They met upon a concrete battlefield in the heart of our nation's capital.  There was no roar of cannon fire, no explosions, no ground to be captured or defended.  All that was heard was the steady cadence of rifle buts striking the ground, heels snapping together and gloved hands smacking in unison the wooden hand guards of rifles.  Each branch of the armed forces was represented; each came to test honor, courage, skill, and precision - not to eliminate an enemy or save a life - but to demonstrate the discipline, skill and mettle necessary to be part of an elite community within an elite community.

Brass, chrome and leather gleamed brightly in the noon sun.  Every uniform was crisp and pristine, reflecting the pride and attention to detail possessed only by those who know what it means to render honors, carry on the finest traditions of military customs and courtesies, provide solace to grieving families, and celebrate our nation's triumphs.

On this crystal clear April afternoon, tourists, veterans and local residents gathered at the steps of the Jefferson Memorial to cheer for their favorite service and to witness the grace that is military drill.

The Joint Service Drill Exhibition, held this year in conjunction with the Centennial of the Cherry Blossom Festival, showcased the talents of the silent drill teams of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Merchant Marine Academy and the Coast Guard.  Each team had 15 minutes in which to demonstrate their skill, strength and control in hopes of earning a competition trophy.  Consistent with military engagements, there was no award for second best.

The Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard's Silent Drill Team is composed of 16 members who are selected from the Ceremonial Honor Guard, based in Alexandria, Va.  At a current strength of 75, the Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard - much like the service as a whole - is significantly smaller in size compared to its DOD counterparts.

According to Lt. Jason Himsey, Ceremonial Honor Guard officer in charge, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps teams have a strength of about 200 members each.  It gives them the advantage of having a broader base of candidates from which to choose when selecting silent drill team members.

Himsey also noted that the smaller size of the Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard means that the silent drill team has fewer opportunities to train and practice together as a unit because, unlike the DOD teams, the Coast Guard's silent drill team is a collateral duty, meaning team members must also handle other missions assigned to the Honor Guard.

The ability to train together is critical to success and to building confidence and trust.

"There's a certain element of danger involved with what we do," said Himsey.  "There's a 13 and a half pound weapon with a fixed bayonet moving at high speed so that presents a cutting hazard.  The air-toss movements present the risk of stabbing."

Those risks became pointedly clear as the silent drill team's drill master, Petty Officer 1^stClass Andrew Hammersmith marched between two columns of drill team members as they spun and passed weapons inches in front and behind him.  Later in the drill, Hammersmith stood motionless and unflinchingly as four bayonets stopped inches from his face.

There was an air of confidence and maturity about the silent drill team members that belies their young appearance.  Himsey said the average age of an Honor Guard member is now about 24, which he noted is a change from when he first served on the team as a seaman, noting that some are married and others have degrees.

But it stands to reason that a unit whose mission is to represent the Coast Guard would mirror the service as a whole.  Just as boat crews and aircrews train to achieve proficiency, so too do members of the Honor Guard.  In addition to embodying the core values of the Coast Guard, members of the Honor Guard must embrace the unit's core values of Pride, Poise and Perfection.  "They practice for hours and hours," said Himsey, "and then there is lots of solo practice, where members work on maneuvering the weapon, maneuvering it around themselves, working on hand placement and points of release, which are critical for executing the maneuvers safely."

For all their training, practice and effort, the Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard's Silent Drill Team put on a great show for an appreciative crowd, but it was the Air Force's team that earned the competition trophy this year.  But there is no time to for the Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard to dwell on this moment, for them it's on to the next detail - this time in New Orleans - for an event that is part of the nation's Bicentennial of the War of 1812.

Two-Day Event Features HUD Secretary Donovan, Assistant Treasury Secretary Eberly and Housing Industry Leaders from Across Illinois

CHICAGO - April 17, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn sent a message of welcome to Illinois to federal housing leaders to Illinois as they addressed the 500 attendees at the Illinois Governor's Conference on Affordable Housing at Chicago's Navy Pier. Governor Quinn commends the state's housing industry leaders for their dedication to ensure working families, seniors and people with disabilities access to have safe, affordable housing.

"We are focused on creating and stabilizing affordable housing in Illinois communities to build momentum for our state's economic recovery," Governor Quinn said. "Housing is key to job growth and strengthening communities, and we are committed to continuing our progress in boosting affordable housing opportunities throughout our state."

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan delivered the keynote address, and U.S. Department of the Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Janice Eberly also addressed Illinois' housing leaders.

"I want to thank Governor Quinn for his leadership on housing issues and for providing a collaborative forum to address the most critical housing issues impacting Illinois communities," HUD Secretary Donovan said. "We are impressed by the innovative approaches to housing we are seeing here in Illinois. The Obama Administration is committed to encouraging local solutions and to ensuring that Illinois' successes can be a model for community transformation across the country."

