Volume No.14 14©SS ©SS 2015 2015 Volume 7,7,No.
RIDAY ,, M ARCH 20, FFRIDAY MARCH 20,2015 2015
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The “No Man Left The “No Man Left Behind” statue at Behind” statue at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Camp Lejeune, N.C.
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March 20, 2015
STARS AND STRIPES • STARS
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Friday, March 20, 2015
MILITARY
Sculptor captures son’s spirit to salute the Marine Corps BY M ATTHEW M. BURKE Stars and Stripes
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — With every stroke of sculptor John Phelps’ steady hand, the clay began to take shape. First, there was a skeleton that soon began to look more and more like one Marine in uniform; then there were three. Before long, their faces twisted and contorted to depict the horrors of combat. The nonprofit veterans’ service organization Hope for the Warriors commissioned Phelps to immortalize the now-iconic “Hell House” photo taken by Lucian Read during the battle for Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. The photo depicted two Marine lance corporals carrying a bloodied 1st Sgt. Bradley Kasal out of a house following a firefight inside. Kasal had been shot and peppered with shrapnel when he protected a fellow Marine from a grenade blast. Nearly unconscious from loss of blood and unable to support his own weight, he still carried a pistol in his right hand and his Ka-Bar knife in his left. The photo came to symbolize the brutality of the fighting and the spirit of the Marines who sacrificed themselves for their brothers. For Phelps, preserving the image in
‘ My son joined the
Marine Corps as a direct result of 9/11. He joined out of his patriotism and love of the United States of America, but he died for those Marines, and I understand that.
’
John Phelps sculptor
bronze was more than just another job. His son, Marine Pfc. Chance Phelps, was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with the “V” device for valor after he was killed in Iraq on April 9, 2004. His journey home was depicted in the 2009 HBO film “Taking Chance,” starring Kevin Bacon. The first cast of the statue, dubbed “No Man Left Behind,” was unveiled outside the Wounded Warrior BattalionEast Hope and Care Center at Camp Lejeune in 2013. A second was erected in front of the Wounded Warrior Complex of the Wounded Warrior BattalionWest at Camp Pendleton in November. With no national monument yet commemorating America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the statues have become a pilgrimage site of sorts for Marines getting promoted or retiring. “Marines like to retire in front of the monument because, for many, it represents their own experience when they were injured on the field of battle,” said Craig Stephens, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and command adviser to Wounded Warrior Battalion-East at Lejeune. “Someone carried them off the battlefield.” Hope for the Warriors President Robin Kelleher agreed. “We do see this as the monument to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan,” she said. “It is the gift of a Gold Star father. It tells the Marines’ story.”
Hell house Chris Marquez, one of the Marines who braved enemy fire to get Kasal and others out of the house, is depicted in the statue to Kasal’s right. Now a college student who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2014, he attended the Pendleton unveiling. A troublemaker in high school, he found his calling when he enlisted in the Marines in 2003, saying it was “the best choice I’ve ever made.” Marquez arrived in Iraq with Company K of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division, in March 2004. His unit was ordered in November to retake Fallujah — clearing it house by fortified house. The bloodiest battle in Iraq has
SHALTIEL DOMINGUEZ / Courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps
John Phelps poses with his creation after an unveiling ceremony Nov. 12 at the Wounded Warrior Battalion, Camp Pendleton. The sculpture is based on the Operation Phantom Fury photograph “Hell House” of then 1st Sgt. Bradley Kasal being carried out of a house by two lance corporals after a firefight where Kasal sustained life-threatening injuries. then run in and out of the kill zone, exdrawn comparisons with some of the tracting casualties one by one as other heaviest urban combat of Vietnam. Marines provided cover fire. Marquez recalls ambushes and It sounds crazy, but Marquez says he intense firefights in homes and alleyhad complete faith in his leadership. ways with an enemy that melted into “If he had told me to go through the the local populace. When the Marines gates of hell, I would have gone with lost friends, they dragged the bodies complete confidence,” he said. out of harm’s way. They couldn’t stop One Marine looked like he might and mourn; they had to keep fighting. lose his leg, so he was carried out on “It was a huge operation,” Marquez a poncho, Marquez recalled, adding, recalled. “It was nonstop. We didn’t “Everybody was shot up pretty bad.” sleep but for an hour here or an hour Kasal refused to leave until everythere. We didn’t want to give the one else was extractenemy time to move. ed. He stayed in the It was pretty stressTo view photos of how the statue was prone position, still ful. My squad got lit crafted from start to finish and a holding security. up. Everyone was gallery of memorials on bases “He had lost in their own little around the United States, go to so much blood,” firefights.” stripes.com/go/statue Marquez said. “He On Nov. 13, Marlooked like he was quez was on standby, going to pass out.” part of a quick-reaction force. He was After Marquez and Schaffer carried getting ready to take a nap when the Kasal outside, the house was blown up call for help came. with all of the enemies still inside. Elements of a Marine platoon had been ambushed by about a dozen enemies from an elevated position as they Labor of love entered a house. Some were able to The impetus for the statues can be make it out. Others were pinned down inside; Kasal’s Navy Cross citation says traced to 2007, Kelleher said. Hope for the Warriors’ mission is to offer he joined a squad to rescue them. programs and support to servicememKasal eliminated an enemy insurbers and their families. It had started a gent in the first room. As he moved campaign to raise money for facilities toward a wounded Marine in the next at Lejeune and Pendleton that would room, he and another Marine were raked in the legs by rifle fire. Then the mirror the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio that promotes research grenades rained down; Kasal shielded and provides cutting-edge rehabilitathe other wounded Marine with his tion for wounded Iraq and Afghanistan own body. Marquez and Lance Cpl. Dane Schaf- veterans and educational opportunities for Defense Department and Departfer arrived on the scene. Their platoon ment of Veterans Affairs employees. commander had a plan: The two men would shed their gear, including rifles, SEE PAGE 3
