Bush: US Military Humanitarian Mission in Georgia to Continue

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2008 -- The U.S. military flights that have delivered humanitarian assistance to Georgia this week will continue in the days ahead, President Bush said today.

American C-17 aircraft began delivering aid to Georgia Aug. 14 in the wake of attacks by Russian forces in two breakaway Georgian regions and other parts of the former Soviet republic.

“In recent days, U.S. cargo planes carrying humanitarian supplies have arrived in Georgia. In the days ahead, we will continue using U.S. aircraft and other assets as needed to deliver more humanitarian and medical supplies,” Bush said today in his weekly radio address.

As the humanitarian mission proceeds, Russia must honor its commitment to keep open all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, airports, roads, and airspace for civilian transit and the delivery of humanitarian assistance, the president added.

Bush, at his family ranch in Crawford, Texas, received briefings today from both Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who is overseeing the humanitarian mission, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Rice traveled to Crawford to discuss her recent diplomatic jaunt to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, where she met with President Mikheil Saakashvili and his team.

During Rice’s trip, Saakashvili and Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev signed a six-point peace plan, which, in separate remarks there this morning, Bush hailed as an important development and a hopeful step.

“Now Russia needs to honor the agreement and withdraw its forces and, of course, end military operations,” he said in Crawford.

Rice soon will travel to Brussels, Belgium, where she will meet with the foreign ministers of America’s NATO allies and European Union officials to “continue to rally the free world in the defense of a free Georgia,” the president said.

Fighting that began in the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia last week broadened to include Russian attacks on other parts of the country, including Abkhazia, another heavily separatist region. Russia contends that the heavily pro-Moscow breakaway regions may not belong within Georgia’s borders in the future, a stance that Bush characterized as “a major issue.”

“These regions are a part of Georgia, and the international community has repeatedly made clear that they will remain so,” Bush said. “Georgia is a member of the United Nations, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia lie within its internationally recognized borders.

“Georgia's borders should command the same respect as every other nation's,” he said.

The situation already was tense when Russian tanks and troops on Aug. 8 crossed the border into South Ossetia, where they were aided by regional separatists. Clashes escalated a day later in and around Tskhinvali, South Ossetia’s capital, as Russian aircraft were reported to have bombed that city and mounted attacks later in Abkhazia and other Georgian areas, fueling fears that Moscow would attempt to depose the democratically elected government in Tblisi.

“We will continue to stand behind Georgia's democracy,” Bush said. “We will continue to insist that Georgia's sovereignty and independence and territorial integrity be respected.”

(Story by John J. Kruzel, American Forces Press Service.)

Related:
Transcript: President’s statement in Crawford, Texas
Transcript: President’s weekly radio address

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Pentagon: US Troops, Civilians Overseas Can Vote by Absentee Ballot

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2008 -- With fall general elections approaching, U.S. servicemembers and civilians living overseas should now be thinking about obtaining absentee ballots to vote, the Defense Department’s senior voting official urged today.

“What we want to do is make sure that all of our military members, their family members and all of our U.S. citizens residing outside the United States have an opportunity to vote,” Polli K. Brunelli, director of DoD’s Federal Voting Assistance Program, told Pentagon reporters.

Based at Arlington, Va., the FVAP carries out voting assistance throughout the Defense Department on behalf of the secretary of defense, who is delegated by the president to administer the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986. Brunelli said the law affects more than 6 million potential voters.

Servicemembers and overseas civilians can access information about absentee voting requirements by accessing www.fvap.gov, the newly designed FVAP Web site, Brunelli said.

“Absentee voting can be done by mail. There are also some alternatives that we’ve been working with the states for electronic alternatives for our voters,” she said. “So many states have passed legislation that allows a voter to submit voting materials by fax or e-mail.”

Many states also allow delivery of blank absentee ballots to voters via fax or e-mail, Brunelli noted.

The military departments are performing a significant role, Brunelli said, by instructing servicemembers how to cast absentee ballots. Military voting assistance officers assigned worldwide also can inform servicemembers and family members about absentee voting requirements, she said.

As part of Armed Forces Voters Week, slated Aug. 31 through Sept. 7, military commanders and voting assistance officers worldwide will contact servicemembers and families to inform them that it is a good time to register for an absentee ballot in the state where they are legal voting residents, Brunelli said.

The mail, as well as fax and e-mail, are potential conduits where voters may cast absentee ballots, said Scott Wiedmann, the FVAP’s deputy director.

“We want to give the citizens as many opportunities, as many alternatives as possible, that are allowed by their state law, to communicate with that local election office,” Wiedmann said.

“We want everyone to participate in the voting process: our servicemembers, their family members and all of our overseas citizens,” Brunelli said. “It is voting outreach, to let them know that they are eligible to participate in this democratic process.”

