The Groundtruth from a combat veteran, backed up by independent research and historical study. Information beneficial to the Troops. And a touch of objective politics, as it relates to the subjects at hand.
This site is unabashedly Pro-American and Pro-Military however none of the views expressed here are to be considered as endorsed, proposed, or supported by the Department of Defense or any other Agency, government, public, or private. http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/
SSgt Workman is featured in the Hall of Heroes and a book review on this from Marine Till Death that read it as it was written: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/shadow-of-the-sword-by-jeremiah-workman-w-john-bruning.html
http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/ssgt-jeremiah-workman-navy-cross-usmc-iraq-marion-oh.html and links to prior articles.
This is the document that clearly authorizes what the Federal government is allowed to do, what authorities and responsibilities the separate entities of the Government have. It is what Our Troops swear to defend and what our politicians and judges have sworn to uphold:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
As is pointed out within that article, the US Constitution is but four (4!!!) pages of simple language setting out what America is/will be, and what it is NOT. The foundations upon which a great nation was based seem to have been shaken to the core in recent years, as the current crop of politicians seem determined to over-reach the very clear limits placed upon them within that framework. Today, from where I sit, America is under attack by those very 'servants' of the people who - as noted above - swore to uphold the Constitution.
September 17th is Constitution Day. Public Law 108-447 establishes it as so, and that 17-23 September is Constitution Week, each year. It requires that every Federal Agency provide educational and training materials on the Constitution on September 17th, and that every educational institution that receives federal funding hold an educational program on this day, each year.
The Constitution was written on 4 pages in plain English. This is the document that solely authorizes what the Federal government is allowed to do, what authorities and responsibilities the individual entities of the Government have. It is what Our Troops swear to defend and what our politicians and judges have sworn to uphold:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article. I. Section. 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
The Department of Defense announced today three grants from the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) totaling $90,768,089 to the Clover Park School District, Lakewood, Wash., for the demolition and new construction of the Greenwood ($28,566,022), Clarkmoor ($30,870,778) and Beachwood ($31,331,289) Elementary Schools on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
The Clover Park School District will manage three projects totaling $113,843,553, consisting of $90,768,089 in grant funds and a combined non-federal share of $23,075,465 in matching funds to demolish and build the new Greenwood, Clarkmoor and Beachwood Elementary Schools. Together the three schools will serve 1,550 students in grades pre-kindergarten through fifth.
Funding for these grants is provided under the department's Public Schools on Military Installations Program. OEA, in making these funds available, must give priority consideration to those military installations with schools having the most serious capacity or facility condition deficiencies, as determined by the priority list. A multi-disciplined federal evaluation team, with membership from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the military services, U.S. Department of Education, and OEA reviewed the school projects to ensure the awards appropriately address the noted capacity and facility condition deficiencies.
The Department of Defense announced today a grant from the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) for $26,560,000 to the Hawaii Department of Education for the renovation and expansion of Hale Kula Elementary School, Wheeler Schofield Army Airfield, Hawaii.
The Hawaii Department of Education will manage a $33,200,000 project consisting of $26,560,000 in grant funds and a non-federal share of $6,640,000 in matching funds to renovate and expand the school which serves 970 students in grades pre-kindergarten through fifth.
The school funding is from the $500 million program authorized by Section 8109 of Public Law 112-10, the DoD and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, and Section 8118 of Public Law 112-74, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, to construct, renovate, repair or expand public schools located on military installations. OEA, in making the school funds available, must give priority consideration to those military installations with schools having the most serious capacity or facility condition deficiencies, as determined by the Priority List. A multi-disciplined federal evaluation team, with membership from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the military services, U.S. Department of Education, and OEA reviewed the school projects to ensure the awards appropriately address the noted capacity and facility condition deficiencies.
The remaining unobligated funds previously appropriated for this program to assist other local education agencies in addressing the most serious capacity or facility condition deficiencies at public schools located on military installations will be subjected to the March 1 sequestration order.
By Amaani Lyle, American Forces Press Service, WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2013 - The Defense Department sponsors Duke University researchers to conduct projects in mathematics, engineering and biology that advance military capabilities and strengthen national security, a university official said in a recent phone interview.
Duke University researchers actively participate in DOD programs and awards, and projects are designed to help the warfighter enhance intelligence gathering, avoid battlefield hazards and maintain medical readiness, said Dr. Jim Siedow, the university's vice provost for research.
"There's always been an interest in Duke scientists for projects that might be defense related," Siedow said. "It's an important element of research for us, given that a lot of what the military does today involves gathering intelligence -- so the better you're able to do that, the safer the world is likely to be."
Although the research projects typically do not bear fruit for decades, Siedow described relatively short-term success stories from past and current projects.
"[An electrical engineer professor] developed algorithms applied to the function of cochlear implants that allow people to hear, so there's a computer technology associated with [it]," he said.
The U.S. Army, Siedow said, now uses the same algorithms, or step-by-step calculations, transforming them into handheld and ground standoff mine detection systems able to detect explosive objects.
"That came out of military-funded work on cochlear implants, which then evolved into helping to detect explosives and landmines in Afghanistan," he explained.
Another project, pre-symptomatic detection and diagnostics, improves the detection of illnesses caused by pathogens before they become severe, Siedow said.
"In the military, you've got a lot of people, often crammed into close quarters, who may be headed out to battle," Siedow said. "If one of them is coming down with something contagious, whether naturally or from enemy actions, you want to know that before you send 99 [troops] and one infected person into the field. This could ultimately lead to more than 50 of them becoming infected."
Siedow said the challenge is to detect when someone has been exposed to or is carrying a disease.
"You can understand the importance of that, but you can also understand the complexity of that," Siedow said of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-funded venture.
Perhaps one of the more futuristic and science fiction-inspired projects is research in an engineering area known as metamaterials, dubbed the "invisibility cloak," Siedow said.
And Duke University is one of the world's leaders in metamaterials research, he said.
Siedow explained that researchers can modify an object's electromagnetic properties to actually change the nature of the material and its capability of being perceived.
"Think about the old television series 'Star Trek,'" he said. "The Klingons could 'cloak' their spacecraft so they couldn't be seen ... and with metamaterials we can do the same thing."
Siedow knows of a variety of military uses for such technology.
"It's one thing to have a stealth fighter that's hard to see," he said. "It's another thing to have an aircraft that literally can't be seen -- by radar or the naked eye, depending on how you align it -- even though it's there."
The magic behind the science is simple in theory.
"You and I envision something not because we see it, but because light gets refracted off of it," he said. "You can set up these mechanisms where nothing gets reflected so there isn't any way of seeing it."
Siedow believes the metamaterials project is on the verge of bringing about widespread change in how the military operates.
"Within the decade, metamaterials will become an inherent part of our standard military operations," he said. "We're very well positioned to take advantage of that and we'll continue to see DOD funding any number of things."
The university gets research funding from a variety of DOD agencies, and many projects have heavily integrated the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation.
