By Jordan Reimer
American Forces Press Service
March 12, 2010 - The Defense Department will require a shift to a fixed-price contract in its negotiations with Lockheed Martin for the initial production phase of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter, a defense official said here today in a briefing at the Pentagon. The department also will conduct an internal analysis of what the full production cost should be to better negotiate with the contractor, said Ashton B. Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics.
Taken together, Carter said, these measures will reduce costs of a program that has met with significant production delays and cost overruns since its inception in October 2001.
"It did not seem reasonable that the taxpayer should bear the entire cost of this failure of the program to meet expectations," Carter said.
The joint strike fighter-- the most expensive acquisition in U.S. military history -- will replace a wide range of aging fighter and strike aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and eight international partners. The F-35 is the "the heart of the future of our tactical combat aviation," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in a visit to a Lockheed factory in August. "The importance of this aircraft cannot be overstated."
The U.S. military ordered a total of 2,443 jets, with an additional 730 purchased by the eight other countries. Initially projected to cost around $50 million per aircraft, the current estimate is about $80 million to $95 million each, in inflation-adjusted dollars.
These two new initiatives come on top of Gates' announcement last month that he was withholding $614 million in performance fees from the contractor due to the program's setbacks.
With today's announcements, the department is moving away from a cost-plus arrangement, which reimburses companies for their expenses in addition to providing an extra payment to guarantee them a profit. Instead, in switching to a fixed-price structure, the department and the contractor will set the price beforehand, and the final payment will not depend on the total amount of time or resources expended to complete the project.
"[The secretary] directed that in order to ensure discipline in the transition from development to production," Carter said.
The director of defense procurement and acquisition policy will conduct the "should-cost" analysis for the final production rollout of the F-35 aircraft. Carter stressed that it's important for the department to have its own estimate of what the program's cost should be to better determine a negotiated price, rather than relying solely on the contractor's figures.
"We will be looking at the cost structure of [the joint strike fighter] in all its aspects assembly, parts supplies, staffing, overheads and indirect costs, cash flows, contract structures, fees, and lifecycle costs," Carter said in a prepared statement before the Senate Armed Services committee yesterday.
Taking immediate steps to save costs is particularly necessary, not only to benefit the taxpayer, but also because the program is in jeopardy of crossing the Nunn-McCurdy threshold, a law that requires that Congress be notified of a cost growth of more than 15 percent in a program. Nunn-McCurdy also calls for cancellation of programs for which total cost grew by more than 25 percent over the original estimate.
Rather than wait for the program to cross the Nunn-McCurdy line, the defense officials began to review and restructure it as though it was already in Nunn-McCurdy breach, Carter explained.
Carter said he understands that these new initiatives will not be easy for Lockheed and its subcontractors to accommodate, but he underscored that these decisions are crucial to moving the program forward in a way that is acceptable to the military and the American public.
"The emphasis must be on restoring a key aspect of this airplane when the JSF program was first launched: affordability," he told Congress.
Friday, March 12, 2010
MILITARY CONTRACTS March 12, 2010
NAVY
LPI Technical Services*, Chesapeake, Va., is being awarded a $84,140,685 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to furnish repair, maintenance, modernization, logistical, and technical support services for material handling equipment (yellow gear) and hull, mechanical, and electric machinery and systems in order to ensure continued ship operation and performance. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va. (25 percent); Chesapeake, Va. (15 percent); Mayport, Fla. (15 percent); Bremerton, Wash. (10 percent); San Diego (5 percent); Philadelphia (5 percent); Ingleside, Texas (5 percent); Naples, Italy (5 percent); Earle, N.J. (5 percent); Pascagoula, Miss. (5 percent); and Virginia Beach, Va. (5 percent). Work is expected to be completed by March 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities Web site, with one offer received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, Ship System Engineering Station, Philadelphia, is the contracting activity (N65540-10-D-0010).
KOR Electronics*, Cypress, Calif., is being awarded a $44,444,241 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity time-and-material contract for the procurement of up to 200 production miniaturized I/J band digital radio frequency modulators (DRFM) for the Navy and Air Force. DRFMs are installed in systems that are used to evaluate U.S. weapons systems and train fleet operators. In addition, this contract provides for one lot of engineering, technical, and repair services in support of the Navy/Air Force Airborne Threat Simulation Organization. Work will be performed in Cypress, Calif., and is expected to be completed in March 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals as a 100 percent small business set-aside; two offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity (N68936-10-D-0022).
BAE Systems Land & Armaments, LP, Ground Systems Division, York, Pa., is being awarded a $44,116,706 modification to previously awarded delivery order #0011 under firm-fixed-priced contract (M67854-07-D-5025) for field service representatives and instructors to provide support, inside and outside the continental United States, for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. Work will be performed in York, Pa., and is expected to be completed by December 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $44,116,706 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
DDL Omni Engineering, McLean, Va. (N66604-10-D-003A), and General Dynamics Information Technology, Fairfax, Va. (N66604-10-D-003B), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity cost-plus-fixed fee multiple-award contract for engineering services in support of the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) program. The dollar value for both contracts combined is $16,139,998; DDL Omni Engineering is being awarded $8, 482,108 and General Dynamics is being awarded $7,657,890. Efforts will include planning; development of alteration plans and procedures; assembly; fabrication; installation; testing; refurbishment; and repair of ISR systems and equipment aboard Navy submarines. Work will be performed in Newport, R.I. (50 percent), and Pawcatuck, Conn. (50 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2015. Contract funds in the amount of $35,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured via Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site, with six offers received. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, R.I., is the contracting activity.
Marvin Engineering Co., Inc.*, Inglewood, Calif., is being awarded an $11,717,049 modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-08-D-0012) for the procurement of 377 LAU-7F/A missile launchers for the Navy. Work will be performed in Inglewood, Calif., and is expected to be completed in October 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
KITCO/kSARIA, LLC*, Virginia Beach, Va., is being awarded a $9,799,727 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for CVN-78's automated fiber optic manufacturing initiative (AFOMI). The AFOMI is intended to mature fiber optic cable termination technologies, specifically focusing on automation and miniaturization. This contract promotes CVN-78 carrier program's goal to establish a manufacturing line to produce products developed through this initiative. CVN-78's goal is to drive lifetime fiber optic component manufacturing and repair costs down by miniaturizing and automating as many processes as possible. Work will be performed in Lawrence, Mass. (90 percent), and Virginia Beach, Va. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2015. Contract funds in the amount of $1,471,982 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Naval Electronics Commerce Online and Federal Business Opportunities Web sites, with two offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Va., is the contracting activity (N00178-10-D-2003).
Marotta Controls, Inc.*, Montville, N.J., is being awarded a $6,210,698 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-06-D-0021) for the production of 377 pure air generating systems for integration into the LAU-7F/A missile launcher, for cooling of the AIM missile. Work will be performed in Montville, N.J., and is expected to be completed in October 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Petro Star*, Anchorage, Alaska, is being awarded a maximum $10,828,604 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other location of performance is in Anchorage, Alaska. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally four proposals solicited with four responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2014. The Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-0028).
Freeman Holdings of California, dba Million Air Victorville*, Topeka, Kan., is being awarded a maximum $9,548,338 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other location of performance is California. Using services are Army, Navy and Air Force. There were originally two proposals solicited with two responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2014. The Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-0032).
LPI Technical Services*, Chesapeake, Va., is being awarded a $84,140,685 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to furnish repair, maintenance, modernization, logistical, and technical support services for material handling equipment (yellow gear) and hull, mechanical, and electric machinery and systems in order to ensure continued ship operation and performance. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va. (25 percent); Chesapeake, Va. (15 percent); Mayport, Fla. (15 percent); Bremerton, Wash. (10 percent); San Diego (5 percent); Philadelphia (5 percent); Ingleside, Texas (5 percent); Naples, Italy (5 percent); Earle, N.J. (5 percent); Pascagoula, Miss. (5 percent); and Virginia Beach, Va. (5 percent). Work is expected to be completed by March 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities Web site, with one offer received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, Ship System Engineering Station, Philadelphia, is the contracting activity (N65540-10-D-0010).
KOR Electronics*, Cypress, Calif., is being awarded a $44,444,241 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity time-and-material contract for the procurement of up to 200 production miniaturized I/J band digital radio frequency modulators (DRFM) for the Navy and Air Force. DRFMs are installed in systems that are used to evaluate U.S. weapons systems and train fleet operators. In addition, this contract provides for one lot of engineering, technical, and repair services in support of the Navy/Air Force Airborne Threat Simulation Organization. Work will be performed in Cypress, Calif., and is expected to be completed in March 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals as a 100 percent small business set-aside; two offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity (N68936-10-D-0022).
BAE Systems Land & Armaments, LP, Ground Systems Division, York, Pa., is being awarded a $44,116,706 modification to previously awarded delivery order #0011 under firm-fixed-priced contract (M67854-07-D-5025) for field service representatives and instructors to provide support, inside and outside the continental United States, for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. Work will be performed in York, Pa., and is expected to be completed by December 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $44,116,706 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
DDL Omni Engineering, McLean, Va. (N66604-10-D-003A), and General Dynamics Information Technology, Fairfax, Va. (N66604-10-D-003B), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity cost-plus-fixed fee multiple-award contract for engineering services in support of the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) program. The dollar value for both contracts combined is $16,139,998; DDL Omni Engineering is being awarded $8, 482,108 and General Dynamics is being awarded $7,657,890. Efforts will include planning; development of alteration plans and procedures; assembly; fabrication; installation; testing; refurbishment; and repair of ISR systems and equipment aboard Navy submarines. Work will be performed in Newport, R.I. (50 percent), and Pawcatuck, Conn. (50 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2015. Contract funds in the amount of $35,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured via Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site, with six offers received. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, R.I., is the contracting activity.
Marvin Engineering Co., Inc.*, Inglewood, Calif., is being awarded an $11,717,049 modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-08-D-0012) for the procurement of 377 LAU-7F/A missile launchers for the Navy. Work will be performed in Inglewood, Calif., and is expected to be completed in October 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
KITCO/kSARIA, LLC*, Virginia Beach, Va., is being awarded a $9,799,727 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for CVN-78's automated fiber optic manufacturing initiative (AFOMI). The AFOMI is intended to mature fiber optic cable termination technologies, specifically focusing on automation and miniaturization. This contract promotes CVN-78 carrier program's goal to establish a manufacturing line to produce products developed through this initiative. CVN-78's goal is to drive lifetime fiber optic component manufacturing and repair costs down by miniaturizing and automating as many processes as possible. Work will be performed in Lawrence, Mass. (90 percent), and Virginia Beach, Va. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2015. Contract funds in the amount of $1,471,982 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Naval Electronics Commerce Online and Federal Business Opportunities Web sites, with two offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Va., is the contracting activity (N00178-10-D-2003).
Marotta Controls, Inc.*, Montville, N.J., is being awarded a $6,210,698 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-06-D-0021) for the production of 377 pure air generating systems for integration into the LAU-7F/A missile launcher, for cooling of the AIM missile. Work will be performed in Montville, N.J., and is expected to be completed in October 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Petro Star*, Anchorage, Alaska, is being awarded a maximum $10,828,604 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other location of performance is in Anchorage, Alaska. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally four proposals solicited with four responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2014. The Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-0028).
Freeman Holdings of California, dba Million Air Victorville*, Topeka, Kan., is being awarded a maximum $9,548,338 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. Other location of performance is California. Using services are Army, Navy and Air Force. There were originally two proposals solicited with two responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2014. The Defense Energy Support Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-10-D-0032).
Length of Wars Challenges Nation, Lynn Says
By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service
March 12, 2010 - The duration of today's conflicts poses a greater challenge to the nation and its military than the magnitude of the wars, the deputy defense secretary told an audience of American high school students here today. "The most stressing part of the fight has been the length of it, the duration, the constant need to send forces back three, four, five, six, seven times," William J. Lynn III said. "That's very tough on families."
Lynn outlined some of the greatest threats and challenges facing the nation today for 104 student leaders who stopped by the Pentagon to gain knowledge about the inner workings of national defense and its history.
Their visit was the culminating event of the U.S. Senate Youth Program's "Washington Week," an educational experience for high school students interested in pursuing careers in public service.
The students, Lynn noted, are growing up in a time of war; all were in elementary school when 9/11 occurred.
"For most of your conscious lives, ... we've been at war," he said. "We've been in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq for as long as we were in World War I and II combined."
As a result, many units have been heavily tasked, with just one year at home before they are asked to return to the fight, Lynn said. "That's just been a huge challenge," and one that, in part, has accelerated increases in Army and Marine Corps forces, he added.
"We have to be able to rotate forces in ways that are less stressful on the troops themselves and their families," he noted.
Lynn also touched on the asymmetric threats facing the nation.
"The U.S. has become so strong in conventional measures that most adversaries will not and have not chosen to challenge us on those measures," he said, noting that adversaries instead turn to asymmetric measures, such as improvised explosive devices.
The military counters these threats with new technology, such as the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, Lynn said, as well as through changes in tactics and the use of intelligence to "anticipate where they're going to be [and] ferret out the makers of these IEDs."
Computers can be the avenue for another, also challenging, asymmetric threat, the deputy secretary noted.
"It doesn't take a lot of resources to develop a pretty effective cyber attack, but it takes a lot of resources to defend against them, so it's a difficult challenge," he said.
At the same time, the Internet also can be a valuable tool, Lynn said. He highlighted the department's new social media policy, which takes the benefits of social networking sites into account. The previous policy was inconsistent, he told the students, blocking some social networking sites and allowing people to visit others.
He acknowledged that social networking sites can be a source of threats, but said blocking access isn't the answer. "Our approach has been not to block the sites but to improve defenses," he said.
"We need to be utilizing this new tool of social network sites in terms of recruiting, in terms of disseminating messages, in terms of having families communicate with each other on the long deployments," he explained. "We try to have a balanced policy, which is open in terms of access, but strong in terms of the defenses that we have."
Lynn concluded by encouraging the students to consider a career in public service, whether it's in uniform or as a civilian. "I think you will find both can be very rewarding," he said.
Along with Lynn, the delegates also met with Douglas B. Wilson, assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, and Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Loree K. Sutton, director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. The students then embarked on a Pentagon tour.
Earlier in the week, the delegates spent time at the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court and the White House, speaking with senators, cabinet members and officials from the departments of State and Defense. They also had the opportunity to speak with President Barack Obama and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
The students were selected from a pool of thousands of applicants and represent all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity.
The U.S. Senate program, which began in 1962, offers students an opportunity to gain an in-depth view of the government as well as a deeper understanding of the three branches of the American government, according to the program's Web site. Public and private high schools nominate students each fall, and to qualify, students must hold student body office or another elected or appointed position in their communities and show academic interest and aptitude in government, history and politics.
