News of the Force -- Sunday, June 10, 2007 (Page One)

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                                                        Sunday, June 10, 2007

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Suicide bomber kills 13 Iraqi soldiers

    A suicide bomber driving a tanker truck struck an Iraqi army checkpoint outside the capital city yesterday, killing at least 13 soldiers in the deadliest of a series of attacks against Iraqi forces as they try to take over their country's security.

 

Russia wants freeze on U.S. missile plan

    Russia's foreign minister urged the United States yesterday to freeze plans for missile defense installations in eastern Europe during negotiations, and warned that the proposal -- intended to serve as a buffer against Iran -- could backfire.

    Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that a U.S. missile defense shield could worsen the Iranian nuclear stand-off and urged Washington to freeze work on the plans with the Czech Republic and Poland.

 

Palestinian gunmen break through border

    Palestinian gunmen from Gaza broke through Israel's border fortifications yesterday and battled Israeli troops near an army post, the military said, in the first such incursion in a year.

 

Dems push Colombia on terror groups

    Top Democratic lawmakers, including presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Chris Dodd, have urged Colombia to reverse the "infiltration" of murderous paramilitary groups at high government levels or risk losing $700 million a year in U.S. aid.

 

At least six die in Australia storms

    Six people were confirmed dead and another two were missing yesterday as wild storms continued to lash Australia's east coast, smashing boats, flooding roads and cutting power to 200,000 homes.

 

President Bush meets with the Pope

    President Bush, deeply unpopular in Italy and met by boisterous protests, sought to impress Pope Benedict XVI and the Italian public yesterday with his humanitarian record -- and downplayed differences with the Vatican over Iraq.

    Bush said yesterday he felt "awe" in the presence of Pope Benedict, who urged the U.S. leader to seek a "regional and negotiated" solution to Middle East conflicts like Iraq.

 

Israel: Military action against Iran possible

    The Israeli government says military action against Iran is still possible, but Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz says Israel still prefers diplomacy for now and war would be a last resort.

 

U.S. says Iran's response on missing former FBI agent 'not credible'

    The U.S. has asked three friendly countries that have relations with Iran to inquire about retired FBI agent Robert Levinson; Iran says it has no information on him.

 

Dean: Democratic president would end the war

    The high hurdles faced by congressional Democrats in their efforts to end the Iraq war make electing a Democratic president in 2008 the best way to finish the conflict, Democratic party chairman Howard Dean said yesterday.

 

Lebanon's army shells camp, three soldiers killed

    Lebanese troops shelled al-Qaida-inspired militants entrenched in a Palestinian refugee camp yesterday, and three soldiers died in the heavy battles, security sources said.

 

 

 

Iraq protests shelling by Turkish army

    Iraq's Foreign Ministry accused Turkey of "intensively shelling" northern Iraq this week, and said it had handed the Turkish envoy in Baghdad a protest letter yesterday.

 

At least 23 killed by storms in China

    Rain storms and floods have killed at least 23 people across southern China in recent days and made thousands homeless, the Xinhua news agency said yesterday.

 

Blast in Pakistan kills three

    Three people were killed and nine were wounded by a bomb blast outside a hotel in a town in the gas-rich Pakistani province of Baluchistan, police said yesterday.

 

Bush: 'Time us up' for resolving Kosovo issue

    No more time should be wasted in resolving the question of Kosovo's future status, President Bush said during his visit to Italy yesterday.

 

Putin does not rule out running for re-election in 2012

    Vladimir Putin, whose term as Russian president ends next year, does not rule out running again in 2012, a leading Russian daily reported yesterday.

 

 

 

U.S. tells Israel it will assess Iran sanctions at end of the year

    The United States told Israel it plans to tighten economic sanctions on Iran and assess their impact at year-end, a top Israeli official said yesterday in comments that appeared to play down military options for now.

