Volume 9, No. 41 ©SS 2017
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2017
U.S. Army Spc. Ryan Cote, assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, practices giving an IV to 1st Lt. Jose Funes at Qayara Airfield West, Iraq, in July. R ACHEL DIEHM Courtesy of the U.S. Army
Combat medics in Iraq expand skills as mission changes
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COVER STORY
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COVER STORY
The entrance to the U.S. Role 2 facility at Qayara Airfield West features tridents denoting that it’s run by the Navy. The doors are flanked by bomb tail sections.
An operating table in the operating room of the Role 2 emergency medical unit at Qayara Airfield West is pictured here on Aug. 30. The field hospital is not busy, but staff stands ready to treat coalition casualties and the worst of Iraq’s wounded. PHOTOS
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C HAD G ARLAND/Stars and Stripes
Navy corpsmen exercise along with a P90X workout video while others play video games Aug. 30 at the U.S. Role 2 facility at Qayara Airfield West. The corpsmen are on around the clock and spend much of their free time inside the emergency room.
For combat medics in Iraq, less is more With fewer troops near front lines, focus shifts to expanding skills BY CHAD GARLAND Stars and Stripes
QAYARA AIRFIELD WEST, Iraq — A peculiar irony accompanies the U.S. military’s diminished presence and role in Iraq. With fewer troops, often at safe
distances from the front lines, medics caring for them here are expanding their roles and skills. “All my medics are drastically increasing their skill base,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class David Euler, the senior combat medic in the Role 1
clinic at this logistics hub about 40 miles south of Mosul. That’s because the medics mainly stay in one place rather than patrol with front-line units and generally treat soldiers with the aim of returning them to duty. In contrast, during the massive U.S. military presence that ended in 2011, the priority was stabilizing casualties for transportation to betterequipped hospitals.
PHOTOS
Sending a soldier to a hospital in Baghdad now could sideline them for five or six weeks, partly because of the difficulty of movement, said Euler, 28, from Penton, Wash.
“We’re keeping people in the fight here,” Euler said. “We don’t move troops if we don’t have to.” SEE PAGE 3
C HAD G ARLAND/Stars and Stripes
A mural painted on blast walls outside the Navy-operated Role 2 emergency medical unit at Qayara Airfield West is pictured here on Aug. 30. The painting depicts Neptune, god of the sea, reaching out to combat troops, with the phrase “Neptune healers” inscribed in Latin. FROM PAGE 2
From left, Navy corpsmen Petty Officer 3rd Class Paul Lloyd, Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul Duarte, Senior Chief Petty Officer Josina Cato and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Whitmore work on professional development during downtime at the field hospital Aug. 30 at Qayara Airfield West.
BY
It’s a big change from Euler’s last time here in 2008 and 2009, then as a private first class with an Army infantry unit in Baghdad and the Diyala River Valley, where constant patrolling ground him down and blunted many of his skills. Though he’d joined the Army for a guaranteed medic slot, he wasn’t only a medic. When not patching someone up, he was a rifleman. Medics whom Euler manages now still go out on route-clearing, but they’re stationary much of the time, he said. A handful staff the battalion aid station around the clock, along with an Army physician and a physical therapist. “They’re treating people
every day,” Euler said. Things were a bit slower in the Role 2 expeditionary medical unit tent next door, where Navy corpsmen — who, like Euler, were used to giving first aid to troops on the battlefield on previous deployments — find themselves doing more intensive, if less frequent, care in the rear. During down time, a group of on-call sailors did yoga along with a workout video while others played a video game on one of the emergency room’s big-screen monitors. In the pharmacy, Senior Chief Petty Officer Josina Cato met with a small group for career development. Besides their main focus on treating coalition casualties, they could be called on to treat the worst of Iraq’s wounded — those at risk of losing life,
limb or eyesight. “We haven’t had a lot of exposure, but what we have seen reflects an evolution of wounds,” said Capt. Brian Smoley, the hospital chief since July, when the unit comprising sailors from throughout the Navy deployed here on a six-month tour. Islamic State militants have fought the advancing government forces using snipers, mortars and improvised explosive devices, so injuries include gunshot, blast and burn wounds, The wounded soldiers are sometimes stabilized right on the flight line and are sent on to Iraqi medical facilities, said Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam Little. Still, the Iraqis seem to know they’re in good hands, and the corpsmen know they’re making a difference.