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• STARS
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MILITARY FROM PAGE 2
The Marine Corps said it would request funding for the facilities, and Hope for the Warriors donated its plans for the buildings. Leftover funds were offered back to the donors, who agreed instead to use the money for a statue at Lejeune. In 2009, the project was offered to Phelps, a Vietnam veteran as well as an accomplished painter and sculptor. In summer 2002, Phelps won a contest to sculpt the Fremont County Veterans World War II Memorial in Wyoming, a 9-foot sculpture that featured a soldier in solemn reflection before a cross Chance Phelps bearing a fallen comrade. Just before he had shipped out, Chance Phelps posed for the sculpture. “He was one of the funniest and wittiest human beings I have ever known,” Phelps said of his son. “He was wise beyond his years. He was exactly what the Marine Corps looks for in a young man, that’s for sure.” Phelps wanted to capture his son’s spirit when he took on the “No Man Left Behind” statue.
“My son joined the Marine Corps as a direct result of 9/11,” he said. “He joined out of his patriotism and love of the United States of America, but he died for those Marines, and I understand that. It was another way to honor the Marine Corps.” Phelps was meticulous in his research for “No Man Left Behind.” He talked with countless Marines on their installations. What was that strap? What is in Kasal’s left hand? How would the backs of the soldiers have looked? The statue stands about 10 feet tall and 13 feet wide. Phelps beamed with pride when it was unveiled at Camp Lejeune. Shortly thereafter, Camp Pendleton wanted a statue as well. The Gold Star dad dreams of a 30-foot version on the National Mall in Washington, a testament to his son and all of the fallen Marines and everyone else who served. Soon, the public will be able to purchase a smaller version to raise funds for Hope for the Warriors. “I hope that this sculpture becomes iconic to commemorate the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts,” Phelps said. “It was a labor of love.” For more information, visit the Chance Phelps Foundation at chancephelps.org or Hope for the Warriors at hopeforthewarriors.org. burke.matt@stripes.com
Marine Pfc. Chance Phelps’ likeness can be seen in the Fremont County Veterans Memorial in Wyoming.
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Littoral combat ship makes presence felt in exercise BY ERIK SLAVIN Stars and Stripes
BUSAN, South Korea — The USS Fort Worth’s participation in a bilateral exercise with South Korea last week begins what the Navy envisions will be regular visits by faster, shallow-draft ships to Northeast Asia. Until last week’s Foal Eagle exercise started, the Fort Worth had operated primarily in Southeast Asia, where up to four littoral combat ships may be scheduled for long-term rotations by 2018. The Fort Worth’s participation in the exercise has stirred South Korean media interest, especially in light of North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper’s singling the ship out as purported evidence that Foal Eagle is a prelude to an attack. U.S. officials said they notified North Korea about the exercises and its planned dates in advance, and repeatedly have stated that the annual exercise is defense-oriented. “I don’t see these exercises as provocations,” Rear. Adm. Lisa Franchetti, commander of Naval Forces Korea, said while aboard the Fort Worth on Saturday. North Korea’s claim that the LCS is attack-focused comes despite the Fort Worth’s light armament, at least compared with the U.S. and South Korean destroyers participating in Foal Eagle. The ship’s strengths are its maximum speed of more than 45 mph and its ability to move into shallow, coastal waters that would ground larger ships, Navy officials said. The service plans to build up to 16 Freedom-class ships, including the Fort Worth, and another 16 trimaran-hulled Independence-class ships, though a few among each class may receive modifications. An additional 20 “light frigates” are planned based on the LCS frame, but with more weapons and bulk to address concerns in Congress and the Pentagon about not having enough ships in the fleet built for high-intensity conflict.
ERIK SLAVIN /Stars and Stripes
The USS Fort Worth sits in port on Saturday in Busan, South Korea, after finishing its part of Foal Eagle, a bilateral annual exercise conducted with South Korea. By 2028, LCS variants would constitute about onesixth of the fleet under the Navy’s present shipbuilding plan. Franchetti and commanding officer Cmdr. Matt Kawas each said the Fort Worth performed well in South Korea’s coastal waters, though they declined to discuss exercise specifics, per Navy policy. “We’re coming to learn what this ship is fully capable of,” Kawas said. The ship rotates three crews of about 50 sailors during its 16-month deployment; sailors specific to the ship’s mission add about 50 more personnel. With roughly two dozen aviation department sailors embarked, the Fort Worth flies surveillance missions with an MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter while also maintaining a manned MH-60R Seahawk helicopter. The drone has become the go-to craft for surveillanceonly missions, said Lt. Cmdr. Ted Hill, the aviation officer in charge. “It’s less maintenance, it’s less taxing on the crews and I have the ability to fly it longer in the day,” Hill said. “But there are always going to be reasons and opportunities to fly the manned helicopter.”
