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thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:35 AM
3rd LAR switches commands, missions multiple times
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 20052873418
Story by Lance Cpl. Graham Paulsgrove



CAMP RAMADI, Iraq (Feb. 3, 2005) -- Normally, when a unit is deployed, they are assigned to a specific command with a predetermined mission. But Marines have learned long ago to remain flexible because in a war zone, changes are made to efficiently fight the fight.

As an example of their flexibility, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance has been attached to four different commands under the 1st Marine Division since they came into theatre six months ago.

“Every (Marine Corps) unit in Iraq can hang its hat on something unique,” said Maj. Ken Kassner, executive officer, 3rd LAR, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Marine Division. “Every unit has done spectacular things and compared to other units they have done something very unique. 3rd LAR has served in multiple area’s of operation under four subordinate commands.”

Since September 2004, 3rd LAR has been attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Regimental Combat Team 1, Regimental Combat Team 7 and 2-BCT, performing different tasks and completing new missions.

“We have conducted security and stability operations near the Iraqi/Syrian border to prevent foreign fighters and illegal trade from entering the country,” said Kassner. “We completed offensive missions during Operation (Al Fajr), and cordon and knocks. We have been instructors for the Iraqi Security Forces and recently we performed an information operation campaign in order to help promote the Iraqi Election in Ramadi.”

The plethora of commands they were attached to and missions they completed successfully would not be possible without the Marines and Sailors making it happen.

“This is a testament to our Marines’ ability to reorganize, redeploy and assume a new pace for combat operation,” said Kassner. “One key ingredient for our success is the individual Marines’ ability to focus on any mission assigned to 3rd LAR.”

Since their entry into the combat zone, they have had many different base camps and had to adapt to many new missions and places.

“3rd LAR has never been at the same place for two months at any given time,” said Kassner.

“We have gotten to know a few (areas of Operation),” said Cpl. Brian E. Fleming, intelligence specialist, Headquarters and Support Company, 3rd LAR, 2-BCT. “By moving around to different commands, we have learned more and gotten a better glimpse of the big picture."

http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20052881618/$file/3lar3low.jpg

The Marines and sailors of 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance about to leave for Operation Al Fajr. 3rd LAR has been attached to every major command under the 1st Marine Division since they have gotten into theatre. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Graham Paulsgrove

http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20052873937/$file/3lar1low.jpg

A Marine with Company C, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance, aims in on an insurgent compound during Operation Al Fajr. 3rd LAR has been attached to every major command under the 1st Marine Division since they have gotten into theatre.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Graham Paulsgrove

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:35 AM
Army Won't Rely On Guard, Reserve
Associated Press
February 10, 2005

WASHINGTON - Recognizing the strain on its troops, the Army will not rely as heavily on guardsmen and reservists for future rotations to Iraq, the Secretary of the Army said Wednesday.

"We are not in a crisis mode. We're in a very heavy concern mode," said Francis J. Harvey, who has been in the job for just three months and was making his first appearance before Congress as secretary.

Testifying about President Bush's proposed Army budget, Harvey told lawmakers that the major reconfiguration the Army is undergoing "will significantly reduce the stress on our force" by making time abroad and at home more predictable.

Still, he said that the remainder of 2005 will be "an especially challenging year" in part because recruitment is lagging.

Both Republicans and Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee pressed Harvey and Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, about the stress on troops - and questioned whether the budget before them should include money for a permanent increase in active-duty troops.




On Monday, Secretary of State Donald H. Rumsfeld said the Pentagon was still weighing whether to permanently increase the Army's ranks by 30,000, to a new total of 512,000. He said Army officials had told him there was "a good strong possibility" they wouldn't need all 30,000 to be permanent.

Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri, the committee's top Democrat, told Harvey and Schoomaker that it was imperative to build up the active-duty Army to prevent having a "hollow Army" and to lessen the pressure on the Reserve and Guard.

"A permanent addition to the force is needed," said Skelton, who has been pushing for such an increase for a decade. As for the Guard and Reserve, Skelton said: "You're wearing 'em out, secretary, that's the bottom line."

Harvey and Schoomaker said the supplemental war spending bill the White House is sending to Congress will include money to pay for the extra 20,000 troops the Army has already added.

Initially, Harvey testified that in the rotation scheduled to deploy this spring, "There will be no guardsmen and a limited number of reserves."

But he quickly clarified his remarks, saying: "The exact number that is required for the next rotation has not been established" and an independent group soon would be studying exactly how many reservists would be needed. He said the group then would do the same for guardsmen.

After the hearing, Harvey stressed that many variables contribute to troop levels, including the status of Iraqi security forces, and he again backed off his earlier remark quantifying the troop levels.

"That's probably an overstatement. I think they will be reduced - both the Guard and Reserve," he told reporters. But he declined to say by just how much.

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:36 AM
States Boost Troops' Perks
USA TODAY
February 10, 2005

States increasingly are offering more generous benefits to troops on active duty and their families, including perks such as tax breaks, free child care, life insurance policies and antelope hunting licenses for the children of servicemembers.

Factors driving the new laws: a renewed patriotism and the desire to ensure that troops can concentrate on fighting the war without worrying about life back home.

Since 2002, the number of such laws has more than quadrupled -- from five in 2002 to 11 in 2003 to 22 in 2004, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eighteen new bills have been introduced this year.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, every state began providing some kind of new benefit to servicemembers. Some granted extensions for filing taxes; others waived exams for driver's licenses. But the more recent laws seem to address more practical problems families might encounter when someone is overseas for a long time.

"It's both good politics and reasonable policy. And there's a moral stance behind it," says defense analyst Bob Goldich.





This month, New Mexico bought each of the state's National Guard members $250,000 in life insurance. As a result, says Billy Sparks, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Bill Richardson's office, 22 other states have called to get information and are considering similar benefits. Among them: New York, which has introduced a bill that would provide a $1 million death payout to survivors of those who die on active duty.

Among other new perks:

* Louisiana offers discount car insurance through tax credits.

* New York provides burial allowances.

* Kentucky stopped charging members of its National Guard fees for birth or death certificates.

* South Dakota allows the children of active military personnel licenses to hunt deer and antelope.

* California has created the Helping Heroes Child Care Program, which provides free child care for families with a parent deployed to Iraq. But it is contingent on congressional approval of a child care program.

At least 19 states have introduced or passed bills establishing relief funds for military families. The accounts help with housing or medical expenses, or provide grants for retraining and college tuition. States pay for the accounts by allowing residents to check a box on their tax returns and contribute a dollar, or donate a portion of their tax refunds. Indiana has proposed a special drawing of the state lottery to help funnel cash into its military-family fund.

Death benefit issues, in particular, have taken on a sense of urgency. The Pentagon announced last week plans to increase the tax-free federal death benefit from the current $12,420 to $100,000, and the life insurance troops can purchase from a $250,000 policy to $400,000.

New Mexico's life insurance law was welcome news to Army 1st Sgt. James Martinez, part of an Albuquerque-based National Guard unit heading to Iraq.

"I definitely feel better knowing that if something did happen, they would have the money," Martinez says of his wife and two children.

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:36 AM
North Korea Announces It Has Nukes
Associated Press
February 10, 2005

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea on Thursday announced for the first time that it has nuclear weapons and rejected moves to restart disarmament talks any time soon, saying it needs the armaments as protection against an increasingly hostile United States.

The communist state's pronouncement dramatically raised the stakes in the two-year-old nuclear confrontation and posed a grave challenge to U.S. President George W. Bush, who started his second term with a vow to end North Korea's nuclear program through six-nation talks.

"We ... have manufactured nukes for self-defense to cope with the Bush administration's evermore undisguised policy to isolate and stifle the (North)," the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Previously, North Korea has reportedly told U.S. negotiators in private talks that it had nuclear weapons and might test one of them. Its U.N. envoy told The Associated Press last year that the country had "weaponized" plutonium from its pool of 8,000 nuclear spent fuel rods.

But Thursday's statement was North Korea's first public acknowledgement that it has nuclear weapons. North Korea makes all important statements in the name of its Foreign Ministry spokesman and spreads them through KCNA, the isolated state's main news outlet.