However, the actual act of casting a ballot ultimately is up to the individual, she said.

“So, it is up to the voter to decide what they want to do,” Brunelli said. “We want to make sure they have the information and the means to do so, if they choose to vote.”

Servicemembers and family members with questions on absentee voting requirements should see their unit voting assistance officer or read their state registration and voting procedures in the Voting Assistance Guide on the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s Web site.

(Story by Gerry J. Gilmore,American Forces Press Service.)

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Cease-Fire Agreement Calls for Immediate Russian Troop Withdrawal from Georgia

In this combination news photo released August 15, 2008, a vehicle carrying Turkish journalists is being shot at at an area of Georgian-Russian fighting between the Georgian town of Gori and breakaway South Ossetia.

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2008 -- A cease-fire agreement signed today by the president of the former Soviet republic of Georgia calls for Russian troops to immediately leave his country, America’s senior diplomat said in the Georgian capital today.

“And now, with the signature of the Georgian president on this cease-fire accord, all Russian troops and any irregular and paramilitary forces that entered with them must leave immediately,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a news conference in Tbilisi with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili at her side.

President Bush dispatched Rice to Europe to assist in resolving a now week-long international crisis involving Georgia and Russia. On Aug. 8, Russian tanks and troops crossed the border into the contested northern Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, after Georgian military forces had clashed with separatists in South Ossetia the day before.

The Russian troops caused Georgian forces to retreat south. Since then, the Russians have lodged themselves in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as in some Georgian municipalities farther south.

Rice was in Tbilisi today, she said, to demonstrate “the solidarity of the United States with Georgia and its people in this moment of crisis.”

The United States, she said, supports Georgia’s independence, its territorial integrity and its democratically elected government.

“That is America’s position, and in my discussions with my European colleagues, it is the position of the Europeans, as well,” Rice said.

Rice was in France yesterday to consult with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. France and the United States worked together to craft the cease-fire agreement.

“The Russian attack on Georgia had profound implications and will have profound implications for Russia’s relations with its neighbors and with the world,” Rice said in Tbilisi. “But, our most-urgent task today is the immediate and orderly withdrawal of Russian armed forces and the return of those forces to Russia.”

With today’s cease-fire agreement, what’s needed in Georgia now “are international observers on the scene -- fast,” Rice said in Tbilisi. Finnish authorities have indicated that regional security monitors affiliated with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe could be sent to Georgia in a matter of days, she said. Finland’s Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb is the organization’s chairman for 2008.

“And, eventually, we need a more robust and impartial peacekeeping international force that would follow those monitors,” Rice added.

The Georgian president accused Russia of conducting a premeditated invasion of his country.

“We are under [a] Russian invasion and Russian occupation right now,” Saakashvili declared. “And, we want to end [this] Russian invasion and occupation.”

The United States and other nations are providing humanitarian assistance to the Georgian people, Rice said.

“Access must be immediate and unimpeded for those humanitarian efforts,” Rice said. “When the security situation in Georgia is stabilized, we will turn immediately to reconstruction.”

Rice urged that Georgians who were displaced from their homes during the fighting be allowed to return.

The Defense Department-enabled U.S. humanitarian relief mission to Georgia continues, Rice said. U.S. military transport planes already have delivered millions of dollars worth of humanitarian supplies to Georgians rendered homeless by the fighting.

“That mission will be vigorous and ongoing,” Rice said.

Meanwhile, the United States is working with the Georgian government, the G-7 world economic organization and the International Monetary Fund “to rapidly develop an economic support package for the Georgian economy to build on its demonstrated track record and to resume its rapid growth,” Rice said.

The economic package, Rice said, is designed to “restore Georgia’s economy and reinforce investor confidence as Georgia returns to its position as the leading economy in the region.”

Rice said it is imperative that “Russian forces leave Georgia at once.” The world, she said, needs to help Georgia maintain its sovereignty, its territorial integrity and its independence.

“This is no longer 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, when a great power invaded a small neighbor and overthrew its government,” Rice said, in recalling the Soviet Union’s invasion of that European nation. “The free world will now have to wrestle with the profound implications of this Russian attack on its neighbor for security in the region and beyond.”

(Story by Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service.)

Related Background: U.S. State Department Background Notes on Georgia

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Forces in Afghanistan Kill, Detain Militants

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2008 -- Afghan and coalition forces killed dozens of militants and detained eight others in separate operations the past three days in Afghanistan, military officials reported.

Eight militants were detained during a joint Afghan National Army and coalition forces operation to disrupt roadside-bomb networks in Paktika province yesterday. The joint force searched compounds in Orgun district targeting a Taliban sub-commander wanted for kidnapping, murdering several Afghan soldiers, and facilitating roadside-bomb operations.

During the operation, military working dogs chased two men who were trying to flee. Both men received dog-bite injuries, one of which required treatment by coalition medical personnel.

