By 1st Lt. Gina Vaccaro McKeen
Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
April 8, 2010 - Officials at the Air Force Culture and Language Center recently launched a program designed to identify Airmen with foreign language abilities and foster those skills throughout their careers.
The Language Enabled Airmen Program, or LEAP, is the first career-long program designed to offer language-sustainment training for Airmen in diverse career fields.
“We need Airmen across all our Air Force specialties with foreign language skills and cultural understanding so we will be able to interact with our coalition partners across the globe,” said Lt. Col. Brian Smith, the deputy director of the AFCLC Language Department at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. “The unique aspect of this program is that Airmen will devote time to maintaining and enhancing their language abilities while pursuing their normal operational assignments.”
The idea behind LEAP is to find Airmen who speak a foreign language and ensure they maintain their abilities through individual customized sustainment plans.
The Selection Process
Airmen will be selected based upon their demonstrated potential to achieve higher levels of foreign language proficiency as measured by their past performance in language courses, their Defense Language Proficiency Test and Defense Language Aptitude Battery scores, and their previous foreign language exposure.
The minimum score required on the DLAB, which measures an individual’s propensity for learning a language, is 85. The DLPT measures one’s reading, writing and speaking capability in a specific language; and Airmen are required to have a minimum score of 1+/1+ to be eligible.
While program officials prefer Airmen who speak a foreign language, they will allow exceptions. If an Airman has an exceptional DLAB score but has no specific language training, he or she may be accepted on a provisional basis. Provisional Airmen have time restrictions to meet the minimum eligibility requirements.
Applicants are considered by a board that includes representatives from the Air Force ROTC, U.S. Air Force Academy, Air Force Personnel Center, Air Force Language and Culture Program office, and AFCLC. A board will be held each spring and summer.
The date for the next board has not been set; however, a message will go out to Total Force Airmen at least 60 days before the board is scheduled to meet. Additionally, information on the program and application process is available at the AFCLC Web site, www.culture.af.edu. Interested Airmen may submit completed applications at any time.
All languages qualify; however, board members prioritize selections based on Air Force requirements.
Participating in LEAP
“Language is a perishable skill. We want to provide resources for Airmen who are interested in advanced foreign language development so they can maintain and enhance those skills throughout their careers,” Colonel Smith said.
The focus of this program, he added, is to find Airmen who are both willing and able to continue their language training.
“When Air Force officials recognize skills you already have then encourage you and reward you for using them, it motivates you to continue,” Colonel Smith said. “We want to develop a core group of Airmen across all Air Force specialties who can effectively communicate in at least one language other than English.”
Participants in the program will be required to complete up to three hours per week of online language training and are expected to reach and maintain a proficiency level of 2/2 or better on the DLPT. The maximum score is 5/5.
LEAP participants will take part in a language intensive training event of some kind within their first year of the program, then every year or two thereafter depending on the language difficulty and the ability to schedule around other career requirements. Potential opportunities include classroom training, study abroad and simulated immersion programs. The events could be offered anywhere in the world and require participants to communicate solely in the language of study.
“Language skills are critical in today’s global environment. With LEAP, we are looking to utilize our Airmen’s natural abilities and marry those natural gifts with Air Force requirements,” Colonel Smith said. “LEAP invests in our people throughout their entire careers and potentially affects their professional development in a very positive way by increasing their effectiveness as expeditionary Airmen.”
LEAP officials seek to locate qualified Airmen early in their careers because of the length of time required to become proficient in a foreign language, Col Smith added. Ideally, program officials would like Airmen with at least 10 years of active service remaining to ensure program participants can receive effective training in conjunction with their career progression.
The program is limited to officers and ROTC and academy cadets for now; however, the ultimate goal is to have 5 to 10 percent of the force active in the program at any time. Officials at the AFCLC emphasize that it will take a few years to get to this point and have said they are encouraged by the positive response across the Total Force.
Utilizing LEAP Airmen
Personnel at the AFCLC have created a web-enabled tracking system for LEAP participants that contains in-depth information about an Airman’s cultural and language skills, including education, training and experience.
With this new tracking system, officials can identify individuals with language skills in advance and forecast which positions, locations and languages will be needed or available in the future. This database provides Air Force leadership greater knowledge of the language resources they have available at any given time.
LEAP will allow officials to plan several years in advance for positions with language requirements and adjust incentive and recruiting programs accordingly, Colonel Smith added.
“Now we can determine, for example, the specific number of Airmen the Air Force expects to get in a certain Air Force specialty in a given year, which of those Airmen have language skills, and which jobs related to those language skills might be available throughout an Airman’s career,” he said. “The tracking system will allow us to predict where gaps in our capabilities will surface so we can focus recruiting, scholarships and opportunities to shape the force for future Air Force demands.
“We have always had Airmen with remarkable talents and skills,” Colonel Smith continued. “Language and cultural understanding are valuable resources that can benefit the Air Force mission every day.”
To find out more about LEAP or to download an application, visit the AFCLC Web site.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Naval Medical Center San Diego Opens New Multidisciplinary Spine Center
Lt. Cmdr. Charles Craven Jr.
Naval Medical Center San Diego Public Affairs
April 08, 2010 - The creation of the MDSC marks a significant collaborative effort between the departments of Orthopedics, Physical Therapy, Interventional Radiology, Anesthesia Pain Management and Primary Care Sports Medicine services at NMCSD. Through the combined efforts of these departments, patients receive comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for spinal disorders in one clinic visit. Patients can be seen by an orthopedic spine surgeon, a physical therapist as well as receive diagnostic and therapeutic treatments by interventional radiology and pain management specialists on the same day.
"The concept of a MDSC marks a new era in spinal care for the patients," said director of MDSC and NMCSD's Orthopedic Spine Surgeon Lt. Cmdr. Eric Harris. "By having all the players on the spine treatment team seeing patients in close proximity and communicating regularly about patient treatment plans, we have been able to more effectively manage our patients with a wide variety of spinal ailments. We have all the tools in place here to make the logistics of patient care seamless."
The typical injuries seen at MDSC include everything from low back pain to fractures of the cervical, thoracic, or lumbar spine. In addition, MDSC treats degenerative conditions of the spine as well as scoliosis and other complex deformities of the entire spine.
"Lt. Cmdr. Harris, Lt. Cmdr. Paul G. Shupe and the entire spinal surgery team, including the corpsman and nurses are top shelf," said Cmdr. Lawrence F. Guest, an NMCSD patient. "They really take care of you like mom and dad would and I appreciate being able to be seen by physical therapy and the surgeon in one visit."
MDSC currently has the capability to perform nearly 200 surgeries and accommodate approximately 5,000 outpatient encounters per year. NMCSD has the potential to more than double those numbers with two more spine surgeons joining the team and interaction with the sports medicine physicians at the SMART clinics.
"The multidisciplinary approach allows patients to begin care immediately from all angles," said Kirsten M. Wiley, a physical therapist on the MDSC team.
MDSC is made up of a staff surgeon, resident, nurse, 1-2 corpsman and a physical therapist. MDSC is located in the Physical Therapy Department in building three and open between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Friday along with every second and fourth Thursday's of the month.
Naval Medical Center San Diego Public Affairs
April 08, 2010 - The creation of the MDSC marks a significant collaborative effort between the departments of Orthopedics, Physical Therapy, Interventional Radiology, Anesthesia Pain Management and Primary Care Sports Medicine services at NMCSD. Through the combined efforts of these departments, patients receive comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for spinal disorders in one clinic visit. Patients can be seen by an orthopedic spine surgeon, a physical therapist as well as receive diagnostic and therapeutic treatments by interventional radiology and pain management specialists on the same day.
"The concept of a MDSC marks a new era in spinal care for the patients," said director of MDSC and NMCSD's Orthopedic Spine Surgeon Lt. Cmdr. Eric Harris. "By having all the players on the spine treatment team seeing patients in close proximity and communicating regularly about patient treatment plans, we have been able to more effectively manage our patients with a wide variety of spinal ailments. We have all the tools in place here to make the logistics of patient care seamless."
The typical injuries seen at MDSC include everything from low back pain to fractures of the cervical, thoracic, or lumbar spine. In addition, MDSC treats degenerative conditions of the spine as well as scoliosis and other complex deformities of the entire spine.
"Lt. Cmdr. Harris, Lt. Cmdr. Paul G. Shupe and the entire spinal surgery team, including the corpsman and nurses are top shelf," said Cmdr. Lawrence F. Guest, an NMCSD patient. "They really take care of you like mom and dad would and I appreciate being able to be seen by physical therapy and the surgeon in one visit."
MDSC currently has the capability to perform nearly 200 surgeries and accommodate approximately 5,000 outpatient encounters per year. NMCSD has the potential to more than double those numbers with two more spine surgeons joining the team and interaction with the sports medicine physicians at the SMART clinics.
"The multidisciplinary approach allows patients to begin care immediately from all angles," said Kirsten M. Wiley, a physical therapist on the MDSC team.
MDSC is made up of a staff surgeon, resident, nurse, 1-2 corpsman and a physical therapist. MDSC is located in the Physical Therapy Department in building three and open between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Friday along with every second and fourth Thursday's of the month.
Nuclear Posture Review
By Navy Adm. Mike Mullen
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
April 8, 2010 - As announced during an April 6 news conference, the chiefs and I fully support the findings of this Nuclear Posture Review.
We believe it provides us and our field commanders the opportunity to better shape our nuclear weapons posture, policies, and force structure to meet an ever-changing security environment. We appreciated the opportunity to inform it and to be informed by it, as a very collaborative interagency process went forward.
While it reduces the role played by nuclear weapons, a reduction I wholly endorse, this Nuclear Posture Review reaffirms our commitment to defend the vital interests of the United States and those of our partners and allies with a more balanced mix of nuclear and non-nuclear means than we have at our disposal today.
The review also retains the strategic triad of bombers, submarines and missiles that have served us so well, the review further strengthens us. It improves the United States command and control, works to prevent nuclear terrorism and proliferation, and suggests new dialogues through which to improve transparency with Russia and China.
While it precludes nuclear testing and the development of new warheads, the review bolsters regional deterrence by fielding new missile defenses, improving counter-WMD capabilities and revitalizing our nuclear support infrastructure.
As Secretary Gates made quite clear, we must invest more wisely and more generously to preserve the life span and the effectiveness of our existing arsenal. We must hold ourselves accountable to unimpeachably high standards of nuclear training, leadership, and management. Finally, we must recruit and then retain the scientific expertise to advance our technological edge in nuclear weaponry.
I'm encouraged to see these requirements so prominently addressed in the Nuclear Posture Review, but I'm also mindful of the challenge. Without such improvements, an aging nuclear force supported by a neglected infrastructure only invites enemy misbehavior and miscalculation.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
April 8, 2010 - As announced during an April 6 news conference, the chiefs and I fully support the findings of this Nuclear Posture Review.
We believe it provides us and our field commanders the opportunity to better shape our nuclear weapons posture, policies, and force structure to meet an ever-changing security environment. We appreciated the opportunity to inform it and to be informed by it, as a very collaborative interagency process went forward.
While it reduces the role played by nuclear weapons, a reduction I wholly endorse, this Nuclear Posture Review reaffirms our commitment to defend the vital interests of the United States and those of our partners and allies with a more balanced mix of nuclear and non-nuclear means than we have at our disposal today.
The review also retains the strategic triad of bombers, submarines and missiles that have served us so well, the review further strengthens us. It improves the United States command and control, works to prevent nuclear terrorism and proliferation, and suggests new dialogues through which to improve transparency with Russia and China.
While it precludes nuclear testing and the development of new warheads, the review bolsters regional deterrence by fielding new missile defenses, improving counter-WMD capabilities and revitalizing our nuclear support infrastructure.
As Secretary Gates made quite clear, we must invest more wisely and more generously to preserve the life span and the effectiveness of our existing arsenal. We must hold ourselves accountable to unimpeachably high standards of nuclear training, leadership, and management. Finally, we must recruit and then retain the scientific expertise to advance our technological edge in nuclear weaponry.
I'm encouraged to see these requirements so prominently addressed in the Nuclear Posture Review, but I'm also mindful of the challenge. Without such improvements, an aging nuclear force supported by a neglected infrastructure only invites enemy misbehavior and miscalculation.
MILITARY CONTRACTS April 8, 2010
ARMY
SRCTec, Inc., Syracuse, N.Y., was awarded on April 1 a $94,386,209 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 3,239 urgently required Duke V2 systems. Work is to be performed in Syracuse, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One sole source bid was solicited with one bid received. CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-05-D-S205).
BAE Systems, Ordnance Systems Inc., Kingsport, Tenn., was awarded on March 31 a $44,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract provides funding for the Area A to Area B acid facility relocation at Holston Army Ammunition Plant. Work is to be performed in Kingsport, Tenn., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Contracting Command, Rock Island, Arsenal, Ill., is the contracting activity (DAA09-98-E-0006).
Joseph J. Henderson and Son, Inc., Gurnee, Ill., was awarded on March 31 a $24,306,000 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is to construct an advanced waste water treatment plant at Fort Riley, Kan. Work is to be performed in Fort Riley, Kan., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 22, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with eight bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Kansas City District, CECT-NWK-M, Kansas City, Mo., is the contracting activity (W912DQ-10-C-4014).
L-3 Fuzing and Ordnance Systems, Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded on March 31 a $24,069,912 firm-fixed-price contract for M762A1. Work is to be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2013. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions & Lethality Contracting Center, CCJM-CA, Picattinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15QKN-09-C-0050).
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems-Scranton Operations, Scranton, Pa., was awarded on March 31 a $23,888,512 firm-fixed-price contract. The contract shall provide the facilities, personnel, and equipment for the manufacture of the 15mm M795 metal parts with flexible rotation band covers. Work is to be performed in Scranton, Pa., with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions & Lethality Contracting Center, CCJM-CA, Picattinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15QKN-08-C-0244).
BAE Systems National Security Solutions, Inc., San Diego, Calif., was awarded on March 31 a $23,405,241 cost-plus-award-fee contract. This contract is for the baseline scope of efforts including application of capabilities-based acquisition and disciplined program management, systems engineering, software engineering, hardware engineering, systems integration and testing, and other processes, practices, and resources. Work is to be performed in Newington, Va., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2012. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with three bids received. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Reston, Va., is the contracting activity (HM1572-07-C-0002).
Trumbull Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., was awarded on April 1 a $17,659,363 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is part of the major rehabilitation project for the stabilization of Emsworth Dams. This project involves stabilization of the back channel dam left abutment and installation of permanent scour protection consisting of grout filled bags downstream of the existing dam apron at Emsworth Locks and Dam, Ohio River, Pennsylvania. The work to be performed under this contract consists of furnishing all plant, materials, equipment, supplies, and labor for the installation of micropiles and rock anchors for stabilizing the existing abutment wall; a pipe pole and sheet pile combination wall installed riverward of the existing abutment to facilitate grade separation for the scour protection; dredging the river; and installation of new grout bag scour protection across and downstream of the existing channel dam. Work is to be performed in the Ohio River at the Emsworth Locks and Dam, back channel dam on Neville Island, Pittsburgh, Pa., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 23, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with five bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Pittsburgh, Pa., is the contracting activity (W911WN-10-C-0012).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded in April 1 a $16,660,000 firm-fixed-price contract for recertification of 48 PAC-3 missiles, teardown of 12 PAC-3 missiles, and repair of missiles as necessary. Work is to be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas (66 percent), and Huntsville, Ala. (34 percent), with an estimated completion date of January 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal., Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-007-C-0135).