North Korea's "nuclear weapons will remain (a) nuclear deterrent for self-defense under any circumstances," the ministry said. "The present reality proves that only powerful strength can protect justice and truth."

Since 2003, the United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia have held three rounds of talks in Beijing aimed at persuading the North to abandon nuclear weapons development in return for economic and diplomatic rewards. But no significant progress has been made.

A fourth round scheduled for last September was canceled when North Korea refused to attend, citing what it called a "hostile" U.S. policy.

In recent weeks, hopes had risen that North Korea might return to the six-nation talks, especially after Bush refrained from any direct criticism of North Korea when he started his second term last month.

On Thursday, North Korea said it had no intention to rejoin such talks any time soon.

"We have wanted the six-party talks but we are compelled to suspend our participation in the talks for an indefinite period till we have recognized that there is justification for us to attend the talks," the North said.

North Korea said it made the decision because "the U.S. disclosed its attempt to topple the political system in (North Korea) at any cost, threatening it with a nuclear stick."

Still, North Korea said it retained its "principled stand to solve the issue through dialogue and negotiations and its ultimate goal to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula remain unchanged."

Such a comment has widely been interpreted as North Korea's negotiating tactic to get more economic and diplomatic concessions from the United States before joining any crucial talks.

In his State of the Union address earlier this month, Bush only briefly mentioned North Korea, saying Washington was "working closely with governments in Asia to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions."

Bush's tone was in stark contrast to his speech three years ago, when he branded North Korea part of an "axis of evil" with Iran and Iraq.

The nuclear crisis erupted in October 2002 when U.S. officials accused North Korea of running a secret uranium-enrichment program in violation of international treaties. Washington and its allies cut off free fuel oil shipments for the impoverished country.

North Korea retaliated by quitting the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in early 2003 and restarting its plutonium-based nuclear weapons program. Its plutonium facilities had been frozen in return for oil shipments and other benefits under a 1994 deal with Washington.

The North had also claimed that it completed reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods previously unloaded from its 5-megawatt reactor and kept under U.N. seals under the 1994 deal. The reprocessing could yield enough plutonium for several nuclear bombs.

The North has also reloaded the 5-megawatt reactor, which can generate more spent fuel laden with plutonium.

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:36 AM
Car Bomb Explodes In Central Baghdad
Associated Press
February 10, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb exploded in central Baghdad on Thursday, killing two Iraqis and wounding two others, the U.S. military said.

The car exploded in Tahrir Square, a commercial area in the heart of the city, moments after a U.S. military convoy passed through the area, said U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. James Hutton.

Two Iraqis were killed in the blast and two others were wounded, Hutton said. The American military patrol had already passed through the area and no U.S. personnel were among the wounded, he said.

Initial reports from Iraqi police and witnesses had indicated four people were killed. There was no explanation for the discrepancy.

Hutton said the car bomb was detonated by remote control.





The blast ripped the vehicle apart and left its wreckage in flames. A large column of gray smoke rose over buildings on the east bank of the Tigris River. Several other cars were also heavily damaged.

Firefighters in bright yellow helmets directed water hoses at the burning wreckage. Iraqi police and U.S. troops responded to the scene.

Another car bomb exploded near a police checkpoint south of the capital Thursday in the city of Salman Pak, injuring five people, including several policemen, an Interior Ministry official said. Six suspects were arrested at the scene, the official said.

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:37 AM
Recount Delays Iraq Election Results <br />
Associated Press <br />
February 10, 2005 <br />
<br />
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi officials said Wednesday they must recount votes from about 300 ballot boxes because of various...

thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:37 AM
British Plane Downed By Hostile Action
Associated Press
February 10, 2005

WASHINGTON - The deadly crash of a British military cargo plane in Iraq on Jan. 30 most likely was caused by hostile fire rather than by mechanical failure, a senior U.S. general said Wednesday.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters at the Pentagon that it seemed improbable that a shoulder-fired missile could have brought down the plane. A more likely explanation, he said, would be small arms fire or rocket-propelled grenades.

Smith, a veteran combat pilot, stressed that he was expressing his personal opinion.

The British government, which is investigating the crash, has not said what may have caused it. Smith is the first U.S. official to speculate publicly on the possibility of a hostile attack.

All 10 people aboard the plane were killed in the crash, which happened north of Baghdad. It was the deadliest single event for British forces since the Iraq war began in March 2003.




"I personally believe there may have been either hostile action or something that happened inside the aircraft, but I doubt that it was mechanical in nature, if you know what I mean," Smith said.

Smith is not a participant in the British investigation.

Touching on other issues in the Iraq war, Smith said:

-U.S. officials will negotiate with the Iraqis on transferring to them the responsibility of providing personal security for leaders of the interim Iraqi government. "There's a reluctance (among the Iraqis) to let us walk away from that," he said.

-The approximately 10,000 U.S. troops whose tours of duty in Iraq were extended beyond the normal 12 months in order to assist with pre-election security probably will go home this spring. Smith said there are now between 153,300 and 153,800 U.S. troops in Iraq - the highest number of the war.

-Insurgent attacks have dropped to 30 or 40 per day since last month's vote. That is approximately the level seen before the pre-election surge in violence. On election day, there were nearly 300 attacks. Most of the attacks now are focused on Iraqis rather than on U.S. troops.

Smith cited several reasons for doubting that the crash of the British C-130 plane was an accident. He cited the high qualifications of the aircraft's crew and unconfirmed reports from people who may have witnessed the event.

Smith said there have been witness reports that ground fire was seen in the area at the time of the crash, and this is being investigated by the British government.

He expressed doubt that a shoulder-fired missile brought down the C-130, but he left open the possibility that it could have been a radar-guided surface-to-air missile or small arms fire.

"I don't believe that airplane went down from a missile," he said, noting later that he was referring specifically to what the military calls a man-portable air defense weapon, or Manpad.

The warhead of an SA-7 shoulder-fired missile is so small that even if its aim were true, it would have disabled only one of the C-130's four engines, Smith said, and thus "it should have been able to land."

"There are other likely scenarios, whether it's small arms fire that hit something in the rear, or a lucky shot from an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade)," he said. "There are just so many scenarios, the one that seems least likely to me - because it would have been seen - is the Manpad one."

Smith said he doubts the authenticity of a videotape that purports to show insurgents launching some type of projectile, along with images of flaming wreckage. The group, "Green Brigade," claimed it have shot down the C-130; the video was aired by Al-Jazeera television on Jan. 31.

"I'm pretty confident that the tapes they showed on Al-Jazeera were bogus," he said.

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:38 AM
Marines enjoy Super Bowl XXXIX in Iraq
Submitted by: 1st Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 20052871029
Story by Lance Cpl. T. J. Kaemmerer



CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Feb. 8, 2005) -- Cpl. Michael E. Broehl, an avid Jets and Yankees fan, was surprised to find himself rooting for the New England Patriots while he, and a mess hall full of his fellow Marines, enjoyed Super Bowl XXXIX in Iraq.

Nearly 200 Marines filled the dining facility at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq - the headquarters base for the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 1st Force Service Support Group - to watch Bill Belichick surpass Vince Lombardi as the most dominant high-stakes-game coach in NFL history.

"I'm definitely not with those guys on the Red Sox," the 21-year-old, New Egypt, N.J., native said as he motioned toward three fans from Massachusetts. "But, I was definitely on their side tonight. If the Jets weren't gonna be there, I was pulling for a Pats dynasty."

The Marines braved a sleepless night to watch the game, aired live on the American Forces Network, Feb. 7, 2005 between 2 and 6:30 a.m. Many of the die-hard football fans weren't going to let the early-morning hours of the game keep them from watching the Patriots match the 1992-'95 Dallas Cowboys' three Super Bowl wins in four years.

As the Marines prepare to end their tour in Iraq, the Super Bowl party was a welcomed taste of home. Though it was enjoyed by all, many Marines admitted they would rather be at home for the game celebrating as they normally do, like Cpl. James P. Reidy, a 22-year-old Framingham, Mass., native, and provisional infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment.

