U.S. Soldiers forge new friendships in Indonesia

By Sgt. 1st Class Frank L. Marquez, 106th Public Affairs Detachment

BANDUNG, Indonesia (June 28, 2010) -- "What we leave behind will have a positive lasting impact," said Col. Tony Diaz, the U.S. commander for this year's fourth annual Garuda Shield 2010, which drew to a close June 22.

The exercise ended with a ceremony at Indonesia's Infantry Training Center, in the District of Cipatat, with U.S. Army Pacific Commander Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon and Lt. Gen. Budiman, the Training and Doctrine Commander for the Indonesian Army.

Garuda Shield 2010 hosted five other nations including Bangladesh, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, and Nepal in peacekeeping training for U.N. recognition, which encompassed role playing by senior leaders in a command post exercise, and security controls practiced by the nations' various armed forces in the field training exercise.

"Exercises like Garuda Shield better prepare us to address both traditional dilemmas and unconventional threats that transcend national borders," said Mixon, in explaining the purpose for the training. "Indonesia is a key partner nation that is taking an increasing role as a regional leader, and its armed forces continue to support ongoing peacekeeping efforts throughout the world."

Indonesia currently deploys thousands of troops to peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and the Congo.

Garuda Shield also provided humanitarian civic assistance, which benefited an estimated 250 households in the villages of Marga Mulya and Nyomplong. The project sites sit adjacent to the training center less than five miles away.

Engineers from the 797th Engineer Company -- 21 Reserve Soldiers from Guam -- joined with 89 Soldiers from the 9th and 3rd Engineering battalions of the TNI-AD to build a community center, baby clinic and open air amphitheatre. The HCA projects in 2009 are being used for baby care, dental care, and pre-school classes.

"We went out into the communities of Marga Mulya and Nyomplong to seek input," said Diaz, comparing the condition of the villages in Indonesia to the quality of life in the United States 100 years ago. "We asked what the communities needed. And leaders in the community would say that they would need such things as a place for women to wash laundry. So, we dug a well. In fact one of the village men dug the well by hand."

Ron O'Brien, the lead U.S. Army Pacific planner said that contracting allowed the engineers to build more than the projects that were planned before the exercise began in late May. Dollars were stretched twice as far as in previous years, according to O'Brien, so that the engineers were able to add a bath house, walkways and playgrounds to the list of projects already on the slate. "It's important for Hawaii to know what their Soldiers do," he said. "Those buildings will be there a long time."

Diaz added that the structures were made from Indonesian designs.

While the engineers built, the 9th Mission Support Command provided administrative support and the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team managed guidance on the lanes for the field exercise at the infantry training center.

"It's also important for people to know that an exercise of this magnitude requires funding from many sources to ensure success," O'Brien said. "USARPAC and the Pacific Command provided the bulk of the funding, while the Asia Pacific Regional Initiative funds paid for U.N. subject matter experts, which injected realism into the command post exercise."

As the nearly 160 U.S. Soldiers headed home, they took with them the memories of working together with their counterparts, and getting to know them as friends. Less than 24 hours before the closing ceremony, Mixon and other dignitaries had attended a dedication ceremony at the baby clinic.

Nearby, the Indonesian National Armed Forces or TNI were conducting a medical readiness exercise, at a clinic built in 2009. Tents were erected to shade more than a thousand village residents seeking treatment for their health concerns.

Diaz remarked that the structures from previous years continue to stand. He gestured to O'Brien and added that they had a chance to visit the year-old community center.

"The last time, we dropped by, the women were using it for a flea market," he said. "In fact, the mayor of the village had to schedule events; it got to be so popular. We see that it's being used as a preschool, for meetings, a wedding hall, and a recreation facility where they can play chess and checkers."

Ratih, 43, a resident in Marga Mulya, has a house that stands mere feet from the new community center. "Me and my family won't have to go far for meeting friends," she said smiling.

Capt. Alejandro Buniag, the commander for the 797th, pointed out that many of the infantry soldiers serving in the TNI-AD live in the same villages and have a vested interest in improving their communities. "So, there's a connection with the community," he said. "Even the people of the community know what it means. I watched as even the oldest man moved stones and materials to help us."

Siti Aminah, one of the leaders in the community, said its people feel obligated to help with manpower. She spent a lot of time knocking on doors, but didn't find any trouble finding help. "It's all volunteer-based," she said. "As part of the community, we assist with construction. People understand what it's for and gladly help."

The engineers shared that sense of community, bonding through the experience. They were laying the foundation of friendship, brick by brick, securing that friendship by pounding nails into wood frames. They talked, not only about different methods of construction, but of life and family.

Lt. Yudo, who headed the TNI's engineer contingent, said there are different options for doing things - some things were done by hand instead of using tools. And despite the language barriers, the Soldiers learned new handshakes and words in Bahasa, the various dialogues in Indonesia. Yudo said he relied on his experience of a year living and working in the Congo in 2006-07.

