Phillip Walter Wellman

Phillip is a reporter and photographer for Stars and Stripes, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany. From 2016 to 2021, he covered the war in Afghanistan from Stripes’ Kabul bureau. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics.

@pwwellman

wellman.phillip@stripes.com

Colored oil smoke surrounds a CH-53K King Stallion at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., in 2019. The bulk of the Navy’s CO2 emissions come from ships and aircraft, but those platforms are the hardest to decarbonize because of the amount of energy they require and the missions they perform.

Navy unveils climate action strategy but glosses over carbon emissions from ships and planes

In addition to targets set by the Biden administration, the Navy pledged to cut 5 million metric tons of CO2 by 2027, which is the equivalent of removing 1 million cars from roads.

Meghan Giguere, a Kaiserslautern Military Community resident whose husband is in the Air Force, shops for groceries with her daughter at Ramstein Air Base on May 25, 2022.

‘It affects the mission’: Service members speak out as COLA slashed in largest overseas US military community

Airman 1st Class Ryan Koerner, a cargo processing specialist with the 721st Aerial Port Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, wraps baby formula in plastic on May 21, 2022, before it was flown to the United States to help ease a national shortage.

Ramstein airmen send plane full of baby formula to US amid national shortage

Air Force Senior Airman Sari Siebert, left, Staff Sgt. Devyn Freeze and Tech Sgt. Marcus Allen-Hall perform in "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)," which will be shown in May at the Kaiserslautern Community Activity Center on Daenner Kaserne, Germany.

The Bard is on base as airmen act out Shakespeare with a twist

Pvt. Trevon K. Coley smiles in a photo posted to his social media account in 2020. On May 6, 2022, Pvt. Trevon K. Coley was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted on involuntary manslaughter and other charges for his role in the accident.

US soldier convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Germany crash, sentenced to eight years

A U.S. soldier was found guilty Friday of involuntary manslaughter in a high-speed crash last year that killed a fellow soldier.

A jackfruit bulgogi bowl with fresh-cut vegetables and a Korean-inspired sauce. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals lauded the dining hall at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown, Va., for their vegan meals.

PETA lauds Coast Guard base for vegan options at main dining hall

When the animal rights group learned about the food at a Coast Guard base, it awarded an annual accolade that recognizes “animal-friendly achievements” in commerce and culture.

The Central Processing Center on Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, Germany, is one of the first places many go when they arrive in the country. Soldiers moving to Europe will soon have to submit certain documents to the Army electronically upon arrival, or risk not getting paid.

Soldiers heading to several Europe posts soon must use different system for travel claims

US soldiers moving to Germany, Italy or Belgium soon will have to submit certain documents to the Army electronically upon arrival or risk not getting paid.

A service member examines a 3D printing machine being used to build a structure to hide military vehicles at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Army barracks in Texas to be biggest 3D-printed buildings in the Americas

Construction of the three barracks expected to set the record began at Fort Bliss, Texas, on Wednesday and should finish within 10 months, DOD said.

Clockwise from the top left: Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy, Cpl. Jacob M. Moore and Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz and Capt. Ross A. Reynolds died in the crash of a MV-22B Osprey in northern Norway, March 18, 2022. U.S. Marine Corps

US repatriates bodies of Marines killed in Norway exercise

The bodies of four Marines killed during a NATO training accident in northern Norway last week have arrived back in the United States.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg talks to troops in Bardufoss, Norway, on March 25, 2022, at the biennial Cold Response exercise. Service members from 27 NATO allies and partner countries are participating in this year's exercise.

NATO chief underscores the importance of Arctic security amid renewed Russian aggression

A failure by NATO to keep a robust Arctic presence could leave it vulnerable as Russia reclaims old Soviet bases and uses the far north as a testing ground for new weapons systems, the alliance’s top official said Friday.

Marines participate in a multinational amphibious landing in Sandstrand, Norway, on March 21, 2022, as part of the Cold Response military exercise.

Russia’s territorial ambitions loom over 27-nation Arctic military exercise

The U.S. and its allies are deliberately showing off their strength during the Cold Response exercise and putting Russia on notice, should it decide to attack another nation along its borders.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David H. Berger, right, greets Norwegian air force Col. Eirik Stueland, commander of the Maritime Helicopter Wing, during Exercise Cold Response 2022 at Bardufoss Air Station, Norway, March 22, 2022.

Too soon to say if more Marines will deploy to Europe, commandant says

Commandant Gen. David Berger made the comment as the number of U.S. troops on the Continent recently reached 100,000 for the first time in nearly two decades.

Marines operate in slushy conditions at Setermoen Military Camp, Norway, on Saturday, March 19, 2022.

As weather warms, heavy rains and avalanches become part of planning for Marines during Arctic exercise

The weather has been a main focus of training for the U.S. Marines and sailors in Norway for the Cold Response exercise, which includes about 30,000 service members from 27 nations.

Marine Corps identifies service members killed in Norway Osprey crash

Loved ones and leaders on Monday remembered the four Marines who died following an aircraft crash in northern Norway for their commitment to their military service and their families.

U.S. Marines prepare to take off in a MV-22B Osprey at Norwegian Air Force Base Bodø during Exercise Cold Response 22, Norway, March 16, 2022. The Marines are assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Exercise Cold Response ’22 is a biennial exercise that takes place across Norway, with participation from each of its military services, as well as from 26 additional NATO allied nations and regional partners. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Elias E. Pimentel III)

4 US Marines killed in Osprey crash during NATO exercise in northern Norway

Four U.S. Marines were killed when their MV-22B Osprey crashed in northern Norway on Friday during a NATO training exercise, Norway's prime minister and Norwegian police said Saturday.

A Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey prepares to take off from Bodo Air Base, Norway, during the Cold Response exercise, March 16, 2022.

Marine Corps Osprey goes missing during Norway military exercise

A U.S. military plane with four people onboard went missing in northern Norway on Friday, the Norwegian military said in a statement.

The Kaiserslautern, Germany-based 21st Theater Sustainment Command announced that masks are no longer required at U.S. military instillations under its purview, but may still be required in medical clinics, schools, child care centers and stores. Ramstein Air Base loosened its mask restrictions earlier in March, but still requires them at similar places, including the KMCC mall, seen here.

Masks no longer required indoors at several US Army installations in Europe

People fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need to wear face masks inside buildings at several U.S. military installations in Europe, one of the largest Army commands on the Continent said Wednesday.

U.S. Marines with the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, load onto a CH-53E Super Stallion during training March 3, 2022, in preparation for Exercise Cold Response in Setermoen, Norway.

US sends sizable contingent to Norway for giant NATO exercise in region rattled by Russia

Several thousand U.S. Marines and sailors are among the roughly 30,000 troops from 27 NATO and partner countries taking part in Norway’s largest military exercise since the end of the Cold War.

General surgeons Air Force Maj. Katherine Cameron, right, and Lt. Col. Joachim Sahm of the German military, practice operating on a patient during a mass casualty response drill at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Thursday, March 10, 2022.

US Army hospital in Landstuhl teams with German colleagues to train for mass casualties

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center teamed up with German doctors and medics for a mass-casualty response drill Thursday that stemmed from a mutually expressed need to work well together.

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Phillip Walter Wellman

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