Tuesday, September 09, 2008

America Supports You: Women Officers Get Leadership Development Opportunities

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 9, 2008 - Women who choose to serve their country as
military officers should be fully prepared to do so, and an organization has been working to fulfill that goal since 2003. "We stand behind this belief by providing programs that support and enable women to reach their full potential as leaders," said Susan Feland, president and founder of AcademyWomen. "Each year AcademyWomen hosts a leadership symposium to provide current, former and future women military officers the opportunity to network with like-minded colleagues and grow professionally."

Speakers from the
military and the public and private sectors offer their support, personal advice and motivation to the members through keynote addresses and panel discussions.

A career coaching and professional development workshop will preface this year's annual symposium, which is slated for October. These programs provide development opportunities, resources and a chance for discussion that will assist attendees in all stages of their careers, Feland said.

"In the future, AcademyWomen will host podcasts [and] tele-seminar series, which will provide insight into specific career paths, and share stories of success in a particular field," she said.

The group is moving forward swiftly on other technologies to help
women military officers develop leadership skills. It's developing an "eMentor" leadership program, and already publishes a quarterly online newsletter.

"Each edition focuses on topics of importance to our members and highlights the accomplishments of
military women officers and veterans," Feland said.

AcademyWomen also supports, and plans to conduct, research focusing on the professional development of women officers in the
military, their transition to civilian careers, and which professions they choose subsequent to their military service.

The organization is a new supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.

MILITARY CONTRACTS September 9, 2008

Army

Harris Corp., Government Communications Systems, Div, Melbourne, Fla., was awarded on Aug. 28, 2008, a $7,494,831 indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for applied IT solutions to support unclassified web portal and related efforts. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Fla., Chantilly, Va., Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Mo., Los Cruzes, N.M., and Bethesda, Md., with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2013. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency/ACI is the contracting activity (HM1571-08-D-0007).

DRS Sustainment Systems Inc., St Louis, Mo., was awarded on Sept. 5, 2008, a $8,694,734 letter contract will be firm fixed price contract. This contract is for the production effort of six (6) M1000 Heavy Equipment Transporter System (HET) trailers, including field service representatives support for the M1000 throughout HETS testing, system support package and parts support throughout HETS testing and a logistics package update. Work will be performed in West Plains, Mo., with an estimated completion of Jun. 5, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S.
Army TACOM LCMC, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-C-0626).

Don Jon Marine Co., Inc., Hillside, N.J., was awarded on Sept. 5, 2008, a $7,128,260 firm fixed price contract for maintenance dredging in
Newark Bay, N.J. Work will be performed in Newark Bay, N.J., with an estimated completion date of June 17, 2008. Twenty-three bids were solicited and three bids were received. Corps of Engineers, New York City, N.Y., is the contracting activity (W912DS-08-C-0024).

Golden Rule Construction Company Inc, Sioux Falls, S.D., was awarded on Sept. 5, 2008, a $7,464,073 firm fixed price contract for construction services for project number LUXC 001390 to replace the base
civil engineer maintenance complex at 114th Fighter Wing, Sioux Falls, S.D. Work will be performed in Sioux Falls, S.D., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2009. Bids solicited via the Web and six bids were received. National Guard Bureau S.D., is the contracting activity (W912MM-08-C-0003).

Advanced Semiconductors, Inc., North
Hollywood, Calif., was awarded on Sept. 8, 2008, a $8,714,475 firm fixed price contract. This acquisition is a sole source country directed action for cables, boxes and auxiliary equipment. Work will be performed in Fort Monmouth, N.J., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 9, 2010. Bids solicited one Sole Source and one bid was received. CECOM Acquisition Center Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-08-C-D281).

General Dynamics Network Systems, Needham, Mass., was awarded on Sept. 2, 2008, a $6,000,000 firm/fixed price contract. This modification is for continuing efforts to survey, plan, design, install, and implement the Information Technology Systems and Infrastructure (ITS&I) for wedges-2-5 tenants as part of an ongoing modernization of the Pentagon IT infrastructure. Work will be performed in Arlington, Va., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. Pentagon Renovation & Construction Program Office, Arlington Va., is the contracting activity (MDA947-98-C-2002).

FLIR Systems, Inc, Wilsonville, Ore., was awarded on Sept. 8, 2008, a $96,625,080 firm/fixed price contract for Starfire III sensors and, related cables and hardware, for the Rapid Aerostat initial deployment sensor components. Work will be performed in Wilsonville, Ore., with an estimated completion date of Jul. 31, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S.
Army Space & Missile Defense Command, Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting activity (W9113M-07-D-0004).

The Ginn Group Inc, Peachtree City, Ga., was awarded on Sept. 8, 2008, a $13,359,452 cost/plus/award/fee contract for facilities maintenance services at Fort Knox, Ky., during the period Dec 1, 2006, through Sept. 30, 2007 with four one-year option periods through Sept. 30, 20011. Subject to the availability work will be performed in Fort Knox, Ky., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2011. Bids were solicited via Website Single Face to Industry
Army and thirteen bids were received. Mission and Installation Contracting Command Center, Fort Knox, Ky., is the contracting activity (W9124D-06-C-0040).

NAVY

PAE Government Services, Inc.,
Los Angeles, Calif., is being awarded a not to exceed $10,000,000 modification under a previously awarded indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract (N33191-07-D-1503) to exercise option one for a job order contract at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti. The work to be performed provides for all managerial, supervision, labor, engineering services, tools, materials, equipment and transportation necessary to accomplish a broad range of design/build, repair, renovation and minor construction work on real property. After exercise of this option, the total cumulative contract value will not exceed $20,000,000. Work will be performed in Djibouti, Africa, and expected to be completed by Sept. 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Europe and Southwest Asia, Naples, Italy, is the contracting activity.

Reid Middleton, Inc., Everett Wash., is being awarded a maximum $7,500,000 firm-fixed price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity architect/engineering contract for
civil/structural projects in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Northwest area of responsibility. The work to be performed provides for new designs, evaluations, studies for maintenance, construction, equipment installation, repair and replacement of a wide range of facilities and structures, with an emphasis on aircraft runways and facilities, air traffic control towers, aircraft runway projects including combat loading area, direct refueling facilities, runway lighting, and structural designs for new and existing facilities. Work will be performed at various NAVY and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities within the NAVFAC Northwest AOR including, but not limited to Washington, (87 percent), Oregon, (2 percent), Idaho, (2 percent), Alaska, (2 percent), Montana, (1 percent), Colorado, (1 percent), Nevada, (1 percent), Wyoming, (1 percent), North Dakota (1 percent), South Dakota, (1 percent), and Utah, (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the NAVFAC e-solicitation website with five proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest, Silverdale, Wash., is the contracting activity (N44255-08-D-3012).

