News of the Force: Wednesday, May 10, 2017 - Page 1

[Newsoft...@aol.com]

Wednesday, May 10, 2017 - Today is Mother's Day in Mexico,

and it's Constitution Day in the Federated States of Micronesia

---

 

Moon Jae-in wins in South Korea

    

    Moon Jae-in, a human rights lawyer who favors dialogue with North Korea, declared victory in the South Korean presidential election yesterday after his rivals appeared to concede defeat. Moon Jae-in has been sworn in, vowing to address the economy and relations with the North in his first speech as president.

 

Migrants rescued in the Med

    Risking their lives to reach Europe from North Africa, a boatload of people, some of them likely in need of international protection, have rescued in the Mediterranean Sea by the Italian navy.

 

Lawmakers weigh more troops for America's longest war

    

    Top Pentagon and Trump administration officials are recommending that thousands of additional U.S. troops be sent to Afghanistan, but such a move would raise the human and budgetary cost of America's longest war, law-makers and experts warn.

 

Airstrikes continue hitting ISIS terrorists in Iraq

     

    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 14 strikes consisting of 61 engagements against ISIS targets: Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed a heavy machine gun, a fighting position and damaged an ISIS supply route; Near Mosul, six strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units and a sniper, destroyed seven mortar systems, five fighting positions, three vehicle bombs, two supply caches, two vehicles, and a command-and-control node, damaged 18 ISIS supply routes, a fighting position and a tunnel, and suppressed four mortar teams and four ISIS tactical units; Near Rawah, two strikes destroyed three vehicle bombs, an ISIS staging area and a weapons cache; Near Rutbah, a strike destroyed a bunker; and near Tabqah, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed a fighting position and a mortar system, and damaged an ISIS supply route.

    And partnered forces in Syria and Iraq are making progress in defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve said today. The Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Arab Coalition have liberated most of the Syrian city of Tabqa, U.S. Air Force Col. John Dorrian told Pentagon reporters via video conference from Baghdad. The partnered forces are clearing ISIS remnants from the final two neighborhoods of Tabqa, cutting off the Tabqa Dam from the rest of the city and isolating the remaining terrorists there, Dorrian explained. "Even as ISIS is completely isolated and ultimately eliminated from Tabqa, their tactics continue to create incalculable human suffering," he said. Dorrian said about 30,000 of the city's residents have been displaced from their homes since the battle for the city started in late March. Protecting the civilians who remain in Tabqa is an important priority, he told reporters. "Tabqa is an extremely dangerous battle zone," the colonel said, explaining the SDF are encountering ISIS snipers who are using apartment buildings, hospitals and mosques to mask their position in the dense urban terrain.

    Dorrian highlighted the importance of finishing the seizure of Tabqa and the Tabqa Dam in relation to the eventual liberation of Raqqa. ISIS terrorists used the area to facilitate ISIS fighters in Raqqa, he explained. "They used it for supply, command and control, and to reinforce their fighters in Raqqa, so it's good that the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Arab Coalition are making good progress in retaking that terrain," he said. "After Tabqa is completely liberated, the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Arab Coalition and coalition forces will continue operations to isolate and seize Raqqa."

    Coalition strikes this week in Raqqa destroyed a number of ISIS boats and barges, as well as heavy construction equipment that ISIS is using to build berms and barriers to try to complicate operations for the liberation of that key Syrian city, he said.

    Meanwhile, Iraqi security forces are making progress as they move in on west Mosul on multiple axes. Their advance is presenting the terrorists with "more dilemmas then they can react to," Dorrian said. "Iraqi security forces have continued advancing in west Mosul, after the 9th Iraqi Armored Division and the Iraqi Federal Police started a new axis of advance in northwest Mosul last week," he said. "We've also seen the Iraqi counterterrorism service accelerate their advances into the industrial section of west Mosul." The Iraqi forces liberated more than 18 miles of terrain in west Mosul this week, Dorrian said, adding that although the enemy is weakened, a tough fight remains. "As the Iraqi security forces advance, they continue encountering tough resistance from enemy snipers, enemy vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and human shields," Dorrian said, noting that Iraqi citizens fleeing the fighting have reported these enemy tactics. It is difficult to predict how long the liberation of Mosul will take, he said. "But we are seeing the enemy's defenses degraded with each passing day," he added.

 

China to hold meeting on spending billions to 'reshape' the world

    

    China has rapidly climbed the ranks to become the world's second-largest economy. Now, the most populous nation on the planet wants to increase its influence by digging further into its pockets - flush with cash after decades of rapid growth.

