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November 2002www.soldiersmagazine.com

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Through an Artist’s EyesThe Army’s Floating Brigade

Veteran’sHistory

Soldiers StaffEditor in Chief: LTC John E. SuttleManaging Editor: Gil HighProduction Editor: Steve HardingArt Director: Helen Hall VanHooseAssociate Art Director: Paul Henry CrankSenior Editor: Heike HasenauerPhoto Editor: SSG Alberto BetancourtSpecial Products Editor: Beth ReeceGraphic Designer: LeRoy JewellExecutive Secretary: Joseph T. Marsden

The OfficialU.S. Army MagazineSecretary of the Army: Thomas E. WhiteChief of Staff: GEN Eric K. ShinsekiChief of Public Affairs: MG Larry D. GottardiChief, Command Information: COL James M. Allen

Soldiers (ISSN 0093-8440) is published monthly under super-vision of the Army Chief of Public Affairs to provide the TotalArmy with information on people, policies, operations, technicaldevelopments, trends and ideas of and about the Department ofthe Army. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarilythose of the Department of the Army. ■ Manuscripts of interestto Army personnel are invited. Direct communication is autho-rized to Editor, Soldiers, 9325 Gunston Road, Suite S108,Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-5581. Phone: DSN 656-4486 or com-mercial (703) 806-4486. Or send e-mail to soldiers@belvoir.army.mil. ■ Unless otherwise indicated (and except for“by permission” and copyright items), material may be reprintedprovided credit is given to Soldiers and the author. ■ Allphotographs by U.S. Army except as otherwise credited.■ Military distribution: From the U.S. Army Distribution Opera-tions Facility, 1655 Woodson Road, St. Louis, MO 63114-6181,in accordance with Initial Distribution Number (IDN) 050007subscription requirements submitted by commanders. ■ TheSecretary of the Army has determined that the publication of thisperiodical is necessary in the transaction of the public businessas required by law of the department. ■ Use of funds for printingthis publication was approved by the Secretary of the Army onSept. 2, 1986, in accordance with the provisions of Army Regu-lation 25-30. Library of Congress call number: U1.A827. ■Periodicals postage paid at Fort Belvoir, VA, and additionalmailing offices. ■ Individual domestic subscriptions are availableat $36 per year through the Superintendent of Documents, P.O.Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. For credit card orderscall (202) 512-1800 or FAX (202) 512-2250. ■ To changeaddresses for individual subscriptions, send your mailing labelwith changes to: Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop SSOM,Washington, DC 20402. ■ POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to the Fort Belvoir address above.

Printing: Gateway Press, Inc.

4 First Steps to RecoverySoldiers are helping repair the physical damagethat is apparent everywhere throughout post-Taliban Afghanistan.

6 The Quick-Fix and BeyondThe Coalition Joint Civil-Military OperationsTask Force helps coordinate the efforts of reliefagencies working in Afghanistan.

8 Water WorksProviding the Afghan people with wells, pumpsand other water-supply facilities helps promotehealth, farm production and political stability.

9 A Handsome ManPerhaps the oldest U.S. service member inAfghanistan, COL Narayan Desmukh is alsoone of the most dedicated.

14 Updating the OER SystemAn eight-month review of theofficer evaluation system hasprompted some key changes.

15 Veterans Day MessageThe secretary and chief of staff ofthe Army honor veterans and theirfamilies.

16 Personalizing the PastThe Veterans History Project ishelping ensure that importantpersonal stories are not lost.

22 Fort McHenry: Birthplace ofAmerica’s National AnthemA key event in America’s historycomes alive for visitors to the forton Baltimore Harbor.

November 2002 Volume 57, No. 11

FEATURES

RECOVERY

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Front cover: This month’scover featuresKorean War vetJohn A. Connolly. A member ofthe 2nd InfantryDivision’s 23rdInf. Regt., Con-nolly was hit byenemy artillery

fire on Nov. 28, 1950, and ultimatelylost his left arm. This Veterans Day we salute allthose who have served the nation inpeace and war, and especially thosewho have given their lives in thatservice. — Photo by SSG AlbertoBetancourt

2 Feedback10 Briefings37 Around the Services38 Sharp Shooters42 Focus On People44 Postmarks

DEPARTMENTS

46 Through an Artist’s EyesThis soldier-artist helped recordthe Army’s efforts in both peaceand war.

49 Thanksgiving MessageA holiday message from theArmy’s senior leaders.

24 The Army’s Floating BrigadeShips based at an Indian Oceanisland carry a potent array ofArmy combat power.

30 Island FocusLife on isolated Diego Garcia canbe both challenging and rewardingfor U.S. military residents.

32 Tomorrow’s ClassroomA National Guard Bureau-NASApartnership is delivering scienceand space education programs tostudents nationwide.

34 Special Assignment: Soto CanoSoldiers at this little-known basein Honduras handle an assortmentof important missions.

IN

T urn Your Army Expe r ienc e into College Credit..

At 9AFGHANISTANAFGHANISTAN

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FeedbackFOR many of us, ourearliest childhood memo-ries include standing on acorner watching a VeteransDay parade. There wouldbe the town mayor in aconvertible from the localdealership (complete withmotorcycle escort), the highschool marching band anda color guard from thejunior ROTC detachment.And then there were theveterans.

They were the peoplewho had done their nation’sdeeds, and it was their day.They were the people whowere there — at theSomme, on Corregidor, atInch’on, at LZ X-ray.

They would march,wearing medals, uniformsand campaign hats, andwhen the parade was overthey would tell stories to thechildren — the fascinatingstories you never readabout in history books. And,tragically, when the story-tellers passed away, theytook their stories with them.

Fortunately, this nolonger has to be the case.Join Heike Hasenauer for atour of the Veterans HistoryProject to see how theLibrary of Congress istrying to preserve theseveterans’ stories forposterity.

Veterans made history,so they should be history.

From the EditorGreat IssueI JUST looked through theSeptember issue of “Soldiers.”You should all go ahead andretire now, because you can’tpossibly top that issue!

Wonderful, gorgeous, eye-grabbing art design and layout.

Stuart HendersonVia e-mail

Soldier Show FlagTHANK you for your wonderfulAugust article on the U.S.Army Soldier Show. It was avery accurate representation ofthe tour. I really like thesidebars about the technicalpart of the show and thesoldiers’ involvement. That isan aspect that is often over-looked by the media.

I know your readers haveeagle eyes and find even thesmallest error when it comesto displaying the American flagproperly. One of the photosused in the article shows thecast in the finale with theAmerican flag in the back-ground. The flag is shown withthe stars upside down.

We were unaware of theerror when the flag wasproduced for us. It was notuntil we got more than halfwaythrough the tour that someonein the audience pointed outthis error. We have since fixedthe flag and it is now beingdisplayed properly.

Thank you for producingsuch a wonderful magazine.

Brian D. EssadArmy Entertainment Division

via e-mail

Wrong UnitYOUR July article “The OtherAfghan Campaign” providedgreat coverage of the efforts ofthe Coalition Joint Civil-Military

Perfect PosterI JUST want to tell you how much Ilike the “Army of One” poster in theSeptember issue.I’m sure there will be some outthere who will complain becausesome of the soldiers in the photodon’t have their Kevlar on, butthey’ll get over it.

The poster makes thosesoldiers look larger than life —confident, fearless and ready.It looks like a poster for amovie, and is just the kind of“marketing” we need.

Thanks for the great job you all are doing!MAJ Scott D. Ross, U.S. Transportation Command

via e-mail

I’D like to request two boxes of your excellent poster. In fact,we’d be glad to get three boxes, if you can spare them.

We here at the U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion — LosAngeles would like to put at least one poster in each of ourrecruiting stations, as well as presenting the posters todignitaries.

Please know that your poster is an effective recruitingtool, one that our battalion appreciates. And thanks for agreat job.

Mark G. Wondersvia e-mail

Thanks for the kind words about the “Army of One” poster.The photo was coordinated by Photo Editor SSG AlbertoBetancourt and shot in Afghanistan by SFC William A. Jones,and the poster was designed by Associate Art Director PaulCrank.

Operations Task Force inAfghanistan. There was onelittle problem, however.

In the large photograph onpage 14 a soldier is identifiedas a member of the 101stAirborne Division, when hisshoulder patch — of the 377thTheater Support Command —clearly indicates otherwise.

And I should know,because I’m the soldier in thepicture.

LTC James J. Gardonvia e-mail

Service FlagAFTER reading “The Return ofthe Service Flag” in the Julyissue, I began wondering whyin-laws are left out of the list ofpeople eligible to fly the flag.

In today’s military, spousesand members of extendedfamilies are just as importantas the service membersthemselves. Why not allow in-laws and others to also displaythis flag with pride?

SFC Richard Everettvia e-mail

November 2002 3

Soldiers is for soldiers and DA civilians. We invite readers’ views. Stay under 150words — a post card will do — and include your name, rank and address. We’llwithhold your name if you desire and may condense your views because of space.We can’t publish or answer every one, but we’ll use representative views. Write to:Feedback, Soldiers, 9325 Gunston Road, Ste. S108, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-5581, or e-mail: soldiers@belvoir.army.mil.

Our two sonsfollowed their father’s

example and chosemilitary careers — one

in the Army, and theother in the Air Force.

We proudly display aService Flag with two blue

stars to show support oftheir re-enlistments, dedica-

tion and patriotism.I urge all Americans who

are eligible to purchase anddisplay a Service Flag duringthis difficult time of war andhostilities.

Joan M. StehnHighland Falls, N.Y.

I WAS reading your July issueand ran across the article “TheReturn of the Service Flag.”

I didn’t even know aboutthe flag until I was at a Legionmeeting and the people weretalking about it. I asked a fewquestions. Then in June Ireceived the flag.

I’m very proud to display itin my window. Thanks for thearticle.

SSG Kim BanesMarshalltown, Iowa

I WAS pleasantly surprised tofind my company (or at leastits Web site) mentioned in theJuly article on the ServiceFlag.

One interesting pointconcerning full-sized ServiceFlags: Regulations call for anaspect ratio of 10:19, which isthe same as the ratio for theU.S. flag. However, fewcommercially available U.S.flags are made according toregulation — the most popularsize is the 3 foot by 5 foot flag.

Since etiquette prohibitsconcurrently flying a flag largerthan the US flag, but to satisfyboth the letter and spirit of theArmy regulations concerningthe service flag, our outdoorService Flags are made 32

inches by 60 inches, thusallowing them to be flown, ifdesired, beneath the U.S. flagon the same pole.

Richard R. Gideonvia e-mail

New MedalsIN reading Soldiers over thelast few months I have noticedthe continuing, back-and-forthdiscussions about awardingnew medals in honor of all thepeople who lost their lives onSep. 11, 2001, and in Opera-tion Enduring Freedom.

It certainly makes sense toaward the National DefenseService Medal, since it seemsto fit exactly what we are doingfor the defense of the Ameri-can people, but what about the

other medals that symbolizeequally important things — theArmed Forces Service Medal,The Humanitarian ServiceMedal, and the Army occupa-tion medals?

U.S. military personnel areputting their lives on the lineevery single day to protect andensure freedom at home andaround the world. And at thesame time we are providinghumanitarian aid by helpingmove food, supplies andequipment into stricken areasaround the globe.

Why, then, shouldn’t we berecognized for our military andhumanitarian efforts on behalfof our own nation and theworld?

Name Withheld by Requestvia e-mail

Soldiers4

SGT Robb Huhn is assigned to the 300th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment in Afghanistan.

Soldiers4

The First Steps to Recovery

Story by SGT Robb Huhn

PHYSICAL damage resulting from the Taliban’s reign can be seen from

almost every street corner in and around Kabul, Afghanistan — almost

every building shows years of neglect and the consequences of war.

The Coalition Joint Civil-Military Operations Task Force in Kabul is repairing

some of the damage by reconstructing roads, hospitals and research facilities

throughout Afghanistan.

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The CJCMOTF identifies quick-fixhumanitarian projects throughout thecountry that are not being accom-plished by the greater humanitarian-assistance community. It then coordi-nates its efforts with Afghan agenciesand international and nongovernmen-tal organizations in the country.

