Stars & Stripes - 04.27.18

Volume 10, No. 20 ©SS 2018

FRIDAY, A PRIL 27, 2018

A show of force

Truman strike group begins Europe operations Page 2

F/A-18 Super Hornets, assigned to Carrier Air Wing 1, fly over the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman during flight operations in the Atlantic Ocean on April 14.

TOMMY GOOLEY/Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

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COVER STORY/MILITARY

Navy commissions new ship Portland

BY T YLER HLAVAC Stars and Stripes

PHOTOS

BY

TOMMY G OOLEY/Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Yasmin Downs stands on the flight deck aboard the USS Harry S. Truman in the Atlantic Ocean on April 14. The Truman has since entered the Europe theater of operations.

Truman strike group starts operations in Europe theater

BY SCOTT WYLAND Stars and Stripes

NAPLES, Italy — The USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group entered the Europe theater of operations less than a week after the United States led an attack on suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria.

The Harry S. Truman, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, deployed April 11 from Norfolk and arrived in the 6th Fleet theater a week ago. It is the first carrier to operate in the area since the USS George H.W. Bush launched airstrikes against Islamic State last year.

“There is no more recognizable symbol of American naval power than a carrier strike group,” said Vice Adm. Lisa Franchetti, 6th Fleet commander, in a statement. “Their presence in this vital region is a reflection of our commitment to a safe, prosperous and free Europe and Africa.”

Navy officials declined to discuss the Truman’s planned operations or when the strike group would move to the Persian Gulf. However, strike group deployments to the region in recent years have contributed a mix of patrols and strikes against terror groups and other adversaries.

The strike group’s arrival was planned well in advance of the attacks by the submarine USS John Warner, which fired six Tomahawk mis-

Aviation Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Justin Vennard, assigned to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 126, performs maintenance on an E-2D Hawkeye. siles into Syria in conjunction with other U.S., British and French operations.

The Harry S. Truman last conducted Mediterranean operations in July 2016.

Its current strike group includes the destroyers USS Farragut, USS Forrest Sherman, USS Bulkeley and USS Arleigh Burke, along with the missile cruiser USS Normandy and several aviation and support squadrons.

The destroyers USS Jason Dunham and USS The Sullivans will join the group later. wyland.scott@stripes.com Twitter: @wylandstripes

The Navy bolstered its amphibious force April 14 by adding a new ship to its fleet.

The amphibious transport dock the USS Portland was commissioned in Portland, Ore., in a ceremony attended

by Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Bonnie Amos, the ship’s sponsor and wife of retired Marine Corps commandant Gen. James Amos.

The Portland, which will be homeported in San Diego, is the 11th San Antonio-class amphibious ship in the Navy’s inventory, and boasts the ability to embark more than 800 Marines and accommodate the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. It can also launch and recover landing craft and amphibious vehicles.

The Portland should be a welcome addition for the Navy, which has been criticized for having a lack of amphibious ships to support Marine Corps operations. During congressional testimony last December, Defense Capabilities and Management Director Cary Russell said the lack of amphibious ships was causing “training shortfalls.”

“In summary, Navy and Marine Corps units completed training for certain amphibious operations priorities but not others due to several factors,” he said. “The most prevalent factor we found that hampered training completion was a lack of available amphibious ships on which to train. The Navy and Marine Corps have taken some steps to identify and address amphibious operations training shortfalls, but these efforts are incomplete.”

The number of amphibious transport docks has been declining since a peak in the 1980s when the Navy had 16 such vessels. The service expects to have 12 in its ranks by 2024, according to a Government Accountability Office report released in December.

The USS Portland was tentatively chosen to serve as the

flagship for this summer’s Rim of the Pacific naval exercise in Hawaii, Capt. Brian Metcalf, program manager for landing platform dock amphibious warfare vessels, said in January at the Surface Navy Association’s annual symposium in Arlington, Va. However, the final decision will not be made until a RIMPAC planning meeting this month, Navy officials said.

The ship is slated this fall to be fitted with the next generation of the Navy’s laser weapons system for testing, according to USNI News. The previous iteration was tested in the Middle East aboard the USS Ponce.

Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer said the new ship will be entering a world of “dynamic security challenges.”

“USS Portland enters service in a period of dynamic security challenges, and I am confident this ship and crew will conquer these and future challenges because of the strength and talent of the Sailors and Marines who will serve aboard this ship,” he said in the Pentagon statement. “I am certain that USS Portland will proudly represent both the Unites States and the people of Portland in maritime operations around the world for decades to come.”

The vessel is the third Navy ship to bear the name Portland. The first was a cruiser commissioned in 1933 and named after Portland, Maine.

It fought in the Guadalcanal, Leyte Gulf, Corregidor and Okinawa campaigns of World War II. The second USS Portland was a dock landing ship commissioned in 1970 and named after both cities in Maine and Oregon, and participated in a variety of missions in its more than three-decade career. These included the 1976 evacuation of American citizens from Lebanon, the 1983 multinational peacekeeping mission to Beirut, Lebanon, and deployment of Marines to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. hlavac.tyler@stripes.com

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VETERANS

Arlington Vietnam helicopter monument unveiled

BY NIKKI WENTLING Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — If there was any doubt left about the significance of the new monument at Arlington National Cemetery honoring Vietnam War helicopter pilots and crewmembers, it was quashed April 18 by the number of people who traveled from across the country to attend its dedication.

