DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SEES U.S. MILITARY RECRUITING NUMBERS AS STRONG

Photo:  U.S. Navy Blue Angels.  Credit:  U.S. Navy.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Recruiting Remains Strong Through November
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2013 - All four active services met or exceeded their target recruiting numbers for the first two months of fiscal 2013, Pentagon officials reported today.

Here are the specific numbers by service so far for the fiscal year, which began Oct. 1:

-- Army: 11,685 accessions, 101 percent of its goal of 11,550;

-- Navy: 5,299 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 5,299;

-- Marine Corps: 4,293 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 4,307; and

-- Air Force: 4,452 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 4,452.

The Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps exhibited strong retention numbers for the second month of fiscal 2013, officials said, adding that the Navy exhibited strong retention numbers in the mid-career and career categories. Its 88 percent retention rate in the first-term category is the result of the Navy's transition from a downsizing posture to a stabilizing posture, officials explained.

Meanwhile, five of the six reserve components met or exceeded their fiscal 2013 recruiting goals for the first two months of the fiscal year. Here are the numbers:

-- Army National Guard: 8,453 accessions, 118 percent of its goal of 7,146;

-- Army Reserve: 4,013 accessions, 86 percent of its goal of 4,667;

-- Navy Reserve: 877 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 877;

-- Marine Corps Reserve: 1,768 accessions, 113 percent of its goal of 1,569;

-- Air National Guard: 1,414 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 1,414; and

-- Air Force Reserve: 1,279 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 1,279; 100 percent.

All reserve components met their initial fiscal-year-to-date attrition goals. Officials said that although they expect this trend will continue, attrition numbers for November are not yet available.

U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION DUNCAN'S REMARKS ON TAFT UNION HIGH SHOOL SHOOTING

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Secretary Duncan's Statement on School Shooting in Kern County, CA
January 10, 2013
"I was deeply troubled to learn today about another episode of gun violence in America's schools– this time at Taft Union High School in Kern County, California. This is another grim reminder of the urgent need to address gun violence in our society and in our schools, and it underscores the importance of the work President Obama and Vice President Biden are leading to keep our children and our communities safe."

Medicine in a storm

Medicine in a storm

CASSIOPEIA A: THE REMAINS OF A SUPERNOVA

 

FROM: NASA

Sizzling Remains of a Dead Star

This new view of the historical supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, located 11,000 light-years away, was taken by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. Blue indicates the highest energy X-ray light, where NuSTAR has made the first resolved image ever of this source. Red and green show the lower end of NuSTAR's energy range, which overlaps with NASA's high-resolution Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Light from the stellar explosion that created Cassiopeia A is thought to have reached Earth about 300 years ago, after traveling 11,000 years to get here. While the star is long dead, its remains are still bursting with action. The outer blue ring is where the shock wave from the supernova blast is slamming into surrounding material, whipping particles up to within a fraction of a percent of the speed of light. NuSTAR observations should help solve the riddle of how these particles are accelerated to such high energies

X-ray light with energies between 10 and 20 kiloelectron volts are blue; X-rays of 8 to 10 kiloelectron volts are green; and X-rays of 4.5 to 5.5 kiloelectron volts are red.

The starry background picture is from the Digitized Sky Survey.


Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/DSS

KEEPING AIRCRAFT IN THE AIR

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mark Graveline performs an operational check on a C-17 Globemaster III, Jan. 1, 2013, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Bill Walsh

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Face of Defense: Flying Crew Chiefs Keep Aircraft Airborne
By Air Force Lt. Col. Bill Walsh
315th Airlift Wing

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii, Jan. 9, 2013 - When a $200 million military aircraft breaks down in remote places like Afghanistan or Colombia, pilots can call on their flying crew chief, who, as most aircrew members are aware, knows everything.

Flying crew chiefs perform missions worldwide. They are the mechanics of the sky and a pilot's best friend.

"These guys have saved many, many missions," said Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffery Smith of the 300th Airlift Squadron. "They make our job of flying the airplane much easier."

Flying crew chiefs are specially trained maintenance personnel who attend a six-week maintenance special operations course in addition to the hundreds of hours of training it takes to become a premier aircraft maintainer.

"We have to know everything about the aircraft," said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mark Graveline of the 315th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

From fueling the aircraft and checking the oil, to troubleshooting a major system malfunction, these flying mechanics earn their stripes every day. According to Smith, keeping the mission moving is critical to its success and a trained maintainer prevents small things from becoming big problems.

