Career Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, dean and executive professor at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, who retired as an ambassador from the United States Foreign Service in 2009, will receive the 2011 George Catlett Marshall Medal, the highest award presented by the Association of the United States Army.Awarded annually to an individual who has exhibited selfless service to the United States of America, the medal will be presented to Crocker by the Association’s Council of Trustees to recognize his contributions to the United States Foreign Service...
The Army’s reliance on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has steadily increased in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and an upcoming exercise will showcase the next step of integration between unmanned systems, manned aircraft and soldiers and sensors on the ground.Slated for September at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, the Manned/Unmanned Systems Integration Capability (MUSIC) exercise will be the largest manned and unmanned systems integration test ever conducted, said Timothy Owings, the UAS deputy program manager in the Army aviation program executive office."The MUSIC exercise will bring the...
The 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard, assumed responsibility Jan. 2 as one of the three Army divisions overseeing U.S. operations in Iraq.In a formal transfer of authority ceremony attended by Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, as well as numerous Iraqi dignitaries, the 36th unfurled its colors as it officially replaced the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, which had previously led U.S. efforts in the southern third of the country.Now, the incoming National Guard division headquarters will take command of the two active component brigades engaged in advising...
Dennis McCarthy, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, said Jan. 31 that many who used to see the reserve components as a strategic force that is used "once in a lifetime," now understand that it will never be that way again.Speaking at the first-ever Reserve Officers Association (ROA) National Security Symposium, McCarthy emphasized that these ideas have changed significantly. Along with declining budgets, it’s the reserves that will likely get the call in the future."We’re going to continue to need a force that can deploy worldwide for a variety of missions – a full spectrum of...
The improvised explosive device (IED) while small has a strategic influence and will continue to be the weapon of choice for small-budget organizations that want to influence governments, not just in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Mitchell Howell, deputy director for rapid acquisition and Technology for the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO)."IEDs are here to stay, and they will not go away, and they will be the bane of large military forces for quite some time to come," Howell said while speaking Jan. 30 at the Reserve Officers Associations first National Security Symposium in...
Olympic Gold Medal Winner Justin Olsen competed for his country in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.Now New York Army National Guard Private 1st Class Justin Olsen will also serve his country.Olsen, a member of the United States Bobsled team since 2007, enlisted in the Army National Guard in a Jan. 7 ceremony in Latham, N.Y."I already represent my country," Olsen said. "Now I have an opportunity to serve and represent my country at the same time."Olsen will train as a human resource specialist for the Joint Force Headquarters after this season’s World Cup ends.Once he completes his individual entry...
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) announced an expansion of the Patriot Award Program to include employers of guard and reserve members’ spouses.
The Patriot Award was previously presented only to employers of guard and reserve members.
"After learning of the growing number of employers adopting supportive initiatives for military spouses, ESGR embraced the opportunity to recognize these employers with their own Department of Defense award," an ESGR spokesperson said.
The employer of a military spouse has no legal obligation to provide unique support, but guard and...
Alabama National Guardsmen with the 666th Ordnance Detachment are training at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center for an upcoming deployment to Kosovo
The Army Reserve Campaign Plan (ARCP) 2011 establishes the near-term strategies the Army Reserve will pursue for accomplishing its major objectives for the next year.Once approved, the ARCP 2011 will be published as an annex to the Army Campaign Plan 2011. What has the Army Reserve done?As part of the Army Campaign Plan 2011, ARCP 2011 focuses on those actions and activities required to shape and adapt Army Reserve operating and generating forces and their associated institutions and agencies.The four Army imperatives serve as the plan’s lines of effort: sustain Army Reserve soldiers, families...
According to JCS Pub 1-02, Security Cooperation includes: "All Department of Defense (DoD) interactions with foreign defense establishments to build defense relationships that promote specific U.S. security interests, develop allied and friendly military capabilities for self-defense and multinational operations, and provide U.S. forces with peacetime and contingency access to a host nation."From an Army National Guard’s perspective, Security Cooperation forces are mobilized to engage in "self-defense and multi-national operations."Army National Guard activitiesThe Army Guard has a long...
Although he was addressing the audience at the Reserve Officers Association’s first National Security Symposium in Washington, D.C., the subject of Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli’s keynote speech was on the health and well-being of soldiers and their families – it is "absolutely critical to the security of our nation.""I recognize it may seem to be an unusual topic for a forum on national security, however I believe it’s absolutely very relevant," the Army vice chief said during his Jan. 30 speech.Soldiers and their families are under a tremendous amount of stress and strain after nearly a decade of...
Soldiers from the Indiana National Guard’s 3-19th Agribusiness Development Team (ADT) have spent the last several months assisting Afghan farmers, and recently they taught a class on poultry management in Afghanistan’s Khowst Province.The 60 National Guardsmen from the ADT support the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division’s Task Force Duke, home based at Fort Knox, Ky.Skills and education among the ADT members include forestry, engineering, general farming, pest management, horticulture, marketing and education.A mission to Combat Outpost Terezayi saw members of the ADT...
United States Division-Center recently graduated its first Equal Opportunity Leadership Class held in Baghdad, Iraq.
Story and photo by 1st Lt. Kyle Litchfield, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-CBAGHDAD—Developing a strong partnership requires trust, and the Stability Transition Team “Phoenix” with 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center balances their traditional office meetings with its 6th Iraqi Army Division partners through training exercises, sit-down meals, and sporting events.These activities are attended by the Soldiers of Company B, 1st Bn., 63rd Armor Regt. Company B’s Soldiers are the U.S. forces’ tactical partner of the...
Story and photos by 1st Lt. Kurt M. Rauschenberg, 29th MPAD, USD-C BAGHDAD—The University of Baghdad Agriculture College recently reopened its doors in a grand opening celebration that is part of an effort to revitalize agriculture in Iraq.A program implemented by the United States Department of Agriculture and Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team called Ag Cooperatives, or `Co-Op`, is helping to meet the needs of Iraqi farmers through education, training and resource support. According to PRT members, the program, already proven a success from an earlier project in east Baghdad, provides...