Stars & Stripes - 12.01.17

Volume 9, No. 51 ©SS 2017

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2017

FLYING HIGH Pentagon budget calls for $143 million buildup at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan Page 2

A U.S. Air Force KC-10 Extender waits on the flight line at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, near Jordan’s border with Syria and Iraq, in 2011.

A SHA K IN /Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

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COVER STORY

A SHA K IN /Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

Air Force Staff Sgt. Nicholas Anderson awaits the start of an exercise at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan, in 2011. The Pentagon wants to pump $143 million into upgrades at the base.

Pentagon budget highlights importance of Jordan

BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes

STUTTGART, Germany — The Pentagon wants to pump $143 million into upgrades at a strategic air base in Jordan, more than at any other overseas Air Force operational site, as the military moves to expand drone and fighter flights in the region.

The funding, included in the Pentagon budget passed by Congress recently, highlights the growing importance of Jordan as the U.S. military makes plans in a neighborhood of unpredictable partners.

Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, positioned near Jordan’s border with Syria and Iraq, has played a key role for the U.S. in its battle against Islamic State.

But the base, according to the Air Force, has been overwhelmed by the pace of operations. Fighter-bombers from other nations involved in the conflict, such as Belgium and the Netherlands, also have operated from its twin runways.

Air Force budget documents say the facility has limited ramp space to launch combat sorties, has “zero dedicated space to support cargo and

personnel recovery operations” and is operating at “four to five times what the space was originally intended to support.”

Troops operating at the Azraq base now face “extreme life, health, and safety risk” because living areas are within range of explosives from operational areas.

“To alleviate these risks, to support the influx of personnel, and to provide adequate facilities for a contingency operations population, a new LSA (Life Support Area) to include supporting facilities and infrastructure are required,” Air Force documents said.

Since the Air Force’s initial budget request, combat operations in Iraq and Syria have slowed dramatically, with fewer airstrikes as ISIS-held territory evaporates.

However, Congress’s inclusion of the Jordan project in the $700 billion National Defense Authorization Act highlights the Pentagon’s long-term needs in the region. The $700 billion defense act is expected to be signed into law by President Donald Trump.

During the past year, tensions among Gulf states have flared and longtime

U.S. bases have been caught in the middle.

In June, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states cut ties with Qatar, home to the Al Udeid Air Base, out of which the U.S. has run much of its war against ISIS. Trump, who at the time backed the Saudi campaign to pressure Qatar over accusations of ties to terrorist groups, said the U.S. would find alternatives to Al Udeid if necessary.

“If we ever have to leave (Al Udeid) we would have 10 countries willing to build us another one, believe me, and they will pay for it,” Trump said in a radio interview at the time.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis later clarified that the U.S. has no intention to replace Al Udeid.

Of the roughly $500 million Congress has approved for overseas Air Force operational sites, $143 million is slated for the Jordan base, compared with $15 million for a consolidated squadron facility at Al Udeid.

Muwaffaq Salti Air Base is 80 kilometers east of Amman, where Lawrence of Arabia had his headquarters during World War I. The base, in the desert oasis of Azraq, opened in 1981 and was named after Lt. Muwaffaq Salti, a fighter pilot killed in a dogfight

with the Israelis in 1966.

Several European sites also will get funds if the NDAA is signed into law. A base in Luxembourg would get the second-largest chunk, with $67.4 million planned for prepositioned Air Force equipment.

Incirlik Air Base in Turkey is slated to receive $48.6 million, which will fund a new dormitory and various security measures on base. The U.S. also has been increasingly at odds with NATO ally Turkey, which has sought out closer ties with Russia.

Former top U.S. commanders in Europe, including retired Adm. James Stavridis and Charles Wald, the former four-star deputy at European Command, have said the U.S. should start to consider alternatives to Incirlik.

