The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is 1st Lt. Dixie S. Parker, U.S. Army, of Green Pond, Ala. He will be buried Dec. 6 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with Parker's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.
Parker was assigned to Battery B, 8th Field Artillery Battalion, 25th Infantry Division then occupying a defensive position overlooking the Kuryong River in P'yongan-Pukto Province, North Korea. On Nov. 27, 1950, Parker was killed in his foxhole while serving as a forward artillery observer. His body was not recovered.
In 2000, a joint U.S./Democratic People's Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a site overlooking the Kuryong River in P'yongan-Pukto Province where U.S. soldiers were believed to be buried. The team recovered human remains and non-biological evidence including Parker's identification tags and first lieutenant rank insignia.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Parker's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Army Civilians Could Receive Furlough Notices by Christmas
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 4, 2007 - Some Army civilian employees may get layoff notices before Christmas, because $178 billion in emergency funds have not yet been approved to continue the war on terror, a senior Defense Department official said today. President Bush called on Congress twice publicly this week to pass an emergency funding bill, but has vowed to veto any bill that imposes a mandatory troop withdrawal date.
Some members of Congress have responded by saying the Pentagon has funds to continue operations through March, but a Pentagon spokesman today said furlough notices for Army employees could start going out the middle of this month. The employees would not be furloughed until after Christmas, but some contracts require a 60-day notice if the furlough will be longer than 60 days, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters at the Pentagon. The department is using fiscal 2008 funds – not part of the supplemental funding needed – to keep operations going in the war on terror, he explained.
"Anyone who thinks that this is not a serious situation is simply misinformed or is ignoring the facts. We have tried to be as matter of fact as we can on this, but the reality is that we are using our program budget for FY 08 ... to fund our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan," Whitman said.
DoD is using its readiness funding, or operations and maintenance accounts, which typically pay for training, supplies, and maintenance of weapons and equipment.
Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates requested to shift $3.7 billion from Navy and Air Force payrolls and an $800 million excess in the working capital fund to Army and Marine Corps operations.
If funding continues to be delayed, it could affect as many as 200,000 civilian employees and contractors, DoD officials reported earlier.
"In mid-February, the Army will run out of all of their O&M funding for the entire year, because they will have spent it on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. That will require some fairly significant and harsh actions by the department, specifically the Army. And the Marine Corps is only about a month behind them," Whitman said.
Military installations soon will have to shut down operations and furlough civilian employees, terminate contracts, and move into what Whitman called a "warm" status.
"Facts are the facts. We're trying to keep people as well informed as we can, but anybody that thinks that we have sufficient funding to go beyond what we have stated is just either misinformed or electing not to examine the facts," he said.
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 4, 2007 - Some Army civilian employees may get layoff notices before Christmas, because $178 billion in emergency funds have not yet been approved to continue the war on terror, a senior Defense Department official said today. President Bush called on Congress twice publicly this week to pass an emergency funding bill, but has vowed to veto any bill that imposes a mandatory troop withdrawal date.
Some members of Congress have responded by saying the Pentagon has funds to continue operations through March, but a Pentagon spokesman today said furlough notices for Army employees could start going out the middle of this month. The employees would not be furloughed until after Christmas, but some contracts require a 60-day notice if the furlough will be longer than 60 days, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters at the Pentagon. The department is using fiscal 2008 funds – not part of the supplemental funding needed – to keep operations going in the war on terror, he explained.
"Anyone who thinks that this is not a serious situation is simply misinformed or is ignoring the facts. We have tried to be as matter of fact as we can on this, but the reality is that we are using our program budget for FY 08 ... to fund our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan," Whitman said.
DoD is using its readiness funding, or operations and maintenance accounts, which typically pay for training, supplies, and maintenance of weapons and equipment.
Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates requested to shift $3.7 billion from Navy and Air Force payrolls and an $800 million excess in the working capital fund to Army and Marine Corps operations.
If funding continues to be delayed, it could affect as many as 200,000 civilian employees and contractors, DoD officials reported earlier.
"In mid-February, the Army will run out of all of their O&M funding for the entire year, because they will have spent it on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. That will require some fairly significant and harsh actions by the department, specifically the Army. And the Marine Corps is only about a month behind them," Whitman said.
Military installations soon will have to shut down operations and furlough civilian employees, terminate contracts, and move into what Whitman called a "warm" status.
"Facts are the facts. We're trying to keep people as well informed as we can, but anybody that thinks that we have sufficient funding to go beyond what we have stated is just either misinformed or electing not to examine the facts," he said.
