By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - While many children are spending their spring break away from the schoolhouse on the couch watching television or playing video games, some spent part of their week off this year volunteering and giving back to their military community. More than 50 kids between the ages of 3 and 17 and about 20 adults spent the day today with the USO at Fort Belvoir, Va., putting together care packages for deployed military members.
"I'm so excited to be a part of this," said Caroline Daniels, an Army wife on Fort Belvoir who participated in her first care package operation today with her four children. "It's great for the kids to learn about what they can give and what they can do to support deployed soldiers. I think it's just a great way for us to say thank you and to help."
Daniels said her has been given an extraordinary amount of support over the past 20 years in the Army. Her husband, Army Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Daniels, is a paralegal here who deployed for the first time in support of Operation Desert Storm.
"The military really does a great job of bringing families closer together," she said. "USO is awesome, and it does so much for the families -- not just the deployed soldiers, but for the families that are left behind."
The USO of Metropolitan Washington and the Defense Department's Military Health System sponsored the event in celebration of the Month of the Military Child. And although the USO hosts such "care package parties" twice each month here, today was the first time children under the age of 12 have participated, Ron Wise, director of the USO Care Package Program, said.
"Today we are focusing on the military child, and they are sometimes forgotten during the time of war that we're in," Wise said. "What we want to do is give them an opportunity to come and give back to the troops and have a little fun in the process."
Normally, the care package parties are off-limits to children under 12. Wise explained that on average, a care package party will stuff anywhere from 10,000 to 12,000 packages. The constant hours of can be too intense for young children, and warehouse labor with forklifts and other equipment could be dangerous for them, he said.
"For young children, it's kind of hard to be moving around and standing for a long period of time," he said. "It can actually be really dangerous, and it took a lot of signatures and approvals in order to get this accomplished."
When the day started, the goal was to put together 500 care packages. But when the care package party ended, nearly 3,000 packages filled with toiletries, snacks and "thank you" cards were boxed up and ready to ship overseas, Wise said.
"The children are absolutely beautiful and motivated, dancing and singing," he said. "We're having a great time doing this."
Since the program started in 2003, the USO has shipped more than 1.5 million care packages to deployed troops serving all over the world, Wise said. Although inviting young children to participate won't happen very often, he added, it's definitely an event he and the USO would like to do again.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
President Salutes Former Prisoners of War
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - President Barack Obama today issued a proclamation marking Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, noting that American prisoners of war exemplify the courage and sacrifice that defines the nation's men and women in uniform. "These brave warriors have paid a massive share of the costs of freedom, and our nation will be forever in their debt," he said. "Today we honor all prisoners of war by recognizing the tremendous sacrifices made and the hardships endured by those who fight for our freedom.
"American prisoners of war have experienced extreme conditions across the world and many have made the ultimate sacrifice," Obama said. "Sixty-seven years ago, in the midst of World War II, nearly 12,000 Americans and 76,000 Filipinos were captured while defending positions on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. As prisoners of war, they endured the Bataan Death March, suffering starvation, torture, and unspeakable conditions. Thousands were randomly executed and many perished on this journey.
"During the Korean War, more than 1,600 Americans died under grave conditions at the Pyok Tong camp," he added. "In Vietnam's Hoa Lo Prison -- the infamous Hanoi Hilton -- Americans endured torture and other forms of inhumane treatment.
"There are countless tales of the bravery of American prisoners of war -- of the burdens borne, of the acts of heroism. These individuals have made great sacrifices and have demonstrated an enduring faith in themselves and in the United States," he said. "Their commitment calls out to all Americans to live up to our nation's highest ideals and to serve our fellow citizens with equal selflessness and honor. We will never forget their sacrifices. Their spirit of service will inspire the American people for generations to come."
April 9, 2009 - President Barack Obama today issued a proclamation marking Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, noting that American prisoners of war exemplify the courage and sacrifice that defines the nation's men and women in uniform. "These brave warriors have paid a massive share of the costs of freedom, and our nation will be forever in their debt," he said. "Today we honor all prisoners of war by recognizing the tremendous sacrifices made and the hardships endured by those who fight for our freedom.
"American prisoners of war have experienced extreme conditions across the world and many have made the ultimate sacrifice," Obama said. "Sixty-seven years ago, in the midst of World War II, nearly 12,000 Americans and 76,000 Filipinos were captured while defending positions on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. As prisoners of war, they endured the Bataan Death March, suffering starvation, torture, and unspeakable conditions. Thousands were randomly executed and many perished on this journey.
"During the Korean War, more than 1,600 Americans died under grave conditions at the Pyok Tong camp," he added. "In Vietnam's Hoa Lo Prison -- the infamous Hanoi Hilton -- Americans endured torture and other forms of inhumane treatment.
"There are countless tales of the bravery of American prisoners of war -- of the burdens borne, of the acts of heroism. These individuals have made great sacrifices and have demonstrated an enduring faith in themselves and in the United States," he said. "Their commitment calls out to all Americans to live up to our nation's highest ideals and to serve our fellow citizens with equal selflessness and honor. We will never forget their sacrifices. Their spirit of service will inspire the American people for generations to come."
Navy Crew Arrives to Assess Pirate Situation
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - Pirates still hold the captain of the Maersk Alabama on the waters off Somalia, but the Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge has arrived on the scene, a Defense Department spokesman said today. "There's intense interest in this, and I appreciate that, but I must ask that you appreciate the fact that this is an on-going and unfolding situation," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said to reporters at the Pentagon today. "For those reasons, I will not talk in any detail of what the military aspect of this may or may not be."
Somali pirates assaulted the American ship yesterday. They briefly took the vessel, but the 21-member crew took it back and captured one of the pirates in the process. News reports say the remaining pirates kidnapped the American captain of the ship. The American crew reportedly attempted a trade with the pirates, and the effort failed.
U.S. Navy assets have arrived in the vicinity and are assessing the situation, Whitman said. "This is something that more than the United States Defense Department is interested in working on," he said. Stopping piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden requires interagency and international responses, he said.
Pirate attacks in the region have spiked over the last few weeks. Part of this is because the pirates are responding to pressure placed on them by Task Force 151, a U.S. 5th Fleet unit combating piracy in the region, officials said. Also, officials added, improved weather in the region has allowed pirates to operate farther off shore. The Maersk Alabama was 300 miles off the coast when the pirates boarded.
Task Force 151 operates in a 1.1-million-square-mile region. "That is part of the challenge," Whitman said. "It is a large area and you can't be everywhere at once."
Previously, Whitman cited economic problems as the driving factor for Somali pirates. They live in a failed state, he explained, and piracy is a way to feed their families. While Somalia does have an al-Qaida presence, the ship hijackings do not appear to be part of the terror network, Whitman said.
Defense Department officials are in almost constant contact with officials aboard Maersk Alabama, Whitman said.
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - Pirates still hold the captain of the Maersk Alabama on the waters off Somalia, but the Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge has arrived on the scene, a Defense Department spokesman said today. "There's intense interest in this, and I appreciate that, but I must ask that you appreciate the fact that this is an on-going and unfolding situation," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said to reporters at the Pentagon today. "For those reasons, I will not talk in any detail of what the military aspect of this may or may not be."
Somali pirates assaulted the American ship yesterday. They briefly took the vessel, but the 21-member crew took it back and captured one of the pirates in the process. News reports say the remaining pirates kidnapped the American captain of the ship. The American crew reportedly attempted a trade with the pirates, and the effort failed.
U.S. Navy assets have arrived in the vicinity and are assessing the situation, Whitman said. "This is something that more than the United States Defense Department is interested in working on," he said. Stopping piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden requires interagency and international responses, he said.
Pirate attacks in the region have spiked over the last few weeks. Part of this is because the pirates are responding to pressure placed on them by Task Force 151, a U.S. 5th Fleet unit combating piracy in the region, officials said. Also, officials added, improved weather in the region has allowed pirates to operate farther off shore. The Maersk Alabama was 300 miles off the coast when the pirates boarded.
Task Force 151 operates in a 1.1-million-square-mile region. "That is part of the challenge," Whitman said. "It is a large area and you can't be everywhere at once."
Previously, Whitman cited economic problems as the driving factor for Somali pirates. They live in a failed state, he explained, and piracy is a way to feed their families. While Somalia does have an al-Qaida presence, the ship hijackings do not appear to be part of the terror network, Whitman said.
Defense Department officials are in almost constant contact with officials aboard Maersk Alabama, Whitman said.
Reading Program Reaches Out to Military Families
By Rob McIlvaine
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - Anyone from the Saturday morning cartoon generation knows that "reading is fundamental." Now, young military children will get their own version of that message through Reach Out and Read's new military pilot program. Through the program's military initiative, doctors and nurses at 20 military hospitals, including one in Germany, soon will receive training on how to promote early literacy for children. They also will be provided with free books to present to parents with children ages 6 months to 5 years when they bring their children in for wellness checkups.
"Reading aloud to a young child every day is a wonderful way to stimulate language," said Dr. Perri Klass, medical director of Reach Out and Read. "It helps children love books and reading, because they associate books with the parent's voice and with the pleasures of listening.
"That's the advice military doctors and nurses will be giving to the parents of their young patients at every checkup -- important advice for all parents to help their children learn language and enjoy books," she added.
Reading aloud not only helps children feel secure and loved, but also can help families face stressful situations, Klass said. That's especially true of military families, who often face deployment.
"I love to read and hope to instill a love of reading," said Air Force 1st Lt. Alice L. Shepard, a clinical pediatric nurse at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., and mother to an 8-month-old son. "Even before he was born we read to him, and some of the first things I bought when making his nursery were books."
Shepard, who is scheduled to deploy next year, said she is glad to know that in addition to Reach Out and Read's wide selection of "doctor-recommended" children's books, some titles have been chosen especially for military children. One, "While You Were Away," by Eileen Spinelli, was very comforting, she said.
"I read Spinelli's book and found it very touching. It brought tears to my eyes, because it was so accurate," Shpard said. "As a mother of a very young child, I worry that he will not remember who I am when I return. I think this book could give him a sense of what I am doing over there."
State coalition groups will visit the 20 hospitals to train doctors on how to counsel parents about the benefits of reading to their children, said Barbara Christine, program manager for Library Programs at the Army Family and Morale Welfare and Recreation Command.
Because Reach Out and Read has already researched the age-appropriateness of each book, the training is more about what interaction with a book is developmentally appropriate for each age group, Air Force Capt. (Dr.) Minh-Thu Le, a physician at Travis Air Force Base, explained.
"I ... encourage parents to try and not dictate how a child interacts with a book," Le said. "Not every child will sit still for you to be able to read a book cover to cover. A 6-month-old will be more interested in mouthing the book, which is appropriate. A 12-month-old may flip each page quickly before you can even tell them what is on the page. Let the child dictate how you read to them."
Reach Out and Read could have another significant impact on the more than 90,000 young military children it will reach worldwide.
"Kids love books and usually hate going to the doctor's office," Le said. "Hopefully, this program will enable them to associate coming here as a fun outing, as well as having the book remind them and their parents [of] the importance of getting their wellness visits done."
As a way of reinforcing everything the Reach Out and Read program is promoting, participating military bases also will create literacy-rich waiting rooms. These will come complete with child-size furniture and book cases, where Reach Out and Read-trained volunteers will model reading with the children while they wait for appointments.
Each child who participates in the Reach Out and Read program also will start kindergarten with a home library of up to seven books and the support of parents who understand the importance of reading.
Reach Out and Read was founded in 1989 at what is now Boston Medical Center. "Nurtured by the passionate and inspired efforts of many educators, doctors, volunteers, parents, corporations, foundations and politicians, ROR has grown significantly from merely providing books in pediatric waiting rooms, said Dr. Robert Needleman, the program's co-founder.
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - Anyone from the Saturday morning cartoon generation knows that "reading is fundamental." Now, young military children will get their own version of that message through Reach Out and Read's new military pilot program. Through the program's military initiative, doctors and nurses at 20 military hospitals, including one in Germany, soon will receive training on how to promote early literacy for children. They also will be provided with free books to present to parents with children ages 6 months to 5 years when they bring their children in for wellness checkups.
"Reading aloud to a young child every day is a wonderful way to stimulate language," said Dr. Perri Klass, medical director of Reach Out and Read. "It helps children love books and reading, because they associate books with the parent's voice and with the pleasures of listening.
"That's the advice military doctors and nurses will be giving to the parents of their young patients at every checkup -- important advice for all parents to help their children learn language and enjoy books," she added.
Reading aloud not only helps children feel secure and loved, but also can help families face stressful situations, Klass said. That's especially true of military families, who often face deployment.
"I love to read and hope to instill a love of reading," said Air Force 1st Lt. Alice L. Shepard, a clinical pediatric nurse at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., and mother to an 8-month-old son. "Even before he was born we read to him, and some of the first things I bought when making his nursery were books."
Shepard, who is scheduled to deploy next year, said she is glad to know that in addition to Reach Out and Read's wide selection of "doctor-recommended" children's books, some titles have been chosen especially for military children. One, "While You Were Away," by Eileen Spinelli, was very comforting, she said.
"I read Spinelli's book and found it very touching. It brought tears to my eyes, because it was so accurate," Shpard said. "As a mother of a very young child, I worry that he will not remember who I am when I return. I think this book could give him a sense of what I am doing over there."
State coalition groups will visit the 20 hospitals to train doctors on how to counsel parents about the benefits of reading to their children, said Barbara Christine, program manager for Library Programs at the Army Family and Morale Welfare and Recreation Command.
Because Reach Out and Read has already researched the age-appropriateness of each book, the training is more about what interaction with a book is developmentally appropriate for each age group, Air Force Capt. (Dr.) Minh-Thu Le, a physician at Travis Air Force Base, explained.
"I ... encourage parents to try and not dictate how a child interacts with a book," Le said. "Not every child will sit still for you to be able to read a book cover to cover. A 6-month-old will be more interested in mouthing the book, which is appropriate. A 12-month-old may flip each page quickly before you can even tell them what is on the page. Let the child dictate how you read to them."
Reach Out and Read could have another significant impact on the more than 90,000 young military children it will reach worldwide.
"Kids love books and usually hate going to the doctor's office," Le said. "Hopefully, this program will enable them to associate coming here as a fun outing, as well as having the book remind them and their parents [of] the importance of getting their wellness visits done."
As a way of reinforcing everything the Reach Out and Read program is promoting, participating military bases also will create literacy-rich waiting rooms. These will come complete with child-size furniture and book cases, where Reach Out and Read-trained volunteers will model reading with the children while they wait for appointments.
Each child who participates in the Reach Out and Read program also will start kindergarten with a home library of up to seven books and the support of parents who understand the importance of reading.
Reach Out and Read was founded in 1989 at what is now Boston Medical Center. "Nurtured by the passionate and inspired efforts of many educators, doctors, volunteers, parents, corporations, foundations and politicians, ROR has grown significantly from merely providing books in pediatric waiting rooms, said Dr. Robert Needleman, the program's co-founder.
National Guard Program Contributes to NATO's Expansion
By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - For NATO's two newest members, a National Guard program contributed to their April 1 accession into the alliance. Albania and Croatia have been members of the National Guard's State Partnership Program for more than a decade.
Along with other initiatives such as NATO's Partnership for Peace program, the National Guard's State Partnership Program helped the countries prepare for NATO membership, National Guard Bureau officials said.
Established in 1949 as a defense pact against the former Soviet Union and now 28 members strong, NATO celebrated its 60th anniversary April 4. A dozen countries founded NATO 60 years ago.
"We are very excited about your participation," President Barack Obama told representatives of the new member countries. "We are proud to have you as allies."
Croatia's ambassador to the United States recently met with Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau. They were joined by representatives from the Minnesota National Guard, Croatia's partner in the State Partnership Program.
"It's a fantastic relationship," McKinley said. "Minnesota/Croatia is a model program."
Air Force Brig. Gen. Timothy J. Cossalter, adjutant general for air for the Minnesota National Guard, agreed. "We're very proud of Croatia, and the effort that they've made," he said. "Croatia has really taken to the task of wanting to join NATO and doing politically and militarily those things that are essential."
During meetings in Croatia's capital of Zagreb between senior Croatian and National Guard leaders last year, Croatian military leaders credited the State Partnership Program with helping the country win its invitation to full NATO membership.
