AIR FORCE
The Air Force is modifying an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to Honeywell International Incorporated of Phoenix, Ariz., for a maximum of $70,000,000. The Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engine Program is a joint effort to develop revolutionary and innovative technologies by 2017. At this time, $416,200 has been obligated. Det 1 AFRL/PKPB, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity. (FA8650-09-D-2925)
The Air Force is awarding an undefinitized with firm fixed price contract to Raytheon Missile Systems of Tucson, Ariz., for an amount not to exceed $23,000,000. This action provides for production quantities of 70 Maverick Missiles and 1Guidance and Control Section for a Maverick Missile. At this time, $17,250,000 has been obligated. OO-ALC/LHKC, Hill Air Force Base, Utah is the contracting activity. (FA8217-09-C-0046)
The Air Force is awarding a cost plus fixed fee contract with Raytheon Company of Andover, Mass., for $10,996,388. This contract action will design, fabricate, and test the integrated self-healing core circuits and integrated self-healing full receiver-on-chip circuit to demonstrate the Go/No-Go metrics for government evaluation. At this time, $2,036,370 has been obligated. AFRL/PKDB, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity. (FA8650-09-C-7950)
The Air Force is awarding a cost plus fixed fee contract to BAE Systems Information and Electronics of Nashua, N.H., for $10,581, 297. This contract action will design, fabricate, and test the integrated self-healing core circuits and integrated self-healing full receiver-on-chip circuit to demonstrate the Go/No-Go metrics for government evaluation. At this time, $2,533,898 has been obligated. AFRL/PKDA, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity. (FA8650-09-C-7926)
NAVY
Lockheed Martin Corp., Maritime Systems and Sensors, Integrated Defense Technologies, Baltimore, Md., is being awarded a fixed price type contract not-to-exceed $49,877,689 for FY08 MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) production and delivery requirements. The MK41 VLS program is integral to the navies of nine allied and friendly foreign nations. Release of this highly capable and sophisticated launching system under this contract will prevent unnecessary duplication of research and development and production efforts, thereby freeing allied resources to pursue other mutually beneficial programs. Furthermore, the FMS requirements will reduce the overall unit price of hardware due to economies of scale. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (43 percent), and the governments of Turkey, (56 percent) and Australia, (1 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Md., (64 percent); Minneapolis, Minn., (19 percent); Fort Walton Beach, Fla., (14 percent); Eagan, Minn., (2 percent); and Virginia Beach, Va., (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 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, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-09-C-5392).
Computer Sciences Corp., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $28,889,625 firm fixed price with cost reimbursable other direct costs contract for support services for the operation, maintenance, support and management of the OCONUS Navy Enterprise Network (ONE-NET), Far East Region. Work will be performed at Yokosuka, Japan, (67 percent); Sasebo, Japan, (3 percent); Misawa, Japan, (4 percent); Atsugi, Japan, (4 percent); Okinawa, Japan, (4 percent), Korea, (4 percent); Singapore, (2 percent) and NCTS Guam, (12 percent), and work is expected to be completed by March 2010. Contract funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. This requirement was issued under limited source justification and competition was waived. The Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (N00189-09-F-0096).
Wackenhut Services Inc., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., is being awarded a $16,348,889 modification under a previously awarded firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract (N40080-00-D-0043) for continuation of services under the contract for Regional Base Operating Support Services for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Washington. The work to be performed is janitorial, heating ventilation and cooling control, preventive maintenance, pest control, grounds maintenance, snow removal, and facility support services. The current total contract amount after exercise of this modification is $204,885,793 ($143,516,568 FFP and $61,369,225 IDIQ). Work will be performed in the District of Columbia (52 percent); Suitland, Md., (18 percent); Quantico, Va., (12 percent); Fort Washington, Md., (7 percent); Clinton, Md., (4 percent); Bethesda, Md., (3 percent); Arlington, Va., (2 percent); and Indian Head, Md., (2 percent), and work is expected to be October 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineer Command Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Science Applications International Corp., (SAIC), Bloomfield, Ind., is being awarded a cost-plus fixed-fee contract not to exceed $10,998,830 for non-personal professional engineering, technical and management support services, scientific/engineering analysis and studies, test and evaluation, technical data support, field engineering, integrated logistics support, configuration management, and data management support for the H-60 Helicopter Project and Aviation Support Equipment. Work will be performed in Crane, Ind. (40 percent), and Indianapolis, Ind. (60 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $100,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity (N00164-09-C-JM32).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Rick Aviation, Inc., Newport News, Va.* is being awarded a maximum $11,660,905 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other location of performance is Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport. There were originally 131 proposals solicited with 96 responses. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Federal Civilian Agencies. The date of performance completion is April 30, 2013. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-09-D-0107).
Friday, March 20, 2009
Army and Air Force Exchange Service Asks Shoppers to Make a Scene
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
March 20, 2009 - Aspiring filmmakers in the military community have the chance to flex their creative muscle and play a part in "It's My Benefit 2," the sequel to the Army and Air Force Exchange Service's inaugural 2008 video contest. With a theme of "Rediscover the Values of AAFES," this year's contest is looking for commercials, of 30 to 60 seconds, demonstrating what AAFES value means to the filmmaker. It could mean a shopping spree valued at $1,000, $500 or $250 if the commercial is chosen as one of the top three winners.
"Beyond the prizes, AAFES is also offering budding directors, producers and actors major exposure as winning entries will eventually make their way to an international audience via the BX/PX's proprietary in-house network, EXTV," Mat Dromey, AAFES chief marketing officer, said. "Today, EXTV programming is seen ... around the world, including locations throughout Iraq and Afghanistan."
As with last year's contest, the commercials can be shot in the stores, Lisa Moak, AAFES' strategic marketing manager, said.
"All the store managers should be aware of this," Moak said. "All [filmmakers] have to do is maybe just mention it to a manager that, 'Hey, I'm filming a video for the contest.' They'll be happy to help."
The contest may give customers a chance to tell the world that they find value at AAFES by shopping the sales or using coupons, and it's also a chance for AAFES to educate customers about the store.
"The average shopper can save 20 percent shopping at AAFES," Moak said. "It's to get them to start looking a little more at the value of AAFES and how they're spending their money."
Rules for the contest, which opens today to military identification card holders 18 and over, can be found through the AAFES Web site. They'll have until June 20 to upload their 100 megabyte or smaller video to the Web site indicated. It should be in one of several formats indicated in the rules, including MPG or WMV.
It's important to note that as soon as the video is submitted to AAFES, it belongs to them and therefore cannot be posted to other sites like YouTube or Facebook, Moak said.
The field of entries will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists before the announcement of the winners, which is scheduled for the end of July.
Like last year's 28 entries, this year's will be judged on "creativity, accuracy of information and how it promotes the value of AAFES," Moak said.
The winning videos are anticipated to begin airing about a month after selection.
American Forces Press Service
March 20, 2009 - Aspiring filmmakers in the military community have the chance to flex their creative muscle and play a part in "It's My Benefit 2," the sequel to the Army and Air Force Exchange Service's inaugural 2008 video contest. With a theme of "Rediscover the Values of AAFES," this year's contest is looking for commercials, of 30 to 60 seconds, demonstrating what AAFES value means to the filmmaker. It could mean a shopping spree valued at $1,000, $500 or $250 if the commercial is chosen as one of the top three winners.
"Beyond the prizes, AAFES is also offering budding directors, producers and actors major exposure as winning entries will eventually make their way to an international audience via the BX/PX's proprietary in-house network, EXTV," Mat Dromey, AAFES chief marketing officer, said. "Today, EXTV programming is seen ... around the world, including locations throughout Iraq and Afghanistan."
As with last year's contest, the commercials can be shot in the stores, Lisa Moak, AAFES' strategic marketing manager, said.
"All the store managers should be aware of this," Moak said. "All [filmmakers] have to do is maybe just mention it to a manager that, 'Hey, I'm filming a video for the contest.' They'll be happy to help."
The contest may give customers a chance to tell the world that they find value at AAFES by shopping the sales or using coupons, and it's also a chance for AAFES to educate customers about the store.
"The average shopper can save 20 percent shopping at AAFES," Moak said. "It's to get them to start looking a little more at the value of AAFES and how they're spending their money."
Rules for the contest, which opens today to military identification card holders 18 and over, can be found through the AAFES Web site. They'll have until June 20 to upload their 100 megabyte or smaller video to the Web site indicated. It should be in one of several formats indicated in the rules, including MPG or WMV.
It's important to note that as soon as the video is submitted to AAFES, it belongs to them and therefore cannot be posted to other sites like YouTube or Facebook, Moak said.
The field of entries will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists before the announcement of the winners, which is scheduled for the end of July.
Like last year's 28 entries, this year's will be judged on "creativity, accuracy of information and how it promotes the value of AAFES," Moak said.
The winning videos are anticipated to begin airing about a month after selection.
Combat Veteran Provides Insight at Guard Bureau Women's History Event
By Army Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - Each woman serving in the military has broken barriers, so now there are fewer to overcome, an Iraq war veteran, helicopter pilot, and double amputee said this week at a Women's History Month event sponsored by the National Guard Bureau. "Those of us females who have been in the military for a few years have our own stories of being the first this or the first that," said Army Maj. Tammy Duckworth of the Illinois National Guard, President Barack Obama's nominee to be assistant secretary of veterans affairs for public and intergovernmental affairs. "In some ways, we each had to break through in our own way, proving we were just as good as the men."
Duckworth was the keynote speaker at the National Guard Bureau's Women's History Month program this week. "Women Taking the Lead" highlighted the accomplishments of women in the military, and was hosted by Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
The program also highlighted the accomplishments of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an Army unit composed largely of African-American women who sorted and delivered mail to about 7 million American troops stationed in Europe during World War II.
While it was a daunting task, there were perks to the job, including the ability to see Europe and interact with those from other areas, said Alice Dixon, a veteran of the unit, who attended the event.
Duckworth said women such as Dixon made t possible for her to have a successful military career.
"I recognize that I am here today because I stand on the shoulders of the women before me who broke through," Duckworth said. "It's taken us a long time, but more and more women are taking up leadership positions that would not have been possible 20 years ago."
But it wasn't only the women who went before her that helped her along her career, Duckworth noted. "I also want to make sure and emphasize that my greatest supporters in my career were men," she said.
"I was often the only female in an [otherwise] all-male unit. It was the male officers above me who reached out and guided me. It was the male [noncommissioned officers] who dragged me behind the hangar and smacked me on the side the head and said, 'What do you think you're doing L-T?'"
The program noted that women have broken down barriers in the military as far back as 1775 and the founding of the U.S armed forces.
"During the American Revolution, it was not uncommon for wives, mothers and daughters to follow their male loved ones into battle," said McKinley, who added that it wasn't until the Spanish-American War and the founding of the Army Nurse Corps that women formally became a part of the military. "The significant role of nurses and women serving in other roles during World War I firmly established the importance of women to the armed forces."
And much has changed since then. "How far has our nation come? [Today], women serve at every level of the military and in almost every career field," McKinley said.
"Frankly, it's really time to stop being surprised that America's daughters are fully capable of doing their jobs and fighting for freedom," Duckworth added.
Duckworth is one of many military women who have served overseas. In Iraq, where she flew combat missions in a UH-60 Black Hawk, her work really came down to one thing, she said: supporting the mission.
"In that cockpit, it didn't matter if I was male or female; it only mattered that I supported the mission," she said. "In that cockpit, it didn't matter if I was from Illinois and the pilot in command was from Missouri, or if he was a first Gulf War veteran and had been in 20 years and I had only been in 15. It was about the mission."
And on Nov. 12, 2004, while supporting the mission, Duckworth and her Black Hawk crew were brought down by enemy fire.
"That day in my aircraft, bleeding, knowing that I was dying, when people came to rescue me, at no time did I check [whether] they were male or female before allowing them to carry me out," she said.
But that day, which resulted in Duckworth losing the bottom portion of both legs, also brought other points to light. She paid tribute to others whose courage helped them survive.
"The day that I was shot down, I started out as the highest-ranking person of my crew. The lowest-ranking person in that aircraft was Spc. Kurt Hanneman," she said. "He wasn't the crew chief, he wasn't in charge of that aircraft, [and] he wasn't the pilot in command.
"At the end of that day, Kurt Hanneman was the most important person in our crew," she continued. "At the end of that day, after we had been shot down and Kurt had taken AK-47 rounds into his back, it was Kurt who grabbed his weapon and maintained rear security to make sure the rescue could happen. Bleeding, going into shock [and] scared out of his mind, he was not going to quit his post," she said.
And there were others in her unit who were equally as dedicated, including another female pilot, who stayed by Duckworth's side.
"The day I was shot down, she volunteered to accompany me to Landstuhl" Regional Medical Center in Germany, Duckworth said. "And you have to understand what it's like to one minute be flying missions and to know that a buddy has been hit and may be dying, and then to volunteer to accompany that person. And she went to Landstuhl solely to sit next to my bed in case I woke up, so that I would see a friendly face. She ... continued to fly combat missions during the day, studied for the bar exam at night, came home, and three weeks [later] ... passed the bar exam. That's a warrior woman."
And though many may say that the day Duckworth was shot down was tragic, she said it brought out one point for her.
"That day taught me, more than anything else, that it doesn't matter who you are or what you are. All that matters is that you don't let your buddies down and that you stick with the mission and you never quit. You never give up."
(Army Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy serves with the National Guard Bureau.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - Each woman serving in the military has broken barriers, so now there are fewer to overcome, an Iraq war veteran, helicopter pilot, and double amputee said this week at a Women's History Month event sponsored by the National Guard Bureau. "Those of us females who have been in the military for a few years have our own stories of being the first this or the first that," said Army Maj. Tammy Duckworth of the Illinois National Guard, President Barack Obama's nominee to be assistant secretary of veterans affairs for public and intergovernmental affairs. "In some ways, we each had to break through in our own way, proving we were just as good as the men."
Duckworth was the keynote speaker at the National Guard Bureau's Women's History Month program this week. "Women Taking the Lead" highlighted the accomplishments of women in the military, and was hosted by Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
The program also highlighted the accomplishments of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an Army unit composed largely of African-American women who sorted and delivered mail to about 7 million American troops stationed in Europe during World War II.
While it was a daunting task, there were perks to the job, including the ability to see Europe and interact with those from other areas, said Alice Dixon, a veteran of the unit, who attended the event.
Duckworth said women such as Dixon made t possible for her to have a successful military career.
"I recognize that I am here today because I stand on the shoulders of the women before me who broke through," Duckworth said. "It's taken us a long time, but more and more women are taking up leadership positions that would not have been possible 20 years ago."
But it wasn't only the women who went before her that helped her along her career, Duckworth noted. "I also want to make sure and emphasize that my greatest supporters in my career were men," she said.
"I was often the only female in an [otherwise] all-male unit. It was the male officers above me who reached out and guided me. It was the male [noncommissioned officers] who dragged me behind the hangar and smacked me on the side the head and said, 'What do you think you're doing L-T?'"
The program noted that women have broken down barriers in the military as far back as 1775 and the founding of the U.S armed forces.
"During the American Revolution, it was not uncommon for wives, mothers and daughters to follow their male loved ones into battle," said McKinley, who added that it wasn't until the Spanish-American War and the founding of the Army Nurse Corps that women formally became a part of the military. "The significant role of nurses and women serving in other roles during World War I firmly established the importance of women to the armed forces."
And much has changed since then. "How far has our nation come? [Today], women serve at every level of the military and in almost every career field," McKinley said.
"Frankly, it's really time to stop being surprised that America's daughters are fully capable of doing their jobs and fighting for freedom," Duckworth added.
Duckworth is one of many military women who have served overseas. In Iraq, where she flew combat missions in a UH-60 Black Hawk, her work really came down to one thing, she said: supporting the mission.
"In that cockpit, it didn't matter if I was male or female; it only mattered that I supported the mission," she said. "In that cockpit, it didn't matter if I was from Illinois and the pilot in command was from Missouri, or if he was a first Gulf War veteran and had been in 20 years and I had only been in 15. It was about the mission."
And on Nov. 12, 2004, while supporting the mission, Duckworth and her Black Hawk crew were brought down by enemy fire.
"That day in my aircraft, bleeding, knowing that I was dying, when people came to rescue me, at no time did I check [whether] they were male or female before allowing them to carry me out," she said.
But that day, which resulted in Duckworth losing the bottom portion of both legs, also brought other points to light. She paid tribute to others whose courage helped them survive.
