Leader @ MindSay 
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By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 7, 2008 - Before a major newspaper shed light on the sub-par outpatient conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here, the hospital had appointed one soldier to track the recoveries of 200 wounded troops, an Army official said. But now, some 20 months after publication of the provocative series, the Army has three dozen Warrior Transition Units across the country dedicated to nurturing the wounded back to health and even into civilian life, Army Brig. Gen. Gary H. Cheek, director of the Warrior Care and Transition Program, said today.
"If you compare this to Walter Reed and the organization we had in place in February 2007 when the articles from the Washington Post came out, we had one noncommissioned officer responsible for a couple hundred soldiers," he said. "That soldier, in fact, was also a cancer patient."
The key to the 36 transition units across the country is what the Army calls its "triad" of care. One primary-care manager is assigned to 200 soldiers, a nurse case manager is responsible for 20 soldiers, and each squad leader monitors 10. Medical personnel provide individual attention at every turn and coordinate closely to ensure no detail falls through the cracks, officials said.
"Warrior Transition Units [allow us] to house and manage and lead all the soldiers that are going through medical treatment to either return them to the force or to civilian life if necessary," Cheek told an audience at the Association of the U.S. Army conference.
The general also addressed how the Army has mitigated the chaotic bureaucracy that families faced while attempting to visit the injured servicemember they love. Thanks to the Soldier Family Assistance Center, he said, connecting wounded troops and family members is far easier than in the past.
"When the Walter Reed articles were first written, families would have to go all over the place on the Army installation just to get some of these things taken care of," he said.
But now, imagine that a soldier who hails from Wisconsin is hurt while on deployment in Iraq. He is medically evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, en route to the hospital here.
"What we can do with the Soldier Family Assistance Center is assist that family in their travel to Walter Reed, accommodations when they get there [and with] expectations of what their family member's going to go through," Cheek said. "We basically help them with any issue or problem they have in a single place and focus where they can go."
In addition to these initiatives, the Army has invested $350 million into upgrading its facilities to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act strictures. And with an increase in numbers, some 3,200 medical personnel now are committed to helping wounded warriors heal from the moment they "inprocess" to the time they transition back to civilian life.
Army Col. James Rice directs the Army Wounded Warrior Program, which signed a memorandum of agreement with the National Organization on Disability to help increase the rate that disabled Americans are hired. He said that while some employers are reticent to hire recovering troops, others are eager.
"Companies – large and small – will come to organizations like the Army Wounded Warrior Program and say, 'We want to hire wounded warriors,'" he said today. "And that's great, and we want to help them do that."
Echoing Rice's comments, Cheek emphasized the role of employment in a wounded warrior's recovery. "If a soldier is employed, suddenly he begins to heal a lot faster," Cheek said.
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 20, 2008 - When Jason Reed scanned the horizon from the bridge of USS Tarawa during this year's Fuerzas Aliadas Panamax exercise, the Walt Disney Studios executive vice president wasn't scouting out a location for an upcoming motion picture. Reed was among civilian business and civic leaders from around the country who traveled here yesterday to observe the ongoing Panamax 2008 exercise.
The annual exercise began Aug. 11 and continues through Aug. 22, bringing together air, ground and naval forces from 20 countries to confront a fictional terrorist group threatening the Panama Canal.
U.S. Southern Command, which is sponsoring Panamax, invited the community leaders to see the exercise activity first hand so they could return home to share what they learned.
The trip was part of an increasing effort within SouthCom and throughout the Defense Department to reach out to "movers and shakers" within the civilian community to help educate them about the military.
Mario Alvarez, SouthCom's communication and outreach chief, organized the trip as part of his campaign to increase awareness about the command, which has no units, no bases and only about 1,500 people assigned to its Miami headquarters.
"The way I look at it, the more knowledge people have and the more understanding they have of what we do, the better," he said.
The Defense Department has long recognized the importance of reaching out to influential members of the civilian community so they could draw their own conclusions about the military rather than relying on what they read in newspapers or see on TV.
The first U.S. defense secretary, James V. Forrestal, created the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference program in 1948 to introduce civilian leaders with little or no military exposure to the workings of the armed forces. Six decades later, the JCOC remains the department's premier civic leader program. Participants in the twice-annual trips are selected from hundreds of candidates nominated by military commands worldwide and pay their own expenses.
Most of the leaders who visited the Panamax exercise yesterday, including Reed, were past JCOC participants. "We want to maintain that relationship after we start it," Alvarez said. "Our goal is to build stakeholders."
Other participants, like David Stritzinger, chief technical officer for Brightstar Corp., and Bert de Armas, a senior vice president at Mellon United National Bank, were Miami area leaders getting their first exposure to both SouthCom and the military.
Alvarez remembers his amazement after arriving at the SouthCom job three years ago that many local leaders knew little about the combatant command on their doorstep. Committed to changing that, he joined the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary and other civic organizations, set up a speakers bureau to get SouthCom staff to speak to groups about the command, and started an aggressive community outreach program.