American Forces Press Service
March 12, 2010 - The duration of today's conflicts poses a greater challenge to the nation and its military than the magnitude of the wars, the deputy defense secretary told an audience of American high school students here today. "The most stressing part of the fight has been the length of it, the duration, the constant need to send forces back three, four, five, six, seven times," William J. Lynn III said. "That's very tough on families."
Lynn outlined some of the greatest threats and challenges facing the nation today for 104 student leaders who stopped by the Pentagon to gain knowledge about the inner workings of national defense and its history.
Their visit was the culminating event of the U.S. Senate Youth Program's "Washington Week," an educational experience for high school students interested in pursuing careers in public service.
The students, Lynn noted, are growing up in a time of war; all were in elementary school when 9/11 occurred.
"For most of your conscious lives, ... we've been at war," he said. "We've been in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq for as long as we were in World War I and II combined."
As a result, many units have been heavily tasked, with just one year at home before they are asked to return to the fight, Lynn said. "That's just been a huge challenge," and one that, in part, has accelerated increases in Army and Marine Corps forces, he added.
"We have to be able to rotate forces in ways that are less stressful on the troops themselves and their families," he noted.
Lynn also touched on the asymmetric threats facing the nation.
"The U.S. has become so strong in conventional measures that most adversaries will not and have not chosen to challenge us on those measures," he said, noting that adversaries instead turn to asymmetric measures, such as improvised explosive devices.
The military counters these threats with new technology, such as the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, Lynn said, as well as through changes in tactics and the use of intelligence to "anticipate where they're going to be [and] ferret out the makers of these IEDs."
Computers can be the avenue for another, also challenging, asymmetric threat, the deputy secretary noted.
"It doesn't take a lot of resources to develop a pretty effective cyber attack, but it takes a lot of resources to defend against them, so it's a difficult challenge," he said.
At the same time, the Internet also can be a valuable tool, Lynn said. He highlighted the department's new social media policy, which takes the benefits of social networking sites into account. The previous policy was inconsistent, he told the students, blocking some social networking sites and allowing people to visit others.
He acknowledged that social networking sites can be a source of threats, but said blocking access isn't the answer. "Our approach has been not to block the sites but to improve defenses," he said.
"We need to be utilizing this new tool of social network sites in terms of recruiting, in terms of disseminating messages, in terms of having families communicate with each other on the long deployments," he explained. "We try to have a balanced policy, which is open in terms of access, but strong in terms of the defenses that we have."
Lynn concluded by encouraging the students to consider a career in public service, whether it's in uniform or as a civilian. "I think you will find both can be very rewarding," he said.
Along with Lynn, the delegates also met with Douglas B. Wilson, assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, and Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Loree K. Sutton, director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. The students then embarked on a Pentagon tour.
Earlier in the week, the delegates spent time at the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court and the White House, speaking with senators, cabinet members and officials from the departments of State and Defense. They also had the opportunity to speak with President Barack Obama and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
The students were selected from a pool of thousands of applicants and represent all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity.
The U.S. Senate program, which began in 1962, offers students an opportunity to gain an in-depth view of the government as well as a deeper understanding of the three branches of the American government, according to the program's Web site. Public and private high schools nominate students each fall, and to qualify, students must hold student body office or another elected or appointed position in their communities and show academic interest and aptitude in government, history and politics.
Wounded Warriors, Veterans Find Therapy on Ski Slopes
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
March 12, 2010 - Matthew Bilancia addresses the slopes like a man on a mission, cutting and edging his snowboard down the mountain with the confidence and passion of someone who's been doing it all his life. But beneath the thick pants and poised facade, the former Air Force senior airman bears the source of his determination: a scar on his right knee that reminds him of all the doctors and physicians who once told him, "Walking would be difficult. Forget about sports and athletics."
Bilancia was one of four wounded warriors and disabled veterans to participate yesterday in what is expected to be one of the few remaining days of the winter sports season at Whitetail Resort here. He and the others came together with the USO of Metropolitan Washington and the Two Top Mountain Adaptive Sports Foundation to prove to themselves that rehabilitation is more than pain killers and doctor recommendations.
"I've been using snowboarding and hand cycling and weight lifting to manage my pain for the past three years," Bilancia, a New Jersey native, said. "I think by using different sports and athletics, it keeps you from being depressed. It manages my depression and post-traumatic stress. It's great to able to use those things instead of the medication."
Bilancia shattered his knee in July 2002 when the motorcycle he was driving was rear-ended by a car. He was stationed with the Air Force in Tucson, Ariz. Every ligament in his knee was damaged, and his entire leg eventually became septic. Doctors began working to save his leg and were successful, but the results were troubling, to say the least, he said.
"I didn't think I'd ever be able to snowboard, and the doctors told me I'd basically have a hard time walking, [and] that I'd never be able to run or jog," Bilancia said, referring to a post-surgery doctor's consultation he received in 2008. "They said participating in athletics would be extremely difficult, if not near impossible."
Bilancia still takes some medications, but in smaller doses. He also spends less time at the doctor's office now than in previous years. And through adaptive sports, he's cut his annual pain medication intake by more than half, he said, adding that he hopes to start his own nonprofit organization one day to teach others to do the same.
"I want to teach people how to use athletics to manage their pain by endorphin release and flow of adrenaline in their bodies, as opposed to narcotics," he explained. "My goal is to help individuals understand they don't need to rely on the medicines. They don't have to listen to all the negativity from doctors, saying they'll never do this or they'll never do that again. It's just a matter of mind over matter."
Bill Dietrich, executive director and founder of Two Top Mountain Adaptive Sports Foundation, echoed Bilancia's philosophy and said he is humbled by the opportunity to work with wounded military veterans and individuals with disabilities.
"It's an incredible therapy for these guys, and it's wonderful to see the enthusiasm they get from being out here," said Dietrich, who's been a certified ski instructor here since 1990. "Working with the wounded warriors I've had a chance to get to know this winter, all of them bring an incredible amount of determination and will power and desire to learn. I'm even looking forward to some of them become instructors themselves."
Dietrich noted retired Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian Isenhour, who suffers severe brain damage from an automobile accident in 2004, for the impact snowboarding has had on his rehabilitation. Isenhour is a perfect example of how a traumatic event can be overcome through adaptive sports therapy, Dietrich said.
"The first time Brian came out, he could barely walk without assistance," he said. "He really had me scratching my head about what he was going to be able to accomplish. But seven or eight trips later, he's snowboarding, and his friends tell me that he's happier and more optimistic than they've seen him in a long time.
"It gives me a lot of satisfaction and pride to be involved in helping people cope with life-changing circumstances, and it's extremely rewarding to see some like Brian progress and enjoy life again," Dietrich continued.
Army Spc. Les Timms, who's currently assigned to a wounded warrior transition unit at Fort Belvoir, Va., views USO and the Two Top adaptive sports programs a little differently. He said he believes that all servicemembers, especially those who've deployed to combat, should take advantage of outings such as this, which are offered through the USO and installation morale, welfare and recreation offices.
The Virginia Army National Guardsman described "protecting America and our homeland" as a stressful job, regardless of being injured or not. Anyone who's ever served understands the heavy burdens of preserving freedom, he said.
"Skiing helps me rehabilitate mentally just as much as it helps me physically," said Timms, who injured his left shoulder in a vehicle rollover accident in Afghanistan in June. "These programs do help out to get your mind off things, and I'd recommend this to all soldiers, whether they're hurt or not. It helps to clear your mind, and it's just a peaceful scenario where you're just having fun."
The USO of Metropolitan Washington provides outreach and services to veterans and their families in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. The nonprofit organization often teams up with others, such as Two Top Mountain Adaptive Sports Foundation, to connect veterans and their families with services and opportunities to improve their morale and well being and to show support for their service to the nation.
Guard Vital to Northcom, Commander Says
By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 12, 2010 - The National Guard is critical to U.S. Northern Command's mission, Northcom's commander told a congressional committee yesterday.
"National Guard and Reserve forces are critical to [Northcom's] ability to carry out our assigned homeland defense and civil support missions," Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. said in his 2010 posture statement presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee. He also commands North American Aerospace Defense Command.
"We recognize the National Guard as a fundamental partner in the Total Force and essential to the security and defense of our nation," Renuart said. "The Air National Guard provides the bulk of NORAD's operational force for air sovereignty alert missions and is developing additional capabilities in support of domestic requirements.
The Army National Guard, Renuart noted, provides "all of the manning at our ground-based interceptor sites in support of missile defense requirements.
Additionally, he said, the Army National Guard provides the bulk of personnel for ground-based defense capabilities protecting the national capital region.
Stood up in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Northcom is – in Renuart's words – "inextricably linked" with NORAD at their shared Colorado Springs, Colo., headquarters.
Northcom is responsible for homeland defense, sustaining continuous situational awareness and readiness to protect the homeland against a range of symmetric and asymmetric threats in all domains. Its area of responsibility includes the continental United States, Alaska, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, French territory off the Canadian coast and three British overseas territories.
"We are focused on deterring, preventing and defeating attacks against the United States," Renuart said. "We also stand ready to support primary agencies ... in responding quickly to natural or manmade disasters."
Northcom's missions are intertwined with National Guard missions. The command has personnel from every branch of the armed forces and many civilian agencies assigned to Colorado Springs. The command has the largest concentration of Title 10 National Guard officers in a joint organization outside the National Guard Bureau, and its most recent deputy commander has been Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, who was the chief of the National Guard Bureau until late 2007.
"Our ongoing partnerships with the National Guard have increased our ability to coordinate and integrate joint and interagency operations," Renuart said. "I am pleased to report our collaboration ... has never been better, and the experience gained by Guard members serving throughout [Northcom] ensures we have a strong foundation for enhancing this relationship."
Among missions with heavy Guard involvement is Operation Noble Eagle, a post-9/11 initiative to protect U.S. and Canadian airspace that has seen Air National Guard members and reservists fly more than 80 percent of its more than 55,000 missions.
Other examples include National Guard contributions to the command's chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives consequence-management response forces; joint exercises; Guard contributions to the joint Haiti response; and the Guard's role in contributing to the team effort to improve the interoperability of communications between the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security and numerous state and local partner agencies.
Other Northcom missions also have a National Guard nexus, including cyber security, H1N1 flu operations and inland search and rescue.
In November, Northcom used the National Guard's Muscatatuck facility in Indiana for a field training exercise that simulated an improvised nuclear device detonation. In January, the command teamed with the National Guard Bureau for a hurricane planning workshop in Tampa, Fla., where hundreds of representatives from 30 states joined senior homeland security and Federal Emergency Management Agency leaders to plan emergency preparedness.
"Next year, we plan to expand the scope of the planning conference to include all hazards," Renuart reported to Congress.
The hurricane workshop was the latest in a series of collaborative efforts. Renuart has met individually with 37 of the adjutants general and addressed all commanding general collectively.
"Working with our mission partners is essential to ensuring the American people receive assistance during times of need," Renuart said. "Our nation's governors take very seriously their role as commanders in chief of their states, and we respect that authority. Our job is to support our nation's governors in responding to emergency situations and threats to their states."
(Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill serves at the National Guard Bureau.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 12, 2010 - The National Guard is critical to U.S. Northern Command's mission, Northcom's commander told a congressional committee yesterday.
"National Guard and Reserve forces are critical to [Northcom's] ability to carry out our assigned homeland defense and civil support missions," Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. said in his 2010 posture statement presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee. He also commands North American Aerospace Defense Command.
"We recognize the National Guard as a fundamental partner in the Total Force and essential to the security and defense of our nation," Renuart said. "The Air National Guard provides the bulk of NORAD's operational force for air sovereignty alert missions and is developing additional capabilities in support of domestic requirements.
The Army National Guard, Renuart noted, provides "all of the manning at our ground-based interceptor sites in support of missile defense requirements.
Additionally, he said, the Army National Guard provides the bulk of personnel for ground-based defense capabilities protecting the national capital region.
Stood up in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Northcom is – in Renuart's words – "inextricably linked" with NORAD at their shared Colorado Springs, Colo., headquarters.
Northcom is responsible for homeland defense, sustaining continuous situational awareness and readiness to protect the homeland against a range of symmetric and asymmetric threats in all domains. Its area of responsibility includes the continental United States, Alaska, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, French territory off the Canadian coast and three British overseas territories.
"We are focused on deterring, preventing and defeating attacks against the United States," Renuart said. "We also stand ready to support primary agencies ... in responding quickly to natural or manmade disasters."
Northcom's missions are intertwined with National Guard missions. The command has personnel from every branch of the armed forces and many civilian agencies assigned to Colorado Springs. The command has the largest concentration of Title 10 National Guard officers in a joint organization outside the National Guard Bureau, and its most recent deputy commander has been Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, who was the chief of the National Guard Bureau until late 2007.
"Our ongoing partnerships with the National Guard have increased our ability to coordinate and integrate joint and interagency operations," Renuart said. "I am pleased to report our collaboration ... has never been better, and the experience gained by Guard members serving throughout [Northcom] ensures we have a strong foundation for enhancing this relationship."
Among missions with heavy Guard involvement is Operation Noble Eagle, a post-9/11 initiative to protect U.S. and Canadian airspace that has seen Air National Guard members and reservists fly more than 80 percent of its more than 55,000 missions.
Other examples include National Guard contributions to the command's chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives consequence-management response forces; joint exercises; Guard contributions to the joint Haiti response; and the Guard's role in contributing to the team effort to improve the interoperability of communications between the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security and numerous state and local partner agencies.
Other Northcom missions also have a National Guard nexus, including cyber security, H1N1 flu operations and inland search and rescue.
In November, Northcom used the National Guard's Muscatatuck facility in Indiana for a field training exercise that simulated an improvised nuclear device detonation. In January, the command teamed with the National Guard Bureau for a hurricane planning workshop in Tampa, Fla., where hundreds of representatives from 30 states joined senior homeland security and Federal Emergency Management Agency leaders to plan emergency preparedness.
"Next year, we plan to expand the scope of the planning conference to include all hazards," Renuart reported to Congress.
The hurricane workshop was the latest in a series of collaborative efforts. Renuart has met individually with 37 of the adjutants general and addressed all commanding general collectively.
"Working with our mission partners is essential to ensuring the American people receive assistance during times of need," Renuart said. "Our nation's governors take very seriously their role as commanders in chief of their states, and we respect that authority. Our job is to support our nation's governors in responding to emergency situations and threats to their states."
(Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill serves at the National Guard Bureau.)
The Army's Approach to Brain Injury Awareness
Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, U.S. Army Surgeon General
March 12, 2010 - March is Brain Injury Awareness Month across the land, but many in the Army -- line and medical leaders, Army trainers at our Combined Training Centers (National Training Center in Ft. Irwin, Calif., and Joint Readiness Training Center in Ft. Polk, La.), first line medics, and our deploying combat arms soldiers -- have already been receiving a unique education and training on traumatic brain injury (TBI) delivered personally by the vice chief of staff himself, Gen. Peter Chiarelli. Senior Army leaders -- especially my colleagues and superiors who are not medical professionals -- recognize that TBI is a serious concern; we have dedicated substantial effort and resources to prevent, diagnose, treat and better understand promising treatments for mild, moderate, and severe TBI.
