News of the Force: Saturday, June 17, 2017 - Page 1

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Saturday, June 17, 2017 - Today is Bunker Hill Day in Massachusetts

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'We want justice,' demonstrators say

    

    Residents furious over the handling of the Grenfell Tower disaster descended on the local town hall in West London yesterday afternoon, shouting, "We want justice" after the high-rise inferno that left at least 30 people dead. The demonstrators heckled Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday and stormed the local council that owns the Grenfell Tower, which was incinerated in a deadly fire on Wednesday.

 

Rodman wraps up visit to North Korea

    

    Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, vowing to return soon, has wrapped up a low-key visit to the North Korean capital.

    Meanwhile, a decision by North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons would be a sign that it is willing to implement its agreements with South Korea, the South's new president says.

 

Despair and death as civilians flee Mosul

    

    As the battle to retake the last districts of Mosul, Iraq, from ISIS' control enters its final stages, the U.N. says as many as 100,000 civilians are trapped there, held as human shields by the militants. In the last square mile of Islamic State territory in the city, terrified families are trapped in their basements, bracing for a final ferocious showdown.

    U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. In Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes consisting of 39 engagements against ISIS targets: Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a mortar team; Near Mosul, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units, destroyed 15 fighting positions, two supply caches, a mortar team, and a vehicle bomb; damaged seven fighting positions and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit; Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed an ISIS fuel point, an ISIS staging area and a vehicle bomb-making facility' Near Samarra, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed a vehicle and a command-and-control node; and near Tal Afar, two strikes destroyed an ISIS staging area and a tactical vehicle.

 

Two militants killed in Kashmir

    Two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants have been killed by India's security forces in a gunfight in Arwani. Reports from the area said security forces with the CRPF used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to blast the two houses where the militants were hiding.

 

Pentagon sending more troops to Afghanistan

    

    The Pentagon will send almost 4,000 additional American forces to Afghanistan, a Trump administration official has said, hoping to break a stalemate in a war that has now passed to a third U.S. administration.

 

Former German chancellor dies at age 87

    

    Helmut Kohl, the physically imposing German chancellor whose re-unification of a nation divided by the Cold War put Germany at the heart of a united Europe, died yesterday at his home in Ludwigshafen.

 

Palestinian militant groups deny ISIS' claim in Jerusalem attack

By Lisa Levine, News of the Force Tel Aviv

    

    Israeli policemen secured the scene of a shooting and stabbing attack outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city, yesterday.

    The Gaza Strip is in the midst of an electricity shortage that has left residents with just a few hours of power a day, turning many aspects of everyday life in the Hamas-ruled territory upside down.

    In Syria yesterday, Coalition military forces conducted 33 strikes consisting of 44 engagements against ISIS targets: Near Abu Kamal, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three ISIS oil tanks and two ISIS oil trucks. Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes destroyed seven ISIS oil trucks, four ISIS oil tanks, a front-end loader, an ISIS oil pump and an ISIS wellhead. And near Raqqa, 25 strikes engaged 21 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 34 fighting positions, three tunnels, three mortar systems, two vehicles and a vehicle bomb-making facility.

    And a Jerusalem resident received a shock when she bought frozen fish from a well-known company to prepare for Shabbat this week. She thought she bought Kosher fish, but got an octopus instead.

 

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    Couzin Gym's Thought for the Day: A pat on the back is only a few centimeters from a kick in the butt.

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Today's Trumpet

    

    President Trump put fresh pressure on the second-highest-ranking official at the Justice Department yesterday, raising concerns among the president's critics that Rod J. Rosenstein could be in danger of being fired. The president wrote on Twitter, in reference to the deputy attorney general: "I am being investigated for firing the FBI director by the man who told me to fire the FBI director."

    Just days after the FBI chief was ousted, Trump told NBC News' Lester Holt that the Russia probe played a role in his explosive decision to dismiss him.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered fired FBI chief James Comey "political asylum" during his annual question and answer call-in session on state television.

    Calling the inquiry unfair, President Trump asked, "What about Clinton's ties to Russia?"

    In May, a legally binding opinion by the Justice Department’s Office of the Legal Counsel (OLC) was made public, stating that individual Members of Congress "do not have the authority to conduct oversight" of the executive branch.

    Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), a staunch supporter of President Trump, said yesterday that a "president cannot obstruct justice."

    Cuba's government has denounced U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to roll back on Obama's policy changes towards the island nation. Trump, in Miami, Fla., yesterday, approved new strictures on Americans' ability to travel to and do business with Cuba.

    President Trump says mothers of "Dreamers" and their families can stay in the U.S.

    CNN has sued the FBI for failing to release former Director Comey's memos. The network says the Department of Justice ordered the FBI to expedite the release of the memos, but it still hasn't gotten them.

    And there's an old saying in the marketing biz: "For those who get it, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't, no explanation is possible."

