By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 10, 2008 - All military services, including their reserve components, met their recruiting goals for fiscal 2008, marking one of the strongest recruiting efforts in four years, senior Defense Department officials announced today. "This is the strongest recruiting year we've had overall ... since fiscal year 2004," said David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
Notably, the Army and Marine Corps had raised their recruiting goals for fiscal 2008, as both services continue to grow their ranks to meet the demands of the wars on two fronts. In fact, the Army was the sole active-duty service to exceed its goal by a full 1 percent, recruiting 517 more soldiers than its 80,000 target.
And the service increased the overall quality of its recruits, its top recruiting officer said, and put more recruits into the pool waiting to join in fiscal 2009.
"I've never seen a better Army," Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, the commander of the service's recruiting command.
Only 20 percent of recruits joining the Army in fiscal 2008 required a waiver for medical or conduct reasons, Bostick said. The Army granted only 372 waivers to allow recruits with felony convictions to enlist, down from 511 in fiscal 2007, he added.
Also, the Army increased its percentage of active-duty recruits who hold high school diplomas to 83 percent, up from 79 percent in fiscal 2007.
DoD's goal is that 90 percent of those enlisting have a high school diploma. All other active-duty and reserve services met or exceeded the 90 percent goal, except for the Army Reserve, which came in at 89 percent. All recruits must have a high school certification to join.
The other active-duty services weighed in at 100 percent of their fiscal year recruiting goals, and each exceeded its goal by at least a few dozen recruits.
The Navy came in at 38,485 accessions, 66 above its goal of 38,419. The Marine Corps came in at 37,991, 24 above its goal of 37,967 and the Air Force recruited 27,848 new airmen, 48 above its goal of 27,800.
Retention was strong for the active-duty Army and Navy, as each exceeded its fiscal 2008 target. The Marine Corps did not reach its goal for retaining first-time recruits, and its retention rate dropped to 95 percent.
Air Force retention suffered in a tumultuous year for the service, although officials did not release specific numbers. Part of the problem, Chu explained, was that the Air Force was drawing down its force at the start of the fiscal year, and therefore did not have strong retention incentives in place.
The Air Force stopped its reduction in strength about mid-year, but it was too late to stop the flow of airmen leaving the service, Chu said. He added that those retention rates are expected to rebound for fiscal 2009, which began Oct. 1.
The reserve forces had a strong recruiting year, as the Air National Guard came in at 126 percent of its recruiting goal, recruiting 2,200 airmen above its goal of 8,548.
The Army Reserve recruited 106 percent of its 37,500-soldier goal, bringing in 39,870 new recruits.
The Air Force Reserve finished the year at 105 percent, with 7,323 accessions, 360 above its goal of 6,983.
The Army National Guard closed out the year at 103 percent, with nearly 2,200 recruits over its 63,000 goal.
The Navy and Marine Corps reserves both came in at 100 percent of their recruiting goals, with 9,134 and 7,628 accessions, respectively.
Retention numbers were not released, but officials said losses were within acceptable limits.
Chu said that DoD begins this recruiting fiscal year in a stronger position than last year. Also, he said, the strength of the all-volunteer force is shown in the overall quality of the recruits.
"We aim for the typical person to be above average," he said.
More than 92 percent of recruits hold a high school diploma, contrasted with 75 percent of the general U.S. population in the same age range.
Nearly 70 percent of new active-duty recruits came from the top half of those in the United States testing highest in math and verbal aptitude, and about three-quarters of new recruits come from neighborhoods that are at or above the U.S. median annual household income of about $50,000.
"[It] is a great tribute to the qualities of America's youth today, their willingness to step forward, and their willingness to serve," Chu said. "The fact that we are getting some of the best and brightest in our society is a great tribute to the spirit that young people put into the notion of public service today."
Friday, October 10, 2008
Cartwright Urges Improving Technological Advances
By Air Force Master Sgt. Adam M. Stump
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 10, 2008 - The U.S. military needs to continue working on technological advances to fight a pair of wars that are "winnable," the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here yesterday. Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, speaking to a group of Marine Corps University students during the Erskine lecture series, said the U.S. military's priority is to win the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and be ready for future challenges and threats.
Addressing the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Cartwright said, "This fight is winnable."
The service chiefs are doing a great job preserving, training and equipping the force, Cartwright said. The Army, in particular, has done an amazing transformation by turning from a garrison structure to a more expeditionary force, he said.
"We're taking an Army and completely transforming it," Cartwright said. The Army has switched from a division construct to a brigade construct, all while fighting two wars.
"Those are huge changes, larger than anything this Army has done since World War II," he said.
The reserve forces also have undergone a notable transformation, turning from a strategic mobilization force into an operational force, all while growing larger than the active-duty side of the military.
All of this, the vice chairman said, has transformed the U.S. military into an experienced and more capable force. With the increased experience and capability, Cartwright said, the military will be more able to adapt to a future conflict.
"We might have to spend a couple of months to be ready to go to some different kind of conflict, but it's going to be a couple of months, not a couple of years," he said.
The vice chairman said another major advance during the past few years has been unmanned aerial vehicles. Cartwright said the United States has gone from a handful of UAVs at the start of the war in Iraq to hundreds currently. However, he said, UAVs need to develop a common ground station to communicate better.
In addition, the general said, UAVs need to be used more efficiently, and policies need to be examined so UAVs can use different tactics. The general added that the platform also needs to become an all-weather capability.
Another challenge the U.S. military is facing is cultural and language training. While the military has ramped up the training capability, Cartwright said, the United States still is behind allies because of a "speak my language or you're dumb" mentality.
A great model of success is the international package-delivery company UPS, which runs an aggressive cultural and language training program, the general said. UPS puts employees into the program before stationing them overseas, he said.
"We've got to get in the same boat," Cartwright said.
(Air Force Master Sgt. Adam M. Stump serves in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Public Affairs Office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 10, 2008 - The U.S. military needs to continue working on technological advances to fight a pair of wars that are "winnable," the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here yesterday. Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, speaking to a group of Marine Corps University students during the Erskine lecture series, said the U.S. military's priority is to win the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and be ready for future challenges and threats.
Addressing the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Cartwright said, "This fight is winnable."
The service chiefs are doing a great job preserving, training and equipping the force, Cartwright said. The Army, in particular, has done an amazing transformation by turning from a garrison structure to a more expeditionary force, he said.
"We're taking an Army and completely transforming it," Cartwright said. The Army has switched from a division construct to a brigade construct, all while fighting two wars.
"Those are huge changes, larger than anything this Army has done since World War II," he said.
The reserve forces also have undergone a notable transformation, turning from a strategic mobilization force into an operational force, all while growing larger than the active-duty side of the military.
All of this, the vice chairman said, has transformed the U.S. military into an experienced and more capable force. With the increased experience and capability, Cartwright said, the military will be more able to adapt to a future conflict.
"We might have to spend a couple of months to be ready to go to some different kind of conflict, but it's going to be a couple of months, not a couple of years," he said.
The vice chairman said another major advance during the past few years has been unmanned aerial vehicles. Cartwright said the United States has gone from a handful of UAVs at the start of the war in Iraq to hundreds currently. However, he said, UAVs need to develop a common ground station to communicate better.
In addition, the general said, UAVs need to be used more efficiently, and policies need to be examined so UAVs can use different tactics. The general added that the platform also needs to become an all-weather capability.
Another challenge the U.S. military is facing is cultural and language training. While the military has ramped up the training capability, Cartwright said, the United States still is behind allies because of a "speak my language or you're dumb" mentality.
A great model of success is the international package-delivery company UPS, which runs an aggressive cultural and language training program, the general said. UPS puts employees into the program before stationing them overseas, he said.
"We've got to get in the same boat," Cartwright said.
(Air Force Master Sgt. Adam M. Stump serves in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Public Affairs Office.)
MILITARY CONTRACTS October 10, 2008
Army
American Ordnances LLC, St. Pittsburg, Kan., has three contract were awarded Oct. 2, 2008, a $427,782,611 firm/fixed-price contract for the operations Iowa and Milan Army Ammunition Plants. Work will be performed in Iowa Army Ammunition, Middleton, Iowa, Milan Army Ammunition Plant, Milan, Tenn., with estimated and completion date of Dec. 31, 2018. Bids solicited were via the Web and two bids were received. Army Sustainment Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activities (W52P1J08-E-003, W52P1J08-D-0074, and W52P108-G-004).
LW Matteson Inc, Burlington, Iowa, was awarded on Oct. 9, 2008, an $11,730,750 firm/fixed/price contract to repair more than one mile of levee breaches at the Hunt and Lima Lake Drainage Districts and Indian Grave Drainage District, located along the Mississippi River in Illinois. Work will be performed in Mississippi River Hunt Lima Lake Drainage District and Indian Grave Drainage District, Quincy, Ill., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 15, 2009. Bids were solicited via the www.fbo.gov and one bid was received. US Army Corps of Engineer, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W912EK-09-C-0002).
Lockheed Martin Corp, Missile and Fire Control-Dallas, Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded Oct. 7, 2008, a $5,414,500 firm/fixed/price contract to support recertification of 72 each baseline PAC-3 missiles during the fiscal years of 2009 and 2010 and 1 Lot of consumable material to support recertification of 24 each baseline PAC-3 missile during fiscal year 2009. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., with estimated and completion date of Sept. 30, 2010. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone, Ala., is the contracting (W31P4Q-06-C-0180).
Navy
Bechtel Bettis Inc., Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, West Mifflin, Pa., is being awarded a $205,340,000 cost-plus-fixed fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-98-C-4064) for naval nuclear propulsion work at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory. Work will be performed in West Mifflin, Pa. Contract funds in the amount of $89,580,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. This action represents funding of the contract's fy09 effort. No completion date or other additional information is provided on naval nuclear propulsion program contracts. The Naval Sea Systems Command is the Contracting Activity.
Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc. dba HOK Architects, San Francisco, Calif., is being awarded $13,000,000 for modification #P00032 under a previously awarded firm-fixed price architect/engineer contract (N62742-05-C-0001) for design and engineering services at the Pacific Region Center and Wet Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Naval Station Pearl Harbor. The work to be performed provides for all design and engineering services to develop design-bid-build documents for construction of the facilities comprising Buildings 175, 176, A and S181/220, and all associated facilities. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contact value will be $22,455,895. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by June 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity.
BAE Systems Land & Armaments, Ground Systems Division, York, Pa., is being awarded an $8,014,050 firm-fixed-priced modification to previously awarded delivery order #0003 under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5025) for integrated logistics support to support Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Work will be performed in York, Pa., and is expected to be completed by the January 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Air Force
The Air Force is modifying a cost plus fixed fee contract with Honeywell International Incorporated of Clearwater, Fla., for $9,391,835. This action will provide "Advanced Inertial Measurement Unit" for the Advanced Ballistic Missile Technological Program. At this time $80,000 has been obligated. Det 8 AFRL/RVKV, Directorate of Contracting, Kirtland AFB, N.M., is the contracting activity (FA9453-08-C-0612, P00003).
The Air Force is modifying a cost plus fixed fee contract with McDonnell Douglas Corporation, A Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of the Boeing Company, of Long Beach, Calif., not to exceed $7,184,203. This contract modification is a Foreign military Sales (FMS) requirement for the Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III sustainment partnership program. This action incorporates Block 17 spares and aeromedical litter station augmentations set. This effort supports foreign military sales to the Royal Air Force, United Kingdom. At this time $2.32 million has been obligated. AFMC/516/AESW/516 AESG/SYK, Area B, Bldg 558, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (FA8614-04-C-2004 P00271).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
West-Mark, Ceres, Calif.* is being awarded a maximum $5,952,710 firm fixed price contract for water distribution truck. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Navy. There were originally 2 proposals solicited with 1 response. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is July 18, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM509-01-D-0068-0022).
Macqurie Aviation North America 2, Inc., DBA Atlantic Av, Louisville, Ky.* is being awarded a maximum $5,154,523 fixed price with economic price adjustment, into-plane contract for fuel. Other location of performance is KSDF Louisville International Standiford Field, Louisville, Kentucky. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, federal civilian agencies and National Guard. There were originally 103 proposals solicited with 1 response. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is September 30, 2012. The contracting activity is Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-09-D-0008).
American Ordnances LLC, St. Pittsburg, Kan., has three contract were awarded Oct. 2, 2008, a $427,782,611 firm/fixed-price contract for the operations Iowa and Milan Army Ammunition Plants. Work will be performed in Iowa Army Ammunition, Middleton, Iowa, Milan Army Ammunition Plant, Milan, Tenn., with estimated and completion date of Dec. 31, 2018. Bids solicited were via the Web and two bids were received. Army Sustainment Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activities (W52P1J08-E-003, W52P1J08-D-0074, and W52P108-G-004).
LW Matteson Inc, Burlington, Iowa, was awarded on Oct. 9, 2008, an $11,730,750 firm/fixed/price contract to repair more than one mile of levee breaches at the Hunt and Lima Lake Drainage Districts and Indian Grave Drainage District, located along the Mississippi River in Illinois. Work will be performed in Mississippi River Hunt Lima Lake Drainage District and Indian Grave Drainage District, Quincy, Ill., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 15, 2009. Bids were solicited via the www.fbo.gov and one bid was received. US Army Corps of Engineer, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W912EK-09-C-0002).
Lockheed Martin Corp, Missile and Fire Control-Dallas, Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded Oct. 7, 2008, a $5,414,500 firm/fixed/price contract to support recertification of 72 each baseline PAC-3 missiles during the fiscal years of 2009 and 2010 and 1 Lot of consumable material to support recertification of 24 each baseline PAC-3 missile during fiscal year 2009. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., with estimated and completion date of Sept. 30, 2010. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone, Ala., is the contracting (W31P4Q-06-C-0180).
