By this summer, soldiers in Afghanistan will be riding in new Stryker armored combat vehicles that have an improved hull design to protect them from improvised explosive devices and roadside mines.Soon, soldiers in Afghanistan will begin to see 150 new Strykers with a double-V hull, or DVH, design that deflects blasts away from the vehicle and the soldiers inside. The Stryker DVH, with enhanced armor, wider tires and blast-attenuating seats, went from conception to production in less than one year.The double-V hull design on the new Stryker is a proven technology similar to that found on mine...
AUSA’s Institute of Land Warfare recently released a new National Security Watch titled – "The 2011 National Military Strategy: Resetting a Strong Foundation" (National Security Watch 11-2, May 2011) – that examines the United States’ new national military strategy in comparison with the previous iteration to explore enduring strategic challenges and implications for future U.S. grand strategy.The 2011 National Military Strategy is one of several key documents that provide a framework and vision for how the United States will ensure its security at home and abroad.The document, crafted by the...
Because of the Army’s global demand, "You are our dominant customer," the director of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) said in the opening session of the Association of the United States Army’s Sustainment Symposium and Exposition May 11 in Richmond, Va.Navy Vice Adm. Alan S. Thompson, who has been DLA’s director since November 2008, said that while he’s in another branch of the service, more than 80 percent of his workday is focused on the U.S. Army.And the Army will continue to be a focus of attention with the ongoing drawdown operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention Army...
The challenge for the logistics community in the near and short-term future is creating an education plan to develop leaders who are critical thinkers who see solutions that may be outside the realm of standard doctrine, according to a former Army deputy chief of staff for logistics.Speaking May 11 as the guest of honor at the Association of the United States Army’s Sustainment Symposium and Exposition in Richmond, Va., Lt. Gen. Claude V. Christianson, USA, Ret., said the leaders of tomorrow’s logistics enterprise must be able to understand relationships between processes, organizations and...
The Hero of Medicine Award was presented May 4 to the Army vice chief of staff, Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, for his efforts to help soldiers with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress.The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine presented the award at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., during a Center for Public-Private Partnerships event.Chiarelli earned the award, "for his unwavering dedication to our soldiers, especially those who have been wounded in service, and his vocal stance on the importance of addressing the invisible...
Story by 2nd Lt. Patrick Leroy Beaudry, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD–C BAGHDAD—Soldiers with Company D, 1st “Dragon” Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center and their counterparts with the 17th Iraqi Army Division conducted a controlled demolition of captured enemy munitions June 7 at the Qa’qaa range, near Baghdad.This collection and destruction of the illicit munitions was recently identified as a top priority by Staff Maj. Gen. Ali, commander of the 17th IA Div. The goal was to destroy the unusable and possibly...
Story by Sgt 1st Class Seth Laughter, 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Public Affairs NCOIC AL ANBAR, Iraq – The sun blazed.Eight years ago, the sun beat down mercilessly on paratroopers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division as they fought the forces of Saddam’s regime, freeing Iraq from a dictatorship. A few years later, the sun still baked the earth as these paratroopers secured towns and provinces to make way for the first democratic elections in Iraq. In 2006 the 2nd BCT was called on once again to face the brutal sun and answer the president’s call for a troop surge...
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Jill Serrano, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-C BAGHDAD—On May 31, medical personnel with Company C, 299th “Lifeline” Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center conducted a joint operation with the 4th Iraqi Federal Police Department to establish a Level One medical facility at Joint Security Station Jihad, Iraq. Medical supplies were gathered by the 299th BSB and delivered to the intended Level One medical facility location, which was accepted with open arms by the members of the 4th IFP Div.Level One...
Story by Staff Sgt. Tanya Thomas, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, United States Division-Center Public Affairs Al Anbar, Iraq – Soldiers of the 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division are packing their bags and preparing to return to Fort Stewart, Ga., as they near the completion of their yearlong deployment to Iraq. The team of roughly 3,000 Soldiers supported the Iraqi Security Forces and local Anbar government during the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom and into Operation New Dawn.Although the 4th AAB, 3rd Inf. Div. deployment is coming to a close, their...
Story by 1st Lt. Donald Gillilan, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-C BAGHDAD—Senior noncommissioned officers with the 1st‘First Lightning’ Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center have long sought to strengthen the battalion’s partnership with the 1st Iraqi Federal Police Division, and in so doing, they recently shifted the discussion from the conference rooms and onto the firing range.Command Sgt. Maj. William F. Bauer, senior enlisted advisor of 1st Bn., 7th FA Regt. and a New York City native, extended the...
Story and photo by 2nd Lt. Daniel Elmblad, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-C BAGHDAD—Spc. Christian Cowan, a combat medic with A Troop, 6th ‘Saber’ Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center, and a Van Buren, Ark., native, was awarded the Purple Heart June 2, at Camp Liberty, Iraq.The Purple Heart is the oldest award that is still given to United States military personnel, having been first given out by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. It is awarded to any member of the armed...
Noncommissioned officers in Grafenwoehr, Germany, unanimously say the Soldier 360 has given them the tools they need to mentor others.
The Department of Defense recently announced the TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) Program is open for enrollment with coverage that began May 1, 2011.Military dependents under 26, unmarried, and not eligible for their own employer-sponsored health care coverage may be qualified to purchase TYA, which offers TRICARE Standard coverage for monthly premiums of $186, as long as their sponsor is still eligible for TRICARE. Those eligible for TYA who have been saving receipts since Jan. 1, 2011, in anticipation of the new program, can also pay all premiums back to January to purchase coverage retroactively...
Entering the building you become engulfed by darkness. Thick smoke fills the air, and gunfire pierces your ears.As your boots slip across the blood soaked floor, you find that there are bodies of injured soldiers lying around the room.It’s up to you and your battle buddy to rapidly identify the casualties’ injuries, and immediately provide medical care.These split-second decisions can make the difference between life and death.When the mission is completed the doors of the Medical Simulation Training Center (MSTC) open and sunlight shines in on the numerous simulated casualties.The soldiers of...
The Army surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, has announced his "Top 10 Initiatives for Army Medicine."They are:
- Soldier medical readiness
- Comprehensive behavioral health system of care
- The Culture of Trust
- Implementation of mild TBI/concussive injury protocols
- Development of medical home implementation
- Pain Management Task Force/comprehensive pain management
- Implementation of the U.S. Medical Command/Office of the Surgeon General elements of health promotions and risk preventions
- Base realignment and closure (BRAC) completion and transition
- Physical Disability Evaluation System legislative...