When an aircraft maintainer flies a mission, he has to have access to an enormous amount of maintenance information. Thanks to today's digital technology, maintenance publications are contained in a laptop featuring hundreds of pages of diagrams, part descriptions and numbers, instructions and more to keep the giant C-17 Globemaster III in the air.

Maintainers also carry a toolbox containing things like specialized wrenches, tire pressure gauges and more.

"You never know what you will need when it comes to a fix," Graveline said.

In his trademark green flight suit, Graveline routinely climbs under the Globemaster to inspect its tires and undercarriage. Carefully and methodically he covers every inch of the outside of the jet -- even taking note of rivets in the tail towering five stories above.

"We look for cracks, leaks and any sign of trouble," he said.

"These folks are specialists in many maintenance fields and save the day sometimes," Smith said. "They're even more important in places where there is no support."

Wherever the mission, the flying crew chief goes with it to ensure that the aircraft is safe and ready to fly 24 hours-a-day.

MAKING MATERIAL MISTATEMENTS DURING FINANCIAL CRISIS

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SEC Charges Three Former Senior Officers of Commonwealth Bank With Understating Losses and Material Misstatements During Financial Crisis
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged three former bank executives in Virginia for understating millions of dollars in losses and masking the true health of the bank's loan portfolio at the height of the financial crisis.

The SEC alleges that Edward J. Woodard, Jr., who was the CEO, President and Chairman of the Board at Norfolk, Virginia-based Bank of the Commonwealth and its publicly-traded parent, Commonwealth Bankshares, along with Chief Financial Officer and Secretary Cynthia A. Sabol, a CPA, and Executive Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer Stephen G. Fields understated the bank's loan-related losses as well as losses on real estate repossessed by the bank (other real estate owned or OREO).

The SEC's complaint alleges that, from in or about November 2008 through August 2010, the consistent message in Commonwealth's SEC filings and public statements was that its portfolio of loans, which comprised approximately 94% and 81% of the company's total assets in 2008 and 2009, respectively, was conservatively managed according to strict underwriting standards aimed at keeping Commonwealth's reserved losses low during a time of unprecedented economic turmoil. In reality, internal practice deviated so much from what the investing public was told that, from November 2008 through August 2010, Commonwealth understated its ALLL by approximately 17% to 25% with a corresponding understatement to its reported loss before income taxes for fiscal year 2008 of approximately 64%; understated its OREO in two quarters by approximately 19% to 20%, which resulted in a corresponding understatement of Commonwealth's reported loss before income taxes in the first quarter of 2010 of approximately 35%; and underreported its total non-performing loans throughout the entire period by at least 30%.

The SEC's complaint further alleges that Woodard, as CEO, knew of the true state of Commonwealth's loan portfolio, was involved in the activity to hide the deterioration of many of the loans at issue and was responsible for the misleading public statements and in particular those in earnings releases. Sabol, as CFO, knew of the activity to mask the problems with the company's loan portfolio and the corresponding effect these masking practices had on the bank's financial statements and disclosures, yet signed the disclosures and certified to the investing public that they were accurate. Fields oversaw the bank's largest portfolio of construction and development loans and was involved in the masking practices.

IN DEEP MAGMA

Credit:  Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Magma in Earth's Mantle Forms Deeper Than Once Thought Study simulating pressures in mantle beneath the ocean floor shows that rocks can melt at depths up to 250 kilometers


Magma forms far deeper than geologists previously thought, according to new research results.

A team led by geologist Rajdeep Dasgupta of Rice University put very small samples of peridotite, rock derived from Earth's mantle, under high pressures in a laboratory.

The scientists found that the rock can and does liquify, at least in small amounts, at pressures equivalent to those found as deep as 250 kilometers down in the mantle beneath the ocean floor.

Dasgupta said that this answers several questions about Earth's inner workings.

He is the lead author of a paper that appears today in the journal Nature. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

"The results show that in some parts of the Earth, melting, or magma formation, happens very deep beneath Earth's surface," said geologist Jennifer Wade, a program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the research.

"It also means that some carbon dioxide and water could come from different sources--and deeper within the Earth--than we believed."

The mantle is the planet's middle layer, a buffer of rock between the crust--the top five miles or so--and the Earth's core.

