Stars & Stripes - 05.11.18

Volume 10, No. 22 ©SS 2018

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2018

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Report: Use of shoulder-fired weapons could pose TBI risk, Page 2

A soldier from the 122nd Aviation Support Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, fires an M136 AT4 rocket launcher at Fort Bragg, N.C., last year.

A new Army report suggests use of heavy arms could cause traumatic brain injuries in shooters.

A DAN CAZAREZ /Courtesy of the U.S. Army

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COVER STORY

Some gunners at risk for brain damage

BY WYATT OLSON Stars and Stripes

Troops in training or combat who use shoulder-supported heavy weapons are at risk for brain damage from blast pressure, a report commissioned by the Army found.

Servicemembers exposed to high levels of “blast overpressure” from heavy weapons, such as the Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle, have experienced problems with memory loss and decision-making, according to the report released in April by the think tank Center for New American Security.

The Defense Department has been tracking and studying traumatic brain injuries since 2000. Such injuries, which have often come from improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, are now well-documented. But the effects of pressure blasts from heavy weapons on gunners have been largely ignored.

“We were, quite honestly, shocked to find that there are these negative cognitive effects that are also coming from firing heavy weapons,” said Paul Scharre, a co-author of the report and director of CNAS’ technology and

national security program.

The report was part of a larger project for the Army Research Laboratory that looked at emerging technologies to improve soldier protection and survivability, such as body armor and robotics, he said.

A former Army Ranger, Scharre has fired heavy weapons that give off blast pressure, such as AT4 anti-tank guns, the M72 anti-armor LAW and .50-caliber sniper rifles.

“They have quite a punch, and soldiers who have shot them will tell you there’s a big pressure coming off the weapon, but there wasn’t a depth of understanding about some of the cognitive deficits that can come from very small amounts of exposure,” he said.

As the NFL has come to understand, Scharre said, it’s not just the big concussions you need to think about. “It’s the routine hits people are getting that put them at risk.”

A 2008 study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma used pigs and rats to measure the effects of blast overpressure from several shouldermounted guns and a howitzer. Small hemorrhages were found in some of

the animals’ brains, tears that increased with blast intensity. Damage occurred in some cases after only three shots of the weapon.

“In practice, gunners for these weapons could be exposed to significantly more shots during training, sometimes up to 20 or more shots per day,” the CNAS report said.

It recommends the Defense Department immediately amend the daily firing limits for servicemembers shooting these heavy weapons to below the threshold that causes cognitive problems.

“Right now, if you’re using these weapons within approved firing limits, you still have some servicemembers who experience cognitive deficit,” Scharre said. “The other thing is that the limits right now apply only to a 24hour period,” he said. It takes up to 96 hours after firing the daily approved firing limits for servicemembers to “reset back to baseline,” he said.

In addition, daily maximum limits aren’t cumulative, meaning they do not take into account that multiple heavy weapons systems might be fired in a day, he said.

“They need a comprehensive limit that covers all these heavy weapons,” he said.

The report recommends that the Defense Department also establish annual and lifetime exposure limits for these weapons.

Reliable data on long-term effects of these pressure blasts do not yet exist so the annual and lifetime limits would need to err on the side of being overly conservative, Scharre said.

Users of the weapons should routinely wear blast gauges to record the cumulative amount of pressure over time, which would become part of a servicemember’s service record, the study recommended.

Computer modeling has shown that full-face helmets can reduce blast pressure to the brain by up to 80 percent, Scharre said.

Further research is needed into the best design for such a helmet, including an assessment of the risk tradeoffs due to increased helmet weight and greater torque on the neck, the report said. olson.wyatt@stripes.com Twitter: @WyattWOlson

Sailors face constant struggle to keep aging LCACs afloat

BY JAMES BOLINGER Stars and Stripes

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — Mechanics face a daily struggle to keep the Navy’s fleet of ancient aircushioned landing craft afloat until new hovercraft begin arriving next month.

Replacements for the Navy’s 72 landing craft air cushions, or LCACs, were supposed to start arriving last year; however, delivery of a new hovercraft — the $57.7 million-per-unit “Ship-To-Shore Connector” — was delayed by technical challenges.

In the meantime, sailors have ramped up inspections on the old vessels to identify problems when they are small.

Many of the four-engine machines, which made their Navy debut in 1982, were supposed to have retired years ago, but 68 of them have had their service lifespans increased by

JAMES BOLINGER /Stars and Stripes

Sailors complete a post-startup inspection on a landing craft air cushion April 19 at Sasebo Naval Base. a decade after improvements to power, command, control, communications, computer and navigational systems, the Navy said.

For now, sailors from Naval Beach Unit 7 at Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, are winning the battle against time.

In the past year, they’ve increased the readiness rate for their seven LCACs from less than 55 percent to nearly 70 percent, said Cmdr. Bob Jones, the unit’s leader.

To keep them running, mechanics focus on things such as electronics that are susceptible

to corrosion, he said.

Saltwater gets everywhere when a landing craft is underway, with plenty of sea spray at speeds of up to 45 knots, or nearly 52 mph. During a recent firefighting drill, crewmembers pumped water out of the ocean onto an engine.

