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Air Force Capt. Kaitlin Toner, Thunderbird 12 and public affairs officer for the Thunderbirds, the Air Force's flight demonstration squadron, shines a signal light at the formation during the California Capital Airshow in Mather, Calif., Sept. 26, 2021.
Soldiers convert salt water from the Persian Gulf into potable water during Operation Thirsty Camel at the Kuwait Naval Base, Sept. 23, 2021.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Manny, an English bulldog and Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego mascot, oversees recruits as they march in formation, Oct. 4, 2021.
Army Capt. Jason Webb, a critical care nurse with the 627th Hospital Center, monitors the breathing of a COVID-19 positive patient during the COVID-19 response operations at Kootenai Health regional medical center in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Oct. 4, 2021. Northern Command, through Army North, remains committed to providing flexible Defense Department support to the whole-of- government COVID-19 response.
Marines participate in a 200 meter swim event during Lander Trials, a series of physically demanding workouts and group activities, at Camp Foster, Japan, Oct. 4, 2021.
Oct. 5, 2021 | BY David Vergun , DOD News
Continuous vetting will eventually replace periodic reinvestigations, which are conducted every 10 years for employees with a secret clearance and five years for those with a top secret clearance. It will also include DOD personnel who do not have a clearance, according to Heather Green, assistant director of vetting risk operations for DCSA.
This brings the agency and the federal government one step closer to its trusted workforce, or TW 2.0, goal of providing continuous vetting for all of DOD, as well as other government personnel outside of the department, she said. TW 2.0 is expected to be incrementally implemented over the next few years.
Continuous vetting is now in the TW 1.25 stage, which means that DCSA receives automated records from government and commercial data sources based on federal investigative standards. The National Background Investigation Services, a component of DCSA, then leverages an automated system that scans the data for any alerts that might indicate potential issues or other suspicious or criminal activity, she said.
"We developed that in order to provide that initial version of continuous vetting, focusing on high-value data sources through automated record checks. Those continuous record checks that are turned on right now mean that issues of potential risk to an individual's trustworthiness that may have taken years to discover in the past are now identified and addressed in very near real-time data," Green said.
One example of TW 1.25's success: The DCSA team received an alert on July 31 that there was a fugitive arrest warrant for attempted murder, felony assault and other charges related to an incident that had occurred the previous day, Green said.
The team immediately validated the alert and then shared that information with the subject's security manager and law enforcement. That individual was apprehended and removed from security access, she said.
"If we had not had this individual enrolled in continuous vetting, there's a high potential that we may not have been aware of the situation until the next periodic investigation, which would have been 5 1/2 years later," she said.
Although continuous vetting is now operational, Green said she would encourage anyone who is having any issues — such as with finances — to proactively report it to their security manager. "Self-reporting is a critical piece of continuous vetting and we prefer to have already known about the incident prior to an alert being generated in the system," she said.
Green also said the person who shares concerns with his or her security manager, would most likely receive some sort of assistance so the problem does not fester and become a potential insider threat concern.
In TW 1.5, a milestone that comes between now and TW 2.0, more data categories will be added to continuous vetting, she said. In addition to the criminal and terrorism checks that are now being done, suspicious financial activity and foreign travel will also be monitored. When TW 1.5 begins, periodic reinvestigations will no longer be necessary.
Green noted there are policy discussions underway as to whether social media monitoring will be added for TW 2.0.
A Marine digs a trench line during an engineering field exercise at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Sept. 24, 2021.
Navy Seaman Melanie SantosRangel helps Habitat for Humanity build a house during Minneapolis Navy Week, Sept. 27, 2021.
Army Sgt. Damian Granado hands out candy during a Halloween event at Fort Carson, Colo., Oct. 1, 2021.
Marines fire 3-rifle volleys during military funeral honors for Marine Corps Sgt. Fred Farris at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., Oct. 4, 2021. Farris was killed during the World War II Battle of Tarawa on Nov. 20, 1943. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced his remains were accounted for last year.
Navy Seaman Melanie SantosRangel hands out bread to elementary school students, Sept. 30, 2021, as part of the Minneapolis Navy Week.
Bobby Brown was a polymath — a person with broad-ranging abilities. He was a cardiologist, a World War II and Korean War veteran, and a four-time World Series champion.
