had never been to iraq and was fresh from recruiting duty ,this was crap ,COL BIANCA refused to let me out of the battalion
The following my orders were canceled and no one had an answer of who did it and why , so i request mass all the way to the base C.G now that really pissed of the COL BIANCA,and the sadest thing was my staff ncos were to scared to stand up for me , with no resolve and my ptsd getting worse , I filled for an ivestigation with no answers an eploing in 3 weeks i left weft home for thanks giving and i stay longer than a 96 anxiety and ptsd hit me hard , i came back on my own 10 days later , just wanted a resoulotion , and i was told it was going to be taken care off , well i did as i was told stayed on barrick restrickionand waited only to be treate like a crap bag , and the COL BIANCA told me that he would do what ever it took to get me gone .
Well they came up with a better soulution than that they stacked me with about 7 UA charges 2 of them were for not answering my cell phone while at mental health being diagnosed with ptsd. they descided that they would court marshall with an agrement for punnishment be loss of rank to private , 8 months of barricks restiction which would be done in Iraq 3 weeks after the court marshall
well need less to say i packed my things again an left only to return 4 months later hand cuffed and paraded around the battalion to make an example of me , COL bianca got his man , andd the charges i file him against him were never seen thru , after 120 days in the brigg COL BIANCA allowedd me 6 hours to check out turn in gear anything that was missing i paid for , an i was out the gate , just 6 hours after being out of the brigg
Two years later i still stuggle with PTSD , and try to make sense of what happened but to LET COL bianca know you can put the sgt out of the Marine Corps , but you cant take the Marine Corps out of this SGT.

GOD BLESS ALL MARINES , AND SAILORS , HAPPY LATE B-DAY AND BE SAFE

Hello there!

I graduated from OCS a while back and will possibly accept my commission soon. I am also in a fairly new (but strong!) relationship with an officer who is currently deployed (I was offered a commission months before I met my sig. other). My older brother is a recently commissioned officer, my little brother in his first year of ROTC and my gramps is a retired career officer, hence why I am always desperate for any sort of news, stories and opinions surrounding the military soooo here I am, quite worried all the time for my loved ones.

Wishing everyone the best and that you are all safe!

-Sudabeh

Found this online its pretty right on!!


You Know Your A Military Girlfriend When

You don't mind a phone call waking you up at 4 a.m.

You tell people that ask that he's 'only' been gone a month.

The smallest contact (short email) from your man makes your entire week!

You cry over an email that says nothing more than hi and I miss you.

You email everyone in your address book when you receive a one liner email from your Soldier.

Those recruitment commercials on TV make you cry because you are so proud!

You get super excited just knowing that your Soldier tried to call but wasn't able to get through.

Your first Military Ball you go to as your Soldier's girlfriend, your name tag says "Mrs".
Is that a self fulfilling prophecy or what?!?

A 30 second phone call after no calls from him for 3.5 months leaves you full of joy and happiness, and "No news is good news" becomes your motto.

The motto "no shore too distant " becomes your life.

You feel yourself growning more and more in love with your man even while he's so far away.

Planning letters and care packages and putting them in the mail is more exciting then going out for a night on the town with the girls.

While enjoying an evening alone together, your boyfriend shows you all the different ways he knows to kill or incapacitate a man, and then you casually continue cooking dinner as though it's perfectly normal, and you find yourself learning phrases in foreign languages from letters, and aren't surprised when you realize you know how to say, "Throw down your weapons and lay down on the ground!" in Arabic!

You hold off on seeing certain movies so you can see them with your Soldier when he comes home.

You want to roll your eyes when you hear someone say, "I havent seen my boyfriend in a week!"

You can go from being happy, to sad, to lonely, to angry, to proud, and back to happy in a matter of less than an hour, and you sleep with the phone right next to you, just in case.

If he's deployed you don't care how your hair looks nor care about wearing make-up, and the people at your work ask about your boyfriend every day to see if you've heard from him.

The sight of any other man in a uniform makes you miss your boyfriend MORE than it makes you drool, and you try to explain to civilians what your boyfriend does for a living, they give you a blank look because they don't understand a third of what you just said.

You are oceans apart and you dont notice the time difference, and talk until 5 a.m. his time, and 2 a.m. your time on a school night, and phone kisses are just as good as the real ones,well almost as good

You don't bat an eyelash when he says, "Uh, honey they changed when I'm supposed to return home, yet again for the 18th millionth time".

Ladies and Gentlemen:

How hard is it to get an exceptional policy letter for AR 40-501 chapter 2 paragraph 13f ?

