From my archive of press clippings:
Stars and Stripes
Stop-loss pay problems persist
Posted April 16th, 2010 by Jeff Schogol
in
Stripes Central
It’s been six months since the Army started accepting retroactive stop-loss pay claims, and despite addressing much of the initial confusion with the program people are still having lingering problems getting their money.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"In most cases, the application process takes less than eight weights, but the pay office gives people a “conservative estimate” of how long the process will take to “set expectations.”"
Showing posts with label Jeff Schogol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeff Schogol. Show all posts
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
S&S - Iraq visa requirements may push U.S. interpreters out the door
From my archive of press clippings:
Stars and Stripes
Iraq visa requirements may push U.S. interpreters out the door
By Michael Gisick, Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Friday, April 2, 2010
BAGHDAD — As the Iraqi government pushes for more control over the tens of thousands of American contractors still in the country, some high-level U.S. interpreters say new visa regulations are pushing them to leave.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"The interpreters, Arab-Americans who work in sensitive areas such as intelligence or as liaisons between senior American officers and Iraqi officials, worry that submitting the details of their identities to the Iraqi government could endanger themselves or family members living in Iraq or elsewhere in the region.
“Working for four years doing intel, pretty much I know how corrupt things are,” said one former Iraqi-American interpreter who quit her job and returned to the U.S. last month after her company notified employees they would need to apply for a visa. Like other interpreters interviewed for this story, she spoke on the condition of anonymity."
_____
Stars and Stripes reporter Jeff Schogol contributed to this report.
Stars and Stripes
Iraq visa requirements may push U.S. interpreters out the door
By Michael Gisick, Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Friday, April 2, 2010
BAGHDAD — As the Iraqi government pushes for more control over the tens of thousands of American contractors still in the country, some high-level U.S. interpreters say new visa regulations are pushing them to leave.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"The interpreters, Arab-Americans who work in sensitive areas such as intelligence or as liaisons between senior American officers and Iraqi officials, worry that submitting the details of their identities to the Iraqi government could endanger themselves or family members living in Iraq or elsewhere in the region.
“Working for four years doing intel, pretty much I know how corrupt things are,” said one former Iraqi-American interpreter who quit her job and returned to the U.S. last month after her company notified employees they would need to apply for a visa. Like other interpreters interviewed for this story, she spoke on the condition of anonymity."
_____
Stars and Stripes reporter Jeff Schogol contributed to this report.
Friday, September 4, 2009
S&S - Children of fallen troops will be allowed to stay in stateside DOD schools
From my archive of press clippings:
Stars and Stripes
Children of fallen troops will be allowed to stay in stateside DOD schools
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Thursday, May 14, 2009
ARLINGTON, Va. — Children of fallen troops can continue attending Defense Department schools in the United States all the way through high school, the Department of Defense Education Activity announced Thursday evening.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Under the old policy, children of the fallen could remain in Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools until the transition from elementary to middle school or middle school to high school, according to a DODEA news release. "
"The new policy does not affect children in Department of Defense Dependents Schools, who move back to the United States after the loss of a loved one, said DODEA spokeswoman Connie Gillette."
&
"If the spouse of a fallen servicemembers can stay overseas per the terms of a Status of Forces Agreement, his or her children can continue to attend DODDS schools tuition-free on a “space-available basis,” Miles said. "
Stars and Stripes
Children of fallen troops will be allowed to stay in stateside DOD schools
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Thursday, May 14, 2009
ARLINGTON, Va. — Children of fallen troops can continue attending Defense Department schools in the United States all the way through high school, the Department of Defense Education Activity announced Thursday evening.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Under the old policy, children of the fallen could remain in Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools until the transition from elementary to middle school or middle school to high school, according to a DODEA news release. "
"The new policy does not affect children in Department of Defense Dependents Schools, who move back to the United States after the loss of a loved one, said DODEA spokeswoman Connie Gillette."
&
"If the spouse of a fallen servicemembers can stay overseas per the terms of a Status of Forces Agreement, his or her children can continue to attend DODDS schools tuition-free on a “space-available basis,” Miles said. "
Monday, May 25, 2009
S&S - Odierno sees long insurgency
Stars and Stripes
Odierno sees long insurgency
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, May 10, 2009
ARLINGTON, Va. — The insurgency in Iraq will last for years after U.S. troops leave, the top U.S. general in Iraq said Friday.
Read the whole article here.
Odierno sees long insurgency
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, May 10, 2009
ARLINGTON, Va. — The insurgency in Iraq will last for years after U.S. troops leave, the top U.S. general in Iraq said Friday.
Read the whole article here.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
S&S - Contractor gets probation for Afghanistan shooting
Stars and Stripes
Contractor gets probation for Afghanistan shooting
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Online edition, Friday, May 8, 2009
ARLINGTON, Va. – An Army contractor who pleaded guilty to shooting an Afghan man who set one of his teammates on fire will not be going to prison.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Don Michael Ayala was sentenced to five years of probation and a fine Friday in federal court. Ayala had faced up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Federal Judge Claude M. Hilton found that the attack on Ayala’s teammate, “Did provide provocation and would have provided provocation for anyone who was there at the time.”
Hilton also cited Ayala’s military record and the fact that the incident occurred in a hostile area as mitigating factors in the case.
Family of Ayala and Paula Loyd, the woman who was set on fire, wept when the verdict was read."
&
"On Nov. 4, 2008, Ayala was working for an Army Human Terrain Team about 50 miles west of Kandahar when Loyd was attacked by an Afghan man named Abdul Salam, who lit a container of flammable liquid and threw it on her.
