Tuesday, March 23, 2010

MILITARY CONTRACTS March 23, 2010

UNITED STATES TRANSPORTATION COMMAND

Air Transport International of Little Rock, Ark., is one of five indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, fixed-price contractors that has received an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, fixed-price award and will compete daily for business at the task order level. This program has an overall two-year estimated contract value of $869,530,594 with a contract guaranteed minimum award amount of $2,500 per awardee. The contract is for time definite, door-to-door transportation service for full pallet, less than full pallet and outsized/oversized cargo shipments in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Work will be performed internationally and the performance period is from April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011, with a one-year option period from April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2012. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and nine proposals received. The contracting activity is United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., (HTC711-10-D-W001).

Evergreen International Airlines Inc., of McMinnville, Ore., is one of five indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, fixed-price contractors that has received an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, fixed-price award and will compete daily for business at the task order level. This program has an overall two-year estimated contract value of $869,530,594 with a contract guaranteed minimum award amount of $2,500 per awardee. The contract is for time definite, door-to-door transportation service for full pallet, less than full pallet, and outsized/oversized cargo shipments in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Work will be performed internationally and the performance period is from April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011, with a one-year option period from April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2012. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and nine proposals received. The contracting activity is United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., (HTC711-10-D-W002).

Federal Express Corp., of Washington, D.C., is one of five indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, fixed-price contractors that has received an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, fixed-price award and will compete daily for business at the task order level. This program has an overall two-year estimated contract value of $869,530,594 with a contract guaranteed minimum award amount of $2,500 per awardee. The contract is for time definite, door-to-door transportation service for full pallet, less than full pallet, and outsized/oversized cargo shipments in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Work will be performed internationally and the performance period is from April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011, with a one-year option period from April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2012. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and nine proposals received. The contracting activity is United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., (HTC711-10-D-W003).

National Air Cargo Group Inc., of Ypsilanti, Mich., is one of five indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, fixed-price contractors that has received an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, fixed-price award and will compete daily for business at the task order level. This program has an overall two-year estimated contract value of $869,530,594 with a contract guaranteed minimum award amount of $2,500 per awardee. The contract is for time definite, door-to-door transportation service for full pallet, less than full pallet, and outsized/oversized cargo shipments in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Work will be performed internationally and the performance period is from April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011, with a one-year option period from April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2012. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and nine proposals received. The contracting activity is United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., (HTC711-10-D-W004).

United Parcel Service Co., of Louisville, Ky., is one of five indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, fixed-price contractors that has received an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, fixed-price award and will compete daily for business at the task order level. This program has an overall two-year estimated contract value of $869,530,594 with a contract guaranteed minimum award amount of $2,500 per awardee. The contract is for time definite, door-to-door transportation service for full pallet, less than full pallet, and outsized/oversized cargo shipments in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Work will be performed internationally and the performance period is from April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011, with a one-year option period from April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2012. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and nine proposals received. The contracting activity is United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., (HTC711-10-D-W005).

NAVY

Suffolk Construction, Sarasota, Fla., is being awarded a $19,231,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of a physical fitness center at Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune. The work provides for design and construction of a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) "Gold" certified physical fitness center. Facility will be constructed as a destructive weather shelter for extreme wind events. The facility includes: indoor swimming pool, indoor running track, gymnasium with basketball/volleyball court and spectator seating, racquetball courts, unit physical training/group exercise room, aerobic/exercise area, a cardiovascular training area and a weight training/body development area. Space shall be provided for equipment storage/gear issue area, administrating area including private staff offices, a fitness assessment room, and a laundry facility, vending area, separate men/women/family locker area with showers, toilets and sauna. The contract also contains two unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $20,777,000. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, N.C., and is expected to be completed by April 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 38 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (N40085-10-C-5317).

