Army
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., was awarded on Oct. 31, 2008, a $1,266,601,398 requirements/contract/firm/fixed/price contract. The purchase of 2285 new heavy Expand Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTTA4) trucks, 768 HEMTT RECAP, an upgrade a lower model truck. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2012. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0024).
AAI Corp., Hunt Valley, Md., was awarded on Nov 1, 2008, a $135,049,801 cost plus/incentive/fee contract for Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle system, and performance based logistics. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Md., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0016).
AM General LLC, South Bend, Ind., was awarded on Oct. 31, 2008, a $100,447,177 firm/fixed/price contract for added 853 EA High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles to contract. Work will be performed in Mishawaka, Ind., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (DAAE07-01-C-S001).
General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on Oct. 31, 2008, a $58,340,939 cost/plus/fixed/price contract for engineering service for Saudi Arabian government update to convert the M1A2 Abrams tank into Saudi, M1A2S configuration. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-C-0095).
Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, Huntsville, Ala., was awarded on Oct. 30, 2008, a $50,999,999 firm/fixed/price and cost/plus/fixed/fee task orders contract. The statement of works calls for the contractor to support the FAAD C2/C-RAM program in the systems architecture design and analysis, systems software interface support, design/system engineering, system integration, and system fielding. Work will be performed in Iraq, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. US Army Contracting Command Aviation & Missile Command Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-06-D-0029).
L-3 Communication Combat Propulsion Systems, Muskegon, Mich., was awarded on Oct. 31, 2008, a $26,000,000 firm/fixed/price contract for remanufacture of hydro mechanical power transmission. Work will be performed in Muskegon, Mich., Huddersfield, and Yorkshire, United Kingdom, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. TACOM Contracting Center, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-C-0098).
South Carolina Commission for the Blind, Columbia, S.C., was awarded on
Oct. 31, 2008, a $9,266,299 cost/plus/award/fee/contract for contractor to provides food services post-wide for 13 dining facilities for soldiers at Fort Jackson, S.C. Work will be performed in Fort Jackson, S.C., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2009. Two bids were solicited and two bids were received. Department of the Army Mission & Missile Contracting Command, Fort Jackson, S.C., is the contracting activity (DABT47-02-C-0003).
Raytheon Co., Andover, Mass., was awarded on Oct. 31, 2008, a $8,456,490 firm/fee/contract for. Work will be performed in Andover, Mass., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 21, 2010. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pa., is the contracting activity (W911N2-08-C-0042).
Air Force
Aerospace Corp., of El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for $797,107,900. This action will provide acquisition of scientific, engineering, and technical support for the federally funded Research and Development Center (Aerospace Corp.) which supports the Air Force and other Department of Defense programs. $27,923,400 has been obligated. Los Angeles AFB, Calif., is the contracting activity. F08802-09-C-0001.
Lockheed Martin Corp., of Littleton, Colo., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract modification not to exceed $145,600,000. The purpose of this Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) is to provide launch services and hardware coverage for the AFSPC-2 mission and to protect the current launch schedule under the Evolved Expendable Launch Services contract. This UCA will cover the launch service booster, flight hardware mission unique, and solid rocket booster nozzle portions of the AFSPC-2 mission. The contract has a required minimum lead time of 24 months to build and deliver a launch vehicle. Delay of this action will adversely impact the launch impact the launch manifest for a critical national security AFSPC mission and the contractor's ability to meet its lead time requirements. $72,800,000 has been obligated. Los Angeles AFB, Calif., is the contracting activity. FA8816-06-C-0004, modification P00012.
ITT Corp., of Patrick AFB, FL is being awarded a cost-plus award fee; cost-reimbursable contract modification for $66,961,335. This modification provides for the unilateral exercise incremental funding of contract year (Nov. 1, 2008 thru Oct. 31, 2009) sustainment option contract line item numbers for the Space Lift Range System contract. The action provides for the continued support for the program management, interface management, systems engineering and integration, depot maintenance transition, product acquisitions and modifications, and instrument modernization for operational systems and infrastructure including instrumentation, network and control display. $8,748,182 has been obligated. Peterson AFB, Colo., is the contracting activity. F04701-01-C-0001, Modification P00522.
General Dynamics Information Technology of Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a fixed-price incentive firm target contract for $42,316,801. The uni-comm contract provides score communications and Information Technology services to AFSPC locations; it also provides remote/IT services in support of AFNET Ops at Air Education and Training Command (AETC), Air Force Space Command, Air Mobility Command, Air National Guard and Pacific Air Force locations. The Uni-Comm contract also provides land mobile radio zone controller services that support non-AFSPC owned locations, including locations not under the Department of Defense (DOD). $42,316,801 has been obligated. Schriever AFB, Colo., is the contracting activity. FA2550-09-C-8001.
Lockheed Martin Corp., of Lockheed Martin Space System Company, Colo., is being awarded a cost plus award fee contract modification not to exceed $27,500,000. This purpose of this undefinitized contract action (UCA) is to provide launch services and hardware coverage for the AFSPC-2 mission and to protect the current launch schedule under the Evolved Expendable Launch Capabilities (ELC) contract. This UCA will cover the Atlas V geo-synchronous orbit and the ELC mission unique portions of the AFSPC-2 mission. The contract has a required minimum lead time of 24 months to build and deliver a launch vehicle. Delay of this action will adversely impact the launch manifest for a critical national security AFSPC mission and the contractor's ability to meet its lead time requirements. $13,750,000 has been obligated. Los Angeles AFB, Calif., is the contracting activity. FA8816-06-C-0002, Modification P00121.
The Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with McDonnell Douglas Corp., A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Boeing Company, of St. Louis, Mo., for not to exceed $14,550,000. This action will provide for FY08 T-38C avionics upgrade program (AUP) post production support. This effort continues Air Education and Training Command (AETC) T-38C Training System operations such as providing continuing avionics block updates and sustaining Avionics Upgrade Program (AUP) engineering development capability. At this time $1,833,000 has been obligated. 663 AESS/SYKA, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (FA8617-04-C-6153, Modification Number P00130).
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., of Savannah, Ga., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract modification for $10,018,588. This contract modification provides for continued fleet maintenance support for nine Gulfstream aircraft owned by the Egyptian government. This contract action is exercising option period 1 of 6. $10,018,588.99 has been obligated. Tinker AFB, Okla., is the contracting activity. FA8106-08-C-0001, modification P0001.
SELEX sensors and Airborne Systems Electro-Optics (Overseas) Limited of Basildon, United Kingdom, is being awarded a cost plus award fee and cost plus fixed fee contract modification for $6,590,620. The action will provide 1 Lot contractor logistics support, 1 Lot over and above, contractor acquired property and contractor furnished material, 1 Lot award fee and 1 Lot data for the all low light television system applicable to the AC-130U gunship. $6,590,620 has been obligated. Robins AFB, Ga., is the contracting activity. F33657-95-C-0072 Modification P00093.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., of El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a cost reimbursement with award fee contract modification for $5,822,000. This action provides for Joint Stars modernization risk reduction effort to study feasibility of a multi-platform radar Technology insertion radar onto the JSTARS platform. $5,822,000 has been obligated. Hanscom AFB, Mass., is the contracting activity. F19629-00-C-0100 Modification P00153.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Electronic Systems, Defensive Systems Division of Rolling Meadows, IL., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract for $5,514,206. This action is for production phase of the Next Generation Missile Warning System (NexGen MWS). The purpose of NexGen MWS is to improve the existing large aircraft infrared countermeasure system's probability of declaring threat missiles and to increase probability of detection in high clutter environments. The contract will include system engineering and program management, travel, logistics, studies and analysis, options for field services representatives and interim contractor support. $4,791,890 has been obligated. Wright-Patterson AFB is the contracting activity. FA8625-09-C-6454.
NAVY
RDA, Inc.,* Doylestown, Pa. is being awarded a $9,866,295 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a Phase III Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program under Topic No. N98-035 entitled "Signal Processing and System Concepts to Exploit Passive Signals in Airborne Active ASW Missions." The primary objective of this project is to provide advanced Technology products in the field of undersea warfare research and development and to transition this Technology to the anti-submarine warfare fleet. Work will be performed in Doylestown, Pa. (50 percent); Warrentown, Va. (40 percent), Patuxent River, Md. (5 percent), and at various testing locations across the United States (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $100,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This SBIR Phase III contract was competitively procured using SBIR Program Solicitation under Topic N98-035 and 13 offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J. is the contracting activity (N68335-09-C-0048).
Canadian Commercial Corporation, General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada, is being awarded a $9,832,001 firm fixed priced modification to delivery order #0004 under contract (M67854-07-D-5028) for the purchase of prescribed load list parts to support 673 vehicles. Work will be performed in Durban, South Africa, and work is expected to be completed no later than July 6, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
P&S Construction, Inc., Lowell, Mass., is being awarded a $6,857,000 firm-fixed price contract for design and construction of a reserve naval mobile construction battalion building. The work to be performed provides for the following components; maintenance shop, supply/logistics, material storage, woodworking shop, classrooms, medical, operations office, quarterdeck, administrative offices, training offices, material logistics office, and an armory for storing small arms and ammunition. Work will be performed in Chicopee, Mass., and is expected to be completed by May 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured/negotiated via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with eight proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va. is the contracting activity (N40085-09-C-7017).
L3 Communications Titan Corp., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $5,617,177 modification on a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-07-C-0071), to exercise an option for the Phase II study and analysis to develop innovative solutions to be used in mission requirements for the Affordable Weapons System. This weapon system is being designed to fill a sea-based land attack and strike mission, to operate from ships, with potential for a sea-based Navy and Marine Corps aircraft launch capability. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed in November 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
American Heroes Story Contest
Law enforcement, fire, military and other emergency services personnel are our American Heroes. Did one of your parents, a sibling, a friend or even an anonymous American Hero touch your life? Who is your American Hero and what is their story? American Heroes Press is looking for the best stories about our heroes. You don't have to be a member of the law enforcement, fire, military or emergency services community to enter. You simply need to share your story concerning these unique individuals – whether funny, compelling or truly life-altering
The contest launches Nov. 3, 2008. We will accept submissions through Jan. 31, 2009. Winners will be announced April 1, 2009.
Grand Prize
One Grand-Prize-winning story will be selected. The author of the story will receive the following prizes:
Choice of $200 cash, or $250 credit toward an American Heroes Publishing package
Featured spot for his/her Grand-Prize winning story in the contest anthology
Printed and bound copy of the finished anthology
Runner-Up
One Runner-Up-winning story will be selected. The author of the story will receive the following prizes:
Choice of $100 cash, or $150 credit toward an American Heroes Publishing package
Featured spot for his/her Runner-Up winning story in the contest anthology
Printed and bound copy of the finished anthology
Finalists
Fifteen Finalist stories will be selected. Each finalist author will receive the following prizes:
Inclusion of his/her winning story in the contest anthology
Printed and bound copy of the finished anthology
All participants will be eligible to receive an electronic copy of the finished anthology.
CLICK HERE FOR CONTEST DETAILS
About American Heroes Press
American Heroes Press is more than just a means of publishing your book. It's a growing, active and innovative community of writers. Retired police Lt. Raymond E. Foster of the Los Angeles Police Department started this community in 2003. Today it offers a brand of publishing designed specifically for true American Heroes: police, military, firefighters and emergency workers. As an American Hero, great things are accomplished through teamwork. This community – this team – is here to help you achieve success with your literary work.
More information about American Heroes Press can be found at: www.americanheroespress.com
The contest launches Nov. 3, 2008. We will accept submissions through Jan. 31, 2009. Winners will be announced April 1, 2009.
Grand Prize
One Grand-Prize-winning story will be selected. The author of the story will receive the following prizes:
Choice of $200 cash, or $250 credit toward an American Heroes Publishing package
Featured spot for his/her Grand-Prize winning story in the contest anthology
Printed and bound copy of the finished anthology
Runner-Up
One Runner-Up-winning story will be selected. The author of the story will receive the following prizes:
Choice of $100 cash, or $150 credit toward an American Heroes Publishing package
Featured spot for his/her Runner-Up winning story in the contest anthology
Printed and bound copy of the finished anthology
Finalists
Fifteen Finalist stories will be selected. Each finalist author will receive the following prizes:
Inclusion of his/her winning story in the contest anthology
Printed and bound copy of the finished anthology
All participants will be eligible to receive an electronic copy of the finished anthology.
CLICK HERE FOR CONTEST DETAILS
About American Heroes Press
American Heroes Press is more than just a means of publishing your book. It's a growing, active and innovative community of writers. Retired police Lt. Raymond E. Foster of the Los Angeles Police Department started this community in 2003. Today it offers a brand of publishing designed specifically for true American Heroes: police, military, firefighters and emergency workers. As an American Hero, great things are accomplished through teamwork. This community – this team – is here to help you achieve success with your literary work.