"I applaud Governor Quinn's commitment to helping people stay in their homes - tens of thousands of struggling Illinois homeowners have already received help through the administration's programs, including the Illinois Hardest Hit Program," Assistant Secretary Eberly said. "This is a good start, and we will continue to do more to address the economic challenges we face here in the state of Illinois and throughout the country."

The conference's two days of sessions also featured state housing leaders discussing supportive housing, rental housing development, community stabilization, financing and affordable homeownership. Representatives of the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS), Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), and the Illinois Department on Aging participated in the event.

Governor Quinn's administration has created new programs to make homeownership more affordable and create solutions for families and communities hurt by the foreclosure crisis.

·         Last year, Governor Quinn launched the Illinois Hardest Hit program (www.illinoishardesthit.org) to offer up to $25,000 in temporary financial assistance to help homeowners who have experienced a job loss or pay cut continue to make their mortgage payments. The program uses $445 million in federal Treasury funds. To date, nearly 1,800 Illinois homeowners are approved to receive assistance that will help them stay in their homes.

·         In December, Governor Quinn introduced the Welcome Home Heroes program to help Veterans secure a home. The program offers secure, fixed-rate loans and up to $10,000 in down payment assistance to thousands of military families, creating more than 400 jobs throughout Illinois. To date, $14 million in Welcome Home Heroes financing has enabled 130 military families to buy a home. Under Governor Quinn, IHDA has helped over 6,000 Illinois families buy homes and stabilize communities with $342 million in loans, grants and down payment assistance.

·         In February, Governor Quinn announced the Illinois Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN). The IFPN is a one-stop-shop linking homeowners with available foreclosure prevention assistance. The collaboration between IHDA, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) and Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) provides access to counseling services, legal advice, mortgage payment assistance programs, foreclosure prevention events and tips on how to avoid mortgage fraud. Network resources are available at www.KeepYourHomeIllinois.org, and via a free hotline 1-855-KEEP-411 (1-855-533-7411) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

·         The Illinois Building Blocks Pilot Program, a joint program of the state and Cook County launched in February, is rehabilitating vacant properties and increasing affordable housing in the communities of Berwyn, Chicago Heights, Maywood, Park Forest, Riverdale and South Holland. The $55 million pilot phase of the program targets the six communities to stabilize neighborhoods, protect property values, preserve the existing local tax base and increase affordable housing. Foreclosures have devastated both families and communities. Studies have shown a foreclosed property can decrease property values located in the same block by as much as $10,000.

"Governor Quinn has long worked as a strong advocate for affordable housing, and his administration has supported important legislation and housing initiatives," IHDA Executive Director Mary R. Kenney said. "The Illinois Governor's Conference on Affordable Housing provides an opportunity for our state's housing partners to share best practices and forge new partnerships to continue positioning Illinois as a national leader."

About IHDA

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (www.ihda.org) is an independent, self-supporting bonding authority that finances the creation and preservation of affordable housing throughout Illinois. Since 1967, IHDA has allocated more than $11.1 billion to finance more than 221,000 affordable housing units for the residents of Illinois.

CHICAGO, IL (04/16/2012)(readMedia)-- Illinois Army National Guard leaders gathered for a reduced forces rehearsal (RFR) drill hosted by the 108th Sustainment Brigade (Sust. Bde.) April 13 at the North Kedzie Illinois Army National Guard armory in Chicago.

The RFR drill allowed units to discuss and plan training for the nearly 4,000 Illinois Army National Guard Soldiers attending annual training at the 2012 eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) in July at Camp Ripley, Minn.

Participants included the 108th Sust. Bde. in Chicago and the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) in Urbana and select units from the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in Chicago and 65th Troop Command Brigade in Springfield, Joint Force Headquarters of the Illinois National Guard in Springfield and elements of the Wisconsin National Guard.

"The RFR is important because it allows us to physically view unit movements in the area which we are operating on a reduced scale," said Maj. Chris Heck of Chicago, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 108th Sust. Bde. "We use 20 foot by 40 foot maps of the areas of operation and each unit is represented by a small icon."

Each type of unit has a distinctive symbol that represents it on the icons, said Heck. These icons are moved around on the map to represent the planned movement of the unit at designated times.

"This is certainly impressive to see when you first walk in," said Brig. Gen. Johnny Miller of Tammes, the deputy commanding general of the Illinois Army National Guard. "I know for this exercise people have put in a lot of work preparing for it and there has been progress from the last (RFR) in 2008."

