By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates left the Washington, D.C., Beltway yesterday, putting the politics of war spending behind him, only to land squarely in the middle of the same debate among the NATO partners here. Gates flew overnight to spend today and tomorrow working with U.S. allies to help in prioritizing the organization's spending and at the same time hoping to garner a larger commitment of troops and resources for the war in Afghanistan.
Officials here said NATO is up against a "crunch time," as many European countries face drastic defense cuts due to the global financial crisis. At the same time, the cost of the war in Afghanistan is expanding.
NATO must cut costs to spend money where it is most needed, a senior U.S. defense official said, speaking on background.
"There are lots of things that we spend money on that we shouldn't be spending money on," the official said. In fact, Gates has long questioned some of the organization's spending.
This is Gates' 11th such meeting with the alliance's defense ministers, and "for as long as he's been coming, he has been concerned about NATO's priorities in terms of spending," said Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell.
Morrell said much of NATO's spending is outdated and needs to be readjusted to ensure proper resources go to the wars it is now fighting.
The senior official speaking on background said U.S. officials hope to have an agreement on spending reform in place by the end of this conference. The official declined to say what NATO should spend less on, but did say the alliance needs to invest more in strategic threats, such as a missile defense system, as well as more on resourcing the fight in Afghanistan.
While here, Gates will lobby for more trainers and mentors from NATO partners to bolster the effort in Afghanistan. NATO has committed to send about 9,000 extra troops, but about 4,000 more trainers and mentors are needed, the official said.
Another meeting is planned for the end of this month in which commitments will have to be made. The two-day conference here is the start of the efforts to persuade the partners, many of whom already had planned to reduce the number of their forces in Afghanistan, to deliver more troops, the official said.
"In the end," the official explained, "this all about providing the capacity to build the Afghan forces so that we can transition responsibility over to the Afghans and we can reduce our own investment in terms of troops, ... both the United States and our allies."
This year is critical to building that capacity, the official said. Providing more troops now means requiring fewer in the years to come, he added, noting that the drawdown is slated to begin in some form starting in the summer of 2011.
"Everyone wants to see troop numbers going down," the official said. "Everyone understands that the only way we're going to have our troop [numbers] go down is for Afghan capability to go up."
For the most part, NATO officials have embraced the proposed withdrawal start date set in place by President Barrack Obama. It has given the allies and Afghanistan's leaders a clear mark on the calendar to work toward, and the proposed date gives NATO partners an incentive to deliver on troop commitments, the official said.
"I think they have been more willing to cough up security forces, because they now see a strategy that makes sense," the official said. "It is not an open-ended commitment. It is a commitment to improve the situation on the ground, to allow the Afghans to take over responsibility, to invest heavily now so they can do less down the road.
"I call 2010 the year of maximum effort," said U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder. "It is a year we are going to do everything we can, so down the road we have to do less. ... The key here is the more we can accomplish in 2010, the more we can transition in 2011 and beyond, the more we can draw down."
Morrell said Gates' message tomorrow to NATO defense leaders will be that now is the time to commit.
"He will implore them to act as quickly as they can to get their forces into the fight, because time is of the essence," Morrell said.
As an incentive to provide troops for training and mentoring, Gates is expected to promise more help for the NATO partners in combating deadly improvised explosive devices. The U.S. military has grown its capacity to counter the IED threat during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it has a wealth of knowledge and specialty equipment to offer up, the official speaking on background noted.
This planned commitment to provide resources and equipment to NATO partners also has helped to bolster other countries' plans to provide more troops, the official added.
Though the United States does not want to compromise any of its classified information, Morrell said, Gates wants to "lean forward and push the system to share whatever we can."
"I think he is very cognizant and very sensitive to the fact that our troops are not the only ones being targeted by this dramatic increase in IED attacks," Morrell said. "And he has made it clear ... that we need to be doing all we can possibly do to share our expertise ... with our friends and allies who have boots on the ground in Afghanistan."
Friday, February 05, 2010
Airmen Support Operation Deep Freeze
By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Aries D. Early
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - More than halfway through the 2009-2010 winter season, U.S. servicemembers have made many major contributions in support of the National Scientific Foundation's efforts in Antarctica. The members support Operation Deep Freeze, a 13th Air Force-led joint task force responsible for the coordination of strategic airlift, field support airlift, emergency response and aeromedical evacuation.
The task force also is tasked with sealift duties, seaport access, bulk fuel supply, port cargo handling and other transportation related requirements conducted in Antarctica. All of this is done in what is considered by many to be one of the most difficult peacetime duty assignments, mainly because of the harsh environment. Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, highest and most inhospitable continent on the globe.
"[We're] participating in a major change in airfield operations at McMurdo Station," said Air Force Col. Paul Sheppard, Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica deputy commander.
In previous years, LC-130 Hercules operations were located at an airfield known as Williams Field Skiway and C-17 Globemaster III operations were at Pegasus Field runway from Dec. 1 until the season's end. This year, all operations were consolidated at Pegasus Field.
"A new skiway was build at Pegasus for the LC-130 fleet and the consolidation of aircraft has been a success," the colonel said. "Since acquiring the mission in 1998, we have never lost any of our military members or aircraft. This is a very dangerous environment. We know that, and we act accordingly."
So far, 53 C-17 missions have been flown between Christchurch, New Zealand, and McMurdo Station, Antarctica, transporting 2,700 passengers and more than 3.5 million pounds of cargo. Ski-equipped LC-130 aircraft have flown 292 missions, ferrying nearly 2,000 passengers and more than 8.1 million total cargo pounds from McMurdo Station to the South Pole and other research posts throughout Antarctica.
(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Aries D. Early serves in the 13th Air Force public affairs office.)
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Comptroller Lists Priorities for Budget Request
By Ian Graham
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - Defense Department officials are working to cut extraneous and wasteful programs, despite a requested modest increase for the fiscal 2011 budget, the department's chief financial officer said. During a Feb. 2 "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable, Robert F. Hale, undersecretary of defense, comptroller, provided a summary of the department's proposed budget for fiscal 2011, listing four "themes" to explain certain aspects of the request.
On Feb. 1 President Barack Obama submitted a $708 billion defense budget request to Congress that included $549 billion for the base budget and $159 billion for wartime activities. The base budget request is $18 billion more than the $531 billion enacted for fiscal 2010, which represents an increase of 1.8 percent real growth after adjusting for inflation.
Hale said that while the Defense Department needs modest real growth to maintain, train and equip the forces that sustain the nation's wartime efforts, department officials are doing everything they can to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
"Now this is a huge amount of money, coming, obviously, at a time when the United States is having economic problems," Hale said. "I always remain in awe somewhat of the size and complexity of this organization -- about 3 million people working on a variety of tasks, ... involved in two wars, drawing down in one, building up in the other, as well as a number of other operations, most notably right now the Haiti operation.
"It's an organization that's very busy, and therefore asks a lot in terms of resources," he added.
Hale said the four themes associated with the budget request are taking care of Defense Department employees, rebalancing the military to fight today's wars while preparing for future conflicts, supporting the troops in the field, and reforming defense acquisition programs.
"Our highest priority and theme in this budget is taking care of our people," Hale said. "That involves adequate pay raises. We've proposed a 1.4 percent pay raise. It involves family-support initiatives."
Hale explained the defense budget will invest substantially in military health-care programs, including $2.2 billion to take care of wounded warriors, an issue particularly important for Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
"Secretary Gates has said that, other than winning the wars themselves, nothing is more important than taking care of these brave people who have sacrificed for us. So taking care of people [is] our highest priority," Hale said.
Ensuring warfighters have the money and equipment to do their jobs in the field is critical, Hale said. About $192 billion has been requested to fund troop and operational increases in Afghanistan as well as to pay the cost of drawing down in Iraq.
"But we know that we aren't terribly good about guessing where we might have to fight next," he noted, "and so we are investing broadly in a variety of capabilities that will hopefully prevent, or, if necessary, let us prevail in future conflicts, as well as support today's conflicts."
Hale said that the growth in the budget doesn't reflect a disregard for the country's economic situation, nor does it reflect a growth in unnecessary spending. In fact, he said, the budget calls for cuts in many programs department officials have deemed wasteful.
"We owe it to the American taxpayers to be careful with that money and to weed out programs we no longer need," he said. "And to that end, we have proposed ending production of the C-17 aircraft -- it's a great plane, but we've got all we need -- and not pursuing an alternate engine for the joint strike fighter, for various logistics and cost reasons. Secretary Gates has said that if Congress chooses to add money for these two programs, he will strongly recommend that the president veto any legislation that does that."
The F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter, the Army Future Combat System and a ship-building program for the Navy are being restructured.
Officials also are trying to change the way the Defense Department buys weapons. Better cost estimating and adding more government employees to oversee contracts will greatly improve acquisition, Hale said.
Understanding a project's requirements early on also will cut costs, Hale said. Many projects that go over budget do so because requirements for the equipment change, sometimes calling for complete redevelopment.
"So we've got a budget sizable in amount, an organization that is very busy, an overall theme of continuing a reform agenda and providing all the resources that the United States needs ... so the Department of Defense can maintain national security," Hale said.
(Ian Graham works in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - Defense Department officials are working to cut extraneous and wasteful programs, despite a requested modest increase for the fiscal 2011 budget, the department's chief financial officer said. During a Feb. 2 "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable, Robert F. Hale, undersecretary of defense, comptroller, provided a summary of the department's proposed budget for fiscal 2011, listing four "themes" to explain certain aspects of the request.
On Feb. 1 President Barack Obama submitted a $708 billion defense budget request to Congress that included $549 billion for the base budget and $159 billion for wartime activities. The base budget request is $18 billion more than the $531 billion enacted for fiscal 2010, which represents an increase of 1.8 percent real growth after adjusting for inflation.
Hale said that while the Defense Department needs modest real growth to maintain, train and equip the forces that sustain the nation's wartime efforts, department officials are doing everything they can to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
"Now this is a huge amount of money, coming, obviously, at a time when the United States is having economic problems," Hale said. "I always remain in awe somewhat of the size and complexity of this organization -- about 3 million people working on a variety of tasks, ... involved in two wars, drawing down in one, building up in the other, as well as a number of other operations, most notably right now the Haiti operation.
"It's an organization that's very busy, and therefore asks a lot in terms of resources," he added.
Hale said the four themes associated with the budget request are taking care of Defense Department employees, rebalancing the military to fight today's wars while preparing for future conflicts, supporting the troops in the field, and reforming defense acquisition programs.
"Our highest priority and theme in this budget is taking care of our people," Hale said. "That involves adequate pay raises. We've proposed a 1.4 percent pay raise. It involves family-support initiatives."
Hale explained the defense budget will invest substantially in military health-care programs, including $2.2 billion to take care of wounded warriors, an issue particularly important for Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
"Secretary Gates has said that, other than winning the wars themselves, nothing is more important than taking care of these brave people who have sacrificed for us. So taking care of people [is] our highest priority," Hale said.
Ensuring warfighters have the money and equipment to do their jobs in the field is critical, Hale said. About $192 billion has been requested to fund troop and operational increases in Afghanistan as well as to pay the cost of drawing down in Iraq.
"But we know that we aren't terribly good about guessing where we might have to fight next," he noted, "and so we are investing broadly in a variety of capabilities that will hopefully prevent, or, if necessary, let us prevail in future conflicts, as well as support today's conflicts."
Hale said that the growth in the budget doesn't reflect a disregard for the country's economic situation, nor does it reflect a growth in unnecessary spending. In fact, he said, the budget calls for cuts in many programs department officials have deemed wasteful.
"We owe it to the American taxpayers to be careful with that money and to weed out programs we no longer need," he said. "And to that end, we have proposed ending production of the C-17 aircraft -- it's a great plane, but we've got all we need -- and not pursuing an alternate engine for the joint strike fighter, for various logistics and cost reasons. Secretary Gates has said that if Congress chooses to add money for these two programs, he will strongly recommend that the president veto any legislation that does that."
The F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter, the Army Future Combat System and a ship-building program for the Navy are being restructured.
Officials also are trying to change the way the Defense Department buys weapons. Better cost estimating and adding more government employees to oversee contracts will greatly improve acquisition, Hale said.
Understanding a project's requirements early on also will cut costs, Hale said. Many projects that go over budget do so because requirements for the equipment change, sometimes calling for complete redevelopment.
"So we've got a budget sizable in amount, an organization that is very busy, an overall theme of continuing a reform agenda and providing all the resources that the United States needs ... so the Department of Defense can maintain national security," Hale said.
(Ian Graham works in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)
Exercise Helps Pacific Nations Prepare for Crises
By Christen N. McCluney
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - A multilateral exercise under way in Thailand is helping the United States and its Pacific-region partners improve their ability to respond to regional crises. "Cobra Gold is one of the best and most important exercises that we do as a part of U.S. Pacific Command," Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, said during a Feb. 2 "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable.
Though it began as a bilateral exercise between Thailand and the U.S. military, Cobra Gold has grown over the years to include participation by other Pacific nations. It takes place annually in Thailand and focuses on maintaining and improving military-to-military relationships among the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and other nations in the region, Mixon said.
More than 11,500 personnel, including 6,000 from the United States, are participating this year.
Noting that the U.S. relationship with the Thai government goes back 177 years, Mixon emphasized the exercise's importance.
"We have an extremely long-standing relationship, and Cobra Gold simply highlights many of the activities that we do in the Asia-Pacific region, a region that is extremely important to the United States," he said. "This exercise is important not only because it is one of the largest multilateral exercises, but it also involves the first-ever deployment of the contingency command post, which is a part of U.S. Army Pacific."
During Cobra Gold, contingency command post personnel are studying Haitian relief efforts for lessons learned. The exercise is rooted in partnerships and recognizes the need for multinational solutions to common challenges ranging from transnational violent extremism to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the general said.
