DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable

Lt. Col. Thomas N. Williams, Jr. Ph.D., P.E., Chief of Planning, Engineering Directorate, Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq, will discuss how MNSTC-I’s green initiatives are protecting the environment, saving money and at the same time supporting the security of Iraq.

Command Sgt. Maj. Maria Martinez, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Director of the Army Diversity Office at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and 2nd Lt. Michelle LaForest, a member of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Campbell and the only woman to compete in the finals of a recent combatives tournament join the Roundtable. They will discuss the achievements of women in the Army today and reflect on those who paved their way, to mark Women’s Equality Day and the signing of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution on August 26, 1920 which gave women the right to vote.

Price Floyd, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, will discuss the launch recently of the Department of Defense’s new home page, http://www.Defense.gov designed to invite participation from the public and make military news and information more accessible. The new Web site provides quick access to those pages and services that are most sought by Web site visitors, including DoD social media sites, the Pentagon Channel and DoD news stories. Prominent on the new home page is a new “We Want to Hear From You” feature that will give users the opportunity to ask questions of Defense Department leaders, vote on policy issues they want explained, and explore frequently asked questions and answers. The new site, http://www.Defense.gov, replaces http://www.DefenseLink.mil as the department’s main Internet entry portal.

Dr. Michael Crawford will share the history behind pirates, privateers and the outbreak of the War of 1812.

Gunnery Sergeant, drill instructor, Vietnam veteran, actor and more R. Lee Ermey who will discuss his career in the military.

As Chief Election Task Force, Brig. Gen. Cantwell serves as the primary point of contact with all external agencies involved in the conduct and planning of this month's 2009 Afghan Presidential and Provincial Council Elections and will discuss ISAF’s roll in the upcoming election. He provides advice and information to Headquarters ISAF and external agencies and coordinates all ISAF support to election-related activities. Brig. Gen. Tremblay is the ISAF Spokesman.

Col. Forrester will discuss the recently published CALL Publication 09-37, Small Unit Operations in Afghanistan. Developed collaboratively with the Infantry School and Maneuver Center of Excellence, the Army Physical Fitness Research Institute, CJTF-101, and other recently redeployed OEF units, this handbook specifically addresses the unique geographic, cultural, and operational challenges platoons and companies can expect to encounter in the Afghan theater of operations.

Earlier this week on the Pentagon Channel, we highlighted a graduation ceremony for a handful of soldiers who successfully completed a program designed to give PTSD patients better coping skills. We also posted part I of a blog, "DoD Feature: One Face From Normal" about this program, which is offered by the Deployment Health Clinical Center, and uses a combination of counseling, physical therapy, acupuncture and even yoga, to teach servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan how to handle stress. Listen as one soldier, who did not want to be identified on camera, talks about what brought him to the program.

Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Peter W. Chiarelli took the helm of the Army's suicide prevention efforts in January, and has been working hard to reduce the stigma of seeking help. In that vein, two new initiatives were launched Aug. 1 by Department of Defense Health Affairs and the Defense Center of Excellence. The first program provides Web-Based Behavioral Health Care Services through the TRICARE Assistance Program. This program offers unlimited short-term, problem solving counseling 24/7 with a licensed counselor from home or any location. The second program will build a network of locations and online providers for telemental health services, using medically supervised, secure audio-visual conferencing to link those seeking help with offsite providers.

Brig. Gen. Stephen W. Wilson will discuss the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing's mission of providing combat airpower and support for today’s Fight in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing is one of the largest, most diverse expeditionary wings in the Air Force. The wing and its associate units operate more than 100 aircraft, making the base a large hub for humanitarian airlift activity while providing mission-essential combat power, aeromedical evacuation and intelligence support for multiple theaters of operations.

U.S. Army roundtable with Col. Peter Newell, brigade commander, 4th Brigade Combat Team 1AD, who will discuss the role of the brigade completing the Advise and Assist Brigade mission.

Col. Bernard DeKoning, commander, Senior Medical Advisor to the Ministries of Defense and Interior, will discuss the training and partnering with Iraqi military medical staff.

Col. Zazworsky, commander of the Heavy Airlift Wing, Pápa, Hungary, will discuss the new heavy airlift wing in Hungary, which will support activities of 12 member nations, including flying missions into Afghanistan in support of ISAF. For the first time in history, 12 nations have come together, independent of NATO's organization, to jointly acquire and fly three C-17s to meet the national, NATO, EU and UN strategic airlift requirements/obligations of the participating nations by employing/deploying/redeploying forces and equipment and providing humanitarian relief with multinational aircrews. No matter which country's airlift requirements are being met at a specific point in time, all nations' members are contributing to the mission -- building partnership capacity.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John Basilica, Commanding General Task Force - 51, Consequence Management Response Forces (CCMRF) and U.S. Navy Capt. Michael A. Collins, United States Navy and Chief of Staff of Joint Task Force Civil Support, will discuss issues ranging from Consequence Management Response Forces 10.1 and 10.2, reserve component manning, defense support of civil authorities, and posse comitatus.

Dr. Kevin Geiss, Program Director, energy security, will discuss the Army's innovative Energy Security Program, including Low Speed Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles. The U.S. Army is improving its energy security posture and assuring access to critical power to a full spectrum of Army missions.