“I think we can go to other places,” Wald said in a July interview with Stars and Stripes. “I think Jordan is a fantastic ally and partner. I think it is time for the United States to start thinking in those terms.” vandiver.john@stripes.com Twitter: @john_vandiver

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EUROPE

Taking the plunge US and Serbian paratroopers jump together in large combat exercise

BY JENNIFER H. SVAN Stars and Stripes

LISICJI JARAK AIRPORT, Serbia — As dozens of U.S. Army and Serbian paratroopers jumped out of a pair of C130Js into a bleak November sky, they had an eager audience.

On the ground, journalists with long lenses jockeyed for position and politicians and military officials, seated on a makeshift stage facing the field, applauded as the paratroopers nailed their landing on the soggy field and began gathering up their chutes.

The U.S. and Serbian armed forces were on opposite sides in 1999, during the 78-day war in Kosovo — now an independent nation. But there was no sign of enmity during Exercise Double Eagle, which involved four days of drills between the 173rd Airborne Brigade from Vicenza, Italy, and the 63rd Parachute Battalion, a crack Serbian unit that fought in the war.

The paratroopers “had a large dinner together” the night before, a spokeswoman announced to the crowd, adding to the pageantry of the event. “They exchanged experiences” and also socialized on previous days — “jumpers usually have lots of anecdotes,” she said.

For two countries that just a generation ago were at war, the exercise may be a sign that Serbia, one of the few Balkan nations that isn’t part of the 28-member NATO alliance, is opening more to the West.

“It’s a sign,” said Army Col. Douglas M. Faherty, the senior defense official and defense attache in Belgrade.

PHOTOS

BY

MICHAEL A BRAMS/Stars and Stripes

U.S. and Serbian paratroopers fly in a C-130 during an exercise near Belgrade, Serbia, on Nov. 16.

Paratroopers of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, and the Serbian 63rd Paratrooper Battalion load onto a C-130 Hercules at Batajnica Air Base on Nov. 16.

Of what, perhaps, remains to be seen. Serbia continues to maintain close ties with Russia, with whom Serbs share strong historic, cultural and religious ties. It just recently obtained six MiG-29 fighters from Russia and is expecting the delivery of two

more An-26 twin-turbojet transports for its airborne forces.

The country has vowed military neutrality but it’s also striving for membership in the European Union, a bid that could be hampered by its refusal to recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Wherever the country’s political future lies, Double Eagle was far from the typical training done in recent years between U.S. and Serbian forces.

It was “the biggest conventional mass tactical operation ever done” between the two countries, Faherty said.

Many of the U.S. military’s engagements with Serbia involve training between engineers and medical workers, he said. Serbian medics, for example, are preparing to deploy to Angola with the Ohio National Guard this month.

The Ohio Guard and the Serbian military have been paired up since 2006 through the Partnership for Peace program, a NATO initiative aimed at improving security by building trust among members of NATO and other European states.

But the last special operations exchange was about 10 years ago, and that comprised a much smaller group of soldiers, Faherty said.

‘Time to move on’ Most of the training took place at Batajnica Air Base near Belgrade, where soldiers with the 173rd bunked in the barracks and ate military food while getting to know their Serbian counterparts.

SEE PAGE 6

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Friday, December1,1,2017 2017 Friday, December

EUROPE FROM PAGE 4

When jumping from the two U.S. Air Force C-130s — deployed to Serbia from Ramstein Air Base, Germany — Serbs used U.S. Army parachutes and followed the direction of U.S. jumpmasters.

The training highlighted some differences, said Sgt. Kellen Wilson of the 173rd, who was responsible for jump safety on two flights.

“Some of these guys are free-fall instructors,” Wilson said of the Serbian paratroopers. “So they (pause) at the door. We had to make sure there was no pause … you just rotate and go.”

For the Serbs, jumps from the side doors of the four-engine C-130J were a novelty, because they normally use the rear ramp door of the much smaller An-26 transports.

The exercise — as most joint training goes — serves to build compatibility, officials said.