The more severe forms of head and brain injury are not subtle: They involve a major skull or facial fracture or a penetrating wound such as might occur in a sniper attack, major explosion or severe motor vehicle accidents. Victims are often rendered comatose and their wounds are obvious. The recognition of the wound is prompt and treatment is swift. Far more common, however, and receiving renewed and focused attention by the VCSA and all leaders are mild TBI or what we all call "concussions." Concussion and mild TBI are one in the same; we prefer "concussion."
While the incidence of new cases of moderate and severe TBIs is not growing, that of concussions is. Some of this increase may be because we are more apt to recognize and treat it. This is a good thing since the vast majority of concussions will heal without long-term lingering problems such as problems with memory, word-finding and other speech and language problems, headaches and such. I myself suffered a concussion on a rugby pitch 20 years ago in a collision with another player which broke my cheekbone and knocked me out for 20 minutes, leaving me with no memory of the entire game ("retrograde amnesia") and the hours before it. I rested for a number of days and recovered uneventfully.
But some of the increase undoubtedly derives from just the opposite: the rising number of soldiers and their fellow Warriors who are subjected to multiple sequential concussions. These are not promptly diagnosed and are not treated appropriately at the time of the incident -- IED blast, motor vehicle accident, sports injury or other event. The consequence of these repeated injuries during the period in which the brain is recovering may result in far more serious long-term effects.
It is this new effort to more promptly identify concussed warriors as close to the event which results in the injury which is the centerpiece of the new "Educate-Train-Treat-Track" program being led by the VCSA. In my next blog, I'll share with you who is receiving the first round of education and training and how this is intended to reduce the effects on concussion on the battlefield and back in home station.
March 12, 2010 - March is Brain Injury Awareness Month across the land, but many in the Army -- line and medical leaders, Army trainers at our Combined Training Centers (National Training Center in Ft. Irwin, Calif., and Joint Readiness Training Center in Ft. Polk, La.), first line medics, and our deploying combat arms soldiers -- have already been receiving a unique education and training on traumatic brain injury (TBI) delivered personally by the vice chief of staff himself, Gen. Peter Chiarelli. Senior Army leaders -- especially my colleagues and superiors who are not medical professionals -- recognize that TBI is a serious concern; we have dedicated substantial effort and resources to prevent, diagnose, treat and better understand promising treatments for mild, moderate, and severe TBI.
The more severe forms of head and brain injury are not subtle: They involve a major skull or facial fracture or a penetrating wound such as might occur in a sniper attack, major explosion or severe motor vehicle accidents. Victims are often rendered comatose and their wounds are obvious. The recognition of the wound is prompt and treatment is swift. Far more common, however, and receiving renewed and focused attention by the VCSA and all leaders are mild TBI or what we all call "concussions." Concussion and mild TBI are one in the same; we prefer "concussion."
While the incidence of new cases of moderate and severe TBIs is not growing, that of concussions is. Some of this increase may be because we are more apt to recognize and treat it. This is a good thing since the vast majority of concussions will heal without long-term lingering problems such as problems with memory, word-finding and other speech and language problems, headaches and such. I myself suffered a concussion on a rugby pitch 20 years ago in a collision with another player which broke my cheekbone and knocked me out for 20 minutes, leaving me with no memory of the entire game ("retrograde amnesia") and the hours before it. I rested for a number of days and recovered uneventfully.
But some of the increase undoubtedly derives from just the opposite: the rising number of soldiers and their fellow Warriors who are subjected to multiple sequential concussions. These are not promptly diagnosed and are not treated appropriately at the time of the incident -- IED blast, motor vehicle accident, sports injury or other event. The consequence of these repeated injuries during the period in which the brain is recovering may result in far more serious long-term effects.
It is this new effort to more promptly identify concussed warriors as close to the event which results in the injury which is the centerpiece of the new "Educate-Train-Treat-Track" program being led by the VCSA. In my next blog, I'll share with you who is receiving the first round of education and training and how this is intended to reduce the effects on concussion on the battlefield and back in home station.
Air Force Association Taps USAA for Financial Services
USAA named preferred provider for banking and financial products
SAN ANTONIO – More than 121,000 Air Force Association members now can take advantage of a comprehensive suite of financial services from one of the nation’s highest rated* financial services providers, thanks to an agreement just signed with USAA.
USAA, a leading financial services provider for the military community, now is the preferred provider for checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit and investment products – all delivered with USAA’s award-winning customer service.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome USAA as a benefit partner,” said AFA President and CEO Mike Dunn. “This relationship will enhance our banking and investment products in the years ahead with a company that has been a safe harbor for millions of military members and their families during a tough economic time. One thing's certain – USAA has an 88-year-record of financial strength and support for those in uniform and we’re glad to be on the same team.”
For USAA, the agreement is a natural evolution of its ongoing efforts to help facilitate the financial security of members of the U.S. military and their families.
“The Air Force Association and USAA share a common goal – taking care of those who serve this great nation and their families,” said retired Chief Master Sgt. Eric Benken, USAA Air Force programs manager and the 12th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. “Both organizations understand the complexities of military service and recognize the courage and sacrifice of those who wear the uniform.”
Benken, a life member of AFA, believes that together, AFA and USAA “will continue to provide members a legacy of tremendous value and customer service.”
The agreement with USAA fills the gap left when AFA’s former provider, Waterfield Bank of Germantown, Md., was closed March 5 by the Office of Thrift Supervision. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has been appointed as receiver and AFA is recommending its members utilize USAA for deposit accounts effective immediately.
Those who want to learn more about USAA can call (800) 531-8722 or visit usaa.com. To learn more about AFA membership, call (800) 727-3337or visit www.afa.org.
About AFA
The Air Force Association (AFA) is an independent, nonprofit, civilian education organization promoting public understanding of aerospace power and the pivotal role it plays in the security of the nation. AFA publishes Air Force Magazine, conducts national symposia and disseminates information through outreach programs. It sponsors professional development seminars and recognizes excellence in the education and aerospace fields through national awards programs. AFA presents scholarships and grants to Air Force active duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve members and their dependents; and awards educator grants to promote science and math education at the elementary and secondary school level. Additionally, AFA publishes a wide range of materials on www.afa.org.
About USAA
USAA provides insurance, banking, investment and retirement products and services to 7.4 million members of the U.S. military and their families. Known for its legendary commitment to its members, USAA is consistently recognized for outstanding service, employee well-being and financial strength. USAA membership is open to all who are serving or have honorably served our nation in the U.S. military – and their families. For more information about USAA, or to learn more about membership, visit usaa.com.
* Ranked highest named bank on Forrester’s 2010 Customer Advocacy Ranking; Superior rating from IDC Financial Publishing; Office of Thrift Supervision Outstanding Community Reinvestment Act Rating; Highline Banking Data Services Top 25% of peer group. With $31.8 billion in deposits, as of June 30, 2009, USAA Federal Savings Bank is 23rd largest bank in the nation.
SAN ANTONIO – More than 121,000 Air Force Association members now can take advantage of a comprehensive suite of financial services from one of the nation’s highest rated* financial services providers, thanks to an agreement just signed with USAA.
USAA, a leading financial services provider for the military community, now is the preferred provider for checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit and investment products – all delivered with USAA’s award-winning customer service.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome USAA as a benefit partner,” said AFA President and CEO Mike Dunn. “This relationship will enhance our banking and investment products in the years ahead with a company that has been a safe harbor for millions of military members and their families during a tough economic time. One thing's certain – USAA has an 88-year-record of financial strength and support for those in uniform and we’re glad to be on the same team.”
For USAA, the agreement is a natural evolution of its ongoing efforts to help facilitate the financial security of members of the U.S. military and their families.
“The Air Force Association and USAA share a common goal – taking care of those who serve this great nation and their families,” said retired Chief Master Sgt. Eric Benken, USAA Air Force programs manager and the 12th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. “Both organizations understand the complexities of military service and recognize the courage and sacrifice of those who wear the uniform.”
Benken, a life member of AFA, believes that together, AFA and USAA “will continue to provide members a legacy of tremendous value and customer service.”
The agreement with USAA fills the gap left when AFA’s former provider, Waterfield Bank of Germantown, Md., was closed March 5 by the Office of Thrift Supervision. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has been appointed as receiver and AFA is recommending its members utilize USAA for deposit accounts effective immediately.
Those who want to learn more about USAA can call (800) 531-8722 or visit usaa.com. To learn more about AFA membership, call (800) 727-3337or visit www.afa.org.
About AFA
The Air Force Association (AFA) is an independent, nonprofit, civilian education organization promoting public understanding of aerospace power and the pivotal role it plays in the security of the nation. AFA publishes Air Force Magazine, conducts national symposia and disseminates information through outreach programs. It sponsors professional development seminars and recognizes excellence in the education and aerospace fields through national awards programs. AFA presents scholarships and grants to Air Force active duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve members and their dependents; and awards educator grants to promote science and math education at the elementary and secondary school level. Additionally, AFA publishes a wide range of materials on www.afa.org.
About USAA
USAA provides insurance, banking, investment and retirement products and services to 7.4 million members of the U.S. military and their families. Known for its legendary commitment to its members, USAA is consistently recognized for outstanding service, employee well-being and financial strength. USAA membership is open to all who are serving or have honorably served our nation in the U.S. military – and their families. For more information about USAA, or to learn more about membership, visit usaa.com.
* Ranked highest named bank on Forrester’s 2010 Customer Advocacy Ranking; Superior rating from IDC Financial Publishing; Office of Thrift Supervision Outstanding Community Reinvestment Act Rating; Highline Banking Data Services Top 25% of peer group. With $31.8 billion in deposits, as of June 30, 2009, USAA Federal Savings Bank is 23rd largest bank in the nation.
Comfort to Stop in Norfolk After Haiti Mission
American Forces Press Service
March 12, 2010 - The hospital ship USNS Comfort will arrive at Naval Station Norfolk tomorrow en route to its home port in Baltimore after completing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations off the coast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Comfort left Baltimore Jan. 16 and began supporting humanitarian relief efforts before anchoring off the coast of Port-au-Prince on Jan. 20.
During portions of the relief effort, more than 1,400 medical personnel from the U.S. military and various nongovernmental organizations treated those affected by the earthquake.
Comfort's U.S military and civilian medical personnel treated 871 patients, receiving one patient every six to nine minutes at the height of the recovery effort. Comfort's medical staff also performed 843 surgeries aboard the ship, treating more than 540 critically injured earthquake survivors within the first 10 days.
The hospital ship ran 10 operating rooms at full capacity to care for injured Haitian and American earthquake victims requiring surgical care.
This deployment marks the first time the ship has reached full operational capacity, using all operating rooms and beds, since it was delivered to the Navy in 1987.
Volunteer experts from the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, Project Hope, Operation Smile, National Nurses United, Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine and other organizations provided the ship's medical team with orthopedic trauma, surgical, nursing and anesthesia support.
The Comfort's staff worked closely with Haiti's health ministry and health-care professionals from the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as international relief organizations and nongovernmental organizations, to secure follow-on care for patients in recovery.
The ship is scheduled to return to Baltimore next week.
Comfort is crewed by 67 federally employed civilian mariners who operate and navigate the ship while military and civilian medical personnel operate the shipboard hospital. Between deployments, a small crew of mariners and Navy medical personnel maintains the ship and hospital in a high state of readiness.
When needed, Comfort can be ready to deploy in five days.
(From a Naval Station Norfolk news release.)
March 12, 2010 - The hospital ship USNS Comfort will arrive at Naval Station Norfolk tomorrow en route to its home port in Baltimore after completing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations off the coast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Comfort left Baltimore Jan. 16 and began supporting humanitarian relief efforts before anchoring off the coast of Port-au-Prince on Jan. 20.
During portions of the relief effort, more than 1,400 medical personnel from the U.S. military and various nongovernmental organizations treated those affected by the earthquake.
Comfort's U.S military and civilian medical personnel treated 871 patients, receiving one patient every six to nine minutes at the height of the recovery effort. Comfort's medical staff also performed 843 surgeries aboard the ship, treating more than 540 critically injured earthquake survivors within the first 10 days.
The hospital ship ran 10 operating rooms at full capacity to care for injured Haitian and American earthquake victims requiring surgical care.
This deployment marks the first time the ship has reached full operational capacity, using all operating rooms and beds, since it was delivered to the Navy in 1987.
Volunteer experts from the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, Project Hope, Operation Smile, National Nurses United, Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine and other organizations provided the ship's medical team with orthopedic trauma, surgical, nursing and anesthesia support.
The Comfort's staff worked closely with Haiti's health ministry and health-care professionals from the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as international relief organizations and nongovernmental organizations, to secure follow-on care for patients in recovery.
The ship is scheduled to return to Baltimore next week.
Comfort is crewed by 67 federally employed civilian mariners who operate and navigate the ship while military and civilian medical personnel operate the shipboard hospital. Between deployments, a small crew of mariners and Navy medical personnel maintains the ship and hospital in a high state of readiness.
When needed, Comfort can be ready to deploy in five days.
(From a Naval Station Norfolk news release.)
Marine Shapes Silent Drill Platoon
By Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Austin Hazard
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 12, 2010 - The Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon performs around the world, demonstrating discipline, precision and dedication to tradition. But who chooses these men? Who teaches them the time-honored tradition of representing the Marine Corps with their silent performances?
Marine Corps Cpl. Robert Dominguez, a 26-year-old native of Selma, Calif., serves as the platoon's drill master. He is tasked with memorizing, teaching and handing down the platoon's unique drill style, called "slide drill."
"It's a great honor to be the 62nd drill master of the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, teaching the manual to Marines and passing it on," said Dominguez, who became the drill master Nov. 4. "I am the keeper of the Silent Drill Platoon's traditions."
The drill master keeps the manual for slide drill and passes it to the next drill master, a rite of succession that has remained unchanged since its creation.
"Back in 1948, all the drill was choreographed and slide drill was created," said Dominguez, who is in his third year with the platoon. "What I do as the drill master is use that manual and come up with a new sequence for the year. I think up some cool ideas and go back through old drill sequences and try to make a new, fresh sequence with some more flavor."
Marines may remember drill from their boot camp landing-party manual, but slide drill is different. It uses no verbal commands and modifies common drill maneuvers, such as port arms, to best fit the platoon's style and varying formations.
"It's very difficult to learn," Dominguez said. "You've got to have a lot of bearing, coordination and discipline to be able to learn slide drill."
However, teaching drill is not the drill master's only responsibility.
