Archive for the ‘Army Astronauts’ Category

posted by admin on May 15

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFPN) — North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command unveiled their new integrated command center in a ceremony May 13 attended by dignitaries from both Canada and the U.S.The command center opening coincided with NORAD’s 50-year anniversary of the partnership between Canada and the U.S. in defending North America from air and space threats.

“This is really the culmination of a lot of great effort,” said NORAD and USNORTHCOM commander Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., “by people who have taken this idea of unity of effort, of integration of capabilities, and brought them together in this room as a symbol of a true integrated approach to both warning and defense of our homelands.”

NORAD and USNORTHCOM have shared a commander and a headquarters building since 2002, when USNORTHCOM was established. Sharing a command center with integrated land, air, space, missile warning, maritime and cyber domains brings the commands’ missions together in a way “that creates great synergy,” General Renuart said.

“Our command center will be a huge improvement in our ability to integrate situational awareness, to begin to respond to a major event in either of our countries, and then to take the national capabilities that respond to disasters, both man-made and natural, and bring relief to our citizens in our communities,” the general said. “So this is really a weapons system for the future.”

Canadians greatly value their defense partnership with the U.S., said Canadian Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay. “In fact, we’re constantly revisiting and constantly upgrading our participation, our ability, to continue this strong relationship that we have enjoyed now for 50 years. The opening of NORAD and NORTHCOM’s new command and control center, especially now in the context of this ongoing 50-year anniversary celebration, is truly something that we value.

Read the full story here.

posted by admin on Feb 1

Soldiers, who had worked so much in securing peace in the Fahama region in Iraq, had made a great impact as they focused on rebuilding and helping local citizens with several projects. Soldiers from Company D, 1st Platoon, 4th Infantry Division assisted the local school as they brought many supplies for the schoolchildren as well as their families. Soldiers give out pencils, pens, paper, schoolbags and even stuffed toys and snacks.

Not only the local citizens were delighted about the goodwill, but also, soldiers themselves were just as happy. In fact, the scenes remind them of children back home in the United States.

Such small projects are small steps that gain and build trust as well as promote goodwill between the locals and the coalitions.

posted by admin on Jan 23

US Navy Reserve is a good option for just anybody who are interested in military experience. The great thing about it is that it is a part-time commitment, allowing sailors to pursue or continue with a civilian career at the same time receive a military training. Being in the US Navy Reserve does not mean being lesser than an active sailor. Reservists are still at par with Active Duty Sailors.

One of the benefits while being in the US Navy and Navy Reserve is education. Sailors could pursue education either on base or on a campus.

Generally, US Navy promotes its core values which are honor, courage, and commitment.

posted by admin on Jan 3

Getting into the service has certain requirements. Interested patrons should be at least 17 to 34 years old. They should have a high school diploma or equivalent. If married, they should only have less than 2 children. The should have a US citizenship. Resident alien could also qualify under I-551. Applicants also need to pass the ASVAB test or the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. The US Army and Army Reserve also provide many ways to guide or help soldiers who are interested in college education. Thus, some of the applicants qualify for a full tuition coverage.

posted by admin on Dec 30

It an undeniable fact that the US Army and Army Reserve have the best soldiers on the planet. Since 1700, the US Army has been into several missions throughout the world. Army soldiers have defeated America’s opponents, settled foreign issues, and brought relief to third-world countries. The Army together with the Army Reserve is mainly composed of infantry, which also has several support roles. For instance, they are in charge with support vehicles, medical teams, pilots, tanks, artillery, indirect-fire support and other array of specialties that make use of the highest level of technology.

Generally, the US Army offers every soldier with two primary choices: Army Reserve or Active Duty. The Army Reserve is a part-time commitment that enables soldiers to work in the community, and only serve full-time when the service is needed. Thus, it allows soldiers to have a civilian and a military career at the same time. On the other hand, Active Duty is the traditional US Army career basically for full-time commitment.

posted by admin on Nov 18

The US Army as well as the Army Reserve has three major parts: enlisted, warrant officer, and commissioned officer. Generally, US Army are enlisted personnel. They mostly consist of the ranks of Private to Sergeant Major of the US Army. Enlisted soldiers has specialization in a specific department or area of knowledge, and eventually follow the orders of their officers. Warrant officers are the same with commissioned officers, except that warrant officers are knowledgeable in a specific area of expertise. Hence, officers offer leadership to enlisted personnel. Their ranking mostly depend on the unit they are commanding. In becoming a commissioned officer in the US Army: taking ROTC in college or being in the Officer Candidate School.

posted by admin on Oct 31

Army astronaut Col. Doug Wheelock  accompanied mission specialist Scott Parazynski in space. They boarded Space Shuttle Discovery for their spacewalk the following Tuesday morning (October 30, 2007). They were tasked to attach a P-6 truss to one of the ports of the International Space Station, and then deploy solar arrays on the said truss. The two astronauts made their first spacewalk on Friday, as they attached the Harmony node to the Unity node of the space station.

Thus, the Harmony node will be able to hold two additional laboratories for future space missions. They also explained that the Columbus Laboratory sent by the European Space Agency will be linked to the starboard side of the node. In addition,  a Japanese experiment module laboratory will also be attached on the portside.