Civilian @ MindSay

By Kristen Noel

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

Feb. 12, 2008 - A proposed arms-control treaty banning use of cluster munitions and aiding countries that use them could affect U.S. operations with NATO allies, a Defense Department official said.  A draft treaty to enforce the ban is now circulating among Oslo Convention nations, and it prohibits any form of assistance to countries that use cluster munitions, Joseph Benkert, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for global security affairs, told online journalists and "bloggers" in a conference call yesterday.

 

Cluster munitions -- small explosives dropped from airplanes and fired from artillery -- have ignited heated international debate, with detractors saying they are indiscriminate and cause civilian casualties. In February 2007, representatives of several foreign nations, including some U.S. allies, gathered at a convention in Oslo, Norway, to negotiate a ban on cluster munitions by the end of 2008.

 

A NATO ally that signs the Olso Treaty would not be able to operate with U.S. forces in a NATO operation using cluster munitions, Benkert said.

 

Benkert explained that the United States, which is using cluster munitions in Iraq and Afghanistan, shares the concern over the weapons and has taken steps to minimize harm to civilians. "We in DoD have, over the years, made considerable efforts to reduce the risk to civilians from cluster munitions or any other weapon," he said.

 

But the U.S. government does not believe a complete ban on cluster munitions, as proposed by the Oslo process, would be in the best interest of national security or of the international community, Benkert said.

 

"A complete ban would put at risk the lives of our soldiers and those of our coalition partners, and make it more difficult to fulfill our security guarantees to others," he explained. "And for certain types of targets, use of cluster munitions could, in fact, result in fewer civilian casualties and less damage of civilian infrastructure than would be the case if conventional unitary warheads were used against the same target."

 

Instead, the United States is participating in the Convention on Conventional Weapons, a standing forum attempting to address the cluster munitions issue by balancing military requirements with humanitarian needs, he said.

 

The Convention on Conventional Weapons involves all key producers and users of cluster munitions -- including Brazil, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, and South Korea -- that are not supporting the Oslo Treaty.

 

"All of the major producers and users of cluster munitions are represented in the CCW, and so any resulting instrument from the CCW that these parties agree to is likely to have a much more practical impact than in Olso," Benkert explained.

 

The Oslo process risks producing a "feel-good" arms-control outcome, he said, where nations without imminent need for cluster munitions produce a ban that has very little effect on their national security, but does have an impact on the security needs of the United States and its NATO allies.

 

"In our view, (the convention) is the proper forum with the greatest number of states who are producers and users of cluster munitions and most likely to have the impact," he said.

 

Benkert said the United States is pushing to conclude a protocol for use of cluster munitions within the Convention on Conventional Weapons by November.

 

(Kristen Noel works for the New Media branch of American Forces Information Service.)

 

By Linda D. Kozaryn

American Forces Press Service

 

Feb. 25, 2007 – More than 350 former and retired Marines turned out here last night to honor Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Ave Maria University Gyrene Gala. The Gyrene Gala raises scholarship funds for young men and women who serve or have served in the United States Armed Forces to attend Ave Maria University.

 

The term "gyrene" goes back to around 1900, according to Mariion F. Sturkey in her 2001 book, "Warrior Culture of the U.S. Marines." Sailors began using the term as a jocular derogatory reference to Marines. Instead of being insulted, the Marines loved it. The term became common by World War I and has been extensively used ever since.

 

Retired Marine Gen. Charles C. Krulak, 31st commandant of the Marine Corps, introduced the chairman, noting that he has watched Pace's career grow and flourish over the years. Krulak said Pace cut his teeth as a lieutenant in Vietnam and followed that up with a difficult fight in Somalia as a brigadier general.

 

"From that tour as a one-star general, Pete began his remarkable rise to become the highest ranking officer in the United States armed forces," Krulak said. "Pete personifies, in every aspect of his service, the type of Marine who fought on Iwo Jima so many years ago."

 

The chairman is "a superb leader, a great thinker, a true warrior, a solid family man," Krulak continued. "Pete epitomizes today, what I would call, the modern soldier statesman."

 

Taking the podium, Pace thanked Krulak, who was his first commandant and his boss multiple times during his 40-year career.