The Fort Worth houses an armed, rigid-hulled boat in a bay as part of its surface warfare package. The ship’s armament is also designed to deter “swarm attacks” by coastal craft. However, the Fort Worth’s potential capabilities — along with those of three other LCS vessels now in service —are constrained by problems with two other planned roles. The ship is designed to swap the surface warfare, rigid-hulled boat out with antisubmarine or mine warfare modules, each of which includes specialized equipment. The original anti-submarine package failed to improve on older ships and is being redesigned, according to a 2014 General Accountability Office report. The mine-countermeasure module continues to be crippled by “low reliability” and maintenance difficulties, according to a January report from the Pentagon’s director of Operational Test and Evaluation office. The mine package is currently being tested by the USS Independence, the second ship of the LCS class, Navy officials said Saturday. slavin.erik@stripes.com Twitter:@eslavin_stripes
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STARS AND STRIPES • STARS
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Friday, March 20, 2015
MILITARY
Trained to comfort ‘Co-therapist’ dogs help servicemembers with brain injuries BY C.J. LIN Stars and Stripes
BROOKEVILLE, Md. — Meet Ron. He has helped hundreds of servicemembers suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. He works at Walter Reed National Medical Center in a Navy camo harness. His title? Animal co-therapist. Ron is a 3-year-old yellow Labrador retriever — a facility dog who works at Walter Reed and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence in Bethesda, Md. The Department of Defense institute is dedicated to studying and healing servicemembers with traumatic brain injury and psychological issues. He is among the first service dogs produced by the nonprofit Warrior Canine Connection. Wounded warriors train the dogs to help other wounded warriors. The training helps the veterans readjust socially, easing the transition to postcombat life. Once the dogs graduate, they’re placed with a permanent companion, or “career,” as the trainers call it. The dogs who make it through the program have been placed as service dogs for mo-
bility-impaired veterans, therapy dogs at medical facilities and military family support dogs, where their job is to help the family adjust to their servicemember’s PTSD. The ones that don’t graduate still make great pets, trainers say. Capt. Bob Koffman, a Navy psychiatrist who retired last month after 32 years, works with Ron. Koffman is the chief medical consultant at the nonprofit, which also pairs with military and civilian experts to determine the science behind dogs helping
“He is specifically trained to comfort individuals, particularly as they’re having a difficult time. And I don’t know too many patients that, when they’re telling their stories, that they’re not having a difficult time.”
veterans with PTSD and TBI. Ron, who was in WCC’s first graduating class, “immediately breaks the ice,” Koffman said. “I can’t do in 10 hours what Ron does in 10 minutes. There’s a tremendous psychological resistance. It’s the reason why people don’t want to talk. It’s a burden that needs to be overcome.” Ron is trained to pull tissues for servicemembers — without slobbering too much — and will rest his head in their laps or lie at their feet when he senses they need soothing. He’s trained to do a “war cry” and “war face” — tricks that aren’t part of the therapy but are popular among veterans, Koffman said. “Not uncommonly, my patients will lay with Ron on the ground, petting him or using him as a headrest,” he said.
Studies underway How does it work? That’s what researchers want to know. In 2013, military medicine researchers at the Uniformed University of the Health Services in Bethesda were awarded a $750,000 DOD grant to find out. WCC is collaborating with them on that study. It’s too early for results, Koffman said, but the area of study has garnered even more support. Congress OK’d $7 million last year for research after hearing that servicemembers with PTSD at the center and at Walter Reed were improving as they worked with the dogs. In calling for the funding, the House Armed Services Committee’s report cited decreased depressive symptoms, improved emotional regulation, improved sleep patterns, a greater sense of purpose, better reintegration into their communities, pain reduction and improved parenting skills. SEE PAGE 6
Ron, Capt. Bob Koffman’s service dog, visits the Warrior Canine Connection headquarters in Brookville, Md.
‘I
MEREDITH TIBBETTS/Stars and Stripes
can’t do in 10 hours what Ron does in 10 minutes. There’s a tremendous psychological resistance. It’s the reason why people don’t want to talk. It’s a burden that needs to be overcome.
’
Capt. Bob Koffman Navy psychiatrist
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STARS AND STRIPES • STARS
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Friday, March 20, 2015
MILITARY
Airman honored for saving 3 from fire in F-16 crash
FROM PAGE 4
“We have a few very interesting studies underway to see how and why [the dogs] are such wonderful co-therapists and assistants and partners,” Koffman said. “It possibly has to do with their incredibly keen sense of smell and whatever neurotransmitters or hormones we release. We’re looking at the biomarkers that are released and the chemical reactions that they’re cuing from.”