 

DoD identifies Air Force casualty

    Senior Airman William N. Newman, 23, of Kingston Springs, Tenn., died June 7 south of Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team of the 15th Civil Engineer Squadron, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

 

Today's papers: Going long

By Roger McShane

    The Washington Post leads with American military officials envisioning a small, long-term presence in Iraq. The idea guiding the plan is that "the United States should leave Iraq more intelligently than it entered."

    The Los Angeles Times leads with a severe crackdown on domestic dissent in Iran.

    The New York Times leads with the Bush administration's shift in policy towards Microsoft. Unlike its predecessor, this administration has repeatedly defended the company against accusations of anti-competitive behavior.

    The White House recently floated the idea of a long-term military presence in Iraq, but the Post lead differentiates itself from previous reports by looking at the idea from the perspective of the military. Officials see the presence having four major components: about 20,000 troops responsible for securing the Iraqi government and assisting Iraqi forces; 10,000 troops to train the Iraqi military and police; a "small but significant" special-operations unit to fight al-Qaida in Iraq; and more than 10,000 troops to deal with logistics and supply.

 

Boeing, Aeroflot sign 'Dreamliner' deal

    The Boeing Co. and Aeroflot signed a deal yesterday for the Russian carrier to acquire 22 "Dreamliner" jets from the American plane-maker and defense contractor.

 

Current, former Civil Air Patrol members plan 'National Strike Weekend'

    A Web site known as "CAP Insights" is calling for a national strike against corruption in the Civil Air Patrol.
    CAP Insights is asking the general membership of the CAP to suggest the best weekend to conduct this event nationally. The weekend must take place before the National Board Meeting on August 9, the Web site says.
    "It is the intention of CAP Insights to bring into very sharp focus, the fact that the national leadership of the Civil Air Patrol really serves at the pleasure of the general membership, and that the Civil Air Patrol general membership will no longer stand for the level and depth of the near total corruption that exists in the Civil Air Patrol's leadership today, a press release states.
    "This national strike will not involve any emergency services missions that might occur, but will apply to all other Civil Air Patrol-related activities," according to the statement. "This event is meant to drive the point home to CAP, CAP-USAF, the Air Force and Congress that the corruption will not be tolerated. The leadership of the Civil Air Patrol is moot without the general membership. The membership will not allow the corruption to continue."
    CAP Insights is asking for suggestions as to the best weekend to hold this demonstration from the general membership of the organization. Suggested dates should be emailed to: capin...@vdo1.us .
    The Web site is also calling for all available public affairs officers and those with PAO aspirations or capabilities to document and report on the walk-out nationwide.
    Further updates are available at http://360.yahoo.com/rayhayden_33321 .

    The Civil Air Patrol is the Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.  Since it is a volunteer organization whose members are not subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), such a strike by CAP members would not be illegal, and the Air Force could not "order" their return to duty.

 

DoD identifies Army casualty

    Sgt. 1st Class Greg L. Sutton, 38, of Spring Lake, N.C., died June 6 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 212th Military Transition Team, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

 

GPS: How to stay alive in the wild

    (ABC) -- With summer fast approaching, people are hitting the road and heading to their favorite outdoor vacation destinations -- lakes, mountains and forests. But a good time outdoors can turn bad very quickly if people find themselves lost or suffer some sort of injury that requires immediate attention.

    A quick response from rescue services can mean life or death in some situations.

    Last December, three climbers went missing on Oregon's Mount Hood. Two of the climbers survived, but the third climber died. None of the climbers were carrying any sort of tracking system with them, making the rescue attempt go on for days.

    In a separate incident that month James Kim was found dead of hypothermia on an Oregon mountain road after he had gone seeking help for himself and his family when they were stranded during a blizzard. Like the Mount Hood climbers, the Kim family was without a GPS device.

    Could these deaths have been prevented if the parties had a GPS device with them?

    In an effort to decrease tragic wilderness events and improve rescue time when someone gets lost, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is encouraging outdoors enthusiasts to purchase locator devices in case they become lost or have an accident.

