World War Two @ MindSay

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden

American Forces Press Service

 

July 28, 2008 - The latest GI Bill considerably improves the opportunity for today's servicemembers to obtain their education, a senior Defense Department official said. President Bush signed the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008 on June 30. The new law mirrors the tenets of the original GI Bill, which gave returning World War Two veterans the opportunity to go to any school they wanted while receiving a living stipend, Bob Clark, the Pentagon's assistant director of accessions policy, said.

 

"The original GI Bill was said to be one of the most significant social impacts of the 20th century," Clark said. "We believe the new bill is going to have a similar impact."

 

The ew GI Bill is applies to individuals who served on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001, and offers education benefits worth an average of $80,000 – double the value of those in the previous program. It covers the full costs of tuition and books, which are paid directly to the school, and it provides a variable stipend for living expenses. It's also transferable to family members of career servicemembers.

 

Its only restriction is that payment amounts are limited to the most expensive in-state cost to attend a college or university in the state where veterans attend school, he said.

 

The variable stipend is based on the Defense Department's basic allowance for housing for an E-5, which averages about $1,200 a month, and $1,000 a year will be paid directly to the servicemember for books and supplies, he added.

 

Enrollment into the Post-9/11 GI Bill is free. Eligibility for the Montgomery GI Bill is based on service commitment and requires active-duty servicemembers to pay a $1,200 fee over the initial year of their enlistment.

 

The new bill requires that an individual serve at least 90 days on active duty after Sept. 10, 2001, and if discharged, be separated on honorable terms. Servicemembers discharged due to a service-connected disability are eligible if they served 30 continuous days on active duty. Servicemembers must serve 36 aggregated months to qualify for the full amount of benefits.

 

Servicemembers are entitled to benefits of the new bill for up to 36 months and have up to 15 years from their last 30 days of continuous service to use their entitlements. But as successful as Defense Department officials anticipate the new bill to be, Clark suggested that new recruits still enroll in the Montgomery GI Bill.

 

The Montgomery GI Bill gives benefits for higher education as well as vocational training, apprenticeship programs and on-the-job training, he explained. The Post-9/11 GI Bill focuses solely on higher education and can only be used at institutions that offer at least an associate's degree, he said.

 

"We recommend that all new recruits think hard before turning down the Montgomery GI Bill, because they will limit their opportunities for additional education without it," he added.

 

Servicemembers also are "highly encouraged" to use the Defense Department's tuition assistance program while on active duty, because the Post-9/11 GI Bill's full entitlements, such as the living stipend and book allowance, will not be available, Clark said.

 

"If you use the Post-9/11 GI Bill while on active duty, it will merely cover tuition or the difference of what tuition assistance will pay," he explained. "Another downside to that is each month you use [the new bill], you lose a month of your 36 months of eligibility."

 

So, if servicemembers serve on active duty on or after Aug. 1, 2009, and meet the minimum time-in-service requirement, they will be eligible for the new GI Bill while also maintaining benefits from the Montgomery GI Bill, he said.

 

The Post-9/11 GI Bill also brings good news for officers and for servicemembers who enlisted under the loan repayment program. Since eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill is based on time already served, more servicemembers will be able to take advantage of its benefits, Clark added. Officers commissioned through one of the service academies or through ROTC and enlisted servicemembers participating in the loan repayment program don't qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill, he said.

 

Those servicemembers will be able to qualify if they finish their initial obligatory service. Commissioned officers must complete their initial five-year commitment if they attended a service academy or their four-year agreement if they were commissioned through college ROTC. Servicemembers whose college loans were paid off by the Defense Department as a re-enlistment incentive must finish their initial commitment – whether it is three, four or five years – before they can apply, Clark said.

 

"Any amount of time an individual served after their obligated service counts for qualifying service under the new GI Bill," he said.

 

Another facet unique to the Post-9/11 GI Bill is that it's transferable to family members. The feature gives the defense and service secretaries the authority to offer career servicemembers the opportunity to transfer unused benefits to their family. Though Defense Department officials still are working with the services to hash out eligibility requirements, there are four prerequisites that are subject to adjustment or change, Clark said.

 

Currently transferability requirements are:

 

-- Qualifying service to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill;

 

-- Active duty service in the armed forces on or after Aug. 1, 2009;

 

-- At least six years of service in the armed forces;

 

-- Agreement to serve four more years in the armed forces.

