MADISON: 8/1/09

Monday, August 31, 2009

Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better

Today's Top News - 08.31

Defense Secretary Robert Gates comments on developments in Afghanistan.

Online Town Hall

The deadline for submitting online questions to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is Aug. 31.

Hawaii CPO Selects Special Olympics

DNU Flash - Naval Station Pearl Harbor chief petty officer selectees volunteer for the Special Olympics.

Sasebo Women's Day Celebration

DNU Flash - Fleet Activities Sasebo, Japan's Multicultural Committee holds a celebration honoring women in the military.

Rota Sailors Rebuild Monastery

DNU Flash - Naval Station Rota, Spain Sailors help rebuild a local monastery.

SECNAV Visits USS Nimitz

DNU Flash - Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visits USS Nimitz (CVN 68).

SECNAV Visits USS Blue Ridge

DNU Flash - Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visits USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19).

Headlines for Monday, August 31, 2009

DNU Flash - Headlines from around the fleet: Perform to Serve results for the first group of Zone B Sailors is released; The orders negotiation window will shorten beginning this fall.

Protecting Troops from IEDs

Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke to reporters Monday about his concerns in Afghanistan and how to stem the growing number of coalition casualties from by roadside bombs.

Gates in Texas

Defense Secretary Robert Gates travelled to Texas Monday to tour Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter factory in Fort Worth.

Coast Guard Rescues

U.S. Coast Guard officials say three boaters who were missing for more than a week are alive and back home.

McChrystal on Afghanistan

The Commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan is sending his long- awaited strategic assessment on Afghanistan to U.S. Central Command today.

DOD Prepares For Outbreak

The Department of Defense Education Activity is preparing for a possible outbreak of the H1N1 virus.

Alabama Guard Recognized

Alabama's governor awards 47 Alabama National Guardsmen with the Alabama Commendation Medal.

Jobs for Military Spouses

Some military spouses are about to get added support which could help fast track them into a position with a Federal agency.

Korean War Vet Buried

A U.S. soldier killed in Korea nearly sixty years ago was finally laid to rest at Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Recon: Bringing Them All Back Home

Missing in action: 88,000 servicemembers. The mission: Leave no one behind. The mystery: What happened to their loved ones lost in war?

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Recon: Not Home for the Holidays

They sacrificed their holidays so others might live free. Hear from servicemembers past and present who were deployed during the holiday season.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Command Performance: Stephen Cochran

Outlaw country musician and combat veteran Stephen Cochran discusses his music, performing for troops and being injured while serving as a Marine in Afghanistan.

Recon: Let the Generations Know

Follow America's daughters back in time to see how they made history and watch as today's servicewomen break barriers in the line of duty.

Friday, August 28, 2009

The Damned: The Shadow of Love

Today's Top News - 08.28

ADM Michael Mullen says the military needs to find better treatments for traumatic brain injuries. Also, a ground-breaking ceremony.

NNMC Phase 2

Naval Facilities Engineering Command has awarded the contract for Phase 2 of construction at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Mullen Town Hall

ADM Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will hold a virtual town hall and you can submit video questions via YouTube.

Fire Scout

The Navy is introducing a new aircraft that could prove vital in counter-drug operations.

Shinseki Remarks

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki says more college educated professionals will enter the work force because of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Bombing in Afghanistan

A bombing Friday killed a U.S. servicemember in Afghanistan.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technology

DNU Flash - Naval Medical Center San Diego uses advanced magnetic resonance technology for brain injuries.

USS Missouri CPO Academy

DNU Flash - Chief petty officer selectees attend training aboard the USS Missouri (BB 63).

MQ-8B Fire Scout

DNU Flash - Tests of the MQ-8B fire scout performed aboard USS McInerney (FFG 8).

Disaster Preparedness

DNU Flash - Sailors are reminded to be prepared for natural disasters.

Chilean Navy Visits USS Makin Island

DNU Flash - Chilean naval officers visit USS Makin Island (LHD 8).