More information about American Heroes Press can be found at: www.americanheroespress.com
Monday, November 03, 2008
MILITARY CONTRACTS November 2, 2008
Air Force
The Air Force is modifying an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with General Electric Aircraft Engines of Cincinnati, Ohio, for a maximum of $185 million. The VAATE Program is a joint DoD/NASA/DOE Industry effort to develop revolutionary and innovative technologies by the 2017 timeframe that will permit an order of magnitude increase in turbo-propulsion affordability over the year 2000 state-of the-art Technology. This effort focuses mainly on Phase II of the VAATE program with some smaller efforts for Phase III. Phase II and III efforts will focus on technologies that address Strike/ Persistent Engagement, Multi-Mission Mobility, Persistent Agile Combat Support./Enterprise and Platform Enablers (ACS/EPE C2ISR (P-C2ISR), Responsive Space Access (RSA), Agile Combat Support /Enterprise and Platform Enablers (ACS/EPE), Air Superiority/Protection. At this time $801,000 has been obligated. Det 1 AFRL/PKPB, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-2922).
Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems of Warner Robbins, Ga., is being awarded a firm fixed price, time and materials contract for an estimated $8,556,400. This action is for exercise option for Lot 4 of the UH-1H Upgrade Modification to include engine overhaul and installation, both Group A & B kits as well as installation, pre-modification aircraft repair and data. At this time all funds have been obligated. 580 ACSG/GFKAB, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity (F09603-01-D-0207-009839).
The Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with Lockheed Martin Co., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., of Marietta, Ga., for $6,123,675. This action is exercise of option for installation of five C-5 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) Kits onto the C-5 Aircraft. At this time all funds have been obligated. 716th AESG/PK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-98-C-0006, Modification P00215).
The Air Force is modifying a cost plus award fee contract with Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., of San Diego, Calif., for $5,962,924. This contract action will provide extension of engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) activities in support of the Global Hawk Program for one month. At this time all funds have been obligated. 303 AESG/SYK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-01-C-4600, P00282).
General Dynamics Information Technology of Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a fixed-price incentive firm target contract for $42,316,801. The Uni-Comm contract provides score communications and Information Technology (Comm/IT) services to AFSPC locations; it also provides remote/IT services in support of AFNETOps at Air Education and Training Command (AETC), Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), Air Mobility Command (AMC), Air National Guard (ANG) and Pacific Air Force (PACAF) locations. The Uni-Comm contract also provides Land Mobile Radio (LMR) zone controller services that support non-AFSPC owned locations, including locations not under the Department of Defense (DOD). $42,316,801 has been obligated. Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., is the contracting activity. FA2550-09-C-8001.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., of El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a cost reimbursement with award fee contract modification for $5,822,000. This action provides for Joint Stars Modernization Risk Reduction effort to study feasibility of a Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Radar onto the JSTARS Platform. $5,822,000 has been obligated. Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity. F19629-00-C-0100 Modification P00153.
SELEX sensors and Airborne Systems Electro-Optics (Overseas) Limited of Basildon, United Kingdom, is being awarded a cost plus award fee and cost plus fixed fee contract modification for $6,590,620. The action will provide 1 Lot Contractor Logistics Support, 1 Lot Over and Above, Contractor Acquired Property and Contractor Furnished Material, 1 Lot Award Fee and 1 Lot Data for the All Low Light Television System Applicable to the AC-130U Gunship. $6,590,620 has been obligated. Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity. F33657-95-C-0072 Modification P00093.
Lockheed Martin Corp., of Lockheed Martin Space System Co., Colo., is being awarded a cost plus award fee contract modification not to exceed $27,500,000. This purpose of this undefinitized contract action (UCA) is to provide launch services and hardware coverage for the AFSPC-2 mission and to protect the current launch schedule under the Evolved Expendable Launch Capabilities (ELC) contract. This UCA will cover the Atlas V Geo-synchronous Orbit (GSO Kit and the ELC Mission Unique portions of the AFSPC-2 Mission. The contract has a required minimum lead time of 24 months to build and deliver a launch vehicle. Delay of this action will adversely impact the launch manifest for a critical national security AFSPC mission and the contractor's ability to meet its lead time requirements. $13,750,000 has been obligated. Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity. FA8816-06-C-0002, Modification P00121.
Aerospace Corp., of El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for $797,107,900. This action will provide Acquisition of Scientific, Engineering, and Technical support for the Federally Funded Research and Development Center (Aerospace Corp.) which supports the Air Force and other Department of Defense programs. $27,923,400 has been obligated. Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity. F08802-09-C-0001.
ITT Corp., of Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., is being awarded a cost-plus award fee; cost-reimbursable contract modification for $66,961,335.81. This modification provides for the unilateral exercise incremental funding of contract year (Nov. 1, 2008 thru Oct. 31, 2009) sustainment option contract line item numbers (CLINS) for the Space Lift Range System Contract (SLRSC). The action provides for the continued support for the program management, interface management, systems engineering and integration, depot maintenance transition, product acquisitions and modifications, and instrument modernization for operational systems and infrastructure including instrumentation, network and control display. $8,748,182 has been obligated. Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., is the contracting activity. F04701-01-C-0001, Modification P00522.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation of Savannah, Ga., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract modification for $10,018,588.99. This contract modification provides for continued fleet maintenance support for nine Gulfstream aircraft owned by the Egyptian Government. This contract action is exercising option period 1 of 6. $10,018,588.99 has been obligated. Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity. FA8106-08-C-0001, modification P0001.
Lockheed Martin Corp., of Littleton, Colo., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract modification not to exceed $145,600,000. The purpose of this Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) is to provide launch services and hardware coverage for the AFSPC-2 mission and to protect the current launch schedule under the Evolved Expendable Launch Services (ELS) contract. This UCA will cover the Launch Service Booster, Flight Hardware Mission Unique, and Solid Rocket Booster Nozzle portions of the AFSPC-2 mission. The contract has a required minimum lead time of 24 months to build and deliver a launch vehicle. Delay of this action will adversely impact the launch impact the launch manifest for a critical national security AFSPC mission and the contractor's ability to meet its lead time requirements. $72,800,000 has been obligated. Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity. FA8816-06-C-0004, modification P00012.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Electronic Systems, Defensive Systems Division of Rolling Meadows, Il., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract for $5,514,206. This action is for production phase of the Next Generation Missile Warning System (NexGen MWS). The purpose of NexGen MWS is to improve the existing Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure (LAIRCM) system's probability of declaring threat missiles and to increase probability of detection in high clutter environments. The contract will include system engineering and program management, travel, logistics, studies and analysis, options for field services representatives and interim contractor support. $4,791,890 has been obligated. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is the contracting activity. FA8625-09-C-6454.
Army
Chugach Government Services Inc, Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded Oct. 31, 2008, a $113,750,000 construction/firm/fixed/price contract for manufacture, transport and install relocatable buildings, North Fort Polk, Louisiana, in support of Foreign Security Forces, Transition Teams Mission. Work will be performed in North Fort Polk, La., with an estimated completion date of Aug 24, 2009. Bids solicited were via Sole Source (8) Alaskan Native Corporation (ANC) and one bid was received. US Army Engineer District, Forth Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-09-C-0002).
DEFENSE COMMISSARY AGENCY
The Defense Commissary Agency is awarding an indefinite delivery, requirements type contract to Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., 800 Stevens Port Drive, North Sioux City, S.D. 57049-5005, on November 3, 2008, to provide fresh beef and frozen coarse ground beef products for resale to DeCA's European Region's Central Meat Processing Plant (CMPP). The estimated award amount is $47,053,640.00. The contractor will deliver fresh beef and frozen coarse ground beef products to the CMPP as the need arises. The contract base period of performance is for two years beginning December 1, 2008, through November 30, 2010. Three one-year option periods are available. If all three option periods are exercised, the contract will be completed November 30, 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Twenty eight firms were solicited and four offers were received. The contracting activity is the Defense Commissary Agency, Resale Contracting Division, Resale Commodities Branch, 1300 E Avenue, Fort Lee, Va., 23801-1800. (HDEC02-09-D-0001)
NAVY
Honeywell International, Inc., Defense and Space Electronic Systems, Albuquerque, N.M., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $65,500,817 undefinitized contract action for the procurement of 90 Block II Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) systems, including associated support equipment, spares, training, and engineering and logistics support. Work will be performed in Alburquerque, N.M., and is expected to be completed in December 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-C-0004).
L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $19,798,516 firm-fixed-price contract for organizational, selected intermediate and limited depot level maintenance for F-16s, F-18s, H-60s and E-2Cs operated by the adversary squadrons based at Naval Air Station, Fallon, Nev. Work will be performed in Fallon, Nev., and is expected to be completed in October 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $19,798,516 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured through an electronic request for proposals, with four offers received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-D-0007).
General Dynamics Information Technology, Needham, Mass. is being awarded $6,850,624 for hybrid firm fixed price, cost plus fixed fee delivery order #NS07 under previously awarded contract (FA8771-04-D-0007) for production and delivery of Automated Digital Network System Increment III low rate initial production units, including program management; configuration management; logistics; hardware and software updates; design documentation; configuration management support; testing support; and on-site technical support. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $10,964,515. Work will be performed in Taunton, Mass., and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command awarded this delivery order on behalf of its organizational partner, the Navy's Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communication, Computers and Intelligence. This delivery order has an exception to the fair opportunity process pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2304c (b)(3), as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(iii) and DFARS PGI 216.505-70(2). The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
TXU Energy, Irving, Texas, is being awarded a $57,872,280.84 firm fixed price contract to provide electrical power to Fort Hood, Texas, for 24 months. There were 100 proposals solicited, with 12 responses. The date of performance completion is January 31, 2011. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-09-D-8005.).
UNITED STATES TRANSPORTATION COMMAND
SRA International, Inc, of Fairfax, VA 22033-4232, is being awarded a $6,098,477.30 fixed price contract modification for Option Year Five for FY09 sustainment of the Defense Personnel Property System (DPS). Work will be performed at Fairfax, Va, 22033-4232, and is expected to be completed September 30, 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contracting activity is United States Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., 62225. (W81GYE-04-C-0035/ P00055)
UNITED STATES SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
AeroGlow of Gillingham, Dorset, United Kingdom, is being awarded an unusual and compelling urgent letter contract not to exceed $9,350,750 for Hatch Lighting Orientation System, HEED Bottle Lights, spares, training, technical reports and data, and services in support of U.S. Special Operations Command. The work will be performed in Gillingham and is expected to be completed by May 2009. This contract was awarded under unusual and compelling urgency, in accordance with 10 U.S.C 2304 (c)(2). The contract number is H92222-09-C-0003.
The Air Force is modifying an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with General Electric Aircraft Engines of Cincinnati, Ohio, for a maximum of $185 million. The VAATE Program is a joint DoD/NASA/DOE Industry effort to develop revolutionary and innovative technologies by the 2017 timeframe that will permit an order of magnitude increase in turbo-propulsion affordability over the year 2000 state-of the-art Technology. This effort focuses mainly on Phase II of the VAATE program with some smaller efforts for Phase III. Phase II and III efforts will focus on technologies that address Strike/ Persistent Engagement, Multi-Mission Mobility, Persistent Agile Combat Support./Enterprise and Platform Enablers (ACS/EPE C2ISR (P-C2ISR), Responsive Space Access (RSA), Agile Combat Support /Enterprise and Platform Enablers (ACS/EPE), Air Superiority/Protection. At this time $801,000 has been obligated. Det 1 AFRL/PKPB, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-2922).
Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems of Warner Robbins, Ga., is being awarded a firm fixed price, time and materials contract for an estimated $8,556,400. This action is for exercise option for Lot 4 of the UH-1H Upgrade Modification to include engine overhaul and installation, both Group A & B kits as well as installation, pre-modification aircraft repair and data. At this time all funds have been obligated. 580 ACSG/GFKAB, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity (F09603-01-D-0207-009839).
The Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with Lockheed Martin Co., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., of Marietta, Ga., for $6,123,675. This action is exercise of option for installation of five C-5 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) Kits onto the C-5 Aircraft. At this time all funds have been obligated. 716th AESG/PK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-98-C-0006, Modification P00215).
The Air Force is modifying a cost plus award fee contract with Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., of San Diego, Calif., for $5,962,924. This contract action will provide extension of engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) activities in support of the Global Hawk Program for one month. At this time all funds have been obligated. 303 AESG/SYK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-01-C-4600, P00282).
General Dynamics Information Technology of Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a fixed-price incentive firm target contract for $42,316,801. The Uni-Comm contract provides score communications and Information Technology (Comm/IT) services to AFSPC locations; it also provides remote/IT services in support of AFNETOps at Air Education and Training Command (AETC), Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), Air Mobility Command (AMC), Air National Guard (ANG) and Pacific Air Force (PACAF) locations. The Uni-Comm contract also provides Land Mobile Radio (LMR) zone controller services that support non-AFSPC owned locations, including locations not under the Department of Defense (DOD). $42,316,801 has been obligated. Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., is the contracting activity. FA2550-09-C-8001.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., of El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a cost reimbursement with award fee contract modification for $5,822,000. This action provides for Joint Stars Modernization Risk Reduction effort to study feasibility of a Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Radar onto the JSTARS Platform. $5,822,000 has been obligated. Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity. F19629-00-C-0100 Modification P00153.
