January 9, 2009, (San Dimas, CA) American Heroes Press, the publishers of www.military-writers.com and www.police-writers.com, announced the results of their annual recognition.
About the Websites
Military-Writers.com is a website that lists servicemembers from all branches of the United States Armed Forces who have authored books. Currently, the site lists nearly 800 servicemembers and their more than 2,400 books. Servicemembers are listed by name, branch, rank and type of book.
Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local law enforcement officials who have written books. Currently, the website lists more than 1,000 state or local police officers and their more than 2,200 books. Law enforcement officials are listed by name, department and type of book. Additionally, the website has separate sections which list federal law enforcement officials, international police officers and civilian police personnel.
About the Awards
The Military-Writers.com Book of Year 2009 focuses solely on the written contribution made by the servicemember. It is that book found by the panel of judges to be the most significant literary contribution made by a servicemember in the previous year.
The Police-Writers.com Book of the Year 2009 focuses solely on the written contribution made by the police officer. It is that book found by the panel of judges to be the most significant literary contribution made by a police officer in the previous year.
The Military-Writers.com 2009 Book of the Year
Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch, United States Marine Corps (ret.) was awarded the Military-Writers.com 2009 Book of the Year for his book, Once a Marine.
On April 7, 2004, during the First Battle of Fallujah, Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch “was wounded in action. During a firefight with enemy insurgents, he was struck in the head by an enemy Rocket Propelled Grenade, fired from a rooftop into the commander’s hatch of his tank. He received numerous shrapnel wounds.” His injuries necessitated the removal of his right eye; and, “his remaining eye was legally blind. His right ear and nose sustained significant damage and an implant was placed in his skull.”
In his book, Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander’s Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery, Nick Popaditch describes how at first he “fights to get back to where he was in Iraq - in the cupola of an M1A1 main battle tank, leading Marines in combat at the point of the spear. As the seriousness and permanence of his disabilities become more evident, Nick Popaditch fights to remain in the Corps in any capacity, to help the brothers in arms he so aches to rejoin. Facing the inevitable following a medical retirement, he battles for rightful recognition and compensation for his permanent disabilities. Throughout his harrowing ordeal, Nick Popaditch fights to maintain his honor and loyalty, waging all these battles the same way - the Marine way.”
The Police-Writers.com Book of the Year 2009
Jack R. Lundquist, Jr., Oakland Police Department (ret.) was awarded The Police-Writers.com Book of the Year 2009 for his book BeatCop.
Jack R. Lundquist, Jr. was born and raised in the City of San Pablo, California, a suburb within the San Francisco Bay Area. His desire to be a police officer was formulated early in life. He became a police explorer scout, and later a reserve police officer with the City of San Pablo Police Department. At age twenty-one Jack Lundquist was drafted by the United States Army, and served as a Military Policeman at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.
Upon being honorably discharged, Jack Lundquist returned to the San Francisco Bay area. After a brief stint as a Reserve Police Officer he was hired by the Oakland Police Department. During his tenure he attended the University of San Francisco, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree. His love for basic patrol work kept him in a marked police car for two separate periods, totaling twelve years. The remainder of the time was spent as criminal investigator, ending with a seven-year period in Vice.
According to the book description, BeatCop is “a book filled with stories from the career of a BeatCop working the perilous streets of a dodgy city. The author is a retired Oakland Police Officer, who patrolled the streets for twelve years. His stories cover the good, the bad, and the oh-shits, as well as the humor experienced by a BeatCop working a large city police department.”
American Heroes Press Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, January 09, 2009
Face of Defense: Vermont Guardsman Crashes Truck, Then Wins Bobsled Event
By Tim Hipps
Special to American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - Despite rolling his truck on a snowy road while driving to the 2009 U.S. National Bobsled Championships on Jan. 3, Army Pfc. John Napier of the Vermont National Guard won the two-man crown at the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, N.Y. Napier was driving his 1999 Dodge Ram along an unplowed, snowy, back road from Saranac Lake when he lost control, drove into a snow bank, and rolled the truck onto its top and side for an upside-down slide on the icy road.
"My tire just went off the pavement, and it was on a corner so I couldn't correct -- it was a bad spot -- and it just sucked my truck right off the road into a bank, and the bank flipped the car," Napier said. "The snow was only a couple feet deep, but it was just enough to flip me over.
"It slid about 30 feet on the icy road," he said. "While I was upside down, I thought, 'This is just like being in a bobsled.' I eventually had to crawl out the passenger window."
Napier, a bobsledder in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, was fortunate to walk away with only bruised ribs and his bobsled gear. He called a friend, who gave him a ride to the track while his truck was being towed away.
The accident occurred around 11 a.m., and Napier planned to arrive at the track at 11:30. He got there at 12:30 p.m. -- just in time to make his warm-up runs before completing two heats that left Napier and teammate Cory Butner in first place by one-tenth of a second. Their combined time was 1 minute, 53.5 seconds.
"I was just a little beat up with some bruised ribs," said Napier, who added that the setback did not affect his bobsled driving ability.
The next day, the duo held on to win the event by .30 of a second over former WCAP driver Army Sgt. Mike Kohn, now a member of the National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program, who finished runner-up in the two-man championships.
With the victory, Napier earned a berth in the 2009 World Championships, scheduled for Feb. 20 through March 1 in Lake Placid.
Napier, 22, the son of former bobsled national contender Bill Napier, has been bobsledding since he was 8. He enlisted in the Vermont Army National Guard in June 2007 as an engineer, and joined WCAP last May. He said he credits the Army and WCAP/Team USA Bobsled coach Army Sgt. William Tavares for helping to further his Olympic dream.
"When I joined the Army, I knew a couple of our best bobsledders had been in the World Class Athlete Program, and I had seen what it did for them," Napier recalled of his developmental years competing against the likes of former WCAP athletes Kohn and Steven Holcomb.
"I saw how difficult my future was going to be in this sport," he said. "Right now, I wouldn't be able to slide without WCAP -- there's no way because all of the bills we have to pay are the driver's responsibility.
"Equipment is on the driver," he explained. "The runners we buy are about $5,000 a pair, and we have to have multiple pairs because different runners go faster at different tracks. I saw how great the program was for those guys and how it made it feasible for them to slide. Without it, there's no other income for a driver, and it's a full-time job.
"We're trying to be the best in the world so we need to dedicate our time to training, to bobsledding. There's just no other program out there that makes it possible," he added.
Napier will compete in the Four-man Bobsled National Championships this weekend on his hometown track in Lake Placid. He needs to finish first or runner-up to Holcomb's sled to earn another berth on Team USA for the upcoming World Championships.
"In the past, I've been a little bit stronger in the four-man sled because I'm able to make up a little more distance on the push," said Napier, a 6-foot, 200-pounder. "My deficit is that I'm just a little bit smaller of a driver, size-wise and weight-wise, so I'm not able to contribute as much on the push. That's why in four-man I'm a little bit better."
The national championships was held in conjunction with the 4th Annual Whelen Bodine Bobsled Challenge, which was supported by the New York National Guard and where Guard combat veterans had a chance to race.
SPEED channel will televise four hours of the championships and the Bodine Bobsled Challenge on Jan. 18 at noon and Jan. 25 at 2 pm.
(Tim Hipps serves in the Army's Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center public affairs office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - Despite rolling his truck on a snowy road while driving to the 2009 U.S. National Bobsled Championships on Jan. 3, Army Pfc. John Napier of the Vermont National Guard won the two-man crown at the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, N.Y. Napier was driving his 1999 Dodge Ram along an unplowed, snowy, back road from Saranac Lake when he lost control, drove into a snow bank, and rolled the truck onto its top and side for an upside-down slide on the icy road.
"My tire just went off the pavement, and it was on a corner so I couldn't correct -- it was a bad spot -- and it just sucked my truck right off the road into a bank, and the bank flipped the car," Napier said. "The snow was only a couple feet deep, but it was just enough to flip me over.
"It slid about 30 feet on the icy road," he said. "While I was upside down, I thought, 'This is just like being in a bobsled.' I eventually had to crawl out the passenger window."
Napier, a bobsledder in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, was fortunate to walk away with only bruised ribs and his bobsled gear. He called a friend, who gave him a ride to the track while his truck was being towed away.
The accident occurred around 11 a.m., and Napier planned to arrive at the track at 11:30. He got there at 12:30 p.m. -- just in time to make his warm-up runs before completing two heats that left Napier and teammate Cory Butner in first place by one-tenth of a second. Their combined time was 1 minute, 53.5 seconds.
"I was just a little beat up with some bruised ribs," said Napier, who added that the setback did not affect his bobsled driving ability.
The next day, the duo held on to win the event by .30 of a second over former WCAP driver Army Sgt. Mike Kohn, now a member of the National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program, who finished runner-up in the two-man championships.
With the victory, Napier earned a berth in the 2009 World Championships, scheduled for Feb. 20 through March 1 in Lake Placid.
Napier, 22, the son of former bobsled national contender Bill Napier, has been bobsledding since he was 8. He enlisted in the Vermont Army National Guard in June 2007 as an engineer, and joined WCAP last May. He said he credits the Army and WCAP/Team USA Bobsled coach Army Sgt. William Tavares for helping to further his Olympic dream.
"When I joined the Army, I knew a couple of our best bobsledders had been in the World Class Athlete Program, and I had seen what it did for them," Napier recalled of his developmental years competing against the likes of former WCAP athletes Kohn and Steven Holcomb.
"I saw how difficult my future was going to be in this sport," he said. "Right now, I wouldn't be able to slide without WCAP -- there's no way because all of the bills we have to pay are the driver's responsibility.
"Equipment is on the driver," he explained. "The runners we buy are about $5,000 a pair, and we have to have multiple pairs because different runners go faster at different tracks. I saw how great the program was for those guys and how it made it feasible for them to slide. Without it, there's no other income for a driver, and it's a full-time job.
"We're trying to be the best in the world so we need to dedicate our time to training, to bobsledding. There's just no other program out there that makes it possible," he added.
Napier will compete in the Four-man Bobsled National Championships this weekend on his hometown track in Lake Placid. He needs to finish first or runner-up to Holcomb's sled to earn another berth on Team USA for the upcoming World Championships.
"In the past, I've been a little bit stronger in the four-man sled because I'm able to make up a little more distance on the push," said Napier, a 6-foot, 200-pounder. "My deficit is that I'm just a little bit smaller of a driver, size-wise and weight-wise, so I'm not able to contribute as much on the push. That's why in four-man I'm a little bit better."
The national championships was held in conjunction with the 4th Annual Whelen Bodine Bobsled Challenge, which was supported by the New York National Guard and where Guard combat veterans had a chance to race.
SPEED channel will televise four hours of the championships and the Bodine Bobsled Challenge on Jan. 18 at noon and Jan. 25 at 2 pm.
(Tim Hipps serves in the Army's Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center public affairs office.)
Department Keeps Commitment to Stress Care, Official Says
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - The Defense Department is deeply committed to providing the best care possible for military members with post-traumatic stress disorder, despite the determination that the disorder does not meet the criteria for the Purple Heart, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said yesterday. The decision, announced earlier this week, followed months of evaluation by awards experts in the Pentagon Awards Advisory Group. The group used "very precise criteria" and longstanding historical definitions in making its determination, Morrell said during a Pentagon briefing.
"I don't think anybody should assume that that decision is in any way reflective on how seriously we take the problem of PTSD," he said.
"So, just because an awards committee believes this particular injury does not qualify for this award, does not in any way reflect that we don't take this problem seriously and aren't committed to doing everything we possibly can towards preventing it, towards treating it, towards taking care of those who are suffering with it," he said.
Morrell noted the heavy investment the Defense Department has made into preventing and treating PTSD.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted in November that recent studies suggest as many as 20 percent of today's troops may suffer from the disorder.
"I think we will have spent about a billion dollars on research, development, treatment, preventative measures," Morrell said. "And I think you will see more and more money being spent to combat this very real problem that we are all terribly concerned with."
As one example, the Defense Department broke ground in June for the National Intrepid Center of Excellence for psychological health and traumatic brain injury at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. That $70 million, 75,000-square-foot facility, funded by the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, will serve as the clinical research and educational arm of the Defense Department's Center of Excellence for psychological health and TBI.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates toured another facility, the Restoration and Resilience Center at Fort Bliss, Texas, in May, calling the care it provides soldiers with PTSD as an example of the new approaches the military is exploring.
"They are doing some amazing things here in terms of helping soldiers who want to remain soldiers, but who have been wounded with post-traumatic stress disorder," he said. "It is a multi-month effort by a lot of caring people, and they are showing some real success in restoring these soldiers."
Also, the military has implemented better reporting mechanisms for those potentially affected, and the Defense Department has launched departmentwide efforts aimed at reducing the stigma attached with receiving mental health services in the military.
Gates took his appeal directly to senior noncommissioned officers attending the Sergeants Major Academy during his visit to Fort Bliss.
"All of you have a special role in encouraging troops to seek help for the unseen scars of war -- to let them know that doing so is a sign of strength and maturity," Gates told the NCOs. "I urge you all to talk with those below you to find out where we can continue to improve.
"Those who have sacrificed for our nation deserve the best care they can get," Gates continued. "As I have said before, there is no higher priority for the Department of Defense, after the war itself, than caring for our wounded warriors."
