MERGER!

CLICK HEREAs of today Petty Officer Cruel Kev's Military Blog will merge with the Sailors & Mariners League blog to become "SAILORS, MARINERS & WARRIORS LEAGUE" I would like to thank all of my readers for your patronage, And welcome you to the League!

Army Looking For Physician Assistants

The Army is short about 100 physician assistants and is stepping up attempts to recruit both civilians and Soldiers to do the job. This is the first time that the Army Medical Department, or AMEDD, has recruited certified civilian physician assistants to join the Army, said Capt. James Jones, Interservice Physician Assistant Program manager. He said the Army’s modularity and high operations tempo contributed to this change. “We have a recruiting mission to obtain 20 civilian physician assistants this year, but this is likely to rise to 60,” he said.The Army offers qualified officers, warrant officers and enlisted Soldiers an educational opportunity to become a physician assistant through the IPAP located at the AMEDD Center and School, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The Army trains alongside candidates from the Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, National Guard, and U.S. Public Health Service, said IPAP officials. “The Army plans on filling the shortages by increasing the number of students in the IPAP - this year we are training 92 Army students versus 60,” Jones said. Upon completion of the program, graduates earn a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska and receive a commission in the Army Medical Specialist Corps as a second lieutenant. Officer students receive constructive credit for their commissioned service in accordance with DOD Instruction 6000.13. Graduates must pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam before they can provide healthcare to Soldiers, AMEDD officials said.There is also a new program called the Requirements Completion Course that is designed to help Soldiers complete the program’s prerequisite courses. “This is another way that we are working to reduce the shortages while still maintaining the highest quality medical provider possible,” said Jones. Army physician assistants are frontline medical responders, said Jones. “They are usually the first medical care that Soldiers receive before being transported to a hospital,” he said. “They are a critical component of the Army.”Applications for the IPAP must be sent by March 1 to the program manager at:
HQ, USAREC
RCHS-SVD-PA
1307 Third Ave.
Fort Knox, KY 40121-2726

Navy Religious Program Specialists

As the only members in military service who are not authorized to carry weapons, Chaplains must rely on their religious programs specialists for protection in theaters of operation. Although, the primary mission of an RP is to provide administrative and technical support for the chaplain, while forward deployed RPs also provide personal protection for the chaplain. "RPs are the right arm of the chaplains," said Lt. Cmdr. James H. Pittman, station chaplain. "They are able do things that the chaplain may not.Religious Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Rita Hurts, shown here in the Chapel of Hope at Yokosuka Navy Base in Yokosuka, Japan.They are administrative support and personal security managers." Chaplains, whether they are members of the United States Army, Navy or Air Force, according to the Geneva Convention and military regulations, are designated noncombatants. While other noncombatants, such as medical personnel, may carry weapons for self-defense, chaplains are not allowed to carry weapons and must rely upon their RPs for protection. "The RP rating is the only rating in the Navy tasked with protecting a noncombatant," said Senior Chief Dino C. Medler, an RP for the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. To become Fleet Marine Force qualified, RPs must attend the Chaplain and Religious Program Specialist Expeditionary Skills Training Course, a sixweek training program, similar to Marine Combat Training and the School of Infantry, which gives the Sailor a rating equivalent to that of a Marine infantryman.As part of the training, FMF RPs must qualify with the M-16 service rifle and the service pistol. They must also be humvee qualified. They also earn their Marine Corps martial arts tan belt during CREST. Basic Marine Corps history and general knowledge are also required. "To be FMF qualified, we have to pass an oral board and be able to recite information about any aspect of Marine Corps life from memory," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Dana Saunders, an RP for Marine Aircraft Group 14. A large part of CREST is conditioning training and instruction from Marines explaining how things work in the Marine Corps, said Medler. "While assigned to Fleet Marine Forces, we have to be able to do everything that the Marines we serve with can do," said Medler. "We are required to do things like pass a Marine Corps physical fitness test." "My experience is that, to seniors, RPs are seen as Marines and are expected to perform like them," he said. "One of the ways we are encouraged to interact with the Marines is to PT regularly with them." Interacting with Marines on a regular basis while in garrison allows the Marines to see that the RPs want to be involved and are genuinely concerned about them. This helps when they all get deployed together. The Marines already know who the RPs are and they are comfortable working with them.Unlike chaplains, who minister to a particular faith group, RPs must be able to work with every faith group. They are trained to provide for special religious needs such as religious dietary needs or specific religious materials. Occasionally, Marines will approach an RP with a specific problem or need. RPs maintain the same confidentiality privileges as chaplains. "Junior Marines, especially, tend to be more comfortable talking to an RP, who is enlisted, rather than a chaplain, who is an officer," said Medler. "Marines can go to an RP who will act as a liaison to a chaplain. RPs cannot act as a counselor, but they can help send them to the right place." "Being an RP presents more unique opportunities and responsibilities than any other rating in the Navy," said Medler. "But the most important thing is being able to go visit and minister to the troops."

