Volume 7, No. 19 ©SS 2015
FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2015
For information please contact Waverly Williams 803-774-1237 or waverly@theitem.com
‘WE ARE ONE FAMILY’ Current recon Marines thank Vietnam-era counterparts at reunion A Marine reconnaissance veteran poses with a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on an Intermediate Transportable Vehicle (ITV) on April 23 at Camp Pendleton, Calif., during a reunion for Vietnam-era vets. J ENNIFER HLAD/Stars and Stripes
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Friday, May 1, 2015 Retired Lt. Gen. Bernard Trainor, right, talks with a Marine from 1st Marine Reconnaissance Battalion on April 23 at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
MILITARY
J ENNIFER HLAD/Stars and Stripes
Recon Marines host Vietnam reunion BY JENNIFER H LAD Stars and Stripes
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Ken Benckwitz was spit on at John F. Kennedy International Airport. People threw feces at Dan Mulvihill at LAX. After his return, John Baker was told by the first girl he dated not to mention to her friends or family that he had been a Marine in Vietnam. But this week, when about 175 fellow reconnaissance Marines from the Vietnam era gathered in San Diego County, they were welcomed and embraced. Cpl. Brandon Tan was one of several current recon Marines who participated in a raid demonstration April 23 for the veterans. Afterward, wearing camouflage face paint and foliage on his uniform, he shook the hand of veteran after veteran. “Thank you. You’re the reason we’re here,” he said. The reunion was designed as a way for all Marines who served in recon units in 1965-71 to commemorate 50 years since the U.S. entered the Vietnam War. Active-duty Marines showed off their equipment and demonstrated a helicopter jump and a raid. Afterward, they honored the memory of their fallen recon brothers at a memorial service. It’s important to honor the past and allow Marines to connect with their unit’s history, while also recognizing that one day, they will be the ones holding reunions, said Lt. Col. George
Hasseltine, commander of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. Baker, who lives in Anaheim Hills and helped organize the event, said participants also included some of the pilots who helped support recon in Vietnam. Even today, he said, he gets a “warm fuzzy feeling” when he sees or hears a helicopter. The wop-wop-wop of the rotors is “the best music we have ever heard,” said Baker, who served in Vietnam in 1969-70. Though he wasn’t initially sure the veterans would get a warm reception, he said that after seeing the current Marines, he knows the Corps is in good hands. Dan Pender, of San Diego, flew Cobra helicopters in Vietnam in August 1970-July 1971, frequently in support of recon missions. Pender said going from the draft to an all-volunteer force has dramatically improved the services. “Marines today are motivated, a lot smarter and more capable,” he said. Benckwitz, of Chino Valley, Ariz., served about 10 months in Vietnam in
1969 before he was medically evacuated. He said he came to the reunion to see old friends but also enjoyed seeing the current Marines and learning about their equipment. “Recon’s treating us like royalty,” he said. John Burtoft, of The Villages, Fla., was a corpsman with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion who went to Vietnam twice: Once on the USS Pyro for 18 months in 1964-65, and again with recon in 1968-69. While all corpsmen had rifles for self-defense, recon corpsmen are full combatants, he said. “You can’t send five people into the jungle and have one not fight,” he said. The worst battle, he said, began with the team being chased all day, then calling a helicopter when they thought they had lost the enemy. They were waiting for the chopper when three North Vietnamese fighters approached. Burtoft said he killed them, then others came rushing up the hill, kicking off a daylong battle. It was only when the report on the battle was declassified about 10 years ago that he realized it
Have a story to tell? Go to stripes.com/vietnam50
had been his 25th birthday. Mulvihill joined the Marine Corps in 1964, and was in Vietnam the next year. On June 15, 1966, he and 17 other Marines were on Hill 488, deep in enemy territory, when a battalion of Viet Cong fighters approached and launched a ferocious attack. The Marines formed a tight circle and stood their ground, facing unrelenting fire as they fought through the night, according to the Medal of Honor citation for Gunnery Sgt. Jimmie Howard, who organized the small force. At one point, Howard told the Marines to throw rocks at the approaching enemy, according to accounts of the battle. In the end, six Marines died and 12 were wounded. The battle also led to four Navy Crosses and 13 Silver Stars — including one for Mulvihill, a radio operator. Mulvihill got out of the Marine Corps in 1968, but reenlisted 17 years later, just shy of his 38th birthday. He retired in 2002 and still works for the Marines as a tactical safety specialist at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. The reunion was his first in several years, he said. Peter Cetani and Stan Chronister, who served with Mulvihill, were ecstatic to see him, and said the event was like reuniting with brothers. “We are one family,” Cetani said. hlad.jennifer@stripes.com Twitter: @jhlad
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MILITARY
