Military Must Understand, Master Change, Mullen Says

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 30, 2007 - The U.S. military needs to understand change and the pace of change if it will succeed in the future, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told students at the Army War College earlier this week. "Some of the change is happening so quickly we have no idea how (it) will end up," Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen told the students, at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., on Nov. 28.

The admiral used two examples to illustrate his point. The first example was how drastically the mission of reserve-component forces has changed. The mission of the reserve components did not significantly change from World War I to the end of the Cold War: They were forces in reserve. In the war on terror, the National Guard and reserves have become integral forces that have deployed alongside the active components. Personnel in the Guard and reserves have to worry about not only training and equipping the force, but also "balancing their reserve duty with civilian life" in a way they did not have to do before, Mullen said.

Another example is advances in the military medical field. The changes and breakthroughs in battlefield medicine have been incredible, he said. "It is difficult to predict what these will mean in the future," the admiral said.

Change is not limited to processes; it extends to relationships among nations, the admiral said. Mullen thanked representatives of more than 40 nations attending the U.S. Army College. He said their contributions in the United States and back in their native lands will help bring peace and stability.

Change in the strategic landscape presents incredible challenges, Mullen said. The whole war against radical extremist jihadists and the potential of proliferation presents a "huge potential for great catastrophe," he said.

While the problem of the Middle East consumes most of America's attention, the United States also must be concerned with other potential hotspots, he said. "Governments that are challenged by famine and disease are fertile grounds for growing terrorists," Mullen said.

But, he said, there are some constants in this time of change. "The United States in the future is going to stay globally engaged," he said. "I've tried to keep my head up and focused on those challenges. We will be a global force focused on the complete mission set from full-up war to counterinsurgency operations."

Another constant is that the United States cannot provide security around the world alone. "We will need partnerships and coalitions all over the world," he said.

The global environment has potential for pandemics. Natural disasters, such as this month's cyclone in Bangladesh, will challenge the world. Other aspects need to be watched, as well, he said. "We certainly need to be mindful of the growth in China," Mullen said.

The country can be a huge economic engine for progress, Mullen said, and he told the students that U.S. officials have raised questions about "transparency" with Chinese military leaders, urging them to be more open about their military programs.

He also mentioned Russia as a country that needs to be watched. "Russia is emerging again," he said. "What does that mean?"

The military will be part of overcoming the challenges of the strategic environment, but the "clear lesson in Iraq is the military can't do it all," he said. "One of the changes I think has to occur, is the organization of our government.

"We in the military have raised question marks about generating capacity out of other parts of the government, which hasn't occurred to the degree that we in the military would like," he continued. "Part of the answer to that is they are not organized for that; they are not trained for that; they don't have the depth; they don't have the career paths. We haven't stepped up to that in the last 15 to 20 years in ways that would position them to make the contributions that we need."

The admiral said military officials "need to argue for a strategic assessment for what our other agencies need to look like, what the interagency needs to look like, and how they can provide the needed capability and capacity that we have to have for the future."

Above all, one thing that will not change is the need for leadership, the admiral said. "You must lead in all that you do," he said. "The reason I am still in the Navy is because I was given leadership challenges when I was young, and it continues to be the case right through this time."

People are at the heart of the military, Mullen said. "They are pressed right now; the O-3s are having to make tough career decisions," he said. "I also see it in the faces of the E-5s and 6s. They are our most precious resource, and we've got to reach them and we've got to reach their families, too, and it's got to be an active reach. The decisions to stay or go are made by families."

Mullen said that taking care of those wounded in battle is a top priority with him. "I'm of a mind that we need to take care of them and their families for the rest of their lives," he said. "The Marines do this well. They talk about people being a Marine for life."

In many cases, the admiral said, wounded servicemembers' lives are dramatically changed for the rest of their lives. "The least we can do as a country is to make sure they are OK," he said. "This is not just physical -- traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, we cannot just ignore that."

