Press Conference to Announce “Pros for Vets”

Sen. Steve Russell will be joining with a group of professionals including military heroes, world-class athletes and entertainers, and representatives of various organizations Sunday to announce the creation of "Pros for Vets", an effort to raise awareness and address the staggering needs of America's veterans and their families.

Participants include such leaders as newly-appointed Secretary of Veterans Affairs retired Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon; State Sen. Steve Russell, retired Lt. Col. and Founder of Vets for Victory; retired Major Ed Pulido, wounded Iraqi war veteran and spokesperson for Folds of Honor.

OU and NFL greats Roy Williams of the Cincinnati Bengals and Tommie Harris of the Chicago Bears will be involved in the effort, although they won't be able to attend Sunday's event.

Internationally-acclaimed motorcycle designer and Gulf War veteran Dar Holdsworth will also be involved.

Two hundred and thirty-five years ago...

Two hundred and thirty-five years ago, the United States Army was established to defend our Nation.

From the Revolutionary War to the current operations taking place around the world, our Soldiers remain Army Strong with a deep commitment to our core values and beliefs.

This 235th birthday commemorates America’s Army – Soldiers, Families and Civilians – who are achieving a level of excellence that is truly Army Strong. Being Army Strong goes beyond physical endurance and mental preparedness.

It encompasses an indomitable spirit, and high ethical and moral values. These are not only desirable traits in a person, but in a Nation that wishes to live up to the ideals and vision of its founders.

We are “America’s Army:
The Strength of the Nation."

For my Buddy...

Hoo-ah: I am a Soldier

Hoo-ah: Lessons Of The Iraq War

As the U.S. armed forces have done so many times before, they entered the uncertainty of a new war in 2001, and are now trying to figure out what they gained from it. Most of what went on during this war was unreported or misreported. This is nothing new. The important details, and lessons, of all past American wars were poorly reported, and what the military is trying to avoid is taking away the wrong lessons.

Throughout the current conflict, the military made no secret of what they were doing, and just kept focused on winning. They knew they would be dealing with an unusual enemy, a stateless force based on ideology and religion based hatred. This foe was weak, in the conventional military sense, but was armed with two powerful weapons. First, there was the suicide bomber, and terrorism in general. Against civilian populations, this was a very effective weapon. Against a professional and resourceful military foe, it was much less so. But the enemy had another weapon; the media and political opposition in their opponents homeland. The media is eager to report real or imagined disasters and mistakes. This is how the news business has stayed solvent since the mass media first appeared in the mid 19th century. Al Qaeda was run by people who were aware of this, and knew how to exploit it, both among friendly (Moslem) populations, and in nations they had declared their enemy. This they did by exploiting the proclivities of the political oppositions in the West.

Many in the West considered terrorism a police matter. But al Qaeda believed that if they could turn it into a military campaign, by getting Western nations to use military force, they would trigger an angry reaction among Moslems. Al Qaeda had long preached that the West was the enemy of Islam, and a Western invasion of Moslem nations would prove this. They also knew that many in the West would not approve of military action. These politicians, and their followers, would continue to insist on treating Islamic terrorism as a police matter. This would cause political turmoil in the West, and weaken counter-terror operations.

The invasion of Afghanistan, after September 11, 2001, did indeed enrage many Moslems, even though many of them admitted that the Taliban government there had provided bases for al Qaeda. But the Islamic terrorists also took advantage of the fact that Moslems did not use the same logic as Westerners. Even after the Taliban government quickly fell in late 2001, to an "invasion force" of only 300 NATO troops (U.S. Army special forces and CIA agents), many Moslems insisted this was an unwarranted attack on a Moslem nation. This despite the fact that most Afghans wanted to be rid of the Taliban. And then it got worse, as many Moslems insisted that al Qaeda did not carry out the September 11, 2001 attacks. Many Moslems(and some in the West) still believe that the Israelis were behind it, or that the Americans staged an attack on themselves to provide an excuse to make war on Islamic nations. Al Qaeda knew how to exploit fantasies and cultural biases, even while al Qaeda leaders were taking credit for the 911 attacks.

The invasion of Iraq was even more contentious. In hindsight, the Iraq operation was essential to the defeat of al Qaeda, and the shattering of their popular support in the Moslem world. Al Qaeda, true to its own beliefs and tactics, tried to use terror attacks against the Shia Arab majority in Iraq, after 2003, as a way to put the Sunni Arab minority back in control. All this did was kill thousands of Moslem civilians and deflate popular support for al Qaeda. This could be seen, year by year, as opinion polls in Moslem countries revealed declining al Qaeda popularity.

But al Qaeda still had a lot of Support in the West. The political opposition in the United States, true to form (as in all past American wars) found ways to criticize the Iraq operation without actually joining the enemy. The media in the West backed the opposition, as that's where the headlines, and the profits, were.

Out of all this, the American military found other lessons. Their professional and resourceful troops found ways to neutralize enemy weapons (suicide and roadside bombs) while keeping their casualty rate at less than half what it was in Vietnam and pervious wars. The generals got no credit, in the media, for that, but the troops sure appreciated it. This resulted in the volunteer military to maintain its strength in wartime, the first time the U.S. had accomplished that since the American Revolution.

The troops developed a wide array of new techniques for fighting "irregular wars" (where the opponent is not a regular army.) The military adapted many new technologies to this new kind of war (smart bombs, data mining, forensics, persistent surveillance and lots of modern police techniques). The new problem is transferring as much of this new knowledge to future conventional wars. And there will be a transference. Most other major military powers are also trying to figure that out, so they can also profit from the American success.

