By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr. WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2014 - The U.S. military response to the outbreak of Ebola in Liberia continues to progress, with facilities expected to be fully operational next week, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said today. Speaking during a State Department news conference, Kirby provided an update on Operation United Assistance. "Our forces on the ground in Liberia continue to make progress in setting up infrastructure and facilities to support the international response," he said. "Setup has been complete on the 25-bed hospital, and we expect it to be fully operational with U.S. Public Health Service medical workers taking responsibility for that unit next week, Kirby said. "Construction continues on the Ebola treatment facilities, with the first expected to be completed by the end of the month." Mobile medical labs In the interim, Kirby said, personnel from the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center continue to operate three mobile medical labs, which provide 24-hour turnaround results on samples, with more than 1,200 total samples having been processed to date. The admiral emphasized that no U.S. military personnel will be providing direct patient care to the local population. "We're focused on four lines of effort, and only four lines effort: command and control, logistics support, training and engineering." Additionally, Kirby said, an air bridge has been set up in Senegal to help logistics flow, because some areas have no roads, and many roads that do exist are inundated with mud. "We now have Ospreys that are helping speed the delivery of resources, supplies and troops to some of these very remote areas where these labs are being set up," he said. Avoiding overburdening infrastructure The admiral also noted the Defense Department recognizes the need not to overburden the already burdened infrastructure in Liberia. "We've been asked why there aren't greater troop numbers in Liberia at a faster rate," he said, "but there's only so much impact that Liberia and the infrastructure can take from the U.S. military. We just can't go in there lock, stock and barrel without thinking about the impact on their own infrastructure. "So we have to do this carefully, in a measured, deliberate way," he continued. "But we believe that the kinds of capabilities that we're contributing in terms of ... logistics and training are exactly the kinds of things we're really good at doing in an expeditionary environment." |
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Pentagon Spokesman Notes Operation United Assistance Progress
NASA’s Hubble Finds Extremely Distant Galaxy through Cosmic Magnifying Glass
Peering through a giant cosmic magnifying glass, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a tiny, faint galaxy -- one of the farthest galaxies ever seen. The diminutive object is estimated to be more than 13 billion light-years away.
This galaxy offers a peek back to the very early formative years of the universe and may just be the tip of the iceberg.
“This galaxy is an example of what is suspected to be an abundant, underlying population of extremely small, faint objects that existed about 500 million years after the big bang, the beginning of the universe,” explained study leader Adi Zitrin of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. “The discovery is telling us galaxies as faint as this one exist, and we should continue looking for them and even fainter objects, so that we can understand how galaxies and the universe have evolved over time.”
The galaxy was detected by the Frontier Fields program, an ambitious three-year effort that teams Hubble with NASA’s other great observatories -- the Spitzer Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory -- to probe the early universe by studying large galaxy clusters. These clusters are so massive their gravity deflects light passing through them, magnifying, brightening, and distorting background objects in a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. These powerful lenses allow astronomers to find many dim, distant structures that otherwise might be too faint to see.
The discovery was made using the lensing power of the mammoth galaxy cluster Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora’s Cluster, which produced three magnified images of the same, faint galaxy. Each magnified image makes the galaxy appear 10 times larger and brighter than it would look without the zooming qualities of the cluster.
The galaxy measures merely 850 light-years across -- 500 times smaller than our Milky Way galaxy-- and is estimated to have a mass of only 40 million suns. The Milky Way, in comparison, has a stellar mass of a few hundred billion suns. And the galaxy forms about one star every three years, whereas the Milky Way galaxy forms roughly one star per year. However, given its small size and low mass, Zitrin said the tiny galaxy actually is rapidly evolving and efficiently forming stars.
The astronomers believe galaxies such as this one are probably small clumps of matter that started to form stars and shine, but do not yet have a defined structure. It is possible Hubble is only detecting one bright clump magnified due to the lensing. This would explain why the object is smaller than typical field galaxies of that time.
Zitrin’s team spotted the galaxy’s gravitationally multiplied images using near-infrared and visible-light photos of the galaxy cluster taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. But they needed to measure how far away it was from Earth.
Usually, astronomers can determine an object’s distance based on how far its light has been stretched as the universe slowly expands. Astronomers can precisely measure this effect through spectroscopy, which characterizes an object’s light. But the gravitationally-lensed galaxy and other objects found at this early time period are too far away and too dim for spectroscopy, so astronomers use an object’s color to estimate its distance. The universe’s expansion reddens an object’s color in predictable ways, which scientists can measure.
