Defense Employee, Two Others Charged With Passing Secrets to China

American Forces Press Service

Feb. 11, 2008 - A Defense Department employee was among three people arrested today for espionage after allegedly passing classified U.S. government documents and information to the People's Republic of China, Justice Department officials announced. Gregg William Bergersen, 51, a weapons system policy analyst at the Arlington, Va.-based Defense Security Cooperation Agency, is accused of being the source of the classified information. Much of the information related to U.S. military sales to Taiwan, Justice Department officials said.

Bergersen allegedly passed the information between January 2006 and this month to Tai Shen Kuo, 58, a naturalized U.S. citizen and New Orleans businessman who gathered national defense information on behalf of the Chinese government, officials said.

The two men met at various locations in Northern Virginia; Charleston, S.C.; and Las Vegas. On some occasions, Bergersen received cash payments from Kuo in exchange for the information and documents he provided, officials said.

Yu Xin Kang, 33, of New Orleans, allegedly served as the conduit between Kuo and an individual identified in the complaint affidavit only as "PRC Official A," who provided direction. Kang is a People's Republic of China citizen and lawful permanent U.S. resident.

Kuo and Kang face up to life in prison if convicted of conspiracy to disclose national defense information to a foreign government. Bergman is charged in a separate complaint and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to disclose national defense information to those not entitled to it, officials said.

The FBI conducted the investigation, with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations providing substantial assistance and cooperation, officials said.

"Today's prosecution demonstrates that foreign spying remains a serious threat in the post-Cold War world," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Kenneth L. Wainstein in a Justice Department release. He noted that the case has all the elements of a classic espionage operation: "a foreign government focused on accessing our military secrets; foreign operatives who effectively use stealth and guile to gain that access; and an American government official who is willing to betray both is oath of public office and the duty of loyalty we rightly demand from every American citizen."

"Such espionage networks pose a grave danger to our national security, and we should all thank the investigators and prosecutors on this case for effectively penetrating and dismantling this network before more sensitive information was compromised," he said.

U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg, of the Eastern District of Virginia, joined Wainstein in condemning the alleged activity. "Those who compromise classified national security information betray the enormous responsibility and trust placed in them by our government and the American people," he said in the Justice Department release.

Today's arrests came as a former Boeing Company engineer was arrested this morning on charges of passing to China stolen Boeing trade secrets related to several aerospace programs, including the C-17 military transport aircraft, Delta IV rocket and Space Shuttle.

Dongfan "Greg" Chung, 72, of Orange, Calif., was charged with economic espionage and acting as an unregistered foreign agent of the People's Republic of China.

Chung was employed by Rockwell International from 1973 until its defense and space unit was acquired by Boeing in 1996. He retired in 2002, but returned as a contractor from 2003 to September 2006, officials said.

Wainstein said during a Justice Department news conference today that the cases demonstrate the very real threat that espionage has always presented.

"This threat is not new. Espionage has been a fact of life since the founding of the first nation-state, and it was particularly prominent during the Cold War of the last century," he said.

"The threat is very simple. It's a threat to our national security and to our economic position in the world, a threat that is posed by the relentless efforts of foreign intelligence services to penetrate our security systems and steal our most sensitive military technology and information," Wainstein said.

Active-Duty Recruiting Marks Eighth Straight Successful Month

American Forces Press Service

Feb. 11, 2008 - All four services met or exceeded their active-duty recruiting goals for January, defense officials announced today. The January recruiting numbers represented the eighth consecutive month of across-the-board active-duty recruiting successes among the services, officials said.

The Army recruited 8,693 active-duty soldiers, 101 percent of its goal, in January. This came as welcome news to Army officials, who had feared that the delayed passage of the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Act could hurt positive recruiting momentum. The legislation, which passed into law Jan. 28, includes authorities for a variety of special and incentive pays, including enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses that recruiters count on to attract new recruits. Congress made all the entitlements retroactive to Jan. 1.

The Army National Guard bested its January recruiting goal by 3 percent, signing on 5,688 soldiers. The Army Reserve fell slightly short of its goal, at 96 percent, with 3,257 new recruits.

The Marine Corps topped its January active-duty recruitment goal by 11 percent, bringing 3,056 new Marines into the force. The Marine Corps Reserve met its goal of 875 new recruits.

The Navy met its January goals for both active-duty and Navy Reserve recruits. It signed on 3,056 active-duty sailors and 951 Navy Reservists.

The Air Force exceeded its active-duty recruiting goal for January by 3 percent, with 2,016 new airmen joining the force. The Air Force Reserve met its goal of 569 new members, and the Air National Guard met 97 percent of its January goal, recruiting 654 airmen.

