DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with David Clifton, senior advisor, Ministry of Interior, Kabul, Afghanistan. Clifton will discuss Afghan National Police development strategy and Afghan ministerial development plans. Clifton leads a team of advisors that coach Afghan leaders on ministerial and leadership development, and building a standalone Afghan National Police force. The Ministry of Interior is responsible for Afghanistan’s police forces, other internal security forces and Afghanistan's counter-narcotics force. Read Transcript

Army Bloggers Roundtable with Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and the environment. Hammack will discuss Army energy security as well as policy and oversight of sustainability initiatives and resource management including design, military construction, operations and maintenance. The Army is working to ensure it has the energy it needs to accomplish its mission with minimal impact to the environment -surety, supply, sufficiency, survivability and sustainability. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with U.S. Army Col. Mike Wehr, director, Combined Joint Engineer Office, NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan, Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan. Wehr will discuss the Afghan National Security Force Infrastructure and how planning and executing construction within the COIN environment is turbulent. Wehr will also discuss how seeking simple, sustainable, and cost saving solutions provides the necessary guidance to keep pace with this dynamic environment.

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Maj. Gen. Stuart Beare, Deputy Commander – Police, NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan (NTM-A). As the Afghan National Police (ANP) has grown quickly in number of police officers, the organization lacks experienced officers to take on leadership roles. Beare will address the current leaders of the ANP and how DCOM-P plans to increase leader development into the future through increased courses of instruction and mentoring programs. Read Transcript

DODLive Bloggers Roundtable with Brig. Gen. David Allvin, commanding general, NATO Air Training Command, NTM-A/CSTC-A. Brig. Gen Allvin will discuss how the operational capability of the Afghan Air Force has grown in strength and missions.The Afghan Air Force is taking on Aero Medical Evacuations, humanitarian and disaster relief rescues, as well as accomplishing many other important firsts reflective of their abilities. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Mr. Bob Carey, director, Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). Carey will discuss the Department of Defense's efforts with FVAP to encourage military personnel and their family members to exercise their right to vote. Absentee Voting Week is held from Sept. 27 – Oct. 4, 2010. During Absentee Voting Week, voter assistance officers will encourage voters to complete and mail their absentee ballots so that they are received by local election offices in time to be counted for the Nov. general election. In addition, voters may use the new electronic absentee ballot form if they didn’t receive one from their state. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Navy Capt. Russell McLachlan, program manager, The United States Forces-Afghanistan. Capt. McLachlan will discuss the Afghan Hands program and discuss some of the missions that Hands are performing. He will also provide updates on what is happening in Afghanistan. The Afghan Hands program is vital to the success of the overall counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan. The mission is to build long-lasting, positive partnerships with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan , Afghan entities, and civilians, in order to demonstrate the long-term commitment of the International Security Assistance Force to build capacity and capability within Afghanistan and deny support among the Afghan people to insurgents. Afghan Hands receive sixteen weeks of intensive language training prior to deploying to Afghanistan and are committed to the program for two to five years. Like other military forces, Afghan Hands have other important job-related skills, but the language skills allow them to make inroads where others cannot.Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Dr. Wayman Cheatham, special assistant for medical research to The Navy Surgeon General and Director, Navy Medicine Research and Development Center, Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Dr. Cheatham will discuss how U.S. Navy biomedical research and development role is supporting today's warfighter. The Navy's many U.S. and overseas-based research laboratories are having a direct impact on the treatment the military is able to provide, from the battlefield to the bedside. Many wounded warriors are walking, talking and leading productive lives today because of the research and medical advancements in wound management, wound repair and reconstruction, as well as extremity and internal hemorrhage control and phantom limb pain in amputees. Research also focuses on undersea and submarine medicine and toxicology, as well as health issues associated with non-conventional weapons, including directed energy, blast injuries, biological agents, and radiation exposure. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with U.S. Army Capt. Janis Lullen and U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Kristin J. Norton, 95th Training Division, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/ Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan. They will discuss the first graduating class of the female officer candidate course for the Afghan National Army (ANA) and their efforts training these future ANA officers. The 20-week inaugural female officer candidate course began May 2 and is scheduled to graduate Sept. 23. The first weeks of the five month course were designed to successfully transition officer candidates into a military environment. In this course the innate leadership abilities of these women are developed as they learn how to function as effective officers within the Afghan National Army. Following the first eight weeks, the female officer candidates transitioned to specialty training in Logistics and Finance before being commissioned as second lieutenants in the ANA.Read Transcript

Army Bloggers Roundtable with Lt. Col. Mark Elfendahl, chief, Joint and Army Concepts Division and Dr. Robert Toguchi, senior concept developer, Army Requirements Capabilities Integration Center, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. They will discuss the recently released Army Operating Concept (AOC), 2016-2028, and how the Army will apply available resources to overcome adaptive enemies and accomplish challenging missions for the current fight and future uncertainty. The newly published and revised U.S. Army Operating Concept is a key document that details how future Army forces will conduct operations as part of the joint force to deter conflict, prevail in war, and succeed in a wide range of contingencies in the future operational environment. The AOC describes broadly how Army headquarters organize and direct their forces, outlines major categories of Army operations, and identifies capabilities required of future Army forces to guide and prioritize force development. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, commander of U.S. Army Africa and Col. Gilbert Kabanda, surgeon general, Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and command surgeon, U.S. Army Africa. They will discuss the results from MEDFLAG 10, the ongoing humanitarian assistance exercise in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The exercise helps to improve the readiness of both countries’ medical personnel and includes classroom instruction, a mass casualty exercise and civic assistance activities in specific areas in Kinshasa. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Roy. Chief Master Sgt. Roy will discuss being ready for the joint and coalition fight, deliberate development of Airmen and building resiliency among Airmen and their families. As the service’s highest noncommissioned officer, Chief Roy provides direction for the enlisted force and represents their interests, as appropriate, to the American public and to those in all levels of government. He serves as the personal adviser to the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of the Air Force on all issues regarding the welfare, readiness, morale, and proper utilization and progress of the enlisted force. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Lt. Gen. Richard Newton III, deputy chief of staff, Manpower and Personnel, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. Lt. Gen Newton will discuss successes from the Year of the Air Force Family and leadership’s continuing commitment to Airmen and their families. He will also discuss changes to the Air Force Exceptional Family Member Program which include the addition of care coordinators and provide an update on force development initiatives. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Dr. Werner J.A. Dahm, chief scientist, U.S. Air Force. Dahm will discuss key findings and summarize major elements contained in the recently-completed Air Force "Technology Horizons" effort. The "Technology Horizons" effort is a decadal assessment of the areas where Air Force science and technology efforts should be focused over the next 20 years to enable capabilities that can provide the greatest Air Force and Joint force effectiveness in 2030 and beyond. It examines not only the "art of the possible" but also considers the strategic environment, technology environment and budget environment during this period to determine new capabilities that meet the greatest challenges facing the Air Force. It also considers potential adversary uses of these technologies and the counter-capabilities that would be needed to offset them. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Rear Adm. Arthur J. Johnson, Commander, Naval Safety Center. Rear Adm. Johnson will discuss the Navy's most recent safety campaign, which marked record reductions in overall off-duty fatalities. He will also discuss overall numbers and initiatives associated with motorcycle, pedestrian, and off-duty recreation safety to include alcohol related fatalities. Read Transcript