SELEX sensors and Airborne Systems Electro-Optics (Overseas) Limited of Basildon, United Kingdom, is being awarded a cost plus award fee and cost plus fixed fee contract modification for $6,590,620. The action will provide 1 Lot Contractor Logistics Support, 1 Lot Over and Above, Contractor Acquired Property and Contractor Furnished Material, 1 Lot Award Fee and 1 Lot Data for the All Low Light Television System Applicable to the AC-130U Gunship. $6,590,620 has been obligated. Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity. F33657-95-C-0072 Modification P00093.
Lockheed Martin Corp., of Lockheed Martin Space System Co., Colo., is being awarded a cost plus award fee contract modification not to exceed $27,500,000. This purpose of this undefinitized contract action (UCA) is to provide launch services and hardware coverage for the AFSPC-2 mission and to protect the current launch schedule under the Evolved Expendable Launch Capabilities (ELC) contract. This UCA will cover the Atlas V Geo-synchronous Orbit (GSO Kit and the ELC Mission Unique portions of the AFSPC-2 Mission. The contract has a required minimum lead time of 24 months to build and deliver a launch vehicle. Delay of this action will adversely impact the launch manifest for a critical national security AFSPC mission and the contractor's ability to meet its lead time requirements. $13,750,000 has been obligated. Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity. FA8816-06-C-0002, Modification P00121.
Aerospace Corp., of El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for $797,107,900. This action will provide Acquisition of Scientific, Engineering, and Technical support for the Federally Funded Research and Development Center (Aerospace Corp.) which supports the Air Force and other Department of Defense programs. $27,923,400 has been obligated. Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity. F08802-09-C-0001.
ITT Corp., of Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., is being awarded a cost-plus award fee; cost-reimbursable contract modification for $66,961,335.81. This modification provides for the unilateral exercise incremental funding of contract year (Nov. 1, 2008 thru Oct. 31, 2009) sustainment option contract line item numbers (CLINS) for the Space Lift Range System Contract (SLRSC). The action provides for the continued support for the program management, interface management, systems engineering and integration, depot maintenance transition, product acquisitions and modifications, and instrument modernization for operational systems and infrastructure including instrumentation, network and control display. $8,748,182 has been obligated. Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., is the contracting activity. F04701-01-C-0001, Modification P00522.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation of Savannah, Ga., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract modification for $10,018,588.99. This contract modification provides for continued fleet maintenance support for nine Gulfstream aircraft owned by the Egyptian Government. This contract action is exercising option period 1 of 6. $10,018,588.99 has been obligated. Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity. FA8106-08-C-0001, modification P0001.
Lockheed Martin Corp., of Littleton, Colo., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract modification not to exceed $145,600,000. The purpose of this Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) is to provide launch services and hardware coverage for the AFSPC-2 mission and to protect the current launch schedule under the Evolved Expendable Launch Services (ELS) contract. This UCA will cover the Launch Service Booster, Flight Hardware Mission Unique, and Solid Rocket Booster Nozzle portions of the AFSPC-2 mission. The contract has a required minimum lead time of 24 months to build and deliver a launch vehicle. Delay of this action will adversely impact the launch impact the launch manifest for a critical national security AFSPC mission and the contractor's ability to meet its lead time requirements. $72,800,000 has been obligated. Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity. FA8816-06-C-0004, modification P00012.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Electronic Systems, Defensive Systems Division of Rolling Meadows, Il., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract for $5,514,206. This action is for production phase of the Next Generation Missile Warning System (NexGen MWS). The purpose of NexGen MWS is to improve the existing Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure (LAIRCM) system's probability of declaring threat missiles and to increase probability of detection in high clutter environments. The contract will include system engineering and program management, travel, logistics, studies and analysis, options for field services representatives and interim contractor support. $4,791,890 has been obligated. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is the contracting activity. FA8625-09-C-6454.
Army
Chugach Government Services Inc, Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded Oct. 31, 2008, a $113,750,000 construction/firm/fixed/price contract for manufacture, transport and install relocatable buildings, North Fort Polk, Louisiana, in support of Foreign Security Forces, Transition Teams Mission. Work will be performed in North Fort Polk, La., with an estimated completion date of Aug 24, 2009. Bids solicited were via Sole Source (8) Alaskan Native Corporation (ANC) and one bid was received. US Army Engineer District, Forth Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-09-C-0002).
DEFENSE COMMISSARY AGENCY
The Defense Commissary Agency is awarding an indefinite delivery, requirements type contract to Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., 800 Stevens Port Drive, North Sioux City, S.D. 57049-5005, on November 3, 2008, to provide fresh beef and frozen coarse ground beef products for resale to DeCA's European Region's Central Meat Processing Plant (CMPP). The estimated award amount is $47,053,640.00. The contractor will deliver fresh beef and frozen coarse ground beef products to the CMPP as the need arises. The contract base period of performance is for two years beginning December 1, 2008, through November 30, 2010. Three one-year option periods are available. If all three option periods are exercised, the contract will be completed November 30, 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Twenty eight firms were solicited and four offers were received. The contracting activity is the Defense Commissary Agency, Resale Contracting Division, Resale Commodities Branch, 1300 E Avenue, Fort Lee, Va., 23801-1800. (HDEC02-09-D-0001)
NAVY
Honeywell International, Inc., Defense and Space Electronic Systems, Albuquerque, N.M., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $65,500,817 undefinitized contract action for the procurement of 90 Block II Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) systems, including associated support equipment, spares, training, and engineering and logistics support. Work will be performed in Alburquerque, N.M., and is expected to be completed in December 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-C-0004).
L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $19,798,516 firm-fixed-price contract for organizational, selected intermediate and limited depot level maintenance for F-16s, F-18s, H-60s and E-2Cs operated by the adversary squadrons based at Naval Air Station, Fallon, Nev. Work will be performed in Fallon, Nev., and is expected to be completed in October 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $19,798,516 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured through an electronic request for proposals, with four offers received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-D-0007).
General Dynamics Information Technology, Needham, Mass. is being awarded $6,850,624 for hybrid firm fixed price, cost plus fixed fee delivery order #NS07 under previously awarded contract (FA8771-04-D-0007) for production and delivery of Automated Digital Network System Increment III low rate initial production units, including program management; configuration management; logistics; hardware and software updates; design documentation; configuration management support; testing support; and on-site technical support. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $10,964,515. Work will be performed in Taunton, Mass., and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command awarded this delivery order on behalf of its organizational partner, the Navy's Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communication, Computers and Intelligence. This delivery order has an exception to the fair opportunity process pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2304c (b)(3), as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(iii) and DFARS PGI 216.505-70(2). The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
TXU Energy, Irving, Texas, is being awarded a $57,872,280.84 firm fixed price contract to provide electrical power to Fort Hood, Texas, for 24 months. There were 100 proposals solicited, with 12 responses. The date of performance completion is January 31, 2011. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-09-D-8005.).
UNITED STATES TRANSPORTATION COMMAND
SRA International, Inc, of Fairfax, VA 22033-4232, is being awarded a $6,098,477.30 fixed price contract modification for Option Year Five for FY09 sustainment of the Defense Personnel Property System (DPS). Work will be performed at Fairfax, Va, 22033-4232, and is expected to be completed September 30, 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contracting activity is United States Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., 62225. (W81GYE-04-C-0035/ P00055)
UNITED STATES SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
AeroGlow of Gillingham, Dorset, United Kingdom, is being awarded an unusual and compelling urgent letter contract not to exceed $9,350,750 for Hatch Lighting Orientation System, HEED Bottle Lights, spares, training, technical reports and data, and services in support of U.S. Special Operations Command. The work will be performed in Gillingham and is expected to be completed by May 2009. This contract was awarded under unusual and compelling urgency, in accordance with 10 U.S.C 2304 (c)(2). The contract number is H92222-09-C-0003.
Compensation, Benefits Handbook Consolidates Warrior Care Information
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 3, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates calls a new handbook that compiles the myriad information seriously wounded, ill or injured servicemembers and their families need in one succinct, easy-to-read publication another step in improving the care and support they deserve. In his foreword to the Compensation and Benefits Handbook, Gates said its biggest benefit is that it "compiles into one source the relevant information that you and your family previously had to search through numerous sources to find."
The handbook was created to help servicemembers and the family members helping to care for them navigate through the military and veteran disability, evaluation, compensation and benefits programs designed to help them, explained Sharon Gunselman, a department policy and resource analyst.
It walks readers through the processes of recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration back to the military or into civilian life. Each section describes the compensation and benefits available at each stage.
The Dole-Shalala Commission, led by former Sen. Bob Dole and Donna Shalala, health and human services secretary during the Clinton administration, identified the need for a comprehensive information source last year during its investigation of problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Gunselman said.
The departments of Veterans Affairs, Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and the Social Security Administration, as well as other governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations, contributed to the handbook.
The handbook, mandated by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, is now available online and is being distributed by the services in hard-copy format. It provides Web sites and toll-free phone numbers, and the electronic version includes hyperlinks. Gunseleman said the book will be updated annually to include new information.
Gates emphasized that the handbook is not intended to be a replacement for what he called "the best source of information" -- the servicemember's chain of command or medical and nonmedical care providers.
He noted that because all affected servicemembers will have different requirements, their support staffs will help design individual plans that ensure they and their families receive the support and benefits they need.
"You and your fellow patriots who volunteered to serve in our armed forces have no equal in the world," Gates concluded. "Our responsibility is to provide you care that is unequalled in the world. We owe this to you. We will deliver this to you."
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 3, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates calls a new handbook that compiles the myriad information seriously wounded, ill or injured servicemembers and their families need in one succinct, easy-to-read publication another step in improving the care and support they deserve. In his foreword to the Compensation and Benefits Handbook, Gates said its biggest benefit is that it "compiles into one source the relevant information that you and your family previously had to search through numerous sources to find."
The handbook was created to help servicemembers and the family members helping to care for them navigate through the military and veteran disability, evaluation, compensation and benefits programs designed to help them, explained Sharon Gunselman, a department policy and resource analyst.
It walks readers through the processes of recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration back to the military or into civilian life. Each section describes the compensation and benefits available at each stage.
The Dole-Shalala Commission, led by former Sen. Bob Dole and Donna Shalala, health and human services secretary during the Clinton administration, identified the need for a comprehensive information source last year during its investigation of problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Gunselman said.
The departments of Veterans Affairs, Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and the Social Security Administration, as well as other governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations, contributed to the handbook.
The handbook, mandated by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, is now available online and is being distributed by the services in hard-copy format. It provides Web sites and toll-free phone numbers, and the electronic version includes hyperlinks. Gunseleman said the book will be updated annually to include new information.
Gates emphasized that the handbook is not intended to be a replacement for what he called "the best source of information" -- the servicemember's chain of command or medical and nonmedical care providers.
He noted that because all affected servicemembers will have different requirements, their support staffs will help design individual plans that ensure they and their families receive the support and benefits they need.
"You and your fellow patriots who volunteered to serve in our armed forces have no equal in the world," Gates concluded. "Our responsibility is to provide you care that is unequalled in the world. We owe this to you. We will deliver this to you."
Slowing Military Change
The author looks at the development of military technology in recent years. He examines three major platforms: fighter aircraft, tanks, and cruisers, examining the gaps between generations as well as the capability gains of each succeeding type. While development has slowed, at the same time capability increases have also slowed: it takes longer to get new equipment, and that new equipment is less of an improvement over its predecessor than its predecessor was over its predecessor. Only in electronics and computer technology was that shown to be somewhat untrue, but even there military technology has lagged significantly behind commercial advances. This relative military stasis, in technology at least, has a range of causes: the end of the Cold War, bureaucratic changes, political cultures, scientific limits, cost inflation, a focus on new characteristics that cannot be so easily measured. The author also looks at the strategic environment to see whether that has evolved rapidly while technology has proven more dormant.
READ ON
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?PubID=878
READ ON
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?PubID=878
Leadership and National Security Reform: The Next President's Agenda
On March 20, 2008, the Bush School of Texas A&M University hosted a conference on “Leadership and National Security Reform: The Next President’s Agenda.” The participants examined the contemporary international environment and American national security policy for the next presidential administration. How threats, policies, and strategies have changed since 2001 and how the U.S., European, and other international security systems have responded to changing requirements were explored. The conference included a debate on the political parties international affairs positions and focused on three major themes: (1) In the post-9/11 world, what are the threats and challenges facing the next presidential administration? (2) What reforms are needed to the current national, European, and international security systems in terms of policy, institutions, and Leadership? and (3) How can the next presidential administration affect change to improve U.S. and international security?
READ ON
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?PubID=888
READ ON
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?PubID=888
Stability Operations and State Building: Continuities and Contingencies
The Department of Defense published its Directive 3000.05, “Military Support for Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction (SSTR) Operations,” in November 2005, to address this area of state building and stability operations. The process of arriving at this point, however, indicates that no consistent view of the state-building mission area exists as yet. The Strategic Studies Institute’s collaboration with Austin Peay State University allowed for academics, governmental and nongovernmental practitioners, and military personnel to step back and review the entire spectrum of state-building needs as theorized and practiced by modern societies.
