Nation's Premier Combatives Training Prepares Soldiers for the Unexpected in Combat

SPRINGFIELD, IL (01/26/2012)(readMedia)-- A group of spectators gathered staring intently, clenching their teeth, pumping their fists in the air, and yelling as they encircle two warriors standing toe to toe; knowing that it will soon be their turn to step inside the circle. Those gathered were cheering for their fellow Soldier to take down his/her attacker by successfully completing a clench and ending the barrage of punches.

A total of 22 Soldiers from Iowa and Illinois National Guard units came to the Illinois Military Academy (IMA) at Camp Lincoln in Springfield Jan. 23 to 27 to receive instruction in one of the premier combatives locations in the country. The goal is to become level one certified within the Modern Army Combatives Program.

"We were the first National Guard site to hold a level-three combatives program class outside of United States Army Combatives School (USACS) at Fort Benning, Ga.," said Staff Sgt. Thomas A. Luca of Carrollton with 935th Aviation Support Battalion in Chicago, working for the Modern Army Combatives Program. "No other National Guard unit has ever done that. I know not too many Regional Training Institutes have a combatives program."

The Illinois Army National Guard Modern Army Combatives Program is conducted at the IMA and can provide housing, food, and combatives training at one site. In addition to the first-class facilities, the instructors, which include Staff Sgt. Steven Owen of Moline, Staff Sgt. Nick Grant of Caseyville, Sgt. First Class Robert Fehrholz of Springfield, Staff Sgt. Jae Russell of Springfield, Staff Sgt. Josh Lipa of Mount Zion, Sgt. Bernard Dickneite of Mount Vernon and Luca. Many of these Soldiers are award winning and have won several combatives tournaments themselves.

The Modern Army Combatives Program is in response to the ever-changing environment that Soldiers have found themselves in while in combat.

"We have found through reports that Soldiers go into a room and if their weapon misfires they don't know what to do," said Luca. "Or sometimes they are doing detainee operations and the detainee tries to go after them and they are not real sure what to do."

Life on the battlefield changes, which means techniques used by our military must adapt.

"The old hand-to-hand that we used to learn is not conducive to what is going on in the battlefield," said Fehrholz, a recruiter in the Recruiting and Retention Command and combatives instructor. "We are trying to teach them how to keep someone controlled, detain them, and get a dominant body position on them so they can hold them until backup shows up."

This has become such an important initiative that the Army has made learning it mandatory.

"The Army demands that there will be a level-one certified Soldier in each platoon, one level- two certified Soldier in each company, one level-three certified s Soldier in each battalion, and one level-four certified Soldier in each brigade," said Luca. "It's a pyramid training structure that guarantees that Soldiers are getting trained on combatives."

With that structure in place the Army can validate that collective learning is taking place. This training ensures that each Soldier can handle themselves in the midst of combat; ultimately instilling confidence.

"One of the things this combatives program does is instill confidence in Soldier; especially those who have never been punched or done ground grappling," said Luca. "They have a sense of confidence when they come into those situations. They know that, in the instance where this might happen, they have these skills to rely on and are not just fighting blind."

"It did give me confidence," said Spc. Katie A. Kastel of Bourbonnais with Company E, 634th Brigade Support Battalion in Joliet. "I had all these big instructors telling me even though I was little that I did a really good job. It makes me want to go back to my unit and teach others what I learned. I encourage other smaller people out there not to be afraid. I think it's something every Soldier needs to know."

Story by Sgt. Jesse Houk, 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

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WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - Jan. 26, 2012 - Whether it's moving massive structures such as wind turbine equipment, hauling out water vessels in Alaska or engineering a unique system to plant trees at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, HMR Supplies prides itself on solving literally the nation's biggest  moving and transportation challenges. The Forest City company's commitment to innovation has helped it earn the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation's (IFBF) Renew Rural Iowa Entrepreneur of the Month award.

HMR Supplies is an original equipment manufacturer that provides products for the heavy transport industry, including structural movers, large construction equipment moving or transportation of oil field, cement, marine and wind industry products.

