U.S. Army astronaut Col. Tim Kopra today became the first International Space Station crew member to communicate through Twitter. Col. Kopra sent the following message, “What a fun shuttle mission – especially with 13 people on board station. Life here is amazing – still getting used to floating!” He will send periodic updates to his Earth-bound followers on his daily life in space. Kopra, whose Twitter account is astro_tim, can be followed at http://twitter.com/astro_tim.
Kopra, an Austin, Tex. native, is living and working on the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 20. He arrived at the space station aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on July 17, 2009. Kopra conducted the first space walk of his career on July 18, 2009.
Kopra is serving as a flight engineer on the space station for the next six weeks and will be conducting various experiments. He will return to Earth on the next space shuttle mission to the space station scheduled for late August.
“Col. Kopra personifies Army values and the opportunities that the Army provides to its Soldiers,” said Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, Commanding General of U.S. Army Accessions Command, responsible for Army recruiting. “Col. Kopra used many of the tools available in the Army – including a fully-funded undergraduate education at West Point, advanced degrees and aviation training – to help him succeed in his career at NASA. We are happy to see him harness the latest social media technology through Twitter to communicate an experience that only a select group of people have had the chance to accomplish.”
Col. Kopra’s Twitter messages from space are the latest in the U.S. Army’s continued growth into social media. Internet users can submit a question to Col. Kopra to answer by video while he is in space by visiting www.goarmy.com/space. In addition, www.goarmy.com/space site visitors can also link to other Army astronauts’ social networking pages.
Col. Kopra is an Army aviator and graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 1998, the Army assigned Col. Kopra to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, a unique opportunity provided by the U.S. Army.
He is one of four active duty soldier astronauts in the Army detachment at NASA, and he credits the Army for giving him the leadership skills and education he needed to become an astronaut.
The NASA Army detachment is part of the Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command.
Here’s a test for you non-military types: Name the Army Chief of Staff. If that’s too hard, name the CENTCOM Commander. Pretty easy, right. It’s General Casey and General Petraeus, respectively. Now, name the Sergeant Major of the Army and the CENTCOM Command Sergeant Major. Now, don’t cheat! (The answers are Sergeant Major of the Army Preston and Command Sergeant Major Marvin L. Hill, respectively)
NCOs in the military are the backbones of their respective services; and they all have them. The problem is that they never get the credit they deserve. NCOs rarely get the respect and recognition for the countless ways they contribute to winning the fight. We train Soldiers, we discipline Soldiers, and we care for Soldiers. When a Soldier needs something, the first person he/she calls isn’t an officer, it’s an NCO.
So, it was refreshing to see this article at KansasCity.com:
In many countries it is the officers who do most of the daily work and instill discipline. The net result is that few armies can act independently if their officers are not around.
The professionalism of the NCO corps results in a force that adjusts quicker to battlefield realities, adapts to asymmetric enemies and takes advantage of opportunities without waiting for authorization.
Indeed, the fact that the Army has been able to adapt rapidly from a force prepared to fight tank-on-tank conventional battles to one involving counterinsurgency is a testament to the NCO corps. I would even assert that absent our NCO capability, we would not be in a position today to even debate withdrawing our forces from Iraq.
Many people have asked me what they can do to support “the troops.” One way is to support efforts that would help more NCOs get higher levels of education while they are on active duty.
As you may have heard (I’ve only talked about it a few dozen/million times), 2009 is “The Year of the NCO.” Even better than the fact that this was an article about NCOs is the fact that it was written by Grant Martin who is a major in the Army. MAJ Martin goes on to make three recommendations about how this country can support our NCOs:
• Institute a program within the current NCO educational system that incorporates an associate’s degree by the rank of staff sergeant. This could be a program co-sponsored by an accredited university, combining credits for military courses as well as required outside classes.
• Institute a similar program for a bachelor’s degree by the rank of sergeant first class or master sergeant and a master’s degree by sergeant major.
• Review the current degree-completion programs offered by satellite campuses, especially those that cater to the military, to make sure they are as valuable outside of the military as they are inside, and have stringent, broadly-recognized accreditation.