READ ON
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?PubID=879
READ ON
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?PubID=879
Airman Missing In Action From WW ll is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War Two, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Staff Sgt. Martin F. Troy, U.S. Army Air Forces, of Norwalk, Conn. He will be buried on Nov. 20 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army's Mortuary Office met with Troy's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
On June 30, 1944, Troy was on a B-24H Liberator participating in a mission to bomb an oil refinery in Blechammer, Germany. The plane was shot down by German aircraft and crashed into a swampy area near Nemesvita, Hungary beside Lake Balaton. Seven of the crewmembers parachuted to safety where they were captured by enemy forces and subsequently released. Three crewmen died in the crash and the remains for two of them were eventually recovered and identified. Troy's remains were not recovered.
In 1999 and 2003, Hungarian citizens turned over to U.S. officials human remains supposedly recovered from Troy's crash site. In 2003 and 2005, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) teams surveyed the site.
In 2007, another JPAC team excavated the site and recovered human remains and non-biological evidence.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of Troy's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
He is Staff Sgt. Martin F. Troy, U.S. Army Air Forces, of Norwalk, Conn. He will be buried on Nov. 20 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army's Mortuary Office met with Troy's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
On June 30, 1944, Troy was on a B-24H Liberator participating in a mission to bomb an oil refinery in Blechammer, Germany. The plane was shot down by German aircraft and crashed into a swampy area near Nemesvita, Hungary beside Lake Balaton. Seven of the crewmembers parachuted to safety where they were captured by enemy forces and subsequently released. Three crewmen died in the crash and the remains for two of them were eventually recovered and identified. Troy's remains were not recovered.
In 1999 and 2003, Hungarian citizens turned over to U.S. officials human remains supposedly recovered from Troy's crash site. In 2003 and 2005, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) teams surveyed the site.
In 2007, another JPAC team excavated the site and recovered human remains and non-biological evidence.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of Troy's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Postal Service Sets Holiday Mailing Guidelines
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 3, 2008 - As the holidays approach and military families start thinking about what they're going to send loved ones serving overseas, there are a few dates to keep in mind.
"The earliest deadline is for troops that are serving in the Iraq [and] Afghanistan area," said Al DeSarro, spokesman for the western region of the U.S. Postal Service. "You want to send all your holiday mail and packages [to those areas] by Dec. 4."
Holiday mail, including packages and cards, going to military bases in other parts of the world should be shipped by Dec. 11, he said.
"We do encourage people to closely follow these deadlines," DeSarro said. "Of course, we make every attempt, even if you miss the deadline, to deliver the mail to our troops."
Pseudo-Santas who can't beat those dates have another option to get holiday goodies to their destinations in time: Express Mail. But it will cost a bit more and it's not available for servicemembers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Priority Mail Flat-Rate boxes are the best value when shipping to military members serving at home or anywhere overseas, DeSarro said. The largest flat-rate box costs $10.95 to ship to an APO or FPO address. That's a $2 discount, and the boxes are free.
The flat-rate boxes come with another bonus. If it will fit in the box, and weighs 70 pounds or less, it ships at the established rate.
"We also offer a special military package kit, ... and this applies even if you want to send to our troops here in the U.S.," DeSarro said. "If you call ... 1-800-610-8734, they'll send you a free kit of packaging materials -- priority mail boxes, tape, labels and stuff that can make your holiday packing much easier."
When shipping any holiday package, there are some basic guidelines to take into consideration, he added. If a USPS-provided box isn't being used, senders should make sure the box they're using is sturdy. Don't use wrapping paper or string on the outside, and print both the shipping and return addresses clearly. Contents should be packaged securely and in leak-proof containers, and consider the customs of the country to ensure the items are appropriate and acceptable.
USPS also suggests including the mailing address, return address and the contents of the box on a slip of paper with the other contents, just in case something out of the ordinary should happen.
Following not only the shipping date guidelines, but also the general packing guidelines can help the USPS get packages where they're going during their busiest time of the year.
DeSarro urges people to mail as much as they want and as early as they can, noting that officials expect 20 million pounds of mail will be sent U.S. troops this holiday season.
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 3, 2008 - As the holidays approach and military families start thinking about what they're going to send loved ones serving overseas, there are a few dates to keep in mind.
"The earliest deadline is for troops that are serving in the Iraq [and] Afghanistan area," said Al DeSarro, spokesman for the western region of the U.S. Postal Service. "You want to send all your holiday mail and packages [to those areas] by Dec. 4."
Holiday mail, including packages and cards, going to military bases in other parts of the world should be shipped by Dec. 11, he said.
"We do encourage people to closely follow these deadlines," DeSarro said. "Of course, we make every attempt, even if you miss the deadline, to deliver the mail to our troops."
Pseudo-Santas who can't beat those dates have another option to get holiday goodies to their destinations in time: Express Mail. But it will cost a bit more and it's not available for servicemembers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Priority Mail Flat-Rate boxes are the best value when shipping to military members serving at home or anywhere overseas, DeSarro said. The largest flat-rate box costs $10.95 to ship to an APO or FPO address. That's a $2 discount, and the boxes are free.
The flat-rate boxes come with another bonus. If it will fit in the box, and weighs 70 pounds or less, it ships at the established rate.
"We also offer a special military package kit, ... and this applies even if you want to send to our troops here in the U.S.," DeSarro said. "If you call ... 1-800-610-8734, they'll send you a free kit of packaging materials -- priority mail boxes, tape, labels and stuff that can make your holiday packing much easier."
When shipping any holiday package, there are some basic guidelines to take into consideration, he added. If a USPS-provided box isn't being used, senders should make sure the box they're using is sturdy. Don't use wrapping paper or string on the outside, and print both the shipping and return addresses clearly. Contents should be packaged securely and in leak-proof containers, and consider the customs of the country to ensure the items are appropriate and acceptable.
USPS also suggests including the mailing address, return address and the contents of the box on a slip of paper with the other contents, just in case something out of the ordinary should happen.
Following not only the shipping date guidelines, but also the general packing guidelines can help the USPS get packages where they're going during their busiest time of the year.
DeSarro urges people to mail as much as they want and as early as they can, noting that officials expect 20 million pounds of mail will be sent U.S. troops this holiday season.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Law Enforcement Intelligence Operations
November 2, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) On November 7, 2008, Conversations with Cops at the Watering Hole will feature a conversation with Captain Franks S. Root, Arizona Department of Public Safety (ret.) on law enforcement intelligence operations.
Program Date: November 7, 2008
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Law Enforcement Intelligence Operations
Listen Live: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2008/11/08/Law-Enforcement-Intelligence-Operations
About the Guest
Frank S. Root has more than 35 years in law enforcement and intelligence operations with special emphasis on complex intelligence investigations organization and case management. During his law enforcement career he worked for the Arizona Department of Public Safety (20 years, retired as Captain); San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office (Automation and Crime Analysis Unit); and, State of California, Division of Investigation (conducting criminal investigations involving identity theft, insurance, and consumer fraud)
Frank S. Root is the author of Law Enforcement Intelligence Critical Elements which “is described as a publication designed to demonstrate how to identify, develop, and deliver the various intelligence-related products and services required to effectively support law enforcement intelligence and operational managers at each management level within an agency.”
About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.
About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, law enforcement technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.
Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2008/11/08/Law-Enforcement-Intelligence-Operations
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
Program Date: November 7, 2008
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Law Enforcement Intelligence Operations
Listen Live: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2008/11/08/Law-Enforcement-Intelligence-Operations
About the Guest
Frank S. Root has more than 35 years in law enforcement and intelligence operations with special emphasis on complex intelligence investigations organization and case management. During his law enforcement career he worked for the Arizona Department of Public Safety (20 years, retired as Captain); San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office (Automation and Crime Analysis Unit); and, State of California, Division of Investigation (conducting criminal investigations involving identity theft, insurance, and consumer fraud)
Frank S. Root is the author of Law Enforcement Intelligence Critical Elements which “is described as a publication designed to demonstrate how to identify, develop, and deliver the various intelligence-related products and services required to effectively support law enforcement intelligence and operational managers at each management level within an agency.”
About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.
About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, law enforcement technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.
Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2008/11/08/Law-Enforcement-Intelligence-Operations
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Face of Defense: Marine Amputee Who Returned to Iraq Earns Fellowship
By Marine Corps Cpl. Sean P. McGinty
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - A noncommissioned officer who returned to Iraq nine months ago after his left leg was amputated above the knee soon will represent the Marine Corps in the halls of Congress. Master Sgt. William "Spanky" Gibson, whose courage President Bush recognized during March 19 remarks on the fifth anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, is one of three Marines selected for the first staff NCO congressional fellowships under new Marine Corps parameters for its part in the Defense Department congressional fellowships program.
Bush, who described Gibson's successful effort to rejoin the fight in Iraq, said that with Americans like Gibson serving, the enemy doesn't have a chance.
"I want to assist the Marine Corps globally," said Gibson, 37. "I want to show what staff NCOs can do in a position that staff NCOs have never been challenged in."
The Marine Corps congressional fellowship is a year-long program opened to staff NCOs for the first time this year. Gibson lost his leg in May 2006 after being shot in the knee by a sniper while serving in Ramadi, Iraq, as a joint terminal attack controller for 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company. After extensive rehabilitation at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Gibson set out to prove he was fit for duty. He trained for and participated in endurance races and triathlons.
In June 2007, he competed in the "Escape from Alcatraz" triathlon in San Francisco, where he met and asked Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, who then commanded Marine forces serving in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, to let him return to Iraq.
Less than two years after adjusting to his prosthetic leg and fighting to stay in the Marine Corps, Gibson returned to Iraq with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force as the force fires chief for Multinational Force West here.
Gibson said that while recuperating in Bethesda, he told himself he would never return to the Washington, D.C., area. He was fully focused on returning to Iraq, he said.
"I never contemplated something like this," he said. "Nine months ago, my thoughts were directed in getting back to the battlefield. Now, I'm going to have to learn more about the legislative process, and I'll have interaction between generals and congressmen."
As a congressional fellow, Gibson will trade his uniform for a business suit while working with either the House of Representatives or the Senate. He will work for a member of Congress, doing anything any staffer might do, except for campaign work, said Maj. Ernest E. Robinson of the Marine Corps' legislative affairs office.
"He will be working in one of the Congress members' office, working directly for the member," Robinson said. "Depending on his tasks, he could be involved in legislation or some pretty important business."
Marine guidelines for the fellowship say Gibson's new duties could include drafting legislation, serving as a liaison to constituents, planning international conferences and dialogues, and much more.
"I'm looking forward to understanding the legislative process and what it has to do with the Marine Corps," the Pryor, Okla., native said. "Now us staff NCOs can be a part of that process and have a say in it."
As with nearly all military congressional fellows, Gibson most likely will serve with a Congress member who serves on the House or Senate Armed Services Committee or the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Defense, according to Col. Raymond E. Celeste of Marine Corps legislative affairs.
Gibson will provide accurate information to members of Congress, said Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Neil O'Connell, the senior enlisted Marine in Multinational Force West. "He's tactically and technically proficient, constantly educating himself, and due to his situation, he's well versed in the treatment and rehabilitation of the wounded," O'Connell said.
Selection for the program seems like a natural step for his career in the Marines, Gibson said. The majority of his experience in the Marine Corps has been focused on ground combat, but he said he's ready for a change.
"I think it's the perfect time to go," Gibson said. "This deployment has shown me where my place in the future is. This is going to be an environment I'm not used to, but it'll be an environment where I can help the whole military."
Though Gibson's tour in Washington will be something he has never done before, O'Connell said, his selection to the fellowship shows the Defense Department has faith that Gibson's extensive experience and professionalism will represent the Marine Corps in a positive light.
"He's a driven Marine, and he's earned his selection," he said.
(Marine Corps Cpl. Sean P. McGinty serves in the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Public Affairs Office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - A noncommissioned officer who returned to Iraq nine months ago after his left leg was amputated above the knee soon will represent the Marine Corps in the halls of Congress. Master Sgt. William "Spanky" Gibson, whose courage President Bush recognized during March 19 remarks on the fifth anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, is one of three Marines selected for the first staff NCO congressional fellowships under new Marine Corps parameters for its part in the Defense Department congressional fellowships program.
Bush, who described Gibson's successful effort to rejoin the fight in Iraq, said that with Americans like Gibson serving, the enemy doesn't have a chance.
"I want to assist the Marine Corps globally," said Gibson, 37. "I want to show what staff NCOs can do in a position that staff NCOs have never been challenged in."
The Marine Corps congressional fellowship is a year-long program opened to staff NCOs for the first time this year. Gibson lost his leg in May 2006 after being shot in the knee by a sniper while serving in Ramadi, Iraq, as a joint terminal attack controller for 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company. After extensive rehabilitation at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Gibson set out to prove he was fit for duty. He trained for and participated in endurance races and triathlons.
In June 2007, he competed in the "Escape from Alcatraz" triathlon in San Francisco, where he met and asked Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, who then commanded Marine forces serving in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, to let him return to Iraq.
Less than two years after adjusting to his prosthetic leg and fighting to stay in the Marine Corps, Gibson returned to Iraq with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force as the force fires chief for Multinational Force West here.
Gibson said that while recuperating in Bethesda, he told himself he would never return to the Washington, D.C., area. He was fully focused on returning to Iraq, he said.
"I never contemplated something like this," he said. "Nine months ago, my thoughts were directed in getting back to the battlefield. Now, I'm going to have to learn more about the legislative process, and I'll have interaction between generals and congressmen."