“We seek out the projects that willhave the greatest impact on theAfghan people,” said MAJ JeffCoggin, chief of the task force’spublic-health department. These arereferred to as National ImpactProjects.

Once a NIP is identified, theCJCMOTF ensures that the projectmeets certain criteria. First, it mustcomply with Overseas HumanitarianDisaster Civic Aid guidelines. And theproject must support the AfghanTransitional Authority, the recentlyelected government. Lastly, theCJCMOTF coordinates its efforts withvarious ministries to ensure that theproject is “good for them and Af-ghanistan,” Coggin said. One of the

most important of the task force’smissions is to support the transitionalgovernment and the choices it makesfor the rebuilding of Afghanistan.

After the approval process iscomplete, the Army solicits contractorbids for the project. Immediately aftera contract has been awarded, laborersbegin working to complete it. Tosupport the local economy, contrac-tors employ Afghans and purchasematerials locally.

“The Afghan workers take a greatdeal of pride in their work. Theyrealize that what they’re doing is foreveryone,” said Coggin.

During the construction phase,coalition engineers, public-healthprofessionals and local contractorsperiodically meet to ensure that theprojects are being completed accord-ing to U.S. government standards, andthat any unresolved questions can beanswered.

“Everyone involved has a vitalrole,” Coggin said.

“If one link in the chain fails, then

the project fails,” added lLT TimmyKing, a CJCMOTF engineer from the37th Engineer Battalion at Fort Bragg,N.C.

All of the NIPS are located inKabul. They range from a power andwater complex that was destroyedduring decades of war to pharmaceuticalcompanies that provide medication tohundreds of sick and injured local citizens.

Because Kabul is the hub ofAfghanistan, Coggin said, “whateverwe do here will affect the rest of thecountry. A good example of that is thesoon-to-be-restored Teachers TrainingCollege. If fixing a school for childrenhelps one community, then fixing aschool that trains teachers will help anentire nation.”

Ten NIPs are currently underwaythroughout Kabul, including theTeachers Training College and therestoration of the Kabul DentalHospital. Several additional projectsare in various stages of approval.

Currently, $1.9 million has beenallocated for Afghanistan’s NIPs.

(Far left) The rebuilding ofthe Bagram Bridge is anOverseas HumanitarianDisaster and Civil Assis-tance project conductedunder the auspices of theJoint Coalition Civil-Mili-tary Operation Task Force.

(Left) MAJ Alex Reidey ofthe 489th Civil Affairs Bat-talion from Knoxville,Tenn., discusses the workon the Bagram Bridge witha local Afghan contractor.

(Right) Afghan contractors— supported by soldiers ofthe 489th Civil Affairs Bn.and 37th Engineer Bn. —completed this classroomat the Kabul Medical Insti-tute. It is one of six suchclassrooms that will pro-vide a better learning en-vironment for Afghanmedical students.

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BeyondThe Quick — Fix andStory by SSG Zelda Thomas-Gates

SEPT. 11 dramatically changedthe lives of American andAfghans alike. Combat troopswent out in search of al Qaeda

and Taliban forces, and the CoalitionJoint Civil-Military Operations TaskForce was created to help rebuild thewar-torn country.

Headed by COL Cassel J. Nutter

SSG Zelda Thomas-Gates is assigned to the 300th MobilePublic Affairs Detachment in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Jr., of the 122nd Rear OperationsCenter, Georgia Army National Guard,the CJCMOTF is the first of its kind inthe U.S. military to be created anddeployed, he said.

Headquartered in Kabul, Afghani-stan, it has subordinate civil-militaryoperations centers in Karshi, Khanabadand Bagram, Afghanistan, and inUzbekistan.

The CJCMOTF was initially given

the primary mission of providinghumanitarian assistance throughcoordination with more than 24international and nongovernmentalorganizations and the Afghan govern-ment.

“We’re not just a civil-affairsorganization,” said Nutter. “We mayhave conventional and special-opera-tions forces assigned, but we work tocoordinate humanitarian efforts with

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Afghanistan

Elders representing the 92 villages of the Bagram district assemble to hear the details of a recent agreement to share work contractopportunities made available by coalition forces at Bagram Air Base.

PH2 Eric Lippmann, USN

November 2002 7

many organizations in order to relievesuffering.”

The task force’s augmenteesinclude some 250 service membersfrom six countries, five branches of theU.S. military and 25 units.

The CJCMOTF also has civilhumanitarian liaison cells in Kabul,Bagram Air Base, Konduz, Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat, Khandahar Airfield,Khowst, Deh Rawod and Bamian.

Each CHLC has four to sevenpeople who conduct area assessmentsand coordinate with international andnongovernmental organizations andlocal Afghan leaders. They alsonominate overseas humanitariandisaster and civil-assistance projects,and the team members to participate inthose projects.

To date, the CJCMOTF has spent$6 million on humanitarian projects. Of116 approved projects, 53 have beencompleted, 60 are nearing completionand three have been transferred to otheragencies for completion.

The task force has employed some18,000 Afghan workers and benefited50 schools serving some 62,000students; 15 medical facilities servingsome 526,000 people; one veterinaryfacility; 12 water projects benefitingan estimated 260,000 people; and 12other building projects that providelife support and shelter to about300,000 people, Nutter said.

Since its inception, the CJCMOTF

“We may haveconventional andspecial-operationsforces assigned, but wework to coordinatehumanitarian efforts withmany organizations inorder to relievesuffering.”

November 2002

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MAJ Dave Young (left) of the 401st CA Bn. and a coalition civilian talk with an Afghanvillage elder about his community’s needs.

Afghan workers put thefinishing touches onnew windows installedin the Kabul MedicalInstitute under aCJCMOTF contract.

has participated in numerous humani-tarian aid programs in conjunctionwith the Nahrin earthquake; Opera-tions Anaconda and Condor; theMuslim pilgrimage; the Afghan grandcouncil meeting; the opening of flightroutes over Afghanistan; assessmentsof the threat of hemorrhagic fever inTiawara province; and support ofInternational Women’s Day inKabul.

SPC Marshall Emerson

SPC Eric E. Hughes

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Water

Afghanistan

WorksStory by SSG Zelda Thomas-Gates Photos by SGT Sean A. Terry

SSG Zelda Thomas-Gates and SGT Sean A. Terry are as-signed to the 300th Mobile PA Det. in Kabul, Afghanistan.

NEAR Kabul, Afghanistan,home of the Coalition JointCivil-Military Operations TaskForce, Afghan villagers

migrate in search of water for drinking,bathing and growing crops.

They’re among the thousands ofAfghans in desperate need of irrigationsystems and drinking water as a resultof years of war and drought.

Since the defeat of the Taliban,their nation’s economy has begun tostabilize, and more and more peopleare returning to the homes they hadabandoned, said CPT Benjamin H.

Houston, a project engineer for theCJCMOFT.

Many of the wells are in poorcondition, and those that operatecontinuously eventually run dry. Thevillages that have water thereforeattract a disproportionate number ofrefugees, which eventually createsanother problem — overcrowding.

To prevent this, the CJCMOFT isworking with local and nationalgovernment representatives throughoutAfghanistan to ensure water projectsare distributed equitably and that theirlocations don’t pose security risks tocoalition forces.

“Because of our work, the Afghansare getting better medical care, chil-dren are going back to school and theyhave access to clean water,” said 1LTCarolyn Harris, an engineer project

manager at the CJCMOTF.Since early spring the CJCMOTF

has helped the people of Herat throughthe completion of two irrigationprojects. Additionally, the task forcehas provided Bagram with six wells;Khost, 13 wells; Kabul, two wells; andKandahar, 81 wells.

The CJCMOTF is currentlyworking on 18 more wells across thecountry.

By providing the people of Af-ghanistan with new wells, pumps,auxiliary generators and water storageand pump houses, the task force hasmade it possible for farmers to in-crease their crop production, hospitalsto treat more patients, and the generalpopulation to have enough water todrink, cook with and maintain theirown personal hygiene, Harris said.

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(Above) A well repaired by members of the 401stCivil Affairs Battalion provides clean water formembers of a Bagram neighborhood. (Left) MGRobert B. Ostenberg, commander of the ArmyReserve’s 63rd Regional Support Command,looks on as the well is dedicated.

November 2002 9

Story and Photo bySGT Calvin Williams

WHILE most people his ageare contemplating the“golden sunset” of retire-ment, COL Narayan

Deshmukh ponders the golden sunsetsat Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.

A surgeon with the 1980th ForwardSurgical Team, 64-year-old Deshmukhmay be the oldest U.S. service memberin Kandahar. But he has little troublekeeping up with his younger cowork-ers in one of the harshest and mostdesolate places on earth.

“I really don’t feel as though I’mthe oldest person,” he said. He’scomfortable and at ease in his operat-ing room-turned-office. He looks fit andtrim. His eyes arebright. And he has aquick wit. The streaksof gray in his dark hairgive him a look ofdistinction, andsuggest experience and wisdom ratherthan age. He has no complaints, exceptfor the heat.

Deshmukh requested and receivedan extension of his Mandatory Re-moval Date from the Army to serve inthe war against terrorism.

“I feel that the biggest sacrifice onecan make is to serve with the militaryduring wartime and be prepared to diefor one’s country,” he said.

Deshmukh came to the UnitedStates in 1969, after completingstudies at the Osmania Medical Centerin his hometown of Hyderabad, India.Oddly, a stamp collection he had at thetime influenced his decision to studyand practice advanced medicine inAmerica rather than Australia or GreatBritain. The stamps contained quotesfrom various leaders referencingAmerican values.

In 1984 Deshmukh joined the U.S.Army Individual Ready Reserve andbegan his career as an Army surgeonwith the Army Medical Department(AMEDD) Augmentation Detachmentat Fort McPherson, Ga. The detach-

SGT Calvin Williams is assigned to the 300th Mobile PADet. at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

November 2002 9

Army was able to find another surgeonfor Kandahar, but not a linguist to go toGuantanamo Bay,” said Deshmukh,who speaks five languages.

In Kandahar, he stays in shape byworking out in the weight room. Andwhile he doesn’t run, because of a leginjury, he consistently scores 300 onthe Army Physical Fitness Test.

“In one APFT, I did 150 pushups intwo minutes,” he said proudly. “It waspart of a competition between medicalpersonnel.”

“I love getting mobilized,”Deshmukh said, “and I always makesure that I’m fit and ready to go.

“I want to inspire young people andmotivate older ones,” he continued. “Iwant them to know that even if you’re64, you can come to Afghanistan, serveyour country and return home to yourgrandchildren as the handsomest manin the world to them — because you’rein uniform.”

COL Narayan Deshmukh examinesa patient at the Army hospital inKandahar.

ment is a temporary agency formilitary physicians and other medicalpersonnel, placing them with units thatneed their expertise.

Today Deshmukh is also thepresident of the surgical staff at theGuthrie Clinic, a multidisciplinaryteaching hospital in Sayre, Pa., wherehe teaches surgical residents andsupervises the medical staff.

He has earned the expert fieldmedical badge, air assault badge andflight surgeon Badge, after receivingage-limit waivers to undergo the tasksrequired. “The only time my agebothers me is when I see jump wings,”Deshmukh said.

Airborne School was the onlytraining Deshmukh applied for but wasunable to enroll in because of his age.“I was very disappointed,” he said.

Deshmukh, who has been inAfghanistan since July, earlier de-ployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, toassist American forces there. “The

A HandsomeMan

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Briefings Compiled by Gil High

Other members of the 505th Inf.take time at the end of the dayfor a little recreation — an im-promptu game of touch football— at Camp Harrimon in Afghan-istan’s Orgun Province.

and the War on Terrorism

Members of the 82nd AirborneDivision’s 3rd Battalion, 505thInfantry Regiment, pose with some ofthe RPG rounds they discoveredcached in Gangikhel, a town inAfghanistan’s Malikasay province.

At press time more than 38,000 Army National Guardand Army Reserve soldiers were on active duty insupport of the partial mobilization. The total number ofreserve-component personnel for all services on activeduty as of October was 72,269, including both units andindividual augmentees.

U.S. Northern Command was activated Oct. 1, and is“responsible for land, aerospace and sea defenses of theUnited States,” said Secretary of Defense DonaldRumsfeld. The NORTHCOM commander will commandU.S. forces that operate within the United States insupport of civil authorities and will provide civil supportnot only in response to attacks, but for natural disasters.