"We need to change people's perception of the military so they understand that what we do isn't all about killing," Alvarez said. "We're involved in humanitarian assistance. We do disaster relief. We train other military forces in our area. We need people to see these things so they can go back and talk about what they've learned with their circles."
Toward that end, SouthCom now sponsors about four trips a year within its area of responsibility so community leaders can see its operations. Alvarez has taken numerous civilian groups to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to observe detainee operations. He recently took them aboard USS Kearsarge, which is transiting Central and South America and the Caribbean, providing desperately needed medical, dental and veterinary care as well as engineering assistance.
Yesterday, another group of civilian leaders spent a day visiting the combined exercise control group's center for the Panamax exercise, then boarded UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to fly offshore to the USS Tarawa, the command and control flagship for the exercise.
Throughout their visit, group members received briefings about the activities of about 7,000 troops, more than 30 ships and a dozen aircraft involved in the exercise.
Navy Capt. Brian Luther, commander of USS Tarawa, conceded to the civilians as they toured his vessel that it's "a technological marvel." But Luther said he hoped a bigger takeaway would be new insights into people like 21-year-old Seaman Spencer Williams, who was steering the Tarawa while the group visited the bridge. "The true treasure here is the men and women who serve here who are very proud of their ship and of what they do," he said.
"It's pretty amazing to have them see a multi-billion-dollar asset being run for the most part by 19- and 20-year-olds," agreed Navy Capt. David F. Bean, Tarawa's executive officer. "We entrust them with a tremendous amount of responsibility, and they live up to it. We have a lot of bright kids on board. I hope [the civilian leaders] take that message back with them."
Dan Simons, president of the electronic division at The World Company of Lawrence, Kan., and co-manager of WorldWest LLC, said the visit "reaffirmed what a great job our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are doing."
Living in a college town, Simons said, he sees examples of young people he refers to as "slackers." Not so, he said, in the military. "They're doing a [kick-butt] job," he said. "They're really good people."
John Stross, owner of Leverock's Restaurant in St. Petersburg, Fla., said the visit gave him a new appreciation of those who serve in the military as well as their leaders. "These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things and being led by some of the country's very best," he said. "It's scary to think what we would do without them."
Reed, the Walt Disney moviemaker, said he walked away from the visit struck by everything from the professionalism of the crew to the flexibility of the Tarawa to handle different missions to the multinational scope of SouthCom's operations.
Reed conceded that political debate sometimes overshadows "the incredible job" servicemembers are doing and the professionalism of the military as an organization. He said he'll strive to apply these insights to his movie-making ventures so he's able to more accurately portray "not just the technical aspects, but also the spirit of the military."
Ultimately, Reed said, everyone benefits when civilians have a better understanding of their military and how it operates.
"As an engaged citizen who is more knowledgeable about what our government is doing, you're better able to act as an advocate," he said. "And it's important to have civilians be advocates, particularly for the men and women who put their lives on the line to ensure our safety and security."
This barely even leaves me any time for one last update on a first person… Errr… ‘Novel’, I suppose you could say. (Even though I have one last scene to go; I’ll have to take a Saturday off and finish it before the last week of August...)
But yes, curious about the title, are you? Guess what Emily got to do today!
I got to take part in assisting a big role in watching around ten kids today; for my mom’s camp. It happens every year, where kids register and participate in small crafts, games, songs, a (very) small movie split into parts (featuring a puppet chipmunk named Chadder). – And all this comes down to a very special theme that is featured everyday; and leads community kids closer, or to know God for the first time.
This year – was a science theme. All the ‘crew leaders’ (this is what I’m doing) get to wear LAB COATS! =D It’s so fun! (And I’m spiking my hair up with gel for the rest of the week JUST for the occasion…!)
We have around 125 kids signed up now, though – holy cow!
When we went to the story (basically, this is where the daily bible story is acted out) – today was when “Jesus heals ten people infected with Leprosy” ((hope I spelt that right)). So they stuck red stickers on our faces and told us we were ‘infected’. You know, young ‘uns these days – their imaginations can make something so easy seem so realistic.
Today’s theme of the day was “God has the power so we can be thankful” (AHA!)
“Aha!” – We have to say that whenever the “theme of the day is mentioned” – and that changes everyday. (You know, say it with enthusiasm! Like a scientist getting a sudden spark for a new invention!)
I’ll stop now – I’m just really excited, and really bushed and tired at the same time.
But… With kids so young; the best place to interact with and fiddle around with is their imagination. …Sooo…
“Okay; let’s all put our goggles on!” (Even though I never got a pair because we had SO MANY KIDS…) Two boys (around 10 and 11) just rolled their eyes at me; but I didn’t care about how ridiculous I acted. I just wanted the young ones to look forward to seeing me tomorrow.
“We’re going to go underwater and swim to the crafts!” (There’s a scene of Moses parting the Red Sea along the walls) – Most of them really liked the idea and participated; which made me happy.