To minimize corrosion, each landing craft is washed twice with fresh water after it returns from a voyage. Sailors also keep a close eye on the vessels’ $300,000 fiberglass propellers.

“If anything hits them, they will fly into pieces,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Marcial, a navigator.

Gas turbine systems mechanics like Petty Officer 3rd Class Jasmin Thapa are charged with inspecting the propellers. The job involves examining the blades to look for holes and chips and making sure edge guards haven’t come loose, she said.

It’s also important to make sure the propellers are balanced so the craft will hover smoothly, Thapa said.

Sailors also are doing more inspections on the air-filled cushions that the hovercraft ride on. Each has a dozen that cost between $60,000 and $80,000 to replace and are supposed to last six years, Jones said.

The extra inspections come on top of a 180-hour annual hull inspection and engine checks based on hours of operation, he said.

The Sasebo-based hovercraft unit is a one-of-a-kind unit in the Navy. Its sailors also operate Landing Craft Utility boats that can deliver heavy-duty machinery and hundreds of Marines from ship to beach in support of Task Force 76, the Navy’s amphibious task force in the Pacific. bolinger.james@stripes.com Twitter: @bolingerj2004

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MILITARY

Guard deployment to border could cost $182 million

BY COREY DICKSTEIN Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — The deployment of about 2,000 National Guard troops to aid Customs and Border Protection along the U.S.-Mexico border is expected to cost about $182 million, a Pentagon spokeswoman said.

The money would fund the troops through the end of September, Pentagon chief spokeswoman Dana White told reporters May 3. The 2,000 troops are roughly half the number that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis authorized to deploy to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist law enforcement with security, she said.

President Donald Trump has long railed against the state of the nation’s southern border, describing it as porous and allowing undocumented immigrants and drugs to flow into the United States.

Customs and Border Protection has only formally re-

quested about 2,000 National Guardsmen, thus far, White said. However, she indicated negotiations for deploying more troops were ongoing.

The $182 million would be funded primarily through National Guard operations and maintenance budgets, typically used among Guard units to cover the cost of training, and from military personnel accounts.

White said the Pentagon had “no concern” that using money meant to fund Guard units training would hurt their combat readiness.

National Guard members began deploying to the border last month after Mattis’ authorized the operation. They operate under the control of the governors of the border states.

So far, more than 1,000 troops have deployed to border areas in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California. Their mission is to aid the Department of Homeland Secu-

M ARK O TTE /Courtesy of the Texas Military Department

A Texas Guardsman and a Customs and Border Protection agent discuss the lay of the land on the shores of the Rio Grande River in Starr County, Texas, last month as part of the federal callup to the Texas-Mexico border. rity, primarily by providing capabilities such as aviation, surveillance, engineering, communications and logistical operations.

Mattis told lawmakers last month that the troops would not be authorized to make arrests.

“These forces will not involve themselves with the migrants themselves or have

any law enforcement duties,” he told the House Armed Services Committee on April 12.

Trump ordered Mattis to approve the deployments last month after growing frustrated with inaction on his promised border wall, a major theme during his campaign that he has said he intends to see through.

Trump is the third consecutive president to send National Guard troops to the border.

George W. Bush deployed about 6,400 Guardsmen to the border from 2006 to 2008.

In 2010, Barack Obama sent about 1,200 troops to the border. dickstein.corey@stripes.com Twitter: @CDicksteinDC

Navy to re-establish 2nd Fleet as Russia increases activity

BY COREY DICKSTEIN Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — The Navy announced May 4 that it will re-establish its 2nd Fleet to oversee assets and operations along the nation’s East Coast and in the northern Atlantic Ocean as it seeks to counter increased Russian naval activity in the region.

The move is part of a revamped Pentagon National Defense Strategy that places competition with near-peer military adversaries, including Russia and China, above the threat of terrorism, Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, said.

“The security environment continues to grow more challenging and complex,” he said in Norfolk, Va.

“That’s why today, we’re standing up [2nd] Fleet to address these changes, particularly in the North Atlantic.”

The unit will be responsible for operations and administrative duties for ships, aircraft and other Navy forces assigned for duty along the East Coast and throughout the northern Atlantic, according to a Navy statement. The fleet also will plan overseas operations throughout the area and will provide forces to respond to contingencies.

In 2011, 2nd Fleet was absorbed into Fleet Forces Command, a decision described by the service at the time as a cost-saving measure. It will report to Fleet Forces Command.

It was not immediately clear when the new fleet will be officially estab-

lished, who will command it or how large it will be. A Navy spokesman declined to comment, saying decisions were still being made.

The U.S. Naval Institute, citing a memorandum signed recently by Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer, reported 2nd Fleet would be re-established July 1 and based in Norfolk.

When it was disbanded, 2nd Fleet was commanded by a three-star admiral.

With the Atlantic relatively free from military tensions at the time it was shut down, 2nd Fleet was primarily focused on supporting humanitarian missions and aiding counternarcotics missions with 4th Fleet, assigned to U.S. Southern Command.

But U.S. warships have increasingly been called upon for missions in support of NATO allies in the Atlantic since Russia seized Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014. Since then, Russia has increased the tempo of its naval operations in Atlantic waters, including increased deployments of submarines and occasional tense confrontations, such as incidents in which Russian aircraft have buzzed American warships.