Arlington officials estimated 3,000 veterans and military family members were there to witness the unveiling of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilot and Crewmember Monument — a moment that was the result of a four-year fight initiated by a group of Vietnam veterans.

“This monument was a long time coming,” said Frank Lafferty, 75.

Lafferty, an Army helicopter crew chief in Vietnam, traveled from Florida for the ceremony, which quickly developed into a reunion. Lafferty spotted several friends he served with in the 1st Cavalry Division.

“It’s a brotherhood,” he said.

“These are the same guys we flew in combat with. It’s a bond that’s not broken easily.”

Veterans wearing hats, vests and jackets emblazoned with their military units filled the sun-drenched Arlington Memorial Amphitheater on April 18 for an hourlong service.

Afterward, with bagpipes playing, the crowd walked in a slow procession along Memorial Drive to get a glimpse of the monument for the first time.

The audience created a massive semicircle around the granite monument, which stands 2 1/2-feet by 2 1/2-feet.

More of the crowd climbed a nearby hill to look down on the scene and snap photos with their phones.

As a bugler finished playing taps, the group looked in unison to the east, toward the distant sound of rotor blades.

They applauded when four UH-1 helicopters, nicknamed “Hueys,” flew overhead.

The ceremony ended with a reception near the cemetery

Find video and more photos from this event, and more stories at: stripes.com/go/vietnam50

entrance, where a combat UH1 helicopter was on display.

Paul Benoit’s daughter took his photo with the helicopter, and emotion started to overtake him as he stood in front of it. Benoit, 72, drove to the ceremony from South Carolina.

“The bond with these guys — that’s the unwritten stuff that people don’t understand,” said Benoit, a former Army pilot in the 1st Cavalry Division. “This monument is very important to us. I was happy to see it was finally coming to fruition.”

PHOTOS

The ‘Helicopter War’ The face of the monument reads, “In honored memory of the helicopter pilots and crewmembers who gave the full measure of devotion to their nation in the Vietnam War,” with the dates 1961-1975.

According to the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association — the group that lobbied for the monument — 11,827 helicopters operated in Vietnam and 5,086 of them were destroyed. Nearly 5,000 pilots and crewmembers were killed.

Soldier David Kink, 19, was in Vietnam only one month before he died in a helicopter crash in 1969. His sister, Julie, was 8 years old at the time.

“When I was growing up, the sound of a helicopter was the sound of sadness,” Julie Kink told the crowd gathered at the amphitheater. “My mother would put her hand over her heart and lower her head. Without a word, I

BY

MEREDITH TIBBETTS/Stars and Stripes

Two men salute the Vietnam Helicopter Pilot and Crewmember Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.

Vietnam veteran James Baber, center, is greeted by retired Maj. Gen. Jim Jackson, director of the Vietnam War Commemoration, after the dedication of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilot and Crewmember Memorial. knew she was grieving for the son she lost to the skies over Vietnam.”

“I know now what that sound meant to the men who were fighting the war — it was the sound of hope,” Kink continued. “It meant someone

was coming to push back the bad guys, to bring supplies and ammo, to rescue their wounded and eventually to carry them out of hell.”

In the months leading up to the ceremony, Kink contacted hundreds of Gold Star families

letting them know of the new monument. Some of them showed up, a few wearing signs with the name and photo of their loved ones. Those few walked through the crowds, hoping someone would recognize the name or face and stop to share some memories.

Vietnam is often referred to as the “Helicopter War.” Pilots and crewmembers were continuously performing missions, transporting infantry and artillery units, resupplying troops, providing aerial support and evacuating the injured.

“The Huey was our workhorse,” said Bob Baden, 78, an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam who traveled from Detroit for the ceremony.

Chau Tran, 78, was one of the few South Vietnamese soldiers who attended the ceremony. Tran, who now lives in Virginia, was trained as a helicopter pilot in Dothan, Ala., in 1964.

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MILITARY/VETERANS

Navy touts progress on 7th Fleet manning issues

BY T YLER HLAVAC Stars and Stripes

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The commander of Naval Surface Forces said the service is solving manning shortages that have plagued the 7th Fleet, which experienced a pair of deadly collisions last year.

Undermanned ships were cited among the factors that led to the deaths of 17 sailors aboard the Yokosuka-based guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain.

Vice Adm. Richard Brown said recently that “significant progress” has been made toward increasing manning levels for 7th Fleet ships since a summit on the issue took place in Yokosuka last summer.

Brown — then leader of Navy Personnel Command and deputy chief of Naval Personnel — participated in the

three-day meeting alongside officials from the 7th Fleet, Naval Forces Japan, Pacific Fleet and Navy Personnel Command. They discussed the impact manning policies were having on the 7th Fleet’s ability to complete its missions, along with possible solutions.