"Regional cooperation is always important," Mixon pointed out. "In this region, countries have responded very well to the major disasters in the past. So I think, as we continue to do this training, we will only get better at the ability to respond rapidly and then to work together with all the other governmental agencies that would be involved in disaster relief."
Mixon noted that Cobra Gold represents only one aspect of full U.S. engagement in the Pacific region.
"We're out here and engaged across the board, both the Army in the Pacific and U.S. Pacom, and we continue to remain engaged out here in the region because it is of vital importance to the United States," Mixon said.
(Christen N. McCluney works in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - A multilateral exercise under way in Thailand is helping the United States and its Pacific-region partners improve their ability to respond to regional crises. "Cobra Gold is one of the best and most important exercises that we do as a part of U.S. Pacific Command," Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, said during a Feb. 2 "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable.
Though it began as a bilateral exercise between Thailand and the U.S. military, Cobra Gold has grown over the years to include participation by other Pacific nations. It takes place annually in Thailand and focuses on maintaining and improving military-to-military relationships among the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and other nations in the region, Mixon said.
More than 11,500 personnel, including 6,000 from the United States, are participating this year.
Noting that the U.S. relationship with the Thai government goes back 177 years, Mixon emphasized the exercise's importance.
"We have an extremely long-standing relationship, and Cobra Gold simply highlights many of the activities that we do in the Asia-Pacific region, a region that is extremely important to the United States," he said. "This exercise is important not only because it is one of the largest multilateral exercises, but it also involves the first-ever deployment of the contingency command post, which is a part of U.S. Army Pacific."
During Cobra Gold, contingency command post personnel are studying Haitian relief efforts for lessons learned. The exercise is rooted in partnerships and recognizes the need for multinational solutions to common challenges ranging from transnational violent extremism to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the general said.
"Regional cooperation is always important," Mixon pointed out. "In this region, countries have responded very well to the major disasters in the past. So I think, as we continue to do this training, we will only get better at the ability to respond rapidly and then to work together with all the other governmental agencies that would be involved in disaster relief."
Mixon noted that Cobra Gold represents only one aspect of full U.S. engagement in the Pacific region.
"We're out here and engaged across the board, both the Army in the Pacific and U.S. Pacom, and we continue to remain engaged out here in the region because it is of vital importance to the United States," Mixon said.
(Christen N. McCluney works in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)
National Guard to assist Puerto Rico police
By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau
(2/4/10) -- About 1,000 Puerto Rico National Guardmembers will assist the U.S. territory’s police for up to a year while new police recruits are trained, the governor said Monday. Four classes of police recruits are expected to graduate this year. “As we integrate these new police … the National Guard will help in the preventive patrol jointly with the police in high-crime areas and to update our fleet of police vehicles," Gov. Luis G. Fortuño said in his state of the Commonwealth speech on Monday.
On the same day, the governor signed an executive order activating his National Guard.
“Once that large bulk of cadets are graduated then the need for large-scale help from the National Guard will no longer be required,” said Army Capt. Paul Dahlen, the Puerto Rico National Guard’s public affairs officer.
After Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana National Guard’s Joint Task Force Gator supported the New Orleans Police Department at the direction of the state’s governor.
Army Maj. Michael Kazmierzak told American Forces Press Service that the support Task Force Gator provided was "precedent setting" and said it set a new standard for future National Guard support missions.
From June 2006 through February 2009, the Guardsmen helped the New Orleans police make more than 8,000 arrests."They performed spectacularly," Kazmierzak said. "They demonstrated exactly what the National Guard is here for."
Dahlen said the Puerto Rico National Guard is well-trained and ready for its latest mission. Soldiers and Airmen are scheduled to receive refresher training with territorial police starting this weekend. “The majority of our Soldiers have taken it before,” he said.
About 100 National Guard mechanics will work on police vehicles, Dahlen said. That mission is similar to assistance provided to the Border Patrol during Operation Jump Start from 2006 to 2008. The Border Patrol credited Guardmembers, who worked on their vehicles, with freeing up Border Patrol agents to return to the border with Mexico.
OJS also was similar in intent to Monday’s announcement in that the National Guard was called up to assist the Border Patrol while new agents were recruited and trained.
Puerto Rico’s police patrol in pairs. Dahlen said National Guardmembers will be paired with police officers on patrol, freeing other officers up for additional patrols. “The intent is to enlarge the scope of police [officers] throughout the island,” he said.
“The aim of this initiative is to give immediate safety to people in the street,” Fortuño said during a Monday press briefing.
The Puerto Rico National Guard has provided support to the territory’s police in the 1990s and again in 2004, Dahlen said. “We’re glad to help out our fellow agency in Puerto Rico,” he said. “We’re always ready for whatever mission our governor has for us.”
National Guard Bureau
(2/4/10) -- About 1,000 Puerto Rico National Guardmembers will assist the U.S. territory’s police for up to a year while new police recruits are trained, the governor said Monday. Four classes of police recruits are expected to graduate this year. “As we integrate these new police … the National Guard will help in the preventive patrol jointly with the police in high-crime areas and to update our fleet of police vehicles," Gov. Luis G. Fortuño said in his state of the Commonwealth speech on Monday.
On the same day, the governor signed an executive order activating his National Guard.
“Once that large bulk of cadets are graduated then the need for large-scale help from the National Guard will no longer be required,” said Army Capt. Paul Dahlen, the Puerto Rico National Guard’s public affairs officer.
After Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana National Guard’s Joint Task Force Gator supported the New Orleans Police Department at the direction of the state’s governor.
Army Maj. Michael Kazmierzak told American Forces Press Service that the support Task Force Gator provided was "precedent setting" and said it set a new standard for future National Guard support missions.
From June 2006 through February 2009, the Guardsmen helped the New Orleans police make more than 8,000 arrests."They performed spectacularly," Kazmierzak said. "They demonstrated exactly what the National Guard is here for."
Dahlen said the Puerto Rico National Guard is well-trained and ready for its latest mission. Soldiers and Airmen are scheduled to receive refresher training with territorial police starting this weekend. “The majority of our Soldiers have taken it before,” he said.
About 100 National Guard mechanics will work on police vehicles, Dahlen said. That mission is similar to assistance provided to the Border Patrol during Operation Jump Start from 2006 to 2008. The Border Patrol credited Guardmembers, who worked on their vehicles, with freeing up Border Patrol agents to return to the border with Mexico.
OJS also was similar in intent to Monday’s announcement in that the National Guard was called up to assist the Border Patrol while new agents were recruited and trained.
Puerto Rico’s police patrol in pairs. Dahlen said National Guardmembers will be paired with police officers on patrol, freeing other officers up for additional patrols. “The intent is to enlarge the scope of police [officers] throughout the island,” he said.
“The aim of this initiative is to give immediate safety to people in the street,” Fortuño said during a Monday press briefing.
The Puerto Rico National Guard has provided support to the territory’s police in the 1990s and again in 2004, Dahlen said. “We’re glad to help out our fellow agency in Puerto Rico,” he said. “We’re always ready for whatever mission our governor has for us.”
White House reaches out to rural veterans in 2011 budget
(2/1/10) -- To expand health care to a record-number of veterans, reduce the number of homeless veterans and process a dramatically increased number of new disability compensation claims, White House officials here announced Feb. 1 a proposed $125 billion budget next year for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"Our budget proposal provides the resources necessary to continue our aggressive pursuit of President (Barack) Obama's two over-arching goals for veterans," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.
"First, the requested budget will help transform VA into a 21st century organization," he said. "And second, it will ensure that we approach veterans'
care as a lifetime initiative, from the day they take their oaths until the day they are laid to rest."
The $125 billion budget request, which has to be approved by Congress, includes $60.3 billion for discretionary spending (mostly health care) and $64.7 billion in mandatory funding (mostly for disability compensation and pensions).
"VA's 2011 budget request covers many areas but focuses on three central issues that are of critical importance to our veterans: easier access to benefits and services, faster disability claims decisions, and ending the downward spiral that results in veterans' homelessness," Secretary Shinseki said.
Reducing claims backlog
The president's budget proposal includes an increase of $460 million and more than 4,000 additional claims processors for veterans benefits.
This is a 27 percent funding increase over the 2010 level.
The 1,014,000 claims received in 2009 were a 75 percent increase over the 579,000 received in 2000. Secretary Shinseki said the department expects a 30 percent increase in claims -- to 1,319,000 -- in 2011 from 2009 levels.
One reason for the increase is VA's expansion of the number of Agent Orange-related illnesses that automatically qualify for disability benefits. Veterans exposed to the Agent Orange herbicides during the Vietnam War are likely to file additional claims that will have a substantial impact upon the processing system for benefits, the secretary said.
"We project significantly increased claims inventories in the near term while we make fundamental improvements to the way we process disability compensation claims," Secretary Shinseki said.
Long-term reduction of the inventory will come from additional manpower, improved business practices, plus an infusion of $145 million in the proposed budget for development of a paperless claims processing system, which plays a significant role in the transformation of VA.
Automating the GI Bill
The budget proposal includes $44 million to complete by December 2010 an automated system for processing applications for the new Post-9/11 GI Bill. VA also plans to start development next year of electronic systems to process claims from other VA-administered educational programs.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill authorizes the most extensive educational assistance opportunity since the passage of the original GI Bill in 1944. Over $1.7 billion in regular Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit payments have been issued since the implementation of the program on Aug. 1, 2009. In 2011, VA expects the number of all education claims to grow by 32 percent over 2009, going from 1.7 million to 2.25 million.
"To meet this increasing workload and process education claims in a timely manner, VA officials established a comprehensive strategy to develop industry-standard technologies to modernize the delivery of these important educational benefits," Secretary Shinseki said.
Eliminating homelessness
The budget proposal includes $4.2 billion in 2011 to reduce and help prevent homelessness among veterans. That breaks down into $3.4 billion for core medical services and $799 million for specific homeless programs and expanded medical care, which includes $294 million for expanded homeless initiatives. This increased investment for expanded homeless services is consistent with the VA secretary's established goal of ultimately eliminating homelessness among veterans.
On a typical night, about 131,000 veterans are homeless. They represent every war and generation, from the "Greatest Generation" to the latest generation of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. To date, VA officials operate the largest system of homeless treatment and assistance programs in the nation.
Targeting mental health, preventing suicides "The 2011 budget proposal continues the department's keen focus on improving the quality, access and value of mental health care provided to veterans," Secretary Shinseki said.
The spending request seeks $5.2 billion for mental health, an increase of $410 million (or 8.5 percent) over current spending, enabling expansion of inpatient, residential and outpatient mental health services, with emphasis on making mental health services part of primary care and specialty care.
The secretary noted that one-fifth of the patients seen last year in VA's health care facilities had a mental health diagnosis, and that the department has added more than 6,000 new mental health professionals since 2005, bringing to 19,000 the number of employees dedicated to mental health care.
The budget request will enable the department to continue expanding its programs for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), along with the diagnosis and treatment of depression, substance abuse and other mental health problems. Secretary Shinseki called PSTD treatment "central to VA's mission."
The proposed spending will continue VA's suicide prevention program.
Since July 2007, the department's suicide prevention hotline has received nearly 225,000 calls from veterans, active-duty personnel and family members. The hotline is credited with saving the lives of nearly 7,000 people.
Reaching rural veterans
For 2011, VA is seeking $250 million to strengthen access to health care for 3.2 million veterans enrolled in VA's medical system who live in rural areas. Rural outreach includes expanded use of home-based primary care and mental health.
A key portion of rural outreach, which shows promise for use with veterans across the country, is VA's innovative "telehealth" program. It links patients and health care providers by telephones and includes telephone-based data transmission, enabling daily monitoring of patients with chronic problems.
The budget provides an increase of $42 million for VA's home telehealth program. The effort already cares for 35,000 patients and is the largest program of its kind in the world.
Serving women veterans
The 2011 budget provides $217.6 million to meet the gender-specific health care needs of women veterans, an increase of $18.6 million (or
9.4 percent) over the 2010 level. Enhanced primary care for women veterans remains one of the department's top priorities. The number of women veterans is growing rapidly and women are increasingly using VA for their health care.
Secretary Shinseki said the expansion of health care programs for women veterans will lead to higher quality care, increased coordination of care, enhanced privacy and dignity, and a greater sense of security among women patients.
Among the initiatives for women in the 2011 budget proposal are expanded health care services in vet centers, increased training for health care providers to advance their knowledge and understanding of women's health issues, and implementing a peer call center and social networking site for women combat veterans. This call center will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Delivering world-class health care
During 2011, VA officials expect to treat 6.1 million patients, who will account for more than 800,000 hospitalizations and 83 million outpatient visits.
The total includes 439,000 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, for whom $2.6 billion is included in the budget proposal. That's an increase of $597 million -- or 30 percent -- from the current budget.
The proposed budget for health care includes:
-- $6.8 billion for long-term care, an increase of $859 million (or 14 percent) over 2010. This amount includes $1.5 billion for non-institutional long-term care;
-- Expanding access to VA health care system for more than 99,000 veterans who were previously denied care because of their incomes;
-- $590 million for medical and prosthetic research; and
-- Continuing development of a "virtual lifetime electronic record," a digital health record that will accompany veterans throughout their lives.
VA officials are requesting $54.3 billion in advance appropriations for 2012 for health care, an increase of $2.8 billion over the 2011 enacted amount.
Planned initiatives in 2012 include better leveraging acquisitions and contracting, enhancing the use of referral agreements, strengthening VA's relationship with the Defense Department, and expanding the use of medical technology.
Preserving national shrines
"VA remains steadfastly committed to providing access to a dignified and respectful burial for Veterans choosing to be buried in a VA national cemetery," Secretary Shinseki said. "This promise requires that we maintain national cemeteries as shrines dedicated to the memory of those who served this nation in uniform."
