ESGR Seeks Freedom Award Nominees

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 15, 2007 - The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is seeking employers with records of stellar support for military employees. The group is accepting nominations for the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Awards through Jan. 21.

"Almost one-half of the U.S. military is comprised of the National Guard and Reserve," said Beth Sherman, an ESGR spokeswoman. "The Department of Defense shares these citizen warriors with their civilian employers, many of whom provide significant support to (these) employees."

Past recipients of the award have provided full salary, a continuation of benefits, care packages and other forms of help such as home and lawn care for families of employees fulfilling military obligations.

"While all employer support is exemplary, small employers that go above and beyond the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act to assist their employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve, really set the bar high (last year)," Sherman said.

USERRA prohibits discrimination against people because of military service.

Augustine and Sons, a family-owned farm in Iowa, is one example of a small business that goes out of its way for its employees, Sherman said.

When one of its employees, 1st Sgt. Matthew Strasser, an Iowa Army National Guardsman, was deployed, the farm lost half its staff. Yet the Augustine family offered its continuing support to the family Strasser left behind.

"They allowed Strasser's wife and ... two sons to live on the farm rent-free," Sherman said. "The Augustines took the boys fishing, attended their sports games and fixed their dirt bikes."

Large businesses previously recognized for their exemplary support include Sears and Starbucks. The commonwealth of Massachusetts and the state of Tennessee both are past recipients of the public-sector award.

ESGR is encouraging National Guardsmen, reservists and their family members to nominate employers who offer their employees similar support. Nomination forms are available on the committee's Web site, www.esgr.org.

Last year, 1,119 nominations were received. To date, ESGR has received 268 already this year.

"Given that employer support is so strong, we hope reserve-component members will see fit to nominate their deserving employers," Sherman said. "This kind of recognition establishes a benchmark for all employers, and we hope this recognition is a small thank you from the Department of Defense."

Winners selected in three categories will be announced in early spring and will receive their awards during a Sept. 18 award ceremony.

Founded in 1972, the National Committee for Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve is a Defense Department agency established to promote cooperation and understanding between reserve-component members and their civilian employers. The organization also is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

Then-Defense Secretary William Perry instituted the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award in 1996.

Unit Honors Vietnam Veterans With Run in Afghanistan

By 2nd Lt. Monika Comeaux, USA
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 15, 2007 - "On the 8th of November, the angels were crying as they carried his brothers away. ... There were few men left standing that day," sings the country duo Big & Rich in their ballad commemorating the fall of 48 American soldiers from 173rd Airborne Brigade in 1965 in Operation Hump in Vietnam. Forty-two years later, members of 173rd Airborne Brigade, other servicemembers and civilians deployed here honored the fallen soldiers of Operation Hump by participating in a 24-hour relay.

The event celebrated unit cohesion, teamwork and esprit de corps, officials said. Participants ran along a nearly three-and-a-half mile route lined by miniature American flags and passed a bayonet, which is depicted on the unit patch of the 173rd ABCT, to one another in lieu of a baton. The event was made even more special by having a Vietnam veteran, Rick Petersen from the Facility Engineer Team, participate.

"I think it is a great idea. I think it is great that everybody is going to come out here and support one another. It is great for camaraderie," said 2nd Lt. Kate Fullenkamp, a quartermaster officer and platoon leader in Company A, 173rd Brigade Support Battalion (Airborne).

Her platoon of 40 entered with two seven-person teams. There would have been more volunteers, but mission requirements did not allow all of her soldiers to participate, she said.

"We had more than seven people who wanted to do this, but we picked the best seven," said Pfc. Ikechuku Odi, a combat engineer with Road Clearance Patrol 4, Company A, 70th Engineer Battalion, deployed from Fort Riley, Kan.

Ever since they found out about the race, the engineers ran two laps every day when they didn't go outside the wire, in preparation for the challenging race. When Odi heard about the race, he thought, "We are going to win this," he said.

"Our tactic is simple: run as fast as you can," he said, after completing his first lap in a little over 22 minutes.

"Some people are out here for the physical aspect, ... but there are people that are out here because it is fun and you enjoy it and you will always remember it, for sure," Fullenkamp said.

The rules of the run were pretty simple. "Basically it is a 24-hour relay with seven-man teams. One runner must be running at all times," said 1st. Sgt. Drake F. Sladky, Company C, 173rd Brigade Support Battalion. An avid sportsman, he was one of the masterminds behind the event.

