Swift Connection Home for Deployed Troops

By Elaine Wilson of American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2011 - Deployed service members often count on connections home -- whether it's e-mail, Skype, Facebook or Twitter -- for encouragement, comfort or just a welcome diversion. Marine Corps Sgts. Wesley Johnson, left, and Robert Brown, both of the 1st Marine Logistics Group Exchange Detachment, set up a satellite dish for a morale satellite unit nicknamed the "Cheetah." These units offer free Internet access and phone service to service members deployed to remote locations in Afghanistan. Courtesy photo  But while Internet access has become a foregone conclusion on many large bases in Afghanistan, it's a different case in the more remote forward locations. Troops there may not have Internet access for weeks or months at a time. To remedy that, officials are racing portable satellite units, nicknamed "Cheetahs," to forward-deployed troops in the farthest reaches of Afghanistan. The name connotes speed, which the units deliver. Cheetahs come equipped with up to eight laptops, phones and a router to provide service members free, swift Internet access and crystal-clear Web or phone calls home. "When it was broken out, it was like Christmas morning," one deployed Marine said of the satellite unit. The Marine Corps started the program about two years ago to fill a communication gap for forward-deployed Marines, Jose Burgos of Marine Corps Community Services said. Timothy R. Larsen, director for the Marines' personal and family readiness division, asked his experts to come up with an idea that would enable Internet in some of the most remote, rugged spots in Afghanistan, he explained. They came up with a portable and highly efficient satellite unit, Burgos said, which they pieced together from equipment that already had proven successful in the field. The Marine Corps Community Support Morale Satellite Office, which manages the program for the Defense Department, successfully tested three units in Afghanistan in 2008. The benefits were evident, he said. Troops could set up and take the unit down in 20 minutes and run it off of a Humvee battery or generator. And since it's portable, it can be packed up and moved to any operation around the world at a moment's notice. Defense Department officials tracked the program's success, and the Pentagon's military community and family policy office pitched in with enough funds to add 35 more units in 2009 for Marine Corps, Army and Air Force use. U.S. Forces Afghanistan joined with the military community and family policy office to fund 100 more in 2010 to further increase the access to remote areas, explained Pam Crespi, director of morale, welfare and recreation policy for the office of military community and family policy. "Communication is the No. 1 morale factor in helping to cope with deployments," she said. "That's the driver behind our efforts. Because it's communication, it's one of our top priorities." The program that started with three units now has grown to more than 130 -- either in Afghanistan or on their way –- reaching troops in some of the most remote and austere deployed locations, Crespi said. The Marines' Cheetahs usually accompany a portable mini-post exchange -- loaded onto the back of a semi truck -- to an outpost, explained Joshua Montgomery, Wi-Fi and satellite communications manager for Marine Corps Community Services. News of the arrival spreads quickly, as does a line for the Cheetah. The line typically is longer for Cheetah use than for the PX, Montgomery noted. That's understandable, he added, since the service members may have gone months without talking to loved ones. "The service people are just happy. It doesn't cost them anything, and you can call directly back to your house," Montgomery said, noting the lines are so clear it's as if the person they're talking to is "right next door." One Marine, Burgos recalled, hadn't talked with his pregnant wife in three months. The Cheetah came to his outpost a day after his baby was born, and he was able to talk to his wife in the hospital. "Other stories like this one come back and make us feel real good," Montgomery said. For the first 13 Cheetah units dedicated to Marine use in Afghanistan, experts have tracked usage at about 3,500 phone calls and more than 8,600 Internet sessions per month, he said. Officials are looking to expand the unit's capability with more laptops. And the Marine Corps now sponsors a training component that offers a three-day course on operating the units to all services about four times a year, Montgomery said. The Cheetah program is part of an overall endeavor to increase Internet access across Afghanistan, Crespi explained, noting that troops already have access to more than 400 free Internet cafes in Afghanistan equipped with more than 4,000 personal computers and nearly 2,000 phones. The American Red Cross and USO also provide free Internet in their centers and canteens, and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service offers a fee-based service to troops who want Internet access in their personal living areas.