"Although I'm in Iraq watching it, it's good to be with other Bostonian kids who know what it's like to root for your team," he said.

"It kind of sucks though," he continued. "I'd rather be home at a bar with all my buddies rooting for the Pats."

He may have missed out on the big football game with his pals back home, but he'll be back stateside in only a few short weeks, which will be in plenty of time to follow his Red Sox hopefully to a back-to-back World Series championship.


Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:38 AM
Marines land at Super Bowl XXXIX
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force
Story Identification #: 2005281348
Story by Lance Cpl. Edward L. Mennenga



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb. 8, 2005) -- The Cleveland Browns didn't make it to Super Bowl XXXIX, but the spirit of the game rang true as their generosity sent approximately 30 II Marine Expeditionary Force Marines and sailors to Jacksonville, Fla., for the game.

"This is but a small gesture for some of the men and women of our country who have so selflessly devoted themselves to the service of our nation," read a statement released on behalf of the Brown organization.

The Cleveland Browns donated Super Bowl tickets to the Marines through their Hats Off to Our Heroes program - a program honoring members of the military for the protection of our country.

Given to Marines and Sailors who have just returned from, or are deploying in support of Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, the seats were almost on the 50-yard line.

Among the Marines present for the game was one Bronze Star recipient and multiple Purple Heart recipients.

"I don't think I could have ever gone to a Super Bowl without this," said Sgt. Brian Goff of Centralia, Ill. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's my first NFL game and I can't think of any better game to go to than the Super Bowl."

During an interview with Browns representatives, Goff admitted he sported "a permanent smile - for at least a couple of hours."

Recently meritoriously promoted to sergeant, Goff was awarded the Bronze Star for Heroism from 2003's assault on Baghdad.

The Marines left Camp Lejeune the morning of Feb. 4 and traveled by bus to Jacksonville, Fla.

"I have never been so surprised and grateful for a gift like this, even on Christmas morning," said self-proclaimed Patriot fan, Lance Cpl. Michael Berninger of Martha's Vineyard, Mass.

"It was so much more exciting to watch in person," said Berninger, after watching his team take the Super Bowl ring for the third time in four years. "It gave me something else to think about other than constantly worrying about my buddies over there."

"It took my mind off of all the other things right now," added Berninger, was received a spinal injury and head wound in Iraq, and continues to be under medical care. "I am definitely a New Englander and have never been to a college game or an NFL game, let alone the Super Bowl."

Super Bowl XXXIX was the first NFL game for many of the Marines.

"It's outstanding," said Lance Cpl. Conrad Carson, a vehicle commander with 3rd battalion 2nd Marines." It's a great experience especially since it's my first time to a football game."

The Marines enjoyed watching the game from the Club seats, and found themselves sitting near celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher, P. Diddy, Nick Lachey and Darrell Waltrip.

"I used to work race tracks and I've never come across him (Darrell Waltrip)," said Lance Cpl. Erin Christie motor transport operator with headquarters battalion truck company. "Believe it or not, I come to the Super Bowl and here he is."

According to Goff, he met the biggest star of all.

"I met McNabb's mom. That was a really cool part of it," said Goff. "You know I was rooting for the Eagles."

The Patriots may have won, but that fact wasn't too important to Christie.

"I am happy that I went to the Super Bowl, it didn't matter to me who won, just glad that I went," said Christie.

The Cleveland Browns Hats Off to Our Heroes program is the premier Cleveland Browns community recognition program. On an annual basis, Hats Off to Our Heroes recognizes heroes of all ages in the community who contribute to the betterment of society.

"I really want to thank Randy Lerner for finding me a ticket to the Super Bowl," said Carson.

Berninger added, "I definitely thank (the Browns) for the opportunity of a lifetime ... and I'd also like to say congratulations to the Patriots - their winning made it even better."


Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:39 AM
Dozens of jobs affected by personnel changes
Some specialties will see cuts, others increases

By Gordon Lubold
Times staff writer


Some Marines will see faster promotions and bigger bonuses, while others may see a slower promotion flow and less re-enlistment cash as the Corps begins one of the largest personnel reorganizations in decades.
As the Corps creates new and additional units better suited for the war on terrorism while eliminating those that are proving less necessary, Marines can expect to see changes in more than 80 jobs — personnel reductions in about 40 military occupational specialties and increases in about 40 others.

Promotions and re-enlistment bonuses will change slightly in those jobs, but the average Marine will not see big differences, officials said.

“We don’t want to adversely impact Marines,” said Col. Mike Applegate, chief of manpower plans and policy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs at Quantico, Va.

The only group to see a major change is the 100 or so fabric repair specialists (MOS 1181) the Corps employs who will see their jobs eliminated. The job is one the Corps no longer needs and is doing away with altogether. Officials will handle the reduction through a combination of natural attrition and lateral moves, Applegate said.

In most cases, however, the Corps will tweak the number of Marines it needs in certain fields, adding billets in some and reducing them in others.

Infantry is one field that’s growing. The Corps will add as many as 2,000 new grunts over the next two years, Applegate said. As the field expands, promotions will speed up slightly, and bonuses may increase, too, Applegate said.

The re-enlistment bonus program already offers sizable payouts in all nine infantry specialties, and they’re not likely to change anytime this year.

But when the Corps outlines the plan for its fiscal 2006 Selective Re-enlistment Bonus program late this summer, grunts can expect bonuses at least as large as they are today.

Promotions for infantrymen will be faster, too, as the Corps looks to make new noncommissioned officers and staff NCOs in that expanding field. But infantry Marines shouldn’t expect to rocket up the ranks in the next few months, Applegate said. Marines in growing fields will likely be promoted gradually as new units are established.

“We’re not going to promote 500 extra Marines tomorrow — we don’t need them tomorrow,” he said.

Other specialties will see reductions. For example, the Corps will eliminate about 100 billets in the air defense occupational field, Applegate said. Over time, the Corps will bring fewer Marines into those specialties, possibly reducing the bonuses offered and slowing promotions, as well.

“We’re going to do that in a way so that the typical air-defense Marine isn’t going to see promotions dry up.”

The reorganization should only slow or speed up promotions by a few months and should not undermine a separate program begun in 2003 to make promotions fair to all Marines, Applegate said.

That program, the “grade structure review,” is designed to slow promotions in fast-promoting jobs and speed them up in slower-promoting specialties. The program is to be fully implemented by 2006 and is expected to bring most Marines’ promotions in line with targets established by manpower officials for each grade. For example, promotion to sergeant should take an average of four years. Promotion to gunnery sergeant should take 13 years.

Applegate said the reorganization plan will not negate the aims of the grade structure review.

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:54 AM
Why I Serve: K-9 Couple Watches for Danger
By Pfc. Abel Trevino, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, BALAD, Iraq, Feb. 9, 2005 -- The most dangerous part of Giray Jones' day is when Timer squats: It means he's found explosives

Giray and Brad Jones are dog handlers working for K-9 Associates International and are contracted through the 81st Brigade Combat Team. Timer is a 5-year-old shorthaired German Shepherd handled by Giray. Brad handles Gromett, a Belgium Malinois.

The four of them have traveled throughout Iraq with 1st Armored and 1st Cavalry divisions and are now here searching for explosives and assisting in the capture of terrorists.

"The way we look at it, these dogs have actually saved lives," Brad said. "They've found munitions and stuff that were going to be used against people. They put people in jail who were bad guys who would have gone out and hurt more people."

The couple, married for 10 years, brings years of dog-handling experience to the gates. Both have law enforcement backgrounds. Brad planned a canine unit program for a police department, and Giray started off in search and rescue. They actually met during a case while searching for a missing boy.

That first case turned into years of commitment to one another. Their jobs rarely allow the couple to spend time together. Their 10th anniversary was the first one they were able to spend together, and it was on the plane coming to Iraq. That moment reflected the best part of the couple's job here: being together and being able to work and search together.

Their searching efforts here are used for more dangerous cases and incorporate olfactory skills of the dogs — such as smelling for explosives and drugs.

