Evening Edition | Tuesday, March 13,
2012
Tomorrow in the DOD
Here's what's happening tomorrow at
the Department of Defense:
Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta
is traveling. Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter has no public or
media events on his schedule.
The Acting Undersecretary of Defense
(Personnel and Readiness), Jo Ann Rooney; Undersecretary of Defense
(Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, Robert F. Hale; the Acting Assistant
Secretary of Defense (Reserve Affairs), David L. McGinnis; and the Assistant
Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) and director of the TRICARE
Management Activity, Jonathan Woodson, will testify at a hearing of the Senate
Armed Services Committee's Sub-committee on Personnel, on the fiscal 2013 budget
request, at 2 p.m., EDT, in Room SR-232A, Russell Senate Office Bldg.,
Washington, D.C.
And Secretary of the Air Force Michael
B. Donley and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. Norton A. Schwartz,
will testify at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee,
Subcommittee on Defense, on the fiscal 2013 budget request, at 10:30 a.m., EDT,
in Room 192, Dirksen Senate Office Bldg., Washington, D.C.
U.S. officials reportedly debating accelerating
U.S. pull-out from Afghanistan
Meanwhile, Taliban fighters
have attacked an Afghan government delegation visiting the site of the
weekend killings. But in the wake of the killings of 16 Afghan civilians by a
U.S. soldier, President Obama says it's important for the U.S. to leave that
nation in a "responsible way."
U.S. Senate rejects pay freeze extension for
federal workers
The U.S. Senate has voted down a
measure that would have extended the federal pay freeze to help fund a sweeping
piece of transportation legislation, including approval of the Keystone XL
pipeline. The amendment to the Senate’s Surface
Transportation Bill failed 41-57, as the Senate voted on many amendments to the
$109 billion federal transportation legislation.
U.S. Army casualty
Staff Sgt. Jesse J. Grindey, 30, of
Hazel Green, Wis., died on March 12 in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
He was assigned to the 287th Military Police
Company, 97th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort
Riley, Kansas.
Southern Command targets transnational organized
crime
By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press
Service
The U.S. Southern Command is focused
on stopping transnational organized crime and building partners' capabilities,
Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser said in Washington, D.C., today.
Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the
Southern Command commander detailed the challenges facing Southcom, which has
responsibility for U.S. military relationships in Central and South America and
the Caribbean.
Working with other U.S. federal
agencies, the command has focused on a concern that permeates the region:
transnational organized crime, which the general said "is seriously impacting
citizen safety in Central America, especially Guatemala, El Salvador and
Honduras." Transnational crime rings "threaten to overwhelm
law enforcement capacities, and in an effort to reduce violence and halt the
spread of these criminal groups, these countries have deployed their militaries
in support of law enforcement organizations," he said.
Disrupting these narco-syndicates is
part of the overall strategy in the region, Fraser said. In the past year, the
command developed and implemented Operation Martillo, a plan to disrupt illicit
maritime traffic in the departure zones of South America and the arrival zones
in Central America, the general said.
Southern Command personnel have helped
train partner nations' military members to support local police, and provides
"network analysis of transnational criminal organizations and their operations,"
Fraser said. The command works in the Caribbean under the
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, which is developing the regional maritime
interdiction plan to enhance the capabilities of Caribbean partners, Fraser
said. "In South America, we will sustain our support to
Colombia and to Peru as they fight narco-terrorist groups in these countries,"
he said.
The command is working to build
enduring international and interagency partnerships by promoting cooperation and
information-sharing, Fraser said. Personnel also are working
through traditional military channels to strengthen disaster relief
capabilities," he said. "We remain ready to respond should our assistance be
requested," he said.
The command has been busy. In 2011, it
conducted hundreds of training and educational events, 12 major multinational
exercises with partner nations in the hemisphere and 56 medical readiness
training exercises in 13 countries. "This sustained
engagement is yielding important benefits," Fraser said. "Last year, for the
first time, Colombia assumed the land component commander role during Panamax,
our annual multinational exercise focused on supporting the defense of the
Panama Canal." This year, Brazil will command the maritime
component of the exercise, he said.
