| tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29568269 RSS FEED | Homeland Security Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report for 22 December 2009
22.12.2009 15:58:0 +0000
Top Stories
CNN reports that a major snowstorm slammed the East Coast and snarled the busy holiday travel season Saturday as airports shut down runways, rail service slowed, and bus routes were suspended. The Examiner reports that hundreds of thousands of customers in several States lost power during the storm. (See items 1 and 18)
According to the Arizona Republic, a strong metallic odor at the Scottsdale Galleria Corporate Center forced the evacuation of about 1,200 office workers and sent 21 people to the hospital with breathing difficulties Friday afternoon. (See item 47)
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http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/DHS_Daily_Report_2009-12-22.pdf | Homeland Security Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report for 21 December 2009
21.12.2009 17:9:0 +0000
Top Stories
KWTX 10 Waco reports that fire departments responded Thursday afternoon to the report of a possible chlorine fire in a building owned by the Downsville Water Department in McLennan County, Texas. A 3-mile radius was evacuated during the fire. (See item 25)
According to the Associated Press, South Korea’s military said Friday it was investigating a hacking attack that netted secret defense plans with the United States and may have been carried out by North Korea. The suspected hacking occurred late last month and involved a USB device. (See item 31)
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http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/DHS_Daily_Report_2009-12-21.pdf | New Afghan Road Benefits Families, Commerce
19.12.2009 17:20:0 +0000
By Air Force Capt. Tony Wickman
Special to American Forces Press Service
Dec. 18, 2009 - Getting through downtown Asadabad, Afghanistan, has become easier for hundreds of Afghan families, thanks to two and a half miles of new roads that were completed Dec. 13. Provincial reconstruction team engineers completed their final quality-assurance check just before a dedication ceremony with Kunar Gov. Fazlullah Wahidi and village elders on a clear, warm day.
The roads, worth $935,000, will benefit hundreds of families and businesses in the city and is a welcome improvement, several residents and shopkeepers said.
Sherzada, a general store owner who has been in business for three years, said the new roads make a difference in the lives of the people working and living in Dam Kalay village and Asadabad.
"Before, the road was all muddy and wasn't good for my business," he said. The people of this village and [I] were getting our clothes dirty while walking here. Whenever we were doing shopping downtown, it would take more time for us to come here. But the new road now makes us feel safer and cleaner. It also makes the trip shorter, and it's a benefit for everyone in the village."
Navy Lt. Derek Elling, provincial reconstruction team engineer, said the road was a good project, with only minor issues. Unlike many other road projects, this wasn't a continuous road, but rather is smaller segments of roads linking different parts of the city.
"The overall quality of the road is good," said Elling, a native of Norwood Young America, Minn. "There was a 700-meter section of road that wasn't complete when we got here [in July] that we had to decide whether it was going to be [paved with double-bituminous surface treatment] or concrete, because it is in a washout area." The surface treatment, he said, was the reason for the final quality-assurance check before the dedication ceremony.
"There were minor things that need to be addressed — a small section of the road broke off, and a culvert needs to be repaired — but overall, it is good road."
Elling said a positive sight while conducting the quality assessment patrol was seeing local people who had been hired by a nongovernmental group cleaning the new streets.
"The [nongovernmental organization] is doing some good work and are on the frontline of things," he said. "They pay people directly to go out and do jobs like clean the street, which eliminates the threat of corruption and graft."
In his remarks to more than 50 provincial leaders and tribal elders at the dedication site, Army Lt. Col. Joseph Cantlin, the provincial reconstruction team's chief of military-civilian operations, praised the local construction and engineering company for its efforts.
"This morning, [we] walked up and down the road to see that the contractor did a good job and built a good road for the city of Asadabad," said Cantlin, of Fort Belvoir, Va.
Cantlin expressed the hope that the road will improve governance and development in the area.
"As you know, Asadabad is the capital and center of governance and economic development for the entire province," he said. "Our hope is that this new road will help to continue economic development and bring new jobs to the people of Asadabad."
(Air Force Capt. Tony Wickman serves in the provincial reconstruction team public affairs office in Afghanistan's Kunar province.) | Contractor Keeps Lights on at Iraq Base
19.12.2009 16:14:0 +0000
By Army Sgt. Benjamin R Kibbey
Special to American Forces Press Service
Dec. 18, 2009 - Soldiers who haven't deployed before or who only recently arrived here may not give much thought to the constant electricity, hot showers and well-lit avenues. But that kind of thing doesn't happen easily, and it is thanks in no small part to an Iraqi company, Al Harith, that Contingency Operating Base Basra hums along so smoothly. Ismael Shaker, a petrochemical engineer by training, has been running Al Harith since he and his partner founded it 18 years ago.
Shaker started the business with his friend of 32 years when Iraq was rebuilding after the Gulf War. Like many Iraqis, he said, he sees opportunity and hope this time around that never existed before. Looking at the projects he and the engineers and technicians of Al Harith have completed here, it's easy to see the promise for the future of the country that they embody.
The power plant that supplies the Viking and Sandstorm living-support areas was inherited from the British. Its eight generators were at three different locations when the British owned them, including the old British headquarters at the airport hotel.
But because of technical problems, the British couldn't get them to work properly. The computerized system that synchronizes the generators required a password, and the Italian company that sold them the units wasn't cooperative.
When Al Harith first took over the generators at Camp Abunaji, Shaker saw an additional problem. When the Al Harith engineers looked at the system, they realized the generators had no manifolds to prevent air bubbles in the fuel line. So Shaker had the manifolds created in one of his workshops. It didn't solve the entire problem, but may have prevented quite a few future ones, he said.
When it came time to install the generators near Logistics Support Area Viking, Al Harith was able to contact the Italian company and found out the agreement necessitating the password had expired. So, with a little technical acumen, Al Harith's engineers cracked the system and were able to set it up to operate as intended.
"This was a big challenge for us, because when you are dealing with software, you must have the know-how and you must have the software," said Mundir Muhammad, chief engineer for the power station. "But fortunately, we can deal with this."
Al Harith employs electrical and mechanical engineers and technicians at the site 24 hours a day to monitor the power output.
With one day off a week and their bunks a few feet from where they work, they have a similar life to the military personnel on the base. Crews of eight to 10 engineers and technicians live at each logistics support area on the base, Shaker said. A support crew from the company headquarters is available for pumping, carpentry and steelwork, Muhammad said.
"I have 30 years experience in power generation in the government and private sector," he said, "so I am familiar with this kind of generator, steam generators, gas turbine: all kinds of power generation types." Still, he added, operating a computerized station of this size was a new experience for some of the engineers.
"[In Iraq], we deal with mainly non-computerized power stations," Muhammad said. "Of course, we have individual diesel generators, computerized also, outside the camp."