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - The Defense Department is deeply committed to providing the best care possible for military members with post-traumatic stress disorder, despite the determination that the disorder does not meet the criteria for the Purple Heart, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said yesterday. The decision, announced earlier this week, followed months of evaluation by awards experts in the Pentagon Awards Advisory Group. The group used "very precise criteria" and longstanding historical definitions in making its determination, Morrell said during a Pentagon briefing.
"I don't think anybody should assume that that decision is in any way reflective on how seriously we take the problem of PTSD," he said.
"So, just because an awards committee believes this particular injury does not qualify for this award, does not in any way reflect that we don't take this problem seriously and aren't committed to doing everything we possibly can towards preventing it, towards treating it, towards taking care of those who are suffering with it," he said.
Morrell noted the heavy investment the Defense Department has made into preventing and treating PTSD.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted in November that recent studies suggest as many as 20 percent of today's troops may suffer from the disorder.
"I think we will have spent about a billion dollars on research, development, treatment, preventative measures," Morrell said. "And I think you will see more and more money being spent to combat this very real problem that we are all terribly concerned with."
As one example, the Defense Department broke ground in June for the National Intrepid Center of Excellence for psychological health and traumatic brain injury at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. That $70 million, 75,000-square-foot facility, funded by the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, will serve as the clinical research and educational arm of the Defense Department's Center of Excellence for psychological health and TBI.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates toured another facility, the Restoration and Resilience Center at Fort Bliss, Texas, in May, calling the care it provides soldiers with PTSD as an example of the new approaches the military is exploring.
"They are doing some amazing things here in terms of helping soldiers who want to remain soldiers, but who have been wounded with post-traumatic stress disorder," he said. "It is a multi-month effort by a lot of caring people, and they are showing some real success in restoring these soldiers."
Also, the military has implemented better reporting mechanisms for those potentially affected, and the Defense Department has launched departmentwide efforts aimed at reducing the stigma attached with receiving mental health services in the military.
Gates took his appeal directly to senior noncommissioned officers attending the Sergeants Major Academy during his visit to Fort Bliss.
"All of you have a special role in encouraging troops to seek help for the unseen scars of war -- to let them know that doing so is a sign of strength and maturity," Gates told the NCOs. "I urge you all to talk with those below you to find out where we can continue to improve.
"Those who have sacrificed for our nation deserve the best care they can get," Gates continued. "As I have said before, there is no higher priority for the Department of Defense, after the war itself, than caring for our wounded warriors."
Obama Announces Intelligence Director, CIA Chief Picks
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - President-elect Barack Obama announced his choices for the nation's new top intelligence official and CIA chief at a news conference held here today. Retired Navy Adm. Dennis C. Blair, Obama told reporters, is his pick to become the new director of national intelligence, while Leon E. Panetta, former White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, is his nominee for CIA director.
"I am confident that Dennis Blair and Leon Panetta are the right leaders to advance the work of our intelligence community," Obama said. "They are public servants with unquestioned integrity, broad experience, strong management skills, and the core pragmatism we need in dangerous times."
The intelligence director oversees 16 intelligence agencies, including the CIA and intelligence components of the military services, and reports directly to the president. The position was established in December 2004 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The CIA director heads America's best-known clandestine intelligence-gathering organization. The CIA was established in 1947, essentially replacing the Office of Strategic Services that was created during World War II.
Blair's impressive qualifications and wide experience suit him well to become the next intelligence director, Obama said. The former U.S. Pacific Command chief "has seen the diverse uses of intelligence from many different perspectives," he said. Blair retired from the Navy in 2002.
Obama cited Blair "as someone who has handled intelligence as a sailor at sea, and as a strategic thinker in Washington." As the intelligence director, the former four-star admiral "will have the expertise and authority to ensure that our 16 intelligence agencies act with unity of effort and purpose," Obama said.
Turning to his pick for CIA director, Obama praised Panetta as "one of the finest public servants of our time." Obama observed that Panetta, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, has "committed himself to his country since he put on the uniform of the U.S. Army." Panetta served as an Army officer from 1964 to 1966.
With Panetta at its helm, the CIA "will have a director who has my complete trust and substantial clout," Obama said.
Panetta, who also served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton administration, "knows how to focus resources where they are needed, and he has a proven track record of building consensus and working on a bipartisan basis with Congress," he said.
Obama also announced that CIA veteran John O. Brennan will be his homeland security advisor and deputy national security advisor for counterterrorism.
"The demands on the intelligence community are huge and growing," Obama observed. "To have a successful national security strategy, I have made it clear that we will need to deploy and balance all elements of American power -- our military, diplomacy, homeland security, economic might and moral persuasion.
"Good intelligence work is necessary to support each of these endeavors," Obama said.
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - President-elect Barack Obama announced his choices for the nation's new top intelligence official and CIA chief at a news conference held here today. Retired Navy Adm. Dennis C. Blair, Obama told reporters, is his pick to become the new director of national intelligence, while Leon E. Panetta, former White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, is his nominee for CIA director.
"I am confident that Dennis Blair and Leon Panetta are the right leaders to advance the work of our intelligence community," Obama said. "They are public servants with unquestioned integrity, broad experience, strong management skills, and the core pragmatism we need in dangerous times."
The intelligence director oversees 16 intelligence agencies, including the CIA and intelligence components of the military services, and reports directly to the president. The position was established in December 2004 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The CIA director heads America's best-known clandestine intelligence-gathering organization. The CIA was established in 1947, essentially replacing the Office of Strategic Services that was created during World War II.
Blair's impressive qualifications and wide experience suit him well to become the next intelligence director, Obama said. The former U.S. Pacific Command chief "has seen the diverse uses of intelligence from many different perspectives," he said. Blair retired from the Navy in 2002.
Obama cited Blair "as someone who has handled intelligence as a sailor at sea, and as a strategic thinker in Washington." As the intelligence director, the former four-star admiral "will have the expertise and authority to ensure that our 16 intelligence agencies act with unity of effort and purpose," Obama said.
Turning to his pick for CIA director, Obama praised Panetta as "one of the finest public servants of our time." Obama observed that Panetta, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, has "committed himself to his country since he put on the uniform of the U.S. Army." Panetta served as an Army officer from 1964 to 1966.
With Panetta at its helm, the CIA "will have a director who has my complete trust and substantial clout," Obama said.
Panetta, who also served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton administration, "knows how to focus resources where they are needed, and he has a proven track record of building consensus and working on a bipartisan basis with Congress," he said.
Obama also announced that CIA veteran John O. Brennan will be his homeland security advisor and deputy national security advisor for counterterrorism.
"The demands on the intelligence community are huge and growing," Obama observed. "To have a successful national security strategy, I have made it clear that we will need to deploy and balance all elements of American power -- our military, diplomacy, homeland security, economic might and moral persuasion.
"Good intelligence work is necessary to support each of these endeavors," Obama said.
Defense Department to Develop National Cyber Testbed
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
an. 9, 2009 - The Defense Department is developing a national "cyber range" to test cybersecurity technology and reduce the vulnerability of government computer systems to networks attacks. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency officials announced yesterday that they awarded contracts to seven companies to come up with detailed engineering plans to design and build the new testbed. Over the next eight months, each contractor will lead a team of businesses, universities and federal laboratories in the first phase of the National Cyber Range program. DARPA will select from the plans to build the full-scale facility.
"What we are doing is creating kind of a 'Consumer Reports' or an underwriter laboratory-type facility to bring in different types of computer equipment to test and see how secure they are," DARPA Program Manager Dr. Michael VanPutte explained.
The facility is to take current testing for government research and development programs to a whole new level -- making it faster and broader and automating much of the manual procedures involved.
"I see it as advancing the state-of-the-art of cyber testing," VanPutte said.
The goal, he said, is to identify the most promising security solutions for future computer systems. But the testbed also will help identify and shore up yet-unrecognized vulnerabilities in current systems.
"Today, we really don't have a way to know how secure our solutions are," VanPutte said. "It's like in the dark ages of building cathedrals. We don't understand the science of security. So we are building the national cyber range in order to bring in potential solutions and really stress them and test them in a carefully controlled environment."
The effort, part of the interagency Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative announced last year, will benefit researchers not just in the Defense Department, but at all federal departments and agencies.
"This is a national testbed, not a [Defense Department] one," VanPutte said. "So the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security, the [Director of National Intelligence] can all come use this testbed when it is up and running."
The testbed will help prevent network attacks that VanPutte said have become "a common and increasing occurrence."
"The national cyber range, ultimately, will help provide our leaders and warfighters with greater assurance that our citizens, businesses and our armed forces will be protected against damaging cyber attacks," he said.
Melissa Hathaway, director of the Joint Interagency Cyber Task Force, said addressing vulnerabilities within the U.S. computer network infrastructure must become a long-term priority for national and economic security.
"I don't believe that this is a single-year or even a multi-year investment," she said. "It's a multi-decade approach."
American Forces Press Service
an. 9, 2009 - The Defense Department is developing a national "cyber range" to test cybersecurity technology and reduce the vulnerability of government computer systems to networks attacks. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency officials announced yesterday that they awarded contracts to seven companies to come up with detailed engineering plans to design and build the new testbed. Over the next eight months, each contractor will lead a team of businesses, universities and federal laboratories in the first phase of the National Cyber Range program. DARPA will select from the plans to build the full-scale facility.
"What we are doing is creating kind of a 'Consumer Reports' or an underwriter laboratory-type facility to bring in different types of computer equipment to test and see how secure they are," DARPA Program Manager Dr. Michael VanPutte explained.
The facility is to take current testing for government research and development programs to a whole new level -- making it faster and broader and automating much of the manual procedures involved.
"I see it as advancing the state-of-the-art of cyber testing," VanPutte said.
The goal, he said, is to identify the most promising security solutions for future computer systems. But the testbed also will help identify and shore up yet-unrecognized vulnerabilities in current systems.
"Today, we really don't have a way to know how secure our solutions are," VanPutte said. "It's like in the dark ages of building cathedrals. We don't understand the science of security. So we are building the national cyber range in order to bring in potential solutions and really stress them and test them in a carefully controlled environment."
The effort, part of the interagency Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative announced last year, will benefit researchers not just in the Defense Department, but at all federal departments and agencies.
"This is a national testbed, not a [Defense Department] one," VanPutte said. "So the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security, the [Director of National Intelligence] can all come use this testbed when it is up and running."
The testbed will help prevent network attacks that VanPutte said have become "a common and increasing occurrence."
"The national cyber range, ultimately, will help provide our leaders and warfighters with greater assurance that our citizens, businesses and our armed forces will be protected against damaging cyber attacks," he said.
Melissa Hathaway, director of the Joint Interagency Cyber Task Force, said addressing vulnerabilities within the U.S. computer network infrastructure must become a long-term priority for national and economic security.
"I don't believe that this is a single-year or even a multi-year investment," she said. "It's a multi-decade approach."
Army General Apologizes for Misprinted Letters
By Lindy Kyzer
Special to American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - The Army's adjutant general apologized yesterday on behalf of the Army for a printing error that resulted in the delivery of 7,000 letters without a by-name salutation to family members who lost a soldier in operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.
Brig. Gen. Reuben Jones expressed his disappointment in the error and his team's concern for the recipients during a special blogger's roundtable hosted by the New Media Directorate of Defense Media Activity.
The letters, which included the placeholder greeting of "Dear John Doe," were printed and sent by a contractor in late December to inform families of private organizations that offer services and assistance.
"I can tell you, I know our pain isn't what our family members' pain is about receiving this, but I have a team of dedicated young Americans who are on a first-name basis with many of these survivors, and they feel this hurt just as bad," Jones told the bloggers and online journalists. "But they are marching on because they know that their intent was to connect with them and provide them information on the generosity of our nation that has come to the Army and said, 'We want to help.'"
Jones did not go into the details about who made the mistake, but said contracting officials would look into the error and how it happened. Jones said his team's focus now is on the families. Each family will receive a letter of apology from Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. George Casey.
"We work so hard to build that trust and a relationship with our families so they know that they're still part of this Army team, because they have been strong families for this strong Army," Jones said.
The letters were sent as a part of the Survivor Outreach Services program, which sends the families of fallen soldiers regular correspondence and ensures they have regular contact with Army representatives. The program, launched in February, continues to build a closer, stronger bond with spouses and family members, Jones said.
"Survivors are part of that family for as long as they desire," Jones said. "We will give that support to them, day in, day out .... One part of our covenant, our warrior ethos says -- it's the last line -- and it says that we will never leave a fallen comrade. We expand that to say that we will never leave a family behind either."
The program not only reaches out to families, but also offers families the means to reach out to the Army with their needs and suggestions.
"We continue to connect with our families, receive their comments and feedback on what we can do better," Jones said. "This is a program that we say, hey, tell us what else we can do."
The misprinted letter, a part of regular SOS outreach to families, included links to dozens of organizations offering services and assistance to the families of fallen soldiers. For a listing of the organizations included on the letter, visit https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/Active/TAGD/CMAOC/ALTFCM/programs.html.
(Lindy Kyzer is a public affairs specialist with the Department of the Army).
Special to American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - The Army's adjutant general apologized yesterday on behalf of the Army for a printing error that resulted in the delivery of 7,000 letters without a by-name salutation to family members who lost a soldier in operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.
Brig. Gen. Reuben Jones expressed his disappointment in the error and his team's concern for the recipients during a special blogger's roundtable hosted by the New Media Directorate of Defense Media Activity.
