Stars & Stripes - 10.13.17

Volume 9, No. 44 ©SS 2017

TROOPS TARGETED Russia hacking phones, mining information from Americans on cruise tours or deployed to Eastern Europe Page 2

ILLUSTRATION

BY

NOGA A MI - RAV/Stars and Stripes

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2017

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COVER STORY

Russia hacking phones, mining GIs’ info

BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes

STUTTGART, Germany — Moscow is apparently targeting rank-and-file U.S. military personnel for information while they are operating in Eastern Europe and while going to Russia as tourists, according to military officials and media reports.

U.S. troops have been pulled out of line during cruise ship stops in Russia, where they’ve been questioned and harassed by intelligence operatives in recent months, military officials in Europe said.

Meanwhile, along NATO’s eastern flank, troops appear to be getting targeted through covert means.

Such incidents, focused on troops assigned to NATO battle groups deployed to deter potential Russian aggression in the Baltics and Poland, signal a return to Cold War-era espionage tactics that were less common in the years after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Lt. Col. Christopher L’Heureux, who leads a 2nd Cavalry Regiment deployed to Poland, told the Wall Street Journal recently that his phone was hacked, along with the phones or social media accounts of at least six of his troops operating not far from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

“They were geolocating me, whoever it was,” L’Heureux said. “I was like, ‘What the heck is this?’ ” L’Heureux told the Journal he suspected the hacking was part of a Russian effort to intimidate personnel and glean information.

The Journal documented a series of other cases, including a U.S. soldier’s encounter in Latvia with a suspected Russian operative who knew personal information about the soldier.

U.S. military officials in Europe declined to comment on the hacking incidents and referred questions to U.S. Cyber Command.

Col. Daniel King, a CYBERCOM spokesman, said in a statement that he “can neither confirm nor deny” cases of phones being hacked, but that he had “no reason to doubt what the Lt Col said.”

Since Russia’s 2014 intervention in Ukraine, which prompted NATO to bolster its defenses near Russia’s border, tensions have been rising in Europe.

Western concern about Russia centers largely on Moscow’s penchant for mischief in the cyber realm. Allies have complained about everything from information operations aimed at influencing Western elections to Rus-

sia’s deployment of “little green men” to Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, where disguised Russian troops created confusion as they operated in uniforms without national insignia.

A Russian 2007 cyberattack on Estonia that crippled networks served as an early sign of Russia’s fast-evolving skills in unconventional battlegrounds.

John Deni, an expert on European security with the U.S. Army War College, said Russia’s apparent attempts to hack the servicemembers’ phones shouldn’t come as a surprise, given current tensions and Moscow’s his-

tory of targeting troops for information digs.

“Russia has shown again and again that it does not buy into the neoliberal approach of the West — namely, that a rising tide lifts all boats,” Deni said. “Instead, Russia seems intent upon pursuing an almost neo-mercantile approach to the West, where the West’s loss is necessarily Russia’s gain. I assume — and hope — we’re doing the same in terms of intelligence gathering against them.”

The military is reluctant to delve into specifics about Russian information operations. To highlight specific

‘ Russia has shown again and again that it does

not buy into the neoliberal approach of the West — namely, that a rising tide lifts all boats. Instead, Russia seems intent upon pursuing an almost neo-mercantile approach to the West, where the West’s loss is necessarily Russia’s gain. I assume — and hope — we’re doing the same in terms of intelligence gathering against them.

’

John Deni expert on European security with the U.S. Army War College

cases as alarming or dismiss them outright as minor harassment could signal to Russia that its methods are either having their desired effect or indicate they are falling short and need to be stepped up.

Moscow routinely denies involvement in such operations.

The Army has quietly taken steps to bolster the awareness of personnel stationed in Europe.

Operational security training by the Army currently highlights the ways in which troops can be targeted by intelligence services. In recent months, on-base training has dealt with concerns about U.S. troops being questioned while in Russia off duty.

“As for intimidating servicemembers and their families while touring Russia, that kind of behavior on the part of Russian intelligence services is probably inevitable, given the perspectives of Russian political elites and especially the Kremlin — namely, that the West is the enemy,” Deni said.

“Russian intelligence services probably — and inaccurately — assume those servicemembers and families traveling as tourists are actually gathering intelligence.”