As world attention turned to discussion of Iraq as aterrorist base, U.S. forces continued to come underattack in Afghanistan. A firebase near Lwara wasattacked on Sept. 20, and U.S. personnel responded withmortar fire and strikes by Air Force A-10 attack aircraft.Also in September, special-operations forces conductedsearches near Orgun-e and in one compound found alarge arms cache that included 107mm rockets, small-arms rounds, rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds,and anti-aircraft weapons and ammunition.

The Army has published a revised deployment andmobilization policy on operations Enduring Freedom andNoble Eagle. The Personnel Policy Guidance, which isonline at www.odcsper.army.mil, outlines requirementsfor deploying and redeploying troops engaged in the waron terrorism, and delves into equipment, medical anddental issues, and family assistance for deployed troops.

National Guard military police soldiers and an 82ndAirborne Division field artillery battalion with howitzersare among recent arrivals in Afghanistan. Battery C, 1stBattalion, 309th Field Artillery Regiment, from FortBragg, N.C., arrived in Kandahar Aug. 29. Members ofthe 772nd Military Police Company, from Taunton,Mass., began arriving in Kabul Aug. 14 to support the 1stBn., 3rd Special Forces Group, which is responsible fortraining the new Afghan National Army.

The 49th Military History Detachment, from ForestPark, Ill., is in Afghanistan documenting the planning,execution and significant events of Operation EnduringFreedom. The team is conducting interviews and iscollecting artifacts, including photographs and docu-ments, weapons and objects that may have beensignificant or unique to activities in the region.

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Active duty and Army NationalGuard military police soldierswho had provided security at thePentagon since Sept. 11, 2001,stand in formation during aredeployment ceremony on thebuilding’s River parade field.

SMA Jack Tilley speakswith enlisted soldiers atAfghanistan’s Bagram AirBase during his tourof the region.

Soldiers from the307th EngineersFort Bragg, NorthCarolina pullsecurity andprepare to explorecertain caves inthe area of Keyki,Afghanistan.These caves weresuspected ofhousing munitionsand ordanance aswell as Talibanfighters.

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Briefings

Fort Belvoir, Va.

Free Training Enhances PerformanceALL members of the Army’s active and reservecomponents, including civilian employees, can trainin more than 1,500 information-technology, businessand interpersonal skills subjects — from any locationand at any time — at no cost to themselves or theirorganizations.

The computer-based training is available throughArmy e.Learning’s partnership with SmartForce, andcan be accessed by using an Army KnowledgeOnline user name and password. To browse theSmartForce catalog or to register, visit Armye.Learning online at www.atrrs.army.mil/channels/eLearning/smartforce. — AKO

The Army recreation destinations available to servicemembers include the Seward Resort on Alaska’s beau-tiful Kenai Peninsula.

Soldiers of the Fort Lewis-based Stryker Brigade Com-bat Team found their ve-hicles to be fast, maneuver-able and highly capable onNTC’s vast “battlefield.”

Alexandria, Va.

Finding Your “Paths Across America”FROM the desert to the seashore, from Alaska to Hawaii,some of the most beautiful vacation spots in America areavailable only through the Army and its sister services. Thetrick is finding them.

“Paths Across America,” an interactive Web siteprovided by Army morale, welfare and recreation, is yourtravel map to these “best kept secrets” that in most casesare accessible only to Department of Defense personnel.

And it’s an address that’s easy to remember:www.pathsacrossamerica.com.

The site opens with a map of the United States that will,with a few additional clicks, lead the visitor to militarycampgrounds, beaches and other recreation facilities ineach state. The spots listed range from the most rustic tentsites to well-appointed cabins and lodges.

Perhaps the best feature of the Web site is that itallows visitors to discover lodging and recreation facilitiesin unexpected places. What soldier would know, forexample, that the Cape Henry Inn and Travel Camp is avery popular resort on the water, offering rooms, cabinsand RV sites just minutes away from Virginia Beach, Va.?Or that Hawaii has seven different recreation centers thatprovide cabins and camping sites near some of the bestbeaches on the islands?

Many of these recreation centers also offer equipmentrentals and have programs and staffs to help visitors takeadvantage of other MWR activities and local area attrac-tions.

Only parks and recreational areas are listed at thePaths Across America site, but the Armed ForcesRecreation Centers link takes visitors to information andhelp related to MWR’s more well-known major recreationcenters around the world. — U.S. Army Community andFamily Support Center Public Affairs Office

Army Knowledge Online News

Fort Irwin, Calif.

Strykers Pass the Testat NTCTHE newly introduced Strykerwheeled infantry carrier vehicleproved to be a battlefieldenabler in the Army Transfor-mation Experiment andExercise Millennium Challenge2002, both conducted at theNational Training Center thissummer.

“The Strykers exceededexpectations,” said 1LT NathanA. Molica, executive officer forCompany A, 5th Battalion, 20thInfantry, from Fort Lewis,Wash. “I think they impressedeveryone.”

Millennium Challenge,which ended in August, wasthe first tactical deployment of

a Stryker Brigade CombatTeam, said COL Mike Rounds,commander of the 3rd Bde,2nd Infantry Division, from FortLewis.

“A primary advantage ofthe SBCT is its ability to deployrapidly,” Rounds said. “We

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BNCOC Grads Receive EqualPromotion Points

BEGINNING Aug. 1, all soldiers who successfully completethe Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course will be awarded40 promotion points instead of the previous four points percourse week. Personnel officials said they are making thechange to reduce administrative mistakes and create a fairvaluation of the training for BNCOC graduates with similarmilitary occupational specialties.

Some soldiers may at first believe they are losing pointsunder the new system because their particular BNCOC islonger than 10 weeks, said SGM Gerald Purcell, theDepartment of the Army’s personnel policy integrator. Butthat’s not true, he said, because soldiers compete forpromotion within the same MOS.

The soldiers most greatly affected by the change arethose in MOSs that have merged, and those that will bemerged, to consolidate MOSs with similar functions, Purcellsaid. “We’re treating BNCOC as an equal element. So as wemerge similar MOSs, no one is at a disadvantage.” —ARNEWS

Sergeant-major Board TestsAutomated System

THE ARMY’s sergeant-major board, meeting in October,tested a new automated selection system that will eliminatehardcopy files. The board reviewed hard-copy records forNCOs in all career management fields except CMF 91, themedical field, which was selected as the test population,officials said. In that group, all records (official militarypersonnel file, photo, enlisted record brief, and letter to theboard president, if submitted) were viewed as electronicfiles.

The next officer files that will test the automated selec-tion process will be the Army Medical Command colonelselection board, which takes place in January, and theFebruary AMEDD promotion selection board for captains.

George Piccirilli, the director of the ManagementSupport Division in U.S. Army Personnel Command, saidthat in future boards soldiers will be notified to review theirelectronic files through Army Knowledge Online, and theywill be able to validate their own promotion files online. —ARNEWS

now have a force that is lightenough to quickly move intothe theater and mobile enoughto take on almost any enemy.”

The Stryker is an improve-ment over heavier, slowervehicles because “it’s veryagile, it moves well overdifficult terrain, and providesmore space for personnel andequipment,” said SPC ToddLezier, an infantryman fromFort Lewis.

One of the major advan-tages the Strykers givesoldiers is a much-needed rideto the battlefield, said infantry-man SPC Coby Schwab. “Wecan move farther and fasterand not waste any energydoing it,” he said. “We’re ableto get onto the objective asfresh as we can be.”

Another big advantagecomes from the Stryker’stechnological capabilities,Rounds said. “Inside is asystem that gives soldiers totalsituational awareness. Theyknow where the friendly forcesare; they have a near-perfect

read of where the enemyforces are, and can see theterrain both on a map and inreal time.”

Variants of the Strykerfamily are making debutrollouts on a continual basis,and the medical variant will bethe fifth of the nine to arrive atFort Lewis early next year.

The reconnaissance variantwas expected to arrive at FortLewis in October of this year,officials said. The infantrycarrier, commander’s vehicleand mortar carrier have alreadytouched down at Lewis. Theother variants are the firesupport vehicle; anti-tankmissile-guided vehicle;engineer vehicle; the nuclear,biological and chemicalreconnaissance vehicle; andthe mobile gun system.

The medical variant of theStryker Interim ArmoredVehicle was scheduled to rolloff the assembly line atAnniston, Ala., at the end ofSeptember 2002, to bedelivered to Aberdeen Proving

Ground, Md., for further tests.The vehicles will then head tothe Stryker Brigade at Fort

Lewis in February or March,officials said. — Army NewsService

SP

C M

arc

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Career News

culture expected a “zero-defects”performance from its leaders.

Following the results of the study,Army Chief of Staff GEN Eric K.Shinseki directed a further review ofthe OER system.

The officer ATLDP also foundthat many officers believed that a“center-of-mass” check on the OER bythe senior rater meant no possibility ofpromotion beyond captain.

“Center-of-mass ratings are not a‘killer,’” Piccirilli said, “and promo-tion board results bear that out.”

Promotions are based on Armyrequirements, Piccirilli said, and thoserequirements often dictate the selectionline between “promote” and “do notpromote” to be drawn somewhere inthe center-of-mass population.

As part of the OER review, sur-veyed senior leaders and juniorofficers were offered alternatives to thesenior-rater portion of the currentOER. Almost all chose to remain withthe current system, Piccirilli said.

Counseling is another area ofconcern identified by the ATLDPstudy. The subsequent OER systemreview found mixed results in fieldinterviews. Some units conductcounseling very well, othersdon’t, Piccirilli said.

By regulation, raters mustconduct a face-to-face initialcounseling session with all ratedofficers within 30 days of thestart of the rated period. Periodicfollow-up counseling should beconducted, as needed, to makeadjustments to agreed-upon

goals, Piccirilli said.For rated lieutenants and warrant

officers 1, quarterly developmentcounseling is required and includes theuse of the Junior Officer DevelopmentSupport Form.

“We’ve found the best unitsschedule appropriate counseling andmark it on their training calendars inadvance,” he said. “It’s a visible markon the wall, so everyone knows what’sexpected and when it’s supposed to bedone.”

Piccirilli advised rated officers whoare not receiving the mandatorycounseling to seek appropriate oppor-tunities to ask for rater feedback.

Counseling doesn’t need to be aformal sit-down session. It can be afrank discussion at the motor pool oron the training range, Piccirilli said, aslong as it covers the performancebases. Those bases include what theofficer has been doing right, what he’sbeen doing wrong, what improvementscan be made and how he stacks upagainst others. “It can be tough to looksomeone in the eye and tell him he’s atthe bottom of the totem pole,” Piccirillisaid, “but every officer deserves to

know where he stands before an OERis filed.”

according to personnel managers —refinements are being made as a resultof an eight-month review of thesystem, Army officials said.

The OER is doing what it wasdesigned to do — assess an officer’sperformance and potential, so thatofficials can more aptly identify,assign and select the best-qualifiedofficers for promotion, training andcommand duties, said GeorgePiccirilli, the U.S. Total Army Person-nel Command’s officer evaluationsystem chief.

He should know that first-hand; hebriefs each officer board on the OERand reviews selection results and boardsurveys when the board adjourns.

Over the past year Piccirilli’s had alot of feedback indicating that boardmembers find it difficult to separatethe rater’s remarks about the officer’sperformance from remarks about his orher potential, as both are entered in thesame section of the OER.

To eliminate the confusion,PERSCOM will soon direct allcommands to request raters to double-space between the “performance” and“potential” entries until the actual OERform can be revised and fielded.

The OER review was prompted, inpart, by the officer Army Training andLeader Development Panel study,released last May, which reported aperception in the field that Army

Updating the

Story by Joe BurlasOER SystemOER System

T HOUGH the latest version of the Officer Evaluation Report “accurately assesses officers’performance and potential” —

Joe Burlas works for the Army News Service at the Pentagon.

For more information on theOER system and officer promo-

tion rates visit PERSCOM Online at

and select the Officer Information linkunder the Soldier Services section.

https://www.perscom.army.mil

November 2001 15

2002“The Armyremains theworld’s preeminentwarfighting landforce — the mostesteemed institutionin the Nation,and the mostrespected Armyin the world.”

