During a shura in Deh Rawud, Afghanistan

U.S. Soldiers from the Deh Rawud Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) secure a perimeter during a shura in Deh Rawud, Afghanistan, Aug. 5, 2010. Security for the shura was provided by a joint force of Afghan National Police and PRT Soldiers. (DoD photo by Sgt. J.C. McKenzie, U.S. Army/Released)

A break during a dismounted patrol

U.S. Soldiers assigned to 3rd Platoon, Foxtrot Company, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment take a break during a dismounted patrol near Combat Outpost Mizan in the Zabul province of Afghanistan Aug. 16, 2010. The patrol focused on speaking with the local population to assess their needs and surveying the security of the area. (DoD photo by Senior Airman Nathanael Callon, U.S. Air Force/Released)

Pentagon Releases Final Fort Hood Shooting Review

Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 1:44 AM

By Elaine Wilson American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON : Pentagon officials today released the Defense Department’s final review of recommendations issued by an independent panel in the wake of the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting spree on Fort Hood, Texas. Among the department’s top priorities, as outlined in the review, are boosting on-base emergency response capabilities, improving law enforcement and force protection information sharing with partner agencies, and integrating force protection policy, a Defense Department news release said. In a memorandum signed Aug. 18, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he carefully considered the panel’s recommendations -- detailed in the report titled, “Protecting the Force: Lessons Learned from Fort Hood” -- and is directing the department to take “appropriate action” to address the initiatives detailed in the follow-on review. “I expect department leaders to place great priority on implementing these recommendations,” Gates said. All actions are aimed at contributing to the safety and health of military forces, the release said. Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, allegedly opened fire at a Fort Hood facility where soldiers were processing for overseas deployments. He has been charged with 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. “The tragic shooting of U.S. military personnel at Fort Hood … underscored the need for the [Defense Department] to thoroughly review its approach to force protection and to broaden its force protection policies, programs and procedures to go beyond their traditional focus on hostile external threats,” Gates said. Earlier this year, an investigative panel detailed 79 recommendations in its report centered on improving force protection and tightening gaps in personnel policies, emergency response mass casualty preparedness and support to Defense Department health care providers. In April, Gates directed the Defense Department to immediately implement 26 of the 79 recommendations while a review of the remaining 53 recommendations continued. The final review’s initiatives “will significantly improve the department’s ability to mitigate internal threats, ensure force protection, enable emergency response and provide care for victims and families,” Gates said. The review puts forth “concrete actions” for the majority of the recommendations, Gates said. In some cases, however, further study will be required before the department can take additional steps. In particular, he said, the department will strengthen its policies, programs and procedures in the following areas: -- Educating commanders about the symptoms of potential workplace violence and the tools available to them to address it; -- Ensuring commanders and supervisors have access to appropriate information in personnel records throughout a servicemember’s career; -- Improving law enforcement and force protection information sharing with partner agencies and among installations to ensure all relevant personnel are aware of and able to analyze and respond to potential threats; -- Expanding installations’ emergency response capabilities, including enabling enhanced 911 to notify dispatchers of a caller’s location, mass notification and warning systems to guide installation personnel and emergency responders to an emergency, and a common operating picture to ensure emergency responders have access to real-time information in a crisis; -- Integrating force protection policy through the creation of a consultative and policy-making body that will bring together the various entities across the department with force protection responsibilities; and -- Ensuring the department provides top-quality health care to servicemembers and health care providers by hiring additional health care providers, particularly in the mental health field, and ensuring health care providers receive appropriate post-deployment respite and time at home between deployments. Gates also has directed the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and America’s security affairs to continue to lead the follow-on review and to provide regular progress reports to him. The secretary also emphasized the importance of leadership and the need for intervention when necessary to ensure good order and discipline. “Force protection, although critical, is not a substitute for leadership,” he said. “Leaders at every level in our military play a critical role.” Gates pledged to provide leaders with the necessary tools to deal with potential issues among their ranks. “As the department takes steps to strengthen its approach to force protection,” he said, “I ask leaders and commanders across the force to remain mindful of the unique requirements of the profession of arms –- that military service is grounded in an oath to support and defend our Constitution, but also may necessitate the sacrifice of some of the very rights we defend.”  (Issued on: Aug. 20, 2010)

Biographies: Robert M. Gates Related Sites: Fort Hood Follow-on Review Special Report: Tragedy at Fort Hood  Defense Department News Release