"The day that I was shot down, I started out as the highest-ranking person of my crew. The lowest-ranking person in that aircraft was Spc. Kurt Hanneman," she said. "He wasn't the crew chief, he wasn't in charge of that aircraft, [and] he wasn't the pilot in command.
"At the end of that day, Kurt Hanneman was the most important person in our crew," she continued. "At the end of that day, after we had been shot down and Kurt had taken AK-47 rounds into his back, it was Kurt who grabbed his weapon and maintained rear security to make sure the rescue could happen. Bleeding, going into shock [and] scared out of his mind, he was not going to quit his post," she said.
And there were others in her unit who were equally as dedicated, including another female pilot, who stayed by Duckworth's side.
"The day I was shot down, she volunteered to accompany me to Landstuhl" Regional Medical Center in Germany, Duckworth said. "And you have to understand what it's like to one minute be flying missions and to know that a buddy has been hit and may be dying, and then to volunteer to accompany that person. And she went to Landstuhl solely to sit next to my bed in case I woke up, so that I would see a friendly face. She ... continued to fly combat missions during the day, studied for the bar exam at night, came home, and three weeks [later] ... passed the bar exam. That's a warrior woman."
And though many may say that the day Duckworth was shot down was tragic, she said it brought out one point for her.
"That day taught me, more than anything else, that it doesn't matter who you are or what you are. All that matters is that you don't let your buddies down and that you stick with the mission and you never quit. You never give up."
(Army Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy serves with the National Guard Bureau.)
More Work Needed in Military Relationship With China, Admiral Says
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - The United States has made "some real headway" in improving relations with China, but "the relationship isn't where we want it to be," the top officer at U.S. Pacific Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Pacom also is keeping close tabs on North Korea in light of its nuclear weapons program, and working with partners including India and Indonesia to help stem the spread of violent extremism in the region, Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating told the senators.
Keating cited solid progress in the U.S.-Sino relationship since the Chinese denied port access to the USS Kitty Hawk battle group during the 2007 Thanksgiving weekend.
"Since then, we've installed a hotline, [and] we've provided several immediate-response efforts" that included two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft providing cold-weather and earthquake relief in the region, he said.
In addition, the U.S. and Chinese militaries have conducted senior-level officer exchanges. One, led by Pacom's senior enlisted advisor, Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jim Roy, took a delegation of senior enlisted leaders to China. The Chinese reciprocated with a similar visit to Pacom's Honolulu headquarters.
"All that said, the relationship certainly isn't where we want it to be," Keating told the senators. He noted that the Chinese suspended military-to-military activity in response to the U.S. announcement of arms sales to Taiwan. And just two weeks ago, five Chinese ships surrounded and harassed the USNS Impeccable surveillance ship as it operated in international waters.
"The Impeccable incident is certainly a troubling indicator that China, particularly in the South China Sea, is behaving in an aggressive, troublesome manner and [is] not willing to abide by acceptable standards of behavior or 'rules of the road,'" he said.
These events "cause us significant concern," Keating said.
"Those are vivid reminders that a mature, constructive mil-to-mil relationship is hardly the reality of the day," he said, and that the People's Republic of China's "behavior as a responsible stakeholder has yet to be consistently demonstrated."
China hasn't responded to Pacom's proposal for a direct link between Keating and his Chinese counterpart, Keating said. He noted, however, that Navy Adm. Gary Roughhead, chief of naval operations, recently used the Washington-Beijing hotline, and that he has used it as well from his Hawaii headquarters.
"But it is not a direct link from me to my counterpart," he said.
Keating called the "slight warming" of relations between China and Taiwan an encouraging development. "We think that warming is a good sign that China and Northeast Asia are somewhat stable and are willing to consider alternatives," he said.
As the discussion turned to North Korea's nuclear program, Keating told the senators there's a "high probability" that the United States could take out any North Korean missile. The United States is watching North Korea's actions closely, Keating told the panel, so it can respond as required to a missile launch.
Pacom also is heavily focused on working with partner nations to combat violent extremism in the region, Keating said.
The command went forward with planned counterterrorism training for Indian special operations forces following November's Mumbai terror attacks, as well as a scheduled military exercise, he told the senators. "And we have increased dialogue with senior levels of the Indian leadership, during which we discussed aspects of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency," he said.
Similarly, Indonesia has become an increasingly important partner, Keating said.
He cited the benefit of "1206 funding," named for the section of the National Defense Authorization Act that authorizes Pacom to help Indonesia work with its regional partners to crack down on terrorism.
"Incidents of terrorism and piracy in the Strait of Malacca have gone from 45 or so three years ago, in 2006, to two in 2008," he said. "And we think that's a direct reflection of the support provided by the 1206 money, amongst other reasons, including cooperation and collaboration by those countries."
Keating said Asia and the Pacific are vitally important to the United States, particularly in light of current and projected economic, energy and demographic trends.
In an effort to maintain peace and security in the region, Pacom employs a strategy based on partnership, readiness and presence. "We think this is a blueprint for enhancing United States relationships," Keating said, capitalizing on U.S. allies' and regional partners' capabilities.
"We want to enhance our position as the indispensible partner with all of those in the region through sustained and persistent collaboration and cooperation, and by employing those forces that are necessary to strengthen the partnerships and support all those conditions which preclude a necessity for combat operations," he said.
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - The United States has made "some real headway" in improving relations with China, but "the relationship isn't where we want it to be," the top officer at U.S. Pacific Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Pacom also is keeping close tabs on North Korea in light of its nuclear weapons program, and working with partners including India and Indonesia to help stem the spread of violent extremism in the region, Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating told the senators.
Keating cited solid progress in the U.S.-Sino relationship since the Chinese denied port access to the USS Kitty Hawk battle group during the 2007 Thanksgiving weekend.
"Since then, we've installed a hotline, [and] we've provided several immediate-response efforts" that included two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft providing cold-weather and earthquake relief in the region, he said.
In addition, the U.S. and Chinese militaries have conducted senior-level officer exchanges. One, led by Pacom's senior enlisted advisor, Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jim Roy, took a delegation of senior enlisted leaders to China. The Chinese reciprocated with a similar visit to Pacom's Honolulu headquarters.
"All that said, the relationship certainly isn't where we want it to be," Keating told the senators. He noted that the Chinese suspended military-to-military activity in response to the U.S. announcement of arms sales to Taiwan. And just two weeks ago, five Chinese ships surrounded and harassed the USNS Impeccable surveillance ship as it operated in international waters.
"The Impeccable incident is certainly a troubling indicator that China, particularly in the South China Sea, is behaving in an aggressive, troublesome manner and [is] not willing to abide by acceptable standards of behavior or 'rules of the road,'" he said.
These events "cause us significant concern," Keating said.
"Those are vivid reminders that a mature, constructive mil-to-mil relationship is hardly the reality of the day," he said, and that the People's Republic of China's "behavior as a responsible stakeholder has yet to be consistently demonstrated."
China hasn't responded to Pacom's proposal for a direct link between Keating and his Chinese counterpart, Keating said. He noted, however, that Navy Adm. Gary Roughhead, chief of naval operations, recently used the Washington-Beijing hotline, and that he has used it as well from his Hawaii headquarters.
"But it is not a direct link from me to my counterpart," he said.
Keating called the "slight warming" of relations between China and Taiwan an encouraging development. "We think that warming is a good sign that China and Northeast Asia are somewhat stable and are willing to consider alternatives," he said.
As the discussion turned to North Korea's nuclear program, Keating told the senators there's a "high probability" that the United States could take out any North Korean missile. The United States is watching North Korea's actions closely, Keating told the panel, so it can respond as required to a missile launch.
Pacom also is heavily focused on working with partner nations to combat violent extremism in the region, Keating said.
The command went forward with planned counterterrorism training for Indian special operations forces following November's Mumbai terror attacks, as well as a scheduled military exercise, he told the senators. "And we have increased dialogue with senior levels of the Indian leadership, during which we discussed aspects of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency," he said.
Similarly, Indonesia has become an increasingly important partner, Keating said.
He cited the benefit of "1206 funding," named for the section of the National Defense Authorization Act that authorizes Pacom to help Indonesia work with its regional partners to crack down on terrorism.
"Incidents of terrorism and piracy in the Strait of Malacca have gone from 45 or so three years ago, in 2006, to two in 2008," he said. "And we think that's a direct reflection of the support provided by the 1206 money, amongst other reasons, including cooperation and collaboration by those countries."
Keating said Asia and the Pacific are vitally important to the United States, particularly in light of current and projected economic, energy and demographic trends.
In an effort to maintain peace and security in the region, Pacom employs a strategy based on partnership, readiness and presence. "We think this is a blueprint for enhancing United States relationships," Keating said, capitalizing on U.S. allies' and regional partners' capabilities.
"We want to enhance our position as the indispensible partner with all of those in the region through sustained and persistent collaboration and cooperation, and by employing those forces that are necessary to strengthen the partnerships and support all those conditions which preclude a necessity for combat operations," he said.
Thrift Savings Plan Provides Retirement Nest Eggs
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - About 614,000 servicemembers are saving for retirement in the federal Thrift Savings Program, which was opened to military members in 2002, a senior Pentagon official said here today. The TSP, explained Chuck Witschonke, assistant director of military compensation for economic analysis, is a U.S. government-managed, 401(k)-type payroll-deduction program designed to provide tax-deferred retirement nest eggs for servicemembers and federal civilian employees.
"You can contribute pre-tax dollars, and all the money in your plan earns money, tax-deferred, until you take the money out when you're nearing retirement," Witschonke said in an interview with the Pentagon Channel.
Federal civilians have been eligible to use TSP since 1986, when Congress established the program, Witschonke said.
Today, about 614,000 servicemembers, he said, have money distributed among the TSP's investment-fund programs. They include:
-- Government Security Investment, or G Fund, which consists of treasury bonds and other federal-backed investments. It is considered among the most stable of the five TSP investment choices.
-- Common Stock Index Investment, or C fund, which consists of stocks of major established corporations. This option, along with the Fixed Income Index Investment, or F fund; the Small Capitalization Stock Index Investment, or S fund; and the International Stock Index Investment, or I fund, offer riskier investment strategies, but higher potential yields.
-- The Lifestyle Fund option, or L fund, which allocates money among the five funds and changes how they're distributed over time. The L fund automatically places money in the more risky, but higher potential yield funds early on, and later moves them to more secure, conservative investment options as the participant nears retirement.
TSP participants may change their investment options at any time, Witschonke said, noting changes can be made on the system's Web site.
Participants may withdraw some TSP savings, and then pay it back with interest, into the account, Witschonke said. However, he emphasized, participants should view TSP as a way to save for future retirement.
"This is long-term retirement savings. It's not savings for something that you might need in the near future," Witschonke said. "It's not where you should put money if you're saving for a car, or saving for a vacation."
Funds invested in TSP accounts "is money that you can afford to put away now that will be available to you in 20, 30, maybe even 40 years, when you're reaching retirement age and want some money to supplement your income," Witschonke said.
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - About 614,000 servicemembers are saving for retirement in the federal Thrift Savings Program, which was opened to military members in 2002, a senior Pentagon official said here today. The TSP, explained Chuck Witschonke, assistant director of military compensation for economic analysis, is a U.S. government-managed, 401(k)-type payroll-deduction program designed to provide tax-deferred retirement nest eggs for servicemembers and federal civilian employees.
"You can contribute pre-tax dollars, and all the money in your plan earns money, tax-deferred, until you take the money out when you're nearing retirement," Witschonke said in an interview with the Pentagon Channel.
Federal civilians have been eligible to use TSP since 1986, when Congress established the program, Witschonke said.
Today, about 614,000 servicemembers, he said, have money distributed among the TSP's investment-fund programs. They include:
-- Government Security Investment, or G Fund, which consists of treasury bonds and other federal-backed investments. It is considered among the most stable of the five TSP investment choices.
-- Common Stock Index Investment, or C fund, which consists of stocks of major established corporations. This option, along with the Fixed Income Index Investment, or F fund; the Small Capitalization Stock Index Investment, or S fund; and the International Stock Index Investment, or I fund, offer riskier investment strategies, but higher potential yields.
-- The Lifestyle Fund option, or L fund, which allocates money among the five funds and changes how they're distributed over time. The L fund automatically places money in the more risky, but higher potential yield funds early on, and later moves them to more secure, conservative investment options as the participant nears retirement.
TSP participants may change their investment options at any time, Witschonke said, noting changes can be made on the system's Web site.
Participants may withdraw some TSP savings, and then pay it back with interest, into the account, Witschonke said. However, he emphasized, participants should view TSP as a way to save for future retirement.
"This is long-term retirement savings. It's not savings for something that you might need in the near future," Witschonke said. "It's not where you should put money if you're saving for a car, or saving for a vacation."
Funds invested in TSP accounts "is money that you can afford to put away now that will be available to you in 20, 30, maybe even 40 years, when you're reaching retirement age and want some money to supplement your income," Witschonke said.
Deterrence Still Key to National Security, General Says
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - Deterrence remain as central to America's national security as it was during the Cold War, U.S. Strategic Command's top officer told the Senate Armed Services Committee today. "Our unique global perspective has given us a good platform for advocating for the nation's needs for missile defense; information operations; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities; and the things we need to both enhance our information operations and our planning for combating weapons of mass destruction," Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton told the senators. "Your support is critical to enabling successful execution across the command's assigned missions."
Part of that mission is a strategic deterrence plan, which Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates approved last year, Chilton said. The plan depends on many pieces, including a safe, secure, reliable and sustainable nuclear enterprise, command and control systems, ISR platforms and people.
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has substantially reduced its deployed nuclear weapons, dismantled production capability and ceased nuclear testing, he said. Despite the nation's steps to reduce its nuclear arsenal, other states still seek nuclear weapons.
"Many of our closest allies continue to rely on the U.S. nuclear umbrella," he added. "This reliance should be considered as we look forward to address nuclear proliferation issues."
The most urgent issues surrounding the country's nuclear enterprise lie with the aging stockpile, infrastructure and human capital, Chilton said. Relieving the growing uncertainty about the stockpile's reliability and sustainability is critical in the upcoming year.
Space-based capabilities also are a concern for Stratcom, but the command has made progress on this front in regard to its mission of deterrence.
"Space-based capabilities provide our nation and our forces essential, but often unnoticed, abilities to act and operate," Chilton said. "The satellite constellations that carry these capabilities, however, require more careful attention to eliminate delays that can leave us just one launch failure away from an unacceptable gap in coverage in the future."
Computer network communications has emerged as a key warfighting domain as well, and it's one on which all other domains in the warfighting environment depend, he said.
"We remain concerned about growing threats in cyberspace, and are pressing changes in the department's fundamental network, culture, conduct and capabilities to address this mission area and share our best practices," Chilton said. "Still, the adequate positioning of the cyber mission ... remains our greatest need."
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - Deterrence remain as central to America's national security as it was during the Cold War, U.S. Strategic Command's top officer told the Senate Armed Services Committee today. "Our unique global perspective has given us a good platform for advocating for the nation's needs for missile defense; information operations; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities; and the things we need to both enhance our information operations and our planning for combating weapons of mass destruction," Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton told the senators. "Your support is critical to enabling successful execution across the command's assigned missions."
Part of that mission is a strategic deterrence plan, which Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates approved last year, Chilton said. The plan depends on many pieces, including a safe, secure, reliable and sustainable nuclear enterprise, command and control systems, ISR platforms and people.
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has substantially reduced its deployed nuclear weapons, dismantled production capability and ceased nuclear testing, he said. Despite the nation's steps to reduce its nuclear arsenal, other states still seek nuclear weapons.
"Many of our closest allies continue to rely on the U.S. nuclear umbrella," he added. "This reliance should be considered as we look forward to address nuclear proliferation issues."
The most urgent issues surrounding the country's nuclear enterprise lie with the aging stockpile, infrastructure and human capital, Chilton said. Relieving the growing uncertainty about the stockpile's reliability and sustainability is critical in the upcoming year.
Space-based capabilities also are a concern for Stratcom, but the command has made progress on this front in regard to its mission of deterrence.
"Space-based capabilities provide our nation and our forces essential, but often unnoticed, abilities to act and operate," Chilton said. "The satellite constellations that carry these capabilities, however, require more careful attention to eliminate delays that can leave us just one launch failure away from an unacceptable gap in coverage in the future."
Computer network communications has emerged as a key warfighting domain as well, and it's one on which all other domains in the warfighting environment depend, he said.
"We remain concerned about growing threats in cyberspace, and are pressing changes in the department's fundamental network, culture, conduct and capabilities to address this mission area and share our best practices," Chilton said. "Still, the adequate positioning of the cyber mission ... remains our greatest need."
