|
Nearly twenty years and over 7,000 miles from IUP, Lt. Col. Wendy
Graham Leland ’84 and Major Mark Martin ’85 met again at Bagram
Air Base, Afghanistan, where they are stationed in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom. Leland’s unit arrived at the end of June, 2002, and
Martin arrived in mid-September.
Leland is deputy
director of information warfare (IW) for Combined/Joint Task Force 180
(CJTF-180), ensuring that IW conducted by the command is synchronized with
strategic guidance from Central Command (CENTCOM), the Joint Staff, and
the Office of the Secretary of Defense. She develops IW plans, ensuring
integration with tactical combat, civil-military operations, and
psychological operations of the subordinate elements of CJTF-180 in order
to accomplish operational objectives.
Leland also provides
for reach-back support from 1st Information Operations Command, U.S. Space
Command, the Joint Information Operations Center, and other IW agencies,
and coordinates with other major theater organizations including the
International Security Assistance Force and the United Nations Assistance
Mission–Afghanistan. Her unit is scheduled to return to the States in
mid-December, and she hopes they will be home in time for Christmas with
their families.
Martin is a police
officer for the Upper Allen Township Police Department, near
Mechanicsburg, and a civil affairs officer in the Army Reserves. After
volunteering for active duty in January, 2002, he was sent to CENTCOM
headquarters in Tampa, finally arriving in Afghanistan as liaison officer
from CENTCOM J5 section to CJTF-180.
“Over 90 percent of
civil affairs officers are in the Army reserve,” said Martin. “They’re
very active over here trying to help the people and government of
Afghanistan re-establish themselves into functioning, self-sufficient
entities again after so many years of foreign occupation and civil
unrest.”
Martin is due to go
back to CENTCOM in mid-December, then report back to Fort Bragg and
“demobilize” in January, returning to civilian life. (11/02)
Back to Web Extra |