Navy
Bechtel Bettis Inc., Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, West Mifflin, Pa., is being awarded a $205,340,000 cost-plus-fixed fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-98-C-4064) for naval nuclear propulsion work at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory. Work will be performed in West Mifflin, Pa. Contract funds in the amount of $89,580,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. This action represents funding of the contract's fy09 effort. No completion date or other additional information is provided on naval nuclear propulsion program contracts. The Naval Sea Systems Command is the Contracting Activity.
Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc. dba HOK Architects, San Francisco, Calif., is being awarded $13,000,000 for modification #P00032 under a previously awarded firm-fixed price architect/engineer contract (N62742-05-C-0001) for design and engineering services at the Pacific Region Center and Wet Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Naval Station Pearl Harbor. The work to be performed provides for all design and engineering services to develop design-bid-build documents for construction of the facilities comprising Buildings 175, 176, A and S181/220, and all associated facilities. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contact value will be $22,455,895. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by June 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity.
BAE Systems Land & Armaments, Ground Systems Division, York, Pa., is being awarded an $8,014,050 firm-fixed-priced modification to previously awarded delivery order #0003 under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5025) for integrated logistics support to support Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Work will be performed in York, Pa., and is expected to be completed by the January 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Air Force
The Air Force is modifying a cost plus fixed fee contract with Honeywell International Incorporated of Clearwater, Fla., for $9,391,835. This action will provide "Advanced Inertial Measurement Unit" for the Advanced Ballistic Missile Technological Program. At this time $80,000 has been obligated. Det 8 AFRL/RVKV, Directorate of Contracting, Kirtland AFB, N.M., is the contracting activity (FA9453-08-C-0612, P00003).
The Air Force is modifying a cost plus fixed fee contract with McDonnell Douglas Corporation, A Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of the Boeing Company, of Long Beach, Calif., not to exceed $7,184,203. This contract modification is a Foreign military Sales (FMS) requirement for the Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III sustainment partnership program. This action incorporates Block 17 spares and aeromedical litter station augmentations set. This effort supports foreign military sales to the Royal Air Force, United Kingdom. At this time $2.32 million has been obligated. AFMC/516/AESW/516 AESG/SYK, Area B, Bldg 558, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (FA8614-04-C-2004 P00271).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
West-Mark, Ceres, Calif.* is being awarded a maximum $5,952,710 firm fixed price contract for water distribution truck. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Navy. There were originally 2 proposals solicited with 1 response. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is July 18, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM509-01-D-0068-0022).
Macqurie Aviation North America 2, Inc., DBA Atlantic Av, Louisville, Ky.* is being awarded a maximum $5,154,523 fixed price with economic price adjustment, into-plane contract for fuel. Other location of performance is KSDF Louisville International Standiford Field, Louisville, Kentucky. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, federal civilian agencies and National Guard. There were originally 103 proposals solicited with 1 response. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is September 30, 2012. The contracting activity is Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-09-D-0008).
Top Rating Confirms What Retirement Home Residents Knew
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 10, 2008 - Nearly 100 Armed Forces Retirement Home residents attending a Navy birthday observance were lauded as heroes during a ceremony yesterday that underscored what makes the home stand apart from – and as a new accreditation shows, above – most other retirement facilities. "Thank you for all you have done to preserve our freedoms, and for doing it with honor, courage and commitment," Navy Capt. Timothy R. Fox, commander of Navy District Washington Reserve Component Command, told the group, mostly Navy retirees and veterans. "Thank you for being our heroes."
Pasquale Giudice, a retired Navy senior chief petty officer who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, rolled his wheelchair to a front-row spot in the auditorium to take part in the commemoration. A few rows back sat retired Chief Petty Officer Hugh Wingo, whose ship delivered Lt. Col. James Doolittle and his crew within range of Tokyo so they could launch the Doolittle Raid in 1942.
They joined with the other residents, singing the Navy song and clapping as 91-year-old Marian Ritchie, the second-oldest Navy veteran at the home, accepted the honor of cutting the Navy birthday cake.
Since 1851, the Armed Forces Retirement Home has offered a premier retirement community for military retirees and qualified veterans. The historic home in the heart of the nation's capital has housed four U.S. presidents, including Abraham Lincoln. A second campus, in Gulfport, Miss., was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and is being rebuilt. It's slated to reopen in 2010.
The facilities operated separately for many years until Congress passed a law in the early 1990s combining them into the Armed Forces Retirement Home. They're operated as an independent federal agency funded by a permanent trust made in part from a 50-cent-a-month payroll deduction from active-duty troops.
Many of the residents, like Giudice, said they were attracted to the AFRH by the first-class care and services it offers, but also by the opportunity to bond with fellow veterans.
"We share sea stories, talking about where we've been and what we've done," he said. "We all have one thing in common, and that's what brings us together."
AFRH Chief Operating Officer Timothy Cox cited a long list of programs and initiatives to ensure 1,100 residents now at the Washington campus get the quality care and services they deserve. "We've raised the bar, because we are treating the nation's heroes, and that means we have to do the very best we can," he said.
Findings of the prestigious Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities' Continuing Care Accreditation Committee show the effort is paying off. The independent accrediting body conducted a five-day, on-site survey in August, and announced earlier this week that it had awarded the Armed Forces Retirement Home its highest-level rating.
"It's a piece of paper that grades us on how we are doing ... in comparison to other homes in America," said David Watkins, director of the Washington campus. "And we're in the top!"
Cox called the rating a huge achievement, particularly because it was awarded by retirement housing industry leaders. "A peer review is so tantamount to making sure we are doing the best we can for the people we serve," he said.
But ask the residents themselves, and they'll tell you they already knew what the accreditation officials made official.
"This is a nice, comfortable atmosphere, and the care we receive here is top-rate," said Eska McConnell, a retired Army sergeant first class who moved to the AFRH four years ago and now serves as president of its Resident Advisory Council. McConnell called the staff the key to the home's success.
"I see it day in and day out, and the staff here really cares about what happens to people," he said. "It's really neat, and I'll tell you, I do not intend to leave here, ever."
"This is a wonderful place," agreed Marie Townsend, a Navy veteran who became the first woman vocalist assigned to the Navy Band in 1945. "They do so much here – trips, concerts, shows and other activities. ... And our food is like the Country Buffet!"
Moving from a five-bedroom house into a tiny room at the AFRH wasn't easy, Townsend conceded. But rather than getting rid of the things she loved, including her Shirley Temple doll collection, she saved just one or two of each to bring to her new home.
Cox said he feared the small rooms at the Washington campus would be considered a drawback when the accrediting committee toured the facility. But the goal, he said, isn't to keep people comfortably cooped up in apartments; it's to encourage them to get out and mingle in the facility's common areas that include a bowling alley, a nine-hole golf course, a wellness center and a library.
"The main living space is all of our common areas," Cox said. "All of the space is theirs, and we want them to use it."
Ritchie is among several hundred AFRH residents who lived at the former U.S. Naval Home in Gulfport before it fell victim to Hurricane Katrina's surge waters. She remembered arriving at that facility less than a year after her husband died, wanting more than what she had at her empty house in California.
"What I found here is camaraderie. We're all one family," Ritchie said of the AFRH and its residents. "My life is here. It's not back in California any more. I go to bed at night and say 'thank you.'"
But as active as she is at the Washington campus, Ritchie said, she has every intention of returning to Gulfport when it opens. "I'm going to be on the front bus," she said.
Wingo had been preparing to move into the Gulfport facility when Katrina hit, and he said he hopes to move there when it reopens to be closer to his family. But in the meantime, he said, he's taking advantage of all the Washington campus has to offer, and knows he made the right decision when he moved to the AFRH.
"You seldom hear a negative here about anything," he said. "I found a home here. I'm happy."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 10, 2008 - Nearly 100 Armed Forces Retirement Home residents attending a Navy birthday observance were lauded as heroes during a ceremony yesterday that underscored what makes the home stand apart from – and as a new accreditation shows, above – most other retirement facilities. "Thank you for all you have done to preserve our freedoms, and for doing it with honor, courage and commitment," Navy Capt. Timothy R. Fox, commander of Navy District Washington Reserve Component Command, told the group, mostly Navy retirees and veterans. "Thank you for being our heroes."
Pasquale Giudice, a retired Navy senior chief petty officer who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, rolled his wheelchair to a front-row spot in the auditorium to take part in the commemoration. A few rows back sat retired Chief Petty Officer Hugh Wingo, whose ship delivered Lt. Col. James Doolittle and his crew within range of Tokyo so they could launch the Doolittle Raid in 1942.
They joined with the other residents, singing the Navy song and clapping as 91-year-old Marian Ritchie, the second-oldest Navy veteran at the home, accepted the honor of cutting the Navy birthday cake.
Since 1851, the Armed Forces Retirement Home has offered a premier retirement community for military retirees and qualified veterans. The historic home in the heart of the nation's capital has housed four U.S. presidents, including Abraham Lincoln. A second campus, in Gulfport, Miss., was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and is being rebuilt. It's slated to reopen in 2010.
The facilities operated separately for many years until Congress passed a law in the early 1990s combining them into the Armed Forces Retirement Home. They're operated as an independent federal agency funded by a permanent trust made in part from a 50-cent-a-month payroll deduction from active-duty troops.
Many of the residents, like Giudice, said they were attracted to the AFRH by the first-class care and services it offers, but also by the opportunity to bond with fellow veterans.
"We share sea stories, talking about where we've been and what we've done," he said. "We all have one thing in common, and that's what brings us together."
AFRH Chief Operating Officer Timothy Cox cited a long list of programs and initiatives to ensure 1,100 residents now at the Washington campus get the quality care and services they deserve. "We've raised the bar, because we are treating the nation's heroes, and that means we have to do the very best we can," he said.
Findings of the prestigious Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities' Continuing Care Accreditation Committee show the effort is paying off. The independent accrediting body conducted a five-day, on-site survey in August, and announced earlier this week that it had awarded the Armed Forces Retirement Home its highest-level rating.
"It's a piece of paper that grades us on how we are doing ... in comparison to other homes in America," said David Watkins, director of the Washington campus. "And we're in the top!"
Cox called the rating a huge achievement, particularly because it was awarded by retirement housing industry leaders. "A peer review is so tantamount to making sure we are doing the best we can for the people we serve," he said.
But ask the residents themselves, and they'll tell you they already knew what the accreditation officials made official.
"This is a nice, comfortable atmosphere, and the care we receive here is top-rate," said Eska McConnell, a retired Army sergeant first class who moved to the AFRH four years ago and now serves as president of its Resident Advisory Council. McConnell called the staff the key to the home's success.
"I see it day in and day out, and the staff here really cares about what happens to people," he said. "It's really neat, and I'll tell you, I do not intend to leave here, ever."
"This is a wonderful place," agreed Marie Townsend, a Navy veteran who became the first woman vocalist assigned to the Navy Band in 1945. "They do so much here – trips, concerts, shows and other activities. ... And our food is like the Country Buffet!"
Moving from a five-bedroom house into a tiny room at the AFRH wasn't easy, Townsend conceded. But rather than getting rid of the things she loved, including her Shirley Temple doll collection, she saved just one or two of each to bring to her new home.
Cox said he feared the small rooms at the Washington campus would be considered a drawback when the accrediting committee toured the facility. But the goal, he said, isn't to keep people comfortably cooped up in apartments; it's to encourage them to get out and mingle in the facility's common areas that include a bowling alley, a nine-hole golf course, a wellness center and a library.
"The main living space is all of our common areas," Cox said. "All of the space is theirs, and we want them to use it."
Ritchie is among several hundred AFRH residents who lived at the former U.S. Naval Home in Gulfport before it fell victim to Hurricane Katrina's surge waters. She remembered arriving at that facility less than a year after her husband died, wanting more than what she had at her empty house in California.
"What I found here is camaraderie. We're all one family," Ritchie said of the AFRH and its residents. "My life is here. It's not back in California any more. I go to bed at night and say 'thank you.'"
But as active as she is at the Washington campus, Ritchie said, she has every intention of returning to Gulfport when it opens. "I'm going to be on the front bus," she said.
Wingo had been preparing to move into the Gulfport facility when Katrina hit, and he said he hopes to move there when it reopens to be closer to his family. But in the meantime, he said, he's taking advantage of all the Washington campus has to offer, and knows he made the right decision when he moved to the AFRH.
"You seldom hear a negative here about anything," he said. "I found a home here. I'm happy."
Navy Names Ship After Howard O. Lorenzen 'Father Of Electronic Warfare'
The Navy announced today that the name of the next missile range instrumentation ship will be USNS Howard O. Lorenzen. Designated T-AGM 25, the ship will honor the late Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) electrical engineer who was instrumental in the creation of our nation's electronic intelligence capabilities. Considered by many to be the 'Father of Electronic Warfare,' Lorenzen's accomplishments include developments in radar, electronic countermeasures systems, and intelligence satellite designs.
Lorenzen led the Galactic Radiation and Background (GRAB) program, the earliest successful U.S. reconnaissance satellite program and the first electronic intelligence satellite. The NRL began the classified GRAB program shortly after the U-2 incident of 1960 to obtain information on Soviet air defense radars that could not be observed by U.S. military aircraft.
USNS Howard O. Lorenzen will be 12,575 tons, 534 feet in length, and have a beam of 89 feet. Manned by a combined crew of 88 sailors and civilian mariners, the ship will host embarked military and civilian technicians from other U.S. government agencies. The construction contract for T-AGM 25 was awarded to VT Halter Marine Inc., in Pascagoula, Miss.
Missile range instrumentation ships provide platforms for monitoring missile launches and collecting data that can be used to improve missile efficiency and accuracy. Like the Navy's two current missile range instrumentation ships – USNS Observation Island and USNS Invincible – T-AGM 25 will be owned and operated by military Sealift Command and conduct missions sponsored by the Air Force.