Northrop Grumman Information Technology, McLean, Va., was awarded on March 31 a $15,998,775 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Army-Defense integrated human resource system, personnel and pay system, and IT services. Work is to be performed in Alexandria, Va., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2010. One bid was solicited with one bid received. National Capitol Region Contracting Center, Alexandria, Va., is the contracting activity (NOOO39-02-C-3238).
SGS, LLC, Oklahoma City, Okla., was awarded on March 31 a $15,282,126 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is for the construction of a 60,395 square foot simulation center, access control facility, tactical operations pad, and antenna tower at Fort Bliss, Texas. Supporting facilities include utilities, electric service, parking, paving, walks, curbs, gutters, storage space, storm drainage, information systems, landscaping, site improvements, and fire protection and alarm systems. Anti-terrorism measures include laminated glass, exterior lighting, and stand-off distances. Accessibility for individuals with disabilities will be provided. Air conditioning is estimated at 210 tons. Sustainable design, development, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 will be provided. The simulation center is required to support increases in virtual and live training. Work is to be performed in El Paso, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2011. One hundred and fifty-six bids were solicited with eight bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-10-C-0034).
Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was awarded on March 31 a $14,890,341 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. This contract is under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Phase II of the Emissive Micro-Display (EMD) program. Rockwell Collins will continue to optimize the EMD system to meet final program metrics based on the quantum photonic imager devices. Work is to be performed in multiple cities across the United States, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2012. Bids were solicited via Broad Agency Announcement with four bids received. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (HR0011-10-C-0098)
Techni Graphic Systems, Inc., Fort Collins, Colo., was awarded on March 31 a $13,192,724 contract for a production program consolidated task order to include negotiated firm-fixed-pricing which will be utilized to acquire global geospatial data products during the Award Term Five ordering period. Work is to be performed in Wooster, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2011. Nine bids were solicited with six bids received. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, ACMS, St. Louis, Mo., is the contracting activity (NMA302-03-D-0003).
General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on March 31 a $9,750,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for modification P00143, exercising an option for system technical support for the Abrams tank program. Work is to be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 19, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM-Warren, AMSCC-AHLC, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-C-0028).
Harris Corp., Melbourne, Fla., was awarded on March 31 a $9,280,000 contract for a production program consolidated task order to include negotiated firm-fixed-pricing which will be utilized to acquire global geospatial data products during the award term 5 ordering period. Work is to be performed in Melbourne, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Mar. 31, 2011. Nine bids were solicited with six bids received. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, ACMS, St. Louis, Mo., is the contracting activity (NMA302-03-D-0006).
Raytheon Systems Co., McKinney, Texas, was awarded on March 31 a $6,076,246 firm-fixed-price contract for 11 improved target acquisition sub-systems. Work is to be performed in McKinney, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, AMCOM Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contacting activity (W31P4Q-06-C-0290).
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, Fla., was awarded on March 31 a $5,669,300 firm-fixed-price contract. This procurement is for issuance of an undefinitized contract action for the purchase of performance-based logistics in support of Foreign Military Sales customer United Arab Emirates for the AH-64 Apache modernized target acquisition designation sight/pilot night vision sensor. Work is to be performed in Orlando, Fla., with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Aviation & Missile Command Contracting Center, CCAM-AP-B, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-10-C-0028).
TKC Integration, Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded on March 31 a $5,631,715 firm-fixed-price contract for Segovia dedicated radio frequency bandwidth 8.7 aggregate outroute; Optical Carrier Level 3 direct access terrestrial network link, inside the contiguous United States; and Segovia premium light shared. Work is to be performed in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid recived. Mission and Installation Contract Center, U.S. Army Reserve, Fort Dix, N.J., is the contracting activity (W911S1-10-F-0048).
NAVY
Northrop Grumman Technical Services, Inc., Herndon, Va., is being awarded a $49,999,051 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract providing operation and maintenance services for the combined tactical training ranges. Combined tactical training ranges provide live and virtual environment to support a broad range of mission essential tactical training requirements throughout the Navy aviation training continuum. Services will be required at shore sites, land-based test facilities, and aboard ships in ports and at sea. Work will be performed in Fallon, Nev. (40 percent); Yuma, Ariz. (25 percent); Cherry Point, N.C. (17 percent); Oceana, Va. (10 percent); Key West, Fla. (4 percent); and Beaufort, S.C. (4 percent). Work is expected to be completed by April 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $3,600,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Port Hueneme Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, Calif., is the contracting activity (N63394-10-C-5006).
Logistics Services International, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded a $48,000,000 ceiling priced indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to conduct site surveys; training plan and curriculum development; aircrew and maintenance training; publications review/update; logistics technical assistance; program management; and other support services for the P-3 aircraft for the government of Taiwan under the Foreign Military Sales program. Designed after Navy training standards, inside and outside the continental United States, training/support will provide Taiwan's Navy aircrew and maintenance personnel with technical proficiency in their respective positions. Work will be performed in Taiwan (95 percent) and Jacksonville, Fla. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Fla., is the contracting activity (N61339-10-D-0001).
Synexxus Inc.*, Arlington, Va., is being awarded a $7,292,774 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive-fee, performance-based contract to provide research, development, engineering, test, operations, maintenance, and sustainment of the Oberon data distribution system architecture; total system engineering; and quantitative analytics. The contract includes (1) one-year option period which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to an estimated $11,497,036. Work will be performed in Afghanistan (70 percent) and Iraq (30 percent), and is expected to be completed by April 2011. If all options are exercised, work could continue until April 2012. Funds will not be obligated at this time. The contract is being awarded on a sole source basis. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity (N65236-10-D-6070).
The Boeing Co., Lanham, Md., is being awarded a $7,148,440 firm-fixed-price order via the General Services Administration schedule for the procurement of 929 Combat Survivor Evader Locator radios (P/N 4866112101), including supporting equipment for the Navy. Work will be performed in Palmdale, Calif., and is expected to be completed in March 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to DFAR 206.302-1(a))(1)(i). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-10-F-0006).
Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems., El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a $5,792,324 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously issued Basic Order Agreement (N00019-05-G-0008) for the procurement of two AN/APG-79 active, electronically scanned array test radars to support the F/A-18 and EA-18G programs. Work will be performed in Forest, Miss. (45 percent); El Segundo, Calif. (35 percent); Andover, Mass. (15 percent); and Dallas, Texas (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
The Boeing Co., Seattle, Wash., is being awarded a sole-source cost-plus-award-fee modification for $32,713,529. Under this contract, Boeing will continue post flight experiment Laser - 01 work with additional missile engagement scenarios and flight testing to include all required support. The work will be performed in Seattle, Wash., and at three California locations: Edwards Air Force Base, Sunnyvale, and Redondo Beach. The performance period is through May 2010. Fiscal 2010 research, development, test, and evaluation funds will be used for this effort. The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity (F29601-97-C-0001).
AIR FORCE
Wyle Laboratories, Inc., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded a $6,808,382 contract which provides for the research, test, development, and delivery of communication and technical recommendations, technical studies, network operations reports, version updates, engineering studies, and requirements traceability matrices. At this time, $371,461 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (HC1047-05-D-4005).
Ellwood National Forge Co., Irvine, Pa., was awarded a contract which will exercise an option to procure 108 BLU-121 bombs to be used on precision guided air-to-surface weapons and Joint Direct Attack Munitions for the F-15E, F-16, and B-2 platforms. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 685 ARSS/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8677-10-C-0063, P00002).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Pierce Manufacturing, Inc., Appleton, Wis., is being awarded a maximum $5,240,275 firm-fixed-price, long-term contract for fire-fighting vehicle, structural pumper. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Navy. There were originally three proposals solicited with three responses. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Dec. 28, 2010. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM500-01-D-0062-0072).
SRCTec, Inc., Syracuse, N.Y., was awarded on April 1 a $94,386,209 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 3,239 urgently required Duke V2 systems. Work is to be performed in Syracuse, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One sole source bid was solicited with one bid received. CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-05-D-S205).
BAE Systems, Ordnance Systems Inc., Kingsport, Tenn., was awarded on March 31 a $44,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract provides funding for the Area A to Area B acid facility relocation at Holston Army Ammunition Plant. Work is to be performed in Kingsport, Tenn., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Contracting Command, Rock Island, Arsenal, Ill., is the contracting activity (DAA09-98-E-0006).
Joseph J. Henderson and Son, Inc., Gurnee, Ill., was awarded on March 31 a $24,306,000 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is to construct an advanced waste water treatment plant at Fort Riley, Kan. Work is to be performed in Fort Riley, Kan., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 22, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with eight bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Kansas City District, CECT-NWK-M, Kansas City, Mo., is the contracting activity (W912DQ-10-C-4014).
L-3 Fuzing and Ordnance Systems, Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded on March 31 a $24,069,912 firm-fixed-price contract for M762A1. Work is to be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2013. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions & Lethality Contracting Center, CCJM-CA, Picattinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15QKN-09-C-0050).
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems-Scranton Operations, Scranton, Pa., was awarded on March 31 a $23,888,512 firm-fixed-price contract. The contract shall provide the facilities, personnel, and equipment for the manufacture of the 15mm M795 metal parts with flexible rotation band covers. Work is to be performed in Scranton, Pa., with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions & Lethality Contracting Center, CCJM-CA, Picattinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15QKN-08-C-0244).
BAE Systems National Security Solutions, Inc., San Diego, Calif., was awarded on March 31 a $23,405,241 cost-plus-award-fee contract. This contract is for the baseline scope of efforts including application of capabilities-based acquisition and disciplined program management, systems engineering, software engineering, hardware engineering, systems integration and testing, and other processes, practices, and resources. Work is to be performed in Newington, Va., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2012. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with three bids received. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Reston, Va., is the contracting activity (HM1572-07-C-0002).
Trumbull Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., was awarded on April 1 a $17,659,363 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is part of the major rehabilitation project for the stabilization of Emsworth Dams. This project involves stabilization of the back channel dam left abutment and installation of permanent scour protection consisting of grout filled bags downstream of the existing dam apron at Emsworth Locks and Dam, Ohio River, Pennsylvania. The work to be performed under this contract consists of furnishing all plant, materials, equipment, supplies, and labor for the installation of micropiles and rock anchors for stabilizing the existing abutment wall; a pipe pole and sheet pile combination wall installed riverward of the existing abutment to facilitate grade separation for the scour protection; dredging the river; and installation of new grout bag scour protection across and downstream of the existing channel dam. Work is to be performed in the Ohio River at the Emsworth Locks and Dam, back channel dam on Neville Island, Pittsburgh, Pa., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 23, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with five bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Pittsburgh, Pa., is the contracting activity (W911WN-10-C-0012).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded in April 1 a $16,660,000 firm-fixed-price contract for recertification of 48 PAC-3 missiles, teardown of 12 PAC-3 missiles, and repair of missiles as necessary. Work is to be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas (66 percent), and Huntsville, Ala. (34 percent), with an estimated completion date of January 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal., Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-007-C-0135).
Northrop Grumman Information Technology, McLean, Va., was awarded on March 31 a $15,998,775 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Army-Defense integrated human resource system, personnel and pay system, and IT services. Work is to be performed in Alexandria, Va., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2010. One bid was solicited with one bid received. National Capitol Region Contracting Center, Alexandria, Va., is the contracting activity (NOOO39-02-C-3238).
SGS, LLC, Oklahoma City, Okla., was awarded on March 31 a $15,282,126 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is for the construction of a 60,395 square foot simulation center, access control facility, tactical operations pad, and antenna tower at Fort Bliss, Texas. Supporting facilities include utilities, electric service, parking, paving, walks, curbs, gutters, storage space, storm drainage, information systems, landscaping, site improvements, and fire protection and alarm systems. Anti-terrorism measures include laminated glass, exterior lighting, and stand-off distances. Accessibility for individuals with disabilities will be provided. Air conditioning is estimated at 210 tons. Sustainable design, development, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 will be provided. The simulation center is required to support increases in virtual and live training. Work is to be performed in El Paso, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2011. One hundred and fifty-six bids were solicited with eight bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-10-C-0034).
Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was awarded on March 31 a $14,890,341 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. This contract is under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Phase II of the Emissive Micro-Display (EMD) program. Rockwell Collins will continue to optimize the EMD system to meet final program metrics based on the quantum photonic imager devices. Work is to be performed in multiple cities across the United States, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2012. Bids were solicited via Broad Agency Announcement with four bids received. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (HR0011-10-C-0098)
Techni Graphic Systems, Inc., Fort Collins, Colo., was awarded on March 31 a $13,192,724 contract for a production program consolidated task order to include negotiated firm-fixed-pricing which will be utilized to acquire global geospatial data products during the Award Term Five ordering period. Work is to be performed in Wooster, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2011. Nine bids were solicited with six bids received. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, ACMS, St. Louis, Mo., is the contracting activity (NMA302-03-D-0003).
General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on March 31 a $9,750,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for modification P00143, exercising an option for system technical support for the Abrams tank program. Work is to be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 19, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM-Warren, AMSCC-AHLC, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-C-0028).
Harris Corp., Melbourne, Fla., was awarded on March 31 a $9,280,000 contract for a production program consolidated task order to include negotiated firm-fixed-pricing which will be utilized to acquire global geospatial data products during the award term 5 ordering period. Work is to be performed in Melbourne, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Mar. 31, 2011. Nine bids were solicited with six bids received. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, ACMS, St. Louis, Mo., is the contracting activity (NMA302-03-D-0006).
Raytheon Systems Co., McKinney, Texas, was awarded on March 31 a $6,076,246 firm-fixed-price contract for 11 improved target acquisition sub-systems. Work is to be performed in McKinney, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, AMCOM Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contacting activity (W31P4Q-06-C-0290).
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, Fla., was awarded on March 31 a $5,669,300 firm-fixed-price contract. This procurement is for issuance of an undefinitized contract action for the purchase of performance-based logistics in support of Foreign Military Sales customer United Arab Emirates for the AH-64 Apache modernized target acquisition designation sight/pilot night vision sensor. Work is to be performed in Orlando, Fla., with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Aviation & Missile Command Contracting Center, CCAM-AP-B, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-10-C-0028).
TKC Integration, Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded on March 31 a $5,631,715 firm-fixed-price contract for Segovia dedicated radio frequency bandwidth 8.7 aggregate outroute; Optical Carrier Level 3 direct access terrestrial network link, inside the contiguous United States; and Segovia premium light shared. Work is to be performed in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid recived. Mission and Installation Contract Center, U.S. Army Reserve, Fort Dix, N.J., is the contracting activity (W911S1-10-F-0048).
NAVY
Northrop Grumman Technical Services, Inc., Herndon, Va., is being awarded a $49,999,051 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract providing operation and maintenance services for the combined tactical training ranges. Combined tactical training ranges provide live and virtual environment to support a broad range of mission essential tactical training requirements throughout the Navy aviation training continuum. Services will be required at shore sites, land-based test facilities, and aboard ships in ports and at sea. Work will be performed in Fallon, Nev. (40 percent); Yuma, Ariz. (25 percent); Cherry Point, N.C. (17 percent); Oceana, Va. (10 percent); Key West, Fla. (4 percent); and Beaufort, S.C. (4 percent). Work is expected to be completed by April 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $3,600,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Port Hueneme Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, Calif., is the contracting activity (N63394-10-C-5006).
