By Sharon Foster
Special to American Forces Press Service
Sept. 22, 2008 - Thirty-five Minnesota soldiers who returned home from Iraq and Afghanistan in the past year were among nearly 300 golfers who participated in the 2nd Annual Bryan McDonough American Heroes Golf Classic last month at Oak Glen Golf Course in Stillwater, Minn. "We wanted to raise funds to help the families of wounded and fallen soldiers," said Tom McDonough, director of the Bryan McDonough Military Heroes Foundation and father of Bryan McDonough, a Minnesota Army National Guardsman who was killed in Iraq on Dec. 2, 2006. "This event gives us plenty of exposure and raises a fair amount of money."
The exposure the tournament provides helps to raise funds from other sources, McDonough said. "In the past, we have provided a number of things ranging from cash grants to a washer and dryer for one military family and [an] adjustable bed for another," he said. "We also provided a hand-pedaled recumbent bicycle for another soldier who lost the use of a leg."
McDonough added that the golf classic's overall goal is to support soldiers adjusting to life with the physical and psychological wounds of war. In the upcoming month, the Bryan McDonough Military Heroes Foundation will help a soldier remodel his home and provide an all-terrain vehicle for another soldier who likes to hunt but lost his foot.
The Bryan McDonough Military Heroes Foundation, a home-front group of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, is an organization supporting Minnesota servicemen and women returning from deployments around the world.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Gates Salutes Guardsmen for Missions at Home, Abroad
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 22, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates saluted the men and women of the National Guard during a speech in Baltimore today. Gates spoke at the 130th conference of the National Guard Association. He said the military could not perform its missions without the Guard.
"Today the Guard is engaged in more than 40 countries around the world, in places such as Bosnia, Kosovo, the Sinai, the Horn of Africa and Guantanamo Bay," Gates said.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, more than 660,000 citizen-servicemembers have mobilized – the largest such mobilization since World War II and the first extended mobilization of the reserve components since the founding of the all-volunteer force in 1973.
"Seven years ago, members of the New York National Guard were among the first to respond when the World Trade Center collapsed," Gates said. "Today, many of them are serving in Afghanistan – their unit has not been deployed in such numbers and for such extended time in over 60 years."
And Guardsmen are also serving in Iraq. "As you know, we recently celebrated the handover of Anbar province to Iraq," the secretary said. "Backing that effort were hundreds of Guardsmen, such as Rhode Island's 169th Military Police Company." Tens of thousands more have served in Iraq since hostilities started in March 2003.
The Guard has the highest percentage of combat veterans serving in its ranks since World War II, and Gates promised that those who need care will receive it. "Behind winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, my No. 1 priority is providing our wounded warriors with the care they have rightly earned and justly deserve," he said.
The unprecedented nomination of Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley for a fourth star and service as the next chief of the National Guard Bureau highlights the importance of this reserve formation, the secretary said. The appointment of current bureau chief Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum as deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command positions him to be the next chief of that command, Gates said. If the next administration nominates him, he would be the first Guardsman to command a combatant command.
Beyond war, the Guard has been equally busy in the United States. More than 16,000 Guardsmen responded when Hurricane Gustav threatened the Gulf Coast. "In one weekend alone, they evacuated more than 17,000 citizens from New Orleans and almost 600 special-needs patients," Gates said.
When floods hit the Midwest, the Illinois Guard repaired levees and sandbagged, the Indiana Guard protected water and sewage facilities, the Wisconsin Guard provided aerial damage assessments and the Iowa Guard screened water reservoirs for poison and other toxins. Most recently, thousands of Guardsmen again mobilized to action in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
"The Guard stands ready to tackle such missions at home, as well as both its traditional and nontraditional missions abroad," the secretary said. "The department made a commitment several years ago to ensure that the Guard is fully manned, fully trained and fully equipped."
In the fiscal 2009 defense budget, the Guard's share is more than $30 billion, an increase of $1.2 billion from the previous year. "Spending on Guard equipment – critical because of its dual use for overseas and homeland missions – is projected to be at $32 billion over the next four fiscal years," he said. "This level of resources for the Guard is unprecedented. As a result, nearly 80 percent of Army National Guard equipment on hand will be fully modernized by the end of fiscal year 2013. For the first time ever, the Guard will receive the latest equipment provided to the active force – a change that is long overdue."
Another aspect of reserve-component service also has been one of the secretary's priorities: mobilization. Stress on the force has mounted with repeated mobilizations.
"The mobilization policy I outlined in January of 2007 set a goal of one year mobilized to five years at home," he said. "We are not quite there yet on dwell time, but nearly three-quarters of mobilizations over the past nine months have been above the 1-to-4 ratio of mobilized-to-dwell time."
The secretary also capped mobilization time at 12 months for the reserve components and ended the 24-month lifetime limit for individuals. "We've shifted from a mobilization policy focused on individuals to one based on units," he said. "The aim was to minimize the practice of cobbling together personnel from different units to fill out a particular battalion or brigade. Those from a community or state who train together should deploy and fight together."
Gates acknowledged that adjusting to the new policy has presented some problems, particularly in the Army. But the Defense Department and the services have increased notification time for units, with a goal of 24 months, so that troops are better able to ensure employer and family affairs are in order before they deploy, he noted.
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 22, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates saluted the men and women of the National Guard during a speech in Baltimore today. Gates spoke at the 130th conference of the National Guard Association. He said the military could not perform its missions without the Guard.
"Today the Guard is engaged in more than 40 countries around the world, in places such as Bosnia, Kosovo, the Sinai, the Horn of Africa and Guantanamo Bay," Gates said.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, more than 660,000 citizen-servicemembers have mobilized – the largest such mobilization since World War II and the first extended mobilization of the reserve components since the founding of the all-volunteer force in 1973.
"Seven years ago, members of the New York National Guard were among the first to respond when the World Trade Center collapsed," Gates said. "Today, many of them are serving in Afghanistan – their unit has not been deployed in such numbers and for such extended time in over 60 years."
And Guardsmen are also serving in Iraq. "As you know, we recently celebrated the handover of Anbar province to Iraq," the secretary said. "Backing that effort were hundreds of Guardsmen, such as Rhode Island's 169th Military Police Company." Tens of thousands more have served in Iraq since hostilities started in March 2003.
The Guard has the highest percentage of combat veterans serving in its ranks since World War II, and Gates promised that those who need care will receive it. "Behind winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, my No. 1 priority is providing our wounded warriors with the care they have rightly earned and justly deserve," he said.
The unprecedented nomination of Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley for a fourth star and service as the next chief of the National Guard Bureau highlights the importance of this reserve formation, the secretary said. The appointment of current bureau chief Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum as deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command positions him to be the next chief of that command, Gates said. If the next administration nominates him, he would be the first Guardsman to command a combatant command.
Beyond war, the Guard has been equally busy in the United States. More than 16,000 Guardsmen responded when Hurricane Gustav threatened the Gulf Coast. "In one weekend alone, they evacuated more than 17,000 citizens from New Orleans and almost 600 special-needs patients," Gates said.
When floods hit the Midwest, the Illinois Guard repaired levees and sandbagged, the Indiana Guard protected water and sewage facilities, the Wisconsin Guard provided aerial damage assessments and the Iowa Guard screened water reservoirs for poison and other toxins. Most recently, thousands of Guardsmen again mobilized to action in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
"The Guard stands ready to tackle such missions at home, as well as both its traditional and nontraditional missions abroad," the secretary said. "The department made a commitment several years ago to ensure that the Guard is fully manned, fully trained and fully equipped."
In the fiscal 2009 defense budget, the Guard's share is more than $30 billion, an increase of $1.2 billion from the previous year. "Spending on Guard equipment – critical because of its dual use for overseas and homeland missions – is projected to be at $32 billion over the next four fiscal years," he said. "This level of resources for the Guard is unprecedented. As a result, nearly 80 percent of Army National Guard equipment on hand will be fully modernized by the end of fiscal year 2013. For the first time ever, the Guard will receive the latest equipment provided to the active force – a change that is long overdue."
Another aspect of reserve-component service also has been one of the secretary's priorities: mobilization. Stress on the force has mounted with repeated mobilizations.
"The mobilization policy I outlined in January of 2007 set a goal of one year mobilized to five years at home," he said. "We are not quite there yet on dwell time, but nearly three-quarters of mobilizations over the past nine months have been above the 1-to-4 ratio of mobilized-to-dwell time."
The secretary also capped mobilization time at 12 months for the reserve components and ended the 24-month lifetime limit for individuals. "We've shifted from a mobilization policy focused on individuals to one based on units," he said. "The aim was to minimize the practice of cobbling together personnel from different units to fill out a particular battalion or brigade. Those from a community or state who train together should deploy and fight together."
Gates acknowledged that adjusting to the new policy has presented some problems, particularly in the Army. But the Defense Department and the services have increased notification time for units, with a goal of 24 months, so that troops are better able to ensure employer and family affairs are in order before they deploy, he noted.
Historians Piece Puzzle Together in Search for Missing Troops
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 22, 2008 - Before any American recovery team sets foot on foreign soil in search of missing servicemembers' remains, historians at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command must painstakingly piece together the servicemembers' final moments in the hopes of pinpointing their location. It's a process that can take months or years, as bits of information filter into the command from varying sources. JPAC is one of a handful of Defense Department offices charged with recovering missing servicemembers.
The historians at the command's Hawaii headquarters are the starting point for the cases, and tips come in from all around the world, either through the JPAC's Web site or by referral, said Christopher McDermott, a historian for JPAC's Central Identification Lab.
"Every bit of new information that comes into the command finds its way to us, and our job is to determine if it is a valid lead," McDermott said.
The tip can start with a farmer finding military airplane wreckage in his field as it is plowed. Sometimes they contact local history enthusiasts, or call police or other government officials, McDermott said. The information is filtered through embassies, military channels or other contacts who know of the JPAC's mission. Sometimes, people look up the JPAC site and submit information there, he added.
The four JPAC historians work on hundreds of cases each, all at varying stages in the investigation. Many times, information that comes in relates to an open case, but sometimes it's information that opens a new case.
Rarely does one piece of information come in that provides all of the details that lead to a recovery and identification, McDermott said. Instead, all of the information is pieced together like a puzzle by the historians to make a complete picture of the details of the death and location of the servicemember.
Historians pore through databases of historical information and servicemembers' official records. They search online for documents, maps, reports and newspaper articles. They work with foreign governments for access to their official documents.
The challenge, McDermott said, is that any one source seldom has an abundance of information. The reason the servicemember is missing, after all, is that not enough information was available at the time he or she went missing, he noted. If there was, he said, the servicemember likely would already have been recovered.
"There's a large number cited for the number of people still missing after World War II, but what that belies is the massive [recovery] effort that was undertaken after the war," McDermott said.
The JPAC lists nearly 80,000 servicemembers still missing from World War II. After the war in Europe was over in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command -- in charge of the post-war search for missing servicemembers -- conducted 325,000 field investigations in Europe alone.
"The individuals that are still missing, typically ... they were not able to put all those pieces together," McDermott said.
Large, massed formations of troop attacks, massive areas of operations and poor navigational and other technologies all led to many U.S. troops scattered about the regions of past wars with little or no information as to their final resting places. That, combined with relocated or dead witnesses, poorly drawn maps, the changing of town names and other significant data, make McDermott's job no easy task.
"What we're really trying to do is identify which cases make the most practical sense for our command and that have a high likelihood of yielding evidence that will be identifiable," McDermott said.
The historians serve as the hub of information as a case moves through the recovery and identification process. They work with research teams as they go into the field to investigate a promising recovery site. Witness reports are gathered from local citizens, if available. Historians survey local newspapers, libraries, courts, museums and government agencies to get as many details as they can.
"We're taking advantage of sources that are very far-flung from what traditional historians will look at," McDermott said. "For all these cases where somebody is still missing, that usually means there was some discrepancy, some omission along the way. So we're always trying to plug that gap, and it's hard to predict what source will provide that."
If the case shows merit, it moves forward, and the historians work with the operations teams to start the process of sending out a recovery team. They later work with the lab scientists, if a recovery is made, to help identify unit insignia, badges and other personal effects if any are found. If there is not yet enough information to send out a recovery team, the case is stored in JPAC's massive archives, in hopes that a later piece of information might provide the missing piece of the puzzle.
Despite the volume of cases and the mounds of information each represents, the servicemembers' stories become more personal as information is sorted, and what starts as a case number begins to take on a face with a family and a life, McDermott said.
"It's very hard not to stay connected to the cases in a strong way when you sit and you read that letter from a mother 60 years ago experiencing such a terrible pain over the loss," he said.
And, McDermott said, the emotion resonates even with later generations who did not know the servicemember directly.
"They'll remember that their grandmother still cried and kept that picture of her boy who never came back from the war on the wall until the day she died," McDermott said. "And that's still a very powerful marker in their own life."
To date, JPAC has identified more than 1,400 Americans who had been listed as missing. The lab identifies, on average, about six individuals a month. Its research and recovery teams deploy on about 70 missions a year around the world.
About 88,000 servicemembers still are listed as missing. Some of them no longer lie on the battlefield or at sea. They are recovered, but their unidentified remains are interred in rows of white boxes at the JPAC, alphabetized, categorized, and waiting.
And historians keep searching for a new clue, a new find, a new piece of information or a new technology that will move that case forward toward an identification, and a return to their waiting family members.
"What it comes down to is ... that individual deserves to be back home with their families," McDermott said.
That's what keeps the historians working with a dogged determination, sifting through tons of data and plowing through bureaucracies both foreign and domestic, piecing together information that by itself offers nothing, but when combined with a box full of other evidence, makes up the life and the death of a U.S. servicemember.
"That's what keeps you doing it," McDermott said. "That's what keeps you trying to make sure these cases don't get lost sight of, and that they continue to move forward toward some kind of resolution."
(This is the third in a series of AFPS articles on the Defense Department's efforts to account for missing servicemembers. AFPS reporter Fred W. Baker III talked with the leaders of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office in Crystal City, Va., and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and others involved in the quest to bring closure to the families of those lost in the line of duty. Baker then traveled to Germany to the site of an excavation where a JPAC recovery team searched for the remains of a downed World War II fighter pilot.)
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 22, 2008 - Before any American recovery team sets foot on foreign soil in search of missing servicemembers' remains, historians at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command must painstakingly piece together the servicemembers' final moments in the hopes of pinpointing their location. It's a process that can take months or years, as bits of information filter into the command from varying sources. JPAC is one of a handful of Defense Department offices charged with recovering missing servicemembers.
The historians at the command's Hawaii headquarters are the starting point for the cases, and tips come in from all around the world, either through the JPAC's Web site or by referral, said Christopher McDermott, a historian for JPAC's Central Identification Lab.
"Every bit of new information that comes into the command finds its way to us, and our job is to determine if it is a valid lead," McDermott said.
The tip can start with a farmer finding military airplane wreckage in his field as it is plowed. Sometimes they contact local history enthusiasts, or call police or other government officials, McDermott said. The information is filtered through embassies, military channels or other contacts who know of the JPAC's mission. Sometimes, people look up the JPAC site and submit information there, he added.