Sladky said many in the 173rd Airborne liked the idea of organizing another run after running a 10-kilometer race shortly after the unit's arrival in Afghanistan. Originally they were aiming for New Year's Day, but then they received a disk containing the music video, "8th of November," from James Bradley, a member of the 173rd Association. "We knew that we had to do some sort of race in commemoration of that date," Sladky explained.

"Everybody in the company helped out, mostly by getting sponsors for the race day and organizing the registration," Sladky said. As a result, a total of 21 teams signed up.

"We were really lucky; we started early and got sponsors. ... The 173rd Association sent the race T-shirts. Niles Harris (the Vietnam veteran who was the inspiration for the country song and was himself injured on Nov. 8, 1965) sent about 200 autographed T-shirts," Sladky said.

Some of the shirts ended up as prizes, but the majority were sent out to subordinate units of the 173rd who are deployed to other forward operating bases and weren't able to participate in the run. Prizes included name-brand golf clubs, shirts, hats and a multitude of other things. No team went home empty-handed.

Odi was right when he said he thought his team was going to win. On the 9th of November, 2007, perhaps the angels were smiling a little as his team carried their prizes away.

The winning team completed a total of 51 laps, covering, fittingly, just over 173 miles in the 24-hour period, and consisted of: Staff Sgt. Luis D. Rivera, Pfc. Ikechuku Odi, Pfc. Vincent A. Fiorillo, Pfc. Joshua M. Contryman, Sgt. Eric E. Chappel, Sgt. Bradley J. Edmonds, and Spc. Tin T. Tran -- all combat engineers.

(Army 2nd Lt. Monika Comeaux is assigned to 173rd Brigade Support Battalion.)

Gift Cards Cheer Recovering Military Families

By Linda Hosek
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 14, 2007 - Kate Deyermond is going on a $15,000 holiday spending spree today -- but not for herself or with her own money. The manager of the three Fisher House facilities at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here will use donations from Wal-Mart to buy presents and necessities for military families who stay at Fisher House while their loved ones recover from combat injuries or illnesses.

"We'll make a list of the needs of the residents -- anything from diapers to linens," Deyermond said yesterday at the kick-off of Operation Deck the Walls, a new Wal-Mart program to bring holiday cheer to military families at 38 Fisher House facilities in the United States and Germany.

Wal-Mart will donate $350,000 through the holiday program, giving each house $5,000 for a spending spree. The total also includes $60,000 for decorations at all of the houses and $100,000 to build a new Fisher House at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Executives of the nation's largest retailer also hope Wal-Mart gift cards for holiday items and tree-trimming efforts will help with the healing. They'll be holding similar events at Fisher House quarters around the country for the next three weeks.

"It's more than the decorating," Kathy Cox, Wal-Mart Foundation manager, said as crews from Wal-Mart and Sam's Club hung red ornaments on a Christmas tree. "It's using our hands and our hearts. It's not just about the merchandise."

It's also about giving back to the nation's heroes, said Pat Curran, executive vice president of Wal-Mart Stores People Division. Decorating the homes is one way Wal-Mart can thank the troops.

"We're very proud to do that," said Curran, whose father was an Army intelligence officer for 22 years, giving her first-hand experience with sacrifice.

"I think it's awesome," Army Sgt. Marcus Kuboy, from the Minnesota National Guard, said. "Any kind of appreciation or support we get is great. I just eat it up."

He also reinforced the feeling that the spirit of the Wal-Mart program -- not just the purchases -- would make a difference. "The majority of recovery is mental attitude," he said. "This is helping."

"It's a great example of an organization based on people – like the military is," said Army Brig. Gen. Michael Tucker, deputy commander of North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed. "It's easy to write a check; they're out here doing."

But individuals also can have a powerful voice -- literally -- like country singer Tracy Byrd. He showed up to add to the holiday spirit with a few Christmas carols and hits of his own.

"I am a guy who goes around the country singing for a living," he said. "That's a great freedom to have, a great thing to be able to do what I love. For years and years, our military has defended that kind of freedom, and they go through these hardships, these injuries that we see today, this loss of limbs. It changes their whole life. And if we can be here to maybe just put a smile on their face for a little bit is great."

The Fisher House Foundation was established in 1990 by Zachary Fisher, a long-time military supporter. More than 110,000 families have stayed in a Fisher House over a period of 2.5 million days at no cost to the families.

