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

Gas Prices Hitting Troops Where it Hurts

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

June 19, 2008 - For the first time since the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff began touring the world talking to troops, the increasing cost of gas is popping up on their list of concerns. In didn't come up when it was $2 per gallon, or $3, but now, with the cost of a gallon of gas topping out at more than $4 per gallon, the subject has come up in the last four of his "all-hands" meetings starting last week at Fort Stewart, Ga., and now at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base, both in Washington.

"Every single session [now], the price of gas has come up," Mullen said.

One soldier at Fort Lewis wanted to know if the Pentagon was considering a gas cost of living allowance, similar to a housing allowance. Not yet, said the chairman. Even if the idea were under consideration, he added, the process would take so long that it would be years before it would yield anything to put in the soldier's wallet.

At Nellis Air Force Base, the price of gas is particularly disconcerting to airmen who drive to Creech Air Force to work every day. The 100-mile roundtrip can sift through an airman first class's fuel budget quickly. There are shuttles available, but not all schedules are accommodated, officials said. Also, officials said, some airmen live between Nellis and Creech, but have to drive to Nellis for their children's daycare and then turn around and drive to Creech to work, increasing their commute by half. There are no daycare facilities at Creech AFB.

Even a modest increase in gas prices can mean hundreds of more dollars at the pumps annually for soldiers stationed at installations like the remote National Training Center, at Fort Irwin, Calif. The post is nearly 50 miles from the nearest city, Barstow. At 100 miles per round-trip, even a fuel-efficient car is costly to drive to work and back.

At Twentynine Palms, Calif., it is more than an hour's trip to get to the nearest large department store, and a major city with popular recreation and shopping activities is easily 100 miles or more away. High fuel prices can dampen plans for deserving weekend getaways.

Mullen called the rising cost of fuel a "significant fiscal challenge" for both operational and personal needs.

He praised the Air Force today for leading the way in weaning itself off of fuel, noting that the service has begun flying some of its bombers with synthetic fuel. He said the rest of the military needs to follow suit.

Typically, any fuel cost increase during the year is absorbed by supplemental budget requests submitted by the Defense Department, Mullen said. The Pentagon spends about $15 billion annually for fuel.

But, Mullen said he thinks the days of multiple supplemental budget requests is nearing an end, and he added that he believes fuel costs need to be reflected in the overall budget.

That said, if fuel prices are reflected in a fixed budget and costs rise, the money will likely come from personnel or acquisition funding, Mullen said. "Oftentimes you slow down or stop buying stuff," he said.

Mullen said that all leaders need to be thinking about how to operate more efficiently, conducting the same operations with less gas "and not just assume it's always going to be there."

He said leaders need to plan operations, transportation and family care, and manage them in a more efficient way.

"We're going to have to make that right for the future," Mullen said.

Surge Troops Stabilized Iraq, Chairman Tells Troops

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

June 19, 2008 - The U.S. military's top officer told about 1,000 soldiers gathered here yesterday that they set the stage for positive security gains in Iraq as part of last year's troop surge efforts. "You left Iraq this time in much better shape than when you showed up," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told the soldiers at an "all-hands" meeting during his third stop on a four-day tour of western-U.S. military installations.

The 2nd Infantry Division's 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, part of the surge deployed last year, returned from Iraq in May. Many others from Fort Lewis have returned in the past six months. In fact, the walls of the gym that held the all-hands meeting still are lined with "welcome home" banners.

"Charlie Company Rocks. Job Well Done!" was hand-scrawled on poster board taped above the rows of bleachers, among other similar signs.

The surge troops "turned the tide," Mullen said, citing positive trends in economics, politics and security in Iraq. "My hat's off to you for making that difference," he said.

"The sacrifices that you made have really created an opportunity to get it right in Iraq," Mullen said.

But, he said, there is still a long way to go toward a stable Iraq. The admiral added that trends have yet to prove sustainable and irreversible.

Mullen told the soldiers that the Army is in the process of evolving the way it fights, as well as the way it recruits, retains, trains and equips its force.

