Repatriate Intrepid Sailors Remains Now

In 1804 the USS Intrepid was on a mission to destroy pirate ships in the harbor at Tripoli that
were attacking U.S. merchant ships.

During the attempt all 13 men aboard the Intrepid were killed, and their bodies washed ashore.

They are buried in Tripoli's Protestant Cemetery, which Chief of Naval Operations
Adm. Jonathan Greenert considers their final resting place. A navy spokesman, Lt. Cmdr.
Alana Garas said "Navy custom and tradition is to honor the final resting place of those
lost in ships and downed aircraft."

 An amendment to the NDAA 2012  introduced in the Senate by Sen. Dean Heller failed final
passage. Heller was disappointed that his amendment  failed but that he "is committed to
making sure these fallen sailors receive the recognition they deserve and (I) will continue
working with my colleagues until this legislation becomes law."


Sources say that Sen. John McCain the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee blocked the amendment from becoming a part of final bill.

McCain's office would only state that he is "still reviewing" the issue, but a source in his
office noted the Navy's objections.

So it appears that the Navy and Sen. McCain do not believe in the saying "No Man
Left Behind." Which is a long standing tradition in the US Military.

The head of the nonprofit Intrepid Project is leading the attempt to repatriate the remains,
Michael Caputo said "That the cemetery is not well cared for, is in a country that has
been hostile to the United States for decades, and has graves that are dissipated and in some
cases unmarked." He went on to say "the grave sites are squalid, unkempt and at risk
of falling into the sea."

Congressman Mike Rogers R-Mich., who in a 2004 visit to Tripoli learned of the remains
of the Intrepid sailors introduced a bill this year to repatriate the remains.

Rogers bill passed the House said that even though the Navy wants to leave the remains where
they are, and considers the graves in Tripoli a final resting place, "our country should never
leave a fellow American in uniform behind."

The amendment is now out of the Senate version of the NDAA, but it is still in the House version.
The Senate voted final passage of S.1836 the National Defense Authorization Act FY2012
last week.

So now the House/Senate conference committee members will have to debate this issue and
hopefully reach a conclusion that the remains of these brave men must be repatriated.

The US Navy should reconsider their stand, and bring home the remains to give
closure to the families of those who are left behind.

Contact your elected officials tell them that more than 200 years is much too long. Bring home
our heroes.

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"



---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

U.S. Military Considers Evacuations of Military from Japan

Although it has not been confirmed, sources say that the U.S. military is considering the
evacuation of all military personnel, and dependents from Yokosuka, Japan.

Yokosuka is home of the largest Navy base in Japan.

As of Monday there were no ships in port at Yokosuka. The aircraft carrier USS George Washington
had been undergoing maintenance, but left Monday to avoid the plume of radioactive particles
that could flow over the base. Since the ship was "in the yards", when she sailed the crew was not
at full strength; and thus will not be able to assist the rest of the Navy ships that are helping in the
recovery efforts.

On Saturday a plane left Japan with 230 people aboard, and that was followed by another flight
Monday with 154 military family members headed for Seattle/Tacoma(SeTac) international airport.

These were voluntary evacuations under State Department guidelines, and are being paid for
by the U.S. government.

If there is a real danger to our military and their dependents, by all means they should be removed
from harm's way immediately.



---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Asbestos and the U.S. Navy

This is a very important piece of information for anyone who

served in the U.S. Navy.

Please keep this, copy and take to your doctor to discuss your

possible exposure to asbestos, possible health problems, and

ask to be checked for Mesothelioma. 

Asbestos and the United States Navy

The recent post on this site discussing Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the development of Chinese military capacity has a couple of telling remarks in it that apply to military spending habits. He mentions the “cyclical view” of American military decline that has occurred among foreign nations many times, notably in the late 1970s. It is fair to say that the view of American military readiness is related to American military spending not only on new weapons systems, but on the maintenance of existing equipment and the numbers of men and women on active duty.

After each of the two World Wars U.S. military spending was reduced dramatically and U.S. interest in maintaining a large combat-ready military dropped to peacetime expectations. Korea and Vietnam changed that pattern in the military for the length of those conflicts, but military spending during non-combat years has always been focused on new systems and not upkeep. The result over the decades has been the accumulation of outmoded bases, facilities and in the case of the Navy, outmoded ships.