Related Sites: Marine Corps Community Services Military Community and Family Policy

Marines in Afghanistan communicate with family and friends back home using morale satellite units nicknamed "Cheetahs." These units offer free Internet access and phone service to service members deployed to remote locations in Afghanistan. Courtesy photo

Super Bowl Mania Grabs Deployed Troops

By Donna Miles of American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2011 - The 101st Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, which deployed to Afghanistan in August as part of the 30,000-troop surge, isn't going to let 7,500 miles and a 10-and-a-half-hour time difference keep its soldiers from doing exactly what they'd be doing back home at Fort Campbell, Ky.: cheering on their favorite team during Super Bowl XLV. Super Bowl mania is alive and well in Afghanistan, where members of the 101st Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team are gearing up to watch the big game live via American Forces Radio and Television Service. Here, Army Sgt. Kali Tackitt, left, and Army Staff Sgt. Todd Christopherson display their conflicting loyalties. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew Graham  Excitement is mounting at Forward Operating Base Sharana as many "Currahee Brigade" soldiers lay plans to watch the big game live. The brigade will postpone all but the most critical of its regular nighttime meetings so troops can hit their racks early to get up to watch the game, reported Army Maj. Ali Johnson, the brigade public affairs officer. For troops in Afghanistan, the kickoff will be at 5 a.m. local time Feb. 7. Assembling around TVs being set up in morale, welfare and recreation tents and conference rooms around the base, they'll join their comrades in arms in 175 countries and aboard Navy ships at sea in an annual tradition that's as all-American as Thanksgiving and apple pie. American Forces Radio and Television Service has delivered the Super Bowl live since the game's inception in January 1967. Servicemembers at Joint Base Balad in Iraq, where it will be 2:30 a.m. at kickoff, are gearing up for the festivities, too, reported Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Lensch, a member of the Army Reserve's 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command's personal security team. Posters around the base are heralding the big event, and big flat-screen TVs will take center stage during myriad Super Bowl parties being planned. "I think there are going to be a lot of people up all night watching the Super Bowl," Lensch said. "A lot of people are going to be walking around like zombies the next day," he added with a chuckle. The Defense Logistics Agency has worked to make deployed troops' Super Bowl experience as down-home as possible, complete with all the chicken wings, pizza and chili they can handle, reported Nick Sistrun from DLA's Troop Support activity. In addition, DLA shipped almost 1,900 cases of mozzarella sticks, 1,300 cases of jalepeno poppers, 1,200 cases of meatballs and more than 1,500 cases of potato wedges to Iraq and Afghanistan, he said. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bradley Huber, a food service technician for the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command in Iraq, plans to serve up a big selection of pizza and finger foods during the game. And in a special exception to policy -- one that Army Lt. Col. Gerard "Gerry" Schwarz, the unit's deputy support operations officer, emphasized is closely controlled -- the troops will get two beers each to drink during the game. "There's only one time in the course of the year in Iraq that we are allowed to have two beers: Super Bowl Sunday," he said. As the sustainers responsible for logistics distribution throughout Iraq, the 103rd tracked those deliveries just as closely as it monitors distribution of the Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, he said. "We're a 24-hour operation, so those