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Written by Chief Petty Officer Jeff Hall, 1st Coast Guard District public affairs.

Tampa, photographed in harbor, prior to World War I. All 131 persons aboard Tampa were lost with the ship, the largest loss of life on any U.S. combat vessel during WWI. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photo.

On a grey winter’s day along the coast of New Hampshire, recognition for sacrifice came to a local man nearly 100 years after he perished aboard Coast Guard Cutter Tampa during World War I.

Fred Wesley Wyman was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart medal for giving his life while serving as a water tender aboard Tampa while on escort duty in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Europe, Sept. 26, 1918.

In attendance at the ceremony hosted by the crew of Coast Guard Station Portsmouth Harbor, N.H., were Rear Adm. Daniel Neptun, commander of the 1st Coast Guard District, U.S. Senator Kelley Ayotte of New Hampshire, members of Wyman’s family and other guests from the area. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Jeff Hall.

As a winter storm passed the region, Rear Adm. Daniel Neptun presented Douglas Wyman Sr. the Purple Heart awarded to his great uncle.

“The Cutter sank with all hands,” Neptun said. “With the sinking of the Tampa, the Coast Guard experienced its greatest loss of the war. His sacrifice, and that of his shipmates, is memorialized on the Coast Guard World War Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery,” Neptun said.

On Nov. 11, 1999, Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater and Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. James M. Loy presented Purple Hearts to the family members of Tampa’s crew who could be present that day in Washington, D.C. However, the Wyman family was unaware their relative was aboard Tampa that fateful day. With the help of Ayotte’s staff and the Coast Guard, the award was able to be presented years later in Wyman’s home state of New Hampshire.

At the time of the tragedy, Commandant of the Coast Guard Ellsworth P. Bertholf wrote in a letter to the families of the Tampa crew:

“In the sinking of the Tampa the naval force suffered its greatest individual loss during the war. The officers and men of the Coast Guard are inured to danger and there is no room for doubt that those on the Tampa met their fate with heroic fortitude.”

“It is a matter of record that the officers and men who went down with the Tampa met their fate in the performance of their duty. No greater tribute could be paid to the memory of any man.”

Tampa entered naval service during WWI in 1917. The primary duty of Tampa’s crew was to provide escort to supplies and troops moving in and around Europe in support of the war effort.

While heading for port in Wales in 1918, Tampa was torpedoed by a German submarine. The explosive force sent great columns of water into the air and claimed the lives of all aboard.

Ayotte concluded the ceremony in Portsmouth with a message to the family of the recipient and words about the work the Coast Guard continues to do everyday in the State of New Hampshire and around the world.

“It was really an honor to recognize the sacrifice of Fred Wesley Wyman,” Ayotte said, “And the ultimate sacrifice he made for our country so we could all be standing here today.”

Douglas Wyman Sr. was also presented a flag in honor of this great uncle’s sacrifice. The flag was flown prior to the ceremony aboard the Portsmouth, Va.,-based cutter Tampa, the new cutter that holds the name of its famous predecessor.

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Fort Belvoir soldier’s name lives on at kennels

By: Tim Cherry/The Belvoir Eagle | Inside NoVA
FORT BELVOIR, Va –

She was a knitter, she was a student and she was a leader.
Sgt. Zainah “Caye” Creamer, a former military working dog handler for the Military District of Washington at Fort Belvoir’s 212th Military Police Detachment Kennels, was also a soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Creamer was killed in action when insurgents attacked her unit with an improvised explosive device during a route and building clearance mission, Jan. 12, 2011.
On the one year anniversary of her death, Fort Belvoir leadership memorialized her by naming the Fort Belvoir Kennels the “Sgt. Zainah “Caye” Creamer Military Working Dog Kennels.”

To commemorate her life and sacrifice, Soldiers from the 212^th MP Det., and her former military working dog, “Jofa,” unveiled a bronze plaque next to the facility’s front door with Creamer’s bio and a picture of her kneeling with her working dog.

Soldiers, civilians and the local community attended the ceremony to pay their respects to a soldier who impacted the lives of many.

“She definitely had the ability to light a room up no matter what the situation,” said Sgt. Sean Nugent, 212th MP Det. military working dog specialized search handler, who served in Afghanistan at the same time as Creamer.

Creamer enlisted in the Army as a military policeman in September 2004. She decided to become a working dog handler because of her love for canines and her experiences during a deployment with the 543rd and the 511th MP Companies in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

She was assigned to Fort Belvoir in 2009 and conducted more than fifteen missions in direct support of the President and Vice President of the United States. On Oct. 26, 2010, she deployed to Afghanistan with Jofa and the 2nd Battalion of the 502nd Infantry Regiment. Her mission was to search for weapon caches and explosive devices prior to her unit’s arrival to an area.

Lt. Col. Dwayne Bowyer, Headquarters Battalion commander, recalled Creamer being determined, focused and happy the day she departed with her unit. “Silently, we all knew that we were sending them into harm’s way but we never imagined that Sgt. Creamer would make the ultimate sacrifice doing what she loved,” Bowyer said.

Creamer was the first soldier from the Military District of Washington and the first female working dog handler killed in action during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Belvoir conducted a candlelight vigil and memorial ceremony immediately after her death. Those who knew her well said they were devastated by her loss.

