US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Troops in Afghanistan would get new uniforms said:

By Rick Maze - Staff writer Army times
Posted : Thursday Jun 18, 2009 12:49:51 EDT

Congress is about to order new combat uniforms for troops in Afghanistan after hearing complaints that camouflage that was fine in Iraq doesn’t work so well in a mountainous and often muddy environment.

“Soldiers deployed to Afghanistan have serious concerns about the current combat uniform which they indicated provides ineffective camouflage given the environment in Afghanistan,” lawmakers say in the report accompanying HR 2346, the 2009 supplemental appropriations act.

The bill passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday, 226-202. It heads to the Senate for approval.
Tell us: Do you think the Army needs a special uniform for Afghanistan?

The bill orders the Defense Department to “take immediate action to provide combat uniforms to personnel deployed to Afghanistan with a camouflage pattern that is suited to the environment of Afghanistan.”

There is no extra money in the bill to cover the cost of issuing new uniforms but lawmakers indicated they might be willing to help, if needed. They want a full report by fall on plans and budget adjustments needed to provide new uniforms to both deployed troops and those who are deploying, the report says.

The $106 billion bill includes $79.9 billion for the Defense Department, mostly to cover cost of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Costs of uniforms would come from the $32.5 billion set aside in the bill for operations and maintenance.

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AC-130s say goodbye to Hurlburt said:

By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer Airforce times
Posted : Saturday Jun 20, 2009 9:50:31 EDT

The Air Force’s AC-130H Spectre gunships are on the move, leaving the Florida panhandle after being stationed there for three decades.

The gunships, flown by the 16th Special Operations Squadron, have started the move from Hurlburt Field to Cannon Air Force Base, N.M. The first two left Hurlburt in May with the rest of the nondeployed fleet scheduled to follow this summer and fall.

The 16th SOS officially started calling Cannon home Friday, after leaving the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt for the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon, said Lt. Col. Sean M. Farrell, the 16th SOS commander.

AC-130H Spectre gunships are modified C-130s with side-firing weapons that include a 105mm Howitzer and a 40mm Bofors cannon. Commanders say they have proved invaluable in Iraq and Afghanistan for their lethal and accurate firepower.

The move out west is part of the larger migration by Air Force Special Operations Command to New Mexico. The 27th Special Operations Wing stood up at Cannon in October 2007. Since then, units such as the 3rd Special Operations Squadron and the 73rd Special Operations Squadron have moved to Cannon, while others, such as the 318th Special Operations Squadron, have been stood up.

The buildup at Cannon is a major turnaround for a base recommended for closure by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission in 2005.

Air Force Special Operations Command stepped forward to save Cannon, saying it needed additional ramp space that was too expensive to build at Hurlburt, according to a Government Accountability Office report. Cannon beat out Hurlburt and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., partly because of its flying weather, growth potential and training opportunities.

The arrival of the first two gunships at Cannon has shown that the aircraft will have to adapt to the heat and altitude of New Mexico, said Senior Master Sgt. Dallas Lee, the 16th SOS operations superintendent. The squadron is still meeting its operations goals, he said.

The squadron has already seen the potential boost to training Cannon’s location will provide. Once developed, Cannon’s range could become one of the best in Air Force Special Operations Command, Lee said. The New Mexico base is also a shorter flight to the training range at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

Farrell said the 16th’s move west will provide more opportunities to train with the many special operations units stationed on the West Coast. After June 19, 16th SOS airmen remaining at Hurlburt will work as a detachment before they eventually trickle out to Cannon throughout the year.

The move has not been easy on the 16th SOS, which has been continuously deployed since 2001, with the exception of a four-month period before the start of the war in Iraq in 2003.

So far, 55 airmen from the 16th SOS have made the move to New Mexico. Some airmen have had to pack their bags three months after returning from a deployment, Farrell said.

“We really don’t have much time at Cannon to give them to get their feet under them, but they have risen to the challenge and been very selfless,” he said.

The housing market collapse, which hit Florida especially hard, hasn’t helped. Many 16th SOS airmen have had to short-sell their homes near Hurlburt Field or rent them out after moving to New Mexico, Lee said.

“Everybody has some form of a horror story,” said Lee, who knows of one 16th SOS airman whose Florida home was forced into foreclosure.