who are finishing up the end of the night shift will be able to watch that game live and have their two beers and their pizza," Schwarz said. "And those of us that work during the day will have to wait until our shift is over and watch the rebroadcast, but we'll be able to go to the dining facility and have two beers and pizza." Because of the early morning kickoff time in Afghanistan, Task Force Currahee plans to provide a lumberjack breakfast rather than traditional Super Bowl fare, Johnson said. And instead of beer, the soldiers will wash down their chow with coffee and juice. Johnson called the opportunity to watch the Super Bowl live a huge morale boost for deployed troops. The Super Bowl, after all, represents a lot more than just good times and good food with family and friends, he said. "It represents a small piece or tradition of America," Johnson said. "Soldiers enjoy being able to cheer for their favorite teams, talk trash and enjoy the camaraderie of their fellow soldiers while being away from home with their military extended family. Any event like this that gives soldiers the opportunity to take a breather is always good for morale." Although they see themselves as a band of brothers in their combat mission, the Currahee soldiers exhibit some distinct differences in their team loyalties. Army Sgt. Kali Tackitt, a supply sergeant from Auburn, Calif., comes from a family of die-hard Green Bay Packers fans. In fact, Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr, who earned most valuable player honors in the first two Super Bowls -- wrote her uncle a letter back when he was 9 years old, and it's been passed down through her family as a prized heirloom. Like many of her fellow Packers fans, Tackitt said she's suffered along with her team as it endured injuries and "unfortunate losses" over the season. "But we made it through, and it showed all the haters what we are all about," she said. "I will be a Packers fan in good times and bad times, and trust and believe I will be wearing my cheesehead hat and my Aaron Rodgers or Greg Jennings jersey on the night of the 6th. ... I am super excited for my team to be in the Super Bowl, and I cannot wait until they earn their ring!" Army Staff Sgt. Todd Christopherson, the brigade's public affairs noncommissioned officer in charge from Rapid City, S.D., feels as passionately about the Pittsburgh Steelers. "The Pittsburgh Steelers have been my team since I can remember watching the black-and-gold with my father, who is also a diehard fan, in the lean years back before the '70s," he said. "They played with heart and fire even when they were a losing team." Christopherson remembered watching his very first live football game at Pittsburgh's old Three Rivers Stadium. He thrilled to roar of the spectators, whom he called "those nuts -- my kind of people," many of them wearing no shirts despite the bitter cold. "It was a sight to see and hear," he recalled with pride. The experience Christopherson expects and that he and his fellow soldiers will enjoy this weekend, transcends football, he said. "It was not just about the game or the fans," he said. "It was about good old-fashioned American pride. You may win, but by God, you will know you were in a game and damn sure worked for it." Although mission requirements will prevent him from being able to watch the game live, Lensch called the chance to watch the Super Bowl live a great escape for troops thousands of miles from home. "It just takes you away," he said, comparing it to his experience as he sat with about 200 fellow soldiers during his last deployment to Iraq watching the "Ice Age 2" movie. "For that short amount of time, it feels like you're not here," he said. "You can forget about everything and just take all the weight off your shoulders." (Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Graham of the 101st Airborne Division's Task Force Currahee and Nick Sistrun of the DLA Troop Support activity contributed to this article.)