But as funding for NIH and NSF has stabilized or at times even declined, researchers and engineers have also been able to rely on DOD, where science, health and technology projects abound, Siedow said.
DOD partnerships with Duke University as well as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University have, in many instances, led to grants and contracts from the Army Research Office, Siedow said.
DOD-sponsored research expenditures at Duke University increased from $17.7 million in fiscal year 2008 to more than $30 million by 2011, according to the university's financial reports.
"Many of these projects funded by DOD are interdisciplinary, so they're being done not only in conjunction with Duke scientists but scientists elsewhere," Siedow said.
He said even basic research makes the funding and partnerships worthy ventures.
"In the early stages, you've got a lot of primary physics and engineering principles that need to be well understood to turn that into a working product," Siedow said. "Universities have historically been positioned at the early, not latter, stages of that research continuum."
With hundreds of collaborative research projects in the works over the last several decades, Siedow asserts that scholarly and military research endeavors can coexist and complement each other.
"Most nuclear engineers in this country who work in nuclear power plants got their start on a submarine -- that's the big training ground," Siedow said. "Service to your country and practicing as a scientist are not incompatible."
The Department of Defense (DoD) today released key findings from the Academic Program Year (APY) 2011-2012 "Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the United States Military Service Academies." As part of this year's review, the superintendents of the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy assessed their academy's policies, training, and procedures for effectiveness of prevention and response to sexual harassment and violence. The report also contains the results from the "2012 Service Academy Gender Relations Survey."
Consistent with department-wide efforts to increase victim reporting, the academies saw an overall increase in the number of sexual assault reports made to authorities in APY 2011-2012. During the evaluation period, a total of 80 reports of sexual assault involved cadets and midshipmen compared to a total of 65 reports in the prior APY. Thirteen of the reports made this year were for sexual assaults that occurred prior to the cadets and midshipmen entering military service, as compared to five such reports made in the previous year. All who reported a sexual assault were provided with access to support services through their sexual assault response coordinators.
"We recognize there is more work to do on sexual assault prevention across the Department of Defense as well as at the military academies," said Maj. Gen. Gary S. Patton, director, DoD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.
Anonymous survey results showed the overall rate of unwanted sexual contact at the service academies has not changed since 2010. The Service Academy Gender Relations Survey found a slight increase in the prevalence rate of unwanted sexual contact among female cadets at the United States Military Academy. There was no statistical change in the prevalence of unwanted sexual contact among male cadets and midshipmen.
Survey results also showed a significant decrease in the prevalence of sexual harassment experienced by women at the U.S. Air Force Academy and men at the U.S. Naval Academy. There were no other statistically significant changes in prevalence rates of sexual harassment at the academies.
Citing the need for greater progress, the secretary has directed the services to review and enhance their academy programs: http://www.defense.gov/news/ServiceAcademiesSecDefMemo.pdf . The service secretaries are to report back to him in 90 days with plans to advance a climate of dignity and respect and to more completely integrate sexual assault and harassment prevention into the full spectrum of academy life and learning.
"My staff and I plan to work with each academy and service in the months ahead to find new ways to incorporate prevention of sexual assault and harassment into academy culture," said Patton.
Communist Chinese authorities have fired six officials for their “improper handling” of last week's knife attack at an elementary school in a central province that left 23 students injured.
The official Xinhua news agency said Tuesday two school principals, two police officers, a local safety official, and a county education director were removed from their posts.
Twenty-three students and an elderly villager were injured Friday when a 36-year-old man armed with a kitchen knife burst into the school in Henan province. The man was quickly arrested.
The report did not give a reason for the dismissal of the officials, but noted it followed a public outcry over the “local authority's perceived irresponsible and indifferent attitude toward the tragedy.”
Many Chinese citizens had criticized a local newspaper, the state-run Xinyang Daily, for lauding the city's “great achievements” in education in a report issued just two days after the attack. On Tuesday, the paper posted a front-page apology for insulting the injured students and their families.
Others on China's popular microblogs criticized authorities for not revealing enough details about the attack. Even state news reporters were turned away by authorities when trying to interview school officials or injured children.
Though authorities say they have not determined a specific motive, police say the suspect, Min Yongun, "may have been influenced by ancient Mayan prophesies" predicting the end of the world.
State media said Monday an initial investigation found Min “had been strongly psychologically affected by rumors of the upcoming end of the world by ancient prophecy.” His specific motives are not known.
Some say the ancient Mayan calendar predicts the world will end on Friday, December 21.
Security at Chinese schools has been increased in recent years following a series of violent attacks on students, mostly involving mentally unstable young men.
Some say the attacks, which began in 2010, highlight the weaknesses of China's healthcare system, which has struggled to identify and treat those with mental illnesses.
Most of the attackers have used knives, hammers, or meat cleavers. China has some of the toughest gun laws in the world.
Friday's incident came just hours before U.S. gunman Adam Lanza burst into an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, with a stolen rifle and two stolen handguns, in an attack that left 20 children and six adults dead. It was the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history. VoA.
How can the American people not see what their politicians are doing? How can they continue to elect politicians that are eroding their Freedoms? How can they fall for the same old tricks?
Americans today are more educated than they ever have been. Americans are an intelligent people. Historically, we are a hard-working and hardy people, that can overcome any enemy and any hardship. We have a tradition of seeing through the BS and making the right decision.
But, in today's world, many people are parroting the talking points of political parties without thought. Partisans are more concerned with which political party will be hurt more by sending us over "the financial cliff," than with how it will effect Americans. They are more concerned with pushing through partisan programmes than with the Constitutionality of those plans.
In one of the most classic of "a lie repeated often enough.." many Americans will often cite "a separation of church and state" as being a part of the Constitution, while that phrase is found no where in the Constitution, but rather is a part of the Communist Manifesto. And the courts and protestors continue to act on the misquote, while ignoring the actual words of the Constitution, of the 2nd Amendment that prohibit laws preventing "the free exercise thereof," of religion.
How can Americans not comprehend the importance of the US Constitution? Because their attention has been diverted to Hollywood. They have been entertained by the movies, by the antics of Hollywierdos, by starlets and harlots, to the point that Hollywood ran out of ideas and told Americans to entertain themselves with video games. Meanwhile, the mudslinging of political campaigns has become so repetitive and deceitful that its entertainment value is nil and its disgust value is maxed out. We've fallen prey to advertising slogans while failing to look below the surface of what the commercials claim the ruling class is doing.
"A wise Hebrew prophet once said 'No man liveth unto himself alone.' " Henry Noble Sherwood. Preface, Civics and Citizenship, Bobbs-Merrill: Indianpolis, 1934, a school textbook
Part IV of the textbook discusses government, including the US Constitution, its Amendments, as well as state and local governments. Chapter IX discusses "The Unfortunate Members" of Society, including the deaf or blind, the impoverished, and the mentally infirm, and civic responsibilities, through charity and community, at the local level, to help them. It goes on to define idiots, imbeciles, and morons. The point is that kids used to learn about the Constitution, as well as their responsibilities as a Citizen, in school. By law (PL 108-447, section 111, 2004), every educational institution that receives federal funding must teach the Constitution on the 17th of September, along with every Federal Agency, but both ignore the law.