“There are individual manning challenges, but if you look at the fit/fill numbers today as opposed to June of last year, significant improvement … many of the ships are running near 100 percent fill of their billets authorized and well above the minimum 92 percent fit,” he said.

Navy officials said last summer that the 7th Fleet was facing a manning crunch, especially in certain highdemand technical jobs such as sonar techs or operations specialists. During one deployment cycle, the fleet’s Task Force 70 had to redistribute more than 40 sailors among various ships to make them deployable.

Brown acknowledged several factors affecting 7th Fleet’s manning. Forward-deployed forces had the same manning policies as stateside units.

However, that model didn’t take into consideration that forward-deployed units have higher deployment tempos, shorter maintenance periods and less downtime between deployments, he said.

He also attributed manning issues to the fact that stateside-based sailors’ tour lengths are often decided by their occupational specialty, with tours ranging from two to five years. Japanspecific policies generally cap tours at two or three years, leading to sailors rotating out faster and more often than those in stateside units.

Brown said more junior sailors are receiving orders to the 7th Fleet after completing basic training or jobs schools, which has done much to alleviate manning issues.

“Sixty percent of a ship’s fit/fill is made up of apprentice sailors,” he said. “What we saw was that there needed to be a higher prioritization of those folks graduating from boot camp and [job school] being assigned to units in [the Forward Deployed Naval Force]. Significant improvement a year later.”

Brown said last summer’s manning summit accomplished its objective of boosting manning in the fleet.

“We’re running in the low 90s or the high 80s on fit/fill across all the ships,” he said. “Many of the ships are at 100 percent fill, high 90s fill, and they’re above 92 percent. Not all of them — there are still issues we are working on individually — but significant improvement a year later. It had the desired effect.” hlavac.tyler@stripes.com

FROM PAGE 3

“I hope to see an old friend or something,” Tran said of why he attended. “I’m almost 79 years old right now.”

Arthur Fantroy, another Army helicopter pilot, said he impulsively decided to travel from Ohio for the ceremony.

He plans to return to the monument someday with his family.

“It’s too bad that now everybody is starting to die out and didn’t get to see it,” said Fantroy, 68. “At least I did.”

Four-year fight The Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association started campaigning for the monument in early 2014. By 2015, it appeared the effort was doomed.

That year, the group pleaded its case to Arlington’s advisory committee and former Army Secretary John McHugh. They were rebuffed.

McHugh said the monument would take up some of the precious remaining space in the cemetery, which he argued should be prioritized for burials.

In the fall of 2016, the group of veterans took their fight to Capitol Hill. In September of

MEREDITH TIBBETTS/Stars and Stripes

The Vietnam Helicopter Pilot and Crewmember Memorial was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery on April 18. that year, they went before a House Armed Services subcommittee — initiating the arduous process of having Congress order the Army to install the monument.

“I think we have an uphill battle,” Bob Hesselbein, chairman of the group’s legacy committee, said after the September 2016 hearing.

“We’re fighting to get just a

small memorial, and it’s been a struggle.”

That struggle paid off in April last year, when the pilots association struck a deal with Karen Durham-Aguilera, executive director of the Army National Military Cemeteries.

The deal cleared the way for the small monument located just off Memorial Drive in section 35 of the cemetery, near

the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., was one of the lawmakers who introduced legislation to establish the monument. He spoke at the April 18 ceremony.

“It’s hard to get a memorial in this place, and it should be,” Amodei said. “But I can’t think of a group more deserving.”

Marshall Eubanks was part of a group of 12 veterans and eight spouses who traveled to Arlington from Huntsville, Ala. They wore matching paleyellow polos with the logo of their chapter of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association and gathered in the shade during the ceremony reception, drinking beer, laughing and swapping stories.

Eubanks repeated what Frank Lafferty and many other veterans said — that the monument was “a long time coming.”

“It was tough to get this approved,” he said. “This is our monument. We had a very tough job in a very tough war, in an unpopular war.”

As part of the deal struck with the Army, the pilots association was responsible for funding the monument.

“In his last letter home, my brother wrote, ‘You’re never alone when you’re on a mission,’ ” Kink told the audience. “This monument was conceived, funded and placed — not by the government — but by the men who flew beside our loved ones and though of them as brothers.

I’m proud to say my brother was one of you.” wentling.nikki@stripes.com Twitter: @nikkiwentling

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MILITARY

Flintlock gave US chance to work with African militaries

BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes

NIAMEY, Niger — U.S. special operations troops ended their largest training mission in West Africa on April 20, as part of a bid to better train local soldiers for the fight against terrorist groups.

“Flintlock represents a new level of cooperation … in a troubled region,” U.S. Special Operations Command chief Maj. Gen. Marcus Hicks said at a ceremony in Niger’s capital city of Niamey. “We do this as brothers in arms.”

Hicks called this years’ Flintlock “the most successful” since the exercises began in 2005.

Hicks said he sees a growing threat from extremist groups in the region, who are applying pressure in countries such as Niger and Burkina Faso.

In March, al-Qaida claimed responsibility for an attack on an army headquarters and French Embassy in Burkina Faso. The attack represents a shift away from softer, civilian targets and serves as an indication that the militants are gaining in capabilities, U.S.

military officials said.