Tracking Afghan troop payments problematic BY JAD SLEIMAN Stars and Stripes
KABUL, Afghanistan — Poor attendance and personnel records, a cumbersome and error-prone payroll data system and lack of oversight mean the U.S. government cannot verify how billions of dollars allotted to pay the salaries of Afghan forces are being spent, a U.S. watchdog agency said in a report released Wednesday. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction also found that poor record-keeping prevents the Afghan military from accurately determining troop strength, a number crucial for planning operations and determining the need for uniforms, ammunition and food. Since 2009, the U.S. has provided more than $2.3 billion to pay Afghan National Army, or ANA, and air force salaries,
the report said. Because of the problems in the personnel and payroll processes and lack of verification, it is not clear whether that money is being spent appropriately. “This means that some payments may be diverted to the wrong individuals and that deserving ANA personnel may not be receiving the correct amounts they are owed,” SIGAR said. Since the effort to rebuild them started over a decade ago, the Afghan armed forces have been plagued by high attrition rates, including desertions and defections, with trained soldiers changing sides and joining the insurgents. In a separate report last month, SIGAR said that in the past year, the number of troops had declined by more than 15,000 because of desertion and retention problems, as well as combat casualties.
‘ With the U.S. government and the
international community planning to continue funding ANA salaries for several more years, it is crucial that DOD and the MOD improve their ability to verify the accuracy of ANA personnel numbers and salary disbursements.
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SIGAR report
In Herat, SIGAR investigators found that spaces for signatures on an army roster were instead filled with check marks that “appeared to have been recorded by a single individual.” In some commands, the investigators found that up to a third of a unit’s supposed strength was missing during their visit, that some servicemembers could not produce identification cards and that others had no personnel records at all. The system the Afghan army and national police use for human resources data cannot differentiate between active and inactive personnel and cannot track personnel by their position and identification numbers, SIGAR said. Though that situation is expected to be remedied by July, the Defense Ministry now uses a separate, manual process to compile ANA personnel totals based on daily attendance records to submit monthly to U.S. Forces-Afghanistan. “It’s not just a problem of how many soldiers you have, but which,” said Alex Brownstein-Murphy, a SIGAR spokesman. “Is a unit missing its captain? Its medic?” Ideally, American officials should be able to confirm troop data from the ANA, but the report found that personnel shortages make it impossible
JOSH SMITH /Stars and Stripes
An Afghan National Army soldier provides security along a highway during a patrol in Panjwai district in Afghanistan. for a U.S. regulator to physically confirm the roll numbers as they are taken at individual sites. As the drawdown of U.S. troops continues, that is likely to become even more difficult. “With the U.S. government and the international community planning to continue funding ANA salaries for several more years, it is crucial that DOD and the MOD improve their ability to verify the accuracy of ANA personnel numbers and salary disbursements,” SIGAR recommended that the command, in conjunction with the coalition and the
Defense Ministry, implement additional controls on the daily attendance process at the unit level, including having oversight personnel present to verify the sign-in and sign-out process. An electronic system to track and report ANA personnel and payroll data and calculate salaries should be fully operational by April 2017, SIGAR said. Meanwhile, SIGAR said the command should implement a verification plan, which the command agreed was needed but said the Defense Ministry must play a leading role due to lack of personnel. sleiman.jad@stripes.com
Marine Corps Base Hawaii commander relieved of duties Stars and Stripes
Col. Eric Schaefer
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The commander of Marine Corps Base Hawaii was relieved of his command Monday because of a “loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead.” Col. Eric Schaefer was relieved of his duties by Marine Corps Installations
Pacific commander Maj. Gen. Charles Hudson, according to a statement released Tuesday. No further details were available. Schaefer graduated from San Diego State University in 1991, according to his Marine Corps biography. A pilot by trade, he has logged more than 2,000 military flight hours and is
a Bronze Star recipient. He participated in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and held numerous command positions before taking over in Hawaii in August. Schaefer has been replaced by Col. Christopher Snyder, MCIPAC’s deputy commander, who will serve as interim commanding officer until a permanent replacement can
be named, the statement said. Schaefer has been reassigned to another position. “The Marine Corps holds all Marines, especially commanders, responsible for their actions, and is committed to upholding high standards of honor, courage and commitment within the ranks,” the statement said. news@stripes.com
