DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Science Application International Corp., Fairfield, N.J., is being awarded a maximum $250,000,000 fixed price with economic price adjustment, maintenance, repair and operations, prime vendor contract. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. The original proposal was web solicited with five responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the fourth option year period. The date of performance completion is August 17, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM500-04-D-BP15).
Graybar Electric Co., Inc., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a maximum $250,000,000 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity, maintenance, repair and operations, prime vendor contract. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. The original proposal was web solicited with seven responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the fourth option year period. The date of performance completion is August 17, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM500-04-D-BP14).
Ross Equipment Inc., Elizabeth, N.J.*, is being awarded a maximum $12,624,276 firm fixed price contract for vehicle fan axial. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Army. The original proposal was web solicited with four responses. The date of performance completion is August 29, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Warren, Mich., (SPRDL1-09-D-0053).
NAVY
Harper Construction Co., Inc., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $56,151,954 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of a physical conditioning recruit barracks, a recruit training barracks and a sports medicine and reconditioning therapy clinic at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. The two barracks will house a total of 1,729 Marines and will both include company offices and laundry facilities. The contract also contains three unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $65,623,954. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by May 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 15 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N62473-09-C-1205).
TT Corp., Electronic Systems Radar Systems - Gilfillan, Van Nuys, Calif., is being awarded a $29,191,730 firm-fixed-price contract for AN/SPS-48G(V) radar modification kits to support the recovery obsolescence availability radar used to enhance launch on search capability aboard Navy ships. AN/SPS-48's radars enhance capability of missile guidance. The modification kits are expected to increase operational availability and decrease operating and support costs. Work will be performed in Van Nuys, Calif., and is expected to be completed by August 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-09-C-5395).
Alutiiq-Melle, LLC *, Anchorage, Alaska, is being awarded a $15,712,941 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Base Operating Support Services at the Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake. The contract includes a base period, four option periods and five award option periods for a total contract value if all options are exercised of $168,185,893. Work will be performed in Ridgecrest, Calif., and is expected to be completed by September 2019. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured as an 8(a) set-aside via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site, with five proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N62473-09-D-4003).
DRS Sensors and Targeting Systems, Cypress, Calif., is being awarded a $5,676,407 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract for research and development in the area of photon-trap structures for quantum advanced detectors. This effort will include: research to develop an infrared imaging system that operates over a bandwidth extending from 0.5 to 5.0 microns and a resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels. The focal plane array of this imaging system must exhibit a high detectivity and low noise equivalent temperature at 200 K. Work will be performed in Cypress, Calif., and is expected to be completed by January 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Broad Agency Announcement with 22 proposals received. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, R.I., is the contracting activity (N66604-09-C-3652).
AIR FORCE
Raytheon Co., Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $20,975,816 cost plus fixed fee contract for the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) system improvement program. At this time $2,500,000 has been obligated. 696 ARSS, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. is the contracting activity (FA8675-09-C-0201).
Business Technology and Solutions, Beavercreek, Ohio was awarded a $13,377,733.89 contract for the technical and acquisition management support program that provides a wide range of diverse non-engineering, technical and acquisition management support required in the acquisition, development, production, and support of various equipment and weapon systems within the Air Armament Center and other organizations at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. At this time no funds have been obligated. AAC/PKES, Eglin AFB, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA9200-05-C-0002, P00026).
McDonnell Douglass Corp., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $12,500,000 cost plus fixed fee contract with performance incentives to provide for three Massive Ordnance Penetrator separation test vehicles, associated aircraft and handling equipment and technical support for one single and one dual release separation and de-conflict test on the B-52 aircraft. At this time $6,200,000 has been obligated. AAC/708 ARSG PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8681-09-C-0280, P00001).
Colsa Corp., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded a $10,838,796.97 contract for the technical and acquisition management support program that provides for a wide range of diverse non-engineering, technical and acquisition management support required in the acquisition, development, production, and support of various equipment and weapon systems within the Air Armament Center and other organizations at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. At this time no funds have been obligated. AAC/PKES, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA9200-05-C-0003, P00026).
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Face of Defense: Wounded Warrior Promotes His Hero
By Roger TeelSpecial to American Forces Press Service
Aug. 18, 2009 - A wounded warrior came to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., on Aug. 6 to promote a soldier who saved his life. Army Lt. Col. Gregory Gadson, an Army War College Fellow at the Institute for World Politics, drove to the 22nd Chemical Battalion's organization day activities at Capa Field to pin sergeant stripes on his former battle buddy, Army Sgt. Eric Brown.
About 300 soldiers, family members and unit supporters applauded the emotional event.
"This is significant, because this is the year of the noncommissioned officer," Gadson said. "I couldn't think of any other noncommissioned officer I would be more proud to promote."
Gadson lost both legs below the knee when a homemade bomb detonated next to his up-armored Humvee in Baghdad on May 7, 2007. The explosion threw him some 200 feet from the vehicle. After the blast, Brown, the unit's chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear NCO, who did double duty as the unit medic, raced from his position in the fourth vehicle of the convoy. He provided first aid to another injured soldier before locating the colonel, then applied tourniquets to stem Gadson's loss of blood.
"If he didn't get those tourniquets on my legs when he did, and prayed with me when he did, I would not be standing here today," Gadson said. "When I got to the hospital, I had a blood pressure of 40. That night I went through 129 pints of blood. And I tell you that only to tell you how bad off I was," he added.
Thanking the 22nd Chemical Battalion leadership for the opportunity to promote his former soldier, Gadson deflected all attention to his hero.
"This day is truly about Sergeant Brown, who is a quiet professional. He's been that way since he came to 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, over two years ago," Gadson said, referring to the battalion he led into battle.
"When our battalion was asked to perform as an infantry battalion in Baghdad during the surge, we realized we did not have enough medics to cover the density of folks we needed to cover on the battlefield," Gadson explained. "Because of who he is, because we knew we could count on him, we were able to send Brown to an emergency medical technician course at Kansas State University just weeks before we deployed."
Brown was a private first class at the time, the colonel said.
"They say that in life everybody's got an angel," Gadson added. "Well, you're looking at my angel right here -- my battle buddy -- and there's not a day that I don't think about him and wonder how he's doing. And I know he's going to continue to do great things."
Brown will deploy to Afghanistan in September. "I want to thank God for getting me here," he said at his promotion ceremony, "and for getting Lieutenant Colonel Gadson here and for everything he's done."
(Roger Teel serves in the 20th Support Command public affairs office.)
This article was sponsored by the UK Find a Solicitor directory which helps people find a local solicitor they can trust - “based on feedback from its own clients. Search your area to find which Solicitors score first-rate reviews - made anonymously so you can be confident of an honest opinion.”
Monday, August 17, 2009
Pentagon Officials Say: 'We Want to Hear from You'
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - Defense officials at the Pentagon have redesigned the Defense Department Web site to use social networking tools to engage the American public -- particularly 18- to 24-year-olds. "We need to embrace these technologies. We need to use them because that's what the young people use these days. We need to communicate with them," said Price Floyd, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs.
People between the ages of 18 and 24 are much more likely to communicate using Twitter and Facebook than they are traditional communication tools, Floyd told the American Forces Press Service, the Pentagon Channel and DoDLive Blog Talk Radio.
"If we just stick to the traditional ways of communicating, we leave out a huge portion of society," he said.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates recognizes both the need for engagement with the American people and the value of these new tools, Floyd noted.
"The secretary wanted to figure out ways to engage more with the public, and one of the ways you can do that is through your Web site," he said. So defense public affairs officials redesigned the Defense Department's home page, launching Defense.gov on Aug. 17.
The department's former home page DefenseLINK.mil focused on providing news and information, Floyd said. The new site, Defense.gov, will emphasize personal, two-way communication.
DefenseLINK was a name more suited for an internal Web site, an intranet, as opposed to an Internet site, he added. "Most people on the outside wouldn't have guessed that DefenseLink was the Web site for the Defense Department."
"Instead of trying to figure out one new name, we've taken several domain names which all lead you to the same place – DoD.gov, Defense.gov and Defense.mil, and Pentagon.gov and Pentagon.mil," he said. "This puts the site more in line with the other departments in the government -- State.gov, Whitehouse.gov. -- and it's a more intuitive name to search for."
Defense public affairs officials used the newly interactive White House Web site as a model. Just as Whitehouse.gov asks people to give their policy recommendations to the President, the new Defense site will seek people's input on defense policies and issues, thus giving the site more credibility, according to Floyd.
"We do live in a democracy and that feedback from people is important to know what they're thinking, what they believe is important," he said. "It's their national security policy, it's not ours. It's theirs. The president was elected and he appointed people here at the Defense Department to lead, but it starts with the American people."
"I think we might be surprised by the issues and policies that are important to the American people, versus what we think are important," he added.
A new feature on Defense.gov will enable people to pose questions for the defense secretary, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other top defense and military officials.
"You can type in what you want to ask the secretary," Floyd explained. "We'll leave that open for several weeks. Once it's done, people can then go in and vote on questions they want to have asked. They can vote on more than one, and the software will enable us to determine the top five questions which the secretary has to answer.
"There will also be a place where you'll be able to type in policy initiatives that are important to you," Floyd continued. "After several weeks, people will be able to come back and vote on the policy initiatives that are most important to them."
The new site also will link to the Defense Department's Facebook and Twitter sites. People can post comments and these engagement tools also will help people in the Department see and hear what the public regards as important.
Floyd said the goal is to encourage commanders to launch their own social networking sites, "so there's not just one DoD Twitter site, or one Facebook site the military uses, there are hundreds, thousands."
U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, European Command and Southern Command, for example, have Facebook sites, and there are numerous sites within each of these commands.
"Here in the Pentagon, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has his own Twitter site. I have a Twitter site," he said.
He stressed, however, that operational security remains a concern, and cautioned people to be careful when posting information on these sites. The security of the social networking sites is a major concern to Strategic Command, he noted, and the Marine Corps has banned the use of social networking on official computers.
Recognizing that there are risks involved, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn III has tasked the department's chief information officer to conduct a short-fused study. A report is due to the deputy on Aug. 31 and a policy is to be announced by the end of September.
Floyd said officials will look at both the threats and opportunities social networking sites hold for the department. The study will allow defense officials to make a decision on how to move forward and implement a uniform, department-wide policy for dealing with social network sites.
Floyd hopes the number of visits to Defense.gov will increase beyond DefenseLINK's two million visits a month.
"Unlike most Web sites, more people over 45 go to DefenseLINK than under 45," he said. "This was another reason why we needed to change the Web site and rebrand it was to reach that younger audience. But we also don't want to lose the audience we have now."
The American Forces Press Service news and feature articles, photographs and special reports currently on DefenseLINK will continue to be available as an internal page on Defense.gov.
Floyd's message to the American public: "I encourage everyone to go to the new Web site to check it out. If you see things we can improve, please let me know. Feel free to reach out to me on my Twitter site which is on there and give me your comments. Don't just let me know what you think needs to be improved, but let me know what you think is working really well and what you like."
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - Defense officials at the Pentagon have redesigned the Defense Department Web site to use social networking tools to engage the American public -- particularly 18- to 24-year-olds. "We need to embrace these technologies. We need to use them because that's what the young people use these days. We need to communicate with them," said Price Floyd, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs.
People between the ages of 18 and 24 are much more likely to communicate using Twitter and Facebook than they are traditional communication tools, Floyd told the American Forces Press Service, the Pentagon Channel and DoDLive Blog Talk Radio.
"If we just stick to the traditional ways of communicating, we leave out a huge portion of society," he said.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates recognizes both the need for engagement with the American people and the value of these new tools, Floyd noted.
"The secretary wanted to figure out ways to engage more with the public, and one of the ways you can do that is through your Web site," he said. So defense public affairs officials redesigned the Defense Department's home page, launching Defense.gov on Aug. 17.
The department's former home page DefenseLINK.mil focused on providing news and information, Floyd said. The new site, Defense.gov, will emphasize personal, two-way communication.
DefenseLINK was a name more suited for an internal Web site, an intranet, as opposed to an Internet site, he added. "Most people on the outside wouldn't have guessed that DefenseLink was the Web site for the Defense Department."
"Instead of trying to figure out one new name, we've taken several domain names which all lead you to the same place – DoD.gov, Defense.gov and Defense.mil, and Pentagon.gov and Pentagon.mil," he said. "This puts the site more in line with the other departments in the government -- State.gov, Whitehouse.gov. -- and it's a more intuitive name to search for."
Defense public affairs officials used the newly interactive White House Web site as a model. Just as Whitehouse.gov asks people to give their policy recommendations to the President, the new Defense site will seek people's input on defense policies and issues, thus giving the site more credibility, according to Floyd.
"We do live in a democracy and that feedback from people is important to know what they're thinking, what they believe is important," he said. "It's their national security policy, it's not ours. It's theirs. The president was elected and he appointed people here at the Defense Department to lead, but it starts with the American people."
"I think we might be surprised by the issues and policies that are important to the American people, versus what we think are important," he added.
A new feature on Defense.gov will enable people to pose questions for the defense secretary, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other top defense and military officials.
"You can type in what you want to ask the secretary," Floyd explained. "We'll leave that open for several weeks. Once it's done, people can then go in and vote on questions they want to have asked. They can vote on more than one, and the software will enable us to determine the top five questions which the secretary has to answer.
"There will also be a place where you'll be able to type in policy initiatives that are important to you," Floyd continued. "After several weeks, people will be able to come back and vote on the policy initiatives that are most important to them."
The new site also will link to the Defense Department's Facebook and Twitter sites. People can post comments and these engagement tools also will help people in the Department see and hear what the public regards as important.
Floyd said the goal is to encourage commanders to launch their own social networking sites, "so there's not just one DoD Twitter site, or one Facebook site the military uses, there are hundreds, thousands."