 

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps

    

   USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62)

    Seven U.S. Navy crew members are missing after their ship collided with a merchant vessel off the coast of Japan. Among the injured is USS Fitzgerald's commanding officer, who was taken to a hospital by helicopter. The Navy says flooding has been stabilized on USS Fitzgerald and sailors from USS Dewey have come aboard to assist. The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a merchant vessel in the Philippine Sea at approximately 2:30 a.m., local time, today, while operating about 64 miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan, according to U.S. 7th Fleet news releases. Fitzgerald, which collided with the Philippine-flagged merchant vessel ACX Crystal, was able to return to its home port at Yokosuka, Japan, under its own power aided by tug boats about 16 hours after the collision, according to an updated release. Three sailors required medical evacuation from the damaged Fitzgerald, according to a release. One patient is Navy Cmdr. Bryce Benson, Fitzgerald's commanding officer, who’s reportedly in stable condition. Benson and the two other injured sailors were transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka. Other injured sailors are being assessed. Seven sailors are unaccounted for and the Japanese Coast Guard continues to search for them, a release said. Navy Vice Adm. Joseph P. Aucoin, the 7th Fleet’s commander, and many family members were on the pier when the stricken Fitzgerald arrived in Yokosuka, according to a release. "This has been a difficult day," Aucoin said in a release. "I am humbled by the bravery and tenacity of the Fitzgerald crew. Now that the ship is in Yokosuka, I ask that you help the families by maintaining their privacy as we continue the search for our shipmates." "I want to highlight the extraordinary courage of the Fitzgerald sailors who contained the flooding, stabilized the ship and sailed her back to Yokosuka despite the exceptionally trying circumstances," Navy Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander of Task Force 70, said in a release. Shortly after the collision, the U.S. made a request for support from the Japanese Coast Guard, which was the first on scene and continues to be the lead for search-and-rescue efforts. Several U.S. Navy aircraft, as well as Japanese Coast Guard and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopters, ships and aircraft were deployed to render assistance to Fitzgerald. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships JS Ohnami, JS Hamagiri and JS Enshu were sent to join the JCG's ships Izanami and Kano. The U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Dewey served as an escort for Fitzgerald and has also returned to Yokosuka. A U.S. P-8 Poseidon aircraft is working in concert with two Japanese military helicopters and a Japanese P-3 Orion aircraft to search the area. Names of the missing sailors are being withheld until the families have been notified. The collision affected Fitzgerald's forward starboard, or right side, above and below the water line, causing significant damage and associated flooding to two berthing spaces, a machinery space and the radio room, which damage control teams quickly began dewatering. Though Fitzgerald is back in Yokosuka, it remains un-certain as to how long it will take to gain access to the spaces in order to methodically continue the search for the missing. Once the ship arrived in Yokosuka, divers began inspecting the damage and developing a plan for repairs and inspection of the spaces.

    The U.S. Marines may put even more equipment into the Norwegian caves they've used since the Cold War.

    Within the next few weeks, the U.S. Marines are set to launch a 3D printed drone as part of their combat operations, named "The Nibbler."

    In Chicago, Ann DiValerio, who served in the Marines during World War II, has died at the age of 93.

    The U.S. Marine Corps Detachment at the Army's Fort Gordon, Ga., has welcomed a new leader.

    The NCIS and the Norfolk, Va., police are looking for a missing U.S. sailor. Gage Brady, 21, of USS Wasp, was last seen on Sunday, when he told a friend he was going to pick up another friend at a bar.

    And a retired U.S. Navy captain was sentenced in federal court yesterday to 41 months in prison for his role in a massive bribery and fraud scheme involving foreign defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis and his firm, Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA). Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Alana W. Robinson of the Southern District of California, Director Dermot O’Reilly of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and Director Andrew Traver of the NCIS, made the announcement. In addition to the 41-month prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino ordered Michael Brooks, 59, of Fairfax Station, Va., to pay a $41,000 fine and $31,000 in restitution to the U.S. Navy.  Brooks pleaded guilty in November 2016 to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Brooks, who served as the U.S. naval attache at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines, from 2006 to 2008, has admitted accepting bribes of travel and entertainment expenses, hotel rooms and the services of prostitutes. In return, Brooks admitted that he used his power and influence to benefit the GDMA and Francis, including by securing quarterly clearances for GDMA vessels, which allowed GDMA vessels to transit into and out of the Philippines under the diplomatic imprimatur of the U.S. Embassy. Neither the GDMA nor any other defense contractor has ever been granted such unfettered clearances. Brooks admitted that he also allowed Francis to ghost-write official U.S. Navy documents and correspondence, which Brooks submitted as his own. For example, Brooks admitted allowing the GDMA to complete its own contractor performance evaluations. A November 2007 evaluation, drafted by the GDMA and submitted by Brooks, described the company’s performance as "phenomenal," "unsurpassed," "exceptional" and "world class." Brooks also admitted providing Francis with sensitive, internal U.S. Navy information, including U.S. Navy ship schedules and billing information belonging to a GDMA competitor, at times using a private Yahoo! e-mail account to mask his illicit acts. Twenty-one current and former Navy officials have been charged so far in the fraud and bribery investigation; 10 have pleaded guilty and 10 cases are pending. In addition, five GDMA executives and the GDMA the corporation have pleaded guilty. The NCIS, DCIS and DCAA are conducting the ongoing investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher and Patrick Hovakimian, of the Southern District of California, and Assistant Chief Brian R. Young, of the DOJ's Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, are prosecuting the case. Anyone with information relating to fraud, corruption or waste in government contracting should contact the NCIS' anonymous tip line at www.ncis.navy.mil or the DOD Hotline at www.dodig.mil/hotline, or call 1-800-424-9098.

 

 

 

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