By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
May 27, 2009 - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today reiterated U.S. commitment to South Korea's and Japan's security in light of what she called North Korea's "provocative and belligerent" activities and rhetoric. "The United States has and intends always to honor ... the defense of South Korea and Japan," she said. "That is part of our alliance obligation, which we take very seriously."
While not discussing details of North Korea's nuclear and missile tests conducted this week in violation of a United Nations resolution, Clinton noted that the international community is coming together to condemn them.
"North Korea has made a choice," she said. "It has chosen to violate the specific language of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718. It has ignored the international community. It has abrogated the obligations it entered into through the Six-Party Talks. And it continues to act in a provocative and belligerent manner toward its neighbors.
"There are consequences to such actions," Clinton said, noting that the U.N. is weighing possible options.
"I'm very pleased that we have a unified international community, including China and Russia, in setting forth a very specific condemnation of North Korea and then working with us for a firm resolution going forward," she said.
Whatever response is adopted, Clinton said, it will be imposed "with the intent to try to rein in the North Koreans and get them back into a framework where they are once again fulfilling their obligations and moving toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."
The secretary of state reiterated hope that North Korea will return to the stalled process aimed at a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. Working with North Korea toward denuclearization, "will benefit, we believe, the people of North Korea, the region and the world," she said.
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs noted that North Korea's actions are further isolating it from the international community. Gibbs did not specifically discuss North Korea's reported threats against South Korean ships supporting the Proliferation Security Initiative, or North Korean allegations that in joining the PSI, South Korea had nullified the armistice agreement that's been in effect since 1953. South Korea yesterday joined the 90 countries working together through the PSI to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
"We are certainly concerned and take any threat seriously," Gibbs told White House reporters today. "But my sense is that they are trying to get renewed attention through saber-rattling and blustering and threats."
These threats won't get North Korea the attention it wants, he said. "Their actions are continuing to further deepen their own isolation from the international community and from the rights and obligations that they themselves have agreed to live up to."
Based on what he acknowledged to be a "rough count," Gibbs called the latest threat "the fifth time in 15 years that they have sought to nullify the armistice governing the Korean war."
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
MILITARY CONTRACTS May 27, 2009
NAVY
Sound & Sea Technology, Inc.*, Lynnwood, Wash., (N62583-09-D-0064); PCCI, Inc.*, Alexandria, Va., (N62583-09-D-0065); Truston Technologies, Inc.*, Annapolis, Md., (N62583-09-D-0066); GPA Technologies, Inc.*, Ventura, Calif., (N62583-09-D-0067); and MAR, Inc.*, Rockville, Md., (N62583-09-D-0068), are each being awarded a cost-plus fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in support of the Naval Ocean Facilities Engineering Program (NOFP) at Navy and Marine Corps Installations worldwide. The work to be performed provides for support of the NOFP requirements managed by the Engineering Service Center, Port Hueneme. Projects may involve incidental construction work or equipment fabrication and primarily include: ocean cable systems, ocean work systems, waterfront facilities, hyperbaric facilities, offshore structures, moorings, and ocean construction equipment. This work will be performed in environmental conditions ranging from arctic to tropic and at all water depths where equipment installation or removal, maintenance, inspection, repair, and salvage operations may be required. The maximum dollar value, including the base period and four option years, for all five contracts combined is $250,000,000. Work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities worldwide, and the expected completion date is May 2014. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These con! tracts w ere competitively procured as a 100 percent small business set-aside via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Specialty Center Acquisitions, Port Hueneme, Calif., is the contracting activity.
Sauer, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded a $12,322,300 firm-fixed price construction contract for the design and construction of a 575-person enlisted dining facility at the Marine Corps Air Base, New River. This project will include demolition of building AS4012 and an existing parking area. The contract also contains one unexercised option, which if exercised would increase the cumulative contract value to $12,947,300. Work will be performed in the Jacksonville, N.C., area, and is expected to be completed by December 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with 27 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (N40085-09-C-3208).
Rolls Royce, Bristol, England, is being awarded $10,587,795 for firm-fixed-price delivery order 5085 under an existing basic ordering agreement (N00383-08-G-003M) for turbine blades used in support of the F-402 engine. Work will be performed at Bristol, England, and work is to be completed by June 2010. Contract funds will expire before the end of the contract ordering period. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity.
Broadmoor Limited Liability Corp., Metairie, La., is being awarded $5,950,000 for firm-fixed price task order #0003 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62467-05-D-0096) for design and construction of a jet engine maintenance shop addition and an aircraft test cell foundation at Naval Air Station - Joint Reserve Base, New Orleans. The jet engine maintenance shop addition will contain service work bays for engine repair, parts and tool room, shop circulation and delivery areas, offices, communications room, mechanical and electrical room, and covered exterior secure storage, restrooms, showers, and locker room areas. The aircraft test cell foundation project shall provide water supply connection, electrical service, industrial waste piping, communications conduit, and taxiway. Work will be performed in Belle Chase, La., and is expected to be completed by June 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity.
ARMY
Walbridge Aldinger Co., Inc Detroit, Mich., was awarded on May 22, 2009 a $149,669,000 firm-fixed price contract for a project that includes the design and construction of three (3) small and three(3) medium tactical vehicle equipment maintenance facilities (total 159,870 square foot) with accompanied tactical/ organizational vehicle parking hardstand (155.511 square foot); and six(6) standard design company operations facilities (364,777 square foot) consisting of administrative modules, supply (readiness modules) and covered hardstand area (66,555 square foot) to support an Infantry Brigade Combat Team stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga. The project also includes all necessary construction of the infrastructure and utilities to include access roads, electricity, natural gas, water, and sewer services, water storage tank and well, security perimeter fencing with gates, security lighting, exterior lighting, parking, walks, and gutter, storm water and drainage, signage, information systems, lightning protection systems, site improvements, and landscaping. Work is to be performed in Fort Stewart, Ga., with an estimated date of Mar. 15, 2011. Four proposals solicited with three proposals received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Savannah, Ga., is the contracting activity (W912HN-07-D-0054).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas was awarded on May 21, 2009 a $20,230,149 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for requirement is for performance of the following: 1) eliminate obsolete parts affection PAC-3 Seeker, minus the Exciter, through a block redesign ; and 2) perform the development, integration, qualification, and transition to production tasks necessary to produce the seeker block redesign. Work is to be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas with an estimated date of Apr. 30, 2011. One proposal solicited with one bid relieved.
U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-07-G-0001).
Rockford Corp., Anchorage, Ark., was awarded on May 22, 2009, a $14,832,351 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a hydrant fuel system in Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Work is to be performed in Hill Air Force Base, Utah with an estimated completion date of Nov. 29, 2010. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with eight (8) bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Sacramento, Calif., is the contracting activity (W91238-09-C-0010).
Far East Construction Corp., Pensacola, Fla., was awarded on May 22, 2009 a $13,750,756 firm-fixed-price contract will require construction of parking lots and infrastructure. The infrastructure includes electrical and communication distribution, water distribution and wastewater collection. Buildings to be constructed included the group support battalion (GSB) logistics, GBS tactical equipment maintenance facility, GSB organization equipment storage facility, GSB oil storage facility, GSB hazardous materials storage facility and rack/platform. Work is to be performed in Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., with an estimated completion date of May 22, 2010. Corps of Engineers Mobile Regional Contracting Center, Mobile, Ala.m is the contracting activity (W91278-09-C-0027).
Venegas Engineering Management & Construction Inc. El Paso, Texas was awarded on May 20, 2009 an $8,612,200 firm-fixed-price construction contract to construct of a training support center (TSC) at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The primary facility included as approximately 84,550 square foot TSC facility and storage shed. Supporting facilities included utilities, electric service, fire protection, storm drainage, information system, and landscaping and site improvement. The TSC will support tactical units being stationed at Fort Bliss and is required to support increases in virtual live training devices. The building is being designed to allow for future expansion access for individuals with disabilities will also be provided. Work is to be performed in El Paso, Texas with an estimated completion date of Jul. 31, 201. Two Hundred (200) bids were solicited with six (6) bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Fort Worth, Texas is the contracting activity (W9126G-09-C-0040).
General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc. Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on May 20, 2009 a $6,500,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for System Technical Support for the Abrams tank program to continue the M1A1 parts obsolescence resolution. Work is to be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM-WARREN, AMSTA-QA-AHLC, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-07-C-0046).
BAE Systems, Tactical Vehicle Systems LP, Sealy, Texas was awarded on May 20, 2009 a $5,803,631 firm-fixed-price contract for 60 vehicles will be reset and any damage repaired. Work is to be completed in Texarkana, Texas, (60 percent) and Sealy, Texas, (40 percent) with an estimated completion date of Dec. 18, 2009. TACOM Contracting Center-Warren, AMSCC-TAC-ATBB, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-D-0138).
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich., was awarded on Jun. 30, 2013 a $5,620,000 cost-labor-hours contract to perform advanced technology design, development, and testing to provide countermine roller wheel suspension and power solution, countermeasure maturation, simulated instrumented mines and simulated improvised explosive devices, production-ready push roller designs, and demonstration hardware. Work is to be performed in Houghton, Mich., with an estimated date of Jun. 30, 2013. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid received. TACOM Contracting Center-Warren, AMSCC-TAC-ASGB, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-C-0525).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Science Applications International Corp., Fairfield, N.J., is being awarded a maximum $50,000,000 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for maintenance, repair and operations of supplies. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the forth option year period. The original proposal was Web solicited with six responses. The date of performance completion is May 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM500-04-D-BP06).
McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a maximum $15,124,055 firm fixed price, sole source contract for parts. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Navy. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There was one proposal originally solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is May 30, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Philadelphia., (DSCR-ZC), Philadelphia, Pa., (N00383-06-D-004H-THA3).
General Electric Co., Lynn, Mass., is being awarded a maximum $14,428,393 fixed price with economic price adjustment, sole source contract for combustion chamber frames. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Air Force. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There was one response to the original proposed solicitation. The date of performance completion is August 31, 2011. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency (DSCR-ZBAB), Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., (SPRTA1-09-G-0004-0001).
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding a cost plus fixed fee contract to Georgia Technical Applied Research Corp., of Atlanta, Ga., for a maximum of $9 million. This contract action will provide for improvement of the modeling and simulation capabilities within the product manager Infrared CounterMeasures Office for Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures/Common Missile Warning System. At this time, $2,898,551 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska is the contracting activity (HC1047-05-D-4000).
Sound & Sea Technology, Inc.*, Lynnwood, Wash., (N62583-09-D-0064); PCCI, Inc.*, Alexandria, Va., (N62583-09-D-0065); Truston Technologies, Inc.*, Annapolis, Md., (N62583-09-D-0066); GPA Technologies, Inc.*, Ventura, Calif., (N62583-09-D-0067); and MAR, Inc.*, Rockville, Md., (N62583-09-D-0068), are each being awarded a cost-plus fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in support of the Naval Ocean Facilities Engineering Program (NOFP) at Navy and Marine Corps Installations worldwide. The work to be performed provides for support of the NOFP requirements managed by the Engineering Service Center, Port Hueneme. Projects may involve incidental construction work or equipment fabrication and primarily include: ocean cable systems, ocean work systems, waterfront facilities, hyperbaric facilities, offshore structures, moorings, and ocean construction equipment. This work will be performed in environmental conditions ranging from arctic to tropic and at all water depths where equipment installation or removal, maintenance, inspection, repair, and salvage operations may be required. The maximum dollar value, including the base period and four option years, for all five contracts combined is $250,000,000. Work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities worldwide, and the expected completion date is May 2014. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These con! tracts w ere competitively procured as a 100 percent small business set-aside via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Specialty Center Acquisitions, Port Hueneme, Calif., is the contracting activity.
Sauer, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded a $12,322,300 firm-fixed price construction contract for the design and construction of a 575-person enlisted dining facility at the Marine Corps Air Base, New River. This project will include demolition of building AS4012 and an existing parking area. The contract also contains one unexercised option, which if exercised would increase the cumulative contract value to $12,947,300. Work will be performed in the Jacksonville, N.C., area, and is expected to be completed by December 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with 27 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (N40085-09-C-3208).
Rolls Royce, Bristol, England, is being awarded $10,587,795 for firm-fixed-price delivery order 5085 under an existing basic ordering agreement (N00383-08-G-003M) for turbine blades used in support of the F-402 engine. Work will be performed at Bristol, England, and work is to be completed by June 2010. Contract funds will expire before the end of the contract ordering period. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity.
Broadmoor Limited Liability Corp., Metairie, La., is being awarded $5,950,000 for firm-fixed price task order #0003 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62467-05-D-0096) for design and construction of a jet engine maintenance shop addition and an aircraft test cell foundation at Naval Air Station - Joint Reserve Base, New Orleans. The jet engine maintenance shop addition will contain service work bays for engine repair, parts and tool room, shop circulation and delivery areas, offices, communications room, mechanical and electrical room, and covered exterior secure storage, restrooms, showers, and locker room areas. The aircraft test cell foundation project shall provide water supply connection, electrical service, industrial waste piping, communications conduit, and taxiway. Work will be performed in Belle Chase, La., and is expected to be completed by June 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity.
ARMY
Walbridge Aldinger Co., Inc Detroit, Mich., was awarded on May 22, 2009 a $149,669,000 firm-fixed price contract for a project that includes the design and construction of three (3) small and three(3) medium tactical vehicle equipment maintenance facilities (total 159,870 square foot) with accompanied tactical/ organizational vehicle parking hardstand (155.511 square foot); and six(6) standard design company operations facilities (364,777 square foot) consisting of administrative modules, supply (readiness modules) and covered hardstand area (66,555 square foot) to support an Infantry Brigade Combat Team stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga. The project also includes all necessary construction of the infrastructure and utilities to include access roads, electricity, natural gas, water, and sewer services, water storage tank and well, security perimeter fencing with gates, security lighting, exterior lighting, parking, walks, and gutter, storm water and drainage, signage, information systems, lightning protection systems, site improvements, and landscaping. Work is to be performed in Fort Stewart, Ga., with an estimated date of Mar. 15, 2011. Four proposals solicited with three proposals received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Savannah, Ga., is the contracting activity (W912HN-07-D-0054).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas was awarded on May 21, 2009 a $20,230,149 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for requirement is for performance of the following: 1) eliminate obsolete parts affection PAC-3 Seeker, minus the Exciter, through a block redesign ; and 2) perform the development, integration, qualification, and transition to production tasks necessary to produce the seeker block redesign. Work is to be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas with an estimated date of Apr. 30, 2011. One proposal solicited with one bid relieved.