He told the students that the military has to be much more aggressive in treating such ailments. Leaders standing up and seeking help themselves are keys to changing the prevailing mindset. "If our juniors see us do that, they will see it's OK," he said. "If we do not do that, they will think their careers will be in jeopardy. This is a tough nut do crack, but crack it we must, lead it we must, or we will be dealing with it decades later."

Things Mullen saw as a young officer in Vietnam shape his priorities as an admiral, he said. "As someone who grew up with Vietnam, I am dealing with the aftermath of what we did and didn't do there. I am committed to make sure that doesn't happen to those who are injured in this war," he said.

Mullen also thanked the War College students for serving their country in "the most vital, the most unpredictable and could be the most dangerous time" that he has seen in his 40 years of service.

Pilots Missing From The Vietnam War Are Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified.

They are Maj. Robert F. Woods, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Capt. Johnnie C. Cornelius, of Maricopa County, Ariz., both U.S. Air Force. Cornelius was buried with full military honors on Nov. 10 in Moore, Texas, and Woods' burial is being set by his family.

On June 26, 1968, Woods and Cornelius were flying a visual reconnaissance mission over Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, when their O-2A Skymaster aircraft crashed in a remote mountainous area. The crew of another aircraft in the flight saw no parachutes and reported hearing no emergency beeper signals. Immediate search efforts were unsuccessful.

Between 1988 and 1993, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated the incident and surveyed the crash site. The team interviewed several Vietnamese citizens, two of whom turned over human remains and the pilots' identification tags.

Between 1994 and 1997, joint teams re-surveyed the site two times to find a landing location to support a helicopter and recovery team. During their survey, one team found additional wreckage and life-support material.

Between 2000 and 2004, joint teams excavated the site four times. They recovered additional human remains, personal effects and life support materials.

In 2006, a joint team interviewed two former North Vietnamese soldiers who recalled the crash. The soldiers said that Woods and Cornelius were buried near the crash site. In 2007, another joint team excavated the burial site identified by the Vietnamese soldiers. The team recovered additional human remains.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

Why We Serve: Chef Happiest at Sea Working with Sailors

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 30, 2007 - Ask Master Chief Petty Officer Bruce "Skip" Binda why he joined the Navy nearly three decades ago and he'll tell you it was a matter of pride. At 19, Binda had spent all of his tuition money on beer and eight-track music cassettes and was too proud to ask his father for the $200 he needed to return to college.

Along came a Navy commercial proffering $1,500 to join, and Binda took the bait "hook, line and sinker," he said. Since joining in 1980, he has served on one submarine and 10 ships and served a combat tour in Iraq. He has spent nearly 20 years at sea, with only three shore-duty tours.

The career sailor is now one of 10 servicemembers selected to travel the country telling the military's story as part of the Defense Department's "Why We Serve" public outreach program.

"I've been able to do everything I wanted to do. I've been stationed everywhere I've wanted to be stationed. I've just been very lucky," Binda said.

Truthfully, Binda's future sea journeys were secured long before he ran into his tuition troubles. As a boy growing up on the Atlantic coast, Binda said, he would walk along the seawall in Marshfield, Mass., and tell his sister that one day he would be a sailor.

His father served in the Navy for two years, and Binda's uncle was a sailor who would return home with stories of his travels.

"I used to listen to his stories during the holidays when we all got together. Sometimes he'd wear his khaki hat. He was just a crusty old boatswain's mate. That was just amazing," Binda said.

Along with his love for the sea, Binda also inherited a passion for cooking. Binda said his great-grandfather was a popular chef in Boston. During the Depression, on Sundays after church, he would take food left over from hotels and feed the Italian-American community in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, Binda said.

"He kind of had his own soup kitchen out back, only you wouldn't know it was a soup kitchen, because he was a pretty renowned chef in Boston," Binda said.

And, when tourism slowed in the winter, his grandfather would cook on the cruise lines sailing to Florida. "I guess the ocean has always been in my blood, and cooking just came naturally," Binda said.

After graduating from high school in Marshfield, a town about 35 miles southeast of Boston, Binda attended culinary arts school at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. He joined the Navy as a mess management specialist, now called a culinary specialist. Binda has cooked his way to the top of the Navy enlisted ranks as a master chief petty officer and now manages the Navy's largest housing program at Naval Base San Diego's Combined Bachelor Housing.