The Civic duties of learning, knowing, and understanding the US Constitution have been removed from the educational system, replaced by political correctness, embedding the morals of the state, and preaching the tenets of environmentalism.
Politicians and parties will openly propagandize that "the Constitution is an outdated 200 year old document," while ignoring the Supreme Law of the Land. Their opposition will deny that it is "a living document," because the living concept of it, the Constitutional means of Amendment to it, is being ignored by those that are subverting it. And though the lie is oft repeated by party and partisan, rarely can any of the propagandists point to any clause that is outdated, or impertinent, because they don't know or don't care what it actually says. The Constitution is not a "living document" in that it can be overridden by politicians and legislative judges, but because it has the means built in to amend it, if the world changes around it.
It is only through ignorance of the importance and supremacy of the US Constitution, through ignorance of what is written in it, through ignorance of why the Founding Fathers wrote what they did, that voters allow partisan politics to ignore and erode the Rights and Freedoms of the People, from which all governing authority derives.
The Constitution is the law of how the US Government functions, and for what reason. It limits the scope of authority. The Bill of Rights further restricts that government, preserving the God-given Rights of Citizens in the face of that government. Those Rights are derived of "a higher power" than government, and hence not within the authority of government to remove, but they are guaranteed by the Constitution, specifically by the Amendments, known as the Bill of Rights.
The Supreme Court is set to rule soon on the "Constitutionality" of Constitutional Amendments to State Constitutions, in what is clearly a state government authority: definitions of marriage. There is only one possible Constitutional ruling: an amendment to a state Constitution is Constitutional unless the US Constitution spells it out as a federal authority, i.e. each state has jurisdiction over marital law. That is why it would take an amendment to the US Constitution in order for the Federal government to enter the legislative process of defining marriage. Neither Congress, nor the President, nor the Supreme Court, has any authority to create a law defining who can or can't "get married."
Congress does have the Constitutional authority, as an employer, to determine how and to whom it pays employee benefits, but not how the States define marriage. The Supreme Court does have authority to rule on whether or not those State Constitutional amendments are reflected legally in state laws, but not to overturn State Constitutions in regards to contract law, i.e. marital contract law, based on the US Constitution, because the US Constitution gives the federal government no authority on the matter.
The Federal Government does have the authority to levy an income tax, because of Constitutional Amendment, but it does not have the authority to tell a property owner to do or not do anything on his land, nor the authority to compel Individuals to purchase anything.
The supremacy of State Government in matters of domestic affairs is an implicit division of power within the US Constitution. This is as important for the subjects of Massachusetts and California, that want state run health insurance, as it is for the Citizens of Texas and Tennessee that don't. It means that both groups can get what they want, and the US Constitution bars the federal government and Congress and the President from legislating that Texans pay for Californian's health care, or preventing New Yorkers from voting in state run health care.
It means that businesses and people are free to "vote with their feet" and move from those states that strangle their financial success and upward mobility, to those states that fertilize it.
The benefits of small government are such that citizens are setting up private small government at the lowest levels. I'm referring to "Home Owner Associations," which are not unlike the roles of city governments, but as governed by mutual consent and more restrictive/invasive than municipal government. It is by mutual contract that the residents of an HOA has authority. By mutual contract, the property owner gives up rights of ownership of his own property, in order to control the activities of his neighbor.
And it is by mutual contract that the Citizens of the Individual States gives authority to the Federal government. But that mutual contract is the US Constitution, and it gives no authority to the Federal government, or its politicians to domestic governance. It gives no authority for treaties with the UN or Communist China to remove the authority of State Governments in domestic affairs, as the US Constitution retains all governance not given the federal government to the State Government, and it holds the US Constitution as supreme over all treaties.
But for every time that you insist or approve of a removal of the rights of your neighbor, you are also removing your own rights. And for everytime that you support the erosion of the US Constitution by your politicians, or fail to oppose it, you also support the erosion of your own Rights, as given by God, and guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. And while it may be things you think good being compelled on others in the moment, it may be things your ideological opponents consider good pushed on you later.
If your politicians compel me to buy health insurance I don't want today, my politicians may compel you to buy a modern firearm for defense of the Nation tomorrow. If your politicians insist that I maintain a proper exercise and diet routine today, my politicians have as much, if not more authority, to insist on you maintaining a proper marksmanship program at the firing range tomorrow. If there is a compulsion for me to get a vaccination to extend an umbrella of "protection" to those around me, then there is an equally valid argument that you maintain firearms, ammunition, and training to extend an umbrella of protection for your neighbors from criminals, terrorists, and foreign invasion.
It is your duty, as a Citizen, to know what the US Constitution says, and to understand why, to hold your politicians accountable, to defend my Rights, even when you don't like what I say, just as it is my duty to defend your Rights, even when I don't like what you're saying. It is your Responsibility to do so, before you exercise your right to vote, so that you can vote without ignorance.
NATO says a man wearing an Afghan police uniform has attacked coalition troops in southern Afghanistan in the latest apparent “insider” attack.
The international coalition did not give further details, but Afghan officials said the attacker targeted British soldiers Tuesday in Helmand province.
The incident is the latest in a series of such attacks that threaten to seriously undermine trust between NATO and their Afghan counterparts, as foreign combat troops prepare to complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
At least 53 coalition service members have been killed this year by Afghan soldiers and police or militants disguised as security personnel. NATO commanders have attributed some of the “insider” attacks to Taliban infiltration, while Troops and Veterans indicate the majority are Taliban infiltrators.
Separately, Afghan election officials say the country's next presidential election will take place on April 5, 2014.
The country's Independent Election Commission announced the date Tuesday, which was given as “Hamal 16, 1393,” according to the Islamic calendar.
President Hamid Karzai is serving his second term and is constitutionally barred from running for re-election.
The upcoming vote is seen as a test of Afghanistan's young democracy. VoA.
"As part of our strong, ongoing commitment to America's military, The Home Depot is proud to announce a special one-day event across the nation: Mission:Transition"
"Unlike a job fair, these Civilian Career Workshops focus on helping service members and veterans transition successfully into the workforce in any industry. With service at the center of our core values, we are proud to arm service men and women with knowledge and resources to navigate a successful transition into a meaningful career. It is our goal to serve the military community."
"Register to participate in our October 27, 2012 Mission:Transition event and hear directly from hiring managers, human resources professionals and former military leaders currently working at The Home Depot. Attendees will learn:"
By Cheryl Pellerin, AFPS, WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2012 - A new graduate program approved by Education Secretary Arne Duncan will help intelligence officers to study and research a growing range of emerging threats, DIA officials said today.
"Intelligence professionals must be able to address any threat and avoid surprises," said Brian Shaw, dean of the National Intelligence University's Anthony G. Oettinger School of Science and Technology Intelligence.
"With our adversaries' increased emphasis on technology," he added, "it is imperative that institutions like ours better equip intelligence professionals to deal with these ever-evolving challenges."
