By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
April 10, 2009 - All the support programs in the world won't do any good if no one knows about them, so the Defense Department's principal director for military community and family policy started the office's new "eMagazine." "What I found when I came up here was they have great programs and so forth, but they didn't tell people what was available," said Arthur Myers, who assumed his post in January. "So we started with a weekly activity report. That had such great response I said, 'Let's do a magazine where we can show all of our activities.'"
The eMagazine made its debut April 1. Originally slated to be a quarterly publication, the new magazine got such a great response, Myers said, that he already has decided to adjust the production schedule. The next edition will publish June 1.
The content for each eMagazine will largely depend on the time of the year, he added.
"This is the Month of the Military Child, so you want to focus on that," Myers said. "As issues come up, that's what we decide to put on there."
With links to the office's programs and activities, the eMagazine will focus on different issues, including a new campaign for exceptional family members. It also will focus on areas of continuous interest to military members and their families.
For instance, this issue features a story on a new YMCA benefit for military personnel and their families who don't have convenient access to a military installation and the support systems they provide. In fact, that benefit spurred a reader to e-mail Myers and tell him of her experience. She said her husband won't recognize her when he returns from deployment. She's lost 25 pounds thanks to the free YMCA membership.
The publication also will feature articles that servicemembers and their families will find helpful in planning moves to new duty assignments.
Other content will come from reader feedback. For example, Myers said, the staff will consider what kinds of information servicemembers and their families are seeking from Military OneSource, a resource for overall life assistance, or what they're looking at on the military community and family policy office's Military Homefront Web page.
Each military departments will have a page, Myers said, with the hope that they'll help to ensure the right people receive the eMagazine. The potential distribution list includes all members of the military, including National Guardsmen and reservists, family, friends, retirees, and other interested parties.
The military community and family policy staff were skeptical about the original weekly updates, Myers said, but the staff is enthused about the eMagazine. In fact, he said, he occasionally has to figure out which pieces he's going to cut from one eMagazine and try to work into another. Myers said he doesn't want the eMagazine to be so big that people won't want to read it. But if it's readable, and if people ask for it to grow just a little, he said, he'd be perfectly happy.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Developing System Gives Hope to Improved Battlefield Communications
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
April 10, 2009 - Having a conversation interrupted by a lost cell phone signal is annoying. But for those serving in a combat zone, losing connectivity can be deadly. A Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program is well on its way toward developing a system that prevents disruptions in communication signals, and when they do occur, ensures the message doesn't disappear into never-never-land.
DARPA launched the Disruption Tolerant Networking program three years ago to eliminate dropped messages that occur due to interference in the communication path, explained Preston Marshall, the program manager.
Interruptions can be caused by anything from a metal vehicle or building to terrain features that that block satellite signal paths – all common factors on the battlefield, he noted.
The concept originated with NASA, where engineers explored ways to deal with interplanetary communications in highly unpredictable circumstances. But DARPA saw military applications, too.
The challenge, Marshall explained, is that Internet technology was built around the assumption that "everyone is connected to cable modems and that they are underneath 1,000-foot cell towers."
That's hardly the case for combat troops. "In the military, our soldiers are talking between radios that are very close to the ground, and a 10-foot berm on the ground looks like a mountain," he said.
Marshall and his DARPA team members encounter the same phenomenon when they operate at Fort A.P. Hill, Va. – an Army base where the word "hill" is a bit of a stretch. "When we drive around Fort A.P. Hill, we lose satellite signals about 25 percent of the time, just because of the trees on the side of the roads," he said.
"Similarly, if I am a soldier doing a Web page or updating Blue Force tracking data, and I walk behind a metal building or get into a metal vehicle, that can be enough to break my connection for 10 or 20 seconds," he said.
Those few seconds can stop a message in its tracks – with potentially life-or-death consequences. That's because when traditional networks run up against these disruptions, they simply drop the signal. The intended recipient never gets the communication, and neither the sender nor receiver realizes it.
Not so with DTN, which Marshall said will hold onto the message and deliver it at the first opportunity. "In DTN, if the network can't deliver it right away, it doesn't throw it away. If I give something to a DTN and then I disconnect, DTN will continue to march it across the network and get it delivered for me," he said.
"It takes responsibility for the material until it delivers it – just like the Postal Service," he said. "So it's a very common-sense way to run networks."
That capability could be a lifesaver for combat troops who depend on reliable communications. "It can be the difference in ensuring the tactical edge," Marshall said.
The DTN program has made steady progress, with the technology proving itself out in two field demonstrations replicating combat conditions. It's currently in its third and final phase of development, after which the military services will assess it and determine if they want to adopt it, Marshall said.
The Army already has agreed to buy about 300 low-cost hand-held radios built around DTN technology. If the system performs as expected in the operational environment, the Army is expected to buy large quantities.
Ultimately, Marshall expects to see broad, almost across-the-board application of DTN that brings more dependable communications to front-line troops.
"If you are sitting in a command center, you have got lots of fiber and you don't need DTN," he said. "DTN is for the guy on the edge who has one path back that is competing with lots of other applications and being blocked as he goes behind vehicles. That's where this effort is focused: on the tactical edge."
American Forces Press Service
April 10, 2009 - Having a conversation interrupted by a lost cell phone signal is annoying. But for those serving in a combat zone, losing connectivity can be deadly. A Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program is well on its way toward developing a system that prevents disruptions in communication signals, and when they do occur, ensures the message doesn't disappear into never-never-land.
DARPA launched the Disruption Tolerant Networking program three years ago to eliminate dropped messages that occur due to interference in the communication path, explained Preston Marshall, the program manager.
Interruptions can be caused by anything from a metal vehicle or building to terrain features that that block satellite signal paths – all common factors on the battlefield, he noted.
The concept originated with NASA, where engineers explored ways to deal with interplanetary communications in highly unpredictable circumstances. But DARPA saw military applications, too.
The challenge, Marshall explained, is that Internet technology was built around the assumption that "everyone is connected to cable modems and that they are underneath 1,000-foot cell towers."
That's hardly the case for combat troops. "In the military, our soldiers are talking between radios that are very close to the ground, and a 10-foot berm on the ground looks like a mountain," he said.
Marshall and his DARPA team members encounter the same phenomenon when they operate at Fort A.P. Hill, Va. – an Army base where the word "hill" is a bit of a stretch. "When we drive around Fort A.P. Hill, we lose satellite signals about 25 percent of the time, just because of the trees on the side of the roads," he said.
"Similarly, if I am a soldier doing a Web page or updating Blue Force tracking data, and I walk behind a metal building or get into a metal vehicle, that can be enough to break my connection for 10 or 20 seconds," he said.
Those few seconds can stop a message in its tracks – with potentially life-or-death consequences. That's because when traditional networks run up against these disruptions, they simply drop the signal. The intended recipient never gets the communication, and neither the sender nor receiver realizes it.