“Even on the darkest days … they were so happy to see us,” said Little, 32, a Plimpton, Mass., native on his fourth Iraq deployment since 2006 — his first working in a hospital. It’s more of a “backseat role” than Petty Officer 1st Class Angel Vicente, 35, expected, but the looks on Iraqis’ faces tell him he’s appreciated, even if he can’t speak their language, the Springfield, Mass., native said. Officials said that in about a month in Iraq, the Navy unit had treated fewer than a dozen patients. The Iraqis are doing more for themselves with occasional coalition support. “The concept of them actually handling their own medevac and leaning on us only when necessary … is outstanding,” Little said. It’s a significant improvement from a decade ago. “Their medics are doing a phenomenal job.” While that means fewer patients, the ones they do get need their best efforts.
Smoley, the officer in charge, said the corpsmen trained in trauma treatment before deploying — few use the skills in day-to-day jobs at military medical centers — and drill often to stay sharp. When they’ve had a chance to work, they’ve taken pride in knowing they’ve done all they possibly could. As Euler’s team prepares to redeploy, he expects they will take the experience they’ve gained treating more than 1,000 patients since arriving in January and share it throughout the Army. Some sergeants did more medicine in this nine-month deployment than they had during their three- or four-year careers. In garrison, their fellow soldiers normally call for ambulances, not the unit medic, in emergencies. Not so in Iraq. “There is no 911,” Euler said. “We are the 911.” garland.chad@stripes.com Twitter: @chadgarland
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WAR ON TERRORISM
US boosts Somalia airstrikes amid uncertain future BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes
An intensifying U.S. airstrike campaign against Somalia is unlikely by itself to defeat a resilient band of al-Qaida-aligned militants, a fact that could tempt the U.S. to wade deeper into a country faced with the departure of an African force that has offered protection for a decade. The uptick in U.S. strikes against al-Shabab targets — 13 attacks since June — is part of a hurried effort to degrade the long-running insurgency and buy time for Somalia’s fledgling military. The vexing questions now are the country’s fate after the withdrawal of the African Union Mission to Somalia, set to begin next year and conclude by 2020: How much territory could be lost to alShabab, and how fast? “The group (al-Shabab) would most likely retake some lost territory should AMISOM forces withdraw before the [Somalia National Army] is capable of effective independent operations against the group,” said Robyn Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Africa Command. “That being said, at this time it’s too early to determine what, if any, additional support will be required from the international community when AMISOM departs.” Besides airstrikes, the stepped-up operations include U.S. commandos on the front lines with Somali forces. Regular U.S. troops give lessons in building defense institutions, with added support from other nations. There is some doubt about the likely success of the airstrike campaign and the surge in land operations. “No clear indication yet, but when pressured previously there has been a temporary degradation in both the
group’s command and control and morale of the rank-andfile members,” Mack said. “However, this degradation has likely been temporary. The group has maintained the ability to resurge when pressure against them on the ground by allied/partner forces has lessened.” When the African Union intervened in Somalia in 2007, al-Shabab was on the brink of overtaking Mogadishu and controlled large areas of territory where it enforced its rule with beheadings and mass killings. The African Union eventually pushed the militants out of most former strongholds, but as its mission began to slow in 2016, al-Shabab made gains. Recently, there also have been flickers of Islamic State presence in the country. J. Peter Pham, who is under consideration by the Trump administration to serve as assistant secretary of state for Africa, said airstrikes are unlikely to defeat al-Shabab, which “has shown itself to be a remarkably resilient group, adapting to the shifting strategic landscape of Somalia and its neighborhood. “Thus there is no reason to believe that it will not also survive in some fashion the recent setbacks it has suffered in terms of strikes and defections,” Pham said. African Union and AFRICOM officials also acknowledged that Somalia’s military is unable to fight on its own against al-Shabab, which seeks to impose a strict form of Sharia law. Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu wouldn’t fall immediately upon the AU’s departure, but it could be eventually at risk as al-Shabab chips at surrounding territory, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, an expert on Somalia with the Washingtonbased Brookings Institution
