Living the Dream.





Showing posts with label Arlington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arlington. Show all posts

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. "

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.

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."

Monday, May 11, 2009

S&S - Carrier homeport decision delayed until next year

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes


Carrier homeport decision delayed until next year


By Kevin Baron, Stars and Stripes

Pacific edition, Sunday, April 12, 2009


ARLINGTON, Va. – The Pentagon confirmed Friday that it was delaying until 2010 any further decisions on a controversial plan to move the homeport of one aircraft carrier from Norfolk, Va., to Naval Station Mayport in Florida.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The Defense Department announced that it intends to dredge the Mayport channel in fiscal 2010 to “provide an alternative port for a carrier on the East Coast if a manmade or natural disaster or other emergency closes the Navy’s base in Norfolk, Va., or the surrounding sea approaches.”

But the U.S. will not move forward with other costly improvements required to base a carrier in Mayport, including expanding the wharf and upgrading infrastructure for nuclear maintenance facilities, the statement said.
"

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

S&S - Decision on carrier base opposed by Virginia lawmakers

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

Decision on carrier base opposed by Virginia lawmakers


By Kevin Baron, Stars and Stripes

Mideast edition, Saturday, January 17, 2009


ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy this week announced it will homeport an aircraft carrier at Naval Station Mayport in Florida, sparking criticism from Virginia lawmakers who vowed to fight the decision.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The move would put a nuclear-powered aircraft at an East Coast port outside of Norfolk for the first time to diversify the fleet’s location in case calamity struck the Norfolk area, the Navy said."

&

"Naval Station Mayport hosts 22 guided missile destroyers, cruisers, frigates and other vessels."








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."

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. "