Man's Best Friend Is Our Injured Soldiers' Best Friend... and AT NO CHARGE

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2006 - Man's best friend is about to become every military amputee's best friend, thanks to the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind and a new pilot program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here.

For the past 60 years, the Guide Dog Foundation has provided service dogs free of charge to help people with visual impairments become more mobile and independent. But less well known is the group's work with service dogs for people with other disabilities.

Mike Sergeant, chief training officer for the organization, said he's excited about the potential of a pilot program that will enable amputees at Walter Reed to get their own service dog, without cost. The dogs are trained to help the troops balance as they learn to walk with artificial limbs, to retrieve items the servicemembers drop, and in some cases, to serve as braces as the troops lift themselves from a chair or the floor, Sergeant explained. "The service dog will help the veterans as they learn a new way of mobility with their artificial limbs," he said.

While helping veterans overcome physical barriers, the dogs will help them overcome emotional ones, too, Sergeant said. "They will serve as a companion dog to help during the veteran's transition," he said. "We've been told that a lot of veterans are proud of what they have done, but that there's an awkwardness about adjusting" to life outside the hospital. When a dog accompanies a wounded veteran, the public's focus automatically goes to the dog, not to the wound or disability, Sergeant said.

"A service dog is a great living tool," he said. "It can make life a little easier as they adjust to their civilian life or career. The veteran and dog act together as one, so the veteran is less dependent on human assistance and becomes more independent.

"Plus, there's the benefit of love and companionship that a dog provides," he added. "The two work kind of like the buddy system, going through the transition together."

Dogs used for the program, mostly retrievers, go through a rigorous three- to four-month training program that instills the skills and discipline required for the job. "We need a dog that's disciplined and rock-steady," he said.

Sergeant said he's hopeful the program can kick off at Walter Reed as soon as October. If the pilot program proves successful, it may expand to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, he said.

His hope is that the pilot program will be an overwhelming success and that "any amputee who is interested will be able to apply to take a service dog home to help with his transition."

Harvey Naranjo, sports and activities coordinator in Walter Reed's Occupational Therapy Amputee Section, has lined up three patients interested in trying out service dogs.

Among them is Eddie Wright, a 30-year-old Marine sergeant who was medically retired after losing both arms in Fallujah, Iraq, in April 2004. "I think it's awesome," Wright said of the opportunity, though he quickly volunteered to Sergeant that he wouldn't accept a service dog if it could go to someone who needed it more than he did.

Sergeant assured Wright his group will work to ensure it generates enough donations to provide a trained service dog to any veteran who needs one. "If you want one, we are going to work with you to provide you a fully trained dog," he said. "And we will teach you how to work with it so that when you do home, this dog will be of real assistance in your life."

Wright said he's hopeful about the new capabilities a service dog will bring him. "It will help me be more independent and more comfortable on my own," he said. "I hate to be dependent."

Naranjo is a big fan of service dogs. He introduced Deuce, a year-and-a-half-old chocolate Labrador retriever, to the Walter Reed staff in March after seeing how well patients responded to dogs during their therapy."

He's a big welcome mat who opens up the door to communication wherever he goes," Naranjo said of Deuce. "I see these service dogs as real ambassadors. They can provide a huge service and therapeutic outlet."

Related Sites:Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind [http://www.guidedog.org/]

America Supports You [http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/]

The USS Iwo Jima Also Saves Lives

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

NORTH ARABIAN GULF, Oct. 18, 2006 - The USS Iwo Jima can unleash tremendous military force by air, land and sea, but the crew takes pride in offering something the ship's captain says is equally important: the ability to reduce suffering and save lives.

"This ship is unique in that it's not just projecting power, but also has the capacity to do a great deal of assistance," Navy Capt. Mike "The Sheriff" Walley told civilian business and community leaders participating in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference aboard the ship.

The Defense Department's JCOC program has been introducing civilian "movers and shakers" to the military since 1948 by showing them military operations and giving them an opportunity to see men and women in uniform on the job.

"We're not just about taking lives, we're about saving lives," Walley told the JCOC group. "That's one of the things we're proud of -- that we bring not just a warfighting capacity, but also a humanitarian capacity."

