WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2010 -- Defense Department officials are working to remind veterans and current servicemembers who were involuntarily retained in the military under the so-called "Stop Loss" program to apply for special pay before the Dec. 3 deadline.
Military members whose service was involuntarily extended or whose retirement was suspended between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009, are entitled to a retroactive payment of $500 for each month of extension.
By law, servicemembers who received a bonus for voluntarily re-enlisting or extending their service are not eligible for the special pay, officials said, but they added that they strongly urge people who even think they may be eligible to submit an application before the deadline.
Information on the special pay and links to the application are available at
Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay.
About 65,000 of 145,000 eligible claims have been paid, and $243 million has been disbursed of the $534 million appropriated, officials said.
President Barack Obama released a video message Sept. 15 urging eligible servicemembers and veterans to apply.
"You served with honor. You did your duty. And when your country called on you again, you did your duty again," he said in the message. "Now, it's time to collect the special pay that you deserve."
The services are promoting the retroactive pay through national and regional media, direct mail, veteran and service organizations, websites and phone lines. Information about the special pay also has been included on civilian and retiree pay stubs
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CAMP TAJI, Iraq (Nov. 29, 2010) – An Army unit deployed to Camp Taji, Iraq, is shaping the future of the Army’s unmanned aircraft systems program with a handful of its newest aircraft, the MQ-1C Gray Eagle.
The unit, known as Quick Reaction Capability 1-Replacement 1, deployed in June to use the Gray Eagle in combat before the Army fields the aircraft to all of its aviation brigades in the next few years. It is one of two deployed Army units currently flying the Gray Eagle, and it is the only one using it in Iraq.
The unit is attached to the Enhanced Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, an all-in-one aviation brigade from Fort Riley, Kan. The Gray Eagle’s mission is similar to the mission of the brigade’s Apache and Kiowa helicopters, but as an unmanned aircraft, has stronger ties to the intelligence community. The QRC1-R1 operators are working with aviators from the brigade’s Apache battalion to integrate their mission into the aviation realm.
The Gray Eagle is an extended-range, multipurpose unmanned aircraft designed primarily to provide ground commanders a set of “eyes in the sky.” The aircraft is built on the same platform as the Air Force’s Predator drone, and will provide the Army access to the type of support usually provided by Predator-type aircraft.
“The Army needed more UAS support; there was a gap in coverage,” said Capt. Michael Goodwin, the unit’s commander, and a native of Cedar Island, N.C. “Predator-based platforms are spread too thin to meet all of the Army’s needs…we’re the Army’s answer to finding a quick solution to that problem.”
The Army purchased its first batch of Gray Eagles from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems while the aircraft was still in the developmental stage. Forming the QRC units allowed the Army to get a head-start on introducing the aircraft to combat.
The unit has not identified any significant flaws in the aircraft, which has yielded impressive results during the first six months of deployment, said Goodwin.
The unit has flown nearly 7,000 accident-free hours, more than 350 combat missions, produced more than 16,000 surveillance-type images, and maintained a systems operational readiness rate of about 93 percent, according to unit reports.
Soldiers of the QRC unit are not only developing the Gray Eagle and its systems, but often help introduce its technology to the commanders and ground troops it is designed to benefit.
“One of the biggest things we try to do is educate other units about our capabilities,” said Goodwin. “A lot of units have the ability to use our assets, but they don’t know what we can do.”
One of the most useful tools the unit offers ground troops is education on a portable system known as the OSRVT, or One Station Remote Viewing Terminal. Ground commanders using the system can access the Gray Eagle’s video feed from a laptop. The OSRVT can be carried in a backpack and is designed to be used in most military vehicles. Access to the Gray Eagle’s feed through the system provides ground commanders a firsthand, bird’s eye view of the battlefield, said Goodwin.
“We’re finding that a lot of units have the OSRVT, but don’t know what it does for them,” said Goodwin. “Our company helps train the ground guys on the system, on how to access our feeds and use our aircraft to support them.”
“It’s such a new technology that – just like our aircraft – most people don’t know how great the technology is,” said Goodwin. “If I were a ground commander, I wouldn’t roll out without it.”
In addition to the OSRVT, the Gray Eagle and its operators are perfecting several technologies that are new to the Army’s spy-plane arsenal.