Logistics Services International, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded a $48,000,000 ceiling priced indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to conduct site surveys; training plan and curriculum development; aircrew and maintenance training; publications review/update; logistics technical assistance; program management; and other support services for the P-3 aircraft for the government of Taiwan under the Foreign Military Sales program. Designed after Navy training standards, inside and outside the continental United States, training/support will provide Taiwan's Navy aircrew and maintenance personnel with technical proficiency in their respective positions. Work will be performed in Taiwan (95 percent) and Jacksonville, Fla. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Fla., is the contracting activity (N61339-10-D-0001).
Synexxus Inc.*, Arlington, Va., is being awarded a $7,292,774 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive-fee, performance-based contract to provide research, development, engineering, test, operations, maintenance, and sustainment of the Oberon data distribution system architecture; total system engineering; and quantitative analytics. The contract includes (1) one-year option period which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to an estimated $11,497,036. Work will be performed in Afghanistan (70 percent) and Iraq (30 percent), and is expected to be completed by April 2011. If all options are exercised, work could continue until April 2012. Funds will not be obligated at this time. The contract is being awarded on a sole source basis. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity (N65236-10-D-6070).
The Boeing Co., Lanham, Md., is being awarded a $7,148,440 firm-fixed-price order via the General Services Administration schedule for the procurement of 929 Combat Survivor Evader Locator radios (P/N 4866112101), including supporting equipment for the Navy. Work will be performed in Palmdale, Calif., and is expected to be completed in March 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to DFAR 206.302-1(a))(1)(i). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-10-F-0006).
Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems., El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a $5,792,324 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously issued Basic Order Agreement (N00019-05-G-0008) for the procurement of two AN/APG-79 active, electronically scanned array test radars to support the F/A-18 and EA-18G programs. Work will be performed in Forest, Miss. (45 percent); El Segundo, Calif. (35 percent); Andover, Mass. (15 percent); and Dallas, Texas (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
The Boeing Co., Seattle, Wash., is being awarded a sole-source cost-plus-award-fee modification for $32,713,529. Under this contract, Boeing will continue post flight experiment Laser - 01 work with additional missile engagement scenarios and flight testing to include all required support. The work will be performed in Seattle, Wash., and at three California locations: Edwards Air Force Base, Sunnyvale, and Redondo Beach. The performance period is through May 2010. Fiscal 2010 research, development, test, and evaluation funds will be used for this effort. The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity (F29601-97-C-0001).
AIR FORCE
Wyle Laboratories, Inc., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded a $6,808,382 contract which provides for the research, test, development, and delivery of communication and technical recommendations, technical studies, network operations reports, version updates, engineering studies, and requirements traceability matrices. At this time, $371,461 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (HC1047-05-D-4005).
Ellwood National Forge Co., Irvine, Pa., was awarded a contract which will exercise an option to procure 108 BLU-121 bombs to be used on precision guided air-to-surface weapons and Joint Direct Attack Munitions for the F-15E, F-16, and B-2 platforms. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 685 ARSS/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8677-10-C-0063, P00002).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Pierce Manufacturing, Inc., Appleton, Wis., is being awarded a maximum $5,240,275 firm-fixed-price, long-term contract for fire-fighting vehicle, structural pumper. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Navy. There were originally three proposals solicited with three responses. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Dec. 28, 2010. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM500-01-D-0062-0072).
Air Force Services officials launch Month of the Military Child programs
by Tech. Sgt. Amaani Lyle
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
4/8/2010 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Air Force Services officials are highlighting a variety and scope of programs in partnership with base agencies for Month of Military Child and Year of the Air Force Family in recognition of military children and their families.
"Stay Connected" is among several Air Force-wide initiatives designed to help parents and children stay in touch during deployed members' time away from home.
The Air Force Stay Connected Deployment Kit contains items such as stuffed animals, pens and disposable cameras.
"The kit provides young people and parents an avenue to keep a connection during the deployed members' time away from home," said Eliza Nesmith, an Air Force family member programs specialist. "The items in the kit come in pairs, so that the young person and parent can have an item that will help them remember each other."
Active duty, Guard and Reserve locations received the kits for assembly and use during Month of Military Child and Year of the Air Force Family. So far, in 2010, deploying families received 8,000 Stay Connected Deployment Kits, with more than 20,000 kits distributed since the program's inception in 2007.
During MOMC, bases throughout the Air Force are hosting special activities at installation libraries, bowling centers, fitness centers, and enlisted and officer clubs. Organizations such as outdoor recreation, security forces and family advocacy are collaborating to promote parades, concerts, book fairs, cookouts, family bingo, block parties and art auctions and more.
The month also includes health and wellness parental education activities such as car seat inspections, pet safety, speech and hearing screenings and brown bag lunch seminars.
"These events combine fun, education and recognition to celebrate military children and continue in our mission of taking care of Airmen and their families," Ms. Nesmith said.
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
4/8/2010 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Air Force Services officials are highlighting a variety and scope of programs in partnership with base agencies for Month of Military Child and Year of the Air Force Family in recognition of military children and their families.
"Stay Connected" is among several Air Force-wide initiatives designed to help parents and children stay in touch during deployed members' time away from home.
The Air Force Stay Connected Deployment Kit contains items such as stuffed animals, pens and disposable cameras.
"The kit provides young people and parents an avenue to keep a connection during the deployed members' time away from home," said Eliza Nesmith, an Air Force family member programs specialist. "The items in the kit come in pairs, so that the young person and parent can have an item that will help them remember each other."
Active duty, Guard and Reserve locations received the kits for assembly and use during Month of Military Child and Year of the Air Force Family. So far, in 2010, deploying families received 8,000 Stay Connected Deployment Kits, with more than 20,000 kits distributed since the program's inception in 2007.
During MOMC, bases throughout the Air Force are hosting special activities at installation libraries, bowling centers, fitness centers, and enlisted and officer clubs. Organizations such as outdoor recreation, security forces and family advocacy are collaborating to promote parades, concerts, book fairs, cookouts, family bingo, block parties and art auctions and more.
The month also includes health and wellness parental education activities such as car seat inspections, pet safety, speech and hearing screenings and brown bag lunch seminars.
"These events combine fun, education and recognition to celebrate military children and continue in our mission of taking care of Airmen and their families," Ms. Nesmith said.
Air Force officials honor top Public Affairs communicators
4/8/2010 - Air Force Public Affairs Agency officials here announced the results of the 2009 Air Force Media Contest in writing, photography and broadcasting April 7.
Winners in writing and broadcast categories advance to represent the Air Force in the annual Department of Defense Thomas Jefferson Awards Program later this month.
Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski of the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs staff is the Air Force Print Journalist of the Year.
The Air Force Photographer of the Year is Staff Sgt. Clay Lancaster of the 1st Combat Camera Squadron from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.
Staff Sgt. Kurtis Villavicencio of American Forces Network Korea is the Air Force Broadcast Journalist of the Year.
The contest is sponsored by the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs and is conducted by members of the Headquarters Air Force Public Affairs Agency in Arlington, Va.
Winners in the other print categories are:
- Outstanding new writer: Airman 1st Class Joe McFadden from the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla.
- News article: Staff Sgt. Jake Richmond from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.
- Feature article: Sergeant Buzanowski.
- Sports article: Staff Sgt. Eydie Sakura from the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont.
- Commentary: Master Sgt. Russell Petcoff from SAF/PA.
- Series: Senior Airman Emerald Ralston from the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild AFB, Wash.
- Art/graphics: Staff Sgt. Chris Ingersoll from the 100th Air Refueling Wing at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England.
- Photojournalism: Senior Airman Marc Lane from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
- Web-based publication: the 100th ARW.
Winners in other photography categories are:
-- Outstanding new photographer: Senior Airman Nathanael Callon from the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.
-- Combat documentation photograph: Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock from the 1st CTCS.
-- News photograph: Tech Sgt. Jeff Wolfe from the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Ariz.
-- Feature photograph: Staff Sgt. Larry Reid from the 99th Air Base Wing at Nellis AFB, Nev.
-- Sports photograph: Sergeant Lancaster.
-- Portrait/personality photograph: Staff Sgt. Hueming Mui from the 439th Airlift Wing at Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass.
-- Illustrative photography: Airman 1st Class Corey Hook from the 28th BW.
-- Pictorial photograph: Staff Sgt. Jason Robertson from the 1st CTCS.
-- Picture story: Staff Sgt. Jason Lake from the 18th Wing at Kadena AB, Japan.
-- Best Stand-Alone Photograph: Sergeant Reid.
Winners in other broadcast categories are:
-- Outstanding new broadcaster: Airman Ryan Lis from the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota AB, Japan.
-- Radio entertainment program: Senior Airman Jarid Watson and Airman 1st Class Lauren Lagudi from AFN Aviano at Aviano AB, Italy.
-- Radio spot production: Master Sgt. Christopher Eder from Headquarters AFN South/Network Production Center at Vicenza, Italy.
-- Radio news report: Sergeant Eder.
-- Radio feature report: Staff Sgt. Trevor Pedro from the Defense Media Activity Regional News Center-Europe at Ramstein AB, Germany.
-- Radio sports report: Staff Sgt. Robert Joswiak from AFN Kaiserslautern, Germany.
-- Radio newscast: AFN Aviano.
-- TV spot production: Senior Airman Zach Vaughn from Air Combat Command at Langley AFB, Va.
-- TV news report: Staff Sgt. Todd Kabalan from AFN Aviano.
-- TV feature report: Nick Tovo from DMA Hawaii at Hickam AFB, Hawaii.
-- TV sports report: Staff Sgt. Jason David from DMA RNC-Europe.
-- Local Television Newscast: AFN Misawa at Misawa AB, Japan.
-- Regional TV newscast: AFN Tokyo, Japan.
-- TV newsbreak: Senior Airman George Solis from AFN Incirlik at Incirlik AB,Turkey.
-- Video documentary: Senior Airman Zacharia Lopez from the 1st CTCS.
-- Video field production: 3rd CTCS from Lackland AFB, Texas.
In photography, only the best stand-alone photo advances to the Thomas Jefferson contest as DOD officials have a separate competition for photography.
This year's contest, which featured nearly 300 entries, was judged at the agency's headquarters by 10 civilian print, broadcast and photography professionals.
Winners in writing and broadcast categories advance to represent the Air Force in the annual Department of Defense Thomas Jefferson Awards Program later this month.
Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski of the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs staff is the Air Force Print Journalist of the Year.
The Air Force Photographer of the Year is Staff Sgt. Clay Lancaster of the 1st Combat Camera Squadron from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.
Staff Sgt. Kurtis Villavicencio of American Forces Network Korea is the Air Force Broadcast Journalist of the Year.
The contest is sponsored by the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs and is conducted by members of the Headquarters Air Force Public Affairs Agency in Arlington, Va.
Winners in the other print categories are:
- Outstanding new writer: Airman 1st Class Joe McFadden from the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla.
- News article: Staff Sgt. Jake Richmond from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.
- Feature article: Sergeant Buzanowski.
- Sports article: Staff Sgt. Eydie Sakura from the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont.
- Commentary: Master Sgt. Russell Petcoff from SAF/PA.
- Series: Senior Airman Emerald Ralston from the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild AFB, Wash.
- Art/graphics: Staff Sgt. Chris Ingersoll from the 100th Air Refueling Wing at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England.
- Photojournalism: Senior Airman Marc Lane from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
- Web-based publication: the 100th ARW.
Winners in other photography categories are:
-- Outstanding new photographer: Senior Airman Nathanael Callon from the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.
-- Combat documentation photograph: Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock from the 1st CTCS.
-- News photograph: Tech Sgt. Jeff Wolfe from the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Ariz.
-- Feature photograph: Staff Sgt. Larry Reid from the 99th Air Base Wing at Nellis AFB, Nev.
-- Sports photograph: Sergeant Lancaster.
-- Portrait/personality photograph: Staff Sgt. Hueming Mui from the 439th Airlift Wing at Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass.
-- Illustrative photography: Airman 1st Class Corey Hook from the 28th BW.
-- Pictorial photograph: Staff Sgt. Jason Robertson from the 1st CTCS.
-- Picture story: Staff Sgt. Jason Lake from the 18th Wing at Kadena AB, Japan.
-- Best Stand-Alone Photograph: Sergeant Reid.
Winners in other broadcast categories are:
-- Outstanding new broadcaster: Airman Ryan Lis from the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota AB, Japan.
-- Radio entertainment program: Senior Airman Jarid Watson and Airman 1st Class Lauren Lagudi from AFN Aviano at Aviano AB, Italy.
-- Radio spot production: Master Sgt. Christopher Eder from Headquarters AFN South/Network Production Center at Vicenza, Italy.
-- Radio news report: Sergeant Eder.
-- Radio feature report: Staff Sgt. Trevor Pedro from the Defense Media Activity Regional News Center-Europe at Ramstein AB, Germany.
-- Radio sports report: Staff Sgt. Robert Joswiak from AFN Kaiserslautern, Germany.
-- Radio newscast: AFN Aviano.
-- TV spot production: Senior Airman Zach Vaughn from Air Combat Command at Langley AFB, Va.
-- TV news report: Staff Sgt. Todd Kabalan from AFN Aviano.
-- TV feature report: Nick Tovo from DMA Hawaii at Hickam AFB, Hawaii.
-- TV sports report: Staff Sgt. Jason David from DMA RNC-Europe.
-- Local Television Newscast: AFN Misawa at Misawa AB, Japan.
-- Regional TV newscast: AFN Tokyo, Japan.
-- TV newsbreak: Senior Airman George Solis from AFN Incirlik at Incirlik AB,Turkey.
-- Video documentary: Senior Airman Zacharia Lopez from the 1st CTCS.
-- Video field production: 3rd CTCS from Lackland AFB, Texas.
In photography, only the best stand-alone photo advances to the Thomas Jefferson contest as DOD officials have a separate competition for photography.
This year's contest, which featured nearly 300 entries, was judged at the agency's headquarters by 10 civilian print, broadcast and photography professionals.
Defense Department Launches Open Government Plan
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2010 - The Defense Department today released its Open Government Plan, which articulates how the department seeks to make its operations and data more transparent to the public, officials said. Available online at http://www.defense.gov/open, the plan outlines the department's efforts to expand opportunities for citizen participation, collaboration and oversight. It is the latest major milestone for the department in its focus on openness and transparency, as envisioned in a directive issued in December by President Barack Obama.
"The Department of Defense has demonstrated its commitment to improve transparency, participation and collaboration," since the directive was issued, Elizabeth A. McGrath, assistant deputy chief management officer, said in a news release. "Improved transparency can enable the public to better understand goals and activities of the department and facilitate analysis of data never before shared publicly. Broader participation can serve to lower barriers between the federal government and public citizens."
Together with public input, the Open Government Plan includes material from across the department, drawing on the expertise of management, public affairs, the technology sector, security and legal professionals. The collaborative nature of the process is symbolic of its goals: an agency that is more efficient and collaborative at accomplishing its key mission and is more transparent and open to taxpayers, officials said.
"Embracing open government at the Department of Defense will generate new ideas benefiting both the warfighter and U.S. citizens," McGrath, head of the Defense Department's Open Government project, said. "The department looks forward to strengthening the pillars of Open Government in the months and years to come."