NIU President David Ellison said the new one-year, full-time graduate program will culminate in a master of science and technology intelligence degree.
The first class, which graduated July 27, included some students from the previous academic year, when the program was in development, NIU Provost Susan Studds said. The curriculum has been in place since the last academic year, she explained, even as the review and approval processes were under way.
"As part of the approval determination," she said, "the Department of Education has allowed NIU to 'grandfather' qualified students who were enrolled in the pilot year of the curriculum in 2010-2011."
Ellison said all applicants must be U.S. citizens who hold active top-secret clearances, and must be military service members or federal government employees.
"Students must meet NIU academic standards as determined by the faculty," he added. "NIU admissions screening includes a review of previous academic work at other colleges and universities, graduate record examination scores and a writing sample."
Students who meet basic eligibility requirements and are academically qualified must be nominated by their parent organizations to attend, Ellison said.
The importance of the degree program was highlighted in a recent Department of Education report acknowledging that for intelligence officers the highly classified nature of the subject matter limits equivalent study in the nonfederal education community.
NIU is positioned to offer the advanced curriculum and has the facilities to teach and conduct research at the highest classification levels, DIA officials said.
Ellison said the program fills an identified void in the education of science and technology intelligence officers.
"Many training programs are available, but none that can be conducted in a classified learning environment," he said. "This is one of the main reasons Department of Education officials were unanimous in their recommendation decision."
Shaw said students enrolled in the new program will get hands-on experience in everything from experimental laboratory programs run cooperatively with Energy Department national laboratories, to developing advanced analytical techniques for intelligence analysis, systems theory and science and technology threat architectures.
"Students who write science–based intelligence theses have a chance to interact with scientists at one of our national laboratories," he added, "and may conduct up to three months of funded research on joint topics of interest with a scientist at one of our national labs."
Students also will develop theoretical and analytical frameworks for understanding adversarial threats associated with changing S&T-related geopolitical and strategic intelligence issues affecting national security, Shaw said.
A leading U.S.-based rights group is urging Iran to ease restrictions on women in higher education as the country begins its new academic year.
Human Rights Watch said Saturday that Iran has limited the number of college courses available to women.
The group's women's rights director, Liesl Gerntholtz, cited a recent report from Iran's Mehr news agency that said women had been barred from 77 fields.
“Our concerns are that, in some respects, the choices that have been banned for women seem somewhat arbitrary, that some of the majors that women may no longer participate in include computer science, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering.”
In a VOA interview, Gerntholtz says the restrictions appear to be part of a broader crackdown on academic freedom in Iran.
“I think this is part of an ongoing process of the Islamicization of education.”
Gerntholtz says the new guidelines from Iran also indicate that men have been barred from a much smaller number of courses.
In August, Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi voiced concern about academic restrictions on women. In a letter to the United Nations, she said the new rules indicated Iran was unwilling to support the presence of women “in the public arena.”
Iranian education officials say foreign media have taken the provisions out of context. VoA
Police at three U.S. universities ordered mass evacuations Friday, after authorities received anonymous bomb threats. In one case, a caller told University of Texas-Austin officials that bombs had been place across the huge campus and that he belonged to al-Qaida.
Texas officials and police at North Dakota State University later deemed both campuses safe, and authorities were working late Friday to determine if the threats to the schools — more than 1,800 kilometers apart — were related. A third threat in northeastern Ohio also triggered an evacuation at Hiram College, where police with sniffer dogs remained on patrol Friday evening.
The threats came on a day of heightened anti-U.S. protests in North Africa and the Middle East.
But authorities have not connected the campus threats to the international unrest, which spread Friday to Sudan, Yemen, Tunisia and Indonesia.
An estimated 70,000 people were evacuated from the University of Texas campus and 20,000 others from the campus in Fargo, North Dakota. Some 1,300 people were evacuated from the much smaller Hiram College. VoA.
By Jim Garamone, AFPS, WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2012 - Bells have rung in 194 Department of Defense Educational Activity Schools around the world, marking the start of another school year.
Marilee Fitzgerald, the director of the agency, spoke during a Pentagon news conference today about changes to the school system and the unique role these schools play.
Worldwide, 87,000 students attend classes in 22 countries, seven states and two territories, Fitzgerald said. In addition, another 1.2 million children of military families will join their peers attending public schools around the United States.
The students come from all different racial, ethnic, social and economic backgrounds and are united by the affiliation with the military, Fitzgerald noted.
"I like to refer to this group of military children as ambassadors of our U.S. military core values," the director said. "They bring a lifestyle, a commitment and a sense of purpose. Their values are rooted in honor, courage, selfless sacrifice, loyalty, respect, integrity and excellence, just like the families in which they live, just like their mothers and fathers who have made a commitment to our nation. That's what makes these children so very special for us."
Their educational experiences mirror the mobile lifestyles of their parents. On average, the students will attend six to nine schools before they graduate. "In DODEA alone, our mobility rate is about 35 percent every year," Fitzgerald said.
And these children bear burdens and have worries their stateside friends don't know, she added. Many have parents deployed in harm's way or know students who have lost parents. "Certainly, one can't underestimate the challenges of moving ... and leaving your friends and neighborhoods and the comfort of security in neighborhoods around our nation to join their parents in their military commitments," she said.
A major military construction program is underway to optimize the learning environments in the system's schools, Fitzgerald said.
DOD schools rank at the top or near the top in every measurement of student achievement, she added, but while students may be getting an education that prepares them for 21st century careers, some of the physical plants for the schools themselves are mired in the 1970s -- not unsafe, but just in failing condition.
DOD provided about $3.7 billion over five years to fix these schools. "For us, that translates to 134 schools," Fitzgerald said. "Today we have 49 schools in design. I believe eight schools are under construction, and we've opened up some new schools."
The new schools incorporate all the latest educational thinking. "Studios" replace classrooms. All students have laptops, and the schools will have enough outlets to charge them and connect with sites. "Children will have more collaboration spaces," Fitzgerald said, and will receive some instruction through the Web.
"You can't use a traditional classroom setup to accommodate some new instructional approaches," Fitzgerald explained. "We do more project-based learning, and so our classroom spaces are reflective of the kind of ... teaching and learning that we're going to be doing in this century."
The school system will add five courses from the science, technology engineering and mathematics curricula, and effective this year, graduation will include an additional math requirement. The schools also will expand a program to teach children Spanish in elementary schools, in addition to local languages, at many of the overseas schools.
This year, the system will join 46 states in adopting the Common Core Standards -- descriptions of what children should know and be able to do by grade level and in content areas, providing what Fitzgerald called "the power of having standards that are the same for every state." The states have adopted standards in two subject areas -- mathematics and reading/language arts – and science is under development, the director said.
In the years to come, Fitzgerald said, the system will change as the military changes. DOD's focus will shift toward the Pacific, she noted, and DODEA will shift to meet that need.
By Army Sgt. Richard Wrigley, 1st Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
FORT HOOD, Texas, Aug. 29, 2012 - A 1st Cavalry Division soldier here headed a fundraiser to provide school supplies for the Mae Stevens Elementary school in Copperas Cove, Texas.
