Soldiers in the Army Reserve are performing valuable missions around the world every day. Below is a sampling of published articles from the last year. To view the complete article, please contact the media source listed.
American Forces Press Service, December 19, 2006
America Supports You: WWE’s ‘Mouth of the South’ Meets G.I. Joe
(Washington, D.C.) — While stage crews prepared for a wrestling match at the Verizon Center here yesterday, promoter Jimmy “The Mouth of the South” Hart replaced his signature sunglasses with reading glasses to dial his son’s phone number at Fort Dix, N.J.
Hart told his son he was among the World Wrestling Entertainment stars about to meet and greet U.S. servicemembers at a pre-event reception. Hart’s son, Army Reserve Spc. Jimmy Hart, Jr., 486th Civil Affairs Battalion, will soon deploy to Iraq for his second tour.
WWE invited 30 wounded servicemembers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the reception and to the Monday Night Raw event. WWE is a member of the Defense Department’s America Supports You program, which highlights the public’s support for the nation’s troops and their families.
WWE has visited troops in Iraq four consecutive years, and this month they delivered the 2.6 millionth letter from Shauna Fleming’s “A Million Thanks” effort to deliver a letter to each servicemember in Iraq. On Christmas day, WWE will air a Tribute to the Troops filmed Dec. 8 in Baghdad.
Hart, who visited Kuwait in August, said being invited to entertain U.S. troops ranks at the top of his list of career milestones along with performing at Madison Square Garden and being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
“It was thrilling,” Hart said. “It felt like I was in the service myself. It was sweaty, my bouffant hair style was porcupining up and collapsing on one side. But I kept all the memorabilia, all the (military) coins. It was just awesome.”
Hart called pro wrestling, with its outrageous costumes, feigned emotions and trash-talking personas, "the longest-running soap opera." The on-stage performance may be just an act, but off stage, the wrestlers’ appreciation for the troops’ performance is very real.
“I jump around in tights for a living; I’m not changing the world.” pro wrestler Edge said about his recent meeting with U.S. servicemembers in Iraq. “But at least we changed servicemembers’ mood for the day.”
“I think a lot of time people take for granted the luxuries we have here” Edge said, “and that’s what they’re fighting for.”
WWE Diva Victoria said her father served in the Air Force during her childhood. “It’s really a good feeling to give back to the military because they do so much for us,” she said. “Every time I step on a military base it’s like I’m at home.”
“As you can see, I’m a hardcore wrestling fan,” said Pfc. Christopher Long, donning a custom-made wrestling jersey and a replica gold-plated pro wrestling belt over his shoulder. “I appreciate that they gave us the opportunity to see (the wrestlers) today.”
For many veterans, the chance to meet the entertainers they’ve followed for years was an important break from reality.
“It’s a relief of stress,” said Army Spc. Martin Jackson, 1st Armored Division, who has watched wrestling since age seven. “It feels good to let us know that people care about the job we’ve done.”
Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, December 14, 2006
Army Reserve Honors Woman Who 'Adopted' Troops
Julie Settle, a mother of two who has never served in the military, received the Army's Certificate of Appreciation for Patriotic Civilian Service from U.S. Army Reserve Ambassador Anthony Reed and Col. Paul Benenati.
Settle created "Adopt U.S. Troops Inc," which links local soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 317th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 80th Division with their community back home. Each of the 30 deployed soldiers from the Culpeper-based unit received packages and well-wishes on mail day. Settle also helped arrange for monetary support for a satellite phone for the troops.
And their families back home had someone looking out for their needs -- including everything from baby-sitting services to assistance with electric bills and help keeping the lawn trimmed.
When asked why she took on this responsibility, Settle, said many people do not understand the sacrifice reservists and their families make.
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Erie (Pa.) Times, November 07, 2006
Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz and Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie recently visited Army Reserve Soldiers of the 329th Medical Company serving in Iraq.
Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz and Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie recently visited Army Reserve Soldiers of the 329th Medical Company serving in Iraq. Stultz told the unit that the reserves are playing an essential role in this war. One of those key roles is played by the Erie-based 329th. The unit's 70 members run ambulances and serve as medics throughout the country.
The Army Reserve is responsible for 50 percent of the military's medical services in Iraq, said Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie, who accompanied Lt. Gen. Stultz. There are currently more than 20,000 U.S. Army Reserve members deployed in Iraq, Caffie said.