Message2002

Thomas E. WhiteSecretary of the Army

Eric K. ShinsekiGeneral, United States ArmyChief of Staff

ON Veterans Day, we pay tribute to the American men andwomen who have served in our Nation’s Armed Forces.Through their sacrifices, they have purchased for us theprivileges of freedom, democracy, and unmatched opportu-

nity that we enjoy in the United States today, and they have set theconditions for the United States’ place as global leader, with theworld’s strongest economy, and the most respected and fearedmilitary in the world.

And as we celebrate the contributions of our veterans, we alsotake this opportunity to salute and to honor you, the Soldiers servingin the Army today. Your determination and your readiness to gowhere you are needed whenever you are called are potent symbols ofliberty, justice, and hope for freedom-loving people the world over.

Today, Soldiers build upon the 227-year legacy established byveterans who have gone before. From the first battle of the AmericanRevolution to our ongoing war against terrorism, in conflicts aroundthe globe and in humanitarian missions at home and abroad that havesaved countless lives, Soldiers have provided the sword and shieldthat protects our Nation. And they are doing so today—over 190,000Soldiers deployed and forward stationed in 120 countries around theworld.

Each day you serve, you voluntarily forego comfort and wealth,willingly facing hardships and deployments away from family andloved ones. Sometimes you confront danger and face death indefending the Nation’s security. To all of you on point for theNation, whether far from home or here in the United States, thankyou for your contributions and your countless sacrifices. It is anhonor to serve with you.

And so on 11 November, a day of reflection and tribute, we saluteyou, and we pledge to you our tireless efforts to ensure that TheArmy remains the world’s preeminent warfighting land force—themost esteemed institution in the Nation, and the most respected Armyin the world.

veterans dayveterans day

Soldiers16

Story by Heike Hasenauer

will result in a valuable resource to teach all Americans,including those of future generations, about the rich legacyof military service, said Kelley Curtin, a spokeswoman forFleishman-Hillard, the advertising company that’s work-ing to raise awareness of the project.

The company is among some 250 project partners,including veterans’ service organizations, historicalsocieties, libraries, museums, military archives, collegesand universities, and military historical groups, Curtinsaid.

The American Association of Retired Persons isencouraging its 35 million members to contact veteranswhose stories have yet to be recorded, said AARP presi-dent Jim Parkel.

“We’re creating a well-trained volunteer force toconduct oral-history interviews. And we’re continuing tocreate public programs across the country that will allowveterans, and those who served them, to share theirpersonal experiences,” Parkel added.

These volunteers will conduct audio and video inter-views, and collect letters, diaries, photos and other docu-ments, from both civilian and military veterans of WorldWar I, World War II and the Korean, Vietnam and PersianGulf wars, said McCulloch-Lovell.

JUST as every war has its top generals, its celebratedheroes, renowned landmarks and major battles, it hasits countless individual stories of survival, valor, even

humor. Those stories reveal the intimate feelings thatseparate one person’s experiences from another’s.

Realizing the significance of those personal stories,and knowing that many of the stories are lost as thousandsof veterans die each year, President George W. Bushsigned legislation in October 2000 authorizing the Veter-ans History Project.

Now those individual stories — which pullheartstrings, evoke pride in country and military service,and introduce “ordinary” people who were swept by thetides of their times and lived as best they could — willlive for generations to come, said Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, who directs the project for the Library ofCongress’s American Folklife Center in Washington, D.C.

The project will preserve the stories of war veterans,service members who supported the war from the homefront and the civilian war-industry workers — withoutwhose invaluable service America’s efforts to protectfreedom around the world would not have been possible,she said.

The national, ongoing effort to preserve their stories

Soldiers16

THE VETERANSHISTORY PROJECTTHE VETERANSHISTORY PROJECTPersonalizing the PastPersonalizing the Past

November 2002 17

Janis Nark served at Cam Ranh Bay,Vietnam, and was recalled to active dutyduring the Gulf War.

“After 365 days in Vietnam, I went from war to peace, fromchildhood to irrevocable adulthood. I had changed, but, I thought,

I’d never be able to explain it to anybody.”

Participants in the Vietnam War areamong those being urged to share theirmilitary experiences as part of the ongo-ing Veterans History Project.

worked 12-hour shifts, six days aweek. I was there late in the conflict,and it was obvious there was nowinning that war. Morale was abys-mally low and drug use predictablyhigh. Towards the end of my tour, thehospital where I worked was turnedinto the Drug Detoxification Center ofVietnam.

“We detoxed around 500 heroin-addicted soldiers a week,” Nark said,as she remembered enduring threats toher life because she held the keys tothe narcotics cabinet and refused to letthem out of her sight.

“After 365 days in Vietnam, Iwent from war to peace, from child-hood to irrevocable adulthood. I hadchanged, but, I thought, I’d never beable to explain it to anybody.”

Individuals such as Janis Nark, amotivational speaker and retired

Army officer, are also contributing tothe project by encouraging veterans tocome forward.

Nark was a registered nurse at CamRanh Bay, Vietnam, and served 23years in the Army Reserve. She wasrecalled to active duty for nine monthsduring Operations Desert Shield andDesert Storm.

“In Vietnam I cared for the sickand wounded, and those that woulddie,” Nark said. “We treatedeverything you can imagine, andlots of things that would neveroccur to a ‘normal’ person. We

Janis Nark

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George Soto, an Army corporal fromJanuary 1952 to January 1954, stayed

behind at Camp Chaffee, Ark., after complet-ing 16 weeks of infantry basic training. Outof a graduating class of 28, 27 got orders forKorea.

“I was like a displaced person,” Sotoreflected. “I remember going to thehospital one day with a buddy of minewhose wife had just had their baby. Thenext morning, he was on his way toKorea, and I, ironically, who wassingle, with no attachments, remainedat the camp as part of the 5th ArmoredDivision.”

An instructor of military subjects, Sototaught such common soldier skills as map- and

compass-reading to inductees. It’s not the excitingstuff most authors write about in their depictions ofwar, Soto said. “But, I want people to know that therewere others who were important to the war effortbecause they did stay home to teach the soldiers whowent to the front lines.”

His story, as written by a professor at RutgersUniversity in New York for one of the Spanish-language newspapers in Queens, will be incorporatedinto the Veterans History Project. It touches on Soto’slife during the 1950s.

“As a New Yorker, a Northerner, who was born inSpanish Harlem, I experienced a great deal of racialinequality,” Sotosaid. Because he’sHispanic and wasoften mistaken fora member of otherethnic groups, hewas able to empa-thize with blacks,who were discrimi-nated against inthose years beforethe civil rightsmovement gradu-ally righted someof America’swrongs, he said.

“I remembersitting in thewaiting room at abus station, and a constable told me I was in thewrong place. He told me I shouldn’t be sitting withthe ‘coloreds,’” Soto said. “I thought: ‘These are the

George Soto posedfor this photo outsidea 5th Armored Divi-sion classroom.

18

George Soto

November 2002 19

Brenner sent thischeerful photo to his wife inone of the many letters the pairexchanged during the war.

19

Jerry Brenner

men who are waiting to go to war, they shouldcertainly be afforded the respect due all soldiers.’”

Soto attended the New York kick-off event for theVeterans History Project because he’s actively involvedwith AARP in his home state, he said. “I bring AARP’sprograms to elderly Hispanics, many of whom don’tspeak English.” At the same time, Soto has asked them

to share their stories.At the time of this writing, some 1,000

veterans had contacted AARP to tell theirstories, Parkel said. And eight short video clipsand one audio clip were available at theVeterans History Project’s Internet site,according to McCulloch-Lovell.

Among the developing archives are 1,261 letters exchanged between Jerry Brennerand his wife during World War II.

Brenner was a radio operator andrepairman in the 740th Field ArtilleryBattalion.

After seeing an article about theVeterans History Project in the Washing-

ton Post a year ago, he called the informationnumber provided to see if anyone would be interested inthe letters.

“They were thrilled to get them,” Brenner said,“because letters that are part of historical collectionstypically don’t include the replies.”

The letters are now part of an exhibit “that will beavailable to the public between now andforever,” said Brenner, who wrote aforward to the volume of letters, toindicate that they “show World War IIfrom the perspective of a G.I. fighting inEurope, as well as a young wife andmother on the home front.

“Most histories of war are about bigbattles, admirals and generals andlandmark events,” Brenner said.“They rarely highlight the experi-ences of ordinary people.”

Included in the correspondenceis a letter to his wife, which stillcontains the flower Brenner wasgiven by a little French boy in oneof many towns the Americans

Soldiers20

“Most histories of warare about big battles,admirals and generalsand landmark events,”Brenner said. “Theyrarely highlight the

experiences of ordinarypeople.”

liberated from the Germans.Many of the letters are his wife’s

updates on their daughter’s growth,said Brenner, who was 24 inDecember 1943, when he left NewYork for England, and, ultimately,the Battle of the Bulge. Hisdaughter was three months old.

“The letters are full ofinformation about the conditionspeople on the home front had tocontend with, and about thefeelings of people very much inlove,” Brenner said. U.S. News

and World Report reprinted oneof the letters in its June 10, 2002, issue. It’s aletter his wife wrote on pink stationery thatcontained little lip imprints.

“My wife thought the lips were too small,so she redid them with her own lips,”Brenner said. On another occasion, becauseshe’d heard that all the guys carried pinups ofbeautiful women in bathing suits, she had aseductive photo of herself taken in a bathingsuit and enclosed it in a letter.

There was also something called the“blue letter,” Brenner said. It was a verypersonal letter that a soldier didn’t want hisimmediate commanding officer to read, aswas the typical procedure to censor soldiers’mail to prevent breaches of security. “If youput your letter in a blue envelope, it wentinstead to corps headquarters, where somelieutenant you didn’t know read it.”

Brenner wrote such a letter on May 7,1945, the day the war in Europe ended.“There’s some really personal stuff in thatletter,” Brenner said. “I poured my heart outin that one.”

McCulloch-Lovell said some of thematerial that will become part of the Veter-ans History Project will be reviewed forhistorical accuracy, but it would be impos-sible to review everything. “Most people will

Soldiers20

Brenner’s wife and youngdaughter were amongthousands of loved oneswho daily awaited newsfrom the front lines.

November 2002 21

be as accurate as theycan be, and those whoaccess the material willbe doing so with theknowledge that these areindividuals’ accounts oftheir own experiences.”

As the world’s largest library, and thenational library of the United States, theLibrary of Congress’s mission is to makeits holdings available to Congress and theAmerican people, and preserve knowledgefor future generations, said Librarian ofCongress James H. Billington.

The American Folklife Center wascreated in 1976 to document, preserve andpresent all aspects of traditional culture andlife in America. It currently boasts sometwo million items.

There’s no cut-off date for submissionsto the Veterans History Project,McCulloch-Lovell said. “We’re just nowbeginning to really get the word out.”

November 2002 21

Brenner and hundreds ofthousands of other sol-diers sent photos home toreassure their loved ones.

Share Your Stories of WWI, WWII . . .

Information is also available at AARP’s Web site,www.aarp.org, and at project partner

and MilitaryLifestyle atwww.militarylifestyle.com.

www.loc.gov/vets

and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars, orrecord the stories of others, by calling toll free(800) 315-8300 or visiting the project’s Web site at

Soldiers22

Story and Photos by SSG Alberto BetancourtFort McHenry

SAILBOATS glide lazily over thetranquil waters of Baltimore Harbor.And on a nearby hillside is a star-shaped brick fort, above which a

huge 18th-century American flag proudlyflies.

Fort McHenry is the birthplace of theAmerican national anthem. The valiantdefense of the fort and the harbor byAmerican forces during the War of 1812inspired Francis Scott Key to write “TheStar Spangled Banner.”

“The site is full of history,” said PaulPlamann, a park ranger who’s worked atFort McHenry for more than 35 years.“We’re not only considered a national park,but also a national monument and historicshrine. Of America’s 385 national parks,we’re the only one with this special desig-nation.”

“Surprisingly, most people who visit thefort don’t realize our national anthem waswritten during the 1800s,” Plamann said.“Most think it dates to the RevolutionaryWar or even the Civil War.”

