By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 3, 2008 - Sallie Stratton always knew she wanted to write a book, but she just couldn't bring herself to put pen to paper -- until now. It is truly a Texas-sized love story that starts nearly 50 years ago in small record store near Dallas. It chases a pilot's dream around the globe to a foreign land, turns on its end in a fiery jet crash, returns to a grief-stricken widow and three small boys, and ends in a southwestern cemetery just last year.
Chuck was Stratton's first love. On New Year's Eve in 1959, the young man bent on flying for the Air Force happened into the record store where Stratton was working and tried to flirt with her. She was busy closing the shop, so he had to buy a record to get her attention, Stratton said. Though she wouldn't break her date that night to go out with him, she did yield her phone number.
They went out a few days later, and Chuck proposed within a month. But, Stratton was only 17 and had yet to finish high school. Chuck was set for pilot's training for the Air Force. So after she finished school and he finished training, they married. The two had a one-night honeymoon and left for their first duty station the next day.
"I knew it was Air Force from the time I met him. He was a flyer, and that was what he was going to do," Stratton said.
The two would spend the next decade traveling from base to base and starting a family. But the war in Vietnam was raging, and Jan. 3, 1971, found Capt. Charles W. Stratton with a fellow pilot, Maj. James H. Ayres, flying an F-4E Phantom II, a long-range supersonic fighter-bomber, on a night mission over Savannakhet province, Laos.
The two made a dry pass over the target, but did not drop their bombs. The plane did not return from its second pass.
Pilots flying nearby reported seeing a large explosion on the ground. No one saw anyone eject, and communication was lost with the jet. Hostile activity in the area prevented any search and rescue attempts, according to reports.
Stratton and Ayres were listed as missing in action that day.
While Chuck was deployed, Stratton had moved back to Dallas to live with her mother. She thought it would be a good opportunity for their three boys, ages 3, 5, and 8, to spend time with grandparents.
The next morning at 6 a.m., there was a knock on her door. An officer read to her a brief telegram detailing the facts of the night's events, then turned and left to relay the same information to Chuck's parents.
And Stratton began grieving, and waiting.
"Human beings, ... we can survive anything, if we know what it is we're surviving," Stratton said. "I think that the unknown is probably the most difficult situation to be confronted with. We want to know. We want to know the answers."
Stratton said she knew it was likely her husband had died in the crash. But because no body was recovered and no one knew for certain, there was always a question of whether he was still alive and held in a prison camp. So she waited to hear something -- anything -- that would let her know for certain one way or the other. But information was not forthcoming.
"We didn't get any information for the first couple of years, while the war was going on," Stratton said.
She pinned her hopes on the Jan. 27, 1973, peace accord that put an end to the war and the U.S. military involvement. U.S. prisoners of war were to be released and returned home. Foreign and U.S. military officials both promised lists of those who were held in the various prison camps.
Stratton received word via another telegram; this time an officer read it to her over the phone. There would be no such list from Laos, so her husband would continue to be listed as missing.
"I believed for years that Chuck was alive -- that he had survived the crash," Stratton said. "I clung to the dream I had of him where he was a POW. That dream gave me the hope I needed to survive at the time. I was so sure he would be on that list in 1973 and come home to us."
By 1977, Stratton had gone back to college, become active politically with other wives of POWs and served on the board of directors for the National League of Families, an organization for family members of servicemembers taken prisoner or missing from the Vietnam War.
And she had come to a point at which she needed to resolve her husband's case, Stratton said.
"By then, I decided I needed to figure what was going to happen. It was pretty obvious I wasn't going to get much of an answer at that point," she said.
Stratton decided she would request a status review of her husband's case by the military, she said, though she knew it would result in his being classified as presumed dead.
"There was this fear that if I have a status change, I'm killing him off," she said. But a status change would allow for his insurance to be paid and other benefits to begin. It also would allow her to be free socially to date or remarry.
"At that point, I really didn't think I would ever know anything. It was just one of those things we'd have to live with," Stratton said. "I had done everything I knew to get an answer, and there wasn't an answer."
She spent months considering her options and finally decided that the status review was best for her and her sons. And, Stratton said, she knew her husband would have supported her decision. Promoted twice during his time listed as missing, Lieutenant Colonel Stratton officially was classified as presumed dead July 8, 1977.
The family went through the motions of a memorial service. Stratton said she really didn't want to, but she knew it was important. Surprisingly, after the service, it was as if her husband had rejoined the family, Stratton said. They told stories about Chuck, and the children began remembering little things about him, she said.
"It had become very apparent that we didn't talk about Chuck [before]. And the boys particularly didn't talk about their daddy," she said. "How do you talk about somebody you haven't seen in forever? If you talk about him as if he's alive, it feels weird. ... But if you talk about him as if he is dead, then you are killing him off."
For the most part, after the service, life moved on for Stratton. She traveled, taking different jobs. She lived abroad for a few years. And she almost forgot about the nagging question of what really happened that night her husband didn't come home.
But from time to time, things happened to remind her that she never really knew.
Around 1992, rumors circulated that American POWs were being kept in Laos near where her husband's jet crashed. A native even identified her husband from a photograph as one of the POWs kept there. The military discounted the reports, though, and did not view the source as credible.
Then, in 1999, Stratton was back in Texas, living with a friend in Houston. She received a letter from the Defense Department's POW/Missing Personnel Office. The Washington, D.C.-based office is charged with developing the policy and overseeing the efforts of the nearly 600 men and women in a handful of agencies across the country who work to research, recover and identify those who still are listed as missing from past wars.
People assigned to the office travel across the country a dozen times each year to update families on the status of missing servicemembers. The next meeting was nearby and Stratton decided to attend.
There, she found out that her husband's crash site was next on the list to be excavated by a team from the U.S. military's Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command on its next visit to Laos. The command sends out research and recovery teams on about 70 missions each year. The JPAC is based in the U.S. Pacific Command and conducts 80 percent of its missions there. It has identified nearly 1,500 formerly missing servicemembers.
"I didn't realize that they were still excavating and that they were really going to those lengths," Stratton said.
While she was excited about the possibility of finally knowing whether her husband died that night, Stratton said original questions she had tried to quell began to resurface.
"It was almost like replicating those first few years of waiting for information," she said. "It's like [you feel] that hope again that you're finally going to get an answer. We started the waiting game again."
It would be five years before the site was fully excavated and all remains were recovered.
In 2001, a joint U.S./Laotian team, led by the JPAC, traveled to Savannakhet province and interviewed citizens about aircraft crash sites. One of the men led the team to what was believed to be the Ayres and Stratton crash site, according to military reports. Later that year, another team began excavating the site. The team recovered human remains and aircrew-related items. Between 2002 and 2005, joint teams visited the site six more times to complete the excavation.
Stratton received detailed reports from each trip. And finally, she learned that the teams had found bones and possible material evidence. Pieces of flight suits, boots, and a survival vest were found.
In August 2005, Stratton found herself at the Life Sciences Equipment Laboratory in San Antonio. The lab supports the JPAC mission and deals mostly with identifications from aircraft crash sites, because they are less likely to yield human remains. The heat, fed by jet fuel and loaded munitions, incinerates most human remains as temperatures reach several times those of a crematorium.
But many pieces of military uniforms and equipment will withstand those temperatures. Most times, the equipment analysts at the lab are able to piece together with scientific accuracy the likely final moments of servicemembers based on the artifacts.
Analysts estimate that with the full bomb load that Chuck's jet was carrying that night, temperatures would have been eight times that of a crematorium. Yet they recovered 58 pieces of flight suit material.
Using those, analysts pieced together two right-leg pencil pockets -- evidence that both pilots were in the crash. Also, boot sole material was recovered. The tread on military boots made during the Vietnam era varied, and analysts found boot sole material with two different treads.
"Looking at that, it was like 'This was just incredible.' I felt so blessed," Stratton said. "I never thought I would get that much of a definitive answer. Now I know that he wasn't ever a prisoner. He died instantly on the third of January, 1971. That felt ... comforting to finally know."
That would not be the only evidence that her husband had died in the crash. The small amounts of bone material found at the site remarkably had rendered DNA, allowing technicians at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory in Rockville, Md., to help conclude that the remains were those of her husband.
The lab also supports the JPAC mission and extracts the DNA of 800 bone and tooth samples each year provided by the JPAC. DNA testing, once deemed unreliable by the scientific community, has developed to become a key piece of evidence in nearly 85 percent of all missing troop identifications.
On July 5, 2007, Stratton finally got the call she had been waiting on for more than 35 years.
"I was just like dumbstruck," Stratton said.
She said she asked the officer from the DNA lab on the other end of the line about a "buh-zillion times" if he was sure of the results. He was.
After she got of the phone, Stratton said, she walked only a few steps and stopped.
"There was just this wail, this scream ... this grief that just came up I think from my toenails. I cried like I have never. It just erupted," she said. "Getting the positive DNA [results] unleashed grief that was still buried somewhere in my body. It was just amazing."
So the family had another funeral service last year for Chuck. In stark contrast to his first funeral decades earlier, hundreds of family, friends, grandkids, and even some of Chuck's old cadet buddies gathered Oct. 9, 2007, at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery for what turned out to be more of a celebration than a memorial.
"It was like Dallas and the world welcomed Chuck home. It was absolutely awesome," Stratton said. "We laughed. We cried. We told stories. We celebrated his life from beginning to end. And it was just awesome."
But, truth be told, Chuck is not buried under the stone in the cemetery. Stratton chose to keep her small bone fragments with her in an urn. The two pieces of bone, thought to be the two ends of his thighbone, are roughly the size of a thumbnail.
"He was gone a long time. He's going to stick around for a while," Stratton said.
Stratton has dated other men, but never remarried. She has never checked the "widow" block on a form. In some ways, she said, that question was always there.
Stratton is now writing a memoir of her experiences. She had always wanted to, she said, but had not been able to start. Stratton said she cried and wrote in her journal for four days after hearing of the DNA results. It was then, Stratton said, that she knew she could write her book.
"This is why you haven't been able to write your story yet," Stratton said she realized. "It didn't have an end. Now [I] have an ending."
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Iraq: An RPG to the Head and a Silver Star – the Gunny Speaks
On December 12, 2008, Conversations with Heroes at the Watering Hole will feature Gunnery Sergeant Nicholas A. Popaditch, USMC (ret.). On April 7, 2004, during the First Battle of Fallujah, Gunnery Sergeant Popaditch “was wounded in action. During a firefight with enemy insurgents, he was struck in the head by an enemy Rocket Propelled Grenade, fired from a rooftop into the commander’s hatch of his tank. He received numerous shrapnel wounds.” His injuries necessitated the removal of his right eye; and, “his remaining eye was legally blind. His right ear and nose sustained significant damage and an implant was placed in his skull.”
In his book, Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander’s Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery, Popaditch describes how at first he “fights to get back to where he was in Iraq - in the cupola of an M1A1 main battle tank, leading Marines in combat at the point of the spear. As the seriousness and permanence of his disabilities become more evident, Nick fights to remain in the Corps in any capacity, to help the brothers in arms he so aches to rejoin. Facing the inevitable following a medical retirement, he battles for rightful recognition and compensation for his permanent disabilities. Throughout his harrowing ordeal, Nick fights to maintain his honor and loyalty, waging all these battles the same way - the Marine way.”
Program Date: December 12, 2008
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Iraq: An RPG to the Head and a Silver Star – the Gunny Speaks
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2008/12/13/Iraq-An-RPG-to-the-Head-and-a-Silver-Star-the-Gunny-Speaks
About the Guest
Gunnery Sergeant Nicholas A. Popaditch enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in January 1986. After recruit training, “PFC Popaditch was assigned the job of tank crewman and given orders to report to the Basic Crewman’s Course.” During the First Gulf War, “he was assigned as Tank Commander of Bravo 2-2 (an M60A1 main battle tank) and promoted to the rank of Sergeant. During Operation Desert Storm, Sgt Popaditch commanded his tank through breaching operations of two minefields and numerous offensive operations against Iraqi forces as part of Task Force Papa Bear.”
Between the wars, Popaditch was an instructor at Tank Commander’s School and honorably discharged in May 1992. He returned to Indiana where he worked as a construction worker and a correctional officer. Ultimately, he re-enlisted in the Marine Corps and in December 1998, became a drill instructor.
During the Second Gulf War, he “commanded his tank through numerous offensive operations against Iraqi forces. Following the fall of Saddam’s Regime in Iraq, he participated in security and stabilization operations on the streets of Baghdad. In July 2003, he returned stateside.” In the Fall of 2003, now Staff Sergeant Popaditch “volunteered to return to Iraq.” In February 2004, he was “promoted to Gunnery Sergeant. And, in April 2004 his platoon was assigned to combat duty in the city Fallujah.”
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. 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, Criminal Justice 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/2008/12/13/Iraq-An-RPG-to-the-Head-and-a-Silver-Star-the-Gunny-Speaks
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
In his book, Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander’s Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery, Popaditch describes how at first he “fights to get back to where he was in Iraq - in the cupola of an M1A1 main battle tank, leading Marines in combat at the point of the spear. As the seriousness and permanence of his disabilities become more evident, Nick fights to remain in the Corps in any capacity, to help the brothers in arms he so aches to rejoin. Facing the inevitable following a medical retirement, he battles for rightful recognition and compensation for his permanent disabilities. Throughout his harrowing ordeal, Nick fights to maintain his honor and loyalty, waging all these battles the same way - the Marine way.”