MILITARY CONTRACTS March 19, 2009
ARMY
Caterpillar, Inc, Mossville, Ill., was awarded on Mar 4, 2009, a $73,196,648 cost plus, no fee, firm fixed price contract with options to service the Life Extension Program for Program Executive Office (PEO) Combat Support/Combat Service Support, Caterpillar equipment, using the D7F Dozer, 130G Grader and 621B Scraper. The work is to be performed with each task order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 20, 2012. One bid was solicited and one bid received. TACOM Warren, W56HZV, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0027).
Suffolk Construction Co. Inc., Boston, Mass., was awarded on Mar 5, 2009, a $40,836,807 firm fixed price contract for the design and construction of the Department of logistics motor pool facilities relocation of United States Military Preparatory School, United States Military Academy. Work is to be performed at West Point, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of Apr. 20, 2010. Fifty bids were solicited and nine bids received. U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, CENAN-CT, New York City, is the contracting activity (W912DS-09-C-0005).
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., LLC, Oak Brook, Ill., was awarded on Mar 6, 2009, a $5,362,690 firm fixed price contract for hopper dredging in open water placement areas, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 10, 2010. Six bids were solicited and four received. U.S. Engineer District, Galveston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912HY-09-C-0012).
TASC, INC, Chantilly, Va., was awarded on Mar. 5, 2009, a $9,499,706 cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) contract. This contract will be issued under the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Topographic Engineering Center (TEC), FY 2008 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Emerging Technologies and New Concepts in support of the Army Space Program Office/TENCAP. The objective of the contract is to identify and exploit the potential of scientific discoveries or improvements in technology, materials, processes, methods, devices or techniques to improve and advance the intelligence processing, exploitations, and dissemination capabilities of ASPO/TENCAP systems. Work is to be performed at Alexandria, Va., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2009. Bids were solicited by a Broad Agency Announcement with one bid received. Engineer Research and Development center (ERDC), Topographic Engineering Center (TEC), Major System Branch, Alexandria, Va., is the contracting activity (W9132V-09-C-0012).
GENERAL DYNAMICS LAND SYSTEMS, INC., Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on Mar. 5, 2009, a $33,182,318 a no Fee cost contract for material for the Iraq program to purchase 140 M1A1 Abrams vehicles, with an estimated completion dates of Sept. 1, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid received. TACOM Contracting Commands, Warren, AMSCC-TAC-AHLC, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-06-G-0006).
GENERAL DYNAMICS OTS (GARLAND) LP, Garland, Texas, was awarded on Mar. 4, 2009, a $34,854,177 firm fixed price requirements type contract for MK80 Series Bomb Bodies. The work is to be performed at Garland, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited and one bid received. Headquarters, Army Contracting Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-06-D-0006).
Longbow Limited Liability Co., Orlando, Fla., was awarded on Mar. 4, 2009, a cost plus fixed fee contract for the procurement of Special Test Equipment (STE) and Limited User Testing (LUT) support for the Radar Electronics Unit (REU) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Tactical Common Data Link Assembly (UTA) program. Work is to be performed at Orlando, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2011. One bid was solicited and one bid received. Aviation & Missile Command Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-05-C-0239).
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., LLC, Oak Brook, Ill., was awarded on Mar. 4, 2009, a firm fixed price contract for maintenance dredging, Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, vicinity of Venice, La., Tiger Pass FY 09, approximately Mile 7.3 to approximately Mile 14.0, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Work is to be performed at Jefferson Parish, La., with an estimated completion date of Aug. 12, 2009. Bids were solicited via FedBizOpps and three bids were received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, New Orleans, La., is the contracting activity (W912P8-09-C-0028).
Evolution Enterprises, San Diego, Calif., was awarded on Feb. 28, 2009, a $5,979,695.98 firm fixed price contract to provide support with acquisition life-cycle planning, support, implementation and guidance for compliance with guidelines and requirements concerning outsourcing in support of Naval Medicine Research & Development (NAVMEDRAD) via the Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, Calif. Work is to be performed at San Diego, Calif. (90 percent) and Silver Spring, Md., (10 percent), with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2014. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid received. U.S. Army Research, Development & Engineering Command, Contracting Center, Natick Contracting Division, Natick, Mass., is the contracting activity (W911QY-09-C-0051).
GENERAL DYNAMICS LAND SYSTEMS, INC., Sterling Heights, Md., was awarded on Feb. 27, 2009, a $22,000,000 cost plus fixed fee contract for System Technical Support (STS) for the Abrams Tank Program to include a continuation of the Abrams Evolutionary Design Effort to define the preferred system concept for the improved Abrams Tank. Work is to be performed at Sterling Heights, Md., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2011. One bid was solicited and one bid received. Tank and Automotive Command (TACOM) – Warren, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-07-C-0046).
Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc, Hurst, Texas, was awarded on Feb. 27, 2009, a $18,522,982.50 firm fixed price, 3-year infinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for the upgrade of 27 OH-58-D Kiowa Warrior Aircraft Control Display System Version 2 (CDS2) to the current CDS4 configuration. Work is to be performed at Hurst, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2011. One bid was solicited and one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aviation & Missile Command Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-09-C-0065).
Kiewit Pacific Co., Vancouver, Wash., was awarded on Feb. 27, 2009, a $17,945,435 firm fixed price contract to construct rock revetment for coastal erosion control at Unalakleet, Alaska, which includes: obtaining, delivering, and placing approximately 15,000CY of Core Rock, 16,000CY of B rock, and 18,000CY of A rock for the revement, remove and dispose of existing wood and other debris within the project footprint prior to rock placement, remove/relocate a six-inch outfall line, and other miscellaneous earthwork in the project area. There is no Government furnished rock source for this project. Work is to be performed at Unalakleet, Alaska, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 4, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with seven bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District Alaska, Contracting Division, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W911KB-09-C-0011).
NAVY
Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. LLC*, Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $35,166,056 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for contractor owned and operated type III High Subsonic and Type IV Supersonic aircraft (approximately 1,099 and 359 flight hours, respectively) in support of the Commercial Air Services (CAS) program for the U.S. Navy. Efforts to be provided include a wide variety of airborne threat simulation capabilities to train shipboard and aircraft squadron weapon systems operators and aircrew how to counter potential enemy electronic warfare and electronic attack operations in today's electronic combat environment. Work will be performed in Newport News, Va., (45 percent); Point Mugu, Calif., (35 percent); and various locations outside the Continental United States (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $11,778,105 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals and four offers were received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-D-0021).
URS-IAP, LLC, Austin, Texas, is being awarded $12,352,251 for cost reimbursement task order #0010 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62470-06-D-6009) for design and construction of aircraft parking apron at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti. Work will be performed in Djibouti, Africa, and is expected to be completed by September 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.
Ocean Systems Engineering Corp., Oceanside, Calif., is being awarded a $6,354,638 task order #0054 under previously awarded firm fixed price contract (M67854-02-A-9020) to provide ongoing engineering, technical, acquisition, administrative and management support to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Command and Control (C2) Systems (MC2S) Program Management Office (PMO) and to provide a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Command and Control (C2) Systems (PM MC2S) Program Office, Liaison Representative on-site at Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications Tactical, Project Manager Battle Command. This Statement of Work includes Combat Operations Center (COC), MAGTF C2 COC Capability Blocks 2010 and 2012, Joint Tactical Common Operational Picture Workstation, Target Location Designation Handoff System, Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System, Blue Force Situational Awareness Family of Systems, Joint Interface Control Officer Support System and potential technology insertion opportunities under the Science and Technology Transition Office. Programs require support through all phases of the acquisition cycle. Work will be performed in Quantico, Va., and work is expected to be completed in March 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $3,947,195 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Rolls-Royce Marine International Inc., Walpole, Mass., is being awarded a $5,672,842 cost plus fixed fee contract for a Compact High-Power High-Density Waterjet. The objective of this contract is for research to implement the waterjet technology developed in Phase I to resolve the anticipated cavitation erosion issues. This includes the preparation of the detailed design and fabrication of two full-scale waterjet prototypes for demonstration. The work will be performed in Walpole, Mass. (90 percent); Pascagoula, Miss. (7 percent); and Sweden (3 percent), and work is expected to be completed September 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $2,217,410 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under the Office of Naval Research Broad Agency Announcement 06-011. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (N00014-09-C-0511).
Omnitec Solutions, Inc.*, Bethesda, Md., is being awarded a $5,652,280 modification to a previously awarded indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract (N00421-06-D-0037) to exercise an option for the procurement of research and analysis, strategic initiatives, executive leadership management, and Sigma program support for the Naval Air Systems Command. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md., and is expected to be completed in May 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Mercury Air Center, Inc., DBA Atlantic Aviation, Charleston, S.C., is being awarded a maximum $8,425,893 fixed price with economic price adjustment, into-plane contract for fuel. Other location of performance is South Carolina. There were originally two proposals solicited with two responses. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Federal Civilian Agencies. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2013. T he contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0098).
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis. is being awarded a maximum $5,513,798 firm fixed price contract for snow plows. There are no other locations of performance. There were originally two proposals solicited with 1 response. Using service is U.S. Air Force. The date of performance completion is March 1, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Va., (SPM500-01-D-0066-0033).
Caterpillar, Inc, Mossville, Ill., was awarded on Mar 4, 2009, a $73,196,648 cost plus, no fee, firm fixed price contract with options to service the Life Extension Program for Program Executive Office (PEO) Combat Support/Combat Service Support, Caterpillar equipment, using the D7F Dozer, 130G Grader and 621B Scraper. The work is to be performed with each task order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 20, 2012. One bid was solicited and one bid received. TACOM Warren, W56HZV, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0027).
Suffolk Construction Co. Inc., Boston, Mass., was awarded on Mar 5, 2009, a $40,836,807 firm fixed price contract for the design and construction of the Department of logistics motor pool facilities relocation of United States Military Preparatory School, United States Military Academy. Work is to be performed at West Point, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of Apr. 20, 2010. Fifty bids were solicited and nine bids received. U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, CENAN-CT, New York City, is the contracting activity (W912DS-09-C-0005).
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., LLC, Oak Brook, Ill., was awarded on Mar 6, 2009, a $5,362,690 firm fixed price contract for hopper dredging in open water placement areas, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 10, 2010. Six bids were solicited and four received. U.S. Engineer District, Galveston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912HY-09-C-0012).
TASC, INC, Chantilly, Va., was awarded on Mar. 5, 2009, a $9,499,706 cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) contract. This contract will be issued under the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Topographic Engineering Center (TEC), FY 2008 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Emerging Technologies and New Concepts in support of the Army Space Program Office/TENCAP. The objective of the contract is to identify and exploit the potential of scientific discoveries or improvements in technology, materials, processes, methods, devices or techniques to improve and advance the intelligence processing, exploitations, and dissemination capabilities of ASPO/TENCAP systems. Work is to be performed at Alexandria, Va., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2009. Bids were solicited by a Broad Agency Announcement with one bid received. Engineer Research and Development center (ERDC), Topographic Engineering Center (TEC), Major System Branch, Alexandria, Va., is the contracting activity (W9132V-09-C-0012).
GENERAL DYNAMICS LAND SYSTEMS, INC., Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on Mar. 5, 2009, a $33,182,318 a no Fee cost contract for material for the Iraq program to purchase 140 M1A1 Abrams vehicles, with an estimated completion dates of Sept. 1, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid received. TACOM Contracting Commands, Warren, AMSCC-TAC-AHLC, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-06-G-0006).
GENERAL DYNAMICS OTS (GARLAND) LP, Garland, Texas, was awarded on Mar. 4, 2009, a $34,854,177 firm fixed price requirements type contract for MK80 Series Bomb Bodies. The work is to be performed at Garland, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited and one bid received. Headquarters, Army Contracting Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-06-D-0006).
Longbow Limited Liability Co., Orlando, Fla., was awarded on Mar. 4, 2009, a cost plus fixed fee contract for the procurement of Special Test Equipment (STE) and Limited User Testing (LUT) support for the Radar Electronics Unit (REU) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Tactical Common Data Link Assembly (UTA) program. Work is to be performed at Orlando, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2011. One bid was solicited and one bid received. Aviation & Missile Command Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-05-C-0239).
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., LLC, Oak Brook, Ill., was awarded on Mar. 4, 2009, a firm fixed price contract for maintenance dredging, Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, vicinity of Venice, La., Tiger Pass FY 09, approximately Mile 7.3 to approximately Mile 14.0, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Work is to be performed at Jefferson Parish, La., with an estimated completion date of Aug. 12, 2009. Bids were solicited via FedBizOpps and three bids were received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, New Orleans, La., is the contracting activity (W912P8-09-C-0028).
Evolution Enterprises, San Diego, Calif., was awarded on Feb. 28, 2009, a $5,979,695.98 firm fixed price contract to provide support with acquisition life-cycle planning, support, implementation and guidance for compliance with guidelines and requirements concerning outsourcing in support of Naval Medicine Research & Development (NAVMEDRAD) via the Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, Calif. Work is to be performed at San Diego, Calif. (90 percent) and Silver Spring, Md., (10 percent), with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2014. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid received. U.S. Army Research, Development & Engineering Command, Contracting Center, Natick Contracting Division, Natick, Mass., is the contracting activity (W911QY-09-C-0051).
GENERAL DYNAMICS LAND SYSTEMS, INC., Sterling Heights, Md., was awarded on Feb. 27, 2009, a $22,000,000 cost plus fixed fee contract for System Technical Support (STS) for the Abrams Tank Program to include a continuation of the Abrams Evolutionary Design Effort to define the preferred system concept for the improved Abrams Tank. Work is to be performed at Sterling Heights, Md., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2011. One bid was solicited and one bid received. Tank and Automotive Command (TACOM) – Warren, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-07-C-0046).
Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc, Hurst, Texas, was awarded on Feb. 27, 2009, a $18,522,982.50 firm fixed price, 3-year infinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for the upgrade of 27 OH-58-D Kiowa Warrior Aircraft Control Display System Version 2 (CDS2) to the current CDS4 configuration. Work is to be performed at Hurst, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2011. One bid was solicited and one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aviation & Missile Command Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-09-C-0065).
Kiewit Pacific Co., Vancouver, Wash., was awarded on Feb. 27, 2009, a $17,945,435 firm fixed price contract to construct rock revetment for coastal erosion control at Unalakleet, Alaska, which includes: obtaining, delivering, and placing approximately 15,000CY of Core Rock, 16,000CY of B rock, and 18,000CY of A rock for the revement, remove and dispose of existing wood and other debris within the project footprint prior to rock placement, remove/relocate a six-inch outfall line, and other miscellaneous earthwork in the project area. There is no Government furnished rock source for this project. Work is to be performed at Unalakleet, Alaska, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 4, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with seven bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District Alaska, Contracting Division, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W911KB-09-C-0011).
NAVY
Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. LLC*, Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $35,166,056 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for contractor owned and operated type III High Subsonic and Type IV Supersonic aircraft (approximately 1,099 and 359 flight hours, respectively) in support of the Commercial Air Services (CAS) program for the U.S. Navy. Efforts to be provided include a wide variety of airborne threat simulation capabilities to train shipboard and aircraft squadron weapon systems operators and aircrew how to counter potential enemy electronic warfare and electronic attack operations in today's electronic combat environment. Work will be performed in Newport News, Va., (45 percent); Point Mugu, Calif., (35 percent); and various locations outside the Continental United States (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $11,778,105 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals and four offers were received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-D-0021).
URS-IAP, LLC, Austin, Texas, is being awarded $12,352,251 for cost reimbursement task order #0010 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62470-06-D-6009) for design and construction of aircraft parking apron at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti. Work will be performed in Djibouti, Africa, and is expected to be completed by September 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.
Ocean Systems Engineering Corp., Oceanside, Calif., is being awarded a $6,354,638 task order #0054 under previously awarded firm fixed price contract (M67854-02-A-9020) to provide ongoing engineering, technical, acquisition, administrative and management support to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Command and Control (C2) Systems (MC2S) Program Management Office (PMO) and to provide a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Command and Control (C2) Systems (PM MC2S) Program Office, Liaison Representative on-site at Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications Tactical, Project Manager Battle Command. This Statement of Work includes Combat Operations Center (COC), MAGTF C2 COC Capability Blocks 2010 and 2012, Joint Tactical Common Operational Picture Workstation, Target Location Designation Handoff System, Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System, Blue Force Situational Awareness Family of Systems, Joint Interface Control Officer Support System and potential technology insertion opportunities under the Science and Technology Transition Office. Programs require support through all phases of the acquisition cycle. Work will be performed in Quantico, Va., and work is expected to be completed in March 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $3,947,195 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Rolls-Royce Marine International Inc., Walpole, Mass., is being awarded a $5,672,842 cost plus fixed fee contract for a Compact High-Power High-Density Waterjet. The objective of this contract is for research to implement the waterjet technology developed in Phase I to resolve the anticipated cavitation erosion issues. This includes the preparation of the detailed design and fabrication of two full-scale waterjet prototypes for demonstration. The work will be performed in Walpole, Mass. (90 percent); Pascagoula, Miss. (7 percent); and Sweden (3 percent), and work is expected to be completed September 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $2,217,410 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under the Office of Naval Research Broad Agency Announcement 06-011. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (N00014-09-C-0511).