Headlines for Friday, August 28, 2009

DNU Flash - Headlines from around the fleet: The Navy's physical assessment policy is updated; Sailors are reminded to update their electronic service record.

Kennedy Burial

Workers at Arlington Cemetery are preparing for Saturday's private burial of Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy.

D-Day Memorial

The private foundation that oversees the D-Day Memorial may turn operations over to the National Park Service.

Hospital Groundbreaking

Work on a new V.A. poly-traumatic brain injury center is underway following a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday.

Mullen on Brain Injury

Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the military urgently needs to find better treatments for traumatic brain injuries.

My Lai Haunts the Lieutenant

NY Times

Editorial

The nation has finally heard a note of personal regret from William Calley 38 years after he became the sole American soldier convicted in the My Lai massacre of hundreds of Vietnamese civilians.

“There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai,” Mr. Calley, a former lieutenant who now is a 66-year-old graybeard, told the Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus, Ga. His appearance this month came after decades of no comment. “I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families,” said Mr. Calley, who was defended as a dutiful soldier by many when the slaughter was disclosed.

His remarks are an important reminder for a nation again at war of the considerable risks to honor and truth that can undermine troops caught in the frustrations and fears of the battlefront. The slaughter was conducted in March 1968 by platoons of American soldiers who shot and abused more than 300 victims — mainly women, children and elderly peasants — in a murderous frenzy.

After an 18-month cover-up, the story was broken by Seymour Hersh, the relentless reporter who pried truth firsthand from Mr. Calley and other perpetrators. The massacre sparked world outrage and helped unravel support for the Vietnam War, but it left still-gaping holes in the need for full justice up the military chain of command.

“I gave them a good boy, and they sent me back a murderer,” an American mother told Mr. Hersh of the guilt haunting My Lai veterans. There was small comfort in pleading they had to follow orders and shoot victims fleeing for their lives and cowering in an irrigation pit. Twenty-six soldiers eventually were charged, but only Mr. Calley was convicted. Ranking brass separately accused in the cover-up were acquitted.

Mr. Calley endures as a classic scapegoat. He was sentenced to life in prison. But as the nation polarized and he was lionized in a jingoistic pop song, he was ordered transferred by President Richard Nixon to house arrest at a comfortable apartment. His sentence was eventually reduced, and he served three years. “I am very sorry,” Mr. Calley told the Kiwanis, stirring the ghosts of a horrific episode the nation dare not forget.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

New head of Army (UK Army) begins his job

General Sir Richard Dannatt is due to hand over his post as Army chief to Gen Sir David Richards.

As well as fighting the insurgency in Afghanistan, Gen Richards will have to battle for resources for the Army at a time of increasing financial strain.

BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said Gen Richards is seen as "astute" and a "good communicator".

As former head of the International Security and Assistance Force, he has first-hand experience of Afghanistan.

Our correspondent said: "General Sir David Richards is seen as a good communicator who is also politically astute, and perhaps more likely to fight his battles behind closed doors."

“ It is impossible to say whether having more equipment of a particular kind would lead to less casualties ”
Gen Sir David Richards

Gen Richards has extensive operational experience in East Timor, Sierra Leone, and first-hand knowledge of the challenges in Afghanistan, gained as commander of Nato coalition forces there between 2006 and 2007.

Asked earlier this month if he would be presenting a "shopping list" for military equipment on his first day in office, Gen Richards answered: "I will not.

"It is impossible to say whether having more equipment of a particular kind would lead to less casualties, and pretty fruitless speculating about it," he said in an interview with the Times newspaper.

"The enemy's tactics will always reflect, and try to exploit, how we operate - my American comrades first taught me the adage, 'the enemy has a vote' - and our own tactics must reflect the equipment and troop numbers we have.

"It is a truism to state that the more we have, the more we can do."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/8225881.stm

Published: 2009/08/28 01:18:49 GMT

© BBC MMIX