Last summer, the USS Iwo Jima got the chance to do just that as it was preparing to return to its home port of Norfolk, Va., Walley told the group. Hurricane Katrina had just devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast, and Iwo Jima was called in to provide a command and control platform and a floating hospital for people who couldn't get care in New Orleans hospitals.

At the same time, Iwo Jima's crew assisted in search and rescue operations, plucking almost 3,400 people from rooftops and saving them from the rising waters.

"This wasn't a new mission," Walley told the JCOC group. "When Katrina happened, we knew exactly what to do."

Crewmembers said they get a lot of gratification from helping fellow Americans in need.

"It really felt good to be a part of something like that," said Airman Courtney Young, who's been an aviation mechanic with Iwo Jima for the past two years. "You get a lot of satisfaction when you turn on CNN and can see our boat doing a lot of good."

Three football fields long, but shorter than an aircraft carrier, Iwo Jima and its 1,100 sailors provide the platform that delivers the 1,600 to 1,800 Marines it typically carries to any contingency in their region.

The ship carries 29 aircraft, including Marine Corps AV-8B "Harriers" that provide air defense and close-ground support, CH-53 "Super Stallions" and CH-46E "Sea Knight" that ferry troops and supplies and AH-1W "Super Cobras" that provide close-in air support.

In addition, the Iwo Jima's Landing Craft Air Cushion is capable of delivering Marines along with their vehicles and equipment for an amphibious assault.

The JCOC participants got a firsthand look at these military capabilities, took a spin in an LCAC at speeds hitting 45 knots, and watch Harriers take off and land from Iwo Jima's flight deck.

In addition to its combat capability, Iwo Jima contributes to the U.S. maritime mission in a way a traditional carrier simply can't, Walley said. "We call a carrier a single-dimensional ship" that projects air power, he said. "This ship is multi-dimensional.

"Just over four months into its current deployment, USS Iwo Jima is once again demonstrating those multi-dimensional capabilities.

Since leaving Norfolk in early June, Iwo Jima already has helped evacuate 14,900 American citizens in Lebanon to safety before providing more traditional support to operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The ship is currently operating in the North Arabian Gulf, about 60 miles from the Kuwaiti coast.

Iwo Jima's crew "has done more since they came out here than the three previous strike groups," Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Carl Jensen, commander of Task Force 59, told the group. "This strike group has really done it and done it all - and made it look easy."

Jensen called the Lebanon evacuation mission a big feather in Iwo Jima's hat. "It was a huge, joint effort," Jensen said of the mission that was moving 4,000 people a day at its peak. "But the lion's share was carried out by the Navy and Marine Corps, and we're really proud to have played a role."

The ability to react quickly to a wide variety of missions is a hallmark of U.S. naval forces, Vice Adm. Patrick M. Walsh, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, told the group during a briefing yesterday. "The advantage of maritime forces is that you can move quickly and be responsive to events on the ground," he said.

He cited humanitarian and disaster relief as one of the three key maritime missions in the region, along with maritime security operations and consequence management.

In supporting a humanitarian or disaster relief mission, Iwo Jima can transport people, deliver food, make drinkable water and provide medical care in an onboard facility that includes operating rooms, X-ray rooms, a blood bank, laboratories and patient wards, Walley told the group. In a catastrophic situation, most of the ship's hangar bay and flight deck would provide an overflow triage area.

Members of the Iwo Jima crew said they feel good about their ability to provide, not just combat power, but also life-saving support to people in need. "In the end, I think all warriors like to believe ... that they are helping provide a better world for a country they are in conflict with," Walley said.

Participants in the JCOC program said they were wowed by what they observed on Iwo Jima. "It was awesome, amazing, a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Keith Cooley, chief executive officer for Focus: Hope, based in Detroit."It totally exceeded my expectations - not just the machinery, but the people," Cooley continued. "They're young, honest people of integrity. I'm pretty damned impressed."

The first U.S. defense secretary, James V. Forrestal, created the JCOC in 1948 to introduce civilian "movers and shakers" with little or no military exposure to the workings of the armed forces. Nearly six decades later, it remains DoD's premier civic leader program. Participants are selected from hundreds of candidates nominated by military commands worldwide and pay their own expenses throughout the conference.