Related Articles: Agency Provides Super Bowl Fare for Troops  AFRTS Gears Up for Live Super Bowl Telecast

Fallen Marine's Family Adopts His Best Friend

By Randy Roughton Defense Media Activity-San Antonio LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, Feb. 4, 2011 - "Whatever is mine is his," Marine Corps Pfc. Colton W. Rusk wrote about Eli, his military working dog, in the final days of their deployment in Afghanistan. Brady Rusk, 12, gets a somber kiss from Eli, a bomb-sniffing military working dog, during a retirement and adoption ceremony at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, Feb. 3, 2011. The Labrador retriever was assigned to Brady's older brother, Marine Corps Pfc. Colton Rusk, who was killed in Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III  Yesterday, Rusk's family helped to prove his words true when they adopted the black Labrador retriever in a retirement and adoption ceremony at the military working dog school here. After Rusk, 20, was killed Dec. 5 in Afghanistan's Helmand province by Taliban sniper fire, Marine Corps officials told Darrell and Kathy Rusk, his parents, that Eli, the young Marine's infantry explosives detector dog, crawled on top of their son to protect him after he was shot. The Rusks drove here from their home in Orange Grove, Texas, along with their sons -- Cody, 22, and Brady, 12 -- as well as Rusk's aunt, Yvonne Rusk, and his grandparents, Jan Rusk and Katy and Wayne O'Neal. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jessy Eslick of the Defense Department's military working dog research and development section handed the leash to the family, praising Eli as "a dog that brought Marines home to their families." Eli immediately began licking Kathy Rusk's palms and fell into the arms of his former handler's father. "In his last letter we got the day before we buried him, at the very top was a little smudge that said 'Eli's kisses,'" said the fallen Marine's mother, who wore a two-sided pendant with a photo of her son on one side and another snapshot of him with Eli on the other. "[Colton] thought whatever was [his] was Eli's. "We're Colton's family, so it's just right that we're Eli's family now." Eli, who was trained in the military working dog program here, reportedly is the second working dog the Marines discharged to permit adoption by a fallen handler's family. Cpl. Dustin J. Lee's family adopted his German shepherd, Lex, after the Quitman, Miss., Marine died from wounds he received in a mortar attack in Iraq's Anbar province March 21, 2007. The corporal's family worked for nine months with an online petition and congressional help to secure the adoption. Kathy Rusk said her family didn't have as many obstacles in their quest to adopt Eli. Texas Gov. Rick Perry started the process of working with the Marines on the dog's discharge, and Scooter Kelo, who trained Eli and also taught Rusk on working with the dog, also helped to make the adoption possible. "It gets our mind off the sadness of losing Colton," she said, "just knowing we're going to have a little piece of Colton in Eli. I just wished he could talk and tell us some stories. Just to know we're going to be able to share the love we have for our son with something that he loved dearly." Rusk joined the Marines after he graduated from Orange Grove High School and committed himself to the Marines the same week that his best friend, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Justin Rokohl, lost both legs in southern Afghanistan. Rusk deployed to Afghanistan on his 20th birthday, with Eli, as part of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, from Camp Pendleton, Calif. "He wanted to be a Marine since he was 10 years old," his mother said of her fallen son. "We talked to him about maybe going to college first, but he said he had to fight for his country first." Rusk often told his parents how dogs like Eli were well-trained here and in South Carolina, where he was trained as a bomb detector dog handler. "We've had dogs all of our lives," Darrell Rusk said. "Since all of the boys were babies, they had one. Colton was probably the better handler of the bunch. When he went to train in South Carolina, he said, 'Dad, we don't know how to train dogs. These dogs here will bring you a beer, they'll open the can for you, but sometimes they'll drink it for you, too.' He said that was how well-trained the dogs were, and he was really amazed how much you can do with a dog once you've worked with them." The dog Rusk liked to call "My boy, Eli" earned a reputation for wanting to be wherever his handler was. Eli didn't want to sleep on the ground; he slept in Rusk's sleeping bag. They even ate together outside after Rusk found out that Eli wasn't allowed to eat in the chow hall. "He told a story of when they were in the chow line one time," the fallen Marine's father said. "One of the Marines kicked at the dog one time and told him to get the dog out. Colton and the Marine got into a little scuffle. They told Colton he could stay inside and leave the dog outside, but from then on, Colton and Eli ate outside. That's how tight he and the dog were." The family met Eli once when they visited Rusk at Camp Pendleton the week he deployed. After the retirement and adoption ceremony, the Rusks took Eli to their home on more than 20 acres of land, which he will share with the family, their horses and three German shepherds. Jan Rusk said this was another way to honor her grandson's memory, but it also will help the family as they continue to cope with their loss. "Eli was a part of Colton, and now they have a little part of Colton back," she said.

Eli, a bomb-sniffing military working dog, was assigned to Marine Pfc. Colton Rusk, who was killed Dec. 5, 2010, in Afghanistan. Eli loyally stayed by his handler's side, even biting at Marines trying to move their fallen comrade. Rusk's family traveled to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, Feb. 3, 2011, after officials granted permission for them to adopt the dog. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III The family of Marine Corps Pfc. Carlton Rusk, who was killed Dec. 5, 2010, in Afghanistan, greets Eli, his bomb-sniffing military working dog at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, Feb. 3, 2011. Defense Department officials granted the Rusk family permission to adopt the dog. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III

Amnesty International urges Maoists

Posted on Fri, Feb 4, 2011 at 9:02 PM

Washington, DC: The Communist Party of India (Maoist), an armed opposition group, must immediately release a civilian and five officers of the Chhattisgarh state armed police force whom they have been holding as hostages since January 25 and must ensure their safety and well-being as long as they detain them, Amnesty International said.