Binda spent nearly 20 years on duty at sea because he chose those duty assignments. He said he loves sitting on deck and watching the sunrises and sunsets. But mostly he enjoys it because it gives allows him to work with junior sailors. "I love being at sea. That's really what I enjoy. I think you have a bigger impact taking sailors to different countries and working with them every single day," he said.

Binda said he likes to mentor and coach his sailors. "I'm a father figure to several of my junior sailors. They call me at all sorts of times. I've bailed kids out of jail with my own money; I wouldn't recommend that, but I haven't been disappointed yet. I just really love working with young people," Binda said.

In his duties, the chef sailor has served some of the nation's top officers, including Army Gen. Tommy Franks, then Central Command commander. But for Binda, the measure of his success always will be the satisfaction of the sailors.

"I consider what's important is feeding sailors every single day. I get much more satisfaction seeing sailors eating and enjoying themselves on the mess decks than I do serving the captain a formal dinner with ... distinguished visitors," Binda said.

His dedication to the lower enlisted sailors is what eventually landed Binda in the sands of Iraq "like a fish out of water," he said. As requirements came up to fill slots in Iraq as advisors or on training teams, Binda said, he realized one day that he was sending his sailors to a place that he personally knew nothing about. "I kind of felt bad sending him to some place I didn't know anything about," he said.

So when the opportunity opened in February 2006, Binda volunteered. It turned out to be one of the biggest learning experiences of his life, Binda said. There he was a military advisor to an Iraqi army brigade helping them set up their logistics systems.
"The thing I learned most the year in Iraq is how critical a public education is. I can tell you after being a year in Iraq and working with people who are largely uneducated ... that having that public education is imperative to being successful," Binda said.

For his efforts there, Binda was awarded the Bronze Star, presented by then Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael G. Mullen, now serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Now, as the clock winds down toward Binda's 30-year mark and mandatory retirement, the self-described workaholic said he hopes to do one more sea tour. He still gets up at 5 a.m. and runs every morning, "passing kids half my age," and gives no real thought to what he will do when he retires, Binda said. For now, he said, he is happy serving sailors in the Navy until his last day.

"I'm going to be the guy in the cartoon where I've got a parachute on my back, and Uncle Sam's got his foot on my chest, and I'm hanging out of the plane with my fingers and my toes gripping onto the edge of the plane, and I'm saying, 'I'm not ready to go yet.' Because I'm still having fun," Binda said.

Black Knights, Midshipmen Drum Up Support Before Army-Navy Game

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 30, 2007 - Army and Navy drummers, buglers and cheerleaders stormed the halls of the Pentagon over the past two days, rallying or roiling soldiers and sailors in their wake before tomorrow's Army-Navy football game. The Navy Midshipmen, who enter the game with a 7-4 record, will try for their fifth consecutive win against the 3-8 Army Black Knights in the 108th year the teams face off on the gridiron. Despite being 14-point underdogs, the indomitable Black Knights, on hand at the Pentagon today, are poised to soldier on at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore tomorrow.

Lifting a yellow and black megaphone to his mouth, Army Secretary Pete Geren faced the crowd of Black Knight supporters and yelled, "GO ARMY!"

Geren led the throng to the office Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr., who thanked the group for visiting him. He encouraged the vociferous crowd to make extra noise while passing by the office the Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, his Navy counterpart.

Upon meeting Casey, Army Cadet Cpl. Jacob Frechette, a trumpeter in the band, made a deferential request of the chief of staff. Frechette asked Casey to order him to do push-ups while his fellow soldier took a picture.

"Nobody outranks him, so if somebody's going to make you do push-ups, it might as well be the highest-ranking guy in the Army," the cadet said.

But Frechette, who predicted an Army victory in the gridiron showdown, said the only reason the Army might do push-ups tomorrow would be to express celebration. "When we score a touchdown, we'll be out there pushing," he said.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates gave a somewhat ambiguous message to the crowd after he accepted an Army scarf from a soldier who donned a "Goatbusters" costume, a flippant reference to the Navy ram mascot.