"The dogs are sensitive enough that they pick up on where there were explosives," Brad said. "If someone has been carrying explosives, the dogs will sometimes pick up on that. Even if they don't find any, military intelligence will question [the person] and get good information out of them."

Chasing the tail of explosives has led the couple to local national residences where they have made large discoveries of explosives and dangerous items, Brad said.

The dogs also represent a show of force and intimidation to people intent on harming the post. "Not only is [the dog's] presence a deterrent to those bringing in explosives, but also to the people's behavior coming in," Giray said. "They don't do anything crazy at the gate."

The dogs work close to those entering the area's gate, but are prohibited from directly searching people. "We don't search people; we search bags," Brad said.

"In the morning I go over and search personnel, bags and suitcases with Timer," Giray said. "Once I get through, I help [Brad] with vehicles."

When searching vehicles and bags, the dog handlers have to be sensitive to cultural differences. "A lot of the vehicles have food in them and the [owners] get concerned about their food coming in, but the dogs are trained where they won't eat any food unless it's given specifically by us," Giray said.

She said the dogs do smell the food, but are trained not to lick or touch it.

Their job puts the couple directly in harm's way, but for a greater purpose. "Because of the nature of the job, [the danger] is to be expected. We're there to locate it first so a larger number of people aren't involved," Giray said.

Like all aspects of force protection, the Jones take their jobs seriously and concentrate heavily on watching the reaction of the dogs for clues and hints that something is amiss. "We depend on soldiers to watch our backs while we're out there," Brad said.

"We appreciate the support from the armed services that we get," Giray said. "We just can't thank those guys enough for their support on what the dogs do and also for their support on our safety. It makes our job a lot easier."

(Army Pfc. Abel Trevino is assigned to the 28th Public Affairs Detachment.)

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 06:54 AM
Center Offers Respite for Wounded Troops, Families
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Feb. 9, 2005 — It's just across the parking lot from Brooke Army Medical Center, and yet a world away.

For troops undergoing medical treatment — most for wounds received in Iraq and Afghanistan — and their families who have come here to be with them as they recover, the Soldier and Family Assistance Center offers a welcome respite from the hospital environment that's become all too familiar to them.

Tucked away in the post guest house, across the street from the barracks and next door to the Fisher House, the Soldier and Family Assistance Center provides a friendly, comfortable environment where troops and their families can unwind and relax from the stresses of long-term recovery.

They can catch a movie on the big-screen TV, check their e-mail or use the Internet, play a computer game, pick up a book or magazine, make a phone call or just grab a cup of coffee, a bottle of water or a home-baked goodie.

And when they're feeling down, they can always find a sympathetic ear or a reassuring hug. "People can walk in here and cry and laugh and make a friend," said Judy Markelz, the center's director, called simply "Mom" by troops and family members at the center.

Army Col. Edward Maney, chaplain for Fort Sam Houston, said the center goes a long way in helping wounded troops and their families through a difficult period. "They've done of phenomenal job of facilitating the healing process," he said.

Army Staff Sgt. Michele Mitchell, who has undergone treatment at Brooke since she was wounded in Iraq last April, agrees that the center is "very therapeutic" to her and her fellow outpatients at the hospital, as well as their families. "This is a great outlet," said Mitchell, who visits the center regularly between medical treatments. "It's a place where you can relax and get away from the stress of being (at the hospital)."

"Plus," Mitchell said, "we do a lot of fun things here."

Markelz works to keep the center's activities calendar chock-full. She sponsors weekly bingo games and quilting classes, runs special activities like picnics and parties, and is putting together plans for a casino night.

She also runs regular off-post excursions that give families a chance to shop or get manicures. "It's amazing to see the transition that takes place within a block of leaving the gate," she said. "Suddenly they become the people they were before they got that phone call that wasn't supposed to come (that their loved one had been wounded)."

Army Pfc. Daniel Almonaci, who was wounded by a suicide bomber in Ramadi, Iraq, last November, calls time spent at the center and through its activities a welcome respite from the four walls of his barracks or his medical treatments. "I come here to hang out," he said. "They have everything you could want here — TV, computers, snacks. It's a pretty good place."

Army Spc. Traci Williams said the support she's found at the center has offered her far more than an interesting diversion from her medical treatments. "Without them, I would not have made it," she said of the staff and fellow patients at the center. "This is a great place, but it's the people who make it so special. They've become my family."

Stepping into the center, festively decorated for Valentine's Day, it's hard to imagine its barebones beginnings. Markelz recalls opening the facility just over a year ago with borrowed furniture, old computers and a coffee pot from the post's lending closet.

Since then, she said she's witnessed "incredible support" from the local community for the center and the wounded troops and their families that it serves.

Local businesses, churches, schools and residents donated a big-screen TV and DVD player, boxes of DVDs, video games, books, magazines, and toys for children and regularly deliver a mouth-watering array of baked goods and snacks.

Markelz is on the lookout for new furniture for the facility, but insists that whatever she gets "has to look like it belongs in a living room, not a waiting room."

While helping make the center as comfortable as possible, local donors also provide a much-needed outlet for troops and their families, some of whom have been here for more than a year. They drop off tickets to the NBA's Spurs basketball games and other sporting events, sponsor group dinners at local restaurants and even donated 50 box seats to the popular San Antonio Rodeo.

"I couldn't exist without this community," said Markelz, marveling at the fact that "donations fall in my lap" to support the center.

Except for Markelz, the only paid staffer, the center is run completely by volunteers, and there's a waiting list for others who want to join them. After duty hours, soldiers from the Medical Holding Company keep the center open until as late as 10 each night.

Army Spc. Travis Kennedy, assigned to the Medical Holding Company here while he completes his medical treatment, said he enjoys staffing the center at night so he can offer distraught family members "a shoulder to cry on."

"Being (in the hospital) wears on you after a while," said Kennedy. "That's why it's important for me to be here, to help the families."

Thera Frentz, who came to the Fort Sam Houston to serve as "a motivator, a cheerleader and a nurse" for her twin sister, Air Force 1st Lt. Therese Frentz, who is being treated for wounds received in Baghdad last October, calls the support she's found at the Soldier and Family Assistance Center a godsend.

"You feel like a family member to everyone here," she said. "I've learned a lot about life and compassion through the actions of the people who work here."

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 08:42 AM
Health of recruiting tied to economy, war
Hill staffers say more bonus funding needed

By Rick Maze
Times staff writer


The current recruiting and retention situation is not yet a serious problem, but it’s very fragile and could quickly sour if the economy picks up and the war in Iraq drags on — and the services might not have enough money to prevent a crisis.
The staff of the House Armed Services Committee made those assessments in a memo dated Dec. 23. It suggests that lawmakers must be prepared to quickly increase special pays and bonuses and advertising money for recruiting because the window for avoiding serious problems is very narrow.

The active components have restored funding for advertising, promotional material and operating recruiting offices. However, such funding for the reserve components this year is either flat or falling. Congress could provide extra money as part of an emergency supplemental measure, the memo says, but this may not be much help.

“The problem is that there is little opportunity to spend additional midyear money effectively,” the memo said. “Once in crisis, additional funding generally has little immediate effect.”

The memo credited the good recruiting environment over the last four years to “the pace of recovery from recession, an unemployment rate that has consistently approached 6 percent, uncertain prices on Wall Street exchanges and the corporate accounting scandals.”

“Should the economy begin to produce more jobs, as some predict will occur in the near term, more of America’s youth could quickly conclude that their future lies in the private sector, not in the military.”

The committee staff also warns that the strain of deployments, especially multiple deployments facing ground troops, should not be underestimated as a morale issue.

“While there is considerable evidence that members thrive on the real world deployments that often boost re-enlistment rates in deployed units, there is also a body of evidence that suggests members can be pushed beyond tolerable limits,” the report said.

Many members of the committee have been pressing the Bush administration to boost active-duty troop levels so the burden of deployments can be spread over a larger number of people.

The committee staff also says the recruiting environment has inherent problems — specifically, less than half of service-aged U.S. youths can meet the military’s standards, and 70 percent of high school graduates are inclined to attend college anyway, making them less likely to consider enlisting, the memo said.