The requested $251 million for cemetery operations and maintenance will support more than 114,000 interments in 2011, a 3.8 percent increase over 2010. In 2011, the department will maintain 8,441 acres with 3.1 million gravesites. The budget request includes $37 million to clean and realign an estimated 668,000 headstones and repair 100,000 sunken graves.
Building for the future
$1.15 billion requested for major construction for 2011 includes funding for medical facilities in New Orleans; Denver; Palo Alto, Calif.; Alameda, Calif.; and Omaha, Neb. Also budgeted for 2011 are major expansions and improvements to the national cemeteries in Indiantown Gap, Pa.; Los Angeles; and Tahoma, Wash., and new burial access policies that will provide a burial option to an additional 500,000 veterans and enhance service in urban areas.
A requested budget of $468 million for minor construction in 2011 would fund a wide variety of improvements at VA facilities.
"Our budget proposal provides the resources necessary to continue our aggressive pursuit of President (Barack) Obama's two over-arching goals for veterans," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.
"First, the requested budget will help transform VA into a 21st century organization," he said. "And second, it will ensure that we approach veterans'
care as a lifetime initiative, from the day they take their oaths until the day they are laid to rest."
The $125 billion budget request, which has to be approved by Congress, includes $60.3 billion for discretionary spending (mostly health care) and $64.7 billion in mandatory funding (mostly for disability compensation and pensions).
"VA's 2011 budget request covers many areas but focuses on three central issues that are of critical importance to our veterans: easier access to benefits and services, faster disability claims decisions, and ending the downward spiral that results in veterans' homelessness," Secretary Shinseki said.
Reducing claims backlog
The president's budget proposal includes an increase of $460 million and more than 4,000 additional claims processors for veterans benefits.
This is a 27 percent funding increase over the 2010 level.
The 1,014,000 claims received in 2009 were a 75 percent increase over the 579,000 received in 2000. Secretary Shinseki said the department expects a 30 percent increase in claims -- to 1,319,000 -- in 2011 from 2009 levels.
One reason for the increase is VA's expansion of the number of Agent Orange-related illnesses that automatically qualify for disability benefits. Veterans exposed to the Agent Orange herbicides during the Vietnam War are likely to file additional claims that will have a substantial impact upon the processing system for benefits, the secretary said.
"We project significantly increased claims inventories in the near term while we make fundamental improvements to the way we process disability compensation claims," Secretary Shinseki said.
Long-term reduction of the inventory will come from additional manpower, improved business practices, plus an infusion of $145 million in the proposed budget for development of a paperless claims processing system, which plays a significant role in the transformation of VA.
Automating the GI Bill
The budget proposal includes $44 million to complete by December 2010 an automated system for processing applications for the new Post-9/11 GI Bill. VA also plans to start development next year of electronic systems to process claims from other VA-administered educational programs.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill authorizes the most extensive educational assistance opportunity since the passage of the original GI Bill in 1944. Over $1.7 billion in regular Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit payments have been issued since the implementation of the program on Aug. 1, 2009. In 2011, VA expects the number of all education claims to grow by 32 percent over 2009, going from 1.7 million to 2.25 million.
"To meet this increasing workload and process education claims in a timely manner, VA officials established a comprehensive strategy to develop industry-standard technologies to modernize the delivery of these important educational benefits," Secretary Shinseki said.
Eliminating homelessness
The budget proposal includes $4.2 billion in 2011 to reduce and help prevent homelessness among veterans. That breaks down into $3.4 billion for core medical services and $799 million for specific homeless programs and expanded medical care, which includes $294 million for expanded homeless initiatives. This increased investment for expanded homeless services is consistent with the VA secretary's established goal of ultimately eliminating homelessness among veterans.
On a typical night, about 131,000 veterans are homeless. They represent every war and generation, from the "Greatest Generation" to the latest generation of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. To date, VA officials operate the largest system of homeless treatment and assistance programs in the nation.
Targeting mental health, preventing suicides "The 2011 budget proposal continues the department's keen focus on improving the quality, access and value of mental health care provided to veterans," Secretary Shinseki said.
The spending request seeks $5.2 billion for mental health, an increase of $410 million (or 8.5 percent) over current spending, enabling expansion of inpatient, residential and outpatient mental health services, with emphasis on making mental health services part of primary care and specialty care.
The secretary noted that one-fifth of the patients seen last year in VA's health care facilities had a mental health diagnosis, and that the department has added more than 6,000 new mental health professionals since 2005, bringing to 19,000 the number of employees dedicated to mental health care.
The budget request will enable the department to continue expanding its programs for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), along with the diagnosis and treatment of depression, substance abuse and other mental health problems. Secretary Shinseki called PSTD treatment "central to VA's mission."
The proposed spending will continue VA's suicide prevention program.
Since July 2007, the department's suicide prevention hotline has received nearly 225,000 calls from veterans, active-duty personnel and family members. The hotline is credited with saving the lives of nearly 7,000 people.
Reaching rural veterans
For 2011, VA is seeking $250 million to strengthen access to health care for 3.2 million veterans enrolled in VA's medical system who live in rural areas. Rural outreach includes expanded use of home-based primary care and mental health.
A key portion of rural outreach, which shows promise for use with veterans across the country, is VA's innovative "telehealth" program. It links patients and health care providers by telephones and includes telephone-based data transmission, enabling daily monitoring of patients with chronic problems.
The budget provides an increase of $42 million for VA's home telehealth program. The effort already cares for 35,000 patients and is the largest program of its kind in the world.
Serving women veterans
The 2011 budget provides $217.6 million to meet the gender-specific health care needs of women veterans, an increase of $18.6 million (or
9.4 percent) over the 2010 level. Enhanced primary care for women veterans remains one of the department's top priorities. The number of women veterans is growing rapidly and women are increasingly using VA for their health care.
Secretary Shinseki said the expansion of health care programs for women veterans will lead to higher quality care, increased coordination of care, enhanced privacy and dignity, and a greater sense of security among women patients.
Among the initiatives for women in the 2011 budget proposal are expanded health care services in vet centers, increased training for health care providers to advance their knowledge and understanding of women's health issues, and implementing a peer call center and social networking site for women combat veterans. This call center will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Delivering world-class health care
During 2011, VA officials expect to treat 6.1 million patients, who will account for more than 800,000 hospitalizations and 83 million outpatient visits.
The total includes 439,000 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, for whom $2.6 billion is included in the budget proposal. That's an increase of $597 million -- or 30 percent -- from the current budget.
The proposed budget for health care includes:
-- $6.8 billion for long-term care, an increase of $859 million (or 14 percent) over 2010. This amount includes $1.5 billion for non-institutional long-term care;
-- Expanding access to VA health care system for more than 99,000 veterans who were previously denied care because of their incomes;
-- $590 million for medical and prosthetic research; and
-- Continuing development of a "virtual lifetime electronic record," a digital health record that will accompany veterans throughout their lives.
VA officials are requesting $54.3 billion in advance appropriations for 2012 for health care, an increase of $2.8 billion over the 2011 enacted amount.
Planned initiatives in 2012 include better leveraging acquisitions and contracting, enhancing the use of referral agreements, strengthening VA's relationship with the Defense Department, and expanding the use of medical technology.
Preserving national shrines
"VA remains steadfastly committed to providing access to a dignified and respectful burial for Veterans choosing to be buried in a VA national cemetery," Secretary Shinseki said. "This promise requires that we maintain national cemeteries as shrines dedicated to the memory of those who served this nation in uniform."
The requested $251 million for cemetery operations and maintenance will support more than 114,000 interments in 2011, a 3.8 percent increase over 2010. In 2011, the department will maintain 8,441 acres with 3.1 million gravesites. The budget request includes $37 million to clean and realign an estimated 668,000 headstones and repair 100,000 sunken graves.
Building for the future
$1.15 billion requested for major construction for 2011 includes funding for medical facilities in New Orleans; Denver; Palo Alto, Calif.; Alameda, Calif.; and Omaha, Neb. Also budgeted for 2011 are major expansions and improvements to the national cemeteries in Indiantown Gap, Pa.; Los Angeles; and Tahoma, Wash., and new burial access policies that will provide a burial option to an additional 500,000 veterans and enhance service in urban areas.
A requested budget of $468 million for minor construction in 2011 would fund a wide variety of improvements at VA facilities.
Louisiana Air Guard prepares for real-world war mission
By Senior Airman Rosie Stahl
Louisiana National Guard
(2/3/10) -- The Louisiana National Guard's 159th Fighter Wing will participate in a three-day operational readiness exercise this week. It is the fourth exercise in a year's length to prepare for an inspection by the Air Combat Command in April. The exercise takes place here at Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base, where a section of the base has been transformed to simulate a war in Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, with 800 members for the Air Expeditionary Wing actively participating in the deployment.
Members of other bases volunteer in the exercise as inspectors to evaluate different facets of the Wing including operations, aircraft maintenance, munitions, security, network defenses and more.
Simulated scenarios are practiced throughout the war days while members strive to function efficiently in their area of expertise. Examples of these scenarios include compromising of intelligence, communication difficulties, bomb threats, chemical attacks, handling improvised explosive devices and media inquiries.
One of the mission critical functions is ensuring jets have a successful flight. On day one, the Maintenance Group was busy on the flight line preparing for jets to take off and responding to exercise injects at the same time.
Master Sgt. Brian Krail provided guidance while his team was removing a tank and conducting an after-fire inspection. "We are having a technical expenditure. After we ensure there are no leaks, we will place the tank back after an extra maintenance check, and we will get the jet up in the air."
At another jet, Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Turminello and Tech. Sgt. Bertrand Woods assisted with troubleshooting an electrical trap within a transfer pump. "We have to work together to check the different relays and see where the problem is," said Turminello. Distractions are expected to happen. Attack warning signals occur throughout the war days and aircraft maintenance personnel are required to ensure tools and jets are properly covered to avoid chemical contamination during the attacks.
Tech. Sgt. Aaron Baltimore said that when alarm red or black occurs, signaling an attack by air or ground forces, flight line members take immediate cover and assume the proper postures including donning gas masks and protective gloves.
Louisiana Air Guardsmen will continue to train and prepare for the final inspection. The wing aims for a grade of "outstanding" in April.
Guard chief talks of expanding partnership program
By Sgt. 1st Class Roy Henry
Georgia National Guard
(2/2/10) -- For the National Guard State Partnership Program to maintain its important role in promoting this country’s long-term mutual security cooperation with its allies around the world, the program must expand, the Guard’s top officer said today. “State Partnership Programs cannot be static,” Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said at an SPP workshop here. “They must be creative, integrated and responsive to combatant commanders and U.S. ambassadorial priorities in the field.”
The first partnerships were developed in 1993 with former Soviet bloc countries, such as the one between the state of Georgia and the country of Georgia. Today, SPP includes about 62 partnerships in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
This year, SPP will target some new regions of the world, including South America and the Pacific Rim, McKinley said.
When the program was first introduced, developing SPPs was relatively easy, he said. Each state was paired up a partner with similar goals.
Now McKinley said he must convince the adjutants general of those states that have partnership to take on a second or even a third partnership country.
McKinley said SPP has been “living fairly meagerly” on a $10 million budget. However, some in the Department of Defense believe it should be a $50 million program.
“We have to prove our program’s value to our national leaders constantly, or it won’t be funded,” he said.
For that reason, SPP must continually and carefully balance its “very scarce resources.”
Those who operate the SPPs and do the business of the combatant commands in the theaters where SPPs exist, McKinley said, must make sure the dollars they have are used wisely and that they’re getting the most out of the money they spend.
In his long-range plan for the program, McKinley said he looks at where the program is going, what it’s going to take to get there and what it’s really trying to achieve when it gets where it’s going.
“We have to have the vision to engage those countries that can, or may be, influenced by those looking to exert control over them,” he said. “Through state partnership we can reach out and assist those nations in averting that influence.”
As he continues advocating the importance of SPP’s role to senior leadership, McKinley said he describes the program one of the Guard’s “crown jewels.”
He attributed the program’s success to the workshop attendees, because they are the ones closest to the vision of what State Partnership is and should be.
“Not all the brain power is in Washington,” he said. “It’s here, in this room today, and it’s the kind that can recommend new initiatives with which to keep state partnership relative and active.”
Military Medical Personnel Aid Haiti Relief, Maintain Presence at Home
February 4, 2010 - Soon after the massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the doctors, nurses, corpsmen and medics of America’s armed forces were on their way to care for the victims of the disaster.
“We are incredibly proud of our medical personnel who’ve deployed to Haiti to care for our southern neighbors coping with the aftermath of the earthquake,” said Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, deputy director of the TRICARE Management Activity. “We also thank the providers here back at home who’ve stepped forward and continue to provide health care to our service members and their families.”
TRICARE leaders in all three regions are monitoring the situation and working closely with all the services to ensure beneficiaries in the United States continue to have medical care available to them within TRICARE’s rigorous access standards.
“There are enough medical providers at military treatment facilities and in the managed care support contractors’ networks to meet our beneficiaries’ needs,” said Rear Adm. Elizabeth Niemyer, director of the TRICARE Regional Office-West. “Beneficiaries should continue to call the normal appointment lines to schedule routine and urgent care appointments.”
Among the flotilla of U.S. ships off the coast of Haiti is the hospital ship USNS Comfort. Aboard the 1,000-bed floating hospital about 600 medical personnel are caring for patients, making a significant impact in humanitarian aid and relief mission in Haiti. The Comfort surgical team has performed nearly 300 procedures, ranging from repairing crushed limbs to amputations in an effort to save lives. The ship's medical professionals have also assisted in the birth of a baby girl. All together more than 700 patients have been admitted. The medical staff aboard the Comfort comes mainly from the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia. Specialists from many other military hospitals and clinics in the United States are also serving aboard ships and on shore during the relief effort.
