Stars and Stripes 10.30.15

Volume 7, No. 45 ©SS 2015

WAR ON TERRORISM

CARTER: US WILL STEP UP ATTACKS ON ISLAMIC STATE PAGE 2

Defense Secretary Ash Carter testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

CARLOS BONGIOANNI /Stars and Stripes

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2015

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Friday, October 30, 2015

COVER STORY

US raids to increase in Iraq, Syria, Carter says

BY TRAVIS J. TRITTEN Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Tuesday that raids such as the one that killed Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler will be at the center of a revamped U.S. strategy in Iraq and Syria.

Carter told a Senate panel that more direct raids on the ground and from the air will be accompanied by renewed support for local forces to take Ramadi and Raqqa, two of the front lines in the stymied war against the Islamic State group. However, he said the Defense Department does not support a no-fly zone to protect allied rebels in Syria from Russian bombing, despite calls for it from some lawmakers, Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Pentagon officials.

President Barack Obama’s administration is rethinking its campaign after a year of setbacks including the failure of a train-and-equip program in Syria, a lack of progress in taking back territory from Islamic militants in Iraq and the recent entry of Russia on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“We won’t hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against (the Islamic State), or conducting such missions directly, whether by strikes from the air or direct action on the ground,” Carter said during testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

More ground raids mean higher risk for American servicemembers and will no doubt raise questions over mission creep more than one year into the new war in the Middle East.

The White House has maintained that troops are not in combat in Iraq and Syria. Instead, it says the United States is running special-operations, counterterrorism, trainingand-advisory and humanitar-

CARLOS BONGIOANNI /Stars and Stripes

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter answers a question during a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday as Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, background, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, listens. ian missions.

Wheeler, a special operator, was killed last week in a joint U.S.-peshmerga raid to rescue 70 Iraqi hostages who were slated for execution by the Islamic State group. Specialoperations raids are typically secretive, and the DOD acknowledgement that it will conduct more signals a more aggressive and public approach for the United States.

“The death of Master Sgt. Wheeler might not be the last death of an American servicemember in this war against (the Islamic State group),” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said.

Carter confirmed the danger to troops, telling senators that the military is adapting with a more effective strategy than in the past.

“They are in harm’s way in this fight against (the Islamic State), no doubt about it,” he said.

In Raqqa, moderate Syrian allies are within 30 miles from the Islamic State’s seat

of power and the United States will provide more equipment and stepped up air strikes to assist in an assault. Meanwhile, Iraq has now deployed American-made F-16 fighter jets and more capable military commanders as it works to retake Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province.

“As we see more progress toward assembling capable and motivated Iraqi forces under Baghdad’s control and including Sunni elements, we are willing to continue providing more enabling capabilities and fire support to help our Iraqi partners succeed,” Carter said.

The new strategy drew fire from some senators who want a stronger approach to the Assad regime and Russia.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., pressed Carter on creating a no-fly zone in Syria to protect allied rebel forces on the ground that have been targeted by forces under Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A no-fly zone, similar to zones created over Iraq in the 1990s, have been suggested

by Clinton as she runs for president, as well as by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates and former Iraq Commander Gen. David Petraeus.

The DOD has analyzed the possibility but believes it would inevitably draw the United States into a direct conflict with Assad — a move the Obama administration has avoided despite waging war within Syria against the Islamic State group.

“What you are saying is the strongest nation in the world, the most capable, cannot establish a no-fly zone to protect people from being barrelbombed by Bashar Assad. …

Of course we can do it. This is an embarrassing moment for the United States,” McCain said. tritten.travis@stripes.com Twitter: @Travis Tritten

KURDISTAN REGIONAL SECURITY C OUNCIL /AP

This image made from video taken on Oct. 22 from a helmet camera, shows U.S. and Iraqi special forces freeing hostages from a prison controlled by Islamic State militants in the town of Huwijah, Iraq.

US says helmet-cam video of Iraqi prison raid is ‘authentic’

BY TARA COPP Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon acknowledged Monday that a video released this weekend shows the Iraqi prison rescue operation that led to the death of Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, a U.S. Army special forces operator.

“The video is authentic,” Pentagon spokesman Capt.

Jeff Davis said, noting the United States approved the Iraqi peshmerga’s use of the helmet cameras and knew the video would be released publicly.

Wheeler, 39, was part of the U.S. and Iraqi night rescue last week in which “dozens” of forces were transported on five helicopters to a prison compound in the former Islamic Statecontrolled town of Hawijah.