New lease on life
BY A DAM L. M ATHIS
Retired Marine Cpl. Nick Gervasoni doesn’t know the science, but he knows that Penny, who is part of WCC’s most recent graduating class from October, has given him a new lease on life. Gervasoni served seven years as a military police officer in the Marine Corps, including deployments to Afghanistan, and injured his back in 2012 before being medically retired in November. He had worked with WCC’s dogs during therapy sessions at Fort Belvoir and had been applying for his own service dog with different organizations before WCC matched him with Penny. Besides being able to brace Gervasoni to help him into a standing position, Penny will open the door or fetch items, and watches for signs of his PTSD: twiddling his thumbs, tapping his knee. “She’ll pick up on it and jump up in my lap and nibble on my ear, push my hands away,” Gervasoni said. “Sometimes she does it persistently until I stop. You get frustrated or annoyed sometimes because you’re having a bad moment, then you realize this dog is doing its job; it’s pushing you to stop doing what you’re doing. It’s definitely a comforting factor.” Before Penny, Gervasoni avoided going out in public. But having a dog means having to take the dog out, and Gervasoni has come to enjoy spending time with her on hikes or at the dog park, where people approach him to talk about the dog. It forces him to interact with people, but on topics where the attention isn’t focused on him, and so he’s slowly readjusting to normal life. “It was kind of a 180 for
RAF LAKENHEATH, England — U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Greggory Swarz was awarded the Airman’s Medal on March 13 for dragging three French airmen out of the fire that ensued after a Greek F-16 crashed during a multinational exercise in Spain. The two Greek pilots and nine French airmen were killed when the fighter jet crashed on takeoff into five parked planes at Los Llanos Air Base in southeastern Spain on Jan. 26. Swarz, a 492nd Aircraft Maintenance Unit electrical environmental Swarz systems specialist, was working on a plane when he heard what he thought was an engine misfiring. Then he saw people running and screaming. When he stepped around the aircraft to have a look, he saw a wall of flames almost two stories high, he said during an interview at the 48th Fighter Wing Maintenance Professional of the Year Awards Banquet, where Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, presented him the Airman’s Medal. The medal is awarded for a heroic act, usually involving the voluntary risk of life. “I saw just a wall of flames just from one side to the other of the ramp, which was just a huge fire wall,” Swarz said. “So my first instinct was, I started turning around to run, and then kind of thought it over pretty quick and I was thinking there were people there.” As the flames spread, Swarz said ejection seats and am-
Stars and Stripes
MEREDITH TIBBETTS/Stars and Stripes
Quail, a future service dog, sniffs around a Warrior Canine Connection wheelchair. me. She’s been my second chance,” Gervasoni said. “She’s definitely given me something I didn’t have before to help keep pushing forward. I still have my issues and what not, but she definitely helps.” Penny’s litter mates are also with servicemembers. Abby is a service dog for an Air Force veteran. Lucky is a therapy dog at Walter Reed. Levi, who is graduating this year, is slated to become a military family support dog. Ruby and Grace were not suited to be service or therapy dogs, but they were placed as pets with military families. Ron was not part of the first litter, but was trained with them at the center.
Moving forward Since WCC’s founding in October 2011, 57 dogs have participated in the program and 11 have been placed. Two classes have graduated, and its largest class will graduate in September. The group estimates that the dogs have helped 3,000 servicemembers, including at its program at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Menlo Park, Calif. Most of the dogs in WCC’s first graduating class have
found success. Gabe II was placed as a mobility service dog for a soldier. Ron is at Walter Reed and the center. Navi is a facility dog at the Neurorestorative Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center in Germantown, Md. Freedom ended up with a military family. And Birdie, a black lab, found that he didn’t have to give up his foster parent. During training, Birdie stayed with Marine veteran Jon Gordon, who suffers from TBI and PTSD after driving over three roadside bombs in six weeks during a 2010 deployment to Afghanistan. The pair had such a strong bond that Birdie was placed with him permanently. Together, they teach classes about service dogs to veterans at a VA facility in Michigan, where they live. At home, Birdie helps Gordon sleep and socialize and be a better father to his 8-year-old daughter. He makes life more tolerable. “Before him, I was in a stalemate, a pity party, thinking, ‘Why did this happen? Why did I get blown up?’ ’’ Gordon said. “Now I see that I need to move forward.” lin.cj@stripes.com Twitter: @cjlinSS
Homestyle
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munition were going off and large fire extinguishers for the airplanes were exploding and “went flying around.” Swarz found five servicemembers in a space surrounded by flames. He went through the flames to reach the group and pulled one to safety, rolling him on the ground and pulling his clothes off to put out the flames. He went back through the flames two more times to pull out two more servicemembers. The third had lost his arm and Swarz used his belt as a tourniquet. Because the fire spread, Swarz was unable to reach the other two. Swarz said most of his fingers were burned, but he described the injuries as minor and said they healed within a few weeks. Swarz said he has learned that one of the airmen he helped rescue suffered burns over the majority of his body and is in a medically induced coma. One airman lost a finger and part of another as well as suffering broken legs. The airman who lost his arm also suffered a broken leg. During the banquet, 15 other airmen were awarded Air Force Commendation Medals — awarded to those who have distinguished themselves by meritorious achievement or acts of courage that do not involve voluntary risk of life — for their work during and after the accident. Three of the airmen were not present for the ceremony. “We just recognized airmen who are willing to go above and beyond what we expect normal people to do, and instead of running away from the fireball they ran into the fireball,” Gorenc said. “It’s a validation of everything that’s good about what we try to do with our airmen and the Air Force.”