As a congressional fellow, Gibson will trade his uniform for a business suit while working with either the House of Representatives or the Senate. He will work for a member of Congress, doing anything any staffer might do, except for campaign work, said Maj. Ernest E. Robinson of the Marine Corps' legislative affairs office.
"He will be working in one of the Congress members' office, working directly for the member," Robinson said. "Depending on his tasks, he could be involved in legislation or some pretty important business."
Marine guidelines for the fellowship say Gibson's new duties could include drafting legislation, serving as a liaison to constituents, planning international conferences and dialogues, and much more.
"I'm looking forward to understanding the legislative process and what it has to do with the Marine Corps," the Pryor, Okla., native said. "Now us staff NCOs can be a part of that process and have a say in it."
As with nearly all military congressional fellows, Gibson most likely will serve with a Congress member who serves on the House or Senate Armed Services Committee or the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Defense, according to Col. Raymond E. Celeste of Marine Corps legislative affairs.
Gibson will provide accurate information to members of Congress, said Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Neil O'Connell, the senior enlisted Marine in Multinational Force West. "He's tactically and technically proficient, constantly educating himself, and due to his situation, he's well versed in the treatment and rehabilitation of the wounded," O'Connell said.
Selection for the program seems like a natural step for his career in the Marines, Gibson said. The majority of his experience in the Marine Corps has been focused on ground combat, but he said he's ready for a change.
"I think it's the perfect time to go," Gibson said. "This deployment has shown me where my place in the future is. This is going to be an environment I'm not used to, but it'll be an environment where I can help the whole military."
Though Gibson's tour in Washington will be something he has never done before, O'Connell said, his selection to the fellowship shows the Defense Department has faith that Gibson's extensive experience and professionalism will represent the Marine Corps in a positive light.
"He's a driven Marine, and he's earned his selection," he said.
(Marine Corps Cpl. Sean P. McGinty serves in the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Public Affairs Office.)
Petraeus Assumes Leadership of U.S. Central Command
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - Army Gen. David H. Petraeus assumed leadership of the U.S. military command charged with helping to build peace in a tough and war-torn part of the world today. Petraeus took the reins of U.S. Central Command from acting commander Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey in a ceremony here.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates presided over the change of command held at the base's Memorial Park.
"General Petraeus, you are again taking responsibility for our precious sons and daughters," Gates said. "I have no doubt they will continue to make you and me – indeed all Americans – very proud."
Petraeus now has responsibility for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He must deal with the threat that Iranian pursuit of nuclear weapons poses to the region and world. He also must deal with an unstable government in Pakistan. U.S. Central Command reaches from Kazakhstan to Yemen and Egypt to Kyrgyzstan.
Petraeus commanded Multinational Force Iraq during the troop surge that turned the tide in Iraq's security. Violence dropped in Iraq, and most of the country has returned to Iraqi control.
Before the change of command ceremony, Gates presented Dempsey with the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and Marine Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Morin, U.S. Central Command's senior enlisted leader, with the Defense Superior Service Medal.
The Senate has confirmed Dempsey for his fourth star and the post of commander U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va. Dempsey – who was deputy commander of CentCom – took over as acting commander upon the retirement of Navy Adm. William J. Fallon in March. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John R. Allen succeeded Dempsey today in CentCom's No. 2 post.
"I recall my first meeting with Marty Dempsey after he took the reins of CentCom," Gates said in his remarks. "He gave me a sheet of paper outlining the priorities for this command and asked for my guidance. After hearing what Marty had to say, I simply held up his own sheet of paper and said, 'This is my guidance to you' – a testament to his strategic vision and pragmatism, which he possesses in extra measure."
Dempsey has been far more than a place-holder at U.S. Central Command, Gates said, and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, agreed.
"Here at CentCom, Marty truly made the words 'acting commander' a contradiction in terms," Mullen said during the ceremony. "For there was nothing 'acting' about the way Marty has exercised the full spectrum of command throughout his entire area of responsibility. Nothing 'acting' about the way he orchestrated two wars at a critical time in our nation's history."
There also was nothing "acting" about his coordination with fellow combatant commanders and his management of the transition of Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa to U.S. Africa Command last month, Mullen said.
"Through it all, Marty has always placed the warfighter at the forefront – a priority that he made clear on Day One – and he has responded at every turn with a quiet confidence that earned my admiration and that of countless others under his command and throughout the region," the secretary said.
Gates next addressed the challenges awaiting Petraeus. "At the MNF-I change of command a few weeks ago, I said that history will regard him as one of our nation's great battle captains," Gates said. "He is the preeminent soldier-scholar-statesman of his generation, and precisely the man we need in this command at this time."
The troops under his command, "dealt our enemies in Iraq a tremendous blow," Gates said. "Now he will take aim at our adversaries in Afghanistan and lead security capacity efforts throughout the Middle East, the Gulf and Central Asia."
Mullen said that America has great expectations as Petraeus takes command here. "His watchwords – learn and adapt – have echoed from the streets of Baghdad to the halls of Washington," the chairman said.
He said Petraeus and Dempsey have "fired the minds of generations to understand the true purpose of power as a force for good: To listen in order to understand; to treat all cultures as equals, with dignity and respect; to admit quickly when we are wrong; and to share risk with those we protect – all in order to build trust."
Building trust among all peoples of the Middle East is the priority of the command, Mullen said. "The progress of peace, and the speed of that progress, depends upon the quality of trust Dave and this command will be able to achieve throughout the broader Middle East, and how he will build upon the lessons Marty has brought forward to this very moment," the chairman said.
While the challenges of the region may not require the same strategies Petraeus used in Iraq, he can build on that experience as he moves forward, Mullen said. "Dave, it is now your turn, with a new, broader aperture," the chairman said. "And we have great expectations ahead."
Both Petraeus and Dempsey are graduates of the U.S. military Academy's class of 1974.
Representatives of many of the partner nations attended the ceremony and Gates had a special welcome for them. The secretary thanked them for their support in Central Command.
"The United States has had enduring interests in this part of the world for many decades under presidents of both political parties," he said. "We will continue to have a presence there, standing strong with our friends and allies."
Gates also praised the efforts of American troops serving in U.S. Central Command. "CentCom went on a war footing when our country was attacked and has not let up since," he said. "For seven years, those who serve in this command have bravely stepped forward and, when necessary, unsheathed the sword on our enemies.
"I've heard it said that 'communism didn't fall, it was pushed.' Likewise, violent extremism will neither crumble nor fade away of its own accord," the secretary continued. "It will be the valor, grit and fighting spirit of you – the men and women of U.S. Central Command – that will give heart to our friends while pursuing terrorists where they hide, wrecking their malevolent designs and keeping them far from our shores."
The men and women of U.S. Central Command have sacrificed for all Americans, and "we cannot thank you enough," Mullen said. "It doesn't take ceremonies like this to celebrate the confidence of a grateful nation in our men and women in uniform, here in Tampa, and throughout the world, who choose lives of great sacrifice, and along with their families, bear heroic burdens, and honor us all."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - Army Gen. David H. Petraeus assumed leadership of the U.S. military command charged with helping to build peace in a tough and war-torn part of the world today. Petraeus took the reins of U.S. Central Command from acting commander Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey in a ceremony here.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates presided over the change of command held at the base's Memorial Park.
"General Petraeus, you are again taking responsibility for our precious sons and daughters," Gates said. "I have no doubt they will continue to make you and me – indeed all Americans – very proud."
Petraeus now has responsibility for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He must deal with the threat that Iranian pursuit of nuclear weapons poses to the region and world. He also must deal with an unstable government in Pakistan. U.S. Central Command reaches from Kazakhstan to Yemen and Egypt to Kyrgyzstan.
Petraeus commanded Multinational Force Iraq during the troop surge that turned the tide in Iraq's security. Violence dropped in Iraq, and most of the country has returned to Iraqi control.
Before the change of command ceremony, Gates presented Dempsey with the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and Marine Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Morin, U.S. Central Command's senior enlisted leader, with the Defense Superior Service Medal.
The Senate has confirmed Dempsey for his fourth star and the post of commander U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va. Dempsey – who was deputy commander of CentCom – took over as acting commander upon the retirement of Navy Adm. William J. Fallon in March. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John R. Allen succeeded Dempsey today in CentCom's No. 2 post.
"I recall my first meeting with Marty Dempsey after he took the reins of CentCom," Gates said in his remarks. "He gave me a sheet of paper outlining the priorities for this command and asked for my guidance. After hearing what Marty had to say, I simply held up his own sheet of paper and said, 'This is my guidance to you' – a testament to his strategic vision and pragmatism, which he possesses in extra measure."
Dempsey has been far more than a place-holder at U.S. Central Command, Gates said, and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, agreed.
"Here at CentCom, Marty truly made the words 'acting commander' a contradiction in terms," Mullen said during the ceremony. "For there was nothing 'acting' about the way Marty has exercised the full spectrum of command throughout his entire area of responsibility. Nothing 'acting' about the way he orchestrated two wars at a critical time in our nation's history."
There also was nothing "acting" about his coordination with fellow combatant commanders and his management of the transition of Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa to U.S. Africa Command last month, Mullen said.
"Through it all, Marty has always placed the warfighter at the forefront – a priority that he made clear on Day One – and he has responded at every turn with a quiet confidence that earned my admiration and that of countless others under his command and throughout the region," the secretary said.
Gates next addressed the challenges awaiting Petraeus. "At the MNF-I change of command a few weeks ago, I said that history will regard him as one of our nation's great battle captains," Gates said. "He is the preeminent soldier-scholar-statesman of his generation, and precisely the man we need in this command at this time."
The troops under his command, "dealt our enemies in Iraq a tremendous blow," Gates said. "Now he will take aim at our adversaries in Afghanistan and lead security capacity efforts throughout the Middle East, the Gulf and Central Asia."
Mullen said that America has great expectations as Petraeus takes command here. "His watchwords – learn and adapt – have echoed from the streets of Baghdad to the halls of Washington," the chairman said.
He said Petraeus and Dempsey have "fired the minds of generations to understand the true purpose of power as a force for good: To listen in order to understand; to treat all cultures as equals, with dignity and respect; to admit quickly when we are wrong; and to share risk with those we protect – all in order to build trust."
Building trust among all peoples of the Middle East is the priority of the command, Mullen said. "The progress of peace, and the speed of that progress, depends upon the quality of trust Dave and this command will be able to achieve throughout the broader Middle East, and how he will build upon the lessons Marty has brought forward to this very moment," the chairman said.
While the challenges of the region may not require the same strategies Petraeus used in Iraq, he can build on that experience as he moves forward, Mullen said. "Dave, it is now your turn, with a new, broader aperture," the chairman said. "And we have great expectations ahead."
Both Petraeus and Dempsey are graduates of the U.S. military Academy's class of 1974.
Representatives of many of the partner nations attended the ceremony and Gates had a special welcome for them. The secretary thanked them for their support in Central Command.
"The United States has had enduring interests in this part of the world for many decades under presidents of both political parties," he said. "We will continue to have a presence there, standing strong with our friends and allies."
Gates also praised the efforts of American troops serving in U.S. Central Command. "CentCom went on a war footing when our country was attacked and has not let up since," he said. "For seven years, those who serve in this command have bravely stepped forward and, when necessary, unsheathed the sword on our enemies.
"I've heard it said that 'communism didn't fall, it was pushed.' Likewise, violent extremism will neither crumble nor fade away of its own accord," the secretary continued. "It will be the valor, grit and fighting spirit of you – the men and women of U.S. Central Command – that will give heart to our friends while pursuing terrorists where they hide, wrecking their malevolent designs and keeping them far from our shores."
The men and women of U.S. Central Command have sacrificed for all Americans, and "we cannot thank you enough," Mullen said. "It doesn't take ceremonies like this to celebrate the confidence of a grateful nation in our men and women in uniform, here in Tampa, and throughout the world, who choose lives of great sacrifice, and along with their families, bear heroic burdens, and honor us all."
2008 Phoenix Award Winner Announced
The Department of Defense today announced the 2008 winner of the Phoenix Award, part of 2008 Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards. The field-level maintenance award honors military maintenance organizations for outstanding performance. The awardee is chosen from active and reserve organizations performing unit-or field-level maintenance and singled out as the best of the best and receives the Phoenix Award.
The 2008 winner of the Phoenix Award for field-level maintenance is the Air Force's 1st Special Operations Maintenance Group, Hurlburt Field, Fla., which distinguished itself by accomplishing superior aircraft maintenance supporting the generation of 3,200 combat sorties that flew nearly 14,000 hours over hostile territory. Challenged with a $336 million modification program and the bed down of two new weapon systems at home, the 1st Special Operations Maintenance Group was able to generate 4,200 training sorties that produced more than 3,100 combat ready aircrews needed to fight the Global War on Terrorism. Despite an imposing operations tempo, maintenance personnel throughout the group still supported 65 off-and on-station training and exercise commitments highlighted by a revamped training program that saved 98,000 labor hours per year and accomplished more than 33,000 training events.
The award was presented Oct. 29, 2008, at the 2008 DoD Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition in Denver, Colo. Additional information regarding the 2008 DoD Maintenance awards can be found at http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12109 .
