Gates Praises Hayden as General Retires to Become Civilian CIA Director

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

June 20, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates praised Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden at the general's military retirement ceremony here today as "the quintessential intelligence professional in government" who will continue making profound contributions as the Central Intelligence Agency's civilian director. Gates lauded Hayden's work since May 2006 as the first CIA director in uniform since 1981. If anyone had questions at the time about whether a military person should hold the key intelligence post, Hayden quickly put their concerns to rest, Gates said.

The secretary said Hayden helped the Defense Department and other members of the intelligence community overcome past divisions and discord that had hampered their effectiveness. "We are all on one team now," Gates said. "I would argue that there has never been a better fusion of military operations and intelligence in the history of warfare."

Close military-CIA cooperation is particularly important during the war on terror, "a time in which our national security depends on the effective synthesis of intelligence and military operations," Gates said.

He cited intelligence efforts that have led to the killing or capture of terrorist leaders and operatives in Iraq and Afghanistan, ultimately saving countless Iraqi, Afghan, American and coalition lives.

Gates cited Hayden's vast intelligence experience, built during a career spanning almost 40 years. He oversaw the intelligence directorate at U.S. European Command, commanded the Air Intelligence Agency, directed the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center and the National Security Agency, and served as both principal deputy director and director of national intelligence.

"For more than 20 years, he has been both an intelligence provider and consumer," Gates said. "He knows the entire spectrum of the business, and he knows what policymakers and military planners need to do their jobs."

As Hayden trades his Air Force uniform for a coat and tie, Gates said, he will continue contributing his expertise in advancing the U.S. intelligence effort.

Hayden wove humor into his military farewell, thanking his wife, Jeanine, who he said has made his service "a team enterprise," and other family members who have kept him true to his Pittsburgh roots.

Serving with many key organizations during the past four decades, Hayden said, he's always been "an airman first." He said he's been proud to be a part of the Air Force as it transformed into the information age and that he's astounded by strides that paved the way for today's precision operations, all fueled by critical intelligence.

"Information is absolutely critical to how we operate" and "a determinant of success," he said.

Hayden praised his staff at the CIA, where he said he found when he arrived two years ago a culture that "wasn't quite military, but it was expeditionary and it was very can-do." He called their behind-the-scenes work around the world, including war zones, in support of the men in women in uniform and the nation "the finest expression of patriotism."

"These people give far more than they get. They deserve far better than they usually receive," he said. "And when they succeed in their work, help their countrymen feel safe again, they still stay in the shadows, continue their work and discipline themselves to ignore the sometimes shrill and uninformed voices of criticism."

Hayden said he's honored as he hangs up his Air Force uniform to remain at the CIA as its civilian director and to continue advancing successes being made there.

As in football, decisions in intelligence would be far easier after the fact, Hayden said.

"We'd all be going to Canton and enshrined there," he said, referring to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Ohio. "But I am honored to be on the field, playing in real time on the CIA team."

MILITARY CONTRACTS June 20, 2008

NAVY

International Military and Government LLC, Warrenville, Ill., is being awarded a $234,281,872 firm-fixed-priced modification to delivery order #0007 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for sustainment items needed to support Category I Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) vehicles in theater. This order will also be used to support several engineering change proposals to increase the vehicles' capabilities. Work will be performed in WestPoint, Miss., and work is expected to be completed August 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

International Military and Government LLC, Warrenville, Ill., is being awarded a $211,624,202 firm-fixed-priced modification to delivery order #0006 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for sustainment items needed to support Category I Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) vehicles in theater. This order will also be used to support several engineering change proposals to increase the vehicles' capabilities. Work will be performed in WestPoint, Miss., and the period of performance is expected to be completed by the end of August 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

International Military and Government LLC, Warrenville, Ill., is being awarded a $146,770,400 firm-fixed-priced modification to delivery order #0005 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for sustainment items needed to support Category I Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) vehicles in theater. This order will also be used to support several engineering change proposals to increase the vehicles' capabilities. Work will be performed in WestPoint, Miss., and work is expected to be completed August 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