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March 20, 2015
24
#
7
ALASKA EDITION #44
Live your life with theirs in mind.
Look after your business so it looks after you.
To g e t h e r l e t ’ s c r e a t e a p l a n fo r y o u r b u s in e s s a nTogether d t h e let’s start for your f u t u r e of t h o s e w h o h e lp planning i t g r o w. family’s future. Together let’s create a plan for your business and the future of those who help it grow.
Name, approved designation Agent, New York Life Insurance Company CA/AR Ins Lic # (if applicable) Address Phone # Email
Steve Abeln Agent, New York Life Name, approved designation Company Agent, NewInsurance York Life Insurance Company 188 W Nor thern Lights Blvd CA/AR Ins Lic # (if applicable) Address Suite 1300 Phone # Anchorage, AK 99503 Email 907 250-0018 SAbeln@ft.new yorklife.com
COOPT0023 .AG.RB.012013 SMRU496908(Exp.01/11/2015) © 2013 New York Life Insurance Company, 51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Life Insurance. Retirement. Long-Term Care. SMRU1614160(Exp.08/07/2016) © 2013 New York Life Insurance Company, 51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 COOPT0023.AG.RB.012013_YoungProfessionals_#44_Photo_Magazine_FullPage_7.875x10.indd 2
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A T-OUGH PUZZLE By Richard Auer
98 Cosmetic safety org.
16 Maladjusted person
72 Christmas dinner bird
56 Lennon’s bride
99 Castle’s waterway
73 “Active” start
101 Places for taking off
ACROSS
57 Carpet layer’s calculation
17 Fragrant hair dressing
103 Electronics giant, once
19 Long-legged shore bird
75 Single or homer, e.g.
21 Comparatively rational
1
Witches’ brews
8
Hangs on a line
lozenge
58 Campus building, for short
74 “No ___ to apologize” 76 Lake bordering Buffalo
13 Rapscallion
59 “___ got it!”
104 Auto assembly-line add-on
18 Be a resident of
60 Ballerina’s garment
106 2002 animated movie
27 Partiality
78 Rush furiously, as a river
19 “The Treasure of the ___ Madre”
61 Kind of exam or history
109 Certain Native American homes
29 “That’s disgusting!”
79 Campfire remnant
32 Careful examinations
81 Salt source
20 Recorded books, e.g.
62 Batman alter ego Bruce
111 Pain-loving person
83 The price of education
112 Where to pull the plug
34 ___ ball (hot toy of 1988)
63 Old King and Nat King
113 Cast a spell over
35 Revealed, in slang
23 Cargo ship
65 Makes a mistake
114 Tibetan monks
24 TV type
66 They’re not good to be behind
115 Scrawny chicken parts
36 Worshipper’s distance?
67 Bart Simpson is one
116 Has a dwelling
22 Like the king of the jungle
25 Balloon filler 26 Albatross, e.g. 28 Remove, as from office
68 “Stop!” 69 Big John’s way out
DOWN
30 Bleacher creature
70 Circle segment
1
31 Hoopster’s ref-baiting move
71 Stereotypical snacks for cops
Eastern dish of meat and rice (var.)
2
Playwright Eugene
33 With cunning (var.)
75 They save the day
3
34 Plane-swatting King
77 Oil-rich land
It follows a warrant showing
36 General helper
80 Court hearings
37 Chimney parts
81 Satellite radio giant
39 Bit of body art, slangily
82 Big-eared equine
38 “It’s all the ___ to me” 40 Maneuver through the mud 41 Figures of speech 42 Santa ___, Calif. 44 Prime-time hrs.
