Category: Veterans News

WASHINGTON — Adm. Mike Gilday relieved Adm. John Richardson as the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) in a ceremony, Aug. 22, at the Washington Navy Yard.

Gilday became the 32nd CNO, the U.S. Navy’s most senior officer. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CNO acts as an advisor to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and the Secretary of Defense. Under direction of the Secretary of the Navy, the CNO is responsible for the command, utilization of resources, and operating efficiency of naval forces and shore activities assigned by the Secretary.

The Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer acted as the presiding officer and guest speaker at the ceremony. In his speech, Spencer focused on the Navy’s many accomplishments during Richardson’s tenure.

“The Sailors serving this nation are constantly on Adm. Richardson’s mind and close to his heart. As much as Adm. Richardson has done for our capabilities and processes, he’s done more for our people. Thanks to his efforts, the men and women of the U.S. Navy are safer, better prepared, and better commanded while standing watch around the world.”

Before concluding, Spencer spoke about the future of the Navy.

“Adm. Gilday has already played a critical role in restoring our readiness and lethality, and he’s well positioned to help take our integrated naval force into the next decade.”

During the ceremony, Gilday spoke about the status of the Navy and what he sees in the service’s future.

“I believe our Navy’s strategic direction is rock solid and that our Navy is in great shape,” said Gilday. “We are recruiting and retaining a high-quality force, we are providing well trained combat-ready forces forward, around the globe. We are modernizing our Navy at a scope and pace

SAGAMIHARA, Japan — With the onset of recent events, ‘Fight Tonight’ readiness remains a top priority in the Pacific Region. Especially to those involved in counter measures.

Soldiers with U.S. Army Japan and 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade received first-hand experience with that imperative as they participated in Shodan Watch, a training exercise designed to ensure operational readiness in a simulated tactical environment at Sagami General Depot, Aug. 1-20.

“Applying a simulated tactical scenario during training prepares us for realistic and accurate wartime environments,” said Sgt. Camden Shoults, Indianapolis, Indiana native, air defense battle management system operator, 38th ADA Brigade. “When maintaining a ‘Fight Tonight’ mindset, it is essential that all Soldiers know their individual and team responsibilities during increased operations tempo.”

Leadership set out realistic and achievable goals to maintain and improve proficiency across multiple domains.

“Being a new unit in Japan and this being our first exercise here, our mission was to define roles and rehearse processes with U.S. Army Japan, 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery, and other joint forces to establish a cohesive work environment,” said Sgt. 1st Class Galen E. Corbell, Waco, Texas native, AD battle management noncommissioned officer, 38th ADA Brigade. “This exercise was a great opportunity to merge our capabilities and allow others to learn what we do as a unit.”

U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command Chief Lt. Gen. James Dickinson highlighted a strategy built around an air and missile defense force that aligns with the Army’s wider goal to have a fully modernized force executing multidomain operations in a recent Defense News article. The strategy is meant to ensure AMD forces can protect maneuvering ground forces and defend critical assets while creating “windows of superiority” in the air so that the joint force can gain access.

Shodan Watch provided the

Brazil’s Armed Forces and U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) co-hosted the South American Defense Conference (SOUTHDEC) Aug. 20-22, 2019, in Natal, a coastal city in northeast Brazil.

Brazilian Air Force Gen. Raul Botelho, chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces’ Joint Staff, and U.S. Navy Adm. Craig Faller, commander of SOUTHCOM, opened the forum with defense leaders from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Perú, Suriname and Uruguay, as well as invited military and civilian representatives from Canada, Portugal, Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Brazilian Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo and U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission William Popp joined Botelho and Faller as they greeted the delegations during a ceremony marking the start of the annual event.

“I’m sure that at the end of this conference, we’re going to be able to further enhance our relationship and friendship bonds, increment our mutual knowledge, and establish new opportunities for cooperation,” Botelho stated with firm optimism.

Azevedo contrasted present-day security challenges in the region with those experienced in previous years, underscoring how sharply different those challenges were just a decade prior. “The world is undergoing transitions with a diversity of threats, demanding joint efforts to neutralize them for regional stability and lasting peace,” he observed.

“It’s more important than ever before that we meet our challenges to the hemispheric security demands with a sense of urgency and action,” Faller encouraged the attendees. “That’s why we’re here, to understand where we need to adapt, where we need to reinforce, and to chart a way forward.”