Program Date: December 12, 2008
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Iraq: An RPG to the Head and a Silver Star – the Gunny Speaks
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2008/12/13/Iraq-An-RPG-to-the-Head-and-a-Silver-Star-the-Gunny-Speaks
About the Guest
Gunnery Sergeant Nicholas A. Popaditch enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in January 1986. After recruit training, “PFC Popaditch was assigned the job of tank crewman and given orders to report to the Basic Crewman’s Course.” During the First Gulf War, “he was assigned as Tank Commander of Bravo 2-2 (an M60A1 main battle tank) and promoted to the rank of Sergeant. During Operation Desert Storm, Sgt Popaditch commanded his tank through breaching operations of two minefields and numerous offensive operations against Iraqi forces as part of Task Force Papa Bear.”
Between the wars, Popaditch was an instructor at Tank Commander’s School and honorably discharged in May 1992. He returned to Indiana where he worked as a construction worker and a correctional officer. Ultimately, he re-enlisted in the Marine Corps and in December 1998, became a drill instructor.
During the Second Gulf War, he “commanded his tank through numerous offensive operations against Iraqi forces. Following the fall of Saddam’s Regime in Iraq, he participated in security and stabilization operations on the streets of Baghdad. In July 2003, he returned stateside.” In the Fall of 2003, now Staff Sergeant Popaditch “volunteered to return to Iraq.” In February 2004, he was “promoted to Gunnery Sergeant. And, in April 2004 his platoon was assigned to combat duty in the city Fallujah.”
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. 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, Criminal Justice 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/2008/12/13/Iraq-An-RPG-to-the-Head-and-a-Silver-Star-the-Gunny-Speaks
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Gates Minot Visit Offers Insight Into Issues Facing Next Administration
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 2, 2008 - Calling his past two years as defense secretary "the most gratifying experience of my life," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told about 1,000 airmen here yesterday that he shares their commitment to service and feels both compelled and honored to retain his post into the next administration. Gates traveled here directly from Chicago, where President-elect Barack Obama announced his national defense team selections, including Gates as defense secretary.
The secretary opened his address to about 1,000 airmen gathered in a B-52H Stratofortress hangar telling them it had not been his "expectation or desire" to remain in the Pentagon post beyond the Bush administration. However, he said, Obama had persuaded him to stay "a little bit longer," not specifying exactly how long that might be.
Gates praised the airmen's service, including a 24/7 nuclear deterrence mission at Minot as well as more than 2,000 deployments in support on the war on terror, and said he, too, will be honored to continue serving.
Obama will be the eighth president Gates has served.
Flanked by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz and the North Dakota congressional delegation, Gates gave insight into the challenges he is likely to address during the next administration.
These include plans ranging from placing missile defenses in Eastern Europe to the need to overhaul the defense acquisition process to the issue that brought him to Minot: heightened oversight of the Air Force's nuclear mission.
Minot is home to the 91st Missile Wing and 5th Bomb Wing, and made national headlines last year when six nuclear missiles were mistakenly loaded onto a B-52 bomber here and flown to Barksdale Air Force Base, La. Gates called past lapses in nuclear weapons handling "unacceptable," but said he believes the Air Force is "now moving in the right direction to reclaim the standards of excellence for which it was known throughout the Cold War."
He noted sweeping efforts under way, and said he awaits recommendations from a task force he formed to review nuclear enterprise oversight within the Air Force and the Defense Department overall. Former Energy and Defense Secretary James Schlesinger is heading the task force, which is expected to deliver its findings later this month.
Gates got a firsthand look yesterday at operations supporting the nuclear mission. He climbed into the cockpit of a B-52 bomber, one of 12 at Minot, with a second squadron of 10 more to arrive beginning late next year. He toured a B-52 weapons system trainer and simulated launch facility.
The secretary also chatted with members of the 91st Security Forces Group, which safeguards 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and 15 missile alert facilities scattered across more than 8,500 square miles in northern North Dakota. As he greeted the airmen, Gates reminded them that their jobs handling land- and air-based nuclear weapons are "vital to the security of our nation."
"It's definitely a help for morale," Airman 1st Class Jeremiah Oswald, a member of the 5th Civil Engineer Squadron, said of Gates' visit. "It shows that they think of us and that they've come here to support us."
Staff Sgt. Marcus Thames from the 5th Maintenance Group's weapons section called it "a privilege" that Gates took time to visit Minot and see how the base operates. "This helps the airmen realize how important our mission is to national security," he said. "It's very important to us and to our country."
"Only the best come north," Air Force Col. Joel Westa, commander of the 5th Bomb Wing, told Gates, citing Minot's motto. "And that is absolutely true here. ... We never rest."
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 2, 2008 - Calling his past two years as defense secretary "the most gratifying experience of my life," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told about 1,000 airmen here yesterday that he shares their commitment to service and feels both compelled and honored to retain his post into the next administration. Gates traveled here directly from Chicago, where President-elect Barack Obama announced his national defense team selections, including Gates as defense secretary.
The secretary opened his address to about 1,000 airmen gathered in a B-52H Stratofortress hangar telling them it had not been his "expectation or desire" to remain in the Pentagon post beyond the Bush administration. However, he said, Obama had persuaded him to stay "a little bit longer," not specifying exactly how long that might be.
Gates praised the airmen's service, including a 24/7 nuclear deterrence mission at Minot as well as more than 2,000 deployments in support on the war on terror, and said he, too, will be honored to continue serving.
Obama will be the eighth president Gates has served.
Flanked by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz and the North Dakota congressional delegation, Gates gave insight into the challenges he is likely to address during the next administration.
These include plans ranging from placing missile defenses in Eastern Europe to the need to overhaul the defense acquisition process to the issue that brought him to Minot: heightened oversight of the Air Force's nuclear mission.
Minot is home to the 91st Missile Wing and 5th Bomb Wing, and made national headlines last year when six nuclear missiles were mistakenly loaded onto a B-52 bomber here and flown to Barksdale Air Force Base, La. Gates called past lapses in nuclear weapons handling "unacceptable," but said he believes the Air Force is "now moving in the right direction to reclaim the standards of excellence for which it was known throughout the Cold War."
He noted sweeping efforts under way, and said he awaits recommendations from a task force he formed to review nuclear enterprise oversight within the Air Force and the Defense Department overall. Former Energy and Defense Secretary James Schlesinger is heading the task force, which is expected to deliver its findings later this month.
Gates got a firsthand look yesterday at operations supporting the nuclear mission. He climbed into the cockpit of a B-52 bomber, one of 12 at Minot, with a second squadron of 10 more to arrive beginning late next year. He toured a B-52 weapons system trainer and simulated launch facility.
The secretary also chatted with members of the 91st Security Forces Group, which safeguards 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and 15 missile alert facilities scattered across more than 8,500 square miles in northern North Dakota. As he greeted the airmen, Gates reminded them that their jobs handling land- and air-based nuclear weapons are "vital to the security of our nation."
"It's definitely a help for morale," Airman 1st Class Jeremiah Oswald, a member of the 5th Civil Engineer Squadron, said of Gates' visit. "It shows that they think of us and that they've come here to support us."
Staff Sgt. Marcus Thames from the 5th Maintenance Group's weapons section called it "a privilege" that Gates took time to visit Minot and see how the base operates. "This helps the airmen realize how important our mission is to national security," he said. "It's very important to us and to our country."
"Only the best come north," Air Force Col. Joel Westa, commander of the 5th Bomb Wing, told Gates, citing Minot's motto. "And that is absolutely true here. ... We never rest."
Navy Names Four Ships After American Pioneers
Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter announced today the names of four new Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo/ammunition ships (T-AKE) as Mathew Perry, Charles Drew, Washington Chambers and William McLean. All of the Lewis and Clark ships are named in honor of American explorers and pioneers and are being built by General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, Calif.
The selection of Matthew Perry, designated T-AKE 9, honors Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), who led a squadron of ships to Japan in 1853 with the aim of opening that nation to trade. He served during the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, and was sent to suppress piracy and the slave trade in the West Indies.
The selection of Charles Drew, designated T-AKE 10, honors Dr. Charles R. Drew (1904-1950), a physician and medical researcher whose pioneering work in the late 1930s and early 1940s led to the discovery that blood could be separated into plasma. The model for blood and plasma storage developed by Drew has saved untold lives and is the same process used today by the Red Cross. In 1943, he became the first African-American surgeon to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery. T-AKE 10 will be the first Navy ship named after Drew.
The selection of Washington Chambers, designated T-AKE 11, honors Navy Capt. Washington Irving Chambers (1856-1934), a pioneer in naval aviation. Responsible for the Navy's nascent aviation activities, Chambers arranged the world's first airplane flight from a warship. The Nov. 14, 1910, flight by aviator Eugene Ely on the light cruiser the USS Birmingham (CL-2) confirmed the potential of carrier-based naval aviation. T-AKE 11 will be the first Navy ship named after Chambers.
The selection of William McLean, designated T-AKE 12, honors William Burdette McLean (1914-1976), who conceived and developed the heat-seeking Sidewinder air-to-air missile while serving as a physicist for the Navy. During World War II, McLean worked on ordnance equipment and testing at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C. Following the war, he moved to the Naval Ordnance Test Station in China Lake, Calif., where he led the project team developing the Sidewinder missile. T-AKE 12 will be the first Navy ship named after McLean.
The T-AKEs are 689 feet in length, have an overall beam of 106 feet, a navigational draft of 30 feet and displace approximately 42,000 tons. Powered by single-shaft diesel-electric propulsion systems, the T-AKEs can reach a speed of 20 knots. As part of the Military Sealift Command's (MSC) Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, the T-AKEs are designated United States Naval Ship (USNS). Unlike their United States Ship (USS) counterparts, the T-AKEs are crewed by 124 civil service mariners working for MSC, as well as 11 sailors who provide supply coordination. When needed, the T-AKEs can also carry a helicopter detachment.
The selection of Matthew Perry, designated T-AKE 9, honors Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), who led a squadron of ships to Japan in 1853 with the aim of opening that nation to trade. He served during the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, and was sent to suppress piracy and the slave trade in the West Indies.
The selection of Charles Drew, designated T-AKE 10, honors Dr. Charles R. Drew (1904-1950), a physician and medical researcher whose pioneering work in the late 1930s and early 1940s led to the discovery that blood could be separated into plasma. The model for blood and plasma storage developed by Drew has saved untold lives and is the same process used today by the Red Cross. In 1943, he became the first African-American surgeon to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery. T-AKE 10 will be the first Navy ship named after Drew.
The selection of Washington Chambers, designated T-AKE 11, honors Navy Capt. Washington Irving Chambers (1856-1934), a pioneer in naval aviation. Responsible for the Navy's nascent aviation activities, Chambers arranged the world's first airplane flight from a warship. The Nov. 14, 1910, flight by aviator Eugene Ely on the light cruiser the USS Birmingham (CL-2) confirmed the potential of carrier-based naval aviation. T-AKE 11 will be the first Navy ship named after Chambers.
The selection of William McLean, designated T-AKE 12, honors William Burdette McLean (1914-1976), who conceived and developed the heat-seeking Sidewinder air-to-air missile while serving as a physicist for the Navy. During World War II, McLean worked on ordnance equipment and testing at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C. Following the war, he moved to the Naval Ordnance Test Station in China Lake, Calif., where he led the project team developing the Sidewinder missile. T-AKE 12 will be the first Navy ship named after McLean.
The T-AKEs are 689 feet in length, have an overall beam of 106 feet, a navigational draft of 30 feet and displace approximately 42,000 tons. Powered by single-shaft diesel-electric propulsion systems, the T-AKEs can reach a speed of 20 knots. As part of the Military Sealift Command's (MSC) Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, the T-AKEs are designated United States Naval Ship (USNS). Unlike their United States Ship (USS) counterparts, the T-AKEs are crewed by 124 civil service mariners working for MSC, as well as 11 sailors who provide supply coordination. When needed, the T-AKEs can also carry a helicopter detachment.
Gates Pledges to Continue Tackling Tough Issues
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 2, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will devote himself to resolving challenges facing the Defense Department while serving as part of the administration of President-elect Barack Obama, he said during a Pentagon news conference today. "Our challenges -- from the budget to acquisition and procurement reform, war strategy, care of wounded warriors, meeting the needs of warfighters, decisions on important modernization and capitalization projects and more -- all demand the personal attention of the secretary of defense and they will get it," he said.
Gates said he has no intention of being "a caretaker secretary" in the Obama administration. As the first defense secretary asked to serve in the administration of another party, Gates said there is far too much at stake for the nation to simply occupy the position.
The secretary thanked President George W. Bush for appointing him as secretary in November 2006.
"Serving in this position has been the most gratifying experience of my life, and he made it possible," Gates said. "I also thank him for his support in the difficult decisions that I've had to make. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work for and with him."
