Wednesday, September 16, 2015 - Today
is
American fighting force arrives in Iraq
A 160-soldier strong American fighting force has
arrived in Iraq's Anbar Province to tackle ISIS.
The continuing European migrant crisis
Croatia found itself dragged into Europe's migrant
crisis today as dozens walked through fields across Serbia's border with its
western neighbor, rerouted by bus after Hungary locked down its own frontier
with Serbia.
The public images of refugees being shown
range from horrific stories of dead refugees suffocating in a truck while being
smuggled, to Germans clapping and welcoming the new arrivals.
Labor has abandoned British workers,
opposition says
When British Prime Minister David Cameron
attends the Commons today to answer MPs' questions, he will face a new leader of
Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.
Japanese protestors rally
Crowds of protesters rallied today as Japan's
Parliament moved close to passing bills for a defense policy change that could
allow troops to fight abroad for the first time since World War II, despite
opposition by many ordinary voters.
China to buy tons of U.S. soybeans
China, the world's top soybean buyer, will purchase
millions of tons of the oilseed from the United States during President Xi
Jinping's visit to the country next week, industry sources said.
Eurozone racing to restructure Greek banks
Eurozone officials are racing to restructure
Greece's banking system before new rules kick in that could wipe out corporate
deposits with potentially disastrous effects for the Greek economy.
Syria's president says only the people can decide if he
quits
By Lisa Levine, News of the Force Tel Aviv
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an
interview with Russian media he would only quit power if the Syrian people
wanted him to - and not under pressure from the West.
A 15-year-old Irish girl has been jailed for
murdering her mother after becoming obsessed with ISIS' beheading videos.
An Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps
official says the nations new and improved drones have a flying range of
3,000 km, round-trip, and can hit any U.S. military base in the
region.
Prime Minister Netanyahu will tell
Russia's President Vladimir Putin that Russian weapons transfers will threaten
Israel. The PM is making his first visit to Russia since November 2013.
On Nov. 9, U.S. President Barack Obama will host
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. "The president looks
forward to discussing with the prime minister regional security issues,
including implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to peacefully
and verifiably prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and countering
Tehran's destabilizing activities," the White House said today. "The
president also looks forward to discussing Israel's relations with the
Palestinians, the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the need
for the genuine advancement of a two-state solution," it said. "Prime Minister
Netanyahu's visit is a demonstration of the deep and enduring bonds between the
United States and Israel as well as the unprecedented security cooperation
including our close consultations to further enhance Israel's security, the
White House said.
Violence is plaguing Jerusalem over Rosh Hashana.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has once again "declared war" on stone-throwers, while
the world accuses Israel of "provocations" for restoring law and order.
Christian schools in Israel are on strike. School
strikes aren't unusual here, but usually it's the Jewish schools that are
protesting.
A jailed alleged Islamic Jihad activist went
on a hunger strike to protest his administrative detention, and was released due
to his deteriorating medical condition. But then he was re-arrested.
The commander of IDF battalion that operates on
the Egyptian border says Egypt will succeed in putting down ISIS within two
years, but the group will attempt to strike Israel beforehand.
And a terror suspect has been apprehended after
his failed stabbing attack near Nablus. The suspect allegedly pulled a
knife from his trousers and attempted to stab an Israeli Border Police
officer before security personnel were able to apprehend him.
Cuzin Jim's Thought for the Day:
Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his
tail.
DOD approves community adjustment assistance grant for
southwest Ohio
The Department of Defense (DOD) announced yesterday
a $7,049,590 grant from its Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) to Wright State
University to provide community adjustment assistance to plan for anticipated
reductions in regional defense industry employment.
These federal funds are part of a larger $7,832,876
project in which the university and its partners will plan and carry out
strategies to diversify Dayton's economy. This will be done by conducting a
holistic assessment of the region's research and development ecosystem and
developing pilot programs to assist companies and workers in adopting and
producing market-ready technologies.
Ten subprojects will: Identify, organize, and
assess regional stakeholder and partner capabilities; Develop a regional
strategy to identify commercial market technology needs and intellectual
property; Develop a regional strategy to identify commercially viable
technologies, including plans to grow regional capabilities around market
analysis, patent analysis, and management capability analysis; Develop a
regional strategy to assess regional technologies; Develop a market push
regional technology acceleration model; Develop a market pull regional
technology commercialization model; Develop a platform to increase regional
collaboration and identify local assets, including a network of technology
development and entrepreneurial mentors; Develop pathways for workforce
transition into the growing industries of medical manufacturing, unmanned
systems, and information technology; Develop a regional international trade
strategy; and, Develop a sustainability plan to ensure projects continue beyond
the grant period.