It was, in fact, a battle that took placeSept. 13 and 14, 1814, and the flag flyingover the fort at that time, that inspired theyoung poet-lawyer to pen his famouswords.

“Key didn’t know at the time that hewas writing his country’s national anthem,”Plamann said. “In fact, he never knew. Hedied before the words became the anthem.”

Today silent cannons guard the fort’sexterior walls, and living-history volunteersare re-enactors and tour guides for the morethan 600,000 people who visit the 43-acrepark each year.

Wearing an 18th-century uniform,Wayne Cofiell stands at attention in front ofone of the barracks inside the fort.

Cofiell has been a living-history volun-

A replica of the flag that inspired Francis ScottKey flies over Fort McHenry. The original flag isbeing restored at the Smithsonian Institution.

Birthpla

November 2002 23

teer for more than three years. TheUniversity of Baltimore history majorand local firefighter said he volunteersas part of a school research project, andalso because of his family’s historicalconnection to the war.

“A cousin on my mother’s side wasin the Maryland militia and fought theBritish,” he said.

Cofiell said Americans have tounderstand the country’s past in orderto understand its present.

“We represent soldiers of the past,and by doing that show respect forsoldiers of today,” he said.

Both Plamann and Cofiell encour-age soldiers everywhere to visit the fortor any national park associated with anhistoric battlefield.

“You can read about them, see themon TV, but when you visit one of thehistoric sites it leaves a lasting impres-sion,” said Plamann. “It allows you tovisualize events that took place hun-dreds of years ago and helps youunderstand how those events continueto shape our lives.”

Living history volunteerssuch as Monty Phair (left)and Nicholas Ross givevisitors a glimpse of howlife once was at the fort.

Fort McHenry living history volun-teer Nicholas Ross demonstratesthe loading of one of the fort’s largecannons.

Re-enactors sit inside the enlisted men’s bar-racks while a colleague talks with visitors.

Americans haveto understand the

country’s pastin order to

understand itspresent.

THE

STAR SPANGLED BANNER

A PARIOTIC SONG.

AmericanNational Anthem of

the

ce

Soldiers24

FLOATINTheArmy’s

Story and Photos by Steve Harding

At 950 feet APSRON 4’s Watson-class LMSRs (main photo) are thesecond-largest ships in the Navy’sinventory. Yet despite their size,the squadron’s vessels fit easilywithin Diego Garcia’s huge lagoon(inset photo).

Soldiers24

November 2002 25

NG BRIGADE

November 2002 25

Soldiers26

or APS-3, the afloat component of thelarger Army Prepositioned Stocksprogram.

APS-3 encompasses a staggeringrange of materiel, including combatand tactical wheeled vehicles; trucksand Humvees; Army watercraft; port-opening and cargo-handling equip-ment; artillery; ammunition; quarter-master and mortuary-affairs assets; andthousands of cargo containers packedwith tools, spare parts, and medicaland food supplies.

All of this materiel is currentlystowed aboard the 15 ships of theCombat Prepositioning Force, acomponent of the Navy’s Military

bCOMBAT POWER ON CALLThe establishment of APSRON 4

and its basing at Diego Garcia resultedfrom a post-Gulf War strategic mobil-ity study that examined in detail theproblems which arose during thedeployment stage of that conflict, saidNavy Capt. Edward C. Zurey, thesquadron’s commander.

“The study determined the types ofequipment the Army would need tohave forward-deployed. While some ofthis equipment could be stored on land,the study noted that the continuingclosure of U.S. bases overseas wouldhave a detrimental effect on the

Army’s ability to preposition thenecessary materiel ashore,” he said.

Positioning the equipment aboardfast ships at a forward location was thelogical solution, Zurey said, because iteliminates reliance on relatively slowsealift deliveries from the continentalUnited States to overseas theaters,while also avoiding the high cost of thelarge airlift required to quickly delivervital equipment. And it was an al-ready-proven concept, he added,because the Marine Corps had beenprepositioning vehicles and equipmentaboard ships for several years.

The study ultimately resulted in thecreation of Army Prepositioned Set 3,

RIDING calmly at anchor in the wide lagoon, the hugeNavy cargo ships don’t look at all menacing. But packedwithin them are enough armored vehicles and otherequipment to equip an entire Army heavy brigade.

The vessels — collectively known as AfloatPrepositioning Ships Squadron 4, or APSRON 4 — arebased at the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia [see

page 30]. Among the newest and most advanced ships in the nation’sinventory, they are the key component in a vast force-projectionpartnership among the Army, Navy, civilian contractors and merchantmariners.

The goal of that partnership is to be able to put two armoredbattalions and two mechanized battalions — plus support elements —ashore anywhere in the world within 15 days of notification to do so.

It’s a tall order, but one that APSRON 4 was specifically createdto handle.

Because the LMSRs’ crewslive aboard the anchored-outvessels, mail and other itemsare delivered by small craftand winched aboard.

Diego Garcia’s well-protectedlagoon — some 13 miles longand 6.5 miles wide — is an idealanchorage for APSRON 4.

U.S

. N

avy

ph

oto

November 2002 27

in the Military Sealift Command,” saidCapt. George W. Hynes, the civilianmaster of the USNS Watson, whichwas the first of the LMSRs built and isnow APSRON 4’s flagship. “They’refast and very maneuverable, despitetheir size and huge cargo capacity.”

Just as important, Hynes said, is thefact that the LMSRs are highly auto-mated.

“Each ship has state-of-the-artelectronics for navigation, engineoperation, communications, and firedetection and suppression,” he said.“That means that each ship, despite itssize, can operate with a crew of just 28people.”

Sealift Command. While the watercraftand most of the sustainment materielare carried aboard leased civilian shipsbased on Guam, in the western Pacific,it is the Diego Garcia-based ships ofAPSRON 4 that carry APS-3’s combatpower, Zurey said.

bTHE RIGHT SHIP FOR THE JOBAPSRON 4 is built around a class

of advanced cargo ships known asLarge, Medium Speed, Roll-on/roll-off, or LMSR, vessels. Seven arecurrently on hand, with an eighth to bedelivered this fall, and all are namedafter Army Medal of Honor recipients.

Each of APSRON 4’s shipsis packed with materiel, in-cluding hundreds of ve-hicles chained down withina series of cargo holds.

APS-3 encompasses a staggering range ofmateriel, including combat and tacticalwheeled vehicles; trucks and Humvees ...

At 950 feet the Watson-classLMSRs are only about 90 feet shorterthan a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and,except for that type of vessel, are thelargest ships in the Navy’s inventory.Each LMSR can carry some 1,100pieces of rolling stock, includingAbrams tanks, Bradley fightingvehicles, Paladin self-propelledhowitzers, Humvees, trucks andtrailers, all of which are chained downin a series of cavernous holds. Thevehicles are loaded and unloaded vialarge stern and side ramps, while twolarge deck-mounted cargo cranes areused to dispatch other materiel.

“These are the most advanced ships

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bMARINERS AND SAILORSThe civilian mariners on each of

the Diego Garcia-based LMSRs workfor the Maersk Line Ltd., the Virginia-based contractor tasked with operatingthe ships.

The mariners work a four-months-on, four-months-off schedule. Whenthey’re on, they work set watches,seven days a week, and handle every-thing from navigation to engine-roomoperations to food service.

While the mariners operate theLMSRs, Zurey and his 12 military andcivilian APSRON 4 staff membersensure that the ships are always readyto deploy.

“The Navy personnel handle all themany details involved in planning for,and executing, APSRON 4’s mission,”said Lt. Carmelo W. Nicastro Jr., thesquadron’s operations officer.

“While that encompasses all theday-to-day details common to anymilitary organization — coordinationwith other commands, logisticalplanning, personnel actions and force

protection, for example — our mainjob is to ensure that the ships are readyto sail when called on,” he said.

“Our charter is to be ready to getunderway and go anywhere within 24hours, and we’re expected to be able toget there at maximum speed,” Zureysaid. “We test our ability to do that in anumber of ways, including getting theships underway once a month forabout four days at a time. That allowsus to conduct engineering trials, at-seatraining and so on.

“The bottom line for APSRON 4 isto deliver the embarked equipmentwhere it needs to go, when it needs tobe there,” Zurey said. “The troops thenjust have to meet us at the off-loadlocation and ‘marry up’ with theequipment. They don’t have to bringmuch with them beyond their personalgear, since we carry virtually all theequipment they’ll need.”

bMAINTAINERS AND SOLDIERSWhile it’s up to APSRON 4’s

sailors and civilian mariners to get the

LMSRs’ vital cargoes to the appointedplace quickly and efficiently, ensuringthat the equipment is ready to rollwhen it gets ashore is up to contractmaintenance teams and soldiers.

Each LMSR has an assignedcontractor team of seven mechanicsand a supply specialist, all of whomare on renewable one-year contractswith Texas-based DynCorp.

“We ensure that the equipmentruns properly and is safe when it isturned over to the Army,” said GaryRidley, Watson’s lead DynCorpmechanic. “We inspect the vehiclesfrequently, and every one gets startedup about every six months. Wemaintain the equipment and do anyrepairs that are required.”

The job can be challenging, Ridleysaid, given that the vehicles are packedvery closely together within eachship’s seven vast parking decks.

“The way some of the vehicles arestowed, it’s difficult to visually inspectcertain areas,” he said. “And thoughwe do a lot of minor fixes, we simplycan’t do the major repairs that are done

November 2002 29

“We also work very closely withthe Army’s Central Command andMilitary Traffic Management Cmd.,and with the Bahrain-based 831stTransportation Battalion,” Zurey said.“And, of course, we work arm-in-armwith the U.S. Army MaterielCommand’s Combat EquipmentGroup-Afloat, at Goose Creek, S.C.;they’re the people who are ultimatelyresponsible for taking care of the cargowe carry.”

The success of the team approachto APSRON 4’s mission has beenvalidated in the real world, Zurey said,most recently when the squadron’sUSNS Watkins deployed from DiegoGarcia to Kuwait. There it offloadedits cargo of vehicles and equipment tosupport Exercise Vigilant Hammer,after which the ship took aboard othervehicles for return to the United States.

“All the people who have a stake inAPSRON 4’s mission — Army, Navy,merchant mariners and contractors —are focused on one goal: ensuring thatthe Army combat power embarked onthese ships is ready when and whereit’s needed,” Zurey said. “That’s thewhole reason we’re here.”

“We think we have one of the mostimportant jobs in the Army,” Fick said.“We’re taking care of more than 8,000pieces of rolling stock valued at morethan $6 billion. The whole idea is thatthis equipment has to be ready for warsoon after it rolls off the ship, and wehelp guarantee that.”

bA TEAM EFFORTThough the ships of APSRON 4

are painted Navy gray, the squadron’smission is to project Army combatpower quickly and efficiently over vastdistances. The organization’s successin that role, its members say, is theresult of close coordination.

“This has been a team effort fromthe beginning,” Nicastro said. “Thecooperation among the Army, theNavy, the mariners and the contractorsis fantastic. We’ve been able toquickly find common ground, andwe’ve been able to fill gaps in eachother’s knowledge or experience.”

And that same close relationshipalso exists with the other members ofthe team outside Diego Garcia, Zureyadded.

in a motorpool ashore.But we know howimportant this missionis, and we do whatever ittakes to make sure thisequipment is ready whenit’s needed.”

Validating the equip-ment’s readiness is theprime mission for the sold-iers of the Combat Equip-

ment Detachment, Diego Garcia, whoperform Care of Supplies in Storage,or COSIS, functions for the cargo.

“We go aboard the ships frequentlyto inspect the vehicles, and providewhatever technical and logisticalassistance the contract maintainersmight need,” said SFC Larry Fick,contracting officer representative forthe LMSRs and one of four soldiers onthe COSIS team.

The Army requires the embarkedequipment to be at the highest possiblestate of readiness, Fick said.

“Contractors can’t always fixeverything aboard ship, but as long asthey have the necessary parts on handand ready to go when they downloadthe ship, they can fix most problemsvery quickly,” he said. “The cargoshould be close to 100 percent mis-sion-capable within about a week ofthe ship’s arrival in port.”