Best,
adrbuddy

HEMET, Calif. — A former Marine Corps recruiter has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Southern California’s Riverside County after pleading guilty to child sex charges.

Prosecutors say former Staff Sgt. Bryan Damone Cunningham pleaded guilty Friday to felony charges of committing lewd acts and sodomy with a child under 14.

The girl told police she met Cunningham online and had sex with him and two other men. She also told police Cunningham wanted her to work as a prostitute and had tried to take her to Los Angeles County against her will.

Cunningham could have faced life in prison if convicted of a kidnapping for rape charge, in addition to an attempted pimping charge and two other felonies that the district attorney’s office agreed to dismiss.


Article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news...prison_111809/

OKLAHOMA CITY — A worker at Tinker Air Force Base has been charged with embezzling more than $20,000 from the sale of scrap metal through a recycling program at the Oklahoma City base.

Forty-six-year-old Paul David Taylor of Del City was charged Wednesday in federal court with conspiracy and three counts of theft of public money. If convicted of all counts, he faces up to 35 years in prison.

Federal prosecutors allege Taylor kept the cash from the sale of scrap metal to Interstate Metals Company through the base's Qualified Recycling Program, for which he worked.

A telephone message left Thursday with Taylor's attorney was not immediately returned.


Article: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/20...lement_111909/

Hello everyone I'm Austin. I've stumble upon this website when I was looking up some haircut regulations to correct one of my troops. With that being said I’m sure since I’ve said “troops” you can guess I’m Security Forces. I love this career field and been a proud part of it for 7 years. Like everyone else I’ve had my ups and downs as a Security Forces member with some deployments under my belt.

While looking around I’ve come to respect post by Machine666, CrustySMgt and Combat Correspondent. I enjoy reading their views or ideas. I can honestly say I’ve actually learned a lot poking around these forums and reading what they have to say.

I look forward to the future here.

PHOENIX — Three soldiers in a rental car pulled over for speeding outside Phoenix have been arrested after authorities say they found 680 pounds of marijuana and $10,000 cash inside the vehicle.

Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies say Dwayne Campbell, Llewellyn Stamoulis and Romaine May all were dressed in military uniform and carried valid military ID when deputies pulled over the vehicle Tuesday night on Interstate 17 near Anthem. They say the marijuana worth an estimated $544,000 was found stuffed into 12 military duffel bags in the back of the rented vehicle.

All three men were arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession, drug transportation, money laundering and conspiracy. Stamoulis also was booked on a count of driving with a suspended license.

Authorities say the 26-year-old Stamoulis and 25-year-old Campbell are both from Bronx, N.Y., while the 21-year-old May is from Chicago.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says the men flew from New York to Tucson, where they rented the vehicle, and they were on their way to Cincinnati. It remained unclear Wednesday where the soldiers were stationed.


Article: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/1...rested_111809/

BUSHNELL, Fla. — The daughter of a World War II veteran plans to bury her father in Florida, years after an urn filled with rocks was interred in his name at Arlington National Cemetery.

Teocca Thompson-Thomas says a funeral director in Florida told her that her father James Tyler Thompson was buried in Arlington, even though she has kept his ashes inside a brown plastic container since his death in 2003.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Arlington officials found the rock-filled urn when they opened Thompson's vault. They say the urn was provided by Thompson's other daughter, who also gave documentation of Thompson's honorable discharge from military service and their relationship.

Thompson's ashes are now scheduled to be buried at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell on Thursday.


Article: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/1..._mixup_111909/

BLACKSTONE, Va. — Thirteen Virginia National Guard soldiers sent to hospitals after a training device exploded at Fort Pickett are back on duty.

Maj. Cotton Puryear says a soldier closest to the blast remains hospitalized with second-degree burns and small lacerations to her hand. The soldier, who wasn’t identified, was in stable condition Thursday and is expected to make a full recovery.

Puryear says a small pyrotechnic device used for training exploded Wednesday night in a building while soldiers were inventorying training materials. The device simulates the sound of explosions.

The other soldiers were sent to hospitals in the region as a precaution. They were treated and released.


Article: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/1..._blast_111909/

CHICAGO — Dozens of American flags lined the outside a Chicago funeral home where a 21-year-old soldier killed at Fort Hood was remembered Thursday as an optimistic person who loved to dance and who had dedicated her life to service.

Hundreds of mourners filled a parlor at Montclair Lucania Funeral Home to pay their respects to Pvt. Francheska Velez, who was slain in the Nov. 5 attack at the Texas military post. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of murder in the shooting spree.

