DoD Now on Track to Rebuild, Restore Military, Spokesperson Says

By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2018 — The Bipartisan Budget Act puts DoD on track to rebuild, restore and modernize the U.S. military, Dana W. White, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, said today.

The act lifts the spending caps for fiscal years 2018 and 2019, allowing the department to climb out of a readiness trough and providing funding necessary to modernize the force.

“The bipartisan measure will allow Congress to appropriate DoD funds at the level requested … by the president for both F.Y. '18 and '19,” White said.

Hand-in-hand with this is the need for the department to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars, she said. This is one of Defense Secretary James N. Mattis’ top priorities.

“We want to maximize the value of every tax dollar we receive,” White said.

Congress still has some work to do. Right now, the department is still operating on a continuing resolution. The appropriations committees need to produce either individual bills for the departments or an omnibus bill covering the entire government. The deadline for this is March 23. If the bills are passed, the department will still have the time to obligate fiscal 2018 funds by the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30.

White also welcomed two senior officials who will be instrumental in ensuring the department spends its funds wisely: Jay Gibson, DoD's first chief management officer, and third-in-command after the defense secretary and deputy defense secretary; and Mike Griffin, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. “Their arrival marks the largest reorganization of the department since the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act, a key step in our reform efforts,” White said.

White also announced that the secretary will make his recommendations to President Donald J. Trump on transgender service members. She said she expects the president to make his decision known soon after.

“This is a complex issue, and the secretary is taking his time to consider the information he's been given,” White said. “It's an important issue, and again, he sees all of his decisions through the lens of lethality.”

Navy to Christen Expeditionary Fast Transport Burlington

The Navy will christen its newest Expeditionary Fast Transport, the future USNS Burlington (T-EPF 10), during a 10 a.m. CST ceremony Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

The future USNS Burlington, designated T-EPF 10, will be the first ship in naval service to honor Burlington, Vermont’s largest city. The first Navy ship Burlington (PF-51) was named for Burlington, Iowa and served during WWII.

The principal speaker is U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont. Mrs. Marcelle Pomerleau Leahy, Senator Leahy’s wife of 55 years, will serve as the ship’s sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, she will christen the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.

"This ship honors Burlington, Vermont, a city that embodies American values and its patriotic, hardworking citizens for their support and contributions to our Navy,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. "Burlington, like the other ships in the EPF program, will provide our commanders high-speed sealift mobility and agility. I am thankful for this ship and her crew who will serve our nation for decades to come, and I am thankful for our industrial force teammates whose service makes this great ship possible.”

With an all-aluminum shallow-draft hull, the EPF is a commercial-based catamaran capable of intra-theater personnel and cargo lift providing combatant commanders high-speed sealift mobility with inherent cargo handling capability and agility to achieve positional advantage over operational distances.

EPF class ships are designed to transport 600 short tons of military cargo 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. The ship is capable of operating in shallow-draft ports and waterways, interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities, and on/off-loading a combat-loaded Abrams main battle tank (M1A2).

The EPF includes a flight deck for helicopter operations and an off-load ramp that will allow vehicles to quickly drive off the ship. EPF’s shallow draft (under 15 feet) further enhances littoral operations and port access. This makes the EPF an extremely flexible asset for support of a wide range of operations including maneuver and sustainment, relief operations in small or damaged ports, flexible logistics support, or as the key enabler for rapid transport.

The EPF program delivered its ninth ship late last year, USNS City of Bismarck (T-EPF 9). Puerto Rico (EPF 11) and Newport (EPF 12) are currently under construction at Austal’s shipyard.

Guard Salutes Fallen New York City Apartment Fire Hero

By Army Col. Richard Goldenberg, New York National Guard

NEW YORK CITY, Feb. 21, 2018 — Army National Guard leaders recently honored a New York Army National Guardsman who died while rescuing his neighbors during the deadliest fire here in more than 25 years.

Army Pfc. Emmanuel Mensah is credited with saving four lives as he returned to the building three times before he was overcome by smoke. Including Mensah, 13 people died in the blaze.

Mensah posthumously received two medals for valor during a ceremony for the family at Fordham University here Feb. 16, including the Army's highest award for bravery outside of a combat zone.

Army Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Kadavy, director of the Army National Guard, presented the Soldier's Medal to Kwabena Mensah, Emmanuel’s father.

‘Unselfish Soldier’

"Difficult though it may be," Kadavy said, "please think of this ceremony as an opportunity not to mourn, but to celebrate Private First Class Mensah, an unselfish soldier of incredible bravery, who sacrificed his own life to save several others, and while attempting to save more."

Army Secretary Mark T. Esper approved the posthumous award of the Soldier's Medal for Mensah Jan. 1.

"The Soldier's Medal is an award that no one sets out to receive," Kadavy said. "If any of us could change the circumstances that bring us together this morning, we certainly would do so."

Fire department investigators say the blaze was started by a young boy playing with a gas stove. According to investigators, the fire spread after the child's family escaped the apartment and neglected to close the apartment door behind them.

"After quickly escaping the fire, Private First Class Mensah could have remained safely outside," Kadavy said. "But, knowing that residents were still inside, it was not in his nature to stand by without doing whatever he could to help them escape the deadly inferno that was raging through their homes.

When firefighters were able to enter the building, they discovered Mensah's remains and believe that based on the location of the body, he was still seeking to rescue people, according to statements provided to New York Army National Guard officials.

"Private First Class Mensah's heroic actions are in keeping with the highest traditions of military heroism and selfless service and reflect great credit upon himself, the New York Army National Guard and the United States Army," the award citation says.

"Today is about the recognition of a family's sacrifice and the military recognizing their own," said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Javier Lugo of the 104th Military Police Battalion, the higher headquarters of Mensah's intended unit. "This is the highest non-combat award given by the U.S. Army for going above and beyond the call of duty to save another person's life."

Lifelong Dream to Serve

Mensah’s dream was to join the military, the fallen soldier’s father said.

"He fulfilled his dream, what he wanted to do," Kwabena Mensah said of his son. "He was proud of being [in] the American military. He was so proud of that."

Richard White, New York State's deputy secretary for public safety, presented the New York State Medal for Valor to the Mensah family on behalf of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Mensah’s family immigrated to the United States from Ghana and Mensah was a permanent legal resident. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on Sept. 21, 2017.

"He came to exemplify what is best about his adopted country and Ghana, his country of origin," White said. "What that means is that when others would run from the inferno, our Pfc. Mensah ran into the blaze."

"It's given we, the family members, some peace and some joy and hope that even though we have lost him physically, his memory still lives on," Gloria Addo Nuamah, Mensah’s sister, said. "People will remember him for this bravery and that's what this ceremony stands for me."

Mensah, who enlisted in the New York Army National Guard in December 2016, had recently completed training to serve as a wheeled vehicle mechanic.

At the time of his death, he was still assigned to Alpha Company of the New York Army National Guard's Recruiting and Retention Battalion, but was slated to begin drilling with the New York Army National Guard's 107th Military Police Company at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn in January.

Mensah was buried with full military honors Feb. 17, at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

"Every soldier has a story," Lugo said, "This just goes to show how all of our soldiers are special."