    NOAA Sarsat Operations Officer Lt. Jeff Shoup said the locators can help rescue people who are lost in a forest, or find an aircraft that has crashed. Shoup said in this day and age, with cell phone coverage, it's still common for people to lose cell phone reception, especially when out in the wilderness. "Once you start hiking and you get away from the highways, you run into areas that are dead really quick," he said. "Even a mile or two out you can run into issues."

    But with a personal locator beacon, which is light and can easily be thrown into a backpack, anyone can relay a message to a satellite, and with that GPS beacon the person can be located within five minutes and have searchers on the way for them.

    "Summer's a prime time for people to go out and get themselves into trouble," Shoup said. "This year already we've saved or rescued more than 170 people and we're not even halfway through the year. So we're looking at a busy summer, we think."

    Shoup said NOAA has registered 1,000 devices in its database almost every month, which means more and more people are getting them and that means more and more alerts.

    NOAA has two different types of satellites used for GPS locators. The first is a geo-stationary satellite that has constant coverage over Earth. It constantly looks down on Earth but has no locator abilities because it's stationary unless there's a GPS location that a beacon could give it. The other is a polar-orbiting satellite that constantly circles the poles as Earth rotates underneath it and can get constant coverage from it. This satellite takes about 90 minutes to orbit the Earth.

    "We use the polar orbiting satellites to get a location for you and the geo-stationary to get an alert," said Shoup.

    Anyone who wants to purchase a locator device can do so at specialty outdoor stores. A personal locator sells for about $350 to $650, depending on the model, and anyone who purchases a locator has to register it with NOAA. Shoup said this is done to cancel false alerts. He explained that false alerts can happen all the time if the beacon is activated by accident, but said if they receive a call and it's a false alert, they can cancel it in one phone call without sending anyone out, saving money and not jeopardizing lives.

 

Egypt furious after U.S. Congress applauds Israel's victory in 1967 war

    The U.S. House of Representatives' resolution congratulates the Jewish state on the reunification of Jerusalem.

 

Space shuttle Atlantis roars into orbit
    Running three months late, the space shuttle Atlantis, carrying seven astronauts and a $367 million set of solar panels, roared to life and raced into orbit last night, hot on the trail of the International Space Station.

    The shuttle's patched-up external fuel tank, its foam insulation heavily damaged by hail in February, appeared to withstand the rigors of the launch without shedding any noticeable foam debris.
    With commander Rick Sturckow and pilot Lee Archambault at the controls, Atlantis' three hydrogen-fueled main engines roared to life and spun up to full throttle before ignition of the ship's twin solid-fuel boosters at 7:38:04 p.m., last night.
    The fuel-laden 4.5-million-pound spaceship instantly climbed away from Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center, wheeled about to line up on a northesterly trajectory and rocketed away up the East Coast to kick off NASA's 118th shuttle flight.
    The launch was originally scheduled for March 15, but the flight was put on hold after a freak Feb. 26 hail storm that blasted the top of the tank's foam insulation. More than 3,000 dings and gouges had to be repaired with poured or sprayed-on foam insulation, giving the tank a pock-marked, two-tone complexion.
    The first 135 seconds or so of flight are considered the most critical from a debris impact perspective because during that period, the shuttle is still in the lower atmosphere. Any lightweight foam that separates from the tank would decelerate rapidly in the thicker atmosphere, allowing the shuttle to run into it at a high relative velocity. Higher up in thinner air, debris does not slow as rapidly and impact velocities are lower.
    While detailed analysis of launch camera and video footage is not yet complete, television views beamed down from a camera mounted on the side of the tank showed what appeared to be one of the cleanest launches yet from a debris perspective. Spectacular video showed the separation of Atlantis' twin booster rockets two minutes and five seconds after launch and then the deep black of space and the curving horizon of planet Earth as the ship continued its climb to space. Eight-and-a-half minutes after lift-off, Atlantis slipped into its planned preliminary orbit.
    If all goes well, Sturckow will guide the shuttle to a docking with the space station around 3:38 p.m., EDT, this afternoon.
    The primary goal of Atlantis' mission is to attach a huge new set of solar panels to the right side of the station's main power truss, along with a powerful rotary joint to keep the huge arrays face-on to the sun. The combined truss segments tip the scales at nearly 36,000 pounds, making this one of the heaviest space station payloads to date. The two new solar panels, when fully extended, will stretch 240 feet from tip to tip and slowly rotate like giant paddle wheels.
    The astronauts also hope to complete the retraction of another set of identical arrays, used to provide power to the lab complex during the initial stages of assembly, so it can be moved to its permanent position on the left end of the power truss later this year.
    The crew of shuttle Discovery ran into major problems retracting one side of the P-6 array in December and ultimately staged an unplanned space-walk, manually shaking free stuck grommets on frayed guide wires to fold the pleated blind-like array into its storage canister.

