American Heroes Press

By Army Spc. Lindsey M. Frazier

Special to American Forces Press Service

 May 15, 2008 - Many mothers sit at home and wonder what their deployed son or daughter is doing, hoping everything is all right and waiting for the next phone call. Some might see a mother deploying with her son as a great thing, but what onlookers might not think about is what is left back home. Army National Guard Spc. Roschell Eaton of 3175th Military Police Company from Warrenton, Mo., knows this scenario all too well.

 Eaton’s younger son, Devlin, a high school senior, is staying with his grandmother while she deploys with her elder son, Spc. Jason Hutchins, also an MP in the 3175th.

 The mother-son National Guard duo from Troy, Mo., is in mobilization training here for their upcoming deployment as part of Kosovo Force 10, Multinational Task Force East. KFOR 10 is the 16th rotation in an ongoing peacekeeping operation to provide a safe and secure environment for all of Kosovo.

 Eaton and her sons have never been apart; it has always been the three of them. She has raised the boys on her own since Jason was a toddler.

 “We’re best friends,” Eaton said with a sigh. “But sometimes you have to leave the ones you love to do what you love.”

 Eaton served eight years in the Navy before joining the Missouri Army National Guard. She began missing the camaraderie that she had in the military when she would watch Jason come home in his uniform, and in 2006, after a 12-year break from the military, she decided it was her time to get back in.

 “While I was in advanced individual training, my mom called me and told me she joined the Guard,” Hutchins said. “She talked about joining, but I didn’t think she really would.”

 In addition to being military police in the same company, mother and son were in the same platoon before the deployment started. And they’re not the only military members of their close-knit family. Devlin, the younger brother, joined the Army National Guard last year and completed basic training the summer before his senior year. He will continue on to AIT for military intelligence as soon as he graduates from high school this month.

 “It’s really cool having my mom in my unit; it made us even closer than we were before,” Hutchins said. “The part that is hard is leaving my brother behind.”

 The hard part, Eaton said, is that she won’t be home to be Mom. She said she has always been a mother first, but being a mother has to come second, since the Army is now first, she acknowledged.

 As she expressed her pride in being a mother, she paused, turned her head to the side and looked away. Taking deep breaths was all she could do to keep the tears from falling. The moment hit her as she thought of not being there for the special moments in her younger son’s life.

 “He graduates high school this year, and there’s prom,” she said softly. “I want to be there for the big things and the little things. Devlin says he understands. He said that I was there for his basic training graduation, and that meant more to him than anything.”

 Eaton smiled as she regained her composure. With a big grin, she said, “My boys and me are a tight trio.”

 Knowing both of her sons are safe, and not sitting on the couch wondering about them, is the best thing she could ask for, she said.

 (Army Spc. Lindsey Frazier serves in public affairs at Camp Atterbury, Ind.)

By:  David Waksman

 Police officers routinely respond to violent domestic disputes.  Usually the parties live together.  What happens when she tells you that he keeps his stash in that dresser drawer and he beats her whenever he gets high.  Can you search the dresser or the premises on her say so alone.  Must he also consent? 

 READ ON

http://www.police-writers.com/articles/waksman_consent_searches.html

By James Lilley

 Joining the ranks within the profession of law enforcement, whether on the local, state, or federal level is honorable and courageous.  Men and women across the nation are taking their oath of office, swearing “to protect and to serve,” proudly pinning on their new badges, strapping on their gunbelts, and stepping out into a different world.  There’s a certain excitement that goes with that very first day when you walk out the door of your station house, and become a part of the war on crime.  Beware the dangers: Just about a step and a half on the other side of the sanity you hold dear, is a dark side.  Like a steel-jawed trap, it lies in wait for the unsuspecting—the unprepared, and if you aren’t careful, it can rip the life out of you. 

 The dark side can change your life in the blink of an eye, or over time, depending on the strength of its grip, and your vulnerability to it.  You can change to the point where friends don’t know you any more, and to your own family you become a stranger.  A husband or wife might wonder what happened to that person they married, while your children ask who you are.  There are some that spiral down into the deepest recesses of the dark side, and when their entire world suddenly seems hopeless, they “eat their gun.”  Now, those left dazed and alone, without a husband and father, or wife and mother, try to find the answers to “What went wrong?” or “Why?”