Loyd suffered severe burns over most of her body. She died on Jan. 7 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Ayala helped subdue Salam. When he learned how badly Loyd was burned, he shot Salam in the head, even though Salam was technically a prisoner at the time."
Contractor gets probation for Afghanistan shooting
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Online edition, Friday, May 8, 2009
ARLINGTON, Va. – An Army contractor who pleaded guilty to shooting an Afghan man who set one of his teammates on fire will not be going to prison.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Don Michael Ayala was sentenced to five years of probation and a fine Friday in federal court. Ayala had faced up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Federal Judge Claude M. Hilton found that the attack on Ayala’s teammate, “Did provide provocation and would have provided provocation for anyone who was there at the time.”
Hilton also cited Ayala’s military record and the fact that the incident occurred in a hostile area as mitigating factors in the case.
Family of Ayala and Paula Loyd, the woman who was set on fire, wept when the verdict was read."
&
"On Nov. 4, 2008, Ayala was working for an Army Human Terrain Team about 50 miles west of Kandahar when Loyd was attacked by an Afghan man named Abdul Salam, who lit a container of flammable liquid and threw it on her.
Loyd suffered severe burns over most of her body. She died on Jan. 7 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Ayala helped subdue Salam. When he learned how badly Loyd was burned, he shot Salam in the head, even though Salam was technically a prisoner at the time."
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
S&S - Defense contractor charged with murder
From my archive of press clippings:
Stars and Stripes
Defense contractor charged with murder
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, November 22, 2008
ARLINGTON, Va. — An Army Human Terrain Team member has been charged with murder in connection with the killing of an Afghan man who set another team member on fire.
Note: Paula Lloyd is recently reported to have died of the wounds received in this attack.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Don Michael Ayala, a contractor working for the Virginia-based firm Strategic Analysis Inc., allegedly shot Abdul Salam while the man was restrained in U.S. custody, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
On Nov. 4, Ayala was on a patrol about 50 miles west of Kandahar along with two other team members and a platoon of soldiers.
During the patrol, Salam lit a container of flammable liquid and threw it at one of the team members, Paula Loyd, the affidavit said.
Salam tried to get away, but Ayala forced him to the ground, where he was cuffed."
"Human Terrain Teams are made up of civilian experts, such as social scientists, who advise brigade and battalion commanders on the political and cultural environment they face."
&
"In addition to the attack on Loyd, two team members have been killed in the last year.
Michael Bhatia, a social scientist, died in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan in May.
The second, Nicole Suveges, was killed in Iraq in June when a council meeting in Sadr City was bombed."
Stars and Stripes
Defense contractor charged with murder
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, November 22, 2008
ARLINGTON, Va. — An Army Human Terrain Team member has been charged with murder in connection with the killing of an Afghan man who set another team member on fire.
Note: Paula Lloyd is recently reported to have died of the wounds received in this attack.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Don Michael Ayala, a contractor working for the Virginia-based firm Strategic Analysis Inc., allegedly shot Abdul Salam while the man was restrained in U.S. custody, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
On Nov. 4, Ayala was on a patrol about 50 miles west of Kandahar along with two other team members and a platoon of soldiers.
During the patrol, Salam lit a container of flammable liquid and threw it at one of the team members, Paula Loyd, the affidavit said.
Salam tried to get away, but Ayala forced him to the ground, where he was cuffed."
"Human Terrain Teams are made up of civilian experts, such as social scientists, who advise brigade and battalion commanders on the political and cultural environment they face."
&
"In addition to the attack on Loyd, two team members have been killed in the last year.
Michael Bhatia, a social scientist, died in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan in May.
The second, Nicole Suveges, was killed in Iraq in June when a council meeting in Sadr City was bombed."
Saturday, January 3, 2009
S&S - Reactions split on awarding medal for PTSD. Some say Purple Heart would no longer be special.
From my archive of press clippings:
Stars and Stripes
Reactions split on awarding medal for PTSD
Some say Purple Heart would no longer be special
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, June 01, 2008
ARLINGTON, Va. — The question of whether troops with post-traumatic stress disorder should be eligible for the Purple Heart is not an easy one.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Currently, PTSD is one of the injuries that does not merit the Purple Heart, along with trench foot, heatstroke and self-inflicted wounds.
But when a reporter recently asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates about a military psychologist’s suggestion that troops with PTSD be eligible for the award, Gates said: "It’s an interesting idea. I think it’s clearly something that needs to be looked at." "
&
""The department’s long-standing policy is not to create a new award or modification that would dilute the recognition provided by our existing awards and thereby lessen their prestige," Withington said in an e-mail on Friday. "
Stars and Stripes
Reactions split on awarding medal for PTSD
Some say Purple Heart would no longer be special
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, June 01, 2008
ARLINGTON, Va. — The question of whether troops with post-traumatic stress disorder should be eligible for the Purple Heart is not an easy one.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Currently, PTSD is one of the injuries that does not merit the Purple Heart, along with trench foot, heatstroke and self-inflicted wounds.
But when a reporter recently asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates about a military psychologist’s suggestion that troops with PTSD be eligible for the award, Gates said: "It’s an interesting idea. I think it’s clearly something that needs to be looked at." "
&
""The department’s long-standing policy is not to create a new award or modification that would dilute the recognition provided by our existing awards and thereby lessen their prestige," Withington said in an e-mail on Friday. "
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