PC QUINN LLC* (mentor-protege agreement between PC Mechanical Inc., the protege and Quinn Co., the mentor), Santa Maria, Calif., is being awarded a $7,000,000 firm fixed price contract modification to increase the maximum dollar value of an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for the repair/overhaul and preventative maintenance and service of automotive vehicles, motorized and non-motorized construction equipment, material/weight handling equipment and International Standard Organization shipping containers for the Naval Facilities Expeditionary Logistics Center Mobile. After award of this modification the total cumulative contract amount will be $30,870,692. Work will be performed in Santa Maria, Calif., and Gulfport, Miss., and is expected to be completed by Mar. 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Specialty Center Acquisitions, Port Hueneme, Calif., is the contracting activity (N47408-04-D-8516).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

BAE Systems Survivability Systems, LLC, Fairfield, Ohio is being awarded a maximum $9,849,246 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite quantity, sole-source, un-definitized bilateral contract modification for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle Replacement (MRAP) spare parts. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are
Army and Marine Corps. There was originally one proposal solicited with one response. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Feb. 10, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Columbus, Columbus, Ohio (SPM750-05-D-7426).

Army Research Grant to Explore Communication Through Brain Waves

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 9, 2008 - The 1982 Clint Eastwood thriller "Firefox" seemed like the ultimate
military science fiction story: A former Vietnam War pilot steals a state-of-the-art Soviet fighter plane armed with weapons controlled solely by thought. More than 25 years later, the Army is funding research to explore the futuristic concept of using brain waves to communicate.

The
Army Research Office awarded a $4 million grant in mid-August to lay the scientific foundation it hopes will someday enable soldiers in the field to communicate through a deliberate thought process.

Elmar Schmeisser, ARO program manager, described the revolutionary concept in terms of the way today's field soldiers communicate with radios. "You'll press the button on your harness, you'll think, then you'll throw the button off," he said.

Gone will be the microphone. Gone will be the receiver. The message will go directly from the soldier's head into a
computer programmed to decipher his brain waves, Schmeisser explained.

The result will be communication that's silent, secure and free of background noise.

"If I record what you are saying from your brain wave, ... it is automatically noise-free, clear and secure," he said. "No one can overhear you, because you are not saying anything out loud, so it is an absolutely secure system."

But getting to that point will require a monumental scientific breakthrough – something researchers at the University of California,
Irvine, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Maryland hope to work toward with the ARO grant.

It could take 15 or 20 years before
technology gets to the point to support the system. "The mathematics behind this is fierce. It is really difficult," Schmeisser said.

But if scientists are successful, they could bring tremendous capability to future soldiers, he said, while providing a huge side benefit as well. The
technology could provide a way for soldiers with brain injuries – as well as civilians with neurological problems such as Lou Gehrig's Disease – to communicate without speaking or writing, he said.

Test subjects for the project will don special caps that take electroencephalography, or EEG, signals sent out by their brains. The readings register as squiggles on a
computer screen. The challenge for scientists is to figure out how to translate the squiggles into messages a computer can type out or speak.

The decoded thoughts – translated brain waves – would be transmitted using a system that points to the person intended to receive the message.

But getting to that point could take decades, Schmeisser said, because of the huge amount of brain activity that takes place at the same time, and the fact that no two people have the same EEG blueprint.

"What makes this difficult is that everyone's brain is unique and everyone's EEG is unique, just like everyone's speech is unique," he said. "So it has to be individualized for every person."

But users also need to be trained to think in a way the system will understand, he said. "For this thing to have any chance of working at all, the individual has to learn to think clearly and loudly," he said.

Schmeisser compared the system to a
computer-based voice-recognition program that translates speech into text. "You have to speak slowly and clearly, and at the end you have a certain amount of accuracy," he said. He noted a variety of factors that can interfere: nasal congestion, an unfamiliar accent or background noise.

"So you will have to think the same way and train the machine so it understands your particular pattern," he said.

Schmeisser dismissed claims that the
technology could be used to read people's minds without their knowledge or consent. "This is not about mind reading. It doesn't even think about 'mind' at all," he said. "For this to work, you are going to have to be fully involved, and that is going to take time."

The program is among the
Army's research projects intended to build the scientific foundation for future breakthroughs. "We're looking at long-term goals," Schmeisser said. "By putting research like this in place now, in 15 years you may be able to harvest that. This is not going to be operational in any real military sense for quite awhile."

The grant for the program comes from the Defense Department's Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative Program, which supports research involving more than one science and engineering discipline.

"In that synergy, you might be able to generate a breakthrough and research that will allow invention," Schmeisser said. "So this program is not focused on creating inventions. It is focused on creating the basic science foundation from which inventions flow."

Few other organizations are able invest in such high-risk ventures, despite the high payoff they could provide. "The
Army is interested in these breakthrough technologies," he said. "They are high-risk, and they may not pay off, but when they do, they pay off big."

And in many cases, the payoffs not only benefit the
military, but also have civilian applications. Schmeisser pointed to just a few technologies that started as Army research programs, lasers and radar among them.

"The spinout for
military technology has been here since the Bronze Age, he said, pointing to how early man first developed weapons, then turned them into tools. "Fighting and the development of military technology is something humans have been doing as far back as we can record," he said. "But the peacetime dividend of military development has been huge."

Another long-term
Army-funded program, still in its infancy, is exploring how to use genetically modified viruses to produce nanocircuitry. Angela Belcher, the chief scientist behind that effort, won the 2004 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Award for her efforts.

In addition to paving the way to low-cost production of nanoscale integrated circuits and other electronic components, Belcher's program could also lead to a broad range of next-generation applications: medical implants and tissue growth, energy-efficient batteries and lighting, faster and smaller computers, detectors for hazardous agents and stronger armor for
military craft, among them.

Florida Guardsmen Act Fast to Keep Key West Citizens Safe

By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Thomas Kielbasa
Special to American Forces Press Service

Sept. 9, 2008 - Wading into the waist-deep storm surge from Hurricane Ike this morning, members of the Florida
Army National Guard helped local law enforcement officers avert what could have been a disaster for some people ignoring safety warnings. As high waves and strong surf from the hurricane buffeted Key West, the soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, were examining the White Street Fishing Pier on the south shore of the city when they noticed about 40 people swimming and playing at the flooded end of the pier.

Even though officials in the Keys urged people to stay indoors, the thrill-seekers – including small children – waded through the choppy water to the barrier at the end of the pier as the three-to-four-foot waves crashed over them.

