Military Connection Archives

Military Connection: What the Fall of Ramadi Shows

May 27, 2015/in Archived Blogs

The White House has officially acknowledged the fall of the city of Ramadi to the Islamic State. A statement from the Obama administration calls the loss of Iraq’s Anbar province capital a “setback.” The Pentagon concurred with the White House’s summation, as both bodies maintain that the current strategies being used against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS and ISIL), will ultimately bring about the destruction of the terrorist group. Both the White House and the Pentagon urged patience to those who wanted a faster resolution to the Islamic State problem.

“Setbacks are regrettable but not uncommon in warfare,” said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey. “Much effort will now be required to reclaim the city.”

While those currently in power in Washington are campaigning to stay the course with our strategies in Iraq, there are others, including some who previously held positions of authority in the capital, who believe we should alter our tactics against the Islamic State. Former Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates has said on national television that, “We don’t really have a strategy at all. We’re basically playing this day by day.”

Gates was speaking of the administration’s attempts to drive a wedge between Iraq’s Sunni tribes and the Islamic State. The former defense secretary has warned that if the situation keeps unfolding the way it currently is, we could see Iraq go down the same path as Yugoslavia.

“Right now, it looks like we’re going to see a lot of trouble in the Middle East for a long time,” Gates said.

The fall of Ramadi has caused suffering for the city’s residents, as well as a delay in any push to retake Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq. Mosul has been an Islamic State stronghold since June, 2014. The loss of the city revealed that U.S. airstrikes, while effective, are not decisive. It also revealed further weaknesses in the already weak Iraqi Army. The U.S. had previously hoped that Iraqi government forces would have been ready to march on Mosul by April or May, but those hopes are now lost.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard,Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: What the Fall of Ramadi Shows: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: A Different Battlefield

May 27, 2015/in Military Veteran, Veteran News

By Debbie Gregory.

Less than a year ago, Nate Boyer, a former Army Green Beret, was fighting terrorist in the mountains of Afghanistan. But shortly after the end of the 2015 NFL draft, Boyer signed on with the Seattle Seahawks. And no one was more surprised than Boyer!

Boyer knew, at 5-foot-11, 220 pounds, he’d never be drafted. Add in the fact that he is 34 years old – self described as “too old and too slow.” And never mind the fact that high school football wasn’t on his resume. He walked on at the University of Texas in 2009, on a lark, after he enrolled following tours in the Iraq War. Much to his surprise, he made the squad. He spent his first few years at Texas learning the craft of long snapping, eventually earning playing time as a senior in 2014.

Since the end of the college season, Boyer has been in California training for his NFL chance, finishing up a master’s degree and interning at a production company. However, he said the past few months had all been building to Saturday.

“It was pretty much all based around this moment, and this chance,” Boyer said Saturday on the NFL Network. “I don’t even know what to say, it’s so cool.”

Seahawks general manager John Schneider and Coach Pete Carroll called Boyer. They were offering him a contract, a chance to get to training camp. They were offering a path to the league. Schneider said that Boyer not only developed into a good long snapper at Texas, but that he was also the kind of guy Seattle wants to add.

“You fall in love through the process with guys, and giving people opportunities for different reasons, all the way through the draft,” Schneider said. “(Nate) is just a phenomenal person, and he’s a competitor, and he’s tough, and he represents a lot of really, really cool things that quite frankly I think will be good for all of us to be around.”

Boyer is one player on a 90-man roster, trying to survive until it’s cut down to 53 on the eve of the season. Clearly, nothing is guaranteed or even probable at this point. There will not be any celebrations yet. The odds remain long. But Carroll said. “We cherish competitors, we cherish tough guys, we cherish guys that can overcome odds, and he’s done all of that. And he’s done a good job, too — he can snap the football. We’ll see what happens.”

As for Boyer, he knows his story is different and unique, but he said he’s simply excited to get a chance to play in the pros.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their families. We are the go-to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go-to site.

Military Connection: A Different Battlefield: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: Info For Potential Reserve Commanders

May 27, 2015/in Military, Military News

By Debbie Gregory.

Through June 5, 2015, the application window will be open for Army Reserve colonels and promotable lieutenant colonels who want to compete for brigade-level command assignments that will be opening in 2016.

The process for officers who are considered for command will include an approval board that will convene August 12th through 21st. The boards will compile order of merit lists to be used to fill command positions that become vacant as early as October of this year, and into 2016. Most of the command positions are scheduled for a tour of duty of 24 months stateside duty, and 36 months for overseas duty. Extensions of up to 36 months for stateside command positions must be approved by the chief of the Army Reserve.