He also thanked President-elect Obama for asking him to remain in office, adding that he does not have a time limit in the new administration. "The president-elect and I agreed that this would be open-ended," Gates said.
The secretary has said many times in the past that his desire was to retire to his home in Washington state. But, "with the country fighting two wars and our men and women in uniform at risk, if a president asks me to help, there's no way I can say no," he said.
As with every new president, Obama will appoint people to fill the civilian leadership positions at the Defense Department.
"Virtually every political appointee in the Department of Defense before yesterday assumed he or she would be replaced on Jan. 20 or soon thereafter," Gates said. "That assumption remains as valid today as it was before."
The secretary will have some input in the Obama administration's personnel choices for the department.
"I expect that the transition will provide names and candidates to me for positions -- particularly for the most senior positions," Gates said. "I will interview them, and then I'll make a recommendation to the president, and the president-elect or president will make the final decisions."
Gates admitted that he considers himself a Republican, but feels he can work well with President-elect Obama and his team. Gates has served under eight presidents of both parties.
"The president-elect has made it pretty clear that he wanted a team of people around him who would tell him what they thought and give him their best advice," Gates said. "I think he has assembled that team. There will no doubt be differences among the team, and it will be up to the president to make the decisions."
One area of decision involves U.S. forces in Iraq. Gates said the signing of the status-of-forces agreement already put the United States on a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
Obama's desire to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office is doable. "But he also said that he wanted to have a responsible drawdown, and he also said that he was prepared to listen to his commanders," Gates said. "So I think that that's exactly the position a president-elect should be in."
Gates painted in broad strokes some of the priorities for the next few years. A strategy review in Afghanistan, close scrutiny of the budget, and a very hard look at the way the department handles acquisition and procurement will be important steps in the next few months, he said.
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 2, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will devote himself to resolving challenges facing the Defense Department while serving as part of the administration of President-elect Barack Obama, he said during a Pentagon news conference today. "Our challenges -- from the budget to acquisition and procurement reform, war strategy, care of wounded warriors, meeting the needs of warfighters, decisions on important modernization and capitalization projects and more -- all demand the personal attention of the secretary of defense and they will get it," he said.
Gates said he has no intention of being "a caretaker secretary" in the Obama administration. As the first defense secretary asked to serve in the administration of another party, Gates said there is far too much at stake for the nation to simply occupy the position.
The secretary thanked President George W. Bush for appointing him as secretary in November 2006.
"Serving in this position has been the most gratifying experience of my life, and he made it possible," Gates said. "I also thank him for his support in the difficult decisions that I've had to make. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work for and with him."
He also thanked President-elect Obama for asking him to remain in office, adding that he does not have a time limit in the new administration. "The president-elect and I agreed that this would be open-ended," Gates said.
The secretary has said many times in the past that his desire was to retire to his home in Washington state. But, "with the country fighting two wars and our men and women in uniform at risk, if a president asks me to help, there's no way I can say no," he said.
As with every new president, Obama will appoint people to fill the civilian leadership positions at the Defense Department.
"Virtually every political appointee in the Department of Defense before yesterday assumed he or she would be replaced on Jan. 20 or soon thereafter," Gates said. "That assumption remains as valid today as it was before."
The secretary will have some input in the Obama administration's personnel choices for the department.
"I expect that the transition will provide names and candidates to me for positions -- particularly for the most senior positions," Gates said. "I will interview them, and then I'll make a recommendation to the president, and the president-elect or president will make the final decisions."
Gates admitted that he considers himself a Republican, but feels he can work well with President-elect Obama and his team. Gates has served under eight presidents of both parties.
"The president-elect has made it pretty clear that he wanted a team of people around him who would tell him what they thought and give him their best advice," Gates said. "I think he has assembled that team. There will no doubt be differences among the team, and it will be up to the president to make the decisions."
One area of decision involves U.S. forces in Iraq. Gates said the signing of the status-of-forces agreement already put the United States on a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
Obama's desire to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office is doable. "But he also said that he wanted to have a responsible drawdown, and he also said that he was prepared to listen to his commanders," Gates said. "So I think that that's exactly the position a president-elect should be in."
Gates painted in broad strokes some of the priorities for the next few years. A strategy review in Afghanistan, close scrutiny of the budget, and a very hard look at the way the department handles acquisition and procurement will be important steps in the next few months, he said.
Deputy Secretary England Announces Departure
American Forces Press Service
, Dec. 2, 2008 - Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England said today that he will not be staying with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in President-elect Barack Obama's administration. "I congratulate President-elect Obama for retaining Bob Gates as secretary, and I salute Bob Gates for his continued commitment," England said.
"However, it's time for me to leave. When I came into government in early 2001, I anticipated serving for two to four years. After almost eight years, it's now time for me to turn over the reins to a successor. Also, it's most appropriate for the new administration to name its own deputy."
England said he will stay for some time past Jan. 20, if requested, to assure a smooth transition.
England added, "It's been an astonishing time to serve the nation under President Bush and alongside Secretaries Don Rumsfeld and Bob Gates, each of whom I greatly admire. I thank the brave men and women of our military, and their families, for their service and sacrifice, and for the honor of serving them."
, Dec. 2, 2008 - Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England said today that he will not be staying with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in President-elect Barack Obama's administration. "I congratulate President-elect Obama for retaining Bob Gates as secretary, and I salute Bob Gates for his continued commitment," England said.
"However, it's time for me to leave. When I came into government in early 2001, I anticipated serving for two to four years. After almost eight years, it's now time for me to turn over the reins to a successor. Also, it's most appropriate for the new administration to name its own deputy."
England said he will stay for some time past Jan. 20, if requested, to assure a smooth transition.
England added, "It's been an astonishing time to serve the nation under President Bush and alongside Secretaries Don Rumsfeld and Bob Gates, each of whom I greatly admire. I thank the brave men and women of our military, and their families, for their service and sacrifice, and for the honor of serving them."
MILITARY CONTRACTS December 2, 2008
ARMY
ADS North American Defense, Arlington, Va., was awarded on Nov 26, 2008 a, $208,375,756 firm fixed price contract for funding of Program Year 04 of the Army's Light Utility Helicopter contract for thirty-nine Light Utility Helicopters. Work will be performed in Columbus, Miss., and Grand Prairie, Texas with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. USA Aviation & Missile Command, Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-06-C-0194).
Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City, Mo., was awarded on Nov 26, 2008, a $7,967,779 cost plus fixed fee price contract for Individual Protection Equipment Mannequin System. The integrated IPE Mannequin, Exposure Chamber, Exposure Chambers Ingress/Egress Support and Control Room are referred to as the IPE Mannequin System. Work will be performed in Kansas City, Mo., Waltham, Mass., Seattle, Wash., Atlanta, Ga., and Farmington, Utah, with an estimated completion date of Apr. 30, 2011. Three bids were solicited and two bids were received. USA Army Research Development & Engineer Command Acquisition Center, Aberdeen, Md., is the contracting activity (W911SR-09-C-0006).
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding a firm fixed price contract and cost plus fixed fee to Raytheon Missile System Co., Tucson, Ariz. for $15,000,000. This effort is for a requirements contract for non-routine actions. At this time $7,259,004 has been obligated. 657 AESS, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8982-09-D-0070 and FA8982-09-D-0070 DO 01).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Treen Box and Pallet, Bensalem, Pa.*, is being awarded a maximum $5,125,000 fixed price with economic price adjustment, total set aside contract for supply of wood pallets. There is no other location of performance. Using activities are the Defense Distribution Command Depots throughout the United States. This proposal was originally solicited to 11 entities with nine responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Dec. 04, 2009. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SP0530-06-D-0004).
ADS North American Defense, Arlington, Va., was awarded on Nov 26, 2008 a, $208,375,756 firm fixed price contract for funding of Program Year 04 of the Army's Light Utility Helicopter contract for thirty-nine Light Utility Helicopters. Work will be performed in Columbus, Miss., and Grand Prairie, Texas with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. USA Aviation & Missile Command, Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-06-C-0194).
Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City, Mo., was awarded on Nov 26, 2008, a $7,967,779 cost plus fixed fee price contract for Individual Protection Equipment Mannequin System. The integrated IPE Mannequin, Exposure Chamber, Exposure Chambers Ingress/Egress Support and Control Room are referred to as the IPE Mannequin System. Work will be performed in Kansas City, Mo., Waltham, Mass., Seattle, Wash., Atlanta, Ga., and Farmington, Utah, with an estimated completion date of Apr. 30, 2011. Three bids were solicited and two bids were received. USA Army Research Development & Engineer Command Acquisition Center, Aberdeen, Md., is the contracting activity (W911SR-09-C-0006).
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding a firm fixed price contract and cost plus fixed fee to Raytheon Missile System Co., Tucson, Ariz. for $15,000,000. This effort is for a requirements contract for non-routine actions. At this time $7,259,004 has been obligated. 657 AESS, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8982-09-D-0070 and FA8982-09-D-0070 DO 01).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Treen Box and Pallet, Bensalem, Pa.*, is being awarded a maximum $5,125,000 fixed price with economic price adjustment, total set aside contract for supply of wood pallets. There is no other location of performance. Using activities are the Defense Distribution Command Depots throughout the United States. This proposal was originally solicited to 11 entities with nine responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Dec. 04, 2009. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SP0530-06-D-0004).
Monday, December 01, 2008
Soldier, Vietnam Vet Father Receive Silver Stars in Long-Distance Ceremony
By Army Spc. George Welcome
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - Though decades separate the Vietnam War and the war on terrorism, a common denominator in the two conflicts has been the bravery and sacrifice of the American servicemember.
.
Army Chief Warrant Officer Jonathan Harris received the Silver Star Medal here Nov. 28 while his father, former Army Staff Sgt. Gary Harris, simultaneously was decorated for his valor in Vietnam during a joint long-distance ceremony.
The Harris family watched from a conference room at Fort Campbell, Ky., as the younger Harris received the Silver Star here from Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 101. Meanwhile, soldiers here watched a video screen as the elder Harris was pinned with the Silver Star and a Bronze Star he earned serving in Vietnam. Neither medal had been formally presented to him before.
"It's very rare that we present the Silver Star," Schloesser said. "We have a very high standard, and we make sure that the few who do earn it have done so through selfless sacrifice. It's clear that Mr. Harris did that, and it is also clear that the nation owes a debt to [former] Staff Sgt. Gary Harris. It was almost 40 years ago that he earned it, and I hope in some small way that we can pay back that debt by presenting him his award with his son's today."
Personal courage and selfless service could be said to run in the Harris family bloodline, as both father and son reacted similarly in their encounters with enemy forces. Both risked their lives to ensure the safety of their comrades.
The elder Harris displayed this courage Aug. 15, 1969, as a squad leader in Vietnam. He and his company were patrolling a perimeter near Gol Ree and were attacked with mortars and rocket fire. He quickly directed the members of his squad to return fire on the enemy.
As the attack died down, he moved his squad closer to the perimeter, which had been weakened during the barrage. As the enemy resumed its assault, he again directed his squad to return fire, breaking the enemy attack. During the engagement, he risked his life by helping medics to aid wounded Marines and helping to bring them to safety.
The younger Harris also displayed bravery in the face of danger. On July 2, Harris, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot assigned to Company C, 5th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, landed his helicopter at a landing zone near Gardez, Afghanistan, to pick up soldiers for transport when his aircraft came under attack by enemies using rocket-propelled grenades, a heavy machine gun and various assault rifles.
With the aircraft on fire, Harris and crew managed to fly it a short distance before putting it down again. After safely exiting the burning helicopter, the entire crew took up a defensive position. They managed to contact a CH-47 Chinook that was in the area to help extract them from the battlefield. As the Chinook landed, the enemy resumed fire.
It was then that Harris, who was helping one of his wounded crew chiefs to the helicopter, exposed himself to fire by engaging and killing an approaching enemy combatant. He entered the helicopter only after ensuring that the members of his crew, the ground forces and the quick-reaction force were safely aboard.
"Mr. Harris has been great since the incident," said Army Sgt. DeeJay Norby, a crew chief who was also involved in the action at Gardez. "He didn't get down or anything afterward; he went right back to business doing his job. It's really awesome getting to fly with a great group of pilots and crew chiefs."
This was not the first award that Harris has received during this deployment. He also earned the Air Medal with valor device.
In his short address, Harris thanked his flight crew and the crew of the Chinook that performed the rescue operation.
"I'm so lucky to serve with so many great heroes," he said. "Without them, the outcome might not have been so good."
He also gave a heartfelt thank you to his father, whose life and service, he said, set the example for him.
"Every time people thank us for our service, I tell them to thank a Vietnam vet," he said. "So Dad, I want to thank you today."
(Army Spc. George Welcome serves with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs Office.)
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - Though decades separate the Vietnam War and the war on terrorism, a common denominator in the two conflicts has been the bravery and sacrifice of the American servicemember.
.
Army Chief Warrant Officer Jonathan Harris received the Silver Star Medal here Nov. 28 while his father, former Army Staff Sgt. Gary Harris, simultaneously was decorated for his valor in Vietnam during a joint long-distance ceremony.