"This was one of the furthest outreaching piers they have in Key West," said a staff sergeant who was part of the four-person Special Forces reconnaissance team. "We just went out there to see what the winds were like. As we got out there, the winds picked up from about 40 mph to 60 mph, and we noticed there was a bunch of kids – anywhere from 5 to 10 years old – out there with parents and playing around in the waves."

The soldier, who is not identified due to security concerns about his normal federal mission, said the Guard unit was working closely with local law enforcement and city emergency management officials to assess damage and flooding from Hurricane Ike.

"It was very unsafe," he explained. "Within the 20 minutes we were out there, I estimated the winds actually picked up to over 60 mph."

After warning the swimmers about the dangerous surf, the soldiers reported the activity to Key West
police officer who made the decision to clear the pier. The team assisted as a uniformed police officer ordered the swimmers from the dangerous pier.

"Right as we were leaving, things started getting really bad," the soldier added. "The dock is made of concrete; the high winds and the waves that were coming over could have easily knocked one of the kids down and ground them into the pavement. It wouldn't have been pretty."

As rain bands from Hurricane Ike rolled across the Keys, tornado warnings were frequent, and city officials continued to monitor the situation as weather conditions worsened. Earlier today, an overturned truck on U.S. 1 had blocked traffic in and out of the Lower Keys at Mile Marker 72, and minor coastal flooding was prevalent in low-lying areas, according to officials at the Key West Emergency Operations Center.

The Florida
Army National Guard soldiers continued damage and flooding assessment patrols throughout the day, assisting Key West emergency responders.

(
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Thomas Kielbasa serves in the Florida National Guard Public Affairs Office.)

Missing WWII Soldier Is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War Two, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Pvt. James W. Turner, U.S.
Army, of Altus, Okla. He will be buried on Sept. 11 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

Representatives from the
Army met with Turner's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.

In November 1944, the 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division was attacking east through the Hürtgen Forest in an attempt to capture the German towns of Vossenack and Schmidt. On Nov. 4, the Germans counterattacked in what would become one of the longest running battles in U.S. history. Turner, a member of G Company, 112th Infantry Regiment, was reported missing in action near Vossenack on Nov. 9.

In 2005, a German citizen who was searching for wartime relics in the Hürtgen Forest, near Vossenack, found human remains and other items, including Turner's
military identification tag. The remains and items were turned over to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) for further analysis.

Among other
forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of Turner's remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

Face of Defense: Goal-Oriented Soldier Looks Toward Future

By Army Spc. Allison Churchill
Special to American Forces Press Service

Sept. 9, 2008 - So far, September is a big month for
Army Spc. Selma Colesbacco. On Sept. 1, Colesbacco, who was born in the Seychelles Islands and raised in Italy, became a U.S. citizen. Two days later, she was promoted to specialist.

The two events take her closer to her ultimate goal: becoming a pilot.

"I've always wanted to fly. I love everything that flies," Colesbacco said.

She originally joined the Army for health insurance after her son had a medical emergency. Her husband's
Army enlistment term had just ended, and the family didn't have insurance to cover the medical bills.

"I said, 'Maybe the Army didn't work for you, but I might like it,'" she said.

Colesbacco, a human resources specialist for 41st Fires Brigade, found she does like the
Army, and now she says she'll probably make it her career.

"I'm not just in the Army for my son; it's for me, too," she said.

Colesbacco has several goals for her career. She'd like to attend airborne school and – having learned in the Army that she can run – she is considering taking on the annual
Army 10-Miler.

Becoming a citizen presents an array of additional opportunities for her career, she said.

"My job will require a security clearance in 2010, and I wouldn't have been able to apply for one before," she said. Having a clearance will allow her to pursue flying someday.

Colesbacco said she hasn't taken flying classes, but growing up in Italy, she was able to fly throughout Europe, Africa and back to the Seychelles Islands cheaply, confirming her love of being in the air. She said whether she pursues piloting fixed-wing airplanes or helicopters will depend on what will be best for her son and family.

Colesbacco said she hopes she'll be able to relocate back to Italy when she re-enlists. U.S. Army Garrison Vicenza is close to her hometown of Bassano del Greppe, which she left when she moved to the United States, and where her mother still lives.

(
Army Spc. Allison Churchill serves in the 41st Fires Brigade Public Affairs Office.)

Texas Guard Prepares for Hurricane Ike

American Forces Press Service

Sept. 9, 2008 -
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has authorized the call-up of up to 7,500 Texas soldiers and airmen in response to the threat Hurricane Ike -- over Cuba today and heading west – poses to the Gulf Coast. State preparations started Sept. 7, when key personnel from local, state and federal agencies gathered for a readiness briefing with Jack Colley, deputy director of the state's Division of Emergency Management.

"If anything, this 2008 hurricane season has demonstrated that we have to be prepared at all times," said
Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Gonda Moncada of the Texas Military Forces Public Affairs Office. "Hurricanes do not occur at convenient times or in sufficiently timed intervals."

Preparations by the
Texas National Guard consist of pre-and post-landfall assistance and include ground and air evacuation hubs, bus fueling points, management of staging areas for evacuation buses, points of distribution operations for food and water and shelter management. All available air assets are being reconfigured for search-and-rescue missions and medical air evacuations.

Two Texas Air National Guard units have been alerted to provide evacuation operations and communications capabilities in relief efforts prior to the arrival of Hurricane Ike.

The 136th Airlift Wing from Naval Air Station and Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth,
Texas, will provide up to 250 personnel to assist in Texas and Louisiana, while the 149th Fighter Wing of Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, will provide up to 100 personnel to help out in Texas.

Texas
Army National Guard aviation assets also have been alerted for search and rescue missions.

The center of Ike is expected to emerge into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico this afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. Ike is currently a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, packing maximum sustained winds near 80 mph, with higher gusts.

The hurricane center stated that some weakening is likely as Ike crosses western Cuba, but strengthening is expected once Ike moves into the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the storm's center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 195 miles.

Responding to a natural disaster is not a typical
Military operation, and it "requires patience and adaptation to current circumstances," Moncada said.

"Sometimes our best-laid plans change, ... but whatever the case may be, our main focus will never shift, which is the safety and well=being of our fellow citizens," she said. "If our mere presence in a community has a calming effect, then that is our mission."

(From a
Texas Military Forces news release.)

DoD Selects Tribal Colleges and Universities for Grants

The Department of Defense announced today plans to award instrumentation grants totaling $2.4 million to 13 tribal colleges and universities. These grants will be made under the fiscal 2008 DoD Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions Infrastructure Support Program. The grants will enhance programs and capabilities at these minority institutions in scientific disciplines critical to national security and the DoD.