As a country, he said, the United States has not done a very good job at predicting the next fight, so the Army has to get back to balancing its counterinsurgency training for the current war with the need to train in its conventional wartime tasks.

"If you look where our Army was a few years ago, and you look where we are right now, we are the best counterinsurgency force in the world," Mullen said.

Five years ago, the services didn't know much about counterinsurgency. Since he assumed office as chairman in October, Mullen said, he has traveled the world and realized how critical that fighting skill is.

Mullen also spoke directly about the need to reduce deployment lengths and increase "dwell time" at home stations between deployments. Troops here were directly affected when the Army extended their 12-month deployment by three months.

"Fifteen months is too long," Mullen said. "The very important goal is to get to a rotation which allows us 12 months in theater and 24 months back, and we're not there yet."

Deployments are back to one year for deploying Army units, but the dwell time is only about one year for returning units. Mullen said that how fast the U.S. military can get to two years of dwell time depends on force requirements, noting that the effort in Afghanistan needs three more brigade combat teams than are currently deployed there.

But if positive trends in Iraq continue, Mullen said, he is hopeful he can further reduce troop numbers there. He also pointed out that the Army is growing to 547,000 soldiers from 485,000 over the next few years, and the Marine Corps also is increasing its numbers, which should help to reduce the strain both services have felt in recent years.

Mullen also talked about the combat stress that many in the crowd have seen as the result of multiple deployments. The vast majority of soldiers at the all-hands meeting wore "combat unit patches" on the right shoulders of their Army combat uniforms.

"Many of you have been through combat you thought you would never see," the chairman said. "You've seen your friends die. You've seen them injured. You've been through extraordinarily challenging circumstances."

Now that the soldiers are home, Mullen said, senior leaders must set the right example and get help for post-traumatic stress. Everyone he served with during the Vietnam War came away from the battlefield with some post-traumatic stress, he said, and if leaders now would seek treatment or counseling, their troops would follow.

Dealing with post-traumatic stress now will help mitigate its long-term impact, the admiral told the soldiers.

The chairman also called on leaders to stay in touch with their solders who leave the service and those who return to civilian life after becoming injured in battle. He also called on them to take care of the families of those who have died in combat.

As is typical for today's soldiers, the troops gathered here weren't shy when the chairman opened the floor for questions. The days of a "pregnant pause" at that point in such a forum are long gone. In fact, the first soldier was so fast with his question that he'd finished asking it before the microphone got to him. For nearly an hour, the chairman fielded questions, mostly from young enlisted soldiers, on topics such as training, recruiting bonuses, rising fuel costs, and quality of life within the military.

A young enlisted soldier asked about eventually training in conventional warfare. Mullen said the force is "somewhat frustrated" right now when it comes to combined arms training, and he acknowledged that the Army will not be able to begin training sufficiently in its conventional warfighting tasks until soldiers can spend about two years at home station after a deployment.

"What we're worried about is that skills that are associated with that are clearly atrophied, because we're not doing it. We know we've got to get back to it. It's gong to take us a while," Mullen said, estimating that it could take as long as four years to get to that point.

A specialist asked what the admiral would like to see happen during the next year in Iraq. Mullen replied that he hopes for further gains in politics, economics and security. He said he has been encouraged by recent political gains, which he called key to the successful stabilization of the country.

"The politics is what's got to work," he said, noting that political progress is enabled by security gains.

The status-of-forces agreement between the U.S. and Iraqi governments needs to be finalized, and upcoming fall provincial elections need to be held successfully, he said. The fact that the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain have announced in the past two weeks that that they will send ambassadors to Baghdad is a positive sign, he added.

"We're by no means done, but we've come a long way because of the success of the surge," Mullen said.

One hot topic for the Army touched on by a specialist is the service's practice of "stop-loss," or not allowing a soldier to leave the service at the end of his contract because of unit requirements.

The specialist asked pointedly if stop-loss is going away, and the chairman answered simply: "No."

After some laughter, the chairman voiced his opinion of the practice. "I'd like to see stop-loss go away tomorrow if I could," Mullen said, but current troop levels make it critical to maintaining unit integrity in the war.

