Army orders recall of body armor

By Richard Lardner - The Associated PressPosted : Thursday Jan 29, 2009 6:02:11 EST

WASHINGTON — Army Secretary Pete Geren has ordered the recall of more than 16,000 sets of body armor following an audit that concluded the bullet-blocking plates in the vests failed testing and may not provide soldiers with adequate protection.
The audit by the office of the Defense Department inspector general, not yet made public but obtained by The Associated Press, faults the Army for flawed testing procedures before awarding a contract for the armor.
View entire article in Army Times

Open Forum

Until we get the authors set up to drive the content of the Currahee Blog leave a comment to this post to get things going. You will have to be registered with Google or one of the OpenID accounts.

Currahees in the VFW Magazine

The February 2009 issue of the VFW Magazine has an article titled "1970 When the War Was Won". The article gives a recap of the year and particularly talks about fire base actions. Several Currahees were mentioned including Kenny Kays (MOH) and Ken David (DSC) D 1/506 and Mike Bookser B 1/506. C 1/506 action on FSB Granite on March 20, 1970 and D 1/506 action at FSB Maureen were mentioned also.

LTG Elvy Roberts 1st Airborne Battle Group

LTC William L. Schwartz (Ret) reported LTG Elvy Roberts, now deceased, commanded the 1st Airborne Battle Group 506 Inf, 101st Abn Div, back in 1961-2. LTG Roberts, who graduated from West Point in January 1943, jumped into Normandy and Holland with the 101st. Schwartz served under then COL Roberts when he was with the 506th and two times later in his career.

LTC Schwartz thought it might be of interest to fellow Currahees to know that LTG Roberts' grandson, Jake Roberts, was recently awarded, and accepted, an appointment to the US Military Academy Class of 2013. Jake's younger brother Pierce, is a candidate for the Class of 2014.

Pentagon: PTSD does not warrant Purple Heart

Ruling calls disorder ‘not a wound,’ but a ‘secondary effect’

The Pentagon has decided it will not award the Purple Heart to troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The decision, reached Nov. 3 but not made public until now, followed months of review by military and outside officials that was spurred when Defense Secretary Robert Gates was asked at a May news conference whether he would support awarding the Purple Heart to PTSD victims.

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer Army Times
Posted : Saturday Jan 17, 2009 7:57:41 EST

Currahee Rendezvous 2009 Update

The 2009 Reunion is just around the corner. Take a look at the current schedule of events direct from Task Force Currahee HQ. Currahee Rendezvous Schedule

Reunion Hotel Accommodations

Currahee Rendezvous 2009Thursday, May 28 to Saturday, May 30, 2009Fort Campbell, KY and Nashville, TN

Hotel Accommodations

Due to the large number of Currahee veterans expected to attend the Rendezvous, the 506th Association has secured blocks of rooms in two Clarksville, TN hotels, located next to each other.
Both hotels are near over 35 restaurants and a Mall.

Comfort Inn - North111 Westfield Drive, I-24 exit 4Clarksville, TN, US, 37040

The Home-Towne Suites (click on Suite Tour to see photos of the rooms)129 Westfield Court Clarksville, TN 37040

Special Rendezvous group room rates in each of the hotels are:$65.00 + 14.5% Tax =$74.43This rate is in effect May 27-31, 2009.

Room Reservations:The phone number 931-647-6144 can be used to make a reservation at either hotel.Use the Group Reservation Name: 506th Association

NOTE#1: headquarters for the 506th Association will include a Hospitality Room, Historical Displays, and Quartermaster Sales. These rooms will be located in the 4th BCT, 506th Infantry area at Fort Campbell. Exact location TBD, and a map will be posted on the Association web site.

NOTE#2: civilian visitors must first register their cars at Gate 4 before being allowed into Fort Campbell. Items required for registration include a valid drivers license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance (or rental car agreement).
After registration, use Gate 7 to get to the 4th BCT, 506th Infantry area of Fort Campbell.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR OUR GOLD STAR FAMILIES

COL John "Pete" Johnson, Commander of The 506th Infantry Regiment, Combined Task Force Currahee would like every Currahee Gold Star Family member to be able to read the attached letter. If you know of a Currahee Gold Star Family make sure they get a copy of this letter. Click this link Letter from COL Johnson

Currahee Rendezvous 2009

No this is not another reunion, nor is it just a gathering of veterans. This is something very special and will be remembered for its unique approach to the homecoming of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 506th Infantry Regiment. Our regiment is currently deployed to Afghanistan and COL Pete Johnson, Regimental Commander, has decided to have a three day celebration when the troops return to Fort Campbell. Plans are now being made and YOU are invited. That is correct, all 506th Veterans are invited to attend CURRAHEE RENDEZVOUS 2009. Although the Currahees will return to CONUS in late winter or early spring, in order to allow for block leave and event planning, the Rendezvous is scheduled for May 28, 29, 30, 2009.

Visit the 506th Infantry Association website for more information. But while you are here, leave a note, are you going?

$500 College Scholarship To Be Offered

The Association is now accepting applications for our 2009 College Scholarship. This year the Scholarship Committee will be able to award at least one $500 scholarship due to the generous donations from our membership. Click this link Scholarship Fund for information on how to apply. Items one thru six, in the link, detail the application procedure while items seven thru thirteen explain the selection process. Applicants are reminded to include their mailing address, phone number, and email address with their application. In addition, items that are sent with the application cannot be returned. Do not send original documentation as photo copies of important papers will be accepted. Questions may be directed to me at the email address listed below. Alfred May AlfredMay@aol.com Scholarship Committee Chairman

Introduction

As you can see we are going to try something new for the 506th Association web page. Our forum worked well but about a year ago we began having significant problems with corruption, hacking or spam being added to the content. Due to the amount of problems we discontinued the board, until now. Jump on, leave your thoughts, or ask questions. Let's see if we can have this blog reach the popularity of the old forum. I will be tweaking this as we go along, if you have suggestions drop me a line and let me know how I can make this work. Remember, I went through Basic when we still had KP so go slow. Good Luck and have a Happy New Year!