Threats are not limited to the
homegrown varieties. Iran is very engaged in Latin America, the general said.
"They have doubled their number of embassies in the last seven years," he said.
"They now have 11 embassies. They have 40 cultural centers in 17 different
countries throughout the region." Southern Command officials
see the Iranian activity as trying to build cultural awareness and awareness for
Iran to circumvent international sanctions against Iran. "They are seeing an
opportunity with some of the anti-U.S.-focused countries within the region as a
method on being able to do that," he said. The concern lies
with Iran's connections with the Hizbollah and Hamas terrorist groups, both
of which have organizations in Latin America, Fraser said. "Those organizations
are primarily focused on financial support to organizations back in the Middle
East, but they are involved in illicit activity," he said. "So that is the connection that we continue to look for as we watch into
the future, that connection between the illicit activity and the potential
pathway into the United States," he added.
But, who's is tipping off
Guzman
Preparing for a
disaster
More than five dozen specialists with
the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) came together Saturday in Omaha, Neb., to
train in the event of a metro-wide disaster.
Using stuffed animals as props at the
Bellevue Fire Training Center, volunteers checked for vital signs and blood
pressure statistics as if the animals represented real people injured in a
catastrophe. "The exercise is called triage," said volunteer
Mary Honaker. "You're going to go out and you're going to evaluate what kind of
injuries they have." After the volunteers worked together to
figure out who needed immediate attention, a colored tag was placed on each
stuffed animal indicating best and worst condition. Each precious second they
spent was deemed crucial because you never know when a real-life situation might
happen.
"You don't want to treat this as a
game because it's really not," said volunteer Jeff Peters.
"The medical community as it exists
can not handle a large catastrophe," added coordinator Tom McMahon. "They need
extra helpers." It's the kind of extra help that just might
mean the difference between life and death.
The Medical Reserve Corps
was first organized in the aftermath of 9/11. In the ten years since it
began, there are now more than 200,000 MRC volunteers nationwide.
Cheney cancels trip to Canada over security
fears
Former U.S. Vice President Dick
Cheney's last trip to the Great White North sparked major
demonstrations.
DOD Senior Executive Service
announcement
Norton C. Joerg has been appointed to
the Senior Executive Service as director, periodic review secretariat, Office of
the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Rule of Law and Detainee Policy),
Office of the Undersecretary of Defense (Policy), Arlington, Va. Joerg
previously served as director for forensic services, PricewaterhouseCoopers,
Arlington, Va.
Delta Airlines passenger jet rolls off runway in
Atlanta
A Boeing 737 sustained significant
damage when its braking system failed during an engine test. There were no
passengers aboard at the time.
Obama administration wants more
secrecy
In the middle of Sunshine Week, a
period dedicated to government openness, the Obama administration is urging
Congress to change the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to keep secret new
categories of information that it says have been put a risk by a Supreme Court
ruling.
Sentence struck down in millennium bombing
plot
A terrorist who plotted to blow up Los
Angeles International Airport on the eve of the millennium, now half-way through
his 22-year sentence, will have to serve longer after an appeals court ruled
yesterday that the original punishment did not fit a crime that a judge said
could have rivaled Sept. 11.
Stocks rally strongly with Nasdaq above
3,000
Stocks
climbed to new heights in part on rosy retail sales data today, pushing the
broad market to levels last seen in June 2008, and the Nasdaq composite index
past the 3,000 milestone for the first time since 2000.
U.S. Navy Flag Officer
announcements
Rear Adm. (lower half) Richard D.
Berkey has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Berkey is
currently serving as deputy chief of staff for fleet maintenance, U.S. Pacific
Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Richard P.
Breckenridge has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral.