International Military and Government LLC, Warrenville, Ill., is being awarded an $84,832,901 firm-fixed-priced modification to delivery order #0004 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for sustainment items needed to support CAT I Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) vehicles in theater. This order will also be used to support several engineering change proposals to increase the vehicles' capabilities. Work will be performed in WestPoint, Miss., and work is expected to be completed August 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

International Military and Government LLC, Warrenville, Ill., is being awarded a $29,508,041 firm-fixed-priced modification to delivery order #0002 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for sustainment items needed to support Category I Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) vehicles in theater. This order will also be used to support several engineering change proposals to increase the vehicles' capabilities. Work will be performed in WestPoint, Miss., and work is expected to be completed July 2008. Contract funds will not expire by the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

General Dynamics Electronic Boat Corporation, Groton, Conn., is being awarded $13,733,105 cost-plus-incentive fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to produce and install the Naval Sea Systems Command Ship Alteration SHIPALT) kits for the Strategic Systems Programs Shipboard Integration (SSI) Increment 1, MK98 MOD 6/7 Fire Control System; conduct investigations and resolution of problems associated with TRIDENT I and TRIDENT II Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM programs, Ohio Class Submersible Ship Guided Nuclear (SSGN) requirements, Attack Weapon System (AWS) Trainer requirements and Advanced Weapons Systems Development requirements; and provide Strategic Weapons Systems (SWS) technical engineering support. Work will be performed in Groton, Conn. (68 percent); Silverdale, Wash. (14 percent); Kings Bay, Ga. (14 percent); North Kingstown, R.I. (4 percent), and work is expected to be completed May 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $1,414,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a sole source award. The Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (N00030-08-C-0031).

R.A. Burch Construction Company Inc., * Ramona, Calif., is being awarded $12,347,785 for firm-fixed-price Task Order #0002 under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award construction contract (N62473-08-D-8607) for design-build renovation of Buildings 1 & 11, Antisubmarine Warfare Point Loma. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by April 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.

ARMY

ECC, Inc., Burlingame, Calif., was awarded on May 24, 2008, a $13,175,071 firm-fixed price contract for design and construction of facilities for the Afghan National Police Border Police Zone. Work will be performed in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, and is expected to be completed by July 1, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five bids were solicited on April 23, 2008, and four bids were received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Afghanistan, is the contracting activity (W917PM-07-D-0015).

Elkins Constructors, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., was awarded on June 16, 2008, a $6,724,000 firm-fixed price contract for construction of troop personnel quarters. Work will be performed at 165th Airlift Wing, Savannah, Ga., and is expected to be completed by June 16, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Seven bids were solicited on March 12, 2008, and seven bids were received. National Guard Bureau United States Property & Fiscal Office, Atlanta, Ga., is the contracting activity (W912JM-08-C-0010).

Bauer, Inc., Bristol, Conn., was awarded on June 18, 2008, a $5,633,900 firm-fixed price contract for test stands and associated hardware/software, installation and training. Work will be performed in Bristol, Conn., and Corpus Christi, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Web bids were solicited on March 5, 2008, and three bids were received. Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912NW-08-C-0015).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Columbia Sewing Co., Inc., Hope Ark.* is being awarded a maximum $8,512,204.90 firm fixed price, indefinite quantity, small business set aside contract for combat utility uniforms. Other locations of performance are in Arkansas, Alabama and Puerto Rico. Using service is Marine Corps. The original proposal was Web solicited with 10 responses. This contract is exercising option year two. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is June 25, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Va. (SP0100-06-D-0362).

AIR FORCE

Today the Air Force is awarding a firm fixed price contract to Raytheon Company of Tucson, Ariz., for a maximum of $6,965,867. This contract will provide a Global Positioning System (GPS) circuit card assembly that utilizes Selective Availability Ant-Spoofing Module (SAASM) technology. A delivery order contract is necessary to provide circuit card assemblies for foreign military sales. This effort supports foreign military to Austria, Bahrain, Chile, Columbia, Egypt, India, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and United Arab Emirates. At this time no funds have been obligated. Raytheon Facility-100% Integrated Air Defense Center, Andover, Mass., is the contracting activity (FA8807-08-D-0002)

The article was sponsored by criminal justice degree who also assisted in the preparation.

