Reward Upped To $16K-plus in Beating of Army SGT Stationed At Centcom

Posted May 16, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated May 16, 2012 at 06:17 PM

I was trying to be good the other day and not looking at any messages coming over the Blackberry on my day off.

So I ignored the media alert from Tampa police about a brutal beatdown caught on video, figuring it was at best a blurb and possibly a package for TV.

Then my MacDill google alerts started blowing up.

Johnny Aparicio, the victim, was from the base, according to other local media. At midnight Monday, I fired off emails to various folks at MacDill. Finally, while out with my wife Tuesday afternoon, I found out that Aparicio was an Army sergeant assigned to U.S. Central Command.

There is a reward out for the men who beat up Aparicio. Here’s the latest on the case from my colleagues at TBO:

A reward of $16,250 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspects wanted in the beating of a MacDill soldier on early Sunday.

Aparico, 24, was beaten by four people after his car broke down in an Interbay neighborhood.

Aparico has been released from the hospital where he was treated for facial injuries during the attack and robbery, police said.

The Winters and Yonker Law Firm has offered $10,000; Without Walls Church, $5,000; a citizen from Virginia, $1,000; and a citizen from New Jersey, $250; according to the Tampa Police Department.

Aparico was new to the area, said Tampa police Lt. Mary O’Conner, who added it was likely a random crime.

His car had broken down about 3:30 a.m. on South West Shore Boulevard in the Sun Bay South area on the Interbay peninsula.

Aparico was walking east on West Iowa Avenue when he was approached by three men at Renellie Drive. One of them asked Aparico for a dollar, police said, and as he replied, the three started hitting him in the face and upper body.

Video from a security camera shows another man running up Iowa Avenue and joining the attack. All four are shown hitting and kicking Aparico after he fell to the ground.

The men also went through Aparico’s pockets, taking his cellphone and wallet, according to police. They fled south on Renellie Drive.

The video shows Aparico struggling to get to his feet. He eventually was able to get up, knock on a neighbor’s door and call police.

Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477).

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USF To Unveil New Center For Strategic and Diplomatic Studies

Posted May 15, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated May 15, 2012 at 03:45 PM

I have to admit that when it comes to geopolitics, I am a geek.

So the University of South Florida’s launching of a new Center for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies, which will “unite interdisciplinary research and expertise to help inform policy decisions,” is something that intrigues me.

As I am rushing out the door to interview another soldier about his experiences in Iraq, I will defer to the press release issued by USF.

According to the university:

The Center for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies is a unique approach linking the latest research in geopolitical issues to policy making, said professor Mohsen Milani, whose expertise on Iran, Afghanistan and the wider region has earned him a place as a frequent commentator on the BBC, Voice of America and media outlets around the world. The center will develop academic programs, organize lectures, workshops and conferences to explore the critical international issues of our times, as well as conduct research and formulate policy recommendations in a non-partisan setting.

“Our goal is to bring down the walls disciplines have created for themselves as well as the walls that have separated the public sector from academia and academia from government,” Milani said.  “We will explore alternative policies that enhance our national security and which also contribute to peace and harmony.”

The center was created through the guidance and support of Karen Holbrook, USF’s Senior Vice President for Global Affairs & International Research; USF Provost Ralph Wilcox and Eric Eisenberg, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. The effort builds on several high-level conferences organized by Milani and College of Public Health Professor Tom Mason exploring security issues in the Middle East and Central Asia, including ones which brought military leaders such as Ret. Gen. David Petraeus, now the CIA director, and Gen. John Allen to campus.

Milani said the times require a new approach to discussing international affairs that require researchers and scholars to contribute their knowledge to create practical and workable policies to ensure security on many levels.

“We can no longer talk about American prosperity or American security unless we understand the connections between our domestic policies and international events,” Milani said. “There is an everyday impact on how we do things, such as the connection between events in the Persian Gulf and Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz and the price of gasoline that we pay.

“We really need to have a paradigmal change in the way we look at foreign and domestic policy. We can no longer look at them as two independent entities. They are closely linked.”

