Text Fwd: Salazar: Fort Polk expansion not related to Pinon expansion

* Text informed by Bill Sulzman on May 21, 2009

Pinon Canyon Opposition Coalition
Salazar: Fort Polk expansion not related to Pinon expansion
By PETER ROPER
The PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN, May 14, 2009 12:18 pm

The Army's decision to spend more money expanding Fort Polk, La., next doesn't signal any change in its goal of expanding the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, but probably reflects the Army's weakening position in Colorado for that expansion, Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., said today.

Army officials said Thursday they are shifting $17 million in military construction funds to Fort Polk next year.

Responding to a Denver newspaper's report that the Army was retreating on its expansion goal by re-allocating military construction money to Fort Polk, Salazar said his recent conversation with Army Gen. George Casey, chief of staff, only confirmed that expanding Pinon Canyon remains an Army priority.

"General Casey urged me to keep an open mind on the expansion, but I told him it wasn't going to happen while I'm (in Congress)," Salazar said in a phone interview this morning. "I don't think anything has changed from the Army's perspective except they are reading the writing on the wall that Southeastern Colorado is opposed to this."

Salazar, whose 3rd Congressional District includes the 238,000-acre Pinon Canyon training range, said he has already spoken with House Armed Services Committee staff about putting an outright ban on any future expansion in the coming defense authorization legislation. That panel is chaired by Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and Salazar said Skelton's staff was supportive.

Closer to home, Salazar also urged Gov. Bill Ritter to sign House Bill 1317, which would prohibit the sale of any state land overseen by the Colorado State Land Board to the Army for expanding Pinon Canyon. There are roughly 20,000 acres of state land in the area the Army has targeted for acquisition.

"I spoke with Governor Ritter this week and he indicated he will sign the state lands bill," Salazar said.

proper@chieftain.com

__________________________________________________________________
Letter to Governor Ritter from

Representatives Salazar and Markey 5-14-09:

The Honorable Bill Ritter, Jr.
136 State Capitol
Denver, CO 80203-1792

Dear Governor Ritter:

We write today to urge your signature into law of HB09-1317 which would prevent the Colorado State Land Board from selling any of its land around Piñon Canyon to the Army.

We write not only as the elected congressional representatives of the Piñon Canyon region, but also as concerned constituents of Colorado.

No one involved in this ongoing debate wishes to stand in the way of providing our armed forces and our men and women in uniform with the tools and facilities necessary to perform their duties. Nor is the struggle surrounding the Piñon Canyon area about "beating the Army."

Quite the contrary, we believe that in a democracy, elected representatives must always weigh the needs of the government with the rights of private citizens. We also believe that when an action taken by the government will have substantial negative impact on a particular community, especially a community that has traditionally been overlooked and underrepresented, that we must take special care to prevent overreaching by politicians.

We understand that you recently received a letter from former Representative Scott McInnis urging you to veto HB09-1317. We take particular issue with several assertions that Mr. McInnis stated in his correspondence.

First, Mr. McInnis stated that the legislation would be "used as a tool to preclude any effort to reach a compromise by either party on this issue." Both of us stand firmly with the landowners of Southeastern Colorado on this issue and have stated that position publically on numerous occasions. We continue to believe that there are other alternatives to the Army's proposed expansion in the Piñon Canyon region that have not been adequately explored. Signing HB09-1317 will not change the efforts we are going to pursue on behalf of our constituents in Congress or significantly alter the political situation in Congress.

We do believe though that the people of Colorado have spoken through their elected representatives in the State House in opposing expansion in Piñon Canyon by passing HB09-1317 and the bill should be signed for those reasons.

Second, Mr. McInnis made the assertion in a follow up interview with the Pueblo Chieftain on May 7, 2009 that Army expansion into Piñon Canyon would mean significant economic development in Fort Carson and Colorado Springs. While we don't want to stand in the way of economic development in any part of the state, we object to the idea that economic benefit for one area of the state should come at the expense of significant economic hardship for another area of the state.

Southeastern Colorado might not have the votes that the Fort Carson and Colorado Springs area has but we believe that their interests are just as important.

Finally, we believe that all due consideration should be given to the fact that the Army made a promise to the residents of Piñon Canyon in 1983 to seek no additional land. As elected representatives to Congress, we take that pledge very seriously and believe it is within the scope of our duties to make sure that promise is upheld.