    Meanwhile, a North Korean delegation will attend the large multilateral economic summit in Beijing next week, China's Foreign Ministry announced yesterday, underlining its reluctance to join American efforts to completely isolate the regime in Pyongyang.

 

Man-made islands could be North Korea's new nuclear launch sites

    Artificial islands have been discovered surrounding the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, a missile development and testing site in North Korea.

 

Mexico is now the world's second-deadliest nation

    It was the second deadliest conflict in the world last year, but it hardly registered in the international headlines. As Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan dominated the news agenda, Mexico's drug wars claimed 23,000 lives during 2016.

 

Mattis meets with Lithuania's president and Baltic defense ministers

     

    U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis yesterday reassured U.S. allies in the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia of American solidarity with them and of U.S. determination to defend Baltic and other NATO territory against any aggression.

    During his visit to Vilnius, Lithuania, Mattis met in the morning with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and in the afternoon with Estonian Defense Minister Margus Tsahkna, Latvian Defense Minister Raimonds Bergmanis and Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundus Karobolis. The secretary held news conferences after each meeting.

    "United by our transatlantic bond, I believe that you who have withstood oppression can most keenly savor freedom, never taking it for granted or looking away when it is threatened," Mattis said during a joint news conference with Grybauskaite. "Even in the face of a neighbor next door shredding trust," he added, referring to nearby Russia, "Lithuania has none-theless contributed to the NATO-led mission far away in Afghanistan and has continued to provide capable trainers" in Iraq for the mission to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

    Mattis said he believes that 2014 was a watershed year in Europe, when the Baltic states and the NATO alliance faced dangers from terrorism, aggression, cyberattacks and more. "Have no doubt we stand with you, united in a common cause," the secretary said, adding that the U.S. commitment to the security guarantee of NATO's Article 5 remains ironclad. Article 5 of the Washington Treaty that established NATO says an attack on one ally is considered as an attack on all.

    Mattis commended Lithuania for its commitment to raise defense spending above 2 percent of gross domestic product by next year. "Your recognition of the threat and of our treaty obligation under NATO Article 3, to maintain our individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack, heartens the American people, and you rightly stand as an example for all NATO allies," the secretary said.

    Americans join the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada as NATO framework nations leading diverse allied defensive forces deployed in Eastern Europe to reinforce a deterrent posture and allow diplomats to engage with Russia. The NATO framework nation concept involves nations working multinationally for the joint development of forces and capabilities the alliance needs. NATO's purely defensive stance, Mattis said, is designed to assure allied sovereignty by preventing miscalculation and buying time for diplomats to restore mutual respect.

    Yesterday afternoon, Mattis joined his Baltic defense counterparts in a meeting and reiterated the strong U.S. commitment to defend its Baltic allies. He also visited the Pabrade Training Area, there meeting with the NATO battle group, which he called a stabilizing force in the region. The group consists of allied forces deployed in Lithuania to demonstrate the nations’ solidarity and determination to defend NATO territory against any aggression, Mattis said. During their meeting, Mattis said, he and the Baltic defense ministers had good talks, as they share an appreciation of the situation and of the road ahead. "And what you see here with the enhanced forward brigade is matched in the several other Baltic nations as well,” he added.

    The battle group in Lithuania has a German commander and a strong German contingent, the secretary said, "but allied nations also are part of the battle group, and it shows the way NATO can be interoperable and troops can come together and work together and, if necessary, fight together."

    Mattis is traveling this week to Denmark, Lithuania and the United Kingdom to meet with U.S. partners and reaffirm key military alliances. While in Denmark, Mattis and the Danish defense minister co-hosted a meeting of senior leaders from 15 countries that are key contributors to the fight against ISIS.

 

'Unofficial' guardianship rules banned in Saudi Arabia

    Saudi Arabia's King Salman issued order last month to all government agencies that women should not be denied access to government services because they do not have a male guardian's consent, unless existing regulations require it.

 

Venezuela's military courts being used against protesters

    Venezuela's opposition, non-government organizations and international bodies have accused the government of using military courts against its critics.

 

U.S. president approves arming Syria's Kurds

By Lisa Levine, News of the Force Tel Aviv

    

    U.S. President Donald Trump has approved a plan to directly arm Kurdish forces fighting in Syria as part of a U.S. military plan to capture Raqqa, the Syrian city that is the Islamic State group's de facto capital.

    In Syria yesterday, Coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes consisting of 14 engagements against ISIS targets: Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged an ISIS sniper and destroyed a front-end loader. Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed a front-end loader an and ISIS wellhead. And near Tabqah, seven strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units, destroyed six fighting positions, three vehicles, damaged a fighting position, and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

    U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) has criticized the State Department for a video posted by the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia that "edited out" mentions of Israel.