The company started when founder Ron Holland of Forest City needed to raise his home to put in a basement. Holland ended up buying the house-moving business he used in 1977 and from there, began manufacturing Holland Dollies for resale. In 1999, Ron's son, Chris, brought new skills to the company that he learned while studying electrical engineering at Iowa State University.  Chris and his wife, Natalie Hammer, helped turn the small manufacturing company into a global industry powerhouse, which still operates out of Forest City.

In addition to creating innovative products that move large loads, the company is hiring. Natalie said the company currently employs 18 people and hopes to grow to 50 in the next five years. "We're helping bring people back to Iowa to work and raise their families," said Natalie. "It's part of the rural brain gain."

Winnebago County Farm Bureau member Randi Benson said companies like HRM are vital to the rural area. "Without agriculture and businesses like this, there wouldn't be a Main Street in Forest City," said Benson. "It keeps the community going."

Renew Rural Iowa (RRI) is an IFBF initiative supporting new and existing businesses through education, mentoring and financial resources. The next Renew Rural Iowa Business Success Seminar takes place February 15th at the Muse-Norris Conference Center in Mason City.  For more information, go to www.renewruraliowa.com.

 

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2012

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8:00 A.M.

(Board Room, 1st Floor, Administrative Center)

_____

Roll Call: Earnhardt, Hancock, Minard, Sunderbruch, Cusack

FACILITIES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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1. Approval of adoption of a Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan for Scott County. (ITEM 1)

HUMAN RESOURCES

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2. Approval of updates to the County's General Policy.

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3. Approval of organizational changes in the Health Department.
(ITEM 3)

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4. Discussion of strategy of upcoming labor negotiations with the County's organized employees pursuant to Iowa Code Section 20.17(3). - CLOSED SESSION

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5. Approval of personnel actions.

HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

FINANCE AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL

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6. Discussion with Scott County Kids on Parenting Program: Inside Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8:00 A.M.

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7. Approval of assessment of the 2011 election costs for school board and municipalities elections totaling $163,528.68.
(ITEM 7)

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8. Semi-annual GIS Update.
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9. Approval of ESRI GIS Software maintenance. (ITEM 9)

_____ 10. Approval of Kwik Shop, Inc., Eldridge, beer/liquor license.

_____ 11. Approval of the appointment of Ned Schroder to Benefited Fire District #1. (ITEM 11)

_____ 12. Approval of the appointments to the Condemnation Appraisal Jury. (ITEM 12)

_____ 13. Approval of setting a public hearing for February 23 at 5:30 p.m. for an amendment to the County's current FY12 Budget. (ITEM 13)

_____ 14. Approval of authorization for the filing and publication of the budget estimate for FY13 and setting a public hearing for February 23 at 5:30 p.m. (ITEM 14)

_____ 15. Discussion of Administration FY13 budget presentation. (The meeting will move to the 6th Floor Conference Room for this discussion.)

OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

_____ 16. Consideration of appointments with upcoming term expirations for boards and commissions. (3 month notice)

o Zoning Board of Adjustment (Needs 1 more female representative) Kevin Jenkins (term expires 05-01-12)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012

REGULAR BOARD MEETING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:30 P.M.

(Board Room, 1st Floor, Administrative Center)

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - Harris Interactive^©, one of the world's leading market research firms, has completed a comprehensive study on homeowner preferences for roofing and exterior home features. Sponsored by DaVinci Roofscapes^®, the color leader in the polymer roofing industry, the nationwide study of homeowners age 40 and older with household incomes of $150,000 or more and who own a single-family home valued at $400,000 or more, finds that homeowners* are eager to select durable exterior products for the home that complement their personalities and that color is important to them when deciding to replace those exterior features.

Conducted between November 22 and December 13, 2011, the Harris Interactive survey was commissioned by DaVinci to establish a benchmark for monitoring homeowners' color attitudes and product opinions related to the exterior of the home. The extensive survey questions dealt with gaining insights into the overall exterior of the home along with specific information on the roof, windows, siding, doors, trim and garage doors.