Albania is partnered with the New Jersey National Guard. During a December visit to the state, Albanian Defense Minister Gazmend Oketa said New Jersey provided critical assistance to help it reach its longstanding goal of NATO membership.
"The Albanian armed forces are proud of our achievements, and we are proud to say we were not alone," Oketa told the Newark Star-Ledger. "The Albanian armed forces welcomed your help – and your friendship."
Army Maj. Gen. Glenn K. Rieth, the state's adjutant general, said soldiers and airmen from New Jersey had watched the Albanian defense forces blossom in the 15 years of their SPP partnership.
"The quality of the Albanian soldier is top-tier," Reith said.
State Partnership Program activities include exchanges by high-level military and civilian leaders. Military-to-military contacts bring state National Guard members together with foreign troops. Military-to-civilian activities focus on homeland defense, homeland security and military support to civilian authorities, including disaster preparedness, emergency response and consequence management.
The partnerships can address a wide variety of shared security issues, including border security and migration, combat medical training, computer and financial crime, defeating improvised explosive devices, disaster response, humanitarian assistance, illegal drugs, military support to civilian authorities, peacekeeping operations, port security and weapons proliferation.
Civilian security exchanges often grow from the State Partnership Program, with increased contacts between U.S. and foreign businesses, educators, farmers, doctors, lawyers and scientists.
Partnerships are created through discussions among countries, defense ministers, the U.S. ambassador, regional combatant commanders, adjutants general, governors and the chief of the National Guard Bureau, who administers the program.
The State Partnership Program started in the Baltic region of Europe in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and focused on matching U.S. states with former Soviet satellite nations. The program later expanded to South and Central America. Central Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific and Africa came next.
No State Partnership Program relationship has ended and none has failed since its inception 16 years ago.
"We're up to 61 state partnerships now," McKinley said. The newest, Texas and Chile, partnered last month.
"In a time when Secretary [of Defense Robert M.] Gates talks about building partnership capacity, it's very important for these relationships to grow, to mature," McKinley said.
"As many of our states know who've been in partnerships for 10 or 15 years, it's a wonderful way to meet, to befriend and to become totally integrated with our foreign partners," McKinley said. "I commend all of our states, all of our adjutants general for their work in maintaining and sustaining their partnerships, and especially to the states that have taken on a second partnership.
That is very impressive to me," he continued, "to see that they're not only doing their jobs at home and fighting the war overseas but also maintaining these great alliances."
(Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill serves at the National Guard Bureau.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - For NATO's two newest members, a National Guard program contributed to their April 1 accession into the alliance. Albania and Croatia have been members of the National Guard's State Partnership Program for more than a decade.
Along with other initiatives such as NATO's Partnership for Peace program, the National Guard's State Partnership Program helped the countries prepare for NATO membership, National Guard Bureau officials said.
Established in 1949 as a defense pact against the former Soviet Union and now 28 members strong, NATO celebrated its 60th anniversary April 4. A dozen countries founded NATO 60 years ago.
"We are very excited about your participation," President Barack Obama told representatives of the new member countries. "We are proud to have you as allies."
Croatia's ambassador to the United States recently met with Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau. They were joined by representatives from the Minnesota National Guard, Croatia's partner in the State Partnership Program.
"It's a fantastic relationship," McKinley said. "Minnesota/Croatia is a model program."
Air Force Brig. Gen. Timothy J. Cossalter, adjutant general for air for the Minnesota National Guard, agreed. "We're very proud of Croatia, and the effort that they've made," he said. "Croatia has really taken to the task of wanting to join NATO and doing politically and militarily those things that are essential."
During meetings in Croatia's capital of Zagreb between senior Croatian and National Guard leaders last year, Croatian military leaders credited the State Partnership Program with helping the country win its invitation to full NATO membership.
Albania is partnered with the New Jersey National Guard. During a December visit to the state, Albanian Defense Minister Gazmend Oketa said New Jersey provided critical assistance to help it reach its longstanding goal of NATO membership.
"The Albanian armed forces are proud of our achievements, and we are proud to say we were not alone," Oketa told the Newark Star-Ledger. "The Albanian armed forces welcomed your help – and your friendship."
Army Maj. Gen. Glenn K. Rieth, the state's adjutant general, said soldiers and airmen from New Jersey had watched the Albanian defense forces blossom in the 15 years of their SPP partnership.
"The quality of the Albanian soldier is top-tier," Reith said.
State Partnership Program activities include exchanges by high-level military and civilian leaders. Military-to-military contacts bring state National Guard members together with foreign troops. Military-to-civilian activities focus on homeland defense, homeland security and military support to civilian authorities, including disaster preparedness, emergency response and consequence management.
The partnerships can address a wide variety of shared security issues, including border security and migration, combat medical training, computer and financial crime, defeating improvised explosive devices, disaster response, humanitarian assistance, illegal drugs, military support to civilian authorities, peacekeeping operations, port security and weapons proliferation.
Civilian security exchanges often grow from the State Partnership Program, with increased contacts between U.S. and foreign businesses, educators, farmers, doctors, lawyers and scientists.
Partnerships are created through discussions among countries, defense ministers, the U.S. ambassador, regional combatant commanders, adjutants general, governors and the chief of the National Guard Bureau, who administers the program.
The State Partnership Program started in the Baltic region of Europe in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and focused on matching U.S. states with former Soviet satellite nations. The program later expanded to South and Central America. Central Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific and Africa came next.
No State Partnership Program relationship has ended and none has failed since its inception 16 years ago.
"We're up to 61 state partnerships now," McKinley said. The newest, Texas and Chile, partnered last month.
"In a time when Secretary [of Defense Robert M.] Gates talks about building partnership capacity, it's very important for these relationships to grow, to mature," McKinley said.
"As many of our states know who've been in partnerships for 10 or 15 years, it's a wonderful way to meet, to befriend and to become totally integrated with our foreign partners," McKinley said. "I commend all of our states, all of our adjutants general for their work in maintaining and sustaining their partnerships, and especially to the states that have taken on a second partnership.
That is very impressive to me," he continued, "to see that they're not only doing their jobs at home and fighting the war overseas but also maintaining these great alliances."
(Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill serves at the National Guard Bureau.)
Ceremony to Recognize Vets Not Eligible for Vietnam Wall Inclusion
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - One-hundred twenty-three American heroes from the Vietnam War era will be honored posthumously this month during the annual In Memory Day ceremony, according to Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. "In Memory Day" was created to pay tribute to the men and women who died prematurely from noncombat injuries and emotional suffering caused directly by the Vietnam War, but who are not eligible to have their names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
A list of the honorees and their hometowns is available at http://www.vvmf.org/index.cfm?SectionID=774.
The 11th annual In Memory Day ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. April 20 at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial here. Nearly 1,000 family members, friends and fellow veterans are expected to visit the nation's capital to participate in this year's event, sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
"In Memory Day allows The Wall to do what it does best: provide a healing environment for family members and friends," Scruggs said. "It also allows all of us to pay tribute to these brave Americans who served and sacrificed for their country."
Among the speakers at this year's ceremony will be Richard Schneider, executive director for government affairs for the Non Commissioned Officers Association of the USA, the sponsor of the event. Navy veteran Chuck Price of Austin, Colo., will perform "The Unsung Heroes," a song about honoring and remembering Vietnam veterans.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial bears the names of 58,260 men and women who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War.
"The Department of Defense developed specific parameters that allow only the names of servicemembers who died of wounds suffered in combat zones to be added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial," Scruggs said. "The In Memory program recognizes those men and women who have died prematurely as a result of the Vietnam War, but who do not meet the criteria. Many of their deaths are a result of Agent Orange exposure and emotional wounds that never healed."
During the ceremony, family members will read aloud their loved ones' names in chronological order by date of death. Following the ceremony, participants will lay tributes at the base of The Wall corresponding to the honorees' dates of service in Vietnam, so that these Vietnam veterans come to rest near those comrades with whom they served. With the addition of this year's honorees, more than 1,800 people will be honored in the In Memory Honor Roll.
Established in 1979, the nonprofit Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is authorized by Congress to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Since then, the Memorial Fund has evolved into an international nongovernmental organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of The Wall, promoting healing and educating about the impact of the Vietnam War.
Its initiatives include educational programs, a traveling Wall replica that honors veterans and a humanitarian and land mine-removal program in Vietnam. The fund also is building The Education Center at The Wall, an underground educational facility near the memorial.
April 9, 2009 - One-hundred twenty-three American heroes from the Vietnam War era will be honored posthumously this month during the annual In Memory Day ceremony, according to Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. "In Memory Day" was created to pay tribute to the men and women who died prematurely from noncombat injuries and emotional suffering caused directly by the Vietnam War, but who are not eligible to have their names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
A list of the honorees and their hometowns is available at http://www.vvmf.org/index.cfm?SectionID=774.
The 11th annual In Memory Day ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. April 20 at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial here. Nearly 1,000 family members, friends and fellow veterans are expected to visit the nation's capital to participate in this year's event, sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
"In Memory Day allows The Wall to do what it does best: provide a healing environment for family members and friends," Scruggs said. "It also allows all of us to pay tribute to these brave Americans who served and sacrificed for their country."
Among the speakers at this year's ceremony will be Richard Schneider, executive director for government affairs for the Non Commissioned Officers Association of the USA, the sponsor of the event. Navy veteran Chuck Price of Austin, Colo., will perform "The Unsung Heroes," a song about honoring and remembering Vietnam veterans.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial bears the names of 58,260 men and women who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War.
"The Department of Defense developed specific parameters that allow only the names of servicemembers who died of wounds suffered in combat zones to be added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial," Scruggs said. "The In Memory program recognizes those men and women who have died prematurely as a result of the Vietnam War, but who do not meet the criteria. Many of their deaths are a result of Agent Orange exposure and emotional wounds that never healed."
During the ceremony, family members will read aloud their loved ones' names in chronological order by date of death. Following the ceremony, participants will lay tributes at the base of The Wall corresponding to the honorees' dates of service in Vietnam, so that these Vietnam veterans come to rest near those comrades with whom they served. With the addition of this year's honorees, more than 1,800 people will be honored in the In Memory Honor Roll.
Established in 1979, the nonprofit Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is authorized by Congress to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Since then, the Memorial Fund has evolved into an international nongovernmental organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of The Wall, promoting healing and educating about the impact of the Vietnam War.
Its initiatives include educational programs, a traveling Wall replica that honors veterans and a humanitarian and land mine-removal program in Vietnam. The fund also is building The Education Center at The Wall, an underground educational facility near the memorial.
Regional Challenges Need Regional Solutions, Mullen Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - Regional challenges require regional solutions, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in New Delhi, India, yesterday. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, discussed Obama's Afghan strategy with leaders in those countries and then briefed Indian leaders on the discussions. The admiral and his party returned to Washington today.
During a news conference at the American Embassy in New Delhi, Holbrooke discussed the need for unity.
"For the first time since partition, India, Pakistan and the United States face a common threat, a common challenge, and we have a common task," he said.
"There's a great deal of history in this region between Afghanistan and Pakistan and Pakistan and India, and we respect that history," the ambassador said. Still the countries must work together to defeat a common threat, he said.
Al-Qaida and the Taliban are a common threat in the region. Extremists operate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and have launched attacks in India. Militants trained and equipped by extremists in Pakistan launched the Mumbai attack in November. "Now that we face a common threat, we must work together," Holbrooke said.
"In Pakistan, we talked to the Pakistani leadership about Afghanistan, about their own political situation, about economic problems and other issues," Holbrooke said. "We were not there to negotiate Pakistani-Indian relations."
Mullen said one of the reasons the U.S. civilian-military team that he and Holbrooke represent comes to India is to ensure they see the region through Indian eyes. "We seek that counsel in every engagement and to listen and learn," Mullen said.
Holbrooke said the purpose of the visit to India was not to ask Indian leaders to do anything, but rather to inform them of the discussions and to get their views. "We did not come here with any requests," Holbrooke said.
The threats posed by extremists in the region threaten the national security interests of all three countries, Holbrooke said. Obama is committed to combating the threat, but understands the process will be difficult, and will require cooperation, he added.
"We can't settle issues like Afghanistan and many other issues without India's full involvement and expression of views," Holbrooke said.
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - Regional challenges require regional solutions, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in New Delhi, India, yesterday. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, discussed Obama's Afghan strategy with leaders in those countries and then briefed Indian leaders on the discussions. The admiral and his party returned to Washington today.
During a news conference at the American Embassy in New Delhi, Holbrooke discussed the need for unity.
"For the first time since partition, India, Pakistan and the United States face a common threat, a common challenge, and we have a common task," he said.
"There's a great deal of history in this region between Afghanistan and Pakistan and Pakistan and India, and we respect that history," the ambassador said. Still the countries must work together to defeat a common threat, he said.
Al-Qaida and the Taliban are a common threat in the region. Extremists operate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and have launched attacks in India. Militants trained and equipped by extremists in Pakistan launched the Mumbai attack in November. "Now that we face a common threat, we must work together," Holbrooke said.
"In Pakistan, we talked to the Pakistani leadership about Afghanistan, about their own political situation, about economic problems and other issues," Holbrooke said. "We were not there to negotiate Pakistani-Indian relations."
Mullen said one of the reasons the U.S. civilian-military team that he and Holbrooke represent comes to India is to ensure they see the region through Indian eyes. "We seek that counsel in every engagement and to listen and learn," Mullen said.
Holbrooke said the purpose of the visit to India was not to ask Indian leaders to do anything, but rather to inform them of the discussions and to get their views. "We did not come here with any requests," Holbrooke said.
The threats posed by extremists in the region threaten the national security interests of all three countries, Holbrooke said. Obama is committed to combating the threat, but understands the process will be difficult, and will require cooperation, he added.
"We can't settle issues like Afghanistan and many other issues without India's full involvement and expression of views," Holbrooke said.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
MILITARY CONTRACTS April 8, 2009
ARMY
Harris Corp., RF Communications Division, Rochester, N.Y., was awarded on Apr. 3, 2009, a $149,732,819 firm fixed price contract for AN/PRC-117 tactical satellite radio systems, associated spare parts, and support services. Work is to be performed in Rochester, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of Apr. 3, 2013. Twenty seven sole source bids were solicited and one bid received. CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-09-K-K002).
Hansel Phelps Construction Co., Phoenix, Ariz., was awarded on Apr. 3, 2009, a $47,615,000 firm fixed price contract to construct a new three-story replacement medical/dental clinic totaling approximate 171,000 square feet, and incidental related work. Work is to be performed in Midwest City, Okla., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 09, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and six bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Tulsa, Okla., is the contracting activity (W912BV-09-C-2001).
Hansel Phelps Construction Co., Phoenix, Ariz., was awarded on Apr. 3, 2009, a $ $47,615,000 firm fixed price contract to construct a new three-story replacement medical/dental clinic totaling approximate 171,000 square feet, and incidental related work. Work is to be performed in Midwest City, Okla., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 09, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and six bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Tulsa, Okla., is the contracting activity (W912BV-09-C-2001).
Kidde Dual Spectrum, Goleta, Calif., was awarded on Apr. 2, 2009, a $35,226,899 firm fixed price contract to procure an additional 8,617 safety enhancement retrofit kits to the automatic fire extinguisher system/fire suppression system that is equipped on fielded up-armored high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle. Work is to be performed in Wilson, N.C., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 23, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid received. U.S. Army Tacom LCMC, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-06-D-0116).
Alliant Ammunition and Powder Co., LLC, Redford, Va., was awarded on Mar. 30, 2009, an $ 18,490,700 firm fixed price contract to support operations at Redford Army Ammunition Plant. Work is to be performed in Redford, Va., with an estimated completion date of Mar. 31, 2010. One bid solicited and one bid received. HQ, Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (DAAA09-03-E-0001).
Joint Tech Services Inc., Kailua, Hawaii was awarded on Apr. 1, 2009, a $7,568,128 firm-fixed-price contract for four months of technical consulting/field support for Iraq defense network. Work is to be performed in 41 sites in Iraq with an estimated completion date of Jul. 31, 2009. One sole source bid was solicited and one bid received. CECOM Acquisitions Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity.
Danahee Tool Group, Sparks, Md., was awarded on Apr. 06, 2009, a $6,649,109 firm fixed price contract for TK2171 Optical Tool and equipment kits. Work is to be perfumed in Sparks, Md., with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2014. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and one bids received. Tacom-LCMC-Rock Island, Ill is the contracting activity (DAAE20-03-D-0086).
Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Va., was awarded on Apr. 3, 2009, a $6,200,000 labor hour any fixed price task order contract to provide support for casualty support and survivor outreach services. Work is to be performed in Alexandria, Va., and Fort Knox, Ky., with an estimated completion date Mar. 13, 2014. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and two bids received. Contracting Center Excellence, Alexandria Va., is the contacting activity (W91WAW-09-C-59).
NAVY
Force Protection Industries, Inc., Ladson, S.C., is being awarded a $158,113,017 firm fixed priced delivery order #0012 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5031) for the purchase of independent suspension kits for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles. Work will be performed in, OIF/OEF areas of responsibilities, and various locations within the United States, and work is expected to be completed by Dec. 30, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Applied Signal Technology, Inc., Torrance, Calif., is being awarded $23,834,009 to perform a five year follow on effort to previously awarded contract N00014-05-C-0476, to support the Submarine Security & Technology Program to assess and refine existing and potential threat technologies. Work will be performed in Torrance, Calif., and is expected to be completed Apr. 2014. Contract funds will not expire at end of current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured under ONR BAA 08-021, dated Sept. 16, 2008. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (N00014-09-C-0355).
AIR FORCE
Today the Air Force is awarding an Iindefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, cost plus fixed fee, cost sharing, and cost reimbursement contract to EO&T-Boeing Research and Technology, Seattle, Washington not to exceed $30,000,000. This action will provide support for the Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engines (VAATE) program. The VAATE program is a joint DoD/NASA/DOE/Industry effort to develop revolutionary and innovative technologies by the 2017 timeframe that will provide a 10X increase in turbo-propulsion affordability over the year 2000 state-of-the-art technology. At this time, $110,776 has been obligated. Det. 1 AFRL/PKPB, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-2928; Task Order 0001).
Today the Air Force is modifying a fixed price award fee contract with McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Boeing Co., Long Beach, Calif. for an estimated $10,211,900. This action is based on performance on the Globemaster III sustainment Partnership (GSP) program. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 516 AESG/PKS, Wright-Patterson Air force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8614-04-C-2004, P000286).
Harris Corp., RF Communications Division, Rochester, N.Y., was awarded on Apr. 3, 2009, a $149,732,819 firm fixed price contract for AN/PRC-117 tactical satellite radio systems, associated spare parts, and support services. Work is to be performed in Rochester, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of Apr. 3, 2013. Twenty seven sole source bids were solicited and one bid received. CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-09-K-K002).
Hansel Phelps Construction Co., Phoenix, Ariz., was awarded on Apr. 3, 2009, a $47,615,000 firm fixed price contract to construct a new three-story replacement medical/dental clinic totaling approximate 171,000 square feet, and incidental related work. Work is to be performed in Midwest City, Okla., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 09, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and six bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Tulsa, Okla., is the contracting activity (W912BV-09-C-2001).
Hansel Phelps Construction Co., Phoenix, Ariz., was awarded on Apr. 3, 2009, a $ $47,615,000 firm fixed price contract to construct a new three-story replacement medical/dental clinic totaling approximate 171,000 square feet, and incidental related work. Work is to be performed in Midwest City, Okla., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 09, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and six bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Tulsa, Okla., is the contracting activity (W912BV-09-C-2001).
Kidde Dual Spectrum, Goleta, Calif., was awarded on Apr. 2, 2009, a $35,226,899 firm fixed price contract to procure an additional 8,617 safety enhancement retrofit kits to the automatic fire extinguisher system/fire suppression system that is equipped on fielded up-armored high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle. Work is to be performed in Wilson, N.C., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 23, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid received. U.S. Army Tacom LCMC, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-06-D-0116).
Alliant Ammunition and Powder Co., LLC, Redford, Va., was awarded on Mar. 30, 2009, an $ 18,490,700 firm fixed price contract to support operations at Redford Army Ammunition Plant. Work is to be performed in Redford, Va., with an estimated completion date of Mar. 31, 2010. One bid solicited and one bid received. HQ, Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (DAAA09-03-E-0001).
Joint Tech Services Inc., Kailua, Hawaii was awarded on Apr. 1, 2009, a $7,568,128 firm-fixed-price contract for four months of technical consulting/field support for Iraq defense network. Work is to be performed in 41 sites in Iraq with an estimated completion date of Jul. 31, 2009. One sole source bid was solicited and one bid received. CECOM Acquisitions Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity.
Danahee Tool Group, Sparks, Md., was awarded on Apr. 06, 2009, a $6,649,109 firm fixed price contract for TK2171 Optical Tool and equipment kits. Work is to be perfumed in Sparks, Md., with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2014. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and one bids received. Tacom-LCMC-Rock Island, Ill is the contracting activity (DAAE20-03-D-0086).
Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Va., was awarded on Apr. 3, 2009, a $6,200,000 labor hour any fixed price task order contract to provide support for casualty support and survivor outreach services. Work is to be performed in Alexandria, Va., and Fort Knox, Ky., with an estimated completion date Mar. 13, 2014. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and two bids received. Contracting Center Excellence, Alexandria Va., is the contacting activity (W91WAW-09-C-59).
NAVY
Force Protection Industries, Inc., Ladson, S.C., is being awarded a $158,113,017 firm fixed priced delivery order #0012 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5031) for the purchase of independent suspension kits for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles. Work will be performed in, OIF/OEF areas of responsibilities, and various locations within the United States, and work is expected to be completed by Dec. 30, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Applied Signal Technology, Inc., Torrance, Calif., is being awarded $23,834,009 to perform a five year follow on effort to previously awarded contract N00014-05-C-0476, to support the Submarine Security & Technology Program to assess and refine existing and potential threat technologies. Work will be performed in Torrance, Calif., and is expected to be completed Apr. 2014. Contract funds will not expire at end of current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured under ONR BAA 08-021, dated Sept. 16, 2008. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (N00014-09-C-0355).
AIR FORCE
Today the Air Force is awarding an Iindefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, cost plus fixed fee, cost sharing, and cost reimbursement contract to EO&T-Boeing Research and Technology, Seattle, Washington not to exceed $30,000,000. This action will provide support for the Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engines (VAATE) program. The VAATE program is a joint DoD/NASA/DOE/Industry effort to develop revolutionary and innovative technologies by the 2017 timeframe that will provide a 10X increase in turbo-propulsion affordability over the year 2000 state-of-the-art technology. At this time, $110,776 has been obligated. Det. 1 AFRL/PKPB, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-2928; Task Order 0001).
Today the Air Force is modifying a fixed price award fee contract with McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Boeing Co., Long Beach, Calif. for an estimated $10,211,900. This action is based on performance on the Globemaster III sustainment Partnership (GSP) program. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 516 AESG/PKS, Wright-Patterson Air force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8614-04-C-2004, P000286).
Gates, Lebanese Defense Minister Explore Expanding Bilateral Relationship
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates hosted Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr today at the Pentagon as the two leaders assessed the way ahead in the two countries' military-to-military relationship and U.S. support to the democratically elected Lebanese government. The visit, two months after Lebanese Gen. Jean Kahwaji became the first Lebanese armed forces commander to visit the United States, underscores U.S. efforts to meet the needs and requests of Lebanon's military, which are considered critical to stability in Lebanon and the region, a senior defense official said.
"The Defense Department sees the Lebanese armed forces as a critical institution to a free and independent and sovereign Lebanon," Colin Kahl, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle East policy, told the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service.
The United States isn't alone in internationally recognizing the importance of strengthening Lebanon's state institutions, including its military. "U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 basically enshrines the sense of the international community that a free and independent Lebanon that exercises sovereignty over all its territory is something we share as an interest, not just in the region, but more broadly," Kahl said.
But Lebanon has long faced threats from outside as well as within its borders, he said. Sunni and Shiite extremist groups operate within the country. Hezbollah's heavily armed militia provides a direct challenge to Lebanon's sovereignty.
"Lebanon faces a whole array of challenges," Kahl said. "But both in terms of their international and external relations, we see the Lebanese armed forces as playing an important stabilizing and moderating influence."
Toward helping it fulfill that role, the United States has provided more than $410 million in military assistance to Lebanon since 2006. That support has included Humvees, trucks, M-198 howitzer artillery pieces, M-4 and M-16 rifles, body armor vests, MK-19 grenade launchers, shoulder-fired rockets, spare helicopter parts and millions of ammunition rounds.
More recently, the Defense Department has been working with the Lebanese government to expedite delivery of Cessna close-air-support aircraft with precision Hellfire missiles and Raven unmanned aerial vehicle systems. The United States is also working to transfer M60 Abrams tanks to the Lebanese military from other countries in the region, Kahl said.
These systems, expected to be delivered by June, will strengthen the Lebanese armed forces' ability to conduct counterterrorism missions, protect its borders, maintain law and order and confront threats to its internal security, he said.
Kahl called this capability a hallmark of a sovereign state, and critical to stability in Lebanon and the region.
"In Lebanon, this is particularly important where you have a number of groups outside the state that attempt to have militias or engage in forceful activities," he said. "We really think standing up the Lebanese armed forces is an important symbol, and actually a material indication of Lebanon's sovereignty."
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates hosted Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr today at the Pentagon as the two leaders assessed the way ahead in the two countries' military-to-military relationship and U.S. support to the democratically elected Lebanese government. The visit, two months after Lebanese Gen. Jean Kahwaji became the first Lebanese armed forces commander to visit the United States, underscores U.S. efforts to meet the needs and requests of Lebanon's military, which are considered critical to stability in Lebanon and the region, a senior defense official said.
"The Defense Department sees the Lebanese armed forces as a critical institution to a free and independent and sovereign Lebanon," Colin Kahl, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle East policy, told the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service.
The United States isn't alone in internationally recognizing the importance of strengthening Lebanon's state institutions, including its military. "U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 basically enshrines the sense of the international community that a free and independent Lebanon that exercises sovereignty over all its territory is something we share as an interest, not just in the region, but more broadly," Kahl said.
But Lebanon has long faced threats from outside as well as within its borders, he said. Sunni and Shiite extremist groups operate within the country. Hezbollah's heavily armed militia provides a direct challenge to Lebanon's sovereignty.
"Lebanon faces a whole array of challenges," Kahl said. "But both in terms of their international and external relations, we see the Lebanese armed forces as playing an important stabilizing and moderating influence."
Toward helping it fulfill that role, the United States has provided more than $410 million in military assistance to Lebanon since 2006. That support has included Humvees, trucks, M-198 howitzer artillery pieces, M-4 and M-16 rifles, body armor vests, MK-19 grenade launchers, shoulder-fired rockets, spare helicopter parts and millions of ammunition rounds.
More recently, the Defense Department has been working with the Lebanese government to expedite delivery of Cessna close-air-support aircraft with precision Hellfire missiles and Raven unmanned aerial vehicle systems. The United States is also working to transfer M60 Abrams tanks to the Lebanese military from other countries in the region, Kahl said.
These systems, expected to be delivered by June, will strengthen the Lebanese armed forces' ability to conduct counterterrorism missions, protect its borders, maintain law and order and confront threats to its internal security, he said.
Kahl called this capability a hallmark of a sovereign state, and critical to stability in Lebanon and the region.
"In Lebanon, this is particularly important where you have a number of groups outside the state that attempt to have militias or engage in forceful activities," he said. "We really think standing up the Lebanese armed forces is an important symbol, and actually a material indication of Lebanon's sovereignty."
Defense Schools Earn A's, B's on Early Survey Results
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - Preliminary results of the Department of Defense Education Activity's months-long customer-satisfaction survey of military parents or guardians and students have been announced. "Because we just closed it, we don't have all the details of it yet," said Shirley A. Miles, director of DoDEA. "We'll be doing that within the next few weeks, question by question, section by section.
"I'm anxiously looking forward to looking at the results and comparing them to what they were from two years ago," she added.
About 18,000, or 25 percent, of all parents, guardians or sponsors participated in the survey, which is conducted every two years. That is up slightly from the last survey, in which 23 percent of parents and guardians participated. Student participation stayed level at 75 percent of students in the 4th through 12th grades.
Overall, DoDEA schools received an A or B grade from both sponsors and students. The survey showed 74 percent of participating sponsors were satisfied with the education their children were receiving through DoDEA schools. Overall student satisfaction was at 72 percent.
"I'm pleased that parents are, for the most part, pleased with the education their children are getting," Miles said. "We certainly appreciate their input."
Miles said she'd also like parents to know that DoDEA is focused on improving, and that officials are aware the organization sometimes lacks accountability. "That needs to be shored up, and we will do that," she said.
Changes resulting from suggestions made by task forces convened to address issues the last survey raised are beginning to be implemented. Task forces soon will convene to address issues discovered through the just-concluded survey, Miles said.
Once a task forces is formed, Miles explained, it takes about a year for its recommendations to take shape. "If there are any areas that are, of course, glaring, we address them right away," she added. "We don't wait for a task force to do that."
DoDEA officials are prepared to look at a range of issues, just as they did with the last survey, Miles said. This survey asked sponsors and students about their overall satisfaction with education, educational assessments, technology, student support and communications.
Though the survey results available so far are preliminary, Miles said, two areas will get attention from task force groups.
"I can tell you two areas we're going to focus in on next year already: block scheduling ... and seminar classes [at the high school level]," she said.
Block schedules consist of alternating class schedules of 90-minute classes. Seminar classes also are 90-minute sessions during the school week.
"It's a chunk of time, and I would like to know how efficiently that time is used," Miles said.
It will be a several weeks before all of the data from DoDEA's three areas -- Europe, the Pacific and stateside schools -- will be available, Miles said. When that's finished, task forces will begin analyzing the data in earnest.
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - Preliminary results of the Department of Defense Education Activity's months-long customer-satisfaction survey of military parents or guardians and students have been announced. "Because we just closed it, we don't have all the details of it yet," said Shirley A. Miles, director of DoDEA. "We'll be doing that within the next few weeks, question by question, section by section.
"I'm anxiously looking forward to looking at the results and comparing them to what they were from two years ago," she added.
About 18,000, or 25 percent, of all parents, guardians or sponsors participated in the survey, which is conducted every two years. That is up slightly from the last survey, in which 23 percent of parents and guardians participated. Student participation stayed level at 75 percent of students in the 4th through 12th grades.
Overall, DoDEA schools received an A or B grade from both sponsors and students. The survey showed 74 percent of participating sponsors were satisfied with the education their children were receiving through DoDEA schools. Overall student satisfaction was at 72 percent.
"I'm pleased that parents are, for the most part, pleased with the education their children are getting," Miles said. "We certainly appreciate their input."
Miles said she'd also like parents to know that DoDEA is focused on improving, and that officials are aware the organization sometimes lacks accountability. "That needs to be shored up, and we will do that," she said.
Changes resulting from suggestions made by task forces convened to address issues the last survey raised are beginning to be implemented. Task forces soon will convene to address issues discovered through the just-concluded survey, Miles said.
Once a task forces is formed, Miles explained, it takes about a year for its recommendations to take shape. "If there are any areas that are, of course, glaring, we address them right away," she added. "We don't wait for a task force to do that."
DoDEA officials are prepared to look at a range of issues, just as they did with the last survey, Miles said. This survey asked sponsors and students about their overall satisfaction with education, educational assessments, technology, student support and communications.
Though the survey results available so far are preliminary, Miles said, two areas will get attention from task force groups.
"I can tell you two areas we're going to focus in on next year already: block scheduling ... and seminar classes [at the high school level]," she said.
Block schedules consist of alternating class schedules of 90-minute classes. Seminar classes also are 90-minute sessions during the school week.
"It's a chunk of time, and I would like to know how efficiently that time is used," Miles said.
It will be a several weeks before all of the data from DoDEA's three areas -- Europe, the Pacific and stateside schools -- will be available, Miles said. When that's finished, task forces will begin analyzing the data in earnest.
Families of Missing Find Comfort, New Information at Briefings
By Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Chlosta
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - More than 120 people whose family members never returned from military service gathered here recently for an update from officials of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office. "A bright orange flash in the sky," James P. McGarvey said as he described a pilot's report of how his father, Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. James M. McGarvey, went missing during a bombing run off the northeastern coast of Vietnam on April 17, 1967.