The grant is awarded under the OEA's Defense
Industry Adjustment Program to assist states and communities which have been
significantly impacted by reductions or cancellations in DOD spending. States
and communities can request OEA assistance to: Organize themselves to respond on
behalf of affected communities, workers, and businesses; Plan local community
and economic adjustment activities to lessen local economic impacts; and,
Carry-out plans to replace lost economic activity.
OEA project managers work with impacted areas to
coordinate a broader program of assistance from across the federal government
when necessary. Proposals are considered for funding on a rolling basis and are
subject to the availability of appropriations.
Further information about this program may be found
on the OEA's website at
www.oea.gov.
News from the U.S. Marshals Service
"Fugitive of the Week" Kevin Poole has been
arrested by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in a Concord, N.H., apartment.
Poole was featured as the "Fugitive of the Week" on Feb. 12 when the arrest
warrant originally was issued. Poole was being sought on an outstanding federal
arrest warrant for violations of the conditions of supervised release.
U.S. Air Force news
The Air Force Reserve, the Air National Guard and
the Army National Guard have teamed up for a joint training scenario called
"Exercise Joint Conquest."
The family of a fallen airman enjoyed the
Billups Avenue road dedication ceremony yesterday at Dobbins Air Reserve
Base, Ga.
Harris, Inc., will design the products to
connect with a company-built vehicular intercom system and integrate with the
Air National Guard's multi-wheeled tactical vehicles.
A Jacksonville Jaguars fly-over was actually a part
of an exercise. A Florida Air National Guard spokesman has confirmed
such fly-overs are part of regularly scheduled training exercises and
are budgeted as such.
A former Georgia Air National Guard civilian
employee and two civilian vendors are headed for prison after being convicted of
corruption.
At least seven of the 10 people on board a
float plane that crashed in Iliamna, Alaska, have survived the crash, said
Staff Sgt. Edward Eagerton of the Alaska Air National Guard.
A study of active component and Air National Guard
pilots has found most had emotional reactions to committing their first
lethal drone strike.
The Ohio Air National Guard Base that shares a
central Ohio cargo airport and houses the 121st Air Refueling Wing is
getting a $500,000 upgrade.
The Northland
Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol invites local veterans and the
general public to their 2015 dining out banquet and award program on Oct. 3 at
the Evangelical Covenant Church, 5405 Hart Lane, NW, in Bemidji, Minn. The
keynote speaker will
be Scott Markle, the Education Outreach Coordinator at the Richard I. Bong
Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wis. The social hour begins at 5 p.m.,
followed by dinner at 6 p.m. The cost is $22 per person, or
families or businesses may sponsor a table for $200. To register, send the
registration form to: Northland Composite Squadron, 4130 Hangar Drive, NW,
Bemidji, MN 56601. Make checks payable to the Minnesota Wing of
the CAP. For more information or questions, contact 1st Lt. Patti Schrader
at psch...@yahoo.com , or call
(218) 252-0682.
Representatives from the Michigan Wing of the Civil
Air Patrol recently met with members of local schools in an effort to promote
STEM. Local schools have received a $50,000 grant for STEM education.
Antelope Valley, Calif., Civil Air Patrol
(CAP) members showed up in force to support Aerospace Appreciation Night at
Lancaster JetHawks Stadium on Aug. 9. Members from the Edwards AFB Composite
Squadron 84, and Pancho Barnes Composite Squadron 49, in Rosamond, Calif.,
participated in the opening ceremonies of the special event honoring the area's
rich aero-space heritage. This year's special guest was U.S. Air Force B-1
flight test engineer and NASA seven-time shuttle astronaut Jerry Ross.
The evening opened with a presentation of the colors performed by Cadet
Colin Rodriquez, Squadron 84, and Cadets Joseph Gallagher, Cecelia Gallager and
Adam Staley from Squadron 49. The cadets also escorted and welcomed the
Lancaster JetHawks onto the field. During the game, CAP members hosted an informational booth to publicize
CAP's mission and provide membership information. Cadets also had the opportunity to meet both shuttle astronaut Jerry Ross
and Brig. Gen. Carl Schaefer, the 412th Test Wing's commander.
Individuals interested in joining the Civil Air Patrol may
attend the Squadron 84 weekly meeting on Edwards AFB, which is held
Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; at 1518 Forbes Ave., Bldg. 1850.
-For more information, email Edwards AFB Composite Squadron 84 at
cap...@gmail.com or the Pancho Barnes Composite
Squadron 49 at sq4...@yahoo.com .