The letters, which included the placeholder greeting of "Dear John Doe," were printed and sent by a contractor in late December to inform families of private organizations that offer services and assistance.
"I can tell you, I know our pain isn't what our family members' pain is about receiving this, but I have a team of dedicated young Americans who are on a first-name basis with many of these survivors, and they feel this hurt just as bad," Jones told the bloggers and online journalists. "But they are marching on because they know that their intent was to connect with them and provide them information on the generosity of our nation that has come to the Army and said, 'We want to help.'"
Jones did not go into the details about who made the mistake, but said contracting officials would look into the error and how it happened. Jones said his team's focus now is on the families. Each family will receive a letter of apology from Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. George Casey.
"We work so hard to build that trust and a relationship with our families so they know that they're still part of this Army team, because they have been strong families for this strong Army," Jones said.
The letters were sent as a part of the Survivor Outreach Services program, which sends the families of fallen soldiers regular correspondence and ensures they have regular contact with Army representatives. The program, launched in February, continues to build a closer, stronger bond with spouses and family members, Jones said.
"Survivors are part of that family for as long as they desire," Jones said. "We will give that support to them, day in, day out .... One part of our covenant, our warrior ethos says -- it's the last line -- and it says that we will never leave a fallen comrade. We expand that to say that we will never leave a family behind either."
The program not only reaches out to families, but also offers families the means to reach out to the Army with their needs and suggestions.
"We continue to connect with our families, receive their comments and feedback on what we can do better," Jones said. "This is a program that we say, hey, tell us what else we can do."
The misprinted letter, a part of regular SOS outreach to families, included links to dozens of organizations offering services and assistance to the families of fallen soldiers. For a listing of the organizations included on the letter, visit https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/Active/TAGD/CMAOC/ALTFCM/programs.html.
(Lindy Kyzer is a public affairs specialist with the Department of the Army).
MILITARY CONTRACTS January 9, 2009
NAVY
Lockheed Martin, Maritime Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $51,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee letter contract for FY09 Aegis Platform Systems Engineering Agent (PSEA) activities and Aegis Modernization (AMOD) Advanced Capability Build (ACB 12) engineering. The PSEA will manage the in-service combat systems configurations as well as the integration of new or upgraded capability, including AMOD, into the CG 47 and the DDG 51 Class Ships. AMOD consists of ACB 12 software and Technical Instruction 12 hardware. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract for the first year's period of performance to $192,500,716. Work will be performed in Moorestown, N.J., and is expected to be completed by December 2009. 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 Navy Yard, D.C, is the contracting activity (N00024-09-C-5103).
Raytheon Company, Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $44,335,934 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-07-C-5361 for engineering and technical services in support of Standard Missile research, development, test, and evaluation programs. The work performed under this modification includes flowdown of top level requirements; predicting and monitoring missile performance and reliability; internal/ external interfaces; interfaces with ship combat systems; interfaces with test and packaging, handling, storage and transportation equipment; improving missile design; and maintaining the technical data package. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by December 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Walker Power Systems, Inc., Phoenix, Ariz., is being awarded a maximum $17,287,442 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for an upgraded external auxiliary power unit to provide power to multiple systems while the M1A1 main engine is not on. The objective system will provide greater power, increased reliability, and less noise than the current model. The contract contains three one-year options. The initial amount to be obligated is $6,600,000. The maximum total dollar amount to be awarded under this contract is $17,287,442 which includes the initial order quantity and additional options. Work will be performed in Phoenix, Ariz., and work is expected to be completed December 2009. This contract was competitively procured through full and open competition via Navy Electronic Commerce Office, with four offers received. The Marine Corps System Command in Quantico, Va., is the procuring contracting activity (M67854-09-C-6005).
ITT Industries Advanced Engineering & Sciences Division, Alexandria, Va., is being awarded a $7,896,524 cost-plus-fixed-fee term contract for scientific, engineering, technical and analytical support for a wide range of research and information technology service activities for the Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL's) Center for High Assurance Computer Systems. This contract contains options, which if exercised, will bring the cumulative contract value to $42,223,954. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., and work is expected to be completed in Dec. 2010 (with options exercised Dec 2014). Contract funds in the amount of $235,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under a Naval Research Laboratory Request for Proposal N000173-08-R-TB09. The Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., is the contacting activity (N000173-09-C-2053)
Honeywell International, Inc., Defense and Space Electronic Systems, Albuquerque, N.M., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $5,736,465 modification to a previously awarded undefinitized contract action (N00019-09-C-0004) for the procurement of 6 Block II Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) systems, including associated support equipment, spares, training, and engineering and logistics support for the United Kingdom under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Albuquerque, N.M., and is expected to be completed in June 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to Johns Hopkins University, Laurel Maryland for $24,000,000. This contact will provide Electronic Warfare Capability Development Analyses and Support. At this time, no money has been obligated. HQ 577 AESG/PK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8626-09-D-2099).
The Air Force is awarding a firm, fixed Price contract with the Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington for $12,050,000. This contract is for C-32A Communication Equipment Subscription Service for CY09. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. ASC/655th AESS/SYKA, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (F33657-01-D-0013).
The Air Force is awarding a firm, fixed price contract to Hamilton Sundstrand, Hamilton Road Windsor Locks, Connecticut for an estimated $6,214,886. This contract will provide Repair/Overhaul of Digital Electronic Engine Controls, Engine Diagnostic Units and associated parts to F15 and F16 aircraft. At this time no money has been obligated. 448 SCMB/PKBB, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma is the contracting activity (FA8104-08-D-0002).
ARMY
Weston Solutions, Incorporated, West Chester, Pa., was awarded on Jan 8, 2009, a $13,599,275 firm/fixed/price contract for Non-Time Critical Removal Action (NTCRA) for Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) of Public Beaches at Surf City and Ship Bottom, Long Beach Island (LBI), Ocean County, NJ. Work will be performed at Surf City and Ship Bottom, Long Beach Island, NJ with an estimated completion date of May 22, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (W912WJ-05-D-0009).
Lockheed Martin, Maritime Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $51,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee letter contract for FY09 Aegis Platform Systems Engineering Agent (PSEA) activities and Aegis Modernization (AMOD) Advanced Capability Build (ACB 12) engineering. The PSEA will manage the in-service combat systems configurations as well as the integration of new or upgraded capability, including AMOD, into the CG 47 and the DDG 51 Class Ships. AMOD consists of ACB 12 software and Technical Instruction 12 hardware. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract for the first year's period of performance to $192,500,716. Work will be performed in Moorestown, N.J., and is expected to be completed by December 2009. 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 Navy Yard, D.C, is the contracting activity (N00024-09-C-5103).
Raytheon Company, Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $44,335,934 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-07-C-5361 for engineering and technical services in support of Standard Missile research, development, test, and evaluation programs. The work performed under this modification includes flowdown of top level requirements; predicting and monitoring missile performance and reliability; internal/ external interfaces; interfaces with ship combat systems; interfaces with test and packaging, handling, storage and transportation equipment; improving missile design; and maintaining the technical data package. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by December 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Walker Power Systems, Inc., Phoenix, Ariz., is being awarded a maximum $17,287,442 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for an upgraded external auxiliary power unit to provide power to multiple systems while the M1A1 main engine is not on. The objective system will provide greater power, increased reliability, and less noise than the current model. The contract contains three one-year options. The initial amount to be obligated is $6,600,000. The maximum total dollar amount to be awarded under this contract is $17,287,442 which includes the initial order quantity and additional options. Work will be performed in Phoenix, Ariz., and work is expected to be completed December 2009. This contract was competitively procured through full and open competition via Navy Electronic Commerce Office, with four offers received. The Marine Corps System Command in Quantico, Va., is the procuring contracting activity (M67854-09-C-6005).
ITT Industries Advanced Engineering & Sciences Division, Alexandria, Va., is being awarded a $7,896,524 cost-plus-fixed-fee term contract for scientific, engineering, technical and analytical support for a wide range of research and information technology service activities for the Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL's) Center for High Assurance Computer Systems. This contract contains options, which if exercised, will bring the cumulative contract value to $42,223,954. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., and work is expected to be completed in Dec. 2010 (with options exercised Dec 2014). Contract funds in the amount of $235,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under a Naval Research Laboratory Request for Proposal N000173-08-R-TB09. The Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., is the contacting activity (N000173-09-C-2053)
Honeywell International, Inc., Defense and Space Electronic Systems, Albuquerque, N.M., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $5,736,465 modification to a previously awarded undefinitized contract action (N00019-09-C-0004) for the procurement of 6 Block II Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) systems, including associated support equipment, spares, training, and engineering and logistics support for the United Kingdom under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Albuquerque, N.M., and is expected to be completed in June 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to Johns Hopkins University, Laurel Maryland for $24,000,000. This contact will provide Electronic Warfare Capability Development Analyses and Support. At this time, no money has been obligated. HQ 577 AESG/PK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8626-09-D-2099).
The Air Force is awarding a firm, fixed Price contract with the Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington for $12,050,000. This contract is for C-32A Communication Equipment Subscription Service for CY09. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. ASC/655th AESS/SYKA, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (F33657-01-D-0013).
The Air Force is awarding a firm, fixed price contract to Hamilton Sundstrand, Hamilton Road Windsor Locks, Connecticut for an estimated $6,214,886. This contract will provide Repair/Overhaul of Digital Electronic Engine Controls, Engine Diagnostic Units and associated parts to F15 and F16 aircraft. At this time no money has been obligated. 448 SCMB/PKBB, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma is the contracting activity (FA8104-08-D-0002).
ARMY
Weston Solutions, Incorporated, West Chester, Pa., was awarded on Jan 8, 2009, a $13,599,275 firm/fixed/price contract for Non-Time Critical Removal Action (NTCRA) for Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) of Public Beaches at Surf City and Ship Bottom, Long Beach Island (LBI), Ocean County, NJ. Work will be performed at Surf City and Ship Bottom, Long Beach Island, NJ with an estimated completion date of May 22, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (W912WJ-05-D-0009).
Fluorescent Protein Holds Promise for Disease Treatment, Prevention
By John Ohab
Special to American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - A fluorescent protein discovered in jellyfish has enabled scientists to visualize molecular and cellular events in real time, a leading U.S. biochemical researcher said yesterday. Roger Tsien, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, won the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his role in developing the green fluorescent protein known as "GFP," and spoke about his research to "Dot Mil Docs" listeners on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Using this protein, researchers now can track processes that were previously invisible, such as the cell-to-cell transmission of HIV and the activity of cancer cells in a developing tumor.
"GFP gave us the first way to link molecular biology to something we could see," Tsein said. "When genes or proteins are made, scientists can now see directly when and where these molecular biological events occurred. We can actually watch processes in continuous movies inside living organisms."
Tsien's work with two colleagues, Martin Chalfie and Osamu Shimomura, has redefined molecular imaging and led to the development of tools for treating a variety of devastating illnesses. Tsien credited these achievements to his laboratory and collaborators, whose work over 40 years made GFP an irreplaceable tool in bioscience research. He said he was thrilled to be a part of the Nobel experience, which included talks at schools throughout Sweden and interesting discussions with fellow Nobel Laureates.
"The Nobel Prize is for Sweden what the Oscars or the Super Bowl are for Americans," he said. "It's on [their] national TV like the Oscar ceremony [here], and I got to sit next to the royal family. This is not something you experience in the ordinary research life."
Currently, Tsien is investigating new ways to defeat breast cancer as part of the Breast Cancer Research Program, a congressionally directed medical research program funded by the Defense Department.
"We have funding to develop a new way of targeting synthetic molecules that could be used to identify tumors and eventually treat them," Tsien said. "We wanted to do something that could be applied to real patients."
Tsien has created a kind of "molecular nametag" that would be used for early identification of cancer cells in patients.
"This is a way to light up tumors for early detection and during surgeries, in particular, to help the surgeon hone in on a millimeter by millimeter scale exactly where the tumor cells are and where the boundary is for normal cells and actually do that at real time," Tsien said. "We tried to use this biochemistry to actually make the tumor glow. That will guide the surgeon much more accurately than simply cutting out a hunk and waiting for the pathologist to declare whether you have a healthy margin around the dissected specimen."
In addition, Tsien said, he hopes this research will provide tools for more focused chemo and radiation therapies and improve early detection of other diseases, such as stroke and atherosclerosis. He hopes to continue his pursuit of creative and innovative research endeavors that will ultimately impact human health.
"It's a great thrill to win the Nobel Prize, but you have to come back to reality. I've still got the same research challenges and everyday [duties] as everybody else," he said.
(John Ohab is attached to the New Media directorate of the Defense Media Activity.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - A fluorescent protein discovered in jellyfish has enabled scientists to visualize molecular and cellular events in real time, a leading U.S. biochemical researcher said yesterday. Roger Tsien, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, won the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his role in developing the green fluorescent protein known as "GFP," and spoke about his research to "Dot Mil Docs" listeners on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Using this protein, researchers now can track processes that were previously invisible, such as the cell-to-cell transmission of HIV and the activity of cancer cells in a developing tumor.
"GFP gave us the first way to link molecular biology to something we could see," Tsein said. "When genes or proteins are made, scientists can now see directly when and where these molecular biological events occurred. We can actually watch processes in continuous movies inside living organisms."
