by The Associated Press

The Associated Press

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Arch Coal Inc. is donating $300,000 for mine safety research at West Virginia University. 

The funds will be managed by the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources' Mining and Industrial Extension Department.

WVU said Thursday it will try to double the gift by seeking a matching grant from the state Research Trust Fund.

Chief Executive Steven Leer says St. Louis-based Arch appreciates WVU's work in educating a new generation of engineers.

WVU's Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies trained nearly 10,000 miners last year.
It offers certification courses for new miners and mine foremen, along with training in mine rescue, mine fire safety and emergency preparedness.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The West Virginia National Guard is hosting an opening ceremony for an innovative training program and facility Monday, Sept. 19 at 9 a.m. at the Center for National Response in Standard, W.Va. The new training program and facility was designed to prepare U.S. forces to navigate challenging terrain they face daily in countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, and others.

The program, which was designed by West Virginia National Guard staff, will provide training for various combat vehicles in conditions similar to the mountains of Afghanistan, including maintenance, advanced mobility, electronics, weapon systems, and driving in challenging terrain.  The course can also be altered to mirror other countries in which the United States military could be deployed.

by The Washington Post

Coal miners seldom get glory. Cowboys, astronauts and cops do, but how many boys strut around in coal miner helmets? In my imagination, miners are grim and unsmiling, with futures as bleak as the tunnels they descend into, only making the news if they go on strike or tunnels explode.

Well, LeRoy White is proud to have been a coal miner, thank you very much. He spent nearly 30 years in the mines, just like his father and his grandfather before him. Now he leads tours into Exhibition Coal Mine in Beckley, coal country's tribute to the men of down below.

On a recent Friday, I took a seat in a rail-riding "man car" with about 19 others as White snapped on his headlamp. The car clattered forward, and he took us 900 feet underground.

MetroNews

A training course in West Virginia designed to better prepare U.S. military forces to navigate the terrain in other countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan, will officially open Monday.
The site, which staff members with the West Virginia National Guard designed, is located at the Center for National Response in Standard.
It sits on an active coal mining site and was built in partnership with Tyler-Morgan Coal Company and Pardee Resources Group.

MetroNews 
Standard, Kanawha County

A new military training course in Kanawha County is just the first part of what will eventually be known as Fort West Virginia.

On Monday, officials from Washington, D.C. joined state representatives to help dedicate the Advanced Mobility Training Area which is located at the Center for National Response in Standard.
Prior to their deployments, soldiers from across the United States are now training on the new course which looks a lot like what they will face in Afghanistan.

"We've had soldiers just about from everywhere here training," First Sgt. Charles Withers from Mason County tells MetroNews.

He is part of the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group out of Kenova and helped lead the development of the course which covers more than 20 miles on an active mining site.

"The terrain here is mountainous, just like Eastern Afghanistan so training in the mountains adds a lot to it.  The only difference between here and Eastern Afghanistan is we have trees," he said.
The West Virginia National Guard is partnering with Tyler-Morgan Coal Company and Pardee Resources Group on the course which will continue to grow and change in the coming years as military missions warrant.