Fame came early for Brown, who was born Oct. 25, 1924, in Seattle, Washington. In 1942, while a student at Stanford University, he and a fellow student rescued a Coast Guardsman from a plane crash. For his effort, he was awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal by the Coast Guard.
The following year, he was drafted into the military and was assigned to the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California.
Following World War II, he entered medical school at Tulane University in New Orleans, using his G.I. Bill. He received his medical degree in 1950.
In 1946, he was signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees, balancing baseball with his medical studies. The third baseman played with the Yankees from 1946 to 1952 and 1954 and was part of the team's World Series championship four times: 1947 and 1949-1951.
His lifetime batting average was .279 and he scored 22 home runs and 237 runs batted in. Incidentally, Brown batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Brown didn't play in 1953 and part of 1952, because he was called up by the Army to serve in Korea for 19 months in the Medical Corps.
He ran the battalion aid station for the 160th Field Artillery Battalion of the 45th Infantry Division and also provided medical support for the 5th Regimental Combat Team. Later, he was transferred to the 8225th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.
In 1954, Brown accepted a medical internship in cardiology. He opened a medical practice in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1958 and worked there until May 1974, when he took a leave of absence to serve as interim president of the Texas Rangers baseball team. He returned to his medical practice the following year.
In 1984, he became baseball's American League president, serving for 10 years.
Brown died on March 25 at his home in Fort Worth. He was 96.
Army Green Berets participate in a military free fall exercise in Eloy, Ariz., Sept. 14, 2021.
Airmen work on an elevator on a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Sept. 2, 2021.
U.S., Brazilian, Chilean, Colombian, Mexican, Peruvian and Jamaican troops simulate a beach attack in Salinas, Peru, Sept. 28, 2021, during UNITAS, the world's longest-running annual multinational maritime exercise.
Members of the Army Training and Doctrine Command band perform for Afghan people at Fort Lee, Va., Sept. 29, 2021, as part of Operation Allies Welcome. The Defense Department, through U.S. Northern Command and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities in permanent or temporary structures as quickly as possible.
Oct. 4, 2021 | BY Jim Garamone , DOD News
The secretary also thanked Stoltenberg for helping lead the alliance through the withdrawal from Afghanistan and evacuation from the Afghan capital of Kabul last month. Austin noted that after the al-Qaida attack on the United States in 2001, the alliance invoked article 5 of the NATO Treaty — an attack on one country is an attack on all. "NATO entered Afghanistan as a united alliance, … and 20 years later, NATO left Afghanistan as a unified alliance, thanks in large part to your dedication," he said.
Austin praised Stoltenberg's NATO 2030 plan that allied leaders agreed to during the Brussels Summit in June. "Allied leaders launched a bold set of initiatives to ensure that NATO continues to provide security to all of our citizens through 2030 and beyond," Austin said. "We need continued investment in NATO's deterrence and defense, as well as a revised strategic concept that will guide the alliance's approach to the evolving strategic environment."
When Stoltenberg took office in 2014, some critics said NATO was outmoded and unnecessary. Events since then have proven that's not true. "NATO is as important as ever because we face a more competitive world," Stoltenberg said. "We see Russia responsible for aggressive actions. We see more recently China is using its economic and military might, and we also face cyber threats, persistent terrorist threats, and also the security impact of climate change."
There is no country that can face these threats alone, the secretary general said. "We have to stand together, North America and Europe in NATO, and need to adapt the alliance to [the] changing security environment," he said. "And that's exactly what we are doing."
The allies have bought into this picture. He noted that Canada and the European allies have added an extra $260 billion to their budgets since 2014. More nations have met the alliance goal of spending at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense.
Even though the operations in Afghanistan are over, they were not in vain, Stoltenberg said. "For 20 years, we were able to prevent any type of attack organized from Afghanistan against our countries," he said. "And we will continue to work together to make sure that we preserve the gains made in the fight against terrorism."
The lesson from Afghanistan and from the uncertain times is the need for unity, he said. "The crisis in Afghanistan does not change the main message: the need for Europe and North America to stand together in a strong NATO," he said.
The two men will meet again during the NATO Defense Ministerial later this month.
Oct. 4, 2021
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III: Well, Mr. Secretary General, it's great to welcome you back to the Pentagon. Again, thanks for making the trip. Let me also thank you for your continued leadership and for your ambitious efforts to strengthen the Alliance for the future.
