Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Army Must Continue Evolving its Force, Casey Says

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 6, 2009 - The Army must structure itself to face a future of persistent conflict as it takes on a long-term ideological struggle against terrorism and militant extremists, the service's top officer said today. "We are at war with a terrorist extremist element that attacked us on our soil," Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. told an audience at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual conference here. "They're not going to quit, they're not going to give up, and they're not going to go away."

Tomorrow marks the eighth anniversary of the day the United States and its allies responded to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Casey described how he feels the Army will fight in the future and what needs to happen to "balance" the force.

The Army must be more agile, sustainable, lethal and skilled enough to operate under a wide range of conditions. Also, it must finish its transition into a more versatile force, leaving behind the Cold War mentality of the past, Casey said.

"We're talking about skills more relevant to the 21st century," he said. "All of these qualities, I believe, are the qualities of a balanced army, and they're the qualities that will drive our modernization efforts in the coming years."

These are goals the Army has been working to meet for the past eight years. The force has grown by more than 100,000 part-time and active-duty soldiers and has realigned many units in Europe and Korea to the United States. Also, the Army continues its work to add additional brigade combat teams to its force.

"We have to sustain commitment, we have to hedge against the unexpected, and we have to do both at a tempo that is sustainable and predictable to this all-volunteer force," the general said. "We've been at this eight years, and as I look ahead we're going to be at something like this for a decade or so more. If we're going to do that with a volunteer force, we have to do that with something that's sustainable."

So far, 90 percent of this transformation has taken effect, giving the modularized brigades more tools and enhanced capabilities to meet the challenges of counterinsurgency operations. The Army is moving in the right direction with the addition of Stryker armored vehicles, mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles and other "enablers," such as unmanned aerial vehicles, Casey said.

Modularization has been "hugely successful" so far, he said. And as the Army continues to learn more about persistent conflicts, it'll continue to adjust accordingly.

"It's not enough for us to look broadly at the security environment, but we have to look at the character of conflict in that environment," the general said. "I believe it will be fundamentally different than the kinds of wars I grew up training to fight. And we have to adapt ourselves to meet those challenges."

Soldiers and their families have been stretched thin since 9/11, Casey said, and increasing time at home between deployments and emphasizing mental fitness also are necessary for future success. A larger force gives the Army the flexibility to allow that much-needed rest soldiers and their families have asked for, he said.

The Army's goal is to establish a rotation that gives active-duty soldiers two years at home and National Guard and reserve troops four years at home following a year-long deployment, he said.

"It's clear to me that the most important element to getting ourselves back in balance is to improve dwell," he said. "We have made some progress with that with the drawdown in Iraq, but looking us in the face are the decisions yet to be made about Afghanistan.

"We are making good progress, and while we are not out of the woods yet, we are better positioned to accept some increased demands now than we were two years ago," he continued. "I'm very pleased with the progress we have made as an Army, and I will continue to move along those lines."

MILITARY CONTRACTS October 6, 2009

NAVY
IAP–Hill, LLC, Cape Canaveral, Fla., is being awarded a $45,434,676 modification under a previously awarded firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract (N62467-00-D-2451) to adjust the IDIQ quantities for regional base operations support services at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport and the surrounding southeast region. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, scheduled maintenance of base facilities, utilities, environmental, transportation and fire alarm systems located at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport and the surrounding southeast region. The total contract amount after award of this modification will be $480,651,969 ($234,151,921 FFP and $246,500,048 IDIQ). Work will be performed at Jacksonville, Fla., Mayport Fla., and the surrounding Southeast Region, and work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Corp., Electronic Systems, Linthicum Heights, Md., is being awarded a $14,000,000 modification under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-C-2072) to increase the estimated cost ceiling for the Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) system development and demonstration to reflect the anticipated cost overrun for $14,000,000. Work will be preformed in Linthicum Heights, Md., (75 percent) and Syracuse, N.Y., (25 percent), and work is expected to be completed September 2011. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract modification was not competitively procured, as the cost overrun is within scope of the current contract and is entered into pursuant to the changes clause. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va. is the contracting activity.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a $13,430,000 ceiling-priced, undefinitized contract action to provide non-recurring engineering for the qualification of the VH-3D executive transport composite main rotor blades under the lift improvement program. The effort will include engineering, test, evaluation, support equipment, logistics and program management required to support the VH-3D operational capability. Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn., and is expected to be completed in February 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $10,830,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-C-0060).

AIR FORCE
McDonnell Douglas Corp., of Long Beach, Calif., was awarded a $61,100,000 contract which will exercise the Fiscal Year 2010 option for the continued performance of the C-17 Globemaster III sustainment partnership for North Atlantic Treaty Organization Airlift Management Agency aircraft. At this time, $28,812,000 has been obligated. 516 AESG/PKS, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8614-04-C-2004, P00337).