The 2008 winner of the Phoenix Award for field-level maintenance is the Air Force's 1st Special Operations Maintenance Group, Hurlburt Field, Fla., which distinguished itself by accomplishing superior aircraft maintenance supporting the generation of 3,200 combat sorties that flew nearly 14,000 hours over hostile territory. Challenged with a $336 million modification program and the bed down of two new weapon systems at home, the 1st Special Operations Maintenance Group was able to generate 4,200 training sorties that produced more than 3,100 combat ready aircrews needed to fight the Global War on Terrorism. Despite an imposing operations tempo, maintenance personnel throughout the group still supported 65 off-and on-station training and exercise commitments highlighted by a revamped training program that saved 98,000 labor hours per year and accomplished more than 33,000 training events.
The award was presented Oct. 29, 2008, at the 2008 DoD Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition in Denver, Colo. Additional information regarding the 2008 DoD Maintenance awards can be found at http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12109 .
Acquisition Directorate Saves Billions for Taxpayers, Official Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - The Defense Department's acquisition directorate saved billions of dollars for taxpayers after adjusting the purchase schedule of several procurement programs, a senior Defense Department official said here yesterday. John J. Young Jr., the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters that he'd set a goal to save the department $10-$15 billion in procurement costs. Young was appointed to his post in November 2007.
"That's a pretty high goal ... but, I can tell you we think we've saved about $5 billion" so far, said Young.
One method found to reduce costs in the acquisition realm involves how the Pentagon purchases its equipment, Young said.
"We looked at a lot of our larger (procurement) programs and found many candidates, where if the enterprise was willing to take the pain of buying a few more sooner, and in some cases buying out faster, or... buying at a more economic order quantity – we can save money," Young said.
Nearly a dozen Pentagon procurement programs in the fiscal 2009 defense budget will be adjusted in that way to save costs, Young said.
The department also is looking at ways to realize another $30 billion in potential procurement cost savings, Young said.
The Pentagon's use of joint-analysis teams that examine the merit and capabilities of items such as advanced radar systems and other future equipment, Young said, greatly assists the department in its quest to procure the best military equipment and systems at the best price.
Young said he is thankful for the expertise of in-house military and defense civilian procurement experts who serve on the joint-analysis teams. He also saluted outside procurement experts who serve on defense support teams that brainstorm with Defense Department officials to solve procurement issues.
Using in-house and external experts to evaluate proposed procurement programs, Young said, is an example of "another best-practice that helps the enterprise to get the job done with discipline and efficiency."
Young also praised the utility of competitions sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that invite private industry to demonstrate expertise in fields such as lightweight, wearable power systems for soldiers and robotic vehicles.
Thanks to such competitions, the battery weight for prototype soldier-carried power systems, such as battery packs for computers, has been greatly reduced, Young said.
"So, that's great news in and of itself," Young said. "We have essentially prototype systems that weigh a third of what we ask soldiers to carry now and offer all the logistical benefits that come with that – less weight, less logistical demand to resupply batteries, et cetera. And, hopefully, we'll move that technology forward."
Young said he has sought to manage the Pentagon's acquisition process based on principles of realistic requirements, mature technology and fiscal discipline.
Future leadership decisions will need to be made on major defense acquisition programs that include new Navy surface vessels, the Joint Strike Fighter, the Air Force's F-22 fighter, the Army's Future Combat System and others, Young said.
"I think every one of the big programs will get some level of attention," Young said, since "the next administration will want to look at how their priorities in the budget line up."
Returning to the issue of procurement costs, Young noted that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has expressed concern about processes that drive up the cost of new acquisition programs and expend additional taxpayer dollars.
Adding requirements beyond a system's initial design and performance specifications drives up procurement costs, Young said. It's therefore incumbent upon procurement officials, he said, to decide on the minimum necessary requirements for new defense systems and to carefully weigh the need and cost of adding other desired functions.
"I think bells and whistles are costing us money. Bells and whistles drive more testing," Young said. "There can be a set of 'tradable requirements, but we need to be careful about how we're going to evaluate them."
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - The Defense Department's acquisition directorate saved billions of dollars for taxpayers after adjusting the purchase schedule of several procurement programs, a senior Defense Department official said here yesterday. John J. Young Jr., the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters that he'd set a goal to save the department $10-$15 billion in procurement costs. Young was appointed to his post in November 2007.
"That's a pretty high goal ... but, I can tell you we think we've saved about $5 billion" so far, said Young.
One method found to reduce costs in the acquisition realm involves how the Pentagon purchases its equipment, Young said.
"We looked at a lot of our larger (procurement) programs and found many candidates, where if the enterprise was willing to take the pain of buying a few more sooner, and in some cases buying out faster, or... buying at a more economic order quantity – we can save money," Young said.
Nearly a dozen Pentagon procurement programs in the fiscal 2009 defense budget will be adjusted in that way to save costs, Young said.
The department also is looking at ways to realize another $30 billion in potential procurement cost savings, Young said.
The Pentagon's use of joint-analysis teams that examine the merit and capabilities of items such as advanced radar systems and other future equipment, Young said, greatly assists the department in its quest to procure the best military equipment and systems at the best price.
Young said he is thankful for the expertise of in-house military and defense civilian procurement experts who serve on the joint-analysis teams. He also saluted outside procurement experts who serve on defense support teams that brainstorm with Defense Department officials to solve procurement issues.
Using in-house and external experts to evaluate proposed procurement programs, Young said, is an example of "another best-practice that helps the enterprise to get the job done with discipline and efficiency."
Young also praised the utility of competitions sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that invite private industry to demonstrate expertise in fields such as lightweight, wearable power systems for soldiers and robotic vehicles.
Thanks to such competitions, the battery weight for prototype soldier-carried power systems, such as battery packs for computers, has been greatly reduced, Young said.
"So, that's great news in and of itself," Young said. "We have essentially prototype systems that weigh a third of what we ask soldiers to carry now and offer all the logistical benefits that come with that – less weight, less logistical demand to resupply batteries, et cetera. And, hopefully, we'll move that technology forward."
Young said he has sought to manage the Pentagon's acquisition process based on principles of realistic requirements, mature technology and fiscal discipline.
Future leadership decisions will need to be made on major defense acquisition programs that include new Navy surface vessels, the Joint Strike Fighter, the Air Force's F-22 fighter, the Army's Future Combat System and others, Young said.
"I think every one of the big programs will get some level of attention," Young said, since "the next administration will want to look at how their priorities in the budget line up."
Returning to the issue of procurement costs, Young noted that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has expressed concern about processes that drive up the cost of new acquisition programs and expend additional taxpayer dollars.
Adding requirements beyond a system's initial design and performance specifications drives up procurement costs, Young said. It's therefore incumbent upon procurement officials, he said, to decide on the minimum necessary requirements for new defense systems and to carefully weigh the need and cost of adding other desired functions.
"I think bells and whistles are costing us money. Bells and whistles drive more testing," Young said. "There can be a set of 'tradable requirements, but we need to be careful about how we're going to evaluate them."
'Operation Education' Provides Net for Veterans
By Joni Kirk
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - One decision turned Chase Clark's life upside-down, but another is helping him realize the dreams he didn't think were possible. While still in high school in rural Blackfoot, Idaho, Clark signed up for the Army National Guard because of the great benefits and the "opportunity to make something" of himself.
Immediately following graduation, he took advantage of the educational benefits and enrolled at Idaho State University. "I never expected to get activated, but I knew it was a possibility," he said.
That's exactly what happened his first semester, however. Clark found himself serving in Iraq, where he was wounded in combat. He won't discuss his injuries, though, because of the emotional trauma he still suffers.
Upon his return home, Clark was discharged from the Army National Guard, but found the battle was only beginning. "Veteran wounds can suck you down and hold you within yourself. I was in a deep, dark place," he said.
Eventually, Clark realized he needed to escape the demons that haunted him. Intent on obtaining a degree in landscape architecture, he took another gamble and headed to the University of Idaho. This time he won the jackpot.
Soon after his arrival, Clark learned about a scholarship created specifically for disabled veterans: the university's "Operation Education" scholarship program.
Operation Education has three components customized to meet the personal needs of each scholar. Each plan provides financial, academic and social support for the diverse challenges that go with a return to civilian life, adjusting to life with a disability and working to earn a college degree. The program also is available to veterans' spouses.
According to John Sawyer, a veterans' advisor at the University of Idaho, a college degree can lead to a new life and career opportunities.
"For many disabled veterans, returning to a productive and satisfying life is about more than just money," Sawyer said. "Rather, it is about the need for comprehensive and integrated support. We will do whatever it takes for these veterans to succeed in the classroom, on campus, in the community and, ultimately, in society by helping them complete a college degree."
"I know a lot of wounded vets who have had a tough time getting their benefits and aren't getting paid, which is stressful on their families," Clark said. "This scholarship is not like that at all. The people with Operation Education get things done. They make things happen. More than that, they take care of anything needed for my education."
For Clark, the package has included physical therapy, assistance with vocational rehabilitation, social support, financial assistance for extra expenses, and more.
Because he doesn't have to worry about the "behind the scenes" efforts, Clark said, he is able to focus on his course work. With help from Operation Education, he was able to take a six-week landscape architecture course in Italy. He also plans to study abroad in New Zealand in the spring.
"Studying internationally allows me to glean from the foundations and traditions of landscape architecture," he said. "There are great examples of city form, land planning and landscape design that can serve as inspiration for contemporary design and planning."
Clark's also developing his skills closer to home. This year, students in the university's landscape architecture program are working in Cascade, Idaho, to develop and realize a community vision.
"It's a project where we impact real people directly," Clark said. "It made me realize what I can become. I'm developing both as an individual and as part of a team. It's very inspiring and presents me with new challenges and ideals."
He credits the university and its scholarship program as being a "grounding rod" for disabled veterans.
"Operation Education is more than a scholarship – it's a support web," Clark said. "It allows me to be flexible in exploring the different avenues and opportunities of my education. I can focus on learning without being hindered by all the details.
"I encourage other vets who may think that they can't go to school to reconsider."
(Joni Kirk works at the University of Idaho.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - One decision turned Chase Clark's life upside-down, but another is helping him realize the dreams he didn't think were possible. While still in high school in rural Blackfoot, Idaho, Clark signed up for the Army National Guard because of the great benefits and the "opportunity to make something" of himself.
Immediately following graduation, he took advantage of the educational benefits and enrolled at Idaho State University. "I never expected to get activated, but I knew it was a possibility," he said.
That's exactly what happened his first semester, however. Clark found himself serving in Iraq, where he was wounded in combat. He won't discuss his injuries, though, because of the emotional trauma he still suffers.
Upon his return home, Clark was discharged from the Army National Guard, but found the battle was only beginning. "Veteran wounds can suck you down and hold you within yourself. I was in a deep, dark place," he said.
Eventually, Clark realized he needed to escape the demons that haunted him. Intent on obtaining a degree in landscape architecture, he took another gamble and headed to the University of Idaho. This time he won the jackpot.
Soon after his arrival, Clark learned about a scholarship created specifically for disabled veterans: the university's "Operation Education" scholarship program.
Operation Education has three components customized to meet the personal needs of each scholar. Each plan provides financial, academic and social support for the diverse challenges that go with a return to civilian life, adjusting to life with a disability and working to earn a college degree. The program also is available to veterans' spouses.
According to John Sawyer, a veterans' advisor at the University of Idaho, a college degree can lead to a new life and career opportunities.
"For many disabled veterans, returning to a productive and satisfying life is about more than just money," Sawyer said. "Rather, it is about the need for comprehensive and integrated support. We will do whatever it takes for these veterans to succeed in the classroom, on campus, in the community and, ultimately, in society by helping them complete a college degree."
"I know a lot of wounded vets who have had a tough time getting their benefits and aren't getting paid, which is stressful on their families," Clark said. "This scholarship is not like that at all. The people with Operation Education get things done. They make things happen. More than that, they take care of anything needed for my education."
For Clark, the package has included physical therapy, assistance with vocational rehabilitation, social support, financial assistance for extra expenses, and more.
Because he doesn't have to worry about the "behind the scenes" efforts, Clark said, he is able to focus on his course work. With help from Operation Education, he was able to take a six-week landscape architecture course in Italy. He also plans to study abroad in New Zealand in the spring.
"Studying internationally allows me to glean from the foundations and traditions of landscape architecture," he said. "There are great examples of city form, land planning and landscape design that can serve as inspiration for contemporary design and planning."
Clark's also developing his skills closer to home. This year, students in the university's landscape architecture program are working in Cascade, Idaho, to develop and realize a community vision.
"It's a project where we impact real people directly," Clark said. "It made me realize what I can become. I'm developing both as an individual and as part of a team. It's very inspiring and presents me with new challenges and ideals."
He credits the university and its scholarship program as being a "grounding rod" for disabled veterans.
"Operation Education is more than a scholarship – it's a support web," Clark said. "It allows me to be flexible in exploring the different avenues and opportunities of my education. I can focus on learning without being hindered by all the details.
"I encourage other vets who may think that they can't go to school to reconsider."
(Joni Kirk works at the University of Idaho.)