The four JPAC historians work on hundreds of cases each, all at varying stages in the investigation. Many times, information that comes in relates to an open case, but sometimes it's information that opens a new case.
Rarely does one piece of information come in that provides all of the details that lead to a recovery and identification, McDermott said. Instead, all of the information is pieced together like a puzzle by the historians to make a complete picture of the details of the death and location of the servicemember.
Historians pore through databases of historical information and servicemembers' official records. They search online for documents, maps, reports and newspaper articles. They work with foreign governments for access to their official documents.
The challenge, McDermott said, is that any one source seldom has an abundance of information. The reason the servicemember is missing, after all, is that not enough information was available at the time he or she went missing, he noted. If there was, he said, the servicemember likely would already have been recovered.
"There's a large number cited for the number of people still missing after World War II, but what that belies is the massive [recovery] effort that was undertaken after the war," McDermott said.
The JPAC lists nearly 80,000 servicemembers still missing from World War II. After the war in Europe was over in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command -- in charge of the post-war search for missing servicemembers -- conducted 325,000 field investigations in Europe alone.
"The individuals that are still missing, typically ... they were not able to put all those pieces together," McDermott said.
Large, massed formations of troop attacks, massive areas of operations and poor navigational and other technologies all led to many U.S. troops scattered about the regions of past wars with little or no information as to their final resting places. That, combined with relocated or dead witnesses, poorly drawn maps, the changing of town names and other significant data, make McDermott's job no easy task.
"What we're really trying to do is identify which cases make the most practical sense for our command and that have a high likelihood of yielding evidence that will be identifiable," McDermott said.
The historians serve as the hub of information as a case moves through the recovery and identification process. They work with research teams as they go into the field to investigate a promising recovery site. Witness reports are gathered from local citizens, if available. Historians survey local newspapers, libraries, courts, museums and government agencies to get as many details as they can.
"We're taking advantage of sources that are very far-flung from what traditional historians will look at," McDermott said. "For all these cases where somebody is still missing, that usually means there was some discrepancy, some omission along the way. So we're always trying to plug that gap, and it's hard to predict what source will provide that."
If the case shows merit, it moves forward, and the historians work with the operations teams to start the process of sending out a recovery team. They later work with the lab scientists, if a recovery is made, to help identify unit insignia, badges and other personal effects if any are found. If there is not yet enough information to send out a recovery team, the case is stored in JPAC's massive archives, in hopes that a later piece of information might provide the missing piece of the puzzle.
Despite the volume of cases and the mounds of information each represents, the servicemembers' stories become more personal as information is sorted, and what starts as a case number begins to take on a face with a family and a life, McDermott said.
"It's very hard not to stay connected to the cases in a strong way when you sit and you read that letter from a mother 60 years ago experiencing such a terrible pain over the loss," he said.
And, McDermott said, the emotion resonates even with later generations who did not know the servicemember directly.
"They'll remember that their grandmother still cried and kept that picture of her boy who never came back from the war on the wall until the day she died," McDermott said. "And that's still a very powerful marker in their own life."
To date, JPAC has identified more than 1,400 Americans who had been listed as missing. The lab identifies, on average, about six individuals a month. Its research and recovery teams deploy on about 70 missions a year around the world.
About 88,000 servicemembers still are listed as missing. Some of them no longer lie on the battlefield or at sea. They are recovered, but their unidentified remains are interred in rows of white boxes at the JPAC, alphabetized, categorized, and waiting.
And historians keep searching for a new clue, a new find, a new piece of information or a new technology that will move that case forward toward an identification, and a return to their waiting family members.
"What it comes down to is ... that individual deserves to be back home with their families," McDermott said.
That's what keeps the historians working with a dogged determination, sifting through tons of data and plowing through bureaucracies both foreign and domestic, piecing together information that by itself offers nothing, but when combined with a box full of other evidence, makes up the life and the death of a U.S. servicemember.
"That's what keeps you doing it," McDermott said. "That's what keeps you trying to make sure these cases don't get lost sight of, and that they continue to move forward toward some kind of resolution."
(This is the third in a series of AFPS articles on the Defense Department's efforts to account for missing servicemembers. AFPS reporter Fred W. Baker III talked with the leaders of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office in Crystal City, Va., and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and others involved in the quest to bring closure to the families of those lost in the line of duty. Baker then traveled to Germany to the site of an excavation where a JPAC recovery team searched for the remains of a downed World War II fighter pilot.)
Visit to Deployed Cutter Underscores Coast Guard's Global Reach
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 22, 2008 - Civilian leaders who visited here today had seen the Coast Guard in action in U.S. waterways, patrolling ports and harbors, interdicting drug smugglers, and sometimes conducting heroic search-and-rescue missions as depicted in the movie, "The Guardian." So Coast Guard Capt. Robert Wagner, commander of Coast Guard Cutter Dallas, greeted Joint Civilian Orientation Conference participants here today with the rhetorical question he knew all had on their minds: "What is the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dallas doing in Rota, Spain?"
In addition to its historic role protecting U.S. coastlines from external threats while promoting safe navigation, the Coast Guard has had a little-known or -understood role supporting U.S. combatant commanders overseas for the past 15 years, Wagner told the group.
"We are an armed force of the military at all times, and our missions are global," he said. "U.S. interests don't stop at our borders, so the Coast Guard pretty much hits all seven continents."
Since leaving its home port of Charleston, S.C., this summer, the 378-foot USCGC Dallas has demonstrated the broad scope of the Coast Guard mission and the way it works cooperatively with the U.S. military to advance U.S. interests.
The 170-member crew, most half the age of the 41-year-old vessel that saw duty in Vietnam, first traveled to West and Central Africa to support U.S. Naval Forces Europe's Africa Partnership Station, Wagner said.
This initiative aims to build partnerships with regional militaries to help them build capacity to improve maritime safety and security in the region.
The crew visited several African nations and participated in the first collaborative at-sea exercise between U.S. and Equatorial Guinean naval assets in decades, Wagner told the group. The Coast Guardsmen shared their expertise in search-and-rescue procedures, boarding, search and seizure techniques, counterterrorism operations and other operations.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Les Swert, a gunner's mate with two and a half years in the Coast Guard, recalled the gratification he found teaching the Cape Verdean Coast Guard how to conduct interdiction operations.
"It was great. Their crew came on our boat, and we did joint boardings from our boat, but under their authority because it was their country," he said. "It was good training, and they pulled a lot of good out of it."
But Dallas' higher-profile mission came later in the deployment, when it delivered humanitarian assistance to the Georgian city of Batumi in late August after Russia invaded Georgia earlier that month.
Dallas delivered 76,000 pounds of food, milk, juices and hygiene items as part of Operation Assured Delivery, the U.S. military's support to the Georgian government's request for help.
Wagner recalled what it felt like to be the only ship supporting the operation, with a draft that enabled it to pull directly into port to offload its 80 pallets of cargo. "It was clearly one of the highlights of the deployment," he said.
"Being greeted by crowds of Georgians, all so happy that we were there, felt really great," he said. "We became the faces of America, representing all those people who donated those supplies and reached out to offer help."
Petty Officer 3rd Class Chad Hermann, an electronics technician who spent four years in the Navy before joining the Coast Guard, remembered the thrill of seeing people on the piers waving the U.S. flag as well as the Georgian flag as the Dallas approached. "You couldn't help but feel really good about that we were to help them," he said.
"It gives you a lot of pride being out there doing what we did," agreed Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Boscarillo, a fellow electronics technician. "I mean, who doesn't want to help people?"
For the Dallas crew, the mission brought an unaccustomed level of exposure. They watched live TV broadcasts of their ship as it pulled into port. "It was real-time news, and the ship and the crew were in the thick of it," Wagner said.
After seeing TV images of Wagner greeting the cheering Georgians, Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Pritchett later teased his commander that he'd become a rock star. "He told me, 'No, you are all the rock stars,'" Pritchett said.
Public interest in the Dallas and its humanitarian mission went beyond TV news. Internet searches using the terms "Coast Guard" and "Georgia" spiked. Blogs started batting around quips about a misguided navigator landing his Coast Guard vessel in Georgia.
"It just shows you that most Americans really don't appreciate the global role of the Coast Guard," Wagner told the JCOC participants. "We really do protect America's interests everywhere around the world."
The civilians got insight into how the Coast Guard carries out its diverse roles as they toured the ship, watched a demonstration of law enforcement tactics the crew uses and learned how they train to respond to a fire or other onboard emergency. They took every chance they got to chat with the crew about their jobs and their experience in the Coast Guard.
John Sullivan, group publisher and chief executive for Atlantic Media Co., said he was impressed with the caliber of the "kids" he met aboard Dallas. "They all seem to have really found themselves, and it's obvious that they're really proud of what they do," he said.
A highlight for many in the group was a zip around the harbor in an "over-the-horizon," rigid-hulled inflatable boat used to pursue high-speed vessels. They suited up in life vests and helmets, getting a sense of the boat's speed and handling abilities as it banked into curves at speeds up to 45 miles an hour. Sky Dayton, founder of Earthlink, was one of the braver participants who accepted an offer to take the controls.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ray Bryant, Dallas' head mechanic, called the JCOC visit a great opportunity to increase awareness about the Coast Guard's diverse roles. "A lot of people don't know what we do, period," he said. "We work far beyond U.S. borders, and we are truly 'multitaskable.'"
The message resonated with the civilian leaders.
"I had no idea of the breath of activities the Coast Guard is engaged in," said Nancy Hawthorne, chief executive officer for the Clerestory advisory firm in Boston. "When you think of the Coast Guard, you think of the guys who do rescues. ... I didn't realize that they play such a big role in national defense."
The group's visit to USCG Dallas was the second stop in a week-long trip to military activities throughout U.S. European Command. Yesterday, the group visited USS Iwo Jima off the coast of Crete.
The first U.S. defense secretary, James V. Forrestal, created the JCOC program in 1948 to introduce civilian "movers and shakers" with little or no military exposure to the workings of the armed forces. Nearly six decades later, it remains DoD's premier civic leader program.
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 22, 2008 - Civilian leaders who visited here today had seen the Coast Guard in action in U.S. waterways, patrolling ports and harbors, interdicting drug smugglers, and sometimes conducting heroic search-and-rescue missions as depicted in the movie, "The Guardian." So Coast Guard Capt. Robert Wagner, commander of Coast Guard Cutter Dallas, greeted Joint Civilian Orientation Conference participants here today with the rhetorical question he knew all had on their minds: "What is the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dallas doing in Rota, Spain?"
In addition to its historic role protecting U.S. coastlines from external threats while promoting safe navigation, the Coast Guard has had a little-known or -understood role supporting U.S. combatant commanders overseas for the past 15 years, Wagner told the group.
"We are an armed force of the military at all times, and our missions are global," he said. "U.S. interests don't stop at our borders, so the Coast Guard pretty much hits all seven continents."
Since leaving its home port of Charleston, S.C., this summer, the 378-foot USCGC Dallas has demonstrated the broad scope of the Coast Guard mission and the way it works cooperatively with the U.S. military to advance U.S. interests.
The 170-member crew, most half the age of the 41-year-old vessel that saw duty in Vietnam, first traveled to West and Central Africa to support U.S. Naval Forces Europe's Africa Partnership Station, Wagner said.
This initiative aims to build partnerships with regional militaries to help them build capacity to improve maritime safety and security in the region.
The crew visited several African nations and participated in the first collaborative at-sea exercise between U.S. and Equatorial Guinean naval assets in decades, Wagner told the group. The Coast Guardsmen shared their expertise in search-and-rescue procedures, boarding, search and seizure techniques, counterterrorism operations and other operations.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Les Swert, a gunner's mate with two and a half years in the Coast Guard, recalled the gratification he found teaching the Cape Verdean Coast Guard how to conduct interdiction operations.
"It was great. Their crew came on our boat, and we did joint boardings from our boat, but under their authority because it was their country," he said. "It was good training, and they pulled a lot of good out of it."
But Dallas' higher-profile mission came later in the deployment, when it delivered humanitarian assistance to the Georgian city of Batumi in late August after Russia invaded Georgia earlier that month.
Dallas delivered 76,000 pounds of food, milk, juices and hygiene items as part of Operation Assured Delivery, the U.S. military's support to the Georgian government's request for help.
Wagner recalled what it felt like to be the only ship supporting the operation, with a draft that enabled it to pull directly into port to offload its 80 pallets of cargo. "It was clearly one of the highlights of the deployment," he said.
"Being greeted by crowds of Georgians, all so happy that we were there, felt really great," he said. "We became the faces of America, representing all those people who donated those supplies and reached out to offer help."
Petty Officer 3rd Class Chad Hermann, an electronics technician who spent four years in the Navy before joining the Coast Guard, remembered the thrill of seeing people on the piers waving the U.S. flag as well as the Georgian flag as the Dallas approached. "You couldn't help but feel really good about that we were to help them," he said.
"It gives you a lot of pride being out there doing what we did," agreed Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Boscarillo, a fellow electronics technician. "I mean, who doesn't want to help people?"
For the Dallas crew, the mission brought an unaccustomed level of exposure. They watched live TV broadcasts of their ship as it pulled into port. "It was real-time news, and the ship and the crew were in the thick of it," Wagner said.
After seeing TV images of Wagner greeting the cheering Georgians, Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Pritchett later teased his commander that he'd become a rock star. "He told me, 'No, you are all the rock stars,'" Pritchett said.
Public interest in the Dallas and its humanitarian mission went beyond TV news. Internet searches using the terms "Coast Guard" and "Georgia" spiked. Blogs started batting around quips about a misguided navigator landing his Coast Guard vessel in Georgia.
"It just shows you that most Americans really don't appreciate the global role of the Coast Guard," Wagner told the JCOC participants. "We really do protect America's interests everywhere around the world."
The civilians got insight into how the Coast Guard carries out its diverse roles as they toured the ship, watched a demonstration of law enforcement tactics the crew uses and learned how they train to respond to a fire or other onboard emergency. They took every chance they got to chat with the crew about their jobs and their experience in the Coast Guard.
John Sullivan, group publisher and chief executive for Atlantic Media Co., said he was impressed with the caliber of the "kids" he met aboard Dallas. "They all seem to have really found themselves, and it's obvious that they're really proud of what they do," he said.
A highlight for many in the group was a zip around the harbor in an "over-the-horizon," rigid-hulled inflatable boat used to pursue high-speed vessels. They suited up in life vests and helmets, getting a sense of the boat's speed and handling abilities as it banked into curves at speeds up to 45 miles an hour. Sky Dayton, founder of Earthlink, was one of the braver participants who accepted an offer to take the controls.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ray Bryant, Dallas' head mechanic, called the JCOC visit a great opportunity to increase awareness about the Coast Guard's diverse roles. "A lot of people don't know what we do, period," he said. "We work far beyond U.S. borders, and we are truly 'multitaskable.'"
The message resonated with the civilian leaders.