Finally, the continued hammering the military is taking, for "failing" in this new kind of war, at least makes it less likely that there will be a problem with the victory disease (where winning brings with it complacency and all the ills that follow believing your own press releases.)

Hoo-ah: Marines And Army Get New Parachute Designs

This year, the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps are both getting new parachutes. The army is getting the ATPS (Advanced Tactical Parachute System), while the marines are introducing the Multimission Parachute System.

The new marine parachute is intended for use by recon and commando type operations, where the need was for a parachute that could be guided to a specific spot for landing. This new parachute enables the user to maneuver five kilometers or more (depending on the altitude jumped from) to the preferred landing zone. The marines like to use this for inserting scout teams at night. SOCOM (Special Operations Command) has long used similar chutes (rectangular in shape, rather than round, like the current marine MC-5 chute.)

The U.S. Army is replacing its half century old T-10 parachute with a new and improved model; the ATPS (Advanced Tactical Parachute System). The reason is that, in the last half century, paratroopers, and their equipment, have gotten heavier. The T-10 was designed to handle a maximum weight of 300 pounds (a paratrooper and his equipment.) In practice, the average weight is now closer to 400 pounds. This means that the troops are hitting the ground faster and harder, resulting in more injuries. Since World War II, the average injury rate for mass parachute drops has been 1.5 percent, but all that extra muscle and gear has pushed it to over two percent.

The fault was traced to the venerable T-10 chute not being able to handle larger and heavier (it's all muscle, folks) paratroopers and the more numerous bits of equipment they jump with. The 51 pound ATPS (main chute and backup) can bring over 400 pounds of paratrooper and equipment to the ground at 16 feet per second. The 44 pound T-10 could bring 300 pounds down at 23 feet per second. When the T-10 was dealing with more weight, it came down faster, causing more injuries. The ATPS, when deployed has a diameter 14 percent greater than that of the T-10, with 28 percent more surface area. The ATPS harness is more reliable and comfortable. Operational testing of the ATPS has been underway for three years, and the new chute will have completely replaced the T-10 in six years.

The new marine chute also takes advantage of the new parachute technology, in the same way the ATPS does. Thus reducing hard drops, for marines landing with a heavy load of weapons and equipment. The new marine chute has been in testing for two years, but has been getting more tests, and some actual use, in Iraq.

Hoo-ah: INCAT Military Platform

Incat craft have universal appeal to the military operator.

The vessels offer fast transit, fast turnaround in port, ‎flexibility and versatility in vehicle deck layout, passenger comfort, shallow draft, minimal crewing numbers and ‎reliable and economic operation.

Constructed as a base vessel or SeaFrame, in line with the aviation industry's Air ‎Frame (the structure of an aircraft exclusive of its fittings), the craft can be fitted out for numerous purposes including ‎passenger/commercial, freight or military deployment.

Incat's 112m SeaFrame will incorporate four 20RK280 MAN ‎B&W engines to provide the 36 megawatts required to power the vessel at speeds ranging from a heavy load ‎economy speed of 20 knots to 50 knots light.

The cargo/vehicle/mission deck provides 589 truck lane metres (TLM) ‎plus 50 cars, or 312 cars if required for a full passenger car mode. With optional mezzanine decks even greater car ‎capacity is possible.

Vehicle deck headroom is 6.30 metres allowing stowage of Mafi trailers in the centre lanes and, ‎with a beam of 30.20 mtres, heavy road vehicles can easily turn in the bow for quick disembarkation over stern ‎ramps.

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Hoo-AH: Fort Sill growing amid BRAC growth

Construction is under way on the new Air Defense Artillery School that's being relocated to Fort Sill, and the Army post is seeing an influx of soldiers and equipment as part of deployment operations.

The ADA School is being moved to Fort Sill from Fort Bliss, Texas, as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process, commonly called BRAC.

About 150 soldiers and their families are scheduled to arrive in June with the 31st ADA Headquarters, but the bulk of arrivals at Fort Sill are connected to the post's mission as a deployment platform.

Lead elements of the 34th Combat Aviation Brigade, which include National Guardsmen from 11 states, began arriving in January with about 50 aircraft.

"It will reach its peak in terms of numbers of people and aircraft in June and July at close to 3,000 people on the ground and almost 100 aircraft," Fort Sill Garrison Commander Col. Robert S. Bridgford said.

Another multistate combat aviation brigade, the 28th, will arrive in early 2009 with approximately 3,600 Guardsmen, and a third brigade, the 40th, will follow that.

"We've had huge preparations for mobilization. We've increased the number of pads out at the airfield to allow us to have up to 100 aircraft, and we're going to increase that later on to about 130 ... and we've done a lot of renovation and minor construction in support of the mobilization," Bridgford said.

Bridgford said barracks, administration facilities and the airfield have been reworked to give the mobilizing units better operations centers from which to train. Mobile barracks also have been erected to support the 3,000 additional soldiers who will go through combat basic and advanced individual training this summer.

Bridgford said the first two funding increments for the ADA School have enabled construction to begin for key components in relocating the ADA School, and officials expect to break ground in late summer or early fall on the 31st ADA Brigade complex and the Armed Forces Reserve Center.

Of the 11 buildings in the ADA School complex currently being built, the tactical equipment maintenance facility is about 65 percent complete. It will house the Patriot missile system equipment and the training for it.

Other projects nearing completion are the ADA School's dining facility and its Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence building.

Meanwhile, Lawton Public Schools already have issued $68 million in bonds to expand its facilities, and voters will decide May 13 on an additional $38.5 million bond proposal.