U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-07-G-0001).
Rockford Corp., Anchorage, Ark., was awarded on May 22, 2009, a $14,832,351 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a hydrant fuel system in Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Work is to be performed in Hill Air Force Base, Utah with an estimated completion date of Nov. 29, 2010. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with eight (8) bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Sacramento, Calif., is the contracting activity (W91238-09-C-0010).
Far East Construction Corp., Pensacola, Fla., was awarded on May 22, 2009 a $13,750,756 firm-fixed-price contract will require construction of parking lots and infrastructure. The infrastructure includes electrical and communication distribution, water distribution and wastewater collection. Buildings to be constructed included the group support battalion (GSB) logistics, GBS tactical equipment maintenance facility, GSB organization equipment storage facility, GSB oil storage facility, GSB hazardous materials storage facility and rack/platform. Work is to be performed in Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., with an estimated completion date of May 22, 2010. Corps of Engineers Mobile Regional Contracting Center, Mobile, Ala.m is the contracting activity (W91278-09-C-0027).
Venegas Engineering Management & Construction Inc. El Paso, Texas was awarded on May 20, 2009 an $8,612,200 firm-fixed-price construction contract to construct of a training support center (TSC) at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The primary facility included as approximately 84,550 square foot TSC facility and storage shed. Supporting facilities included utilities, electric service, fire protection, storm drainage, information system, and landscaping and site improvement. The TSC will support tactical units being stationed at Fort Bliss and is required to support increases in virtual live training devices. The building is being designed to allow for future expansion access for individuals with disabilities will also be provided. Work is to be performed in El Paso, Texas with an estimated completion date of Jul. 31, 201. Two Hundred (200) bids were solicited with six (6) bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Fort Worth, Texas is the contracting activity (W9126G-09-C-0040).
General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc. Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on May 20, 2009 a $6,500,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for System Technical Support for the Abrams tank program to continue the M1A1 parts obsolescence resolution. Work is to be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM-WARREN, AMSTA-QA-AHLC, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-07-C-0046).
BAE Systems, Tactical Vehicle Systems LP, Sealy, Texas was awarded on May 20, 2009 a $5,803,631 firm-fixed-price contract for 60 vehicles will be reset and any damage repaired. Work is to be completed in Texarkana, Texas, (60 percent) and Sealy, Texas, (40 percent) with an estimated completion date of Dec. 18, 2009. TACOM Contracting Center-Warren, AMSCC-TAC-ATBB, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-D-0138).
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich., was awarded on Jun. 30, 2013 a $5,620,000 cost-labor-hours contract to perform advanced technology design, development, and testing to provide countermine roller wheel suspension and power solution, countermeasure maturation, simulated instrumented mines and simulated improvised explosive devices, production-ready push roller designs, and demonstration hardware. Work is to be performed in Houghton, Mich., with an estimated date of Jun. 30, 2013. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with one bid received. TACOM Contracting Center-Warren, AMSCC-TAC-ASGB, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-C-0525).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Science Applications International Corp., Fairfield, N.J., is being awarded a maximum $50,000,000 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for maintenance, repair and operations of supplies. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the forth option year period. The original proposal was Web solicited with six responses. The date of performance completion is May 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM500-04-D-BP06).
McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a maximum $15,124,055 firm fixed price, sole source contract for parts. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Navy. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There was one proposal originally solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is May 30, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Philadelphia., (DSCR-ZC), Philadelphia, Pa., (N00383-06-D-004H-THA3).
General Electric Co., Lynn, Mass., is being awarded a maximum $14,428,393 fixed price with economic price adjustment, sole source contract for combustion chamber frames. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Air Force. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There was one response to the original proposed solicitation. The date of performance completion is August 31, 2011. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency (DSCR-ZBAB), Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., (SPRTA1-09-G-0004-0001).
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding a cost plus fixed fee contract to Georgia Technical Applied Research Corp., of Atlanta, Ga., for a maximum of $9 million. This contract action will provide for improvement of the modeling and simulation capabilities within the product manager Infrared CounterMeasures Office for Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures/Common Missile Warning System. At this time, $2,898,551 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska is the contracting activity (HC1047-05-D-4000).
World War II Fighter Pilot
On June 5, 2009, Conversations with Heroes at the Watering Hole will feature a conversation with World War II Army Air Corps fighter pilot Captain Jerry Yellin.
Program Date: June 5, 2009
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: World War II Fighter Pilot
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/06/06/World-War-II-Fighter-Pilot
About the Guest
Captain Jerry Yellin, USA “enlisted in the Army Air Corps on Feb. 15, 1942, his 18th birthday and graduated from Luke Field in August, 1943 as a fighter pilot. He was in combat in the Pacific Theater and Iwo Jima with the 78th Fighter Squadron and participated in the first land based fighter mission over Japan on April 7, 1945 and the last mission of the war on August 14, 1945. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with an Oak Leaf cluster and the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf clusters. He was discharged a Captain in December 1945.” Captain Jerry Yellin is the author of Of War & Weddings: A Legacy of Two Fathers and The Blackened Canteen.
About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.
About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in Law Enforcement, public policy, Law Enforcement Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.
Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/06/06/World-War-II-Fighter-Pilot
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
Program Date: June 5, 2009
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: World War II Fighter Pilot
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/06/06/World-War-II-Fighter-Pilot
About the Guest
Captain Jerry Yellin, USA “enlisted in the Army Air Corps on Feb. 15, 1942, his 18th birthday and graduated from Luke Field in August, 1943 as a fighter pilot. He was in combat in the Pacific Theater and Iwo Jima with the 78th Fighter Squadron and participated in the first land based fighter mission over Japan on April 7, 1945 and the last mission of the war on August 14, 1945. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with an Oak Leaf cluster and the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf clusters. He was discharged a Captain in December 1945.” Captain Jerry Yellin is the author of Of War & Weddings: A Legacy of Two Fathers and The Blackened Canteen.
About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.
About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in Law Enforcement, public policy, Law Enforcement Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.
Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/06/06/World-War-II-Fighter-Pilot
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
Florida Guard Trains to Keep Communications in Hurricane Season
By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Thomas KielbasaSpecial to American Forces Press Service
May 27, 2009 - Torrential rains gave a realistic backdrop to National Guard training here last week, as soldiers and airmen prepared their emergency response efforts for the hurricane season, which begins June 1. More than 100 members of the Florida National Guard completed three week-long courses this month, learning how to operate mobile Regional Emergency Response Network systems.
The systems are capable of providing high-speed Internet connectivity for computers and signal strength for hand-held radios. The RERNs use a variety of frequencies to provide defense support to civilian authorities in emergencies, helping them assist in disaster recovery.
This is the fourth year the RERN classes have been held here. Despite the soggy weather, the trainees studied all aspects of the systems, including troubleshooting, basic repair, and responding to the communications needs of their customers in the field. The course even included a "night operation" in which the soldiers and airmen set up and operated the systems in the dark.
The Florida National Guard has 17 RERN systems available for emergency response missions. They have been used by Florida National Guard members in disaster recovery operations in Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Kentucky, and even during the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Air Force Lt. Col. Loretta Lombard, 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron commander, said nearly 90 percent of her squadron has attended the training and about half of her airmen have operated the systems during missions.
"It's a mission they enjoy, and we're very happy to help Florida and other states," Lombard said. "We're hoping for a quiet [hurricane] season, but we're very prepared for whatever it might bring."
(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Thomas Kielbasa serves in the Florida National Guard public affairs office.)
Healing Stories by a WW 2 P-51 pilot
I flew P-51's in the invasion of Iwo Jima and over Japan. I am an author, my books are available through amazon.com on the retail side and through Ingram on the wholesale side should you wish to carry them in your book store. My first book, Of War and Weddings, a memoir of my life as a P-51 fighter pilot in combat over Japan and the impact my youngest son’s marriage to a Japanese woman, the daughter of a member of the Japanese Imperial Air Force during the war, had on my life. My second book, The Blackened Canteen is written as historical fiction that tells the story of 5 Americans, 4 who perished in a mid-air collision of their B-29’s on a night raid over Shizuoka, Japan and Richard Fiske, who was the bugler on the battleship West Virginia when it was sunk at Pearl Harbor and 3 Japanese men. Fukumatsu Itoh, Takeshi Maeda and Hiroya Sugano. Sugano was 12 years old on the night of the raid, Maeda was a torpedo man who dropped a torpedo that sunk the West Virginia and Fukumatsu Itoh who as a 49 year old city councilman of Shizuoka, buried the 23 American crewmen who were killed in a grave next to the 2000 Japanese who were killed in the raid on June 20, 1945.
Maeda and Fiske met at the Arizona Memorial in 1991 and became friends, Itoh erected a monument to the Americans on top of Mt. Shizuhata near Shizuoka and began an annual ceremony to honor the American dead and Sugano at the age of 40 returned to Shizuoka as a doctor, discovered the monument and has conducted the ceremony every year since. I attended in 2006, wrote the book and returned in 2008 with a marble slab with the names of the 23 Americans.
You can view a 3 minute video of the 2008 ceremony at my website, www.jerryyellin.com
In this troubled world we live in stories of healing and connections between former enemies are important. I do hope you agree with me on that point and will make my books available in your book store. Further, I can arrange for price reductions of on volume purchases and you can use the book as a fund raiser at functions you might sponsor or know of. Also, while I am 85 I still have the ability to walk and talk and I can make myself available should you need a speaker.
Jerry Yellin
Maeda and Fiske met at the Arizona Memorial in 1991 and became friends, Itoh erected a monument to the Americans on top of Mt. Shizuhata near Shizuoka and began an annual ceremony to honor the American dead and Sugano at the age of 40 returned to Shizuoka as a doctor, discovered the monument and has conducted the ceremony every year since. I attended in 2006, wrote the book and returned in 2008 with a marble slab with the names of the 23 Americans.
You can view a 3 minute video of the 2008 ceremony at my website, www.jerryyellin.com
In this troubled world we live in stories of healing and connections between former enemies are important. I do hope you agree with me on that point and will make my books available in your book store. Further, I can arrange for price reductions of on volume purchases and you can use the book as a fund raiser at functions you might sponsor or know of. Also, while I am 85 I still have the ability to walk and talk and I can make myself available should you need a speaker.
Jerry Yellin
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Obama: Spirit of Memorial Day Must Extend Beyond Actual Observance
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
May 26, 2009 - America's troops and their families embody what's best in the country, and the American people have a responsibility to serve them as well as the troops serve the country, President Barack Obama said this weekend during his radio address to the nation. Obama expressed hope that the spirit of Memorial Day will extend beyond the actual holiday observance.
He said he's committed as president to honoring the nation's "sacred trust" to those who wear or have worn the uniform – a trust he conceded it hasn't always lived up to.
"All too often in recent years and decades, we, as a nation, have failed to live up to that responsibility," he said. "We have failed to give them the support they need or pay them the respect they deserve."
In vowing to ensure that's not repeated, Obama said he'll look out for the best interests of the men and women in uniform in making national security decisions.
"I will send our servicemen and women into harm's way only when it is necessary, and ensure that they have the training and equipment they need when they enter the theater of war," he said.
Obama recounted his visit to the U.S. Naval Academy commissioning May 22.
"Looking out at all of those young men and women, I was reminded of the extraordinary service that they are rendering to our country," he said. "And I was reminded, too, of all of the sacrifices that their parents, siblings, and loved ones make each day on their behalf and on our behalf."
The president said his agenda ensures the United States lives up to its responsibilities to those who serve by:
-- Building a 21st-century Department of Veterans Affairs, financed to provide veterans the support and benefits they have earned, and expand quality health care to a half million more veterans;
-- Eliminating waste and inefficiency in defense projects to better protect troops, the country and taxpayer dollars; and
-- Putting the new Post-9/11 GI Bill into effect so troops returning from deployments can pursue college educations, find work and provide for their families.
"These are some of the ways we can, must, and will honor the service of our troops and the sacrifice of their families," he said.
But Obama also called on individual citizens to support troops bearing the burden of current combat operations.
"That can mean sending a letter or a care package to our troops overseas. It can mean volunteering at a clinic where a wounded warrior is being treated or bringing supplies to a homeless veterans center," he said. "Or it can mean something as simple as saying 'thank you' to a veteran you pass on the street."
These efforts, large and small, are as important every day of the year as on Memorial Day, he said.
"Our fighting men and women – and the military families who love them – embody what is best in America," he said. "And we have a responsibility to serve all of them as well as they serve all of us."
American Forces Press Service
May 26, 2009 - America's troops and their families embody what's best in the country, and the American people have a responsibility to serve them as well as the troops serve the country, President Barack Obama said this weekend during his radio address to the nation. Obama expressed hope that the spirit of Memorial Day will extend beyond the actual holiday observance.
He said he's committed as president to honoring the nation's "sacred trust" to those who wear or have worn the uniform – a trust he conceded it hasn't always lived up to.
"All too often in recent years and decades, we, as a nation, have failed to live up to that responsibility," he said. "We have failed to give them the support they need or pay them the respect they deserve."
In vowing to ensure that's not repeated, Obama said he'll look out for the best interests of the men and women in uniform in making national security decisions.
"I will send our servicemen and women into harm's way only when it is necessary, and ensure that they have the training and equipment they need when they enter the theater of war," he said.
Obama recounted his visit to the U.S. Naval Academy commissioning May 22.
"Looking out at all of those young men and women, I was reminded of the extraordinary service that they are rendering to our country," he said. "And I was reminded, too, of all of the sacrifices that their parents, siblings, and loved ones make each day on their behalf and on our behalf."
The president said his agenda ensures the United States lives up to its responsibilities to those who serve by:
-- Building a 21st-century Department of Veterans Affairs, financed to provide veterans the support and benefits they have earned, and expand quality health care to a half million more veterans;
-- Eliminating waste and inefficiency in defense projects to better protect troops, the country and taxpayer dollars; and
-- Putting the new Post-9/11 GI Bill into effect so troops returning from deployments can pursue college educations, find work and provide for their families.
"These are some of the ways we can, must, and will honor the service of our troops and the sacrifice of their families," he said.
But Obama also called on individual citizens to support troops bearing the burden of current combat operations.
"That can mean sending a letter or a care package to our troops overseas. It can mean volunteering at a clinic where a wounded warrior is being treated or bringing supplies to a homeless veterans center," he said. "Or it can mean something as simple as saying 'thank you' to a veteran you pass on the street."