Squadron leaders have tried to ease the pain by scheduling town hall meetings for airmen to express concerns and help them learn about moving services. Deployed squadron members watched the meetings over video teleconferences, Farrell said.

“Housing was our No. 1 concern because of the large group coming out,” Lee said.

Base officials have worked to bolster family housing at Cannon and worked with local officials to spur development. Cannon airmen also received an 11 percent increase to their basic allowance for housing.

Many who got to Cannon were especially surprised by the higher cost of housing in rural New Mexico, said Linda Hensley, a broker at Caldwell Banker in Clovis, N.M. A typical three-bedroom, single-family house costs about $180,000 to $200,000 near Cannon, she said.

“The airmen coming from Florida are mostly looking for new homes around $125,000. They’re mostly all gone. More are finding better deals with the older homes in [nearby] Clovis and Portales,” she said.

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Guard awaits word on promised C-27s said:

By Sam LaGrone - Staff writer Airforce times
Posted : Saturday Jun 6, 2009 9:17:14 EDT

The Air Force is rethinking a promise to give 38 C-27 light-cargo aircraft to Air National Guard units in six states, drawing fire from members of Congress who question the service’s commitment to the program.

The fate of C-27s has been in flux for the past six months, after the Defense Department cut the Army out of the joint program and halved the number of aircraft.

Members of the House Armed Services Committee criticized the Air Force’s delay in deciding what to do with the C-27s, noting the service has not been an enthusiastic supporter of the planes.

“The [Defense Department] decided that the Air Force ought to be a partner in the procurement with the Army. The Air Force very reluctantly became a partner; they were kind of, as some might say, dragged kicking and screaming into this relationship,” said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., in a House Armed Services subcommittee on air and land forces hearing May 21.

Gen. Craig McKinley, National Guard bureau chief, has said the Guard would use the 38 aircraft to replace planes lost to 2005 BRAC downsizing.

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, however, told members of Congress in May that plans won’t be set until the Air Force, Guard and Army meet. That meeting is expected to occur this month.

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Sailor dies after freefall training jump said:

By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer navy times
Posted : Saturday Jun 20, 2009 9:19:41 EDT

SAN DIEGO — A San Diego-based sailor and experienced parachutist died early Thursday from head trauma sustained during a nighttime military freefall training jump in Arizona, Navy officials said Friday.

Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 1st Class (EW/AW/FPJ) Andrew J. Lightner was conducting the night jump as the final part of a jumpmaster spotting exercise at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., Lt. Frank Magallon, a Naval Special Warfare Group 1 spokesman, said in a news release.

Lightner, 25, was a parachute rigger with Naval Special Warfare Logistics Support Unit 1 at Coronado Naval Amphibious Base, Calif., and was attending the Military Free Fall Jumpmaster Course offered by the Fort Bragg, N.C.-based John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Magallon said in the release.

Officials are investigating the incident and military freefall course trainers “have isolated the equipment and begun documenting the details of the incident,” he added.

JFK Special Warfare Center and School officials, in a news release Friday afternoon, said Lightner injured his head while landing and was taken by air ambulance to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix, where he was pronounced dead.

The Military Freefall School “has suspended all air operations until further notice,” center officials said in the release.

Lightner enlisted on June 28, 2001, and amassed more than 70 parachute jumps. He reported to the Coronado unit in June 2007 and “was a shining example of what an American sailor should be,” LOGSU-1’s executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Rick Chambers, said in the statement. “He strove for excellence in everything he did, and he’s going to be sorely missed by all his teammates and anyone whose life he touched.”

Outside the Navy, Lightner was active helping raise $60,000 for a local non-profit group, the Community Youth Athletics Center in National City, Calif., and he spent time mentoring children, Navy officials said.

“Andrew was a leader, mentor and team player whose contributions were a major part of the command’s success. Even more than that, Andrew was a selfless member of our community, and he strove to make a difference in the lives of the children he met,” said LOGSU-1’s commander, Cmdr. Kevin Jones.

Lightner’s military awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal and Pistol Marksmanship Medal.

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Afghan insurgents show foreign influence said:

By Sean D. Naylor - Staff writer marine corps Times.
Posted : Saturday Jun 20, 2009 9:56:38 EDT

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LAGMAN, QALAT, Afghanistan — U.S. troops reported a fierce firefight in late May against Farsi-speaking insurgents who wore body armor and “Kevlar helmets” and used smoke grenades. The U.S. soldiers killed an estimated 35 insurgents and suffered no casualties, but say the battle demonstrated the increasing sophistication of some guerrilla groups here.