Not so with DTN, which Marshall said will hold onto the message and deliver it at the first opportunity. "In DTN, if the network can't deliver it right away, it doesn't throw it away. If I give something to a DTN and then I disconnect, DTN will continue to march it across the network and get it delivered for me," he said.
"It takes responsibility for the material until it delivers it – just like the Postal Service," he said. "So it's a very common-sense way to run networks."
That capability could be a lifesaver for combat troops who depend on reliable communications. "It can be the difference in ensuring the tactical edge," Marshall said.
The DTN program has made steady progress, with the technology proving itself out in two field demonstrations replicating combat conditions. It's currently in its third and final phase of development, after which the military services will assess it and determine if they want to adopt it, Marshall said.
The Army already has agreed to buy about 300 low-cost hand-held radios built around DTN technology. If the system performs as expected in the operational environment, the Army is expected to buy large quantities.
Ultimately, Marshall expects to see broad, almost across-the-board application of DTN that brings more dependable communications to front-line troops.
"If you are sitting in a command center, you have got lots of fiber and you don't need DTN," he said. "DTN is for the guy on the edge who has one path back that is competing with lots of other applications and being blocked as he goes behind vehicles. That's where this effort is focused: on the tactical edge."
VA Nursing Academy Expands to 15 Universities, Medical Facilities
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
April 10, 2009 - Five collegiate nursing programs yesterday became the newest partners in a Veterans Affairs Department initiative to bring more nurses into the national work force and improve the quality of health care veterans receive, the director of the VA's Nursing Academy pilot program told American Forces Press Service today. In a telephone interview, Linda D. Johnson said the partnerships address the national shortage of nurses that's been a major concern of health care providers for several years. Since 2000, hospitals throughout the country have reported annual nursing shortages, but more than 100,000 qualified applicants were turned away from nursing schools during the same time, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nurses.
The main reason for applicants being turned away is a lack of educators, said Johnson, who has a doctorate in nursing and more than 40 years of experience in the military and VA health care systems.
Surveys of nursing schools with bachelor's degree programs show that as many as 75 percent of the nation's nursing schools have faculty shortages that prevent them from increasing enrollment, she said.
"There's just not enough room in the classrooms to facilitate all the qualified applicants," she said.
The five-year pilot program began in 2007 with four universities to develop data and research in an attempt to counter the shortage. VA officials believed offering additional funding and faculty for increased student enrollment would make a positive impact, Johnson said.
In 2008, six more universities, with their local VA hospitals, were selected to participate in the program. The latest partnerships the VA established are with:
-- Western Carolina University in Asheville, N.C.;
-- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Ala.;
-- University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu;
-- Pace University in New York; and
-- Waynesburg University in Pittsburgh.
Each of the 15 schools now in the program was competitively selected through a formal proposal request, in which VA officials gave points based on the schools' past relationships with local VA facilities, their perception of the schools' commitment to VA, how they intended to increase learning and improve education practices, and commitment by the local VA faculty.
"We didn't just choose the school," Johnson explained. "We chose the VA hospital as well. We looked at the commitment by the VA and the facility leadership to support a culture of excellence in nursing education because we really want it to be a great environment for people to learn."
The requires each school to increase enrollment by 20 students in its first year, and then by 40 every year after. The partner VA hospital provides five faculty members the first year, and 10 each following year. The VA faculty teaches classes and supervises hands-on, clinical learning at the VA hospital, she said.
The program's budget is around $59 million for the five years, Johnson said. By fiscal 2012, when the pilot is scheduled to end, at least an additional 1,000 nurses will be licensed, while 440 new faculty positions will have been opened between the 15 nursing schools, she added.
Although the program will produce more nurses nationwide, Johnson said, VA officials hope to attract nurses for employment at VA facilities. She said she hopes students will value and enjoy their clinical experiences with the VA, while the VA nursing school faculty will appreciate the new opportunities within the VA system.
Johnson added that even if faculty members and graduates decide to seek private-sector employment, they'll still benefit from their VA experience. VA officials believe a large portion of the nation's veterans seek health care outside the VA system, and the nurses still will have a better understanding of what it takes to care for the nation's veterans because of their prior experiences, she said.
"Recruitment of the graduates is a focus of the program, but not all the students are going to come to the VA," Johnson said. "When those nurses who have some clinical experience in the VA interact with veterans in the private sector, we hope they'll have a better understanding of who is a veteran and what makes them unique and what kinds of experience they have that makes them different from everybody else."
As the program approaches its halfway point, the first set of schools is finishing up its second year in the program. Although Johnson remains hopeful, she said, it's too early to determine the program's fate.
"We don't have enough data yet, at this point," she said. "But what we're already seeing is substantial increases in recruitment of students that come to the VA, so I don't think we're going to have any difficulty demonstrating the success of it. We'll just have to see."
American Forces Press Service
April 10, 2009 - Five collegiate nursing programs yesterday became the newest partners in a Veterans Affairs Department initiative to bring more nurses into the national work force and improve the quality of health care veterans receive, the director of the VA's Nursing Academy pilot program told American Forces Press Service today. In a telephone interview, Linda D. Johnson said the partnerships address the national shortage of nurses that's been a major concern of health care providers for several years. Since 2000, hospitals throughout the country have reported annual nursing shortages, but more than 100,000 qualified applicants were turned away from nursing schools during the same time, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nurses.
The main reason for applicants being turned away is a lack of educators, said Johnson, who has a doctorate in nursing and more than 40 years of experience in the military and VA health care systems.
Surveys of nursing schools with bachelor's degree programs show that as many as 75 percent of the nation's nursing schools have faculty shortages that prevent them from increasing enrollment, she said.
"There's just not enough room in the classrooms to facilitate all the qualified applicants," she said.
The five-year pilot program began in 2007 with four universities to develop data and research in an attempt to counter the shortage. VA officials believed offering additional funding and faculty for increased student enrollment would make a positive impact, Johnson said.
In 2008, six more universities, with their local VA hospitals, were selected to participate in the program. The latest partnerships the VA established are with:
-- Western Carolina University in Asheville, N.C.;
-- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Ala.;
-- University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu;
-- Pace University in New York; and
-- Waynesburg University in Pittsburgh.
Each of the 15 schools now in the program was competitively selected through a formal proposal request, in which VA officials gave points based on the schools' past relationships with local VA facilities, their perception of the schools' commitment to VA, how they intended to increase learning and improve education practices, and commitment by the local VA faculty.
"We didn't just choose the school," Johnson explained. "We chose the VA hospital as well. We looked at the commitment by the VA and the facility leadership to support a culture of excellence in nursing education because we really want it to be a great environment for people to learn."
The requires each school to increase enrollment by 20 students in its first year, and then by 40 every year after. The partner VA hospital provides five faculty members the first year, and 10 each following year. The VA faculty teaches classes and supervises hands-on, clinical learning at the VA hospital, she said.
The program's budget is around $59 million for the five years, Johnson said. By fiscal 2012, when the pilot is scheduled to end, at least an additional 1,000 nurses will be licensed, while 440 new faculty positions will have been opened between the 15 nursing schools, she added.