“We’re preparing our joint forces to be able to engage in international peacekeeping operations, whether that be under the flag of the United Nations, under the flag of NATO, or under the flag of the European Union,” said U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott.

But in Serbia, the Serbian and American soldiers standing shoulder-to-shoulder also has great symbolic meaning, Scott said after Nov. 17’s ceremony with the paratroopers concluded.

Serbian-U.S. relations have improved considerably since the war, when an Americanled NATO bombing campaign ended a campaign against Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian population.

The troubles of the past didn’t cloud the exercise, said Spc. Uros Dzelebdzic, 30, a combat medic and paratrooper with the 173rd. Dzelebdzic is a native Serbian who immigrated to the U.S. as a teenage foreign exchange student.

“It was a very friendly atmosphere,” he said. “We were well received.” What happened in 1999 “didn’t come up at all,” he said.

Master Sgt. Vladimir Bjelic, 49, a Serbian jumpmaster with more than 730 jumps, said of the conflict, “that’s one part of our history we should never forget,” but he doesn’t think any of the U.S. paratroopers “are guilty for that.”

Yes, he believes he can call

MICHAEL A BRAMS/Stars and Stripes

Paratroopers from the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, based in Vincenza, Italy, and their counterparts from the Serbian 63rd Paratrooper Battalion stand at the Baku drop zone after jumping from C-130 aircraft on Nov. 17.

For video of the exercise, go to: stripes.com/go/ DoubleEagle.com Americans friends “because they were very friendly — this time,” Bjelic joked.

Kidding aside, “we should move on,” he said.

Scott reiterated that theme.

“It should be no surprise that the people of Serbia still remember vividly 1999 and the bombing campaign,” he said. “There’s still a bitterness that remains but the important point is to recognize, for many of the soldiers who jumped out of these planes, they were just children at the time.

“It’s time to move on … and I think that the president’s initiative to call for this exercise shows that he and the Serbian government are ready to do so.”

Friends but not allies The Americans were in Serbia at the invitation of President Aleksandar Vucic, a once hard-line nationalist who served under President Slobodan Milosevic in the late 1990s. Milosevic died in 2006

Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade are welcomed to Batajnica Air Base with a traditional bread and salt ceremony on Nov. 13. while standing trial for war crimes at the international tribunal in The Hague.

Vucic extended the invitation in July at a meeting with Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of U.S. European Command, Faherty said, challenging the U.S. “to do a large bilateral exercise (in Serbia) before the end of this calendar year.”

The U.S. readily accepted.

“We’re quite happy to support them in that,” Faherty said, “because a Serbia at peace with itself and at peace

with its neighbors is better for the Serbian people and is better for Europe as a whole.”

Dimitar Bechev, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of the new book, “Rival Power: Russia in Southeast Europe,” said the U.S. “is gaining from drawing Serbia closer to its orbit at a time when the competition with Russia is picking up.”

Serbia wouldn’t be alone in its neutrality if accepted to the European Union. Several

others, such as Ireland and Sweden, are not part of the military bloc.

“Their stated policy is … ‘friends with everybody, allies with no one,’ ” Faherty said.

“Their government’s clear that they’re not pursuing NATO membership but they still want to stay actively engaged in strong partnerships.”

Vucic at the ceremony emphasized that Serbia was not taking sides. “Although Serbia is militarily neutral, we will continue to further this kind of cooperation in the future,” he said.

Bechev said the benefits of cooperating with the world’s most advanced militaries are well understood in Serbia.

That’s why Serbia signed an individual partnership plan with NATO in 2015, he said. Such plans help deepen cooperation and assistance.

“But the political costs are there too,” Bechev said, referring to widespread popular opposition to closer ties with NATO. “So Serbia is working together with the alliance, but often under the radar.” svan.jennifer@stripes.com Twitter: @stripesktown

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PACIFIC

PHOTOS

BY

M ARCUS FICHTL /Stars and Stripes

Above: People stand in line to check out at the new post exchange at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on Nov. 20.