"I had no idea of the breath of activities the Coast Guard is engaged in," said Nancy Hawthorne, chief executive officer for the Clerestory advisory firm in Boston. "When you think of the Coast Guard, you think of the guys who do rescues. ... I didn't realize that they play such a big role in national defense."
The group's visit to USCG Dallas was the second stop in a week-long trip to military activities throughout U.S. European Command. Yesterday, the group visited USS Iwo Jima off the coast of Crete.
The first U.S. defense secretary, James V. Forrestal, created the JCOC program in 1948 to introduce civilian "movers and shakers" with little or no military exposure to the workings of the armed forces. Nearly six decades later, it remains DoD's premier civic leader program.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Los Angeles Honors Chairman, Reserve-Component Troops
By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 20, 2008 - During a visit to his hometown here yesterday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with several city employees who are reserve-component servicemembers, was honored by the Los Angeles City Council. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and the citizen-servicemembers were recognized for their contributions within their community and abroad with the military. Most of the servicemembers are full-time Los Angeles police officers, and all are full-time civil servants employed by the city.
"When you look at Admiral Mike Mullen, you can see what a life of service does and can produce," City Council President Eric Garcetti said as he listed a long line of accomplishments during the chairman's 40-year career. "They clearly live their lives to support their country and community, and that's something that should inspire all of us."
Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Christina Aguilera is a chaplain assistant who has served a tour in Afghanistan and another in Iraq. Her full-time job is with the city council as a scheduler for Councilman Tony Cardenas. She said giving back to her community is extremely important to her. Compared to Mullen's 40 years in the military, working within the local community doesn't seem like enough, she said.
"It was an honor to stand before him, knowing the position and the difficult job he has, as well as all the time he takes just to talk to troops," Aguilera said.
Some 350,000 people from Los Angeles serve in either active duty status or in the reserve components. Los Angeles is not often thought of as a military town, but considering the number of servicemembers the city produces, it signifies the city's dedication to a better future, Mullen said.
"I'm honored and humbled to be here with you all today," Mullen said, noting the spirit represented
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 20, 2008 - During a visit to his hometown here yesterday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with several city employees who are reserve-component servicemembers, was honored by the Los Angeles City Council. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and the citizen-servicemembers were recognized for their contributions within their community and abroad with the military. Most of the servicemembers are full-time Los Angeles police officers, and all are full-time civil servants employed by the city.
"When you look at Admiral Mike Mullen, you can see what a life of service does and can produce," City Council President Eric Garcetti said as he listed a long line of accomplishments during the chairman's 40-year career. "They clearly live their lives to support their country and community, and that's something that should inspire all of us."
Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Christina Aguilera is a chaplain assistant who has served a tour in Afghanistan and another in Iraq. Her full-time job is with the city council as a scheduler for Councilman Tony Cardenas. She said giving back to her community is extremely important to her. Compared to Mullen's 40 years in the military, working within the local community doesn't seem like enough, she said.
"It was an honor to stand before him, knowing the position and the difficult job he has, as well as all the time he takes just to talk to troops," Aguilera said.
Some 350,000 people from Los Angeles serve in either active duty status or in the reserve components. Los Angeles is not often thought of as a military town, but considering the number of servicemembers the city produces, it signifies the city's dedication to a better future, Mullen said.
"I'm honored and humbled to be here with you all today," Mullen said, noting the spirit represented
Mullen Shares Experiences With Students at Former High School
By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 20, 2008 - Before heading off to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1964, he'd only left his home state once. And even then, the 17-year old kid from the San Fernando Valley never imagined he'd become a Navy admiral, let alone the top-ranking officer in the entire military. "I didn't even plan on staying in the Navy very long," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told students at Notre Dame High School during a visit to his alma mater here yesterday. "When I was sitting where you all are, I had no idea I'd be where I am today."
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke to more than 1,200 students and faculty in the gym where he played basketball during his youth. A lot has changed since those days, he said, as he shared the experience and knowledge he's gained in the 44 years since he graduated from Notre Dame High School.
"You are receiving the underpinning of your future here," he said, crediting his Catholic education for making a difference in his life. "The underpinning I have from my family and community serves me today."
Mullen spoke about his time at the Naval Academy and the discipline, teamwork and appetite for winning that were instilled in him there. He explained the role he plays in the Defense Department and the lessons he has learned as chief of naval operations and then as the principal military advisor to the Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and President Bush.
Some students were curious about the chairman's role as a diplomat, regularly meeting with foreign leaders. Several asked questions regarding wars in the Middle East. He stressed the importance of understanding world issues, geography and different cultures in sustaining good relationships with other countries.
"Americans seem to look at other countries' problems and issues through American eyes," he said. "But you have to see their views from their eyes and their perspective in order to fully understand the situation."
Seeing the world through other people's eyes is one of the more important messages Mullen tries to communicate when he speaks to audiences, especially groups of young people, he said. Future generations are going to live and lead in a much more globalized world than now, he noted.
"Understanding different backgrounds and cultures will be mainstream requirements in the future for business, in politics and in diplomacy," he said. "It will be part of every aspect of who we are as a country."
William C. Nick, president of Notre Dame High School, said the messages Mullen was able to share would go far with the students and even the faculty. Mullen's alumnus status and position within the Defense Department mean a great deal to the students as they prepare for college and their lives after education.
"To have a distinguished alum come back and share so personally on everyday life matters from a world perspective, it's just invaluable," Nick said. "A teacher can talk about that day in and day out in the classroom, but it will not have the same impact as when someone comes from the outside, such as Admiral Mullen. It just makes the impact that much greater."
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 20, 2008 - Before heading off to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1964, he'd only left his home state once. And even then, the 17-year old kid from the San Fernando Valley never imagined he'd become a Navy admiral, let alone the top-ranking officer in the entire military. "I didn't even plan on staying in the Navy very long," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told students at Notre Dame High School during a visit to his alma mater here yesterday. "When I was sitting where you all are, I had no idea I'd be where I am today."
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke to more than 1,200 students and faculty in the gym where he played basketball during his youth. A lot has changed since those days, he said, as he shared the experience and knowledge he's gained in the 44 years since he graduated from Notre Dame High School.
"You are receiving the underpinning of your future here," he said, crediting his Catholic education for making a difference in his life. "The underpinning I have from my family and community serves me today."
Mullen spoke about his time at the Naval Academy and the discipline, teamwork and appetite for winning that were instilled in him there. He explained the role he plays in the Defense Department and the lessons he has learned as chief of naval operations and then as the principal military advisor to the Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and President Bush.
Some students were curious about the chairman's role as a diplomat, regularly meeting with foreign leaders. Several asked questions regarding wars in the Middle East. He stressed the importance of understanding world issues, geography and different cultures in sustaining good relationships with other countries.
"Americans seem to look at other countries' problems and issues through American eyes," he said. "But you have to see their views from their eyes and their perspective in order to fully understand the situation."
Seeing the world through other people's eyes is one of the more important messages Mullen tries to communicate when he speaks to audiences, especially groups of young people, he said. Future generations are going to live and lead in a much more globalized world than now, he noted.
"Understanding different backgrounds and cultures will be mainstream requirements in the future for business, in politics and in diplomacy," he said. "It will be part of every aspect of who we are as a country."
William C. Nick, president of Notre Dame High School, said the messages Mullen was able to share would go far with the students and even the faculty. Mullen's alumnus status and position within the Defense Department mean a great deal to the students as they prepare for college and their lives after education.
"To have a distinguished alum come back and share so personally on everyday life matters from a world perspective, it's just invaluable," Nick said. "A teacher can talk about that day in and day out in the classroom, but it will not have the same impact as when someone comes from the outside, such as Admiral Mullen. It just makes the impact that much greater."
Hawaii Ceremony Commemorates POW/MIA Day
By Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Chlosta
Special to American Forces Press Service
Sept. 20, 2008 - The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command held a ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific here yesterday to commemorate POW/MIA Day. After bright sunshine finally pushed away the grey clouds, Navy Rear Adm. Donna Crisp, JPAC commander, began the event by pointing out the observance's significance.
"Today, we pause to reflect on the heroism of tens of thousands of Americans who endured the hardship of enemy confinement, and those whose fate in time of war still remain unknown to this day," Crisp said. "POW/MIA Recognition Day events are held all over our nation on this day to remind us of those Americans who have sacrificed so much for their country."
The overflow crowd contained a patriotic mix of war veterans groups, active duty military members, civilians, tourists and even members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association's Hawaii Chapter, who rode to the ceremony on their motorcycles in tribute. The dozen or so CVMA members in attendance wore jeans and leather vests with their distinctive "Combat Vets" crest emblazoned on the back.
One CVMA member, Army Staff Sgt. Jamie Medinger, who served with the 25th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, said POW/MIA Day means "honoring those lost brothers, those that are no longer with us, those that are gone but not forgotten."
The burly, but soft-spoken Medinger, who served one tour in Afghanistan and two in Iraq, is currently in a warrior transition brigade at Schofield Barracks here. He is in rehabilitation and treatment for injuries he suffered in a roadside-bomb attack in Iraq.
"I came out to honor those fallen brothers and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice," Medinger said.
In the day's keynote speech, retired Navy Capt. James Hickerson recounted his time as a prisoner of war in Hanoi.
Hickerson was captured after he ejected from his plane when it was shot down over Vietnam. "As I was floating down in my parachute," he said, "I thought, 'Maybe I've got a problem here.'" He spent five years in a Hanoi prison camp.
After being tortured and sleeping on concrete for five years, he said, he still appreciates something as simple as the softness of a pillow.
"My wife didn't know if I was dead or alive," he said. God, country and his fellow POWs got him through the ordeal, he added.
"The 'Hanoi Hilton' taught me so much [about] what my country means to me," he said. "There was no doubt in my mind that you'd come get me. What a great country we belong to, and we have a great country because of all the names on the walls around us here."
Despite his experience in capitivity, Hickerson said, he considers himself fortunate.
"You're looking at a very, very lucky man -- lucky because I am alive today," he said.
Hickerson spoke to an attentive audience that was full of local veterans groups, easy to distinguish by their distinctive Hawaiian shirts and military style flight caps. One group, the military Order of the Purple Heart, stood out with distinctive purple hats, lavender flowered-print garments and their exclusive membership criteria: you can only be a member if you've received the Purple Heart.
"Today is the day that I remember some of my buddies that are still back there," Korean War veteran Thomas Tanaka, a MOPH member, said. "It means a lot -- a day we should remember all the veterans. Hopefully, they'll come back one day."
(Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Chlosta serves in the Joint POW/MIA Acounting Command Public Affairs Office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Sept. 20, 2008 - The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command held a ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific here yesterday to commemorate POW/MIA Day. After bright sunshine finally pushed away the grey clouds, Navy Rear Adm. Donna Crisp, JPAC commander, began the event by pointing out the observance's significance.
"Today, we pause to reflect on the heroism of tens of thousands of Americans who endured the hardship of enemy confinement, and those whose fate in time of war still remain unknown to this day," Crisp said. "POW/MIA Recognition Day events are held all over our nation on this day to remind us of those Americans who have sacrificed so much for their country."
The overflow crowd contained a patriotic mix of war veterans groups, active duty military members, civilians, tourists and even members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association's Hawaii Chapter, who rode to the ceremony on their motorcycles in tribute. The dozen or so CVMA members in attendance wore jeans and leather vests with their distinctive "Combat Vets" crest emblazoned on the back.
One CVMA member, Army Staff Sgt. Jamie Medinger, who served with the 25th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, said POW/MIA Day means "honoring those lost brothers, those that are no longer with us, those that are gone but not forgotten."
The burly, but soft-spoken Medinger, who served one tour in Afghanistan and two in Iraq, is currently in a warrior transition brigade at Schofield Barracks here. He is in rehabilitation and treatment for injuries he suffered in a roadside-bomb attack in Iraq.
"I came out to honor those fallen brothers and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice," Medinger said.
In the day's keynote speech, retired Navy Capt. James Hickerson recounted his time as a prisoner of war in Hanoi.
Hickerson was captured after he ejected from his plane when it was shot down over Vietnam. "As I was floating down in my parachute," he said, "I thought, 'Maybe I've got a problem here.'" He spent five years in a Hanoi prison camp.
After being tortured and sleeping on concrete for five years, he said, he still appreciates something as simple as the softness of a pillow.
"My wife didn't know if I was dead or alive," he said. God, country and his fellow POWs got him through the ordeal, he added.
"The 'Hanoi Hilton' taught me so much [about] what my country means to me," he said. "There was no doubt in my mind that you'd come get me. What a great country we belong to, and we have a great country because of all the names on the walls around us here."
Despite his experience in capitivity, Hickerson said, he considers himself fortunate.
"You're looking at a very, very lucky man -- lucky because I am alive today," he said.
Hickerson spoke to an attentive audience that was full of local veterans groups, easy to distinguish by their distinctive Hawaiian shirts and military style flight caps. One group, the military Order of the Purple Heart, stood out with distinctive purple hats, lavender flowered-print garments and their exclusive membership criteria: you can only be a member if you've received the Purple Heart.
"Today is the day that I remember some of my buddies that are still back there," Korean War veteran Thomas Tanaka, a MOPH member, said. "It means a lot -- a day we should remember all the veterans. Hopefully, they'll come back one day."
(Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Chlosta serves in the Joint POW/MIA Acounting Command Public Affairs Office.)
Officials Promise Smooth Military Leadership Transition
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 20, 2008 - The Defense Department is doing everything possible to ensure a smooth transition as the next presidential administration takes control of the military in January, officials assured civilian business, academic and local government leaders. The November election will usher in the United States' first change of administration during wartime in 40 years, Deputy Defense Secretary told participants in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference during the group's orientation visit yesterday.
The business of defending the country and its interests transcends politics, England told the leaders, who visited the Pentagon before setting out for a weeklong trip through the U.S. European Command area of operations.
"This is serious biz that we are about; it is not political," he said. "We have one mission -- protecting and defending the nation -- and that is what everybody does."
The Defense Department has been working for the past year to ensure the political transition goes smoothly so no "hiccups" divert focus from that mission, England said. "We have been focused on it," he said. "We are determined to make this as smooth as we can."
The Joit Staff's director of operations agreed. "We owe that to our troops, and we owe that to the American people, particularly now, with a war going on," Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John M. Paxton said.
Toward that end, transition task forces throughout the department are preparing continuity plans for the new administration, Robert T. Hastings Jr., principal assistant deputy secretary of defense for public affairs, told the group.
"We have gone as far as preparing a budget to hand to the next leadership of this department," he said. Whether to submit that budget, alter it, or come up with a new one altogether will be up to the new leaders.
"But when they come through the door, the homework is done and they will have available to them all resources they need to make decisions [about their] ... first budget," Hastings said. "We are pretty proud of the fact that the political leadership of this department will leave it in as good shape as we found it."
Earlier this year, England told department managers their leadership will be critical in ensuring a smooth transition during the administration change. "Regardless of what administration comes in, there [will be] a disruptive period," he said, with the exodus of current leaders and influx of new ones.