Seventy Iraqi prisoners were rescued in the raid who Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said faced imminent execution from the Islamic State.

Davis said Monday that the video shows peshmerga

special forces assisted by U.S. special forces inside the prison. A line of men in robes can be seen in the video escorted through hallways and dark rooms of the prison as men in military uniforms carrying weapons direct them and respond to gunfire.

Davis said Wheeler was shot in the early part of the operation, and the video shows what happened later during the rescue. The Pentagon has said Wheeler died as a result of his wounds after receiving medical care in Irbil.

The footage shows “the Iraqi Kurdish forces had come under heavy fire and had been pinned down. And the U.S. forces that were enabling them made the decision to invoke the authorities they have” to intervene and protect the forces,” Davis said.

During the weekend, U.S. and coalition aircraft conducted two airstrikes to destroy the remains of the prison structure. copp.tara@stripes.com Twitter: @taraCopp

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MILITARY

Courtesy of Emily Núñez Cavness

First Lt. Emily Núñez Cavness, left, participates in training at Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. Cavness and her sister, Betsy Núñez, run Sword & Plough, an apparel company that is a finalist in a competition to win a Super Bowl ad.

Repurposed, with a purpose Army officer’s military surplus company a finalist for Super Bowl ad

BY H EATH DRUZIN Stars and Stripes

Emily Núñez Cavness grew up the child of an Army officer and would often wonder what happened to surplus items that she saw piled up across the bases where she lived.

Much of the clothing, bags, tents and other items were destined for the landfill, she learned, and that sparked an idea. So Emily sat down with her sister, Betsy Núñez, for lunch one day in 2012 and sketched out a plan to put all of those condemned threads to use.

“She was the spunky, fun-spirited

inventor of the family,” said Núñez, 28.

The meal stretched for hours and led to the sisters starting Sword & Plough, a company that makes bags and apparel, such as backpacks, totes and caps, out of old military gear. The Denver-based operation has gained national attention since 2013 and is now a finalist to win a free Super Bowl ad in the Small Business Big Game challenge, a contest organized by software company Intuit, which focuses on small business needs.

Sword & Plough was one of 10 businesses picked out of roughly 15,000 that entered.

View and vote for finalists in Small Business Big Game smallbusinessbiggame.com/contests/sbbg More information on Sword & Plough swordandplough.com Intuit will pay for the winner to produce an ad. More importantly, it will pony up for 30 seconds of the most coveted air time on television, which cost about $4.5 million during the last Super Bowl.

“We were just blown away when we found out we were a top 10 finalist,” said Cavness, 25, a first lieutenant

with 10th Special Forces Group and an Afghanistan veteran. “It would truly be the chance of a lifetime for Sword & Plough — it would be something that we could never do on our own.”

Cavness, who is based at Fort Carson, Colo., and is the company’s CEO, was speaking to Stars and Stripes by phone during a deployment in Europe (she’s not allowed to say where).

Núñez, the company’s chief operations officer, spoke from Denver, where the company is based, though they sell nationally through their website.

SEE PAGE 4

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Friday, October 30, 2015

MILITARY

Army settles with hospital whistleblower

BY H EATH DRUZIN Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — The Army has settled with an employee who was reprimanded after reporting unsafe patient conditions at a major military hospital, revelations that led to the hospital’s chief being relieved of command.

The announcement by the Office of Special Counsel released Tuesday mirrored similar problems at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, where staff who report dangerous conditions have routinely experienced retaliation.

Teresa Gilbert was an Army civilian infection control analyst at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. In early 2014, she reported lax infection control policies to a hospital accreditation group, according to the OSC, an independent federal investigative agency that specialized in whistleblower protection. Specifically, Gilbert told the Joint Commission that the hospital had not addressed long-standing problems with unsterilized instruments, failure to disinfect medical devices, and supervisors who lacked the requisite training and education in infection control.

An OSC investigation found Gilbert’s supervisors subsequently barred her from any participation in improving infection control at the hospital. When she made further reports to the commission as well as to the Army Surgeon’s General office, her hours were cut and she was reprimanded for being absent without leave for missing the hours her boss had removed from her schedule, according to the OSC. Later, Gilbert received a notice that she had been

‘ ... She is proud

that she was able to stand up for what she knows was right.

’

Kevin Owen attorney for Teresa Gilbert recommended for removal for accessing a patient’s medical information, which the OSC investigation found to be bogus.