Re-establishing 2nd Fleet will allow the unit’s senior leadership to focus much of their efforts on countering those Russian moves, a Navy official said. dickstein.corey@stripes.com Twitter: @CDicksteinDC

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MILITARY

Ukraine troops train on US Javelin missiles

BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes

Ukrainian troops began training last week on advanced U.S. anti-tank weaponry aimed at boosting Kiev’s longrunning fight against Russiabacked separatists, officials said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko confirmed that the delivery of the FGM-148 Javelin weapons systems had been completed and that the weapons would help “the powerful deterrent effect of our combat capability.”

“We continue to work on strengthening our defense capability in order to deflect Russian aggression,” Poroshenko said on Facebook.

President Donald Trump’s decision to authorize the delivery of lethal weapons to Ukraine is a reversal of the position of the Barack Obama administration, which argued that such shipments would escalate tensions. The Obama administration argued that Moscow was more deeply invested in the outcome in eastern Ukraine and would always be able to outdo Washington on the ground.

U.S. military leaders, however, have long favored providing more military support to Ukraine in the hope of increasing the costs for separatists and the Russian forces who support them.

It is unclear how much the new weapons will change the battlefield dynamics in the 4-year-old war, which has killed 10,000 people and at least 2,500 civilians, according to the United Nations. Some analysts believe the delivery of weapons is too little, too late.

Michael Carpenter, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense, said in an Atlantic Council forum recently that the decision to supply arms was the right move but that it does little to alter the balance of power.

“No one should fool themselves into thinking that Javelin missiles are a gamechanger,” Carpenter said.

K AYLA C HRISTOPHER /Courtesy of the U.S. Army

An American soldier demonstrates how to use the Javelin anti-tank missile system as a delegation of Ukrainian military officials observes at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, in May 2017. The U.S. has delivered anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, the first shipment of lethal aid to the country.

“Javelins are useful weapons that will have a limited deterrent effect, but they won’t change the fighting capabilities of the Ukrainian military all that much.”

Ukrainian casualties have increased in recent months even as fighting has decreased, according to the top U.S. military officer in Europe.

“We have seen the violence level go down of late,” U.S. European Command Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti said in March. “But I would tell you, what you don’t see is — within that lower violence level, it’s less heavy artillery and more

things like snipers, et cetera.

So the casualties haven’t gone down. In fact, they’ve gone up a bit. … It’s still a hot war.”

In such a fight, Javelins could be less useful now than they would have been earlier in the war when heavy weaponry was more of a factor.

The Javelin is a soldierportable, fire-and-forget system with a range of up to 2.7 miles. It has an 18-pound tandem warhead consisting of two shaped charges — one to pierce reactive armor and the other to penetrate into the vehicle. Its top-attack ability allows it to hit a target from

above, where the armor is usually thinnest. It can also be used against battlefield fortifications.

“The supply of the Javelin anti-tank weapon system is welcome news; however, it is long overdue and may be sending a wrong signal to Moscow,” Ariel Cohen said in an Atlantic Council analysis of the Javelin deal. “While these missiles are necessary, they are supplied almost four years after they were requested, and in small numbers.”

The weapons were needed in 2014, Cohen said. Their ar-

rival now “may be signaling to Russia that the United States is very slow and will not respond with adequate strength and in a timely manner in the case of a major engagement.”

In March, the State Department approved the sale of Javelin missiles and launch units at a cost of $47 million.

The deal involved 201 Javelin missiles and 37 launchers. The arrangement also includes U.S. government and contractor trainers. vandiver.john@stripes.com Twitter: @john_vandiver

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MILITARY

Navy’s top NCO pushes new enlisted leadership initiative

BY M ARCUS FICHTL Stars and Stripes

CHINHAE NAVAL BASE, South Korea — Certified instructors and renewed focus on character are part of a new leadership program launched by the Navy’s top enlisted sailor during a tour of 7th Fleet bases in the Indo-Pacific region.

The initiative, dubbed “Laying the Keel: Developing the Backbone of our Navy,” marks the first significant change since 2011 to how the service trains its enlisted leaders.

“We started to realize … this character piece in developing leaders wasn’t as robust,” said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Steven Giordano during a recent all-hands call at Chinhae Naval Base.

A Navy white paper followed by a year of surveys and focus groups found that competency and job knowledge were acceptable, but there was a problem with how young sailors were being taught to lead, Giordano said.

He said the program was born out of sailors’ wants, not

his office.

“This is the U.S. Navy enlisted sailors’ initiative that they have proposed forward,” he said.

Currently, training courses for petty officers — the middle ranks of the Navy’s enlisted — are done in-house without certified instructors. That’s changing.

“The critical piece in it all is you’ve got to have somebody — up in front of you — in that room who can actually facilitate the curriculum,” Giordano said during a stop in Chinhae as part of an 18-day tour that began April 24 in Guam.

Navy officials said a pilot program is underway and the new curriculum should be online by January.

Giordano said they are also reimagining the final push to the vaunted Navy chief petty officer rank by revamping the leadership training events and seminars continuously hosted by local commands.

The new version — called Sailor 360 — will also be rolled out in “Laying the Keel.” It replaces CPO 365.