Although the program will produce more nurses nationwide, Johnson said, VA officials hope to attract nurses for employment at VA facilities. She said she hopes students will value and enjoy their clinical experiences with the VA, while the VA nursing school faculty will appreciate the new opportunities within the VA system.
Johnson added that even if faculty members and graduates decide to seek private-sector employment, they'll still benefit from their VA experience. VA officials believe a large portion of the nation's veterans seek health care outside the VA system, and the nurses still will have a better understanding of what it takes to care for the nation's veterans because of their prior experiences, she said.
"Recruitment of the graduates is a focus of the program, but not all the students are going to come to the VA," Johnson said. "When those nurses who have some clinical experience in the VA interact with veterans in the private sector, we hope they'll have a better understanding of who is a veteran and what makes them unique and what kinds of experience they have that makes them different from everybody else."
As the program approaches its halfway point, the first set of schools is finishing up its second year in the program. Although Johnson remains hopeful, she said, it's too early to determine the program's fate.
"We don't have enough data yet, at this point," she said. "But what we're already seeing is substantial increases in recruitment of students that come to the VA, so I don't think we're going to have any difficulty demonstrating the success of it. We'll just have to see."
MILITARY CONTRACTS April 10, 2009
NAVY
BAE Systems Land & Armaments, Ground Systems Division, York, Pa., is being awarded a $47,209,920 firm fixed priced modification to previously awarded delivery order #0006 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5025) for field service representatives and instructors to support Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Work will be performed in Iraq, and is expected to be completed by the December 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.
L-3 Communications Flight International, Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $21,944,115 modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price, indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract (N00019-09-D-0018) for commercial air services, and military operations support. This modification provides airborne threat simulation training for shipboard and aircraft squadron weapon systems operators and aircrew, to enhance abilities to counter potential enemy Electronic Warfare and Electronic Attack operations in an Electronic Combat environment. Work will be performed in Newport News, Va., (50 percent) and San Diego, Calif., (50 percent), and is expected to be completed in Oct. 2009. 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.
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., is being awarded $10,564,291 for fixed price delivery order #0071 under their existing indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract (M67854-04-D-5016). This delivery order is for the installation of 442 Reducible Armor Kits on Non-RTAA Cargo, Dump, and Tractor vehicle variants and Armor Kits on Wrecker variants at Jacksonville, Fla. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Fla., and work for this delivery order is expected to be completed by May 31, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Computer Technology Assoc., Inc.*, Ridgecrest, Calif., is being awarded a $6,525,141 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for 609 electronic assemblies and the associated engineering and technical support, as well as repair services. This effort is in support of the U.S. Navy's Airborne Threat Simulation Organization. Work will be performed in Ridgecrest, Calif., and is expected to be completed in Apr. 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via electronic request for proposal as a 100 percent small business set aside, and three offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity (N68936-09-D-0023).
Symetrics Industries*, Melbourne, Fla., is being awarded a $6,515,886 firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for the procurement of 500 Technique Control Modulators units, 950 TCM Kits and the engineering and technical support, and repair services for the TCM units/kits for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force in support of the Airborne Threat Simulation Organization. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Fla., and is expected to be completed in Apr. 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under an electronic request for proposals as a 100 percent small business set-aside; three offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity (N68936-09-D-0009).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Burlington Apparel Fabrics, Greensboro, N.C., is being awarded a maximum $24,835,440 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for Poly/Wool Serge cloth. Other location of performance is in North Carolina. Using service is Army. The original proposal was Web solicited with one response. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 10, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM1C1-09-D-0045).
Burlington Apparel Fabrics, Greensboro, N.C., is being awarded a maximum $16,377,771 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for Poly/Wool Serge cloth. Other location of performance is in North Carolina. Using service is Army. The originally proposal was Web solicited with 1 response. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 10, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM1C1-09-D-0046).
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., is being awarded a maximum $11,277,803 firm fixed price contract for axle assembly parts. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Army. There were originally three proposals solicited with one response. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Apr. 10, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency – Warren (DSCC-ZG), Warren, Mich., (SPRDL1-09-D-0019).
AIR FORCE
Today the Air Force is awarding a cost plus incentive fee contract to L3 Communications, Link Simulation & Training, Arlington, Texas for an estimated $22,891,332. This action will provide B-2 Training System follow on concurrency with the B-2 Weapon System through CY17 and Contractor Logistics Support of existing B-2 training devices to include courseware, classroom, and academic instruction for training systems located at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. At this time, $7,188,477 has been obligated. ASC/AESG/PK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8621-08-C-6250).
Today the Air Force is awarding a firm fixed price contract to Kilgore Flares Co., Toone, Tenn., for an estimated $6,776,294. This action will provide for the MJU-53/B IR Decoy Flare which is used by U.S. military aircraft, most notably the C-17, to provide seduction protection against heat-seeking missiles. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 784 CBSG/PK, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8213-09-C-0001).
U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
UV Country Inc., of Houston is being awarded a $28,390,453, not to exceed, firm fixed price, five-year indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract for 1,625 Light Tactical All-Terrain Vehicles. This acquisition is in support of U.S. Special Operations Command. The period of performance of this contract is Apr. 10, 2009, to Apr. 9, 2014. The contract number is H92222-09-D-0013.
BAE Systems Land & Armaments, Ground Systems Division, York, Pa., is being awarded a $47,209,920 firm fixed priced modification to previously awarded delivery order #0006 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5025) for field service representatives and instructors to support Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Work will be performed in Iraq, and is expected to be completed by the December 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.
L-3 Communications Flight International, Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $21,944,115 modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price, indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract (N00019-09-D-0018) for commercial air services, and military operations support. This modification provides airborne threat simulation training for shipboard and aircraft squadron weapon systems operators and aircrew, to enhance abilities to counter potential enemy Electronic Warfare and Electronic Attack operations in an Electronic Combat environment. Work will be performed in Newport News, Va., (50 percent) and San Diego, Calif., (50 percent), and is expected to be completed in Oct. 2009. 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.
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., is being awarded $10,564,291 for fixed price delivery order #0071 under their existing indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract (M67854-04-D-5016). This delivery order is for the installation of 442 Reducible Armor Kits on Non-RTAA Cargo, Dump, and Tractor vehicle variants and Armor Kits on Wrecker variants at Jacksonville, Fla. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Fla., and work for this delivery order is expected to be completed by May 31, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Computer Technology Assoc., Inc.*, Ridgecrest, Calif., is being awarded a $6,525,141 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for 609 electronic assemblies and the associated engineering and technical support, as well as repair services. This effort is in support of the U.S. Navy's Airborne Threat Simulation Organization. Work will be performed in Ridgecrest, Calif., and is expected to be completed in Apr. 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via electronic request for proposal as a 100 percent small business set aside, and three offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity (N68936-09-D-0023).