Raytheon Missile Systems Co., of Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $17,471,784 contract to provide 578 propulsion sections to be installed into AIM-120B air vehicles. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 695 ARSS, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting Activity (FA8675-09-C-0052, P00006).

McDonnell Douglas Corp., of Long Beach, Calif., was awarded a $11,510,100 contract to exercise the Fiscal Year 2010 option for the continued performance for the C-17 Globemaster III sustainment partnership for Qatar Emiri Air Force aircraft. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 516 AESG/PK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8614-04-C-2004).

Hamburger Hill: The Final Assault

On November 12, 2009, Conversations with American Heroes at the Watering Hole will feature a discussion with US Army Veteran Arthur Wiknik, Jr.

Program Date: November 12, 2009
Program Time: 1700 hours, Pacific
Topic: Hamburger Hill: The Final Assault
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/11/13/Hamburger-Hill-The-Final-Assault

About the Guest
Arthur Wiknik, Jr. served in the Vietnam War with Company A 2/506th of the 101st Airborne Division as an infantry squad leader from April 1969 to March 1970. He was one of the first in his unit to safely reach the top of Hamburger Hill during the final assault. A few months later, he prevented a possible attack on a remote firebase by discovering a nearby enemy weapons cache. Proud of his military service, Arthur Wiknik, Jr. is the author of Nam-Sense.

According to the book description of Nam-Sense, it “is the brilliantly written story of a combat squad leader in the 101st Airborne Division.
Arthur Wiknik was a 19-year-old kid from New England when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1968. After completing various NCO training programs, he was promoted to sergeant "without ever setting foot in a combat zone" and sent to Vietnam in early 1969. Shortly after his arrival on the far side of the world, Wiknik was assigned to Camp Evans, a mixed-unit base camp near the northern village of Phong Dien, only thirty miles from Laos and North Vietnam. On his first jungle patrol, his squad killed a female Viet Cong who turned out to have been the local prostitute. It was the first dead person he had ever seen.

Arthur Wiknik’s account of life and death in Vietnam includes everything from heavy combat to faking insanity to get some R & R. He was the first man in his unit to reach the top of Hamburger Hill during one of the last offensives launched by U.S. forces, and later discovered a weapons cache that prevented an attack on his advance fire support base. Between the sporadic episodes of combat he mingled with the locals, tricked unwitting U.S. suppliers into providing his platoon with a year of hard to get food, defied a superior and was punished with a dangerous mission, and struggled with himself and his fellow soldiers as the anti-war movement began to affect his ability to wage victorious war.

About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is
Police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. American Heroes Radio brings you to the watering hole, where it is Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in
Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in Law Enforcement, public policy, Public Safety Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/11/13/Hamburger-Hill-The-Final-Assault

Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530

Korean War Veterans Pay Tribute at Memorial

By Ian Graham
Special to American Forces Press Service

Oct. 6, 2009 - Veterans of the Korean War, both American and Korean, gathered here yesterday with current U.S. Army and South Korean leaders to pay tribute at the National Korean War Memorial. Members of the Korean War Veterans Association chapters from Frederick, Md., and Winchester, Va., took the role of color guard as U.S. Forces Korea Commander Army Gen. Walter L. Sharp, South Korean Ambassador Lee Tae-sik, South Korean armed forces liaison Maj. Gen. Kang Dae-young and members of the Korean branch of the Association of the United States Army laid a wreath in tribute to those who fought the North Korean invasion nearly 60 years ago.

Sharp, the commander of all U.S. military operations in South Korea, spoke about the significance of the Korean War and the dedication of its veterans before laying wreaths at the top of the memorial.

"We're here today to recognize the great sacrifices of those who so bravely fought during the Korean War," Sharp said. "Throughout the war, Americans, Koreans and U.N. forces suffered terrible hardships and punishing conditions. But the forces of freedom triumphed and saved a nation that now stands as one of the world's great democracies."

The war began when communist North Korean forces invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950. It continued until an armistice was reached July 27, 1953. More than 302,000 Americans served in the war; nearly 55,000 Americans died.

Sharp said the wreath-laying commemorates every person, from American, Korean or United Nations forces, who helped to repel communist forces during the three-year struggle.

"As we prepare to recognize the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War in 2010, it is appropriate that we take time to remember those men and women who dedicated so much of themselves to the Republic of Korea so that it could become and remain free," he said. "Those we honor today gave their lives for the highest of human ideals: freedom for all people."

All servicemembers today continue the legacy of Korean War veterans, Sharp added. Some 28,500 U.S. servicemembers and their families are stationed in South Korea.

"My father was one of the soldiers that fought in the Korean War," Sharp said. "And I am proud of those who today follow in his and all the Korean War veterans' footsteps."

Last year, the South Korean military celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding and the Korean-American alliance. Yesterday's ceremony was held in conjunction with the 2009 AUSA Annual Meeting and Exhibition.

(Ian Graham works in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)