Special Ops to feel budget pain along with rest of military

Special ops to feel budget pain, leaders say
By Paul McLeary
Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jan 29, 2013

The potential budget hit produced by sequestration and the possibility that Congress uses another continuing resolution to fund the Pentagon for the rest of 2013 may hit the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) hard, the command’s leadership told an industry conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

SOCOM commander Adm. William McRaven warned the audience at the National Defense Industrial Association Special Operations conference that if Congress passes another continuing resolution to fund the Pentagon through the remainder of 2013, his Special Operations Command would likely lose about $1 billion in funding.

The continuing resolution “puts a greater constraint on us than I think sequestration will,” McRaven said, adding that “we don’t know what sequestration is going to look like, but there is an expectation that it is clearly going to be an additional bill on top of that.”

Whatever the cut might be, however, he assured the crowd that his command’s first priority will always be to protect SOCOM’s ability to fight, saying, “we want to make sure first and foremost that we protect our war-fighting capability. And we will do that.”
read more here

Hagel: Sequester cuts would devastate military
By Marcus Weisgerber
Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 30, 2013

Sounding much like the man he has been tapped replace, Chuck Hagel believes billions of dollars in defense spending cuts, know as sequestration, would devastate the U.S. military.

Hagel, the former Republican senator that President Barack Obama has nominee for defense secretary, expressed many of the same opinions on major budget and programmatic policies as current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in a 112-page document submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The panel of senators will have a chance to question Hagel during a Jan. 31 confirmation hearing.

“[Sequestration] would harm military readiness and disrupt each and every investment program,” Hagel said. “Based on my assessment to date, I share [Panetta’s] concerns. I urge the Congress to eliminate the sequester threat permanently and pass a balanced deficit-reduction plan.”

Panetta has repeatedly said sequestration – about $500 billion in defense spending cuts over the next decade -- would cause significant damage to the military. The cuts are even more problematic, defense officials say, because Congress has not passed a 2013 defense appropriations bill, meaning the Pentagon is operating under a continuing resolution where spending is frozen at 2012 levels.
read more here

Missing Air Force Pilot's Family Confident of Safe Return

UPDATE

1 minute ago
Body of missing Aviano pilot found in Adriatic Sea
By MATT MILLHAM
Stars and Stripes
Published: January 31, 2013

The body of an Air Force F-16 pilot who went missing during a night training flight late Monday was found Thursday off the coast of Italy, his family announced in a statement.

“It is with great sadness that we announce that the body of Captain Lucas Gruenther was found in the Adriatic Sea this afternoon,” the statement said.

Gruenther and his F-16 Fighting Falcon went missing about 8 p.m. Monday roughly 150 miles south of Aviano Air Base, where his unit, the 31st Fighter Wing, is stationed.

A massive search effort ensued, including Italian coast guard and navy ships, fishing vessels and an assortment of planes, including other F-16s from the wing.
click link for more

Missing Pilot's Family Confident of Safe Return
Jan 31, 2013
The Modesto Bee
by Patty Guerra

TWAIN HARTE, Calif. -- The Air Force on Wednesday launched several F-16 fighters to help in the search for a pilot from Twain Harte whose plane disappeared over the Adriatic Sea near Italy on Monday. Family members expressed optimism that Capt. Lucas Gruenther will be found safely.

The fighter jets will help several other U.S. and Italian aircraft already involved in the search for Gruenther, chief of flight safety for the 31st Fighter Wing. Gruenther, who is stationed in Italy, was conducting a nighttime training sortie when the Air Force lost contact with his aircraft.

"If anyone could survive something like this, it would be Luc," Cassy Gruenther said of her husband in a news release provided by the military. She described her husband as a "self-reliant outdoorsmen who would sleep every night under the stars if he could" and said he's in excellent physical shape.

Search teams on Tuesday recovered debris believed to be from Gruenther's F-16 Fighting Falcon. On Wednesday, family members said searchers located Gruenther's drogue parachute and his helmet. "The drogue chute is a good sign," said Cassy, who will deliver the couple's first child, a girl to be named Serene, in a few weeks. "It means he ejected, and we've been told the helmet is in good condition."
read more here

PTSD Murder Trial Could Have National Repercussions

War Veteran with PTSD Murder Trial Could Have National Repercussions, Experts Say
Case of the shooting of Wauwatosa police officer Jennifer Sebena by her spouse, Benjamin Sebena is not cut and dried, say a criminologist who advises and teaches the FBI and former State Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske.
Fort Bragg Patch
By Jim Price

To the legal layperson, the case of the murder of Wauwatosa Police Officer Jennifer Sebena may appear to be open and shut.

Jennifer’s husband, Benjamin Sebena, admitted to investigators in statements that he had stalked her for days, had lain in wait for her on Christmas Eve morning, and shot her five times in the head.

The two guns presumed used to kill her – one of them her service weapon, the other a rare type that matches a shell casing found at the scene – were found hidden in the Sebenas’ basement ceiling.
read more here

Reward grows for info in Fort Bragg soldier’s death

Reward grows for info in Bragg soldier’s death
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 30, 2013

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Officials at Fort Bragg are doubling the reward being offered for information in the case of a driver who struck and killed a soldier last year.

The Fayetteville Observer reports that the Army Criminal Investigation Command is offering a $10,000 reward for help in identifying the driver of a late model white Chevrolet Impala involved in the fatal hit-and-run. The original $5,000 reward was announced in December.
read more here

Fort Wainwright soldier seriously injured after convoy hit

Soldier Badly Hurt After Truck Crashes Into Salcha Military Convoy
By Chris Klint and The Associated Press
Channel 2 News
1:46 p.m. AKST, January 30, 2013

ANCHORAGE, Alaska
A Fort Wainwright soldier was severely injured Tuesday afternoon after Alaska State Troopers say a pickup truck struck several vehicles from a military convoy, including his Humvee, in a parking lot off the Richardson Highway near Salcha.

U.S. Army Alaska spokesperson Lt. Col. Bill Coppernoll identifies the injured man as Spc. Zachary New, 20, a member of Fort Wainwright’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.

An AST dispatch Wednesday says the troopers responded shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday to the crash, in the Midway Lodge's parking lot at Mile 315 of the Richardson. The incident began as vehicles in the convoy, followed by 20-year-old driver Forrest Hermanns of Tok, were pulling into the lot.

“(Hermanns) was driving a 3/4 ton GMC pickup with a large trailer loaded with logs for sale,” troopers wrote. “Hermanns struck a (U.S.) Army Humvee that was slowing and preparing to turn into the parking lot. (His) vehicle continued into the parking lot, striking a soldier exiting a parked Humvee and then two parked (Stryker) armored vehicles.”
read more here