Martin Luther King - Fort Sam Houston - U.S. Army

PAGE 18 NEWS LEADERJANUARY 13, 2011Former Army officer pedals across USA raising awareness for veteransBy Steve ElliottFSH News LeaderDuty, honor andAmerica. Three wordsevery military veteranhas lived for andunderstands well, butdoes the rest ofAmerica get it?Doug Adams, aretired Army lieutenantcolonel, and hiswife Deb Lewis, aretired Army colonel,have made it their missionto bring attentionto veterans’ needs andissues and encouragecontributions andassistance to veteranand military supportorganizations.“We want to educateand inspireAmericans to payattention to what reallyhelps our veterans andmilitary, and to raiseawareness andstrengthen ongoingefforts that are doingjust that,” Lewis saidduring a visit to theWarrior and FamilySupport Center at FortSam Houston Jan. 7.“Unless we take care ofour military veteransand Families, we won’thave the country wehave today.”The way this couplehas decided to get themessage is a uniqueone. Adams decidedthat cycling through all50 states in a year’stime, stopping alongthe way to visit militaryinstallations, share storiesand raise awarenessamong peopleabout the stress of militarydeployments.Since beginning Oct.7, 2010, the couple hasnotched 4,000 milesthrough 20 states.When the tour is finishedOct. 8, Adamssaid they will havecompleted at least16,000 miles on thejourney.Adams said he completesabout 60 miles aday, weather permitting.Lewis followsalong in a colorfullydecorated recreationvehicle with their carin tow. Lewis coordinateseach stop of thetrip, makes sureAdams stays healthyand does daily updatesfor their website andFacebook, Twitter andYouTube pages.People interested inwhat Adams, Lewisand their dog, Daisy,are experiencing duringthis cross-countrytrek can click onhttp://www.DutyHonorAmerica.com for adetailed look at theirgoals, stories from theroad and also find outwhat they can do tohelp veterans.“What we tell peopleis ‘If you need help,get it. If you can help,offer it,” Adams said.“People need to chooseto get involved,whether they are a veteranor someone whowants to help out. Findout what organizationsin your area are doing.If you know a veteranor the Family of one,stop by and ask themwhat they might needhelp with.”“Pay attention tofind just one thing thatmight be really helpfulto our military and veterans,and do somethingabout it” Lewisadded.Photo by Steve ElliottDeb Lewis, Doug Adams and Daisy poseoutside the Warrior and Family SupportCenter with Doug’s bike and the RV theyuse during the Duty, Honor, America crosscountrytour.14TH MIB from P5The major said theanswer is: all 35Msassigned to an interrogationbattalion – such as the14th MI Battalion – whoare expected to deploy asa Joint Interrogation andDebriefing Center arerequired to perform basicHuman Collection Teamoperations.And because HCTs tendto operate as attachementsto ground-holdingcombat arms units, all35Ms must be proficient inbasic, tacticalSoldier/leader skills toensure completion of theirmission and to ensuretheir survivability whileaccomplishing the mission.“Ensuring Soldiers andleaders are prepared forany mission when theyleave the 14th MIBattalion is a key task inour training plan,” saidWetherill.