But England said, the department is committed to minimizing any disruption, particularly in light of two ongoing wars and other operations around the world.
"I don't want to hand any bowls of spaghetti over to the next administration," he said at a May conference.
Hastings reiterated that message this week to the JCOC participants. "We haven't had to change the civilian leadership of this department during wartime since Vietnam, and we are approaching that with all seriousness," he said. "Those troops in the field deserve leadership back here that is not disrupted. And we will continue to provide them that support."
The first U.S. defense secretary, James V. Forrestal, created the JCOC in 1948 to introduce civilian "movers and shakers" with little or no military exposure to the workings of the armed forces. Nearly six decades later, it remains the Defense Department's premier civic leader program.
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 20, 2008 - The Defense Department is doing everything possible to ensure a smooth transition as the next presidential administration takes control of the military in January, officials assured civilian business, academic and local government leaders. The November election will usher in the United States' first change of administration during wartime in 40 years, Deputy Defense Secretary told participants in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference during the group's orientation visit yesterday.
The business of defending the country and its interests transcends politics, England told the leaders, who visited the Pentagon before setting out for a weeklong trip through the U.S. European Command area of operations.
"This is serious biz that we are about; it is not political," he said. "We have one mission -- protecting and defending the nation -- and that is what everybody does."
The Defense Department has been working for the past year to ensure the political transition goes smoothly so no "hiccups" divert focus from that mission, England said. "We have been focused on it," he said. "We are determined to make this as smooth as we can."
The Joit Staff's director of operations agreed. "We owe that to our troops, and we owe that to the American people, particularly now, with a war going on," Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John M. Paxton said.
Toward that end, transition task forces throughout the department are preparing continuity plans for the new administration, Robert T. Hastings Jr., principal assistant deputy secretary of defense for public affairs, told the group.
"We have gone as far as preparing a budget to hand to the next leadership of this department," he said. Whether to submit that budget, alter it, or come up with a new one altogether will be up to the new leaders.
"But when they come through the door, the homework is done and they will have available to them all resources they need to make decisions [about their] ... first budget," Hastings said. "We are pretty proud of the fact that the political leadership of this department will leave it in as good shape as we found it."
Earlier this year, England told department managers their leadership will be critical in ensuring a smooth transition during the administration change. "Regardless of what administration comes in, there [will be] a disruptive period," he said, with the exodus of current leaders and influx of new ones.
But England said, the department is committed to minimizing any disruption, particularly in light of two ongoing wars and other operations around the world.
"I don't want to hand any bowls of spaghetti over to the next administration," he said at a May conference.
Hastings reiterated that message this week to the JCOC participants. "We haven't had to change the civilian leadership of this department during wartime since Vietnam, and we are approaching that with all seriousness," he said. "Those troops in the field deserve leadership back here that is not disrupted. And we will continue to provide them that support."
The first U.S. defense secretary, James V. Forrestal, created the JCOC in 1948 to introduce civilian "movers and shakers" with little or no military exposure to the workings of the armed forces. Nearly six decades later, it remains the Defense Department's premier civic leader program.
Chairman Reaffirms Commitment to Health Care for Veterans
By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 20, 2008 - As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen worries a great deal about the systems in place for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans transitioning out of the military, he said today during a visit with health care providers and social workers at the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System here.
"One of the priorities for me is [the welfare of] the wounded coming out this war and the families of the fallen," Mullen said. "These people are so precious to us, and [the military] doesn't have contact with them any more after they're pushed back into society."
Once servicemembers separate from the military, they can register with the Veterans Affairs Department, which is responsible for helping them integrate back into society. VA assists veterans with health-care needs, entitled benefits and finding employment.
But what happens to those who don't register and suffer physical injuries? What happens to those who received physical treatment but were too embarrassed to seek mental help?
Some may get on with their lives without any issues. Others may suffer from depression, alcoholism or drug addiction. Many may have difficulties holding a job, and some end up in jail. Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries have become more and more common for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The single biggest issue Mullen has noticed during visits with wounded servicemembers at polytrauma medical centers, such as Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., is that they want their lives back, he said. They're eager to get back to their units or shift back into society and just move on with their lives, he added.
Unfortunately, many servicemembers are so eager to separate from the military that they'll forego seeking psychiatric care for possible PTSD or TBI. For these reasons, there are significant issues with veterans struggling or becoming homeless due to undiagnosed, service-related disabilities, he said.
In the Los Angeles area, around 35,000 veterans have been treated through VA systems. However, only some veterans took it upon themselves to seek help. Many veterans were sought out in jails and on the streets here by VA social workers, said Bill Daniels, community care chief here.
The relationship and interface with between VA and the Defense Department is a challenge in itself, said Ron Norby, director for the VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network, which provides services to more than a million veterans across southern California and Nevada.
Norby has been working with veterans and servicemembers since serving in the Vietnam War as a Navy nurse. The current military-to-civilian transition system is pretty much the same as when he was discharged, he said. Once he finished his paperwork and left his unit, that was it, he added.
But the problem with identifying mental disorders doesn't fall on the military checking up on people after separation, he said. Rather, the screening process needs to be more extensive to catch PTSD or TBI.
Norby and his staff agree that anyone discharged from the military or who has ever been in a theater of war should have a one-on-one consultation with a physician. Many suggest that everyone returning from deployment should be screened before they get back to the United States, he said.
"The faster we can catch the symptoms, the more we can help," Norby said.
During the chairman's visit here, he met with several veterans being treated for mental disorders. He expressed his gratitude for their service and let them know that taking care of them is a priority of the Defense Department.
One former Army reservist, who asked not to be identified, has been attending group sessions and speaking to psychiatrists here for a little more than a month for PTSD from combat in Iraq in 2004, he said. He's been battling alcoholism, unemployment and depression since 2005.
"The care is great, and I'm slowly getting back on my feet," the veteran said. "I didn't think talking to a shrink or group therapy would help."
The veteran said he enjoys being part of a group again, and that it's one of the things he misses most about the military.
"Everyone comes from different situations and have different needs, but we all deal with our anger or depression or alcoholism together," he said.
According to the annual consensus produced by VA homeless centers nationwide in 2007, an estimated 154,000 veterans in the United States are homeless. About 51 percent of those veterans served in the armed forces after the Vietnam War. About 45 percent indicated substance abuse and medical problems. At least 20 percent saw combat.
Mullen said the nation owes its veterans the care they need.
"We as a country have to figure out a way to have a system that is integrated and [in which] we know where everyone is," the admiral said. "We need to make sure those who've sacrificed so much are taken care of."
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 20, 2008 - As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen worries a great deal about the systems in place for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans transitioning out of the military, he said today during a visit with health care providers and social workers at the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System here.
"One of the priorities for me is [the welfare of] the wounded coming out this war and the families of the fallen," Mullen said. "These people are so precious to us, and [the military] doesn't have contact with them any more after they're pushed back into society."
Once servicemembers separate from the military, they can register with the Veterans Affairs Department, which is responsible for helping them integrate back into society. VA assists veterans with health-care needs, entitled benefits and finding employment.
But what happens to those who don't register and suffer physical injuries? What happens to those who received physical treatment but were too embarrassed to seek mental help?
Some may get on with their lives without any issues. Others may suffer from depression, alcoholism or drug addiction. Many may have difficulties holding a job, and some end up in jail. Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries have become more and more common for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The single biggest issue Mullen has noticed during visits with wounded servicemembers at polytrauma medical centers, such as Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., is that they want their lives back, he said. They're eager to get back to their units or shift back into society and just move on with their lives, he added.
Unfortunately, many servicemembers are so eager to separate from the military that they'll forego seeking psychiatric care for possible PTSD or TBI. For these reasons, there are significant issues with veterans struggling or becoming homeless due to undiagnosed, service-related disabilities, he said.
In the Los Angeles area, around 35,000 veterans have been treated through VA systems. However, only some veterans took it upon themselves to seek help. Many veterans were sought out in jails and on the streets here by VA social workers, said Bill Daniels, community care chief here.
The relationship and interface with between VA and the Defense Department is a challenge in itself, said Ron Norby, director for the VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network, which provides services to more than a million veterans across southern California and Nevada.
Norby has been working with veterans and servicemembers since serving in the Vietnam War as a Navy nurse. The current military-to-civilian transition system is pretty much the same as when he was discharged, he said. Once he finished his paperwork and left his unit, that was it, he added.
But the problem with identifying mental disorders doesn't fall on the military checking up on people after separation, he said. Rather, the screening process needs to be more extensive to catch PTSD or TBI.
Norby and his staff agree that anyone discharged from the military or who has ever been in a theater of war should have a one-on-one consultation with a physician. Many suggest that everyone returning from deployment should be screened before they get back to the United States, he said.
"The faster we can catch the symptoms, the more we can help," Norby said.
During the chairman's visit here, he met with several veterans being treated for mental disorders. He expressed his gratitude for their service and let them know that taking care of them is a priority of the Defense Department.
One former Army reservist, who asked not to be identified, has been attending group sessions and speaking to psychiatrists here for a little more than a month for PTSD from combat in Iraq in 2004, he said. He's been battling alcoholism, unemployment and depression since 2005.
"The care is great, and I'm slowly getting back on my feet," the veteran said. "I didn't think talking to a shrink or group therapy would help."
The veteran said he enjoys being part of a group again, and that it's one of the things he misses most about the military.
"Everyone comes from different situations and have different needs, but we all deal with our anger or depression or alcoholism together," he said.
According to the annual consensus produced by VA homeless centers nationwide in 2007, an estimated 154,000 veterans in the United States are homeless. About 51 percent of those veterans served in the armed forces after the Vietnam War. About 45 percent indicated substance abuse and medical problems. At least 20 percent saw combat.
Mullen said the nation owes its veterans the care they need.
"We as a country have to figure out a way to have a system that is integrated and [in which] we know where everyone is," the admiral said. "We need to make sure those who've sacrificed so much are taken care of."
Friday, September 19, 2008
Defense Department Fights Binge Drinking Through 'That Guy' Campaign
By Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg
Special to American Forces Press Service
Sept. 19, 2008 - Now in its third year, a campaign by the Military Health Systems and the Tricare Military health plan continues the Defense Department's effort to reduce excessive and binge drinking among 18- to 24-year-olds serving in the armed forces. The 'That Guy' campaign has two goals: to reduce alcohol abuse and to raise awareness of the negative short-term social consequences of excessive drinking. It was developed in response to findings of the Defense Department's survey of health-related behaviors, Chuck Watkins, "That Guy" campaign program manager, said in a "Dot Mil Docs" radio program on BlogTalkRadio.com Sept. 16.
The "That Guy" campaign tells cautionary tales of excessive drinking and its consequences in a way to which young servicemembers can relate, Watkins explained.
Watkins, who has been involved for the past three years on the harm-reduction campaign, said its style is unlike that of other health-promotion campaigns.
Its use of edgy humor and peer-to-peer mentoring captures the essence of who "That Guy" is and ways to prevent abusing alcohol and becoming the subject of ridicule, he said.
"Most recently, the survey detected there has been an uptick in binge drinking among junior enlisted of about 2 percent, and now about 56 percent of junior enlisted said they have engaged in binge drinking at least once in the past month," Watkins said.
"'That Guy' is anyone who, after drinking an excessive amount of alcohol, loses their self control," he explained. "And, ... this frequently has humiliating or embarrassing results, and some of us may be older [than] 18 to 24 and have been 'That Guy' perhaps in our distant past."
DoD surveys have found that while men are more likely to engage in binge drinking, it can apply to anyone who, because of excessive drinking, "behaves in a manner where your friends just don't want to be around you or copy you," Watkins said.
Early data shows that attitudes are changing, he noted.
"That early data does indicate that attitudes ... toward excessive drinking have begun to shift in a positive direction," Watkins said.
Offering support, particularly for servicemembers who recently have returned from combat, is part of educating them on the negative health consequences of excessive drinking, he said. "Deployment is definitely a risk factor for disorders such as anxiety and binge drinking, and each of the four armed services have several programs that address these programs both through prevention and treatment," he added.
Small and large Military installations around the world actively participate in the "That Guy" program. "We have nearly 150 installations that are involved that range from the giant installations to the smallest," Watkins said.
The campaign is based on social marketing research concerning changing behaviors, Watkins emphasized, and is not an abstinence campaign. He added that officials want people to think before they take their next drink and to avoid becoming "That Guy."
"The aim is to raise awareness, and ultimately change drinking behavior among the targeted audience," he said. "An example is while most people agree that drinking and driving is unacceptable, maybe they don't feel that same way about getting just totally wasted, as long as they don't harm anyone other than themselves. But what we are trying to do is point that out and promote peer disapproval about out-of-control behavior."
(Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg serves in the New Media directorate of the Defense Media Activity.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Sept. 19, 2008 - Now in its third year, a campaign by the Military Health Systems and the Tricare Military health plan continues the Defense Department's effort to reduce excessive and binge drinking among 18- to 24-year-olds serving in the armed forces. The 'That Guy' campaign has two goals: to reduce alcohol abuse and to raise awareness of the negative short-term social consequences of excessive drinking. It was developed in response to findings of the Defense Department's survey of health-related behaviors, Chuck Watkins, "That Guy" campaign program manager, said in a "Dot Mil Docs" radio program on BlogTalkRadio.com Sept. 16.
The "That Guy" campaign tells cautionary tales of excessive drinking and its consequences in a way to which young servicemembers can relate, Watkins explained.
Watkins, who has been involved for the past three years on the harm-reduction campaign, said its style is unlike that of other health-promotion campaigns.
Its use of edgy humor and peer-to-peer mentoring captures the essence of who "That Guy" is and ways to prevent abusing alcohol and becoming the subject of ridicule, he said.
"Most recently, the survey detected there has been an uptick in binge drinking among junior enlisted of about 2 percent, and now about 56 percent of junior enlisted said they have engaged in binge drinking at least once in the past month," Watkins said.
"'That Guy' is anyone who, after drinking an excessive amount of alcohol, loses their self control," he explained. "And, ... this frequently has humiliating or embarrassing results, and some of us may be older [than] 18 to 24 and have been 'That Guy' perhaps in our distant past."
DoD surveys have found that while men are more likely to engage in binge drinking, it can apply to anyone who, because of excessive drinking, "behaves in a manner where your friends just don't want to be around you or copy you," Watkins said.
Early data shows that attitudes are changing, he noted.
"That early data does indicate that attitudes ... toward excessive drinking have begun to shift in a positive direction," Watkins said.
Offering support, particularly for servicemembers who recently have returned from combat, is part of educating them on the negative health consequences of excessive drinking, he said. "Deployment is definitely a risk factor for disorders such as anxiety and binge drinking, and each of the four armed services have several programs that address these programs both through prevention and treatment," he added.
Small and large Military installations around the world actively participate in the "That Guy" program. "We have nearly 150 installations that are involved that range from the giant installations to the smallest," Watkins said.
The campaign is based on social marketing research concerning changing behaviors, Watkins emphasized, and is not an abstinence campaign. He added that officials want people to think before they take their next drink and to avoid becoming "That Guy."