Flintlock 2018 was designed to help local militaries take on the growing threat, Hicks said. The training pivoted from tactic-centered drills of years past to coordination between small units and higher headquarters.

In West Africa, a group of five regional militaries known as the G-5 Sahel Force formed last year in the hopes of bringing more unity of effort to the battle against Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliates. The G-5 group aims to have about 5,000 soldiers.

For the U.S., Flintlock 2018 served as an opportunity to work alongside militaries that will be part of that effort.

In all, some 1,900 troops took part in the exercise that included soldiers from the Fort Bragg, N.C.-based 3rd Special Forces Group.

The Flintlock drills come six months after an ambush in Niger that resulted in the deaths of four U.S. soldiers.

The attack brought increased attention to the risks U.S. troops face in remote parts of Africa. vandiver.john@stripes.com Twitter: vandiver.john@stripes.com

JOHN VANDIVER /Stars and Stripes

Maj. Gen. Marcus Hicks, leader of Special Operations Command Africa, left, reviews local troops in formation during a visit April 19 to Flintlock 2018 headquarters in Agadez, Niger.

JASON BEHNKE /Stars and Stripes

Seaman Anthony Greco plays hockey at a skating rink in Manama, Bahrain, on April 10.

Sailor reignites ice hockey passion in Bahraini desert

BY JASON BEHNKE Stars and Stripes

MANAMA, Bahrain — Seaman Anthony Greco thought he’d probably left his hockeyplaying days behind him after his team suffered a crushing loss in his final high school game.

The Hamden, Conn., native was certain of it when the Navy sent him to the desert kingdom of Bahrain.

“When I got here last May, it was 110 degrees, and I didn’t think there was a chance I’d be playing hockey anytime soon,” said Greco, 20, a master-atarms. “And then I was at breakfast with some friends, and they said there was a hockey league out here. I didn’t believe them.”

He found the only ice rink in Bahrain was just a couple of miles from base. Twice per week, about a dozen or so people arrive at the Funland Centre in their various jerseys.

Some wear the red-and-yellow jerseys of DHL, the sponsor of the hockey league in Bahrain. Others wear the colors of their favorite NHL teams.

Greco hit the ice earlier this month, dressed in the green jersey of the Hamden Green Dragons, which Greco said has won the most high school cham-

pionships for a public school in Connecticut.

Joining the scrimmage were other sailors, Bahrain locals and Saudi Arabians who crossed the 16-mile bridge from their country. They swapped in and out. The night was about having fun; no one was really keeping score.

“We play three-on-three because the rink is really small,” he said. “It’s nowhere near the size of a regulation rink. But all we need is a sheet of ice to play.”

Greco’s interest in hockey had waned as he focused on boot camp and then his job training. But when Greco heard there was a hockey league, he immediately called his father and had his equipment shipped.

The small league of four teams that compete in Bahrain was established in 2014 by a Bahraini employee from the nearby U.S. Navy base.

Greco plays for the Riffa Maple Leafs. Although the official season lasts only four months and ends in April, there are other tournaments throughout the year, including a popular one during Ramadan next month.

There are a fair number of passionate fans here, Greco

said. During this scrimmage, however, only a few people quietly observed from the sidelines. It’s a far cry from the bleachers full of screaming parents and fans he played in front of just a couple of years ago, but he’s just happy to be playing again.

Hockey is still a novelty in the Middle East. While there are many pristine soccer fields and racetracks that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, Greco plays his sport of choice at an ice rink where, in the same building, you can bowl and play arcade games.

Still, Greco thinks the sport will continue to grow in the region. With leagues in nearby countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, he might be right. Even in this small venue in Bahrain, he sees interest growing.

“A lot of people come and skate here and a lot stay and watch the hockey games, so I think this sport can grow and succeed in the Middle East,” Greco said.

Either way, he’s found a renewed passion for his childhood sport — and a new group of friends to share it with. behnke.jason@stripes.com Twitter: @JasonFromSD

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Holocaust survivor tells story of survival

by Laura Levering | Fort Gordon Public Affairs Office

Staff Sgt. Jessica Agee, center, 706th Military Intelligence Group, lights a candle in the Days of Remembrance command program held April 12 in Alexander Hall. Standing by are Sgt. 1st Class Adam Leslie and Staff Sgt. Christopher Williams who are also assigned to the 706th MI Group.

The U.S. Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon paid tribute to Holocaust victims, survivors, and rescuers with its annual Days of Remembrance command program April 12 at Alexander Hall. The program was hosted by 706th Military Intelligence Group along with the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust.

This year’s theme, “Learning from the Holocaust: Conscience and Action,” paid special tribute to people who refused to stood up and took action in the face of evil, said Staff Sgt. Kyle Wagoner 706th MI Group and narrator.

“The small minority who chose to follow their consciences and take action while the majority of others let apathy and fear allow immoral and human unequivocal evils pay out,” he said.

“The terms ‘righteous Gentiles’ and ‘righteous among nations’ are used to describe the brave people who possessed the courage to put their own lives in jeopardy in order to aid those who were in such dire need and being hunted by the Nazi Regime.”