America Supports You: Chefs Let Wounded Troops Taste Gratitude
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 4, 2007 - In an effort to lift spirits and say "thank you" during the holiday season, 10 area chefs presented recovering servicemembers and their families with a mouth-watering meal last night. "As chefs here in the nation's capital, we do a lot of fundraisers for a lot of different organizations, but this one means so much," said Chef Robert Wiedmaier, owner of Marcel's and Brasserie Beck, in the dining room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Mologne House. "For us to be able to come up here at Christmas and use our talents to do something really nice for them makes us feel good, and hopefully they warm their bellies and feel really good about it."
The residents dined on fare that included barbequed brisket, beef stew with potato puree and roasted chestnut soup, among other delicious entrees. Two restaurants provided pecan pie and other assorted deserts.
The idea for the dinner, which is completely apolitical, Wiedmaier said, started with his mother, Virginia Ann Wiedmaier. While a patient at Walter Reed, she told her son he needed to go to the hospital and cook for the wounded troops.
The event, which was renamed the Virginia Ann Wiedmaier Holiday Dinner when she passed away a little more than two years ago, celebrated its fifth year last night.
Wiedmaier, whose father is a retired Army colonel, said the dinners would continue "as long as we need to keep doing it."
"It's in honor of my mother ... so I feel strongly about it," he said. "I'm also hoping that one day we won't have to do this any more."
Until that day arrives, the dinner is just the best medicine the doctors can't order, said Pete Anderson, manager of Mologne House.
"It's kind of a compilation of the community coming together and taking care of the servicemembers ... and showing them a good time," he said. "I think it's as beneficial for all of the restaurants to come up here and be around the servicemembers as it is for the servicemembers to come and enjoy some really, really wonderful food."
The servicemembers tended to be of like opinion.
"It was fantastic," said Army Spc. Cory Smith, who's recovering from injuries to his right eye and hand. "(I tried) everything; really, everything."
Army Spc. Travis Webb, a bilateral leg amputee, agreed the food was good, but said the event was a step better than just a good meal.
"It was better than the food I ate in Iraq and in the hospital," he said. "We appreciate people coming out here and doing stuff like this."
Stuff like the dinner serves as a reminder to the troops that they still have support back home, said Adrienne Trout, vice president of communications and development for United Service Organizations of Metropolitan Washington.
"It's not just the meal," she said. "I think it's a symbol that America is behind them, that people are thinking of them and they're not forgotten."
USO of Metropolitan Washington has helped to organize the event from the first year, and once again provided volunteers to help out at last night's event. USO volunteers helped to hand out door prizes and took boxed meals to hospital inpatients.
For the second year in a row, USO volunteers also took the same meal to sailors and Marines recovering at the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md.
As the evening concluded and Santa Claus finished handing out gifts to the children, the chefs gathered in the lobby to thank the servicemembers for their sacrifices. But they weren't the last thanks the troops and their families would receive.
Vice Adm. John G. Cotton, chief of the Navy Reserve and commander of the Navy Reserve Force, offered his gratitude and holiday greetings on behalf of the Defense Department and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
"Of all the countries in the world, there's about 112 constitutions, (but) there's only one constitution that starts with the word 'We,'" he said. "We're special. But we're extra special because of our forces we send overseas to give peace and freedom to other countries like you all have done in Afghanistan (and) in Iraq ... so they can enjoy the words 'freedom' and 'democracy' and celebrate their happy holidays and their own religions in their own way."
Editor's Note: To find out about more individuals, groups and organizations that are helping support the troops, visit www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil. America Supports You directly connects military members to the support of the America people and offers a tool to the general public in their quest to find meaningful ways to support the military community.
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 4, 2007 - In an effort to lift spirits and say "thank you" during the holiday season, 10 area chefs presented recovering servicemembers and their families with a mouth-watering meal last night. "As chefs here in the nation's capital, we do a lot of fundraisers for a lot of different organizations, but this one means so much," said Chef Robert Wiedmaier, owner of Marcel's and Brasserie Beck, in the dining room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Mologne House. "For us to be able to come up here at Christmas and use our talents to do something really nice for them makes us feel good, and hopefully they warm their bellies and feel really good about it."
The residents dined on fare that included barbequed brisket, beef stew with potato puree and roasted chestnut soup, among other delicious entrees. Two restaurants provided pecan pie and other assorted deserts.
The idea for the dinner, which is completely apolitical, Wiedmaier said, started with his mother, Virginia Ann Wiedmaier. While a patient at Walter Reed, she told her son he needed to go to the hospital and cook for the wounded troops.
The event, which was renamed the Virginia Ann Wiedmaier Holiday Dinner when she passed away a little more than two years ago, celebrated its fifth year last night.
Wiedmaier, whose father is a retired Army colonel, said the dinners would continue "as long as we need to keep doing it."