RUSS SCALF/Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force
A team from the 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, provides security for a C-130J on May 26 during a cargo mission in Somalia. Increasing U.S. airstrikes against the extremist group alShabab are part of an effort to buy time for the fledgling Somalian military. think tank. “Clearly, al-Shabab understands the reality that everyone else understands as well — the writing is on the wall with the respect to the AU leaving,” Felbab-Brown said. During the next two years, the U.S. and other Western partners are tasked with readying Somalia’s military to lead the fight, but so far the training effort lacks cohesion, analysts said. The NATO mission in Afghanistan, where the U.S. has spent billions of dollars to build up security forces, shows the limits of “building partner capacity” in nations with governments that wield little control over their territory. “All the problems you have in Afghanistan are all bigger in Somalia,” Felbab-Brown said. “There are massive challenges to overcome.” Government corruption in Somalia is widespread, and clan rivalries have long confounded attempts to impose order on a country with no history of a functioning central government. Al-Shabab, which rivals Nigeria-based Boko Haram as Africa’s deadliest terrorist group, poses a threat mainly to countries around the eastern Horn of Africa and Western interests there, but the group has threatened to widen its
scope of operations. The size of the force is estimated to range from 7,000 to 10,000 fighters. The West is concerned that if al-Shabab asserts more control over the country, Somalia could become a magnet for al-Qaida and other jihadis, serving as a potential hub for groups under pressure in places such as Syria, Iraq and Libya. For now, there is no clear U.S. policy on Somalia beyond the current airstrike campaign, a small training mission and more recent diplomatic outreach. Pham said the U.S. should find ways to aid the nascent government’s terrorism fight. “The role of the United States is not to nation-build in Somalia. That is the responsibility of Somalis themselves,” said Pham, vice president of the Atlantic Council and director of its Africa program. “It is, however, in the interest of the United States to support — to the extent that they demonstrate an effective capacity — those national or regional entities in Somalia which stand opposed to our common extremist enemies and can thus contribute to local and regional security.” In March, President Donald Trump granted broader powers to AFRICOM, enabling the command to strike quicker
against targets in Somalia. While special operations forces operated secretly in Somalia for years, the military now openly acknowledges that elite forces have a steady mission there. The Army also recently sent regular soldiers into Mogadishu for the first time since 18 servicemembers were killed in one day during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu. In April, about 40 soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division began training Somali troops on logistics to bolster government’s ability to resupply its forces’ combat missions. The move shows how the U.S. has gradually returned to Somalia more than 20 years after the “Black Hawk Down” debacle, which ended overt military action in the country until about five years ago. Pham said there are signs for hope with Somalia’s current government, which is an improvement over past regimes and “deserves a chance” to prove itself. But “the current Somali government is not without its defects, and the international community needs to be very clear-eyed about them and factor in the limitations of what the government can realistically be expected to accomplish,” Pham said. vandiver.john@stripes.com
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PACIFIC
Aerial tour shows progress at Humphreys Transformation of sprawling base is 80 percent done BY M ARCUS FICHTL Stars and Stripes
