Military Vanguard: November 2015

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Lorain County Clerk of Courts supporting Marines Toys for Tots drive

Lorain County Clerk of Courts Tom Orlando and his staff will support their first “Marines Toys for Tots” toy drive at all Clerk of Courts locations throughout the county.

A donation box will be available in each of the Clerk of Courts Legal Division departments located on the first floor of the Lorain County Justice Center, 225 Court St. in Elyria, according to a news release. The program will run through Dec. 13.

Dozens of people opened their homes to Camp Lejeune marines Thursday for Thanksgiving.

More than 30 people in the Fairfield Harbour community all spend their holiday with the 110 marines that arrived just after noon.

Once they get off the bus, the marines are split up among the residents and taken to their homes for food and fellowship. Some people host 2 marines while others host as many as 8.

DANVILLE — Every child deserves to have a nice Christmas.

With that in mind, members of the Marine Corps League hope people in the area donate to Toys for Tots. Boxes have been set up at more than 88 businesses, monetary donations are being taken and volunteers will be on hand to personally collect toys on Dec. 3.

Toys for Tots is a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve project, and locally, it’s being coordinated by the Maj. Kenneth D. Bailey Detachment 824.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

National Guard Bureau leaders visit troops at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo

Sgt. Erick Yates

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Mitchell O. Brush (second from left), the senior enlisted adviser to the chief of the National Guard Bureau, shakes hands with U.S. Army Spc. Juan Villanueva, a Texas Army National Guard Soldier deployed to Kosovo with the 636th Military Intelligence Company, during a Nov. 24, 2015, town hall event at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. Brush and U.S. Army Gen. Frank J. Grass (left), the chief of the National Guard Bureau, spoke with more than 200 reserve-component service members about the importance of their peace support mission in Kosovo, and the future of the National Guard. Villaneuva and Spc. Felicia McCormick were recognized as the youngest Soldiers participating in the day’s event. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Erick Yates, Multinational Battle Group-East)

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo — U.S. service members supporting NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo represent the military force that America needs today, said the Chief of the National Guard Bureau during a Nov. 24 visit with troops stationed at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo.

U.S. Army Gen. Frank J. Grass and his senior enlisted adviser, U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Mitchell O. Brush, held a town hall meeting with more than 200 U.S. Army Soldiers during a Balkans visit that also included official meetings with Kosovo’s president and defense minister.

American and multinational soldiers, who serve as part of NATO’s Kosovo Force mission, have earned the respect of Kosovo’s senior officials through their professionalism and dedication to the mission, Grass said.

Oregon Air National Guard Col. Paul Fitzgerald, 142nd Fighter Wing Commander, left, greets Lt. Col. James Mitchell, 116th Air Control Squadron Commander, right, as he returns from deployment to the Portland Air National Guard Base, Ore., Nov. 25, 2015. Nearly 90 members of the 116th Air Control Squadron return home from their six month deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation Resolute Support, and Combined Defense of the Arabian Gulf. Photo by Tech. Sgt. John Hughel, 142nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs.

Wisconsin Air National Guard Senior Master Sgt. Ryan Brown (left) and First Lt. Brian Wyman received a national Air Force award.

Wisconsin Air National Guard Senior Master Sgt. Ryan Brown, a 1984 graduate of Platteville High School, received an award from the Air Force.

Every year the U.S. Air Force recognizes its best aircraft maintenance officer and a senior noncommissioned officer who are directly involved in sortie generation at the base level with the General Lew Allen Jr. Trophy. This award is a tribute to Gen. Allen’s focus on attention to detail and technical expertise, attributes reflected in the nominees honored.

The 2015 recipients from the Air National Guard 115th Fighter Wing, based at Truax Field in Madison, were Brown and First Lt. Brian Wyman, who went on to compete at the Air National Guard level. In unprecedented fashion, both Wyman and Brown were selected as the 2015 General Lew Allen Jr. Trophy winners for the entire Air National Guard, representing more than 20,000 aircraft maintenance professionals as the best in their profession.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Michigan National Guard engineers in Africa for new project

Some of the company at Fort McCoy, WI

LANSING, MI (AP)-- Michigan Army National Guard engineers are in Africa helping to improve living conditions for Liberian soldiers.