Asbestos and the World War II Navy

It is well known by now that asbestos exposure can cause cancer and the development of asbestosis, a progressive and destructive respiratory disease. It is also known that thirty percent of all asbestos related mesothelioma cancer victims have been veterans. And the majority of the veterans who were at risk for asbestos cancer are Navy veterans. Sailors and shipyard workers who served on and worked on World War II Navy vessels were exposed to asbestos in engine rooms, alongside boilers, from the miles of pipe on the ships, and from the insulation and fire protection materials used in ship construction.

Every ship commissioned by the Navy from 1930 to about 1970 was fitted with tons of asbestos insulation, the perfect material for Navy use because of its insulation and fire resistant properties. Sailors inhaled asbestos fibers from the insulation that covered boilers and pipes and that was used for gaskets and packing in pumps and valves. Thousands of them got sick.

Asbestos and the Cold War Navy

After it became clear that asbestos is a carcinogen the Navy was fairly proactive in cleaning up its ships and eliminating asbestos products from newly built craft as well as in existing Navy bases and shipyards. But cleaning up all that asbestos in all those ships and locations took years and for many Cold War veterans asbestos exposure was a common occurrence. The USS Enterprise still has an asbestos abatement team on board, an example of the health risks associated with vessels of that era.

Asbestos exposure doesn’t take its toll for decades after it occurs. The latency period for mesothelioma is forty years or more. For asbestosis it can be twenty to thirty years. So Cold War vets who were unknowingly exposed to asbestos during active duty may just now be getting sick. After decades of denial the VA has finally recognized asbestos related disease as possibly related to active duty. It’s not easy to prove: the military insists that you be able to demonstrate that asbestos exposure occurred during active duty.

That’s not easy after a lifetime of post-service jobs and careers. But if you are a Navy veteran suffering from an asbestos related disease, don’t think that because your service came after 1945 the asbestos threat in active Navy duty is unlikely. Asbestos use was so common and so pervasive that exposure in all military branches continued through the twentieth century.

Source:

Bob Hartzell is a freelance writer for AsbestosNews.com, a resource on health risks and hazards commonly linked to dangerous levels of asbestos exposure, such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Jerald Terwilliger

National Chairman

American Cold War Veterans

"We Remember"

---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

China Stole Technology to build Stealth Fighter

So do we continue to allow China to build their military? Do we just sit back and say that every

thing is OK and allow China to grow strong enough to deny the U.S. passage in "open waters"?

Chinese officials recently unveiled a new, high-tech prototype stealth attack plane that could pose a significant threat to American air superiority - and some of its technology, it turns out, may well have come from the US itself.

Balkan military officials have said that, in all probability, the Chinese gleaned some of their technological know-how from an American F-117 Nighthawk that was shot down over Serbia in 1999.

Nighthawks were the world's first operational stealth

aircraft, planes that are very hard for radar to detect. But on 27 March, 1999, during Nato's aerial bombing of Serbia in the Kosovo war, a Serbian anti-aircraft missile shot down one of the Nighthawks. The pilot ejected and was rescued.

It was the first time one of the much-touted "invisible" fighters had ever been hit. The Pentagon believed a combination of clever tactics and sheer luck had allowed a Soviet-built SA-3 missile to bring it down. Posters saying "We didn't realise it was invisible" become very popular in Serbia.

The wreckage was strewn over a wide area and civilians collected the parts as souvenirs.

"At the time, our intelligence reports told of Chinese agents crisscrossing the region where the F-117 disintegrated, buying up parts of the plane from local farmers," said Admiral Davor Domazet-Loso, Croatia's military chief of staff in the Kosovo war.

"We believe the Chinese used those materials to gain an insight into secret stealth technologies … and to reverse-engineer them," Adml Domazet-Loso said.

A senior Serbian military official confirmed that pieces of the wreckage were removed by souvenir collectors, and that some ended up "in the hands of foreign military attaches".

China's multi-role stealth fighter - the Chengdu J-20 - made its inaugural flight on 11 January, revealing dramatic progress in the country's efforts to develop cutting-edge military technologies.

Although the twin-engine J-20 is at least eight or nine years from entering service, it could become a rival to America's top-of-the-line F-22 Raptor, the successor to the Nighthawk and the only stealth fighter currently in service.