Elsewhere, Afghan national security forces and coalition forces killed two militants after they were attacked during a combat security patrol in Nahr Surkh district, in Helmand province, yesterday. Two militants on motorcycles engaged the patrol with small-arms fire. Afghan and coalition forces returned fire and killed both militants.

In operations Aug. 13- 15, coalition forces and Afghan national security forces killed more than three dozen militants over two days of fierce fighting in southern Afghanistan.

Several groups of militants engaged an Afghan and coalition forces reconnaissance patrol over a two-day period with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. Afghan and coalition forces returned fire with small arms and close-air support. Afghan and coalition forces destroyed multiple vehicles and enemy fighting positions. They also seized several RPGs, weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a large opium cache.

Also on Aug. 13, Afghan national security forces and coalition forces killed a militant who attacked a combat security patrol in Shah Wali Kot district, in Kandahar province.

Several militants engaged Afghan and coalition forces with small-arms and indirect fire. Afghan and coalition forces returned fire with small arms and called for supporting fire, killing one militant. An unknown number of militants fled the scene, officials said.

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 101 news releases.)

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Troops in Iraq Nab 10 Suspects, Find Weapons

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2008 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces detained 10 suspected terrorists and found numerous weapons caches in recent operations in Baghdad and other areas of Iraq, military officials reported.

Coalition forces detained eight suspected terrorists in central and northern Iraq today while targeting operatives involved in al-Qaida in Iraq bombing networks.

• Forces in Baghdad captured a wanted man with suspected ties to several al-Qaida networks, including foreign-terrorist-facilitation and bombing cells. He also is believed to associate with longtime al-Qaida in Iraq leaders, some of whom were detained in 2006.

• Using information from an Aug. 9 operation, coalition forces detained six suspected terrorists in Mosul, including a wanted man who allegedly is associated with financial support for terrorists in the city.

• In Beiji, about 160 kilometers south of Mosul, coalition forces detained a suspected terrorist while targeting members of a bombing cell known for attacking first responders.

• Soldiers from Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, found a cache in the Saha neighborhood consisting of two 155 mm artillery rounds and a 60 mm mortar round. An explosives ordnance disposal team collected the rounds.

In operations yesterday:

• Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, detained a suspected Iranian-backed “special groups” member during a search in the Bayaa community. The patrol delivered the suspect, an alleged cell leader responsible for emplacing roadside bombs and attacking coalition forces, to a coalition base for processing.

• Acting on a tip from a local resident, soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division’s Company C, 1st Infantry Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, seized eight rockets, a bag of small-arms ammunition, 21 cans of 12.7 mm ammunition, 19 82 mm mortars and eight 120 mm mortars in the Mushada area northwest of Baghdad. Throughout the day, soldiers recovered many more munitions, including rockets, grenades, a signal-illumination grenade, Iranian-made mortars and C-4 explosives, electrical blasting caps, small-arms ammunition, and a Dragonov rifle and scope.

• Iraqi soldiers discovered a significant cache in Baghdad’s Sadr City district. A concerned resident's tip led the soldiers to an abandoned building, where the cache was found hidden behind a false wall. The cache consisted of 22 foam-encased roadside bombs designed to penetrate armor-hulled vehicles, 65 boxes of steel ball bearings, five plastic cylinders, six car alarms, 92 12-volt rechargeable batteries, 26 C-4 demolition charges, 95 copper disks, 61 12-inch lengths of angle iron, 13 electrical blasting caps, two spools of electrical wire, and various electrical and bomb-making components.

• A woman suicide bomber detonated herself south of Baghdad, killing an Iraqi policeman and 17 citizens, and wounding 75 other citizens outside a residential area between the towns of Iskandariyah and Musayyib. The civilian victims were on a pilgrimage to Karbala to commemorate Shabaniyah in celebration of the birth of Mohammed al-Mahdi, the 12th Shiite imam, who disappeared in the 9th century. About 5,000 pilgrims have traversed through the same area without incident as a result of Iraqi security force operations, officials said.

In operations Aug. 13, Iraqi army and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers removed unexploded ordnance and detained a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq member in southern Baghdad’s Rashid district. Iraqi soldiers found a 155 mm artillery round and a 105 mm artillery round during clearing operations in the Saydiyah community. The Iraqi soldiers confiscated the ordnance and brought it to a nearby joint security station, where an explosives ordnance disposal unit disposed of the munitions.

Also on Aug. 13, soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, detained a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq operator in the Jihad area of Rashid who is believed to be responsible for attacks against Iraqi and coalition security forces in the district.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

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US and Iraqi Troops Pick Up Georgians’ Missions in Iraq’s Wasit Province

Dispatches from the Front:

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq, Aug. 15, 2008 -- Iraqi security forces will partner with the U.S. Army’s 41st Fires Brigade and occupy the checkpoints and patrol bases in Iraq’s Wasit province that 1st Georgian Brigade manned before the unit members redeployed home during their country’s domestic crisis.