Left: The ribbon is cut at the new exchange.

Long-awaited PX opens at Camp Humphreys

BY M ARCUS FICHTL AND K IM GAMEL Stars and Stripes

C

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea onfetti swirled in the air while South Korean drummers and the 8th Army band played Nov. 20 to celebrate the grand opening of Camp Humphreys’ new post exchange, the third-largest in the world.

It was the latest in a series of ribbon-cuttings at the expanded Army garrison, which is the centerpiece of plans to relocate the bulk of U.S. forces on the divided peninsula to regional hubs south of Seoul.

“The fact that [the Army and Air Force Exchange Service] was able to pull this all together and do it in time for our holiday shopping is just a phenomenal undertaking,” 8th Army commander Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal told hundreds of eager shoppers.

Even actor Mark Wahlberg got in on the hype, sending a personalized cellphone video telling troops to “enjoy your new store and come home soon.”

The population on the base already has doubled to 26,000 since last year after the 8th Army moved its headquarters from Yongsan Garrison in Seoul over the summer. It’s ultimately expected to surpass 46,000 after U.S. Forces Korea and the 2nd Infantry Division relocate from areas closer to the border with North Korea.

That prompted AAFES to expedite the opening of the $63 million, 300,000-square-foot post exchange,

People take photos while a cake is cut in honor of the new post exchange. which hadn’t been due to start operations until March.

“It opened now because we felt with all the family members coming in over the summer, it was critical that we give them a taste of home and have a holiday season that they would normally have in America here in Korea,” AAFES Director Tom Shull told Stars and Stripes.

“We wanted to make sure that we opened in time to ship presents home,” he added, noting the new store has increased the amount of area-specific military souvenirs and accessories on sale.

Shull said AAFES was able to push

forward the completion date even though it hadn’t been budgeted for this year because it has flexibility as a nonappropriated fund agency. It uses profits to pay for store operations but distributes the remainder to on-base Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities, including school lunches, he said.

South Korea paid nearly $50 million for the store’s construction, while the United States paid about $13 million to outfit it with fixtures, furniture and other items, officials said.

The post exchange, which has 430 employees and 13 registers, is one of the main anchors of Camp Hum-

phreys’ new, $204.5 million downtown complex that includes a food court and a new commissary due to open in February.

Officials said it’s the third-largest in the world after the exchanges at Kaiserslautern Military Community Center in Germany and Kadena Air Base in Japan.

The earlier-than-expected opening was good news for U.S. military officials who have faced multiple delays in the garrison’s $10.7 billion expansion since the two countries agreed to the relocation plan in 2004.

But pressure mounted this year as the population growth squeezed services on the former remote outpost in the rural area of Pyeongtaek, about 40 miles south of Seoul. “Back in March, we never thought this would happen,” Vandal said.

Tawana Johnson, 35, an Army spouse who was scoping out Christmas gifts for her son, was happy with the results.

“The store has a lot of variety, a great selection for the kids — especially for the boys,” said Johnson, of Albany, Ga. “It’s pretty much like a Walmart.”

Staff Sgt. Xavier Flores, 27, of San Antonio, a military policeman at Camp Humphreys, said the new store will make his stay much easier.

“It will make the year go by quicker,” he said. “It has more stuff to do, more stuff to buy and more stuff to waste money on.” fichtl.marcus@stripes.com gamel.kim@stripes.com

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MILITARY

US escalates Somalia fight but DOD downplays buildup

BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes

STUTTGART, Germany — There are now 500 U.S. troops in Somalia, where the military carried out daily airstrikes a week ago, but the Pentagon refuses to call it a buildup.

“I would not associate that with a buildup, as you’re calling it,” Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie told reporters Nov. 16 in Washington. “I think it’s just the flow of forces in and out as different organizations come in that might be sized a little differently.”