Up to 70 military family members stay in the three D.C. Fisher houses, which have 27 rooms with up to 20 people on a waiting list, Deyermond said. Two of the houses are reserved for those with combat injuries, and the average stay is eight months to two years.

Both Wal-Mart and the Fisher House Foundation are supporters of America Supports You, a U.S. Department of Defense program that connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families at home and abroad.

"Wal-Mart is a true champion of our military," said Ken Fisher, Fisher House president and Zachary Fisher's grand-nephew.

Wal-Mart's efforts to bring holiday cheer to military families recovering from long-term injuries and illnesses actually aids their military mission, said Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public liaison and internal communications and the creator of the America Supports You program.

"Their new mission right now is to get well," Barber said of wounded troops, adding that getting well takes both physical endurance and strong attitudes. "And those attitudes for our troops are really boosted through support that they see through outreach programs like this, which is constantly what we see though America Supports You."

Army Cpl. Adam Poppenhouse, who lost his leg Dec. 3, 2006, in Iraq from an improvised explosive device, has lived in a Fisher House for months. The soft-spoken soldier listened to the singing and shared his thoughts about the event. "It's a wonderful way to heal," he said. "It's very humbling. It means a lot to me and my family."

New Initiative Offers Education, Training Funds for Military Spouses

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 14, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates joined Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao today in supporting a new initiative to help military spouses get the education and other credentials needed to pursue careers in high-demand, high-growth occupations. Gates praised the new Military Spouse Career Advancement Initiative as a "landmark program that will open the doors to our military spouses for more fulfilling careers," even as they relocate regularly due to their loved ones' assignments.

The $35 million demonstration program, co-sponsored by the Defense and Labor departments, sets up accounts for eligible spouses in eight states to cover expenses directly related to post-secondary education and training, Gates said during today's signing ceremony at the Pentagon.

These include costs for tuition, fees, books, equipment, and credentialing and licensing fees required for careers in education, health care, information technology, construction trades, financial services, and other "high-growth, portable" fields, Chao said.

The program also covers the cost of renewing existing credentials and licenses due to a military move.

Beginning in January, the new program will launch at 18 military installations in eight states: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, North Carolina and Washington.

Spouses of active-duty servicemembers grades E1 through E5 and O1 to O3 will be eligible to participate. They must have a high school or general education diploma.

Gates said the program will provide the much-needed help many spouses need to pursue rewarding careers despite frequent career disruptions. "Thousands are called on to pack up and relocate the family, often at the cost of their own careers," he said. "This makes it difficult to navigate the career licensure and certification requirements that go with most professions.

"In addition, education is often unaffordable for young families who must also bear the expense of child care," he said.

Gates called the new initiative another step in fulfilling the Defense Department's commitment to its servicemembers and their families. "We owe it to our brave men and women in uniform to assist their families as they do their job, often thousands of miles from their homes and families and under extremely hazardous conditions," he said. "When servicemembers find time to call home or e-mail home, they shouldn't have to worry. They have the right to hear their loved ones honestly say, 'We miss you, but we are doing fine.'"

Chao said the program will give the 77 percent of military spouses who report wanting or needing to work an opportunity to forge careers in fields that provide the most opportunity now and in the future.

Workers in these high-demand occupations will be able to pick up and move with their loved ones' assignments, but still continue building their own careers, she said. She noted that with the trend toward a knowledge-based economy, two-thirds of the new careers will require some post-secondary education or training.

Chao said military families serve as the backbone of the fighting force. "Our military could not do its job without your support," she told spouses at today's ceremony. "As they say in the military, you are mission-essential. And that's what this initiative is all about."

Twenty-five-year-old Gwen Bates, wife of Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Alexander Bates, said she hopes to be among the first military spouses to take advantage of the new program. Living in San Diego, where her husband is assigned, with the couple's three children, Bates said her family hasn't had extra cash to put toward her education. "This has been my stumbling block. I've been at a crossroads," she said.

Bates said the new initiative will offer exactly what she needs to build on the associate's degree she already has to get a bachelor's degree in pre-medicine, then go on to medical school. "This is the reinforcement I need to finally go ahead and get the show on the road," she said.

With the initiative beginning as a demonstration program, Bates said she's hopeful it will expand to include more spouses military-wide. "There are so many people like me," she said.

She called the new initiative an example of the Defense Department making good on its pledge of support to its military families. "It shows they actually care," she said.

