War On Terror News

Afghan Troops Learn Better Computer Skills

By Capt. Bonnie Hutchinson, 4th Infantry Division

FARAH, Afghanistan – Good communication skills are a necessity for a government to be successful. With that in mind, workers of the Farah District Headquarters received computer training from the soldiers of Security Force Assistance Team 15, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Oct. 15-19.

The classroom training was intended to provide the workers with the skills to send digital reports to their higher headquarters.
For most of the headquarters’ workers, this was the first time they had used a computer.

“Basic computer skills come naturally to the United States military,” said Capt. Philip Hardwick, SFAT 15 officer-in-charge. “It is a skill that we should pass onto our [Afghan National Security Forces] partners to ensure we provide them with the tools necessary to effectively coordinate and share information.”

Pictured: Soldiers from Security Force Assistance Team 15, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, teach Farah District Headquarters’ workers to send digital reports to their higher headquarters, Oct. 19. Headquarters’ workers learned the fundamentals of how to use Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word in order to understand the different methods of creating reports

During the training, workers learned the fundamentals of how to use Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word in order to understand the different methods of creating reports. After they were able to create reports, they learned how to digitally send them.

“It is important for coalition forces to train ANSF on the non-tactical aspects of operations,” said Master Sgt. Danny Lujan, SFAT 15 non-commissioned officer-in-charge. “Being able to more effectively plan and provide information to ANSF at all levels will not only aid in mission planning but mission execution.”

Purdue Professor Travels to Afghan Universities

by U.S. Army Sgt. Kaitlyn A. Ashby
4-19th Indiana ADT, RC-East

KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Dr. Jess M. Lowenberg-DeBoer, a professor and associate dean from Purdue University met with the chancellor of Sheik Zayed University in Khowst province, Oct. 26, to discuss strengthening the collegial partnership between the two universities.

The meeting between Lowenberg-DeBoer and SZU’s Dr. Gul Hassan Walizai was facilitated by U.S. Air Force Col. Shane Halbrook, an Avon, Ind. native and the commander of the Indiana National Guard’s 4-19th Agribusiness Development Team.

“My intent is to identify universities for reach back capability for SZU; such as electronic media, classrooms and instructors for labs,” said Halbrook.

 

University of Maryland Comes to Helmand

by Cpl. Katherine Keleher RC-SW

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – After working a 12-hour shift, most deployed servicemembers want to kick off their boots, lie down and get some shut eye. After all, Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, is not exactly known for its happening night life.

However, since August, a few dozen troops who prefer not to go right to bed after work have found something productive to do with their off duty hours - they attend college classes.

In July, an Education Center opened at Camp Leatherneck. The center, which consists of four 650-square foot tents with eight employees, became the first of its kind in Helmand province.

It started offering three face-to-face college classes through the University of Maryland University College in July. Since then, the center has completed six classes: Philosophy 101, Geography 101, World History, World Civilization and College Mathematics. In the near future, Central Texas College will also begin offering classes.

Pictured: Staff Sgt. Christopher Stephens, the Afghan National Security Forces logistics chief with Regional Command Southwest and a native of Dallas, is one of many servicemembers taking college classes while being currently deployed to Helmand province, Afghanistan. “It is a positive way to pass time when not working. I have found that this deployment has seemed shorter because I have been able to keep my mind occupied,” said Stephens, who has been taking his online classes through American Military University. For servicemembers interested in taking classes, Camp Leatherneck has an Education Center, which provides face-to-face classes on the base, as well as standardized testing.

Women's shura held in Baghlan

October 26, 2011 By Staff Sgt. Cody Sedlacek

Women from different villages attend a shura held by a coalition Cultural Support Team in Pul-E Kuhmri district of Baghlan province, Afghanistan, Oct. 16, 2011. The women's shura discussed the need for training in basic health care, preventative medicine, teacher education and pre-natal care.

BAGHLAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 26, 2011 -- Women from several villages gathered to meet with a coalition Cultural Support Team to discuss future training opportunities for women, in Pul-E-Khumri district, Oct. 16.

Attending the meeting were women from five different villages, as well as Rahima Zarifi from Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's Department of Women's Affairs.

Military Medicine Works on Managing Pain

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2011 – Military medicine is seeking additional ways to help patients manage their pain instead of just prescribing powerful drugs, the chief of staff of the Army’s pain management task force said here today.

Col. Kevin Galloway told the Defense Writers Group that the military had to start looking at pain comprehensively.

“We were always asked how pain related to soldier suicides, to drug abuse, and so on,” said Galloway -- a registered nurse. “As we looked at our strategy in Army medicine, very honestly, we didn’t think it was as comprehensive as it should have been.