This announcement is the result of merit competition for infrastructure support funding conducted for the Office of Defense Research and Engineering by the
Army Research Office. The solicitation resulted in 15 proposals in response to a broad agency announcement issued in May 2008. The Army Research Office plans to award nine equipment grants ranging from $97,000 to $244,000. Each award will have a 12-month performance period.

Awards will be made only after written agreements are reached between the department and the institutions.

The list of recipients is available on the Web at: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/d20080909grants.pdf .

U.S. to Review Military Aid to Georgia

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 9, 2008 - The Pentagon will send an assessment team to Georgia to determine what role the U.S. should play as the nation's
military rebuilds after clashes with Russia, a Defense Department official said today. "The Department of Defense is sending an assessment team to Tbilisi later this week to help us begin to consider carefully Georgia's legitimate needs and our response," Eric S. Edelman, undersecretary of defense for policy, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

After the assessment, officials will review how the United States will be able to support the reconstruction of Georgia, including armed forces aid, Edelman told the lawmakers.

Officials in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi reportedly are eager to rebuild a Georgian
military that folded as Russian forces invaded the breakaway province of South Ossetia early last month after an attack by Georgian forces. Russian troops reportedly remain in the former Soviet republic in defiance of a cease-fire deal reached Aug. 13.

President Bush last week pledged to provide $1 billion in non
military aid to Georgia, which supplements the more than 2 million pounds of humanitarian supplies the United States military has delivered over previous weeks. But Edelman's statements today mark the first time a defense policy official's public endorsement of U.S. aid to Georgia has included a military reconstruction component.

"Georgia, like any sovereign country, should have the ability to defend itself and deter renewed aggression," he said. "There should not be any question about whether Georgia is entitled to military assistance from the United States or, indeed, from NATO or any of the NATO allies."

Edelman said the United States has played a significant role for several years in preparing Georgian forces to conduct counterterrorism missions, but offered no indication of what type of
military aid the United States might provide in the future.

A separate assessment team currently in Georgia is sizing up the losses sustained by the military, Edelman said.

"They're looking at various aspects of this, trying to assess first the damage to the Georgian
military forces, understand what has been lost in terms of equipment and facilities, and get some sense of the scope of what it would take to just rebuild that capability," he said of the assessment team in Georgia now.

Edelman urged that the United States be "measured and calibrated" in its response. He added that the United States "does not seek a new Cold War."

"It requires, first, understanding the situation in terms of capability that exists, capability that might need to be built and reaching some understanding with Georgia about what capabilities it thinks it needs and how they might be employed," he said of the sequenced response.

NATO, which created an ad hoc group Aug. 19 to oversee the alliance's relationship with Georgia, will send an additional assessment team to help shape the organization's response, Edelman said.

"NATO has also decided to assist Georgia in assessing the damage caused by Russian
military action, including to the Georgian armed forces, and to help restore critical services necessary for normal public life and economic activity," he said.

China-Russia Security Relations: Strategic Parallelism without Partnership or Passion?

This report argues that, although Chinese-Russian relations have improved along several important dimensions, security cooperation between Beijing and Moscow has remained limited, episodic, and tenuous. The two governments support each other on select issues but differ on others. Since these interests conflict as well as coincide, the relationship is not necessarily moving in an anti-American direction. Although no action undertaken by these two great powers is insignificant and Washington must continue to monitor carefully developments in Beijing and Moscow, thus far their fitfully improving ties have not presented a major security challenge to the United States or its allies. Nevertheless, the radical changes in great power relations during the past century—-which also witnessed major transformations in ties between Beijing and Moscow, from allies in the 1950s to armed adversaries in the 1960s—-behooves U.S. Army and other national security planners to anticipate the potential for major discontinuities in Sino-Russian relations. Above all, American officials need to pursue a mixture of “shaping and hedging” policies that aim to avert a hostile Chinese-Russian alignment while concurrently preparing the United States to better counter such a development should it nevertheless arise despite American efforts.

READ ON
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?PubID=868

New Service Announced for Wounded Warriors, Families and Caregivers

DoD announced today that the Military OneSource service has established a Wounded Warrior Resource Center telephone number and e-mail address for service members and their families, if they have concerns or other difficulties during their recovery process.

Service members and their family members can now call (800) 342-9647 or e-mail wwrc@militaryonesource.com 24/7 to request support. Assistance provided by the resource center will not replace the specialized wounded warrior programs established by each of the
Military services, but it will offer another avenue of assistance for Military facilities, health care services, and/or benefits information.

“The department is committed to aggressively addressing the needs of our service members and their families," said Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates.

Specially trained consultants will ensure consistent, quality customer-centric support. The consultants will identify the appropriate "warm hand-off" to either a
Military service or federal agency with authority to resolve the matter. The resource center consultant will maintain communication with the caller until the issue or concern is resolved.

"The term 'wounded warrior' encompasses the entire population of wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans," said Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Michael L. Dominguez.

The Wounded Warrior Resource Center meets the requirements of Section 1616 of the "National Defense Authorization Act Fiscal Year 2008" for a centralized number and ensures wounded families and caregivers have a number to call at any time.

Florida Guardsmen Help Key West Prepare for Ike

By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Thomas Kielbasa
Special to American Forces Press Service

Sept. 9, 2008 - The skies were clear and the weather balmy, but the normally bustling streets of
Florida's southernmost city were practically empty. This popular tourist destination was quiet and devoid of visitors yesterday afternoon, evidence that most had heeded a mandatory evacuation order for visitors in the lower Keys.

As Hurricane Ike churned across Cuba more than 100 miles to the south, only a few people ignored the warnings, staying to enjoy fishing and the beach.

A
Florida National Guard Special Forces team patrolled Key West, helping city workers identify potential areas where water and wind damage could occur from the powerful storm -- a common concern for local emergency officials, since residents and visitors here routinely ignore evacuation orders.

During the day and evening, the four-person team – members of the 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group – visited mobile home parks, marinas and emergency shelters as part of their reconnaissance patrols. At certain locations they catalogued grid coordinates to areas of concern where disaster response teams might need to visit later.

A Special Forces team sergeant, who is not identified due to security concerns about his normal federal mission, said the team was working closely with the local
law enforcement and city emergency management officials throughout the mission.

"They are very supportive and appreciative that we're down here," he said of the Key West city officials. "They've given us everything we need to do our mission, including topographical maps."

If Hurricane Ike were to come near Key West, the team – along with another Special Forces team in nearby Key Largo – was prepared to conduct immediate post-storm damage assessments. "Once the storm blows over, we'll be the first ones out to help with reconnaissance in different areas," the sergeant said.

The team sergeant noted his soldiers had performed similar post-storm damage assessments after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, including search-and-rescue missions in the flooded streets.