Additionally, more than 16,000 U.S. military personnel with Joint Task Force-Haiti are assisting relief workers from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations, the international community and Haiti providing humanitarian assistance to communities impacted by the disaster.
Officials say the disaster has killed between 100,000 to 200,000 people and the Red Cross estimates some 3 million people have been affected. After delivering 1.4 million bottles of water, 700,000 meals and 22,000 pounds of medical equipment in the opening days of the relief effort, JTF-Haiti leaders now report the effort is in the sustainment phase providing 75 tons of food a day.
American military medical personnel will remain off-shore and on the ground in Haiti to support the relief and recovery efforts for the foreseeable future.
“We are incredibly proud of our medical personnel who’ve deployed to Haiti to care for our southern neighbors coping with the aftermath of the earthquake,” said Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, deputy director of the TRICARE Management Activity. “We also thank the providers here back at home who’ve stepped forward and continue to provide health care to our service members and their families.”
TRICARE leaders in all three regions are monitoring the situation and working closely with all the services to ensure beneficiaries in the United States continue to have medical care available to them within TRICARE’s rigorous access standards.
“There are enough medical providers at military treatment facilities and in the managed care support contractors’ networks to meet our beneficiaries’ needs,” said Rear Adm. Elizabeth Niemyer, director of the TRICARE Regional Office-West. “Beneficiaries should continue to call the normal appointment lines to schedule routine and urgent care appointments.”
Among the flotilla of U.S. ships off the coast of Haiti is the hospital ship USNS Comfort. Aboard the 1,000-bed floating hospital about 600 medical personnel are caring for patients, making a significant impact in humanitarian aid and relief mission in Haiti. The Comfort surgical team has performed nearly 300 procedures, ranging from repairing crushed limbs to amputations in an effort to save lives. The ship's medical professionals have also assisted in the birth of a baby girl. All together more than 700 patients have been admitted. The medical staff aboard the Comfort comes mainly from the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia. Specialists from many other military hospitals and clinics in the United States are also serving aboard ships and on shore during the relief effort.
Additionally, more than 16,000 U.S. military personnel with Joint Task Force-Haiti are assisting relief workers from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations, the international community and Haiti providing humanitarian assistance to communities impacted by the disaster.
Officials say the disaster has killed between 100,000 to 200,000 people and the Red Cross estimates some 3 million people have been affected. After delivering 1.4 million bottles of water, 700,000 meals and 22,000 pounds of medical equipment in the opening days of the relief effort, JTF-Haiti leaders now report the effort is in the sustainment phase providing 75 tons of food a day.
American military medical personnel will remain off-shore and on the ground in Haiti to support the relief and recovery efforts for the foreseeable future.
Sexual Assault Task Forces Urges More Oversight
By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - The Defense Department office that oversees sexual assault prevention and response in the military needs a higher level of oversight and funding to continue on its path of progress, a task force created to assess the program told Congress members yesterday.
The department and the services have made significant improvements in how they handle sexual assault prevention and response, but more needs to be done, the co-chairs of the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services told the House Armed Services Committee's military personnel subcommittee. The task force issued its findings to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Dec. 1.
The department "overall has made notable progress in addressing sexual assault" since the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office was created in 2005, Louis Iasiello, co-chair of the task force, told the subcommittee. "At the same time, we found many opportunities for improvement."
Military leaders' emphasis on prevention and the subsequent increased awareness of sexual assaults, combined with better funding for the prevention and response office, have been key to improvements, Iasiello said. Still, he added, there needs to be more focus on the problem.
The task force's report, Iasiello said, highlights the need for substantial institutional emphasis on preventing sexual assault. "Doing so is not only a moral imperative, but is critical to military readiness," he said.
The task force recommends that the prevention and response office be elevated to placement under the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense for "at least one year or until the program is meeting established institutional goals," Iasiello and Air Force Brig. Gen. Sharon K.G. Dunbar, also a task force co-chair, said in their joint statement to the subcommittee.
The two noted that such organizational structure would be "unconventional," but said the office's current placement "has limited its visibility and ability to effectively address integral cross-cutting issues."
"After 2005, each of the services took off in their own direction trying to confront this issue in the best way possible," Iasiello said. "We applaud that initiative, but we really would like to see a strategic leadership role taken" by the oversight office. "Someone needs to take the lead on that and liaison and partner with ... the civilian society," he said.
"We believe that higher level oversight will ensure appropriate funding and focus on a program that is at a critical junction," Iasiello added.
Beginning in August 2008, the 10-member task force visited 60 military locations worldwide and met with more than 3,500 people, Iasiello said. Both military members and civilians at all levels reported inconsistent and insufficient funding, he said, adding that research and collaboration with the civilian sector for prevention strategies and incidence metrics was particularly affected.
The task force called for more consistency and standardization to sexual assault prevention, response, training and accountability across the services, and Dunbar said a clear strategy would drive such improvements.
"Leadership sets the tone" for sexual assault awareness, prevention and response, Dunbar said, and the program is most effective in places where leaders are involved in things such as community discussions.
"Leadership clearly has a profound influence on the prevention of sexual assault, from strategy development and execution to continued focused and open discussion of the issue," the prepared statement said. "Commanders and leaders must take an active role in addressing the issue and modeling correct behavior."
Prevention must be the primary goal of the program, and training is key, the Dunbar said. Training needs to be more tailored for leadership and maturity levels, and should focus on risky behaviors as well as myths. And, she added, current training is too narrowly focused around women, "which makes it all the more difficult for male victims to come forward."
The department and services have made notable progress in improving victim assistance, especially by permitting victims to obtain immediate care and counseling without engaging law enforcement or their command authority, the task force reported. It recommended the services go further by allowing privileged communication between victims and their advocates, which cannot be obtained by the alleged assailant's attorneys.
The task force further recommended that military victim advocates receive formal certification, and that the new Article 120 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice be amended to be more clear and easier to adjudicate.
In its field interviews, the task force was told that the law, as written, is "cumbersome, complicated and confusing," making it difficult juries to come to a conclusion, Dunbar said.
The task force met with courts-martial convening authorities at every location, Iasiello said, and "We saw a desire to aggressively pursue cases wherever they thought it was possible. So, the intent is there" to prosecute sexual assault cases in the military.
In the department's most recent anonymous "Gender Relations Survey of Active Duty Members," 6.8 percent of women and 1.8 percent of men reported unwanted sexual contact in the past 12 months, the report said.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - The Defense Department office that oversees sexual assault prevention and response in the military needs a higher level of oversight and funding to continue on its path of progress, a task force created to assess the program told Congress members yesterday.
The department and the services have made significant improvements in how they handle sexual assault prevention and response, but more needs to be done, the co-chairs of the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services told the House Armed Services Committee's military personnel subcommittee. The task force issued its findings to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Dec. 1.
The department "overall has made notable progress in addressing sexual assault" since the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office was created in 2005, Louis Iasiello, co-chair of the task force, told the subcommittee. "At the same time, we found many opportunities for improvement."
Military leaders' emphasis on prevention and the subsequent increased awareness of sexual assaults, combined with better funding for the prevention and response office, have been key to improvements, Iasiello said. Still, he added, there needs to be more focus on the problem.
The task force's report, Iasiello said, highlights the need for substantial institutional emphasis on preventing sexual assault. "Doing so is not only a moral imperative, but is critical to military readiness," he said.
The task force recommends that the prevention and response office be elevated to placement under the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense for "at least one year or until the program is meeting established institutional goals," Iasiello and Air Force Brig. Gen. Sharon K.G. Dunbar, also a task force co-chair, said in their joint statement to the subcommittee.
The two noted that such organizational structure would be "unconventional," but said the office's current placement "has limited its visibility and ability to effectively address integral cross-cutting issues."
"After 2005, each of the services took off in their own direction trying to confront this issue in the best way possible," Iasiello said. "We applaud that initiative, but we really would like to see a strategic leadership role taken" by the oversight office. "Someone needs to take the lead on that and liaison and partner with ... the civilian society," he said.
"We believe that higher level oversight will ensure appropriate funding and focus on a program that is at a critical junction," Iasiello added.
Beginning in August 2008, the 10-member task force visited 60 military locations worldwide and met with more than 3,500 people, Iasiello said. Both military members and civilians at all levels reported inconsistent and insufficient funding, he said, adding that research and collaboration with the civilian sector for prevention strategies and incidence metrics was particularly affected.
The task force called for more consistency and standardization to sexual assault prevention, response, training and accountability across the services, and Dunbar said a clear strategy would drive such improvements.
"Leadership sets the tone" for sexual assault awareness, prevention and response, Dunbar said, and the program is most effective in places where leaders are involved in things such as community discussions.
"Leadership clearly has a profound influence on the prevention of sexual assault, from strategy development and execution to continued focused and open discussion of the issue," the prepared statement said. "Commanders and leaders must take an active role in addressing the issue and modeling correct behavior."
Prevention must be the primary goal of the program, and training is key, the Dunbar said. Training needs to be more tailored for leadership and maturity levels, and should focus on risky behaviors as well as myths. And, she added, current training is too narrowly focused around women, "which makes it all the more difficult for male victims to come forward."
The department and services have made notable progress in improving victim assistance, especially by permitting victims to obtain immediate care and counseling without engaging law enforcement or their command authority, the task force reported. It recommended the services go further by allowing privileged communication between victims and their advocates, which cannot be obtained by the alleged assailant's attorneys.
The task force further recommended that military victim advocates receive formal certification, and that the new Article 120 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice be amended to be more clear and easier to adjudicate.
In its field interviews, the task force was told that the law, as written, is "cumbersome, complicated and confusing," making it difficult juries to come to a conclusion, Dunbar said.
The task force met with courts-martial convening authorities at every location, Iasiello said, and "We saw a desire to aggressively pursue cases wherever they thought it was possible. So, the intent is there" to prosecute sexual assault cases in the military.
In the department's most recent anonymous "Gender Relations Survey of Active Duty Members," 6.8 percent of women and 1.8 percent of men reported unwanted sexual contact in the past 12 months, the report said.
Review Strikes Right Balance for Military, Admiral Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - The Pentagon's military leaders say the new Quadrennial Defense Review strikes the right balance between today's wars and the need to combat future threats.
Navy Vice Adm. Stephen Stanley, Joint Staff director for force structure, resources and assessment, told the House Armed Services Committee the review sets the department on a new path.
"The QDR focuses not just on winning today's fight, but also on the complex and uncertain future security landscape and potential conflicts the United States and our partners are most likely to face in the future," Stanley said. The admiral testified alongside Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy. The two were the point persons for the document in the Pentagon.
Stanley said the review addresses the top three goals of Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: winning today's fight; balancing global strategic risk; and preserving and enhancing the health of the force.
The review supports the military's mission to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida globally, and particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan through investment in critical "enablers" such as rotary-wing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and special operation forces that have experienced persistent shortfalls over the years.
"Winning the fight requires changing our capability mix, and we are doing it," Stanley said.
Balancing global risk in today's environment requires a ready and agile force with sufficient capability across military operations, Stanley said. The review recognizes the importance of developing capabilities to prevent the enemy from accessing new areas, he said.
"Additionally, the QDR focuses on regional, forward-based and rotational engagement with partners to set conditions that not only preclude conflict but establish the security environments that undercut extremism," the director said.
The United States has retained the capability to act decisively when appropriate, still "we prefer to partner and work with others in major operations," he said. "Our forward-stationed and rotational joint forces will ensure the ability to both sustain forward engagement and rapidly project forces and power globally to defeat future adversaries or, as in Haiti, rapidly respond to international crises."
Preserving and maintaining the health of the force, begins with taking care of people. "Our men and women in the armed forces are America's greatest strategic asset," Stanley said. "The QDR advocates important initiatives to enhance warrior and survivor care, reinforcing the urgency to improve research and treatment for a broad range of injuries, especially traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress."
The review seeks to reduce stress on the force through family support initiatives and a focus on properly resetting the force.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - The Pentagon's military leaders say the new Quadrennial Defense Review strikes the right balance between today's wars and the need to combat future threats.
Navy Vice Adm. Stephen Stanley, Joint Staff director for force structure, resources and assessment, told the House Armed Services Committee the review sets the department on a new path.
"The QDR focuses not just on winning today's fight, but also on the complex and uncertain future security landscape and potential conflicts the United States and our partners are most likely to face in the future," Stanley said. The admiral testified alongside Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy. The two were the point persons for the document in the Pentagon.
Stanley said the review addresses the top three goals of Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: winning today's fight; balancing global strategic risk; and preserving and enhancing the health of the force.
The review supports the military's mission to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida globally, and particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan through investment in critical "enablers" such as rotary-wing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and special operation forces that have experienced persistent shortfalls over the years.
"Winning the fight requires changing our capability mix, and we are doing it," Stanley said.
Balancing global risk in today's environment requires a ready and agile force with sufficient capability across military operations, Stanley said. The review recognizes the importance of developing capabilities to prevent the enemy from accessing new areas, he said.
"Additionally, the QDR focuses on regional, forward-based and rotational engagement with partners to set conditions that not only preclude conflict but establish the security environments that undercut extremism," the director said.
The United States has retained the capability to act decisively when appropriate, still "we prefer to partner and work with others in major operations," he said. "Our forward-stationed and rotational joint forces will ensure the ability to both sustain forward engagement and rapidly project forces and power globally to defeat future adversaries or, as in Haiti, rapidly respond to international crises."
Preserving and maintaining the health of the force, begins with taking care of people. "Our men and women in the armed forces are America's greatest strategic asset," Stanley said. "The QDR advocates important initiatives to enhance warrior and survivor care, reinforcing the urgency to improve research and treatment for a broad range of injuries, especially traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress."
The review seeks to reduce stress on the force through family support initiatives and a focus on properly resetting the force.