In the past four months, the department has created an open government Web page, added high-value data sets to http://www.data.gov and has begun to create a governance structure for a long-term commitment to these goals.
In February and March, the public was invited to submit ideas for the plan on an Open Government Web site. Citizens suggested 92 ideas, cast more than 600 votes and wrote 111 comments.
Defense officials reviewed all of the suggestions and comments in drafting the Open Government Plan document, and specifically committed to acting on several of the most-popular ideas.
The plan, posted online today, aims to continue the dialogue by allowing the public to comment on individual sections, officials said.
April 8, 2010 - The Defense Department today released its Open Government Plan, which articulates how the department seeks to make its operations and data more transparent to the public, officials said. Available online at http://www.defense.gov/open, the plan outlines the department's efforts to expand opportunities for citizen participation, collaboration and oversight. It is the latest major milestone for the department in its focus on openness and transparency, as envisioned in a directive issued in December by President Barack Obama.
"The Department of Defense has demonstrated its commitment to improve transparency, participation and collaboration," since the directive was issued, Elizabeth A. McGrath, assistant deputy chief management officer, said in a news release. "Improved transparency can enable the public to better understand goals and activities of the department and facilitate analysis of data never before shared publicly. Broader participation can serve to lower barriers between the federal government and public citizens."
Together with public input, the Open Government Plan includes material from across the department, drawing on the expertise of management, public affairs, the technology sector, security and legal professionals. The collaborative nature of the process is symbolic of its goals: an agency that is more efficient and collaborative at accomplishing its key mission and is more transparent and open to taxpayers, officials said.
"Embracing open government at the Department of Defense will generate new ideas benefiting both the warfighter and U.S. citizens," McGrath, head of the Defense Department's Open Government project, said. "The department looks forward to strengthening the pillars of Open Government in the months and years to come."
In the past four months, the department has created an open government Web page, added high-value data sets to http://www.data.gov and has begun to create a governance structure for a long-term commitment to these goals.
In February and March, the public was invited to submit ideas for the plan on an Open Government Web site. Citizens suggested 92 ideas, cast more than 600 votes and wrote 111 comments.
Defense officials reviewed all of the suggestions and comments in drafting the Open Government Plan document, and specifically committed to acting on several of the most-popular ideas.
The plan, posted online today, aims to continue the dialogue by allowing the public to comment on individual sections, officials said.
Defense Officials Clarify Nuclear Review
By Ian Graham
Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity
April 8, 2010 - The Nuclear Posture Review has laid out a roadmap for the United States to follow in future nuclear dealings, and it also has raised a lot of questions in the public forum.
Bradley H. Roberts, deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and missile defense, and Navy Adm. John E. Roberti, deputy director for strategy and policy for the Joint Staff, spoke with journalists on a DoDLive Bloggers' Roundtable yesterday to clarify the particulars of the review.
"It is intended to take concrete steps now to reduce our reliance – to reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons -- while at the same time ensuring that we maintain a safe, secure and effective deterrence, so long as nuclear weapons remain relevant," Roberts said.
"We are seeking to increase our reliance on non-nuclear means of deterrence, principally missile defense, non-nuclear strike capabilities, and what we're calling countering-WMD, or combating-WMD capabilities," he said, referring to weapons of mass destruction.
The review will provide a modern perspective on nuclear deterrence policy, not a removal of nuclear weapons from the United States arsenal, as some have interpreted. Only one weapon, the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile-Nuclear or TLAM-N, is being retired, Roberti said.
The policy is by no means a reduction of capability, Roberts said, but more of a repackaging that will allow the United States to respond to threats appropriately and, ideally, to avoid the disastrous repercussions of using nuclear weapons.
"A nuclear weapon would be perfectly thorough in dealing with the military threat," Roberts said. "We'd like to have other means; we think that would be more credible as a threat in the eye of [an enemy] that we might actually employ that other means.
"Our desire is to have the niche capability that we think is credible in the eyes of the Kim Jong-Ils of the world," Roberts said, referring to the North Korean dictator, "but not to go so far down this pathway that we're preventing further nuclear reductions by Russia or generating concerns in Russia and China about the destabilizing impact of these capabilities."
But it also uses what Roberts called "calculated ambiguity" to allow the president to call for a nuclear strike if needed.
"The president chose a middle ground because he was not persuaded that the conditions exist today to enable us to safely say that the only purpose of our nuclear weapons is to deter nuclear attack," Roberts said.
Primarily, the report has provided a "roadmap," as Defense Secretary Robert Gates put it, to work multilaterally to reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles around the world.
"Those who wanted a concrete, pragmatic war plan to actually reduce nuclear dangers and to identify an agenda of activities that can be accomplished cooperatively internationally, see a lot in this report," Roberti said.
The global security situation is drastically different than it was 20, 40, or 60 years ago, and requires different methods of defense, Roberts said.
"In this environment, we have some clear nuclear dangers in front of us -- dangers posed by defiant states seeking nuclear weapons in defiance of the international community and in violation of their treaty commitments, and for these states we need strong and effective deterrence postures," he said. "So long as nuclear threats remain from these states, the nuclear umbrella will remain as part of this overall regional deterrence architecture."
Although the situation is different, Roberts said, it's no less dire. North Korea and Iran have both made efforts to develop nuclear weapons programs. The leaders of al Qaida also have stated their intent to obtain and use nuclear weapons.
"These are all alarming indicators," Roberts said. "They are not proof that there is a nuclear weapon being smuggled today or tomorrow, but there are alarming indicators that require our serious attention."
According to the review and current nuclear policy, that attention could mean very bad results for anyone posing a threat to the United States. While the plan is to lower the number of nuclear weapons, it is not to shrink the United States' ability to respond to aggression, Roberti said.
"Our declaratory policy says that if you're a non-nuclear-weapon state, as defined by the non-proliferation treaty, and you are in good standing, you're honoring your non-proliferation obligations, you are at no risk," he said. "If you are not in good standing with your nuclear non-proliferation obligations, the United States rules out nothing."
Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity
April 8, 2010 - The Nuclear Posture Review has laid out a roadmap for the United States to follow in future nuclear dealings, and it also has raised a lot of questions in the public forum.
Bradley H. Roberts, deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and missile defense, and Navy Adm. John E. Roberti, deputy director for strategy and policy for the Joint Staff, spoke with journalists on a DoDLive Bloggers' Roundtable yesterday to clarify the particulars of the review.
"It is intended to take concrete steps now to reduce our reliance – to reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons -- while at the same time ensuring that we maintain a safe, secure and effective deterrence, so long as nuclear weapons remain relevant," Roberts said.
"We are seeking to increase our reliance on non-nuclear means of deterrence, principally missile defense, non-nuclear strike capabilities, and what we're calling countering-WMD, or combating-WMD capabilities," he said, referring to weapons of mass destruction.
The review will provide a modern perspective on nuclear deterrence policy, not a removal of nuclear weapons from the United States arsenal, as some have interpreted. Only one weapon, the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile-Nuclear or TLAM-N, is being retired, Roberti said.
The policy is by no means a reduction of capability, Roberts said, but more of a repackaging that will allow the United States to respond to threats appropriately and, ideally, to avoid the disastrous repercussions of using nuclear weapons.
"A nuclear weapon would be perfectly thorough in dealing with the military threat," Roberts said. "We'd like to have other means; we think that would be more credible as a threat in the eye of [an enemy] that we might actually employ that other means.
"Our desire is to have the niche capability that we think is credible in the eyes of the Kim Jong-Ils of the world," Roberts said, referring to the North Korean dictator, "but not to go so far down this pathway that we're preventing further nuclear reductions by Russia or generating concerns in Russia and China about the destabilizing impact of these capabilities."
But it also uses what Roberts called "calculated ambiguity" to allow the president to call for a nuclear strike if needed.
"The president chose a middle ground because he was not persuaded that the conditions exist today to enable us to safely say that the only purpose of our nuclear weapons is to deter nuclear attack," Roberts said.
Primarily, the report has provided a "roadmap," as Defense Secretary Robert Gates put it, to work multilaterally to reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles around the world.
"Those who wanted a concrete, pragmatic war plan to actually reduce nuclear dangers and to identify an agenda of activities that can be accomplished cooperatively internationally, see a lot in this report," Roberti said.
The global security situation is drastically different than it was 20, 40, or 60 years ago, and requires different methods of defense, Roberts said.
"In this environment, we have some clear nuclear dangers in front of us -- dangers posed by defiant states seeking nuclear weapons in defiance of the international community and in violation of their treaty commitments, and for these states we need strong and effective deterrence postures," he said. "So long as nuclear threats remain from these states, the nuclear umbrella will remain as part of this overall regional deterrence architecture."
Although the situation is different, Roberts said, it's no less dire. North Korea and Iran have both made efforts to develop nuclear weapons programs. The leaders of al Qaida also have stated their intent to obtain and use nuclear weapons.
"These are all alarming indicators," Roberts said. "They are not proof that there is a nuclear weapon being smuggled today or tomorrow, but there are alarming indicators that require our serious attention."
According to the review and current nuclear policy, that attention could mean very bad results for anyone posing a threat to the United States. While the plan is to lower the number of nuclear weapons, it is not to shrink the United States' ability to respond to aggression, Roberti said.
"Our declaratory policy says that if you're a non-nuclear-weapon state, as defined by the non-proliferation treaty, and you are in good standing, you're honoring your non-proliferation obligations, you are at no risk," he said. "If you are not in good standing with your nuclear non-proliferation obligations, the United States rules out nothing."
U.S. Soldiers MIA from Vietnam War Identified
April 8, 2010 - The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of four U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
A group burial for U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth L. Stancil, Chattanooga, Tenn.; Chief Warrant Officer Jesse D. Phelps, Boise, Idaho; Spc. Thomas Rice, Jr., Spartanburg, S.C.; and Spc. Donald C. Grella, Laurel, Neb., as well as Rice's individual remains burial will be tomorrow at Arlington National Cemetery. Stancil, Phelps and Grella were buried individually last year.
The four men were aboard a UH-1D Huey helicopter which failed to return from a mission over Gia Lai Province, South Vietnam to pick up special forces soldiers on Dec. 28, 1965. The exact location of the crash site was not determined during the war, and search and rescue operations were suspended after failing to locate the men after four days.
From 1993-2005, joint U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam teams led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command attempted unsuccessfully to locate the site. But in April 2006, a joint team interviewed two local villagers, one of whom said he had shot down a U.S. helicopter in 1965. The villagers escorted the team to the crash site where wreckage was found. In March 2009, another joint team excavated the area and recovered human remains and other artifacts including an identification tag from Grella.
JPAC's scientists employed traditional forensic techniques in making these identifications, including comparisons of dental records with the remains found at the site.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1169.
A group burial for U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth L. Stancil, Chattanooga, Tenn.; Chief Warrant Officer Jesse D. Phelps, Boise, Idaho; Spc. Thomas Rice, Jr., Spartanburg, S.C.; and Spc. Donald C. Grella, Laurel, Neb., as well as Rice's individual remains burial will be tomorrow at Arlington National Cemetery. Stancil, Phelps and Grella were buried individually last year.
The four men were aboard a UH-1D Huey helicopter which failed to return from a mission over Gia Lai Province, South Vietnam to pick up special forces soldiers on Dec. 28, 1965. The exact location of the crash site was not determined during the war, and search and rescue operations were suspended after failing to locate the men after four days.
From 1993-2005, joint U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam teams led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command attempted unsuccessfully to locate the site. But in April 2006, a joint team interviewed two local villagers, one of whom said he had shot down a U.S. helicopter in 1965. The villagers escorted the team to the crash site where wreckage was found. In March 2009, another joint team excavated the area and recovered human remains and other artifacts including an identification tag from Grella.
JPAC's scientists employed traditional forensic techniques in making these identifications, including comparisons of dental records with the remains found at the site.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1169.
Sailor Overcomes Much to Compete in Warrior Games
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2010 - When Navy Seaman Judi Boyce toes the archer's line at the inaugural Warrior Games next month, she intends to overcome her disabilities and set the tone for the next chapter of her life. Boyce is no stranger to adversity. She grew up in foster care, and now is learning to live with a rare brain condition that caused her to have a stroke around Thanksgiving 2008.
Boyce said in an interview with American Forces Press Service that she is approaching the Warrior Games with a no-nonsense attitude.
Boyce also is eager to crush any doubt people may have about her abilities and in particular silence her harshest critic: herself.
"I still can't do a lot of things without a doctor present, so a lot of these events are going to be a great opportunity to just go out and do them," the 21-year-old New Jersey native said. "I am nervous, but I just need to prove to myself that I'm still capable."
Along with archery, Boyce is set to compete in track and field and swimming events, she said. She's one of 25 sailors and Coast Guardsmen who make up the Navy team participating in the games slated May 10-14 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The games will feature track and field, as well as swimming, cycling, marksmanship, and wheelchair basketball and wheelchair volleyball. Two hundred disabled veterans and wounded warriors from all branches of the military are expected to compete.
At first, Boyce was hesitant about taking part in the games, she said. Moyamoya disease, a condition that restricts blood flow to certain arteries in the brain, has left the culinary arts specialist with blurred vision, short-term memory loss and numbness throughout her body. She's also prone to "mini-strokes," she explained.
But when she learned archery would be part of the competition, memories of some of the happier times in her life came racing back. As a child, Boyce spent several summers at camp, where she took a liking to archery. As she became older, she started teaching archery to the younger kids, she said.
"Archery is the big thing I'm looking forward to at the Warrior Games," she said. "I loved it at camp, growing up. It was such a blast.
"The [Warrior Games] is a good way to get back into the swing of things and still be competitive," Boyce added, noting that she hasn't been very physically active since being diagnosed with Moyamoya disease. "It's also going to be fun, because we're starting something new. It's the first Warrior Games, and we're the group that's starting it off."
The games will likely be Boyce's last hoorah in the military. She expects to be medically retired from the Navy a few weeks after the games, something she's not looking forward to, she said.
Learning to live with the condition has been difficult. She's learned to channel her frustrations into cooking and other activities, but leaving the military is the last thing she ever wanted. She loves being a cook, and is grateful for the friends she has made. But the truth is, Boyce's three years of Navy service has been one of the few constants in her life, she said.
Boyce's parents were deemed negligent by the state when she was 7 years old, and she and her six siblings were placed in foster care. She was adopted at 14, but after high school graduation, she was pretty much kicked out of her home because the state child-care checks stopped, she said.
Boyce enlisted in the Navy shortly after, finally finding the family she longed for. Despite the hardships, she has managed to keep a positive outlook. She always seems to find the silver lining during stressful times, she said.
"Navy boot camp was easy, because of my childhood in foster care," she said. "Foster care made me who I am, and I'm very happy with the kind of person I've grown into. Without those hard experiences, who knows where I'd be right now?"
Living with Moyamoya may be a new misfortune in her life, but it's nothing but another hurdle, she said.
"There's always going to be a reason to give up on life, but you just have to stay optimistic and ready to pick yourself up when you have to," she said. "I'm a very strong-willed person, and my disabilities are not going to stop me. I've lived a lot of my life proving a lot of people wrong."
Boyce is undergoing evaluations and occupational therapy in Bethesda, Md., at the National Naval Medical Center. Twice a week, she cooks at the Pentagon for the Joint Staff.
First Virginia-class Dry Dock Conducted
April 8, 2010 - PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF), a Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) field activity, dry docked USS Hawaii (SSN 776), March 30.