"To represent the Marine Corps, the Marine Corps wants the best, and it's my job to select them," Dominguez said.
Dominguez trains and chooses the platoon members during their initial training, determining who makes the cut and who gets cut. After that, he decides which members make up the "marching 24," the two dozen Marines who actually perform.
If Dominguez believes the platoon's proficiency declines, he can declare a challenge day, during which members audition for spots among the marching 24.
The drill master is a coveted and respected position among the platoon, and Dominguez is equally respected by his platoon. "As a drill master, he does demand the perfection needed of this platoon," said Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Perry Bell, who is in his first year with the platoon.
The downside to being the drill master is watching from the sidelines and not being able to perform with the platoon, Dominguez said.
"Performing is an adrenaline rush," he explained. "You can't get that feeling anywhere else. It's unfortunate that I'm not in the fight with them, not performing, but I get to critique them and make them better."
For decades, the Silent Drill Platoon has been an American icon, personifying the discipline and precision of the Marine Corps through public demonstrations, recruiting posters and commercials. Now that responsibility lies primarily in Dominguez's hands as the drill master of the nation's most famous drill team.
"Nothing that we do is about us," Dominguez said. "The picture is bigger than us. To the public, we represent the Marine Corps."
(Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Austin Hazard serves at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.)
Thursday, March 11, 2010
General Calls Exercises Key to South Korean Defense
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
March 11, 2010 - Military exercises under way are refining command and control capabilities that will be critical for the U.S. and South Korean militaries to defend against a North Korean attack, the top U.S. general here told reporters today. Army Gen. William "Skip" Sharp, commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea, called the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises an important step toward preparing South Korea's military to assume wartime operational control of its forces in 2012.
The exercises kicked off March 8. Official notification provided to North Korea a month ago on the exercises' timing and defensive nature generated heavy criticism and threats from Pyongyang.
Sharp declined to discuss specifics about the exercise scenarios because of what they might reveal about Combined Forces Command war plans, but he made no secret of the fact they involve North Korean aggression.
The opposing "red" force, based at Camp Casey, Korea, is "very well versed in North Korea tactics," he said, and using them against the friendly "blue" forces will create realistic scenarios.
"What we train today, what we are training for after [operational control] transition, is all the threats that we see that North Korea could throw at us," Sharp said. "We constantly evaluate what North Korea is doing, what they are saying, what they are buying. ... And we adjust our exercises and our training to account for that."
The objective, he said, is to ensure that should North Korea attack, U.S. and South Korean forces working together through Combined Forces Command are "prepared to fight and win if we had to go to war today."
Four days into the exercise, Sharp said it's building on efforts over the past year to boost intelligence sharing between Combined Forces Command and South Korea's joint chiefs of staff, and to improve their ability to interact on a "minute-by-minute basis."
This, in turn, is helping them "properly see what is going on in the war fight and be able to rapidly make the right decisions on how to react to it," he said.
The principle has been tested during the past year amid North Korean missile launches and other provocations. In each case, military leaders working together through a collaborative command and control system "saw what was going on [and] reacted as one team," Sharp said, both militarily and diplomatically.
"We, during this exercise, have done and exercised that same process, that same collaborative command and control system, that we have continued to improve over this last year, and have exercised that here as in the real war fight," he said.
The exercise pays off tactically as well, Sharp said, in preparing forces to react to a potential artillery strike from the north.
"We work every day, very hard, to make sure we are prepared to deal with the long-range artillery that sits just north of the [demilitarized zone] today that could bring a lot of destruction to Seoul," Sharp said. "We make sure we have all the intelligence in place to find and locate those artillery systems, and [that] we have fires from the air and ground prepared to destroy them if they every started firing, in order to be able to give the maximum protection to Seoul.
"We exercise that very hard in all our exercises, especially this one," Sharp said.
South Korean Army Gen. Hwang Eui-don, Combined Forces Command deputy commander, called the exercises a great way for his military to verify and refine its operations while learning tactics, techniques and procedures from the world's most advanced and combat-capable military. These lessons will prove critical in preparing the South Korean leadership to take on wartime operational control of its forces in just over two years, he said. At that point, U.S. forces will move into a supporting role.
Sharp said he has no doubts that the South Koreans will be ready to take on the broader security mission.
"I am confident we have the plans, the organizations, the systems and the processes in place to be able to be prepared and properly execute [operational control] transition on 17 April 2012," he said. "And I believe this alliance will be stronger because of that."
American Forces Press Service
March 11, 2010 - Military exercises under way are refining command and control capabilities that will be critical for the U.S. and South Korean militaries to defend against a North Korean attack, the top U.S. general here told reporters today. Army Gen. William "Skip" Sharp, commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea, called the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises an important step toward preparing South Korea's military to assume wartime operational control of its forces in 2012.
The exercises kicked off March 8. Official notification provided to North Korea a month ago on the exercises' timing and defensive nature generated heavy criticism and threats from Pyongyang.
Sharp declined to discuss specifics about the exercise scenarios because of what they might reveal about Combined Forces Command war plans, but he made no secret of the fact they involve North Korean aggression.
The opposing "red" force, based at Camp Casey, Korea, is "very well versed in North Korea tactics," he said, and using them against the friendly "blue" forces will create realistic scenarios.
"What we train today, what we are training for after [operational control] transition, is all the threats that we see that North Korea could throw at us," Sharp said. "We constantly evaluate what North Korea is doing, what they are saying, what they are buying. ... And we adjust our exercises and our training to account for that."
The objective, he said, is to ensure that should North Korea attack, U.S. and South Korean forces working together through Combined Forces Command are "prepared to fight and win if we had to go to war today."
Four days into the exercise, Sharp said it's building on efforts over the past year to boost intelligence sharing between Combined Forces Command and South Korea's joint chiefs of staff, and to improve their ability to interact on a "minute-by-minute basis."
This, in turn, is helping them "properly see what is going on in the war fight and be able to rapidly make the right decisions on how to react to it," he said.
The principle has been tested during the past year amid North Korean missile launches and other provocations. In each case, military leaders working together through a collaborative command and control system "saw what was going on [and] reacted as one team," Sharp said, both militarily and diplomatically.
"We, during this exercise, have done and exercised that same process, that same collaborative command and control system, that we have continued to improve over this last year, and have exercised that here as in the real war fight," he said.
The exercise pays off tactically as well, Sharp said, in preparing forces to react to a potential artillery strike from the north.
"We work every day, very hard, to make sure we are prepared to deal with the long-range artillery that sits just north of the [demilitarized zone] today that could bring a lot of destruction to Seoul," Sharp said. "We make sure we have all the intelligence in place to find and locate those artillery systems, and [that] we have fires from the air and ground prepared to destroy them if they every started firing, in order to be able to give the maximum protection to Seoul.
"We exercise that very hard in all our exercises, especially this one," Sharp said.
South Korean Army Gen. Hwang Eui-don, Combined Forces Command deputy commander, called the exercises a great way for his military to verify and refine its operations while learning tactics, techniques and procedures from the world's most advanced and combat-capable military. These lessons will prove critical in preparing the South Korean leadership to take on wartime operational control of its forces in just over two years, he said. At that point, U.S. forces will move into a supporting role.
Sharp said he has no doubts that the South Koreans will be ready to take on the broader security mission.
"I am confident we have the plans, the organizations, the systems and the processes in place to be able to be prepared and properly execute [operational control] transition on 17 April 2012," he said. "And I believe this alliance will be stronger because of that."
Official Rebuts Quadrennial Review Critics
By Jordan Reimer
American Forces Press Service
March 11, 2010 - A month after the release of the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, a senior defense official directly addressed critiques of the report here yesterday. The 2010 QDR, released on Feb. 1, is a comprehensive review of Defense Department strategy and priorities and identifies several key goals for the department in the next decade.
Speaking on background at a two-day seminar on the review hosted by the National Defense University, the official said it has become a well-established tradition to criticize the QDR, the fourth published to date.
"We've learned a lot about the critiques over the years [and] how they've evolved," the official said.
Rather than condemn the QDR's critics, the official noted the importance of having opposing viewpoints to make sure the administration is aware of all possible concerns.
"The great thing about this country truly is that we have this debate and that this debate creates innovation," the official said. "It asks the hard questions, it pushes us to rethink our assumptions. I think that's critical."
Without naming specific detractors or citing specific sources, the official outlined several negative observations that the current report has generated, and presented the department's response to each.
Beginning with the assertion that the 2010 QDR doesn't provide a strategic vision or overall conceptual framework, the official said that the review process begins with a thorough assessment of the U.S. security environment through extensive interagency meetings and discussions with allies and partners.
"We wanted to have very strong strategy themes. We didn't want our QDR to be misconstrued as either about [one particular weapons system or another]," the official said. "We wanted a very clear, obvious, strategy approach to the QDR, and that's how we came to the 'prevail, prevent, prepare, and preserve' themes."
Those themes, the official said, provide a 20-year outlook for Defense Department prerogatives, as the congressional mandate for the review requires.
The official noted that criticisms sometimes are contradictory, asserting that while the QDR has strategic vision, that vision is too divorced from fiscal realities.
"You get this a lot with QDRs," the official said. "You get hit on all sides."
The 2010 report is tied closely to the budget, the official pointed out, because the preceding QDR was accused of being too separated from the budget.
"I guess we would plead guilty. ... The secretary [of defense] did indeed push the department through the program review [and] budget process to ensure that we were always linking our decisions back up to what our strategic goals were," the official stated.
Regarding the concern that the QDR is too focused on prevailing in today's conflicts at the expense of tomorrow's threats, the official said it does address future challenges by laying out several high-end threats from potential state adversaries. But more importantly, the official added, the emphasis on today's threats is warranted.
"The secretary's emphasis is right," the official asserted. "We would be irresponsible if we did not pay foremost attention to giving the support necessary to the men and women in uniform in harm's way in operational theaters today."
The official added that military planners foresee that ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are not aberrations, but rather are harbingers of the types of warfare in which the U.S. will engage over the next several years.
In reference to the dual accusations that the report outlined decisions made before the process began and that its conclusions were out of line with the current administration's goals, the official stressed the unprecedented level of cooperation and coordination during the review process, both within the Defense Department and with other departments and agencies.
"All of the combatant commanders were brought into the process from the beginning, which is the first time that has occurred," the official said. The review team also "worked very closely with the national security staff to make sure we understood the president's priorities."
The official acknowledged that the QDR could not address every issue related to the Defense Department, and that in only setting forth a way ahead, the QDR leaves some issues undecided for now. However, the official added, these omissions provide opportunities for those outside of government to contribute their insights.
"For those who think we didn't do enough, challenge us to tell us what more you would do right now," the official said.
American Forces Press Service
March 11, 2010 - A month after the release of the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, a senior defense official directly addressed critiques of the report here yesterday. The 2010 QDR, released on Feb. 1, is a comprehensive review of Defense Department strategy and priorities and identifies several key goals for the department in the next decade.
Speaking on background at a two-day seminar on the review hosted by the National Defense University, the official said it has become a well-established tradition to criticize the QDR, the fourth published to date.
"We've learned a lot about the critiques over the years [and] how they've evolved," the official said.
Rather than condemn the QDR's critics, the official noted the importance of having opposing viewpoints to make sure the administration is aware of all possible concerns.
"The great thing about this country truly is that we have this debate and that this debate creates innovation," the official said. "It asks the hard questions, it pushes us to rethink our assumptions. I think that's critical."
Without naming specific detractors or citing specific sources, the official outlined several negative observations that the current report has generated, and presented the department's response to each.
Beginning with the assertion that the 2010 QDR doesn't provide a strategic vision or overall conceptual framework, the official said that the review process begins with a thorough assessment of the U.S. security environment through extensive interagency meetings and discussions with allies and partners.
"We wanted to have very strong strategy themes. We didn't want our QDR to be misconstrued as either about [one particular weapons system or another]," the official said. "We wanted a very clear, obvious, strategy approach to the QDR, and that's how we came to the 'prevail, prevent, prepare, and preserve' themes."
Those themes, the official said, provide a 20-year outlook for Defense Department prerogatives, as the congressional mandate for the review requires.
The official noted that criticisms sometimes are contradictory, asserting that while the QDR has strategic vision, that vision is too divorced from fiscal realities.
"You get this a lot with QDRs," the official said. "You get hit on all sides."
The 2010 report is tied closely to the budget, the official pointed out, because the preceding QDR was accused of being too separated from the budget.
"I guess we would plead guilty. ... The secretary [of defense] did indeed push the department through the program review [and] budget process to ensure that we were always linking our decisions back up to what our strategic goals were," the official stated.
Regarding the concern that the QDR is too focused on prevailing in today's conflicts at the expense of tomorrow's threats, the official said it does address future challenges by laying out several high-end threats from potential state adversaries. But more importantly, the official added, the emphasis on today's threats is warranted.
"The secretary's emphasis is right," the official asserted. "We would be irresponsible if we did not pay foremost attention to giving the support necessary to the men and women in uniform in harm's way in operational theaters today."
The official added that military planners foresee that ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are not aberrations, but rather are harbingers of the types of warfare in which the U.S. will engage over the next several years.
In reference to the dual accusations that the report outlined decisions made before the process began and that its conclusions were out of line with the current administration's goals, the official stressed the unprecedented level of cooperation and coordination during the review process, both within the Defense Department and with other departments and agencies.
"All of the combatant commanders were brought into the process from the beginning, which is the first time that has occurred," the official said. The review team also "worked very closely with the national security staff to make sure we understood the president's priorities."
The official acknowledged that the QDR could not address every issue related to the Defense Department, and that in only setting forth a way ahead, the QDR leaves some issues undecided for now. However, the official added, these omissions provide opportunities for those outside of government to contribute their insights.
"For those who think we didn't do enough, challenge us to tell us what more you would do right now," the official said.
Northcom, NORAD, 'Inextricably Linked,' Commander Says
By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service
March 11, 2010 - U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command are "inextricably linked" and share an "indispensible partnership," the commander of both commands said here today. Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart briefed the Senate Armed Services Committee on the commands' missions, ranging from supporting law enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border to monitoring Russian military planes and ships off U.S. borders.
Renuart also underscored his belief that the two commands should continue to share a commander, saying the two are "inextricably linked" in their mission to protect North America.
The commands operate with an integrated headquarters staff, Renuart told the senators. "Our commands have forged an indispensible partnership operating within a common security environment," he said. "The synergies that exist between these two commands enable us to conduct our missions with a sense or urgency in the face of very real threats."
Northcom's mission is to protect the United States against any threats by air, land or sea with responsibility for Canada, Mexico, the surrounding territories, and 500 miles out at sea. The command, which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, also works with civilian agencies to provide civil support against natural or manmade disasters.