Most generators that Jafar Abdullah, an electrical engineer from Basra, has worked on were single generators, though often much larger than the eight that make up the power station here, he said, so the issue of synchronizing generators was a new one for him.
However, the reliance on computers to synchronize and monitor the generators actually simplifies much of the work.
"The design of these generators makes it simpler to get better performance out of them," Abdullah said. The system is almost maintenance-free, Muhammad pointed out. Still, it's important to stay on top of draining water from the system and checking the clarity of the oil.
"We perform preventive maintenance every 250 operating hours," he said. "We stop the generator, change the filter, check the oil and all the other preventive-maintenance items."
If the regularly scheduled service is delayed even a little, it can do irreparable damage to the generators, said Army Staff Sgt. Kris Lemm, contracting office representative of the base mayor's cell, from Browerville, Minn. This is true especially since the base switched to the much less clean-burning JP8 diesel fuel, which can take years off of the projected lifespan of the equipment. The Al Harith engineers take the maintenance schedule very seriously, and the computerized system simplifies this.
"If we need to make service on one of these generators, we don't have to separate the power," Abdullah explained. "It's much simpler."
It doesn't hurt that one of the eight generators by itself can produce more power than is needed for the current load. This means that only two generators are required – the second to keep power going while the other is serviced.
Now that the generators are set up and functioning, plans are in the works to power additional parts of the base from the one station, Muhammad said. Even when the area powered by the generators is expanded to include the nearby post exchange complex, he said, the one generator still won't pass 40 percent.
"We now have steady power, and we made the calculations, and I think we will achieve it," he said.
Lemm, who has spent 15 of his 22 years in the military as an instructor at the regional training site for maintenance at Camp Ripley, Minn., has high praise for the work Al Harith does.
"I taught [ranging from] small-arms to rebuilding engines to rebuilding tanks to doing fire-control systems repair," Lemm said, "and none of that helped me as much as these guys did on teaching me on what they do." Lemm represents Al Harith's contract through the joint contracting command for Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Water, power and fuel covers a lot of work all over this [base]," he said. "On average, I get a list of about 50 different things that they have fixed for Task Force Safe every day."
The difference Shaker has made here is obvious at every turn, Lemm said, noting that the base used to be very dark.
"Now, he takes care of putting light everywhere," Lem said. "This was a very unorganized and unsafe [base], and they go every single place and rewire all the unsafe things.
"It's a long list of everything they do," he continued. "Where there is no heat, they put heat; where there is no air conditioning, they put air conditioning; where there is need of more fuel tanks because they have added more stuff, he has his welding team making more fuel tanks every day."
With years of experience behind him and years of work ahead of him, Shaker takes all the compliments with an easy smile.
He said he expects things to truly stabilize in Iraq in three years, and his fatigued, but calm, eyes lighted up when Lemm mentioned how many Iraqis Al Harith employs here.
"Over 460 workers are busy all the day," Shaker said with a smile. "And that's good. That's very good."
(Army Sgt. Benjamin R Kibbey serves in Multinational Division South.) | Iraqi Forces Target Assassination Cell
19.12.2009 6:16:0 +0000
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 18, 2009 - Iraqi security forces arrested two suspected members of an al-Qaida in Iraq cell responsible for making bombs and attacking government officials during a combined security operation today in western Baghdad. Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched a building for a suspected terrorist who allegedly is part of a cell that manufactures magnetic bombs and attaches them to vehicles to kill government officials and those who oppose al-Qaida in Iraq. The security team found a fully assembled bomb, several bomb components and a weapon equipped with a suppressor.
Following a preliminary examination of the evidence at the scene, Iraqi forces arrested two suspected criminal associates of the warranted al-Qaida in Iraq member without incident.
(From a Multinational Force Iraq news release.) | ISAF Officials Investigate Civilian Casualty Claims
19.12.2009 6:15:0 +0000
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 18, 2009 - The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is sending a team to work with Afghan officials in assessing reports of civilian casualties as a result of an operation in the Shah Wali Kot district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province yesterday.
Initial operational reports indicate that men were planting a bomb next to the road. After firing on the men from a helicopter, ISAF forces discovered civilians in a car adjacent to the site, officials said.
In a written statement, ISAF officials said the command goes to great lengths to avoid, and deeply regrets, any harm to civilians.
In other news from Afghanistan, a combined Afghan-international security force today detained a few suspected militants in the Nerkh district of Wardak province while pursuing a Taliban suspect linked to several local militant leaders and commanders.
In another operation today, a combined force detained a sought-after bomb-attack suspect for the Haqqani terrorist group along with a few other militants in the Sabari district of Khost province after searching suspected compounds.
The suspect is heavily involved with distributing weapons to other militant elements and increasing the bombing network in the area, officials said.
In a separate operation today, a combined force detained a few suspected militants in the Arghandab district of Kandahar province while pursuing a Taliban commander responsible for manufacturing bombs and conducting several attacks in the area.
No shots were fired, and no one was harmed during these operations, officials said.
In an operation yesterday, a joint security force engaged militants in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province while pursuing a Taliban commander.
During a search, members of the combined force saw a group of suspected militants maneuvering around a nearby ridgeline. As the force departed the area after their search, the suspected militants fired on them from the ridgeline. The force returned fire and left the area without further incident.
No civilians or members of the joint force were injured during the operation, officials said.
(From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command news release.) | Afghan Town's Progress Provides Encouragement
19.12.2009 5:38:0 +0000
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 18, 2009 - An irrigation ditch bisects the main thoroughfare of this town in Helmand province, and shops line each side of the street. The shops sell everything from fresh vegetables to livestock to snack foods and transistor radios.
The town looks like nothing special, but it is. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff showed just how special it is when he walked down the street here yesterday, speaking with shop owners and officials and meeting children.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen's four stars were on his soft cap, not a helmet. And he was not wearing his flak jacket – none of the party with him needed to.
When the Marines went into Nawa on July 2, it was a Taliban stronghold. The town is a market center, so few people actually live there. But it is an important town for the prosperity of the region; there is a government center, and in better days, thousands went to Nawa to buy goods, meet friends, see the doctor and exchange gossip.
Under Taliban control, Nawa was the scene of daily gunfights, said Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, the commander in Helmand province. Only one or two shops were open when the Marines came into the town. The irrigation ditch in the middle of town, roughly 20 feet deep, was choked with weeds. Stagnant water oozed through the town.
But since then, Nawa has become a secure island in a province once dominated by the Taliban and serves as an example that the counterinsurgency strategy can work.
The big market day is Friday, when 1,500 to 2,000 people come to the town. But even Thursday was busy this week as the chairman walked down the street. He saw open shops and spoke with residents through a translator about how things have changed. Children flocked around the party, and some of the Marines in the group handed out pencils and notebooks. Others gave the boys puppets. Mullen saw a weed-free irrigation ditch that had water flowing through it to the farmlands beyond the village.