(When we went outside to the games; I pretended we were in a desert – because it was warm and the sun was out).
Now, thanks to stuff like that – I have a young boy who’s seven who wants to be around me all the time.
Not that I don’t mind. =)
In other news… I beat the Elite Four in Pokemon Diamond on August 9th. I caught a level 18 Zangoose by inserting my Ruby Game Pak into the Gameboy slot and using the Poke Radar – and I also obtained the Eevee from Bebe (female on the SECOND TRY! =D). It took me about a half hour to decide what I wanted to evolve it into…
Jolteon – Pokemon XD
Flareon – Pokemon XD
Vaporeon – Pokemon FireRed
Umbreon – Pokemon Colosseum
Espeon – Pokemon Colosseum
I was left with Leafeon and Glaceon. I’ve never really raised a grass type before (and I rarely ever do), so I went for that… I levelled my Eevee up at the Moss Rock in Eterna Forest, boom, there’s the Leafeon (did I mention FEMALE?! =D) – it is now at level 9.
Now I have an empty slot in my team… I was thinking of raising a Shellos and evolving it into a Gastrodon?? I don't want my Empoleon - so I was thinking of raising that instead.
Meh, I’m tired – my legs feel like jelly, and I woke up at 8 AM this morning. I’m gonna go to bed for a while, catch up on some sleep, and get all refreshed.
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 4, 2008 - Coalition and Iraqi forces detained 11 suspected terrorists and found weapons caches during recent operations in Iraq, military officials said. In Mosul today, coalition forces detained a man believed to be an al-Qaida leader who resurfaced after being released from prison in March. Another suspected terrorist also was captured during the operation, officials said.
In operations yesterday, six suspected terrorists were captured by coalition forces near Kirkuk. Two of the suspects reportedly are part of an al-Qaida suicide-car-bombing operation and a foreign-terrorist-facilitation network, officials said.
In operations Aug. 2, Iraqi special operations soldiers detained four suspected terrorists in Mosul. The suspects reportedly are associated with an al-Qaida intimidation cell that uses ransoms from kidnappings to fund terrorist operations. The individuals also are believed to be involved in assassination attempts and oil smuggling, officials said.
In Baghdad on Aug. 2, Iraqi and coalition forces found weapons caches during three separate operations. They discovered 41 rocket-propelled grenades, 12 artillery rounds, four guided missiles, three mortar rounds, 2 pounds of explosives, and various small-arms ammunition, officials said.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 1, 2008 - Coalition forces captured 17 suspected al-Qaida terrorists during operations in Baghdad and Mosul today, while Iraqi police found an assortment of explosives in Baghdad, military officials said.
In today's operations:
-- Fifteen suspected terrorists were captured in a village southwest of Mosul.
-- In Baghdad, coalition forces captured an alleged al-Qaida associate, as well as an additional suspected terrorist.
-- Iraqi police found nine roadside bombs designed to pierce armor-hulled vehicles, 10 1-pound blocks of explosive material, three 20-kilogram bags of explosives and bomb-making materials in the Kadamiyah area of Baghdad.
In operations yesterday, U.S. soldiers in Baghdad detained two suspected criminal for questioning. The operation resulted in the surrender of another suspect.
Also yesterday, Iraqi soldiers seized a sniper rifle, an AK-47 assault rifle, an AK-47 short stalk, a rocket-propelled grenade round, and two hand grenades in the Kadamiyah area of Baghdad.
During July 30 operations:
-- Iraqi soldiers detained a suspected al-Qaida financier during an operation in Sadiyah. Three other suspected terrorists were detained during the operation.
-- U.S. soldiers detained a suspected Iranian-backed "special groups" criminal near the Jihad community in Baghdad's Rashid district. Five other suspects also were detained.
-- U.S. soldiers detained a suspect after discovering possible bomb-making materials in his home in Baghdad's Risalah neighborhood.
-- Iraq security forces captured three suspected terrorists in separate operations: The Mosul special weapons and tactics team captured a suspected mid-level al-Qaida operative in Namrood; the Fallujah SWAT squad captured a suspected al-Qaida member during an operation in Fallujah; and to the north of Baghdad, Iraqi National police captured a suspected al-Qaida leader.
In July 29 operations:
-- An Iraqi special operations and weapons team from Haditha detained a suspected al-Qaida terrorist in Barwanah, northwest of Baghdad.
-- Iraqi special operations forces detained two suspected terrorists north of Baghdad.
-- Iraqi special operations forces detained four suspected al-Qaida members in Tahwila, northwest of Baghdad. One of the detainees is linked to coordinating the movement of weapons and people between the Diyala and Udaim river valleys.
In July 28 operations:
-- An Iraqi SWAT team detained a suspected al-Qaida operative and two other suspects in Mosul.
-- Iraqi soldiers detained a suspected al-Qaida financier northwest of Mosul.
-- Muqdadiyah's Iraqi SWAT team detained a suspected al-Qaida financier.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
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