“We want to train and work with the U.S. Army,” said Sgt. Namel Watak Nwiyf, of the 32nd Iraqi Army Brigade.

Nwiyf is with a contingent of Iraqi soldiers working with U.S. soldiers from Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, at checkpoints in Wasit to keep the province stable and secure.

“We like our job here of running the traffic control point and providing security at the entrance of the patrol base,” Nwiyf said.

Army 2nd Lt. Charles Hines, Battery B, 2-20th Field Artillery Regiment, is the liaison to the Iraqi army at the patrol base. He said the plan is to have a complete partnership with the Iraqi soldiers.

“Right now, the Iraqi soldiers have taken over the responsibility of the traffic control point, but we are going to train them to be able to take over the entire patrol base, go and do presence patrols and set up temporary traffic control points in our area,” Hines said.

The 41st Fires Brigade has established a very good working relationship both the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army, Col. Richard M. Francey, Jr., the commander, said.
“We are integrating with the [Iraqi security forces] to make us a better fighting force,” Francey said. “They have stepped up to the plate, and their partnership is why we are able to take over the mission that the Georgians had to leave behind, with no change in the security and safety of the Iraqi people”

For Nwiyf, working with the Americans is a chance to get better training, and learn as much as he can from the U.S. soldiers.

“I want to fight fiercely alongside the U.S. Army,” he said. By working with the Americans, he added, “I get more training to be able to do the job.”

(Story by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson.)

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US Humanitarian Assistance for Georgia Continues

Dispatches from the Front:

STUTTGART, Germany, Aug. 15, 2008 -- Humanitarian aid to the former Soviet republic of Georgia continued today, as two U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft arrived in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, carrying pallets of cargo, including emergency shelter items and medical supplies.

Military forces throughout U.S. European Command's area of responsibility are contributing to the effort.

An Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport arrived in Tbilisi with the first planeload of U.S. aid Aug. 13, carrying blankets, cots, sleeping bags and medical supplies. A second C-17 arrived yesterday and carried additional supplies, as well as 104,000 doses of antibiotics requested by the Georgian Health Ministry.

The supplies are being distributed and coordinated by five nongovernmental organizations: Counterpart International, A Call to Serve -- Georgia, International Relief and Development, Hellenicare, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

All humanitarian assistance efforts have been closely coordinated with the Georgian government and international organizations, EuCom officials said.

(Story by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Dana M. Clark, U.S. European Command Public Affairs Office.)

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US Seaman Forgoes 6-Figure Salary for Navy Blue and Gold

News in Balance:

USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, At Sea, Aug. 15, 2008 -- After working 16 years as a division manager, managing 214 deli departments for a major supermarket chain, making $150,000 a year, a man from Ajo, Ariz. decided to quit his job and join the Navy at age 32.

Personnel Specialist Seaman (SW) David Bigbey now works aboard USS Abraham Lincoln's (CVN 72), Personnel Department assisting sailors coming into the Navy and preparing sailors for the transition back into the civilian world.

"The fact is I can do anything, but I chose to do this job," said Bigbey.

Serving in the military is something Bigbey has wanted to do since high school.

"After high school, things came up and I never got to join," said Bigbey. "I continued to earn more money as life moved progressively quicker. The next thing I knew, I blinked and it seemed as if time had flown by."

With the company closing three of the stores in his region, Bigbey had to let go of a few employees, and wanted to make sure they were set for their next jobs. Explaining what the military had to offer opened doors for his employees, as well as himself.

"I wanted to make sure my employees were taken care of after they were let go," said Bigbey, "so I took them to talk to a few military recruiters. I wanted to make sure they had a job and got an education. In the process, I found out I was still under the age limit for joining the Navy. The cutoff age limit was 33, and I was 32. I was definitely interested and wanted to join."

Bigbey's employer laughed when he told them he had joined the Navy.

"My employer was shocked when I told them I had just signed the paperwork to join the Navy," said Bigbey.
"They laughed and didn't believe me. I pushed the paper in front of them to prove to them. At the same time, I realized I was walking away from my job and everything I had."

Confused about whether his decision was a good one, Bigbey trusted his instincts and made a commitment to naval service.

"At first I thought, 'Am I doing the right thing?'" said Bigbey. "I always tell people to live without regrets. My regret was not joining the Navy, so I knew I had made the right decision. If you're going to do something, do it on your own terms."

Bigbey came from a military family and lived in a small town where a majority of the people served in the military.

"My dad and grandpa were in the Marines, my brother and one uncle were in the Air Force, two of my uncles were in the Army and two of my uncles were in the Navy," said Bigbey.