Officials Provide Information for Employees Victimized by Flood

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

June 20, 2008 - Defense Department officials have issued information to assist federal employees and agencies affected by the recent flooding throughout the Midwest and Mississippi River Valley, military officials said. "Our Defense Department employees are a valued resource and an essential part of our total forces," said Marilee Fitzgerald, principal director of the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy. "The department is committed to doing all that we can do to assist our civilian work force during this difficult and challenging time."

Information on flexibilities currently available -- such as family support, telework and emergency hiring -- are on the department's Civilian Personnel Management Service Web site at www.cpms.osd.mil/disasters/. The site also includes a link to an Office of Personnel Management handbook on pay and leave benefits for federal employees affected by severe weather or other emergencies.

The handbook contains information on salary advances to employees ordered to evacuate for safety reasons, excused absence with pay, travel and subsistence payments, and various pay contingencies, officials said.

Families can call the department's emergency employee toll-free phone number, 888-363-4872, to ask questions regarding their employment and to update their employing components of their conditions. Employees also can provide the information by e-mail to disasterresponse@cpms.osd.mil, officials said.

The Defense Department will update and post information regularly to the Civilian Personnel Management Services site to keep its agencies and employees informed, Fitzgerald said.

Bush Lauds House Passage of War Funding, More GI Bill Benefits

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

June 20, 2008 - President Bush today praised the House of Representatives for passing a supplemental war spending bill that includes expanded Montgomery GI Bill benefits, and he urged the Senate to quickly do the same. Bush said last night's approval of about $162 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan will provide vital resources to servicemembers waging the war on terror.

"This legislation gives our troops the funds they need to prevail without tying the hands of our commanders in the field or imposing artificial timetables for withdrawal," he said.

The bill, as passed, also includes provisions expanding the GI Bill and allowing servicemembers to transfer unused educational benefits to their spouses and children.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates first heard the transferability issue raised during a military spouses' group meeting at Fort Hood, Texas, and pitched the idea to President Bush. The president liked the concept so much that he included it in his State of the Union address in January. Bush said in May during a Military Spouse Day celebration at the White House that he hoped to be able to sign the legislation into law quickly.

"It is the absolute right thing to do," he told the spouses. "It should send a clear message that we care for you, we respect you, and we love you."

Gates has said he believes the measure would boost both recruiting and retention.

About 97 percent of servicemembers sign up for the Montgomery GI Bill, but only about 70 percent actually use the benefit, and typically they use about half of the 36 months of benefits available to them, officials said.

Navy Pilot Missing In Action From the Vietnam War is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Lt. Cmdr. Ralph C. Bisz, U.S. Navy, of Miami Shores, Fla. His funeral arrangements are being set by his family.

On Aug. 4, 1967, Bisz took off in an A-4E Skyhawk from the USS Oriskany to bomb an enemy petroleum depot near Haiphong, Vietnam. As he neared the target, his aircraft was struck by an enemy surface-to-air missile and crashed near the town of Hai Duong in Hai Hung Province. No parachute was observed and no emergency beeper signal was received.

In 1988, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) repatriated to the United States human remains from Hai Hung Province, which they attributed to Bisz on the basis of their historical records of the shootdown as well as documentation of his burial.

Between 1988 and 2004, joint U.S./S.R.V. teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted several investigations of the incident and surveyed the crash site. A team found aircraft wreckage at the site which was consistent with an A-4E Skyhawk. Teams also interviewed witnesses who recalled the crash and burial of the pilot in a nearby cemetery. Additionally, one witness indicated that he oversaw the exhumation of the American's remains from the cemetery, and their turnover to district officials.

Between 1993 and 2004, 25 samples from the remains turned over in 1988 were submitted to several laboratories for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis, but yielded inconclusive results. In 2007, the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used refined DNA collection techniques and succeeded in obtaining verifiable mtDNA.

Using forensic identification tools, circumstantial evidence, mtDNA analysis and dental comparisons, scientists from JPAC identified the remains as those of Bisz.

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) 509-1905 or (703) 699-1420.

President Confers Medal of Freedom on Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Pace

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

June 19, 2008 - President Bush presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace during a White House ceremony today. Bush honored Pace with the highest civilian award the United States can bestow for a career that went from the streets of Hue City, Vietnam, to the halls of power in Washington.