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded an $18,160,277 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously issued delivery order under a basic ordering agreement (N00019-08-G-0010) for the procurement of MH-60S armed helicopter mission kits, which consist of 36 integrated self defense (ISD) mission kits and 33 weapons kits. Work will be performed in Tallassee, Ala. (76.1 percent); Coxsackie, N.Y. (17.6 percent); Wichita, Kan. (4.3 percent); Valencia, Calif. (1 percent); and at various locations across the U.S. (1 percent) and is expected to be completed in January 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $1,487,432 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Raytheon Defense and Civil Missions Solutions, Falls Church, Va., is being awarded a $15,397,523 firm-fixed-pricecontract to produce Global Broadcast Receive Suites for the Global Broadcast Service (GBS) program. Work will be performed in Falls Church, Va. (82.5 percent), and Reston, Va.(12.5 percent) and is expected to be completed by March 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.This contract was not competitively procured. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N00039-10-C-0059).

L-3 Communications Flight International, Newport News, Va., was awarded a $12,133,358 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-/ndefinite-quantity contract (N00019-09-D-0018) for commercial air services, military operations support. This modification provides airborne threat simulation training for shipboard and aircraft squadron weapon systems operators and aircrew, to enhance abilities to counter potential enemy electronic warfare and electronic attack operations in an electronic combat environment. Work will be performed in Newport News, Va. (50 percent) and San Diego, Calif. (50 percent) and is expected to be completed in October 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.

Correction: The contract modification award initially listed to be awarded March 19, 2010, to DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas (N62732-08-C-1115) for $34,486,995 will be executed after 1700, March 23, 2010.

ARMY

QinetiQ of North America, Reston, Va., was awarded on Mar. 19, 2010 a $19,533,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the Man-Wearable Gun Shot Detection Systems. Work is to be performed in Cheswick, Pa., with an estimated completion date of Mar. 19, 2012. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid received. Research, Development & Engineering Command Contracting Center, Aberdeen Proving South Carolina Commission for the Blind, Columbia, S.C., was awarded on Mar. 19, 2010 a $18,831,610 cost-plus-award-fee contract for full food services at Fort Jackson, S.C. Work is to be performed in Fort Jackson, S.C., with an estimated completion date of Feb. 29, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Mission & Installation Contracting Command, MICC Center-Fort Bragg, N.C., is the contracting activity (W91247-10-C-0022).

The Korte Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded on Mar. 18, 2010 a $9,777,181 firm-fixed-price contract for the design and construction of a 23,390 square foot Child Development Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The project included infant, pre-toddler, toddler, pre-school rooms, kitchen, administrative, and lobby areas. This project includes all utilities, site work, pavements, and outdoor play areas. The design shall be LEED Silver certified and complies with all codes and standards, including the Vandenberg AFB Excellence Standards 2008. Work is to be performed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 10, 2011. Bids were solicited via fbo.gov with 20 bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Los Angeles, Calif., is the contracting activity (W912PL-10-C-0018).

Lord Electric Co., of Puerto Rico, Inc., San Juan, Puerto Rico., was awarded on Mar. 18, 2010 a $9,506,464 firm-fixed-price contract for the design and construction of a substation project at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. Work is to be performed in Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico., with an estimated completion date of Apr. 18, 2011. Fifty bids were solicited with four bids received. U.S. Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-10-C-0032).

Gichner Systems Group, Inc., Dallastown, Pa., was awarded on Mar. 19, 2010 a $8,241,476 firm-fixed-price contract to procure 20 each 1 Side Amp Expandable Shelters & 28 each 1 side 100 AMP Expandable Shelters. Work is to be performed in Dallastown, Pa., with an estimated completion date of July 15, 2010. Bids were solicited through the World Wide Web with two bids received. Research, Development & Engineering Command Contracting Center, Natick Contracting Division, Natick, Mass., is the contracting activity (W58P05-05-D-0004).

Duncan & Thompson Construction Services, LLC., Birmingham, Ala., was awarded on Mar. 19, 2010 a $7,182,818 firm-fixed-price contract for the renovations of the Nursing Home Care Unit (NHCU) at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, Ala. Work is to be performed in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with an estimated completion date of Mar. 30, 2012. Bids were solicited through the World Wide Web with nine bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W91278-10-C-0042).