DJs help Afghans say no to poppy growing

BritishForcesNews on Oct 27, 2011

Becoming a radio DJ is just one of the ways being used to educate Afghan farmers and young people about the dangers of poppy growing in Helmand. Many Afghan farmers do not understand the full negative impact that the poppy harvest can have on the country. It not only plays into the hands of criminal gangs but also threatens the stability of the country by fuelling the insurgency. Now meetings are being held regularly to get the message across to farmers, while new radio stations are also pumping out the message to say no to growing poppies.

Linguist Program Grows

Demand Grows for Squad-level Linguist Program

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

MONTEREY, Calif., Oct. 25, 2011 – Last year, 74 soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., became the first to participate in a new program that provides short-term, intensive language and cultural training to deploying military members.

Army Staff Sgt. Walter Camphouse, one of 74 101st Airborne Division soldiers to receive training through the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center’s general purpose force program, practices writing in Pashto. Camphouse was trained as a “squad-designated linguist” to support his unit during its deployment to Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Michele Vowell 

The general purpose force program wasn’t designed for professional linguists or interpreters, explained Sam Garzaniti, who manages it at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center here.

Rather, the program provides basic Dari or Pashto instruction, taught by native Afghan speakers, to help nonlinguists -- military police, medics, truck drivers and infantrymen, among them, -- operate more effectively on the ground in Afghanistan.

Skateboarding Opens Doors for Afghan Girls

'Skateistan' gets boost from USFOR-A
 by Erika Stetson USFOR-A

KABUL, Afghanistan – A nonprofit youth after-school and sports facility received a boost Oct. 16 when U.S. troops presented it with two vans, five laptops, three desktop computers, two projectors and a washing machine, boosting its ability to deliver educational programming to hundreds of children, including transportation to and from the site.

The facility, Skateistan, located in the Ghazi National Olympic Complex, is a multinational charitable organization registered in America and several European nations. It serves about 400 Afghan youths, both male and female, offering literacy and other academic programs, as well as an indoor skate park and other forms of recreation.

Oliver Percovich, Skateistan’s executive director, said skateboarding is very new in Afghanistan, “so when girls were skateboarding, no one said anything.” The charity, he added, capitalized on that loophole to open a facility that can serve all youths, giving Afghanistan’s girls a rare chance to participate in athletic activity.

Skateistan also teaches reading, writing, math, computer use and other basic information to local children, some of whom have had to leave school to help support their families, Percovich said.

Pictured: Army Staff Sgt. Casey Shoptaw (left), of Milwaukee, a project purchasing officer in the Civil Affairs directorate of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, speaks with a female skating instructor at Skateistan, located at the Ghazi National Olympic Complex. USFOR-A donated vans, computers and other supplies to Skateistan Oct. 16.

Officials Seek DOD-wide Tuition Assistance Plan

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2011 – Pentagon officials are reviewing the Defense Department’s tuition assistance policy, and no DOD-wide decision has been made to change benefits, officials said today.

All military services are providing input to the DOD review, officials said. Any recommended changes, they added, must be instituted in a deliberate, thoughtful manner that maintains the integrity of a joint, uniform policy for all service members.

Tuition assistance is a popular benefit for military members, particularly in light of the rising costs of post-secondary education courses.

DOD Promotes, Preserves Language Skills

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

MONTEREY, Calif., Oct. 19, 2011 – With the Defense Department’s emphasis on developing language and cultural skills within the force, it’s working hard to ensure those capabilities don’t get lost after students leave the schoolhouse here.

Assistant Professor Joonki Baek at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, Calif., works with Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Kerby, from the Utah Air National Guard, on Korean vocabulary via the school’s broadband language training system. U.S. Army photo by Natela Cutter 

The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center trains thousands of students every year in more than two dozen languages, some that require more than a year of intensive, full-time study.

To preserve those skills, the school is boosting its continuing education offerings, both through classroom and distance learning.

“Language skills are perishable,” said Mike Vezilich, dean of the continuing education directorate. “If one doesn’t use the language regularly, those skills atrophy. And that doesn’t take long,” particularly for students at lower proficiency levels.

Afghan Combat Medic Program Continues

Afghan docs gain valuable skills through mentorship program
by Staff Sgt. John Wright 455th AEW

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan - Afghan medical professionals graduated from a two-week mentorship program at the Craig Joint Theater Hospital Sept. 24, 2011.

The Afghan Trauma Mentorship Program is a joint effort between coalition partners and airmen from the 455th Expeditionary Medical Group at Bagram Air Field designed to familiarize Afghan medical professionals with modern medical procedures and equipment.