Key West City Manager Jim Scholl said he and his staff welcome the assistance from the National Guard Special Forces team.

"The
Florida National Guard has always been tremendously responsive to this community," Scholl said. "Whether in assisting our efforts in disaster preparedness or response, the National Guard has always been there when we've needed them the most."

(
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Thomas Kielbasa serves in the Florida National Guard Public Affairs Office.)

Face of Defense: Soldier Credits Success to Father's Inspiration

By Army Sgt. Jody Metzger
Special to American Forces Press Service

Sept. 8, 2008 - "Well boys, should we fix the table or make skis out of it?" the father asked, glancing from the broken wooden table to his two young sons. He had chosen to teach a lesson to his children instead of reprimanding them for breaking the table.

Army Maj. Lance Hamilton, who serves here with the 4th Infantry Division, smiles with fondness when remembering moments like this that remind him of the happiness he shared with his father, Stan Hamilton.

Growing up in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the Hamilton brothers batted, swam, ran and tackled their way through their younger years. Thanks to their civil rights activist father, they remained steadfast and loyal to academics. Stan's philosophy for his sons was that if you didn't get A's, you didn't participate in sports.

Hearing that ultimatum as a boy motivated Hamilton to pursue scholastic endeavors for the reward of being able to play sports. As gifted athletes, Hamilton and his brother, Harry, were excellent football players, playing all the way through high school. Harry earned an athletic scholarship to Penn State University; Hamilton wasn't far behind.

After graduating from Penn State, Lance Hamilton went on to study law at Yale University. He serves here as the 4th Infantry Division's deputy staff judge advocate. Looking across his desk nestled within the main headquarters of the 4th Infantry Division and Multinational Division Baghdad, he said he knows his hard work and his father's deep-seated faith have paid off.

Hamilton said he had not set out to join the
Army. In fact, after graduating from Yale with a law degree, his dream, like many other young lawyers, was to work for a big law firm. In 1991, shortly after graduation, Hamilton began his clerkship with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Petersburg, Fla. Following the clerkship, he went to work for a law firm.

Then, in 1996, a restless Hamilton got a phone call from his brother, Harry, who surprised him with the news that he had just enlisted into the
Army's elite Staff Judge Advocate Corps. Idolizing his brother, Lance set out in his brother's footsteps for a second time in his life and joined the Army.

Looking back on his decision to leave civilian law, he emphasized that he couldn't have made a better choice.

"I had a renewed sense of vigor when I left the private sector and felt like I was serving the greater good again," he said. It's been like living in his father's household again, he noted, "always helping and serving and doing for others."

"And finally being able to do it has felt for me like being put into an elite class," he added.

Serving in the Ivy Division family, Hamilton said, he's found it easy to relate to concepts the division commander, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey W. Hammond, espouses. They're influenced by lessons learned on the football field, a background they share and take great joy in remembering.

Just as his athletic background taught him to succeed as part of a team on the field, those influences have also lent themselves to the staff judge advocate office, Hamilton said.

"Every time I'm in charge of anything or keeping an office of valuable people, I have always taken it back to my athletic roots as far as building a team [is concerned], because if you have a cohesive team working together, then it is much easier to accomplish your mission," he said.

Hamilton said he is captivated by the strong
leadership style he sees within the 4th Infantry Division. He noted that Hammond's influence on the division mirrors his own ambition of success and teamwork.

"That is where we get motivation in the office – having good
leadership, which always helps," he said. "It's easy for me, because SJA is great. The chain of command, all the way up to the [commanding general], is really oriented about the team concept and taking care of one another."

Army Capt. Liz Waits, an attorney in the staff judge advocate office here, said Hamilton encourages everyone in the office to maintain a balance of work and play.

"He has a great attention to detail," she said. "On one side, he really pushes us to meet a high standard, and on the other, gets us out and playing flag football."

If athletics shaped Hamilton into a success, it was his father's belief in helping others that separate him from the rest, the major said. His father's community service and sense of justice while single-handedly raising his two sons and their young cousin were remarkable, Hamilton said. "My dad always reminded us: 'I don't care how many yards you ran or how many tackles you've done, if you don't think about your fellow man and do something for those less fortunate, than you are nothing in my eyes,'" Hamilton said. "He was always looking for what you are doing for the greater good for society, for your country."

Stan Hamilton -- father,
military veteran and civil rights activist -- gave more than he took. His teachings to his sons came from the back-breaking idealism of a street minister whose goal was to help others less fortunate.

"It is all I remember him doing," Hamilton said. "He was running street programs for various churches throughout the community, looking to help those who have fallen through the cracks of society."

The ministry his father spearheaded was dedicated to helping people whom the social services had forgotten or overlooked. Social services, for as much as they helped the community, could not help everyone, Hamilton explained. As a result, the ministry was dedicated to helping those who were left behind.

"My father would do it in a fashion that went beyond what the social services could do for the people. There are a lot of people who didn't qualify for the services. There were always those that wouldn't fit somewhere in the middle, those that have children and are working but not making the cut, and they fall through the cracks. "

The freely smiling Hamilton has won many trophies in his life. Yet, "being the son of an incredible man" is his most treasured reward, he said.

"One day I hope to be half the man he was, and if I am half the man he is, than that would be an accomplishment," he said. "If my sons would feel half as much about me as I feel about my dad, I would leave this place a happy man."

(
Army Sgt. Jody Metzger serves in the Multinational Division Baghdad Public Affairs Office.)

MILITARY CONTRACTS September 8, 2008


UNITED STATES TRANSPORTATION COMMAND

Alliance Contractor Team of Leesburg, Va., 20175-2718 is being awarded an estimated $1,351,414,857 firm fixed-price contract for international airlift services with a minimum guarantee of $206,407,957. Team members include: American Airlines, Inc., of Ft. Worth, Texas, Arrow Air, Inc., of
Miami, Fla., ASTAR Air Cargo, Inc., of Miami, Fla., Delta Air Lines, Inc., of Atlanta, Ga., Evergreen International Airlines, Inc., of McMinnville, Ore., North American Airlines, Inc., of Jamaica, N.Y., United Airlines, Inc., of Elk Grove Village, Ill., U.S. Airways, Inc., of Phoenix, Ariz., and World Airways, Inc., of Peachtree City, Ga. Work will be performed at worldwide locations, and is expected to be completed Sept. 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and 30 proposals received. The contracting activity is U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott AFB Ill., 62225, (HTC711-08-D-5000).