About 12,000 soldiers have not been allowed to leave at the end of their contracts, Mullen said. That number will grow over the next few years, he said, and will continue to grow until the Army grows its numbers. Given the current needs and troop strength, Mullen said, he doesn't see an end soon to the stop-loss policy.

Mullen also was asked about the quality of Army barracks.

"We have a history ... of not investing well enough in our barracks. And the message I get from you and many others is that's not going to work for much longer" he said. "We've got an awful lot of money poised to invest in barracks over the next four to five years. That doesn't help you with where you're living right now, and I understand that."

The chairman said the Army is going to have to build and continue to invest in the care of its living quarters.

After the all-hands meeting, the chairmen spent the morning talking with various levels of leaders in roundtable discussions and at a working lunch. He followed that up with a visit to the Wounded Warrior Brigade here. There, he visited social workers in the clinic, as well as troops and staff. Nearly 800 soldiers are in the brigade, which cares for troops who require longer-term medical care than their units can facilitate.

Afterward, Mullen saw first-hand the latest in computer-generated, scenario-driven leadership-development training at the Battle Command Training Center. The multi-million-dollar complex of 10 buildings offers the latest in Army technology aimed at helping leaders work through decision-making scenarios, as well as access sensitive and classified tactics that are fed from the battlefield to the center. Commanders can use the data to drive training scenarios for their units before deploying.

He rounded out the day by visiting the oldest and newest barracks on post, talking with soldiers in each and surveying their living conditions.

Chairman Emphasizes Leadership as Fix to Air Force Problems

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

June 18, 2008 - Good leadership at all levels will fix what ails the Air Force, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here yesterday. "There's nothing more important ... to what we do than leadership. It covers the full spectrum of our people. It covers the full spectrum of our missions. It covers what we're doing now and how we look to the future," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said.

On this first leg of a four-day tour of western-U.S. military bases, it was the chairman's first opportunity to talk with airmen face to face since the June 6 resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley.

Standing in a hangar, flanked by A-10 Thunderbolt II and F-22 Raptor fighter jets, the chairman set about easing the concerns of hundreds of airmen gathered to speak their minds and hear what the nation's top officer had to say about the future of their service.

It was Mullen's first visit here, and the "all-hands" meeting is a trademark of the chairman's visits as he listens and responds to concerns of servicemembers.

Mullen said he admires Wynne and Moseley for taking responsibility for the degradation of nuclear program standards reported within the service, and said it will help the Air Force move forward in fixing the problems within its nuclear mission.

Still, the chairman conceded, there is a "great deal of work to do, and it needs to be done and grasped by the entire Air Force." Mullen also emphasized that the fix does not set squarely on the shoulders of the senior leaders.

"This is not just senior leaders. You can lead from E-1 to O-10. You can lead from the front, the middle or the back," Mullen said. "Leadership is at the core of what makes us great."

Mullen also told the airmen that the military as a whole is undergoing "enormous" change. Counterinsurgency operations and irregular warfare are evolving and will remain "for the next several decades," the admiral said.

This requires the force to adjust its training, education and promotion systems, as well as its weapons and munitions development, Mullen told the airmen. And in doing so, he added, the services must balance their development and training to be ready for both conventional and irregular warfare.

Questions from the group ranged from the future of the Air Force to the challenges facing the service, to troop downsizing in Iraq. But the first question went straight to the concerns of the branch. A senior master sergeant wanted to know if there would be a gap in senior leadership during the transition to the new secretary and chief of staff.

Mullen promised continuity, saying there would be no gap. He did not say when the transition would happen, but said it likely would happen soon. Michael B. Donley and Gen. Norton A. Schwartz have been nominated to take over as Air Force secretary and chief of staff, respectively.

The second question again struck at the concern for the future of the service when a staff sergeant asked what's on the horizon in terms of leadership, manning and financial challenges.

Mullen cited recapitalization of the Air Force's aging aircraft as the biggest financial challenge the service faces. While there are some new fighters ready to come off the production line, the tanker fleet needs to be replaced as well, Mullen said.