Symetrics Industries*, Melbourne, Fla., is being awarded a $6,515,886 firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for the procurement of 500 Technique Control Modulators units, 950 TCM Kits and the engineering and technical support, and repair services for the TCM units/kits for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force in support of the Airborne Threat Simulation Organization. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Fla., and is expected to be completed in Apr. 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under an electronic request for proposals as a 100 percent small business set-aside; three offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity (N68936-09-D-0009).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Burlington Apparel Fabrics, Greensboro, N.C., is being awarded a maximum $24,835,440 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for Poly/Wool Serge cloth. Other location of performance is in North Carolina. Using service is Army. The original proposal was Web solicited with one response. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 10, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM1C1-09-D-0045).
Burlington Apparel Fabrics, Greensboro, N.C., is being awarded a maximum $16,377,771 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for Poly/Wool Serge cloth. Other location of performance is in North Carolina. Using service is Army. The originally proposal was Web solicited with 1 response. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 10, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM1C1-09-D-0046).
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., is being awarded a maximum $11,277,803 firm fixed price contract for axle assembly parts. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Army. There were originally three proposals solicited with one response. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Apr. 10, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency – Warren (DSCC-ZG), Warren, Mich., (SPRDL1-09-D-0019).
AIR FORCE
Today the Air Force is awarding a cost plus incentive fee contract to L3 Communications, Link Simulation & Training, Arlington, Texas for an estimated $22,891,332. This action will provide B-2 Training System follow on concurrency with the B-2 Weapon System through CY17 and Contractor Logistics Support of existing B-2 training devices to include courseware, classroom, and academic instruction for training systems located at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. At this time, $7,188,477 has been obligated. ASC/AESG/PK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8621-08-C-6250).
Today the Air Force is awarding a firm fixed price contract to Kilgore Flares Co., Toone, Tenn., for an estimated $6,776,294. This action will provide for the MJU-53/B IR Decoy Flare which is used by U.S. military aircraft, most notably the C-17, to provide seduction protection against heat-seeking missiles. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 784 CBSG/PK, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8213-09-C-0001).
U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
UV Country Inc., of Houston is being awarded a $28,390,453, not to exceed, firm fixed price, five-year indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract for 1,625 Light Tactical All-Terrain Vehicles. This acquisition is in support of U.S. Special Operations Command. The period of performance of this contract is Apr. 10, 2009, to Apr. 9, 2014. The contract number is H92222-09-D-0013.
NATO Group Visits Guard Site to Scout Training Opportunities
By Army Sgts. Joseph Rivera Rebolledo and Bradley StaggsSpecial to American Forces Press Service
April 10, 2009 - NATO's Urban Warfare Working Group paid a visit last week to Camp Atterbury-Muscatatuck Center for Complex Operations in search of training options for deploying troops. Swedish Army Capt. Richard Eriksson said the simulator training available at Camp Atterbury and live urban-terrain training available at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Butlerville, Ind., was exactly what he and the seven other NATO delegates wanted to see during their visit. The Camp Atterbury-Muscatatuck center provided the immersive, real-world training that NATO countries want, he said.
"To have [simulator] mission training before going out on missions so you can train escort [duties], that was very nice," Eriksson said. "I think we should have that in Sweden."
The trainers, soldiers from the 205th Infantry Brigade, showed the NATO delegation how they ensure soldiers are prepared to recognize combatants and noncombatants in all situations, allowing mistakes to be made in training, not in combat.
Army Col. Steven M. Merkel, 205th Infantry Brigade commander, said the trainers use many methods to give soldiers the realistic training experience.
"Here at Atterbury, we use a number of different techniques to include rules of engagement training, dry fires, and also the Engagement Skill Trainer 2000, which is a marksmanship video game that allows us to run simulated shoot-don't shoot scenarios, so the soldiers get used to – and probably more importantly – feel confident and competent in their ability to make quick decisions on how to most appropriately respond in certain situations," he said.
What helps to create the realistic scenarios is the replication of three systems present in any urban environment: terrain, society and infrastructure, Merkel said.
"We have [Muscatatuck] available, which allows us to train American soldiers in each of those dimensions, because it has the tunnels, the roof tops and obviously, it has the surface area and the air space to operate within," he said.
Army bLt. Col. Chris Kelsey, site manager at Muscatatuck, said one of the center's advantages is that trainers can make a training site look like a city street, including pedestrians.
"Everybody who works here is 'in-play,'" he explained to the group. "That means that if a training group needs to have a busy Middle Eastern market, we can provide that."
In the past five years, the trainers at Muscatatuck and Camp Atterbury have learned how to integrate the facilities, their experience and commanders' needs into a realistic, relevant training experience.
"The place is just incredible. I wish we had a place to train like this," said Swedish Army Capt. Johan Eklof after touring the Muscatatuck facility.
British Army Maj. Paul Fox said he, too, would like to implement the same business model in other places throughout NATO, but he would really like to train his troops at MUTC. "I just think that it is a great way to train," he said.
(Army Sgt. Joseph Rivera Rebolledo serves with the 205th Infantry Brigade, Camp Atterbury public affairs. Army Sgt. Bradley Staggs serves with the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center's public affairs office.)
Thursday, April 09, 2009
'Second Lady' Visits Fort Bragg
By U.S. Army Pfc. Casey A. Collier
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, attended the Welcome Home Ceremony for the 18th Airborne Corps yesterday at Fort Bragg, N.C. Biden, who earned her doctorate in Education from the University of Delaware in 2007, sat in the V.I.P. gallery for the duration of the ceremony, which included presenting the combat streamer to the colors of the Corps and awards to Corps soldiers for valorous service, including six Bronze Stars and one Award of Merit.
Biden is not only a champion of military families and advocate of troop-support groups like Delaware Boots on the Ground, she also is a mother of a soldier currently serving in Iraq.
Army Capt. Beau Biden, Delaware attorney general, is assigned to the 261st Signal Brigade's Judge Advocate General's Corps. He deployed to Iraq in October for a 12-month tour.
Biden has made issues concerning military families one of her top priorities.
"One of the things Michelle (Obama) and I are trying to do is create awareness of what our troops are doing, in that we are at war," Biden said. "And the average American might think about that once in a while, but I know that the families of military members think about it almost every moment of every day. I know, as a military mom myself, how many times a day I stop and think about it."
"Two weeks ago," she noted, "I was traveling and a woman came up to me with her two small children and she said, 'I just wanted you to know that every night, my children and I pray for your son' and just that kindness meant so much to me."
She went on to say, "If every American could just reach out to a military family—whether that means sending a card, saying 'Thank you for your service', mowing their lawn, or taking over a batch of cookies—anything to say 'Thank you for what you're doing'. I think that's what it's all about."
The ceremony concluded following the vice president's address to soldiers and their families, after which officials ushered his wife to a tent behind the covered pavilion where she met wives of recently redeployed Corps soldiers.
Biden shook hands and exchanged remarks with the women in attendance and spoke at relative length with those who wished to voice specific concerns.
