European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 6, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 stars and Darby May offer Italy Relief us base could become Pisas disaster response spot by Kent Harris stars and stripes Camp Darby Italy the City of Pisa and Camp Darby officials Are nearing an agreement that would designate the us facility As an official disaster Relief spot meaning it could House thou Sands of italians in the event of an emergency details such As what Darby is expected to provide still need to be worked out but local agencies have already inspected the base to see what it has to offer ifs happening it col Stephen Sicinski commander of the us army Garrison Livorno said in an interview last week its just a matter of who doing what and How chief among Darby assets Are its water Supply and plenty of open space we have lots of Square footage we can put tents on Sicinski said he said the italians prefer to have designated buildings Avail Able for people to live in and Darby has some of those As Well but it could House thousands of people in tents if needed italian cities in Tuscany Are required to come up with discs Ter response plans and Pisa had worked out most of its plan according to italian air Force col Sicinski Raffaele Lubi in the base commander while italian troops in the area would be ready to respond with manpower and vehicles they dont have much real estate available especially in their f facilities in and around Pisa our offer was Welcome be cause the missing piece of the plan was the space he said Sicinski said the likeliest disaster is flooding of the Amo River heavy winds and earthquakes Are rare volcanoes Are located further South but floods have devastated the area in the past the last major flood of the Arno in 1966 washed away parts of Pisa Florence and other cities along the River much of the available water Supply was fouled by the flooding Darby just a few Miles from the outskirts of Pisa is in a securely fenced area in a National Park though it gets some water for Industrial use from sources outside the base it maintains a Large sup ply of drinking water thais Lubini self con trained Sicinski said it also has another potential advantage the a mys leg Horn depot nearby houses a Ware House where the state department maintains emergency supplies routinely sent to disaster areas around Europe and Africa such supplies could presumably be made available quickly to flood victims Lubini said the agreement makes sense for several reasons Pisa would be getting a reliable place to temporarily House Resi dents ties Between emergency responders on and off base Al ready tested in an annual exer Cise would Likely be strength ened and the base would get an Opportunity to show ifs a Good neighbor Darby is sparsely populated by the military with less than 300 a Tiv duty service members split Between the army and air Force email Kent Harris at a guardsman rakes in Bonus in army recruiting program by Elliott minor the associated press Macon a sgt Dana Kline is so Good at recruiting new National guard soldiers that Hes set to make a Small Fortune in bonuses Kline has managed to get 47 recruits Over 11 months earning him the states meritorious ser vice medal and so far the High est Bonus paid to anyone through the guard recruiting assistance program through the pro Gram guard Mem Bers Are offered a Bonus for every person they sign up and another when the recruit ships out to Basic train ing the program is credited with bringing in 25000 new guard members since its launch 15 months ago Kline is the highest in the group said col Mike Jones chief of the recruiting and retention division of the National guard Bureau in Washington but there Are some folks who Are on his heels Kline who not even a full time military Recruiter has found Many of his recruits on trips to area shopping malls unemployment offices and schools i like to recruit and to help guide Young Peoples Ca Reers said Kline 33 of Macon so far 135000 guard Mem Bers have signed up to be recruiting assistants under the program which started after the army missed its recruiting target in 2005 by the 1017 recruiting assistance Hook m Ana re s i2zr Inifi or rat i i i o n widest margin since 1979 after one to two hours of on line training the recruiting Assis Tants can begin contacting prospective recruits in their communities eventually the assistants connect prospects with full time recruiters who help them sign contracts and schedule military aptitude and medical tests the Job Doest end there they Mentor recruits until they leave for Basic training Kline credits the military with transforming him from a shy Skinny boy who cried his first night in Marine Boot Camp into a confident self reliant adult so far Hes earned a Check for and is waiting for More when his recruits go to Basic training Kline said he informs potential recruits about the bonuses he earns and tells them and their parents theres absolutely no guarantee a guard member wont have to fight in Iraq so far none of his recruits have been lost in combat but they know the risks he said the army also has a referral Bonus program known As every Soldier is a Recruiter but full time soldiers living on insulated army posts dont normally have the close Community contacts of the National guard members Dana Kline holds an oversized Check for a portion of the hell receive for recruiting 47 new guard members Elliott Seth and stripes senior noncommissioned officers from the 2nd cavalry Stryker regi ment search a Detainee thursday during the Dragoon 7 combat it Challenge at Vilseck Germany it Challenge Fosters teamwork in 2nd Cav by Seth Robson stars and stripes Vilseck Germany some folks idea of a Good morning involves sleeping late breakfast in bed and a relaxing read of the newspaper while stretched out in a la boy or Hammock senior noncommissioned offic ers from the 2nd cavalry Stryker regiment prefer to leap out of bed at the crack of Dawn throw on a Kevlar helmet body Armor and Rucksack and charge around the neighbourhood practising the sort of Tea based physical and mental challenges they might face in combat that exactly what happened at Vilseck on thursday morning when 50 senior 2nd Cav cos participated in the Dragoon 7 combat it Challenge the Challenge started when six teams of cos assembled in front of 2nd cars Headquarters for a predawn equipment test with Points awarded for correctly packed Rucks from there the teams High tailed it Down the Street to push five ton trucks through the Post Exchange car Park the truck push was the hard est said command sgt maj Michael Bloom 49 of Sacramento but i thought the Best part was the camaraderie we work in Dependently a lot and we Are going to have to rely on each other in combat it helps to strengthen this Bond now before we get there he said another Short run took the sol Diers to a sports Field where some ran shuttles carrying Jeny cans ammunition arid weapons others assembled machine guns then it was on to big Mike Lake where teams loaded gear into inflatable boats and paddled to the other Side there they found several soldiers with mock wounds and before Long each team was hit by simulated Gre Nades with members assessed As casualties on the run to big Mike they also encountered two detainees whom they had to search by the Roadside the teams were allotted Points based on various combat Lifesaver tasks such As inserting an intravenous Needle splinting shattered limbs and carrying the wounded command sgt maj Anthony Diamond 46 of Cedar town a said the combat Lifesaver tests were the Best part of the event i was a casualty i was an in recipient and i had a fractured Arm you dont practice it com Bat lifesaving that much under pressure your heart rate is up and your adrenaline is up just like it would be in combat he said the cos also had to answer questions about 2nd Cav regimen Tal history the last Challenge for the teams involved paddling Back across the Lake and running to the finish line at the Vilseck Coffee House master sgt Daniel Massie said the rafting was his favorite part of the Challenge you have to work As a team it was apparent that you had to have one person in charge and everybody had to follow his Lead he said adding that one team had to go Back after casting off from Shore minus a Crew member command sgt maj Victor Martinez the command sergeant major for 2nd Cav said the event was designed to Foster camaraderie and build teamwork among the cos and give them a taste of How physically and mentally challenging combat can be Martinez said some of his cos have been with the regi ment five years while others arrived in the past month we Are a very Large Organiza Tion with almost 4000 soldiers it is important that All the leaders know who they Are and work to Gether he said email Seth Robson at