These efforts, large and small, are as important every day of the year as on Memorial Day, he said.
"Our fighting men and women – and the military families who love them – embody what is best in America," he said. "And we have a responsibility to serve all of them as well as they serve all of us."
Face of Defense: Officer Swears in Son from Thousands of Miles Away
By Army Pfc. J.P. LawrenceSpecial to American Forces Press Service
May 26, 2009 - Army Lt. Col. Harold Turner is a man of plans. As the logistics planner in the plans cell of the 34th "Red Bull" Infantry Division, he helps develop logistical support for operations across the nine southern provinces of Iraq. His son, Brett, planned to follow his father into the National Guard. The elder Turner told his son that if he waited to enlist until he returned from his year-long tour in Iraq, he would be there to swear him in.
But when plans changed and Brett decided to enlist ahead of schedule, the elder Turner embarked on a special mission to connect with his son using the power of the Internet.
Turner, who has served 26 years, never planned on his sons joining the military. "I didn't really push the boys into military service," he said. "I didn't want them to think, 'This is what dad's doing, you gotta do it.'"
However, as Turner's deployment to southern Iraq came closer, Brett began to reconsider. "I said, 'Son, think about it and do some research, and when I get back, maybe I can swear you in,'" said Turner.
As Turner worked in Iraq, Brett and his roommate, Chris Albrecht, talked in their Iowa apartment about joining the National Guard. They arranged to join the same Iowa National Guard unit as forward observers and when Chris took the plunge, Brett soon followed.
"Well, I got an email," Turner said. "And he says, 'Hey, I'm getting in, Dad.'"
That was certainly a change in plans, but using the same business practices he uses in his job as a planner, Turner came up with a solution.
"Some of the guys around here said, 'Hey why don't you do a connect session and swear him in from here?'" Turner said.
"We called some people," he said. "It's real easy, just do it over the Internet. He'd email me, I'd open up the email, right-click the link. And then the picture would show up on the other side."
Unfortunately, a wrench was thrown into the plan, as Turner was then called away from his office in Basra to go to a conference in Baghdad.
After his conference, Turner went out in search of a computer. He approached the desk of the Army public affairs office, where they were already prepared to help him. People who knew about Turner's predicament had called ahead to Baghdad to set everything up.
"They took me back to a studio," Turner said. "There it was: a computer with a camera, and we were able to do full video and use the speakerphone better than we had dreamed."
As Turner swore in his son, he looked through the screen and saw not only Brett, but his other son, Grant, his wife, Jana, and his wife's parents, Jane and Billy Davis.
"It's a very special feeling. I kind of get tears in my eyes and I am proud," he said.
CONTRACTS May 26, 2009
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Mansfield Oil Co., Gainesville, Ga.*, is being awarded a maximum $56,868,550 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other locations of performance are in various military and federal civilian locations throughout Midwestern states. Using services are Army, Air Force and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 48 responses to the original proposed solicitation. The date of performance completion is Jun. 30, 2012. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC-PLB), Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-4528).
MedImmune Vaccines, Inc., Gaithersburg, Md., is being awarded a maximum $32,293,397 firm fixed price, sole source contract for influenza vaccine. Other location of performance is in Pennsylvania. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There was one response to the original proposed solicitation. The date of performance completion is Jun. 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM2DP-09-D-0005).
Sanofi Pasteur, Swiftwater, Pa., is being awarded a maximum $12,368,596 firm fixed price contract for influenza vaccine. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were eight proposals originally solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is May 26, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM2DP-09-D-0007).
Paquin Energy & Fuel LLC., Keller, Texas *, is being awarded a maximum $9,204,270 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other locations of performance are in various military and federal civilian locations throughout Midwestern states. Using services are Army, Air Force and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 48 responses to the original proposed solicitation. The date of performance completion is June 30, 2012. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC-PLB), Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-4535).
NAVY
Oceaneering International, Inc. – Marine Services Division, Chesapeake, Va., is being awarded a $14,095,184 firm-fixed-price contract for the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) of three Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) craft. The LCAC SLEP will extend the service life of LCAC from 20 to 30 years, sustain/enhance craft capability, replace obsolete electronics, repair corrosion damage, reduce life cycle cost by improving reliability and maintainability, increase survivability, and establish a common configuration baseline. The LCAC SLEP scope of effort includes repair and upgrade of the buoyancy box, gas turbine engine replacement, installation of a new skirt, installation of an integrated C4N equipment package, and accomplishment of selected craft alterations and repair work. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $38,883,193. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va., and is expected to be completed by November 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities, with four offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-09-C-2240)
Trident Systems, Inc.*, Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $10,213,699 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-06-C-6265) for Phase III engineering services, including software development, procurement of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf products and hardware/software integration in support of USS Va., Class Submarines and other submarine/surface ship systems, surveillance and air platforms. The contract modification is for engineering services in support Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Topic No.N99-106 "Mobile Computing for Submarine Application." The Phase III SBIR effort addresses systems and subsystems ranging from simple single processors to highly complex multi-processor network architecture. Work will be performed in Uniontown, Penn., (70 percent); Fairfax, Va., (20 percent); and Raleigh, N.C., (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by May 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.
General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc., Fairfax, Va., is being awarded $8,153,362 for task order #0037 under previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (M67854-02-A-9014) for C4 item unique identification. Technical support under this effort is to provide general engineering and scientific support to the Marine Corps Systems Command, Operation Forces Systems Product Group for item unique identification marking of Marine Corps Automated Readiness Evaluation Systems (MARES) legacy equipment, assemblies/subassemblies. Work will be performed at Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., and work is expected to be completed in May 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Mansfield Oil Co., Gainesville, Ga.*, is being awarded a maximum $56,868,550 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other locations of performance are in various military and federal civilian locations throughout Midwestern states. Using services are Army, Air Force and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 48 responses to the original proposed solicitation. The date of performance completion is Jun. 30, 2012. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC-PLB), Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-4528).
MedImmune Vaccines, Inc., Gaithersburg, Md., is being awarded a maximum $32,293,397 firm fixed price, sole source contract for influenza vaccine. Other location of performance is in Pennsylvania. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There was one response to the original proposed solicitation. The date of performance completion is Jun. 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM2DP-09-D-0005).
Sanofi Pasteur, Swiftwater, Pa., is being awarded a maximum $12,368,596 firm fixed price contract for influenza vaccine. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were eight proposals originally solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is May 26, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM2DP-09-D-0007).
Paquin Energy & Fuel LLC., Keller, Texas *, is being awarded a maximum $9,204,270 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other locations of performance are in various military and federal civilian locations throughout Midwestern states. Using services are Army, Air Force and federal civilian agencies. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 48 responses to the original proposed solicitation. The date of performance completion is June 30, 2012. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC-PLB), Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-4535).
NAVY
Oceaneering International, Inc. – Marine Services Division, Chesapeake, Va., is being awarded a $14,095,184 firm-fixed-price contract for the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) of three Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) craft. The LCAC SLEP will extend the service life of LCAC from 20 to 30 years, sustain/enhance craft capability, replace obsolete electronics, repair corrosion damage, reduce life cycle cost by improving reliability and maintainability, increase survivability, and establish a common configuration baseline. The LCAC SLEP scope of effort includes repair and upgrade of the buoyancy box, gas turbine engine replacement, installation of a new skirt, installation of an integrated C4N equipment package, and accomplishment of selected craft alterations and repair work. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $38,883,193. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va., and is expected to be completed by November 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities, with four offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-09-C-2240)
Trident Systems, Inc.*, Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $10,213,699 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-06-C-6265) for Phase III engineering services, including software development, procurement of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf products and hardware/software integration in support of USS Va., Class Submarines and other submarine/surface ship systems, surveillance and air platforms. The contract modification is for engineering services in support Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Topic No.N99-106 "Mobile Computing for Submarine Application." The Phase III SBIR effort addresses systems and subsystems ranging from simple single processors to highly complex multi-processor network architecture. Work will be performed in Uniontown, Penn., (70 percent); Fairfax, Va., (20 percent); and Raleigh, N.C., (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by May 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.
General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc., Fairfax, Va., is being awarded $8,153,362 for task order #0037 under previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (M67854-02-A-9014) for C4 item unique identification. Technical support under this effort is to provide general engineering and scientific support to the Marine Corps Systems Command, Operation Forces Systems Product Group for item unique identification marking of Marine Corps Automated Readiness Evaluation Systems (MARES) legacy equipment, assemblies/subassemblies. Work will be performed at Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., and work is expected to be completed in May 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Verifying North Korean Nuke Test Will Take Time, Official Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 26, 2009 - It will take time before U.S. and international officials can know with some certitude whether North Korea conducted an underground nuclear-device test yesterday, a senior Defense Department official said here today.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters that it's too early to have definitive knowledge regarding yesterday's purported North Korean underground nuclear test.
"I suspect that some of the details that you're looking for that more tightly define the characteristics of the event will come out like they did a couple of years ago, but that takes some time," Whitman said. "If you go back to 2006, I think the [Director of National Intelligence] did something after there was sufficient time to collect the necessary evidence to be able to make a definitive statement."
North Korea's nuclear device and ballistic-missile activities "pose a great threat to the peace and security of the world and I strongly condemn their reckless action," President Barack Obama told reporters yesterday at the White House.
The United States and international organizations are working together to construct an assessment of North Korea's most-recent purported nuclear test, Whitman said.
It's believed that North Korea carried out its first underground nuclear test in October 2006. North Korea also has conducted several missile and rocket tests over the past decade; the most-recent was a long-range rocket shot conducted in April.
Whitman didn't comment on news reports saying North Korea conducted short-range missile tests today.
North Korea has conducted several missile tests over the past decade. In a highly publicized incident, North Korea fired a missile that passed over Japan in August 1998.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 26, 2009 - It will take time before U.S. and international officials can know with some certitude whether North Korea conducted an underground nuclear-device test yesterday, a senior Defense Department official said here today.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters that it's too early to have definitive knowledge regarding yesterday's purported North Korean underground nuclear test.
"I suspect that some of the details that you're looking for that more tightly define the characteristics of the event will come out like they did a couple of years ago, but that takes some time," Whitman said. "If you go back to 2006, I think the [Director of National Intelligence] did something after there was sufficient time to collect the necessary evidence to be able to make a definitive statement."
North Korea's nuclear device and ballistic-missile activities "pose a great threat to the peace and security of the world and I strongly condemn their reckless action," President Barack Obama told reporters yesterday at the White House.
The United States and international organizations are working together to construct an assessment of North Korea's most-recent purported nuclear test, Whitman said.
It's believed that North Korea carried out its first underground nuclear test in October 2006. North Korea also has conducted several missile and rocket tests over the past decade; the most-recent was a long-range rocket shot conducted in April.
Whitman didn't comment on news reports saying North Korea conducted short-range missile tests today.
North Korea has conducted several missile tests over the past decade. In a highly publicized incident, North Korea fired a missile that passed over Japan in August 1998.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Troops Become Citizens During Memorable Naturalization Ceremony
By U.S. Army Pfc. Cody A. Thompson
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2009 - One hundred and six servicemembers, including 94 soldiers, 10 Marines and two sailors, from countries from Mexico to Japan, celebrated their first Memorial Day as U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony here today. After a long naturalization process, emotions ran high as the servicemembers' journey finally came to an end.
"It's very overwhelming, I'm in harm's way every day and have worked very hard to get to this point," said Army Spc. Rhett Cayobit, a Philippine native. "I was very lucky that my unit supported me from day one." Cayobit is an engineer with the 68th Combat Support Equipment Company, 62nd Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade
Servicemembers stood proud as they heard trumpets sound their new national anthem. After the last note fell and the servicemembers took their seats, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, commanding general for Combined Joint Task Force-101 spoke about what it means to be a U.S. citizen.
"This is a privilege, but one you've earned," Schloesser said.
Corinna Luna-Benavides, the field office director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for the Middle East spoke to the audience of about 325 people.
"Historically this is the largest group to gain their citizenship in Afghanistan, hopefully on Veterans Day in November we will have even more," she said.
The naturalization process involves detailed applications, interviews, and reviews that normally takes nine months. For Sgt. Young Kim, a South Korea native and a transportation non-commissioned officer with the 154th Transportation Company from Fort Hood, Texas, it took eight years.
"It's so relieving because now I can bring my family over to the U.S.," said Kim. "I had to submit my packet four times but now that I have my citizenship. I plan on getting my security clearance and going to Officer Candidate School."
For the first time in Afghanistan, a taped video message from President Barack Obama was shown, congratulating the newest citizens of the U.S.
"This now officially your country," said Obama. "In America, no dream is impossible. Together we can keep the beacon of America bright enough for all the world to see."
(Army Pfc. Cody A. Thompson serves with the 40th Public Affairs Detachment)
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2009 - One hundred and six servicemembers, including 94 soldiers, 10 Marines and two sailors, from countries from Mexico to Japan, celebrated their first Memorial Day as U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony here today. After a long naturalization process, emotions ran high as the servicemembers' journey finally came to an end.
"It's very overwhelming, I'm in harm's way every day and have worked very hard to get to this point," said Army Spc. Rhett Cayobit, a Philippine native. "I was very lucky that my unit supported me from day one." Cayobit is an engineer with the 68th Combat Support Equipment Company, 62nd Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade
Servicemembers stood proud as they heard trumpets sound their new national anthem. After the last note fell and the servicemembers took their seats, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, commanding general for Combined Joint Task Force-101 spoke about what it means to be a U.S. citizen.
"This is a privilege, but one you've earned," Schloesser said.
Corinna Luna-Benavides, the field office director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for the Middle East spoke to the audience of about 325 people.
"Historically this is the largest group to gain their citizenship in Afghanistan, hopefully on Veterans Day in November we will have even more," she said.
The naturalization process involves detailed applications, interviews, and reviews that normally takes nine months. For Sgt. Young Kim, a South Korea native and a transportation non-commissioned officer with the 154th Transportation Company from Fort Hood, Texas, it took eight years.
"It's so relieving because now I can bring my family over to the U.S.," said Kim. "I had to submit my packet four times but now that I have my citizenship. I plan on getting my security clearance and going to Officer Candidate School."
For the first time in Afghanistan, a taped video message from President Barack Obama was shown, congratulating the newest citizens of the U.S.
"This now officially your country," said Obama. "In America, no dream is impossible. Together we can keep the beacon of America bright enough for all the world to see."