The intensive program was developed in partnership with the Afghanistan National Army Office of the Surgeon General, the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, Combined Joint Task Force-1, Task Force Medical East and CJTH.

Pictured: Master Sgt. James Jesionowski, 455th Expeditionary Medical Group emergency department flight chief, explains how to use an electrocardiogram machine to Capt. Nematullah, physician assistant, 2nd Brigade, 203rd Afghan National Army Corps., and Senior Capt. Abdul Hadi, dentist, Afghan Border Police, 1st Zone Headquarters, as part of the Afghan Trauma Mentorship Program at Craig Joint Theater Hospital, Sept. 22, 2011. The ATMP is a joint effort between coalition partners and airmen from the 455 EMDG designed to familiarize Afghan medical professionals with modern medical procedures and equipment.

Afghan Border Patrol Revel in Benefit of Literacy

Afghan Border Police trains on literacy, gender equality
by Sgt. Marc Loi, 319th MPAD

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan – Under a scorching sun and in front of a host of general officers from various NATO nations, the Afghan national army’s Fort Spin Boldak Kodiak graduated its final class of 130 Afghan Border Police recruits, inching yet closer to the 160,000 security providers the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan set as the threshold required to take the lead in its own national defense.

Though much similar to other graduations, the Aug. 27 rite-of-passage also had special meanings for recruits, as it was the last class to have trained at the fort. Built in 1880 under Amir Abdul Rahman, the fort is one of the oldest military posts in the country, and until now, served as training ground from one of the five regional training facilities in Afghanistan. The class was also one of the first to train for eight instead of six week, giving trainers, who comprised of Romanian and American troops, the chance to teach trainees basic reading skills and an awareness of human rights and gender equality.

Pictured: An Afghan Border policeman shows off his graduation certificate to fellow classmates during a ceremony at the Fort Spin Boldak (Kodiak) Aug. 27. One of 130 graduates, he will join more than 130,000 other Afghan National Police officers to provide safety and security for Afghanistan.

Cpl Lichtenberger Preps for Columbia

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – After a successful tour in the Marine Corps, one 23-year-old corporal has begun preparing himself for his life’s next big challenge: earning a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, an Ivy League school in New York.

Cpl. Kyle Lichtenberger left home from Missouri, July 30, 2007, to step on the yellow footprints at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, with the goal of earning the title Marine, as three previous generations of his family have done.

Pictured: Cpl. Kyle Lichtenberger poses for a photograph in his home in Jacksonville, N.C. July 15. Lichtenberger is on terminal leave awaiting his Expiration of Active Service date, July 29. He has been accepted by Columbia University in New York

Before joining the Marine Corps, Lichtenberger attended Moberly Area Community College in Columbia, Mo., on a two-year scholarship. As the end of his academic program drew near, he said he realized he wanted to experience something different.

Benefits of Service: 1st Grade Literacy

ANSF celebrates its 100,000th graduate of literacy training program
by Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael James NTM-A

KABUL – The Afghan National Army graduated 1,287 soldiers from Basic Warrior Training at Kabul Military Training Center, July 28, including a special commemoration marking the graduation of the 100,000th Afghan National Security Force literacy program trainee.

ANA soldier Mohammed Khalil, graduating with BWT Kandak 162, was chosen to represent the 100,000th literacy graduate. He was awarded a commemorative certificate and writing pen.

Pictured: Afghan National Army Pvt. Mohammed Khalil, the 100,000th Basic Warrior Training graduate to go through literacy training, is awarded a plaque and pen by Brig. Gen. Amlaqullah Patyani, the Kabul Military Training Center Commander, at Kabul Military Training Center in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 28, 2011, in recognition of the Afghan National Security Force's accomplishments in the realm of education and literacy. Basic Warrior Training Kandak 162 graduated 1,287 soldiers, all of whom will continue training at various Afghan National Army Branch Schools or the Consolidated Fielding Center in Kabul, either of which training routes will offer further literacy training to the soldiers.

2011 Human-powered Submarine Race

DODvClips  | Jul 28, 2011

Naval Surface Warfare Center-Carderock hosts the 11th bi-annual Submarine Race. These races are an intense competition to test the agility, strength and speed of these team-designed aquatic and human-powered submarines.

Schools Make History a Thing of the Past

U.S.A. “The Uninformed States of America”?

Ted Landphair, VoA: A while back, Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker wrote a troubling piece in which she described a trend that doesn’t seem to bother the country much.  But it worries me!