Gilbert’s reporting eventually led to Womack chief Col. Steven J. Brewster being removed from his position and disciplinary action against several other staffers. The Army and Gilbert reached a settlement that includes a monetary settlement and removal of negative information from her employment records. Terms of the settlement are confidential.

“She is thrilled that her ordeal is over and that she can move on with her life and she is proud that she was able to stand up for what she knows was right,” Gilbert’s attorney, Kevin Owen said in a phone interview with Stars and Stripes.

Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner praised Gilbert, who is now retired.

“Ms. Gilbert deserves credit for disclosing the infection control problems at Womack,” Lerner said in a statement. “The Army should have focused on correcting the problems she identified, rather than retaliating against her. However, in the end, the Army did the right thing by settling her claim. Ms. Gilbert’s case underscores why whistleblower protections are vital.” druzin.heath@stripes.com

Courtesy of Sword & Plough

Sisters Emily Núñez Cavness, left, and Betsy Núñez pose with some of the bags made by their company, Sword & Plough, from recycled military surplus.

FROM PAGE 3

The company’s name comes from the concept of “swords to ploughshares,” meaning turning military weapons into technology for peaceful civilian use, and their motto is “repurposed for a purpose.”

They get most of their material from surplus auctions and from contractors who have extra or outdated gear that they sell at a discounted rate or give away.

Sword & Plough has a “quadruple bottom line” set up, which means they aim to succeed financially, environmentally, socially and in taking care of their employees.

“We measure our mission based on social metrics,” Núñez said.

Sword & Plough sends 10 percent of its profits to veterans organizations. They have

only four employees but have gone from one to five manufacturing partners to keep up with a growing line of products and subsidize positions at some of their partners to ensure veterans are hired. Veterans and active-duty troops receive a 20 percent discount on their products. The sisters want their bags to help bridge the civilian-military divide that has grown in the United States with the advent of an all-volunteer force.

To illustrate the importance of the last goal, Cavness told an anecdote about being the lone Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadet at Middlebury College, a small liberal arts school in Vermont. Twice a week, she had to make a two-hour, round-trip drive for training.

One morning, as she was walking to her car in uniform past the college’s performing arts

center, another student noticed her.

“All of a sudden this upperclassman comes out and asks me, ‘Hey I haven’t seen you around here before — what play are you in?’ ” she recalled.

The sisters said their bags are a starting point for civilians, troops and veterans to better understand each other.

They market their products to everyone, regardless of veteran status.

“A lot of time people will ask about our bags and then get into the backstory,” Nüñez said.

“That’s where those unique moments of connection or awareness are coming — the product has the ability to start the conversation.”

Voting for the Super Bowl contest ends Nov. 3. druzin.heath@stripes.com Twitter: @Druzin_Stripes

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AFGHANISTAN

BLOOD FLOWS IN KABUL Afghan Shiites mark holy day of Ashoura

BY JOSH SMITH Stars and Stripes

KABUL, Afghanistan — With a flurry of blades and chains and a shower of blood, some devout Shiite Muslims turned to self-flagellation as they observed the holy day of Ashoura on Saturday.

For Shiites, Ashoura is one of the holiest days of the year. It commemorates the martyrdom of Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and a key figure in the ancient dispute between Shiites and Sunnis over who should have succeeded Muhammad. This is the main divide between the sects.

Shiite residents of Kabul put up black, green and red banners around the city, while booths provided free drinks and candy as a symbol of helping those in need.

The most striking event of the day involves flagellation,

during which men whip their bare backs with chains and blades to draw blood. Others used long knives to cut their scalps.

Worshippers alternated between frenzied flagellation and occasional bouts of sobbing.

The practice has become increasingly controversial, with some leaders in Afghanistan urging believers to donate blood instead.

Despite increased fears of sectarian violence, partly fueled by the rise of Sunni-dominated Islamic State factions, this year’s Ashoura observances in Kabul were largely peaceful.

Past days of Ashoura in Kabul have been marked by violence, notably in 2011, when an explosion killed 63 people at a shrine. smith.josh@stripes.com Twitter: @joshjonsmith

PHOTOS

BY

JOSH SMITH /Stars and Stripes

A young man, top, and a young boy, above, flagellate themselves at an Ashoura procession in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday. The practice of self-flagellation has become increasingly controversial, with some leaders in Afghanistan urging believers to donate blood instead. For Shiites, Ashoura is one of the holiest days of the year.