 

"We're really excited about transferability," Clark said. "That was one of the things about education and the GI Bill that's come up the most often from the field and fleet."

 

Individuals who may not qualify to transfer unused benefits because they leave the service before the new bill's effective date most likely still will qualify for the bill. As long as the separated servicemembers meet the minimum qualifying time served, they can contact their local Veterans Affairs office and apply for the program. While payments are not retroactive, eligibility is, Clark said.

 

"This new bill will allow our veterans to chase their dreams," Clark said. "It will allow them to go back and experience college like they deserve, much like their grandfathers did in World War Two."

 

More information about the Post-9/11 GI Bill is available at local Veterans Affairs Office and at www.gibill.va.gov.

By Gerry J. Gilmore

American Forces Press Service

 

July 23, 2008 - President Harry S. Truman's 1948 executive order that desegregated the U.S. military was a definitive statement of equality that declared all servicemembers must be judged by individual merit instead of their racial background, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. "No aspect of black Americans' quest for justice and equality under the law has been nobler than what has been called, "the fight for the right to fight," Gates said at the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the integration of the armed forces held in the Capitol Rotunda.

 

"Our commemoration today of the racial integration of the armed forces makes us reflect on how far we have come toward living up to our founding ideals and yet how much remains to be done," Gates said.

 

The Defense Department began breaking down the barriers of race at the conclusion of World War Two in 1945, Gates said. As in past wars, African-American troops had served in World War Two with honor and distinction, he noted. However, African-American troops had to fight and live separately from all-white units.

 

America's sons and daughters fought in World War Two to preserve freedom and human dignity for the world's people, Gates said. Yet, African-Americans who'd served with distinction in that war, he noted, "returned to face segregation and harassment at home," as so-called Jim Crow segregation laws in place across the South relegated African-Americans to second-class-citizen status.

 

Truman's Executive Order 9981, signed July 26, 1948, was an important statement and an important step, Gates said. However, he said, Truman's directive "had to overcome stiff institutional resistance, as deeply entrenched attitudes were hard to change."

 

For example, "segregated units remained the norm and integrated units the exception," Gates noted, for several years after the integration order was issued.

 

The start of the Korean War in June 1950 prompted the need to put hundreds of thousands of Americans into uniform after the U.S. military had demobilized following the end of World War Two.

 

"With the sudden outbreak of war in Korea, the urgent demands of the battlefield trumped the old habit of Jim Crow," Gates said.

 

Before the start of the Korean War, he said, 50 percent of African-Americans in the Marine Corps -- about 750 men -- served as stewards. At the end of the Korean War in 1953, Gates said, there were 17,000 African-American Marines, and only 3 percent served as stewards.

 

"By 1954, the Korean War was over, the last of the segregated units were dissolved, and the momentum for equality and civil rights was carrying over into American society as a whole," Gates said.

 

In the ensuing decades after Truman's directive took effect, "black and white Americans trained, served, and fought together with honor and distinction," Gates said.

 

Today's integrated U.S. military continues to "put merit and integrity above all," Gates said, noting there's still more to achieve.

 

"My hope and expectation is that, in the years ahead, more African-Americans will staff the armed forces at the highest levels," Gates said. "We must make sure the American military continues to be a great engine of progress and equality -- all the better to defend our people and our values against adversaries around the globe."

The forensic guy from the FBI [Transcript from Discussion of 2001 ‘Amerithrax Attacks’]

“Dr Bruce Budowle has been in the FBI for over 20 years, heading one of its forensic laboratories. He looks back to the mysterious and still unsolved case of the anthrax envelopes which followed 9/11 […] Dr Budowle has come to Australia's Bond University to share techniques and learn from Professor Angela van Daal's use of genetics to profile human features […]” (ABC Radio National; 17Jul08)

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/inconversation/stories/2008/2299962.htm

 

Former Western [Pennsylvanian] legislator to enter jail Aug. 1

“Former State Rep. Jeff Habay will report to jail Aug. 1 to serve concurrent sentences for conflict of interest and a bizarre fake anthrax threat. […] the state Supreme Court has denied Habay's appeal of his 2006 no-contest pleas to charges that he falsely claimed to have received a powder-filled envelope from a political opponent. Habay was sentenced to four to eight months in jail in the anthrax case.” (Philadelphia Inquirer; 17Jul08; AP) http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20080717_Former_Western_Pa__legislator_to_enter_jail_Aug__1.html

