All servicemembers deserve praise for the service to their country, but some like Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter go so far above and beyond their call of duty that even the highest praise awarded by the U.S. may not seem like enough.
Initially wounded in a 2010 grenade attack in Afghanistan, Carpenter will most likely be the latest veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to receive the Medal of Honor, according to the Marine Corps Times. Carpenter would be the 10th soldier and second Marine to receive the award since the wars began.
Carpenter's self-sacrifice
According to the Marine Corps Times, in 2010 Carpenter was standing guard alongside Lance Cpl. Nicholas Eufrazio on a rooftop in Marjah district of Afghanistan when an unidentified insurgent lobbed a grenade in front of the soldiers' feet. Without time to act, Carpenter laid his body over the grenade and possibly saved Eufrazio's life in the process.
Stars and Stripes explained that the recommendation for the Medal of Honor comes almost four years later because it proved difficult for Marine investigators to determine what actually happened during the attack. Other than Carpenter and Eufrazio, there were no other witnesses. Due to the injuries both soldiers sustained from the blast, Carpenter was left unable to remember any details of the incident, while Eufrazio was not able to speak due to his injuries until 2012.
Medical examiners initially determined that from the location of the blast on Carpenter's torso, there could be no other explanation than Carpenter sacrificing himself to save the life of his friend.
Media attention and the Medal of Honor
Carpenter has received increased media attention recently as a result of several interviews with Reader's Digest and an appearance on Katie Couric's nationally televised talk show. Even as he is about to receive the nation's highest honor, Carpenter promised on a Facebook page dedicated to him called "Operation Kyle" that he would never take his second chance at life for granted.
"I just want to thank and remind all of you how much it means and how truly appreciative I am for every comment, message, word of encouragement and prayer you have sent my way since that day in November 2010," Carpenter wrote. "You have helped get me to where I am today and for that I will be forever grateful."
The military may be all about uniformity, but some soldiers desire a little individuality every now and then.
That was exactly the case for the Marines' preference for rolled sleeves on its uniforms – up until 2011, when a direct order mandated long sleeves even in desert climates. After years of complaints from servicemembers, however, Gen. James F. Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, has relented and re-authorized the iconic rolled-up-sleeves look of certain Marines around the world.
On a roll
Amos wrote in a statement on the Marine Corps' website that he understands how important identity and individuality are to soldiers who become Marines. As rolled sleeves were one of the only ways that the Corps could differentiate the look of its uniforms from those of the other branches up until 2011, Amos believed that a return to this look would raise troops' morale across the globe.
"I've thought a lot about this over the past 2 .5 years; I realize that it's important to you," Amos wrote in the statement. "Sleeves up clearly and visually sets us apart."
The change signals a shift in strict uniform policies that have prohibited soldiers from keeping their hands in their pockets for an extended period of time. While the ability to roll their sleeves may be a welcome transition for many servicemembers, only those stationed outside of combat zones and wearing summer clothing will be permitted to cuff their sleeves when the new policy goes into effect March 9.
Shifting uniformity
While the sleeve roll may have been made famous by Marines in movies and TV shows, the style has a long history within the service. The Wall Street Journal reported that the informal look of the rolled sleeve was actually a highly ritualized part of the soldier's routine in preparing his or her uniform.
In addition to polished boots and pressed shirts, rolled sleeves had their own regulations – rolled from the inside out, three inches wide and resting two inches above the elbow. There were slight variations such as the less neat "Gunny Rolls," or sleeves cuffed by battle-hardened gunnery sergeants less concerned with appearance than combat effectiveness.
Recent changes to Marines' uniforms such as wrinkle-free fabric and suede combat boots removed much of the daily work Marines had to put into their appearance. However, Amos' announcement received more than 30,000 Facebook likes in one day, according to The Wall Street Journal, indicating that some soldiers might enjoy a return to the days of rolled sleeves and spit-shined shoes.
The most elite and selective fighting force in the U.S. has been used extensively throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Special operations forces have been at the forefront of several major missions in the Middle East since the military's first engagement in the region in 2001, but according to a ranking officer within Special Operations Command, these forces have become overextended and have gone beyond their operational parameters. In order to be the most effective soldiers they can be, special operations forces may have to recommit to their original purpose.
Unseen missions to frontline warriors
Special operations forces have long been deployed on missions of unparalleled importance that never see the light of day in the press. In the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, however, the same soldiers have been placed on a more regular duty, rooting out insurgents and tracking down the heads of militant bands. Military.com reported that according to Air Force Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, vice commander of SOCOM, this is not how special operations forces can best protect the country.
"You've read about the U.S. forces either kill or capture missions and the like against the senior leaders of Al Qaeda – sometimes referred to as a decapitation strategy," Heithold said during a discussion at the National Defense Industry Association. "Is that going to work? No."