    The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff was pleased with the military-to-military relationship with close ally Israel after a visit with his counterpart this week. Israeli army Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, the chief of the General Staff for the Israel Defense Forces, hosted U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford in Tel Aviv. The chairman also met with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    U.S. President Trump deleted his tweet about PA leader Mahmoud Abbas after the Palestinians' president lied to him. Trump initially tweeted that it was "an honor" to meet with Abbas, but soon deleted the post.

    The Israeli unmanned air vehicle manufacturer Meteor Aerospace has secured the first customers for its Impact 700 design, and is also now developing a larger version. According to company president Itzhak Nissan, the Impact 700 is 22.9 feet long and has a 12 meter wingspan. Powered by a Rotax 912is engine, "this UAV has an endurance of over 24 hours," he says. Meteor was formed in 2013 by Nissan – formerly the chief executive of Israel Aerospace Industries – and businessman Hezi Bezalel. Nissan says that the Impact 700 is currently being test flown, but contracts have already been signed with some customers. He declines to identify any of these buyers, but it is known that Meteor's main investor, Bezalel, is very active in Africa.

    And a new television promo shows the hard work Israel's young soldiers put into every Israel Defense Force (IDF) victory.

 

---

    Couzin Gym's Thought for the Day: Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.

---

 

Tunnel with nuclear waste collapses

By Jim Corvey, News of the Force St. Louis

    A portion of an underground tunnel containing rail cars filled with radio-active waste collapsed yesterday at a sprawling storage facility in a remote area of Washington state, forcing an evacuation of some workers at the site that made plutonium for nuclear weapons for decades after World War II.

    Officials detected no release of radiation at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and no workers were injured, said Randy Bradbury, a spokesman for the Washington state Department of Ecology.

    No workers were inside the tunnel when it collapsed, causing soil on the surface above to sink two to four feet over a 400 square foot area, officials said. The tunnels are hundreds of feet long, with about eight feet of soil covering them, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

    The cause of the collapse was not immediately known. It was discovered as part of a routine inspection and occurred during a massive cleanup that has been underway since the 1980s and costs more than $2 billion a year. The work is expected to take until 2060 and cost more than $100 billion.

    Hanford officials said they were studying the area of the collapse to determine how to create a barrier between the contaminated equipment in the tunnel and the outside air.

    Workers near the site were evacuated and hundreds of others farther away were told to remain indoors for several hours, the federal agency said. Non-essential workers among the labor force of 9,000 at the site were sent home early along a safe route.

    "No action is currently required for residents of Benton and Franklin counties," the Energy Department said, referring to the nearly 300,000 residents near the site about 200 miles southeast of Seattle. "There is no indication of a release of contamination at this point."

    U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry was briefed on the incident that Washington Gov. Jay Inslee called "a serious situation. Ensuring the safety of the workers and the community is the top priority," said Inslee, a Democrat who previously represented the Hanford region in Congress.

    The anti-nuclear group Beyond Nuclear said the incident helped show "radioactive waste management is out of control."

    Democratic U.S. Sen Maria Cantwell, of Washington, said worker safety must be the priority. "My thoughts are with the first responders who are working to assess the situation on the ground," she said.

    Worker safety has long been a concern at Hanford. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit last fall against the Energy Department and its contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, contending vapors released from underground nuclear waste tanks posed a serious risk to workers. Ferguson said that since the early 1980s, hundreds of workers have been exposed to vapors escaping from the tanks and that those breathing the vapors developed nosebleeds, chest and lung pain, headaches, coughing, sore throats, irritated eyes and difficulty breathing. Lawyers for the Energy Department have said no evidence has been provided showing workers have been harmed by vapors.

    The accident yesterday occurred at a plant known as the Plutonium Uranium Extraction Facility, or PUREX, located in the middle of the 500-square-mile Hanford site - half the size of Rhode Island. The PUREX building is the length of three football fields and was used to recover plutonium from irradiated fuel rods. Hanford for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons and is now the nation's largest depository of radioactive defense waste, with about 56 million gallons of waste, most of it in 177 underground tanks. As part of the huge, ongoing cleanup, rail cars full of radioactive waste were often driven into tunnels and buried.

    The senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said he is requesting that the Energy Department brief the committee on the root cause of the collapse. New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone said the incident underscores the need for the department to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of workers. The committee oversees the department's management of the cleanup efforts.