Zitrin’s team performed the color-analysis technique and took advantage of the multiple images produced by the gravitational lens to independently confirm the group’s distance estimate. The astronomers measured the angular separation between the three magnified images of the galaxy in the Hubble photos. The greater the angular separation due to lensing, the farther away the object is from Earth.
To test this concept, the astronomers compared the three magnified images with the locations of several other closer, multiply-imaged background objects captured in Hubble images of Pandora’s cluster. The angular distance between the magnified images of the closer galaxies was smaller.
“These measurements imply that, given the large angular separation between the three images of our background galaxy, the object must lie very far away,” Zitrin explained. “It also matches the distance estimate we calculated, based on the color-analysis technique. So we are about 95 percent confident this object is at a remote distance, at redshift 10, a measure of the stretching of space since the big bang. The lensing takes away any doubt that this might be a heavily reddened, nearby object masquerading as a far more distant object.”
Astronomers have long debated whether such early galaxies could have provided enough radiation to warm the hydrogen that cooled soon after the big bang. This process, called reionization, is thought to have occurred 200 million to 1 billion years after the birth of the universe. Reionization made the universe transparent to light, allowing astronomers to look far back into time without running into a “fog” of cold hydrogen.
The team’s results appeared in the September online edition of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington.
Reassurance, Interoperability Key for U.S. Army in Europe
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2014 - Exercises and the promise of more exercises in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine has reassured America's European allies, the deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Europe said here today.
Speaking at a Defense Writers Group breakfast, Maj. Gen. Walter E. Piatt said the command is well-situated to answer threats to security in the region and to further interoperability among NATO allies and partner nations.
The exercises mean the United States takes its commitment to NATO and to allies very seriously, Piatt said. The exercise program is not new, he stressed, noting that the U.S. Army wanted to continue to build on interoperability with NATO allies gained from more than a decade of war in Afghanistan. But the program has grown with Russia's actions in Ukraine, he added.
Shifting to preparedness
U.S. Army Europe had been training U.S. and multinational troops for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for years at state-of-the-art facilities in Grafenwohr and Hohenfels, Germany. "So we were meeting the operational demand," the general said. "We needed to shift from meeting the operational demand to meeting operational preparedness."
Coalition forces -- very well-schooled in counterinsurgency -- had to learn again the full range of operations, Piatt said. "We didn't know what was next, but we knew we wouldn't do it alone," he said. "If we're going to deploy together, we need to train together."
The first series of NATO exercises under this new plan took place in November. Officials were going to rotate a unit from the United States to Germany for Exercise Combined Resolve, but sequestration spending cuts quashed that, Piatt said, so U.S. Army Europe used local units and went forward.
Proof of principle for multinational brigade
The exercise combined U.S., Czech and Slovenian forces making up most of a brigade. Nine countries participated with about 3,000 service members. Piatt called it the "proof of principle" in creating a multinational brigade.
"What we learned was our allies are very competent," he said. "There are experienced forces throughout Europe."
This was followed by Combined Resolve 2 and Sabre Junction, and the command is ramping up for Combined Resolve 3. Soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, are arriving in Europe with their tanks, armored personnel carriers and other accouterments for the exercise.
Going forward, U.S. Army Europe would like to bring over a heavy brigade combat team, Piatt said, and when the exercise is finished, it would leave its equipment in Europe for follow-on forces.
U.S. Army Europe has roughly 31,000 soldiers -- a far cry from the more than 300,000 assigned to the command at the height of the Cold War. Yet these forces -- plus rotational units -- will be a seed for NATO interoperability, the general said.
Interoperability is about relationships
At its core, Piatt told the defense writers, interoperability is all about relationships. Building trust and understanding each other's capabilities and procedures are key to coalition operations -- from disaster response to full-out war, he said.
"You don't want to meet the team on the ground for the first time," Piatt said. "We saw this many times in Afghanistan, ... where you would be meeting forces from other nations for the first time when you have a real operational demand. We're doing that now so the relationships and trust are in place before deployment."
He spoke of a recent exercise in which a Hungarian joint tactical air controller called in a German Tornado to provide fire for a U.S. armored battalion. "That's how it works. That's interoperability. That's how the alliance works," the general said.