Omnitec Solutions, Inc.*, Bethesda, Md., is being awarded a $5,652,280 modification to a previously awarded indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract (N00421-06-D-0037) to exercise an option for the procurement of research and analysis, strategic initiatives, executive leadership management, and Sigma program support for the Naval Air Systems Command. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md., and is expected to be completed in May 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Mercury Air Center, Inc., DBA Atlantic Aviation, Charleston, S.C., is being awarded a maximum $8,425,893 fixed price with economic price adjustment, into-plane contract for fuel. Other location of performance is South Carolina. There were originally two proposals solicited with two responses. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Federal Civilian Agencies. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2013. T he contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0098).
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis. is being awarded a maximum $5,513,798 firm fixed price contract for snow plows. There are no other locations of performance. There were originally two proposals solicited with 1 response. Using service is U.S. Air Force. The date of performance completion is March 1, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Va., (SPM500-01-D-0066-0033).
Obama Drops Proposal to Bill Insurance for Vets' Combat Injuries
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - President Barack Obama has dropped a proposal to bill veterans' private health insurance for combat-related injuries, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday. The Obama administration proposed authorizing the Department of Veterans Affairs to bill private insurers for treatment of combat-related injuries. VA officials estimated the proposal would have saved the government more than $500 million.
VA already recoups money from vets insurance for noncombat-related treatment.
Strong opposition from Congress and veterans groups caused the administration to rethink the proposal. In a written statement, Gibbs said Obama "is committed to working with veterans on the details of the 2010 VA Budget Proposal."
The president understands the sacrifices American veterans have made, and that is why the administration has asked for "the largest increase in the VA budget in 30 years," the spokesman said. The proposed VA budget for fiscal 2010 is $113 billion, up from $98 billion this year.
"In considering the third-party billing issue, the administration was seeking to maximize the resources available for veterans; however, the president listened to concerns raised by the [veterans service organizations] that this might, under certain circumstances, affect veterans and their families' ability to access health care," Gibbs said. "Therefore, the president has instructed that its consideration be dropped."
The press secretary added that Obama wants to continue working with all concerned.
March 19, 2009 - President Barack Obama has dropped a proposal to bill veterans' private health insurance for combat-related injuries, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday. The Obama administration proposed authorizing the Department of Veterans Affairs to bill private insurers for treatment of combat-related injuries. VA officials estimated the proposal would have saved the government more than $500 million.
VA already recoups money from vets insurance for noncombat-related treatment.
Strong opposition from Congress and veterans groups caused the administration to rethink the proposal. In a written statement, Gibbs said Obama "is committed to working with veterans on the details of the 2010 VA Budget Proposal."
The president understands the sacrifices American veterans have made, and that is why the administration has asked for "the largest increase in the VA budget in 30 years," the spokesman said. The proposed VA budget for fiscal 2010 is $113 billion, up from $98 billion this year.
"In considering the third-party billing issue, the administration was seeking to maximize the resources available for veterans; however, the president listened to concerns raised by the [veterans service organizations] that this might, under certain circumstances, affect veterans and their families' ability to access health care," Gibbs said. "Therefore, the president has instructed that its consideration be dropped."
The press secretary added that Obama wants to continue working with all concerned.
Navy Stabilizes Force as it Nears End-strength Goal, Admiral Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - After years of downsizing, the U.S. Navy has nearly achieved its end-strength goal of 329,000 sailors, a senior naval officer said here today. "For the Navy, force stabilization marks a transitional period, where we are now finished downsizing," Rear Adm. Daniel P. Holloway, director of the Navy's military personnel, plans and policy division, told Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service reporters.
The Navy has been reducing its ranks by 8,000 to 10,000 servicemembers a year for the past six to seven years, Holloway said, noting his service now is close to reaching its designed end-strength goal of about 329,000 sailors.
"We're currently halfway through the fiscal year within 1 percent of that goal in stabilizing the force," the two-star admiral said.
And, as the Navy stabilizes its force, Holloway said, it wants to recruit and retain only the best and brightest sailors to support the nation's maritime strategy and the joint warfighter.
Holloway said he hears positive feedback about today's "excellent" sailors. The Navy's Perform-to-Serve program that's been in place for years, he said, evaluates sailors' duty performance to ascertain their capability for continued service.
Qualified sailors also may have the opportunity to switch to high-demand jobs at re-enlistment time, Holloway said. Today's sailors are serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, he said, as members of provincial reconstruction teams and improvised explosive device suppression crews, with civil affairs groups, and in security and detention operations.
"We're getting a record number of volunteers now" to fill such billets, Holloway said, adding that he's hearing "that the Army and Marine Corps" appreciate the sailors' contributions.
The Navy employs two types of assignment categories while providing sailors to serve in overseas slots, Holloway said. The individual augmentee process, he said, is used to fill positions on a very short notice.
Global war on terrorism support assignments are known by the acronym GSA, Holloway said. They involve "predictable" overseas assignments of a year's duration, he said, that would be repetitively filled.
"We can, in advance, look at that requirement," Holloway said of GSA-system sourced assignments, while in the meantime, assignment managers scan the force to see who'd be ready to deploy after completion of their present assignment.
Career managers don't pull sailors out of their present duty assignments when filling GSA billets, he noted, which results in less disruption to sailors' lives.
Meanwhile, Holloway said, the Navy continues to attract high-quality recruits.
"We are a world-class outfit and we do require world-class performance," Holloway said. "So, the standards are high."
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - After years of downsizing, the U.S. Navy has nearly achieved its end-strength goal of 329,000 sailors, a senior naval officer said here today. "For the Navy, force stabilization marks a transitional period, where we are now finished downsizing," Rear Adm. Daniel P. Holloway, director of the Navy's military personnel, plans and policy division, told Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service reporters.
The Navy has been reducing its ranks by 8,000 to 10,000 servicemembers a year for the past six to seven years, Holloway said, noting his service now is close to reaching its designed end-strength goal of about 329,000 sailors.
"We're currently halfway through the fiscal year within 1 percent of that goal in stabilizing the force," the two-star admiral said.
And, as the Navy stabilizes its force, Holloway said, it wants to recruit and retain only the best and brightest sailors to support the nation's maritime strategy and the joint warfighter.
Holloway said he hears positive feedback about today's "excellent" sailors. The Navy's Perform-to-Serve program that's been in place for years, he said, evaluates sailors' duty performance to ascertain their capability for continued service.
Qualified sailors also may have the opportunity to switch to high-demand jobs at re-enlistment time, Holloway said. Today's sailors are serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, he said, as members of provincial reconstruction teams and improvised explosive device suppression crews, with civil affairs groups, and in security and detention operations.
"We're getting a record number of volunteers now" to fill such billets, Holloway said, adding that he's hearing "that the Army and Marine Corps" appreciate the sailors' contributions.
The Navy employs two types of assignment categories while providing sailors to serve in overseas slots, Holloway said. The individual augmentee process, he said, is used to fill positions on a very short notice.
Global war on terrorism support assignments are known by the acronym GSA, Holloway said. They involve "predictable" overseas assignments of a year's duration, he said, that would be repetitively filled.
"We can, in advance, look at that requirement," Holloway said of GSA-system sourced assignments, while in the meantime, assignment managers scan the force to see who'd be ready to deploy after completion of their present assignment.
Career managers don't pull sailors out of their present duty assignments when filling GSA billets, he noted, which results in less disruption to sailors' lives.
Meanwhile, Holloway said, the Navy continues to attract high-quality recruits.
"We are a world-class outfit and we do require world-class performance," Holloway said. "So, the standards are high."
Stimulus Package to Fund New Hospital at Fort Hood
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - The federal economic stimulus package will provide $621 million to build a new military hospital at Fort Hood, Texas, President Barack Obama said today.
Obama announced that $621 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment funds will be allocated to the new hospital, which is to serve about 55,000 soldiers, 67,000 military families and about 52,000 military retirees.
"This is the kind of critical investment we must make to support our brave soldiers and veterans who have sacrificed so much for us," Obama said in a White House statement.
Obama's announcement of a new hospital was met with jubilation at Fort Hood, which has deployed the largest number of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and has outgrown its Vietnam-era Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center.
"Let the construction begin!" exclaimed Army Col. Casper P. Jones III, the hospital commander, upon hearing of the president's announcement.
"A new medical center improves services, access and the quality of health care for our family members and retirees, but especially for our wounded troops returning from combat with visible and invisible wounds," Jones said.
Among these wounds, he said, are traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The original five-story Darnall hospital was built in 1964 to serve 17,000 troops, and an addition built in 1984 expanded its capacity to accommodate 30,000 troops.
However, the hospital now serves the post's almost twice that many soldiers, as well as about 67,000 family members and 52,000 retirees.
The biggest need, Jones said, is for a facility to house the post's behavioral health programs and the professional and administrative staff to support them. These assets are currently scattered across Fort Hood, which Jones said creates difficulties for both patients and their health care providers.
"A new hospital at Fort Hood would mean better access to care, more health care services at Fort Hood, and pride in the work place, which translates to better customer service," Jones said.
"Every patient, whether it is a soldier, family member or retiree, will receive the highest quality of health care."
Fort Hood is home to the 1st Cavalry Division, 4th Infantry Division, 13th Sustainment Command, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and the 1st Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and numerous tenant units.
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - The federal economic stimulus package will provide $621 million to build a new military hospital at Fort Hood, Texas, President Barack Obama said today.
Obama announced that $621 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment funds will be allocated to the new hospital, which is to serve about 55,000 soldiers, 67,000 military families and about 52,000 military retirees.
"This is the kind of critical investment we must make to support our brave soldiers and veterans who have sacrificed so much for us," Obama said in a White House statement.
Obama's announcement of a new hospital was met with jubilation at Fort Hood, which has deployed the largest number of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and has outgrown its Vietnam-era Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center.
"Let the construction begin!" exclaimed Army Col. Casper P. Jones III, the hospital commander, upon hearing of the president's announcement.
"A new medical center improves services, access and the quality of health care for our family members and retirees, but especially for our wounded troops returning from combat with visible and invisible wounds," Jones said.
Among these wounds, he said, are traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The original five-story Darnall hospital was built in 1964 to serve 17,000 troops, and an addition built in 1984 expanded its capacity to accommodate 30,000 troops.
However, the hospital now serves the post's almost twice that many soldiers, as well as about 67,000 family members and 52,000 retirees.
The biggest need, Jones said, is for a facility to house the post's behavioral health programs and the professional and administrative staff to support them. These assets are currently scattered across Fort Hood, which Jones said creates difficulties for both patients and their health care providers.
"A new hospital at Fort Hood would mean better access to care, more health care services at Fort Hood, and pride in the work place, which translates to better customer service," Jones said.
"Every patient, whether it is a soldier, family member or retiree, will receive the highest quality of health care."
Fort Hood is home to the 1st Cavalry Division, 4th Infantry Division, 13th Sustainment Command, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and the 1st Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and numerous tenant units.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Medical Infrastructure Affects Readiness, Pentagon's Top Doctor Says
By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - The more than 1,000 major facilities that make up the Defense Department's medical infrastructure are key strategic national assets, the department's top medical official told Congress here yesterday. Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant defense secretary for health affairs, told the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittees on military personnel and readiness that he not only is an advocate for military medicine and practitioners, but also is committed to dramatically improving the medical infrastructure – a responsibility he said he takes very seriously.
"Our buildings support vital, diverse and worldwide missions of the military health system," Casscells said. "We need outstanding facilities to deliver patient care, train medical professionals, conduct cutting-edge research and provide the support functions necessary to succeed on the battlefield and protect our nation."
The department's current medical infrastructure includes 59 hospitals, 663 medical and dental clinics, 258 veterinary clinics, 26 medical research and development offices, 19 training facilities and 10 medical installations.
The facilities are well-maintained, but improving such a large, diverse and complex set of buildings pose substantial challenges, Casscells said. About 41 percent of inpatient facilities are more than 40 years old, and 72 percent were built more than 20 years ago.
"Most of our hospitals were constructed prior to the introduction of modern and ever-changing clinical processes and technology that today are considered the standard of care," he added.
Military health care is one of the few functions that can be fairly, and directly, compared to the civilian sector, said Casscells, who called for a need to compete with the private sector to preserve the loyalty of the military community.
"The perceived quality of our facilities can often influence the perception of the quality of care we deliver," Casscells said, noting that instances of unfavorable perception by patients have prompted their willingness to seek care outside of the military health system. "In order for the military health system to succeed, we need a diverse and robust mix of patients coming through our doors to train and maintain the readiness of our medical staff and our deployable medical capability."
Military medical facilities also are among the few functions subject to outside civilian review. To maintain their accreditation, military facilities pass civilian inspections to civilian standards to continue operations, he said.
But because medical buildings normally cost more to build and operate than other Defense Department facilities, restoration and new construction projects within the military must be budgeted responsibly, he said.
"Just as we have a responsibility to care for our people, we also must serve as stewards of the resources provided by the American taxpayer," he said. "We must provide and operate truly excellent facilities but do so in a fiscally responsible manner."
Casscells said the military health system provides life-saving services to both "the toughest warfighter and the most vulnerable newborn," work that affects the readiness of the armed forces. Military health services affect the willingness of servicemembers and their families to continue serving, he added.
"Our facilities represent the tangible commitment we make to our active duty servicemembers and their families," he said. "Investing in our buildings tells people that we care about them. Where our facilities fall short, we send a signal that taking care of our people is not a high priority."
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - The more than 1,000 major facilities that make up the Defense Department's medical infrastructure are key strategic national assets, the department's top medical official told Congress here yesterday. Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant defense secretary for health affairs, told the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittees on military personnel and readiness that he not only is an advocate for military medicine and practitioners, but also is committed to dramatically improving the medical infrastructure – a responsibility he said he takes very seriously.
"Our buildings support vital, diverse and worldwide missions of the military health system," Casscells said. "We need outstanding facilities to deliver patient care, train medical professionals, conduct cutting-edge research and provide the support functions necessary to succeed on the battlefield and protect our nation."
The department's current medical infrastructure includes 59 hospitals, 663 medical and dental clinics, 258 veterinary clinics, 26 medical research and development offices, 19 training facilities and 10 medical installations.
The facilities are well-maintained, but improving such a large, diverse and complex set of buildings pose substantial challenges, Casscells said. About 41 percent of inpatient facilities are more than 40 years old, and 72 percent were built more than 20 years ago.
"Most of our hospitals were constructed prior to the introduction of modern and ever-changing clinical processes and technology that today are considered the standard of care," he added.
Military health care is one of the few functions that can be fairly, and directly, compared to the civilian sector, said Casscells, who called for a need to compete with the private sector to preserve the loyalty of the military community.
"The perceived quality of our facilities can often influence the perception of the quality of care we deliver," Casscells said, noting that instances of unfavorable perception by patients have prompted their willingness to seek care outside of the military health system. "In order for the military health system to succeed, we need a diverse and robust mix of patients coming through our doors to train and maintain the readiness of our medical staff and our deployable medical capability."
Military medical facilities also are among the few functions subject to outside civilian review. To maintain their accreditation, military facilities pass civilian inspections to civilian standards to continue operations, he said.
But because medical buildings normally cost more to build and operate than other Defense Department facilities, restoration and new construction projects within the military must be budgeted responsibly, he said.
"Just as we have a responsibility to care for our people, we also must serve as stewards of the resources provided by the American taxpayer," he said. "We must provide and operate truly excellent facilities but do so in a fiscally responsible manner."
Casscells said the military health system provides life-saving services to both "the toughest warfighter and the most vulnerable newborn," work that affects the readiness of the armed forces. Military health services affect the willingness of servicemembers and their families to continue serving, he added.
"Our facilities represent the tangible commitment we make to our active duty servicemembers and their families," he said. "Investing in our buildings tells people that we care about them. Where our facilities fall short, we send a signal that taking care of our people is not a high priority."