    The Hanford site was built during World War II and made plutonium for most of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, including the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, at the end of the war.

 

Being a commie would no longer be cause for losing a state job in California

    Being a member of the Communist Party would no longer be a fireable offense for state jobs under a measure narrowly approved by the California Assembly this week.

 

Today's Trumpet

    

    President Donald Trump is criticizing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for comments the New York Democrat made in response to the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

    A day after firing the FBI director who had been overseeing the sweeping probe into his campaign's ties to Russia, President Trump had just one event on his public schedule today: An Oval Office meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

    By now, few American elected leaders dispute that elements of the Russian state meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election - even though President Trump continues to say it "could have been a lot of different groups."

    Republican Senator Lindsey Graham says he has further questions about President Donald Trump's business dealings in relation to Russia.

    Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year's election.

    The White House yesterday defended its delay in firing national security adviser Michael Flynn, a move that was made 18 days after then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates first warned administration officials that he could be compromised by his relationships with Russian officials.

    President Trump has used an escape clause under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to force Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto back to the bargaining table.

    Former U.S. President Barack Obama says he's "confident that the United States will continue to move in the right direction" on climate change despite his successor's pledges to undo many of his policies.

    And for the Washington establishment, President Trump's decision to make Gen. H.R. McMaster his national security adviser in February was a "master stroke."

 

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps

    

    Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Steven R. Rudder has been nominated for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general and for assignment as deputy commandant for aviation, Headquarters, Marine Corps. Rudder is currently serving as the director, J-5, U.S. Pacific Command, Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii.

    Acting Secretary of the Navy Sean J. Stackley will provide the keynote remarks at the U.S. Naval Institute's annual meeting at 4 p.m., EDT, tomorrow, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW, in Washington, D.C.

    Navy Day at Spokane Community College's “Spring Fling" is coming up at the college's campus in Washington state, from May 15th to 21st.

    A recently concluded exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., brought together industry, academia and the Naval Research and Development Establishment - which includes the Office of Naval Research and various research laboratories associated with the Department of the Navy - to demonstrate emerging technology innovations. The Ship-to-Shore Maneuver Exploration and Experimentation Advanced Naval Technology Exercise 2017, or S2ME2 ANTX, involved hundreds of sailors, Marines and Defense Department civilian employees and contractors. By using direct feedback and technical evaluations from participating warfighters and senior leaders in attendance, S2ME2 ANTX also may change the way the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps look at prototyping and rapidly acquiring technology. "The large scope of this exercise allows the Navy and Marine Corps to make informed decisions about future generations of technology for use by the warfighter," said David E. Walker, the ONR’s director of technology. "This pairing of sailors and Marines with scientists and technologists will help move innovation at a faster pace." S2ME2 ANTX focused on five capability areas of amphibious operations: ship-to-shore maneuver; weapons fire support and effects; clearing assault lanes; command and control; and information warfare. Demonstrated technologies included unmanned and autonomous vehicles equipped with sensors to gather intelligence in the air, on land and under the water. During each amphibious beach demonstration, unmanned surface and underwater vehicles approached the shore first, collecting intelligence about battlespace conditions - including threats and obstacles - providing an accurate picture of what warfighters would face when leaving their vessels and vehicles. Several ONR- and Naval Research Laboratory-sponsored systems were demonstrated at S2ME2 ANTX, including: The BEMR Lab: BEMR stands for Battlespace Exploitation of Mixed Reality. This cutting-edge technology merges virtual reality -- complete immersion in a simulated or virtual world -- and augmented reality, in which virtual objects are imposed onto real-world vision through Oculus Rift goggles; Mine Warfare Rapid Assessment Capability: A small quadcopter is outfitted with an ultra-sensitive magnetometer and sensors to detect mines and provide real-time data to a handheld Android device; and Coalition Tactical Awareness and Response: This system uses satellite imagery to conduct surveillance of large areas of open ocean. CTAR processes image data to generate detailed reports about maritime activity in these ocean areas, and it can share this information with partners and allies. Technologies that performed well at S2ME2 ANTX potentially could be featured at Bold Alligator 2017, a multinational series of amphibious exercises led by the U.S. Fleet Forces Command and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command, scheduled for the fall.

    Military avionics integrators at the Northrop Grumman Corp. needed a cockpit control unit to integrate an aircraft survivability equipment sensor and other aircraft core functions aboard the U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. They found their solution from Terma North America, Inc. in Arlington, Va.

    Military unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) experts at the Northrop Grumman Corp. will install a sophisticated surface-search radar system on the U.S. Navy's fleet of MQ-8C Fire Scout shipboard unmanned helicopters.