"We fixed the road, airfield and base camp," he said. "I find this exercise using the same kind of coordination."

With plans for an exercise in Bogor next year, the buzz from Soldiers was about coming back next year. Mixon addressed it at the closing ceremony. "Our countries continue to demonstrate the willingness to develop unified responses and bring together diverse governmental agencies and military capabilities to work closely on a range of shared interests," he said.

And the result is that many of the Soldiers look forward to seeing their friends again.

Photo note :
Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, and Lt. Gen. Budiman, Training and Doctrine commander for the Indonesian National Armed Forces, review the troops at the closing ceremony of Operation Garuda Shield 2010, a humanitarian and peacekeeping training exercise. Background : Bangladesh, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines and Nepal Armed Forces.

Link : http://www.army.mil/media/135198/

In US Army, the beret is out and the cap is back

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US Army is abandoning the beret, after a failed 10-year experiment.

The black beret, which proved deeply unpopular with American soldiers, will be replaced by a patrol cap for everyday wear, US Army spokesman Colonel Tom Collins said Monday.

The move came after outgoing Army chief of staff, General Martin Dempsey, asked the army's sergeant major "to go out and talk to soldiers across the force and see what was on their minds," Collins told AFP.

"One of the things that soldiers consistently brought up was the desire to wear the patrol cap as part of their duty uniform," he said.

The beret will still be part of the Army's dress uniform, but will no longer be worn in the field as soldiers complained that it was impractical, he said.

"It does not have a visor and doesn't shield the sun, doesn't absorb sweat well," Collins said.

One soldier put it more bluntly.

"I hate wearing a wet sock on my head," Chief Warrant Officer Mark Vino, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, told the Army Times. "Plus it makes head/skin break out."

Before 2001, the black beret was associated with the elite Rangers special operations forces. Many Rangers resented the idea that the hat they had earned the right to wear had been assigned to the entire force.

The uniform change applies to 1.32 million soldiers -- including 566,473 active duty troops -- and goes into effect immediately. The new headwear comes with a lower price: a beret costs $11.90 while a patrol cap is only $6.50.

The decision does not affect units that have long worn berets as a mark of distinction, including the Rangers' black beret, Army special forces' green beret and Airborne's maroon version.

As part of the change, soldiers will have the option of having their name tags, rank and badges sewn on to their uniforms.

There also will be a new look for Army soldiers working at the Defense Department's headquarters at the Pentagon, with camouflage to be replaced with the more business-like dress uniform, Collins said.

"For soldiers serving in the Pentagon, we will transition to the dress uniform," starting in July, he said.

In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, all the armed services started wearing combat uniforms in the Pentagon, to underscore the country's war-footing.

But Defense Secretary Robert Gates last year had his staff drop the combat uniforms, and some other offices in the Pentagon have returned to the dress uniform.

"Our perspective is that this is the corporate part of the Army," said Sergeant Major of the Army, Raymond Chandler, quoted on the US Army's website.

U.S., Indonesia maintain a partnership of peace

By Sgt. 1st Class Frank L. Marquez
BANDUNG, Indonesia -- Continuing an era of cooperation, the Indonesian military hosted the opening ceremony of Garuda Shield 2010 on Thursday at the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) Infantry Training Center in the District of Cipatat.

Maj. Gen. Soenarko, commander of the infantry center, and Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, the adjutant general of Hawaii Army National Guard (HIARNG), greeted more than 1,100 military members at the hour-long ceremony. Representatives from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Thailand, Nepal, Philippines and the United States stood in a mass formation while listening to welcoming remarks delivered by both Soenarko and Lee.

Garuda Shield began four years ago in Bogor with the goal of training various nations' militaries for United Nations peacekeeping missions. The objectives have not changed over the years with the exception of the Indonesians taking the lead on training. Their U.S. counterparts now give limited guidance.

"Each country has its own standard, which explains the reason for having a U.N. certification," Soenarko said. "The idea is to have one standard."

Indonesia is preparing to send an engineering company to Lebanon later this year. The Indonesians have been sending troops to Lebanon for year-long rotations since December 2006, according to Maj. Charles Carter, exercise coordinator. The Indonesians have also deployed engineers to the Congo.

"The objectives of this exercise show Indonesia's contribution for worldwide peace, and the solidarity between participating countries," Lee said. "The benefit of having exercises like Garuda Shield is the knowledge that we can work together when natural or other disasters strike."

As part of the exercise, staff officers from the Pacific Command, the HIARNG, USARPAC, and the TNI will form a brigade to test peace support and stability operations capabilities.

Other troops are in the middle of conducting a field training exercise to exchange UN standardized organizational tactics, techniques and procedures to improve tactical interoperability.

Meanwhile, engineers are working in Indonesia's rural communities to provide humanitarian civic actions (HCA). Every day scores of children mil about the construction sites to watch the progress. Engineer partners are making quick work of a baby clinic, community center and amphitheatre.