A pilot reported from eight miles away that he saw an orange flash, but he didn't think it was an airplane, McGarvey said.
McGarvey and his wife, Alice, were among at least 122 people who gathered at a conference center here March 28 to take part in a Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office family update briefing. Their search for McGarvey's father was among 71 cases represented: 32 from the Korean War, 19 from the Vietnam War, 17 from World War II and three from the Cold War.
The office conducts briefings for family members of Americans missing from the nation's past conflicts near major U.S. metropolitan areas about eight times a year. Senior personnel from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, known as JPAC, are featured speakers.
"We have family update briefs to stay connected with the families so they know that the government is still interested in their cases," Ambassador Charles Ray, deputy assistant secretary of defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs, said. "A second reason is [to have] a venue to tell not only the families, but [also] the wider public that we as a government keep our promise to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that their sacrifices won't be forgotten."
"For JPAC, it keeps the families' plight in our face," Steve Thompson, the command's external affairs officer, said. "A lot of family members come to every meeting."
Families of servicemembers missing in Southeast Asia have been coming for years, and they know their cases well, Thompson said. But more and more attendees are relatives of Korean War MIAs, and a lot are first-timers, which Thompson said is an "indicator that more and more folks are learning about what we do."
During the meetings, family members attend separate sessions tailored to the conflict in which their loved ones were lost.
"You know that time is our greatest enemy," Johnie Webb, JPAC's deputy to the commander for public relations and legislative affairs, said to the family members of MIAs from the Korean War. Webb updated the relatives on JPAC's operations in their ongoing searches for MIAs and the challenges they face.
"Every day that passes, witnesses that could lead us to burial sites and crash sites are dying, sites are being scavenged, sites are being lost because of ... land reformation [or] development. So time is our biggest enemy, without a doubt," Webb said.
Later, during a Korean War brief, Webb cited examples of the extent that JPAC investigation teams went to in South Korea last year to get leads on missing Americans.
"Witnesses are important, especially in this type of warfare with a lot of ground losses," Webb said. "Our investigation team went in and knocked on ... door[s] to talk to 403 individuals. Out of those 403 individuals, 11 had information that might be related to American losses. As a result of that, three sites were added to our excavation list; that is, we believe Americans are there. We need to go excavate the site."
In another Korean War mission, Webb said, a team talked to more than 1,700 people. Of those, team members believe 40 may have information about missing Americans. Two more excavation sites were added to the list because of those interviews, he said.
During breaks throughout the day, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory personnel swabbed the inside of several attendees' cheeks to get DNA family reference samples. Lab analysts can use the samples to match remains recovered in the future or current unidentified remains stored in JPAC's lab. They also can use the DNA to exclude a person from group or comingled remains.
"This is really the whole thing that makes the IDs for us," Chris Johnson, a DNA analyst, said. "Without these family reference samples, we have nothing else in these situations, sometimes, to make an ID for these families."
One family member who had her cheek swabbed, Amy L. Goyne, said she found the meeting "very comforting." Goyne is the daughter of Air Force pilot Capt. John S. Walmsley Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient, who was killed during a mission over North Korea during the Korean War.
"They're very informative, and they make you feel like you're important, Goyne said. "It makes you feel like you're part of a family, because that door is still open."
Goyne said she attended to find out what progress is being made on her father's case, which has been limited because JPAC is not currently allowed into North Korea.
"It is truly a global mission," Webb said, during his World War II family update. "We travel all over the world doing this."
JPAC has conducted or planned for 39 recovery missions, 13 investigation missions and three underwater investigation missions in the fiscal year that runs through September. JPAC identifies about 70 MIAs per year.
Sometimes people think that the U.S. government doesn't care, Alice McGarvey said. "I think today shows that is far from the truth. You can hear the sincerity in [the speakers'] voices."
McGarvey was 6 years old when his father's plane went down.
"I remember him," he said. "I can remember how he was towards my sisters. He was just goofy. I thought about [how] we would bury him and then [we'd have] someplace to take our kids and say, 'This is your grandfather.'"
"You just don't forget," Alice McGarvey said.
The McGarveys said they're going to review the information they were given, formulate more questions, and attend the annual DPMO Southeast Asia Government Brief scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., in July.
Tears streamed down Alice McGarvey's face as her husband explained why it is so important to him that his father's remains are returned home.
"Just to know he is back where he should be, it would give final closure," McGarvey said.
(Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Chlosta serves in the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command public affairs office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - More than 120 people whose family members never returned from military service gathered here recently for an update from officials of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office. "A bright orange flash in the sky," James P. McGarvey said as he described a pilot's report of how his father, Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. James M. McGarvey, went missing during a bombing run off the northeastern coast of Vietnam on April 17, 1967.
A pilot reported from eight miles away that he saw an orange flash, but he didn't think it was an airplane, McGarvey said.
McGarvey and his wife, Alice, were among at least 122 people who gathered at a conference center here March 28 to take part in a Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office family update briefing. Their search for McGarvey's father was among 71 cases represented: 32 from the Korean War, 19 from the Vietnam War, 17 from World War II and three from the Cold War.
The office conducts briefings for family members of Americans missing from the nation's past conflicts near major U.S. metropolitan areas about eight times a year. Senior personnel from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, known as JPAC, are featured speakers.
"We have family update briefs to stay connected with the families so they know that the government is still interested in their cases," Ambassador Charles Ray, deputy assistant secretary of defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs, said. "A second reason is [to have] a venue to tell not only the families, but [also] the wider public that we as a government keep our promise to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that their sacrifices won't be forgotten."
"For JPAC, it keeps the families' plight in our face," Steve Thompson, the command's external affairs officer, said. "A lot of family members come to every meeting."
Families of servicemembers missing in Southeast Asia have been coming for years, and they know their cases well, Thompson said. But more and more attendees are relatives of Korean War MIAs, and a lot are first-timers, which Thompson said is an "indicator that more and more folks are learning about what we do."
During the meetings, family members attend separate sessions tailored to the conflict in which their loved ones were lost.
"You know that time is our greatest enemy," Johnie Webb, JPAC's deputy to the commander for public relations and legislative affairs, said to the family members of MIAs from the Korean War. Webb updated the relatives on JPAC's operations in their ongoing searches for MIAs and the challenges they face.
"Every day that passes, witnesses that could lead us to burial sites and crash sites are dying, sites are being scavenged, sites are being lost because of ... land reformation [or] development. So time is our biggest enemy, without a doubt," Webb said.
Later, during a Korean War brief, Webb cited examples of the extent that JPAC investigation teams went to in South Korea last year to get leads on missing Americans.
"Witnesses are important, especially in this type of warfare with a lot of ground losses," Webb said. "Our investigation team went in and knocked on ... door[s] to talk to 403 individuals. Out of those 403 individuals, 11 had information that might be related to American losses. As a result of that, three sites were added to our excavation list; that is, we believe Americans are there. We need to go excavate the site."
In another Korean War mission, Webb said, a team talked to more than 1,700 people. Of those, team members believe 40 may have information about missing Americans. Two more excavation sites were added to the list because of those interviews, he said.
During breaks throughout the day, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory personnel swabbed the inside of several attendees' cheeks to get DNA family reference samples. Lab analysts can use the samples to match remains recovered in the future or current unidentified remains stored in JPAC's lab. They also can use the DNA to exclude a person from group or comingled remains.
"This is really the whole thing that makes the IDs for us," Chris Johnson, a DNA analyst, said. "Without these family reference samples, we have nothing else in these situations, sometimes, to make an ID for these families."
One family member who had her cheek swabbed, Amy L. Goyne, said she found the meeting "very comforting." Goyne is the daughter of Air Force pilot Capt. John S. Walmsley Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient, who was killed during a mission over North Korea during the Korean War.
"They're very informative, and they make you feel like you're important, Goyne said. "It makes you feel like you're part of a family, because that door is still open."
Goyne said she attended to find out what progress is being made on her father's case, which has been limited because JPAC is not currently allowed into North Korea.
"It is truly a global mission," Webb said, during his World War II family update. "We travel all over the world doing this."
JPAC has conducted or planned for 39 recovery missions, 13 investigation missions and three underwater investigation missions in the fiscal year that runs through September. JPAC identifies about 70 MIAs per year.
Sometimes people think that the U.S. government doesn't care, Alice McGarvey said. "I think today shows that is far from the truth. You can hear the sincerity in [the speakers'] voices."
McGarvey was 6 years old when his father's plane went down.
"I remember him," he said. "I can remember how he was towards my sisters. He was just goofy. I thought about [how] we would bury him and then [we'd have] someplace to take our kids and say, 'This is your grandfather.'"
"You just don't forget," Alice McGarvey said.
The McGarveys said they're going to review the information they were given, formulate more questions, and attend the annual DPMO Southeast Asia Government Brief scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., in July.
Tears streamed down Alice McGarvey's face as her husband explained why it is so important to him that his father's remains are returned home.
"Just to know he is back where he should be, it would give final closure," McGarvey said.
(Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Chlosta serves in the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command public affairs office.)
NATO Ceremony Marks Entrance of Albania, Croatia
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - A NATO flag-raising ceremony yesterday punctuated the entrance of Albania and Croatia into the 60-year old collective security alliance. Attending the event at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, was NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the heads of state of the newly added member countries.
"The accession of Albania and Croatia demonstrates that the idea of freedom is irresistible," de Hoop Scheffer said. "It demonstrates that nations and peoples across the Atlantic come together when they are given the chance to make their own free choice. This is the clearest demonstration that in today's Europe, geography no longer is destiny."
The enlargement, which became official April 1, marks only the sixth time the organization has expanded its borders, and brings to 28 the number of members now in the alliance, six decades after a dozen nations endorsed the North Atlantic Treaty at an April 4, 1949 ceremony here.
De Hoop Scheffer said membership for Albania and Croatia marks the well-deserved reward for many years of hard preparation.
"It is a full vindication of the vision of those who have, for years, seen their countries' future in NATO," he said. "Both countries will now have a seat at the table where key decisions are made to shape Euro-Atlantic security. And both countries can now enjoy the ultimate security guarantee of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty."
Article 5 stipulates that an attack against one NATO member is tantamount to an attack against the whole alliance.
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha expressed pride in raising his nation's flag alongside those of other alliance members.
"For this flag and the nation it represents, this day is the greatest day after the declaration of independence of Albania," he said.
Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said the day was one of joy and celebration for Croatians.
"We have raised the Croatian flag at NATO Headquarters, which will represent, alongside the other 27 allied banners, the shared values, such as freedom, peace, democracy, rule of law, human rights, and social market economy," Sanader said. "After many testing years and despite all difficulties, we can proudly say that we have succeeded."
Accession by the two Balkan nations follows the addition of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania in 2004; Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland in 1999; Spain in 1982; West Germany in 1955; and Greece and Turkey in 1952.
The founding NATO members were the United States, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - A NATO flag-raising ceremony yesterday punctuated the entrance of Albania and Croatia into the 60-year old collective security alliance. Attending the event at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, was NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the heads of state of the newly added member countries.
"The accession of Albania and Croatia demonstrates that the idea of freedom is irresistible," de Hoop Scheffer said. "It demonstrates that nations and peoples across the Atlantic come together when they are given the chance to make their own free choice. This is the clearest demonstration that in today's Europe, geography no longer is destiny."
The enlargement, which became official April 1, marks only the sixth time the organization has expanded its borders, and brings to 28 the number of members now in the alliance, six decades after a dozen nations endorsed the North Atlantic Treaty at an April 4, 1949 ceremony here.
De Hoop Scheffer said membership for Albania and Croatia marks the well-deserved reward for many years of hard preparation.
"It is a full vindication of the vision of those who have, for years, seen their countries' future in NATO," he said. "Both countries will now have a seat at the table where key decisions are made to shape Euro-Atlantic security. And both countries can now enjoy the ultimate security guarantee of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty."
Article 5 stipulates that an attack against one NATO member is tantamount to an attack against the whole alliance.
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha expressed pride in raising his nation's flag alongside those of other alliance members.
"For this flag and the nation it represents, this day is the greatest day after the declaration of independence of Albania," he said.
Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said the day was one of joy and celebration for Croatians.
"We have raised the Croatian flag at NATO Headquarters, which will represent, alongside the other 27 allied banners, the shared values, such as freedom, peace, democracy, rule of law, human rights, and social market economy," Sanader said. "After many testing years and despite all difficulties, we can proudly say that we have succeeded."
Accession by the two Balkan nations follows the addition of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania in 2004; Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland in 1999; Spain in 1982; West Germany in 1955; and Greece and Turkey in 1952.
The founding NATO members were the United States, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
Official Cites Value of Cyberspace to Warfighting Operations
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - Maintaining and protecting the U.S. military's worldwide computer network is a vital component of national security, a senior official said here today. "For the United States military, cyberspace is a warfighting domain and it is critical to our operations," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. "And so, we do have to aggressively protect our networks and our ability to work in cyberspace."
It also is important, Whitman said, that the Defense Department dedicate the resources necessary to maintain its cyberspace capabilities. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has indicated he'd like to bolster the Pentagon's cyberspace capability, he noted.
During an April 6 Pentagon news conference in which he discussed the proposed fiscal 2010 defense budget, Gates told reporters he wants to increase the number of cyber experts who can be trained for departmental service from 80 students per year to 250 per year in fiscal 2011.
Maintaining cyberspace assets is increasingly important to warfighters, Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on strategic forces March 17. Chilton also told the House legislators he's concerned about growing threats against military computer networks.
Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pointed out that times have changed, as he sat at Gates' side during the April 6 Pentagon news conference. In the past, Cartwright said, conventional-warfare adversaries "knew exactly" who they were fighting and where the threat emanated.
However, "that's not the case anymore in cyber warfare and weapons of mass destruction," Cartwright said, "because there are venues without attribution that we have to deal with as we move to the future."
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - Maintaining and protecting the U.S. military's worldwide computer network is a vital component of national security, a senior official said here today. "For the United States military, cyberspace is a warfighting domain and it is critical to our operations," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. "And so, we do have to aggressively protect our networks and our ability to work in cyberspace."
It also is important, Whitman said, that the Defense Department dedicate the resources necessary to maintain its cyberspace capabilities. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has indicated he'd like to bolster the Pentagon's cyberspace capability, he noted.
During an April 6 Pentagon news conference in which he discussed the proposed fiscal 2010 defense budget, Gates told reporters he wants to increase the number of cyber experts who can be trained for departmental service from 80 students per year to 250 per year in fiscal 2011.
Maintaining cyberspace assets is increasingly important to warfighters, Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on strategic forces March 17. Chilton also told the House legislators he's concerned about growing threats against military computer networks.
Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pointed out that times have changed, as he sat at Gates' side during the April 6 Pentagon news conference. In the past, Cartwright said, conventional-warfare adversaries "knew exactly" who they were fighting and where the threat emanated.
However, "that's not the case anymore in cyber warfare and weapons of mass destruction," Cartwright said, "because there are venues without attribution that we have to deal with as we move to the future."
Uniform Registration Process to Promote Seamless Military-to-Veteran Transition
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - The best way to ensure servicemembers transition seamlessly from the Defense Department to the Department of Veterans Affairs when they leave the military is to start the process at the swearing-in ceremony, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki told American Forces Press Service. "Seamless transition really has to begin when that servicemember is still serving, puts on the uniform, raises a right hand and takes the oath of allegiance," said Shinseki, who spent 38 years in uniform before retiring in 2003 as Army chief of staff. "We need to begin the transition then."
Shinseki said he's had several conversations with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates about ways to continue improving the transition process between the two departments.
One concept, called "uniform registration," would enroll servicemembers automatically in a single Defense-VA management system when they join the military. As envisioned, the system would have two components: one for personnel files and another for medical files.
Shinseki explained the benefits of uniform registration last month during a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing. "Uniform registration will push both of us, both the VA and the [Defense Department], to create a single, electronic record that would govern how we acknowledge, identify, track and manage each of our clients," he said.
"That way, we could begin to track them throughout the course of their service in uniform – whether it's two years, four years, 10 years, 30 years," he told American Forces Press Service.
"And when the change in their status occurs and they take the uniform off and return to civilian life, the transition has already been done," he continued. "They are already a member of our department, we know who they are, and we have been watching their development."