RFRs improve our readiness by allowing units to execute missions in a simulated environment and evaluate training and operating plans, said Heck. The key aspect is it allows the 33rd and 108th along with other supporting elements to jointly coordinate the details of a training mission of this size.

"This in turn allows the leadership and staff to plan and execute realistic training that is safe, fiscally responsible, and still meets the commanders' intent," said Heck.

This will be the second time the Illinois National Guard has conducted an RFR drill and XCTC, with the last in 2008 to prepare the 33rd IBCT for its historic deployment to Afghanistan in 2008 to 2009. It was the largest single deployment of Illinois Army National Guard Soldiers since World War II.

The 2012 XCTC will focus training on both brigades training and operating in the mission essential tasks.

The 2012 XCTC RFR was in the planning process for nearly a year. The 108th took the lead on planning the event and will begin on its logistical support mission before 33rd Solders arrive to Camp Ripley.

"We started planning this RFR in August and we set out to organize a well developed a operational walk through of XCTC," said Lt. Col. Drew Dukett of Roodhouse, the acting commander of the 108th. "From the feedback I received from 108th and the 33rd, I'm confident every command team in attendance knows their unit's day-by-day mission and what will be required of them."

While none of the brigades are slated for a large scale overseas deployment, the XCTC allows leaders to ensure units are trained in the most up-to-date tactics and operating procedures. Both the 33rd and 108th are scheduled to attend training at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, La., in 2013. XCTC and JRTC measure overall unit readiness against the Army Forces Generation cycle to ensure the 33rd and 108th are fully capable for any missions ordered by the president to support overseas operations.

XCTC provides a realistic, multi-level, combined arms training for combat and combat support units during an extended annual training period in order to help the brigades build on the Soldiers' individualized and small-team training.

With nearly 3,000 Soldiers from the 33rd and roughly 1,200 from the 108th to train in Minnesota, both units will focus on their wartime missions.

"The 108th has a very unique mission when it comes to sustainment operations and that mission will play a vital role in XCTC," said Dukett. "Our Soldiers will be providing the logistical support for both the 33rd and 108th. While this is no easy task, the 108th stands ready and will excel in its mission, training and readiness while at XCTC."

XCTC is the top readiness priority for the 33rd IBCT, said Col. Paul Hastings of St. Charles, the commander of the 33rd. It'll ensure high training down to unit levels and heightens tactical and operational proficiency.

"With that I know our Soldiers will be confident in themselves, their equipment and their leadership," said Hastings.

Pentagon will implement several elements of Holley Lynn James Act

Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) joined Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey today to announce new Department of Defense directives that will implement several provisions of Braley's Holley Lynn James Act - almost a year to the day after the bill's introduction.k,

The announcement came after Panetta and Dempsey joined Braley and a small group of House members to discuss addressing sexual assault in the military.

Braley introduced the Holley Lynn James Act last April to strengthen the legal process for addressing claims of sexual assault in the military and improve policies to prevent sexual assault and domestic violence.  The bipartisan bill is named after Holley Lynn James, a constituent of Braley's who was killed by her husband while both were in the service.  James had filed complaints against her husband, who was supposed to be restricted to his barracks the night he murdered her.

"The Pentagon's new directives incorporating aspects of the Holley Lynn James Act to improve the military's response to sexual assault in their ranks is a positive development," Braley said.  "Today's announcement is an important step in creating the zero-tolerance atmosphere that commanders and leaders frequently talk about with regards to these crimes.  I will keep pressing the Department of Defense to put their words into action when they say one sexual assault is one too many and to better care for the victims of these crimes."

The directives announced by the Pentagon today in many instances were based on language contained in Braley's Holley Lynn James Act.

First, the Pentagon will now require sexual assault allegations be immediately reported to senior commanders, who will then consider if the case should proceed to a court martial.  This provision ensures that sexual assault cases are considered by officers with maturity and experience and that these cases are not dismissed as a result of personal bias.

Second, the Pentagon also recognized the need for better prevention and oversight of the Department sexual assault policy.  The Pentagon will take steps to improve the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases by setting up Special Victims Units in each service branch that are trained to investigate sexual assault crimes, appropriately counsel victims and interview offenders, and give them the ability to better recognize the characteristics and behaviors of offenders. The Department of Defense will also require all servicemen and women to receive training on the Department's Sexual Assault Prevention policy within 14 days of entering service.

The Pentagon also agreed to support Guard and Reserve members who may be sexually assaulted while on active duty but who have seen the investigation and prosecution of their assault go cold when they return to their civilian lives.  The new directives will create a way to ensure these individuals have full access to the same resources available to active duty members to seek justice.

A number of provisions of the Holley Lynn James Act focusing on the prevention of sexual assault were previously enacted into law as part of the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act.