    While Atlantis' crew hopes to benefit from lessons learned and retract the remaining blanket automatically, they will be standing by to provide hands-on space-walk assistance if necessary.
    Attaching the new $367.3 million S3/S4 solar array truss segments, completing the retraction of P-6 and ultimately re-extending its two wings on the port side of the main power truss later this year will clear the way for attachment of European and Japanese research modules, both major milestones on the road to completing the station in 2010.
    "I hesitate to say any part of the sequence is more critical than any other," NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said. "It's a chain and you can break any link, and the chain doesn't function. But you have to recognize that the sequence leading up to getting our first international partner module, the (European Space Agency's) Columbus lab, up is a very, very significant thing. It's going to assume an importance maybe even larger than it really has just because of the imagery of that."
    In August, the shuttle Endeavour will carry supplies to the station and attach a spacer segment to the S-4 solar array installed during Atlantis' mission to permit the eventual attachment of a fourth and final set of arrays, known as S-6.
    In October, Discovery will deliver a new multi-hatch node called "Harmony," temporarily mounting it on the port side of the Unity module that connects the U.S. and Russian segments of the station. The astronauts then will move the retracted P-6 solar array to its permanent location -- the left end of the main power truss --in one of the most challenging assembly tasks yet attempted. If all goes well, the arrays will be re-extended, boosting the station's electrical power.
    After Discovery departs, the station crew will use the lab's robot arm to remove the shuttle docking port now on the forward end of the Destiny laboratory module and attach it to "Harmony." The station astronauts then will move "Harmony" and its shuttle docking port to the front end of Destiny and stage a series of space-walks to route power and cooling to the new module. That will set the stage for the long-awaited December launch of the Columbus research module, which will be attached to "Harmony's" starboard port. The Japanese Experiment Module will be bolted to "Harmony's" port hatch early next year.
    "Everything now is pretty serial -- it is quite a production," said Anderson, a station crew member hitching a ride to the outpost aboard Atlantis. "We're going to put those pieces in place one step at a time and then if we do have any problems, we'll deal with those one step at a time such that we can get the Columbus module, the JEM modules on board the station, docked to 'Harmony,' because that is a huge step to the international capability of the station. This is going to be a big four or five flights in a row."
    Under the original schedule, Anderson was to launch in June aboard the Endeavour, replacing astronaut Sunita Williams aboard the station as a member of the Expedition 15 long-duration station crew. But during an unusually violent storm that thundered over the launch pad on Feb. 26, Atlantis' external tank was blasted by hail. Most of the damage was restricted to the upper liquid oxygen section of Atlantis' tank and when all was said and done, it took three months to repair. As a result, Atlantis' flight slipped to June -- and Endeavour's to August.
    Williams was launched to the space station aboard Discovery last December. NASA managers initially said she could safely remain aloft until August, but after additional consideration they decided to bring her home in June, as originally planned, but on mission STS-117 instead of STS-118. Staying up through August was not a health threat for Williams, officials said, but her cumulative exposure to space radiation could preclude a future station flight. And so, the decision was made to bring her back to Earth on schedule aboard Atlantis.
    At the same time, NASA managers decided to move Anderson, Williams' replacement, from Endeavour to Atlantis.
    With yesterday's on-time launch, Atlantis is scheduled to undock from the station June 17, leaving Anderson behind with Expedition 15 commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineer Oleg Kotov. Williams will return to Earth with Atlantis' crew, gliding to a touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center around 2:45 p.m., EDT, on June 19.