"May the best team win," Gates said in tongue-in-cheek fashion. "How's that for diplomacy?"

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard A. Cody had an unequivocal statement for the cheerleaders and band after they performed a choreographed medley that included the Army fight song. "I thought that was one of our best military operations to date!" he shouted.

"It's going to be a very tight game until the fourth quarter," Cody predicted to American Forces Press Service. "Then Army's going to win by seven."

Army Cadet Sgt. Wiley Grant, a trombonist in the band, said he's looking forward to seeing the first Army victory against Navy in his three years at U.S. Military Academy, at West Point, N.Y. Pep rallies like today's are the best way to get the hearts and minds of the fans -- known as the 12th man on a football team comprising 11 players -- prepared for the historic matchup, he added.

"Especially after five losses that we've had in the past, it's really important to get people fired up and to get people into the spirit and get them to believe," he said. "The players on the field are going to do their best, but without the crowd support, the support from the fans, and support from the Army at-large, we're not going to be able to win."

Grant said the Army-Navy game is one of the oldest football traditions in history, one that inculcates a sense of teamwork across military branches. "To borrow General (Douglas) MacArthur's quote, 'Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other fields will bear the fruits of victory,'" he said. "There's no more evident example of that than the Army-Navy game."

Following in another rich tradition -- the tradition of one-upmanship -- Cadet Brian Kossler led several fellow cadets up escalators toward the Pentagon's fifth floor, where a banner hung that read, "GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY" Kossler ascended a ladder and worked at unfastening the bolt that held the banner in place.

Minutes later, the 40-foot plastic homage to the Midshipmen lay in a heap on the fifth floor. A sailor who witnessed the act chided, "You can take our banner, but you're still going to lose tomorrow!"

But those who say Army doesn't have a prayer in tomorrow's game are wrong, at least according to the Army's chief of chaplains. "I pray that God shows favor on the Army," said Maj. Gen. Douglas Carver. "And my biggest prayer is that everybody be safe as they play."

Yesterday, the Midshipmen's esprit de corps was boosted by some of the Defense Department's top officials.

"I know it's a great week, the spirit's great, and it's a spectacularly important game," said Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We want it to be played hard and played well, and in the end, let the best team win.

"And we have no doubt that's Navy!" Mullen, a 1968 graduate of the Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Md., shouted as the throng of Navy supporters gathered outside his office erupted in cheers.

Mullen told the crowd that in the spirit of "jointness" among military branches, he would sit on Army's side for the game's first half. "And then I'll be on the Navy side to see the victory," he said. "Just remember two words: Beat Army!"

"Anchors Aweigh," the Navy fight song, bounced around the stairwell near the Pentagon's Mall Entrance as the parade ascended to the second floor toward offices housing members of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

"On Saturday, I will be neutral, but with some bias," said Gordon England, former Navy secretary and current deputy secretary of defense. "I hope it is a great game, and that's what we all want -- a great game between our two great service academies."

Donald C. Winter, secretary of the Navy, excited the crowd by listing significant Navy victories this season against the Air Force and Notre Dame. Amid the ruckus he added, "The season starts again on Saturday!"

"And one other thing," he said. "All the good words I said last week in theater about being part of the joint fight and the joint team -- on Saturday, those words are held in abeyance!"

Roughead, chief of naval operations and a 1973 Naval Academy graduate, thanked the Midshipmen musicians and cheerleaders for visiting his office. "You guys are getting spoiled; you never lose!" he said. "We'll see you there on Saturday; it's going to be a great day, and we're going to win!"

After interrupting staff meetings and conference calls in the Army Department corridor, the procession passed before a Pentagon display honoring Navy fleet admirals and sailors who went on to serve as president. Tubas blared before resolute photos of Chester Nimitz and William Halsey, and bass drums banged off near stately portraits of Gerald Ford and John F. Kennedy.

Navy Lt. Elizabeth Griffiths, the secretary of the Navy's protocol officer and a 2001 Naval Academy graduate, helped organize the rally, which is highly anticipated by Pentagon staffers, she said.