Coast Guard Patrols Guantanamo Bay's Windward Pass to Protect U.S. Shores

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 14, 2007 - Three weeks out of every four, Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Figueroa studies the North Atlantic waters from an HU-25 "Falcon" aircraft, looking for illegal fishing ships and vessels in trouble. But on a rotational basis, Figueroa and other members of from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, carry out a distinctly different mission here. The deployed Coast Guardsmen patrol the Windward Pass for boats carrying cargos of drugs or illegal migrants toward U.S. waters.

Twice every day, the five-person crew flies across the Caribbean Sea toward Haiti, then north toward the Bahamas before returning to the Guantanamo Bay airfield in southeastern Cuba. The patrols, which typically cover about 700 miles, run about three hours.

Capt. Steve Pittman manned the aircraft controls last week on the second mission of the day as the crew studied the Haitian coastline from about a quarter mile offshore. Fellow pilot Capt. Eric Popiel scanned from the forward right seat. In the crew compartment, Figueroa and Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert Byrne, both aircraft mechanics and jumpmasters, peered through the left and right windows, calling out vessels as they spotted them. In the rear, Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Benners trained his eyes on a console that included a radar system, infrared camera that captured images from below the pilots' seats, and nautical map.

"We're an intelligence-gathering platform," Pittman explained.

When crew members spot something suspicious -- speedboats with several large engines that could be running drugs or overloaded sailboats that could be transporting illegal migrants -- they report their findings.

Coast Guard "fast boats" -- transportable port-security boats -- operating from Guantanamo Bay, Coast Guard cutters in the region, or HH-60J "Jayhawk" helicopters based on Great Iguana Island in the Bahamas, responds to investigate and possibly board the vessel.

The Windward Pass here is critical because it offers a straight shot from the western Caribbean to the United States. It's a favored route for drug runners seeking to shortcut the route west around Cuba and Haitians bound for U.S. soil in dangerously overloaded wooden sailboats. "We try to catch them loading before they move out," Pittman said. "Our objective is to find them here, before they move north."

Ship traffic is relatively sparse in the region, so it's easier for the crew to pick out suspicious vessels before they move into more heavily trafficked sea lanes in the Bahamas, Benners said.

As he studied the waters 1,000 feet below, Figueroa demonstrated skills that earned him the nickname "Eagle Eyes" early in his Coast Guard career. "My scanning techniques are pretty unique," he said. With 20/10 vision, he trains his eyes on individual whitecaps on the water for a full seven seconds. If it disappears, it's a whitecap. But if it remains, he knows he's spotted a vessel.

That was among the techniques that helped Figueroa spot three drug boats in just three weeks during his first deployment to Guantanamo Bay, in 1993. He likes to brag that he can spot most vessels 15 miles away and larger vessels as far as 20 miles away.

During a mission last week, a 40-foot sailboat with blue-and-white sails captured Figueroa's and his crewmates' interest. They'd identified it the previous day, and it had made more than 60 miles headway north since the initial spotting.

"It shouldn't be out here," Figueroa said. "It shouldn't be here at all."

In addition to protecting U.S. shores, the crew knows it's providing valuable humanitarian support. They conduct about 200 search-and-rescue missions every year in Northeastern U.S. waters and are prepared to assist vessels in trouble here, too.

Byrne spoke of an instance about five years back, when he was aboard a Coast Guard cutter as it pulled up to a capsized Haitian sailboat. It was 4 in the morning, pitch black, and the 90 people crammed aboard had gone a long stretch with no food or water. When their boat capsized, Byrne and his crewmates were able to rescue 72, but the others were lost.

"They didn't make it," Bryne said, shaking his head. "That's why it's so important that we catch them now, before they're able to get too far away."

Casey: Army Must Adapt to Changing Threats

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 15, 2007 - The next few decades will be a period of persistent conflict, and the U.S. Army will have to adapt to changing threats, that service's top general said today. "Global terrorism and extremist ideologies are a reality," Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "As I look to the future, I believe the next decades will be one of what I call persistent conflict. This a period of protracted confrontation among states, non-state and individual actors who are increasingly willing to use violence to accomplish their political and ideological ends."

Though it has positive aspects, globalization is a trend that exacerbates protracted confrontation. "It has also created 'have' and 'have-not' conditions that are ripe for exploitation," Casey said.

