Red Bull Soldiers Graduate 'Air Assault' Course in Iowa

Approximately 160 citizen-soldiers from the Iowa and Minnesota Army National Guards graduated from a 10-day "Air Assault" certification course at Camp Dodge, Iowa earlier this month.

Successful completion of the course results in an individual qualification badge, one that features a distinctive winged-helicopter design, and that is worn on both dress and duty uniforms. Graduates possess the necessary skills for optimal use of helicopter assets in support both training and combat operations.

Using slings and nets, soldiers learned to safely package and attach supplies, equipment, and even ground vehicles to hovering helicopters. In addition to these "sling-load" operations, soldiers also participated in multiple obstacle, rappelling, and distance challenges.

Crews and UH-60 "Black Hawk" helicopters from the Iowa National Guard’s Company C, 2nd Battalion, 147th Aviation based in Boone, Iowa provided aviation support.

The three-phase Air Assault course starts with a grueling "Zero Day," in which soldiers are weeded out based on a 2-mile run followed by a 9-event obstacle course. Only after surviving Zero Day are attendees addressed as "Air Assault" students. Approximately 250 soldiers started the Camp Dodge course; more than 80 did not complete Zero Day.

On Day One, Air Assault students conduct a 6-mile road march, after which their prescribed rucksack loads are inspected for completeness and serviceability.

In Phase One, Air Assault students learn aircraft basics, including how to signal and guide helicopters from the ground. In Phase Two, students learn how to sling-load equipment. Students are validated on loading Humvees, "water buffalo" trailers, and A22 cargo bags. In Phase Three, students learn to harness and hook themselves up to ropes, then rappel safely to the ground from a helicopters hovering at 80 meters above the ground. On the final day, students conduct a 12-mile foot march in three hours or less.

Skills and familiarity with helicopter operations pays off in both peace and war. During its 2010-2011 deployment to Eastern Afghanistan, Iowa's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division conducted a brigade-sized air-assault mission in Laghman Province. The event was labelled "Operation Bull Whip."

At the completion of the Camp Dodge course, Maj. Gen. David Elicerio, commander of the 34th Inf. Div., headquartered in Rosemount, Minn. pinned Air Assault badges on soldiers. Graduates included:

• Staff Sgt. David Bloyer, the distinguished honor graduate for the class
• Sgt. Ahren Blake, the honor graduate for the class
• Spc. Carl Thompson, the soldier with the fastest foot-march time (12 miles in two hours)
• Pvt. 1st Class Sam Applegate, the youngest soldier in the graduating class

The course was taught by a cadre of active-duty U.S. Army soldiers from the Warrior Training Center, Fort Benning, Ga. The cadre also taught a Pathfinder course at Camp Dodge, with approximately 50 soldiers participating from the Iowa and Minnesota Army National Guard, and the U.S. Army.

For news coverage of the course, including video, click here and here.

Additional You Tube video appears here.

Editor's note: This post was compiled by the Red Bull Rising blog based on multiple Iowa Army National Guard news and photo releases. All photos are by Staff Sgt. Chad D. Nelson, Iowa Army National Guard.

'Talk of Iowa' Radio Explores Veterans and Writing

I participated in a "Talk of Iowa" program on Iowa Public Radio yesterday, Thurs., May 13, regarding how veterans and families can communicate their military experiences through writing and music.

Also participating were host Charity Nebbe, Iraq War veteran and poet Hugh Martin, and Vietnam and Gulf War veteran Lem Genovese.

Martin is the recent winner of The Iowa Review's Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans. He's also author of the recent poetry collection "The Stick Soldiers."

During the interview, I found out Martin is also a former Ohio Army National Guard soldier, although I didn't have a chance to find out whether he ever wore the "Buckeye" patch of the 37th Infantry Division. I've gotten a chance to write about that unit once or twice.

I first met Genovese at an April writing workshop for veterans in Iowa City. The former Iowa Army National Guard medic continues to provide care, comfort, and inspiration to military families through his words and music.

For my part, I chose to read from an excerpt of a 2012 Memorial Day essay, which I'd written for the Iowa Press (Iowa) Press-Citizen. It paired nicely with one of Martin's poems, and, more importantly to me, was another opportunity to share the names of the four citizen-soldiers who were killed during the 2010-2011 deployment of 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division.

You can listen to the 50-minute archived program here. Left-click the "listen" button to stream the audio. Right-click the button to save the program on your computer as an MP3 file.

