Group Of Fort Benning Soldiers Return Today

The Army says about 90 soldiers from the 63rd Engineer Company are scheduled to return early today to Fort Benning from a 15-month deployment to Iraq. The 63rd is returning from its third round of duty in the middle East. The unit last deployed from November 2005 to November 2006. The 63rd is part of the 11th Engineer Battalion. It provides support to soldiers in defensive positions and constructs roads and airfields.

Soldiers To Return to Ft. Benning

The Army says about 90 soldiers from the 63rd Engineer Company are scheduled to return to Fort Benning from a 15-month deployment to Iraq early Monday. It was the company's third deployment to Iraq. The unit last deployed from November 2005 to November 2006. The 63rd is part of the 11th Engineer Battalion. It provides support to soldiers in defensive positions and constructs roads and airfields.

(Associated Press)

Infantry Museum Opens

The National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning is officially open. The ceremony and ribbon-cutting in west Georgia Friday morning was bolstered by some star power--retired four-star General and former Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke at the event.

The focal point of the $100-million project is the museum honoring the 234-year history of the U.S. Army Infantry. Also included at the complex is Patriot Park, with markers honoring the fallen.

The Infantry Museum has extended hours this opening weekend, from 9am to 8pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Museum Could Bring Jobs and Millions

A study projects that Columbus might get an annual $26.3 million economic boost with the opening of the new National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning. The Columbus State University study projects between 380,000 and 400,000 museum visitors a year, 95 percent of them from out of town. The study concludes that 520 jobs will be created through employment at the museum and other new businesses in the city that hire staff, and existing businesses that add employees to take advantage of the increase in tourism. The $91 million museum, which will be opened Friday with a visit by retired Gen. Colin Powell, is expected to benefit the south Columbus area, which for years has been a center for nightclubs and cheap motels.

(Associated Press)

Memorial Day Ceremonies Held Across State

Memorial Day observances and ceremonies were held across Georgia yesterday. At Fort Benning, hundreds gathered Monday at the main post cemetery to watch the placing of a wreath at the grave on an unknown soldier. Fort Benning’s commander Major General delivered a message reminding people of the deeper meaning of the day. On St. Simons Island, a tradition for almost two decades continued Monday-an observance called Taps at Twilight.

Military Kids Get Scholarship Boost

Children whose parents are in the military will have an easier time changing Georgia schools under a bill signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue. In a visit to Fort Benning on Thursday, Perdue also signed a separate bill that allows children of soldiers stationed in Georgia to qualify for Georgia's HOPE scholarship. The new law waives the one-year HOPE residency requirement for children of active-duty military personnel. The school transfer law is designed to make the transition easier for military children sometimes caught in conflicting mandates as they shuffle from school to school.

(Associated Press)

Army Issues Mom Honorable Discharge

A North Carolina mom who made national headlines this week by reporting for Army duty at Fort Benning with her two young children has received an honorable discharge.

Lisa Pagan brought her kids to the base because she said there was no one else to care for them.

Pagan was recalled to duty four years after being released from active duty under the “individual ready reserve” program. Her attorney says she’s back home and was discharged due to family hardship.

(Associated Press)

Recalled Army Mom Will be Discharged

A North Carolina mother who reported for Army duty at Fort Benning, Ga., with her two young children will be discharged from the military, her lawyer said.

Attorney Mark Waple said Monday it is not yet clear if Lisa Pagan will receive an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable conditions.

Pagan was recalled to the Army four years after being released from active duty, which is allowed under the military's "individual ready reserve" program. But she says she had no one
to care for her children.

After filing several unsuccessful appeals, Pagan reported for duty Monday at Fort Benning, Ga., with her children.

Waple said she was told a few hours later she would be discharged as soon as is possible.

(AP)

Army Mom Reports For Duty With Kids in Tow

Lisa Pagan (Photo: WBTV)

A North Carolina mother who reported for Army duty at Fort Benning, Ga., with her two young children because she said she has no one to care for them was scheduled to meet Monday with her commanders.

"Right now, we're just in a holding pattern," Lisa Pagan's attorney, Mark Waple said, adding that Pagan took her children with her to the meeting.

Pagan was recalled to the Army four years after being honorably discharged, which is allowed under the military's "individual ready reserve" program.

Soldiers can appeal, and some have won permission to remain in civilian life. Pagan filed several appeals, arguing that because her husband travels for business, no one else can take care of her kids. Her appeals were rejected.

