Story by Staff Sgt. Tanya Thomas, 4th AAB, 3rd Inf. Div.,USD-C AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq –Although violence in Iraq has decreased, the threat of improvised explosive devices still exist. Soldiers of Company A, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, are helping their Iraqi Army counterparts learn how to defeat this threat in an effort to make the streets of Anbar safer.After working side-by-side with members of the 7th Field Engineering Regiment, 7th Iraqi Army Division for the past 11 months, U.S. Soldiers put the 7th FER Soldiers to the test and...
Story and photo by Spc. William A. Joeckel, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-C BAGHDAD–Soldiers with Company C, 1st ‘Vanguard’ Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center have the full-time job of ensuring that Contingency Operating Station Hammer continues operating and that the relationship with the local tenants is maintained.On the installation, civilian contractors and trainers work side-by-side their U.S. Army counterparts, assisting with things like running base security, operating the dining facilities, fuel and...
Story by Staff Sgt. Tanya Thomas, 4th AAB, 3rd Inf. Div.,USD-C AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq –Although violence in Iraq has decreased, the threat of improvised explosive devices still exist. Soldiers of Company A, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, are helping their Iraqi Army counterparts learn how to defeat this threat in an effort to make the streets of Anbar safer.After working side-by-side with members of the 7th Field Engineering Regiment, 7th Iraqi Army Division for the past 11 months, U.S. Soldiers put the 7th FER Soldiers to the test and...
Story by Sgt.1st Class Jonathan S. DeLong, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-CBAGHDAD–Soldiers with the 1st ‘Vanguard’ Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center gathered to celebrate the 150-year anniversary of the regiment’s founding May 3 at Camp Taji, Iraq, with an organizational day designed to build cohesion and resiliency throughout the formation.The 18th Inf. Regt., constituted May 3, 1861 to serve during the Civil War, has fought in numerous campaigns in support of the defense of the United States.And, 150 years...
Story by 1st Lt. Jason SweeneyCAMP TAJI, Iraq – Having an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter pilot for your dad is pretty cool. Even cooler is being an Apache pilot and having two of your children follow in your footsteps to become pilots, too.“Without a doubt, I’m the proudest man on earth,” said Capt. Dennis McNamara, an AH-64 Apache Longbow attack helicopter pilot for the 8th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment, an Army Reserve unit based out of Fort Knox, Ky.Capt. Dennis McNamara is currently stationed at Camp Taji, Iraq where he flies Apaches alongside his daughter, Capt...
Story and photo by Spc. Darriel Swatts, Public Affairs, 40th Combat Aviation BrigadeVICTORY BASE COMPLEX, Iraq – Soldiers from the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) stationed at Camp Taji, Iraq were rewarded for their hard work with a guided tour of historic sites on Victory Base Complex (VBC), the Baghdad headquarters of U.S. Forces-Iraq (USF-I).“We were trying to find a way to recognize the Soldiers for all of their hard work,” said 2nd Lt. Sarah Cooley, 40th CAB adjutant and a resident of San Luis Obispo, Calif. “All too often, Soldiers who come to Iraq never get to see anything outside of...
Story and photo by Sgt. Daniel Stoutamire, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-C BAGHDAD—Soldiers with B Company, 1st “Dragon” Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center trained a group of Soldiers with the 6th Iraqi Army Division on small-unit tactics recently, with an emphasis on room-clearing procedures, at Joint Security Station Constitution, Iraq.The training began with classroom work, which helped the Dragon Battalion trainers understand the prior experience their students had with clearing rooms as a team.“Their way of...
Story and photo by Spc. Matthew A. Wright, 40th Combat Aviation BrigadeCAMP TAJI, Iraq – Being in theater in Iraq can put a lot of pressure on Soldiers. On constant alert and putting in long work hours means there is little personal time, but the Army does offer Soldiers places to unwind and forget, for a moment, where they are.One of those places is the Walker Center—a small Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) facility alongside Camp Taji’s airfield. The center is run by Bravo Company, 640th Aviation Support Battalion, 40th Combat Aviation Brigade.The Walker Center is named in honor of Spc...
Story by Staff Sgt. Jeremy Schutzmann and Staff Sgt. John Kinsey, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD–C. BAGHDAD–The 212th Military Police Company, Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center, graduated 101 Iraqi Police officers from the Criminal Justice Center at Camp Liberty, Iraq. The training program curriculum, which spanned about four weeks, focused on human rights, police officer development, counter-insurgency, code of conduct, security, traffic police training, K-9 sustainment training and train-the-trainer courses designed...
We at AUSA Family Programs believe that the more knowledge our soldiers and their families have, the better able they are to make good choices and to address the challenges they may experience.We strive to assist them in gaining that knowledge by providing information about various programs.Unless you know about something you cannot take advantage of it and, therefore, you may be missing out on opportunities to request or access programs which best suit your needs.The following information is about a demonstration project for veterans requiring a specific health care service that is currently...
Lt. Col. Doug Adams, USA, Ret., president of the Association of the United States Army’s PFC William K. Nakamura Chapter, has been riding a bicycle since October in an effort to honor and raise awareness of the nation’s soldiers and veterans and their service to the county.The Nakamura Chapter, formerly the Seattle Chapter, is named for a World War I recipient of the Medal of Honor.Adams’ goal is to cycle through all 50 states, punctuating his journey with the Kona Ironman Competition in Hawaii on Oct. 8.Calling it the "Duty, Honor, America Tour," Adams began his trek at Fort Drum, N.Y., with...
The 2011 Army Ten-Miler T-shirt Design Contest, presented by Adobe Systems, opened March 1 and will run until June 3.There will be over $5,000 in prizes for this year’s competition.The winning graphic designer will receive an Adobe® Creative Suite® CS5 Design Premium software package and a new iPad 2 – totaling approximately $3,000.The second place winner will receive an Adobe Photoshop® CS5 software package, worth approximately $750, and the third place winner will receive a digital camera worth approximately $500.The contest is open to all U.S. residents, age 18 and older. Contest rules and...
A survey was released in late March to thousands in the Army community asking them to take an introspective look at the service as a profession.Two-hundred thousand soldiers, officers, warrant officers and civilians are receiving an e-mail message from the Army chief of staff to participate in the Profession of Arms survey.The survey is part of the yearlong Professional of Arms campaign, which U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command launched in January with the then-TRADOC commander, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, leading the effort on behalf of the Army.The campaign was mandated by the secretary of...
Mark Your Calendar – MAY 1In the last issue of our monthly newspaper, AUSA NEWS, and in a story that recently appeared on the AUSA Web site under "Headline News," was a very important article from the Army Ten-Miler staff at the U.S. Army Military District of Washington that I hope you didn’t miss.But, in case you did, it’s worth repeating here.This year, because of the rush to register for this great annual Army athletic event that reached its cap of 30,000 runners in 2010 and was closed in a record-breaking 35 hours, race officials have a new registration procedure that will allow all U.S...
Panel hears testimony on TRICARE fees. Representatives of The Military Coalition of which AUSA is a member, were invited to testify March 16 before the House Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee on the military health system and the Defense Department’s proposed cost saving initiatives.DoD wants to raise TRICARE Prime enrollment fees by $5 per month for a family and raise retail pharmacy co-pays by $2 or $3. No changes are proposed for TRICARE Standard or TRICARE for Life, and military disability (Chapter 61) retirees and survivors would be exempt from the Prime fee increase. Co-pays would be...