Stars & Stripes - 01.26.18

Volume 10, No. 7 ŠSS 2018

FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2018

PASSING THE BATON Marines continue training Afghans to take aggressive stance in Helmand Page 2

Gunnery Sgt. Alberto Andino stands at the front of a formation of Marines and a U.S.-Afghan color guard Jan. 15 during a transfer-of-authority ceremony for Task Force Southwest at Camp Shorab in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

C HAD G ARLAND/Stars and Stripes

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Friday, January26, 26,2018 2018 Friday, January

WAR ON TERRORISM

More Marine support expected for Afghan forces

BY CHAD GARLAND Stars and Stripes

CAMP SHORAB, Afghanistan — A new batch of Marines has taken over an effort to build up Afghan security forces in restive Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold at the heart of the country’s opium trade.

Brig. Gen. Roger B. Turner Jr., commander of the first rotation of Task Force Southwest, transferred authority to Brig. Gen. Benjamin Watson in a ceremony Jan. 15 at this base formerly known as Camp Leatherneck and Camp Bastion.

The Marine task force was the main effort of NATO’s Resolute Support mission last year and will continue to be so in 2018, said Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, at a ceremony in which Turner passed the guidon to Watson.

“As we speak, [Afghan security forces] are conducting offensive operations in 13 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, and it started right here in Helmand,” Nicholson said. “The Taliban, and especially their senior leadership, are seriously questioning their future here in Helmand.”

The province has been the site of some of the heaviest fighting, where many Marines gave their lives in the 16-year war. But after combat operations ended in 2014, security in the province faltered, and the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, was on the verge of falling to the insurgents in 2016.

The local army corps was disintegrating under poor leadership and corruption, so NATO scrambled an ad hoc Army advisory group to help shore up government forces and rebuff the Taliban advance. Last spring, the Army handed that mission over to the Marines, the largest contingent the Corps had deployed to the country since the end of combat operations.

Since then, the task force of about 300 Marines has advised the Afghan army’s 215th corps and the national police’s 505th zone, supporting nine offensive operations throughout the province, helping wrest back territory and bolstering security around the capital.

When the Marines first returned to the province, they were able to rekindle some old relationships, Turner said, and quickly built new ones that helped them get up to speed.

“We put the gas pedal on the floor back last April and left it there,“ Turner said.

Among the task force’s successes, officials said, was the development

PHOTOS

BY

C HAD G ARLAND/Stars and Stripes

A formation of Marines salute during the national anthem at a transfer of authority ceremony for Task Force Southwest at Camp Shorab in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Jan. 15. of an offensive mindset among the Afghan forces.

Last summer, backed by Marines, local troops retook the Nawa district center, the site of a vital airfield near the provincial capital. Local forces also carried out offensives in Sangin, Nad’Ali, Nahr-e Saraj and Garmsir, showing increasing confidence and competence, the Marines said.

The security forces “stole the initiative from the enemy,” Turner said.

“They stole the initiative and they never relinquished it.”

In an operation that ended Jan. 13, government forces recaptured Marjah, a key district where thousands of Marines, international forces and Afghans had ousted the Taliban eight years ago in one of the largest operations of the war — one that officials were confident then would mark a turning point.

SEE PAGE 3

Brig. Gen. Roger B. Turner Jr., left, speaks with Brig. Gen. Benjamin T. Watson on Jan. 15 at Camp Shorab in Helmand province, Afghanistan, shortly after Watson assumed command of Task Force Southwest from Turner.

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MILITARY/WAR ON TERRORISM

Red Cross to roll out welcome mat to contractors

BY JENNIFER H. SVAN Stars and Stripes

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The American Red Cross in Europe is trying to erase the difficulties many contractors and their spouses face in integrating into their new communities on the Continent.

The contractor’s life is often not an easy one.

When Heather Hill moved to northern Japan in 2012 with her husband, then a newly hired contractor at Misawa Air Base, it was the start of the most isolating year of her life.

The family had no sponsor and was denied membership in some base organizations because of their employment status. The housing office wouldn’t give the couple a list of approved off-base Realtors, and they couldn’t get a document notarized at the legal office.

“When I would meet people, the first question would be, ‘Oh, who’s your husband. What’s his rank?’ ” she said. “I would say he’s a contractor. ‘Oh, OK, goodbye.’ ” She is now trying to navigate life as a contractor’s spouse at Ramstein Air Base, FROM PAGE 2

But as the war grinds on, a resurgent Taliban controls or influences an estimated 13 percent of the country’s 407 districts, the most territory since its regime was toppled in 2001. Late last year, the U.S. and Afghanistan launched a campaign targeting the group’s drug revenues in Helmand, with airstrikes and special operations forces raids. The Marines have also been operating the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, in support of the campaign.

As the Marines have helped

‘We want them to

know they can find support and help at the Red Cross just like any other member of the community.

’

Christine Spalding American Red Cross Service to Armed Forces European Division Germany, where her husband started a new cybersecurity job in November.

On Jan. 23, the Red Cross office on Ramstein held “the first-ever meet-and-greet for contractors and their spouses,” said Christine Spalding, a volunteer partner for the American Red Cross Service to Armed Forces European Division.

“Contractors need to be taken care of just like military families and military members,” said Spalding, an Air Force veteran and herself a contractor’s spouse. “They need to be welcomed into the

G ABRIELA G ARCIA-HERRE /Courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps

The American Red Cross office on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, held a meet-and-greet for contractors and their spouses Jan. 23 to help them integrate into their new communities. community and made to feel like they matter.”

The Defense Department uses private contractors overseas to provide support and other services, freeing up troops to do the mission and saving money by not having to pay for a contractor and his or her family’s living expenses, as they would for military personnel or Defense Department civilians.