If one could compress millions of years of observation of the mantle to mere minutes, the mantle would look like a rolling mass of rising and falling material.

This slow but constant churning convection brings materials from deep within the Earth to the surface, and higher, through volcanic eruptions.

The team focused on the mantle beneath the ocean because that's where crust is created and where, Dasgupta said, "the connection between the interior and surface world is established."

Magma rises with convective currents, then cools and spreads out to form ocean-floor crust.

The starting point for melting has long been thought to be at 70 kilometers beneath the seafloor.

That had confounded geologists who had suspected, but could not demonstrate, the existence of deeper magma, said Dasgupta.

For example, when scientists try to determine the mantle's density, they do so by measuring the speed of a seismic wave after an earthquake, from its origin to other points on the planet.

Because such waves travel faster through solids (e.g., crust) than through liquids (e.g., magma), geologists had been surprised to detect waves slowing down, as though passing through liquid, in a zone that should be the mantle's faster "express lane."

"Seismologists have observed anomalies in velocity data as deep as 200 kilometers beneath the ocean floor," Dasgupta said.

"It turns out that trace amounts of magma are generated at this depth, which would potentially explain that" slower velocity.

The research also offers clues to the electrical conductivity of the oceanic mantle.

"The magma at such depths has a high enough concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide that its conductivity is very high," Dasgupta said.

But, because scientists have not yet been able to sample the mantle directly, researchers have had to extrapolate from the properties of rocks carried up to the surface.

So, in a previous study, Dasgupta determined that melting in Earth's deep upper mantle is caused by the presence of carbon dioxide.

The present study shows that carbon helps to make silicate magma at significant depths. And, the researchers also found that carbonated rock melts at significantly lower temperatures than non-carbonated rock.

"This deep melting makes the silicate differentiation [changes in silicate distribution that range from the dense metallic core, to the less-dense silicate-rich mantle, to the thinner crust] of the planet much more efficient than previously thought," Dasgupta said.

"Deep magma is the main agent that brings all the key ingredients for life--water and carbon--to the surface of the Earth."

In Dasgupta's high-pressure lab, volcanic rocks are windows to the planet's interior. The researchers crush tiny rock samples that contain carbon dioxide to find out how deep magma forms.

"We have all the necessary tools to simulate very high pressures--to nearly 750,000 pounds per square inch--and temperatures," he said. "We can subject small amounts of rock to these conditions to see what happens."

The geologists use powerful hydraulic presses to partially melt rocks that contain tiny amounts of carbon, simulating what they believe is happening under equivalent pressures in the mantle.

"When rocks come from deep in the mantle to shallower depths, they cross . . . the solidus [boundary], where rocks begin to undergo partial melting and produce magmas," Dasgupta said.

"Scientists knew the effect of a trace amount of carbon dioxide or water would lower this boundary, but our new estimation made it 150-180 kilometers deeper from the known depth of 70 kilometers," he said.

"What we are now saying is that with just a trace of carbon dioxide in the mantle, melting can begin as deep as around 200 kilometers.

"When we incorporate the effect of trace water, the magma generation depth becomes at least 250 kilometers."

The extent of magma generation is larger than previously thought, he said, and, as a consequence, has the capacity to affect the geophysical and geochemical properties of the entire planet.

Co-authors of the paper are Ananya Mallik and Kyusei Tsuno at Rice University; Anthony Withers and Marc Hirschmann at the University of Minnesota; and Greg Hirth at Brown University.

The study was also supported by a Packard Fellowship to Dasgupta.

IRAQ HOSTILITIES HISTORICAL NAVAL PHOTOS

FROM: U.S NAVY
960903-N-0000X-002 Northern Arabian Gulf. . . .A first strike tomahawk missile is released from the forward vertical launch system (VLS) aboard the U.S. Navy’s Ticonderoga Class cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67), on the morning of September 3, 1996. Following Saddam Hussein’s offensive action into Kurdish territory within the UN sponsored "no-fly zone", U.S. Naval forces launched 14 Tomahawk Cruise missiles on targets in southern Iraq. President Clinton authorized repeated action less than 24 hours later, after DOD officials determined that additional missiles were needed to ensure that targets were completely neutralized. U.S. Navy Photo (Released)