U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, European Command and Southern Command, for example, have Facebook sites, and there are numerous sites within each of these commands.
"Here in the Pentagon, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has his own Twitter site. I have a Twitter site," he said.
He stressed, however, that operational security remains a concern, and cautioned people to be careful when posting information on these sites. The security of the social networking sites is a major concern to Strategic Command, he noted, and the Marine Corps has banned the use of social networking on official computers.
Recognizing that there are risks involved, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn III has tasked the department's chief information officer to conduct a short-fused study. A report is due to the deputy on Aug. 31 and a policy is to be announced by the end of September.
Floyd said officials will look at both the threats and opportunities social networking sites hold for the department. The study will allow defense officials to make a decision on how to move forward and implement a uniform, department-wide policy for dealing with social network sites.
Floyd hopes the number of visits to Defense.gov will increase beyond DefenseLINK's two million visits a month.
"Unlike most Web sites, more people over 45 go to DefenseLINK than under 45," he said. "This was another reason why we needed to change the Web site and rebrand it was to reach that younger audience. But we also don't want to lose the audience we have now."
The American Forces Press Service news and feature articles, photographs and special reports currently on DefenseLINK will continue to be available as an internal page on Defense.gov.
Floyd's message to the American public: "I encourage everyone to go to the new Web site to check it out. If you see things we can improve, please let me know. Feel free to reach out to me on my Twitter site which is on there and give me your comments. Don't just let me know what you think needs to be improved, but let me know what you think is working really well and what you like."
Face of Defense: Chaplain Brings Unique Perspective
By Melissa Bower
Special to American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - Ten years ago, when he was a battalion commander at Fort Sill, Okla., then–Army Col. Jim Davis received a call that the Army had a new chaplain for his soldiers -- and he was Muslim. The 400 soldiers with 6th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery, although mostly Christian, trusted Chaplain Dawud Agbere right away, said Davis, now an assistant professor for the Center for Army Tactics.
"I got a chaplain that soldiers loved to go and talk to," Davis said. "He's just an outgoing individual, and his smile was just infectious."
Davis said Agbere helped him understand the importance of having an Army chaplain for his soldiers. While at Fort Sill, he and Agbere developed a religious program for the battalion from scratch.
"At the time, I was very unfamiliar with the Muslim religion, like most Americans, but I wanted someone to serve the spiritual wellness needs of my soldiers," Davis said.
Agbere, one of six active-duty Muslim chaplains in the Army, has an impressive resume. He has two bachelor's degrees, a master's degree in Islamic studies, and is a doctoral candidate for a ministry degree from Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. He also speaks English, Arabic and four African languages.
Agbere was born and raised in a Muslim family in Ghana, West Africa. His father was a truck driver for the military there, and Agbere said, through his father's work, he grew to respect soldiers.
Agbere and his wife, Meimunatu, also from Ghana, have five children. He came to the United States to teach high school in 1995. "I showed up in New York City and took up a high school teaching job," he said. "Then I found myself in the middle of a cultural shock."
While growing up in Africa, Agbere said, he learned discipline and respect, but didn't find that among many of his students. One day, he came across an ad in a newspaper for government jobs. The jobs were with the U.S. Navy.
He enlisted to serve on a Navy ship, but grew interested in the Army when he discovered he could be commissioned as an officer there. He was granted a discharge from the Navy so he could join the Army.
Agbere was commissioned aboard a Navy ship May 23, 1997, an event covered by the local press.
Agbere's assignments include Fort Sill, Okla.; Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; and a deployment to Iraq with the 31st Combat Support Hospital.
As a chaplain in a Baghdad hospital from 2004 to 2005, Agbere ministered not only to Muslim soldiers, but to Iraqis as well.
"It's a very interesting dynamic in America," he said. "We are doing really well to overcome hearts and minds. Iraqis and Afghans both have misperceptions [about U.S. soldiers]."
Agbere said he believes actions will help create more accurate opinions about Americans.
"If I'm an Iraqi citizen and all I see is shooting, we can't convince them," he said. "But the moment they come in contact with us, they see a different thing."
While working in the Baghdad hospital, Agbere recalls a U.S. Army nurse who helped save the life of an Iraqi civilian. "What he did not know was that this patient was a former Iraqi officer, and this officer was so impressed with this nurse," Agbere said.
Agbere said the Iraqi officer told him, "I want you to thank this nurse for me. I was really grateful for what he did, because if he had been in my position, I would have killed him."
Davis said he read about Agbere's work in Iraq in a news story shortly before he was slated to deploy to Iraq.
"Chaplain Agbere brought a perspective to his unit like no other," Davis said. "As we send units into Iraq and Afghanistan, we do cultural awareness training, but he understands it far better than anybody."
Maj. Agbere is beginning his intermediate level education at the Command and General Staff College here this month, and Davis predicted success for him.
"He's got multiple deployments under his belt, and because he is a chaplain, it helps the other 15 members of his group have a good understanding of what they can use a chaplain for," Davis said.
When Agbere served at Fort Sill, Davis said, he was impressed with how the chaplain helped people solve problems.
"We all have bad days, but every time I had a bad day, he would come in with that smile and you just felt better," he said.
(Melissa Bower serves in the Fort Leavenworth, Kan., public affairs office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - Ten years ago, when he was a battalion commander at Fort Sill, Okla., then–Army Col. Jim Davis received a call that the Army had a new chaplain for his soldiers -- and he was Muslim. The 400 soldiers with 6th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery, although mostly Christian, trusted Chaplain Dawud Agbere right away, said Davis, now an assistant professor for the Center for Army Tactics.
"I got a chaplain that soldiers loved to go and talk to," Davis said. "He's just an outgoing individual, and his smile was just infectious."
Davis said Agbere helped him understand the importance of having an Army chaplain for his soldiers. While at Fort Sill, he and Agbere developed a religious program for the battalion from scratch.
"At the time, I was very unfamiliar with the Muslim religion, like most Americans, but I wanted someone to serve the spiritual wellness needs of my soldiers," Davis said.
Agbere, one of six active-duty Muslim chaplains in the Army, has an impressive resume. He has two bachelor's degrees, a master's degree in Islamic studies, and is a doctoral candidate for a ministry degree from Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. He also speaks English, Arabic and four African languages.
Agbere was born and raised in a Muslim family in Ghana, West Africa. His father was a truck driver for the military there, and Agbere said, through his father's work, he grew to respect soldiers.
Agbere and his wife, Meimunatu, also from Ghana, have five children. He came to the United States to teach high school in 1995. "I showed up in New York City and took up a high school teaching job," he said. "Then I found myself in the middle of a cultural shock."
While growing up in Africa, Agbere said, he learned discipline and respect, but didn't find that among many of his students. One day, he came across an ad in a newspaper for government jobs. The jobs were with the U.S. Navy.
He enlisted to serve on a Navy ship, but grew interested in the Army when he discovered he could be commissioned as an officer there. He was granted a discharge from the Navy so he could join the Army.
Agbere was commissioned aboard a Navy ship May 23, 1997, an event covered by the local press.
Agbere's assignments include Fort Sill, Okla.; Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; and a deployment to Iraq with the 31st Combat Support Hospital.
As a chaplain in a Baghdad hospital from 2004 to 2005, Agbere ministered not only to Muslim soldiers, but to Iraqis as well.
"It's a very interesting dynamic in America," he said. "We are doing really well to overcome hearts and minds. Iraqis and Afghans both have misperceptions [about U.S. soldiers]."
Agbere said he believes actions will help create more accurate opinions about Americans.
"If I'm an Iraqi citizen and all I see is shooting, we can't convince them," he said. "But the moment they come in contact with us, they see a different thing."
While working in the Baghdad hospital, Agbere recalls a U.S. Army nurse who helped save the life of an Iraqi civilian. "What he did not know was that this patient was a former Iraqi officer, and this officer was so impressed with this nurse," Agbere said.
Agbere said the Iraqi officer told him, "I want you to thank this nurse for me. I was really grateful for what he did, because if he had been in my position, I would have killed him."
Davis said he read about Agbere's work in Iraq in a news story shortly before he was slated to deploy to Iraq.
"Chaplain Agbere brought a perspective to his unit like no other," Davis said. "As we send units into Iraq and Afghanistan, we do cultural awareness training, but he understands it far better than anybody."
Maj. Agbere is beginning his intermediate level education at the Command and General Staff College here this month, and Davis predicted success for him.
"He's got multiple deployments under his belt, and because he is a chaplain, it helps the other 15 members of his group have a good understanding of what they can use a chaplain for," Davis said.
When Agbere served at Fort Sill, Davis said, he was impressed with how the chaplain helped people solve problems.
"We all have bad days, but every time I had a bad day, he would come in with that smile and you just felt better," he said.
(Melissa Bower serves in the Fort Leavenworth, Kan., public affairs office.)
Brazil Conspired with U.S. to Overthrow Allende (Updated)
Declassified U.S. Documents Show Richard Nixon and Brazilian President Emilio Medici Discussed Coordinated Intervention in Chile, Cuba, and other Latin American nations "to prevent new Allendes and Castros"
Secret Back Channel established between Presidents
Brazilian General Accused U.S. of Asking Brazil to "do its dirty work"
For more information contact: Peter Kornbluh - 202/994-7000
http://www.nsarchive.org
Washington, DC, August 16, 2009 - In December 1971, President Richard Nixon and Brazilian President Emilio Garrastazu Medici discussed Brazil's role in efforts to overthrow the elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile, formerly Top Secret records posted by the National Security Archive today reveal. According to a declassified memorandum of conversation, Nixon asked Medici whether the Chilean military was capable of overthrowing Allende. "He felt that they were," Medici replied, "and made clear that Brazil was working toward this end."
The document was the subject of a story in today's New York Times ["Memos Show Nixon's Bid to Enlist Brazil in a Coup" - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/world/americas/17chile.html?_r=1&ref=world ]
According to the Top Secret "memcon" of the December 9, 1971, Oval Office meeting, Nixon offered his approval and support for Brazil's intervention in Chile. "The President said that it was very important that Brazil and the United States work closely in this field. We could not take direction but if the Brazilians felt that there was something we could do to be helpful in this area, he would like President Medici to let him know. If money were required or other discreet aid, we might be able to make it available," Nixon stated. "This should be held in the greatest confidence."
The U.S. and Brazil, Nixon told Medici, "must try and prevent new Allendes and Castros and try where possible to reverse these trends."
During the same meeting, President Medici asked Nixon if "we" should be supporting Cuban exiles who "had forces and could overthrow Castro's regime." Nixon responded that "we should, as long as we did not push them into doing something that we could not support, and as long as our hand did not appear."
The documents were declassified in July as part of the State Department's Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series.
The memcon records Nixon telling Medici that he "hoped we could cooperate closely, as there were many things that Brazil as a South American country could do that the U.S. could not." Indeed, the documentation reveals that Nixon believed that a special relationship with Brazil was so important that he proposed a secret back-channel between the two presidents "as a means of communicating directly outside of normal diplomatic channels." Médici named his private advisor and foreign minister Gibson Barbosa as his back-channel representative, but told Nixon that for "extremely private and delicate matters" Brazil would use Col. Manso Netto. Nixon named Kissinger as his representative for the special back channel.
Communications between Nixon and Medici using the special back-channel remain secret.
Peter Kornbluh, who directs the National Security Archive's Chile and Brazil projects, noted that "a hidden chapter of collaborative intervention to overthrow the government of Chile" was now emerging from the declassified documentation. "Brazil's archives are the missing link," he said, calling on President Ignacio Lula da Silva to open Brazil's military records on the past. "The full history of intervention in South America in the 1970s cannot be told without access to Brazilian documents."
Please visit the National Security Archive Web site for more information.
http://www.nsarchive.org
Secret Back Channel established between Presidents
Brazilian General Accused U.S. of Asking Brazil to "do its dirty work"
For more information contact: Peter Kornbluh - 202/994-7000
http://www.nsarchive.org
Washington, DC, August 16, 2009 - In December 1971, President Richard Nixon and Brazilian President Emilio Garrastazu Medici discussed Brazil's role in efforts to overthrow the elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile, formerly Top Secret records posted by the National Security Archive today reveal. According to a declassified memorandum of conversation, Nixon asked Medici whether the Chilean military was capable of overthrowing Allende. "He felt that they were," Medici replied, "and made clear that Brazil was working toward this end."
The document was the subject of a story in today's New York Times ["Memos Show Nixon's Bid to Enlist Brazil in a Coup" - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/world/americas/17chile.html?_r=1&ref=world ]
According to the Top Secret "memcon" of the December 9, 1971, Oval Office meeting, Nixon offered his approval and support for Brazil's intervention in Chile. "The President said that it was very important that Brazil and the United States work closely in this field. We could not take direction but if the Brazilians felt that there was something we could do to be helpful in this area, he would like President Medici to let him know. If money were required or other discreet aid, we might be able to make it available," Nixon stated. "This should be held in the greatest confidence."
The U.S. and Brazil, Nixon told Medici, "must try and prevent new Allendes and Castros and try where possible to reverse these trends."
During the same meeting, President Medici asked Nixon if "we" should be supporting Cuban exiles who "had forces and could overthrow Castro's regime." Nixon responded that "we should, as long as we did not push them into doing something that we could not support, and as long as our hand did not appear."
The documents were declassified in July as part of the State Department's Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series.
The memcon records Nixon telling Medici that he "hoped we could cooperate closely, as there were many things that Brazil as a South American country could do that the U.S. could not." Indeed, the documentation reveals that Nixon believed that a special relationship with Brazil was so important that he proposed a secret back-channel between the two presidents "as a means of communicating directly outside of normal diplomatic channels." Médici named his private advisor and foreign minister Gibson Barbosa as his back-channel representative, but told Nixon that for "extremely private and delicate matters" Brazil would use Col. Manso Netto. Nixon named Kissinger as his representative for the special back channel.
Communications between Nixon and Medici using the special back-channel remain secret.