Mullen said that how much to invest in future Air Force technology should partly be a discussion that involves the public outside the Washington beltway. He said DoD needs to be able to invest in the national security of the United States and that he encourages a discussion with the input of the American people.

Some think that the comfortable technological lead the U.S. military has enjoyed is closing and that some countries are catching up, Mullen said. "[The gap] is not as substantial as it used to be," he said. "There are those that are closing in on us. We've got to make sure we stay invested ... to keep our technological lead."

The chairman noted that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced last week he's halting the reduction of the Air Force that has been under way for years as a show of manning support for the service. He said that over the next year the Air Force will level off at about 330,000 airmen and that an overall assessment of the branch will take place before any further cuts are made.

A lieutenant colonel stepped to the microphone and said it seems that the Air Force has been taking "hits" lately over controversial procurements, perceived policy difference among senior leaders, and the recent nuclear program problems.

"It seems like the credibility of the Air Force is pretty low right now. One of the questions we're asking ourselves is, 'What aren't we doing right?" the officer said.

Mullen focused his response on the Air Force's problems within the nuclear program, citing a loss of discipline, a reduction of standards, and a lack of self-assessment by leaders. He said the reports indicated problematic trends for "at least a decade."

"The nuclear mission is the most important mission we have," Mullen said. "That standard must be renewed."

Mullen also was asked about the increase of intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance missions in combat. A technical sergeant said his unit is being asked to conduct more missions with fewer people. In response, Mullen cited nearby Creech Air Force Base and its development and training using unmanned aerial vehicles as an example of the evolution of the combat mission.

"Once a commander gets a taste of what we can do with the kinds of support with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance that it provides, they can't get enough of that," Mullen said.

He said there was an "insatiable appetite" for ISR in combat, and called the need "critical."

But, manning, equipping and training remain as stumbling blocks, he acknowledged. Also, there is a need to develop career paths for qualified pilots in the field. The problems, he said, are a result of not addressing the needs of ISR in combat earlier.

"It's because we're in a fight right now that precipitates the ... sense of urgency to solve this problem that we didn't solve years before," Mullen said. "We were going along at a fairly slow pace. We can't afford that right now, because lives are on the line."

When a major asked the chairman, "What can the Air Force do better [to support] asymmetrical warfare?" Mullen replied, "The best way to start is with the question that you asked."

He said the Air Force, as with the other services, needs to focus on becoming more lethal, precise and remote, with a smaller footprint. Speed in accomplishing the mission also is critical, he said.

"I've got to match my enemy in speed," the admiral explained. "I can't be lagging, and in many cases I am. In fact, matching it isn't even good enough. I have to get ahead of him."

Mullen said airmen should keep asking that same question and push forward capabilities that support an asymmetric, irregular war.

Navy Announces Christening of Submarine New Hampshire

The Navy's newest attack submarine New Hampshire (SSN 778) will be christened Saturday, June 21, during an 11:00 a.m. EDT ceremony at Electric Boat in Groton, Conn.

Director of Naval Reactors, Adm. Kirkland Donald, will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Cheryl McGuinness of Portsmouth, N.H., will serve as New Hampshire's sponsor. Ms. McGuinness is the widow of Thomas McGuiness, co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11 which was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The highlight of the ceremony will be Ms. McGuinness christening the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine over the submarine, a time honored Navy tradition.

The fifth Virginia-class submarine, New Hampshire is the third ship to honor the Granite State. The first USS New Hampshire was in service from 1846-1921, including service during the Civil War. Later, she was renamed Granite State following decommissioning and was used as a training ship for the New York State Militia. The second USS New Hampshire (1908-1921) was a battleship used for convoy escort duty during World War I and also served as a training ship.

Along with her sister ships, New Hampshire, will provide the Navy with the capabilities required to maintain the nation's undersea supremacy well into the 21st century.

Cmdr. Mike Stevens will become the ship's first commanding officer and will lead a crew of approximately 134 officers and enlisted personnel.

The 7,800-ton New Hampshire is built under a teaming arrangement between General Dynamics Electric Boat (Connecticut) and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding - Newport News (Virginia). She is 337 feet in length, has a beam of 34 feet, and can operate at more than 25 knots submerged.