(Stroy by Aviation Electronics Technician Airman Ashley Houp, USS Abraham Lincoln Public Affairs.)

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Bush: US, Allies 'Stand With People of Georgia'

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2008 -- President Bush today pledged that the United States will support the former Soviet republic of Georgia in its time of need, as Russian troops still occupy parts of the country.

“The United States and our allies stand with the people of Georgia and their democratically elected government,” Bush said at the White House. “Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. Moscow must honor its commitment to withdraw its invading forces from all Georgian territory.”

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now conferring with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in Tbilisi, the country’s capital city, Bush said. Rice is in Georgia to express “America’s wholehearted support for Georgia’s democracy,” Bush said.

Bush said Rice will later travel to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, to update him on the situation in Georgia. Bush also said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is keeping him briefed on the ongoing humanitarian mission in Georgia.

This is a developing story.

More coverage to follow.

(Story by Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service.)

Related Background: U.S. State Department Background Notes on Georgia

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US Air Force Launches Successful ICBM Test

A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile successfully launches at 1:01 a.m. Aug. 13 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The missile was configured with a National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, test assembly in which three unarmed re-entry vehicles traveled approximately 4,190 miles to their pre-determined targets in the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Air Force photo by Joe Davila.)

Focus on Defense:

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Aug 15, 2008 -- A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile configured with a National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, test assembly was launched from North Vandenberg at 1:01 a.m. Aug. 13.

The launch was an operational test to determine the weapon system's reliability and accuracy.

The missile's three unarmed re-entry vehicles traveled approximately 4,220 nautical miles to pre-determined targets in the Pacific Ocean.

"The unique part of this mission was the incorporation of a maintenance task force from an operational missile wing," said Capt. Steve Bonin, launch director for the mission.

Operational tasks were conducted by maintenance and operations Airmen from the 341st Missile Wing, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.

In the past, maintenance teams from missile wings supported the missile testing mission here; however, the program was discontinued several years ago. This mission marks a return to this model in which the maintenance task force has the opportunity to perform jobs unique to test operations while validating the work they perform at their home base.

"For me, the unique part of this launch was seeing all the moving pieces coming together," Captain Bonin said. "We had maintenance and operations teams from up north working together with us in the squadron; the coordination we did with the 30th Space Wing who manages the range; as well as the Army and the Navy who supported the mission downrange."

Members of the 576th Flight Test Squadron installed tracking, telemetry and command destruct systems on the missile to collect data and meet safety requirements.

"I'm very proud of the team of professionals involved in making this test a success." said Lt. Col. Lesa Toler, 576th FLTS commander. "Their technical expertise, dedication and adherence to 'perfection as the standard' have ensured our nation's ICBM fleet is capable and extremely accurate."

The data collected will be used by the entire ICBM community, including the U.S. Strategic Command planners and NNSA and Department of Energy laboratories.

Since its founding in 1958, Vandenberg Airmen have shouldered the responsibility of testing and improving the nation's ICBM fleet. In the past, teams here have proven the Thor, Atlas, Titan, Peacekeeper, Minuteman I and Minuteman II weapon systems. In doing so, Vandenberg's Airmen helped maintain strategic stability for the past 50 years.

Today, the 576th FLTS and 30th SW carry on this heritage through the testing and systematic improvement of the Minuteman III weapon system.

"For the past 50 years, Vandenberg has been at the forefront of testing and improving American ballistic missiles," said Col. David Buck, 30th SW commander. "Thanks to the hard work of Team Vandenberg, we continue a proud legacy of assuring the readiness and reliability of our ICBM fleet."

Despite 50 years of consistent testing and progress, the critical mission of demonstrating and advancing a key Air Force deterrent remains a unique and challenging venture for today's Airmen.

"I've supported five test launches and with each one I learn more and more about the Minuteman III," Captain Bonin said. "There's always something new."

(Story by 2nd Lt. Raymond Geoffroy, 30th Space Wing Public Affairs.)

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Battenberg Cup Arrives Aboard 'Big E'

In this file photo, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) pulls into its homeport of Naval Station Norfolk in December 2007, after a six-month deployment. The Enterprise Carrier Strike Group deployed to the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility to support theater security cooperation and maritime security operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Joshua Adam Nuzzo.)

Focus on Defense:

"What is the Battenberg Cup? It means you are the best ship in the Atlantic fleet, simply put."

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Aug. 14, 2008 -- The crew from USS Enterprise (CVN 65) "The Big E," was presented with the prestigious Battenberg Cup, Aug. 13, for recognition of their outstanding achievements in operational excellence in 2007.

Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, visited the 'Big E' to present the award to Enterprise Commanding Officer, Capt. Ron Horton and the crew.

More than 1,500 crew members were on hand to witness the event; including Commander, Carrier Strike Group 12, Rear Adm. John N. Christenson.