Typically, servicemembers detained in recent months as tourists by the Russians have been subjected to interrogation. They are directed to write down everything about their military affiliation: unit, type of job, commander and level of security clearance, according to accounts of the training courses.

Servicemembers have been advised to reject those requests for information and seek U.S. Embassy support. The interrogations tend to happen during brief layovers in St. Petersburg, a popular stopping point on cruise boat tours.

Military officials haven’t given numbers for what they say is an increase in cases of harassment of military members and their families while visiting Russia.

The State Department has cautioned the military community to consider the “current political-military environment” when planning unofficial travel to Russia. Troops have been advised to not visit the country.

Foreigners in Russia have become victims of harassment, mistreatment and extortion by law enforcement and other officials, a State Department official told Stars and Stripes.

“Police do not need to show probable cause in order to stop, question or detain individuals,” the official said. vandiver.john@stripes.com Twitter: @john_vandiver

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WAR ON TERRORISM

Special forces take on risk in Niger mission

BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes

The United States has quietly moved scores of additional troops in recent months into Niger, home to the second-largest contingent of American servicemembers on the African continent and an operational anchor for an increasingly dangerous counterterrorism mission.

U.S. operations in Niger provide support for local troops in the fight against extremist groups such as Boko Haram and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. The mission’s risks were highlighted Oct. 4 when four commandos were killed while on patrol.

There are now about 800 U.S. troops working in Niger (pronounced “nee-ZHER”), up from 645 in June, according to U.S. Africa Command.

Only the small east African nation of Djibouti, home to the United State’s major troop hub Camp Lemonnier, has more forces, with roughly 4,000 personnel.

The growth in troop numbers in Niger is because the U.S. has two “security cooperation locations” in the country, one in the capital of Niamey and a newer outpost under development to the north in Agadez, said Samantha Reho, an AFRICOM spokeswoman.

AFRICOM has set up a series of such locations around Africa in recent years, part of a broader effort to facilitate troop movements and reduce crisis-response times.

On Oct. 4, Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35; Sgt. La David T. Johnson, 25; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, all Green Berets with the 3rd

Special Forces Group, were killed when they came under fire during a joint patrol with Nigerien troops, the Pentagon said.

“I think clearly there’s risk for our forces in Niger,” Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, the director of the Joint Staff, said during a news conference Oct. 5.

Niger, a country situated between Mali and Nigeria, serves as a launching pad for surveillance of several extremist groups active in the region.

In Mali, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb has conducted cross-border attacks, while Boko Haram, the most lethal terrorist group in Africa, launches frequent attacks into Niger from strongholds in northern Nigeria.

Special operations forces in Niger play a key role advising local forces responsible for leading the fight against militants. The military has offered few details about the mission Oct. 4 that resulted in the deaths of the troops other than to say the forces were on patrol and serving as advisers to their Nigerien counterparts.

They were the first combat fatalities for U.S. troops in Niger.

The military hasn’t identified the militant group that may have been behind the attack or said whether surveillance aircraft were able to

A ARON J. JENNE /Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

A U.S. Army carry team transfers the remains of Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright upon arrival Oct. 5 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga., was one of four U.S. troops and four Niger forces killed in an ambush during a patrol by a joint American and Nigerien force. provide support. The patrol occurred near Niger’s border with Mali, where al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and several smaller extremist groups are known to operate.

The U.S. is not currently believed to be conducting armed drone flights from its outposts in Niger or nearby Cameroon, so it is unclear whether fire support from the air was an immediate option. As construction commenced in 2016 on a new drone site in Agadez, AFRICOM was mum on how surveillance operations could evolve over time.

The Pentagon declined to go into details about the patrol that turned deadly. The New York Times reported the firefight was relatively brief: a 30 minute-clash that included about 10 U.S. troops and 20 Nigerien forces.

The long-term implications

of the attack on the U.S. mission are uncertain, but some analysts say the result could be a sharpened focus on military efforts.

“There will be a natural temptation to up the tempo of military operations,” wrote Africa analysts from the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. “Clearly for Niger and its Western partners, such operations are a critical component of their response to militant groups that attack security forces and whose violence and intolerance threaten state and society alike.”

One of AFRICOM’s concerns in Africa is the challenge of conducting search-and-rescue operations on a continent that is three times the size of the U.S. and has limited medical services and infrastructure.