The Gladstone-based 1430th Engineer Co. last week began work on a project that will result in the construction of a series of new barracks buildings. The guard is entering its fifth year of state partnership with Liberia.

This was the first time Michigan Guard members have flown large refueling tankers to the Liberian base. Rotations of engineers are expected to continue to Liberia off and on through February.

http://wnmufm.org/

New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing receives Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

SCOTIA, N.Y. - The New York Air National Guard's109th Airlift Wing has been awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award in recognition of its support for the National Science Foundation's research efforts in Antarctica and Greenland from Nov. 1, 2012 to Oct. 31, 2014.

The Air Force-level award is given to units which have demonstrated outstanding achievement setting the unit above national or international significance, combat operations against an armed enemy of the United States or military operations involving conflict with or exposure to hostile actions by an opposing foreign force.

This is the eighth time the members of the 109th Airlift Wing have been recognized with this award.

Vinal Technical High School 11th-graders showed no hesitation when Army National Guard BMX athletes put on the Bring your A Game show last week, asking for volunteers willing to lie on the floor as a rider caught some air, soaring over them. Here, Andrew Fox shows off his moves. Courtesy photo

MIDDLETOWN, OREGON~ Responding to student chants of “Mr. Ryan!” “Mr. Ryan!” Vinal Technical High School Principal John Ryan agreed to sit perched on a chair placed on a ramp and let a bicycle motocross bike rider leap over him. Earlier, four students lying on the gym floor were courageous enough to allow another bike rider to spring over them.

Crazy? Maybe. But not to the Army National Guard, which sponsored the event and students who witnessed it.

On Friday, the Guard presented “Bring Your ‘A Game’ to School,” to an enthusiastic, filled-to-capacity Vinal Tech gymnasium. The high-energy, high-flying BMX demonstration entertained 11th-grade students with heavy metal music and inspired them with positive messages.

Friday, November 20, is the last day I wore my uniform after 29 and a half years of service. I was commissioned out of the University of Texas Naval ROTC on May 21, 1986, and served continuously both active and reserve since. If I were to write a letter to my 21-year old self or any newly commissioned officer, it would be to pass on what I have learned about leadership. Through trial and error I have arrived at 10 principles of leadership.

1. 1. Love is the bedrock of good leadership. Love allows us to forgive, to nurture, and to mentor from a place of truth. If you don’t love the troops you lead, if you are not willing to sacrifice everything for their health and welfare you are in the wrong business. In the military, both active and reserves, you may take your uniform off at the end of the day but the requirements to lead and lead well are 24x7. Further, if you don’t love what you are doing, then how do you justify the time away from family? And if you are not motivated by love of country, how are you freely able to make a decision to put country before self? So love unabashedly.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A Martinsburg man who was convicted in the fabrication of his death to cover his desertion from the U.S. Coast Guard was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court to five years of probation, according to court records.

Larry C. Shelby, who pleaded guilty in August to one count of aiding and abetting a hoax causing the Coast Guard to render unnecessary aid, also was ordered by U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh to pay $50,688 in restitution at his sentencing hearing in Martinsburg on Wednesday, court records said.

Shelby's wife, Karen Shelby, who pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement, was sentenced by Groh to serve 10 months in prison, records said.

(Photo: MCSA Ryre Arciaga/Navy)

Now that the Navy has a budget, the outlook for re-up bonuses this year is bright — and that's not the only good news.

Officials have heard sailors' complaints about re-enlistment bonuses and are now eyeing radical new options to entice more to stay. As it is, only 9,100 sailors were expected to re-up for bonus bucks in fiscal 2015, which ended in September. Many sailors aren't in career fields or skill sets that qualify for re-up cash.

Business success often is coupled with stories of surviving a difficult stretch to emerge a better company. A checking account down to the last few cents, one-month away from shutting the doors for good, or years of mediocrity before that spectacular breakthrough are common business folklore.

Hearing tales of others moving from the brink of failure to greatness help keep the downtrodden motivated. Inspiration is crucial, but so is a plan. Here are four keys to leading in difficult times:

The Outlaw family visits friends in Palm Springs, Calif., March 16, 2015, in celebration of their son’s 1st birthday and tragically it was the weekend Airman Outlaw lost vision in her right eye and had to go to the emergency room. She stayed in the hospital for treatment. This was the first indication of her later diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). (Courtesy photo)

Outlaw joined the Navy in 2012 and planned to make a career out of it. However, her life changed forever in March of this year after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves. She is learning a new way of life, and if that is not enough for one person to handle, her husband is recovering from his fourth spinal surgery and her mom is battling cancer.