The five police officers – Ramadhar Patel, Raghunandan Dhruv, T Ekka, and two constables Ranjan Dubey and Manishankar – and the civilian were traveling in a civilian transport bus at the time of their abduction at Kungera village. They were traveling from Dhanora post to Narayanpur town.
The Maoists, in a communication to the media issued by their East Bastar committee, have demanded that the authorities should stop plans to establish a new training centre on jungle warfare in Chhattisgarh to be run by India’s armed forces. The state authorities recently allotted 310 square miles in Abhujmaad, a dense forest believed to be partly under Maoist control.
The Maoists believe that this move could be the first step towards "eventual deployment" of the armed forces in the operations against them. The authorities maintain that the army’s plans are limited to training purposes and would not extend to combat operations.
The taking of hostages is prohibited by international law. It is contrary to fundamental principles of humanity, as reflected in international humanitarian law, to seize or detain anyone and threaten to kill or harm them if the authorities do not comply with the hostage-takers’ demands.
Amnesty International urges Maoists to stop threatening to kill or harm these police officers and guarantee their lives and safety.

According to latest reports, there have been attempts through informal channels to secure the release of the abducted police officers.

For the last five years, Chhattisgarh has witnessed operations by the state police, the central paramilitary forces and the Salwa Judum, a private militia widely held to be state-sponsored, against the armed Maoists who claim to be fighting on behalf of adivasi (indigenous) communities. Both sides have routinely targeted civilians and indulged in unlawful killings and abductions.

In the latest instance, the Maoists had abducted, on September 19, 2010, eight police officers in the forest areas on the state’s border with Andhra Pradesh demanding that the authorities halt ongoing operations against them and stop targeting of adivasi villagers and release those arrested on charges of having supported Maoists. The Maoists then killed three of the abducted policemen before releasing the others.

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied. 

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Remembering Malika Pukhraj

By Iftikhar Chaudri

Abhi to Main Jawan Hoon.....!

Malika Pukhraj (b1912 – 4Feb 2004) was a highly popular singer of Pakistan. She was generally called as "Malika" meaning "The Queen." She is extremely popular for her rendition of Hafeez Jalandhri's song, Abhi to main jawan hoon ("I am still youthful"), which is enjoyed by millions not only in Pakistan, but also in India. Her popular numbers were,Lo phir basant aaya and Quli Qutub's Piya baaj piyale piya jaye na and Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Mere qatil mere dildar mere paas raho. Malika Pukhraj, was born in village Mirpur, on the banks of the River Akhnoor, 16 miles from Jammu, and as she grew up her mother moved to Kanak Mandi area of Jammu, in present Jammu and Kashmir, where she spent early years of her life, she was given the name "Malika" at birth, by 'Majzoob', 'Baba Roti Ram, a spiritualist, in Akhnoor area, and named Pukhraj by her Aunt Malika Pukhraj who was coached by Ustad [Ali Baksh Kasuri-father of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan]. At age nine, At nine she visited Jammu and performed at coronation ceremony of Maharaja Hari Singh, who got so impressed by her voice that she appointed a court singer in his Durbar, and stayed there for another nine years . 

Malika Pukhraj in 1920s in Kashmir

Over the next 8 decades she captivated her audience with her command over the singing genres of Thumri, Ghazal, Bhajan and folk Pahari Geet, including Dogri folk songs . She was among the greatest singers of British India in the 1940s, and after Partition of India in 1947, she migrated to Lahore, Pakistan, where she received further fame, through her radio performances with composer, Kale Khan.