Overseeing the care and mainte-nance of the varied equipment em-barked on the LMSRs is a job theCOSIS soldiers obviously take veryseriously.

Capt. George W. Hynes studies a navi-gation aid as he takes the Watson outof the lagoon and into the open sea.

“The whole idea is that this equipment hasto be ready for war soon after it rolls off theship, and we help guarantee that.”

Though large vessels by any standards,APSRON 4’s LMSRs are highly auto-mated and can thus be operated byrelatively small crews.

Soldiers30

Garcia is a coral atoll stretching about34 miles from tip to tip. The low-lyingisland covers about 10.5 square miles,is covered by coconut palms and othertropical vegetation, and encompasses alagoon that is some 13 miles long and6.5 miles across at its widest point.

Discovered by the Portuguese inthe 16th century, since 1815 DiegoGarcia has been governed and policedby Great Britain as the British Indian

Island FocusStory and Photo by Steve Harding

T first glance, Diego Garciamight seem too remote to bean important U.S. militaryinstallation. Lying some 900miles southwest of the

southern tip of India, and abouthalfway between Africa and Indonesia,the island seems a long way fromanywhere.

Yet its location is one of DiegoGarcia’s best features, officials say, for

it’s well within aircraft and ship rangeof several regions that are strategicallyimportant to the United States —including the Persian Gulf and South-west Asia.

bAn Ideal LocationShaped like a horseshoe and said

by many residents to look from the airlike a large human footprint, Diego

Diego Garcia’s isolation helps pro-tect its natural beauty, which is amajor benefit of life on the remoteIndian Ocean island, residents say.

A

November 2002 31

said SFC Dale Buck, one of thetechnical representatives assigned tothe island’s Army COSIS team. Thenearby waters teem with marine life,he said, and the lagoon and uncrowdedbeaches are ideal for sailing, swim-ming and snorkeling.

“In terms of off-duty time, thingsdon’t get much better than here onDiego Garcia,” agreed CPT Jacob H.Freeman, commander of a Japan-based599th Transportation Group Deploy-ment Support Team working on theisland at the time of Soldiers’ visit.“The facilities and the morale, welfareand recreation programs are great, andthere are so many different events tokeep you occupied when you’re notworking.”

Though some Air Force and ArmyReserve personnel temporarily as-signed to the island to support Opera-tion Enduring Freedom activities arehoused in a vast tent city near theairfield, most permanent-party militarymembers live in standard dormitory-and barracks-style buildings. There areseveral dining facilities on the island,as well as clubs, chapels, a bank, alibrary, a small hospital and a postexchange-like “ship’s store” open toall residents.

“I’ve been on Diego Garcia for 15months, and I wish they’d let me stay hereuntil I retire,” said SSG Dhana Belding,another COSIS team member. “The islandis very nice, and most of the services —like haircuts, cleaning and laundry — arefree. The only real downside is that it’s anunaccompanied tour.”

For most island residents, thequality of life on Diego Garcia is whatthey make of it, said Navy Lt. CarmeloW. Nicastro Jr., APSRON 4’s opera-tions officer.

“If you make the effort to get out asmuch as possible, to see things andmeet the other people on the island,your tour here can be a really positiveexperience,” Nicastro said. “And ifyou make the most of your time here,you’ll really miss it when you leave.”

Ocean Territory. The United Statesleases space for an airfield and othermilitary facilities, and uses the lagoonas a harbor for the 15 ships carryingprepositioned equipment and suppliesfor the Army, Marine Corps and AirForce.

The lagoon is an ideal harbor forthe LMSRs and other vessels, saidNavy Capt. Edward C. Zurey, com-mander of Afloat Prepositioning ShipsSquadron 4.

“The squadron was initially basedin the Arabian Gulf, but moved toDiego Garcia two years ago becausethe atoll offers excellent anchorage andgreat force protection, and because itslocation allows us to get to any part ofour area of operations within a fairlyshort time,” he said. “And on top of allthat, this island is a very interestingplace to live.”

“If you make theeffort to get out asmuch as possible,to see things andmeet the otherpeople on theisland, your tourhere can bea really positiveexperience.”

bNot Your Average BaseGiven Diego Garcia’s remoteness,

residents say that living on the islandhas both its ups and downs.

“The fact that it’s so isolated isactually one of Diego Garcia’s bestpoints, in terms of outdoor activities,”

Soldiers32

MAJ Stephan Pacard is the National Guard Bureau’s policy and liaison officer. Tech.Sgt. Gerold Gamble is assigned to the NGB.

ClassroomClassroomPUPILS from Thornburg Middle School in

Spotsylvania, Va., sat at rapt attention, staring atthe images of Earth being shown on the monitor atthe front of their classroom.

“Many people say Earth from space looks like a big bluemarble,” a voice said. “How would you describe it?

“Come on, Thornburg. Let’s hear from you,” the voicecajoled when there was no response.

“A ball?” one student ventured.“Yes, it does look like a ball,” the voice responded, and

now the speaker’s image came onscreen as she asked forother descriptions.

One by one, the children responded, and Cheri Jurls, adistance learning education teacher working for the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration, continued to encour-

age participation.Then students from Hebrew Day Institute of Silver

Spring, Md., joined in the conversation, from a facilityseveral miles away.

“I think it looks icy — like a snow globe,” said 12-year-old Hebrew Day student Daniella Bardack.

“That’s great,” Jurls said. She worked patientlywith the children at both locations, and her audiencesresponded with enthusiasm, notwithstanding the factthat she was more than 1,500 miles from eitherclassroom.

The hour-long interactive session, conducted inApril, was a test of an emerging partnership betweenNASA and the National Guard Bureau to deliver spaceand science educational programs nationwide. Thesession marked the first time pupils at differentlocations simultaneously participated in NGB-distrib-uted NASA educational programming, opening theway to reaching thousands of students across thecountry in the near future.

A New Way to LearnThe students confessed they

were a little nervous at first,having left their comfortableschool environments to work inunfamiliar classrooms equippedwith computers, microphones,and headsets — and the videocameras the children would lookinto when it came time to respondto a question.

Before long, however, theywere eagerly raising their handsto interact with the NASAinstructors — and with studentsat other locations.

Story by MAJ Stephan Pacard Photos by Tech. Sgt. Gerold Gamble

Virginia and Maryland schoolchildrenwere the first to try out an emerging Na-tional Guard Bureau-NASA partnershipprogram intended to increase children’sinterest in science.

TOMORROW’STOMORROW’S

November 2002 33

A Wider ReachOne of NASA’s missions is to share

knowledge gained from its space programswith U.S. citizens, particularly the nation’syoung people. Working closely with thespace agency’s scientists, engineers andastronauts, NASA educators have created avariety of educational materials and pro-gramming for live interactive sessions andtelevision broadcasts. What they lacked,though, were mechanisms to permit direct,face-to-face interaction with larger audi-ences at multiple locations.

“NASA’s education division has beendeveloping programs to generate interest inmath and science among middle- and high-school students, and to attract them tocareers in these fields,” said Susan Ander-son, director of NASA’s Johnson SpaceCenter Office of Education in Houston,Texas. “The National Guard Bureau,through its Distributive Training Technol-ogy Project, will enable us to reach a muchwider audience — including studentswithout access to technological resources,who might not otherwise be able to partici-pate in these programs.”

DTTP is a distributed-learning initiativethat has revolutionized how the Guardpromotes military readiness, providingtraining for soldiers while simultaneouslyreducing costs and improving morale. TheDTTP network consists of more than 300classrooms, located in state-designatedareas such as armories, schools and librar-ies. Plans call for more than 450 classroominstallations by 2003, with the goal ofmaintaining a classroom within 50 miles ofvirtually every soldier in the country.

Proofs of ConceptThe three demonstrations of the system that have so far

been conducted have engaged students in different parts of thecountry, and more such exercises are being planned.

The first demonstration took place in March. Working fromthe DTTP classroom at the Regional Training Institute inAustin, Texas, students from Kealing Junior High explored“Space Farming” with educators from NASA’s Johnson SpaceCenter, where the program originated.

The second demonstration, involving Thornburg, HebrewDay and Austin’s Bartlett High School, took place in April andhad students discussing “Imagery from Space.” Using satelliteimages and interactive graphics, the educators led the studentsthrough discussions about Earth’s geological history, cataclys-mic events such as volcanic eruptions and meteor strikes, andthe long-term effects of human activity on the planet.

In the third demonstration, held in May, fourth-gradestudents from Springwoods Elementary School inWoodbridge, Va., explored “The Effects of Space on theHuman Body,” covering topics such as bone and muscledegradation, cardiovascular system changes and space sick-ness, and exploring ways to prevent or mitigate such problems.

“This is definitely the direction to go for future education,”said 12-year-old Rachael Picard from Thornburg. “Talking livewith someone who’s actually ‘been there and done that’ makesit so much more fun to learn.”

The children viewed images of Earthfrom space and could ask questionsduring a one-hour, interactive sessionwith a NASA distance-learning teacher.

Soldiers34

Belmopan

TegucigalpaGuatemala

San Salvador

Managua

San

BELIZE

GUATEMALA

EL SALVADOR

HONDURAS

NICARAG

TUCKED away among banana

trees and iguanas, in the north-

west corner of Honduras, is one

of those “special” Army assignments.

It’s where a small contingent of

soldiers juggle an eclectic assortment

of real-world missions and exercises

under the auspices of Joint Task Force

Bravo.

Based at little-known Enrique Soto

Cano Air Base — just outside

Comayaqua, the third largest city in

the country — JTF-Bravo routinely

participates in multi-national exercises

and humanitarian-aid and drug-inter-

diction missions.

SOTO

Air Force Tech. Sgt. G. A. Volb is assigned to the JTF-Bravopublic affairs office.

Story and Photos byTech. Sgt. G. A. Volb, USAF

Roatan Island off the Honduran coast is apopular travel destination for service mem-bers assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo atSoto Cano.

Special Assignment:

Special Assignment:

34

November 2002 35

n Jos

GUA

COSTA RICAPANAMA

Panama

The recipe for success here is asvaried as the mission itself, calling fora mix of about 550 soldiers, airmenand marines. Most of them arrive atthe “outpost” wondering what they’vegotten themselves into. Quickly, theylearn the challenges are well comple-mented by a vast array of off-dutyprograms and a thriving social life.

As an added benefit, the dollar stillgoes a long way in Honduras. Andthough Soto Cano is considered remote— one reason being that there is nofixed plumbing in the living facilities— most of the service members don’tseem to mind the short trek to theshowers and latrine.

“We’re called ‘a non-permanent force,’” saidCSM Andre Booker.“Among the reasons is thelack of permanent structuresand plumbing on base, inkeeping with an agreementbetween the United Statesand Honduras.”

“Not too many peopleknow about Soto Cano, butonce they hear about it,they’re intrigued,” said JTF-Bravo commander COLMichael Okita.

CANO

Honduras offers colorfulwildlife, historic buildings,the ruins of lost civilizationsand virtually untouched wil-derness.

An assignment to the baseoffers soldiers the chance to workwith the other services. And mostpersonnel leave with a betterunderstanding of how thedifferent services work togetherto accomplish a mission, he said.“That’s the real value of coming toHonduras.

“One of the reasons most peopledon’t know about Soto Cano untilthey’re assigned here, is becausewe’re not making headlines,” Okitasaid. “But we continue to be a supportbase for American military operationsin the theater, with primary responsi-

Mayan ruins

Church of Copan

Copan M

acaw

Yajoa Waterfalls

Soldiers36

Belmopan

TegucigalpaGuatemala

San Salvador

Managua

San Jos

BELIZE

GUATEMALA

EL SALVADOR

HONDURAS

NICARAGUA

COSTA RICAPANAMA

Panama

bility to our joint operations area,which includes six countries in CentralAmerica.”

Soto Cano supports the commanderof U.S. Southern Command in carryingout any military operations in CentralAmerica. The broad range of missionsincludes responding to natural disas-ters, other crisis situations and humani-tarian-aid contingencies.

Additionally, units at Soto Canoparticipate in scheduled engineeringand construction programs, andmedical-readiness training exercisesthat provide care to local villagers.