The battle, in northern Zabul province’s Deh Chopan district, marked the first time insurgents have been reported speaking Farsi and using such protective gear in this part of Afghanistan, indicating the presence of a large, well-trained foreign force in the area, according to U.S. troops.

Zabul is just a few hundred miles east of northern Helmand province, where 10,000 Marines with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade are based. Their area of operations stretches west and south, into portions of Nimruz and Farah provinces.

The firefight in Deh Chopan erupted when a company-size force that combined Army infantry platoons from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, and Special Forces A-teams moved north from Forward Operating Base Baylough, a tiny position that represents the only coalition or Afghan government presence in Deh Chopan.

“We had reporting of enemy activity to the north of Baylough in a fairly large size, so we massed forces into Baylough to basically conduct reconnaissance of the area and confirm or deny the intelligence that we had,” said Maj. Greg Cannata, who, as the senior 1-4 Infantry officer in Afghanistan, monitored the battle from Task Force Zabul headquarters at this base about 60 kilometers south of Baylough.

Cannata said the U.S. troops reported coming under fire within six kilometers north of Baylough from insurgents who wore body armor and “Kevlar helmets” and used smoke grenades to conceal their movement as they broke.

Cannata expressed disappointment that although U.S. forces killed about three dozen insurgents without taking any casualties, neither the 1-4 troops nor the SF soldiers had moved forward to conduct any “exploitation” of the bodies to determine the type and origin of their equipment.

Bravo Company’s 2nd Platoon leader, 1st Lt. Jason Basilides, the senior U.S. officer permanently stationed at Baylough, said insurgents typically make it difficult to conduct any sort of assessment of their casualties. “After they break contact, they usually take their dead and their wounded away,” he said.

The insurgents’ modern gear and the relative sophistication of their tactics and marksmanship indicated that these were not local guerrillas. The use of body armor, helmets and smoke grenades is “fairly rare” anywhere in Afghanistan, and “most likely indicates a skilled group [of] ... foreign fighters with funding and previous experience [and] training,” an Army source in Afghanistan said.

Interpreters monitoring the guerrillas’ communications said they heard two non-Afghan languages. One was Farsi, Cannata said, adding that the interpreters had specifically identified the language as such, rather than Dari, a language spoken in northern and western Afghanistan that is related to Farsi but not usually spoken by the Pashtuns, from whom the Taliban draw recruits.

Farsi, or Persian, is the principal language spoken in Iran. But Cannata was quick to caution against assuming that the presence of Farsi-speaking insurgents indicated that Iranian operatives were fighting U.S. troops. “That doesn’t necessarily mean ‘Iranian,’; I wouldn’t want to lead anybody down the wrong route on that,” Cannata said. Versions of Farsi are also spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The Army source in Afghanistan cautioned against taking the interpreters’ word that the language was Farsi. What they heard was “likely not a known language to the ’terps, but [was] difficult to identify due to the variety of dialects, especially in the remote valleys of Afghanistan,” the Army source said.

There have been no reports of Iranian operatives operating in Zabul, said Master Sgt. Simon T. Smith, the TF Zabul director of intelligence. But a U.S. military official in Kabul said the Iranians were involved in the insurgency in Afghanistan, albeit on a small scale.

“We see Iran basically playing a dual-track role — providing significant economic and social assistance on the one hand, but on the other hand facilitating a low level of support to the insurgency,” the U.S. military official said. “They want a stable Afghanistan and do not want the Taliban to return to power, but they also aren’t excited about increased Western influence in the region.”

The second non-Afghan language spoken by the insurgents was one the interpreters did not recognize, but which Cannata said was “potentially Russian.” Cannata’s guess was informed by the fact that several Uzbek and Chechen fighters associated with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan had been reported in the area. The IMU has been an ally of al-Qaida and the Taliban since the 1990s.

U.S. troops here say three types of insurgents operate in Zabul: hard-core Taliban fighters who answer to the “Quetta Shura” leadership of Mullah Omar, based in the Pakistani city of Quetta; local Taliban who are mostly part-timers; and foreign fighters. The Taliban — both the hard-core and local varieties — have not been renowned for their tactical prowess.