85 Starched and pleated collars 86 Severe experience 87 It’s south of South Sudan 88 Women’s reproductive cells 89 Special Forces headwear 91 Epoch when mammals appeared
45 Bird of paradise feature
92 Minimal amounts
47 Italian marble
95 Wizards
48 Succotash ingredient
96 ___ of the crime 99 Clifflike, flat-topped elevation
4
“At Seventeen” singer Janis
5
“The Mikado” sashes
49 A “shalt not”
Dressed to the ___
50 It’s made by a long fermentation
100 Food for Fido
51 Contest submissions
101 Type of daytime show
52 Awakens suddenly
102 Min. fractions
53 Tropical African tree
105 Lacking brightness
54 Aquatic rodent
107 Conductor’s signal
55 Brooks
108 And so forth (abbr.) 110 ___ Beta Kappa
83 Barfly
6
40 Much in demand
84 Honoring, in a way
7 Cat-footed
43 Sales meeting diagrams
85 Engaged in disorderly play
8
“Dear” book
9
Split apart
45 Novels have them
89 Car-grille covering
10 Aggravate
46 Some strands in a cell
90 Fred’s wife on “I Love Lucy”
11 Before, back and forth
47 Buddy-buddy
93 Persuade
12 Island wear
58 Matt of Hollywood
13 Easy marks
49 Less delicate
94 Combatant or contestant
60 Attack aggressively
14 Unorthodox sect
62 Somewhat broad
53 Deep voices
95 Cat chatter
63 Grasshopper’s trill
54 Throat-soothing
97 Slender woodwind
15 Org. on toothpaste tubes
48 End the business day
84 ___ A to Z
64 Feed-bag contents
Last week’s answers
8
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ALASKA EDITION
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10
ALASKA EDITION
March 20, 2015
March 20, 2015
11
STARS AND STRIPES • STARS
Friday, March 20, 2015
A N D
STRIPES •
PAGE 11
AFGHANISTAN decade. “Most of Kabul’s mansions, palaces and huge buildings are built with illegal money, either from drug business, corruption, human trafficking” or other criminal activities, said Sayed Masoud, an economics professor at Kabul University. In the past, such mansions — often surrounded by high, fortified walls and multiple steel gates — could easily be rented out to foreign diplomats, nongovernmental agencies, news organizations and security companies for between $30,000 and $80,000 a month. An investment of several million dollars of questionable origin could be recouped within three or four years through the exorbitant rents, which were usually paid into “clean” accounts abroad. “Money laundering is like drinking water in Afghanistan. It is very easy,” Masoud said. But as the U.S.-led international force in Afghanistan started drawing down from a high in 2011 of 140,000 troops to just 12,000 at the end of last year, thousands of foreign contractors, security personnel, aid and reconstruction staff and diplomats also left the country. Suddenly, people who had been willing to pay top dollar for luxurious — and heavily fortified — accommodations in Kabul were no longer there, and the property bubble burst.
‘Narcotecture’ boom
Departure of foreigners collapses housing market for Kabul’s mega-mansions BY SLOBODAN LEKIC Stars and Stripes
KABUL, Afghanistan — As the number of foreigners in Afghanistan’s capital continues to dwindle, “House for Rent” signs have become a common sight on the palatial
mansions that dot its upscale Sherpur and Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhoods. The candy-colored villas are known locally as “poppy palaces” because of the widespread suspicion that the money for them came from heroin and opium, Afghan-
istan’s largest export. But analysts say they are paid for with proceeds from activities both illegal and legal, including some of the hundreds of billions in foreign aid and investment that have flowed into Afghanistan in the past decade.
This includes Afghanistan’s pervasive culture of corruption — the illegal siphoning off of government and foreign aid funds — but also income from the sky-high rents that foreigners have been willing to pay for luxurious accommodation here over the past
The poppy palaces have been part of a building boom in the capital since the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001. Dozens of high-rises have also gone up, often in odd places such as narrow alleys without sidewalks or parking spaces. On a hillside opposite the civilian terminal at Kabul’s international airport, apartment blocks have replaced the mud-brick shanties that once occupied the area. Many of the mansions were built in a garish hodgepodge of architectural styles, ranging from classical Greco-Roman and ancient Egyptian to ultramodern. SEE PAGE 12
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12
March 20, 2015
STARS AND STRIPES • STARS
PAGE 12
A N D
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Friday, March 20, 2015
AFGHANISTAN Far left: A mansion in Kabul’s Wazir Akhbar Khan district. Near left: A villa in central Kabul of the type favored by Afghan politicians and generals, as well as foreign diplomats, contractors and news organizations. Below: A mansion in Kabul’s old Sherpur district. The departure of hundreds of foreign contractors and aid workers in the past two years has left many of them unoccupied. PHOTOS BY SLOBODAN LEKIC Stars and Stripes
Live your can life with Beneath the facade,44rental market no longer keep mansions filled #
FROM PAGE 11
The grandiose buildings in crayon colors are lampooned here as examples of “narcotecture” in a rapidly expanding city characterized by unpaved roads, open sewers and low, mud-brick houses. Mohammad Sadiq, a civil engineer, said that rich Afghanis had always liked “palace-type” houses and that the jumble of styles was the result of owners trying to outdo their neighbors. “In our history, palaces were places for the rich and powerful. So now, those who make a lot of money or those who have political power are trying to emulate that,” he said. “And since no Afghan likes to have the same house as his neighbor, he will definitely try to make it bigger, better and more colorful.” Narcotecture is not unique to Afghanistan. The term was first used to describe the palaces built by Colombian cocaine cartel head Pablo Escobar in the 1980s. Since then, nouveau riche businessmen and oligarchs have embraced it wholeheartedly. Such sprawling, ostentatious mansions and cemetery
44
#
Live your life with theirs in mind.
theirs in mind.
shrines can also be found in locations ranging from Russia and Ukraine to the Balkans, the Persian Gulf and Mexico.