(Army Pfc. Cody A. Thompson serves with the 40th Public Affairs Detachment)
Today's Troops, Families Best Ever, Chairman Says
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2009 - As the nation prepares to enjoy its Memorial Day holiday, the military's top officer asked that U.S. troops and families be remembered for their sacrifices. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made appearances this morning on the major network morning shows broadcasting from the Pentagon.
Mullen called today's fighting force and its families the best he's ever been associated with.
"I've been wearing the uniform for over 41 years. This is the best military we've ever had, and they are making a big difference in these two wars that we're fighting," he said. "And we're in our eighth year of war, our sixth year of fighting two wars simultaneously, and they've just been incredible."
The holiday serves as the unofficial start of summer with many community pools opening for the weekend. Many enjoy the typical three-day weekend boating, cooking out and in other outdoor recreational activities.
But Mullen asked that the nation take pause to remember the sacrifices of the troops and families, and to renew its commitment to supporting those in their communities who are serving.
"Today's a day we need to remember their sacrifice -- those who've paid the ultimate sacrifice as well as the families of the fallen," Mullen said.
Nearly 5,000 troops have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since they began, Mullen said. More than 36,000 troops have been injured.
"We've got some 240,000 young men and women of the United States deployed around the world today ... and many of them in harms way who we really need to take pause and remember their sacrifice," the chairman said.
"They represent the best of America. They're the best young people I have ever been associated with and they really do make a difference," Mullen said.
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2009 - As the nation prepares to enjoy its Memorial Day holiday, the military's top officer asked that U.S. troops and families be remembered for their sacrifices. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made appearances this morning on the major network morning shows broadcasting from the Pentagon.
Mullen called today's fighting force and its families the best he's ever been associated with.
"I've been wearing the uniform for over 41 years. This is the best military we've ever had, and they are making a big difference in these two wars that we're fighting," he said. "And we're in our eighth year of war, our sixth year of fighting two wars simultaneously, and they've just been incredible."
The holiday serves as the unofficial start of summer with many community pools opening for the weekend. Many enjoy the typical three-day weekend boating, cooking out and in other outdoor recreational activities.
But Mullen asked that the nation take pause to remember the sacrifices of the troops and families, and to renew its commitment to supporting those in their communities who are serving.
"Today's a day we need to remember their sacrifice -- those who've paid the ultimate sacrifice as well as the families of the fallen," Mullen said.
Nearly 5,000 troops have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since they began, Mullen said. More than 36,000 troops have been injured.
"We've got some 240,000 young men and women of the United States deployed around the world today ... and many of them in harms way who we really need to take pause and remember their sacrifice," the chairman said.
"They represent the best of America. They're the best young people I have ever been associated with and they really do make a difference," Mullen said.
Mullen Salutes Servicemembers, Vets at Memorial Day Concert
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2009 - Memorial Day is a time for Americans to "honor all those who have sacrificed and still sacrifice today for our freedom," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a large audience gathered on the U.S. Capitol grounds here yesterday evening for the 20th annual National Memorial Day Concert. The nation's top military officer especially saluted warriors who've been wounded during the performance of their duty. The admiral cited the bravery and sacrifice of concert attendee New Hampshire National Guardsman Staff Sgt. Jose Pequeno, who'd been severely wounded in Iraq.
Pequeno's mother, Nellie Bagley, and his sister, Elizabeth, are helping him as he continues his recovery.
America needs "heroes like Jose," Mullen said, noting it is important for citizens to recognize and appreciate the sacrifices made by servicemembers and their families.
"Let our gratitude carry on to every corner of this land, and every day of the year," Mullen said of the appreciation of servicemembers' work and sacrifice on behalf of the nation.
"May God bless our veterans and all our armed forces," Mullen said.
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2009 - Memorial Day is a time for Americans to "honor all those who have sacrificed and still sacrifice today for our freedom," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a large audience gathered on the U.S. Capitol grounds here yesterday evening for the 20th annual National Memorial Day Concert. The nation's top military officer especially saluted warriors who've been wounded during the performance of their duty. The admiral cited the bravery and sacrifice of concert attendee New Hampshire National Guardsman Staff Sgt. Jose Pequeno, who'd been severely wounded in Iraq.
Pequeno's mother, Nellie Bagley, and his sister, Elizabeth, are helping him as he continues his recovery.
America needs "heroes like Jose," Mullen said, noting it is important for citizens to recognize and appreciate the sacrifices made by servicemembers and their families.
"Let our gratitude carry on to every corner of this land, and every day of the year," Mullen said of the appreciation of servicemembers' work and sacrifice on behalf of the nation.
"May God bless our veterans and all our armed forces," Mullen said.
President, Top U.S. Military Denounce North Korean Nuclear Test
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2009 - The president and the nation's top military officer today denounced North Korea's claim that it carried out a powerful underground nuclear test, much larger than previous such tests, to "bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense." "North Korea's nuclear ballistic missile programs pose a great threat to the peace and security of the world and I strongly condemn their reckless action," Obama told reporters this morning in the White House Rose Garden.
North Korea's actions they are a blatant violation of international law, and they contradict North Korea's own prior commitments, he said.
"The record is clear: North Korea has previously committed to abandoning its nuclear program," Obama said. "Instead of following through on that commitment it has chosen to ignore that commitment. These actions have also flown in the face of United Nations resolutions.
"As a result, North Korea is not only deepening its own isolation, it's also inviting stronger international pressure -- that's evident overnight, as Russia and China, as well a our traditional allies of South Korea and Japan, have all come to the same conclusion: North Korea will not find security and respect through threats and illegal weapons."
Obama said the international community must take action in response to North Korea's threatening activities.
"We will work with friends and our allies to stand up to this behavior and redouble our efforts toward a more robust international nonproliferation regime that all countries have responsibilities to meet."
"In this effort, the United States will never waiver from our determination to protect our people and the peace and security of the world," he said.
In a statement issued by the White House earlier this morning, the president said U.S. officials have been and will continue working with allies and partners in the Six-Party Talks as well as other members of the U.N. Security Council in the days ahead.
Broadcasting from the Pentagon, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared on the major network morning shows. The chairman typically is interviewed as part of the networks' Memorial Day coverage.
But the reported nuclear tests quickly overshadowed the chairman's message of troops' and families' sacrifices, and turned to questions about any proposed U.S. military response and whether it could afford another conflict on top of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While Pentagon officials could not yet confirm the reports of the test, Mullen said, it was not "unanticipated."
Mullen said the nuclear test is indicative of "the growing belligerence of North Korea, the growing isolation of a country that continues to defy the international norm and international law, and actually, the growing concern that I and many others have for their ability to destabilize a really vital region of the world."
Mullen said the international community "must continue to bring pressure on (North Korea) to ensure that in the long run they don't achieve a nuclear weapons program that could threaten the region and actually threaten the United States as well."
Mullen said the six-party talks, in place to attempt a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of North Korea's nuclear weapons program, are especially critical moving forward after this reported test.
North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States make up the six parties. The talks have been stalled since the United Nations Security Council condemned North Korea in April for a failed missile test. Following the condemnation North Korea expelled United Nations inspectors from the country.
Mullen also said that the test puts North Korea in a position where its own security position is on less stable ground internationally.
"As [Jong] becomes more and more defiant I think he puts himself in a much more difficult position while he clearly continues to try to seek this ... very dangerous capability of a nuclear weapons program," he said.
Mullen said though that diplomatic efforts should be continued, but expressed confidence that the U.S. military can deal with any threat posed by North Korea.
"The issue of a third war would be a huge challenge," he said. We've got reserve capacity in our military, a very strong Navy, a very strong Air Force. So I would not want anybody to think that we don't have the capacity to respond, even though our military is very, very pressed and very, very stretched right now."
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2009 - The president and the nation's top military officer today denounced North Korea's claim that it carried out a powerful underground nuclear test, much larger than previous such tests, to "bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense." "North Korea's nuclear ballistic missile programs pose a great threat to the peace and security of the world and I strongly condemn their reckless action," Obama told reporters this morning in the White House Rose Garden.
North Korea's actions they are a blatant violation of international law, and they contradict North Korea's own prior commitments, he said.
"The record is clear: North Korea has previously committed to abandoning its nuclear program," Obama said. "Instead of following through on that commitment it has chosen to ignore that commitment. These actions have also flown in the face of United Nations resolutions.
"As a result, North Korea is not only deepening its own isolation, it's also inviting stronger international pressure -- that's evident overnight, as Russia and China, as well a our traditional allies of South Korea and Japan, have all come to the same conclusion: North Korea will not find security and respect through threats and illegal weapons."
Obama said the international community must take action in response to North Korea's threatening activities.
"We will work with friends and our allies to stand up to this behavior and redouble our efforts toward a more robust international nonproliferation regime that all countries have responsibilities to meet."
"In this effort, the United States will never waiver from our determination to protect our people and the peace and security of the world," he said.
In a statement issued by the White House earlier this morning, the president said U.S. officials have been and will continue working with allies and partners in the Six-Party Talks as well as other members of the U.N. Security Council in the days ahead.
Broadcasting from the Pentagon, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared on the major network morning shows. The chairman typically is interviewed as part of the networks' Memorial Day coverage.
But the reported nuclear tests quickly overshadowed the chairman's message of troops' and families' sacrifices, and turned to questions about any proposed U.S. military response and whether it could afford another conflict on top of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While Pentagon officials could not yet confirm the reports of the test, Mullen said, it was not "unanticipated."
Mullen said the nuclear test is indicative of "the growing belligerence of North Korea, the growing isolation of a country that continues to defy the international norm and international law, and actually, the growing concern that I and many others have for their ability to destabilize a really vital region of the world."
Mullen said the international community "must continue to bring pressure on (North Korea) to ensure that in the long run they don't achieve a nuclear weapons program that could threaten the region and actually threaten the United States as well."
Mullen said the six-party talks, in place to attempt a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of North Korea's nuclear weapons program, are especially critical moving forward after this reported test.
North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States make up the six parties. The talks have been stalled since the United Nations Security Council condemned North Korea in April for a failed missile test. Following the condemnation North Korea expelled United Nations inspectors from the country.
Mullen also said that the test puts North Korea in a position where its own security position is on less stable ground internationally.
"As [Jong] becomes more and more defiant I think he puts himself in a much more difficult position while he clearly continues to try to seek this ... very dangerous capability of a nuclear weapons program," he said.
Mullen said though that diplomatic efforts should be continued, but expressed confidence that the U.S. military can deal with any threat posed by North Korea.
"The issue of a third war would be a huge challenge," he said. We've got reserve capacity in our military, a very strong Navy, a very strong Air Force. So I would not want anybody to think that we don't have the capacity to respond, even though our military is very, very pressed and very, very stretched right now."
Obama Honors Servicemembers' Ultimate Sacrifices for Freedom
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2009 - President Barack Obama today hailed U.S. military members' unselfish service and willingness to lay down their lives on behalf of their fellow citizens during the annual Memorial Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery. White House offiicials said the president returned from Camp David last night so that this morning he could have breakfast with Gold Star Families in the State Dining Room, participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, and speak at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery.
After being introduced by Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Obama told an audience gathered inside the Memorial Amphitheater that Arlington's hallowed grounds contain the remains of, "presidents and privates, Supreme Court justices and slaves; generals familiar to history, and unknown soldiers known only to God."
The annual Memorial Day observance has been held at Arlington "in moments of peace, when we pay our respects to the fallen and give thanks for their sacrifice," Obama said, and also "in moments of war, when the somber notes of Taps echo through the trees, and fresh grief lingers in the air."
And, "today is one of those moments," the president continued, "where we pay tribute to those who forged our history, but hold closely the memory of those so recently lost. And even as we gather here this morning, all across America, people are pausing to remember, to mourn, and to pray."
Moments before he entered the cemetery's amphitheater, Obama laid a ceremonial wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, which contains the remains of unidentified soldiers from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. There was also a crypt for a Vietnam War unknown, but genetic forensics later identified him as Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie. The crypt is now empty.
More than 300,000 people are buried at Arlington Cemetery, including veterans from all the nation's wars -- the American Revolution through Iraq and Afghanistan.
Arlington's wreath-laying ceremony, Obama said, salutes "the legacies of an unbroken chain of proud men and women who served their country with honor; who waged war so that we might know peace; who braved hardship so that we might know opportunity; who paid the ultimate price so we might know freedom."
The generations of servicemembers that are buried at Arlington "fought in every American war," Obama pointed out.
"They overthrew an empire and gave birth to revolution," Obama said of Arlington's dead. "They strained to hold a young union together. They rolled back the creeping tide of tyranny, and stood post through a long twilight struggle. And they took on the terror and extremism that threatens our world's stability."
Next week, Obama will visit Normandy, France, he said, to "address some of the brave men who stormed those beaches 65 years ago" as part of the D-Day landings during World War II.
Arlington Cemetery, Obama said, is "a testament to the price our nation has paid for freedom." The thousands of marble headstones that march up and down the cemetery's hilly grounds and cover its flats, he said, are arrayed "in perfect military order, worthy of the dignity of those who rest here."
Section 60 is where the "fallen from Iraq and Afghanistan rest," Obama said. Servicemembers buried at Arlington who gave their lives during previous wars and the fallen from Afghanistan and Iraq, he said, shared a common dedication to duty and country.
"What is thing, this sense of duty?" Obama asked. And why, he continued, in today's self-indulgent times, have "soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of this generation volunteered all that they have on behalf of others" and "bear the heaviest burden?"
And, just as their predecessors, today's military members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan "felt some tug; they answered a call; they said, 'I'll go,'" Obama said.
That's why, Obama said, America's servicemembers "are the best of America, and that is what separates them from those of us who have not served in uniform -- their extraordinary willingness to risk their lives for people they never met."
Obama said his grandfather had served in Army Gen. George S. Patton's Army in World War II.
"But I cannot know what it is like to walk into battle," Obama said. "I'm the father of two young girls -- but I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child. These are things I cannot know."
Yet, Obama declared that he "is humbled" to be the commander-in-chief "of the finest fighting force in the history of the world."
As U.S. president, Obama pledged "to keep our country safe, even as I face no harder decision than sending our men and women to war -- and no moment more difficult than writing a letter to the families of the fallen."
Obama also said he'd only send troops into battle "when it is absolutely necessary, and I will always provide them with the equipment and support they need to get the job done."
Military families "sacrifice more than we can understand," Obama said, and those who've lost loved ones to war "feel an absence greater than we can comprehend."
America owes much "to those who serve under its proud flag," Obama said. "And, that's why I promise all our servicemen and women that when the guns fall silent, and you do return home, it will be to an America that is forever here for you, just as you've been there for us."