But as the level of violence has risen, so have reports of insurgents displaying unusually good marksmanship and other tactical skills. “They’ve got marksmanship training somewhere that is making it much more accurate than normal,” Cannata said, adding that the insurgents were displaying improved shooting skills with AK-series assault rifles and PKM machine guns.

“We have reports of training camps in Deh Chopan,” he said. “They are doing training there. Where the training camps are, we’re working on, and what specifically they’re training, we’re working on.”

Capt. Andrew Webber, a mentor to the Afghan National Army’s 1st Kandak (Battalion), 2nd Brigade, 205th Corps, based at FOB Sweeney in southern Zabul’s Shinkay district, said this year he, too, had observed insurgents using “very accurate PKM fire” at a range of 600 to 800 meters.

“On numerous occasions, we’ve been hit with accurate machine-gun fire,” Webber said. “We’ve had more injuries from machine-gun fire than from [improvised explosive devices].”

The increased skill level points to the presence of foreign fighters either as combatants themselves or as trainers of Afghan insurgents, U.S. troops said. Although Uzbeks and Chechens have been a presence on the Afghan battlefield since before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., the most persistent foreign presence here has been Pakistani

It was the Pakistani military’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate that created and sponsored the Taliban in the 1990s, and there have been persistent reports that despite American pressure in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, the ISI maintains links with the Taliban and associated jihadist movements operating in Afghanistan.

Smith, the TF Zabul director of intelligence, said TF Zabul had received reports of ISI activity in the task force’s area of operations as recently as last year.

“There have been reports in the past of ISI activity in the province, in 2007 and 2008, bringing stuff across the border ... weapons and explosives,” he said. However, there had been no such reports this year, Smith said.

But the Army source in Afghanistan was reluctant to state outright that the ISI was still aiding the Taliban. “Lots of groups ferry weapons across the border,” the Army source said.

Cannata said coalition forces in Zabul encounter and kill Pakistani fighters “routinely.”

In early April, when 12 U.S. and 35 Afghan National Army troops fought through an ambush staged by roughly 150 insurgents in Shinkay’s Dab Pass, they recovered two insurgents’ bodies with Pakistani identification cards on them, according to Webber, who said he inspected the cards and the bodies. Although the Taliban is mostly a Pashtun organization, the names and home towns listed on the cards indicated that the men were Punjabi, Webber said, adding that the Pakistanis were probably training the Taliban, resulting in the improved marksmanship that he’s observed.

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Navy work uniforms stand out like pink on a priest. the ABU has a better chance though of blending then the NWU the NWU with it's blue black and Grey can only really work in... I a cave...a deep dark cave with no light... if that.

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Story Number: NNS060302-11
Release Date: 3/2/2006 12:35:00 PM
Top News Story - Editors should consider using these stories first in local publications.

By Chief Journalist Michael Foutch, Task Force Uniform Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Outfitting the Sailor of the future took another step forward last week when Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen approved plans for a single working uniform for all ranks and a year-round service uniform for E-6 and below Sailors.

Based on recommendations made during a comprehensive briefing by Task Force Uniform Feb. 24, Mullen agreed to production of both a BDU-style working uniform for all Sailors E-1 to O-10 and a more practical, year-round service uniform to withstand day-to-day classroom and office-like environments where the service uniform is typically worn.

“These are good uniforms, designed to support the modern Sailor,” said Mullen. “Durability, safety, ease of wear and cleaning were all factors that weighed heavily on my mind, as did, quite frankly, the survey data and the opinions of wear testers. This wasn’t a popularity contest by any stretch, but we would have been foolish not to consider the opinions of the men and women who will wear these uniforms.”

The BDU-style working uniform, designed to replace seven different styles of current working uniforms, is made of a near maintenance-free permanent press 50/50 nylon and cotton blend. Worn with a blue cotton t-shirt, it will include an eight-point cover, a black web belt with closed buckle, and black smooth leather boots, with black suede no-shine boots for optional wear while assigned to non-shipboard commands.

“When I walk down the piers, I see a Sailors standing watch as a pier sentry in January and it's 30 degrees and freezing rain,” Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/AW) Terry Scott said. “You have to ask yourself, does the uniform that we currently issue protect us, and the answer is no.”

To meet the all-weather requirement, the new working uniform will include several cold weather options, such as a unisex pullover sweater, a fleece jacket, and a parka. It will also be made in three variants, all in a multi-color digital print pattern: predominately blue, with some gray, for the majority of Sailors and shipboard use; and a woodland digital pattern and a desert digital pattern for Sailors serving in units requiring those types of uniforms.