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EUROPE
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MIGRANT CRISIS
CALLING ON THE MILITARY Rescued migrants disembark from an Italian navy vessel in Augusta, Sicily, on April 22. FRANCESCO M ALAVOLTA /AP
EU increases ships, funding for maritime border mission BY STEVEN BEARDSLEY Stars and Stripes
NAPLES, Italy — European leaders on April 23 pledged a military response to the migration crisis on their southern flank, but human rights watchers have expressed disappointment with the plan. The pledge, which came out of an emergency summit, calls for the military to target smuggling operations along the Libyan coast, a shadowy industry that has prospered in the country’s power vacuum of recent years. However, it appears to stop short of creating a formal search-and-rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea, despite wide calls for one following the drowning deaths of nearly 900 people near the Libyan coast last week. The agreement instead will raise funding and the number of ships available to an EU maritime border mission whose operations often fail to patrol areas where many boats capsize. Migration advocates say a humanitarian mission with wider boundaries and more naval resources — such as the warships, helicopters and planes
used by the Italian navy in a muchlauded operation between 2013 and 2014 — would save more lives. “We’re still trying to understand some of the details,” Federico Soda, Italy chief of mission for the International Organization for Migration, said of the agreement. “We continue to welcome the efforts that are being put toward this issue, but the measures still fall short of anything that’s comprehensive or actually look at the issue in a holistic way.” More than 1,700 people have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea as migrants so far this year, compared with roughly 3,200 in all of 2014, according to estimates from the IOM. After the capsizing of a boat off the Libyan coast last week, migra-
tion and human rights observers called for the EU maritime border patrol mission, Operation Triton, to be recast toward search and rescue. EU leaders on April 23 responded by tripling the mission’s funding to about $10 million monthly and by increasing the number of ships. Several countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Latvia, already have volunteered vessels for the mission. Yet EU leaders did not address Triton’s mandate for border patrol and its operational boundaries, which extend only 30 miles from the continent. Smugglers’ boats, including the one that capsized last week, often falter much closer to the Libyan coast, about 140 miles from where Triton ships are deployed, according to a report released this week by
‘ We continue to welcome the efforts that are
being put toward this issue, but the measures still fall short of anything that’s comprehensive or actually look at the issue in a holistic way.
’
Federico Soda Italy chief of mission for the International Organization for Migration
Amnesty International. “The 30-mile (limit) is just not far enough to effectively save people,” Soda said. Migration advocates like Soda have pushed for something resembling Mare Nostrum, the Italian navy-led humanitarian operation credited with rescuing tens of thousands of migrants between 2013-2014. Mare Nostrum employed an amphibious ship, two frigates and their embarked helicopters to rove well south of European waters for the purpose of search and rescue. Mare Nostrum was expensive and politically divisive, however, leading to its end in 2014. Similar reservations about immigration likely shaped the April 23 statement, said Judith Sunderland of Human Rights Watch in Milan. “The most detail is provided on provisions regarding preventing departure — forbidding people from getting on the boats,” she said. Part of that effort includes targeting the smuggling operations that have flourished along coastal Libya since the death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi during a NATO bombing campaign in 2011. SEE PAGE 6
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MILITARY
Outgoing leader applauds Africa command’s work BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes
STUTTGART, Germany — Maj. Gen. James B. Linder, the outgoing leader of U.S. Special Operations Command Africa, recalled on April 24 an attempted suicide bombing he said highlights the value of special operators’ training efforts in Africa. The incident occurred during a recent foot patrol in Niger by local soldiers who had been trained by American Green Berets. When a female suicide bomber failed to make it onto a bus, she tried to jump on the back of one of the Niger troops. “But before she can do that, one of his buddies, who is a well-prepared soldier, wields
around and places a wellaimed shot and immediately disables her and prevents her from detonating (her bomb),” recalled Linder, who turned over leadership of SOCAFRICA to Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc during a change-ofcommand in Stuttgart. “That is a true story,” Linder said, “a story of a disciplined and well-prepared African force who for the past five months have been working with a team of Green Berets, side by side.” The change in command comes as Africa Command faces a host of security challenges on the continent. A number of militant groups now have a foothold in so-called
‘ Special operations forces are working more closely with allies and partners in Africa than ever before.