"The aim is to raise awareness, and ultimately change drinking behavior among the targeted audience," he said. "An example is while most people agree that drinking and driving is unacceptable, maybe they don't feel that same way about getting just totally wasted, as long as they don't harm anyone other than themselves. But what we are trying to do is point that out and promote peer disapproval about out-of-control behavior."
(Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg serves in the New Media directorate of the Defense Media Activity.)
POW/MIA Command Keeps Nation's Promise to Troops, Families
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 18, 2008 - The remains of U.S. Navy Seaman Apprentice Thomas Hembree have laid in the same grave in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii for more than six decades. Until six years ago, Hembree's body rested in a grave under a headstone that read "Unknown." He was a 17-year-old sailor from Kennewick, Wash., serving on the USS Curtiss in Pearl Harbor when he was killed in the Japanese attack there in 1941.
Eventually, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, or JPAC, based in Hawaii, was able to identify Hembree's remains. His family chose to rebury him in the same place, still wrapped in the same simple, white U.S. Navy blanket.
Only now his headstone reads, "Seaman Apprentice Thomas Hembree." Now his family knows where "Uncle Tommy" is.
"It's just an incredible thing, said Robert Mann, the deputy scientific director at the JPAC. "The family knows where he is now. It's the same resting spot, but now they know where he is."
Mann worked Hembree's case along with a host of others in the past 16 years. He is the longest-serving anthropologist at the lab and has gone on more than 40 missions in some of the most remote locations around the world. He's reviewed hundreds of case files and pieced thousands of bones together. For Mann, each case is personal.
"I remember every single one of them," Mann said. "When you hear a family say 'Tommy,' it's not Thomas Hembree any more. It's Tommy. It becomes very personal."
One of a handful of offices within the Department of Defense charged with recovering missing servicemembers, the JPAC is based in the U.S. Pacific Command and conducts 80 percent of its missions there. The command has 350 military and civilians on staff. Its research and recovery teams deploy on about 70 missions per year around the world and team members average more than 100 days per year away from home.
The JPAC's Central Identification Laboratory is the world's largest skeletal forensic lab and is home to the largest concentration of forensic anthropologists in the world. There are 14 forensic anthropologists on permanent staff along with six archaeologists. They also have three forensic odontologists who review dental remains. It is the only skeletal laboratory accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, according to officials.
At the lab, the anthropologists work through the tedious task of piecing together the remains in hopes of working toward identifying recovered servicemembers. Some remains are severely degraded. Others come to the lab in boxes, mixed with other human remains, or even animal bones.
At the start of the identification process, each set of remains is laid on one of the lab's 23 tables. The bones are placed in anatomical order, on their backs, hands up and facing the U.S. flag.
Some of the tables have nearly complete skeletons, while others have only a few bones or a handful of teeth. As tedious as the job is, and as abstract as some sets of remains appear, Mann said the reality of whose remains they are handling always sets in.
"As you start piecing them together you always remember they are a person," Mann said. "It's always a very personal thing, because that's somebody's brother or somebody's father or somebody's sister."
The anthropologists sort through the bones, separating out pieces that are not human or those that may belong to another human. They chart out a biological profile, assessing the age at death, race, sex, stature, any injuries or trauma or unusual features.
During this stage, the anthropologists work blind, meaning they do not know who it is they are working to identify. This maintains the integrity of the process and keeps them from being biased toward making an identification.
Also at the lab, bone samples are taken and sent to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab in Rockville, Md.
The forensic odontologists work alongside the anthropologists analyzing teeth. A key player in the process, teeth offer the best means of positive identifications when compared to individual dental records because of unique characteristics such as fillings, crowns, extractions and partial dentures.
Once the forensic reports are complete, a comparison is made against the person they are trying to identify to see if the profile matches.
The JPAC is attempting to speed the time between the recovery and identification of remains by expanding its size. Congress has approved a $100 million, 140,000-square-foot facility that will triple its current lab size. Construction should begin in 2010. In the meantime, the Navy has given the lab 20,000 square feet of temporary space so that it can work the identification of more remains simultaneously.
The JPAC lab identifies about two Americans per week and each case can take months or years to complete. Historians there work on as many as 800 cases at a time, piecing information together like a puzzle.
"The reality is we go as quickly as we can, knowing all along that we have to be accurate," Mann said. "Accuracy for what we do is 100 percent. It's got to be. You can't be a little accurate. You can't be almost accurate. To be accurate means you've nailed it. And to be 100-percent accurate, it takes time."
The biological profile is only a piece of the evidence that leads to identifying remains. Other factors include material evidence such as personal effects recovered at the site and DNA test results.
Mann acknowledged that the identification is a long and complicated process, but when families are notified, they can be assured they are getting the remains of their missing servicemember.
"When an identification is made and the remains go to the families, everybody here is absolutely certain that's who it is. There's no question anymore," Mann said.
The most emotional part of the process is when family members come to the lab to receive the remains, Mann said. A special room is prepared for them to view the remains and they often bring photos. Receiving the remains brings closure to many who have had a piece of their family missing for years.
"To have their remains come home is the way that they can really finalize it," Mann said. "We're all used to going to funerals. We're all used to going to the cemetery. And the end of that life is a funeral. I think it closes the loop in the entire circle of life."
Mann has been with the lab nearly 17 years and has stomped through jungles and climbed mountains searching for missing troops' remains.
As a kid, Mann wanted to be a race car driver or a rock-and-roll star. He dropped out of high school and earned his general equivalency degree while serving in the Navy. Eventually, he left the Navy and went to college where somebody "turned me on to bones," he said.
His job as anthropologist at the JPAC is a dream-come-true, Mann said. It combines his love for bones, anthropology and a sense of greater purpose, he said.
"America has made a promise to servicemembers that if you go into harm's way and don't come back, somebody will come find you. Somebody will bring you back. That's a solemn commitment to those who serve and to the families," Mann said. "It's the American way."
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 18, 2008 - The remains of U.S. Navy Seaman Apprentice Thomas Hembree have laid in the same grave in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii for more than six decades. Until six years ago, Hembree's body rested in a grave under a headstone that read "Unknown." He was a 17-year-old sailor from Kennewick, Wash., serving on the USS Curtiss in Pearl Harbor when he was killed in the Japanese attack there in 1941.
Eventually, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, or JPAC, based in Hawaii, was able to identify Hembree's remains. His family chose to rebury him in the same place, still wrapped in the same simple, white U.S. Navy blanket.
Only now his headstone reads, "Seaman Apprentice Thomas Hembree." Now his family knows where "Uncle Tommy" is.
"It's just an incredible thing, said Robert Mann, the deputy scientific director at the JPAC. "The family knows where he is now. It's the same resting spot, but now they know where he is."
Mann worked Hembree's case along with a host of others in the past 16 years. He is the longest-serving anthropologist at the lab and has gone on more than 40 missions in some of the most remote locations around the world. He's reviewed hundreds of case files and pieced thousands of bones together. For Mann, each case is personal.
"I remember every single one of them," Mann said. "When you hear a family say 'Tommy,' it's not Thomas Hembree any more. It's Tommy. It becomes very personal."
One of a handful of offices within the Department of Defense charged with recovering missing servicemembers, the JPAC is based in the U.S. Pacific Command and conducts 80 percent of its missions there. The command has 350 military and civilians on staff. Its research and recovery teams deploy on about 70 missions per year around the world and team members average more than 100 days per year away from home.
The JPAC's Central Identification Laboratory is the world's largest skeletal forensic lab and is home to the largest concentration of forensic anthropologists in the world. There are 14 forensic anthropologists on permanent staff along with six archaeologists. They also have three forensic odontologists who review dental remains. It is the only skeletal laboratory accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, according to officials.
At the lab, the anthropologists work through the tedious task of piecing together the remains in hopes of working toward identifying recovered servicemembers. Some remains are severely degraded. Others come to the lab in boxes, mixed with other human remains, or even animal bones.
At the start of the identification process, each set of remains is laid on one of the lab's 23 tables. The bones are placed in anatomical order, on their backs, hands up and facing the U.S. flag.
Some of the tables have nearly complete skeletons, while others have only a few bones or a handful of teeth. As tedious as the job is, and as abstract as some sets of remains appear, Mann said the reality of whose remains they are handling always sets in.
"As you start piecing them together you always remember they are a person," Mann said. "It's always a very personal thing, because that's somebody's brother or somebody's father or somebody's sister."
The anthropologists sort through the bones, separating out pieces that are not human or those that may belong to another human. They chart out a biological profile, assessing the age at death, race, sex, stature, any injuries or trauma or unusual features.
During this stage, the anthropologists work blind, meaning they do not know who it is they are working to identify. This maintains the integrity of the process and keeps them from being biased toward making an identification.
Also at the lab, bone samples are taken and sent to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab in Rockville, Md.
The forensic odontologists work alongside the anthropologists analyzing teeth. A key player in the process, teeth offer the best means of positive identifications when compared to individual dental records because of unique characteristics such as fillings, crowns, extractions and partial dentures.
Once the forensic reports are complete, a comparison is made against the person they are trying to identify to see if the profile matches.
The JPAC is attempting to speed the time between the recovery and identification of remains by expanding its size. Congress has approved a $100 million, 140,000-square-foot facility that will triple its current lab size. Construction should begin in 2010. In the meantime, the Navy has given the lab 20,000 square feet of temporary space so that it can work the identification of more remains simultaneously.
The JPAC lab identifies about two Americans per week and each case can take months or years to complete. Historians there work on as many as 800 cases at a time, piecing information together like a puzzle.
"The reality is we go as quickly as we can, knowing all along that we have to be accurate," Mann said. "Accuracy for what we do is 100 percent. It's got to be. You can't be a little accurate. You can't be almost accurate. To be accurate means you've nailed it. And to be 100-percent accurate, it takes time."
The biological profile is only a piece of the evidence that leads to identifying remains. Other factors include material evidence such as personal effects recovered at the site and DNA test results.
Mann acknowledged that the identification is a long and complicated process, but when families are notified, they can be assured they are getting the remains of their missing servicemember.
"When an identification is made and the remains go to the families, everybody here is absolutely certain that's who it is. There's no question anymore," Mann said.
The most emotional part of the process is when family members come to the lab to receive the remains, Mann said. A special room is prepared for them to view the remains and they often bring photos. Receiving the remains brings closure to many who have had a piece of their family missing for years.
"To have their remains come home is the way that they can really finalize it," Mann said. "We're all used to going to funerals. We're all used to going to the cemetery. And the end of that life is a funeral. I think it closes the loop in the entire circle of life."
Mann has been with the lab nearly 17 years and has stomped through jungles and climbed mountains searching for missing troops' remains.
As a kid, Mann wanted to be a race car driver or a rock-and-roll star. He dropped out of high school and earned his general equivalency degree while serving in the Navy. Eventually, he left the Navy and went to college where somebody "turned me on to bones," he said.
His job as anthropologist at the JPAC is a dream-come-true, Mann said. It combines his love for bones, anthropology and a sense of greater purpose, he said.
"America has made a promise to servicemembers that if you go into harm's way and don't come back, somebody will come find you. Somebody will bring you back. That's a solemn commitment to those who serve and to the families," Mann said. "It's the American way."
U.S., Czechs Sign Ballistic Defense Treaties
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 19, 2008 - The United States and the Czech Republic signed agreements today that will allow the United States to build a limited ballistic missile defense system to protect Europe from missiles fired from Iran or other rogue nations. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Czech Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanova signed the status of forces agreement that will allow basing of U.S. forces in the Czech Republic and a declaration on strategic defense cooperation between the two nations.
Gates is here for a NATO defense ministers meeting.
The Czech Republic will host a U.S.-built radar that will protect most of Europe from a limited ballistic missile attack. The radar – along with missiles based in Poland – will be able to shoot down a small number of missiles launched by rogue states.
"[The two agreements] will finalize the framework for stationing U.S. personnel in the Czech Republic in connection with the missile defense radar site," Gates said. "This is a culmination of a process that will draw our nations closer and will help protect Europe from limited missile attacks."
Gates praised the Czech Republic for taking the lead against future Euro-Atlantic threats and thanked the minister and her people for their support. He specifically thanked the Czech people for their sacrifices in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The agreement ... will be a significant contribution to the security of own country, to the security of the Euro-Atlantic region and ... also a significant contribution to the Atlantic Alliance," Parkanova said through a translator. "It may seem that we have taken a lot of time to sign the two documents, ... but this is indicative and proof of one fact: that the negotiations were tough, but fair, and that both parties can carry through their collective requirements."
The radar site will be built in the Brdy Military Training Area. A study U.S. experts will conduct in November will give a better idea when the facility will be finished. Under the agreement, no more than 250 American personnel can be based at the facility.
Gates spoke about the NATO meeting after the signing.
"This meeting was about transformation of the alliance," Gates said. "I think there was general agreement that the kinds of measures that we discussed and the actions the ministers have mandated are aimed at improving NATO's capabilities across the board. If we are able to follow through on the initiatives that we have discussed, NATO's ability to meet all its commitments will be significantly enhanced."
Gates also said the ministers discussed funding for doubling the size of the Afghan National Army. "There was discussion of the expansion of the Afghan National Army and the added costs that will be involved," he said. "On the margins of the conference, I let a number of my colleagues know that we would be in touch in terms of sharing the cost."
Improving the capabilities of the Afghan army is NATO's long-term exit strategy from Afghanistan.
"Good governance, civic development are equally important [in Afghanistan], but turning security responsibilities to the Afghans themselves at some future date is really the goal we all have in mind," Gates said. "We need to be prepared the share the cost to make that happen."
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 19, 2008 - The United States and the Czech Republic signed agreements today that will allow the United States to build a limited ballistic missile defense system to protect Europe from missiles fired from Iran or other rogue nations. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Czech Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanova signed the status of forces agreement that will allow basing of U.S. forces in the Czech Republic and a declaration on strategic defense cooperation between the two nations.
Gates is here for a NATO defense ministers meeting.
The Czech Republic will host a U.S.-built radar that will protect most of Europe from a limited ballistic missile attack. The radar – along with missiles based in Poland – will be able to shoot down a small number of missiles launched by rogue states.
"[The two agreements] will finalize the framework for stationing U.S. personnel in the Czech Republic in connection with the missile defense radar site," Gates said. "This is a culmination of a process that will draw our nations closer and will help protect Europe from limited missile attacks."
Gates praised the Czech Republic for taking the lead against future Euro-Atlantic threats and thanked the minister and her people for their support. He specifically thanked the Czech people for their sacrifices in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The agreement ... will be a significant contribution to the security of own country, to the security of the Euro-Atlantic region and ... also a significant contribution to the Atlantic Alliance," Parkanova said through a translator. "It may seem that we have taken a lot of time to sign the two documents, ... but this is indicative and proof of one fact: that the negotiations were tough, but fair, and that both parties can carry through their collective requirements."
The radar site will be built in the Brdy Military Training Area. A study U.S. experts will conduct in November will give a better idea when the facility will be finished. Under the agreement, no more than 250 American personnel can be based at the facility.
