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Conway says overall health of Marines is good

June 17, 2009 By

West-Central Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has complained about the strain two wars have placed on America’s military. The Missourinet had a chance to ask the top Marine about Skelton’s concern during the Current Strategy Forum sponsored by the Naval War College  in Newport, Rhode Island.

General James T. Conway , Commandant of the Marine Corps, has a Missouri connection. The native of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. Conway says he understands the Congressman’s concerns. He says the Corps uses about a dozen measurements to gauge the overall health of its force.

"And, frankly, we’re pretty pleased with what we see right now with that resiliency," Conway tells the Missourinet’s Brent Martin attending the CSF, "based on the fact we’ve been at war arguably for seven or eight years."

The measurements include such things as desertion and unauthorized absences, domestic abuse of different kinds, and drunken driving among others. Two measurements concern Conway. Both the number of suicides and divorces are on the rise among Marines, especially upon return from deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.

"And so we’re concerned about the trajectory on a couple of those trends," Conway says. "But, other than those, they are as good now or better than they were in 2001 before this all started. So, we’re definitely concerned about it and we are monitoring it to see if there is action that should be taken."

Conway says Marine Corps policy has helped. A Marine is deployed for only seven months at a time, rather than the 12 or more months an Army soldier can be deployed. Also, Marines serve a three or four year tour of duty before being assigned away from the battlefield, sometimes for as long as a full school year so Marines can have long stretches of time with their family.

Credit also goes to the public, according to Conway, who says Marines no longer remark that while the Marines are at war, Americans are at the mall. Conway says Marines have noticed strong support of their mission among the public, something that contributes to the overall mental health of the Corps. He adds that Congress has shown its support through increased pay and benefits.

Congress has authorized a Marine Corps totaling 202,000 troops. Conway says that is adequate to handle its assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as others around the world. Currently 25,000 Marines are deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The overall health of the Marines was a topic Conway addressed when he spoke to the Current Strategy Forum. Conway, who toured Iraq about a month ago, also told attendees that the Marines’ time in Iraq is coming to a close. Conway predicted the Marines would leave Iraq in the spring of Fiscal Year 2010.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)
Download/listen Brent Martin interviews Marine Commandant James Conway (5 min MP3)
Download/listen Marine Corps Commandant James Conway addresses CSF (45 min. MP3)

Filed Under: Military Tagged With:

McCaskill says colleague’s potty remarks are "gotcha politics"

June 17, 2009 By

A United States Senator from Oklahoma says four Missouri projects are among his 100 most wasteful federal stimulus projects in the country. Our senators are split on the smallest of the projects—the one getting the most attention thanks to Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn who is getting a lot of ink for putting a 463-thousand dollar restroom replacement program in the Mark Twain National Forest on his bad-100 list. Senator Bond says the toilet project is an "outrage.," Senator McCaskill says Coburn’s criticism of the program is a "gotcha political thing."

She says the replacement of 25 to 40 year old wooden privies had been approved before the stimulus bill was passed…and the project was competitively bid. She says the new facilities will be stand-alone concrete structures with separate facilities for men and women and will be handicapped accessible. "If you’ve been in the Mark Twain Forest and you need to go to the bathroom , I don’t know that it’s so silly," she says.

In all, the stimulus bill will pay for 2.7-million dollars worth of maintenance and improvements in Missouri’s largest forest. McCaskill admits she was suspicious of funding the project at first, but changed her mind about it after learning the facts.

 

Upload portion of McCaskill teleconference (8:30 mp3)

Filed Under: Human Interest

Bond urges Obama to reach out to opposition forces in Iran

June 17, 2009 By

Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-MO) would like to see President Barack Obama say and do more in the wake of the disputed election in Iran. In a radio conference call with reporters, Bond expressed disappointment in the international community’s response to the developments.

"The regime’s violent backlash against its own citizens was brutal," said Bond. "But it really appears that there was fraud, the bloody retaliation against the demonstrators isn’t surprising. The international community continues to do nothing more than slap them on the wrist."

Bond wants to see President Obama reach out to the people of Iran.

"The President ought to reach out to (opposition leader) Mousavi , the defeated candidate, just to establish relations with him," said Bond. "He ought to reach out to the Iranian people, telling them that the Americans are interested in their needs and want to hear from them."

Concerns have been expressed that the U.S. could be inviting trouble by reaching out to Iranian opposition leaders or dissidents, but Bond says that should not be an issue.

"Frankly, (Iranian President) Ahmenidijad is not going to be any more hostile," said Bond. "He couldn’t be any more hostile than he already is – if we reach out to the Iranian people."

In Bond’s view, President Obama has, "Whiffed on this one."

Download/Listen: Steve Walsh report (:60 MP3)

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

MOGOP files ethics complaints against Robin Carnahan

June 17, 2009 By

The Missouri Republican Party is going after Secretary of State and U.S. Senate Candidate Robin Carnahan (D-MO). It’s filed an ethics complaint, against Carnahan, with both the Missouri Ethics Commission and the Select Committee on Ethics for the United States Senate.

Missouri Republican Party Executive Director Lloyd Smith says it appears as though there has been an omission:

"The evidence is that Mrs. Carnahan has not registered the business of her spouse, Juan Carlos Antolinez," said Smith in a conference call with reporters. "And that is a violation both of Missouri Ethics rules as well as the Senate Ethics rules in Washington, D.C."

In an e-mail statement, Carnahan Campaign Spokesman Tony Wyche responded to the GOP claim:

In 2006, Robin’s husband reserved a name with the State, thinking that he might want to create a business at some point in the future. He never formed a business, however. Consequently, there was no income to file on a disclosure report.

This ham-handed effort at a political smear is a perfect example of the type of silly, unfounded, partisan, and untrue political attack that voters are tired of.

Robin Carnahan is running for the U.S. Senate because Missouri families are looking for positive leadership that will work to get the economy moving again, provide quality, affordable health care, and keep our people safe.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Missouri city America’s first wind-powered municipality, wind farms gaining popularity

June 17, 2009 By

A Northwest Missouri city is the first in America to be energy independent via wind-power.

Rockport, in Atchison County, is America’s first energy independent city via wind-Rockport, Mo. power. Four turbines keep the lights on for the whole town and will soon provide a surplus the city can sell.

Wind Capital Group has built four windfarms in Missouri and is planning a fifth to open next summer. Tom Carnahan founded the group and John Deere has helped finance a few of the farms already up and running. The group is headquartered in St. Louis.

Spokesman Tony Wyche says landowners not only are drawn to the economic base of erecting turbines, but the gratification of using alternative, renewable energy. And he says the concept of energy independence is growing.

Wyche says wind, an untapped resource, is especially prevalent in Northwest and North Central Missouri.

Four windfarms, most with just over 20 turbines are providing power in Atchison, Nodaway and DeKalb counties. A fifth is in the works in the same area. ABB in Jefferson City will be manufacturing parts for the turbines, which drew national attention when Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the plant to announce the project.

Wind Capital Group spokesman Tony Wyche says despite their size, the huge wind turbines don’t cause noise pollution or disrupt birds’ migratory patterns.

Wind Capital is working to expand into several other states and Wyche says the goal is to work with local communities to establish long-term relationships so they can establish energy independence.

"It’s not just the base economic factor, people care about energy independence, a lot of people are interested in getting turbines placed on their land," he says.

(Photo courtesy of sciencedaily.com)


Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation
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