And "You probably heard the cliche of
rat's jumping off a ship before it sinks. Apparently your last news story about
the CAP's Florida Wing has gained Civil Air Patrol National
Headquarters' attention," a source has told NOTF. "The rats have
been jumping off the Florida Wing ship for many years now and they (at
NHQ) want to know why. Squadrons once with a hundred people are now at all
time lows. National Headquarters does read News of the Force and they
are concerned about the CAP's appearance to Congress -many members of which also
reads your wrap and funds the CAP. Under the Courter regime, one commander got a
hall pass, and the rest got fired or were 'do nothings,'" the source told
us. "The members leaving the CAP in droves are not
rats. They are people who want to give back, instead they are disappointed. Many
just leave after the mound of paperwork and officers who never quite managed
anything well. It's time for new leadership in Florida. Not
just at the top - but a deep cut to root out the 'Pineda mentality' that
still exists. The Florida Wing is an expensive flying club maintained and paid
for by the U.S. Air Force. Perhaps leaders from outside the state who haven't
been polluted with corruption could be sent in. Change the
organization and stop the abuse, and the organization will flourish," the
source added.
Defense secretary to award medals to French train
attack heroes
Secretary
of Defense Ash Carter and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S.
Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, will host an award ceremony at 2 p.m., tomorrow, in
the Pentagon's center courtyard for the three individuals who stopped a gunman
on a Paris-bound train on Aug. 21.
At the ceremony, U.S. Air Force Airman
1st Class Spencer Stone will receive the Airman's Medal and a Purple Heart
medal, Oregon Army National Guard Specialist Alek Skarlatos will receive the
Soldier's Medal, and civilian Anthony Sadler will receive the Department of
Defense Medal for Valor.
Secretary Carter and Gen. Selva will
provide remarks during the ceremony. Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler will conduct a
brief media availability in the Pentagon's center courtyard immediately
following the awards ceremony.
Media are invited to cover this
event.
DHS
news
Homeland
Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is making a visit to the same Missouri college
where Winston Churchill made his famous "Iron Curtain" speech roughly seven
decades ago. Johnson's scheduled Green Foundation
Lecture this afternoon at Westminster College, in Fulton, Mo., comes
at a time of homeland security questions about U.S. plans to accept 10,000
Syrian refugees and concerns about recent cyber-attacks. Johnson's appearance at the college is part of its yearly symposium, this
one titled "Security vs. Liberty: Balancing the Scales of Freedom." Previous Green Lecture speakers have included former presidents Harry
Truman and Gerald Ford and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. During a
speech there in post-war 1946, Sir Winston Churchill used the term "Iron
Curtain" in reference to Eastern Europe's growing domination by the
then-Soviet Union.
A new audit
shows that the DHS' computer systems are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The
Department of Homeland Security also needs to establish a cyber training program
for analysts and investigators, the audit said.
Tom Ridge, the
first secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
says the threat of terrorism continues to loom over the world
today.
DHS Secretary
Jeh Johnson has blasted San Francisco's policy of not cooperating with
immigration officials.
And The
Berkeley Forum, at UC-Berkeley, will host the Secretary of Homeland
Security Jeh Johnson, who will deliver remarks titled, "Threats to the
Homeland."
Today in the Department of
Defense
Secretary of
Defense Ash Carter provided the keynote address this morning at the Air Force
Association (AFA)'s Air & Space Conference 2015, at the Gaylord National
Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.
Deputy
Secretary of Defense Bob Work has no public or media events on his
schedule.
The
Undersecretary of Defense (Policy), Christine Wormuth, and Army Gen. Lloyd
Austin, III, commander of the U.S. Central Command, provided testimony to
the Senate Armed Services Committee regarding U.S. military operations to
counter the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant this morning in Room
SD-106, Dirksen Senate Office Bldg., Washington, D.C.
The Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, is
traveling.
And Gen. David
Goldfein, the Air Force's vice chief of staff, provided remarks on
leading airpower in the 21st century this afternoon, and Gen. Mark Welsh, III,
the chief of staff of the Air Force, moderated a four star forum this
afternoon, at the Air Force Association's Air & Space Conference 2015, at
the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, in National Harbor,
Md.
UFO
news
A crashed
disc-shaped UFO was found on the ground near Volgograd, Russia, on Sept. 9.
There's no word on the status of any occupants.
A senior member
of the U.S. military has claimed that the U.S. Government has been working with
aliens at Nellis AFB, Nev.
And
a donut-shaped UFO was recorded on video as it flew over De Pinte, Belgium,
last month.
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