In 1980, she received the Presidential Pride of Performance Award, Pakistan. In 1977, when All India Radio, for which she sang until Partition, was celebrating its Golden Jubilee, she was invited to India, and awarded with the 'legend of Voice' award. Malika Pukhraj also recorded her memoirs in the novel Song Sung True.
Malika Pukhraj, died in Lahore on February 4, 2004. Her funeral procession started from her residence West Canal bank, and she laid to rest at her ancestral 'Shah Jamal' graveyard in Lahore.
Malika Pukhraj was married to Syed Shabbir Hussain Shah, a Government Officer and had 6 children, including Safiea, her eldest daughter; Tahira Syed, one of Malika Pukhraj’s two daughters, emerged as a well-known singer in her own right. Her other daughter, Tasneem, is married to famous lawyer and senator S.M. Zafar. Her eldest son Tauqeer lives in Model Town, Lahore, and his wife Shahnaaz, her other son is, Maj. (R) Syed Tanveer Hussain. 

Gifted with a melodious voice that cascaded like a mountain, she sang both Hindustani and Dogri songs, interspersed with ghazals. This songstress of the hills was like a belle who unburdened her heart with natural ease and grace that never gave the impression that her music was being forced on the listener. It had the smoothness of a silken texture from which all crudeness had been eliminated so that the senses were not jolted but lulled into the realm of a dreamland, where soft rhythms merged with the morning breeze Naseem that seemed to waft through the assembly before which she performed. Mallika used to wear dark glasses all the time as though to escape the harsh realities of life, but still her vision was not blinkered. Her youthful daughter Tahira was there to remind one of Mallika's pristine beauty. 

This scribe tried to interview Mallika Pukhraj after the show but she held up her still dainty hand with the exclamation that the performance had tired her and she would expect people to judge her on the basis of hunar-e-mosiqui (talent of musical diction) to convey all that she had to say and stood for. Tahira was more forthcoming, her pretty face making her views and feelings more expressive as she spoke about her mother's love for India and the Dogri culture which she missed very much in Pakistan. After that brief meeting with Mallika Pukhraj one couldn't help drawing comparison with Begum Akhtar. To Jigar Moradabadi and Josh Malihabadi she was bulbul-ki-awaz, the sweet voice of the bulbul. Both were among the Begum's intimate friends who knew her even before the days when Munna Khan played the tabla at the Chowk in Lucknow, where she and her mother shared a kotha during the early years of World War II. Jigar's ustad, Asghar Gondawi was, according to some, her first husband. 

Iftikhar Chaudri

One never thought of Begum Akhtar as the courtesan of Faizabad because that part of her life was over by the time one got to know her. The days in Rampur with the nawab and the jewel scandal, the rivalry with Siddeshwari Devi and Rasoolan Bai and even Mallika Pukhraj of "Abhi to main jawan hoon" fame had also become part of drawing room whispers by then.
Tahira now thinks of Begum Akhtar as an aunt whose voice she heard distinctly even in the far-away Lahore while Mallika herself had only fond memories of her, with hardly a trace of envy. Yet some of those who saw the Begum would wish that she had the face and figure of Tahira, for that is the sort of beauty people who never met her link with that throbbing voice. But to come back to Mallika Pukhraj, one is sad that she is no more and sadder still to know that Tahira and her lawyer husband have separated after an acrimonious divorce. 

Her voice is reminiscent of her mother's with the sort of pathos one associates with the grieving heart of the beloved stranded in the wilderness. Every so often it pierces the heart and one sees in the mind's eye a nose-ring flashing through a half-open curtain, lightly painted cheeks and lips from which emanated that song of eternal love blending with the irony of an aging singer. To sustain such pathos long after being part of the big glamour show was Mallika Pukhraj's speciality.

"Joining US Military Academy was my dream"

Posted on Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 7:51 PM

By Vince Little of The Bayonet

FORT BENNING, Ga., Feb. 3, 2011 - As a boy growing up in Uganda, Joseph D'costa became inspired by America's role in World War II and told his teacher he wanted to go to the U.S. Military Academy someday.