Virginia Wildfires Bring Out More Guard Responders

By Tech. Sgt. Mike R. Smith, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service

Feb. 11, 2008 - Fighting wildfires in Virginia became the newest mission for members of the National Guard, who were dealing with many domestic emergencies as the new week began. More than 500 members of the National Guard were on weather-related duty in the South and West, as well as in Virginia, because of call-ups from governors in nine states for emergency assistance to communities hit by tornadoes, heavy snow and floods.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine declared a state of emergency yesterday when high winds fanned wildfires across the state. The Virginia Department of Forestry estimated that at least 200 fires had burned nearly 6,000 acres from Virginia Beach to Roanoke to Fairfax County.

Virginia Guard soldiers responded with two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters equipped with 2,000-gallon buckets to spread water over the flames. At least 110 soldiers reported to Fort Pickett, southwest of Richmond, for firefighter training today. They're expected to help the Virginia Department of Forestry beginning tomorrow.

National Guard units in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana continued recovery operations in their communities through the weekend and into today, six days after thunderstorms and tornados crippled the states with power outages, destroyed infrastructure, homes and businesses and flooded multiple counties across Indiana.

In Kentucky, four Guard members continued to operate a mobile command post in Muhlenberg County, while 82 soldiers from the 307th Maintenance Company continued to support state and local law enforcement agencies at traffic control points.

At least 50 Arkansas Guard soldiers and airmen continued their recovery missions in Stone and Van Buren counties through the weekend. Guard officials said the state's five ongoing missions are anticipated to last through this week as the Guard continues to support civil authorities.

Arkansas Guard soldiers are providing emergency power for the courthouse and city hall in Mountain View and for the county landfill and Irving Clinic in Stone County. Soldiers in Clinton and Van Buren counties are supporting security operations by state and local law enforcement agencies.

The Tennessee National Guard had 146 Guard members supporting civilian emergency response agencies with debris removal in Macon, Trousdale and Sumner counties. Many are operating from a support base and civilian shelter at the Lafayette Armory.

At least 24 soldiers in Indiana were called out after a tornado and other high winds caused damage in Jackson, Decatur and Putnam counties. Guard officials said flood conditions were taking a toll on the infrastructure, with numerous reports of damaged and washed-out roads, bridges and railroad tracks.

Soldiers were positioning a sandbag machine in Kokomo, and 18 soldiers deployed to areas in Sullivan County to assist with sandbagging operations. Officials expected to shift operations to the southern part of the state today.

In the West, nearly 70 Guard members in Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington continued snow removal operations.

In Idaho, where snow levels deepened to dangerous levels, 45 Guard members were shoveling snow from the roofs of 30 buildings and operating loaders and other heavy equipment in Bonner, Shoshone and Kootenai counties.

(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mike R. Smith serves at the National Guard Bureau.)

Military Contracts

NAVY

Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a not-to-exceed $19,893,884 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-06-G-0001) for two non-recurring engineering (NRE) efforts associated with the manufacture of a minimum of 40 build new AH-1Z aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps. The first portion of the NRE effort includes tool design and loft for producing the tool-proof cabin and other tool-proof parts, and initiates manufacturing engineering and production planning. The second NRE effort will be issued to integrate and qualify the T700-401C engine for use in the build new AH-1Z aircraft. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in Nov. 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Smiths Aerospace Mechanical Systems – Santa Ana, Inc., Santa Ana, Calif., is being awarded a $13,616,078 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00421-00-C-0433) for the procurement of 210 each 480-gallon external fuel tanks for F/A-18E/F aircraft for the Navy and the government of Australia. Work will be performed in Santa Ana, Calif., and is expected to be completed in Dec. 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the Navy ($7,780,616; 57 percent) and the government of Australia ($5,835,462; 43 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle, Division of Armor Holdings, Sealy, Texas, is being awarded $12,750,000 modification to delivery order 0002 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5030) for the purchase of 20 outside the continental United States (OCONUS) new equipment training instructors. Work will be performed in a combat area of operations in an austere environment, and work is expected to be completed Feb. 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Services Inc., Cherry Hill, N.J., is being awarded $11,326,237 for a nine-month extension to an existing indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00140-03-D-E601), which was awarded in Dec. 2002. The contract provides engineering and technical services to support the development, integration and implementation of programs and changes or improvements to programs assigned to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego, C4I Programs Office, Philadelphia. These programs/projects include Distributed Common Ground System–Navy (DCGS-N), Digital Photo Lab/ Digital Camera Receiving Station (DPL/DCRS), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Deployable Systems (NDS) and Image Product Library. The awardee is providing systems engineering, system integration, system testing, software application development, hardware installation, software installation, curriculum development, training, configuration management, distribution center, service changes, integrated logistics support and software reproduction services. This extension allows for completion of a follow-on contract which is necessary to continue providing, without interruption, the engineering and technical services the contractor has been providing under this contract. The extension will increases the overall total value of the contract to $97,663,845. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pa., (67.5 percent); Mt. Laurel, N.J., (20 percent); and at field locations (12.5 percent) in accordance with individual performance work statements, and work is expected to be completed Sep. 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The modification to extend the original contract was advertised via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems e-Commerce Central website. A sole-source justification and approval was signed in accordance with FAR Subpart 6.302-1 and 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), for Only One Responsible Source. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.