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MILITARY

New CNO quickly assesses fleets Richardson must balance needs and capabilities

BY STEVEN BEARDSLEY Stars and Stripes

NAPLES, Italy — Adm. John Richardson, the new Chief of Naval Operations, faces the same dilemma as his predecessor — how to meet the growing needs of U.S. commanders with a limited number of resources.

The challenges were apparent as Richardson toured overseas naval bases in the Pacific, Mideast and Europe barely a month into his tenure.

The U.S. 7th ANALYSIS Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan, is preparing for a possible confrontation with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea. The U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain has been conducting airstrikes in Syria and Iraq as well as monitoring the Persian Gulf. The U.S. 6th Fleet in Naples has seen an uptick in Russian activity in the Black, Baltic and Mediterranean seas.

Richardson’s task is to allocate the Navy’s resources among the fleets while accounting for manpower, maintenance needs and an unpredictable budget.

“It is a time where we are resource-challenged, even as the security environment gets more complex,” he said during a stop in Naples last week. “So resolving that gap is an important conversation we’re having with forward commanders.”

Richardson, 55, took over from Adm. Jonathan Greenert last month. A submariner and former director of Naval Reactors, he has said little about his long-term goals, focusing instead on personnel issues in recent audiences with sailors around the globe. Navy officials say Richardson will set out priorities later this year.

Under Greenert, the Navy sought to have more ships “forward,” either deployed or

STEVEN BEARDSLEY/Stars and Stripes

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson speaks at U.S. 6th Fleet headquarters in Naples, Italy, earlier this month. Even though he hopes to have carrier tour lengths down to seven months by 2017, assuming deployments remain on schedule, he acknowledges that world events could always change that. stationed overseas at any one time. Plans call for an average of 120 ships forward by 2020, up from last year’s average of 97. Most of the new presence would be in the Middle East and Pacific.

Finding the ships and manpower hasn’t been easy.

The sequestration budget caps in 2013 curtailed training and maintenance across the Navy and delayed deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. Unexpected maintenance problems with the carrier USS Nimitz in the same year forced another carrier, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, to make unusual back-toback deployments, resulting in maintenance issues that have delayed the Eisenhower’s next deployment until 2016.

Then there is the problem of Europe. Considered a quiet theater since the end of the Cold War, Europe has seen the rise of new security threats in recent years, from the spread of militants in North Africa to increased Russian activity in the Black Sea and Mediterra-

nean. Yet Navy plans still call for little change to its European posture.

The Navy moved four guided-missile destroyers from the U.S. to Rota, Spain, for ballistic missile defense, a move that was years in planning. But some argue the fleet needs more. Major ships like aircraft carriers and amphibious warships today pass through the region only while on their way to the Middle East.

“We need a third hub,” said Bryan McGrath, a former naval officer and current consultant who worked on the Navy’s 2007 maritime strategy document. “We need a naval power consistently in three places — the Far East, the Middle East and the Mediterranean.”

Richardson signaled that’s unlikely to happen in the near future, telling his Naples audience that although he’d like to put more carriers and amphibious warships in the theater, the needs were greater elsewhere.

Demand for ships is high everywhere. Greenert told Congress in 2014 he would need 450 ships to fulfill every request made from combatant commanders for fiscal 2015.

The service is also interested in preserving manpower and maintenance schedules after several years of long deployments strained both. It unveiled the Optimized Fleet Response Plan in 2014, an initiative to bring carrier tour lengths down to eight months from the 10-month deployments common in recent years.

Earlier this month, the Navy pulled the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt out of the Persian Gulf before the arrival of its replacement in an effort to keep it on its deployment schedule.

Richardson hopes to have carrier tour lengths down to seven months by 2017, assuming deployments remain on schedule. World events could always change that, he acknowledged.

And while the Navy could

use more big ships, the service’s financial realities say otherwise.

“You could easily justify 14, 15 carriers if you just look at global demand,” Richardson said in Naples. “But another element of the strategic picture is the resources available to meet those demands.”

The Navy doesn’t even have funding for the current fiscal year. It also has other shipbuilding priorities, including the $100 billion replacement program for the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine, set to begin in 2020.

The Navy will need to remain flexible overseas and think creatively, Richardson said. In the meantime, he’ll continue talking to commanders to make sure he has the right balance.

“I feel that responsibility very deeply,” he said.