The Battenberg Cup is an award that is given annually to the best all-around ship or submarine based on the accumulation of crew successes in the Atlantic Fleet. Big E was selected as the number one ship out of all the carriers, amphibious, submarines, frigates, destroyers and cruisers in the Atlantic Fleet.

"What is the Battenberg Cup," asked Greenert. "It means you are the best ship in the Atlantic fleet, simply put."

"It is not just about battle efficiency, it is not just about retention, it's not about navigation, it's not about administration," said Greenert. "It is all of that put together, that's what makes it unique and that's what makes it special."

Greenert also presented Horton with the official Battle Efficiency Award citation in recognition of Big E also winning the 2007 Battle "E" for aircraft carriers on the East Coast.

Greenert emphasized that winning the award, as well as being apart of the U.S. Navy were things to take great pride in.

"Remember you're taking part in something bigger than yourself," said Greenert. "You joined the Navy, you were put on a ship, in a crew with a lot of heritage and a lot of tradition. You are the oldest ship, but also the best ship and that is truly unique."

After the presentation, Horton gave a brief speech congratulating the crew members of Enterprise on this accomplishment.

"To tell you that I am proud of you would be an absolutely gross understatement," said Horton. "You earned this. Your blood, sweat and tears are what got you this cup."

Enterprise is drydocked at Northrop Grumman Shipyard in Newport News, conducting its extended drydocking selected restricted availability.

(Story by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Devonte' Jones, USS Enterprise Public Affairs.)

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US Troops' Combat Survivability Doubled Since Vietnam

Staff Sgt. Matt Sims, an Army medic, demonstrates the Asherman Chest Seal, a bandage and one-way valve that lets the air out of a punctured lung. Sims credits the seal with saving his life after debris from an improvised-explosive device punctured his lung in Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth M. Lorge.)

Focus on Defense:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2008 -- Recent advances in combat medicine are saving servicemembers’ lives at unprecedented rates, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs told a group of government and medical officials at a “Government Executive” event Wednesday.

Dr. S. Ward Casscells said new medicines, equipment, protective gear and better facilities have decreased the military’s died-of-wounds rate from 23.9 percent in Vietnam to 10.1 and 12 percent in Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively.

“Overall, the battlefield care is much better than even in Desert Storm one. It’s really not what the doctors are doing. It’s Soldiers taking care of themselves; Soldiers taking care of each other. The best-trained medics we’ve ever had. The most courageous medics we’ve ever had,” Casscells said, noting that 170 medics have given their lives in Iraq and many more have been wounded.

“We train…them to do very quickly what EMTs and even paramedics do in the civilian sector. They learn fast. They’re 18-year-old kids and they know they’re going to be using those skills, and they’re paying attention because they know that they themselves could be one of the patients. Don’t underestimate what an 18-year-old kid who decided to defer college to serve his or her country can learn. They can learn a hell of a lot,” he continued.

One of them is Staff Sgt. Matt Sims, who was wounded three times during his second deployment to Iraq, but was never evacuated out of theater. He credits both new equipment and the medical training of other Soldiers – every new Soldier must be certified as a combat lifesaver and many others have some medical training – with saving his life.

Sims, a medic now at Rader Clinic, Fort Myer, Va., demonstrated the differences between new bandages and tourniquets and old versions that date to the Vietnam War. Old bandages were often hard to open, didn’t stretch and were easy to tear. It was difficult to get a bandage to stick to a punctured lung. Medics would have to use three different dressings for a regular bandage, pressure bandage and tourniquet. They would have to find a stick to use the tourniquet.

Now, in addition to the tourniquets each Soldier carries and some that are built into uniforms, the same bandage can be converted to a pressure bandage and also a tourniquet. Each bandage is easy to open and has all the parts it needs. The Asherman Chest Seal comes with gauze and a one-way valve that lets air out of a punctured lung. Some bandages have charcoal or a material made from sterilized shrimp shells to stop bleeding.

Sims also said that medical officials have learned that tourniquets should be applied immediately to prevent blood loss, and that limbs are safe for up to eight hours. Casscells added that it’s better not to over-hydrate patients with saline to raise their blood pressure because this can inhibit clotting. Doctors also have advanced clotting factors they can give patients who are losing too much blood.

“Getting definitive care on the battlefield at the point of injury, I think, attests to most of the lifesaving on the battlefield. If you stop a bleed soon, keep a wound clean at the point of injury, it’s saving hundreds of lives,” said Sims, who also praised the extensive training medics and Soldiers get on how to use lifesaving equipment.

If servicemembers need to be evacuated from theater after receiving initial treatment at a combat support hospital, they travel in C-17s that have been converted to flying intensive-care units complete with nurses and ventilators. Most servicemembers are at a military hospital in the States within 72 hours of their injuries.

“No one, I mean no one, dies in (them),” said Casscells, who visits Walter Reed Army Medical Center every day he is in Washington.