Peter Kornbluh, who directs the National Security Archive's Chile and Brazil projects, noted that "a hidden chapter of collaborative intervention to overthrow the government of Chile" was now emerging from the declassified documentation. "Brazil's archives are the missing link," he said, calling on President Ignacio Lula da Silva to open Brazil's military records on the past. "The full history of intervention in South America in the 1970s cannot be told without access to Brazilian documents."
Please visit the National Security Archive Web site for more information.
http://www.nsarchive.org
Guardsmen Provide Health, Vet Care in Alaska
American Forces Press ServiceAug. 17, 2009 - Medical personnel from the Army and Air National Guard and Coast Guard traveled 6,600 miles in three days to visit three Alaska communities as part of Operation Arctic Crossroads. The three services, along with active-duty Air Force personnel, will provide medical, dental and optometry services to residents of nine remote villages in the state through Aug. 24.
Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Dixon Christian treated more than 40 patients during outreach efforts in the communities of Kivalina, Koyuk and Wales. Air Force Lt. Col. Huey Frye, an optometrist from the Tennessee Air National Guard's 118th Medical Group, saw more than 45 patients; Air Force Maj. Mike Lewis of the Georgia Air National Guard's 116th Medical Group and Air Force Capt. Rhonda Ellison of the Alabama Air National Guard's 117th Medical Group – both veterinarians -- gave rabies shots and other vaccinations to more than 115 animals.
"You could tell that the people really loved their pets," Ellison said. "The people were very receptive to our efforts and would love for us to return in the future."
On the North Slope, veterinarians have treated more than 20 animals in Barrow and Wainwright.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary also has reached out within the communities, helping to promote water safety with an emphasis on the "Kids Don't Float" campaign, which loans life jackets for children to use while at sea.
A forward operating location has been established here. Four MH/HH-60 helicopters and crews from the Army and Air National Guard and the Coast Guard are providing air transportation and logistics throughout the state.
Operation Arctic Crossroads is an effort to integrate local knowledge with military expertise to meet the many challenges of Arctic operations.
(From a Coast Guard Atlantic Area news release.)
Commentary: Remembering Pentagon Spokesman Ken Bacon
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - American Forces Press Service has lost a dear friend, a staunch supporter who believed the nation's troops had the same "need to know" about their defense secretary as the commercial press. Ken Bacon, 64, who served as assistant secretary of defense for public affairs during the Clinton administration, died of skin cancer Aug. 15, at his summer home on Block Island, R.I.
Bacon changed the face of military journalism in 1994, when he invited American Forces Press Service to become part of the Pentagon press corps that traveled the world with then-Defense Secretary William J. Perry. Bacon's invitation opened the door to the department's in-house news team, giving AFPS unprecedented access to the secretary and other senior defense leaders.
Until then, only a handful of commercial media accompanied Bacon and the defense secretary on their travels to meet with foreign defense officials and deployed U.S. forces. Bacon's support enabled AFPS to become a true news service, providing current coverage of international events to nearly 1,000 military newspapers.
I was the first AFPS reporter to travel as part of the secretary's press corps. After my first few trips, Bacon arranged for me to show clippings of the AFPS stories I'd written to the secretary during a long flight to Europe. As Perry flipped through the pages of news clips, he commented, "I always wondered how people in the military knew so much about me and my policies."
AFPS gave the secretary a direct link to the troops and, as a result, he became far more than the top photo in the military chain of command. As he traveled to 67 countries, logging more than 700,000 miles over the next three years, people throughout the military community learned of the secretary's troop visits, decisions and priorities.
"Every [private first class] knows my name because of American Forces Press Service," Perry said following his farewell ceremony on Fort Myer, Va., in 1997.
Traveling with the defense secretary has enabled AFPS to cover U.S. troop deployments in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. The press service has broadened its perspective from the internal aspects of military life to an expanded view of combat operations, military ties with partners and allies, and the humanitarian efforts of U.S. forces around the globe.
An AFPS reporter was on board in 1996 when Perry traveled to Pervomaysk, Ukraine, to join Russian Defense Minister Gen. Pavel Grachev and Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Shmarov in destroying a Soviet missile silo to mark the beginning of a nuclear-free age in the former Soviet state.
AFPS also was there in 2000 when William S. Cohen became the first defense secretary to visit Vietnam since Melvin Laird in 1971. And AFPS was there in 2003 when Donald Rumsfeld flew into Iraq on an MC-130 from the Air Force's 919th Special Operations Wing less than a month after the fall of Baghdad.
I'm now the director of AFPS and I no longer travel to far-off lands. Instead, AFPS writers Jim Garamone, Donna Miles, Gerry Gilmore, Fred Baker, Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Carden and Samantha Quigley pack their bags and head to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., to catch their flights with the defense secretary and other defense leaders.
Jim Garamone was the first AFPS reporter to become a permanent member of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff traveling crew when Air Force Gen. Richard Myer and later Marine Gen. Peter Pace invited AFPS along. AFPS currently travels throughout the United States and overseas with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, and is seeking an invitation to travel with Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn III.
Bacon served as our guide and mentor. He opened the door and set a precedent that lives on, and today, hundreds of thousands of people in and outside of the military read AFPS articles each week. He saw the value of having AFPS accurately chronicle the secretary's activities and remarks, as well as the many-faceted operations conducted by the U.S. military.
Thanks to Bacon's vision and high regard for the nation's men and women in uniform, the military community has been kept well-informed. The Internet has further expanded the AFPS audience. On behalf of all of us who tell the military's story from the inside, and on behalf of all who read AFPS, we are eternally grateful for his leadership and his commitment to the precepts of journalism.
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - American Forces Press Service has lost a dear friend, a staunch supporter who believed the nation's troops had the same "need to know" about their defense secretary as the commercial press. Ken Bacon, 64, who served as assistant secretary of defense for public affairs during the Clinton administration, died of skin cancer Aug. 15, at his summer home on Block Island, R.I.
Bacon changed the face of military journalism in 1994, when he invited American Forces Press Service to become part of the Pentagon press corps that traveled the world with then-Defense Secretary William J. Perry. Bacon's invitation opened the door to the department's in-house news team, giving AFPS unprecedented access to the secretary and other senior defense leaders.
Until then, only a handful of commercial media accompanied Bacon and the defense secretary on their travels to meet with foreign defense officials and deployed U.S. forces. Bacon's support enabled AFPS to become a true news service, providing current coverage of international events to nearly 1,000 military newspapers.
I was the first AFPS reporter to travel as part of the secretary's press corps. After my first few trips, Bacon arranged for me to show clippings of the AFPS stories I'd written to the secretary during a long flight to Europe. As Perry flipped through the pages of news clips, he commented, "I always wondered how people in the military knew so much about me and my policies."
AFPS gave the secretary a direct link to the troops and, as a result, he became far more than the top photo in the military chain of command. As he traveled to 67 countries, logging more than 700,000 miles over the next three years, people throughout the military community learned of the secretary's troop visits, decisions and priorities.
"Every [private first class] knows my name because of American Forces Press Service," Perry said following his farewell ceremony on Fort Myer, Va., in 1997.
Traveling with the defense secretary has enabled AFPS to cover U.S. troop deployments in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. The press service has broadened its perspective from the internal aspects of military life to an expanded view of combat operations, military ties with partners and allies, and the humanitarian efforts of U.S. forces around the globe.
An AFPS reporter was on board in 1996 when Perry traveled to Pervomaysk, Ukraine, to join Russian Defense Minister Gen. Pavel Grachev and Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Shmarov in destroying a Soviet missile silo to mark the beginning of a nuclear-free age in the former Soviet state.
AFPS also was there in 2000 when William S. Cohen became the first defense secretary to visit Vietnam since Melvin Laird in 1971. And AFPS was there in 2003 when Donald Rumsfeld flew into Iraq on an MC-130 from the Air Force's 919th Special Operations Wing less than a month after the fall of Baghdad.
I'm now the director of AFPS and I no longer travel to far-off lands. Instead, AFPS writers Jim Garamone, Donna Miles, Gerry Gilmore, Fred Baker, Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Carden and Samantha Quigley pack their bags and head to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., to catch their flights with the defense secretary and other defense leaders.
Jim Garamone was the first AFPS reporter to become a permanent member of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff traveling crew when Air Force Gen. Richard Myer and later Marine Gen. Peter Pace invited AFPS along. AFPS currently travels throughout the United States and overseas with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, and is seeking an invitation to travel with Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn III.
Bacon served as our guide and mentor. He opened the door and set a precedent that lives on, and today, hundreds of thousands of people in and outside of the military read AFPS articles each week. He saw the value of having AFPS accurately chronicle the secretary's activities and remarks, as well as the many-faceted operations conducted by the U.S. military.
Thanks to Bacon's vision and high regard for the nation's men and women in uniform, the military community has been kept well-informed. The Internet has further expanded the AFPS audience. On behalf of all of us who tell the military's story from the inside, and on behalf of all who read AFPS, we are eternally grateful for his leadership and his commitment to the precepts of journalism.
Perpetual Technologies Tapped for Employer-Support Award
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - Defense officials have chosen Perpetual Technologies Inc. to receive the department's employer-support award for providing exceptional financial and emotional support to its employees who deploy as National Guard or Reserve members. PTI will receive the Freedom Award along with 14 other companies in a ceremony here next month. The Freedom Award, instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, recognizes exceptional support from the employer community.
"PTI has been very supportive of my military career over the years, and has fully supported my annual training as well as other National Guard conferences," said Chris Zeis, a PTI employee who is now serving in Afghanistan's Khost province as a sergeant first class in the Army National Guard.
Zeis, who nominated the Indianapolis-based PTI for the Freedom Award, said when he learned of his upcoming deployment, PTI leadership simply said: "We will take care of you."
"Without their support and financial commitment, I might not have taken this deployment and would have retired from the National Guard altogether," he said.
Ten percent of the veteran-owned company's payroll consists of current or former Guard and Reserve members. For these employees, PTI, which provides management and consulting services, offers differential pay between employees' military pay and PTI's salary during deployments.
In the past, PTI has paid a differential of up to $40,000, said Ted Utley, PTI's human resources manager. The differential pay is available for each of the dozen or so National Guard or Reserve members on staff if they are called up to active duty.
"We've got to take care of the person and make their life as minimally interrupted as possible. We can't stop the fact that he's in Afghanistan, or Iraq or Kosovo for a year," Utley said. "But we can make it so the long-term financial impact is minimized.
"Plus, it's better than free coffee!" Utley said of the salary accommodation. "Some things are bigger than just profits -- like defending our nation."
Additionally, the company regularly ships care packages to deployed employees and invites their family members to company functions throughout the year. The company sends birthday cards to family members of deployed employees that include a $5 bill for children and a $25 gift certificate for spouses.
"When someone's deployed, we include the families in our newsletters [and send them] to their home address, invite them to company cookouts we have once or twice a month," Utley said. "We encourage the families to show up, bring the kids, and hang out with us."
Utley said PTI modeled its family outreach efforts on similar programs already within the military. "We kind of just borrowed from their handbook, which says, 'Don't forget the people back home.'"
But the support of their military-civilian staff members does not stop with the mission. Upon returning from mobilization, PTI recognizes military members at public events and prominently displays yellow ribbons throughout the company's facilities.
The company contributes to the military in other ways too, including annual support of the Indiana National Guard Relief Fund and sponsorship of a military charitable golf outing in Indianapolis.
The Freedom Award recognizes U.S. employers that rise above the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. PTI previously received the ESGR Pro Patria Award for its support of National Guard and Reserve employees.
Zeis said he was excited when he learned that his nomination had culminated in PTI receiving the Freedom Award.
"This award and the caliber of support it requires clearly illustrates the character and the identity of a company," he said. "I do look very forward to rejoining the PTI team when I get home."
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - Defense officials have chosen Perpetual Technologies Inc. to receive the department's employer-support award for providing exceptional financial and emotional support to its employees who deploy as National Guard or Reserve members. PTI will receive the Freedom Award along with 14 other companies in a ceremony here next month. The Freedom Award, instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, recognizes exceptional support from the employer community.
"PTI has been very supportive of my military career over the years, and has fully supported my annual training as well as other National Guard conferences," said Chris Zeis, a PTI employee who is now serving in Afghanistan's Khost province as a sergeant first class in the Army National Guard.
Zeis, who nominated the Indianapolis-based PTI for the Freedom Award, said when he learned of his upcoming deployment, PTI leadership simply said: "We will take care of you."
"Without their support and financial commitment, I might not have taken this deployment and would have retired from the National Guard altogether," he said.
Ten percent of the veteran-owned company's payroll consists of current or former Guard and Reserve members. For these employees, PTI, which provides management and consulting services, offers differential pay between employees' military pay and PTI's salary during deployments.
In the past, PTI has paid a differential of up to $40,000, said Ted Utley, PTI's human resources manager. The differential pay is available for each of the dozen or so National Guard or Reserve members on staff if they are called up to active duty.
"We've got to take care of the person and make their life as minimally interrupted as possible. We can't stop the fact that he's in Afghanistan, or Iraq or Kosovo for a year," Utley said. "But we can make it so the long-term financial impact is minimized.
"Plus, it's better than free coffee!" Utley said of the salary accommodation. "Some things are bigger than just profits -- like defending our nation."
Additionally, the company regularly ships care packages to deployed employees and invites their family members to company functions throughout the year. The company sends birthday cards to family members of deployed employees that include a $5 bill for children and a $25 gift certificate for spouses.
"When someone's deployed, we include the families in our newsletters [and send them] to their home address, invite them to company cookouts we have once or twice a month," Utley said. "We encourage the families to show up, bring the kids, and hang out with us."
Utley said PTI modeled its family outreach efforts on similar programs already within the military. "We kind of just borrowed from their handbook, which says, 'Don't forget the people back home.'"
