Category: News

The nominee to Army undersecretary told a Senate committee that he believes his experiences as an Iraq War veteran and member of Congress will help him in the job. Patrick Murphy is a former Army captain and staff judge advocate who spent eight years in the service. He deployed to Bosnia in 2002 and Iraq in 2003, and also served as a constitutional law professor at the U.S. Military Academy. The 42-year-old served two terms in the U.S. House representing Pennsylvania’s 8th District.
Appearing Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Murphy said that if confirmed, he’ll engage in a top-to-bottom review looking for “efficiencies within the organization so we can refocus on the warfighters who are keeping our families safe.” Murphy vowed, “I will make sure that the Army is manned, trained and equipped to accomplish what General Milley articulated as his fundamental task, to win in the unforgiving crucible of ground combat.” Murphy said he is worried about the size of the Army. He said. “When I left Congress five years ago, we were 45 brigade combat teams on active duty. We are now down to 31.” Resourcing is also a concern, noting the tradeoff the Army is making in slowing modernization to pay for readiness.

Many veterans are looking at the state of Delaware as a place for retirement. WalletHub’s 2015 review of the Best & Worst States for Military Retirees recently placed Delaware at Number 1 in quality of life for veterans. However, the state placed at No. 35 in the overall rankings. Military retirees can find more information about veterans’ benefits online in the Veterans Resource Guide, published by the Delaware Commission of Veterans Affairs in Dover. Go to veteransaffairs.delaware.gov/

The Delaware National Guard’s 287th Army Band will be performing two Holiday concerts this year; free to the public. They will be at the Grand Opera House on Dec 9, and at Dover Downs on Dec 10; both at 7pm.

Hope to see you there!

Members and Friends,

On Wednesday, November 11, 2015, the Delaware Chapter will be conducting our Veterans’ Day Luncheon. It will be at the Lone Star Steakhouse on Route 13 in New Castle at 12:30. We will have our choice of four entrees with a side and a beverage. After lunch, Wes Schroeder of Summit Aviation will talk about the work they do for the Army, and CPT John Maricevic will brief on the Army recruiting mission and challenges.

Kindly RSVP to Adrienne Gage at adriennegage@verizon.net.

Hope to see you there.

Gary W. Dawson,
President, Delaware Chapter
Association of the U.S. Army
(302) 230-6074

Remember, November 11, 2015, 12:30 at the Lone Star Steakhouse in New Castle
Cost: $15.00

The Association of the U.S. Army conducted its 61st Annual Meeting and Exposition this week at the Washington D.C. Convention Center. In addition to AUSA members and guests, it was attended by military and exhibitors from around the world. The theme was, ‘Winning in a Complex World’
New Army Chief of Staff General Mark A. Milley spoke of the need to view the Army as ‘one force’, Active, National Guard and Reserve, urged the Nation to limit cuts to personnel, pay and benefits, and stressed the importance of readiness in view of the many threats across the globe.
AUSA President Gordon Sullivan warned of the crippling effects of the Budget Control Act; aka, Sequestration, and urged attendees to ask Congress for relief. Sequestration disproportionately imposes budget cuts throughout the Department of Defense and is crippling the rebuilding of an Army after 14 years of war.
The agenda was filled with forums on training opportunities, modernization programs, technical innovations, and family readiness forums. Senior leaders spoke on a variety of professional topics.

NASHVILLE — State officials hope to have Tennessee National Guard recruiters back in their storefront offices in Chattanooga and across the state next week as final touches on security upgrades are made in response to the July 16 deadly attack.
“We’re ready to go back to business,” state Adjutant General Max Haston said, noting National Guard recruiters have been working out of armories since July.
The temporary relocation of the seven offices was prompted by 24-year-old Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez’s Chattanooga shooting rampage. Abdulazeez first shot at a U.S. military recruiting office, located next door to a state National Guard office in a Lee Highway strip mall.
The gunman then drove to the U.S. Naval Reserve Center on Amnicola Highway, where he killed four Marines and fatally injured a Navy petty officer before he was shot to death by Chattanooga police.
The shootings prompted a national discussion about U.S. and National Guard security on American soil in an age of worldwide extremism.
After the attack in Chattanooga, Gov. Bill Haslam directed Haston to review Tennessee’s recruiting office and armory security and examine whether Guard members should be allowed to carry handguns. Major General Haston temporarily relocated the recruiters to more secure armories while security fixes were made. Military officials favor the storefronts because they provide easier access to would-be recruits.
Since the recruiting center leases are handled by U.S. military officials, he needed to get the Pentagon’s approval. Haston announced in August he received authority for properly trained Guard members to carry federally issued sidearms at the recruiting centers or on federal property, including vehicles.
“They absolutely told us we can do what we want to on that,” Haston said this week. “So they’ll be carrying federal weapons.” “The big issue,” Haston said, has been “getting all of our recruiters requalified in their assigned weapons.”
State officials said National Guard recruiters will likely be sent back to the Chattanooga area on Tuesday or Wednesday. Recruiters in other areas of Tennessee will return later this week. No update yet on recruiters from other services.