    Test and measurement experts at the Lockheed Martin Corp. will provide seven more eCASS advanced combat avionics test instruments to the U.S., Australian, and Japanese navies under terms of a $17.8 million order.

    The U.S. Marine Corps has taken delivery of the first trailer-mounted next generation radar system to detect drones, missiles, artillery and other threats.

    The U.S. Defense Department said yesterday that Rolls-Royce will support AE 2100D3 engines for the aerial refueling tankers of the U.S. Marine Corps and Kuwait's air force.

    And the Lockheed Martin Corp.'s new King Stallion helicopter for the U.S. Marine Corps is likely to cost $144 million each, 4 percent more than projected.

 

FCC's website hit with DDoS attacks

By Jim Corvey, News of the Force St. Louis

    The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s website slowed to a crawl after comic and political commentator John Oliver urged viewers to flood the agency with comments in support of net neutrality, in what appeared to be a repeat of a 2014 incident.

    With the FCC headed toward a repeal of net neutrality rules it passed in early 2015, Oliver on Sunday echoed his "Last Week Tonight" commentary on the topic from three years ago. As in 2014, the FCC's website seemed to buckle under the load late Sunday and early Monday, but the cause may have been more sinister than a flood of people expressing their support for net neutrality rules.

    In this case, the FCC website was hit with a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks starting about midnight Eastern Time, FCC CIO David Bray said on Monday. "These were deliberate attempts by external actors to bombard the FCC's comment system with a high amount of traffic to our commercial cloud host," Bray said in an emailed statement. "These actors were not attempting to file comments themselves; rather they made it difficult for legitimate commenters to access and file with the FCC." The DDoS attacks "tied up the servers and prevented them from responding to people attempting to submit comments," he said.

    An FCC spokesman declined to speculate on the motivation for the DDoS attacks. If they were inspired by Oliver's commentary, they acted against its purpose. The attacks would have prevented net neutrality supporters from filing comments.

    "Once again, net neutrality is in trouble," Oliver said Sunday night. "It seems, once more, we the people must take this matter into our own hands. Every Internet group needs to come together like you successfully did three years ago."

    Before its 2015 vote to impose net neutrality rules, the FCC received 4 million public comments on the issue, with a large majority supporting strong regulations.

    Broadband providers and many Republicans oppose the net neutrality rules, saying they have slowed broadband investment and created un-necessary regulations. Some opponents of the 2015 version of the rules have pointed to small decreases in broadband investment in 2015 and 2016, but it's unclear how much impact the rules had.

    As of Monday afternoon, Oliver's commentary had been viewed more than 900,000 times on YouTube.

 

Veteran's care information meeting set

By Civil Air Patrol brigadier general and Virginia Legislature Delegate Rich Anderson

    

    As chair of the Virginia General Assembly Military and Veterans Caucus (GAMVC), I speak on behalf of the GAMVC and the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) in cordially inviting you, your family and friends, and military veterans, to a public information meeting on the planned Puller Northern Virginia Veterans Care Center.

    The center was authorized in 2016 by House Bill 477, which Del. Jackson Miller and I carried as chief co-patrons and was signed into law by the governor later that year. We expect to break ground on the new center in October 2017 at the construction site at Vint Hill, near the Fauquier-Prince William County border, where it will host 120 veteran residents and create 120+ jobs. The site is located in the House district represented by Delegate Scott Lingamfelter, who provided crucial support in the passage of the bill creating the center.

    Our meeting will be held in the Manassas City Council Chambers, 9027 Center Street, in Manassas, Va., at 7 p.m., EDT, on Wednesday, May 24th.
The meeting will be hosted jointly by the DVS and the GAMVC, and representatives from the DVS, the newly-opened Manassas Veterans Benefits Office, and staff experts from the Virginia Veterans Family Support Service will be on hand to provide information and answer your questions about construction and operation of the center.

 

U.S. Air Force

    

    The U.S. Air Force plans to allow a defense company to pick its new electronic-attack jet, an unprecedented move that just might herald the end of an era.

    U.S. airmen have transported a group of dolphins to San Diego, Calif. The dolphins are trained to find mines because of their excellent sonar and ability to perform many repeat deep water dives.

    The FAA is now investigating the skydiving death of a U.S. Air Force Academy cadet.

    A recent Air Force Studies Board report identified that the U.S. is not alone in its quest for this increased speed. For example, China and Russia are also accelerating their hypersonic development.

    "Helicopter Day" at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Nebraska is set to get attendees up-close and personal with the aircraft.