Heithold explained how in a meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he recommended a drawdown of resources allocated to SOCOM. In 2001, Heithold counted 21 extremist groups the U.S. kept tabs on, but despite the increased presence of special operations forces, that number had ballooned to 57. Rather than sending his highly trained soldiers on assassination missions, Heithold would rather they be sent on "indirect missions" like training foreign military groups that take longer to produce results, but are more effective on a larger scale.
Back to basics
SOCOM itself urged that a smaller footprint for its soldiers does not necessarily mean a smaller impact through its missions. The force's website enumerated several key concepts – humans over hardware, strength over size – that prize a small, specialized group of soldiers who are able to carry out high-intensity missions over a large battalion of troops whose training may vary. SOF cannot accomplish its missions alone, however, and depends on the rest of the Armed Forces to accomplish large scale goals. Its this symbiosis that Heithold would like to return to, with SOCOM carrying out niche missions around the globe.
Most men struggle to come up with date ideas for Valentine's Day, but many of them have the convenience of cities and flower delivery services to save them in the eleventh hour from sleeping on the couch. It would be near impossible for Sgt. Andrew Johnson, currently deployed in Afghanistan at Camp Leatherneck, to plan a date night with his wife – if Sgt. Frances Johnson wasn't deployed at the same base, too.
Married to the military
Stars and Stripes reported on the Johnsons' improbable journey to serving together in southeastern Afghanistan that started in southern California. Frances had been put in charge of training Marine Recruit Depot San Diego's newest puppy, but when the soldier originally assigned to assist her was busy, Andrew stepped in. Fast forward four years and the two are serving together at Camp Leatherneck. Frances is the media chief for the Marine unit stationed there, and Andrew is the program manager for the collection of IED detector dogs.
The couple described the first few years of serving together as difficult. They were treated like the rest of the soldiers and were not permitted any more time alone than the non-married Marines. However, the Johnsons have just been granted approval by military officials to live together.
A reminder of the normal
The Johnsons are not the first couple to serve together at the same base – in fact, they are not even the first to do so at Camp Leatherneck. In 2012, the Department of Defense reported on Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Luke Billingsley and his wife, Marine Corps Sgt. Nancy Billingsley, as they both completed a seven-month deployment.
The Billingsleys noted that even though everything around them may feel foreign, having their significant other alongside them reminds them of the comforts of home.
"The main benefit of being deployed with my wife is the peace of mind I have," Luke told the DOD. ""I don't have worry about my wife needing anything, because I can see her here. I see her every day."
Nancy agreed that although it still feels like she is away from home, it would be much worse without her husband.
"Having my husband out here makes it really easy for me to do my job," Nancy said. "That homesickness part of the deployment doesn't really exist. I mean, we miss our kids, but ultimately, that home sickness doesn't set in like everybody else's."
While it may not be the compromise that advocates for military benefits wanted, the across-the-board cuts to the cost of living adjustments in veterans benefits packages were repealed by Congress. Some veterans groups are happy to have preserved pensions for retirees that have already served in active duty, but are still unhappy that Congress has voted to keep the COLA cuts in place for all new enlistees.
Fighting back on COLA cuts
Military.com reported on the repeal of the bill which was initially written in response to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's recommendation that the military's future operational capabilities would be hampered by its financial commitment to retirees. Veterans groups and lawmakers railed against the bill for weeks, and the late hours of Feb. 13 saw Congress vote to exempt current retirees and enlisted servicemembers from the COLA cuts. However, any soldier who joined or planned to join the military on or after Jan. 1, 2014 will still be affected by the reduction to their veterans benefits.
Director of government relations for Military Officers Association of America Air Force Col. Michael F. Hayden was glad to hear of the compromise on the bill, but he admitted it wasn't what he and his colleagues were hoping for.
"I can't call it a clear cut victory because we were looking for full repeal," Hayden told Military.com.
Other veterans groups were less supportive of Congress's decision to push the budget cuts on new members of the Armed Forces.
"[This] is a compromise we cannot support because it does so at the expense of future military retirees who will be required to serve and sacrifice just as much as their predecessors," Joe Davis, spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars told Stars and Stripes. "The VFW wants a full repeal of the COLA penalty for all generations, and we hope this vote continues that conversation."
Moving numbers, shifting figures
The COLA cuts will reduce retirees' pensions during their life after service by one percentage point under inflation, and while that may not sound like much, The Washington Post reported that new enlistees stand to lose upwards of $69,000 while officers would see an average of $87,000 vanish into thin air.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash, told the press that Congress had passed the bill without a serious review of its impact on the national budget. Smith also criticized the move as a pass-the-buck maneuver, with politically-conscious politicians electing to make an expedient choice rather than a difficult one.
Some NFL coaches choose to relax at home during the offseason, while others may hit the books to prepare for the annual Combine and Draft. Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh chose a different way to spend his downtime.