People like Capt. Aurlbrio L. Fennell, 212th MP Det. commander, who said he had the privilege to spend several hours with Creamer during a mission prior to her deployment. He related that Creamer told him that she found her niche in the Army as a working dog handler, but she was also preparing for life after the military by attending school to become a massage therapist.

Fennell said he felt guilt, grief and disbelief at the time of her death; and he wasn’t alone. Jofa, who Creamer purchased extra treats and toys for during their partnership, suffered from handler separation anxiety after Creamer’s death.
“A dog gets traumatized just as much as a human. You can’t see their emotional scars through communication verbally, but dogs communicate. They get sad, they get depressed,” Fennell said. “I’m sure anytime he picks up her scent on something he has a flashback.”

Jofa has a new handler now, and Bowyer said the dog is doing great. Bowyer said he appreciated all the people who helped make the memorial possible.  He urged the attendees to honor Creamer and remember that the war for which she sacrificed her life is ongoing as Soldiers from Belvoir and across the globe continue to serve overseas. “I am confident that Sgt. Creamer is watching over them all with her beautiful smile, understanding the importance of their unique capabilities and knowing that they’re saving lives,” Bowyer said, As a testament to Creamer’s reputation, Fennell recounted how her mother, Carlyn Brown, took lead on the conversation when she learned of her daughter’s death.

Instead of her commander recounting Creamer’s character, Brown described the love Creamer had for her job and her fellow soldiers. Fennell said Creamer’s joyous and passionate personality brought comfort to her mother and himself even after death.

Watch video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr1acfjt7Ew

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The National Museum of Americans at War commends Stars For Stripes for their programs to entertain and encourage our troops overseas.  Below is information about the Stars For Stripes organization and their important mission.

About Stars for Stripes

Stars For Stripes is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing quality celebrity entertainment to internationally deployed U.S. military forces. Bringing together professionals from aviation, entertainment and the military; Stars For Stripes is improving the overseas tour experience for performers, sponsors, donors, and most importantly- for the dedicated men and women protecting our national interests. We support their commitment. We honor their service. We understand their sacrifice. WE WILL NEVER FORGET.

Stars For Stripes, working in conjunction with Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE), US Army Europe (USAREUR), Multi-National Corps Iraq (MNC-I) and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR), have spent the last 8 years  organizing more than 50 tours that entertain and encourage our troops around the world. Top name entertainers including Charlie Daniels, Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town, Craig Morgan, Dierks Bentley, Diamond Rio, Trick Pony,  the Bellamy Brothers, Bo Bice, Darryl Worley and many others have generously donated their time and talents in support of our military men and women deployed overseas.

Entertainers who participate in the tours experience military life first-hand as they live and eat where the troops live and eat, are transported in military vehicles, and perform for the most appreciative audiences they will ever entertain.  Following every performance, entertainers sign autographs for everyone, no matter how long the line or how many hours it takes for everyone to get an autograph and have their photo made with the celebrity.

Stars For Stripes celebrity tours improve the morale and general welfare of our U. S. Military personnel and promote patriotism and civic pride among the troops and the general public.
Our nation’s commitments are many and that load is shouldered by a proud and selfless few. We cannot repay their sacrifices or truly compensate them for their dedication. We can, however, honor them with a glimpse of life back home, with entertainment and with our mere presence, if only for a short while.

Support organizations for military veterans vastly outnumber those serving active duty troops. Stars For Stripes strives to reach out to the brave men and women on today’s front lines while also partnering and offering support to numerous veteran’s and wounded soldiers organizations.

For more information on Stars For Stripes, visit www.starsforstripes.com.

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Coast Guard icebreaker Healy and tanker Renda have completed their mission to Nome, Alaska, after the safe delivery of an estimated one million gallons of diesel and 300,000 gallons of gasoline to the iced-in city.

Healy remains offshore as tanker vessel Renda’s transfers fuel to Nome. U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric J. Chandler.

Two hoses were used to complete the transfer of the much needed fuel across more than 500 yards of ice. Fuel transfer operations began Monday and continued until all the fuel was safely delivered to an on shore fuel tank storage facility.

“I grew up in a small town in Iowa, about half the size of Nome, and I know that it takes the community spirit and community cooperation to get a big job done,” said Capt. Beverly Havlik, commanding officer of Healy. “And working with all the partners that were involved in this mission to bring fuel to Nome – from the Native community, to the state agencies, to the federal agencies and then just a lot of interested volunteers – we got a big job done.”

The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Healy must turn their focus towards freeing the Renda from the ice, where it was purposely frozen during the fuel transfer. Healy will then lead Renda back across more than 360 miles of sea ice to the open waters of the Bering Sea. Safe travels for Healy and Renda’s crews as they head home and congratulations on a job well done!

For more information contact Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley at 907-321-4510. www.uscg.mil

Saving Lives and Guarding the Coast Since 1790.
The United States Coast Guard — Proud History. Powerful Future.

If you missed Healy’s mission to Nome, check out Compass’ updates and rediscover their journey.

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By: Julia LeDoux | Inside NoVA
QUANTICO, Va –

Sgt. Major Laura L. Brown isn’t one to make much out of the fact that she’s the first female Base Sergeant Major in the history of Quantico Marine Corps base. But she is.

Brown will be the first to tell you that the accolades, awards and praise she’s received during her nearly 30-year career in the Corps aren’t the result of her efforts or hard work alone. Instead, she gives praise to the Marines she has served with over the years.