“The intent of TFU always has been to give our Sailors a uniform in which they can work comfortably everyday and is more appropriate for the joint environment in which we operate,” Scott said. “Even better, we’ve created a uniform that’s also easier to maintain, is longer lasting, helps reduce the size of the sea bag, while at the same time recognizing the tradition and heritage of serving in the Navy.”

The service uniform for E-6 and below is comprised of a short-sleeve khaki shirt for males and an over-blouse for females, made from a wash and wear 75/25 polyester and wool blend, with permanent military creases, black trousers for males with belt less slacks for females and optional belt less skirt, and a black unisex garrison cap. Silver anodized-metal rank insignia will be worn on shirt/blouse collars and cap. The service uniform will also include a black relaxed-fit Eisenhower-style jacket with a knit stand-up collar and epaulets, on which petty officers will wear large, silver anodized-metal rank insignia. Those entitled to wear gold chevrons will continue to wear gold chevrons on the large metal rank insignia on the jacket.

“In our research, we found the group most dissatisfied with their present uniforms were E-6 and below,” Scott said.

The manner of wear for both of these new uniforms remains under development by TFU and will not be effective until guidelines on prescribed wear are incorporated in the Navy Uniform Regulations.

“There are a lot of concerns about the manner of wear for the working and service uniforms that we need to address, so we have a smooth transition when the time comes,” TFU Director CNO-Directed Command Master Chief Robert Carroll said.

The working uniform and service uniform are not expected to be available for purchase and wear until late fall of 2007, after which they will be introduced to Recruit Training Command and eventually distributed to the rest of the fleet. Details on when the uniforms will be available for purchase and wear at specific geographic locations will be released at a future date.

Until the new uniforms are available for wear, all existing uniform regulations will apply. During the expected two-year transition period, Sailors will be required to maintain a complete inventory of sea bag items with each reflecting a professional appearance.

“We want our Sailors to keep a professional appearance,” Carroll said. “We don’t want people wearing worn-out uniforms because they’re waiting for the new ones to hit the shelves.”

Once the working and service uniforms are adopted, Sailors will receive a uniform maintenance allowance appropriate to support purchase and wear.

The announcement of the new uniforms, Carroll said, is the culmination of a three-year project that began with the charter of Task Force Uniform to deliver a proposal to reflect the requirements of a 21st century Navy. An analysis of a fleet-wide survey conducted during the summer of 2003 led to the creation of concepts for working and service uniforms for a wear test and another fleet-wide survey last summer.

“I just can’t say enough about how meticulous and thorough TFU Director Master Chief Rob Carroll and his team approached their work,” stressed Mullen. “The process they established and maintained was rock solid -- measured and analytical. They looked at hundreds of options, studied countless pattern and color designs, and fretted over every minor detail, from button style to stitching. I am enormously proud of their effort, and every Sailor can be, too.”

The work of TFU will not stop. Next on the agenda is to evaluate additional uniform options, such as reviving the traditional Service Dress Khaki uniform for chiefs and officers, conducting research on the feasibility, cost and distribution of a service-wide physical training uniform, consider adoption of a ceremonial cutlass for chiefs, and investigate adopting a more practical service-wide, all-weather coat that would provide a better military appearance.

“The bottom line for me in making these decisions,” said the CNO, “is culture. Uniforms reflect our culture -- who we are -- what we stand for. I've said all along that no matter which way we go, I want Sailors to look like Sailors. I really believe these uniforms pass that test.”

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Ambivalent said:

I reckon I'm old fashioned, but I think sailors should look like sailors and wear dungarees or something darn close. They aren't soldier wannabes. On a similar note, how about their new working uniform? Khaki shirt, black trousers, socks, shoes and a black piss cutter. Fugly! At first glance you think they are Marines. The only good thing about this uniform is it is now easy to return to Summer Whites, the famous old Salt and Pepper uniform during the next go around of uniform changes. A white shirt and combo hat and you're there. You know the reason why this happens? There is a uniform board somewhere and the members need to have something to write on their resumes and fitness report brag sheets, so they mess with the uniform regs all the time. I thought Secretary Lehman nailed the lid on the coffin of that crap, ( he disestablished the old uniform board ) but apparently the old corpse is alive and well again. What's next?

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