When The Going Gets Rough, Call In The Navy

The U.S. Navy will try to lift some of the burden off U.S. Army troops in Iraq this year by increasing the number of Sailors inside that country and taking on duties soldiers have been doing, according to the Navy's top sailor. The move is designed to ease the pressure on the stressed and stretched Army in Iraq, which has soldiers doing everything from combat, medical and security duties to countless support operations. In a briefing to Pentagon reporters , Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the Chief of Naval Operations, said the Navy will start playing a bigger role in Iraq by adding to the 4,000 Sailors already operating in the country. About 138,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq; the Army makes up about 99,000. Mullen would not say how many Sailors he is expecting to put into Iraq or when they will start filling the various duties. He did say the number of Sailors would be less than 12,000.
The additional Sailors will take on existing roles in the combat arena as medical corpsmen and in special operations roles, with more SEAL teams in some cases, he said. Other duties will include security roles, with some 500 sailors expected to take over operations at a prison inside the country, Mullen said. He would not say which facility the sailors would take over. While not giving specifics, Mullen said sailors with expertise in disposing of explosive ordnance will also be brought in. Such teams are used in disposing of the countless weapons caches found in the country as well as assisting in roadside bomb removal. The increase in Sailors in Iraq comes as the Army struggles with rotating troops multiple times into the country, trying to give soldiers a break back in their home bases before deploying again to Iraq or Afghanistan. Air Force airmen are already heavily used in convoy security and other security and logistical roles on the ground in Iraq. The Air Force took more of that role over so Army commanders could use soldiers in needed combat roles.The Navy has some 10,000 sailors in the southwest Asia region, Mullen said, including the 4,000 already in Iraq. In all, the Army has about 130,000 soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, according to Army officials. Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Also told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Guard and Reserves will play a decreased role in the next year. "When we first went into combat, we had about 40 percent of the total force was Guard and Reserve," he said. "It is 30 percent now." "The force that is deploying over the next year, from March of this year to March of next year, will be about 19 percent Guard and Reserve," he said. "So the size of the force is coming down, and the need for contribution from the Guard and Reserve is coming down." A Pentagon-commissioned study last month warned that the Army needs more troops for Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld disputed the study, saying the service was nowhere close to its breaking point. The study by Andrew Krepinevich, a military analyst and former Army officer, found that the Army's manpower needs for those conflicts "clearly exceed those available for the mission."

QDR Directs Air Force Future

The Department of Defense released the results of the quadrennial defense review Feb. 3 here. "The QDR guides and supports Air Force transformation in pursuit of key joint, interdependent combat capabilities that enable us to deliver more sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interest," said Lt. Gen. Stephen G. Wood, Air Force deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs. The QDR is a congressionally mandated review of how the armed forces plan to fund current and future projects specific to each service.“The QDR was an exhaustive look at how each service operates and supports the combatant commanders now, as well as how they will support them in the future,” General Wood said. “The studies and analyses provide us a guidepost that will improve the capabilities and sovereign options the Air Force provides the president.” The QDR re-affirmed the strong role the Air Force plays in special operations and irregular warfare. Furthermore, it added strength to that effort with increased combat aviation advisors, dedicated Predator units and recapitalization of the special operations fleet. In addition, the QDR reinforced the Air Force importance in emerging missions and strengthening the Air Force’s role in space and cyber operations. To underwrite investment in new capabilities, the QDR calls for easing restrictions so the Air Force can trim the number of older aircraft it operates such as the C-130 Hercules, KC-135 Stratotankers and B-52 Stratofortresses, he said. General Wood is positive about the Air Force’s future based on the initiatives in the QDR. “The QDR process was a reaffirmation we’re headed in the right direction,” he said. "Several credible and independent agencies both in and outside DOD examined the needs of the Air Force and came to the same conclusions we have -- that flexibility, stealth, speed and new advanced technology are necessary for our ability to project airpower and support our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen.”

Other additions the QDR calls for are:

-- A new long-range bomber in the next 12 years

-- A significant increase in the fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles

-- More special operations forces

-- Fielding more battlefield Airmen to support our sister services on the ground

-- Airmen trained to fight with emerging technologies, such as protecting the nation through cyberspace

“The Air Force is focused on the global war on terror and we’ll continue to transform the force to provide combatant commanders with the tools they need,” General Wood said. Those transformations will affect the total force -- from added weapon systems to a decrease in manpower. The Air Force will further reduce its strength by roughly 40,000 Airmen; 88 percent will come from active duty. “This is a team effort and the Guard and Reserve are part of that team,” General Wood said. “So while 12 percent of our manpower cuts will come from them, the future of the Air Force will also see Guard and Reserve Airmen in our newest missions and equipment. All in all, the QDR process was lengthy and drew input from a number of sources. “It really is a credit to the Secretary of Defense as well as Air Force leadership that we were able to voice our opinions about how the Air Force should evolve for the future,” General Wood said. “Tough decisions had to be made, but what’s most important now is that we’re all on the same page and we know what we have to do. Now we just have to get out there and do it.”

National Guard Predicts Growth

National Guard officials said Monday that recruiting has accelerated so much in recent months that they expect to expand the Guard even as the Bush administration proposes to shrink it. The National Guard Bureau said the Guard is "aggressively working" to reach the 350,000-troop level by the end of the current budget year Sept. 30, it said. The Guard now has about 333,000 soldiers, which is the number the administration proposes to pay for.In his 2007 budget proposal to be sent to Congress on Feb. 6, President Bush is expected to propose a Guard of 333,000 soldiers, compared with its congressionally authorized limit of 350,000. Administration officials say that is not a cut because 333,000 reflects the actual number of soldiers now in the Guard, which has experienced a deep recruiting slump.