#DoD Helps Fight #Ebola
Special Report: DoD Helps Fight Ebola in West Africa - Operation United AssistanceDoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2014 - In support of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Defense Department has made critical contributions to the fight against the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa. Chief among these are the deployment of up to 4,000 men and women in uniform to Monrovia, Liberia, as part of Operation United Assistance. Learn more in theDefense.gov Special Report: DoD Helps Fight Ebola in West Africa - Operation United Assistance atwww.defense.gov/ebolaresponse. |
BIG “SCARE” LAKE
No School Night This Halloween Means Opportunity for a Weekend Getaway
BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif./ October 16, 2014 – This year Halloween is on a Friday, which makes it an ideal time to get away with the little tykes for a grand “trick or treat” extravaganza in the mountains. On Halloween night, Big Bear Village becomes extensively decorated with jack-o-lanterns, cobwebs, flying bats, strobe lights, and other gadgets and gimmickry to create a “frightfully” fun Halloween experience. New this year is a unique display of scarecrows scattered throughout Big Bear Village that adds to the festive atmosphere.
The streets of Big Bear Village shut down and transform into a massive gathering of goblins, ghouls, witches, princesses and super heroes. More than 100 village merchants hand out thousands of dollars worth of candy and other goodies to “trick or treaters.” Village merchants created this event to ensure a safe and secure environment for families to enjoy the holiday together. Halloween festivities in the Village are scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. and finish at about 9 p.m.
“Our Halloween celebration is gigantic! Most importantly it’s in a perfectly safe environment for everyone in the family to enjoy!” said Big Bear Visitors Bureau Director of Operations Rebecca Hrabia. “Halloween is not on a school night this year, so families from off the mountain can enjoy Southern California’s largest trick or treating event and make an entire weekend out of it.”
After getting a bag load of candy from Big Bear Village merchants, retreat to one of Big Bear’s cozy cabins for a cup of hot cocoa. “Trick or treaters” and their parents can unwind next to the fireplace to sort the variety of Halloween goodies.
Another option is Boo in the Zoo at Big Bear Alpine Zoo from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Come in costume to trick or treat amongst the animals, visit the pumpkin patch, or play fun games to win prizes. A highlight is watching resident animals get Halloween treats. Cost is standard zoo admission prices.
Big Bear also has some special treats for those who want to put a little more fright into their Halloween night, which includes Panic in the Park at Meadow Park or Ship of Screams on Miss Liberty Paddlewheel Boat at Pine Knot Marina. Panic in the Park is an annual Haunted House where those brazen enough can walk through the scary house filled with a live action cast of zombies and ghouls and things that go bump in the night from 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm. The cost is $10 per person. For younger kids there is a "Not So Scary House" that will be very entertaining from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm, cost is $5 per person.
Ship of Screams is another option for those who can brave haunting ghosts and mysterious characters aboard Miss Liberty Paddlewheel Tour Boat. The 64-foot boat transforms into an eerie, haunted vessel where guests walk through the boat’s corridors to discover the life of Carl van Dorvan, his corpse bride and the fate of the boat’s crew and passengers on a Halloween night many moons ago. It’s a hair-raising experience that should leave a lasting impression! Ship of Screams is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and the cost is $5 for adults and $2 for children 10 and under.
The next day after the little ghosts and goblins have all cleaned up, take an adventure into the wilderness to experience Big Bear’s spectacular display of fall colors. From October to November, Mother Nature adorns Big Bear’s surrounding forest with shades of amber, crimson, copper and gold. Big Bear’s fall season is ideal for those who want to escape for a day or take a mini-vacation to experience the splendor of Big Bear’s autumn hues.
Other fall activities include a visit to the Big Bear Alpine Zoo to see wildlife up close and personal, or a visit the Big Bear Discovery Center to see exhibits and learn more about nature. Fishing is always a great family outing too, especially when junior reels in a bigger fish than dad. The brisk autumn air tends to keep folks inside at night, providing a great opportunity for families to bond around a board game or popcorn and a movie.
To find out more about Halloween in Big Bear,make lodging reservations or request a free Visitors Guide log on towww.bigbear.com or call 800-424-4232
Major Hurricane Gonzalo Gives an "Eye-opening" Performance
NASA and NOAA satellites have been providing continuous coverage of Hurricane Gonzalo as it moves toward Bermuda. NASA's Terra satellite saw thunderstorms wrapped tightly around the center with large bands of thunderstorms wrapping into it. NOAA's GOES-East satellite provided and "eye-opening" view of Gonzalo, still a Category 4 hurricane on Oct. 16.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Bermuda and that means that hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area, meaning the entire island.
On Oct. 15 at 15:30 UTC (11:30 a.m. EDT) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible picture of Hurricane Gonzalo in the Atlantic Ocean. The image revealed a cloud-covered center with strong thunderstorms surrounding the eye as bands of strong thunderstorms in the southern, eastern and northern quadrants spiraled into the center.
NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured an image of Hurricane Gonzalo off the U.S. East Coast on Oct. 16 at 13:07 UTC (9:07 a.m. EDT) and showed that Gonzalo's eye had become cloud-free. The image also showed a line of clouds associated with a cold front stretching over 1,600 miles that just moved off the U.S. East coast and headed toward Gonzalo.
On Thursday, Oct. 16 at 8 a.m. EDT, Hurricane Gonzalo was still a major hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 140 mph (220 kph). Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km).
Fluctuations in intensity are common in major hurricanes. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) cautioned that "Slow weakening is forecast but Gonzalo is expected to be a dangerous hurricane when it moves near Bermuda."
Gonzalo's eye was located by a NOAA Hurricane Hunter near latitude 25.5 north and longitude 68.7 west. That puts the eye of Gonzalo about 525 miles (845 km) south-southwest of Bermuda. The minimum central pressure measured by the NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft is 940 millibars.
Gonzalo is moving toward the north near 9 mph (15 kph) and this general motion is expected to continue today. The NHC forecast calls for a turn toward the north-northeast and an increase in forward speed tonight (Oct. 16) and Friday (Oct. 17). On the forecast track, the center of Gonzalo is expected to pass near Bermuda on Friday.
The NHC expects hurricane-force winds, and rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches in Bermuda. A storm surge with coastal flooding can be expected in Bermuda, with large and destructive waves along the coast. In addition, life-threatening surf and riptide conditions are likely in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Bahamas. Those dangerous conditions are expected along the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda later today, Oct. 16.
Operation IceBridge Turns Five
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In May 2014, two new studies concluded that a section of the land-based West Antarctic ice sheet had reached a point of inevitable collapse. Meanwhile, fresh observations from September 2014 showed sea ice around Antarctica had reached its greatest extent since the late 1970s. To better understand such dynamic and dramatic differences in the region's land and sea ice, researchers are travelling south to Antarctica this month for the sixth campaign of NASA’s Operation IceBridge. The airborne campaign, which also flies each year over Greenland, makes annual surveys of the ice with instrumented research aircraft. Instruments range from lasers that map the elevation of the ice surface, radars that "see" below it, and downward looking cameras to provide a natural-color perspective. The Digital Mapping System (DMS) camera acquired the above photo during the mission’s first science flight on October 16, 2009. At the time of the image, the DC-8 aircraft was flying at an altitude of 515 meters (1,700 feet) over heavily compacted first-year sea ice along the edge of the Amundsen Sea. Since that first flight, much has been gleaned from IceBridge data. For example, images from an IceBridge flight in October 2011 revealed a massive crack running about 29 kilometers (18 miles) across the floating tongue of Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier. The crack ultimately led to a 725-square-kilometer (280-square-mile) iceberg. In 2012, IceBridge data was a key part of a new map of Antarctica called Bedmap2. By combining surface elevation, ice thickness, and bedrock topography, Bedmap2 gives a clearer picture of Antarctica from the ice surface down to the land surface. Discoveries have been made in Greenland, too, including the identification of a 740-kilometer-long (460-mile-long) mega canyon below the ice sheet. Repeated measurements of land and sea ice from aircraft extend the record of observations once made by NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite, or ICESat, which stopped functioning in 2009. In addition to extending the ICESat record, IceBridge also sets the stage for ICESat-2, which is scheduled for launch in 2017. > NASA's Earth Observatory: Operation IceBridge Turns Five Image Credit: IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery courtesy of the Digital Mapping System (DMS) team/NASA DAAC at the National Snow and Ice Data Center Caption: Kathryn Hansen |
Go on a Wine Adventure
There’s nothing wrong with liking what you like, but you can’t discover new favorites unless you try new things, says wine enthusiast Howard Kleinfeld.
While recovering from throat cancer, Kleinfeld, an award-winning commercial music producer, lost his sense of taste for a few years. When it came back, he decided to embrace some of the finest tastes life had to offer and has since traveled the world to satisfy his obsession with wine.
“I became someone who decided to say ‘yes’ to many of the things I used to say ‘no’ to, which has enriched my life tremendously with adventure,” says Kleinfeld, author (as Howard K) of “Dial M for Merlot,”www.DialMForMerlot.com, a lighthearted novel imbued with its character’s passion for wine.
“But you don’t have to book a trip to Napa or the Bordeaux region of France. You just have to be willing to try a new type of wine.”