How many contractors are employed at U.S. military bases in Europe isn’t known. Each service component tracks contractor numbers, but “nothing is streamlined,” said a spokeswoman for U.S. European Command.

Some of the larger companies that employ defense contractors in Europe include General Dynamics and Boeing Co.

‘ We put the gas pedal on the floor back last April and left it there. ’

Brig. Gen. Roger B. Turner Jr. commander of the first rotation of Task Force Southwest

their counterparts take a more aggressive stance, the Afghans have seen a 40 percent reduction in casualties, Nicholson said. Also, casualty evacuation training has reduced the time it takes to ferry wounded troops from the battlefield. The Marines also helped their partners introduce an operational readi-

ness cycle that has provided relief to beleaguered units and allowed them a chance to regroup and hone their skills.

Air controllers trained by the Marines have shown recent competence in calling for precision airstrikes from MD-530 helicopters and A-29 light attack planes in support of maneuvering ground ele-

Some companies may send only one or two contractors to a base — as was the case for Hill’s husband at Misawa. That means there is no one to support them when they arrive.

“Everybody just assumes they’re taken care of,” Spalding said. “We’re not told we have to go to a newcomer’s briefing; we’re not given a sponsor. Not everyone has the depth in their organization where they can do all that.”

Spalding said the Red Cross is a good resource for contractors because, like contractors, the organization is spread across Europe, with offices at U.S. military bases in Germany, Italy, Spain and England.

The Red Cross overseas also has offices in Iraq, Kuwait and in Africa. Other Red Cross offices in Europe are plan-

ning similar open houses for contractors and their families, she said “We want them to know they can find support and help at the Red Cross just like any other member of the community,” she said.

Hill, who is a part-time Red Cross volunteer, welcomes the support. When she heard about the initiative, “I almost cried,” she said, “because it’s lonely.”

Spalding said she talked about the Ramstein open house on American Forces Network radio Jan. 18. In less than 24 hours, she said, she’d received 17 calls from contractors and their family members thanking her for “acknowledging that this is an issue.”

ments, officials said.

While the first rotation trained and advised security forces at the brigade and battalion levels in some cases, the second rotation is expected to do more to support tactical units.

The Trump administration’s strategy calls for putting more U.S. advisers with front-line units. Nicholson expects to have those troops in place this spring with the deployment of the Army’s 1st Security Forces Assistance Brigade.

As part of that plan, the new Marine rotation brings more troops to advise the lower-level units — but still

fewer than 400 — and brings more capabilities, though Watson, the unit’s commander, declined to discuss what those capabilities include.

Watson, who served in Helmand during the height of U.S. involvement in the war, said he is focused on building on the work Turner and his Marines had started.

“My team and I, we’re honored to be here,” he said.

“We’re sobered by the responsibility with which we’ve been entrusted, but we’re excited by the opportunity to make a difference.”

svan.jennifer@stripes.com Twitter: @stripesktown

garland.chad@stripes.com Twitter: @chadgarland

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Friday, January26, 26,2018 2018 Friday, January

MILITARY

Security risks unresolved in new military aircraft tracking system

BY WYATT OLSON Stars and Stripes

The Defense Department and Federal Aviation Administration have yet to resolve security risks to military aircraft posed by a new tracking system required to be implemented in less than two years, according to a government audit released Jan. 18.

Although those agencies and other organizations have identified the system’s risks to military security and missions over the past decade, approved solutions remain an “urgent need,” the Government Accountability Office said in the public version of a classified report.

All aircraft flying in domestic airspace must have the technology installed by Jan. 1, 2020.

Up to now, the Defense Department and the FAA have focused on how to equip military aircraft with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out technology, with much less thought given to solving or mitigating security risks, the GAO said.

In 2010, the FAA issued a final rule requiring all civilian and military aircraft flying within U.S. airspace to be equipped with ADS-B Out, which uses satellites to transmit flight information to enabled receivers. ADS-B Out is a key component of the FAA’s ongoing modernization effort to switch from a ground-based radar system to a satellite system for aircraft position reporting, navigation and digital communications.

ADS-B Out employs an aircraft’s avionics systems to broadcast position, altitude, velocity and other data to receivers on the ground, air or space, the GAO said.

It is part of the FAA’s so-called NextGen system intended to increase safety, reduce delays, decrease costs for airlines and passengers and cut down carbon emissions.

However, the NextGen system’s reliance on internet protocols, digital communication and GPS creates a greater risk of it failing or being hacked, the GAO said.

As far back as 2008, the Defense Department had notified the FAA that military aircraft would need “special accommodations” due to national security concerns, in areas such as sensitive missions and electronic-warfare vulnerabilities, the GAO said.

In 2010, the FAA notified the DOD, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies that it would collaborate with each of them to produce agreements to accommodate national defense requirements.

Since that time, the DOD has identified steps that could be taken to mitigate risks, such as “masking DOD aircraft identifiers, maintaining current inventory of primary-surveillance radars, allowing pilots to turn off ADS-B broadcasts, and seeking an exemption from installing ADS-B technology on select military aircraft (for example, fighter and bomber aircraft),” the

GAO said.

As of last June, the DOD and FAA have not approved any solutions to risks, the GAO said.

The risks to military aircraft arise from information broadcast by the ADS-B being illicitly intercepted or the system’s vulnerabilities being exploited by cyberattack.

The GAO cites a 2015 assessment by the Rand Corp. that found “broadcasting of detailed and unencrypted position data for fighter aircraft, in particular for a stealth aircraft such as the F-22, may present an operations security risk.”

The Rand report noted that information about the F-22’s exact position is classified Secret, and thus its unauthorized disclosure could cause “serious damage to national security.”