"It's in honor of my mother ... so I feel strongly about it," he said. "I'm also hoping that one day we won't have to do this any more."
Until that day arrives, the dinner is just the best medicine the doctors can't order, said Pete Anderson, manager of Mologne House.
"It's kind of a compilation of the community coming together and taking care of the servicemembers ... and showing them a good time," he said. "I think it's as beneficial for all of the restaurants to come up here and be around the servicemembers as it is for the servicemembers to come and enjoy some really, really wonderful food."
The servicemembers tended to be of like opinion.
"It was fantastic," said Army Spc. Cory Smith, who's recovering from injuries to his right eye and hand. "(I tried) everything; really, everything."
Army Spc. Travis Webb, a bilateral leg amputee, agreed the food was good, but said the event was a step better than just a good meal.
"It was better than the food I ate in Iraq and in the hospital," he said. "We appreciate people coming out here and doing stuff like this."
Stuff like the dinner serves as a reminder to the troops that they still have support back home, said Adrienne Trout, vice president of communications and development for United Service Organizations of Metropolitan Washington.
"It's not just the meal," she said. "I think it's a symbol that America is behind them, that people are thinking of them and they're not forgotten."
USO of Metropolitan Washington has helped to organize the event from the first year, and once again provided volunteers to help out at last night's event. USO volunteers helped to hand out door prizes and took boxed meals to hospital inpatients.
For the second year in a row, USO volunteers also took the same meal to sailors and Marines recovering at the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md.
As the evening concluded and Santa Claus finished handing out gifts to the children, the chefs gathered in the lobby to thank the servicemembers for their sacrifices. But they weren't the last thanks the troops and their families would receive.
Vice Adm. John G. Cotton, chief of the Navy Reserve and commander of the Navy Reserve Force, offered his gratitude and holiday greetings on behalf of the Defense Department and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
"Of all the countries in the world, there's about 112 constitutions, (but) there's only one constitution that starts with the word 'We,'" he said. "We're special. But we're extra special because of our forces we send overseas to give peace and freedom to other countries like you all have done in Afghanistan (and) in Iraq ... so they can enjoy the words 'freedom' and 'democracy' and celebrate their happy holidays and their own religions in their own way."
Editor's Note: To find out about more individuals, groups and organizations that are helping support the troops, visit www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil. America Supports You directly connects military members to the support of the America people and offers a tool to the general public in their quest to find meaningful ways to support the military community.
DoD Announces New Manufacturing Technology Program
Today the Department of Defense announced its new Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) Program for 2008 at the Defense Manufacturing Conference in Las Vegas. John J. Kubricky, deputy under secretary of defense for advanced systems and concepts, explained that the Army, Navy and Air Force have successfully managed their individual ManTech programs for decades; this is the first year for DoD's defense-wide program.
“The services have realized billions in savings and cost avoidance over the years by applying ManTech to production and sustainment of their major systems," said Kubricky. "Now, the department and Congress want to apply ManTech to a broader set of defense technologies where prudent investments will yield benefits to all of the armed services."
Beginning in the federal government's fiscal 2008, the program expects to fund investments that will mature ceramic matrix composites manufacturing processes, system-on-chip packaging technology and design guidelines, and advanced manufacturing processes for prosthetics for our wounded warriors. "Other project candidates are being evaluated, and we anticipate returns-on-investment that range from 6:1 to 12:1 in terms of procurement and operating costs, improved operational availability rates, and faster availability for deployment," said Kubricky.
The defense-wide ManTech program aims to mature cross-cutting manufacturing processes in parallel with new and emerging technologies that are inserted into DoD systems. ManTech enables a cost-efficient and collaborative development process that concurrently retires cross-cutting manufacturing risk with technology risk to enable product-ready technology insertion. Equally important, the program aligns research and development investments with suitable levels of technology maturity or calls for corrective options in advance of Milestone B decisions.
"The ManTech processes that are developed, demonstrated and deployed through this program will be used to produce increasingly complex defense systems so our nation maintains superior equipment that is more affordable to acquire, operate and maintain," added Kubricky. ManTech generally measures results in decreased cycle time for production, lower manufacturing costs, more predictable performance, and improved reliability that yields reductions in life-cycle-costs.
Over the longer term, DoD anticipates the defense-wide ManTech program will transition to the Services to execute cross-cutting manufacturing projects that benefit all of the armed services.
More information regarding the Defense Manufacturing Conference can be found at: http://www.dmc.utcdayton.com.
“The services have realized billions in savings and cost avoidance over the years by applying ManTech to production and sustainment of their major systems," said Kubricky. "Now, the department and Congress want to apply ManTech to a broader set of defense technologies where prudent investments will yield benefits to all of the armed services."
