3rd LAR switches commands, missions multiple times

[thedrifter]

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."



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



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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Recount Delays Iraq Election Results
Associated Press
February 10, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi officials said Wednesday they must recount votes from about 300 ballot boxes because of various discrepancies, delaying final results from the landmark national elections. Hundreds - perhaps thousands - of other ballots were declared invalid because of alleged tampering.

Postelection violence mounted, raising fears that the Jan. 30 balloting had done little to ease the country's grave security crisis.

An American soldier was killed Wednesday and another wounded in an ambush north of the capital, the U.S. military said. Two other American soldiers died earlier in the week, the command said Wednesday.

Gunmen ambushed a convoy of Kurdish party officials in Baghdad, killing one and wounding four. And in the southern city of Basra, gunmen killed an Iraqi journalist working for a U.S.-funded TV station and his 3-year-old son as they left their home.

On Thursday, a car bomb exploded in central Baghdad, killing at least four people, police and witnesses said.




Officials had promised final results from the elections by Thursday, the end of the Iraqi work week. On Wednesday, however, election commission spokesman Farid Ayar said the deadline would not be met because of the recount.

"We don't know when this will finish," he said. "This will lead to a little postponement in announcing the results."

No partial tallies have been released since Monday in the contests for the 275-member National Assembly, 18 provincial councils and a regional parliament for the Kurdish self-governing region in the north.

The most recent figures showed a coalition of Kurdish parties in second place behind a Shiite-dominated ticket endorsed by Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. The ticket of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite, was a distant third.

Allegations of voting irregularities, especially around the tense northern city of Mosul, have complicated the count. Some leading Sunni Arab and Christian politicians alleged that thousands of their supporters were denied the right to vote.

Election officials blamed the problems in the Mosul area on security, which prevented fewer than a third of the planned 330 polling centers from opening. Gunmen seized some ballot boxes, officials said.

The commission would not say how many ballots had been declared invalid and whether they had come from the Mosul area, which has a mostly Sunni Arab population. Many Sunnis are believed to have stayed home on election day, either because they feared insurgent reprisals or opposed a ballot as long as U.S. and other foreign troops were on Iraqi soil.

Commission official Adel al-Lami said the ballots in 40 boxes and 250 bags would not be counted because they appeared to have been stuffed inside them or, in some cases, improperly folded. Some of the boxes were not those approved by the commission, and others were improperly sealed, he said.

Before the election, commission officials estimated each box should contain about 500 ballots. It was unclear whether the bags contained roughly the same number of ballots. A total of 90,000 ballot boxes were used in the election.

Meanwhile, a Western legal expert said investigative judges were nearly ready to hand over lengthy dossiers of affidavits, witness statements and other documents to a five-judge panel that would run the trials for former members of Saddam Hussein's regime.

The expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity, would not say which of Saddam's 11 lieutenants were likely to face the Iraqi Special Tribunal first, and it was unclear when the dictator himself would stand trial.

Formal charges will not come until the investigating judges refer the cases to the trial chamber. The first dossiers were expected to be delivered to trial judges in several weeks, the legal expert said.

In December, investigative judges summoned Saddam's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as Chemical Ali for his role in poison gas attacks on Kurds, and former Defense Minister Gen. Sultan Hashim Ahmad to appear at closed-door preliminary hearings.

The American soldier was killed Wednesday in an ambush near Balad, a major U.S. base about 50 miles north of Baghdad. Another U.S. soldier died Tuesday of a gunshot wound at the Balad base. A third was killed Sunday while on patrol in Mosul. More than 1,450 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003.

Police said they had no leads in the slaying of Abdul Hussein Khazal al-Basri, the correspondent for Al-Hurra TV station, and his young son. Al-Basri was also an official of the Islamic Dawa party, editor of a newspaper in Basra and head of the press office of the Basra City Council.

It was unclear if his affiliation with Al-Hurra was the motive for the slaying. The station, launched a year ago, was tailored for Arab audiences to compete with regional stations like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya. President Bush said it was created to "cut through the hateful propaganda" broadcast in the Arab world.

In Rome, the newspaper that employs an Italian journalist held hostage in Iraq said Wednesday it has indications she is alive and that intelligence officials have established indirect contact with her kidnappers.

Giuliana Sgrena, a reporter for communist daily Il Manifesto, was abducted by gunmen Friday outside Baghdad University. Conflicting claims have appeared on Islamic militant Web sites: One said she had been killed, while another said she would be released soon.

Il Manifesto said an unspecified contact person saw Sgrena on Monday and Tuesday, reporting that she was well. The paper said the person could be used as a mediator in future communications with Sgrena's kidnappers.

The contact is the result of work by Italy's government and intelligence services, the newspaper said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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