MILITARY CONTRACTS October 31, 2008
MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY
Raytheon Missile Systems Co., Arizona, is being awarded a $441,900,000 (maximum) indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for development and test of the Ballistic Missile Defense System Multiple Kill Vehicle Payload System. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona and is expected to be complete by December 2011. This is a sole source contract award. The contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting activity (HQ0147-09-D-0001). The contract will be incrementally funded. The Task Order 0001 negotiated value is $54,013,313 with a period of performance of 1 Nov. 2008 through 1 Nov. 2009. We anticipate funding approximately $24,000,000 at time of award. Both FY09 and FY10 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be used.
NAVY
BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services, Rockville, Md., is being awarded a $55,000,000 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (N00421-06-D-0038) to exercise an option for engineering, analytical and manufacturing to support aging aircraft. Work will be performed in various locations throughout the United States (80 percent) and Rockville, Md. (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Maritime Systems & Sensors, Baltimore, Md., is being awarded a $37,500,000 Basic Ordering Agreement for Post-Shakedown Availability (PSA) on the Littoral Combat Ship, USS Freedom (LCS-1). The orders to be issued will encompass services which support the total PSA effort which include, but are not limited to program management, advance planning, engineering, material kitting, liaison, scheduling and participation in PSA planning conferences and design reviews, and preparation of documentation as required by the Contract Data Requirement List. The orders will also encompass material and labor to perform the PSA for LCS 1, all testing, including post repair trials required to verify the accuracy and completion of all shipyard industrial work, non-standard equipment when approved, and technical manuals for non-standard equipment. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (53 percent) and Norfolk, Va. (47 percent), and is expected to be completed by January 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-09-G-2300).
Walton Construction Co., LLC, Harahan, La., is being awarded a $34,020,000 modification under a previously awarded firm-fixed price contract (N69450-08-C-1759) to exercise an option which provides for the design and construction of two barracks at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $59,280,000. Work will be performed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., and is expected to be completed by Nov. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity.
LTM, Inc.*, Havelock, N.C., is being awarded a $25,345,721 ceiling priced modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00421-01-D-0101) to exercise an option for approximately 353,600 hours of maintenance planning and design interface technical/management support services for the Fleet Readiness Center(FRC) East, Cherry Point, N.C. These services include evaluating initial designs and proposed design changes, maintenance planning, and sustaining maintenance plans. Work will be performed at FRC East, Cherry Point, N.C. (99 percent), and at various locations across the United States (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Lejeune Support Services, LLC, Sterling, Va., is being awarded $14,047,049 under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-deliver/indefinite-quantity contract (N62470-05-D-4192) to exercise option year four for facilities maintenance and repair and heavy equipment repair at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, Jacksonville, N.C. The work to be performed includes all labor, materials, tools, equipment, supervision, technical expertise, transportation and management necessary to operate, maintain, and repair the facilities, roads, grounds, equipment, and utilities and perform other specialized functions, such as locksmith services, machinery, sign fabrication, etc. After exercise of this option, the total cumulative contract amount will be $75,704,122. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, N.C., and work is expected to be completed Oct. 31, 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The solicitation was available for full and open competition, and three proposals were received. Award was made to Lejeune Support Services, LLC on Jan. 26, 2005. The Officer in Charge of Construction, Marine Corps Installations East, is the administering contracting activity.
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $5,841,577 order against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) for near and long term requirements to continue the analysis required for an efficient and orderly shutdown of the T-45 production line transition Phase II and the associated post-production support efforts for the T-45 A/C aircraft series. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo. (77 percent) and Warton, Lancashire, UK (23 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $1,653,085 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Turbo Combustor Technology, Inc., Stuart, Fla.* is being awarded a maximum $10,640,000 firm fixed price, total set-aside contract for aircraft engine platform equipment. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Air Force. There were originally three proposals solicited with two responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is November 30, 2009. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Richmond, Richmond, Va., (SPM4A7-09-C-0003).
ARMY
AeroVironment Incorporated, Sun Valley, Calif., was awarded Oct. 30, 2008, a $5,810,622 firm/fixed/price contract. This effort is to procure research, development, test & evaluation digital data link effort for the Raven RQ-11B unmanned aircraft System. Work will be performed in Simi Valley, Calif., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2011. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. US Army Contracting Command Aviation & Missile Command/AMSCC/AMC/ARA, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-05-C-0338).
Raytheon Missile Systems Co., Arizona, is being awarded a $441,900,000 (maximum) indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for development and test of the Ballistic Missile Defense System Multiple Kill Vehicle Payload System. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona and is expected to be complete by December 2011. This is a sole source contract award. The contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting activity (HQ0147-09-D-0001). The contract will be incrementally funded. The Task Order 0001 negotiated value is $54,013,313 with a period of performance of 1 Nov. 2008 through 1 Nov. 2009. We anticipate funding approximately $24,000,000 at time of award. Both FY09 and FY10 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be used.
NAVY
BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services, Rockville, Md., is being awarded a $55,000,000 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (N00421-06-D-0038) to exercise an option for engineering, analytical and manufacturing to support aging aircraft. Work will be performed in various locations throughout the United States (80 percent) and Rockville, Md. (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Maritime Systems & Sensors, Baltimore, Md., is being awarded a $37,500,000 Basic Ordering Agreement for Post-Shakedown Availability (PSA) on the Littoral Combat Ship, USS Freedom (LCS-1). The orders to be issued will encompass services which support the total PSA effort which include, but are not limited to program management, advance planning, engineering, material kitting, liaison, scheduling and participation in PSA planning conferences and design reviews, and preparation of documentation as required by the Contract Data Requirement List. The orders will also encompass material and labor to perform the PSA for LCS 1, all testing, including post repair trials required to verify the accuracy and completion of all shipyard industrial work, non-standard equipment when approved, and technical manuals for non-standard equipment. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (53 percent) and Norfolk, Va. (47 percent), and is expected to be completed by January 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-09-G-2300).
Walton Construction Co., LLC, Harahan, La., is being awarded a $34,020,000 modification under a previously awarded firm-fixed price contract (N69450-08-C-1759) to exercise an option which provides for the design and construction of two barracks at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $59,280,000. Work will be performed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., and is expected to be completed by Nov. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity.
LTM, Inc.*, Havelock, N.C., is being awarded a $25,345,721 ceiling priced modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00421-01-D-0101) to exercise an option for approximately 353,600 hours of maintenance planning and design interface technical/management support services for the Fleet Readiness Center(FRC) East, Cherry Point, N.C. These services include evaluating initial designs and proposed design changes, maintenance planning, and sustaining maintenance plans. Work will be performed at FRC East, Cherry Point, N.C. (99 percent), and at various locations across the United States (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Lejeune Support Services, LLC, Sterling, Va., is being awarded $14,047,049 under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-deliver/indefinite-quantity contract (N62470-05-D-4192) to exercise option year four for facilities maintenance and repair and heavy equipment repair at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, Jacksonville, N.C. The work to be performed includes all labor, materials, tools, equipment, supervision, technical expertise, transportation and management necessary to operate, maintain, and repair the facilities, roads, grounds, equipment, and utilities and perform other specialized functions, such as locksmith services, machinery, sign fabrication, etc. After exercise of this option, the total cumulative contract amount will be $75,704,122. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, N.C., and work is expected to be completed Oct. 31, 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The solicitation was available for full and open competition, and three proposals were received. Award was made to Lejeune Support Services, LLC on Jan. 26, 2005. The Officer in Charge of Construction, Marine Corps Installations East, is the administering contracting activity.
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $5,841,577 order against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) for near and long term requirements to continue the analysis required for an efficient and orderly shutdown of the T-45 production line transition Phase II and the associated post-production support efforts for the T-45 A/C aircraft series. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo. (77 percent) and Warton, Lancashire, UK (23 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $1,653,085 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Turbo Combustor Technology, Inc., Stuart, Fla.* is being awarded a maximum $10,640,000 firm fixed price, total set-aside contract for aircraft engine platform equipment. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Air Force. There were originally three proposals solicited with two responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is November 30, 2009. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Richmond, Richmond, Va., (SPM4A7-09-C-0003).
ARMY
AeroVironment Incorporated, Sun Valley, Calif., was awarded Oct. 30, 2008, a $5,810,622 firm/fixed/price contract. This effort is to procure research, development, test & evaluation digital data link effort for the Raven RQ-11B unmanned aircraft System. Work will be performed in Simi Valley, Calif., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2011. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. US Army Contracting Command Aviation & Missile Command/AMSCC/AMC/ARA, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-05-C-0338).
Dempsey's 'Acting' Career Ends as CentCom Turns Over to Petraeus
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - Army Lt. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey's "acting" career is over. Dempsey turned over command of U.S. Central Command to Army Gen. David H. Petraeus during a sun-drenched ceremony at Memorial Field here today. As CentCom's deputy commander, Dempsey took over as acting commander following the retirement of Navy Adm. William J. Fallon in March. He will receive his fourth star and assume command of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va., and was succeeded today as CentCom's deputy commander by Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John R. Allen.
Dempsey paid tribute to the more than 250,000 American servicemembers and civilians serving in the command, which stretches from Kazakhstan to Egypt and includes two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said they are "far from home, often in harm's way, uncomplaining; representing both the resolve and compassion of this great nation."
"As a nation," he said, "we have been blessed by their service, and I have been blessed to be part of their team."
The area the command covers presents the United States with challenges that sometimes seem unsolvable, he said. "Yet it offers us opportunities to solve many, and perhaps even most, of the world's perplexing problems," he said.
While the vast majority of people in the region have aspirations much like those of Americans, violent extremists in the region have declared war on the American way of life, Dempsey said.
"And so, CentCom is a command at war," he said. "It is also a command committed to promoting peace. We relentlessly pursue our enemies while simultaneously conducting disaster relief, training with our coalition and regional partners and protecting the global commons at sea and in the air.
"There is always an honest day's work to be done at U.S. Central Command," he said.
The command's trademarks are teamwork, partnership, sacrifice and resolve, Dempsey said. "CentCom is a team of teams," he said. The command teams with other nations, other agencies and – at home – with Tampa, he noted.
"Most of what gets done well in our government gets done through the trust and confidence that comes with partnership," Dempsey said. "As partners, we demonstrate every day that in matters of security, the whole really is stronger than the sum of its parts."
The men and women of CentCom "understand that there are things in this world – like freedom – worth the sacrifice necessary to achieve and then preserve them," the general said.
Dempsey described visiting Afghanistan's border with Pakistan in December and speaking with the U.S. leader about his 20-man detachment's fight against 50 or 60 Taliban the night before.
"There were several inches of snow on the ground," he said. "The troopers were living in sandbagged metal containers at 8,000 feet and most of their supplies had to be brought in by helicopter because the road network had been mined by the Taliban – a tough and important mission being performed superbly by a tough group of soldiers."
Those soldiers and their fellow servicemembers around the region are brave and proud, and they accept the sacrifices America's asks of them, Dempsey said.
"I'll tell you one other thing: Nobody is getting through that pass ... or through any other outpost where young Americans stand watch for our freedom," he said.
Petraeus thanked Dempsey for his service as acting commander and said he is ready for the challenges presented by the region.
"Indeed, from transnational extremist organizations and industrial strength insurgencies, to weapons proliferation, a rise in piracy and persistent ethno-sectarian conflict, the CentCom area contains innumerable challenges," Petraeus said.
And the solutions to these challenges require comprehensive approaches that employ the whole of the U.S. government's capabilities, he said, and close coordination with host country and coalition governments and security forces.
"This is necessary not just to resolve pressing short-term issues but to address – over time – the underlying conditions that give rise to such serious security challenges," he said.
The road ahead will be tough, but the mission must be accomplished, Petraeus said.
"It's clear that in the months and years ahead, a great deal of responsibility will continue to rest on the shoulders of the wonderful men and women of the coalition countries serving in harm's way in the Central Command area of responsibility, and it is an honor to serve with them again," he said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - Army Lt. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey's "acting" career is over. Dempsey turned over command of U.S. Central Command to Army Gen. David H. Petraeus during a sun-drenched ceremony at Memorial Field here today. As CentCom's deputy commander, Dempsey took over as acting commander following the retirement of Navy Adm. William J. Fallon in March. He will receive his fourth star and assume command of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va., and was succeeded today as CentCom's deputy commander by Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John R. Allen.
Dempsey paid tribute to the more than 250,000 American servicemembers and civilians serving in the command, which stretches from Kazakhstan to Egypt and includes two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said they are "far from home, often in harm's way, uncomplaining; representing both the resolve and compassion of this great nation."
"As a nation," he said, "we have been blessed by their service, and I have been blessed to be part of their team."
The area the command covers presents the United States with challenges that sometimes seem unsolvable, he said. "Yet it offers us opportunities to solve many, and perhaps even most, of the world's perplexing problems," he said.
While the vast majority of people in the region have aspirations much like those of Americans, violent extremists in the region have declared war on the American way of life, Dempsey said.
"And so, CentCom is a command at war," he said. "It is also a command committed to promoting peace. We relentlessly pursue our enemies while simultaneously conducting disaster relief, training with our coalition and regional partners and protecting the global commons at sea and in the air.
"There is always an honest day's work to be done at U.S. Central Command," he said.