Wine has grown increasingly popular in America in recent decades. The preference of just one in four in 1992, it’s now the alcoholic beverage of choice for 35 percent of us, which is just one percent less than beer, according to a 2013 Gallup poll.
“With all the holiday parties and family gatherings, it’s a great time of year to expand one’s ‘Wine-Q’,” says Kleinfeld, who offers the following suggestions.
• If you like white zinfandel, consider a Riesling.
White zin is the “Kool-Aid of wine.” It can be a good introduction to the wonderful world of wine because it’s sweet, and everybody likes sugar. But there are a number of wines at many price points that are also sweet and carry a much more interesting profile -- a fuller body, honey and pear or apple notes and much more. Riesling and Gewürztraminer wines are a great place to start.Fun fact: red zinfandel hails from the same grape as white zinfandel, except the red variety includes the grape’s skin – white does not. The skin gives the wine a more robust flavor and color than its popular cousin, deep, rich and full of zest. It’s quite different from white zin, but worth investigating with a curious palate.
• If your go-to white wine is strictly Chardonnay, try a bottle of white from the Côtes du Rhône or a sauvignon blanc from just about anywhere.
Wine can be confusing because varieties may refer to a grape, a region or both. Chardonnay refers to a specific green-skinned grape and is grown all over the world, most notably in Burgundy, France. Côtes du Rhône is from the region of France of the same name and is usually made from a blend of grapes, none of which, by the way, are chardonnay.Chardonnay is very popular and, it is said, a rite-of-passage grape for wineries. While Chardonnay is a relatively straightforward selection, Côtes du Rhône offers white and red varieties that will be fun crowd-pleasers at parties, and it’s inexpensive. An export grape from the region is Syrah, remarkable for its now-global prevalence, from Washington state to South America to South Africa to Australia, where it’s called Shiraz. For something completely different and light, try sauvignon blanc, which can be herbal and tart , with good acidity and complexity.
“Sauvignon blanc can be like drinking passion fruit – not quite orange, cherry or lemon – just passion fruit,” he says. “I’ll never forget one time I had it with tuna sashimi. It was such a perfect pairing…These are the things that make life great
• If you like Moscato before dinner, try Sauternes or port wine with dessert.
Again, sweet wines are popular, but Sauternes from the region of Bordeaux with the same name, has a distinct flavor because of a unique geographical attribute. Sauternes is made from Sémillon, Sauvignon blanc, and Muscadelle grapes that have been affected by a fungus that usually causes souring. But, thanks to the weather in the Sauternes region, the fungus instead adds sweetness and complexity to wine. Varieties range from very sweet to dry as a bone. Port, Portuguese fortified wine, and Sauternes are amazing with nuts, blue cheese and foie gras, or goose liver pâté, slathered on baguette, Kleinfeld says.• If you think it’s time to outgrow merlot … try another merlot.
Ever since the movie “Sideways,” merlot has gotten a bad rap. Yes, some varieties can be fruit bombs (and there’s nothing wrong with that!), but others are deep, rich and structured. On a wide range of levels, merlot can provide a nuanced and rewarding experience.“Don’t be afraid to drink merlot just because you may have heard it’s not hip,” says Kleinfeld. “It can stand on its own and is also a big-time blending grape in some of the world’s most famous wines. It’s the king of the ‘right bank’ region of Bordeaux.”
About Howard Kleinfeld (Howard K)
Howard Kleinfeld is a full-time wine enthusiast, part-time foodie, and first-time author. His new novel, “Dial M for Merlot,”www.DialMForMerlot.com, written under the pen name Howard K, follows a 30-year-old math whiz’s intoxicating journey of wine discovery. Kleinfeld is a longtime singer-songwriter whose compositions/productions for advertising, TV shows and indie films have earned him Emmy, Telly and Addy awards.
Inherent Resolve Airstrikes Continue in Syria
From a U.S. Central Command News Release
TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 16, 2014 - U.S. military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria yesterday and today, using bomber and fighter aircraft deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of operations to conduct 14 airstrikes, Centcom officials reported.
All 14 airstrikes took place near Kobani. Initial reports indicate the strikes successfully struck 19 ISIL buildings, two ISIL command posts, three ISIL fighting positions, three ISIL sniper positions, one ISIL staging location, and one ISIL heavy machine gun, Centcom officials said, adding that all aircraft departed the strike areas safely.
Interdicting reinforcement and resupply
These airstrikes are designed to interdict ISIL reinforcements and resupply and prevent ISIL from massing combat power on the Kurdish-held portions of Kobani, officials explained. Indications are that airstrikes have continued to slow ISIL advances, they added, but they acknowledged that that the security situation in Kobani remains tenuous.