Tsien's work with two colleagues, Martin Chalfie and Osamu Shimomura, has redefined molecular imaging and led to the development of tools for treating a variety of devastating illnesses. Tsien credited these achievements to his laboratory and collaborators, whose work over 40 years made GFP an irreplaceable tool in bioscience research. He said he was thrilled to be a part of the Nobel experience, which included talks at schools throughout Sweden and interesting discussions with fellow Nobel Laureates.
"The Nobel Prize is for Sweden what the Oscars or the Super Bowl are for Americans," he said. "It's on [their] national TV like the Oscar ceremony [here], and I got to sit next to the royal family. This is not something you experience in the ordinary research life."
Currently, Tsien is investigating new ways to defeat breast cancer as part of the Breast Cancer Research Program, a congressionally directed medical research program funded by the Defense Department.
"We have funding to develop a new way of targeting synthetic molecules that could be used to identify tumors and eventually treat them," Tsien said. "We wanted to do something that could be applied to real patients."
Tsien has created a kind of "molecular nametag" that would be used for early identification of cancer cells in patients.
"This is a way to light up tumors for early detection and during surgeries, in particular, to help the surgeon hone in on a millimeter by millimeter scale exactly where the tumor cells are and where the boundary is for normal cells and actually do that at real time," Tsien said. "We tried to use this biochemistry to actually make the tumor glow. That will guide the surgeon much more accurately than simply cutting out a hunk and waiting for the pathologist to declare whether you have a healthy margin around the dissected specimen."
In addition, Tsien said, he hopes this research will provide tools for more focused chemo and radiation therapies and improve early detection of other diseases, such as stroke and atherosclerosis. He hopes to continue his pursuit of creative and innovative research endeavors that will ultimately impact human health.
"It's a great thrill to win the Nobel Prize, but you have to come back to reality. I've still got the same research challenges and everyday [duties] as everybody else," he said.
(John Ohab is attached to the New Media directorate of the Defense Media Activity.)
Military Police Dogs to Have Their Day as Part of Inauguration
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - If, as the saying goes, every dog has its day, then four military police dogs certainly will have theirs when they help to provide security for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration. "The dogs that are going to be going out there ... [are] patrol certified," Army Staff Sgt. Sarah Goulart, training noncommissioned officer in charge for the 947th Military Police Detachment, said. "That means they can do security missions, [and] if they need to be released on somebody, they can be released to detain them."
Since the unit, part of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, or "The Old Guard," regularly supports the president and the Secret Service, it's all in a day's work for these dogs, Goulart said. They put in at least four hours a week in both explosives detection and patrol training.
Mike, a 6-year-old Belgian Malinois, is one of the four dogs whose training has led him to the plum assignment of providing security on Inauguration Day.
His handler, Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Konrardy, has no doubts about his four-legged partner's ability to handle the craziness of the day.
"Have you ever seen the series, '24' with Kiefer Southerland? I kind of expect that, just every hour things just being so busy and changing," he said. "Hopefully nobody gets real close to my dog."
The dogs are very good with crowds, Konrardy said. The only thing that sets Mike off is gunfire.
"Hopefully we won't be hearing any gunfire," he said.
The dog and handler had a rather unpromising beginning before their relationship straightened out. Mike's attitude had caused him to be passed over by every other handler coming into the kennel, Konrardy said.
"Finally I got here, and he was the only one left," Konrardy said. "[I showed] him a lot of love, and it worked. He's a good dog. He's just special."
In this case, "special" is code for "relative of Jaws."
"He loves biting things," Konrardy said. "He lost three of his [canine teeth], or parts of three of his canines, from just biting things.
"He's a masochist. He loves pain," he joked. "I'm not a dog psychologist, but I'd be interested to have him looked at by one." At first, Mike's favorite thing to bite was his handler, Konrardy said, which resulted in several shredded Army combat uniforms.
Konrardy said he and Mike will start their Inauguration Day duties in support of the Secret Service on Jan. 15, with a Jan. 23 end date.
As impressive as their upcoming mission sounds, it's part of everyday life for the military dogs of the 947th MP Detachment.
"We get a lot of Secret Service missions," Konrardy said. "This Christmas, me and Mike were up at Camp David. We were just searching vehicles up there."
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 9, 2009 - If, as the saying goes, every dog has its day, then four military police dogs certainly will have theirs when they help to provide security for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration. "The dogs that are going to be going out there ... [are] patrol certified," Army Staff Sgt. Sarah Goulart, training noncommissioned officer in charge for the 947th Military Police Detachment, said. "That means they can do security missions, [and] if they need to be released on somebody, they can be released to detain them."
Since the unit, part of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, or "The Old Guard," regularly supports the president and the Secret Service, it's all in a day's work for these dogs, Goulart said. They put in at least four hours a week in both explosives detection and patrol training.
Mike, a 6-year-old Belgian Malinois, is one of the four dogs whose training has led him to the plum assignment of providing security on Inauguration Day.
His handler, Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Konrardy, has no doubts about his four-legged partner's ability to handle the craziness of the day.
"Have you ever seen the series, '24' with Kiefer Southerland? I kind of expect that, just every hour things just being so busy and changing," he said. "Hopefully nobody gets real close to my dog."
The dogs are very good with crowds, Konrardy said. The only thing that sets Mike off is gunfire.
"Hopefully we won't be hearing any gunfire," he said.
The dog and handler had a rather unpromising beginning before their relationship straightened out. Mike's attitude had caused him to be passed over by every other handler coming into the kennel, Konrardy said.
"Finally I got here, and he was the only one left," Konrardy said. "[I showed] him a lot of love, and it worked. He's a good dog. He's just special."
In this case, "special" is code for "relative of Jaws."
"He loves biting things," Konrardy said. "He lost three of his [canine teeth], or parts of three of his canines, from just biting things.
"He's a masochist. He loves pain," he joked. "I'm not a dog psychologist, but I'd be interested to have him looked at by one." At first, Mike's favorite thing to bite was his handler, Konrardy said, which resulted in several shredded Army combat uniforms.
Konrardy said he and Mike will start their Inauguration Day duties in support of the Secret Service on Jan. 15, with a Jan. 23 end date.
As impressive as their upcoming mission sounds, it's part of everyday life for the military dogs of the 947th MP Detachment.
"We get a lot of Secret Service missions," Konrardy said. "This Christmas, me and Mike were up at Camp David. We were just searching vehicles up there."
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Multinational Task Force Targets Pirates
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - A new multinational task force is focusing solely on counter-piracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, the commander of the combined maritime forces in the region said. The force created the Maritime Security Patrol Area in the Gulf of Aden in August to support international efforts to combat piracy. Coalition efforts included Combined Task Force 150, which conducted maritime security operations -- such as the deterrence of drug smuggling and weapons trafficking.
"Some navies in our coalition did not have the authority to conduct counter-piracy missions," Navy Vice William E. Gortney said. "The establishment of [Combined Task Force] 151 will allow those nations to operate under the auspices of CTF 150, while allowing other nations to join CTF 151 to support our goal of deterring, disrupting and eventually bringing to justice the maritime criminals involved in piracy events."
Gortney commands U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, the U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces.
Establishing Combined Task Force 151 to focus on the counter-piracy mission enables Combined Task Force 150 to remain focused on security operations, officials said.
The admiral cautioned that although the new task force is a positive step, the efforts of coalition and international navies won't solve the problem of piracy. Proactive measures by merchant mariners and efforts ashore by the international community also must be part of the equation, Gortney said.
"The most effective measures we've seen to defeat piracy are nonkinetic and defensive in nature," he said. "The merchant ships have been doing a great job stepping up and utilizing these methods to defeat piracy attempts. That's a great first step.
"But the problem of piracy is and continues to be a problem that begins ashore and is an international problem that requires an international solution," he continued. "We believe the establishment of CTF 151 is a significant step in the right direction."
Navy Rear Adm. Terence E. McKnight has been named the commander of the new task force, which will become fully operational in mid-January.
(From a Combined Maritime Forces news release.)
Jan. 8, 2009 - A new multinational task force is focusing solely on counter-piracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, the commander of the combined maritime forces in the region said. The force created the Maritime Security Patrol Area in the Gulf of Aden in August to support international efforts to combat piracy. Coalition efforts included Combined Task Force 150, which conducted maritime security operations -- such as the deterrence of drug smuggling and weapons trafficking.
"Some navies in our coalition did not have the authority to conduct counter-piracy missions," Navy Vice William E. Gortney said. "The establishment of [Combined Task Force] 151 will allow those nations to operate under the auspices of CTF 150, while allowing other nations to join CTF 151 to support our goal of deterring, disrupting and eventually bringing to justice the maritime criminals involved in piracy events."
Gortney commands U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, the U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces.
Establishing Combined Task Force 151 to focus on the counter-piracy mission enables Combined Task Force 150 to remain focused on security operations, officials said.
The admiral cautioned that although the new task force is a positive step, the efforts of coalition and international navies won't solve the problem of piracy. Proactive measures by merchant mariners and efforts ashore by the international community also must be part of the equation, Gortney said.
"The most effective measures we've seen to defeat piracy are nonkinetic and defensive in nature," he said. "The merchant ships have been doing a great job stepping up and utilizing these methods to defeat piracy attempts. That's a great first step.
"But the problem of piracy is and continues to be a problem that begins ashore and is an international problem that requires an international solution," he continued. "We believe the establishment of CTF 151 is a significant step in the right direction."
Navy Rear Adm. Terence E. McKnight has been named the commander of the new task force, which will become fully operational in mid-January.
(From a Combined Maritime Forces news release.)
Obama to Nominate Deputy Secretary, Three Other Top Defense Officials
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - President-elect Barack Obama today announced his choices for four key Defense Department positions: deputy defense secretary, two undersecretary positions and general counsel.
William J. Lynn III was named as Obama's nominee for deputy defense secretary. The president-elect also announced his intention to nominate:
-- Robert F. Hale as undersecretary of defense (comptroller);
-- Michèle Flournoy as undersecretary of defense for policy; and
-- Jeh Charles Johnson as general counsel.
"I am confident that these distinguished individuals have the expertise and commitment needed to help me implement a sustainable national security strategy that combats 21st century threats and keeps the American people safe," Obama said of the nominees.
"They share with me the utmost respect for our brave men and women in uniform, and will work day and night to support our troops, strengthen our military, and advance our capacity to carry out 21st century missions," he said.
Obama said he recognizes the challenges ahead. "Together with [Defense] Secretary [Robert M.] Gates and our military, we will work to responsibly end the war in Iraq, defeat al-Qaida and the Taliban and renew America's strength and standing in the world," he said. "I am honored that they have joined me in this mission, and I trust that they will serve the American people well."
Gates has been "intimately involved" in the process of identifying and interviewing appropriate candidates for various vacancies throughout the department, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today.
Morrell said this afternoon, before Obama made his announcement, that Gates has been busy working with the transition team to identify appropriate candidates for various vacancies throughout the department and interview them personally.
"I think he feels as though ... we've made some good progress toward identifying some very capable candidates to fill some very big jobs within the department," Morrell said.
Lynn brings decades of experience and expertise in reforming government spending and making the tough choices necessary to ensure that American tax dollars are spent wisely, Obama's transition team said in its announcement. He was the Pentagon comptroller from 1997 to 2001, serving as the department's chief financial officer and the defense secretary's principal advisor for all budgetary and fiscal matters.
From 1993 to 1997, Lynn oversaw all aspects of the department's strategic planning process as director of program analysis and evaluation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
He was awarded three Defense Department medals for distinguished public service: the Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and awards from the Army, Navy and Air Force. He also received the 2000 Distinguished Federal Leadership Award from the Association of Government Accountants for his efforts to improve defense accounting practices.
Lynn currently serves as senior vice president of government operations and strategy at Raytheon Company.
Before entering the Defense Department in 1993, Lynn served for six years on the staff of Sen. Edward Kennedy as liaison to the Senate Armed Services Committee. He also has been a senior fellow at the National Defense University, on the professional staff at the Institute for Defense Analyses, and served as the executive director of the Defense Organization Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
A graduate of Dartmouth College, N.H., Lynn has a law degree from Cornell Law School in New York and a master's in public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in New Jersey. He is married with a daughter.
Hale, Obama's nominee as comptroller, currently serves as executive director of the American Society of Military Comptrollers.
Hale served as assistant secretary of the Air Force for financial management and comptroller from 1994 to 2001. In that capacity, he was responsible for the Air Force budget and all aspects of Air Force financial management. Hale also spearheaded creation of the first-ever certification program for defense financial managers.
Hale spent 12 years leading the Congressional Budget Office's defense unit. Earlier in his career, he was an active-duty Navy officer assigned to the Center for Naval Analyses.
Hale holds a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from Stanford University, Calif., as well as a master's degree from Stanford and a master's of business administration from George Washington University, D.C. He also is a fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration.
Hale has served on the Defense Business Board and recently completed service on a congressionally mandated Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care. He is a former national president of the American Society of Military Comptrollers and is a certified defense financial manager with acquisition specialty.
Flournoy, Obama's choice for undersecretary of defense for policy, cofounded and was named president of the Center for a New American Security in January 2007. She previously was a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she worked on a broad range of defense policy and international security issues.
Previously, Flournoy was a distinguished research professor at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. There, she founded and led the university's Quadrennial Defense Review working group, chartered by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop intellectual capital in preparation for the Department of Defense's 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review.
Before joining NDU, Flournoy was dual-hatted as principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and threat reduction and deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy. In that capacity, she oversaw three policy offices in the Office of the Secretary of Defense: Strategy; Requirements, Plans, and Counterproliferation; and Russia, Ukraine and Eurasian Affairs.