The Harris family watched from a conference room at Fort Campbell, Ky., as the younger Harris received the Silver Star here from Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 101. Meanwhile, soldiers here watched a video screen as the elder Harris was pinned with the Silver Star and a Bronze Star he earned serving in Vietnam. Neither medal had been formally presented to him before.
"It's very rare that we present the Silver Star," Schloesser said. "We have a very high standard, and we make sure that the few who do earn it have done so through selfless sacrifice. It's clear that Mr. Harris did that, and it is also clear that the nation owes a debt to [former] Staff Sgt. Gary Harris. It was almost 40 years ago that he earned it, and I hope in some small way that we can pay back that debt by presenting him his award with his son's today."
Personal courage and selfless service could be said to run in the Harris family bloodline, as both father and son reacted similarly in their encounters with enemy forces. Both risked their lives to ensure the safety of their comrades.
The elder Harris displayed this courage Aug. 15, 1969, as a squad leader in Vietnam. He and his company were patrolling a perimeter near Gol Ree and were attacked with mortars and rocket fire. He quickly directed the members of his squad to return fire on the enemy.
As the attack died down, he moved his squad closer to the perimeter, which had been weakened during the barrage. As the enemy resumed its assault, he again directed his squad to return fire, breaking the enemy attack. During the engagement, he risked his life by helping medics to aid wounded Marines and helping to bring them to safety.
The younger Harris also displayed bravery in the face of danger. On July 2, Harris, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot assigned to Company C, 5th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, landed his helicopter at a landing zone near Gardez, Afghanistan, to pick up soldiers for transport when his aircraft came under attack by enemies using rocket-propelled grenades, a heavy machine gun and various assault rifles.
With the aircraft on fire, Harris and crew managed to fly it a short distance before putting it down again. After safely exiting the burning helicopter, the entire crew took up a defensive position. They managed to contact a CH-47 Chinook that was in the area to help extract them from the battlefield. As the Chinook landed, the enemy resumed fire.
It was then that Harris, who was helping one of his wounded crew chiefs to the helicopter, exposed himself to fire by engaging and killing an approaching enemy combatant. He entered the helicopter only after ensuring that the members of his crew, the ground forces and the quick-reaction force were safely aboard.
"Mr. Harris has been great since the incident," said Army Sgt. DeeJay Norby, a crew chief who was also involved in the action at Gardez. "He didn't get down or anything afterward; he went right back to business doing his job. It's really awesome getting to fly with a great group of pilots and crew chiefs."
This was not the first award that Harris has received during this deployment. He also earned the Air Medal with valor device.
In his short address, Harris thanked his flight crew and the crew of the Chinook that performed the rescue operation.
"I'm so lucky to serve with so many great heroes," he said. "Without them, the outcome might not have been so good."
He also gave a heartfelt thank you to his father, whose life and service, he said, set the example for him.
"Every time people thank us for our service, I tell them to thank a Vietnam vet," he said. "So Dad, I want to thank you today."
(Army Spc. George Welcome serves with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs Office.)
U.S. Forces Help Lebanese Military Assert Control
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - The U.S. military is helping the Lebanese military establish itself as the sole arm of the democratically elected Lebanese government, a senior Pentagon official said in a recent interview. "The Lebanese armed forces has a unique role," Chris Straub, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Near East and South Asian affairs, said. "It's one of the strongest national institutions in Lebanon. All Lebanese look up to it as a symbol of their state."
That is an important fact, given the recent history of the country. The Lebanese civil war lasted from 1975 to 1990. Beirut – once considered the Paris of the East – was in ruins, and the country seemed hopelessly divided between Muslim and Christian sects. Roughly 60 percent of the population is Muslim, and 40 percent is Christian, but the country has 18 different officially recognized sects.
The United States and Lebanon signed a military cooperation agreement in October, establishing the U.S.-Lebanese Joint Military Commission to provide an official framework for the bilateral U.S.-Lebanese military relationship.
The U.S. and Lebanese militaries have worked together since 2006. The joint commission will provide a yearly opportunity for both sides to examine military cooperation and the goals for the coming year, Straub said, and much needs to be done.
"The Lebanese military was weakened not only by the civil war, but by the Syrian occupation," Straub said. Twice since Syrian troops left Lebanon in 2005, he added, U.S. Central Command officials have surveyed the Lebanese military and presented findings and recommendations.
"The most important one was that the Lebanese military needed a lot of help in the military basics, which are not always the most glamorous," Straub, a retired Army officer, said. "They needed trucks, Humvees, parts and ammunition more than they needed high-end, expensive weaponry."
They also need training, he added. The 72,000-member Lebanese military needs basic help with training in marksmanship, urban combat, logistics and maintenance, and staff functions. Lebanese officers are attending several U.S. military colleges, and the International Military Education and Training fund for Lebanon has grown from $1.4 million in fiscal 2008 to $2.1 million this year.
In 2006, the United States renewed its security relationship with Lebanon, and since then has funneled more than $400 million in foreign military sales money.
"It is national policy that Lebanon be sovereign, that Lebanon be independent," Straub said. "Our part of that is to help build up the Lebanese armed forces so the Lebanese government can be sovereign in all its territory."
In the past, each sect and group in Lebanon has had a militia. The largest and best-equipped militia belongs to Hezbollah, which rules in the Shiia areas of southern Lebanon bordering Israel. The CIA World Factbook says the Lebanese army and police have control of about two-thirds of the country. Hezbollah – which the United States says is a terrorist organization – and its allies control the rest.
The U.S. goal is for [the army and police] working for the democratically elected Lebanese government to exercise power throughout the country, Straub said. "That's not going to happen tomorrow, or perhaps next year," he said. "But that is our goal."
The United States has sent 285 Humvees to Lebanon, and another 312 will arrive by March. The United States has sent 200 trucks to the Lebanese and 41 M-198 155 mm artillery pieces. The Lebanese army also will get night-vision equipment and some tactical unmanned aerial vehicles.
"Behind it is all basics – 12 million rounds of ammo, spare helicopter parts, shoulder-fired rockets," Straub said. "We want them to play their role in controlling Lebanese territory. We also want them to deter the terrorist threat."
The United States is committed to getting Lebanon more modern tanks, and the U.S. military is working on delivering M-60A3 tanks. "We're not trying to build up some juggernaut that could be threatening to anyone in the region, but to make the Lebanese armed forces capable in their own country," Straub said.
Lebanese take care of their equipment, he noted, "because it has been hard to come by for them." He also said the Lebanese record on safeguarding American equipment "is impeccable."
None of this is done in a vacuum, Straub said.
"We don't have a conversation on these matters without considering the concerns of Israel and Israel's qualitative military edge," he said. "That's a U.S. commitment that we take very seriously." For example, the Lebanese army M-60 tanks are no match for Israel's Mekava 4 main battle tanks.
"We think we are helping make the region more peaceful – at least more possibility for peace in the region – by giving the Lebanese government the ability to control the events in its territory – whether it be terrorism or militias," Straub said. "Either way, we think this is good for everybody's security in the region, or we wouldn't be doing it."
The way forward will take time, Straub said. In fighting against terror groups holed up in a refugee camp, for example, the Lebanese military rigged a Huey helicopter to drop bombs.
"It's important to do this at the level the Lebanese military can absorb," Straub said. "The next step is more capability for the air, thinking in terms of not only being able to transport things via air, but have a precise close-air support [capability]."
U.S. military cooperation with the Lebanese also sends a political message, Straub said. "The United States cares about Lebanon's independence and sovereignty," he said. "The people know that and appreciate it."
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - The U.S. military is helping the Lebanese military establish itself as the sole arm of the democratically elected Lebanese government, a senior Pentagon official said in a recent interview. "The Lebanese armed forces has a unique role," Chris Straub, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Near East and South Asian affairs, said. "It's one of the strongest national institutions in Lebanon. All Lebanese look up to it as a symbol of their state."
That is an important fact, given the recent history of the country. The Lebanese civil war lasted from 1975 to 1990. Beirut – once considered the Paris of the East – was in ruins, and the country seemed hopelessly divided between Muslim and Christian sects. Roughly 60 percent of the population is Muslim, and 40 percent is Christian, but the country has 18 different officially recognized sects.
The United States and Lebanon signed a military cooperation agreement in October, establishing the U.S.-Lebanese Joint Military Commission to provide an official framework for the bilateral U.S.-Lebanese military relationship.
The U.S. and Lebanese militaries have worked together since 2006. The joint commission will provide a yearly opportunity for both sides to examine military cooperation and the goals for the coming year, Straub said, and much needs to be done.
"The Lebanese military was weakened not only by the civil war, but by the Syrian occupation," Straub said. Twice since Syrian troops left Lebanon in 2005, he added, U.S. Central Command officials have surveyed the Lebanese military and presented findings and recommendations.
"The most important one was that the Lebanese military needed a lot of help in the military basics, which are not always the most glamorous," Straub, a retired Army officer, said. "They needed trucks, Humvees, parts and ammunition more than they needed high-end, expensive weaponry."
They also need training, he added. The 72,000-member Lebanese military needs basic help with training in marksmanship, urban combat, logistics and maintenance, and staff functions. Lebanese officers are attending several U.S. military colleges, and the International Military Education and Training fund for Lebanon has grown from $1.4 million in fiscal 2008 to $2.1 million this year.
In 2006, the United States renewed its security relationship with Lebanon, and since then has funneled more than $400 million in foreign military sales money.
"It is national policy that Lebanon be sovereign, that Lebanon be independent," Straub said. "Our part of that is to help build up the Lebanese armed forces so the Lebanese government can be sovereign in all its territory."
In the past, each sect and group in Lebanon has had a militia. The largest and best-equipped militia belongs to Hezbollah, which rules in the Shiia areas of southern Lebanon bordering Israel. The CIA World Factbook says the Lebanese army and police have control of about two-thirds of the country. Hezbollah – which the United States says is a terrorist organization – and its allies control the rest.
The U.S. goal is for [the army and police] working for the democratically elected Lebanese government to exercise power throughout the country, Straub said. "That's not going to happen tomorrow, or perhaps next year," he said. "But that is our goal."
The United States has sent 285 Humvees to Lebanon, and another 312 will arrive by March. The United States has sent 200 trucks to the Lebanese and 41 M-198 155 mm artillery pieces. The Lebanese army also will get night-vision equipment and some tactical unmanned aerial vehicles.
"Behind it is all basics – 12 million rounds of ammo, spare helicopter parts, shoulder-fired rockets," Straub said. "We want them to play their role in controlling Lebanese territory. We also want them to deter the terrorist threat."
The United States is committed to getting Lebanon more modern tanks, and the U.S. military is working on delivering M-60A3 tanks. "We're not trying to build up some juggernaut that could be threatening to anyone in the region, but to make the Lebanese armed forces capable in their own country," Straub said.
Lebanese take care of their equipment, he noted, "because it has been hard to come by for them." He also said the Lebanese record on safeguarding American equipment "is impeccable."
None of this is done in a vacuum, Straub said.
"We don't have a conversation on these matters without considering the concerns of Israel and Israel's qualitative military edge," he said. "That's a U.S. commitment that we take very seriously." For example, the Lebanese army M-60 tanks are no match for Israel's Mekava 4 main battle tanks.
"We think we are helping make the region more peaceful – at least more possibility for peace in the region – by giving the Lebanese government the ability to control the events in its territory – whether it be terrorism or militias," Straub said. "Either way, we think this is good for everybody's security in the region, or we wouldn't be doing it."
The way forward will take time, Straub said. In fighting against terror groups holed up in a refugee camp, for example, the Lebanese military rigged a Huey helicopter to drop bombs.
"It's important to do this at the level the Lebanese military can absorb," Straub said. "The next step is more capability for the air, thinking in terms of not only being able to transport things via air, but have a precise close-air support [capability]."
U.S. military cooperation with the Lebanese also sends a political message, Straub said. "The United States cares about Lebanon's independence and sovereignty," he said. "The people know that and appreciate it."
Sailor Missing from WWII is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Ensign Robert G. Tills, U.S. Navy, of Manitowoc, Wis. He will be buried on March 23, 2009, in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Navy's Mortuary Office met with Tills' next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy.
On Dec. 8, 1941, two PBY-4 Catalina Flying Boats moored in Malalag Bay, in eastern Mindanao, Philippine Commonwealth, were strafed and sunk by Japanese aircraft. All of the crew on board the PBYs escaped the aircraft with the exception of Tills, who was seen by another crewman to have been hit and killed by machine gun bullets. Tills was the first Navy officer to be lost in defense of the Philippine Islands. His body was not recovered.
In October 2007, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) was notified by U.S. authorities in the Philippines that aircraft wreckage had been discovered in Malalag Bay. A fragment of the wreckage bore the markings "PBY-4."
In November 2007, a JPAC team, along with the Joint U.S. military Assistance Group-Philippines and the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG), surveyed the site and recovered human remains and non-biological evidence. Later that month, the PCG recovered additional remains from the site.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of Tills' remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.
He is Ensign Robert G. Tills, U.S. Navy, of Manitowoc, Wis. He will be buried on March 23, 2009, in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Navy's Mortuary Office met with Tills' next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy.