020802-N-3580W-001 Arabian Sea (Aug. 2, 2002) -- Sailors from the U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Hopper (DDG 70) homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and members of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 106 homeported in San Diego, Calif., prepare to board a merchant vessel suspected of smuggling oil out of Iraq. LEDET-106 is currently assigned enforcement tasks aboard USS Hopper. Boarding teams have been conducting Maritime Interception Operations (MIO) searching for contraband cargo aboard merchant ships in the area to support UN sanctions against Iraq. MIO is a coalition effort that enforces United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) imposed against the government of Iraq following the 1991 gulf war. The United Nations prohibits cargo originating from Iraq and any imports not accompanied by a U.N. authorization letter. USS Hopper is currently on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer’s Mate Johnny R.Wilson. (RELEASED)

 

ISS UPDATE FOR JANUARY 10, 2013

FROM:  NASA

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE PANETTA COMPLAINS ABOUT FISCAL CRISIS

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, brief the press at the Pentagon, Jan. 10, 2013. Panetta and Dempsey discussed the effects of sequestration if it were to take effect at the end of March. DOD photo by Erin Kirk-Cuomo.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Panetta: Fiscal Crisis Poses Biggest Immediate Threat to DOD
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2013 - The "perfect storm of budget uncertainty" howling around his department is the biggest immediate threat facing the U.S. military, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told reporters here today.

Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stressed during a regular Pentagon press conference that unless Congress acts, the nation's military readiness will be compromised.

The United States has a number of adversaries around the world, Panetta said, "but the most immediate threat to our ability to achieve our mission is fiscal uncertainty: not knowing what our budget will be; not knowing if our budget will be drastically cut; and not knowing whether the strategy that we put in place can survive."

Panetta emphasized that DOD "is doing its part" by implementing over the next decade the $487 billion spending reduction set by Congress. "We designed a strategy; we know what the elements of that strategy are; we built a budget based on that, and we achieved our savings by virtue of that strategy," he said.

But the additional half-trillion-dollar "meat-axe cuts" sequester would trigger still loom "less than 50 days away," the secretary noted.

"While we appreciate ... that both parties came together to delay sequester, the unfortunate thing is sequester itself, and the sequester threat, [was] not removed," Panetta said. "And the prospect ... is undermining our ability to responsibly manage this department."

Two other fiscal crises are meanwhile converging on the nation's forces, he added:

- Because Congress didn't approve an appropriations act for fiscal 2013, DOD has been operating under a continuing resolution and will do so at least through March 27. The continuing resolution funds operations at fiscal 2012 levels, instead of the higher proposed fiscal 2013 levels Pentagon officials had anticipated.

- The debt-ceiling crisis, Panetta said, "could create even further turmoil that could impact on our budget and our economy."

Looking at all three factors, the secretary said simply, "We have no idea what the hell is going to happen." But DOD leaders do know that the worst-case scenario would mean "serious harm" to military readiness, he said.

Panetta noted defense strategy places the highest priority on operations and maintenance funding as the key to a ready force. He described the triple threat facing those funds:

- If Congress fails to pass an appropriations bill for fiscal 2013 and instead extends the continuing resolution through the fiscal year, "overall operating accounts would decrease by about 5 percent ... about $11 billion that would come out of [operations and maintenance funds]."

- If sequester occurs, "We would have to cut, in this fiscal year, another 9 percent, almost $18 billion from ... these operating accounts as well."

- To protect funding for the war in Afghanistan from required cuts, "We would again have to cut another 5 percent, another $11 billion, from readiness money available in the active-duty base budget, and more for the Army and the Marine Corps."

Panetta summed up: "We're looking at a 19 to 20 percent reduction in the base budget operating dollars for active units, including a cut of what looks like almost 30 percent for the Army."

The secretary said practical results of these cuts would be less training for units not imminently deploying to Afghanistan; less shipboard training for all but the highest priority missions; less pilot training and fewer flight hours; curtailed ship maintenance and disruption to research and weapons modernization programs.

Civilian employees would also take a hit, he said: unpaid layoffs, which the government calls furloughs, would put civilian employees temporarily out of work. This "would further harm our readiness, and create hardship on them and their families," Panetta noted.

A plan is in place to implement such layoffs if sequester happens, the secretary said. "This action is strictly precautionary," he said. "I want to make that clear: It's precautionary. But I have an obligation to ... let Congress know that we may have to do that, and I very much hope that we will not have to furlough anyone. But we've got to be prepared to do that if we face this situation."

