The Front Lines
Ex-soldier deals with post military problems
The Army was going to be a second career for Gary Connellis.Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., he followed his father's footsteps and joined the New York City Police Department. He spent 17 years there.Connellis, 39, who now lives in Leavenworth, lost some friends in the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. Despite his desire to join the Army immediately, his wife was about to have a baby. He waited until his daughter was 5 before enlisting."It took a lot of running and getting back into shape," Connellis said.His Army career turned out to be a short one though, the aftermath of which he will be dealing with the rest of his life.While on special assignment in 2006, Connellis was wounded by a roadside bomb. He can't say what that assignment was or where he was, but he does say he was not in Iraq or Afghanistan.He joined the Army in 2005. He was honorably discharged with disabilities in July 2007. He has a long list of injuries - physical and mental - stemming from that explosion. After filing for disability payments from the U.S. Deptartment of Veterans Affairs, Connellis was determined to be suffering a 30 percent disability: The lower the percentage the lower his disability payments.Since he initially filed some of his claims Connellis found information in his Army medical records that he didn't know about and which were not passed on to the VA. That includes one record showing he had a herniated disk in his lower back. The Army never treated him for that, despite frequent trips to Army doctors about the back pain, he said. He also found out he has asthma, something else the Army never told him about or treated him for, he said.Connellis has appealed and is seeking a 100 percent disability declaration from the VA. The appeals were filed months ago and he is still awaiting a ruling.During the appeals process Connellis has had to deal with severe back pain. He walks with a cane when he can walk at all. Next month he will finally see a surgeon about his back. He is getting treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. There have been multiple frustrations in dealing with the VA and military bureaucracies, he said. Not all of it had to do with the injuries.In future blogs we will go into more detail about what Connellis has gone through and post updates about his condition and experiences. He has had help along the way from a representative of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., and recently enlisted the help of U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan."It's ridiculous," Connellis said. "I know there are others going through this. I know I have to be patient."Here is the list of injuries and medical problems that have plagued Connellis since the explosion: a herniated disk and compressed nerve in his back; bursitis in his right knee; two types of arthritis including one in his spinal cord; multiple stress fractures in his right shin, ankle and both feet; PTSD, anxiety attacks; and periodic skin and staph infections.We want to know about people in the military from the Douglas County area. Where are they deployed? When will they be coming back? What are their experiences? If you are currently in the military from this area and want to communicate with us, that's fine, too. Please [send me an e-mail.][1] [1]: http://www2.ljworld.com/staff/mike_belt/contact/
Joint Chiefs chairman confronts Army challenges at Fort Riley
More coverage of Admiral Mike Mullen's visit to Army bases in Kansas:[The Washington Post:][1] "FORT RILEY, Kan., Oct. 24 -- The United States' exit from Iraq and Afghanistan depends on stepping up U.S. advising of those nations' security forces, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday as he visited military training teams preparing to deploy."'It's the way out, no question, in both countries,' Mullen told Lt. Col. Geoffrey D. Ellerson, whose 11-man training team will leave in three weeks for a year-long tour in a volatile region of Iraq east of Baghdad. 'I can't overstate the importance' of the teams, he said. "One challenge to expanding the advisory effort, however, is attracting highly qualified Army officers to leave traditional career paths to join the teams, which some see as hurting their chances for promotion, according to several officers interviewed this week.";We have to have certain jobs to be competitive.' said Maj. Jason Jones, one of a group of Army majors attending school at Fort Leavenworth who voiced reluctance to join the training teams. 'That takes me out of the cycle. In essence, it sort of hurts you,' Jones said.[The Topeka Capital-Journal:][2] Two hundred sergeants went one-on-one Wednesday with the nation's top military commander at a town-hall gathering that exposed troop anxiety about conflicts beyond Iraq and Afghanistan. Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, one month into a new assignment as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked to consider whether the U.S. military should reach inside Iran to interrupt the supply of insurgent forces in Iraq. President Bush also has denounced development of nuclear weapons by Iran. "I'm not one to take military options off the table," Mullen said. "However, I'm a firm believer they should be options of last resort. I'd worry a great deal about getting into a conflict with a third country in that part of the world right now." [1]: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/24/AR2007102402549.html [2]: http://cjonline.com/stories/102507/kan_211874162.shtml