"As the executive of the mission, without forgetting the peacekeeping and field training aspect, I strongly emphasize the lasting impression those kids will have of the U.S.," said Exercise Commander Col. Tony Diaz. "That's priceless. It's beneficial when those communities see our soldiers working next to their soldiers."

The HCA work sites represent how the U.S. and Indonesian military-to-military ties have improved greatly in the last five years, and hold the promise of continued improvement in the years to come, according to organizers. There remain some minor challenges. Lee described one of those hurdles as having the appropriate mindset. "First, countries are asked to defend their own nations," he said. "But they are also asked to be diplomats. Therefore, we must involve many more nations in our efforts which would be a key to circumventing world conflicts."

Sgt. Rick Domec of the HIARNG met that challenge as he arrived in Indonesia. He discovered that U.N. standards apply different rules of engagement. He and Soldiers from C Troop, 299 Cav (Recon Surveillance Target Acquisition), have been observing the various tactics at the field training exercise adjacent to the TNI Training Center.

"We just returned from a deployment in Kuwait last August and September. We were running convoy operations through Iraq to as far as Mosul," he said. "There, we had to constantly be alert. But with the U.N., we don't have to look at everyone as a threat. We look at them as friends, and we are asked to identify ourselves as U.N. peacekeepers."

As Indonesia grows more confident in its training role, it is believed that the same will happen with other nations. "In three years, I've seen the Indonesian military progress. This is their exercise now," Diaz said. "We came here to provide support and guidance, but they run it. They plan it. They execute it. They are on a par with any national military that I've been associated with in my 29 years.

Diaz added that "hopefully with U.N. training, other nations will accept a larger role as their forces become more professional with access to training like Garuda Shield 2010, and they develop military doctrine modeled after our education system - the Command and Staff College, and Army War College. Those countries can then become our strategic partners."

(Spc. Emerson Marcus, 106th Public Affairs Detachment, contributed to this report.)

Photo Note :
BANDUNG, Indonesia -- Col. Nono Mulyono, Maj. Gen. Soenarko, and Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee review the more than 1,100 troops representing six nations standing in formation at the Opening Ceremony for Garuda Shield 2010.

Link : http://www.army.mil/article/40837/

US, Indonesia partner for Exercise Garuda Shield 2011

By Capt. Christina Douglas, 9th Mission Support Command
BOGOR, Indonesia " Hundreds of U.S. and Indonesian Soldiers gathered to participate in the opening ceremony of an annual bilateral exercise, today, at the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI-Indonesian Armed Forces) Engineer Training Center of Army Education and Training Command, Pusdikzi.

Sponsored by U.S. Army, Pacific and hosted by the Indonesian Armed Forces, Exercise Garuda Shield is the latest in a continuing series of rigorous, multi-faceted exercises designed to promote regional peace and security.

This year’s exercise is comprised of three main components: a command post exercise, a field training exercise and a humanitarian civic action project.

Productive team-building efforts and staff processes for resolving complex security situations will be the focus of the CPX. Soldiers of the 9th MSC and Hawaii Army National Guard’s 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will serve as members of division, brigade and battalion staff, working closely with their TNI counterparts.

The FTX, led by the Asia Pacific Counter Improvised Explosive Device Fusion Center, will consist of academics and small unit training designed to counter IEDs. U.S. Soldiers will train approximately 240 Indonesian Soldiers how to identify and react to potentially hazardous situations.

Additionally, Hawaii-based Army Reservists of the 871st Engineer Detachment, 411th Engineer Battalion, 9th MSC, will partner with their Indonesian counterparts to complete a humanitarian civic action project. This intense engineering effort will result in the establishment of a large, modern community services building and public market in a rural district.

Participants from U.S. and Indonesia will further strengthen their relationships by competing in sporting events and enjoying cultural activities.

During the opening ceremony, Brig. Gen. Michele G. Compton, the commanding general of the 9th MSC, welcomed the troops and described the importance of the regionally significant training event.

“Garuda Shield is an opportunity for the Indonesian Army and the United States Army to come together in a learning environment to share experiences and lessons learned with each other. Of equal importance during this exercise, is the opportunity to form and maintain close friendships and also to gain an enduring appreciation of each other’s customs,” said Compton.

Brig. Gen. Mulyono, the training director for the TNI Training and Doctrine Command said the exercise is, “expected to further strengthen the professionalism of the Soldiers as well as to deepen and strengthen cooperation between the Indonesian Army and USARPAC, which is based on mutual respect.”

Exercise Garuda Shield 2011 is slated to conclude June 22.

Photo Note :
U.S., Indonesia kick off bilateral exercise
BOGOR, Indonesia – Brig. Gen. Michele G. Compton, the commanding general of the 9th Mission Support Command, and Brig. Gen. Mulyono, the training director for the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI-Indonesian Armed Forces) Training and Doctrine Command.

Link : http://www.army.mil/article/59478/