The U.S. strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate ISIL and the threat the terrorist group poses to Iraq, the region and the wider international community, officials said.
Poverty Rate Declines
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WORK ADDRESS
GUEST SPEAKER
Face of Defense: Guard Soldier Aids Comrades Beyond Battlefield
By Niki Gentry
Tennessee National Guard
LOBELVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 16, 2014 - Army Staff Sgt. Pamela Pugh, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and 14-year member of the Tennessee National Guard, was contacted during the late summer by two of her fellow soldiers who found themselves homeless and in dire need of aid.
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A platoon sergeant for her unit here, Pugh immediately took the initiative to help her comrades in arms, not only by her own actions, but also with help of numerous resources now available to military personnel, veterans and their families.
"These are my soldiers. I take care of them every month, and they know I care about them whether on or off duty," Pugh said. "They know they can call me any time, especially when they are having difficult moments in their life. I take extreme pride in helping these soldiers. They are like my family, like my kids, and I feel an obligation to assist them as best I can."
Study shows extent of veteran homelessness
Battling homelessness among service members and veterans has become a priority in the United States. The Department of Veterans Affairs published a study identifying nearly 58,000 homeless veterans nationally on one single night in January 2013.
Lori Ogden, director of development for Operation Stand Down Tennessee -- a nonprofit organization that provides free help to Tennessee veterans said the unemployment rate among veterans in the state is 6.9 percent, and one in five homeless persons are veterans. VA and other agencies continue to develop programs to reduce the number of homeless who have a military background, she added, yet they emphasize the need for further support within Tennessee and across the country.
Pugh's story began when she was contacted by a young soldier in her platoon who was living in a rescue shelter in Nashville, Tennessee. Using her knowledge of resources available through the Tennessee National Guard Family Programs section, the Enlisted Association of Tennessee, a local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other agencies, she was able to find financial assistance, temporary lodging and full-time employment for the Guard member.
Helping a second soldier
Pugh's aid did not end with the one homeless soldier. Shortly afterward, she helped another member of her unit in a similar situation. The second soldier had sought refuge in a rescue shelter during an interim period prior to attending a state educational program.
Pugh helped the soldier obtain lodging and financial aid. Beyond the resources she accessed during the first soldier's issues, Pugh was able to get other members of her unit to assist in moving the second soldier's personal belongings during the transition to her school.
"The actions of Staff Sergeant Pugh are keeping with Army values, the Noncommissioned Officer's Creed and are a true reflection of the nature of the Tennessee National Guard," said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Terry Scott, the senior enlisted leader for Tennessee. "Not only are our soldiers and airmen assisting their nation, state and communities, but they are dedicated to their fellow team members as well."
Support mechanisms worked seamlessly
Pugh, members of her unit and the Tennessee National Guard's soldier and airman support mechanisms worked seamlessly to help those encountering difficult times in their lives, Scott noted.
"Our National Guard is a family, and when any of our own are in need of assistance, we come together to support each other," he said. "It is with great pride that I was allowed to witness the functioning of our internal support network to assist one of our own. Staff Sergeant Pugh is a credit to her unit, as well as her fellow service members. She recognized a need and proactively sought out the necessary resources to take care of our Guard personnel."
Hagel Praises Army's Strength, Resilience
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2014 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel commended the Army today for its contributions to national defense over the last 13 years of conflict and noted that demand for the things the Army does for the nation will not diminish during the period of uncertainty and change that lies ahead.
Speaking during the Association of the United States Army's annual conference, Hagel said this is a time of great transition for the Army as the U.S. military responsibly ends its combat role in Afghanistan and transitions to a train-advise-and-assist mission.
"The Afghan national security forces will be fully responsible for their country's security," he said, "an accomplishment made possible by the tremendous sacrifices of American troops, our [International Security Assistance Force] partners and the Afghan people."
Army service during volatile times
"As the Army emerges from over 13 years of large-scale combat operations -- the longest in its history -- it faces new challenges," Hagel said. "The world's becoming more volatile, less predictable, and, in many ways, more threatening at the same time our defense budgets are declining."
The theme chosen for this year's AUSA symposium -- Hagel said, which is "Trusted Professionals: Today and Tomorrow" -- is well-suited to describe the kind of soldiers America will need as it navigates this period of change and uncertainty, the secretary said.
More than 1 million U.S. soldiers have deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 13 years, Hagel noted.