Face of Defense: Airman’s Donation Saves Life

By Joe N. Wiggins American Forces Press Service BROOKS CITY-BASE, Texas : When most airmen come into the Air Force, they know their service could include being called upon to do something that could save a life. However, one airman answered the call in a way very few could. Only a few hours after donating bone marrow to a critical patient, Air Force Staff Sgt. Charles F. Newberry recovers Aug. 11, 2010, in his Washington, D.C., hospital room. Newberry said his recovery was fast, and he was walking around the day after his surgery. U.S. Air Force photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Air Force Staff Sgt. Charles Newberry, a personnel specialist assigned to the 311th Air Base Group's military personnel flight here, volunteered in 2007 to register as a bone marrow donor. His decision recently saved the life of a servicemember's 2-year-old child. "While I don't know his name, as soon as I heard who it was, and that he has a rare condition called aplastic anemia, I thought, 'Yeah, I'll gladly do what I can to help out the little guy,'" Newberry said. Aplastic anemia causes bone marrow to produce an insufficient amount of red and white blood cells or blood platelets. A bone marrow transplant can be the only effective treatment in severe cases. When he became aware of what his donation could mean, Newberry said, he was eager to volunteer. "I was surprised when I found out I was a match, but helping someone else's child was clearly something I wanted to do," he said. "My wife and mom were a little skeptical about the operation, but I think my enthusiasm won them over, and they were both supportive of me being a donor." Newberry's organization and supervisor also were behind his decision. "I thought his volunteering was very admirable, and a great thing to be willing to do," said Air Force Capt. Troy Lane, commander of the personnel flight. "I was impressed with his excitement to do it." Newberry said the procedure wasn't very painful or lengthy. "The surgeons removed the marrow from my lower back after the first day of tests and screening at the hospital," he said. "I was up and walking around the next day and only had to wear some small bandages for about a week." In addition to his family, Newberry said, the military community also was supportive. "In addition to being given time off from my duty location, [Defense Department officials] sponsored my flight and expenses," he said. "I went through a process of questions and phone interviews before leaving for the trip, but once everything was approved there was no cost involved for me or my family." Newberry is one of about 500 servicemembers who are matched to a patient and donate bone marrow each year. About 600,000 servicemembers have registered as marrow donors as part of the C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Marrow Donor Program. Volunteers like Newberry are critical for many patients awaiting a match. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, about 70 percent of those needing a transplant do not have a matching donor in their family. Usually used to fight leukemia and lymphoma, a bone marrow donation often is a victim's last chance at beating a potentially fatal disease. More than 10,000 patients each year are diagnosed with these life-threatening diseases. A patient's doctor can contact the program's database of 8 million potential donors in the United States and another 5 million potential donors in international registries. The C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Marrow Donor Center is located in Rockville, Md., and is charged with supporting Defense Department bone marrow volunteers. It is one of 79 donor centers that work with the National Marrow Donor Program. Established by Congress in 1990, the Defense Department program is open to any military member or civilian and their family members, including Coast Guard and reserve-component members, in good health between the ages of 18 and 60. (Issued on:Aug. 20, 2010)

Related Sites: C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Marrow Donor Program

9/11 Terrorist Tapes Found Under CIA Desk

CIA Found Video of 9/11 Plotter Ramzi Binalshibh Being Interrogated 

in Secret Prison

By ADAM GOLDMAN

New images of accused 9/11 architect Ramzi Binalshibh have been obtained by Flashpoint Global..

The CIA has tapes of 9/11 plotter Ramzi Binalshibh being interrogated in a secret overseas prison. Discovered under a desk, the recordings could provide an unparalleled look at how foreign governments aided the U.S. in holding and questioning suspected terrorists.

The two videotapes and one audiotape are believed to be the only remaining recordings made within the clandestine prison system.

The tapes depict Binalshibh’s interrogation sessions at a Moroccan-run facility the CIA used near Rabat in 2002........

