Saturday, December 03, 2011

The Guide Book for Warriors

The December 7, 2011, episode of American Heroes Radio features a conversation with U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Albert W. Johnson who during his 30 year military career helped build the first military satellite and has been inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Hall of Fame. Lieutenant Colonel Albert W. Johnson is the author of Rules of Chivalry for Nuclear War: How We Fight and Persuade Each Other.

Program Date: December 7, 2011
Program Time: 1100 hours, PACIFIC
Topic: The Guide Book for Warriors
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lawenforcement/2011/12/07/the-guide-book-for-warriors


About the Guest
U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Albert W. Johnson “knows warfare. After graduating from the Naval Academy, he was assigned as an armament officer in the last year of the Korean War. He then became project officer in developing the B-52 bomber and was one of the original team members on the Discoverer/Corona project – the nation’s first spy satellite program – later inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame. He earned a master’s degree from MIT and worked at Lockheed Corp., a leading defense contractor. Lieutenant Colonel Albert W. Johnson is the author of Rules of Chivalry for Nuclear War: How We Fight and Persuade Each Other.

According to the book description of Rules of Chivalry for Nuclear War: How We Fight and Persuade Each Other, “This book is meant to be a guide book for warriors of they are willing to think 'out of the box'. It has some history, some fiction, some philosophy, some discussion of theology, some advice to young men about sex, and a little bit of physics. The center of the book is a proposal for "The Rules of Chivalry for Nuclear War" (The ROCNWAR). See Chapter 9 if you want to go directly to the proposal. The thrust of the book is that the characteristics of Chivalry are urgently needed when we engage in war.

A major premise is that fighting is one of the four "F" functions of life: i.e., feeding, fleeing, fighting, and reproduction, and how we fight is more important than what we fight about. The proposed rules are designed to: Be effective on promoting change; Lead to decreasing spirals of retaliation; Make the aggressor's sacrifice certain and limited and not dependent on the dice of war; Display the determination of the opponents; Permit the weak to attack the strong and the strong to attack the weak without recrimination; Promote the clarification and definition of issues Promote reconciliation; Recognize that the defender has an inherent advantage; and, And make war a spectator sport.

This book has its genesis in a supper conversation many years ago at Vandenberg Air Force Base when Colonel Lee Battle, Captain Bruce Pince, and Captain Albert Johnson were preparing the launch of one of the early Discoverer Satellites. Colonel Battle presented his ideas about the future of warfare which included the thought that future wars must incorporate decreasing spirals of retaliation. Pince and Johnson were intrigued by this idea and talked about it later.”

About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, law enforcement technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:

Listen from the Archive:
http://www.americanheroesradio.com/guide_book_warriors.html


Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530

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Panetta: Keeping Iran Free of Nuclear Weapons a Common Goal

By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2011 – The United States and its allies and partners in the international community must do everything possible to make sure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said tonight.

Taking questions from the audience after his speech during the opening session of the 2011 Saban Forum, Panetta addressed a range of Middle East issues, including the nuclear threat from Iran.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insists his nation’s nuclear program is a peaceful enterprise, but the International Atomic Energy Agency reported in November about evidence indicating that Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb.

“Iran’s continued drive to develop nuclear capabilities, including troubling enrichment activities and past work on weaponization documented by the IAEA, and its continued support to groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist organizations,” Panetta said in his opening remarks, “make clear that the regime in Tehran is a very grave threat to all of us.”

The forum is an annual gathering of U.S. and Israeli officials and policymakers. This year the group focused on the historic shifts taking place across the Arab world and their implications for U.S.-Israeli security and interests in the Middle East region.

About Iran, an increasingly menacing element of the region, President Barack Obama said last month that the United States will take no options off the table in dealing with that country’s nuclear ambitions.

“At this point, we believe that the combination of economic and diplomatic sanctions that have been placed on Iran have had a serious impact,” Panetta said. “Iran is isolating itself from the rest of the world. It is truly becoming, chiefly as a result of the attack on the British embassy, a pariah in that region. Their own government is off balance in terms of trying to establish any kind of civility within Iran.

The international community has a common goal, Panetta said: an Iran that does not develop a nuclear weapon.

Working together with Israel, with allies in the region and with the international community is the best way to pressure Iran, Panetta said.

“It’s the best way I believe to ultimately weaken this nation, so that ultimately they have to make a decision about whether they continue to be a pariah or whether they decide to join the international community,” the secretary added.

Panetta noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the use of military force should be a last resort. Using military force against Iran’s nuclear program would delay the nuclear effort only by a year or two, the secretary said. “A greater concern is the unintended consequences,” he added. These could include a backlash in the region that would serve to strengthen a regime that is now weak and isolated.

The United State would be blamed for such an attack, the secretary said, “and we could possibly be a target of retaliation from Iran, [which might] strike our ships [and] military bases.”

Using military force against Iran also could produce severe consequences for economies around the world, Panetta said, including those of Europe and the United States. And using force could prompt an escalation in the region, he told the audience -- a nuclear arms race “that I think would consume the Middle East in confrontation and conflict.”

The key, he said, is for the international community to work together to make sure Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon.

“We have made good progress in these efforts,” the secretary said. “We continue to make good progress in these efforts. That’s where we ought to continue to put our pressures and our economic and diplomatic efforts.”

The world always will have military action as a last resort, Panetta said. “But it must be the last resort, not the first,” he emphasized.

Officials Emphasize Patience and Planning to Reduce Holiday Stress

From Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- The holiday season has arrived and as Sailors and families prepare to celebrate, Navy officials have provided a standard operating procedure that can help keep the holidays merry and light.