“Sailor 360, to be honest

with you, is really the vision that was intended for CPO 365,” he said.

The leadership and scenario-based training typically had been dominated by chiefs and senior petty officers but ignored the more junior ranks, Giordano said.

He said all ranks — officer and enlisted — will be invited to participate in Sailor 360.

Giordano told Stars and Stripes after the all-hands call that he hopes an ethos of ownership will come from this program and take over the Navy.

“Too often, we look to the external to find the answer first when it’s much easier to find the answer when you look into the internal first,” he said.

He hopes those answers will be found once the new leadership programs hit full steam.

“I’m looking forward to how they will own this Sailor 360 process, what initiatives they will put forward and the impact it will have,” he said. fichtl.marcus@stripes.com Twitter: @marcusfichtl

M ARCUS FICHTL /Stars and Stripes

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Steven Giordano speaks to sailors April 27 at Chinhae Naval Base, South Korea.

AUSTIN T. BOUCHER /Courtesy of the U.S. Army

Special operators of the Afghan National Mission Brigade conduct an exercise at the Kabul Military Training Complex in February.

Report: Afghan force levels shrinking despite billions spent by US

BY PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN Stars and Stripes

KABUL, Afghanistan — The number of U.S.-funded Afghan security force personnel has sharply declined over the past year, even as fighting and terrorist attacks escalated in many parts of the country, a U.S. government watchdog said last month.

The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces as of Jan. 31 numbered 296,409 people, with the Afghan National Army at 85.4 percent of its authorized strength and the Afghan National Police at 93.4 percent of its authorized strength.

The figures, compiled by U.S. Forces-Afghanistan from the Afghan military, were in a report issued by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR. The information had been classified or restricted from the public for the past six months, SIGAR said.

The shortfall in forces came even though the authorized strength is 5 percent lower than last year, mainly because of large cuts to the Afghan National Police.

SIGAR said that the U.S. military continues to keep private other key data that would help gauge the progress of the United States’ longest war, now in its 17th year.

U.S. Forces-Afghanistan did recently release information related to population, control

over land and other areas.

“While USFOR-A’s action was helpful, it still entailed less detailed responses than SIGAR received previously in some areas,” SIGAR said.

Still being kept from the public are casualty numbers and detailed performance assessments of Afghan forces, as well as the operational readiness of Army and police equipment, the watchdog said.

USFOR-A told SIGAR that much of the information was kept from the public at the request of the Afghan government.

Despite the drop in personnel, the Afghan government made some modest improvements, SIGAR said.

As of Jan. 31, roughly 65 percent of the population lived in areas under government control or influence, up 1 percentage point since last quarter.

Insurgents continued to control or influence areas where 12 percent of the population lived — unchanged from last quarter — while the population living in contested areas decreased to roughly 23 percent, SIGAR said, citing USFOR-A data.

The government controlled or influenced 65.6 percent of the population and the insurgency only 9.2 percent, a slight improvement in recent months but down from the same period last year, SIGAR said. wellman.phillip@stripes.com Twitter: @pwwellman

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MONTH OF MILITARY CHILD

by Laura Levering | Fort Gordon Public Affairs Office If anyone understands challenges associated with military life, it is the military child.

Fort Gordon’s Freedom Park School military children were celebrated during the school’s annual Month of the Military Child “Purple Up” program Monday in the school gymnasium.

Students were treated to more than an hour of entertainment that included performances by the Paine College chorus, motivational talks, essay readings by student essay contest winners, and lots of accolades.

Local celebrity Jay Jefferies, WFXG Fox 54 TV personality and meteorologist, served as the program’s master of ceremonies. This year’s theme was “Brave Hearts and Resilient Souls.”

Dr. Titania Singh, Freedom Park principal, opened the program saying, “Here at Freedom Park we are very, very proud of who we are.”

Month of the Military Child was established in 1986 by then-Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger. The color purple represents a combination of all branches and colors of the military: Army green, Air Force blue, Marine red, Navy blue, and Coast Guard blue.

Guest speaker, Fort Gordon Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Charlie Bryant Jr., offered a different perspective on the color. Often associated with royalty, Bryant told students it is the first thing that comes to mind when he thinks of purple.

“So to me, to you, your teachers, and especially to your parents – all of you kids sitting here today are royalty,” Bryant said.

As the parent of three children who were raised in the military, Bryant understands the challenges of being a military child. His youngest son, now 16, was born at Fort Gordon and has lived multiple places including Korea, Germany, and Louisiana.

Each move brought forth new challenges such as leaving behind friends and familiar places, spending extended time away from family due to deployment or training, and having to adapt to new environments.

“I don’t need to know you personally to know that many of you have been through a lot of PCS moves from school to school experiencing a lot of change that you might not have wanted and that you had to be strong when you might not have wanted to be,” Bryant said. “But you had to, and here you stronger than ever, so be proud to be you.”

Bryant shared examples of celebrities who are part of the “royal military family” because they were military children just like them. Top NBA player Shaquille O’Neal’s father had a career in the Army, actress Jessica Alba’s father was in the Air Force, and comedian Martin Lawrence’s father was in the Army, just to name a few. And just like them, they endured many of the same challenges – and ultimately went on to lead very successful lives.