China rolled out the J-20 just days before a visit to Beijing by US defence secretary Robert Gates, leading some analysts to speculate that the timing was intended to demonstrate the growing might of China's armed forces.

Parts of the downed F-117 - such as the left wing, the cockpit canopy, ejector seat, pilot's helmet and radio - are exhibited at Belgrade's aviation museum.

"I don't know what happened to the rest of the plane," said Zoran Milicevic, deputy director of the museum.

"A lot of delegations visited us, including the Chinese, Russians and Americans … but no-one showed any interest in taking any part of the jet."

Zoran Kusovac, a Rome-based military consultant, said the regime of former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic routinely shared captured Western equipment with its Chinese and Russian allies.

"The destroyed F-117 topped that wish-list for both the Russians and Chinese," Kusovac said.

Russia's Sukhoi T-50 prototype stealth fighter made its maiden flight last year and is due to enter service in about four years. It is likely that the Russians also gleaned knowledge of stealth technology from the downed Nighthawk.

---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

DoD Leaders Discuss Critical Troop, Family Health Care Needs

DOD Leaders Discuss Critical Troop, Family Health Care Needs

By Karen Parrish 
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2011 - Military health care has improved troop survival, recovery and rehabilitation, but providers, patients, families and leaders must keep investing time, effort and communication, Defense Department leaders said today.

Clifford L. Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and Deborah Mullen, wife of Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke on these issues to an audience of thousands at the 2011 Military Health System Conference opening session. 

Stanley is a retired Marine Corps major general, and recounted his family's experience with the military health system.

In 1975, Stanley was stationed at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., with his wife and their 3-month-old daughter when his family was the victim of a sniper attack. Stanley's uncle was killed, and his wife was left paralyzed.

"I'm not a physician, but I was immediately introduced to the health care system in a unique way for us," he said.

During the years that followed, Stanley said, his family learned a great deal about military health care, and experienced "a couple of close calls."

"We ... had to be engaged personally in the process," he said. "At the time, I was lower-ranking, but the bottom line was that I insisted, and continue to insist, that we do our very best to take care of our people."

Defense leaders do their best now to ensure the highest quality care for service members, but must connect with military medical professionals to know "what's going on out there in our world," he said.
His family now is happy and doing well, Stanley said, but still monitors the state of military health care.

"We care very deeply about what's happening to our sailors, soldiers, airmen, Marines and Coast Guard -- our wounded, ill and injured," he said. 

One of the challenges in defense health care goes beyond medicine, Stanley said.
"It's how we communicate, or don't communicate," he explained. "People mean well [and are] doing well, but it's hard sometimes in a bureaucracy to figure out how that matrix works."

One topic that left him "unbelievably frustrated," he said, was the disability evaluation system, which the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments have been working to streamline since 2007.
"To find a system that was taking 500 days, and got down to 200-some days and now maybe 180 or whatever number of days it might be ... can we do better? And can we do better now? Not next year, not next week, but can we do better now?" he asked.

Improving military health care "is not going to be, and should never be, something just done by DOD," he said. "Anything we do is part of this great nation that we serve in. There are lots of people who want to help. ... Let's do it together."

Stanley urged the health professionals in the audience to learn and share ideas during this week's conference.

"We owe our troops our very best," he said. "We owe them our heart and our soul and our commitment."

Mullen built on Stanley's remarks by emphasizing what the military medical system can do for service members' spouses and children. The challenges these families face are not new, she said, but can be profound.

Mullen started by quoting from a letter written by a young military spouse: "It is infinitely worse to be left behind, and prey to all the horrors of imagining what might be happening to the one you love. You slowly eat your heart out with anxiety, and to endure such suspense is simply the hardest of all the trials that come to an Army wife."

Those words are from a letter written by Elizabeth "Libby" Custer in 1876, shortly after her husband, Army Gen. George A. Custer, left for what became the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Mullen said.

"They could have been written, and probably have been written, by any of the hundreds of thousands of young spouses who have watched their soldier, sailor, airman or Marine march off to war these last 10 years," she added.

Mullen said she doesn't believe society yet fully understands the cumulative effects of stress, anxiety and worry on military families. "But we need to try, and we need to do so quickly," she said. "A whole generation has now been impacted."

Today's military families have the advantage over Libby Custer of greater general understanding of combat stress, and programs in place to help them manage it, Mullen said.