NORAD is a binational U.S.-Canadian command charged with aerospace warning and control and maritime warning for North America. NORAD has flown more than 55,000 air surveillance and security missions over the Washington, D.C., area since 9/11, Renuart said. Last year, NORAD launched fighter aircraft 14 times to identify unknown aircraft operating near U.S. and Canadian airspace, said he added.
Last year, the general said, a NORAD representative was included for the first time at the U.S.-Russia Prevention of Incidents Over the High Seas staff talks. The representation is expected to continue this year "to reduce the ambiguity of Russian military flights near our borders and promote safe flight operations within the international airspace," he said.
NORAD operations in Alaska "will remain a key avenue for positive interaction with Russian military counterparts during the reset of relationships between our nations," the general added.
Russia has increased its long-range training flights, but they do not appear to be threatening, Renuart said. "We've had a couple instances in the past year where Russian planes flew too close to the Aleutian Islands," he said, adding that the Russian military is increasing its flight training after neglecting it for several years due to a weakened economy.
NORAD is developing a risk assessment as recommended by the General Accountability Office to determine the types of units, personnel and aircraft needed to maintain U.S. air sovereignty, he said.
"Day to day, we are focused on deterring, preventing and defeating attacks against the United States," Renuart said, adding that Northcom monitors an average of 12 to 20 potentially dangerous events each day.
The commands' spectrum of missions includes supporting law enforcement, particularly along the U.S.-Mexican border, but also with major events such as the 2010 Winter Olympics held last month in Vancouver, British Columbia. The commands also supported U.S. Southern Command in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Haiti in January.
Northcom shares intelligence with federal, state and local agencies to prevent attacks in the United States, exchanging liaison officers with several intelligence agencies. Following the mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in November, the command established a daily terrorism and force protection information-sharing group to improve how threats are identified, assessed and acted upon, Renuart said.
Northcom also works with the Missile Defense Agency in protecting against ballistic missile threats, Renuart said. The immediate challenge in that area is balancing a real-time defensive capability with the missile agency's requirements for research, development, testing and evaluation, he told the panel.
Asked for his opinion of the new, phased-in ballistic missile defense system, the general said he is confident in the system and that "initial indications look very promising" that it will improve U.S. defenses. A software glitch that caused a test of the system in January to fail is being fixed, and the test will be repeated "in the not-too-distant future," the general said.
Renuart noted that two of three brigades being created under his purview to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives attacks have been cancelled as a result of the Quadrennial Defense Review. Instead, he said, the one brigade in existence will grow by 700 troops, and two smaller units will operate command and control, joint reception and some lifesaving capabilities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will work with local governments in its 10 regional offices to set up locally based response units in lieu of the two additional military brigades, he said.
One of Northcom's biggest missions is to support law enforcement through its subordinate command, Joint Task Force North, which coordinated 61 missions last year, Renuart said. The task force employs joint air, ground and maritime sensors along the northern and southern U.S. borders and coasts, detects, monitors trafficking of drugs and weapons, and trains civilian border agents in military skills.
Along the Southwest U.S. border, Northcom used acoustic and fiber-optic sensors and robotics to explore, map and characterize subterranean tunnels used in trafficking, Renuart said. In the past year, Defense Department support has resulted in stopping the construction of two unfinished tunnels, he said.
Northcom has shared military lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan to combat violence and illegal activity on the Southwest border, Renuart said. Last year, there were 7,000 drug-related murders, "mostly cartel on cartel," he said of the illegal drug trafficking operations.
"We're working aggressively to build interagency capacity to help Mexico deal with this," Renuart said. "Especially in the local police and governments, there is an element of corruption that is significant and is the means by which the cartels influence the government to leave them alone. There is a substantial effort by the Mexican government to replace them, but it takes time."
More and more, Northcom is working with Mexican servicemembers sent to replace Mexican law enforcement officers along the border, he said. Working with the Mexican military, Northcom's work resulted in more than 40 prosecutions in the past two years for people trafficking weapons, including .50-caliber weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, from the United States into Mexico, Renuart said.
"This is a hemispheric problem, and something we need to continue to work at," he said.
American Forces Press Service
March 11, 2010 - U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command are "inextricably linked" and share an "indispensible partnership," the commander of both commands said here today. Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart briefed the Senate Armed Services Committee on the commands' missions, ranging from supporting law enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border to monitoring Russian military planes and ships off U.S. borders.
Renuart also underscored his belief that the two commands should continue to share a commander, saying the two are "inextricably linked" in their mission to protect North America.
The commands operate with an integrated headquarters staff, Renuart told the senators. "Our commands have forged an indispensible partnership operating within a common security environment," he said. "The synergies that exist between these two commands enable us to conduct our missions with a sense or urgency in the face of very real threats."
Northcom's mission is to protect the United States against any threats by air, land or sea with responsibility for Canada, Mexico, the surrounding territories, and 500 miles out at sea. The command, which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, also works with civilian agencies to provide civil support against natural or manmade disasters.
NORAD is a binational U.S.-Canadian command charged with aerospace warning and control and maritime warning for North America. NORAD has flown more than 55,000 air surveillance and security missions over the Washington, D.C., area since 9/11, Renuart said. Last year, NORAD launched fighter aircraft 14 times to identify unknown aircraft operating near U.S. and Canadian airspace, said he added.
Last year, the general said, a NORAD representative was included for the first time at the U.S.-Russia Prevention of Incidents Over the High Seas staff talks. The representation is expected to continue this year "to reduce the ambiguity of Russian military flights near our borders and promote safe flight operations within the international airspace," he said.
NORAD operations in Alaska "will remain a key avenue for positive interaction with Russian military counterparts during the reset of relationships between our nations," the general added.
Russia has increased its long-range training flights, but they do not appear to be threatening, Renuart said. "We've had a couple instances in the past year where Russian planes flew too close to the Aleutian Islands," he said, adding that the Russian military is increasing its flight training after neglecting it for several years due to a weakened economy.
NORAD is developing a risk assessment as recommended by the General Accountability Office to determine the types of units, personnel and aircraft needed to maintain U.S. air sovereignty, he said.
"Day to day, we are focused on deterring, preventing and defeating attacks against the United States," Renuart said, adding that Northcom monitors an average of 12 to 20 potentially dangerous events each day.
The commands' spectrum of missions includes supporting law enforcement, particularly along the U.S.-Mexican border, but also with major events such as the 2010 Winter Olympics held last month in Vancouver, British Columbia. The commands also supported U.S. Southern Command in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Haiti in January.
Northcom shares intelligence with federal, state and local agencies to prevent attacks in the United States, exchanging liaison officers with several intelligence agencies. Following the mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in November, the command established a daily terrorism and force protection information-sharing group to improve how threats are identified, assessed and acted upon, Renuart said.
Northcom also works with the Missile Defense Agency in protecting against ballistic missile threats, Renuart said. The immediate challenge in that area is balancing a real-time defensive capability with the missile agency's requirements for research, development, testing and evaluation, he told the panel.
Asked for his opinion of the new, phased-in ballistic missile defense system, the general said he is confident in the system and that "initial indications look very promising" that it will improve U.S. defenses. A software glitch that caused a test of the system in January to fail is being fixed, and the test will be repeated "in the not-too-distant future," the general said.
Renuart noted that two of three brigades being created under his purview to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives attacks have been cancelled as a result of the Quadrennial Defense Review. Instead, he said, the one brigade in existence will grow by 700 troops, and two smaller units will operate command and control, joint reception and some lifesaving capabilities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will work with local governments in its 10 regional offices to set up locally based response units in lieu of the two additional military brigades, he said.
One of Northcom's biggest missions is to support law enforcement through its subordinate command, Joint Task Force North, which coordinated 61 missions last year, Renuart said. The task force employs joint air, ground and maritime sensors along the northern and southern U.S. borders and coasts, detects, monitors trafficking of drugs and weapons, and trains civilian border agents in military skills.
Along the Southwest U.S. border, Northcom used acoustic and fiber-optic sensors and robotics to explore, map and characterize subterranean tunnels used in trafficking, Renuart said. In the past year, Defense Department support has resulted in stopping the construction of two unfinished tunnels, he said.
Northcom has shared military lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan to combat violence and illegal activity on the Southwest border, Renuart said. Last year, there were 7,000 drug-related murders, "mostly cartel on cartel," he said of the illegal drug trafficking operations.
"We're working aggressively to build interagency capacity to help Mexico deal with this," Renuart said. "Especially in the local police and governments, there is an element of corruption that is significant and is the means by which the cartels influence the government to leave them alone. There is a substantial effort by the Mexican government to replace them, but it takes time."
More and more, Northcom is working with Mexican servicemembers sent to replace Mexican law enforcement officers along the border, he said. Working with the Mexican military, Northcom's work resulted in more than 40 prosecutions in the past two years for people trafficking weapons, including .50-caliber weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, from the United States into Mexico, Renuart said.
"This is a hemispheric problem, and something we need to continue to work at," he said.
Humanitarian Missions Prove Skills, Flexibility
By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service
March 11, 2010 - The military's quick humanitarian response in Haiti, then in Chile, proved the skills and compassion of servicemembers and showed how fast U.S. Southern Command's mission can change from its ongoing challenges in Latin America, Southcom's commander said here today. Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser outlined Southcom's missions to the Senate Armed Services Committee, highlighting servicemembers' work in the aftermath of the earthquake that leveled much of Haiti in January, prompting a massive international humanitarian relief effort.
"I've personally seen what these brave young men and women are capable of," said Fraser, who took over the command last year. "The men and women who deployed to Haiti performed magnificently. They were outstanding representatives of our military, displaying compassion and a sense of focus."
The magnitude 7 earthquake hit the island nation on Jan. 12, and multiple U.S. military assets were there within 24 hours, Fraser said. In total, some 22,000 U.S. servicemembers provided humanitarian support to Haiti, providing 2 million meals, 2.6 million liters of water and 17 million pounds of bulk food. And thousands of surgeries were performed on the hospital ship USNS Comfort, he said.
Less than two months later, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake devastated Chile. While the humanitarian crisis and request for assistance was not as great as in Haiti, the U.S. military again responded within 24 hours, providing critical imagery and satellite phones to the Chilean government, Fraser said.
"The tragedy in Haiti is a stark reminder of the nature of the challenges we face in the region," the general said. Southcom's emphasis on relationship-building and partnerships proved important, he said.
Beyond humanitarian responses, Southcom is focused on challenges to the stability and security of the region, including narcotics and weapons trafficking, the proliferation of gangs, competing ideologies, and the reach of Iran, Russia and China into the region, Fraser said.
"As globalization trends continue, our security will depend upon expanding cooperative engagement with multinational, multiagency and public-private partners in our hemisphere," he said. "We will be better able to meet complex challenges of the 21st century security environment by building robust, enduring partnerships now. Together, we are stronger and more effective than working as a single organization or nation operating individually."
Southcom has strong military-to-military relations with every counterpart in the region except Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba, Fraser said. "I see real competition in the region for various ideologies, but I see the view of the U.S. growing, too," he told the Senate panel.
The command also tracks the flow of weapons through the region. "There's a lot headed toward Colombia right now," he said. "Most of it originates in Central America, but there also are some from the U.S. heading in that direction."
Last year, for the first time, Southcom detected a decreased amount of sea-based drug trafficking, Fraser said, noting 46 maritime movements, compared to 68 in 2008.
"From a destabilizing standpoint, my biggest concern is illicit trafficking," Fraser said. "Brazil is now the second-largest cocaine user in the world. Criminal elements spread from that." Southcom is working with U.S. Northern Command and law enforcement officials to combat the spread of illegal drugs in the region, he said.
Asked how possible ratification of the Latin America Free Trade Agreement would affect the region, the general said he thinks it would be "a very positive step forward."
"One stabilizing factor is to have a vibrant economy," he said.
Fraser noted the economic importance of the region, the United States' largest market with nearly 38 percent of U.S. trade worth about $1.5 trillion per year. The region supplies 52 percent of U.S. crude oil imports, compared to 13 percent from the Persian Gulf, Fraser said. The Panama Canal, he added, is paramount in strategic and economic importance, as nearly two-thirds of ships transiting the canal are going to or coming from a U.S. port.
American Forces Press Service
March 11, 2010 - The military's quick humanitarian response in Haiti, then in Chile, proved the skills and compassion of servicemembers and showed how fast U.S. Southern Command's mission can change from its ongoing challenges in Latin America, Southcom's commander said here today. Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser outlined Southcom's missions to the Senate Armed Services Committee, highlighting servicemembers' work in the aftermath of the earthquake that leveled much of Haiti in January, prompting a massive international humanitarian relief effort.
"I've personally seen what these brave young men and women are capable of," said Fraser, who took over the command last year. "The men and women who deployed to Haiti performed magnificently. They were outstanding representatives of our military, displaying compassion and a sense of focus."
The magnitude 7 earthquake hit the island nation on Jan. 12, and multiple U.S. military assets were there within 24 hours, Fraser said. In total, some 22,000 U.S. servicemembers provided humanitarian support to Haiti, providing 2 million meals, 2.6 million liters of water and 17 million pounds of bulk food. And thousands of surgeries were performed on the hospital ship USNS Comfort, he said.
Less than two months later, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake devastated Chile. While the humanitarian crisis and request for assistance was not as great as in Haiti, the U.S. military again responded within 24 hours, providing critical imagery and satellite phones to the Chilean government, Fraser said.
"The tragedy in Haiti is a stark reminder of the nature of the challenges we face in the region," the general said. Southcom's emphasis on relationship-building and partnerships proved important, he said.
Beyond humanitarian responses, Southcom is focused on challenges to the stability and security of the region, including narcotics and weapons trafficking, the proliferation of gangs, competing ideologies, and the reach of Iran, Russia and China into the region, Fraser said.
"As globalization trends continue, our security will depend upon expanding cooperative engagement with multinational, multiagency and public-private partners in our hemisphere," he said. "We will be better able to meet complex challenges of the 21st century security environment by building robust, enduring partnerships now. Together, we are stronger and more effective than working as a single organization or nation operating individually."
Southcom has strong military-to-military relations with every counterpart in the region except Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba, Fraser said. "I see real competition in the region for various ideologies, but I see the view of the U.S. growing, too," he told the Senate panel.
The command also tracks the flow of weapons through the region. "There's a lot headed toward Colombia right now," he said. "Most of it originates in Central America, but there also are some from the U.S. heading in that direction."
Last year, for the first time, Southcom detected a decreased amount of sea-based drug trafficking, Fraser said, noting 46 maritime movements, compared to 68 in 2008.
"From a destabilizing standpoint, my biggest concern is illicit trafficking," Fraser said. "Brazil is now the second-largest cocaine user in the world. Criminal elements spread from that." Southcom is working with U.S. Northern Command and law enforcement officials to combat the spread of illegal drugs in the region, he said.
Asked how possible ratification of the Latin America Free Trade Agreement would affect the region, the general said he thinks it would be "a very positive step forward."