The Army in action is filled with noise, which is one of the reasons why hearing loss can be a significant problem for soldiers and veterans, and also why so much emphasis is given to hearing protection. Well-fitted combat ear plugs have proven effective in noisy environments, and research continues into other initiatives. Soldiers are strongly encouraged to have ear plugs with them so they are always available when needed.

What to watch: The Department of Defense’s Human Performance Resource Center has a lot of advice on minimizing the risk of hearing problems. One of them is to limit exposure to “annoying noise” during normal daily activities…which presumably does not mean avoiding your spouse or supervisor.

In his final Pentagon press conference as Army chief of staff, General Raymond T. Odierno said he has “great concern personally” about the Army’s fate, fearing the nation is “sacrificing the long-term viability of our military.”

The 60-year-old General, whose Army career started in 1976, retires at a time of uncertainty about funding available for the military and increasingly complicated national security threats.

“Our security environment remains uncertain and dynamic,” Odierno said, citing Russian and Chinese aggression, unrest in the Middle East caused by the Islamic State, threats of global terrorism, and an “unstable and provocative North Korea” as a short list of problems that could require military response.

Addressing or preparing for those threats requires a stable and certain budget, something that has proven politically difficult as the fiscal year approaches on Oct. 1 without a bipartisan budget agreement, raising the possibility of a government shutdown and cuts in the Army budget from a possible second round of sequestration.

“The whole four years I have been chief of staff of the Army, we have been in this deadlock,” Odierno said. “We are reaching a point where we have to be careful,” raising the specter the Army could lose capabilities and the ability to quickly respond to threats or a crisis.

General Mark A. Milley’s nomination to become the 39th Army chief of staff was approved Wednesday by the Senate, and President Obama nominated an Iraq War veteran to become under secretary of the Army. Milley will succeed GEN Raymond T. Odierno, who will retire after 39 years of service.

GEN Milley told Congress that he believes his 35 years of Army experience qualified him to lead the Army. “I had the honor to lead soldiers in combat as a captain and major along with combat leadership as a brigade commander, division deputy commander and corps commander,” he said to the Senate Armed Services Committee. “With service in Special Forces and conventional units, as well as operational experience in a variety of contingencies around the globe. I have a broad perspective of the Army, its processes and capabilities, and my experience includes operations in the Sinai, Somalia, Panama, Haiti, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, along with tours in Korea and Colombia.

Milley’s most recent deployment had him serving as the III Corps commanding general and heading U.S. and multinational forces in Iraq, which he said gave him “the opportunity to apply the full range of Army, joint, combined and coalition capabilities in complex environments on my third tour in Afghanistan while commanding all the ground forces in combat and security force assistance operations. ”The Army, GEN Milley said, “is and must remain the world’s premier ground combat force, capable of conducting sustained campaigns on land to achieve U.S. national security objectives.”

Also, Patrick J. Murphy, the 41-year-old nominee to be Under Secretary of the Army, was the first Iraq War veteran to be elected to Congress, where he championed improvements in the GI Bill and veterans’ employment programs. Defeated for re-election in 2010, he has been working at a Philadelphia law firm and as a fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that works on progressive policies. Murphy was commissioned through an ROTC program and served two overseas deployments; deploying to Bosnia in 2002, and Iraq in 2003 as part of the 82nd Airborne Division.

If confirmed, Murphy would fill a position currently held by an acting undersecretary, Eric Fanning. It is not clear when the Senate will take up his nomination.

Two hundred forty years ago this Sunday, our founding fathers established
the Continental Army. Today, the Army is the strategic land power of the
joint force; called upon to prevent, shape, and win against our adversaries.

This year, we celebrate 240 years of selfless service to the nation.
Selfless service is at the core of what it means to be a Soldier – putting
the welfare of others ahead of oneself. The willingness of our Soldiers – to
place themselves in harm’s way and to protect our nation’s freedoms – is
what makes us the premier all-volunteer force. The Army has served proudly,
faithfully, and selflessly for 240 years, and we remain steadfast in our
commitment.

Happy Birthday, United States Army!

We also celebrate Flag Day, which commemorates the adoption of the flag of
the United States by the Second Continental Congress.

FRANCIS D. VAVALA
Major General
The Adjutant General of Delaware