Flournoy was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in 1996, the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 1998, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award in 2000.
In addition to several edited volumes and reports, she has authored dozens of articles on international security issues.
Flournoy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies from Harvard University, Mass., and a Master of Letters degree in international relations from Balliol College, Oxford University in England, where she was a Newton-Tatum scholar.
Johnson, Obama's general counsel nominee, is a partner in the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, based in New York City.
An experienced trial lawyer in a successful law practice, Johnson also has demonstrated distinguished public service as a federal prosecutor and presidential appointee.
At age 47, he was elected a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. Johnson's career as a trial lawyer began in 1989, prosecuting public corruption cases as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. He served three years as a federal prosecutor.
In 1998, Johnson left his firm for 27 months when President Bill Clinton appointed him the Air Force's general counsel. In that position, Johnson was awarded the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service.
From 2007 to 2008, Johnson served as a foreign policy advisor to Obama's campaign.
He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a graduate of Morehouse College in Georgia and Columbia Law School in New York.
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - President-elect Barack Obama today announced his choices for four key Defense Department positions: deputy defense secretary, two undersecretary positions and general counsel.
William J. Lynn III was named as Obama's nominee for deputy defense secretary. The president-elect also announced his intention to nominate:
-- Robert F. Hale as undersecretary of defense (comptroller);
-- Michèle Flournoy as undersecretary of defense for policy; and
-- Jeh Charles Johnson as general counsel.
"I am confident that these distinguished individuals have the expertise and commitment needed to help me implement a sustainable national security strategy that combats 21st century threats and keeps the American people safe," Obama said of the nominees.
"They share with me the utmost respect for our brave men and women in uniform, and will work day and night to support our troops, strengthen our military, and advance our capacity to carry out 21st century missions," he said.
Obama said he recognizes the challenges ahead. "Together with [Defense] Secretary [Robert M.] Gates and our military, we will work to responsibly end the war in Iraq, defeat al-Qaida and the Taliban and renew America's strength and standing in the world," he said. "I am honored that they have joined me in this mission, and I trust that they will serve the American people well."
Gates has been "intimately involved" in the process of identifying and interviewing appropriate candidates for various vacancies throughout the department, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today.
Morrell said this afternoon, before Obama made his announcement, that Gates has been busy working with the transition team to identify appropriate candidates for various vacancies throughout the department and interview them personally.
"I think he feels as though ... we've made some good progress toward identifying some very capable candidates to fill some very big jobs within the department," Morrell said.
Lynn brings decades of experience and expertise in reforming government spending and making the tough choices necessary to ensure that American tax dollars are spent wisely, Obama's transition team said in its announcement. He was the Pentagon comptroller from 1997 to 2001, serving as the department's chief financial officer and the defense secretary's principal advisor for all budgetary and fiscal matters.
From 1993 to 1997, Lynn oversaw all aspects of the department's strategic planning process as director of program analysis and evaluation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
He was awarded three Defense Department medals for distinguished public service: the Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and awards from the Army, Navy and Air Force. He also received the 2000 Distinguished Federal Leadership Award from the Association of Government Accountants for his efforts to improve defense accounting practices.
Lynn currently serves as senior vice president of government operations and strategy at Raytheon Company.
Before entering the Defense Department in 1993, Lynn served for six years on the staff of Sen. Edward Kennedy as liaison to the Senate Armed Services Committee. He also has been a senior fellow at the National Defense University, on the professional staff at the Institute for Defense Analyses, and served as the executive director of the Defense Organization Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
A graduate of Dartmouth College, N.H., Lynn has a law degree from Cornell Law School in New York and a master's in public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in New Jersey. He is married with a daughter.
Hale, Obama's nominee as comptroller, currently serves as executive director of the American Society of Military Comptrollers.
Hale served as assistant secretary of the Air Force for financial management and comptroller from 1994 to 2001. In that capacity, he was responsible for the Air Force budget and all aspects of Air Force financial management. Hale also spearheaded creation of the first-ever certification program for defense financial managers.
Hale spent 12 years leading the Congressional Budget Office's defense unit. Earlier in his career, he was an active-duty Navy officer assigned to the Center for Naval Analyses.
Hale holds a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from Stanford University, Calif., as well as a master's degree from Stanford and a master's of business administration from George Washington University, D.C. He also is a fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration.
Hale has served on the Defense Business Board and recently completed service on a congressionally mandated Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care. He is a former national president of the American Society of Military Comptrollers and is a certified defense financial manager with acquisition specialty.
Flournoy, Obama's choice for undersecretary of defense for policy, cofounded and was named president of the Center for a New American Security in January 2007. She previously was a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she worked on a broad range of defense policy and international security issues.
Previously, Flournoy was a distinguished research professor at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. There, she founded and led the university's Quadrennial Defense Review working group, chartered by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop intellectual capital in preparation for the Department of Defense's 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review.
Before joining NDU, Flournoy was dual-hatted as principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and threat reduction and deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy. In that capacity, she oversaw three policy offices in the Office of the Secretary of Defense: Strategy; Requirements, Plans, and Counterproliferation; and Russia, Ukraine and Eurasian Affairs.
Flournoy was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in 1996, the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 1998, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award in 2000.
In addition to several edited volumes and reports, she has authored dozens of articles on international security issues.
Flournoy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies from Harvard University, Mass., and a Master of Letters degree in international relations from Balliol College, Oxford University in England, where she was a Newton-Tatum scholar.
Johnson, Obama's general counsel nominee, is a partner in the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, based in New York City.
An experienced trial lawyer in a successful law practice, Johnson also has demonstrated distinguished public service as a federal prosecutor and presidential appointee.
At age 47, he was elected a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. Johnson's career as a trial lawyer began in 1989, prosecuting public corruption cases as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. He served three years as a federal prosecutor.
In 1998, Johnson left his firm for 27 months when President Bill Clinton appointed him the Air Force's general counsel. In that position, Johnson was awarded the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service.
From 2007 to 2008, Johnson served as a foreign policy advisor to Obama's campaign.
He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a graduate of Morehouse College in Georgia and Columbia Law School in New York.
Nuclear Weapons Management Panel Recommends Changes at Pentagon
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - Pentagon officials need to bolster internal management systems that address nuclear weapons issues, the leader of a special task force appointed by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Since the Cold War ended, the nuclear deterrence force "has sometimes been neglected within the Department of Defense, as a whole," James R. Schlesinger, chairman of the Task Force on Nuclear Weapons Management, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.
To better assist Gates with oversight of nuclear weapons issues, the department should have an assistant secretary of defense for deterrence to work in the Pentagon's policy shop, Schlesinger said.
That new assistant secretary, according to the report, would "provide a single [Office of the Secretary of Defense] voice and a single point of engagement for Joint Staff, U.S. Strategic Command, the military services, and other combatant commands on nuclear and weapons of mass destruction matters."
The assistant secretary, the report continued, would be assigned a deputy from the military acquisition realm.
The report also recommends that the purview of the Nuclear Weapons Council be expanded to include nuclear weapons, weapons systems, delivery systems, infrastructure, policy implementation and resources.
The NWC was established by Congress in 1986 to facilitate and coordinate activities between the Defense Department and the Energy Department as part of their dual responsibilities in maintaining the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
The Defense Department also should expand the staff that oversees nuclear deterrence issues within the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and place a general officer in charge of that effort, Schlesinger said.
The Pentagon and the armed services visibly reduced resources for nuclear deterrence missions following the end of the Cold War in 1991, Schlesinger told reporters. The resultant effect, he said, caused a perception among some leaders and rank-and-file servicemembers that the nuclear deterrence mission wasn't so important any more.
"We emphasize that deterrence must start from the top -- that the services, indeed, have picked up clues over the years since the end of the Cold War, that the interest in deterrence at the highest levels of DoD has diminished," said Schlesinger, in explaining why the U.S. military's interest in nuclear weapons matters had waned.
However, the U.S. nuclear deterrence mission remains a paramount endeavor that's of vital importance to the nation's national security and the welfare of America's allies, Schlesinger said.
"And if deterrence is in the eye of the beholder," Schlesinger said, "it is a political statement that must come from the very highest offices of the government, not only here in the DoD, but from the White House, from the Department of State and the like."
Schlesinger also took time to praise the Navy's nuclear deterrence mission.
"We were quite satisfied, generally, with the Navy's performance," Schlesinger said, noting that sailors who work in the nuclear-deterrence realm –- including submariners -- exhibit high morale.
The enormous power and destructiveness of nuclear weapons creates "the desire to avoid the actual use of those weapons in combat, and is, therefore, a different kind of deterrent," Schlesinger said.
"Nuclear forces, we hope, would not have to be used," Schlesinger said. However, he said, many of America's allies depend on U.S. nuclear deterrence capabilities for protection.
Therefore, America's allies "must retain confidence in the U.S. nuclear 'umbrella,'" Schlesinger said. If that confidence evaporates, he said, some U.S. allies are quite capable of building their own nuclear weapons, which could ignite a nuclear arms race.
The strength and credibility of America's nuclear umbrella "is a principal barrier to proliferation," Schlesinger said.
In a statement issued today, Gates thanked Schlesinger and the panel members "for their very thorough and detailed report."
"The U.S. nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and reliable; no one should doubt our capabilities or our resolve to defend U.S. and allies' interests by deterring aggression," Gates said in the statement.
"The report identified numerous trends, both recent and long-term, that may warrant corrective actions," Gates' statement continued. "The department will continue to review the panel's recommendations while ensuring the long-term credibility of the U.S. nuclear deterrent forces and sustaining allied confidence in U.S. security commitments well into the future."
Gates appointed the Task Force on Nuclear Weapons Management in June 2008, following two events involving the Air Force that indicated a deterioration of that service's nuclear weapons management and control systems. The secretary tasked the panel to report back to him on Air Force-related issues in 60 days and on departmentwide nuclear weapons management measures in 120 days.
Some Air Force ballistic missile parts were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan in 2006. In August 2007, an Air Force B-52 bomber armed with nuclear missiles flew from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
In September 2008, the panel released a Phase One report that criticized the Air Force's management of its nuclear weapons management programs.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters later today that Defense Department officials would thoroughly review the Schlesinger panel's latest recommendations. Officials of the incoming Obama administration, Morrell added, also would study the report.
Schlesinger served as CIA director in the Nixon administration, as well as secretary of defense in the Nixon and Ford administrations. In the Carter administration, he served as the first energy secretary.
The task force chairman was accompanied at today's news conference by fellow panel members Jacques S. Gansler, retired Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr., Christopher A. Williams, retired Air Force Gen. Michael P.C. Carns, and Franklin C. Miller. Other panel members not present included J.D. Crouch II, and John J. Hamre.
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - Pentagon officials need to bolster internal management systems that address nuclear weapons issues, the leader of a special task force appointed by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Since the Cold War ended, the nuclear deterrence force "has sometimes been neglected within the Department of Defense, as a whole," James R. Schlesinger, chairman of the Task Force on Nuclear Weapons Management, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.
To better assist Gates with oversight of nuclear weapons issues, the department should have an assistant secretary of defense for deterrence to work in the Pentagon's policy shop, Schlesinger said.
That new assistant secretary, according to the report, would "provide a single [Office of the Secretary of Defense] voice and a single point of engagement for Joint Staff, U.S. Strategic Command, the military services, and other combatant commands on nuclear and weapons of mass destruction matters."
The assistant secretary, the report continued, would be assigned a deputy from the military acquisition realm.
The report also recommends that the purview of the Nuclear Weapons Council be expanded to include nuclear weapons, weapons systems, delivery systems, infrastructure, policy implementation and resources.
The NWC was established by Congress in 1986 to facilitate and coordinate activities between the Defense Department and the Energy Department as part of their dual responsibilities in maintaining the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
The Defense Department also should expand the staff that oversees nuclear deterrence issues within the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and place a general officer in charge of that effort, Schlesinger said.
The Pentagon and the armed services visibly reduced resources for nuclear deterrence missions following the end of the Cold War in 1991, Schlesinger told reporters. The resultant effect, he said, caused a perception among some leaders and rank-and-file servicemembers that the nuclear deterrence mission wasn't so important any more.
"We emphasize that deterrence must start from the top -- that the services, indeed, have picked up clues over the years since the end of the Cold War, that the interest in deterrence at the highest levels of DoD has diminished," said Schlesinger, in explaining why the U.S. military's interest in nuclear weapons matters had waned.
However, the U.S. nuclear deterrence mission remains a paramount endeavor that's of vital importance to the nation's national security and the welfare of America's allies, Schlesinger said.
"And if deterrence is in the eye of the beholder," Schlesinger said, "it is a political statement that must come from the very highest offices of the government, not only here in the DoD, but from the White House, from the Department of State and the like."
Schlesinger also took time to praise the Navy's nuclear deterrence mission.
"We were quite satisfied, generally, with the Navy's performance," Schlesinger said, noting that sailors who work in the nuclear-deterrence realm –- including submariners -- exhibit high morale.
The enormous power and destructiveness of nuclear weapons creates "the desire to avoid the actual use of those weapons in combat, and is, therefore, a different kind of deterrent," Schlesinger said.
"Nuclear forces, we hope, would not have to be used," Schlesinger said. However, he said, many of America's allies depend on U.S. nuclear deterrence capabilities for protection.