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Originally a small fighter base during the Korean War, Camp Humphreys is transforming into the peninsula’s largest military installation. Aerial snapshots taken Sept. 13 show a transformation 8th Army commander Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal calls 80 percent done. Barracks and training ranges can be seen sprawling along the banks of Anseong River to the north as family housing and schools cut into rice paddies to the south. Four-lane boulevards bisect block after block of new buildings. The base looks more like Fort Bliss and Fort Hood in Texas than it does the old Korean War-era camps filled with Quonset huts. The images also show sore spots for the $10.7 billion project aimed to fulfill a 2004 agreement to move the bulk of U.S. forces 40 miles south of Seoul. The hospital is still under construction, behind schedule after quality control issues. The downtown complex looks complete from the outside, but interiors aren’t finished. A golf course won’t be ready until next summer at the earliest. The general officers houses overlooking the course also await final touches. Vandal projects the Camp Humphreys transformation will be done by 2020. The move was originally scheduled for 2008, but construction and funding issues have delayed the expansion. fichtl.marcus@stripes.com Twitter: @marcusfichtl
Above, family housing is in the foreground with grade schools immediately behind and barracks in the distance at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on Sept. 13. Right, a downtown complex features a theater, PX and commissary. PHOTOS
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M ARCUS FICHTL / Stars and Stripes
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EUROPE
DODEA’s first ‘21st-century school’ opens Wiesbaden High using concepts in instruction, energy efficiency BY DAN STOUTAMIRE Stars and Stripes
WIESBADEN, Germany — Bathed in light from the school’s massive windows and sensor-activated, environmentally friendly light fixtures, students and faculty from Wiesbaden High School gathered to celebrate the opening of the military’s newest educational facility — a $52 million investment featuring subjectbased “neighborhoods” and classrooms with movable glass walls. “What do we have? A 21stcentury school,” said Thomas Brady, the Department of Defense Education Activity director, to the assembled students at the ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 13. “As you’ve already found out, with neighborhoods and collaboration with teachers, which will impact student achievement. You have openness, new technology, new labs and, more importantly, you’ll be part of the teaching effort.” Each of the new school’s six neighborhoods, spaced among its three floors, consists of four studios where instruction occurs. Movable glass walls accommodate a variety of class sizes. The system has proved to be effective despite early misgivings said Christopher Harbach, who teaches drama and journalism. “We had some trepidation in the beginning, but it works. We thought we might be disrupting each other, but that wasn’t the case,” he said. “The school promotes a sense of flexibility and movement.” Wiesbaden’s new facility is the beginning of an ongoing process to modernize schools across Europe. The Army Corps of Engineers-Europe
PHOTOS
BY
MICHAEL A BRAMS/Stars and Stripes
Sandra Whitaker, center, the principal at the new Wiesbaden High School, talks to freshmen during orientation Sept. 11, the first day of the 2017-18 school year.
The common area of the new school is seen from the third floor. District is overseeing $1.2 billion in projects in Germany and Belgium alone, accounting for more than 30 schools and 14,000 students.
Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army Europe, said the continued investment in education for children of servicemembers stationed
overseas is vital. “There’s no way any parent would bring their sons and daughters over to Europe if they didn’t think their children [would] get a first-class education that would prepare them to go to college,” he said. “This high school, the first American 21st-century high school, is directly connected to the strategic vision of the U.S. government.” While much of the ceremony was a celebration of what the future holds, it also included a nod to the school’s past. Wiesbaden High School was known as General H.H. Arnold High School from 1949 until 2006, named after the first general of the Air Force after that branch was created in 1947. During the ceremony, Hodges unveiled a plaque officially dedicating the school to Arnold, though it will keep its current name. Some of the key features