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http://www.police-writers.com/articles/lilley_dark_side_badge.html

by Andrew Hawkes, Author of “Secrets of Successful Highway Drug Interdiction”

 In today’s drug smuggling world, highway drug traffickers are constantly attempting to think of new an innovative ways to conceal their contraband from law enforcement. Little do they realize that the same methods they come up with have been being used for decades by their predecessors. Through thousands of narcotic interdiction arrests by skilled interdiction officers all over the country, we have learned many of these traits and characteristics. Below, I have outlined ten popular techniques that highway drug traffickers attempt to use in hopes that they will successfully get their dope to their destination. By familiarizing yourself with some of these tips, you too can increase your interdiction success. Keep in mind you must always have probable cause to stop a vehicle.

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http://www.police-writers.com/articles/hawkes_ten_indicators.html

by Julie Hryniewicz-Hache

The fact that you are reading these words means that you are part of a very unique group of individuals. Whether you are an officer, the loved one of an officer, or someone who is employed or involved in any capacity in this industry, you probably understand the deep impact of the policing culture on your life. Policing is now in your blood and will forever change the way that you see the world.

Although I pulled the pin on my policing career, after only eight years on the force, it was news that a former co-worker of mine had ended own his life, that reminded me how we are all still connected. Hearing this type of information affects every one of us, whether we know the person or not. It causes us to reflect on our own lives and is a perfect opportunity to reestablish our priorities for our brief time on this earth.

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http://www.police-writers.com/articles/hache_life_too_short.html

I pray that the reading of this very personal account of war and its aftermath will benefit other combat veterans agonized by severe and chronic PTSD as it has been for me in the writing of it. The intention of this account is to help them, their friends and loved ones better understand this devastating “psychological, automatic, and natural response” to repeated, life threatening situations and to offer them hope and guidance in achieving a much brighter future. This publication will bring them to the realization that they are not alone in their sufferings and that professional help, understanding and comradeship, is as close as the nearest Veterans Administration Medical Center.

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 http://www.police-writers.com/articles/griffin_bugle_call.html

I want to tell you about the Bear.  He was, and to me still is, all that is pure and admirable about being a cop.  I was assigned to him during the summer of ’69, and my five months with him left me so in awe, so touched and troubled, that I still often think of him.

 The bear flew to the scene of an incident like an avenging angel.  His small thick hands grasped the wheel so tightly in anger that I actually feared for the life of the unknown suspect at the other end of the ride.  No red lights or siren; just a gut-wrenching wide-open acceleration born of Bear’s fury.  I was nervous with this field training officer, who was known to all as Bear – or THE Bear to those who were perpetually in wonder of him, as I certainly was.  I stole a glance at him as we throttled around the corner, a block away from our assigned location, and involuntarily shivered at the sight.  A 220-pound, five feet, eight-inch body swathed in blue material, harnessed by a gunbelt partially obscured in fat, topped by an undersized head sporting a marine-style crewcut.  A bear indeed, with an animal-like anger to match.  He scared me then, for he looked so formidable.  But this was before I came to know him.  And it was before his final bout with evil. 

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http://www.police-writers.com/articles/gilbert_bears_lesson.html

As we all learn to live in a Global world and make the transition into the Information Age, the ability to reason is essential. The Ability to Reason is literally, “the use of the cognitive mental powers needed to think, reflect, make decisions, work and apply choice”. It’s now an art-based cognitive skills class. The Ability to Reason Class is currently taught for Court Services in Goodhue County, MN as an innovative approach for early offenders in the Criminal Justice System. After two years, we have an 81% non-recidivism rate. This class has been adapted for use by school Social Workers and Special Ed teachers, plus another adaptation for 12 Steppers in recovery. It is also excellent for parents with pre-teen children in “Surviving Middle School”. The reason this approach is so effective is because it is based on developmental and experiential learning.

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http://www.police-writers.com/articles/flanders_ability_reason.html

Misidentifications have contributed to the wrongful conviction of more than 75% of the 213 people (as of February, 2008 ) exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing in the United States.  The single largest cause of wrongful conviction, misidentifications plague our criminal justice system from the investigative stage through final disposition. 

 The Innocence Project closely tracks all eyewitness identification studies, in an effort to help jurisdictions understand how such misidentifications happen – and as importantly, what can prevent them from happening.  This Resource Guide synthesizes the most important information for those considering how to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identifications.