Therefore, America's allies "must retain confidence in the U.S. nuclear 'umbrella,'" Schlesinger said. If that confidence evaporates, he said, some U.S. allies are quite capable of building their own nuclear weapons, which could ignite a nuclear arms race.
The strength and credibility of America's nuclear umbrella "is a principal barrier to proliferation," Schlesinger said.
In a statement issued today, Gates thanked Schlesinger and the panel members "for their very thorough and detailed report."
"The U.S. nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and reliable; no one should doubt our capabilities or our resolve to defend U.S. and allies' interests by deterring aggression," Gates said in the statement.
"The report identified numerous trends, both recent and long-term, that may warrant corrective actions," Gates' statement continued. "The department will continue to review the panel's recommendations while ensuring the long-term credibility of the U.S. nuclear deterrent forces and sustaining allied confidence in U.S. security commitments well into the future."
Gates appointed the Task Force on Nuclear Weapons Management in June 2008, following two events involving the Air Force that indicated a deterioration of that service's nuclear weapons management and control systems. The secretary tasked the panel to report back to him on Air Force-related issues in 60 days and on departmentwide nuclear weapons management measures in 120 days.
Some Air Force ballistic missile parts were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan in 2006. In August 2007, an Air Force B-52 bomber armed with nuclear missiles flew from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
In September 2008, the panel released a Phase One report that criticized the Air Force's management of its nuclear weapons management programs.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters later today that Defense Department officials would thoroughly review the Schlesinger panel's latest recommendations. Officials of the incoming Obama administration, Morrell added, also would study the report.
Schlesinger served as CIA director in the Nixon administration, as well as secretary of defense in the Nixon and Ford administrations. In the Carter administration, he served as the first energy secretary.
The task force chairman was accompanied at today's news conference by fellow panel members Jacques S. Gansler, retired Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr., Christopher A. Williams, retired Air Force Gen. Michael P.C. Carns, and Franklin C. Miller. Other panel members not present included J.D. Crouch II, and John J. Hamre.
Wounded Warriors, Other Gates Priorities to Continue in Next Administration
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is pleased by "great progress" in improving care and support for wounded warriors, but believes these developments "are still not good enough" and plans to implement more, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today. Morrell said the Jan. 20 administration change won't deflect Gates' focus on key initiatives he championed during the current administration. These include getting more mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to warfighters and overhauling the acquisition and procurement system.
But particularly high on his radar screen, Morrell said, is improved care for wounded warriors. Problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center arose just months after Gates assumed his post in December 2007, and he ordered an all-out overhaul of the system.
"I think you will see this take even more of the secretary's time in the coming year -- years, whatever it ends up being -- than even it has over the past couple of years," Morrell said. "And I can tell you, it's occupied a significant portion of his time."
Gates "is not done in that realm," Morrell said. "He has many more things he wishes to accomplish. He thinks we've made great progress but ... [believes it is] still not good enough. And so look for more in that realm."
Another top Gates priority – getting more MRAPs to the combat theater – will continue into the next administration with an emphasis on getting more of the vehicles to Afghanistan, Morrell said. About 1,100 MRAPs are currently in Afghanistan, and more of these as well as the new, lighter models are likely to be needed in the future, he said.
Gates moved the MRAP program into high gear, creating the first major equipment procurement to go from concept to industrial production in less than a year.
The MRAP program "is now almost an institutionalized program," Morrell said. "And in fact, we have nearly built all the MRAPs that have been identified as needed."
Similarly, Morrell said, the ISR effort will remain a top priority, although he conceded that with Gates' emphasis, it already has become "pretty well institutionalized."
Gates announced in April that he had created a task force to give the ISR issue the same emphasis as the MRAP program.
"My concern is that our services are still not moving aggressively in wartime to provide resources needed now on the battlefield," the secretary said during an April speech to Air War College students. "While we have doubled this capability in recent months, it is still not good enough."
That's changing, Morrell said. "There are now people who appreciate, as the secretary does, how important this is to our warfighters," he said. "And so I think they are committed to seeing his vision through to reality."
Gates will continue his efforts to improve defense acquisition and procurement while dealing with major budget issues, Morrell said.
The next defense budget will go to Capitol Hill shortly after the Obama administration takes office. Other issues on the horizon include the Quadrennial Defense Review, a new National Defense Strategy and a new nuclear posture statement.
"So there are a lot of budget and policy matters that are going to eat up a lot of his time, but have the potential to really impact the direction of this department for years to come," Morrell said. "I think you'll see, in the first several months of this administration, a great deal of the secretary's time devoted to dealing with those issues."
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is pleased by "great progress" in improving care and support for wounded warriors, but believes these developments "are still not good enough" and plans to implement more, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today. Morrell said the Jan. 20 administration change won't deflect Gates' focus on key initiatives he championed during the current administration. These include getting more mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to warfighters and overhauling the acquisition and procurement system.
But particularly high on his radar screen, Morrell said, is improved care for wounded warriors. Problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center arose just months after Gates assumed his post in December 2007, and he ordered an all-out overhaul of the system.
"I think you will see this take even more of the secretary's time in the coming year -- years, whatever it ends up being -- than even it has over the past couple of years," Morrell said. "And I can tell you, it's occupied a significant portion of his time."
Gates "is not done in that realm," Morrell said. "He has many more things he wishes to accomplish. He thinks we've made great progress but ... [believes it is] still not good enough. And so look for more in that realm."
Another top Gates priority – getting more MRAPs to the combat theater – will continue into the next administration with an emphasis on getting more of the vehicles to Afghanistan, Morrell said. About 1,100 MRAPs are currently in Afghanistan, and more of these as well as the new, lighter models are likely to be needed in the future, he said.
Gates moved the MRAP program into high gear, creating the first major equipment procurement to go from concept to industrial production in less than a year.
The MRAP program "is now almost an institutionalized program," Morrell said. "And in fact, we have nearly built all the MRAPs that have been identified as needed."
Similarly, Morrell said, the ISR effort will remain a top priority, although he conceded that with Gates' emphasis, it already has become "pretty well institutionalized."
Gates announced in April that he had created a task force to give the ISR issue the same emphasis as the MRAP program.
"My concern is that our services are still not moving aggressively in wartime to provide resources needed now on the battlefield," the secretary said during an April speech to Air War College students. "While we have doubled this capability in recent months, it is still not good enough."
That's changing, Morrell said. "There are now people who appreciate, as the secretary does, how important this is to our warfighters," he said. "And so I think they are committed to seeing his vision through to reality."
Gates will continue his efforts to improve defense acquisition and procurement while dealing with major budget issues, Morrell said.
The next defense budget will go to Capitol Hill shortly after the Obama administration takes office. Other issues on the horizon include the Quadrennial Defense Review, a new National Defense Strategy and a new nuclear posture statement.
"So there are a lot of budget and policy matters that are going to eat up a lot of his time, but have the potential to really impact the direction of this department for years to come," Morrell said. "I think you'll see, in the first several months of this administration, a great deal of the secretary's time devoted to dealing with those issues."
MILITARY CONTRACTS January 8, 2009
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is modifying an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract with four contractors for a maximum of $64,000,000. ECSI International, Inc. of Clifton, New Jersey (F19628-03-D-0011, P00021), Abacus of Chevy Chase, Maryland (F19628-03-D-0012, P00023), Northrop Grumman Space and Mission System of Carson, Calif. (F19628-03-D-0019 P00025), L-3 Communications Gov Services, Inc, of Chantilly, Virginia (F19628-03-D-0011 P00021). The purpose of the modification is to increase the Integrated Based Defense Security System contract ceiling by $64,000,000 from $498,000,000 to $562,000,000 and update contract B-Tables for Equipment Prices for fiscal year 2009 and Labor Rates for fiscal year 2009 and fiscal year 2010. At this time, no money has been obligated. HQ Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts is the contracting activity.
The Air Force is modifying a cost plus incentive fee contract with Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Clearfield, Utah for $36,959,911. The contract will provide the Minuteman III Safety Enhanced Reentry Vehicle full rate production option. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 526 ICBMSG/PKE, Hill Air Force Base, Utah is the contracting activity (F42610-98-C-0001).
The Air Force is awarding a cost plus award fee contract with Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, San Diego, California for $13,474,949. This contract is for engineering, manufacturing and development activities in support of the Global Hawk Program. At this time the entire amount has been obligated. 303 AESG/SYK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (F33657-01-C-4600, P00288).
NAVY
L3 Communications Corporation EOS, Garland, Texas, is being awarded a maximum $48,864,799 firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for Submersible Binocular Night Vision Systems (SBNVSs). The SBNVSs will be used by U.S. Navy Personnel to provide night vision capability. Work will be performed in Garland, Texas, and is expected to be completed by January 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities, with four offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity (N00164-09-D-JQ69).
BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, Norfolk, Va., is being awarded a $19,587,085 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-05-C-4403) for the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) FY09 docked phased maintenance availability. The following work items will be accomplished: repair bilge keel; accomplish underwater hull inspection; repair salt water ballast tank; repair/replace underwater hull sea chest; replace distilling plant brine pump overboard discharge piping; accomplish underwater hull preservation; inspect and repair impressed cathodic protection system; and other work items to support those mentioned above. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Va., and is expected to be completed by October 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $19,587,085 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.
PKL Services, Inc.*, Poway, Calif., is being awarded a $17,023,049 firm fixed price contract for Lots 3 and 4 for selected organizational-level maintenance (Reset) on the Marine Corps AH-1W, UH-1N, CH-53D/E, and CH-46E aircraft platforms. Work will be performed in Camp Pendleton, Calif. (30 percent); New River, N.C. (25 percent); Iraq/Afghanistan (22 percent); Miramar, Calif. (18 percent); and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $17,003,249 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Lot 3 was competed as a 100 percent small business set-aside; Lot 4 was a competitive 8(a). Lot 3 received two offers and Lot 4 received three offers. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00421-09-C-0023).
EMCOR Government Services, Inc., Arlington, Va., is being awarded $13,598,904 to exercise the second option period under a previously awarded combination firm fixed price, indefinite quantity contract (N40080-07-D-0374) with award options for base operations support services in the Washington, D.C. area. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, general management and administration services; facilities maintenance, repair, and management; restoration/modernization; contingency/disaster recovery services; and base support services. The current total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $48,902,927. Work will be performed at various installations within a hundred mile radius of Washington, D.C., and work for this option is expected to be completed Dec. 15, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, Wash., D.C., is the contracting activity.
Progeny Systems Corporation, Manassas, Va., is being awarded a $13,563,474 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, cost plus fixed fee contract for engineering services in support of the MK54 torpedo systems. The contractor will be required to perform engineering efforts including technology assessment, mechanical and electrical component analysis, hardware/software development, critical item testing, hardware/software integration, certification and test, and life cycle logistics studies necessary for the testing and evaluation, prototype and engineering development model components of torpedo systems. Work will be performed in Manassas, Va. (80 percent), and other locations including Newport, R.I. (20 percent), and is expected to be completed by January 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, R.I., is the contracting activity (N66604-09-D-0002).
Adaptive Methods, Inc.*, Centreville, Va., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $9,750,000 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Project under Topic N02-152 entitled "Environmental Mission Planner – The Total Solution." The contractor will provide services and materials for the design and development of an innovative total system solution for the tactical antisubmarine warfare (ASW) environmental mission planner that provides universal compatibility with minimal impact on existing and future aircraft and tactical support cent-based systems. Work will be performed in Centreville, Va., and is expected to be completed in December 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using SBIR Program Solicitation under Topic N02-152 and nine offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J. is the contracting activity (N68335-09-D-0089).
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Inc., Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $7,580,899 cost plus fixed fee contract for system engineering efforts to integrate improved algorithms for the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 Surface Ship Undersea Warfare combat system. The contractor will leverage state-of-the-art commercial engineering designs as intrinsic technology enablers to improve sonar processing technology. Work under this contract will build upon prior efforts and investments previously made under SBIR topics for the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15/(V)15 Surface Ship Undersea Warfare (USW) combat system. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $24,660,428. Work will be performed in Anaheim Hills, Calif., and is expected to be completed by December 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract is being awarded as a Phase III SBIR effort, resulting from a competitive proposal under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-09-C-5205).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Integrys Energy Services, Inc. DePere, Wis. is being awarded a $7,656,429 firm fixed price contract for electricity. Other locations of performance are in Pennsylvania. Using services are Federal Civilian Agencies. There were originally 100 proposals solicited with 14 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the third one-year option. The date of performance completion is December 31, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-08-D-8036).
The Air Force is modifying an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract with four contractors for a maximum of $64,000,000. ECSI International, Inc. of Clifton, New Jersey (F19628-03-D-0011, P00021), Abacus of Chevy Chase, Maryland (F19628-03-D-0012, P00023), Northrop Grumman Space and Mission System of Carson, Calif. (F19628-03-D-0019 P00025), L-3 Communications Gov Services, Inc, of Chantilly, Virginia (F19628-03-D-0011 P00021). The purpose of the modification is to increase the Integrated Based Defense Security System contract ceiling by $64,000,000 from $498,000,000 to $562,000,000 and update contract B-Tables for Equipment Prices for fiscal year 2009 and Labor Rates for fiscal year 2009 and fiscal year 2010. At this time, no money has been obligated. HQ Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts is the contracting activity.