On Dec. 8, 1941, two PBY-4 Catalina Flying Boats moored in Malalag Bay, in eastern Mindanao, Philippine Commonwealth, were strafed and sunk by Japanese aircraft. All of the crew on board the PBYs escaped the aircraft with the exception of Tills, who was seen by another crewman to have been hit and killed by machine gun bullets. Tills was the first Navy officer to be lost in defense of the Philippine Islands. His body was not recovered.
In October 2007, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) was notified by U.S. authorities in the Philippines that aircraft wreckage had been discovered in Malalag Bay. A fragment of the wreckage bore the markings "PBY-4."
In November 2007, a JPAC team, along with the Joint U.S. military Assistance Group-Philippines and the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG), surveyed the site and recovered human remains and non-biological evidence. Later that month, the PCG recovered additional remains from the site.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC also used dental comparisons in the identification of Tills' remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.
Gates Provides Continuity as Nation Fights Two Wars, Obama Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - President-elect Barack Obama today cited the need for continuity as the United States fights two wars in announcing that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will remain at the Pentagon when his administration takes over next month. "At a time when we face an unprecedented transition amidst two wars, I have asked Robert Gates to continue as secretary of defense, and I'm pleased that he's accepted," Obama said at a news conference in Chicago.
"He restored accountability. He won the confidence of military commanders, and the trust of our brave men and women in uniform and their families," he said. "He earned the respect of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle for his pragmatism and competence. He knows that we need a sustainable national security strategy, and that includes a bipartisan consensus at home."
The president-elect said he will tell the secretary to end the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi control.
"We will also ensure that we have the strategy -- and resources -- to succeed against al-Qaida and the Taliban," he said. "As Bob said not too long ago, Afghanistan is where the war on terror began, and it is where it must end."
Gates thanked the president-elect for his confidence.
"I am deeply honored that the president-elect has asked me to continue as secretary of defense," Gates said in Chicago. "Mindful that we are engaged in two wars and face other serious challenges at home and around the world, and with a profound sense of personal responsibility to and for our men and women in uniform and their families, I must do my duty as they do theirs. How could I do otherwise?
"Serving in this position for nearly two years, and especially the opportunity to lead our brave and dedicated soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Defense civilians, has been the most gratifying experience of my life," the secretary continued. "I am honored to continue to serve them and our country, and I will be honored to serve President-elect Obama."
Obama said the national security challenges facing the country are as grave and urgent as the economic crisis.
"We are fighting two wars," he said. "Old conflicts remain unresolved, and newly assertive powers have put strains on the international system. The spread of nuclear weapons raises the peril that the world's deadliest technology could fall into dangerous hands. Our dependence on foreign oil empowers authoritarian governments and endangers our planet."
The United States must be as strong at home as it is overseas, and American economic power must sustain military strength, diplomatic leverage and global leadership, he said.
"The common thread linking these challenges is the fundamental reality that in the 21st century, our destiny is shared with the world's," Obama said. "From our markets to our security; from our public health to our climate - we must act with the understanding that, now more than ever, we have a stake in what happens across the globe.
"And as we learned so painfully on 9/11, terror cannot be contained by borders, nor safety provided by oceans alone," he said.
Obama called for a new dawn of American leadership to face and master the challenges of the 21st century.
"We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends," he said. "We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships. We will show the world once more that America is relentless in defense of our people, steady in advancing our interests and committed to the ideals that shine as a beacon to the world -- democracy and justice, opportunity and unyielding hope -- because American values are America's greatest export to the world."
The president-elect also announced his choices for other posts: New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security, retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones Jr. as national security advisor and Susan Rice as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - President-elect Barack Obama today cited the need for continuity as the United States fights two wars in announcing that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will remain at the Pentagon when his administration takes over next month. "At a time when we face an unprecedented transition amidst two wars, I have asked Robert Gates to continue as secretary of defense, and I'm pleased that he's accepted," Obama said at a news conference in Chicago.
"He restored accountability. He won the confidence of military commanders, and the trust of our brave men and women in uniform and their families," he said. "He earned the respect of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle for his pragmatism and competence. He knows that we need a sustainable national security strategy, and that includes a bipartisan consensus at home."
The president-elect said he will tell the secretary to end the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi control.
"We will also ensure that we have the strategy -- and resources -- to succeed against al-Qaida and the Taliban," he said. "As Bob said not too long ago, Afghanistan is where the war on terror began, and it is where it must end."
Gates thanked the president-elect for his confidence.
"I am deeply honored that the president-elect has asked me to continue as secretary of defense," Gates said in Chicago. "Mindful that we are engaged in two wars and face other serious challenges at home and around the world, and with a profound sense of personal responsibility to and for our men and women in uniform and their families, I must do my duty as they do theirs. How could I do otherwise?
"Serving in this position for nearly two years, and especially the opportunity to lead our brave and dedicated soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Defense civilians, has been the most gratifying experience of my life," the secretary continued. "I am honored to continue to serve them and our country, and I will be honored to serve President-elect Obama."
Obama said the national security challenges facing the country are as grave and urgent as the economic crisis.
"We are fighting two wars," he said. "Old conflicts remain unresolved, and newly assertive powers have put strains on the international system. The spread of nuclear weapons raises the peril that the world's deadliest technology could fall into dangerous hands. Our dependence on foreign oil empowers authoritarian governments and endangers our planet."
The United States must be as strong at home as it is overseas, and American economic power must sustain military strength, diplomatic leverage and global leadership, he said.
"The common thread linking these challenges is the fundamental reality that in the 21st century, our destiny is shared with the world's," Obama said. "From our markets to our security; from our public health to our climate - we must act with the understanding that, now more than ever, we have a stake in what happens across the globe.
"And as we learned so painfully on 9/11, terror cannot be contained by borders, nor safety provided by oceans alone," he said.
Obama called for a new dawn of American leadership to face and master the challenges of the 21st century.
"We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends," he said. "We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships. We will show the world once more that America is relentless in defense of our people, steady in advancing our interests and committed to the ideals that shine as a beacon to the world -- democracy and justice, opportunity and unyielding hope -- because American values are America's greatest export to the world."
The president-elect also announced his choices for other posts: New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security, retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones Jr. as national security advisor and Susan Rice as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
MILITARY CONTRACTS December 1, 2008
Navy
The Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Space and Strategic Missiles, Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded $720,086,268 modification (PZ0001) to previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00030-08-C-0100) to provide TRIDENT II (D5) and TRIDENT I (C4) missile subsystem. Specific tasks may include: Missile body, re-entry body, D5 instrumentation systems and support equipment production (D5 only); D5 Production Continuity Hardware (D5 only); Procurement of components and requalification activities in support of D5 life extension requirements; Critical components in support of D5 life extension requirements; Field Processing; Engineering and operational support services; Training material development and maintenance; Trainer design and operational support; Spares and integrated logistics support; Flight Test Analysis and Range Support; Safety Assurance including Nuclear Weapon Security (NWS); Missile and support equipment repair; Flight Test Planning and Flight Test Data Acquisition and Processing (D5 only); Development, production and installation of SPALTs/PADs/Sers [Special Projects Alterations, POMF (POLARIS Missile Facility) Alteration Documents, and Support Equipment Requirements]; Develop and produce an Alteration Release Assembly; Develop an Enhanced Telemetry System; Technical services in support of the C4/D5 Ballast System and Test Instrumentation Mast program; Technical services in support of all requirements associated with TRIDENT I(C4) related to asset dispositions and disposal. In addition to TRIDENT II (D5), and TRIDENT I (C4) missile subsystem requirements, there is also a requirement to: Provide storage and maintenance for the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, Nuclear (TLAM-N) at the Strategic Weapons Facilities; Perform processing and provide technical services in support of the SSGN Attack Weapon System (AWS) at SWFLANT; Provide TRIDENT SWS Missile Training; Develop technology applicable to global strike objectives that integrates with existing TRIDENT missile and/or the platform, and the missile processing and TRIDENT operations infrastructure; Provide Options for Flight Test Data Acquisition and Analysis for the Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency. Work will be performed in California (42 percent); Georgia (11 percent); Utah (16 percent); Florida (9 percent); Washington (8 percent); Virginia (3 percent); Tennessee (2 percent); New Jersey (1 percent); Massachusetts (1 percent); Illinois (1 percent); Maryland (1 percent); other (5 percent), and work is expected to be completed September 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $285,470,128 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. (LMSSC), Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded a $98,635,593 cost-plus-incentive-fee and award fee not-to exceed contract modification to develop, integrate and test the red side components of the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) Common Air Interface (CAI) waveform application to form a fully functional Joint Tactical Radio System compliant waveform application, version 3.x. Under contract N00039-04-C-2009, LMSSC is responsible for the development and production of the MUOS networked constellation, and the current MUOS CAI waveform effort, without the red side components, is being performed by LMSSC and its subcontractor General Dynamics, Scottsdale, Ariz. This additional capability is required to provide a complete set of radio functions and to eliminate the requirement for external cryptographic equipment for secure MUOS communications. This effort is expected to be completed in 2011. This award is made on a sole source basis. The synopsis was released via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N00039-04-C-2009).
McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $95,000,000 delivery order under a previously awarded Performance Based Logistics contract for spares in support of the E/A-18 G Growler. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo. (40 percent), and El Segundo, Calif. (60 percent), and work is expected to be completed by September 2011. Contract funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity (N00383-06-D-001J-TH00).
Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems-Marine Systems (NGES-MS), Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded a $67,687,769 firm-fixed-price, fixed-price-incentive, cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract to provide for the acquisition of the TRIDENT II (D-5) deployed SSBN and the SSGN Underwater Launcher Systems (ULS), Engineering Refueling Overhaul (ERO) shipyard support, gas generator production, TRIDENT II (D-5) missile tube closure production restart, US and UK launcher trainer support, underwater launcher technology sustainment (ULTS), SSGN Ancillary Hardware, Underwater Launcher System Ancillary Hardware, Launcher Initiation System Ancillary Hardware, Underwater Launcher Subsystem technology Support, Vertical Support Group-E mount advance procurement and US and UK SSP Alterations (SPALT) and non-compliance report (NCR) projects. This contract contains options, which if exercised, would increase the total contract value $156,196,862. Work will be performed in Sunnyvale, Calif. (86 percent); Bangor, Wash. (7 percent); Kings Bay, Ga. (7 percent), and work is expected to be completed September 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $35,529,097 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (N00030-09-C-0004).
Bath Iron Works Corp. (a General Dynamics Co.), Bath, Maine, is being awarded a $45,800,301 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-06-C-2303) to exercise an option for services associated with the detail design and construction of the DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class Destroyer. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine, and is expected to be completed by November 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., was awarded a $19,222,000 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-03-C-5102) on Nov. 26, 2008, for Aegis Weapon System Inter Site Data Link (ISDL) integration efforts. The contractor shall provide program management, system engineering and computer program development, ship integration and test, and technical manual services required for the development, integration, test, and delivery of the Baseline K1.1 Aegis Weapon System computer programs integrating the ISDL capability into the Sejong the Great class destroyers, also known as KDX III. This contract involves purchases for the Republic of Korea under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Moorestown, N.J. (90 percent) and Ulsan, South Korea (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by November 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity.
Seaward Services, Inc., Dania Beach, Fla., is being awarded a $14,020,675 indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for operational and logistics support for ocean testing and related at-sea projects. The contractor will provide operational support personnel and specialized equipment such as remotely operated vehicles, diving services, aircraft support, specialized mobilization equipment and vessels with crews and provisioning in support of open ocean sea tests. Work will be performed in Dania Beach, Fla. (1 percent); Newport, R.I. (1 percent); and various oceans worldwide (98 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities and on the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division (NUWC), Newport contracts Web site, and one offer was received. NUWC, Newport, R.I., is the contracting activity (N66604-09-D-0182).
Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $10,779,079 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00421-05-C-0026) to exercise an option for technical, engineering, and program services in support of the Tomahawk-All-Up-Round Missile Program for the U.S. Navy ($9,701,171; 90 percent) and the United Kingdom ($1,077,908; 10 percent). Work will be performed in Lexington Park, Md., (85 percent); Patuxent River, Md. (10 percent); and other locations within the United States (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $479,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
SeeByte, LTD., Scotland, was awarded a ceiling amount $10,400,259 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract on Nov. 26, 2008, to perform software engineering, technical support, and training of the SeeTrack Military software component of the Common Operator Interface for Navy (COIN) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) system. The U.S. Navy is engaged in an application developmental effort involving command and control software called COIN being operated at various U.S. Navy activities by U.S. Naval EOD Mobile Units, Mobile Diving and Salvage Units, and research and development activities. This software application is used for mission planning, equipment data transfer, mission execution tracking, post mission analysis, and data reporting. Work will be performed in Scotland, and is expected to be completed by December 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, Md., is the contracting activity (N000174-09-D-0001).