District Gov. Abdul Manaf accompanied the admiral on his walk. The governor was beaming with pride at the change in the village. He pointed out how the government buildings were being renovated and showed the chairman a rebuilt clinic that is due to open in the next few days.
After his walk, Mullen spoke with the Marines. "One of the folks I was walking with told me about the kids who keep coming up to you," he said. The fact that they are doing this shows they and their families feel it is safe, he noted.
"You represent the best of what we are, and that connection," he said. "The people are coming back [to Nawa]. I'm proud of you. You've made a big difference, and you will continue to do that."
This was Mullen's second visit to the area. When he visited a week after the Marines went into the area, he had to wear full "battle rattle."
"Now there are four towns like this where we can walk around and the insurgents are essentially gone," he told the Marines. "That's to your great credit, and the sacrifices that it takes to make that happen."
Mullen told the Marines their work and their partnership with Afghan soldiers and police have been revolutionary. "It's changed lives," he said. "You're a great example of this strategy, and that this will succeed."
The strategy that worked in Nawa and Garmsir and other areas of the province will be expanded, Nicholson said. He stressed that the Marines have been in the area for only five months, yet have accomplished a lot. Creating security has allowed projects to start and the economy to move, he said, and most of the people who fled the Taliban are back. "That's a good metric to measure success," he said.
In any new operation, Nicholson said, the Marines are going to go in big. That may not mean gun battles, he said, but the troops will be ready for anything.
More Marines are flowing into the region now – half of the battalion ordered in under President Barack Obama's new strategy has arrived, and another 29,000 American troops will surge in to Afghanistan in the first part of 2010. | Mullen Praises Stryker Soldiers in Afghanistan
19.12.2009 5:36:0 +0000
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 18, 2009 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff praised the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, for their service in Afghanistan's Kandahar province here yesterday, saying the unit has made a difference. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told the soldiers he appreciates their sacrifices and their flexibility. The Stryker unit was supposed to deploy to Iraq. That mission was changed to Afghanistan, and the soldiers arrived here in July.
The reinforced battalion moved into battle space formerly occupied by a Canadian Forces company. The company's 80 servicemembers physically could not clear the area of Taliban. The 800-man Stryker battalion aggressively moved out after the enemy – going into areas where the Canadian company had lacked the muscle to venture.
The unit began taking casualties soon after arriving, and through November, had lost 21 soldiers and had 40 more wounded. Now the battalion – part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade's 5th Brigade Combat Team at Fort Lewis, Wash. – has to change again.
"You have already adapted to the changing counterinsurgency strategy," Mullen said during an all-hands meeting at the dining facility here. The unit has embraced the "protect the population" concept. Now, its soldiers will switch missions again, being responsible for freedom of movement on the major highways into Kandahar – Afghanistan's second-largest city.
"I've spent a lot of time on leadership, and there is no more difficult time to lead than in a time of change," Mullen said. "I know you have been in a very tough fight, and those you've lost, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of those."
Mullen said leaders believe the new strategy will work, and now the military must rapidly execute the plan. This should be plain to the soldiers, he said.
"It is on your shoulders to execute that," the chairman said. "[That's] part of the reason I come out here to the pointy end of the spear and see what we're actually asking you to do."
Protecting the people is the key to success, the chairman told the soldiers, and civilian casualties are the bane of a counterinsurgency operation. "I've said many times that we can tactically win, but if we're killing local civilians, we're going to strategically lose," he said.
Each soldier is going to have use leadership in the fight, the chairman said. They are going to have to learn all they can and make important decisions.
"I want to encourage you to do that: to lead quietly, to lead [while] listening, to lead [by] understanding what the challenges are for these people," Mullen said. "Because in the end, they want to raise their kids to a higher standard of living, [and] they'd like to do it in peace and security, just like you and I."
Mullen expressed his gratitude to the soldiers' families for the support they provide. He said he understands the sacrifices being made in soldiers' homes across the country.
"We've asked a lot, you've sacrificed a lot, you really do make a difference, and this region is absolutely vital to our national interests because of the threat that resides here that still threatens American citizens," he said.
Mullen told the young soldiers to keep their head in the game and to watch out for each other as they continue to serve and to adjust. | Results, Not Talk, Needed in Afghanistan, Mullen Says
19.12.2009 4:57:0 +0000
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 18, 2009 - Results, not talk, are what's important in Afghanistan now, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today while en route to Iraq after visiting Afghanistan. Mullen spoke to reporters traveling with him soon after leaving Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. He had spent two days meeting with American soldiers and Marines and with local Afghan leaders.
The admiral met with five Afghan leaders at Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar City, a meeting hosted by a Canadian provincial reconstruction team. He said what impressed him most about the meeting was the vehemence with which Afghan leaders told him they want to take control of their own destiny.
The Afghan leaders also emphasized that something has to be done about corruption in the country, Mullen said. "I was impressed with the strength of conviction that corruption is out of control and people are fed up with it," he said.
The bottom line, Mullen said, is that the Afghan people want results.
"We've got to stop talking, and we've got to start delivering – all of us," Mullen said. "I will work as hard as I can in generating results – that's what the Afghan people need to see."
The overall message from the meeting with Afghan leaders was that everything the United States, NATO and the Afghan government have planned is possible, the chairman said. "They are anxious to be consulted and be part of the solution," he added.
The chairman met with soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, at Forward Operating Base Fontenac. "They were pretty upbeat," Mullen said. "I found morale pretty good, and I pulse that as hard as I can, and so do my people. This has been a battalion that has taken the most casualties in such a short time since 9/11."
Morale overall was very good, the chairman said. The battle space in Regional Command East and Regional Command South is very different. The fights are against different terrorist groups. In Regional Command East, the Haqqani network is the big enemy. In Regional Command South, the Taliban are the foe in greatest abundance.
But going to both places, Mullen said, helped to put things in perspective for him. He needs to see what's happening on the ground to ensure that the policy and advice he gives in Washington make sense on the battlefields of Afghanistan, he said.
In Regional Command South, the admiral visited Marines in Nawa and walked – without "battle rattle" – through the marketplace town. "To go into Nawa was very helpful to me," he said. "To go to Nawa and see the art of the possible – I mean the turnaround was amazing. The governor was ecstatic. At the same time, we're not done there, and we know it."
Marja – a region west of Kandahar – remains a Taliban hotbed. "It's been very clear for weeks now for the need to clear out Marja, and that's going to happen," Mullen said. "It's going to happen at a time and place of our choosing, but it's going to happen."
He compared the reception in Nawa with that he received walking through Mata Khan in Regional Command East.