Prices plummet Over the past two years, prices for the big mansions in Kabul have nose-dived. Rents are said to be a third of what they used to be — when renters can be found. Most of the mansions remain occupied by either their owners — usually senior government or military officials — or embassies, other foreign missions and foreign agencies. “When I started building this place in 2011, the market was still very strong,” said the owner of a multistory villa that now stands empty. “But as the pullout of foreign forces neared, demand dried up as most foreign civilians also left Kabul.” The owner, who did not want to be named because he feared it could have a negative effect on his business, said the $2.5 million for the building came from bona fide businesses in the United Arab Emirates and had nothing to do with illegal funds. “If I can’t rent it out, my
family will move in and live here,” he said. In addition to nearly 100 mansions, a number have been left unfinished. Most are likely to remain on the rental market, though at reduced rates. Others may be sold. In addition to the drawdown of international forces, a string of high-profile attacks on foreigners in recent months has convinced many it is time to move on. One of the worst was a commando-style attack in January 2014 on the Taverna, a Lebanese restaurant popular with the expatriate community, in which 21 people died. That was too much even for some foreigners who had established successful businesses in Kabul. Saska Galic had run a Dalmatian seafood restaurant, Zadar, blocks from the Taverna, but closed it last year after 10 years in Kabul. She returned to Croatia, where she was reached by phone. After the Taverna attack, she said “most internationals realized it was just too dangerous to remain in Kabul.”
Together let’s start planning for your family’s future.
Name, approved designation Agent, New York Life Insurance Company CA/AR Ins Lic # (if applicable) Address Phone # Email
Zubair Babakarkhail contributed to this report. slobodan.lekic@stripes.com
To g e t h e r l e t ’ s s t a r t p l a n nin g fo r y o u r fa mil y ’ s f u t u r e . Together let’s start planning for your family’s future.
Name, approved designation Agent, New York Life Insurance Company CA/AR Ins Lic # (if applicable) Address Phone # Email
Steve Abeln Agent, New York Life Insurance Company 188 W Nor thern Lights Blvd, Suite 1300 | Anchorage, AK 99503 COOPT0023 .AG.RB.012013 SMRU496908(Exp.01/11/2015) 907 250-0018 | SAbeln@ft.new yorklife.com © 2013 New York Life Insurance Company, 51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010
LifeInsurance. Insurance.Retirement. Retirement.Long-Term Estate Planning. Life Care.
COOPT0023.AG.RB.012013_YoungProfessionals_#44_Photo_Magazine_FullPage_7.875x10.indd 2
1/18/13 11:30 AM
March 20, 2015
ALASKA EDITION
13
code breaker In these Code Quotes from America’s history, each letter given is a code consisting of another letter. To solve this Code Quote, you must decode the puzzle by replacing each letter with the correct one. An example is shown. A ‘clue’ is available if you need extra help. Example: G E O R G E W A S H I N G T O N Is coded as: W J A M W J G I T C X Z W F A Z J P R E M J E O E D V R A A R E Y M D A Z X P K R E R C C A D C A J R Y J D E J E Y K N P D E Z Y J Y X Y J D E , R E O J O D E D Y Q N G J N W N Y K R Y Y K N C D V N A R E O O X Y T D M Y K N L N E N A R G L D W N A E F N E Y D X L K Y Y D Q N N U Y N E O N O Y D Y K N A N G J N M D M J E O J W J O X R G Z X M M N A J E L V K J P K J Z J E E D FREENA CADCNAGT ANGRYNO YD YKN CXQGJP ZNAWJPN DA QNENMJY. LADWNA PGNWNGREO Hint: When handed legislation that would have aided farmers after a severe drought, this person exercised one of his many vetoes, giving this explanation of his view of the proper role of government. Last week’s answer: “As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.” Benjamin Franklin
word search
sudoku
Created with TheTeachersCorner.net Word Search Maker
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Previous week’s answers
FREELANCE WRITERS Stars & Stripes U.S. Edition – Alaska is looking for freelance writers to add a local flavor to our newspaper. Two specific areas of interest are “Veteran Spotlights”, focusing on Alaska Veterans, and “Explore Alaska” focusing on Alaska adventure. Other topics will be added as well.
If you have a desire to help tell our readers about our local Veterans, Alaska’s outdoors, and other newsworthy topics, please email SteveA@AK.net. Please include some writing samples.