The Air Force is modifying a cost plus incentive fee contract with Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Clearfield, Utah for $36,959,911. The contract will provide the Minuteman III Safety Enhanced Reentry Vehicle full rate production option. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 526 ICBMSG/PKE, Hill Air Force Base, Utah is the contracting activity (F42610-98-C-0001).
The Air Force is awarding a cost plus award fee contract with Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, San Diego, California for $13,474,949. This contract is for engineering, manufacturing and development activities in support of the Global Hawk Program. At this time the entire amount has been obligated. 303 AESG/SYK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (F33657-01-C-4600, P00288).
NAVY
L3 Communications Corporation EOS, Garland, Texas, is being awarded a maximum $48,864,799 firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for Submersible Binocular Night Vision Systems (SBNVSs). The SBNVSs will be used by U.S. Navy Personnel to provide night vision capability. Work will be performed in Garland, Texas, and is expected to be completed by January 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities, with four offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity (N00164-09-D-JQ69).
BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, Norfolk, Va., is being awarded a $19,587,085 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-05-C-4403) for the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) FY09 docked phased maintenance availability. The following work items will be accomplished: repair bilge keel; accomplish underwater hull inspection; repair salt water ballast tank; repair/replace underwater hull sea chest; replace distilling plant brine pump overboard discharge piping; accomplish underwater hull preservation; inspect and repair impressed cathodic protection system; and other work items to support those mentioned above. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Va., and is expected to be completed by October 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $19,587,085 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.
PKL Services, Inc.*, Poway, Calif., is being awarded a $17,023,049 firm fixed price contract for Lots 3 and 4 for selected organizational-level maintenance (Reset) on the Marine Corps AH-1W, UH-1N, CH-53D/E, and CH-46E aircraft platforms. Work will be performed in Camp Pendleton, Calif. (30 percent); New River, N.C. (25 percent); Iraq/Afghanistan (22 percent); Miramar, Calif. (18 percent); and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $17,003,249 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Lot 3 was competed as a 100 percent small business set-aside; Lot 4 was a competitive 8(a). Lot 3 received two offers and Lot 4 received three offers. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00421-09-C-0023).
EMCOR Government Services, Inc., Arlington, Va., is being awarded $13,598,904 to exercise the second option period under a previously awarded combination firm fixed price, indefinite quantity contract (N40080-07-D-0374) with award options for base operations support services in the Washington, D.C. area. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, general management and administration services; facilities maintenance, repair, and management; restoration/modernization; contingency/disaster recovery services; and base support services. The current total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $48,902,927. Work will be performed at various installations within a hundred mile radius of Washington, D.C., and work for this option is expected to be completed Dec. 15, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, Wash., D.C., is the contracting activity.
Progeny Systems Corporation, Manassas, Va., is being awarded a $13,563,474 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, cost plus fixed fee contract for engineering services in support of the MK54 torpedo systems. The contractor will be required to perform engineering efforts including technology assessment, mechanical and electrical component analysis, hardware/software development, critical item testing, hardware/software integration, certification and test, and life cycle logistics studies necessary for the testing and evaluation, prototype and engineering development model components of torpedo systems. Work will be performed in Manassas, Va. (80 percent), and other locations including Newport, R.I. (20 percent), and is expected to be completed by January 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, R.I., is the contracting activity (N66604-09-D-0002).
Adaptive Methods, Inc.*, Centreville, Va., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $9,750,000 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Project under Topic N02-152 entitled "Environmental Mission Planner – The Total Solution." The contractor will provide services and materials for the design and development of an innovative total system solution for the tactical antisubmarine warfare (ASW) environmental mission planner that provides universal compatibility with minimal impact on existing and future aircraft and tactical support cent-based systems. Work will be performed in Centreville, Va., and is expected to be completed in December 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using SBIR Program Solicitation under Topic N02-152 and nine offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J. is the contracting activity (N68335-09-D-0089).
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Inc., Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $7,580,899 cost plus fixed fee contract for system engineering efforts to integrate improved algorithms for the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 Surface Ship Undersea Warfare combat system. The contractor will leverage state-of-the-art commercial engineering designs as intrinsic technology enablers to improve sonar processing technology. Work under this contract will build upon prior efforts and investments previously made under SBIR topics for the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15/(V)15 Surface Ship Undersea Warfare (USW) combat system. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $24,660,428. Work will be performed in Anaheim Hills, Calif., and is expected to be completed by December 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract is being awarded as a Phase III SBIR effort, resulting from a competitive proposal under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-09-C-5205).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Integrys Energy Services, Inc. DePere, Wis. is being awarded a $7,656,429 firm fixed price contract for electricity. Other locations of performance are in Pennsylvania. Using services are Federal Civilian Agencies. There were originally 100 proposals solicited with 14 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the third one-year option. The date of performance completion is December 31, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-08-D-8036).
Navy Names Virginia Class Submarine USS John Warner
The secretary of the Navy announced today that the next Virginia-class attack submarine will be named in honor of recently retired Virginia Senator John Warner. Warner retired Jan. 3, 2009, after 30 years of service in the U.S. Senate.
The USS John Warner, honors Warner's lifetime of service to the nation and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Sen. Warner's career in public service began in Jan. 1945, the last year of World War II, when he enlisted at the age of 17 in the U.S. Navy, where he earned the rank of Petty Officer 3rd class. In the Fall of 1949, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. At the outbreak of the Korean War in Oct. 1950, he volunteered for active duty and was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps and served with the 1st Marine Air Wing as a ground communications officer in Korea. He continued his affiliation with the Marine Corps Reserve, reaching the rank of captain. In Feb. 1969 he was appointed and confirmed by the Senate as under secretary of the Navy, and succeeded Secretary John Chafee as the 61st Secretary of the Navy in 1972 following Senate confirmation during the height of the war in Vietnam. During this period, Warner was designated as chief negotiator for the conference between the U.S. and Soviet navies which led to the Incidents at Sea Agreement which is still in effect today. Entering politics in 1978, he was elected to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia in the U.S. Senate. He served five consecutive terms becoming the 2nd longest serving U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia in the 218-year history of the Senate.
During his 30 years of service in the Senate, Warner was a leader in national defense issues serving continuously on the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He held leadership roles as chairman or ranking member for half of his tenure on this committee and also served many years on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. In this capacity, and throughout his career, he has shown unwavering support for the men and women of the armed forces, and has been a champion of modernizing the structure and operations of the military to ensure its effectiveness in the 21st century.
This next-generation attack submarine will provide the Navy with the capabilities required to maintain the nation's undersea supremacy well into the 21st century. It will have enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements that will enable them to meet the Navy's multi-mission requirements.
The USS John Warner will have the capability to attack targets ashore with highly accurate Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters or other sea-based forces. Other missions include anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare; mine delivery and minefield mapping. It is also designed for special forces delivery and support, a subject Warner worked on throughout his career in the U.S. Senate.
The Virginia-class is 7,800-tons and 377 feet in length, has a beam of 34 feet, and can operate at more than 25 knots submerged. It is designed with a reactor plant that will not require refueling during the planned life of the ship – reducing lifecycle costs while increasing underway time. The USS John Warner will be built by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., in partnership with General Dynamics/Electric Boat Corporation. Warner was instrumental in developing this construction teaming arrangement concept which was later codified into law.
The USS John Warner, honors Warner's lifetime of service to the nation and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Sen. Warner's career in public service began in Jan. 1945, the last year of World War II, when he enlisted at the age of 17 in the U.S. Navy, where he earned the rank of Petty Officer 3rd class. In the Fall of 1949, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. At the outbreak of the Korean War in Oct. 1950, he volunteered for active duty and was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps and served with the 1st Marine Air Wing as a ground communications officer in Korea. He continued his affiliation with the Marine Corps Reserve, reaching the rank of captain. In Feb. 1969 he was appointed and confirmed by the Senate as under secretary of the Navy, and succeeded Secretary John Chafee as the 61st Secretary of the Navy in 1972 following Senate confirmation during the height of the war in Vietnam. During this period, Warner was designated as chief negotiator for the conference between the U.S. and Soviet navies which led to the Incidents at Sea Agreement which is still in effect today. Entering politics in 1978, he was elected to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia in the U.S. Senate. He served five consecutive terms becoming the 2nd longest serving U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia in the 218-year history of the Senate.
During his 30 years of service in the Senate, Warner was a leader in national defense issues serving continuously on the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He held leadership roles as chairman or ranking member for half of his tenure on this committee and also served many years on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. In this capacity, and throughout his career, he has shown unwavering support for the men and women of the armed forces, and has been a champion of modernizing the structure and operations of the military to ensure its effectiveness in the 21st century.
This next-generation attack submarine will provide the Navy with the capabilities required to maintain the nation's undersea supremacy well into the 21st century. It will have enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements that will enable them to meet the Navy's multi-mission requirements.
The USS John Warner will have the capability to attack targets ashore with highly accurate Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters or other sea-based forces. Other missions include anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare; mine delivery and minefield mapping. It is also designed for special forces delivery and support, a subject Warner worked on throughout his career in the U.S. Senate.
The Virginia-class is 7,800-tons and 377 feet in length, has a beam of 34 feet, and can operate at more than 25 knots submerged. It is designed with a reactor plant that will not require refueling during the planned life of the ship – reducing lifecycle costs while increasing underway time. The USS John Warner will be built by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., in partnership with General Dynamics/Electric Boat Corporation. Warner was instrumental in developing this construction teaming arrangement concept which was later codified into law.
Foundation Preserves Memories for Families Experiencing Deployments
By Sharon Foster
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - Having a loved one go off to war or return from war can be very emotional for families. Many are so overwhelmed that taking pictures of these cherished milestones can be forgotten or just put to the side. A former military spouse has created a foundation of photographers to help military families capture these unforgettable images. Operation: Love ReUnited offers free photography sessions to deploying and deployed families. Each family gets two free sessions in which photographers agree to send photo albums to deployed servicemembers at no cost.
"This movement is touching millions of lives nationwide and around the world," said Tonee Lawrence, founder of Operation: Love ReUnited, whose husband served with the Air Force in Operation Iraqi Freedom. "The Operation helps those long months go by a little faster. It's designed to capture moments that you will long remember and always treasure.
"The soldiers will have a little keepsake with them while at their duty stations," she continued. "It's art. It's love. It's all made possible by artists wanting to give something back to those who make the United States what it is."
And Lawrence is not the only military family member involved in the program.
"As a military wife, I understand how hard it is to be away from your spouse for a long time," said Stefanie Burt, a photographer with the program. "Photos play a very important role. I love to capture real-life moments and emotions. When my husband was deployed to Iraq, he constantly asked for new photos. I think my photos will make the deployment a little bit easier for the families."
Lawrence agreed. "We have three children," she said. "When my husband returned from his deployment, I wasn't able to capture the long-awaiting faces of my little boys when they saw their father for the first time in months. I started thinking about what I could do to make it so families had images of this very special time in their life."
Operation: Love ReUnited helps families find participating photographers in their area through its Web site database at http://www.oplove.org. Families simply type in their ZIP code, contact the photographer and make an appointment for photos.
Jose de Jesus Rocha, whose son, Jose Rocha, returned home from Afghanistan after serving 12 months with the U.S. Army there, was grateful for the photographs.
"The photos were emotional," Rocha said. "The way the [photographer] captured our emotions, expression. The photos were beautiful, fantastic."
The Operation: Love ReUnited Web site is set up only to help deploying or deployed families locate a photographer for two free sessions, Lawrence said, and the families are not obligated to purchase anything. More than 600 photography businesses are registered with the site, some with multiple photographers working on their behalf, she added.
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - Having a loved one go off to war or return from war can be very emotional for families. Many are so overwhelmed that taking pictures of these cherished milestones can be forgotten or just put to the side. A former military spouse has created a foundation of photographers to help military families capture these unforgettable images. Operation: Love ReUnited offers free photography sessions to deploying and deployed families. Each family gets two free sessions in which photographers agree to send photo albums to deployed servicemembers at no cost.
"This movement is touching millions of lives nationwide and around the world," said Tonee Lawrence, founder of Operation: Love ReUnited, whose husband served with the Air Force in Operation Iraqi Freedom. "The Operation helps those long months go by a little faster. It's designed to capture moments that you will long remember and always treasure.
"The soldiers will have a little keepsake with them while at their duty stations," she continued. "It's art. It's love. It's all made possible by artists wanting to give something back to those who make the United States what it is."
And Lawrence is not the only military family member involved in the program.
"As a military wife, I understand how hard it is to be away from your spouse for a long time," said Stefanie Burt, a photographer with the program. "Photos play a very important role. I love to capture real-life moments and emotions. When my husband was deployed to Iraq, he constantly asked for new photos. I think my photos will make the deployment a little bit easier for the families."
Lawrence agreed. "We have three children," she said. "When my husband returned from his deployment, I wasn't able to capture the long-awaiting faces of my little boys when they saw their father for the first time in months. I started thinking about what I could do to make it so families had images of this very special time in their life."
Operation: Love ReUnited helps families find participating photographers in their area through its Web site database at http://www.oplove.org. Families simply type in their ZIP code, contact the photographer and make an appointment for photos.
Jose de Jesus Rocha, whose son, Jose Rocha, returned home from Afghanistan after serving 12 months with the U.S. Army there, was grateful for the photographs.
"The photos were emotional," Rocha said. "The way the [photographer] captured our emotions, expression. The photos were beautiful, fantastic."