Still, until very recently, there were no immediate problems with achieving and maintaining required manpower. That led the services to cut money for re-enlistment bonuses and recruiting efforts. Cutting bonuses in 2003 and 2004 may have “appeared reasonable at the time” because the services seemed to be meeting re-enlistment goals, the report said.

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 09:38 AM
Posted on Wed, Feb. 09, 2005





Marines decide on new Hueys

By Bob Cox

Star-Telegram Staff Writer


ANAHEIM, Calif. - Marine Corps leaders have decided to buy all-new Huey helicopters from Bell Helicopter, rather than try to rebuild aging aircraft, and are studying whether to also buy new SuperCobras.

John Milliman, a Naval Air Systems spokesman, confirmed the decision Tuesday. The budget that President Bush submitted to Congress contains additional funding to begin production work on the helicopters in fiscal 2006, he said.

The budget and helicopter acquisition are subject to congressional approval.

The Navy had not previously confirmed the decision to buy new Hueys, but Bell officials made their own announcement in meetings with the news media at the Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo trade show this week in Anaheim.

Senior Marine generals have said that because of the pace of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, aircraft are being lost or worn out and remaining helicopters can't be taken out of service to allow Bell to do complete remanufacturing as had been planned.

New Hueys could begin rolling off the production line for the first time in about 30 years by the end of 2007 or early 2008.

"If the money stays in the budget as we expect, we'll get that contract modification in the fourth quarter and can start ordering parts," said John Bean, Bell's senior vice president for government business.

The change in the Marines' plans won't be a big financial windfall for Bell, adding about $600,000 to the price of each helicopter, Bean said. The helicopters will be assembled in Amarillo. Bell could manufacture some additional parts and will buy others.

"The final decision on what's made and what's bought hasn't been made," Bean said. "Whatever is cheaper for the U.S. government is what we'll do."

Bell will build the rotors, transmissions and other key components in Fort Worth. The company has outsourced most of the sheet metal assembly work that used to be done in Fort Worth to an outside supplier.

The Marines originally planned to rebuild 180 SuperCobras and 100 Hueys. The SuperCobras underwent a major overhaul in the mid-1980s, but the Hueys were last built in the mid-1970s. Both aircraft would be outfitted with more powerful engines, modern flight controls and avionics, and new transmissions, drive trains and rotor systems.

Wear and tear on the Hueys, because of their age, has been worse than expected and exacerbated by the extent of use in support of military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas. The Marines are now concerned that the same thing is happening to the more modern SuperCobras and that it may be cheaper in the long run to build new helicopters from scratch.

Bell has contracts to remanufacture several aircraft of each model. The first SuperCobra has been delivered to the Amarillo plant.

"We're tearing into it now," Bean said. By late March or April, he said, work should begin on rebuilding the aircraft. The first Huey will arrive in Amarillo in a couple of months.

Bell has been gradually hiring new workers in Fort Worth and Amarillo. Amarillo employment is now about 650, Bean said, and could reach 1,500 within two years as Bell increases V-22 Osprey production and begins work on the US101 presidential helicopters and the Marine helicopters.


Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 10:07 AM
Marines invest in peace in Najaf







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By: North County Times - Editorial

Our View: In at least some parts of Iraq, our taxpayer money is investing in peace, not just war. In Najaf, and to a lesser extent, Fallujah, American tax dollars have been paid to ordinary Iraqis who were caught in the crossfire of recent battles between U.S. forces and Iraqi rebels. The payments ---- called solatia when compensating for lost limbs or loved ones, and remuneration for damages to property ---- have offered Iraqis in war-torn cities a financial lifeline and a culturally appropriate form of restitution.

In Najaf, Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Camp Pendleton distributed nearly $10 million in condolence payments since they clashed with Shiite militia there in August, officers say.

Najaf seems like a success, based upon the reporting of our Darrin Mortenson, who, along with staff photographer Hayne Palmour, has been covering the Marines' efforts in the region to support Iraq's historic Jan. 30 election. Marines followed up their decisive military victory in August with a sustained campaign to compensate Iraqis who had lost possessions, livestock, homes, limbs and even loved ones because of U.S. actions.

Najaf is touted as one of the major successes of the war in Iraq and one of the country's most peaceful big cities, while terrorists resume their bloodshed elsewhere.

Americans paid for that peace with our tax dollars and, at a much steeper price, with our troops' lives. We hope that we have bought, in Najaf at least, a modicum of peace along with our gift of democracy.

It is not generosity but responsibility that compels the U.S. military to redistribute our wealth in the sands of Iraq. We chose that war, and in so choosing, we assumed responsibility for the people killed and harmed by our weaponry


Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 01:12 PM
No injuries, 64 IEDs rendered safe
Submitted by: 2nd Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 2005298275
Story by Cpl. C.J. Yard



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb. 7, 2005) -- The fact that it was done without any injuries to his Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, himself or Marines from Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment stands in mute testimony to Gunnery Sgt. Burghardt’s superior skill, training, professionalism and valor, read the summary of awards submission.

Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt, a team leader with EOD, Headquarters and Service Company, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2d Force Service Support Group, recently returned from a tour in Iraq. While there, he approached 64 Improvised Explosive Devices, discovered and cleared an IED manufacturing house, destroyed 1,548 pieces of ordnance, two heavy machine guns, a 60mm mortar and a recoilless anti-tank gun that fires a 73mm fin-stabilized, rocket-assisted high-explosive anti-tank projectile, without a single injury.

For his actions, Burghardt, a Fountain Valley, Calif., native, was awarded the Bronze Star with combat distinguishing device. Nicknamed “Clark Kent,” by his team, he became the second in his family to receive the award. His father, Josef Burghardt, received three Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts while serving in the Marine Corps during Vietnam.

Burghardt was attached to Regimental Combat Team-7. The Talon, a robot used to defuse bombs, broke down during the second call Burghardt’s EOD team received.

Even without the technology Burghardt and his team were forced to push on. He gave great credit to his team for their willingness to trust him and never question him.

“I had a great team. They knew that we had a job to get done and this was the way we had to do it,” he said. “I would never put my team in any danger, though.”

Burghardt is not the only Marine on the team being awarded a medal.

“My team members are also being recognized for what we did,” said Burghardt. “Staff Sergeant Victor Levine is receiving a Bronze Star with combat distinguishing device and Sergeant John Camara is getting a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with combat distinguishing device.”

In only six hours, along a treacherous 13-kilometer stretch of Alternate Supply Route Lincoln RCT-7, the EOD team was able to identify 26 IEDs and render them safe. The IEDs ranged from multiple IEDs daisy chained together to improvised rocket launchers.

Convoys traveling along the supply route had been facing heavy insurgency, Burghardt said. “We found fighting positions, dug out holes, machine guns and you could see where they had been sleeping. All they had to do was man their posts, but it’s hard to hide a battalion on the move in the middle of the desert. They knew that we were coming and they wouldn’t succeed in holding us back.”

Burghardt said the team was searching for IEDs now, which is something the team doesn’t normally do.

“I was sitting on top of a [light-armored vehicle] looking for what I call a ‘trail of ants,’” said Burghardt. “As soon as I saw one I would get the vehicle to stop and take my Ka-Bar and wire cutters and approach the IED from a different angle and render it safe. Then my team would come in and blow it up.”

Burghardt described a “trail of ants” as what looked like somebody had tried to hide wires by burying them. He would find the route the insurgents had taken to place the IEDs and then low crawl along their footsteps until he found the receiver.

According to the summary, these actions prevented the injury or potential loss of life of numerous RCT-7 Marines moving along the route to the assembly area. Further, the assault element was able to go into the attack on time as a direct result of the actions of Burghardt and his team.

The summary continued to read, April 23, Burghardt and his team were called back to Alternate Supply Route Lincoln to clear four more IEDs, some of which had been placed in the same location within the past 12 hours. Despite the fact that some of the IEDs were probably secondary devices aimed at killing Burghardt and his team, they proceeded to the site and destroyed the IEDs.

Despite his award, the modest Burghardt feels that he was just doing his job. “I’m supposed to be great, that’s why I’m the team leader,” he said.