Following the opening ceremony, SOUTHDEC participants took part in two days of dialogue, briefings, roundtables and meetings, focusing on their support of humanitarian assistance missions, disaster relief operations, and international cooperation targeting transnational threats. Their delegations included senior enlisted leaders, who met

The United States Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment will host the DoD Warrior Games in San Antonio, Texas, Sept. 21-28, 2020. 

The Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment announced the event at a press conference on July 9th alongside city officials, who will partner with the service to host the event in venues throughout the city and greater area. 

“We look forward to working closely with both the military and civilian communities in what will be an exciting event for our City, the region, our military, and especially for our nation’s wounded, ill and injured warriors participating in the Games,” said Ron Nirenberg, Mayor of San Antonio. 

More than 300 athletes will compete in the DoD Warrior Games in 2020. The athletes are comprised of active duty and veteran U.S service members from the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Special Operations Command, and the Air Force. Teams of international service members will compete as well. 

 We have witnessed over the years that the Warrior Games not only aides the recovery process for wounded warriors, but facilitates a sense of camaraderie and brings them closer to the community members who are committed to supporting themCol. Larry Miller, Commanding officer of the Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment

Teams and individuals will compete in 13 adaptive events, including archery, wheelchair basketball, road cycling, time-trial cycling, field, golf, powerlifting, indoor rowing, wheelchair rugby, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, track, golf, and wheelchair rugby.

The 2020 Games will be open to the public, and competition schedules and venues will be announced in the future. This is only the second time in Warrior Games history in which the events will be held exclusively at public venues, as opposed to within a military establishment. 

“We have witnessed over the years that the Warrior Games not

Members of the 317th Airlift Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, trained in airspace over Nevada and California, August 8–16.

This training was designed to prepare 39th Airlift Squadron aircrew for future deployed operations in mountainous terrains.

Pilots experience higher atmospheric pressure at high altitudes which change the way landings feel, said Capt. Matthew Rounds, 39th AS C-130J Super Hercules pilot. Newer pilots were able to train on operating in these conditions for the first time.

“We operated out of Reno-Tahoe International Airport, which has similar elevations to areas we operate overseas,” Rounds said .

Aircrews worked on various airlift procedures such as the combat offload.

The combat offload is a method used by C-130 aircrew to deliver cargo in hazardous environments. It involves a fast landing and is followed by an abrupt takeoff that allows for cargo to roll out of the back of the aircraft to support missions on the ground.

“One of the biggest wins of this training was building rapport within the units involved in our deployments,” Rounds said. “Our loadmasters were in sync with pilots and our maintainers kept our aircraft good to go. Deployers were able to work side-by-side with the same people they’ll work with overseas.”

The 39th AS also built relationships with Marines assigned to Camp Pendleton, California.

“We had the pleasure of working with over 200 Marines, for high-altitude, low-opening (HALO) and static-line parachute drops,” Rounds said.

The HALO drops consisted of  five to 10 Marines jumping out of the rear of the C-130J at altitudes higher than 3,500 feet. Static-line drops were conducted at 1,250 feet. For each static-line pass, approximately 20 Marines jumped one-by-one with parachutes deploying immediately upon their departure.

Marines were able to make multiple jumps during the week and became

WASHINGTON (NNS) — Adm. Mike Gilday relieved Adm. John Richardson as the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) in a ceremony, Aug. 22, at the Washington Navy Yard.

Gilday became the 32nd CNO, the U.S. Navy’s most senior officer. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CNO acts as an advisor to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and the Secretary of Defense. Under direction of the Secretary of the Navy, the CNO is responsible for the command, utilization of resources, and operating efficiency of naval forces and shore activities assigned by the Secretary.

The Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer acted as the presiding officer and guest speaker at the ceremony. In his speech, Spencer focused on the Navy’s many accomplishments during Richardson’s tenure.

“The Sailors serving this nation are constantly on Adm. Richardson’s mind and close to his heart. As much as Adm. Richardson has done for our capabilities and processes, he’s done more for our people. Thanks to his efforts, the men and women of the U.S. Navy are safer, better prepared, and better commanded while standing watch around the world.”

Before concluding, Spencer spoke about the future of the Navy.

“Adm. Gilday has already played a critical role in restoring our readiness and lethality, and he’s well positioned to help take our integrated naval force into the next decade.”

During the ceremony, Gilday spoke about the status of the Navy and what he sees in the service’s future.

“I believe our Navy’s strategic direction is rock solid and that our Navy is in great shape,” said Gilday. “We are recruiting and retaining a high-quality force, we are providing well trained combat-ready forces forward, around the globe. We are modernizing our Navy at a scope and

An alliance between the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center and the Business and Enterprise Systems Product Innovation office is improving mission support capabilities.