Additional information about this class of submarine is available online at http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4100&tid=100&ct=4

Midwestern Guardsmen Respond to Rising Flood Waters

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

June 18, 2008 - Thousands of National Guard troops in the Midwest have moved into high gear reinforcing levees, conducting security patrols, and delivering food, water and relief supplies as record-breaking floods surged through the heartland. Nearly 4,000 Iowa National Guard troops are deployed across the state as flood levels break records in almost every river community on the Cedar, Iowa, Des Moines, Raccoon and Mississippi river basins, reported Army Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, Iowa National Guard public affairs officer.

With 17 civilian fatalities and 106 injuries reported, 25,000 people evacuated from their homes, and flood waters still rising, the Guardsmen are reinforcing threatened levees, filling and delivering sandbags, and providing aerial reconnaissance of the region, Hapgood said.

The Army and Air Guardsmen also are transporting packaged meals, drinking water, cots and other relief supplies, conducting security patrols in support of local law enforcement officials, and providing high-water vehicles to utility crews evaluating homes for unsafe conditions.

"We're ... trying to prevent people from going where they shouldn't for their own safety," said Army Sgt. Jason Boesen, a 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, soldier mobilized to support flood--relief operations. "We assist by roving patrols with vehicles."

In Cedar Rapids, one of the hardest-hit cities, the troops used a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to sling-load seven 800-pound water pumps to a repair facility so wells could be returned to full capacity, Hapgood said.

Meanwhile, nearly 100 members of the Iowa Guard's 334th Brigade Support Battalion and 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, built a 3-foot levee from about 12,000 sandbags to protect a power substation in Ottumwa from being overrun by rising waters.

About 800 Iowa Guardsmen conducting annual training in South Dakota were recalled to the state to support the flood relief, Hapgood said.

Air Force Col. Brian Miller, commander of the Air National Guard's Sioux City-based 185th Air Refueling Wing, predicted that the Army and Air Guard will be "here for the long haul" supporting the mission.

"We're going to be here as long as it takes," he said.

Hapgood noted that many of the Guardsmen involved in the effort have served combat tours in Iraq or Afghanistan and now have stepped up to assist their own communities.

"This shows in a very tangible way the incredible amount of flexibility built into our skill sets that we can conduct combat missions and also help people here in the United States," Hapgood said. "It's demonstrative of the broad capabilities we have in the National Guard."

Army Sgt. Sean Rohret, a Company C, 133rd Infantry, soldier who has deployed as part of the Sinai Peninsula peacekeeping mission and served a tour of duty in Iraq, said it feels good to be pitching in to help rescue his home state.

"It's pretty gratifying to actually be able to get out here and help the community," he said. "I've seen a lot of people out sandbagging, a lot of people coming up to us, asking us where they can go to help. It's been a pretty wonderful experience getting to see everybody come together."

"It's a pleasure giving something back to the community," agreed Army Sgt. 1st Class Chino Halpin, from 334th BSB. "It's good service."

Meanwhile, more than 500 Illinois National Guard soldiers and airmen are working alongside local citizens to build up levees along the Mississippi River in the western part of the state. Another 400 have been called to duty and are expected to be on site by tomorrow to provide sandbagging, communications and transportation support, state National Guard officials reported.

Army Sgt. Jon Stonewall, a member of the Illinois Army Guard's 233rd Military Police Company, is among those supporting the effort. Stonewall joined the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and deployed with his unit to Iraq in 2003, and also was called to duty in December 2006 when a severe winter storm hit Illinois.

"Being here is typical of the Guard," he said. "Part of our mission is here at home, helping the residents in an emergency."

Support from Stonewall and his fellow Guardsmen will be critical in the days ahead. River levels in the Quincy area of Illinois' Adams County are expected to crest tomorrow at 31.9 feet – almost 15 feet over flood stage, county officials reported.

To the south, hundreds of Missouri National Guardsmen are fighting to hold back the surge of water flowing downriver from Iowa and bracing for more to come.