Hawaii is the first U.S. Pacific fleet Virginia-class submarine to go into dry dock at Pearl Harbor, one of NAVSEA's four public shipyards playing a major role in maintaining America's fleet. The ship will undergo routine inspection and maintenance in the shipyard until early May.
"The entire shipyard was very excited to dry dock USS Hawaii, and validate the hard work and dedication of the many people involved in this evolution," said Shipyard Commander Capt. Greg Thomas. "The successful execution was the fruit of their labor, earned from careful and relentless preparation."
The shipyard has been researching, planning and training for dry-docking evolutions since June 2008. Because Virginia-class submarines pose unique challenges that make docking the modern vessels more complicated than Los Angeles-class ships, the shipyard put together a special project team strictly dedicated to Hawaii's dry docking.
The project team underwent extensive preparations to safely and efficiently dry dock Hawaii. First, the shipyard conducted a realistic Virginia class mock docking availability in August 2008, followed by an evaluation session to capture lessons learned from the exercise. Several weeks prior to the docking, two all-trades conferences were held, instead of the usual single conference.
"The extra pre-trades conference was an above-and-beyond effort put forth for Virginia-class docking," said Cmdr. Leonard Laforteza, PHNSY & IMF's Virginia-class program manager. "It was important to address all the potential issues."
Dry docking Hawaii also provided a model for future repair work in the shipyard on Virginia-class submarines.
Hawaii, which arrived at Pearl Harbor last July, is the first submarine to be homeported in Pearl Harbor, and the first commissioned U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name of the Aloha State. Hawaii represents the very latest in submarine technology and capability, featuring an advanced combat control system; sensors; improved surveillance, reconnaissance capabilities; and special operations forces capabilities.
Hawaii is the first U.S. Pacific fleet Virginia-class submarine to go into dry dock at Pearl Harbor, one of NAVSEA's four public shipyards playing a major role in maintaining America's fleet. The ship will undergo routine inspection and maintenance in the shipyard until early May.
"The entire shipyard was very excited to dry dock USS Hawaii, and validate the hard work and dedication of the many people involved in this evolution," said Shipyard Commander Capt. Greg Thomas. "The successful execution was the fruit of their labor, earned from careful and relentless preparation."
The shipyard has been researching, planning and training for dry-docking evolutions since June 2008. Because Virginia-class submarines pose unique challenges that make docking the modern vessels more complicated than Los Angeles-class ships, the shipyard put together a special project team strictly dedicated to Hawaii's dry docking.
The project team underwent extensive preparations to safely and efficiently dry dock Hawaii. First, the shipyard conducted a realistic Virginia class mock docking availability in August 2008, followed by an evaluation session to capture lessons learned from the exercise. Several weeks prior to the docking, two all-trades conferences were held, instead of the usual single conference.
"The extra pre-trades conference was an above-and-beyond effort put forth for Virginia-class docking," said Cmdr. Leonard Laforteza, PHNSY & IMF's Virginia-class program manager. "It was important to address all the potential issues."
Dry docking Hawaii also provided a model for future repair work in the shipyard on Virginia-class submarines.
Hawaii, which arrived at Pearl Harbor last July, is the first submarine to be homeported in Pearl Harbor, and the first commissioned U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name of the Aloha State. Hawaii represents the very latest in submarine technology and capability, featuring an advanced combat control system; sensors; improved surveillance, reconnaissance capabilities; and special operations forces capabilities.
Smoking To Be Extinguished On Submarines
From Commander, Submarine Forces Public Affairs
NORFOLK (NNS) -- Commander, Submarine Forces (COMSUBFOR) has effected a policy April 8 banning smoking below decks aboard all U.S. Navy submarines.
The smoking ban, announced via naval message, will become effective no later than Dec. 31, 2010.
The impetus behind the change of policy is the health risks to non-smokers, specifically exposure to secondhand smoke.
"Our Sailors are our most important asset to accomplishing our missions. Recent testing has proven that, despite our atmosphere purification technology, there are unacceptable levels of secondhand smoke in the atmosphere of a submerged submarine. The only way to eliminate risk to our non-smoking Sailors is to stop smoking aboard our submarines," said Vice Adm. John J. Donnelly, COMSUBFOR.
According to a 2006 Surgeon General's report on involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke, there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke increase their risk of developing heart and lung disease.
Subsequent to the 2006 Surgeon General report, the Submarine Force chartered the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory to conduct a study on U.S. submarines. The study indicated that non-smoking Sailors were exposed to measurable levels of Environment Tobacco Smoke (ETS), also called secondhand smoke. The year-long study was conducted in 2009 on nine different submarines, including at least one from each class of submarines in the force.
In conjunction with the policy change, cessation assistance to Sailors is being offered. The program will incorporate education techniques and nicotine replacement therapy, such as nicotine patches and nicotine gum, to assist in kicking the smoking habit. In keeping with current submarine policy, drugs such as Zyban and Chantix are not authorized.
"To help smokers minimize the effects of quitting, nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches and gum, will be readily available along with an extensive cessation training and support program on every boat. What we want to discourage is smokers turning to alternative methods of tobacco use such a chewing tobacco," said Capt. Mark Michaud, Submarine Force Atlantic surgeon.
"While submarine duty is a dynamic and demanding job, the Submarine Force is dedicated to mitigating unnecessary risks to our Sailors. Exposure to a harmful substance that is avoidable, such as secondhand smoke, is unfair to those who choose not to smoke," said Donnelly.
NORFOLK (NNS) -- Commander, Submarine Forces (COMSUBFOR) has effected a policy April 8 banning smoking below decks aboard all U.S. Navy submarines.
The smoking ban, announced via naval message, will become effective no later than Dec. 31, 2010.
The impetus behind the change of policy is the health risks to non-smokers, specifically exposure to secondhand smoke.
"Our Sailors are our most important asset to accomplishing our missions. Recent testing has proven that, despite our atmosphere purification technology, there are unacceptable levels of secondhand smoke in the atmosphere of a submerged submarine. The only way to eliminate risk to our non-smoking Sailors is to stop smoking aboard our submarines," said Vice Adm. John J. Donnelly, COMSUBFOR.
According to a 2006 Surgeon General's report on involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke, there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke increase their risk of developing heart and lung disease.
Subsequent to the 2006 Surgeon General report, the Submarine Force chartered the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory to conduct a study on U.S. submarines. The study indicated that non-smoking Sailors were exposed to measurable levels of Environment Tobacco Smoke (ETS), also called secondhand smoke. The year-long study was conducted in 2009 on nine different submarines, including at least one from each class of submarines in the force.
In conjunction with the policy change, cessation assistance to Sailors is being offered. The program will incorporate education techniques and nicotine replacement therapy, such as nicotine patches and nicotine gum, to assist in kicking the smoking habit. In keeping with current submarine policy, drugs such as Zyban and Chantix are not authorized.
"To help smokers minimize the effects of quitting, nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches and gum, will be readily available along with an extensive cessation training and support program on every boat. What we want to discourage is smokers turning to alternative methods of tobacco use such a chewing tobacco," said Capt. Mark Michaud, Submarine Force Atlantic surgeon.
"While submarine duty is a dynamic and demanding job, the Submarine Force is dedicated to mitigating unnecessary risks to our Sailors. Exposure to a harmful substance that is avoidable, such as secondhand smoke, is unfair to those who choose not to smoke," said Donnelly.
AAFES Wants to See Your Story
April 8, 2010 - DALLAS – They say that a picture is worth 1,000 words but a mere 50 describing a picture could fetch a digital camera and a $500 shopping spree in the Army & Air Force Exchange Service’s latest contest.
Authorized exchange shoppers can send a photo and story of their military service, either active-duty or civilian, along with a 50-word description, for a shot to take home a piece of the Patriot Family “My Story” contest prize packages.
“We anticipate receiving photos that are both historic and current with stories ranging from deployments abroad to shopping at the exchange,” said AAFES’ Senior Enlisted Advisor Chief Jeffry Helm. “Anything that can tie in with military service and support, we’re anxious to see and read about.”
The “My Story” grand prize winner will take home a Casio Exilim EX-H1 digital camera valued at approximately $300, $50 worth of digital print services at RitzPix.com and a $500 AAFES gift card. First place will receive a $300 AAFES shopping spree, second place will snap up $200 and $50 will be given to two runners-up.
The AAFES photo contest will run from through April 31 and authorized shoppers may enter online by sending a photograph plus a 50-word-or-less story about the photo to PatriotFamily@aafes.com. Entrants must include name, address, daytime phone number, rank or occupation plus photo information (location, date, person in photo). Submissions will be judged on the basis of uniqueness, quality and effectiveness in the conveying the story. Judging will be conducted in May.
The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is a joint command and is directed by a Board of Directors which is responsible to the Secretaries of the Army and the Air Force through the Service Chiefs of Staff. AAFES has the dual mission of providing authorized patrons with articles of merchandise and services and generating non-appropriated fund earnings as a supplemental source of funding for military Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs. To find out more about AAFES' history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit our Web site at http://www.aafes.com/pa/default.asp.
Authorized exchange shoppers can send a photo and story of their military service, either active-duty or civilian, along with a 50-word description, for a shot to take home a piece of the Patriot Family “My Story” contest prize packages.
“We anticipate receiving photos that are both historic and current with stories ranging from deployments abroad to shopping at the exchange,” said AAFES’ Senior Enlisted Advisor Chief Jeffry Helm. “Anything that can tie in with military service and support, we’re anxious to see and read about.”
The “My Story” grand prize winner will take home a Casio Exilim EX-H1 digital camera valued at approximately $300, $50 worth of digital print services at RitzPix.com and a $500 AAFES gift card. First place will receive a $300 AAFES shopping spree, second place will snap up $200 and $50 will be given to two runners-up.
The AAFES photo contest will run from through April 31 and authorized shoppers may enter online by sending a photograph plus a 50-word-or-less story about the photo to PatriotFamily@aafes.com. Entrants must include name, address, daytime phone number, rank or occupation plus photo information (location, date, person in photo). Submissions will be judged on the basis of uniqueness, quality and effectiveness in the conveying the story. Judging will be conducted in May.
The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is a joint command and is directed by a Board of Directors which is responsible to the Secretaries of the Army and the Air Force through the Service Chiefs of Staff. AAFES has the dual mission of providing authorized patrons with articles of merchandise and services and generating non-appropriated fund earnings as a supplemental source of funding for military Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs. To find out more about AAFES' history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit our Web site at http://www.aafes.com/pa/default.asp.
Naval Station Mayport Hosts Author in Recognition of Child Abuse Prevention
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Leah Stiles Navy Public Affairs Support Element East Detachment Southeast
April 8, 2010 - MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) -- As part of Child Abuse Prevention Month, Naval Station (NAVSTA) Mayport invited Dave Pelzer, author of "A child called "IT", to deliver remarks and sign books, April 6.
According to his Web site, www.davepelzer.com, the #1 New York Times and #1 International Best Selling Author has experienced a truly extraordinary life. He nearly died several times at the hands of his mentally disturbed alcoholic mother. Years later it was determined that his case was identified as one of the most gruesome and extreme cases of child abuse in California's then history.
"I am not about abuse, I am about resilience. I am about doing what I have to do with a sense of honor," said Pelzer during his remarks to a crowd gathered at NAVSTA Mayport's Ocean Breeze Conference Center.
At age 12 he was finally rescued and placed in several foster homes until he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at age 18.
What he would like to say to young folks with a similar situation is "You came from a bad background and God saved you, now you have a mission. Find your mission, and accept your mission. You deserve the very best."
Child Abuse Prevention is something that's taken seriously by Naval Station Mayport.
"Nothing can impact a Sailor from doing an effective job more so than having family issues," said Capt. Aaron Bowman, NAVSTA Mayport's commanding officer. "By recognizing and having programs that reduce incidences of child abuse, we are not only trying to put an end to a senseless and horrific act, we are also taking care of our most prized asset, the Navy family."
After delivering a touching speech, Pelzer answered questions from the audience. He also signed books and posed for photos with service members and civilians.
April 8, 2010 - MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) -- As part of Child Abuse Prevention Month, Naval Station (NAVSTA) Mayport invited Dave Pelzer, author of "A child called "IT", to deliver remarks and sign books, April 6.
According to his Web site, www.davepelzer.com, the #1 New York Times and #1 International Best Selling Author has experienced a truly extraordinary life. He nearly died several times at the hands of his mentally disturbed alcoholic mother. Years later it was determined that his case was identified as one of the most gruesome and extreme cases of child abuse in California's then history.
"I am not about abuse, I am about resilience. I am about doing what I have to do with a sense of honor," said Pelzer during his remarks to a crowd gathered at NAVSTA Mayport's Ocean Breeze Conference Center.
At age 12 he was finally rescued and placed in several foster homes until he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at age 18.
What he would like to say to young folks with a similar situation is "You came from a bad background and God saved you, now you have a mission. Find your mission, and accept your mission. You deserve the very best."
Child Abuse Prevention is something that's taken seriously by Naval Station Mayport.
"Nothing can impact a Sailor from doing an effective job more so than having family issues," said Capt. Aaron Bowman, NAVSTA Mayport's commanding officer. "By recognizing and having programs that reduce incidences of child abuse, we are not only trying to put an end to a senseless and horrific act, we are also taking care of our most prized asset, the Navy family."
After delivering a touching speech, Pelzer answered questions from the audience. He also signed books and posed for photos with service members and civilians.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Shinseki: VA Tackles Root Causes of Homelessness
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2010 - No one who has ever served the United States in uniform should ever end up living on the street, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki insists. So he's committed to ending homelessness among America's veterans within the next five years, and reports he's already seeing signs of progress through a plan that provides not just beds, but also services to address the root causes.
With increased funding in VA's fiscal 2011 budget request, Shinseki told American Forces Press Service, he's intent on expanding the homeless program to include more preventive services: education, jobs and health care.
"When I arrived [at VA], the homeless program primarily involved engaging the veterans that sleep on the streets and getting them to shelter," he said. "The deeper I dug into it, I realized it assured that we'd be dealing with homeless veterans forever, because [the system] is reactive. You wait to see who shows up on the street, you go out and try to encourage them to leave the streets and provide them safe shelter and warm meals."
To break that spiral, 85 percent of VA's budget request for the homeless program will go toward medical services to confront substance abuse, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and other issues linked to homelessness.
"I looked at it as a funnel, and out of the bottom comes a homeless person," he said. "Well, in the funnel, there is the missed opportunity of education. ... It's the missed opportunity to have a job."
Shinseki is committed to ensuring veterans don't miss out on these opportunities and wind up in the "downward spiral" that too often leads to homelessness.
The new Post-9/11 GI Bill signed into law in June will make education more accessible for more veterans, he said, as well as a broad range of other VA-funded educational programs. Meanwhile, VA is working through the interagency process and with a host of other organizations to improve veterans' job opportunities.
Shinseki and Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis co-chair an interagency task force committed to getting federal agencies to hire more veterans. VA, the Labor Department and the Small Business Administration also are encouraging more veteran-owned small businesses to compete for contracts, and helping to connect these business owners with other veterans.
"We know that veterans hire veterans. They know veterans, and they are comfortable with hiring veterans," Shinseki said. "So the idea is to get the churn going [and] to get more employment for veterans."
Early indications show progress since Shinseki announced his homeless initiative last fall, with homelessness among veterans dropping by about 18 percent from an estimated 131,000 to 107,000 homeless veterans today.
