Monday, January 08, 2007

'Why I Serve' Speakers Anxious to Share Good News About Iraq, Afghanistan

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Jan. 8, 2007 – Many of the troops fanning out across the country beginning this week to share their deployment experiences with civilian groups say they hope to share some of the "good news" stories that often don't make it into the evening news. The eight troops are participating in the Defense Department's "Why I Serve" program, which gives men and women in uniform the opportunity to speak to groups ranging from the Boy Scouts to local Rotary Clubs to schools and retirement community organizations.

The concept originated with former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who wanted a way to help reconnect troops to the American people,
Marine Maj. Matt Morgan, the program's director, explained.

"So we took a number of ideas, and one of them was taking troops just returned from overseas and sending them out to the American people so they could talk to community organizations and groups and interface directly without the interference of filters," Morgan said.

Army Staff Sgt. Jerome MacDonald, a combat medic who returned from Iraq in February 2006, said he and his fellow Why I Serve participants have "an incredible amount of different stories" to share about their time on the ground in the Middle East.

He said he's excited about the opportunity to spend the next 90 days sharing those personal stories with people who may never have heard firsthand what it's like to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"I think it's important to tell people what's going on," he said. "They can turn on CNN, but there's someone on CNN telling them what they saw over there. This will be the soldier telling you, 'This is what I saw; this is what I did.'"

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Lyndon Romeo said he hopes his firsthand accounts will give the American public new insights. "I can describe to them and get them to see what I saw," he said. "They will see a personal side they wouldn't otherwise see from a person who has been in the field and can relate to them on a one-on-one basis."

For
Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeramiah Poff, the Why I Serve program represents an opportunity to share personal stories about his interaction with the Iraqi people and day-to-day life while deployed. "I'm going to share with them my experiences, everything from the culture to the daily routine to living conditions, what it's like, even how I feel to be in uniform, and how proud I am of what I do," he said.

Air Force Master Sgt. Ruben Vazquez, a medical technician who will begin his Why I Serve tour this week speaking to a Colorado Boy Scout group, said he looks forward to sharing some of the good things happening in Iraq that never get covered in the news.
"You hear about body counts and explosions and about the negative things happening over there, but you don't hear a lot about the positive things," he said. "And I did see a lot of positive things when I was over there: a lot of construction, a lot of training, a lot of education, a lot of gifts coming from the states.

"It's not something you see a lot in the media, the positive impact we are making," he said.

Marine Cpl. Michael Good Jr. said he will tell the groups he addresses how much most Iraqis appreciate what U.S. troops are doing in their country. "I was there sweeping roads for bombs, and they were very appreciative of what we do, because a 3-year-old could be walking down the road, then all of a sudden, 'Boom!'" he said. "The insurgents don't care who it is, a U.S. troop or an Iraqi civilian. They don't care who they are going to kill.

"I was surprised at how appreciative some of the Iraqi people are that we are there," he said.

Marine Corps 1st Lt. Richard Posselt, another program participant, said he is happy to get the chance to share his experiences training both Afghan and Iraqi security forces. "I want to get the message out that we are succeeding over there and making positive strides," he said. "I'm excited about trying to talk to as many people as possible in the next three months and get the word out there."

Posselt said he plans to tell people that he and his fellow troops believe in their mission. "We are there for the greater good of both Iraq and Afghanistan," he said. "We are out here trying to make a difference, and we believe in what we are doing."

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'Why I Serve' Participants to Share Motivation for Military Service

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Jan. 8, 2007 – Ask
Army Staff Sgt. Jerome MacDonald why he serves in the military, and he doesn't talk about pay raises, tuition assistance or job security. My biggest reason for serving is my family," said MacDonald, a combat medic who returned in 2006 from a deployment to Iraq.

"I looked at my family, and I realized that I want them and their way of life to be protected," he said. "And one of the only ways to do that is to go overseas and take the fight to the enemy who are perfectly willing to come here and kill themselves just to kill an American. ... It requires some sacrifice, but I am willing to do that."

MacDonald is among eight participants in the Defense Department's "Why I Serve" program who will spend the next three months telling civilian groups around the country why they serve in the armed forces. The group members, all recently returned from Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world in support of the war on terror, will also share their personal experiences and the importance of the public support they have received.