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $10,297,568 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) to provide funding for non-recurring hardware and administrative and engineering services in support of U.S. Navy F/A-18 aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed in December 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $10,297,568 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
AT&T Government Solutions, Vienna, Va., is being awarded a $6,027,838 task order #0025 under previously awarded contract (M67854-03-A-5154). The scope of this effort is for Information technology (IT) support services to both local and external customers at Headquarters Marine Corps Logistics Command, Command, Control, Communications and Computers (HQ MARCORLOGCOM, C4), ESD and LSD. This support includes: (1) providing IT customer support and performing Incident Management (i.e. "Service Desk") outlined in the Information technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best business practices as adopted by C4 Director; (2) providing IT database management, applications management, web and OS support, SAN and RAC management, Information assurance, mainframe support, enterprise backup and recovery, and system architecture support; and (3) providing IT project management (software development related) and application software support (analytical, testing and programming). Work will be performed in Albany, Ga., and work is expected to be completed in December 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
EG&G, Dumfries, Va., is being awarded $5,193,076 for task order #0070 under a previously awarded contract (M67854-02-A-9011) for Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) support services, a key element of the Marine Corps Systems Command PM Advanced Amphibious Assault (PM AAA). Technical support under this effort includes the support services to advance the use of technology to improve system performance and operations, achieve design-to-unit production cost objectives, and to define mature production and manufacturing processes. Work will be performed in Quantico, Va., and work is expected to be completed in December 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Air Force
The Air Force is awarding a cost reimbursable contact to Mitre Corp., Bedford, Mass. for $350,326,484. This effort will provide System Engineering and Integration Support for Air Force Ceiling Programs and Air Force Non-Ceiling Programs for fiscal year 2009. At this time, $22,048,674 has been obligated. ESC/PKE, Hanscom AFB, Mass. is the contracting activity (FA8721-09-C-0002),
The Air Force is modifying a firm-fixed-price contract with time and material and cost reimbursement to Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., for an amount not-to-exceed $74,900,000. This effort is for an Engineering Change Proposal against the five-year option contract for non-recurring efforts to incorporate Special Operations Forces-unique modifications on the MC-130J configuration. At this time $19,634,000 has been obligated. 657 AESS, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8625-06-C-6456).
The Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Space and Strategic Missiles, Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded $720,086,268 modification (PZ0001) to previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00030-08-C-0100) to provide TRIDENT II (D5) and TRIDENT I (C4) missile subsystem. Specific tasks may include: Missile body, re-entry body, D5 instrumentation systems and support equipment production (D5 only); D5 Production Continuity Hardware (D5 only); Procurement of components and requalification activities in support of D5 life extension requirements; Critical components in support of D5 life extension requirements; Field Processing; Engineering and operational support services; Training material development and maintenance; Trainer design and operational support; Spares and integrated logistics support; Flight Test Analysis and Range Support; Safety Assurance including Nuclear Weapon Security (NWS); Missile and support equipment repair; Flight Test Planning and Flight Test Data Acquisition and Processing (D5 only); Development, production and installation of SPALTs/PADs/Sers [Special Projects Alterations, POMF (POLARIS Missile Facility) Alteration Documents, and Support Equipment Requirements]; Develop and produce an Alteration Release Assembly; Develop an Enhanced Telemetry System; Technical services in support of the C4/D5 Ballast System and Test Instrumentation Mast program; Technical services in support of all requirements associated with TRIDENT I(C4) related to asset dispositions and disposal. In addition to TRIDENT II (D5), and TRIDENT I (C4) missile subsystem requirements, there is also a requirement to: Provide storage and maintenance for the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, Nuclear (TLAM-N) at the Strategic Weapons Facilities; Perform processing and provide technical services in support of the SSGN Attack Weapon System (AWS) at SWFLANT; Provide TRIDENT SWS Missile Training; Develop technology applicable to global strike objectives that integrates with existing TRIDENT missile and/or the platform, and the missile processing and TRIDENT operations infrastructure; Provide Options for Flight Test Data Acquisition and Analysis for the Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency. Work will be performed in California (42 percent); Georgia (11 percent); Utah (16 percent); Florida (9 percent); Washington (8 percent); Virginia (3 percent); Tennessee (2 percent); New Jersey (1 percent); Massachusetts (1 percent); Illinois (1 percent); Maryland (1 percent); other (5 percent), and work is expected to be completed September 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $285,470,128 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. (LMSSC), Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded a $98,635,593 cost-plus-incentive-fee and award fee not-to exceed contract modification to develop, integrate and test the red side components of the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) Common Air Interface (CAI) waveform application to form a fully functional Joint Tactical Radio System compliant waveform application, version 3.x. Under contract N00039-04-C-2009, LMSSC is responsible for the development and production of the MUOS networked constellation, and the current MUOS CAI waveform effort, without the red side components, is being performed by LMSSC and its subcontractor General Dynamics, Scottsdale, Ariz. This additional capability is required to provide a complete set of radio functions and to eliminate the requirement for external cryptographic equipment for secure MUOS communications. This effort is expected to be completed in 2011. This award is made on a sole source basis. The synopsis was released via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N00039-04-C-2009).
McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $95,000,000 delivery order under a previously awarded Performance Based Logistics contract for spares in support of the E/A-18 G Growler. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo. (40 percent), and El Segundo, Calif. (60 percent), and work is expected to be completed by September 2011. Contract funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity (N00383-06-D-001J-TH00).
Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems-Marine Systems (NGES-MS), Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded a $67,687,769 firm-fixed-price, fixed-price-incentive, cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract to provide for the acquisition of the TRIDENT II (D-5) deployed SSBN and the SSGN Underwater Launcher Systems (ULS), Engineering Refueling Overhaul (ERO) shipyard support, gas generator production, TRIDENT II (D-5) missile tube closure production restart, US and UK launcher trainer support, underwater launcher technology sustainment (ULTS), SSGN Ancillary Hardware, Underwater Launcher System Ancillary Hardware, Launcher Initiation System Ancillary Hardware, Underwater Launcher Subsystem technology Support, Vertical Support Group-E mount advance procurement and US and UK SSP Alterations (SPALT) and non-compliance report (NCR) projects. This contract contains options, which if exercised, would increase the total contract value $156,196,862. Work will be performed in Sunnyvale, Calif. (86 percent); Bangor, Wash. (7 percent); Kings Bay, Ga. (7 percent), and work is expected to be completed September 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $35,529,097 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (N00030-09-C-0004).
Bath Iron Works Corp. (a General Dynamics Co.), Bath, Maine, is being awarded a $45,800,301 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-06-C-2303) to exercise an option for services associated with the detail design and construction of the DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class Destroyer. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine, and is expected to be completed by November 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., was awarded a $19,222,000 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-03-C-5102) on Nov. 26, 2008, for Aegis Weapon System Inter Site Data Link (ISDL) integration efforts. The contractor shall provide program management, system engineering and computer program development, ship integration and test, and technical manual services required for the development, integration, test, and delivery of the Baseline K1.1 Aegis Weapon System computer programs integrating the ISDL capability into the Sejong the Great class destroyers, also known as KDX III. This contract involves purchases for the Republic of Korea under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Moorestown, N.J. (90 percent) and Ulsan, South Korea (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by November 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity.
Seaward Services, Inc., Dania Beach, Fla., is being awarded a $14,020,675 indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for operational and logistics support for ocean testing and related at-sea projects. The contractor will provide operational support personnel and specialized equipment such as remotely operated vehicles, diving services, aircraft support, specialized mobilization equipment and vessels with crews and provisioning in support of open ocean sea tests. Work will be performed in Dania Beach, Fla. (1 percent); Newport, R.I. (1 percent); and various oceans worldwide (98 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities and on the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division (NUWC), Newport contracts Web site, and one offer was received. NUWC, Newport, R.I., is the contracting activity (N66604-09-D-0182).
Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $10,779,079 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00421-05-C-0026) to exercise an option for technical, engineering, and program services in support of the Tomahawk-All-Up-Round Missile Program for the U.S. Navy ($9,701,171; 90 percent) and the United Kingdom ($1,077,908; 10 percent). Work will be performed in Lexington Park, Md., (85 percent); Patuxent River, Md. (10 percent); and other locations within the United States (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $479,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
SeeByte, LTD., Scotland, was awarded a ceiling amount $10,400,259 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract on Nov. 26, 2008, to perform software engineering, technical support, and training of the SeeTrack Military software component of the Common Operator Interface for Navy (COIN) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) system. The U.S. Navy is engaged in an application developmental effort involving command and control software called COIN being operated at various U.S. Navy activities by U.S. Naval EOD Mobile Units, Mobile Diving and Salvage Units, and research and development activities. This software application is used for mission planning, equipment data transfer, mission execution tracking, post mission analysis, and data reporting. Work will be performed in Scotland, and is expected to be completed by December 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, Md., is the contracting activity (N000174-09-D-0001).
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $10,297,568 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) to provide funding for non-recurring hardware and administrative and engineering services in support of U.S. Navy F/A-18 aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed in December 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $10,297,568 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
AT&T Government Solutions, Vienna, Va., is being awarded a $6,027,838 task order #0025 under previously awarded contract (M67854-03-A-5154). The scope of this effort is for Information technology (IT) support services to both local and external customers at Headquarters Marine Corps Logistics Command, Command, Control, Communications and Computers (HQ MARCORLOGCOM, C4), ESD and LSD. This support includes: (1) providing IT customer support and performing Incident Management (i.e. "Service Desk") outlined in the Information technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best business practices as adopted by C4 Director; (2) providing IT database management, applications management, web and OS support, SAN and RAC management, Information assurance, mainframe support, enterprise backup and recovery, and system architecture support; and (3) providing IT project management (software development related) and application software support (analytical, testing and programming). Work will be performed in Albany, Ga., and work is expected to be completed in December 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
EG&G, Dumfries, Va., is being awarded $5,193,076 for task order #0070 under a previously awarded contract (M67854-02-A-9011) for Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) support services, a key element of the Marine Corps Systems Command PM Advanced Amphibious Assault (PM AAA). Technical support under this effort includes the support services to advance the use of technology to improve system performance and operations, achieve design-to-unit production cost objectives, and to define mature production and manufacturing processes. Work will be performed in Quantico, Va., and work is expected to be completed in December 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Air Force
The Air Force is awarding a cost reimbursable contact to Mitre Corp., Bedford, Mass. for $350,326,484. This effort will provide System Engineering and Integration Support for Air Force Ceiling Programs and Air Force Non-Ceiling Programs for fiscal year 2009. At this time, $22,048,674 has been obligated. ESC/PKE, Hanscom AFB, Mass. is the contracting activity (FA8721-09-C-0002),
The Air Force is modifying a firm-fixed-price contract with time and material and cost reimbursement to Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., for an amount not-to-exceed $74,900,000. This effort is for an Engineering Change Proposal against the five-year option contract for non-recurring efforts to incorporate Special Operations Forces-unique modifications on the MC-130J configuration. At this time $19,634,000 has been obligated. 657 AESS, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8625-06-C-6456).
Military Books
Military-Writers.com is pleased to announce the addition of these servicemembers to the website:
Lieutenant General Edward M. Flanagan Jr., USA (ret.)
Lieutenant General Buster C. Glosson, USAF (ret.)
Colonel Jon L. Allen, USAF (ret.)
Colonel John Harlan Buzby, USA (ret.)
Colonel Henry G. Gole, USA (ret.)
Colonel Ed Krekorian, USA (ret.)
Colonel Allan R. Millett, USMC (ret.)
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Cervantes, USAF (ret.)
Lieutenant Colonel William E. Winterstein
Lieutenant Colonel Robert B. Patterson Jr., USAF (ret.)
Major Den E. Slattery, USAR (ret.)
Captain Nelson A. Blish, USN (ret.)
Captain T. Bradley Hamlett, USAF (ret.)
Second Lieutenant Donn W. Fletcher, USA
Chief Warrant Officer Three Ed Raciborski, USA (ret.)
Chief Warrant Officer Two Earl W. Thompson
Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch, USMC (ret.)
MORE INFORMATION
Military Books
Lieutenant General Edward M. Flanagan Jr., USA (ret.)
Lieutenant General Buster C. Glosson, USAF (ret.)
Colonel Jon L. Allen, USAF (ret.)
Colonel John Harlan Buzby, USA (ret.)
Colonel Henry G. Gole, USA (ret.)
Colonel Ed Krekorian, USA (ret.)
Colonel Allan R. Millett, USMC (ret.)
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Cervantes, USAF (ret.)
Lieutenant Colonel William E. Winterstein
Lieutenant Colonel Robert B. Patterson Jr., USAF (ret.)
Major Den E. Slattery, USAR (ret.)
Captain Nelson A. Blish, USN (ret.)
Captain T. Bradley Hamlett, USAF (ret.)
Second Lieutenant Donn W. Fletcher, USA
Chief Warrant Officer Three Ed Raciborski, USA (ret.)
Chief Warrant Officer Two Earl W. Thompson
Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch, USMC (ret.)
MORE INFORMATION
Military Books
Staying Power: Air Force Family Liaisons Help Wounded Warriors, Families
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - Air Force family liaison officers have an important role in assisting wounded warriors and their families, a San Antonio-based Air Force senior noncommissioned officer said. The Air Force's family liaison officer program "truly is the lifeblood of taking care of our war wounded," said Chief Master Sgt. Stephen B. Page, assigned to the 12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. Page has assisted in the selection of family liaison officers that serve in his area.