"This is a good start," Shinseki said, but he vowed to be the driving force behind a "full-court press to keep driving those numbers down."
Anything less, he insisted, represents a failure of the system to provide the support its veterans deserve.
"This is not about reducing homelessness. This is ending veteran homelessness in five years," he said. "I don't have all the answers about how this will all happen, but a lot of people are committed to this and working to prevent ... this downward spiral."
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2010 - No one who has ever served the United States in uniform should ever end up living on the street, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki insists. So he's committed to ending homelessness among America's veterans within the next five years, and reports he's already seeing signs of progress through a plan that provides not just beds, but also services to address the root causes.
With increased funding in VA's fiscal 2011 budget request, Shinseki told American Forces Press Service, he's intent on expanding the homeless program to include more preventive services: education, jobs and health care.
"When I arrived [at VA], the homeless program primarily involved engaging the veterans that sleep on the streets and getting them to shelter," he said. "The deeper I dug into it, I realized it assured that we'd be dealing with homeless veterans forever, because [the system] is reactive. You wait to see who shows up on the street, you go out and try to encourage them to leave the streets and provide them safe shelter and warm meals."
To break that spiral, 85 percent of VA's budget request for the homeless program will go toward medical services to confront substance abuse, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and other issues linked to homelessness.
"I looked at it as a funnel, and out of the bottom comes a homeless person," he said. "Well, in the funnel, there is the missed opportunity of education. ... It's the missed opportunity to have a job."
Shinseki is committed to ensuring veterans don't miss out on these opportunities and wind up in the "downward spiral" that too often leads to homelessness.
The new Post-9/11 GI Bill signed into law in June will make education more accessible for more veterans, he said, as well as a broad range of other VA-funded educational programs. Meanwhile, VA is working through the interagency process and with a host of other organizations to improve veterans' job opportunities.
Shinseki and Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis co-chair an interagency task force committed to getting federal agencies to hire more veterans. VA, the Labor Department and the Small Business Administration also are encouraging more veteran-owned small businesses to compete for contracts, and helping to connect these business owners with other veterans.
"We know that veterans hire veterans. They know veterans, and they are comfortable with hiring veterans," Shinseki said. "So the idea is to get the churn going [and] to get more employment for veterans."
Early indications show progress since Shinseki announced his homeless initiative last fall, with homelessness among veterans dropping by about 18 percent from an estimated 131,000 to 107,000 homeless veterans today.
"This is a good start," Shinseki said, but he vowed to be the driving force behind a "full-court press to keep driving those numbers down."
Anything less, he insisted, represents a failure of the system to provide the support its veterans deserve.
"This is not about reducing homelessness. This is ending veteran homelessness in five years," he said. "I don't have all the answers about how this will all happen, but a lot of people are committed to this and working to prevent ... this downward spiral."
Gates Stresses Need for Special Operations Funding
By John D. Banusiewicz
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2010 - Getting special operations forces a seat at the defense budget table has been a priority since he took office, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy here tonight. Gates explained his rationale during a question-and-answer session following a speech he gave as part of the academy's Forrestal Lecture series.
When he came to the Pentagon in December 2006, the secretary said, he faced two problems. The first was that the Pentagon is an institution designed to plan for a war, not to wage one.
"I didn't know where to go in the Pentagon to find people who were coming in to work every day saying, 'What can I do to help the warfighter be successful today?' Gates said. "The other challenge was how do I get the guys who are in the wars today a place at the table when it comes to allocating the budget? It wasn't how big was their place going to be, it was how do we get them to the table at all?"
About 10 percent of the procurement defense budget is for irregular warfare, Gates said, while 50 percent is devoted to future conflicts and the remaining 40 percent is for "dual-capable" equipment that will be used for any range of conflict.
"So the struggle was not how to equalize the irregular-warfare guys and the future-threats guys," he said. "It was just how do I get the irregular [warfare] guys to the table in the first place?"
Virtually all of the U.S. Special Operations Command's budget when he took office was in supplemental funding, Gates said, and he wanted to make it part of the department's base budget to ensure special operations forces would get the funding they need once supplemental funding was no longer forthcoming. It was important, he said, to institutionalize funding for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, which are used in the full range of conflict, and especially in counterinsurgency operations.
"So this is all about how we can get all of the players to the table so that we have the full range of capabilities to deal with the threats and the challenges that the country is going to face over the next several decades," he said, noting that six months before they happened, no one predicted the conflicts in which the United States has engaged since the Vietnam War.
"Nobody predicted even in July of 1990 that by December we would have a half million troops in Saudi Arabia," he said. "Nobody predicted that we would be engaged in Grenada or Haiti or Panama or the Balkans or Somalia. So I have to build a force that has the range of capabilities to handle all of these challenges and has the flexibility to deal with them all at the same time."
Repeating that 50 percent of defense procurement spending goes toward far-term, more sophisticated challenges, Gates told the midshipmen that he's not shortchanging the future. "I just want to get the guys who are in the battle today to the budget table so that we can make the investments that we need to win."
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2010 - Getting special operations forces a seat at the defense budget table has been a priority since he took office, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy here tonight. Gates explained his rationale during a question-and-answer session following a speech he gave as part of the academy's Forrestal Lecture series.
When he came to the Pentagon in December 2006, the secretary said, he faced two problems. The first was that the Pentagon is an institution designed to plan for a war, not to wage one.
"I didn't know where to go in the Pentagon to find people who were coming in to work every day saying, 'What can I do to help the warfighter be successful today?' Gates said. "The other challenge was how do I get the guys who are in the wars today a place at the table when it comes to allocating the budget? It wasn't how big was their place going to be, it was how do we get them to the table at all?"
About 10 percent of the procurement defense budget is for irregular warfare, Gates said, while 50 percent is devoted to future conflicts and the remaining 40 percent is for "dual-capable" equipment that will be used for any range of conflict.
"So the struggle was not how to equalize the irregular-warfare guys and the future-threats guys," he said. "It was just how do I get the irregular [warfare] guys to the table in the first place?"
Virtually all of the U.S. Special Operations Command's budget when he took office was in supplemental funding, Gates said, and he wanted to make it part of the department's base budget to ensure special operations forces would get the funding they need once supplemental funding was no longer forthcoming. It was important, he said, to institutionalize funding for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, which are used in the full range of conflict, and especially in counterinsurgency operations.
"So this is all about how we can get all of the players to the table so that we have the full range of capabilities to deal with the threats and the challenges that the country is going to face over the next several decades," he said, noting that six months before they happened, no one predicted the conflicts in which the United States has engaged since the Vietnam War.
"Nobody predicted even in July of 1990 that by December we would have a half million troops in Saudi Arabia," he said. "Nobody predicted that we would be engaged in Grenada or Haiti or Panama or the Balkans or Somalia. So I have to build a force that has the range of capabilities to handle all of these challenges and has the flexibility to deal with them all at the same time."
Repeating that 50 percent of defense procurement spending goes toward far-term, more sophisticated challenges, Gates told the midshipmen that he's not shortchanging the future. "I just want to get the guys who are in the battle today to the budget table so that we can make the investments that we need to win."
Guardsman Paints to Document Deployment
By Army Sgt. Michael L. Owens
Louisiana National Guard
April 7, 2010 - Between weekend drills, overseas deployments, the work in communities during peacekeeping and natural disaster missions, full-time jobs and school, National Guardsmen often find themselves too busy making a difference to find time for their hobbies. One soldier has found a way to combine the two.
For 31-year-old Army 1st Lt. Heather S. Englehart of the Louisiana National Guard, her hobby comes in the form of mixing colors on a canvas and making beautiful artwork.
On the military side, Englehart serves as the executive officer for the 1021st Vertical Engineer Company and as a full-time project manager for the Louisiana Guard's construction and facilities management office.
As an artist and painter, Englehart has made a national name for herself.
While the lieutenant was serving in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 with 1st Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment, internationally renowned artist Jim Pollock, who served in Vietnam, heard about her. He notified Renee Klish, curator for the Army Art Collection at the U.S. Army Center of Military History, and they, along with her unit's command, arranged for her to spend some time documenting her wartime experiences. Her paintings from that time are currently featured at the center in Washington, D.C.
"My executive officer at the time was Lt. Col. [Patrick] Bossetta, who was very supportive and allotted me the time to work with Jim on projects," Englehart said. "Of course, I still had to make sure this did not interfere with my assigned duties."
After seeing her artwork, Bossetta decided that Englehart should become the unit historian and document the unit's deployment through her paintings.
"I knew we had something special here and wanted to utilize her skills and talents as much as we could," he said.
Englehart and Pollock have two things in common: both have lived in Pierre, S.D., and both have been labeled as "war artists" during their overseas tours.
"Heather is keeping that tradition alive," Pollock said. "South Dakotans have officially covered three wars for the Army." Harvey Dunn captured his World War I deployment on canvas for the Army.
In November, Englehart was interviewed on the CBS "Sunday Morning" news program about her work.
"I was really shocked and excited to be interviewed about my artwork," she said. "Here is little old me being put in the same category as big-name artists."
Englehart said she has been involved with sketching and drawing for as long as she can remember.
"I can remember drawing in church as a kid," she said. "When most parents would be upset at this, my mom was just happy that I was doing something that would keep me quiet."
During her preteen years, Englehart's father encouraged her to take painting seriously, because it possibly could affect her future.
"From that point, I knew that drawing, sketching and painting would be a part of my career field," she said.
She took these abilities to North Dakota State University, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture with a minor in environmental design.
"This was a perfect fit for me," she said. "I was able to apply everything I learned and apply it to my work in college."
In 1997, she decided to join the military after being dared by a few friends.
"A few of my male friends had just graduated from basic training and said I couldn't accomplish the same thing," she said. "Since I am stubborn and hard-headed, I enlisted to show them they were wrong."
She spent the beginning of her military career and overseas deployment as a cook, and in 2005, she applied for and received a direct commission as an engineer officer.
Word about her work and talents quickly spread around the Louisiana National Guard, and after her commissioning, she was offered at full-time position with the construction and facilities management office.
"I was surprised by the offer and happy to receive it," she said. "Working here has given me the opportunity to continue doing something that I have always had a passion for."
Staff updates families on missing personnel
by Staff Sgt. Mareshah Haynes
April 7, 2010 - More than 280 loved ones of American servicemembers missing in action and prisoners of war gathered recently for a briefing from the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office here.
The mission of the office, called DPMO, is to establish policies worldwide to account for all missing servicemembers from all conflicts from all branches of service.
"Today is our family update, and we do this in cities across the country every month, meeting with family members whose loved ones are missing in action from the Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War and World War II," said Larry Greer, the director of public affairs for the DPMO. "The gathering in San Antonio is the largest one we have ever done.
"We're trying to give them an overview of what's going on around the world to recover their loved ones, and then later we'll sit down with them individually and have an analyst go over their specific case," he said.
By comparing the missing servicemember's DNA -- obtained from hairbrushes, eyeglasses or even licked envelopes, or from blood relatives -- to samples collected during excavations, analysts identify to whom the remains belong. Analysts also are able to collect DNA from blood relatives to compare to remains that have been collected during excavations if there are no viable samples of the member's own DNA available.
During the update, family members had the opportunity to give DNA samples.
The DNA swabs are sent to a lab in Rockville, Md., and are checked, logged and given a case number, said Timothy Herbert, a mitochondrial DNA analyst with the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory.
"The DNA is extracted, amplified and sequenced,” explained Mr. Herbert. “The scientist there will assemble the sequence and get an actual mitochondrial DNA sequence. After we do that, it's loaded into our database system. The database is a reference for all the remains that come in."
Mitochondrial DNA analysis is not specific like the procedures used for paternity tests, but can be used in conjunction with other processes to make identification, Mr. Herbert said.
Because of the nature of DNA and the conditions of the remains, mitochondrial DNA analysis is heavily used in these cases, a sequence that is only passed through maternal blood lines. DNA samples from siblings with the same mother, female sibling's children or cousins from the same grandmother can be used in these cases.
The YSDR sequence is passed through paternal blood lines. Brothers of missing servicemembers, nephews, sons and male cousins on the father's side are candidates for these samples.
For Susan Jones, finding a DNA reference has been a little harder.
Mrs. Jones' father, Capt. Robert Greer, was an F-82 Twin Mustang radio operator in the Korean War when his plane was shot down on what was supposed to be his final night mission.
"He wanted nothing more than to serve his country in the Air Force," Mrs. Jones said.
Because Captain Greer was an only child with only female children and no cousins or living relatives on his mother's side, Mrs. Jones said they have not been able to find a DNA reference yet.
Mrs. Jones said she was 4 years, and her sister was 5 months old, when their father was shot down. Her mother was 31 years old when her father went missing, just three weeks before their wedding anniversary, she added. Her mother died three years ago and never remarried.
"The sad thing about (having loved ones) missing in action is there's no closure," Mrs. Jones said. "You always hear stories about people coming home seven or 10 years later. She always had the hope he would come back alive."
Although it has been more than 50 years, Mrs. Jones said it is a gut-wrenching experience to relive personal memories and to hear other's stories of missing family members.
"You're not only upset for yourself, but also what you missed out on, like not having a father, but also for all the other people," she said. "You just hope it wasn't all in vain."
This was Mrs. Jones fifth year attending the family update and she received some information that may help her family get one step closer to finding closure.
"Right now it looks like it's a dead end for us," Mrs. Jones said. "Then today after talking with some people, I thought, 'My sister may have my grandmother's eyeglasses!' That was something on the list (of sources of member DNA) they gave us today."
"Our hope here is to contribute enough information so they can know everything the U.S. government does about their cases," Mr. Greer said. "It's important for the family members themselves to be able to paint the whole story, to get through that last painful chapter of what happened."
In fiscal 2009, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command identified 98 individuals including 26 from the Korean War, 19 from the Vietnam War and 53 from World War II, according to the JAPC annual report.
"All of our former enemies, the communists in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, China and Russia are all cooperating with us to do research and conduct interviews with some of the former enemy soldiers, and to actually conduct investigations and excavations on the ground," Mr. Greer said.
"Between 1996 and 2005, we sent teams into North Korea, with (North Korean government) support, and we brought out more than 235 sets of remains of American servicemembers," he said.
Mr. Greer said operations in North Korea have been suspended since the spring 2005, but U.S. government officials will advise the teams how and when they will be able to re-enter the region.
April 7, 2010 - More than 280 loved ones of American servicemembers missing in action and prisoners of war gathered recently for a briefing from the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office here.
The mission of the office, called DPMO, is to establish policies worldwide to account for all missing servicemembers from all conflicts from all branches of service.
"Today is our family update, and we do this in cities across the country every month, meeting with family members whose loved ones are missing in action from the Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War and World War II," said Larry Greer, the director of public affairs for the DPMO. "The gathering in San Antonio is the largest one we have ever done.
"We're trying to give them an overview of what's going on around the world to recover their loved ones, and then later we'll sit down with them individually and have an analyst go over their specific case," he said.
By comparing the missing servicemember's DNA -- obtained from hairbrushes, eyeglasses or even licked envelopes, or from blood relatives -- to samples collected during excavations, analysts identify to whom the remains belong. Analysts also are able to collect DNA from blood relatives to compare to remains that have been collected during excavations if there are no viable samples of the member's own DNA available.
During the update, family members had the opportunity to give DNA samples.