We at Vested Power of the People are mighty proud of our men and women sailors who serve our country and the world.

God Bless the whole of our military.

God Bless America.



[Web Version: http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1680]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is Hard at Work in Afghanistan

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2006 - Steady progress is being made to provide new roads, electric power and water distribution systems to the Afghan people, the U.S. Army's top engineer said today.

The Taliban destroyed much of Afghanistan's feeble infrastructure while they were in power, Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, commander and chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said from Afghanistan during a teleconference with Pentagon reporters.

That's why Afghanistan isn't a reconstruction mission, Strock said.

"This is a construction mission," the three-star general said. "And, when you look at the resources available in this country, it's going to take a while to mobilize them. And, it's going to take time."

Yet today, about 921 kilometers of Afghan roads are under construction or have been completed, representing a $170 million investment, said Strock, who's in Afghanistan to check up on road building and other engineering projects.

The fifth-poorest country in the world, Afghanistan is a large, mountainous country that's in need of a good road system to boost its economic development, Strock said. That's why U.S. Army engineers are partnering with other agencies, he noted, to build a circuitous road network that will connect Afghanistan's chief cities.

"We're very close to completing the national ring road, which is the primary road which links all the major cities of the country around the circumference of the country," Strock explained. Secondary roads are also being built, he said, to connect provincial centers and the villages beyond.

Establishing a modern road system in Afghanistan will provide a conduit between the central government and its people, Strock said. And, he added, new roads will also connect Afghanistan's people to "health care, economic opportunity, education" and other economic generation factors."

So, the roads are really one of the most important areas we're working on now," Strock said.

A recent increase in insurgent-led violence in some rural areas of Afghanistan hasn't slowed reconstruction efforts, Strock said. Provincial reconstruction teams continue to implement Afghan-recommended projects across the country, he noted, especially in areas that have experienced security challenges.

Strock's engineers also are engaged in providing electric power and water distribution systems for Afghanistan's citizens. Since Afghanistan has no national power grid, he explained, the engineers have been building rudimentary water-powered electricity generators around rural areas of the country."

The only practical way to get power to the people is through local pinpoint electrical sources," Strock said. "This is the kind of system they need. It requires no resources to operate except the natural flowing water."

This simpler method of generating electricity dovetails with local agricultural and irrigation programs, Strock said, and provides Afghans "a resource that they have not had available to them."

Strock acknowledged many Afghans might not know about ongoing reconstruction projects conducted on their behalf, because of the size of the country and poor communications."

If you're not in the immediate vicinity of one of our projects, you may not know anything about it," Strock said. The country's rugged terrain, he explained, makes it "very difficult for people to really understand what's going on around them."

Part of the challenge, Strock noted, is getting the word out to the Afghan people about the many reconstruction projects being undertaken that will eventually improve their lives.

Real progress is being made in Afghanistan, Strock said.

"I think we have sufficient resources, and we're now in the process of gaining that irreversible momentum we seek," the general said.

[Web Version: http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1676]

America Brings More to Iraq Than Just Tanks and Guns

By Spc. C. Terrell Turner, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Oct. 17, 2006 - On a typical day at the medical clinic in Tarmiya, Iraq, patients and clinic workers witnessed a not-so-typical grand opening last week of a new surgical and pregnancy wing hosted by Ministry of Health personnel, local council members and soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

The $400,000 project features operating rooms, labor and delivery facilities, and recovery rooms.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Dr. Ali Ibrahim, district clinic manager for the Ministry of Health, gave Army Maj. Herb Joliat, civil affairs officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, a tour of the new wing of the clinic.

Ibrahim is the medical official in charge of several clinics in the northern Baghdad region, including Saab Al Bour, Mushada, Taji, Tapi and others. He is responsible for providing medical services to more than a million people in the region."

The job ran a little over the projected end date because of conditions on the site that were outside of his initial scope that he needed to address for quality assurance," said Joliat. "Despite that, he still brought in his touches with his own photos and plastic plants. It was his building, his work, in his town."

