NATICK, Mass. (May 16, 2013) — Running as a tribute to those affected by the Boston Marathon bombing, Maj. Owen Hill made a memorable marathon debut of his own on Mother’s Day.

Hill, deputy chief of the Military Performance Division, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine at Natick Soldier Systems Center, ran the 2013 Cox Sports Marathon in Providence, R.I., in an impressive 3 hours, 34 minutes, 34 seconds.

“I think I ran it well,” said Hill, adding that he maintained a pace of 8 minutes, 11 seconds per mile, “and never walked once. Not too shabby for a rookie.”

Hill, 43, ran his first marathon with just two weeks of training as a way to honor those killed, injured and otherwise affected by the attack in Boston. He missed his goal of qualifying for the 2014 Boston Marathon by a mere 19 minutes.

Hill said he won’t stop trying to meet the qualifying standard of 3:15 for the 40-44 age group.

“I will continue to train, and I plan to run another marathon again before September in an attempt to qualify for the 2014 Boston Marathon,” Hill said. “If I cannot qualify for the next Boston marathon, I will certainly work toward 2015.”

Hill ran the first half in 1:41:07 on the way to placing 45th among men in the 40-49 age category and 171st among 650 men overall.

“I felt quite strong on the front half and had finished the halfway point right at my desired pace and time,” said Hill, who had projected 1:40. “Unfortunately, on the back half of the marathon, my calves began to cramp and that made me adjust my stride, which in turn slowed my pace somewhat. I had to mentally push through miles 19-22.”

At mile 23, Hill encountered girlfriend Jesse-Lee Lavoie, a three-time veteran of the Boston Marathon who was there as a spectator to provide a lift to him.

“She gave me a quick round of motivating encouragement, and that was all I needed,” Hill said. “I felt galvanized at that point and finished my last 3.2 miles as strong and as fast as I began.”

Hill won’t soon forget the day, which he had dedicated to bombing victims who could no longer run for themselves.

“Before the race I was excited, cautiously confident, and somewhat tacit as I had my game face on and as we paid tribute to Boston Marathon bombing victims with a moment of silence,” Hill recalled. “Overall, it was a profoundly memorable event and a significant achievement. During the run, I certainly reflected on all of the individuals directly affected by the Boston Marathon bombings, which added to the magnitude of the moment.”

Article source: http://www.army.mil/article/103380/Natick_Soldier_makes_impressive_marathon_debut_in_tribute_to_Boston_victims/

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 16, 2013) — It’s as easy as a click of a mouse or a tap on a smartphone, and in a few seconds sensitive Army information might be shared that could get Soldiers killed.

With the ease of social media, in any part of the globe, at any time, a Soldier, Army civilian or family member can post pictures from a deployment or talk about an Army mission.

But these seemingly innocent posts could actually contain sensitive information that endangers Soldiers by revealing locations, security measures, mission operations or troop movements, said the Army’s social media experts.

Soldiers, Army civilians and family members need to be mindful of what they put online, with operations security at the forefront of their considerations, said Staff Sgt. Dale Sweetnam, with the Online and Social Media Division, Office of the Chief of Public Affairs.

He said this applies to whether the person is a Soldier or Army civilian communicating as an organization or as an individual on social media sites.

“Once it’s out there, it’s out there,” he said. “You can delete it, but if the wrong person took a screen shot, that’s actionable intelligence and you can’t get that back.”

Sweetnam compiled the Army’s Social Media Handbook and conducts training for Soldiers about the dos and don’ts of posting on social media.

The dos include using social media to get out the message of your command, inform the public of Army activities or stay connected with loved ones. The don’ts, said Sweetnam, include revealing sensitive information about missions, units or Soldiers.

Besides considering operations security, Soldiers must maintain their professionalism at all times, even on their off time, said Sweetnam.

They are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and could face corrective or disciplinary action if they violate the rules of conduct at any time, he said.

Those violations would include a Soldier releasing sensitive information, insulting his or her chain of command, posting discriminatory statements, or sharing or linking to inappropriate material.

STEPS TO PROTECT THE ARMY FAMILY

Sweetnam said the Army encourages Soldiers to share with their families the lessons of operations security and using social media.

“The spouse, when the Soldier is deployed, may post something about his or her return and that could be considered OPSEC,”said Sweetnam. “It even goes an additional level, to not only police yourself but make sure your family knows what it can and cannot do.”