"The Afghans I met in RC-East were very cautious. They avoided looks, [and] those that did wouldn't say 'Hi,'" he said. "The kids in Nawa – they were like kids all over the world. When they see Americans, they are all over us, just very upbeat. The kids where we were in RC-East were very, very cautious. They came in very, very closed, and that was very descriptive to me."
And yet a lot of progress has taken place in the overall Regional Command East battle space, he said. One innovation the command has is a seamless civilian chain of command aligned with Combined Joint Task Force 82.
"There is a lead civilian, and every civilian in the region reports up the chain to her," he said. "They are very optimistic so far, but I'm going to let results speak."
The change in strategy is being translated on the ground, Mullen said. He visited with a platoon that has been in Regional Command East since March. The soldiers told him that they have shifted the mission since they first came and said their mission today "is more focused and better and more appropriate than the kinetic mission they were doing before," Mullen said.
The response to the strategy change was positive wherever he went. "No one said to me, anywhere, that this isn't possible," the chairman said. "I was also struck that they all understood their guidance pretty clearly." | Commission Examines Contracting Issues
19.12.2009 4:55:0 +0000
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 18, 2009 - Improved oversight and management of civilian contracts involved with the development and training of Afghan security forces should result in better stewardship of U.S. tax dollars, the former military commander of that training effort said here today. "We are keenly aware of the importance of good stewardship of the resources provided by the American people to support this mission. Good stewardship is critical to mission success and is of strategic importance," Army Maj. Gen. Richard P. Formica, former chief of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, said in testimony before the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Formica commanded the organization from Dec. 18, 2008, to Nov. 21, 2009.
Congress created the commission in 2008 to examine and recommend improvements in contingency contracting for reconstruction, logistics, and security functions involved in the U.S. military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Combined Security Transition Command Iraq assists in the training of Afghan security forces to improve security and stability in Afghanistan. Its mission includes managing a $404 million contract to train and support Afghan national security forces.
To understand the command's critical role, the commission has met with both Formica and its new commander, Army Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, who took command of the new NATO Training Mission Afghanistan and Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan last month. The two organizations were merged under Caldwell's oversight to create a unified command for the training of Afghan soldiers and police.
The command's soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and civilians "work tirelessly and faithfully to fulfill their mission and to be good stewards of our nation's resources," Formica told the panel. The organization's principal task, he said, is to build sustainable capacity and capability of the Afghan national army and the Afghan national police.
The Afghan army, Formica said, is a respected by the country's citizens and is on track to achieve its goals. The Afghan army is scheduled to expand to 240,000 soldiers by the end of 2013, he said. Meanwhile, Formica said, Afghan national police ranks are expected to include 97,000 officers by the end of December. Current plans, he added, are for the police to expand to 160,000 members by the end of 2013.
The focus of Afghan police training and development efforts, Formica said, is to reinforce good policing, to reform or eliminate corrupt or poor-performing police and to add more officers.
The mission to generate and train Afghan national security forces has been generously funded by Congress, Formica said. However, he added, the high demand for military personnel has outstripped the supply of properly trained military forces, which creates a demand for contractors to fill gaps in training and training support.
Today, Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan "requires the support of contractors in our mission accomplishments in the development of the Afghan ministries of defense and interior," Formica said. The Afghan defense ministry oversees the country's military forces, while the interior ministry manages the national police.
The use of contractors in training Afghan soldiers and police, Formica said, augments military capabilities, brings unique skills and provides continuity to the mission.
However, as Afghan national security forces grew over the past several years, Formica said, the number and size of contracts increased while the capacity to manage those contracts did not. This situation, he said, created "a challenging contract management and oversight environment which required continuous efforts to improve management of contracts funded by Afghan security forces funds."
Accordingly, U.S. authorities "have steadily improved our stewardship and oversight of contracts involved with the training of Afghan security forces," Formica said.
Subsequent measures and controls implemented to improve accountability and management control of such contracts were partially in response to Defense Department inspector general reports, Formica said, as well as findings and observations made by the commission.
Summing up, Formica acknowledged "that more work needs to be done to enhance our overall contracts-management effort."
Nonetheless, he said, the application of leadership, accountability and implemented improvements in contract management and oversight "will lead to more effective development and fielding of capable Afghan national security forces and ultimately operational success in this critically-important mission." |
| tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37845825 RSS FEED | After Retirement Hang Up the Uniform, but Keep TRICARE
22.12.2009 15:52:0 +0000
December 22, 2009: Retiring from an active duty career in the military offers a lot of choices that were not available while serving in uniform. Along with choices about where to live and what to wear, there are also choices to be made regarding health care.
While active duty service members must use TRICARE Prime or Prime Remote, retirees who are not eligible for Medicare may be eligible for TRICARE Prime or choose TRICARE Standard or Extra. Each program has advantages pertaining to cost, location and convenience.
If space is available, continuing care in a military treatment facility (MTF) with a primary care manager through TRICARE Prime requires re-enrolling and paying annual fees of $230 for an individual and $460 for a family. Retirees who choose to enroll in TRICARE Prime at an MTF will receive care based on the same access-to-care standards as all other Prime beneficiaries.
Retirees who move to a location that is not near an MTF, or where Prime is not offered, may find TRICARE Standard or Extra to be the best options. TRICARE Standard is a flexible, affordable plan that gives beneficiaries and their eligible family members a greater choice of providers, no enrollment fees, waiver of cost shares for most preventive health care services and the same low catastrophic cap as TRICARE Prime.
TRICARE Extra offers even lower out of pocket expense if beneficiaries use network providers. Although there is no enrollment fee for TRICARE Standard and Extra, a deductible of $150 for individuals and $300 for a family must be met before cost-sharing begins.
Under TRICARE Standard and Extra, most beneficiaries retain the same access to pharmacy benefits through a local MTF or the TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy, as well the option to use the TRICARE retail pharmacy network.
Retirees may also be eligible for certain medical and pharmacy benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs in addition to TRICARE retiree health care benefits. If eligible, members can receive care under either program. For more information, go to http://www.va.gov/health.
The U.S. Family Health Plan (USFHP) is available in six areas of the country for those who enjoyed TRICARE Prime while on active duty. Beneficiaries enrolled in USFHP may not receive care at an MTF or participate in TRICARE pharmacy options, but pharmacy options are a part of USFHP. For more information about USFHP and locations where it is offered, go to http://www.usfhp.com.
The TRICARE Overseas Program (TOP) Standard option is available to retirees planning to live outside the United States. Retirees and family members must meet a deductible before cost-sharing begins and file their own claims for reimbursement for covered health services.
TRICARE recommends beneficiaries consider all available options and plan well in advance to ensure a smooth transition post-retirement. When choosing TRICARE Prime, be sure to have an enrollment package to the appropriate regional contractor by the 20th of the month before the retirement date or Prime coverage could be delayed.