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Gen. David Rodriguez AFRICOM
FROM PAGE 4
Last week’s agreement pledged to “identify, capture and destroy” smuggling vessels before they could be used and instructed the EU’s foreign minister to begin military planning. European diplomats have likened military action against smugglers to the EU operation against piracy in East Africa, under which a 2009 helicopter raid destroyed camps along the coast of Somalia. That operation falls under a United Nations mandate and has the blessing of Somalia’s government. Similar raids into Libya raise questions over mandate and sovereignty. Others fear an attack would only add to the volatile situation in Libya, where rival militias are in conflict and the radical Islamic State group has gained
Oversight is urged in academy sex assault cases BY TRAVIS J. TRITTEN Stars and Stripes
Courtesy of the U.S. Army
U.S. Africa Command’s Gen. David Rodriguez, center, stands with incoming Special Operations Command Africa head Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc, right, during a change-of-command ceremony in Stuttgart on April 24. Bolduc replaced Major Gen. James Linder, left. ungoverned spaces. They include Boko Haram, which operates in remote parts of Nigeria; al-Qaida-allied groups in the Sahel; and Islamic State fighters in Libya. AFRICOM’s Gen. David Rodriguez credited Linder and his team of operators with leading the effort to assist African militaries to fight militant groups. “Over the past few years, you all have done a remarkable job in one of the most complex and challenging security environments we have faced in decades,” Rodriguez said during the ceremony. “Special operations forces are working more closely with allies and partners in Africa than ever before.” Linder, who is headed for a new assignment at Fort Bragg,
a foothold. Military operations also wouldn’t address the plight of migrants, themselves, most of whom are desperate to escape the turmoil and poverty in their home countries. Many would look for other crossing points, Soda said. “In this area, there’s a high likelihood that you close down one route and another one opens,” he said. We see it all the time.” Both NATO and the U.S. have been silent on the issue. NATO operates three standing naval groups, while the U.S. military has bases in Naples, Italy, and Sicily. A spokesman for the Department of Defense said earlier this week that it had received no requests for assistance related to the Mediterranean crossings. A NATO official, speaking on condi-
N.C., said efforts to enhance the capability of Africa’s militaries are part of a broader effort to blunt the advance of various militant groups, who seek to take advantage of ungoverned spaces. “The enemy’s ultimate goal is to change the global order and dial back the hands of time to the year 700,” he said. Bulduc, the incoming commander of SOCAFRICA, is already well-versed in the U.S.’s military efforts on the continent, having served for nearly two years as AFRICOM’s deputy director of operations. In a brief speech, he said he was honored to join the team. “I hope I will be able to earn my spot in the formation,” he said. vandiver.john@stripes.com
tion of anonymity because she wasn’t authorized to comment, said April 20 that the alliance has nothing to add to search-and-rescue efforts. “There is no military solution to problems posed by illegal migration,” the official said. Retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, former supreme allied commander Europe, said the threat of Islamic State militants entering Italy from the sea makes the situation in the Mediterranean a NATO concern under Article IV, which allows allies to seek support on burgeoning security issues. “Keeping EU/NATO warships on patrol … would make sense,” he told Stars and Stripes. Stars and Stripes’ Slobodan Lekic contributed to this report. beardsley.steven@stripes.com Twitter: @sjbeardsley
WASHINGTON — An advocacy group for female servicemembers on Monday urged the White House to create new oversight of sexual assaults at the U.S. service academies. The proposal by Service Women’s Action Network is modeled on oversight at civilian colleges and would allow students to file assault and harassment complaints with the Defense Department inspector general, according to the group. It was the latest push by SWAN for reforms that could help rein in sexual assault in the military and its five elite learning institutions including West Point, the Naval Academy at Annapolis and the Air Force Academy in Colorado, which are charged with training the future crop of officers and leaders. “This duty is difficult to fulfill when half of all female cadets and midshipmen at the service academies report being sexually harassed annually, but less than two percent of those female cadets and midshipmen feel confident enough in the system to report that harassment,” Arielle Humphries, a law student intern in the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School that represents SWAN, said in a released statement. SWAN and Yale sent a proposed executive order to President Barack Obama on Monday, asking that the inspector general take oversight of the cases similar to how the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights handles sexual harassment and assault cases. The department office recently investigated Harvard Law School and found it in violation of federal law for its response to such cases. The White House said it was looking into the proposal but did not immediately comment Monday. tritten.travis@stripes.com Twitter: @Travis_Tritten