The issue of the Army's expansion into Piñon Canyon should not be used a political weapon. These are people's lives and livelihoods at stake. HB09-1317 was debated and passed by the Colorado legislature. It should be signed into law.

We respectfully urge you to do just that as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Betsy Markey

Congressman John Salazar


____________________________________________________________________

Some Good News from the Army's announcement this morning is we are having a significant effect.

However we should also be concerned about how misleading information put out by the Army is .....

They've done this type of thing before so we have to remember, this is not over so please don't be tempted to 'back off' our efforts either!

The Army saying they are going to 'back off' is misleading in several ways:

1. the spending ban is in place so they weren't supposed to have the $17 million anyway - SO WHAT ARE THEY STOPPING?

2. they say they'll be back next year, that they'll be patient and wait for 'agreements' to be able to go forward (with the expansion)

3. This gives the "Lamborn Task Force" more time to try their subterfuge.

4. The Army knows they won't be purchasing any land next year given how far behind in the process they are.

We can't let this interfere with the passing of HB1317...... THIS JUST GIVES MORE IMPETUS TO ASK GOVERNOR RITTER TO PASS HB 1317. Please call him today and ask for his signature!!

Phone: (303) 866-2471
Fax: (303) 866-2003
Web Page: http://www.colorado.gov/governor/


We still need a permanent ban from congress too, if not they just keep on coming and it will never be over.

Text fwd: A FOUNDING & PROPHETIC VOICE

* Text informed at Bruce Gagnon's blog on May 19, 2009

Bill Sulzman loves the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and in the photo above (on the right) found his way onto their Arizona spring training bench this year, right next to manager Joe Torre, for a quick snapshot.

Bill lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado and coordinates the peace group there called Citizens for Peace in Space which has to be the longest standing peace group in the US that is dedicated to space issues.

In 1992 Bill was a co-founding member of the Global Network, along with the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice where I was working at the time. For some years before that the folks in Colorado, and those in Florida, had worked to support each other since at that time we were the only two grassroots groups in the country consistently working on space.

Bill was once a Catholic priest and during the Vietnam War was arrested for taking a protest into the Air Force Academy Chapel in Colorado Springs. He eventually left the church but today still remains a faithful worker for the poor and for peace.

Bill belongs to a faith and resistance community in Colorado Springs that feeds the hungry, houses the homeless, grows food for their soup kitchen, and holds frequent protests at key Star Wars installations that are located in their city.

Colorado Springs has become a key center for space weaponization. Bases such as Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, and a host of Star Wars contractors are enough to keep the members of Citizens for Peace in Space busy year round. Each April the Space Foundation holds their annual space symposium which draws thousands to the city to promote war in the heavens. Bill and his fellow activists always hold a creative protest at this event and I've had the pleasure to be a part of it several times over the years.

Bill grew up on a farm in Kansas so it was not a big cultural step for him to begin working with ranchers in Colorado a few years ago who are resisting the expansion of the Army's Ft. Carson military training area into a huge portion of the state's ranch lands. Bill's been able to work with the Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition as a peace movement representative showing the normally conservative ranchers that the "peaceniks" are not so bad after all.

Bill's one of the great organizers I've met over the years - steady as a rock, not ego centered, always ready to help others. We are all lucky to have him on our side.

Text fwd: Update on the signature campaign to stop Army growth and Pinon Canyon Expansion

* The site below forwarded by Bill Sulzman on Feb. 28, 2009 *

* Related blog*

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/02/text-video-fwd-sign-petition-to-stop.html


Yesterday we faxed 36 pages of signatures and comments on our petition to the NEPA coordinator who is overseeing the EIS at Fort Carson and to Congressman Barney Frank who is leading the campaign to cut Pentagon spending in the House or Representatives


Here are the 2 news notes from yesterday's Independent

Locals oppose Army growth

Though President Barack Obama has said he plans to start pulling the military out of Iraq, local activists want to see him go a step further by stepping back from plans to expand the military.

"We need a reversal of policy," says Bill Sulzman, arguing that the expansion is not needed and doesn't make sense given the country's current economic circumstances.

The "Grow the Army" plan started by George W. Bush's administration is supposed to add a newly formed brigade to Fort Carson in coming years, adding close to 4,000 troops to a base that already will be swelling with new troops from base realignments.