Beginning in the federal government's fiscal 2008, the program expects to fund investments that will mature ceramic matrix composites manufacturing processes, system-on-chip packaging technology and design guidelines, and advanced manufacturing processes for prosthetics for our wounded warriors. "Other project candidates are being evaluated, and we anticipate returns-on-investment that range from 6:1 to 12:1 in terms of procurement and operating costs, improved operational availability rates, and faster availability for deployment," said Kubricky.
The defense-wide ManTech program aims to mature cross-cutting manufacturing processes in parallel with new and emerging technologies that are inserted into DoD systems. ManTech enables a cost-efficient and collaborative development process that concurrently retires cross-cutting manufacturing risk with technology risk to enable product-ready technology insertion. Equally important, the program aligns research and development investments with suitable levels of technology maturity or calls for corrective options in advance of Milestone B decisions.
"The ManTech processes that are developed, demonstrated and deployed through this program will be used to produce increasingly complex defense systems so our nation maintains superior equipment that is more affordable to acquire, operate and maintain," added Kubricky. ManTech generally measures results in decreased cycle time for production, lower manufacturing costs, more predictable performance, and improved reliability that yields reductions in life-cycle-costs.
Over the longer term, DoD anticipates the defense-wide ManTech program will transition to the Services to execute cross-cutting manufacturing projects that benefit all of the armed services.
More information regarding the Defense Manufacturing Conference can be found at: http://www.dmc.utcdayton.com.
Gates: Intelligence Estimate Shows Need to Keep Up Pressure on Iran
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 4, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today pointed to the new national intelligence estimate as evidence that non-military means are the best way for the United States to deal with Iran's nuclear enrichment program. Responding to a reporter's query during a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai here, Gates said the estimate, released yesterday, also underscores the need for the international community to continue pressuring Iran not to restart its nuclear weapons program.
"If anything, the new national estimate validates the administration's strategy of bringing diplomatic and economic pressures to bear on the Iranian government to change its policies," Gates told reporters.
The report finds that the intelligence community "has high confidence that Iran halted its covert nuclear weapons program in the fall of 2003 and they have moderate confidence that they have not restarted that program as of mid-2007," national security advisor Stephen Hadley said in a Washington news briefing yesterday.
The estimate concludes that international scrutiny and pressure probably led Iran to halt work involving uranium enrichment that had previous gone undeclared.
Gates said the NIE gives the U.S. intelligence community "more confidence than ever before" that Iran had, in fact, had a nuclear weapons program before suspending it.
The secretary said the report underscores the role international pressure played in forcing that action, but expressed concern that Iran continues to "keep its options open."
"As long as they continue with their enrichment activities, then the opportunity to resume that nuclear weapons program is always present," he said.
Gates said the estimate demonstrates the need for the international community to keep up its pressure on Iran so it doesn't restart the program. He urged nations of the world "to join the United States in bringing pressure to bear on the Iranian government."
This, he said, will help "ensure that what apparently was a suspension in 2003 becomes a policy of the Iranian government and that they agree to the requirements of the international community in terms of their enrichment program."
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 4, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today pointed to the new national intelligence estimate as evidence that non-military means are the best way for the United States to deal with Iran's nuclear enrichment program. Responding to a reporter's query during a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai here, Gates said the estimate, released yesterday, also underscores the need for the international community to continue pressuring Iran not to restart its nuclear weapons program.
"If anything, the new national estimate validates the administration's strategy of bringing diplomatic and economic pressures to bear on the Iranian government to change its policies," Gates told reporters.
The report finds that the intelligence community "has high confidence that Iran halted its covert nuclear weapons program in the fall of 2003 and they have moderate confidence that they have not restarted that program as of mid-2007," national security advisor Stephen Hadley said in a Washington news briefing yesterday.
The estimate concludes that international scrutiny and pressure probably led Iran to halt work involving uranium enrichment that had previous gone undeclared.
Gates said the NIE gives the U.S. intelligence community "more confidence than ever before" that Iran had, in fact, had a nuclear weapons program before suspending it.
The secretary said the report underscores the role international pressure played in forcing that action, but expressed concern that Iran continues to "keep its options open."
"As long as they continue with their enrichment activities, then the opportunity to resume that nuclear weapons program is always present," he said.
Gates said the estimate demonstrates the need for the international community to keep up its pressure on Iran so it doesn't restart the program. He urged nations of the world "to join the United States in bringing pressure to bear on the Iranian government."
This, he said, will help "ensure that what apparently was a suspension in 2003 becomes a policy of the Iranian government and that they agree to the requirements of the international community in terms of their enrichment program."
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