Panetta said the net result of sequester under a continuing resolution would be "what I said we should not do with the defense budget, which is to hollow out the defense force of this nation." Rather than let that happen, Panetta added, DOD leaders have decided to take steps to minimize the damage that would follow Congressional inaction.

"We still have an obligation to protect this country," the secretary said. "So for that reason, I've asked the military services and the other components to immediately begin implementing prudent measures that will help mitigate our budget risk."

Panetta said he has directed any actions taken "must be reversible to the extent feasible and must minimize harmful effects on readiness."

But, he added, "We really have no choice but to prepare for the worst." First steps to containing budget risk will include cutting back on facility maintenance, freezing civilian hiring and delaying some contract awards, the secretary said.

Panetta has also directed the services to develop detailed plans for how they will implement sequester-triggered cuts, if required, he said, "because there will be so little time to respond in the current fiscal year. I mean, we're almost halfway through the fiscal year."

The secretary said the intensive planning effort now under way will ensure the military is prepared to accomplish its core missions.

"I want to emphasize, however, that ... no amount of planning that we do can fully offset the harm that would result from sequestration, if that happens," he added.

Panetta said U.S. service members are working and fighting, and some are dying, every day.

"Those of us in Washington need to have the same courage as they do to do the right thing and try to protect the security of this country," he added. "We must ensure we have the resources we need to defend the nation and meet our commitments to our troops, to our civilian employees, and to their families, after more than a decade of war."

Congress must pass a balanced deficit reduction plan, de-trigger sequester, and pass the appropriations bills for fiscal 2013, he said.

"I'm committed to do whatever I can in the time I have remaining [in office] to try to work with the Congress to ... resolve these issues," Panetta said. "We have a vital mission to perform, one that the American people expect and that they are entitled to, which is to protect their safety and to protect our national security. Congress must be a partner in that mission. I'd love to be able to do this alone, but I can't."

Dempsey offered his view of what wreckage the fiscal "storm" would leave behind.

"As I've said before, sequestration is a self-inflicted wound on national security," the chairman said. "It's an irresponsible way to manage our nation's defense. It cuts blindly, and it cuts bluntly. It compounds risk, and it ... compromises readiness. In fact, readiness is what's now in jeopardy. We're on the brink of creating a hollow force, the very thing we said we must avoid."

Dempsey noted sequestration may now "hit" while the department, under a continuing resolution, is also implementing "the deep cuts already made in the Budget Control Act" and fighting a war in Afghanistan.

"Any one of these would be a serious challenge on its own," Dempsey said. "Together, they set the conditions for readiness to pass a tipping point as early as March."

DOD won't shortchange those in combat, and will resource those who are next to deploy while still caring for wounded warriors and their families, the chairman said.

"But for the rest of the force, operations, maintenance and training will be gutted," Dempsey said. "We'll ground aircraft, return ships to port, and sharply curtail training across the force. ... [W]e may be forced to furlough civilians at the expense of maintenance and even health care. We'll be unable to reset the force following a decade of war."

Military readiness will begin to erode immediately, Dempsey said, telling reporters, "Within months, we'll be less prepared. Within a year, we'll be unprepared."

The crisis "can and must be avoided, the sooner, the better," the chairman said.

"We need budget certainty; we need time to absorb the budget reductions; we need the flexibility to manage those reductions across the entire budget," he said. "We have none of these things right now. And without them, we have no choice but to steel ourselves for the consequences."

FEMA PROVIDES $1.8 MILLION TO LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICIES FOR HURRICAN ISAAC

Photo:  Hurrican Isacc Destruction.  Credit:  FEMA.

FROM: FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

FEMA Obligates $1.8 Million to Louisiana Agency for Hurricane Isaac Recovery
Release date:
January 10, 2013


BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will receive a federal grant totaling more than $1.8 million to reimburse the agency for expenses incurred during Hurricane Isaac, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said Wednesday.

The FEMA Public Assistance grant, totaling $1,803,935, will cover 75 percent of the costs for emergency protective measures the department took before, during and after the late August hurricane to help evacuate and shelter Louisianians.

Between Aug. 26 and Sept. 10, 2012, Hurricane Isaac and its aftermath required the state of Louisiana to activate plans, procedures, staff and contracts to ensure a comprehensive response for the safe evacuation and sheltering of Louisianians. DCFS is responsible for providing sheltering, mass care, emergency assistance and housing to residents affected by a disaster.