Pace retired as the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October. He was the first Marine to serve in the position.

During today's ceremony, Bush said one of his greatest privileges as president is to meet servicemembers.

"I've been inspired by their valor, selflessness and complete integrity," he said to an audience that included Vice President Richard B. Cheney and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. "I found all those qualities in abundance in General Pete Pace."

Bush called Pace a "skilled and trusted advisor" as the United States fought two wars. Pace helped transform the military into a more effective and efficient force in America's defense, the president said.

Pace was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to an immigrant father who often worked two or three jobs, the president said. Pace attended the U.S. Naval Academy, and as a newly minted Marine he arrived in Vietnam at the height of the Tet Offensive. He was assigned to a platoon that had lost three leaders in as many weeks.

"He won the respect and trust of his unit and formed a bond with all those who served with him," Bush said. "That bond only strengthened throughout his military career."

Pace performed his duties throughout his 40-year career "with a keen intellect, a sharp wit and a passionate devotion to our country," the president said. "He won the admiration of all who knew him, and that includes a soldier in Afghanistan who came up to him last year ... and said simply, 'Sir, thanks for your service. We'll take it from here.'"

The president said that on Pace's final day in uniform, the general went to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

"He searched the names engraved in sleek granite and then found a spot where he placed the four stars that adorned his uniform," Bush said. "Along with his four stars, he attached notes addressed to the men who had died under his first command four decades ago. The notes said, 'These are yours, not mine. With love and respect, your platoon leader, Pete Pace.'

"General Pace ended his military career the same way he began it: with love for his country and devotion to his fellow Marines," Bush said.

The president also conferred the medal on five other notable Americans: Dr. Benjamin S. Carson Sr., a pioneering pediatric neurosurgeon who became director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins at age 33; Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, an immunologist and leading researcher on HIV/AIDS and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; the late U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress; Donna E. Shalala, president of the University of Miami and secretary of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration; and Laurence H. Silberman, a senior judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and co-chairman of the Iraq Intelligence Commission.

Air Force Adopts New Technology, Confronts Rising Fuel Costs

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

June 19, 2008 - The Air Force is using more high-tech platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles to combat extremists overseas while it seeks ways to mitigate the rising cost of fuel, a senior U.S. military officer said here today. Unmanned aerial systems constitute "a growth industry," Air Force Gen. John D.W. Corley, commander of Air Combat Command and air component chief for U.S. Joint Forces Command, told attendees at the 2008 Joint Warfighting Conference.

"There is an appetite for unmanned aerial systems, and in my mind, I think that will continue unabated," Corley said.

Corley recalled that he requested more funds to accelerate the production of UAVs a few years ago. Since then, he said, the amount of military UAV activity has exploded.

UAVs can provide reconnaissance or attack capabilities for combat commanders, Corley noted. However, the system's flexibility prompts questions, he said.

"If we use them as weapons, can we use them as replacements for some of our historic tactical aviation assets?" Corley asked, noting that's a question "that we have to embrace, both for the relevance in terms of irregular warfare and beyond."

The Air Force also has seen the cost of fuel for its aircraft go up $600 million for each $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil, Corley observed. Air Force logisticians are looking at switching to alternative fuels for some aircraft to help mitigate rising costs, Corley reported, noting that strategy represents a viable "Plan B."

In addition, there is interest within the Air Force to examine how more sophisticated ground-based pilot-training systems could help to cut back on flying hours and thus save fuel, Corley noted.

The Air Force prides itself on the outstanding capabilities possessed by its officers and enlisted members, Corley said, as well as the superb training regimen that keeps them ready for combat missions.

"But, is there a way for us to get at some of that combat-skills training and do it by burning less fossil fuel?" Corley asked.

The oil-price situation presents the Air Force with an opportunity, Corley said, noting his service has "an aging fleet that demands recapitalizing -- an aging fleet that can't fly as frequently" due to the rising cost of fuel. The answer, Corley said, is well beyond common simulator training, indicating that more-sophisticated "virtual" training systems could fit the bill.

New fuel sources and different ways of powering aircraft are likely in the future, the general noted.