Experts Provide Insights on Strategic Reports
By Judith Snyderman
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - Defense officials who helped to write the Quadrennial Defense Review and the related Ballistic Missile Defense Review offered insights into their analyses in a "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable yesterday. Kathleen Hicks, deputy undersecretary of defense for strategy, plans and forces, said the QDR, which is conducted every four years by congressional mandate, lays out a strategy to rebalance the Defense Department's capabilities and structure.
The dual purpose of all recommendations, Hicks said, is "delivering first-class capabilities to our men and women in uniform and, second, being responsible stewards of American taxpayer dollars."
Hicks said the analysis does not make any suggestions that would hamper the ability to prevail in today's conflicts. But, she added, it does provide a 15-to-20-year outlook with far-ranging objectives.
"The first is prevention and deterrence; the second is moving beyond planning for conventional contingencies and preparing for a wider range of challenges; and the third is elevating the need to preserve and enhance the all-volunteer force," she said.
The QDR emphasizes tapping into civilian expertise and broadening partnerships at home and abroad, Hicks said, noting that the U.S. military already works side by side with allies in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
"It behooves us to invest in those relationships," she said.
Michael Nacht, assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs and primary author of the ballistic missile defense review, said one core element of homeland defense is protecting against limited attacks. But, he added, his report provides a detailed outline to address another core element of defense against regional threats, which he said are growing.
For example, the development and testing of missile defense capabilities for deployment in Europe has already begun, he said.
"We're engaged in extensive discussions and negotiations with our closest allies and other partners," Nacht said, "so that we're all on the same wavelength as these systems reach full-scale development and then begin to be deployed."
In response to questions from bloggers, Hicks said the QDR recognizes two challenging issues. One is the need to prevent the transfer of data and technology to rogue states or non-state actors. Hicks said the report contains plans to beef up the Defense Department's ability to analyze intelligence that will help to solve the problem.
"It's largely put in the context in the QDR of the wars we're in today," she said. "But [it is] very important to point out that the future is now, in many cases."
Another challenge relates to the size of the all-volunteer force. Hicks said the QDR report recognizes that current conflicts in multiple theaters have strained servicemembers. Therefore, she said, it makes planning assumptions that are adjusted to assume a "more reasonable tempo over the long term."
She said the report also identifies capabilities in short supply, including civil affairs; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and helicopters.
Hicks said both the QDR and the BMDR combine near-term and long-range planning and aim to describe a realistic pathway to meet strategic goals.
(Judith Snyderman works in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - Defense officials who helped to write the Quadrennial Defense Review and the related Ballistic Missile Defense Review offered insights into their analyses in a "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable yesterday. Kathleen Hicks, deputy undersecretary of defense for strategy, plans and forces, said the QDR, which is conducted every four years by congressional mandate, lays out a strategy to rebalance the Defense Department's capabilities and structure.
The dual purpose of all recommendations, Hicks said, is "delivering first-class capabilities to our men and women in uniform and, second, being responsible stewards of American taxpayer dollars."
Hicks said the analysis does not make any suggestions that would hamper the ability to prevail in today's conflicts. But, she added, it does provide a 15-to-20-year outlook with far-ranging objectives.
"The first is prevention and deterrence; the second is moving beyond planning for conventional contingencies and preparing for a wider range of challenges; and the third is elevating the need to preserve and enhance the all-volunteer force," she said.
The QDR emphasizes tapping into civilian expertise and broadening partnerships at home and abroad, Hicks said, noting that the U.S. military already works side by side with allies in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
"It behooves us to invest in those relationships," she said.
Michael Nacht, assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs and primary author of the ballistic missile defense review, said one core element of homeland defense is protecting against limited attacks. But, he added, his report provides a detailed outline to address another core element of defense against regional threats, which he said are growing.
For example, the development and testing of missile defense capabilities for deployment in Europe has already begun, he said.
"We're engaged in extensive discussions and negotiations with our closest allies and other partners," Nacht said, "so that we're all on the same wavelength as these systems reach full-scale development and then begin to be deployed."
In response to questions from bloggers, Hicks said the QDR recognizes two challenging issues. One is the need to prevent the transfer of data and technology to rogue states or non-state actors. Hicks said the report contains plans to beef up the Defense Department's ability to analyze intelligence that will help to solve the problem.
"It's largely put in the context in the QDR of the wars we're in today," she said. "But [it is] very important to point out that the future is now, in many cases."
Another challenge relates to the size of the all-volunteer force. Hicks said the QDR report recognizes that current conflicts in multiple theaters have strained servicemembers. Therefore, she said, it makes planning assumptions that are adjusted to assume a "more reasonable tempo over the long term."
She said the report also identifies capabilities in short supply, including civil affairs; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and helicopters.
Hicks said both the QDR and the BMDR combine near-term and long-range planning and aim to describe a realistic pathway to meet strategic goals.
(Judith Snyderman works in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)
Military OneSource Offers Free Tax Filing
By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - Defense officials encourage military families to once again take advantage of the free electronic tax filing services offered through Military OneSource.
People can access the H&R Block at Home program by going to Military OneSource at http://www.militaryonesource.com/ and clicking on "Tax Filing Services."
More than 200,000 servicemembers filed their tax returns through this resource last year, officials said.
"We have such a mobile force, and you have folks dispersed all over the world. It's a quick link for the family to link up with the [servicemember]," said Tommy T. Thomas, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy. "It's a convenience for you to be able to go on that site and file that tax form."
The program is open to active duty, Guard and Reserve servicemembers, regardless of activation status, as well as spouses, dependent children and family members standing in for a deployed servicemember.
Participants can e-file up to three state resident returns for each federal return, Thomas said. However, he added, they should ensure they're filling through Military OneSource. People who file through H&R Block directly may be charged for services, he cautioned.
The program is set up for basic returns. People who wish to upgrade to the premium program also may incur charges.
For tax assistance, filers can call a Military OneSource tax consultant from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. EST, seven-days-a- week, at 800-730-3802.
"That's a tremendous service," Thomas said. "We feel it's important to give our military families the absolute best."
Along with the consultants, people with complicated tax returns can visit a legal assistance office on a military installation for more in-depth advice, he said.
Whether online or on base, people should file early, Thomas advised.
"Don't run up against the 15 April deadline," he said. "And when you get the return, look at it as the means to secure your family's finances," whether its paying off debts, adding to a savings account or contributing to a Thrift Savings Plan.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 4, 2010 - Defense officials encourage military families to once again take advantage of the free electronic tax filing services offered through Military OneSource.
People can access the H&R Block at Home program by going to Military OneSource at http://www.militaryonesource.com/ and clicking on "Tax Filing Services."
More than 200,000 servicemembers filed their tax returns through this resource last year, officials said.
"We have such a mobile force, and you have folks dispersed all over the world. It's a quick link for the family to link up with the [servicemember]," said Tommy T. Thomas, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy. "It's a convenience for you to be able to go on that site and file that tax form."
The program is open to active duty, Guard and Reserve servicemembers, regardless of activation status, as well as spouses, dependent children and family members standing in for a deployed servicemember.
Participants can e-file up to three state resident returns for each federal return, Thomas said. However, he added, they should ensure they're filling through Military OneSource. People who file through H&R Block directly may be charged for services, he cautioned.
The program is set up for basic returns. People who wish to upgrade to the premium program also may incur charges.
For tax assistance, filers can call a Military OneSource tax consultant from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. EST, seven-days-a- week, at 800-730-3802.
"That's a tremendous service," Thomas said. "We feel it's important to give our military families the absolute best."
Along with the consultants, people with complicated tax returns can visit a legal assistance office on a military installation for more in-depth advice, he said.
Whether online or on base, people should file early, Thomas advised.
"Don't run up against the 15 April deadline," he said. "And when you get the return, look at it as the means to secure your family's finances," whether its paying off debts, adding to a savings account or contributing to a Thrift Savings Plan.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Wyatt visits classic association at Fairchild
By Air Force Maj. Sandy Smock
Washington National Guard
(2/1/10) -- Air Force Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt III, the director of the Air National Guard, spent the day with Air Mobility Command leaders here today to observe the progress of the association between an Air Guard and active duty air refueling wing.
As part of total force integration in 2007, the Washington Air National Guard's 141st ARW and the active duty Air Force's 92nd ARW were the first Guard and active duty tanker units to stand up as a classic association. Both units now accomplish the KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling mission together.
Without an exact blueprint of this new joint mission, each day both units are faced with new challenges and have been tested in communication within the different groups.
The 141st and 92nd have worked together to develop new and more efficient processes through total force integration while sharing deployment requirements and successfully fulfilling daily operational missions.
“Integration at all levels facilitates the integration with this unit … as it will across all of the other associations,” said Wyatt.
The majority of Wyatt's time was spent in the maintenance hangars and presentations were given from commanders on the latest benefits from now collocated offices.
Even with all the building and personnel moves, working together is not a new concept for the 141st ARW and 92nd ARW. Both groups have deployed and completed missions together in the past, now they just do it under a new name of total force integration.
California, New York name new adjutant general
(2/3/10) -- Two states with a large National Guard presence have appointed a new adjutant general this week. In California, Air Force Brig. Gen. Mary J. Kight will took command as the 45th adjutant general of the state in a change of command ceremony at the Mather Field Armory in Sacramento Feb. 2.
In New York, Army Brig. Gen. Patrick Murphy was announced as the 52nd adjutant general for the nation's eighth largest National Guard today.
Kight took over for Army Maj. General William H. Wade II, who relinquished command after nearly five years as the adjutant general of the California National Guard. He will serve as the director of operations for the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy.
“Brigadier General Mary Kight is a proven, courageous, loyal and honorable leader. She has a long and distinguished history of service to our state and nation and I am proud to have her as the first female adjutant general of our military forces here in California,” said California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “I am confident that with her leadership, the California National Guard will continue to be fully prepared, standing ready and able to assist our local communities and our country when called upon in times of emergency.”
According to a press release, Kight has broken many barriers since entering military service October 19, 1973 as an Air Force second lieutenant. She was the California National Guard’s first female African American general officer and first female assistant adjutant general and is now the country’s first female African American state adjutant general.
“I whole-heartedly share in the governor’s commitment to public safety and ensuring that our armed forces are well-trained and equipped to provide support and assistance here in California and abroad at a moment’s notice,” said Kight. “I am honored to take on this new position serving the California National Guard as adjutant general and I look forward to using my knowledge and experience to uphold California’s military forces’ outstanding legacy of service.”
The California National Guard is an all-volunteer, operational force comprised of more than 22,000 Soldiers and Airmen. These citizen-Soldiers and Airmen have kept watch over California during times of need since their inception in 1849. More recently, the California National Guard has supported first responders during civil-support operations such as wildfires, floods and search and rescue.
Murphy, a former Iowa National Guardsman who currently serves as assistant adjutant general and the director of Joint Staff for New York, will replace Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, who will retire on Feb. 14 after 44 years of service.
"Brigadier General Murphy is an outstanding officer who brings with him a wealth of experience integrating the National Guard and active military components into State emergency and security planning, homeland defense, and anti-terrorism activities," said New York Gov. David A. Paterson. "He has played a critical role in the New York National Guard's response to flooding in Western New York, providing emergency aid to other states, and refocusing the National Guard's Joint Task Force Empire Shield into a more capable security force in New York City."
A 32-year veteran of the Army National Guard, Murphy has been responsible for the New York National Guard's state emergency and homeland security operations.
"I am honored by Governor Paterson's decision to select me to replace Major General Taluto," Murphy said. "I appreciate his confidence in me, and I look forward to working with the men and women of the New York Military Forces to continue to improve our abilities to respond when called upon by the people of New York and our nation."
As adjutant general, he will be responsible for ensuring that the 16,500 members of the New York Army and Air National Guard are prepared to deploy in combat zones on federal missions and prepared to respond to state emergencies. He will also oversee the 2,500 members of the New York Naval Militia and the 700-member New York Guard, a state-only volunteer force.
Murphy has served at Joint Forces Command and Joint Task Force - Civil Support, based at Fort Monroe, Virginia, and Northern Command in Colorado Springs, Colo.
After leaving Kuwait in 2007, Murphy joined the New York Army National Guard. He was recruited by Taluto because of his experience in homeland defense and security. Taluto felt that New York, and especially New York City was a likely terrorist target, and he wanted the New York National Guard to be ready.
Since then Murphy's role has been to ensure that contingency plans are in place to deploy New York Military Forces assets in support of State and domestic emergencies, oversee the National Guard's role in State Homeland security efforts, and manage joint Army and Air National Guard functions within the state's Joint Forces Headquarters. He has been responsible for coordinating with other state agencies, federal organizations and industry.
Other recent appointments to adjutant general include Air Force Brig. Gen. Gary Sayler in Idaho and Army Brig. Gen. Max Haston in Tennessee.
(Editor's Note: Eric Durr of the New York National Guard contributed to this report.)
MILTIARY CONTRACTS February 3, 2010
NAVY
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., is being awarded $158,382,797 for fixed-price delivery order #0064 under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-06-D-5028). This delivery order is issued against exercised priced options for the purchase of 388 logistic vehicle system replacement production cargo vehicles and 15 tractors. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., and for this delivery order, work is expected to be completed by July 31, 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Cape Environmental Management, Inc., dba CAPE, Inc.*, Atlanta, Ga., is being awarded a maximum $60,000,000 cost-plus-award-fee contract for remedial action services at various sites within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), Pacific area of responsibility (AOR). The work to be performed provides for remediation of any media contaminated by solvents, petroleum, oils, lubricants, metals, acids, bases, reactives, polychlorinated biphenyls, and pesticides. Work will be performed at various sites predominantly in Hawaii (70 percent) and Guam (25 percent), and other areas within the NAVFAC Pacific AOR including Japan, Okinawa, Diego Garcia and other areas in the Pacific and Indian Oceans (5 percent). The term of the contract is not to exceed five years with an expected completion date of January 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the NAVFAC e-solicitation Web site with five proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-10-D-1804).