The initiative, he said, would result in better, faster, more consistent management decisions, with less chance of lost files or destroyed claims and fewer backlogs in processing claims. Servicemembers leaving the military would come to VA as known entities, and their entitlements would be clear, Shinseki said. Meanwhile, VA could better project veterans' needs.
Shinseki told the Senate committee both VA and the Defense Department "are in agreement about the goodness of such a system and have people working toward making this a reality."
Uniform registration is really just an extension of other VA-administered programs that cover those in uniform, Shinseki said. These include Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, educational loans and guaranteed home loans.
"So this idea that your benefits begin when you take off the uniform is misleading," he said. "Those benefits are there in those categories from the time they begin serving."
The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments have been working diligently to eliminate gaps as servicemembers – particularly wounded warriors – transition from military to civilian life. Congressional panels, blue-ribbon commissions and in-house investigations all have pointed to the need for the two departments to improve their coordination and cooperation to better serve transitioning troops.
Shinseki told the Senate panel progress being made will help ensure better care and support for veterans. "Through a cooperative effort, we seek to improve the delivery of benefits and assure the availability of medical data to support the care of patients shared by VA and [the Defense Department]," he wrote in his written testimony. "This will enhance our ability to provide world-class care to veterans, active-duty servicemembers receiving care from both health-care systems, and our wounded warriors returning from Iraq and Afghanistan."
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - The best way to ensure servicemembers transition seamlessly from the Defense Department to the Department of Veterans Affairs when they leave the military is to start the process at the swearing-in ceremony, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki told American Forces Press Service. "Seamless transition really has to begin when that servicemember is still serving, puts on the uniform, raises a right hand and takes the oath of allegiance," said Shinseki, who spent 38 years in uniform before retiring in 2003 as Army chief of staff. "We need to begin the transition then."
Shinseki said he's had several conversations with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates about ways to continue improving the transition process between the two departments.
One concept, called "uniform registration," would enroll servicemembers automatically in a single Defense-VA management system when they join the military. As envisioned, the system would have two components: one for personnel files and another for medical files.
Shinseki explained the benefits of uniform registration last month during a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing. "Uniform registration will push both of us, both the VA and the [Defense Department], to create a single, electronic record that would govern how we acknowledge, identify, track and manage each of our clients," he said.
"That way, we could begin to track them throughout the course of their service in uniform – whether it's two years, four years, 10 years, 30 years," he told American Forces Press Service.
"And when the change in their status occurs and they take the uniform off and return to civilian life, the transition has already been done," he continued. "They are already a member of our department, we know who they are, and we have been watching their development."
The initiative, he said, would result in better, faster, more consistent management decisions, with less chance of lost files or destroyed claims and fewer backlogs in processing claims. Servicemembers leaving the military would come to VA as known entities, and their entitlements would be clear, Shinseki said. Meanwhile, VA could better project veterans' needs.
Shinseki told the Senate committee both VA and the Defense Department "are in agreement about the goodness of such a system and have people working toward making this a reality."
Uniform registration is really just an extension of other VA-administered programs that cover those in uniform, Shinseki said. These include Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, educational loans and guaranteed home loans.
"So this idea that your benefits begin when you take off the uniform is misleading," he said. "Those benefits are there in those categories from the time they begin serving."
The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments have been working diligently to eliminate gaps as servicemembers – particularly wounded warriors – transition from military to civilian life. Congressional panels, blue-ribbon commissions and in-house investigations all have pointed to the need for the two departments to improve their coordination and cooperation to better serve transitioning troops.
Shinseki told the Senate panel progress being made will help ensure better care and support for veterans. "Through a cooperative effort, we seek to improve the delivery of benefits and assure the availability of medical data to support the care of patients shared by VA and [the Defense Department]," he wrote in his written testimony. "This will enhance our ability to provide world-class care to veterans, active-duty servicemembers receiving care from both health-care systems, and our wounded warriors returning from Iraq and Afghanistan."
Cyber Defense Cost Pentagon $100 Million in Six Months, Officials Say
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - Defending the Defense Department's global information grid from attacks cost the U.S. military more than $100 million over the past six months, U.S. Strategic Command officials said yesterday. Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, Stratcom commander, and Army Brig. Gen. John Davis, deputy commander of Joint Task Force Global Network Operations, spoke from a cyber security conference in Omaha, Neb.
Chilton said Stratcom – charged with overseeing cyber operations – needs to treat computer network operations just as commanders treat operations on the land, in the air or on the sea. Defense Department networks are attacked thousands of times a day, he said. The attacks run the gamut from "bored teenagers to the nation state with criminal elements sandwiched in there."
The motives of those attacking the networks go from just plain vandalism to theft of money or information to espionage. Protecting the networks is a huge challenge for the command, Chilton said.
"Pay me now or pay me later," Davis said in assessing how to handle the threat. "In the last six months, we spent more than $100 million reacting to things on our networks after the fact. It would be nice to spend that money proactively to put things in place so we'd be more active and proactive in posture rather than cleaning up after the fact."
Davis' command is responsible for defensive and offensive operations in cyberspace. The expenses were in manpower, time, contractors, tools, technology and procedures, he said.
Training is needed for personnel to launch both defensive and offensive operations, Chilton said. "We need to train all our folks and we need high-end skill training," he said.
Stratcom operates the Defense Department's global information grid, Chilton noted. "We also have the responsibility to plan for and when directed to conduct offensive operations," he said. "As in all domains, a good defense relies on a good offense."
As in land, sea and air domains, the United States wants to retain freedom of action in the cyber domain, Chilton said. "We need to have the tools, skills and expertise in a time of conflict so we can maintain our freedom of action," he said.
Chilton said Defense Department personnel need to change the way they think about cyberspace. "It's not just a convenience. It's a dependency that we have," he said. "We need to change the way we conduct ourselves in cyberspace and hold our military folks to the same high standards that we hold our air, land and sea operators to."
A prohibition on using so-called "thumb-drives" and other portable data storage devices on Defense Department computers will remain in effect, Davis said. "I don't think anybody realizes how much better shape we'd be in if we just did the basics right," he said. "People need to just apply the basic rules and procedures that have been put in place to protect ourselves."
While this won't stop the more sophisticated threats, "it sure will get rid of the thousands of things that clutter the environment," Davis said.
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - Defending the Defense Department's global information grid from attacks cost the U.S. military more than $100 million over the past six months, U.S. Strategic Command officials said yesterday. Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, Stratcom commander, and Army Brig. Gen. John Davis, deputy commander of Joint Task Force Global Network Operations, spoke from a cyber security conference in Omaha, Neb.
Chilton said Stratcom – charged with overseeing cyber operations – needs to treat computer network operations just as commanders treat operations on the land, in the air or on the sea. Defense Department networks are attacked thousands of times a day, he said. The attacks run the gamut from "bored teenagers to the nation state with criminal elements sandwiched in there."
The motives of those attacking the networks go from just plain vandalism to theft of money or information to espionage. Protecting the networks is a huge challenge for the command, Chilton said.
"Pay me now or pay me later," Davis said in assessing how to handle the threat. "In the last six months, we spent more than $100 million reacting to things on our networks after the fact. It would be nice to spend that money proactively to put things in place so we'd be more active and proactive in posture rather than cleaning up after the fact."
Davis' command is responsible for defensive and offensive operations in cyberspace. The expenses were in manpower, time, contractors, tools, technology and procedures, he said.
Training is needed for personnel to launch both defensive and offensive operations, Chilton said. "We need to train all our folks and we need high-end skill training," he said.
Stratcom operates the Defense Department's global information grid, Chilton noted. "We also have the responsibility to plan for and when directed to conduct offensive operations," he said. "As in all domains, a good defense relies on a good offense."
As in land, sea and air domains, the United States wants to retain freedom of action in the cyber domain, Chilton said. "We need to have the tools, skills and expertise in a time of conflict so we can maintain our freedom of action," he said.
Chilton said Defense Department personnel need to change the way they think about cyberspace. "It's not just a convenience. It's a dependency that we have," he said. "We need to change the way we conduct ourselves in cyberspace and hold our military folks to the same high standards that we hold our air, land and sea operators to."
A prohibition on using so-called "thumb-drives" and other portable data storage devices on Defense Department computers will remain in effect, Davis said. "I don't think anybody realizes how much better shape we'd be in if we just did the basics right," he said. "People need to just apply the basic rules and procedures that have been put in place to protect ourselves."
While this won't stop the more sophisticated threats, "it sure will get rid of the thousands of things that clutter the environment," Davis said.
Group Donates Easter Baskets for Month of Military Child
By Sharon Foster
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - A California based troop-support group has collected and mailed more than 600 Easter baskets as part of April's observance of the Month of the Military Child. "Because the Easter bunny and children go hand-in-hand, our Easter project was directly targeted to the children," said Karla Davis, Pennsylvania state coordinator for Soldiers' Angels. "We were blessed enough with support for sending out over 610 Easter baskets this year. There were also several hundred gift cards sent with the baskets to help the parents in purchasing Easter dinner."
The majority of the baskets went directly to Fisher Houses and military bases to be distributed to military children.
"Fisher Houses and military bases have contacted me already, to say, 'Wow, we received the Easter baskets,'" Caren Vink, vice president of Soldiers' Angels, said. "They say, 'This was awfully nice of Soldiers' Angels outreach to honor our families.' This mission focused on supporting military families with children here at home for the Easter holidays."
Soldiers' Angels collected Easter items by posting a letter of invitation on the group's Web site several months ago, asking Americans to support military families with children for the Easter holiday. Americans were asked to drop off Easter baskets at different Soldiers' Angels locations.
"We had such a great outpouring by our donors and angels," Vink said. "We had many donors that were prepared to send pre-filled Easter baskets, sealed bags of Easter candy and gift cards across the country to these kids."
Military families not at Fisher Houses or military bases were able to request Easter baskets via e-mail.
In the past, Davis said, Soldiers' Angels had received many requests for help with purchasing Easter baskets and felt honored to reach out to military families during the Month of the Military Child.
"These children are making as many sacrifices for our country as our heroes," she said. "They are lending their hero to the entire world. Soldiers' Angels has always paid particular attention to military children during this month and every month."
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - A California based troop-support group has collected and mailed more than 600 Easter baskets as part of April's observance of the Month of the Military Child. "Because the Easter bunny and children go hand-in-hand, our Easter project was directly targeted to the children," said Karla Davis, Pennsylvania state coordinator for Soldiers' Angels. "We were blessed enough with support for sending out over 610 Easter baskets this year. There were also several hundred gift cards sent with the baskets to help the parents in purchasing Easter dinner."
The majority of the baskets went directly to Fisher Houses and military bases to be distributed to military children.
"Fisher Houses and military bases have contacted me already, to say, 'Wow, we received the Easter baskets,'" Caren Vink, vice president of Soldiers' Angels, said. "They say, 'This was awfully nice of Soldiers' Angels outreach to honor our families.' This mission focused on supporting military families with children here at home for the Easter holidays."
Soldiers' Angels collected Easter items by posting a letter of invitation on the group's Web site several months ago, asking Americans to support military families with children for the Easter holiday. Americans were asked to drop off Easter baskets at different Soldiers' Angels locations.
"We had such a great outpouring by our donors and angels," Vink said. "We had many donors that were prepared to send pre-filled Easter baskets, sealed bags of Easter candy and gift cards across the country to these kids."
Military families not at Fisher Houses or military bases were able to request Easter baskets via e-mail.
In the past, Davis said, Soldiers' Angels had received many requests for help with purchasing Easter baskets and felt honored to reach out to military families during the Month of the Military Child.
"These children are making as many sacrifices for our country as our heroes," she said. "They are lending their hero to the entire world. Soldiers' Angels has always paid particular attention to military children during this month and every month."
Face of Defense: Army's NATO Brigade Commander Blazes Trail
By Kristen Marquez
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - As a cadet in the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Mercer University in Macon, Ga., Leah R. Fuller-Friel became her battalion's first female commander. Now, 25 years later and a colonel, she's the first female commander of the U.S. Army NATO Brigade, headquartered at Tompkins Barracks in Schwetzingen, Germany.
Fuller-Friel's military interests started in high school when, she says, a "diligent recruiter" told her of the opportunities the Army could offer her through ROTC. Back then, she admits she didn't really even know what the letters R-O-T-C stood for.
Today, she's the commander of all U.S. soldiers serving in three NATO battalions and 10 companies scattered throughout 33 locations in 13 countries.
"My husband and I served in NATO as majors and we really didn't know this opportunity was there," Fuller-Friel said. She was serving with the Army's Training and Doctrine Command as the Adjutant General, she said, when she was asked to take over the U.S. Army NATO brigade.
"I thought 'there's no such thing,'" she said.
Sgt. 1st Class Larry Gray, the brigade's equal opportunity advisor, said having Fuller-Friel take command as the first female in that role is noteworthy not only for the women in the brigade, but for the Army as a whole.
"I think it's really good that other nations know that in our country, females are getting the opportunity to lead troops and can do it just as well as the men," Gray said. "They get those opportunities to train and lead, and having her in that role is very significant."
The Friel family, overall, is making a significant contribution to the military. Fuller-Friel and her husband, retired Army Maj. Jack Friel, a field artilleryman, met and married on Fort Leavenworth, Kan. They have three sons: John, a company commander on Fort Hood, Texas, who is serving his third tour in Iraq; Mark, a captain in the Indiana National Guard; and Matthew, a sixth-grader, whom Fuller-Friel says "can't wait to be in uniform."
As an Army retiree, Jack Friel serves as the senior family readiness advisor for the brigade and, according to his wife, is "working harder than he ever has worked. He's a very busy man."
"We always do a command team charter, my husband and I, what expectations we are going to do - we are going to balance faith, profession and family," she said. "[With] that trio, we are in sync, and usually the kids or the soldiers will let us know if we are not."
The couple has served five tours in Europe - 12 of the 25 years of service so far for Fuller-Friel. She's held all of her levels of command in Europe as well.
Fuller-Friel said her favorite job so far has been being a company commander, a job that allowed her to get to know each soldier and spouse in her company on a more personal level. In her current role, it's a little harder to get to know every soldier, though she tries.
Her favorite part of her current job, she said, is "going to see the soldiers, in their environment, with their issues, and letting them show us what they actually do in support of NATO. We try to get into their element as opposed to them coming here."
With March being Women's History Month, Fuller-Friel reflected on some of the women of her past who have made an impact on her life and helped her get to where she is today.
"First, my mother," she said. "She just instilled a great work ethic, and (encouraged me to) give everything that you do 110 percent and it will show. People will notice and you'll go far.
"And then I got over here in Europe and worked for Maj. Gen. Pat Hickerson and Maj. Gen. Dee Anne McWilliams, and basically those two [made me think] 'Wow, women can be general officers?' They were just absolutely professional subject matter experts in their field, and they're in my field, too. As they retired, they just passed on the torch and said 'you need to go on and do the jobs that we were never able to do.'"
She also mentioned Gen. Ann Dunwoody, commander of Army Materiel Command, with whom she worked when Dunwoody was a two-star general on Fort Lee, Va.
"She's absolutely a master logistician," Fuller-Friel said. "She just said 'know your field, know your Army, and you'll go far' and kept that philosophy."
The military's diversity is something Fuller-Friel said is unique and should be celebrated.
"I think that's one of the reasons why the Armed Forces is considered to be one of the most prestigious institutions - because of the diversity," she said. "We need the diversity. I don't see that in the civilian life, I don't see it in my hometowns, I didn't see it in college, but the Army absolutely gives everyone the opportunity. You just have to seize it, become experts in your field and go from there, whether you are a man or woman."
(Editor's Note: Kristen Marquez works in the USAG Baden-Wuerttemberg public affairs office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - As a cadet in the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Mercer University in Macon, Ga., Leah R. Fuller-Friel became her battalion's first female commander. Now, 25 years later and a colonel, she's the first female commander of the U.S. Army NATO Brigade, headquartered at Tompkins Barracks in Schwetzingen, Germany.
Fuller-Friel's military interests started in high school when, she says, a "diligent recruiter" told her of the opportunities the Army could offer her through ROTC. Back then, she admits she didn't really even know what the letters R-O-T-C stood for.
Today, she's the commander of all U.S. soldiers serving in three NATO battalions and 10 companies scattered throughout 33 locations in 13 countries.