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WAR ON TERRORISM
DEADLY RESOLVE Islamic State atrocities fuel Iraqis’ desire for vengeance BY JOSH SMITH Stars and Stripes
TIKRIT, Iraq his city is a ghost town. Weeks after pro-government forces took back Saddam Hussein’s hometown from Islamic State militants, the streets remain deserted. Most of the population fled during the town’s occupation in the months thereafter and haven’t been allowed to return. Squatting amid the burned and looted buildings last week, a Tikrit police officer swiped through photos on his smartphone. He said his name was Ahmed and he was a 31-year-old father of two. He wouldn’t give his last name for fear of reprisals. His fear is understandable. Fighters with the Islamic State group, kidnapped and killed many of his extended family there to try to force him to defect. They sought his military expertise, partly gained in American advising programs years ago. He said that as far as he knows, the militants are still holding his wife and children. Ahmed’s fear has been subsumed by a deadly resolve. Gruesome images fill his phone’s screen. He stopped at a photo of two severed heads in a cooking pot. “I killed them myself,” he said, slashing his finger across his throat. “They took my family. So I took their heads. I won’t give up until they are all dead.” Such sentiments are expressed
T
by Iraqis — both Sunnis and Shiites — from the front lines to the strongholds of Baghdad. Atrocities committed by the militants spread fear through Iraq and among its Western backers as the group swept out of neighboring Syria last year and occupied wide swathes of the country. As Iraqi forces gradually liberate more areas from the Islamic State, the destruction and death left in its wake are steeling their resolve. But the thirst for revenge threatens to make the conflict even deadlier, as everyone from government troops and militias to victims’ relatives look to right wrongs that can never be forgotten.
River of blood It’s impossible to take a step in Tikrit without sending empty shell casings skidding across the ground. Occasionally, the silence is broken as a convoy of military vehicles clad in handmade armor and covered with apocalyptic paint jobs careens through the streets of Tikrit with loads of masked gunmen. Sporadic gunfire in the distance serves as a reminder that Islamic State snipers are still holed up in some neighborhoods. Perhaps the most ghastly scenes are on the grounds of what was Saddam’s lavish palace. The palace — actually a complex of palaces complete with its own man-made lake — sits on the bank of the Tigris River,
JOSH SMITH /Stars and Stripes
Thousands flee fighting between Iraqi forces and the Islamic State group in Anbar province, Iraq, earlier this month. Fear of the Islamic State’s brutality sent tens of thousands of people seeking safety in Baghdad and other areas. 100 miles north of Baghdad. It was on the edge of that river that fighters from the Islamic State systematically murdered hundreds of young Iraqi men, shooting them and dumping their bodies one by one into the river until the water ran red. Elsewhere on the palace’s palm-shaded grounds, militants killed hundreds of others, burying the bodies in mass graves. In all, officials estimate that at least 1,700 people, mostly young cadets from a military academy at a former American air base, were slain after the militants seized control of Tikrit in June. At the palace where the victims were slain, a memorial has been erected, decked with flowers and photos of the dead. Black bloodstains still tarnish the concrete at the water’s edge. Relatives and friends make pilgrimages here, escorted by victorious militiamen eager to draw attention to the Islamic State’s brutality. “They kill men, women and children,” said one man who lost relatives at the site. “That’s not Islam. They must all be killed.” The Shiite paramilitaries now occupying the palace expressed similar sentiments. “I answered the call of the ayatollah and my nation to answer this injustice and repression,” said fighter Jabbar Sadiq, 25. “We will
have vengeance for these martyrs. We will be victorious or be martyrs ourselves.”