of the 21st-century schools concept are energy efficiency, natural light and the use of recycled materials in construction. Nearly all of the school’s classrooms have large windows and views to the outdoors. An efficient, sensor-based plumbing system will reduce water use by 40 percent, said project manager Steve Ross. In addition, a “green” roof, which is covered with grass and plants, will reduce the amount of rainwater emptied into the drainage system. Six schools are currently under construction in Europe, while 13 more are in the design process. Ross said the next two to be completed — Kaiserslautern High School and Wiesbaden Middle School — will be open for the 2018-19 school year. stoutamire.dan@stripes.com Twitter: @DKS_Stripes
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Mission-focused
P E R S O N A L I N J U RY AT TO R N E YS AT W O R K F O R YO U www.nicholsonrevell.com
Marine officer boosts charities as she runs across America BY WYATT OLSON
Harry D. Revell
Stars and Stripes
After 10 years of early mornings, grueling physical training and mission intensity in the Marine Corps, Capt. Maggie Seymour left the service in August for … early mornings, grueling PT and mission intensity. While on terminal leave, Seymour took off from San Diego on July 22 on a fundraising run across America, a journey she has dubbed “One Marine. Coast to Coast. 100 Days.” She averages 35 miles in eight to 10 hours a day — or a night, in areas where the sun becomes too unbearable. She expects to reach her finish line in Virginia Beach in late October. As of midSeptember, she was east of Oklahoma City. Her progress can be live-tracked at: http://bit.ly/2xgYi5B “Success for me will be if I can make it across the country, and if I can get people involved,” Seymour said when Stars and Stripes caught up with her via cellphone while she was in Arizona. “That’s the mission to get people involved in their communities. I think that’s what our country really needs, is people involved and responsible, reaching out to other people. I think that’s the answer to a lot of problems.” Through the run, she is seeking donations for the “communities” she has come to cherish: Team Hoyt, Ainsley’s Angels, Warrior Expeditions, Wear Blue, Mission Continues and Farmer Veteran Coalition. The organizations primarily support special-needs athletes and veterans. “The communities I’ve chosen have given a lot to me, but you can get that from any community,” she said. The 31-year-old is a gonzo marathoner. In February 2016, she ran 161 miles over four days along the coast of California, a trib-
Maggie Seymour relaxes during a rest day from running in northeastern Texas on Sept. 4. She expects to reach Virginia Beach by Oct. 28. ute to the 161 servicewomen who have died supporting U.S. military operations since 9/11, she said. Corey Hanrahan, president of Team Hoyt’s San Diego chapter, recalled a friend introducing him to Seymour in Massachusetts several years ago. “She just got done running six marathons in six days,” he said. “And there she was holding a pint. I was like, ‘OK!’” He became closer friends with her after she was stationed in San Diego a few years ago. “Maggie is one of these humble people who is capable of doing incredible things — and she does incredible things — and you would never know it. She is one the most genuine, nicest people you would ever meet, who is really dedicated to making a difference in other people’s lives.” Seymour’s goal of reaching Virginia Beach by Oct. 28 is driven by her desire to join the annual Wicked 10-kilometer race there that week. It was at that race six years ago she first ran with Team Hoyt, an organization that sprang from the feats of fatherson team Dick and Rick Hoyt. Son Rick, now 51, is quadriplegic and has cerebral palsy, but since he was a teenager
his father has wheeled him in hundreds of marathons. Seymour’s inspiration for the nationwide run was Anna Judd, who ran from Los Angeles to New York City in 2014. Seymour talked to Judd shortly before beginning the run. “She told me to not really expect anything, to be open to whatever happens,” she said. It didn’t take long for the unanticipated to arrive. “I didn’t expect I’d have to start running at night until I got to Arizona, but I had to start on day three because the temperatures were so hot and because there was so much climbing on the eastern part of the California desert,” Seymour said. “That was an adjustment.” Running at night is a challenge, and not only because it messes up her sleep cycle. “It’s weird because on the one hand it’s boring,” she said. “There’s nothing to look at. On the other hand you can’t really relax and let go. You’re looking at where you’re running and watching out for snakes, where the trail’s going, stopping to check your map, trying not to trip over any rocks. It’s kind of the worst of both those worlds.” Seymour paused. “And if I were to be completely honest, I’m scared of the dark,” she said.