The Operation: Love ReUnited Web site is set up only to help deploying or deployed families locate a photographer for two free sessions, Lawrence said, and the families are not obligated to purchase anything. More than 600 photography businesses are registered with the site, some with multiple photographers working on their behalf, she added.
Alaska Guardsmen Save 167 Lives in 2008
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - The men and women of the Alaska National Guard are credited with saving 167 lives in Alaska and around the world in 2008. The Alaska Guard was awarded 79 "saves" and 10 "assists" in Alaska, in addition to 72 saves in Afghanistan and 16 on the Gulf Coast while providing hurricane-related support to Texas and Louisiana, officials said. A save is credited when Guardsmen rescue a person who likely would not have survived otherwise, officials said.
"Members from the Alaska National Guard were called on for their skills in Afghanistan, the Gulf Coast and here in Alaska because they are recognized for their professionalism and expertise in search and rescue," Air Force Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell, Alaska's adjutant general, said.
Alaska National Guardsmen support search and rescue year-round in Alaska, with September reportedly the busiest month for search and rescue missions in the state. The Alaska Guard was credited with 20 saves in September, three times the number of saves recorded in September 2007, officials said.
"We were literally busy almost every day with something going on," Air Force Maj. Guy Hayes, public affairs officer, said.
In addition to performing day-to-day support in Alaska, Guardsmen from the 176th Wing's 210th, 211th and 212th rescue squadrons at Kulis Air National Guard Base deployed to multiple locations in 2008.
In January, Guardsmen deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, to support combat search and rescue missions in the global war on terrorism. During their six-month deployment, Alaska Guardsmen were credited with saving 72 lives, officials said.
In early September, Guard members were deployed under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a program that allows Guard units to mobilize upon request to render assistance to other states. Supporting search and rescue efforts in Louisiana and Texas, Guardsmen were awarded 16 saves during hurricanes Gustav, Hannah and Ike.
The 11th Rescue Coordination Center, the sole Alaska representative responsible for all aeronautical search and rescue cases in Alaska, released its end-of-year statistics Dec 31.
(From an Alaska National Guard news release.)
Jan. 8, 2009 - The men and women of the Alaska National Guard are credited with saving 167 lives in Alaska and around the world in 2008. The Alaska Guard was awarded 79 "saves" and 10 "assists" in Alaska, in addition to 72 saves in Afghanistan and 16 on the Gulf Coast while providing hurricane-related support to Texas and Louisiana, officials said. A save is credited when Guardsmen rescue a person who likely would not have survived otherwise, officials said.
"Members from the Alaska National Guard were called on for their skills in Afghanistan, the Gulf Coast and here in Alaska because they are recognized for their professionalism and expertise in search and rescue," Air Force Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell, Alaska's adjutant general, said.
Alaska National Guardsmen support search and rescue year-round in Alaska, with September reportedly the busiest month for search and rescue missions in the state. The Alaska Guard was credited with 20 saves in September, three times the number of saves recorded in September 2007, officials said.
"We were literally busy almost every day with something going on," Air Force Maj. Guy Hayes, public affairs officer, said.
In addition to performing day-to-day support in Alaska, Guardsmen from the 176th Wing's 210th, 211th and 212th rescue squadrons at Kulis Air National Guard Base deployed to multiple locations in 2008.
In January, Guardsmen deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, to support combat search and rescue missions in the global war on terrorism. During their six-month deployment, Alaska Guardsmen were credited with saving 72 lives, officials said.
In early September, Guard members were deployed under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a program that allows Guard units to mobilize upon request to render assistance to other states. Supporting search and rescue efforts in Louisiana and Texas, Guardsmen were awarded 16 saves during hurricanes Gustav, Hannah and Ike.
The 11th Rescue Coordination Center, the sole Alaska representative responsible for all aeronautical search and rescue cases in Alaska, released its end-of-year statistics Dec 31.
(From an Alaska National Guard news release.)
Mounted Color Guard to Ride in Inaugural Parade
By Bill Armstrong
Special to American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - Troopers of the 1st Infantry Division Commanding General's Mounted Color Guard here will perform their duties at the ultimate change-of-command ceremony when they ride in the presidential inaugural parade for President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C. Fourteen troopers will ride on horseback down Pennsylvania Avenue on a parade route about two and a half miles long, Army 1st Sgt. Dean Stockert of the color guard said. Although the route will take only 30 minutes to complete, the parade tops all others the color guard participates in regarding crowds and noise level, he said.
"We do lots of events and lots of crowds around Kansas. However, our crowds usually fall under the 10,000 people area," Stockert said. "This one will be in the area of about 4.5 million along the parade route. We'll have people lined on each side of the road, plus sirens, plus aircraft, and everything else, so it's going to be a lot more activity for the horses than what they're generally used to."
But although noise will be a factor, Stocker said, he has great confidence in the troopers and their mounts.
"Our horses are pretty disciplined, because they're used to cannon fire, gunfire," he said. "They're probably more disciplined than your average horse out in the community."
The color guard is preparing for the event by getting its wardrobe of Civil War-period uniforms ready and its sabers polished. The blades will remain in their scabbards during the parade. Their horses will wear special shoes made with a layer of borium on the bottom.
"Borium's a hard metal, like tungsten steel, so it will stick to the asphalt," Stockert said. "It won't slip and slide. It will stick to the subway grates and the manhole covers, and keep the horses from sliding."
Despite the stress of the event with live television coverage and the world watching, Stockert said, he looks forward to the parade.
"It's definitely an honor to be able to welcome the new president in and to show our support for the continuing democracy in this country," Stockert said. "We're glad that the inauguration committee selected us to represent Fort Riley, the United States Army and the state of Kansas."
Army Capt. Richard Martinson, color guard commander, echoed his first sergeant's sentiments.
"I think it's a huge personal honor for all of us who are going to be able to go out in front of our president and salute him and really celebrate his coming to office," Martinson said.
This won't be the first time the Fort Riley unit has welcomed a new president. It participated in inaugural parades in 2001 and 2005 for President George W. Bush. The color guard will be one of more than 70 participants in the 2009 parade.
(Bill Armstrong is a staff writer for the Fort Riley Post.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - Troopers of the 1st Infantry Division Commanding General's Mounted Color Guard here will perform their duties at the ultimate change-of-command ceremony when they ride in the presidential inaugural parade for President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C. Fourteen troopers will ride on horseback down Pennsylvania Avenue on a parade route about two and a half miles long, Army 1st Sgt. Dean Stockert of the color guard said. Although the route will take only 30 minutes to complete, the parade tops all others the color guard participates in regarding crowds and noise level, he said.
"We do lots of events and lots of crowds around Kansas. However, our crowds usually fall under the 10,000 people area," Stockert said. "This one will be in the area of about 4.5 million along the parade route. We'll have people lined on each side of the road, plus sirens, plus aircraft, and everything else, so it's going to be a lot more activity for the horses than what they're generally used to."
But although noise will be a factor, Stocker said, he has great confidence in the troopers and their mounts.
"Our horses are pretty disciplined, because they're used to cannon fire, gunfire," he said. "They're probably more disciplined than your average horse out in the community."
The color guard is preparing for the event by getting its wardrobe of Civil War-period uniforms ready and its sabers polished. The blades will remain in their scabbards during the parade. Their horses will wear special shoes made with a layer of borium on the bottom.
"Borium's a hard metal, like tungsten steel, so it will stick to the asphalt," Stockert said. "It won't slip and slide. It will stick to the subway grates and the manhole covers, and keep the horses from sliding."
Despite the stress of the event with live television coverage and the world watching, Stockert said, he looks forward to the parade.
"It's definitely an honor to be able to welcome the new president in and to show our support for the continuing democracy in this country," Stockert said. "We're glad that the inauguration committee selected us to represent Fort Riley, the United States Army and the state of Kansas."
Army Capt. Richard Martinson, color guard commander, echoed his first sergeant's sentiments.
"I think it's a huge personal honor for all of us who are going to be able to go out in front of our president and salute him and really celebrate his coming to office," Martinson said.
This won't be the first time the Fort Riley unit has welcomed a new president. It participated in inaugural parades in 2001 and 2005 for President George W. Bush. The color guard will be one of more than 70 participants in the 2009 parade.
(Bill Armstrong is a staff writer for the Fort Riley Post.)
SecDef Releases Statement on the Task Force on Nuclear Weapons Management
"I want to thank the review panel, led by James R. Schlesinger, for their very thorough and detailed report on the 'Secretary of Defense's Task Force on Nuclear Weapons Management,'" said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates today. "I really appreciate the tremendous effort that went into the phase two review of the DoD nuclear mission and commend all of the task force members on the thoughtful recommendations made with respect to these complex and serious issues."
"The U.S. nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and reliable; no one should doubt our capabilities or our resolve to defend U.S. and allies' interests by deterring aggression. The report identified numerous trends, both recent and long-term, that may warrant corrective actions. The Department will continue to review the panel's recommendations while ensuring the long-term credibility of the U.S. nuclear deterrent forces and sustaining allied confidence in U.S. security commitments well into the future," said Gates.
For a copy of the report of the Secretary of Defense Task Force on DoD Nuclear Weapons Management Part II go to: http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/PhaseIIReportFinal.pdf
"The U.S. nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and reliable; no one should doubt our capabilities or our resolve to defend U.S. and allies' interests by deterring aggression. The report identified numerous trends, both recent and long-term, that may warrant corrective actions. The Department will continue to review the panel's recommendations while ensuring the long-term credibility of the U.S. nuclear deterrent forces and sustaining allied confidence in U.S. security commitments well into the future," said Gates.
For a copy of the report of the Secretary of Defense Task Force on DoD Nuclear Weapons Management Part II go to: http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/PhaseIIReportFinal.pdf
Global Health Key to Security Improvements, Official Says
By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - The Defense Department's increasing role in global health is essential in improving security in troubled nations and minimizing conflict in others, the Pentagon's top medical official said yesterday. "Just as good health is an integral part of a person's well-being, a good health sector is vital to a nation's," Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said to an audience at the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies here.
Department studies show that diverse and opposing cultural backgrounds and poor human development are key contributors to social unrest, violent conflicts and state failure, Casscells told the group, explaining the Defense Department's global health role.
Poverty, natural disasters, violence, destruction of infrastructure and conflict are fundamental causes of civil strife, poor health and lack of vital services, he said. That can lead to restricted water, food, sanitation and health care access, all of which promote disease, he said.
Therefore, Cascells, said, the military's role is much more sophisticated than security and war, just as global health is much more sophisticated than medicine alone.
When health in a region is poor, "it doesn't mean that you go in and vaccinate people," he said. "You obviously have to go in and try to get the electricity up, the clean water running, the sewage working, the roads. You have to have stability. You have to protect people's lives."
Casscells, an Army Reserve colonel, said he saw all of the previously described scenarios during his tour in Iraq in 2006. He also has first-hand experience with humanitarian relief efforts, having assisted the Gulf Coast region in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"The long-term outcome of humanitarian activity produces a safer, more secure world," he said. "Security, stability, transition and reconstruction operations [are] intended to enhance infrastructure and improve practices where they didn't exist before. The idea is that by enhancing stability, we will reduce conflict.
"The building part of a soldier's profession is far more important than the breaking part," he continued.
Kathleen Hicks, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies international security program, said global health and national security are inexorably tied together. Global health initiatives help with overseas populations and can affect nearly every aspect of American safety and prosperity from the stability of foreign governments and populations to the physical well-being of U.S. citizens.
"The United States must have a strategy for global health that's nesting with security elements," Hicks said.
American Forces Press Service
Jan. 8, 2009 - The Defense Department's increasing role in global health is essential in improving security in troubled nations and minimizing conflict in others, the Pentagon's top medical official said yesterday. "Just as good health is an integral part of a person's well-being, a good health sector is vital to a nation's," Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said to an audience at the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies here.
Department studies show that diverse and opposing cultural backgrounds and poor human development are key contributors to social unrest, violent conflicts and state failure, Casscells told the group, explaining the Defense Department's global health role.
Poverty, natural disasters, violence, destruction of infrastructure and conflict are fundamental causes of civil strife, poor health and lack of vital services, he said. That can lead to restricted water, food, sanitation and health care access, all of which promote disease, he said.
Therefore, Cascells, said, the military's role is much more sophisticated than security and war, just as global health is much more sophisticated than medicine alone.
When health in a region is poor, "it doesn't mean that you go in and vaccinate people," he said. "You obviously have to go in and try to get the electricity up, the clean water running, the sewage working, the roads. You have to have stability. You have to protect people's lives."
Casscells, an Army Reserve colonel, said he saw all of the previously described scenarios during his tour in Iraq in 2006. He also has first-hand experience with humanitarian relief efforts, having assisted the Gulf Coast region in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"The long-term outcome of humanitarian activity produces a safer, more secure world," he said. "Security, stability, transition and reconstruction operations [are] intended to enhance infrastructure and improve practices where they didn't exist before. The idea is that by enhancing stability, we will reduce conflict.
"The building part of a soldier's profession is far more important than the breaking part," he continued.
Kathleen Hicks, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies international security program, said global health and national security are inexorably tied together. Global health initiatives help with overseas populations and can affect nearly every aspect of American safety and prosperity from the stability of foreign governments and populations to the physical well-being of U.S. citizens.
"The United States must have a strategy for global health that's nesting with security elements," Hicks said.
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