Retaliation The atrocities committed by the Islamic State group have deeply shocked the world. Beheadings, crucifixion, abductions, mass executions, rape, selling of sex slaves and recruiting child soldiers are just a few of the crimes that the religious fundamentalists have trumpeted online. Many of the Islamic State’s victims have been minority ethnic and religious groups, while the group itself has recruited members almost exclusively from the Sunni community. Iraq’s majority Shiite population has also found itself squarely in the path of the group’s wrath. The victims in Tikrit were largely Shiites, mostly from the security services. But as Iraqi forces have regained ground in recent months, Shiite militias backed by Iran have been accused of abuses of their own. “Sectarian militias have increased their influence on the battlefield and in Iraq’s government since ISIS captured Mosul in June 2014,” Human Rights Watch said in an April 13 statement, using an alternate name for the Islamic State. SEE PAGE 14
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WAR ON TERRORISM FROM PAGE 12
“The militias have routinely carried out abductions; summary executions, including beheadings; torture; and forcible displacements of thousands of families in areas recaptured from ISIS.” United Nations investigators have chronicled a range of war crimes by both militants and Iraqi security forces. “What really shocked me is that most of it is not news anymore,” the U.N.’s representative in Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, said in February. “The world has gotten used to the violence and atrocities, and this should not be the case. We should stand up every occasion that we can.” The increasingly sectarian nature of the conflict is complicating efforts by the U.S.-led coalition to support Iraqi forces. Shiite paramilitary groups and government units have close ties to Iran and, after fighting against American troops during the Iraqi insurgency, often have little desire for any U.S. help. Sunni tribes, meanwhile, also fought their own insurgency against the Americans and often face suspicions over alleged sympathies for the radicals. Almost all of the paramilitary groups, which prefer the official title of Popular Mobilization Units, were pulled from Tikrit after some members were observed killing prisoners and looting and burning stores and houses. In Amerli, a town about 50 miles from Tikrit, Human Rights Watch documented the widespread destruction of houses by paramilitaries after they pushed out Islamic State fighters.
Ghanim Abdul Karim alGhanim, a director in the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights, said he has received no formal complaints of abuses by progovernment forces. Any abuses by pro-government forces appear to be individual actions, not systemic efforts based on official orders, he said. Al-Ghanim said officials would investigate any claims but the probes often never get off the ground because of a common view that, since the Islamic State isn’t a country, laws of war don’t apply to the fight against the group. “It is normal that (Iraqi forces) would want to kill any terrorists,” he told Stars and Stripes. “ISIS doesn’t submit to any international, national or heavenly laws. So what rules should be followed when dealing with such a killing machine?”
Making lists In a rented home in a quiet Baghdad neighborhood, Sheik Ghazi Saab al-Hardan has spent most of the last year compiling a list. Al-Hardan and others from his family were displaced nearly a year ago when the Islamists stormed through their villages in Anbar province.