Among those was Lisa Taylor, wife of a Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 18th Airborne Corps soldier. "It's nice that she's all about feelings," Taylor said of Biden. "She is very supportive of military communities and military children."
(U.S. Army Pfc. Casey A. Collier is assigned to the 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, attended the Welcome Home Ceremony for the 18th Airborne Corps yesterday at Fort Bragg, N.C. Biden, who earned her doctorate in Education from the University of Delaware in 2007, sat in the V.I.P. gallery for the duration of the ceremony, which included presenting the combat streamer to the colors of the Corps and awards to Corps soldiers for valorous service, including six Bronze Stars and one Award of Merit.
Biden is not only a champion of military families and advocate of troop-support groups like Delaware Boots on the Ground, she also is a mother of a soldier currently serving in Iraq.
Army Capt. Beau Biden, Delaware attorney general, is assigned to the 261st Signal Brigade's Judge Advocate General's Corps. He deployed to Iraq in October for a 12-month tour.
Biden has made issues concerning military families one of her top priorities.
"One of the things Michelle (Obama) and I are trying to do is create awareness of what our troops are doing, in that we are at war," Biden said. "And the average American might think about that once in a while, but I know that the families of military members think about it almost every moment of every day. I know, as a military mom myself, how many times a day I stop and think about it."
"Two weeks ago," she noted, "I was traveling and a woman came up to me with her two small children and she said, 'I just wanted you to know that every night, my children and I pray for your son' and just that kindness meant so much to me."
She went on to say, "If every American could just reach out to a military family—whether that means sending a card, saying 'Thank you for your service', mowing their lawn, or taking over a batch of cookies—anything to say 'Thank you for what you're doing'. I think that's what it's all about."
The ceremony concluded following the vice president's address to soldiers and their families, after which officials ushered his wife to a tent behind the covered pavilion where she met wives of recently redeployed Corps soldiers.
Biden shook hands and exchanged remarks with the women in attendance and spoke at relative length with those who wished to voice specific concerns.
Among those was Lisa Taylor, wife of a Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 18th Airborne Corps soldier. "It's nice that she's all about feelings," Taylor said of Biden. "She is very supportive of military communities and military children."
(U.S. Army Pfc. Casey A. Collier is assigned to the 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
Pirate Hostage's Safe Return is Primary Concern, U.S. Officials Say
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - The safe return of the American maritime captain being held captive by pirates off the coast of Somalia is of primary importance, senior U.S. officials said here today at the annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial. Following ministerial discussions on Afghanistan, U.S. engagement in Asia and other topics, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met with reporters. They told reporters the captain's safe return is of paramount importance and that the situation is being monitored closely.
"We obviously have a naval presence in the area and other assets and we obviously are looking at our options," Gates said. "But, foremost in our minds is the safety of the captain."
Clinton, Gates and Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Australian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon met with reporters after the group discussed mutual security concerns at the ministerial.
Armed pirates attacked the cargo ship Maersk Alabama yesterday. The vessel was about 300 miles off the Somali coast. The unarmed ship's crew eventually regained control of the vessel, but the captain offered himself as a hostage to forestall violence.
The captain is now being held by four pirates in a small boat that's adrift at sea, as the U.S. Navy monitors the situation. The Maersk Alabama is headed to Mombasa, Kenya.
Concerning piracy committed off the Horn of Africa, Clinton said the State Department has taken the lead in establishing an international maritime task force, including vessels and participation from China, South Korea and Japan, to help confront the problem.
The coastal waters off Somalia encompass "a very large expanse of water," Clinton pointed out.
"We've had some success from contributions from this naval task force," Clinton said. "But, we also understand that the instability in Somalia is a contributing factor to those who take to the seas in order to board ships, highjack them, intimidate and threaten their crews and then seek ransom."
If there's good news, Clinton said, it is that no one so far has lost their life as the result of the Maersk Alabama incident.
"And so, like Secretary Gates said, we are following this carefully and monitoring it," Clinton said. "We have an American citizen who is currently being held hostage by a group of individuals in a lifeboat.
"So, we are watching this and intend to do everything we can to ensure there is no loss of life," Clinton said.
Also today, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that President Barack Obama is "staying appraised of the situation" involving the captive American captain and the pirates.
The president's primary concern "is for the safety of the captain and the rest of the crew on the ship," Gibbs said. "And he will continue to receive those updates."
The White House has an interagency group on maritime safety, Gibbs said, that includes interagency participation by the departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, Energy, Justice and the FBI, State, Transportation, and the Defense Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"The interagency maritime group has had a number of meetings and conference calls about this," Gibbs said. "Obviously, the Navy and the FBI are to some degree on the scene with their resources, and so the resources of our government are deployed in ensuring the safety and security of the captain and the crew."
Clinton, Gates, and the Australian officials also turned to other topics they'd discussed during the ministerial such as the status of their cooperative efforts in Afghanistan as part of the campaign to defeat extremism, as well as U.S. engagement in Asia.
"Australia has been there with us throughout; has been there in the thick of the fighting and has lost too many of its sons," Gates said of that nation's years-long participation in Afghanistan security and stability operations.
The Australian foreign minister thanked Clinton and Gates for "the very positive and constructive and substantive conversation we've had today."
The 60-some-year-old Australia-U.S. security partnership "remains an indispensible part of Australia's security, strategic and defense arrangements," Smith said.
Like the United States, Smith said, Australia, too, is concerned about nuclear-proliferation issues with regard to Iran and North Korea.
After hearing details of Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan, the Australian defense minister said his government is considering providing more assistance for U.S.-coalition efforts there.
"We did have, also, a very productive discussion about Afghanistan and Pakistan," Fitzgibbon said. "Of course, the discussion today gave both Minister Smith and I a greater appreciation of the new (Obama) strategy and how it will work.
"And, we again came out of the meeting with the conclusion that this is a good strategy, it is a welcome strategy and Australia certainly supports that strategy," Fitzgibbon said.
The United States and the Afghans "can use all the help we can get," Gates said. "What Australia is prepared to do is clearly up to the Australians."
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - The safe return of the American maritime captain being held captive by pirates off the coast of Somalia is of primary importance, senior U.S. officials said here today at the annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial. Following ministerial discussions on Afghanistan, U.S. engagement in Asia and other topics, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met with reporters. They told reporters the captain's safe return is of paramount importance and that the situation is being monitored closely.
"We obviously have a naval presence in the area and other assets and we obviously are looking at our options," Gates said. "But, foremost in our minds is the safety of the captain."
Clinton, Gates and Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Australian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon met with reporters after the group discussed mutual security concerns at the ministerial.
Armed pirates attacked the cargo ship Maersk Alabama yesterday. The vessel was about 300 miles off the Somali coast. The unarmed ship's crew eventually regained control of the vessel, but the captain offered himself as a hostage to forestall violence.
The captain is now being held by four pirates in a small boat that's adrift at sea, as the U.S. Navy monitors the situation. The Maersk Alabama is headed to Mombasa, Kenya.