NATO's power comes not just from its military might but from its unity and sense of common purpose. You have been an outstanding champion of those strengths and we're going to keep this Alliance resilient, resolute and united.
Now, you and I have worked closely -- excuse me -- closely together during the end of our military mission in Afghanistan, and on behalf of the United States, thank you for the vital role that you played during the drawdown and the evacuation.
NATO entered Afghanistan as a united Alliance after invoking Article 5 after 9/11, and 20 years later, NATO left Afghanistan as a unified Alliance, thanks in large part to your dedication.
Mr. Secretary General, we met along with President Biden at the successful June NATO Summit. Allied leaders launched a bold set of initiatives to ensure that NATO continues to provide security to all of our citizens through 2030 and beyond. We need continued investment in NATO's deterrence and defense, as well as a revised strategic concept that will guide the Alliance's approach to the evolving strategic environment. So we've got a lot to do and I'm looking forward to working on these efforts with you and my fellow defense ministers at our NATO Ministerial later this month.
Now, NATO remains the essential forum for consultation, decision and action on transatlantic security and defense issues, and NATO is a foundation on which we continue to build our collective security and shared prosperity. It's the most powerful and successful Alliance in history and we're going to keep it that way.
And so, Mr. Secretary General, thank you again for being here. I'm looking forward to some good discussions today and to even more soon at the Defense Ministerial. Thank you.
NATO SECRETARY GENERAL JENS STOLTENBERG: Thank you so much, Secretary Austin. It's good to be back in Pentagon and thank you so much for your warm welcome, but most importantly, thank you for your strong commitment to NATO, to -- for your leadership. And let me also pay tribute to all the men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces who, every day, work for our shared security and are part of the shared commitment we have in NATO.
NATO is as important as ever because we face a more competitive world -- we see Russia responsible for aggressive actions, we see a more assertive China using its economic and military might, and we also face cyber threats, persistent terrorist threats, and also the security impact of climate change.
So there is no continent, no country that can face this challenge alone. We have to stand together, North America and Europe, in NATO, and we need to adapt the Alliance to the changing security environment and that's exactly what we are doing.
Since we made the decision in 2014, all Allies have invested more in defense, European Allies and Canada have added $260 billion extra for defense over these years, and more and more Allies also meet the (inaudible) spending at two percent of GDP on defense. So NATO is adapting, responding to a more demanding security environment, and we need to maintain this momentum as we move forward.
We -- we stood together on Afghanistan for 20 years. It was a difficult decision to leave Afghanistan but it was a decision we made together, as 30 Allies. After extensive consultations, several ministerial meetings and many diplomatic consultations at the NATO Headquarters between Allies, we made the decision together to end our military presence there.
Our mission in Afghanistan was not in vain. For 20 years, we were able to prevent any terrorist attack being organized from Afghanistan against our countries and we will continue to work together to make sure that we preserve the gain we made in the fight against terrorism.
We will continue to modernize the Alliance, to demonstrate that we are stronger when we stand together, and for me, it -- it is obvious that the crisis in Afghanistan does not change the main message, does not change the need for Europe and North America to stand together strong in NATO.
So I look forward to our meeting and thank you so much again for your hospitality and for taking the time for this meeting. Thank you.
Oct. 4, 2021
Department of Defense Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Anton T. Semelroth provided the following readout:
Secretary Austin welcomed Secretary General Stoltenberg back to the Pentagon today as part of the Administration’s continuing effort to strengthen NATO. This is the leaders’ eleventh virtual or in-person meeting since February.
The Secretary thanked Secretary General Stoltenberg for his steady leadership of the Alliance and for his efforts to keep NATO strong militarily, make it stronger politically, and give it a more global view. He highlighted Allies’ cooperation during the military drawdown and subsequent civilian evacuation from Afghanistan.
Secretary Austin assured Secretary General Stoltenberg of the United States’ continuing commitment to the Alliance. Both reaffirmed that NATO is the essential forum for consultation, decision, and action on transatlantic security and defense issues in a dangerous and competitive world.
The Secretary and Secretary General focused on preparing for this month’s NATO Defense ministerial and continuing the Alliance’s military adaptation and progress on responsibility sharing. They also discussed ways NATO can enhance its role in the fight against terrorism, reviewed progress on decisions taken at the June 2021 NATO Summit, and looked forward to 2022 Summit in Madrid.
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