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Senator Ernst: vetting process will bring forward best leader for Department of Veterans Affairs

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Senator Joni Ernst.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she doesn’t have a problem with President Donald Trump replacing the leader of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“The president is selecting a team that he wants to have on board and he has a right to do that, so I am looking forward to whoever his nominee will ultimately be,” Ernst says. Ernst is a Republican from Red Oak who is a retired member of the Iowa National Guard and the first female combat veteran to be elected to the U.S. Senate. She says her decision on the new Veterans Affairs Secretary comes down to one thing.

“I just want to make sure that whoever is in that position is putting our veterans first,” Ernst says. There are reports that the president will nominate his White house doctor to replace Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin.

“To be honest I don’t know anything about his personal physician, so that’s why we have the vetting process that we do in the United States Senate,” Ernst says.”And if that is his nominee — then I would want to make sure again that we are properly vetting him.”

Ernst made her comments during a stop at a business in Des Moines.

 

Discovery of Sullivan brothers’ ship brings mixed emotions

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Underwater photo of a gun turrent on the Juneau. (Photo courtesy of Paul Allen)

News that the wreckage of the ship that five Iowa brothers were serving on in World War Two when they died stirred emotions at the museum in Waterloo that preserves their memory.

An expedition financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen found the U.S.S. Juneau Saturday at the bottom of the South Pacific off the coast of the Solomon Islands. The spokesperson for the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum, Christy Decker, says the staff was not aware the expedition was underway.

“And the fact that they came across the U.S.S. Juneau and then specifically on St. Patrick’s Day obviously has kind of a unique tie to the five fighting Sullivan brothers — these five Irish guys from Waterloo here — we were all kind of in a state of disbelief,” Decker says.

George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert Sullivan refused to serve unless assigned to the same ship, and they all died along with hundreds of others after the ship was hit by a Japanese submarine’s torpedo on November 13th, 1942. Decker and others had told the story of the five brothers for years — and now have another chapter to add.

“It kind of had a bitter-sweet feeling in the sense that there now is some real official closure for those 780 families that were affected by this,” Decker says. The death of the Sullivans became a rallying point for the war effort. Decker says visitors to the museum, especially school kids, often asked one question about the brothers.

Letters on the wreckage confirmed the ship is the Juneau. (Photo courtesy of Paul Allen)

“So many people ask ‘where are they buried?’ And we have to let them know that they are actually not buried in a cemetery and their bodies went down with the ship in the Pacific Ocean,” Decker explains. She says they are now showing the pictures and videos  at the museum from the Research Vessel Petrel which discovered the ship. Decker says it adds more to the heroic story.

“There’s always still that little bit of the unknown or you kind of get that look — especially from the kids — and now we can share with them that the wreckage of ship has been found. I just really think that that’s going to help people understand the true sacrifice that these sailors went through and that their families endured,” according to Decker. Decker says

Kelly Sullivan, granddaughter of Albert Sullivan and grandniece to the others called the discovery of the Juneau on St. Patrick’s Day the “Luck of the Irish.” Decker says Kelly Sullivan was on the current navy destroyer named for the Sullivans when she heard the news. She had christened the destroyer back in 1995.

Decker says the discovery once again puts the spotlight on the five brothers and those who want to learn more of their story can visit the museum. “We have many Sullivan family artifacts, including five Christmas cards that were never ever opened. A friend of their mother Alleta actually send the boys Christmas cards in December of 1942,” Decker says. No one had yet know the Sullivans had died in the attack on their ship, but the return of those Christmas cards to the sender raised a lot of questions.

“After that happened and after no one had really heard from them in quite awhile — which was pretty rare — rumors kinds of started swirling and Alleta and the family was very, very nervous,” Decker says. “It wasn’t until January 10th that they got that official notice. Alleta held onto those Christmas cards for many, many years and they were eventually given to the museum.” Decker says they also have the Gold Star Flag that hung in the window of the  home of the Sullivans after the death of the brothers.

The Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum is in downtown Waterloo and in light of the discovery of the ship, they are offering half price admission through Friday, March 23rd to allow the public to learn more about the Sullivan Family.

 

Research team finds the wreckage of ship that carried Waterloo’s Sullivan brothers

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The Sullivan brothers.