Older Army UAS platforms have typically only served as a middle-man in engaging targets: providing attack helicopters, planes, or ground troops with a target. With the Gray Eagle, the Army’s UAS family can now do both. The unit is working to prepare the aircraft to carry hellfire missiles, and is scheduled to conduct a live test of the missiles in Iraq during January.
Sgt. Brent Randal, a Gray Eagle operator deployed with QRC1-R1 and a native of Las Vegas, Nev., said that one of the aircraft’s best features is its new Synthetic Aperture Radar, or SAR. Mounted underneath the Gray Eagle’s nose, the SAR can compare high-resolution images of a location taken at different times to determine whether objects have been removed from or placed at a scene.
“Using the SAR we can fly by a site, fly by several hours later, and if anything changes, we’ll see it,” said Randal.
The technology comes particularly useful in locating buried IEDs and weapons caches, said Randal.
The Gray Eagle can also help ground troops communicate with their headquarters over long distances.
“We’ve had a couple situations where ground troops were out of communications range from their higher headquarters, so we used our radio systems in the aircraft to retransmit their signals to their headquarters,” said Randal. “In essence we bounce their signal back to their base.”
Staff Sgt. Raymond Ballance, of Beaufort, S.C., the unit’s senior enlisted trainer and master gunner, has a unique perspective on the company’s mission with the Gray Eagle.
Ballance recently hit his 11-year mark in the Army, but has only operated unmanned aircraft for the last five years. Before he turned to flying drones, Ballance spent the invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq as a scout on the ground. His mission was to travel ahead of infantry units to find the enemy, observe their activity, and provide his commanders with firsthand intelligence.
Ballance and many other scouts became unmanned aircraft operators when the Army did away with their original field in 2005.
“We’re still the eyes on the battlefield -- now it’s from above,” said Ballance. “It’s a lot safer, too. You no longer have that three-man team out there hours away from help hiding in the bushes.”
“You can never fully replace the human element on the battlefield, but what I used to do has evolved into what the Gray Eagle does now,” he said.
Since switching jobs ,Ballance has flown several of the Army’s unmanned aircraft, including the Predator drone for Task Force ODIN, the Army’s first unit to fly that aircraft. The success of that task force helped pave the way for the Army’s acquisition of the Gray Eagle, said Ballance.
“The Army saw the success of the Predator in the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan and decided to go full production with their own,” said Ballance. “I’ve seen it evolve from there: better engines, better payloads, better systems.”
The Army plans to provide 12 Gray Eagles to each of its aviation brigades when the aircraft is fully developed. The aircraft are likely to work closely with the Army’s scout helicopters, but will remain strongly connected to intelligence and ground combat units, officials said.
“Ten years ago the Air Force had Predators and they were working for three-letter agencies,” said Ballance. “When this thing goes full production, every aviation brigade is going to have it.”
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hree U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command's (RDECOM) communications-electronics center technologies proven useful in the field by U.S. Soldiers will be recognized as part of the Top Ten 2009 Army's Greatest Inventions (AGI) during an awards ceremony at the Army Science Conference Nov. 28 in Orlando, Fla.
"There are several ground-breaking capabilities that come out of our Army labs and centers, but what makes this recognition significant is that these technologies were specifically selected by our Soldiers for the value provided in the field," said Jill Smith, CERDEC Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) director.
CERDEC's three AGI recipients include a portable power system, a threat warning system and counter radio controlled-improvised explosive device electronic warfare, or CREW, system.
The Rucksack Enhanced Portable Power System, or REPPS, is a lightweight, portable power system capable of recharging batteries and/or acting as a continuous power source. This system from the CERDEC Command and Control Directorate (C2D), combines anti-glint solar panels, connectors and adaptors for increased charging options, and can charge most common military battery types in five to six hours.
"Our goal in CERDEC C2D is to increase the Soldier's energy independence on the battlefield while reducing his physical and logistical burden. We're focusing on renewable energy as part of this solution, and the Soldier's feedback has been critical throughout. It's helped REPPS evolve significantly, and we will continue to work closely with the Warfighter to develop durable, light-weight, low-cost systems that will better fit his needs," said Pete Glikerdas, C2D acting director.