Waple said he didn't know if Pagan's case would be resolved Monday, but said the meeting "will be the next step toward some kind of resolution."

Fort Benning spokesman Bob Purtiman said Pagan reported to the Army post's mobilization center that prepares individual soldiers to plug into Army units already overseas or those training to deploy. He did not know how long she was scheduled to stay at Fort Benning.

"She's just passing through on her way to be deployed," Purtiman said. "She's here and she's going to process in. The command's looking at a range of options available to have resolution of her situation."

Purtiman said he didn't yet know what range of options commanders were considering. He said Fort Benning has day care services available for Pagan's children while she's there.

"There will be some resolution over the next couple of days about some temporary arrangements to help care for the kids while this affair is ironed out," Waple said.

Pagan is among thousands of former service members recalled after leaving duty since the Sept. 11 attacks because they're on "individual ready reserve" status, meaning they have time left on their original enlistment contracts and can be recalled at any time.

Master Sgt. Keith O'Donnell, an Army spokesman in St. Louis, has said that of the 25,000 individual ready reserve troops recalled since September 2001, more than 7,500 have been granted deferments or exemptions.

About 1,000 have failed to report, and most of those cases are still under investigation, he said. Another 360 soldiers have been separated from the Army either through "other than honorable" discharges or general discharges.

O'Donnell said Pagan isn't likely to face charges, since none of the individual ready reserve soldiers who have failed to report faced a court-martial.

(AP)

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Ft. Benning: Soldier Mom, Kids Plan to Report for Duty

Lisa Pagan with her husband, Travis, and her children Elizabeth, 4, and Eric, 3, at their home in Davidson, N.C., on Friday. The mom has spent more than a year fighting her recall to active duty. (Chuck Burton/AP)

When Lisa Pagan reports for duty Sunday, four long years after she was honorably discharged from the Army, she will arrive with more than her old uniform. She is bringing her kids, too.

"I have to bring them with me," she said. "I don't have a choice."

Pagan is among thousands of former service members who have left active duty since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, only to later receive orders to return to service. They are not in training, they are not getting a Defense Department salary, but as long as they have time left on their original enlistment contracts, they are on "individual ready reserve" status — eligible to be recalled at any time.

Soldiers can appeal, and some have won permission to remain in civilian life. Pagan filed several appeals, arguing that because her husband travels for business, no one else can take care of her kids. All were rejected, leaving Pagan with what she says is a choice between deploying to Iraq and abandoning her family, or refusing her orders and potentially facing charges.

Then she hit on the idea of showing up Sunday at Fort Benning, Georgia, with her children in tow.

"I guess they'll have to contact the highest person at the base, and they'll have to decide from there what to do," Pagan said. "I either report and bring the children with me or don't report and face dishonorable discharge and possibly being arrested. I guess I'll just have to make my case while I'm there."

'Obligations and commitments'
Master Sgt. Keith O'Donnell, an Army spokesman in St. Louis, said the commander at Fort Benning will decide how to handle the situation.

"The Army tries to look at the whole picture and they definitely don't want to do anything that jeopardizes the family or jeopardizes the children," O'Donnell said. "At the same time, these are individuals who made obligations and commitments to the country."

Of the 25,000 individual ready reserve troops recalled since September 2001, more than 7,500 have been granted deferments or exemptions, O'Donnell said. About 1,000 have failed to report. O'Donnell said most of those cases are still under investigation, while 360 soldiers have been separated from the Army either through "other than honorable" discharges or general discharges.

He said Pagan is not likely to face charges, since none of the individual ready reserve soldiers who have failed to report faced a court-martial.

Pagan, who grew up near Camden, N.J., was working in a department store when she made her commitment in September 2002. She learned how to drive a truck, and met Travis while stationed in Hawaii. She had her first child while in uniform, and they left the service in 2005 when their enlistments were up.

She always knew there was a chance she could be recalled, so she buried the thought in the back of her mind.

"When I enlisted, they said almost nobody gets called back when you're in the IRR," she said.

The young family settled outside of Charlotte in the college town of Davidson, where Travis landed a job as a salesman. It required lots of travel, but that was OK — Pagan enjoyed her life as a stay-at-home mom to their son Eric and second child, a daughter named Elizabeth.