Basic eligibility for these positions include:

Army Promotion List and Army Medical Department colonels and promotable lieutenant colonels of the AGR who are on the Reserve Active List. They must have mandatory release dates that will allow them to serve at least 24 months of command tenure based on a 30-year commissioned career.

The Army Reserve is also accepting applicants who are Active Guard Reserves (AGR) with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and are in the zone of eligibility for promotion to colonel. Officers who are passed over for promotion are not eligible for command.

Also eligible are colonels on the Army Promotion List (APL) and Army Medical Department colonels of the non-AGR categories of the Army Reserve who are on the Reserve Active List. They must have mandatory release dates that will allow them to serve at least 24 months of command tenure with a Troop Program Unit based on a 30-year commissioned career. APL, JAG and Military Technician lieutenant colonels who are in the zone of eligibility for promotion to colonel are also eligible. Officers who are passed over for promotion are not eligible for command.

Officer Evaluation Reports submitted for these boards must be received at the Human Resources Command by August 3, 2015. The online My Board File record review tool will open June 9th through August 15th for officers in the zone of consideration. My Board File can be accessed via the self-service link of the Human Resources Command homepage at www.hrc.army.mil.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard,Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: Info For Potential Reserve Commanders: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: Audit Slams Army Officers for Waste

May 26, 2015/in Archived Blogs

By Debbie Gregory.

Wasteful spending by the government is nothing new in the United States. Who could forget the Pentagon’s infamous $640 toilet seats, $436 hammers, and $7,600 coffee makers of the 1980s? Now, in a recently released audit by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the government’s Afghanistan spending watchdog has recommended that three senior Army officers be disciplined for their role in the construction of a $36 million sprawling command center at Camp Leatherneck. The command center in Afghanistan has never been used!

The audit alleges that the officers pushed for the project, even though there were objections from commanders in the field. At the time, then-Maj. Gen. Richard P. Mills said the 64,000 square-foot command and control center wasn’t necessary, and asked that it not be built. Maj. Gen. Peter Vangjel, who was the deputy commander of U.S. Army Central, decided to build it anyway.

The audit also suggested “appropriate administrative or disciplinary action” for Maj. Gen. James Richardson for “his failure to carry out a fulsome investigation” into matter in 2013, when he concluded that no one should be held responsible. It had the same suggestion for Col. Norman Allen, finding he had attempted to “discourage full cooperation” with the report when he told Army officials to “slow roll” the probe in what auditor’s said was an attempt to interfere with their work

According to the audit report, the building was 98 percent complete in April 2013, with construction still ongoing. It was never used by U.S. forces; Camp Leatherneck was turned over to the Afghan government in October 2014. When auditors visited, plastic sheets still covered the never-used furniture.

This is one of the most outrageous, deliberate, and wasteful misuses of taxpayer dollars in Afghanistan we’ve ever seen,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, the top-ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard,Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: Audit Slams Army Officers for Waste: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: Key ISIS Figure Killed in Syria

May 26, 2015/in Military, Military News

By Debbie Gregory.

U.S. Special Operations forces killed a key ISIS commander during a daring raid in eastern Syria, securing intelligence on how the terror organization operates, communicates and earns money, U.S. government officials said. The battle left about a dozen Islamic State militants dead, including the commandos’ target: a man known as Abu Sayyaf, a militant leader who helped spearhead the group’s lucrative black market oil, gas and financial operations, the senior official said.

The soldiers grabbed Abu Sayyaf’s wife and a cache of the militants’ laptops, cellphones and other materials before returning to a military base in Iraq, according to the Pentagon account.

Sayyaf, a Tunisian militant, was one of ISIS’s top financiers, with likely access to the group’s contacts with banks, donors, Turkish and Lebanese business interests as well as links to criminal and smuggling networks. Thousands of Tunisian militants are said to have joined Islamic State in Syria, though Islamic State’s leadership has generally been viewed as being dominated by Iraqis, both religious militants and former commanders in the Iraqi armed forces of Saddam Hussein.

The ground operation was led by the Army’s Delta Force. They entered the target area on Blackhawk helicopters and V-22 aircraft, a U.S. official familiar with the operation said. ISIS fighters defended the multistory building from inside and outside positions.

Abu Sayyaf was killed as he “tried to engage” U.S. troops, the official said.

What may be most significant about the operation is that it was a targeted U.S. strike, featuring ground troops in Syria’s eastern Dair Alzour province, an Islamic State bastion since the group overran large portions of eastern Syria and northern and western Iraq in 2014.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said he had ordered the raid at the direction of President Barack Obama. All the U.S. troops involved returned safely.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their families. We are the go-to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go-to site.

Military Connection: Key ISIS Figure Killed in Syria: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: The Reach of ISIS

May 26, 2015/in Archived Blogs

By Debbie Gregory.