Troop Support Group Helps Vets, Military Families Find Jobs
By Sharon Foster
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - Military veterans and spouses in the New Jersey area are getting help finding jobs from a troop support group. The G.I. Go Fund will join forces with New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez and the city of Newark to host its first Veterans and Military Family Job Fair on March 21 at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Nearly 40 government and private employers are scheduled to participate in the job fair, including the Secret Service, FBI, U.S. Marshals, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Prudential, Coca Cola, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"We decided to host this job fair in response to the growing number of unemployed veterans reaching out to our organization for assistance in finding jobs" Alexander E. Manis, deputy director of the G.I. Go Fund, said.
Manis stressed that the event is more than just a job fair. "We are working with government agencies and other nonprofit organizations in providing outreach to our veterans and their families."
Classes will be held that will focus on foreclosure prevention, Veterans Affairs home loans, and help from the Small Business Administration and Helmets to Hardhats, a group that works to employ veterans.
Agencies conducting these classes include the VA Department, the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Library for the Blind and Handicapped.
"Computer terminals will also be available with access to USAjobs.gov Web site so veterans and their spouses can learn about and apply for government employment," Manis said.
The G.I. GO Fund is a New Jersey-based group that works to provide a smooth transition for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars re-entering civilian life. The group expects as many as 300 veterans and family members to participate in the job fair.
Manis said he would like to encourage other troop support-groups to plan and sponsor veterans job fairs across the country.
"As the growing unemployment rate among veterans is not localized in New Jersey, but is found throughout the country, we all should be encouraged to do something for our veterans," Manis said. "Although these are tough economic times, there are employers that are hiring and looking for the values and dedication to hard work that veterans have."
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2009 - Military veterans and spouses in the New Jersey area are getting help finding jobs from a troop support group. The G.I. Go Fund will join forces with New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez and the city of Newark to host its first Veterans and Military Family Job Fair on March 21 at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Nearly 40 government and private employers are scheduled to participate in the job fair, including the Secret Service, FBI, U.S. Marshals, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Prudential, Coca Cola, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"We decided to host this job fair in response to the growing number of unemployed veterans reaching out to our organization for assistance in finding jobs" Alexander E. Manis, deputy director of the G.I. Go Fund, said.
Manis stressed that the event is more than just a job fair. "We are working with government agencies and other nonprofit organizations in providing outreach to our veterans and their families."
Classes will be held that will focus on foreclosure prevention, Veterans Affairs home loans, and help from the Small Business Administration and Helmets to Hardhats, a group that works to employ veterans.
Agencies conducting these classes include the VA Department, the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Library for the Blind and Handicapped.
"Computer terminals will also be available with access to USAjobs.gov Web site so veterans and their spouses can learn about and apply for government employment," Manis said.
The G.I. GO Fund is a New Jersey-based group that works to provide a smooth transition for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars re-entering civilian life. The group expects as many as 300 veterans and family members to participate in the job fair.
Manis said he would like to encourage other troop support-groups to plan and sponsor veterans job fairs across the country.
"As the growing unemployment rate among veterans is not localized in New Jersey, but is found throughout the country, we all should be encouraged to do something for our veterans," Manis said. "Although these are tough economic times, there are employers that are hiring and looking for the values and dedication to hard work that veterans have."
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
End to Stop Loss Announced
The Department of Defense announced today a comprehensive plan to eliminate the current use of Stop Loss, while retaining the authority for future use under extraordinary circumstances. This is an important step along the path in adapting the Army into an expeditionary force.
The Army Reserve and Army National Guard will mobilize units without employing Stop Loss beginning in August and September 2009, respectively. The Regular (active duty) Army will deploy its first unit without Stop Loss by January 2010.
For soldiers Stop Lossed during fiscal 2009, the department will provide a monthly payment of $500. Until the department is able to eliminate Stop Loss altogether, this payment will serve as an interim measure to help mitigate its effects.
"Stop Loss disrupts the plans of those who have served their intended obligation. As such, it is employed only when necessary to ensure minimal staffing in deploying units, when needed to ensure safe and effective unit performance," said Bill Carr, deputy under secretary of defense for military personnel policy. "It is more easily rationalized in the early stages of conflict when events are most dynamic; but tempo changes in this war have frustrated our efforts to end it altogether."
The department intends to provide Stop Loss Special Pay to eligible service members until the point of separation or retirement, to include that time spent on active duty in recovery following redeployment. Stop Loss Special Pay will begin on the date of implementation, and will take effect for those impacted on or after Oct. 1, 2008.
Stop Loss Special Pay implements the authority granted by Section 8116 of the "Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriation Act, 2009." The appropriation is available to secretaries of the military departments only to provide Special Pay during fiscal 2009.
The Army Reserve and Army National Guard will mobilize units without employing Stop Loss beginning in August and September 2009, respectively. The Regular (active duty) Army will deploy its first unit without Stop Loss by January 2010.
For soldiers Stop Lossed during fiscal 2009, the department will provide a monthly payment of $500. Until the department is able to eliminate Stop Loss altogether, this payment will serve as an interim measure to help mitigate its effects.
"Stop Loss disrupts the plans of those who have served their intended obligation. As such, it is employed only when necessary to ensure minimal staffing in deploying units, when needed to ensure safe and effective unit performance," said Bill Carr, deputy under secretary of defense for military personnel policy. "It is more easily rationalized in the early stages of conflict when events are most dynamic; but tempo changes in this war have frustrated our efforts to end it altogether."
The department intends to provide Stop Loss Special Pay to eligible service members until the point of separation or retirement, to include that time spent on active duty in recovery following redeployment. Stop Loss Special Pay will begin on the date of implementation, and will take effect for those impacted on or after Oct. 1, 2008.
Stop Loss Special Pay implements the authority granted by Section 8116 of the "Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriation Act, 2009." The appropriation is available to secretaries of the military departments only to provide Special Pay during fiscal 2009.
Marine Corps Recruit Shows Respect Through Winning Artwork
By Sharon Foster
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - A high school student and Marine Corps recruit from Lewisville, Texas, has turned his respect and admiration for servicemembers into award-winning art. Luis G. Hernandez, a 12th-grade high school student, was the winner of the 2009 SemperComm Art Competition this year.
The SemperComm Foundation, a Virginia troop-support group, is dedicated to supplying morale-boosting communications and entertainment equipment, software and services to small and remote, overseas military bases.
"We started the art competition five years ago to provide a creative outlet for high school students to show support and appreciation for the sacrifices made by U.S. servicemembers," Lara Coffee, SemperComm Foundation executive director, said.
The competition's theme, "Five Stars," symbolizes the highest and rarest U.S. military rank ever held, representing the five virtues of men and women in uniform: honor, compassion, respect, responsibility and courage, Coffee said.
Students from across the country were asked to submit entries reflecting the Five Stars theme. They used various forms of media, including photography, illustration, mixed media and sculpture. Graphic design, advertising and digital media, including animation, Web design and motion work, were added to the media options for this year.
"My SemperComm project was only a small token of my gratitude to the armed forces," Hernandez said. "My respect and appreciation for the military cannot be expressed enough."
Hernandez's unique entry, "The True Five Stars," was a welded sculpture that started out with a long piece of copper tubing, cut in half, into which he cut "USA" and the names of each military service.
"Metal and copper can't be welded, so it had to be braised," Hernandez said. "After the branches were on the copper cannons, I cut a rectangular piece of diamond plate, which I welded to four-inch steel. I finished off the project with painting and clear coating. The six cannons represent the protection for this country. Each cannon holds a branch of the military."
He said he added "USA" in the middle to show the country being protected by the services.
Hernandez received a certificate of appreciation for his artwork and an invitation to a future SemperComm event.
Hernandez, who plans to join the Marine Corps later this year, is glad he had the opportunity to participate in the competition.
"The USA represents compassion and respect, along with all the men and women that serve as police officers or help out the community in a major way," Hernandez said. "A lot of pride went into my piece."
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - A high school student and Marine Corps recruit from Lewisville, Texas, has turned his respect and admiration for servicemembers into award-winning art. Luis G. Hernandez, a 12th-grade high school student, was the winner of the 2009 SemperComm Art Competition this year.
The SemperComm Foundation, a Virginia troop-support group, is dedicated to supplying morale-boosting communications and entertainment equipment, software and services to small and remote, overseas military bases.
"We started the art competition five years ago to provide a creative outlet for high school students to show support and appreciation for the sacrifices made by U.S. servicemembers," Lara Coffee, SemperComm Foundation executive director, said.
The competition's theme, "Five Stars," symbolizes the highest and rarest U.S. military rank ever held, representing the five virtues of men and women in uniform: honor, compassion, respect, responsibility and courage, Coffee said.
Students from across the country were asked to submit entries reflecting the Five Stars theme. They used various forms of media, including photography, illustration, mixed media and sculpture. Graphic design, advertising and digital media, including animation, Web design and motion work, were added to the media options for this year.
"My SemperComm project was only a small token of my gratitude to the armed forces," Hernandez said. "My respect and appreciation for the military cannot be expressed enough."
Hernandez's unique entry, "The True Five Stars," was a welded sculpture that started out with a long piece of copper tubing, cut in half, into which he cut "USA" and the names of each military service.
"Metal and copper can't be welded, so it had to be braised," Hernandez said. "After the branches were on the copper cannons, I cut a rectangular piece of diamond plate, which I welded to four-inch steel. I finished off the project with painting and clear coating. The six cannons represent the protection for this country. Each cannon holds a branch of the military."
He said he added "USA" in the middle to show the country being protected by the services.
Hernandez received a certificate of appreciation for his artwork and an invitation to a future SemperComm event.
Hernandez, who plans to join the Marine Corps later this year, is glad he had the opportunity to participate in the competition.
"The USA represents compassion and respect, along with all the men and women that serve as police officers or help out the community in a major way," Hernandez said. "A lot of pride went into my piece."
Gates Recommends New Terms, Positions for Senior Officers
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today announced his recommendations that President Barack Obama re-nominate Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright as the chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for a second two-year term. Gates also announced he has recommended new commanders for U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. European Command and U.S. Southern Command.
The secretary has recommended Navy Adm. Robert F. Willard to become commander of Pacom, succeeding Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating. Willard is commander of the Navy's Pacific Fleet.
Gates also recommended the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, to be the commander of U.S. European Command, succeeding Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock. If confirmed, Stavridis would be the first naval officer to hold the command in Europe. The commander of U.S. European Command also is the NATO supreme allied commander for Europe, and he would have overall responsibility for the NATO effort in Afghanistan.
The secretary has also recommended Air Force Lt. Gen. Douglas Frazer to succeed Stavridis at U.S. Southern Command. Frazer is the deputy commander at U.S. Pacific Command, and if confirmed, would be the first Air Force leader of Southcom.
All of these moves require Senate confirmation.
"If confirmed, these officers would be taking up their commands over the next several months," Gates said at a news conference here today. "I would like to thank the outgoing combatant commanders ... for their decades of dedicated service."
The secretary said the officers he's recommending have the mix of "military acumen, strategic vision and diplomatic and interagency skill that their posts require."
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today announced his recommendations that President Barack Obama re-nominate Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright as the chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for a second two-year term. Gates also announced he has recommended new commanders for U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. European Command and U.S. Southern Command.
The secretary has recommended Navy Adm. Robert F. Willard to become commander of Pacom, succeeding Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating. Willard is commander of the Navy's Pacific Fleet.
Gates also recommended the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, to be the commander of U.S. European Command, succeeding Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock. If confirmed, Stavridis would be the first naval officer to hold the command in Europe. The commander of U.S. European Command also is the NATO supreme allied commander for Europe, and he would have overall responsibility for the NATO effort in Afghanistan.
The secretary has also recommended Air Force Lt. Gen. Douglas Frazer to succeed Stavridis at U.S. Southern Command. Frazer is the deputy commander at U.S. Pacific Command, and if confirmed, would be the first Air Force leader of Southcom.
All of these moves require Senate confirmation.
"If confirmed, these officers would be taking up their commands over the next several months," Gates said at a news conference here today. "I would like to thank the outgoing combatant commanders ... for their decades of dedicated service."
The secretary said the officers he's recommending have the mix of "military acumen, strategic vision and diplomatic and interagency skill that their posts require."
Sesame Workshop Reaches Out to Military Families
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - Sesame Workshop continues to find unique and creative ways to reach out to the very youngest in military families, Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III said here today during a sneak preview of a new primetime Sesame program. "There are few characters more beloved than the Sesame Street friends, and through Elmo and Rosita, military kids can better grasp how to reconnect with their loved ones after redeployment," Lynn said. "They will see that they are not alone in feeling confused or anxious, and that they and their families can learn new ways of ... supporting one another."
"Coming Home: Military Families Cope with Change," is scheduled to air April 1 on PBS at 8 p.m., in conjunction with the start of the Month of the Military Child. The show, which features Queen Latifah, musician John Mayer, and of course, Elmo, allows viewers to step inside a few military families' lives and learn how they've coped with life-altering changes.
With some help from Elmo's friend Rosita, the trio talks with real military families who have faced changes because of a loved one's injuries, which can be either external and visible or internal and invisible.
And Rosita can relate to the military children. Her father's legs "don't work any more," and he uses a wheelchair. he finds that just like her father and her, the military families are adapting to changes in the same way: together.
The relationship between Sesame Workshop and the military, which produced "Talk, Listen, Connect," an initiative providing support and resources for military families facing deployments or changes due to combat, began several years ago, Lynn said.
"The program we are celebrating today is a terrific effort to help those families," he said. "Many of our servicemembers will tell you they fight for our country, but they also fight for our kids and they fight for their kids.
"I know they appreciate groups like Sesame Workshop that are looking out for their interests at home," Lynn added.
The initiative offers some of what Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said men and women in uniform deserve for their service.
"Those who serve our country in uniform deserve the very best nurturing we can provide, and that includes helping their precious children learn to live with a mom or dad who may not be quite the same person they watched go off to war," Shinseki said. "We are grateful to Sesame Street for bringing the sensitive subject to the wider American audience through this TV special and its accompanying educational materials."
Since the inception of Talk, Listen, Connect two years ago, the initiative has grown and evolved, Sesame Workshop's president and chief executive officer said today.
"[It] has struck a chord, we've noticed, with a military community in a way that we never could have expected," Gary Knell said. "Through this project, we're helping kids and families unite and find reassurance that they are not alone in their journey.
"Who would have thought Elmo and Rosita could help these families find ways to grasp and to cope with their changing circumstances?" he added.
That's exactly what is happening, however. Sammy Cila, 9, who participated in the new special with his family, said the one thing he'd like other military kids to know is there are other kids going through this, too.
"There's no need to be worried about it," he said. "It's actually great [to know] that there's other families that are going through the same thing."
Sammy's father, Army Sgt. Sebastian Cila, who was serving in Iraq when his left arm was severely injured, sang the primetime program's praises, too.
"I believe it will help families tremendously. I was thrilled with the project, [and] I think they did a great job," Cila said. "It just kind of gives some insight and some behind-the-scenes of what families go through with injuries and disappointments."
Cila's wife, Anna, agreed. "They did a really nice job portraying the situations that the families are going through," she said. "It's true to my heart that what we saw today is something good; something really good is going to come out of it."
About 800,000 Talk, Listen, Connect kits have been distributed in the two years of the initiative's existence. Each contains DVDs and print materials to help military families cope with different aspects of deployment, change and even loss.
More than 1.3 million kits have been produced and are being distributed at no cost to families, schools, family support programs, hospitals and rehabilitation centers. The kits, produced in both English and Spanish, also are available for download from the Sesame Street Web site.
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - Sesame Workshop continues to find unique and creative ways to reach out to the very youngest in military families, Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III said here today during a sneak preview of a new primetime Sesame program. "There are few characters more beloved than the Sesame Street friends, and through Elmo and Rosita, military kids can better grasp how to reconnect with their loved ones after redeployment," Lynn said. "They will see that they are not alone in feeling confused or anxious, and that they and their families can learn new ways of ... supporting one another."
"Coming Home: Military Families Cope with Change," is scheduled to air April 1 on PBS at 8 p.m., in conjunction with the start of the Month of the Military Child. The show, which features Queen Latifah, musician John Mayer, and of course, Elmo, allows viewers to step inside a few military families' lives and learn how they've coped with life-altering changes.
With some help from Elmo's friend Rosita, the trio talks with real military families who have faced changes because of a loved one's injuries, which can be either external and visible or internal and invisible.
And Rosita can relate to the military children. Her father's legs "don't work any more," and he uses a wheelchair. he finds that just like her father and her, the military families are adapting to changes in the same way: together.