Computer Sciences Corp., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded an $11,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive-fee and firm-fixed price contract for the OCONUS Naval Enterprise Network (ONE-NET) server farm refresh designed to provide integrated data services to the fleet users overseas. The contract includes four one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to an estimated $25,000,000. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (25 percent); Yokosuka, Japan (25 percent); Manama, Bahrain (25 percent); and Naples, Italy (25 percent). Work is expected to be completed by February 2011. If all options are exercised, work could continue until February 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command E-commerce Web site, with an unlimited number of proposals solicited and two offers received. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity (N65236-10-D-5826).
Triton Marine Construction Corp., Bremerton, Wash., is being awarded $8,186,057 for firm-fixed-price task order #0002 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62478-09-D-4018) for repair of wharves B22-B24 at Naval Station Pearl Harbor. This project will repair the wharves which have deteriorated through years of use and exposure to the marine environment. The work includes selective removal work, concrete rehabilitation, marine concrete, refurbishment of marine hardware, metal fabrications, coating of waterfront steel structures, pavement markings, oil-spill containment booms, low pressure compressed air, water distribution, sanitary sewer, exterior salt water distribution system, electrical work, and incidental related work. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed September 2011. Contract funds will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Six proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity.
Arete Associates, Northridge, Calif., is being awarded a $6,000,000 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N68335-08-D-0012) for a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research project under Topic N06-002, entitled "Sea Surface Slope and Elevation Statistics to Support Radar Performance Modeling." This modification provides for the development of a capability to extract ocean surface wave slopes over a sizeable patch at a high spatial resolution using passive polarimetric sensors. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., and is expected to be completed in March 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This Phase III contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
Spaceport Systems International, Lompoc, Calif., was awarded a $48,000,000 contract which will provide for future launch spaceport services for the Launch Test Squadron within the Space and Missile Systems Center/Space Development and Test Wing. At this time, $300,000 has been obligated. SMC/PKN, Kirtland, N.M., is the contracting activity (FA8818-10-D-0022).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., was awarded a $9,419,947 contract which will exercise an option for installation of a quantity of eight C-5 aircraft with C-5 avionics modernization program kits and 1 lot of step van maintenance under a firm fixed price effort; and under a time and material effort, Installation of the consolidated load panel avionics modernization program. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 716 AESG/PK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-98-C-0006,P00233).
NorthWest Florida Contractors, Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded an $8,096,083 contract which will provide all plant, materials, labor, equipment, and all operations in connection with the construction of various reinforced concrete targets on specified test areas as shown on contract drawings, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 96 CONS/PKA, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA2823-10-D-0006).
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., is being awarded $158,382,797 for fixed-price delivery order #0064 under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-06-D-5028). This delivery order is issued against exercised priced options for the purchase of 388 logistic vehicle system replacement production cargo vehicles and 15 tractors. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., and for this delivery order, work is expected to be completed by July 31, 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
Cape Environmental Management, Inc., dba CAPE, Inc.*, Atlanta, Ga., is being awarded a maximum $60,000,000 cost-plus-award-fee contract for remedial action services at various sites within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), Pacific area of responsibility (AOR). The work to be performed provides for remediation of any media contaminated by solvents, petroleum, oils, lubricants, metals, acids, bases, reactives, polychlorinated biphenyls, and pesticides. Work will be performed at various sites predominantly in Hawaii (70 percent) and Guam (25 percent), and other areas within the NAVFAC Pacific AOR including Japan, Okinawa, Diego Garcia and other areas in the Pacific and Indian Oceans (5 percent). The term of the contract is not to exceed five years with an expected completion date of January 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the NAVFAC e-solicitation Web site with five proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-10-D-1804).
Computer Sciences Corp., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded an $11,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive-fee and firm-fixed price contract for the OCONUS Naval Enterprise Network (ONE-NET) server farm refresh designed to provide integrated data services to the fleet users overseas. The contract includes four one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to an estimated $25,000,000. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (25 percent); Yokosuka, Japan (25 percent); Manama, Bahrain (25 percent); and Naples, Italy (25 percent). Work is expected to be completed by February 2011. If all options are exercised, work could continue until February 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command E-commerce Web site, with an unlimited number of proposals solicited and two offers received. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity (N65236-10-D-5826).
Triton Marine Construction Corp., Bremerton, Wash., is being awarded $8,186,057 for firm-fixed-price task order #0002 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62478-09-D-4018) for repair of wharves B22-B24 at Naval Station Pearl Harbor. This project will repair the wharves which have deteriorated through years of use and exposure to the marine environment. The work includes selective removal work, concrete rehabilitation, marine concrete, refurbishment of marine hardware, metal fabrications, coating of waterfront steel structures, pavement markings, oil-spill containment booms, low pressure compressed air, water distribution, sanitary sewer, exterior salt water distribution system, electrical work, and incidental related work. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed September 2011. Contract funds will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Six proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity.
Arete Associates, Northridge, Calif., is being awarded a $6,000,000 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N68335-08-D-0012) for a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research project under Topic N06-002, entitled "Sea Surface Slope and Elevation Statistics to Support Radar Performance Modeling." This modification provides for the development of a capability to extract ocean surface wave slopes over a sizeable patch at a high spatial resolution using passive polarimetric sensors. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., and is expected to be completed in March 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This Phase III contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
Spaceport Systems International, Lompoc, Calif., was awarded a $48,000,000 contract which will provide for future launch spaceport services for the Launch Test Squadron within the Space and Missile Systems Center/Space Development and Test Wing. At this time, $300,000 has been obligated. SMC/PKN, Kirtland, N.M., is the contracting activity (FA8818-10-D-0022).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., was awarded a $9,419,947 contract which will exercise an option for installation of a quantity of eight C-5 aircraft with C-5 avionics modernization program kits and 1 lot of step van maintenance under a firm fixed price effort; and under a time and material effort, Installation of the consolidated load panel avionics modernization program. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 716 AESG/PK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-98-C-0006,P00233).
NorthWest Florida Contractors, Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded an $8,096,083 contract which will provide all plant, materials, labor, equipment, and all operations in connection with the construction of various reinforced concrete targets on specified test areas as shown on contract drawings, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 96 CONS/PKA, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA2823-10-D-0006).
Gates: 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' to Get Broad Review
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 3, 2010 - A new panel assembled to review the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that bans openly gay people from military service will consider the views of those affected throughout the chain of command, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told Congress today. The review also will consider the impact of a potential policy repeal on morale, unit cohesion and retention, he said.
Gates attempted to allay concerns within the House Armed Services Committee that the working group he announced yesterday will overlook getting input about a potential policy change from the troops themselves.
If there's one thing he learned during his career -- as director of Central Intelligence, president of Texas A&M University and as defense secretary -- Gates said it was to get input from the people affected before imposing change.
"In each of those [positions], I have led and managed change. And I've done it smart, and I've done it stupid," he told lawmakers. "Happily, I think, the stupid was early. But stupid was trying to impose a policy from the top without any regard for the views of the people who were going to be affected or the people who would have to effect the policy change."
Gates said the working group, headed by Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon's top lawyer, and Army Gen. Carter Ham, the commander of U.S. Army Europe, will review the full range of issues associated with a repeal to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
"One of the purposes of the review that I have directed [to] be undertaken by General Ham and by Jeh Johnson is precisely so we can understand not just the views and concerns of the [service] chiefs, but of our military people and their families," he said.
"If you want lasting and effective change, you had better bring the people who are going to be affected by it into the discussion and get their views," Gates said. "At a minimum, it will help you mitigate whatever negative consequences there are."
The panel also will evaluate the impact of a policy change on military readiness and effectiveness, Gates said, including unit cohesion, morale, and retention, "so we can get some facts into this debate, or at least some data that we think is reliable and objective."
As part of that, Gates said he will ask the Rand Corporation to update its 1993 study that led to the policy's adoption, expanding the review to cover a broader range of issues.
"I think this review period is absolutely essential in terms of us understanding what we're doing; figuring out what the concerns are and the issues are, helping us figure out how to mitigate them so that if the Congress does vote to change this policy, we have an understanding of how to go about implementing in a way that minimizes whatever negative consequences there are," Gates told legislators.
"We have set the goal," he said, emphasizing that the decision ultimately will be Congress' to make.
Should Congress change the policy, Gates said, it's "vitally important" to be able to tell servicemembers that the change represents the view of the elected representatives of the United States of America. Meanwhile, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a blog posted today that he still has questions about the impact of a policy change, but that he also personally supports a repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
"My personal belief is that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would be the right thing to do," Mullen wrote in his blog. "I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, it comes down to integrity -- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution."
Mullen told Congress today he recognizes the issue is charged "with emotion and strongly held opinions and beliefs" that the panel will work through during the course of its assessment.
While declining to speak for the service chiefs, Mullen said the top concern for military leaders boils down to "the readiness and military effectiveness of the force."
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 3, 2010 - A new panel assembled to review the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that bans openly gay people from military service will consider the views of those affected throughout the chain of command, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told Congress today. The review also will consider the impact of a potential policy repeal on morale, unit cohesion and retention, he said.
Gates attempted to allay concerns within the House Armed Services Committee that the working group he announced yesterday will overlook getting input about a potential policy change from the troops themselves.
If there's one thing he learned during his career -- as director of Central Intelligence, president of Texas A&M University and as defense secretary -- Gates said it was to get input from the people affected before imposing change.
"In each of those [positions], I have led and managed change. And I've done it smart, and I've done it stupid," he told lawmakers. "Happily, I think, the stupid was early. But stupid was trying to impose a policy from the top without any regard for the views of the people who were going to be affected or the people who would have to effect the policy change."
Gates said the working group, headed by Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon's top lawyer, and Army Gen. Carter Ham, the commander of U.S. Army Europe, will review the full range of issues associated with a repeal to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
"One of the purposes of the review that I have directed [to] be undertaken by General Ham and by Jeh Johnson is precisely so we can understand not just the views and concerns of the [service] chiefs, but of our military people and their families," he said.
"If you want lasting and effective change, you had better bring the people who are going to be affected by it into the discussion and get their views," Gates said. "At a minimum, it will help you mitigate whatever negative consequences there are."
The panel also will evaluate the impact of a policy change on military readiness and effectiveness, Gates said, including unit cohesion, morale, and retention, "so we can get some facts into this debate, or at least some data that we think is reliable and objective."
As part of that, Gates said he will ask the Rand Corporation to update its 1993 study that led to the policy's adoption, expanding the review to cover a broader range of issues.
"I think this review period is absolutely essential in terms of us understanding what we're doing; figuring out what the concerns are and the issues are, helping us figure out how to mitigate them so that if the Congress does vote to change this policy, we have an understanding of how to go about implementing in a way that minimizes whatever negative consequences there are," Gates told legislators.
"We have set the goal," he said, emphasizing that the decision ultimately will be Congress' to make.
Should Congress change the policy, Gates said, it's "vitally important" to be able to tell servicemembers that the change represents the view of the elected representatives of the United States of America. Meanwhile, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a blog posted today that he still has questions about the impact of a policy change, but that he also personally supports a repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
"My personal belief is that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would be the right thing to do," Mullen wrote in his blog. "I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, it comes down to integrity -- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution."
Mullen told Congress today he recognizes the issue is charged "with emotion and strongly held opinions and beliefs" that the panel will work through during the course of its assessment.
While declining to speak for the service chiefs, Mullen said the top concern for military leaders boils down to "the readiness and military effectiveness of the force."
Pentagon Raises Record $17 Million for CFC Campaign
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 3, 2010 - Leading all other U.S. federal agencies, the Defense Department today announced it collected $17.2 million in last year's annual federal fundraising campaign, a record-breaking sum of charitable donations to groups operating in Haiti and other areas where needs exist.
The total is $3 million more than the previous high recorded by the department since it began participating in the Combined Federal Campaign, which was established in 1961 to provide an efficient means for federal employees to choose to donate to certain charitable organizations.
At a Pentagon award ceremony Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III today commended department employees for their donations – an average of $435 per person, which reflected a 10-percent increase – in spite of a harsh economic climate in 2009.
"As the president said in his State of the Union Address, this last year has been a tough one for many people in America and around the world ... I know people had to dig deeper to give," Lynn said. "Despite the uncertainty in the economy, the men and women in the Department of Defense have come through again."
Charitable groups are listed in catalogs that paper federal workplaces when they are distributed among employees every fall. Of the thousands of organizations listed in the densely packed catalog, groups like the Red Cross, Salvation Army and Doctors Without Borders have directly aided earthquake victims in Haiti.
"We need not look further than Haiti to see how others are living in conditions that are a world apart from those that we know," Lynn said. "And yet in Haiti, and in other places closer to home, we do not have to sit idly by."
International aid began pouring into Haiti following a magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Jan. 12, creating what an official called one of the greatest humanitarian emergencies in the history of the Americas. Estimates are that some 200,000 died in the quake, and another 150,000 were left injured.
"After a disaster, or moments of ordinary need," Lynn said, "we can use our time and our generosity to make a difference."
Nearly half of the Defense Department's workforce participated in the campaign, which generated hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the original goal, Lynn said.
Brig. Gen. Mark Brown, the deputy assistant secretary for the Army's Acquisition and Systems Management, said CFC-provided funding helps those in need, including "rebuilding a country like Haiti after a natural disaster."
"Your generosity makes things a little better," Brown told attendees at the ceremony.
Echoing Lynn, Brown also commended the department's employees for rising to the challenge amid tough economic times, before highlighting some two dozen Defense Department organizations recognized for extraordinary fundraising success.
"But 'tough times' are not words that we in the DoD worry about; we thrive on tough times ... tough times spawn tough people," Brown said.