AIR FORCE

Mantech SRS Technologies, Inc., of Arlington, Va., was awarded a $15,422,664 contract which will provide system engineering and integration services to support launch and range systems wing by providing space launch operations for current and future launches. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. SMC/LRSW, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8811-10-C-0002).

Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc., of Colorado Springs, Col., was awarded a $26,900,000 contract which will provide the Hawaii Tracking Station part of the Air Force satellite control network. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. SCNG/PK, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA4701-02-D-0006).

United Launch Services of Littleton, Col., was awarded an $18,377,691 contract which will support the Department of Defense's assured access to space efforts by implementing FY10 Project Improvement-Ordnance Box and FY10 Fleet Standardization-Metallic LOX Skirt capability improvement projects under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Launch Capabilities contract. At this time, $9,952,220 has been obligated. SMC/LR, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8816-06-C-0002).

Gates, Mullen Extend Military Support to Mexico

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

March 23, 2010 - Top U.S. defense officials met with their Mexican counterparts in Mexico City today to strengthen the U.S.-Mexico military partnership in the fight against drug cartels there. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen are in Mexico today as part of a U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair also are part of the delegation.

The high-level talks are part of the Merida initiative, a partnership promised by President Barack Obama last year to help the region combat drug trafficking and related violence by the cartels. The three-year program provides $1.6 billion to fund drug-fighting initiatives.

The talks demonstrate the level of commitment the United States has in aiding Mexico in its struggle against the cartels and to impede the drug trade from crossing the border into the United States, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters at a news conference here today.

"Sending a delegation of this stature to Mexico is a clear indication of the critical importance both we and the Mexican government ... place on law enforcement cooperation, strengthening Mexican institutions and other cooperative efforts to support the government of Mexico's campaign against organized crimes," Morrell said.

Gates and Mullen met with Mexico's Defense Secretary Guillermo Galvan Galvan and Navy Secretary Mariano Francisco Saynez Mendoza to discuss military-to-military coordination and to develop a comprehensive approach to counternarcotics operations and planning.

The meetings focused on bilateral information sharing, joint defense cooperation and the need for transparency and accountability on human rights. Currently, the Pentagon provides intelligence and surveillance support, communications equipment and mobility assets, Morrell said.

The talks come at a time when the Mexican government has suffered heavy losses in its war on drugs. Since 2006, some 18,000 people, including security personnel, have lost their lives to drug-related violence.

"The government of Mexico has taken strong actions to address these security threats," Morrell said. "They are making some progress, but have paid high prices for their brave stand. Those sacrifices have only made our two nations more determined to work together to combat these criminal groups."

Funds allocated to Mexico under the Merida initiative are due to expire in 2011. The remaining funds will go to other countries in Central America.

Gates and Mullen are set to return to Washington, D.C., tonight.

Dialogue Seeks to Strengthen U.S.-Pakistani Ties

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

March 23, 2010 - Talks between Pakistani and American officials seek to strengthen, broaden and deepen the ties between the two countries, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said here today. High-level talks between the United States and Pakistan are designed to chart the course of the relationship between the two nations as they move forward. "This is a meeting between equals," said a military official speaking on background. "Both countries will gain from this discussion."

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will participate in the discussions, but the Strategic Dialogue as it is being called is not primarily a security discussion.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will lead the American side and Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi is her opposite number. The dialogue stresses the U.S.-Pakistani partnership that goes far beyond security. "It represents a shared commitment on the part of both nations to strengthening the bilateral relationship and building an even broader partnership based on mutual respect and mutual trust," Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, President Obama's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said last week.

The meetings begin at the State Department tomorrow, and the dialogue encompasses all aspects of U.S.-Pakistani relations. Also participating are Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar, the adviser to the prime minister on social issues, Wazir Ali; the adviser to the prime minister on agriculture and water, Majid Ullah; the chief of staff of the army, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, and many others.