Concerning piracy committed off the Horn of Africa, Clinton said the State Department has taken the lead in establishing an international maritime task force, including vessels and participation from China, South Korea and Japan, to help confront the problem.
The coastal waters off Somalia encompass "a very large expanse of water," Clinton pointed out.
"We've had some success from contributions from this naval task force," Clinton said. "But, we also understand that the instability in Somalia is a contributing factor to those who take to the seas in order to board ships, highjack them, intimidate and threaten their crews and then seek ransom."
If there's good news, Clinton said, it is that no one so far has lost their life as the result of the Maersk Alabama incident.
"And so, like Secretary Gates said, we are following this carefully and monitoring it," Clinton said. "We have an American citizen who is currently being held hostage by a group of individuals in a lifeboat.
"So, we are watching this and intend to do everything we can to ensure there is no loss of life," Clinton said.
Also today, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that President Barack Obama is "staying appraised of the situation" involving the captive American captain and the pirates.
The president's primary concern "is for the safety of the captain and the rest of the crew on the ship," Gibbs said. "And he will continue to receive those updates."
The White House has an interagency group on maritime safety, Gibbs said, that includes interagency participation by the departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, Energy, Justice and the FBI, State, Transportation, and the Defense Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"The interagency maritime group has had a number of meetings and conference calls about this," Gibbs said. "Obviously, the Navy and the FBI are to some degree on the scene with their resources, and so the resources of our government are deployed in ensuring the safety and security of the captain and the crew."
Clinton, Gates, and the Australian officials also turned to other topics they'd discussed during the ministerial such as the status of their cooperative efforts in Afghanistan as part of the campaign to defeat extremism, as well as U.S. engagement in Asia.
"Australia has been there with us throughout; has been there in the thick of the fighting and has lost too many of its sons," Gates said of that nation's years-long participation in Afghanistan security and stability operations.
The Australian foreign minister thanked Clinton and Gates for "the very positive and constructive and substantive conversation we've had today."
The 60-some-year-old Australia-U.S. security partnership "remains an indispensible part of Australia's security, strategic and defense arrangements," Smith said.
Like the United States, Smith said, Australia, too, is concerned about nuclear-proliferation issues with regard to Iran and North Korea.
After hearing details of Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan, the Australian defense minister said his government is considering providing more assistance for U.S.-coalition efforts there.
"We did have, also, a very productive discussion about Afghanistan and Pakistan," Fitzgibbon said. "Of course, the discussion today gave both Minister Smith and I a greater appreciation of the new (Obama) strategy and how it will work.
"And, we again came out of the meeting with the conclusion that this is a good strategy, it is a welcome strategy and Australia certainly supports that strategy," Fitzgibbon said.
The United States and the Afghans "can use all the help we can get," Gates said. "What Australia is prepared to do is clearly up to the Australians."
Face of Defense: Principal, Graduates Serve Together
By Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Meghan J. CanlasSpecial to American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - The Marine Corps is relatively small compared to the other branches of service. But for a former high school principal here, it couldn't get any smaller. Marine Corps Col. Brian T. Oliver, chief of staff for the 2nd Marine Logistics Group, has left his impact on Marines for the past 26 years, and on high school students for the past 13.
After joining the Marine Corps Reserve in 1996, the Drexel, N.C., native began a career as a high school teacher. He soon became an assistant principal, as well as wrestling and football coach, at Watauga High School in Boone, N.C.
In July 2004, Oliver became the principal of Freedom High School in Morganton, N.C., and there he made an impression on a student who is now Marine Corps Pfc. William M. Chester, a vehicle operator for the 2nd MLG.
"He did a lot to help me out," the 19-year old Marine said. "I don't think he realizes how much he did for me. I was kind of a troubled kid in high school, but was able to turn my life around."
Oliver has met at least two other Freedom High School students since he reactivated in January.
"It's kind of strange when I'm walking through the gymnasium and I hear someone say, 'Mr. Oliver? What are you doing here?'" he said.
Oliver also has met Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Michael J. Bradley, a platoon commander with the logistics group's landing support company, who graduated from Freedom High before Oliver's tenure there.
"You know, it's always nice to see someone who's from the same area," Bradley said.
Oliver said that being an educator is similar to being a Marine, and serving in both capacities gives him a greater appreciation for young Americans who choose to serve their country.
"Whether you're taking care of your teachers and students or your Marines and sailors, your primary mission is to take care of the people you serve with," he said. "It's really encouraging as a Marine, an educator and an officer to see the patriotism in the youth of America."
(Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Meghan J. Canlas serves with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force.)
MILITARY CONTRACTS April 9, 2009
NAVY
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $41,200,000 modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-09-C-0010) for long lead materials and effort associated with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Air System Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot IV procurement of three additional Navy Carrier Variant Air Systems (CVs) and one United Kingdom Short Take Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) Air System. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, (35 percent); El Segundo, Calif., (25 percent); Warton, United Kingdom, (20 percent); Orlando, Fla., (10 percent); Nashua, N.H., (5 percent); and Baltimore, Md., (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in Jan. 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.
The Boeing Co., Anaheim, Calif., is being awarded a $33,888,986 cost plus incentive fee, cost plus fixed fee contract to provide the following efforts for the TRIDENT II (D5) Navigation Subsystem: (1) engineering support services, and problem investigations for US and UK owned Electro-statically Supported Gyro Navigator (ESGN) navigation inertial equipment, (2) modification, refurbishment, and repair of U.S., and UK ESGN instruments and components, (3) TRIDENT II (D5) shipyard overhaul field engineering, (4) US Fleet Documentation, Surveillance Program, and Training, and (5) US/UK Stable Platform Housing Refurbishment. Work will be performed in Anaheim, Calif., (90 percent) and Heath, Ohio, (10 percent), and work is expected to be completed Jun. 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $25,360,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was not competitively procured. The Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., is the contracting agency (N00030-09-C-0002).
Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $15,392,819 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-07-C-5432 for production support and technical engineering support for the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM). Technical engineering support will include tasks needed to support missile production, which are not directly associated with the manufacture of missile hardware. These tasks include missile improvement, support equipment improvement, software engineering and improvement, reliability monitoring, system safety monitoring, quality assurance, risk management, test equipment, parts control, obsolete materials, configuration management, production verification inspection, manufacturing qualification, logistics impacts, and other activities needed to support the engineering of an effective ESSM missile for the NATO SEASPARROW Consortium. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., (45 percent); Australia, (11 percent); Andover, Mass., (10 percent); Germany, (8 percent); Canada, (7 percent); The Netherlands, (6 percent); Norway, (5 percent); Spain, (3 percent); Camden, Ark., (2 percent); Denmark, (1 percent); Greece, (1 percent); and Turkey, (1 percent), and work is expected to be completed Apr. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Canadian Commercial Corp., General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada (GDLS-C), Ontario, Canada, is being awarded a $15,368,759 firm fixed priced modification to delivery order #0004 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5028) for the purchase of technical manuals for the RG31 MRAP Mk5 family of vehicles. Work will be performed in London, Ontario, Canada, and is expected to be completed Dec. 9, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Kilgore Flares Co., Toone, Tenn., is being awarded a $15,114,324 firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for manufacture of new MJU-38A/B airborne expendable countermeasures decoy flares. Work will be performed at Toone, Tenn., and work is expected to be completed by Dec. 2014. Contract funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured, with two proposals solicited and two offers received. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity (N00104-09-D-K093).