    Electronics-killing EMP weapons for combat aircraft is focus of $15 million contract to Raytheon.

    The Air Force Association (AFA) yesterday announced that its CyberPatriot program has grown to more than 1,000 teams, and in record-breaking time.

    And members of the Civil Air Patrol are looking to recruit more members from the Alpena area for the group's Alpena, Mich., squadron.

 

Homeland insecurity

    

    A sophisticated malware campaign is leveraging stolen administrative credentials to gain access to network systems, according to a Department of Homeland Security alert.

    Alex Chapackdee, a serving officer at the Seattle, Wash., Police Dept., was detained on Saturday as part of a drug sting which involved the FBI and Homeland Security's ICE.

    The Department of Homeland Security is expected to announce its electronics ban could be expanded to European flights. Laptops and large electronic devices could be banned from flights from Europe to the U.S.

    The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee's monthly assessment of the growing threat of terrorism in the United States found on Monday that there have been 200 "cases of ISIS-linked terror plots against the West since 2016."

    Texas is the first and only state to get access to a massive Department of Homeland Security biometric database through a pilot program.

    And the Department of Homeland Security is investigating horrifying allegations of hazing within U.S. Customs and Border Protection's office at New Jersey's Newark Airport.

 

No bad cops

    Maryland Heights, Mo., Police Chief Bill Carson spent almost eight minutes before a recent City Council meeting listing examples of when Officer Erica Stough went "above and beyond" in serving residents of the community. This was a repeat of a recent police department ceremony in which Stough was named Officer of the Year of the 88-member department.

    Carson said "some of the things" Stough has done are:

    • After handling a call for a carbon monoxide detector alarm at the home of an elderly women, determined that the detector wasn't working, and bought and installed a new unit at her own expense.

    • Bought for an elderly man three Minnie Pearl compact discs as well as some food, after the man told police that someone had broken into his house and stolen them.

    • Bought gravel and filled in a back yard hole that was allowing a woman's dog to escape. The resident had not been able to fix the hole herself.

    • Offered to board a dog belonging to a woman transported to a hospital by ambulance and pay for the service, although the kennel owner eventually did not want any payment. • Became aware of a destitute family and helped pay for their lodging, and,

    • Bought a car seat for a women with an infant who could not afford it. Carson noted that Stough still made 75 arrests and wrote more than 240 tickets and 400 warnings in 2016. "After all that, she still finds time to do traditional police work," the chief said.

    Stough said little, which Carson said reflects her personality. She has been a police officer for 17 years, all with Maryland Heights. She is from Jefferson County and lives in St. Peters, Mo.

    Related site: The St. Louis Post Dispatch.

 

U.S. Army

    

    The U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is ready to kick-off an industry competition to develop a new family of lightweight satellite communications (SATCOM) equipment for covert use on the battlefield.

    The U.S. Army is looking to make big changes to its infantry arsenals. The M16/M4 rifle platform, long the standard for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, could soon be set aside.

    The U.S. Army is exploring what added capabilities and payloads it might use on extended range General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.-made MQ-1Cs.

    The Army is eyeing a number of improvements to its One System Remote Video Terminal (OSRVT).

    The U.S. Army is working on a new Robotic Complex Breach Concept that will explore how to use robotics and autonomous systems during a battle.

    A U.S. Army gate guard wearing a Bible verse on his baseball cap was OK - because he wasn't a "real" gate guard. On May 4th, Military Police received complaints from twenty-one civilian Army employees at Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pa.

    The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command's Modular Active Protection Systems, or MAPS, program has successfully completed its first physical test.

    The first unit to receive the U.S. Army's M17 Modular Handgun System will be the 101st Airborne Division, the Army says.

    After spending more than nine months away from family, friends and loved ones, a group of U.S. Army Reserve soldiers has returned to Ft. Meade, Md.

    Middle Tennessee State University (MTDU)'s Army ROTC program has made 16 cadets into Army second lieutenants.

    The Ohio Army National Guard is growing its mission with brand new state-of-the-art UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base.

    The Alabama Army National Guard's 167th Theater Sustainment Command is participating in this year's exercise "Vibrant Response 17" from April 22nd to May 12th.