Breckenridge is currently serving as commander, Submarine Group 2, Groton,
Conn.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Walter E.
Carter, Jr., has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral.
Carter is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 12, Norfolk,
Va.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Craig S. Faller
has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Faller is
currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 3, Bremerton,
Wash.
Rear Admiral (lower half) James G.
Foggo III, has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Foggo
is currently serving as deputy commander, U.S. 6th fleet/director of operations,
Intelligence (N3), U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/commander, Submarine Group 8
and Commander, Submarines, Allied Naval Forces South, Naples,
Italy.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Peter A.
Gumataotao has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral.
Gumataotao is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 11, Everett,
Wash.
Rear Adm. (lower half) John R. Haley
has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Haley is
currently serving as commander, Task Force Seven Zero/Commander, Carrier Strike
Group 5, Yokosuka, Japan.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Patrick J.
Lorge has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Lorge is
currently serving as commandant, Naval District Washington, Washington,
D.C.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael C.
Manazir has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Manazir
is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, Norfolk,
Va.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Samuel Perez,
Jr., has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Perez is
currently serving as special assistant, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for
integration of capabilities and resources, N8, OPNAV, Washington,
D.C.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Joseph W. Rixey
has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Rixey is
currently serving as director, Navy International Programs Office, Office of the
Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D.C.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Kevin D. Scott
has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Scott is
currently serving as deputy commander, Naval Forces, U.S. Central Command,
Manama, Bahrain.
Rear Adm. (lower half) James J.
Shannon has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Shannon
is currently serving as commander, Naval Surface Warfare Center/deputy commander
for surface warfare, SEA-21, Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington,
D.C.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Thomas K.
Shannon has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Shannon
is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 1, San Diego,
Calif.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Herman A.
Shelanski has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral.
Shelanski is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 10, Norfolk,
Va.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Elizabeth L.
Train has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Train is
currently serving as director for Intelligence, J2, the Joint Staff, Washington,
D.C.
And Rear Adm. (lower half) Jonathan W.
White has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. White is
currently serving as commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command,
Stennis Space Center, Miss.
Panetta visits Kyrgyzstan defense
officials
By Karen Parrish, American Forces Press
Service
Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta
met in Bishkek today with Kyrgyzstan's defense leaders as part of a
Central Asia tour to meet with government officials and service
members.
Panetta thanked Minister of Defense
Taalaybek Omuraliev and Secretary of Defense Council Busurmankul Tabaldiev for
Kyrgyzstan's contribution to regional stability through its hosting of the
Transit Center at Manas International Airport. U.S. troops traveling into and
out of Afghanistan pass through the transit center, which last year included
about 580,000 such passengers, defense officials said.
Panetta also affirmed his commitment
to stand by the current transit center agreement through its expiration in July
2014, according to staff members traveling with the secretary. The United States
pays $60 million annually to the Kyrgyz government for use of the
center.
The transit center is vital to
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) efforts to disrupt and dismantle
al-Qaida and to prevent Afghanistan from serving as a safe-haven for extremist
groups, officials said.
Panetta emphasized during meetings
here, they said, that the center serves only one purpose: to support Coalition
efforts in Afghanistan.
The leaders also discussed the
significant bilateral achievements of the 20 years of diplomatic relations
between the United States and Kyrgyzstan, staff members said. A senior defense official, speaking on background, said the Kyrgyz
minister and secretary indicated they are open to discussing options for future
cooperation on a range of issues, including the Transit Center at
Manas.
Georgia teenager completes first solo glider
flight with the CAP
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Cadet Hank Dee,
16, flew his first solo glider flight in February. The Georgia teenager
completed the 15-minute flight at the LaGrange Calloway Airport. Dee, a
high-school junior, plans to study for a career in military
aviation.
Commanding officer of PCU San Diego
relieved
Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group
3, has relieved the commanding officer of Pre-Commissioning Unit San
Diego (LPD 22), while allegations of personal misconduct are
investigated.