Some of the key findings of the survey include :

v  A vast majority of homeowners (88 percent) across all regions of the country see the exterior of their homes as one entity and not a sum of its separate components.

v  Color preference for exterior features on the home is driven mostly by homeowners' individual sense of style (45 percent) and their desire to blend in with their surroundings (42 percent).

v  One-third of surveyed homeowners (32 percent) indicate that they are restricted on the color palettes they are allowed to use on exterior features of their homes, usually by a homeowner association or by historical area requirements.

v  Curb appeal is considered extremely/very important to higher end homeowners, particularly those in the Northeast where one-third mentioned curb appeal as being "extremely important" to them.

Colorful Roofs

"We were especially interested to learn what role color plays in the homeowner's mind

when planning for major home improvement projects," says Ray Rosewall, CEO and President of DaVinci Roofscapes. "What we discovered is that color does play an important role when deciding to replace exterior features. In addition, color availability from manufacturers for different exterior features plays a role in what brand a homeowner will purchase.

"At DaVinci, we offer 49 standard colors of polymer slate and shake roofing tiles that can be used to create a virtually infinite variety of color blends for a roof. Hearing these study results confirm that we're on the right track with our color offerings and that homeowners are gravitating to companies that offer a variety of colors for the home exterior."

Survey results indicate that shades of black, gray and brown are currently the most popular colors of roofing products on homes. "These results match up with our ongoing sales records," says Rosewall. "When we talk about color in roofs, we're not talking about orange, pink or purple. We're speaking about dozens of different gradations and shades of brown that we offer, from light clay to dark autumn, or a multitude of gray shades from light gray to dark weathered gray."

Roofing Desires

When considering a new roof purchase, homeowners are far more interested in purchasing a roof that lasts than cutting corners by purchasing a low-cost product. Durability was identified as the number one factor when determining which new roof to purchase, followed closely by longevity. Key factors that received the most mentions as having "a lot" of influence in the decision on what type of roof to purchase include :

·       Durability (88 percent)

·       Longevity (83 percent)

·       Low/no maintenance (72 percent)

·       Resistance to weather (71 percent)

·       Has a warranty (69 percent)

·       Fire resistancy (57 percent)

·       Material the roof is made of (55 percent)

·       Price (50 percent)

"Fortunately the family of DaVinci polymer roofing products satisfies the needs ranked

highest by homeowners in this study," says Rosewall. "Durable and resistant to weather, insects, rot and mold, our recyclable tiles have a 50-year warranty and we offer the most affordable polymer tile on the market today."

One of the other interesting elements of the survey results include influencers that will encourage homeowners to purchase a new roof on an existing home. Not surprisingly, 65 percent of respondents indicated that they would replace their roof if it became damaged from severe weather. After that, significantly lower numbers of people said they would replace their roof soon because it is old and worn out (23 percent), the roof is near the end of its warranty (13 percent), they want a roof that's more energy efficient (12 percent) and their current roof looks bad, is stained or discolored (11 percent).

Study Methodology

This 15-minute survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of DaVinci Roofscapes among 1,005 U.S. homeowners age 40+ with household incomes of $150,000 or more and who own a single0family home of at least $400,000 in value in the South and Midwest, at least $500,000 in the Northeast and West (excluding California) and at least $700,000 in California between November 22 and December 13, 2011 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through its North American and European offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help its company --- and its clients --- stay ahead of what's next. For more information, visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

About DaVinci Roofscapes

DaVinci Roofscapes has manufactured award-winning polymer slate and shake roofing since 1999. The roofing tiles are virtually maintenance free and far more cost effective than the natural product. DaVinci leads the industry in tile thickness, the tile width variety and the greatest selection of subtle earth-toned colors. Company products have a 50-year warranty and are 100 percent recyclable. DaVinci proudly makes its products in America and is a member of the National Association of Home Builders, the Cool Roof Rating Council and the U.S. Green Building Council. For additional information call 1-800-328-4624 or visit www.davinciroofscapes.com.

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