The new center, lead by internationally-recognized Middle East expert Mohsen Milani, will hold its first event Monday, May 21, when it hosts journalist Christopher de Bellaigue, author of the newly released Patriot of Persia, a biography of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. The British and American-led coup against Mosaddegh is considered one of the rallying points that fueled the eventual Iranian Revolution and continues to shape Iran’s modern –day interaction with the West.

De Bellaigue’s public lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in Room 206 of C.W. Bill Young Hall, 12303 Maple Drive, on the USF campus in Tampa. The event is free to the public

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Special Operations Forces To Stage Mock Attack on Tampa

Posted May 15, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated May 15, 2012 at 10:09 AM

Forget faux pirates, if you really want to see Tampa get invaded, come to town on May 23. That’s when a 10-nation Special Operations Forces assault squad will hit in a capabilities demonstration coinciding with the International Special Operations Forces week conference.

What was once an annual industry conference showcasing hardware and gadgets being pitched to Special Operations Forces has become a celebration of SOF under U.S. Special Operations Command commander Adm. William McRaven, who has invited delegates from 96 nations to Tampa for a conference focused on “Building the Global SOF Partnership.” 

According to SOCCOM:

The demonstration will feature SOF forces from ten different nations “assaulting” mock enemy positions and rescuing “hostages” next to the convention center, both on land and in the bay.  Spectators are invited to come and watch the half-hour demonstration.  Boats, assault vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, helicopters and other aircraft will all be involved in the rescue scenarios as Special Operators from the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force work alongside SOF from partner nations around the world.
 
Partner nations in the demonstration will include Canada, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Thailand, Norway, Poland, Norway, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.  All nations represented in the capabilities demonstration have either trained or engaged in combat alongside U.S. SOF forces over the past several decades.

The northern tip of Harbor Island, west of the Harbor Island Bridge, and the bridge itself are available as good viewing areas for the demonstration.  There will also be limited viewing space on the water’s edge adjacent to the Tampa Convention Center, but much of it will be restricted to attendees of the conference and will be cordoned off for a safety perimeter.  The channels leading to the demonstration area behind the convention center will be blocked leading up to the demonstration, in order to ensure the safety of the public and the operators.  Boats and other water craft will not be allowed on the water in that area during the demonstration.

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Hillary Clinton To Address U.S. Special Operations Command Conference in Tampa

Posted May 14, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated May 14, 2012 at 08:35 AM

With U.S. Special Operations Command in such great demand around the world, and often requiring permission from the State Department before engaging, folks in Tampa attending an upcoming special ops conference in Tampa will get to hear from the Secretary of State herself.

SOCCOM will host U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as keynote speaker for the International Special Operations Forces Week conference Gala Dinner at the Tampa Convention Center Wednesday, May 23.

According to a media release:

USSOCOM commander Adm. William H. McRaven is inviting Special Operations Forces (SOF) delegates from 96 nations to the Tampa Convention Center for a conference focused on “Building the Global SOF Partnership.”

The Secretary will speak to the delegates as well as members of the U.S. SOF community and industry representatives for her keynote speech at the dinner.

The gala is at full capacity, and tickets are not available.

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8 Troops Killed In Afghanistan This Week

Posted May 12, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated May 12, 2012 at 11:15 PM

Eight troops were killed in Afghanistan last week.

Sgt. Jacob M. Schwallie, 22, of Clarksville, Tenn.,  Spc. Chase S. Marta, 24, of Chico, Calif. and Pfc. Dustin D. Gross, 19, of Jeffersonville, Ky. died May 7, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.  They were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

2nd Lt. David E. Rylander, 23, of Stow, Ohio and Spc. Junot M. L. Cochilus, 34, of Charlotte, N.C. died May 2 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked their unit with an

Staff Sgt. Thomas K. Fogarty, 30, of Alameda, Calif., died May 6, in Ahmad-Kheyl, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

Sgt. John P. Huling, 25, of West Chester, Ohio, died May 6 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. Huling’s death was originally reported by the International Security Assistance Force, which characterized it as the result of gunshot wounds inflicted by an individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform.

Master Sgt. Gregory L. Childs, 38, Warren, Ark., died May 4, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Childs is assigned to Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va. 
There have now been 1,950 casualties in Operation Enduring Freedom, the nation’s longest war.

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