“I would like to think that their childhood in the military helped make them strong and confident; that their adventures instilled in them curiosity about the world instead of fear and allowed them to follow and achieve their dreams,” Bryant said. “You, too, can follow their footsteps if you choose.”

Recognizing people who have helped shape the military child, Singh closed by thanking teachers for the critical role they play in the military child’s life.

Local TV meteorologist Jay Jefferies gets acquainted with Freedom Park School fourth-grader Alijah Johnson, writer of a prize-winning essay on the theme of “Proud to Be Me,” during the school’s annual “Purple Up” assembly. Bill Bengtson / Fort Gordon Public Affairs Office “As those students are moving around the country and around our nation, it is you who greet them when they come into a new school in March and school is over in May,” Singh said. “You’re the one who greets them at the door ... and makes sure that they feel comfortable in a new environment. And you’re that same person who sends them away with tears in your eyes but holding them back because you want to be strong and you want them to know everything is going to be OK.”

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Stop assault before it starts

by Laura Levering | Fort Gordon Public Affairs Office

Every 98 seconds, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. That’s an average 321,500 victims each year. Fort Gordon, along with installations across the nation, are taking steps to lower that number one victim and one perpetrator at a time.

The U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon held a Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month command program April 26 at Alexander Hall. This year’s theme is “SHARP: Shaping a Culture of Trust; Protecting our People Protects our Mission.”

The program’s guest speaker, Dr. Vanessa Guyton, is an award winning speaker and trainer dedicated to victim advocacy and assisting victims with achieving victory. Based out of Columbia, South Carolina, Guyton supports the military by providing specialized training and certification for thousands of sexual assault coordinators and victim advocates.

Guyton led the audience through an exercise that challenged them to put themselves in sexual assault victims’ shoes. As part of the exercise, Guyton participants were instructed to discuss details about their latest sexual encounter. As she expected, the audience’s reaction was a mix of shock and awe.

“How do you think victims feel when they come to report and they have to tell something so personal and tragic that has happened to them ... when the investigator is talking to them, they’re asking things like ‘were you penetrated?’” Guyton said. “It is not easy to talk about this.”

In the military where much of its culture is built on trust, Guyton emphasized the importance of being empathetic if someone approaches you in confidentiality. Everyone in the audience received a business card with the acronym “GIVE;” each letter representing an effective and supportive mean of communication.

Be gentle and careful not to judge.

Be interested.

“Don’t be looking at your watch or looking at your cell phone like you got some other place to be, because the most important place you could be is in that moment to support them,” Guyton said.

Validate their emotions by reassuring them that they are entitled to feel the way they do.

And respond in an easy manner by suggesting they seek medical attention. Go with them if they want to file a report and assure them that you have their back.

Julia Armstrong, manager of Fort Gordon’s Sexual Harassment Assault Response and Prevention program, helps introduce this year’s Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month Command Program, held in Alexander Hall on April 26. Bill Bengtson / Fort Gordon Public Affairs Office

Talk to victim advocates.

Victim advocates are so motivated in your organization ... get their advice,” Guyton said.

That’s what they’re there for – to be there for you and to be there for someone that you know that needs help.”

Julia Armstrong, CCOE and Fort Gordon Sexual Harassment/ Assault Response and Prevention program manager, emphasized that she and her team cannot do it alone.

“We need you to be our eyes and ears,” Armstrong said. “We need you to be a champion as an active bystander because we know that protecting our people protects our mission.”

Col. David Ristedt, Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center commander, said that while his staff focuses on taking care of victims, he hopes people will turn their attention to the perpetrators.

“I hope we reduce the number of victims out there by going after the heart of the individuals who are thinking that the behavior is ... OK,” Ristedt said. “If you see it, stop it. I think that’s the message that we all need to take out of this.”

Where to go If you have experienced unwanted sexual contact, get in touch with your brigade sexual assault response coordinator, victim advocate, healthcare provider, special victims counsel, behavioral health, military police, or a chaplain.

You can also call the Fort Gordon Sexual Assault Prevention and Response/ Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Hotline 24/7 at (706) 791-6297.

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MILITARY

Army recruits to stay with drill sergeants longer

BY WILLIAM HOWARD Stars and Stripes

Future Army recruits will remain under the thumb of drill sergeants for longer than their recent predecessors.

For the past decade, recruits have breathed a sigh of relief after leaving their drill sergeants behind when moving on from basic training to advanced individual training.

Now, thanks to an Army-wide decision made in February to phase out AIT platoon sergeants, future recruits will continue under the strict management of drill sergeants. The platoon sergeants will be upgraded to drill sergeants.

“The Army always looks at itself every couple of years to try and find

out the best way to make sure that we’re providing the best soldier to their first unit of assignment as well as to the force,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Edward Mitchell, of the Center for Initial Military Training in Fort Eustis, Va. The change makes all Army initial training more like One Station Unit Training for armor and infantry recruits at Fort Benning, Ga., who remain with their drill sergeants for the duration of basic training and AIT. Mitchell said he expects the return of the drill sergeant’s distinctive headgear will help instill a sense of pride and discipline among troops at AIT. “When soldiers see an individual walking around wearing the bush cap or the round brown it normally sends a

sense of pride, and they see an individual who’s going to enforce discipline and standards,” he told Stars and Stripes. “When you see them from a distance you know what they’re about.”

