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Recent Military and World News
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Contracting: A Sure Bet For Veterans
July 10, 2009
If you are interested in working in contracting once you return to civilian life, the Federal Contractor Program can help you get a jump on your career.
Use Your Military Training to Become an Operations Manager
July 10, 2009
You can translate your supply chain know-how into a successful civilian career as an Operations Manager. All you need is a degree.
Build a Career in Engineering
July 10, 2009
Take your engineering skills to the next level with a bachelor's degree. It can help prepare you for a civilian job as an engineering manager.
A Civilian Career for Military Journalists
July 10, 2009
If you'd like to build a civilian writing career, you may want to look into a degree program in English, communications, or journalism.
Defense Department Contracts for 2,400 More MRAP Vehicles
October 19, 2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2007 - The Defense Department has let contracts for an additional 2,400 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, bringing the total number of the vehicles ordered to 8,800.
Pakistan's Bhutto Ends 8-Year Exile with Jubilant Homecoming
October 18, 2007
Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto are cheering her homecoming after eight years in self-imposed exile.
Doonesbury Creator, Military Bloggers Compile New Book
October 18, 2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2007 - War can inspire great writing, like a series of superlative dispatches from servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan compiled in a new book that offers an arresting glimpse of life on the front lines.
Gates Aims to Resolve Disconnect Between Military, Security Contractors
October 18, 2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2007 - Multinational Force Iraq and private security contractors too often are working at cross purposes, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told Pentagon reporters today.
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U.S. Military Operations Evolve as Afghan Army Becomes More Capable
By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service
Afghanistan, Nov. 24, 2006 - U.S. military operations and missions have changed since the early days of Operation Enduring Freedom and will continue to change as the Afghan National Army becomes a more capable and respected force.
"Every operation we do, we do with the ANA," Army Sgt. Maj. Bryan Gran, operations sergeant major for Task Force Iron Graze here, said in a Thanksgiving Day interview. "If a squad of our guys goes out, a platoon of their guys goes out; if a platoon of our guys goes out, a company of their guys goes out."
Task Force Iron Graze comprises the 102nd Infantry Battalion, of the Connecticut Army National Guard. The unit falls under the 10th Mountain Division here and works in concert with Afghan army units throughout the 28,000-square-kilometer Ghazni province.
"We will not go into a compound by ourselves," Gran said. "We do not kick down doors any more; those days are over."
Instead, Afghan soldiers search homes and compounds while U.S. forces provide an outer security perimeter. "They kick the door down or knock on the door," Gran said. "We're providing the additional security -- the big guns so nobody messes with them."
Coalition forces in Ghanzni are spending thousands of dollars to improve schools, roads and other infrastructure, Gran said, all in the cause of expanding the influence and standing of the democratically elected Afghan national government.
"I think there is a genuine concern now among the government to see running water and electricity (in the provinces)," Gran said.
Afghan citizens need to see that "being able to follow their own beliefs and their own system is the way to go, and they're only going to be able to do that if they do it for themselves," he said. "The Taliban's not going to do it for them. The U.S. forces are not going to do it for them."
The key is getting people to understand that their lives will be better under the Afghan government, then they will stop tolerating the Taliban and insurgents, officials said.
"Once that attitude gets down to the lowest individual -- that patriotism matters -- I think then we'll be out of here," Gran said.
"It's a slow road. If anybody thinks you can come in here and change a nation overnight, you can't" he said. "Can you come in here and destroy the enemy? We did. But that's not going to change them; it's not going to change the way (Afghans) think. It takes time to believe in it."
Gran said he believes the biggest challenge U.S. forces in Ghazni province face now is "to make enough difference that when follow-on units come we don't loose any ground."
"Historically what I think you see as units change over year after year is there's a little gap because it takes time for somebody to get in country, . and then figure out what you're doing here and carry that on," he said. "I think that's a challenge -- that we're able to create an environment and then take that environment and effectively pass it on to the 82nd Airborne (Division, from Fort Bragg, N.C.,) when they come in (in February)."
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