The command's trademarks are teamwork, partnership, sacrifice and resolve, Dempsey said. "CentCom is a team of teams," he said. The command teams with other nations, other agencies and – at home – with Tampa, he noted.
"Most of what gets done well in our government gets done through the trust and confidence that comes with partnership," Dempsey said. "As partners, we demonstrate every day that in matters of security, the whole really is stronger than the sum of its parts."
The men and women of CentCom "understand that there are things in this world – like freedom – worth the sacrifice necessary to achieve and then preserve them," the general said.
Dempsey described visiting Afghanistan's border with Pakistan in December and speaking with the U.S. leader about his 20-man detachment's fight against 50 or 60 Taliban the night before.
"There were several inches of snow on the ground," he said. "The troopers were living in sandbagged metal containers at 8,000 feet and most of their supplies had to be brought in by helicopter because the road network had been mined by the Taliban – a tough and important mission being performed superbly by a tough group of soldiers."
Those soldiers and their fellow servicemembers around the region are brave and proud, and they accept the sacrifices America's asks of them, Dempsey said.
"I'll tell you one other thing: Nobody is getting through that pass ... or through any other outpost where young Americans stand watch for our freedom," he said.
Petraeus thanked Dempsey for his service as acting commander and said he is ready for the challenges presented by the region.
"Indeed, from transnational extremist organizations and industrial strength insurgencies, to weapons proliferation, a rise in piracy and persistent ethno-sectarian conflict, the CentCom area contains innumerable challenges," Petraeus said.
And the solutions to these challenges require comprehensive approaches that employ the whole of the U.S. government's capabilities, he said, and close coordination with host country and coalition governments and security forces.
"This is necessary not just to resolve pressing short-term issues but to address – over time – the underlying conditions that give rise to such serious security challenges," he said.
The road ahead will be tough, but the mission must be accomplished, Petraeus said.
"It's clear that in the months and years ahead, a great deal of responsibility will continue to rest on the shoulders of the wonderful men and women of the coalition countries serving in harm's way in the Central Command area of responsibility, and it is an honor to serve with them again," he said.
Friday, October 31, 2008
U.S. Troops Provide Filtered Water to Flood Victims in Honduras
By Air Force Staff Sgt. Joel Mease
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - U.S. troops here are helping provide clean drinking to local communities hurt by flooding caused by a tropical storm that brought more than a week of rain. The flooding from the tropical storm had a devastating impact on the community. Not only were homes ruined, but their well water supply was affected from the flood waters making the water undrinkable, said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shane Bolles, deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, to serve as part of Joint Task Force Bravo.
Servicemembers assigned to the task force are currently involved in a 10-day water filtration project in a community near La Paz. The project is scheduled to end Nov. 5. In just a few days time, the team has been able to transform more than 2,500 gallons of undrinkable water into clean water available for the public in large containers known as "water buffaloes," Bolles said.
The impact on the community provided by the water team is seen instantly by the servicemembers, Bolles said.
"After the floods happened, the community had to have water trucked in at great expense to them," Bolles said. "I see them coming here with a smile on their face, knowing that for many of them their lives were destroyed by this flood. This small gesture means a lot to them."
Not only does the clean water mean a lot to the community, but it holds a special meaning for the team members who came to help.
"You see them come with just about everything imaginable to fill up with water to take back to their homes," said Tech. Sgt. Romano Cedillos, deployed from the Phoenix Air National Guard. "After being able to visit with them and seeing how their community was affected, I feel as if I have made an impact in their lives."
"We are able to make almost any water source potable water in just a few hours," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Nick Luna, who also deployed from Dyess.
The machine the team uses relies on three filters that take out impurities at each stage and use a reverse osmosis system to bring the water back to its purest stage, Luna said.
"For every three gallons of unpotable water the machine pumps in we are able to pump out one gallon of potable water," Luna said. "The water that was not able to be transformed into pure water then is released back into the water source."
(Air Force Staff Sgt. Joel Mease is assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo public affairs.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - U.S. troops here are helping provide clean drinking to local communities hurt by flooding caused by a tropical storm that brought more than a week of rain. The flooding from the tropical storm had a devastating impact on the community. Not only were homes ruined, but their well water supply was affected from the flood waters making the water undrinkable, said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shane Bolles, deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, to serve as part of Joint Task Force Bravo.
Servicemembers assigned to the task force are currently involved in a 10-day water filtration project in a community near La Paz. The project is scheduled to end Nov. 5. In just a few days time, the team has been able to transform more than 2,500 gallons of undrinkable water into clean water available for the public in large containers known as "water buffaloes," Bolles said.
The impact on the community provided by the water team is seen instantly by the servicemembers, Bolles said.
"After the floods happened, the community had to have water trucked in at great expense to them," Bolles said. "I see them coming here with a smile on their face, knowing that for many of them their lives were destroyed by this flood. This small gesture means a lot to them."
Not only does the clean water mean a lot to the community, but it holds a special meaning for the team members who came to help.
"You see them come with just about everything imaginable to fill up with water to take back to their homes," said Tech. Sgt. Romano Cedillos, deployed from the Phoenix Air National Guard. "After being able to visit with them and seeing how their community was affected, I feel as if I have made an impact in their lives."
"We are able to make almost any water source potable water in just a few hours," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Nick Luna, who also deployed from Dyess.
The machine the team uses relies on three filters that take out impurities at each stage and use a reverse osmosis system to bring the water back to its purest stage, Luna said.
"For every three gallons of unpotable water the machine pumps in we are able to pump out one gallon of potable water," Luna said. "The water that was not able to be transformed into pure water then is released back into the water source."
(Air Force Staff Sgt. Joel Mease is assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo public affairs.)
Iraqi, American Firefighters Combine Forces for Airfield Protection
By Air Force Master Sgt. Brian Davidson
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - As senior government leaders hammer out a new Status of Forces Agreement that will set the path for future American and Iraqi military policies, a group of American and Iraqi firefighters have already developed a working relationship that protects people, structures and aircraft here at Baghdad International Airport. U.S. Air National Guard firefighters from the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron are working with Iraqi air force firefighters from New al Muthana Air Base, learning how to collaborate to protect life and property in the event of any type of ground or in-flight emergency.
The most recent training paired the American and Iraqi firefighters in an exercise where they practiced the procedures for rescuing the flight crew from a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft in the event of a fire in the cargo hold.
The training began with the firefighters meeting for a briefing to discuss the objectives of the exercise including aircrew egress procedures and how to integrate their rescue and firefighting processes.
"We used an Iraqi air force C-130 for the training, and the Iraqi firefighters took the lead in entering the aircraft," said Chief Master Sgt. John Cinquemani, 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron. "It's important to learn about each other's capabilities and become familiar with the different equipment that's used so we can integrate into one team in the event of any type of emergency. We have to have one common goal and one common process in order to save lives and get the job done."
Working firefighting activities at an airport offers a unique set of challenges and dangers as compared to a regular city fire department, said Cinquemani, who is deployed from the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York where he serves as the full-time fire chief for the Guard Base as well as Stewart International Airport.
With more than 37 years as a firefighter and 23 years as a fire chief, Cinquemani understands those challenges and dangers, and pushes both the American and Iraqi firefighters to learn how to work together.
To that end, the chief is planning weekly training and exercises that will encompass a vast range of crisis scenarios and push the firefighters to perform as a seamless team.
"If we have an emergency on the Iraqi air force side of the airfield or involving an Iraqi aircraft, then they will take the lead and we will back them up," he said. "If it involves an American aircraft, they have our backs—and it takes constant training be ready."
When the training began, the call went out over the radio announcing an emergency response to a simulated fire aboard the Iraqi aircraft. The Iraqi and American fire trucks rolled out across the taxiway and took staggered positions around the aircraft. With the Americans wearing silver protective suits and the Iraqis wearing black, they worked together to pull hoses off the Iraqi trucks and prepare to enter the aircraft.
The Iraqis manned the hoses and stood by as American firefighters counted down and then yanked open the aircraft door. The Iraqis immediately pushed through the opening with their hoses and began clearing procedures, followed by their American back-up.
Once the aircraft was cleared, the teams gathered to discuss what they did well, and what they could do better.
"We still have to overcome the language barrier and do better in coordinating our actions so we all move and act together," said Staff Sgt. Jason Ankenbauer, 447th ECES firefighter, who is deployed from the 144th Fighter Wing at Fresno Air National Guard Base, Calif.
"When you are dealing with an aircraft fire, there are lots of other things to consider including the fact that you have to work very quickly—not only to save lives but because it's a three-dimensional environment and there are always going to be other activities around the emergency area and multiple aircraft overhead that are waiting to land," he said.
Their training also will allow them to be better prepared to assist civilian Iraqi firefighters on the Baghdad International Airport side of the flightline in the event of a major civilian aircraft crash, fire or mass-casualty incident, Ankenbauer said.
Cinquemani praised the firefighters for staying focused on their task, and doing their best to move as a team. He then explained that he is working on a project to make sure all American and Iraqi firefighters get the same self-contained breathing equipment so they can more effectively team-up while working and training together.
Cinquemani's plans for additional exercises and training include scenarios that will call upon American and Iraqi firefighters as well as medical personnel from the 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron.
"The Iraqi air force firefighters are obviously very proud of their accomplishments, and every step we take with them in training is another step towards their capability to take over all of the military emergency services activities here," he said. "Each of their accomplishments also brings them one step closer to becoming a fully independent and operational air force."
(Master Sgt. Brian Davidson serves with the 447th Air Expeditionary Group.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 31, 2008 - As senior government leaders hammer out a new Status of Forces Agreement that will set the path for future American and Iraqi military policies, a group of American and Iraqi firefighters have already developed a working relationship that protects people, structures and aircraft here at Baghdad International Airport. U.S. Air National Guard firefighters from the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron are working with Iraqi air force firefighters from New al Muthana Air Base, learning how to collaborate to protect life and property in the event of any type of ground or in-flight emergency.
The most recent training paired the American and Iraqi firefighters in an exercise where they practiced the procedures for rescuing the flight crew from a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft in the event of a fire in the cargo hold.
The training began with the firefighters meeting for a briefing to discuss the objectives of the exercise including aircrew egress procedures and how to integrate their rescue and firefighting processes.
"We used an Iraqi air force C-130 for the training, and the Iraqi firefighters took the lead in entering the aircraft," said Chief Master Sgt. John Cinquemani, 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron. "It's important to learn about each other's capabilities and become familiar with the different equipment that's used so we can integrate into one team in the event of any type of emergency. We have to have one common goal and one common process in order to save lives and get the job done."
Working firefighting activities at an airport offers a unique set of challenges and dangers as compared to a regular city fire department, said Cinquemani, who is deployed from the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York where he serves as the full-time fire chief for the Guard Base as well as Stewart International Airport.
With more than 37 years as a firefighter and 23 years as a fire chief, Cinquemani understands those challenges and dangers, and pushes both the American and Iraqi firefighters to learn how to work together.
To that end, the chief is planning weekly training and exercises that will encompass a vast range of crisis scenarios and push the firefighters to perform as a seamless team.
"If we have an emergency on the Iraqi air force side of the airfield or involving an Iraqi aircraft, then they will take the lead and we will back them up," he said. "If it involves an American aircraft, they have our backs—and it takes constant training be ready."
When the training began, the call went out over the radio announcing an emergency response to a simulated fire aboard the Iraqi aircraft. The Iraqi and American fire trucks rolled out across the taxiway and took staggered positions around the aircraft. With the Americans wearing silver protective suits and the Iraqis wearing black, they worked together to pull hoses off the Iraqi trucks and prepare to enter the aircraft.
The Iraqis manned the hoses and stood by as American firefighters counted down and then yanked open the aircraft door. The Iraqis immediately pushed through the opening with their hoses and began clearing procedures, followed by their American back-up.
Once the aircraft was cleared, the teams gathered to discuss what they did well, and what they could do better.
"We still have to overcome the language barrier and do better in coordinating our actions so we all move and act together," said Staff Sgt. Jason Ankenbauer, 447th ECES firefighter, who is deployed from the 144th Fighter Wing at Fresno Air National Guard Base, Calif.
"When you are dealing with an aircraft fire, there are lots of other things to consider including the fact that you have to work very quickly—not only to save lives but because it's a three-dimensional environment and there are always going to be other activities around the emergency area and multiple aircraft overhead that are waiting to land," he said.
Their training also will allow them to be better prepared to assist civilian Iraqi firefighters on the Baghdad International Airport side of the flightline in the event of a major civilian aircraft crash, fire or mass-casualty incident, Ankenbauer said.
Cinquemani praised the firefighters for staying focused on their task, and doing their best to move as a team. He then explained that he is working on a project to make sure all American and Iraqi firefighters get the same self-contained breathing equipment so they can more effectively team-up while working and training together.
Cinquemani's plans for additional exercises and training include scenarios that will call upon American and Iraqi firefighters as well as medical personnel from the 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron.
"The Iraqi air force firefighters are obviously very proud of their accomplishments, and every step we take with them in training is another step towards their capability to take over all of the military emergency services activities here," he said. "Each of their accomplishments also brings them one step closer to becoming a fully independent and operational air force."
(Master Sgt. Brian Davidson serves with the 447th Air Expeditionary Group.)
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