Noncommissioned officers assigned as AIT platoon sergeants are now required to complete a 10-day conversion course based on an existing reintegration course to become full-fledged drill sergeants.

Previously, AIT platoon sergeants left the drill sergeant academy three weeks early, missing classes on rifle marksmanship and training in defense from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.

“Every last one of the AIT platoon sergeants coming through this course already knows how to handle the train-

ees,” Mitchell said. “We just want to make sure that we give them the tools they didn’t have.”

The Army’s Center for Initial Military Training, Human Resources Command and Training and Doctrine Command worked together to ensure the transition of existing AIT platoon sergeants to drill sergeants is complete

by July, Mitchell said.

The Drill Sergeant Academy at Fort Jackson, S.C., will hold one transition course a month.

“We made sure that the 576 AIT platoon sergeants that we needed to convert were slotted in classes so we could finish this summer,” Mitchell said. howard.william@stripes.com Twitter: @Howard_Stripes

Blue Ridge wraps up maintenance period, heads to sea soon

BY T YLER HLAVAC Stars and Stripes

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Navy’s oldest deployable warship is slated to head out to sea this summer after wrapping up a nearly two-year maintenance period.

All “major” work has been finished on the USS Blue Ridge after an extended dry dock and upkeep period, the Navy announced recently in a statement that said the command ship is now officially “safe-to-train and safe-to-operate.”

“It has been 23 months since we started this [maintenance period], making it the longest in Blue Ridge’s history,” Capt. Brett Crozier,

the ship’s skipper, said in the statement. “But it was essential, as we extended the life of the ship another 20 years, meaning this will one day be a 70-year-old ship.”

Blue Ridge — flagship of the Navy’s Yokosuka-based 7th Fleet — should undergo sea trials this summer, Task Force 76 Spokesman Lt. Cmdr.

Adam Cole said.

The ship entered dry dock in June 2016 for what was supposed to be 14 months to undergo maintenance, repairs, refurbishments and system upgrades.

However, unexpected issues with the Blue Ridge’s engineering plant were discovered, causing it to remain in

dry dock past its scheduled completion date of August 2017.

The repairs cost more than $60 million and took about 135,000 man hours to complete, the Navy said.

The ship “received numerous upgrades, including installation of the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services computer system, modernization of the ship’s engineering plant and refurbishment of the main condenser and ventilation systems,” a previous statement said.

Installing CANES on a ship will “consolidate and modernize communications, computers and intelligence

network systems,” according to Northrop Grumman.

“Significant work was done completely rebuilding the boilers and associated equipment in the fire room and engine room, making this another major step we have been preparing and training for,” Crozier said. “So, this is not the finish line for us.

There is still plenty of work to accomplish.”

Crozier said the Blue Ridge’s crew is excited to man their ship once again.

“We’re kind of like a baseball team being able to finally take the field in a new ballpark after months of practicing in the parking lot,” he said. “A lot more training and certifica-

tion will be required before we are ready to cast off all lines, but I am confident that if we continue to work hard and take care of one another, we will all be smiling when we’re underway again.”

Commissioned in 1970, the Blue Ridge is the Navy’s oldest deployable warship and its second-oldest active vessel.

Only the USS Constitution, which is primarily a ceremonial ship, is older.

The Blue Ridge is one of only two amphibious command ships still in service.

The other — the USS Mount Whitney — is the flagship for the Navy’s 6th Fleet out of Naples, Italy. hlavac.tyler@stripes.com

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MILITARY

Navy ups tour lengths for first-term sailors

BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS Stars and Stripes

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Incoming first-term sailors assigned to sea duty in Japan, Guam or Spain will now be required to serve four years at their new commands, the Navy announced May 1.

The change — which affects firstterm sailors in those countries who receive orders issued May 1 or later — aims to “improve readiness and reduce turnover of our Forward Deployed Naval Force,” the service said.

Previously, the standard tour length was three years for such servicemembers.

Sailors stationed in the affected countries will continue to serve out the rest of their two- or three-year deployments, the Navy said.

Affected sailors whose dependents are denied command sponsorship will be issued a maximum of two years unaccompanied orders, the service said.

In February, the Navy started allowing accompanied tours for sailors E3 and below. Those without dependents will receive the full four years.

While some affected sailors may feel frustration, other seamen — such as Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Whitehead, an aviation electronics technician aboard the USS Ronald Reagan — say it’s just part of the job.

“If it’s what we gotta do, it’s what we gotta do. This is what we all signed up for,” he said. “They told me in recruiting that I could be with a ship for three or four years, and I still joined anyway.”

Vice Adm. Robert Burke, who serves as chief of Naval Personnel and deputy chief of Naval Operations, first told sailors of the Navy’s intent to extend tour lengths during a January town hall meeting in Yokosuka.

“A sailor gets [to Japan and] they’re

taking 12 to 18 months to learn their training and then maybe doing their job for a short … period of time before it’s time for them to move again,” Burke said in January. “That puts the commands in a state of continuously having to train up their people and not having a seasoned, experienced crew that can train up the new junior folks.”