The DOD has informed the FAA that ADS-B Out technology could allow third parties to identify military aircraft flying “sensitive missions,” such as “low-observable surveillance, combat air patrol, counter-drug, counter-terrorism, and key personnel transport,” the GAO said.

Some military aircraft are equipped with an earlier generation of transponders that could potentially allow a third party to track altitude.

ADS-B Out, however, will provide much more detail, such as an aircraft’s precise location, velocity and airframe dimension, the GAO said.

“ADS-B technology better enables individuals and groups to track flights in real time and use computer programs to log ADS-B transmissions over time,” the GAO said. “Therefore, individuals or groups could observe flight paths in detail, identify patterns-of-life, or counter or exploit DOD operations.”

The GAO cites a 2015 article by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers concluding that adversaries could hack in and insert bogus ADS-B messages that create “ghost” aircraft on the ground or air; delete ADS-B messages, which could make a plane disappear from the screen of an air-traffic controller; and modify messages — for example, changing the reported path of a aircraft. The article said that jamming attacks against the system would be “simple” and that ADS-B data have no verification measures to filter out fake messages.

The FAA is aware of such possible attacks, and both it and the DOD have identified a potential solution to this vulnerability, the GAO said.

But as of November, the solution had not been tested, nor had testing been scheduled, the GAO said.

The DOD does not have a “coordinated or accurate” schedule for equipping military aircraft with the new technology, the GAO said.

The DOD and FAA expect to complete a memorandum of agreement in February to both set that schedule and to address security concerns, the GAO said. olson.wyatt@stripes.com Twitter: @WyattWOlson

JOE G ONZALEZ /Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

A sailor is promoted to the rank of chief petty officer during a pinning ceremony aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Sept. 16.

The Navy plans to offer more re-enlistment bonuses and promotions as the service starts expanding again.

Navy plans promotions, bonuses as service grows

BY T YLER HLAVAC Stars and Stripes

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Sailors can expect more promotions and re-enlistment bonuses as the service starts growing again, according to the Navy’s personnel chief.

Vice Adm. Robert Burke, who also serves as deputy chief of Naval Operations, told sailors at the 7th Fleet headquarters in Japan this week that the days of pushing sailors out early are over.

Navy chiefs want a force of 350,000 sailors to meet a 355-ship goal set by President Donald Trump. The service now has fewer than 320,000 active-duty personnel and 280 ships.

“All of our people policies have been aligned towards pushing people out of the Navy … we’ve always needed to get smaller,” Burke said.

Now the Navy will make it harder to leave, he said.

“Advancement opportunities are going to go through the roof,” he said.

A fundamental problem is that the Navy doesn’t have enough sailors to man all its ships, Burke said.

Last month, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson told Yokosuka sailors that the service needs more ships and people to confront

threats such as North Korea.

“Increasing the number of platforms is a very important part of naval power,” he said.

“The [National Defense Authorization Act] talks about 355 ships as the target, and we’re going to do everything we can to get there. There is a near unanimous consensus that we need more naval power than we have now.”

The Navy plans to reach its goal by increasing the number of new sailors and retaining those already in uniform, Burke said.

The service recently abolished high-tenure limits and stopped letting sailors leave before their scheduled separation dates. Selective re-enlistment bonuses will help retain personnel in key jobs, Burke said.

Lack of funding had pushed the service into hard choices, but now the Navy needs an influx of sailors to fill gaps on ships, he said.

The service usually adds 32,000 to 33,000 sailors a year but is planning to add 38,700 sailors this fiscal year and 40,000 in fiscal year 2019, Burke said.

“To get ourselves out of the manning deficit we have right now, we need 11,000 more people in the Navy by FY23,” he said. “We’re going to be ramping up like crazy.” hlavac.tyler@stripes.com

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Friday, January26, 26,2018 2018 Friday, January

WAR ON TERRORISM/MILITARY

Trump honored for suspending aid to Pakistan AND

BY CHAD GARLAND ZUBAIR BABAKARKHAIL Stars and Stripes

KABUL, Afghanistan — Hundreds of Afghans in Logar province recognized President Donald Trump with a gold medal for bravery after his administration suspended aid to Pakistan.

Community members from tribal leaders down to cobblers chipped in a total of 45,000 afghanis, or about $650, to pay for the handcrafted gold medallion, which was presented to the U.S. Embassy on Jan. 13.

It carries an inscription in Dari that reads: “For bravery, from the Afghan people to Donald Trump, president of the United States of America.”

The medal was awarded less than two weeks after Trump, in his first tweet of 2018, accused Islamabad of accepting $33 billion in aid since 2002 while giving “nothing but lies & deceit” in return. Days later, the White House said it would hold back $2 billion in military support until Islamabad did more to fight terrorism.

People here have long protested that Pakistan gives terrorists a safe haven, said Farhad Akbari, a tribal leader in Logar province, which is situated south of the Afghan capital. Until Trump, he

Courtesy of Said Farhad Akbari

A community in Logar province, Afghanistan, purchased this gold medal for bravery and presented it to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul for President Donald Trump on Jan. 13. said, those protests seemed to fall on deaf ears.

“No one would listen to our cries,” he said. “The main reason the U.S. is in Afghanistan is because of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, but [bin Laden] was killed in Pakistan.”

Akbari noted that top Taliban leaders — founder Mullah Mohammad Omar and Omar’s successor, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour — had found sanctuary in Pakistan. Omar died in Pakistan in 2014, and Mansour was killed in a drone strike there in 2016.

Radio Free Afghanistan first reported about the medal on Jan. 14. An embassy official confirmed the medal had been presented but declined to provide any further details.