She opened a child-care center in her home, and started taking classes at nearby Fayetteville State.

Mom makes her plea
The orders to return to active duty arrived in December 2007. She told the Army there was no one to take care of her children: Her husband spent most of his time on the road, and they believe quitting his job is a sure path to bankruptcy and foreclosure. Her parents live in New Jersey and her husband's parents live in Texas. Neither are able to help out. The Army was not persuaded.

Pagan hired attorney Mark Waple, who filed another appeal, which included a letter from Travis Pagan's employer that said bluntly: "In order for Travis to remain an employee, he will be required to travel." In December 2008, her appeal was again rejected.

"It's the obligation of commanders to make certain that service members have a valid family care plan and that clearly has not happened in Lisa's case," Waple said.

Tom Tarantino, a policy associate with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a nonprofit group that helps veterans, said the Army has taken a hard line on many of these cases.

"Usually the only way that someone can get out of the deployment or get out of the military due to a family hardship is if they get into a situation where the kids will be put into foster care," Tarantino said.

"That's how serious it has to be, and I'm sure what the military is telling her — and I'm not saying that this is exactly the right answer — but the fact that it is inconvenient for her husband's job is not the military's problem. It's very harsh."

(AP)

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A Soldier's Next Best Friend Might Be... a Robot

Military officials at Fort Benning near Columbus in southwest Georgia are testing out a "pack-bot," to heft troopers' loads, allowing them greater mobility in the field.


Video courtesy Fort Benning PAO.

From the manufacturer, Boston Dynamics:

"BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog’s legs are articulated like an animal’s, and have compliant elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, measuring 1 meter long, 0.7 meters tall and 75 kg weight."

Columbus Woman Could Face 20 Yrs. Over Fort Benning Fire

A 30-year-old Columbus woman accused of setting fire to the Judge Advocate General’s office at nearby Fort Benning two weeks ago, has been indicted and linked to the arson by DNA evidence.

If convicted, Shawana Topekia Pierce, a former employee at the JAG office, could face five to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

Officials say Pierce is a suspect in a theft case, and that files about her were in the office, which was totally destroyed, according to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.

Fort Benning: Firefighter walking in front of the inferno which had been JAG headquarters on Feb. 6. (Photo: The Bayonet)

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Woman Accused in Fort Benning Fire Denied Bond

Firefighter walking in front of the inferno, which had been JAG headquarters at Fort Benning. (Photo: The Bayonet)

A woman accused of setting a fire that burned down the Judge Advocate General's office at Fort Benning has been denied bond.

U.S. Magistrate G. Mallon Faircloth issued the ruling on Friday against Shawana Topekia Pierce, a Fort Benning employee.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Flanagan said Pierce knew she was a suspect in a theft of government property case and that files about her were in the office at the time of the Feb. 6 fire.

The structure was totally destroyed in the blaze.

Defense attorney Mike Reynolds argued that while the accusations against Pierce are serious, they don't make her a flight risk.

Faircloth said he's concerned that Pierce had packed her car before she was arrested, making it appear she was ready to flee. He ordered her held until her next court appearance on Thursday.

Information from: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

(AP)

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74-Year-Old Ga. Army Combat Doc On 3rd Combat Tour

Dr. John Burson speaks during an interview at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., Wednesday, Feb 11, 2009. Burson, 74, a retired ear nose and throat specialist from Carrolton, Ga., was at Fort Benning finishing a week-long training course before being deployed for a 90-day rotation with the 101st Airborne Division. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Dr. John Burson balked when a skeptical Army staffer asked him to undergo a three-day physical exam to make sure he was fit to deploy as a field surgeon to Afghanistan.

"Look, I'm training to run a half-marathon," replied Burson, 74, a retired lieutenant colonel. "You come down and check to see if I can make it."

Burson won the debate and was declared fit for duty. The ear, nose and throat specialist from Carrolton wrapped up a weeklong training course this week at Fort Benning before his scheduled deployment Friday for a 90-day rotation with a unit of the 101st Airborne Division.

The first of two stints in Iraq proved unforgettable back in 2005, he said. Burson was among several doctors assigned to keep watch over an imprisoned Saddam Hussein.

The fallen dictator, who was three years younger than Burson, told him: "I'm glad they sent me one with gray hair this time."

"He likes to say, 'Where else can a 74-year-old go and have fun?'" said Barbara Burson, his wife of 53 years. "I don't know if I see it as fun, but he enjoys doing it. And anyone would feel good about being able to contribute."