    And Army Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Hoffhaus, a member of the South Carolina National Guard, shares his personal story of balancing military service and family. Hoffhaus, a squad leader in Company A, 4-118th Combined Arms Battalion, 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, joined the National Guard in June 2005. He recently participated in annual training at Ft. Stewart, Ga. He reflected on his nearly 12 years of service with Company A, which includes deployments to Japan, Kuwait, Afghanistan and also support to the state during the 2015 flood and Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Hoffhaus is married to Sgt. Cecilia Hoffhaus, another soldier in the South Carolina Army National Guard who is a member of the 151st Expeditionary Signal Battalion in Greenwood, S.C. Throughout their time together, the couple learned to manage their civilian careers, their National Guard schedules, deployments and family time. When they welcomed a baby girl into their lives in November 2016, the challenges continued for the family. Kennedy was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a condition that occurs in less than 1,000 births in the United States each year. Now the couple is working to balance their schedules as well as doctor’s appointments and surgeries for their young daughter who has already had two operations. Despite it all, they have remained committed and steadfast to the Army National Guard. Hoffhaus said he has stayed in the National Guard for opportunities that include professional development. He also believes that being a soldier has made him a better civilian employee and a better person. Caring for a young infant with HLHS can be difficult for any parent, but serving away from family in the military can magnify the challenges. However, the couple discovered there is a bond with fellow soldiers in the National Guard that makes overcoming these challenges possible. "We've received nothing but support from the National Guard, from the state chaplain all the way down to my platoon sergeant and everyone in between," Hoffhaus said. Hoffhaus said his company's top kick, Army 1st Sgt. Eric Gallman, was very supportive. "I couldn’t ask for anything more from the National Guard," Hoffhaus said. "The support and encouragement have been amazing."

 

News from the U.S. Marshals Service

    

    A man accused of the sexual assault of a child disappeared after questioning and now the U.S. Marshals are searching for him in Hays County, Kansas, and say he also may be hiding in South Austin, Texas.

    The United States Marshals Service flew helicopters over the Auburn, Ala., area yesterday in search of a naked suspect. And the Marshals found and captured the man, who was wanted for an armed robbery in Opelika.

    The U.S. Marshals Service is asking for the public's help in locating Phillip Vincent Livesay, who failed to appear for a pre-trial hearing.

    A Hesperus, Colo., man accused of hitting a U.S. Marshals Service patrol vehicle with his pickup truck while trying to flee from law enforcement now has two outstanding arrest warrants.

    And a wanted man has been shot and killed in an officer-involved shooting. Officials say U.S. Marshals, Lexington and Richland deputies and city of Columbia police officers were trying to serve a warrant on the man when he opened fire on the officers.

 

Vice President Pence salutes service and sacrifice of military families

     

    With military children gathered around him, Vice President Mike Pence saluted military families at an event at the White House yesterday. "We're grateful that you're here at the White House today," Pence said. "We hope you leave here today with your hearts full of the assurance that the American people are grateful for those who serve in uniform and just as grateful for the families who stand by their side."

    Pence hosted the event with his wife, Karen Pence, along with National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and President Donald J. Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, for National Military Appreciation Month, which is observed in May, and National Military Spouse Appreciation Day, which is May 12th.

    "The president asked Karen and I to host this event today just as a way of saying thanks, paying a debt of gratitude to the families and the servicemen and women who are gathered here today who serve our country each and every day," the vice president said.

    Pence said he and his wife are proud military parents who have the "great privilege of having a son and a daughter-in-law who are serving our country," he said. "Our son is in the United States Marine Corps," he added.

    The reception at the vice president's ceremonial office included more than 150 members of military families from all branches of service.

    "Today is really about celebrating that while service members enlist, it’s families that serve," Pence said, adding, "I want to give a rousing round of applause to the military spouses who are with us here today who keep the home fires burning and who support their spouses as they serve our country."

    Pence also paid tribute to military family members who've lost loves ones. "You honor us by your presence, and I promise you, on behalf of the president of the United States, the American people will never forget your loved one or the sacrifice your family made for our freedom," he told the Gold Star families.

    During the reception, the children had ice cream sundaes and colored pictures. A featured guest included the Pences' pet rabbit, "Marlon Bundo." "Marlon came today really just to say hi to you, and to say thank you to all the children," Karen Pence said as she held the black-and-white pet. "You guys were so nice."

 

Missouri police shoot, kill woman pointing gun at officers

    A woman was shot and killed after pointing a gun at police officers around midday today in the Holly Hills neighborhood of St. Louis, Mo., police say. No officers were hurt in the incident in the 3600 block of Wilmington Avenue, west of Grand Boulevard and a few blocks north of Carondelet Park.

    It may have begun with a family dispute, according to Acting Chief Lawrence O'Toole, who spoke to reporters at the scene this afternoon. But he emphasized that it was early in the investigation.