A vocal critic of Islamic extremism, Trump has tried to ban immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries, yet he’s been praised by some citizens in Islamic countries where the U.S. is helping fight terrorism. The president’s remarks exposed Pakistan’s “true face,” said Akbari, who added that he has fought the Taliban in Logar province.

Across the border in Pakistan, Trump’s tweet raised the ire of officials, who said much of that aid was in return for supporting the U.S.-led war effort in Afghanistan. Some said they felt betrayed by the U.S. over Trump’s actions.

For about 16 years, the U.S. has relied on Pakistan for overflight and land transit into landlocked Afghanistan.

Washington has also paid Islamabad to

station Pakistani troops in the border region with Afghanistan.

Pakistan says it has suffered 50,000 casualties in its own war on terrorism, according to a Jan. 2 tweet from its official Twitter account.

In the wake of the controversy, however, Islamabad reportedly released for the first time a list of 72 terrorist groups operating on its soil, along with a warning to citizens that they’d be punished for contact with those groups.

Getting tough with Pakistan plays into long-standing tensions between the South Asian neighbors, but critics say the U.S. is simply trying to blame someone else for its failure to crush the insurgency over the past 16 years.

Insurgents control or contest more than a third of Afghanistan’s 407 districts, more than at any time since the Taliban regime’s 2001 ouster. In addition, an Islamic State offshoot has proved resilient in the few provinces where it operates.

A week ago, President Ashraf Ghani asked United Nations Security Council members visiting Kabul to push for more cooperation from Pakistan in fighting the militants. garland.chad@stripes.com Twitter: @chadgarland

Army Humvee bursts into flames on Bavarian road Stars and Stripes

Courtesy of Polizei Headquarters Oberfranken, Germany

Firefighters work at the scene where an Army Humvee caught fire while being towed on Bundesautobahn A93, near Regnitzlosau, Germany, in Bavaria on Jan. 18.

A Humvee being towed for repairs on a major road in Bavaria, Germany, suddenly burst into flames and smashed into a guardrail before coming to a stop, German police said.

There were no injuries in the Jan. 18 incident, police said.

The Humvee broke down on Autobahn 93. Soldiers were towing it between Hof-Nord and Regnitzlosau for servicing at a U.S. facility in Grafenwoehr when its axle overheated and ignited the vehicle.

The soldiers disconnected the burning vehicle to keep it from igniting the tow vehicle. Once the burning Humvee was free, it rolled into the middle of traffic and hit a guardrail.

Damage to the Humvee was estimated at about $98,000, police said. The accident shut down traffic in both directions.

The incident is the third this month for the military in southern Germany. A week ago, a fuel truck crashed while making a delivery. The week before that, German police stopped a U.S. Army convoy hauling self-propelled howitzers on Autobahn 4 because the trailers were overloaded.

Army officials were not immediately available for comment Jan. 19. news@stripes.com

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Civil rights leaders, freedom riders leave legacy

by Laura Levering | Fort Gordon Public Affairs Office FORT GORDON, Ga. – The Fort Gordon community joined others around the nation in paying tribute to one of America’s most renowned civil rights activists last week.

The U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon held a command program honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 11 at Alexander Hall.

The program featured retired Marine and civil rights activist, Charles A. Person, of Atlanta.

King is regarded as one of the nation’s greatest advocates of peace and civil rights during the 1950s and 1960s. He is perhaps most recognized for his “I Have a Dream” speech, which he delivered in 1963 during the March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C. King’s life ended in 1968 at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was assassinated; but his legacy lives on.

Before Person took the podium, Capt. Michael Lehmer, Marine Corps Detachment commander, introduced him to the audience, describing him as a man who embodied much of what King did.

“As [Person] faced off against the Ku Klux Klan as a freedom rider in Alabama in the 1960s, he did not flinch in the face of adversity,” Lehmer said. “While serving in the United States Marine Corps, he did not flinch when called to serve … and today, while still fighting for the rights of Americans from his house in Atlanta, he does not flinch and continues to strive to create a greater nation and a finer world.”

Person described an upbringing filled with patriotism and love for God despite being surrounded by all kinds of injustice. His father served in the military, and he was taught to treat everyone with respect. And although he was aware of the injustice, it wasn’t until he applied – and was accepted – into college that he began to realize just how bad things were.

“When the first black students were admitted to the University of Georgia, white Georgians could not understand how two black students who were in an all-black school qualified because the system had done so many things to make sure that they never reached that level of competency,” Person said.

Rather than complain or stand back, he made a decision to do something about it. In 1961, Person and buses into segregated states during been ruled unconstitutional but were states. The group started out small of races that became known as the Freedom Riders.

The travelers’ first stop was D.C., which Person said was uneventful.

When they got to Georgia, Person said they met King, who warned that trouble was imminent in Alabama.

“We respected Dr. King, but we had a job to do,” Person said.

King was right. Shortly after crossing the Georgia-Alabama line, the Freedom Riders on Person’s bus were told another bus had been set on fire.

“We knew that our friends were on this bus and we had no idea how badly they may have been hurt,” Person said.

Person’s bus then took a turn for the worse. The bus driver said all African Americans had to move to the back of the bus or else the bus wasn’t moving. They refused.

“At this point, eight Klansmen got on the bus and they started punching … when the [dispute] got to near the middle of the bus, two white Freedom Riders came to our aide,” Person said.

The beatings were so bad that Person recalled riders being pushed to the back by sliding on blood. By the time his bus reached Birmingham, Alabama, his final destination, Person needed medical attention. But doctors refused to treat him. Still, he persevered. And rather than turn his back on a country that in many ways turned its back on him, Person joined and retired from the Marine Corps. Both were experiences he does not regret.