Stars and Stripes reporter Chris Church contributed to this report. beardsley.steven@stripes.com Twitter: @sjbeardsley

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MILITARY

Army Reserve still poised to expand presence in Europe

BY JENNIFER H. SVAN

F-35 chief: Heavy helmet causing ejection dangers

Stars and Stripes

BY TRAVIS J. TRITTEN

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The Army Reserve is still poised to expand its presence on the Continent, even as it and the overall Army continue to draw down to meet budgetary demands, the Reserve’s top civilian official said Oct. 22.

To help meet the needs of the active component in Europe, the 7th Mission Support Command will grow by about a third by adding some 350 slots over the next year or two, said James Balocki, the command executive officer and director of services and installations for the Army Reserve.

Balocki spoke to 7th MSC civilians and reservists at a town hall meeting at Daenner Kaserne on Oct. 22.

The command — formerly the 7th Civil Support Command — has nearly 1,000 soldiers assigned to 22 reserve units located throughout Germany and in Vicenza, Italy.

It’s the only forward-stationed Army Reserve command in Europe.

A more robust reserve presence in Europe allows the command to better meet the needs of the combatant and service component commanders by providing reservists already based in Europe and by improving the process of bringing forward reservists from the States, Balocki said.

The added overseas positions help “Gen. Hodges make the 30,000 look like 300,000,” he said, referring to U.S. Army Europe commander Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges and the current USAREUR force strength.

USAREUR has dropped to fewer than 30,000 active-duty soldiers, even as demands on the command have increased because of growing tensions in eastern Europe.

While the 7th MSC will gain positions, overall the Army Reserve is still due to shrink, Balocki said. Now holding steady at about 198,000, reserve numbers will eventually

Stars and Stripes

T James Balocki fall to 195,000, Balocki said.

“It’s a zero-sum game,” Balocki said later in an interview.

“It’s really a repositioning of assets that’s responding to the priorities of the nation and the combatant commanders as we look to provide capabilities where … the national defense strategy requires it to be present.”

Balocki said the additional Europe slots are expected to be spread out geographically.

He didn’t say which specific jobs would be added. But in June, during a visit to then-7th CSC headquarters, the Army Reserve’s top officer, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley, said the reserve was seeking to add engineering and military police, as well as possibly a cyber detachment and a sustainment battalion.

Talley also said most of the positions would be traditional reserve slots filled by individuals who have full-time jobs outside the military.

Some of the unique capabilities the reserve can provide in Europe include logistics, engineering and medical, Balocki said. “Some of those are already resident,” he said, but there are large training exercises where “we might be able to put a bigger plug than what’s present here to provide greater training.”

The demand for reserve capabilities in the Pacific region is also on the uptick, Balocki said. “You’re seeing the same kind of exercise scenarios play out across the Pacific and the same kind of demand signal for exactly the same kind of units you have” here, he said. svan.jennifer@stripes.com

WASHINGTON he head of the F-35 Joint Program Office on Oct. 21 said the heavy, futuristic helmet of its advanced Joint Strike Fighter is causing a variety of problems during ejections and has led to a higher risk of injury for some pilots.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan told a House Armed Services panel that his office is now trying to shave about 6 ounces from the 5.4-pound, $400,000 helmets to reduce potentially fatal neck injuries for lightweight pilots who eject from the aircraft, which is now the most expensive weapons system in U.S. history.

The committee called for a public briefing after the Air Force, which is still testing the F-35, announced this month that it would restrict pilots weighing less than 136 pounds from flying any of its 79 aircraft. It also said pilots between 136 and 165 pounds face a higher risk of critical injury from the F-35 than from the older fighter jets that it is slated to replace.

The Marine Corps cleared the F-35 for combat in July.

“This [ejection seat] is supposed to be lifesaving and not life-threatening,” Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said.

Bogdan said it discovered problems with the heavy helmets last winter and continued testing in August resulted in the ban on

The weight of the $400,000 helmet designed for use with the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet is to blame for a higher risk of injury to some pilots during ejection, the head of the weapons project’s office told a House panel.

L OCKHEED M ARTIN / The Washington Post

lighter pilots. Those weighing less than 136 pounds cannot safely wear a helmet that is more than 4.8 pounds.

“If [the pilot] steps to the airplane, he or she has a 1 in 50,000 chance of hurting their neck from an ejection,” he said.