In 1979, the U.S. Congress established Days of Remembrance as the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust. In 1980, Congress passed legislation to establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, which led to the United States Holocaust Museum opening in Washington, D.C. It is a living memorial intended to inspire people worldwide to “confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity,” according to its website.

An estimated 6 million European Jews were killed by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945. Millions more from non-Jewish descent suffered at the hands of Nazi persecution.

The U.S. Armed Forces were among the first outsiders to see the atrocities firsthand and played an essential role in liberating concentration camps where victims were tortured and massacred.

Mike Weinroth, Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, emphasized it is important to preserve the memory of the Holocaust in an effort to ensure nothing like it ever happens again. The Georgia Commission

Holocaust survivor Hershel Greenblat shares stories from his childhood, as the featured speaker at the Days of Remembrance program, held April 12 in Alexander Hall. The theme for the presentation was “Learning from the Holocaust: Conscience and Action.”

Bill Bengtson / Fort Gordon Public Affairs Office

on the Holocaust helps do this by ensuring that learning how and when the Holocaust happened is part of the education all Georgia citizens receive.

Referencing Eli Wiesel, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, Weinroth said, “He outlined the solemn responsibility for you.

As you listen to our speaker, keep in mind his words. Whoever listens to a witness ... becomes a witness oneself.”

Weinroth went on to say it becomes everyone’s responsibility to share what they learned.

Hershel Greenblat, guest speaker, was born in Ukraine 1941. Greenblat said his parents lost the majority of his family to the Holocaust.

Reflecting on the masses of people killed, he said, “one and a half million were children under the age of 10 who were murdered in ways that were unspeakable.”

Too young to remember the Holocaust himself, Greenblat survived his first two years of life hiding in a cave as his parents moved frequently to avoid capture. During that time, his father was put into a Russian prison camp for the rest of the war because he was caught stealing two loaves of bread, Greenblat said.

By the end of the war, his parents and sister were transported from Russia to Americancontrolled Salzburg, Austria, where they lived for five years then received permission to go to the United States.

Greenblat was 8 years old by that time and will never forget seeing the Statue of Liberty as they made their across the bay.

“She was lit up ... and maybe it was my imagination, but it was a very cold morning, and I remember hundreds of people there,” Greenblat said. “It was the only time in my life I saw my father cry. And we stood there in awe.”

Greenblat’s family went on to become successful American citizens with a lineage of doctors and teachers.

“Now I have a family because of what my parents did, because of the health, the love, because the generosity of the GI’s that liberated – that saved hundreds of thousands of human beings – after the war,” Greenblat said.

In closing, he urged everyone to never forget.

“Be my voice,” Greenblat said. “The world depends on you to remember to not let it happen again.

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Army cyber officers compete for Best Ranger

by Bill Roche | U.S. Army Cyber Command Public Affairs FORT BENNING, Ga. — For the first time, a pair of cyber officers is taking on one of the Army’s most grueling 72 hours -- the Lt. Gen. David E. Grange Best Ranger Competition. The 39 teams will begin competition today and will continue nonstop ending Sunday.

Capt. Dennis Caserza of the Army Cyber Protection Brigade and Capt. Tim Graziano of the Cyber Training Battalion are company commanders based at the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon, Georgia. They’re also Army Rangers who teamed up for this year’s challenge.

The captains earned their Ranger tabs during their days as infantry officers. But both had technical education – Graziano has a degree in electrical engineering from the Virginia Military Institute.

Caserza a computer science degree from the University of Southern California – and decided to make the change to cyber via the Army Voluntary Transfer Incentive Program.

“I’ve just always been interested in technology,” Graziano said. “I saw cyber as really the nexus and the bridge between technical competency and combat power on the battlefield, and I just wanted to be part of it for that reason; be part of something new.”

“We were both just interested in kind of the merge between the technical portion of the cyber branch and our combat arms backgrounds, and when the VTIP came out we were excited to jump on something at the ground level and be part of something new,” Caserza added.

He would also become one of the first two Army cyber officers to complete electronic warfare schooling.

The pair met while in cyber training and talked about the Ranger competition. Caserza had competed in 2013, and he and Graziano hoped to compete in 2017.

They found they didn’t have enough time to prepare. But for this year, they made the time, and spent four to five months conditioning themselves for the 35th annual iteration of the competition.

Working full-time cyber jobs and getting ready to compete was tough. Caserza said they didn’t get much time off just to prepare for the competition.

Still they tried as much as possible to get in two 90-minute workouts a day together when they could.

Their schedules made being able to train at all difficult, he added, and when they couldn’t get together they’d text their workouts to each other and compete to see who could train the hardest.

“It was brutal. Those were long days,” Caserza said.

And in the last few weeks before the competition, the team ramped up its preparations, meeting more often and even getting in some all-day workouts.

“There were five or six workouts when we started at 0530 or 6 in the morning and didn’t end until 20 or 30 miles later at like 16-, 17-hundred,” Graziano

Capts. Tim Graziano, Cyber Training Battalion, and Dennis Caserza, Army Cyber Protection Brigade, are competing in the Army’s Best Ranger competition in mid-April at Fort Benning, Ga. They also are company commanders at the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon.