“It was hard because even when I got back from Vietnam, there were places that I could not have a cup of coffee or buy a hamburger,” Person

Freedom Rider and retired Marine Charles A. Person visits with Col. Deborah Ellis, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade commander, after Person’s presentation Jan. 11 for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day command program. said. “But I just sucked it up and realized things were going to get better because I had friends that were still out there on the battle line and they were going to make sure that things were going to get better.”

Person was right. If King was alive, Person said he believes he would be pleased with progress made in civil rights but disappointed in other areas.

He challenged the audience to bring back the pioneering spirit that once existed and to be quick to help anyone in need.

“I know the dream lives,” Person said. “It lives in my heart and it lives in the heart of all who want to make America better.”

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Friday, January 26, 2018

RESPECT, DUTY, HONOR

by Laura Levering | Fort Gordon Public Affairs Office

FORT GORDON, Ga. – It is a mission that requires meticulous attention to detail yet sometimes goes unnoticed. And for at least one Fort Gordon Soldier, it is worth every second of time.

Fort Gordon’s Installation Support Detachment serves Fort Gordon and surrounding communities in multiple ways, but its primary mission is to conduct funeral honors for fallen Army personnel.

The detachment consists of 45 Servicemembers.

Most are Soldiers, but there are also Sailors and Airmen.

Servicemembers in the detachment are selected from commands across the installation and serve a 90-day rotation. Every once in a while, that rotation gets extended. Such was the case for Sgt. Stephen Berry.

Berry, ISD operations NCO, served his first rotation with the Fort Gordon ISD from Oct. 16, 2017 to Jan. 16.

Outside of the ISD, he is assigned to the 67th Expeditionary Signal Battalion as a satellite operations maintainer.

Although he enjoys his primary job, Berry found the work he performed on the ISD fulfilling enough to make him want to extend. So he volunteered for a second consecutive rotation.

A lot of the fulfillment, he said, comes from interactions he has with families of fallen Soldiers while conducting funeral honors.

“A lot of times we’re the first and the last time they’ll see the military, and that’s one of the reasons it’s so important for us to do everything as well as we do,” Berry said.

The hours are long and the schedules unpredictable, but Berry doesn’t mind. He waited a long time to wear the uniform and takes immense pride in displaying it. Unlike most Soldiers he knows, Berry joined the Army late in life at age 37.

A former career and relationship

Sgt. Stephen Berry, Installation Support Detachment operations NCO, drapes an American flag over an empty coffin while conducting military funeral honors training at the U.S. Army Reserve Center on Jan. 10. Berry volunteered to serve a second 90day rotation with the ISD partly because of the pride he felt in conducting funeral honors.

held him back. Now happily married with six children, Berry said his wife encouraged him to fulfill his dream of serving in the military and he never looked back.

“I’m not going to say that she particularly likes the fact that we’ll have something planned on a day and I have to say, ‘No, I’ve got a mission,’ but she doesn’t hold it against me,” Berry said. “She knows that it’s part of the lifestyle and she’s been very supportive.”

Fort Gordon processes funerals for 49 counties in Georgia and the ISD is primarily responsible for 20 of those counties. Soldiers are divided into three teams of 10 for the funeral detail.

The Georgia Army National Guard sends their teams to handle the other 29 countries, but if they are unable to support, the ISD will send a team.

“If funerals come in and all three teams are used up, then we’ll call the augmentees,” explained Sgt. 1st Class Carl McNeil, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Cyber Center of Excellence. McNeil served as the ISD NCOIC for nearly two years.

“It was enjoyable, especially from the beginning

to see the progress with the funeral detail,” McNeil said. “You see the cohesion build up and then to see them get awards … that makes me proud to be a part of the Installation Support Detachment.”

Even more rewarding was having Soldiers like Berry approach McNeil to ask if he could stay another cycle.

“A lot of times they come to the unit with a certain perception and leave with another,” McNeil said. “It’s a very high profile detail and we take it very seriously.”

Now in the beginning of his second cycle, Berry looks forward to passing down his knowledge to the new Soldiers. And in doing so, he hopes they acquire a renewed sense of pride in serving others; particularly those who have lost a Servicemember.

“Every funeral you do … you see how appreciative the families are of us doing what we do,” Berry said. “I always tell them it’s an honor for us to be able to be a part of their life and to be able to show our respect for our brother or sister.”

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Friday, January 26, 2018

ACCESSORIES

We’ve got accessories that include antiquities, collectable models, timepieces, flasks, canes, bracelets, pens, food rations and more! Regarding our firearms, we carry silencers, scopes, holsters, clips, cleaning supplies, paper targets and exploding targets.

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Friday, 26,26, 2018 Friday,January January 2018

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MILITARY

Japan chides US military for flights over school

BY M ATTHEW M. BURKE AND H ANA KUSUMOTO Stars and Stripes

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Japanese government officials have chastised their U.S. allies after Marine Corps helicopters reportedly flew over an Okinawan elementary school where a CH-53E Super Stallion’s window fell last month.

A UH-1Y Venom and two AH-1Z Vipers were spotted above Futenma Daini Elementary School on Jan. 18, said a spokesman for the Okinawa Defense Bureau, which is part of Japan’s Defense Ministry. The school is adjacent to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

Students were in class at the time, school officials said.

“It’s deplorable that this has happened even though we’ve requested firmly that the U.S. not fly above the school,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

On Jan. 19, he said he would continue to urge the U.S. to not fly over the school.

Officials had been watching for military aircraft over Okinawan schools after a Dec. 13 incident in which a Super Stallion’s window inexplicably became separated from the aircraft and landed on a Futenma Daini sports field while schoolchildren were playing.

Footage from security cameras set up after that incident reportedly caught the Jan. 18 flyover.