The death of a loved one who died in service of their country is a heart-breaking experience for those loved ones left behind, Obama said.
But, such a tragic event, he added, also "reminds us all the meaning of valor; it reminds us all of our own obligations to one another; it recounts that most precious aspect of our history, and tells us that we will only rise or fall together."
During his introduction of the commander-in-chief, Mullen also saluted U.S. servicemembers' sacrifices on behalf of the nation.
Memorial Day is a time for Americans to remember and honor its fallen heroes who've given the nation the gift of their ultimate sacrifice, Mullen said.
"What we do understand as it is revealed to us more fully each passing spring," Mullen said, "is how precious and very rare these gifts truly are, in and above this world."
Mullen also praised Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their support of America's servicemembers and families.
"In every possible way, he and our First Lady make our troops and their families first; first in their daily lives, first in their thoughts, and first in their hearts," Mullen said.
American Forces Press Service
May 25, 2009 - President Barack Obama today hailed U.S. military members' unselfish service and willingness to lay down their lives on behalf of their fellow citizens during the annual Memorial Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery. White House offiicials said the president returned from Camp David last night so that this morning he could have breakfast with Gold Star Families in the State Dining Room, participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, and speak at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery.
After being introduced by Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Obama told an audience gathered inside the Memorial Amphitheater that Arlington's hallowed grounds contain the remains of, "presidents and privates, Supreme Court justices and slaves; generals familiar to history, and unknown soldiers known only to God."
The annual Memorial Day observance has been held at Arlington "in moments of peace, when we pay our respects to the fallen and give thanks for their sacrifice," Obama said, and also "in moments of war, when the somber notes of Taps echo through the trees, and fresh grief lingers in the air."
And, "today is one of those moments," the president continued, "where we pay tribute to those who forged our history, but hold closely the memory of those so recently lost. And even as we gather here this morning, all across America, people are pausing to remember, to mourn, and to pray."
Moments before he entered the cemetery's amphitheater, Obama laid a ceremonial wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, which contains the remains of unidentified soldiers from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. There was also a crypt for a Vietnam War unknown, but genetic forensics later identified him as Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie. The crypt is now empty.
More than 300,000 people are buried at Arlington Cemetery, including veterans from all the nation's wars -- the American Revolution through Iraq and Afghanistan.
Arlington's wreath-laying ceremony, Obama said, salutes "the legacies of an unbroken chain of proud men and women who served their country with honor; who waged war so that we might know peace; who braved hardship so that we might know opportunity; who paid the ultimate price so we might know freedom."
The generations of servicemembers that are buried at Arlington "fought in every American war," Obama pointed out.
"They overthrew an empire and gave birth to revolution," Obama said of Arlington's dead. "They strained to hold a young union together. They rolled back the creeping tide of tyranny, and stood post through a long twilight struggle. And they took on the terror and extremism that threatens our world's stability."
Next week, Obama will visit Normandy, France, he said, to "address some of the brave men who stormed those beaches 65 years ago" as part of the D-Day landings during World War II.
Arlington Cemetery, Obama said, is "a testament to the price our nation has paid for freedom." The thousands of marble headstones that march up and down the cemetery's hilly grounds and cover its flats, he said, are arrayed "in perfect military order, worthy of the dignity of those who rest here."
Section 60 is where the "fallen from Iraq and Afghanistan rest," Obama said. Servicemembers buried at Arlington who gave their lives during previous wars and the fallen from Afghanistan and Iraq, he said, shared a common dedication to duty and country.
"What is thing, this sense of duty?" Obama asked. And why, he continued, in today's self-indulgent times, have "soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of this generation volunteered all that they have on behalf of others" and "bear the heaviest burden?"
And, just as their predecessors, today's military members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan "felt some tug; they answered a call; they said, 'I'll go,'" Obama said.
That's why, Obama said, America's servicemembers "are the best of America, and that is what separates them from those of us who have not served in uniform -- their extraordinary willingness to risk their lives for people they never met."
Obama said his grandfather had served in Army Gen. George S. Patton's Army in World War II.
"But I cannot know what it is like to walk into battle," Obama said. "I'm the father of two young girls -- but I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child. These are things I cannot know."
Yet, Obama declared that he "is humbled" to be the commander-in-chief "of the finest fighting force in the history of the world."
As U.S. president, Obama pledged "to keep our country safe, even as I face no harder decision than sending our men and women to war -- and no moment more difficult than writing a letter to the families of the fallen."
Obama also said he'd only send troops into battle "when it is absolutely necessary, and I will always provide them with the equipment and support they need to get the job done."
Military families "sacrifice more than we can understand," Obama said, and those who've lost loved ones to war "feel an absence greater than we can comprehend."
America owes much "to those who serve under its proud flag," Obama said. "And, that's why I promise all our servicemen and women that when the guns fall silent, and you do return home, it will be to an America that is forever here for you, just as you've been there for us."
The death of a loved one who died in service of their country is a heart-breaking experience for those loved ones left behind, Obama said.
But, such a tragic event, he added, also "reminds us all the meaning of valor; it reminds us all of our own obligations to one another; it recounts that most precious aspect of our history, and tells us that we will only rise or fall together."
During his introduction of the commander-in-chief, Mullen also saluted U.S. servicemembers' sacrifices on behalf of the nation.
Memorial Day is a time for Americans to remember and honor its fallen heroes who've given the nation the gift of their ultimate sacrifice, Mullen said.
"What we do understand as it is revealed to us more fully each passing spring," Mullen said, "is how precious and very rare these gifts truly are, in and above this world."
Mullen also praised Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their support of America's servicemembers and families.
"In every possible way, he and our First Lady make our troops and their families first; first in their daily lives, first in their thoughts, and first in their hearts," Mullen said.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
North Korea Tests Nuclear Device
Various sources are reporting that the North Korean Government conducted a nuclear test. It is, May 25th in North Korea, which, of course, is Memorial Day in the United States.
More Info:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/05/200952524846965839.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE54O09T20090525
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-may-have-conducted-nuclear-test
More Info:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/05/200952524846965839.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE54O09T20090525
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-may-have-conducted-nuclear-test
VA Recognizes Military Sacrifices on Memorial Day
Special to American Forces Press Service
May 24, 2009 - From parades to somber ceremonies and a moment of silence, Americans will recall the sacrifices of military members who paid the ultimate price for freedom on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25.
"From May 23 to May 30, commemorative events at VA national cemeteries will present a sacred responsibility for employees and volunteers to honor these greatest of American heroes," Steve Muro, VA's Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs said. "Since the birth of Memorial Day in 1866, national cemeteries have been the most visible expression of our country's gratitude for their service."
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will continue its annual tradition of hosting services at most of its national cemeteries and many other facilities nationwide. The programs, which are the focus of Memorial Day events in many communities, honor the service of deceased Veterans and people who die on active duty.
For the dates and times of Memorial Day programs at VA national cemeteries, visit www.cem.va.gov.
More than 100,000 people are expected to attend activities at VA's national cemeteries, with color guards, readings, bands and choir performances. The events will honor about one million men and women who died in wartime periods, including about 655,000 battle deaths.
Some national cemetery observances are unique. At VA's most active cemetery, in Riverside, Calif., volunteers have been reading aloud -- since Armed Forces Day, May 17 -- the names of more than 150,000 veterans buried there, and are expected to continue at least until the Memorial Day program. In one-hour shifts around the clock, 500 volunteers – two to four at a time -- alternate reading the names.
May 24, 2009 - From parades to somber ceremonies and a moment of silence, Americans will recall the sacrifices of military members who paid the ultimate price for freedom on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25.
"From May 23 to May 30, commemorative events at VA national cemeteries will present a sacred responsibility for employees and volunteers to honor these greatest of American heroes," Steve Muro, VA's Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs said. "Since the birth of Memorial Day in 1866, national cemeteries have been the most visible expression of our country's gratitude for their service."
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will continue its annual tradition of hosting services at most of its national cemeteries and many other facilities nationwide. The programs, which are the focus of Memorial Day events in many communities, honor the service of deceased Veterans and people who die on active duty.
For the dates and times of Memorial Day programs at VA national cemeteries, visit www.cem.va.gov.
More than 100,000 people are expected to attend activities at VA's national cemeteries, with color guards, readings, bands and choir performances. The events will honor about one million men and women who died in wartime periods, including about 655,000 battle deaths.
Some national cemetery observances are unique. At VA's most active cemetery, in Riverside, Calif., volunteers have been reading aloud -- since Armed Forces Day, May 17 -- the names of more than 150,000 veterans buried there, and are expected to continue at least until the Memorial Day program. In one-hour shifts around the clock, 500 volunteers – two to four at a time -- alternate reading the names.
Rolling Thunder Roars Through Nations' Capital
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. CardenAmerican Forces Press Service
May 24, 2009 - Pam Crane sat peacefully in a patch of freshly mowed grass along Highway 27 here in the nation's capital, remembering her husband, his patriotism and his cause. She overlooked a sea of motorcycles and bandana-wearing war veterans gathered today in the Pentagon's north parking lot for the 22nd Annual Rolling Thunder rally. Each and every one of them, she said, share her husband Warren's passion to never let the nation forget that some of their battle buddies and brothers in arms never came home.
"It was his passion," Crane said. "He was the most patriotic man I'd ever met."
Warren was one of the lucky ones to make it home after serving in Vietnam, but after years of struggling with post-traumatic stress, he took his own life on May 20, 2006. The next day his widow joined Rolling Thunder and has made the trip from Knoxville, Tenn., each year since for the Memorial Day weekend ride through the nation's capitol.
The event kicked off at noon today with riders filing out of the Pentagon parking lot in pairs in a parade that led them from the Lincoln Memorial, past the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall, to the U.S. Capitol building and back.
"It's such a wonderful, overwhelming experience to be here and to see the flags and patriotism and all these veterans together," Crane said. "We're doing everything we can to make sure the public doesn't forget our POWs and MIAs and certainly to take care of our veterans from all the different wars that are still here."
"It's such a moving event to see so many veterans gathered together, and everyone is here to honor our fallen comrades and soldiers serving now," added Army Sgt. 1st Class (ret.) Frank Lesnefsky, from Scranton, Penn., who's participating in his fifth Rolling Thunder rally.
Rolling Thunder, Inc., is a non-profit organization with more than 88 chapters in all 50 states, which work year round to ensure the nation never forgets that American prisoners of war and missing in action still remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. The organization raises funds to help veterans and serves as legislative advocates on veterans' issues. Members volunteer to visit local veterans hospitals and educate people about the POW/MIA issue.
Crane said Rolling Thunder's hard work over the years is evident, as they've impacted citizens from all across the country to join and take part in advocating their cause. Bikers, such as Danny Kang, from Richmond, Va., participated in Rolling Thunder for the past two years, but unlike many of the others, he's not a veteran and doesn't come from a military family, he said.
An American pilot in the Korean War saved his grandfather, Kang said. And if it weren't for servicemembers like that pilot, who risked his own life to protect Kang's grandfather and other South Korean nationals, the world might be a lesser place, he added.
"I'm here to pay my respect and show my appreciation for all those troops who never came back," Kang said. "It's hard to imagine that troops from past wars are still not accounted for."
Dale Recker, a Vietnam War veteran from Beaver Creek, Minn., participated in his sixth Rolling Thunder today, and said it's an event he looks forward to every year. He's a founding father of the Rolling Thunder Chapter 1 in South Dakota, he said.
Recker said he will be here in Washington for Rolling Thunder every year until he's physically unable. His cousin's name is engraved on the Vietnam Veterans' War Memorial Wall, and Recker wants to ensure his cousin and others like him will always be remembered for their sacrifice.
"We don't want anyone to ever forget, and we don't want the servicemembers coming back today to be forgotten either," Recker said. "We want all our troops home, and we won't rest until every last POW and MIA is accounted for."
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Gates Expresses Gratitude to Sailors, Workers During Shipyard Tour
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
May 23, 2009 - It wasn't the enormity of the sections of ship being welded together at Bath Iron Works here that impressed the defense secretary yesterday, but rather those stitching the hulking pieces together and the crews that would man the finished ships. "I'm just really impressed by the professionalism and the pride of the workers that I've seen here at Bath Iron Works," Robert M. Gates said from the fantail of the nearly finished USS Wayne E. Meyer, hull number DDG-108. "This is the first shipyard I've ever visited and you've set the bar pretty high for everybody else."
The military ships built at Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics company, make a huge difference for the country, he added. Currently in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are more sailors on land than on ships.
"So the Navy is making a huge contribution to the fight both at sea and on land," Gates said. "I just want to thank you for all you do. Thank you for the quality of the workmanship. Thank you, both in and out of uniform, for your service and your dedication to this cause.
"For those of you who are the workers here at Bath, I know a number of you have served in the military and I want to thank you for that service as well," he added. "Thank you for having such pride in what you do."
The workers will be able to continue to exercise their pride far into the future, the secretary told reporters later. With money in the Fiscal 2010 defense budget, Bath Iron Works will build the third DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer. It's anticipated that after that, the shipyard will return to building DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class destroyers.
Though these ships, both classes, are designed to fight, they'll do much more than that in their lifetimes, including humanitarian work.
"They do a lot of training and helping of our partner countries to improve their own military capabilities. Because ... if they're good we won't have to send out troops if there's a problem," Gate said. "There's a lot of versatility to these ships and I think everybody from the very beginning of the republic has always believed a great Navy is critical to our national security and we have the best."
He said he's suspended decisions on adding to the amphibious fleet until the Quadrennial Defense Review is complete. The QDR analyzes strategic objectives and potential military threats and will provide some answers on how much amphibious capability is needed.
Earlier in the day, the secretary toured the USS Iwo Jima, docked in New York harbor for Fleet Week. Gates had been in the city to accept the 2009 Intrepid Freedom Award at a dinner aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.
He then flew to Maine and visited with about 120 sailors who will soon deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of operations and Djibouti. He expressed his gratitude to the sailors for their efforts and posed for a photo with each of them before presenting them with his challenge coin.
American Forces Press Service
May 23, 2009 - It wasn't the enormity of the sections of ship being welded together at Bath Iron Works here that impressed the defense secretary yesterday, but rather those stitching the hulking pieces together and the crews that would man the finished ships. "I'm just really impressed by the professionalism and the pride of the workers that I've seen here at Bath Iron Works," Robert M. Gates said from the fantail of the nearly finished USS Wayne E. Meyer, hull number DDG-108. "This is the first shipyard I've ever visited and you've set the bar pretty high for everybody else."