Wreckage of the ship that Waterloo’s five Sullivan brothers were on when they died — the USS Juneau — has been found more than 75 years after it sank during World War Two.

A research team funded by billionaire philanthropist Paul Allen discovered the wreckage in the south Pacific on Saturday, St. Patrick’s Day. The Microsoft co-founder announced the discovery Monday in a post on his website.
According to the post, wreckage of the Atlanta-class light cruiser was found about three miles below the surface, resting on the ocean floor off the coast of the Solomon Islands.

The USS Juneau was hit by a Japanese torpedo during the naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. The Sullivans — George, Francis, Madison, Joseph and Albert — all of Waterloo, were among the nearly 700 sailors who ultimately died in the attack.

The five siblings enlisted in January 1942 with the stipulation that they serve together. Their deaths are believed to be the greatest military loss by a single family in U.S. history.

According to several reports, approximately 115 of the USS Juneau’s crew survived the explosion, but only 10 were rescued from the water eight days later. The Navy delayed the search for possible survivors for several days due to the high risk of further Japanese attacks.

(By Elwin Huffman, KOEL, Waterloo)

 

Prepping ‘stratotankers’ in Sioux City complicated by February’s weather

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Snow and ice this February in Sioux City created extra duties for members of the 185th Air National Guard Refueling Wing. Crews must prepare the “Stratotankers” for flight in all weather conditions.

“It’s Iowa. It’s winter. You’re going to have this,” says Chief Master Sergeant Mark Wankum, the maintenance chief for aircraft at the base. “Granted, this year we’ve had a lot more snow than in the past couple years, but you know we just all come out. We get together. We do it. We come up with a game plan.”

A special solution is used for the “de-icing” process.

“We heat that in the truck to 185 degrees and then we spray the aircraft with that,” he says. “That’ll help melt off any more ice that’s left behind or any snow that just won’t leave. Then, once it melts it off, we can just blow the big chunks off with the hot air.”

But if there are still spots of ice or snow on the planes, crews have to manually brush it away. Icy runway conditions make that tricky work, according to Wankum.

“Of course, you’ve got to allow more time,” Wankum says. “It takes a little longer to get around…just because of the slick conditions…You’ve got to be careful so we’re not letting everybody fall all over.”

Wankum’s crews spent part of last week preparing planes for missions in warmer climates.

(Reporting by Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City; photos courtesy of Iowa Air National Guard)

Prime Minister of Kosovo visits Iowa

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Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Hradinaj

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo made a stop in Iowa just ahead of that country’s 10th anniversary of declaring independence from Serbia. “We are in our week of independence. (February 17) is the 10th anniversary and I’m happy, at the beginning of this week, I’m starting it here with you.” Prime Minister Ramush Hradinaj delivered those remarks Monday morning in downtown Des Moines.

Iowa and Kosovo have shared a sister state relationship since 2013. In January 2016, for the first time in Iowa’s history, an official foreign diplomatic office was opened in the state. The Consulate of the Republic of Kosovo is located in Des Moines.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister praised the partnership at an event hosted by Iowa Sister States and the Greater Des Moines Partnership. “This is something extraordinary. This is noble,” Hradinaj said. “I don’t know what in life can be…as noble as this.”

Iowa’s relationship with Kosovo dates back more than a decade when Iowa National Guard soldiers were deployed there as NATO peacekeepers. The leader of the Iowa National Guard, Adjutant General Timothy Orr, says the partnership with Kosovo now extends far beyond the military.

“We’ve had students who’ve gone over and spent the summer working at the American University in Pristina, getting experience of the Balkan region and understanding Kosovo. We currently have several high school students (from Kosovo) who are here for a year in a foreign exchange,” Orr said. “So, it’s everything from education to business to military exchanges.”

Orr will travel to Kosovo later this week to take part in the country’s independence day celebration. A larger delegation of Iowans plans to visit Kosovo in May.

Senator Grassley says Pentagon still wasting too much money

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Senator Chuck Grassley.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is renewing his criticism of the Department of Defense for “wasting” enormous amounts of money. Grassley, a Republican, says a new audit of Pentagon spending has found hundreds of millions of dollars are unaccounted for.