Armtec Defense Products, Coachella, Calif., is being awarded a $14,661,754firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for manufacture of new MJU-38A/B airborne expendable countermeasures decoy flares. Work will be performed at Milan, Tenn., and work is expected to be completed by Dec. 2014. Contract funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured, with two proposals solicited and two offers received. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity (N00104-09-D-K092).
Oceaneering International, Inc., Hanover, Md., is being awarded $7,759,913 for task order #0003 under a previously awarded cost plus fixed fee (completion) contract (N00014-07-D-0908) to build on the technology development completed in the previous Task Order for Close-in Precision Dynamic Positioning. Oceaneering International will perform the required analysis, scale model testing, full scale demonstration and sea trials to advance Wave Feed Forward theory. Work will be performed in Hanover, Md., and work is expected to be completed Sept. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at end of current fiscal year. The basic contract was competitively procured under solicitation N00014-06-R-0004 dated Mar. 2006. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity.
ARINC Engineering Services, LLC, Annapolis, Md., is being awarded a $6,303,559 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, cost plus fixed fee contract to provide support for the Navigation Sensor System Interface (NAVSSI) to process data from the Global Positioning System and other ship navigation sensors in the distribution of real-time data to combat systems, command, control, communications, computer, and intelligence terminals (C4I). This requirement directly supports the Department of Defense and C4I mission critical systems. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific), Marine Navigation Division, is the Central Engineering Activity for evolutionary development of NAVSSI. This three-year contract includes two, one-year options which, if exercised, would bring the potential, cumulative value of this contract to $10,896,950. All work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. and work is expected to be completed Apr. 8, 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities website and posting to the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central website. SSC Pacific is the contracting activity (N66001-09-D-0038).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Hutchinson Industries, Inc., Trenton, N.J., is being awarded a maximum $36,918,570 firm fixed price, sole source contract for pneumatic tire wheel. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is the Army. There was originally one proposal solicited with one response. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Mar. 15, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency (DSCC-ZG), Warren, Mich., (SPRDL1-09-C-0036).
AIR FORCE
Today the Air Force is modifying a time and material, cost contract with Accenture National Security Services, LLC, King of Prussia, Penn., for an estimated $15,781,064. This action will provide for AFMSTT; a non-commercial, government-owned simulation system used to train the Joint Forces Commander, (JFC), Joint Force Air Component Commander, (JFACC) and their battle staff in multiple federation environments. At this time, $1,955,866 has been obligated. Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (FA8731-06-C-0001, P00024)
Today the Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with Insight Technology Incorporated, Londonderry, New Hampshire for an estimated $6,932,663. This action will procure Panoramic Night Vision Goggles (PNVG); Low Rate Initial Production III. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 641 AESS/SYKA, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8607-04-C-2752, P00016).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $41,200,000 modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-09-C-0010) for long lead materials and effort associated with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Air System Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot IV procurement of three additional Navy Carrier Variant Air Systems (CVs) and one United Kingdom Short Take Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) Air System. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, (35 percent); El Segundo, Calif., (25 percent); Warton, United Kingdom, (20 percent); Orlando, Fla., (10 percent); Nashua, N.H., (5 percent); and Baltimore, Md., (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in Jan. 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.
The Boeing Co., Anaheim, Calif., is being awarded a $33,888,986 cost plus incentive fee, cost plus fixed fee contract to provide the following efforts for the TRIDENT II (D5) Navigation Subsystem: (1) engineering support services, and problem investigations for US and UK owned Electro-statically Supported Gyro Navigator (ESGN) navigation inertial equipment, (2) modification, refurbishment, and repair of U.S., and UK ESGN instruments and components, (3) TRIDENT II (D5) shipyard overhaul field engineering, (4) US Fleet Documentation, Surveillance Program, and Training, and (5) US/UK Stable Platform Housing Refurbishment. Work will be performed in Anaheim, Calif., (90 percent) and Heath, Ohio, (10 percent), and work is expected to be completed Jun. 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $25,360,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was not competitively procured. The Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., is the contracting agency (N00030-09-C-0002).
Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $15,392,819 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-07-C-5432 for production support and technical engineering support for the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM). Technical engineering support will include tasks needed to support missile production, which are not directly associated with the manufacture of missile hardware. These tasks include missile improvement, support equipment improvement, software engineering and improvement, reliability monitoring, system safety monitoring, quality assurance, risk management, test equipment, parts control, obsolete materials, configuration management, production verification inspection, manufacturing qualification, logistics impacts, and other activities needed to support the engineering of an effective ESSM missile for the NATO SEASPARROW Consortium. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., (45 percent); Australia, (11 percent); Andover, Mass., (10 percent); Germany, (8 percent); Canada, (7 percent); The Netherlands, (6 percent); Norway, (5 percent); Spain, (3 percent); Camden, Ark., (2 percent); Denmark, (1 percent); Greece, (1 percent); and Turkey, (1 percent), and work is expected to be completed Apr. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Canadian Commercial Corp., General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada (GDLS-C), Ontario, Canada, is being awarded a $15,368,759 firm fixed priced modification to delivery order #0004 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5028) for the purchase of technical manuals for the RG31 MRAP Mk5 family of vehicles. Work will be performed in London, Ontario, Canada, and is expected to be completed Dec. 9, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Kilgore Flares Co., Toone, Tenn., is being awarded a $15,114,324 firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for manufacture of new MJU-38A/B airborne expendable countermeasures decoy flares. Work will be performed at Toone, Tenn., and work is expected to be completed by Dec. 2014. Contract funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured, with two proposals solicited and two offers received. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity (N00104-09-D-K093).
Armtec Defense Products, Coachella, Calif., is being awarded a $14,661,754firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for manufacture of new MJU-38A/B airborne expendable countermeasures decoy flares. Work will be performed at Milan, Tenn., and work is expected to be completed by Dec. 2014. Contract funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured, with two proposals solicited and two offers received. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity (N00104-09-D-K092).
Oceaneering International, Inc., Hanover, Md., is being awarded $7,759,913 for task order #0003 under a previously awarded cost plus fixed fee (completion) contract (N00014-07-D-0908) to build on the technology development completed in the previous Task Order for Close-in Precision Dynamic Positioning. Oceaneering International will perform the required analysis, scale model testing, full scale demonstration and sea trials to advance Wave Feed Forward theory. Work will be performed in Hanover, Md., and work is expected to be completed Sept. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at end of current fiscal year. The basic contract was competitively procured under solicitation N00014-06-R-0004 dated Mar. 2006. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity.