"It's about giving back to a community that has given so much to you," said Army Sgt. Johnny Merical, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter repairer for Company B, 615th Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade.
After more than a month of collecting donations, and with help from other soldiers in his platoon, Merical bought school supplies and presented them to the school Aug. 22.
Merical and his fellow soldiers set up a display of the new school supplies in the school's gymnasium, and members of the community -- along with children, parents and faculty members -- came by to hear him explain why he led the drive.
"I've been here almost six years, and have lived here the whole time," he said. "I'm leaving now, but the community has supported me whenever I needed it, and the school district really looked out for my family when they allowed my children to stay in Mae Stevens, even though the rezoning could have forced them to go to a different school."
While this is the biggest volunteer effort Merical has undertaken, he is no stranger to volunteer work, said Army Capt. Nicholaus Cortez, a platoon leader in Company B, 615th ASB.
"He's done a lot of volunteering for the unit and the surrounding community," Cortez said. "When I think of Sergeant Merical, I think of selfless service."
The captain added that Merical's professionalism and work ethic are unparalleled at his level in the platoon.
The school's students and their families were in dire need of the supplies, Merical said. Joe Burns, the superintendent for the Copperas Cove Independent School District, agreed.
"About 63 percent of this campus' student population consists of kids who receive free or reduced lunches," he explained. "This means that a lot of the families that have kids who attend here simply don't have the resources to provide [the children] with all the things they need for school. This donation Sergeant Merical put together ... will go a long, long way to meeting the needs of those families."
Another school district official talked about how donations will benefit the students as they begin this school year.
"Many of these students are used to getting hand-me-down materials," said Rick Kirkpatrick, the deputy superintendent. "Just imagine how happy these students will be to have a brand-new notebook or binder this year."
Merical said he hopes that his and his fellow soldiers' efforts to help will have a lasting impact.
"My family and I are about to leave, but the good that this has done for the community will last much longer than that," he said.
COMBAT OUTPOST JAKER, Afghanistan, Aug. 8, 2012 - For some people, history is just another subject in school. For Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Joshua Taylor, being a part of history was a calling.
To follow that calling, Taylor, 21, from Troy, Ala., left behind a full-ride scholarship to college to join the Marine Corps. The only reason he even went to college for a year was because it was free, he said, noting he's always had an interest in the military.
"Action movies had a role in it," he said, but so did his interest in warfare, tactics and World War II history.
Taylor, a 2009 graduate of Pike Liberal Arts School, went to recruit training and then to the Marine Corps' School of Infantry. Following his initial training, he was assigned to 2nd Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.
At first, Taylor said, he wasn't sure if the Camp Lejeune-based unit was going to deploy, a disappointing possibility for an infantry Marine.
"I wanted to be here [in Afghanistan] before the war was over," he said.
His best friend, who also joined the Marine Corps, is stationed in Hawaii. "He said I'm the lucky one," Taylor said, because his friend also wanted the opportunity to deploy to Afghanistan.
Taylor deployed to Afghanistan exactly a year into his enlistment, and just before his 21st birthday. He serves near the Nawa district of Helmand province, and so far he has had a quiet deployment.
The Marines work with Afghan National Army and other Afghan forces in the area, and the Marines assist Afghan forces if they request it.
This approach is part of the transition from coalition-led to Afghan-lead security operations. Marines had been fighting in the lead in Helmand province, then shoulder to shoulder with Afghan forces, before beginning to make the transition to an advisor-only force earlier this year.
Taylor, who was 10 years old when the 9/11 attacks happened, said this transition is a sign of progress in the country.
With less to do "outside the wire," Taylor said, he and other 2nd Platoon Marines pass time at their small combat outpost any way they can. Taylor said everyone brought laptop computers to watch movies on, and the outpost has a gym with weights and cardio equipment. Once or twice a week, Taylor said, he goes to the morale, welfare and recreation tent to check his Facebook account, but he usually tries to keep his mind off of what he is missing back home.
Taylor said he went through recruit training and the School of Infantry with some of the Marines in his squad. They've all developed a strong bond with each other, he said.
"I know everyone would have my back, just like I would have their back," Taylor said.
Taylor said it's too early to decide whether he will re-enlist or depart the Marines when his four-year contract expires. If he does decide to get out, he said, he will go back to college to become a stockbroker or learn computer security.
Whatever he decides to do, Taylor said, he will be always able to look back at his service and know that he was a part of something bigger than himself.
"I always hoped to be a part of history," Taylor said. "It's something I can be proud of."
Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents have joined a protest against a government plan for Chinese patriotism classes in local schools.
The protesters Sunday called on the government to drop the plan, which they fear will lead to the brainwashing of children with Communist propaganda.
Organizers said the march from the city's Victoria Park to the government headquarters drew 90,000 people, while police gave a lower estimate of 32,000.
Thousands of parents brought their children to the march, some pushing strollers with infants and others walking with students of elementary and high school age. The protesters also included many teachers and pro-democracy activists.
Hong Kong's government is encouraging elementary schools to adopt a new curriculum in September, with classes aimed at "building a sense of national pride and belonging toward China." It rejects protesters' complaints that the curriculum amounts to brainwashing.
This mass protest is the latest sign of growing public discontent with Beijing's interference in the former British colony. Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 under a Beijing promise for the territory to retain a high degree of autonomy.
More than 100,000 people joined an annual pro-democracy march on July 1, the highest turnout in eight years. Many of the protesters demanded the resignation of the city's new leader, Leung Chun-ying, who had taken office earlier that day after being selected by a committee comprised mostly of Beijing loyalists.
The city's deputy leader, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, responded to Sunday's protest by announcing the formation of a committee to monitor the implementation of the patriotism classes. The government wants elementary schools to adopt the classes on a voluntary basis for a three-year trial period, before making them compulsory in 2015.
The new curriculum includes a teaching booklet called “The China Model” that praises the one-party rule of the Chinese Communist Party and makes no mention of its deadly 1989 crackdown on protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
WASHINGTON, June 6, 2012 – For students whose parents are in the military or work for the Defense or State departments, sometimes just getting to school is a challenge.
That was the case for Pamela Chavdarova who lives on the Greek island of Crete with her mother, Tanya Taylor, and stepfather, John Taylor, who is posted there as a Defense Department civilian. There are no Defense Department schools in Greece and Chavdarova has epilepsy, which makes school a challenge, John Taylor said.
Pamela was homeschooled for several years, but then she wanted to go to high school with other students her age. With few options, her parents sent her to a private school in Greece’s northern city of Thessaloniki. That lasted two years, but the school was just too far: a 10-hour boat ride from Crete, then a six-hour drive from Athens.
Paul Szoldra, of the satirical military news site, The Duffel Blog (highly recommended), has started a petition for the US News & World Report to include an index of the Best Rated Universities for Military Veterans. He also maintains the site: College Veteran.com, which is serious and attempts to provide information to Veterans striking out on the same path he has taken: Higher Education.