Always remember to update the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) with any new personal information, including a new address. Automatic coverage by TRICARE Standard and Extra or TOP Standard occurs after retirement as long as DEERS information is current. It’s easy to do online at https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/bwe/.
Learn more about retiree health care options, including the retiree dental program, online at http://tricare.mil/mybenefit, or visit a TRICARE Service Center. Contact information and other beneficiary assistance locations can be found at http://www.tricare.mil/contactus. | Mullen Updates, Changes Joint Guidance
21.12.2009 23:2:0 +0000
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 21, 2009 - The Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy takes primacy in the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's guidance for 2010. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen signed the guidance, which goes to members of the Joint Staff and informs the joint force, on his plane after finishing a trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
The guidance builds on the document he issued when taking over as chairman in 2007: to improve stability and defend U.S. interests in the greater Middle East/Central Asia, improve the health of the DoD force and to balance strategic risks around the world.
The situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated in the past year, but President Barack Obama's new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy – which includes a surge of 30,000 American servicemembers – can reverse Taliban gains.
Al-Qaida and like terrorist groups remain the biggest threat to the United States, the admiral wrote in the guidance. "The threat is still real," he said. Defeating those groups will take more than military power, and the chairman called on the U.S. military to work with other national agencies and international allies to take on the threat.
The president's strategy has the goal of defeating Al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan and to prevent the group from threatening America and its allies.
"Our main effort now must be to push forces into the theater as quickly as possible – including shifting the balance of enablers from Iraq," the admiral wrote. The enablers include such things as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, engineers, military police and civil affairs personnel.
All aspects of the joint force need to act more quickly, he said. Far too many of our daily practices do not match the speed of war," Mullen wrote.
He called on the Defense Department and the combatant commands to send their very best people to fight the wars in Central Asia. "I will take gaps in manning the Joint Staff in order to support the war," the chairman said. "I expect combatant commanders and services outside of (U.S. Central Command) to consistently make choices, however painful, that fully support the fight."
The situation in Iraq continues to improve and American forces there are on the glidepath to end the combat mission on August 31, Mullen said. American forces in Iraq are set to drop from 110,000 today to about 50,000 in August.
"Drawing down must be closely managed (in Iraq)," the chairman wrote. "Lingering tensions could flash. But sustained security gains to date and Iraq's continued progress have placed it on a positive note for the future. We must finish well in Iraq."
Iran remains a source of problems in the greater Middle East, Mullen said. Iran funds terrorist groups in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, it trains and ships weapons to surrogates inside Iraq and it continues to work on developing a nuclear program.
"My belief remains that political means are the best tools to attain regional security and that military force will have limited results," the chairman wrote. "However, should the president call for military options, we must have them ready."
The people of the department are the nation's most precious asset, Mullen said. "Our core responsibility is to win wars while caring for our people and their families," he wrote in the guidance. Repeated deployments have stressed servicemembers and their families.
Those wounded in the fight must have world class care and all portions of government and the American people themselves must ensure they have the chance to live their American dreams. The families of those killed need the assistance and support of all Americans.
Mullen is calling for a study of the progress made in treating posttraumatic stress and traumatic brain injury – the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The chairman is concerned that "we still do not have a holistic and clear way of measuring all the components of health-of-the-force, ranging from unit readiness, training and age of weapons systems to retention/recruiting and personnel challenges, like suicide or divorce." The department needs more clarity on dwell time – the time spent at home station between deployments – for individuals.
He said that in an era of constrained resources, people must be the paramount investment.
The wars in the Middle East and Central Asia are part of the global picture. America's interests in the Western Hemisphere, Africa and the Pacific Rim must also be guarded.
The nation must take under consideration attacks in cyberspace and the effects of natural disasters and global warming. "In the near term, we will maintain focus on regular and irregular threats to the vital national interests and to our forces directly in harm's way," Mullen wrote.
Global threats remain. "This means finding the right size, shape and posture to globally detect, deter and defeat current and future threats," the chairman wrote. Deterrence remains key in this new environment. But the nation needs to rethink what deterrence means in an era of terrorist groups looking for weapons of mass destruction and of other non-state actors who seek to take on nation states. | Guard Responds to Record Northeast Snowfall
21.12.2009 23:0:0 +0000
By Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke
Special to American Forces Press Service
Dec. 21, 2009 - National Guardsmen in seven states were called to duty over the weekend after a record snowfall blanketed the Northeast. More than 1,200 Guardsmen in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia and North Carolina responded to requests for road clearance, evacuation and other related missions.
In Virginia, about 400 Guardsmen were initially mobilized, but Gov. Tim Kaine authorized another 600 Soldiers on Dec. 20. According to a press release from the state, more than 750 Soldiers and Airmen were expected to be on duty throughout the state by the afternoon of Dec. 20.
"The Virginia National Guard continues to assist state and local agencies across the commonwealth with rescuing stranded motorists, transporting critical supplies, assisting with sheltering operations and transporting patients and health care professionals," said Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert B. Newman, the adjutant general of Virginia.
Newman explained that the Virginia Guard receives missions through the state Department of Emergency Management based on requests from local emergency response organizations. Any citizens, who feel they need support from the Guard, should make their request through their local first responders, not directly to the Guard.
On Dec. 20, soldiers from the 116th Brigade Combat Team, based in Staunton, Va., helped state police wake stranded motorists along I-81 in an effort to get traffic moving, while Airmen from the 203rd Rapid Engineers Deployable Heavy Operations Repair Squadron Engineers, or RED HORSE, Civil Engineering Squadron, based in Virginia Beach, Va., were scheduled to transport cots to a shelter in Wise County. Other missions included aerial reconnaissance, transporting food, water, blankets and other supplies, transporting stranded motorists and health care professionals and sheltering operations.
In West Virginia, 235 Guardsmen operating nine wreckers and two graders were used to clear the West Virginia Turnpike on Dec. 19. "They had plows moving down the toll road as well as trucks that could move vehicles stuck in the middle of the road out of the way to get things moving," Air Force Lt. Col. Mike Cadle, the public affairs officer for the West Virginia Guard, told local news outlets.
On Dec. 20, the Guard continued "wellness checks" throughout the state. "We have Humvees out in many of those effected communities," Cadle said. "And those Humvees have food and water. We're traversing some of the more rural, hard to get to areas.
Cadle said the West Virginia Guard gets its missions from the state's Office of Emergency Services, and their job isn't done until the governor releases them.
"We'll continue pressing," he said. "We don't have a timeline. We're going to be working until the county directors and the state officials tell us that we're finished."
In Kentucky, 170 Guardsmen were deployed to remove fallen trees from roads and help with evacuations in the eastern areas of the commonwealth. Thirteen counties in southeastern Kentucky had declared a state of emergency as of Dec. 20.