Lorenzen led the Galactic Radiation and Background (GRAB) program, the earliest successful U.S. reconnaissance satellite program and the first electronic intelligence satellite. The NRL began the classified GRAB program shortly after the U-2 incident of 1960 to obtain information on Soviet air defense radars that could not be observed by U.S. military aircraft.
USNS Howard O. Lorenzen will be 12,575 tons, 534 feet in length, and have a beam of 89 feet. Manned by a combined crew of 88 sailors and civilian mariners, the ship will host embarked military and civilian technicians from other U.S. government agencies. The construction contract for T-AGM 25 was awarded to VT Halter Marine Inc., in Pascagoula, Miss.
Missile range instrumentation ships provide platforms for monitoring missile launches and collecting data that can be used to improve missile efficiency and accuracy. Like the Navy's two current missile range instrumentation ships – USNS Observation Island and USNS Invincible – T-AGM 25 will be owned and operated by military Sealift Command and conduct missions sponsored by the Air Force.
Department Works to Give Military Families Coordinated Care
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - The Defense Department, in conjunction with the military services and the Department of Veterans Affairs, has created a framework to help wounded, ill and injured servicemembers not only survive, but also thrive as they transition from military service back into their communities. "We want them to really not only survive their injuries, but now thrive in what's called oftentimes 'the new normal,'" said Lynda C. Davis, DoD lead for case/care management reform for wounded, ill and injured servicemembers and their families. "We've been able to, jointly with the services and [Veterans Affairs], develop a framework to make that happen."
For the past 16 months, the Wounded, Ill and Injured Senior Oversight Committee worked to create a program to help wounded, injured or ill servicemembers and their families develop what Davis referred to as a "life plan." It goes beyond medical care to address financial and housing needs, transportation, education and employment, and even spiritual desires and needs, she said.
This life plan is one of four pieces to help servicemembers and their families successfully reintegrate into civilian life.
Another piece will provide severely injured servicemembers and their families with a recovery coordinator to oversee the development of the recovery plan and delivery of service and resources. In addition, servicemembers and their families will be assigned a recovery team that will work directly with them to ensure responsive, quality care, Davis said.
The fourth cornerstone will be unveiled in November during military Family Month and Warrior Care Month.
"It's a 'Yellow Book' that will be available throughout the country online so that anybody serving or supporting the wounded, ill, or injured servicemember or their family will have access to services and resources [offered through] federal government, state and local, county, not-for-profit, academic and philanthropic [sources]," she explained.
These four facets of the "Uniform Cornerstones of Care Coordination" work in a 10-step process. It begins with a screening phase and continues through a review phase.
"[The Uniform Steps of Care Coordination] helps us identify serious or severely injured servicemembers who need these kinds of support," she said. "It prepares people for the transition, and then it continues to review and stays in contact to make sure that their personal and professional goals are met."
Those pieces already are in place, but family support also is crucial to the healing process, Davis said. To make sure it's part of the plan, the "Summit on Consistent Best Practices for Support of Families of Fallen and Wounded, Ill and Injured Service Members," will be held Oct. 20 at the Pentagon from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
About 300 people are expected to attend the summit, including family members, warrior and family support programs, and veteran service organizations.
"At the summit, we will have panels of family members, ... and they will be discussing their experiences in the different phases of recovery," Davis said. "Then we will also be highlighting some programs that are really nominated by the families that are best practices."
Family members will share some of the programs they see as model programs in a panel format that morning. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will have lunch with the group before he addresses them.
"In the afternoon, we're going to concentrate really on families of the fallen," Davis said. "They will also have some best practice programs that they've been able to nominate. We'll wrap it up with another announcement, which is another Web site that's more narrow in scope. It's in response to a requirement from the National Defense Authorization Act, ... which required us to create this Wounded Warrior Resource Center Web site."
The site's goal is to focus on giving families and servicemembers a conduit to ask questions or give input on their experiences working with things like health care services, military facilities and benefits and compensation. A call center already has been established in response to this requirement, Davis said. The number is 800-342-9647.
Though the summit is being held at the Pentagon, servicemembers and their families around the world will be able to watch via live webcast on the Pentagon Channel's Web site, www.pentagonchannel.mil. They also can ask questions as they're watching by e-mailing them to questions@familysummit.net during the summit. This e-mail address will be valid only on the day of the summit from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time, Davis said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - The Defense Department, in conjunction with the military services and the Department of Veterans Affairs, has created a framework to help wounded, ill and injured servicemembers not only survive, but also thrive as they transition from military service back into their communities. "We want them to really not only survive their injuries, but now thrive in what's called oftentimes 'the new normal,'" said Lynda C. Davis, DoD lead for case/care management reform for wounded, ill and injured servicemembers and their families. "We've been able to, jointly with the services and [Veterans Affairs], develop a framework to make that happen."
For the past 16 months, the Wounded, Ill and Injured Senior Oversight Committee worked to create a program to help wounded, injured or ill servicemembers and their families develop what Davis referred to as a "life plan." It goes beyond medical care to address financial and housing needs, transportation, education and employment, and even spiritual desires and needs, she said.
This life plan is one of four pieces to help servicemembers and their families successfully reintegrate into civilian life.
Another piece will provide severely injured servicemembers and their families with a recovery coordinator to oversee the development of the recovery plan and delivery of service and resources. In addition, servicemembers and their families will be assigned a recovery team that will work directly with them to ensure responsive, quality care, Davis said.
The fourth cornerstone will be unveiled in November during military Family Month and Warrior Care Month.
"It's a 'Yellow Book' that will be available throughout the country online so that anybody serving or supporting the wounded, ill, or injured servicemember or their family will have access to services and resources [offered through] federal government, state and local, county, not-for-profit, academic and philanthropic [sources]," she explained.
These four facets of the "Uniform Cornerstones of Care Coordination" work in a 10-step process. It begins with a screening phase and continues through a review phase.
"[The Uniform Steps of Care Coordination] helps us identify serious or severely injured servicemembers who need these kinds of support," she said. "It prepares people for the transition, and then it continues to review and stays in contact to make sure that their personal and professional goals are met."
Those pieces already are in place, but family support also is crucial to the healing process, Davis said. To make sure it's part of the plan, the "Summit on Consistent Best Practices for Support of Families of Fallen and Wounded, Ill and Injured Service Members," will be held Oct. 20 at the Pentagon from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
About 300 people are expected to attend the summit, including family members, warrior and family support programs, and veteran service organizations.
"At the summit, we will have panels of family members, ... and they will be discussing their experiences in the different phases of recovery," Davis said. "Then we will also be highlighting some programs that are really nominated by the families that are best practices."
Family members will share some of the programs they see as model programs in a panel format that morning. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will have lunch with the group before he addresses them.
"In the afternoon, we're going to concentrate really on families of the fallen," Davis said. "They will also have some best practice programs that they've been able to nominate. We'll wrap it up with another announcement, which is another Web site that's more narrow in scope. It's in response to a requirement from the National Defense Authorization Act, ... which required us to create this Wounded Warrior Resource Center Web site."
The site's goal is to focus on giving families and servicemembers a conduit to ask questions or give input on their experiences working with things like health care services, military facilities and benefits and compensation. A call center already has been established in response to this requirement, Davis said. The number is 800-342-9647.
Though the summit is being held at the Pentagon, servicemembers and their families around the world will be able to watch via live webcast on the Pentagon Channel's Web site, www.pentagonchannel.mil. They also can ask questions as they're watching by e-mailing them to questions@familysummit.net during the summit. This e-mail address will be valid only on the day of the summit from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time, Davis said.
NATO Maritime Group to Combat Pirates off Somalia
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - NATO will send its Standing Naval Maritime Group to the waters off Somalia, a spokesman for the alliance said today. James Appathurai told reporters at a news conference that the decision came out of the defense ministerial conference under way here. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is meeting with his NATO counterparts.
Piracy off Somalia's coast has become an increasing concern, highlighted by the recent taking of the Ukrainian cargo vessel Faina. The ship is carrying tanks and other military supplies. The pirates, who operate from small boats launched from the beach, also have endangered food shipments to the country. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said 3 million Somalis are in danger of not receiving the supplies they need via the World Food Program.
"The United Nations asked for NATO's help to address this problem," Appathurai said. "Today, the ministers agreed that NATO should play a role. NATO will have its Standing Naval Maritime Group, which is composed of seven ships, in the region within two weeks."
The NATO force will ensure World Food Program ships have the escort they need to deliver their essential food supplies and patrol the waters around Somalia to help to stop acts of piracy.
Well in excess of 40 percent of Somalis are dependent on food aid delivered by World Food Program ships, Appathurai said, and the increased danger of piracy requires that the aid ships have escorts. A Canadian warship is performing that mission now.
The NATO ships will work with all allies who have ships in the area now, the NATO spokesman said. The U.S. Navy has ships in the region.
"There are still important details to work out, but the bottom line is there will soon be NATO military vessels off the coast of Somalia deterring piracy and escorting food shipments," Appathurai said. "That is good news for the Somalis, and good news for international shipping."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - NATO will send its Standing Naval Maritime Group to the waters off Somalia, a spokesman for the alliance said today. James Appathurai told reporters at a news conference that the decision came out of the defense ministerial conference under way here. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is meeting with his NATO counterparts.
Piracy off Somalia's coast has become an increasing concern, highlighted by the recent taking of the Ukrainian cargo vessel Faina. The ship is carrying tanks and other military supplies. The pirates, who operate from small boats launched from the beach, also have endangered food shipments to the country. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said 3 million Somalis are in danger of not receiving the supplies they need via the World Food Program.
"The United Nations asked for NATO's help to address this problem," Appathurai said. "Today, the ministers agreed that NATO should play a role. NATO will have its Standing Naval Maritime Group, which is composed of seven ships, in the region within two weeks."
The NATO force will ensure World Food Program ships have the escort they need to deliver their essential food supplies and patrol the waters around Somalia to help to stop acts of piracy.
Well in excess of 40 percent of Somalis are dependent on food aid delivered by World Food Program ships, Appathurai said, and the increased danger of piracy requires that the aid ships have escorts. A Canadian warship is performing that mission now.
The NATO ships will work with all allies who have ships in the area now, the NATO spokesman said. The U.S. Navy has ships in the region.
"There are still important details to work out, but the bottom line is there will soon be NATO military vessels off the coast of Somalia deterring piracy and escorting food shipments," Appathurai said. "That is good news for the Somalis, and good news for international shipping."
America Supports You: Organization Celebrates 100 Scholarships
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - Operation Life Transformed honored six scholarship recipients, including the recipient of the 100th "Caregivers of War Wounded Training Scholarship," during its "Celebrate 100" reception held here recently. Operation Life Transformed provides education and resources to wounded-warrior caregivers and military spouses through private and corporate entities. Its focus is to enable caregivers and military spouses to create a portable lifestyle.
"Forty-three percent of our applicants are moms and dads that move across several states [and] give up their jobs so that they can sit bedside with the loved one," said Tania Mercurio, chief executive officer of Operation Life Transformed, during the Sept. 17 event. "We need to lift just a little bit of pressure off our [servicemembers'] shoulders."
The last thing deployed servicemembers should be concerned about is the state of their family finances back home, she added. "We want them to concentrate 100 percent on the job at hand and returning to their loved ones," she said. "That's why we need to support these families."
The 100th scholarship was presented to Dimitrios Panagakos, whose wife, Lillian, an Army reservist, was severely injured in a mortar attack in Iraq 2005. She is continuing treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here.
Linda Betancur, another recipient honored at the reception, said the scholarship offers her family a brighter future.
"It's an honor, and an answer to our family's prayers," she said. "The opportunity [Operation Life Transformed] and its sponsors have provided us with has helped us with having a hopeful future during our difficult time."
The event was held aboard the USS Sequoia, a yacht that has served more than nine presidents. The 83-year-old vessel, which Congress has designated a national historic landmark, is privately owned and its use was donated for the reception.
Operation Life Transformed is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - Operation Life Transformed honored six scholarship recipients, including the recipient of the 100th "Caregivers of War Wounded Training Scholarship," during its "Celebrate 100" reception held here recently. Operation Life Transformed provides education and resources to wounded-warrior caregivers and military spouses through private and corporate entities. Its focus is to enable caregivers and military spouses to create a portable lifestyle.
"Forty-three percent of our applicants are moms and dads that move across several states [and] give up their jobs so that they can sit bedside with the loved one," said Tania Mercurio, chief executive officer of Operation Life Transformed, during the Sept. 17 event. "We need to lift just a little bit of pressure off our [servicemembers'] shoulders."
The last thing deployed servicemembers should be concerned about is the state of their family finances back home, she added. "We want them to concentrate 100 percent on the job at hand and returning to their loved ones," she said. "That's why we need to support these families."
The 100th scholarship was presented to Dimitrios Panagakos, whose wife, Lillian, an Army reservist, was severely injured in a mortar attack in Iraq 2005. She is continuing treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here.
Linda Betancur, another recipient honored at the reception, said the scholarship offers her family a brighter future.
"It's an honor, and an answer to our family's prayers," she said. "The opportunity [Operation Life Transformed] and its sponsors have provided us with has helped us with having a hopeful future during our difficult time."
The event was held aboard the USS Sequoia, a yacht that has served more than nine presidents. The 83-year-old vessel, which Congress has designated a national historic landmark, is privately owned and its use was donated for the reception.
Operation Life Transformed is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
Defense Leaders Meet, Reaffirm Georgia's NATO Aspirations
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates reaffirmed the U.S. and NATO pledge for Georgia's aspirations to join the alliance at a meeting with Georgian Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili here today. Gates and Kezerashvili met prior to the beginning of the NATO defense ministers meeting being held here on the banks of the Danube.