The relationship between Sesame Workshop and the military, which produced "Talk, Listen, Connect," an initiative providing support and resources for military families facing deployments or changes due to combat, began several years ago, Lynn said.
"The program we are celebrating today is a terrific effort to help those families," he said. "Many of our servicemembers will tell you they fight for our country, but they also fight for our kids and they fight for their kids.
"I know they appreciate groups like Sesame Workshop that are looking out for their interests at home," Lynn added.
The initiative offers some of what Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said men and women in uniform deserve for their service.
"Those who serve our country in uniform deserve the very best nurturing we can provide, and that includes helping their precious children learn to live with a mom or dad who may not be quite the same person they watched go off to war," Shinseki said. "We are grateful to Sesame Street for bringing the sensitive subject to the wider American audience through this TV special and its accompanying educational materials."
Since the inception of Talk, Listen, Connect two years ago, the initiative has grown and evolved, Sesame Workshop's president and chief executive officer said today.
"[It] has struck a chord, we've noticed, with a military community in a way that we never could have expected," Gary Knell said. "Through this project, we're helping kids and families unite and find reassurance that they are not alone in their journey.
"Who would have thought Elmo and Rosita could help these families find ways to grasp and to cope with their changing circumstances?" he added.
That's exactly what is happening, however. Sammy Cila, 9, who participated in the new special with his family, said the one thing he'd like other military kids to know is there are other kids going through this, too.
"There's no need to be worried about it," he said. "It's actually great [to know] that there's other families that are going through the same thing."
Sammy's father, Army Sgt. Sebastian Cila, who was serving in Iraq when his left arm was severely injured, sang the primetime program's praises, too.
"I believe it will help families tremendously. I was thrilled with the project, [and] I think they did a great job," Cila said. "It just kind of gives some insight and some behind-the-scenes of what families go through with injuries and disappointments."
Cila's wife, Anna, agreed. "They did a really nice job portraying the situations that the families are going through," she said. "It's true to my heart that what we saw today is something good; something really good is going to come out of it."
About 800,000 Talk, Listen, Connect kits have been distributed in the two years of the initiative's existence. Each contains DVDs and print materials to help military families cope with different aspects of deployment, change and even loss.
More than 1.3 million kits have been produced and are being distributed at no cost to families, schools, family support programs, hospitals and rehabilitation centers. The kits, produced in both English and Spanish, also are available for download from the Sesame Street Web site.
Africom Commander Describes Conditions for U.S. Involvement
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - U.S. Africa Command will intervene in conflicts on the continent only after warring countries have shown a political will to reconcile, the Africom commander told a congressional panel today. Two main functions of Africom are aiding in stabilization operations and helping build indigenous security forces. But before America's newest combatant command steps in, national governments must take steps toward ending their conflicts, Army Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward said.
"The actions that we take come on the heels of a policy decision having been taken by the nations themselves," Ward told the House Armed Services Committee today.
Ward cited three areas of current conflict on the continent, including border disputes between Eritrea and Djibouti on the Horn of Africa and in North Africa at the Western Sahara, and clashing in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In determining the Africom focus in what Ward characterized as "enduring conflicts," he said political agreement is a prerequisite for U.S. involvement. If American policy makers then determine Africom can play a role, it will proceed in its mission.
Using the example of Central Africa, where a lack of interoperability and information sharing was exacerbating conflicts, the United States was able to lend assistance to Uganda, Rwanda, Congo and to a lesser degree, and the Central African Republic.
"We had the ability to ... help in information sharing, to help with equipment interoperability, providing sometimes needed logistics support and enhancements, to cause those governments to be able to have a better sense of what goes on inside their borders against insurgencies or the rebel factions, and then be able to work in some degree of commonality to address them," he said.
Ward said many African nations are able to provide their own security, citing Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria and Burundi. Though some require logistical or other support, many indigenous forces are self-reliant.
"Many of the African nations, in fact, do what many of them say they want to do -- that is, provide for their own security," said Ward, adding that there's a very broad range of capabilities among African nations.
The general estimated the United States has partnerships with 35 of Africa's 53 nations, representing U.S. relationships that span the continent.
"We work with them [on] counter-terror programs, programs to help in their transformation of their militaries and also in just basic logistic support as they participate in U.N.- or [African Union]-sponsored peacekeeping operations," he told the congressional members.
Ward's committee appearance marked his second consecutive day testifying on Capitol Hill about the role of Africom, which became active last October.
He has emphasized that Africom's role is to support African governments in achieving what is an overarching goal for many nations on the continent: to provide their own security.
"We take all of these [opportunities] as we can to help build the relationships and provide some sustained-level security engagement that leads to a capacity increase in our partner nations," Ward said.
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - U.S. Africa Command will intervene in conflicts on the continent only after warring countries have shown a political will to reconcile, the Africom commander told a congressional panel today. Two main functions of Africom are aiding in stabilization operations and helping build indigenous security forces. But before America's newest combatant command steps in, national governments must take steps toward ending their conflicts, Army Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward said.
"The actions that we take come on the heels of a policy decision having been taken by the nations themselves," Ward told the House Armed Services Committee today.
Ward cited three areas of current conflict on the continent, including border disputes between Eritrea and Djibouti on the Horn of Africa and in North Africa at the Western Sahara, and clashing in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In determining the Africom focus in what Ward characterized as "enduring conflicts," he said political agreement is a prerequisite for U.S. involvement. If American policy makers then determine Africom can play a role, it will proceed in its mission.
Using the example of Central Africa, where a lack of interoperability and information sharing was exacerbating conflicts, the United States was able to lend assistance to Uganda, Rwanda, Congo and to a lesser degree, and the Central African Republic.
"We had the ability to ... help in information sharing, to help with equipment interoperability, providing sometimes needed logistics support and enhancements, to cause those governments to be able to have a better sense of what goes on inside their borders against insurgencies or the rebel factions, and then be able to work in some degree of commonality to address them," he said.
Ward said many African nations are able to provide their own security, citing Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria and Burundi. Though some require logistical or other support, many indigenous forces are self-reliant.
"Many of the African nations, in fact, do what many of them say they want to do -- that is, provide for their own security," said Ward, adding that there's a very broad range of capabilities among African nations.
The general estimated the United States has partnerships with 35 of Africa's 53 nations, representing U.S. relationships that span the continent.
"We work with them [on] counter-terror programs, programs to help in their transformation of their militaries and also in just basic logistic support as they participate in U.N.- or [African Union]-sponsored peacekeeping operations," he told the congressional members.
Ward's committee appearance marked his second consecutive day testifying on Capitol Hill about the role of Africom, which became active last October.
He has emphasized that Africom's role is to support African governments in achieving what is an overarching goal for many nations on the continent: to provide their own security.
"We take all of these [opportunities] as we can to help build the relationships and provide some sustained-level security engagement that leads to a capacity increase in our partner nations," Ward said.
Education, Personal Contact Key to Cutting Suicide Rate, Army Leader Says
By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - Ending a policy that excused citizen-soldiers from monthly drills for 90 days after deployment helped the Army National Guard better take care of its troops, the Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel said. "What they thought they were doing was protecting the soldier from the chain of command," Lt. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle said. "They did reverse the policy. That was the beginning of us ... protecting soldiers, prevention of crisis."
Rochelle made his remarks March 16 to program managers, trainers, and support personnel from across the nation who attended three days of suicide prevention training here hosted by the Army National Guard's Soldier Family Support and Services division.
Maj. Gen. James W. Nuttall, deputy director of the Army National Guard, said suicides in the military now surpass the suicide rate in the general population. The Army has the highest rate in the military, and the Army National Guard has the highest rate of the Army's three components.
"It's critical for us to get our arms around this," Nuttall said.
Soldiers need to have contact with colleagues in their unit, and those in their chain of command need to be able to look them in the eye to determine if they might be having problems, Rochelle said.
"We all know that a senior or a subordinate needs to look every one of us in the eye within a period of time after redeployment – just do that gut-check, 'Is everything going OK? Is everything all right?'" he said.
Leaders at all levels need to be educated in suicide warning signs, Rochelle said, especially at the company level and below. "Platoon sergeants, squad leaders, team leaders, company commanders and first sergeants are missing the signs," he said.
The training focused on developing state suicide prevention programs that include intervention and something presenters call "postvention," meaning responding to the aftermath of a completed or attempted suicide.
Drawing on a study conducted after a wave of suspected suicides at an Army post, Rochelle suggested other improvements:
-- More resources: "We don't have enough behavioral help at the brigade level," he said.
-- More counselors: "We can't hire enough Army substance abuse counselors and ... specialists to meet the demand," he said.
Some specific challenges related to suicide haven't changed through the years, Rochelle said. One study found that the average age of suicides in the military during World War II was 22 – the same as today, he said.
During World War II, "the likelihood increased with time in service," he said. "Responsibilities, as they increase with time in service and grade, heightens the level of stigma associated with seeking help. That's the same problem we are confronting today."
Making it socially acceptable to get help is the No. 1 priority to reducing suicide, Rochelle said. "Our biggest challenge is reducing the stigma," he said. A bright spot: Rochelle said he was encouraged by a visit to Afghanistan where he saw soldiers openly lining up to talk with a counselor after a mission.
Rochelle and his colleagues studied the facts surrounding 15 confirmed servicemember suicides. Some of what they found defied stereotypes:
-- Sixty percent had no deployment history. "That's causing us to go back and ask some questions about the enlistment history – the behavioral health history – of new, junior-level individuals," he said.
-- Relationships were a contributing factor in 75 percent of the cases. "That doesn't mean that that was the major contributing factor. It may have been an aggravating factor – but it was a factor," he said.
-- Half of the cases involved some unit integration or reintegration issues. "We all know how important that is," he said. "In [the continental United States], it's important. It's doubly important for a junior enlisted soldier forward-deployed."
-- Half the cases involved some substance abuse, with alcohol and prescription medication being the biggest problems. "It's most especially alcohol," he said.
That's another case of history repeating itself, Rochelle noted. "There was a high, high correlation of alcohol abuse in the suicides from World War II," he noted. "Very high."
Soldiers need to be able to seek help with alcohol issues without fear, Rochelle said. "This is another area where we're having a challenge reducing stigma," he said.
During his stint as commanding general of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Rochelle said, he lobbied to prevent past Ritalin use from being a disqualifying factor for recruitment. "There are too many people taking it," he explained. But history may become a more important factor in recruitment decisions as the Army drives to slash the suicide rate, he said.
"We are bound and determined to lick this problem," Rochelle said, urging local National Guard leaders to take initiative at the state level, because a local success could be picked up as a model by the entire Army.
He said reducing suicides involves three things: "One is removal of the stigma of seeking professional help, the stigma also associated with substance abuse; two, getting our junior level leaders [involved]; and, three, intervening.
"There's a phenomenon today, ... a little bit of reluctance to reach out and touch somebody, to get inside someone's personal space," Rochelle said. "We have to help our junior-level leaders understand that in this particular dilemma, we have to get inside that space. We have to reach out and touch someone, and we have to be willing to intervene on their behalf in order to prevent the next suicide."
Soldier Family Support and Services is the Army National Guard directorate's newest division, created to improve the quality of life of citizen soldiers and their families by providing services that promote self-sufficiency, resiliency, well-being and prosperity, according to Erin Thede, division chief.
(Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill serves with the National Guard Bureau.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - Ending a policy that excused citizen-soldiers from monthly drills for 90 days after deployment helped the Army National Guard better take care of its troops, the Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel said. "What they thought they were doing was protecting the soldier from the chain of command," Lt. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle said. "They did reverse the policy. That was the beginning of us ... protecting soldiers, prevention of crisis."
Rochelle made his remarks March 16 to program managers, trainers, and support personnel from across the nation who attended three days of suicide prevention training here hosted by the Army National Guard's Soldier Family Support and Services division.
Maj. Gen. James W. Nuttall, deputy director of the Army National Guard, said suicides in the military now surpass the suicide rate in the general population. The Army has the highest rate in the military, and the Army National Guard has the highest rate of the Army's three components.
"It's critical for us to get our arms around this," Nuttall said.
Soldiers need to have contact with colleagues in their unit, and those in their chain of command need to be able to look them in the eye to determine if they might be having problems, Rochelle said.
"We all know that a senior or a subordinate needs to look every one of us in the eye within a period of time after redeployment – just do that gut-check, 'Is everything going OK? Is everything all right?'" he said.
Leaders at all levels need to be educated in suicide warning signs, Rochelle said, especially at the company level and below. "Platoon sergeants, squad leaders, team leaders, company commanders and first sergeants are missing the signs," he said.
The training focused on developing state suicide prevention programs that include intervention and something presenters call "postvention," meaning responding to the aftermath of a completed or attempted suicide.
Drawing on a study conducted after a wave of suspected suicides at an Army post, Rochelle suggested other improvements:
-- More resources: "We don't have enough behavioral help at the brigade level," he said.
-- More counselors: "We can't hire enough Army substance abuse counselors and ... specialists to meet the demand," he said.
Some specific challenges related to suicide haven't changed through the years, Rochelle said. One study found that the average age of suicides in the military during World War II was 22 – the same as today, he said.
During World War II, "the likelihood increased with time in service," he said. "Responsibilities, as they increase with time in service and grade, heightens the level of stigma associated with seeking help. That's the same problem we are confronting today."
Making it socially acceptable to get help is the No. 1 priority to reducing suicide, Rochelle said. "Our biggest challenge is reducing the stigma," he said. A bright spot: Rochelle said he was encouraged by a visit to Afghanistan where he saw soldiers openly lining up to talk with a counselor after a mission.
Rochelle and his colleagues studied the facts surrounding 15 confirmed servicemember suicides. Some of what they found defied stereotypes:
-- Sixty percent had no deployment history. "That's causing us to go back and ask some questions about the enlistment history – the behavioral health history – of new, junior-level individuals," he said.
-- Relationships were a contributing factor in 75 percent of the cases. "That doesn't mean that that was the major contributing factor. It may have been an aggravating factor – but it was a factor," he said.
-- Half of the cases involved some unit integration or reintegration issues. "We all know how important that is," he said. "In [the continental United States], it's important. It's doubly important for a junior enlisted soldier forward-deployed."
-- Half the cases involved some substance abuse, with alcohol and prescription medication being the biggest problems. "It's most especially alcohol," he said.
That's another case of history repeating itself, Rochelle noted. "There was a high, high correlation of alcohol abuse in the suicides from World War II," he noted. "Very high."
Soldiers need to be able to seek help with alcohol issues without fear, Rochelle said. "This is another area where we're having a challenge reducing stigma," he said.
During his stint as commanding general of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Rochelle said, he lobbied to prevent past Ritalin use from being a disqualifying factor for recruitment. "There are too many people taking it," he explained. But history may become a more important factor in recruitment decisions as the Army drives to slash the suicide rate, he said.
"We are bound and determined to lick this problem," Rochelle said, urging local National Guard leaders to take initiative at the state level, because a local success could be picked up as a model by the entire Army.
He said reducing suicides involves three things: "One is removal of the stigma of seeking professional help, the stigma also associated with substance abuse; two, getting our junior level leaders [involved]; and, three, intervening.
"There's a phenomenon today, ... a little bit of reluctance to reach out and touch somebody, to get inside someone's personal space," Rochelle said. "We have to help our junior-level leaders understand that in this particular dilemma, we have to get inside that space. We have to reach out and touch someone, and we have to be willing to intervene on their behalf in order to prevent the next suicide."
Soldier Family Support and Services is the Army National Guard directorate's newest division, created to improve the quality of life of citizen soldiers and their families by providing services that promote self-sufficiency, resiliency, well-being and prosperity, according to Erin Thede, division chief.
(Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill serves with the National Guard Bureau.)
Gates Approves Plan to End Army's Involuntary Extensions
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - The Army will phase out use of the so-called "stop-loss" program between now and January, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Since the beginning of his term as defense secretary, Gates has called on the services to eliminate their dependence on the controversial program that allows the involuntary extension of servicemembers' active duty past the scheduled end of their term of service.
The Army currently has 13,000 soldiers whose active duty status was extended through the program so they could deploy with their units. The Army is the only service using the program.
"We have the legal authority to do it," Gates said during a Pentagon news conference. "But ... I felt, particularly in these numbers, that it was breaking faith. It wasn't a violation of the enlistment contract. But I believe that when somebody's end date of service comes up, to hold them against their will, if you will, is just not the right thing to do."
The secretary said there will always be the need to hold a few people in the service, but it should be a small number. "I would like to get it down to scores, not thousands," he said.