"One stabilizing factor is to have a vibrant economy," he said.
Fraser noted the economic importance of the region, the United States' largest market with nearly 38 percent of U.S. trade worth about $1.5 trillion per year. The region supplies 52 percent of U.S. crude oil imports, compared to 13 percent from the Persian Gulf, Fraser said. The Panama Canal, he added, is paramount in strategic and economic importance, as nearly two-thirds of ships transiting the canal are going to or coming from a U.S. port.
Wisconsin Air Guard refueling wing conducts emergency response exercise
By Senior Airman Ryan Kuntze
128th Air Refueling Wing
March 11, 2010 - As the sun rose on a chilly Saturday morning in March, two security forces team members paid vigilant attention at the front gate of the Gen. Mitchell Air National Guard base.
A silent procession of three emergency response vehicles was outbound from the base. Professionalism was evident on the Guardsmen's faces.
Lying on the side of the base-access road, near Grange Avenue, were two abandoned 55-gallon drums leaking clear fluids.
The 128th Air Refueling Wing conducted the above scenario as an emergency response exercise at 9 a.m. on March 6.
"We are required to have two terrorist-use Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive exercises every year," said Staff Sgt. Nathan Thrun, the emergency management program director.
The exercise involved the 128th ARW's Security Forces Squadron and fire department, Thrun said. The goal of the exercise was to examine the 128th's ability as a first responder in an emergency response situation, which allowed the exercise to exclude a majority of the base.
"In this instance, city personnel were only notified," Thrun said. In a real-world situation, the 128th Air Refueling Wing emergency response team would secure and cordon off the affected areas until a city HAZMAT [hazardous materials] team took control of the situation, he said.
The scenario for the exercise involved a mentally-unbalanced terrorist who used two separate chemicals in the 55-gallon drums to create a potentially deadly mixture, Thrun said.
"These are over-the-shelf items," Thrun said. "If someone bad wanted to use this, all he had to do was mix them."
Such a scenario highlights the reality that not all terrorist actions will involve complex weapons or carefully-planned attacks. Though this situation was an exercise, the threat for such an attack does exist.
"This was an incident of someone being smart enough to make this stuff, but not smart enough to appreciate his choices," Thrun said. Such exercises also have real-world applications for the 128th.
"Continuing to practice like this can ensure that we can meet these threats," Thrun said. "I know doing this helps us better prepare for it."
128th Air Refueling Wing
March 11, 2010 - As the sun rose on a chilly Saturday morning in March, two security forces team members paid vigilant attention at the front gate of the Gen. Mitchell Air National Guard base.
A silent procession of three emergency response vehicles was outbound from the base. Professionalism was evident on the Guardsmen's faces.
Lying on the side of the base-access road, near Grange Avenue, were two abandoned 55-gallon drums leaking clear fluids.
The 128th Air Refueling Wing conducted the above scenario as an emergency response exercise at 9 a.m. on March 6.
"We are required to have two terrorist-use Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive exercises every year," said Staff Sgt. Nathan Thrun, the emergency management program director.
The exercise involved the 128th ARW's Security Forces Squadron and fire department, Thrun said. The goal of the exercise was to examine the 128th's ability as a first responder in an emergency response situation, which allowed the exercise to exclude a majority of the base.
"In this instance, city personnel were only notified," Thrun said. In a real-world situation, the 128th Air Refueling Wing emergency response team would secure and cordon off the affected areas until a city HAZMAT [hazardous materials] team took control of the situation, he said.
The scenario for the exercise involved a mentally-unbalanced terrorist who used two separate chemicals in the 55-gallon drums to create a potentially deadly mixture, Thrun said.
"These are over-the-shelf items," Thrun said. "If someone bad wanted to use this, all he had to do was mix them."
Such a scenario highlights the reality that not all terrorist actions will involve complex weapons or carefully-planned attacks. Though this situation was an exercise, the threat for such an attack does exist.
"This was an incident of someone being smart enough to make this stuff, but not smart enough to appreciate his choices," Thrun said. Such exercises also have real-world applications for the 128th.
"Continuing to practice like this can ensure that we can meet these threats," Thrun said. "I know doing this helps us better prepare for it."
MILITARY CONTRACTS March 11, 2010
AIR FORCE
ADVENT Environmental, Inc., Mount Pleasant, S.C. (FA8903-10-D-8602); EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., Hunt Valley, Md. (FA8903-10-D-8601); and Zapata Inc., Charlotte, N.C. (8903-10-D-8600), were awarded a $350,000,000 contract which will provide environmental support restoration and remediation. At this time, $3,000 per contract has been obligated. AFCEE/ACX, Brooks City-Base, Texas, is the contracting activity.
L-3 Communications, Pittsburgh, Pa., was awarded a $6,000,000 contract which will provide support for the Air Force Flight Test Center Range System Upgrade program. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. AFFTC/PKEE, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA9302-10-D-0007).
NAVY
General Electric Aircraft Engines, Lynn, Mass., is being awarded a $326,080,865 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088) to exercise an option for 80 F414-GE-400 engines and modules and two spare engines for the Navy. In addition, this modification provides advanced procurement funding for associated long-lead material for future F414-GE-400 engines. The F414-GE-400 engine powers the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft. This modification also provides for the procurement of one engine fan module; eight engine high pressure turbine modules; 33 combuster modules; and 80 engine device kits. Work will be performed in Lynn, Mass. (49 percent); Madisonville, Ky. (21 percent); Hooksett, N.H. (12 percent); Albuquerque, N.M. (7 percent); Rutland, Vt. (5 percent); Dayton, Ohio (2 percent); Wilmington, N.C. (2 percent); Evendale, Ohio (1 percent); and Bromont, Quebec (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in May 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity.
Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, is being awarded a $47,626,804 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide technical and engineering support for software development; systems engineering; configuration management; quality assurance; logistics and life-cycle management to support unmanned systems; airspace control; maritime surveillance systems; anti-terrorist force protection surveillance systems; security systems; and command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems. This five-year contract includes three 12-month award term periods for a total potential period of performance of eight years and a total potential value of $63,601,466. All work will be performed at government and contractor sites in the San Diego area, and work for the base award is expected to be completed by March 10, 2015. Contractfunds will notexpire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site and posting to the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central Web site, with one offer received. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, is the contracting activity (N66001-10-D-0049).
Omega Aerial Refueling Services, Inc., Alexandria, Va., is being awarded a $32,438,304 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-07-D-0009) to exercise an option for contractor owned-and-operated aircraft in support of the Commercial Air Services (CAS) program. The CAS program provides aerial refueling services for the U.S. Navy, other Department of Defense and government agencies, and Foreign Military Sales aircraft. Work will be performed at various locations in the continental United States (45 percent East Coast, 35 percent West Coast) and at various locations outside the continental United States (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
ViaSat, Carlsbad, Calif., was awarded on March 10, 2010, a $21,470,330 firm-fixed-price contract and delivery order for Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals (MIDS-LVTs). The MIDS-LVT provides secure, high capacity, jam resistant, digital data and voice communications capability for U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army platforms. This delivery order combines purchases for the United States (68 percent); the government of Germany (11 percent); and the governments of Australia (18 percent) and South Korea (3 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program. Contractfunds in the amount of $1,573,644 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Work will be performed in Carlsbad, Calif. (30 percent) and in various other sites worldwide (70 percent), and is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2012. This contract was competitively procured via the Space and Naval Warfare Systems E-commerce Web site, with two offers received. The synopsis was released via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, is the contracting activity (N00039-10-D-0032).
Data Link Solutions, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was awarded on March 10, 2010, a $19,946,436 firm-fixed-price contract and delivery order for Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals (MIDS-LVTs). The MIDS-LVT provides secure, high capacity, jam resistant, digital data and voice communications capability for U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army platforms. This delivery order combines purchases for the United States (61 percent) and the governments of Finland (22 percent), Japan (8 percent) and Saudi Arabia (9 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Wayne, N.J. (50 percent), and Cedar Rapids, Iowa (50 percent), and is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2012. Contractfunds in the amount of $3,173,712 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Space and Naval Warfare Systems E-commerce Web site, with two offers received. The synopsis was released via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, is the contracting activity (N00039-10-D-0031).
Guam Industrial Services, Inc., dba Guam Shipyard, Santa Rita, Guam, is being awarded a $10,404,769 firm-fixed-price contract for the civilian modification of the Military Sealift Command (MSC) submarine tender USS Frank Cable, which transferred to MSC operation on Feb. 1, 2010. The ship requires maintenance and repair, as well as modifications including the installation of equipment and systems for operation by MSC civil service mariners in keeping with U.S. merchant marine standards. The modifications are to better equip the vessel for MSC's reduced manning profile. The ship's primary mission is to provide repairs, spare parts, provisions, stores, potable water, consumables, and petroleum to the Navy's submarines and other naval forces at sea. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $15,116,641. Work will be performed at Guam Shipyard in Santa Rita, Guam, and is expected to be completed by September 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured; it was procured on a sole-source basis for the purposes of industrial mobilization. A pre-solicitation notice was posted on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site in order to provide public notice of the intent to issue a sole-source contract. No other contractors expressed interest in this procurement. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command is the contracting activity (N00033-10-C-7500).
Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, is being awarded a $6,307,064 cost-plus-incentive fee, firm-fixed-price, and cost-only contract for Tactical Mobile (TacMobile) systems engineering and technical support services. This contract will allow the Navy Carrier and Air Integration Program Office and the Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence, to acquire technical services, equipment, system integration/assembly/testing, installation training, maintenance, and logistics products in support of the TacMobile program. This contract contains options which, if exercised, will bring the total estimated value of the contract to $108,164,122. Work will be performed in Charleston, S.C. (65 percent), and Patuxent River, Md. (35 percent), and work is expected to be completed December 2010. If option years are exercised under this contract, work could continue through December 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract wascompetitively procured using full and open competitive procedures via the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command E-commerce Web site, with one offer received. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, is the contracting activity (N00039-10-C-0046).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
MedImmune Vaccines, Inc., Gaithersburg, Md., is being awarded a maximum $32,293,397 firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract for influenza vaccine packages. Other location of performance is Pennsylvania. Using services are U. S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There was originally one proposal solicited with one response. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is May 26, 2011. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM2DP-09-D-0005).
ARMY
Alacran Contracting, LLC, Rockford, Ill., was awarded on March 09, 2010, a $13,364,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of a Combined Arms Collective Training Facility. Work is to be performed at Fort McCoy, Wis., with an estimated completion date of March 07, 2012. Bids were posted on the World Wide Web with four bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-V-004).
Alliant Techsystems Inc., Radford, Va., was awarded on March 9, 2010, an $11,902,416 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is for TNT procured to MIL-DTL-248, Revision D, May 14, 2002, with Amendment 1, June 27, 2007. Work is to be performed in Radford, Va., with an estimated completion of Sept. 30, 2012. Bids were solicicted on the World Wide Web with three bids reveived. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Contracting Center, CCRC-AR, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-09-D-0017).
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., was awarded on March 4, 2010, a $10,365,999 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 1,401 kits for remote weapons systems crew remote operation weapons systems for Operation Enduring Freedom on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All Terrain Vehicle. Work is to be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2012. Five bids were solicited with five bids received. TACOM, CCTA-ADCA, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0111).
Inland Dredging Co., LLC, Dyersburg, Tenn., was awarded on March 8, 2010, a $10,121,000 firm-fixed-price contract for flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries, Yazoo Basin, Mississippi, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, upper Yazoo projects, Item 7B, channel improvement. Work is to be performed in Tallahatchie County, Miss., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 10, 2010. Bids were solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site with four bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, Vicksburg Contracting Office, Vicksburg, Miss., is the contracting activity (W912EE-10-C-0010).
Geodetics, Inc., San Diego, was awarded on March 4, 2010, an $8,400,000 firm-fixed-price contract for real-time enhanced network global positioning systems units. This modification is to increase the order ceiling by $8,400,000 from $3,811,500 to $12,211,500. Work is to be performed in San Diego with an estimated completion date of Aug. 21, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Test & Evaluation Command, Mission Support Contracting Activity, Fort Hood, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9115U-08-D-0001).
O'Neal & Associates, Inc., Miamisburg, Ohio, was awarded on March 8, 2010, a $10,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. This award exercises option for 88,313 hours of support and maintenance of the Electronic Maintenance System (EMS) next generation software. The EMS software ia a suite of web-based software modules consisting of content development, content managemant, and deployed applications currently used in thousands of Army fighting and tactical vehicles for system diagnostic troubleshooting and maintenance. Work is to be performed in Warren, Mich. (10 percent); Miamisburg, Ohio (75 percent); and National City, Calif. (15 percent), with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2010. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-C-0251).
Overland Corp., Okla., was awarded on March 9 a $9,692,700 firm-fixed-price contract for design/build of guardrails throughout Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Work is to be performed in various cities in the United States with an estimated completion date of May 19, 2011. Five bids were solicited with two bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, Okla., is the contracting actiity (W9126G-08-D-0083).
Lockheed Martin Electronics and Fire Control, Orlando, Fla., was awarded on March 1, 2010 a $7,559,720 firm-fixed-price contract to reset support to include inspection, refurbishment, and removal of sand, dust and foreign material intrusion to the Apache modernized and legacy target acquisition designation sight assembly and pilot night vision sensor assembly system. Work is to be performed in Orlando, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aviation & Missile Command Contracting Center, CCAM-AP-B, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-10-C-0023).
E-One, Inc., Ocala, Fla., was awarded on March 1, 2010, a $7,507,533 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 10 air rescue fire fighting vehicles; spare parts; vehicle test; diagnostic software kit; training outside of the continental United States; and deprocessing of vehicles. Work is to be performed in Ocala, Fla., with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2011. One sole-source bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM, CCTA-ADB-A, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-10-C-0111).
ARES Systems Group, LLC, Vicksburg, Miss., was awarded on March 9 a $6,846,241 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for threat detection alongside or approaching roadways. Work is to be performed in Alexandria, Va., with an estimated completion date of March 9, 2011. Bids were solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site with one bid received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ERDC Contracting Office, Vicksburg, Miss., is the contracting activity (W912HZ-09-C-0097).
Whiting-Turner, Baltimore, Md., was awarded on March 5, 2010, a $6,743,000 firm-fixed-price contract for building 705 renovations, Fort Eustis, Va. Work will include renovations to administrative, classroom, and library space. Work is to be performed in Fort Eustis, Va., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2011. Six bids were solicited with five bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (W91236-08-D-0069).
L.R. Costanzo Co., Inc., Scranton, Pa., was awarded on March 2, 2010, a $6,265,989 firm-fixed-price contract. This procurement is for the renovation of 60,000 square feet within Tobyhanna Army Depot's existing industrial complex. Necessary improvements to existing bays include lighting upgrades, power upgrades, HVAC, crane, and other modification necessary based on the large weapons systems at issue. Work is to be performed in Tobyhanna Army Depot, Tobyhanna, Pa., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2010. Bids were solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site with seven bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, Baltimore, Md., is the contracting activity (W912DR-10-C-0073).