"My husband and I served in NATO as majors and we really didn't know this opportunity was there," Fuller-Friel said. She was serving with the Army's Training and Doctrine Command as the Adjutant General, she said, when she was asked to take over the U.S. Army NATO brigade.
"I thought 'there's no such thing,'" she said.
Sgt. 1st Class Larry Gray, the brigade's equal opportunity advisor, said having Fuller-Friel take command as the first female in that role is noteworthy not only for the women in the brigade, but for the Army as a whole.
"I think it's really good that other nations know that in our country, females are getting the opportunity to lead troops and can do it just as well as the men," Gray said. "They get those opportunities to train and lead, and having her in that role is very significant."
The Friel family, overall, is making a significant contribution to the military. Fuller-Friel and her husband, retired Army Maj. Jack Friel, a field artilleryman, met and married on Fort Leavenworth, Kan. They have three sons: John, a company commander on Fort Hood, Texas, who is serving his third tour in Iraq; Mark, a captain in the Indiana National Guard; and Matthew, a sixth-grader, whom Fuller-Friel says "can't wait to be in uniform."
As an Army retiree, Jack Friel serves as the senior family readiness advisor for the brigade and, according to his wife, is "working harder than he ever has worked. He's a very busy man."
"We always do a command team charter, my husband and I, what expectations we are going to do - we are going to balance faith, profession and family," she said. "[With] that trio, we are in sync, and usually the kids or the soldiers will let us know if we are not."
The couple has served five tours in Europe - 12 of the 25 years of service so far for Fuller-Friel. She's held all of her levels of command in Europe as well.
Fuller-Friel said her favorite job so far has been being a company commander, a job that allowed her to get to know each soldier and spouse in her company on a more personal level. In her current role, it's a little harder to get to know every soldier, though she tries.
Her favorite part of her current job, she said, is "going to see the soldiers, in their environment, with their issues, and letting them show us what they actually do in support of NATO. We try to get into their element as opposed to them coming here."
With March being Women's History Month, Fuller-Friel reflected on some of the women of her past who have made an impact on her life and helped her get to where she is today.
"First, my mother," she said. "She just instilled a great work ethic, and (encouraged me to) give everything that you do 110 percent and it will show. People will notice and you'll go far.
"And then I got over here in Europe and worked for Maj. Gen. Pat Hickerson and Maj. Gen. Dee Anne McWilliams, and basically those two [made me think] 'Wow, women can be general officers?' They were just absolutely professional subject matter experts in their field, and they're in my field, too. As they retired, they just passed on the torch and said 'you need to go on and do the jobs that we were never able to do.'"
She also mentioned Gen. Ann Dunwoody, commander of Army Materiel Command, with whom she worked when Dunwoody was a two-star general on Fort Lee, Va.
"She's absolutely a master logistician," Fuller-Friel said. "She just said 'know your field, know your Army, and you'll go far' and kept that philosophy."
The military's diversity is something Fuller-Friel said is unique and should be celebrated.
"I think that's one of the reasons why the Armed Forces is considered to be one of the most prestigious institutions - because of the diversity," she said. "We need the diversity. I don't see that in the civilian life, I don't see it in my hometowns, I didn't see it in college, but the Army absolutely gives everyone the opportunity. You just have to seize it, become experts in your field and go from there, whether you are a man or woman."
(Editor's Note: Kristen Marquez works in the USAG Baden-Wuerttemberg public affairs office.)
Pirate Attack Foiled by Ship's Crew, Defense Officials Say
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - A ship taken by pirates off the coast of Somalia this morning is now presumed to be under the control of its crew again, Defense Department officials said. The cargo ship Maersk Alabama was attacked by pirates early this morning and presumed hijacked, according to information provided by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The vessel was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was assaulted about 300 miles off Somalia's coast, officials said.
The Maersk Alabama is home-ported in Norfolk, Va., and has a crew of about 20 U.S. nationals, John Reinhart, president and CEO of the ship's owner, Maersk Line Ltd., told reporters today.
Reinhart said his company is contacting the crew's family members. He declined to confirm the ship's retaking by its crew, or to release the names of crew members.
The Maersk Alabama's crewmembers were trained to deal with pirate attacks, Reinhart said.
Pentagon officials noted there were four would-be hijackers, at least one of whom was captured by the ship's crew.
Pirates who attack merchant ships traveling off the coast of Somalia are difficult to deter because of the large area in which they operate, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today that he didn't want to comment on possible actions that could be taken in response to the Maersk Alabama's apparent hijacking.
However, Whitman said the piracy issue "is not going to be something that is solved in a purely military way or in international waters."
"This is going to have to be something that is addressed broadly by the international community," Whitman continued, "It's going to have to be addressed diplomatically, militarily (and) legally."
The complexity of the piracy issue requires taking "a very broad approach to addressing it," Whitman added.
Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia have attacked five vessels over the past week, according to news reports, not including today's attack on the Maersk Alabama.
Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, commander of Combined Maritime Forces based in Bahrain that oversees anti-piracy efforts in the region, provided an updated advisory notice to regional merchant shipping in a news release issued yesterday.
"We synchronize the efforts of the naval forces deployed to the region," Gortney said in the release. "However, as we have often stated, international naval forces alone will not be able to solve the problem of piracy at sea."
Piracy "is a problem that starts ashore," Gortney added.
And, despite the increased naval presence in the region, Gortney's notice said, because of an area of water that's four times the size of Texas, ships and aircraft are unlikely to be close enough to provide support to vessels under attack.
In view of the pirates' activity, merchant mariners should be highly vigilant when traveling through Somalia's coastal region, the release stated.
The release noted that a number of merchant vessels transiting the waters off Somalia have successfully employed evasive maneuvers and other defensive tactics to thwart attempted pirate attacks.
For example, a Panamanian-flagged vessel employed evasive maneuvers and fire hoses to thwart an attempted pirate attack, according to the release.
American Forces Press Service
April 8, 2009 - A ship taken by pirates off the coast of Somalia this morning is now presumed to be under the control of its crew again, Defense Department officials said. The cargo ship Maersk Alabama was attacked by pirates early this morning and presumed hijacked, according to information provided by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The vessel was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was assaulted about 300 miles off Somalia's coast, officials said.
The Maersk Alabama is home-ported in Norfolk, Va., and has a crew of about 20 U.S. nationals, John Reinhart, president and CEO of the ship's owner, Maersk Line Ltd., told reporters today.
Reinhart said his company is contacting the crew's family members. He declined to confirm the ship's retaking by its crew, or to release the names of crew members.
The Maersk Alabama's crewmembers were trained to deal with pirate attacks, Reinhart said.
Pentagon officials noted there were four would-be hijackers, at least one of whom was captured by the ship's crew.
Pirates who attack merchant ships traveling off the coast of Somalia are difficult to deter because of the large area in which they operate, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today that he didn't want to comment on possible actions that could be taken in response to the Maersk Alabama's apparent hijacking.
However, Whitman said the piracy issue "is not going to be something that is solved in a purely military way or in international waters."
"This is going to have to be something that is addressed broadly by the international community," Whitman continued, "It's going to have to be addressed diplomatically, militarily (and) legally."
The complexity of the piracy issue requires taking "a very broad approach to addressing it," Whitman added.
Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia have attacked five vessels over the past week, according to news reports, not including today's attack on the Maersk Alabama.
Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, commander of Combined Maritime Forces based in Bahrain that oversees anti-piracy efforts in the region, provided an updated advisory notice to regional merchant shipping in a news release issued yesterday.
"We synchronize the efforts of the naval forces deployed to the region," Gortney said in the release. "However, as we have often stated, international naval forces alone will not be able to solve the problem of piracy at sea."
Piracy "is a problem that starts ashore," Gortney added.
And, despite the increased naval presence in the region, Gortney's notice said, because of an area of water that's four times the size of Texas, ships and aircraft are unlikely to be close enough to provide support to vessels under attack.
In view of the pirates' activity, merchant mariners should be highly vigilant when traveling through Somalia's coastal region, the release stated.
The release noted that a number of merchant vessels transiting the waters off Somalia have successfully employed evasive maneuvers and other defensive tactics to thwart attempted pirate attacks.
For example, a Panamanian-flagged vessel employed evasive maneuvers and fire hoses to thwart an attempted pirate attack, according to the release.
Interviewing Sexually Motivated Offenders
Editor's Note: Given the DOD's recent announcements regarding sexual assaults committed against servicemembers, this information is likely useful to military CID personnel.
On April 17, 2009, Conversations with Heroes at the Watering Hole will explore interviewing sexually motivated offenders with author, expert and retired police detective Don Howell.
Program Date: April 17, 2009
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Interviewing Sexually Motivated Offenders
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/04/18/Interviewing-Sexually-Motivated-Offenders
About the Guests
Detective Don Howell, Huntington Beach Police Department (ret.) “graduated with honors with a degree in Police Science and Administration. He spent 25 years as a police officer for two different agencies in Southern California cities. As a detective for more than 15 years, he specialized in the investigation of sexual assaults and child abuse. Don Howell is a court certified expert in these areas and is a highly sought after consultant to agencies on complex cases. As a consultant to the California Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and training (P.O.S.T.), Don was considered to be one of the best in his field and was selected to assist in making a teleconference course on rape investigations.” Detective Don Howell is the author of Interviewing Sexually Motivated Offenders and Interviewing Sex Crime Victims.
According to the book description of Interviewing Sexually Motivated Offenders, “Sex offenders are the most fascinating criminals law enforcement deals with. Taking the mystery out of interviewing them isn't difficult. Replacing the complex psychological definitions with a working understanding of how sex offenders think and act is the key to improving your interviewing skills. Combine this with the five trademarks of the actual interview and you have a new interviewing strategy that will increase your confession rate. This is not magic. Instead it approaches interviewing the sex offender from a different direction or perspective, to allow you to identify the offender's behavior and use it to your advantage.”
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, Law Enforcement Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.
Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/04/18/Interviewing-Sexually-Motivated-Offenders
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
On April 17, 2009, Conversations with Heroes at the Watering Hole will explore interviewing sexually motivated offenders with author, expert and retired police detective Don Howell.
Program Date: April 17, 2009
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Interviewing Sexually Motivated Offenders
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/04/18/Interviewing-Sexually-Motivated-Offenders
About the Guests
Detective Don Howell, Huntington Beach Police Department (ret.) “graduated with honors with a degree in Police Science and Administration. He spent 25 years as a police officer for two different agencies in Southern California cities. As a detective for more than 15 years, he specialized in the investigation of sexual assaults and child abuse. Don Howell is a court certified expert in these areas and is a highly sought after consultant to agencies on complex cases. As a consultant to the California Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and training (P.O.S.T.), Don was considered to be one of the best in his field and was selected to assist in making a teleconference course on rape investigations.” Detective Don Howell is the author of Interviewing Sexually Motivated Offenders and Interviewing Sex Crime Victims.
According to the book description of Interviewing Sexually Motivated Offenders, “Sex offenders are the most fascinating criminals law enforcement deals with. Taking the mystery out of interviewing them isn't difficult. Replacing the complex psychological definitions with a working understanding of how sex offenders think and act is the key to improving your interviewing skills. Combine this with the five trademarks of the actual interview and you have a new interviewing strategy that will increase your confession rate. This is not magic. Instead it approaches interviewing the sex offender from a different direction or perspective, to allow you to identify the offender's behavior and use it to your advantage.”
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, Law Enforcement Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.
Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/04/18/Interviewing-Sexually-Motivated-Offenders
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Budget Calls for Growth to Sustain Defense Department Programs, Gates Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2009 - Recommendations for the fiscal 2010 budget include a 2-percent growth requirement for the Defense Department to help sustain its programs, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. "I believe we need at least 2-percent real growth going forward and I will make the best case I can," Gates said today during a Pentagon roundtable.
The topline, or the total amount of money the department can budget, for fiscal 2010 is $534 billion. Two-percent real growth is 2-percent growth on top of inflation.
The department cannot sustain its programs with flat growth. The department's budget must grow in the "out years," which in this case is beyond fiscal 2010, to keep the programs on track, Gates said.
The secretary also emphasized the need for warfighters to have a place at the budget and resources table. His recommendations put the warfighters needs in the base budget. Since 2001, these needs have been funded through supplemental budget requests.
These programs include intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities; and greater helicopter and special operations forces capabilities.
"All of those things being in the base budget rather than in the supplemental means they will be part of a service's budget," Gates said. "And we know how good the services are at defending their budgets."
Gates also has built into the base budget an increase in end-strength for the Army and Marine Corps and a halt to personnel reductions in the Navy and Air Force. These and other quality-of-life initiatives also had previously been paid through supplemental budget requests.
"By putting those in the base budget it becomes a permanent part of the [Defense Department] budget going forward rather than depending on whether we get a supplemental next year or not," Gates said.
The department then must ensure warfighters' needs are met in the future. Placing needed equipment and programs in the base budget is one way, but "maybe because I'm an old Kremlinologist," Gates said he thinks the real institutionalization comes through appointments.
Leaders such as Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr.; Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli; Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command; Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command; and Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of 18th Airborne Corps, all have served in places and positions that give them the experience and understanding of the warfighters.
"Their experience will allow them to institutionalize in the Army the lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said. "These are all warfighters. Their appointments were not accidents or happenstance."
An institution can always beat one or two people, Gates said. But "it's very tough to outlast four, five or six. It's very tough to outlast that many," he said.
These generals then will recommend appointments of those behind them. Gates used Petraeus chairing the Army brigadier general board last year as an example of this. The same situation holds true for the Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy, the secretary said.
Turning to health care, the secretary said he would like a dialogue on Tricare with Capitol Hill as part of his fiscal 2010 budget recommendations. The department is fully funding the health care program in the 2010 request, but there must be an agreement between the Hill and the Pentagon on the program.
"We have gone up there three years in a row seeking an increase in premiums -- a very modest increase, I might add -- in a program where there has been no increase since it started," Gates said. "I think we need to lay out for Congress how health care is eating the department alive."
In the fiscal 2010 request, health care costs $47 billion. "We will spend on health care what the entire foreign affairs budget is," he said.
The secretary said he delayed making recommendations in some cases to either let the technology mature a bit or so a more complete review can be done as part of the Quadrennial Defense Review or the Nuclear Posture Review next year. "That work will go toward reshaping the fiscal 2011 budget," he said.
The secretary stressed that "all the debate and discussion and the decisions that were made really emanated from within this building. I got no outside 'steers' or direction of guidance."
President Barack Obama agreed with the unorthodox method of announcing the recommendations weeks ago, Gates said. He wanted to do this so people could put the recommendations in context.
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2009 - Recommendations for the fiscal 2010 budget include a 2-percent growth requirement for the Defense Department to help sustain its programs, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. "I believe we need at least 2-percent real growth going forward and I will make the best case I can," Gates said today during a Pentagon roundtable.
The topline, or the total amount of money the department can budget, for fiscal 2010 is $534 billion. Two-percent real growth is 2-percent growth on top of inflation.
The department cannot sustain its programs with flat growth. The department's budget must grow in the "out years," which in this case is beyond fiscal 2010, to keep the programs on track, Gates said.
The secretary also emphasized the need for warfighters to have a place at the budget and resources table. His recommendations put the warfighters needs in the base budget. Since 2001, these needs have been funded through supplemental budget requests.
These programs include intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities; and greater helicopter and special operations forces capabilities.
"All of those things being in the base budget rather than in the supplemental means they will be part of a service's budget," Gates said. "And we know how good the services are at defending their budgets."
Gates also has built into the base budget an increase in end-strength for the Army and Marine Corps and a halt to personnel reductions in the Navy and Air Force. These and other quality-of-life initiatives also had previously been paid through supplemental budget requests.
"By putting those in the base budget it becomes a permanent part of the [Defense Department] budget going forward rather than depending on whether we get a supplemental next year or not," Gates said.
The department then must ensure warfighters' needs are met in the future. Placing needed equipment and programs in the base budget is one way, but "maybe because I'm an old Kremlinologist," Gates said he thinks the real institutionalization comes through appointments.
Leaders such as Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr.; Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli; Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command; Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command; and Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of 18th Airborne Corps, all have served in places and positions that give them the experience and understanding of the warfighters.
"Their experience will allow them to institutionalize in the Army the lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said. "These are all warfighters. Their appointments were not accidents or happenstance."
An institution can always beat one or two people, Gates said. But "it's very tough to outlast four, five or six. It's very tough to outlast that many," he said.