 Mindful of the different political landscapes of each state, this Guide attempts only to provide its readers with uncontested scientific research, grounded in years of examination and endorsed by a wide range of justice and law enforcement organizations, such as the National Institute of Justice and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

 The average citizen might assume that eyewitness identifications are typically accurate, and that DNA exonerations are anomalous flukes.  Surprisingly, however, studies show that the rate at which eyewitnesses select non-suspect from photo and live lineup members during the course of an identification procedure hovers around 20%.   Of the 213 post-conviction exonerations proven through DNA testing to date, over 75% included at least one misidentification.   These facts demonstrate that misidentifications are not irregularities, but rather common occurrences in the course of criminal investigation. 

 Misidentifications not only harm the innocent, but damage the ability of law enforcement to properly investigate crime.  Inaccurate eyewitness identifications can “burn witnesses” and otherwise confound investigations from the earliest stages.  Time is a critical factor in a successful criminal investigation; when a misidentification distracts police from the real perpetrator, the potential for justice diminishes, while the threat to public safety increases.

DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE

By Air Force Senior Airman Tong Duong

Special to American Forces Press Service

 May 8, 2008 - The candle flame performed a slow, mesmerizing dance as it flickered from one side of the wick to the other. The light softly illuminated his face as his silhouette became a portion of the projection behind him — images of Holocaust victims. Soft-spoken yet with a stern demeanor, Chaplain (Capt.) Raphael Berdugo’s eyes glistened as he solemnly lead a prayer.  More than 30 servicemembers bowed their heads to pay their respects during the Holocaust Remembrance Vigil held at a base in Southwest Asia on May 2 to remember the more than 6 million lives lost in the Nazis’ genocide of Jews during World War Two.

 One of only nine rabbis in the Air Force and the only one in the U.S. Air Forces Central region, Berdugo’s area of responsibility extends far beyond the base.

 “I once received a call in the middle of the night from the wing chaplain of a different base, asking me what would be appropriate to do as a memorial service for a fallen Jewish servicemember,” said the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing chaplain from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J.

 A 15th-generation rabbi, he said one of his many tasks includes leading his people to a righteous path.

 “First and foremost, [being a rabbi] means being a positive role model for others and a visible reminder of what’s holy,” Berdugo said. “It also involves being a representative — almost like an ambassador — for the Jewish people and helping them with their religious needs.”

 One of those religious needs is keeping a strictly kosher diet, which has been easy thanks to the efforts of the 379th Expeditionary Services Squadron members, Berdugo said, noting that he received several requests for kosher versions of the military rations known as MREs: meals, ready to eat. With the help of the services squadron, he said, several cases of kosher MREs were sent to numerous locations in the area of operations.

 Berdugo said he brings a different perspective to the table and that others enjoy asking questions about his religion and learning about Judaism.

 “I am very often the first rabbi that most airmen have ever met,” he said.

 Some are curious about the significance of his camouflage-patterned yarmulke, the small, round cap he wears on top of his head. Its origination comes from a combination of two Hebrew words — “Yare” and “Malka” — meaning “fear of the king,” he said. “Basically, we wear it to remind ourselves to be submissive to the one above.”

 Any servicemember whose faith requires the head to be covered is authorized to wear an item such as a yarmulke in uniform, the rabbi pointed out.

 With a relatively small Jewish population here, Berdugo’s religious services are only a small portion of the work he does, allowing him to focus on visitation and other aspects of a chaplain’s ministry.

 “[I am] readily accessible to the airmen in all squadrons,” he said. “After all, I am a pastoral caregiver for people of all faiths.”

 Ordained 15 years ago, Berdugo said being a Jewish religious leader was something he felt he was born to do.

 “Becoming a rabbi was something I grew into,” the father of three boys and two girls said. “Even at the young age of 12, while my parents ministered to the adults, I would minister to the children.”

 Born a British citizen in Dublin, Ireland, to Moroccan parents, Berdugo said he always has felt that a higher power had intervened and guided his path to becoming an ordained minister and ultimately joining the U.S. Air Force.

 “My education led to my becoming an ordained rabbi,” he said. “After receiving my rabbinical ordination from Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, N.J., I applied for and received my green card. I started out as a middle school teacher, and for 10 years I taught the Torah and Judaic subjects at a private Jewish school.”

 Berdugo said he thought he would end his career as a school principal, but after becoming a naturalized American citizen in 1999, he was recruited for the Air Force chaplaincy.

 “Although I joined as a reservist, I knew that one day I would become active duty,” he said.

 Military service is not new to Berdugo’s family; his uncle is serving as a chaplain in the French army. Berdugo said he would like for his children to follow in his footsteps.

 “My wish is for at least one of my five children to carry on the family tradition,” he said.

 (Air Force Senior Airman Tong Duong serves in the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs Office.)