But the support of their military-civilian staff members does not stop with the mission. Upon returning from mobilization, PTI recognizes military members at public events and prominently displays yellow ribbons throughout the company's facilities.
The company contributes to the military in other ways too, including annual support of the Indiana National Guard Relief Fund and sponsorship of a military charitable golf outing in Indianapolis.
The Freedom Award recognizes U.S. employers that rise above the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. PTI previously received the ESGR Pro Patria Award for its support of National Guard and Reserve employees.
Zeis said he was excited when he learned that his nomination had culminated in PTI receiving the Freedom Award.
"This award and the caliber of support it requires clearly illustrates the character and the identity of a company," he said. "I do look very forward to rejoining the PTI team when I get home."
Yellow Ribbon Program Provides Support Services
By Army Lt. Col. Matt Leonard
Special to American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - The Yellow Ribbon Program is "off and running," said the program's deputy executive director, James "Scotty" Scott. The program's goal is to prepare servicemembers and their families for mobilization, sustain families during mobilization, and reintegrate soldiers with their families, communities and employers upon redeployment.
During the first nine months of fiscal 2009, reserve components have hosted more than 1,367 Yellow Ribbon events across the 54 U.S. states and territories. Through these events, more than 133,000 reservists and their family members have received valuable training and information about support services available to them before, during and after mobilization.
In addition to helping families understand their benefits and entitlements as they transition in and out of active-duty status, the program also links people to services such as referrals and counseling through Military OneSource, Veterans Affairs Vet Centers, Tricare, and other state and local programs.
Ultimately, deployment support and military family programs are the responsibility of each unit commander. However, the program assists commanders by actively surveying the best practices from the military services, and combining those to form a joint program that servicemembers and their families can rely on for assistance and support regardless of service, component or location.
"The Yellow Ribbon Program represents an increasingly valuable resource that commanders are able to integrate into their overall deployment support, readiness and support program," said Dennis M. McCarthy, the assistant secretary of defense for Reserve Affairs.
Meanwhile, the newly formed Yellow Ribbon Advisory Board has conducted its second meeting in the Pentagon. In addition to Defense Department representatives, leaders from the reserve components and the Departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs were in attendance.
The advisory board's mission is to provide independent advice regarding the program to the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Along with recommending improvements for delivery of services, the board is required to submit a report to the Senate and House Armed Services committees at least once a year.
The board is completing its initial report to Congress, which is due in early September. It also is in the process of finalizing a department instruction, which will provide Yellow Ribbon guidance to the individual reserve components.
(Army Lt. Col. Matt Leonard serves in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - The Yellow Ribbon Program is "off and running," said the program's deputy executive director, James "Scotty" Scott. The program's goal is to prepare servicemembers and their families for mobilization, sustain families during mobilization, and reintegrate soldiers with their families, communities and employers upon redeployment.
During the first nine months of fiscal 2009, reserve components have hosted more than 1,367 Yellow Ribbon events across the 54 U.S. states and territories. Through these events, more than 133,000 reservists and their family members have received valuable training and information about support services available to them before, during and after mobilization.
In addition to helping families understand their benefits and entitlements as they transition in and out of active-duty status, the program also links people to services such as referrals and counseling through Military OneSource, Veterans Affairs Vet Centers, Tricare, and other state and local programs.
Ultimately, deployment support and military family programs are the responsibility of each unit commander. However, the program assists commanders by actively surveying the best practices from the military services, and combining those to form a joint program that servicemembers and their families can rely on for assistance and support regardless of service, component or location.
"The Yellow Ribbon Program represents an increasingly valuable resource that commanders are able to integrate into their overall deployment support, readiness and support program," said Dennis M. McCarthy, the assistant secretary of defense for Reserve Affairs.
Meanwhile, the newly formed Yellow Ribbon Advisory Board has conducted its second meeting in the Pentagon. In addition to Defense Department representatives, leaders from the reserve components and the Departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs were in attendance.
The advisory board's mission is to provide independent advice regarding the program to the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Along with recommending improvements for delivery of services, the board is required to submit a report to the Senate and House Armed Services committees at least once a year.
The board is completing its initial report to Congress, which is due in early September. It also is in the process of finalizing a department instruction, which will provide Yellow Ribbon guidance to the individual reserve components.
(Army Lt. Col. Matt Leonard serves in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.)
Afghan War 'Fundamental' to U.S. Defense, Obama Tells VFW
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - Terrorists who attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, are plotting to do so again, so defeating them is "fundamental to the defense of our people," President Barack Obama told veterans at the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Phoenix today. Obama said the U.S. military will be better able to refocus on the war against al-Qaida and its extremist allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan as it moves toward completing the mission in Iraq.
The president cited signs of the new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy introduced in March in action. U.S. troops have gone into new areas to take the fight to the Taliban. They've adopted new tactics that include protecting the Afghan people and improving their lives.
Today, he noted, they're helping secure polling places for the Aug. 20 elections.
These efforts have come at a high cost, he told the veterans, with fierce fighting and heavier U.S. casualties.
"As I said when I announced this strategy, there will be more difficult days ahead," he said. "The insurgency in Afghanistan didn't just happen overnight. And we won't defeat it overnight. This will not be quick. This will not be easy.
"But we must never forget: This is not a war of choice," the president continued. "This is a war of necessity. Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again."
If left unchecked, extremists will secure an even larger safe haven for al-Qaida to plot to kill more Americans, Obama said. "So this is not only a war worth fighting. This is fundamental to the defense of our people."
Meanwhile, Obama cited progress made in Iraq. He called the transfer of security control in the cities and town to Iraq's own security services June 30 a critical step toward completing the U.S. mission there.
"As they take control of their destiny, Iraqis will be tested and targeted," he said. "Those who seek to sow sectarian division will attempt more senseless bombings, more killings of innocents. This we know."
But the president reiterated that the United States will live up to its commitment to Iraq, removing all combat brigades by August 2010, and all U.S. troops by December 2011.
"For America, the Iraq war will end," he told the veterans.
Obama pledged to ensure troops who wage the wars have everything they need to succeed in these operations, and that policies reward them and their families for their sacrifices.
"To all those who have served America -- our forces, your families, our veterans -- you have done your duty," Obama told the veterans. "You have fulfilled your responsibilities, and now a grateful nation must fulfill ours."
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - Terrorists who attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, are plotting to do so again, so defeating them is "fundamental to the defense of our people," President Barack Obama told veterans at the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Phoenix today. Obama said the U.S. military will be better able to refocus on the war against al-Qaida and its extremist allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan as it moves toward completing the mission in Iraq.
The president cited signs of the new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy introduced in March in action. U.S. troops have gone into new areas to take the fight to the Taliban. They've adopted new tactics that include protecting the Afghan people and improving their lives.
Today, he noted, they're helping secure polling places for the Aug. 20 elections.
These efforts have come at a high cost, he told the veterans, with fierce fighting and heavier U.S. casualties.
"As I said when I announced this strategy, there will be more difficult days ahead," he said. "The insurgency in Afghanistan didn't just happen overnight. And we won't defeat it overnight. This will not be quick. This will not be easy.
"But we must never forget: This is not a war of choice," the president continued. "This is a war of necessity. Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again."
If left unchecked, extremists will secure an even larger safe haven for al-Qaida to plot to kill more Americans, Obama said. "So this is not only a war worth fighting. This is fundamental to the defense of our people."
Meanwhile, Obama cited progress made in Iraq. He called the transfer of security control in the cities and town to Iraq's own security services June 30 a critical step toward completing the U.S. mission there.
"As they take control of their destiny, Iraqis will be tested and targeted," he said. "Those who seek to sow sectarian division will attempt more senseless bombings, more killings of innocents. This we know."
But the president reiterated that the United States will live up to its commitment to Iraq, removing all combat brigades by August 2010, and all U.S. troops by December 2011.
"For America, the Iraq war will end," he told the veterans.
Obama pledged to ensure troops who wage the wars have everything they need to succeed in these operations, and that policies reward them and their families for their sacrifices.
"To all those who have served America -- our forces, your families, our veterans -- you have done your duty," Obama told the veterans. "You have fulfilled your responsibilities, and now a grateful nation must fulfill ours."
Obama Pledges Support for Troops, Veterans
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - America's men and women in uniform have done their duty and fulfilled every responsibility that's been asked of them, President Barack Obama said today. "And now," he said, "a grateful nation must fulfill ours."
Obama offered high praise for the troops, calling them the heart and soul of the world's best military during a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars' annual convention in Phoenix.
"It's not the powerful weapons that make our military the strongest in the world. It's not the sophisticated systems that make us the most advanced," he told the veterans. "No, the true strength of our military lies in the spirit and skill of our men and women in uniform."
Obama said he recognizes his responsibility to "America's most precious resource" and vowed to be deliberate in how he commits them.
"I will only send you into harm's way when it is absolutely necessary," he said. "When I do, it will be based on good intelligence and guided by a sound strategy. And I will give you a clear mission, defined goals, and the equipment and support you need to get the job done."
Obama promised to ensure troops have the resources, equipment and strategies they need to succeed in the current conflicts as well as future ones. "We need to keep our military the best-trained, best-led, best-equipped fighting force in the world," he said.
The president outlined some of the initiatives under way to support this goal:
-- Growing the Army and Marine Corps, and halting reductions in the Navy and Air Force to increase time between deployments, reduce stress on the force and bring an end to the Army's stop-loss, an involuntary extension program;
-- Providing more assets to support current operations: helicopters and crews; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities; special operations forces; and armored vehicles and protective gear;
-- Conducting a top-to-bottom review of military priorities and posture to develop a new blueprint for the 21st century military the United States will need;
-- Balancing military capabilities to face unconventional as well as conventional threats;
-- Modernizing the force by investing in new skills and specialties as well as new technologies; and
-- Reforming the way the Pentagon does business to reduce waste and get the most capability out of every defense dollar.
Obama also recognized the country's responsibility to take care of its men and women in uniform, as well as veterans.
He noted that his fiscal 2010 budget funds "increasing military pay, building better family housing and funding more childcare and counseling to help families cope with the stresses of war."
In addition, big increases will be devoted to providing wounded warriors treatment centers, case managers and better medical care, he said. These resources, he told the veterans, will ensure wounded warriors get the care they need so they "can recover and return to where they want to be: with their units."
Obama also noted the billions of dollars in the new budget that will go toward treating post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries that have become the defining wounds of today's wars.
Increased funding will provide more treatment and mental-health screening to reach troops on the front lines, and more mobile and rural clinics to reach veterans who have returned home, he said.
"We are not going to abandon these American heroes," Obama said. "We will do right by them."
America's commitment to its troops will continue when they become veterans, he said, noting significant funding increases for Department of Veterans Affairs programs.
"Whether you left the service in 2009 or 1949, we will fulfill our responsibility to deliver the benefits and care that you earned," the president promised the veterans.
Even during tough economic times, Obama said the country can't shirk from its responsibilities to servicemembers and veterans.
"Let me be clear," he said. "America's commitments to its veterans are not just lines in a budget.
"They are bonds that are sacred – a sacred trust that we are honor-bound to uphold."
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 17, 2009 - America's men and women in uniform have done their duty and fulfilled every responsibility that's been asked of them, President Barack Obama said today. "And now," he said, "a grateful nation must fulfill ours."
Obama offered high praise for the troops, calling them the heart and soul of the world's best military during a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars' annual convention in Phoenix.
"It's not the powerful weapons that make our military the strongest in the world. It's not the sophisticated systems that make us the most advanced," he told the veterans. "No, the true strength of our military lies in the spirit and skill of our men and women in uniform."
Obama said he recognizes his responsibility to "America's most precious resource" and vowed to be deliberate in how he commits them.
"I will only send you into harm's way when it is absolutely necessary," he said. "When I do, it will be based on good intelligence and guided by a sound strategy. And I will give you a clear mission, defined goals, and the equipment and support you need to get the job done."
Obama promised to ensure troops have the resources, equipment and strategies they need to succeed in the current conflicts as well as future ones. "We need to keep our military the best-trained, best-led, best-equipped fighting force in the world," he said.
The president outlined some of the initiatives under way to support this goal:
-- Growing the Army and Marine Corps, and halting reductions in the Navy and Air Force to increase time between deployments, reduce stress on the force and bring an end to the Army's stop-loss, an involuntary extension program;
-- Providing more assets to support current operations: helicopters and crews; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities; special operations forces; and armored vehicles and protective gear;
-- Conducting a top-to-bottom review of military priorities and posture to develop a new blueprint for the 21st century military the United States will need;
-- Balancing military capabilities to face unconventional as well as conventional threats;
-- Modernizing the force by investing in new skills and specialties as well as new technologies; and
-- Reforming the way the Pentagon does business to reduce waste and get the most capability out of every defense dollar.
Obama also recognized the country's responsibility to take care of its men and women in uniform, as well as veterans.
He noted that his fiscal 2010 budget funds "increasing military pay, building better family housing and funding more childcare and counseling to help families cope with the stresses of war."
In addition, big increases will be devoted to providing wounded warriors treatment centers, case managers and better medical care, he said. These resources, he told the veterans, will ensure wounded warriors get the care they need so they "can recover and return to where they want to be: with their units."
Obama also noted the billions of dollars in the new budget that will go toward treating post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries that have become the defining wounds of today's wars.
Increased funding will provide more treatment and mental-health screening to reach troops on the front lines, and more mobile and rural clinics to reach veterans who have returned home, he said.
"We are not going to abandon these American heroes," Obama said. "We will do right by them."
America's commitment to its troops will continue when they become veterans, he said, noting significant funding increases for Department of Veterans Affairs programs.
"Whether you left the service in 2009 or 1949, we will fulfill our responsibility to deliver the benefits and care that you earned," the president promised the veterans.
Even during tough economic times, Obama said the country can't shirk from its responsibilities to servicemembers and veterans.
"Let me be clear," he said. "America's commitments to its veterans are not just lines in a budget.