There is certainly a need for such a study and a ranking. As Paul notes, there are many less than savory organizations out there that are just after the money that comes with enrollment in College by Military Veterans. There are "non-profits" and for-profit businesses that get paid by the US government to provide information to Veterans. And frankly the needs of the Veterans are not always their primary concern.
By Karen Parrish, AFPS, WASHINGTON, May 15, 2012 - Unemployed veterans ages 35 to 60 can apply for up to 12 months of paid training through a new program sponsored by the Departments of Labor (as paid for from DVA funds) and Veterans Affairs.
VA officials said the population the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program will serve is particularly in need. Of about 900,000 U.S. veterans who are unemployed, nearly two-thirds are between 35 and 60, according to the Labor Department.
The program, which began today, provides 12 months of training assistance equal to the monthly full-time payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty program, which currently pays $1,473 per month.
Participants must be enrolled in a community college or technical school program approved for VA benefits. The program must lead to an associate degree, non-college degree or certificate.
by Senior Airman Spencer GallienDOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga.—The 94th Airlift Wing hosted the largest Armed Forces Academy Day in the U.S. May 12, where more than 1,000 applicants, parents, and grandparents were given the chance to meet with various elected officials who are integral to the application process for admission into a military service academy.
Last year, the state of Georgia had the largest amount of applicants attend the U.S. Air Force Academy of any state in the union.
“This event started thirteen years ago and we had just a handful of attendees,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson. “This time we have more than 1,000.”
WASHINGTON, April 25, 2012 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has ordered the directors of joint military education institutions and combatant commanders to examine the scope and content of training and education courses dealing with Islamic extremism to ensure they are appropriate and in keeping with U.S. values and principles.
Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby said Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey sent the letter after students at the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., raised concerns about the content of a class entitled “Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism.” Dempsey ordered the course closed until the study is complete.
“Our concern is there are some unprofessional things being taught to students in professional military education curriculum,” Kirby said during a press availability today.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is aware of Dempsey’s order and he shares the general’s concern, the captain said. “He also completely endorses the chairman’s intention to look at joint professional military education across the board to make sure we have done an adequate scrub on the content of this type of curriculum,” Kirby said.
WASHINGTON, April 18, 2012 – With $633 million and 472 active research projects on traumatic brain injury alone, the Army is driving the science behind this neglected public health problem that affects everyone from kids on the sports field to service members in Afghanistan.
TBI, and especially mild TBI, “is essentially a frontier of medicine,” Army Col. (Dr.) Dallas Hack, director of the Army’s Combat Casualty Care Research Program, said in a recent interview with American Forces Press Service.
From 2000 to 2011, just over 133,000 soldiers were diagnosed with TBI. For the Defense Department as a whole in that period, 220,000 service members were diagnosed, according to an Army behavioral health specialist.
Traumatic brain injuries range from severe to moderate to mild and can be caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts normal brain function.
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan (April 10, 2012) — The 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Theater Security Cooperation division here hosts a basic Russian language class twice a week to enable service members to engage in a basic Russian conversation.
"I started this class to give some of the folks at the Transit Center the ability to speak some basic phrases and have a working vocabulary for their time here," said 2nd Lt. Justin Miller, 376th AEW TSC host nation liaison branch chief.
Miller, who is deployed here from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., studied Russian for two years at the U.S Air Force Academy then moved to Moscow where he taught English and studied abroad for nine months.
WASHINGTON, April 3, 2012 - When a new policy takes effect -- probably this summer -- schools will need to have a signed memorandum of understanding to participate in the Defense Department's Tuition Assistance Program, Pentagon officials said.
A 90-day extension that expired March 30 allowed DOD officials to work with stakeholders to address issues associated with the memorandum, and a revised memorandum now is complete, officials said.
When the new policy takes effect, schools that provide education programs through the DOD Tuition Assistance Program must agree to the new memorandum and have a signed copy on file with the Defense Department for service members receiving tuition assistance approval to attend their institution, officials said.
Police in Oakland, California say a gunman has killed seven people and wounded three at a Christian University.
Police captured the suspect at a supermarket in the nearby city of Alameda shortly after the shooting.
One of those wounded says the suspect stood up during a class at Oikos University and shot one person directly in the chest before spraying the classroom with bullets.
Authorities have not identified the alleged gunman.
But the founder of Oikos University, Pastor Jong Kim, told the Oakland Tribune newspaper that the shooter is a former nursing student. Kim said he did not know whether the suspect was expelled from the school or dropped out.
The gunman's motive appears to be revenge for being kicked out of the University. VoA. He is characterized as being of Korean descent. Two suspect are in custody.
Learning English may have been just another class for some, but for a few Afghan women, walking for hours just to attend, it is much more. Soundbites include Farida - English Student, LCpl. Angela Coyle - New Zealand Signal Corps and Sahar Raymi - Interpreter.
By Army National Guard Sgt. Darron Salzer National Guard Bureau
FORT BELVOIR, Va. (2/22/12) – Not many people are considered a national treasure, and if you mention that William T. Fauntroy Jr. is, he’ll simply smile back at you and continue on with one of his many humorous stories about the time he spent as a Tuskegee Airman.
William T. Fauntroy Jr., a Tuskegee Airman and resident of the District of Columbia, speaks to Soldiers and family members from the Operational Support Airlift Agency during a ceremony to celebrate Black History Month at Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir, Va., Feb. 21, 2012. (Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Darron Salzer)
Fauntroy’s experience with the Tuskegee Airmen, as he tells it, began in July of 1944 after he qualified and passed a battery of tests that certified him to enter the Army Air Corps as a pre-aviation cadet at Tuskegee Army Air Field.
“It wasn’t until May of 1945,” he said to a crowd of Soldiers and family gathered to hear him speak at an Operational Support Airlift Agency event, “that I went into training to become a pilot, but in the meantime I did a lot of things that made me proud, made me angry, and made me thankful.”
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Story by Sgt. Ryan Hohman
2.7.2012
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – Soldiers with the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, commonly known as the Lancer brigade, began the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program Jan. 30 to ensure soldiers with the Lancer brigade are not only physically and mentally ready for any upcoming deployment, but emotionally ready as well.
Staff Sgt. Marko Milosevic, who serves as the Master Resiliency Trainer with the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, conducts pre-deployment resiliency training with Master Resiliency Trainers and Resilience Training Assistants at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Jan. 30.
2nd SBCT Master Resiliency Trainers and Resilience Training Assistants began the CSF program with pre-deployment resiliency training designed to help trainers prepare soldiers for the emotions and stresses that come with prolonged exposure to combat.
Story by Sgt. Christopher McCullough, 2nd Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LAGMAN, Afghanistan — Shinkai district is an inauspicious place in southern Zabul Province, Afghanistan, where the population lives a humble existence in contrast to western standards. There is no electricity, televisions, computers or internet. The only working telephones in town are a few satellite phones that are available for use by locals who can afford to pay per minute to use them.
