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We had never heard of it either, but it sounds pretty cool, right? Oh, brave new world! The face of military journalism is changing every day- sometimes by the minute! Guess this is one way to keep up with the times.

Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications has won a new, multimillion dollar contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to continue the school’s long-running Military Visual Journalism Program.

Newhouse has for many years offered two Department of Defense-sponsored programs that teach active-duty military personnel photojournalism and broadcast journalism.

Under the umbrella of the Newhouse Military Visual Journalism Program, the military photojournalism (MPJ) and military motion media (MMM) programs accept enlisted service members who work as mass communication specialists, combat photographers and military journalists. The programs last for 10 months.

The military photojournalism program began at Newhouse in 1963, during President John F. Kennedy’s administration. The early days of the program involved only one military branch, the U.S. Navy, and the first curriculum was designed to help active-duty sailors sharpen their photography and storytelling skills. Other military departments joined the program in later years.

“Our military visual journalism students have been part of the very fabric of the Newhouse School since 1963,” says MPJ program director Anthony Golden. “With this new five-year contract our sailors, marines, soldiers and airmen will be working with us on the future of visual journalism. Our tradition continues.”

The DoD decided to expand into broadcast journalism training in 1992, after reassessing coverage of the Gulf War. At that time, Newhouse won the first Military Motion Media contract.

MMM program director Dona Hayes says she looks forward to continuing the collaboration between the photojournalism and motion media students. “For the first time this year, both groups have been working side-by-side to produce a multimedia website,” Hayes says. “With the rapid changes in media and in our world, who knows what the students will be producing by the end of this new contract?”

The Korean War may be considered “The Forgotten War,” but it brought us an unforgettable hero. During the war, Lieutenant Chew-Een Lee, the first commissioned U.S. Marine regular officer of Chinese descent, battled communism, injuries, hypothermia and racism to help 8,000 U.S. Marines stave off certain capture at the hands of the enemy. Lt. Lee’s remarkable story is told in a Smithsonian Channel original special, UNCOMMON COURAGE: BREAKOUT AT CHOSIN, premiering this Memorial Day, Monday, May 31 at 8pm ET/PT.

Prior to the Korean War, the idea of an Asian American leading a U.S. Marine platoon on the battlefield would have been unthinkable. Just a few years earlier in World War II, Japanese Americans had been placed in internment camps and racial segregation was still the rule in most of the United States. Lt. Lee, who would eventually rise to the rank of Major, ushered in a new era in American military history. His story is more than one of breaking barriers; it is a story of courage, grit and dogged determination. Through rare archival footage of the war and exclusive interviews with Lt. Lee and the men who served with him, Uncommon Courage recounts the extraordinary story of one of the key moments of the Korean War, the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir.

The one-hour special also looks at the Chinese experience in America, examining typical American attitudes toward Asians at the time, through the eyes of Lt. Lee and his men. Their stories all come together when they meet for the first time at Camp Pendleton, California, just two weeks before shipping out to Korea. Lt. Lee was the untested Marine officer and his green recruits had never spoken with a Chinese man, much less taken orders from one.

Joe Owen, one of the Marines who served under Lt. Lee, offered this tribute: “We started out a company full of untrained reservists and misfits and at the end… we considered ourselves to be the best God-damned rifle company in the Marine Corps. And we attribute it to the example, the ideals, set by Chew-Een Lee.”
After the Korean War, Lt. Lee would rise to the rank of Major and draw on his experiences to train a new generation of Marine Corps officers.

The Military Health Care Convention & Conference (MHCC) is June 23-24 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio. IDGA Exhibitions’ Military Health Care Convention & Conference is the culmination of the latest tactics, strategies, technologies, systems, treatments, processes, and services for patient care. Military Health Care Convention & Conference provides in-depth, firsthand accounts from experts in each stage of the continuum.

Targeting best practices and new developments in military healthcare, MHCC will deliver a multidisciplinary approach to combating the health issues of all warriors and their families.

Register to attend today and use code “MOAA” to receive 25 percent off the Main Conference or a Free Expo Pass.

Remember: census data help determine how more than $400 billion in Federal funds are distributed to state, local and tribal areas each year. A complete count of your community in the census will help ensure that your community gets its fair share of census-based funding for the next ten years.

Countdown to Mail it Back!

• What a Census Taker is
• Preparing for a Visit
• Video on Recognizing Your Census Taker

mtvU , MTV’s 24-hour college network, continues to support our newest generation of veterans by premiering two new short-form specials giving veterans a platform to make their voices heard by college students around the country.

