This year, he’s doing the same thing, but on a bigger team.“Being in the military and living in the barracks, eating in the chow hall, and going out and training is no different than an NCAA athlete on a scholarship,” said Salado, who’s now an Army specialist and infantry team leader.“This yearlong deployment in Afghanistan is our Super Bowl,” Salado said. “This is where we have a culmination of every training event, every past mission, every patrol.” Salado, who is assigned to the 101st Airborne Division’s Company B, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, Task Force No Slack, 1st Brigade Combat Team, made some good friends while competing as a cheerleader for the University of Hawaii. He even went to the College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship in Orlando, Fla. But Salado’s closest friend during his deployment here, Army Pfc. Dylan Z. Glaze of Waterloo, Iowa, said climbing mountains in eastern Afghanistan is a little different. “I get out there walking, and it just hurts,” said Glaze, an infantryman also assigned to Company B. “Your back hurts, your legs hurt, and your head hurts. You hurt down to your soul. They crush your soul every day out here, … but you just got to think about the guy to your left and your right and just keep moving on." Since being deployed to Afghanistan together, Salado and Glaze have lived together, eaten together and patrolled together. Yet, the stakes are higher in this competition. “That’s one of the big differences here: if you lose here, you’re not coming back home,” said Salado, who’s from Tacoma, Wash. Glaze agreed and recalled an operation a few months ago, Operation Strong Eagle I. “You knew at some point [the insurgents] were going to come up,” he said. “Total [chaos] was going on out there, and I just hear his voice -- ‘Glaze! Glaze! Come over here.’ And I crawled over there to the rock where Salado was behind. We’re just sitting there, and all you can do in that situation is what we did, and that’s just laugh at each other. “You can’t cry about it. You can’t get scared,” Glaze continued. “You’re already getting shot at and you’re not dead yet, so all you can do is laugh about it, get on the gun and shoot some bullets. We almost died. There were rocks chipping off right in my eyes. It’s combat, but that’s what we trained for.” Behind thin-rimmed glasses, Salado cracked a smile when he remembered that day. He praised his friends for their actions and said he is happy to be out of that situation. But he added that when he went on leave, he had a hard time explaining those types of days to his old college friends, whose problems paled in comparison. “‘Oh my gosh, I have a 10-page paper to write. I have to get up and run five miles in the morning. I have such a long day of classes tomorrow,’” Salado recalled. “I’m thinking in my head, ‘Yeah, my guys are getting shot at right now, I don’t know what to tell you. Suck it up. I feel bad telling you this, but I really don't feel bad for you.’” Being in an infantry platoon has taught Salado and Glaze to appreciate each other and their teammates on a different level. They both remarked about their differences and the little fights they sometimes have. “No matter what it’s like back [on base], some people don’t like each other, but when you’re out on the mountain, it’s a different story,” Glaze explained. “When you’re out there getting shot at, that’s an American, he’s your brother out there on the mountain, and you do everything you can to get him back safe.” Glaze laughed about his infantry friend being a former cheerleader, but explained he has the ultimate respect for him. “I guess they’re some of the best athletes out there, because they can flip around and stuff,” he said. “But he’s willing to do anything for you, even if you’re not in his squad. That’s what you have to be over here -- just really supportive of everyone.” Salado, who recently was promoted to team leader, said he understands the weight of being responsible for his fellow soldiers as well as for the future of Afghanistan. “Really, I’m trying to make it better for the next unit that shows up,” he said, “[by] helping the government get on their feet, having the people trust that government, and helping the [Afghan army] on patrols with us so they know what to do.” “Hopefully, when the next unit shows up, they’ll be better off,” Salado added. March 28, 2011: By Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark Burrell- Task Force Bastogne  Redistributed by www.SupportOurTroops.org

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Darrell T. Mangham recognizes that. But as a hospital corpsman with extensive preventive medicine expertise, he also knows that the train-and-equip mission can be brought to its knees if illness or disease infiltrates the force.Mangham spent a year in Afghanistan helping to stand up preventive medicine programs he said will have a long-term impact, not just on the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, but also on the country’s civilian population. For his efforts, Mangham became the first enlisted U.S. service member to receive the prestigious Hunter-Strickland Excellence Award for Deployment Preventive Medicine. This year’s award, presented yesterday at the Armed Forces Public Health Conference here, is named for Army Col. George W. Hunter III and Army Capt. G. Strickland, pioneers in advancing tropical disease prevention during the 1940s. Mangham was singled out this year as the service member who best exemplified their work in a deployed setting -– in his case, as assistant chief of preventive medicine for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force training mission in Afghanistan from February 2009 to February 2010. Currently assigned to the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, Mangham knew he could serve as a corpsman supporting U.S. Marines fighting enemy forces alongside their Afghan counterparts. But instead, he volunteered to help the Afghan security forces confront a less-recognized but equally insidious enemy: illness and disease spread through poor hygiene, improper food storage and handling, and unsanitary living and sleeping arrangements.