In addition to sharing his on-the-ground experiences, MacDonald said he plans to talk about the deep sense of connection he and many of his fellow servicemembers feel toward their comrades. MacDonald left the military in 2003 after six years of service, then returned less than a year later because he realized how much he missed what he had left behind.

"I found out when I got out of the
military that I didn't have that brotherhood anymore, that camaraderie," he said. "I missed that, and I serve now also for the men and the women next to me in the foxhole and, ultimately, because I believe in the war on terror and that we are doing the right thing."

Petty Officer 1st Class Lyndon Romeo, a Navy Seabee, said he plans to tell the audiences he speaks with about how his latest deployments to Kuwait and Bahrain reaffirmed his belief in the value of military service. "I serve because I believe that the constitution needs defending and supporting, and I believe that probably the best way to do that is to service in the United States military," he said. "That's what I plan to tell them."

Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeramiah Poff said he looks forward to sharing with civilian groups ranging from Boy Scouts to Rotary Clubs "how I feel to be in uniform and how proud I am of what I do."

Poff said he hopes to convey through the Why I Serve program that he sees his service as a way of honoring veterans of past wars, reinforcing those who serve alongside him today, and laying a foundation for the next generation of military members.

"I serve for all those who have served before me (and) all those who have fought and sacrificed in all the conflicts of the past," he said.

"I serve so (the soldier, sailor, airmen or
Marine beside me) knows he has someone watching his back and able to catch him if he falls, pick him up if he gets hurt, motivate him if it's his bad day," he said. "And I am also there for all my troops for the future of the military services."

As the group members fan out across the country this week to spend the next 90 days speaking to groups ranging from the Boy Scouts to local Rotary Clubs to schools and retirement community organizations, they also will emphasize the importance of public support for the troops.

"We have all seen the support that regular Americans give," MacDonald said. "The most important thing is that they are distinguishing between the soldier and the politics and the war and the soldier. ... As long as that continues, they can always support the soldier."

Marine Maj. Matt Morgan, director of the Why I Serve program, said he wishes every servicemember could get an opportunity to participate in the program to see firsthand how much they're appreciated. "Most servicemembers have a sense that Americans appreciate what they do. But until you go out in the communities where you are not usually seeing servicemembers, traveling through regional and local airports, and meeting with members of communities who don't see this military presence, you don't understand how much they appreciate what you do," he said.

Morgan recalled an incident in which three participants in the program walking through a small regional airport got a standing ovation from the people awaiting their flights. "It was a very emotional moment for all of them because they just didn't get a sense of that in the regular media coverage, just how much Americans really appreciate what they do," he said.

The concept for the Why I Serve program originated with former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and
Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who wanted a way to help reconnect troops to the American people, Morgan explained.

"So we took a number of ideas, and one of them was taking troops just returned from overseas and sending them out to the American people so they could talk to community organizations and groups and interface directly without the interference of filters," Morgan said.

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ESGR Looking for Few Good Employers

By Samantha L. Quigley

Jan. 8, 2007 – The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is looking for a few good employers to recognize this year. The committee, in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, announced today that it has begun accepting nominations for the 2007 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Awards. The nomination process will conclude Feb. 28.

Founded in 1972, ESGR's mission is to gain and maintain active support from public and private employers for the men and women of the National Guard and reserves. It also is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program showcasing ways Americans are supporting the nation's servicemembers.

"I am encouraging all National Guardsmen and reservists worldwide and their family members to visit the ESGR Web site ... to nominate their employers for the 2007 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award," Bob Hollingsworth, ESGR executive director, said. "This prestigious national award recognizes supportive employers who provide exemplarily support above the (federal law) requirements for their employees who serve in the National Guard and reserve."

More than 1,000 nominations were received for the 2006 awards,
Air Force Reserve Maj. Robert Palmer, the national committee's chief of strategic communications, said. Officials hope to receive 5,000 nominations this year, which is still a relatively small number, considering estimates that more than 200,000 American employers employ National Guardsmen and reservists.

The 2007 recipients will be honored in Washington, D.C., at the 12th annual Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award ceremony on Sept. 12.

Defense Secretary William Perry instituted the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. The award, the highest in a series of Defense Department employer awards, publicly recognizes employers for exceptional support of their reserve-component employees above the federal requirements.