“When I came into recruit training, the reason I’m a sergeant major is, it was probably 1985 and I saw a ‘Marines’ magazine and I saw a man sitting behind a big old desk and he had a big old star on his chevrons,” she said. “I said, ‘I want to be that.’”

The San Antonio, Texas native was raised by her mother and is the middle daughter of three daughters. Brown knew there was no money for college, so as her high school graduation approached she began trying to figure out what her next step in life was going to be.

One of her male classmates told her that he had visited a recruiter. Her response: “What’s that?”

Two of Brown’s uncles had served in the Navy, but nobody in the family had served closer to her than that. After thinking it over, she decided to go visit the Air Force recruiter.

“But the office was closed that day, so I went to the Marine Corps recruiter next door. He took great care of me,” Brown said.

Brown enlisted in the Corps on July 9, 1984 and attended boot camp at Parris Island, S.C.  That was back when recruit training for women was eight weeks long as opposed to the 13 weeks it is today.

“Recruit training was lengthened to mirror that of our male counterparts,” she continued. “I didn’t shoot with an M16 when I first came into the Marine Corps. When I became a drill instructor I had to go through all those things.”

When Brown entered the Corps, women Marines had to run a mile and a half. Now, they run three miles like male Marines.

“I saw the changes where women just did 50 sit-ups as opposed to 100 crunches like our male counterparts,” she said, adding that those changes gave women “equality along the way. I’m grateful for those changes.”

Brown’s career has taken her from Cherry Point, N.C.  to Japan and to the sands of Iraq, where she was able to go into combat with a military police company as a First Sergeant. She was also able to serve aboard a ship, which the Corps began allowing women Marines to do in 1992.

Brown replaced Leon Thornton as Quantico’s base sergeant major after his retirement last year. “My role as the base sergeant major is always first and foremost going to be the senior enlisted leader, or the voice for the community, to make sure the base commander, when he makes a decision it is based on the community’s best interests,” she said. With a smile, Brown added that base commander Col. Dan Choike “knows that I’m always out and about talking to the Marines.”

Brown’s personal award include the Meritorious Service Medal (3rd Award); Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal with 3 gold stars in lieu of a 4th award; Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal; Good Conduct Medal with one Silver Star and two Bronze Stars; Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Ribbon and a Drill Instructor Ribbon (2nd Award).

She is also the recipient of the 2011 Major Megan McClung Leadership Award.

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By Jiri Hanzl, Lucasfilm, from USA Today

NICASIO, Calif. – George Lucas is many imposing things. Billionaire lord of a sci-fi empire. Passionate early-education philanthropist. Northern California land baron. But drill down to his core and Lucas is still the same fiercely independent kid from rural Modesto who grew up enamored of fast machines and great movies.

Those simple roots help explain what otherwise might seem like a puzzling cinematic move: why a 67-year-old white guy has spent $58 million of his own money to produce Red Tails, out  this weekend, an action-adventure film about World War II African-American aviators known as the Tuskegee Airman.

“For those of us in my group of filmmakers, like Steven (Spielberg) or Ron (Howard) or Marty (Scorsese), we want to make movies that enthralled us when we were little,” Lucas says as the sun ignites an expansive Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired office at Big Rock Ranch, part of his 6,000-acre retreat in San Francisco.

“For me, Red Tails is like Flying Leathernecks,” he says, the 1951 John Wayne charge through Guadalcanal. “It’s corny. It’s über-patriotic. And it’s a really exciting action-adventure movie. As for the racism in our story, it’s embedded in the material, so we just had to be careful not to overdo it.”

Tuskegee Airmen in Film

Conversations with Lucas, Red Tails director Anthony Hemingway and castmembers make one thing clear: Pride in this project is only peripherally connected to box-office success.

For Lucas, 23 years have passed since he first was told about the fabled Airmen and their battles with both German pilots and American racists that helped ignite the Civil Rights movement. “It was a project that I instantly was attracted to and was determined to get made,” he says.

Scripts came and went. Special effects improved. His personal fortune mushroomed enough to contemplate making a labor of love without an assist from a major studio. Finally, in 2009, principal photography began in the Czech Republic and Croatia (doubling for Germany and Italy), followed by more than a year of special-effects work (Lucas’ pioneering firm Industrial Light & Magic supervised while actual effects were rendered by smaller companies all over the world).

“I have only one agenda, and that’s for a lot of young people to see this movie,” says Lucas, who adds that corporations already have signed on to sponsor screenings at schools. “I think kids who see this, be they black or white, will walk out thinking (the Airmen) were cool.”

For Hemingway, whom Lucas plucked from the realm of television (HBO’s The Wire and Treme), and his largely black cast, making Red Tails was less about the chance to work on a well-financed feature film and more about honoring the movie’s legendary advisers whose numbers dwindled over the course of the project.

“I looked into the eyes of these amazing guys, and as a black man and an artist I knew I had to tell their story in a way that reflected the huge responsibility I have to my community,” says Hemingway, 36, who notes he was not aware of the Airmen as a kid.

“I’m glad we can change awareness with this movie. But ultimately, to me Red Tails isn’t just a black story, it’s an American success story.”

When Cuba Gooding Jr. heard that a major feature was planned on the flyboys who famously painted the tails of their P-51 Mustang  planes red — a story he already had tackled as a cast member in the 1995 HBO film The Tuskegee Airmen— he lobbied to be included.