In Afghanistan, Burson will oversee a medical staff treating about 1,000 soldiers. He'll likely spend much of his time working in a base clinic, but could be called to treat soldiers wounded during combat patrols. When he served in Iraq, it wasn't unusual for him to work through mortar rounds being fired at his base camp.

"There's an element of risk," Burson said. "But statistically it's probably not any more hazardous than driving to work."

Lt. Col. Twanda Young said about 400 soldiers, reservists and civilian contractors go through the Fort Benning training center she commands each week, preparing to join units already overseas. Burson isn't the only gray-haired volunteer she's seen — but she said his abilities make his age irrelevant.

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ATF Doubles Reward on Ft. Benning Blaze Info

Remains of the JAG office. Click on the image for more photos. (Photo: Lily Gordon, Ledger-Enquirer.com)

Federal and military authorities are probing a suspicious blaze that destroyed the Judge Advocate General’s office at Fort Benning, near Columbus in West Georgia.

Investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are looking for evidence in the charred remains of the 10,000 sq.-ft. building, which went up in flames on Friday.

The ATF announced Tuesday afternoon that they are adding an additional $5,000 to the $5,000 reward offered earlier by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) for information on the fire.

Special agent Scott Sweetlow of the BATF National Response Team says the're looking for what sparked the blaze:

“...we're trying to develop a full picture with the use of our accelerant-detection canines, and our chemists. We're collecting evidence, but as a general principle we don't make any sort of a determination until we've got all of the facts in hand.”

If investigators find traces of an accelerant, it may indicate arson.

Former staff judge advocate and former Columbus mayor Bob Poydasheff worked at the office in the 1960's and 70's. He was stunned by the loss:

"It's just absolutely devastating to see. ...an historic building destroyed for what purpose? ... it's just unfair; it's stupid, it's just unfair."

Fort Benning emergency service director Lt. Col. Kevin Clarke says 35 Columbus and Fort Benning firefighters battled the fire, which they got under control around 1 a.m. Saturday.

After viewing the site on Sunday, and speaking with officials, Poydasheff says he has little doubt as to the cause:

"I've been told that there were some propane tanks, and so the way it presented itself - the entire building - there's no doubt in my mind; it was arson."

Sweetow declined to confirm or deny whether propane tanks were found among the ruins of the building.

Sweetow says they expect to conclude their investigation by Friday.

Senior JAG attorney Col. Tracy Barnes believe they'll be able to recover most of their digitally-stored files on the office's network server, computers and e-mail.

"We're certainly aware, that as part of the justice system - the federal court system, there's some critical records that are there," Sweetow said.

Barnes says no evidence was kept in the structure, and that the fire will not affect pending cases.

Post officials have relocated basic legal services to another office for the interim.

The 10,000 sq.-ft. JAG office is the second oldest building on post, and provides legal services for infantry troops and their families at the 184,000-acre training base.

The structure houses a law library, archives, and the courtroom where Army Lt. William Calley was convicted in the murder of 22 Vietnamese citizens at My Lai in 1968. That case was later overturned.

Officials have requested that anyone with information regarding the incident contact CID at 706-545-8915 or e-mail CID at crimetips@conus.army.mil, or ATF's 24-hour, toll-free hotline at 1-888-ATF-FIRE (1-888-283-3473).

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Fire Destroys Army's JAG Legal Office at Ft. Benning

A fire destroyed a building that houses the Judge Advocate General's office at Fort Benning.

Fort Benning Fire Chief Arthur Simmons says a military police officer was treated for smoke inhalation in the Friday night blaze.

The JAG office, staffed by some 22 attorneys, handles legal matters for soldiers, including criminal investigations.

Benning emergency service director Lt. Col. Kevin Clarke says 35 Columbus and Fort Benning firefighters battled the fire, which they got under control around 1 a.m. Saturday.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

(AP)

Columbus Job Fair: Officials Optimistic, Despite Cuts

Applicants looking for work throng the hall of the Columbus Trade and Convention Center, on Thursday, Feb. 5, 1009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

More than 2,500 job-seekers attended a job fair held in Columbus Thursday. Employers from the area, as well as out-of-state and national firms were at the event, held at the city’s convention center.