McKenzie said the boost in attacks was simply a matter of hitting targets as they emerge. “So there’s no particular rhythm to it, except that as they become available and as we’re able to process them and vet them, we strike them,” he said.

Still, the sudden surge of servicemembers into Somalia during the past several months and the rapid spike in airstrikes — 28 so far this year — is a reversal from the past, when there were no regular troops in the country and airstrikes were extremely rare.

Driving the U.S.’ recent escalation is a closing window of opportunity as a 20,000-strong coalition of African armies prepares to leave the country after a decade of leading the battle against the al-Qaida-aligned group al-Shabab.

For 10 years, the African Union Mission in Somalia helped ensure

relative stability in the war-torn country, pushing al-Shabab out of the capital, Mogadishu, and numerous other strongholds. But al-Shabab was never defeated, and with the African Union’s pullout set to begin in coming weeks, the U.S. and its partners have little time to degrade the militants before the multinational fighting force leaves. When the union’s drawdown is completed in 2020, Somalia’s fledgling army will be in charge of the fight.

There is uncertainty about whether clan-based Somalia, which has a fleeting history of centralized government — can marshal the unity to prevent an al-Shabab resurgence.

“The group 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,” Robyn Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Africa Command, told Stars and Stripes.

The U.S. military escalation now underway was hinted at earlier this year, when leaders from AMISOM arrived at AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart for a meeting of AFRICOM defense chiefs.

“We have very little time, so we need to accelerate this,” said Francisco Madeira, the African Union’s special representative on Somalia, during the April meeting in Stuttgart. “We have to see where we can get resources and training so these people can take over

NICHOLAS M. B YERS/Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Miller, from the 101st Airborne Division, holds the flag during a graduation ceremony for Somali National Army soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia, on May 24. as quickly as possible.”

“I am afraid they (the Somali army) are not ready to take over the security right now,” added Lt. Gen. Osman

Nour Soubagleh from Djibouiti. “The time is very short.” vandiver.john@stripes.com Twitter: @john_vandiver

Turkey yanks troops from NATO drill over ‘enemies’ insult claim

BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes

STUTTGART, Germany — Turkey pulled its troops from a NATO exercise following an accusation from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Nov. 17 that he and the country’s founding father were named at an “enemies table” during a war game.

About 40 Turkish troops were taking part in the drills in Norway. Erdogan ordered the withdrawal after he said that his name and that of Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, were listed as enemies.

“There was an incident in Norway.

They put up something like an ‘en-

emies table’ and it included (Mustafa Kemal) Atatürk’s name and my name,” said Erdogan, as quoted by Turkish media Nov. 17.

Details about the incident are sketchy. “It was a NATO drill; we had 40 soldiers there,” Erdogan said. “We decided to withdraw those troops and they started the necessary process.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg issued an apology over the incident, which he said was caused by a civilian contractor at the alliance’s Joint Warfare Center in Stavanger, Norway.

“I apologize for the offense that has been caused,” Stoltenberg said. “The incidents were the result of an indi-

vidual’s actions and do not reflect the views of NATO.” The contractor was removed from the exercise and an investigation is underway, he said.

“It will be for the Norwegian authorities to decide on any disciplinary action,” Stoltenberg said. “NATO has been in contact with the Norwegian authorities on this issue.”

The dispute comes at a time of tension between Turkey and various members of the U.S.-led NATO alliance. The U.S. has been at odds with Turkey over the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria even as the U.S. military utilizes a Turkish air base at Incirlik to conduct airstrikes.

Chief among the disagreements is the U.S.’ backing of Kurdish fighters, who have been key to the American strategy in fighting ISIS. Ankara regards elements of those Kurdish forces as its chief enemy.

Germany also has been at odds with Turkey over a range of issues and has pulled military forces out of Turkey’s Incirlik base in response.