 

GAO Notes Mixed Progress on Biosurveillance

“The department has not yet identified what capabilities the National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC) should possess to be considered fully operational […] although DHS is upgrading capabilities for the new center, it will not fully train new personnel using the NBIC information technology system until April 2009 […] Current detectors require 10-34 hours to identify a biological attack from an agent such as anthrax. The new systems finally developed with the DHS Science and technology Directorate would cut that time down to 4-6 hours.” (HS Today; 17Jul08; Mickey McCarter) http://hstoday.us/content/view/4292/128/

 

Disaster planning money reduced [Washington State]

“Federal money used to help local and state public health agencies plan for disasters is being cut by $3.7 million in Washington, with cuts to Snohomish County and four other northwest Washington counties estimated at $200,000. The regional planning program for Snohomish, Island, Skagit, Whatcom and San Juan counties is losing 21 percent of the federal money […] A national push for public health agencies to plan for emergencies came in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks and panic over bioterrorism after anthrax-contaminated letters were sent through the mail. In response, local and state public health agencies received $1.1 billion in federal money to help prepare for future emergencies.” (Herald Net; 18Jul08; Sharon Salyer)

http://heraldnet.com/article/20080718/NEWS01/700231358

 

Tracking produce proves complex

“More than six weeks ago, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about a salmonella outbreak in New Mexico and Texas connected to raw tomatoes. Since then, the agency has expanded the warning nationwide and added jalapeno and serrano peppers. More than 1,100 people have fallen ill since April, but not a single contaminated tomato or pepper has been found.” (Los Angeles Times; 17July08; Annys Shin) http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-salmonella18-2008jul18,0,983085.story

 

Bomb Squad Blows Up Highly Explosive Acid Found In Walnut Hill [Florida]

“The quart size bottle of picric acid was found in a barn on a farm in the 7800 block of Highway 97, less than a half mile from  Ernest Ward Middle School. The bomb squad was called to the scene, and the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department responded about 1:45. […] Besides wartime bomb making, picric was once used diluted as an antiseptic and as a treatment for burns, malaria, herpes and smallpox. It was once also synthesized into a non-explosive insecticide called chloropicrin. Chloropicrin was also used by the Germans and British as a chemical warfare agent during World War Two.” (North Escambia; 17Jul08; William)

http://www.northescambia.com/?p=3098

 

Poisonous cylinders made safe [Dublin]

“Cylinders of a highly volatile poisonous liquid were disposed of safely in South Dublin today with the help of US environment experts. The seven containers of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) were successfully chemically neutralised without the use of any explosives. […] The cylinders had been stored at the pest control company Rentokil and were moved to the county council owned compound at Grange Castle, Co Dublin for the neutralization.” (Evening Herald; 17Jul08; Sarah Neville) http://www.herald.ie/national-news/poisonous-cylinders-made-safe-1434861.html

 

Hidden Newnes Forest storage has added to military puzzle

“Earlier this week the Lithgow Mercury published a feature based on interviews conducted by the Illawarra Mercury with ex servicemen now living in the Illawarra region who had worked on secret chemical warfare stockpiles at Marrangaroo and Glenbrook during World War Two. The chemicals included mustard gas imported from America and Britain in contravention of the Geneva Convention to be used in any last ditch defence effort should Australia be invaded. […] There was no way of knowing exactly what was in the drums in the forest but it clearly wasn’t someone’s stash of home brew.” (Lithgow Mercury; 17Jul08; Len Ashworth) http://lithgow.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/hidden-newnes-forest-storage-has-added-to-military-puzzle/813140.aspx

 

Live in Azalea Park [Orlando, Florida]? Learn about cleanup

“The Army Corps of Engineers will have a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. today [17Jul08] at the Engelwood Neighborhood Center […] The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the investigation into possible contamination left behind in the Azalea Park neighborhood from the former Orlando Army Airfield Toxic Gas and Decontamination Yard.” (Orlando Sentinel; 17Jul08; Rich McKay & Wes Smith) http://www.orlandosentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/thursday/orange/orl-orgovwatch17_108jul17,0,857491.story