Both he and Sims noted that burns were one of the hardest injuries to treat, and that the only thing medics can really do in the field is keep them clean. But the military will soon have nonrejectable skin and servicemembers will be able to save skin stem cells to help regenerate skin, said Casscells. The military is also working on skin-growth factors and scar inhibitors.

According to Casscells, the military is also sending servicemembers who need extensive reconstructive surgery to experienced plastic surgeons at the University of California Los Angeles hospital. Some of those surgeons are also training military doctors.

But he said that some of the most important research is in how to prevent burns from occurring at all. Soldiers wear flame-retardant clothing in certain vehicles, and Casscells said engineers are looking at ways to redesign vehicles to make the fuel tanks less dangerous to servicemembers.

“A lot of solutions to medical problems aren’t medical…They’re engineering solutions, they’re IT solutions, they’re culturation—persuading people not to plant that bomb—stuff like that. The burn thing is one of them,” he said.

Sims said that whatever solutions and equipment the military comes up with, they have to be items servicemembers will actually use.

“The Army can make the best equipment in the world for burns. Best equipment to stop bullets. Best helmets and things like that. But if they don’t make it comfortable, Soldiers will not wear it, no matter how expensive, no matter how much money they spend. I know from experience: if it’s not comfortable to wear in Iraq, where it’s 100 degrees, if you don’t make something that can breathe, that’s comfortable to wear, Soldiers aren’t going to wear it…It’s not doing any good if it’s lying on the side of the road or in the vehicle and they’re not wearing it,” he said, adding that leaders also need to make sure Soldiers use all of their protective gear.

(Story by Elizabeth M. Lorge.)

Tags: DOD, Military, Focus On Defense, GWOT, terrorism, United States, U.S., Open Thread
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US Military Continues Aid Mission to Georgia

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2008 -- The humanitarian mission under way in Georgia is intended to alleviate suffering for now and will move into longer-range help in the future, officials said at a Pentagon news conference today.

The Air Force has sent two supply-filled C-17 Globemaster III transports into Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi. More flights will follow, officials said, but none are scheduled just yet.

Russian troops who invaded Georgia last week are beginning to pull back, Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates also spoke at the news conference.

“Generally, the [Russian] forces are starting to move out of the city, particularly Gori, starting to consolidate their positions and get themselves into a position where they can start to back away towards … the border,” the general said. “We see that going on particularly in the areas around the seaports and around Tbilisi, and up north of Tbilisi and west towards Gori.”

Russian air activities in and around the region have virtually stopped, Cartwright said. “Over the last 24 hours, really, there has been no air activity,” he said. “So we see them generally complying and moving back into a position where they can start to make their exit in an orderly fashion.”

Another Air Force plane transported a six-man humanitarian assistance assessment team. “This is a sequenced kind of thing,” Gates said. The team will look at the seaports, airports and roads, assess their condition and report back to U.S. European Command. The team also will work with the U.S. Embassy in Georgia and with Georgian leaders to ascertain what the country needs. U.S. military transport planes or ships will deliver that aid.

Cartwright said the military team will look at what roads are open, where help is needed, and what kind of help is needed in those areas. Civilian humanitarian assistance teams from various U.S. agencies will join the servicemembers as the assessment process goes forward, State Department officials said.

The two C-17s that have already arrived carried what’s become the standard package for humanitarian assistance, Cartwright said. Goods delivered included materials to build shelters, clothing and medical supplies.

“What we don't want to do is build some sort of mountain of supplies there with no distribution system,” Cartwright said.

The general said he expects many answers will come in the next 48 hours.

In a statement provided to American Forces Press Service, Air Force Maj. Gen. Mike Gould, U.S. Transportation Command's operations director, said the command is ready to do whatever it's asked to do.

"U.S. Transportation Command, our service components and enterprise partners are capitalizing on our world-class global transportation network to support the regional commander's requirements," he said. "We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to continue supporting the humanitarian assistance efforts for the people of Georgia."

(Story by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service.)

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Gates: Russian Invasion Sends Message to World

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2008 -- With their invasion of Georgia, the Russians are sending a message not only to neighbors, but also to the world, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.

Georgia, a nation of 5 million in the Caucasus region, has allied itself with the West and is seeking membership in NATO. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are provinces that are seeking to break away from Georgia and ally with Russia.

Gates noted that, like clockwork, there have been exchanges of gunfire between Georgian and South Ossetian troops every August. “And this year, it escalated very quickly,” he said. “The Russians were prepared to take advantage of an opportunity.”

The Russian air, land and sea attacks against Georgia went far beyond asserting the Russian view of the autonomy of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Russians, Gates said, wanted “to punish Georgia for daring to try to integrate with the West economically and politically and in security arrangements.”