Army Brig. Gen. John Heltzel, deputy commander of the Kentucky National Guard, told local news outlets that about 87,000 homes were without power as of noon on Dec. 20. The Public Service Commission listed power outages in 26 counties, primarily in Eastern Kentucky.
Heltzel said the main power lines are up, but wires feeding power into many residential areas are down. He expects power to be restored to half the affected area by Wednesday, with the rest done by Sunday.
"We hope to make everybody happy and beat that," he said.
In Maryland, more than 140 Guardsmen were on duty over the weekend, but that number dropped to 19 today. About 46 Humvees and five ambulances were used throughout the state. A state of emergency was declared in the state.
"The majority of the requests we received during the snowstorm were to support local and state law enforcement agencies," said Army Brig. Gen. James A. Adkins, the adjutant general of Maryland. "Use of our Humvees ensured that first responders were able to get where they needed to go to provide critical services to the citizens of Maryland."
In Delaware, 61 Guardsmen operating 15 Humvees, five light medium tactical vehicles and four wreckers were on duty throughout the state to respond to emergency transportation and rescue requests. A state of emergency was declared in New Castle and Kent counties.
"People are strongly advised to stay off the roads in Kent and New Castle counties," Gov. Jack Markell told local news outlets. "Our state agencies have been working together to prepare for and combat the effects of this storm. Remaining off the roads helps them in this effort and is important to public safety."
Dubbed Operation Arctic Endeavor II, Delaware Guard officials said they are prepared to provide special needs sheltering, transportation support using highly mobile multi-wheeled vehicles and LMTVs, road clearing support and any other support as required by the Delaware Emergency Management Agency.
The Delaware Guard has also prepared three task forces pre-positioned at four Emergency Operation Centers throughout the state, Guard officials said. Task Force New Castle has locations in Belvedere and Wilmington, Task Force Sussex is in Georgetown and Task Force Kent is in Smyrna. Each EOC is staffed with Humvees, an LMTV, a large tow truck and two Guardsmen per vehicle.
In the District of Columbia, 27 Guardsmen and 10 Humvees are standing by to provide transportation support. A state of emergency has been declared in the district.
In North Carolina, 24 Guardsmen were called in Saturday morning to help the North Carolina Highway Patrol dig out and remove abandoned cars from the highway. | Wisconsin National Guard Transition Advisor Jeff Unger presented with a Joint Resolution from the Wisconsin legislature
21.12.2009 19:57:0 +0000
Wisconsin National Guard Transition Advisor Jeff Unger, center, was recently presented with a Joint Resolution from the Wisconsin legislature for the support and assistance he provides to redeployed Reserve Component service members. Also pictured are Col. Kenneth Koon, left, director of manpower for the Wisconsin National Guard, and Brig. Gen. Don Dunbar, adjutant general of Wisconsin.
Unger coordinates with county and tribal veteran service offices across the state, as well as the federal departments of Defense, Labor, and Veterans Affairs, the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve and veterans service organizations to facilitate a smooth transition from active duty to civilian life, particularly those service members returning with service-related special needs. "It is a distinct pleasure and high honor for me to have earned the opportunity to serve Wisconsin's military families," Unger said after receiving the resolution. "You have my commitment to ensure that you get my best effort every time." | Gates Encourages Graduates to Seek Public Service
19.12.2009 6:17:0 +0000
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 18, 2009 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates challenged the graduates of the University of Georgia this morning to consider the obligations of service, citizenship and patriotism as they move forward into the next chapter of their lives. During his commencement address in Albany, Ga., Gates said America needs its best and brightest to step forward to serve others.
"If America is to continue to be a force for good in the world – for freedom, justice, the rule of law, and the inherent value of each person – then the most able and idealistic of our young people – of you – must step forward and accept the burden and the duty of public service," he said.
Serving others can take many forms, the secretary said.
"Working in the public sector at some level offers a chance to learn the inner workings of our government and to build skills that will stand you in good stead to deal with other challenges," he told the graduates.
The audience applauded when Gates announced that later today he will commission eight of the graduates as second lieutenants in the military.
"This is no light commitment, and certainly no segue into a life of ease and comfort," he said. "They join an American military that has been actively waging our nation's war for almost a decade now." In a year's time, the secretary noted, some of these young men and women could be leading troops in the war zones of Iraq or Afghanistan.
Putting others before self is not a new concept to many graduates of the university, Gates said. He reminded the audience of a 2004 graduate who became a military police officer who was killed while deployed to Iraq; the 1952 graduate who turned down the opportunity to play professional football and went on to serve several tours in Vietnam and later founded the military's most elite counter-terrorism unit; and the graduate who, in 1933, left his position as professor to work with farmers to transform cooperative farming during the Great Depression.
"To serve our country, you don't need to deploy to a war zone or a Third World country or be buried in a windowless cube in a Gothic structure by the Potomac River," Gates said. "Whatever the job, serving in government requires a singular commitment to missions and themes larger than yourself."
The secretary caused the graduates to chuckle as he recounted some of the good and bad experiences he's had in his 43 years of working for the CIA, the National Security Council and the Defense Department.
"But I still believe that public service remains a necessary and honorable calling and, contrary to the perceptions of many, a fulfilling and satisfying opportunity," Gates said.
"We live in a time of great necessities – a time when we cannot avoid the burdens of global leadership. The stakes are too high," he said. "So I ask you, the University of Georgia Class of 2009, will the wise and honest among you come help us serve the American people?" | Researcher Shares Cold Safety Tips for Soldiers
19.12.2009 5:34:0 +0000
By Christen N. McCluney
Researchers at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine are coming up with ways to sustain soldiers’ performance in environmental extremes, a research physiologist at the institute said.
"Our job is to help [soldiers] do their job better in rough environments," John Castellani told listeners to the “Dot Mil Docs” program on Health.mil.
Hypothermia, frostbite and nonfreezing cold injuries are common in winter and in cold environments, he said. Areas of the body affected by frostbite usually feel cold and firm, and burning, tingling, stinging, or numbing sensations may also be felt, Castellani said. White spots may appear on the skin in minor cases, and more severe cases could cause blistering and tissue damage.
"One of the biggest things is to get out of the environment and to re-warm the tissue," he said. Though the first instinct is to warm the area over a fire or an engine, he added, the best step is to re-warm very slowly to make sure there is no major damage.
Castellani emphasized the need to get out of the environment to prevent major tissue damage from frostbite. "You are better off to allow tissue to remain frozen than to be in an environment where you are in a freeze- thaw -freeze cycle," he said.
Another way soldiers can prevent cold-related injuries is to protect their bodies. "How you dress is the biggest preventive method," Castellani said.
Dressing in layers provides insulation from trapped air. He suggested that soldiers wear a base layer that allows moisture to move through it, rather than cotton, which absorbs sweat. Silk, polypropylene and other synthetics serve as the best materials, he said, because they allow moisture to move away from the skin.