"But we are still discovering, still revealing, fissures and cracks in our family support system," she added, citing the need for "new ways to seal them."

The first of those cracks is what families call secondary post-traumatic stress, Mullen said.

"Not unlike our troops, our families experience the same depression, anxiety, sleeplessness and headaches," she said. "They break into cold sweats, lose concentration, suffer panic attacks, and come to dread contact with the outside world."

Some spouses do not get out of bed, prepare meals or care for their children, she said, adding that some turn to the same "remedies" troops with post-traumatic stress do: alcohol, prescription drugs, even suicide.

"I am convinced that much of the desperation these drastic remedies represent is rooted in the stigma still attached to mental health issues," Mullen said. "Not only are they embarrassed to seek help for themselves, spouses worry that in so doing they will negatively impact their husband's or wife's military career."

The services have worked hard to eliminate that stigma in the ranks, but need to do more to remove it from families, Mullen said, noting that for some spouses who seek help, the result is "all too often disappointing."

In two separate cases at one military hospital, spouses seeking help for post-traumatic stress symptoms and suicidal thoughts were given prescriptions – five in one case, seven in another – with no follow-up treatment or consultation scheduled, she said.

"You do not have to put on a pair of boots and patrol outside the wire to suffer the effects of war," Mullen said. "If it is keeping you from living your life and loving your family, you owe it to yourself – and frankly, the military owes it to you – to get you the help you need."

Military children represent another crack in the care system that needs sealing, Mullen said, noting the military services are working to understand the effect 10 years of war is having on those children.

"There is evidence of elevated emotional and behavioral difficulties and lower academic achievement," she said. "Anxiety and depression have led to a rise in the use of psychiatric medication."
In 2009, she said, 300,000 prescriptions for psychiatric drugs were given to military family members younger than 18.

"Some were no doubt warranted, but I worry that we don't fully understand the long-term consequences of these medications," she said.

Family stress happens after as well as during deployment, Mullen said, when reintegration and reunion add their own challenges.

"The Army ... recently released information that spouse and child abuse cases are rising," she said. "We have come to understand that while a combat tour may last a year, the effects of that tour on a service member and family may last much longer."

Military families are strong and patriotic, and pride themselves on their resilience and readiness, Mullen said.

"But we didn't fully understand that these wars would last as long as they have, and that resilience and readiness are not necessarily permanent," she said. "After multiple deployments, they begin to break down."

Building resilient families involves listening to their needs and challenges, she said.
"It's about looking at things through their eyes, and trying to find solutions that work in their unique circumstances," she said.

Following up on programs, assessing how they're working, incorporating lessons learned and instituting best practices across the services are all critical to improving family care, she said.

"Often, spouses tell me they don't need another program. ... What they need is time: time with their spouse, time together with their families, time with a counselor, or a doctor, or a minister," she said. "They want time to explore and understand what is happening to them, and the patience and understanding of loved ones, and friends, and the system itself."


Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"

---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Families of Deployed Military Carry Heavy Load

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2011/01/21/families-of-deployed-military-carry-heavy-load

FRIDAY, Jan. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Families of U.S. military personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan face a number of challenges as relationships change and they have to take on more household responsibilities, new research shows.

The yearlong study of 1,127 military families found that children of deployed parents are more likely to experience emotional difficulties and anxiety than other children their age. The youngsters in the study said they felt misunderstood by community members, challenged by the increase in household chores, and found it hard to deal with the deployed parents' mood changes when they returned home.
Military spouses said they faced a number of major stressors when their partner was deployed overseas, including a heavier household workload, changes in marriage roles, and family communication challenges, according to researchers at the RAND Corp., a nonprofit research organization.

Caregivers with spouses in the National Guard or Reserves reported poorer emotional well-being and greater household challenges than those with spouses in the full-time military.

Good communication between parents and children -- which the study authors defined as a perception of empathy and understanding -- was associated with fewer household challenges.

"These findings underscore the experiences of children and spouses when a member of the military goes off to war," lead author and behavioral scientist Anita Chandra said in a RAND news release.

"While children and spouses are continuing to handle challenges well overall, it is how children and spouses handle the change in household and family relationships that affects how they cope during periods of deployment."
More information
The U.S. Department of Defense offers deployment advice for military personnel and their families.

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"

---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996