"The department played a critical role in helping people remain safe, dry and healthy under extremely difficult circumstances," said Federal Coordinating Officer Gerard M. Stolar of FEMA. "The grant will help DCFS recover its expenses for that important effort."

Under a cost-sharing formula, FEMA reimburses the state for 75 percent of the total costs, while the state and/or applicant pay the remaining 25 percent. The newly obligated funds are a portion of the nearly $175.7 million in total Public Assistance recovery dollars approved for the state since the Aug. 29, 2012, disaster declaration.

Once FEMA reimburses the state of Louisiana it is the state’s responsibility to manage the funds, which includes making disbursements to local jurisdictions and organizations that incurred costs.

Press Briefing by Secretary Panetta and General Dempsey in the Pentagon Briefing Room

Press Briefing by Secretary Panetta and General Dempsey in the Pentagon Briefing Room

Vice President Biden Meets with Sportsmen and Wildlife Interest Groups | The White House

Vice President Biden Meets with Sportsmen and Wildlife Interest Groups | The White House

President Obama Nominates Jack Lew for Secretary of the Treasury | The White House

President Obama Nominates Jack Lew for Secretary of the Treasury | The White House

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR JANUARY 10, 2013



Photo:  Afghanistan 2001.  Credit:  DOD

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Combined Force Kills Enemy Facilitator
From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 10, 2013 - A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator Mazlum Yar today in the Ishkamish district of Afghanistan's Takhar province, military officials reported.

Mazlum Yar, also known as Qari Asrar and Tufan, planned and executed improvised explosive device attacks targeting Afghan government officials and Afghan and coalition forces. He facilitated suicide bombers throughout Takhar and Baghlan provinces, officials said, and he was organizing IED emplacement for an impending attack when he was killed.

The security force also detained three suspected insurgents and seized a rifle in the operation.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force in Helmand province's Nad-e Ali district arrested a Taliban leader who coordinated IED attacks. The security force also detained a suspected insurgent.

-- In Helmand's Nahr-e Saraj district, a combined force arrested a Taliban leader who operated as a key player in an assassination and attack network.

-- A combined force in Nangarhar province's Sherzad district killed three armed insurgents and seized weapons during a search for a Taliban leader who commands a group of fighters in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. During the search, five insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles opened fire on the Afghan and coalition troops. The security force returned fire, killing three.

CHARTER BOAT CAPTAIN PLEADS GUILTY TO TRAFFICKING IN STRIPED BASS

Photo:  Striped Bass.  Credit:  Wikimedia Commons

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Virginia Charter Fishing Boat Captain Pleads Guilty to Felony Lacey Act Violation

WASHINGTON – Jeffery S. Adams, 41, of Hudgins, Va., and his corporation Adams Fishing Adventures Inc. pleaded guilty today to trafficking in illegally-harvested striped bass, in violation of the Lacey Act. Among other things, the Lacey Act makes it unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire or purchase any fish and wildlife taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of any law or regulation of the United States, or to attempt to do so. Under the Lacey Act, it is a "sale" of fish or wildlife for any person, for money or other consideration, to offer or provide guiding, outfitting, or other services.

Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.

Adams and Adams Fishing Adventures were indicted on Nov. 8, 2012, by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, Lacey Act violations and false statements. Adams faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, as well as forfeiture of the fishing vessel used during the commission of the crimes. Adams Fishing Adventures Inc. faces a maximum fine of $500,000, as well as forfeiture of the fishing vessels used during the commission of the crimes. Sentencing is set for April 18, 2013.

In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Adams and Adams Fishing Adventures admitted that they sold a charter striped bass fishing trip on Jan. 19, 2010, for $800. As part of that charter fishing trip, Adams knowingly took his charter clients into the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to harvest striped bass, even though Adams knew that it was a violation of federal law to harvest striped bass inside the EEZ. Adams’ clients illegally harvested 10 striped bass within the EEZ on Jan. 19, 2010, and Adams then transported the illegally harvested striped bass back to Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach, Va., where the sale of Adams’ charter fishing services was finalized.

This case was investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries, Office for Law Enforcement, and the Virginia Marine Police with assistance from the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau, Norfolk, Va. Office. Trial Attorney James B. Nelson of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie from the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

REMARKS: DEFENSE SECRETARY PANETTA AND AFGHAN PRESIDENT KARZAI

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Presenter: Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta and Afghan President Hamid Karzai January 10, 2013
Remarks by Secretary Panetta and President Karzai at the Pentagon

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LEON E. PANETTA: If I could have your attention, please.