The military ships built at Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics company, make a huge difference for the country, he added. Currently in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are more sailors on land than on ships.
"So the Navy is making a huge contribution to the fight both at sea and on land," Gates said. "I just want to thank you for all you do. Thank you for the quality of the workmanship. Thank you, both in and out of uniform, for your service and your dedication to this cause.
"For those of you who are the workers here at Bath, I know a number of you have served in the military and I want to thank you for that service as well," he added. "Thank you for having such pride in what you do."
The workers will be able to continue to exercise their pride far into the future, the secretary told reporters later. With money in the Fiscal 2010 defense budget, Bath Iron Works will build the third DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer. It's anticipated that after that, the shipyard will return to building DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class destroyers.
Though these ships, both classes, are designed to fight, they'll do much more than that in their lifetimes, including humanitarian work.
"They do a lot of training and helping of our partner countries to improve their own military capabilities. Because ... if they're good we won't have to send out troops if there's a problem," Gate said. "There's a lot of versatility to these ships and I think everybody from the very beginning of the republic has always believed a great Navy is critical to our national security and we have the best."
He said he's suspended decisions on adding to the amphibious fleet until the Quadrennial Defense Review is complete. The QDR analyzes strategic objectives and potential military threats and will provide some answers on how much amphibious capability is needed.
Earlier in the day, the secretary toured the USS Iwo Jima, docked in New York harbor for Fleet Week. Gates had been in the city to accept the 2009 Intrepid Freedom Award at a dinner aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.
He then flew to Maine and visited with about 120 sailors who will soon deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of operations and Djibouti. He expressed his gratitude to the sailors for their efforts and posed for a photo with each of them before presenting them with his challenge coin.
Gates Urges West Point Graduates to Become Great Leaders
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
May 23, 2009 - Before 970 cadets took the commissioning oath or "covers" tossed high overhead, graduating West Point cadets heard some praise and sage advice from their future boss. "Consider that the future members of this class would have been filling out your academy applications in the fall of 2004, at about the same time of the second battle of Fallujah," said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, during his commencement address to the Military Academy's graduating Class of 2009. "You made your decision to serve knowing not only that America was at war ... but that this war would be bloody, difficult, of indefinite length and uncertain outcome.
"In doing so, you showed courage, commitment, and patriotism of the highest order," he added. The Class of 2009 includes 144 women and 17 foreign cadets, the majority of whom were commissioned as second lieutenants. The foreign cadets, who will return to their nations for service, represent Afghanistan, Belize, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chad, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Maldives, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Tunisia.
Though wars today look little like wars of the past, the principles of soldiering have changed little, said the secretary, a former Air Force lieutenant and CIA officer.
Leadership is still a key component., Gates stressed.
"When all is said and done, the kind of leader you become is up to you, based on the choices you make," he said, offering the graduates the same wisdom he offers new generals. "It is about a leadership quality that is really basic and simple – but so basic and simple that too often it's forgotten – and that is the importance, as you lead, of doing so with common decency and respect toward your subordinates.
"Harry Truman had it right when he observed that one of the surest ways to judge someone is how well – or poorly – he treats those who 'can't talk back,'" he added.
As an example, Gates told of George Washington stopping to help repair a fort after asking the soldier supervising why he wasn't helping.
The supervisor, without recognizing Washington, who was in civilian attire, had informed the general that he was a corporal. To which Washington replied: "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander in chief and I will come and help you again."
Conversely, Washington learned a thing or two about respecting his men as well, Gates said. When he came upon a soldier drinking wine and turned down an invitation to partake he declined, drawing an indignant retort. Washington reconsidered, had a drink with the man and consequently, earned his loyalty.
"Treating soldiers decently also extends to making sure that they, and their families, are properly taken care of – body, mind, and soul," Gate said. "It is the families who often bear the harshest brunt of a soldier's overseas combat tour, particularly when it's a second or even third or forth deployment."
Gates said a second fundamental quality of leadership is integrity, which consists of physical courage – doing the hard right over the easier, more popular wrong – and moral courage.
Moral courage is often harder to find.
"The hardest thing you may ever be called upon to do is stand alone among your peers and superior officers," he said. "To stick out your neck after discussion becomes consensus, and consensus ossifies into groupthink."
He called upon the example of former Army chief of staff George C. Marshall who had no qualms about telling the likes of Gen. John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing and Franklin Delano Roosevelt things they didn't particularly want to hear. Ultimately, Marshall's integrity and courage were rewarded, which is what should happen in a perfect world, Gates said, adding that sadly this is not always the case.
The moral principles of leadership, he went on, are timeless and apply to any military leader of any generation.
"So do a range of other choices you will face about the leader you aspire to become," he said. "I refer to those relating to the kind of judgment, wisdom, and mental skills – the intellectual attributes, if you will – that will be most needed to be successful as an Army leader."
The United States' military can't succeed in the face of the full-spectrum conflict it faces without military leaders who are just as full-spectrum in their thinking.
"We will not be able to train or educate you to have all the right answers – as one might find in a manual – but you should look for those experience and pursuits in your career that will help you at least ask the right questions," Gates said. "To this end, in addition to the essential troop commands and staff assignments, you should consider, and in fact embrace, opportunities that in the past were considered off the beaten path, if not a career dead end."
Such paths include further study, teaching, being a fellow at a think tank, advising indigenous security forces, becoming a foreign area specialist, or service in other parts of the government. All of these experiences will make for more successful military leaders in the 21st Century, he said.
As a final thought to the cadets Gates said he considers his own sons and daughters, he offered this: "I believe that only strength, eternal vigilance, and the continuing courage and commitment of warriors like you – and your willingness to serve at all costs – will keep the sacred light of American liberty shining; a beacon to all the world.
"You will shortly take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and we, the American people. The nation stands in awe of you and I salute you."
American Forces Press Service
May 23, 2009 - Before 970 cadets took the commissioning oath or "covers" tossed high overhead, graduating West Point cadets heard some praise and sage advice from their future boss. "Consider that the future members of this class would have been filling out your academy applications in the fall of 2004, at about the same time of the second battle of Fallujah," said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, during his commencement address to the Military Academy's graduating Class of 2009. "You made your decision to serve knowing not only that America was at war ... but that this war would be bloody, difficult, of indefinite length and uncertain outcome.
"In doing so, you showed courage, commitment, and patriotism of the highest order," he added. The Class of 2009 includes 144 women and 17 foreign cadets, the majority of whom were commissioned as second lieutenants. The foreign cadets, who will return to their nations for service, represent Afghanistan, Belize, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chad, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Maldives, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Tunisia.
Though wars today look little like wars of the past, the principles of soldiering have changed little, said the secretary, a former Air Force lieutenant and CIA officer.
Leadership is still a key component., Gates stressed.
"When all is said and done, the kind of leader you become is up to you, based on the choices you make," he said, offering the graduates the same wisdom he offers new generals. "It is about a leadership quality that is really basic and simple – but so basic and simple that too often it's forgotten – and that is the importance, as you lead, of doing so with common decency and respect toward your subordinates.
"Harry Truman had it right when he observed that one of the surest ways to judge someone is how well – or poorly – he treats those who 'can't talk back,'" he added.
As an example, Gates told of George Washington stopping to help repair a fort after asking the soldier supervising why he wasn't helping.
The supervisor, without recognizing Washington, who was in civilian attire, had informed the general that he was a corporal. To which Washington replied: "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander in chief and I will come and help you again."
Conversely, Washington learned a thing or two about respecting his men as well, Gates said. When he came upon a soldier drinking wine and turned down an invitation to partake he declined, drawing an indignant retort. Washington reconsidered, had a drink with the man and consequently, earned his loyalty.
"Treating soldiers decently also extends to making sure that they, and their families, are properly taken care of – body, mind, and soul," Gate said. "It is the families who often bear the harshest brunt of a soldier's overseas combat tour, particularly when it's a second or even third or forth deployment."
Gates said a second fundamental quality of leadership is integrity, which consists of physical courage – doing the hard right over the easier, more popular wrong – and moral courage.
Moral courage is often harder to find.
"The hardest thing you may ever be called upon to do is stand alone among your peers and superior officers," he said. "To stick out your neck after discussion becomes consensus, and consensus ossifies into groupthink."
He called upon the example of former Army chief of staff George C. Marshall who had no qualms about telling the likes of Gen. John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing and Franklin Delano Roosevelt things they didn't particularly want to hear. Ultimately, Marshall's integrity and courage were rewarded, which is what should happen in a perfect world, Gates said, adding that sadly this is not always the case.
The moral principles of leadership, he went on, are timeless and apply to any military leader of any generation.
"So do a range of other choices you will face about the leader you aspire to become," he said. "I refer to those relating to the kind of judgment, wisdom, and mental skills – the intellectual attributes, if you will – that will be most needed to be successful as an Army leader."
The United States' military can't succeed in the face of the full-spectrum conflict it faces without military leaders who are just as full-spectrum in their thinking.
"We will not be able to train or educate you to have all the right answers – as one might find in a manual – but you should look for those experience and pursuits in your career that will help you at least ask the right questions," Gates said. "To this end, in addition to the essential troop commands and staff assignments, you should consider, and in fact embrace, opportunities that in the past were considered off the beaten path, if not a career dead end."
Such paths include further study, teaching, being a fellow at a think tank, advising indigenous security forces, becoming a foreign area specialist, or service in other parts of the government. All of these experiences will make for more successful military leaders in the 21st Century, he said.
As a final thought to the cadets Gates said he considers his own sons and daughters, he offered this: "I believe that only strength, eternal vigilance, and the continuing courage and commitment of warriors like you – and your willingness to serve at all costs – will keep the sacred light of American liberty shining; a beacon to all the world.
"You will shortly take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and we, the American people. The nation stands in awe of you and I salute you."
West Point Class of 2009 a Diverse, Impressive Group
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
May 23, 2009 - Under the grey skies of West Point today, the "Long Grey Line," made up of a diverse and impressive group of graduating cadets, said goodbye to academic studies and turned their sights toward the business of soldiering. Four years ago you dropped your son or daughter off on these grounds with no shortage of pride, as well as anxiety, about the famed rigors of the U.S. Military Academy, about the known dangers that come with the profession of arms at this time. said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who delivered the commencement address.
"That pride was well founded, the anxiety hopefully at least partially relieved," he added. "And I thank you for everything you have done to make them the outstanding young people they are," he added.
Outstanding may be an understatement.
The class includes eight Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars, a Gates Cambridge Scholar, a Rhodes Scholar and two East/West Center Fellows. In addition, 28 members of the graduating class earned recognition as Honor Graduates. The award reflects overall excellence in cadet performance, including academic, military and physical.
This year 50 Superintendent's Awards for Excellence were presented to the cadets in the top 5 percent of the class. Another 150 cadets were earned the Superintendent's Award for Achievement, and 172 received recognition for earning a GPA of 3.67.
The class itself is a picture of diversity.
Of the 970 cadets, 144 are women, 63 African Americans, 62 Asian/Pacific Islanders, 74 Hispanics and 15 Native Americans. The majority of the class, which also includes 17 foreign students, were commissioned second lieutenants.
The 17 students represent Afghanistan, Belize, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chad, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Maldives, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Tunisia, and will return to their nations for service.
These graduating cadets represent 78 percent of the cadets who entered West Point in the fall of 2004.
Gates, who lauded the cadets for their courage, commitment and "patriotism of the highest order," also realized the secondary mission of the day. No matter the caliber of the cadets, the after-commencement party is a key tradition. But there was one important piece of business to take care of first.
"To the graduating class of 2009, congratulations!" he said. "Let me dispense with the easy and fun part first, which is, on behalf of our commander in chief, to grant full amnesty for any minor conduct offenses.
"I will leave the definition of "minor" to the superintendent," he chuckled.
The new soldiers will now move on to their first assignments that will make them a part of every unit from infantry to aviation.
When the ceremony concluded Gates pinned second lieutenant's bars on more than a dozen newly minted Army junior officers.
American Forces Press Service
May 23, 2009 - Under the grey skies of West Point today, the "Long Grey Line," made up of a diverse and impressive group of graduating cadets, said goodbye to academic studies and turned their sights toward the business of soldiering. Four years ago you dropped your son or daughter off on these grounds with no shortage of pride, as well as anxiety, about the famed rigors of the U.S. Military Academy, about the known dangers that come with the profession of arms at this time. said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who delivered the commencement address.
"That pride was well founded, the anxiety hopefully at least partially relieved," he added. "And I thank you for everything you have done to make them the outstanding young people they are," he added.
Outstanding may be an understatement.
The class includes eight Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars, a Gates Cambridge Scholar, a Rhodes Scholar and two East/West Center Fellows. In addition, 28 members of the graduating class earned recognition as Honor Graduates. The award reflects overall excellence in cadet performance, including academic, military and physical.
This year 50 Superintendent's Awards for Excellence were presented to the cadets in the top 5 percent of the class. Another 150 cadets were earned the Superintendent's Award for Achievement, and 172 received recognition for earning a GPA of 3.67.
The class itself is a picture of diversity.
Of the 970 cadets, 144 are women, 63 African Americans, 62 Asian/Pacific Islanders, 74 Hispanics and 15 Native Americans. The majority of the class, which also includes 17 foreign students, were commissioned second lieutenants.
The 17 students represent Afghanistan, Belize, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chad, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Maldives, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Tunisia, and will return to their nations for service.
These graduating cadets represent 78 percent of the cadets who entered West Point in the fall of 2004.
Gates, who lauded the cadets for their courage, commitment and "patriotism of the highest order," also realized the secondary mission of the day. No matter the caliber of the cadets, the after-commencement party is a key tradition. But there was one important piece of business to take care of first.
"To the graduating class of 2009, congratulations!" he said. "Let me dispense with the easy and fun part first, which is, on behalf of our commander in chief, to grant full amnesty for any minor conduct offenses.
"I will leave the definition of "minor" to the superintendent," he chuckled.
The new soldiers will now move on to their first assignments that will make them a part of every unit from infantry to aviation.
When the ceremony concluded Gates pinned second lieutenant's bars on more than a dozen newly minted Army junior officers.
Defense Secretary Gates' West Point Commencement Address
American Forces Press Service
May 23, 2009 - The full text of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., follows.
"Thank you General Hagenbeck.
"It's an honor to be here to deliver my first commencement at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Many of you might remember the last time I was here I gave a 45 minute evening lecture. Some of you may have even been awake at the end.
"A British nobleman, Lord Birkett, known for his long-windedness, once said: "I do not object to people looking at their watches when I am speaking. But I strongly object when they start shaking them to make certain that they are still going."