ARINC Engineering Services, LLC, Annapolis, Md., is being awarded a $6,303,559 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, cost plus fixed fee contract to provide support for the Navigation Sensor System Interface (NAVSSI) to process data from the Global Positioning System and other ship navigation sensors in the distribution of real-time data to combat systems, command, control, communications, computer, and intelligence terminals (C4I). This requirement directly supports the Department of Defense and C4I mission critical systems. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific), Marine Navigation Division, is the Central Engineering Activity for evolutionary development of NAVSSI. This three-year contract includes two, one-year options which, if exercised, would bring the potential, cumulative value of this contract to $10,896,950. All work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. and work is expected to be completed Apr. 8, 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities website and posting to the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central website. SSC Pacific is the contracting activity (N66001-09-D-0038).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Hutchinson Industries, Inc., Trenton, N.J., is being awarded a maximum $36,918,570 firm fixed price, sole source contract for pneumatic tire wheel. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is the Army. There was originally one proposal solicited with one response. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Mar. 15, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency (DSCC-ZG), Warren, Mich., (SPRDL1-09-C-0036).
AIR FORCE
Today the Air Force is modifying a time and material, cost contract with Accenture National Security Services, LLC, King of Prussia, Penn., for an estimated $15,781,064. This action will provide for AFMSTT; a non-commercial, government-owned simulation system used to train the Joint Forces Commander, (JFC), Joint Force Air Component Commander, (JFACC) and their battle staff in multiple federation environments. At this time, $1,955,866 has been obligated. Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (FA8731-06-C-0001, P00024)
Today the Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with Insight Technology Incorporated, Londonderry, New Hampshire for an estimated $6,932,663. This action will procure Panoramic Night Vision Goggles (PNVG); Low Rate Initial Production III. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 641 AESS/SYKA, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8607-04-C-2752, P00016).
VA Budget Adds Mental-Health Services for Returning Combat Vets
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - The proposed Department of Veterans Affairs funding request will provide more post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury services to combat veterans, as well as other mental-health care and services for wounded warriors, President Barack Obama said today. "The nightmares of war don't always end when our loved ones return home," Obama said. "Untold thousands of servicemen and -women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or other serious psychological injury."
The president called the growing incidence of suicide among active-duty servicemembers and returning combat veterans "disturbing."
"Sometimes the deadliest wounds are the ones you cannot see, and we cannot afford to let the unseen wounds go untreated," he said. "And that's why this budget dramatically increases funding for mental-health screening and treatment at all levels."
The proposed budget represents the largest single-year increase in VA funding in three decades. "All told, we will increase funding by $25 billion over the next five years," the president said.
Obama recognized that thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have suffered from traumatic brain injury, and said the budget will provide improved services for these cognitive injuries.
"Many with TBI have never been evaluated by a physician," he said. "And because such injuries can often have long-term impacts that only show up down the road, this funding will help ensure they received the ongoing care they need."
The budget proposal also will increase the number of Vet Centers and mobile health clinics, expanding access to mental-health care in rural areas, he said. Meanwhile, it also aims to reduce the stigma of seeking care by adding mental-health professionals to educate veterans and their families about their injuries and their options.
In addition to more comprehensive mental-health services, Obama said the funding request will provide other improvements in the medical care and other benefits veterans receive.
"This budget doesn't just signify increased funding for the VA health-care program," he said. "It significantly expands coverage so that 500,000 more veterans who have previously been denied it will receive it, and it strengthens care and services across a broad range of areas."
The proposed budget also will:
-- Invest in better technology to deliver services and benefits to veterans with the quality and efficiency they deserve;
-- Provide greater benefits to veterans who are medically retired from service;
-- Combat homelessness by safeguarding vulnerable veterans; and
-- Ensure the timely adoption of new, comprehensive education benefits that veterans earn through their military service.
Obama said all Americans "share the shame of 154,000 veterans going homeless on any given night."
His budget request will fund a pilot program for not-for-profit groups to ensure that veterans at risk of losing their homes have a roof over their heads. "And we will not rest until we reach a day when not one single veteran falls into homelessness," he said.
Obama also expressed optimism over Senate support for a measure that would provide advanced medical-care funding for veterans.
"The care that our veterans receive should never be hindered by budget delays," Obama said, adding that the planhe and VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki have advanced will ensure there's no disruption.
"What that means is a timely and predictable flow of funding from year to year, but more importantly, that means better care for our veterans," he said.
American Forces Press Service
April 9, 2009 - The proposed Department of Veterans Affairs funding request will provide more post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury services to combat veterans, as well as other mental-health care and services for wounded warriors, President Barack Obama said today. "The nightmares of war don't always end when our loved ones return home," Obama said. "Untold thousands of servicemen and -women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or other serious psychological injury."
The president called the growing incidence of suicide among active-duty servicemembers and returning combat veterans "disturbing."
"Sometimes the deadliest wounds are the ones you cannot see, and we cannot afford to let the unseen wounds go untreated," he said. "And that's why this budget dramatically increases funding for mental-health screening and treatment at all levels."
The proposed budget represents the largest single-year increase in VA funding in three decades. "All told, we will increase funding by $25 billion over the next five years," the president said.
Obama recognized that thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have suffered from traumatic brain injury, and said the budget will provide improved services for these cognitive injuries.
"Many with TBI have never been evaluated by a physician," he said. "And because such injuries can often have long-term impacts that only show up down the road, this funding will help ensure they received the ongoing care they need."
The budget proposal also will increase the number of Vet Centers and mobile health clinics, expanding access to mental-health care in rural areas, he said. Meanwhile, it also aims to reduce the stigma of seeking care by adding mental-health professionals to educate veterans and their families about their injuries and their options.
In addition to more comprehensive mental-health services, Obama said the funding request will provide other improvements in the medical care and other benefits veterans receive.
"This budget doesn't just signify increased funding for the VA health-care program," he said. "It significantly expands coverage so that 500,000 more veterans who have previously been denied it will receive it, and it strengthens care and services across a broad range of areas."
The proposed budget also will:
-- Invest in better technology to deliver services and benefits to veterans with the quality and efficiency they deserve;
-- Provide greater benefits to veterans who are medically retired from service;
-- Combat homelessness by safeguarding vulnerable veterans; and
-- Ensure the timely adoption of new, comprehensive education benefits that veterans earn through their military service.
Obama said all Americans "share the shame of 154,000 veterans going homeless on any given night."
His budget request will fund a pilot program for not-for-profit groups to ensure that veterans at risk of losing their homes have a roof over their heads. "And we will not rest until we reach a day when not one single veteran falls into homelessness," he said.
Obama also expressed optimism over Senate support for a measure that would provide advanced medical-care funding for veterans.
"The care that our veterans receive should never be hindered by budget delays," Obama said, adding that the planhe and VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki have advanced will ensure there's no disruption.
"What that means is a timely and predictable flow of funding from year to year, but more importantly, that means better care for our veterans," he said.
USO, Military Families Show Troops Support with Care Packages
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.
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.
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."
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