 

"If I stand before you as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it's because I truly stand on the shoulders of some giants of our corps," Pace said. "It didn't just happen that all of a sudden a United States Marine could be chairman."

 

Recapping history, Pace recalled Marine Gen. Luis H. Wilson Jr., who fought in the mid 1970s to become a full-fledged member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Goldwater Nichols Act of 1986 which allowed Marines to compete to be regional combatant commanders.

 

He noted the "incredible performance" of Marines like Gen. Paul X. Kelley, 28th commandant, Gen. Anthony Zinni, who led Central Command, Gen. John J. Sheehan, who commanded what was then the Atlantic Command, and Gen. Charles Wilhelm, who led Southern Command.

 

"It was their performance in leading joint troops that gave our civilian leaders confidence to pick a Marine to be chairman," Pace said. "Throughout my career in the Corps, I have been surrounded by incredible leaders. All I had to do was keep my feet moving and emulate them to be successful.

 

"Tonight you honor me in a way that I know for sure, I do not deserve," the chairman said. "But I will accept this on behalf of so many Marines who have taught me so many wonderful things, and today, as the representative of 2.4 million American men and women, active, guard and reserve, who serve this nation to the very best of their ability with great honor and distinction."

 

During the event, university supporters inducted Pace to their Gallery of Gyrene Greats. He received a plaque in his likeness which will be mounted on the wall of a campus building.

 

The university created the Gallery of Gyrene Greats to publicly recognize individuals who have achieved success through their embodiment of the Marine Corps ethos. The gallery presents them as positive role models for our students, underscoring the Marine Corps' and the university's shared values of honor, courage and commitment.

 

Current Gyrene Greats include Krulak, Retired Gen. Carl E. Mundy, Jr., 30th Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Jim Lehrer, Host of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

 

Pace was one of five men inducted at the gala. Thomas S. Monaghan, a former Marine who went on to start Domino's Pizza and who now serves as chancellor at Ave Maria University was inducted, as were three civilian honorees who are founders of the the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. They are Arthur L. Allen, president and CEO, Allen Systems Group; Mr. William J. Schoen, chairman, Health Management Associates and Carlton O. Tronvold, retired.

 

Articles sponsored by criminal justice leadership online; and, police and military personnel who have written books.

 

By Linda D. Kozaryn

American Forces Press Service

 

Feb. 25, 2007 – You've heard of catnip, right? Well, somebody must have sprinkled "moosenip" around the VIP quarters where Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace and his wife Lynne stayed at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base last week.  Three full-grown, female moose spent several hours, morning and evening, right outside the quarters, nibbling at low-hanging branches and nestling in the snow catching some rays. The 800- to 900-pound, lanky-legged animals ignored the ever-present security specialists and the comings and goings of SUVs and military vans.

 

As for the chairman and his wife, the moose maneuvers were a first. But for the couple who spend much of their time traveling the nation and the world, it was just part of their latest adventure. On their last trip, they saw koalas in Australia.

 

On this trip, Pace and his traveling party crossed the nation more-or-less diagonally, Feb. 21 to 25, visiting Washington state, Oregon, Alaska and Florida. Along with the moose moments, they experienced biting cold, 20-below temperatures at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, and balmy, 75-degree breezes in Naples, Fla.

 

Along the way, the couple talked with civilian and military leaders, school children and college students, military veterans and on-duty servicemembers. Although the climate, the venues, and the audiences varied greatly, the chairman carried one central message to all "Thank you."

 

The chairman expressed the military's gratitude to civilian communities for their support of the troops. And, somewhat surprisingly to members of the audiences, the chairman also thanked the nation's press.

 

"What an incredible outpouring of support and love," Pace told the 1,000 guests at the 30th annual Armed Services YMCA Salute to the Military in Anchorage. He thanked the corporate sponsors of the event as well as local city officials for their support to the troops.

 

"This community, this state, your contributions to the security of our nation, this gathering tonight where you are showing those of us in uniform how much you appreciate us - it makes a difference. For all of us in uniform, to all of you who are here tonight, paying tribute to us, thank you for your support."

 

The chairman then said there was another part of this community that needed to be recognized -- employers of the members of the Guard and reserve.