"But, as a mitigation strategy in the near term, I've got to also deliver on increased combat capability, perhaps by flying less, and that is a terrifying thought for an airman," Corley said.

DoD Achieves Major Networking And Spectrum Management Enhancement Event

The Department of Defense's integrated Network Enhanced Telemetry (iNET) program office has completed development of the Telemetry Network System (TmNS) network architecture, a major event in the programs's effort to provide the DoD research test and evaluation community with new radio spectrum-enhancing technology.

With the completion of this achievement, the iNET program office will now develop TmNS standards for data link, ground and airborne networks. This phase, scheduled for completion in 2009, will include extensive tests of alternative spectrum-efficient technologies to facilitate development of these standards.

Once fully operational, the TmNS will provide wideband wireless capability with hundreds of square miles of coverage to DoD computer networks at DoD installations. As a result, the system will offer several significant enhancements to the department's test range management of its radio spectrum resource.

For example, through use of the TmNS, flight test centers will be able to dynamically adjust the spectrum required for test vehicles. Vehicles requiring a temporary increase in bandwidth will have that spectrum made available to them, while test vehicles temporarily requiring less bandwidth will have reduced throughput rates. In addition, test centers, program managers, and aircraft manufacturer personnel will be able to monitor tests from remote locations. This will help achieve greater efficiencies and cost-savings in test programs and test range operations.

A limited prototype system of the TmNS is projected to be operational by 2011, with initial operational capability will follow completion of full field testing of the prototype.

The TmNS high-poweruplink transmissions, which enable dynamic control of the spectrum resource, will be implemented in the 1435-1525 MHz and 2360-2390 MHz bands.

Face of Defense: Marine Started With Nothing, Credits Corps for Success

By Marine Corps Cpl. Ryan Tomlinson
Special to American Forces Press Service

June 19, 2008 - Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew E. Nelson doesn't mind admitting he very easily could have amounted to nothing in life. "I started from nothing to making something of my life," the personnel clerk with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, said. "I was broke then, and now I have goals, my credit cards are paid, and I can go to school again."

The tough Philadelphia neighborhood where he grew up was full of metaphorical signposts pointing to the wrong road in life, Nelson said.

"I didn't want to fall into that dead-end crowd a lot of the people I grew up with fell into," he said. "Friends I went to high school with are either locked up or dead, and I didn't want to end up like that."

Nelson and his younger sister were mentored by their mother to stay out of trouble and remain in school. The maturing young man faced many temptations of bad influence.

"I grew up in what many people would call a bad neighborhood," he said. "I woke up every day to find myself living on streets ridden with crime and abandoned buildings."

Instead of falling in with a bad crowd, Nelson decided to make his mother and himself proud. He stayed in school, graduated and then attended college at DeVry University in Fort Washington, Pa.

"My mom was real hard on me. When I grew up, she turned into a mentor and a friend; I tell her everything," he said. "I try to be her strength, instead of her weakness."

Nelson was attending college while working a full-time job for a shipping company to make ends meet, supporting himself and his mother, who cares for his sister and niece. But the stress of doing so much was too intense, he said, and he decided to drop out of school. He went broke, constantly overdrawing his bank accounts and maxing out his credit cards.

"So many nights, I would see me mother crying, looking to God for guidance," he recalled.

Nelson said that led him to pray and became more involved in his faith. He sensed that the answer to his prayers would be to join the service he dreamed of joining since he was a child.

Nelson enlisted in the Marine Corps in May 2006 to pursue his dream and to serve his country.

"Joining the Marines Corps had always been at the back of my mind since I could remember," he said. "I had to get out of the glut I grew up in and do something in my life that had purpose."

Nelson is deployed to Iraq for his first tour after his promotion to corporal in less than 18 months of service. He changed his life, and he said that ever since the first day he earned the title "Marine," he has had more pride in himself and his family than ever before.

"The Marine Corps has given me a lot of ambitions and pride," he said. "I want to be a drill instructor, to take a young man and change his life like my drill instructors did for me."

He added that having the ability to do that would bestow the same feeling he got when graduating from boot camp: the greatest satisfaction.