"I think this really gets people excited for the game, motivated for the game, and they just bring that much more spirit to the stadium, which really can help the players," she said. "I think that the best part about this game is how fierce the rivalry is, but when it comes down to it, everybody's playing on the same team.

"People enjoy the game so much because the teams are bonded for reasons that go way beyond just football," she said.

The CBS telecast of the game begins at noon EST tomorrow.

By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service

Nov. 30, 2007 - U.S. sailors and Marines on a humanitarian mission to Bangladesh are being met with extreme gratitude as they work to prevent and treat waterborne illnesses and meet basic needs in the aftermath of a Nov. 15 cyclone, a U.S. commander there said today. "With all of our deliveries, we've been greeted warmly and with gratitude by the Bangladesh people," Rear Adm. Carol M. Pottenger, commander of Navy Task Force 76, said in a news briefing broadcast from the USS Kearsarge.

Upon receiving medical treatment, one local man told American troops, "In the eyes of my village, you are the face of the world. You show that the world cares," she said.

The Task Force arrived off the Bangladeshi coast aboard the USS Kearsarge, along with 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, on Nov. 23. In support of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the troops have flown more than 21 sorties and delivered more than 9,000 gallons of water and 18,000 pounds of medical supplies. The United States is one of 25 countries providing more than $4 billion in aid, defense officials said.

Waterborne illnesses are a growing concern in Bangladesh, where most wells were destroyed by the storm, Pottenger said. U.S. forces have treated and evaluated more than 600 patients, mostly for trauma and water contamination, she said.

A major role for U.S. troops is to produce fresh water aboard the Kearsarge, which can filter 200,000 gallons per day, and distribute it in 5-gallon containers to various locations, Col. Douglas Stilwell, commander of the Marine unit said. Marines also have taken time to bond with the local people, including playing soccer with Bangladeshi children, he said.

Providing disaster assistance "is what the Navy task force and Marine expeditionary force are really good at," Pottenger said. "We watch every storm very carefully, and we recognized this as it headed to Bangladesh.

"This is very rewarding for every sailor and Marine involved in this effort," she said.

Asked by a reporter why the Bangladeshi government waited until a week after the storm to make its request for aid, Cmdr. Mohammad Fazale Rabbi, a Bangladeshi liaison officer said, "The initial assessment was not that easy for us."

Still, Rabbi said, the Bangladeshi government took precautions, including evacuating hundreds of thousands of residents, that caused the small, impoverished nation to fare better than in previous catastrophic storms. More than 3,000 people were killed in the latest storm, compared to 140,000 in a 1991 disaster, he said.

Pottenger, who was deployed from Okinawa, Japan, stressed that U.S. forces will leave Bangladesh as soon as possible, but added that she does not know when that will be. The Bangladeshi government's request was for only initial humanitarian aid, defense officials said.

"It's really not our mission to be there a long time, but we will be there as long as the Bangladesh government wants us," Pottenger said. "I really can't put a timeline on it."

DoD Establishes Center of Excellence to Address Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health

The Defense Center of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health (PH) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) began initial operations today. The DCoE will be fully functional by October 2009. It is currently operating in temporary office spaces in Rosslyn, Va., as part of its initial phase.

The Department of Defense (DoD), with support from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is leading a national collaborative network to advance and disseminate PH/TBI knowledge, enhance clinical and management approaches, and facilitate other vital services to best serve the urgent and enduring needs of warrior families with PH and/or TBI.

"The center will integrate quality programs and advanced medical technology to give us unprecedented expertise in dealing with psychological health and traumatic brain injuries," said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. S. Ward Casscells. "In developing the national collaborative network, the DCoE will coordinate existing medical, academic, research, and advocacy assets within the services, with those of the VA and Health and Human Services, other federal, state and local agencies, as well as academic institutions."

The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) is now integrated into the center. DVBIC has DoD's primary subject matter expertise on TBI and many of its functions are transitioning to the DCoE. The DoD Center for Deployment Psychology, currently at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, is also integrated into the training and education functions of the DCoE.