"As someone who presided over some 40 commencements as a university president, and who has given a number of graduation speeches since assuming my current post, I am well aware that at this point I am just about the only thing standing between you and a great party.
"In contrast to when I spoke here last year, my remarks today are not about the great and challenging policy issues of the day. Today I want to talk about you, and your families – because when you signed up, you also signed up all those who love you most.
"To the parents: Four years ago you dropped your son or daughter off on these grounds with no shortage of pride, as well as anxiety – about the famed rigors of the U.S. Military Academy, about the known dangers that come with the profession of arms at this time. That pride was well founded, the anxiety hopefully at least partially relieved. And I thank you for everything you have done to make them the outstanding young people they are, and for supporting them on the honorable yet arduous path they have chosen.
"To the faculty: In addition to being scholars and teachers, many of you are also veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and shared those experiences with your students. They will be wiser and better prepared leaders as a result, and I thank you for that.
"To the graduating class of 2009: Congratulations! Let me dispense with the easy and fun part first – which is, on behalf of our commander-in-chief, to grant full amnesty for any minor conduct offenses. I will leave the definition of "minor" to the superintendent.
"Consider that the future members of this class would have been filling out your academy applications in the fall of 2004, at about the time of the second battle of Fallujah – when thousands of Marines and soldiers clawed their way through that city house by house and block by block.
"As the class of 2009, you made your decision to serve knowing not only that America was at war – as did every man or woman who joined the military after September 11th – but that this war would be bloody and difficult, of indefinite length and uncertain outcome. In doing so, you showed courage, commitment, and patriotism of the highest order.
"One of the reasons I look forward to coming back to this bend in the Hudson River is the history of this place – a corner of the continent George Washington once called "the key of America." Just down the road is Verplanck's [vir-PLANKS] Point, a Continental Army encampment at the end of the Revolutionary War.
"It was later recorded that a group of officers got together there and issued a creed. It read: "We believe that there is a Great First Cause by whose Almighty [will] we are formed, and that our business here is to obey the orders of our superiors. We believe that every soldier who does his duty will be happy here, and that every such one who dies in battle, will be happy hereafter. We believe that George Washington is the only fit man in the world to head the American Army ... We believe that Baron Steuben has made us soldiers, and that he is capable of forming the whole world into a solid column, and deploying it from the center ... We believe in General Knox and his artillery. And we believe in our bayonets. Amen."
"Though the tools and tactics have changed, the basic principles of soldiering and leadership have certainly not. Now, this former Air Force lieutenant and CIA officer cannot pretend to offer you advice on soldiering. However, as someone who is now working for his eighth president, I can say that leadership is something that I have observed and thought about for a good long time.
"I've come to believe that few people are born great leaders. When all is said and done, the kind of leader you become is up to you, based on the choices you make. And in the time remaining, I'd like to talk about some of those choices, and how those choices will be shaped by the realities of this dangerous new century.
"I would start with something I tell all the new generals and civilian executives that I meet with at the Pentagon. It is a leadership quality that is really basic and simple – but so basic and simple that too often it is forgotten: and that is the importance, as you lead, of doing so with common decency and respect towards your subordinates. Harry Truman had it right when he observed that one of the surest ways to judge someone is how well – or poorly – he treats those who "can't talk back."
"In this country, going back to its earliest days, the American soldier has been drawn from the ranks of free citizens, which has implications for how those troops should be led and treated.
"Two anecdotes from our country's founding capture the independent thinking of the American soldier and the greatness of the Army officer who led them. During the Revolution, a man in civilian clothes rode past a redoubt being repaired. The commander was shouting orders but not helping. When the rider asked why, the supervisor of the work detail retorted, "Sir, I am a corporal!"
"The stranger apologized, dismounted, and helped repair the redoubt. When he was done, he turned toward the supervisor and said, "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your Commander-in-Chief and I will come and help you again." Too late, the corporal recognized George Washington. The power of example in leadership.
"On another occasion, Washington was making his rounds and came across a Private John Brantley drinking some stolen wine. Brantley invited Washington to have a drink with him. The general declined, saying, "My boy, you have no time for drinking wine." Brantley responded, "Damn your proud soul – you're above drinking with soldiers."
"Washington turned back, dismounted and said, "Come, I will drink with you." The jug was passed around, and as the general re-mounted, Brantley said, "Now, I'll be damned if I don't spend the last drop of my heart's blood for you." A lesson in the independence of the American soldier and his loyalty, when treated with respect.
"In a novel about ancient Greece, the warrior Alcibiades is asked how to lead free men, and he responds: "By being better and thus commanding their emulation." "How to lead free men? Only by this means: the summoning of each to his nobility."
"Treating soldiers decently also extends to making sure that they – and their families – are properly taken care of – body, mind, and soul. It is the families who often bear the harshest brunt of a soldier's overseas combat tour, particularly when it is a second or even third deployment. And as a small unit leader you must create a climate where those soldiers who may be suffering from post-traumatic stress or other mental illness are willing to step forward and get the help they need and deserve.
"A second fundamental quality of leadership is doing the right thing even when it is the hard thing – in other words, integrity. Too often we read about examples in business and government of leaders who start out with the best of intentions and somehow go astray.
"I've found that more often than not, what gets people in trouble is not the obvious case of malfeasance – taking the big bribe or cheating on the exam. Often it is the less direct, but no less damaging, temptation to look away or pretend something did not happen, or that certain things must be okay because other people are doing them; when deep down, if you look hard enough, you know that's not true. To take that stand – to do the hard right, over the easier, more convenient, or more popular wrong – requires courage.
"Courage comes in different forms. There is the physical courage of the battlefield, which this institution and this army possess beyond measure. Consider the story of Lieutenant Nicholas Eslinger, Class of 2007. He was leading his platoon through Samarra, Iraq, when an enemy fighter threw a grenade in their midst.
"Eslinger jumped on the grenade to shield his men. When the grenade didn't go off, the platoon leader threw it back over the wall. And then it exploded. At the time of this incident, then-Second Lieutenant Eslinger was only 16 months out of West Point. He would later receive the Silver Star.
"But, in addition to battlefield bravery, there is also moral courage, often harder to find. In business, in universities, in the military, in any big institution, there is a heavy emphasis on teamwork. And, in fact, the higher up you go, the stronger the pressure to smooth off the rough edges, paper over problems, close the proverbial ranks and stay on message.
"The hardest thing you may ever be called upon to do is stand alone among your peers and superior officers. To stick your neck out after discussion becomes consensus, and consensus ossifies into groupthink.
"One of my greatest heroes is George Marshall, whose portrait hangs over my desk at the Pentagon. As I said here last April, Marshall was probably the exemplar of combining unshakeable loyalty with having the courage and integrity to tell superiors things they didn't want to hear – from "Black Jack" Pershing to Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
"As it turns out, Marshall's integrity and courage were ultimately rewarded professionally. In a perfect world, that should always happen. Sadly, it does not, and I will not pretend there is not risk. But that does not make taking that stand any less necessary for the sake of our Army and our country.
"The moral principles of leadership I've just discussed are timeless – they apply to any military leader in any generation. So do a range of other choices you will face about the leader you aspire to become. I refer to those relating to the kind of judgment, wisdom, and mental skills – the intellectual attributes, if you will – that will be most needed to be successful as an Army leader in the 21st century.
"It has always been one of the hallmarks of the U.S. military to push decision making down to the lowest possible level. In Iraq and Afghanistan, we rely on our junior- and mid-level combat leaders to make judgments – tactical, strategic, cultural, ethical – of the kind that much more senior commanders would have made a generation ago.
"The Army has always needed agile and adaptive leaders with a broad perspective and range of skills. Now, in an era where we face a full spectrum of conflict – where high-intensity combat, stability, train-and-equip, humanitarian, and high-end conventional operations may be occurring in rapid sequence or simultaneously – we cannot succeed without military leaders who are just as full spectrum in their thinking.
"We will not be able to train or educate you to have all the right answers – as one might find in a manual – but you should look for those experiences and pursuits in your career that will help you at least ask the right questions.
"Maxwell Taylor – who was an Asia specialist in the 1930s before becoming the famed commander of the 101st Airborne Division and later Army chief of staff and chairman of the Joint Chiefs – once observed of his fellow academy grads that, "The 'goats' of my acquaintance who have leapfrogged their classmates are men who continue their intellectual growth after graduation."
"To this end, in addition to the essential troop commands and staff assignments, you should consider, and in fact embrace, opportunities that in the past were considered off the beaten path, if not a career dead end. Those might include further study at graduate school, teaching at this or another first-rate educational institution, being a fellow at a think tank, advising indigenous security forces, becoming a foreign area specialist, or service in other parts of government – all being experiences that will make you a more successful military leader in the 21st century.
"In 1974, when I left the CIA mother ship to take a staff job at the National Security Council, I was told by my boss at Langley that there probably would not be a job there for me when I returned. My career as a CIA officer was considered over. So you never know when taking some risk in your career will pay significant future dividends.
It is important to remember that none of what I have talked about these past few minutes is alien to the best traditions of Army leadership – particularly at times of great peril for this country:
• Grant and Sherman were not exactly spit and polish soldiers – and in fact left the military for a stretch before they returned to lead the Union Army to victory.
• George Marshall spent 15 years as a lieutenant and never commanded a division; and
• Eisenhower spent years toiling in obscurity as what General MacArthur later called a "clerk" in the Philippines.
"Just over a half century ago, no less an Army institution than General Eisenhower said here at West Point: "Without the yeast of pioneers, the United States Army, or any other organization of men" – and today we would add women – "cannot escape degeneration into a ritualistic worship of the status quo." Keep Ike's admonition in mind in the years ahead – be a pioneer in the assignments you take, the learning you pursue, the assumptions you question.
"Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, reflecting on his service as a Union soldier during the Civil War, later said that "in our youth our hearts were touched with fire." I hope that as a result of coming to this place, in the instruction you have received, and in the friendships you have formed, that your hearts, minds, and spirits have been touched in a way that will prepare you for the trial by fire that may await you.
"In closing, as I said last April, know that I think of each of you as I would my own son or daughter. I feel a personal responsibility for each of you. I have committed myself and the department I lead to see that you have everything you need to accomplish your mission and to come home safely to your families and to the honor and gratitude you will have earned. Know, also, that your countrymen are grateful for your service, and will be praying for your safety and your success.
"A final thought. We all seek a world at peace. After each war, we always hope we have fought the last war, the war to end all wars. I believe that such hopes ignore all of human history. I believe that for so long as we seek to be free men and women, for so long as the bright light of liberty shines, there will be those whose sole ambition, whose sole obsession, will be to extinguish that light.
"I believe that only strength, eternal vigilance, and the continuing courage and commitment of warriors like you – and your willingness to serve at all costs – will keep the sacred light of American liberty shining: A beacon to all the world.
"You have taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and we, the American people. The nation stands in awe of you. And I salute you. Thank you."
May 23, 2009 - The full text of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., follows.
"Thank you General Hagenbeck.
"It's an honor to be here to deliver my first commencement at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Many of you might remember the last time I was here I gave a 45 minute evening lecture. Some of you may have even been awake at the end.
"A British nobleman, Lord Birkett, known for his long-windedness, once said: "I do not object to people looking at their watches when I am speaking. But I strongly object when they start shaking them to make certain that they are still going."
"As someone who presided over some 40 commencements as a university president, and who has given a number of graduation speeches since assuming my current post, I am well aware that at this point I am just about the only thing standing between you and a great party.
"In contrast to when I spoke here last year, my remarks today are not about the great and challenging policy issues of the day. Today I want to talk about you, and your families – because when you signed up, you also signed up all those who love you most.
"To the parents: Four years ago you dropped your son or daughter off on these grounds with no shortage of pride, as well as anxiety – about the famed rigors of the U.S. Military Academy, about the known dangers that come with the profession of arms at this time. That pride was well founded, the anxiety hopefully at least partially relieved. And I thank you for everything you have done to make them the outstanding young people they are, and for supporting them on the honorable yet arduous path they have chosen.
"To the faculty: In addition to being scholars and teachers, many of you are also veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and shared those experiences with your students. They will be wiser and better prepared leaders as a result, and I thank you for that.
"To the graduating class of 2009: Congratulations! Let me dispense with the easy and fun part first – which is, on behalf of our commander-in-chief, to grant full amnesty for any minor conduct offenses. I will leave the definition of "minor" to the superintendent.
"Consider that the future members of this class would have been filling out your academy applications in the fall of 2004, at about the time of the second battle of Fallujah – when thousands of Marines and soldiers clawed their way through that city house by house and block by block.
"As the class of 2009, you made your decision to serve knowing not only that America was at war – as did every man or woman who joined the military after September 11th – but that this war would be bloody and difficult, of indefinite length and uncertain outcome. In doing so, you showed courage, commitment, and patriotism of the highest order.
"One of the reasons I look forward to coming back to this bend in the Hudson River is the history of this place – a corner of the continent George Washington once called "the key of America." Just down the road is Verplanck's [vir-PLANKS] Point, a Continental Army encampment at the end of the Revolutionary War.
"It was later recorded that a group of officers got together there and issued a creed. It read: "We believe that there is a Great First Cause by whose Almighty [will] we are formed, and that our business here is to obey the orders of our superiors. We believe that every soldier who does his duty will be happy here, and that every such one who dies in battle, will be happy hereafter. We believe that George Washington is the only fit man in the world to head the American Army ... We believe that Baron Steuben has made us soldiers, and that he is capable of forming the whole world into a solid column, and deploying it from the center ... We believe in General Knox and his artillery. And we believe in our bayonets. Amen."
"Though the tools and tactics have changed, the basic principles of soldiering and leadership have certainly not. Now, this former Air Force lieutenant and CIA officer cannot pretend to offer you advice on soldiering. However, as someone who is now working for his eighth president, I can say that leadership is something that I have observed and thought about for a good long time.
"I've come to believe that few people are born great leaders. When all is said and done, the kind of leader you become is up to you, based on the choices you make. And in the time remaining, I'd like to talk about some of those choices, and how those choices will be shaped by the realities of this dangerous new century.
"I would start with something I tell all the new generals and civilian executives that I meet with at the Pentagon. It is a leadership quality that is really basic and simple – but so basic and simple that too often it is forgotten: and that is the importance, as you lead, of doing so with common decency and respect towards your subordinates. Harry Truman had it right when he observed that one of the surest ways to judge someone is how well – or poorly – he treats those who "can't talk back."