Army Reserve Lt. Col. Joseph D'costa receives the Order of St. Maurice, awarded by the National Infantry Association and the chief of infantry for the U.S. Army for significant contributions to the infantry, during a transfer-of-authority ceremony held at Fort Benning, Ga., Jan. 11, 2011. U.S. Army photo by John Helms

"She laughed at me for my dream of going to West Point, telling me it would be impossible because I wasn't an American and Uganda had no ties to the U.S.," he recalled. "I still remember that to this day."

The 13th of 14 children raised by an Indian father and an African mother, D'costa was exiled to Austria at age 7 following Idi Amin's 1971 rise to power in Uganda. Two years later, he came to the United States and ultimately got into West Point on a third and final attempt, earning his commission in 1989.

Now a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, D'costa just completed a 10-month mobilization here as commander of 1st Battalion, 378th Infantry Regiment, a Lafayette, La.-based unit activated to augment basic combat training for the 192nd Infantry Brigade on Sand Hill.

"When we talk about the diversity of soldiers across our Army, Lieutenant Colonel D'Costa's life story is one that tells a great story and serves as a motivational and inspiring example for our soldiers, [Defense Department] civilians and the nation's civilian population," said Army Lt. Col. Roger O'Steen, the brigade's executive officer.

Shortly after Amin seized the Ugandan presidency in a military coup, D'costa's mother fell ill with pneumonia-like symptoms. Because of her religious faith, however, she didn't get proper treatment as Amin decreed that anyone who was not a Muslim would get sent to the back of the line for health care. She died at age 42.

"For me, it was very devastating, to realize the person I depended on so much was no longer there," said D'costa, who was 6 years old at the time. He said Amin then declared that anybody who wasn't 100 percent black had a choice: leave Uganda or face execution.

D'costa's father fled to India. A brother and sister got sent to Italy, and D'costa took exile in Austria with five other siblings. Three stayed behind.

"I was half, so I was considered impure and had to leave," he said. "Here's a black man saying, 'You are not the perfect race.' When you experience racism from your own race, ... I was not expecting that.

"Idi Amin was killing so many innocent people when they weren't leaving the country fast enough," he continued. "Books were burned. Even educated blacks got killed, because they were considered threats to Amin."

The "Butcher of Uganda," as Amin became known, ruled over the nation for eight years. The number of opponents killed, tortured or imprisoned varies from 100,000 to a half million, according to biographical accounts. The dictator was ousted in 1979 by Ugandan nationalists, and he fled into exile.

In Austria, a Catholic priest looked after D'costa, who spoke Swahili in Uganda and never learned English. In time, he learned German.

D'costa said he told the priest about his desire to attend West Point. The priest was a friend of then-U.N. Secretary General Kurt Waldheim, who arranged for 9-year-old D'costa and several siblings to go to the United States. He went to live with an older brother in Englewood, N.J.

After graduating high school in 1983, D'costa applied to West Point, but he was turned down.

"They said I'm not American and don't speak English well enough -- the very thing that teacher was telling me would happen," he said.

So he joined the Army ROTC cadet corps at Providence College in Rhode Island. Following his freshman year, the department head offered him a full scholarship, but he'd have to abandon his West Point dream and remain at Providence.

"It would've been the easy way out," he said, "but I needed to know how far I was willing to commit. I had given up on that, but [the ROTC department head] said, 'If West Point is in your heart, you need to apply again.'"

D'costa submitted a second application, but West Point was already at its 1,500-cadet limit, so he had to go to the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School at Fort Monmouth, N.J., for a year and then apply again. If turned down, he would have been too old for another shot, but he finally was accepted and became a 21-year-old "plebe."

D'costa served in the Gulf War as a field artillery officer. He left the Army in 1994, but joined the Army Reserve two years later. Since then, he's deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan, and he has supported military relief missions following Hurricane Katrina and the Pakistan earthquake.

At a ceremony in Lafayette on March 12, he'll turn over the battalion command that he's held since 2008. He's set to leave Fort Benning on Feb. 11.

"I credit every success I've had to my faith in Jesus Christ, because I shouldn't be alive today," he said. "My life should've ended in Uganda. All these people I encountered along the way were put into my life to help me reach my goals. ... I never looked at my skin color as a reason I did not get to West Point at first. They were looking for certain qualities and tools I needed to learn."