The middle layer should be materials that provide insulation, such as fleece and wool, and the top layer should be windproof and waterproof. Soldiers should use knowledge of layering to create their own number of layers based on their personal preference, he added.
Staying dry is important in preventing cold-related injuries, Castellani said. Getting wet from sweat or rain or wearing wet gloves or boots can cause injuries, he said.
Protecting the skin is also another measure Castellani recommended to stay protected in the cold. Wind chill, the temperature felt on exposed skin due to wind, can get low before seeing an actual frostbite injury. Wind from helicopter rotors and moving downhill in a cold environment need to be taken in to account when protecting the skin, he noted.
Another possible injury is one not usually associated with cold weather. "Sunburn can still happen in the winter, and you can still get sunburn when the UV index is low," Castellani said. Wearing sunscreen is important in a cold environment, he said, because there is always a chance of sunburn from indirect light off snow. "Snow blindness," which he said is sunburn of the eye, is easily preventable by wearing sunglasses or goggles, he said.
Although the cold doesn’t change the body’s requirements for food and water intake very much, Castellani suggested staying hydrated and listening to your body to know when you may require more food to maintain your energy. Some people burn more calories than usual walking in the snow or carrying extra weight from cold-weather clothing or backpacks, he said.
"When you go to a cold environment, work in it and see how it goes, and then adjust from that," he said.
(Christen N. McCluney works in the Defense Media Activity’s emerging media directorate.) | DOD Evaluates Sexual Harassment & Violence Programs At Military Service Academies
19.12.2009 5:32:0 +0000
The Department of Defense (DoD) today released key findings from "The DoD Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the United States Military Service Academies for Academic Program Year (APY) 2008-2009." The report integrates findings from evaluations of the academies' sexual assault prevention and response programs, prevention of sexual harassment programs, and cadet and midshipman focus groups.
The academies saw an overall decrease in the number of sexual assault reports made to authorities in APY 2008-2009. During the evaluation period, there were a total of 25 reports of sexual assault at the academies. All cadets and midshipmen who reported a sexual assault were able to access support services through their sexual assault response coordinators.
"One sexual assault is too many," said Gail H. McGinn, performing the duties of the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. "Our assessment shows the academies understand and have institutionalized some remarkable programs to prevent and respond to this crime."
As part of the comprehensive review, DoD officials met with personnel from the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy, reviewed academy policies and procedures, conducted an extensive data call for reports and investigative files, and held focus groups with cadets and midshipmen. Based on information obtained during these site visits, DoD officials found that the academies' programs fulfilled, and in some cases, surpassed the requirements of existing DoD policies and directives.
The assessment found that the military service academies have:
- Processes underway to continue refinement of their prevention and response programs for sexual assault and sexual harassment;
- Response structures that provide comprehensive and consistent support for victims of sexual assault;
- Education and training that ensure every cadet and midshipman receives sexual assault and harassment prevention and response information;
- Programs for sexual assault and harassment prevention and response that are a permanent part of their curricula; and
- Initiatives underway to develop measures of program effectiveness.
Cadet and midshipmen focus group members provided frank observations, including the following:
- The majority of participants understood both restricted and unrestricted reporting for sexual assault and indicated there is value in having both options.
- All participants strongly agreed that academy senior leadership is serious about preventing sexual assault.
The DoD Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the United States Military Academies wasmandated in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act. The act directed DoD to evaluate the effectiveness of the sexual harassment and sexual violence related policies, trainings and programs at the military service academies on an annual basis.
The complete report is available at http://www.sapr.mil. For specific information, contact the individual military services at 703-697-2564 for Army, 703-695-0640 for Air Force, and 703-697-5342 for Navy. | Department's 'COO' Keeps Eye on Warfighters
19.12.2009 4:54:0 +0000
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 18, 2009 - A self-described "recovering budget geek" who spent four years as the Pentagon comptroller, Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III said what drives him as he crunches numbers and relentlessly scrutinizes Defense Department programs and systems is knowing their impact on front-line troops. Lynn is Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' man behind the scenes who focuses on the department's day-to-day operations. He's been called the Pentagon's "city manager" to Gates' "mayor." But the business-minded Lynn prefers to think of himself as a chief operating officer to Gates, the CEO.
"Secretary Gates is doing more of the external role, interacting with the White House, dealing with the conflicts," Lynn explained during an interview earlier this month on the flight back to Washington after one of his relatively rare public appearances.
"I am more focused on the internal management of the Pentagon, the acquisition process, the public process, the personnel processes," he said. "I'm responsible for ensuring the department's smooth functioning – which technologies to use, which weapons to buy, which business operations to employ.
"So this is a classic inside-outside, CEO-COO kind of division of labor."
Lynn appears happy to stay out of the limelight as he oversees a portfolio bulging with relatively unsexy – but highly consequential – Defense Department issues. He makes relatively infrequent public appearances, typically to talk with targeted audiences about specific initiatives on his plate.
He traveled to an aerospace and defense conference in New York earlier this month to bolster closer cooperation between the department and industry to support warfighters' needs. Last month, he visited his alma mater, Cornell University Law School, largely to encourage government or military service.
Earlier that week, Lynn explained at a Defense Information Technology Acquisition Summit the importance of acquisition reform initiatives under way to make the system more responsive to warfighters' needs, and the need to protect the department's vast networks against the growing cyber threat.
Lynn sometimes gets to show his "softer" side during events that draw him closer to the base he strives to serve: servicemembers and their families. He recognized during an address early last month the need to do more for the military families who provide the backbone behind the force. And shortly after arriving at the Pentagon, he opened a family workshop touting the way beloved Sesame Street characters are helping military kids adjust to their parents' redeployments.
But for the most part, Lynn remains nose-to-the-grindstone, keeping two major projects front and center on his 'to-do" list: the fiscal 2011 defense budget request and the Quadrennial Defense Review, a massive 20-year look-ahead that leaves no rock unturned in the department. Both are actively in the works, scheduled to go to Congress early next year.
As he works these and myriad other issues, Lynn draws on every building block of experience on his extensive resume. He spent six years on Capitol Hill, as the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's liaison to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Eight years with private industry, most of it as a senior vice president for Raytheon, gave him valuable insights he applies every day.
In addition, Lynn is no stranger to the Pentagon. He served as comptroller during the Clinton administration, and before that, directing the Pentagon's program analysis and evaluation office. Those were the days of U.S. military missions in the Balkans and Haiti, smaller-scale operations that centered on peacekeeping.
Lynn returned to a very different Pentagon – one on a solid war footing, with sustained combat operations under way in two theaters. "That influences everything that you do in a very fundamental way," he said.
Despite so many changes, Lynn cited a constant. "The talent and dedication of the military has not changed since I left," he said.
He saw these traits in action in September, when he paid a quiet visit to Iraq and Afghanistan, accompanied by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, who garnered most of the headlines.