"They are bonds that are sacred – a sacred trust that we are honor-bound to uphold."
MILITARY CONTRACTS August 17, 2009
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Tesoro Hawaii Corp., Kapolei, Hawaii is being awarded a maximum $186,733,154 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. The original proposal was Web solicited with 19 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0505).
Honeywell International, Albuquerque, N.M., is being awarded a maximum $25,338,258 firm-fixed price, sole-source, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aircraft circuit card assemblies. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Air Force. There was originally one proposal solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is Aug. 16, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Richmond (Ogden), Hill Air Force Base, Utah (SPRHA4-09-D-0001).
Paramount Petroleum Corp., Paramount, Calif., is being awarded a maximum $21,167,158 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for fuel. Other location of performance is Carson, Calif.. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 72 proposals solicited with 19 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0504).
Timken Aerospace Transmissions, LLC., Manchester, Conn., is being awarded a maximum $10,299,904 firm fixed price contract for tail rotor gearboxes. Other location of performance is Connecticut. Using service is Army. There were originally two proposals solicited with one response. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is December 2012. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., (W58RGZ-04-D-0298/ZB01).
Montana Refining Co., Inc., Great Falls, Cascade County, Mont.*, is being awarded a maximum $9,434,379 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for fuel. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. The original proposal was Web solicited with 19 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0506).
Sysco Food Services of Seattle, Kent, Wash., is being awarded a maximum $7,250,000 firm-fixed price, indefinite quantity full line food distribution contract. Other location of performance is Anchorage, AK. Using services are Army, Air Force and Job Corps. The original proposal was Web solicited with 3 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the fourth option year of a five-year contract which includes four one-year option periods. The date of performance completion is Aug. 26, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM300-08-D-3160).
AIR FORCE
McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $98,000,000 cost plus fixed fee contract to provide integration and production of the laser joint direct attack munitions system on various Foreign Military Sales aircraft platforms throughout the life of the contract. At this time no funds have been obligated. 680 ARSSG/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8681-09-D-0065).
Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, Kan., was awarded a $86,575,795.09 firm fixed price contract to provide for 8 T-6A Texan II training aircraft produced by Hawker Beechcraft Corp., including ground-based training systems, aircraft spare parts, technical publications, and two years of contractor logistics support for the Iraqi Air Force. At this time, $69,420,044 has been obligated. 877 AESG/SYI, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8617-09-C-6175).
Alion Science and Technology Corp., Chicago, Ill., was awarded a $32,469,127 cost plus fixed fee contract to provide a complete range of analytical research, studies, and assessment for the testing and evaluation of command and control architectures. At this time, $1,931,949 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (N61339-03-D-0300, Delivery Order: 0229).
NAVY
Nan, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded a $39,784,330 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of two Bachelor Enlisted Quarters at Marine Corps Base, Hawaii. The work to be performed provides for buildings of reinforced concrete or masonry construction providing 88 rooms (P-749) and 62 rooms (P-750) with semi-private in the standard 2 + 0 room configuration. Building(s) will be interconnected through walkways and shall not exceed five stories in height with community and service core areas consisting of laundry facilities, lounges, duty officer and bunk room, housekeeping, vending area, and public restroom. Work will be performed in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by February 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with nine proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-09-C-1303).
W. M. Jordan Company, Inc., Newport News, Va., was awarded a $14,579,588 modification under a firm-fixed price contract (N40085-08-C-9684) on Aug. 14, 2009, to exercise option 0002 which provides for all work in connection with the installation of collateral equipment for the Special Operations Forces Facility (SOF) and SOF Operational Training Facility at Naval Air Station Oceana, Dam Neck Annex. The work to be performed under this option provides for the installation of all furniture and furnishings in accordance with the drawings and specifications as specified in the furniture, fixtures and equipment package. The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $96,365,379. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Va., and is expected to be completed by August 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.
Tesoro Hawaii Corp., Kapolei, Hawaii is being awarded a maximum $186,733,154 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. The original proposal was Web solicited with 19 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0505).
Honeywell International, Albuquerque, N.M., is being awarded a maximum $25,338,258 firm-fixed price, sole-source, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aircraft circuit card assemblies. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Air Force. There was originally one proposal solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is Aug. 16, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Richmond (Ogden), Hill Air Force Base, Utah (SPRHA4-09-D-0001).
Paramount Petroleum Corp., Paramount, Calif., is being awarded a maximum $21,167,158 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for fuel. Other location of performance is Carson, Calif.. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 72 proposals solicited with 19 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0504).
Timken Aerospace Transmissions, LLC., Manchester, Conn., is being awarded a maximum $10,299,904 firm fixed price contract for tail rotor gearboxes. Other location of performance is Connecticut. Using service is Army. There were originally two proposals solicited with one response. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is December 2012. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., (W58RGZ-04-D-0298/ZB01).
Montana Refining Co., Inc., Great Falls, Cascade County, Mont.*, is being awarded a maximum $9,434,379 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for fuel. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. The original proposal was Web solicited with 19 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is Oct. 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0506).
Sysco Food Services of Seattle, Kent, Wash., is being awarded a maximum $7,250,000 firm-fixed price, indefinite quantity full line food distribution contract. Other location of performance is Anchorage, AK. Using services are Army, Air Force and Job Corps. The original proposal was Web solicited with 3 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising the fourth option year of a five-year contract which includes four one-year option periods. The date of performance completion is Aug. 26, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM300-08-D-3160).
AIR FORCE
McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $98,000,000 cost plus fixed fee contract to provide integration and production of the laser joint direct attack munitions system on various Foreign Military Sales aircraft platforms throughout the life of the contract. At this time no funds have been obligated. 680 ARSSG/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8681-09-D-0065).
Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, Kan., was awarded a $86,575,795.09 firm fixed price contract to provide for 8 T-6A Texan II training aircraft produced by Hawker Beechcraft Corp., including ground-based training systems, aircraft spare parts, technical publications, and two years of contractor logistics support for the Iraqi Air Force. At this time, $69,420,044 has been obligated. 877 AESG/SYI, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8617-09-C-6175).
Alion Science and Technology Corp., Chicago, Ill., was awarded a $32,469,127 cost plus fixed fee contract to provide a complete range of analytical research, studies, and assessment for the testing and evaluation of command and control architectures. At this time, $1,931,949 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (N61339-03-D-0300, Delivery Order: 0229).
NAVY
Nan, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded a $39,784,330 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of two Bachelor Enlisted Quarters at Marine Corps Base, Hawaii. The work to be performed provides for buildings of reinforced concrete or masonry construction providing 88 rooms (P-749) and 62 rooms (P-750) with semi-private in the standard 2 + 0 room configuration. Building(s) will be interconnected through walkways and shall not exceed five stories in height with community and service core areas consisting of laundry facilities, lounges, duty officer and bunk room, housekeeping, vending area, and public restroom. Work will be performed in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by February 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with nine proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-09-C-1303).
W. M. Jordan Company, Inc., Newport News, Va., was awarded a $14,579,588 modification under a firm-fixed price contract (N40085-08-C-9684) on Aug. 14, 2009, to exercise option 0002 which provides for all work in connection with the installation of collateral equipment for the Special Operations Forces Facility (SOF) and SOF Operational Training Facility at Naval Air Station Oceana, Dam Neck Annex. The work to be performed under this option provides for the installation of all furniture and furnishings in accordance with the drawings and specifications as specified in the furniture, fixtures and equipment package. The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $96,365,379. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Va., and is expected to be completed by August 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Vietnam War Story
On August 27, 2009, Conversations with American Heroes at the Watering Hole will discuss the Vietnam War with former USMC Major Richard Botkin.
Program Date: August 27, 2009
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Vietnam War Story
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/08/28/Vietnam-War-Story
About the Guest
Former United States Marine Corps Major Richard Botkin “graduated from the University of Michigan's School of Business. He served from 1980 to 1995 on active and reserve duty as a Marine Corps infantry officer with units to include 2nd Battalion 7th Marines, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, and 4th Force Reconnaissance Company. His understanding for Southeast Asia has been enhanced by the nine medical/dental mission trips he helped to organize and lead to Cambodia between 1998 and 2007, and four trips to Vietnam, including one with his main Vietnamese character Le Ba Binh, to specifically do research for Ride the Thunder. Richard Botkin currently lives with his family in northern California, where he is an investment advisor for a major brokerage firm.” Richard Botkin is the author of Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War Story of Honor and Triumph.
According to the book description of Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War Story of Honor and Triumph, “Richard Botkin breaks new ground in telling the heroic story of a few American and Vietnamese Marines who fought brilliantly and turned the tide of the Vietnam War, only to have policymakers surrender the battlefield. Botkin recounts the exploits of the American Marines and their Vietnamese allies who were largely responsible for thwarting the North Vietnamese invasion of the northern portions of South Vietnam - known as the 'Easter Offensive of 1972' in the West that was intended to bring the nation to its knees. These are the men who 'rode the thunder' and almost saved a nation. Botkin tells the story of Captain John Ripley's daring raid to destroy the Dong Ha Bridge; Major Le Ba Binh and his seven hundred Marines bravely holding off more than 20 thousand North Vietnamese troops; Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Turley's leadership and bravery that helped thwart the Easter Offensive - and much more.”
About American Heroes Radio
The Watering Hole is slang for a location American Heroes go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.
About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in Law Enforcement, public policy, Public Safety Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.
Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/08/28/Vietnam-War-Story
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
Program Date: August 27, 2009
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Vietnam War Story
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/08/28/Vietnam-War-Story
About the Guest
Former United States Marine Corps Major Richard Botkin “graduated from the University of Michigan's School of Business. He served from 1980 to 1995 on active and reserve duty as a Marine Corps infantry officer with units to include 2nd Battalion 7th Marines, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, and 4th Force Reconnaissance Company. His understanding for Southeast Asia has been enhanced by the nine medical/dental mission trips he helped to organize and lead to Cambodia between 1998 and 2007, and four trips to Vietnam, including one with his main Vietnamese character Le Ba Binh, to specifically do research for Ride the Thunder. Richard Botkin currently lives with his family in northern California, where he is an investment advisor for a major brokerage firm.” Richard Botkin is the author of Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War Story of Honor and Triumph.
According to the book description of Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War Story of Honor and Triumph, “Richard Botkin breaks new ground in telling the heroic story of a few American and Vietnamese Marines who fought brilliantly and turned the tide of the Vietnam War, only to have policymakers surrender the battlefield. Botkin recounts the exploits of the American Marines and their Vietnamese allies who were largely responsible for thwarting the North Vietnamese invasion of the northern portions of South Vietnam - known as the 'Easter Offensive of 1972' in the West that was intended to bring the nation to its knees. These are the men who 'rode the thunder' and almost saved a nation. Botkin tells the story of Captain John Ripley's daring raid to destroy the Dong Ha Bridge; Major Le Ba Binh and his seven hundred Marines bravely holding off more than 20 thousand North Vietnamese troops; Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Turley's leadership and bravery that helped thwart the Easter Offensive - and much more.”
About American Heroes Radio
The Watering Hole is slang for a location American Heroes go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.
About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in Law Enforcement, public policy, Public Safety Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.
Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/08/28/Vietnam-War-Story
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
Friday, August 14, 2009
MILITARY CONTRACTS August 14, 2009
NAVY
Turner-Penick, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $109,578,253 firm-fixed price contract for design and construction of four bachelor enlisted quarters at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. BEQ's will house a total of 1502 Marines in the standard 2+0 configuration and will include a multipurpose community area and laundry facilities. The contract also contains planned modifications, which if issued would increase cumulative contract value to $121,293,853. Work will be performed in Oceanside, Calif., and is expected to be completed by August 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with eleven (11) proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (contract number N62473-09-C-1234).
RLF & Sherlock, Smith & Adams JV, Winter Park, Fla., (N62470-09-D-9042); Smith Group Inc., & URS Group Inc., JV, Washington, D.C., (N62470-09-D-9043); HDR Architecture, Inc., Alexandria, Va., (N62470-09-D-9044), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contract for design services for medical projects located throughout the Naval Facilities Engineering Command area of responsibility, worldwide. The maximum dollar value, including the base period and four option years, for all three contracts combined is $100,000,000. The work to be performed provides for DD Form 1391 documentation, design-build request for proposals, plans, specifications, cost estimates, related studies, surveying, soil borings, hazardous materials identification, energy computation, life safety code studies, interior space planning/design, other associated engineering services, shop drawing review, as-built drawing preparation, operation and maintenance support information, commissioning, and construction inspection and engineering consultation services during construction. Work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities located throughout the Naval Facilities Engineering Command area of responsibility worldwide. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with 19 proposals received. These three contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $76,314,597 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014). This modification provides for the procurement of additional ancillary mission equipment for the F/A-18 E/F and E/A-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Mesa, Ariz., (79.2 percent); St. Louis, Mo., (11.3 percent); Minneapolis, Minn., (7.3 percent); and Camarillo, Calif., (2.2 percent) and is expected to be completed in August 2013. Contract funds in the amount of $29,923,008 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics, Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $42,108,043 firm-fixed-price contract for preparation and accomplishment of the FY09 dry-docking selected restricted availability of USS Springfield (SSN 761). The contractor will perform advance planning, design documentation, engineering, procurement, ship-checks, fabrication and preliminary shipyard work and/or any other work necessary to prepare for the accomplishment of, as well as accomplish all the necessary alterations, repairs, maintenance, modernization, testing and routine work required to return the mission ready submarine to the fleet. Work will be performed in Groton, Conn., and is expected to be completed by February 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $40,574,815 will 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-4413).