Lt. Gen. Stultz said the Army Reserve is no longer seen as a separate entity and have now been successfully integrated into the rest of the Army.
"It's no longer the Army Reserve," he said. "It's the Army."
Lt. Gen. Stultz stated that the value of the reserves lies in the fact that many Army Reserve Soldiers have similar jobs in their civilian lives as they do in the military.
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Army Times, October 10, 2006
Dedicated to his Soldiers; An article appearing in the Oct. 10 edition of Army Times features the Army Reserve’s new command sergeant major, Command. Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie.
An article appearing in the Oct. 10 edition of Army Times features the Army Reserve’s new command sergeant major, Command. Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie. “The most important person in the United States Army Reserve is not my commander, it is not I. It is that young male or female that walks into the Reserve center who says, ‘I want to be in the United States Army Reserve.’ I get tremendous joy out of serving with them and being their mentor.” In the article Command Sgt. Maj. Caffie reflects on his early experience in the Army Reserve, the changes since 1972, and the importance to interact with Soldiers and talk about the Army Reserve's transformation process. “Any Soldier that is not informed is a Soldier that I'm going to lose,” he said. “A primary concern is as we transform the Army Reserve, every Soldier, as well as their families and their employers, is fully engaged in what we are doing and why we are doing it.” Command Sgt. Maj. Caffie understands the challenges of Soldiers’ balancing their responsibilities as a Warrior-Citizen in the Army Reserve and their families and civilian careers. “As a young Army Reserve Soldier, I’ve been there,” he said. “I understand the pitfalls of trying to maintain two careers and trying to do them simultaneously. It’s extremely difficult unless we provide some purpose, some reason to maintain their statuses as reservists.” Command Sgt. Maj. Caffie goes on to explain that, “Reserve leaders must capitalize on the three primary reasons Soldiers join the Army: patriotism, educational benefits, and retirement benefits.” “You do that by providing a promotion system that's honest,” he said. “You do that by providing good leadership, which is mentorship, counseling (and) direction. You do that by genuinely caring about their well-being.”
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Army Times, September 12, 2006
Stultz Developing Structure For A Force in ‘Upheaval’
As the Army Reserve transforms into an operational force, leaders face the challenge of striking the right mix of personnel in relation to transformation, Base Realignment and Closure, and mission requirements in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
As a veteran of operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and deployment to the Balkans, Army Reserve Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, knows first hand the challenges facing leaders, Soldiers, and families. This understanding is critical as the Army Reserve is in “a period of tremendous upheaval,” states Lt. Gen. Stultz. The Army Reserve transformation is going on while at the same time the active Army transforms into a modular force.
Stultz states that the Army Reserve will first and foremost support the Global War on Terrorism.
The Army Reserve is also implementing a deployment model to give leaders, Soldiers, families and employers more predictability. This model plans for potential nine to 12 month deployment every five to six years.
“We’ve got to keep you (Army Reserve Soldiers) trained and ready, but we’re going to give you that stability. We’ve got to get that model to be able to sustain the force,” says Stultz.
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Army Times, July 06, 2006
"Sweeping Changes on way for Reserve"
The Army Reserve is undergoing the biggest transformation in its history, and leaders hope the overhaul will create a leaner, more battle-ready force. "It's the biggest transformation of the Army Reserve [and] the biggest challenge is doing all of these changes as you fight a war," said Lin Bailey, chief of the Army Reserve Transformation Integration Office at Fort McPherson, Ga. "It requires a lot of coordination, synchronization." Bailey outlined the planned transformation in an interview with Army Times. He said the process, which will take years, will produce "more predictability, more streamlined command and control structure, and we'll have more forces in posture to support the Army by making them more accessible and better trained."
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Army Times, June 26, 2006
Warrior citizen `New Reserve chief thrives on ‘intensity` of Army life
When the Army Reserve’s newest chief came home in August 2004 after two years in Kuwait and Iraq, he says he quickly began to miss the Army and being on active duty. “When you’re fighting a war and doing all the things you’re doing, and then you go back to your civilian life and you’re sitting in a conference room discussing how many sizes of Charmin you want on a shelf in a supermarket, it’s a different world, and you’re kind of like, ‘Gosh, I miss that intensity,’” Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz said June 14 during his first one-on-one interview with Army Times. “Not that Charmin is not important,” Stultz said, laughing. A longtime employee of Procter & Gamble in the civilian world, Stultz took command of the Army Reserve on May 25.