Eight Ways to Share Your Military Story, Part II

Editor's note: Much of the following appeared in my classroom materials for an April 2013 military-writing workshop. Fellow writer and journalist Doug Bradley and I presented workshops regarding online-journaling and military-blogging. This version is hyperlinked for easy reference.

For Part I, which first appeared on the Red Bull Rising blog Tues., May 7, 2013, click here.

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6. LITERARY MAGAZINES AND JOURNALS

Literary magazines and journals are periodicals, and are often published by academic and arts programs. Depending on mission, they may publish fiction, non-fiction, essays, poetry, and visual art. While general-interest journals may devote a single issue to military themes (recent issues of Epiphany, The Iowa Review, and So It Goes, for example), there seems to be a growing number of journals specifically targeted toward such topics.

The literary journal of the Veterans Writing Project, O-Dark-Thirty is an online journal of lightly edited military-themed fiction, non-fiction, interviews, and poetry (“The Report”); and a more curated quarterly print publication (“The Review”). The publication accepts submissions year-round.

For a 2012 Red Bull Rising interview with Veterans Writing Project founder Ron Capps, click here.

Part of a growing family of campus-based publications started with The Journal of Military Experience at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kent. Published in 2011, Volume No. 1 included non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and visual arts. Published in 2012, Volume No. 2 included academic papers and scholarly research. Editors continually emphasize the process as much as the product, and look forward to working with new and aspiring writers. In 2013, editors have announced The Blue Falcon, which will focus on military fiction; and The Blue Streak, a journal of military-themed poetry.

For a 2012 Red Bull Rising interview with The Journal of Military Experience's founder Travis Martin, click here.

Founded in 1990, War, Literature & the Arts is an international journal of the humanities published by the Department of English and Fine Arts at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. The annual journal is published both in print and online.

For a 2013 Red Bull Rising profile of the WLA Journal, click here.

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7. ANTHOLOGIES

Anthologies are one-shot collections of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and/or visual arts.

Published by the Warrior Arts Alliance and Southeastern Missouri University Press in November 2012, "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors" is currently accepting submissions for its second volume of military fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Deadline is July 1, 2013.

For a 2012 Red Bull Rising interview with "Proud to Be" editor Susan Swartout, click here.

Other examples of military-themed anthologies include:

• "How to Not Tell a War Story," edited by Michael Lund
• "Remembrances of Wars Past: A War Veterans Anthology," edited by Henry F. Tonn
• "Fire and Forget: Short Stories from the Long War," edited by Matt Gallagher and Roy Scranton

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8. ORAL / WRITTEN HISTORY PROGRAMS

A number of websites offer to repost short anecdotes or descriptions of military service. Always make sure to understand the copyright acquired by such sites. If a given site fails to be able to describe the copyright relationship it wants to establish with you and your work, it’s best to avoid them altogether.

Real Combat Life republishes combat narratives from all eras. Successful participants receive a T-shirt.

Reminisce magazine, and its companion Reminisce EXTRA magazine, are published bi-monthly by the same Greendale, Wisconsin-based company that produces Reader’s Digest and The Family Handyman magazines. “Reminisce helps readers ‘bring back the good times’ through true stories and vintage photographs,” the mission statement reads. “Any appropriate photo or memory is welcome, as long as it originated from 1900 through the 1970s.”

The editors look for a first-person, conversational voice, as well as the possibility of supporting artwork or photography. It does not purchase freelance material, but instead relies upon reader submissions. Submissions are usually 700-words or less.

In addition to oral histories, the Library of Congress Veterans History Project accepts other historical items and records, including biographies of 20 or more pages (5,000 words or more).

According to the website:

The focus of the Veterans History Project is on first-hand accounts of U.S. veterans who served in World War I (1914-1920), World War II (1939-1946), the Korean War (1950-1955), Vietnam War (1961-1975), Persian Gulf War (1990-1995) or the Iraq-Afghanistan conflicts (2001-present). Those U.S. citizen civilians who were actively involved in supporting war efforts (such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers, etc.) are also invited to share their stories. The project greatly values and appreciates veterans' stories from additional combat arenas and those received will be processed as resources allow.

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Good luck, and keep writing!

And, like the Red Bull says: "Attack! Attack! Attack!"

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Note: This Red Bull Rising blog-post about military writing is sponsored by the Red Earth MFA program at Oklahoma City University. This Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program requires 10-day residencies twice a year, in January and July. The program encourages explorations in all forms of creative non-fiction, poetry, screenwriting, and literary and genre fiction. The program has been approved for post-9/11 G.I. Bill funding, and Oklahoma City University appears on Victory Media's 2013 list of Military Friendly Schools.