BESPIN and AFIMSC are partnering to develop two mobile applications: an app connecting the military community to base events and an app to improve contractor accountability. The apps were two of the top three ideas chosen during AFIMSC’s inaugural Innovation Rodeo March 1.

“The standup of the BESPIN office connects the entire installation and mission support enterprise to an opportunity to develop apps, sustain apps and make Airmen’s lives better,” said Marc Vandeveer, AFIMSC chief innovation officer. “This is our very first partnership with the brand new Air Force office, and the sky’s the limit on how we can change Airmen’s lives this year, next year and for years to come.”

Vandeveer said one message was clear to the innovation office during the 2019 Call for Innovation campaign – Airmen want mobile apps, and they want the apps to improve their jobs and daily lives.

“Mobile apps have become ubiquitous throughout the world,” Vandeveer said. “The Air Force has been late to adopt mobile platforms, so development and sustainment of these apps has been minimal. It has struggled to develop quality apps that benefit Airmen and families worldwide.”

BESPIN, located at Maxwell Air Force Base Gunter Annex, Alabama, is an Air Force organization connecting government operations with developers from the private sector. The office uses an agile development methodology to quickly implement ideas that will ultimately support the service and the Department of Defense. Agile development methodology – based on lean principles – keeps the user, acquirer and developer working together throughout every stage of development so adjustments can be made quickly.

“We’re leading a digital transformation from

Every day the Air Force becomes more accurate and advanced to make sure the mission is accomplished. They do this by innovating, managing equipment, reducing manpower and reducing cost.

Members of the 86th Vehicle Readiness Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, are doing exactly that by acquiring a new driving simulator to train Airmen who aren’t familiar with German roads and weather conditions.

The simulator was purchased with money from the Squadron Innovation Funds.

The 86th VRS is responsible for operating and maintaining a variety of government-owned vehicles such as military vehicles, pickup trucks, police cars, transport vehicles and special-purpose vehicles.

“Before the simulator, whenever we got new Airmen, we’d take them out on the road and get them familiar with the vehicle,” said Master Sgt. Daniel Moffett, 86th VRS noncommissioned officer in charge of training validation and operations. “Then we conducted the actual driving portion where they would get in the vehicle, drive around the base and drive around the highway as well.”

The old process took more time, resources, fuel and added maintenance cost from more wear-and-tear to the vehicles.

“This is a more timely and effective way to train, as opposed to actually having to go out, check out and operate a vehicle for hours on the road,” said Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Lindke, 86th VRS training validation and operations supervisor. “They can get that familiarization training completed within the confines of this building. I’d say that is one of the biggest benefits, it’s going to end up saving a lot of man hours.”

The simulator helps safely prepare Airmen for less than ideal road conditions and possible vehicle failures they could face.

“The simulator provides a plethora of different tools built into the program that allows us to put

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — For many participants, training for a longer race like the Army Ten-Miler involves discipline and dedication, but it’s going to take more than a good pair of running shoes to avoid injuries — runners need to have confidence and a road-tested training plan.

“Believe it or not, one of the most important things you can do to help prevent the chances of running injuries is to be confident in your body,” said Army Maj. Timothy Benedict, an Army Public Health Center physical therapist who specializes in injury prevention. “Research shows that your confidence in your ability to run is one of the most important things to prevent injuries.”

Benedict, an experienced distance runner, says following a running plan will help increase a runner’s confidence and can be much more effective for preventing injuries than even the perfect pair of running shoes.

Overuse musculoskeletal, or MSK, injuries like shin-splints can occur over several hours, weeks or months from repeated low

WASHINGTON — While automakers and other industries are good at streamlining their processes to incorporate the latest technologies and roll out new models in a relatively short time to stay ahead of the competition, the Army traditionally has been slow to identify and field new capabilities, Acting Army Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy said.

McCarthy spoke at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Center on Military and Political Power in Washington yesterday.

From writing requirements to testing and fielding new systems traditionally takes the Army upwards of 20 years, McCarthy said, so Army leaders have made a business decision to completely revamp the service’s structure to roll out high-priority weapon systems faster and at affordable prices more in line with the way industry does it.

Driving this decision is the great power competition with Russia and China, he said.

The Army did three things to streamline the process and make better buying decisions, he said:

• Identified the six highest priorities needed for fighting near-peer or peer competitors: long-range precision fires, next-generation combat vehicle, future vertical lift, the network, air and missile defense and soldier lethality. The bulk of