After 17 sailors were killed last year in two separate collisions involving 7th Fleet ships, experts recommended changes to improve training and manning. Reports on the crashes cited deficient and ineffective training and unprepared crews as contributing factors.

Those who were assigned to sea duty in Japan, Guam or Spain before May 1 will be eligible for incentives to extend their tours. In February, the Navy offered to waive any remaining sea time on tour lengths and guarantee shore duty for the next assigned tour if sailors opted to extend their tours to four years.

Those extending tours by a year or more are given preferential consideration for announced billets in the Career Management System/Interactive Detailing, a web-based system used to view and apply for jobs.

“Our goal is to reward those sailors who volunteer to extend to meet the demands from the fleet,” Rear Adm. John Meier, director of the Career Management Department for the Navy Personnel Command, said in February.

Post-May 1 first-term sailors are not eligible for the extension incentives but will have any remaining prescribed sea tour from their first sea duty tour waived. They will become eligible for the incentives after completing their first tour. doornbos.caitlin@stripes.com Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos

‘ If it’s what we gotta do, it’s what we gotta do. This is what we all signed up for. They told me in recruiting that I could be with a ship for three or four years, and I still joined anyway.

’

Andrew Whitehead Petty Officer 3rd Class

JASON ROBERTSON /Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

A Russian Su-27 flies near Alaska in 2013. Russia’s military spending fell for the first time since 1998, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Military spending up in China, down in Russia

BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes

China posted the world’s largest increase in military spending in 2017, while Russia registered the sharpest decline, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a report May 2.

Overall, world military expenditures rose to $1.739 trillion in 2017, an increase of 1.1 percent.

Russia’s military spending fell for the first time since 1998, dropping by $13.9 billion. The drop comes after four years of economic sanctions in response to Moscow’s 2014 intervention in Ukraine.

“Military modernization remains a priority in Russia, but the military budget has been restricted by economic problems that the country has experienced since 2014,” said Siemon Wezeman, a military analyst at SIPRI. Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has invested heavily in its military during the past 15 years to modernize a force that languished in the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Investments have ranged from modernizing the country’s nuclear arsenal to building up the ground forces.

While Russia’s spending is trending downward, it still ranks fourth overall at $66.3 billion, which is more than every non-U.S. NATO member.

The United States continues to spend far more than all its potential adversaries, investing more in its military than the next seven highest-spending

countries combined.

China, which ranks second globally, increased its military spending by 5.6 percent to an estimated $228 billion in 2017. Beijing’s global share of military expenditures now stands at 13 percent, up from 5.8 percent in 2008, the report said.

Saudi Arabia increased its defense spending by 9.2 percent, moving past Russia as the third top spender with a budget of $69.4 billion. The increase comes amid rising tensions with Iran, which also boosted spending by 19 percent.

In Europe, where the U.S. has been critical of NATO allies that underinvest in defense, military spending also has risen. Central European countries closer to Russia posted an overall increase of 12 percent, compared with a 1.7 percent rise in Western Europe.

Total military expenditures by all 29 NATO members was $900 billion last year, accounting for 52 percent of world spending, according to SIPRI. At $610 billion, U.S. military spending was unchanged between 2016 and 2017.

“The downward trend in U.S. military spending that started in 2010 has come to an end,” said Aude Fleurant, a SIPRI analyst. “U.S. military spending in 2018 is set to rise significantly to support increases in military personnel and the modernization of conventional and nuclear weapons.” vandiver.john@stripes.com

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MILITARY

Australian ban on ‘death symbols’ controversial

BY LEON COOK Stars and Stripes

The U.S. military doesn’t appear to be following Australia’s lead in banning so-called “death symbols” such as the Jolly Roger, the Punisher, the Phantom, Spartans and the Grim Reaper.

Soldiers Down Under can no longer use such imagery on things like informal patches and badges because of an order issued recently by Lt. Gen. Angus Campbell, the incoming Australian Defense Force chief who now heads the nation’s army.

Titled “Use of Symbols in Army,” the directive is aimed at symbols that are “at odds with the Army’s values and the ethical force we seek to build and sustain.”

The skull and crossbones is linked with “maritime outlaws and murderers”; the comic book characters the Phantom and the Punisher promote “vigilantes”; Spartans encouraged “extreme militarism”; and the Grim Reaper is “the bringer of death,” according to the order.

In his directive, Campbell said “such symbology is never presented as ill-intentioned and plays to much of modern popular culture, but it is always ill-considered and implicitly encourages the inculcation of an arrogant hubris and general disregard for the most serious responsibility of our profession, the legitimate and discriminate taking of life.”

The order asked commanders to “take immediate action to explain and remove such

This F-14A Tomcat belongs to Fighter Squadron 84, which is nicknamed the Jolly Rogers.

Photos courtesy of the U.S. Navy

The fast-attack submarine USS Jimmy Carter flies the Jolly Roger in September. symbology/iconography in any and all formal or informal use within our Army.”

Outrage follows Campbell’s policy provoked outrage in the Australian military community.

Former sergeant Justin Huggett, who received Australia’s third-highest award for battlefield valor after leading a counterattack against Taliban militants who had ambushed an Afghan army patrol in 2009, penned an open letter to Campbell, under whom he once served.