PHOTOS
COURTESY OF
M AGGIE SEYMOUR
Maggie Seymour crosses into Texas from New Mexico in August during her coast-to-coast run across America. Accompanying her is a support van, driven by a rotating crew of friends. It leapfrogs ahead of her route, supplying her with food and water at needed intervals. They camp or stay at hotels along the way. Seymour is economical in words during an interview, but her blog entries since beginning the run are often eloquent. Nearing the end of a day’s run in mid-August, she wrote about a “meltdown.” “Crack. Wide open. I started sobbing. No, wailing,” she wrote. “Now there’s ugly crying and there’s drunk crying and then there was this, the ugliest and most irrational cry I’ve ever had. I cried dry tears, fat wet tears, snot tears, some mix of dirt and sunscreen tears. I cried so hard the cows mooed in solidarity, or mockery. I cried out of pain,
not really what I felt that day but every pain I had ever felt, every pain anyone I had loved had ever felt. War, death, the loss of children, addiction, the feeling of pure helplessness when the pain you’ve been fighting back, holding in finally demands to be felt. I wailed for all of it.” Her cross-country route runs through the Midwest, but Seymour said she had to make “a hard decision” early on to drop plans to detour north to her hometown in Alexander, Ill., where she lived in a rural home until heading to college. The visit would have added too many extra days, she said. “We’re practical people in the Midwest,” she said, jokingly. “So practicality over sentimentality.” olson.wyatt@stripes.com Twitter: @WyattWOlson
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George S. (Sam) Nicholson
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MILITARY
No fast fix for Navy’s manning issues BY T YLER HLAVAC Stars and Stripes
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — There’s no quick fix for manning issues that may have contributed to recent deadly collisions at sea, the Navy’s top enlisted sailor said at an all-hands meeting at Yokosuka on Sept. 13. More ships overseas and smaller crews mean overworked sailors who can’t complete maintenance on time and potential safety issues, the Government Accountability Office reported at a hearing earlier this month into the collisions involving the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain that cost 17 sailors their lives. “Manning is one of those things we need to get fixed immediately,” Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Steven Giordano told sailors gathered at Yokosuka. “We need the right people on board at the appropriate pay grade. We don’t want you out there operating with reduced manning at a level that has you working 100-hour plus weeks.” One of the sailors at the meeting, Petty Officer 2nd Class Akram Omar, a boatswain’s mate with port operations, said his unit is one of many facing personnel shortfalls. “What is the Navy doing for us on
LEON C OOK /Stars and Stripes
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Steven Giordano speaks to sailors during a town hall meeting at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on Sept. 13. shore side for manning, training and maintenance?” Omar asked. “Based off a 2015 model, we are 20 personnel short. We’re out there with the fleet when they’re underway. What is the Navy doing for the shore side?” Giordano responded that manning is an issue across the Navy and that the service has been pulling sailors from shore units to try to fill manning gaps
on ships. But he doesn’t see the issues being resolved soon. “Manning is affecting every part of our Navy,” he said. “It’s not just here at 7th Fleet, it’s not just at sea, it’s not just at shore. We just don’t have the inventory right now to get that manning level where it should be at across all spectrums, at sea and at shore.” Rear Adm. Richard Brown, head
of the Navy Personnel Command and deputy chief of Naval Personnel, told Stars and Stripes last summer the Navy would consider giving 7th Fleet a higher priority when it comes to manning. “They are always on deployment,” he said. “We want to make sure that we have the priorities set correctly.” The Navy announced last month it would begin shifting more than 1,100 senior enlisted sailors from shore billets to fill about 3,000 “gaps” in operations at sea. The service is trying to add new sailors and retain those already enlisted, allowing some to stay in uniform longer without being promoted. The Navy’s budget for the 2018 fiscal year aims to add 4,000 sailors, bringing its roll up to 327,900. However, Giordano said a series of short-term spending bills by Congress have affected the Navy’s budget and ability to bring more sailors into the fleet. “The biggest bill to the Navy is each and every one of you,” Giordano told the Yokosuka sailors. “You’re about 50 percent of our total budget. Manpower is quite expensive.” hlavac.tyler@stripes.com
New commander takes over Pacific submarines Stars and Stripes
Rear Adm. Daryl Caudle has assumed command of all Navy submarines in the Pacific. Caudle replaced Rear Adm. Frederick “Fritz” Roegge as commander of Pacific Fleet’s Submarine Force during a change-of-command ceremo-
ny Sept. 11 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Roegge is heading to Washington, D.C., to serve as the president of National Defense University. Caudle is a former commander of the Pearl Harborbased Submarine Squadron 3.