 

[caption id="attachment_4029" align="alignleft" width="300"] Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Darrell Mangham, right, administers a flu shot to Navy Command Master Chief Joseph Vulkovcan at Naval Air Station Whiting Field. Mangham shared his preventive medicine expertise with Afghan national security forces, earning the prestigious 2011 Hunter-Strickland Excellence Award for Deployment Preventive Medicine for his contributions. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Jay Cope[/caption] “I volunteered for this,” Mangham said of his first deployment with the Afghan army. “I wanted to go and assist at the ground level in rebuilding Afghanistan as a nation.” Once on the ground in the Afghan capital of Kabul, Mangham said, he began building on groundwork already laid as a mentor to the Afghan National Army’s surgeon general’s public health chief. He led teams that inspected the way the Afghans were shipping, storing, preparing and handling food for the army and police forces. Two of the big gaps he found were lack of refrigeration and specific guidelines regarding food. So, working through the U.S. Agency for International Development and other organizations, Mangham helped to secure funding needed to buy refrigerators and food-storage units. He also initiated training for food-service personnel. Mangham also began looking into living conditions for Afghan security forces. One problem, he said, was that Afghan troops often shared the same bunk –- an accepted cultural norm in Afghanistan, but one Mangham said makes it too easy for illness and disease to spread. He helped to introduce a new ban on bunk-sharing, instituting a rule that bunks must be three feet apart, with troops positioned in alternating head-to-toe arrangements. “That way, if one soldier sneezed, the germs wouldn’t immediately go to the next soldier,” he said. “That decreases the passing of viral diseases.” Those efforts resulted in a 40-percent decrease in disease transmission among the Afghan forces, he said. Operating in the southern Kandahar and Helmand provinces, Mangham also served as senior noncommissioned officer of a six-person team that initiated medical screening and vaccination programs at Afghan National Police recruiting stations. In addition to providing personal hygiene training, the team members isolated police candidates with contagious illnesses, treating them before allowing them to rejoin the ranks. Other initiatives Mangham helped to introduce are just now starting to bear fruit. He helped in standing up an Afghan public health officer program, and its first class graduated three weeks ago. “It was a very, very successful mission,” he said of his deployment. “We got a lot accomplished in the year I was there and left a lot of initiatives in place. The mission is successful and thriving. I think we are going to see the state of public health in Afghanistan thrive in the next two to three years.” Mangham called these efforts an important contribution toward a more independent Afghanistan with a military more capable of providing security. The impact, he said, will remain long after the U.S. and coalition mission in Afghanistan ends. “This goes way beyond the military,” he said, noting that the preventive medicine lessons being learned will extend to Afghanistan’s civilian population. “I can train an Afghan doctor in public-health issues,” he added, “but he’s the one who is going to be most effective in getting that message across to the Afghan people.” Mangham said he is honored to receive this year’s Hunter-Strickland Excellence Award for Deployment Preventive Medicine. “But this is not something I did as an individual,” he said. “There were a lot of key players in this effort. I am just one of them.” March 25, 2011: By Donna Miles- American Forces Press Service

 