"To be successful in this mission, we will deploy every necessary resource available," said Army Lt. Col. William McKinney, who commands a task force set up to oversee seven units supporting the effort. "Missouri's Guardsmen are an asset for our people to utilize when they face an emergency requiring additional assistance."

The Guardsmen are monitoring levees, working security and filling sandbags along the Mississippi River, state National Guard officials reported.

The Missouri Army Guard's 548th Transportation Company left annual training in South Dakota early to deliver 20 pallets of packaged meals to flood-ravaged Iowa earlier this week. The pallets, which were donated by the South Dakota National Guard, amount to 11,520 meals.

The mission was personal for the Missourians, who had spent much of the past week in South Dakota training alongside Iowa Guardsmen, who also left training early to respond to the severe flooding back home. "This is what we do," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Christine Chane. "Iowa needed the [meals], and we could help. They knew we had the assets to make the delivery."

Army Spc. John Crawford, whose 1438th Engineer Company just finished its annual training exercise, said he's happy to be able to provide flood relief support. "It is a great thing the Guard is doing up here," he said.

Meanwhile, almost 200 Wisconsin Army and Air Guardsmen are on duty as major flooding continues across the southern part of that state.

The Wisconsin Guardsmen are helping with flood control along flooded highways, filling and grading washed-out roads, securing traffic-control points, and providing aviation support for aerial damage-assessment missions, National Guard Bureau officials reported.

(Army Pvt. Cassandra Monroe and Sgt. Chad D. Nelson from the Iowa Army National Guard's 135th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Air Force 1st Lt. Peter Shinn from the Iowa Air Guard's 185th Refueling Wing, 2nd Lt. Stacey Rieger from the Illinois National Guard, and Robert Seyller from the Missouri National Guard contributed to this article.)

Face of Defense: Life of Adaptation Helps Soldier in Deployment

By Army Pfc. John Ahn
Special to American Forces Press Service

June 18, 2008 - Being a soldier means being a master at many things and having the ability to adapt to any environment. For one Multinational Division Baghdad soldier from the 25th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, adapting to his environment has been a way of life.

Army Staff Sgt. Hiram Barbosa, a native of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, is a Stryker armored vehicle commander and is responsible for the vehicle crews for the regiment commander's personal security detail.

With his seven brothers and sisters, he grew up in poverty. Their single mother worked at a local bar and died when Barbosa was 16. He had to adapt to his new environment as he moved to Berkeley Heights, N.J., to live with his godparents.

Barbosa said his godparents had an immense impact on how he lives his life today. His godfather is a professional body builder and a police officer, and his godmother is an aerobics and fitness instructor. He credits his focus on health and fitness to their influence. He competed in a body-building contest here May 25 and earned third place.

He said he speaks to his godfather as often as he can to help him balance his daily mission tempo with his commitment to fitness. "He's a great influence in my life," Barbosa said, adding that his godfather constantly wants to help him improve himself in every aspect of his life.

"He was a happy kid," said Tony Martinez, Barbosa's godfather. "You'd tell him what to do, and he did it. He was never afraid, always positive, and he never gave up."

Barbosa's dedication for fitness carries over to his soldiers. His driver, Spc. Daniel Van Houten, a native of Pasadena, Texas, recently began working out with Barbosa and said he has seen vast improvements in both his physique and endurance.

"He pushes me," Van Houten said. "He trains me properly, and he motivates not only me but the whole section."

Barbosa said his dedication to his family drove him to join the Army immediately after graduating from Jose de Diego High School in New Jersey. He said he chose to enlist as an infantryman to fulfill his yearning to "blow things up, shoot weapons and advance quickly" in his career field.

"I was a little bit fearful, but he's a tough kid," said Martinez, admitting he initially was apprehensive about Barbosa joining the military. "I knew he could handle it."

Barbosa is serving in his fourth deployment since joining the Army. He's had two tours in Iraq and one each in Afghanistan and Bosnia.

He said he plans to make the Army his career and continues to become more tactically and technically proficient on military tasks to improve his prospects for promotion.

(Army Pfc. John Ahn serves in Multinational Division Baghdad with the 25th Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.)