1. Easter Sunrise Service - The annual Easter Sunrise Service hosted by the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall commander will be held April 5 at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery. The non-denominational service will begin with a prelude by the United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" at 6:15 a.m. The service is scheduled to begin with a call to worship at 6:30 a.m. This year's Easter sermon will be delivered by Maj. Gen. Howard Stendahl, chief of chaplains, United States Air Force. An interpreter for the hearing impaired will be provided.
2. Twilight Tattoo season begins April 29 and runs through Aug. 19, every Wednesday with the exception of July 1. The popular annual event will be held on Summerall Field on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall from April through June. Performances are held on Whipple Field on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base from July through September.
Twilight Tattoo is an hourlong, live-action military pageant featuring Soldiers from the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) and The U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own." The U.S. Army Blues, vocalists from The U.S. Army Band Downrange and U.S. Army Band Voices, The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and The U.S. Army Drill Team will also provide attendees with a live look at the nation's history. For more information on group reservations, contact the U.S. Army Military District of Washington at 202-685-2888 or email usarmy.mcnair.mdw.mbx.jfhq-ncr-pao-web-events-omb@mail.mil.
3. April is designated as the Month of the Military Child/Child Abuse Prevention Month. The joint base Family Advocacy Program recently filmed a PSA that will be available online later this month. In the PSA, Soldiers, Marines and joint base staff members hold up cue card-type cards which contain lines from Dorothy Law Nolte's poem, "Children Learn What They Live."
4. April is also Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Commander Col. Mike Henderson signed a proclamation April 1 to officially proclaim the joint base's support of this observance.
5. April 12-18 is the 41st annual National Volunteer Week, a week when people are recognized for and encouraged to seek ways to help and engage their communities. JBM-HH will host its annual volunteer recognition ceremony at 10 a.m. on April 15 at Spates Community Club on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base.
6. The Department of Defense announced that this year's Warrior Games 2015 will take place June 19-28 at Quantico Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. The annual sporting competition brings together wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans from around the country.
The DOD is organizing the games for the first time this year, They had previously been run by the United States Olympic Committee. This year's games will feature eight sporting events with about 200 athletes representing teams from the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command, according to a DOD release announcing the event. Each service will host trials in the months leading up to the games. Updates will be available at www.defense.mil/warriorgames.
7. Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Ray Odierno testified March 26 at a House Appropriations Committee, Defense subcommittee on Army posture. According to an Army News Service report, McHugh said that reducing civilian end strength so it is commensurate with the drawdown of Soldiers is something the Army has been focusing on and is still a work in progress. McHugh said the Army civilian workforce has been drawn down some 14 percent since 2011 and that some analysis has shown that if or when "active end strength reaches 450,000, we'd have to continue to come down to about 239,000 civilians."
8. Marine Col. Stephen E. Liszewski was recently selected to become the 86th commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Liszewski graduated from the Naval Academy in 1990 and will be responsible for the day-to-day conduct, military training and professional development of the more than 4,400 Midshipmen who attend the academy. He will replace Capt. Bill Byrne later this summer and becomes the second Marine Corps officer to hold the position of U.S. Naval Academy commandant. Liszewski currently serves as the commandant of the Marine Corps Military Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York City.
9. President Barack Obama announced March 24 that 9,800 American troops will remain in Afghanistan through this year at the request of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. Obama had previously announced plans to leave 5,600 U.S. service members in the country by the end of 2015.
10. The Army has announced that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, a former captive of the Taliban, has been charged with desertion as a result of his disappearance from his camp in Afghanistan in 2009. He could face life in confinement if found guilty. Bergdahl was released in a controversial swap last year, which saw five Taliban fighters released from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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