Since the rise of the Islamic State in January, 2014, and the intervention of U.S. and collation airstrikes against the terrorist group, federal authorities have identified approximately 150 Americans who have sought to join the Islamic State, also interchangeably called ISIS and ISIL.

There have been reports of individuals, mostly young people from the U.S., U.K. and other western countries, attempting to join Islamic State fighters in their war against the governments of Iraq and Syria, as well as the U.S. and other coalition nations.

Approximately forty U.S. residents are reported to have travelled to the Middle East in an attempt to join the Islamic State, and have returned back to the states. Nearly all of these individuals have been charged with a variety of federal and international crimes. Federal investigators estimate that there are at least a dozen or more U.S. residents who are in Iraq or Syria, fighting for the Islamic State. Of course, these are just the occurrences that government agencies are aware of; the actual number could be higher.

American officials credit the Islamic State’s multimedia campaign for their ability to successfully recruit new members and gain sympathy for their organization. ISIS utilizes the internet and just about every social media outlet they can to spread propaganda. In every case investigated by the U.S. government, ISIS propaganda that was obtained online was at least partially responsible for the individual’s interest in joining the Islamic State.

One of the most effective aspects of the Islamic State’s multimedia recruitment campaign is their peer-to-peer, sometimes called “brother-to-brother” engagement. This is where established members of ISIS provide encouragement and personalized mentorship to potential ISIS recruits. These measures have been very effective, according to individuals who attempted to join the Islamic State. As one would imagine, the ability to recruit Americans to their cause is a feather in the cap for the Islamic State, and sends a powerful message to their allies and enemies alike.

It is important to be aware of the abilities of your enemies, especially when their reach can affect your own home town. American citizens may not be fighting ISIS from here in the U.S., but the Islamic States’ war is targeting you, your family, and your way of life, in your own communities.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard,Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: The Reach of ISIS: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: Adaptive Sports Help Restore Warriors

May 25, 2015/in Military, Military News, Military Veteran, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Veteran News

By Debbie Gregory.

On nine consecutive days, June 19^th– 28^th, wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans from the Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard will compete will compete in the Defense Department’s Warrior Games at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. Also competing will be athletes from Special Operations Command, and a team from the British military.

As the athletes compete in track and field, shooting, swimming, cycling, archery, wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball events, Dawn Davis will be cheering on her personal hero.

Army Staff Sgt. Cory Davis grew up in San Diego, and always wanted to work on helicopters. He enlisted in the active duty Army for nine years, took a break, and then became an avionics mechanic National Guard technician with the 1107th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group in Springfield, Missouri. During a deployment to Afghanistan in April 2014, Davis hurt his ankle and lost control of his right arm.

His doctors thought he had injured the ulna nerve, and he was flown to Germany, and then back to the States. That’s when it became apparent that Davis had Parkinson’s disease, a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement.

While Davis was recovering at the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, his wife, along with Army Trials athlete Sgt. 1st Class Sam Goldenstein, the adaptive sports site coordinator, encouraged Davis to give adaptive sports a try.

During the recent Army Trials, Davis got into the finals in men’s compound archery, earning a gold medal in the men’s standing rifle. Davis can also boast some of the highest shooting scores of the day.

Parkinson’s disease usually strikes those over 50, but has been known to strike in younger adults. Most famously, Michael J. Fox was diagnosed at age 30, NBA player Brian Grant was diagnosed at 36, and major league baseball player Ben Petrick was diagnosed at 22.

Dawn said, “I am filled with pride when he approaches each obstacle he faces every day. His constant attitude of not giving up makes me so very proud and happy he is not allowing a terrible disease to control his life.”

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard,Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: Adaptive Sports Help Restore Warriors: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: How to Celebrate Memorial Day 2015

May 25, 2015/in Archived Blogs

Today is Memorial Day.

At the grocery store recently, I was in the check-out line and saw two Coca-Cola bottles, the ones that have people’s first names on them. I happened to see the names “Chad” and Mitchell” next to each other. I did a double take, because when I was in the Navy, Chad Mitchell was on my first ship. Chad was one of my best friends, and he is no longer with us.

Operations Specialist Second Class Petty Officer (Surface Warfare & Air Warfare) Chad Mitchell passed away in 2010, the result of complications from medications he was taking for PTSD and a shoulder injury that he sustained while serving in Iraq. I see reminders of Chad, as well as many others, randomly, almost every day. Usually, these reminders prompt happy memories of good times that we shared while serving together. At other times, the reminders bring on the aching feelings of loss.

On Facebook, many of my friends are also Veterans. Many of them are from military families, and I see them randomly post memories of other fallen service members throughout the year.