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 3, 2010 - Leading all other U.S. federal agencies, the Defense Department today announced it collected $17.2 million in last year's annual federal fundraising campaign, a record-breaking sum of charitable donations to groups operating in Haiti and other areas where needs exist.
The total is $3 million more than the previous high recorded by the department since it began participating in the Combined Federal Campaign, which was established in 1961 to provide an efficient means for federal employees to choose to donate to certain charitable organizations.
At a Pentagon award ceremony Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III today commended department employees for their donations – an average of $435 per person, which reflected a 10-percent increase – in spite of a harsh economic climate in 2009.
"As the president said in his State of the Union Address, this last year has been a tough one for many people in America and around the world ... I know people had to dig deeper to give," Lynn said. "Despite the uncertainty in the economy, the men and women in the Department of Defense have come through again."
Charitable groups are listed in catalogs that paper federal workplaces when they are distributed among employees every fall. Of the thousands of organizations listed in the densely packed catalog, groups like the Red Cross, Salvation Army and Doctors Without Borders have directly aided earthquake victims in Haiti.
"We need not look further than Haiti to see how others are living in conditions that are a world apart from those that we know," Lynn said. "And yet in Haiti, and in other places closer to home, we do not have to sit idly by."
International aid began pouring into Haiti following a magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Jan. 12, creating what an official called one of the greatest humanitarian emergencies in the history of the Americas. Estimates are that some 200,000 died in the quake, and another 150,000 were left injured.
"After a disaster, or moments of ordinary need," Lynn said, "we can use our time and our generosity to make a difference."
Nearly half of the Defense Department's workforce participated in the campaign, which generated hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the original goal, Lynn said.
Brig. Gen. Mark Brown, the deputy assistant secretary for the Army's Acquisition and Systems Management, said CFC-provided funding helps those in need, including "rebuilding a country like Haiti after a natural disaster."
"Your generosity makes things a little better," Brown told attendees at the ceremony.
Echoing Lynn, Brown also commended the department's employees for rising to the challenge amid tough economic times, before highlighting some two dozen Defense Department organizations recognized for extraordinary fundraising success.
"But 'tough times' are not words that we in the DoD worry about; we thrive on tough times ... tough times spawn tough people," Brown said.
Wisconsin National Guard to assist Haiti relief efforts
February 3, 2010 - When a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti last month, the U.S. rushed to provide assistance. National Guard Soldiers and Airmen here in Wisconsin and across the country made themselves available to provide humanitarian assistance. Beginning next week the Wisconsin National Guard will be among the relief workers.
Three members of the Wisconsin Joint Force Headquarters' Detachment 52, a C-26E fixed-wing aircraft unit, will head to Homestead Joint Air Reserve Base in Florida Feb. 9 to assume an operational airlift support mission for approximately one month. The small aircraft and crew will shuttle personnel and supplies between Florida and Haiti beginning Feb. 11.
Approximately one week later, a senior non-commissioned officer from the Milwaukee-based 128th Air Refueling Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard will report for a 120-day tour to provide civil engineering assistance. In addition, several other Wisconsin Guard Soldiers and Airmen have volunteered their expertise, many in response to a request for troop availability from the National Guard Bureau.
"The Wisconsin Guard is in constant communications with the National Guard Bureau, and is ready to send a wide array of Wisconsin Guard assets to Haiti," said Maj. David May, liaison officer for the state Emergency Operations Center. Wisconsin is among at least 32 other states to volunteer National Guard assets for humanitarian assistance, he added.
A total of five Soldiers from Detachment 52 will serve in the relief effort, with two Soldiers relieving part of the initial crew. While the Guard members will be on active duty orders, this is not a conventional deployment, but rather an "operational use mission."
According to Col. Jeff Paulson, director of aviation and safety for the Wisconsin National Guard, the Department of Defense frequently tasks Detachment 52 with brief missions outside the continental U.S. The DoD's Operational Support Airlift Command has command and control of the 10 C-26 units in the National Guard, one of which is in Wisconsin.
Haiti falls within the area of operations for the U.S. Southern Command, which is based in Miami. Homestead JARB is located in the Miami suburb of Homestead. Southern Command has coordinated with the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development to assess how the Armed Forces may be of assistance.
Paulson said no special training is required for this particular mission.
The Wisconsin C-26 aircraft and crew will join relief efforts being conducted by thousands of military forces including Guard members from more than 20 states.
The last time the National Guard supported relief efforts in Haiti was 2008, when eight Air National Guard medical personnel were onboard the USS Kearsarge when it was diverted from its Continuing Promise mission to Haiti following Hurricane Ike.
Col. David Aycock, deputy chief of staff of operations for the Army Guard, said that the next few weeks may see a transition to reserve component units, including those from the Army Guard, taking the lead in Haiti.
"The Army has asked us to look at some alternative solutions to provide some options for either additional forces that may be required or to replace some of the forces that are already on the ground sometime in the near future," Aycock said. "My personal perspective is this thing is going to transition more and more to the reserve component-side of the house in the weeks ahead."
However, which units or types of units that would be activated have not yet been determined. "We've been asked to staff some potential options," Aycock said. "We don't have a hard requirement yet but we're looking at some organizational constructs of what we think would be the right force structure to go down there within the parameters we've been given."
Those parameters may change based on the needs on the ground and any mission plan would have to be first validated by Southern Command.
"We still have to go through the process of getting a validation from both Forces Command and Southern Command that the force mix we're working meets the requirement on the ground," Aycock said. "And we would need to put specific Army Guard solutions against that list, brief the leadership here and then engage with those states that own those units."
Three members of the Wisconsin Joint Force Headquarters' Detachment 52, a C-26E fixed-wing aircraft unit, will head to Homestead Joint Air Reserve Base in Florida Feb. 9 to assume an operational airlift support mission for approximately one month. The small aircraft and crew will shuttle personnel and supplies between Florida and Haiti beginning Feb. 11.
Approximately one week later, a senior non-commissioned officer from the Milwaukee-based 128th Air Refueling Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard will report for a 120-day tour to provide civil engineering assistance. In addition, several other Wisconsin Guard Soldiers and Airmen have volunteered their expertise, many in response to a request for troop availability from the National Guard Bureau.
"The Wisconsin Guard is in constant communications with the National Guard Bureau, and is ready to send a wide array of Wisconsin Guard assets to Haiti," said Maj. David May, liaison officer for the state Emergency Operations Center. Wisconsin is among at least 32 other states to volunteer National Guard assets for humanitarian assistance, he added.
A total of five Soldiers from Detachment 52 will serve in the relief effort, with two Soldiers relieving part of the initial crew. While the Guard members will be on active duty orders, this is not a conventional deployment, but rather an "operational use mission."
According to Col. Jeff Paulson, director of aviation and safety for the Wisconsin National Guard, the Department of Defense frequently tasks Detachment 52 with brief missions outside the continental U.S. The DoD's Operational Support Airlift Command has command and control of the 10 C-26 units in the National Guard, one of which is in Wisconsin.
Haiti falls within the area of operations for the U.S. Southern Command, which is based in Miami. Homestead JARB is located in the Miami suburb of Homestead. Southern Command has coordinated with the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development to assess how the Armed Forces may be of assistance.
Paulson said no special training is required for this particular mission.
The Wisconsin C-26 aircraft and crew will join relief efforts being conducted by thousands of military forces including Guard members from more than 20 states.
The last time the National Guard supported relief efforts in Haiti was 2008, when eight Air National Guard medical personnel were onboard the USS Kearsarge when it was diverted from its Continuing Promise mission to Haiti following Hurricane Ike.
Col. David Aycock, deputy chief of staff of operations for the Army Guard, said that the next few weeks may see a transition to reserve component units, including those from the Army Guard, taking the lead in Haiti.
"The Army has asked us to look at some alternative solutions to provide some options for either additional forces that may be required or to replace some of the forces that are already on the ground sometime in the near future," Aycock said. "My personal perspective is this thing is going to transition more and more to the reserve component-side of the house in the weeks ahead."
However, which units or types of units that would be activated have not yet been determined. "We've been asked to staff some potential options," Aycock said. "We don't have a hard requirement yet but we're looking at some organizational constructs of what we think would be the right force structure to go down there within the parameters we've been given."
Those parameters may change based on the needs on the ground and any mission plan would have to be first validated by Southern Command.
"We still have to go through the process of getting a validation from both Forces Command and Southern Command that the force mix we're working meets the requirement on the ground," Aycock said. "And we would need to put specific Army Guard solutions against that list, brief the leadership here and then engage with those states that own those units."
Budget Request Increases Wounded Warrior Support
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 3, 2010 - Calling health care for wounded warriors a top Defense Department priority, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff urged Congress today to support the request for $2.2 billion in the fiscal 2011 defense budget to improve treatment and other services. The request, up $100 million from current levels, will fund a dramatic increase in staff mental-health professionals while advancing research on traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress that have become signature wounds from Afghanistan and Iraq operations, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told the House Armed Services Committee.
"We know the strain of frequent deployments causes many problems, but we won't yet fully understand ... how, or to what extent," he said.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates underscored the department's focus on caring for wounded and ill servicemembers during a Feb. 1 Pentagon news conference in which he unveiled details of the fiscal 2011 budget request and Quadrennial Defense Review.
The budget request includes a 9 percent increase in overall health-care funding, with additional money to provide wounded warrior support to an additional 1,000 servicemembers.
As it sustains health benefits for wounded warriors and enlarges the pool of medical professionals to support them, the Defense Department will broaden electronic information sharing with the Department of Veterans Affairs to ease their transition to civilian life, Gates told reporters.
This includes a seamless transition process for wounded warriors leaving the military, and the creation of Virtual Lifetime Electronic Records that improve servicemembers' and veterans' care by ensuring their health-care providers have full access to their medical histories.
The fiscal 2011 budget request also provides funding to maintain first-rate hospitals and facilities and trained staff for the Army's Warrior Transition Units that support wounded troops and their families, defense officials noted.
It also supports improvements in the disability evaluation system, with the goal of establishing a simpler, faster and more consistent process to determine which wounded warriors may continue their military service, and helping them become as independent and self-supporting as possible.
Robert Hale, the Pentagon's comptroller and chief financial officer, told bloggers yesterday the investments represent the department's unwavering commitment to supporting its wounded warriors.
"Secretary Gates has said that, other than winning the wars themselves, nothing is more important than taking care of these brave people who have sacrificed for us," Hale said. "So taking care of people [is] our highest priority."
Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy, called the department's emphasis on its people – both through its budget requests and the QDR – a "strategic imperative."
"Our people are our most important pillar of America's defense," she told the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday. "And the QDR outlines a range of efforts to ensure that their needs are met, from working to ensure a more sustainable deployment tempo for our troops, to enhancing mental and physical care for our wounded warriors, to ensuring that families are cared for as they make significant sacrifices."
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 3, 2010 - Calling health care for wounded warriors a top Defense Department priority, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff urged Congress today to support the request for $2.2 billion in the fiscal 2011 defense budget to improve treatment and other services. The request, up $100 million from current levels, will fund a dramatic increase in staff mental-health professionals while advancing research on traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress that have become signature wounds from Afghanistan and Iraq operations, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told the House Armed Services Committee.
"We know the strain of frequent deployments causes many problems, but we won't yet fully understand ... how, or to what extent," he said.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates underscored the department's focus on caring for wounded and ill servicemembers during a Feb. 1 Pentagon news conference in which he unveiled details of the fiscal 2011 budget request and Quadrennial Defense Review.
The budget request includes a 9 percent increase in overall health-care funding, with additional money to provide wounded warrior support to an additional 1,000 servicemembers.
As it sustains health benefits for wounded warriors and enlarges the pool of medical professionals to support them, the Defense Department will broaden electronic information sharing with the Department of Veterans Affairs to ease their transition to civilian life, Gates told reporters.
This includes a seamless transition process for wounded warriors leaving the military, and the creation of Virtual Lifetime Electronic Records that improve servicemembers' and veterans' care by ensuring their health-care providers have full access to their medical histories.
The fiscal 2011 budget request also provides funding to maintain first-rate hospitals and facilities and trained staff for the Army's Warrior Transition Units that support wounded troops and their families, defense officials noted.
It also supports improvements in the disability evaluation system, with the goal of establishing a simpler, faster and more consistent process to determine which wounded warriors may continue their military service, and helping them become as independent and self-supporting as possible.
Robert Hale, the Pentagon's comptroller and chief financial officer, told bloggers yesterday the investments represent the department's unwavering commitment to supporting its wounded warriors.
"Secretary Gates has said that, other than winning the wars themselves, nothing is more important than taking care of these brave people who have sacrificed for us," Hale said. "So taking care of people [is] our highest priority."
Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy, called the department's emphasis on its people – both through its budget requests and the QDR – a "strategic imperative."
"Our people are our most important pillar of America's defense," she told the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday. "And the QDR outlines a range of efforts to ensure that their needs are met, from working to ensure a more sustainable deployment tempo for our troops, to enhancing mental and physical care for our wounded warriors, to ensuring that families are cared for as they make significant sacrifices."
Singing Army Wife Meets Leno Between Recording Sessions
By Tim Hipps
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 3, 2010 - Army Capt. Matt Pratt and his songstress wife, Lisa, lived the dream in southern California Feb. 1, thanks to an Army morale and recreation program that supports soldiers and their families. Lisa Pratt earned an all-expenses-paid trip to record a three-song demonstration CD at DMI Music's Firehouse Recording Studios here after winning the 2009 Operation Rising Star singing contest. Rising Star is one of hundreds of programs the Alexandria, Va.,-based Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command provides for soldiers and their families.
After her first session in the recording studio, Pratt sang the praises of the Army Family Covenant, which supports soldiers and their families with resourced programs that deliver a quality of life commensurate with their service and sacrifice to the nation.