 

President Bush urges senators on immigration bill

    President Bush, calling the nation's current immigration situation "unacceptable," has urged senators to try again to pass legislation that he described as imperfect, but the best option available.

 

White House expands its legal team

    The White House has expanded its legal team to handle the fights it is having with the new Democratic Congress.

 

 

 

Gay rights activists criticize President Bush's USPHS nominee

    Gay rights activists and a top Democratic presidential hopeful have criticized President Bush's surgeon general nominee for "anti-gay" writings, but the White House defended him as "well qualified."

 

Al-Qaida's new African alliance being watched

    U.S. counter-terrorism officials are paying renewed attention to an increasingly dangerous incubator for extremism: a swath of northern and sub-Saharan West Africa, from the Atlantic coast of Morocco and Mauritania to the harsh deserts of Chad.

 

Harper: Canada pressed China on rights issues at G-8 meeting

    Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says that he pressed Chinese President Hu Jintao over "shortcomings" in democracy and human rights in China when the two met at the G-8 summit in Germany.

 

Coast Guard Auxiliary training

    Keeping the those on the water safe was on the minds of many yesterday as Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers from all over northern Michigan meet for a full day of training.

    Close to thirty volunteers from Roscommon County to Sault St. Marie spent the day out on the waters of Mullet Lake in Cheboygan, brushing up on their search and rescue skills.  Both old and new volunteers took to the water, putting their life saving techniques to the test.

    This was an annual training event with the sole purpose of keeping boaters safe.

    With miles of blue water to cover, the Coast Guard is stretched thin, making volunteers a vital part of its existence.  Made up of strictly volunteers, members of the Auxillary give up their own time to protect others and it is what many refer to as a family.

    Currently, there are more than 35,000 U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary members across the country, made up of volunteers donating their time to make sure boaters are safe.  The Coast Guard is always in need of more volunteers.

 

Hawaii's governor names Moses to head state's Office of Veterans Services

    Governor Linda Lingle has appointed former State Representative Mark S. Moses to serve as the director of the state's Office of Veterans Services. 
    As director, Moses will oversee the development and coordination of statewide policies and programs related to veterans, their dependents and survivors. 
    "I am pleased that Mark is willing to continue to serve the people of Hawaii," said Gov. Lingle. "As a retired Marine officer, and through his experience as a state legislator and active community leader, Mark understands the needs of our veterans and their families, who represent a key segment of our community." 
    Moses has represented the Makakilo-Kapolei-Royal Kunia and previously the Village Park, 'Ewa and Kunia communities on Oahu during five two-year terms in the state's House of Representatives. During his tenure, he served on the Education, Higher Education, Labor, Public Safety/Military Affairs, Transportation and Finance committees. He was the minority caucus assistant leader, policy leader and whip. 
    Prior to his first election in 1996, Moses worked for Computer Sciences Corporations' Applied Technologies Division in Arlington, Va., as a senior systems engineer and senior project engineer at Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. 
    His distinguished career in the U.S. Marine Corps includes serving with Fleet Marine Force Pacific at Camp Smith as an electronic warfare officer for five years. He was selected to transfer to the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, N.C., to be the second Marine aircraft wing electronic warfare officer and simultaneously the Department of the Navy project officer to construct the $200 million Mid-Atlantic Warfare Range (MAEWR). In addition, he served as chairman of the MAEWR Fleet Project Team, representing all users (USN, USMC, USAF and the Coast Guard) in the eastern U.S., and was the first officer-in-charge of the range. 
    His air crew assignment was as mission commander/electronic warfare officer in EA-6A and EA-6B tactical jet aircraft. 
    Some of his awards are the Navy Achievement Medal for administrative and managerial skills, as well as the Joint Service Commendation Medal for meritorious achievement in electronic warfare and command, control and communications counter-measures. He also received 18 certificates of commendation and letters of appreciation for achievements in various fields including physics, electronic warfare, administration, operations, management and design. 
    Earlier this year, Moses was appointed by Gov. Lingle and confirmed by the state Senate to serve on the Statewide Health Coordinating Council and the Health Planning Council, West Oahu Sub-area. 
    Moses' community involvement has includs numerous organizations, including the American Legion, Disabled Americans Veterans, Fleet Reserve Association, National Association for Uniformed Services, Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, Makakilo Community Association, Friends of 'Ewa, Makakilo-Kapolei Lions Club, Kapolei Rotary, Leeward YMCA Board of Managers, Makakilo-Kapolei Youth Baseball League, Makakilo Elementary School Parent Teacher Student Organization, Kapolei Middle School PTA, Kapolei High School Parent Teachers Association, Kalaeloa Regional Park Master Plan Community Group, 'Ewa and Central Development Plan Community representative, Kapolei Middle and High Schools Task Forces and Steering Committees, and many others. 
    Moses will start his new position on June 15.