“That’s a shocking amount of money unaccounted for the taxpayers dollars,” Grassley says. “It oughta’ be a sin but it’s not in this town, I’m sorry to say.” The accounting firm Ernst & Young found that the DOD’s Defense Logistics Agency failed to properly document more than $800 million in construction projects.

Grassley says, “This is only one example of a series of audits within the Defense Department where there is not a complete record of expenditures.” Grassley notes, the accounting firm is of no relation to Iowa Senator Joni Ernst or Iowa Congressman David Young. Across the board, Grassley says the Pentagon’s financial management “is so weak that its leaders and oversight bodies have no reliable way to track the huge sums it’s responsible for.”

“The number-one priority of the federal government is national defense,” Grassley says. “It’s critical we maintain our country’s military readiness but combat readiness can’t be an excuse for wasteful spending.” The report comes at a critical time, Grassley says, since President Trump is proposing a boost in the military budget. Grassley says an audit of Pentagon spending in Afghanistan in 2016 also found hundreds of millions of dollars were wasted.

“The Defense Department is required by law to produce a clean audit and the Department of Defense hasn’t been able to do that,” Grassley says. “I understand it’s the only department in the federal government that hasn’t been able to have what we call a quote-unquote clean audit.” In a statement released Monday, Grassley says: “I think the odds of a successful DoD audit down the road are zero… They are doomed to failure before they ever get started.” Grassley says this latest audit raises new questions about whether the DOD can responsibly manage its $700 billion annual budget, let alone the additional billions President Trump plans to propose this month.

 

Legislators asked to more than double property tax break for combat vets

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The posting of the colors at the veterans state capitol event.

Veterans rallied at the statehouse today, seeking legislative action on a variety of fronts, including an increase in the property tax exemption for combat veterans.

Dan Gannon, a Marine veteran who served in combat in Vietnam, said it takes more than just saying, “Thank you,” to honor Iowa’s veterans.

“Vietnam Veterans of America’s motto is (this): ‘Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,” Gannon said. “I can promise you this — all of you here today in attendance or those of you who are listening, under my watch as chairman of the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs and as a fellow veteran: ‘You will not be forgotten.'”

The Iowa Commission on Veterans Affairs has an 11-point agenda for the 2018 legislative session. In addition to the recommendation that the military property tax exemption increase from $1,852 to $5,000, there’s a call for some sort of state law requiring “Americanism and Patriotism” be taught in public K-12 schools. The commission is also asking for an expansion of Veterans Treatment Courts that help vets resolve substance abuse and mental health issues and gets criminal charges dismissed if they make progress.

Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison who served two decades in the Marines, is chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee in the Iowa House.

“I’m working for meaningful accomplishments that changes the lives of veterans,” Holt told the crowd.

There are more than 230,000 veterans in the state of Iowa. That’s nearly 7.5% of the state’s population.

Iowa National Guard leader wants to expand recruiting effort

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The leader of the Iowa National Guard is suggesting the organization to broaden its outreach, in an effort to attract more recruits from non-military families.

Adjutant General Timothy Orr says the Iowa Guard has “maintained its position in personnel readiness,” but recruiting “high-quality men and women” in the future could be a challenge.

“With only three out of ten 17 to 24 year-olds eligible today for military service due to various reasons, there’s significant concern among civilian and military leaders about the future of our military and the readiness of our force to defend this nation in the years ahead,” Orr said. The concern, according to Orr, is driven by the large percentage of U.S. service members who come from military families.

“We are effectively creating a class in our society that is carrying the burden for the remainder of the citizens,” Orr said. It’s “critically important,” Orr said, to “broaden the scope” of those serving in the military to include people from different backgrounds.

“According to the Department of Defense, since our country ended the draft in 1973, more than 80-percent of our service members come from a family where at least one parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, sibling or cousin has served, and more than 25% of our troops have at least one parent who has served,” Orr said.

The “centerpiece” of recruiting efforts in Iowa, according to Orr, is the Iowa National Guard Education Assistance Program. NGEAP is funded by the state. “This year, more than 1,200 of our members received up to 100% tuition paid at the State Regents’ rate to attend Iowa colleges, universities, and community colleges through this program, keeping our young people in the state and providing them with a high-quality Iowa education,” Orr said.