"The Army Family Covenant; this is what it is," Lisa said, before departing the recording studio to attend "The Jay Leno Show" in Burbank, where she got to meet one of the world's most- famous comedians.
"I never knew that Operation Rising Star was going to open all these doors for me," she said.
For Lisa, the journey to serve as an ambassador for FMWRC's Army Entertainment Division had just begun. For Matt Pratt, who redeployed from Mosul, Iraq, last autumn and accompanied his wife from Fort Carson, Colo., to Hollywood, the Operation Rising Star winner's journey reaffirmed his belief in the Army's promise to support soldiers and families.
"I'm trying to take it all in, but it's an emotional time for me because I get to see Lisa do what she absolutely loves doing," said Pratt, a 2006 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. "For the past year while I was in Iraq, she was supporting me and what I was doing. Now the Army has provided me the opportunity to sit here and support her with what she does."
Pratt never had the opportunity to sit back and watch his wife of nearly four years perform until she took the stage to compete in Operation Rising Star, a program best described as "American Idol" for the military.
"In church, I play the guitar and she sings," he said. "But to see her under the lights and me be on the receiving end as part of the audience, I'd never had the opportunity to do that.
Pratt knew that his wife had won a recording session, but he had no idea what level of professionalism awaited them in Pasadena.
"That's part of the magic. It's overwhelming to see the level that she's at and to see her basking in it. It still seems very surreal," he said.
"I asked her, 'Is this really happening?'" Pratt recalled. "And she said, 'I don't think it is.' So, I think both of us are sort of caught in some sort of hyper-reality right now."
Capt. Pratt, too, is praising the Army Family Covenant program.
"So, here we are in sunny Los Angeles right now," he said, "and the Army Family Covenant is the reason we're here, and I couldn't be more grateful."
The trip to California with his wife, Pratt said, ranks among his best-ever family experiences.
"The only thing I would compare this to, as far as the level of emotion I feel, was walking into the gym and seeing Lisa for that first time after I came back from Iraq," he said. "This is up there. It's on par with that sort of feeling of surreal. This is one of the most exciting times since Lisa and I have been together."
Pratt then sped away to drive his wife to meet Leno.
(Tim Hipps works with Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command public affairs.)
Mullen's Blog: My View on 'Don't Ask Don't Tell'
By Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 3, 2010 - "Over these last two months, the Chiefs and I have reviewed the fundamental premises behind 'Don't Ask Don't Tell,' as well as its application in practice over the last 16 years. We understand perfectly the President's desire to see the law repealed and we owe him our best military advice about the impact this change in policy would have on the military. "While the Chiefs and I have not developed our advice, we believe that any implementation plan for a policy permitting homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces must be carefully derived, sufficiently thorough, and thoughtfully executed. The review group to be headed by Mr. Jeh Johnson and General Carter Ham will no doubt give us that time and an even deeper level of understanding.
"My personal belief is that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would be the right thing to do. I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, it comes down to integrity -- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.
"I also believe the great young men and women of our military can and would accommodate such a change, but I do not know this for a fact. I will not deny that during a time of two wars, such a major policy change will cause some disruption in the force. It also seems plausible that there will be legal, social, and perhaps even infrastructure changes to be made. These are some of the issues our review will address.
"But we would do well to remember that this is not an issue for the military leadership to decide. The current law and policy came from the American people through their elected officials. We will continue to obey that law, and we will obey whatever legislative and executive decisions come out of this debate.
"With Afghanistan, Iraq, and significant security commitments around the globe, our plate is very full. While I believe this is an important issue, I also believe we need to be mindful as we move forward of other pressing needs in the military. What our young men and women and their families want, what they deserve, is that we listen to them and act in their best interests.
"Balance and thoughtfulness is required. It's what the President has promised us, and it's what we ask of Congress as this debate moves forward."
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 3, 2010 - "Over these last two months, the Chiefs and I have reviewed the fundamental premises behind 'Don't Ask Don't Tell,' as well as its application in practice over the last 16 years. We understand perfectly the President's desire to see the law repealed and we owe him our best military advice about the impact this change in policy would have on the military. "While the Chiefs and I have not developed our advice, we believe that any implementation plan for a policy permitting homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces must be carefully derived, sufficiently thorough, and thoughtfully executed. The review group to be headed by Mr. Jeh Johnson and General Carter Ham will no doubt give us that time and an even deeper level of understanding.
"My personal belief is that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would be the right thing to do. I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, it comes down to integrity -- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.
"I also believe the great young men and women of our military can and would accommodate such a change, but I do not know this for a fact. I will not deny that during a time of two wars, such a major policy change will cause some disruption in the force. It also seems plausible that there will be legal, social, and perhaps even infrastructure changes to be made. These are some of the issues our review will address.
"But we would do well to remember that this is not an issue for the military leadership to decide. The current law and policy came from the American people through their elected officials. We will continue to obey that law, and we will obey whatever legislative and executive decisions come out of this debate.
"With Afghanistan, Iraq, and significant security commitments around the globe, our plate is very full. While I believe this is an important issue, I also believe we need to be mindful as we move forward of other pressing needs in the military. What our young men and women and their families want, what they deserve, is that we listen to them and act in their best interests.
"Balance and thoughtfulness is required. It's what the President has promised us, and it's what we ask of Congress as this debate moves forward."
Kansas Air Guard Members Build Hospital in Haiti
By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Emily Alley
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 3, 2010 - The bright clothing, smiles and conversation could be taking place in any hospital lobby in the world. Patients are being admitted, treated and released. But a flurry of French and the grinding whirl of a helicopter nearby reveal the reality that this is Haiti.
A brutal sun burns over the tent, while the floor is dust and rock. The patients survived Haiti's Jan. 12 earthquake. They've been flown from the USNS Comfort, the Navy's 1,000-bed floating hospital that has been deployed here. A handful of Navy translators are helping survivors to find rides back to their families.
The Comfort is working at its full operational capacity; officials say it would take a hundred more such ships to treat all of the estimated injured people in Haiti.
Meanwhile, civil engineers from the Kansas Air National Guard are expanding one of the medical triage facilities in Port-au-Prince by assembling an Expeditionary Medical Support hospital.
About 40 members of the 190th Civil Engineering Squadron from Topeka, Kan., and five members of the 184th Civil Engineering Squadron from Wichita, Kan., deployed to Haiti to build infrastructure for sustained humanitarian operations.
Many of the Guardsmen were training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when the earthquake struck Haiti. The units deployed to Haiti about two weeks later. The deployment is scheduled to last about four months.
With the hospital in place, medics will be able to ease the workload on the Comfort by performing minor surgery and 24-hour medical operations without transporting patients to the ship.
The Guardsmen also are building a helicopter landing pad to help transport more severely injured patients to and from the Comfort.
"If there's minor surgery (the patients) can get it here instead of the ship," said Lt. Commander Robert Propes, liaison officer for the Comfort.
By the end of January, the engineers had set up air conditioned tents. They plan to eventually provide showers and latrines, which have been a luxury for relief workers. There is an informal consensus at the Port-au-Prince airport that the Kansas Air National Guardsmen are already heroes for bringing those facilities.
The civil engineers could complain about the cramped living quarters, lack of showers and long workdays. They taste the dust, they wear the sun - everyone has some degree of sunburn.
But it's hard to complain when only a few feet from their camp is the city of Port-au-Prince, where the inhabitants must endure similar, or worse, conditions.
(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Emily Alley is serving with the Kansas Air National Guard.)
National Guard (In Federal Status) and Reserve Activated as of February 2, 2010
This week the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard announced a decrease in activated reservists, while the Air Force announced an increase. The net collective result is 474 fewer reservists activated than last week.
At any given time, services may activate some units and individuals while deactivating others, making it possible for these figures to either increase or decrease. The total number currently on active duty from the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 112,004; Navy Reserve, 6,973; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 16,738; Marine Corps Reserve, 6,350; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 769. This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel who have been activated to 142,834, including both units and individual augmentees.
A cumulative roster of all National Guard and Reserve personnel who are currently activated may be found at http://www.defense.gov/news/Feb2010/d20100202ngr.pdf.
At any given time, services may activate some units and individuals while deactivating others, making it possible for these figures to either increase or decrease. The total number currently on active duty from the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 112,004; Navy Reserve, 6,973; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 16,738; Marine Corps Reserve, 6,350; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 769. This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel who have been activated to 142,834, including both units and individual augmentees.
A cumulative roster of all National Guard and Reserve personnel who are currently activated may be found at http://www.defense.gov/news/Feb2010/d20100202ngr.pdf.
Irwin Army Community Hospital Receives a 2009 Excalibur Award
By Alison Kohler
MEDDAC Public Affairs
February 3, 2010 - A military treatment facility in central Kansas received a top U.S. Army Surgeon General’s award Jan. 28 at the Military Health System conference in National Harbor, Md.Irwin Army Community Hospital, located at Fort Riley, Kan., was selected as the recipient of the Surgeon General’s Excalibur award active component military treatment facility category for its success in improving its physical evaluation board process and decreasing the rate of returned board packets.
“The impact of this process improvement plan to soldiers and family members is they get better service,” said Mark Rivera, supervisory physical evaluation board liaison officer.
The results of the process improvement took IACH from being one of the worst MTFs in the Army for return rates to being one of the best in the Army.
“As well as this award, IACH has a successful [medical evaluation board] program. We’re in the top five for processing medical boards the last six months of fiscal year 2009,” Rivera said.
This is the first time IACH submitted a performance improvement initiative for consideration by the Office of the Surgeon General, according to Deanna Wolnik, chief of quality management in the clinical operations division.
“It is a very good feeling to have our staff's efforts recognized – especially at this level,” Wolnik said.
The process improvement began when IACH’s return rate, meaning cases submitted were rejected because of incorrect or missing data, was as high as 39 percent.
“You don’t know how frustrating it is when, back in the day, our return rate was 20 percent, 39 percent, that meant that 39 percent of the boards we sent forward had to be repeated in many cases,” Rivera said.
One of the greatest improvements to the process was improving communication, Rivera said.
“When we got a return, it wasn’t communicated to anybody so the next month we’d get a return for the same exact reason. Part of our process improvement plan was to hold after action reviews when we received a return, so we could make sure everyone was informed why it was returned and we had a plan on how to avoid repeated returns for the very same reason,” Rivera said.
Another improvement was to do a quality check, submit the case to another PEBLO for review, have the supervisor briefly review it and then send it forward, Rivera said.
“With these processes put in place, the first year we were able to reduce our returns to 5.34 percent and then the following year our return rate was actually the best in the Army,” Rivera said.
IACH consistently has maintained a return rate below the OTSG and Medical Command standard of 10 percent for the past four years.
“MEDCOM in their April 2009 (organizational inspection program) when they came down, they identified our process improvement plan as a best practice, and they also requested electronic copies of it so they could share it with other MTFs that process medical boards,” Rivera said.
“The winning of this award is prestigious and sets our hospital up as a benchmark for other facilities to emulate,” Wolnik said.
The team that worked on the process improvement was comprised of PEBLOs, MEB physicians, psychiatrists, physical therapists, patient administration division representatives, and the deputy commander for clinical services.
“They’re proud of being in the top five. They’re proud of the Excalibur award, and it’s a very good team,” Rivera said.
MEDDAC Public Affairs
February 3, 2010 - A military treatment facility in central Kansas received a top U.S. Army Surgeon General’s award Jan. 28 at the Military Health System conference in National Harbor, Md.Irwin Army Community Hospital, located at Fort Riley, Kan., was selected as the recipient of the Surgeon General’s Excalibur award active component military treatment facility category for its success in improving its physical evaluation board process and decreasing the rate of returned board packets.
“The impact of this process improvement plan to soldiers and family members is they get better service,” said Mark Rivera, supervisory physical evaluation board liaison officer.
The results of the process improvement took IACH from being one of the worst MTFs in the Army for return rates to being one of the best in the Army.
“As well as this award, IACH has a successful [medical evaluation board] program. We’re in the top five for processing medical boards the last six months of fiscal year 2009,” Rivera said.
This is the first time IACH submitted a performance improvement initiative for consideration by the Office of the Surgeon General, according to Deanna Wolnik, chief of quality management in the clinical operations division.
“It is a very good feeling to have our staff's efforts recognized – especially at this level,” Wolnik said.
The process improvement began when IACH’s return rate, meaning cases submitted were rejected because of incorrect or missing data, was as high as 39 percent.
“You don’t know how frustrating it is when, back in the day, our return rate was 20 percent, 39 percent, that meant that 39 percent of the boards we sent forward had to be repeated in many cases,” Rivera said.
One of the greatest improvements to the process was improving communication, Rivera said.
“When we got a return, it wasn’t communicated to anybody so the next month we’d get a return for the same exact reason. Part of our process improvement plan was to hold after action reviews when we received a return, so we could make sure everyone was informed why it was returned and we had a plan on how to avoid repeated returns for the very same reason,” Rivera said.
Another improvement was to do a quality check, submit the case to another PEBLO for review, have the supervisor briefly review it and then send it forward, Rivera said.
“With these processes put in place, the first year we were able to reduce our returns to 5.34 percent and then the following year our return rate was actually the best in the Army,” Rivera said.
IACH consistently has maintained a return rate below the OTSG and Medical Command standard of 10 percent for the past four years.
“MEDCOM in their April 2009 (organizational inspection program) when they came down, they identified our process improvement plan as a best practice, and they also requested electronic copies of it so they could share it with other MTFs that process medical boards,” Rivera said.
“The winning of this award is prestigious and sets our hospital up as a benchmark for other facilities to emulate,” Wolnik said.
The team that worked on the process improvement was comprised of PEBLOs, MEB physicians, psychiatrists, physical therapists, patient administration division representatives, and the deputy commander for clinical services.
“They’re proud of being in the top five. They’re proud of the Excalibur award, and it’s a very good team,” Rivera said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