The communities here are largely comprised of poor farming families, most of whom are uneducated. Schooling in Shinkai has been nonexistent since the Taliban kidnapped and later murdered several village elders in March 2011. Consequently, the literacy rate here is negligible - most residents cannot read or write - therefore there are no newspapers or magazines.
Pictured: Atta Muhammad gives a presentation regarding the Radio Literacy Program to village elders, in Tumzi, Zabul province, Afghanistan, December 2011.
The outcome is that most residents get their news and information from word of mouth or radio, said Sgt. Kat Klosinski, one of the Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul non-commissioned officers from the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Green Bay, Wis.
“It is hoped that the school will reopen soon, but until it does, radio is the only form of education in the area,” Klosinski said.
National Center for Telehealth and Technology report
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. (1/19/12) - The Defense Department launched a new website Wednesday for children experiencing the challenges of military deployments.
The highly interactive website, http://www.MilitaryKidsConnect.org, was created by psychologists at DOD's National Center for Telehealth and Technology here. It helps children of deployed parents cope with the stress, changing responsibilities and concern for the safety of their parents, officials said.
The center, known as T2, developed the website with informative videos, educational tools and engaging games and activities for three age groups: 6 to 8, 9 to 12 and 13 to 17. The site features monitored online social network forums for the groups to safely share their experiences with deployments.
A remarkable group of wounded, sick and injured Service personnel will star on the West End stage this weekend. Report by Lorraine McBride.
They've all suffered brutal or life-threatening injuries, but a group of servicemen and women who paid a terrible price serving in Britain's Armed Forces are back firmly on the road to recovery, thanks to a theatre in the West End.
Bravo 22 Company, a project for wounded, injured and sick Service personnel, currently in recovery capability programmes, have signed up to create, rehearse and perform 'The Two Worlds of Charlie F' at the Theatre Royal Haymarket [Picture: Corporal Ross Fernie RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]
'The Two Worlds of Charlie F' is a Service person's view of injury and recovery. The play explores the consequences of both physical and psychological wounds, and the impact on others during the fight to win the new battle for survival at home while coming to terms with the cards that life has dealt.
Writer Owen Sheers interviewed each member of the newly-formed Bravo 22 Company and wrote his script by weaving in the personal experiences of the wounded, sick and injured troops who play theatricalised characters based on them. The result is a darkly comic, authentic and richly uplifting tale of survival.
WASHINGTON (Jan. 20, 2012) -- "Recent news items about the use of Army medical evacuation, or MEDEVAC, helicopters in Afghanistan contain troubling information. The reporting suggests that putting red crosses on MEDEVACs, and not arming them somehow, is putting injured Soldiers' lives at risk. The facts do not support these assertions for several reasons.
First, there is no evidence, implied or proven, that the enemy deliberately targets MEDEVAC helicopters, but we know from hard experience that the enemy does try to shoot down any and all U.S. and coalition aircraft. Further, all helicopters in Afghanistan fly in pairs as a force protection matter. It's the way we do business and to suggest that arming MEDEVAC aircraft would result in crews launching sooner is a dubious assertion.
U.S. Army Soldiers transport a trauma victim to a U.S. Army medical helicopter in Tarmiyah, Iraq, Sept. 30, 2007. The Soldiers are from Charlie Company, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division out of Fort Lewis, Wash.
Here are the facts: DOD has specifically tasked the Army, not any other service, to provide a standing MEDEVAC capability. The other services, as well as the Army in some cases, fly CASEVAC missions. This is a critical distinction. CASEVAC stands for Casualty Evacuation, which is a technical distinction that means they use whatever helicopters are available at the moment to extract the wounded or downed aircrews. However, DOD has tasked the Army to provide evacuation to the MEDEVAC standard, which means our MEDEVAC crews and helicopters are purpose built, manned, trained and equipped to provide advanced trauma care in flight.
By Army National Guard Spc. Zachary T. Sheely Colorado National Guard
DENVER (1/18/12) - When people think of Army chow, a boxed lunch or a Meal, Ready-to-Eat may come to mind, which is why Army Capt. Mark Tommell, commander of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 135th General Support Aviation, has enlisted the services of a professional chef and culinary instructor to teach his food service specialists the tricks of the trade - changing the way his Soldiers feel about chow.
Chef Ronald Lavallee, a culinary instructor at Johnson & Wales University, and Army Sgt. Shannon Roppolo, a food service specialist and shift leader with Company E, 2nd Battalion,135th General Support Aviation, strategize over a recipe at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo., Jan. 7. 2012. Lavallee works with the troops during drill on a volunteer basis to teach them advanced culinary techniques. (Army National Guard photo by Spc. Zachary Sheely)
Chef Ronald Lavallee, a culinary instructor at Johnson & Wales University, is a Vietnam veteran with 45 years in the food service industry. He's been working with the cooks of Company E since autumn 2011, and since Tommell called on him for assistance, the Soldiers tend to stick around for lunch on drill weekends.
By Senior Airman Jarad Denton, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa
KARABTI SAN, Djibouti (January 6, 2012) — U.S. Army Spc. Tiffany Larriba held her hands in front of her, fingers closed, as children from Karabti San, Djibouti, waited in eager anticipation Jan. 3.
Suddenly, Larriba smiled and raised six fingers.
“Six,” the children exclaimed in unison.
U.S. Army Spc. Tiffany Larriba, team member from Civil Affairs Team 4902, 490th Civil Affairs Battalion, raises six fingers to children during the "Soldier in the Classroom" program at Karabti San, Djibouti, Jan. 3. The program is designed to teach children basic English. (DoD Photo by Senior Airman Jarad Denton)
This was the children’s second exposure to learning the English language through a program Larriba, a team member with the U.S. Army Civil Affairs Team 4902, 490th Civil Affairs Battalion and Dallas, Texas, native, calls: “Soldier in the Classroom.” The program broadens the horizons of the children, while giving them a long-lasting memory of their relationship with U.S. soldiers. Karabti San is the first village to experience the program, which was introduced Nov. 29. Larriba said she hopes to see "Soldier in the Classroom" introduced in other villages throughout Djibouti.
“We wanted the kids to remember us for something good,” she said. “So we came up with this project where we go to schools or villages and teach some lesson they can’t learn anywhere else. It’s simple enough that the students understand, but yet it helps open their mind and leaves a standing memory.”
Just as Karabti San is the first Djiboutian village to receive eco-dome materials and construction training from the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, it is also the first place to experience "Soldier in the Classroom." Larriba hopes the participation she sees here will extend to other villages.
“They are all involved in it,” she said. “Every kid [in the village], young or old, all came. They wanted to come. They made some pretty good progress.”
According to Larriba, who is affectionately referred to by the children as “Lorouba,” which means “cowgirl” in Somali, the progress will provide these children with opportunities previously unavailable.
“[We want to] help them see there is a big world out there and a lot of opportunities,” she said. “That’s our goal.”
The children are not the only ones learning from this program. Larriba said her outlook on life has changed dramatically since coming to Africa and interacting with the local population. She hopes her friends and family back home will see the change in her and embrace it themselves.