Joint Chiefs chairman visits Kansas
Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is visiting Kansas this week - Fort Leavenworth on Tuesday (after a stop at Fort Sill, Okla.) and Fort Riley today.The Fort Leavenworth visit wasn't necessarily easy.[The Washington Post reports:][1] "Also Tuesday, Mullen visited students at the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and met with Army recruiters in Denver. Wednesday, he is to speak with U.S. military teams at Fort Riley, Kan., preparing to train Iraqi and Afghan forces."Hardship on spouses and children emerged as a major complaint for the young captains, most of them in their 20s or early 30s. One related the frustration his pregnant wife faced obtaining obstetric care for herself and medical treatment for their 8-month-old son's ear infection. With many Army doctors deployed, he said, she has often been told she can't get an appointment."'I am currently on track to exit the military in one year,' he said, 'not because I'm done serving . . . but because my wife has a bad taste in her mouth.' Mullen again promised to take his name and e-mail address. 'I'll get back to you,' he said."Commenting later on the captains' frank comments, Mullen said that he was not surprised, and that they validated his own views. 'They weren't shy,' he said."[AP adds:][2] "Mullen later flew to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas and spoke to about 800 military students at the Command and General Staff College. During questions there he heard many of the same issues, as well as broader questions about military strategy, the Middle East and the ongoing effort to send more soldiers to work in training teams for the Iraq and Afghan armies."Mullen said later that he was not surprised by the concerns expressed by the officers."'Based on my expectations, I think what I heard is what I expected,' he said. 'It validates where I think we are and it also validates the need as a priority to figure out a way to relieve that stress.'"The leadership of the Army and the Marine Corps, he added, are addressing the issues and 'it's not going to be an overnight fix.'" [1]: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/23/AR2007102302588.html [2]: http://www.meadowfreepress.com/ViewArticle.aspx?id=193896&source=2
Fort Riley practices for disaster
Here are recent headlines about the military in Kansas:Fort Riley ¢ 1st Infantry Division[(49abcnews.com][1] It's a scary scenario, a terrorist attack at Fort Riley. But it's a reality check for these soldiers and hospital crews to see if they can handle it. Soldiers hurt, screaming. It's the chaotic aftermath of an attack. It's pretend, but Fort Riley emergency officials aren't joking about the possibility. "It could happen. It's a real possibility." They do this mock mass casualty exercise several times a year. "They train as realistically as possible," said Lisa Medrano of Irwin Army Hospital. "This is exactly how it would be handled in a real situation."[(Washington Post) Muslim leaders sign 'reconciliation' pact:][2] Sunni and Shiite local leaders in southwestern Baghdad signed on Thursday an agreement intended to halt sectarian violence and attacks on American and Iraqi troops on the condition that security forces limit their raids and offensive operations. The 12-point "reconciliation document between Muslims" was the result of two months of negotiations between U.S. soldiers and local power brokers in southwestern Baghdad, an area that has become an important base for Shiite militiamen but has also seen attacks by Sunni insurgents. The agreement, signed in a conference room inside the U.S.-protected Baghdad International Airport compound, was an example of what has become a widespread effort by the U.S. military to encourage local leaders to make peaceful commitments in the absence of momentum toward national reconciliation by Iraqi politicians. "The people in this room are leading the process for all of Baghdad," said Lt. Col. Patrick Frank, commander of the 1st Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, which operates in the area. "You are the hope for the entire city."Kansas National Guard[(Garden City Telegram) Local soldiers headed for Iraq:][3] Today marks the beginning of about a year of work for some 430 soldiers with the Kansas Army National Guard. Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 161st Field Artillery, including several from Garden City, left for Salina this morning for premobilization training, with an Iraq deployment date of early next year. Sgt. Hendrik Rijfkogel said about two dozen soldiers left from Garden City. Sgt. Alex DeLeon, 45, from Ulysses, stood with his family this morning in front of the Kansas National Guard Armory. They laughed and hugged. They prayed. "I wish I could have my uniform. I would go with you," Robert DeLeon told his brother. [1]: http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2007/oct/18/mock_disaster_good_learning_experience/ [2]: http://www.contracostatimes.com/nationandworld/ci_7223200 [3]: http://www.gctelegram.com/News/141385
