The 2011 Army Commemorative Coins consist of a five dollar gold coin, a silver dollar, and a copper-clad half dollar that the U.S. Mint is offering during Calendar Year 2011 only.The three different commemoratives are the first and only coins in American history to afford unique public recognition of the U.S. Army and the service and sacrifice of American soldiers, past and present.The respective themes of the coins are "Army Service in War," "Modern Army Service," and "Service in Peace."Symbolically, the design of each distinct coin celebrates the storied history and traditions of the U.S...
The Army’s new physical fitness test was administered to a group of Fort Benning, Ga., soldiers in mid-May as part of the service’s pilot program.The Army Physical Fitness School’s goal is to test 15,000 to 20,000 soldiers by September in order to establish standards for the new test, officials said.The Army Physical Readiness Test (APRT) has been administered so far to groups of soldiers at Fort Jackson, S.C.; Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; and Fort Sill, Okla.About 30 National Guard soldiers took the APRT at Fort Benning. The test has also been administered to basic trainees at Benning, Frank...
The differences between the two bands were noticeable – the uniforms, the language, the culture. One group was all officers, the other, all enlisted personnel.But, they had a common purpose and found common ground May 16 during a joint performance that brought The United States Army Band, "Pershing’s Own," and the Military Band of the People’s Liberation Army of China together on the stage of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.In the first of four concerts scheduled this week in May, the two military bands emphasized what they had in common instead of what...
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) soldiers are the military’s pre-eminent team of explosives experts – warriors who are properly trained, equipped and integrated to attack and defeat explosive and associated insurgent networks across all operational environments.The military’s EOD mission is to defeat the global improvised explosive device (IED); chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) and high-yield explosives; and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats.The EOD warrior protects our military and innocent civilians from explosive threats and supports maneuver forces by providing...
Story and photo by Sgt. Daniel Stoutamire, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-C BAGHDAD—Some of the best Soldiers the 2nd “Dagger” Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division has to offer participated in the brigade’s Noncommissioned Officer/Soldier of the Quarter board June 16 at Camp Liberty, Iraq.The board was held to determine the most qualified Soldier and NCO in the brigade to represent the unit—those who participated conducted an Army Physical Fitness Test, wrote an essay, and made a formal appearance before the assembled battalion and brigade command sergeants major, where...
TRICARE covers additional cervical cancer screening test. The TRICARE Management Activity announced recently that it has added coverage for an enhanced cervical cancer screening test that helps detect the presence of the human papillomavirus (HPV).The HPV DNA test is done to find a high-risk HPV infection that can cause cervical cancer. To perform the HPV test, cells are collected from the cervix at the same time as a Pap smear is performed.More than 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year, and 4,000 women die from this disease. Once the leading cause of death among women...
The Association of the United States Army (AUSA) presented Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, with its 2011 Outstanding Legislator Award at a Capitol Hill ceremony June 8.The presentations were made by Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, USA, Ret., AUSA president, who was joined by Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Army chief of staff.Murray received the Outstanding Legislator Award based on her long-time and strong support for the Army as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Defense Subcommittee; the Military Construction Subcommittee and on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs...
President Barack Obama announced May 30 that he will nominate Gen. Raymond T. Odierno as the next Army chief of staff.Obama also announced he will nominate Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the Army’s current chief of staff, to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Dempsey is expected to replace Adm. Mike Mullen when his term as chairman ends, Sept. 30.If the Senate approves the nominations, Odierno – known for overseeing the transition from surge to stability operations in Iraq from September 2008 to September 2010 – will replace Dempsey as the chief of the staff after just five months of holding...
Since June, the Army has fielded about 30 million of its new 5.56mm M855A1 "Enhanced Performance Rounds" in Afghanistan.The cartridge, sometimes called the "green bullet" because it has an environmentally-friendly copper core instead of the traditional lead, has been getting mostly good reviews in the 11 months since it first deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom."The vast majority of everything we’ve got back from the field is positive," Lt. Col. Jeffrey K. Woods, product manager, small caliber ammunition, during a media day at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., said.During the day-long event...
President Barack Obama announced his choices as chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during a White House Rose Garden ceremony May 30.Obama intends to nominate Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey as chairman and Navy Adm. James A. "Sandy" Winnefeld Jr. as vice chairman.Dempsey currently is the Army chief of staff and Winnefeld is the commander of U.S. Northern Command.Dempsey will replace Navy Adm. Mike Mullen when his term ends Sept. 30, and Winnefeld will replace Marine Gen. James "Hoss" Cartwright when his term ends in July.The president intends to nominate Gen. Raymond T...
Army Ten-Miler and GEICO officials recently announced runners from around the world attending the Army Ten-Miler’s Pre-Race GEICO Pasta Dinner are in for a special event and experience.Highlighting the dinner, attendees will meet the senior enlisted leadership of the United States Army.Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond Chandler; Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Burch, command sergeant major of the Army National Guard; and Command Sgt. Maj. Michael D. Schultz, command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Reserve, will speak Oct. 8 at the race’s dinner.The Army Ten-Miler – with over 30,000 runners registered –...
The Army will conduct an analysis of its "fundamental fighting unit," the squad, to ensure everything is being done to prepare those soldiers for the fight. (See related story.)Secretary of the Army John McHugh and the Army chief of staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, appeared May 17 before the Senate Appropriations Committee Defense Subcommittee to discuss the Fiscal Year 2012 budget submission and Army posture."We’ll look at the squad as a collective whole, not nine individual soldiers, and determine how to enable it from the bottom up to ensure that the squad has the training, leadership...
The Council of Trustees approved the 2011 AUSA Resolutions Committee membership at its spring meeting.Command Sgt. Maj. Douglas Gibbens, USAR, Ret., Indiana Chapter, was selected as the committee chairman.Assisting Gibbens as subcommittee chairmen will be Col. Gregory King, USAR, Ret., Fairfax-Lee Chapter, and Maj. Gen. Dave Kaucheck, USAR, Ret., Arizona Territorial Chapter.The committee will convene in Washington, October 6 to 12, to compile resolutions that form the Association’s legislative agenda for the year 2012. The Resolutions Committee represents a cross section of the Association.Ret...
The long march to completion of the defense authorization and appropriation legislation has begun.The Fiscal Year 2012 Defense Authorization Bill was approved by the House Armed Services Committee last week by a vote of 60-1. The bill would authorize $553 billion for the Department of Defense (DoD), $18 billion for national security programs at the Energy Department and $118 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.While the legislation would allow DoD to increase TRICARE fees for under-65 retirees, it also caps the department’s ability to increase fees in the future.Specifically, the...
As part of the advise, train, and assist mission under Operation New Dawn, soldiers with B Troop, 6th "Saber" Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center, provided traffic control point operations training to their Iraqi partners, the 1st Mechanized Brigade, 4th Iraqi Federal Police Division, at Camp Liberty, Iraq.This intent of the training was for the Iraqi brigade police officers to maintain the skills they need, as well as learn new ones, in order to ensure the people of Iraq can continue to safely travel on the...