She laid out the appalling results of two national studies, one that tested the “civic literacy” of freshmen and seniors at 50 universities across the country.  Parker didn’t specify exactly what was tested, but she reported that “the average senior failed with a score of 54 percent.”

British troops go back to school in Kabul

April 27, 201

by ukforcesafghanistan

British troops based in the Afghan capital Kabul have spent some of their Easter weekend at a local school, giving out notebooks and pens to the pupils.

 Men and women from the Kabul Joint Support Unit at Camp Souter met the children at the nearby Qabel Bai school on Saturday 23^rd April.

Children of Qabel Bei school

Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Adrian Griffith, Commanding Officer (CO) of the Kabul Joint Support Unit said, “The children are always excited when we visit. They always like to get more than one notebook and often the boys will hide one in their satchel!”

The school provides lessons for over 5,000 (FIVE THOUSAND) local children, running more than 40 classes per day. Up to 50 children attend each 2-hour class, starting at 06:30am and finishing at 5:30pm.

Combat Operational Stress Conference Kicks Off in San Diego

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Alan Gragg, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Sailors and Marines are learning new ways to fight off the stresses of military life at the 2011 Navy and Marine Corps Combat Operational Stress Control (COSC) Conference in San Diego, April 26-29.

The theme of this year's conference highlights "the critical role of junior leaders" and how their actions are vital in stress management.

"Operational stress increasingly affects our personnel; the stakes are high," said Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, one of the conference keynote speakers. "Operational stress control is the foundation for combating that stress, therefore this conference is important. We, as leaders, are charged with the well-being of our Sailors, Marines and their families.

"The collective goal is to build an environment where our people have the skills, support network, and if necessary, the clinical health care to deal with psychological challenges—and succeed," added Greenert.

Paktika Orphanage Opening: “Today you are a student,.. tomorrow you will serve Afghanistan,”

By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

SHARAN, Afghanistan, April 26, 2011 – “Safe haven” took on new meaning yesterday as hundreds of Afghans gathered to open an orphanage here in Paktika province’s capital.

Afghan boys attend the April 25, 2011, opening ceremony for the orphanage where they will live and go to school in Sharan, the capital of Afghanistan’s Paktika province. The orphanage is a Commander's Emergency Relief Program project managed by U.S. Army National Guard engineer units deployed to Paktika. DOD photo by Karen Parrish 

The U.S. military contributed funding and construction oversight for the orphanage, which includes three classrooms and will house and educate up to 100 orphan boys.

DoD Military Teen Adventure Camps 2011-2012

Department Hosts Adventure Camps for Military Teens

By Elaine Sanchez
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2011 – Whether it’s kayaking down a river, backpacking through the forest or racing “high-adventure style,” military teens with a thirst for adventure will have a host of options to choose from this year.

The Defense Department has teamed up with the Agriculture Department and 12 land-grant universities to offer military teens low-cost, high-adventure camps at 50 locations, including one in Alaska and two in Europe, officials said.

Department Program Works to Prevent Child Abuse

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2011 – Child abuse and neglect can affect all levels of society, but for military families, help and support are at their fingertips.

The military’s strong sense of community gives service members and their families an advantage in preventing abuse and neglect, said Tib Campise, a senior program analyst for the Defense Department’s family advocacy program.

The military’s rate of child abuse and neglect is only half the rate reported in the civilian community, Campise said, with five to six incidents per 1,000 children in the military community compared to about 12 cases per 1,000 children in the civilian sector.

Policy Aims to Better Identify, Treat Concussions

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2011 – A memorandum that took effect throughout the Defense Department in June is expected to have a major impact on efforts to identify and treat traumatic brain injuries in the combat theater faster and more systematically, medical officials reported at the recent Armed Forces Public Health Conference in Hampton, Va.

The directive memo, which sets policy and management guidelines concerning TBI in deployed settings, relies for the first time on events, rather than personal reporting, to trigger a chain of institutional responses, Army Maj. Sarah Goldman, the Army’s TBI program manager, told an audience of health care professionals.

“This is an absolutely revolutionary policy,” Goldman said. “This is really the first time in traumatic brain injury care, and certainly in the Department of Defense traumatic brain injury care, that we have an event-driven protocol. What that means is that you don’t have to rely on service members to raise their hand and say, ‘I am having some problems’ after they have been involved in an event.”

ANGLICO Marines Attain Arsenal of Afghan Vocabulary

1st ANGLICO Marines prepare to converse with ANA
  by Sgt. Marcy Sanchez I MEF

Marines with Assault Charlie, 2nd Brigade Platoon, 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, are learning Dari as part of a six-week long pre-deployment training evolution that concludes April 14.