Continental Airlines, Inc., of
Houston, Texas 77002-7315, is being awarded an estimated $20,501,650 firm fixed-price contract for international airlift services with a minimum guarantee of $501,650. Work will be performed at worldwide locations, and is expected to be completed Sept. 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and 30 proposals received. The contracting activity is U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott AFB Ill., 62225, (HTC711-08-D-5003).

Federal Express Charter Programs Team Arrangement of
Memphis, Tenn., 38118-1516, is being awarded an estimated $1,374,735,872 firm fixed-price contract for international airlift services with a minimum guarantee of $150,730,792. Team members include: Air Transport International LLC of, Little Rock Ark., Atlas Air, Inc., of Purchase, N.Y., Federal Express Corp., of Memphis, Tenn., Northwest Airlines, Inc., of St Paul, Mo., Omni Air International, Inc., of Tulsa, Okla., Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Inc., of Purchase, N.Y., and Tradewinds Airlines, Inc., of Greensboro, N.C. Work will be performed at worldwide locations, and is expected to be completed Sept. 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and 30 proposals received. The contracting activity is U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott AFB, Ill., 62225, (HTC711-08-D-5001).

Lynden Air Cargo LLC of Anchorage, Ark., 99502-1809, is being awarded an estimated $77,669,745 firm fixed-price contract for International airlift services with a minimum guarantee of $57,766,305. Work will be performed at worldwide locations, and is expected to be completed Sept. 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and 30 proposals received. The contracting activity is U.S., Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott AFB, Ill., 62225, (HTC711-08-D-5006).

Miami Air International, Inc., of Miami, Fla., 33266-0880, is being awarded an estimated $34,291,788 firm fixed-price contract for international airlift services with a minimum guarantee of $3,288,688. Work will be performed at worldwide locations, and is expected to be completed Sept., 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and 30 proposals received. The contracting activity is U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott AFB, Ill., 62225, (HTC711-08-D-5007).

The UPS Contractor Team of
Louisville, Ky. 40213-3101, is being awarded an estimated $189,263,283 firm fixed-price contract for international airlift services with a minimum guarantee of $36,457,553. Team members include: ABX Air, Inc., of Wilmington, Ohio, ALA Airlines, Inc., of Seattle, Wash., Kalitta Air LLC of Ypsilanti, Mich., National Air Cargo Group, Inc. d/b/a Murray Air of Ypsilanti, Mich., Ryan International Airlines, Inc., of Rockford, Ill., Southern Air, Inc., of Norwalk, Conn., and United Parcel Service Co., of Louisville, Ky. Work will be performed at worldwide locations, and is expected to be completed Sept. 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and 30 proposals received. The contracting activity is U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott AFB, Ill., 62225, (HTC711-08-D-5002).

Navy

Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded a $358,694,214 modification to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-fee multi-year contract (N00019-07-C-0001) for five additional CV-22 Tiltrotor aircraft to the current multi-year V-22 production contract. Pursuant to the Variation in Quantity clause, this procurement will bring the number of CV-22 aircraft on this contract from 26 to 31. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pa., (50 percent);
Fort Worth, Texas, (35 percent); and Amarillo, Texas, (15 percent), and is expected to be completed in Oct. 2014. 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.

General Electric Co., Aircraft Engines Business Group, Lynn, Mass., is being awarded a $120,188,430 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088) for the Fiscal Year 2008 Full Rate Production of 30 F/A-18E/F, F414 GE-400 Engines, 24 device kits; and 19 various modules in support of the Royal Australian
Air Force under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Lynn, Mass., (50 percent); Madisonville, Ky., (22 percent); Hooksett, N.H., (13 percent); Albuquerque, N.M., (6 percent); Rutland, Vt., (5 percent); Dayton, Ohio, (2 percent); Evandale, Ohio, (1 percent); and Bromont, Canada, (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in Jan. 2010. 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.

RQ Construction, Inc., Bonsall, Calif., is being awarded $30,449,827 for firm-fixed price task order #0003 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-06-D-1060) for design and construction of a bachelor enlisted quarters at
Marine Corps Air and Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms. The work to be performed provides for the design, construction, procurement, and installation services for a 192 room, 2+0 configuration BEQ, including a multi-level parking structure and site improvements. This contract contains one option, which if exercised would increase the cumulative contract value to $32,449,827. Work will be performed in Twentynine Palms, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.

BAE Systems Tactical Vehicle Systems LLP (BAE-TVS), Sealy, Texas, was awarded a $27,871,299 firm-fixed-priced modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-07-D-5030) delivery order #0003 on Sept. 5, 2008, for the purchase of Engineering Change Proposals (ECPs), Overarching Parts Allocation Board (OPAB) Parts List, and MRAP University and New Equipment Training (NET) development for the 668 vehicles included in the order. Work will be performed at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Yuma Test Center, and the final deliveries associated with this delivery order are expected to be completed by Mar. 31, 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.

General Electric Co., Aircraft Engines Business Group, Lynn, Mass., is being awarded a $21,556,116 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088) to exercise an option for the Fiscal Year 2008 procurement of 7 F414-GE-400 Engine Fan Modules, 13 F414-GE-400 Engine HPC Modules, and 11 F414-GE-400 Engine LPT Modules. The F414-GE-400 engine powers the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft. Work will be performed in Lynn, Mass., (50 percent); Madisonville, Ky., (22 percent); Hooksett, N.H., (13 percent); Albuquerque, N.M., (6 percent); Rutland, Vt., (5 percent); Dayton, Ohio, (2 percent); Evandale, Ohio, (1 percent); and Bromont, Canada, (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2010. 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.

SEDNA Digital Solutions*, LLC, Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $13,613,414 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering and technical services for high fidelity simulation and common processing systems. The delivered product is utilized as a tool by the
Navy in the test and development of new acoustic processors such as the Advanced Processor Build (APB) or other similar build processes. This software will minimize the requirement for At-Sea testing by allowing simulation of at-sea conditions in the lab. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Va., (69 percent); Manassas, Va. (12 percent); Millersville, Md. (6 percent); Mystic, Conn. (6 percent); Red Lodge, Mont., (4 percent); and Middletown, R.I., (3 percent), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-08-C-6203).

Electronic Data Systems, Corp., Herndon, Va., is being awarded $11,243,141 for firm-fixed-price task order NSL7 under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price multi-year services contract (N00024-00-D-6000) to deploy, operate, and maintain an intrusion prevention system within the NMCI (
Navy Marine Corps Intranet) network and to deploy the Unclassified System Administrator Alternate Logon Token (SysAdmin ALT) Capability. Work will be performed at various Navy locations, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Space Warfare Systems Command, PMW-200, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, Inc., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $9,131,511 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-08-C-2300) to exercise an option for the Post Shakedown Availability (PSA) of the USS Sterett (DDG 104). Specific efforts include: engineering and management in support of the PSA; labor and procurement of material to correct government responsible deficiencies and accomplish system upgrades; perform specified PSA work items inclusive of tests and post repair sea trials; task additional manhours and material in order to complete emergent repairs. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Jun. 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington
Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity.