Gates spoke about the NATO meeting after the signing.
"This meeting was about transformation of the alliance," Gates said. "I think there was general agreement that the kinds of measures that we discussed and the actions the ministers have mandated are aimed at improving NATO's capabilities across the board. If we are able to follow through on the initiatives that we have discussed, NATO's ability to meet all its commitments will be significantly enhanced."
Gates also said the ministers discussed funding for doubling the size of the Afghan National Army. "There was discussion of the expansion of the Afghan National Army and the added costs that will be involved," he said. "On the margins of the conference, I let a number of my colleagues know that we would be in touch in terms of sharing the cost."
Improving the capabilities of the Afghan army is NATO's long-term exit strategy from Afghanistan.
"Good governance, civic development are equally important [in Afghanistan], but turning security responsibilities to the Afghans themselves at some future date is really the goal we all have in mind," Gates said. "We need to be prepared the share the cost to make that happen."
Kearsarge Medics Begin Health Assessments in Haiti
American Forces Press Service
Sept. 19, 2008 - The amphibious ship USS Kearsarge expanded its assistance to disaster relief operations in Haiti on Sept. 17, dispatching medical teams to conduct health assessments of Haitian communities suffering in the aftermath of tropical storms Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Hurricane Ike. Kearsarge medical teams were the first to arrive in the small village of Morase, quickly setting up operations to determine what services the population needed most. With malnutrition topping the list of concerns, the medical teams conducted health assessments of residents, especially children.
The Kearsarge medical teams, which include partner-nation military medical personnel, are working in concert with the U.S. Agency for International Development and other multinational relief groups.
The medical personnel join Kearsarge's nearly two-week support to the relief efforts. Since Sept. 8, helicopters and landing craft from Kearsarge have delivered more than 980 metric tons of relief supplies and 26,000 gallons of water to devastated communities isolated by damaged roads and bridges.
"Today is a big day, because we are finally 'boots on the ground' with the medical part of the mission to see where the people are, and the needs that they have," Cmdr. Angelica Almonte, a Navy Nurse Corps officer, said.
Heavy rains and major flooding destroyed much of the region's crops, driving food prices higher than the villagers can afford. Medical personnel, concerned about malnutrition, began taking weight-for-height and mid-upper arm circumference measurements to conduct surveys to determine the village's current nutritional needs.
"We are trying to get a nutritional assessment of the children," said Capt. (Dr.) Tim Shope, a Navy pediatrician. "We are also sending a group of health officials into the community to test water and get a general sense of their food and water supply."
The Kearsarge medical team members said the overall health in Morase is good. However, there is a concern that, with difficulty of getting enough food to outlying areas due to washed-out roads and bridges, the population will begin to suffer from severe malnutrition that can impair the immune system, leaving children more vulnerable to diseases such as diarrhea, measles and tuberculosis.
Additionally, an inadequate supply of fresh water could lead to disease outbreaks such as cholera, typhoid and Hepatitis A.
"From the initial assessment, it looks like the people are generally healthy," said Lt. Candace D'Aurora, a Navy Nurse Corps officer. "The main issue right now is the villagers are saying they don't have food or water. That is the biggest issue we must address."
The areas needing the most immediate assistance have been prioritized by USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.
Medical teams from Kearsarge will continue to meet with other agencies working in the country, such as the Centers for Disease Control, Doctors Without Borders and the Pan American Health Organization, to plan what services to provide after the initial assessments.
Kearsarge has about 150 military, Public Health Service and nongovernmental organization medical professionals aboard. The medical team was part of the ship's five-month Continuing Promise 2008 humanitarian deployment to the region.
(From a U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet news release.)
Sept. 19, 2008 - The amphibious ship USS Kearsarge expanded its assistance to disaster relief operations in Haiti on Sept. 17, dispatching medical teams to conduct health assessments of Haitian communities suffering in the aftermath of tropical storms Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Hurricane Ike. Kearsarge medical teams were the first to arrive in the small village of Morase, quickly setting up operations to determine what services the population needed most. With malnutrition topping the list of concerns, the medical teams conducted health assessments of residents, especially children.
The Kearsarge medical teams, which include partner-nation military medical personnel, are working in concert with the U.S. Agency for International Development and other multinational relief groups.
The medical personnel join Kearsarge's nearly two-week support to the relief efforts. Since Sept. 8, helicopters and landing craft from Kearsarge have delivered more than 980 metric tons of relief supplies and 26,000 gallons of water to devastated communities isolated by damaged roads and bridges.
"Today is a big day, because we are finally 'boots on the ground' with the medical part of the mission to see where the people are, and the needs that they have," Cmdr. Angelica Almonte, a Navy Nurse Corps officer, said.
Heavy rains and major flooding destroyed much of the region's crops, driving food prices higher than the villagers can afford. Medical personnel, concerned about malnutrition, began taking weight-for-height and mid-upper arm circumference measurements to conduct surveys to determine the village's current nutritional needs.
"We are trying to get a nutritional assessment of the children," said Capt. (Dr.) Tim Shope, a Navy pediatrician. "We are also sending a group of health officials into the community to test water and get a general sense of their food and water supply."
The Kearsarge medical team members said the overall health in Morase is good. However, there is a concern that, with difficulty of getting enough food to outlying areas due to washed-out roads and bridges, the population will begin to suffer from severe malnutrition that can impair the immune system, leaving children more vulnerable to diseases such as diarrhea, measles and tuberculosis.
Additionally, an inadequate supply of fresh water could lead to disease outbreaks such as cholera, typhoid and Hepatitis A.
"From the initial assessment, it looks like the people are generally healthy," said Lt. Candace D'Aurora, a Navy Nurse Corps officer. "The main issue right now is the villagers are saying they don't have food or water. That is the biggest issue we must address."
The areas needing the most immediate assistance have been prioritized by USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.
Medical teams from Kearsarge will continue to meet with other agencies working in the country, such as the Centers for Disease Control, Doctors Without Borders and the Pan American Health Organization, to plan what services to provide after the initial assessments.
Kearsarge has about 150 military, Public Health Service and nongovernmental organization medical professionals aboard. The medical team was part of the ship's five-month Continuing Promise 2008 humanitarian deployment to the region.
(From a U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet news release.)
Face of Defense: Soldier Counts Being Alive, in Uniform Among Blessings
By Jason L. Austin
Special to American Forces Press Service
Sept. 19, 2008 - Though he's never regretted joining the Army, a soldier here said, his decision never felt more right than when he faced the greatest challenge of his life: battling cancer. It's been almost nine years since Army doctors found a grapefruit-sized tumor growing in Sgt. 1st Class James Jordan's chest. He was 33 then and stationed in South Korea. Today, Jordan has survived two bouts with cancer and is planning a long career before retiring from the Army.
"I love the Army," said Jordan, a senior paralegal for the Europe Regional Medical Command judge advocate general office here.
Jordan arrived at his duty station in July, glad to have another shot at a tour in Germany; a previous tour here was cut short by cancer treatments. Mostly, though, Jordan said, he is just thankful to still wear the uniform.
"I praise God for that," he said. He has 16 years of active-duty service as a paralegal, and with reserve time, his service exceeds 20 years.
When he was diagnosed with cancer, his commander asked Jordan what he wanted to do about his Army career. He could have chosen medical retirement, but Jordan decided to stay in the Army.
"It would have been too easy to get out," he said. "I thought about my wife and my kids, and there are a lot of things I hadn't accomplished."
Jordan said he hopes someday reach the rank of sergeant major. The Army has been right for him, he said, and his loyalty runs deep.
"The Army really took care of me," he said. "I received a lot of treatment I wouldn't have gotten on the outside."
Jordan's wife, Dara, said she feels the same way.
"He needed to take care of his family," she said. "He needed a sense of normalcy. ... Besides, I kind of like being an Army wife."
After the first tumor was found in 1999, the Jordans flew to Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. James passed out during the flight and almost died en route, Dara said. Once at Tripler, James' tumor was initially diagnosed as non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Dara was sent back to South Korea to bear the news to her three children and to move her family to Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Through trying times of high-dosage chemotherapy, Jordan insisted on working as much as possible, and Dara kept the household running. After three years of chemotherapy, the tumor had shrunk, and Jordan was allowed to relocate to Kitzingen, Germany, with the 1st Infantry Division, which was preparing to deploy to Iraq.
But soon after settling in, Jordan began having chest pains - a tumor was growing again. He would have to return to Fort Sam Houston for more treatments.
"I felt bad about my soldiers going to Iraq," Jordan said. "I went to Fort Sam to focus on getting well and back to work ... serving the country."
This time, the tumor was diagnosed as a form of thyroid cancer. Jordan again was reassigned to Fort Sam Houston, and Dara had to move the family by herself. Surgeons removed his thyroid gland and surrounding tissues, including some lung tissue. Doctors followed the surgery with radiation treatment.
The surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments and various medicines have changed Jordan's body.
He used to run upwards of 10 miles per day, doing physical training in the mornings and then helping his soldiers bring up their scores in the evenings, Dara said. He was a track star in high school - ranking third in his home state of Oklahoma.
Today he has bad knees, a result of the steroids doctors prescribed to keep his strength up during chemotherapy. His lung capacity also is diminished from radiation treatments and the loss of tissue.
Still, he passes his Army physical fitness tests, riding a bicycle 6.2 miles in less than 27 minutes as an alternative to running, and he performs the standard push-up and sit-up tests.
During his battle with cancer, Jordan has been surrounded by family and friends. At Fort Sam Houston, he was close to his extended family in Oklahoma. Soldiers called from Iraq to check on him, and many churches prayed for him.
"Prayer really, really works," Jordan said, adding he would receive letters from churches he had never heard of, saying they are praying for him.
Those letters helped Dara, too, who admitted she has had some dark days during her husband's struggle.
The Jordans' support was widespread. A South Korean soldier who augmented U.S. troops in his country frequently called Jordan to see how he was doing.
"I'd like to think that if I can have that impact on a Korean soldier, I have an impact on American soldiers," Jordan said.
He said he knows he has made an impact on his children. When they were asked in school to write about a hero, they chose to write about him. He remembers his children visiting him in the hospital, knowing they were uncomfortable seeing him with tubes coming out of his body.
"I'd rather have him deployed for a year and come back the same man than go through what we've gone through," Dara said.
The lack of a deployment weighs heavily on Jordan, not only because he wasn't with his soldiers downrange, but also because he believes he owes it to his country. "He feels like he's been cheated," Dara said.
In today's Army, a soldier not wearing a combat patch is viewed by some in a negative light, she said, noting that she's had to defend Jordan's bare right shoulder to other spouses who judged the situation before being told about his personal war with cancer.
With the cancer now in its fourth year of remission, the Jordans are back in Germany, and they keep in touch with their now-adult children and their grandson via Web cam. "He's stole the show," Dara said about their grandson.
Jordan said he has worked with two soldiers who have died of cancer, and several others who have been diagnosed.
"When I went to the hospital, I saw a lot of soldiers with cancer," he said. He uses his cancer story to tell others that a diagnosis doesn't mean a death sentence.
Almost nine years after his initial diagnosis, Jordan is enjoying life with his wife in Germany, where they like bike rides, working out and dining out together. They also hope to travel to Rome, Paris and Israel.
"There are a lot of things we didn't do," Jordan said of their last tour in Germany. "We want to go places."
But for now, Dara said, "We're just counting our blessings, every day."
(Jason Austin works in the U.S. Army Garrison Baden-Wuerttemberg Public Affairs Office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Sept. 19, 2008 - Though he's never regretted joining the Army, a soldier here said, his decision never felt more right than when he faced the greatest challenge of his life: battling cancer. It's been almost nine years since Army doctors found a grapefruit-sized tumor growing in Sgt. 1st Class James Jordan's chest. He was 33 then and stationed in South Korea. Today, Jordan has survived two bouts with cancer and is planning a long career before retiring from the Army.
"I love the Army," said Jordan, a senior paralegal for the Europe Regional Medical Command judge advocate general office here.
Jordan arrived at his duty station in July, glad to have another shot at a tour in Germany; a previous tour here was cut short by cancer treatments. Mostly, though, Jordan said, he is just thankful to still wear the uniform.
"I praise God for that," he said. He has 16 years of active-duty service as a paralegal, and with reserve time, his service exceeds 20 years.
When he was diagnosed with cancer, his commander asked Jordan what he wanted to do about his Army career. He could have chosen medical retirement, but Jordan decided to stay in the Army.
"It would have been too easy to get out," he said. "I thought about my wife and my kids, and there are a lot of things I hadn't accomplished."
Jordan said he hopes someday reach the rank of sergeant major. The Army has been right for him, he said, and his loyalty runs deep.
"The Army really took care of me," he said. "I received a lot of treatment I wouldn't have gotten on the outside."
Jordan's wife, Dara, said she feels the same way.
"He needed to take care of his family," she said. "He needed a sense of normalcy. ... Besides, I kind of like being an Army wife."
After the first tumor was found in 1999, the Jordans flew to Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. James passed out during the flight and almost died en route, Dara said. Once at Tripler, James' tumor was initially diagnosed as non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Dara was sent back to South Korea to bear the news to her three children and to move her family to Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Through trying times of high-dosage chemotherapy, Jordan insisted on working as much as possible, and Dara kept the household running. After three years of chemotherapy, the tumor had shrunk, and Jordan was allowed to relocate to Kitzingen, Germany, with the 1st Infantry Division, which was preparing to deploy to Iraq.
But soon after settling in, Jordan began having chest pains - a tumor was growing again. He would have to return to Fort Sam Houston for more treatments.
"I felt bad about my soldiers going to Iraq," Jordan said. "I went to Fort Sam to focus on getting well and back to work ... serving the country."
This time, the tumor was diagnosed as a form of thyroid cancer. Jordan again was reassigned to Fort Sam Houston, and Dara had to move the family by herself. Surgeons removed his thyroid gland and surrounding tissues, including some lung tissue. Doctors followed the surgery with radiation treatment.
The surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments and various medicines have changed Jordan's body.
He used to run upwards of 10 miles per day, doing physical training in the mornings and then helping his soldiers bring up their scores in the evenings, Dara said. He was a track star in high school - ranking third in his home state of Oklahoma.
Today he has bad knees, a result of the steroids doctors prescribed to keep his strength up during chemotherapy. His lung capacity also is diminished from radiation treatments and the loss of tissue.
Still, he passes his Army physical fitness tests, riding a bicycle 6.2 miles in less than 27 minutes as an alternative to running, and he performs the standard push-up and sit-up tests.
During his battle with cancer, Jordan has been surrounded by family and friends. At Fort Sam Houston, he was close to his extended family in Oklahoma. Soldiers called from Iraq to check on him, and many churches prayed for him.
"Prayer really, really works," Jordan said, adding he would receive letters from churches he had never heard of, saying they are praying for him.
Those letters helped Dara, too, who admitted she has had some dark days during her husband's struggle.
The Jordans' support was widespread. A South Korean soldier who augmented U.S. troops in his country frequently called Jordan to see how he was doing.
