Message from the Director: Associate Director for Military Affairs

Statement to Employees by Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon E. Panetta on the Associate Director for Military Affairs.
November 15, 2010

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On Friday, Lt. Gen. Mark Welsh, our Associate Director for Military Affairs, will conclude over two years of exceptional service to the CIA. Next month, he will begin a new chapter in his distinguished career: He has earned a fourth star and will take command of U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).

During his time with the Agency, Mark has made decisive contributions to our mission as the principal bridge to our military partners. His experience and leadership have helped guide the teamwork that is essential to America’s fight against al-Qa’ida and its violent allies. He built even closer ties to commanders in the field and troops on the ground. Mark has also done great work to strengthen collaboration on cyber security.
Mark is one of the military’s brightest stars. His talent, advice, and constant good humor will be missed by CIA officers at all levels. As he heads to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, we wish him continued success. We will always be proud to count him as a colleague and friend. I had the honor last week of presenting him the Director's Award for his outstanding service to the CIA and the nation.

Beginning this week, you’ll see a new three-star Air Force general here at CIA. Lt. Gen. Kurt A. Cichowski will be our next ADMA, effective November 22nd. Kurt comes to us after serving as Vice Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida. He received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1977 and holds advanced degrees in business administration and airpower art and science. Kurt is a command pilot with more than 3,400 hours flying everything from fighters to special operations gunships. He has held a wide variety of operational, command, and staff positions. The CIA is very fortunate to have him. Please join me in welcoming Kurt to our mission and our Agency family.
Leon E. Panetta

Source: CIA - No implied endorsement

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

DOD Identifies Army Casualty               The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.               Pvt. Devon J. Harris, 24, of Mesquite, Tex., died Nov. 27 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with a rocket-propelled grenade.  He was assigned to the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, at Ft. Polk, La.               For additional background information on this soldier, news media representatives may contact the Ft. Polk public affairs office at 337-531-7203.

Chairman Discusses Afghanistan, Threats from Iran, Yemen

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 28, 2010 - The United States is "very committed" to begin drawing down its forces in Afghanistan in July, but large numbers will remain, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said on a televised broadcast today.
"We will start drawing down troops next July," Mullen told Fareed Zacharia, host of the CNN program, GPS. Any drawdown will be based on conditions on the ground and via a recommendation from commanders on the ground, he said. It is too soon to know the numbers of troops and locations the drawdown will affect first, he added.
"We're very committed to beginning the drawdown then," he said. "But there will continue to be a large number of U.S. and allied troops on the ground in Afghanistan after July 2011."
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also said that reconciliation talks with the Taliban must be done from a position of strength, and that any talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government right now "are talks about talks."
Reconciliation is a very important process for Afghanistan, Mullen said, and when that can happen, political progress will follow.
"We need to do that from a strong position, and we're just not there right now," he said. "The Taliban don't think they are losing and the likelihood that they are going to take any significant steps with respect to reconciliation is low."
Turning to Iran, the chairman said he believes Iranian officials still are working to develop and weaponize nuclear devices, despite their public words to the contrary. The United States has been thinking about military options against Iranian facilities for some time, but "I still think it is important to focus on the dialogue, to focus on the engagement, but do it in a realistic way," he said.
The United States needs to look at Iran and decide whether the nation is going to "tell the truth, actually engage and actually do anything," he said. Iran has a history of gamesmanship, and American leaders need to take this under consideration, he said.
Mullen also spoke of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, saying that the Yemen-based terrorist group continues to be a problem. The recent bombs on cargo aircraft emanated from Yemen and the group is actively recruiting members to attack the United States, he said.
"This al-Qaida group in Yemen is trying to kill Americans," Mullen said. "I think that will continue and we are obligated to address that threat."
 