These are all well and good, but I’d like to build upon his recommendations. The problem right now with the NCO Corps vs. the Officer Corps is that officers are GIVEN opportunities to obtain degrees that enlisted troops and NCOs are not. We don’t get to put our careers on hold for 12-24 months to get a degree. I suggest that the military offer similar opportunities to attend a graduate program during an NCOs career just as some officers are.
Another way we can support our NCOs is to quit cutting our NCOES programs. Since this war has started, NCO education has been axed. In the name of saving money and time, we’ve cut our initial NCO training course, the Warrior Leader Course, from four to two weeks. We’re slashing the First Sergeant Course and talking about making BNCOC/ANCOC an distance learning course. That effects every single NCO leadership course all the way up to the Sergeants Major Course.
NCOs benefit greatly from physically attending these leadership course. I’m still friends with Soldiers I went to PLDC (now called WLC) with who don’t share my job skill. I learned a lot working alongside engineers, commo specialists, infantryman, etc. At the First Sergeant Course, I met senior NCOs from Combat Arms, Combat Support, and Combat Service Support. The networking that was incorporated into these courses organically through personal instruction and student input were invaluable. We are stripping our NCOs of these opportunities to learn more about how the Army operates. Speaking with these other NCOs allows us to better take care of our low density Soldiers in Companies and Battalions (administration, supply, etc.).
MAJ Martin is correct that if we take care of NCOs and provide them with the training and education benefits that they deserve, “the returns to the Army would be tremendous…I think we owe NCOs — and this could apply to the other services as well — the best we can offer in terms of opportunity. We sure do ask a lot of them.” We sure do. And it’s time the military started paying them back instead of cutting them down.
Don’t get me wrong, NCOs are resilient leaders. The Army keeps cutting our training, but we find ways to adapt and overcome. We are NCOs for a reason. It just requires more personal sacrifices and motivation. A true NCO will overcame training and education shortfalls at any cost. Unfortunately, those that end up bearing the brunt of these sacrifices tend to be the families as these Soldiers must use their personal time in pursuit of these educational opportunities.
I don’t think all these great ideas are the result of a lack of respect for NCOs. Far from it! I’ve seen firsthand the respect that officers for the accomplishments of our NCOs. General Chiarelli has so much respect for NCOs that he wouldn’t stop calling me sir when I interviewed him on our radio show. When I interviewed Major General Bergner at the Milblog Conference he launched into how much NCOs have shaped his career. Talk to any senior officer and he’ll tell you about that NCO that made the difference in his life as a Lieutenant or Commander at any level. Words are great, but I truly hope that the Army will take some of MAJ Martin’s advice and show us some more actions.
Getting back to the beginning of my post, the American people need to understand that behind every General Petraeus and General Casey is an accomplished, successful, loyal, and competent NCO!
Sean Dunne, a filmmaker from Brooklyn, NY recently notified us about his 10 minute film of Frank Buckles, the last living US WWI Veteran. Watch and listen as Frank recounts his recollection of World War I.
I wanted to provide a list of the Medal of Honor recipients from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars so that you have one place in which to read their story. These are just brief descriptions, but give you an idea for future research into these American heroes:
* Lt. Michael P. Murphy, Navy. Led a four-member team against between 30 and 40 Taliban fighters in the vicinity of Asadabad, Afghanistan. When the primary communicator fell mortally wounded, Murphy repeatedly attempted to call for assistance for his injured colleagues. Realizing the impossibility of communicating in the extreme terrain, and in the face of almost certain death, he fought his way into open terrain to gain a better position to transmit a call. His actions deprived him of cover and exposed him to direct enemy fire. Finally achieving contact with his headquarters, Murphy maintained his exposed position while he provided his location and requested immediate support for his team. He continued to engage the enemy until he was mortally wounded.
* Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, Marine Corps. While attempting to search vehicles for weapons near the town of Karabilah, Iraq, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Dunham. In the ensuing struggle, he saw the insurgent release a grenade. Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Without hesitation, Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his colleagues from the blast.
* Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis, Army. Manned a machine gun as an insurgent dropped a grenade into his vehicle in northeast Baghdad. Reacting quickly, he yelled grenade. Then, rather than leaping from the gunner’s hatch to safety, McGinnis covered the live grenade, pinning it between his body and the vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion.
* Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, Navy. While providing protection from a rooftop in Ramadi, Iraq, an insurgent threw a grenade that hit Monsoor in the chest. He threw himself onto the grenade to absorb the force of the explosion with his body, saving the lives of two teammates.
* Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, Army. He was helping to build a holding area for prisoners of war near the Baghdad airport when his unit was attacked by a company-sized enemy force. As the fight developed, Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and he organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers.
* Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti, Army. He was shot as he attempted for a third time to rescue a wounded comrade while conducting combat operations in the mountains near Gowardesh, Afghanistan. The actions took place as he ordered firepower that broke the enemy attacks and killed 22 enemy fighters. President Barack Obama will present the award on Sept. 17 at a White House ceremony.
Weeks after the death of a mentally unstable pop star, the press is still pawing over Michael Jackson. They missed the boat on 1LT Brian Bradshaw and they missed the boat on Daryl “Shifty” Powers. Who is Shifty? He was a WWII hero portrayed by Peter Youngblood Hill in the HBO series “Band of Brothers.”
The following eulogy was written by Jim Radel.
It is 11 March 2006, 11:35pm somewhere on Interstate 81 just south of the Pennsylvania border. It is raining and everyone in the vehicle is asleep, except for me of course. I have been up for the past 40 hours, with the exception of a one-hour nap at the gas station waiting for the Burger King next door to open, yet I am feeling pretty good and a sense of accomplishment has settled over me. Even the fact that I need to be back at work in less than 14 hours does not bother me. What would make a group of grown men and a small boy get in a van and drive 11 ½ hours each way without a break? It is the once in a life time chance to spend a few moments with an elderly man who also happens to be an American hero.
Let me explain, my name is Jim Radel and I am a WWII re-enactor. I participate in several big re-enactment events on the east coast, and go to local middle and elementary schools to give hands on living history programs about the life and equipment of the WWII soldier. I am also an avid service rifle shooter and competitor, which led me to combine my favorite hobbies and enter the John C Garand and Springfield Rifle Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio sporting my WWII military gear.
Since 2002, I have attended the Matches portraying a WWII paratrooper. After the 2002 Matches, I returned home and as soon as put my gear away I got a call from a friend who was an actual WWII paratrooper with the 101st airborne 506th E Company. The guys of the famed E Company were brought to the public’s attention recently by the mini-series Band of Brothers, written by Stephen Ambrose. The re-enacting group I belong to had worked with the 506th before, so I knew several of these heroes. My friend called to ask my re-enactment group to provide our biggest honor yet, a memorial jump in the Currahee Veterans Memorial Jump at Chambersburg, PA. We were also invited to the E Company’s 58th reunion and a flag presentation for Maj Richard Winters. At the reunion we provided an honor guard dressed in WWII uniforms complete with weapons and equipment. While attending the event, we got to talk to all the attending vets quite freely. Being a shooter as well as a re-enactor most of my conversations turned to weapons and different tactics. While at the reception we were dressed in full combat gear. Along with my gear, I had my CMP rifle with me and was doing my usual impression. That was when a soft-spoken gentleman approached and asked if he could see my rifle. When I turned around much to my surprise there stood Daryl “Shifty” Powers. Shifty was considered by the men of 506th to be the best shot with an M1 rifle in the entire E Company. I handed the rifle over to him, and watched this surprisingly quiet man from Virginia. If you didn’t know his past you would never guess this man jumped from airplanes to strike fear into the enemy in WWII. As Shifty handled my M1 he related some stories about his personal M1 rifle from the war. He remarked at how nice his rifle was and at the condition it was in. What he said next completely caught me off guard; he asked if he could buy my rifle! I told him as politely as I could that this rifle was not for sale. Though he asked again and stated that he had wanted one ever since he turned his in at the end of the war. I asked him if he could remember the serial number of his rifle, I thought he might since soldiers were required to memorize the serial number of their weapon and failure to do so often resulted in push-ups. He never batted an eye and gave me the last three digits. He then told me he had only bothered to memorize the last three digits because the chances of someone else having the same last digits were really slim. As soon as he told me the number I had an idea.