 

Jemaah Islamiah leader captured

    Indonesian police say they have caught a terrorist suspect who may have replaced Abu Bakar Bashir as the leader of southeast Asia terror network known as Jemaah Islamiah.

 

Coast Guard rescues seven after boat sinks in Lake Erie

    The U.S. Coast Guard rescued seven people from a breakwall near Cleveland's Edgewater Marina early yesterday after a 37-foot boat they were riding on capsized in Lake Erie.

 

Request for more troops not being met

    The U.S. military is having a hard time filling a request from commanders in Afghanistan for 3,400 troops to train the Afghan police, a senior Defense official has said.

    In March, a spokesman for Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan said the request for the trainers had been made by the commander of Task Force Phoenix, which is in charge of training Afghan police and soldiers. As of May, only 200 U.S. troops had received orders to go to Afghanistan to fill the request.

    The U.S. military just does not have enough troops with the right skill sets to send to Afghanistan, the senior Defense official explained.

To meet the request, the U.S. military would have to move U.S. trainers from Iraq to Afghanistan, the official said. Therefore, the U.S. military is looking to its NATO partners to help train the Afghan police, the official said.

    The official had no timetable for how long it might take to line up enough trainers to fill the request.

    The European Union, which already has about 100 police trainers and mentors in country, plans to add another 60 by the middle of the month, said Michael Freienstein, a spokesman for the German Project for Support of the Police in Afghanistan.

    The Coalition's goal is to train 82,000 Afghan police officers by the end of 2008, said Maj. Sheldon Smith, a spokesman for Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan. "The police are the tip of the spear in Afghanistan's fight against terrorism and they need maximum international support toward becoming a self-sustaining force," Smith said.

    But last Tuesday, U.S. Gen. Dan McNeill, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, told reporters that the Afghan interior ministry was "several years behind the Ministry of Defense" in many people's assessment. McNeill also said the lack of effective police in some areas of the country posed a challenge to the Coalition. "There's a lot of work to be done yet on the police," McNeill said. "The international community seems to be slowly coming in behind that and galvanizing a bit to get it done. But I wouldn't delude you; we've got a ways to go before we get there."

    The issue of international support for the Afghan police is expected to come up during next week's NATO Defense Ministers Meetings in Brussels, Belgium, said Lt. Col. Todd Vician, a U.S. Defense Department spokesman.

 

Suicide truck-bomber kills seven at Iraq police station

    A suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden truck into a police station near Tikrit this morning, killing at least seven police officers and wounding about 52 people, some of them civilians, a Tikrit police official said.

    Some of the wounded are in critical condition so the death toll could rise, Tikrit hospital officials said.

    The blast destroyed part of the police station, which is in Albu Ajil, a town about 3 miles east of Tikrit, the police official said.