Lynn told a USO group after his return he felt inspired by the spirit of troops he chatted with as they pulled duty on a dusty base, worked on a flight line, relaxed in the mess hall and recovered in the hospital.
"Like generations before them, our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen and Marines are doing an extraordinary job," he reported.
Lynn said he felt gratified knowing the role he's helping to play – particularly through his budgeting and acquisition duties – to provide them the tools they need to succeed.
"We have to make sure that we provide the best technology we can bring to the fight, and in sufficient numbers to counter the threat," he said. "Ultimately, what we do is all about defending our security, and enabling the men and women who are on the front lines to get what they need, when they need it."
As the implementing force behind Gates' defense acquisition reform effort, Lynn said, he understands the importance of cutting inefficiencies and cost overruns to better meet those needs. He's taken on the challenge with his eyes wide open, recognizing that "repeated attempts at reform by smart, dedicated people" have failed to fix core problems, despite the benefit of more than 130 commissions and studies examining the acquisition process.
Calling this long track record "cautioning," Lynn said he believes the stars are finally aligned for positive change. The president, Congress and Pentagon are all on the same sheet of music, he noted, committed to making the difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions that true reform requires.
"I think we come at it with an approach that there is no 'silver-bullet' solution," he said. "You have to undertake a series of targeted steps."
Lynn said he'll gauge his effectiveness at deputy defense secretary largely on how well those steps lead to reform.
"If we succeed at a reform agenda that upgrades the acquisition process, makes the budget and resource allocation process more responsive, that would be a significant success," he said.
And, Lynn said, he wants to posture the department to defend its networks and protect access to the cyberspace domain. He supports the stand-up of a new Cyber Command, under U.S. Strategic Command, and said he wants to be instrumental in filling in the doctrinal and legal foundation needed for it to fully succeed.
These aren't easy issues, he concedes, but said he's committed to help in working through the challenges. The trick, he said, is focus on the big picture and to not get bogged down in minutia.
"You have to keep your head above water a bit to focus on the major objectives," he said. "You can get overrun by the day-to-day need to move things from the inbox to the outbox. You can't ignore that, but you can't get consumed by it, either."
Challenges, it seems, are what attracted Lynn back to the Pentagon, and what keeps him motivated, day in and day out, as deputy secretary.
He told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing in January he would approach the job with humility. "Serving as the chief management officer of an organization as large and diverse as the Department of Defense is a task that no one is truly qualified to perform," he said.
But as one colleague, who asked not to be named, attested, few others could bring such a wealth and breadth of experience and capability to the job.
"He's a wizard. He's absolutely brilliant," he said of Lynn. He cited Lynn's Capitol Hill and comptroller experience, but also corporate smarts a department executive who'd risen through the ranks might not bring to the table.
"I watched him and his operation [at Raytheon], and how he did the bigger-picture strategic planning and thinking for the company, which was his job," the colleague said. "What struck me most was his agility to go completely out of the box."
It's an ability Lynn draws on heavily in his position. "In my mind, the decision to bring him back as deputy secretary was brilliant," the colleague said. "I was ecstatic when I saw that happen."
Approaching his first-year anniversary on the job, Lynn said he's still excited about the opportunity to make a difference.
"This is an excellent job," he said. "There is always a new challenge, so there is never a lack for things to do." | Clinton, Gates Urge Appropriations Bill Passage
19.12.2009 4:51:0 +0000
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 18, 2009 - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates issued a joint statement today encouraging Senate passage of the Defense Appropriations Bill. "We strongly urge Senate passage of the Defense Appropriations Bill today, prior to expiration of the current continuing resolution," the statement said. "Passage today will provide important support for our foreign policy and national security priorities and ensure continuity of funding for our troops in combat and for all of the Department of Defense."
The House passed the $636.3 billion Dec. 16.
If the Senate doesn't pass the bill by the close of business today, the current continuing resolution will expire. While the expiration of the continuing resolution would mean the Defense Department is out of money, it is not necessarily a mandate to pass the bill. Lawmakers could choose to pass another continuing resolution and postpone a final vote.
The Senate did, however, adopt a motion earlier today to limit debate on the topic. Despite limiting debate, a vote on the passage of the bill most likely won't occur until tomorrow.
The bill provides funding to the Defense Department for the budget year that began Oct. 1, providing a 4 percent increase for core Pentagon operations. The bill includes $128 million for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but does not cover funds for the recently announced troop increase for Afghanistan. President Barack Obama has yet to request that money.
It also includes money for development of an alternative engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Among other things, the bill does not allow for any new F-22 Raptors and trims about $900 million from the Pentagon's $7.5 billion budget to train Afghan security forces. That money would be used to purchase about 1,400 more mine-resistant vehicles suited to Afghanistan's terrain.
Requests regarding the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are addressed as well. The bill rejects Obama's request for $100 million to close the prison, but would allow detainees to be transferred to the United States to stand trial. | Guardsman shines at U.S. biathlon team trials
19.12.2009 2:59:0 +0000
By Tim Hipps
Army MWR Command
(12/16/09) - U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program biathletes 1st Lt. Jennifer Wygant and Sgt. Jesse Downs of the Vermont National Guard had impressive performances at the U.S. Biathlon World Team Trials on Dec. 12-13 here at Mount Itasca. Wygant won the women's 7.5-kilometer sprint race on Saturday with a time of 23 minutes, 44.2 seconds. Along the way, she missed only two of 10 shots on the firing range, making her one of the top two shooters of the day.
Wygant was followed by Susan Dunklee (24:00.8) of Baton, Vt.; Laura Spector (24:15.1) of Lennox, Maine; and Tracy Colliander (25:02.9) of Durango, Colo.
Downs finished fourth in the men's 15-kilometer mass start competition on Sunday with a time of 41 minutes, 23.6 seconds. Zach Hall of Anchorage, Alaska won the event in 40:14.3, and was followed by Walt Shepard (40:16.9) of Yarmouth, Maine; and Dan Campbell (41:10.6) of Bozeman, Mont.
Both Soldiers are bidding to make the IBU Cup Team to compete with U.S. Olympic Biathlon Team contenders on the World Cup circuit and continue their quest to make Team USA for the XXI Olympic Winter Games, scheduled for February 12-28 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The Olympic biathlon and bobsled events will be contested in the nearby resort town of Whistler. The biathlon is a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, from both the prone and standing positions. It was -2 degrees at race time Sunday - without the wind-chill factor.
Downs placed eighth in the men's 10-kilometer sprint race Saturday with a time of 27:39.4. Mark Johnson of Mount Itasca won the event in 26:20.6.
Wygant finished 10th in the women's 12.5-kilometer mass start event Sunday with a time of 45:31. Colliander won the race in 40:56.9. |
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