Speaking to reporters,

Screenshot from NHK

A screenshot from an NHK broadcast shows military helicopters that reportedly flew over an Okinawan elementary school near Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Jan. 18.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera called the flyover “extremely regrettable” and said he had lodged a complaint with U.S. Forces Japan’s deputy commander, Maj. Gen. Charles Chiarotti.

Defense Ministry officials also lodged protests Jan. 18 with U.S. Forces Japan commander Lt. Gen. Jerry Martinez and Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, III Marine Expeditionary Force commander.

Onodera said the U.S. military denied the flyover took place when asked about it

by his office. Marine officials did not respond to Stars and Stripes’ requests for comment Jan. 19.

Onodera added that he thought Martinez and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis — who apologized to Japan earlier this month for recent aircraft mishaps — understood that refraining from flying over Okinawan schools is an important issue.

Onodera said he would urge the U.S. military to instruct all units not to fly over the elementary school and would

ask for specific reasons for Thursday’s flyover, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.

Okinawa’s anti-base Gov. Takeshi Onaga said he was outraged by the incident, according to the Asahi newspaper. Onaga plans to visit Tokyo to lodge a protest with the Japanese government.

Officials from the Ginowan city board of education said they have had lingering safety concerns after the window fell and had asked the U.S. military on Okinawa not to fly over the school, a spokesman

said.

The school held an evacuation drill before the flyover and hasn’t used the playground since the window fell.

“We want to be able to hold classes in a normal and quiet environment,” the spokesman said. “We just want them to not fly. That is all we want.”

The flyover is the latest aviation mishap to strain relations between the two allies regarding the U.S. military’s presence on the southern island prefecture.

The falling-window incident on Dec. 13 was followed by emergency landings by Marine helicopters on Jan. 6 and Jan. 8. On Dec. 7, a plastic part thought to belong to a U.S. military helicopter was found on the roof of an Okinawan day care facility.

In October, a 1st Marine Aircraft Wing Super Stallion made an emergency landing in a farmer’s field outside Okinawa’s Northern Training Area after an inflight fire. The aircraft was an almost total loss.

The incidents stand to embolden Okinawa’s small but potent protest movement, which is backed by Onaga, and could lead to renewed demonstrations against U.S. military aircraft and plans to relocate Marine air operations within the prefecture, from Futenma to Camp Schwab in Okinawa’s remote north. burke.matt@stripes.com kusumoto.hana@stripes.com

Navy advocates for increased paternity leave time

BY T YLER HLAVAC Stars and Stripes

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Navy is advocating a change that would give fathers and secondary caregivers more time off after a birth or adoption, the service’s personnel chief said.

Non-chargeable leave would rise

from a maximum of 10 days up to a cap of 21 days under the recommendation, Vice Adm. Robert Burke, who serves as chief of naval personnel and deputy chief of naval operations, said Jan. 17 in an interview with Stars and Stripes.

The recommendation stems from the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which allows the Pentagon to increase non-chargeable leave across

the services. The recommendation is subject to approval by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which was not immediately available for comment.

“We don’t know exactly where it’s going to fall out on the OSD policy,” Burke said.

“The current (policy) is 10 and 10 for paternity and adoption leave, so it could be going up to somewhere

around 21 and 21, is what we’re guessing … that’s what we’re recommending. We’ll see where it comes out.”

In 2015, the Navy implemented an 18-week maternity leave policy. The policy was overruled in 2016 by thenDefense Secretary Ash Carter, who set a 12-week maternity leave policy for all the services. hlavac.tyler@stripes.com

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Friday, January 26,2018 2018 Friday, January 26,

MILITARY

Experts: Troops should start navigating new tax law now

BY CLAUDIA GRISALES

Pittsburgh. For the military, “you can continue to deduct (moving costs) or you don’t have to include them in your income.” Other wins include the forgiveness of student loans as tax-free — not taxable income — for certain disabled veterans.

Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — The new U.S. tax law is not even a month old, but financial experts say it’s not too soon for military servicemembers, veterans and retirees to dig into how the massive policy change will impact their pocketbooks for years to come.

The $1.5 trillion plan installed new tax brackets, benchmarks for deductions and child tax credits, among other changes.

While many people could see a boost in take-home pay this year, and another increase in their tax refunds next year, those gains could diminish over time. Many of the cuts are slated to expire by 2025.

“The good news is some of the deductions that have been removed for the general public are still in place for the military,” said Priya Mishra, managing attorney at Top Tax Defenders in Houston. “For example, there were eliminations to moving deductions. However, military members are exempt from this. For the most part, the benefits the rest of the public will see is also reflected for our military. The child care credit, for example, has gone up. So any of our servicemen and women with children will be able to claim more for their children on taxes.”

The vast rewrite of the U.S. tax code, the first of its magnitude in more than 30 years, could be a planning headache for taxpayers, including servicemembers. The plan was rushed through Capitol Hill and then signed into law

by President Donald Trump on Dec. 22, so there’s plenty of work facing the Internal Revenue Service, tax experts, financial consultants, businesses and taxpayers to interpret the plan and its impact.

Among the changes, most of the seven income tax brackets will have lower tax rates until 2025. Standard deductions increase, nearly doubling to $24,000 for married couples and to $12,000 for individuals. Child tax credits double to $2,000. Mortgage interest deductions will be capped to loans under $750,000, while

Most will see savings

state, local and property tax deductions will be capped at $10,000.

In one scenario, a middleclass family of four with an annual income of $70,000 to $80,000 could end up with at least $2,000 in tax relief in take-home pay this year and their tax bill next year.

“The effects are going to play out for a long period of time,” said Michael Saunders, deputy legislative director for The Retired Enlisted Association, or TREA, which has been tracking the changes and their impact on military members.

“You are looking at a long road to go before we know the full effects.”