ARMY

Alutiiq International Solutions, LLC, Aurora, Colo., was awarded on Feb. 8, 2008, a $16,498,562 firm-fixed price contract for the design and construction of a replacement school. Work will be performed in McKinley County, N.M., and is expected to be completed by Aug. 11, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Ten bids were solicited on Jul. 12, 2007, and three bids were received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District, Albuquerque, N.M., is the contracting activity W912PP-08-C-0006.

Alliant Lake City Small Caliber Ammunition Co., LLC, Independence, Mo., was awarded on Feb. 8, 2008, a $6,849,128 firm-fixed price requirements contract to assist in modernizing and enhancing manufacturing capability for the production of ammunition. Work will be performed in Independence, Mo., and is expected to be completed by Sep. 30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One bid was solicited on Oct. 31, 2006, and one bid was received. The U.S. Army Sustainment Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity DAAA09-99-D-0016.

CSC Systems & Solutions, Inc., Alexandria, Va., was awarded on Feb. 8, 2008, a $6,091,723 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for support of the "International Counter Proliferation Program." Work will be performed at Fort Belvoir, Va., and is expected to be completed by Aug. 27, 2008. One bid was solicited on Jan. 2, 2008, and one bid was received. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity DTRA01-02-D-0064. DRS Test & Energy Management, Inc., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded on Feb. 7, 2008, a $5,565,561 cost-plus-fixed-fee-level-of-effort-delivery-order contract for systems technical support for the conditioned based maintenance reliability analysis program. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One bid was solicited on Oct. 12, 2007, and one bid was received. The U.S. Army TACOM, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity W52H09-06-G-0001.

AIR FORCE

IAP Worldwide Services, Inc., of Cape Canaveral, Fla., is being awarded a contract for $15,835,047. This action provides for civil engineering services for Hanscom AFB, Mass. These services will include customer support services, infrastructure maintenance, facility maintenance, physical plant operations, utilities management, civil engineer services, environmental compliance, engineering support services, repair, some construction, property management, and financial management. At this time all funds have been obligated. 66 CONS/PKA, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (FA2835-08-D-0001).

America Supports You: Special Housing Offers Respite to Critically Ill

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Feb. 11, 2008 - A critical illness can stretch any family emotionally and financially, but when the patient is a child, the potential stresses are even greater. The Believe In Tomorrow National Children's Foundation is helping ease those burdens. It provides, free of charge, hospital and retreat housing, as well as support services to children facing life-threatening illnesses and their families, and it offers priority to military families.

"Our programs prioritize U.S. military families who have children being treated for life-threatening illnesses," Brian Morrison, founder and president of the foundation, said. "We believe in keeping families together during a child's medical crisis and that the gentle cadence of normal family life has a powerful influence on the healing process."

Founded in 1982, the foundation developed the concept for the first pediatric retreat facilities in the country, Morrison said. Since then, the Believe In Tomorrow National Children's Foundation has provided more than 300,000 overnight accommodations to families.

The foundation offers six retreat facilities. All are near the Atlantic Ocean or in the mountains of Maryland and North Carolina.

Two houses opening this year, the Believe In Tomorrow House at Pinnacle Falls in North Carolina, and the Believe In Tomorrow House on the Bay in Maryland, are for use by military families exclusively as part of the foundation's military housing initiative, Morrison said.

"(The) retreat housing provides families with the opportunity to escape from the stressful routine of medical treatments," he said. "Families are encouraged to use our retreat facilities on an ongoing basis, free of charge, to renew themselves mentally and physically while spending quality time together."

The foundation's two major hospital housing facilities are located in Baltimore near the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Both provide extended stay options for families.

"We believe that the highest standards of service and unparalleled hospitality help to create a unique healing environment where families find hope and comfort," he said.

Morrison said he hopes his foundation's recent affiliation with the Defense Department's America Supports You program will help spread the word about support services it offers to eligible military families. America Supports You connects citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.