Mechanical Equipment, Inc., Covington, La., was awarded on March 5, 2010, a $6,619,001 firm-fixed-price contract for a requirement contract of an estimated 154 lightweight water purifiers. Work is to be performed in Sugar Land, Texas, with an estimated completion date of March 4, 2015. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with six bids received. TACOM Contracting Center, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-10-D-0002).
Luna Innovations, Inc., Roanoke, Va., was awarded on March 8, 2010, a $5,982,218 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding Luna Inovations to develop an independent suite of tools to verify that Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) bit streams can be trusted and contain only that functionality in the design implementation; nothing more and nothing less. They will also develop tools to authenticate that the target FPGA hardware has not been substitited within the supply chain. Work is to be performed in Roanoke, Va., with an estimated completion date of March 7, 2010. Bids were solicited via Broad Agency Announcement with 30 bids received. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (HR0011-08-C-0007).
Sundt Construction, Inc., Tempe, Ariz., was awarded on March 4, 2010, a $5,520,000 firm-fixed-price contract. This task order is consisting of providing materials, equipment, and labor for the construction of the Combat Aviation Brigade Hot Refuel Facility at Fort Bliss, Texas, which includes clearing and grubbing; earthwork; site work; concrete roadway paving; storm drainage systems; water distribution systems; sanitary sewer collection system; concrete fueling apron and taxiways; airfield and roadway striping and marking; airfield electrical; fueling control building; above ground storage tanks; fuel piping systems; electrical distribution systems and duct banks; communication duct bank system; erosion control; temporary access roadways; traffic control; signage; and other items specified in the contract documents. Work is to be performed in El Paso, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. Five bids were solicited with two bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineer District, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-09-D-0004).
ADVENT Environmental, Inc., Mount Pleasant, S.C. (FA8903-10-D-8602); EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., Hunt Valley, Md. (FA8903-10-D-8601); and Zapata Inc., Charlotte, N.C. (8903-10-D-8600), were awarded a $350,000,000 contract which will provide environmental support restoration and remediation. At this time, $3,000 per contract has been obligated. AFCEE/ACX, Brooks City-Base, Texas, is the contracting activity.
L-3 Communications, Pittsburgh, Pa., was awarded a $6,000,000 contract which will provide support for the Air Force Flight Test Center Range System Upgrade program. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. AFFTC/PKEE, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA9302-10-D-0007).
NAVY
General Electric Aircraft Engines, Lynn, Mass., is being awarded a $326,080,865 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088) to exercise an option for 80 F414-GE-400 engines and modules and two spare engines for the Navy. In addition, this modification provides advanced procurement funding for associated long-lead material for future F414-GE-400 engines. The F414-GE-400 engine powers the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft. This modification also provides for the procurement of one engine fan module; eight engine high pressure turbine modules; 33 combuster modules; and 80 engine device kits. Work will be performed in Lynn, Mass. (49 percent); Madisonville, Ky. (21 percent); Hooksett, N.H. (12 percent); Albuquerque, N.M. (7 percent); Rutland, Vt. (5 percent); Dayton, Ohio (2 percent); Wilmington, N.C. (2 percent); Evendale, Ohio (1 percent); and Bromont, Quebec (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in May 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity.
Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, is being awarded a $47,626,804 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide technical and engineering support for software development; systems engineering; configuration management; quality assurance; logistics and life-cycle management to support unmanned systems; airspace control; maritime surveillance systems; anti-terrorist force protection surveillance systems; security systems; and command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems. This five-year contract includes three 12-month award term periods for a total potential period of performance of eight years and a total potential value of $63,601,466. All work will be performed at government and contractor sites in the San Diego area, and work for the base award is expected to be completed by March 10, 2015. Contractfunds will notexpire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site and posting to the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central Web site, with one offer received. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, is the contracting activity (N66001-10-D-0049).
Omega Aerial Refueling Services, Inc., Alexandria, Va., is being awarded a $32,438,304 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-07-D-0009) to exercise an option for contractor owned-and-operated aircraft in support of the Commercial Air Services (CAS) program. The CAS program provides aerial refueling services for the U.S. Navy, other Department of Defense and government agencies, and Foreign Military Sales aircraft. Work will be performed at various locations in the continental United States (45 percent East Coast, 35 percent West Coast) and at various locations outside the continental United States (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
ViaSat, Carlsbad, Calif., was awarded on March 10, 2010, a $21,470,330 firm-fixed-price contract and delivery order for Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals (MIDS-LVTs). The MIDS-LVT provides secure, high capacity, jam resistant, digital data and voice communications capability for U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army platforms. This delivery order combines purchases for the United States (68 percent); the government of Germany (11 percent); and the governments of Australia (18 percent) and South Korea (3 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program. Contractfunds in the amount of $1,573,644 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Work will be performed in Carlsbad, Calif. (30 percent) and in various other sites worldwide (70 percent), and is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2012. This contract was competitively procured via the Space and Naval Warfare Systems E-commerce Web site, with two offers received. The synopsis was released via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, is the contracting activity (N00039-10-D-0032).
Data Link Solutions, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was awarded on March 10, 2010, a $19,946,436 firm-fixed-price contract and delivery order for Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals (MIDS-LVTs). The MIDS-LVT provides secure, high capacity, jam resistant, digital data and voice communications capability for U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army platforms. This delivery order combines purchases for the United States (61 percent) and the governments of Finland (22 percent), Japan (8 percent) and Saudi Arabia (9 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Wayne, N.J. (50 percent), and Cedar Rapids, Iowa (50 percent), and is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2012. Contractfunds in the amount of $3,173,712 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Space and Naval Warfare Systems E-commerce Web site, with two offers received. The synopsis was released via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, is the contracting activity (N00039-10-D-0031).
Guam Industrial Services, Inc., dba Guam Shipyard, Santa Rita, Guam, is being awarded a $10,404,769 firm-fixed-price contract for the civilian modification of the Military Sealift Command (MSC) submarine tender USS Frank Cable, which transferred to MSC operation on Feb. 1, 2010. The ship requires maintenance and repair, as well as modifications including the installation of equipment and systems for operation by MSC civil service mariners in keeping with U.S. merchant marine standards. The modifications are to better equip the vessel for MSC's reduced manning profile. The ship's primary mission is to provide repairs, spare parts, provisions, stores, potable water, consumables, and petroleum to the Navy's submarines and other naval forces at sea. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $15,116,641. Work will be performed at Guam Shipyard in Santa Rita, Guam, and is expected to be completed by September 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured; it was procured on a sole-source basis for the purposes of industrial mobilization. A pre-solicitation notice was posted on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site in order to provide public notice of the intent to issue a sole-source contract. No other contractors expressed interest in this procurement. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command is the contracting activity (N00033-10-C-7500).
Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, is being awarded a $6,307,064 cost-plus-incentive fee, firm-fixed-price, and cost-only contract for Tactical Mobile (TacMobile) systems engineering and technical support services. This contract will allow the Navy Carrier and Air Integration Program Office and the Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence, to acquire technical services, equipment, system integration/assembly/testing, installation training, maintenance, and logistics products in support of the TacMobile program. This contract contains options which, if exercised, will bring the total estimated value of the contract to $108,164,122. Work will be performed in Charleston, S.C. (65 percent), and Patuxent River, Md. (35 percent), and work is expected to be completed December 2010. If option years are exercised under this contract, work could continue through December 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract wascompetitively procured using full and open competitive procedures via the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command E-commerce Web site, with one offer received. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, is the contracting activity (N00039-10-C-0046).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
MedImmune Vaccines, Inc., Gaithersburg, Md., is being awarded a maximum $32,293,397 firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract for influenza vaccine packages. Other location of performance is Pennsylvania. Using services are U. S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There was originally one proposal solicited with one response. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is May 26, 2011. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM2DP-09-D-0005).
ARMY
Alacran Contracting, LLC, Rockford, Ill., was awarded on March 09, 2010, a $13,364,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of a Combined Arms Collective Training Facility. Work is to be performed at Fort McCoy, Wis., with an estimated completion date of March 07, 2012. Bids were posted on the World Wide Web with four bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-V-004).
Alliant Techsystems Inc., Radford, Va., was awarded on March 9, 2010, an $11,902,416 firm-fixed-price contract. This contract is for TNT procured to MIL-DTL-248, Revision D, May 14, 2002, with Amendment 1, June 27, 2007. Work is to be performed in Radford, Va., with an estimated completion of Sept. 30, 2012. Bids were solicicted on the World Wide Web with three bids reveived. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Contracting Center, CCRC-AR, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-09-D-0017).
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., was awarded on March 4, 2010, a $10,365,999 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 1,401 kits for remote weapons systems crew remote operation weapons systems for Operation Enduring Freedom on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All Terrain Vehicle. Work is to be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2012. Five bids were solicited with five bids received. TACOM, CCTA-ADCA, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0111).
Inland Dredging Co., LLC, Dyersburg, Tenn., was awarded on March 8, 2010, a $10,121,000 firm-fixed-price contract for flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries, Yazoo Basin, Mississippi, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, upper Yazoo projects, Item 7B, channel improvement. Work is to be performed in Tallahatchie County, Miss., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 10, 2010. Bids were solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site with four bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, Vicksburg Contracting Office, Vicksburg, Miss., is the contracting activity (W912EE-10-C-0010).
Geodetics, Inc., San Diego, was awarded on March 4, 2010, an $8,400,000 firm-fixed-price contract for real-time enhanced network global positioning systems units. This modification is to increase the order ceiling by $8,400,000 from $3,811,500 to $12,211,500. Work is to be performed in San Diego with an estimated completion date of Aug. 21, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Test & Evaluation Command, Mission Support Contracting Activity, Fort Hood, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9115U-08-D-0001).
O'Neal & Associates, Inc., Miamisburg, Ohio, was awarded on March 8, 2010, a $10,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. This award exercises option for 88,313 hours of support and maintenance of the Electronic Maintenance System (EMS) next generation software. The EMS software ia a suite of web-based software modules consisting of content development, content managemant, and deployed applications currently used in thousands of Army fighting and tactical vehicles for system diagnostic troubleshooting and maintenance. Work is to be performed in Warren, Mich. (10 percent); Miamisburg, Ohio (75 percent); and National City, Calif. (15 percent), with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2010. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-C-0251).
Overland Corp., Okla., was awarded on March 9 a $9,692,700 firm-fixed-price contract for design/build of guardrails throughout Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Work is to be performed in various cities in the United States with an estimated completion date of May 19, 2011. Five bids were solicited with two bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, Okla., is the contracting actiity (W9126G-08-D-0083).
Lockheed Martin Electronics and Fire Control, Orlando, Fla., was awarded on March 1, 2010 a $7,559,720 firm-fixed-price contract to reset support to include inspection, refurbishment, and removal of sand, dust and foreign material intrusion to the Apache modernized and legacy target acquisition designation sight assembly and pilot night vision sensor assembly system. Work is to be performed in Orlando, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2011. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aviation & Missile Command Contracting Center, CCAM-AP-B, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-10-C-0023).
E-One, Inc., Ocala, Fla., was awarded on March 1, 2010, a $7,507,533 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 10 air rescue fire fighting vehicles; spare parts; vehicle test; diagnostic software kit; training outside of the continental United States; and deprocessing of vehicles. Work is to be performed in Ocala, Fla., with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2011. One sole-source bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM, CCTA-ADB-A, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-10-C-0111).
ARES Systems Group, LLC, Vicksburg, Miss., was awarded on March 9 a $6,846,241 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for threat detection alongside or approaching roadways. Work is to be performed in Alexandria, Va., with an estimated completion date of March 9, 2011. Bids were solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site with one bid received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ERDC Contracting Office, Vicksburg, Miss., is the contracting activity (W912HZ-09-C-0097).
Whiting-Turner, Baltimore, Md., was awarded on March 5, 2010, a $6,743,000 firm-fixed-price contract for building 705 renovations, Fort Eustis, Va. Work will include renovations to administrative, classroom, and library space. Work is to be performed in Fort Eustis, Va., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2011. Six bids were solicited with five bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (W91236-08-D-0069).
L.R. Costanzo Co., Inc., Scranton, Pa., was awarded on March 2, 2010, a $6,265,989 firm-fixed-price contract. This procurement is for the renovation of 60,000 square feet within Tobyhanna Army Depot's existing industrial complex. Necessary improvements to existing bays include lighting upgrades, power upgrades, HVAC, crane, and other modification necessary based on the large weapons systems at issue. Work is to be performed in Tobyhanna Army Depot, Tobyhanna, Pa., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2010. Bids were solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site with seven bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, Baltimore, Md., is the contracting activity (W912DR-10-C-0073).
Mechanical Equipment, Inc., Covington, La., was awarded on March 5, 2010, a $6,619,001 firm-fixed-price contract for a requirement contract of an estimated 154 lightweight water purifiers. Work is to be performed in Sugar Land, Texas, with an estimated completion date of March 4, 2015. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web with six bids received. TACOM Contracting Center, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-10-D-0002).
Luna Innovations, Inc., Roanoke, Va., was awarded on March 8, 2010, a $5,982,218 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding Luna Inovations to develop an independent suite of tools to verify that Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) bit streams can be trusted and contain only that functionality in the design implementation; nothing more and nothing less. They will also develop tools to authenticate that the target FPGA hardware has not been substitited within the supply chain. Work is to be performed in Roanoke, Va., with an estimated completion date of March 7, 2010. Bids were solicited via Broad Agency Announcement with 30 bids received. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (HR0011-08-C-0007).
Sundt Construction, Inc., Tempe, Ariz., was awarded on March 4, 2010, a $5,520,000 firm-fixed-price contract. This task order is consisting of providing materials, equipment, and labor for the construction of the Combat Aviation Brigade Hot Refuel Facility at Fort Bliss, Texas, which includes clearing and grubbing; earthwork; site work; concrete roadway paving; storm drainage systems; water distribution systems; sanitary sewer collection system; concrete fueling apron and taxiways; airfield and roadway striping and marking; airfield electrical; fueling control building; above ground storage tanks; fuel piping systems; electrical distribution systems and duct banks; communication duct bank system; erosion control; temporary access roadways; traffic control; signage; and other items specified in the contract documents. Work is to be performed in El Paso, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. Five bids were solicited with two bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineer District, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-09-D-0004).
Flag Officer Announcement
March 11, 2010 - Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced today that the President has made the following nominations:
Navy Rear Adm. Mark I. Fox for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Central Command and Commander, Fifth Fleet, in Bahrain. Fox is currently serving ascommander, Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, Fallon, Nev.