"I urge our allies to support [the membership action plan] for Georgia in December and to support Georgia's efforts to accomplish needed reform," Gates said during a news conference after the meeting.
"The United States of America is our strategic partner and largest assistance provider with whom we share not only common values, but also common understanding of many issues, be it energy security issues, democratic NATO enlargement or the fight against terrorism," Kezerashvili said. "NATO membership remains Georgia's top security priority."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Oct. 2 that it is too soon for NATO to provide membership actions plans to Georgia and Ukraine. The United States pressed for Georgian membership at NATO's April summit meeting in Bucharest, Romania. U.S. officials would like membership action plans for the two nations approved at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in December.
"Heads of government of the alliance declared unanimously in April in Bucharest that Georgia should be a member of the alliance," Gates said. "The question is whether we can get this accomplished at the foreign ministers meeting in December."
Russia's invasion of Georgia and its recognition of the Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as nations – something with which only Nicaragua and the terror group Hamas agree – has served to isolate Russia, officials traveling with Gates said.
"We have sought a constructive relationship with Russia, but unfortunately their behavior has undermined security in the region and raised real concerns about their intentions," the secretary said. "Russia's invasion of Georgia in my view has achieved, and will achieve, no strategic objective."
The secretary said he is pleased that Russia appears to be fulfilling its agreement to withdraw from Georgia. News reports out of Georgia indicate the Russian withdrawal from Georgia proper is finished. Russian troops still are in the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Gates reiterated U.S. support for Georgia's "sovereignty, its independence and its territorial integrity."
Tomorrow, the NATO-Georgia Commission will meet for the first time. Gates said the meeting is historic, and "a sign of the alliance's firm commitment to our Georgian partner."
Later this month, U.S. and Georgian defense officials will meet in Washington to discuss bilateral defense cooperation. Kezerashvili said the talks will help to streamline defense cooperation and outline in a more precise way bilateral defense cooperation projects.
These will include rebuilding the Georgian military. The Russian invasion decimated Georgia's 28,000-man military. The Russians also destroyed two Georgian bases built to NATO standards in Senaki in the western part of the country and in Gori in central Georgia.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates reaffirmed the U.S. and NATO pledge for Georgia's aspirations to join the alliance at a meeting with Georgian Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili here today. Gates and Kezerashvili met prior to the beginning of the NATO defense ministers meeting being held here on the banks of the Danube.
"I urge our allies to support [the membership action plan] for Georgia in December and to support Georgia's efforts to accomplish needed reform," Gates said during a news conference after the meeting.
"The United States of America is our strategic partner and largest assistance provider with whom we share not only common values, but also common understanding of many issues, be it energy security issues, democratic NATO enlargement or the fight against terrorism," Kezerashvili said. "NATO membership remains Georgia's top security priority."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Oct. 2 that it is too soon for NATO to provide membership actions plans to Georgia and Ukraine. The United States pressed for Georgian membership at NATO's April summit meeting in Bucharest, Romania. U.S. officials would like membership action plans for the two nations approved at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in December.
"Heads of government of the alliance declared unanimously in April in Bucharest that Georgia should be a member of the alliance," Gates said. "The question is whether we can get this accomplished at the foreign ministers meeting in December."
Russia's invasion of Georgia and its recognition of the Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as nations – something with which only Nicaragua and the terror group Hamas agree – has served to isolate Russia, officials traveling with Gates said.
"We have sought a constructive relationship with Russia, but unfortunately their behavior has undermined security in the region and raised real concerns about their intentions," the secretary said. "Russia's invasion of Georgia in my view has achieved, and will achieve, no strategic objective."
The secretary said he is pleased that Russia appears to be fulfilling its agreement to withdraw from Georgia. News reports out of Georgia indicate the Russian withdrawal from Georgia proper is finished. Russian troops still are in the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Gates reiterated U.S. support for Georgia's "sovereignty, its independence and its territorial integrity."
Tomorrow, the NATO-Georgia Commission will meet for the first time. Gates said the meeting is historic, and "a sign of the alliance's firm commitment to our Georgian partner."
Later this month, U.S. and Georgian defense officials will meet in Washington to discuss bilateral defense cooperation. Kezerashvili said the talks will help to streamline defense cooperation and outline in a more precise way bilateral defense cooperation projects.
These will include rebuilding the Georgian military. The Russian invasion decimated Georgia's 28,000-man military. The Russians also destroyed two Georgian bases built to NATO standards in Senaki in the western part of the country and in Gori in central Georgia.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Reflects on First Year in Office
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - With just over a year as the top U.S. military officer, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said he's impressed by the resilience of the force despite repeated deployments, and he vowed to ensure troops get more time at home between deployments and support in line with their sacrifices. "I continue to be very concerned about the stress on the force," the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday during a Pentagon Channel podcast interview. "It has been a priority for me since I took over as chairman, and will continue to be, because the Army and the Marine Corps have been pushed very hard in fighting this war."
Mullen said he's learned many things in the past year, but one thing stands out. "Probably more than anything else," he said, "I have learned how resilient our armed forces are, and particularly our Army and Marine Corps and their families. I don't take that for granted. That resilience isn't infinite." Mullen said he will continue to press for more "home tempo" -- time between deployments -- that gives troops time to decompress from the stresses of combat and reconnect with their families. He's quick to draw the distinction between time at home and time in the field.
"When you are home, you are home," he said. "You are actually spending the night in your house, and not necessarily out training."
The Marine Corps soon will be in a position to increase home tempo, thanks to a recent boost in its end strength, Mullen said. But he expressed concern that the Army won't reach that point for a couple of years.
The chairman also expressed hope that the force drawdown in Iraq will continue, providing more opportunities not just to send additional forces to Afghanistan, but also to build in more time at home stations between deployments.
Meanwhile, Mullen promised to ensure troops – particularly those wounded in combat and families of those killed – get the support they deserve.
"We have got to focus on our families and those who have been pressed so hard, and do all we can to make sure they are well taken care of across the board," he said.
Today's troops represent the military's future, he said. "They are combat-hardened. They have within them the future of a very healthy force. We ... have to pay a lot of attention to making sure we can take care of ... those who have given so much."
Mullen said he'll also be a solid advocate for veterans to ensure they receive better treatment than the troops who served with him in Vietnam. He said he's working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure a better transition to VA care and support services to help head off problems such as homelessness.
"I want to be a voice with respect to this, to not generate the kind of homeless numbers we generated coming out of Vietnam," he said. "We did not get that right before. So I am very much committed from a leadership perspective to do as much as I can to ensure we don't do that."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - With just over a year as the top U.S. military officer, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said he's impressed by the resilience of the force despite repeated deployments, and he vowed to ensure troops get more time at home between deployments and support in line with their sacrifices. "I continue to be very concerned about the stress on the force," the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday during a Pentagon Channel podcast interview. "It has been a priority for me since I took over as chairman, and will continue to be, because the Army and the Marine Corps have been pushed very hard in fighting this war."
Mullen said he's learned many things in the past year, but one thing stands out. "Probably more than anything else," he said, "I have learned how resilient our armed forces are, and particularly our Army and Marine Corps and their families. I don't take that for granted. That resilience isn't infinite." Mullen said he will continue to press for more "home tempo" -- time between deployments -- that gives troops time to decompress from the stresses of combat and reconnect with their families. He's quick to draw the distinction between time at home and time in the field.
"When you are home, you are home," he said. "You are actually spending the night in your house, and not necessarily out training."
The Marine Corps soon will be in a position to increase home tempo, thanks to a recent boost in its end strength, Mullen said. But he expressed concern that the Army won't reach that point for a couple of years.
The chairman also expressed hope that the force drawdown in Iraq will continue, providing more opportunities not just to send additional forces to Afghanistan, but also to build in more time at home stations between deployments.
Meanwhile, Mullen promised to ensure troops – particularly those wounded in combat and families of those killed – get the support they deserve.
"We have got to focus on our families and those who have been pressed so hard, and do all we can to make sure they are well taken care of across the board," he said.
Today's troops represent the military's future, he said. "They are combat-hardened. They have within them the future of a very healthy force. We ... have to pay a lot of attention to making sure we can take care of ... those who have given so much."
Mullen said he'll also be a solid advocate for veterans to ensure they receive better treatment than the troops who served with him in Vietnam. He said he's working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure a better transition to VA care and support services to help head off problems such as homelessness.
"I want to be a voice with respect to this, to not generate the kind of homeless numbers we generated coming out of Vietnam," he said. "We did not get that right before. So I am very much committed from a leadership perspective to do as much as I can to ensure we don't do that."
MILITARY CONTRACTS October 8, 2008
Army
DRS-C3 Systems Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded Oct. 7, 2008, a $8,694,387 firm fixed price contract. This procurement is for 564 tube-launched optically-tracked wire guided missile launchers. Work will be performed in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., with estimated and completion date of Jul. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-08-C-0145).
The Nutmeg Companies Inc, Norwich, Conn., was awarded Oct. 1, 2008, a $7,465,200 firm fixed price contract for construction of a new east Greenwich Readiness Center, at Camp Fogarty, East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Work will be performed in East Greenwich, R.I., with estimated and completion date of Jun. 10, 2010. Bids were solicited via the Web and seven bids were received. National Guard Bureau, Providence, R.I., is the contracting activity (W912LD-08-C-0037).
Army Armaments Inc., (AAI), Hunt Valley, Md., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2008, a $6,624,322 cost plus fixed price contract. This modification exercises options for additional engineering service hours for Laser Low Rate Initial Production in support of the Shadow 200 Unmanned Aircraft System. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, M.D., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 20009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0033).
Syracuse Research Corp., North Syracuse, N.Y., was awarded Sept. 30, 2008, a $6,601,860 fixed price contract. This is a sole source acquisition for the SR Hawk Mobile Radar ground surveillance systems. Work will be performed in Syracuse, N.Y., and Tunisia, with estimated and completion date of Jun. 27, 2009. CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-08-C-D295).
General Dynamics C4 Systems, Taunton, Mass., was awarded Sept. 30, 2008, a $6,262,021firm fixed price contract for the following tactical communications equipment will be acquired under the proposed contract. Work will be performed in Taunton, Mass., and San Diego, Calif., with estimated and completion date of Sept. 30, 2013. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. CECOM Acquisitions Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-08-D-G206).
Future Research Corp., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded Sept. 26, 2008, a $6,170,000 indefinite delivery indefinite quantity firm fixed price contract for information Technology support services for support to the U.S. Army Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems, Transportation Information Systems Programs Transportation Coordinators and Automated Information for Movements System II Program. Work will be performed in Springfield, Va., with estimated and completion date of Sept. 21, 2012. Bids were solicited via the FedBizOpps and three bids were received. USA Corp of Engineers, Vicksburg, Miss., is the contracting activity (W912HZ-08-D-0008).
Gravois Aluminum Boats, Doing Business as Metal shark Inc, Jeanerette, La., was awarded on Sept. 29, 2008, a $6,079,095 firm fixed price contract for a quantity of 54 Fast Attack Boats with Active RFID Tags. Work will be performed in Jeanerette, La., with an estimated completion date of Jun. 30, 2010. Five bids were solicited and five bids were received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-F-L777).
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Co., Mesa, Ariz., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2008, a $5,595,048 indefinite delivery indefinite quantity technical service contract firm fixed fee price contract for. This contract is to support additional efforts for the Aircraft Survivability Product Improvement Kit improvement for the Longbow Apache Program-AMCOM. Work will be performed in Mesa, Ariz., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-07-D-0251).
BAE System Land & Armaments, Anniston, Ala., was awarded on Oct. 1, 2008, a $5,724,776 firm fixed fee price contract for two items being procured, Engine Diesel and Transfer Transmission. Work will be performed in Charlotte, Mich., Anniston, Ala., and Livonia, Mich., with an estimated completion date of Apr. 27, 2009. One sole source bid was solicited and one sole source bid was received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-C-0012).
Technologists Inc, Rosslyn, Va., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2008, a $5,593,685 firm fixed price contract. The project consists of the design & construction of the wastewater treatment system, Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 30, 2009. Bids solicited were via the Web and one bid was received. U.S. Army Engineer District, is the contracting activity (W917PM-07-D-0016).
ECC International LLC, Burlingame, Calif., was awarded on Sept. 27, 2008, a $5,430,727 firm fixed price contract construction of barracks at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Bagram, Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2009. Bids solicited were Medium MATOC and two bids were received. U.S. Army Engineer, Afghanistan, is the contracting activity (W917PM-07-D-0015).
HRL Laboratories LLC, Malibu, Calif., was awarded on Oct. 7, 2008, a $5,240,466 cost plus fixed price contract for the principal goal of the Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastics Scaiable Electronics program is to build machines that can solve complex real-world problems with the intelligence and efficiency of biological systems. Work will be performed in HRL Laboratories LLC, Malibu, Calif., George Mason University, Fairfax, Va., University of California, Irvine, Calif., University of Nevada, Reno, Nev., SET Corp, Arlington, Va., Neurosciences Research Foundation Inc, San Diego, Calif., Georgia Tech Research Corp, Atlanta, Ga., Portland State University, Portland, Ore., and Boston University Boston, Mass., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2010. Bids solicited were via the Web and thirteen bids were received. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (HR0011-09-C-0001).
Air Force
Systems Research and Applications Corp., of Fairfax, Va., is being awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract for $49 million. The objective of this program is to improve human performance and organizational effectiveness within Cyber Science and Technology, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) operator optimization S&T, Special Programs, Information/Influence Operations, Training S&T, and related research domains. Focus areas include: Cyber R&D, Information Operations/ISR, Special Programs/ISR, Special/Bio-Math, Influence Operations, IO/Cyber/ISR Training, Cyberspace Target Characterization/Visualization, Anticipatory/Predictive Environment, IO Speech-to-Speech Translation, and AF Transformation. At this time $600,000 has been obligated. AFRL Det 1 /PKHB, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-08-D-6802, Task Order: 2013).