D'costa will return to work in the private sector, but he's expected to graduate from the U.S. Army War College by July. From there, he'll learn if the Army has any further plans for him.

The lieutenant colonel praised the U.S. military for preserving freedom around the globe and said he stays in the Army Reserve to serve his country.

"The United States could've said 'no' to me," he said. "Putting my life on the line for a country that took me in is a small price to pay. ... Freedom is so priceless, and all I have to do is serve in the reserves to continue saying 'thank you.' Until the Army tells me to get out, I'll stay.

"This is the greatest country in the world," he continued. "When I say that, I'm not just saying it because I heard it from somebody else. ... The majority of Americans don't know what it's like when you have no freedom."

D'costa said he hopes ultimately to work for NASA. In the late 1990s, he spent two years with the agency in a liaison role for a civilian company.

"West Point seemed like an impossible goal, ... but I kept pursuing that goal till I made it happen," he said. "You can achieve anything you want -- you just have to put a little effort into it." 

Military Partnerships Critical to World Affairs

By Lisa Daniel of American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2011 - The importance of strong civilian-military partnerships has never been greater, and the secretaries of state and defense are setting the example for how to build and sustain those partnerships, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks at the inaugural Global Chiefs of Mission Conference at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Feb. 2, 2011. DOD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley  Navy Adm. Mike Mullen made the comments to more than a hundred Foreign Service officers at the State Department's inaugural Global Chiefs of Mission Conference here. "Thanks for what you do, thanks for what you do for our country and for people around the world," he said. "Your participation and feedback is absolutely critical in everything we're doing." Mullen added that in his four decades in the Nav,y he was "trained very early on in ports around the world how important the country teams were. I can't say enough about the importance of the team right now." Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton are setting an example for diplomats and service members at every level to follow in breaking with history to create a close working relationship, Mullen said. "My capstone view is to be fortunate enough to literally watch two masters in Secretary Clinton and Secretary Gates," he said. "Many of you have grown up in this business where the secretaries of state and defense did not have each other over for dinner very often. It's actually fun to listen to Secretary Gates regale me with stories of the past. But those stories are in the past. "We cannot, in this world we are living in right now, live without the kind of relationship we have between these two secretaries," the chairman continued. "The difference that they make in terms of setting the example ... resonates in both organizations. You see it from the very top to the most junior people we have in the field. I think it is an example for the 21st century that we fundamentally need to adopt." Mullen noted that he and Gates sometimes appear before the House and Senate foreign relations committees, and that Clinton has appeared before armed services committees – often at the same time. And Clinton, in introducing Mullen, said they frequently meet to talk through complex international issues. The chairman, she said, "grasps in a very deep and profound way a vision of an integrated American power." "Time and time again, he has brought sensitivity and insight into causes of dilemmas we are watching unfold, and the forces at work," Clinton said. Mullen said he tries to stay focused on the next generation of leaders and has been impressed with both the military members and civilians serving around the world, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he said the wars "changed us" into realizing the need for collaboration. "I have great confidence in our future, because this young generation is wired to serve," he said, "and we just have to figure out how to give them the paths to serve, because we all will transcend this business to another part of our life. Military relations in places such as Pakistan, Colombia and Haiti have been made easier due to the judgment and leadership of the State Department's ambassadors, Mullen said. "That's changing the world," he said, "and we do that in ways now that some of us couldn't imagine a few years ago." To continue with such progress, Congress must fund the State Department at appropriate levels, Mullen said. "We have got to get the State Department budget right," he said. "We took too much money away. And when you take money away from the State Department, you take people away, and people are your main effort. Having a robust enough budget to meet the needs of our time is absolutely mandatory. "I'm not going to go so far as to say you can have some of mine," he continued, drawing laughter, "but I recognize that if these teams are going to work together, their budgets need to be about right."

Biographies: Hillary Rodham Clinton  Navy Adm. Mike Mullen Related Sites: State Department