Besides Honduras, Soto Cano’sarea of responsi-bility includesNicaragua, ElSalvador, Guate-mala, Costa Rica,Belize and Pan-ama. “That’s172,000 squaremiles of territoryand some 30million people.It’s an impover-ished region ofthe world, butrich in history,”Okita said.

“Our presenceprovides manythings to thecommander inchief responsiblefor the Central America area ofoperations,” he added. “We supporttraining, operate the only militaryairfield in the region capable of

accommodating a C-5 transport, andare a valuable transition point forpeople and supplies.

“This has really been an eye-opener for me,” Okita said. “My first21 years were primarily involved withbattalion-level operations. Here youhave the opportunity to work withother services and agencies, especiallyduring disaster responses.”

JTF-Bravo has recently beeninvolved in such missions as NewHorizons, a program to build schoolsand other basic infrastructure inNicaragua and El Salvador; CentralSkies, providing counter-drug support

to local law-enforcementagencies; and medicalreadiness trainingexercises. Day-to-day

training events for the Army focus oncommon soldier skills, and includemarksmanship training and rappeling.

“For the average soldier, thechallenges of an assignment to SotoCano can be cultural as well asmission-oriented,” said Booker. “Youreally have to know your job, be ableto work in a multi-service environmentand, more importantly, a multi-national atmosphere. Most soldiersquickly learn this is one of thoseunique assignments where they’llactually get the chance to do theirjobs. And they leave here glad theyhad that chance.”

“We may be a temporary unit,technically, but we’ve been here 20years and have a proven track record,”Okita said.

Soldiers check each other’s gearbefore rapeling from an Army UH-60Black Hawk helicopter during train-ing at Soto Cano.

Tower rapeling (left, above) and para-chuting from a CH-47 Chinook (mainphoto) are among the types of trainingSoto Cano-based soldiers undertake.

Soldiers

“One of the reasonsmost people don’tknow about SotoCano until they’reassigned here, isbecause we’re notmaking headlines.”

SPC M. William Petersen (both)

November 2002 37

NavySECRETARY of the Navy Gordon

R. England ordered all Navy ships tofly the “First Navy Jack” in place of theUnion Jack for the duration of the war onterrorism. The First Navy Jack is com-monly known as the “Don’t Tread OnMe” flag because it depicts a movingrattlesnake on a field of 13 horizontal redand white stripes.

Air ForceTHE Air Force women’ssoftball team scored a 9-0win in this year’s ArmedForces Women’s SoftballChampionship. Led byhead coach Master Sgt.William Hardy of KeeslerAir Force Base, Miss., theteam stripped last year’schampion, Army, of itscrown.

MarinesMARINES from the 2nd Battalion, 25thMarine Regiment, tested the new Mk-4740mm advanced lightweight grenademachine gun at Camp Lejeune, N.C.The weapon is an advanced version ofthe Mk-19 grenade launcher. Some ofthe weapon’s features include a light-weight video-sighting system, laserrange finder and electronic elevationmechanism.

Coast GuardTHE Coast Guard proclaimed Morgan City,La., a “Coast Guard City.” The designationrecognizes cities that have demonstrated alongstanding and enduring relationship with,

and commitment to, Coast Guard members andtheir families.

Around the Services Compiled by SSG Alberto Betancourtfrom service reports

PH2 David A. Levy, USN

Ge

ne

ral

Dyn

am

ics

Sharp Shooters

Soldiers38

HE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’Savannah District’s mission in-

(Above) Work crews harvesttimber at Fort Stewart, Ga.

(Below) A Corps ofEngineers dredgerworks in SavannahHarbor.

Tcludes military construction, civilworks, regulatory oversight andreal estate management. Thedistrict serves 13 Army and

Air Force installations inGeorgia and North andSouth Carolina, building

training facilities and otherprojects ranging from

schools, hospitals and clinicsto housing, commissaries,

airfields, hangars, equipmentshops and runways. Jonas N.Jordan, the district’s photogra-

pher, captured some of thoseprojects in the following images.

Photos by Jonas N. Jordan

November 2002 39

Standard photo submissions for Soldiers Sharp Shooters can be mailed to: Photo Editor, Soldiers, 9325 Gunston Road,Ste. S108, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-5581. Photo submissions of digital images should be directed toalberto.betancourt@belvoir.army.mil. All submissions must include an introductory paragraph and captions.

(Left) TheSavannahDistrict’s jack-up bargeExplorer doesgeologicalsampling offthe Georgiacoast.

(Below) Boatsparticipating ina sailingregatta catchan afternoonbreeze at LakeHartwell, Ga.

Sharp Shooters

Soldiers40

(Left) A 200-ton replace-ment rotor is moved intoplace at Georgia’s Hart-well Power Plant, one ofthe Corps of Engineers’few external powerplants.

Water thunders through the spillway gates at Hartwell Dam.

November 2002 41

Container ships crowd Savannah Harbor.

Photos by Jonas N. Jordan

Soldiers42

Focus on People

“I am themost

‘waivered’person ever

to wear anArmy

uniform,”DeVries said.

“I had anage waiver

and a healthwaiver. They

went throughall this stuff

to make ithappen.”

DeVries: Better late than never.

tried to join the military during the Viet-nam War.

But he was not destined to serve hiscountry at that time. As a sole survivingson, military officials said, he couldn’tbe deployed to an active theater.Because of an influx of draftees, theytold him, they didn’t need him.

The young doctor’s subsequentmedical career involved break-throughs in modern medicine. Inthe early 1980s, he was instru-mental in creating the artificialheart dubbed the “Jarvik 7.”Between 1982 and 1987 heimplanted the Jarvik 7 in fourpatients who collectively livedmore than 1,300 days. DeVriesreturned to traditional cardio-vascular surgery in 1988 and

retired a decade later.Two years ago DeVries golfed with MG

Evan Gaddis, then commander of the ArmyRecruiting Command.

“I was 56, had a nice home near Fort Knox,Ky., and was cutting back my practice,” hesaid. “I was kind of disillusioned with medicine.Everybody was worried about their retire-ments, and the fun had gone out of it.”

Gaddis invited DeVries to accompany himto Washington, D.C., where he introduced himto the WRAMC commander.

On the return flight, Gaddis made his pitch.“He said, ‘Someone with your talent and

ability really could help the Army.’“I started feeling guilty,” DeVries said.In October, DeVries joined Walter Reed’s

Department of Surgery as a consultant. Still,Gaddis wasn’t satisfied. The general told thedoctor: “There’s one more thing you need todo. You need to wear green.”

“I am the most ‘waivered’ person ever towear an Army uniform,” DeVries said. “I had anage waiver and a health waiver. They wentthrough all this stuff to make it happen. I didn’treally appreciate it too much until I went to theOfficer Basic Course and it became a majordeal. They didn’t quite know how to handleme.” — Linda D. Kozaryn, American ForcesPress Service

AFTER a career as a world-renowned,pioneer heart surgeon, one would think

Dr. William C. DeVries could kick back andenjoy some golf.

On the contrary, DeVries decided to servein the armed forces.

At 57, the doctor who implanted the firstpermanent artificial heart, in Seattle dentistBarney Clark, signed on at Walter Reed ArmyMedical Center as a Defense Departmentcontractor — and then joined the Army Re-serve.

On Dec. 29, 2000, DeVries was commis-sioned as a lieutenant colonel. And on Jan. 18,2002, he became one of the oldest officers tograduate from the Army Medical Departmentbasic officer course.

“The story goes back to when I was born atthe Brooklyn Naval Hospital in 1943,” DeVriessaid. “My dad was a physician and surgeon,and a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve.

“Right after I was born, he went to sea,”DeVries said. “Six months later, he was killedin the Battle of Hollandia in the South Pacific.”

DeVries was “a sole surviving son” inmilitary terms, but he didn’t know it until he

Compiled by Heike Hasenauer

November 2002 43

Tara Easley has a very specific outlook onlife: “I want to be a dedicated wife, commit-

ted to a lifelong relationship in marriage.” Itwas good enough to convince a panel ofjudges that she should be crowned “Mrs.Hawaii International” for 2002.

The 24-year-old wife of 1LT Brian Easley,executive officer of the Army Corps of Engi-neers’ Pacific Ocean Division, representedHawaii in the national competition in August, inTennessee.

A second-grade teacher at Lanakila BaptistElementary School in Waipahu, Easley hopesher victory will help set an example for othermilitary wives who are considering gettinginvolved in the community.

She selected arts education in Hawaii asher “platform” area of emphasis as the reigningMrs. Hawaii. Easley will work with pageantadministrators to take the message to theclassroom when she visits other schools tohelp host art appreciation days.

Easley feels fortunate to have been se-lected to represent the state, since she wasthe only contestant who is a military wife.

“There is a tremendous feeling of accep-tance to receive such an honor,” she said. “Itake my selection very seriously and will try togive something back to the community.” —U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pacific OceanDivision, PAO

Easley: Mrs. Hawaii.

SGM Julius W. Chan of the 82nd AirborneDivision Support Command’s Headquar-

ters and HQs. Company at Fort Bragg, N.C.,has been performing magic for more than adecade.

Although many of his shows are directedtoward young orphans and children who arehospitalized, Chan, who has two sons of hisown, performs shows for adults and militaryunits as well. He currently gives one magicshow on the first of every month at FortBragg’s Womack Army Medical Center, duringpayday activities.

When Chan is on stage, he’s humorous andwarm, said SGM Charles J. Chan, themagician’s older brother and chief medicalNCO of HHC, XVIII Airborne Corps. “He helpsput the audience at ease and encouragesthem to participate.”

The best thing about performing magic isthe resulting expressions on the children’sfaces, Julius Chan said. “I like to make adifference in the kids’ lives. And, I think I do;when I finish a performance, they don’t wantme to go.”

Once Chan hosted a magic show during aunit Christmas party to benefit the homeless.In return for the show, he asked members ofthe audience to donate an old toy or clothingitem.

“Not only did he make the Christmas partya success, but he also made many homelesspeople happy on Christmas day,” CharlesChan said. — PFC Heather Boyne, 82nd Abn.Div. Public Affairs Office

Chan:Performingmagic.

Easley feelsfortunate tohave beenselected torepresentthe state,since shewas the onlycontestantwho is amilitary wife.

PostmarksFrom Army Posts Around the World

Compiled by SSG Alberto Betancourt

Soldiers44

Fort Benning, Ga.

Marksmanship as aRecruiting ToolSOLDIERS in the U.S. ArmyMarksmanship Unit are usuallyknown for their ability to bringhome gold medals for the Armyin shooting competitions. How-ever, the world-class shootershave been helping the Armywith a different mission.

During the recent NationalPistol Matches at Camp Perry,Ohio, several team memberstook time away from the firingrange to support the Army’sToledo, Ohio, RecruitingCompany by using the ArmyShooting Adventure Packagevan to provide marksmanshiptraining to more than 40Delayed Entry Programmembers.

SFC Steven V. Pullins,USAMU Recruiting Commandliaison, said the ASAP van isthe unit’s premier recruitingtool.

The “van” is actually a 28-foot-long trailer pulled by acommercial truck, both ofwhich are adorned with eye-catching Army graphics. Andalthough the ASAP showcasesthe Army’s best shooters,members of the public can alsotest their skills by shooting attargets using specially modifiedpistols or rifles.

The ASAP van is essen-tially a mobile shooting arcadethat provides a safe venue forUSAMU members andprospective recruits to interactin a fun environment, Pullinssaid.

CPT Michael C. Wise,commander of the ToledoRecruiting Co., said theDelayed Entry Programmembers really enjoyed theevent, and that several of themseemed very interested ingetting more marksmanshiptraining.

“The marksmanship teamshowed them something newand different that we can’t pro-

SFC Theresa E. DeWitt of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit gives pistol marksmanshiptips to Delayed Entry Program member Jameelah Logan at Camp Perry, Ohio.

Pa

ula

J.

Ra

nd

all-

Pa

ga

n

vide,” he said. “I woulddefinitely recommend thatother recruiting stations usethe ASAP van. It’s a greatway to familiarize recruitswith the Army’s weapons in asafe, fun and challengingway.”

Earlier this year, Georgiarecruiters brought more than35 DEP members to meet theteam at its home station atFort Benning and use theASAP.