Orr made his comments in his annual Condition of the Guard address last week at the Capitol.

Senator Ernst says there’s more work ahead in and out of military to end sexual assault

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Senator Joni Ernst. (file photo)

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says efforts to cut sexual assault in the military have been successful and similar efforts are needed for civilians.

Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, is a retired Iowa National Guard soldier who has focused on efforts to end sexual harassment in the military since taking office. She says there have been more reports by soldiers while overall cases are down.

“What that is saying is that more and more men and women serving in the military have greater confidence in the reporting process. They have greater confidence in their commanders that they will be protected when they come forward with allegations of any sexual assault and sexual harassment,” Ernst says. She says reporting assaults is key to addressing the issue.

“That is really important because then it gives that command structure the opportunity to investigate that as well as prosecute if that is what the victim or survivor wants to do. So, I do believe it is working,” according to Ernst. She still isn’t satisfied enough has been done.

“I can’t say that it is ever enough,” Ernst says, “I think we have to keep moving forward. I think greater education of our young people when they are coming into the military is extremely important. So,even before they are sworn in they need to understand that this is not acceptable behavior.” The issue has taken center stage outside the military in recent weeks.

“When we look on the outside of the military in our civilian population — there are problems there as well — as we have witnessed not just here in the United States Congress, in the political arena….but we see it in all the talk that has been in Hollywood and elsewhere.” Ernst says the efforts to prevent sexual assault should be the same whether in or our of the military.

“We have to keep working on this. Is this something that will be solved overnight, probably not,” Ernst says. “But I do think that it is important that our public is aware that again, it’s never okay to sexually harass someone. It is never okay to assault someone in any circumstance. We’ve got to start teaching this from a very young age, just the respect and dignity of all people.”

Ernst says everyone has to take a role in making changes. “We all have a lot of work to do, not just Congress in making laws, or the administration in writing rules. We all have a responsibility in our communities to make sure we are raising people to understand that every life has dignity and we need to respect that,” Ernst says. Ernst made her comments during a conference call with reporters.

Iowa National Guard leader delivers annual report

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The leader of the Iowa National Guard says the “international situation today is more complex and demanding” than anytime he’s seen in his 39 years of service.

Adjutant General Timothy Orr delivered his Condition of the Guard address this morning at the statehouse.
Audio: General Orr’s speech 26:00

“Our state’s contribution to providing ready forces for the war fight can’t be overstated, as evidenced by approximately 800 Iowa National Guard soldiers and airmen currently mobilized for combat operations around the globe,” Orr said.

Nearly 400 Iowa National Guard soldiers from companies in Muscatine, Davenport, Waterloo and Boone were part of a federal call up in September for assignment in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq.

“This deployment is the largest single-unit deployment of the Iowa National Guard since 2010,” Orr said. “We expect these soldiers will return back to Iowa in the summer of 2018.” There are roughly 9,000 soldiers under Orr’s command. In addition to serving on combat missions overseas, the soldiers are trained to respond to attacks, threats and natural disasters in Iowa and across the U.S.

“I’m happy to report that for 2017, it was a relatively quiet year for our emergency response operations,” Orr said. “We used the available time that we had to prepare, plan and rehearse for potential disaster response on a multitude of scenarios.” The training was put to use over a three-month period late in the year as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria struck the U.S. Helicopters and air crews from Iowa were sent to both Texas and Florida.

“But, our largest and most sustained assistance came from the 132nd Wing in Des Moines and the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City,” Orr said. “These units deployed 25 security forces personnel to Puerto Rico in a moments notice, established security for critical infrastructure on the island – including the main airport – and they enabled the restoration of electricity and the transportation of food, water and medical supplies.” The Iowa National Guard also oversees a federally-funded Counterdrug Task Force, which assists and provides training to Iowa’s law enforcement officers.

“In 2017, more than $43 million in drugs and $3 million in cash and assets were seized from drug dealers in Iowa with the assistance of our Counterdrug Program,” Orr said. Around 171,000 doses of Fentanyl and 12 pounds of heroin were seized in Iowa last year, according to Orr.