Soon after her diagnosis, Outlaw recognized she needed help and enrolled in NWW, the Navy’s sole organization for coordinating the non-medical care of seriously wounded, ill and injured Sailors and Coast Guardsman, and providing resources and support to their families and caregivers. “I realized, through research on MS, that I am going to get worse. I recently lost vision in my right eye, and I know I am not going to have a military career with this disability. I have to choose another path. NWW has given me a new path,” said Outlaw.

(Photo: Gertrud Zach/Army)

Sergeant Major of the Army Daniel A. Dailey doesn’t pull any punches when he’s talking to his fellow senior non-commissioned officers.

Dailey, who has been the Army’s top enlisted soldier since Jan. 30, has 10 leadership tips he often shares with them, particularly those preparing to become sergeants major.

“Despite what you’ve experienced in the past, a sergeant major’s job isn’t just to find uniform deficiencies," Dailey said earlier this year to the newest graduates of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. "It’s not just to ensure everyone has matching PT belts and make sure everybody stays off the grass.Your job is to lead soldiers, to ensure they’re trained and ready to fight our nation’s wars, and bring them home again, and get them ready for the next adventure. Everything you do … should be focused on that, and we’ll be OK.”

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Navy marks Norfolk car dealership off-limits

The Navy has placed Carafello's Auto Sales in Norfolk on its off-limits list for Hampton Roads service members, citing illegal bird dogging.

The commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic put the car dealership at 6328 E. Virginia Beach Blvd. on the list last week after a recommendation from the Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board, according to a Navy news release.

The board alleges that the dealership has been engaged in the illegal business practice known as bird dogging, in which someone refers a prospective customer to a particular store or salesman for compensation. Under Virginia law, only licensed salespeople at a dealership can help customers with vehicle purchases.

Meredith and Lt. Travis Mortimer attended the Navy ball while stationed at Navy Information Operations Command, Sugar Grove. The ball was held at the Canaan Valley Resort in West Virginia, Oct. 12, 2012. (Courtesy photo)

My husband, Travis, was retiring from the Navy in a few months and we were eager to start the next chapter of our lives. It was the beginning of the summer and we just moved to our new town. Everything was new and exciting for us. But all of that stopped the night Travis was taken to hospital by ambulance after having a grand mal seizure. Tests revealed that he had a mass in his brain. Three long weeks later we received the diagnosis that Travis had a malignant brain tumor, grade 3. I was stunned and felt like a huge weight had been placed on my shoulders. I felt a rush of emotions. I cried. How could this possibly be happening to him? This is so unfair! What are we going to do? I worried that our children would have to grow up without their father. Fortunately, he took the news better than I did and kept a level head. Unlike me, he didn’t immediately think the worst. He said he was going to beat this and that everything would be alright. As usual, he was my rock.

Cargo is unloaded from a U.S. Air Force KC-135T Stratotanker aircraft assigned to the 171st Air Refueling Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard, at Volk Field, Wis., July 12, 2008, during exercise Patriot 2008. (U.S. Air Force photo/Todd Pendleton)

A former top Air National Guard officer at the 171st Air Refueling Wing at Pittsburgh International Airport was sentenced today to probation for creating a no-show military job at the base for a civilian and agreeing to a scheme in which the civilian scheduled him for work days for which he never showed up.

U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond imposed three years of probation on Gerard Mangis, 61, of Shaler, saying the fraud should not outweigh an otherwise exemplary life.

In addition to the probation, Mangis will be on home confinement for a year and must perform 100 hours of community service.

(Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USAT)

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Wednesday unveiled reforms to how the Pentagon recruits and retains the personnel he believes it must have to fight future wars.

Carter called the U.S. military the best the world has ever seen. But it won't maintain that edge if it does not attract top talent through what he calls the "Force of the Future."

"We live in a changing and competitive world, and we have to earn that excellence again and again," Carter said in a speech delivered at George Washington University. "Because our force of the future has to be just as great, if not even better, than our outstanding force of today. Our security depends on it."