Biographies:
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen
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Veterans' Reflections: Putting Personal Comforts Aside

By Ian Graham
Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2010 - Like a lot of people at that stage of their lives, Lisa Reed wasn't sure what she wanted to do in the late 1990s. After a year of ambiguity in community college, she said, she saw opportunity in the Air Force and enlisted in 1999.
Training was a bit of a shock, she admitted. Initially, she said, she was overwhelmed. As a woman, she found herself in a small minority at basic training. But that feeling subsided, she added, as she became close with her fellow servicemembers.
"At first, it was very obvious," she said. "All of a sudden, [the women] were completely outnumbered. As time went by, it became less noticeable." At one point, she was assigned to an F-15C squadron with 30 male fighter pilots.
People certainly can face gender problems in the service, Reed said, but on the whole, it's like a family, and military camaraderie should not be taken lightly.
It's hard to find that kind of friendship in the civilian world, she said, adding that the closeness people experience working together in the military is far beyond a normal co-worker relationship.
"I looked at my male co-workers as family members," she said, "and my female co-workers as my sisters."
In August 2001, Reed was sent to Kuwait. She did intelligence work for a fighter squadron watching the no-fly zone over Iraq as part of Operation Southern Watch. A month into her deployment, her mission changed drastically.
None of her military training, she said, had equipped her for the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
"It was hard, seeing something like that happen to your country, your friends, your family, while you're in a foreign country," she said. "You feel helpless. Even though there wasn't anything anybody could do, there's still a feeling like you can't do anything to help. It's surreal."
The no-fly zone took second chair. Operation Southern Watch was set aside for Operation Enduring Freedom. Reed's job was to compile and deliver messages to her commander. She primarily dealt with threats pilots could face in the air.
"Basically, I would go through terrorism-related message traffic and report to the base commander in the war room about possible threats," she said.
Both of her parents had served in the Air Force, Reed said, so she was accustomed to the military lifestyle. In fact, she said, she wanted the travel opportunities the military would provide her. Since she left the service in 2003, she has traveled in India and Tibet as well as across the United States.
"Whenever you travel to a different place, it sets a specific chapter in your life," she said. "It makes that time in your life, the people you meet there, and the things that happen very memorable."
Her time in service is memorable, she said, because of the events that happened while she was in uniform, and because of the value she places on her service.
"Being a veteran means you've given up part of your life and the comforts of 'normal' life for your country, and for the people you serve with," Reed said. "You put your personal comforts aside for a few years. It says a lot about someone's character, that they can put their life in someone else's hands and work in a team setting with them."
("Veterans' Reflections" is a collection of stories of men and women who served their country in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and the present-day conflicts. They will be posted throughout November in honor of Veterans Day.)
 

Related Sites:
Veterans' Reflections Site

Face of Defense: Iraq-Deployed Tanker Receives Honor

By Army Sgt. Kimberly Johnson
1st Armored Division
BAGHDAD, Nov. 24, 2010 - Army Staff Sgt. Jason Motes is now among an elite brotherhood within the United States Armor Association -- The Order of St. George, symbolizing bravery, dedication and decency.

Army Col. John Ward, division operations officer, 1st Armored Division, United States Division – Center, inducts Staff Sgt. Jason Motes into the Order of St. George during a ceremony in Baghdad, Nov. 15, 2010. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kimberly Johnson (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Motes, the future operations noncommissioned officer-in-charge with Company A, Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Armored Division, United States Division –- Center, is one of very few staff sergeants who have been inducted into the order. "The Order of St. George, to me, is the tradition for [tank crewmen]," said Motes, a Delaware, Ohio, native. "It symbolizes one's long effort toward [excellence in] our branch. It's a big honor."
According to the U.S. Armor Association, the history of St. George dates back to about 280 A.D. St. George was a member of the Roman emperor's mounted guard and was imprisoned, tortured and executed for standing up against the emperor, refusing an order to destroy all Christian churches and sacred writings.
More than 1,000 years later, citizens of a small Italian village claim that St. George appeared and killed a dragon that was tormenting the town. It is that historic image of St. George that symbolizes the heroism and bravery of mounted warriors.
Over the years, soldiers of several nations have given accounts of St. George appearing on battlefields to aid in their victories. St. George is the only saint portrayed as fighting mounted, and in 1986 the U.S. Armor Association established the order to recognize the best tankers and cavalrymen in the Army.
"If anyone of the junior level of leadership deserves the Order of St. George, it is Staff Sgt. Motes," said Sgt. Maj. Dale Sump, the division master gunner with A Company, DSTB, and a Cherokee, Iowa, native. "Just because of the way he attacks a problem and how adaptable he is ... that's really what the Army needs right now."
Sump, who nominated Motes for the honor, said the Order of St. George medallion is a new medal for staff sergeants. He said there were previously just three levels of the medallion -- bronze, silver and gold -- given only to senior enlisted soldiers and officers.
During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Sump said, the Army established a new black medallion to recognize junior exceptional armor leaders.
Motes' family has a tradition of soldiering; his brother and father are both infantrymen. He said he wanted something different and chose the armor branch.
"It's a brotherhood," Motes said. "I am now a part of a very few people who have [been inducted into] the Order of St. George. Being knighted during the ceremony is a sign of respect for what I've done, what I could do, and what my leaders think I can do more of."