Cmdr. Jon Haydel has been reassigned
to Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet headquarters. Cmdr. Kevin
Myers, currently assigned to CNSP and the previous commanding officer of USS
Green Bay (LPD 20), will temporarily take command as the ship sails from
the shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., to her homeport in San Diego, Calif. No
impact to the ship's arrival in San Diego is expected.
The Civil Air Patrol theft
complaint
Since Sunday night, at least
nine members of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) have called News of the
Force about the presentation by Len Blascovich, the CAP's national
historian, gave at the recent CAP National Board meeting in
Virginia.
Some, were confused. They are aware there is
- or was - an IG complaint concerning members who have been
misappropriating historical CAP artifacts for their own personal collections or
selling them for personal profit. NOTF reported this some months
ago. They wanted to know if the fact that Blascovich was talking about that
complaint and its issues meant that the investigation has been completed and
decisions made. We don't know and we haven't heard anything to that
effect.
If that complaint is still in the
works, then we don't know how Len Blascovich gets away with making a
presentation at the National Board meeting, except that's it's more CAP "smoke
and mirrors." If Len knows about the complaint, which he clearly does, and it
hasn't been decided, then we think he was probably required to sign a
non-disclosure agreement (which the CAP is famous for requiring in an effort to
keep a lid on almost anything) and he may be in violation of that. NOTF
has had some calls from people who were angry because they thought they were
still held to such agreements. If those are complainants, the rules require that
they be notified of any outcomes. That suggests there hasn't been a
decision.
We're pretty sure that if the CAP
side of all this unilaterally breaches that agreement, then the agreement is
null and void and everyone else is free talk publicly.
Blascovich threw up several slides of
items in a storage facility near Baltimore, Md. Bill Schell, the former national
curator of the CAP, died in March 2009, leaving a houseful of CAP artifacts he
was inventorying. They had to be removed so Schell's children could rent or sell
the house. They were put in storage in the Baltimore facility, which, houses the
Schell collection - and only the Schell collection. It would be entirely
possible to have a a copy of Schell's inventory, to check items against these
artifacts, and declare, as Blascovich did (see the video) that "nothing is
stolen and nothing is lost."
But that would have nothing to do
with the theft complaint. The theft complaint -
or complaints - have grown and it has beencharged that certain people who
are involved in the CAP's history outreach were taking items into their
"personal collections," creating no paperwork trails, and appropriating the
items without registering them on any inventory. We are aware of two
specific items that were at issue: one was a uniform that belonged to the late
Winship Nunnally, a founding father of the CAP and the first CAP Georgia Wing
commander. The person charged with this stated it was in his "private
collection" and in "personal storage." The other is a footlocker that was
donated by the family of John Curry, the first national commander of the CAP.
Blascovich makes no assertions and provides no proof these are in the
collection, and he doesn't even mention them.
One caller who is concerned about
how that inventory was taken has some reason for concern. Some of the people
charged with taking that inventory are people who were also charged in the
theft complaint. or with participating in a cover up or, at the very least, they
are buddies.
If there hasn't been a decision on the
theft complaint, this could get interesting. If there has been no decision, then
how is it that Blascovich -instead of the national commander - is announcing
this decision? We've been told this is supposed to be Gen. Carr's
decision. If any of the charged are found guilty, then that also disproves
Blascovich's assertion that nothing was stolen and noting was missing (that's in
the video - some-where after minute #14).
Where is Gen. Carr, anyway? No one
seems to hear anything from him. Has anyone checked to see if he has been taken
up by aliens in an episode of The X Files? No, says CAP Board of
Governors Chair Brig. Gen. Rich Anderson. "Gen. Carr is not a 'flashy' as some
of our previous national commanders," the general told us. "He just goes
about doing the CAP's business quietly."
Still, there's a lot that's just weird
about this presentation. Blascovich says that the people in the history program
haven't been able to fund-raise because of this IG complaint. Then, what if the
complaint isn't complete yet, and the charged are found guilty?