Sulzman now has close to 300 signatures on his online petition at thepetitionsite.com/1/do-not-grow-the-army ,as well as about 150 hard-copy signatures. A final environmental impact statement for the Grow the Army plan at Fort Carson was released Feb. 5; Sulzman has 30 days from that date to submit his petition for possible inclusion with the final report. — AL

Piñon manager removed

A strange hush has greeted news that Tom Warren, a civilian overseeing expansion of the Army's Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site in southeastern Colorado, has been reassigned to other duties during an "administrative investigation."

"I don't know what to think," says Lon Robertson, a leader of opposition to the expansion proposal.

Warren, who has been involved with Piñon Canyon since it was established in 1983, has gotten mixed reviews from that area's residents. They've watched him limit environmental impact, but also have come to see him as the face of the Army's Piñon Canyon expansion goals. (The Army has scrapped its aim to grow the 238,000-acre training site by more than 400,000 acres, but still wants approximately 100,000 acres.)

Col. Eugene Smith, Fort Carson's garrison commander, says the investigation of Warren has nothing to do with the proposed expansion, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. — AL

Text & video Fwd: Sign petition to stop expansion of Fort Carson, Colorado, U. S. A.

Sign petition to stop expansion of Fort Carson

From Frank Cordaro
To National CW E-mail List , Google Iowa Peace List E-mail , Google Offutt List
Date Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 10:40 PM
Subject [ Reply to Cordaro Help Bill Sulzman - Sign petition to stop expansion of Fort Carson - its easy, I did it!

Feb. 16, 2009, 10:40 PM (1 hour ago)


"Ft. Carson expansion OK'd" Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5225670


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bill Sulzman
Date: Mon, Feb 16, 2009

We have about 2 more weeks to get signatures on this petition to stop
the growth of Fort Carson and the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. We will
then send copies of this and the hard copy signatures to Senators
Udall and Bennet and to SecDef Gates. It only takes a minute or so.
And if you're a fan of Nancy Griffith you'll like the video. Lots of
internationals are signing on and people from all over Colorado and
the US. The whole world suffers when the Pentagon expands the war
machine. Hope you can join.


Petition site:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/do-not-grow-the-army


Bill Sulzman
CITIZENS FOR PEACE IN SPACE
PO BOX 915, Co Springs, CO 80901
719-389-0644

Text Fwd: Air Force to hold air war exercise in S. Korea

Text Fwd: Pyeongtaek Peace Center

Air Force to hold air war exercise in S. Korea By Franklin Fisher,
Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, Monday, January 12, 2009

* Image caption in the original article: Christopher Boitz / USAF

At Osan Air Base in South Korea last July, an F-16 fighter of Osan’s 36th Fighter Squadron lands after flying a mock combat mission during a training exercise. This week the U.S. Air Force throughout South Korea is holding an exercise to test its readiness to fight an air war.


OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — U.S. airmen across South Korea will take part this week in a training exercise that tests their readiness to fight an air war.

U.S. 7th Air Force (Air Forces Korea) will oversee the quarterly operational readiness exercise, which will involve more than 8,500 U.S. troops, most of them airmen, including those at Osan and Kunsan air bases.

Army Patriot missile soldiers also will take part.

The exercise will test — through various mock war drills — the ability of the U.S. Air Force in South Korea to do the things it would have to do in wartime — mainly to knock out enemy aircraft, attack enemy troops and other ground targets.

“Our primary goal obviously is to make sure we’re ‘Ready to fight tonight’ and win against possible North Korean attack,” said 1st Lt. Malinda C. Singleton, spokeswoman for Osan’s 51st Fighter Wing.

The exercise will test senior commanders in their ability to manage the overall air campaign.

Airmen will have to perform under simulated wartime conditions, often in cumbersome chemical protective gear.

“Learning how to operate and survive in a chemical environment, that is a major part to every exercise we do here,” said 1st Lt. David R. Herndon, spokesman for Kunsan’s 8th Fighter Wing.

Pilots will fly mock combat missions over the peninsula. Ground crews will launch and recover the jets. Other airmen, including Security Forces troops, will practice defending their bases.

Airmen will practice giving first aid to themselves or other wounded airmen. Base medical facilities will operate as if at war.

The soldiers of the Army’s 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade will simulate launching their missiles against incoming enemy missiles or planes.