"I'd like to think that if I can have that impact on a Korean soldier, I have an impact on American soldiers," Jordan said.
He said he knows he has made an impact on his children. When they were asked in school to write about a hero, they chose to write about him. He remembers his children visiting him in the hospital, knowing they were uncomfortable seeing him with tubes coming out of his body.
"I'd rather have him deployed for a year and come back the same man than go through what we've gone through," Dara said.
The lack of a deployment weighs heavily on Jordan, not only because he wasn't with his soldiers downrange, but also because he believes he owes it to his country. "He feels like he's been cheated," Dara said.
In today's Army, a soldier not wearing a combat patch is viewed by some in a negative light, she said, noting that she's had to defend Jordan's bare right shoulder to other spouses who judged the situation before being told about his personal war with cancer.
With the cancer now in its fourth year of remission, the Jordans are back in Germany, and they keep in touch with their now-adult children and their grandson via Web cam. "He's stole the show," Dara said about their grandson.
Jordan said he has worked with two soldiers who have died of cancer, and several others who have been diagnosed.
"When I went to the hospital, I saw a lot of soldiers with cancer," he said. He uses his cancer story to tell others that a diagnosis doesn't mean a death sentence.
Almost nine years after his initial diagnosis, Jordan is enjoying life with his wife in Germany, where they like bike rides, working out and dining out together. They also hope to travel to Rome, Paris and Israel.
"There are a lot of things we didn't do," Jordan said of their last tour in Germany. "We want to go places."
But for now, Dara said, "We're just counting our blessings, every day."
(Jason Austin works in the U.S. Army Garrison Baden-Wuerttemberg Public Affairs Office.)
MILITARY CONTRACTS September 19, 2008
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
BP West Coast Products LLC, La Palma, Calif. Is being awarded a maximum $1,130,287,795 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. Other location of performance is Ferndale, Washington. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 29 proposals solicited with 16 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 30, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-08-D-0508).
Montana Refining Co., Inc., Great Falls, Mont.*, is being awarded a maximum $24,856,825 fixed price with economic price adjustment, partial set-aside, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for jet fuel. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. This proposal was originally Web solicited with 16 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 31, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-08-D-0510).
Excel Manufacturing, El Paso, Texas,* is being awarded a maximum $8,375,220 firm fixed price, total set-aside contract for coats. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Air Force. This proposal was originally Web solicited with 13 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract represents option year one. The date of performance completion is Sept. 24 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM1C1-07-D-1501).
Navy
Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $220,509,647 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-5444) for MK15 Phalanx Close-In-Weapon System Block 1B upgrades and conversions, system overhauls, and associated hardware. The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) is an automatic terminal defense weapon system designed to detect, track, engage, and destroy anti-ship missile threats penetrating other defense envelopes. The Phalanx Block 1B CIWS weapon systems are also being installed on low-boy trailers with self contained diesel electric power and cooling water. This configuration of the Phalanx CIWS is the MK 15 MOD 29 land-based Phalanx Weapon system and has been deployed to Iraq. Work will be performed in Louisville, Ky., (30 percent); Andover, Mass., (19 percent); Tucson, Ariz., (16 percent); Syracuse, N.Y., (7 percent); Long Beach, Calif., (6 percent); Radford, Va., (6 percent); Burlington, Vt., (6 percent); Palm Bay, Fla., (2 percent); Pittsburg, Pa., (2 percent); Bloomington, Minn.; (2 percent), Salt Lake City, Utah, (2 percent); Norcross, Ga., (1 percent); and New Albany, Ind., (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $19,904,529 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity.
ITT Industries Avionics Div., Clifton, N. J., is being awarded a $55,744,000 modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (N00019-05-C-0054) to exercise an option for the procurement of 32 AN/ALQ-214 On-Board Jammer Systems for the F/A-18 E/F aircraft for the U.S. Navy, (13) and the Government of Australia, (19). Work will be performed at various locations for all other vendors throughout the United States, (43.5 percent); Clifton, N.J., (34.4 percent); East Syracuse, N.Y., (8.8 percent); San Diego, Calif., (8.3 percent); and Rancho Cordova, Calif., (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in Dec. 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This option combines purchases for the U.S. Navy, ($22,646,000; 41 percent), and the Government of Australia, ($33,098,000; 59 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Space and Strategic Missiles, Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded $54,131,262 for modification #P00017 under a previously awarded contract (N00030-06-C-0100) for low-cost test missile kit production. This modification increases the total contract value to $854,612,333. Work will be performed in Pennsylvania, (Lancaster, Bristol) (65 percent); California, (Camarillo, Hollister, Sunnyvale, San Diego, Simi Valley, Santa Ana, Los Angeles) (24 percent); Missouri, (Joplin) (3 percent); Virgina, (Fairfax) (1 percent); New York, (Depew) (1 percent); Massachusetts, (Walpole) (1 percent); and other (5 percent). The expected date of completion is through Dec. 31, 2011. Contract fund will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., is the contracting agency.
Baldi Bros. Inc.*, Beaumont, Calif., is being awarded a $44,288,213 firm fixed price contract for repairs to Runway 21L-03R and assault landing zone lighting at Travis Air Force Base. The contract also contains three unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $57,008,804. Work will be performed in Fairfield, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Mar. 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $44,288,213 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Naval Facilities Engineering Command e-solicitation website, with six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N62473-08-C-2206).
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $31,617,706 modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (N00019-03-C-0055) to exercise an option for the manufacture, test and delivery of 23 Reconfigurable Transportable Consolidated Automated Support System for the U.S. Navy, (21); U.S. Air Force, (1); and the Government of Finland, (1) and 13 Self -Maintenance and Test/Calibration Interface Devices (SMAT/CAL ID) for the U.S. Navy, (11); the U.S. Air Force (1); and the Government of Finland, (1). Work will be performed in North Reading, Mass., (60 percent) and St. Louis, Mo., (40 percent), and is expected to be completed in Aug. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy, ($28,786,790; 91.04 percent); the U.S. Air Force, ($1,415,458; 4.48 percent); and the Government of Finland, ($1,415,458; 4.48 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
ESY Co.*, Everett, Wash., was awarded an $8,955,694 firm fixed price contract on Sept. 17, 2008, for the construction and installation of dry dock Caisson #3. The contractor shall construct, test, and deliver dry dock Caisson #3. This caisson will replace the existing caisson and will be a reversible, ship-type, floating caisson having super flood-through capability constructed of steel. Work will be performed in Everett, Wash., and is expected to be completed by Mar. 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $8,955,694 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with six proposals solicited and two offers received via Navy Electronic Commerce Online. The Northwest Regional Maintenance Center, Bremerton, Wash., is the contracting activity (N4523A-08-C-0308).
Advanced Technology Construction*, Renton, Wash., is being awarded $7,926,790 for firm-fixed price task order #0002 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N44255-08-D-3015) for emergency power repair and upgrades at Naval Hospital Bremerton. Work will be performed in Bremerton, Wash., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Two proposals received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Northwest, Silverdale, Wash., is the contracting activity.
Barling Bay, LLC,* Anchorage, Ala., was awarded a $7,352,515 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus fixed fee, performance-based contract on Sept, 17, 2008, to provide services in the full range of hardware, software, and network engineering, information Technology (IT), and information assurance (IA) disciplines. This contract includes options, which if exercised, would bring the total cumulative value of the contract to an estimated amount of $47,652,820. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., (80 percent) and Charleston, S.C., (20 percent), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 2009 (Sept. 2013 with options exercised). Contract funds in the amount of $50,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively awarded. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity (N65236-08-D-6810).
Force Protection Industries, Inc., Ladson, S.C., is being awarded a $6,824,720 firm fixed priced modification to previously awarded delivery order #0006 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5031) for the purchase of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle OCONUS Field Service Representative (FSR) Site Lead, OCONUS Welders and definitizing the cost for Battle Damage Assessment Repair (BDAR) Kits and Deprocessing Kits. Work will be performed in Ladson, S.C., and in OIF/OEF Area's of responsibilities, and work is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Adaptive Technologies, Inc.*, Blacksburg, Va., is being awarded a $6,174,521 cost plus fix fee, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to research and develop a noise dosimetry for personnel noise exposure assessments which include digital noise-cancelling microphone, pilot active noise reduction earplug, active noise reduction impulse control, and noise monitor. Work will be performed in Blacksburg, Va., and is expected to be completed in Sept. 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via a Broad Agency Announcement with one offer received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (N00421-08-D-0022).
Solpac Construction Inc., dba Soltek Pacific Construction Co., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded $5,890,000 for firm fixed price task order #0003 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-08-D-8615) for design and construction of Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Office (JIEDDO) battle courses at the Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake. The work to be performed provides for the design and construction of battle courses, three training lanes, an observational tower, and a range support facility. The contract also contains one unexercised option, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $6,543,000. Work will be performed in China Lake, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Nov. 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Two proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.
Army
AAI Corporation, Hunt Valley, Md., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $66,334,705 cost plus fee price contract for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System, Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) IV Technology Refreshment. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Md., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0016).
Basic Marine Inc, Escanaba, Mich., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $25,102,510 firm fixed fee price contract for 14 deck barges. Work will be performed in Escanaba, Mich., with an estimated completion date of Oct 31, 2009. Bids were solicited via the Web and two bids were received. U.S. Army Engineer District Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (W912BU-08-C-0037).
Korte Construction Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $17,496,964 firm fixed fee price contract for fiscal year 2008, construction of medical and dental clinics at Fort Lewis, Wash. Work will be performed in Fort Lewis, Wash., with an estimated completion date of Feb. 18, 2010. Bids were solicited via the Web and four bids were received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle, Wash., is the contracting activity (W912DW-08-C-0018).
Sauers Incorporated d/b/a Sauer Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., was awarded on Sept. 17, 2008, a $17,376,400 firm fixed fee price contract for design and construction of a new ammunition storage facility. Work will be performed in Fort Benning, Ga., with an estimated completion date of Mar. 26, 2010. Four bids were solicited and three bids were received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Savannah, Ga., is the contracting activity (W912HN-07-D-0061)
Northrop Grumman Technical Services, Sierra Vista (Garden Canon), Ariz., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $16,900,000 cost plus fixed fee price contract for over and above effort for reset of hunter hardware for interoperability verification. Work will be performed in Sierra Vista, (Garden Canon), Ariz., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 17, 2011. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0025).
M.C. Dean Inc, Dulles, Va., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $16,206,929 firm fixed fee price contract for construction of electrical systems upgrade at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Atlanta, Ga., (Del Kalb County), Ga. Construct new electrical penthouse on the second floor of the main hospital, install new normal power distribution switchboards and connect to existing power ring bus. Work will be performed in Atlanta, Ga., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 1, 2010. Bids were solicited via the FedBizOps and one bid was received. Corps of Engineers Mobile District, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W9127-08-C-0056).
Nicholson Construction Company, Cuddy, Pa., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $10,415,194 firm fixed fee price contract for Phase I of auxiliary spillway channel excavation, Canton Lake Dam, and Canton Lake, Okla. Work will be performed in Canton, Okla., with an estimated completion date of Sept, 30, 2010. Bids were solicited via the FedBizOps were solicited and two bids was received. U.S. Army Engineer District Tulsa, Tulsa, Okla., is the contracting activity (W912BV-08C-1010).
Leupold & Stevens Inc, Beaverton, Ore., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $9,498,475 five year IDIQ firm fixed price contract. This award is for various sight scopes from Leupold & Stevens Inc. Work will be performed in Beaverton, Ore., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 19, 2013. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. TACOM LCMMC, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52H09-08-D-0445).
Texas Sterling Construction Co., San Antonio, Texas, was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $6,449,071 firm fixed price contract. This work includes design and construction of a new bridge structure over Salado Creek, extending from Nursery Road to W.W. White Road and includes approach roadways and a three-way intersection at Nursery Road, utilities, drainage structures and area lighting. Work will be performed in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2009. Bids were solicited via the Web and two bids were received. US Army Engineer District, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-08-C-0050).
Air Force
Wyle Laboratories, Inc., of Huntsville, Ala., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for an estimated $19,323,667. This contract action is for the Reliability Information Analysis Center and will perform Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division research, and development and testing of the Exodus Data Warehouse program. At this time $1,515,589 has been obligated. 55th Contracting Squadron, 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (HC1047-05-D-4005, DO: 0072).
Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio, is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for an estimated $15,865,585. The objective is to investigate and analyze current and anticipated health, medical, veterinary, and agricultural related chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear and weapons of mass destruction issues and requirements; develop plans for modernization; and conduct senior leader workshops. 55th Contracting Squadron, 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-00-D-3180, DO: 0557).
The Air Force is modifying a cost plus award fee contract with LinQuest Corp., of Los Angeles, Calif., for $10,597,239. This contract modification will provide system engineering and integration support to the Military Satellite Communications Wing through FY09. At this time $8,032,327 has been obligated. Space and Missile Systems Center, Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8808-06-C-0002, P00045).
Cardinal Maintenance Service of Grand Rapid, Mich., is being awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract for a maximum of $9.6 million. This action will provide grounds maintenance requirement for Hill Air Force Base, Utah. At this time $1,219,343 has been obligated. 75 CONS/PKB, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8201-08-D-0019).
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Integrated System Sector, of El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for $8,000,005. The INVENT program will design, develop and ground test an integrated suite of energy, power, and thermal advanced technologies based on the INVENT consensus architecture. This effort will consist of critical subsystems and vehicle system Technology integrations and demonstrations that ameliorate the risks identified by the INVENT consensus architecture studies. Component Technology and subsystem development work will be done outside of this effort. The three critical INVENT subsystem demonstrations identified are defined as 1) Adaptive Power and Thermal Management System, 2) Robust Electrical Power System, and 3) High Performance Electric Actuation System. Integrated designs shall be developed using high fidelity modeling and simulation techniques at an air system level to validate the approach achieves the expected benefits identified by the INVENT consensus architecture study. At this time $10,000 has been obligated. AFRL/PKPA, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-08-2935).
ITT Corp., of Clifton, N.J., is being awarded a time and material, cost reimbursement no fee contract for $7,527,936. This action will provide AN/ALQ-172 (V) Software Block Cycle Support. At this time all funds have been obligated. 542 CBSSS/PKS, Robins AFB, Ga., is the contracting activity (FA8523-05-G-0002-0014).
Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio, is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee, indefinite delivery, and requirements contract for an estimated $5,924,814. This contract action will conduct development of the DoD's chemical and biological equipment database, develop Chemical and Biological (CB) defense analytic tools, and perform research and analysis on CB defense initiatives. At this time $347,826 has been obligated. 55th Contracting Squadron, 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-00-D-3180, DO: 0565).
DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY
Agarigen Inc.*, Durham, N.C., is being awarded a $9,360,477 modification to a previously awarded other transaction for prototypes agreement for phase II of the Accelerated Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals program. Work will be performed in Durham, N.C., (96 percent), Coatsville, Pa., (1 percent), University Park, Pa., (3 percent), and is expected to be completed Dec. 2010. Funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a follow on to a competitive award based on a solicitation issued in Federal Business Opportunities on May 11, 2006, for which over 10 proposals were received. The contracting activity is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., (HR0011-07-9-0004, P00006).