The Russian military action was directed against Georgia, but Kremlin leaders wanted nations in all parts of the former Soviet Union to understand the dangers of integrating with the West, Gates said. “I think that they had an opportunity to make some very broad points [to these nations] and, I think, [the Russians] seized that opportunity,” he said. Gates holds a doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University.

The message has been received by the nations of the world, Gates said.

“My guess is that everyone is going to be looking at Russia through a different set of lenses as … we look ahead,” the secretary said. “I think Russia's got some serious work to do to try and work its way back into the family of nations that are trying to work together and build democracy and build … their economies, working together.”

Gates said he does not want to repeat the Cold War, and that he certainly does not want to see U.S. and Russian troops in a hot war.

“The United States spent 45 years working very hard to avoid a military confrontation with Russia,” he said. “I see no reason to change that approach today.”

(Story by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service.)

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Troops in Iraq Kill 1, Detain 10 Suspected Terrorists

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2008 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces killed an enemy fighter, detained 10 suspected terrorists and found weapons during recent operations throughout Baghdad, military officials said.

Coalition troops killed one man and detained five others allegedly connected to al-Qaida. The individuals are believed to be involved in assassinations, bombings and financial conspiracies for the group against coalition and Iraqi forces. Various weapons were confiscated during the operation, officials said.

In operations yesterday:

• Iraqi soldiers captured four suspected terrorists who allegedly attacked coalition forces in the city’s Rashid district. The individuals ambushed the U.S. police training team with small-arms fire, officials said.

• Coalition and Iraqi forces discovered multiple weapons caches in separate operations throughout the city. All together, they found 40 rounds of various munitions filled with explosives, 11 oxygen tanks filled with explosives, multiple artillery rounds, two rocket launchers, body armor, propaganda paraphernalia, and bomb-making material.

• In Baghdad’s Sadr City area, U.S. troops from the 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team and Iraqi forces found a weapons cache consisting of more than 20 mortar rounds and rockets intended to be used for homemade bombs, officials said.

In operations Aug. 12:

• U.S. soldiers in southern Baghdad captured an alleged Iranian-trained “special groups” member wanted for illegal weapons trafficking.

• Iraqi and coalition forces found numerous weapons caches and large amounts of currency during operations throughout Baghdad’s Rashid district. They found 26 AK-47 assault rifles, 18 rockets, 12 RPGs with launcher, a sniper rifle and bomb-making materials. They also discovered more than $75,000 in Iraqi dinars, $5,600 in U.S. currency, $245 in Indian rupees and $140 in United Arab Emirates dirhams, officials said.

• In Sadr City, Iraqi soldiers found a substantial weapons cache hidden in an underground water tank. They found 13 Chinese-made mortars, seven Iranian-made mortars, five Yugoslavian-made mortars, six grenades, three rocket propellants, two rockets, seven pounds of explosive material, 100 blasting caps, 50 feet of detonation cord, a 5-pound bag of propellant, four automatic machine gun barrels, and more than 2,000 rounds of various small-arms ammunition, officials said.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

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Gates: Russian Actions Have Long-Term Implications

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2008 -- Countries around the world are looking at Russia "through new lenses" following its aggression against the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.

Meanwhile, the United States continues humanitarian efforts to help Georgians affected by the conflict. Two U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo jets have delivered supplies to Georgia, and another aircraft delivered a U.S. military survey team to the country.

“During these humanitarian relief operations, the United States expects Russia to ensure that all lines of communication and transport -- including seaports, airports, roads and airspace -- remain open,” Gates said during a Pentagon news conference.

Gates echoed President Bush’s call for Russia to abide by its commitment to cease all military activities in Georgia. “We expect all Russian forces that entered Georgia in recent days to withdraw from that country,” Gates said.

Russian aggression against Georgia will have long-term implications for U.S.-Russian relations, the secretary said. The military incursion into Georgia will affect ongoing and long-term strategic dialogue with the Russian Federation that he and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had engaged in since 2007, Gates said.

“The expectation was that our two nations, despite our differences, shared areas of common interest where we could work together as real partners,” he said.

But Russia’s military action in Georgia and in the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia “has called into question the entire premise of that dialogue, and has profound implications for our security relationship going forward, both bilaterally and with NATO,” Gates said. “If Russia does not step back from its aggressive posture and actions in Georgia, the U.S.-Russian relationship could be adversely affected for years to come.”

The United States cancelled participation in a multinational naval exercise with Russia due to begin tomorrow. “We've also canceled a U.S.-Canadian-Russian exercise -- Vigilant Eagle -- that was to have begun on Aug. 20,” Gates said.

“In the days and weeks ahead, the Department of Defense will reexamine the entire gamut of our military-to-military activities with Russia and will make changes as necessary and appropriate, depending on Russian actions in the days ahead,” the secretary said.

(Story by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service.)

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