Bill Roche / U.S. Army Cyber Command said.

Both said their cyber jobs have also helped them hone some traits and skills, such as perseverance, teamwork, technical aptitude, and coming together to solve problems that should serve them well during Best Ranger.

But both also claimed they’re at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to some of the skills that are key to the competition. For example, they said, the competition includes several shooting events that didn’t have the time or ability to adequately prepare for.

And this is a competition that demands every bit of training and preparation -- mental and physical -- that teams can muster. The 51 teams of two Rangers each are tested to their limits over three nearly nonstop hot, wet, muddy days and nights of marching, lifting, running, climbing, shooting and problem solving, all with precise rules and demanding exacting attention to detail. Along the way they’ll have unexpected obstacles tossed in their paths to test their ability to react and respond.

There are 18 competition events, including three runs (one in body armor), obstacle courses, helocasting, night orienteering, a road march, swimming, several weapons firing ranges, an urban assault course, an air assault, casualty care and evacuation, a Spartan Race, a mystery event, and more.

More than half the teams are disqualified at the end of the first day. A third of those remaining are cut on the second day.

So why are two cyber captains here taking on such a rigorous challenge?

Both said what motivated them was demonstrating that, as Caserza said, that cyber Soldiers have the resiliency and fortitude to make it through tough challenges.

“One of the main reasons I wanted to do this competition,” Graziano added, “was just to show that they are Soldiers who are in cyber, they’re not just computer scientists that work for the Army. The Army comes first and they’re Soldiers first.”

Caserza said it also helps cyber Soldiers to work and integrate with Army maneuver elements.

Over the past couple of years, he said, he’s been teaching brigade combat teams and divisions about the Army’s Cyber-Electromagnetic Activities capabilities, and he wants his Soldiers and Army Rangers and maneuver elements to understand and interact more and better in the future.

“I think it’s just a good message for the maneuver units to see that not all cyber units are not just nerds behind keyboards all the time. We can do other stuff. And for the guys that are in cyber units, seeing that you have to deal with maneuver units.”

So no matter what the outcome, just competing is a win, the captains said.

“The best of the best in the Army are here at this competition, so we’re grateful to have a slot and compete amongst them, and we’ll be we’ll be honestly happy with whatever result happens,” Graziano said. “Just being here is a big deal for us.”

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MIDEAST

Jordan exercise includes chemical incidents drills

BY CHAD GARLAND Stars and Stripes

Thousands of U.S. troops participated in the Eager Lion exercise in Jordan and conducted chemical and biological drills as part of a long-planned event that came just after a U.S.-led attack destroyed suspected Syrian chemical weapons sites.

The 11-day drills, which began April 15, tested the ability of troops to plan and conduct counterterrorism operations, border security, cyberdefense and logistics support operations.

U.S. officials said the eighth annual iteration of the exercise is not directly related to U.S., British and French missile strikes, which targeted Syria in response to a suspected chemical attack on the Syrian city of Douma that killed dozens on April 7.

About 1,200 Marines from the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima and the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill were on the ground participating in the event, which also included small unit attacks, live-fire drills and force-onforce exercises.

Planning for the event had been underway for a year, but “anytime that we train, it’s a

demonstration of … and an opportunity to hone” important capabilities, said Capt. Natalie Poggemeyer, spokeswoman with the Marine Corps’ 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

“We’re ready to respond to crises at any given time.”

This year’s training event “addresses our most complex challenges in new and interesting ways,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Jon Mott, U.S. Central Command’s director of exercises and training, during a press conference in Amman.

“Our intent, as it has always been, is to constantly evolve scenarios to mirror the threats this region and the world face every day.”

As part of the exercise, a mobile laboratory team responded to a simulated chemical incident, Mott told reporters, according to The Associated Press. It’s a “threat all too real, as we’ve seen recently in Syria,” he said.

American, British and French aircraft and warships launched 105 missiles at three Syrian facilities. The barrage destroyed a key chemical weapons research facility in Damascus and two stockpiles outside Homs.

While Jordan has supported the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State fight, the Hashemite kingdom

DOMINICK A. C REMEANS/Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

Petty Officer 3rd Class Latego Copeland stands watch aboard the USS Iwo Jima on April 15 as the ship pulls into Aqaba, Jordan, in support of exercise Eager Lion. has had to walk a tightrope to avoid fallout from the sevenyear Syrian civil war raging on its northern border.

Jordanian Brig. Gen. Mohommad al-Thalji said Eager Lion highlights his country’s relationship with its “strongest ally,” the United States.

The exercise, which will include both conventional and nonconventional scenarios, “provides an opportunity to reassure the people of Jordan, its uniformed services, its allies and international partners … that we are ready to protect Jordan from harm,” al-Thalji said, as quoted in a military statement.

More than 7,000 troops were expected to participate in this year’s exercise, including about

3,600 U.S. servicemembers.

In addition to Marines and soldiers, about 1,500 sailors embarked aboard the Iwo Jima amphibious ready group will take part.