BAE Systems National Security Solutions, Burlington, Mass., was awarded on Sept. 12, 2008, a $7,177,621 cost plus fixed fee contract for the video and image retrieval and Analysis Tool program. Work will be performed in Burlington, Mass., (70 percent), Cambridge, Mass., (21 percent), and Los Angeles, (9 percent), and is expected to be completed in Mar. 2010. Funds being obligated at time of award ($1,803,138) will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. DARPA issued a solicitation in Federal Business Opportunities on Mar. 3, 2008, and 20 proposals were received. The contracting activity is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., (HR0011-08-C-0134).
BP West Coast Products LLC, La Palma, Calif. Is being awarded a maximum $1,130,287,795 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. Other location of performance is Ferndale, Washington. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 29 proposals solicited with 16 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 30, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-08-D-0508).
Montana Refining Co., Inc., Great Falls, Mont.*, is being awarded a maximum $24,856,825 fixed price with economic price adjustment, partial set-aside, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for jet fuel. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. This proposal was originally Web solicited with 16 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 31, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-08-D-0510).
Excel Manufacturing, El Paso, Texas,* is being awarded a maximum $8,375,220 firm fixed price, total set-aside contract for coats. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Air Force. This proposal was originally Web solicited with 13 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract represents option year one. The date of performance completion is Sept. 24 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM1C1-07-D-1501).
Navy
Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $220,509,647 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-5444) for MK15 Phalanx Close-In-Weapon System Block 1B upgrades and conversions, system overhauls, and associated hardware. The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) is an automatic terminal defense weapon system designed to detect, track, engage, and destroy anti-ship missile threats penetrating other defense envelopes. The Phalanx Block 1B CIWS weapon systems are also being installed on low-boy trailers with self contained diesel electric power and cooling water. This configuration of the Phalanx CIWS is the MK 15 MOD 29 land-based Phalanx Weapon system and has been deployed to Iraq. Work will be performed in Louisville, Ky., (30 percent); Andover, Mass., (19 percent); Tucson, Ariz., (16 percent); Syracuse, N.Y., (7 percent); Long Beach, Calif., (6 percent); Radford, Va., (6 percent); Burlington, Vt., (6 percent); Palm Bay, Fla., (2 percent); Pittsburg, Pa., (2 percent); Bloomington, Minn.; (2 percent), Salt Lake City, Utah, (2 percent); Norcross, Ga., (1 percent); and New Albany, Ind., (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $19,904,529 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity.
ITT Industries Avionics Div., Clifton, N. J., is being awarded a $55,744,000 modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (N00019-05-C-0054) to exercise an option for the procurement of 32 AN/ALQ-214 On-Board Jammer Systems for the F/A-18 E/F aircraft for the U.S. Navy, (13) and the Government of Australia, (19). Work will be performed at various locations for all other vendors throughout the United States, (43.5 percent); Clifton, N.J., (34.4 percent); East Syracuse, N.Y., (8.8 percent); San Diego, Calif., (8.3 percent); and Rancho Cordova, Calif., (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in Dec. 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This option combines purchases for the U.S. Navy, ($22,646,000; 41 percent), and the Government of Australia, ($33,098,000; 59 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Space and Strategic Missiles, Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded $54,131,262 for modification #P00017 under a previously awarded contract (N00030-06-C-0100) for low-cost test missile kit production. This modification increases the total contract value to $854,612,333. Work will be performed in Pennsylvania, (Lancaster, Bristol) (65 percent); California, (Camarillo, Hollister, Sunnyvale, San Diego, Simi Valley, Santa Ana, Los Angeles) (24 percent); Missouri, (Joplin) (3 percent); Virgina, (Fairfax) (1 percent); New York, (Depew) (1 percent); Massachusetts, (Walpole) (1 percent); and other (5 percent). The expected date of completion is through Dec. 31, 2011. Contract fund will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., is the contracting agency.
Baldi Bros. Inc.*, Beaumont, Calif., is being awarded a $44,288,213 firm fixed price contract for repairs to Runway 21L-03R and assault landing zone lighting at Travis Air Force Base. The contract also contains three unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $57,008,804. Work will be performed in Fairfield, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Mar. 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $44,288,213 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Naval Facilities Engineering Command e-solicitation website, with six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N62473-08-C-2206).
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $31,617,706 modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (N00019-03-C-0055) to exercise an option for the manufacture, test and delivery of 23 Reconfigurable Transportable Consolidated Automated Support System for the U.S. Navy, (21); U.S. Air Force, (1); and the Government of Finland, (1) and 13 Self -Maintenance and Test/Calibration Interface Devices (SMAT/CAL ID) for the U.S. Navy, (11); the U.S. Air Force (1); and the Government of Finland, (1). Work will be performed in North Reading, Mass., (60 percent) and St. Louis, Mo., (40 percent), and is expected to be completed in Aug. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy, ($28,786,790; 91.04 percent); the U.S. Air Force, ($1,415,458; 4.48 percent); and the Government of Finland, ($1,415,458; 4.48 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
ESY Co.*, Everett, Wash., was awarded an $8,955,694 firm fixed price contract on Sept. 17, 2008, for the construction and installation of dry dock Caisson #3. The contractor shall construct, test, and deliver dry dock Caisson #3. This caisson will replace the existing caisson and will be a reversible, ship-type, floating caisson having super flood-through capability constructed of steel. Work will be performed in Everett, Wash., and is expected to be completed by Mar. 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $8,955,694 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with six proposals solicited and two offers received via Navy Electronic Commerce Online. The Northwest Regional Maintenance Center, Bremerton, Wash., is the contracting activity (N4523A-08-C-0308).
Advanced Technology Construction*, Renton, Wash., is being awarded $7,926,790 for firm-fixed price task order #0002 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N44255-08-D-3015) for emergency power repair and upgrades at Naval Hospital Bremerton. Work will be performed in Bremerton, Wash., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Two proposals received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Northwest, Silverdale, Wash., is the contracting activity.
Barling Bay, LLC,* Anchorage, Ala., was awarded a $7,352,515 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus fixed fee, performance-based contract on Sept, 17, 2008, to provide services in the full range of hardware, software, and network engineering, information Technology (IT), and information assurance (IA) disciplines. This contract includes options, which if exercised, would bring the total cumulative value of the contract to an estimated amount of $47,652,820. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., (80 percent) and Charleston, S.C., (20 percent), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 2009 (Sept. 2013 with options exercised). Contract funds in the amount of $50,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively awarded. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity (N65236-08-D-6810).
Force Protection Industries, Inc., Ladson, S.C., is being awarded a $6,824,720 firm fixed priced modification to previously awarded delivery order #0006 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5031) for the purchase of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle OCONUS Field Service Representative (FSR) Site Lead, OCONUS Welders and definitizing the cost for Battle Damage Assessment Repair (BDAR) Kits and Deprocessing Kits. Work will be performed in Ladson, S.C., and in OIF/OEF Area's of responsibilities, and work is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Adaptive Technologies, Inc.*, Blacksburg, Va., is being awarded a $6,174,521 cost plus fix fee, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to research and develop a noise dosimetry for personnel noise exposure assessments which include digital noise-cancelling microphone, pilot active noise reduction earplug, active noise reduction impulse control, and noise monitor. Work will be performed in Blacksburg, Va., and is expected to be completed in Sept. 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via a Broad Agency Announcement with one offer received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (N00421-08-D-0022).
Solpac Construction Inc., dba Soltek Pacific Construction Co., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded $5,890,000 for firm fixed price task order #0003 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-08-D-8615) for design and construction of Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Office (JIEDDO) battle courses at the Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake. The work to be performed provides for the design and construction of battle courses, three training lanes, an observational tower, and a range support facility. The contract also contains one unexercised option, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $6,543,000. Work will be performed in China Lake, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Nov. 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Two proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.
Army
AAI Corporation, Hunt Valley, Md., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $66,334,705 cost plus fee price contract for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System, Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) IV Technology Refreshment. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Md., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0016).
Basic Marine Inc, Escanaba, Mich., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $25,102,510 firm fixed fee price contract for 14 deck barges. Work will be performed in Escanaba, Mich., with an estimated completion date of Oct 31, 2009. Bids were solicited via the Web and two bids were received. U.S. Army Engineer District Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (W912BU-08-C-0037).
Korte Construction Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $17,496,964 firm fixed fee price contract for fiscal year 2008, construction of medical and dental clinics at Fort Lewis, Wash. Work will be performed in Fort Lewis, Wash., with an estimated completion date of Feb. 18, 2010. Bids were solicited via the Web and four bids were received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle, Wash., is the contracting activity (W912DW-08-C-0018).
Sauers Incorporated d/b/a Sauer Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., was awarded on Sept. 17, 2008, a $17,376,400 firm fixed fee price contract for design and construction of a new ammunition storage facility. Work will be performed in Fort Benning, Ga., with an estimated completion date of Mar. 26, 2010. Four bids were solicited and three bids were received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Savannah, Ga., is the contracting activity (W912HN-07-D-0061)
Northrop Grumman Technical Services, Sierra Vista (Garden Canon), Ariz., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $16,900,000 cost plus fixed fee price contract for over and above effort for reset of hunter hardware for interoperability verification. Work will be performed in Sierra Vista, (Garden Canon), Ariz., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 17, 2011. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0025).
M.C. Dean Inc, Dulles, Va., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $16,206,929 firm fixed fee price contract for construction of electrical systems upgrade at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Atlanta, Ga., (Del Kalb County), Ga. Construct new electrical penthouse on the second floor of the main hospital, install new normal power distribution switchboards and connect to existing power ring bus. Work will be performed in Atlanta, Ga., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 1, 2010. Bids were solicited via the FedBizOps and one bid was received. Corps of Engineers Mobile District, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W9127-08-C-0056).
Nicholson Construction Company, Cuddy, Pa., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $10,415,194 firm fixed fee price contract for Phase I of auxiliary spillway channel excavation, Canton Lake Dam, and Canton Lake, Okla. Work will be performed in Canton, Okla., with an estimated completion date of Sept, 30, 2010. Bids were solicited via the FedBizOps were solicited and two bids was received. U.S. Army Engineer District Tulsa, Tulsa, Okla., is the contracting activity (W912BV-08C-1010).
Leupold & Stevens Inc, Beaverton, Ore., was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $9,498,475 five year IDIQ firm fixed price contract. This award is for various sight scopes from Leupold & Stevens Inc. Work will be performed in Beaverton, Ore., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 19, 2013. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. TACOM LCMMC, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52H09-08-D-0445).
Texas Sterling Construction Co., San Antonio, Texas, was awarded on Sept. 18, 2008, a $6,449,071 firm fixed price contract. This work includes design and construction of a new bridge structure over Salado Creek, extending from Nursery Road to W.W. White Road and includes approach roadways and a three-way intersection at Nursery Road, utilities, drainage structures and area lighting. Work will be performed in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2009. Bids were solicited via the Web and two bids were received. US Army Engineer District, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-08-C-0050).
Air Force
Wyle Laboratories, Inc., of Huntsville, Ala., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for an estimated $19,323,667. This contract action is for the Reliability Information Analysis Center and will perform Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division research, and development and testing of the Exodus Data Warehouse program. At this time $1,515,589 has been obligated. 55th Contracting Squadron, 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (HC1047-05-D-4005, DO: 0072).
Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio, is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for an estimated $15,865,585. The objective is to investigate and analyze current and anticipated health, medical, veterinary, and agricultural related chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear and weapons of mass destruction issues and requirements; develop plans for modernization; and conduct senior leader workshops. 55th Contracting Squadron, 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-00-D-3180, DO: 0557).
The Air Force is modifying a cost plus award fee contract with LinQuest Corp., of Los Angeles, Calif., for $10,597,239. This contract modification will provide system engineering and integration support to the Military Satellite Communications Wing through FY09. At this time $8,032,327 has been obligated. Space and Missile Systems Center, Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8808-06-C-0002, P00045).
Cardinal Maintenance Service of Grand Rapid, Mich., is being awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract for a maximum of $9.6 million. This action will provide grounds maintenance requirement for Hill Air Force Base, Utah. At this time $1,219,343 has been obligated. 75 CONS/PKB, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8201-08-D-0019).
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Integrated System Sector, of El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for $8,000,005. The INVENT program will design, develop and ground test an integrated suite of energy, power, and thermal advanced technologies based on the INVENT consensus architecture. This effort will consist of critical subsystems and vehicle system Technology integrations and demonstrations that ameliorate the risks identified by the INVENT consensus architecture studies. Component Technology and subsystem development work will be done outside of this effort. The three critical INVENT subsystem demonstrations identified are defined as 1) Adaptive Power and Thermal Management System, 2) Robust Electrical Power System, and 3) High Performance Electric Actuation System. Integrated designs shall be developed using high fidelity modeling and simulation techniques at an air system level to validate the approach achieves the expected benefits identified by the INVENT consensus architecture study. At this time $10,000 has been obligated. AFRL/PKPA, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-08-2935).
ITT Corp., of Clifton, N.J., is being awarded a time and material, cost reimbursement no fee contract for $7,527,936. This action will provide AN/ALQ-172 (V) Software Block Cycle Support. At this time all funds have been obligated. 542 CBSSS/PKS, Robins AFB, Ga., is the contracting activity (FA8523-05-G-0002-0014).
Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio, is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee, indefinite delivery, and requirements contract for an estimated $5,924,814. This contract action will conduct development of the DoD's chemical and biological equipment database, develop Chemical and Biological (CB) defense analytic tools, and perform research and analysis on CB defense initiatives. At this time $347,826 has been obligated. 55th Contracting Squadron, 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-00-D-3180, DO: 0565).
DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY
Agarigen Inc.*, Durham, N.C., is being awarded a $9,360,477 modification to a previously awarded other transaction for prototypes agreement for phase II of the Accelerated Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals program. Work will be performed in Durham, N.C., (96 percent), Coatsville, Pa., (1 percent), University Park, Pa., (3 percent), and is expected to be completed Dec. 2010. Funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a follow on to a competitive award based on a solicitation issued in Federal Business Opportunities on May 11, 2006, for which over 10 proposals were received. The contracting activity is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., (HR0011-07-9-0004, P00006).
BAE Systems National Security Solutions, Burlington, Mass., was awarded on Sept. 12, 2008, a $7,177,621 cost plus fixed fee contract for the video and image retrieval and Analysis Tool program. Work will be performed in Burlington, Mass., (70 percent), Cambridge, Mass., (21 percent), and Los Angeles, (9 percent), and is expected to be completed in Mar. 2010. Funds being obligated at time of award ($1,803,138) will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. DARPA issued a solicitation in Federal Business Opportunities on Mar. 3, 2008, and 20 proposals were received. The contracting activity is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., (HR0011-08-C-0134).
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