"Nelson took it upon himself to train every Marine in our section," said Cpl. Mehmet S. Bayar, 22, a company clerk with Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd LAR. "He even took me in to help me out with everything. I thank him every day for helping me become the Marine I am today."

Nelson said he plans to re-enlist in the Marine Corps and marry his long-time girlfriend. He remains close with his mother and said he is there to support her at any given time.

"I wouldn't change anything from my past, even after the struggles," he said. "I have no doubt in my mind that if I hadn't gone through the hard times and struggles, I wouldn't appreciate everything in life as much."

(Marine Corps Cpl. Ryan Tomlinson serves with Regimental Combat Team 5.)

MILITARY CONTRACTS June 19, 2008

AIR FORCE

Kern Steel Fabrication, Inc of Bakersfield, Calif., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract for $13,626,906. This effort will provide for the design and production of an Isochronal (ISO) Maintenance Stand for the C-5 aircraft. The award amount in item #3 above involves the design and one first production unit (Albeit not exercised yet, Option I involves quantities of 1 to 3 maintenance stands. At this time $13,626,906 has been obligated. Kern Steel Fabrication Inc., Bakersfield, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8533-08-C-0004).

Information Innovators, Inc., of Springfield, Va., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract for $48,648,843. This contract action shall provide non-personal services in support of the base-wide Information Technology requirement. At this time $256,860,000 has been obligated. Hill Air Force Base, Utah is the contracting activity (FA 8201-08-F-A069).

NAVY

J.F. Taylor, Inc.*, Lexington Park, Md., is being awarded a $49,943,302 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide engineering, analysis, development, design, manufacturing, fabrication, installation, integration, testing, upgrade, modification, refurbishment, training, documentation, and program management support of training/weapons systems. This contract will support training/weapons systems, which include Weapons Systems Trainers, Tactical Operational Flight Trainers, Aircrew Procedures Trainers (APTs); interface subsystems; simulated cockpits; unique signal stimulators; test hardware and software for the AH-1Z Super Cobra helicopter, UH-1Y Huey helicopter, MH-60 helicopter, CH-47F Chinook helicopter, C-12, C-2/E-2 and E-6 fixed wing aircraft; and related institutionalized trainers that share common requirements. Work will be performed in Lexington Park, Md., and is expected to be completed by June 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, Indian Head, Md., is the contracting activity (N00174-08-D-0015).

The Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded an $18,177,991 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-03-C-3017) to exercise an option for engineering and logistics services in support of the MV-22 Total Life Cycle Logistics Support effort. Services to be provided include planning and management; supportability analysis; training; support equipment; facilities management; computer resources; supportability test and evaluation; packaging, handling, storage and transportation of supplies; post-DD250 engineering and technical support; site/unit activation; on-site representative support; logistics life cycle cost; age exploration; configuration management; technical publications; and Naval Air Training and Operational Procedures Standardization (NATOPS) support. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pa. (45 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (40 percent); New River, N.C. (10 percent); and OCONUS Deployment (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

United Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney, Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $15,375,983 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee/award-fee contract (N00019-06-C-0294) for additional Low Rate Initial Production, Conventional Take-off and Landing spares for the U.S. Air Force, and associated program management and engineering assistance. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Conn. and is expected to be completed in February 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity.

Interimage, Inc., Arlington, Va., is being awarded $9,790,041 for modification (P00007) under a previously awarded contract (N00140-05-D-0058) for the development and implementation of the Department of the Navy Criminal Justice Information System. The modification will increase the available hours of the ceiling amount to enable incrementally funded orders to be placed in order to continue contractor performance. This action will increase the total maximum contract value to $21,876,312. Work will be performed in Arlington, Va., and Washington, D.C., and work under this action is expected to be completed by March 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Fleet Industrial Supply Center Norfolk Contracting Department Philadelphia Office, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.

