Belleville woman summits Kilimanjaro to raise money, awareness for women in war zones

For 35-year-old Leia Johnson, of Belleville, hiking to the top of Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro last month was not only the completion of a life-long dream, but also a way to raise awareness and funds for women in East African war zones, according to Scott Air Force Base public affairs.

Leia, wife of Maj. Scott Johnson, the aide-de-camp to the Air Mobility Command commander, summited Mount Kilamanjaro with a group of 14 other women and one man ranging from 26 to 64 years old, who also had the same goal of helping women in war zones.

Before the climb, the group spent a portion of their time in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo talking with women about finding peace. She said she wanted to go beyond just providing relief to help these women rebuild their lives.

“These women recognize the need to build peace on a personal level, and that they can’t just rely on policy or laws,” Leia said. “When it comes down to it, there’s a responsibility as a citizen that they understand fully. However, they do need all the support we can give.”

***

On March 29, 2016, the State Department and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter approved the ordered departure of Department of Defense dependents and civilian personnel assigned to the 39th Air Base Wing at Incirlik Air Base and other locations throughout Turkey, according to a statement from the Air Mobility Command, based at Scott.

AMC personnel around the world sprang into action, preparing to execute the missions that would ensure the safe and expeditious airlift of families and pets leaving the country.

According to data compiled by the 618th Air Operations Center, at Scott, the combined mission effort was accomplished within 74 hours following the initial order. Approximately 650 passengers and 70 pets were moved using three contracted commercial aircraft and six C-17 Globemaster III aircraft assigned to Air Mobility Command.

***

The Obama administration is considering sending 250 additional U.S. special forces to Syria to advise rebel groups as part of a broader Pentagon recommendation on how to increase the pace of operations against ISIS, a U.S. defense official said Friday, according to CNN.

The goal is to lay the groundwork for local forces to retake both Raqqa, Syria, and Mosul, Iraq, and eliminate ISIS’ ability to use them as areas from which to plan external attacks.

President Barack Obama emphasized the importance of that goal after a meeting with top commanders at the White House earlier this week.

“We should no longer tolerate the kinds of positioning that is enabled by them having headquarters in Raqqa and Mosul. We’ve got to keep on putting the pressure on them,” Obama said Tuesday.

***

In perhaps the most famous civilian-military confrontation in U.S. history, on this day 65 years ago, President Harry S. Truman relieved Gen. Douglas MacArthur of command of the U.S. forces in Korea. The firing of MacArthur set off a brief uproar among the American public, but Truman remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a “limited war,” according to History.com.

As U.S. and United Nations forces turned the tide of battle in Korea, MacArthur argued for a policy of pushing into North Korea to completely defeat the communist forces. Truman, however, worried that the People’s Republic of China might take the invasion as a hostile act and intervene in the conflict.

In November 1950, hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops swarmed into North Korea and flung themselves against the American lines, driving the U.S. troops back into South Korea. MacArthur then asked for permission to bomb communist China and use Nationalist Chinese forces from Taiwan against the People’s Republic of China. Truman flatly refused these requests and a very public argument began to develop between the two men.

In April 1951, President Truman fired MacArthur and replaced him with Gen. Matthew Ridgeway. On April 11, Truman addressed the nation, explaining it “would be wrong — tragically wrong — for us to take the initiative in extending the war… Our aim is to avoid the spread of the conflict.” General MacArthur had been fired “so that there would be no doubt or confusion as to the real purpose and aim of our policy.”

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Belleville woman summits Kilimanjaro to raise money, awareness for women in war zones."