Among the American delegation are Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew, Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin, National Security Council Senior Director David Lipton, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development Rajiv Shah, and others.

"This dialogue is designed to produce a better long-term strategic relationship between our two countries," Morrell said. "This is not simply about asking and receiving items."

The whole range of U.S-Pakistani relations will be discussed. The United States and Pakistan can discuss agricultural methods and new means of irrigation. "Water and electricity are becoming problems in Pakistan," said the military official. "We can certainly share some experiences on those."

Delivering education is important, as is increasing the effectiveness of civil service personnel. Participants in the dialogue also will address ways to improve the image of America among the Pakistani population, officials said.

Gates and Mullen met with Gen. Kayani at the Pentagon yesterday. They will continue the meeting on Thursday. Pakistani lessons in the counterinsurgency campaign, intelligence-sharing and training will be discussed.

The military-to-military relationship between the two countries is improving. Both sides are trying to overcome the effects of the Pressler Amendment, which forbade the U.S. military from dealing with the Pakistanis for 12 years. More exercises, more training together, more military exchanges between the United States and Pakistan are needed, the official said, and that is being planned.

The bottom line is that both the United States and Pakistan are democracies and it is in both countries' interests to work together. "The United States is supporting Pakistan as it seeks to strengthen democratic institutions, as it seeks to foster more economic development, expand opportunities, deal with its energy and water problems and defeat the extremist groups who threaten both Pakistan's security and stability in the larger region and American national security as well," Holbrooke said.

Senior Executive Service Appointments and Reassignments

March 23, 2010 - Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced the following Department of Defense Senior Executive Service appointments and reassignments:

Appointments

Richard O. Wightman Jr. has been appointed to the Senior Executive Service and is assigned as deputy assistant secretary of defense (materiel and facilities), Office of the Secretary of Defense, (Reserve Affairs), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), Washington, D.C. Wightman previously served as a major general and senior military representative with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Headquarters in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

John T. Hastings has been appointed to the Senior Executive Service and is assigned as deputy assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs (resources), Office of the Secretary of Defense, (Reserve Affairs), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), Washington, D.C. Hastings previously served as principal director and director for program and budget (supervisory program analyst) with the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, (Reserve Affairs), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), Washington, D.C.

Reassignments

Edward R. Greer has been assigned as director, developmental test and evaluation, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C. Greer previously served as deputy assistant commander, test and evaluation/executive director, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Naval Air Systems Command, St. Mary's, Md.

Former West Point Employee Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Role in $3 Million Embezzlement Scheme

March 23, 2010 - A Highland Falls, N.Y., woman was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for her role in a scheme to defraud and embezzle funds from the U.S. government by authorizing nearly $3 million in payments from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., to a bogus corporation she controlled. The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and Brig. Gen. Colleen McGuire, the Provost Marshal General of the Army and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID).

Bobbie Cyana Ryan, 51, was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to three years of supervised release following the prison term and was ordered to pay $2,924,966 in restitution to the U.S. Military Academy. Ryan pleaded guilty on Oct. 28, 2009, to a three-count criminal information charging her with devising a scheme to defraud, and transmitting funds in interstate commerce for the purpose of executing the scheme; embezzlement and conversion by Ryan of government funds; and executing a financial transaction with criminally derived funds.

According to court documents filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, Ryan worked in the Information, Education and Technology division in the Office of the Dean at West Point. Ryan was responsible for coordinating information technology training programs for West Point staff. According to court documents, based on irregularities found during a routine audit, U.S. Army investigators discovered that Ryan, acting as the requesting and approving official, used her government purchase card and cards of her unknowing subordinates to authorize approximately $2.9 million in payments to CWG Enterprises. The payments were purportedly for either on-site training instructors or training reference materials when, in fact, no personnel were ever trained and no materials were ever provided.