American Forces Press Service, June 23, 2006
Army Deployment Model Brings Reservists Readiness, Predictability
The new training and deployment cycle being introduced Armywide will bring more predictability deployment schedules for Army Reservists, their employers and their families. The Army Force Generation model, nicknamed "ARFORGEN," for ensuring there's always a pool of trained, equipped and deployment-ready troops, Army Reserve chief Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz told Pentagon reporters June 21. The plan, which generally means Army Reservists can expect to deploy for up to a year once every five years, also helps them live up to their dual obligations as "warrior-citizens," Stultz said during a roundtable discussion. Just one month into the job as the top-ranking Army Reserve general, Stultz understands firsthand these complementary but sometimes conflicting roles. "I understand the issues with Soldiers and the employers and the community because I have lived it," he said. "I have had to go through those experiences of what it means to put your civilian life on hold, become a Soldier, come back and try to become a civilian again, and back and forth."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 10, 2006
Parents hope for evidence on son in Iraq
The treasure trove of intelligence unearthed from the rubble of the house in which Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was staying when he was killed may finally give Keith and Carolyn Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, the answer to the question that has kept their lives in limbo for more than two years: What happened to their son, Keith "Matt" Maupin? The Army Reserve sergeant was captured by Iraqi terrorists April 9, 2004, when the convoy in which he was riding was attacked near Baghdad.Maupin is the only U.S. service member still unaccounted for since the war in Iraq began in 2003."I'm holding out hope," Carolyn Maupin, 58, said Friday during a visit to Atlanta. The Maupins were guests of the U.S. Army Reserve Command, at Fort McPherson. They helped to celebrate the service's 231st birthday this weekend.
Army Times, June 02, 2006
Stultz receives third star, takes command of Reserve
The Army Reserve’s new chief was promoted to lieutenant general Wednesday during a ceremony at the Pentagon. Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz received his third star from Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker during the 15-minute ceremony. “I tell people this is not a dream come true because I can truthfully say I never dreamed of this day,” Stultz said. “It’s a humbling experience to know I’m responsible for the Army Reserve Soldiers serving our country.” Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly closed his term as chief of the Army Reserve on May 19, and Stultz took command on May 25. Stultz, 53, previously served as deputy commanding general of Army Reserve Command. He served in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and in the Balkans.
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Stars and Stripes, May 24, 2006
Senate confirms Stultz as chief of Army Reserve
The Senate has confirmed that Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Jack Stultz will receive a third star and the post of chief of the Army Reserve. Stultz, who currently serves as deputy commanding general of the United States Army Reserve Command for Operations, Readiness, Training, and Mobilization, at the U.S. Army Reserve Command Headquarters at Fort McPherson, Ga.,will take the position from Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly. The Senate approved Stultz’ nomination May 19.
Army Times, May 22, 2006
Helmly: Mobilization changes needed Chief to leave a more ready Reserve
The demands of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have left Army Reserve Soldiers more battle-hardened and experienced than before, the Reserve’s outgoing chief said, adding that the way reservists are mobilized remains a difficult process. “It remains an early Industrial-Age, monolithic process that is anything but smooth, anything but responsive,” Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly said May 10 during a final media roundtable before completing his tenure as Army Reserve chief May 19. Coming into the position in May 2002, Helmly said, he “felt strongly that we were in a new era.” “We face a decidedly different kind of threat than we had prepared our armed forces to face, and that threat to our security requires us to change a lot of things about how we face that” threat, he said. To help the Army Reserve transform from a strategic reserve to a ready and deployable force, Helmly has led sweeping changes in the way Army Reserve Soldiers think, train and prepare for battle.
Army Times, May 16, 2006
Reserve to take PsyOps, Civil Affairs commands
Command and control for most civil affairs and psychological operations troops will be transferred to Army Reserve Command from Army Special Operations Command, officials announced Tuesday. The Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command will move under the aegis of Army Reserve Command during a May 23 ceremony at Fort Bragg, N.C. The transfer is designed to better serve task force commanders and streamline home station operations to provide the best support for civil affairs and psychological operations troops, the Army said.
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