The Army’s social media experts tell Soldiers not to use location-based social networking services when deployed or in classified areas; for Soldiers and families not to post specific dates or locations of deployments; and recommend setting privacy settings to ‘friends only’ on personal accounts to prevent personal information from ending up in the wrong hands.

The Army warns users about the geotagging feature that is automatically turned on in some smartphones and digital cameras. Geotagging is the equivalent to adding a 10-digit grid coordinate to a photograph telling where it was taken, which could reveal sensitive information about a location — information that terrorists could use to target Soldiers or Army installations.

Sweetnam said for the most part, Soldiers understand the importance of being vigilant at all times when using social media.

“The majority of the Soldiers who are in uniform now have grown up with social media. This is the way they communicate,” he said. “They are more aware of the dos and don’ts and we don’t necessary have to constantly drive it into them, but occasionally we have to send out those reminders.”

BE PROFESSIONAL AT ALL TIMES, SAYS ARMY

A post by a Soldier or Army civilian could be potentially taken by a member of the public as an official post, said Brittany Brown with the Online and Social Media Division. That is why it is important for everyone in the Army family to always be professional, she said.

“Ultimately what we tell Soldiers and civilians is that you are responsible for anything that you put on social media sites, whether it is a Facebook page you’ve created in an official capacity as a Soldier or Army employee, or it’s your personal page that you’ve only connected to your loved ones,” said Brown.

Brown recommends that if it isn’t something you wouldn’t say in formation or in a public setting, then don’t post it on social media, no matter how locked down your page is.

You just never know who ultimately ends up seeing the information you post, she said.

“These things can have long-term effects,” she said. “In the 20 seconds it took you to post the photo, you may have put lives at stake. Of course you wouldn’t do that intentionally, but if that photo has that metadata embedded in it, then you are putting Army operations and more importantly lives at stake by posting that.”

She said family members should be careful when posting information, such as if their spouse is deployed and they are now home alone, as someone with bad intent could use that information to target that family for a robbery or worse. They should also think about the “trickle down effect” before they post, she said, and how the information could impact their Soldier and others.

“At the end of the day, it keeps all of us safe,” said Brown, noting the age-old adage, “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Article source: http://www.army.mil/article/103528/Soldiers_must_consider_OPSEC_when_using_social_media/

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (May 16, 2013) — Nearly 50 Soldiers assigned to 50th Multi-Role Bridge Company, 5th Engineer Battalion, conducted sling load operations Wednesday across the waters of Lake of the Ozarks Recreation Area as part of a three-day training exercise.

“This training directly applies to our role as a bridging asset for the 1st Infantry Division and as a combat multiplier on the battlefield,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jimmy Pelliccia, a bridge crewmember and platoon sergeant in the 50th MRBC.

With the support of a Kansas National Guard pilot and CH-47 Chinook helicopter, the Soldiers constructed a four-float assault raft consisting of four interior bays and two ramp bays capable of transporting maneuver units across large bodies of water.

Sgt. Benjamin Conrad, a bridging Soldier with more than six years experience and bridge crew chief in the 50th MRBC, said that sling load training is a critical skill for the unit to have even without water.

“During my deployment to Afghanistan in 2010, the water level went from 17 feet to 3 feet overnight and our free-floating bridge went aground,” said Conrad. “We were able to recover the equipment by hooking it to a helicopter and sling loading it out of the area.”

The training conducted at LORA gave Soldiers a similar opportunity by staging and loading their equipment for sling load then recovering their assets when they hit the water, Conrad said.

Once the helicopter cleared, Soldiers set out in MKII boats to rapidly assemble the float bridge.

“In a combat environment, we want to get the fighting forces from one side of the gap to the other as fast as possible,” said Capt. Andrew Lowery, 50th MRBC commander. “Our training and specialized equipment provide assurance for commanders who may need to bridge the gap while maneuvering their forces.”

Lowery said that he likes to challenge his Soldiers by finding different gap crossing locations throughout the Midwest.

“The training we’ve conducted here and in my time spent with this unit has been challenging, but it has been fun,” said Sgt. Christopher Pena, bridge crew chief in 50th MRBC. “I think it’s actually why I love this job and why my Soldiers love it too.”

The 50th MRBC is slated to conduct a hasty gap crossing exercise incorporating additional security and maneuver units to enhance its Unified Land Operations readiness over the next several months.

Article source: http://www.army.mil/article/103521/Bridging_Soldiers_sling_load_gap_crossing_assets/