Navy Rear Adm. Scott R. Van Buskirk for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as commander, Seventh Fleet, Yokosuka, Japan. Van Buskirk is currently serving as deputy and chief of staff, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Navy Rear Adm. Mark I. Fox for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Central Command and Commander, Fifth Fleet, in Bahrain. Fox is currently serving ascommander, Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, Fallon, Nev.
Navy Rear Adm. Scott R. Van Buskirk for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as commander, Seventh Fleet, Yokosuka, Japan. Van Buskirk is currently serving as deputy and chief of staff, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
General Officer Announcement
March 11, 2010 - Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced today that the President has nominated Army Lt. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr. for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general and assignment as director, Strategic Plans and Policy, J-5; Senior Member, U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Military Staff Committee, Washington, D.C. Jacoby is currently serving as the commanding general, I Corps and Fort Lewis/deputy commander for Operations, U.S. Forces-Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq.
Flag Officer Assignments
March 11, 2010 - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced today the following assignments:
Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael J. Browne will be assigned as director, Personal Readiness and Community Support Branch, N135, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Browne is currently serving as deputy chief engineer, Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C.
Capt. Clinton F. Faison III, who has been selected for promotion to Rear Adm. (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Navy Medicine West/commander, Naval Medical Center, San Diego. Faison is currently serving as deputy chief, Medical Operations, M3/5, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, D.C.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Donald E. Gaddis will be assigned as program executive officer for Tactical Aircraft Programs, Washington, D.C. Gaddis is currently serving as commander, Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division/assistant commander for research and engineering, Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael H. Mittelman, who has been selected for promotion to Rear Adm., will be assigned as fleet surgeon, U.S. Pacific Fleet/command surgeon, U.S. Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. Mittleman is currently serving as command surgeon, Joint Forces Command/medical advisor to Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Norfolk, Va.
Rear Adm. (lower half) William M. Roberts will be assigned as fleet surgeon, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Va. Roberts is currently serving as director, Medical Resources, Plans, and Policy Division, N931, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Alton L. Stocks will be assigned as commander, Navy Medicine East/commander, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Va. Stocks is currently serving as fleet surgeon, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Va.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael J. Browne will be assigned as director, Personal Readiness and Community Support Branch, N135, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Browne is currently serving as deputy chief engineer, Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C.
Capt. Clinton F. Faison III, who has been selected for promotion to Rear Adm. (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Navy Medicine West/commander, Naval Medical Center, San Diego. Faison is currently serving as deputy chief, Medical Operations, M3/5, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, D.C.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Donald E. Gaddis will be assigned as program executive officer for Tactical Aircraft Programs, Washington, D.C. Gaddis is currently serving as commander, Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division/assistant commander for research and engineering, Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael H. Mittelman, who has been selected for promotion to Rear Adm., will be assigned as fleet surgeon, U.S. Pacific Fleet/command surgeon, U.S. Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. Mittleman is currently serving as command surgeon, Joint Forces Command/medical advisor to Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Norfolk, Va.
Rear Adm. (lower half) William M. Roberts will be assigned as fleet surgeon, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Va. Roberts is currently serving as director, Medical Resources, Plans, and Policy Division, N931, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Alton L. Stocks will be assigned as commander, Navy Medicine East/commander, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Va. Stocks is currently serving as fleet surgeon, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Va.
Many Pieces Come Together for 'Key Resolve'
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
March 11, 2010 - With a major threat immediately to their north, the South Korean military and U.S. forces based here recognize the need to be, in the words of their top commander, "prepared to fight and win if we had to go to war today." Yet, Army Gen. Walter "Skip" Sharp, along with his troops at United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea, recognize that conducting major field exercises here is no easy task.
Training areas are limited, so it's impossible to conduct live training with large-scale forces. Meanwhile, traffic congestion inhibits troop movements to and from training areas, and political and environmental sensitivities always come into play.
The solution? It's under way now, as Combined Forces Command in Korea conducts Key Resolve 2010, one of the world's largest simulated exercises. The only larger one, Ulchi Freedom Guardian, takes place in South Korea every August.
"If you measure the exercise in terms of the level of effort, the number of sites, the number of simulations, the number of work stations, the magnitude of the exercise command and control system and so forth, there is no other exercise that comes close to what we do here," said Jude Shea, director of the Korea Battle Simulation Center at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan.
This year's Key Resolve kicked off March 8 to drill Combined Forces Command's command and staff procedures, and ultimately, its ability to defend South Korea against an attack.
The exercise overcomes training constraints by combining live, virtual and constructive training.
Live training, Shea explained, involves real people, out under field conditions, using real equipment. Virtual training involves real people operating in simulators with the same characteristics as real systems, but using computer-generated scenarios. In constructive training, simulated people use simulated equipment housed in computer models and simulations.
Bringing these three methods into play is a massive undertaking – one that involves thousands of participants, modeling work stations and computer systems at dozens of sites throughout South Korea, as well as Japan and the United States.
The training focuses on two basic training audiences from the U.S. and South Korean militaries, Shea explained. "Players" operate from wartime command posts under tactical conditions, issuing operational plans, orders and directives to the "gamers."
The gamers, based in simulation centers throughout South Korea, translate that information into computer orders.
As the friendly forces operate during the exercise, a constructive 600-member opposing force goes through essentially the same process, with no competitive edge.
"One of the things we work very hard to accomplish is to not provide the players with any more information in this exercise than we would expect them to have in the real world," Shea said. "So on both sides, [the] red side and blue side, there is fog of war, there is friction, there is some information that is not correct -- just as it would be in real warfare."
The participants are left to "sort through that, and try and figure out what is correct, and react to it," Shea said.
The tension that results – with both sides fighting to win -- gets played out in simulated combat. It determines which side wins, at least at the tactical level, and assesses casualties, equipment damage and other outcomes, Shea said.
That information is fed back to the gamers, who relay it to the players, starting the cycle all over again.
As this process takes place, other behind-the-scenes participants facilitate the exercise, Shea explained. Controllers regulate the exercise to make sure training objectives can be met. Observers posted with the players and gamers monitor their actions to help develop after-action reports.
The Combined Battle Simulation Center, collocated with the U.S.-Korea Battle Simulation Center, serves as the exercise hub. The operational force is based at another simulation facility, the Warrior Training Center at Camp Casey.
Several other simulation organizations are participating in the exercise, Shea said. These include the Korea Air Simulation Center on Osan Air Base and South Korea's Army Battle Command Training Program in Daejeon. The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force's Tactical Exercise Control Group, based at Camp Courtney in Okinawa, Japan, also is involved
In addition, various sites throughout South Korea and the United States are serving as model host sites, Shea said. Walker Center at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan is hosting the ground and intelligence models, with a backup intelligence model at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Air models for the exercise are being hosted at Osan Air Base, and the naval models, at a temporary simulation center set up at a South Korean navy base in Cheong Hae.
Meanwhile, Fort Lee, Va., is hosting the logistics model, and Shriever Air Force Base, Colo., hosts the space mode.
A wide-area communications network links these far-flung participants during the exercise. "By the use of modern communications technology, we are able to link all of these sites and many others together, so we are virtually all located in the same work space," Shea said.
Four days into Key Resolve 2010, Sharp offered rave reviews about the training realism being offered, particularly in promoting command and control collaboration and senior decision-making capabilities. He also expressed appreciation of all that was involved in setting up and running an exercise of Key Resolve's magnitude.
It reaffirms what Sharp called the top priority for members of Combined Forces Korea, whether during exercises like Key Resolve, or as they carry out their mission every day.
That, he said, is to be ready to defend South Korea against aggression at a moment's notice, "prepared to fight and win if we had to go to war today."
"Whether it be at this top theater level, like you are observing during this exercise, or down to the individual soldier level, where they are learning how to fire their weapons, and at every level in between, we train every day to be prepared to execute our mission here," he said.
American Forces Press Service
March 11, 2010 - With a major threat immediately to their north, the South Korean military and U.S. forces based here recognize the need to be, in the words of their top commander, "prepared to fight and win if we had to go to war today." Yet, Army Gen. Walter "Skip" Sharp, along with his troops at United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea, recognize that conducting major field exercises here is no easy task.
Training areas are limited, so it's impossible to conduct live training with large-scale forces. Meanwhile, traffic congestion inhibits troop movements to and from training areas, and political and environmental sensitivities always come into play.
The solution? It's under way now, as Combined Forces Command in Korea conducts Key Resolve 2010, one of the world's largest simulated exercises. The only larger one, Ulchi Freedom Guardian, takes place in South Korea every August.
"If you measure the exercise in terms of the level of effort, the number of sites, the number of simulations, the number of work stations, the magnitude of the exercise command and control system and so forth, there is no other exercise that comes close to what we do here," said Jude Shea, director of the Korea Battle Simulation Center at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan.
This year's Key Resolve kicked off March 8 to drill Combined Forces Command's command and staff procedures, and ultimately, its ability to defend South Korea against an attack.
The exercise overcomes training constraints by combining live, virtual and constructive training.
Live training, Shea explained, involves real people, out under field conditions, using real equipment. Virtual training involves real people operating in simulators with the same characteristics as real systems, but using computer-generated scenarios. In constructive training, simulated people use simulated equipment housed in computer models and simulations.
Bringing these three methods into play is a massive undertaking – one that involves thousands of participants, modeling work stations and computer systems at dozens of sites throughout South Korea, as well as Japan and the United States.
The training focuses on two basic training audiences from the U.S. and South Korean militaries, Shea explained. "Players" operate from wartime command posts under tactical conditions, issuing operational plans, orders and directives to the "gamers."
The gamers, based in simulation centers throughout South Korea, translate that information into computer orders.
As the friendly forces operate during the exercise, a constructive 600-member opposing force goes through essentially the same process, with no competitive edge.
"One of the things we work very hard to accomplish is to not provide the players with any more information in this exercise than we would expect them to have in the real world," Shea said. "So on both sides, [the] red side and blue side, there is fog of war, there is friction, there is some information that is not correct -- just as it would be in real warfare."
The participants are left to "sort through that, and try and figure out what is correct, and react to it," Shea said.
The tension that results – with both sides fighting to win -- gets played out in simulated combat. It determines which side wins, at least at the tactical level, and assesses casualties, equipment damage and other outcomes, Shea said.
That information is fed back to the gamers, who relay it to the players, starting the cycle all over again.
As this process takes place, other behind-the-scenes participants facilitate the exercise, Shea explained. Controllers regulate the exercise to make sure training objectives can be met. Observers posted with the players and gamers monitor their actions to help develop after-action reports.
The Combined Battle Simulation Center, collocated with the U.S.-Korea Battle Simulation Center, serves as the exercise hub. The operational force is based at another simulation facility, the Warrior Training Center at Camp Casey.
Several other simulation organizations are participating in the exercise, Shea said. These include the Korea Air Simulation Center on Osan Air Base and South Korea's Army Battle Command Training Program in Daejeon. The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force's Tactical Exercise Control Group, based at Camp Courtney in Okinawa, Japan, also is involved
In addition, various sites throughout South Korea and the United States are serving as model host sites, Shea said. Walker Center at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan is hosting the ground and intelligence models, with a backup intelligence model at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Air models for the exercise are being hosted at Osan Air Base, and the naval models, at a temporary simulation center set up at a South Korean navy base in Cheong Hae.
Meanwhile, Fort Lee, Va., is hosting the logistics model, and Shriever Air Force Base, Colo., hosts the space mode.
A wide-area communications network links these far-flung participants during the exercise. "By the use of modern communications technology, we are able to link all of these sites and many others together, so we are virtually all located in the same work space," Shea said.
Four days into Key Resolve 2010, Sharp offered rave reviews about the training realism being offered, particularly in promoting command and control collaboration and senior decision-making capabilities. He also expressed appreciation of all that was involved in setting up and running an exercise of Key Resolve's magnitude.
It reaffirms what Sharp called the top priority for members of Combined Forces Korea, whether during exercises like Key Resolve, or as they carry out their mission every day.
That, he said, is to be ready to defend South Korea against aggression at a moment's notice, "prepared to fight and win if we had to go to war today."
"Whether it be at this top theater level, like you are observing during this exercise, or down to the individual soldier level, where they are learning how to fire their weapons, and at every level in between, we train every day to be prepared to execute our mission here," he said.
Joint Fighter Faces Critical Period, Official Says
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
March 11, 2010 - Contracting for the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter, touted as the future backbone of U.S. air superiority, must be brought in line with budget realities to make the aircraft affordable again, a defense official said today. Key manufacturing and testing milestones are expected for the fighter between now and 2011, Ashton B. Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"The next two years will be critical ones for the joint strike fighter," Carter said, "with the delivery of test aircraft, ... completion and analysis of hundreds of test flights, and commencement of flight training."
Pentagon and defense industry officials made efforts last week to explain adjustments made in the wake of a Defense Department study last year that found the development phase of the revolutionary aircraft had slipped by 30 months. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates took measures to reduce the lag time to 13 months, officials said.
Early last month, Gates announced the restructuring of the program -- the most expensive acquisition in U.S. military history -- with the objective of restoring the development program schedule.
Carter, in a phone interview last week, said he was able to report to program partners, including the prime contractor Lockheed Martin, that Gates' modifications provided the program a realistic plan instead of one that was "blindly optimistic" or "fatalistic."
The stealthy, supersonic F-35 will replace a wide range of aging fighter and strike aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and eight international partners.
The Defense Department report showed the program was taking longer and costing more than either the government's development office or the contractor had predicted, said Carter, who emphasized that the review turned up no major technological or manufacturing problems.
"This schedule and cost trend was unacceptable for the taxpayers of the U.S. and for the other eight nations," he said in the interview last week. "The schedule slip was estimated at 30 months in the development program. The cost of the airplanes had grown since 2002, and for a variety of reasons, the JSF program would breach the Nunn-McCurdy threshold."
The Nunn-McCurdy law requires that Congress be notified of a cost growth of more than 15 percent in a program. It also calls for cancellation of programs for which total cost grew by more than 25 percent over the original estimate.
"We didn't wait for the Nunn-McCurdy paperwork to play out," Carter said. "We began to review and restructure the JSF program as though it were already in Nunn-McCurdy breach, and the results of that review and restructuring were subsequently described by Gates."
Carter reiterated to lawmakers today that reports last showed the program failed to meet expectations, and described management measures put in place to increase oversight of the program.
"Studies conducted over the past year indicate that the JSF program fell short of expectations and must be restored to affordability and a stable schedule," he told senators.
Gates elevated the position of the JSF program executive to three-star rank, which Carter said reflected a need for experienced and vigorous management. The executive primarily will focus on three phases of the contract life: the developmental test program, the ramp-up to full production and Nunn-McCurdy cost concerns.
"I pledge that we will keep this committee fully and promptly informed of this program's progress. We will also keep our international partners fully and promptly informed," Carter said. "The program will benefit from the fresh eyes and experienced managerial hand of a three-star program executive officer."
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