These generals then will recommend appointments of those behind them. Gates used Petraeus chairing the Army brigadier general board last year as an example of this. The same situation holds true for the Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy, the secretary said.
Turning to health care, the secretary said he would like a dialogue on Tricare with Capitol Hill as part of his fiscal 2010 budget recommendations. The department is fully funding the health care program in the 2010 request, but there must be an agreement between the Hill and the Pentagon on the program.
"We have gone up there three years in a row seeking an increase in premiums -- a very modest increase, I might add -- in a program where there has been no increase since it started," Gates said. "I think we need to lay out for Congress how health care is eating the department alive."
In the fiscal 2010 request, health care costs $47 billion. "We will spend on health care what the entire foreign affairs budget is," he said.
The secretary said he delayed making recommendations in some cases to either let the technology mature a bit or so a more complete review can be done as part of the Quadrennial Defense Review or the Nuclear Posture Review next year. "That work will go toward reshaping the fiscal 2011 budget," he said.
The secretary stressed that "all the debate and discussion and the decisions that were made really emanated from within this building. I got no outside 'steers' or direction of guidance."
President Barack Obama agreed with the unorthodox method of announcing the recommendations weeks ago, Gates said. He wanted to do this so people could put the recommendations in context.
New Capabilities Play Vital Role in Budget Recommendations, Gates Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2009 - New capabilities, which are playing a greater role in America's defense, are an integral part of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' recommendations for the fiscal 2010 budget request. Gates discussed some of these capabilities and his budget recommendations at a Pentagon roundtable this afternoon also attended by Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
To start, the secretary is recommending the Air Force retire 250 of its oldest aircraft next year and halt production of the F-22 Raptor at 187.
Part of the reasoning behind this is that the Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles are coming on line. These UAVs are starting to supplant some of the mission space that manned aircraft once dominated.
"Heretofore, they were not put into the missions that the F-18, F-16, F-15 occupied," Cartwright said. "Now you start to bring that capability on, especially with the Reaper."
The Reaper is like a Predator UAV on steroids. The aircraft can carry up to 1.5 tons of weapons and stay aloft for hours.
"Given that the conflicts that we are in or likely to be in in the next couple of years, are conflicts where being on station for extended periods of time and not carrying maximum loads every sortie -- those platforms really do give you a qualitative edge," the general said.
The secretary called the UAVs new pieces of the defense equations. "These are not just the Predators doing strikes; it is long distances and long dwells," he said. "An F-16 has a range of about 500 miles. The Reaper has a range of about 3,000 miles. This is going to be an increasing part of the Air Force arsenal."
On the F-22 Raptor, the secretary decided to halt the build at 187 -- a number the Air Force and combatant commanders agree on, Gates said. The emphasis will go to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. He said he does not see a risk in the decision.
"The intelligence I've gotten is the first [initial operating capability] for anything like a fifth generation fighter in Russia is 2016," Gates said. "In China it's about 2020."
The Army's Future Combat System was the last and toughest decision he made, Gates said. There is no argument that the Army needs new weapons systems.
"At the end of the day, the principal concern I had was that a program first designed nine years ago had not fully integrated the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan into the vehicle part," he said.
The FCS infantry fighting vehicle has a flat bottom and is 18 inches off the ground. The mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, called an MRAP, -- which has arguably saved many lives -- has a V-shaped hull and is feet above the roadbed.
"We needed to stop, take a deep breath and look at this thing freshly with an eye toward what we had learned," Gates said.
Cartwright said commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan have three sets of vehicles at their disposal -- Humvees, Bradleys and MRAPs. "The question is, can one vehicle really cover that span?" the general said.
"I didn't think the program had integrated the operational experience that we have had in Iraq and Afghanistan where the commander has a menu of vehicles he can draw on in any given unit depending on what the mission is," Gates said.
Gates' decisions are meant to fill the gaps between capabilities. He said there are enemies who field a terrorist with an AK-47 assault rifle, but he is backed by a ballistic missile.
"One example is Hezbollah," Gates said. "Hezbollah has more missiles and rockets than most countries and some pretty sophisticated equipment to go with it. And yet, they also have a basic terrorist and irregular warfare capability."
And in Iraq, low-tech terrorists plant sophisticated explosive penetrating devices.
The secretary's recommendations recognize the increasing lethality of all portions of the combat spectrum. "It's not so much the specific capabilities of this budget, but the recognition that the irregular side of this threat has to be in the base budget along with the programs to deal with the more modern kinds of systems which has been in the budget forever," Gates said.
"I think there has been a lot of discussion between the nexus between an extremist organization and weapons of mass destruction, and the proliferation of that WMD in ways that, in the past, only sophisticated nation states could hope to field these kind of weapons," Cartwright said. "That time is coming to an end.
"What we acknowledge here is that the entire span of military operations is extremely lethal," he continued.
Gates said any procurement change has to begin with a professional acquisition cadre in the services and at the defense level. He has recommended hiring more government employees to oversee contractors, because "oversight of the acquisition process is inherently governmental," he said.
Gates said he believes his recommendations have a good chance at passage. "I am an optimist," he said.
The secretary said there is support for acquisition reform on the Hill and the package of changes needs to be seen as a whole rather than as parts.
"I think we will have a productive dialogue of the next couple of months, and I'm optimistic," he said.
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2009 - New capabilities, which are playing a greater role in America's defense, are an integral part of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' recommendations for the fiscal 2010 budget request. Gates discussed some of these capabilities and his budget recommendations at a Pentagon roundtable this afternoon also attended by Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
To start, the secretary is recommending the Air Force retire 250 of its oldest aircraft next year and halt production of the F-22 Raptor at 187.
Part of the reasoning behind this is that the Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles are coming on line. These UAVs are starting to supplant some of the mission space that manned aircraft once dominated.
"Heretofore, they were not put into the missions that the F-18, F-16, F-15 occupied," Cartwright said. "Now you start to bring that capability on, especially with the Reaper."
The Reaper is like a Predator UAV on steroids. The aircraft can carry up to 1.5 tons of weapons and stay aloft for hours.
"Given that the conflicts that we are in or likely to be in in the next couple of years, are conflicts where being on station for extended periods of time and not carrying maximum loads every sortie -- those platforms really do give you a qualitative edge," the general said.
The secretary called the UAVs new pieces of the defense equations. "These are not just the Predators doing strikes; it is long distances and long dwells," he said. "An F-16 has a range of about 500 miles. The Reaper has a range of about 3,000 miles. This is going to be an increasing part of the Air Force arsenal."
On the F-22 Raptor, the secretary decided to halt the build at 187 -- a number the Air Force and combatant commanders agree on, Gates said. The emphasis will go to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. He said he does not see a risk in the decision.
"The intelligence I've gotten is the first [initial operating capability] for anything like a fifth generation fighter in Russia is 2016," Gates said. "In China it's about 2020."
The Army's Future Combat System was the last and toughest decision he made, Gates said. There is no argument that the Army needs new weapons systems.
"At the end of the day, the principal concern I had was that a program first designed nine years ago had not fully integrated the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan into the vehicle part," he said.
The FCS infantry fighting vehicle has a flat bottom and is 18 inches off the ground. The mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, called an MRAP, -- which has arguably saved many lives -- has a V-shaped hull and is feet above the roadbed.
"We needed to stop, take a deep breath and look at this thing freshly with an eye toward what we had learned," Gates said.
Cartwright said commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan have three sets of vehicles at their disposal -- Humvees, Bradleys and MRAPs. "The question is, can one vehicle really cover that span?" the general said.
"I didn't think the program had integrated the operational experience that we have had in Iraq and Afghanistan where the commander has a menu of vehicles he can draw on in any given unit depending on what the mission is," Gates said.
Gates' decisions are meant to fill the gaps between capabilities. He said there are enemies who field a terrorist with an AK-47 assault rifle, but he is backed by a ballistic missile.
"One example is Hezbollah," Gates said. "Hezbollah has more missiles and rockets than most countries and some pretty sophisticated equipment to go with it. And yet, they also have a basic terrorist and irregular warfare capability."
And in Iraq, low-tech terrorists plant sophisticated explosive penetrating devices.
The secretary's recommendations recognize the increasing lethality of all portions of the combat spectrum. "It's not so much the specific capabilities of this budget, but the recognition that the irregular side of this threat has to be in the base budget along with the programs to deal with the more modern kinds of systems which has been in the budget forever," Gates said.
"I think there has been a lot of discussion between the nexus between an extremist organization and weapons of mass destruction, and the proliferation of that WMD in ways that, in the past, only sophisticated nation states could hope to field these kind of weapons," Cartwright said. "That time is coming to an end.
"What we acknowledge here is that the entire span of military operations is extremely lethal," he continued.
Gates said any procurement change has to begin with a professional acquisition cadre in the services and at the defense level. He has recommended hiring more government employees to oversee contractors, because "oversight of the acquisition process is inherently governmental," he said.
Gates said he believes his recommendations have a good chance at passage. "I am an optimist," he said.
The secretary said there is support for acquisition reform on the Hill and the package of changes needs to be seen as a whole rather than as parts.
"I think we will have a productive dialogue of the next couple of months, and I'm optimistic," he said.
MILITARY CONTRACTS April 7, 2009
NAVY
BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services, Inc., Rockville, Md., is being awarded a $22,427,138 modification to a previously awarded cost plus fixed fee term, level of effort contract (N00421-06-C-0085) to exercise an option for maintenance, logistics, and life cycle services in support of communication-electronic equipment/systems and subsystems for various Navy, Army, Air Force, Special Operations Forces and other federal agencies. The estimated level of effort for this option period is 328,000 man-hours. These services are in support of the Special Communications Requirements Division of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, Va., (32 percent); Fayetteville, N.C., (28 percent); California, Md., (22 percent); San Diego, Calif., (6 percent); Fort Bliss, Texas, (4 percent); Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., (2 percent); Panzer Kaserne, Germany, (2 percent); Homestead, Fla., (2 percent); Tampa, Fla., (1 percent), and the District of Columbia, (1 percent); and is expected to be completed in Apr. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, St. Inigoes, Md., is the contracting activity.
Force Protection Industries, Inc., Ladson, S.C., is being awarded a $21,869,956 firm fixed priced modification to previously awarded delivery order #0007 under contract M67854-07-D-5031 for the purchase of the augmentation parts for the Engineering Change Proposals (ECPs) for Category (CAT) I and II Prescribed Load List; CAT I and II Authorized Stockage List; CAT I and II Battle Damage Repair List; and I and II Deprocessing Kit. Work will be performed in Detroit, Mich., and work is expected to be completed by Oct. 30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Northrop Grumman Corp., Integrated Systems, Bethpage, N.Y., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $19,999,000 modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-08-C-0027) for long lead material and support for two E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Low Rate Initial Production Lot 1 aircraft. Work will be performed in Syracuse, N.Y., (32.6 percent), various locations within the United States, (23.7 percent); Bethpage, N.Y., (15.5 percent); Dallas, Texas, (12.4 percent); Menlo Park, Calif., (9.8 percent); and Woodland Hills, Calif., (6 percent), and is expected to be completed in Aug. 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a not-to-exceed $14,564,535 modification to a previously awarded cost plus fixed fee contract (N00019-06-C-0086) for H-1 Upgrade logistics products and services. This modification includes logistic management support, technical material for maintenance planning, design interface, supply /material support, support of support equipment, technical data, distribution and inventory management/packaging, handling, storage & transportation, configuration management, supportability analysis, aircraft acceptance discrepancies, and contractor logistics support/technical liaison. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in May 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded an $11,628,351 cost plus fixed fee delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-07-G-0008) to conduct non-recurring engineering for the modification and improvement of the countermeasure transmitters and cabling associated with the Suite of Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures (SIRFC) system for the CV-22 aircraft. These improvements will increase transmitter output, expand countermeasure performance and improve the reliability of the SIRFC system. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pa., (94 percent); and Fort Worth, Texas, (6 percent) and is expected to be completed in Dec. 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Ecology & Environment, Inc., Lancaster, N.Y., is being awarded a maximum amount $7,500,000 firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity architect/engineering contract for preparation of Navy and Marine Corps Environmental Planning Documentation primarily in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest area of responsibility (AOR); however, work may be located any where in the United States. The work to be performed provides for National Environmental Policy Act documents such as Categorical Exclusions, Environmental Assessments, and Environmental Impact Statements. Environmental studies and documents include, but are not limited to, historical, cultural, archaeological, traffic, acoustic (e.g., sound in water and on land), geotechnical, air quality and biological assessments for threatened and endangered species, and protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, wetlands surveys and Section 404 permitting, and agency consultation and permitting documentation for the California Coastal Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regional Water Quality Control Board, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service and other miscellaneous environmental studies, and cost estimates and sketches for the preparation of Architect-Engineer (A-E) Documents and reports. Work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities within the NAVFAC Southwest AOR including, but not limited to Calif., (80 percent), Ariz., (5 percent), Nev., (5 percent), Colo., (1 percent), N.M., (1 percent), and Utah, (1 percent). Work may also be performed in Alaska, (1 percent), Hawaii, (1 percent), and remainder of the U.S., (5 percent). The contract is expected to be completed by Apr. 2014. Contract funds ($5,000) will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with three proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N62473-09-D-2601).
MN3M, Norfolk, Va., is being awarded a $6,890,653 firm fixed price architect/engineering contract for the replacement of Pier 5 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The work to be performed provides for design services, preparation of specifications, design calculations, cost estimates, field investigations, geotechnical services, topographic surveys, hazardous material testing, renderings, post construction award services, and National Environmental Policy Act Planning. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Va., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with seven proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (N40085-09-C-5070).
AIR FORCE
Today the Air Force is modifying a fixed price incentive contract to Boeing Satellite Systems, Incorporated, El Segundo, Calif., for an estimated $8,105,000. This action will provide sustaining engineering for Post-Initial Operational Capability (IOC) of the Wideband Satellite System for Wideband Global Satellite (WGS)-25. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC/MCSW), Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. is the contracting activity (FA8808-06C-0001, P00044).
Today, the Air Force is awarding a firm fixed price contract to Ma-Chis Lower Creek Indian Tribe Enterprise, Samson, Ala., for an estimated $6,900,806. This action will provide non-personal services contract for Facility Technical Engineering Support Services. At this time $698,805 has been obligated. AFDW/AF7KM-S, Brooks City-Base, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA7014-09-C-0037).
BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services, Inc., Rockville, Md., is being awarded a $22,427,138 modification to a previously awarded cost plus fixed fee term, level of effort contract (N00421-06-C-0085) to exercise an option for maintenance, logistics, and life cycle services in support of communication-electronic equipment/systems and subsystems for various Navy, Army, Air Force, Special Operations Forces and other federal agencies. The estimated level of effort for this option period is 328,000 man-hours. These services are in support of the Special Communications Requirements Division of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, Va., (32 percent); Fayetteville, N.C., (28 percent); California, Md., (22 percent); San Diego, Calif., (6 percent); Fort Bliss, Texas, (4 percent); Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., (2 percent); Panzer Kaserne, Germany, (2 percent); Homestead, Fla., (2 percent); Tampa, Fla., (1 percent), and the District of Columbia, (1 percent); and is expected to be completed in Apr. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, St. Inigoes, Md., is the contracting activity.