Boys gather near the wreckage of car destroyed by a US drone airstrike targeting suspected al-Qaida militants in Azan, Yemen, in 2013. Photograph: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters

Four former US air force service members, with more than 20 years of experience between them operating military drones, have written an open letter to Barack Obama warning that the program of targeted killings by unmanned aircraft has become a major driving force for Isis and other terrorist groups.

The group of servicemen have issued an impassioned plea to the Obama administration, calling for a rethink of a military tactic that they say has “fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like Isis, while also serving as a fundamental recruitment tool similar to Guantánamo Bay”.

In particular, they argue, the killing of innocent civilians in drone airstrikes has acted as one of the most “devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world”.

The US Air Force has scrapped a brand new Lockheed Martin AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship after a flight-test crew lost control of the aircraft, resulting in more than $115 million in damages.

The expensive mishap occurred during a test mission by personnel from the 413th Flight Test Squadron based out of Eglin Air Force Base. The flight took place over the Gulf of Mexico on April 21, approximately 40 miles south of Pensacola.

While the crew was performing maneuvers at approximately 15,000 feet, the aircraft “exceeded the targeted angle of sideslip until it departed controlled flight,” an Accident Investigation Board report released earlier this month states. The aircraft“momentarily inverted, before being recovered after losing approximately 5,000 feet of altitude.”

MIAMI --- Four U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 Hercules’ and four MV-22B Ospreys are set to travel from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil to participate in UNITAS Amphibious 2015.

The transit to and from will take place during November, but specific dates of travel are being withheld for force protection reasons.

This transit will mark the longest flight in the Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey’s history, clocking approximately 6,800 nautical miles one way to support the exercise.

The Air Force has chosen 13 officers to be nuclear and missile operations squadron commanders and chiefs of safety, the Air Force Personnel Center said Monday.

The list of selectees includes 11 lieutenant colonels and two lieutenant colonel-selects. They were chosen from 30 candidates, and those who didn’t make the cut will be eligible for other jobs throughout 2016.

In the release, nuclear and missile operations career field manager Zannis Pappas said these jobs present great opportunities for officers.

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is up for the Air Force’s top honor for base excellence, just three years after winning that distinction.

The Air Combat Command recently named D-M recipient of its 2016 ACC Commander-in-Chief’s Installation Excellence award. That puts D-M in competition with awardees from other major Air Force commands for the headquarters-level award.

The Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Defense Logistics Agency each annually pick the most deserving installations to receive the award, which this year were announced in July.

(Source: Lance Cpl. Jonah Lovy)

BEAUFORT CO., SC (WTOC) - Family and friends welcomed home Marines aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort after returning from Operation Inherent Resolve Nov. 17.

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251, from MCAS Beaufort, has been deployed aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt since March. VMFA-251 is with Marine Aircraft Group 31.

Maines got off a Boeing 747 into the arms of loved ones and some met their babies for the very first time.

Retired Col. Tom Sward is pictured standing in the snow last week. Sward served for 30 years in the Marine Corps. Sally Finneran/Bigfork Eagle

When Tom Sward left his childhood home in Evergreen for a Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Idaho, he had no idea he was headed for a 30-year career in the Marine Corps.

Sward retired as a Colonel, from his service with the Marine Corps in 2007 and returned to the Flathead, where his family was living in Bigfork.

“I really didn’t have any idea when I went in that it would be a long time,” he said. “I loved it. It was an adventure.”

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has received $1.35 million from the Obama Administration to study areconfiguration of the Soo Locks, according to Michigan's Democratic U.S. senators.

The Army Corps, which operates the four lock shipping complex on the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, is considering whether to reconfigure two unused locks into one longer, wider lock big enough to handle the 1,000-foot ships passing through.

The new economic impact study is the latest step in the long-awaited $580 million project, which was initially authorized by Congress in the mid-1980s but stalled for lack of funding.

Stimulant medications used to treat attention deficit problems and keep service members alert during long stretches of combat might increase vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder, a new study suggests.

Defense Department researchers analyzing data from nearly 26,000 service members found that those with prescriptions for the stimulants were five times more likely to have PTSD.

Drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin raise concentrations of the brain chemical norepinephrine, which has been shown to result in more vivid and persistent memories of emotionally charged situations.

RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD

Maj. Gen. Daryl L. Bohac, adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard, left, and Gov. Pete Ricketts talk Tuesday at the Nebraska National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Lincoln about the National Guard restructuring plans.

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Army National Guard is about to undergo its largest restructuring in 20 years, Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Tuesday.

The realignment will affect about 1,100 of the state’s 3,600 Army National Guard soldiers in 16 Nebraska communities, Ricketts said at a press conference at the Nebraska National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters.

But no armories will close, and there will be little change in the total number of National Guard forces in the state. No Nebraska Air National Guard units will be affected.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter speaks at George Washington University in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, announcing the first phase of personnel reforms in his Force of the Future initiative. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter unveiled Thursday the first phase of his comprehensive "Force of the Future" personnel and management overhaul that included what could prove to be a controversial proposal on the issue of pay.

In a move likely to raise concerns in the ranks, the Carter plan said that pay scales should be influenced by "the principles of talent management."

The Pentagon was going ahead with "a comprehensive study for the purposes of better aligning basic and special pays with the principles of talent management," according to a fact sheet on the plan.

Friday, November 13, 2015

10 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: Army Ranger Gavin Woody

Name: Gavin Woody
Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Member Since: December 2008
Occupation: Vice President of Operations at A Place For Mom
Favorite Activities: "Ultraneering" (combining long distance running and mountaineering), backcountry skiing, climbing, camping with the family

HUNTINGTON PARK, Calif. (KABC) -- U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Langston Pope has served his country for the last 17 years.

Pope never expected major accolades for his work.

"Don't expect anything back in return, that's what we do," Pope said.

Pope embarked on four deployments overseas. He's currently based in Huntington Park recruiting and training future soldiers.

This week we observed Veterans Day, a day where we remember the service of our Marines and thank them for their dedication to serving our country. Each day more than 500 men and women transition out of the military. One of the largest hurdles facing veterans is finding a job after they transition to civilian life. “Once a Marine, Always a Marine” has always been a key part of the Marine Corps ethos and it is reflected in the professional development opportunities offered before and after separation. Not only does the Corps offer transition assistance to active duty service members, but it also provides career and mentoring support long after Marines take off their uniform.

Whether you are preparing to transition or have already done so, the Marine Corps offers a variety of services to connect you with employers, mentors and career support.

Lance Cpl. Levi Schultz

Combat Center Commanding General, Maj. Gen. Lewis A. Craparotta, cuts the birthday cake during the annual Marine Corps Birthday Uniform Pageant at Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray Field, Nov. 10, 2015. (Official Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Levi Schultz/Released)

TWENTY NINE PALMS, Calif. - For 240 years Marines have served as the nation’s force in readiness, always prepared to defend our country and Constitution from America’s adversaries. Throughout the years, Marines have donned many different uniforms to meet the needs of the time and to remain ever-ready to answer the call of duty.

Combat Center Marines celebrated their extensive legacy and the Marine Corps’ 240th birthday by showing off many of the uniforms used throughout their rich and illustrious history with the annual Marine Corps Birthday Uniform Pageant at Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray Field, Nov. 10, 2015. The Combat Center Color Guard carried the colors as the national anthem, Marines' Hymn and Anchors Aweigh played in honor of the birthday.

Capt. Stanford Henry Shaw III, Master Sgt. Thomas Saunders, Staff Sgt. Marcus Bawol, Staff Sgt. Trevor P. Blaylock, Staff Sgt. Liam A. Flynn, Staff Sgt. Kerry Kemp, Staff Sgt. Andrew Seif (Source: USMC)

A special march is planned to honor the seven Marines killed in a helicopter crash in March.

According to Marine Corps Times, 14 Marine Raiders will participate in a 770-mile march on the anniversary of the crash that left the seven special forces Marines stationed out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and four Louisiana Army National Guardsmen dead.

The article stated the group will leave Navarre, Florida, on March 11 and walk the 770 miles to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The crash happened near Navarre. The walk is expected to take 10 days to complete.

(USA TODAY) --The oldest living sergeant major of the Marine Corps is a legend of sorts.

Retired Sgt. Maj. John Massaro left his hometown of Cleveland during the 1940s to enlist in the Marines. His career would span three decades, taking him to combat zones in Korea and Vietnam, and finally into the role of the Marine Corps' top enlisted leader before his retirement in 1979.