I told Shifty I thought I knew where I could locate a rifle as nice as mine for a reasonable price, so he agreed to let me find him one and not purchase anything until I contacted him. When I returned home I approached my local CMP club and laid out my plan. I wanted to present a CMP rifle to Shifty Powers as a gift from the Northumberland Point Township Sportsman’s Association. That’s when Denny Chapin, our club president, contacted CMP Chief Operating Officer, Orest Michaels, at CMP South and told him Shifty’s story. We hoped to find a rifle with the same last three digits as Shifty’s wartime rifle, and asked for CMP’s help. Orest thought for a moment and then asked how soon we needed the rifle. We told him we could wait for the right serial number, and that’s when he agreed to help us. I then contacted Boyd’s Stocks to see if they could supply a walnut stock set for this project. The people at Boyd’s were great! They thought that this was a very worthwhile project and were happy to be a part of it. I let them know what I had in mind for the stock and they set to work. Three weeks later a package arrived at my home with a beautiful carved and finished M-1 stock set. It had the 101st airborne patch, tab paratroop wings and 506th Currahee crest. It was just gorgeous, but I still did not have a rifle to put in it.
Months passed then Denny got a call from CMP, “we have your rifle.” He called me and we got the funds shipped out right away. The rifle arrived and I set to work cleaning and installing the new wood.
Shifty had only one requirement for his rifle, it MUST shoot as well as his old one did. A close inspection of the rifle revealed it was an original barrel receiver combination with a 42 dated barrel. After checking and gauging the bore and muzzle, I took the rifle out to the range. I started with 5 clips of M-2 ball and set out to zero the rifle. After 5 shots I had it in the black on an SR1 target, so the second clip was for group. It held the nine and ten rings at 100 yards so I felt it would be just right. Now it was time to call Shifty and tell him I found a rifle for him.
I called Shifty and asked him if he remembered the conversation we had at the reunion. He did, and he asked if I had found him a rifle. I let him know we did, though I did not tell him about the serial number because that was to be the big surprise. He asked if it shot ok, and I assured him that he would be pleased with it. Then he wanted to know how much it cost and I told him it would be a gift for the sacrifice he made for his country. Shifty did not want to accept something so valuable, though I told him he had little choice since the deal was done. I wanted to find a good time to present it to him and in talking with him on the phone I found out his birthday was in mid March; I knew that would make an unforgettable birthday present. I discussed it with Denny and we set the date.
The Friday before Shifty’s birthday I set out with my dad, Richard Radel, my son, James Radel Jr., Dennis Chapin, the club president, and my friend, John Gilligbauer, an NRA Instructor. We left right after work for the 11 ½ hour drive to Shifty’s home in the mountains of Virginia. Shifty greeted us with a warm smile when we arrived at his house around 8:30 a.m. We handed Shifty the plain brown box that CMP ships all its rifles in, the simple box did not to give a clue about the gem that was held inside. As he opened the box and pulled out the beautifully re-finished rifle Shifty gave a small gasp. “This was too much, I can’t believe how nice it looks!” he said. He looked at the stock; saw the carved jump wings, 101st screaming eagle and Currahee crest. He ran his fingers over the carvings and along the full length of the stock. I asked him to look at the serial number. Shifty just stared for a moment and then he started to shake his head. He simply could not believe we were able to track down his old serial number. Was it Shifty’s wartime rifle? We do not really know, but I would like to think that in the big scheme of things this was just one of those small things that worked out for the best.