Force Protection Industries, Inc., Ladson, S.C., is being awarded a $21,869,956 firm fixed priced modification to previously awarded delivery order #0007 under contract M67854-07-D-5031 for the purchase of the augmentation parts for the Engineering Change Proposals (ECPs) for Category (CAT) I and II Prescribed Load List; CAT I and II Authorized Stockage List; CAT I and II Battle Damage Repair List; and I and II Deprocessing Kit. Work will be performed in Detroit, Mich., and work is expected to be completed by Oct. 30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Northrop Grumman Corp., Integrated Systems, Bethpage, N.Y., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $19,999,000 modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-08-C-0027) for long lead material and support for two E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Low Rate Initial Production Lot 1 aircraft. Work will be performed in Syracuse, N.Y., (32.6 percent), various locations within the United States, (23.7 percent); Bethpage, N.Y., (15.5 percent); Dallas, Texas, (12.4 percent); Menlo Park, Calif., (9.8 percent); and Woodland Hills, Calif., (6 percent), and is expected to be completed in Aug. 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a not-to-exceed $14,564,535 modification to a previously awarded cost plus fixed fee contract (N00019-06-C-0086) for H-1 Upgrade logistics products and services. This modification includes logistic management support, technical material for maintenance planning, design interface, supply /material support, support of support equipment, technical data, distribution and inventory management/packaging, handling, storage & transportation, configuration management, supportability analysis, aircraft acceptance discrepancies, and contractor logistics support/technical liaison. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in May 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded an $11,628,351 cost plus fixed fee delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-07-G-0008) to conduct non-recurring engineering for the modification and improvement of the countermeasure transmitters and cabling associated with the Suite of Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures (SIRFC) system for the CV-22 aircraft. These improvements will increase transmitter output, expand countermeasure performance and improve the reliability of the SIRFC system. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pa., (94 percent); and Fort Worth, Texas, (6 percent) and is expected to be completed in Dec. 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Ecology & Environment, Inc., Lancaster, N.Y., is being awarded a maximum amount $7,500,000 firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity architect/engineering contract for preparation of Navy and Marine Corps Environmental Planning Documentation primarily in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest area of responsibility (AOR); however, work may be located any where in the United States. The work to be performed provides for National Environmental Policy Act documents such as Categorical Exclusions, Environmental Assessments, and Environmental Impact Statements. Environmental studies and documents include, but are not limited to, historical, cultural, archaeological, traffic, acoustic (e.g., sound in water and on land), geotechnical, air quality and biological assessments for threatened and endangered species, and protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, wetlands surveys and Section 404 permitting, and agency consultation and permitting documentation for the California Coastal Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regional Water Quality Control Board, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service and other miscellaneous environmental studies, and cost estimates and sketches for the preparation of Architect-Engineer (A-E) Documents and reports. Work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities within the NAVFAC Southwest AOR including, but not limited to Calif., (80 percent), Ariz., (5 percent), Nev., (5 percent), Colo., (1 percent), N.M., (1 percent), and Utah, (1 percent). Work may also be performed in Alaska, (1 percent), Hawaii, (1 percent), and remainder of the U.S., (5 percent). The contract is expected to be completed by Apr. 2014. Contract funds ($5,000) will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with three proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N62473-09-D-2601).
MN3M, Norfolk, Va., is being awarded a $6,890,653 firm fixed price architect/engineering contract for the replacement of Pier 5 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The work to be performed provides for design services, preparation of specifications, design calculations, cost estimates, field investigations, geotechnical services, topographic surveys, hazardous material testing, renderings, post construction award services, and National Environmental Policy Act Planning. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Va., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with seven proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (N40085-09-C-5070).
AIR FORCE
Today the Air Force is modifying a fixed price incentive contract to Boeing Satellite Systems, Incorporated, El Segundo, Calif., for an estimated $8,105,000. This action will provide sustaining engineering for Post-Initial Operational Capability (IOC) of the Wideband Satellite System for Wideband Global Satellite (WGS)-25. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC/MCSW), Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. is the contracting activity (FA8808-06C-0001, P00044).
Today, the Air Force is awarding a firm fixed price contract to Ma-Chis Lower Creek Indian Tribe Enterprise, Samson, Ala., for an estimated $6,900,806. This action will provide non-personal services contract for Facility Technical Engineering Support Services. At this time $698,805 has been obligated. AFDW/AF7KM-S, Brooks City-Base, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA7014-09-C-0037).
Vice President to Visit Fort Bragg, Welcome Home 18th Airborne Corps
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2009 - Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Fort Bragg, N.C., tomorrow to welcome home Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III and his 18th Airborne Corps soldiers during a ceremony marking the end of their 15-month deployment to Iraq. Biden and Austin are expected to speak at the Main Post Parade Field on Fort Bragg.
About 200 soldiers from 18th Airborne Corps headquarters flew into Green Ramp on Pope Air Force Base, N.C., on April 4. Austin and 40 more soldiers flew in the following day after officially relinquishing command of Multinational Corps Iraq to 1st Corps from Fort Lewis, Wash.
The 18th Airborne Corps was the operational headquarters in charge of the Iraq military theater from February 2005 to January 2006 and then again from February 2007 until April 4. The corps was responsible for nearly 160,000 coalition troops within three Army divisions, one Marine expeditionary force, three coalition divisions and numerous separate brigades.
Their mission was to manage and oversee full-spectrum operations to counter extremist groups, provide security for the Iraqi people, and to develop Iraqi security forces as well as the government's capacity.
Under 18th Airborne Corps' watch, security and violence drastically improved throughout the country. Following redeployment of the "surge" brigades in June and July 2008, insurgent attack levels fell by 400 percent and remained increasingly low, Austin said in a Pentagon news conference last month.
Austin said he knew going in that his corps' main responsibility would be to build on the success of the surge. The trend continues today with little violence and steadily decreasing attack levels throughout the country, which has allowed U.S. forces to shift focus to Afghanistan -- including more Fort Bragg soldiers.
The Fort Bragg-Fayetteville, N.C., community has been a revolving door of deployments and continuous combat training since 9/11. The community is home to more than 60,000 soldiers, airmen and their families from Pope Air Force Base, the 82nd Airborne Division, 18th Airborne Corps and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division headquarters, 82nd Aviation Brigade and 4th Brigade Combat Team are all scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan this spring and summer. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team is deployed to Baghdad.
Airmen from Pope Air Force Base and Special Forces soldiers from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command as well as 3rd and 7th Special Forces Groups have been rotating back and forth to Afghanistan since 9/11.
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2009 - Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Fort Bragg, N.C., tomorrow to welcome home Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III and his 18th Airborne Corps soldiers during a ceremony marking the end of their 15-month deployment to Iraq. Biden and Austin are expected to speak at the Main Post Parade Field on Fort Bragg.
About 200 soldiers from 18th Airborne Corps headquarters flew into Green Ramp on Pope Air Force Base, N.C., on April 4. Austin and 40 more soldiers flew in the following day after officially relinquishing command of Multinational Corps Iraq to 1st Corps from Fort Lewis, Wash.
The 18th Airborne Corps was the operational headquarters in charge of the Iraq military theater from February 2005 to January 2006 and then again from February 2007 until April 4. The corps was responsible for nearly 160,000 coalition troops within three Army divisions, one Marine expeditionary force, three coalition divisions and numerous separate brigades.
Their mission was to manage and oversee full-spectrum operations to counter extremist groups, provide security for the Iraqi people, and to develop Iraqi security forces as well as the government's capacity.
Under 18th Airborne Corps' watch, security and violence drastically improved throughout the country. Following redeployment of the "surge" brigades in June and July 2008, insurgent attack levels fell by 400 percent and remained increasingly low, Austin said in a Pentagon news conference last month.
Austin said he knew going in that his corps' main responsibility would be to build on the success of the surge. The trend continues today with little violence and steadily decreasing attack levels throughout the country, which has allowed U.S. forces to shift focus to Afghanistan -- including more Fort Bragg soldiers.
The Fort Bragg-Fayetteville, N.C., community has been a revolving door of deployments and continuous combat training since 9/11. The community is home to more than 60,000 soldiers, airmen and their families from Pope Air Force Base, the 82nd Airborne Division, 18th Airborne Corps and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division headquarters, 82nd Aviation Brigade and 4th Brigade Combat Team are all scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan this spring and summer. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team is deployed to Baghdad.
Airmen from Pope Air Force Base and Special Forces soldiers from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command as well as 3rd and 7th Special Forces Groups have been rotating back and forth to Afghanistan since 9/11.
Budget Recommendations Provide 'Home' for Warfighters, Gates Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says the changes to the budget that he proposed yesterday will provide a "home" for warfighters that doesn't currently exist in the Pentagon's institutions. The Defense Department has a set of institutions arranged largely to prepare for conflicts against other modern navies, armies and air forces.
"Programs to directly support, protect and care for the man and woman at the front have been developed ad hoc and ... funded outside the base budget," Gates said during a Pentagon news conference announcing his fiscal 2010 budget recommendations. "Put simply, until recently, there has not been an institutional home in the Defense Department for today's warfighter."
The most likely scenarios American servicemembers will face in the coming years is warfare such as that in Iraq and Afghanistan in which both conventional and unconvential, or irregular, tactics are used, Gates said.
"Our contemporary wartime needs must receive steady long-term funding and a bureaucratic constituency similar to conventional modernization programs," the secretary said. "I intend to use the fiscal 2010 budget to begin this process."
Conventional weapons systems have advocates for their long-range needs and points of view -- within the department and in industry, Gates said. For example, the F-22 Raptor has built-in advocates pushing for the program. There are Army offices specializing in the Future Combat System. But if warfighters need a capability like the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle or new protective gear, there isn't a home for that.
Trying to put the Defense Department bureaucracy on an unconventional war footing has "revealed underlying flaws in the priorities, cultural preferences and reward structures of America's defense establishment," Gates said.
Gates said the Defense Department budget, with his recommendations incorporated, would break into roughly "10 percent for irregular warfare; about 50 percent for traditional, strategic and conventional conflict; and about 40-percent dual-purpose capabilities."
The decisions are not about irregular warfare putting the conventional capabilities in the shade. "This is just a matter ... of having the irregular-war constituency have a seat at the table for the first time when it comes to the base budget," he said.
The debate between conventional and irregular capabilities is artificial, Gates said. Most experts talk about "a spectrum of conflict in which you may face at the same time an insurgent with an AK-47 [assault rifle] and his supporting element with a highly sophisticated ballistic missile," he said.
They call this threat spectrum "complex hybrid warfare," he said.
The budget recommendations the secretary made strengthen the ability of the department to meet these threats. He said he does not want to supplant conventional capabilities with irregular capabilities.
"I'm just trying to get the irregular guys to have a seat at the table and to institutionalize some of the needs that they have so that we can get what they need to them faster, and so that we don't have go outside the Pentagon bureaucracy every time there's a need for the warfighter that has to be met in a relatively short period of time," he said.
The secretary said his conclusions were the result, in part, of a lifetime of experience in national security.
"I set out here to develop a budget and a program, really, that I thought best served the national security interests of the United States," Gates said. "And I, frankly, decided that I would not take the political issues associated with any of these programs into account. I would just do what I thought was best for the country.
"And my hope is that in the months ahead that, first, the president will approve this budget, and then second, that the Congress, after careful deliberation, will support as much of it as possible."
American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says the changes to the budget that he proposed yesterday will provide a "home" for warfighters that doesn't currently exist in the Pentagon's institutions. The Defense Department has a set of institutions arranged largely to prepare for conflicts against other modern navies, armies and air forces.
"Programs to directly support, protect and care for the man and woman at the front have been developed ad hoc and ... funded outside the base budget," Gates said during a Pentagon news conference announcing his fiscal 2010 budget recommendations. "Put simply, until recently, there has not been an institutional home in the Defense Department for today's warfighter."
The most likely scenarios American servicemembers will face in the coming years is warfare such as that in Iraq and Afghanistan in which both conventional and unconvential, or irregular, tactics are used, Gates said.
"Our contemporary wartime needs must receive steady long-term funding and a bureaucratic constituency similar to conventional modernization programs," the secretary said. "I intend to use the fiscal 2010 budget to begin this process."
Conventional weapons systems have advocates for their long-range needs and points of view -- within the department and in industry, Gates said. For example, the F-22 Raptor has built-in advocates pushing for the program. There are Army offices specializing in the Future Combat System. But if warfighters need a capability like the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle or new protective gear, there isn't a home for that.
Trying to put the Defense Department bureaucracy on an unconventional war footing has "revealed underlying flaws in the priorities, cultural preferences and reward structures of America's defense establishment," Gates said.
Gates said the Defense Department budget, with his recommendations incorporated, would break into roughly "10 percent for irregular warfare; about 50 percent for traditional, strategic and conventional conflict; and about 40-percent dual-purpose capabilities."
The decisions are not about irregular warfare putting the conventional capabilities in the shade. "This is just a matter ... of having the irregular-war constituency have a seat at the table for the first time when it comes to the base budget," he said.
The debate between conventional and irregular capabilities is artificial, Gates said. Most experts talk about "a spectrum of conflict in which you may face at the same time an insurgent with an AK-47 [assault rifle] and his supporting element with a highly sophisticated ballistic missile," he said.
They call this threat spectrum "complex hybrid warfare," he said.
The budget recommendations the secretary made strengthen the ability of the department to meet these threats. He said he does not want to supplant conventional capabilities with irregular capabilities.
"I'm just trying to get the irregular guys to have a seat at the table and to institutionalize some of the needs that they have so that we can get what they need to them faster, and so that we don't have go outside the Pentagon bureaucracy every time there's a need for the warfighter that has to be met in a relatively short period of time," he said.
The secretary said his conclusions were the result, in part, of a lifetime of experience in national security.
"I set out here to develop a budget and a program, really, that I thought best served the national security interests of the United States," Gates said. "And I, frankly, decided that I would not take the political issues associated with any of these programs into account. I would just do what I thought was best for the country.
"And my hope is that in the months ahead that, first, the president will approve this budget, and then second, that the Congress, after careful deliberation, will support as much of it as possible."
Air Guard Fighters Intercept Suspicious Aircraft
By Army Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2009 - Air National Guard fighter aircraft from two states intercepted a suspicious aircraft as it flew into U.S. airspace yesterday afternoon. North American Aerospace Defense Command directed F-16C aircraft assigned to the 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth, Minn., to initially intercept the Cessna 172 single-engine aircraft near Michigan's Upper Peninsula, before handing off the mission to F-16s assigned to the 115th FW of Madison, Wis.
Pilots attempted to notify the pilot to establish communications with local Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers and land safety for further follow-on action, according to a Wisconsin National Guard news release.
The Cessna pilot acknowledged the fighters, but was unresponsive to specific nonverbal commands, according to a NORAD press release.
Mike Kucharek, a NORAD spokesman, said the Cessna was reported as stolen from an aviation school in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and departed without Navigation Canada authority.
The pilot was flying erratically and did not communicate with fighter pilots, the spokesman told national news agencies.
The Wisconsin fighters were about to hand the mission over to aircraft from the 159th FW of the Louisiana Air National Guard when the Cessna ran out of gas over southern Missouri. U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft intercepted the Cessna as well, but the F-16s followed the aircraft until it landed in an area 23 miles northwest of Poplar Bluff, Mo., at 9:45 p.m. EDT. The aircraft landed on Highway 60 near Ellsinore, Mo., and was apprehended by local authorities.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Dunbar, the adjutant general of the Wisconsin National Guard and the homeland security advisor to the state, ordered the evacuation of the Capitol building in Madison as a precautionary measure, according to a state-issued press release. At 5:45 p.m., the evacuation was terminated based on the aircraft's proximity to the building.
(Army Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum serves at the National Guard Bureau.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 7, 2009 - Air National Guard fighter aircraft from two states intercepted a suspicious aircraft as it flew into U.S. airspace yesterday afternoon. North American Aerospace Defense Command directed F-16C aircraft assigned to the 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth, Minn., to initially intercept the Cessna 172 single-engine aircraft near Michigan's Upper Peninsula, before handing off the mission to F-16s assigned to the 115th FW of Madison, Wis.
Pilots attempted to notify the pilot to establish communications with local Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers and land safety for further follow-on action, according to a Wisconsin National Guard news release.
The Cessna pilot acknowledged the fighters, but was unresponsive to specific nonverbal commands, according to a NORAD press release.
Mike Kucharek, a NORAD spokesman, said the Cessna was reported as stolen from an aviation school in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and departed without Navigation Canada authority.
The pilot was flying erratically and did not communicate with fighter pilots, the spokesman told national news agencies.
The Wisconsin fighters were about to hand the mission over to aircraft from the 159th FW of the Louisiana Air National Guard when the Cessna ran out of gas over southern Missouri. U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft intercepted the Cessna as well, but the F-16s followed the aircraft until it landed in an area 23 miles northwest of Poplar Bluff, Mo., at 9:45 p.m. EDT. The aircraft landed on Highway 60 near Ellsinore, Mo., and was apprehended by local authorities.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Dunbar, the adjutant general of the Wisconsin National Guard and the homeland security advisor to the state, ordered the evacuation of the Capitol building in Madison as a precautionary measure, according to a state-issued press release. At 5:45 p.m., the evacuation was terminated based on the aircraft's proximity to the building.
(Army Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum serves at the National Guard Bureau.)
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