Episode #122: Weekly News Roundup for February 10, 2012

Filed under DoD News, Emerging Media by on February 10, 2012 at 4:39 pm {no comments}

In “This Week in the DoD” for Feb. 10:

The Secretary of Defense visited troops in Germany to discuss the realignment of American forces in Europe. He also met with NATO and other European leaders in Brussels and Munich.

The Department of Defense is launching a wide-reaching initiative to encourage better nutrition and combat obesity among servicemembers and military families. The Military Health system hopes that through updated nutritional standards, the services will better maintain fitness and readiness.

Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Afghanistan, briefed the Pentagon press corps on the status of the ISAF mission there. He said there will be a hard fight, but troops in Afghanistan have the momentum and strategy to win.

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little hosted the DoD’s first Twitter Townhall, taking questions from users using the #AskDoD hashtag. Topics ranged from benefits for gay and lesbian service members to the official DoD stance on Iran.

Henry Ossian Flipper overcame incredible odds. He was the first black man to be commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army, and the first to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Listen to the podcast here.

First African-American Astronaut Makes His Dream Come True

Filed under African American History Month, DoD News by on February 10, 2012 at 12:04 pm {no comments}

From www.af.mil

Col. Guion Bluford: First African-American astronaut

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (AFNS) - When a person is trying to reach for the stars, any misstep could keep them just out of reach.

Retired Air Force Col. Guion Bluford, however, didn’t let a less-than-stellar start in college stop him from becoming one of the most prominent figures in aerospace engineering as well as the first African American in space.

Born in Nov. 22, 1942, Bluford grew up in middle-class neighborhood in Philadelphia. His father was a mechanical engineer and his mother was a teacher. Being that both his parents and grandparents were college graduates, he didn’t see not going to college as an option.

Luckily, he had already decided what he wanted to do with his life by the time he was in middle school: aerospace engineering.

Though he graduated from Penn State in 1964 with a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering, he had a rough time his freshman year trying to get acclimated to the university environment. Unfortunately, Bluford failed freshman English, bringing his GPA to below 2.0. Instead of giving up, however, he used that experience to push himself to succeed.
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New Campaign Aims to Improve Troops, Families’ Health

Filed under DoD News, Medical Monday by on February 10, 2012 at 9:00 am {no comments}

By Elaine Sanchez, American Forces Press Service
From www.defense.gov 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Defense Department has launched a “groundbreaking” obesity and nutrition awareness campaign aimed at improving the health and well-being of troops, retirees and their families across the services, DOD’s top health affairs.

Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs and TRICARE Management Activity director, joined First Lady Michelle Obama at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., Feb. 9, to unveil the campaign, which involves improving nutrition standards militarywide for the first time in 20 years.

“The Department of Defense is making a groundbreaking commitment to the health of our troops and their families,” the first lady said in a news release yesterday. “And in doing so, they’re not just sending a powerful message throughout the military community, they’re sending a message to our entire country.”

The campaign, developed by the Military Health System, will rally all of the services to encourage people to make better nutritional choices and to take a more active role in their personal health, Woodson said in an interview at the Pentagon Wednesday.

“America has a growing problem,” he said, noting the pun is intended. “We have an issue of increasing obesity within the civilian population, [and] a history of poor nutritional choices, both in the civilian and military populations, that’s affecting readiness.”

Nearly 30 percent of potential military candidates ages 17 to 24 can’t qualify for the military because they’re overweight, Woodson noted. Additionally, the military discharges about 1,200 entry-level candidates each year due to their inability to meet fitness and weight standards.

“This is really a national security issue if we’ve got a population of youth that could serve in the military, but can’t serve because of weight standards,” he said.

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National Guard Soldier Gets His Start in the Israeli Army

Filed under DoD News by on February 10, 2012 at 7:14 am {no comments}

By Capt. Kyle Key, National Guard Bureau, Army News Service
From www.army.mil 

GED Plus graduate Pvt. Daniel J. Houten (front) and Sgt. 1st Class Jerry A. Bowling (rear), mortarman course manager, Arkansas Army National Guard's 233rd Regional Training Institute, fold down the armored plate protecting the engine compartment of a M106 mortar carrier at Camp J.T. Robinson in North Little Rock, Ark. (Photo by Capt. Kyle Key)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Last summer, near the Sea of Galilee in the northern Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Adi, Daniel J. Houten finished up routine repairs on an Israeli Army M113 armored personnel carrier. As he shut the hood, he also closed the door on another chapter in his life.

Born to a successful Orthodox Jewish family in Brooklyn, N.Y., Houten was afforded many advantages. His father, Dr. John K. Houten, director of spinal services for Montefiore Medical Center and one of the top-rated neurosurgeons in New York, sent him to the finest boarding schools in the metropolitan area. By the time he reached high school, however, Houten’s sense of purpose had been tested. He lost his motivation, focus and ambition.

Eventually he withdrew from school altogether and set off by himself for the “Gold Coast” of California.

There, Houten wandered aimlessly. While he often thought about his future, he did not find any answers. In search of direction and purpose, he wanted to join the U.S. Army — but without a GED and 15 hours of college credit, he was ineligible. His next move came by accident.

An acquaintance told Houten the Israeli Army recruited new soldiers simply because they were Jewish.

Young Houten investigated and found out that he didn’t need to be a citizen or have a diploma to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Although his religious faith had diminished somewhat, he still identified himself as a Jew and felt strong connections to Israel, the homeland of his people, culture and religion. He decided this should be his next step in life.

Houten flew into the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv in September 2009. His IDF paperwork and in-processing took nearly two and a half months. While waiting on clearance, Houten served at Kibbutz Ein Harod (Ichud), a collective farm near Nahariya in northern Israel.
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“The Compact” is Making It Easier to Educate Our Military Children

Filed under DoD News, Family Focus Friday by on February 10, 2012 at 7:10 am {no comments}

Robert L. Gordon III, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Community and Family Policy)

Robert L. Gordon III, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Community and Family Policy)

The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (“the Compact”) is one of the ways we are working to increase the resiliency of our military families and make our military children as successful as possible.

When military families receive orders to relocate, there are a lot of things to consider. Finding a new home and settling into a new community are at the top of nearly every Service member’s list.  Military families with school-age children also need to figure out how best to make the transfer to the new school system as smooth as possible.  In particular, they may be asking the following questions (and others):

  • Will my child be able to enroll in extra-curricular activities?
  • Will my child’s records transfer in time to get enrolled into the right classes?
  • Will my child be able to get comparable special education services or accommodations in our new location without having to first be tested?

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    When a person is trying to reach for the stars, any misstep could keep them just out of reach.

    Retired Air Force Col. Guion Bluford, however, didn’t let a less-than-stellar start in college stop him from becoming one of the most prominent figures in aerospace engineering as well as the first African American in space.

    Read his story here.



  • DoDLive proudly presents “Profiles in Heritage,” a series honoring the diverse warriors, leaders, and others that have served in the United States Armed Forces over the years.

    February is African American History month, and this episode tells the story of Lt. Henry Ossian Flipper, the first African-American to graduate from West Point. Flipper endured harsh and unjust punishment during his time in the Army, which led to a dishonorable discharge.

    Watch this episode to see how his name and honor were restored 114 years later.


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