The brigade is headquartered at Osan and maintains firing batteries at various installations on the peninsula.

This week’s exercise will also serve as a rehearsal for a crucial Pacific Air Forces operational readiness inspection, or ORI, that the U.S. Air Force in South Korea is slated to undergo in the spring.

ORIs test war readiness, and all U.S. Air Force bases worldwide undergo ORIs once every two years, Singleton said.


* related email forward * from Corazon Valdez Fabros , Agatha Haun on Feb. 10

13th Fighter Squadron S. Korea-bound
Misawa unit replacing
Army helo battalion

By Vince Little and Franklin Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, February 9, 2009


This time, the 13th Fighter Squadron is staying a little closer to
home.

Air Force officials said the unit from Misawa Air Base, Japan,
is gearing up for a six-month deployment to South Korea, where a dozen F-16
fighters and about 400 airmen will temporarily replace an Army attack and
reconnaissance helicopter battalion set to pull out in March.

The 35th Fighter Wing didn’t release a specific date but said
the Misawa deployment would begin later this month.

The Army’s 1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, nicknamed
"Half-Attack," will leave Camp Eagle in Wonju, South Korea, this spring for a
new home at Fort Carson, Colo. The troops will deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan
later this year.

The unit, which flies the AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter,
has 24 aircraft and about 360 soldiers. It’s been stationed in South Korea since
November 1994 as part of the 2nd Infantry Division.

Last year, the U.S. military said the Apache battalion’s
close-air support mission would be picked up by 12 Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II
attack planes. It later decided to replace the Apaches with F-16s because of
structural concerns over the A-10 airframe.

The 4th Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment at Camp Humphreys in
Pyeongtaek will remain as the Army’s lone Apache unit in South
Korea.

"The deployment of the 13th is aimed at balancing assets to
support regional security in the Asia-Pacific theater and meet the needs of the
ongoing global war on terror," said Master Sgt. Allison Day, a 35th Fighter Wing
spokeswoman.

While in South Korea, the squadron and support personnel will
conduct standard training to keep flying proficiencies and tactical requirements
current, she added. That will include sharpening their air-to-air and
air-to-ground roles.

The rotational move "keeps the F-16s within the region and
close to Japan as opposed to out-of-theater deployments that have previously
been conducted," Day said. "(But) as a matter of operational security, it is our
policy not to discuss the details of specific operational or training
missions."

In May 2007, the 13th Fighter Squadron and support airmen
deployed to Balad Air Base in Iraq.

More than 300 airmen with Misawa’s 14th Fighter Squadron are
wrapping up a five-month tour to Balad. No return date has been announced.

---------------------
13th Fighter Squadron to bring more jets to S. Korea
By Franklin Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday,
February 11, 2009

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — The fighter squadron to deploy from Japan to
South Korea this month will include 14 jets and about 400 airmen during its
six-month tour, officials said Monday.

Last week, the Air Force said the squadron would deploy with
12 F-16 fighters, but on Monday said it had upped the number of jets to
14.

The planes and airmen of the 13th Fighter Squadron at Misawa
Air Base in Japan will spend six months in South Korea to take up the close air
support role currently held by an Army Apache helicopter unit — the 1st
Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment at Camp Eagle. The regiment will move to Fort
Carson, Colo., this spring.

"Our primary goal is to ensure there’s no gap in capability,
which this deployment does," said Col. Mike Chandler, chief of staff of 7th Air
Force (Air Forces Korea).

The F-16s to be deployed "more than provide the necessary
firepower for us to defend the Republic of Korea."

The fighter squadron will be assigned a new name, yet to be
announced, during its temporary deployment, 7th Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col.
Rene White said Monday.

The Air Force said that for security reasons it will not
immediately disclose where in South Korea it will base the
squadron.

Besides pilots, the squadron’s personnel complement will
include mechanics and other support personnel.

The move will require no facilities construction to
accommodate the squadron, Chandler said, but additional police may be needed to
pull security duties.

After the Apache helicopter battalion moves to its new
stateside home, its troops will deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan, the U.S. military
has said.

The Army will still have one Apache battalion in South Korea,
the 4th Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, which is at Camp Humphreys in
Pyeongtaek.


Contact:
Ko You-Kyoung
National Campaign for Eradication of Crimes by U.S. Troops in Korea
us@usacrime.or.kr

* The Songtan air base is wrongly known as Osan air base.