The secretary's decision will eliminate the use of stop-loss for deploying soldiers.
"Effective this August, the U.S. Army Reserve will no longer mobilize units under stop-loss," Gates said. "The Army National Guard will stop doing so in September, and active Army units will cease employing stop-loss in January."
The goal is to cut the number of soldiers remaining in the Army under stop-loss by 50 percent by June 2010 and to near zero by March 2011. "We will retain the authority to use stop-loss under extraordinary circumstances," Gates said.
The Army will put in place a number of incentives to encourage soldiers to voluntarily extend their enlistments to mitigate the impact the decision will have on unit cohesion and strength. Starting this month, the Army will pay stop-lossed solders $500 a month. The program is retroactive to Oct. 1, which was when Congress passed the law permitting the payments.
While there is some risk, Gates said, he wants to do everything to make sure "soldiers are not unnecessarily forced to stay in the Army past their end of service date."
Army leaders spoke to the secretary recently on the proposal, and they are putting in place the directives and regulations to make it work, Army officials said.
"I think that the way the Army is approaching this mitigates those risks, so I feel comfortable with this plan," Gates said.
The Army is able to make this move because of three reasons, Army officials said: the changing conditions in Iraq, a new unit rotation program that is being put in place, and the increase in the size of the Army. Over the next 18 months, the drawdown in Iraq will far outnumber the increase in Afghanistan, Gates said.
The Marines used stop-loss early in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A total of 3,389 active-duty Marines served beyond their terms of service. About 5,000 Marine reservists were stop-lossed, but only 443 of them were mobilized, Marine Corps officials said. The Marines stopped using the program May 12, 2003.
The Air Force used the program sparingly in 2001, 2002 and 2003. It implemented stop-loss for 43 officers and 56 enlisted airmen for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and ended it on June 23, 2003.
The Navy has not used the program since the spring of 2003, and then it was for medical corpsmen to serve with the Marines, Navy officials said.
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - The Army will phase out use of the so-called "stop-loss" program between now and January, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Since the beginning of his term as defense secretary, Gates has called on the services to eliminate their dependence on the controversial program that allows the involuntary extension of servicemembers' active duty past the scheduled end of their term of service.
The Army currently has 13,000 soldiers whose active duty status was extended through the program so they could deploy with their units. The Army is the only service using the program.
"We have the legal authority to do it," Gates said during a Pentagon news conference. "But ... I felt, particularly in these numbers, that it was breaking faith. It wasn't a violation of the enlistment contract. But I believe that when somebody's end date of service comes up, to hold them against their will, if you will, is just not the right thing to do."
The secretary said there will always be the need to hold a few people in the service, but it should be a small number. "I would like to get it down to scores, not thousands," he said.
The secretary's decision will eliminate the use of stop-loss for deploying soldiers.
"Effective this August, the U.S. Army Reserve will no longer mobilize units under stop-loss," Gates said. "The Army National Guard will stop doing so in September, and active Army units will cease employing stop-loss in January."
The goal is to cut the number of soldiers remaining in the Army under stop-loss by 50 percent by June 2010 and to near zero by March 2011. "We will retain the authority to use stop-loss under extraordinary circumstances," Gates said.
The Army will put in place a number of incentives to encourage soldiers to voluntarily extend their enlistments to mitigate the impact the decision will have on unit cohesion and strength. Starting this month, the Army will pay stop-lossed solders $500 a month. The program is retroactive to Oct. 1, which was when Congress passed the law permitting the payments.
While there is some risk, Gates said, he wants to do everything to make sure "soldiers are not unnecessarily forced to stay in the Army past their end of service date."
Army leaders spoke to the secretary recently on the proposal, and they are putting in place the directives and regulations to make it work, Army officials said.
"I think that the way the Army is approaching this mitigates those risks, so I feel comfortable with this plan," Gates said.
The Army is able to make this move because of three reasons, Army officials said: the changing conditions in Iraq, a new unit rotation program that is being put in place, and the increase in the size of the Army. Over the next 18 months, the drawdown in Iraq will far outnumber the increase in Afghanistan, Gates said.
The Marines used stop-loss early in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A total of 3,389 active-duty Marines served beyond their terms of service. About 5,000 Marine reservists were stop-lossed, but only 443 of them were mobilized, Marine Corps officials said. The Marines stopped using the program May 12, 2003.
The Air Force used the program sparingly in 2001, 2002 and 2003. It implemented stop-loss for 43 officers and 56 enlisted airmen for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and ended it on June 23, 2003.
The Navy has not used the program since the spring of 2003, and then it was for medical corpsmen to serve with the Marines, Navy officials said.
MILITARY CONTRACTS March 18, 2009
NAVY
Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Group, Inc., Pasadena, Calif., is being awarded an estimated $977,374,565 requirements contract with firm-fixed unit prices subject to economic price adjustment. This contract will provide a realistic environment to support a variety of training tasks related to the deployment and maneuverability in an urban setting to enable Marines to conduct training in an environment replicating urban conditions. The Military Operations in Urban Terrain system also allows Marine units to master the challenges of urban navigation, movement, target acquisition and engagement and cross boundary coordination. The training may be performed at any Marine Corp base worldwide, and the work is estimated to be completed March 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This effort was awarded by using a full and open competition. The Marine Corps System Command, Orlando, Fla., is the contracting activity (M67854-09-D-8000).
Omega Aerial Refueling Services, Inc., Alexandria, Va., is being awarded a $24,666,665 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-07-D-0009) to exercise an option for contractor owned and operated aircraft in support of the Commercial Air Services program, which provides aerial refueling tanking for Navy and other Government agency aircraft. Work will be performed in Oceana, Va. (45 percent); Point Mugu, Calif. (35 percent); and various military activities across the United States and OCONUS (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
C&G Boat Works*, Inc., Mobile, Ala., was awarded March 17, 2009, a $17,584,236 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-2236) to exercise an option to construct two Yard Patrol Training Craft used to train U.S. Navy midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala., and is expected to be completed by March 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Progeny Systems Corporation*, Manassas, Va., was awarded March 17, 2009, a $12,619,042 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-08-C-6272) for engineering and technical services involving technology assessments, system design, software development, and hardware/software integration for undersea weapons and related undersea warfare combat and submarine platform systems. This effort is a continuation of the concept of Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), and is titled Topic No. N96-278 "Technology Infusion Methodology for Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Based Systems" for the development of processes to introduce commercially available components into existing systems. This process will provide the framework and methodologies for introducing upgrade and/or replacement components for obsolete items as well as for upgrades to the system to provide additional capability. Work will be performed in Charleroi, Pa., (50 percent); Manassas, Va. (30 percent); Middletown, R.I. (15 percent); and Salt Lake City, Utah (5 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C. is the contracting activity.
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded March 17, 2009, a $6,625,124 firm-fixed-price order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) for inner wing conversion and reliability improvements required pursuant to Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) 609. This ECP will convert existing F/A-18A/B Lots 5-9 Inner Wing assemblies to be compatible with F/A-18 C/D Lots 10, 11, 12, and up aircraft. This ECP also defines changes required to convert existing F/A-18 C/D Lots 10 and 11 Inner Wings to be compatible with F/A-18 C/D Lots 12 and up aircraft. ECP 609 also addresses reliability issues with two fuel tubes, which will be replaced with heat treated versions and define requirements to improve sealing of the inner wing to prevent stress corrosion cracking of the lower spar flanges. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo. (74 percent) and Mesa, Ariz. (26 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2012. 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.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Hermes Consolidated Inc. dba Wyoming Refining Co., Denver, Colo.* is being awarded a maximum $72,591,525 fixed price with economic price adjustment, partial set aside, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. Other location of performance is Wyoming. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 68 proposals solicited with 26 responses. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-09-D-0472).
Irving Oil Terminal Inc., Portsmouth, N.H. is being awarded a maximum $60,673,632 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 48 proposals solicited with 23 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is April 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-09-D-0474).
Cardinal Health, Inc., Dublin, Ohio is being awarded a maximum $60,168,630 firm fixed price, pharmaceutical prime vendor, justification and approval contract for distribution of pharmaceutical items. Other location of performance is North Carolina. Using service is Department of Defense. The original proposal was Web solicited on FedBizOps with 3 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Va. (SPM200-01-D-1606).
AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Wayne, Pa. is being awarded a maximum $26,587,371 firm fixed price, pharmaceutical prime vendor, justification and approval contract for distribution of pharmaceutical items. Other location of performance is Hawaii. Using service is Department of Defense. The original proposal was Web solicited on FedBizOps with 3 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Va. (SP0200-00-R-2501).
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding a cost-plus-fixed-fee indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to InfoSciTex Corporation, of Waltham, Massachusetts for $49,500,000 dollars. This action will provide an aerospace technology evaluation and assessment program will provide research and engineering for the technical requirements for the Air Force Research Laboratory and Aeronautical Systems Center by employing and or generating state-of-the-art modeling, simulation, and analysis tools and techniques. At this time, $627,000 has been obligated. AFRL/PKVA, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity. (FA8650-09-D-3900)
The Air Force is awarding a cost plus fixed fee contract to William March Rice University of Houston, Texas for $16,071,769. The platform aware compilation environment contract will improve programmer productivity and application performance through the development of a productive computationally efficient architecture aware complier environment. At this time, $5,255,299 has been obligated. AFRL/PKDA, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity. (FA8650-09-C-7915)
The Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with Lockheed Marin Corporation of Orlando, Florida for $14,251,799. This action will provide additional depot spares and a readiness spares package for the AN/AAQ-39 to support a six ship deployment for the AC-130 gunship aircraft. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 667th AESS/SYKA, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity. (FA8629-08-C-2402, P00004)
The Air Force is awarding an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to ATC-NY of Ithaca, New York for a maximum $12,000,000. The purpose of this acquisition is to research, develop, enhance and transition critical SBIR technologies to support a secure data sharing environment with multi-level security across multiple organizations. At this time, $220,000 has been obligated. AFRL/RIKE, Rome, New York is the contracting activity. (FA8750-09-D-0046)
Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Group, Inc., Pasadena, Calif., is being awarded an estimated $977,374,565 requirements contract with firm-fixed unit prices subject to economic price adjustment. This contract will provide a realistic environment to support a variety of training tasks related to the deployment and maneuverability in an urban setting to enable Marines to conduct training in an environment replicating urban conditions. The Military Operations in Urban Terrain system also allows Marine units to master the challenges of urban navigation, movement, target acquisition and engagement and cross boundary coordination. The training may be performed at any Marine Corp base worldwide, and the work is estimated to be completed March 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This effort was awarded by using a full and open competition. The Marine Corps System Command, Orlando, Fla., is the contracting activity (M67854-09-D-8000).
Omega Aerial Refueling Services, Inc., Alexandria, Va., is being awarded a $24,666,665 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-07-D-0009) to exercise an option for contractor owned and operated aircraft in support of the Commercial Air Services program, which provides aerial refueling tanking for Navy and other Government agency aircraft. Work will be performed in Oceana, Va. (45 percent); Point Mugu, Calif. (35 percent); and various military activities across the United States and OCONUS (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
C&G Boat Works*, Inc., Mobile, Ala., was awarded March 17, 2009, a $17,584,236 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-2236) to exercise an option to construct two Yard Patrol Training Craft used to train U.S. Navy midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala., and is expected to be completed by March 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Progeny Systems Corporation*, Manassas, Va., was awarded March 17, 2009, a $12,619,042 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-08-C-6272) for engineering and technical services involving technology assessments, system design, software development, and hardware/software integration for undersea weapons and related undersea warfare combat and submarine platform systems. This effort is a continuation of the concept of Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), and is titled Topic No. N96-278 "Technology Infusion Methodology for Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Based Systems" for the development of processes to introduce commercially available components into existing systems. This process will provide the framework and methodologies for introducing upgrade and/or replacement components for obsolete items as well as for upgrades to the system to provide additional capability. Work will be performed in Charleroi, Pa., (50 percent); Manassas, Va. (30 percent); Middletown, R.I. (15 percent); and Salt Lake City, Utah (5 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C. is the contracting activity.
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded March 17, 2009, a $6,625,124 firm-fixed-price order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) for inner wing conversion and reliability improvements required pursuant to Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) 609. This ECP will convert existing F/A-18A/B Lots 5-9 Inner Wing assemblies to be compatible with F/A-18 C/D Lots 10, 11, 12, and up aircraft. This ECP also defines changes required to convert existing F/A-18 C/D Lots 10 and 11 Inner Wings to be compatible with F/A-18 C/D Lots 12 and up aircraft. ECP 609 also addresses reliability issues with two fuel tubes, which will be replaced with heat treated versions and define requirements to improve sealing of the inner wing to prevent stress corrosion cracking of the lower spar flanges. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo. (74 percent) and Mesa, Ariz. (26 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2012. 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.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Hermes Consolidated Inc. dba Wyoming Refining Co., Denver, Colo.* is being awarded a maximum $72,591,525 fixed price with economic price adjustment, partial set aside, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. Other location of performance is Wyoming. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 68 proposals solicited with 26 responses. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-09-D-0472).
Irving Oil Terminal Inc., Portsmouth, N.H. is being awarded a maximum $60,673,632 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 48 proposals solicited with 23 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is April 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-09-D-0474).
Cardinal Health, Inc., Dublin, Ohio is being awarded a maximum $60,168,630 firm fixed price, pharmaceutical prime vendor, justification and approval contract for distribution of pharmaceutical items. Other location of performance is North Carolina. Using service is Department of Defense. The original proposal was Web solicited on FedBizOps with 3 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Va. (SPM200-01-D-1606).
AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Wayne, Pa. is being awarded a maximum $26,587,371 firm fixed price, pharmaceutical prime vendor, justification and approval contract for distribution of pharmaceutical items. Other location of performance is Hawaii. Using service is Department of Defense. The original proposal was Web solicited on FedBizOps with 3 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Va. (SP0200-00-R-2501).
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding a cost-plus-fixed-fee indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to InfoSciTex Corporation, of Waltham, Massachusetts for $49,500,000 dollars. This action will provide an aerospace technology evaluation and assessment program will provide research and engineering for the technical requirements for the Air Force Research Laboratory and Aeronautical Systems Center by employing and or generating state-of-the-art modeling, simulation, and analysis tools and techniques. At this time, $627,000 has been obligated. AFRL/PKVA, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity. (FA8650-09-D-3900)
The Air Force is awarding a cost plus fixed fee contract to William March Rice University of Houston, Texas for $16,071,769. The platform aware compilation environment contract will improve programmer productivity and application performance through the development of a productive computationally efficient architecture aware complier environment. At this time, $5,255,299 has been obligated. AFRL/PKDA, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity. (FA8650-09-C-7915)
The Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with Lockheed Marin Corporation of Orlando, Florida for $14,251,799. This action will provide additional depot spares and a readiness spares package for the AN/AAQ-39 to support a six ship deployment for the AC-130 gunship aircraft. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 667th AESS/SYKA, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity. (FA8629-08-C-2402, P00004)
The Air Force is awarding an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to ATC-NY of Ithaca, New York for a maximum $12,000,000. The purpose of this acquisition is to research, develop, enhance and transition critical SBIR technologies to support a secure data sharing environment with multi-level security across multiple organizations. At this time, $220,000 has been obligated. AFRL/RIKE, Rome, New York is the contracting activity. (FA8750-09-D-0046)
Armed Services Field Programs to Combat Servicemember Suicides
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - One servicemember suicide "is too many," and each military service now has programs designed to combat the problem, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told reporters at a Pentagon news conference today. About one-third of the suicides in the military involve members who've never deployed overseas, Gates said.
Gates also said he's been told that broken relationships constitute one of the principal causes of servicemember suicide.
"And it's not hard not to imagine that repeated deployments don't have an impact on those relationships," Gates said, noting that he didn't have any data on hand to support that contention.
"But, it just seems to me [to be] common sense, that repeated deployments have to weigh very heavily on relationships," Gates said. The Army's previous 15-month deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan "were a real strain on many of our men and women in uniform, as well," he added. Army units now deploy for 12 months.
Servicemember suicide is an issue the Defense Department "takes very seriously," Gates said.
All of the armed services are working to prevent servicemember suicide, Gates said, and the Army, in particular, is engaged aggressively in that endeavor.
The Army's anti-suicide program, Gates said, appears similar to efforts that seek to identify and assist soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Noncommissioned officers are trained how to recognize if junior-rank soldiers are depressed or seem disconnected from associates and their families.
"I've seen some of the training materials that they've provided, and I think that they are doing the appropriate things," Gates said of the Army's efforts to combat suicide.