U.S. Army investigators subsequently discovered that Ryan conducted financial transactions and identified herself as doing business as CWG Enterprises. Ryan used a rented mail box as the company address for CWG Enterprises. Based on false invoices created by Ryan, transfers of government funds were allegedly made from a bank in Washington to a bank account in the name of "Bobbie C. Ryan dba CWG Enterprises" at a bank in New Windsor, N.Y. Once the funds arrived in the purported CWG Enterprises bank account, Ryan withdrew the funds and paid personal and family expenses.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Andrew Levchuk of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case was investigated by the U.S. Army CID, Hartford Fraud Resident Agency.

Airman-Funded Heart Surgeries Change 150 Childrens' Lives


Staff Sgt. Carolyn Viss
376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

March 23, 2010 - In an age when Americans are able to vote for a healthcare bill when they are dissatisfied with the current plan, many people around the world, including in Kyrgyzstan, struggle to afford surgery without any health insurance at all. So, American airmen from the Transit Center have rallied together, raising or donating funds for what are now 150 heart surgeries for children in Kyrgyzstan, totaling more than $75,000.

The 150th surgery happened March 17 when 13-year-old Firuza Nurahunova, who suffered from congenital heart disease since birth, successfully underwent an aortic valve replacement, the third, and hopefully final, surgery necessary for her recovery.

The surgery and recovery from it were the hard parts for Firuza and her family to get through. The funding was easy once airmen got involved.

On Feb. 26, Claudia Kuric, the Kyrgyz Republic Peace Corps country director, contacted the Transit Center humanitarian assistance office with the following email request: "My Kyrgyz local-hire staff member for the Peace Corps has a child who needs a heart operation," she said. "Is it possible to get her on the registry for the heart operations that the Transit Center supports?"

Within four days, they had the answer: "The doctor is willing to perform the surgery at no cost," said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) James Kinsey, the head chaplain here. "The only fees will be hospital expenses, and Manas Area Benefit Outreach Society is willing to pick (those) up."

MABOS is a private organization that airmen organized so service members can make personal donations here to help the local people in the community, according to the chaplain.

"The troops here at Manas are sharing their time, money, talents, love and hearts with the Kyrgyzstan people," he said.

When airmen visited Firuza in the hospital March 21, four days after the operation, she was in good spirits. Her parents, Polak and Shakura Nurahunova, were full of thanks.

"We wish you and your families peace and a long life of happiness and health," they said through a translator.

Now, Firuza and the other 149 children like her who have had surgery can go on to live their lives, enjoying their favorite foods, favorite toys, and favorite colors. Firuza's favorite color is yellow, and it matches her personality to a "tee," according to those who have met her.

Firuza has the spunk of a young lady who's had to be strong through a lot of pain, said an Airman who visited Firuza. She was cracking jokes with the nurses in spite of a low-grade fever, and looking forward to being released March 23.

"There are no words to describe the gratitude and joy the Peace Corps staff feels concerning this very generous gift you have given our cook's family," Kuric said, in an e-mail. "The amount needed for this surgery was way beyond the family's means. This child is such a joy, and our staff has painfully watched over the last year as the child's energy and life were waning."

"My staff is truly overwhelmed by this gift, and it has prompted many conversations about the generosity of Americans and Americans' philanthropic natures," she continued. "One of my staff said it best yesterday when he said, 'Someone needs to tell the people of Kyrgyzstan that this is what ...Americans are really like. They have good hearts.'"

This 150th surgery blessed the airmen here as much as it blessed Firuza's family.

"I am amazed with how subjective the idea of happiness is," said Senior Airman Maria Gates, Transit Center coalition coordinator and linguist. "You don't become aware of the life you posses until you become exposed to something different. Last weekend, I was exposed to a 14 year-old who went through three heart surgeries, and was simply happy to be alive. How fortunate is she, and how astonishingly lucky am I!"

Pentagon Looks to 'Phase In' Missile Defense

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

March 23, 2010 - Based on the Pentagon's September 2009 review of U.S. ballistic missile defenses, military officials want to harness technology for a more flexible and adaptive defense architecture, the principle deputy defense undersecretary for policy said.