Hameed Halhelal, the local contractor in charge of the project, said he enjoyed the project and the opportunity to help the people of Tarmiya.

"This is my first project here in Tarmiya, and a very good thing for the people," he said. "This clinic is a great project for people needing surgery and for pregnant women and their children."

The clinic serves about 140,000 people in the greater Tarmiya area.

Ibrahim coordinated the movement of additional personnel to work in the new clinic wing. He also said he receives regular assistance from local Iraqi security forces when he needs it.

"We moved our staff around, and also brought in more experienced staff from Baghdad to work in the clinic," he said. "Many people have told me that the new clinic is very beautiful. Everything that we do here is for the benefit of the people."

(Army Spc. C. Terrell Turner is assigned to 1st Brigade Combat Team public affairs, 4th Infantry Division.)

[Web Version: http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1638]

According the the Liberal MSM, we're losing in Iraq. No, we're not.

REPORT #1

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2006 - Iraqi security forces teamed up with American GIs to defeat two nearly simultaneously launched enemy attacks in the Mosul area Oct. 12.

U.S. soldiers from Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, attacked and destroyed a terrorist mortar cell after Forward Operating Base Marez received indirect fire.

Two terrorists were killed, one wounded and one detained in the attack. The GIs also found a significant weapons cache in the area that contained three 82 mm mortar tubes with 18 mortar rounds and a 120 mm mortar tube with multiple mortar rounds.

U.S. soldiers saw terrorists flee to a nearby building during the firefight. The building was encircled, and then 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, soldiers launched an assault, killing two terrorists inside and capturing three.

Around this time in western Mosul, Iraqi troops teamed with U.S. soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, to defeat a complex terrorist attack involving small-arms and rocket-propelled-grenade fire.

During the fighting, Iraqi police and soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, captured several mobile weapons caches and killed and detained numerous terrorists. One Iraqi soldier and four Iraqi police were wounded in the fighting.

Iraqi police in Mosul reported they detained 39 suspected terrorists, wounded two terrorists and killed eight terrorists after the Oct. 12 firefight. The police also captured several small-arms weapons caches, 10 vehicles suspected of being used for terrorist activity and one large truck with weapons.

Twelve coalition forces soldiers were wounded in the initial mortar attack on Forward Operating Base Marez East. Four soldiers were treated and returned to duty, five were not seriously wounded and three were seriously wounded. Their names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

[Web Version: http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1612]

REPORT #2

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2006 - Iraqi and coalition forces freed a kidnap victim and detained two terrorists in Muqdadiya, Iraq, and combined operations yielded more than 35 suspected insurgents and seven weapons caches last week in Anbar province, military officials in Iraq reported.

Iraqi army and coalition forces discovered a cache, freed a kidnap victim and detained two terrorists yesterday in the town of Muqdadiya.

Soldiers with the 3rd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, and Company A, 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Task Force Lightning, discovered the cache and kidnap victim after a local citizen pointed to a building in the area while they were conducting a combined operation.

A search uncovered a grenade, a stick of TNT, one flare gun, and multiple fake improvised-explosive devices. The kidnap victim was found chained to a wall in the house next door. Two males were detained from the house where the cache was found.

The kidnap victim, detainees and the cache were transported to a secure location. The cache was later destroyed.

Elsewhere, Iraqi security forces, along with U.S. Marines, soldiers and sailors of Regimental Combat Team 7, detained more than 35 suspected insurgents and discovered more than seven weapons and munitions caches last week in western Anbar province.

Last week's efforts yielded more than 11,300 pieces of munitions, bomb initiating devices, explosives, weapons and bomb-making material.

The week-long tally started Oct. 7 and ended Oct. 13.

Among the most significant finds: more than 6,500 rifle, pistol and machine gun rounds of various caliber; 70 explosive mortar rounds; five explosive rocket warheads; 30 rocket-propelled grenades; 2,000 sticks of plastic explosive; 34,500 feet of detonation chord; 400 roadside bomb-initiating devices; five machine guns; four AK-47 assault rifles; 17 suicide-bomb vests and other forms of explosives and equipment.

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.) [Web Version: http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1614]====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.