Department of Labor officials say some 55 companies, from Aflac and local hospitals, to local and Atlanta MARTA police departments, to Georgia Power and employment agencies are taking job applications.


Miguel Flores (facing) of Fort Benning assists a job-seeker at the Columbus job fair, on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Fort Benning's Warrior Transition Battalion has a representative here as well, to aid troops in making the sometimes complex conversion from uniform to civvies.

There are also representatives from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in nearby Lumpkin, and the Florida Highway Patrol.

The large-scale fair is held several times a year, and Labor Department officials say while the turnout by employers is a little more than half last year's showing – they’re optimistic that employers and applicants will be introduced to each other.


Applicants submitting resumes to company online websites. (Photo: Dave Bender)

To that end, they’ve set up a bank of computers for applicants to go directly to the companies’ websites, and set up interviews there, as well.

Many of the job-seekers are either in, or soon after college, and some have recently completed military service.

Celeste Edge of Columbus is looking has a degree in Communications and wants a position in her field:

"It’s been ok; I’ve talked to a couple of people who seem a little promising, like the hospital and one of the staffing agencies who thinks they might be able to place me – but, you know – I’m just hoping for the best."

There were many resumes and handshakes, and many people filled in applications online.

Jim Huntzinger of the DOL is one of the fair’s organizers, and says they’re trying hard to lower jobless rates:

"We have 55 employers here, with, as i say, with the economic situation, is, I think, fantastic. And it’s 55 employers that have jobs."

Some came away frustrated from the experience, though.

Eric Harris of Columbus recently finished the Army and is studying criminal law at Troy University; he got a lot of what he calls “headnoes”:

"...that’s everybody shaking their heads, saying, ‘No; go online; we don’t have any applications, we’re not hiring…so it’s like, I’m very discouraged at this point so I’m just thinking about dropping school and going back in the military – and I’m, not the only one feeling like this. There’s a lot of others in there stressing the same thing about their feeling the same disappointment at this job fair – they need to do better."

About 3,000 people turned out for last year's job fair, and Department of Labor officials say they’ll hold a similar job fair in May.

Kia Motors' tier-one supplier, Sewon American, will accept applications for 400 to 600 production workers for a car parts factory that will open in a few months.

They'll be taking applications next week in Lagrange.

The Kia plant in West Point is about half an hour north of Columbus, and is set to open its doors in the late fall.

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Fort Benning Unit Due Back

Some 90 U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 24th Ordnance Company are scheduled to return to Fort Benning on Feb. 1.

The soldiers were deployed in the Baghdad vicinity since November 2007, according to the post Public Affairs Office.

Formerly the 608th Ordnance Company, the unit was reflagged as the 24th Ordnance Company in early 2007 prior to their current deployment.

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Ft. Benning Protesters Sentenced

Five protesters have been ordered to spend 60 days in prison on federal trespassing charges after a rally in Georgia last November to demand the closing of the former School of the Americas.

Demonstrators blame the school, which trained generations of military officials, for human rights abuses in Latin America. They have rallied at Fort Benning every November for years against the school, currently known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.

Eric LeCompte, with the group School of the Americas Watch, says an Episcopal priest from New York and a Roman Catholic nun from Ohio were among those sentenced Monday in federal court in Georgia. He says a sixth protester, age 68, was given six months of house arrest because of medical problems.

(AP)

Muscogee Co.: School Budget Cuts Will Put Us In 'Dire Need'

The Muscogee County School District is scrambling for funding as they await the arrival of several thousand students of military families over the next two years.

School district officials say they’re going to ask the state legislature to exempt them from close to five and a half million dollars in planned cuts for the 2010 budget.

The US Army is closing down its Armor School at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and moving 30,000 troops and their families to Fort Benning near Columbus.

James Walker is Vice-Chairman for the Muscogee County School District. He says that move - part of the Army's international Base Relocation and Closure Program - will swamp their classrooms with over 4,000 new students:

"...and when you have that many children, we need school buildings; we need property, we need land to build the school's on; so the bottom line is that we need money to do all of this stuff. If we're going to be cut funds because the state doesn't provide a lot of money for building, we'll just be in dire need of money to get these things done, in order to accommodate the children that are coming."

Walker says the state's already cut close to four million dollars from their '09 budget.

But, the district is not taking any chances. They’re also turning to the Department of Defense, and federal and state departments of education to close the shortfall.

Right now there are 33,000 students in the Muscogee County School District.

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