A story that had to be told

“For my sons not to know about this part of history is unacceptable,” says the Oscar winner, who in Red Tails plays the squadron’s pipe-chewing leader. “When I heard George was making a go of it, I couldn’t sit back. Hollywood just isn’t green-lighting these kinds of tales, because they tend to be gambles financially.”

Fellow Red Tail actor David Oyelowo insists that “no one but George would make sure this movie got made. It’s crazy to call him an independent filmmaker, but that’s what he was on this. He bankrolled it and saw that a lot of young black artists could spread their wings.”

Lucas didn’t expect to pony up the film’s entire budget; he met with a half-dozen major studio heads to suggest a financial partnership, but none accepted.

“Everyone said: ‘You’re George Lucas walking in there. Won’t they just do anything for you?’ And the answer is no. They felt there was no evidence that this sort of film would draw a big audience. I said I disagreed. The most important thing to me is my freedom. I’ve been investing in my own movies since Empire (Strikes Back), so it was just time to do it again.”

A $58 million “black film,” as Lucas calls Red Tails, may not be as risky as studio executives think, considering the success of movies such as last summer’s The Help, which has grossed more than $200 million worldwide, says Josh Dickey, film editor at Variety.

“Race issues in a film today tend to be secondary to simply having a good story and telling it well,” he says. “Red Tails has a built-in level of appeal to anyone fascinated by World War II movies. And we’ve already seen that Lucas has a way with aerial battle scenes from Star Wars.”

Lucas is the first to admit that the one word that attracted him to this project wasn’t “racism” but “dogfight.”

“I love dogfights and I know how to do them,” he says. “I told Anthony, ‘You worry about the actors and the story on the ground, and I’ll worry about the one hour we’re in the air.’ ”

The good-vs.-evil, duels-in-the-skies aspect is what makes the movie especially timely, Lucas says. For many young people today, heroes — be they athletes, entertainers or presidents — aren’t defined by skin color.

“My girlfriend is black, and I’ve learned a lot about racism including the fact that it hasn’t gone away, especially in American business,” Lucas says. “But on a social level there’s less prejudice than there was. So I figured, let’s put another hero up there.” He notes that the Airmen were largely college-educated and after the war many went on to become captains

“These guys are part of American history, not a side note.”

Segregation ‘a way of life’

For Roscoe Brown, 89, watching Red Tails meant rewinding to a time that was painful but triumphant. One of the film’s dramatic moments features an Airman shooting down a newfangled Nazi jet, something Brown did over Berlin on March 24, 1945.

“This movie tells it like it was, from the epic air battles to the evils of segregation, which frankly in those days was just a way of life, like the milkman bringing milk to your door,” says Brown, who went on to a career in sports medicine. Other illustrious Airmen included civil rights activist Percy Sutton and former Detroit mayor Coleman Young.

“We Airmen knew that if we showed our stripes, we could help change perceptions,” says Brown, who is looking forward to a screening of Red Tails at the White House. “We are now in exciting times, where someone like President Obama shows everyone that talent comes in many sizes and shapes.”

With today’s economy putting particular pressure on minorities, Red Tails could “prove to be a story of triumph that lifts us all in tough times,” says Hilary Shelton, senior vice president of advocacy and policy for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“What was both an ugly era for our people and for America also produced this amazing tale of triumph over racism,” he says. “That a noted filmmaker like George would take on this story is a real source of pride.”

Lucas brushes off suggestions that the film will make him a hero in the African-American community. “I’ve had people say ‘Thank you for making this movie,’ but my reasons have to do with the kids,” he says.

The only praise he accepts is from the Airmen themselves.

“Their approval is the biggest relief of all. In the end, I was trying to get it right, but I was also trying to get it done,” he says with a laugh. “We had them up to the ranch two or three times a year for decades. I wanted to finish it for those guys.”

But as much as Lucas wanted to make Red Tails for a dwindling group of aging African-American heroes, he also made it for a young George Walton Lucas, who when he wasn’t lusting after hot rods liked nothing more than to disappear out of the Central Valley heat and into a cool movie theater where he would be transported to the flak-filled skies over France or Midway.

“When you think about it, other than Saving Private Ryan, there haven’t been many movies like Back to Bataan and Battle of Britain, plain old propaganda movies where there were good guys and bad guys. So that appealed to me about Red Tails,” he says, smiling. “It’s all left over from me being 10 years old.”

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May 8, 1945 issue of The Stars and Stripes Paris Edition mailed home by Joe Jr.

VE Day
Note: This is one of many letters from the site, www.aboutjonesfamily.com.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on Dec 7, 1941, the United States entered WWII. When the war began, Joe was a 19-year-old working for RCA. As a 20-year-old, he married the love of his life, Anne. Their first daughter, Helen, was born ten months later. Because he was an employee of a wartime industry, Joe was entitled to an exemption from the draft. However, he saw all his friends being drafted and didn’t feel it would be fair for him to stay home while others had to serve. In May 1944 Joe entered the Army and began a path that would lead him into the thick of battle.