James N. Miller spoke to an audience of more than 200 missile defense experts here yesterday at the 8th Annual U.S. Missile Defense Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

Miller said the United States needs to integrate its missile-defense technology with foreign partners based on various threats. Such an approach, he said, would be more cost effective and also help to reduce potential threats.

"This approach is adaptive in the sense that it relies heavily on other, more flexible capabilities that can be surged into troubled regions in times of crisis," Miller said. "We know that based on the current threat, our supply of missile defense interceptors is going to have to be moved around from region to region as we build more capacity over the coming five to ten years.

"To date, there are thousands of ballistic missiles across the world, potential threat missiles, hundreds of launchers," he added. "Roughly 90 percent of those missiles today have less than a 1,000-kilometer range ... we only have a few-hundred defense interceptors deployed in multiple regions."

In Europe, for example, the main defenses against potential long-range missile strikes against southern Europe are 10 ground-based interceptors in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic, Miller said.

This offers some protection from missiles originating in the Middle East, but in a two-to-one engagement, he explained, the U.S. defense there is limited.

Iran's expanding offensive missile capabilities is an issue of concern to the United States and its allies, Miller said.

"On the threat side, while Iran and others have not yet acquired or deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, the threat of short- and medium-range missiles has developed quickly [over] the past decade," he said. "Iran already had hundreds of ballistic missiles that can range its neighbors in the region and in southern Europe."

Meanwhile, Miller said, Iran "is actively looking to deploy missiles with even greater range."

Adapting to such threats requires the United States and its allies to apply a template for its missile defense architecture, with the intent of using the best-existing technology available, he said.

"As more capable sensors are tested, proven and available, we'll phase that technology into the account of the increasing range and complexity of the threat we face," Miller said. "On the other hand, if a more complex threat does not emerge as quickly or fails to emerge, then the deployment of missile defenses can be scaled in response, and we can allocate resources elsewhere."

In the case of Iran, it's "highly unlikely" that the threat of Iranian missiles will be reduced or become obsolete, he said.

Because of this, the United States will employ a global force-management process to ensure missile defenses are tailored to meet threats in various regions, Miller said.

Trail-blazing National Guard Attorney Retires


By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

March 23, 2010 - A pioneering National Guard Bureau attorney who was instrumental in founding the Youth ChalleNGe Program retired at a ceremony held here. Joseph Monachino, who retired March 12, served the bureau for more than 35 years, including 24 as an Air Force civilian. He wrote thousands of legal opinions for dozens of offices in support of the National Guard leadership on behalf of the organization's chief counsel.

"It's just absolutely incredible, Joe's accomplishments," said Army Lt. Col. Chris Rofrano, the bureau's chief counsel. "Joe is a very, very modest person, and he doesn't go around plugging his accomplishments and the great things he's done."

For years, Monachino was the bureau's only contract attorney. He developed the Guard's first procurement regulation, and he developed and taught the Guard's fiscal law course that educated personnel in procurement procedures.

"I have never met a finer person in my life," Rofrano said. "I have never met a boss who was more caring about his employees."

"Are you sure you've got the right guy?" Monachino joked after tributes during his retirement ceremony at the Army National Guard Readiness Center here. "All I did was just do my job. ... I always looked forward to coming to the office. I felt that [by] coming to the office I was at least doing something that may have been useful. I was real proud to be a member of the Guard."

Monachino's contributions to Youth ChalleNGe, a program that provides young people a second chance at a better life and is now nearing its 100,000th graduate, is just one among his myriad accomplishments.

"We wouldn't have ChalleNGe today, but for Joe," Rofrano said.

Early in his life Monachino worked as a laborer for his immigrant farming parents. When he decided to pursue formal schooling, his parents sacrificed to put him through law school.

Drafted into the Army after law school, Monachino entered as a specialist, serving in Europe. Returning to the United States, he practiced law in upstate New York before entering the Air Force as a judge advocate and serving in Libya and upstate New York, where he met his future wife, Kay.