 

"We quite simply can't do our nation's business without the members of our Guard and reserve," he said. "They are incredibly valued members of the team. Because we value them so highly, there is no doubt in my mind that they have left behind holes in your organizations and your companies that are not easy to fill.

 

"So to all of you employers of the Guard and reserve here tonight, thank you for your sacrifice in letting these incredible young men and women come serve their country," Pace said. "Your service is to the country is very much appreciated."

 

Turning to another group, the chairman said members of the press are kind of like lawyers. "It's kind of fun to take a shot at them," he said with a smile. "But when you need a lawyer, you need a lawyer."

 

"There is no freedom without the free press," Pace said, drawing the crowd's applause in Anchorage. "Those members of the press who work hard to find the truth, and once they're sure they have the truth, they publish it -- God bless you for what you do to protect our Constitution the way that you do."

 

The chairman also expressed the nation's gratitude to the veterans who answered past calls to serve.

 

"To all who have served before, thank you, not only for your service, but for the legacy you have given us," Pace said to veterans in Alaska. "You have shown us how to properly serve this nation.

 

"What overrides the fear of physical harm," he said, "is the fear that those of us who now have the honor of serving this nation, would let down those who went before us. Or, that we would somehow let down the soldier, Marine, airman, sailor or coast guard on our left or our right.

 

"It is the fear of not performing to the standard set by our veterans that spurs us on to serve this nation the way we do," he said. "So you veterans in this room tonight, thank you, for not only defending this nation during your time in uniform, but in showing us how to do it properly for the decades to come."

 

During a troop talk with about 750 active duty, National Guard and Reserve troops at Elmendorf AFB, Pace said their efforts are essential to the nation's security.

 

"The way you've been doing your job up here and deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan, has just been fabulous," he said. "I want to say thanks for all you do, all you have done, and unfortunately, for some of the things I'm going to have to ask you to do in the future."

 

Pace asked the troops to reach out and thank their families for their support.

 

"Those of us who go in harm's way, know when we're in trouble," he said. "And when we are in trouble, we're normally surrounded by soldiers, Marines, or airmen with rifles, and that's not a bad place to be. But our families don't know that. The whole time we're deployed, they think we're in trouble all the time. They worry about us all the time and they pray for us all the time.

 

'Then when we come home," Pace continued, "we get awards and they pretend they had nothing to do with it. Whereas, in fact, we all know that keeping the families tied together the way they do is an incredible job, responsibility, sacrifice and service to the nation.

 

"I believe in my heart that our spouses and their families serve this nation as well as anyone who has ever worn the uniform," he said.

 

"If you haven't done so recently," he advised the troops, "thank the person who loves you for their support."

 

Articles sponsored by criminal justice leadership online; and, police and military personnel who have written books.

 

By Sgt. 1st Class Gail Braymen, USA

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

Feb. 23, 2007 – Representatives from military and civilian agencies that would provide federal hurricane-relief efforts attended the second annual Hurricane Preparation Conference hosted by U.S. Northern Command at its headquarters yesterday.  Participants discussed improving communication and collaboration should the need for federal assistance arise during the 2007 hurricane season.

 

"It's all about, 'What did we learn the last time and how can we do it better this time?'" said Air Force Maj. Gen. Paul J. Sullivan, chief of staff of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and NORTHCOM. "That's really why we meet on an annual basis in February. If we uncovered something difficult right now, we still have time to react before the heart of the hurricane season."

 

Conference attendees included officials from the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C., and the adjutants general or their representatives from nine hurricane-prone states on the Gulf and southeastern coasts of the United States. Also attending were leaders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Army North, 1st Air Force, NORTHCOM and other officials who could be involved in disaster response.

 

Successful hurricane-relief efforts are built on a partnership among organizations, "and we need all of these partners," said Glenn Cannon, director of FEMA's response division.

 

"We've all learned that we can't respond to these things and everyone do their own thing," he said. "There has to be a unified response. What these workshops do is give us the chance to not only integrate plans but ... to integrate people."

 

Every day at FEMA, Cannon said, operations center personnel talk with their counterparts in the operations centers at DHS, the Coast Guard and NORTHCOM.