L. C. Gaskins Construction Co., Inc.*,
Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded $8,336,061 for firm-fixed price task order #0006under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N69272-03-D-0004) for the design and construction of a new single-story engineering services facility for the Naval Ordnance Test Unit at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, including asphalt parking lot and site improvements. Work will be performed in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the currentfiscal year. Three (3) proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Moog Aircraft Group, Salt Lake Operations, Salt Lake City, Utah, is being awarded a $7,358,482 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-08-C-0037) to exercise an option for the procurement of 23 man-portable Tactical Air Navigation Units. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah and is expected to be completed in September 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity.

Electronic Data Systems, Corp., Herndon, Va., is being awarded $7,014,114 for firm-fixed-price task order NSL8 under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price multi-year services contract (N00024-00-D-6000) to deploy, operate, and maintain an intrusion prevention system and security information manager solution within the classified SIPRNet (Secret Internet Protocol Router Network) NMCI (
Navy Marine Corps Intranet)network. Work will be performed at various Navy locations, and is expected to be completed by Sept, 30, 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Space Warfare Systems Command, PMW-200, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Air Force

Aurora Flight Sciences Corp., of Manassas, Va., is being awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for $139 million. This action will provide the Air Vehicle Integration and
Technology Research program research to develop, demonstrate, integrate, and transition new air vehicle technologies and prototypes that will provide affordable, revolutionary capabilities to the warfighter. The Technology developments will provide cost effective, survivable air vehicle platforms capable of accurate delivery of weapons and cargo worldwide. At this time $99,186 has been obligated. AFRL/PKVC, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-08-D-3856 0001).

The
Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with Lear Siegler Services Inc., of Austin, Texas, for $34,333,376. This action will provide for aircraft maintenance and related services in support of Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training; maintaining T-37, T-38A, T-6, and T-38C aircraft at Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas. At this time all funds have been obligated. 82 CONS/LGCA, Sheppard AFB, Texas, is the contracting activity (F41689-01-C-0029, P00130).

Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio, is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for an estimated $28,376,290. This contract action will provide chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) defense assessment at multiple locations worldwide to identify current assets and liabilities; develop risk-based decision tools; and identify methods for improving Commander
Navy Installations Command Operations Directorate's (N3) current CBRN capabilities. At this time $96,618 has been obligated. 55th Contracting Squadron, 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-00-D-3180, Delivery Order: 0571).

Army

The Pike Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., was awarded on Sept. 4, 2008, a $55,998,000 firm/fixed price contract for design and construction of the Fort Hamilton, Armed Forces Reserve Center Brooklyn, N.Y. Work will be performed in Brooklyn, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of Mar. 21, 2011. Bids were solicited via Web and six bids were received. Corps of Engineers,
Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-08-C-0030).

Rockwell Collins Simulation & Training, Sterling, Va., was awarded on Sept. 4, 2008, a $10,325,469 firm/fixed price contract for procurement of three transportable Blackhawk operations simulators utilizing a Undefinitized Contractual Action Letter Contract. Work will be performed in Sterling, Va., with an estimated completion of Sept. 30, 2008. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S.
Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0257).

Aztec/Butt Joint Venture, Dayton, Ohio, was awarded on Sept. 4, 2008, a $18,539,000 firm/fixed price contract for alterations to the Acquisitions Management and Materials Laboratory Facilities at Wright Patterson
Air Force Base, Ohio. Work will be performed on Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Jul. 29, 2010. Forty bids were solicited and one bid was received. Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-08-C-0028).

MW Builders of Texas Inc, Temple, Texas, was awarded on Sept. 5, 2008, a $23,748,000 firm/fixed price contract for facilities construction. Work will be performed on Fort Riley, Kan., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 11, 2010. Bids solicited and received were Phase 2-5 Offerors. U.S.
Army Engineering District, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-08-D-0047).

Caddell Construction Co., Inc, Montgomery, Ala., was awarded on Sept. 5, 2008, a $6,006,053 firm/fixed price contract for construction of a brigade and/or battalion headquarters at Fort Bliss, El Pasco, Texas. Work will be performed in Fort Bliss, El Pasco, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Jul. 23, 2010. Bids were solicited Sole Source and one bid was received. U.S.
Army Corp Engineering District, Sacramento, Calif., is the contracting activity (W91238-06-D-0032).

P&S Construction Inc, Lowell, Mass. was awarded on Sept. 5, 2008, a $6,774,000 firm/fixed price contract for construction to replace operations & training facility located at Pease Air National Guard Base. Work will be performed in Newington, N.H., with an estimated completion date of Mar. 31, 2010. Bid solicited were via Web and five bids were received. National Guard Bureau, Concord, N.H., is the contracting activity (W9128TF-08-C-0005).

BAE System Land & Armaments, Anniston, Ala., was awarded on Sept. 5, 2008, a $15,956,952 firm/fixed price contract for the axle, vehicular. Work will be performed in Clinton Township, Mich., Charlotte, Mich., Anniston, Ala., and Oshkosh, Wis., with an estimated completion date of Aug. 29, 2008. Bids solicited and received were Sole Source. Tank Automotive Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08C-0624-07-D-0001).

Daimier Trucks North America, LLC. Portland, Ore., was awarded on Sept. 5, 2008, a $70,812,033 firm/fixed price contract for delivery order of 0104 adds 34 each, M1915A3 Truck Tractor, 304 each, M916A3 Light Equipment Transporters and 12 each M917A2 Dump Trucks to the contract. Work will be performed in Portland, Ore., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 6, 2009. Bids were solicited by the Web and two bids were received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (DAAE-07-00-D-S022). 0001).

SCS, LLC., Oklahoma City, Okla., was awarded on Sept. 5, 2008, a $11,872,442 firm/fixed price contract for building a combat aviation brigade complex and enlisted personnel dining facility for Brigade Combat Team 3. Work will be performed in El Paso, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 1, 2009. Bid solicited were by the Web and eight bids were received. U.S.
Army Engineer District, Little Rock, Ark., is the contracting activity (W9127S-06-D-6000).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Grove U.S. LLC, Shady Grove, Pa., is being awarded a maximum $5,063,058 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for rough terrain cranes. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is
Army. There were originally seven proposals solicited with two responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 23, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM500-01-D-0101-0023).