Veterans' Reflections: Military Provides Conduit to World

By Ian Graham
Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Nov. 24, 2010 - As a child, John McAllister saw the military as a ticket to a new world, beyond anything his rural Midwestern home could offer.

John McAllister, a veteran who served both in the National Guard and the U.S. Air Force, stands at the World War II Memorial in Washington. D.C., July 1, 2010. In an interview McAllister reflected on the dramatic impact military service has had on his life. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer Second Class William Selby (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

"I'm from a small town in northern Minnesota, and it was a way to learn an occupation, and also to get out there and see some things besides the small town we grew up in," he said. His two older brothers had set the example for him, both joining the Army National Guard and then going into active service. It was easy to follow in their footsteps, because McAllister also had a strong desire to serve his country.
"It all comes back to being grateful for what we have in this country, and being a representative of that when we're over there in these other countries," he said.
In 1988, two years after joining the Army Guard, McAllister enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and went to its firefighter academy. His service would take him far, far away from Minnesota, around the U.S. and eventually to Guam, where he was stationed when Operation Desert Storm commenced.
Though he was far from the war geographically, working at what he called a gas station for large-frame aircraft carrying people and equipment to the battlefield, he had close friends stateside who were departing for the war zone.
"The day the ground war started in the Persian Gulf War happened to be my 22nd birthday; it was February 24, 1991," McAllister said. "I remember waking up the morning they were pushing in -- up to that point it had just been aerial bombings going on -- and I knew that it was my friends going into harm's way."
"I was concerned about them, so I made a point after I left Guam to touch base with them, and to make sure they're all okay," he added. "I took a trip down from Minnesota to New Mexico, just to visit with them."
McAllister said he recalls his military service with fondness. Without it, he said, his life would be drastically different. He wouldn't have met his wife in Greece, and he wouldn't have developed the lifelong friendships only the services' camaraderie can foster.
"They're probably the best friendships you'll ever make, the ones you make in the military. The things you learn, the places you see, the people you get to know [are indispensible]," he said.
(Veterans' Reflections is a collection of stories of men and women who served their country in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Shield and Desert Storm and present-day conflicts. They will be posted throughout November in honor of Veteran's Day.)

Holiday Doesn’t Slow Smugglers: Border Patrol Seizes $5 Million in Marijuana

Edinburg, Texas ─ More than $5.3 million worth of marijuana was confiscated in multiple seizures by U.S. Border Patrol agents throughout the Rio Grande Valley Sector in a 48-hour time period spanning the Thanksgiving holiday.

	click for hi-res Agents stationed in Texas had a busy holiday yesterday, including this seizure of bundles of marijuana.

One of the largest seizures occurred Thursday at the Falfurrias Checkpoint, when a K-9 alerted to the odor of narcotics. A subsequent search revealed more than 1,100 pounds of marijuana hidden within a spool of fiber optic wire. The driver and marijuana were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

In a separate incident Wednesday, agents from the McAllen Station seized more than 700 pounds of marijuana near Madero, Texas. Agents patrolling the Rio Grande observed a group of people carrying large backpacks. As soon as the group spotted the agents, they dropped their cargo and fled to Mexico. The marijuana was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.

“Our agents work diligently day in and day out to protect the nation from these dangerous drugs,” said Acting Chief Patrol Agent Armando Mercado Jr. “While we Americans enjoy our Thanksgiving holiday with our families, it is important to remember the agents who safeguard our communities.”

To report suspicious activity, call the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector’s toll-free telephone number at (800) 863-9382.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.