 

Meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group on Terrorism

“OPCW Director-General Rogelio Pfirter opened the meeting by recalling the recommendations of the Second Review Conference on the OPCW’s response to terrorism. He highlighted the importance of implementing Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention (Assistance and Protection Against Chemical Weapons) and stressed the value of the OPCW’s existing cooperation with the EU. […] He said information exchange in the fight against terrorism across borders has improved, greater attention is paid to the protection of EU infrastructures, and that the European Arrest Warrant has facilitated the procedures of extradition.” (OPCW News; 15Jul08; Johan de

Wittlaan)

http://www.opcw.org/pressreleases/2008/News17_2008.html

 

Emergency responders get dirty bomb training [Carlsbad, New Mexico]

“There were bodies and belligerents all over the place Thursday afternoon in a field near the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center. […] It was all part of a ‘dirty bomb’ exercise involving the Texas National Guard Civil Support Team. Some members of New Mexico's support team were also present. […] Thursday's training session was divided into two parts. Members of the Carlsbad Fire Department were the first to arrive on scene, but they were eventually backed up by the National Guard.

Smoke poured from a burned out vehicle. Volunteers who played the parts of victims all had detailed maps and timelines for the mock scenario. Some were assigned to be victims from the get-go, while others played the parts of tourists or ‘walking worried.’” (Current Argus; 18Jul08; Kyle

Marksteiner)

http://origin.currentargus.com/ci_9922344

 

[Homeland Security Secretary Michael] Chertoff: European terrorists trying to enter US

“European terrorists are trying to enter the United States with European Union passports, and there is no guarantee officials will catch them every time, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday. […] Chertoff and other intelligence officials have delivered similar warnings before, and he offered no new information about specific threats or an imminent attack. Chertoff reiterated his concern that terrorists could sneak radiological material into the country on small boats or private aircraft.” (AP; 18Jul08; Eileen Sullivan)

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i3uIGU_Clf36waqYlsaWDls9HP2gD920562O1

 

UH [University of Hawaii] chosen to help make travel safer

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has tapped the University of Hawaii to be one of 11 institutions to serve for the next six years as ‘an incubator of technology’ in the area of maritime security issues, according to a visiting federal official. Retired Rear Adm. Jay Cohen, Homeland Security Department undersecretary for science and technology, told the Star-Bulletin yesterday that the UH's Center of Excellence for Maritime, Island and Port Security will be under the College of Engineering and will receive a grant ranging from $1.5 million to $2 million annually.” (Star Bulletin; 16July08; Gregg K. Kakesako) http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/16/news/story11.html

 

Advanced Life Sciences and UK Ministry of Defence announce collaboration

“Advanced Life Sciences Holdings has announced that the UK's Defence Science and technology Laboratory will evaluate the developmental compound ALS-886 as a treatment for chemically induced lung injury. […] Michael Flavin, chairman and CEO of Advanced Life Sciences, said: ‘Dstl is internationally recognized for its ability to evaluate new therapeutic countermeasures that combat chemical and biological warfare agents, and we are very excited to partner with them to develop ALS-886 for potential procurement as a medical countermeasure.” (Trading Markets; 18July08) http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1768368/

 

CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.

By Army Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio

American Forces Press Service

 

July 6, 2008 - More than 50 U.S. sailors rendered a salute as their nation's colors were raised over Camp Eggers in honor of America's Independence Day. What made the ceremony so special was the American flag had only 48 stars. The flag was flown courtesy of retired Navy Cmdr. Joseph Agra III, who works at the Kabul International Airport as a logistics mentor for the Afghan National Army Air Corps.

 

Agra acquired the flag from a Filipino fisherman while living in the Philippines in 2000. The fisherman retrieved it from his net while fishing off the coast of the Bataan Peninsula.

 

"I saw the flag on a pole and asked the fisherman where he got it," Agra said. "After he told me, I asked if I could have it. He sold it to me for ten dollars."

 

Agra said after taking the flag home and washing it, his son realized it only had 48 stars. Upon this discovery, Agra started researching flags for a hint of its origin.

 

Because the 48-star flag was only flown between 1912 and 1959, Agra theorized that it came from one of five U.S. Navy ships that were sunk by the Imperial Japanese Forces in the opening months of World War Two.

