DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable

Maritime forces from 12 countries will participate in the largest multinational naval exercise this year in the Baltic Sea June 8-19. Annually hosted by the United States Navy, Exercise BALTOPS 2009 aims to improve maritime security in the Baltic Sea through increased interoperability and cooperation among regional allies. During this exercise, Sailors will work side by side with other personnel from partner nations while they are underway and will become familiar with the other militaries' operating procedures and practices

Commodore Andrew Cully, the mission commander calling in from Guam, will discuss planned mission activities and our partnerships with the host nations, partner nations and non-governmental organizations.

Public safety is the number one priority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' levee safety program. Eric Halpin, P.E., who leads the Corps' dam and levee safety programs, will discuss the Corps' Levee Safety Program and the relationship of proper operation and maintenance to levee reliability and public safety.

Ms. Dory will discuss what the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review entails, what it doesn’t and why it matters to our troops on the ground.

As part of the Army’s 234th Birthday, June 14, we are highlighting musically talented service members with deployment experience who have competed on nationally televised talent shows.

As a tribute to the 67th anniversary of the Battle of Midway, Mr. Cressman will highlight the significance of this event in naval history. Regarded as the turning point in the Pacific during World War II, the Battle of Midway took place June 4-7, 1942. During the battle, an American carrier striking force, augmented by shore-based patrol bombers, decisively defeated an Imperial Japanese navy carrier task force. These actions prevented Japanese forces from capturing Midway Island. An important marker in the naval heritage of our nation, the Battle of Midway changed the course of the war in the Pacific within just a few short days.

The Army's new paternity leave policy gives fathers additional time to be with their families when a new child is born. The policy, which was signed into law under President George W. Bush on Oct. 14, grants Soldiers up to 10 consecutive days of non-chargeable administrative leave after the birth of a child. Paternity leave must be taken within 45 days of the child's birth; deployed Soldiers must take the leave within 60 days after returning from deployment. Leave not taken within the established time frame will be lost, so we're encouraging Soldiers to learn about this program, and take advantage.

Brig. Gen. Huber, commander of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix VIII, will be discussing the "Training and mentoring Afghan National Security Forces - Ultimate exit strategy in Afghanistan for U.S. forces." In addition, he will address the Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix mission of training and mentoring Afghan National Security Forces comprised of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police to help them build sustainable security capacity/capability to protect the Afghan populace.

Col. Harris, headquartered in Kandahar, Afghanistan, is responsible for mentoring and advising Afghan National Police in southern Afghanistan. He will discuss Afghan National Police Mission Essential Tasks.

Sgt. Heyz Seeker has completed five tours of duty in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, most recently returning from a deployment in the fall of 2008. Throughout his 11 years of service, but particularly during this most recent segment of his Army career, Sgt. Seeker has honed his leadership skills. As a Filipino and NCO, he feels that his responsibly is to mold younger Soldiers and mentor them to the best of his ability so that one day they too can lead other troops. Sgt. Seeker is a winner of the Best Warrior Competition, and was honored as the Department of the Army's Soldier of the Year in 2007.

NCO Net is a virtual community where Non Commissioned Officers are engaged in professional conversations and the sharing of knowledge which becomes embedded in their professional life. NCO Net is an Army-wide NCO Network designed to support the flow of knowledge throughout the Noncommissioned Officers Corps. Through NCO Net, peers have an unclassified/FOUO forum to share thoughts, ideas, lessons learned, and experiences with other NCOs. NCO Net also provides a place where they can seek assistance from Subject Matter Experts, peers and search for information in the Warrior Knowledge Base. Think of NCO Net as a virtual NCO-DP, or even a virtual "bull" session where you can seek help from your peers or senior mentors or simply discuss issues and concerns of the day with people who have a common ground as NCO's. Learn more about this program and how Soldiers are using it to communicate.

Col. Brown will address airpower, targeting and the law of war.

Brig. Gen. Givhan, commanding general, Combined Air Power Transition Force (CAPTF) and 438th Air Expeditionary Wing Commander, will discuss how his unit works alongside Afghan pilots and ground support Airmen to build a capable and sustainable Air Corps for Afghanistan. The CAPTF mission is to set the conditions for a fully independent and operationally capable Afghan National Army Air Corps to meet the security requirements of Afghanistan.

Last week the Gulf Region Division completed operational and assurance testing and turned over the $176 million al-Qudas Power Plant expansion project to Iraq's Ministry of Electricity. The onsite project manager, Navy CDR John Szatkowski worked side by side with Iraqi engineer Hussein Ali Aiyah, one of the Gulf Region Division's Iraqi Associates. Both will be on the line to discuss this collaborative effort between the Army Corps of Engineers and local Iraqi construction companies. The U.S. team helped develop the Iraqis' abilities to design and construct their own power plant as the project was Iraqi designed and Iraqi constructed by a joint venture of two Iraqi companies.

Col. Metzler, commander, 586th Air Expeditionary Group, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Southwest Asia, will discuss how the detainee visitation mission at Camp Bucca's Theater Internment Facility (the "TIF") builds trusting relationships with Iraqi families and achieves operational goals. He will also explain his units' wide array of counter-insurgency mission contributions, and he will talk about the Air Force's presence on the ground in Iraq as Airmen perform line-haul combat convoy missions.