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Afghanistan: “Things are Good, not Great”. DoD Blogger Roundtable
He is what we would call a straight shooter! Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, met with the DoD Blogger Roundtable to discuss Afghanistan after returning from a year in command of U.S. Marines and allied forces in the Helmand and Nimroz provinces of Afghanistan. He provided a sobering but positive perspective of the situation next to the borders of Pakistan and Iran and the general was ready to share his thoughts on the current events in Afghanistan with the roundtable bloggers. Celebrating opening of new women’s centerSee Photo Credit BelowImagine a new cell phone network connecting villages, additional and improved roads laid down to make it…
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Keeping the “Trucks” Rolling Into, Around and Out of Afghanistan and Iraq – DoD Roundtable
The DoD Bloggers Roundtable met with Maj General Robert McMahon, Director of the Central Command Deployment and Distribution Center (CENTCOM DDOC) to discuss the logistics of surging in Afghanistan and drawing down forces in Iraq. With direct oversight of strategic logistics in both locations the general has quite a job. When queried about the effort he said he has a great team of professionals from the Guard, Reserves and Active forces to run the Center and keep track of the passengers, equipment and supplies moving through the system in and out of both countries. In addition, he thanked the Defense Logistics Agency and Transportation Command at Scott AFB for their…
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The “Can Do” Seabees in Afghanistan – DoD Roundtable
The Afghanistan surge approved by the President includes two additional Navy Seabee Construction Battalions as part of the 30,000 additional military personnel bound for that war zone. Rear Adm. Handley, Commander of the First Naval Construction Division provided some great background and answered the questions of the bloggers present at the DoD Bloggers Roundtable this morning. The Admiral said one new battalion of Navy Seabees just arrived in Afghanistan and a second will arrive in March bringing the force up to four battalions in country. He emphasized the importance of their role in building infrastructure and adjustments to deployment schedules to meet the increased demand for the Seabees’ construction capabilities.…
