February 9, 2012

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Sal Guinta to speak in Omaha

January 30, 2012 By

Iowa native and medal of honor recipient, Sal Guinta, will speak today at an event in Omaha on post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how it impacts soldiers. “I think everyone has issues because of the (lives) that we were living for those 15 months during that deployment, to come back to normal life is such a drastic change,” he explains.

“Everyone goes through moments of feeling as an outsider and trying to adjust back to what is normal. But I think with the proper amount of support and people out there to help, you can overcome that and you can easily pick up with a normal life.” Guinta says soldiers now receive much support when they return home and the public welcomes them with open arms.

That wasn’t the case 50 some years ago when Vietnam veterans returned, and he credits those vets for making it easier for today’s soldiers. Guinta says the Vietnam vets said the way they were treated would never happen again and they are ensuring that.

Giunta, a Hiawatha native, was awarded the military’s highest honor for his bravery during combat in Afghanistan. He chose not to re-enlist in the military and is now a student at Colorado State University.

“They have this new thing called the post-9-11 G-I Bill which is essentially going to pay 100 percent of my college tuition, so I think I’m gonna jump on that knowledge bandwagon and ride that as long as I can,” Guinta explained. Guinta will be speaking at the third annual “At Ease Luncheon” at the Century Link Center.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Military, News

Services set for fallen Iowa Marine

January 27, 2012 By

Flags will fly at half-staff today through Monday in honor of an Iowan who died while serving with the U.S. Marines.

The governor ordered the flags lowered to honor 40-year-old Master Sergeant Travis Riddick who was a 1990 graduate of Centerville High School.

Sergeant Riddick was one of six Marines killed in action when their helicopter crashed on January 21st in southern Afghanistan. It was Riddick’s second tour in Afghanistan, and he had also served tours in Iraq.

Riddick is survived by his wife Jennifer, six children, his parents and two brothers.

Memorial services are scheduled for Sergeant Riddick on at 2 p.m. Sunday in the auditorium of the Centerville High School gym.

Filed Under: Military, News

$1.3 million set aside for Guard tuition grants (audio)

January 26, 2012 By

The Iowa House has given final legislative approval to an emergency allotment of $1.3 million that will cover tuition costs for Iowa National Guard soldiers who’ve enrolled in college courses.

Representative Chris Hall, a Democrat from Sioux City, has heard from a number of soldiers in his district who saw their individual benefits cut by $1300 for this semester.

“During the first week of the legislature, I know that I received emails from several of our Guardsmen from the 185th Air Refueling Wing,” Hall says.

Representative Jerry Kearns, a Democrat from Keokuk, says this fulfills a promise made to those soldiers.

“I would have been happy to act on this last week and (get) it out of the way, but I’m very pleased we’re here today acting on it,” Kearns says.

The Iowa Senate approved the bill last week, but Republicans delayed action in the Iowa House to ensure the Guard indeed needed that much money to fulfill its tuition grant promises. Representative Royd Chambers, a Republican from Sheldon who is a member of the Iowa Air National Guard, says Republicans were just going their “due dilligence” in checking the numbers.

“We are, of course, all in support of supporting our National Guard members,” Chambers says. “But we also must remember that we are responsible for spending our tax dollars wisely and efficiently.”

Representative John Wittneben, a Democrat from Estherville, says legislators set aside money for the program last year, but that was before about 3000 Iowa National Guard soldiers came back to Iowa after active duty in Afghanistan.

“It’s awful hard to appropriate these dollars when you don’t know how many are going to be returning and taking advantage of this education (grant),” Wittneben says.

AUDIO of today’s House debate.

The Guard announced in December that Education Assistance grants to its soldiers would be cut because there wasn’t enough money set aside to cover the tuition grants for the 1400 Iowa National Guard soldiers who’re enrolled in college. Governor Branstad has indicated he’ll sign the legislation.

In other action this morning, the Iowa House approved spending $3 million in state money to help restore the USS Iowa, a World War II era battleship that will be docked in Los Angeles as a floating museum. The Iowa Senate approved that level of spending on the project last week.

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Senate approves emergency tuition appropriation for Iowa Guard soldiers

January 18, 2012 By

The Iowa Senate has voted unanimously to provide an emergency appropriation of $1.3-million to pay for all the tuition assistance Iowa National Guard soldiers are due. Officials announced in December they were short of funds and the tuition grants were cut by $1,300 per soldier for this spring semester.

Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Timothy Orr says he’s pleased with the legislature’s quick action. “The Education Assistance program was created 15 years ago and the primary reason for us is recruitment and retention,” Orr says. “We think this is a very valuable program for us.” There are about 9,400 soldiers in the Iowa National Guard and Orr says about 1,400 are enrolled in college.

“This year the numbers were a little higher because we had a large number of college students deployed, so when the brigade came home we actually thought maybe that many would take a semester off and, in fact, they enrolled in college right away, to get on with their lives,” Orr says. “We’re proud of that.”

About 3,000 Iowa Guard soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan and they returned in time to enroll in college this fall. Senator Daryl Beale of Fort Dodge says officials at Iowa colleges and universities should be praised for their reaction to the situation. “All of the troops coming home, they flooded our colleges and universities,” Beale says.

“And I’m very proud, not only of the men and women who are taking advantage of the education assistance program, but also I want to thank the community colleges and Regents institutions and Iowa’s private colleges who turned away no veteran, even though they knew the money wasn’t there at the time.”