14
March 20, 2015
STARS AND STRIPES • STARS
PAGE 14
A N D
STRIPES •
Friday, March 20, 2015
MILITARY
LGBT troops, families are DOD may change still fighting for equality
“I
was wondering if this column included any letters or support information for the gay and lesbian spouses of military (members),” a reader wrote to me in 2009. “It would be nice to know that one is not alone learning the ropes of military life. Being involved with a member of the military has many challenges ... and the stress of imposed invisibility ... There are so few people who would risk talking about this.” He signed himself, “Another Silent Spouse.” Military life has changed dramatically for same-sex couples since that correspondence. The need for silence ended after the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in 2011; and when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, samesex spouses could be recognized as military dependents. For Army wife Ashley Broadway-Mack, not having to keep part of her life hidden is a huge relief. She and her wife, Heather, have two children, a toddler and a preschooler. “Now I can finally live free. No lies, no avoiding the military installation, no secrets,” she said. “I always worried that our son would be of age that he would ask questions, and I would have to encourage him to lie and keep the secrets I had to for almost 14 years.” Stephen Peters was discharged from the Marine Corps under DADT, and is
Join the conversation with Terri at stripes.com/go/spousecalls
now a miliSPOUSE CALLS tary spouse. After the repeal he said he felt “justice had finally prevailed, even if it was too late for me.” He said that it’s a relief Terri Barnes to know now that if something happened to his military husband during a deployment, he would be notified, now that he is recognized by the military as a spouse. “I no longer had to worry about something happening to him in Afghanistan and me being treated as a stranger by the military,” Stephen said. “I finally had access to the benefits that make the demands and sacrifices of military life a little bit easier. Even the simple things made a big difference, like finally being able to ... shop at the commissary and exchange” Ashley said the military spouse community has been very welcoming, although she was refused spouse club membership before the repeal of DOMA. Things are different now, and she said she feels very accepted. “I have met lifelong friends. They could [not] care less about my spouse’s rank or the fact I am married to a woman. They see me as a
Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher Terry Leonard, Editor Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing Editor Tina Croley, Managing Editor for Content Amanda L. Trypanis, U.S. Edition Editor Michael Davidson, Revenue Director CONTACT US 529 14th Street NW, Suite 350, Washington, D.C. 20045-1301 Email: stripesweekly@stripes.com Editorial: (202) 761-0908 Advertising: (202) 761-0910 Michael Davidson, Weekly Partnership Director: davidson.michael@stripes.com Additional contact information: stripes.com
spouse, a mom, a person who laughs, cries and has the daily struggles other [military] spouses have. They recognize my passion to assist military families, not just LGBT military families, but all.” Ashley serves as president of the American Military Partner Association, which advocates on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender military members. In that capacity, she said there’s more work to do, including expanding equal opportunity policies and status of forces agreements affecting overseas assignments in Germany and Korea. Stephen, who serves as a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, said, “It’s far past time for the Defense Department to get in line with the rest of the federal government on non-discrimination protections and ensure all military families are treated fairly.” Ashley’s overall perception, though, is that military life for same-sex couples is much brighter these days. “For so many years, gay spouses and partners hid in the shadows ... in fear that they would somehow be found out. Today, gay spouses are at almost every rank, every branch. Families are living on post, spouses are FRG leaders, participating in all aspects of military life,” Ashley said. “Members share with me on a weekly basis, ‘We are treated just like any other family,’ as it should be.”
This publication is a compilation of stories from Stars and Stripes, the editorially independent newspaper authorized by the Department of Defense for members of the military community. The contents of Stars and Stripes are unofficial, and are not to be considered as the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, including the Defense Department or the military services. The U.S. Edition of Stars and Stripes is published jointly by Stars and Stripes and this newspaper. The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the DOD or Stars and Stripes of the products or services advertised. Products or services advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use, or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation, or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user, or patron.
© Stars and Stripes, 2015
to 5-year rule, LQA BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes
STUTTGART, Germany — The Defense Department is considering new limits to housing allowances for civilian employees as it reviews a benefit that costs the government about $500 million annually. One potential new measure would take aim at the Pentagon’s five-year rule, which restricts how long government service employees can remain overseas. Generally, overseas government service workers who want to stay beyond five years must receive an extension from their respective command. Under the current policy, living quarters allowances continue when the extension is granted. Under the Pentagon’s proposed policy change, LQA would no longer be guaranteed upon extension of a tour. To continue receiving LQA on an extended tour, the worker would need special, higher-level approval. “LQA for an additional 2 years beyond the 5-year limit must be approved by the Head of the DoD Component or an official at the major command or equivalent,” says the DOD policy proposal, dated February 2015. “Any subsequent extension of LQA after an initial extension beyond 5 years requires the approval of the Head of the DoD Component.” Other potential changes would limit when LQA can be used to make a mortgage payment on a personally owned home overseas. Currently, the allowance can be used toward homes in as many areas as a person is assigned, but the proposed changes would curtail that to a one-time deal. Also under the recommendations, employees who return to the U.S. would be required to remain stateside for two years before
being eligible for a return overseas with housing allowance benefits. Waiver for early return could be granted only by component secretaries, according to the recommendations. “The proposed changes aim to eliminate confusion, simplify the rules, ensure greater consistency and equity in application, mitigate the potential for erroneous approvals of LQA … and increase oversight,” Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a Pentagon spokesman, said in an email. A final decision on the proposed changes has not yet been made, and the measures are currently in the comment-and-review phase, Christensen said. In recent years, rules governing LQA — which covers rental and utility costs — have been cause for much confusion, resulting in hundreds of disputes between DOD and overseas civilians. The most notable case was in 2013, when DOD told about 700 overseas workers in Europe and the Pacific that they erroneously received housing allowances. The employees were given debt notices for past payments received, which in some cases added up to more than $100,000. In most cases, however, those debts were waived by the government, which stated that bureaucratic mistakes were the cause of the problem. Housing allowances were not restored for those employees, and the issue continues to anger those affected, who argue that DOD was misapplying regulations and should reinstate the benefits. In the policy changes under consideration, the Pentagon proposes to clarify past points of dispute, spelling out in greater detail what disqualifies employees from receiving housing allowances.
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