"Technology is another double-edged sword," he said. "The same innovations that improve quality of life and education and livelihood are also used by extremists to export terror around the globe and manipulate our media," he said.

Demographic change also could contribute to instability. "The populations of lesser-developed nations are expected to double over the next 20 years," the chief said. "That will create a 'youth bulge' that is ripe for exploitation by terrorist groups, especially as the governments of these lesser-developed countries are unable to deal with large population."

Casey pointed to the global rise in demand for energy, water and food as these populations grow as a likely cause of competition and conflict. Climate change and natural disasters may cause humanitarian crises, population shifts and epidemic diseases, he said. The danger of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction will increase, he said, and there is the potential for catastrophic attack.

Finally, dangers arise from failed or failing states providing havens for extremist groups, the Army chief said.

None of these trends point to a specific threat, from a specific group, in a specific area, Casey said. "We know the Army will remain central to our national strategy to ensure our security in spite of these threatening trends," he said.

The service is developing forces agile enough, with leadership able enough, and sustainment robust enough to ensure victory against any foe, Casey said. The force must operate with allies and with interagency partners and be able to handle the full spectrum of operations from humanitarian assistance to full-scale war, he added.

The Army is growing to a total of 547,000 soldiers over the next three years. In questioning, Casey said the service may need to expand beyond that number.

Casey said the Army is "consuming" its readiness as "fast as we can build it." He also said the service must restore the balance between active and reserve components. It also must rebuild the force's depth and build needed capabilities for the future.

Soldiers are the ultimate asymmetric advantage the United States has, Casey said, adding that training soldiers, providing programs and facilities for families, and caring for those wounded or hurt in service are paramount concerns. Preparing soldiers means providing the best equipment and most realistic training to the force, he said.

The general also said that resetting the force is crucial to success on the battlefields of the future. Army equipment has been used hard in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, he said.

"Resetting our forces is critical to restoring readiness," Casey said. "This year we will reset more than 130,000 pieces of equipment and over 200,000 soldiers."

Finally, transforming the Army means more of a mindset change, as opposed to just changing wiring diagrams or equipment, Casey said. "Transformation is a journey, not a destination," he said.

Army Secretary Sees Opportunity from 'Calamities'

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 15, 2007 - Out of calamity comes opportunity, Army Secretary Pete Geren told Congress today. Geren and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the state of the service.

The secretary said that when crisis comes it gives both Congress and the service the political opportunity to do some things that wouldn't get done without the crisis.

"It gives us the political energy, the bureaucratic energy, to take on some hard issues and make some changes that we would never get around to were it not for that," he said.

Two "calamities" have highlighted weaknesses in the Army, and the service is using those to make changes, Geren said. Shortcomings in soldier health care make up one of those calamities; contracting is the second.

In regard to health care, the Army made immediate changes to conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the service's flagship medical facility, after shortcomings were brought to light in media reports, the secretary said. The service has established wounded warrior units throughout the United States and is working to reform the disability system. The secretary put great store in a pilot program that begins Nov. 26 to experiment with a single physical for both the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

Contracting is another calamity the service is acting upon. "We have learned -- unfortunately, the hard way -- that our contracting system was not up to the needs of our Army in this century," Geren said. "In 2007, the Army did 25 percent of all contracting for the government -- $111 billion."

When shortcomings were brought to light, the service put a task force in place "to immediately stop the bleeding," he said. As a result of studies, the service has learned that contracting is a problem throughout government.

"We need to do a better job of developing professional acquisition and contracting officers (and to) provide the resources, the training and valuing the invaluable role that these contracting officers provide to our government," Geren said.

The service needs more contracting personnel, they need to be better trained, and leaders need to listen to their conclusions, Geren said.

The secretary also told the Senate panel that the service must do more for military families. "We are in the seventh year of war in Afghanistan and over four and a half years of war in Iraq; this is the third-longest conflict in U.S. history," he said. "It's the longest conflict we've ever fought with an all-volunteer force by quite a long shot.

"We are in uncharted waters, both for the soldiers and for the families," he continued.

This all-volunteer Army is a different force from any the country has fielded before. "More than half of the soldiers are married; more than half of their spouses work outside the home," he said. "The support that we provided to those key members of the all-volunteer force over the first 35 years of the force doesn't work as we move into the seventh year of the conflict."

Army leaders at all levels have signed a covenant with the families "to recognize the importance of our families to the all-volunteer force." Geren said that families volunteer too, and the military must do a better job supporting them.