Many of those at the memorial service wore T-shirts with up-close portraits of a smiling Velez, who had recently returned from deployment in Iraq because she was pregnant. Friends and family have said the 2006 Kelvyn Park High School graduate had been excited about starting a family.

“There’s a hole in our hearts. We’ve lost someone very, very special,” Gov. Pat Quinn told the crowd, speaking with a Spanish translator. “We thank Francheska for her defense of our democracy. We will never forget her sacrifice.”

Velez, whose nickname was Cheka and favorite color was yellow, lay in her Army uniform in an open casket that was draped with an American flag. Yellow flower arrangements and photo collages filled the room. The caption on one picture read, “Cheka, you will be missed.”

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Scott West said Velez’s fellow soldiers described her as “happy, upbeat and inspiring.”

“Like her biological family, her military family shares in your sorrows,” he told the assembled mourners.

Dozens of motorcyclists — members of the Patriot Guard Riders — led the funeral procession to Mount Olive Cemetery, where Velez was buried with military honors. Mourners, many clutching yellow roses, wailed as a military musician played “Taps” on a bugle. An Army honor guard fired a 21-gun salute.

Another Illinois soldier, 22-year-old Pfc. Michael Pearson of Bolingbrook, also died in the Fort Hood attack. He was buried Saturday at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood.


Article: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/1..._velez_111909/

TOKYO — Japanese police identified an American soldier Thursday as the prime suspect in a fatal-hit-and-run accident on the southern island of Okinawa and asked the U.S. Army to bring him in for further questioning.

The incident comes amid strains in U.S.-Japan relations as Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama reviews the American military presence in the country. Some members of his administration have suggested they would like to see some U.S. bases moved off Okinawa, where more than half the 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan are based.

Many residents there have complained about noise, pollution and crime tied to U.S. troops.

Investigators have linked the soldier to a Nov. 7 accident in which a 66-year-old man was hit by a car and killed, said Okinawa police spokesman Takashi Shiradou. Investigators say the soldier raised suspicions when he took his military-registered car, which had dents and blood stains, to a repair shop. Samples collected from the car matched those of the victim.

"We have obtained enough evidence to make the soldier the prime suspect," Shiradou said.

The soldier, who has not been charged, has been interviewed three times by prefectural police in relation to the incident, said Maj. James Crawford, chief of public affairs for the U.S. Army in Japan.

"We are cooperating with (Japanese police) and at the same time we're trying to respect the rights of the individual," said Crawford, referring to the soldier. "He hasn't been charged with anything yet, either by prefectural police or the U.S. Army."

Under the Status of Forces Agreement between the two countries, American servicemen suspected of committing a crime off base can be tried in a Japanese court, although the U.S. isn't obligated to hand over suspects before indictment.

The case has begun to get some political attention, with Hatoyama asking for a pre-indictment handover of the suspect to Japanese authorities.

The soldier, whose name and rank has not been disclosed, has refused to come in for further questioning on the advice of his Japanese attorney unless the session is fully videotaped, said Shiradou. Generally, Japanese police are limited in their use of videotaping during questionings.

The attorney, Toshimitsu Takaesu, did not immediately respond to phone calls.

According to the local newspaper Ryuku Shimpo, Takaesu said the soldier denied any awareness of hitting a person, saying he wouldn't have taken the car to a repair shop if that was the case, and that he thought he had hit a tree.

Japanese police only identified the suspect as a soldier in his 20s belonging to Torii communication station in Yomitan, Okinawa. Kyodo News agency has said he is a 27-year-old staff sergeant.

Crawford said the soldier, who lived off base, has been required to remain on base until the situation is resolved.


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...itnrun_111909/

KABUL — President Hamid Karzai was inaugurated Thursday for a second term, pledging that Afghanistan will prosecute corrupt officials and control its own security within five years.

As Karzai vowed to make the country safe from an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency, two U.S. service members died in a bomb attack and a suicide bomber killed 10 civilians in the south. But his speech appeared to make strides toward appeasing the international allies he needs to fend off the Islamist militants.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Karzai’s comments about battling corruption provide a “very strong base on which to measure the actions taken.”

“He could have been very vague and talked about how we’re all against it and all want to end it, but he was much more specific, and we’re going to, along with the people of Afghanistan, watch very carefully to see how that’s implemented,” said Clinton, who attended Karzai’s inauguration.

But she said setbacks are inevitable.

“We are under no illusions about the difficulties of this mission,” Clinton said.

The two U.S. service members were killed by a suicide car bomber who detonated his explosives near the gate of a NATO base, said Jilani Farahe, deputy chief of police for Zabul province.