Teledyne Technologies Inc., Teledyne Continental Motors – Turbine Engines, of Toledo, Ohio, is being awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract not to exceed $15 million. The Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engines (VAATE) Phase I. The VAATE Program is a Joint DOD/NASA/DOE/Industry effort to develop revolutionary and innovative technologies by the 2017 timeframe that will permit an order of magnitude increase in turbo-propulsion affordability over the year 2000 state-of-the-art Technology. The Task order 0001 will conduct a study of conceptual candidate turbofan engine configurations and component technologies that meet the requirements of 1000 1b missile systems. At this time $1,000 has been obligated. Det 1 AFRK/PKPB, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-2929 and Task Order: 0001).
The Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Boeing Co., of St Louis, Mo., for $11,859,754. The T-38C Data and Video Transfer System, which improve the audio and video recording capability of the T-38C aircraft by replacing the current video tape recorder and data transfer system with a more modern, robust design that combines all data transfer functions into a single recording device, alleviates impending obsolescence issues, improve resistance to damage, and enhances operations. At this time all funds have been obligated. 663 AESS/SYKA, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8617-04-C-6153, Modification Number: P00096).
Navy
The Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded an $18,127,705 modification to a previously awarded cost plus incentive fee contract (N00019-03-C-3017) to exercise an option for engineering and logistics services in support of the MV-22 Total Life Cycle logistics support effort. Services to be provided include planning and management; supportability analysis; training; support equipment; facilities management; computer resources; supportability test and evaluation; packaging, handling, storage and transportation of supplies; post-DD250 engineering and technical support; site/unit activation; on-site representative support; logistics life cycle cost; age exploration; configuration management; technical publications; and Naval Air Training and Operational Procedures Standardization support. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pa., (45 percent); Fort Worth, Texas, (40 percent); New River, N.C., (10 percent); and OCONUS Deployment (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in Jan. 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Georgia Tech Applied Research Corp., Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga., is being awarded a $7,813,117 cost plus fixed fee delivery contract for five years of uninterrupted essential engineering, research, development, test, and evaluation capabilities for advanced radar and simulation technologies. Work will be performed in Atlanta, Ga., and is expected to be completed by Oct. 2012. 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 (N00024-09-D-5391).
DRS-C3 Systems Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded Oct. 7, 2008, a $8,694,387 firm fixed price contract. This procurement is for 564 tube-launched optically-tracked wire guided missile launchers. Work will be performed in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., with estimated and completion date of Jul. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-08-C-0145).
The Nutmeg Companies Inc, Norwich, Conn., was awarded Oct. 1, 2008, a $7,465,200 firm fixed price contract for construction of a new east Greenwich Readiness Center, at Camp Fogarty, East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Work will be performed in East Greenwich, R.I., with estimated and completion date of Jun. 10, 2010. Bids were solicited via the Web and seven bids were received. National Guard Bureau, Providence, R.I., is the contracting activity (W912LD-08-C-0037).
Army Armaments Inc., (AAI), Hunt Valley, Md., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2008, a $6,624,322 cost plus fixed price contract. This modification exercises options for additional engineering service hours for Laser Low Rate Initial Production in support of the Shadow 200 Unmanned Aircraft System. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, M.D., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 20009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0033).
Syracuse Research Corp., North Syracuse, N.Y., was awarded Sept. 30, 2008, a $6,601,860 fixed price contract. This is a sole source acquisition for the SR Hawk Mobile Radar ground surveillance systems. Work will be performed in Syracuse, N.Y., and Tunisia, with estimated and completion date of Jun. 27, 2009. CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-08-C-D295).
General Dynamics C4 Systems, Taunton, Mass., was awarded Sept. 30, 2008, a $6,262,021firm fixed price contract for the following tactical communications equipment will be acquired under the proposed contract. Work will be performed in Taunton, Mass., and San Diego, Calif., with estimated and completion date of Sept. 30, 2013. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. CECOM Acquisitions Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-08-D-G206).
Future Research Corp., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded Sept. 26, 2008, a $6,170,000 indefinite delivery indefinite quantity firm fixed price contract for information Technology support services for support to the U.S. Army Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems, Transportation Information Systems Programs Transportation Coordinators and Automated Information for Movements System II Program. Work will be performed in Springfield, Va., with estimated and completion date of Sept. 21, 2012. Bids were solicited via the FedBizOpps and three bids were received. USA Corp of Engineers, Vicksburg, Miss., is the contracting activity (W912HZ-08-D-0008).
Gravois Aluminum Boats, Doing Business as Metal shark Inc, Jeanerette, La., was awarded on Sept. 29, 2008, a $6,079,095 firm fixed price contract for a quantity of 54 Fast Attack Boats with Active RFID Tags. Work will be performed in Jeanerette, La., with an estimated completion date of Jun. 30, 2010. Five bids were solicited and five bids were received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-F-L777).
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Co., Mesa, Ariz., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2008, a $5,595,048 indefinite delivery indefinite quantity technical service contract firm fixed fee price contract for. This contract is to support additional efforts for the Aircraft Survivability Product Improvement Kit improvement for the Longbow Apache Program-AMCOM. Work will be performed in Mesa, Ariz., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-07-D-0251).
BAE System Land & Armaments, Anniston, Ala., was awarded on Oct. 1, 2008, a $5,724,776 firm fixed fee price contract for two items being procured, Engine Diesel and Transfer Transmission. Work will be performed in Charlotte, Mich., Anniston, Ala., and Livonia, Mich., with an estimated completion date of Apr. 27, 2009. One sole source bid was solicited and one sole source bid was received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-C-0012).
Technologists Inc, Rosslyn, Va., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2008, a $5,593,685 firm fixed price contract. The project consists of the design & construction of the wastewater treatment system, Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 30, 2009. Bids solicited were via the Web and one bid was received. U.S. Army Engineer District, is the contracting activity (W917PM-07-D-0016).
ECC International LLC, Burlingame, Calif., was awarded on Sept. 27, 2008, a $5,430,727 firm fixed price contract construction of barracks at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Bagram, Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2009. Bids solicited were Medium MATOC and two bids were received. U.S. Army Engineer, Afghanistan, is the contracting activity (W917PM-07-D-0015).
HRL Laboratories LLC, Malibu, Calif., was awarded on Oct. 7, 2008, a $5,240,466 cost plus fixed price contract for the principal goal of the Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastics Scaiable Electronics program is to build machines that can solve complex real-world problems with the intelligence and efficiency of biological systems. Work will be performed in HRL Laboratories LLC, Malibu, Calif., George Mason University, Fairfax, Va., University of California, Irvine, Calif., University of Nevada, Reno, Nev., SET Corp, Arlington, Va., Neurosciences Research Foundation Inc, San Diego, Calif., Georgia Tech Research Corp, Atlanta, Ga., Portland State University, Portland, Ore., and Boston University Boston, Mass., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2010. Bids solicited were via the Web and thirteen bids were received. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (HR0011-09-C-0001).
Air Force
Systems Research and Applications Corp., of Fairfax, Va., is being awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract for $49 million. The objective of this program is to improve human performance and organizational effectiveness within Cyber Science and Technology, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) operator optimization S&T, Special Programs, Information/Influence Operations, Training S&T, and related research domains. Focus areas include: Cyber R&D, Information Operations/ISR, Special Programs/ISR, Special/Bio-Math, Influence Operations, IO/Cyber/ISR Training, Cyberspace Target Characterization/Visualization, Anticipatory/Predictive Environment, IO Speech-to-Speech Translation, and AF Transformation. At this time $600,000 has been obligated. AFRL Det 1 /PKHB, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-08-D-6802, Task Order: 2013).
Teledyne Technologies Inc., Teledyne Continental Motors – Turbine Engines, of Toledo, Ohio, is being awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract not to exceed $15 million. The Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engines (VAATE) Phase I. The VAATE Program is a Joint DOD/NASA/DOE/Industry effort to develop revolutionary and innovative technologies by the 2017 timeframe that will permit an order of magnitude increase in turbo-propulsion affordability over the year 2000 state-of-the-art Technology. The Task order 0001 will conduct a study of conceptual candidate turbofan engine configurations and component technologies that meet the requirements of 1000 1b missile systems. At this time $1,000 has been obligated. Det 1 AFRK/PKPB, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-2929 and Task Order: 0001).
The Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Boeing Co., of St Louis, Mo., for $11,859,754. The T-38C Data and Video Transfer System, which improve the audio and video recording capability of the T-38C aircraft by replacing the current video tape recorder and data transfer system with a more modern, robust design that combines all data transfer functions into a single recording device, alleviates impending obsolescence issues, improve resistance to damage, and enhances operations. At this time all funds have been obligated. 663 AESS/SYKA, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8617-04-C-6153, Modification Number: P00096).
Navy
The Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded an $18,127,705 modification to a previously awarded cost plus incentive fee contract (N00019-03-C-3017) to exercise an option for engineering and logistics services in support of the MV-22 Total Life Cycle logistics support effort. Services to be provided include planning and management; supportability analysis; training; support equipment; facilities management; computer resources; supportability test and evaluation; packaging, handling, storage and transportation of supplies; post-DD250 engineering and technical support; site/unit activation; on-site representative support; logistics life cycle cost; age exploration; configuration management; technical publications; and Naval Air Training and Operational Procedures Standardization support. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pa., (45 percent); Fort Worth, Texas, (40 percent); New River, N.C., (10 percent); and OCONUS Deployment (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in Jan. 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Georgia Tech Applied Research Corp., Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga., is being awarded a $7,813,117 cost plus fixed fee delivery contract for five years of uninterrupted essential engineering, research, development, test, and evaluation capabilities for advanced radar and simulation technologies. Work will be performed in Atlanta, Ga., and is expected to be completed by Oct. 2012. 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 (N00024-09-D-5391).
Pentagon Ceremony Recognizes Disabled Employees' Contributions
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 8, 2008 - Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England praised the work and contributions provided by disabled Defense Department contract employees at a Pentagon award ceremony today. "I'm here to say thank you for your great, great work," England, the event's host, told a group of disabled employees hired through the federally managed AbilityOne program. The event was held in conjunction with National Disability Employment Awareness Month, observed each October.
This year has witnessed "a significant increase in the number of severely wounded warriors transitioning to the AbilityOne program," England said, which "provides these brave men and women with opportunity to continue to serve their country."
Formerly known as the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, AbilityOne works with private and public groups to provide goods and services to the government and jobs for the blind and other people who have severe disabilities, including wounded veterans. The program is administered by the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, an independent federal agency.
England introduced former Army Spc. Nathan S. Short, 28, the ceremony's guest speaker. Short is a medically discharged Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran who was severely injured April 20, 2004, during a truck accident in Kuwait. Short, a native of Mustang, Okla., spoke of his nearly two-year struggle to find work after recovering from severe injuries that included a badly damaged right ankle and a fractured pelvis.
In 2006, Short was hired for an AbilityOne-affiliated contracted position as a truck-fleet manager at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.
"Just because somebody has a disability doesn't mean that they can't perform a job," Short said in an interview before the ceremony. "They deserve a chance to have a career and be successful instead of having to sit around and draw a disability check."
AbilityOne is a great program, Short said, that provides a way for severely injured veterans to rejoin the work force.
"I think Nathan is absolutely fantastic. ... He does a great job," said Vicki Hoppes, Short's supervisor. "He was just so ready to go back to work for the military. He was pretty shy, but now he is definitely an extrovert."
More than 1,300 wounded military veterans are part of AbilityOne's 43,000-strong work force. The Defense Department is the program's largest customer, as it purchases more than $1.3 billion in goods and services each year, including laundry services, uniforms, office supplies, grounds maintenance and more.
AbilityOne employees Gregoria Reyes, Edith Portillo and Jerry Eley each received DoD job performance awards at the ceremony.
Reyes was born in El Salvador and suffers from depression. She has lived in the United States for 18 years and has provided cleaning services at the Pentagon for about five years.
"This program is very nice," Reyes said of AbilityOne. "There is no problem with my disability."
Portillo, who suffers from depression, has been in the United States 12 years and says she has a good job providing cleaning services at the Pentagon. Portillo, too, is from El Salvador and she has also worked at the Pentagon for five years.
AbilityOne enabled her to obtain a full-time position after years of part-time work at other jobs.
Portillo's supervisor, Sylvia Hammett, had high praise for her employee's work ethic. Portillo "always volunteers to help me out whenever I'm short-staffed," Hammett said.
Eley, who hails from Suffolk, Va., has worked as a purchasing agent at the Pentagon's office supply store for three years. A childhood accident, he said, destroyed the vision his right eye. Eley praised the AbilityOne program and said he feels comfortable working in the supply office.
"Anything I need to help me along with my work process, all I need to do is ask," Eley said of his work environment, noting he'd asked for and quickly received a magnifying glass to help him read small print at the supply store.
Defense Department civilian employee Linda Wright, the associate director for the small-business program office at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., was recognized for providing AbilityOne-affiliated employment for more than 1,000 people who are blind or have other severe disabilities.
"We really like supporting AbilityOne," Wright said. "We're constantly working to grow the program and to improve the opportunities for people with disabilities."
Dennis Dudek, deputy director of customer operations for the Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia, also was recognized for supporting AbilityOne employment initiatives.
Shay Assad, DoD's director for defense procurement, acquisition policy and strategic sourcing, accepted the first Osborne A. "Oz" Day AbilityOne Awareness Award at the ceremony for DoD's efforts in support of the program. Day, who died May 20, was a private-citizen member of the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, the federal agency that oversees AbilityOne operations.
The committee, along with the National Industries for the Blind, and NISH, formerly known as National Industries for the Severely Handicapped, form a triad of support for AbilityOne. The present-day committee chairman, Andrew Houghton, has headed the body since July 2006. He praised DoD for its support of AbilityOne.