National Guardsmen, reservists or their family members can nominate an employer by completing the 2007 Freedom Award nomination form on the ESGR Web site. ESGR field committees will review the nominations and have the option to present three nominations per committee for review by the National Selection Board, which will select up to 15 recipients.

The nominees forwarded by the 56 field committees to the National Committee will fall into one of three categories; large employer, small employer and public sector -- or government -- employers, Palmer said. "We try to have a balanced representation (among those categories)," he added.

Previous recipients have included Starbucks, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Sears, General Electric, DuPont, Verizon, and United Parcel Service. State and local governments and a number of America's small businesses, who are the majority of National Guard and reserve employers, have also been recipients.

"The whole concept is that (the Freedom Award) rewards employers who go above and beyond, so it's not just complying with the law but the steps (employers) go beyond to really show Guardsmen and reservists that they are behind their service 100 percent," Palmer said. "We've seen examples of sending care packages, maintaining contact with the deployed member's families, maintaining contact with the deployed member, any type of activity that would indicate that that employee is still in the hearts and minds of the employer.

"By nominating their employers for Patriot Awards, Above and Beyond Awards, and the Freedom Award, employees are sending their employer a strong message of appreciation," he said.

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NYPD leads LAPD, 77 to 47

Editors Note: At least one of the authors is prior military.

January 8, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com added ten Los Angeles Police Department police officers who have written books. This brings the LAPD total to 47 authors whereas NYPD leads police agencies world-wide with 77 authors.

This round of writers leads off with three “tell-all” police writers. First, a look at LAPD domestic spying in “L.A. Secret Police: Inside the LAPD Elite Spy Network.” The work is co-written by
Michael Rothmiller, a former detective inside the LAPD Organized Crime Intelligence Division.

In LAPD’s “Rouge Cops: Cover up and the Cookie Jar,”
Vince Carter, a 25-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, separates fact from fiction in a look at one of America’s most celebrated, and publicized, police departments. Vincent A. Carter and his Uncle Herb Carter, between them, patrolled the streets of Los Angeles for nearly fifty years. In these memoirs Sergeant Carter describes the birth and early years of a political/financial/newspaper syndicate which ruled Los Angeles with dictatorial power from the late 1880s until recent times.

The author of C.U.B.O. (Conduct Unbecoming an Officer),
Don Lucier, enlisted in the United States Army after high school. He served in Vietnam as an infantryman. He was a Los Angeles Police Officer from 1970 to 1980.

Robert Houghton began his career in law enforcement in 1937 when be joined the Beverly Hills Police Department. In 1942, he joined the
Los Angeles Police Department, rising to the rank of Chief of Detectives. His book, “Special Unit Senator,” tells the story of the LAPD’s investigation into the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

Editors Note: The editor’s father was the first Los Angeles Police Officer on scene at the Ambassador Hotel.

Pierce R. Brooks began his police career in 1959, as a beat cop in Los Angeles. Twenty years later he retired as a captain with the reputation as one of the best detectives in the United States. After the Los Angeles Police Department, Chief Brooks served as the Director of Public Safety in Lakewood, Colorado. Brooks gained famed as the detective in Joseph Wambaugh’s book, “The Onion Field,” a true story of a brutal police killing. An acknowledged expert on police survival, he has conducted many seminars and lectures through the country. Brooks firm belief that most police killings could have been avoided motivated him to write, “…officer down, code three.”

Chief
William L. Williams worked his way up from rookie patrolman at age twenty in 1964 to become commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department in 1988. In 1992, William Williams became the fiftieth chief of the Los Angeles Police Department and the first African-American chief of the department. According to the Library Journal, “That Los Angeles police chief Williams is upbeat shines through everything he has to say about his four years' tenure in L.A., his service before that in Philadelphia, and the country's prospects for fighting urban crime. Only a hopeful, positive, and competent person would sign on for a police department and a city wracked by the Rodney King trial riots and the exodus of elected officials from the city. Even as Williams was uplifting and retraining his demoralized police and giving the public renewed confidence in them, his department has faced a whole series of new traumas: the second King trial and its threat of riot; the Reginald Denny trial; the earthquake; the Michael Jackson child molestation probe; the Heidi Fleiss prostitution case; and the O.J. Simpson trial.”

While Police-Writers.com focuses on the 239
police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 622 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees; and, international police officers who have written books.