“They really loved it,” saidSFC Kelly Price, a recruitingstation commander. “Theysaid they couldn’t wait to firereal weapons and felt thatthis training would help themin marksmanship in BasicCombat Training.”

Pullins said USAMU’srecruiting-assistance eventshelp recruiters expand theirmarkets and reinforce thecontacts they’ve alreadymade. — Paula J. Randall-Pagan, USAMU Public AffairsOffice

Fort Hood, Texas

Hood’s USO SupportsTroopsSINCE 1941 the USO hasbeen supporting U.S. troops byentertaining them while they’redeployed, or by providing a“home-away-from-home”feeling at one of hundreds ofUSO hospitality centersworldwide.

The recent opening of aUSO facility at Fort Hood,Texas, marks the beginning ofa new era for the organization,which typically has placed itsfacilities in civilian airports.

“Since the Sept. 11 terroristattacks on our country,hundreds of troops havedeployed from Fort Hood,” saidDan Green, president of theinstallation’s USO and acivilian aide to the secretary ofthe Army. “It was important tocreate a support element for

SS

G A

lbe

rto

Be

tan

cou

rt

November 2002 45

them. Now, we’re the onlyUSO on a military installation.”

With only one paidemployee, the Fort Hood USOdepends on communityvolunteers for support.

“This is an opportunity forour community to show itssupport for the troops andtheir families,” Green said.

Rich Ross, director of FortHood’s USO, said it’s beenpretty busy, but everyone haslent a hand.

“Whether they’re servinghot dogs during the day ordoughnuts in the earlymorning, community volun-teers have really reached outand supported us,” Ross said.

“We’re here to help in anyway we can,” said Green.“Fort Hood is our community,and anyone coming throughhere will receive a heartywelcome or a warm good-bye.” — SSG AlbertoBetancourt

Fort Bragg, N.C.

Coalition Jump at FortBraggTHE motivating yell “com-mando” echoed through thesky above Fort Bragg, N.C., asEcuadoran special forcessoldiers leaped from a U.S. AirForce C-130 Hercules aircraftonto Sicily Drop Zone during arecent airborne coalitionexercise with 82nd AirborneDivision troops.

The exercise was part ofthe Small Unit FamiliarizationProgram, which is gearedtoward establishing coalition-training events between theArmy and Latin Americancountries.

“The program promotes anunderstanding between foreigntroops,” said 2LT Todd Willert,scout platoon leader in the 3rdBattalion, 325th InfantryRegiment. “We can exchangetactics, so if we ever have tofight together we can integratemore easily.”

The training program,which takes place during the

second quarter of each fiscalyear, allows Latin Americanforces to train with soldiers inthe United States and U.S.soldiers to train in LatinAmerica.

Willert said that besidestwo airborne operations, thesoldiers honed their skills introop movement and link-upoperations, and completedobstacle courses and weaponsfamiliarization.

Although the Ecuadoransoldiers participate in similartraining events at home, theycited many differences in theway they trained with theAmericans, said Ecuadoran Lt.Wilson Sanchez.

“We train in a jungleenvironment,” he said. “Weprepare ourselves to fight inguerilla fashion with an enemywho is not very organized.”

He also said they jump outof smaller aircraft and withfewer people than Americansdo, and primarily perform free-fall jumps, which is jumpingfrom higher altitudes with nostatic lines hooked up to theaircraft.

“The fact that each armytrains differently is the best partof this exercise,” said SSGWilliam J. Colon of CompanyC, 3rd Bn., 325th Inf. “We learn

Dean Burkett, a USO volun-teer, offers doughnuts to FortHood family members whowere saying good-bye to de-ploying soldiers.

An 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper receives Ecuador-an jump wings during a wings-exchange ceremony follow-ing the coalition jump.

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1SG Raymond Cabacar ofHHC, 3rd Bn., 325th Inf.,watches Sgt. 2nd Class JuanC. Huerta of the Ecuadoranarmy jump from a 34-foottower at Fort Bragg.

a lot about each other, whichbuilds confidence on bothsides that we can successfullyfight together.”

Soldiers on both sides saidthey look forward to trainingtogether again.

“We appreciate the UnitedStates giving us this opportu-nity to train with them,” saidSanchez. “And we look forwardto American soldiers visiting usso we can share some of ourtraining with them.” — PFCHeather Boyne, 82nd Abn. Div.PAO

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Soldiers46

ThroughArtist’s

Eyes

MSG Henrietta M.Snowden (Ret.) wasthe Army’s first femalecombat artist. Sheused watercolor andcolor pencils to sharewith others her appre-ciation for soldiers’dedication.

anStory by Beth ReeceArt by MSG Henrietta M. Snowden (Ret.) “Taking the Point”

Paul Disney

Henrietta M. Snowden can freezetime. And during her tenure asthe Army’s official artist, it wasa talent she used to pay creativetestimony to soldiers’ experi-

ences in both peace and war.“My art is influenced by a deep

appreciation for soldiers. They are socommitted in all they do. I hope mypaintings inspire others to value soldiers’dedication,” said Snowden, who until herretirement last month was assigned to theU.S. Army Center of Military History inWashington, D.C.

Uniformed artists began documentingU.S. military missions during World WarI, after the British had already discoveredthat using military artists aided morale.“Plus, it was a good form of advertise-ment,” said CMH art curator RenéeKlish.

CMH selects one new artist everythree years to record soldiers’ endeavorsthrough various media. Snowden favorswatercolor and colored pencils, andoccasionally adds oil pastel or ink forhighlights and dimension.

November 2002 47

xThe Whole StoryLike a reporter, Snowden gathered

soldiers’ stories by following them ondeployments, during field exercisesand in garrison environments. In early2000 she spent 30 days lugging cameragear and sketchbooks around Kosovobefore committing brush and ink toone of her first CMH projects, titledthe “Kosovo Collection,” which can beviewed at www.army.mil/cmh-pg/art/Snowden/kosovo.htm.

“I jumped on every availableconvoy so I could talk with soldiersabout their parts of the mission,”Snowden said. She came home with 10rolls of film, a stack of sketches and adiary of her observations.

“This is how I develop the storythat will come through in my art,” shesaid. “I actually get to see the loneli-ness that soldiers sometimes experi-ence, as well as their hard work,teamwork and pride. It inspires me.”

A painting titled “Basic Training”is among Snowden’s latest works.Created in honor of women in uni-form, it shows a young recruit low-crawling through barbed wire with arifle in her arms.

“You can see the determination inher eyes, even though she’s obviouslystruggling,” Snowden said, explaining

“Waiting to Phone Home”

“The General in the Desert”

“South of Ch’orwon”

“Peacekeeper”

“An Army of One”

“Waiting to go to War, 2002”

Soldiers48

how the painting focuses onthe girl’s eyes. “I knew thatif I had the eyes right,everything else would fallinto place.”

While many soldiersdeployed to Saudi Arabia inearly 1991 for OperationDesert Storm, Snowden worked as agraphics manager for the Joint Chiefsof Staff at the Pentagon. Wanting tocontribute to the war, she delvedthrough the photos that arrived dailyfrom combat photographers in the warzone. An overexposed image of GENColin Powell caught her attention.

“The photograph was so incred-ible. To me, it depicted what the desertmust have been like — red hot. Iwanted to convey this overexposedheat in my painting,” she said.

The finished product shows Powellgrimacing from light so bright that hisimage fades off the canvas. CMHofficials liked it so much, they added itto their permanent Army art collectionand invited Snowden to join a team ofartists that would complete artworksdepicting soldiers returning homefrom Operation Desert Storm.

Snowden believes art offers agreater freedom of expression thanphotography. Artists, she said, havethe liberty to expand a photograph’semotion through their choices ofmedium, color, brush stroke andoverall composition.

“The background I paint may nothave been in the original photograph,for example. Or I may choose to focuson just one part of the photograph,”she said. “A photographer can captureonly what occurs at a specific moment,

be somebody who asks,‘Where’s the rest of the story?’or ‘When are you going tofinish this?” Refusing to let badfeedback block her creativeflow, Snowden tells critics thather creations are products ofpersonal perception.

Army artists are referred toas multimedia illustrators byoccupational specialty. They’retrained to develop and enhancegraphic presentations. Becausecommanders are sometimesunaware of illustrators’ capa-bilities, the artists are occasion-ally pushed aside or underusedin auxiliary jobs, Snowden said.

“Most illustrators extend theirartistic abilities to the units they sup-port, such as designing T-shirts for aunit run, or a caricature for a hail andfarewell,” she said. “This is the sort ofjob that requires soldiers to find theirown opportunities, to seek ways theycan contribute — even if it meansworking on their own time.”

The titles “soldier” and “artist” mayseem contradictory to some. But if anartist’s creativity is influenced byexperience, who better to paint soldiersthan a soldier, Snowden said.

“I was judged by the same stan-dards and went through the sametraining as other soldiers, so I under-stood what they do and how they feel. Ihad an insider’s view,” she said.

Snowden retired in October after 20years of illustrating and painting forthe Army. In the final phase of hercareer, she said, her artistic “flow” wasjust beginning to run smooth and con-stant. But a new artist, she said, will

help further enrich thecollective image of theArmy’s past.

“Henrietta should bevery, very proud of her art,”Klish said. “It will help usalways remember where theArmy has been.”

but an artist continues to define thatmoment.”

xCriticsMost artists fear criticism and cen-

sorship, but Snowden’s supervisorssupported her desire to project thetruth. Even the blood she painted insome of her Kosovo works went un-challenged, she said.

“I wasn’t sure how that would bereceived, though blood was a very realelement of the deploy-ment,” she said. “Thateveryone was supportivesays a lot about the valueplaced on the program.”

“Still, everyone is anart critic,” she added.“There’s always going to

CMH owns more than15,000 historical artworks,

some of whichcan be viewed at

www.army.mil/cmh-pg/.

Secure the firing line.

“New York Welcome”

“Early Morning Light”

Paintings by MSG Henrietta M. Snowden

“Basic Training”

Thanksgiving

“Families havelong providedstrength andvalues to ourSoldiers, ourArmy, and ourNation. Weknow we donot soldieralone.”

Message2002

Thomas E. WhiteSecretary of the Army

Eric K. ShinsekiGeneral, United States ArmyChief of Staff

THANKSGIVING is a time for the Army Family to pause and enjoy a day ofrest, relaxation, and fellowship. As families and friends gather, Thanksgiv-ing also provides an opportunity to show our gratitude for the blessings weenjoy in a free and prosperous Nation. Soldiers, Department of the Armycivilians, veterans, retirees, and all of their families can take pride in the fact

that their service and sacrifices preserve the privilege of living and working in a freesociety characterized by the highest ideals of liberty.

Almost 140 years ago, Abraham Lincoln reminded Americans, “We have beenthe recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved thesemany years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and poweras no other nation has ever grown.” Those words were spoken in 1863 during theCivil War. Our Nation emerged from that conflict stronger than ever before. Andtoday, as The Army fights the war on terrorism as part of the joint team, those wordsstill ring true as we enjoy the privileges and unparalleled freedoms that Soldiershave helped secure for over 227 years.

And so on this special day, we offer our appreciation to you, the Soldiers andcivilians of The Army, who serve our Nation with a level of devotion and selflessservice unequalled in any other profession. You walk point for our Nation 24 hoursa day, uphold freedom’s torch as you willingly step forward to defend the Americanpeople from all enemies and animate the values and principles that we hold dear—loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.

Thanksgiving is also a time for families to join in celebration and reunions.Families have long provided strength and values to our Soldiers, our Army, and ourNation. We know we do not soldier alone. For just as Soldiers sacrifice anddedicate themselves to honorable service, their families also sacrifice and makeinvaluable contributions to the Well-Being of our Army and our Nation. We giveyou our thanks, and a grateful nation thanks you as well.

We are proud of The Army Family. And so to all of you, the dedicated men andwomen of the U.S. Army—uniformed and civilian—we offer special thanks for thedifficult and dangerous work you are doing for the citizens of our great Nation. Wewish all of you and your loved ones a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.

Soldiers2 West Point — 200 Years of Athletic Excellence

Robert F. Foley

ROBERT F. Foley was a three-year letterman in basketball at theacademy and the captain for the team during the 1962-1963season. A Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient, he retired in2000 as a lieutenant general.