Military tax exemptions The tax changes will be vastly similar for servicemembers and veterans.

“For the most part, military members and retirees will see the same benefits and changes due to the tax bill that all Americans will see,” said John

Cooney, a former Army officer who owns Green and Gold Financial Planning in Middleboro, Mass.

The larger standard deductions could help simplify the tax process at least in that area, experts said.

It “will eliminate the need for a majority of Americans to itemize on their taxes,” said Mike Molitoris, an Air Force veteran who works with servicemembers and other veterans through his Flagship Wealth Management Group in Cary, N.C. The average age of servicemembers is in their 20s, which likely puts them in the lower tax bracket. Changes to those rates will be especially important to watch, experts said.

Also, deductions for married couples and family tax credits will also be key. More than half of active-duty military are married, the Defense Department says, and more than 40 percent of military personnel have children.

“Increasing the child tax

credit … will be beneficial as well” for veterans and servicemembers, Molitoris said.

There are specific wins for servicemembers and veterans in the new tax legislation.

Among them: Initial efforts on Capitol Hill to start taxing military personnel for moving costs were thwarted.

“This change was a recognition of the fact that military families are required to move fairly often,” Cooney said of the new law’s special provision for military members.

Under the plan, a civilian will have to report an employerpaid move as income and pay a tax on that income while a servicemember won’t. Or, a civilian who covers their own move won’t get a tax deduction as they did in the past, while servicemembers will.

“The military was specifically excluded from that,” said Jeffrey Kupfer, a tax reform expert and former White House assistant who is an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College in

‘ The effects are going to play out for a long period of time. You are looking at a long road to go before we know the full effects. ’

Michael Saunders deputy legislative director for the Retired Enlisted Association

The bill will likely reduce the tax burden for all people at least on the front end, unless they are facing specific costs with reduced tax relief, such as higher medical bills or property and state income taxes in locations like California and New York.

“It’s very likely that most military servicemembers will see some tax savings under the law,” said Forrest Allen, associate director of government relations for the Military Officers Association of America. “It would take some unique financial circumstances for them to see some increase in their tax burden.”

For example, servicemembers based in locations with no state income tax might have fewer worries than others in higher-tax states.

“If you are paying taxes in Texas for instance, it won’t be much an issue,” said Kupfer, who was special assistant for economic policy in the George W. Bush administration. “But if you are paying taxes in New York state, it becomes much more an issue.”

High-tax states, however, might be looking at ways to ease the new tax burden, Molitoris said.

“There have been indications from various high-tax states that they may file suit or try to find work-arounds for their constituents to preserve their ability to deduct a higher amount,” he said.

The White House has estimated as much as 90 percent of taxpayers could end up with a cut in the beginning, which would apply to military members as well.

“Essentially all servicemembers will end up with a tax cut, depending on how much one is paying to begin with,” Kupfer said.

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Friday, January 26, 2018

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Friday, January26, 26,2018 2018 Friday, January

MILITARY

Navy enacting changes in wake of deadly crashes

BY CLAUDIA GRISALES Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — Two top Navy officials told lawmakers Jan. 18 that a plan is underway to ensure safer conditions for sailors, following a series of deadly accidents at sea last year.

The comments, which were made before a joint hearing of two House Armed Services Committee subpanels, come in the wake of two extensive Navy reviews of deadly warship crashes and mishaps last summer.

In all, the Navy lost 20 sailors in major incidents in the Pacific in 2017. Of those deaths, 17 were killed in crashes last summer involving the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain “I am here today as the responsible one and accountable for our most valuable resources,” Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer testified. “To fulfill these responsibilities, I am directing change across the fleet and the Marine Corps to correct the issues identified in our analysis of those intolerable events.”

On June 17, the Fitzgerald crashed into a civilian merchant ship about 60 miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan, killing seven sailors.

On Aug. 21, the McCain collided with an oil tanker near Singapore, leaving 10 sailors dead.

“Looking back, 2017 was a year of both triumph and tragedy for our Navy,” said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M. Richardson, who also testified at Thursday’s hearing.

The fallout from the sailors’ deaths has continued this week.

On Tuesday, the Navy said that several officers involved in the Fitzgerald and McCain crashes would face charges of negligent homicide, dereliction of duty and hazarding a vessel.

Lawmakers said that concerns remain.

“While I agree with the Navy that officers should be held accountable, I am equally convinced that we need to reform the system that drove these officers to avoid additional incidents and to reduce future ‘normalization of deviation instances,’ ” said Rep. Robert Wittman, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services subcommittee on seapower and projection forces. “I think the Navy has taken a good first step at addressing these systemic areas but there are a multitude of other issues that need to be reviewed to include: organization reform, manning deficiencies, material readiness and serious training reform.”

Soon after the Navy’s deadly incidents last year, the service launched several reviews, including a comprehensive review probing contributing factors at tactical and operational levels and a strategic readiness

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review examining systemic issues. The Navy released its findings late last year, issuing a series of recommendations that included improving seamanship training, navigational skills and equipment aboard ships, as well as reducing fatigue and stress among sailors and officers.

Richardson reiterated Jan. 18 that the investigations showed the crashes were due in large part to human error and failures of leadership.

Following an operational fleet pause, Richardson said the Navy has upped its required ship certifications, implemented new safety measures for sailors, revised reporting criteria for navigation, steering, propulsion and damage control issues to address equipment problems faster, mandated reporting of near-mishaps and boosted ship communication.

Richardson has also established an oversight board led

by Adm. Bill Moran, vice chief of naval operations, to track progress of other new actions yet to be enacted.

“I am responsible for crushing any obstacle preventing our sailors from focusing on warfighting and safely operating at sea,” Richardson said.