Officials have said scenarios would include a long-range bomber mission, maritime security operations and the ground force attack of a fictitious adversary.

For the first time since 2011, a simulated response to a humanitarian and refugee crisis was added this year, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development said. Four USAID disaster experts were sent as advisers to Jordan’s crisis management center.

The 26th MEU’s aircraft

will be participating in Eager Lion, despite recent aviation mishaps in Djibouti.

During the Alligator Dagger training exercises this month, incidents involving a CH-53E Super Stallion and AV-8B Harrier suspended flight operations in the region. Pilots and crews were not seriously injured, and flight operations have since resumed.

In Eager Lion, the aircraft will support an embassy reinforcement drill and other scenarios, Poggemeyer said.

“Our aviation combat element is playing a part in the exercise, just like they would in any other exercise,” she said. garland.chad@stripes.com Twitter: @chadgarland

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MILITARY

Honor, not dishonor

The story of the Pacific’s 4th Marine Regiment

BY M ATTHEW M. BURKE Stars and Stripes

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Army Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright ordered the surrender of U.S. forces in the Philippines on May 6, 1942, following an overwhelming six-month Japanese onslaught.

Marine Col. Sam Howard — commander of the 4th Marine Regiment — ordered the national and regimental colors burned rather than see them fall into enemy hands. The Marines reluctantly went into a brutal captivity at the hands of the Japanese.

The 4th Marine Regiment hasn’t been stationed in the continental United States since then. It is the only regiment whose lineage is rooted on the American mainland to deploy to the Pacific and never be rotated back, Marine officials said.

Rumors have swirled among Marines that the regiment is doomed to wander the Pacific — much like the mythical ghost ship The Flying Dutchman — due to the dishonor over surrendering. It is the largest organized Marine unit to ever do so in battle.

Before elements of the regiment traveled to South Korea recently for exercises Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, current 4th Marine Regiment commander Col. Kevin Norton pushed back against that myth, saying it is because of honor, not dishonor, that his Marines are stewards of the Pacific.

“Like most things, there’s rumor and misconception,” said Norton, who has spent more than 10 years with the regiment in various leadership positions.

“We were still reeling from Pearl Harbor and we had to pick and choose where we were going to send forces to, so in many ways, the Marines and the U.S. Army and the Filipinos kind of got left hung out to dry a little bit out of necessity, because the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army had to kind of get their act together and mobilize in order to get over here.”

The 4th Marine Regiment was activated at Puget Sound, Wash., on April 16, 1914, with Col. Joseph Pendleton — namesake for Camp Pendleton, Calif. — as its inaugural commanding officer. The unit’s first duty station was San Diego.

In June 1916, 4th Marines was dispatched to the Dominican Republic to intervene on behalf of the government in their civil war, the Marine Corps said. This would be the first time the unit would see combat, and it

Courtesy of the National Archives

This May 1942 photo shows the surrender of American troops at Corregidor, Philippines, during World War II.

‘ When the Marines really learn the history ... the Marines had nothing to do with the surrender.

There was no dishonor in it.

’

was awarded two Medals of Honor for heroism.

The unit was then dispatched to Shanghai, China, in March 1927 to protect American interests in the face of yet another civil war. Known as the “China Marines,” they stayed in country for nearly 15 years.

The China Marines departed for the Philippines on Nov. 27 and 28, 1941, after being surrounded by the invading Japanese. They had been in the Philippines for nine days when the Japanese attacked to coincide with the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Col. Kevin Norton 4th Marine Regiment commander

Surrender The 4th Marine Regiment engaged the Japanese for the first time on Dec. 12, 1941, the Marine Corps said. After arriving at Subic Bay, it had been tasked with guarding Olongapo Naval Station and a naval base at Mariveles.

As the Japanese bore down on Manila from the north and defeat seemed all but assured, 4th Marines in Olongapo evacuated to Mariveles and then to Corregidor, the fortified island off the southern coast of the Bataan Peninsula. They prepared and

strengthened defensive positions as the Japanese closed in.

The Japanese made landfall on Corregidor Island on May 5, 1942, the Marine Corps said. The regiment inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese invaders, decimating the first two attempted landings; however, they were no match for Japanese planes, tanks and Bataan-based artillery. The Japanese gained a foothold on the beach and expanded it, pushing toward Wainwright’s headquarters.

The Marines lost all of their heavy guns and were almost out of ammunition. All seemed lost.

“Feeling that further resistance was useless and fearing a possible massacre of 1,000 sick and wounded personnel in Malinta Tunnel, Gen. Wainwright decided to surrender,” a unit history said.

Isolated pockets of Marines continued to fight four hours after the SEE PAGE 14

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MILITARY FROM PAGE 12

surrender went into effect, until news of the order trickled down.

“The Marines were beside themselves,” Norton said.

“They fought valiantly for several days and then ultimately Gen. Wainwright ordered the surrender because the higher headquarters folks were inside of a tunnel and they didn’t have all the information and the communications had been severed.”

Norton said Wainwright did what he thought was right, and the Marines had to follow orders. The 4th Marine Regiment ceased to exist.