"One out of six of these soldiers was deployed to both countries," Hagel said. "More than half-a-million soldiers -- 30 percent of them Guardsmen and reservists -- endured multiple deployments. As ground forces, they shouldered a heavy burden"
"Seventy percent of U.S. personnel wounded in action over the last 13 years were from the Army," he continued, "and countless soldiers have come home with visible -- and invisible -- wounds of war."
The enduring obligation to take care of them and their families, Hagel said, is a sacred responsibility that the nation must always uphold.
"Through the crucible of combat, and a grinding counterinsurgency campaign, the American soldier fought on," he said. "As a result, today's Army is as battle-tested as it has ever been."
Hagel said of all the soldiers who served in Iraq since 2003, nearly half are still on active duty or in the National Guard and reserves, and of those who served in Afghanistan, almost two-thirds are still in the Army.
America's Army today
The strength, resilience, and dedication of the Army, Hagel said, is what makes it the foundation of America's national security and its contribution to U.S. security is as critical today as ever.
"We see it in West Africa," he said, "where soldiers will soon deploy as a key part of America's contribution to the global effort to stop the spread of Ebola before it becomes an even more of a grave threat."
Hagel said it is also seen in Poland and the Baltics, where soldiers are reinforcing and reassuring NATO allies in the face of Russian aggression, and in Iraq, where soldiers are deploying to train, advise and assist Kurdish and Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Soon, he added, it will be seen in Saudi Arabia, where soldiers will help to train and equip members of the moderate Syrian opposition.
"The president has been very clear that he will not commit our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq," Hagel said, "or become involved in the war in Syria." This is not because of a belief that wars can be waged without committing troops to combat, he said. The strategy in Iraq and Syria does require forces on the ground, he explained, but they must be local forces.
"This is not only the best way to degrade, and ultimately defeat terrorists," Hagel said, "it is the only sustainable path to defeating terrorism and extremism."
Demand not diminishing
The defense secretary noted that while a another Iraq or Afghanistan-type campaign is unlikely, this does not mean that demand for the Army is diminishing, or that the Army's place in U.S. national security strategy is eroding.
While there are no longer 150,000 soldiers engaged in ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hagel said, there are still almost as many soldiers either deployed or forward-stationed in nearly 150 locations around the world. This includes 80,000 soldiers in the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility and nearly 20,000 soldiers in South Korea standing ready to "fight tonight."
"There are also 40,000 soldiers under Central Command; 28,000 soldiers in Europe, and thousands more in both Africa and South America -- some of whom I visited in Colombia last week," Hagel said. "The demands on the Army will only grow more diverse and complicated going forward. Threats from terrorists and insurgents will remain with us for a long time, but we also must deal with a revisionist Russia -- with its modern and capable Army -- on NATO's doorstep."
The Army, Hagel said, will remain essential to helping to deter and confront every national security threat facing the country.
Maintaining a ready and capable force
There will always be a need for a modern, ready, well equipped, well-trained standing Army, the defense secretary said.
"But maintaining a ready and capable Army as we come out of 13 years of continuous large-scale combat will not be easy," he added. "For the Army to fulfill its role as a guarantor of our national security, our soldiers must continue to be exceptionally well-led, well-trained and well-equipped."
Hagel said this is especially true in a global security environment that is more unpredictable than ever and that will require America to lead the world in response.
"We must not forget the lessons of history," he said. "We've seen how quickly a battle-hardened army can wither into a force that is ill-equipped and ill-prepared to carry out its mission, and we've seen the consequences."
In July 1950, Hagel said, five years after America's military victory in World War II, the soldiers of Task Force Smith were sent to the first battle of the Korean War with orders to halt the North Korean advance. Under-trained, under-equipped, outnumbered and unprepared, they were routed within hours of engaging the enemy, Hagel said, ultimately suffering a casualty rate of nearly 30 percent. Soldiers paid for poor training, equipment and leadership with their lives, the secretary said.
"We've also seen how past drawdowns sought to protect the training and equipment that is the essence of military readiness," he said.
Hagel noted that retired Army Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, AUSA's president and former Army chief of staff, used the mantra "No More Task Force Smiths" after Operation Desert Storm and the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s as the Army made "difficult but necessary decisions" reducing the force in order to safeguard readiness."
"Today," the secretary said, "'No More Task Force Smiths' must once again be our motto. We need to maintain an exceptionally ready Army."
Budget challenges and adaptability
Due to "deep, steep, and abrupt defense budget cuts" imposed by sequestration, Hagel said, the Army had to cancel many critical training rotations, leaving it with only two active-duty brigade combat teams fully ready and available to execute a major combat operation.