With MTV research revealing that 74 percent of young people ages 18-29 personally know someone who has fought in Iraq or Afghanistan, this new programming focuses on a topic that hits home for many young people. Both features focus on the difficult transition these men and women face as they come home to civilian life:

“Voices of Vets”

Since the Post 9-11 GI bill was passed in 2008, more veterans than ever are furthering their education and enrolling in college. From feelings of isolation to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the transition from the battlefield to the classroom can be very difficult. Developed as part of the “Half of Us” campaign, which takes its name from research showing that nearly half of all college students say they have been so depressed they couldn’t function at some point, “Voices of Vets ” seeks to shatter stereotypes and create a mutual understanding between veterans and civilians by giving viewers a look inside life as a Millennial veteran returning to life on campus. This short collection of self-shot video footage focuses in on eight young veterans as they share their accomplishments, struggles and experiences with the audience.

As part of “Half of Us,” mtvU has aired a number of public service announcements, short-form features and resources in an ongoing commitment to support Millennial generation veterans. In “Today’s Student Vets: From Combat to College ,” the college network followed young veterans as they made the challenging transition back into college life, delving into the emotional struggles they face, and demonstrating how civilians can play a role in helping them adjust back into life after active-duty. Additionally, mtvU and the Jed Foundation have developed multiple PSAs, in partnership with the Bob Woodruff Foundation, addressing the emotional struggles college veterans face when returning to campus and how students can help ease that transition.

“Beyond the Welcome Home”

100 young veterans from across the country recently gathered together in Los Angeles for the “Beyond the Welcome Home” summit, a 3-day event hosted by Mobilize.org, ServiceNation: Mission Serve, the Goldhirsh Foundation, the McCormick Foundation and MTV, with additional support provided by The Home Depot Foundation, The Home Depot Arena and Bank of America.

During the summit, veterans debated, discussed and collaborated on veteran-led, veteran benefited projects in America’s communities and had the chance to win thousands of dollars to turn their ideas into reality. Civilians were encouraged to participate in the conversation via social media and online live streaming provided by The Case Foundation. Five proposals were selected to receive grant money and a year of mentoring, with a broad range of innovative concepts ranging from a green small business incubator designed to combat unemployment and promote sustainable energy to a software tool aimed at sparking a national online dialogue on the most pressing issues facing veterans.

The short-form segment, made possible by the support of the McCormick Foundation, features excerpts from the summit, giving young veterans a platform to share their ideas with the college audience. From the special, viewers are directed to Brave.MTV.com to learn more about how to support the winning ideas and other veterans’ initiatives in their local communities.

For more information, veterans and civilians can head to Brave.MTV.com or access the “Half of Us” veterans’ resource center at www.halfofus.com/veterans.

About “Half of Us”

mtvU and The Jed Foundation launched the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated “Half of Us” campaign in November 2006 to fight the stigma around mental health and encourage help-seeking among college students across the country. The campaign includes on-air, online and on campus elements. The backbone of the campaign is www.HalfofUs.com where students can access a variety of programming and resources, including videos featuring a diverse group of students and artists like Mary J. Blige, Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Brittany Snow, speaking candidly about their personal struggles with serious mental health issues. The centerpiece of the site is an anonymous self-evaluator screening tool – developed by the Duke University Medical Center – which helps users understand more about their state of mind and access campus-specific resources. The site also features an action center where students can become advocates on issues related to college mental health and suicide prevention.

The “Half of Us” campaign was built on original research that showed most students would not seek help for emotional issues due to embarrassment or a lack of information about available resources (visit www.HalfofUs.com/press.aspx to view the findings of the “mtvU College Mental Health Study: Stress, Depression, Stigma & Students“).

The G.I. Film Festival, now in its fourth year, announced its film selections for its May 11-16 event in Washington, D.C. The G.I. Film Festival is the only film festival in the nation to honor the successes and sacrifices of American service members through the medium of film.

Overall, the G.I. Film Festival will feature a total of 35 narrative and documentary full-length and short films during the five-day event. Subject matter ranges from World War II themes of courage, sacrifice and brotherhood to present-day struggles including veteran homelessness and post-traumatic stress. Visit http://www.gifilmfestival.com/trailers for complete film descriptions and trailers.

“This year, the G.I. Film Festival will put the spotlight on the full range of human emotions experienced by American G.I.s inside the arena of war and back on the homefront,” said G.I. Film Festival co-founder Brandon Millett. “This is an exceptional line-up of films that will entertain, captivate and inspire,” added festival co-founder Laura Law-Millett.