“I don’t think the United States nor Gen. Wainwright understood how the Japanese were going to view prisoners,” Norton said. “There were some big-time atrocities.

There were executions regularly. It was a brutal captivity.

Most of those Marines who we refer to as the ‘old 4th Marine Regiment’ spent all of World War II in prisoner of war camps or they simply died in POW camps; it was that horrific.”

Proud lineage While Howard’s Marines tried to stay alive in brutal prison conditions, the 4th Marines was resurrected Feb. 1, 1944, with members of the 1st Marine Raider Regiment, a commando-style unit that had fought with distinction in the Makin Island, Guadalcanal, Central Solomons and Bougainville campaigns.

“If you talk to World War II vets, there was such a proud lineage of the 4th Marines that it was a big deal for them to rename that Raider regiment

PHOTOS

BY

C OREY PETTIS/Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

Marine Col. Kevin Norton, 4th Marine Regiment commander, leads a group of Marines through a tour of former fighting positions at Corregidor, Philippines, in May 2017. the 4th Marines,” Norton said.

The “new” 4th Marines participated in the recapturing of Guam and the seizure of Okinawa at the cost of 4,000 of their lives, the Marine Corps said. World War II ended with Japan’s surrender on Aug. 15, 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The 4th Marines — who were awarded five Medals of Honor for service during the war — were chosen as the first American combat unit to land in Japan for the occupation.

They were there to welcome the “old” 4th Marines, emaci-

Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher Terry Leonard, Editor Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing Editor Tina Croley, Managing Editor for Content Doreen Wright, 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

ated and in poor health, as they were liberated from POW camps.

“They held a parade for many of the prisoners,” Norton said. “It was a good homecoming for those guys because they realized the regiment was still alive.”

The 4th Marines was deactivated in 1949 only to be reactivated three years later for the Korean War. However, they arrived in Japan after the armistice that ended the conflict was signed. They were sent to Hawaii, the closest they would ever get to the continental United States.

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, 2018

Marines with the Okinawa-based 4th Marine Regiment tour artillery ramparts.

Through the years, the regiment has served with distinction in combat in Vietnam and through advisers sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, leading to nearly another dozen Medals of Honor. They were the last Marine regiment to depart Vietnam in 1969 and have been on Okinawa ever since.

Today, 4th Marines is the anchor for the unit deployment program, accepting stateside battalions into their ranks on six-month rotations to the Pacific.

“Unlike units stationed in

the United States permanently, we’re kind of on the tippy, tippy part of the spear and our readiness is at the highest levels permanently,” Norton said.

“When the Marines really learn the history, all that rumor and conjecture of, ‘Hey, the surrender was dishonorable,’ you just have a totally different perception … the Marines had nothing to do with the surrender. There was no dishonor in it.” burke.matt@stripes.com

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Thu Apr 26

beechislandhistory.org.

Daniel Field Free for spectators. Flights cost $75 for adults and $50 for youths 17 and under.

Continues 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 27-29.

Visit flytheford.org or call 877-952-5359.

7pm Letters From Home

2pm - 5pm Fly the Ford Tri-Motor

Fri Apr 27

11am - 10pm Greek Festival Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church A three-day celebration that includes traditional foods, drinks and entertainment, as well as shopping in the marketplace and church tours.

Continues 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. April 28 and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 29. Visit holytrinityaugusta.org.

7:30pm Rastrelli Cello Quartet AU’s Maxwell Theatre $40, general; $32, seniors (65+) and military; $5, students; free, AU and EGSC students, faculty and staff.

Children must be at least 6 years old.

Call 706-667-4100 or visit augusta.edu/ maxwelltheatre.

Sat Apr 28

10am - 5pm 12th Annual Historic Beech Island Tour Beech Island Historical Society A self-guided tour of historic homes, churches, cemeteries and historic sites. A barbecue lunch at the History & Visitors Center will be available. $20, advance general; $25, day of general. $15, advance seniors; $20, day of seniors. Free, youths 18 and under. Call 803-867-3600 or visit

Miller Theater Courtney Groves and Erinn Diaz put on a show completely in the spirit and style of the ‘40s. The mission of Letter From Home is to travel the country, honoring U.S. veterans, active military heroes and their families by Reviving Patriotism through music. $30-$50; group and military discounts available. Ticket proceeds benefit the Augusta Warrior Project. Visit millertheateraugusta.com or call 800-514-3849.

Mon Apr 30

7pm - 9pm Roller Derby Bootcamp Red Wing Rollerway Continues 7 to 9 p.m. May 1. No experience is necessary for this Soul City Sirens event, in which almost all gear will be provided. $10; participants should bring a fitted mouthguard.

Must be 18 or older. Childcare provided for $10 per child per night. (Email secretary@soulcitysirens.com ahead of time with ages of children, how many and on what day they’ll be there.) Visit soulcitysirens.com.

Thu May 3

7:30pm Aubrey Logan Miller Theater The Augusta Symphony presents this trombonist and singer. $35$101. Visit augustasymphony.com or millertheateraugusta.com, or call 706826-4705.

Friday, 27,27, 20182018 Friday,April April

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