Kansas Air National Guard expands at Wichita
Here are recent headlines about the military in Kansas:Kansas National Guard[(KAKE TV) Intel Center at McConnell Doubling in Size:][1] The Kansas Air National Guard at McConnell Air Force base is landing more jobs. The McConnell Air National Guard Intelligence Squadron is expected to roughly double in size, increasing the division to around 400 personnel. The Intel center opened in 2006 after several years of planning. 200 Air Force analysts work the intelligence processing center right now - analyzing information from reconnaissance missions in real time from around the world. Over the next year, the number of analysts will grow to 400. Congressman Todd Tiahrt says this expansion means long-term job security for our area.Fort Leavenworth[(The Timaru Herald, New Zealand) Top rank for former Timaru man:][2] Former Timaru man Major General Rhys Jones has been appointed Commander of Joint Forces New Zealand. His new role sees him responsible to the Chief of Defence Force for operational-level command and control of all joint and combined international operations and exercises. "I consider this role to be the culmination of my career. It places me at the sharp end of the military, responsible for all operational deployments which are the reason why we have a Defence Force," Major General Jones said of his appointment. He joined the Army in 1978, graduating from Officer College at Duntroon, Australia into the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps at the rank of Lieutenant in December 1982. His academic achievements include attending Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, USA, and higher defence college at the Australian Defence College.Fort Riley ¢ 1st Infantry Division[(49abcnews.com) Combat battalion welcomes new commander:][3] Soldiers from the 541st Combat Battalion got a new commander Wednesday. Lieutenant Colonel Howard Merritt passed over the ranks to Lieutenant Colonel John Silverstein. Siverstein is no stranger to Fort Riley. He served as an officer with the same battalion in 2002. He's getting used to calling Kansas home. Before this assignment, he was at Fort Leavenworth.[(Topeka Capital-Journal) Fort Riley soldier dies:][4] A 20-year-old Fort Riley soldier died Tuesday in a German hospital after being transported from Tikrit, Iraq, with a noncombat-related illness one day earlier. Spc. Micheal D. Brown was an aviation operations specialist in the 1st Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division.[(49abcnews.com) Ft. Riley brings out the big guns:][5] It's the largest piece of artillery in the U.S. Army, the M109A6 Paladin armored fully tracked 155 millimeter howitzer. It's in use now in places like Iraq and this week for training at Fort Riley. We were allowed to see the Paladin in action on the post. "We're training for a task that's more high intensity, but we also have a lot of adaptability," battalion executive officer Maj. Richard Hodgson said. Several miles away is the impact zone, where fire support crews were training in dialing-in the targets. For this training the big guns were firing about eight miles, but their range is 20, and they are accurate. [1]: http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/10610712.html [2]: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/timaruherald/4241546a6010.html [3]: http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2007/oct/17/combat_battalion_welcomes_new_commander/ [4]: http://cjonline.com/stories/101807/kan_209459943.shtml [5]: http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2007/oct/17/ft_riley_brings_out_big_guns/
ESPN profiles connection between Fort Riley, K-State football
Here are recent headlines about the military in Kansas:Fort Riley ¢ 1st Infantry DivisionESPN video: K-State football trains with Fort Riley troops [(AP) Immigrants Play Countrymen in Exercises:][1] Army veteran Lee Anderson is putting his military skills to use -- as an actor. But you won't see him in the movies or on TV. He's role-playing for the Army. During a recent training exercise at Fort Riley in Kansas, Anderson was part of a group pretending to be unhappy Afghan villagers. The idea is to give war-zone bound troops a bit of realism. Anderson says it pays pretty well. He adds it beats his other job of renting mobile homes and moving them around Kansas.[(AP) Sacramento soldier killed in Iraq vehicle rollover:][2] A Sacramento family is preparing a final goodbye to Frank Cady the Third after the soldier was killed in Iraq last week. The Defense Department says Cady died of injuries from a vehicle rollover in Baghdad. The 20-year-old was a chemical operations specialist with the First Infantry Division based out of Fort Riley, Kansas. [1]: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hYWlofganbGv65WFwc0468wRasdAD8S9SATO3 [2]: http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=7218691&nav=menu191_2
New York Times profiles Iraq debates at Fort Leavenworth