Beale was among those who spoke today during a “Veterans Day on the Hill” ceremony at the statehouse. The Iowa Senate has voted 49-0 to approve an $1.3 million to cover Iowa Guard soldiers’ tuition assistance. The top Republican in the Iowa House, who is a retired military officer, says House members will review the data to make sure 1.3 million is the proper amount to provide for the Guard’s tuition assistance program.

House debate on the proposal will occur later this month.

Filed Under: Military, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Iowa Guard’s leader says reliance on Guard is “logical option” during times of budget constraint (audio)

January 18, 2012 By

General Timothy Orr. (file photo)

The Iowa National Guard’s adjutant general says the Guard is “tough, resilient” and “adaptable” — attributes which were tested during “unprecedented” overseas deployments of the past decade. 

Major General Timothy Orr delivered the annual “Condition of the Guard” address this morning at the Iowa statehouse, referring to the units he leads as “your hometown military.”

As the president and U.S. Secretary of Defense prepare to make cuts in the Pentagon’s budget, Orr made the case that the National Guard is “the most logical option” in “times of fiscal constraint.” According to Orr, the cost of deploying National Guard soldiers is one-third of the expense associated with deploying full-time U.S. soldiers.

Orr argued a large, full-time U.S. military has been the exception during World War II and the Cold War, while the country has been a “militia nation” during the rest of our history. Orr warned “budget constraints and shifting priorities will impact” how the Guard operates and what it is asked to do in the years ahead. 

Orr told lawmakers the unemployment rate among his soldiers who returned from active duty assignments in 2011 is now about 10%, down from over 20% a few months ago.

About two dozen Iowa National Guard soldiers have been killed while on active duty since 2001, and Guard officials say “hundreds” of soldiers from Iowa Guard units have been wounded in the past decade while on active duty.

AUDIO of Orr’s 2012 “Condition of the Guard” address.  Orr is the only Guard leader in the country who is given the opportunity to give a speech to state legislators.

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Movie about Tuskegee Airmen draws interest in Iowa

January 18, 2012 By

Several Iowans will be watching with interest as the movie “Red Tails” opens in theaters Friday. The movie is based on the experiences of the all-black fighter unit of World War Two known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

Twelve Iowa men flew with the Tuskegee Airmen, while another seven trained to join the unit. Michael Kates, the executive director of the Fort Des Moines Museum, says the museum is holding a viewing party  Friday at a local theater (Southridge).

 ”They are showing the movie and we’re going to have an information table on Friday to just show some different things and connections with the Fort Des Moines Museum,” Kate says. He says they hope to provide people more information about the Tuskegee Airmen.

The Des Moines Museum created the exhibit to honor the Iowans in the group back in 2002. Kates says the exhibit sometimes leads to some confusion about the airmen.

“A lot of people think that…the grounds of Fort Des Moines is were they served, but they did not serve here…they were trained in Tuskegee, Alabama,” Kates explains. The ceremony in 2002 included the presentation of a replica of a P-51 Mustang with the red tail color that became famous through the airmen.

That replica plane sits at the gates of the Iowa Air National Guard base at the Des Moines airport. Kate says the story of the Tuskegee Airmen is amazing.

“Of course they were noted for never losing a bomber plane, and their mission was a very high risk mission. For example Luther Smith (an Iowa native), he flew 133 combat mission, something that is unheard of, and he shot down a number of planes,” Kates says. “It’s stories like that I think that get lost in history and I think it’s good for use to go back and really talk about what these men did.”

The Iowans and others in the group were also noted for what they did after the war. “A lot of these men what you’ll find out with the Tuskegee Airmen, they went on to become community leaders, they went on to become national leaders and were really generous with their time and made sure their communities were taken care of. You had some really quality men that came out of the Tuskegee Airmen.”

Other groups, such as the Des Moines V.F.W. Post 12105, also plan to hold group watch parties for the movie. Kates says the Fort Des Moines Museum has been holding e-mail trivia contests to give away some tickets to the movie on Friday. An effort is also underway to find any ground crew who may’ve served with the Tuskegee Airmen, as few records were kept of their work.

Find out more about the Iowans in the Tuskegee Airmen on the Fort Des Moines Museum website at: www.fortdesmoines.org.   See the trailer for Red Tails below.

Filed Under: Featured Story, Military, News, Recreation & Entertainment

Iowa company’s technology provides better prosthetics for veterans

January 17, 2012 By

An Iraq war veteran, who had both of his legs amputated, is the first veteran in the country to get the latest technology in prosthetics being made available in Iowa. Clark and Associates in Waterloo has one of two machines in the entire world that make the new walking sockets that are both lighter and stronger.

Derick Hurt of Greenfield, Missouri is already used to walking with prosthetics. He lost his right leg in September 2003 while serving in Iraq. “I took the blunt of a grenade. It pretty much landed in between my feet and took the right leg off immediately and messed up my left leg and foot pretty bad,” Hurt said.

His left leg was amputated in March 2009. Since then, Hurt’s been using walking sockets that weigh about a pound and a half each. The new walking sockets are two-thirds lighter.

“They’re so much lighter and stronger,” Hurt said. “The weight difference…I’ll be able to walk so much easier.” The new machine at Clark and Associates weaves carbon fiber into the shape that snugly fits around an amputee’s limb.

Hurt is the first veteran to test out the new technology, with hopes of leading the life he did before his injuries. Hurt and the prosthetic team from Clark and Associates plan to visit Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. in a couple months to officially introduce the product to other veterans.

By Nadia Crow, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Military, News
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