After returning from their deployment, Burghardt and his team put together training packages with the real-world experiences they gained while in Iraq for Marines and Sailors getting ready to deploy.

“The combined effort of all of us at EOD Platoon put together realistic training packages for deploying units and EOD members based off real EOD responses in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Burghardt.


Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 04:29 PM
OIF, OEF Veterans Wanted As Special Recruiters
By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2005 -- The Army is asking Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans to volunteer for a new mission.

However, this time the mission is not overseas, but right in their own hometown as part of the Special Recruiter Assistance Program.

The Army wants OIF and OEF veterans to go to their local communities to talk about life in the military and their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. This, official say, is an effort to raise awareness about the military, while at the same time encouraging young adults to join the Army.

"That has always been a goal of the Army as far as enlisted accessions is concerned," said Alphonsa Green, senior Army recruiting policy and programs manager. "The more people know about the military, the higher the propensity across the country for our youth to join."

"We want to provide our veterans an opportunity to give a first-hand account of their experiences," he added. "But at the same time, we want to raise awareness so that we can get more volunteers."

The Army sees the program as way of helping reach its recruiting goal of 80,000 Regular Army soldiers for fiscal 2005, and 22,175 for the Army Reserve.

According to Army Recruiting Command statistics for the current fiscal year, the Army recruited 22,246 soldiers for the active Army and 4,597 for the Army Reserve, as of Jan. 31.

Through the program, OIF and OEF veterans will get up to 14 days of temporary duty at a recruiting station near their hometown. There, they assist with recruiting activities, speak at college and community events, and participate in interviews with local media.

"We ask them to talk about service to country, 'I'm doing this, and here's why,'" Green said. "We ask them to mention the various occupational specialties that we offer. We ask them to talk about leadership, discipline and our core values -- all of that coupled with their experience."

About 300 soldiers have signed up for the special recruiting program, with some 35 veterans having already completed duty, Green said.

The Army Recruiting Command, which administers the program, encourages enlisted soldiers age 25 or younger in stateside units, who have served overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom, to apply online at the USAREC Web site.

However, officials said they should wait until their units return stateside before applying. Those approved for the program will receive acceptance by e- mail.

Green said a similar recruiting program is being made available for Army officers as well.

He said the program may serve another purpose as well: to dispel "negative rumors" about military service.

Green noted there is lot of "good news" not being reported about the military and what soldiers are doing in theater. "This program will show the positive side," he said.

For those considering SRAP, Green, a retired Army sergeant major who served 15 years as a recruiter, said that recruiting duty is not the "tough assignment" that most soldiers consider it to be.

"Once you learn the business, and learn it's a people's business," he said. "And once you learn to communicate effectively with the audience, it's not as big of a task as one would think."


Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 04:30 PM
U.S. Military Advisers 'Embed' in Iraqi Units
By John Valceanu
American Forces Press Service

ARABIAN GULF REGION, Feb. 10, 2005 – U.S. forces will use an "advisory, assistance and embedding" strategy to help prepare Iraqi forces to provide security and ensure stability within their own borders, according to a senior military officer in the region.

Small teams, each composed of about 10 U.S. servicemembers, will be attached to Iraqi units at the battalion level and above, the officer said today, speaking on background.

A top priority for coalition forces in Iraq over the next year is to do "all we can to make sure the Iraqis understand that ultimately they have to be responsible for their own security," the officer said. "We can help the Iraqis to develop their own indigenous security forces that are capable doing the job by refocusing and reshaping their current forces."

The U.S. troops will be embedded in the Iraqi units, and they will advise and assist Iraqi leaders. They will train and fight alongside the Iraqis and help facilitate operations with other U.S. and coalition units operating in Iraq, the officer said.

Such tactics are nothing new. Special operations forces have used similar approaches for decades. What makes the situation in Iraq different, according to the officer, is that conventional troops, such as infantry or artillery soldiers, will serve as advisers.

"This is a fundamental shift in the way we approach the issue of training Iraqi forces," the officer said. "We are going to take people who are trained and experienced in military operations and ask them to be trainers. It's not going to be a totally smooth transition, but we can make it work."

The teams of advisers will be made up of senior leaders. They will work at the battalion, brigade and division levels, providing "like-leadership" support. For example, an Iraqi lieutenant colonel battalion commander will be paired up with a U.S. lieutenant colonel adviser, according to the officer.

At the national level, members of an advisory group will advise and assist the newly elected Iraqi government as it establishes a national command authority and a clear-cut chain of command over its military units, the officer said.

Accomplishing this large and complex task is going to require an open mind and flexibility on the part of the trainers.

"We have to keep in mind that this is not a static model. It's got to be dynamic, and we have to be flexible," the officer said. "The end state we envision is to not have a need for U.S. advisers at all."


Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 04:30 PM
North Korea Poses Double Threat, Rumsfeld Says
By John D. Banusiewicz
American Forces Press Service

NICE, France, Feb. 10, 2005 – With regard to nuclear weapons, North Korea poses a two-fold threat, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.

During a news conference at NATO's informal meeting of defense ministers, the secretary said that country has had a behavior pattern of being one of the world's leading proliferators of ballistic missile technology.

North Korea's proliferation pattern makes it a "worrisome" threat, Rumsfeld said, noting the country also has a history of violating international agreements.

The second aspect of the threat, he said, stems from North Korea's leadership. "Given their dictatorial regime and the repression of their own people, one has to worry about weapons of that power in the hands of leadership of that nature," he said. "I don't think that anyone would characterize the leadership in that country as being restrained."

The secretary was careful to point out that he can't confirm authoritatively that North Korea has nuclear weapons. "I'm told that today in the press they indicated they do, but they've indicated other things from time to time that haven't necessarily proved out," he said.

Rumsfeld said some intelligence reports indicate the claim is true. "I know there are countries whose intelligence (estimates) say that they have them, and they say that they have them, and they may have them," he said, "but I don't want to confirm that because I just can't do that."


Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 04:54 PM
Iraq Veteran Convicted of Killing Wife <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) -- An Army reservist was convicted of killing his...

thedrifter
02-10-05, 04:56 PM
Troops in Iraq welcome proposal to boost death benefits
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By Terry Boyd, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, February 10, 2005

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WILSON, Iraq - American soldiers in Iraq say they welcome the proposals to nearly double some death benefits.

Increases are "long overdue" for survivors' benefits such as the death gratuity, "because $12,000 barely covers the cost of a funeral," said 2nd Lt. Kenneth Rivard, 3rd Squadron, 278th Regimental Combat Team, from the Tennessee National Guard.

The Department of Defense is proposing to raise the death gratuity to $100,000 from $12,420 currently, and the maximum life insurance caps to $400,000 under Servicemembers Group Life Insurance, or SGLI, from $250,000. The DOD would pay for the first $150,000 in life insurance for all troops in combat zones.

One point of debate separating defense officials from Congress and military leaders is who should be eligible.

Officials from all four services testified in Congress earlier this month that they would prefer to see death benefits extended to all active-duty personnel and reserve forces, not just those in war zones.

Death benefits are a hot button issue: "Rush Limbaugh talks a lot about how soldiers get a fraction of what a civilian would receive" in death benefits, said Rivard, 32, a married information technology employee in Nashville, Tenn., in civilian life.

The conservative talk-show host has criticized payouts to the families of firefighters and civilians killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which averaged $1 million, compared to the small amount paid to the survivors of soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But in an informal poll of soldiers at FOB Wilson, just slightly more than half said they believe only those in combat zones should be eligible for the increased death payout.

The odds of getting killed increase exponentially when you step into a combat zone, said Sgt. Roy Scott Hammons, with the 3rd Squadron, 278th Regimental Combat Team, from the Tennessee National Guard.

The proposed death benefits should be made available mainly to soldiers in combat zones, said Hammons, 44, from Jackson, Tenn. Only select personnel outside war zones, such as submariners and special operations troops "who undergo very, very hazardous training," should be included, Hammons said.

The proposed death benefit increases are projected to cost about $459 million the first year, then $280 million in 2006, with retroactive payouts to the beneficiaries of soldiers killed on or after Oct. 7, 2001.