While the West has voiced concern about Turkey’s authoritarian drift under Erdogan, the Turkish president has drawn closer to Russia and has announced plans to acquire a sophisticated Russian air defense system. vandiver.john@stripes.com Twitter: @john_vandiver

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PACIFIC

US, S. Korea to increase military transparency

BY K IM GAMEL Stars and Stripes

SEOUL, South Korea — The United States and South Korea agreed Nov. 21 to increase public transparency by promising to “disclose nonconfidential information” related to the U.S. military presence on the divided peninsula.

The decision, which was made during a meeting between the two allies to discuss their status of forces agreement, followed outrage over the installation of an advanced U.S. missile-defense system in South Korea despite protests and concern over environmental pollution from military bases.

The bilateral agreement known as SOFA outlines the legal terms governing the 28,500 U.S. servicemembers stationed in South Korea, as well as their dependents and civilian contractors working for the Defense Department.

“The Joint Committee discussed cooperative efforts to further enhance transparency of SOFA-related affairs with the Korean public,” U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement.

“The Joint Committee agreed to cooperate in every possible way to disclose nonconfidential information related to SOFA implementing

PATRICK E AKIN /Courtesy of the U.S. Army

Soldiers from Bravo Company, 8th Brigade Engineer Battalion, conduct a tactical road march during demolition training over the summer in South Korea. agreements to enhance public awareness and using well-established SOFA procedures,” it added.

Anger arose earlier this year when the U.S. military trucked in several components of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, known as THAAD, in an overnight operation that critics saw as an effort to rush the battery into place before a snap presidential election that threatened to delay the move.

Seoul and Washington agreed last year to station THAAD on the peninsula to counter the growing nuclear

and missile threat from North Korea, but many South Koreans protested the decision due to fears of negative health and economic effects.

President Moon Jae-in’s new administration initially suspended the deployment but later allowed it to proceed on a temporary basis after the North stepped up its nuclear weapons program with a series of missile tests.

USFK insists THAAD is defensive in nature and said the deployment was carried out in full cooperation with South Korea’s Defense Ministry. Two civil rights groups

petitioned for the Defense Ministry to disclose details of the bilateral negotiations leading to THAAD’s deployment, but the suit was dismissed by an administrative court that said the information is classified, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The United States also faces complaints about the environmental fallout from its operations on the peninsula.

Concern has risen as the military has begun moving the bulk of its forces to regional hubs south of Seoul and has prepared to turn over longoccupied bases to the South

Korean government.

Most recently, the Environmental Ministry said on-site inspections found that soil and groundwater inside Camp Market, a base west of Seoul, had been contaminated with chemicals, oil and other potentially harmful substances.

USFK said the initiative to improve transparency was on display in addressing the contamination at Camp Market as well as the land grant for THAAD, which has been placed on a former golf course in the remote southeastern area of Seongju.

The SOFA committee “recognized concerns for environmental protection and decided to continue constructive consultation on environmental issues related to” USFK installations, it said.

The two sides also promised “faithful implementation” of established environmental assessment procedures in “conducting real estate grants and returns.”

Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas Bergeson, USFK’s deputy commander, and Cho Koo-rae, of the Foreign Ministry’s North America bureau, led the 198th SOFA meeting. The meetings are held at least once a year to discuss pending issues. gamel.kim@stripes.com Twitter: @kimgamel

S. Korea could ask US to suspend war games

BY K IM GAMEL Stars and Stripes

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s military could ask the U.S. to suspend joint war games usually held in the spring to avoid an overlap with the 2018 Olympics and Paralympics, a news agency reported Nov. 16.

Yonhap quoted an unidentified government source as saying the issue could be raised by the end of the year.

“The military is considering consulting with U.S. forces to make the Key Resolve training slated for March not overlap with the Olympics,” the source said.

South Korea’s presidential office said the question of suspending

the drills has not been discussed or decided, while the Defense Ministry declined to comment on the issue.