That highly abbreviated biography of the eighth sergeant major of the Marine Corps would get the attention of any Marine. But official service anecdotes credit him with popularizing "oorah" in the Marine lexicon — and that alone has cemented him into leatherneck lore.

Joshua J. Myers, 23, of Ozawkie

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW)- An Ozawkie resident can continue to serve in the Kansas National Guard, despite being charged with attempted second-degree murder.

The Holton Recorder is reporting that 23-year-old Joshua Myers will be allowed to participate in National Guard activities while his case makes its way through the court system.

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office says that on Oct.23 Myers fired a 9mm handgun from his vehicle at another man who was standing across the street from him. The victim was not injured.

MIAMI- The U.S. Coast Guard says it's searching for a woman who fell from a cruise ship about 22 miles off the coast of Cuba.

Coast Guard officials said in a news release that the unidentified passenger fell from a deck of the Norwegian Pearl about 7 p.m. Thursday.

Officials say a Coast Guard cutter and a C-130 plane were responding to assist in the search.

National Guard Tuition Assistance Program Running Out of Cash

LOUISVILLE – The Kentucky Air National Guard tuition assistance program, which offers 100 percent tuition assistance to any Kentucky state-sponsored school, for any National Guard member, is running out of money.

Nearly $5 million is allotted annually from the state’s general fund to pay for the program which is used to recruit candidates into the guard. However, this year, it’s projected that all of the money will be spent for fiscal year 2016.

Major General Edward Tonini, The Adjutant General of the Kentucky National Guard, told members of the Interim Joint Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee on Thursday that the reason for shortfall is because so many members have come back from deployment at the same time, and are using the benefit to further their education, putting a strain on the funds available.

BANGOR, Maine -- Senator Angus King visited the Air National Guard's Fire and Rescue Station in Bangor, just days after the Senate approved two bills that would provide millions of dollars in upgrades to the facility. Senator King worked to secure authorization for the $7.2 million in federal funding as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

"It's important to feel like, every now and then, you can, maybe if you poke people hard enough, things will happen and this was one of them. Pretty frustrating in Washington every now and then, as you may have heard, but in this case, we were able to make something important happen for this region," said Senator King.

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Gulls announced today that the American Hockey League (AHL) club will honor the United States Armed Forces by hosting Military Appreciation Week games on Wednesday, Nov. 11 vs. the Bakersfield Condors, and Friday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 14 vs. the San Jose Barracuda. The Gulls will wear one-of-a-kind camouflage-inspired jerseys on Wednesday and Saturday as well as their road (black) jerseys on Friday.

Game worn Gulls camouflage jerseys will be signed and available for auction during Saturday’s contest.

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Communities around the state are holding events to honor veterans. Many Ohio businesses are helping military members in the long term.

Bagpipes blare and dozens of people stand and applaud as members of the military are ushered into a ceremony to honor their service. The ceremony is inside COTA Headquarters, the busing service for Columbus.

Those cheering the veterans being honored aren’t just friends and family but also coworkers. COTA makes it a priority to hire people who served in the military and to date about 10% of its workforce are veterans.

Smoke raises behind an Islamic State flag after Iraqi security forces and Shiite fighters took control of Saadiya in Diyala province from Islamist State militants, Nov. 24, 2014. An Ohio man who is an ISIS sympathizer released the names of members of the U.S. military and urged their murders. Reuters

AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron man was arrested today on federal charges that he solicited the murder of members of the U.S. military.

Terrence J. McNeil, 25, appeared in U.S. District Court in Akron after being charged with one count of solicitation of a crime of violence.

The charge was announced by Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach of the Northern District of Ohio and Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony of the FBI's Cleveland Division.

SOUTHPORT, N.C. - An Army staff sergeant and his bride had their dream wedding with no cost to them on Veterans Day thanks to the organization Operation Marry Me Military.

Army Staff Sergeant Stuart Moore has been in the military for six years and he has earned countless accommodations and medals but he said one of the biggest moments of his life is marrying his girlfriend Courtney and that's exactly what he did Wednesday with the help of the Brunswick County community.

Moore said he met Courtney while he was stationed in Fayetteville. They had been dating for eight months.

"I said let's go to the Japanese steak house and we have been on one long first date ever since," said Moore.