 

"I researched the ships that were sunk in hostile fire, instead of being scuttled," Agra said. "When you're scuttled, you take everything you can off the ship. I think this flag went down with a ship."

 

For eight years, Agra carried the flag with him to several locations. He has flown the flag over camps in the Philippines, Kuwait, Iraq and now, Afghanistan.

 

After the flag was raised, Navy Capt. Shawno May, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan command surgeon directorate, spoke to the formation of sailors.

 

"The men that served under this flag more than 50 years ago gave their last full measure of devotion," May said. "These men were fighting in the Philippines to help freedom ring in a land where it wasn't. Again, America finds itself in a country where freedom is just beginning to ring."

 

Master Chief Bennie Gloria, CSTC-A Equal Opportunity advisor, said the ceremony was a perfect way to start the Independence Day celebration.

 

"It's very important that we remember our shipmates that came before us and lost their lives," Gloria said. "We are their legacy."

 

When the ceremony ended, the sailors took turns touching the flag and taking in a little part of history.

 

"I wanted to share it with others," Agra said. "I could have kept it and hung it in my living room, but then I would only see it."

 

Agra retired from active duty last year and will return to his home in the Philippines after his tour in Afghanistan. When he returns, he plans to donate the flag to a World War Two museum and American cemetery near the location it was found.

 

"It's their flag," Agra said, speaking of the veterans who lost their life in World War Two. "It's a symbol. These men lost their lives fighting for their country, they are buried there. That is where the flag should be."

 

(Army Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio is assigned to Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan)

By Meghan Vittrup

American Forces Press Service

 

June 24, 2008 - Veterans can once again enjoy an afternoon cruising Lake Michigan, sharing tributes and building relationships thanks to one Illinois group. Kup's Purple Heart Cruises began in 1945 when Irv Kupcinet also known as "Kup," a Chicago Sun Times columnist, wanted to do something for servicemembers coming back from World War Two.

 

The 50-year tradition ended with its last cruise in 1995. Twelve years later, David Kupcinet decided to re-launch his grandfather's renowned Kup's Purple Heart Cruises.

 

After fours year of planning the successfully re-launched cruise took place July 31, 2007.

 

Kupcinet said the cruise is a way to show appreciation to veterans for their service to the country.

 

Kup's Purple Heart Cruise is an "effort to highlight citizen support for our military men and women and communicate that support to the members of our armed forces at home and abroad," according to a news release from the group.

 

Last year, Kupcinet said, it took three and a half months to fill the 500 spots on the cruise, but "it was so successful last year it took three and a half weeks to hit capacity this year."

 

The cruise is not only for veterans but also active-duty servicemembers. Kupcinet said veterans range in age from 19 to 91.

 

"The most interesting thing was seeing the relationships built between old time veterans and [Afghanistan and Iraq] veterans," Kupcinet said. "The connection between ... veterans in their 20s and a guy from World War Two, for example, is really a pretty amazing thing to see."

 

"These relationships are long-lasting relationships," said Dan Casara, a Purple Heart recipient and participant in Kup's Purple Heart Cruise. He was wounded Sept. 23, 2005, when a roadside bomb flipped his tank. He said he tries to use such events to network, meet new people, and build lasting relationships that will turn into friendships.

 

Kupcinet said it is a great experience to see both young and older veterans interacting and still holding on to deep military ties and traditions, including the playful arguments over which branch of the military is the strongest.

 

"It's also very funny to see the branches still mess with each other even so many years after they've been in service," Kupcinet said. "We had an 89-year-old Marine and 90-year-old sailor in the Navy, and at those ages they were still messing with each other about who was tougher."

 

The Purple Heart Cruise event takes place in two parts. The first part is the pierside send-off ceremony that includes presentations and speeches from the honorary chairman as well as dignitaries. There also are military and Defense Department tributes to the veterans, Kupcinet said.

 

The cruise itself is the second part of the event; it is a four-hour cruise on Lake Michigan that includes of food, entertainment and camaraderie.

 

"It was really nice," Casara said. "It was refreshing to see other Purple Heart recipients, ... whether they were of this conflict or prior conflicts, to come out and enjoy themselves."

 

This year's Kup's Purple Heart Cruise will take place July 31 at Navy Pier in Chicago.

 

Kup's Purple Heart Foundation is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program that seeks to focus public support for the men and women in the military.