DRS Power and Control Technologies, Milwaukee, Wis., is being awarded a $9,531,441 firm-fixed-price contract to provide replacement parts/spares to support the Advanced Secondary Propulsion Unit/Secondary Propulsion Unit Drive in support of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Work will be performed in Milwaukee, Wis., and work is expected to be completed August 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $9,531,441 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The number of firms solicited was one in accordance with FAR 6.302-1. The requirement was synopsis and posted to Navy Electronic Commerce Online. The acquisition was solicited as a sole source under FAR Part 15. One firm was solicited and one offer was received. The contract will be awarded as a sole source procurement. The Fleet & Industrial Supply Center, Puget Sound, Bremerton, Wash., is the contracting activity (N00406-09-C-9048).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Western Refining Co., El Paso, Texas is being awarded a maximum $89,548,933 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. Other location of performance is El Paso Texas. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 72 proposals solicited with 19 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is October 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0496).
General Electric Aircraft Engines, Lynn, Mass., is being awarded a maximum $52,958,405 firm fixed price, sole source, requirement type contract for engine supporting NSNs. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. The original proposal was DIBBS solicited with one response. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The initial award was for a fixed price, requirements type contract for a ten-year duration to include a two-year base with four two-year option periods. Provisions for price-re-determination were included. This contract is currently in the final year of the fourth option period. The date of performance completion is July 29, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Richmond, Richmond, Va., (SPM400-00-R-06626).
Navajo Refining Co., Dallas, Texas is being awarded a maximum $20,588,550 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. Other location of performance is Artesia, New Mexico. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 72 proposals solicited with 19 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is October 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0496).
ARMY
Weston Solutions, Inc., Houston, Texas was awarded on August 13, 2009 a $82,670,701 firm-fixed-price contract for the recovery- IDIQ Matoc design build project, Houston-Galveston Navigation Channel, Multiple site repairs in Harris and Chambers Counties, Texas. The work consists of design and construction of Levee repairs, levee raisings, and shore protection to placement areas used for the Houston –Galveston navigation channel. The placement area includes the following: Lost Lake, Peggy Lake, Alexander Island, Spilman Island, Atkinson Island, Mid Bay, and Redfish Island. Work is to be performed in Chambers County, Texas with an estimated completion date Sept. 30, 2011. Four bids solicited with three bids received. U.S.A. Engineer District, Galveston, Texas is the contracting activity (W912BV-08-D-2012).
Camber Corporation, Huntsville, Ala., was awarded on August 13, 2009 a $8,712,671 time-and material contract for the instructors to teach selected classes at the U.S. Army Armor Center during the period of Sept. 30, 2009 through Sept. 29, 2010. Work is to be performed in Fort Knox, Ky., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 29, 2010. Five bids were solicited with three bids received. Mission and Installation Contracting Command Center, Fort Knox, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912SU-05-D-0004).
American Ordanace LLC/Iowa Operations, Middletown, Iowa was awarded on Aug. 13, 2009 a $7,473,500 service contract for the funds obligated for new equipment purchases, rehabilitation and installation, engineering support, production line analysis and evaluation, environmental permit application and site survey/evaluation associated with movement/relocation of detonator/relay/delay production capability from Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant to Iowa Army Ammunition Plant pursuant to 2005 Base Relocation and Closure law/direction. Work is to be performed in Middletown, Iowa with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2011. One bid solicited with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Contracting Center, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-09-G-0001).
Newland Entities, Inc, Yuba City, Calif., was awarded on August 13, 2009 a $6,649,068 firm-fixed-price contract for placing quarry stone on the slopes of several erosion sites along the banks of the Sacramento and Feather Rivers and Sutter Bypass. Work is to be performed in Knights Landing, Calif., (20 precent), Grimes, Calif., (28 precent), Colusa, Calif., (22 precent), Yuba City, Calif., (23 precent), and Meridian, Calif., (7 precent) with an estimated completion date of Jan. 14, 2013. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with six bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Sacramento, Calif., is the contracting activity (W91238-09-C-0021)
UNITED STATES TRANSPORTATION COMMAND
Phoenix Air Group, Inc., of Cartersville, Ga., 30120-6896, is being awarded a $5,690,369 fixed-price indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for passenger air transportation services between Point Mugu, Calif., and San Nicolas Island, Calif., and between Point Mugu, Calif., and China Lake, Calif. This contract is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2010, and includes four option years thereafter. Contract funds will expire at the end of fiscal year 2010. This contract resulted from a 100 percent Small Business Set Aside acquisition with six proposals received. The contracting activity is United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., 62225 (HTC711-09-D-0050).
Turner-Penick, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $109,578,253 firm-fixed price contract for design and construction of four bachelor enlisted quarters at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. BEQ's will house a total of 1502 Marines in the standard 2+0 configuration and will include a multipurpose community area and laundry facilities. The contract also contains planned modifications, which if issued would increase cumulative contract value to $121,293,853. Work will be performed in Oceanside, Calif., and is expected to be completed by August 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with eleven (11) proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (contract number N62473-09-C-1234).
RLF & Sherlock, Smith & Adams JV, Winter Park, Fla., (N62470-09-D-9042); Smith Group Inc., & URS Group Inc., JV, Washington, D.C., (N62470-09-D-9043); HDR Architecture, Inc., Alexandria, Va., (N62470-09-D-9044), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contract for design services for medical projects located throughout the Naval Facilities Engineering Command area of responsibility, worldwide. The maximum dollar value, including the base period and four option years, for all three contracts combined is $100,000,000. The work to be performed provides for DD Form 1391 documentation, design-build request for proposals, plans, specifications, cost estimates, related studies, surveying, soil borings, hazardous materials identification, energy computation, life safety code studies, interior space planning/design, other associated engineering services, shop drawing review, as-built drawing preparation, operation and maintenance support information, commissioning, and construction inspection and engineering consultation services during construction. Work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities located throughout the Naval Facilities Engineering Command area of responsibility worldwide. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with 19 proposals received. These three contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $76,314,597 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014). This modification provides for the procurement of additional ancillary mission equipment for the F/A-18 E/F and E/A-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Mesa, Ariz., (79.2 percent); St. Louis, Mo., (11.3 percent); Minneapolis, Minn., (7.3 percent); and Camarillo, Calif., (2.2 percent) and is expected to be completed in August 2013. Contract funds in the amount of $29,923,008 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics, Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $42,108,043 firm-fixed-price contract for preparation and accomplishment of the FY09 dry-docking selected restricted availability of USS Springfield (SSN 761). The contractor will perform advance planning, design documentation, engineering, procurement, ship-checks, fabrication and preliminary shipyard work and/or any other work necessary to prepare for the accomplishment of, as well as accomplish all the necessary alterations, repairs, maintenance, modernization, testing and routine work required to return the mission ready submarine to the fleet. Work will be performed in Groton, Conn., and is expected to be completed by February 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $40,574,815 will 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-4413).
DRS Power and Control Technologies, Milwaukee, Wis., is being awarded a $9,531,441 firm-fixed-price contract to provide replacement parts/spares to support the Advanced Secondary Propulsion Unit/Secondary Propulsion Unit Drive in support of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Work will be performed in Milwaukee, Wis., and work is expected to be completed August 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $9,531,441 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The number of firms solicited was one in accordance with FAR 6.302-1. The requirement was synopsis and posted to Navy Electronic Commerce Online. The acquisition was solicited as a sole source under FAR Part 15. One firm was solicited and one offer was received. The contract will be awarded as a sole source procurement. The Fleet & Industrial Supply Center, Puget Sound, Bremerton, Wash., is the contracting activity (N00406-09-C-9048).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Western Refining Co., El Paso, Texas is being awarded a maximum $89,548,933 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. Other location of performance is El Paso Texas. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 72 proposals solicited with 19 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is October 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0496).
General Electric Aircraft Engines, Lynn, Mass., is being awarded a maximum $52,958,405 firm fixed price, sole source, requirement type contract for engine supporting NSNs. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. The original proposal was DIBBS solicited with one response. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The initial award was for a fixed price, requirements type contract for a ten-year duration to include a two-year base with four two-year option periods. Provisions for price-re-determination were included. This contract is currently in the final year of the fourth option period. The date of performance completion is July 29, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Richmond, Richmond, Va., (SPM400-00-R-06626).
Navajo Refining Co., Dallas, Texas is being awarded a maximum $20,588,550 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for aviation fuel. Other location of performance is Artesia, New Mexico. Using service is Defense Energy Support Center. There were originally 72 proposals solicited with 19 responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is October 30, 2010. The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-09-D-0496).
ARMY
Weston Solutions, Inc., Houston, Texas was awarded on August 13, 2009 a $82,670,701 firm-fixed-price contract for the recovery- IDIQ Matoc design build project, Houston-Galveston Navigation Channel, Multiple site repairs in Harris and Chambers Counties, Texas. The work consists of design and construction of Levee repairs, levee raisings, and shore protection to placement areas used for the Houston –Galveston navigation channel. The placement area includes the following: Lost Lake, Peggy Lake, Alexander Island, Spilman Island, Atkinson Island, Mid Bay, and Redfish Island. Work is to be performed in Chambers County, Texas with an estimated completion date Sept. 30, 2011. Four bids solicited with three bids received. U.S.A. Engineer District, Galveston, Texas is the contracting activity (W912BV-08-D-2012).
Camber Corporation, Huntsville, Ala., was awarded on August 13, 2009 a $8,712,671 time-and material contract for the instructors to teach selected classes at the U.S. Army Armor Center during the period of Sept. 30, 2009 through Sept. 29, 2010. Work is to be performed in Fort Knox, Ky., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 29, 2010. Five bids were solicited with three bids received. Mission and Installation Contracting Command Center, Fort Knox, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912SU-05-D-0004).
American Ordanace LLC/Iowa Operations, Middletown, Iowa was awarded on Aug. 13, 2009 a $7,473,500 service contract for the funds obligated for new equipment purchases, rehabilitation and installation, engineering support, production line analysis and evaluation, environmental permit application and site survey/evaluation associated with movement/relocation of detonator/relay/delay production capability from Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant to Iowa Army Ammunition Plant pursuant to 2005 Base Relocation and Closure law/direction. Work is to be performed in Middletown, Iowa with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2011. One bid solicited with one bid received. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Contracting Center, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-09-G-0001).
Newland Entities, Inc, Yuba City, Calif., was awarded on August 13, 2009 a $6,649,068 firm-fixed-price contract for placing quarry stone on the slopes of several erosion sites along the banks of the Sacramento and Feather Rivers and Sutter Bypass. Work is to be performed in Knights Landing, Calif., (20 precent), Grimes, Calif., (28 precent), Colusa, Calif., (22 precent), Yuba City, Calif., (23 precent), and Meridian, Calif., (7 precent) with an estimated completion date of Jan. 14, 2013. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with six bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Sacramento, Calif., is the contracting activity (W91238-09-C-0021)
UNITED STATES TRANSPORTATION COMMAND
Phoenix Air Group, Inc., of Cartersville, Ga., 30120-6896, is being awarded a $5,690,369 fixed-price indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for passenger air transportation services between Point Mugu, Calif., and San Nicolas Island, Calif., and between Point Mugu, Calif., and China Lake, Calif. This contract is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2010, and includes four option years thereafter. Contract funds will expire at the end of fiscal year 2010. This contract resulted from a 100 percent Small Business Set Aside acquisition with six proposals received. The contracting activity is United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., 62225 (HTC711-09-D-0050).
Quick Hire of Military Spouses Starts in September
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - Under a personnel rule that takes effect next month, some military spouses could be quickly hired for federal jobs without going through the usual competitive process. The new hiring authority takes effect Sept. 11. The Office of Personal Management issued the authority's final regulatory guidelines Aug. 12. The guidelines are posted in the Federal Register under the title: "Noncompetitive Appointment of Certain Military Spouses."
The intended effect of the rule, according to documents listed in the Federal Register, "is to facilitate the entry of military spouses into the federal civil service as part of an effort to recruit and retain skilled and experienced members of the armed forces and to recognize and honor the service of members injured, disabled, or killed in connection with their service."
"Military spouse employment is a key to the quality of life of our military families," Kathleen Ott, director of talent acquisition, development and management in the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy, said yesterday during an interview with Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service reporters.
The availability of jobs for military spouses contributes to the sustainment of the all-volunteer force, Ott said, citing a recent survey in which employed military spouses reported that their work income constitutes about 48 percent of total family income.
"But, it's really hard to keep a job if you have to move from station to station," Ott said. Federal employment, she said, offers military spouses a portable career with transferable benefits and worldwide presence.
"We thought, in order to help our military spouses continue their employment, it would be a good thing for us to facilitate their entry into the federal government," she said.
Eligible individuals, Ott said, include spouses of active-duty servicemembers who have been called on to relocate. This includes spouses of Guardsmen or reservists who've been called up for more than 180 days of active service other than training. Eligible spouses must be moving to another duty station accompanied by their servicemember husband or wife.
Spouses of former servicemembers listed as 100-percent disabled and separated or retired, as well as widows or widowers of servicemembers who died on active duty and who have not remarried also are eligible.
The new hiring authority does not constitute a hiring preference for eligible military spouses, according to OPM. "This authority is a noncompetitive hiring mechanism; it does not establish or constitute a hiring preference for eligible spouses, nor does it create an entitlement to a federal job for an eligible spouse," according to regulatory documents listed in the Federal Register.
Applicants still must meet specific job-qualification criteria listed for individual positions, according to OPM documents.
"This is not a preference. We firmly believe that our spouses can compete on their own merits," Ott said, noting that the new hiring rules provide military spouses with "a streamlined, facilitated means of obtaining federal employment."
Use of the new hiring authority "is completely at the discretion of hiring agencies," according to OPM documents, and "it is one of many hiring tools agencies may use to recruit needed individuals."
Spouses who complete three years of continuous satisfactory service will be converted from a career-conditional appointment to career appointment, Ott said.
Personnel officials do not anticipate that the new military-spouse hiring authority would adversely affect the hiring of military veterans into the federal government, Ott said.
Military spouses can find out about federal job opportunities through OPM's USAJobs Web site, Ott said.