The 10 civilians died when a suicide bomber targeting an Afghan security forces convoy blew himself up in a busy market before reaching the convoy, said the deputy police chief of Uruzgan province, Gulad Khan.

Three of the dead were boys aged between 12 and 14 who were selling shopping bags in the market, Khan said. Thirteen people were wounded. Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary confirmed the attack.

In his speech, Karzai also said he wanted private Afghan and foreign security companies to stop operating in the country within two years.

“We are determined that by the next five years, the Afghan forces are capable of taking the lead in ensuring security and stability across the country,” with foreign troops only responsible for support and training, he said.

Commitment to tackle corruption
Karzai also said nobody was above the law and promised to go after corrupt officials.

His government, he said, “is committed to end the culture of impunity and violation of law, and bring to justice those involved in spreading corruption and abuse of public property.”

He promised to pass a law requiring that all senior officials — including deputy ministers and provincial governors — declare and register their assets. The legislation would broaden a constitutional provision that already requires such declarations for those of ministerial rank and higher.

Karzai won this year’s fraud-marred presidential election after his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of a runoff, saying it was impossible for the vote to be fair.

But Karzai sought to portray himself as a unifying force and invited those who ran in the election to work together for the benefit of the country.

“I would like to invite all the presidential candidates, including my brother Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, to come together to achieve the important task of national unity, and make our common home, Afghanistan, proud and prosperous,” he said. He stopped short, however, of inviting him into his government.

But Abdullah, who served as Karzai’s foreign minister for several years, said it was Karzai’s administration that had created the problems.

“His record and policies I consider as the basic and fundamental reason for the failures of the international community and Afghanistan together,” Abdullah told AP. “So for me it’s those agendas for change which are important rather than my having posts in the Cabinet, that has never been my agenda.”

Karzai said a loya jirga, or traditional council of elders, would be called to address the insurgency, but did not set a timeframe.

“We will utilize all national and international resources to put an end to war and fratricide,” he said.

Karzai, who has often bristled at the criticism leveled at him from Western powers, said his government was doing whatever it could to implement reforms.

He said a conference would be held soon in Kabul to address ways to tackle corruption, and that his government would take its fight against drug trafficking seriously.

The president insisted he would select “expert ministers” capable of providing competent leadership.

Karzai was sworn in to a second five-year term by the head of the Supreme Court during a ceremony attended by hundreds of Afghan and foreign dignitaries from more than 40 countries, including Clinton, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and British Foreign Minister David Miliband. Heavily armed soldiers stood beside armored personnel carriers at the gate to the palace.

What lies ahead
Karzai said Zardari’s presence at his inauguration was a sign of “good relationship, good brotherhood.” Traditionally rocky relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which share a 1,510-mile-long border, have improved steadily since Zardari’s elected government replaced the military dictatorship of Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Some saw Karzai’s speech as an indication that he was serious about tackling graft.

“It was a renewed commitment to curb corruption and appoint competent people. I think that was good,” said Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, governor of the Afghanistan State Bank.

The Taliban, however, said the inauguration ceremony was meaningless and that they would not accept his call for national unity.

“Today is not a historic day. This is a government based on nothing because of the continuing presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan,” spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a telephone call.

“Karzai’s call to the Taliban to come to the government has no meaning. He became president through fraud and lies,” Mujahid said.

The head of Afghanistan’s human rights commission said the speech struck the right tone of reform but that the Karzai government would not be able to succeed without the help of its international allies.

“The speech was good because he said we need action,” said Sima Samar. “He can deliver if there is a political will — but not just on his part, also on the part of the international community.”

Others were hopeful, if somewhat skeptical.

“President Karzai has not done too well in the past four years. I hope he can perform better in the future,” Sher Mohamad, a taxi driver, said as he passed through a police and army checkpoint. “In this country if you want a good job you have to pay a bribe to get it. Maybe he can stop that.”


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...ection_111909/

RALEIGH, N.C. — Army officials plan to prevent media from covering Sarah Palin’s appearance at Fort Bragg on Monday, saying they fear the event will turn into political grandstanding against President Barack Obama.

Fort Bragg spokesman Tom McCollum told The Associated Press on Thursday that Army officials had decided to keep media away from Palin’s book promotion at the North Carolina base.

Other members of the public would be permitted to attend, however.

McCollum said the Army did not want the event to become a platform for Palin supporters to express political opinions “directed against the commander in chief.”

Palin began a promotional tour this week for the memoir “Going Rogue,” with plans to travel through several states key to the 2008 election.


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20..._bragg_111909/