About the Letters
Joe wrote a letter to his wife every chance he got. Anne has kept the hundreds of letters she received during the war. Joe’s handwriting was clear and precise and Anne stored the letters in a special box. Despite some yellowing from age, the letters are in fine condition and were easy to transcribe. Censorship prevented soldiers from writing anything specific about the war. Every GI knew that each letter would be thoroughly examined before being forwarded on to the States. Joe Jr. was extremely careful never to divulge anything even remotely sensitive in his letters. This, and the fact that he rarely spoke about the war after returning home, made it difficult to piece together exactly what went on during his time in battle.
We do know, however, that Joe: - was an infantryman in Patton’s Red Diamond (5th) Division,fought in the Battle of the Bulge,- served as a lead scout while in the 3rd Army,- secured a Nazi flag and a German officer’s Belgique pistol, killed an advancing enemy, captured several German prisoners, and  was wounded while crossing a river.
Joe’s mother, Helen, wrote this letter. It talks about Victory in Europe Day.

May 8, 1945
Dear Joseph,
While there was premature spontaneous celebration yesterday, today was officially declared VE day by President Truman at 9 o’clock this A.M. He delivered an 800-word speech, which took exactly 7 minutes. He was followed immediately by Prime Minister Churchill and ended with the National Anthem. Just as Truman started speaking we could hear the boat whistles, no sirens though.

All day long there have been VE special programs coming from Washington, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Philippines, Guam, England, and Paris. Each time Paris has been on I wonder if you had anything to do with the hookups. (Note: After being wounded Joe was reassigned to the Signal Corp near Paris.) There is also a special VE television program tonight at 8 o’clock. Naturally, we would love to see how you and all the boys took the news of victory.

Anne called us up at 8:30 this morning to tell us about her letter from you dated April 28th. I was glad to hear you will eventually get into radio. I am writing this on VE day but am not going to mail it until we receive your new address. And when we do get that address, I hope to mail you a package. I was wondering today if it might be an idea to send you a camera and film. Then maybe someday before you come home, you would get a chance to go to Uncle Marcy’s grave (note: Marcy was Joe Sr.’s younger brother who was KIA in the war) and take a picture of it. I sent you all the details as to place and grave in a previous letter but will send them again when you get settled. Of course, with all the programs being dedicated to those who have sacrificed their lives, we have thought of him a good deal. I know Granny Jones and Doodie, and Grandpa too, will feel it even more today. I believe he must (Grandpa) know the truth because the insurance checks have been coming in regularly. He doesn’t say a thing though.

I have just returned from the store and it has been the first time my butcher has had a sign on the door “no meat.” Tonight the Statue of Liberty will be flooded with all her new lights for the first time, as well as the Dome on the National Capitol. The brownout has been lifted, so Pop can now light up his store again.

I wrote you a special V mail yesterday to tell you Mrs. Hurley received her first letter from her son since he was reported missing Jan. 20th (94th Division). He was a prisoner the last three months and hopes to be home soon.

This will be all for now. I’ll add to it again when I have more news.
Mother and Dad

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By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN,  New York Times

VALLEY CENTER, Calif. — On an organic farm here in avocado country, a group of young Marines, veterans and Armyreservists listened intently to an old hand from the front lines.

Slide Show

From the Frontlines to the Farm

“Think of it in military terms,” he told the young recruits, some just back from Iraq or Afghanistan. “It’s a matter of survival, an uphill battle. You have to think everything is against you and hope to stay alive.”

The battle in question was not the typical ground assault, but organic farming — how to identify beneficial insects, for instance, or to prevent stray frogs from clogging an irrigation system. It was Day 2 of a novel boot camp for veterans and active-duty military personnel, including Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton, who might be interested in new careers as farmers.

“In the military, grunts are the guys who get dirty, do the work and are generally underappreciated,” said Colin Archipley, a decorated Marine Corps infantry sergeant turned organic farmer, who developed the program with his wife, Karen, after his three tours in Iraq. “I think farmers are the same.”

At their farm, called Archi’s Acres, the sound of crickets and croaking frogs communes with the drone of choppers. The syllabus, approved by Camp Pendleton’s transition assistance program, includes hands-on planting and irrigating, lectures about “high-value niche markets” and production of a business plan that is assessed by food professionals and business professors.

Along with Combat Boots to Cowboy Boots, a new program for veterans at the University of Nebraska’s College of Technical Agriculture, and farming fellowships for wounded soldiers, the six-week course offered here is part of a nascent “veteran-centric” farming movement. Its goal is to bring the energy of young soldiers re-entering civilian life to the aging farm population of rural America. Half of all farmers are likely to retire in the next decade, according to the Agriculture Department.

“The military is not for the faint of heart, and farming isn’t either,” said Michael O’Gorman, an organic farmer who founded the nonprofit Farmer-Veteran Coalition, which supports sustainable-agriculture training. “There are eight times as many farmers over age 65 as under. There is a tremendous need for young farmers, and a big wave of young people inspired to go into the service who are coming home.”

About 45 percent of the military comes from rural communities, compared with one-sixth of the total population, according to the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire. In 2009, the Agriculture Department began offering low-interest loans in its campaign to add 100,000 farmers to the nation’s ranks each year.

Among them will probably be Sgt. Matt Holzmann, 33, a Marine at Camp Pendleton who spent seven months in Afghanistan. He did counterinsurgency work and tried to introduce aquaponics, a self-replenishing agricultural system, to rural villages.