It remains to be seen how many soldiers would take advantage of the proposed increases.

Only about 9 percent of newly enlisted soldiers are married, according to Army data. However, that figure increases to 42 percent by the end of the first enlistment.

Rivard encourages his soldiers with dependents to buy the maximum coverage, which costs about $16 a month for the current $250,000 in coverage, he said. Yet only slightly more than half of the 3-278th RCT soldiers interviewed at FOB Wilson said they're paying for the maximum SGLI coverage.

One of those with maximum coverage is Cpl. Michael Henley, 28, who is single. Just because he has no children doesn't mean he doesn't have any obligations.

"If something happens to me, it'll put my goddaughter through college," Henley said.

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 05:14 PM
Marines must battle for hearts and minds
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By Tony Perry
Los Angeles Times
Posted February 10 2005

AL QAIM · The mission was humanitarian: Marines were taking free sheep to impoverished villagers and candy, T-shirts and toys to their children.

Before it was over, the mission would serve as a real-life tutorial in the tactics and morality of the daily gunbattle between Marines and insurgents in this barren stretch of desert along the Syrian border.

A seven-vehicle convoy of heavily armed Marines had ventured overland to buy sheep from Bedouin shepherds. Marines jokingly called the effort Operation Mutton.

What better way to convert hearts and minds than to distribute woolly mammals in a region where a family's wealth is measured by how many sheep it owns?

At first it appeared the Marines had met their match. Bedouins were expert hagglers long before the United States was a country or had a Marine Corps.

Two Bedouins, owners of a flock nibbling on desert grass, said they had no sheep to sell. We have no need for money, they said, standing beside their mud huts and barefoot children. The session seemed destined to fail.

Chief Warrant Officer Dan Sierra, working through a translator, found the soft underbelly of the Bedouin culture: hospitality. Bedouins are famed for never turning away a request from a traveler.

Sierra had the translator make one last plea: We have come all this way to buy your sheep, please do not reject us. The Bedouins looked at each other and, as an icy wind blew in from Syria, they decided to humor the rich Americans.

A deal was struck: five sheep for $350 and several boxes of shoes. The sheep were loaded into a trailer. A bahhhhh-ing sound mixed with the rough roar of the Humvee engine.

Off the convoy went to al-Ubadey, a farming village near the Euphrates River where the Marines have supported the health clinic and the Navy is working to improve the water system.

Respects were paid to the mayor, a dignified figure in black gown and gold brocade. The local imam, an aging and blind cleric of great influence, was given a fat sheep. If he said thank you, no one heard it. Toys, candy and trinkets were given to the children.

A small knot of men in their 20s stayed aloof, looking disapproving. Even as Marines maintained a tight cordon and watched for trouble, a festive feeling prevailed.

"This is something I never thought I'd be doing, driving around Iraq and giving away sheep," Lt. Josh Watson said. "They never told us about this in supply school." The sheep having been distributed to families picked by the mayor, the initial leg of the midafternoon return trip to the Marines' main base was over rutted off-road trails to avoid detection by insurgents.

The going was slow and bumpy. Within a few miles of the camp, the convoy switched to a paved road.

A car traveling toward the Marines slowed but refused to stop, causing the Marines to wave their arms in the air and warn the driver to pull over. Suicide cars have taken a toll.

Suddenly, from the opposite side of the road, came a tremendous explosion beneath one of the Humvees, followed by small-arms fire, probably from AK-47s.

"Here we go!" Sierra shouted into his radio. Sierra had been concerned that the hourlong stop at al-Ubadey had given insurgents time to spot the Marines and plot an attack.

Later, the Marines would disagree whether the explosion was from a roadside bomb, a rocket-propelled grenade or both. But its power was undeniable. The blast and fireball flattened all four tires on the Humvee and ripped shrapnel holes in its side, windows and trunk. A Marine gunner was knocked unconscious.

The Humvee was one of the newly armored ones. If the explosion had struck one of the thinly protected Humvees used in the assault in 2003 on Baghdad and Tikrit, Marines inside probably would have been killed.

Marines yelled that a triggerman dressed in black was visible in the window of a farmhouse about 100 yards away. A Marine squeezed off four shots from his M-16.

Their vehicles pushed rapidly through the "kill zone." Dismounted Marines spread out to return fire if the insurgents opted to stand and fight. The injured Marine was rushed to the base, where Navy doctors determined he had suffered a concussion but no other injuries.

Towing the crippled Humvee slowed the rest of the convoy to a crawl. Marines scanned the horizon and prepared to respond to a possible second attack. There was no small talk.

Even before the convoy made its way to the base, the injured Marine was aboard a Black Hawk helicopter on his way to a trauma center near Baghdad for further examination and a reassuring telephone call to his wife.

Once back at the base, Marines reported that Iraqis in buses had seemed overjoyed by the attack. A detailed debriefing was held. It was not the first convoy attack for most of the Marines; none thought it would be his last.

One Marine said he could have taken a shot at the farmhouse, but from his angle there were children in the front yard and a woman taking clothing down from a line in the back. He declined to shoot.

Officers had not yet appeared at the debriefing. An unofficial mini-debate ensued among young enlisted about whether the Marine should have fired at the farmhouse.

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 05:38 PM
3rd ID Troops Reach Out and Touch
American Forces Press Service

CAMP LIBERTY, Baghdad, Feb. 9, 2005 – During their first rotation in Iraq, the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division here had difficulty staying in touch with loved ones back home.

These days, numerous methods of communication are in place to help them let their families know they're doing fine.

Internet access, long distance phone lines, and video teleconferencing are just a few ways a soldier deployed in Iraq can stay in touch with people back home.

"When I first arrived here, I didn't know what to expect," said Capt. Elzie Mitchell, Headquarters Support Company, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division. "I suspected a few AT&T phone centers, but not decent Internet or video teleconferencing to be available in Iraq."

The new facilities and areas set up in the many forward operating bases throughout Iraq now come with AT&T phone centers and Internet cafes, making loved ones just a dial tone or the click of a button away.

"Being able to contact your family is a great thing to have when you have a long deployment ahead of you," Mitchell said. "Just sending your family an e- mail or a phone call to let them know you're alright and alive makes them feel good and helps make the stay not so bad here," he said.

A relatively new tool communication tool, the VTC had been available for a few 3rd ID soldiers. Now it will be more available for use by those in the various forward operating bases in Baghdad after 1st Cavalry Division redeploys.

"It's a pretty good tool to allow soldiers to see and hear their loved ones over a large monitor from the States," said Chief Warrant Officer Eugene Gardner, Headquarters Company, 1st Cavalry Division.

"It [the VTC] has been used for soldiers who've had kids born while they've been deployed as well as graduations and promotions," Gardner said. "If there is an available time slot, soldiers can be scheduled anytime, day or night, as long as they give at least a 48-hour notice."

For the soldiers of the Marne Division, the availability of phone lines and Internet since their last deployment have changed immensely.

"The Internet access has grown considerably since the first rotation," said Sgt. Ronald Coleman of the division's Headquarters Support Company, Special Troops Battalion. "It's not real fast like back home, but it's far better than what we had.

"It makes life easier for the soldiers in Iraq and does wonders for morale," he said.

"During the first deployment, you sometimes waited an hour in a huge line to get on a phone for just a few minutes," Coleman said. "Now there are more phone centers and Internet cafes and the VTC is more available The stay won't be so bad this time around," he said.

In addition, Morale Welfare and Recreation centers also provide access to computers with web cameras, allowing soldiers even greater access to loved ones back home.

(Based on a story by Army Pfc. Ricardo Branch of 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs.)

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 07:44 PM
General says Marines will reduce Iraq presence
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By ROBERT BURNS
AP MILITARY WRITER
Feb. 10, 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Marine Corps will shrink the size of its ground combat force in Iraq this spring, with the Army making a corresponding increase, the Marines' operations chief said Thursday.

Lt. Gen. Jan Huly, the deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations, said in an Associated Press interview that the Marines will draw down from about 33,000 to about 23,000 when a fresh contingent headed by the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force is fully in place in Iraq in March.