Soldiers can capitalize on REPPS renewable energy abilities by daisy-chaining several of the systems together if devices with higher power need to be charged.
The pass-thru assembly cable allows simultaneous battery recharging while delivering power to an end item enabling the Warfighter to complete their longer operations missions and extending the usage time for their equipment. REPPS, which has been used for surveillance and reconnaissance missions, is designed for silent watch operations and operations in remote areas.
Wolfhound Handheld Threat Warning System is another CERDEC technology intended to assist the Warfighter with missions. Wolfhound targets command and control nodes of the enemy.
Wolfhound, from the CERDEC Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate, is a hand-held, radio frequency threat warning and direction finding system that is intended to fill the coverage gaps and limitations of traditional systems.
"The Wolfhound system was developed in response to Soldiers saying 'We can hear them-we need to be able to locate them,'" said John Lynch, Wolfhound product manager.
This system provides mission support and force protection, aids in combat search and rescue, can identify and geolocate spotter positions and observation posts, and can be used in both static and mobile operations.
"It helps Soldiers with their missions; but it is lightweight, and Soldiers can master the 'buttonology' of Wolfhound in about 20 minutes and can learn use and concept of operation in about 16 hours," said Lynch.
Achieving optimal size, weight and power requirements are essential for most CERDEC technologies. The third AGI recipient, CREW Duke V3 , is a field-deployable, single-unit system that was also designed to have minimal size, weight and power requirements while providing simple operation and optimal performance in order to provide force protection against radio controlled-IEDs.
The CREW Duke V3 was developed by the CERDEC Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate (I2WD) in conjunction with Product Manager CREW to provide electronic, life-saving protection in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to John Masco, I2WD Electronic Warfare (EW) Air/Ground Survivability EW Systems Ground Branch DukeV3 lead electronics engineer.
The first generation of the CREW system was previously recognized in 2006 as a 2005 U.S. Army's Greatest Invention, and more than 25,000 Duke systems have been fielded to date. Duke V3 has played a role in reducing insurgents' employment of radio-controlled IEDs.
"These are the sixth and seventh Army Greatest Invention award I2WD has received and are exceptional accomplishments for our organization and the Army," said Anthony Lisuzzo, I2WD director. "This recognition demonstrates that CERDEC I2WD works very closely with the Army team to ensure that the Warfighter gets the best technology and capabilities that are available to contribute to their mission success and their safety."
In total, CERDEC has received 11 Army Greatest Invention awards since the Army started recognizing these technologies in 2002.
"The consistent recognition of CERDEC technologies by Soldiers is a true testament to the effort and ingenuity of our workforce," said Smith. "This acknowledgment reminds us all that our work has a direct effect on the men and women serving our country."
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SEONGNAM, South Korea -- During the funeral service held here Nov. 27, the 8th Army commanding general paid his respects to the two Republic of Korea Marines killed during North Korea's unprovoked attack on Yeonpyeong Island.
Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, 8th Army commanding general and chief of staff of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea, represented U.S. military forces at the funeral service for ROK Marines Sgt. Seo Jeong-wu and Pfc. Moon Gwang-wuk.
The day was marked by a gentle snow, which Korean custom says represents the soldiers who have gone before, welcoming the two new heroes into their ranks.
Along with other senior ROK-U.S. Alliance leaders, he placed a white Chrysanthemum and saluted the fallen at the shrine for the two Marines.
“These two Marines represented the fighting spirit of the ROK-U.S. Alliance and I came to honor their memory and pay my respects to their families,” said Johnson. "Their sacrifice was made in the cause of protecting freedom and these brave heroes of the alliance will not be forgotten."
The North Korean artillery attack also killed two South Korean civilians, injured 16 ROK servicemembers and three civilians and destroyed many houses and buildings.
Johnson emphasized that the ROK-U.S. Alliance remains ready to decisively defeat any threat against South Korea, if necessary.
“As always, our forces are trained and ready to stand with our ROK allies in the defense of Korea, if called on,” said Johnson.
The 8th Army commander is using the 8th Army website, Facebook page and Twitter page to keep Soldiers, civilians and family members on the peninsula informed in the aftermath of the attack.