In March, Gen. Thomas

Waldhauser, AFRICOM’s commander, highlighted those worries in testimony to Congress, which said that searchand-rescue assets in Africa were limited and that the U.S. often relies on contracted services.

McKenzie didn’t comment on whether such issues were a factor in Niger but said that enabling the evacuation of forces is given careful consideration when troops deploy.

“Anytime we deploy full forces globally, we will look very hard at the enablers that need to be in place in order to provide security for them,” he said. “And that ranges from the ability to pull them out if they’re injured to the ability to reinforce them ... We look at all those things, and evaluate on a continual basis.” vandiver.john@stripes.com Twitter: @john_vandiver

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MILITARY FIRST IN AN OCCASIONAL SERIES

The USS Fitzgerald sits in dry dock at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, to continue repairs and assess damage sustained from its June 17 collision with a merchant vessel.

C HRISTIAN SENYK /Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

How high-tech US Navy went off course on basic seamanship skills

BY WYATT OLSON Stars and Stripes

A

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii n exasperated Sen. Angus King recently grilled the Navy’s top uniformed officer for reasons why two high-tech destroyers had collided with commercial ships since June.

“How in the world could a billion-dollar destroyer not know that there’s a freighter closing in on it?” King asked during a Senate committee hearing on Sept. 19. “This is just unacceptable from just a modern seamanship point of view, it seems to me.”

Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, didn’t disagree. He promised King that all would be made known when investigations are completed into the June collision of the USS Fitzgerald and the August collision of the USS John S. McCain, along with a sweeping Navy-wide review of systemic flaws. The investigations would particularly focus on “proper operation of your equipment, fundamentals of watch standing,” Richardson said, using the nautical term for the continuous oversight of essential ship operations, most importantly bridge navigation.

The collisions, which left 17 sailors dead, have raised questions about how the Navy mans, certifies, maintains

and operates its surface ships, particularly those operating in the Pacific’s crowded sea lanes.

But as Richardson implied, the disasters raise doubts about the state of seamanship in the Navy — just how competent the average officer is at the basics of charting, steering, watching and veering.

Some former Navy officers contend that mastering complex warfighting operations and technology aboard warships comes at the expense of honing seamanship skills.

“The seamanship part, I think, is really treated as an assumed baseline, even though that’s the part that we do for real every day,” said Steven Stashwick, a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve. Before leaving active duty in 2015, he spent a decade as a surface warfare officer. His duties included teaching navigation.

ABOUT THIS SERIES “It’s not even really a tension between seamanship and warfighting; it’s simply A look at the issues affecting the that the seamanship part is assumed and Navy and the 7th Fleet: lack of thereby not really thought about until sometraining, manning gaps and the thing goes wrong or until events thrust it upon you, as the sea is wont to do.” culture of surface warfare officers.

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MILITARY FROM PAGE 4

That attitude shows, he said, in the strategy issued in January by Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden, commander of Pacific Fleet’s surface force.

“It’s all about warfighting,” Stashwick said. “And that makes sense, but it’s revealing that nowhere in that document do you see words like ‘seamanship’ or ‘mariner.’ They are lesser-included assumptions in the quest to achieve greater warfighting skill and capability.”

While every captain knows the fastest way to get fired is to have your ship involved in a “mishap” — the Navy’s term for minor and major collisions and running aground — a crew’s generic seamanship proficiency does not play a significant role in command promotion, Stashwick said.

“It’s really things like warfare qualifications or administrative and managerial acumen that would be the career discriminators,” he said.

‘A rude awakening’ Navy veteran Mitch McGuffie has been arguing for more stringent training and specialization for Navy surface officers after spending two years as a bridge watch keeper aboard the British Royal Navy’s HMS Cornwall during an exchange program from 2005 to 2007.

“I called it a rude awakening,” said McGuffie, who at the time regarded himself a “competent mariner” with a fair amount of bridge time on a destroyer.

“But once I got to the Royal Navy, it was a completely different environment where officers were given a lot more responsibilities with fewer officers on the bridge of a ship,” he said. For the first few months he said he was embarrassed by his lack of maritime knowledge.

McGuffie came away from the experience, which he later recounted in an article for Proceedings Magazine in 2009, convinced that Navy surface warfare officers should specialize to give themselves greater depth of experience in bridge watch standing.