After the presentation, we took Shifty’s rifle outside and with some ammo we just happened to have in our van, we put some rounds downrange. I had the opportunity to shoot with one of the best rifleman of WWII, and as an added bonus Shifty spent time that day helping my young son with his shooting. It was a moment I will always treasure. After a much too short visit we had to leave and begin our long journey home. As we gathered our things to leave, Shifty was still shocked that a bunch of Yankees from Pennsylvania would go so far out of their way for a southerner like him. But for us, Shifty Powers is so much more. We said our goodbyes and started the long trek home, which brings me back to the beginning of my story. It’s dark, raining and I’m exhausted though right now I feel great!
The Story below hit the wire today. This is a long time coming, in fact it is about 37 years too late. I could never understand how CSMs could be commandants of NCO academies on military posts world-wide but we had an officer in charge of the Sergeant Major Academy. I don’t know if oxy-moron or conflict of interest are the right descriptions, but either way it was just wrong. I am glad to see it has been corrected.
FORT BLISS, Texas — The next commandant of the Sergeants Major Academy here will be an enlisted Soldier, breaking a 37-year tradition.
Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Chandler is scheduled to take charge of the academy today. The school provides the Army’s highest level of education for noncommissioned officers.
It had been commanded by an officer since it was created in 1972, but Chandler’s appointment changes that.
"Having a command sergeant major in charge of the academy is just indicative of how much trust and faith we put in our noncommissioned officers," said Col. Donald Gentry, who commanded the academy for the past two years. "It also is indicative of how far noncommissioned officers have progressed in their education."
Gentry, described officers as "architects" who make the plans, and noncommissioned officers as "engineers" who get things done.
The change in command structure will be accompanied by a retooling of the school’s curriculum to provide enlisted leaders with a strategic understanding of battlefields, something that had been reserved for officers.
"As the complexity of this persistent conflict we’re in continues to grow, we as senior noncommissioned officers have to understand the bigger picture," Chandler said.
Urban battlefields faced by Soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world demand that leaders of squads and other small units be able to make quick decisions. The consequences of a bad decision can easily be recorded on a cell
phone and broadcast to the world, creating a propaganda opportunity for the nation’s enemies, Gentry said.
"It’s the complexity and speed of things," he said. "There’s no time to report, have a decision made somewhere else and then have that decision travel back down."
In the past, academy students, each with a decade or two of Army service, would gather to share their experiences. They were looking for problem-solving ideas not found in field manuals. In the future, the studies will be more academic with courses similar to those offered to Army officers, Gentry said.
Within three or four years, Gentry said, the academy should be providing master’s degrees.
"Not only will our graduates be able to speak the same language as their officers, they will be able to translate strategic and operational goals down to the Soldier," Gentry said.
In 1981, as the all-volunteer Army was establishing itself, the average educational level for a noncommissioned officers was eighth grade, Chandler said. Now, 94 percent of those who graduate from the Sergeants Major Academy have some type of college degree and more than 50 percent of those are bachelor’s or master’s degrees, he said.
"It indicates a willingness and understanding of how to learn," Gentry said. "Those are the traits that have made them the backbone of the Army."
Saturday was really the ONLY day of the Milblog conference, but Troy and I got in early to be able to attend some of the events and spread our message of You Served domination. So, when I say “Day 2” it’s really Day 1 – the only day. Since I already did a Day 1 post, that would be quite confusing and I make you as confused writing as I am on a daily basis, our entire societal structure would collapse in on itself, anarchy would prevail, and the nature of man would be forever confounded to the pursuit of learning how to create fire all over again. So, for the purposes of simplicity and out of a sense of service to mankind, I titled this post “Day 2”. Continue reading this post…
I’m an admitted fan of General Petraeus. When the annuls of history are written, his name will be mentioned alongside such great leaders as George Patton, Omar Bradley, Ulysses Grant, and Norman Schwarzkopg.
In this video, GEN David Petraeus, Commander of U.S. Central Command, speaks at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, MA. Pentagon
Congratulations to Nick Parker, winner of a You Served HD Flip camera. Nick was one of a only a few military history buffs who answered all 25 of our tough questions correctly on his first try.
Readers are still able to take our Ultimate Military History Quiz any time. Check back with us in April when we will unveil a new Quiz and giveaway!