The annual springtime exercises known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle are a touchstone for tensions because they infuriate North Korea, which considers them a rehearsal for an invasion. U.S. and South Korean military officials insist the drills are strictly defensive in nature.

The start date for the exercises hasn’t been announced, but it’s usually in late February or early March, which would coincide with the end of the Winter Games or the start of the Paralympics.

South Korea has urged North Korea to participate in the Olympics, which

will be held Feb. 9-25 in the mountainous resort town of Pyeongchang, just 50 miles south of the heavily fortified border. The communist state has not responded, although it has a figure skating team that qualified for the games.

Organizers also worry that security concerns due to heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program could reduce the audience turnout. The Paralympics are scheduled for March 9-19 in Pyeongchang.

The U.N. General Assembly has adopted a resolution urging all countries to stop fighting and observe a truce during the Winter Games.

U.S. commanders insist the war games are necessary to maintain readiness on the peninsula, but some

experts have suggested the timing and scale could be adjusted to avoid antagonizing the North.

In August, as another annual exercise known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian began, Gen. Vincent Brooks, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said the drills are vital to deterrence.

“And so, in our view, we have to continue to exercise until we have a reason not to, and that reason has not yet emerged,” he said. “That may cause some noise from North Korea, and that’s what we routinely expect, but it doesn’t stop us in our resolve to be as ready as possible and leave the greatest number of options.” gamel.kim@stripes.com Twitter: @kimgamel

Friday, December 1, 2017

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Fri Dec 1

7pm “The Nutcracker” by Columbia County Ballet

Imperial Theatre $15-$35. Call 706-722-8341 or visit imperialtheatre.com.

Sat Dec 2

2pm - 7pm Christmas Light-Up Spectacular & Parade

Augusta Common A free event that includes live entertainment, children’s activities, a parade at 2 p.m., a fireworks display, tree lighting and more. Call 706-8211754 or visit augustaga.gov.

2pm - 6pm Columbia County Christmas Tree Lighting

Evans Towne Center Park The 17th annual tree-lighting ceremony includes full Christmas vendor village, free Santa photos, free train rides, cookies with Mrs. Claus, ornament decorating, food and beverage vendors, nine holes of North Pole Mini Golf, a giant maze and more. Visit evanstownecenterpark.com or call 706-868-3484.

4pm - 8pm Grovetown Christmas Festival

Liberty Park Community Center This event includes live music, dance, crafts, food, hot chocolate, tree lighting, a visit from Santa and more.

Call 706-860-7691 or visit facebook.

Friday, December 1, 2017

com/events/930962957051839.

Sun Dec 3

All day Cinema for a Cause

Those who go see a movie today at Riverwatch, Masters or Evans Cinemas will have 100 percent of their ticket sales donated to local charities. Last year’s event raised $157,920. Visit georgiatheatrecompany.com.

2pm Columbia County Christmas Parade

Belair Road between Washington Road and Cox Road Visit columbiacountyfair.net.

Tue Dec 5

7:30pm A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Sacred Heart Cultural Center A Guild of the Sacred Heart Cultural Center presentation that is led

by Keith Shafer and is based on the traditional English Christmas program that originated at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge University. $20. Call 706-826-4700 or visit sacredheartaugusta.org.

Wed Dec 6

7:30pm Rick Springfield and Richard Marx

Bell Auditorium $49.50-$85.00. Call 877-4AUGTIX or visit georgialinatix.com.

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 Harry D. Revell

Sam G. Nicholson

George S. (Sam) Nicholson

Adam W. King

4137 Columbia Road Augusta, Georgia 30907 | (706) 722-8784

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MILITARY

Air Force aims for laser weapons on jet by 2021

BY WILLIAM HOWARD Stars and Stripes

The Air Force Research Laboratory is forging ahead with a high-energy laser designed to shoot down drones, incoming rockets and mortar rounds and hopes to have a demonstration model ready by 2021, officials say.

The Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator program, or SHIELD, which launched this year, seeks to equip supersonic warplanes, such as the B-1 Lancer, F-35 Lightning and F-22 Raptor, with defensive lasers mounted in external pods.

The Air Force wants a highenergy laser system compact enough to complement the internal cannon and missiles equipped on its fighter jets.

The new system uses a type of optical fiber as the lightFROM PAGE 14

Not only do deployed surgeons rarely operate, but they’re put at odds with civilian surgical practice increasingly reliant on minimally invasive technology, advanced imaging and other sophisticated tools, Lee said.

But there was little or no evidence that surgical care had suffered, Edwards and Nessen, whom the Army Medical Command declined to make available for phone interviews, wrote in their email in answer to written questions.

“In spite of the very real challenges Army general

Courtesy of Air Force Research Lab, Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is helping the Air Force Research Lab develop a high-energy laser weapon systems for aircraft, including the laser pictured in this rendering. emitting material instead of the neodymium-doped crystals used in conventional solidstate lasers. Since fiber can be coiled, more power can be

packed into a compact system.

“We have shown that a powerful directed energy laser is now sufficiently lightweight, low volume and reliable

surgeons face, to date as a whole they have continued to provide excellent care to their patients,” they wrote.

In 2014, a 634-page review of the military health system found that it generally provided quality care comparable to that found in the civilian sector. But it also found “wide performance variability,” with spots of excellence and other areas performing below national benchmarks.

The review, ordered by then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, found higher-than-expected rates of surgical complications at more than half of the military hospitals that had

submitted data. Surgical patients’ death rates were within the expected range.

The review also found low infant mortality rates at military hospitals but determined that babies were more likely to be injured during birth and mothers more likely to hemorrhage than at civilian hospitals.

Military medical officials have responded in recent years, sometimes citing costs, by downsizing some hospitals to health centers, shuttering obstetrical centers and surgical facilities, and sending patients to local civilian facilities.

They have also encouraged medical commands to

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

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

enough to be deployed on tactical vehicles for defensive applications on land, at sea and in the air,” Lockheed Martin laser weapons expert Robert Afzal said in a statement.

“One of the problems with the chemical laser is that, first of all, they’re too big and too heavy — and you have to carry the chemicals with you,” Afzal told CNBC on Nov. 17. “With an electric laser, your platform which is driving, sailing, flying around usually has a power system that can recharge your battery back. But in a chemical laser, once the chemicals are gone you have to go back to the depot.”

The SHIELD program includes a beam control system to direct the laser onto a target, a housing pod mounted on the fighter jet to power and cool the laser and the high-en-

ergy laser source itself.

Lockheed Martin also recently demonstrated a laser capable of being based on the ground or at sea for the military.

In September, the company demonstrated its Advanced Test High Energy Asset, or ATHENA, in tests run by the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The laser brought down five Outlaw drones.

“The tests at White Sands against aerial targets validated our lethality models and replicated the results we’ve seen against static targets at our own test range,” Keoki Jackson, Lockheed Martin’s chief technology officer, said in a statement in September. howard.william@stripes.com Twitter @Howard_Stripes

SHEJAL PULIVARTI /Courtesy of the U.S. Army

U.S. Army Maj. Warren Johnson, an emergency room physician with the 212th Combat Support Hospital, and Cameroonian general practitioner Elvis Akem Tambe review a patient’s X-ray at the Regional Hospital during a training exercise in Garoua, Cameroon. forge agreements with nearby civilian trauma centers and Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals to allow military physicians to practice there.

That effort is being expanded, according to the Army Medical Command.

Since Edwards’ article was published, progress had been made, Edwards and Nessen said.

“There is a definite level of

awareness that operative volumes are critically important for surgeon readiness and that this needs to be quantified and evaluated prior to deployment,” they wrote in their email to Stars and Stripes. “There is no question that the military surgical community, working with our military and civilian surgical leaders, is taking this issue very seriously.” montgomery.nancy@stripes.com

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