Later in the day, a group of senior military officers from across the services told members of a Senate Armed Services subcommittee about their suicide prevention efforts. Before the start of the hearing, committee chairman Sen. Ben Nelson said the military services have seen increased rates of servicemember suicides between calendar years 2007 and 2008.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli said he and other senior leaders are working hard to solve the soldier-suicide issue. The Army has stood up an anti-suicide task force that recently issued an interactive video that attacks "that issue of stigma," Chiarelli said. Some soldiers have been reluctant to seek help for psychological issues because they fear it would affect their careers or that would be perceived as weak for doing so.
Years of war and overseas deployments have "undeniably put a strain" on the Army's soldiers, Chiarelli said, noting that the effects of stress have resulted in increased incidence of suicide.
"We must find ways to relieve some of this stress; particularly the stress caused by deployments and frequent lengthy periods of separation," Chiarelli said.
Even though the demand to deploy soldiers overseas is expected to remain high for some time, Chiarelli said, the Army is "focused on mitigating the stress as much as possible."
Suicide ranks as the third-leading cause of death in the Navy, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Patrick M. Walsh said at the hearing. The Navy, he said, now is embarked on a comprehensive suicide-prevention program.
Sailor suicide also "destroys families, devastates communities [and] unravels the cohesive social fabric and morale inside our commands," Walsh said. The Navy, he said, is instructing its leaders to look for and connect with those individuals seemingly beset with relationship, financial, legal, and work troubles and exhibiting deteriorating physical and mental health, including depression.
The Navy must also "eliminate the perceived stigma, shame and dishonor of asking for help," Walsh said. Naval commanders, he said, have an important, supportive role in this endeavor.
"The tragic loss of a Marine to suicide is deeply felt by all of us who remain behind," Assistant Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. Amos said. The Marines, he said, lost 41 members to suicide in 2008, 33 in 2007, and 25 in 2006.
"That is unacceptable; we are taking action to turn this around," Amos said, noting that the Marine Corps is committed "to fix" the suicide issue. Data shows, he said, that the most likely Marine to die by suicide is a young Caucasian male, ranging in age from 18 to 24, and between the ranks of private and sergeant.
The most likely cause of Marine suicides "is a failed relationship with a woman," Amos said, noting that men are more likely to take their lives. The most common methods of Marine suicide, he said, are gunshots and hanging, similar to civilian statistics.
Suicide prevention, Amos said, is required training at Marine boot camps, for all new officers, and is incorporated throughout the Corps' officer, noncommissioned officer, and enlisted professional development education systems.
"Our NCOs have the day-to-day contact with Marines, and therefore, the best opportunity to see changes in behavior and other problems that can identify Marines in need of further assistance," Amos said. "As a result, we are developing a high-impact leadership training program focused on our noncommissioned officers and our corpsmen."
Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. William M. Fraser III said his service is "doing all we can to focus on suicide prevention, while heightening awareness and exploring new approaches on this issue affecting our Air Force and airmen."
With today's sustained operational tempo, Fraser said, the Air Force is taking steps to ensure that its servicemembers are mentally prepared for deployments and re-deployments as they are prepared physically and professionally.
"We continue to make strides in implementing our Air Force suicide prevention program," Fraser said, "in further enhancing our psychological health treatment and our management programs, and in strengthening our continued partnerships with our sister services and our interagency colleagues."
Despite the successes, Fraser said, one suicide remains too many.
"And so we remain committed to these programs – individually and collectively – as a part of a larger effort to take care of our Air Force's most valuable assets, its people," Fraser said.
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - One servicemember suicide "is too many," and each military service now has programs designed to combat the problem, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told reporters at a Pentagon news conference today. About one-third of the suicides in the military involve members who've never deployed overseas, Gates said.
Gates also said he's been told that broken relationships constitute one of the principal causes of servicemember suicide.
"And it's not hard not to imagine that repeated deployments don't have an impact on those relationships," Gates said, noting that he didn't have any data on hand to support that contention.
"But, it just seems to me [to be] common sense, that repeated deployments have to weigh very heavily on relationships," Gates said. The Army's previous 15-month deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan "were a real strain on many of our men and women in uniform, as well," he added. Army units now deploy for 12 months.
Servicemember suicide is an issue the Defense Department "takes very seriously," Gates said.
All of the armed services are working to prevent servicemember suicide, Gates said, and the Army, in particular, is engaged aggressively in that endeavor.
The Army's anti-suicide program, Gates said, appears similar to efforts that seek to identify and assist soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Noncommissioned officers are trained how to recognize if junior-rank soldiers are depressed or seem disconnected from associates and their families.
"I've seen some of the training materials that they've provided, and I think that they are doing the appropriate things," Gates said of the Army's efforts to combat suicide.
Later in the day, a group of senior military officers from across the services told members of a Senate Armed Services subcommittee about their suicide prevention efforts. Before the start of the hearing, committee chairman Sen. Ben Nelson said the military services have seen increased rates of servicemember suicides between calendar years 2007 and 2008.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli said he and other senior leaders are working hard to solve the soldier-suicide issue. The Army has stood up an anti-suicide task force that recently issued an interactive video that attacks "that issue of stigma," Chiarelli said. Some soldiers have been reluctant to seek help for psychological issues because they fear it would affect their careers or that would be perceived as weak for doing so.
Years of war and overseas deployments have "undeniably put a strain" on the Army's soldiers, Chiarelli said, noting that the effects of stress have resulted in increased incidence of suicide.
"We must find ways to relieve some of this stress; particularly the stress caused by deployments and frequent lengthy periods of separation," Chiarelli said.
Even though the demand to deploy soldiers overseas is expected to remain high for some time, Chiarelli said, the Army is "focused on mitigating the stress as much as possible."
Suicide ranks as the third-leading cause of death in the Navy, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Patrick M. Walsh said at the hearing. The Navy, he said, now is embarked on a comprehensive suicide-prevention program.
Sailor suicide also "destroys families, devastates communities [and] unravels the cohesive social fabric and morale inside our commands," Walsh said. The Navy, he said, is instructing its leaders to look for and connect with those individuals seemingly beset with relationship, financial, legal, and work troubles and exhibiting deteriorating physical and mental health, including depression.
The Navy must also "eliminate the perceived stigma, shame and dishonor of asking for help," Walsh said. Naval commanders, he said, have an important, supportive role in this endeavor.
"The tragic loss of a Marine to suicide is deeply felt by all of us who remain behind," Assistant Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. Amos said. The Marines, he said, lost 41 members to suicide in 2008, 33 in 2007, and 25 in 2006.
"That is unacceptable; we are taking action to turn this around," Amos said, noting that the Marine Corps is committed "to fix" the suicide issue. Data shows, he said, that the most likely Marine to die by suicide is a young Caucasian male, ranging in age from 18 to 24, and between the ranks of private and sergeant.
The most likely cause of Marine suicides "is a failed relationship with a woman," Amos said, noting that men are more likely to take their lives. The most common methods of Marine suicide, he said, are gunshots and hanging, similar to civilian statistics.
Suicide prevention, Amos said, is required training at Marine boot camps, for all new officers, and is incorporated throughout the Corps' officer, noncommissioned officer, and enlisted professional development education systems.
"Our NCOs have the day-to-day contact with Marines, and therefore, the best opportunity to see changes in behavior and other problems that can identify Marines in need of further assistance," Amos said. "As a result, we are developing a high-impact leadership training program focused on our noncommissioned officers and our corpsmen."
Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. William M. Fraser III said his service is "doing all we can to focus on suicide prevention, while heightening awareness and exploring new approaches on this issue affecting our Air Force and airmen."
With today's sustained operational tempo, Fraser said, the Air Force is taking steps to ensure that its servicemembers are mentally prepared for deployments and re-deployments as they are prepared physically and professionally.
"We continue to make strides in implementing our Air Force suicide prevention program," Fraser said, "in further enhancing our psychological health treatment and our management programs, and in strengthening our continued partnerships with our sister services and our interagency colleagues."
Despite the successes, Fraser said, one suicide remains too many.
"And so we remain committed to these programs – individually and collectively – as a part of a larger effort to take care of our Air Force's most valuable assets, its people," Fraser said.
Families' Wishes Will Drive New Media Guidelines at Dover, Gates Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - The wishes of the families will be the overriding principle guiding any media coverage of fallen warriors' remains arriving at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Gates directed a working group to come up with a plan to change a ban on such coverage imposed during the Gulf War in the early 1990s.
"The working group I tasked to come up with an implementation plan has reported back, and we will put a number of its recommendations into action starting next month," Gates said during a Pentagon news conference.
If several remains return to Dover on the same flight, for example, "the media will be permitted to cover only the dignified transfer of individuals whose families have given permission," he said.
"Further, should immediate family members wish to be present for the arrival of their fallen hero at Dover, and this can be done without unduly delaying a fallen's return to his or her own hometown, we will facilitate that travel, and we will fund it," Gates said.
The study began with a survey of the groups concerned with the process. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael J. Basla chaired the Defense Department's working group. He said his group spoke with Gold Star Mothers, Gold Star Wives, veterans groups and senior enlisted advisors. "What we heard were two sides of the story," Basla said during an interview. "Some were very in favor of media access to the dignified transfers when the families agree, and some had concerns."
The concerns were all around wanting to put the fallen heroes in the best of light. "They were concerned that that may not happen if we lose control," Basla said. On the other hand, he said, many family members wanted to tell the stories of their loved ones.
Officials at Dover will work out how the process will work. If families do not want media present, then officials at Dover can accomplish the dignified transfer of remains for those fallen warriors before allowing the media out to the tarmac.
Media professionals will have a strict protocol to follow when covering the story, Basla said. "If any part of the media violates those protocols, then their access would be restricted in the future. We're going to preserve the privacy of these families, and we're going to maintain the dignity of these transfers."
In making his announcement, Gates echoed those sentiments.
"We are committed to seeing that America's fallen heroes are received back to their loved ones and their country with the honor, respect and recognition that they and their families have earned," he said.
American Forces Press Service
March 18, 2009 - The wishes of the families will be the overriding principle guiding any media coverage of fallen warriors' remains arriving at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Gates directed a working group to come up with a plan to change a ban on such coverage imposed during the Gulf War in the early 1990s.
"The working group I tasked to come up with an implementation plan has reported back, and we will put a number of its recommendations into action starting next month," Gates said during a Pentagon news conference.
If several remains return to Dover on the same flight, for example, "the media will be permitted to cover only the dignified transfer of individuals whose families have given permission," he said.
"Further, should immediate family members wish to be present for the arrival of their fallen hero at Dover, and this can be done without unduly delaying a fallen's return to his or her own hometown, we will facilitate that travel, and we will fund it," Gates said.
The study began with a survey of the groups concerned with the process. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael J. Basla chaired the Defense Department's working group. He said his group spoke with Gold Star Mothers, Gold Star Wives, veterans groups and senior enlisted advisors. "What we heard were two sides of the story," Basla said during an interview. "Some were very in favor of media access to the dignified transfers when the families agree, and some had concerns."
The concerns were all around wanting to put the fallen heroes in the best of light. "They were concerned that that may not happen if we lose control," Basla said. On the other hand, he said, many family members wanted to tell the stories of their loved ones.
Officials at Dover will work out how the process will work. If families do not want media present, then officials at Dover can accomplish the dignified transfer of remains for those fallen warriors before allowing the media out to the tarmac.
Media professionals will have a strict protocol to follow when covering the story, Basla said. "If any part of the media violates those protocols, then their access would be restricted in the future. We're going to preserve the privacy of these families, and we're going to maintain the dignity of these transfers."
In making his announcement, Gates echoed those sentiments.
"We are committed to seeing that America's fallen heroes are received back to their loved ones and their country with the honor, respect and recognition that they and their families have earned," he said.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Progress Made in Southcom Region, Challenges Remain, Admiral Says
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
March 17, 2009 - The top U.S. military officer for Latin America and the Caribbean today reported positive developments in the region over the past year, from increased military-to-military cooperation to progress in confronting drug-related terrorism to a dramatic hostage rescue by the Colombian military. Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis told the Senate Armed Services Committee he's confident these trends will continue in 2009, with new milestones to be reached in strengthening security cooperation with partner nations.
Stavridis cited major accomplishments during 2008, including the safe return and repatriation of three U.S. defense contractors held hostage for five and a half years in Colombia by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
The Colombian military executed a "very daring, audacious raid" that Stavridis called "a real example of the success in five and a half years of building partnership capacity."
"So I think Colombia is on the right track," he told the senators.
Meanwhile, Stavridis pointed to a "robust year" of military-to-military exercises that he said are building capacity within regional militaries and the cooperation needed to deal with cross-border threats. For example, this year's Panamax exercise, with 22 countries involved, constituted the world's largest military training exercise in terms of participation.
Other exercises that focus on everything from special operations to disaster relief are growing in scale, too, increasing capability in the region. Stavridis called this "very robust schedule of mil-to-mil contacts ... a big part of what we need to do in this region to maintain this positive military-to-military connection wherever we can."
One of Southcom's most gratifying missions last year, Continuing Promise, dispatched the USS Kearsarge and USS Boxer to the region to provide medical assistance. As the teams conducted 200,000 patient treatments ashore, they demonstrated U.S. compassion and competence, Stavridis said.
The mission is "a way we can connect with this region" while at the same time providing "great training" to U.S. forces, he said.
While emphasizing strides made, Stavridis cited the problem of the narcotics flow through the region, and the increased use of semi-submersible watercraft to transport them.
"Last year we were able to stop 230 tons of cocaine," he said, but he emphasized that the challenge is not just on the supply side, but also on the demand side in the United States. Working together with partners in Mexico and Central America, with the help of tracking and interception equipment and training provided through the U.S. Merida Initiative, is an important step in addressing this problem, he said.
Southcom is working to foil the proliferation of semi-submersibles -- submarine-like watercraft built in the Andean Ridge jungles that are difficult to track as they transport as much as 7 tons of cocaine -- the admiral told the committee. "We're focusing a lot of resources on interdicting those, and working with our partners to do so," he said.
Stavridis reminded the committee of the importance of Latin America and the Caribbean to U.S. security and U.S. interests.
"What happens south of us will influence what happens here in our own nation," he said.
American Forces Press Service
March 17, 2009 - The top U.S. military officer for Latin America and the Caribbean today reported positive developments in the region over the past year, from increased military-to-military cooperation to progress in confronting drug-related terrorism to a dramatic hostage rescue by the Colombian military. Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis told the Senate Armed Services Committee he's confident these trends will continue in 2009, with new milestones to be reached in strengthening security cooperation with partner nations.
Stavridis cited major accomplishments during 2008, including the safe return and repatriation of three U.S. defense contractors held hostage for five and a half years in Colombia by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
The Colombian military executed a "very daring, audacious raid" that Stavridis called "a real example of the success in five and a half years of building partnership capacity."
"So I think Colombia is on the right track," he told the senators.
Meanwhile, Stavridis pointed to a "robust year" of military-to-military exercises that he said are building capacity within regional militaries and the cooperation needed to deal with cross-border threats. For example, this year's Panamax exercise, with 22 countries involved, constituted the world's largest military training exercise in terms of participation.
Other exercises that focus on everything from special operations to disaster relief are growing in scale, too, increasing capability in the region. Stavridis called this "very robust schedule of mil-to-mil contacts ... a big part of what we need to do in this region to maintain this positive military-to-military connection wherever we can."
One of Southcom's most gratifying missions last year, Continuing Promise, dispatched the USS Kearsarge and USS Boxer to the region to provide medical assistance. As the teams conducted 200,000 patient treatments ashore, they demonstrated U.S. compassion and competence, Stavridis said.
The mission is "a way we can connect with this region" while at the same time providing "great training" to U.S. forces, he said.
While emphasizing strides made, Stavridis cited the problem of the narcotics flow through the region, and the increased use of semi-submersible watercraft to transport them.
"Last year we were able to stop 230 tons of cocaine," he said, but he emphasized that the challenge is not just on the supply side, but also on the demand side in the United States. Working together with partners in Mexico and Central America, with the help of tracking and interception equipment and training provided through the U.S. Merida Initiative, is an important step in addressing this problem, he said.
Southcom is working to foil the proliferation of semi-submersibles -- submarine-like watercraft built in the Andean Ridge jungles that are difficult to track as they transport as much as 7 tons of cocaine -- the admiral told the committee. "We're focusing a lot of resources on interdicting those, and working with our partners to do so," he said.
Stavridis reminded the committee of the importance of Latin America and the Caribbean to U.S. security and U.S. interests.
"What happens south of us will influence what happens here in our own nation," he said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