Army readiness improved, with 12 out of 37 brigade combat teams trained to the highest levels of readiness, Hagel said, thanks to the budget compromise reached in December by President Barack Obama and Congress and the Army's "relentless focus on training."
"While this is a direct result of the Army's ability to adapt to unreasonable budget constraints," Hagel said, "it falls short of what I believe is sufficient to defend our nation and our allies with minimum risk. We must continue to put readiness first in the current budget environment. [That] is why we have modestly reduced the size of the Army and protected training and maintenance in our budget."
Trading readiness for capacity is the path to a hollow force, Hagel said, and despite temporary relief, sequestration remains the law of the land.
"If Congress does not act," he said, "it will return in 2016 -- stunting and reversing the Army's readiness just as we've begun to recover, and requiring even more dramatic reductions in force structure."
The defense secretary said the department could face a $70 billion gap in its budget over the next five years if Congress "prevents us from moving forward ... with these changes."
"DoD's leaders understand that there will be less resources available," Hagel said. "But the Army -- and our military -- needs Congress to be a partner in responsible, long-term planning and budgeting. We will continue to urge Congress to put an end to sequestration -- an irresponsible deferral of responsibility."
Challenges the military faces will become far more difficult and dangerous the longer the tough choices are deferred, the secretary added.
Responsibility of leadership
Hagel said the future security environment remains uncertain, and trying to predict it will continue to be as challenging as ever. He quoted former President Woodrow Wilson, who predicted to Congress "a growing cordiality among nations, foreshadowing an age of settled peace and goodwill."
"He spoke those words 101 years ago," Hagel said. "We all know that history proved him wrong. The so-called 'war to end all wars' was anything but a war to end all wars. A century later, we cannot know for sure what conflicts, challenges, or threats the next 100 years may bring or the next 10 years may bring."
"We cannot say for certain whether history will be repeated or made anew," Hagel said, "but we must prepare our institutions for the unexpected and uncertain. That is the greatest responsibility of leadership."
Afghanistan’s Political Transition
Afghanistan’s new president, Ashraf Ghani, inherits a government that is running out of money and losing ground to the insurgency. As foreign troops withdraw, the new government must stay united and move quickly on reforms.
In its latest report, Afghanistan’s Political Transition, the International Crisis Group examines the politics surrounding the deeply contested 2014 presidential election, analysing threats and opportunities. Any election during an escalating civil war will never reflect the full breadth of popular opinion, and the polls were marred by substantial fraud. Still, the most peaceful transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history creates opportunities to improve governance, reduce corruption and steer the country toward greater stability.
The report’s major findings and recommendations are:- The formation of a national unity government including Ghani and his election rival Abdullah Abdullah presents opportunities to stabilise the transition, preventing further erosion of state cohesion – but it also poses risks, particularly of factionalism within Kabul. Afghanistan and its donors must focus on the stability of the government while implementing the reforms promised in Ghani’s manifesto.
- Ethnic tensions became more acute during the second round, in particular, as ethnic Pashtuns and Uzbeks rallied in large numbers around Ghani and his running mate Abdul Rashid Dostum; at the same time, Abdullah’s ticket became identified mainly with ethnic Tajiks and some Hazara factions. Reducing such mistrust will be crucial if this political transition is to survive.
- Some of the political fallout from such a divisive process could be addressed with a transparent review of lessons to be applied to strengthen the 2015 parliamentary and 2019 presidential elections. Such a review, with the potential for reconsidering laws, regulations and even the constitution, may allow for some dilution of the winner-takes-all presidential system.
- In the short term, Ghani and Abdullah must steer the government through urgent business, including satisfying the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework (TMAF), to prevent Afghanistan from being blacklisted by financial institutions and ensure continued donor support.
“Ghani and Abdullah will need to continue serving as voices of restraint as they strive to make the unity government function, and they deserve to receive international support in these efforts”, says Graeme Smith, Afghanistan Senior Analyst. “The Afghan government cannot afford to drift, and any disunity in Kabul will affect the country’s ability to fight its battles and pay its bills”.
“While the two candidates’ power-sharing deals may be imperfect, they have also opened a conversation about revising the overly centralised presidential system”, says Samina Ahmed, South Asia Project Director and Senior Asia Adviser. “Afghanistan needs constitutional reforms to dilute some powers of the presidency and give more responsibilities to elected local officials. This would help mitigate factional tensions in the government and lower the stakes in future elections”.