Pilots between 136 and 165 pounds have less risk, about 1 in 200,000, of having their heads snapped forward or backward, according to Bogdan.

The program office so far has been unable to make a production model of the helmet — widely heralded for technology allowing pilots to see through the airframe around them — at the weight required to keep servicemembers safe, Bogdan said.

“It will take about another year for us to finish that and ensure every helmet is less than 4.8 pounds,” he said.

The F-35 is designed to take over a variety of combat operations from other U.S. aircraft, and military planners say it will ensure military air superiority in the decades to come. It is a vision that Congress has deeply invested in with continued support of a program that has ballooned to $400 billion and has suffered numerous delays and setbacks.

“This is far more expensive than any of us anticipated, but we are far enough down the line that we have to make this work,” said Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass. tritten.travis@stripes.com Twitter: @Travis_Tritten

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MILITARY Marine helo makes emergency landing NAPLES, Italy — A Marine helicopter made an emergency landing in a public park in Sicily on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Navy.

No one was injured aboard the aircraft or on the ground as the CH-53E Super Stallion made a precautionary landing in the city of Castelvetrano in western Sicily due to a possible mechanical issue, according to

Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

Japan announced it will purchase three of Boeing’s new KC-46A Pegasus mid-air refueling aircraft by 2020 for about $172.8 million per plane.

Japanese to purchase US refueling aircraft

BY ERIK SLAVIN Stars and Stripes

TOKYO — Japan will purchase Boeing’s new KC-46A Pegasus midair refueling aircraft, in part because it will help its forces train with the United States, Japanese officials said.

Japan chose the Pegasus — which is slated to eventually replace the U.S. KC-135 fleet after its scheduled delivery in 2017 — over an offering from Europe’s Airbus.

Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani called the Pegasus “a superior model for U.S. and Japan bilateral operation and training,” according

to an Oct. 23 news conference transcript.

The tanker will fuel fighter aircraft deployed in the airspace surrounding Japan, Nakatani added.

In recent years, Japanese fighter jet scrambles have increased in response to potential airspace violations from China and Russia, according to Japan Defense Ministry statements.

China claims the Japanadministered Senkaku Islands, and the two nations have repeatedly sent fighters near the uninhabited East China Sea territories.

Japan will buy three KC-46 tankers by 2020 for about

$172.8 million per plane, according to Japanese media reports.

The Pegasus can carry as much as 212,299 pounds of fuel, according to Boeing’s website.

The U.S. Air Force will acquire 179 KC-46 aircraft by 2027, Boeing said. The Air Force’s KC-135 Stratotankers were delivered between 1957 and 1965, according to the Air Force’s website. They have received periodic upgrades to engines, avionics and other systems.

Stars and Stripes staffer Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report. slavin.erik@stripes.com Twitter:@eslavin_stripes

a spokesman for U.S. 6th Fleet.

The helicopter, with a crew of six Marines, was flying from the USS Arlington, an amphibious transport ship that was operating off Sicily’s southwestern coast.

The incident occurred around 5 p.m. as the helicopter and another Super Stallion were en route to Naval Air Station Sigonella, on the opposite side of the island near Catania, spokesman Lt. Shawn Eklund said.

From staff reports

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MILITARY

Cases of syphilis up among troops

BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes

Syphilis cases are on the rise in the U.S. military, where a 53 percent hike in infections constitutes a growing public health concern.

The increase, which coincides with similar trends in the civilian population, suggests troops are engaging in riskier sexual behavior, such as casual encounters fueled by the rise of Internet dating, the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center said in a monthly report on communicable diseases.

“The increasing incidence of syphilis in military members is of significant public health concern because this finding suggests that some servicemembers have been engaging in unsafe sexual practices that increase the likelihood of acquisition of other sexually transmitted infections,” including HIV, the report said.

Between January 2010 and August 2015, 2,976 cases of syphilis were diagnosed in the Armed Forces, the report said. Rates increased from 30.9 cases per 100,000 troops in 2010 to 47.4 cases per 100,000 in 2015. Men accounted for 88.7 percent of the cases.

Rates were highest among black, non-Hispanic servicemembers or those age

20-29.

Since 2012, rates have also risen among other groups, including white and Hispanic troops. Of those infected, about 25 percent, or 727 cases, were also diagnosed with HIV. Within the past month alone, the Army reported eight new cases of syphilis, the Navy six, the Air Force four and the Marines one, according to a separate report, the Armed Forces Communicable Disease Weekly Report.