"I'm honored by the extent of our military's combined leadership and support of the AbilityOne program," Houghton said at the Pentagon ceremony. "And, thank you all for the difference you've made, and the difference you will make in the future for people with disabilities."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 8, 2008 - Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England praised the work and contributions provided by disabled Defense Department contract employees at a Pentagon award ceremony today. "I'm here to say thank you for your great, great work," England, the event's host, told a group of disabled employees hired through the federally managed AbilityOne program. The event was held in conjunction with National Disability Employment Awareness Month, observed each October.
This year has witnessed "a significant increase in the number of severely wounded warriors transitioning to the AbilityOne program," England said, which "provides these brave men and women with opportunity to continue to serve their country."
Formerly known as the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, AbilityOne works with private and public groups to provide goods and services to the government and jobs for the blind and other people who have severe disabilities, including wounded veterans. The program is administered by the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, an independent federal agency.
England introduced former Army Spc. Nathan S. Short, 28, the ceremony's guest speaker. Short is a medically discharged Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran who was severely injured April 20, 2004, during a truck accident in Kuwait. Short, a native of Mustang, Okla., spoke of his nearly two-year struggle to find work after recovering from severe injuries that included a badly damaged right ankle and a fractured pelvis.
In 2006, Short was hired for an AbilityOne-affiliated contracted position as a truck-fleet manager at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.
"Just because somebody has a disability doesn't mean that they can't perform a job," Short said in an interview before the ceremony. "They deserve a chance to have a career and be successful instead of having to sit around and draw a disability check."
AbilityOne is a great program, Short said, that provides a way for severely injured veterans to rejoin the work force.
"I think Nathan is absolutely fantastic. ... He does a great job," said Vicki Hoppes, Short's supervisor. "He was just so ready to go back to work for the military. He was pretty shy, but now he is definitely an extrovert."
More than 1,300 wounded military veterans are part of AbilityOne's 43,000-strong work force. The Defense Department is the program's largest customer, as it purchases more than $1.3 billion in goods and services each year, including laundry services, uniforms, office supplies, grounds maintenance and more.
AbilityOne employees Gregoria Reyes, Edith Portillo and Jerry Eley each received DoD job performance awards at the ceremony.
Reyes was born in El Salvador and suffers from depression. She has lived in the United States for 18 years and has provided cleaning services at the Pentagon for about five years.
"This program is very nice," Reyes said of AbilityOne. "There is no problem with my disability."
Portillo, who suffers from depression, has been in the United States 12 years and says she has a good job providing cleaning services at the Pentagon. Portillo, too, is from El Salvador and she has also worked at the Pentagon for five years.
AbilityOne enabled her to obtain a full-time position after years of part-time work at other jobs.
Portillo's supervisor, Sylvia Hammett, had high praise for her employee's work ethic. Portillo "always volunteers to help me out whenever I'm short-staffed," Hammett said.
Eley, who hails from Suffolk, Va., has worked as a purchasing agent at the Pentagon's office supply store for three years. A childhood accident, he said, destroyed the vision his right eye. Eley praised the AbilityOne program and said he feels comfortable working in the supply office.
"Anything I need to help me along with my work process, all I need to do is ask," Eley said of his work environment, noting he'd asked for and quickly received a magnifying glass to help him read small print at the supply store.
Defense Department civilian employee Linda Wright, the associate director for the small-business program office at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., was recognized for providing AbilityOne-affiliated employment for more than 1,000 people who are blind or have other severe disabilities.
"We really like supporting AbilityOne," Wright said. "We're constantly working to grow the program and to improve the opportunities for people with disabilities."
Dennis Dudek, deputy director of customer operations for the Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia, also was recognized for supporting AbilityOne employment initiatives.
Shay Assad, DoD's director for defense procurement, acquisition policy and strategic sourcing, accepted the first Osborne A. "Oz" Day AbilityOne Awareness Award at the ceremony for DoD's efforts in support of the program. Day, who died May 20, was a private-citizen member of the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, the federal agency that oversees AbilityOne operations.
The committee, along with the National Industries for the Blind, and NISH, formerly known as National Industries for the Severely Handicapped, form a triad of support for AbilityOne. The present-day committee chairman, Andrew Houghton, has headed the body since July 2006. He praised DoD for its support of AbilityOne.
"I'm honored by the extent of our military's combined leadership and support of the AbilityOne program," Houghton said at the Pentagon ceremony. "And, thank you all for the difference you've made, and the difference you will make in the future for people with disabilities."
Program Works to Ensure Absentee Voting Opportunities
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - It's still not too late to register to cast an absentee ballot in the Nov. 4 general election in many states, a Defense Department official said today. "We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote, and that the vote is counted," said Polli Brunelli, director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program.
Brunelli's office has spent the better part of the past two years working to ensure that the more than 4 million voters eligible to cast absentee ballots have them and understand the requirements to get their votes counted.
The FVPA administers the federal responsibilities of the Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act for DoD. Those voters include about 1.3 million military servicemembers and their families living in the United States and abroad, and U.S. citizens living overseas.
With 26 days left before the general election, Brunelli said she expects much interest on the part of voters this year. Her job, she explained, is not so much to encourage those eligible to vote as it is to make sure that the opportunity is available to the voters.
To make that happen, Brunelli's office launched a Web site that has all the information voters need to find out how to cast an absentee ballot in their voting jurisdiction. Also on the site, voters can register and request ballots. The voter's respective state will then deliver the ballot electronically, and the voter can download it and send it in by whatever method the state allows.
Each state sets its own voting laws, so voters are encouraged to read and heed all requirements sent with the ballot. FVAP officials work with states to ensure they mail out the ballots to the voters, Brunelli said.
"We work with the states, eliminating barriers to absentee voting," she said.
Program officials also have worked with the U.S and military postal systems to mark and expedite all ballots mailed. The two agencies have teamed to expedite requested ballots heading overseas through U.S. gateway cities such as New York, Miami and San Francisco. The military postal service reported that from Sept. 8 to 28, 50,000 requested absentee ballots had gone through the gateway cities.
Brunelli said her office also has worked out an agreement with the mail systems to provide express mail for ballots returning from overseas military and State Department post offices from Oct. 29 to Nov. 4.
Electronic delivery of registration, ballot requests and even ballot casting is becoming more popular and makes it much easier for DoD's mobile population, Brunelli said. Many states now allow registration request forms, and some allow ballots to be submitted electronically.
Fifty-one states and territories allow registration by fax, and 23 allow registration by e-mail. Thirty-eight will fax blank ballots to voters, and 21 will e-mail blank ballots. Twenty-six allow a ballot cast by fax and 11 permit voting by e-mail.
"It's a wonderful thing for our voters, because it cuts down significantly on ballot transfer time," Brunelli said. Electronic submission can cut the traditional transit time for ballots by half, she noted.
Also, electronic submission is very portable. Voters who move or are on temporary duty can still access and cast their ballot from their personal computer.
Those who have requested ballots should receive them soon. Brunelli's office sent out an e-mail last week to 1.3 million active-duty servicemembers, letting them know that now is the time to expect ballots, she said.
Brunelli said she encourages anyone who does not receive a requested ballot to use the federal write-in absentee ballot available on the FVPA Web site, www.fvap.gov.
Officials are encouraging those casting absentee ballots to do so next week.
"Mid-October -- the 12th through the 18th -- is a good time for these voters to mark their ballots and send them back to the states so that they can be counted," Brunelli said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - It's still not too late to register to cast an absentee ballot in the Nov. 4 general election in many states, a Defense Department official said today. "We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote, and that the vote is counted," said Polli Brunelli, director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program.
Brunelli's office has spent the better part of the past two years working to ensure that the more than 4 million voters eligible to cast absentee ballots have them and understand the requirements to get their votes counted.
The FVPA administers the federal responsibilities of the Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act for DoD. Those voters include about 1.3 million military servicemembers and their families living in the United States and abroad, and U.S. citizens living overseas.
With 26 days left before the general election, Brunelli said she expects much interest on the part of voters this year. Her job, she explained, is not so much to encourage those eligible to vote as it is to make sure that the opportunity is available to the voters.
To make that happen, Brunelli's office launched a Web site that has all the information voters need to find out how to cast an absentee ballot in their voting jurisdiction. Also on the site, voters can register and request ballots. The voter's respective state will then deliver the ballot electronically, and the voter can download it and send it in by whatever method the state allows.
Each state sets its own voting laws, so voters are encouraged to read and heed all requirements sent with the ballot. FVAP officials work with states to ensure they mail out the ballots to the voters, Brunelli said.
"We work with the states, eliminating barriers to absentee voting," she said.
Program officials also have worked with the U.S and military postal systems to mark and expedite all ballots mailed. The two agencies have teamed to expedite requested ballots heading overseas through U.S. gateway cities such as New York, Miami and San Francisco. The military postal service reported that from Sept. 8 to 28, 50,000 requested absentee ballots had gone through the gateway cities.
Brunelli said her office also has worked out an agreement with the mail systems to provide express mail for ballots returning from overseas military and State Department post offices from Oct. 29 to Nov. 4.
Electronic delivery of registration, ballot requests and even ballot casting is becoming more popular and makes it much easier for DoD's mobile population, Brunelli said. Many states now allow registration request forms, and some allow ballots to be submitted electronically.
Fifty-one states and territories allow registration by fax, and 23 allow registration by e-mail. Thirty-eight will fax blank ballots to voters, and 21 will e-mail blank ballots. Twenty-six allow a ballot cast by fax and 11 permit voting by e-mail.
"It's a wonderful thing for our voters, because it cuts down significantly on ballot transfer time," Brunelli said. Electronic submission can cut the traditional transit time for ballots by half, she noted.
Also, electronic submission is very portable. Voters who move or are on temporary duty can still access and cast their ballot from their personal computer.
Those who have requested ballots should receive them soon. Brunelli's office sent out an e-mail last week to 1.3 million active-duty servicemembers, letting them know that now is the time to expect ballots, she said.
Brunelli said she encourages anyone who does not receive a requested ballot to use the federal write-in absentee ballot available on the FVPA Web site, www.fvap.gov.
Officials are encouraging those casting absentee ballots to do so next week.
"Mid-October -- the 12th through the 18th -- is a good time for these voters to mark their ballots and send them back to the states so that they can be counted," Brunelli said.
New Army Operations Manual Leverages 'Soft Power' Assets
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - The U.S. Army's new "how-to" manual on stability operations is a unique document that embraces joint effort as a reflection of the realities of a 21st-century world, a senior U.S. military officer said yesterday. Field Manual 3-07, titled, "Stability Operations," was developed from 10 months of collaboration among Army planners, the Defense Department, the State Department and military allies, Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, commander of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, Kan., told reporters at the Foreign Press Center here.
The CAC at Leavenworth is the Army's "brain trust," where it educates and develops future military leaders and develops much of its operational doctrine.
"As we crafted this doctrine, we did so with great respect for the roles and missions of our respective organizations," Caldwell explained. "It's critical that we each preserve our proven core competencies, not only those of us in the military, but [also] those outside the military."
Lessons learned from current overseas U.S. military operations played an important role in the development of the new field manual, the three-star general said.
"We set out to revise the Army's stability operations doctrine, drawing on the experience of the practitioners that are out there in the field, doing it day-to-day today, in both Iraq and Afghanistan," Caldwell said.
Today's 21st-century, globalized world presents very different challenges than existed in the past, Caldwell said. The emergence of trans-national terrorism as a global threat, he said, highlighted the necessity for a different approach in conducting stability operations.
Fragile states susceptible to takeover or influence by global terrorists "pose the greatest threat to our national security," Caldwell pointed out. Under this scenario, he said, regional conflicts could quickly flare into international crises.
"So, the more that we as a world, an international body, can collectively come together to find solutions for challenges that are out there, the better it will be," Caldwell said.
In fact, foreign military officers from Turkey, Belgium, Germany, India, Pakistan, South Africa and other countries provided input and comments for the new manual, Caldwell said.
"If we're going to win the peace, it requires stability operations to be understood, embraced and worked in a comprehensive manner that involves not just the United States military, but all of our friends, our allies," he said.
Stability operations doctrine promulgated in the new field manual, Caldwell said, is based on five principles: building partner capacity; governance, or strengthening institutions of legitimate governments; establishing and maintaining the rule of law; fostering economic growth, and forging a strong sense of national unity.
"It is essentially chartering a path from violent conflict to stable, lasting peace by providing a road map to the future while studying critical waypoints for the conflicts of today," Caldwell explained.
military power alone cannot achieve successful stability operations in the 21st century, Caldwell said. It's also necessary, he said, to incorporate "the soft power capabilities our military has in support of other instruments of national and international power – something very vital to an effective strategy at this very crucial time in our history."
The human element, or how to provide societal, political and economic stability for populations affected by conflict, should be a primary focus factor during stability operations, Caldwell said. Elements of soft power, he said, include the diplomatic capabilities of the U.S. State Department, as well as the civil-economic expertise possessed by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Institute for Peace, and other U.S. and international agencies.
The new field manual "is a powerful force for change," Caldwell said, that says military and non-military agencies must blend capabilities and share responsibility to effect successful stability operations.
"This manual calls together those experiences into a doctrine built on unity of effort, a comprehensive, collaborative and cooperative approach that forges a shared vision of a common goal," Caldwell said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 9, 2008 - The U.S. Army's new "how-to" manual on stability operations is a unique document that embraces joint effort as a reflection of the realities of a 21st-century world, a senior U.S. military officer said yesterday. Field Manual 3-07, titled, "Stability Operations," was developed from 10 months of collaboration among Army planners, the Defense Department, the State Department and military allies, Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, commander of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, Kan., told reporters at the Foreign Press Center here.