With Rising Suicide Rates, Army Urges Soldiers to Act

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 4, 2008 - With 2008 suicide rates expected to exceed last year's all-time-high rate and threatening to top those in the civilian population, the
Army is stepping up efforts to get soldiers and their leaders to look out for each other's well-being and to take the stigma out of seeking mental-health help. Sixty-two active-duty soldiers, most of them junior enlisted members, committed suicide so far this calendar year, Col. Eddie Stephens, the Army's deputy director for human resource policy, told reporters today during a Pentagon roundtable. The armed forces medical examiner is investigating another 31 suspected cases to determine if they will be classified as suicides.

If this trend continues through 2008, the
Army will exceed last year's 115 suicides, an all-time high for the Army, he reported. This threatens to surpass the 2007 rate of 18.1 suicides per 100,000 soldiers, approaching the 19.5 per 100,000 rate for U.S. civilians in the same demographic.

"The
leadership of the Army recognizes this development and considers even one suicide one too many," he said.

After ushering in a broad range of programs designed to stop soldiers from taking their own lives, the Army is turning to what officials call the No. 1 defense: junior
leaders who often know soldiers better than their own families do.

The
Army plans to build on the groundwork it has laid as National Suicide Prevention Week kicks off next week with the theme, "Shoulder to Shoulder, No Soldier Stands Alone," said Brig. Gen. Rhonda Cornum, assistant surgeon general for force protection.

The theme emphasizes the benefit of soldiers helping each other deal with tough problems, including those Cornum said are most frequently linked to soldier suicides: relationship problems, legal and financial difficulties and occupational and operational issues and stresses.

Another goal is to de-stigmatize seeking behavioral health care, and to deliver the message that seeking care when it's needed is a sign of strength, not weakness, said Lt. Col. Thomas E. Languirand, chief of the Army's personnel command policy and programs division

"What we are trying to do with that theme is remind soldiers, battle buddies and
leaders – whether they are on the battlefield or off the battlefield – that they can lean on a fellow soldier," Languirand told American Forces Press Service. "As an Army family, we are stronger together. And we look for soldiers to take the extra effort to recognize risk factors and warning signs of a potential suicide and for them to intervene."

Previous suicide awareness training emphasized recognizing warning signs, Cornum said. Now the
Army is taking that a step forward by getting soldiers to act when they see those signs. "We have to ensure that the Army as a culture and soldiers individually know how to help someone else get through the low points," she said.

As one way to encourage intervention, the
Army is promoting the "ACE" – Ask, Care, Escort -- concept, and has printed up wallet-size cards to explain it to soldiers.

Cornum explained the technique:

• "Ask about (a soldier's) situation or problem," she said. "Don't just sit there and know it. Don't ignore it."
• "Care enough to take action." She urged soldiers to intervene, such as taking a weapon away from a suicidal soldier.
• Escort the person to a health-care provider or chaplain or unit leader. "Don't just make the suggestion that he seek help and then leave," she said.

"Knowing the ACE technique when someone is suicidal is critical," Cornum said. "It is just as critical as knowing CPR to prevent cardiac death when someone has a heart attack."

But just as CPR alone isn't enough to prevent heart disease, ACE alone won't prevent suicide, Cornum said. "There are no simple problems and there are no simple solutions," she said. "There is no program that has been shown to be truly effective at preventing suicides."

Success will be "the sum of a number of smaller steps," all linked to a broad behavioral health strategy, she said.

"To really and truly prevent death by suicide, we need to ... build resilience, increase social competence and enhance problem-solving skills," Cornum said. "Our goal is to develop an approach that builds lifelong resilience in our recruits, makes them successful soldiers as well as successful citizens long after they leave the
Army and makes strong mental health as much of a priority as strong physical health."

National Suicide Prevention Week kicks off Sept. 7 and continues through Sept. 13, with World Suicide Prevention Day to be observed Sept. 10. For Reserve and National Guard units, the
Army plans to extend the observance through Oct. 5.

Operation Life Transformed Awards 10th Scholarship

By Sharon Foster
Special to American Forces Press Service

Sept. 8, 2008 - Operation Life Transformed - a home-front group of the Defense Department's America Supports You program – recently awarded its 10th Naval Air Station Lemoore Scholarship of the year. Six scholarships were awarded at the Barnes and Noble Book Fair Fundraiser and Scholarship Award Ceremony in
Fresno, Calif., last month. Two of the six scholarships were sponsored by West Hills College.

Sara Gain received a scholarship for a Microsoft certification course. Gain not only is a military spouse, but also serves as an ombudsman on base.

"I love computers," Gain said. "It's going to be nice to have something to go behind my actual experience. It makes me so much more marketable in the job force. Any kind of competitive edge you can get today, we especially need," she said.

Krystal Renteria's scholarship will cover a medical coding course. Earning the certificate will help her family, "110 percent," she said.

"It's going to help out so much with everything, [including] our boys' education," she said.

West Hills College and Operation Life Transformed started this nationwide alliance and scholarship program this year. West Hills College Chancellor Frank Gornick and Dean of Learning Resources Susan Whitener attended the award ceremony.

Gornick said the partnership between the school and Operation Life Transformed was natural.

"We often think of the needs of the active-duty person," he said. "We don't always necessarily remember the individuals that are at home. Today was a great reminder, seeing the moms going up to get awards with kids in their arms."

Whitener oversees the online programs at West Hills College.

"The opportunity to do these courses online through Operation Life Transformed is incredible in the way that it's flexible for these spouses who are parents and these caregivers, because they can do it at their leisure," Whitener said.

Shennel McGaughey received one of the scholarship sponsored by West Hills. McGaughey's scholarship was the 10th awarded by Operation Life Transformed for NAS Lemoore. Her scholarship is for a medical assistant certification program. McGaughey is a
military spouse and a caregiver for her autistic son.

"I had been looking into schools," McGaughey said. "I was telling a neighbor about the colleges out here and how expensive tuition is and how I couldn't do it online with my son and daughter," she said. "[My neighbor] told me about Operation Life Transformed, and here I am. Amazing!"

After awarding its 10th NAS Lemoore Scholarship of the year, Operation Life Transformed officials now hope to award two dozen by the end of the year.

"These scholarships are so important to the empowerment of our spouses, especially in our location, where there are few employment opportunities to offer," said Kimberly Marrero, chief operating officer and co-founder of Operation Life Transformed. "Once awarded, it opens a whole new world of possibilities for them, not only for employment, but [also for] the freedom for virtual and portable independence -- the key and vital ingredient for quality of life for our
military spouses and caregivers -- and that makes it very powerful."

Operation Life Transformed was started in February 2007. The home-front group targets caregivers of veterans wounded in war and
military spouses. The organization provides funding for online training programs and certifications for home-based careers.

America Supports You connects citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.