"We moved $100 million out of our budget last summer into family programs," he said. "In '08 in the supplemental, we moved $1.4 billion into family programs. We ask your help as we look to support families, that critical part of our all-volunteer force."

Golfers Say Game Good for Vets' Bodies, Minds

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 14, 2007 - A Maryland group is using its favorite game to positively affect combat-wounded veterans who served in Afghanistan or Iraq. Members of the Salute Military Golf Association believe the rehabilitative benefits of golf can improve the mental and physical condition of wounded servicemembers returning from combat, Jim Estes, the group's founder, said on the organization's Web site.

"The SMGA believes that every (servicemember) matters and should be given the opportunity to learn and improve his or her golf knowledge and skill," he said. "The SMGA will provide a venue and mentoring to this end."

Earlier this year, Estes and several other area pros, specifically trained to work with wounded veterans, started formalized golf clinics for wounded soldiers. Future similar events near military medical facilities in San Antonio and San Diego are in the works.

PGA of America and Disabled Sports USA sponsored the clinics. They are both supporters of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

Salute Military Golf Association, which began as a therapeutic outlet for soldiers undergoing prolonged medical treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here, is a new supporter of the Defense Department program.

Estes began accompanying Walter Reed patients on weekly dinner outings arranged by one of his clients in 2004. This interaction showed him that servicemembers were eager to get back to sports like golf.

"Jim learned that some of the soldiers found something in golf they really seemed to need," said Ellen Kay, the organization's secretary. "Since (2004), many wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan have been exposed to the rehabilitative properties of the game of golf through Jim's efforts."

In addition to providing veterans with instruction through clinics and personalized instruction, Salute Military Golf Association works to secure benefits like reduced or free green fees and access to public and private golf facilities throughout the country. The organization also tries to equip veterans who show a true interest and dedication to the game with properly fitted clubs.

Salute Military Golf Association was introduced nationwide when Brian Williams featured Estes and the group on the NBC Nightly News. Locally, the Fox News affiliate in Washington has shined its spotlight toward the program and its volunteers. Even the PGA has taken notice of the Maryland golfers' work with the wounded, acknowledging it in a service announcement during its 89th Championships.

Kay said the group hopes its recent affiliation with America Supports You will attract attention from those who wish to help extend Salute Military Golf Association's work.

"We are very excited about our new affiliation with America Supports You," she said. "Already, this has resonated with a number of our potential and current supporters as the America Supports You program is well-respected and recognized for its tremendous positive impact."

AFRICOM Helps Partners Confront Stability Challenges

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 15, 2007 - The U.S. military's unified command responsible for operations across Africa will help nations there confront poverty, disease, terrorism and other challenges that affect regional security and stability, U.S. officials said here yesterday. However, U.S. Africa Command-sponsored initiatives will "support, not supplant, African leadership," Christopher R. Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, told U.S. House Armed Services Committee members at a Capitol Hill hearing.

"The Department of Defense recognizes and applauds the leadership role that Africans, both on a regional and individual basis, and also the African Union, are taking to promote security and stability," Henry said. "We seek to complement these efforts in a supporting role, not to compete with them in a leadership role."

AFRICOM marked the startup of its initial operations Oct. 1. For now, the command is collocated with U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. Plans are for AFRICOM to be fully established as a separate unified command by Sept. 30. Plans are to eventually base the command's headquarters somewhere in Africa.

The new command was created "to consolidate and focus the work of the Department of Defense and to enable us to better support United States policy in Africa," said Army Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward, AFRICOM's commander.

AFRICOM "will add value to America's security cooperation projects and the delivery of American security assistance programs in Africa, thus making them more efficient as (well as) responsive," Ward said.

Twenty-three separate African ambassadors to the African Union have voiced overwhelming support for AFRICOM's objectives, he said.

AFRICOM officials wants relationships with the command's partners to be based on mutual trust, respect and confidence, Ward said. The command, he added, will continue to support medical- and disaster-preparedness exercises and communications interoperability efforts.

"It is in our national interests to build an enduring organization designed to enhance our government's capacity to help Africans care for their stability, development and prosperity," Ward said.

AFRICOM also will support the U.S. State Department in the training of African peacekeepers as part of the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance Program, Ward said.

Africa is a place of promise and opportunity that's linked to the United States through culture, history and commerce, said Stephen Mull, acting assistant secretary of state, bureau of political-military affairs, who also testified at the House hearing.