“Most navies in the world

A LONZO A RCHER /Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

A sailor stands watch in the combat information center aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain as it sails east of the Korean Peninsula in 2014. divide their officers into warfare officers — those who drive ships, who fight ships and go on to command ships — and engineers, who become very proficient at operating engineering plants and often have engineering degrees,” he said.

“We try to make everyone a jack-of-all-trades,” he said of the Navy. “So one tour you might be on the bridge of a ship. The next tour you might be in engineering and never go on the bridge of a ship.

Then you get sent to shore for four years, where you’re not even on the bridge of a ship. Being great at anything is about repetition and experience.”

Stashwick is likewise critical of the Navy’s approach to make surface officers “generalists,” which sometimes results in captains possessing little more actual ship-driving experience than their junior officers.

The generalist model is useful from a human-resources aspect, he said, because it gives the Navy a large pool of interchangeable officers rather than stovepipes of professional disciplines. Such a system creates a larger group of officers eligible for

command.

One of that system’s downsides, however, is that a lot of ensigns are jockeying for finite bridge time to become certified.

“All that time underway gets divided among those individuals,” McGuffie said. “So that responsibility kind of gets diluted a little bit.”

He recalled that many times he was the sole officer on the bridge of the HMS Cornwall.

“I felt a lot more of the weight of that responsibility when I was in the Royal Navy,” he said.

The Navy has also floundered in setting basic requirements for mariner education for prospective surface officers before they board their first ship.

In 2003, the Navy ended the required months of navigation schooling and instead gave junior officers a packet of CDs containing self-paced lessons.

Richardson told the Senate committee last month that the computer-based approach proved to be “woefully inadequate.” In 2012, the Navy began an initial eight-week classroom navigation course that includes use of simulators, he said. In 2014, an eightweek course of more advanced

training was added for junior officers in between sea tours.

Stashwick questioned whether the additions have been sufficient, given that junior officers aboard the McCain, Fitzgerald and two guided-missile cruisers involved in mishaps this year were graduates of the courses.

Complacency issues Complacency, however, can bedevil even the most skilled mariner, even when operations tempo is as high as it is for forward-deployed ships of the 7th Fleet in the Pacific, said Peter Haynes, a former Navy captain who retired in 2016 and is a fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington-based think tank.

“Even when your op-tempo is high like that, you tend to get complacent and — not necessarily take risks — but you don’t necessarily prepare yourself mentally for what’s out there,” he said.

“In these cases, I think complacency could be an issue that needs to be addressed systemically. What are we doing wrong with the watch teams? Are their jobs elsewhere taking up so much of their time and effort that when

‘Most navies in the world divide their officers into warfare officers — those who drive ships, who fight ships and go on to command ships — and engineers, who become very proficient at operating engineering plants and often have engineering degrees.

’

Mitch McGuffie Navy veteran

actually on watch they don’t have the energy needed?”

Jan van Tol, who retired as a captain from the Navy in 2007 after a career that included command of three warships, witnessed high-tech navigational devices supplant the old-fashioned maneuvering board, a paper and pencil system for plotting the relative motion of two ships to predict possible collision points.

In 2005, the Navy announced it would begin phasing out paper charts with the Electronic Chart Display and Information System, and ships certified with the system no longer were required to have charts.

But van Tol, a senior fellow at CSBA, laments the passing of the low-tech maneuvering boards because they “helped internalize your feeling for relative motion, which is absolutely key to avoiding collisions.”

Automated charts can lead to complacency in watch standers.

“They may just think, ‘Yeah, the machine is going to take care of it so we don’t need to be as alert,’ ” van Tol said.

Richardson told the Senate committee that for the electronic-aided system to be reliable, the operators had to understand the underlying principles of the display and be ready “to question the validity of that display when things don’t look right.”

“It’s extremely important that we’ve got that in place,” he said.

Busy junior officers, however, have a lot on their plate besides navigation, Stashwick said.

“It’s very is easy to see your time on the bridge as almost a distraction from everything else you’re doing,” he said.

Putting together a training plan for your division, creating a PowerPoint presentation for an operation, routine reports – it all needs to get done.

“Even though [bridge watch standing] should be the single most important thing you’re doing in that moment, it’s very understandable for officers to be very tired and very distracted. You’re being pulled in so many different directions.