 

"That's critical that we share information and we know what's going on, so that we're all on the same page," he said. "The American people are benefited by having a coordinated, unified response to their situation. We have so much that we can use to help people, to save lives and reduce suffering. But if we don't do it in a coordinated way, we won't (accomplish) that mission in the best way possible."

 

NORTHCOM assets are normally not the first to be called upon for hurricane-relief operations; by law, the command must wait to respond until directed by the president or secretary of defense. Typically, the first uniformed people on the ground at the scene are National Guard soldiers and airmen.

 

The hurricane-preparation conference allows National Guard leaders to get to know NORTHCOM officials and build closer relationships with them, said Alabama adjutant general, Army Maj. Gen. C. Mark Bowen.

 

"With the relationship we've built here, I will feel more comfortable going to Northern Command and saying, 'Look, we need a little help in Alabama,'" Bowen said. "We've worked out a mutual aid-type agreement where we work together, and that's going to work very well for us."

 

The governor of Louisiana has instructed the state's National Guard leaders to do as much coordination as possible with their federal partners who can help the state's citizens during times of need, said Louisiana adjutant general, Army Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau.

 

"The opportunity to have coordination discussion and collaboration is absolutely essential to our preparations for whatever we need to respond to within the state, whether it's tornadoes or a man-made disaster or hurricanes or whatever," he said.

 

The quiet hurricane season of 2006 was an anomaly, said Air Force Lt. Col. David Lawyer, NORTHCOM's senior meteorology and oceanographic officer. "Don't let your guard down because of what happened in 2006," he warned conference participants. "That was abnormal that we didn't have any hurricanes hit the United States at all."

 

For the 2007 hurricane season beginning June 1 and ending Nov. 30, experts predict 14 named storms, seven of which are expected to be hurricanes.

 

(Army Sgt. 1st Class Gail Braymen is assigned to the combined Public Affirs Office of NORAD and NORTHCOM.)

 

Articles sponsored by criminal justice leadership online; and, police and military personnel who have written books.

By Gerry J. Gilmore

American Forces Press Service

 

 

Feb. 23, 2007 – The Defense Department has made significant gains in placing more minorities and women in senior military and civilian positions in recent years, a senior official said at a DoD-sponsored African-American History Month observance luncheon yesterday at Hampton University, Va.  Yet, the department can do more, said Clarence A. Johnson, DoD's principal director and director for civilian equal employment opportunity within the department's office of diversity management and equal opportunity.

 

"We'd certainly like to see more diversity and better representation of all minorities in senior civilian and military grades," Johnson said. "We'd also like to see more minorities and women in some of the key occupations that have a better prospect of leading to the senior ranks and grades."

 

The Hampton University luncheon was part of annual DoD-sponsored African American History Month workshops and seminars that reach out to students attending historically black colleges and universities to demonstrate the diverse and rewarding civilian and military careers DoD has to offer. Last year's event was held at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas.

 

The theme for DoD's 2007 African American History Month observance and outreach activities is, "Reaching Out to Youth: A Strategy for Excellence."

 

Students at the luncheon are part of the future of America, Johnson, a former Air Force colonel, said. He challenged them to engage in public service or related private-sector endeavors so that they could more fully participate in the nation's democracy.

"If you discount military or public service as you consider your options, you'll miss a whole lot of opportunity right before you," Johnson said.

 

Whether leading troops in battle, flying a jet off the deck of an aircraft carrier on the high seas, or conducting nuclear research, young people who join the military or DoD's civilian work force perform important missions while gaining leadership skills and responsibilities unavailable anywhere else, Johnson said.

 

Johnson also praised 11 African-American servicemen and women who'd been selected for DoD recognition for their contributions in the global war against terrorism. Johnson had presented the servicemembers with signed certificates at an award ceremony held the previous day.

 

The honored African-American servicemen and women are "heroes who indeed are reflective of the superb men and women of our military," Johnson said. He also asked the audience to salute all servicemembers defending the nation.

 

America's military members "volunteer to put their lives at risk to safeguard our freedom and our way of life," Johnson said.

 

Articles sponsored by criminal justice leadership online; and, police and military personnel who have written books.