"In this country, going back to its earliest days, the American soldier has been drawn from the ranks of free citizens, which has implications for how those troops should be led and treated.
"Two anecdotes from our country's founding capture the independent thinking of the American soldier and the greatness of the Army officer who led them. During the Revolution, a man in civilian clothes rode past a redoubt being repaired. The commander was shouting orders but not helping. When the rider asked why, the supervisor of the work detail retorted, "Sir, I am a corporal!"
"The stranger apologized, dismounted, and helped repair the redoubt. When he was done, he turned toward the supervisor and said, "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your Commander-in-Chief and I will come and help you again." Too late, the corporal recognized George Washington. The power of example in leadership.
"On another occasion, Washington was making his rounds and came across a Private John Brantley drinking some stolen wine. Brantley invited Washington to have a drink with him. The general declined, saying, "My boy, you have no time for drinking wine." Brantley responded, "Damn your proud soul – you're above drinking with soldiers."
"Washington turned back, dismounted and said, "Come, I will drink with you." The jug was passed around, and as the general re-mounted, Brantley said, "Now, I'll be damned if I don't spend the last drop of my heart's blood for you." A lesson in the independence of the American soldier and his loyalty, when treated with respect.
"In a novel about ancient Greece, the warrior Alcibiades is asked how to lead free men, and he responds: "By being better and thus commanding their emulation." "How to lead free men? Only by this means: the summoning of each to his nobility."
"Treating soldiers decently also extends to making sure that they – and their families – are properly taken care of – body, mind, and soul. It is the families who often bear the harshest brunt of a soldier's overseas combat tour, particularly when it is a second or even third deployment. And as a small unit leader you must create a climate where those soldiers who may be suffering from post-traumatic stress or other mental illness are willing to step forward and get the help they need and deserve.
"A second fundamental quality of leadership is doing the right thing even when it is the hard thing – in other words, integrity. Too often we read about examples in business and government of leaders who start out with the best of intentions and somehow go astray.
"I've found that more often than not, what gets people in trouble is not the obvious case of malfeasance – taking the big bribe or cheating on the exam. Often it is the less direct, but no less damaging, temptation to look away or pretend something did not happen, or that certain things must be okay because other people are doing them; when deep down, if you look hard enough, you know that's not true. To take that stand – to do the hard right, over the easier, more convenient, or more popular wrong – requires courage.
"Courage comes in different forms. There is the physical courage of the battlefield, which this institution and this army possess beyond measure. Consider the story of Lieutenant Nicholas Eslinger, Class of 2007. He was leading his platoon through Samarra, Iraq, when an enemy fighter threw a grenade in their midst.
"Eslinger jumped on the grenade to shield his men. When the grenade didn't go off, the platoon leader threw it back over the wall. And then it exploded. At the time of this incident, then-Second Lieutenant Eslinger was only 16 months out of West Point. He would later receive the Silver Star.
"But, in addition to battlefield bravery, there is also moral courage, often harder to find. In business, in universities, in the military, in any big institution, there is a heavy emphasis on teamwork. And, in fact, the higher up you go, the stronger the pressure to smooth off the rough edges, paper over problems, close the proverbial ranks and stay on message.
"The hardest thing you may ever be called upon to do is stand alone among your peers and superior officers. To stick your neck out after discussion becomes consensus, and consensus ossifies into groupthink.
"One of my greatest heroes is George Marshall, whose portrait hangs over my desk at the Pentagon. As I said here last April, Marshall was probably the exemplar of combining unshakeable loyalty with having the courage and integrity to tell superiors things they didn't want to hear – from "Black Jack" Pershing to Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
"As it turns out, Marshall's integrity and courage were ultimately rewarded professionally. In a perfect world, that should always happen. Sadly, it does not, and I will not pretend there is not risk. But that does not make taking that stand any less necessary for the sake of our Army and our country.
"The moral principles of leadership I've just discussed are timeless – they apply to any military leader in any generation. So do a range of other choices you will face about the leader you aspire to become. I refer to those relating to the kind of judgment, wisdom, and mental skills – the intellectual attributes, if you will – that will be most needed to be successful as an Army leader in the 21st century.
"It has always been one of the hallmarks of the U.S. military to push decision making down to the lowest possible level. In Iraq and Afghanistan, we rely on our junior- and mid-level combat leaders to make judgments – tactical, strategic, cultural, ethical – of the kind that much more senior commanders would have made a generation ago.
"The Army has always needed agile and adaptive leaders with a broad perspective and range of skills. Now, in an era where we face a full spectrum of conflict – where high-intensity combat, stability, train-and-equip, humanitarian, and high-end conventional operations may be occurring in rapid sequence or simultaneously – we cannot succeed without military leaders who are just as full spectrum in their thinking.
"We will not be able to train or educate you to have all the right answers – as one might find in a manual – but you should look for those experiences and pursuits in your career that will help you at least ask the right questions.
"Maxwell Taylor – who was an Asia specialist in the 1930s before becoming the famed commander of the 101st Airborne Division and later Army chief of staff and chairman of the Joint Chiefs – once observed of his fellow academy grads that, "The 'goats' of my acquaintance who have leapfrogged their classmates are men who continue their intellectual growth after graduation."
"To this end, in addition to the essential troop commands and staff assignments, you should consider, and in fact embrace, opportunities that in the past were considered off the beaten path, if not a career dead end. Those might include further study at graduate school, teaching at this or another first-rate educational institution, being a fellow at a think tank, advising indigenous security forces, becoming a foreign area specialist, or service in other parts of government – all being experiences that will make you a more successful military leader in the 21st century.
"In 1974, when I left the CIA mother ship to take a staff job at the National Security Council, I was told by my boss at Langley that there probably would not be a job there for me when I returned. My career as a CIA officer was considered over. So you never know when taking some risk in your career will pay significant future dividends.
It is important to remember that none of what I have talked about these past few minutes is alien to the best traditions of Army leadership – particularly at times of great peril for this country:
• Grant and Sherman were not exactly spit and polish soldiers – and in fact left the military for a stretch before they returned to lead the Union Army to victory.
• George Marshall spent 15 years as a lieutenant and never commanded a division; and
• Eisenhower spent years toiling in obscurity as what General MacArthur later called a "clerk" in the Philippines.
"Just over a half century ago, no less an Army institution than General Eisenhower said here at West Point: "Without the yeast of pioneers, the United States Army, or any other organization of men" – and today we would add women – "cannot escape degeneration into a ritualistic worship of the status quo." Keep Ike's admonition in mind in the years ahead – be a pioneer in the assignments you take, the learning you pursue, the assumptions you question.
"Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, reflecting on his service as a Union soldier during the Civil War, later said that "in our youth our hearts were touched with fire." I hope that as a result of coming to this place, in the instruction you have received, and in the friendships you have formed, that your hearts, minds, and spirits have been touched in a way that will prepare you for the trial by fire that may await you.
"In closing, as I said last April, know that I think of each of you as I would my own son or daughter. I feel a personal responsibility for each of you. I have committed myself and the department I lead to see that you have everything you need to accomplish your mission and to come home safely to your families and to the honor and gratitude you will have earned. Know, also, that your countrymen are grateful for your service, and will be praying for your safety and your success.
"A final thought. We all seek a world at peace. After each war, we always hope we have fought the last war, the war to end all wars. I believe that such hopes ignore all of human history. I believe that for so long as we seek to be free men and women, for so long as the bright light of liberty shines, there will be those whose sole ambition, whose sole obsession, will be to extinguish that light.
"I believe that only strength, eternal vigilance, and the continuing courage and commitment of warriors like you – and your willingness to serve at all costs – will keep the sacred light of American liberty shining: A beacon to all the world.
"You have taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and we, the American people. The nation stands in awe of you. And I salute you. Thank you."
Naval Academy Grads to Take Dreams, Sense of Service to Fleet, Corps
By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service
May 22, 2009 - Pageantry and tradition reined here today as 1,036 members of U.S. Naval Academy's Class of 2009 raised their right hands and swore to protect and defend the United States and its Constitution as the newest Navy ensigns and Marine Corps second lieutenants. The graduates gathered under a spectacular late-spring sky at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to enjoy the pomp and circumstance of the day. President Barack Obama offered the keynote address, praising the midshipmen for their decision to serve at a time when he told them their country needs them more than ever.
A 21-gun salute heralded Obama's entry into the stadium. The Blue Angels roared overhead, their F/A-18 Hornets spewing white smoke in their wake. The Naval Academy Glee Club and Band boomed out patriotic renditions. Cheers and applause from a near-capacity crowd of family members and friends rang out throughout the ceremony.
But in the quiet moments before the midshipman lined up for their processional into the stadium, they paused to reflect on the forces that brought them to the academy and sustained them through four intellectually, physically and emotionally demanding academic years.
Here are some of their stories:
Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Anthony Arguelles
Anthony Arguelles always knew he wanted to serve in the military. The son of a Cuban immigrant, he said he learned at an early age not to take the freedoms Americans enjoy for granted.
"It gives you a sense of pride when you grow up knowing that not everyone has those same freedoms," he said. "I wanted to be a part of ensuring that."
After four years at the academy – juggling academics, physical fitness, military requirements and whatever personal life he managed to fit in – Arguelles said he's ready to take on new challenges as a Marine Corps officer. He's among 267 members of the Naval Academy's 2009 graduating class to be commissioned into the Marine Corps – the highest number in history.
From here, Arguelles will head the Marine Corps Basic Course at Quantico, Va., with hopes of becoming an infantry officer. He's accepting his gold bars with his eyes wide open to the probability that he'll end up deploying to Afghanistan or Iraq early during his career.
"General Conway told us last week that we can all expect to go over there at some point," he said, referring to a visit Gen. James T. Conway, the Marine Corps commandant, paid to the future Marines.
"But I'm happy to go where the fight is, and where Americans are doing what Americans do," Arguelles said.
And when he arrives at the Corps, he said, he'll keep the welfare of the Marines under his charge first and foremost. "I'm going to take care of them the very best I can," he said. "That's my No. 1 priority."
Navy Ensign Will Arnest
Will Arnest grew up in Honolulu, knowing he wanted to go Navy. Both grandfathers served in the Navy, and his father worked at a ship fitter at Pearl Harbor.
"Seeing the Navy up close left an impression, and I was hooked from an early age," he said. "I really bought into the idea that 'It's not just a job, it's an adventure,'" he said, referring to the old Navy recruiting slogan. "Well, for me, it's still an adventure."
Although Arnest knew early on that he wanted to go to the Naval Academy, his path there wasn't as direct as he might have liked. He applied three times before he was accepted, and then only after he'd already finished two years of study at the University of Hawaii.
Academics – particularly electrical engineering and thermodynamics – challenged Arnest at the academy. He struggled to stay on top of his physical readiness requirements, too. But today, as he joined his fellow midshipmen gathering inside the fence line at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in preparation for their graduation and commissioning ceremony, Arnest said he hadn't quite accepted the fact that he was finally achieving his long-time dream.
"It hasn't really hit me yet," he said. "I think that is all going happen when I hold up my hand for the oath of induction, and when I toss my cap up in the air. When that happens, I think it is going to hit me like a ton of bricks."
Arnest said he'll miss the deep bonds he forged at the academy as he goes off to join the submarine force. But like his fellow graduates, he said he takes comfort knowing he'll encounter many of his former classmates again during what he hopes will be a long Navy career.
"I plan to stay in the Navy as long as they will keep me around," he said.
Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Stephanie LaLiberte
Stephanie LaLiberte, one of this year's distinguished graduates, said she was drawn to military service at a young age. "I've always been a very disciplined person, and I was drawn to the lifestyle," he said.
She joined a Navy Junior ROTC program at her Orlando, Fla., high school, where a Marine Corps instructor, Sgt. Maj. Luis Torres, left a deep and lasting impression on her. But it was during her freshman year of high school, as she watched images of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks replay over and over again, that locked in her plans. "Nine-11 solidified it for me," she said.
After today's graduation and commissioning ceremonies, she's headed to the Marine Corps Basic Officer Course, after which she hopes to become a combat engineer. LaLiberte said she'll take important lessons to the Corps she gained during her four years in Annapolis.
The most challenging, she said, was "trying to find my own leadership style," particularly when leading her own peers at the academy. She said she's a firm believer in "leadership by example," and that she hopes to bring a sense of balance to the mission and the people under her leadership who will carry it out.
"I'm focused and driven and kind of squared away," she said. "But I've also got a softer side – one that's caring. And that's the mix I want to bring with me."
Navy Ensign Katherine Adler and Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Clare McKenna
Katherine Adler and Clare McKenna grew up swimming together on the same teams on Long Island, N.Y.
Both were deeply affected by the 9/11 terror attacks. Adler had friends whose parents died in the attacks. McKenna, the daughter of a New York City police officer, and her uncle was driving to work at the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 careened into the building.
"Nine-11 hit close to home," McKenna said. "That really solidified it for me. ...It made me want to go out there and give back to my country and protect the people I love."
"It wanted me to be part of protecting this country so another 9/11 never happens," echoed Adler.
Their shared sense of duty led both women to the Naval Academy. Now, after four years together in the Class of 2009, the best friends are now headed on separate paths: Adler to the Navy and McKenna to the Marine Corps. Both said they'll take valuable lessons from their Annapolis experience.
"I've learned to take care of your friends and your people, because you never know when you will need them to be there for you," said McKenna.
"Never quit at anything, ever," Adler chimed in. "And try to have fun always."
Navy Ensign Ben Zintak
Ben Zintak, one of the 2009 class's distinguished graduates, grew up in Chicago loving University of Notre Dame football. When he realized that the Fighting Irish played Navy every year, he began to wonder, "Who's Navy?"
The more Zintak started to learn about the Naval Academy, the more drawn he was to going there.
"I think service is important," he said. "And this is an opportunity to get an education and to serve."
Zintak is quick to credit the huge network of supporters he said helped him through the academy: instructors, fellow classmates and the family that provided never-ending support and care packages of granola bars. "I just can't say enough about the people here," he said.
Before filing onto the field for this year's graduating and commissioning ceremonies, Zintak was pinching himself so it would all sink in. "I don't even really believe this is happening," he said.
He's headed to flight school, following a dream that started when he got to take a jet ride during summer training. "There is really nothing like it in the world," he said. "It beats the heck out of sitting behind a desk."
As he goes to the fleet, Zintak said he hopes to "look for new ways to do old things better, faster and with more finesse."
But he said he's got a deeper, more personal commitment to the calling he's about to assume. "I just want to be someone my enlisted people trust with their lives and careers," he said.
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