Yet, the African continent also is "a place of severe challenges, such as poverty, disease terrorism and instability, that all pose critical risks for U.S. interests," Mull pointed out.

The U.S. State Department will partner with AFRICOM in assisting Africans to realize improved regional security through employment of more efficient methods to provide emergency humanitarian assistance and in responding to other potential crises, Mull said.

AFRICOM will not, however, "take the place of the Department of State and of U.S. embassies in the field as the voice of American foreign policy in our relationships with African states and organizations," Mull emphasized.

Furloughs, Closings Possible Without Supplemental Funding, Gates Warns

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 15, 2007 - There is no "wiggle room" in the Defense Department budget, and Congress must pass the emergency supplemental spending bill as soon as possible to avoid halting operations and furloughing civilian employees, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. During a Pentagon news conference, Gates reinforced the message he delivered to Congress yesterday, when he and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Capitol Hill and briefed members of both houses.

Gates strongly urged Congress to pass a global war on terror funding bill that the president would sign, he said.

The secretary said the president's signing of the 2008 National Defense Appropriations Act into law earlier this week caused some misperceptions. One misperception is that the Defense Department can continue funding troops in the field for an indefinite period of time through accounting maneuvers -- "that we can shuffle money around the department."

"This is a serious misconception," the secretary said.

The Defense Department has significantly less funding flexibility than it had in the spring, he said. In the fall of 2006, Congress provided a bridge fund of $70 billion until passage of the full war supplemental bill, which did not pass until late May 2007.

This year, the Defense Department was operating under a continuing resolution. "Now that the regular appropriations bill has been enacted, we are left with no bridge fund and only our base budget to support normal war operations," Gates said. "Further, Congress has provided very limited flexibility to deal with this funding shortage."

Restrictions on the budget mean that the department can transfer only $3.7 billion, which amounts to just a little over one week's worth of war expenses, he said.

All this leaves the department with only undesirable options to continue operations with the absence of a bridge fund, the secretary said.

"The path we believe is least undesirable fiscally and militarily would involve the following: The military would cease operations at all Army bases by mid-February next year," he said. "This would result in the furloughing of about 100,000 government employees and a like number of contractor employees at Army bases.

"These layoffs would have a cascading effect on depots and procurement," he continued. "Similar actions would follow for the Marine Corps about a month later."

The department must notify certain union employees 60 days in advance of any layoff or furlough, so the department will need to send the notices to affected employees in mid-December.

"If the Congress does not provide bridge funding this week on a bill the president will sign, and given the uncertainty of future action in December, by the end of this week -- as a prudent manager -- I will be obliged to take a series of anticipatory steps," Gates said.

The secretary said he will submit an urgent reprogramming request for funds to Congress. He also will direct the Army and Marine Corps to develop a plan to furlough employees, terminate contracts and prepare bases for reduced operations. "These plans would begin to be implemented in mid-December," he said.

Even if Congress acts, the president signs a bill, and the department receives $50 billion in bridge funding now, this will fund war operations only through about the end of February, Gates said.

"So we would be back in this situation immediately after the Congress reconvenes in late January," the secretary said. "The high degree of uncertainty on funding for the war is immensely complicating this task and will have tremendous consequences for this department and the men and women in uniform."

Gates said the issue before Congress is not one of principle, but pacing. He said Congress asked the president to draw down the troops in Iraq, set a date for when the drawdowns would begin, set a timetable for the drawdowns and then to transfer the security mission to Iraqis.

"The president has moved in all four of these areas: He has announced there will be drawdowns; the drawdowns have already started," Gates said. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of Multinational Force Iraq, has announced a timetable at least for the first five brigade combat teams, and the mission of transition begins in December when the first brigade comes out, he said.

"What I told members of Congress yesterday, for those who allege that the views of the generals were not sufficiently taken into account at the front end of the war, now you have a recommendation from the commander in the field, the commander of Central Command, from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on what makes sense in terms of pacing so we don't put at risk the gains we've already made," Gates said.

"It seems to me that there ought to be some deference to those who are running the war -- the generals -- at the pace at which this drawdown should take place," the secretary said. "However one feels about how we've got to this point, the reality is we have had some significant success due to the efforts of our men and women in uniform and their sacrifices.

"We don't want to sacrifice their success," he continued. "So how do we get the next phase of this conflict right? Because the consequences of getting it wrong are potentially high."