His zeal for aquaponics led him to the farming class. “It’s a national security issue,” he said the other day outside a garage-turned-classroom filled with boxes of Dr. Earth Kelp Meal. “The more responsibly we use water and energy, the greater it is for our country.”

Mr. O’Gorman, a pacifist and a pioneer of the baby-lettuce business, started the coalition after his son joined the Coast Guard. The group recently received a grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation, co-founded by the ABC News journalist who was wounded in Iraq, to provide farming fellowships for wounded young veterans.

“Beginning farming has become the cause du jour among young people with college degrees and trust funds,” Mr. O’Gorman said at the farm, where there were stacks of Mother Earth News magazines in the bathroom and a batch of fresh kale in the sink. “My gut sense is a lot of them won’t be farming five years from now. But these vets will.”

Mr. Archipley’s own journey into organic farming was somewhat serendipitous. He joined the Marines in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and married between his second and third tours in Iraq. The couple bought three acres of avocado orchards north of San Diego.

Mr. Archipley, whose looks bring to mind a surfer dude, found pleasure tending his grove after leaving the Marines and eventually secured a loan from the Agriculture Department to build a greenhouse. His farm now sells organic produce to Whole Foods Markets in San Diego and Los Angeles.

In 2007, the couple started training veterans informally, financing the effort themselves. The new course, administered through MiraCosta College, costs $4,500, with Camp Pendleton offering assistance for active-duty Marines. Farming offers veterans a chance to decompress, Mr. Archipley said, but, more important, provides a sense of purpose. “It allows them to be physically active, be part of a unit,” he said. “It gives them a mission statement — a responsibility to the consumer eating their food.”

Even in this idyllic setting, it can be a challenging process. Mike Hanes, now 34, enlisted in the Marines at 18. In 1994, six days into his basic training in South Carolina, his drill instructor committed suicide with an M-16 rifle in front of 59 recruits.

“He blew his head off,” Mr. Hanes said. “That was right from the get-go, at age 18.”

In Baghdad, Mr. Hanes served as a .50-caliber machine gunner atop a Humvee. “I was the one they were trying to kill,” he said. He returned home with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and a traumatic brain injury. He was homeless for over a year, managing nevertheless to get a degree in environmental social services.

“Being outside was my comfort zone — still is,” he said. Two years ago, he stumbled upon the Archipleys’ “Veterans for Sustainable Agriculture” booth at an Earth Day festival in Balboa Park in San Diego. Mr. Hanes still struggles but is gaining ground. “One thing I’ve noticed about agriculture is that you become a creator rather than a destroyer,” he said amid ornamental eucalyptus shrubs.

John Maki, Camp Pendleton’s transition assistance program specialist, said the life experiences of young veterans equip them for demanding work. “For a comparable age, you won’t find people who have had as much responsibility,” he said. “They’ve been tasked with making life-and-death decisions.”

Weldon Sleight, dean of the University of Nebraska’s College of Technical Agriculture, which has six enrolled veterans, said discipline — a mainstay of the armed forces — was critically important in agriculture. “A lot of these rural vets have this wonderful knowledge base about agriculture,” he added. “But we’ve told them for years there’s no future in it.”

In Central Florida, Adam Burke, who left farming to join the military, came full circle, designing a wheelchair-accessible farm in which his signature “red, white and blueberries” grow in containers on elevated beds.

Mr. Burke, a Purple Heart recipient who suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, recently opened a second farm. “Squeezing a ball in physical therapy gets monotonous,” he said. “And you don’t get the mist from the sprinklers or a cool breeze in a psychologist’s office.”

Matthew McCue, 29, formerly Sergeant McCue, runs Shooting Star CSA outside San Francisco with his partner, Lily Schneider, delivering boxes of organic produce directly to consumers.He recalled how orchard farmers in Iraq pridefully shared their pomegranates, tomatoes and melons. “You learn how to face death,” he said of his service in Iraq. But in farming, he learned, “There was life all around.”

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AMP DENALI, Alaska (Jan. 9, 2012) — Alaska National Guard members arrived in Cordova Sunday afternoon to help the citizens in this small Alaska town dig out from a series of winter storms.

Termed “Operation Deep Dig,” 57 Alaska National Guardsmen arrived on the state’s ferry system with shovels in hand ready to assist but keeping safety the number-one priority, according to Alaska Army National Guard Capt. Chad Ausel, commander, 761st Military Police Company.

“As soon as we got here, we identified a priority list for safety and familiarization training with Cordova. We asked for a subject-matter expert on how they’ve cleared snow here safely and then completed training on harnesses, ropes and knots to make sure the Guardsmen are trained to do the mission safely,” Ausel said.

With training complete, Ausel is now focused on getting his Soldiers out in the community to assist wherever they’re needed.

“We have everything staged, equipment ready and the Soldiers are ready to go,” Ausel said. “The city officials identified three locations this morning, and we’re going to stay in squads to clear those areas.”

With more snow and rain on the way, the Alaska National Guard has arrived at a crucial time to assist before things potentially get worse.

“We are concerned about heavy and wet snow on roofs,” said Allen Marquette, public information officer with the city of Cordova. “Some structures have already collapsed. We are trying to get those prioritized and shoveled off and assist residents in anticipation of the new snow and rain that’s coming.”

Mayor Jim Kallander of Cordova also commented on the response to his community and how pleased he is with the assistance the City of Cordova has received from the state.