He transferred to the Air National Guard in 1972. He served in uniform at the National Guard Bureau from 1974 to 1985, before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He served Congress for two years, then returned to the bureau as a civilian in 1987 and stayed.

Monachino talked about how all his life he has seen examples of the spirit of 1776 living on to the present day, in the sacrifices of those who did not return from war and those who did.

That spirit of service, he added, includes "not only the military, but civilians, as well."

And, the National Guard "is going to be there," Monachino said, as it continues to serve the nation in the years ahead.

Cold War Finale Made Missile Defense Possible

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

March 23, 2010 - The end of the Cold War made effective missile defense possible, Ashton Carter, the undersecretary of the defense for acquisition, technology and logistics said here yesterday. Carter spoke at the 8th Annual U.S. Missile Defense Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building. The site of the conference is significant as Reagan was the first U.S. president in a generation to push for an effective missile defense system.

Reagan, who served from 1981 to 1989, wanted to counter the nuclear threat from the Soviet Union. He proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative also known as "Star Wars" to counter thousands of nuclear-tipped missiles.

The "Star Wars" concept was derided by many who thought the initiative would undermine the strategy of mutually assured destruction, Carter said. The idea was that missile defense would give a false sense of assurance that one side or the other could survive a nuclear exchange and would be more apt to launch a strike against the other.

Another drawback, Carter said, was that most systems were designed to destroy nuclear warheads by exploding a warhead near it.

The need for missile defense was illustrated during the Gulf War, when Iraq launched SCUD missiles at allied forces massing in Saudi Arabia and at Israel. U.S. Patriot missile batteries countered the threat with some success, and U.S. aircraft launched "SCUD hunts" in the western Iraqi desert. Still, missiles did strike and one hit a warehouse being used as a barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It killed 28 American soldiers and wounded another 110.

Missile defense remained a contentious issue -- with European critics being among the harshest -- until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

With the demise of what Reagan called "the Evil Empire" and growing ties between Russia and the United States, the threat changed. Today, the missile threat to the United States emanates from rogue states or a mistaken launch. Missile defense systems could not hope to counter a massive strike with thousands of warheads, but it could handle a limited attack, Carter said.

In the Clinton administration, missile defense research and development moved forward. Scientists looked at the many phases of missile defense from boost-phase, to mid-course, to terminal systems. The investments of the 1980s and 1990s paid off with quantum leaps in radars and system architectures, Carter said. It became possible for a missile to be so accurate as to hit an incoming warhead with the missile akin to hitting a bullet with another bullet, Carter said.

Testing continued through the Clinton administration, and it was sufficiently mature that the Bush administration decided to establish missile defense systems to protect the homeland. After assessing the threat, NATO also agreed to field missile defense. Now missile defense is a cornerstone of American defense, Carter said. U.S. officials can assess the threat at various places and plug in capabilities to negate that threat. Aegis-class ships, SM-3 missiles, the whole mid-course system, space-based sensors, portable radars, Patriot-3 missile systems now are in the quiver and can be used.

Today, the work is in managing the capability, Carter said. While getting the best value for taxpayers has always been a goal, he said, there are enough systems now that managing them allows for more potential savings.

"We're trying to manage the missile defense programs responsibly," Carter said. "Testing has always been an issue: How do you know they work? So, we try to give rigorous answers based on tests to answer that question."

The department now has an integrated master test plan that encompasses $1.8 billion in annual spending. "We're trying to get the same fidelity of test information at less expense," Carter said.

And, now that the United States has missile defenses as part of its military force structure, Carter said, the question arises about how much missile defense capability does the nation need?

"What is the relationship between force structure and deployed forces?" Carter asked. "Where should they deploy? Which [combatant commands] get which assets? How do we budget for this new ingredient of the force structure?

"Finally," he continued, "what's the relationship between missile defense, on the one hand, and air defenses, cruise missile defenses, space situational awareness and other situations that share some of the same technologies and some of the same assets?"