Today is a day to remember the men and women who died in service to their country. It is a federal holiday, and most Americans have the day off. Many families go away for the long weekend. Many stay in town and attend community events, often held at cemeteries and town civic centers. There are also a lot of smaller gatherings, such as barbeques and parties, with extended family and friends. A lot of people also hit the local mall, auto dealerships, mattress retailer, and other places for extended sales.

But whatever it is that you choose to do, or get stuck doing, please take a few moments to remember and acknowledge the lives sacrificed in service to our country, its military, and our way of life. Say a prayer, reserve a moment of silent reflection, play a song, watch a patriotic movie (or mini-series for those, like me, who love HBO’s “Band of Brothers.”) If you personally knew someone who died while in the military, please take the time to specifically remember them or share a story about them with others .

I will be attending a ceremony at a cemetery in my hometown, with many of my fellow Veterans. But I also plan on remembering Chad and other fallen shipmates, including Commander John Reggelbrugge and sharing stories about them to others that I talk to. By remembering and telling their stories, we will ensure that their loss is mourned, that their sacrifice is honored, and that they are always remembered.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard,Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: How to Celebrate Memorial Day 2015: By Joe Silva

Military Connection: Historic Aircraft Carrier Found Off San Francisco Coast

May 24, 2015/in Archived Blogs

By Debbie Gregory.

A World War II-era aircraft carrier was found on the ocean floor near California’s Farallon Islands, and it’s seems to be in great shape.

The USS Independence CVL-22 had been the lead ship of its class of light aircraft carriers that were critical during the American naval offensive in the Pacific, and later was one of more than 90 vessels assembled as a target fleet for the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests in 1946. After returning to the United States, the blast-damaged carrier was scuttled in 1951.

Despite being underwater since 1951, the Independence is “amazingly intact,” said officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The rediscovery of the Independence offers a fascinating glimpse into American military history.

The expedition to locate and survey the Independence was led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with help from the Navy and Boeing, which mapped the wreck, using an 18.5-foot-long autonomous underwater vehicle named Echo Ranger. The team created a 3-D sonar map of the ship, which was sitting upright on the ocean floor.

The 623-foot-long ship took a remarkable degree of punishment over its 10-year career, said NOAA official James Delgado, chief scientist of the Independence mission. “After 64 years on the seafloor, Independence sits on the bottom as if ready to launch its planes,” said Delgado “This ship fought a long, hard war in the Pacific and after the war was subjected to two atomic blasts that ripped through the ship.” The Independence was sunk on Jan. 26, 1951, and came to rest 2,600 feet below the ocean surface.

The Navy has been aware of the ship’s whereabouts for decades, but the location was intentionally withheld. And it remained a secret until the U.S. Geological Survey pinpointed its likely location while mapping the sea floor in 1990. In 2004, a NOAA ship captured a distant image of what looked like a giant caterpillar stretched on the bottom of the ocean, said Delgado, who has led a two-year mission to find and study historic shipwrecks in and around the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard,Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: Historic Aircraft Carrier Found Off San Francisco Coast: By Debbie Gregory

Military Connection: STEM Jobs May Be the Best Fix For Veteran Unemployment

May 24, 2015/in Archived Blogs

By Debbie Gregory.

According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment among post-9/11 veterans was still running at a higher rate than the civilian population. This comes at a time when American employers are struggling to find workers who are qualified to work in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

It has been projected that employment in occupations related to STEM will total more than 9 million jobs between 2012 and 2022. That’s an increase of about 1 million jobs over 2012 employment levels.

The demand for employees with technical training isn’t likely to subside anytime soon. STEM workers use their knowledge of science, technology, engineering, or math to try to understand how the world works and to solve problems.

This is especially relevant for Veterans because military service leaves many men and women particularly well-prepared for careers in these fields. Our nation’s military is highly trained, and extremely familiar with cutting- edge technology. When you add in the rich education benefits that Veterans have, continuing their advancement to train for these skilled jobs seems like a no-brainer.

Occupations with both high employment and fast growth usually offer better opportunities than small occupations with slow growth. High-employment, fast-growth occupations include computer systems analysts, applications software developers, and systems software developers. In fact, information security professionals will grow 37 percent by 2022 — faster than any other STEM positions.

Young veterans can thrive in high-demand STEM professions. What’s needed now is an aggressive, national effort to help America’s former service members put their abilities to work in the STEM fields.

By preparing today’s newly-minted Veterans for careers in STEM, they will be best positioned to achieve the American dream. All the while, they will be building the skilled workforce the 21^st century economy demands.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) has detailed profiles for hundreds of occupations. Profiles include information about job duties, wages, typical education, job outlook, and more. The OOH is available online at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard,Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.