Military
and Veterans News
Compiled by
Samoa News Staff
ARMY PLANNING
TO POSSIBLY ADD 2,000 MORE SOLDIERS ON OAHU
HONOLULU (AP)
- The Army is studying the impact of adding at least 2,000 soldiers
on Oahu.
The Army says
it will conduct an environmental study of the possibility of
adding to its existing 18,000 soldiers on Oahu under a nationwide
initiative to beef up troop numbers.
Officials estimate
at least 1,000 soldiers would be added to Fort Shafter and 1,000
or more at Schofield Barracks.
U.S. Army Pacific
spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks says the Army is just at the beginning
stage of the basing plan.
A THIRD OF
MILITARY WOMEN SURVEYED SAY THEY SUFFER SEXUAL HARASSMENT
WASHINGTON (AP)
- One-third of women in the military and 6 percent of men said
they were sexually harassed, according to the latest Pentagon
survey on the issue.
The figure for
women was worse than the previous finding several years ago but
better than a similar survey taken in 1995, the Defense Department
said in a report Friday.
A separate report
on sexual assaults showed that fewer cases were reported among
military personnel - 2,688 cases reported last year by people
in uniform compared with 2,947 reported the year before. But
officials said they haven't been collecting the data long enough
to determine whether a downward trend in assaults was developing.
Both reports
are mandated by Congress. The finding on sexual harassment was
from the Defense Manpower Data Center, which is to report every
four years and in for the latest report surveyed more than 23,000
people in 2006. The one on sexual assaults is taken from reports
of actual incidents reported in 2007.
Officials said
that overall, the survey showed both men and women polled think
the climate on sexual relations is better in the military than
it is in the nation as a whole. And the survey found that a majority
of those surveyed believe the military's training on sexual harassment
is effective.
BUSH SEARCHES
FOR NEW WARTIME COMMANDER AFTER ADMIRAL SUDDENLY RESIGNS
WASHINGTON (AP)
- The abrupt departure of the four-star general in charge of
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has set off a scramble within
the Bush administration to fill a job that requires vast combat
experience, deft diplomatic skills, and the ability to handle
the prickly question of what to do about Iran.
While President
Bush may pick a surprise candidate to replace Adm. William Fallon,
who resigned after just one year as leader of U.S. Central Command,
he's expected to choose a senior Army general who can see the
big picture and doesn't need a lot of time to become familiar
with the political dynamics of the volatile Middle East.
"He's looking
for a guy who'll be a quick study," said retired Army Maj.
Gen. Robert Scales, former commandant of the Army War College.
"He's also looking for someone who can take a strategic
view of radical Islam rather than just focusing on the tactical
fight. And he needs to be a person who's trusted in the region."
Each of the military
branches will propose candidates to succeed Fallon at Central
Command. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will make his recommendation
to the president.
Due to his star
power, Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq
since February 2007, has emerged as a leading possibility although
he may be more valuable in Iraq.
"I wouldn't
move Petraeus," said Grange, a former commander of the 1st
Infantry Division. "I would keep continuity of command.
It's too important to move someone out of there quickly."
Gates said recently
that Bush had made it clear to him that he wanted to keep Petraeus
in Iraq until late this year. Petraeus is likely to get a second
four-star assignment after his tour in Iraq concludes.
Other possibilities
include Army Lt. Gens. Martin Dempsey, Ray Odierno, Stanley McChrystal
and Peter Chiarelli. All have substantial experience in Iraq.
INDIANA SOLDIER'S
REMAINS FOUND ON FORMER N. KOREAN BATTLEFIELD
(AP) - Remains
found on the site of an early Korean War battlefield are those
of an Indiana man who was listed as missing in action since 1950.
A team of specialists
from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii found the
bones of Army Cpl. Virgil Phillips near North Korea's border
with China in May 2005, but they were not positively identified
until January. The identification was confirmed by comparing
DNA from the remains and a sample provided by a relative of Phillips
from Vincennes.
Chad Phillips,
the only surviving direct descendant of Virgil Phillips, said
that his grandfather would be buried in a family plot in Loogootee
later this year. Virgil Phillips was born in 1925 in that small
southern Indiana city, and his family moved to Columbus in the
late 1930s, but eventually moved back. He enlisted in the Army
in 1944 and served two tours of duty.
"The Army
offered us the chance to have him buried in Arlington (National
Cemetery) but we want him to come home and be placed alongside
his son," Chad Phillips told The Republic for a Friday story.
That son, Jerry
Phillips, died in 1997. He never saw his father, who was among
more than 8,100 American service personnel listed as Missing
In Action from Korea. He was under the category of Remains Unrecoverable.
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