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) 761-0900 Advertising: (202) 761-0910 Michael Davidson, Weekly Partnership Director: davidson.michael@stripes.com Additional contact information: stripes.com
His previous assignment was at 6th Fleet, where he led Submarine Group 8 and served as deputy commander, director of operations for Naval Forces Europe-Africa. The Pacific submarine force provides anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship
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, 2017
Courtesy of the U.S. Navy
Rear Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of Pacific Fleet’s Submarine Force, speaks during a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, on Sept. 11. warfare, precision land strike, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and early warning and special warfare capabilities to the Pacific
Command and deterrence capabilities to U.S. Strategic Command, a Navy statement said. news@stripes.com
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EUROPE
Bringing artillery from above
173rd Airborne prepares for next month’s exercises BY M ARTIN EGNASH Stars and Stripes
PHOTOS
BY
M ARTIN EGNASH /Stars and Stripes
Above left: U.S. paratroopers with the 173rd Airborne Brigade jump out of a C-130J Super Hercules during training in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on Sept. 14 in preparation for exercises next month. Top right: The soldiers complete their jump and, bottom right, load ammunition.
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — U.S. paratroopers with the 173rd Airborne Brigade parachuted to the ground and assembled artillery pieces Sept. 14 in preparation for exercises next month. After jumping from a C-130J Super Hercules, the soldiers readied and fired 105 mm Howitzers to practice providing indirect fire. “This type of training helps the battalion ensure it is ready, able and proficient if called on to deploy and provide indirect fires in support of the 173rd and/or NATO,” said Maj. Michael Centola, executive officer of the 173rd’s 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment. The 173rd is the most forward-deployed light infantry brigade combat team in Europe. It serves as the Army’s airborne contingency response for any threat to European safety. egnash.martin@stripes.com Twitter: @Marty_Stripes
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Thu Sep 21
7pm Michael Viator’s Beauty and the Beast
Imperial Theatre Also shows at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22. Classic story presented by the Columbia County Ballet. $14-$30. Military and child discounts available. Visit imperialtheatre.com or call 706722-8341.
Fri Sep 22
7pm - 10pm Silent Movie Night
Sacred Heart Cultural Center Featuring the 1925 movie “The Merry Widow” with musical accompaniment by organist Ron Carter. A program of songs from the silent era featuring soprano Melanie Wade Larsen with Ron Carter will begin at 7:15 p.m. $20, general admission; $60, lounging LaZ-Boy and concessions; $10, students; $144, table for 8. Call 706-826-4700 or visit sacredheartaugusta.org.
Sat Sep 23
9am - 4pm Berry Fleming Book Festival
AU’s Jaguar Student Activity Center New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain will be the keynote speaker, and dozens of authors representing a wide variety of genres will discuss their works in readings and panels. There also
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will be writing workshops, school outreach, a literary marketplace, food trucks and a children’s area. Free and open to the public. Visit berryflemingbookfestival.com.
7:30pm - 9:30pm Soiree: Jazz + Wine Jessye Norman School of the Arts Featuring classic live jazz and wines selected by the host. $7, advance; $10, day of show. Call 762-233-5299 or visit jazzsoiree.com.
Thu Sep 28
Fort Gordon Fall Festival
Fort Gordon’s Barton Field Food, drinks, activities, carnival, flea market and more. Continues through Sunday, Oct. 1. Call 706-791-8878 or visit fortgordon.com.
6pm - 8pm Burger Battle
E.W. Hagler Boys & Girls Club A fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the CSRA in which six area restaurants will prepare and serve burgers. Competitors include Fat Man’s Mill Cafe, Finch & Fifth, Cucina 503, Village Deli, Tastefully Yours and the Hive. The event also will include live music by Funk You. Tickets include food, beverages and entertainment. $50, adults; free, kids 12 and under. Visit bgccsra.org/ burger-battle.html.
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