    Also today, a parked car bomb exploded outside a fuel station in southwestern Baghdad, killing at least one civilian and wounding five others, an Interior Ministry official said. The station was in Saydiya, a mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhood.

    About fifteen minutes later, another car bomb detonated at a fuel station in southwestern Baghdad, killing at least two civilians and wounding seven others, the official said. That attack targeted cars in line at the station, which is located in the Shiite neighborhood of Bayaa.

    U.S. troops raided an office loosely affiliated with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement, killing at least three people and wounding 19, the Interior Ministry reported today. The raid was launched in al-Fudhailiya, a Shiite district in southeastern Baghdad, between 2 p.m., EDT, yesterday and 7 p.m., EDT, yesterday, an Interior Ministry official said. During the raid, U.S. forces opened fire on a civilian car that was approaching the office, killing one person and wounding four others, the official said.

    Area residents began firing on U.S. soldiers, the official said. Gun battles ensued between the troops and the unknown assailants, the U.S. military said.

    A Humvee was burned during the clashes, the Interior Ministry official said.

 

Georgia county's middle schools prepare for the Civil Air Patrol

    The Colquitt County (Ga.) Board of Education recently approved the establishment of a Civil Air Patrol at both of its middle schools.

    "Their cadet program has a lot to offer the students. Plus, there’s nothing related to JROTC in the middle schools, and this will be a good bridge to transition into the Marine Corps JROTC," said Shane Womack, a member of the Civil Air Patrol and computer applications teacher at Moultrie's Gray Middle School.

    In CAP’s multi-level cadet training, students will learn the principles of aviation and aerospace flight, even rocketry and physics through hands-on experiments. CAP offers national cadet encampments with activities in emergency services, engineering, technology, physical fitness, team-building and flight training.

    Each year, at least 10 percent of the freshman class at the U.S. Air Force Academy is made up of former CAP cadets, the CAP's Web site says. Many CAP cadets go on to careers in the aviation and aerospace industries, and some pursue technical degrees while others go on to one of the nation’s prestigious military academies.

    Involvement in the CAP could give students a experience gained through the program. If a cadet completes two years of the program and chooses to join the U.S. Air Force or the U.S. Coast Guard as an adult, he would go in as an E-2, a rank above recruit level pay, Womack said. If a cadet completes three years, he would enter as an E-3, a “huge jump” in pay, Womack said. "That gives them the power in middle school to affect their future in a monetary way," he said.

    The Colquitt County program will join through the Civil Air Patrol's Tifton Squadron 061 for the fall with the aim of having its own charter as a cadet squadron within a year. During the year, cadets will have the opportunity to participate in orientation flights. "We’re going to get the kids up who want to fly an airplane a chance to fly an airplane,” he said, adding that cadets will also have a chance to go on military flights and travel to aeronautic museums.

    But becoming a CAP cadet doesn’t mean a student must have an interest in the military. "The kids don’t have to join the military, and I’m not going to push them that route. There’s a lot of careers inside of aviation or related to this program that kids may want to go into. They might want to go into computer technology or into law enforcement. They may want to be an aviation mechanic or a pilot," he said. "There’s a lot of opportunities."

    One afternoon a week, CAP cadets will meet for two hours after school. Still under deliberation is whether the CAP programs at both middle schools can be merged, Womack said. Williams Middle School has proximity to the football practice fields, while Womack’s classroom at Gray has 24 computers for online projects.

    Physical fitness is part of the program, and cadets will have classroom material to study and be tested on. CAP also offers a Drug Demand Reduction program and leadership coaching.

    Cadet dues are $30. Since the program is modeled after the Air Force ROTC program, cadets will be expected to wear Air Force-style uniforms to school once a week.

    The Civil Air Patrol is the Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and is a voluntary, non-profit organization that pays for the basic uniforms. The school board will fund the rest.

    Womack intends for the Colquitt County CAP to be flexible to fit within the often-times demanding schedule of a middle school student. "The program actually encourages membership in other clubs and organizations, and that’s the whole point," he said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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