The New York Times [spent some of its precious Sunday front-page real estate][1] on a story about Fort Leavenworth, and how students at the Command and General Staff College are debating the decisions that resulted in the ongoing Iraq War.Some excerpts:"As the war grinds through its fifth year, Fort Leavenworth has become a front line in the military's tension and soul-searching over Iraq. Here at the base on the bluffs above the Missouri River, once a frontier outpost that was a starting point for the Oregon Trail, rising young officers are on a different journey - an outspoken re-examination of their role in Iraq."Discussions between a New York Times reporter and dozens of young majors in five Leavenworth classrooms over two days - all unusual for their frankness in an Army that has traditionally presented a facade of solidarity to the outside world - showed a divide in opinion. Officers were split over whether Mr. Rumsfeld, the military leaders or both deserved blame for what they said were the major errors in the war: sending in a small invasion force and failing to plan properly for the occupation."On one level, second-guessing is institutionalized at Leavenworth, home to the Combined Arms Center, a research center that includes the Command and General Staff College for midcareer officers, the School of Advanced Military Studies for the most elite and the Center for Army Lessons Learned, which collects and disseminates battlefield data."But senior officers say that much of the professional second-guessing has become an emotional exercise for young officers. 'Many of them have been affected by people they know who died over there,' said Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, the Leavenworth commander and the former top spokesman for the American military in Iraq. Unlike the 1991 Persian Gulf war and the conflicts in the Balkans and even Somalia, General Caldwell said, 'we just never experienced the loss of life like we have here. And when that happens, it becomes very personal. You want to believe that there's no question your cause is just and that it has the potential to succeed.'"One question that silenced many of the officers was a simple one: Should the war have been fought?"'I honestly don't know how I feel about that,' Major Powell said in a telephone conversation after the discussions at Leavenworth."'That's a big, open question,' General Caldwell said after a long pause." [1]: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/us/14army.html
Blackwater, private military contractors under Fort Leavenworth scrutiny
With all the recent discussion about Blackwater and other private military contractors in Iraq, a two-year-old paper on the topic from Fort Leavenworth's [Combat Studies Institute][1] is receiving renewed attention in the blogosphere.The paper, ["Public War, Private Fight? The United States and Private Military Companies" (PDF),][2] was written by Deborah C. Kidwell."Ms. Kidwell concludes that PMCs (private military contractors) will be an increasingly important facet of US military operations for the foreseeable future; however, the use of contractors on the battlefield is not a panacea for all logistics problems," Col. Timothy Reese, director of CSI, writes in the forward.Kidwell herself writes:"Since 1991, contractor support on and off the battlefield has become increasingly more visible, varied, and commonplace. Given the current manpower and resource limitations of the national military, the US will likely continue its extensive use of PMCs in support of military operations," she writes.But there are problems."These problems increase the risk to US personnel and can induce budget overruns rather than savings, disrupt civil-military relations, and have detrimental consequences for the American economy and society," Kidwwell writes.And she offers suggestions to govern the use of contractors in combat zones:"Political and military leaders must clearly define the role of contractors-the nature of the work they are allowed to perform and the legal and geographical limitations of civilians on the battlefield-and the core competencies of the military services. The legal status of contractor employees as noncombatants must be firm, and the US government must resolve the ambiguity of contractual and criminal jurisdiction when American taxpayers foot the bill."Other headlines today:Kansas National Guard[Topeka Capital-Journal) Topekan receives Purple Heart:][3] Three days after Thanksgiving in 2004, Spc. Sean McCoy was driving a Humvee through the streets of Baghdad under an overpass when 20 feet ahead ... BOOM! An improvised explosive device blew out of the ground, rocking the Humvee, ripping the steering wheel from McCoy's hands. He regained control of the vehicle and drove to safety. Bryttanie McCoy, 10, hugs her father's arm as he speaks to reporters after the ceremony. It wasn't until the next morning he woke immobilized by pain in his back and arms. McCoy, a graduate of Shawnee Heights High School, was awarded the Purple Heart on Wednesday, an honor decorating those who are wounded in the line of duty. [1]: http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/csi/ [2]: http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/kidwell.pdf [3]: http://cjonline.com/stories/101107/loc_207217019.shtml
Kansas-based officers play key roles in Army debate