Science Applications International Corp, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded an $8,756,327 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for theoretical analysis, new algorithm development and the development of physics based models for vacuum electronics devices. Work will be performed at the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. (85 percent) and the SAIC Facility, San Diego, Calif. (15 percent), and work is expected to be completed June 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $49,000 will expire at end of current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under Naval Research Laboratory Broad Agency Announcement 68-07-01. The Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N000173-08-C-2077).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

DOSS Aviation, Inc., Colorado Springs, Colo. is being awarded a maximum $13,554,384.32 firm fixed price contract for alongside aircraft refueling services. Other location of performance is in Corpus Christi, Texas. Using service is Navy. The original proposal was FedBizOps solicited with 2 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is September 30, 2016. The contracting activity is Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir Va. (SP0600-08-C-5814).

Chairman's 'Short List': Take Care of People

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

June 19, 2008 - The mood in the C-17 Globemaster III hanger here was festive today as nearly 1,000 airmen waited for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to take the stage for an "all-hands" call. Music played. Photos of planes and patriotic images flashed on two large screens flanking the stage. Airmen tapped the toes of their boots on the hangar floor and talked and laughed.

"I just want to fly – put your arms around me baby, put your arms around me baby," crooned a popular pop song.

The truth was, most of them probably could have used a hug. The troubled service has been rocked in the last weeks and months by procurement problems, funding debates and is still reeling from the resignations of those serving in its two top posts just more than a week ago.

And yesterday the Government Accountability Office released a report that could unravel one of the largest aircraft acquisition contracts in U.S. history.

"Put your arms around me baby, put your arms around me baby -- I-I-I-I just w-a-a-ant t-o-o fly," the song chorused.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, here on a tour of western-U.S. military bases walked on stage and stood before the crowd in a green flight suit with a Joint Chiefs patch on his chest. As the military's top officer, he was here to listen to, and take back to the D.C. beltway, the questions and concerns of the airmen. This airlift base is only about 50 miles from the western coastline, and its airmen are probably as far removed from the Pentagon and the levels of leadership that are feeling the heat as you can get in the "lower 48."

Mullen did not stand on the elevated podium above the crowd. Instead, after he was introduced, he walked down to the hangar floor and asked that all those standing in the back come to the front and sit down on the floor. It left him, a career Navy man, surrounded by a sea of airmen.

For an hour the chairman fielded questions from the group on topics ranging from pay to politics. He thanked the airmen for their service. He challenged them to lead. He prodded them to up their standards.

But one question, from a senior noncommissioned officer here, cut to the heart of the chairman's message he has carried from Air Force to Marine base to Army post throughout his four-day trip.

"What is on your short list to make this great military better," the NCO asked.

"I don't have any short lists," Mullen joked.

After some laughter the chairman responded, "My shortest list is one.

"People," he said.

"It gets to the heart and soul that is really you setting in this hangar -- because we can't do it without you. We can have the greatest missions in the world, and the greatest aircraft in the word, and the greatest technology in the world. It's not going to make any difference at all without the greatest people in the world.

Mullen, a Vietnam War veteran, said he remembers the military when it was not the all-volunteer force it is today. He regularly calls the military now the best in the history, and the world.

"I don't want to go back there. I don't want to do that again," he said of his service in the mid-1970s and 80s.

But today's military is based on the quality of the volunteer, he said. Recruiting, retention, pay, promotions, families -- all demand his attention.

"I spend probably sometimes more of my time on these than others might like me to do," Mullen said.

"Literally every single day, decisions come across my desk, and there's not one of those decisions that I'm not thinking about what it means for your life, thinking about what it means for your families, thinking about what it means for the missions that I am asking you to carry out in a very dangerous time in very dangerous parts of the world."

Mullen said making sure the force is robust and supported, and allowing for career advancement, training and education are critical to taking care of troops.

And leaders must take care of families, he added.

"I never got to vote whether I stayed in or not. Never did. It was 'us' that did that. If the family is not inclined, I'm not sticking around," Mullen said.

The military needs to set up its systems to put the servicemember at the "center of the universe," not the other way around, Mullen said. Assignments should consider not only the needs of the service, but also the servicemember.

"Top of the list, is making sure we have it right for you. You're the ones ... that carry this load," Mullen said.

That would be my list of one, the top officer in the nation told the NCO as he sat back down in a hangar full of airmen who just heard that they were at the center of the chairman's decision-making process. Not money. Not planes. And certainly not bureaucracy.

"We can't do anything without you. Period," Mullen said