The overall increase demands a coordinated military response, according to the monthly report.

“Developing and implementing syphilis-prevention measures targeting servicemembers at high risk of acquisition should continue to be promoted,” it said.

Increasing rates of syphilis in active-component servicemembers reflect similar trends reported in the civilian population, the monthly report said. In recent years, health officials have offered numerous reasons for a resurgence of syphilis, such as a decrease in safe-sex practices, an increased use of casual-dating websites and an increase in oral sex, which decreases the risk of HIV transmission but increases the risk of contracting syphilis.

Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher Terry Leonard, Editor Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing Editor Tina Croley, Managing Editor for Content Amanda L. Trypanis, 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) 761-0908 Advertising: (202) 761-0910 Michael Davidson, Weekly Partnership Director: davidson.michael@stripes.com Additional contact information: stripes.com

Republicans question the DOD’s University of Phoenix probation

BY COREY DICKSTEIN Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — Three Republican senators have asked the Pentagon to review its recent decision to place the University of Phoenix on probation, stating the for-profit higher education giant had been suspended for “vague, technical violations.”

In an Oct. 22 letter addressed to Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Jeff Flake, RAriz.; and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., accused the Defense Department of “unfairly singling out” the University of Phoenix in its decision to temporarily bar it from the DOD’s tuition assistance program for active-duty personnel and from recruiting on military installations.

“We strongly support efforts to monitor the integrity of colleges and universities serving our nation’s servicemembers,” the Republicans’ letter said. “However, based on our review of the relevant documents associated with this decision, we are concerned that the DOD’s decision is unfair, requires additional review, and may warrant reconsideration.”

The probation, which halted the University of Phoenix’s memorandum of understanding with the DOD, could become permanent.

Dawn Bilodeau, chief of the Voluntary Education Program for the Department of Defense, wrote a letter to the university announc-

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, 2015

‘ We are concerned

that the DOD’s decision is unfair, requires additional review, and may warrant reconsideration.

’

Sens. John McCain, Jeff Flake and Lamar Alexander Republicans ing the probation and cited several issues including the unauthorized use of official military seals and insignia, unapproved visits to military installations and ongoing investigations by California’s attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission.

She said the probationary period was intended to “minimize harm to students.”

The University of Phoenix was given two weeks to respond. It was not immediately clear if it had.

In fiscal 2014, nearly 10,000 servicemembers attended the University of Phoenix through the tuition assistance program, according to the Pentagon. The University of Phoenix collected nearly $300 million from that program and the Post-9/11 GI Bill programs last year, according to figures provided by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. On Oct. 7, Durbin praised the Pentagon’s decision, which he had called for since a June article by the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting documented the University of Phoenix’s deceptive marketing practices.

“This is a decisive action by the Department of Defense to protect servicemembers and taxpayers from a company that offers degrees of questionable value,” Durbin said.

“With below-average graduation rates and a student loan default rate almost 40 percent higher than the national average, the University of Phoenix is going to have a hard time explaining why students

should continue to enroll in this institution.”

In their letter, the Republican senators called the allegations raised by Durbin and the CIR “unsubstantiated.”

Going further, McCain, Flake and Alexander said the DOD decision failed “to acknowledge any of the university’s corrective action or pledged cooperation.”

In a note to investors following the Pentagon’s decision, Apollo Education Group, the parent company of the University of Phoenix, said it had “immediately discontinued” using challenge coins with official military logos and had discussed the approval process for sponsoring events at military posts.

“Notably, all of the prior sponsored events in question had been approved by base officials and were conducted pursuant to written agreements,” the Apollo note said.

The senators asked Carter to respond to a series of inquiries about the decision and the Pentagon’s policies concerning memorandums of understanding with higher education institutions. Among the information they asked for: “Specific, factual and evidentiary bases” for the DOD to place the University of Phoenix on probation; who, beyond Bilodeau, was involved in the decision-making; a list of all institutions previously banned from participating in the tuition assistance program and the DOD’s reasons and the number of active-duty servicemembers the probation or termination would directly impact.

Military students using the DOD’s tuition assistance program while enrolled at the University of Phoenix will be allowed to complete courses they are taking now and any new courses that are part of their academic program, Bilodeau said. No new or transfer students will be granted Defense Department tuition assistance to attend the University of Phoenix while it is under probation or suspension. dickstein.corey@stripes.com Twitter: @CDicksteinDC

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