From: bergman@AFPAN.PA.AF.MIL (CMSgt Mike Bergman)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: Army News Service 08/24/92
Date: 25 Aug 92 19:36:41 GMT
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC


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U.S.-ROK exercise kicks off on Korean peninsula

      WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- About 14,000 U.S. troops have teamed with 
Republic of Korea forces to participate in this year's combined 
exercise -- Ulchi Focus Lens '92 -- on the Korean peninsula, Aug. 19 - 
30.
      Ulchi Focus Lens is the 17th in a series of training exercises 
designed to prepare for contingency operations in support of the 
defense of the Republic of Korea.
      Focus Lens is essentially a headquarters exercise, but unit-
level training exercises are also being held. Elements of the Combined 
Forces Command's Air and Naval Component Command, members of U.S. 
Forces Korea, and Eighth U.S. Army elements are participating in the 
exercise.
      Civil affairs functions, noncombatant evacuation operations and 
other defense actions are also being tested.


* Energy managers excel

      WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- Six energy-minded Army organizations have 
earned top honors for their achievements in managing energy during 
fiscal year 1991.
      At a recent Pentagon ceremony, the following organizations 
received recognition in the annual Army Energy Conservation Awards 
program:
     -- Active component:  Fort Gordon, Ga. (first place); Base 
Support Battalion, Heidelberg, Germany (second place); Iowa Army 
Ammunition Plant, Middletown, Iowa (third place).
     -- Reserve component:  Indiana Army National Guard (first place, 
ARNG); Tennessee Army National Guard (second place, ARNG); 121st Army 
Reserve Command, Birmingham, Ala. (first place, USAR).
      At the ceremony, Under Secretary of the Army John W. Shannon 
noted that FY 91 energy-use dollar savings and cost avoidance amounted 
to more than $325 million Army-wide.


* Update on program for exceptional family members

      WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- If you have a family member with special 
needs, a new videotape at your local Army Community Service office  
can help show you how those needs might be met.
      Titled "Facts about the Exceptional Family Member Program," the 
tape explains about EFMP enrollment, support groups and special 
recreation activities.
      The program's literature is also being updated over the next few 
months, according to Shirley Brown, EFMP manager at the Army's 
Community and Family Support Center in Alexandria, Va. Part of the 
update is expected to focus on how the program seeks to help soldiers 
and families who are relocating, she said.
      Brown said copies of the videotape will become available in 
September.







Energy managers excel

      WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- Six energy-minded Army organizations have 
earned top honors for their achievements in managing energy during 
fiscal year 1991.
      At a recent Pentagon ceremony, the following organizations 
received recognition in the annual Army Energy Conservation Awards 
program:
     -- Active component:  Fort Gordon, Ga. (first place); Base 
Support Battalion, Heidelberg, Germany (second place); Iowa Army 
Ammunition Plant, Middletown, Iowa (third place).
     -- Reserve component:  Indiana Army National Guard (first place, 
ARNG); Tennessee Army National Guard (second place, ARNG); 121st Army 
Reserve Command, Birmingham, Ala. (first place, USAR).
      In presenting the awards, Under Secretary of the Army John W. 
Shannon noted that, in fiscal 1991, "the Army continued to capitalize 
on momentum gained during previous years, resulting in a 17.2-percent 
reduction in facility energy consumption and a 31.6-percent reduction 
in mobility energy consumption from FY 85 levels."
      Army-wide, the FY 91 energy-use dollar savings and cost 
avoidance amounted to more than $325 million, Shannon said. The 
program calls for the energy-saved dollars to be retained at 
installation level for reinvestment in installation projects.


Update on program for exceptional family members

      WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- If you have a family member with special 
needs, check with your local office of the Army Community Service, 
where you'll soon find a new videotape summarizing how those needs 
might be met, even when you're relocating.
      ACS officials confer with the Army Medical Department to help 
enroll soldiers' eligible family members under the Army's Exceptional 
Family Member Program.
      "Our office just finished coordinating a new videotape 
explaining the program and helping dispel any persistent myths," said 
Shirley Brown, EFMP manager at the Army's Community and Family Support 
Center in Alexandria, Va. She added, "Starting in September, copies of 
it will go to local visual information libraries and to the Army 
Community Service in the field."
      Titled "Facts about the Exceptional Family Member Program," the 
short film tells how to enroll in the program. It also highlights 
support groups and special recreation activities available to family 
members coping with exceptional circumstances. The new video can serve 
as a companion to a video produced by the Defense Department dealing 
with parents' rights and responsibilities in special education 
overseas.
      Brown said that besides the new video coverage, the program's 
literature is being updated over the next few months. Part of the 
update is expected to focus on how the program seeks to help soldiers 
who relocate.
      "When a soldier is nominated for assignment, officials at the 
Total Army Personnel Command here coordinate with the proposed gaining 
command to check into whether the needed services are available where 
a valid personnel requirement exists," she said. "When services are 
not available, PERSCOM may consider alternate assignments."
      Brown added that, while every effort is made to find assignments 
that meet family members' needs, "the needs of the Army come first."





      Of course, family concerns and sensitivities do carry a high 
priority, she stressed. For example, EFMP information never is seen by 
a promotion board or school-selection board. "Having family members in 
the program in no way affects a soldier's career progression."
      Indeed, she concluded, the program increases readiness, provides 
family members the treatment they need, and keeps soldiers free from 
worry about care for their families. "The program helps the 
exceptional person, the entire family and the Army."
                          






Dix celebrates last training mission

      WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- A group of soldiers emerged from basic 
training Aug. 21 to take their place in history as well as their place 
among the Army's trained-and-ready forces.
      Their training ground was Fort Dix, N.J., which is celebrating 
its 75th anniversary while at the same time undergoing a rite of 
passage:  the graduation of the last soldiers to take basic training 
there.
      Dix officials explained that Companies A, B and C, 1st 
Battalion, 78th Division (Training), completed eight weeks of basic 
training as of Aug. 21.  The 78th also celebrated its 75th anniversary 
at the graduation, as well as the conclusion of its basic-combat-
training mission.
      "Their graduation marks the end of an era," Dix having been a 
basic training center since 1947, spokeswoman Dianne Felder said.   
The graduation, she added, symbolizes "Dix's new emphasis on reserve-
component training.  These new soldiers have been trained by cadre 
from the U.S. Army Reserve."
      In addition to participation by local civic leaders and reunion-
minded old soldiers, the ceremony and open house included a visit by 
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan.
      Because it is due to close as part of the Army's base 
realignment, Dix reflects the leading edge in the reshaping process.

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