"This has been planned all along," he said. He said it does not suggest the Marines are too taxed by commitments around the globe, including duty in Afghanistan and training at home.

Overall, the U.S. force is scheduled to drop by March or April from the current 153,000 to the 138,000 level that prevailed before a buildup late last year in advance of the Jan. 30 elections. Much of that temporary increase was achieved by extending the tours of Army units. The Marines also added several thousand, and they are now getting ready to return home.

Huly said that for planning purposes the Marines expect to maintain their force level in Iraq at about the 23,000 level "for the foreseeable future." He declined to define that more precisely.

A former deputy commander of Marine Corps Recruiting Command, Huly said he has seen no evidence that the fast pace of deployments since the start of the Iraq war - with Marines spending seven months in Iraq, then returning with only seven months' break at home - is hurting recruiting.

"So far it's not breaking their spirit, their morale or their will to fight," he said.

In fact he thinks the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are a plus for attracting and retaining Marines.

"My 35 years in the Marine Corps have shown me that that's why young men and women join the Marines - to go do that kind of stuff," he said. "Most of them would rather be going back to Iraq than sitting around at Camp Lejeune or Camp Pendleton shooting blanks. They make more money over there. It's more exciting."

The Marines say they are on track to meeting their recruiting goal for this year, although in January they fell short of their monthly target for the first time in almost 10 years.

More than 450 Marines have died in the Iraq war. Marines bore the brunt of the fighting in Fallujah last November when U.S. forces attacked the city to eliminate a stronghold of the insurgency.

Huly said the Marine Corps is holding up well under the strain, although the Corps is operating its vehicles and aircraft at a faster pace than officials had budgeted for before the war began.

"I think the strain on the equipment will probably show up before the strain on the people does," he said.

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 08:20 PM
5th Civil Affairs Group prepares for deployment
Submitted by: II Marine Expeditionary Force
Story Identification #: 20052816739
Story by Sgt. Russ Meade



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb. 7, 2005) -- About 193 Marines with the 5th Civil Affairs Group participated in combat training Jan.31 to Feb. 3 at Landing Zone Quail in preparation for deployment supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The CAG is made up of Marines from 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 3rd Civil Affairs Group, and members of the active, Select Marine Corps Reserve and Inactive Ready Reserve.

The general mission of the CAG is to provide civil-military operations support to the Marine Expeditionary Force or other Marine Air Ground Task Force in order to reduce friction between the civilian population and the MEF or other MAGTF. Once their deployment is over the 5th CAG will cease to exist.

The Marines who do not have the civil affairs military occupational specialty, are going through a 10-day CAG course that started Feb.7. Upon completion the Marines will receive the CAG billet.

The combat training they received included convoy operations, first aid, NBC, land navigation, communications and security and stabilization operations.

Lance Cpl. Jonathan Higham is a radio operator with the 3rd CAG. Higham, who is from Orange County, Calif., works as a civilian in the warehouse at Cotsco. "I came into the Marine Corps to do something meaningful. I am only 19 and wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity to deploy," he said.

Higham said he enjoyed the convoy operations the most.

"The weather was cold, but I stayed motivated throughout the entire week. All of the training was good to go, but I think the convoy ops prepared us the best for possible combat," said Higham.

Sgt. Aaron Eader, a motor transport chief from Annapolis, Md., said this training really opened the eyes of the younger marines.

"The convoy ops training showed how fast things can happen and what the effects can be. I think it surprised us all," he said. "This type of training showed us that everything does not come from the top. The lower ranks have to step up and lead too."

Col. Steve McKinley, commanding officer, 5th CAG, said the CAG's purpose is to improve the quality of life of the Iraqi people.

"We are going to change Iraq one block at a time," he said.


Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 08:54 PM
U.S. Soldiers Foil Hand Grenade Handoff to Child
American Forces Press Service

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq, Feb. 10, 2005 – U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, foiled an attempt by a terrorist to coerce a child into accepting a hand grenade in Ramadi today.

The soldiers, currently assigned to the 1st Marine Division of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, were conducting a patrol in the northeastern sector of the city when they observed a blue 4-door sedan with three military-aged males pull up near their position.

The driver exited the vehicle and approached a child, estimated to be 10 years old. The two exchanged words and the adult gave the child a hand grenade. The child and the adult exchanged possession of the hand grenade several times.

One of them dropped the grenade after U.S. soldiers fired a warning shot in the direction of the terrorist. The child ran away as the adult returned fire with a handgun.

The patrol fired disabling shots into the vehicle to prevent the terrorists from escaping as the adult jumped into his vehicle and attempted to flee the scene. A brief firefight ensued, which resulted in one terrorist being killed and two terrorists being wounded.

The patrol evacuated the wounded to the medical facility at their forward operating base. The unit recovered the grenade from the scene, but was unable to locate the child.

There were no U.S. casualties.

"The incident demonstrates the ruthless disregard that the insurgency has for the citizens of Iraq," said Marine Maj. Phill Bragg, division information operations officer.


Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 09:00 PM
New Trauma Registry Captures Valuable Wartime Data
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Feb. 10, 2005 — A new registry being established here is helping track casualty information from Iraq and Afghanistan to give senior leaders the concrete information they need as they make decisions about everything from what protective gear troops will use to how to better deliver combat casualty care.

The Joint Theater Trauma Registry is ensuring that decision makers have more than anecdotal evidence to guide their decisions that directly affect troops on the ground, explained retired Army Col. L. Harrison Hassell, director of the registry system.

The registry captures details about wounds received and the medical care provided from combat support hospitals, aboard ships and aircraft and throughout the course of their treatment, as well as the results.

This shows medical care providers what treatments were most effective as they apply those lessons learned to other patients with similar wounds, Hassell explained. "A lot of the focus is on life-saving measures at the point of injury," he said. Medical care providers call this the most important stage of the patient's treatment and ultimate recovery.

The data collected in the registry demonstrates the effectiveness of new medical devices and techniques, such as one-armed tourniquets, Hassell said. "You really want to know are you having an impact with a new device you have developed? Is it saving lives?" he said.

The registry also helps medical instructors better tailor their training for the theater, he said.

But the data has longer-term implications as well, Hassell said, helping planners look to the future as they conceive the next-generation combat support hospital and better methods of evacuating patients from the battlefield.

In addition to improving the quality of trauma care, the registry is providing concrete data about a full range of issues of interest to military leaders and decision makers, such as the effectiveness of the new Kevlar helmet and the impact of roadside bombs on the force.

"This is data that affects people fighting right now," Hassell said. "It's helping answer the question, 'What should we do to protect them, and if they are injured, to save them?'"

The Army's Soldier Support Center in Natick, Mass., is studying the data as it strives to improve body armor systems and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is evaluating the amputation data as it works on futuristic limb regeneration concepts.

Monthly reports that summarize the data collected so far have whet the military's collective appetite for more information. "It's like a feeding frenzy," Hassell said. "They all want more."

But providing more information and speeding up its delivery aren't as simple as it might seem. It's a slow, labor-intensive process that involves sorting through files of hand-written notes from weary battlefield healthcare providers, extracting the critical details, translating them into medical codes and entering them into the database.

"It's painfully slow," Hassell acknowledged, emphasizing that until all the data is collected and up-do-date, it offers only a partial view of the big picture.

But in the meantime, the database is providing combat trauma care information never before available, and certainly not while the war was still under way. In the past, medical data from the theater was never collected, and inpatient records were retired to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis as soon as each patient left the hospital.

Hassell said the emerging registry is already beginning to pay off in terms of supporting medical improvements, logistics and operational planning, force modeling, casualty forecasting, training and research and development.

"It's helping ensure that when decision makers or policymakers go forward, they're making decisions based on the best data available," he said.

Ellie

thedrifter
02-10-05, 11:05 PM
HMM-365 Marines lead during successful deployment <br />
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing <br />
Story Identification #: 20052804249 <br />
Story by Cpl. Paul Leicht <br />
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AL ASAD, Iraq (Feb. 08, 2005) --...