 Redistributed by www.SupportOurTroops.org

Brito, with Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, is the driving force behind a food drive at the commissary here on the Japanese island of Okinawa for victims of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck mainland Japan on March 11.Reading news reports of the devastation in mainland Japan affected her deeply, Brito said, and she knew she needed to help. One article she saw hit her particularly hard, she added, as it detailed the experience of a Japanese man who had been in the water for four days and saw his wife die in the tsunami. “It made me feel horrible, terrible,â€Â she said, admitting she’s come close to tears several times reading some of the articles and seeing the images of destruction. The news stories and photographs burned into her memory also created in her a strong desire to provide some kind of aid to those in need, she said. “Half the platoon left that weekend, and I was really frustrated, because I wanted to go with them,â€Â she said. “I kept thinking that there has to be something I can do.â€Â Brito told her fiance, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Cameron Perry, also with Headquarters Battalion, that she was disappointed at being on Okinawa and unable to help. “He suggested I do a canned food drive,â€Â said Brito, from New York City. Perry, of Natchitoches, La., said he got the idea for a food drive based on what people in New Orleans needed following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. While he wasn’t in Louisiana for the hurricane, he said, he has clear memories of the devastation and the shortfalls that ensued. “I knew Katrina victims, and I knew what they needed when they were in shelters,â€Â he said. Brito said she had never coordinated a food drive or done anything like this before, but she jumped on the idea and brought in Perry and another friend, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Erin Hollingsworth, from New Virginia, Iowa, to help. By March 12, Brito had contacted the commissary for approval to place donation boxes at the store’s entrance. Michael E. Shannon, the store administrator, said he gave the go-ahead and by the next day, donation boxes were in place requesting canned food for mainland victims. Shannon said he was surprised someone was willing to give time out of an already busy schedule to spearhead this effort, but that he admires Brito and the Marines helping her for what they are doing. Brito and Hollingsworth remind him of his daughter, who is about the same age, he added, and he found it heartening to see them start the effort to help others. He also was amazed by the generosity of the people in Camp Courtney’s military community. “We were overwhelmed at the response of our customers,â€Â he said. More than 15 grocery carts of food and other items were donated by March 18, Shannon said. That’s more than $4,000 worth of goods, and the donations are still coming in, he added. The response has been unbelievable, Brito said. In addition to canned food, people also have donated diapers, hygiene items, boxes of rice and other foods, she said. After the Kadena Air Base youth center announced March 15 it could no longer accept donations due to space issues, people also began donating blankets and other items, she added. Brito and her assistants have been collecting the donations from the commissary and boxing them up for shipment to the mainland. The operational tempo of Brito’s unit has increased, as Marines are being sent to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts. And the canned food drive is consuming more of Brito’s off-duty hours. But all the extra work is worth it for the peace of mind it has given her, she said. “I needed – for me – to be OK with not being there. I needed to do something,â€Â Brito said. She said she thinks others felt that way as well, as evidenced by the donations she has received. For some, she explained, “this is the only opportunity we have to make a difference. It could have been us but it wasn’t, and there are thousands of people that will really appreciate the help.â€Â Brito said she hopes to continue the food drive throughout March and then reassess to see if there is still a need before continuing the food drive in April. March 24, 2011: By Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Cindy Fisher- Marine Corps Bases Japan

“I didn’t join for the money, and I didn’t join for school,â€Â said the operations officer serving here with the 1st Infantry Division’s 101st Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Advise and Assist Task Force. “I joined to serve for my country.â€Â The journey began for Walter, who calls Crowley, La., home, when she enlisted as a private in 1990. A year later, at age 18, she deployed for the Persian Gulf War as a combat medic and the only woman in her company. “It was my first time away from home,â€Â she said. “I had no idea what to expect. I was exposed to things I had never seen before. “When we moved from Kuwait to Iraq in tanks,â€Â she continued, “the moment we engaged the enemy we had to jump out of the vehicle, dig fox holes and get into our fighting positions, until the enemy fire was suppressed.â€Â As night fell, the troops lined up vehicles in columns and dug fox holes deep enough to provide cover from enemy fire, she explained. Walter said her leaders and peers didn’t treat her differently because she was a woman. “I was never asked to do less than the male soldiers fighting next to me,â€Â she said. “I was expected to do the same as everyone else, and that’s what I did.â€Â In 2004, Walter deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a platoon leader and flight medic with the 101st Airborne Division’s 50th Medical Company, based out of Fort Campbell, Ky. “I still remember every patient I worked on, every detail of their injuries and every face,â€Â she said. “Those are some of the things I will never forget.â€Â While deployed as a flight medic, her job was to respond to medical evacuations by helicopter. “I joined as a combat medic to help people,â€Â she said. “Until then, I didn’t realize the capacity in what I could do to save people’s lives.â€Â Walter was recognized for her achievements in a National Geographic book titled, “Count On Us: American Women in the Militaryâ€Â by Amy Nathan, published in 2004. “I was fortunate enough to have leaders that didn’t single me out as a female,â€Â she said. “They gave me the same opportunities as every other soldier under them. They pushed me to strive and work hard to be the best soldier I could be.â€Â During her 17 years of enlisted service, Walter took advantage of the opportunities the Army provided. She attended Baker College in Michigan and earned a bachelor’s degree in health services and administration. In 2007, Walter decided to pursue a commission. “I have seen the Army change … in so many different ways since I joined,â€Â she said. “I have seen it go from ‘Be all that you can be’ to ‘Army of One,’ and now ‘Army Strong,’â€Â she said. “I do miss being [a noncommissioned officer] and working directly with my soldiers. An officer’s job does more of the preparation and planning of missions, and the NCO works directly with the soldiers to execute, and get the missions done.â€Â Walter uses her experience and knowledge to help her staff and soldiers grow in their military careers and to overcome obstacles. “Because of her experience as an NCO, we can turn to her for any questions, advice or concerns we may have,â€Â said Army Staff Sgt. Jonathan Grape, battle operations NCO in U.S. Division North. “She teaches me new things about the Army every day, and I use her as a learning tool to help me grow as an NCO.â€Â Walter said she is approaching 21 years of active military service and plans to continue her service until 2017. “I am honored and proud to say that I serve and fight with the most diverse organization in the world, the U.S. military,â€Â she said. March 23, 2011: By Army Pfc. Alyxandra McChesney- U.S. Division North