The Civil Air Patrol is a private,
congressionally-chartered corporation that acts as an Auxiliary of the U.S. Air
Force when requested by the Secretary of the Air Force. Headquartered at Maxwell
AFB, Ala., its Web site is at www.gocivilairpatrol.com .
Peace Corps, PEPFAR and Global Health Service
Corps team up
The Peace Corps, PEPFAR and the Global
Health Service Corps announced today a public-private partnership program
to place U.S. health workers overseas to help address medical professional
shortages.
Rabbi ministers across
Afghanistan
By Sgt. Christine Samples, USA, International Security
Assistance Force
U.S. Army Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Avi Weiss wears a prayer shawl during
Shabbat, a service held at the beginning of Sabbath, in the chapel on Camp
Leatherneck, Afghanistan, Feb. 24. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christine
Samples)
There are just not enough rabbis to go
around. That's why the only U.S. military rabbi currently
serving in Afghanistan travels regularly from his base at Kandahar Airfield to
other military camps and uses the Internet to reach his congregation. It's not a
conventional role for a rabbi, but it helps him reach more people.
U.S. Army Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Avi
Weiss, a father of three and grandfather of 11, from Chicago, recently made his
first visit to Camp Leatherneck since his December arrival in theater.
He looks younger than his 61 years and has a friendly,
approachable manner. His attire consists of the Army uniform and a black
yarmulke that miraculously stays on his shaved head with the help of some bobby
pins. His eyes rest on each person individually when he's talking in a group,
like an unspoken invitation for each one's thoughts. Anyone
who wants to jump in the conversation, however, needs to act quickly. Keeping up
with Weiss' train of thought isn't easy. He jumps from one topic to another and
back again. It's a habit that his wife, Elcya, often teases him about.
Fortunately, Weiss stays on topic during services.
Before Shabbat, the Friday evening
service observing the Sabbath, Weiss sat on a bench in Camp Leatherneck's
simple, wooden chapel to talk about his ministry. "Attempting to keep traditional Jewish laws is difficult in this
environment," said Weiss, explaining the shortage of rabbis in the military.
"It's a credit to the military that it does a lot to help someone practice their
faith, but it's still not necessarily the choice environment for someone who
wants to live a certain way."
It may not be a choice environment for
some, but the military managed to attract Weiss in 1974 and keep him for 37
years as an active duty and reserve chaplain. He says he joined the Army just
for the job, but stayed for the unique opportunity to minister. "I really enjoy the military," Weiss said. "I don't want to be a
synagogue rabbi. I enjoy jumping out of airplanes with the 82nd Airborne
Division. I really enjoy being in Afghanistan. You can touch people's lives in
ways you can't possibly do in other places."
Weiss joked that because people can't
go downtown on Friday nights, they're more open to attending services, which
makes his job easier. Although people can't hang out
downtown, Weiss still has his work cut out for him. Schedules here make it
difficult for some to attend services. Five came to Shabbat, but Weiss said he
concentrates on individuals, not numbers.
The Jewish population in the military
falls well below one percent, according to Defense Department statistics, but
Weiss believes the actual numbers are higher and some just need to know they're
not alone. "I try to encourage individuals to think about
being more involved in their faith," he said. "I'm not really involved with the
Afghanistan war or the issues. I'm more concerned with the individuals here. I
can make a little bit of difference in someone's life - even one
person."
Because he can't be everywhere, Weiss
stays connected with the community through the Internet. He uses e-mail to
answer questions and give advice to lay leaders who perform services when no
rabbi is available. He also started an online newsletter, Kol Torah,
with the help of his wife in Heidelberg, Germany. The newsletter keeps the
community here informed of events and educates them on Jewish
culture.
So while there may not be enough
rabbis to go around, Jewish service members aren't left on their own. Weiss
makes sure they get as much support as possible.