VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN & FAMILY SHARE DEPLOYMENT EXPERIENCES

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Vice President Joe Biden (center, far right) meets with military children and families at the District of Columbia National Guard Armory in Washington, D.C., June 9, 2012. The Biden family participated in a United Service Organizations of Metropolitan Washington-hosted reading of Dr. Jill Biden's book, "Don't Forget, God Bless Our Troops." The book teaches coping methods for military children who are dealing with the absence of loved ones during deployment. DOD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

Biden Family Shares Deployment Experiences at USO Event
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
WASHINGTON, June 9, 2012 - Vice President Joe Biden, accompanied by his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, and their five-year-old granddaughter, Natalie, shared their first-hand experiences on how the deployment of a military parent can impact children during a United Service Organizations-hosted book reading here today.

The Bidens traveled to the District of Columbia National Guard Armory to meet with children of members of the D.C. National Guard. Dr. Biden read from her new book, "Don't Forget, God Bless Our Troops."

Dr. Biden's book teaches coping methods for military children who are dealing with the absence of loved ones during deployment. The book provides a personal account of Natalie's experience in coping when her father, then-Army Capt. Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, departed in the fall of 2008 for a year-long deployment to Iraq with his Delaware National Guard unit. Biden, a military lawyer, has since been promoted to major.
"There are tens of thousands of beautiful kids just like this all over the country," Vice President Biden said at the armory. "What we found out ... was when your mommy and daddy are away it's a hard thing. It's a difficult thing."

"So Jill found out there's a lot of ways to kind of make you feel better," he added. "By the way, it's not just little kids. You don't have to be four, five, six, seven or eight. You can be 17, 18, [or] 19. It doesn't matter."

Elaine Rogers, president of USO of Metropolitan Washington, explained to the children who Dr. Biden was and why she came up with the idea to write a book to help military families.

"She loves children," Rogers said of Dr. Biden. "But do you know which children are very special to her? Military children -- children who have ..." [one or both parents] "in the military."

Rogers said Dr. Biden knows things can be hard when parents are away because of her experiences with her own two grandchildren, Natalie and Hunter.

"This is Natalie's story, as well as your story, because how many your moms and dads have gone to Iraq or Afghanistan?" Dr. Biden asked the children. "What I realized when I went around this country, is that many Americans don't even know anybody, at all, in the military."

"And they don't know how strong you are and how resilient you are when your moms and dads are away," she added.

Prior to reading the book in its entirety, the Bidens provided free copies to each child at the armory. Proceeds from book sales, Rogers said, will be donated to the USO to support the education of military children.

"We're going to make scholarships for kids like you when you get ready to go to college," Rogers told the children.

Vice President Biden reminded the children to remember they are not alone in their experiences and their parents are constantly thinking of them.
"Just remember when your daddy and mommy are working for the country and they're away -- they're always, always thinking about you," he said. "And parents, thank you very much. Thank you for your service. It's amazing what you do."

STAFF SGT. HELPS AFGHANS PREPARE FOR SECURITY TRANSITION

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Air Force Staff Sgt. Kyle Norris, deployed from the 50th Space Communications Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., is serving in Afghanistan with a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kapisa province. The Kapisa PRT covers an area of approximately 1,143 square miles of mountainous terrain, home to nearly 365,000 Afghans. Located just north of Kabul, Kapisa is the smallest province in the country, but has the one of the highest populations per capita spread throughout seven districts. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Greg Biondo  

Face of Defense: Airman Serves with Reconstruction Team
By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio
U.S. Air Forces Central
KAPISA PROVINCE, Afghanistan, May 29, 2012 - Air Force Staff Sgt. Kyle Norris is helping Afghans prepare for the upcoming security transition during his six-month tour with a Provincial Reconstruction Team based here.

Norris, a quality assurance technician and native of Grove Hill, Ala., is home-stationed with the 50th Space Communications Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The staff sergeant supervises three communications specialists and his group is responsible for all communications equipment for the 65-member PRT. Norris' team also manages radio communications at the tactical operations center while the PRT is engaged off-base performing missions.

"We [also] do maintenance for all the communication equipment in the trucks, the handheld radios, the computers and all the network programming," Norris said.
The staff sergeant's PRT covers an area of approximately 1,143 square miles of mountainous terrain, home to nearly 365,000 Afghans, officials said. Located just north of Kabul, Kapisa is the smallest province in the country, but has the one of the highest populations per capita spread throughout seven districts.

The staff sergeant said his responsibilities in Afghanistan are very different from his stateside duties. Norris and his team, he added, keep the PRT members in constant contact with each other and with the base so they can safely continue their mission to prepare Kapisa for transition to Afghan control.

"Back home, I'm pretty hands-off, doing paperwork," he said. "Here, I get to work on the equipment more. The thing that motivates me is that I work with the equipment that will get these guys help if something were to happen. It's important to me to keep the equipment running so they can call for help if they need it."

The Kapisa PRT has been conducting counterinsurgency and stability operations in the province for more than six years, officials said. Mentors on the team have been working with the Afghan leaders of Kapisa at the provincial and district level to bolster the capacity and credibility of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, or GIRoA.

With the help of an Army security force, the PRT travels across not only Kapisa province but also Parwan and Kabul provinces, officials said. The Kapisa PRT participates in key leader engagements, scouts areas for new projects and performs quality checks and site visits on existing projects.

Members of the PRT work closely with the Afghans, mentoring them on how their government can work for them, officials said.