The new hiring authority "sends a very important message to our military families that their sacrifice is recognized by the federal government, and that they recognize that having a career opportunity is really critical for their family's well being," said Barbara Thompson, director of the Pentagon's Office of Family Policy/Children and Youth.
More than 77 percent of military spouses have indicated in surveys that they are interested in establishing careers, Thompson said. Other data, she added, indicates that military spouses are, overall, more highly educated than their civilian counterparts.
"I think it's a win-win situation that the federal government is accessing a pool of spouses who have the same levels of commitment and caring and service to the nation," Thompson said.
The department's Military Spouse Career Advancement Account, also known as MyCAA, provides employment, career, education/training, counseling and financial assistance for spouses of active-duty military and activated Guard and reserve members worldwide, she said.
President George W. Bush issued an executive order establishing guidelines for the hiring authority in September 2008, but implementation of the order was delayed while it was reviewed by the Obama administration.
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - Under a personnel rule that takes effect next month, some military spouses could be quickly hired for federal jobs without going through the usual competitive process. The new hiring authority takes effect Sept. 11. The Office of Personal Management issued the authority's final regulatory guidelines Aug. 12. The guidelines are posted in the Federal Register under the title: "Noncompetitive Appointment of Certain Military Spouses."
The intended effect of the rule, according to documents listed in the Federal Register, "is to facilitate the entry of military spouses into the federal civil service as part of an effort to recruit and retain skilled and experienced members of the armed forces and to recognize and honor the service of members injured, disabled, or killed in connection with their service."
"Military spouse employment is a key to the quality of life of our military families," Kathleen Ott, director of talent acquisition, development and management in the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy, said yesterday during an interview with Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service reporters.
The availability of jobs for military spouses contributes to the sustainment of the all-volunteer force, Ott said, citing a recent survey in which employed military spouses reported that their work income constitutes about 48 percent of total family income.
"But, it's really hard to keep a job if you have to move from station to station," Ott said. Federal employment, she said, offers military spouses a portable career with transferable benefits and worldwide presence.
"We thought, in order to help our military spouses continue their employment, it would be a good thing for us to facilitate their entry into the federal government," she said.
Eligible individuals, Ott said, include spouses of active-duty servicemembers who have been called on to relocate. This includes spouses of Guardsmen or reservists who've been called up for more than 180 days of active service other than training. Eligible spouses must be moving to another duty station accompanied by their servicemember husband or wife.
Spouses of former servicemembers listed as 100-percent disabled and separated or retired, as well as widows or widowers of servicemembers who died on active duty and who have not remarried also are eligible.
The new hiring authority does not constitute a hiring preference for eligible military spouses, according to OPM. "This authority is a noncompetitive hiring mechanism; it does not establish or constitute a hiring preference for eligible spouses, nor does it create an entitlement to a federal job for an eligible spouse," according to regulatory documents listed in the Federal Register.
Applicants still must meet specific job-qualification criteria listed for individual positions, according to OPM documents.
"This is not a preference. We firmly believe that our spouses can compete on their own merits," Ott said, noting that the new hiring rules provide military spouses with "a streamlined, facilitated means of obtaining federal employment."
Use of the new hiring authority "is completely at the discretion of hiring agencies," according to OPM documents, and "it is one of many hiring tools agencies may use to recruit needed individuals."
Spouses who complete three years of continuous satisfactory service will be converted from a career-conditional appointment to career appointment, Ott said.
Personnel officials do not anticipate that the new military-spouse hiring authority would adversely affect the hiring of military veterans into the federal government, Ott said.
Military spouses can find out about federal job opportunities through OPM's USAJobs Web site, Ott said.
The new hiring authority "sends a very important message to our military families that their sacrifice is recognized by the federal government, and that they recognize that having a career opportunity is really critical for their family's well being," said Barbara Thompson, director of the Pentagon's Office of Family Policy/Children and Youth.
More than 77 percent of military spouses have indicated in surveys that they are interested in establishing careers, Thompson said. Other data, she added, indicates that military spouses are, overall, more highly educated than their civilian counterparts.
"I think it's a win-win situation that the federal government is accessing a pool of spouses who have the same levels of commitment and caring and service to the nation," Thompson said.
The department's Military Spouse Career Advancement Account, also known as MyCAA, provides employment, career, education/training, counseling and financial assistance for spouses of active-duty military and activated Guard and reserve members worldwide, she said.
President George W. Bush issued an executive order establishing guidelines for the hiring authority in September 2008, but implementation of the order was delayed while it was reviewed by the Obama administration.
DoD, VA Work to Create Lifetime Electronic Records
By Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg
Special to American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - For servicemembers who still remember hand-carrying their medical records back and forth to appointments, the new virtual lifetime electronic record will help prevent misplaced paperwork and help providers maintain and offer quality health care, the acting director of the program said. President Barack Obama, along with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, announced April 9 that VA and the Defense Department have taken steps toward creating a joint virtual lifetime electronic record, or VLER.
"The president's vision, as he expressed that day, will permit information vital to health care, benefits and services to be available seamlessly to both departments from the moment a servicemember enters the military until the servicemember's or veteran's death," Navy Rear Adm. Gregory A. Timberlake, acting director of the Defense Department-VA Interagency Program Office, said yesterday in a "DotMilDocs" interview on Pentagon Web Radio.
The steps to create the electronic record exchange began a little more than a year ago when the program office was established as the single point of accountability for the records in response to Section 1635 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2008.
"VLER will serve as a model for a nation, especially at this tumultuous time of health care reform, and is intended to be a lifetime, personal record for use by the servicemembers, their families and service providers to ensure a seamless continuum of care and benefits," Timberlake said.
"The president challenged the departments to work together to define and build a seamless system of integration with one simple goal: when a servicemember separates from the military, he or she will no longer have to walk paper records from a [Defense Department] duty station to a local VA health center," the admiral said. "Their electronic records will transition along with them and remain with them forever."
While the electronic record will help to reduce the loss of hard-copy health records, it also is intended to provide a framework to ensure that health care providers have all the information they need to deliver high-quality health care, while reducing medical errors. The electronic record is a critical piece of the health care puzzle because, while the Defense Department and VA can share information electronically, it may not be easily accessible by private clinicians, Timberlake said.
"A significant amount of health care provided to [the Defense Department] and VA beneficiaries occurs by private-sector providers," he said. "So, we need the ability to make health records available to the providers who need it, regardless if they are a military, VA, or doctor within the public community."
Numerous, ongoing data-sharing activities are continuing among agencies that share information and are committed to improving health care to "servicemen and women of the present, past and future," Timberlake said.
"Every day, millions of pieces of health information are shared between [the Defense Department] and VA; however, as Congress mandated and as the departments have acknowledged, there is more work to do to make it flow smoother," he said.
(Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg is assigned to Defense Media Activity's Emerging Media Directorate.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - For servicemembers who still remember hand-carrying their medical records back and forth to appointments, the new virtual lifetime electronic record will help prevent misplaced paperwork and help providers maintain and offer quality health care, the acting director of the program said. President Barack Obama, along with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, announced April 9 that VA and the Defense Department have taken steps toward creating a joint virtual lifetime electronic record, or VLER.
"The president's vision, as he expressed that day, will permit information vital to health care, benefits and services to be available seamlessly to both departments from the moment a servicemember enters the military until the servicemember's or veteran's death," Navy Rear Adm. Gregory A. Timberlake, acting director of the Defense Department-VA Interagency Program Office, said yesterday in a "DotMilDocs" interview on Pentagon Web Radio.
The steps to create the electronic record exchange began a little more than a year ago when the program office was established as the single point of accountability for the records in response to Section 1635 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2008.
"VLER will serve as a model for a nation, especially at this tumultuous time of health care reform, and is intended to be a lifetime, personal record for use by the servicemembers, their families and service providers to ensure a seamless continuum of care and benefits," Timberlake said.
"The president challenged the departments to work together to define and build a seamless system of integration with one simple goal: when a servicemember separates from the military, he or she will no longer have to walk paper records from a [Defense Department] duty station to a local VA health center," the admiral said. "Their electronic records will transition along with them and remain with them forever."
While the electronic record will help to reduce the loss of hard-copy health records, it also is intended to provide a framework to ensure that health care providers have all the information they need to deliver high-quality health care, while reducing medical errors. The electronic record is a critical piece of the health care puzzle because, while the Defense Department and VA can share information electronically, it may not be easily accessible by private clinicians, Timberlake said.
"A significant amount of health care provided to [the Defense Department] and VA beneficiaries occurs by private-sector providers," he said. "So, we need the ability to make health records available to the providers who need it, regardless if they are a military, VA, or doctor within the public community."
Numerous, ongoing data-sharing activities are continuing among agencies that share information and are committed to improving health care to "servicemen and women of the present, past and future," Timberlake said.
"Every day, millions of pieces of health information are shared between [the Defense Department] and VA; however, as Congress mandated and as the departments have acknowledged, there is more work to do to make it flow smoother," he said.
(Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg is assigned to Defense Media Activity's Emerging Media Directorate.)
Pharmaceuticals Company Keeps Military Employees 'Whole'
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - National Guardsmen and reservists know the law secures their civilian jobs if they're activated, but some deploy knowing their employers will go above and beyond to take care of them while they're gone. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, which employs about 100 servicemembers, is one of those companies, and has been selected as one of 15 recipients of the 2009 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.
Jeff Cantor, of Marlboro, N.J., one of the company's district sales managers in Wilmington, Del., nominated his employer for the award.
"They keep you whole. They pay the difference between military pay and your AstraZeneca pay while you're deployed," Cantor said. "They keep all benefits intact while you're deployed."
The award recognizes public and private employers for going above and beyond what's required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve manages the award.
In addition to providing the difference in military and civilian pay and maintaining benefits, AstraZeneca maintains contact with employees and their families for the duration of the deployment. Upon return, military employees are paired with a "buddy" to help them get up to speed on anything that may have changed while they were gone.
Cantor has experienced all of this first-hand.
A lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, Cantor is attached to the 353rd Civil Affairs Command and already has deployed twice since starting with AstraZeneca in 2001. The first tour was in Kosovo and the second sent him to Iraq.
Recently, he had to tell his boss that Uncle Sam had requested his services for a third deployment. This time he will head to Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division.
His announcement, he said, was met only with offers of support. "At no point did anyone sigh, or say, 'Man this is too much time.' [They're] just 100 percent behind me, supportive and wishing me well," Cantor said. "It's quite touching to work for such a great organization like this."
Not only does AstraZeneca take care of its military employees, the company looks out for their families as well.
"Last time that I was deployed to Iraq, they had sent my wife and kids numerous care packages," he added. "They just went out of their way to make sure that my family was OK while I was deployed, which allowed me to be more focused on my mission."
When Cantor learned AstraZeneca had been selected as an award winner he was, in a word, "stoked." He knew winning was a long shot.
"There were 3,200 companies that were nominated and only 15 were selected," he said. "[AstraZeneca] is one of 15, and if you do the math it's like winning the lottery."
Margie Rivera, AstraZeneca's senior manager of equal employment opportunity, said company officials felt the same way.
"We were ecstatic," Rivera said. "This is my personal opinion, [but] I think we knew going in that the types of policies that we have in place for our employees, in general, are really what I consider very progressive."
The company, which employs more than 65,000 people in 100 countries, also has an employee group, the AstraZeneca Military Support group, which reaches out to military members and their families. In the past, they have made dinner for servicemembers living in Fisher Houses at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
"Coupled with what we do in terms of policies and benefits is that personal touch with those individuals that are deployed," Rivera added.
The 15 recipients will be presented with the award during a Sept. 17 ceremony here.
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - National Guardsmen and reservists know the law secures their civilian jobs if they're activated, but some deploy knowing their employers will go above and beyond to take care of them while they're gone. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, which employs about 100 servicemembers, is one of those companies, and has been selected as one of 15 recipients of the 2009 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.
Jeff Cantor, of Marlboro, N.J., one of the company's district sales managers in Wilmington, Del., nominated his employer for the award.
"They keep you whole. They pay the difference between military pay and your AstraZeneca pay while you're deployed," Cantor said. "They keep all benefits intact while you're deployed."
The award recognizes public and private employers for going above and beyond what's required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve manages the award.
In addition to providing the difference in military and civilian pay and maintaining benefits, AstraZeneca maintains contact with employees and their families for the duration of the deployment. Upon return, military employees are paired with a "buddy" to help them get up to speed on anything that may have changed while they were gone.
Cantor has experienced all of this first-hand.
A lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, Cantor is attached to the 353rd Civil Affairs Command and already has deployed twice since starting with AstraZeneca in 2001. The first tour was in Kosovo and the second sent him to Iraq.
Recently, he had to tell his boss that Uncle Sam had requested his services for a third deployment. This time he will head to Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division.
His announcement, he said, was met only with offers of support. "At no point did anyone sigh, or say, 'Man this is too much time.' [They're] just 100 percent behind me, supportive and wishing me well," Cantor said. "It's quite touching to work for such a great organization like this."
Not only does AstraZeneca take care of its military employees, the company looks out for their families as well.
"Last time that I was deployed to Iraq, they had sent my wife and kids numerous care packages," he added. "They just went out of their way to make sure that my family was OK while I was deployed, which allowed me to be more focused on my mission."
When Cantor learned AstraZeneca had been selected as an award winner he was, in a word, "stoked." He knew winning was a long shot.
"There were 3,200 companies that were nominated and only 15 were selected," he said. "[AstraZeneca] is one of 15, and if you do the math it's like winning the lottery."
Margie Rivera, AstraZeneca's senior manager of equal employment opportunity, said company officials felt the same way.
"We were ecstatic," Rivera said. "This is my personal opinion, [but] I think we knew going in that the types of policies that we have in place for our employees, in general, are really what I consider very progressive."
The company, which employs more than 65,000 people in 100 countries, also has an employee group, the AstraZeneca Military Support group, which reaches out to military members and their families. In the past, they have made dinner for servicemembers living in Fisher Houses at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
"Coupled with what we do in terms of policies and benefits is that personal touch with those individuals that are deployed," Rivera added.