The Army reported that Harbaugh joined Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno on a tour of military bases in Afghanistan. The bench boss spent two weeks traveling to visit troops stationed at Kandahar and Bagram Air Field. He signed autographs, posed for pictures and spoke with the soldiers.
"The biggest message that I would like to leave on behalf of the National Football League players and coaches, for all the deployed service men and women out there, is 'thank you,'" Harbaugh told troops at Kandahar Air Field. "Thank you for doing all the things necessary to allow us to all live our lives the way we want to, in freedom."
The time spent with Harbaugh allowed some soldiers to forget about the constant pressures of military life. Some went right back to being football fans.
"You have so many questions, and what better way than to ask the coach directly," Staff Sgt. Bryant Brown told the DOD. Brown met Harbaugh during his stop at Bagram where he got a picture with the Super Bowl champion coach and even got the hold his ring.
The body armor and protection soldiers take into battle is constantly under scrutiny from research and development programs, and though it may seem like it is coming straight out of science fiction, the prototype of a powered exoskeleton soldiers may one day wear on the battlefield will begin preliminary testing this summer. While the futuristic armor has been compared to that worn by the superhero Iron Man, military officials are not ready to say it is capable of feats as fantastic as flight, but the technology may prompt a revolutionary change in infantry-based combat.
Suit up, soldier
DefenseTech.org reported on the announcement of the suit's planned testing program at the Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict conference in Washington, D.C. Navy Adm. William McRaven, the ranking officer of U.S. Special Operations Command, told the assembled media that if everything goes according to plan, the suit could be on testing grounds by June and in the hands of soldiers by August of this year.
"That suit, if done correctly, will yield a revolutionary improvement in survivability and capability for special operators," McRaven said. By combining integrated weapons systems and health monitoring capabilities, McRaven believes the powered exoskeleton will give the U.S. a "huge comparative advantage over our enemies and give our warriors the protection they need."
Technology and operability
The incredible functionality of the suit – dubbed the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS – could promise a much greater degree of protection for soldiers from seen and unseen threats than current options. The Department of Defense reported that while the full extent of the suit's capabilities remains to be seen, integration of several defense and information systems could create the soldier of the future.
While body armor has been getting lighter and lighter, that progression can mean a sacrifice of strength. With the TALOS suit, soldiers can wear the heaviest, most protective armor available without worrying about fatigue – actuators in the suit would carry the weight instead of the soldier. An array of sensors and computers will collect data and information from the battlefield and present any relevant pieces to the wearer via a heads up display on the helmet's visor.
"The intent is to have this fully integrated system so you can provide the most capability at the lowest impact to the soldier," Michael Fieldson, SOCOM's TALOS project manager told the DOD. "We are really looking at stretching the bounds of science and technology."
A major component of the Army-wide drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq is the ongoing training of the Afghan army. The goal is to produce a self-sustaining defensive force native to the country that can defend itself from the domestic threat of militants. While a recent groundswell of Afghan support for the U.S. force may prompt a further look at the withdrawal, the U.S.'s top Navy SEAL assured troops that Afghan security forces continue to improve.
Working toward military autonomy
U.S. soldiers have been engaged in Afghanistan for more than a decade. With President Barack Obama's proposal to withdraw all but a small contingent of the Kabul embassy's security force from the country by 2017, a growing objective for soldiers in the area is not combat, but training the Afghan army to be a self-sufficient and resilient force. Military.com reported that Adm. William McRaven, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command and the Navy's top-ranking SEAL, told the press at the 25th annual Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict conference Feb. 11 that he has confidence that the training is progressing.
"I'm pleased to say that each time I return, I see more and more progress," McRaven said. "Afghan security forces are good and thanks to our [special operations forces] investment, they are getting better."
McRaven's comments come at a crucial time when the U.S. and Afghanistan are attempting to broker a security pact for a longer American military presence in the country. Several critics have called attention to a perceived lack of readiness among Afghan troops, and a recent report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found that the measurements military officials are using to gauge Afghanistan's readiness for military self-governance may not be as trustworthy as first thought.
All of this has called into question the appropriateness of a U.S. withdrawal.
"No longer are the Afghanistan people relying on coalition forces to play the leading role in providing security," McRaven told the conference. "No matter the size of our presence there next year, our future military-to-military engagements with the Afghans will remain vital in the region."
Working on a security pact
While McRaven believes that Afghan forces will be ready to defend their country after 2014, many others do not share his confidence. The Washington Post spoke to several Afghan officers about the stalled negotiations between the two countries on a security pact that would keep U.S. troops stationed on bases past 2012, and their responses were less than hopeful.
"If the international community leaves, there is no question that we will lose ground to the Taliban," Col. Mohammad Dost told the Post. "It's the biggest worry for every soldier now."