The DNA swabs are sent to a lab in Rockville, Md., and are checked, logged and given a case number, said Timothy Herbert, a mitochondrial DNA analyst with the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory.
"The DNA is extracted, amplified and sequenced,” explained Mr. Herbert. “The scientist there will assemble the sequence and get an actual mitochondrial DNA sequence. After we do that, it's loaded into our database system. The database is a reference for all the remains that come in."
Mitochondrial DNA analysis is not specific like the procedures used for paternity tests, but can be used in conjunction with other processes to make identification, Mr. Herbert said.
Because of the nature of DNA and the conditions of the remains, mitochondrial DNA analysis is heavily used in these cases, a sequence that is only passed through maternal blood lines. DNA samples from siblings with the same mother, female sibling's children or cousins from the same grandmother can be used in these cases.
The YSDR sequence is passed through paternal blood lines. Brothers of missing servicemembers, nephews, sons and male cousins on the father's side are candidates for these samples.
For Susan Jones, finding a DNA reference has been a little harder.
Mrs. Jones' father, Capt. Robert Greer, was an F-82 Twin Mustang radio operator in the Korean War when his plane was shot down on what was supposed to be his final night mission.
"He wanted nothing more than to serve his country in the Air Force," Mrs. Jones said.
Because Captain Greer was an only child with only female children and no cousins or living relatives on his mother's side, Mrs. Jones said they have not been able to find a DNA reference yet.
Mrs. Jones said she was 4 years, and her sister was 5 months old, when their father was shot down. Her mother was 31 years old when her father went missing, just three weeks before their wedding anniversary, she added. Her mother died three years ago and never remarried.
"The sad thing about (having loved ones) missing in action is there's no closure," Mrs. Jones said. "You always hear stories about people coming home seven or 10 years later. She always had the hope he would come back alive."
Although it has been more than 50 years, Mrs. Jones said it is a gut-wrenching experience to relive personal memories and to hear other's stories of missing family members.
"You're not only upset for yourself, but also what you missed out on, like not having a father, but also for all the other people," she said. "You just hope it wasn't all in vain."
This was Mrs. Jones fifth year attending the family update and she received some information that may help her family get one step closer to finding closure.
"Right now it looks like it's a dead end for us," Mrs. Jones said. "Then today after talking with some people, I thought, 'My sister may have my grandmother's eyeglasses!' That was something on the list (of sources of member DNA) they gave us today."
"Our hope here is to contribute enough information so they can know everything the U.S. government does about their cases," Mr. Greer said. "It's important for the family members themselves to be able to paint the whole story, to get through that last painful chapter of what happened."
In fiscal 2009, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command identified 98 individuals including 26 from the Korean War, 19 from the Vietnam War and 53 from World War II, according to the JAPC annual report.
"All of our former enemies, the communists in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, China and Russia are all cooperating with us to do research and conduct interviews with some of the former enemy soldiers, and to actually conduct investigations and excavations on the ground," Mr. Greer said.
"Between 1996 and 2005, we sent teams into North Korea, with (North Korean government) support, and we brought out more than 235 sets of remains of American servicemembers," he said.
Mr. Greer said operations in North Korea have been suspended since the spring 2005, but U.S. government officials will advise the teams how and when they will be able to re-enter the region.
Official Offers Tax Guidance as Deadline Looms
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2010 - With the April 15 tax deadline around the corner, a defense official today offered guidance on how troops can file their returns, and reminded servicemembers to submit their forms on time. Servicemembers have two options for filing: they either can seek advice from a legal assistance office on their base, where Internal Revenue Service-trained specialists can help them complete their forms, or they can do it online, Army Maj. John Johnson said in an interview with the Pentagon Channel.
Johnson, executive director of the Armed Forces Tax Council, steered troops toward the online option, which features an application created by the Defense Department and H&R Block, the commercial tax preparation company.
"I would personally be more comfortable using it, because I know that lots of military people use it, it's supported by the military, and it's less likely to have errors or problems," he said of the online option available at the Military OneSource Web site.
"They also have a toll-free number," he added, "that military folks can call and get help if they're going through their tax form and there's a question or problem."
By virtue of receiving input from military experts, the H&R Block program is tailored to servicemembers' needs, Johnson said.
"It's free, online tax filing," he said, "and [Defense Department] personnel review [the application] to make sure that it works correctly. And if problems come up, we try to fix them."
Johnson recommended seeking help through military bases' legal assistance office in cases where troops are confused by complex returns, or if their preference is to have their forms completed by experts.
"The easiest way to do it is online," he said. "But if you have complicated issues or you're just not comfortable doing your own taxes, then it's best to just go into the legal assistance office on base and have them do your taxes for you," he said.
Tax experts on base are IRS-trained personnel who work under the Volunteer Tax Assistance program, he added.
While the April 15 deadline applies to most troops stationed in the United States, servicemembers deployed to a combat zone or a "contingency operation" -- as defined by the Defense Department -- qualify for a 180-day extension upon their return.
"They're eligible for it if they're serving in a contingency operation – which would be a combat zone or something else that's designated as a contingency operation – Haiti, for instance is designated," he said. "So you're entitled to wait until you return from the operation and then you have up to 180 days to file your taxes – no penalties, no interest for that delay."
Johnson recommended that troops currently or soon to deploy to a combat zone or contingency plan area e-mail the IRS their projected deployment plan. Troops should include their name, Social Security number, the location of their deployment, and to include that their area of operation makes them eligible for the extension.
"The IRS does recommend that you notify them, and it's a good idea," he said. "That way, they know what's going on and they won't send a nasty letter to your spouse back at home. E-mails to the IRS from deployed troops should be addressed to Combatzone@irs.gov.
He added that troops who spent time in combat zones in 2009 should make sure they are taking advantage of the combat zone exemption, which allows them to withhold income earned during a combat tour from being taxed.
"Of course, like anything else, you should double-check that," he said. "Look at your W-2 form and make sure that it hasn't reported income that you earned in a combat zone."
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2010 - With the April 15 tax deadline around the corner, a defense official today offered guidance on how troops can file their returns, and reminded servicemembers to submit their forms on time. Servicemembers have two options for filing: they either can seek advice from a legal assistance office on their base, where Internal Revenue Service-trained specialists can help them complete their forms, or they can do it online, Army Maj. John Johnson said in an interview with the Pentagon Channel.
Johnson, executive director of the Armed Forces Tax Council, steered troops toward the online option, which features an application created by the Defense Department and H&R Block, the commercial tax preparation company.
"I would personally be more comfortable using it, because I know that lots of military people use it, it's supported by the military, and it's less likely to have errors or problems," he said of the online option available at the Military OneSource Web site.
"They also have a toll-free number," he added, "that military folks can call and get help if they're going through their tax form and there's a question or problem."
By virtue of receiving input from military experts, the H&R Block program is tailored to servicemembers' needs, Johnson said.
"It's free, online tax filing," he said, "and [Defense Department] personnel review [the application] to make sure that it works correctly. And if problems come up, we try to fix them."
Johnson recommended seeking help through military bases' legal assistance office in cases where troops are confused by complex returns, or if their preference is to have their forms completed by experts.
"The easiest way to do it is online," he said. "But if you have complicated issues or you're just not comfortable doing your own taxes, then it's best to just go into the legal assistance office on base and have them do your taxes for you," he said.
Tax experts on base are IRS-trained personnel who work under the Volunteer Tax Assistance program, he added.
While the April 15 deadline applies to most troops stationed in the United States, servicemembers deployed to a combat zone or a "contingency operation" -- as defined by the Defense Department -- qualify for a 180-day extension upon their return.
"They're eligible for it if they're serving in a contingency operation – which would be a combat zone or something else that's designated as a contingency operation – Haiti, for instance is designated," he said. "So you're entitled to wait until you return from the operation and then you have up to 180 days to file your taxes – no penalties, no interest for that delay."
Johnson recommended that troops currently or soon to deploy to a combat zone or contingency plan area e-mail the IRS their projected deployment plan. Troops should include their name, Social Security number, the location of their deployment, and to include that their area of operation makes them eligible for the extension.
"The IRS does recommend that you notify them, and it's a good idea," he said. "That way, they know what's going on and they won't send a nasty letter to your spouse back at home. E-mails to the IRS from deployed troops should be addressed to Combatzone@irs.gov.
He added that troops who spent time in combat zones in 2009 should make sure they are taking advantage of the combat zone exemption, which allows them to withhold income earned during a combat tour from being taxed.
"Of course, like anything else, you should double-check that," he said. "Look at your W-2 form and make sure that it hasn't reported income that you earned in a combat zone."
MILITARY CONTRACTS April 7, 2010
NAVY
Sherlock, Smith & Adams, Montgomery, Ala., is being awarded a maximum $50,000,000 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering contract for various medical and dental facility projects at various locations in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific area of responsibility (AOR). The work to be performed provides for design and engineering services for the preparation of plans and specifications, cost estimates, design analysis, engineering studies, planning documents, DD 1391s, facilities studies, environmental assessments, facilities utilization studies, deficiency tabulation studies, economic analysis, program for design/space program, equipment planning, and category designation (medical/dental and non-medical). Work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities within the NAVFAC Pacific AOR. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of April 2015. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site, with 19 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-10-D-0005).
MAR Inc.*, Rockville, Md., is being awarded a maximum amount $30,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in support of the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center, Port Hueneme, for the operation, maintenance, and repair of the M/V Independence, including providing research, development, testing, and evaluation of undersea surveillance systems, load handling systems, acoustic array systems, cable system components, cable and system survivability studies, installation methods, test vessel support, and training range establishment and maintenance. Work will be performed in Port Hueneme, Calif. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of April 2015. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured as a 100 percent small business 8(a) set-aside via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site, with one proposal received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Specialty Center Acquisitions, Port Hueneme, Calif., is the contracting activity (N62583-10-D-0363).
Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $14,222,122 modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00024-09-C-5100) for the production of five fiscal 2010 ship self defense systems (SSDS) MK2 open architecture computing environment kits. The kits include cabinets, processors, converters, network devices, and interface units. The equipment sets consolidate the computing and interface requirements for the SSDS ship class variants. The fiscal 2010 kits will be installed at the Naval Air Systems Command land-based test site and on CVN 75, CVN 78, LPD 26, and LHA 7. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (50 percent), and Portsmouth, R.I. (50 percent), and is expected to be completed by January 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics, National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $10,000,000 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-2229) for System Design Part 2 efforts associated with the Mobile Landing Platform program. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (58.2 percent); Beloit, Wis. (7.3 percent); Busan, South Korea (5.7 percent); Pittsburgh, Pa. (5.6 percent); Houston, Texas (5.0 percent); Annapolis, Md. (4.0 percent); Norfolk, Va. (2.0 percent); Belle Chasse, La. (0.7 percent); Mobile, Ala. (0.5 percent); New York, N.Y. (0.4 percent); Deerfield Beach, Fla. (0.2 percent); Georgetown, S.C.(0.2 percent); Houma, La. (0.2 percent); Clovis, Calif. (0.1 percent); New Orleans, La. (0.1 percent); Rochester, N.Y. (0.1 percent); Stevensville, Md. (0.1 percent); Ogden, Utah (0.1 percent); Old Saybrook, Conn. (0.1 percent); Pensacola, Fla. (0.1 percent); and other various locations. Work is expected to be completed by August 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Hologic, Inc., Bedford, Mass., is being awarded a maximum $15,000,000 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for radiology systems, subsystems, and components. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. The original proposal was Web solicited with 43 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is April 6, 2011. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM2D1-09-D-8334).
Sherlock, Smith & Adams, Montgomery, Ala., is being awarded a maximum $50,000,000 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering contract for various medical and dental facility projects at various locations in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific area of responsibility (AOR). The work to be performed provides for design and engineering services for the preparation of plans and specifications, cost estimates, design analysis, engineering studies, planning documents, DD 1391s, facilities studies, environmental assessments, facilities utilization studies, deficiency tabulation studies, economic analysis, program for design/space program, equipment planning, and category designation (medical/dental and non-medical). Work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities within the NAVFAC Pacific AOR. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of April 2015. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site, with 19 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-10-D-0005).
MAR Inc.*, Rockville, Md., is being awarded a maximum amount $30,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in support of the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center, Port Hueneme, for the operation, maintenance, and repair of the M/V Independence, including providing research, development, testing, and evaluation of undersea surveillance systems, load handling systems, acoustic array systems, cable system components, cable and system survivability studies, installation methods, test vessel support, and training range establishment and maintenance. Work will be performed in Port Hueneme, Calif. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of April 2015. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured as a 100 percent small business 8(a) set-aside via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site, with one proposal received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Specialty Center Acquisitions, Port Hueneme, Calif., is the contracting activity (N62583-10-D-0363).
Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $14,222,122 modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00024-09-C-5100) for the production of five fiscal 2010 ship self defense systems (SSDS) MK2 open architecture computing environment kits. The kits include cabinets, processors, converters, network devices, and interface units. The equipment sets consolidate the computing and interface requirements for the SSDS ship class variants. The fiscal 2010 kits will be installed at the Naval Air Systems Command land-based test site and on CVN 75, CVN 78, LPD 26, and LHA 7. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (50 percent), and Portsmouth, R.I. (50 percent), and is expected to be completed by January 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics, National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $10,000,000 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-2229) for System Design Part 2 efforts associated with the Mobile Landing Platform program. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (58.2 percent); Beloit, Wis. (7.3 percent); Busan, South Korea (5.7 percent); Pittsburgh, Pa. (5.6 percent); Houston, Texas (5.0 percent); Annapolis, Md. (4.0 percent); Norfolk, Va. (2.0 percent); Belle Chasse, La. (0.7 percent); Mobile, Ala. (0.5 percent); New York, N.Y. (0.4 percent); Deerfield Beach, Fla. (0.2 percent); Georgetown, S.C.(0.2 percent); Houma, La. (0.2 percent); Clovis, Calif. (0.1 percent); New Orleans, La. (0.1 percent); Rochester, N.Y. (0.1 percent); Stevensville, Md. (0.1 percent); Ogden, Utah (0.1 percent); Old Saybrook, Conn. (0.1 percent); Pensacola, Fla. (0.1 percent); and other various locations. Work is expected to be completed by August 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Hologic, Inc., Bedford, Mass., is being awarded a maximum $15,000,000 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for radiology systems, subsystems, and components. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. The original proposal was Web solicited with 43 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is April 6, 2011. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM2D1-09-D-8334).
1st ANNUAL SILENT AUCTION AND GOLF SCRAMBLE
Proceeds to Benefit USA Cares Warrior Treatment Today Program
USA Cares exists to help bear the burdens of service by providing post-9/11 military families with financial and advocacy support in their time of need. Assistance is provided to all branches of service, all components, all ranks while protecting the privacy and dignity of those military families and veterans who request our help. In the past six years, USA Cares has received over 20,800 requests for assistance and responded with over $7,000,000 in direct grants of support. USA Cares is a Kentucky based 501(c)3 non-profit, charitable organization founded in 2003 and registered with the IRS.
Silent Auction Charity Event (Friday, May 14th) & 2 Man Charity Golf Scramble (Sunday, May 16th)
(Both hosted at the Superstition Springs Golf Club, Mesa AZ)
We are putting out the call to all friends and family in the area with hopes that you’ll consider attending one or both of these events, and most importantly, joining us at the Silent Auction. We’re looking forward to having a fun and enjoyable evening with friends and family, while raising some much needed funds for the men and women who serve our country. See the flyer below for event information.