The CAC at Leavenworth is the Army's "brain trust," where it educates and develops future military leaders and develops much of its operational doctrine.
"As we crafted this doctrine, we did so with great respect for the roles and missions of our respective organizations," Caldwell explained. "It's critical that we each preserve our proven core competencies, not only those of us in the military, but [also] those outside the military."
Lessons learned from current overseas U.S. military operations played an important role in the development of the new field manual, the three-star general said.
"We set out to revise the Army's stability operations doctrine, drawing on the experience of the practitioners that are out there in the field, doing it day-to-day today, in both Iraq and Afghanistan," Caldwell said.
Today's 21st-century, globalized world presents very different challenges than existed in the past, Caldwell said. The emergence of trans-national terrorism as a global threat, he said, highlighted the necessity for a different approach in conducting stability operations.
Fragile states susceptible to takeover or influence by global terrorists "pose the greatest threat to our national security," Caldwell pointed out. Under this scenario, he said, regional conflicts could quickly flare into international crises.
"So, the more that we as a world, an international body, can collectively come together to find solutions for challenges that are out there, the better it will be," Caldwell said.
In fact, foreign military officers from Turkey, Belgium, Germany, India, Pakistan, South Africa and other countries provided input and comments for the new manual, Caldwell said.
"If we're going to win the peace, it requires stability operations to be understood, embraced and worked in a comprehensive manner that involves not just the United States military, but all of our friends, our allies," he said.
Stability operations doctrine promulgated in the new field manual, Caldwell said, is based on five principles: building partner capacity; governance, or strengthening institutions of legitimate governments; establishing and maintaining the rule of law; fostering economic growth, and forging a strong sense of national unity.
"It is essentially chartering a path from violent conflict to stable, lasting peace by providing a road map to the future while studying critical waypoints for the conflicts of today," Caldwell explained.
military power alone cannot achieve successful stability operations in the 21st century, Caldwell said. It's also necessary, he said, to incorporate "the soft power capabilities our military has in support of other instruments of national and international power – something very vital to an effective strategy at this very crucial time in our history."
The human element, or how to provide societal, political and economic stability for populations affected by conflict, should be a primary focus factor during stability operations, Caldwell said. Elements of soft power, he said, include the diplomatic capabilities of the U.S. State Department, as well as the civil-economic expertise possessed by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Institute for Peace, and other U.S. and international agencies.
The new field manual "is a powerful force for change," Caldwell said, that says military and non-military agencies must blend capabilities and share responsibility to effect successful stability operations.
"This manual calls together those experiences into a doctrine built on unity of effort, a comprehensive, collaborative and cooperative approach that forges a shared vision of a common goal," Caldwell said.
MILITARY CONTRACTS October 9, 2008
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Valero Marketing & Supply Co., San Antonio, Texas is being awarded a maximum $234,721,965 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for fuel. Other locations of performance are Pasadena and Corpus Christi, Texas. Using service is Foreign Military Sales. This proposal was originally Web solicited with three responses. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Sept. 30, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-08-D-0454).
NAVY
Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, Owego, N.Y., is being awarded a $173,000,000 modification to a previously awarded cost plus award fee contract (N00019-05-C-0030) for the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) of the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter. The SDD Phase will consist of engineering design and integration activities for the various communications, navigation, and mission systems required for the Presidential Helicopter support mission. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md., (28 percent); Owego, N.Y., (26 percent); Yeovil, United Kingdom, (20 percent); Cascina Costa, Italy, (15 percent); Rolling Meadows, Ill., (3 percent); Lynn, Mass., (3 percent); Clifton, N.J., (2 percent); Denton, Texas, (1 percent); Grand Rapids, Mich., (1 percent); and Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in Sept. 2011. 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.
Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Keyport, Wash., is being awarded a $171,124,519 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-04-C-6101) to provide MK48 and MK54 torpedoes on a firm fixed-price basis. This effort is a continuation of MK48 ADCAP, MK48 Common Broadband Advance Sonar System and MK54 torpedo programs under contracts N00024-98-C-6107, N00024-00-C-6100, N00024-00-C-6102 and N00024-03-C-6104. The primary purpose of this contract is to purchase the necessary quantities of torpedoes and support services necessary to support Fleet operational requirements for the various torpedo product lines. Work will be performed in Keyport, Wash., (50 percent) and Portsmouth, R.I., (50 percent), and is expected to be completed by Jul. 2011. The total amount funded at contract award will be $166,368,226. Contract funds in the amount of $48,946,820 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
Systems Research and Applications Corp., of Fairfax, Va., is being awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract for $49 million. The objective of this program is to improve human performance and organizational effectiveness within Cyber Science and Technology, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance operator optimization S&T, Special Programs, Information/Influence Operations (S&T), Training S&T, and related research domains. Focus areas include: Cyber R&D, Information Operations/ISR, Special Programs/ISR, Special/Bio-Math, Influence Operations, IO/Cyber/ISR Training, Cyberspace Target Characterization/ Visualization, Anticipatory/Predictive Environment, IO Speech-to-Speech Translation, and AF Transformation. At this time $600,000 has been obligated. AFRL Det 1 /PKHB, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-6939, Task Order: 2013).
Teledyne Technologies Inc., Teledyne Continental Motors – Turbine Engines, of Toledo, Ohio, is being awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract not to exceed $15 million. The Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engines (VAATE) Phase I. The VAATE Program is a Joint DOD/NASA/DOE/Industry effort to develop revolutionary and innovative technologies by the 2017 timeframe that will permit an order of magnitude increase in turbo-propulsion affordability over the year 2000 state-of-the-art Technology. The Task order 0001 will conduct a study of conceptual candidate turbofan engine configurations and component technologies that meet the requirements of 1000 1b missile systems. At this time $1,000 has been obligated. Det 1 AFRK/PKPB, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-2929 and Task Order: 0001).
The Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., of St Louis, Mo., for $11,859,754. The T-38C Data and Video Transfer System, which improve the audio and video recording capability of the T-38C aircraft by replacing the current video tape recorder and data transfer system with a more modern, robust design that combines all data transfer functions into a single recording device, alleviates impending obsolescence issues, improve resistance to damage, and enhances operations. At this time all funds have been obligated. 663 AESS/SYKA, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8617-04-C-6153, Modification Number: P00096).
Army
L-3 Communications System West, Salt Lake City, Utah, was awarded Oct. 7, 2008, a $26,649,683 firm fixed price contract for Remote Operational Video Enhanced Receiver systems. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, with estimated and completion date of Dec. 30, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-07-C-0209).
Conrad Shipyard LLC, Morgan City, La., was awarded on Oct. 8, 2008, a $19,926,923 firm fixed price contract for acquisition of 250 feet crane barge for the Montgomery Point Lock and Dam Project. Work will be performed in Morgan City, La., with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2010. Bids were solicited via the Web and one bid was received. Corp of Engineer, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (W912BU-09-C-0001).
AM General LLC, South Bend, Ind., was awarded Oct. 7, 2008, a $14,600,563 firm fixed price contract. These kits are urgently needed to improve the overhead protection from small arm weapons for the M1151A1 Up-Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles. Work will be performed in Mishawaka, Ind., with estimated and completion date of Dec. 31, 2009. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting (DAAE-07-01-C-S001).
Correction: This contract has not been signed for Oshkosh Corp., Killeen, Texas, was awarded on Sept. 26, 2008, a $17,500,000 cost plus fixed price contract for technical services and M939 Repower Kit. Work will be performed in Killeen, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2012. Bids were solicited via the Web and one bids were received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-C-0730).
Valero Marketing & Supply Co., San Antonio, Texas is being awarded a maximum $234,721,965 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for fuel. Other locations of performance are Pasadena and Corpus Christi, Texas. Using service is Foreign Military Sales. This proposal was originally Web solicited with three responses. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Sept. 30, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-08-D-0454).
NAVY
Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, Owego, N.Y., is being awarded a $173,000,000 modification to a previously awarded cost plus award fee contract (N00019-05-C-0030) for the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) of the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter. The SDD Phase will consist of engineering design and integration activities for the various communications, navigation, and mission systems required for the Presidential Helicopter support mission. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md., (28 percent); Owego, N.Y., (26 percent); Yeovil, United Kingdom, (20 percent); Cascina Costa, Italy, (15 percent); Rolling Meadows, Ill., (3 percent); Lynn, Mass., (3 percent); Clifton, N.J., (2 percent); Denton, Texas, (1 percent); Grand Rapids, Mich., (1 percent); and Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in Sept. 2011. 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.
Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Keyport, Wash., is being awarded a $171,124,519 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-04-C-6101) to provide MK48 and MK54 torpedoes on a firm fixed-price basis. This effort is a continuation of MK48 ADCAP, MK48 Common Broadband Advance Sonar System and MK54 torpedo programs under contracts N00024-98-C-6107, N00024-00-C-6100, N00024-00-C-6102 and N00024-03-C-6104. The primary purpose of this contract is to purchase the necessary quantities of torpedoes and support services necessary to support Fleet operational requirements for the various torpedo product lines. Work will be performed in Keyport, Wash., (50 percent) and Portsmouth, R.I., (50 percent), and is expected to be completed by Jul. 2011. The total amount funded at contract award will be $166,368,226. Contract funds in the amount of $48,946,820 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
Systems Research and Applications Corp., of Fairfax, Va., is being awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract for $49 million. The objective of this program is to improve human performance and organizational effectiveness within Cyber Science and Technology, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance operator optimization S&T, Special Programs, Information/Influence Operations (S&T), Training S&T, and related research domains. Focus areas include: Cyber R&D, Information Operations/ISR, Special Programs/ISR, Special/Bio-Math, Influence Operations, IO/Cyber/ISR Training, Cyberspace Target Characterization/ Visualization, Anticipatory/Predictive Environment, IO Speech-to-Speech Translation, and AF Transformation. At this time $600,000 has been obligated. AFRL Det 1 /PKHB, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-6939, Task Order: 2013).
Teledyne Technologies Inc., Teledyne Continental Motors – Turbine Engines, of Toledo, Ohio, is being awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract not to exceed $15 million. The Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engines (VAATE) Phase I. The VAATE Program is a Joint DOD/NASA/DOE/Industry effort to develop revolutionary and innovative technologies by the 2017 timeframe that will permit an order of magnitude increase in turbo-propulsion affordability over the year 2000 state-of-the-art Technology. The Task order 0001 will conduct a study of conceptual candidate turbofan engine configurations and component technologies that meet the requirements of 1000 1b missile systems. At this time $1,000 has been obligated. Det 1 AFRK/PKPB, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-2929 and Task Order: 0001).
The Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., of St Louis, Mo., for $11,859,754. The T-38C Data and Video Transfer System, which improve the audio and video recording capability of the T-38C aircraft by replacing the current video tape recorder and data transfer system with a more modern, robust design that combines all data transfer functions into a single recording device, alleviates impending obsolescence issues, improve resistance to damage, and enhances operations. At this time all funds have been obligated. 663 AESS/SYKA, WPAFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8617-04-C-6153, Modification Number: P00096).
Army
L-3 Communications System West, Salt Lake City, Utah, was awarded Oct. 7, 2008, a $26,649,683 firm fixed price contract for Remote Operational Video Enhanced Receiver systems. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, with estimated and completion date of Dec. 30, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-07-C-0209).
Conrad Shipyard LLC, Morgan City, La., was awarded on Oct. 8, 2008, a $19,926,923 firm fixed price contract for acquisition of 250 feet crane barge for the Montgomery Point Lock and Dam Project. Work will be performed in Morgan City, La., with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2010. Bids were solicited via the Web and one bid was received. Corp of Engineer, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (W912BU-09-C-0001).
AM General LLC, South Bend, Ind., was awarded Oct. 7, 2008, a $14,600,563 firm fixed price contract. These kits are urgently needed to improve the overhead protection from small arm weapons for the M1151A1 Up-Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles. Work will be performed in Mishawaka, Ind., with estimated and completion date of Dec. 31, 2009. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting (DAAE-07-01-C-S001).
Correction: This contract has not been signed for Oshkosh Corp., Killeen, Texas, was awarded on Sept. 26, 2008, a $17,500,000 cost plus fixed price contract for technical services and M939 Repower Kit. Work will be performed in Killeen, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2012. Bids were solicited via the Web and one bids were received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-C-0730).
America Supports You: Veterans to See Stars on 'Road 2 Recovery'
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 8, 2008 - Dozens of injured troops set out on a seven-day, 420-mile trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles on Sept. 28 to raise funds to support outdoor cycling programs and to let other wounded servicemembers know they can be active. "This trip is not so much about having fun as it is about transforming your new body with something you can work with the rest of your life," former Army Capt. Ferris Butler said about Road2Recovery's California Challenge.
In fact, the Challenge, which began with 60 riders, was part of Road2Recovery's mission of improving wounded servicemembers' health and wellness through life-changing experiences. Road2Recovery is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
"The goal was to get wounded warriors who had never ridden a bike [since being injured] out on a bike and to have an experience of a lifetime," said John Wordin, founder of Road2Recovery and the Fitness Challenge Foundation. "Not only [to show them] that it could be done, but that cycling is a therapeutic outlet that can really benefit them in their recovery."
Cycling can be an important part of recovery for wounded troops, Wordin said, because almost anyone with mental or physical disabilities can participate and it helps to speed up the recovery process.
While the riders promoted cycling as an integral part of a recovery process, they didn't go on the grueling trip alone. Actor Mike Vogel, star of the movie "Cloverdale" and chairman of this year's Veterans Affairs National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, participated, as did fellow actors Gary Sinise and Ed Begley Jr. Other riders included cycling Olympian Wayne Stetina and the National Board of the United Service Organizations.