I’ve been there.” olson.wyatt@stripes.com Twitter: @WyattWOlson

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MILITARY

PHOTOS

BY

MEREDITH TIBBETTS/Stars and Stripes

Above: Service dogs pose for a photo before their graduation from Warrior Canine Connection on Saturday in Germantown, Md. Right: Retired Marine Sgt. Michael Boudreau poses with his sevice dog Tamer — named after retired Gen. James Amos.

Warrior Canine Connection celebrates recent graduates

BY M EREDITH TIBBETTS Stars and Stripes

GERMANTOWN, Md. — They waited for months, and finally it was time for the veterans to receive the newest addition to their families.

More than 20 therapy and service dogs “graduated” from the Warrior Canine Connection on Saturday at Germantown, near the group’s headquarters in Boyds.

After training for more than two years while living with their “puppy parents,” all the dogs are now with specific veterans they were trained to help.

“There’s something special about being around dogs. They bring out the best in people,” retired Gen. John Paxton Jr. said during the ceremony.

Though they have been training for years, the dogs aren’t actually paired with their veterans until a few months before graduation while they were undergoing

advanced training. Some of the dogs have been living with their veteran family for a few months, others more recently.

All the other dogs, such as ambassadors and military family support dogs, were officially handed over on Saturday.

Among the service dogs trained was Tamer, named after retired Gen. James Amos, the former Marine Corps commandant whose nickname was Tamer.

Retired Marine Sgt. Michael Boudreau, 30, first met Tamer last June. Before that, Boudreau worked with several different dogs before he and Warrior Canine Connection found a match.

“I have PTSD and I have back and knee issues, so Tamer helps me pick up things or he’ll open and close drawers (for me),” Boudreau said, adding that Tamer will also help him navigate the Washington area’s Metro system.

“Sometimes I’ll drop my Metro (fare) card, and it’s a

little much for me to pick it up.

So (Tamer) will pick it up and give it back to me.

“When my PTSD acts up, he’ll nudge me or put his chin in my lap. I had one instance where I was freaking out, and he wouldn’t leave me alone,” Boudreau said. “He chased me around the house, and everywhere I went, he tried to jump on me. He just tried not to leave me to my own devices.”

Boudreau was an engineer mechanic while he was deployed.

He volunteered for deployment three times between 2006-2011; in 2007 and 2009 he was in Iraq, and 2010 he was in Afghanistan.

“I take medication for my PTSD, it helps me,” he said.

“But it dulls your mind so much I can’t do my work. At the beginning of the day I have to make that choice: Do I want to work, or do I want to not deal with my issues? And then therapy, I do therapy on a weekly basis. If things build

up, you have to wait until the next following Monday. So having a service dog is good, it’s constant comfort.

“I was a sergeant. I had a bunch of Marines under me.

You learn to be a really good baby sitter to a certain point.

Sometimes when I’m in public and I get overwhelmed, in my mind it’s more about making sure Tamer is all right and making sure Tamer isn’t getting in trouble. In a way, that alleviates my stress.”

Boudreau, who is married and has a son, isn’t too worried about his new companion fitting in. Tamer is already good buddies with his young son (and knows where to sit when his son is in the high chair for fallen food).

“Deep down, Tamer is a Marine too,” Boudreau said.

“We all have a love in our heart for anyone who serves, regardless of branch of service

or grade or MOS. After they serve you want to make sure they have a great life ahead of them, that they land on their feet. The value of an event like today, and the richness of Warrior Canine Connection, is what they do to help servicemembers and their families get back on their feet and back with their life,” Paxton said afterward.

Paxton was filling in for Amos, who was unable to attend.

“I think the remarkable piece is the emotional and the social aspect here,” Paxton said. “When they teach you to be able to feel comfortable in a crowd. To talk to other people. To relax before you say something and not scream. It’s the dog that helps you take that deep breath and think about what’s going on and adjust to the situation.” tibbetts.meredith@stripes.com

Friday, October 13, 2017

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MILITARY

Swift Response begins in earnest US soldiers, allies jump out of planes, capture an airfield

BY M ARTIN EGNASH Stars and Stripes

HOHENFELS, Germany — U.S. soldiers and their allies jumped out of airplanes and captured an enemy airfield Monday during the first major event of an 18-day multinational war game.