The Army is in the midst of an "intense debate" over a force-wide reorganization that would put a new premium on training foreign military units to fight their own battles against terrorist threats. And officers at both Fort Leavenworth and Fort Riley are playing key roles in that debate.[The Los Angeles Times][1] reports today:"On one side of the widening debate are officers who want many Army units to become specialized, so that entire units or even divisions are dedicated to training foreign militaries. On the other are those who believe that military units must remain generalists, able to do a wide range of skills well."Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates is expected to weigh in today in a major address in which he will warn that the Army is unlikely to face a conventional war in the future and must reorganize to fight in unconventional conflicts."Army officers at Ft. Leavenworth, where the Army's most important doctrine is created, have been working for two months on specific proposals to create training units for the Pentagon's worldwide commands. Last week, officials from the Pentagon, State Department, Special Operations Command and other military groups took part in the war game to evaluate various proposals for the teams."Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, who oversees the Army schools and research institutes at Leavenworth, said the proposals would create a dedicated unit of trainers who could be assigned to each of the commanders of the worldwide regions."'The concept here is a very specific focus: They do not do direct action; they do not command and control combat forces; they are not a combat force,' Caldwell said. 'Their mission is to do security-force assistance.'"The size of the proposed units is undecided, and the war game at Leavenworth examined at least three different organizational structures."The leading advocate of establishing a stand-alone advisor corps within the Army is Lt. Col. John Nagl, a co-author of the Army's new counterinsurgency field manual who is considered a rising star within the service."In an article published in a policy journal in June, Nagl, who served as an operations officer in a battalion in Iraq three years ago, proposed a permanent force of 20,000 advisors."'It requires a different focus in training. It requires a different mind-set,' Nagl said in an interview. 'Forces practicing advisory skills also need a particular way of looking at the world.'" [1]: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-army10oct10,1,2545897.story?track=rss
Looking at reducing Iraqi casualties
Here are recent headlines about the military in Kansas:Fort Leavenworth[(Boston Globe) Pentagon is pressed on killings of Iraqis:][1] Of 500 claims for compensation filed by Iraqi families and released after an ACLU court action, 133 were allegedly killed for driving too close to a convoy, while 59 were allegedly killed at checkpoints. Those cases include allegations that US soldiers, on several occasions, shot at random from convoys, killing bystanders; a case in which soldiers allegedly fired 200 rounds into a car that did not stop soon enough at a checkpoint, killing two parents and injuring their two young children; and an allegation that US soldiers had fired on a car carrying a pregnant woman who was on her way to the hospital to give birth, killing her. In the vast majority of cases, soldiers were deemed to have acted within their rights to fire at the vehicles that they feared posed a threat. Soldiers were found negligent in only a tiny handful of cases. ... "They are 19, 20 years old and we are asking them to make some pretty big decisions, and they are doing a great job," said Colonel Kent Crossley, former chief of Analysis and Integration at the Center for Army Lessons Learned at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., who served multiple tours in Iraq. Crossley cochaired a conference earlier this year on how to rewrite the handbook on "escalation of force" procedures in a way that could reduce civilian deaths. He said the military was trying to give soldiers the tools to avoid such killings, including nonlethal tactics, and better, more visible signs which can be understood by Iraqis who do not speak English. "Just because you have the right to use lethal force, it doesn't mean you should. That's what we are trying to teach these soldiers," he said.Fort Riley ¢ 1st Infantry Division[(Kansas State Collegian) Soldiers learn combat life-saving skills in Ft. Riley course:][2] One soldier hurries to wrap a tourniquet - one that will stop deadly blood loss - around the arm of a cloth dummy. Another inserts a plastic tube - one that will deliver life-saving breath - into the airway of a plastic head. Both are working quickly and efficiently, calmly announcing and explaining each task as they go. These soldiers are students in Fort Riley's combat life-saving course. They are learning skills that will help them save fellow injured soldiers on the battlefield. "We want soldiers to understand how to do these things now, so that it becomes muscle memory," said Sgt. Baldwin Fisher, class instructor. "That way when they get out there and things start happening, they know what to do automatically." [1]: http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2007/10/09/pentagon_is_pressed_on_killings_of_iraqis/?page=2 [2]: http://media.www.kstatecollegian.com/media/storage/paper1022/news/2007/10/09/News/Practical.Experience-3020621.shtml
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