          Read full story 

Warfighting Exercise Focuses on South Korean Defense

By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Dave, pointing, of the Nebraska National Guard's 1704th Transportation Company directs soldiers as they carry a patient to the landing zone established for a Medevac mission at Fort McCoy, Wis., during the Patriot exercise, July 15, 2005. Patriot, the largest annual exercise held across the United States, increases the warfighting capabilities of the National Guard, reserve, and active components of the Air Force and Army. Additionally, the participation of Canadian, United Kingdom, and Dutch forces increases combined effectiveness. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Todd A. Pendleton U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Dave, pointing, of the Nebraska National Guard's 1704th Transportation Company directs soldiers as they carry a patient to the landing zone established for a Medevac mission at Fort McCoy, Wis., during the Patriot exercise, July 15, 2005. Patriot, the largest annual exercise held across the United States, increases the warfighting capabilities of the National Guard, reserve, and active components of the Air Force and Army. Additionally, the participation of Canadian, United Kingdom, and Dutch forces increases combined effectiveness. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Todd A. Pendleton U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Dave, pointing, of the Nebraska National Guard's 1704th Transportation Company directs soldiers as they carry a patient to the landing zone established for a Medevac mission at Fort McCoy, Wis., during the Patriot exercise, July 15, 2005. Patriot, the largest annual exercise held across the United States, increases the warfighting capabilities of the National Guard, reserve, and active components of the Air Force and Army. Additionally, the participation of Canadian, United Kingdom, and Dutch forces increases combined effectiveness. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Todd A. Pendleton WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2010 – A 10-day warfighting exercise kicked off today to improve allied capabilities to deter and, if necessary, counter aggression against South Korea. About 27,000 U.S. forces in South Korea, as well as about 3,000 U.S. servicemembers from the United States and its bases in the Pacific region, are participating in this year’s Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, U.S. Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command officials reported. They join more than 500,000 South Korean military and government participants, as well as multinational representatives in the CFC-led exercise to test their readiness to defend South Korea and promote stability across northwest Asia. The exercise will “ensure that our alliance is prepared to respond to threats across the spectrum of conflicts, to include North Korean provocations,” officials said. This year’s exercise is taking place amid heightened tensions since North Korea sunk the South Korean navy frigate Cheonan in March. It also occurs during commemorations of the 60th anniversary of the North Korean attack that launched the Korean War. The South Korean-U.S. alliance has successfully deterred aggression on the Korean peninsula for 57 years, Army Gen. Walter L. “Skip” Sharp, who commands U.S. and United Nations forces in Korea, said in a message to his command before the exercise kicked off. He called Ulchi Freedom Guardian 10 “another opportunity for us to work together and demonstrate our resolve to ensuring regional stability.” The exercise is the first since President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak announced the decision to delay the transition of wartime operational control of allied forces on the Korean peninsula to the South Korean military, Sharp noted. That transfer, originally scheduled for April 2012, has been moved to late 2015. In the lead-up to that transition, Sharp called the exercise an opportunity to continue improving combat readiness and joint and combined interoperability between South Korean and U.S. forces. “Like our combined exercises in the past, Ulchi Freedom Guardian affords the combined team an opportunity to continue to develop organizational structures and collaborate on command and control relationships between our militaries and our governments,” he said. The scope of the exercise extends beyond the Korean peninsula, with many of the participants connected from outside Korea by communications and computer simulation networks. “With units participating in Korea, throughout [U.S.] Pacific Command and at multiple locations across the United States, UFG 10 is one of the largest Joint Staff-directed exercises in the world,” Sharp said. “Like our combined exercises in the past, Ulchi Freedom Guardian affords the combined team an opportunity to develop organizational structures and collaborate on command and control relationships between our militaries and our governments.” Although focusing on deterring aggression, the participants also are fine-tuning their coordinated warfighting capabilities, recognizing, officials said, that if deterrence fails, they must be ready to “fight tonight and prevail.” Sharp called on his command to demonstrate discipline, dedication and teamwork during the exercise, which continues through Aug. 26. “As we demonstrate our ability to successfully defend the Republic of Korea,” he said, “we ensure regional ability across northwest Asia and show the world that we remain an agile, adaptive force capable of taking on any challenge.”

Biographies: Army Gen. Walter L. “Skip” Sharp  Related Sites: U.S. Forces Korea Ulchi Freedom Guardian

Families Take Center Stage at Guard Workshop

Sheila Casey and her husband, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. talk with attendees at the 2010 National Guard Family Program Volunteer Workshop in New Orleans, Aug. 3, 2010. Mrs. Casey emphasized military spouses taking care of themselves as well as their loved ones. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill

by Elaine Wilson, AFPSelaine.wilson@dma.mil

Families have been the focus this week at the 2010 National Guard Volunteer Workshop in New Orleans.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was at the workshop Monday, and spoke about the challenges facing military families. I highlighted the thoughts he shared on those issues in my blog, “Mullen Addresses Military Family Challenges.”

I wanted to share what other leaders had to say at the workshop as well.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Harry M. “Bud” Wyatt III, director of the Air National Guard, said the Guard’s family readiness groups need to receive the same support as National Guard members deploying overseas.

“If we allow these rotations and what we do to become common, accepted and routine, then we need to give the families the focus that we should and that they deserve,” Wyatt said in an interview with Army Sgt. Darron Salzer that was published in the article, “Guard Leaders Urge Family Readiness Support.” 

Wyatt also commented on the economy’s impact on family programs.

“Your immediate response is [to ask] why anyone would cut back on the most important part of combat readiness, but it’s not easy,” he said, adding that the services also are cutting back on equipment.

Army Maj. Gen. Raymond W. Carpenter, acting director of the Army National Guard, said the Army is looking at the programs available to the families of unmarried soldiers. “And I am confident that at the end of the process, the right support will go to the right people. “For us here in the Army National Guard,” he continued, “people are our No. 1 priority, and taking care of people is absolutely part of that process.”

At a separate event, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and his wife, Sheila Casey, spent about two hours talking with volunteers who support National Guard families.

“It’s not just the Guard families, it’s the entire volunteer force,” Casey said in an interview with Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill for the article, “Casey Shares Vision of National Guard’s Future.”

“We realized back in 2007 that we had to significantly increase what we were doing for all Army families because of what we were asking of them. We were asking of them far more than what our programs were delivering,” Gen. Casey said.

As a result, spending on family programs doubled, and an Army covenant recommitted leadership to supporting active, Guard and Reserve families, Greenhill wrote.

The general’s wife, Sheila Casey, focused on the importance of caring for caregivers.

“Part of the problem that caregivers have is that they don’t take care of themselves,” Mrs. Casey said. “Everybody else comes first. What I end up seeing is people who after extended deployments … are burnt out and they’re tired.

“What I ask them to do is to change that and to start putting themselves first, on top of the pile,” she added. “If they do that, then they will have the strength and the wherewithal to take care of their families.”  (Issued on: Aug. 4, 2010)