The Challenge passed several military bases and was welcomed for rest stops and dinners at several veteran service organization posts before arriving at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs medical facility, where they were treated to a USO-sponsored concert by Sinise's "Lt. Dan Band."
The effort is estimated to have raised $100,000 in support of "Spinning" group cycling classes and other outdoor cycling programs at military and Veterans Affairs locations across the country.
The Road2Recovery team will be in Virginia Beach, Va., Oct. 10 to 12 to introduce the military installations in the area to its program. Wordin said he hopes to conduct six of these events across the country next year.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 8, 2008 - Dozens of injured troops set out on a seven-day, 420-mile trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles on Sept. 28 to raise funds to support outdoor cycling programs and to let other wounded servicemembers know they can be active. "This trip is not so much about having fun as it is about transforming your new body with something you can work with the rest of your life," former Army Capt. Ferris Butler said about Road2Recovery's California Challenge.
In fact, the Challenge, which began with 60 riders, was part of Road2Recovery's mission of improving wounded servicemembers' health and wellness through life-changing experiences. Road2Recovery is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
"The goal was to get wounded warriors who had never ridden a bike [since being injured] out on a bike and to have an experience of a lifetime," said John Wordin, founder of Road2Recovery and the Fitness Challenge Foundation. "Not only [to show them] that it could be done, but that cycling is a therapeutic outlet that can really benefit them in their recovery."
Cycling can be an important part of recovery for wounded troops, Wordin said, because almost anyone with mental or physical disabilities can participate and it helps to speed up the recovery process.
While the riders promoted cycling as an integral part of a recovery process, they didn't go on the grueling trip alone. Actor Mike Vogel, star of the movie "Cloverdale" and chairman of this year's Veterans Affairs National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, participated, as did fellow actors Gary Sinise and Ed Begley Jr. Other riders included cycling Olympian Wayne Stetina and the National Board of the United Service Organizations.
The Challenge passed several military bases and was welcomed for rest stops and dinners at several veteran service organization posts before arriving at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs medical facility, where they were treated to a USO-sponsored concert by Sinise's "Lt. Dan Band."
The effort is estimated to have raised $100,000 in support of "Spinning" group cycling classes and other outdoor cycling programs at military and Veterans Affairs locations across the country.
The Road2Recovery team will be in Virginia Beach, Va., Oct. 10 to 12 to introduce the military installations in the area to its program. Wordin said he hopes to conduct six of these events across the country next year.
Normalized Tours, Wartime Control Transfer to Enhance U.S.-Korean Alliance
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 8, 2008 - Efforts to lengthen U.S. military tours in South Korea to three years and to turn wartime operational control of South Korea forces to their own military are on track and moving full-speed ahead, the top U.S. commander there told Pentagon reporters today. Army Gen. Walter "Skip" Sharp, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, called the initiatives important to readiness in a theater he said remains critically important to the United States.
Sharp, who also commands United Nations Command Korea and Combined Forces Command, said he set three priorities since assuming his post in June. He vowed to strengthen the U.S.- South Korean alliance, ensure its ability to overcome North Korean aggression should it occur, and to improve the quality of life for U.S. troops and civilian employees serving in South Korea, as well as their families.
Sharp called normalizing tours a big step toward fulfilling these priorities, improving servicemembers' quality of life as it promotes continuity within the command. But he said he's making the transition in steps -- not bounds -- to ensure it goes smoothly and doesn't leave military families without the infrastructure to support them.
"I'm very excited about this initiative, but we've got to do it right," Sharp said. "I'm not going to have a whole bunch of families come over and not be able to properly take care of them. So we're doing this in several phases."
About 1,800 command-sponsored families are now in South Korea, but another 2,100 families there are not command-sponsored. Sharp said the first step in his plan is to offer command sponsorship to families that don't already have it, most of them in the 2nd Infantry Division area north of Seoul.
As part of that plan, Sharp said, he wants to take places like Seoul and Osan that currently have two-year command sponsorships and extend those tours to three years. For areas with lesser facilities and services, he said, he plans to change 12-month tours to two years for those who would like it.
"Beyond that, we are working very hard in order to be able to establish housing for families at a much greater rate, especially down at Camp Humphreys and other places," Sharp said. He noted several initiatives to support this effort: a partnership in which the Koreas build the housing, a plan to provide more schooling for military children and a new hospital the Koreans will build at Camp Humphreys to replace the one at Yongsan Garrison.
Housing and medical facility construction is on track. Sharp said schools are the biggest sticking point, because he doesn't want to risk bringing families to Korea without ensuring the schools are ready for them. "So we've got to figure out a way to do some partnership things, to be able to get some schools built," he said.
As this effort moves forward, Sharp said, he's also optimistic about the effort to transfer wartime operational control of South Korean forces to South Korea in 2012.
"What this means is that the Republic of Korea military, under the leadership of a Korean warfighting headquarters, will have operational control of its forces in wartime and will be responsible for the defense of their country, with the U.S. in a supporting role," he explained.
As this happens, Combined Forces Command will dissolve, to be replaced by two headquarters: the Republic of Korea Joint Forces Command and U.S. Korea Command.
Sharp called the transfer "the next logical step" in the U.S.-South Korean military alliance that he said is essential to maintaining U.S. forces in there for the foreseeable future.
The Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise in August tested the construct for the first time and showed it will work, Sharp said.
"We have plenty of work to do between now and 2012, but I am very pleased with the baseline that came out of this exercise," he said. "The Korean military is a very professional military force, and their military leadership is outstanding. They are and will be ready for this new challenge."
Ultimately, these initiatives will strengthen the longstanding alliance that has deterred aggression and maintained peace on the peninsula for the past 55 years, he said.
"The Korean-U.S. alliance is one of the most enduring alliances in the world. It remains the cornerstone of peace, security and stability in the key region of Northeast Asia," Sharp said. "The alliance already has a long history and will only become stronger and more important in the years to come."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 8, 2008 - Efforts to lengthen U.S. military tours in South Korea to three years and to turn wartime operational control of South Korea forces to their own military are on track and moving full-speed ahead, the top U.S. commander there told Pentagon reporters today. Army Gen. Walter "Skip" Sharp, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, called the initiatives important to readiness in a theater he said remains critically important to the United States.
Sharp, who also commands United Nations Command Korea and Combined Forces Command, said he set three priorities since assuming his post in June. He vowed to strengthen the U.S.- South Korean alliance, ensure its ability to overcome North Korean aggression should it occur, and to improve the quality of life for U.S. troops and civilian employees serving in South Korea, as well as their families.
Sharp called normalizing tours a big step toward fulfilling these priorities, improving servicemembers' quality of life as it promotes continuity within the command. But he said he's making the transition in steps -- not bounds -- to ensure it goes smoothly and doesn't leave military families without the infrastructure to support them.
"I'm very excited about this initiative, but we've got to do it right," Sharp said. "I'm not going to have a whole bunch of families come over and not be able to properly take care of them. So we're doing this in several phases."
About 1,800 command-sponsored families are now in South Korea, but another 2,100 families there are not command-sponsored. Sharp said the first step in his plan is to offer command sponsorship to families that don't already have it, most of them in the 2nd Infantry Division area north of Seoul.
As part of that plan, Sharp said, he wants to take places like Seoul and Osan that currently have two-year command sponsorships and extend those tours to three years. For areas with lesser facilities and services, he said, he plans to change 12-month tours to two years for those who would like it.
"Beyond that, we are working very hard in order to be able to establish housing for families at a much greater rate, especially down at Camp Humphreys and other places," Sharp said. He noted several initiatives to support this effort: a partnership in which the Koreas build the housing, a plan to provide more schooling for military children and a new hospital the Koreans will build at Camp Humphreys to replace the one at Yongsan Garrison.
Housing and medical facility construction is on track. Sharp said schools are the biggest sticking point, because he doesn't want to risk bringing families to Korea without ensuring the schools are ready for them. "So we've got to figure out a way to do some partnership things, to be able to get some schools built," he said.
As this effort moves forward, Sharp said, he's also optimistic about the effort to transfer wartime operational control of South Korean forces to South Korea in 2012.
"What this means is that the Republic of Korea military, under the leadership of a Korean warfighting headquarters, will have operational control of its forces in wartime and will be responsible for the defense of their country, with the U.S. in a supporting role," he explained.
As this happens, Combined Forces Command will dissolve, to be replaced by two headquarters: the Republic of Korea Joint Forces Command and U.S. Korea Command.
Sharp called the transfer "the next logical step" in the U.S.-South Korean military alliance that he said is essential to maintaining U.S. forces in there for the foreseeable future.
The Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise in August tested the construct for the first time and showed it will work, Sharp said.
"We have plenty of work to do between now and 2012, but I am very pleased with the baseline that came out of this exercise," he said. "The Korean military is a very professional military force, and their military leadership is outstanding. They are and will be ready for this new challenge."
Ultimately, these initiatives will strengthen the longstanding alliance that has deterred aggression and maintained peace on the peninsula for the past 55 years, he said.
"The Korean-U.S. alliance is one of the most enduring alliances in the world. It remains the cornerstone of peace, security and stability in the key region of Northeast Asia," Sharp said. "The alliance already has a long history and will only become stronger and more important in the years to come."
Face of Defense: Corporal Keeps Weapons, Marines Ready for Battle
By Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Murray
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 8, 2008 - A Marine assigned to Combat Outpost Rawah here repairs various weapons systems. But while his daily job takes priority, teaching Marines how to use the weapons they were born with is Marine Cpl. Trevor Ryan's true passion. Ryan, 21, a native of Sandusky, Ohio, serves with Task Force 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5.
"I love to teach, I love being a Marine, and I am completely infatuated with [the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program]," Ryan said.
Over the five months Ryan has spent deployed to Iraq, he has graduated 50 Marines from his MCMAP courses. He said he prides himself in helping Marines achieve their martial arts goals.
"He makes his students earn their belts, and doesn't just give them to them," said Cpl. Demario Walker, 21, from Greenville, S.C., an administration clerk with Task Force 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines. "If the student is willing to put in the time to learn and [work hard] during the class, he will make sure they succeed."
Although the ongoing point of his classes is to make Marines proficient in hand-to-hand combat techniques, Ryan tries to add some of his own goals.
"I teach self defense, leadership traits and how to be a good Marine," Ryan said. "[MCMAP] gives me another sense of purpose and pride in the Marine Corps besides just doing my job. I love what I do."
Ryan said he plans to not only continue teaching Marines in MCMAP, but also to help new servicemembers learn his specialty as he continues his military career. He has received orders for small arms repairer/technician instructor duty at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
"I know while I'm there, I want to be a MCMAP instructor, too," he said.
(Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Murray serves with Regimental Combat Team 5.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 8, 2008 - A Marine assigned to Combat Outpost Rawah here repairs various weapons systems. But while his daily job takes priority, teaching Marines how to use the weapons they were born with is Marine Cpl. Trevor Ryan's true passion. Ryan, 21, a native of Sandusky, Ohio, serves with Task Force 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5.
"I love to teach, I love being a Marine, and I am completely infatuated with [the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program]," Ryan said.
Over the five months Ryan has spent deployed to Iraq, he has graduated 50 Marines from his MCMAP courses. He said he prides himself in helping Marines achieve their martial arts goals.
"He makes his students earn their belts, and doesn't just give them to them," said Cpl. Demario Walker, 21, from Greenville, S.C., an administration clerk with Task Force 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines. "If the student is willing to put in the time to learn and [work hard] during the class, he will make sure they succeed."
Although the ongoing point of his classes is to make Marines proficient in hand-to-hand combat techniques, Ryan tries to add some of his own goals.
"I teach self defense, leadership traits and how to be a good Marine," Ryan said. "[MCMAP] gives me another sense of purpose and pride in the Marine Corps besides just doing my job. I love what I do."
Ryan said he plans to not only continue teaching Marines in MCMAP, but also to help new servicemembers learn his specialty as he continues his military career. He has received orders for small arms repairer/technician instructor duty at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
"I know while I'm there, I want to be a MCMAP instructor, too," he said.
(Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Murray serves with Regimental Combat Team 5.)
Pilot Missing in Action From The Vietnam War 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 the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Capt. Lorenza Conner, U.S. Air Force, of Cartersville, Ga. He will be buried Oct. 25 in Cartersville.
On Oct. 27, 1967, Conner and his copilot flew an F-4D Phantom II fighter jet in a flight of four on a combat air patrol mission over North Vietnam where the plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Tuyen Quang Province, North Vietnam. The copilot ejected safely, was captured and later released by Vietnamese forces, but Conner could not eject from the aircraft before it crashed.
In 1992, Vietnamese citizens told U.S. officials that they had information concerning the remains of missing U.S. servicemen and they turned over Conner's identification tag.
Between 1992 and 2003, several joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated this incident, interviewed witnesses and surveyed the crash site. At the crash site, teams found aircrew-related equipment and aircraft wreckage consistent with an F-4 Phantom II.
In 2007, another joint team excavated the site and recovered human remains.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of Conner's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
He is Capt. Lorenza Conner, U.S. Air Force, of Cartersville, Ga. He will be buried Oct. 25 in Cartersville.
On Oct. 27, 1967, Conner and his copilot flew an F-4D Phantom II fighter jet in a flight of four on a combat air patrol mission over North Vietnam where the plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Tuyen Quang Province, North Vietnam. The copilot ejected safely, was captured and later released by Vietnamese forces, but Conner could not eject from the aircraft before it crashed.
In 1992, Vietnamese citizens told U.S. officials that they had information concerning the remains of missing U.S. servicemen and they turned over Conner's identification tag.
Between 1992 and 2003, several joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated this incident, interviewed witnesses and surveyed the crash site. At the crash site, teams found aircrew-related equipment and aircraft wreckage consistent with an F-4 Phantom II.
In 2007, another joint team excavated the site and recovered human remains.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of Conner's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
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