(Manhattan Mercury) Ham’s loss lamented at AUSA fete: Fort Riley – Members of the Fort Riley-Central Kansas Chapter of the Association of the United States Army got together to celebrate their 50th anniversary. But the pre-dinner buzz Friday night centered on the mid-day news that Maj. Gen. Carter Ham is soon leaving as Fort Riley’s commanding general. Ham, who has been commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley since Aug. 1, 2006, when the division returned its headquarters from Germany to Kansas, will become director of operations at the Pentagon. Ham also has been nominated for a third star, Army officials said. Many AUSA members complimented Ham on his ability to relate to the civilian community. Phil Zeller, who served nearly 40 years in the U.S. Army Reserves, retiring at the rank of brigadier general, recalled Ham making a cameo appearnce in a Junction City theater production shortly after arriving last year. (Peoria Ill. Journal Star) U.S. hopes humanitarian aid will ease tensions in Afghanistan: GERESHK, Afghanistan – Two transport trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, escorted by South Carolina National Guard troops, rolled into the Afghan army base here earlier this month. The aid – clothes, food and hygiene kits – was delivered after a NATO bombing killed dozens of men, women and children near this town of about 46,000 in the heart of Helmland province. “The bombings caused a mess,” said Army Maj. Marc Daniels, who commanded the aid convoy. “You get a hailstorm of people who are upset because you’ve just blown up their families.” Military leaders hope the aid will help salve hard feelings toward the U.S.-led coalition that is fighting the Taliban.But Afghan officials increasingly are criticizing the coalition for attacks that kill civilians. The country’s president, Hamid Karzai, has pleaded for Western forces to exercise more caution when targeting Taliban forces.As of July 1, 314 Afghan civilians have been killed this year by Afghan and international forces, including U.S. and NATO troops, according to a United Nations report. Insurgents killed 279 Afghan civilians during the same period, the report added. Afghan leaders say their country’s people “understand there’s still war in this region,” said Daniels, a member of the 1st Infantry Division, headquartered at Fort Riley, Kan. “They do know there’s a price to pay in getting rid of the Taliban.”