The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official website states that this year’s Ebola epidemic marks the largest number of confirmed cases of Ebola in history.In order to efficiently respond to an outbreak, soldiers at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii train to ensure they have the skill sets to properly don and doff personal protective equipment, or PPE, to defend themselves and patients against further infection.A team of experts from the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, known as USAMRIID, taught service members how to use necessary equipment...
This is a death spiral we’re in now," said Heidi Shyu, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, describing the state of Army modernization.As the budget comes down and programs are extended, smaller quantities of items are purchased, driving up cost, she pointed out.Organic industrial workers are sitting on their hands with less work coming in. Small businesses that produce critical system components that the Army can no longer afford risk bankruptcy.Shyu and others spoke at the Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Association of the United States Army...
As the cold wind blows on a crisp and calm morning in Camp Red Cloud, South Korea, a voice echoes: "Get Ready! Get Set! Begin!"Chief Warrant Officer 5 Ralph E. Rigby executes the commands as he prepares for his final Army Physical Fitness Test, a test which he has devotedly taken for the last 42 years.Rigby, a native of Auburn, N.Y., began his military service when he was drafted in 1972 during the Vietnam War era.Today, he is known as the last continuously serving draftee on active duty in the U.S. Army.As a young boy, Rigby always had a love for vehicles.Rigby had just started his own...
The future of the Army rests in the cadets of today’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, said the commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.The incoming lieutenants of the Army are expected to uphold traditions and legacies that go back to before the founding of the nation, Gen. David G. Perkins said recently."The Army that you are going into is older than the country you are swearing to defend," he said at a ROTC luncheon during the 2014 Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition."This is what I would call a bedrock institution of the United States...
As the celebrity voice of the Gold Star lapel pin public service announcements, actor Gary Sinise is determined to help raise awareness about military Gold Star families.The Gold Star lapel pin for the next-of-kin of deceased personnel officially represents a military loss.The pins are presented to surviving family members of U.S. service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while on active duty military service to our nation."There are symbols that represent loss. There are symbols that represent strength. And there are symbols that represent both," Sinise says in both the "The...
The Army’s general in charge of all things tied to the network said one of his top priorities is to build lighter communications systems.Lt. Gen. Robert S. Ferrell, the Army’s chief information officer/G-6, spoke at the monthly Association of the U.S. Army Institute of Land Warfare breakfast Nov. 5 in Arlington, Va.He shared his priorities, which include enhancing cyber security, increasing the network bandwidth, consolidating data centers, migrating thousands of apps to a government "cloud" and moving the entire Army to voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP.To meet the Army’s vision for 2025...
The Joint Forces Command-United Assistance DoD Ebola Training Team completed training the first class of workers who will staff the Ebola treatment units at the National Police Training Center, Paynesville, in Liberia.The training consists of eight to 10 days of hands-on and classroom instruction split in two phases – cold phase and hot phase.The cold phase is conducted by the DoD Ebola Training Team, or DETT, which is comprised of service members from the Army, Navy and Air Force, and is led by Col. Laura Favand, the DETT chief of training.In the cold phase, students go through five days of...
Two highly regarded national security analysts applauded the Army’s aggressive push on its concept of Regionally Aligned Forces (RAF) to build partnerships and prepare soldiers for potential deployments to future conflicts mainly in the developing world, but advised its leaders to consider other factors as they seek to shape the future Army.In a forum at the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer, now president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, drew on the Army commander in the Pacific Gen. Vincent...
A new Congress has been elected and AUSA will work to educate the members – both newly elected and re-elected – about the needs of the Army and the Association’s legislative agenda.There are at least six of the newly elected members who have Army service to balance off the 10 former soldiers who are leaving Congress in January.The current Congress will have one more time at bat, and will have to tackle both defense authorization and appropriations legislation during the "lame duck" session of Congress that will meet from mid-November to mid-December this year.Betting is split between those who...
The Army took ownership of the Marine Corps Marathon with soldiers finishing in first and second place in the male division and first place in the female division.In the male division, Spc. Samuel Kosgei came in first with a time of 2:22:11, and fellow soldier Spc. Laban Sialo clocked 2:23:48.Capt. Meghan Curran was the first female finisher with a time of 2:51:46.Kosgei said he was surprised he won."I knew I’m good, but I wasn’t sure how good. In a marathon, anything can happen," he said.It’s especially surprising that he won, considering that Kosgei said he stayed relaxed the first 10 miles...
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff awarded the Soldier’s Medal to three Fort Drum soldiers for their actions in helping to save a distressed boater on the Black River.Gen. Martin E. Dempsey presented the awards after a Town Hall meeting at Fort Drum, N.Y., to Spc. Christopher L. Grant, a paralegal specialist assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade; Pfc. Matthew M. Phillips, a cavalry scout formerly assigned to 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team; and Pvt. Trenton M. Brown, a hydraulic repair specialist assigned to B...
Changes to military retirement on the horizon? The congressionally-mandated Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission is currently conducting a comprehensive review of military compensation and benefit programs. They are scheduled to present their recommendations to Congress and the Administration on Feb. 1, 2015.AUSA President Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, USA, Ret., and the AUSA vice president for education, Lt. Gen. Guy Swan, USA, Ret., met with the commission on several occasions and addressed some of the more popular misconceptions such as those related to the "unaffordable...
Greetings from the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), our Army’s and our soldier’s professional organization.I had the opportunity to engage and visit with many noncommissioned officers and soldiers who attended this year’s AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition.The unanimous feedback was positive regarding the meeting’s setup, execution, variety, focus on hot issues and, most importantly, professional development.The attendance at the meeting topped 28,000, and our soldiers, DoD and DA civilians, family members and many friends of the Army were present and participated in our three-day...
The Army chief of staff, Gen. Raymond Odierno got a first-hand view of training the Army’s regionally aligned forces to Europe during a visit to Hohenfels, Germany, to observe exercise Combined Resolve III.The 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and the 4th Infantry Division are participating alongside NATO allies and partners in the multinational exercise at the Army’s Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas.Both units are designated as the respective brigade combat team and division headquarters aligned to support the U.S. European Command.Odierno visited and spoke with soldiers...
The senior enlisted adviser of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command has been selected to be the next sergeant major of the Army.Secretary of the Army John McHugh and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Ray Odierno announced Nov. 3 that Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel A. Dailey will be the 15th sergeant major of the Army.He will assume the Army’s highest enlisted office after Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III retires at the end of January."We have the utmost confidence in Command Sgt. Maj. Dailey and look forward to having him join our leadership team," said McHugh.Adding, "His experience...