Obama Meets Fallen Soldiers, Agents at Dover AFB

DOVER AFB, Del. -- President Obama arrived just before midnight Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Dover Air Force Base to meet 15 soldiers and three drug enforcement officers who died in Afghanistan on Monday, Oct. 26, according to media reports.

The dignified transfer was a 'sobering reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices' of the military. -- President Barack Obama

During a solemn ceremony Obama stood in salute with military officers as flag-draped transfer case carrying the bodies were transferred from C-17 cargo airplane to waiting vehicles at the military base in Delaware. Earlier this year, Obama lifted the nearly two-decade-old ban on media coverage of the return of deceased soldiers to Dover AFB.

Only the family of Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin of Terre Haute, Ind., permitted media coverage of the dignified transfer of his body.

Obama met with family members of the fallen military and law enforcement personnel prior to the transfer ceremony. According to www.cnn.com, the president said 'the burden of war on U.S. troops and their families will "bear on how I see these conflicts" ' as he decides on whether to send as 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

The U.S. Army soldiers and drug agents were among 18 Americans killed this week in southern and western Afghanistan. The service personnel and agents died Monday in separate helicopter crashes. Eight others died Tuesday, Oct. 27, after improvised explosive devices hit their Stryker vehicles during separate incidents.

View photographs of dignified transfer at www.mortuary.af.mil.

According to www.abcnews.com, the three DEA agents killed were identified as 37-year-old Forrest Leamon and 30-year-old Chad Michael, both from Virginia, and 37-year-old Michael Weston of Washington. Weston, like Obama, was a Harvard Law School graduate.

Pascagoula Gets New Police Chief

PASCAGOULA -- Kenny Johnson has been named the new head of the Pascagoula Police Department.

Johnson, who was deputy chief, replaced former Police Chief Eddie Stewart, who had served for the last two years as chief.

According to a report at www.wlox.com, Johnson has 18 years of service, and he's working with more officers to fight drugs and crime, will develop programs to prevent scams of elderly, and wants police personnel to get involved in community programs such anti-litter campaigns.

Cityofpascagoula.com says the Pascagoula Police Department consists of 107 employees, of that, 57 are sworn officers. The PPD has 4 Patrol Divisions, a Criminal Investigations Division, Court Division, Street and School Patrol Division, Traffic Division, Identification Division, Administration Division, Training Division, and Public Relations Division.

Gulf Coast Chamber Gives Salute to the Military

BILOXI -- More than 1,000 people were reported to have attended the annual Salute to the Military on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center.

The event, in its 31st year, pays tribute to all military branches including veterans and active personnel extending from WWII through today's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Honoring Heroes: Salute to Military Recognizes Those Who Serve

www.sunherald.com Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

See extra photos: sunherald.com

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce sponsors the military salute, along with business and community partners. The chamber includes the cities of Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach and Pass Christian, and Leadership Gulf Coast and Coast Young Professionals.

Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of U.S. Naval Operations, was the guest speaker. He attended with his wife, Ellen.

South Mississippi Salutes the Military

www.wlox.com Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009

Roughead, who lived in Ocean Springs during the early 1990s, thanked the community for its appreciation and support of the Navy and Seabees stationed in Gulfport, according to a media report at sunherald.com. More than 400 military members and families live in South Mississippi.

He was commander of the USS Barry, the first Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, that was built at Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula (now Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding).

Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise and Congressman Gene Taylor were among the dignitaries who attended the Salute to the Military.

Clarence Hartenstine, a first class aviation electronics technician, received the Thomas V. Fredian Award for Outstanding Community Service.

According to www.prambeach.org, the Tom Fredian Memorial Scholarship is offered in memory of Thomas V. Fredian, a founding member, senior practitioner and former president of PRAM Mississippi Beach.

PRAM is the acronym for Public Relations Association of Mississippi.

Fredian, a native of Chicago, resided on the Mississippi Gulf Coast from 1976 until his death in 1999. Fredian began his 23-year career in public relations after retiring from the Navy in 1974. He spent his entire civil service career as the public affairs officer of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Headquarters at Stennis Space Center, Miss. He retired from civil service in 1997.

At the time of his death, Fredian was working as a parttime special projects assistant for Analysis & Technology in Bay St. Louis.

Afghanistan War Anniversary

Today marks the eighth anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan.

On Oct. 7, 2001, President George W. Bush made the announcement that U.S. military had begun bombing of mountain ranges in Afghanistan aimed at capturing and killing people -- namely al-Queda and Taliban members -- the U.S. considered responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and an intended attack on the White House.

Eight years later, President Barack Obama and military leaders are discussing strategy for the future warfare -- or not -- in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, where Taliban and al-Queda fighters have sought refuge and taken over large areas of land and local populations.

Since 2001, as many as 8,000 military men and women have died fighting in Afghanistan, more than 230 of those during 2009.

Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org