This Week in the DoD: Weekly News Roundup for Nov. 4

Filed under DoD News, Emerging Media by on November 4, 2011 at 4:36 pm {2 comments}

In the “This Week in the DoD” podcast for Nov. 4:

An attack on a convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Oct. 29 has killed 17 people. Of those killed, five were International Security Assistance Force service members and eight were ISAF civilian employees. It’s the deadliest attack on coalition forces in Kabul since the war in Afghanistan began.

Marine Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia is the newest Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He spoke with the Pentagon Channel about his new role.

The family of mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, or MRAPs, are receiving upgrades.

The U.S. is helping severely injured Libyans who can’t receive necessary medical care in their country by medically evacuating them to American hospitals in the U.S. and Germany.

Stay tuned to DoDLive, Defense.gov and the Pentagon Channel for stories and photos as Veterans’ Day approaches!

Listen to the podcast here.

Navy Eliminates Paper Records

Filed under DoD News by on November 20, 2009 at 4:50 pm {2 comments}

By January 2010, the Navy plans to switch entirely to an electronic record-keeping system, eliminating the current paper-based system.

In order to assist in this effort, the Navy is encouraging more than 130,000 sailors to create a self-service account to view and update their Electronic Service Record. The first steps were taken to introduce and switch over to the ESR in 2006. ESRs will allow sailors to view and even update certain parts of their service record online.

Sailors should keep in mind, though, that the accuracy of the records is still dependent on the sailor’s diligence. Ensure your information is 100 percent correct when editing your ESR.

For more information, visit Navy Personnel Command’s Web site.

(Based on an Armed Forces Network-South radio report by Petty Officer Jessica Robertson)

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    An United States Air Force C-130J Hercules cargo aircraft from the 146th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard, conducts flare training off the Ventura County coast. The flares are used as tactical infrared countermeasures to confuse and redirect heat-seeking missiles.

    (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Dave Buttner)


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    Famed Yankees pitcher “Lefty Gomez” once remarked “I’d rather be lucky than good,” but for one Tuskegee Airman, luck and good combined to make him one of the most successful combat pilots of World War II.

    During the summer of 1944, 2nd Lt. Clarence D. “Lucky” Lester was flying the P-51 Mustang over the skies of Italy’s Po Valley providing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers with cover support on their way to attack airfields in southern Germany.

    Lester was assigned to the 100th Fighter Squadron, a part of the 332nd Fighter Group, and had earned the nickname “Lucky” “because of all the tight situations from which I had escaped without a scratch or even a bullet hole in my aircraft.”

    Read the story of a flight that helped Lester earn his nickname here.


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    The only African-American ace of World War II, and a former Tuskegee Airman, went on to have a career in the Air Force, as well as success in the business world.

    Lee A. Archer joined the Army in 1941 with high hopes of becoming a pilot, but was initially denied because of his race. When the Army’s policy changed about a year later, Archer was accepted to the training program for black aviators at the Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama.

    Archer is best known for a day in late 1944 when he was involved in a series of dogfights over German-occupied Hungary. Flying a P-51 Mustang fighter, Archer shot down three German fighters. He would go on to add two more German fighters to his credit to become the first and only African-American ace of the war.

    As a civilian, Archer enjoyed even greater success, serving as vice president for urban affairs with General Foods, as CEO of North Street Capital Corp. and chairman of Hudson Commercial Corp. He also served on the board of directors of Beatrice International Foods and the Institute for American Business.

    Read the rest of his story here.