    Police got multiple calls about a woman firing shots in the air outside her home about 11:40 a.m., according to O'Toole. When police arrived, they heard shots, then saw the woman with the gun, O'Toole said. They ordered her to drop it, but instead she pointed it at them, he said. One officer opened fire, striking the woman, O'Toole said. "In defense of their lives and others, the officer fired and struck the lady," O'Toole said. "The officer fired in self-defense."

    The woman with the gun was pronounced dead at the scene, O'Toole said. It was unclear how many shots were fired and how many times she was hit. It does not appear the woman fired at police.

    The officer who fired the shots is male and a 19-year veteran of the department, O'Toole said. He was placed on administrative duty, as is policy after officer-involved shootings.

    Police recovered her weapon and said they found at least 10 spent shell casings from her gun. Officers found two cars nearby damaged by shots she had fired, O'Toole said.

    The woman lived in a four-family home on the block, according to her landlord, who didn't want to be named. The landlord said a cursory back-ground check on her was clear, and there had been no problems with her as a tenant.

    A man who lives several houses down said he had heard gunfire earlier in the morning and had called police. The man, who didn't want his name used because he feared for his safety, said he heard a male voice telling someone to put down a gun. A woman answered, "I'm going to shoot everybody." He didn't see the people and fled into his home. When police arrived, he said, he heard a flurry of gunfire.

 

EOD community honors fallen comrades

     

    Dressed in the bright whites, deep blues and dense blacks of their service uniforms, airmen, Marines, sailors and soldiers came together on May 6th to honor and remember their fallen explosive ordnance disposal brethren during the annual memorial ceremony at the Kauffman EOD Training Complex at Eglin AFB, Fla.

    About 500 people ventured to the EOD Memorial Wall this year, as six new names were added to the engraved lists that now contains 326 people. The 2017 event marked the ceremony's 48th year.

    The schoolhouse’s commander, Navy Capt. Charles Andrews, welcomed the EOD technicians, family and community to the ceremony and explained why they are drawn back to the memorial each year. "The nation will always need individuals willing to fight for a cause greater than themselves," he said. "Today we pay tribute to 326 EOD technicians who gave the ultimate sacrifice and we pay respect to their families."

    Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M. Richardson, the ceremony's guest speaker, shared heartfelt sentiments to the families of fallen technicians in attendance. He recounted the heartbreaking stories behind each of the names added this year. He related the words of the EOD technicians’ ethos to each of the fallen service members to be memorialized and how they lived and died fulfilling that oath. "No force has continually displayed the qualities of its ethos, courage, bravery, sacrifice, love of humanity and humility more than the men and women of the EOD community," he said. "The names memorialized here welcome home their brothers. They are the guardians of our sacred freedom."

    Each year, a wreath is placed in front of each branch of service's list of names before they are read aloud. After each list is completed with the phrase "We remember," the names are saluted by both an enlisted and officer EOD member. The families of the EOD technicians added to the wall each year receive a folded flag that was flown over the memorial.

    The names added this year were: Army Master Sgt. Biddle Izard, Jr., Air Force Tech. Sgt. James Eberle, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott Dayton, Navy Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan, Navy Ensign Charles Grice, Sr., and Navy Seaman Robert Burr.

    The ceremony concluded with an honor guard rifle volley and the playing of Taps. Afterward, families and EOD technicians both past and present moved to the wall for pictures, to touch the engraved brass name, or just to remember a fallen hero.

 

DOD Senior Executive Service announcements

    

    Elbridge Andrew Colby has been selected for appointment to the Senior Executive Service and for assignment as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy & force development. Colby was most recently a Robert M. Gates Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, where he consulted extensively with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Strategic Command, and the U.S. Department of State on matters relating to defense, nuclear and nuclear deterrence, strategy escalation, and arms control. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.

    Pete Giambastiani has been selected for appointment to the Senior Executive Service and for assignment as the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs. Giambastiani was most recently the chief of staff to Representative Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), and a member of the House Appropriations and Intelligence Committees. He previously served as a special assistant to the deputy undersecretary of the Navy and the secretary of the Navy in the George W. Bush administration, a senior staff member to former House Committee on Veterans Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), and as a U.S. Navy surface warfare and intelligence officer. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and the George Mason University School of Business.

    And Thomas Goffus has been selected for appointment to the Senior Executive Service and for assignment as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe & NATO. Goffus was most recently a professional staff member for the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he served as the lead advisor to the chairman of the Armed Services Committee on matters relating to national military strategy, counterterrorism, international defense cooperation, and foreign policy issues in the U.S. Central Command and U.S. European Command. He is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, the University of Washington, and the United States Naval War College.

 

 

Page 1