Here are today’s headlines about Kansas military matters:Gen. David Petraeus/Fort Leavenworth(Spiegel) The US Army Learns from its Mistakes in Iraq: Weapons alone aren’t enough to win a war — you also need to dig wells and build schools. Lessons from the war in Iraq have caused nothing short of a cultural revolution in the United States Army. In Fort Leavenworth, leading officers are training troops for the wars of the future. The headquarters of the US Army’s officer training program was long seen as a last stop for deserving soldiers en route to retirement. In the 20th century, anyone who was transferred to Leavenworth was no longer considered part of an active-duty unit. “Nowadays,” says Army spokesman Stephen Boylan, a colonel with a moustache who served for several years in Germany, “everyone knows that the road to Baghdad leads directly through Leavenworth.”(Spiegel) “We Have to Raise our Sights Beyond the Range of an M-16”: In an interview with SPIEGEL, General David Petraeus, a former commander in Iraq who is now responsible for training United States Army troops, discusses the lessons of Baghdad, the reasons a war can’t be won using weapons alone and why America’s future warriors need a post-graduate education.(Time Magazine commentary) The Teddy Awards: 2006: Last summer Lieut. General David Petraeus invited me out to visit the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. Every U.S. Army major spends a midcareer year going to school there. Most of these officers are headed to Iraq or Afghanistan, and the curriculum has been revised to include intensive language courses in Arabic and Pashtu, the history and culture of Islam, a hefty dose of counterinsurgency strategy and tactics, plus the standard military disciplines. I came away inspired and infuriated: if only the Bush Administration-and the public-took the mission as seriously as the Army does! (CBS) Is $100M Guantanamo Courthouse Necessary?: The U.S. government already has a courthouse at Guantanamo Bay, but the Pentagon isn’t satisfied, CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports. It plans to spend $100 million of your tax dollars to build a huge new facility just down the hill. “This is very expensive for the number of cases, 60, which they anticipate trying,” says Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Of course, these aren’t run-of-the-mill defendants. They’re terror suspects including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammad. Still, both Republicans and Democrats in Congress are balking at the idea – and the cost – in private meetings with Defense Department officials. “I asked them if they had looked at alternatives in the United States, looked at them, and the answer was no,” Feinstein says. “I was surprised that they hadn’t looked at Fort Leavenworth, at other places to build a courthouse, to bring these people over, to keep them in secure custody, to try them.”It looks as though there’s enough skepticism on Capitol Hill that the Pentagon will have to put the project through the formal processes in January. Fort Riley(Topeka Capital-Journal) Soldier killed in accident: Fort Riley soldier has died of injuries he suffered in a one-car accident early Saturday in Manhattan, the Riley County Police Department said Monday. Brad Schoen, patrol division commander with the RCPD, identified the victim as Michael T. Highnote, 37, of the 977th Military Police Company at Fort Riley.(Voice of America) US Army Intensifies ‘Train the Trainers’ Program for Iraq: The Iraqi villagers are angry. Two of their friends have been detained, and they want them released. Iraqi soldiers get control of the situation, with the help of their American advisers. But this is not what it seems to be. All the people involved are American soldiers, some in training, others playing the roles of Iraqi soldiers and civilians. And the village? It is a collection of shipping containers and temporary buildings on a sandy field in middle-America.(AP) Aviation brigade brings new life to Marshall Field: For more than a decade, sounds from field artillery and mighty Abrams tanks have pierced the Flint Hills, confirming for residents that the Army is training. But now, the skies are frequently filled with sights and sounds of the next generation of Fort Riley training, as a new combat aviation brigade takes shape at the post’s Marshall Army Airfield. “They probably aren’t happy this isn’t the shining airport on the hill, but they understand that people are humping to get things done,” said airfield manager Troy Mattingly. The Pentagon announced in 2005 it was creating the brigade, bringing parts of several units from across the nation to form a contingent of 130 helicopters and more than 2,500 soldiers and aviators. They will become the aviation wing of the 1st Infantry Division, which returned from Germany in August.(KETV) Sarpy County Donates Protective Vests To U.S. Army: OMAHA, Neb. — The Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office is donating a set of protective vests to U.S. soldiers. The office is taking 45 ballistic vests to Fort Riley, Kan., on Tuesday for donation to the U.S. Army Military Police brigade that is leaving for Iraq on Friday, according to a news release. The Sarpy vests will be used when soldiers are performing non-combat functions. Military-issued vests will still be used in combat.Kansas National Guard[(WIBW 13 News, Topeka) National Guard campaigns to expand Forbes Field:][9] With a check from contractor for the original building, the Museum of The Kansas National Guard kicked off its drive to create more space. The museum plans to add 2,000 square feet which will contain additional historical displays as well as a place for educational events. [9]: www.wibw.com/home/headlines/4943842.html