“I can’t say how impressed I am with the homeland security response, the governor’s office response and now the National Guard is stepping up to the plate,” Kallander said. “It’s exactly what we needed.”

As the first military responder in all domestic emergencies, the Guard is focused on doing everything it can to help the community, and according to Ausel, Guardsmen will stay as long as they’re needed.

“We hope to leave Cordova in a better situation,” Ausel said. “If that means staying here until the next snow storm goes through, then we will. I’m very proud of my Soldiers and the job they’ve done so far. They are working with a sense of urgency and are very proud to serve the community down here. This is why they signed up to serve in the National Guard.”

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FORT BLISS, Texas (Jan. 13, 2012) — The Blue Angels, the Thunderbirds and the Golden Knights perform across the United States in recruiting efforts for the Navy, Air Force and Army, respectively. But only one such demonstration team relies solely on their noncommissioned officers, or NCOs, to demonstrate professionalism, compete internationally and jump out of airplanes with VIPs strapped to them.

While the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds highlight their officer corps by placing officers in key positions — mostly pilots — the demonstrators of the Golden Knights are all enlisted. “This organization is comprised primarily of enlisted personnel,” said Sgt. 1st Class Joe Jones, team leader of the Golden Knights’ tandem section. “And we travel independently of the team. A sergeant first class takes his team on the road and will perform these parachute demonstrations or tandem jumps away from Fort Bragg (N.C.).”

“For a battalion commander to release those guys to go do airborne operations only under the supervision of the NCO says a lot about the leadership and the trust in the NCOs in this unit,” Jones said. “Jumping out of a plane is an inherently dangerous job, but through the emergency procedures and training done under the supervision of the NCOs, the officers in the unit have the full trust and confidence in their NCOs to go out across the country and perform demonstrations.”

Performing demonstrations is important, Jones said, but it’s only a small fraction of what the Golden Knights do. Their primary mission is to act as a recruiting and retention tool, to engage with the American public and to tell their Army story to people who don’t normally interact with service members. To do that, these professionals live and breathe the Army Values as they represent the whole Army to an American public who might have little daily interaction with any branch of military service.

“Jumping out of the plane is only 10 percent of what we do. That’s how we get to work,” Jones said. “Once we hit the ground, we do the rest of our work. We engage with these people. We share our experiences and our Army story, and share all of the opportunities the Army has to offer — educational benefits, leadership opportunities.”

THE AIRBORNE ROOTS OF THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS

The Golden Knights began as the Strategic Army Command Parachute Team in 1959. At the time, the Soviets dominated the international competitions in sky diving, and the Army developed a team that could compete with them. In 1961, the Strategic Army Command Parachute Team became the U.S. Army Parachute Team. And in 1962, the Golden Knights earned their nickname: “gold” for the medals they won, and “knights” because they had “conquered the skies.”

In the 53 years the Golden Knights have served the Army, they have appeared in more than 16,000 shows in 48 countries and all 50 states. These professional Soldiers play one of three roles when assigned to the Golden Knights — as a demonstrator, a tandem jumper or competitor.  Regardless, these professionals are often given responsibilities above their rank. For example, before the whole team arrives, a junior NCO will make arrangements for the rest of the team — from deciding where they’ll stay to coordinating media engagements.

“A lot of times, an advance representative will get on the ground two days before the rest of the team and find out about media, where to park the aircraft, our hotels, lodging and rental cars,” said Staff Sgt. Thomas Melton, a parachute demonstrator. “Oftentimes on a team, we’re working a couple pay grades above the pay grade that we have.”

Melton has been with the unit for more than a year. Before coming to the team, he was a parachute maintenance technician with the 82nd Airborne Division. In both roles, he’s seen NCOs act as professionals, but with the Golden Knights he’s seen that level of professionalism rise in proportion to the amount of responsibility charged with each individual Soldier.

“It’s the only place in the Army that I’ve seen where they rely solely on NCOs,” said Sgt. Richard Sloan, a demonstrator with the Golden Knights’ Gold Team. “There is a chain of command like any other unit. On the airborne operations, there’s at least a field grade officer, but here you don’t see that. What you’ll see here is basically sergeants first class and below running the entire operation.”

JUMPING WITH VIPS

Some of the NCOs in the Golden Knights jump tandem with local government, business and military leaders. This role requires NCOs to be the professional face of the Army as they represent the entire service to the VIPs who place their lives in the jumpers’ hands.  When the team arrives to a tandem jump, they often link up with the local recruiting office, which gives them a list of VIPs who are interested in parachuting in tandem with the Golden Knights. Some of the VIPs who have jumped with the Golden Knights are Bill Murray, President George H.W. Bush and members of Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

“I’ve been everywhere from rolling in the mud in a Ranger regiment to having Bill Murray strapped to my chest,” Jones said. Through the experience, the Golden Knights want jumpers to feel more comfortable with the Army and its mission, Jones said. In addition, they act as ambassadors for NCOs across the Army.  “I want them to leave at the end of the day feeling that they just put their lives in the hands of a Soldier,” Jones said. “They allowed me to throw them out of an airplane and to bring them down safely. We put our lives in the hands of Soldiers every day, we just don’t think about it. When I take someone up for a tandem jump, I basically earn their trust and confidence. They’re putting their lives in the hands of a Soldier.”

