DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable

Army Bloggers Roundtable with Staff Sgt. Brett M. Perry, Staff Sgt. Michael Burns and Staff Sgt. Erick Gallardo, team members of Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta. They will discuss the moments during the battle that led to Staff Sgt. Giunta being awarded the Medal of Honor.

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Retired U.S. Army Maj. Ed Pulido and Capt. Josh Mantz, Real Warriors Campaign, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. They will be joined by Ken MacGarrigle from the VA's Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom Program Office. They will discuss the importance of early intervention and care for invisible wounds of war such as post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression and traumatic brain injury. They will also discuss the tools and resources available to veterans seeking treatment.

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell, IV, commander, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan and Combined Security Transition Command. Lt. Gen. Caldwell will discuss the training and development of the Afghan National Security Force over the past year.

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Maj. Gen. Michael J. Basla, vice commander, Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Maj. Gen. Basla discussed the Air Force’s cyberspace mission, cyber security, and cyber training & education.

We have scheduled a DoDlive Bloggers Roundtable with Capt. Thomas Negus, commodore, Continuing Promise 2010. He will discuss how U.S. Southern Command assets and the USS Iwo Jima in conjunction with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), and USAID are providing humanitarian assistance/foreign disaster relief operations in support of the Government of Haiti following Tropical Storm/Hurricane Tomas. The U.S. military's "unique capability" is to provide rapid response assistance until able to transition tasks to other organizations.

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, director, Strategic Effects, United States Forces-Iraq (USF-I). He will discuss the USF-I role in on-going stability operations in Iraq. He will also discuss the three missions under Operation New Dawn, to advise, train, assist and equip the Iraqi Security Forces; to support U.S. Embassy, UN, and other Non Governmental Organization civilians; and to conduct partnered, counter-terrorism operations with Iraqi Security Forces. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Air Force Lt. Col. Edward "Hertz" Vaughan, commander, 13th Expeditionary Support Squadron and deputy commander, 13th Air Expeditionary Group Joint Task Force - Support Forces Antarctica McMurdo Station, Antarctica. He will discuss the support the Department of Defense provides to the National Science Foundation's research and exploration in Antarctica. The support JTF-SFA provides to the National Science Foundation's research and exploration in Antarctica is known as Operation Deep Freeze. ODF is unlike any other U.S. military operation. It is possibly the military's most difficult peacetime mission due to the harsh Antarctic environment. The U.S. military is uniquely equipped and trained to operate in such an austere environment and has provided support to the U.S. Antarctic Program since 1955.

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Lt. Col. Ryan Nichols, commander, Pohantoon-e-Hawaee (Afghan Air Force Air School). Lt. Col Nichols will discuss Pohantoon-e-Hawaee, a specialized training facility in Afghanistan, Air Force where Afghans teach Afghans and Americans serve as advisors. The school is based on three basic tenets: professions, leadership and education. Once Afghan Air Force Airmen graduate from their basic training, they attend the school to learn their military specialty - as a firefighter, military police officer, or the myriad of other jobs in the AAF.

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Brig. Gen. Walter Givhan, commandant, Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). He will be joined by Dr. Richard Raines, director, AFIT Center for Cyberspace Research and Col. Harold Arata, deputy director, AFIT Center for Cyberspace Research. They will discuss the new graduating class of more than 100 cyberspace professionals from AFIT. These students participated in classes designed to prepare warfighters to adapt and operate in the dynamic cyber arena. Operated by the Center for Cyberspace Research, the first-ever classes for the Air Force show students how to design and acquire cyberspace systems and explores cyber asset capabilities, limitations, and vulnerabilities and associated application and employment in Joint military operations. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Rear Adm. Philip Cullom, director, Chief of Naval Operations Energy and Environmental Readiness Division. Rear Adm. Cullom will discuss the Navy's full-power demonstration of a Riverine Command Boat (experimental) powered by alternative fuel at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. Alternative fuel represents one of several Navy Task Force Energy initiatives designed to increase energy security by reducing the demand for non-renewable fossil fuels. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Col. Chadwick W. Clark, director, COIN Training Center Afghanistan, NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan. Col. Clark will discuss the Counterinsurgency Training Center - Afghanistan and how it enhances coalition forces, the Afghan National Security Force and other Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan agencies' capabilities to reduce insurgent influence. Counterinsurgency Training Center - Afghanistan is the only school training Afghan National Security Force coalition forces and civilians in the same class. There are also residential courses as well as mobile training teams. Through these courses students learn about counterinsurgency operations and stability operations/stability assistance. Read Transcripts

Army Bloggers Roundtable with Sgt. Maj. of the Army, Kenneth Preston. Preston will announce the 2010 NCO/Soldier of the year today at the AUSA 2010 Annual Meeting & Exposition. Be one of the first to speak with the winner of this award and Sgt. Maj. of the Army, Kenneth Preston. Read the transcript

We have scheduled an Army Bloggers Roundtable with Col. Gregory Gonzalez, program manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Tim Owings, deputy program manager, UAS and Viva Austin, Airspace Integration Product director, UAS for Monday, Oct. 25 at 9:00 a.m. EDT. They will discuss the advances in UAS and how they are used in military operations. They will also discuss recent strides in FAA approval for unmanned aircraft flights within the national airspace and the new "hybrid" manned-unmanned combat aviation operations. Read Transcript

We have scheduled a DODLive Bloggers Roundtable with Command Sgt. Maj. Ralph R. Beam, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan for Thursday Oct. 21 at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Beam will discuss how Non-commissioned officers (NCO) are the "backbone" of any strong military force and how Afghans along with NATO trainers and advisors are playing a crucial role in the development of NCO's. Because of the rapid growth of the Afghan National Army (ANA) it takes dedicated, high-quality NCOs to lead these troops. Training such as the ANA sergeants major academy, first sergeants course and Team Leader courses are critical in the development of NCO's and transitioning Afghanistan to its own security forces. Read Transcript

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with the Honorable Sharon Burke, director, Department of Defense Operational Energy Plans and Programs. Burke will discuss operational security throughout the Department of Defense. She will also discuss energy security and DoD's operational energy needs, as a part of Energy Awareness Month. Read the Transcript