1st ANGLICO will embed into Afghan National Army units and communicate with the local population as part of their mission to coordinate naval gunfire and close-air support to coalition forces.

Pictured: Lance Cpl. Dylan F. Bodkin, a fire support man with Assault Charlie, 2nd Brigade Platoon, 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, takes notes as he listens to the instructor during a Dari language course here, on March 22. The Dari language course is a six-week long training period that will teach the Marines Dari, the most common language spoken in Afghanistan, for an upcoming deployment in order to communicate with Afghan forces and the local population.

British Army medics train Afghan nurses

A Military Operations news article

31 Mar 11

Three British Army medics serving in Afghanistan's Helmand province have begun teaching their skills to a group of Afghan nurses, who will form the basis of a pioneering new ambulance service.

Five local nurses from the provincial capital Lashkar Gah have recently completed a nine-day course to qualify as 'patient transfer specialists'.

 

Private Megan Paynter trains an Afghan nurse in some of the techniques used by paramedics in the UK
[Picture: Sergeant Rupert Frere RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

 

 

The course is part of an ongoing effort to train up enough nurses to enable the launch of the first ever professional ambulance service in the city.

Medics Captain Robert Garbett, aged 48, Lance Corporal Fiona Ross, 22, and Private Megan Paynter, 19, gave the five Afghans instruction in some of the techniques used by paramedics in the UK.

Afghan GI Bill: Literacy! A building block to Victory

Afghan National Security Forces progress through literacy classes
  by Cpl. Katherine Keleher RC-SW

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Communication is a vital part of success for any military. To further develop their communication skills, Afghan national security forces troops partake in literacy courses at the Joint Security Academy Southwest, here.

Photo by Cpl. Katherine Keleher: Afghan national security forces recruits listen to an instructor during a literacy class at the Joint Security Academy Southwest here, March 30. During the class recruits and students at JSAS learn to read, write, solve simple math problems and about the Constitution of Afghanistan.

Returning Warrior Workshop Focuses on Mental Health

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles White, Commander, Navy Reserve Force Public Affairs

TAMPA, Fla. (NNS) -- Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for National Guard Matters and approximately 150 combat-tour veterans and family members participated in a Returning Warrior Workshop (RWW) in Tampa, Fla., March 25 - 27.

Funded by the Department of Defense's Yellow Ribbon program, the RWW focuses on psychological health and is designed to aid in service members' post-deployment, reintegration into family and community life. The workshops are intended for Navy Reservists, but both active duty and reserve members of all services are invited.

A reservist and father of a deploying soldier, McKeague lauded the Navy, its Reserve component and its unwavering commitment to individual and family welfare.

UK Combat teachers take education to the front line

A Military Operations news article

30 Mar 11

The Army is making sure that while soldiers are on operations in Afghanistan they are receiving the education they need to progress and develop, with dedicated education officers taking lessons to the front line.

Every day in Afghanistan unit education officers are travelling to forward operating bases and checkpoints to ensure that even troops in the remotest of locations don't miss out on the opportunity to learn new skills.

To some this may seem a strange idea - but the reasoning is clear.

Tennessee University Affords US Navy New Tech Tracking Tools

U.S. Navy patents Alouani's method of improved defense tracking
by Karen Lykins - Tennessee Technological University, Office of Communications & Marketing

Our nation's defensive tracking methods are improving thanks to the work of a Tennessee Tech University electrical and computer engineering professor.

TTU's Ali T. Alouani — along with co-inventors John E. Gray of King George, Va., and Denis Hugh McCabe of Fredericksburg, Va. — have created a method recently patented by the U.S. Navy that distributes the processing of information and measurements gathered from multiple sources at varying times to make threat assessment more accurate.

Defund the Despicable Acts of Columbia University

"Peace by persuasion has a pleasant sound, but I think we should not be able to work it. We should have to tame the human race first, and history seems to show that that cannot be done."  Mark Twain in a Letter to William T. Stead, 1/9/1899

While Columbia University has not had a ROTC Office in 4 decades, it does not shy away from weighing in on Military Debates.  Contrary to the Geneva Conventions, one of its professors claimed that the US Constitution, not the Geneva Conventions and International Law were the basis for holding trials and giving unearned rights to terrorists captured on the Battlefield.

Yeah, the same University that invited Ahdimijihadist to speak there bans ROTC from its campus and its students heckle Wounded Warriors that are members of its student body.  The leader of the terrorist world was cheered mere miles from the site of the 9/11 attacks, a place he tried to visit, and was denied by NYC.