"The holidays can be a hectic time for many," said Lt. Cmdr. Bonnie Chavez, Navy Behavioral Health Program director. "A lack of money, a lack of time, and the hype and commercialism of the season causes increased stress."

Surveys indicate people in the United States are more likely to feel their stress increase rather than decreases during the holidays, according to Chavez, who offers this advice:

* Take advantage of leave periods and relax for a few days by doing something you enjoy. Holiday stand-down periods provide flexibility for much needed rest to recover from the demands of Navy life.

* Be a good listener. Holidays are short and demands from friends and family for your attention will be high so try to give the gift of good company.

* Keep to your shopping budget. When it comes to holiday gift-giving, find creative ways to save money and remain in your budget. Racking up credit-card debt over the holidays may only cause further stress when the bills come due.

* Plan ahead and allow for plenty of time for holiday travel. Expect lines and delays in airports as the number of travelers swell. Prepare your car for road trips and know you'll be sharing the highway with higher numbers of travelers. Getting plenty of rest can make the journey less stressful and help you arrive safely.

* When tensions begin to rise, pause, take a deep breath, reflect and evaluate if the source of tension is really something that should be causing stress.

* The holidays are a time of excitement and exhaustion for young children. Overtired, over stimulated children are ripe for a stress inducing meltdown. Plan accordingly to anticipate disruptions in children's routines and exercise patience. The holidays are supposed to be merry.

* If deployment or geographic separation will keep you away from family and friends, plan your own observance upon your return or for a future date.

Chavez reminds Sailors to look out for their shipmates, too. Deployments, work-ups and separations are simply a fact of Navy life, and Sailors are good at welcoming shipmates into their homes and including them in celebrations.

"Don't underestimate the positive difference you can make by taking a little extra time to care," said Chavez. "The things you do every day to make connections, to encourage, and show people how they are valued and belong, can help in small but important ways for the people around you."

Official Calls for 'Radical Changes' in Maintenance, Sustainment

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2011 – Praising the "absolutely phenomenal" way the United States has maintained and sustained its forces on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior defense official said the military needs to do even better.

Budgetary demands and a persistent threat that shows no sign of going away require "radical changes" in how the military maintains an engaged, ready force, John B. Johns, deputy assistant secretary of defense for maintenance policy and programs, told attendees yesterday at this year’s Defense Logistics Conference here.

Johns drew a direct correlation between maintenance and sustainment operations and the combat capability and readiness they drive.

"The ability to conduct deterrence or to shape outcomes associated with our conflicts in the world is driven by what we view in the logistics community," he said. "It is not how much stuff we have, it is how we employ it and how we sustain it."

Yet with the high costs associated with maintenance and sustainment -- second only in the Defense Department budget to manpower costs -- Johns said it's obvious that more cuts are on the way.

"If you haven't felt the pressure yet, then get ready, because it's coming," he told the audience.

Also clear, he said, is that what has worked in the past won't be enough in the future.

"Referring to past success is good ... but not instructive about where we need to go," Johns said. "We are talking about fundamental new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, of agility and flexibility."

That includes a 50-percent reduction in average cycle times, Johns said, and a 25-percent cost reduction by 2020. Even defense activities that already have demonstrated major improvements will have to meet these new levels, he said.

"These are not trivial numbers," Johns acknowledged. "But those are the numbers that are going to get us where we need to be."

And if the department falls short of that goal, "we are exceeding the resources that we are going to have available," he said. "We will not make the warfighting requirements or generate the warfighting capability required if we are not operating at that level of performance."

Johns encouraged leaders within the maintenance and sustainment community to make the hard decisions and encourage innovation to address this challenge. "The change is here, and we can lead and shape it," he said.

But if pressured to take unacceptably large cuts, he urged them to defend the budgets needed to sustain a force that provides credible deterrence and is able to shape the outcomes of conflict or potential conflict.

What's at stake for the United States as the department deals with its fiscal challenges is huge, Johns said.

"If we don't make the right decisions with regard to addressing pressure from a budgetary perspective and pressure generated by the full-spectrum threat, we will make serious mistakes that put this at risk," he said. "And we cannot afford to do that."

USS Carl Vinson Conducts Change of Command

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Lori D. Bent, USS Carl Vinson Public Affairs

USS CARL VINSON, At Sea (NNS) -- The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) held a change of command ceremony Dec. 2, while the ship was underway.

Capt. Kent D. Whalen relieved Capt. Bruce H. Lindsey as commanding officer.

The ceremony's guest speaker and Vinson's second commanding officer, retired Rear Adm. Thomas Mercer, praised Lindsey's leadership, highlighting the ship's humanitarian and disaster relief efforts during Operation Unified Response with Task Force-Haiti and the subsequent deployment to U.S. 7th Fleet and U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibilities in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

Before being officially relieved, Lindsey credited Vinson's "Gold Eagle Team" as well as Carrier Air Wing 17's "Team Quicksand" for making the carrier's success possible as he transitions to Commander Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

"The Gold Eagle and Quicksand team is simply stellar," Lindsey said. "It's about the people - the chiefs, the officers and the Sailor. Don't ever forget you are special, and that is why this ship is special."

After official orders were read, Whalen assumed all duties and responsibilities as commanding officer and addressed the crew for the first time.

"It is an honor and privilege to be your commanding officer, and I'm looking forward to witnessing all the great achievements this ship and Carrier Strike Group team will accomplish in the future," Whalen said. "Nothing has changed in the way we do our business onboard Carl Vinson; the safety of this crew should remain paramount."

Prior to assuming command, Whalen served on the staff of the Commander, Naval Air Forces, San Diego as the assistant chief of staff for force readiness.