Reservists Comparable to Active-Duty Soldiers, Enlisted Leader Says

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

Feb. 8, 2008 - The Army Reserve has evolved into an operational force that is endowed with training, leadership and skills comparable to the active-duty component, the Army Reserve's senior enlisted soldier said. Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie said he was impressed by the quality of reservists he met over the holidays in Afghanistan and Iraq, and during a massive re-enlistment ceremony in Iraq in which he participated during January.

"You can go to the theater, ... and you can't distinguish between the active-duty, National Guard or Army Reserve soldiers because that skill set and that quality is so much higher (than in the past)," he said.

Evidence of parity among Army components is an encouraging shift for Caffie, who joined the reserves after serving as an active soldier in Vietnam. The leisurely Army Reserve of yore, Caffie recalled, was a far cry from the active Army of his Vietnam service.

"I got shipped to 4th Infantry Division, which was a combat division, and I arrived via C-120," Caffie said, describing his active-duty Vietnam deployment in a Feb. 4 interview. "The first sergeant said, 'Here's your weapon; there's a rucksack down the flight pad for you.' So I went down there, sat on that flight pad, (and the) helicopter came in late that afternoon, picked me up, (and) took me to the jungle."

In contrast, Caffie's recollections of the Army Reserve he entered several years later elicits memories of a military component that was akin to a social club, replete with a party planning committee and annual training that felt like summer camp.

"I tell you, it was an eye-opening experience for a person coming off active duty and going into the reserve-component unit," Caffie told American Forces Press Service.

"Typically, you showed up for 7 o'clock formation, where they called roll. Everybody answered 'here' or 'present,'" he continued. "Then they scattered like quail."

Caffie dismissed this "legacy" Army Reserve -- with training that lasted one weekend a month in addition to two weeks of annual training -- as a strategic force that was irrelevant at best.

"You went to a military installation that you weren't really welcome at -- it was probably more intruding than anything -- and (active-duty soldiers) tolerate you for two weeks," Caffie said, describing annual reserve training that often depended on weapons and equipment cast off or borrowed from an active unit.

Quoting his boss, Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, chief of the Army Reserve, Caffie said, "The only business that was taken care of during that two-week period was planning of the unit party on Thursday the day before you leave.

"Everybody had their directions; (we knew) who was buying beer, steaks, charcoal," he said. "After the party, everybody loaded the car and went back home -- another successful summer camp where you really didn't accomplish anything."

The turning point came in the early 1990s, when Army Reserve soldiers started being mobilized into operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Caffie said. The operations revealed an Army Reserve that was ill-equipped, poorly trained and insufficiently led.

"We had created this strategic force that was really not relevant at all. You had a bunch of numbers, but as far as training and capability, performance at that level wasn't expected," he said. "That changed drastically when the Army Reserve as a whole went from a strategic force to an operational force, and you have seen a significant change in how we do stuff as Army Reserve soldiers."

In a dramatic departure from the "summer camp" era, today's reservists have been deployed up to four times, Caffie said. Others have made significant personal sacrifices by deploying for a year at a time, he said.

"The combat experience of Army Reserve soldiers is phenomenal," he said. "Today's Army Reserve force is by far the best led, skilled and equipped Army Reserve I have ever been associated with."

Despite dramatic improvements to equipment and training, Caffie said the Army Reserve's greatest resource is the young people who "raised their hand and volunteer to serve."

But the pool of talented young men and women is in high demand in every industrial sector, Caffie conceded. The Army Reserve not only is vying for young talent alongside other military branches, but also competes with the private and public sectors, Caffie said. Making the pursuit more difficult are strict standards placed on potential recruits. According statistics by U.S. Army Recruiting Command, of 10 potential recruits in the 17-to-42-year-old demographic, only three qualify for service. A criminal record, obesity or other eliminators can preclude service.

While the reserves ostensibly are interested in the same limited resources as other branches, Caffie suggested the best-suited members of the Army Reserve possess an extra quality.

"I think what makes a suitable Army Reserve soldier is a young person who has some goals and objectives that go beyond being active-duty military. Whether they're going to work in an insurance company or work in their father's or mother's business, they've got some career goals other than going active duty," he said. "Those kids make a tremendous asset for being recruited for the Army Reserve, because they maintain the community connectivity."

In addition to holding community ties and bringing civilian-acquired skills to their military service, Caffie emphasized that Army Reserve soldiers have the same set of principles that permeates other services.

"I will put the young men and women of the U.S. Army Reserve up against any branch of the United States military," Caffie said, "in terms of their leadership, their professionalism and their continued service."