“You can be happy with the smallest things, she said. “This village, for example, they’re happy. You can live without a lot of things and still be happy.”
Larriba said the happiness she shared with the children of Karabti San is compounded and reinforced with each new lesson, with every new number learned.
“It was good. I liked it all,” said Mohamed Bourito, a student in the program. “We practice what Lorouba has taught us. After I learn the English language, I want to go to the school. I want to continue my education.”
Bourito smiled broadly after sharing his dream for the future. He held up his hands and repeated what he had learned only minutes ago, from Larriba. Slowly, but surely, he counted to ten – in English.
There seems to be much confusion as to which 9/11 Survivors will be affected by the looming deadline of January 2, 2012.
The New York Times had this the other day:
Zero hour for 9/11 victims
By DAVID B. CARUSO
More than 1,600 people who filed lawsuits claiming their health was ruined by dust and smoke from the collapsed World Trade Center must decide by Jan. 2 whether to keep fighting in court, or drop the litigation and apply for benefits in a federal compensation fund.
For some, the choice is fraught with risk. Federal lawmakers set aside some $2.76 billion last winter for people who developed illnesses after spending time in the ash-choked zone.
But to be considered for a share of the aid, all potential applicants must dismiss any pending lawsuits by the deadline and give up their right to sue forever over 9/11 health problems. Anyone with a lawsuit still pending on Jan. 3 is barred from the program for life...
Confused enough yet? A 9/11 group I belong to sent out a mass email today, which clarifies:
January 2, 2012 deadline regarding the Victims Compensation Fund
There has been great confusion over the January 2, 2012 deadline regarding the Victims Compensation Fund. I want to use this email to help clarify some points and help you protect your rights.
First, the January 2, 2012 deadline only applies to those men and women who have CURRENTLY PENDING LITIGATION BEFORE A STATE OR FEDERAL COURT. For those who have currently pending litigation, it is imperative that you discuss this matter with your attorney and decide whether to continue your litigation or withdraw such court action so that you may enter the Victims Compensation Fund. If you do not withdraw the pending litigation prior to January 2, 2012 you will be barred from entering the Victims Compensation Fund. This appears to be a steadfast statute of limitations issue and there will be no exceptions. Please do not miss this deadline without giving this issue due and proper consideration.
Please note, that if you have previously settled all your court claims and are simply awaiting your final payments, this deadline does not apply to you. However, if you are uncertain whether you have currently pending litigation before any federal or state court, I urge you to contact your attorney immediately to ascertain this information. No one should miss this deadline due to lack of information!
For those that know they have currently pending litigation, and are uncertain whether their attorney has withdrawn the matter, I again urge you to contact your counsel immediately and advise them of your wishes. If you are unable to contact counsel timely, but wish to withdraw your claims, I urge you to write letters both to your attorney and Judge Hellerstein advising of your desire to have your claims withdrawn. I would suggest that you send these letters via certified, overnight mail or FedEx in order to properly track them and show proof that you attempted to withdraw your matters in a timely fashion.
In closing, for those that have currently pending litigation, please do not take this issue lightly. It is a very difficult choice that you face and I urge you all to listen to the advise of your attorneys. Neither I nor anyone other than counsel can properly inform you which avenue to choose, but I can advise you that inaction will make the choice for you. ..
All the First Responders who worked within the madness that was 9/11 need to be sure they have the FACTS to protect their rights to what they so selflessly EARNED on that day, and in the weeks and months following.
12/20/2011 By Lance Cpl. Glen E. Santy , Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. — Cpl. Christopher Krupa, a military working dog handler, and his dog Hrom, a Belgian Malinois, pass through the extensive gated passage to the training field. The students begin to look and point saying “oh my God” and “wow” under their breath as they look at the the dog in awe. Sgt. Shain Nickerson, a military working dog trainer, wearing bite protection armor, waits in the training field for Krupa and Hrom.
A student in the Criminal Justice Society Club, with Craven County Community College watches as Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point K-9 handlers practice attack drills at the military working dogs training field Dec. 9. The students came for a live demonstration and to ask questions about the job field. , Lance Cpl. Glen E. Santy
The students are about to witness the raw power of the military working dogs. The students from Craven County Community College, Criminal Justice Society Club came to Cherry Point to watch a live demonstration of the air station’s military working dogs in action Dec. 9.
The club takes frequent trips to destinations in Eastern North Carolina including gun ranges, prisons and State Bureau of Investigation crime lab and other places that involve criminal justice.
“This club is meant to broaden the student’s horizons after they get their degree,” said club president Tim Meadows. “We are trying to go to as many places as we can. It doesn’t matter if it’s military or civilian we just want to get them exposed to everything.”
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Dec. 1, 2011) -- "He knows how I'm feeling. And if I were feeling unwell, which could be any number of things: PTSD, TBI or other type of pain, he would proactively do something to help me."
Former Soldier, proponent for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder, and author, Luis Carlos Montalvan, spoke Nov. 30, 2011, at the Pentagon Library about his service dog, "Tuesday." He also spoke about the book he wrote that documents how his struggle with PTSD was aided by "Tuesday."
Former Soldier, proponent for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder, and author, Luis Carlos Montalván, spoke Nov. 30 at the Pentagon Library about his service dog, "Tuesday." He also spoke about the book he wrote that documents how his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, was aided by "Tuesday."
Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan
HERAT PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, working with coalition Special Operations Forces, recently reintroduced a radio literacy program throughout Afghanistan.
Radio broadcasts have been the primary source of news, current events and entertainment, and provide opportunities for citizens to communicate with local law enforcement. GIRoA is also offering basic-level education over the airwaves.
As illiteracy is common throughout Afghanistan, citizens of all ages and genders are participating in the program. Villagers in provinces throughout the country are tuning in their radios during scheduled evenings to follow the program.
Over the past four months, more than 28,000 companion workbooks have been distributed throughout the country, which is a 350 percent increase compared to the same time last year. More books are being produced in Afghanistan, Qatar and the U.S. to meet the ever growing demand.
terrykelly2 On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a drug store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the stores PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.
Terry was impressed with the stores leadership role in adopting the Legions two minutes of silence initiative. He felt that the stores contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.
For a few bucks more you can get a signed copy from the author himself! http://www.deltabravosierra.us/2011/02/10/a-word-about-the-new-book/comment-page-1/#comment-3383
Get your copy of this legendary cartoon now (or wait a few days for the signed copy!)
Go to War against the Nazis with SSG Smith of the 94th Infantry Division. Review: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2010/04/everymans-war-vet.html.html
Ace Of Spades: Why Language Matters In this article, Ace of Spades demonstrates how the writing style of "journalists" and other writers is purposely used to influence the electorate. He explains this far better than I have been able to do, but this is the foundation of why I could no longer be silent.
This is the document that clearly authorizes what the Federal government is allowed to do, what authorities and responsibilities the separate entities of the Government have. It is what Our Troops swear to defend and what our politicians and judges have sworn to uphold:
Stumble It!
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