Family liaison officers, or as FLOs, are appointed by local commanders, according to the Air Force's survivor assistance Web site. They provide assistance to surviving family members of deceased servicemembers and also render aid and support to injured military members and their families.
"Our ability to take care of our people is paramount," Page, a 30-year Air Force veteran, said. "This program is so vitally important for us to ensure that we rehabilitate and put our airmen back on to their feet to the best ability that we can -- not just for them, but [also] to take care of their families."
Four family liaison officers operating in his area serve seven military families, Page said, noting that such assignments can last for years. FLOs support injured warrior families, he said, by attending to tasks such as medical appointments, housing, transportation, financial issues, daycare and more.
"I'm looking for the absolute best" people to serve as family liaison officers, Page said. "The second thing is I'm looking for a person who can be and remain committed, because this is a long-term process."
Air Force Senior Airman Daniel Acosta, 24, has served as a family liaison officer at Randolph for about a year now. Acosta himself is a wounded warrior, having lost his left arm to amputation due to a roadside bomb in Baghdad in December 2005.
Acosta assists Air Force Staff Sgt. Matt Flaydon and his wife, Annette. The injured staff sergeant is receiving treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. A bomb blinded Flaydon near Baghdad, and he also lost his left arm to amputation, Acosta said.
"The purpose of the family liaison program is to basically take all the stress off the family member so that they can focus on their loved one who is recovering," Acosta explained.
Acosta said he does "everything and anything" to assist Flaydon's wife, Annette, including running errands and scheduling appointments.
"This program is great," Acosta said. Family liaison officers, he added, can be especially helpful to spouses with limited knowledge of the military.
"That family liaison officer is that person who helps, who closes that gap and answers all those questions that the spouse cannot answer," Acosta said.
The Air Force is totally dedicated to taking care of its wounded warriors and their families, said John Beckett, the Washington-based program manager for the Air Force's Wounded Warrior and Survivor Care programs.
It takes teamwork to support wounded warriors, Beckett said, citing the "fantastic" quality of today's military medical care.
"People are surviving that would have never survived in previous wars," Beckett said.
Determined, resilient airmen, Beckett said, are working to recover from very serious wounds, some of which required amputation of limbs. Some severely injured warriors, he said, participate in marathon races.
"It is unbelievable to watch these folks," Beckett said. "They're just pushing and moving forward."
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - Air Force family liaison officers have an important role in assisting wounded warriors and their families, a San Antonio-based Air Force senior noncommissioned officer said. The Air Force's family liaison officer program "truly is the lifeblood of taking care of our war wounded," said Chief Master Sgt. Stephen B. Page, assigned to the 12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. Page has assisted in the selection of family liaison officers that serve in his area.
Family liaison officers, or as FLOs, are appointed by local commanders, according to the Air Force's survivor assistance Web site. They provide assistance to surviving family members of deceased servicemembers and also render aid and support to injured military members and their families.
"Our ability to take care of our people is paramount," Page, a 30-year Air Force veteran, said. "This program is so vitally important for us to ensure that we rehabilitate and put our airmen back on to their feet to the best ability that we can -- not just for them, but [also] to take care of their families."
Four family liaison officers operating in his area serve seven military families, Page said, noting that such assignments can last for years. FLOs support injured warrior families, he said, by attending to tasks such as medical appointments, housing, transportation, financial issues, daycare and more.
"I'm looking for the absolute best" people to serve as family liaison officers, Page said. "The second thing is I'm looking for a person who can be and remain committed, because this is a long-term process."
Air Force Senior Airman Daniel Acosta, 24, has served as a family liaison officer at Randolph for about a year now. Acosta himself is a wounded warrior, having lost his left arm to amputation due to a roadside bomb in Baghdad in December 2005.
Acosta assists Air Force Staff Sgt. Matt Flaydon and his wife, Annette. The injured staff sergeant is receiving treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. A bomb blinded Flaydon near Baghdad, and he also lost his left arm to amputation, Acosta said.
"The purpose of the family liaison program is to basically take all the stress off the family member so that they can focus on their loved one who is recovering," Acosta explained.
Acosta said he does "everything and anything" to assist Flaydon's wife, Annette, including running errands and scheduling appointments.
"This program is great," Acosta said. Family liaison officers, he added, can be especially helpful to spouses with limited knowledge of the military.
"That family liaison officer is that person who helps, who closes that gap and answers all those questions that the spouse cannot answer," Acosta said.
The Air Force is totally dedicated to taking care of its wounded warriors and their families, said John Beckett, the Washington-based program manager for the Air Force's Wounded Warrior and Survivor Care programs.
It takes teamwork to support wounded warriors, Beckett said, citing the "fantastic" quality of today's military medical care.
"People are surviving that would have never survived in previous wars," Beckett said.
Determined, resilient airmen, Beckett said, are working to recover from very serious wounds, some of which required amputation of limbs. Some severely injured warriors, he said, participate in marathon races.
"It is unbelievable to watch these folks," Beckett said. "They're just pushing and moving forward."
Nuclear Mission Vital to U.S. Security, Gates Tells Minot Airmen
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates traveled here today to emphasize the importance of the Air Force's nuclear mission -- and in maintaining its long tradition of excellence -- to the men and women entrusted with carrying it out. Gates became the first defense secretary in memory to visit the home of the 91st Missile Wing, one of the Air Force's three operational intercontinental units, and the 5th Bomb Wing, which flies the aging B-52 aircraft he said remain critical to the nuclear deterrent.
"As stewards of America's nuclear arsenal, your work is vital to the security of our nation," Gates told the airmen.
"Handling nuclear weapons -- the most powerful and destructive instruments in the arsenal of freedom -- is a tremendous responsibility," he continued. "We owe you the attention, the people and the resources to do your job right."
Gates reminded the airmen that their job is the most sensitive in the entire U.S. military, demanding constant vigilance and leaving no room for error.
America's security depends on a reliable and credible nuclear deterrent, Gates said, even as the country continues to reduce its nuclear arsenal. While few argue that abolishing nuclear weapons is a worthy long-term goal, he said, the grim reality is that day hasn't yet come.
"As long as others have nuclear weapons, we must maintain some level of these weapons ourselves to deter potential adversaries and to reassure over two dozen allies and partners who rely on our nuclear umbrella for their own security, making it unnecessary for them to develop their own," he said.
Gates cited threats posed by rising and resurgent powers, rogue nations pursuing nuclear weapons, proliferation and international terrorism. These challenges make it necessary for the United States to maintain a hedge that makes clear its ability to provide an "overwhelming, devastating" response to attack, if necessary.
"Try as we might, and hope as we will, the power of nuclear weapons and their strategic impact is a genie that cannot be put back in the bottle, at least for a long time," Gates said.
But possessing nuclear weapons means accepting the responsibilities involved, he said citing "serious lapses of last year" over the Air Force's handling of nuclear weapons and related material.
Those involved a mistaken shipment of sensitive missile parts to Taiwan in 2006, and -- even more troublesome to airmen here -- an unauthorized transfer of munitions from Minot Air Force Base to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., in August 2007.
Severe consequences followed, starting at the unit level and reaching into the highest levels of the Air Force. Gates ordered the resignations of then-Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne and then-Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley. Another 15 officers, including six generals, received disciplinary action in connection with the nose-cone shipment.
The problems, an investigation determined, resulted from "a long-standing slide in the service's nuclear stewardship, where this critical mission -- and the career field associated with it -- did not receive the attention, funding or personnel it deserved," Gates said.
But Gates told the Minot airmen he's confident the Air Force is now on the right track.
"Based on everything I have seen, heard and learned in recent months, I strongly believe that the Air Force is now moving in the right direction to reclaim the standards of excellence for which it was known throughout the Cold War," Gates told the Minot airmen.
Gates cited initiatives in place or under way:
-- A new office within the Air Staff that focuses exclusively on nuclear policy and oversight and reports directly to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz;
-- A new Global Strike Command to be stood up that will bring the nuclear-capable bombers and intercontinental ballistic missile under one entity;
-- Revitalization and expansion of the Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.;
-- A top-to-bottom review that is determining which nuclear components need to be taken out of the supply chain and placed under control of the Nuclear Weapons Center; and
-- The Air Force's development of a stronger, more centralized inspection process to ensure that nuclear material is handled properly.
In addition, Gates noted that he awaits recommendations from a task force he formed to review nuclear enterprise oversight within the Air Force and Defense Department overall. Former Energy and Defense Secretary James Schlesinger is heading that effort.
Gates closed by reminding the airmen of his own Air Force background, when he served as a second lieutenant at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., as part of Strategic Air Command.
"Your mission at Minot Air Force Base is as important as ever in the demanding security environment that our nation faces today – and will undoubtedly face tomorrow," he told them. "I have every confidence in you and in the Air Force that has served this nation so well for over six decades."
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates traveled here today to emphasize the importance of the Air Force's nuclear mission -- and in maintaining its long tradition of excellence -- to the men and women entrusted with carrying it out. Gates became the first defense secretary in memory to visit the home of the 91st Missile Wing, one of the Air Force's three operational intercontinental units, and the 5th Bomb Wing, which flies the aging B-52 aircraft he said remain critical to the nuclear deterrent.
"As stewards of America's nuclear arsenal, your work is vital to the security of our nation," Gates told the airmen.
"Handling nuclear weapons -- the most powerful and destructive instruments in the arsenal of freedom -- is a tremendous responsibility," he continued. "We owe you the attention, the people and the resources to do your job right."
Gates reminded the airmen that their job is the most sensitive in the entire U.S. military, demanding constant vigilance and leaving no room for error.
America's security depends on a reliable and credible nuclear deterrent, Gates said, even as the country continues to reduce its nuclear arsenal. While few argue that abolishing nuclear weapons is a worthy long-term goal, he said, the grim reality is that day hasn't yet come.
"As long as others have nuclear weapons, we must maintain some level of these weapons ourselves to deter potential adversaries and to reassure over two dozen allies and partners who rely on our nuclear umbrella for their own security, making it unnecessary for them to develop their own," he said.
Gates cited threats posed by rising and resurgent powers, rogue nations pursuing nuclear weapons, proliferation and international terrorism. These challenges make it necessary for the United States to maintain a hedge that makes clear its ability to provide an "overwhelming, devastating" response to attack, if necessary.
"Try as we might, and hope as we will, the power of nuclear weapons and their strategic impact is a genie that cannot be put back in the bottle, at least for a long time," Gates said.
But possessing nuclear weapons means accepting the responsibilities involved, he said citing "serious lapses of last year" over the Air Force's handling of nuclear weapons and related material.
Those involved a mistaken shipment of sensitive missile parts to Taiwan in 2006, and -- even more troublesome to airmen here -- an unauthorized transfer of munitions from Minot Air Force Base to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., in August 2007.
Severe consequences followed, starting at the unit level and reaching into the highest levels of the Air Force. Gates ordered the resignations of then-Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne and then-Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley. Another 15 officers, including six generals, received disciplinary action in connection with the nose-cone shipment.
The problems, an investigation determined, resulted from "a long-standing slide in the service's nuclear stewardship, where this critical mission -- and the career field associated with it -- did not receive the attention, funding or personnel it deserved," Gates said.
But Gates told the Minot airmen he's confident the Air Force is now on the right track.
"Based on everything I have seen, heard and learned in recent months, I strongly believe that the Air Force is now moving in the right direction to reclaim the standards of excellence for which it was known throughout the Cold War," Gates told the Minot airmen.
Gates cited initiatives in place or under way:
-- A new office within the Air Staff that focuses exclusively on nuclear policy and oversight and reports directly to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz;
-- A new Global Strike Command to be stood up that will bring the nuclear-capable bombers and intercontinental ballistic missile under one entity;
-- Revitalization and expansion of the Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.;
-- A top-to-bottom review that is determining which nuclear components need to be taken out of the supply chain and placed under control of the Nuclear Weapons Center; and
-- The Air Force's development of a stronger, more centralized inspection process to ensure that nuclear material is handled properly.
In addition, Gates noted that he awaits recommendations from a task force he formed to review nuclear enterprise oversight within the Air Force and Defense Department overall. Former Energy and Defense Secretary James Schlesinger is heading that effort.
Gates closed by reminding the airmen of his own Air Force background, when he served as a second lieutenant at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., as part of Strategic Air Command.
"Your mission at Minot Air Force Base is as important as ever in the demanding security environment that our nation faces today – and will undoubtedly face tomorrow," he told them. "I have every confidence in you and in the Air Force that has served this nation so well for over six decades."
Obama Taps Gates to Keep Serving as Defense Secretary
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will remain in the Pentagon's top post when President-elect Barack Obama's administration takes office. Obama, who also announced his other nominees for top national security posts today, cited the necessity of continuity as the United States fights wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as his rationale for asking Gates to stay.
In a statement, Gates said he is "deeply honored" that the president-elect asked him to continue serving.