Stars and Stripes reporter Wyatt Olson contributed to this story. grisales.claudia@stripes.com Twitter: @cgrisales

This publication is a compilation of stories from Stars and Stripes, the editorially independent newspaper authorized by the Department of Defense for members of the military community. The contents of Stars and Stripes are unofficial, and are not to be considered as the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, including the Defense Department or the military services. The U.S. Edition of Stars and Stripes is published jointly by Stars and Stripes and this newspaper.

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© Stars and Stripes, 2018

FROM PAGE 12

The changes could amount to IRS adjustments for takehome pay this year, with servicemembers seeing bigger paychecks in 2018 followed by larger tax refunds next year.

Uncertainty on how exactly the law will affect them when takehome pay changes will kick in this year, and how their returns will look in 2019 and beyond means taxpayers need to proceed with caution, experts say.

“We’re concerned if the results of the tax change reduce any discretionary income or access to or use of their income,” said Dan Merry, vice president of government relations for MOAA. “No one will know the outcome until we get the tax forms. So there’s all these decisions. I think the average individual should pay particular attention to their situation.”

On Jan. 11, the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS issued new withholding guidelines for employers, who must next coordinate the changes in paychecks. Military servicemembers, like civilians, could start seeing larger take-home checks as early as next month.

The IRS will be releasing new withholding calculators by the end of February, the agencies said.

Kupfer is betting the tax cuts could get extended.

“From a tax policy standpoint, it’s always better to have permanent tax law; it helps with planning and removes uncertainty,” he said. “The provisions relating to the reduction of the tax rate or the child tax credit are all things that are going to be around for at least eight years. But if history has shown us anything, there is a decent likelihood they could get extended.”

‘Save your money’ With the new tax cuts set to expire by 2025, the front-end gains could simply amount to a one-time bonus, several experts said.

“Rates could go up” after 2025, said Saunders, TREA deputy legislative director. So “save your money. Plan short term for a temporary bonus.”

Saunders and Allen, the MOAA associate director, suggest that servicemembers divert this year’s extra pay and tax return gains in subsequent years to a retirement fund or savings plan.

Merry said it’s critical that servicemembers research the law or visit a reliable financial counselor on their base or elsewhere.

An assessment will be especially crucial for people on a tight budget, as they might see a harsher impact from the law in the coming years.

Even now, work is underway on Capitol Hill to tweak the tax reform law, or make “technical corrections,” Allen said. For example, businesses under the new plan will see the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program, which allows tax credits for employers who hire certain veterans, expire next year.

Saunders said there are efforts to have that plan extended beyond 2019.

Merry said this year’s tax filing will be a good test run for changes to come.

“They may be able to use the tax filings this year as a springboard as to how their taxes will be impacted next year,” he said. “Don’t celebrate as you face an unknown — compare this year’s taxes to what the law says about next year.” grisales.claudia@stripes.com Twitter: @cgrisales

Tax wins for troops ! Military members moving on orders won’t have to treat moving expense reimbursements as taxable income. ! The forgiveness of student loans will be considered tax-free for certain disabled veterans. ! Tax-free income benefits for military personnel in combat areas have been expanded to include servicemembers in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, which houses about 700 soldiers.

Important events ! Dec. 22: Tax reform plan was signed into law. ! February: When you could start to see more take-home pay. Also, new withholding calculators are set to be released by the IRS. ! 2019: New tax brackets and all other changes take effect. ! 2025: Many individual tax cuts are set to expire.

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Fri Jan 26

7pm Fake It To Make It Miller Theater This lip-syncing contest features eight contestants working toward a fundraising goal of $10,000 for SafeHomes’ Domestic Violence Center. Contestants include Kris Fisher, HD 98.3; Craig Young, Comcast Spotlight; Joe Edge, Sherman and Hemstreet; Sean Mooney, Showpony; Steve Cassell, Columbia County; Steve Chapman, Georgia Power; and Will Lanier, Doctors Hospital. $15-$50. Visit millertheateraugusta.com or call 800514-3849.

7:30pm TRAXXAS Monster Truck Destruction Tour James Brown Arena $10-$28. Continues at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 27. Call 877-4AUGTIX or visit georgialinatix.com.

Sat Jan 27

9am - 1pm Resolution Run 5K Run/Walk Savannah Rapids Park A race to benefit the Christ Church Health Clinic. $25. To register, visit runsignup.com/Race/GA/Augusta/ ResolutionRunWalk5KforCCHC.

10am Freeze Your Buns Canal Bicycle Ride Augusta Canal A Sierra Club event in which participants will ride, take a break to

Friday, January 26, 2018

eat downtown and return for a total of about 16 miles. Meet at the lower level of the Savannah Rapids Pavilion.

Email larrkomp@gmail.com to sign up.

3:30pm and 7:30pm Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey Jabez S. Hardin Performing Arts Center This Lightwire Theater production presents a cosmic adventure about celebrating differences. $29.50, adults; $16.50, children. Visit augustaamusements.com or call 706726-0366.

Thu Feb 1

6:30pm - 9pm Cocktails and Collectors Preview Party Aiken Center for the Arts A preview party for Aiken Antique Show. The 2018 show and sale is Feb. 2-4. $50, members; $60, nonmembers.

Includes admission to the weekend’s show and sale. Call 803-641-9094 or visit aikencenterforthearts.org.

7:30pm Skatetacular: Dreams On Ice Jabez S. Hardin Performing Arts Center Ice skaters take the audience through worldwide holiday traditions. $37.50 for adults 15 and up; $19.50 for kids 14 and under. Visit augustaamusements.com or call 706726-0366.

Friday,January January 2018 Friday, 26,26, 2018

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Friday, January Friday, January26, 26,2018 2018