“Any decision that you make, sir, that denigrates the morale of the enlisted, flows on and denigrates combat

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

power,” Huggett wrote.

He went on to list many symbols used by army groups, including his former mortar platoon, which used the Grim Reaper as an emblem with the motto, “dealers in death.” He noted other units “proudly” displayed “the Immortals, the Rebels, the Body Snatchers, the Dirty Dozen and the Morticians.”

He pointed out that Australia’s Infantry Combat Badge, an equivalent to the U.S. Army’s Combat Infantry Badge, was “based around the bayonet, the most feared and gruesome up-closeand-personal weapon on the battlefield.”

Some of those opposed to

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

the ban have been circulating a photo of Cameron Baird, an Australian commando who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for battlefield gallantry in 2013, with his face painted with The Punisher’s emblem.

On April 15, Campbell’s Twitter account retweeted a congratulatory message to Australian Army cadets who won an award while competing at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. It included a photo of the U.S. award, featuring the USMA’s crest — a Spartan helmet pierced with a sword — imagery his order explicitly bans.

Campbell amended the directive March 25 to allow commanders to seek exemptions to the ban, which he had previously stated he was “adamant” about being “right for the Army.”

‘We’ve done it for years’ The Pentagon, which didn’t respond to inquiries about the issue, hasn’t stated an intention to follow suit with a similar ban.

Army official emblems and nicknames are generally reserved for battalion-sized or larger units and don’t usually include the sort of symbols targeted by the Australians.

In smaller units, however, unofficial symbols that would fall under Australia’s ban are commonplace.

At Camp Buehring, Kuwait, units frequently paint emblems onto T-wall barriers before their departure to Iraq. The

artwork frequently includes symbols and sayings covered under the Australian ban.

A yearbook detailing a deployment to Iraq by 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment notes a Spartan platoon, a Marauder platoon and a Punisher platoon and includes images of the Grim Reaper, skulls, Spartan helmets and the Punisher skull logo.

In other services, so-called death symbols are featured on some official emblems.

Marine reconnaissance battalions incorporate the skull and crossbones in their unit symbols, as do many aviation squadrons in the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

Navy submarines have also been known to fly the Jolly Roger when pulling into port, as the fast-attack submarine USS Jimmy Carter was observed doing in 2017.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Orlando May, of Los Angeles, who was on temporary duty March 27 at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, said he wouldn’t like to see the U.S. military ban such symbols.

“I think they should keep them. I think the Australians should keep them,” he said.

May showed off an image on his cellphone of the emblem that his Office of Special Investigations unit used in Afghanistan — a dark character clutching a pistol while wearing a fedora, trench coat and red scarf.

“There’s a lot of heritage in it and esprit de corps,” he said.

“We’ve done it for years.” cook.leon@stripes.com Twitter: @LeonCook12

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All day Aiken Bluegrass Festival Aiken Fairgrounds Continues all day Saturday, May 12.

Featuring live music by Greensky Bluegrass (pictured), Leftover Salmon, Billy Strings the Larry Keel Experience, as well as a kids area, camping area (RVs and tents) vendors and more. $40, Friday; $50, Saturday; $80, both days.

Visit loveabf.com.

Sat May 12

9am - 2pm Paddlefest Savannah Riverkeeper A race and paddle along 10 miles of the Savannah River for canoes, kayaks, SUPs, rowboats and dinghies that ends with an afterparty with lunch, live music and beer. $25-$80. Visit paddlefestga. com.

Friday, May 11, 2018

month, the League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government.

Suitable for ages 18 and older. Email csra.lwv@gmail.com or visit facebook. com/CSRALeagueofWomenVoters.

Thu May 17

7pm Remembering World War II Aiken Public Library This program will be a presentation

by Fred Gehle about the oral histories gleaned from more than 800 Aiken and Augusta area veterans of World War II. Books and DVDs will be available for purchase after the talk. Call 803-6422020 or visit abbe-lib.org.

Ongoing

“Sister Act”

Aiken Community Playhouse Showing at 7:30 p.m. May 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26, and 3 p.m. May 20. $25, adults; Evans Towne Center Park $20, seniors and active military; $15, This event starts with family activities students; $10, children. Call 803-648at 6 p.m. and the Augusta Symphony 1438 or visit aikencommunityplayhouse. performance at 7:30 p.m., with fireworks. com.

Bring a picnic; ice cream and drinks available for purchase. Free. VIP “Evil Dead: The Musical” sponsorship is $350 and includes a Le Chat Noir table of 8 with wine basket and premium Showing at 8 p.m. May 11, 12, 17, 18 and parking. Visit augustasymphony.com or 19. $30. Visit lcnaugusta.com. call 706-826-4705.

7:30pm Symphony Under the Stars

“The Little Mermaid”

Wed May 16

Noon League of Women Voters Meeting Friedman Branch Library Meeting the third Wednesday of every

Imperial Theatre Showing at 8 p.m. May 11 and 12, 2 p.m.

May 12 and 3 p.m. May 13. An Augusta Players production. $20-$48. Call 706722-8341 or visit imperialtheatre.com.

Friday, 11,11, 2018 Friday,May May 2018

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