Sloan said the recruiting efforts of the tandem jump help the Army open doors previously closed to Recruiting Command’s efforts. “They take high-profile personnel to give them the opportunity to see what it’s like to be in airborne operations,” Sloan said. “They’ll be strapped to you. They’ll exit the aircraft at 12,500 feet off the ground, a 120 mile-an-hour [wind will be] in your face, and you’ll feel what it’s like to be a Golden Knight for a day.”

DEMONSTRATING AND COMPETING WITH THE KNIGHTS

Two teams of demonstrators — the Black Team and the Gold Team — travel across the United States appearing at football games, air shows and recruiting events. Members of the Golden Knights also compete in national and international parachute competitions. In both roles, NCOs represent the high professional standards of the Army.

“The noncommissioned officers in the Golden Knights are the demonstrators. They are the competitors,” said Sgt. 1st Class Greg Windmiller, a competitor in the U.S. Army Parachute Team. “[NCOs] actually make up the meat and potatoes of the team.” While the two demonstration teams perform in towns across the United States, the Golden Knights’ competitors perform on the national and international stage in parachute competitions. The competitors serve on separate teams from the demonstrators, and usually have served on the Golden Knights longer than the temporary three-year assignment.

Windmiller has competed for the Army for 11 years and has won several national and international competitions.By highlighting the Army and its capabilities at the national and international level, Windmiller demonstrates the professionalism of its NCO Corps by earning medals that demonstrate the Army’s competence.

“My primary job is to be an ambassador for the U.S. Army and to tell the American public what it’s all about,” Windmiller said. “In a nutshell, I’m a recruiter. But I also get the privilege and the fun of competing in competitions. “Windmiller competes in canopy piloting, the ability to manipulate a parachute for power and speed. He competes in three separate events: speed, distance and accuracy.

“Having a noncommissioned officer, and even a junior noncommissioned officer, with that trust, that experience and that capability is a really unique thing in the military,” Windmiller said. “We require our noncommissioned officers to be extremely professional and to conduct themselves in a manner that’s appropriate for the Army as well as the team.”

REPRESENTING THE ARMY

Sgt. Maj. Stephen Young, sergeant major of the Golden Knights, said he takes the responsibility of representing the Army seriously. When Golden Knights parachute in to places around the United States, many citizens don’t see Soldiers on a regular basis. To them, the Golden Knights are the Army.

“We represent 1.2 million Soldiers — active, National Guard and Reserve,” Young said. “We’re representing each of those Soldiers individually because we have a variety of MOSs (military occupational specialties) here. We have an Army story. We can tell that Army story, and we can connect with those people.”

Sgt. Austin Bowman, a crew chief on a C-31A Troopship, one of the Golden Knights’ aircraft, has served with the team for almost two years. “We have a very senior NCO, who has been an NCO before I even came into the Army,” Bowman said. “And then there are NCOs who were just promoted before they came here. There are different levels of experience. Our focus as NCOs on this team is to mentor one another.”

Sgt. Shawn Holland, another crew chief, said the majority of his job is preventative maintenance of the aircraft, acting as the load master and coordinating jump operations. Before being assigned to the Golden Knights, Holland served with the 82nd Airborne Division for five years, deploying twice. “We’re all considered leaders,” Holland said. “The ability to take our own initiative is always in play, and the ability to organize a chaotic situation is a must.”

The NCOs on the U.S. Army Parachute Team lead by example, and they set the example for more than the Soldiers in their unit, Young said. “They are leaders, mentoring not only the Soldiers who are here — each other and their peers but they’re mentoring Soldiers we come in contact with at air shows or at military bases,” Young said. “They’re maintaining the standards of discipline and the Warrior Ethos. It may not be downrange, [and] we may not be in Afghanistan or Iraq, but we’re still following and trying to set that example for the Soldiers out there and for the American public.”

THE MORE JUMPS YOU HAVE …

Sgt. 1st Class Dustin Perregrin, a 19D cavalry scout who serves as a demonstrator with the Golden Knights, said though the team adheres to military rank structure, there are times when experience matters more. “I’m an E-7, and I work for an E-6,” Perregrin said. “It’s more based on your experience with the team and how long you’ve been here. Just because I’m an E-7 doesn’t mean I know how to sky dive better than a guy who’s been here four or five years who might be a rank lower than me. Everybody here is really determined and motivated, and that’s why they’re here — because everyone is a team player.”

Being a team player is important to the esprit de corps of the Golden Knights; the camaraderie is why most of the Knights continue to serve in this capacity, Perregrin said.

“It’s a nominative assignment. Everyone on the team has been deployed, worked in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Perregrin said. “We’re not here because we wanted to be here, but because they chose us to be here. Most of the guys do three or four years here, but then they go back down to the line.”

WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY

Sgt. 1st Class Felix Gomez, an aviation NCO for the Golden Knights, coordinates the maintenance and crew chief jobs and works as a liaison for the civilian contractors. He’s been with the team for more than three years.

“We have to show the community, wherever we participate in, the image of the Army, show what the Army is all about,” Gomez said. “We have some key things that have to be in the spotlight — professionalism, dedication, commitment to the nation and to the Army.”  The Golden Knights have different challenges than other NCOs, Gomez said.

“There are a lot of responsibilities in a different way,” he said. “You’re not dealing directly with other Soldiers. You’re dealing more with the public. It’s representing a big number of Soldiers before the community.”

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