There has been a groundswell of support for the pact which President Hamid Karzai has refused to sign. Military officials in the country have taken to the newspapers, radio and television to voice their concerns. These moves of public dissidence have led to at least one Afghan general being informally removed from his post.
But as the Post spoke to soldiers, the threat of facing militants without U.S. support far outweighed backlash from the government.
"If the Americans leave, Afghanistan will be a lone sheep, left in the desert for the wolves to eat," Capt. Abdul Zahir told the paper.
Beyond troop strength, the Afghan army also relies on funding from U.S. sources. Numbering about 350,000 men, Afghanistan requires about $4 billion annually to operate its defensive forces but only grosses $1.7 billion in revenue. Among other countries, the U.S. is the primary contributor. While funding-only aid is possible, critics say ensuring that money goes to the right places within the Afghan government without boots on the ground would be difficult.
While the U.S. Pacific Fleet gears up for a redistribution of its forces for future decades of focus on China, the first of a series of destroyers has quietly sailed into Spanish waters to establish a new line of American missile defense for Western Europe. Stars and Stripes reported that after a trans-Atlantic journey from Norfolk, Va., the first of four missile destroyers has arrived at Naval Station Rota in Spain.
A new missile defense system
According to the Navy, the USS Donald Cook is an Arleigh Burke-class missile destroyer equipped with Tomahawk and Harpoon missile launchers, two Vertical Launch Systems for hostile armament interception, Close-In-Weapons-Systems, and triple tube torpedo mounts.
That is just the first of four missile destroyers slated to comprise a new European missile defense system known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach. By 2016, all four ships will be based at Naval Station Rota on the Atlantic coast of Gibraltar. Combined with several land-based weapons systems in Romania, Poland and Turkey, commanding officials at Ramstein Air Base in Germany hope the missile defense shield will protect U.S. forces stationed in Europe and allies in the region from unseen threats from the Middle East.
When the naval force is fully deployed the Cook and its fellow destroyers will make four-month circuits throughout the Mediterranean Sea to monitor situations around the region.
A strategic initiative
The EPAA mission was announced by President Obama in 2009. Russian authorities claim the move will infringe upon their country's nuclear program, but U.S. officials disagree.
"To put it simply, our new missile defense architecture in Europe will provide stronger, smarter, and swifter defenses of American forces and America's Allies," Obama said in a press release. "It is more comprehensive than the previous program; it deploys capabilities that are proven and cost-effective; and it sustains and builds upon our commitment to protect the U.S. homeland against long-range ballistic missile threats; and it ensures and enhances the protection of all our NATO Allies."
A four phase plan that will reach completion sometime around 2020, the program has already resulted in tight military cooperation between the White House and European nations such as Poland, Romania and Turkey. Despite the claims of muted hostility from the Russian government, the 2010 Lisbon Summit of NATO allies commended the strategic initiative as a significant contribution to the region's military defense.
Continuing the recent increase in veteran employment rates, a coalition of companies in the construction industry have partnered with Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden's support initiative for veterans entering life after service. Several companies have already been vocally supportive of the effort, as the construction industry is expected to be one of the fastest growing sectors in the country over the next dozen years.
A new jobs pledge
Stars and Stripes reported that the first lady led a discussion with representatives from the construction industry Feb. 10 where a variety of companies pledged to hire over 100,000 veterans by 2019. More than 100 companies have already attached their names to the initiative. Businesses range from nationally recognized brands like Jacobs Engineering to local firms in need of specialized labor.
"[Servicemembers] have built cities in the middle of deserts halfway around the world," Obama told the conference. "They've built schools in remote villages. They've repaired complex machinery in combat zones in the middle of the night. In short, our troops have taken on some of the most challenging projects in some of the most inhospitable places under some of the toughest deadlines and constraints."
The hiring drive is part of the White House's "Joining Forces" initiative, which seeks to provide all-purpose support for veterans. The organization's website indicates that the advocacy arm of the group seeks to "inspire, educate and spark action from all sectors of society."
Both Obama and Biden helped launch Joining Forces in 2011.
Decreasing numbers, increasing hope
The jobs pledge comes at a time when the veteran unemployment rate is already falling. The Washington Post reported that the unemployment rate for veterans has been falling ever since a spike in January 2012. A smaller sample size has traditionally led to more dramatic increases and decreases of the veteran unemployment rate compared to the national average, but a steady downward progression is good news. An extra 100,000 jobs will do much to lower that rate even further.
Veterans have faced certain employment-related obstacles in recent years from speed bumps in gaining accreditation for their military skills for use in the private sector. The Joining Forces initiative will also seek to help veterans on that front.
"Many of the skills and abilities gained during military training and service are highly transferable to the skills we require to successfully serve our clients around the world," Lori Sundberg, senior vice president of human resources at Jacobs, told Stars and Stripes.