The 15 recipients will be presented with the award during a Sept. 17 ceremony here.
Project Aims to Help War-torn Nations
By John Ohab
Special to American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - A National Defense University research project is leveraging talent and resources from within and outside the military to support people in need worldwide, a former Defense Department chief information officer said. The project, Transportable Infrastructures for Development and Emergency Support, or TIDES, works with the military, government and private groups to bring basic services to people in Afghanistan and other places struggling from war and poverty, said Linton Wells II, a professor and force transformation chair at the National Defense University.
"TIDES is an effort to bring together public-private, whole-of-government and transnational talent in order to address problems in stressed populations," Wells said during an Aug. 12 webcast of "Armed with Science: Research and Applications for the Modern Military" on Pentagon Web Radio.
TIDES operates by providing fast, agile and effective solutions to areas stressed by seven key infrastructure needs: shelter; water; power; integrated combustion and solar cooking; cooling, lighting and heating; sanitation; and information and communications technology.
Collectively, TIDES is building a repository of these products, as well as best practices and approaches that can support decision-makers, Wells said.
"The idea is to connect the people with solutions with people who have problems," he said.
Wells described TIDES as building toward a decentralized "starfish network," in which various people and groups can draw upon collective knowledge and apply it to their specific situations. The project is coordinated by NDU's Center for Technology and National Security Policy, but participants span all branches of business, government and private groups from around the world.
"The idea is to put together a broad coalition that can work with any one of the different communities," Wells said. "They can talk the civilian language, the military language, and talk to academia to get as broad as possible coalition and decentralize the management."
Wells, a former acting assistant secretary and Defense Department chief information officer, said he embraced the opportunity to address "cross-cutting issues" and find ways to achieve unity of action in situations where there is no unity of command. The department plays a critical role by extending the military's ability to interoperate with civilians during difficult situations, and by identifying economic, low-cost solutions and more sources of supplies, he said.
TIDES works with both foreign and domestic people, with or without military involvement, and for short- or long-term operations, Wells said. On the international front, TIDES participants are working in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, investigating how information and communications technology can be leveraged along with renewable energy to help remote Afghan villages. In Latin America, TIDES is working with U.S. Southern Command to support emergency first responders. The differences in those two projects underscores the need for participants with varied talents, he said.
"If the average stay in a refugee camp is more than seven years, which it is, that's a qualitatively different problem than the first 60 days after an earthquake," Wells said. "You need different skills sets, different people, and different sources of funds."
Wells was particularly excited about the ability to use Web 2.0 and other technologies to provide rapid solutions. Last week, TIDES participants combined maps and other images with mobile text messaging and Twitter feeds to create a near real-time situational awareness tool.
"Ten days from the time companies, [nongovernmental organizations], government and academia got together, there were workable versions of the code being used in Afghanistan," Wells said. "That's really exciting."
TIDES will hold its 3rd Annual Field Demonstration at the National Defense University campus at Fort McNair, Washington, D.C., Oct. 6 to 9.
(John Ohab works for the Defense Media Activity's Emerging Media directorate.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - A National Defense University research project is leveraging talent and resources from within and outside the military to support people in need worldwide, a former Defense Department chief information officer said. The project, Transportable Infrastructures for Development and Emergency Support, or TIDES, works with the military, government and private groups to bring basic services to people in Afghanistan and other places struggling from war and poverty, said Linton Wells II, a professor and force transformation chair at the National Defense University.
"TIDES is an effort to bring together public-private, whole-of-government and transnational talent in order to address problems in stressed populations," Wells said during an Aug. 12 webcast of "Armed with Science: Research and Applications for the Modern Military" on Pentagon Web Radio.
TIDES operates by providing fast, agile and effective solutions to areas stressed by seven key infrastructure needs: shelter; water; power; integrated combustion and solar cooking; cooling, lighting and heating; sanitation; and information and communications technology.
Collectively, TIDES is building a repository of these products, as well as best practices and approaches that can support decision-makers, Wells said.
"The idea is to connect the people with solutions with people who have problems," he said.
Wells described TIDES as building toward a decentralized "starfish network," in which various people and groups can draw upon collective knowledge and apply it to their specific situations. The project is coordinated by NDU's Center for Technology and National Security Policy, but participants span all branches of business, government and private groups from around the world.
"The idea is to put together a broad coalition that can work with any one of the different communities," Wells said. "They can talk the civilian language, the military language, and talk to academia to get as broad as possible coalition and decentralize the management."
Wells, a former acting assistant secretary and Defense Department chief information officer, said he embraced the opportunity to address "cross-cutting issues" and find ways to achieve unity of action in situations where there is no unity of command. The department plays a critical role by extending the military's ability to interoperate with civilians during difficult situations, and by identifying economic, low-cost solutions and more sources of supplies, he said.
TIDES works with both foreign and domestic people, with or without military involvement, and for short- or long-term operations, Wells said. On the international front, TIDES participants are working in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, investigating how information and communications technology can be leveraged along with renewable energy to help remote Afghan villages. In Latin America, TIDES is working with U.S. Southern Command to support emergency first responders. The differences in those two projects underscores the need for participants with varied talents, he said.
"If the average stay in a refugee camp is more than seven years, which it is, that's a qualitatively different problem than the first 60 days after an earthquake," Wells said. "You need different skills sets, different people, and different sources of funds."
Wells was particularly excited about the ability to use Web 2.0 and other technologies to provide rapid solutions. Last week, TIDES participants combined maps and other images with mobile text messaging and Twitter feeds to create a near real-time situational awareness tool.
"Ten days from the time companies, [nongovernmental organizations], government and academia got together, there were workable versions of the code being used in Afghanistan," Wells said. "That's really exciting."
TIDES will hold its 3rd Annual Field Demonstration at the National Defense University campus at Fort McNair, Washington, D.C., Oct. 6 to 9.
(John Ohab works for the Defense Media Activity's Emerging Media directorate.)
Google Voice Answers Nation's Call
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - Google is tinkering with a new service that could transform the way troops on the frontlines communicate with their families on the homefront. Google Voice assigns users a single U.S. phone number that can ring at phones in multiple locations like the home, office or on a cellular device -- all at the same time. Coupled with a feature that stores and transcribes voicemail in e-mail form, Google Voice can relieve some of the technical hassles that come with staying connected.
"Google Voice can help keep people connected, can help servicemembers worry less about missing a call or not getting in touch with people they need to, and focus more on getting the mission done," said Army Sgt. Dale Sweetnam, who the U.S. Army is loaning to Google for a year to help the company coordinate its military outreach efforts.
Sweetnam, who spent 13 months deployed in Iraq with Task Force 49, provides Google a window into servicemembers' experiences downrange where keeping contact with family and friends back home competes with the demands of daily military objectives.
"With the operation tempo of the military and the intense nature of accomplishing a mission, to make communication just one less thing you have to worry about is a great tool," he said in an interview.
As Google puts the final touches on Google Voice, the service is available in limited capacity and only by requesting an invitation from the company. But given its recognition that military deployments are often fraught with communication lags, Google is giving priority invites to active members of the military.
Earlier this month, the company announced that troops with a .mil e-mail address can visit www.google.com/militaryinvite to sign up for a free Google Voice account.
While the service has real-world applicability for many people, Google Voice is an especially useful tool for servicemembers, both deployed and at home.
"It is often hard or near impossible to receive calls when deployed abroad, due to limited access to phones and time zone differences," Sweetnam said in an e-mail. "With Google Voice, you can listen to and read voicemail online, so you can hear messages from family members more often and keep up with what is going on back home."
Having one, unchanging phone number could also be a welcome constant in a military career filled with frequent moves. Keeping a single phone number that travels with servicemembers amid permanent changes of station means no more need for new numbers or missed calls to old numbers along the way.
An additional kicker is that because Google Voice is free, phone calls between friends and family who live overseas or in another state won't cost a small fortune.
"Military servicemembers often don't live in the same states and countries as their friends and family or other buddies they met in the military," Sweetnam said. "Google Voice helps save money by offering free calls in the continental U.S. and low-priced international calls."
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - Google is tinkering with a new service that could transform the way troops on the frontlines communicate with their families on the homefront. Google Voice assigns users a single U.S. phone number that can ring at phones in multiple locations like the home, office or on a cellular device -- all at the same time. Coupled with a feature that stores and transcribes voicemail in e-mail form, Google Voice can relieve some of the technical hassles that come with staying connected.
"Google Voice can help keep people connected, can help servicemembers worry less about missing a call or not getting in touch with people they need to, and focus more on getting the mission done," said Army Sgt. Dale Sweetnam, who the U.S. Army is loaning to Google for a year to help the company coordinate its military outreach efforts.
Sweetnam, who spent 13 months deployed in Iraq with Task Force 49, provides Google a window into servicemembers' experiences downrange where keeping contact with family and friends back home competes with the demands of daily military objectives.
"With the operation tempo of the military and the intense nature of accomplishing a mission, to make communication just one less thing you have to worry about is a great tool," he said in an interview.
As Google puts the final touches on Google Voice, the service is available in limited capacity and only by requesting an invitation from the company. But given its recognition that military deployments are often fraught with communication lags, Google is giving priority invites to active members of the military.
Earlier this month, the company announced that troops with a .mil e-mail address can visit www.google.com/militaryinvite to sign up for a free Google Voice account.
While the service has real-world applicability for many people, Google Voice is an especially useful tool for servicemembers, both deployed and at home.
"It is often hard or near impossible to receive calls when deployed abroad, due to limited access to phones and time zone differences," Sweetnam said in an e-mail. "With Google Voice, you can listen to and read voicemail online, so you can hear messages from family members more often and keep up with what is going on back home."
Having one, unchanging phone number could also be a welcome constant in a military career filled with frequent moves. Keeping a single phone number that travels with servicemembers amid permanent changes of station means no more need for new numbers or missed calls to old numbers along the way.
An additional kicker is that because Google Voice is free, phone calls between friends and family who live overseas or in another state won't cost a small fortune.
"Military servicemembers often don't live in the same states and countries as their friends and family or other buddies they met in the military," Sweetnam said. "Google Voice helps save money by offering free calls in the continental U.S. and low-priced international calls."
National Guard Adds Liberia to Partnership Program
By Army Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum
Special to American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - The National Guard will add Liberia to its State Partnership Program this year, bringing to eight the number of African nations taking part in the program. The addition fulfills a request Liberia, a West African nation, made to the U.S. State Department. Guard officials say the partnership program helps the overall strategy of U.S. Africa Command, which stood up last year. Kenya is expected to join the program next year.
Liberia's request for a partnership was vetted through many channels. A proposal was submitted to the U.S. Embassy, which then passed it on to Africom. They sent the request to the National Guard Bureau's international affairs division where it ended up on the desk of Army Maj. Matthew Dankyan, the Africa desk officer for the partnership program.
Dankyan, who is originally from the Liberian state of Bong, then met with officials to discuss the program. "When they requested the partnership, we went [to Liberia] to explain what it's all about," he said. "From what I had observed, they had done their homework on the partnership before they even requested it."
Dankyan evaluated their military exercises to ensure a standard level of proficiency. After finding them ready, he started the process of matching them with a state that meets their needs.
These needs can be very specific. Some countries are recovering from war and request states with high engineering quotients to help rebuild essential structures. Some need help in planning for natural and manmade disasters, and still others want experience in farming.
"It depends on the needs of the country," Dankyan said. "If a country wants Air Force activities for example, that would be No. 1 on our decision metric."
For Liberia, a coastal state, the ideal partner would have expertise in ports and agriculture, he said. Dankyan said he has yet to choose a state partner because so many have volunteered to work with Liberia.
Liberia is just the beginning of a new cultural exchange with Africa, Dankyan said. Many more countries in Africa are queuing up for the knowledge and experience of the National Guard.
"Other countries in Africa are requesting to be partners, which I think is a good thing," he said. "Our presence will be recognized and appreciated in the countries that request us to be partners."
(Army Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum serves with the National Guard Bureau public affairs office)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Aug. 14, 2009 - The National Guard will add Liberia to its State Partnership Program this year, bringing to eight the number of African nations taking part in the program. The addition fulfills a request Liberia, a West African nation, made to the U.S. State Department. Guard officials say the partnership program helps the overall strategy of U.S. Africa Command, which stood up last year. Kenya is expected to join the program next year.
Liberia's request for a partnership was vetted through many channels. A proposal was submitted to the U.S. Embassy, which then passed it on to Africom. They sent the request to the National Guard Bureau's international affairs division where it ended up on the desk of Army Maj. Matthew Dankyan, the Africa desk officer for the partnership program.
Dankyan, who is originally from the Liberian state of Bong, then met with officials to discuss the program. "When they requested the partnership, we went [to Liberia] to explain what it's all about," he said. "From what I had observed, they had done their homework on the partnership before they even requested it."
Dankyan evaluated their military exercises to ensure a standard level of proficiency. After finding them ready, he started the process of matching them with a state that meets their needs.
These needs can be very specific. Some countries are recovering from war and request states with high engineering quotients to help rebuild essential structures. Some need help in planning for natural and manmade disasters, and still others want experience in farming.
"It depends on the needs of the country," Dankyan said. "If a country wants Air Force activities for example, that would be No. 1 on our decision metric."
For Liberia, a coastal state, the ideal partner would have expertise in ports and agriculture, he said. Dankyan said he has yet to choose a state partner because so many have volunteered to work with Liberia.
Liberia is just the beginning of a new cultural exchange with Africa, Dankyan said. Many more countries in Africa are queuing up for the knowledge and experience of the National Guard.
"Other countries in Africa are requesting to be partners, which I think is a good thing," he said. "Our presence will be recognized and appreciated in the countries that request us to be partners."
(Army Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum serves with the National Guard Bureau public affairs office)
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