Suzanne Fournier is a former Chief of Public Affairs for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Washington, DC.
Prior to her assignment as Chief of Public Affairs, she served as a civilian employee of USACE in Iraq as part of the U.S. military deployment, and she was a blogger for the web site Cincinnati.com (the web site of the Cincinnati Enquirer), under the name "Grandma in Iraq." Her blog became controversial because although it was stated on the blog that she was a U.S. government employee, [1] some readers of the blog were unaware that she was really a Public Affairs Officer for the Gulf Region Southern District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Some readers argued that Fournier was trying to sway public opinion without disclosing her identity as a professional public information officer.
A Freedom of Information Act request resulted in release of emails between Fournier, other USACE employees and the Cincinnati Enquirer. [2] The blog was eventually discontinued.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is an engineer formation of the United States Army that has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil works. The day-to-day activities of the three mission areas are administered by a lieutenant general known as the commanding general/chief of engineers. The chief of engineers commands the Engineer Regiment, comprising combat engineer, rescue, construction, dive, and other specialty units, and answers directly to the Chief of Staff of the Army. Combat engineers, sometimes called sappers, form an integral part of the Army's combined arms team and are found in all Army service components: Regular Army, National Guard, and Army Reserve. Their duties are to breach obstacles; construct fighting positions, fixed/floating bridges, and obstacles and defensive positions; place and detonate explosives; conduct route clearance operations; emplace and detect landmines; and fight as provisional infantry when required. For the military construction mission, the commanding general is directed and supervised by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for installations, environment, and energy, whom the President appoints and the Senate confirms. Military construction relates to construction on military bases and worldwide installations.
The National Enquirer is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. A 2019 sale to James Cohen, CEO of Hudson Group for $100 million was never completed.
The Cincinnati Enquirer is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the Enquirer is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, although the daily Journal-News competes with the Enquirer in the northern suburbs. The Enquirer has the highest circulation of any print publication in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. A daily local edition for Northern Kentucky is published as The Kentucky Enquirer.
The Cincinnati Post was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. In Northern Kentucky, it was bundled inside a local edition called The Kentucky Post. The Post was a founding publication and onetime flagship of Scripps-Howard Newspapers, a division of the E. W. Scripps Company. For much of its history, the Post was the most widely read paper in the Cincinnati market. Its readership was concentrated on the West Side of Cincinnati, as well as in Northern Kentucky, where it was considered the newspaper of record. The Post began publishing in 1881 and launched its Northern Kentucky edition in 1890. It acquired The Cincinnati Times-Star in 1958. The Post ceased publication at the end of 2007, after 30 years in a joint operating agreement with The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Lake Oahe is a large reservoir behind Oahe Dam on the Missouri River; it begins in central South Dakota and continues north into North Dakota in the United States. The lake has an area of 370,000 acres (1,500 km2) and a maximum depth of 205 ft (62 m). By volume, it is the fourth-largest reservoir in the US. Lake Oahe has a length of approximately 231 mi (372 km) and has a shoreline of 2,250 mi (3,620 km). 51 recreation areas are located along Lake Oahe, and 1.5 million people visit the reservoir every year. The lake is named for the 1874 Oahe Indian Mission.
Embedded journalism refers to news reporters being attached to military units involved in armed conflicts. While the term could be applied to many historical interactions between journalists and military personnel, it first came to be used in the media coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The United States military responded to pressure from the country's news media who were disappointed by the level of access granted during the 1991 Gulf War and the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Lewis Hackett III is a lawyer and veteran of the Iraq War who unsuccessfully sought election to the United States Congress from the Second District of Ohio in the August 2, 2005, special election. Hackett, a Democrat, narrowly lost to Republican Jean Schmidt, a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, providing the best showing in the usually solidly Republican district by any Democrat since the 1974 election. Hackett's campaign attracted national attention and substantial expenditures by both parties. It was viewed by some observers as the first round of the 2006 elections. In October 2005, Hackett said he would seek the Democratic nomination in 2006 to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Mike DeWine; however, he dropped out of the race on February 14, 2006, and said that he would return to his law practice.
Bunnatine (Bunny) H. Greenhouse is a former chief contracting officer Senior Executive Service of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. On June 27, 2005, she testified to a Congressional panel, alleging specific instances of waste, fraud, and other abuses and irregularities by Halliburton with regard to its operations in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. She described one of the Halliburton contracts as "the most blatant and improper contract abuse I have witnessed during the course of my professional career".
Elisabeth Bumiller is an American author and journalist who is the Washington bureau chief for The New York Times.
The Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is a US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) research and laboratory organization. The headquarters is located in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on the site of an antecedent organization, the Waterways Experiment Station.
Danny R. Bubp is a former Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 88th District from 2005 to 2012.
The Jamil Hussein controversy was an instance where conservative blogger Michelle Malkin questioned an Associated Press source.
Megan Malia Leilani McClung was the first female United States Marine Corps officer killed in combat during the Iraq War. Major McClung was serving as a public affairs officer in Al Anbar Province, Iraq when she was killed.
The Army Geospatial Center (AGC) is a Major Subordinate Command of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. It is located in Alexandria, Virginia, within the Humphreys Engineering Center adjacent to the Fort Belvoir military reservation.
Rebecca Stevens "Becky" Halstead is a former United States Army officer and the first female graduate of West Point to become a general officer. She was the 34th Chief of Ordnance and Commandant of the United States Army Ordnance Center and Schools at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
Combat Pin for Civilian Service (CPCS) Is a combat service recognition decoration awarded to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) civilian employees. The Gulf Region CPCS is a lapel pin designed after the Army Corps of Engineer's Gulf Region Division (GRD) logo. The Afghanistan Region CPCS is modeled after the Afghanistan District (AED) logo.
Thomas Paul Bostick was the 53rd Chief of Engineers of the United States Army and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Since the creation of West Point in 1802 as the Nation's first engineering school, Bostick is the only African American graduate of the academy to serve as the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Following his military career, Bostick served as the Chief Operating Officer and President of Intrexon Bioengineering. He serves on the Boards of CSX, Perma-Fix, Fidelity Investments' Equity and High Income Fund, HireVue, and American Corporate Partners, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to assisting U.S. Veterans in their transition from the armed services to the civilian workforce. He is also a Forbes Contributor.
Edie McKee Harper was an American photographer, artist and wildlife conservationist. Harper made her living as an artist for 60 years, working in many mediums, including sculptures, paintings, textiles, jewelry and lithographs, etc.
Lisa Jaster is a United States Army Reserve lieutenant colonel and engineer officer who was the first female reserve soldier to graduate from the Army's Ranger School. She completed the training, which as many as 60 percent of students fail within the first four days, after "recycling" through, or retrying, several phases of the multi-locational course. Due to being recycled, she was at the school for six months; the school takes a minimum of 61 days and includes up to 20 hours of training per day alongside a strict diet. She graduated at age 37, while the average trainee age is 23.
Margaret W. Burcham is a retired brigadier general of the United States Army. She was the first female brigadier general in the United States Army Corps of Engineers.