French Foreign Legionnaires and British paratroopers joined U.S. Army Europe soldiers to take the objective as part of the crisis-response exercise Swift Response, which began Oct. 2 and includes more than 6,000 soldiers from 10 NATO allies and partner nations.

The exercise will feature several more air assaults, Army officials said.

“Complex exercises like Swift Response demonstrate that the U.S. and its allies and partners can quickly deploy and amass at times and locations of their choosing in order to deter and defend against aggression,” U.S. Army Europe spokesman Craig Childs said.

The thousands of troops training at Hohenfels faced a mock enemy Monday, played primarily by U.S. soldiers who simulated an opposing alliance with military capabilities like their own. The training is far different from the insurgentbased tactics practiced for the

wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

The change reflects greater emphasis on European security in the wake of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s support of pro-Russia fighters there.

French Foreign Legion representatives at the exercise said they were “fighting different faces of the enemy all at once,” using both conventional and unconventional techniques to create a tougher fight for the paratroopers.

The size of Swift Response and vast number of airborne maneuvers sometimes required soldiers to operate off post in the German countryside.

“The German Ministry of Defense has set aside land for us to use for when [exercises] are so large that it can’t all be done on base,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Charles Burrow, of Joint Multinational Readiness Center Hohenfels.

Operating off post has created some traffic jams outside Hohenfels, but the crowds of Germans gathered around drop zones suggest that most locals are more interested than upset.

“We realize that this causes some inconveniences, but we have American soldiers and families that live in the area,

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PHOTOS

BY

M ARTIN EGNASH /Stars and Stripes

U.S. soldiers observe French Foreign Legion and British paratroopers landing in a drop zone outside Hohenfels, Germany, during Swift Response on Monday. too, and we are going through the same issues,” Burrow said.

“So far, the German populace has been very understanding and a pleasure to work with.”

Another focus of the exercise is to develop leaders in the NATO alliance who can work effectively with several militaries.

British army Capt. Christopher Wade said his country couldn’t fight a war on its own.

“We don’t know where we are going to have to fight, but wherever it is, we know we’re going to be alongside the U.S. and NATO,” he said. egnash.martin@stripes.com

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.

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© Stars and Stripes, 2017

Above: British paratroopers jump out of a C-130 Hercules.

Below: A British paratrooper and a French Foreign Legionnaire share a laugh.

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Georgia-Carolina State Fair

Friday, October 13, 2017

10am - 1pm Pull-ups for Patriots

Exchange Club Fairgrounds Runs through Monday, Oct. 23.

An annual Exchange Club event that includes carnival rides, shows, exhibits, food and more.

Hours are Monday-Friday from 5 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday from noon. Advance tickets available.

Call 706-722-0202 or visit georgiacarolinastatefair.com.

CrossFit Stars and Bars, Grovetown Fundraiser puts service members in a pull-ups competition to raise money for the Augusta Warrior Project and service members stationed in the Augusta area. Visit facebook.com/ pullupsforpatriots.

Sat Oct 14

Forest Hills Golf Course Benefits Leader Dogs for the Blind, Augusta Lions Club, Georgia Lines Camp for the Blind and Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation. Registration is from 10-noon; lunch at 11:15 and shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. $500 for team of four; $125 for single players.

Deadline to sign up is Oct. 15. Email sthurmond@duplicatingsystems.com or call 706-737-6482.

2pm - 10:30pm Trucks N’ Tunes Festival

Gyles Park, Aiken Lineup headed by Rebel Union, Cody Webb and Cole Taylor. Food trucks and craft beer vendors. Free. Visit trucksntunes.com.

5pm - 11pm Aiken Music Fest

Highfields Event Center Bands include New Holland Road, The Kenny George Band and headliners Cranford Hollow. There also will be food vendors, activities for kids and more. Free. Call 803649-3505 or visit facebook.com/ aikenmusicfest.

8pm Allen Stone

Imperial Theatre $20, advance; $25, day of show. Call 706722-8341 or visit imperialtheatre.com.

Tue Oct 17

10am Willard Prior Memorial Golf Tournament

Thu Oct 19

7:30pm Cirque Spooktacular

Bell Auditorium Cirque de la Symphonie’s aerial flyers, acrobats, jugglers and strongmen perform daring feats choreographed to live music by Symphony Orchestra Augusta. $16-$66. Visit soaugusta.org or call 706-826-4705.

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