"Mindful that we are engaged in two wars and face other serious challenges at home and around the world, and with a profound sense of personal responsibility to and for our men and women in uniform and their families, I must do my duty -- as they do theirs," Gates said in his statement. "How could I do otherwise?
"Serving in this position for nearly two years -- and especially the opportunity to lead our brave and dedicated soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and defense civilians -- has been the most gratifying experience of my life. I am honored to continue to serve them and our country, and I will be honored to serve President-elect Obama," Gates said.
Obama also announced his intent to nominate the following people to serve in his administration:
-- New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to be secretary of state;
-- Retired Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones Jr. to be national security advisor;
-- Eric H. Holder to be attorney general;
-- Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be secretary of homeland security; and
-- Susan Rice to hold Cabinet rank as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Gates will not have to go through the Senate confirmation process. President George W. Bush nominated Gates as defense secretary in November 2006. The Senate approved the nomination, and he was sworn into office in December 2006 to succeed Donald H. Rumsfeld. Gates will be the first Cabinet officer to continue serving in an administration from a different political party.
Clinton has represented New York since her election in 2000 and has served on the Senate Armed Services Committee. She served as the chairwoman of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform in 1993. She has supported military action in Afghanistan, and has opposed recent actions in Iraq. In the Senate, she sponsored legislation to increase the size of the Army and has consistently worked to help military families. If confirmed, she will replace Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Jones retired in 2007 after serving as NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of U.S. European Command. Before that assignment, he was the Marine Corps commandant. Jones received his commission through Georgetown University in Washington in 1967 and served in Vietnam. He received the Silver Star for his actions there. As NATO commander, he led the expansion of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. As national security advisor, he will help to coordinate all aspects of U.S. power in the war on terror. He is currently chairman of the Atlantic Council of the United States. If approved, he would replace Stephen Hadley.
Holder served as deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration. He also has served as a judge, a prosecutor and as a front-line lawyer in the Justice Department. A native New Yorker, Holder received his law degree from Columbia University. If confirmed, he would succeed Michael Mukasey.
If confirmed, Napolitano would be responsible for the Coast Guard as part of her portfolio as homeland security secretary. A lawyer, she served as Arizona's attorney general before being elected as governor in 2002. Napolitano would replace Michael B. Chertoff.
Rice served on the National Security Council in the Clinton administration as assistant secretary of state for African affairs. She will replace Zalmay Khalilzad in the U.N. post.
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will remain in the Pentagon's top post when President-elect Barack Obama's administration takes office. Obama, who also announced his other nominees for top national security posts today, cited the necessity of continuity as the United States fights wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as his rationale for asking Gates to stay.
In a statement, Gates said he is "deeply honored" that the president-elect asked him to continue serving.
"Mindful that we are engaged in two wars and face other serious challenges at home and around the world, and with a profound sense of personal responsibility to and for our men and women in uniform and their families, I must do my duty -- as they do theirs," Gates said in his statement. "How could I do otherwise?
"Serving in this position for nearly two years -- and especially the opportunity to lead our brave and dedicated soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and defense civilians -- has been the most gratifying experience of my life. I am honored to continue to serve them and our country, and I will be honored to serve President-elect Obama," Gates said.
Obama also announced his intent to nominate the following people to serve in his administration:
-- New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to be secretary of state;
-- Retired Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones Jr. to be national security advisor;
-- Eric H. Holder to be attorney general;
-- Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be secretary of homeland security; and
-- Susan Rice to hold Cabinet rank as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Gates will not have to go through the Senate confirmation process. President George W. Bush nominated Gates as defense secretary in November 2006. The Senate approved the nomination, and he was sworn into office in December 2006 to succeed Donald H. Rumsfeld. Gates will be the first Cabinet officer to continue serving in an administration from a different political party.
Clinton has represented New York since her election in 2000 and has served on the Senate Armed Services Committee. She served as the chairwoman of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform in 1993. She has supported military action in Afghanistan, and has opposed recent actions in Iraq. In the Senate, she sponsored legislation to increase the size of the Army and has consistently worked to help military families. If confirmed, she will replace Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Jones retired in 2007 after serving as NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of U.S. European Command. Before that assignment, he was the Marine Corps commandant. Jones received his commission through Georgetown University in Washington in 1967 and served in Vietnam. He received the Silver Star for his actions there. As NATO commander, he led the expansion of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. As national security advisor, he will help to coordinate all aspects of U.S. power in the war on terror. He is currently chairman of the Atlantic Council of the United States. If approved, he would replace Stephen Hadley.
Holder served as deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration. He also has served as a judge, a prosecutor and as a front-line lawyer in the Justice Department. A native New Yorker, Holder received his law degree from Columbia University. If confirmed, he would succeed Michael Mukasey.
If confirmed, Napolitano would be responsible for the Coast Guard as part of her portfolio as homeland security secretary. A lawyer, she served as Arizona's attorney general before being elected as governor in 2002. Napolitano would replace Michael B. Chertoff.
Rice served on the National Security Council in the Clinton administration as assistant secretary of state for African affairs. She will replace Zalmay Khalilzad in the U.N. post.
Medic Earns Three Purple Hearts During One Deployment to Iraq
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - If Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Sims was a cat, he'd have only six lives left after his yearlong deployment to Iraq with the 1st Armored Division's Company B, 270th Armor Battalion, out of Fort Riley, Kan. "I was wounded three times in Iraq the last time I was there," Sims said of the deployment that began in January 2005.
Sims, a medic, was riding in a tracked ambulance between two M1-A1 Abrams tanks when a roadside bomb detonated. Shrapnel pierced the vehicle and penetrated his flak vest, puncturing his left lung.
He was evacuated to the hospital in Balad. He spent about three weeks recovering before returning to his unit, but it was only the first of three stays at the hospital.
"They know me there," he said with a chuckle.
Three months after he'd returned to duty, his unit was on a foot patrol when it started taking enemy mortar fire. One mortar landed near Sims.
"Shrapnel hit near my lower left leg, penetrating through the front lower part and coming out the back," he said. "[I] almost, almost lost that limb in that incident, but everything's fine now."
Again, Sims was transported to Balad, where he spent another four weeks recovering from his injuries before rejoining his unit to finish his tour.
Unfortunately, he would endure one more interruption before rotating back home.
It was about 4 a.m., and Company B was patrolling Main Supply Route Tampa, one of the main roads in Iraq, when Sims, who was riding in an Abrams tank, started seeing flashes in the distance. He doesn't remember anything after calling in the attack, however.
"I took a sniper bullet – 7.62 mm – to the front of the helmet -- straight in front, almost right between the eyes," Sims said. The bullet fractured his neck and skull and knocked him unconscious.
"I fell into the turret of the tank," he said, "and when ... [it] turned to fire at the enemy, it broke my right femur."
That earned him a two-month stay in the Balad hospital. He said the care he received there was excellent, and he gave the men in his unit kudos for their part in his survival and recovery.
"I attribute a lot of my speedy recovery ... [to] the care that I received actually on site at the point of injury -- quick response from all the people that were there," he said, referring to the soldiers he'd trained in the new Combat Life Saver program. "The people that were actually treating me were people that I had trained. By the time I got to Balad, I was pretty much good to go. They just had to kind of patch me up."
Sims' last tour in Iraq may have resulted in three Purple Hearts, but he said he's not hesitant about returning.
"No, not at all," he said. "I think that it's a lot safer than when I was there. I think the time that I was there, it was right around the national election time, [and] it was really the peak of all the main [bomb] attacks.
"I think now, it's almost 100 percent turnaround," he added.
It's good he's not timid about returning. His current unit, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 15th Engineer Battalion based out of Schweinfurt, Germany, is certain to deploy at some time.
"We're trying to get all the equipment in and get this unit stood up, because it's the only construction battalion in Europe right now," Sims said. "So, we don't know exactly where we're going yet, but we know we're going to go somewhere."
Sims, who has served 10 years since enlisting right out of high school, recently re-enlisted indefinitely. He hopes to become a doctor or a physician assistant, he said, but he has his sights on one of the Army's top spots if he remains in the Army as an enlisted soldier. He said he'd like to be the first medic to serve as sergeant major of the Army.
"As a medic, you get a broad spectrum of everything that's in the Army," he added. "You can go to any type of unit, so you're more well-rounded, I think."
Sims and his wife call St. Charles, Mo., home.
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 1, 2008 - If Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Sims was a cat, he'd have only six lives left after his yearlong deployment to Iraq with the 1st Armored Division's Company B, 270th Armor Battalion, out of Fort Riley, Kan. "I was wounded three times in Iraq the last time I was there," Sims said of the deployment that began in January 2005.
Sims, a medic, was riding in a tracked ambulance between two M1-A1 Abrams tanks when a roadside bomb detonated. Shrapnel pierced the vehicle and penetrated his flak vest, puncturing his left lung.
He was evacuated to the hospital in Balad. He spent about three weeks recovering before returning to his unit, but it was only the first of three stays at the hospital.
"They know me there," he said with a chuckle.
Three months after he'd returned to duty, his unit was on a foot patrol when it started taking enemy mortar fire. One mortar landed near Sims.
"Shrapnel hit near my lower left leg, penetrating through the front lower part and coming out the back," he said. "[I] almost, almost lost that limb in that incident, but everything's fine now."
Again, Sims was transported to Balad, where he spent another four weeks recovering from his injuries before rejoining his unit to finish his tour.
Unfortunately, he would endure one more interruption before rotating back home.
It was about 4 a.m., and Company B was patrolling Main Supply Route Tampa, one of the main roads in Iraq, when Sims, who was riding in an Abrams tank, started seeing flashes in the distance. He doesn't remember anything after calling in the attack, however.
"I took a sniper bullet – 7.62 mm – to the front of the helmet -- straight in front, almost right between the eyes," Sims said. The bullet fractured his neck and skull and knocked him unconscious.
"I fell into the turret of the tank," he said, "and when ... [it] turned to fire at the enemy, it broke my right femur."
That earned him a two-month stay in the Balad hospital. He said the care he received there was excellent, and he gave the men in his unit kudos for their part in his survival and recovery.
"I attribute a lot of my speedy recovery ... [to] the care that I received actually on site at the point of injury -- quick response from all the people that were there," he said, referring to the soldiers he'd trained in the new Combat Life Saver program. "The people that were actually treating me were people that I had trained. By the time I got to Balad, I was pretty much good to go. They just had to kind of patch me up."
Sims' last tour in Iraq may have resulted in three Purple Hearts, but he said he's not hesitant about returning.
"No, not at all," he said. "I think that it's a lot safer than when I was there. I think the time that I was there, it was right around the national election time, [and] it was really the peak of all the main [bomb] attacks.
"I think now, it's almost 100 percent turnaround," he added.
It's good he's not timid about returning. His current unit, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 15th Engineer Battalion based out of Schweinfurt, Germany, is certain to deploy at some time.
"We're trying to get all the equipment in and get this unit stood up, because it's the only construction battalion in Europe right now," Sims said. "So, we don't know exactly where we're going yet, but we know we're going to go somewhere."
Sims, who has served 10 years since enlisting right out of high school, recently re-enlisted indefinitely. He hopes to become a doctor or a physician assistant, he said, but he has his sights on one of the Army's top spots if he remains in the Army as an enlisted soldier. He said he'd like to be the first medic to serve as sergeant major of the Army.
"As a medic, you get a broad spectrum of everything that's in the Army," he added. "You can go to any type of unit, so you're more well-rounded, I think."
Sims and his wife call St. Charles, Mo., home.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Military Books
Military-Writers.com is pleased to announce the addition of these servicemembers to the website:
Colonel Russell O. Fudge, USA (ret.).
Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Stockdell, USAF (ret.)
Major Robert V. Thompson, USAF (ret.)
Major Raymond C. Heimbuch, USAF (ret.)
Colonel R. L. Upchurch, USMC (ret.)
Major Robert Taubert, USMC (ret.)
Captain William Burgett, USN (ret.)
Captain A. Jay Cristol, USN (ret.)
Commander Michael K. Bohn, USN (ret.)
Colonel Robert G. Certain, USAF (ret.)
Colonel William A. Verkest, USAF (ret.)
Lt. Colonel Henry Krawiec, USAF (ret.)
Lt. Colonel Hugo W. Matson, USA (ret.)
Colonel Harold B. Birch, USA (ret.)
Brigadier General Michael Wayne Hall, USA (ret.)
MORE INFORMATION
Military Books
Colonel Russell O. Fudge, USA (ret.).
Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Stockdell, USAF (ret.)
Major Robert V. Thompson, USAF (ret.)
Major Raymond C. Heimbuch, USAF (ret.)
Colonel R. L. Upchurch, USMC (ret.)
Major Robert Taubert, USMC (ret.)
Captain William Burgett, USN (ret.)
Captain A. Jay Cristol, USN (ret.)
Commander Michael K. Bohn, USN (ret.)
Colonel Robert G. Certain, USAF (ret.)
Colonel William A. Verkest, USAF (ret.)
Lt. Colonel Henry Krawiec, USAF (ret.)
Lt. Colonel Hugo W. Matson, USA (ret.)
Colonel Harold B. Birch, USA (ret.)
Brigadier General Michael Wayne Hall, USA (ret.)
MORE INFORMATION
Military Books
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