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He lost his property and about $4 million in the process. As members of Sunni tribes that dared to oppose the invaders, many Anbar residents who didn’t get away faced mass executions. Since then, al-Hardan has been collecting intelligence from friends and followers who stayed behind. Some of that intelligence he passes on to local Anbar officials. Other information he uses to build lists of suspected Islamic State sympathizers. “The day will come when we return,” he said. Al-Hardan becomes coy when asked what he plans to do with the list of people he suspects of supporting the militants. He doesn’t rule out handing them over to officials, but said waiting for formal punishment may take too long. “Their punishment depends on how much they hurt other people,” he said. “It’s not easy to hold back and wait for the law to take action.” For Iraqi and international leaders, the challenge is to channel the anger toward the Islamic State into defeating the group and undermining its ideological appeal. In a hopeful sign, a few Sunni fighters joined Shiite groups to help retake Tikrit. And, after previously opposing the deployment of militias to Sunni areas in Anbar, Sunni leaders there voiced support for the units. “Since the 2003 invasion, a simple truth has become clear: Vengeance leads to nothing but violence and only splits the country,” al-Ghanim said. “It’s not possible to exclude groups if you want to build a country. ISIS can unite people in a common enemy. The Iraqi people have already achieved victories that would have been impossible if done alone.” smith.josh@stripes.com Twitter: @joshjonsmith
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
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Friday, May 1, 2015
MCOY Award recipients driven to serve, succeed
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t’s an impressive group of for his younger siblings with individuals. One promotes help from grandparents and the rights of women and friends. As a Boy Scout, Pargirls in the Middle East. sons attained the rank of Eagle One is a record-holding comScout, and is also a leader in petitive swimmer. One is an his school’s Junior ROTC. Eagle Scout. Another founded Zachary Parsons (no relation a nonprofit to help wounded to Caleb Parsons), 16, received veterans, and another volunthe National Guard award. teers to support children of Zachary is a sophomore and deployed servicemembers. Yet very active in 4-H organizaanother overcame homelesstions at the local, state and ness and domestic violence to national levels. He also serves become a leader in his comas a delegate to the Missouri munity. National Guard Teen Advisory Each one is a military child, Council. chosen to represent his or her All six winners were parent’s respective military honored at an April gala in service branches as recipients Washington, attended by Joint of Operation Homefront’s 2015 Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Military Child of the Year Martin Awards. Operation Homefront SPOUSE CALLS Dempsey. is a national nonprofit providRepresentaing assistance to military tives from families. This year’s awards each of the honored four boys and two service girls. branches Cavan McIntyre-Brewer, were on 13, was chosen to represent hand to help the Army. He founded Socks present the for Vets, which collects socks awards. and other donated items for Each of the wounded warriors. recipients Christopher also received Rodriguez, 17, Join the conversation with Terri at $10,000 and a stripes.com/go/spousecalls received the laptop. award for the “These Marine Corps. young people After experiencing homelesshave made it a priority to live ness and domestic violence in their lives in service to others,” his early childhood, Rodriguez said said Sue Hoppin, head of became a military child when the National Military Spouse his mother married a Marine. Network. “It was such an Rodriguez is an active volunhonor to be able to share in this teer in his community, working inspirational event honoring with a number of organizations the youngest members of our to help kids with special needs. military family.” Emily Kliewer, 17, repreJanine Boldrin, co-founder sents the Navy this year. The of Chameleon Kids, a support captain of her school’s swimorganization for military kids, ming and diving team, Kliewer served on the panel of judges holds four aquatic records at who selected this year’s winher high school. She volunteers ners from nearly 500 nomias a swimming instructor and nees. She said the award is a coach for Special Olympics. reminder that military kids are Sarah Hesterman, 16, thriving, not just coping. received the award for the “The MCOY awardees Air Force. She attends school showed a great cross section of where her father is stationed in our military families, differDoha, Qatar. Hesterman is the ent backgrounds, experiences, founder and president of Girl aspirations, which shows Up Qatar, a club that promotes that military kids can’t all be the rights of women and girls lumped into a generic label,” in the Middle East and around said Boldrin. “They are all difthe world. Her group is part of ferent with different challenges a United Nations campaign to … What I loved the most about empower girls. the awardees was their focus Caleb Parsons, 18, is the on helping others who are Coast Guard recipient. Parstruggling. This is something sons’ father serves in the Coast we can all learn from, that Guard, and his mother is in the Air Force. While both parhelping others is often a great ents were deployed, he cared way of healing ourselves.”
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Friday, May 1, 2015