Military Matters
Sen. McCain vows to send terror suspects to Fort Leavenworth
Posted Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Here are recent headlines about the military in Kansas:
Fort Leavenworth
(UPI) McCain: I will close Guantanamo: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told a London newspaper he would act quickly to restore the international reputation of the United States if he becomes president. In an interview with The Telegraph, McCain said that would include shutting down the terrorist detention camp at Guantanamo Bay and taking quick action on global warming. "I would immediately close Guantanamo Bay, move all the prisoners to Fort Leavenworth (Kansas) and truly expedite the judicial proceedings in their cases," he said. "I would reaffirm my commitment to address the issue of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. I know how important this is in Europe in particular."
Read the original Sunday Telegraph story
(McClatchy) Plan for U.S. site draws criticism: Some U.S. House Democrats who want to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center are floating an idea to move captives to American military brigs on U.S. soil. Republicans are opposing the idea, with one Florida congressman issuing a press release, "America's Most Wanted Terrorists Not Welcome in the Sunshine State." Rep. James Moran, D-Va., a member of the House defense subcommittee, said in a recent interview on Fox News Channel, "I'm simply offering some options. If you close (the Guantanamo detention center), we do have military brigs that are secure." In successive interviews, Moran has suggested several locations that might house the captives, including the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; the U.S. Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., and the Marine Corps brig at Quantico, Va.
(Examiner.com) Change in tact shows early success in Iraq: The new U.S. commander for Iraq, in just his first month, is turning Baghdad into a giant neighborhood-watch program. Gone is a strategy of troops sweeping a neighborhood and then returning to a garrison miles away. Army Gen. David Petraeus, who took command Feb. 10, has dispatched soldiers to critical points around Baghdad known for Sunni-Shiite violence - and kept them there. The command has set up 24 joint security stations to date, with plans for more than 70. The result: In the early stages of Operation Enforcing the Law, the military is seeing a big drop in insurgent attacks on civilians. Retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales was one of the advisers for the Army's new counterinsurgency manual, produced by Petraeus last year when he commanded the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. "When you start controlling an area, you begin to gain trust and the population throws itself over to your side and intelligence is not a problem," said Scales, a former commandant of the Army War College. "The coin of the realm is trust. It's all about trust."
Fort Riley * 1st Infantry Division
(KC Star) Town Snapshot: JUNCTION CITY, Kan. - Four years after the first U.S. troops entered Iraq, the war remains an abstract thing for many in the United States, fought by people they don't know in a land they'll never visit. For this Army town, it's a familiar reality fought by Dad or Mom. As the United States on Tuesday marks the beginning of its fifth year in Iraq, Junction City remains stuck in an age of absence, a fate shared by military towns across the United States. Eighty-eight soldiers from nearby Fort Riley have been killed since the war began March 20, 2003. At any particular time, thousands are gone.
(Omaha World-Herald) Nebraska-Western Iowa VA gets high marks from returning troops Maj. Shane Welsh of Omaha, who has served in the Guard and Reserves for 21 years, was frustrated when he returned from Iraq and couldn't get cholesterol medication at the Army hospital at Fort Riley, Kan. Once back in Omaha, he enrolled in the VA system and noticed a difference. "I could tell my doctor was genuinely concerned about me," said Welsh, 39, a mortgage officer in civilian life. "He put me on two medications and listened to what I was saying."
(Blackanthem Military News) Lessons from combat: Camp Buehring medical training based on lessons from medics in Iraq: KUWAIT - Four life-size mannequins with various injuries lie on a blood-stained floor Feb. 17 at Third Army/ U.S. Army Central's Camp Buehring Training Village. The mannequins, depicting common injuries on today's battlefield, are surrounded by walls covered with signatures and quotes from servicemembers. On this day, those servicemembers are Soldiers from 1st Infantry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team. They are sitting on benches attached to these covered walls and listen intently to the words of Brent Cloud, the Combat Medical Skills Trainer's primary instructor, as the mannequins depict common injuries which occur on the battlefield. "The training engrains basic concepts in the mind," said Cloud, a retired Special Forces medic. "It's the steps to take care of someone's life."
Kansas National Guard
(Topeka Capital-Journal) Guardsmen get Purple Heart, combat badges: Staff Sgt. Ernesto V. Gonzales, of Goodland, and Spc. Rodney A. Price, of Gardner, both members of the Kansas National Guard's 714th Security Force Company, were awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge on Thursday for injuries sustained while serving in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. They were injured when their command post came under mortar fire last fall, the adjutant general's Department announced today.
(KC Star) Hurt soldier in long limbo: All that Sgt. Colleen Owens wants is a skilled doctor to patch up her back so she can return to her Black Hawk helicopter crew. Instead, this Kansas Army National Guard soldier has been stuck at Fort Hood, Texas, for five weeks with legs that are going numb and pain that feels like a branding iron in her hip. Owens was injured while serving in Iraq. One of the vertebrae in her lower back has a fracture. She may need surgery to alleviate her pain. But she's been in military limbo, waiting for the right approvals for treatment at a hospital near her Kansas City, Kan., home, waiting for her paperwork to move through the system, waiting to be shipped to yet another military base where she can wait some more.
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