Festival screenings include actress Glenn Close’s directorial debut in Pax. Pax is the story of
Sergeant Bill Campbell who returned home from Iraq with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. Sgt. Campbell reclaims his life from an unlikely source: a dog named Pax, trained by an inmate at the Bedford Hills (NYC) Correctional Facility for Women. Following the screening, a panel discussion on post-traumatic stress will include Ms. Close, former ABC co-anchor and award-winning reporter Bob Woodruff and Brigadier Gen. Loree Sutton, Director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

The festival will also host the world premiere of Starting Strong, a new Army reality show created, produced, directed and narrated by actor Ricky Schroder as well as an advanced screening of the new documentary Lt. Dan Band: For the Common Good with special guest actor Gary Sinise. Filmmaker and veteran of the 82nd Airborne, Jonathan Flora, directed Lt. Dan Band.

Another festival world premiere, Chosin, features the work of two Iraq War veterans, Brian Iglesias and Anton Sattler, who lived out of a van and operated on a shoestring budget to complete their epic documentary Chosin, which chronicles one of the most savage battles in American history, the Korean War’s Chosin Reservoir Campaign.

The G.I. Film Festival’s Filmmaker Boot Camp will return this year. Budding directors and other attendees will learn how to finance, market and pitch their own films during this all day event.

The G.I. Film Festival’s principal venue is the Carnegie Institution for Science, 1530 P St., N.W., Washington, D.C. The festival will host the post-traumatic stress panel at the Canadian Embassy and a congressional reception in the Russell Senate Caucus Room.

Individual tickets and festival passes can be purchased online at www.gifilmfestival.com/tickets.

The Department of Defense Education Activity’s (DoDEA’s) Educational Partnership has launched an educational resource for military families, military leaders and school leaders. The resource, “Students at the Center,” provides information on important policies, procedures, and best practices that are critical to supporting the needs of military families’ education.

Available online now at http://www.militaryk12partners.dodea.edu/studentsAtTheCenter/,
the guide offers information focused on the specific needs of the different stakeholders.

For educators serving children from military families in a public school system, the guide offers information on the different military service branches, ranks, and protocols. It also outlines current DOD Initiatives to support schools and the U.S. Department of Education’s Impact Aid program. It also offers insights regarding the issues military families face including frequent transitions and parents deploying.

For families, the guide offers information on navigating the U.S. Education System, choosing a school and being an effective advocate for a child.

For military leaders, “Students at the Center” provides suggestions on supporting military families, forming and strengthening Installation-School Partnerships and ways to enhance communication between Local Education Activities, the military service and families.

The guide will be available May and can be ordered in print format and on CD in through DoD’s Military One Source website.

Getting the Help You Need, When You Need It from TRICARE on Vimeo.

A contractor and three subcontractors have been awarded a U.S. Navy contract to design and develop a new restraint system for aircrews.

Designated CMARS (common mobile aircrew restraint system), the new design will include integrated safety features to reduce the likelihood of injuries caused by combat damage, aircraft crashes, or evasive maneuvers. The design will sense such situations and lock the aircrew in place, thus preventing injurious forces from affecting the crew.

Wolf Technical Services, an engineering company in Indianapolis, was awarded the $12 million contract. Subcontractors include Butler America, Garrity Tool Company, and Software Engineering Professionals.

Jon Carr, chief operating officer for Wolf Technical Services, says that up until development of CMARS, the gunners and mobile aircrew in the back of helicopters have had to rely on a 10-foot long “gunner’s belt that could be adjusted with some difficulty.” He notes the aircrew would secure one end of the gunner’s belt to a D ring on their harness and the other end to a D ring in the floor, ceiling, or sidewall of the aircraft.

“There have been many mishaps over the years where a guy didn’t shorten up the belt enough and found himself outside of the vehicle,” Carr says, “and the instances occurred both in flight and during crashes.”

Carr notes CMARS is an adaptation of a restraint system the Navy tried in the H-60 model helicopters that used a mechanical spring device to lock the wearer in place if the belt were accelerated.

“The MARS (mobile aircrew restraint system) didn’t work out because it wouldn’t allow the aircrew to move around and do his job without locking up,” Carr says. “So the Navy removed it from its choppers.”

Carr says CMARS uses a battery-powered electronic accelerometer and microprocessor to keep the belt snug with no slack, allowing the aircrew freedom of movement, and yet holds the aircrew in position by locking up in an event creating a certain amount of acceleration, like a crash or hard landing.

CMARS is still in development, but Carr expects Wolf Technical to produce about 100 units to go through the Navy’s qualification testing, and after any fine tuning, then go into full production.

He says the Navy intends to eventually buy about 20,000 units. The new system is expected to be used on rotary-wing and in some fixed-wing cargo aircraft.

About the author: Alan M. Petrillo is a Tucson, Ariz., freelance writer who works in a wide variety of fields, writing for national and regional magazines and newspapers. He’s also the author of the mystery novel, Full Moon, and several books on historical military small arms.