If you’re available and would like to join us, please click on the link below to more info and to purchase tickets. Also, please consider forwarding this on to all of your family and friends in the greater Phoenix area. The Silent Auction seating is limited to 200 people, so please don’t wait to purchase your tickets. We hope to hear from you AND see you at the auction and scramble.
For those across the country – THANK YOU again for your continued support! We will miss you at the events.
More Information
https://oursoldiers.org/Fundraising_Events.html
USA Cares exists to help bear the burdens of service by providing post-9/11 military families with financial and advocacy support in their time of need. Assistance is provided to all branches of service, all components, all ranks while protecting the privacy and dignity of those military families and veterans who request our help. In the past six years, USA Cares has received over 20,800 requests for assistance and responded with over $7,000,000 in direct grants of support. USA Cares is a Kentucky based 501(c)3 non-profit, charitable organization founded in 2003 and registered with the IRS.
Silent Auction Charity Event (Friday, May 14th) & 2 Man Charity Golf Scramble (Sunday, May 16th)
(Both hosted at the Superstition Springs Golf Club, Mesa AZ)
We are putting out the call to all friends and family in the area with hopes that you’ll consider attending one or both of these events, and most importantly, joining us at the Silent Auction. We’re looking forward to having a fun and enjoyable evening with friends and family, while raising some much needed funds for the men and women who serve our country. See the flyer below for event information.
If you’re available and would like to join us, please click on the link below to more info and to purchase tickets. Also, please consider forwarding this on to all of your family and friends in the greater Phoenix area. The Silent Auction seating is limited to 200 people, so please don’t wait to purchase your tickets. We hope to hear from you AND see you at the auction and scramble.
For those across the country – THANK YOU again for your continued support! We will miss you at the events.
More Information
https://oursoldiers.org/Fundraising_Events.html
Missing PRIMS Data Can Slow Your Promotion
By Chief Mass Communication Specialist (SW) Maria Yager, Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs
April 7, 2010 - MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- Navy officials reminded Sailors April 7 to include a review of their physical fitness assessment data in their selection board preparations.
"When the promotion list comes out, we scrub those names against PRIMS (Physical Readiness Information Management System). The vast majority of candidates have no problems," said Capt. Leo Falardeau, assistant commander, Navy Personnel Command (NPC) for career progression, referring to the Navy policy that requires Sailors to meet physical readiness standards in order to be promoted.
"As long as members have taken their PRT and passed it then the promotion process can continue," said Falardeau. "If it is anything other than that -- PRIMS is blank, the member is over body fat or failed the PRT -- then we have a discrepancy."
Last year, the Chief of Naval Personnel announced in NAVADMIN 073/09 that PRIMS data would be reviewed as part of the promotion and advancement process beginning with fiscal year 2010 boards. Falardeau's team reviews post-selection board results against the PRIMS database for all officers slated for promotion. As result a small number of promotions have been delayed in cases where a discrepancy has been found.
"In most cases, their PRIMS data is blank and just needs to be updated. The discrepancy can be resolved fairly quickly," said Falardeau. "In other cases the member must pass the PFA or if the error is in the fitness report, the fitness report must be corrected before the Sailor may be promoted. In cases where the data cannot be immediately fixed the promotion is delayed."
"We send a formal letter informing the member that they are delayed," said Falardeau. "And the small numbers that have been withheld have been trending downward, which we attribute to the word getting out."
To date, this process has only applied to officers, but the FY-11 E8/E9 Selection Boards for Navy Reserve personnel, which convened March 1, will be the first enlisted selection boards to undergo the same PRIMS review.
While command fitness leaders (CFL) are responsible for inputting PRIMS data after each cycle, Sailors are ultimately responsible for reviewing the information.
"It is very important that Sailors review their PRIMS account for accuracy," said Bill Moore, director for the Navy's Physical Readiness Program.
If a Sailor finds an error in PRIMS, the first step should be to contact their CFL. The command that input the data is responsible for correcting the record.
"The first course of recommended action is for that command to send the PRIMS program manager a correction request along with supporting documentation. If the command can't assist with the records correction, then the member can always submit to the Board for Corrections of Naval Records," said Moore.
April 7, 2010 - MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- Navy officials reminded Sailors April 7 to include a review of their physical fitness assessment data in their selection board preparations.
"When the promotion list comes out, we scrub those names against PRIMS (Physical Readiness Information Management System). The vast majority of candidates have no problems," said Capt. Leo Falardeau, assistant commander, Navy Personnel Command (NPC) for career progression, referring to the Navy policy that requires Sailors to meet physical readiness standards in order to be promoted.
"As long as members have taken their PRT and passed it then the promotion process can continue," said Falardeau. "If it is anything other than that -- PRIMS is blank, the member is over body fat or failed the PRT -- then we have a discrepancy."
Last year, the Chief of Naval Personnel announced in NAVADMIN 073/09 that PRIMS data would be reviewed as part of the promotion and advancement process beginning with fiscal year 2010 boards. Falardeau's team reviews post-selection board results against the PRIMS database for all officers slated for promotion. As result a small number of promotions have been delayed in cases where a discrepancy has been found.
"In most cases, their PRIMS data is blank and just needs to be updated. The discrepancy can be resolved fairly quickly," said Falardeau. "In other cases the member must pass the PFA or if the error is in the fitness report, the fitness report must be corrected before the Sailor may be promoted. In cases where the data cannot be immediately fixed the promotion is delayed."
"We send a formal letter informing the member that they are delayed," said Falardeau. "And the small numbers that have been withheld have been trending downward, which we attribute to the word getting out."
To date, this process has only applied to officers, but the FY-11 E8/E9 Selection Boards for Navy Reserve personnel, which convened March 1, will be the first enlisted selection boards to undergo the same PRIMS review.
While command fitness leaders (CFL) are responsible for inputting PRIMS data after each cycle, Sailors are ultimately responsible for reviewing the information.
"It is very important that Sailors review their PRIMS account for accuracy," said Bill Moore, director for the Navy's Physical Readiness Program.
If a Sailor finds an error in PRIMS, the first step should be to contact their CFL. The command that input the data is responsible for correcting the record.
"The first course of recommended action is for that command to send the PRIMS program manager a correction request along with supporting documentation. If the command can't assist with the records correction, then the member can always submit to the Board for Corrections of Naval Records," said Moore.
Confront Financial Issues Early, Expert Advises
By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2010 - Tough economic times have taken their toll on Americans in recent years, leaving many buried under debt or saddled with a now-unaffordable dream house that's plummeted too far in value to sell. While it may be tempting to ignore debt-related issues and toss unopened mortgage statements and bills into a neglected pile, confronting the issue head-on offers a much better option, a defense financial expert noted.
"Financial problems aren't like a fine wine; they don't get better with age," said Dave Julian, the Pentagon's personal finance director. "People should act sooner rather than later to get their finances under control."
Servicemembers and their families have a plethora of free resources at their fingertips to help, he noted, whether it's Military OneSource consultants or on-base personal financial managers. Both resources can help people devise a budget, identify spending pitfalls, manage debt and set up short- and long-term financial plans, he added.
"It's important to be on a plan, to live within your means and save for emergencies and long-term goals," Julian said. "Financial counseling can help you do that."
People also can turn to private-sector resources, such as nonprofit credit counseling agencies, but should do so cautiously, Julian warned. "It definitely pays, because of the potential of increasing your financial hardship rather than helping it, to do the research," he said.
People who are swimming in debt may be tempted to turn to a debt consolidation or settlement service, but this path also can lead them deeper into debt, Julian noted.
Debt consolidation or settlement companies look at debt, in some cases negotiate lower interest rates, and then work out a payment plan, or they can bargain with creditors for a lower payback amount. While attractive to people mired in debt, these companies are a largely unregulated industry, Julian noted, and some prey on debtors fueled by desperation.
"People should be very concerned and very careful," he said. "With the economic conditions that have arisen in the last year and a half, two years, a lot of these organizations have sprouted up and not all of these have been the best actors."
He noted that while it's common to require up-front fees, some companies may just take the money and run. "There have been cases in the news where members have paid their up-front fees and expected the debt settlement company to negotiate on their behalf with their creditors," he said. "But then a month, two months go by, and they've been paying their fees and find out the unreputable companies are gone."
Julian recommends people first consult with their installation personal financial manager or a Military OneSource consultant, who can do the research legwork and help to steer them toward reputable companies. The Better Business Bureau also can be a helpful resource to see which companies have favorable ratings, he added.
Even if they use a reputable company, people who pay back a lesser amount than they originally owed may find their credit rating affected, Julian said. "Any time you can pay back the full amount you owe, it is much better by credit reporting agencies, and is just a lot easier to do," he said.
But ideally, he added, people will avoid the problem in the first place or seek help at the first sign of trouble. "It's best to try to manage your finances as best you can or ask for help early on," he said.
Another potential pitfall is mortgage restructuring companies that offer to make mortgage payments more affordable. Julian recalled meeting a sailor who was about to pay a hefty fee the next day to have his loan restructured, something the sailor could have researched himself and done for free. The Navy intervened and the sailor kept his cash, but many others have lost money along the way.
As with debt consolidation companies, people should do their research first before handing money over to any company that is claiming to save them a lot of cash. In many cases, people can work with lenders to adjust payment plans or interest rates to make mortgage payments more affordable, all free of charge.
Above all, when behind in payments, it's important to speak up, Julian said.
"Nearly 58 percent of folks that lost homes due to foreclosure in 2007 never contacted their lender," he said. "Banks really don't want your house. They want your payments. If you can work out a payment plan with your lender, that's the best scenario."
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides a wide range of protections for servicemembers facing mortgage issues. The act is intended to postpone or suspend certain civil obligations so servicemembers can devote full attention to duty and relieve stress on themselves and their families, according to a Military OneSource fact sheet. For instance, servicemembers who anticipate they may fall behind in their mortgage payments may be able to go into court to ask for anticipatory relief under the act.
Servicemembers can find out more about the act from their local legal assistance attorney.
The government also has several housing programs, some for first-time buyers and others for mortgage and foreclosure assistance. People can research these programs online through sites such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Julian suggested.
The first line of defense in dealing with financial issues is education, Julian said, noting that all the military services offer some type of basic financial classes. This can be especially helpful for young servicemembers, he added, who may have entered the military with up to $12,000 of unsecured debt.
Julian urged servicemembers to take advantage of the military's Thrift Savings Plan or Savings Deposit Program. The Savings Deposit Program offers deployed servicemembers the opportunity to invest up to $10,000 and receive 10 percent on their return annually.
"About half of our force is 25 and under," he said. "They are young, and time is their friend for savings and investment plans. Small contributions now can yield big returns in the future."
No matter how great the debt, Julian said, people shouldn't give up hope, and he urged those with financial problems to take advantage of the help that's available to them.
"It won't be easy, but you can get there," he said. "Folks do it every day."
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2010 - Tough economic times have taken their toll on Americans in recent years, leaving many buried under debt or saddled with a now-unaffordable dream house that's plummeted too far in value to sell. While it may be tempting to ignore debt-related issues and toss unopened mortgage statements and bills into a neglected pile, confronting the issue head-on offers a much better option, a defense financial expert noted.
"Financial problems aren't like a fine wine; they don't get better with age," said Dave Julian, the Pentagon's personal finance director. "People should act sooner rather than later to get their finances under control."
Servicemembers and their families have a plethora of free resources at their fingertips to help, he noted, whether it's Military OneSource consultants or on-base personal financial managers. Both resources can help people devise a budget, identify spending pitfalls, manage debt and set up short- and long-term financial plans, he added.
"It's important to be on a plan, to live within your means and save for emergencies and long-term goals," Julian said. "Financial counseling can help you do that."
People also can turn to private-sector resources, such as nonprofit credit counseling agencies, but should do so cautiously, Julian warned. "It definitely pays, because of the potential of increasing your financial hardship rather than helping it, to do the research," he said.
People who are swimming in debt may be tempted to turn to a debt consolidation or settlement service, but this path also can lead them deeper into debt, Julian noted.
Debt consolidation or settlement companies look at debt, in some cases negotiate lower interest rates, and then work out a payment plan, or they can bargain with creditors for a lower payback amount. While attractive to people mired in debt, these companies are a largely unregulated industry, Julian noted, and some prey on debtors fueled by desperation.
"People should be very concerned and very careful," he said. "With the economic conditions that have arisen in the last year and a half, two years, a lot of these organizations have sprouted up and not all of these have been the best actors."
He noted that while it's common to require up-front fees, some companies may just take the money and run. "There have been cases in the news where members have paid their up-front fees and expected the debt settlement company to negotiate on their behalf with their creditors," he said. "But then a month, two months go by, and they've been paying their fees and find out the unreputable companies are gone."
Julian recommends people first consult with their installation personal financial manager or a Military OneSource consultant, who can do the research legwork and help to steer them toward reputable companies. The Better Business Bureau also can be a helpful resource to see which companies have favorable ratings, he added.
Even if they use a reputable company, people who pay back a lesser amount than they originally owed may find their credit rating affected, Julian said. "Any time you can pay back the full amount you owe, it is much better by credit reporting agencies, and is just a lot easier to do," he said.
But ideally, he added, people will avoid the problem in the first place or seek help at the first sign of trouble. "It's best to try to manage your finances as best you can or ask for help early on," he said.
Another potential pitfall is mortgage restructuring companies that offer to make mortgage payments more affordable. Julian recalled meeting a sailor who was about to pay a hefty fee the next day to have his loan restructured, something the sailor could have researched himself and done for free. The Navy intervened and the sailor kept his cash, but many others have lost money along the way.
As with debt consolidation companies, people should do their research first before handing money over to any company that is claiming to save them a lot of cash. In many cases, people can work with lenders to adjust payment plans or interest rates to make mortgage payments more affordable, all free of charge.
Above all, when behind in payments, it's important to speak up, Julian said.
"Nearly 58 percent of folks that lost homes due to foreclosure in 2007 never contacted their lender," he said. "Banks really don't want your house. They want your payments. If you can work out a payment plan with your lender, that's the best scenario."
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides a wide range of protections for servicemembers facing mortgage issues. The act is intended to postpone or suspend certain civil obligations so servicemembers can devote full attention to duty and relieve stress on themselves and their families, according to a Military OneSource fact sheet. For instance, servicemembers who anticipate they may fall behind in their mortgage payments may be able to go into court to ask for anticipatory relief under the act.
Servicemembers can find out more about the act from their local legal assistance attorney.
The government also has several housing programs, some for first-time buyers and others for mortgage and foreclosure assistance. People can research these programs online through sites such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Julian suggested.
The first line of defense in dealing with financial issues is education, Julian said, noting that all the military services offer some type of basic financial classes. This can be especially helpful for young servicemembers, he added, who may have entered the military with up to $12,000 of unsecured debt.
Julian urged servicemembers to take advantage of the military's Thrift Savings Plan or Savings Deposit Program. The Savings Deposit Program offers deployed servicemembers the opportunity to invest up to $10,000 and receive 10 percent on their return annually.
"About half of our force is 25 and under," he said. "They are young, and time is their friend for savings and investment plans. Small contributions now can yield big returns in the future."
No matter how great the debt, Julian said, people shouldn't give up hope, and he urged those with financial problems to take advantage of the help that's available to them.
"It won't be easy, but you can get there," he said. "Folks do it every day."
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