First of all, let me express how honored we are to welcome you, Mr. President, and your distinguished delegation here to the Department of Defense and to the nation's capital.

(CROSSTALK)

Have we got everybody? Okay.

Again, Mr. President, let me express our honor at the opportunity to welcome you here to the Pentagon. We -- we sometimes are accused of having a great deal of power and I just want to assure you that the weather was nice because I prayed a lot.

But we -- we enjoyed the opportunity to be able to honor you as a distinguished visitor to the United States.

This is a -- this is a wonderful opportunity, and it comes after 10 years of war, of blood, of battle, the loss of many on both sides. But -- after -- after a long and difficult path, we finally are, I believe, at the last chapter of establishing an Afghanistan -- a sovereign Afghanistan that can govern and secure itself for the future.

I want to thank you in particular, in light of the sacrifices that have been made, of your taking the time to visit our wounded Afghan and American comrades at Walter Reed Hospital. That -- that, I believe, is a reflection of your kindness and your appreciation.

When I traveled to Afghanistan last month, as I told you, I had the opportunity to meet with all of our military key leaders there. And it was clear to me from them and from the Afghans that I spoke with that what we are doing together -- what we are doing in partnership is indeed succeeding.

It was equally clear to me that our partnership, forged as I said through almost 11 years of shared sacrifice, is a key to our ability to achieve the final mission. We've come a long way towards a shared goal of establishing a nation that you and we can be proud of, one that never again becomes a safe haven for terrorism.

This next year in Afghanistan will be a very important one, as we continue to transition security responsibility to the Afghan forces. And this coming year, we will complete that transition with tranche five.

I want to commend you on the bravery and the skill of your forces. They are demonstrating, alongside the United States and coalition forces, every day the bravery, the courage and the capability to provide the security you need in order to ensure a safe future for your nation.

I also want to assure you, my friend, that the United States and the Department of Defense are fully committed to helping the people of Afghanistan secure and govern your own country.

We -- we have sacrificed together. That has created a bond that will not be broken in the future.

PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI: Thank you very much, dear friend, Secretary Panetta, for the very warm welcome today by you personally and for the very beautiful honor guard that was presented, and for receiving me and my delegation today at the Pentagon in your office.

Thank you also, Mr. Secretary, for being a friend of Afghanistan for all these years you were working at the Pentagon.

Indeed, Afghanistan and the United States have come a long way in the past 11 years, with sacrifice on both sides, of your men and women in uniform and civilians, and also of the Afghan security forces and the Afghan police.

As we move forward toward the completion of the transition, I'm glad we are going to announce the final and fifth tranche mid 2013: Afghanistan will be taking over responsibility for its own security.

And I thank you and all our allies for providing Afghanistan the assistance that was needed in the past 11 years and for training and equipping the Afghan forces.

I can assure you, Mr. Secretary, that Afghanistan will, with the help that you provide, be able to provide security to its people and to protect its borders; so Afghanistan would not ever again be threatened by terrorists from across our borders.

And I'm sure during this trip, Afghanistan and the United States will work out a modality for bilateral security agreement that will ensure the interests of Afghanistan and also the interests of the United States.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

SEC. PANETTA: Thank you very much, Mr. President

Energy drinks versus energy

Energy drinks versus energy

U.S. AID TO THE SYRIAN PEOPLE

Map:  Syria.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

U.S. Government Assistance to Syria
Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
January 9, 2013


The United States supports the Syrian people’s aspirations for a Syrian-led transition to a democratic, inclusive, and peaceful Syria. Over nearly two years of unrest and violence, the United Nations estimates that 60,000 Syrians have been killed. Nearly 600,000 Syrians have registered or are awaiting registration in neighboring countries, while an additional 2.5 million persons are internally displaced and 4 million people inside Syria are in need of assistance. The Syrian regime has sacrificed all legitimacy in a vicious effort to cling to power. U.S. assistance includes vigorous diplomatic support of the newly formed Syrian Opposition Coalition, humanitarian assistance to help those affected by the conflict, and non-lethal support for local councils and civil society inside Syria.

Diplomatic Support

The United States continues to support the Syrian people as the newly-formed Syrian Opposition Coalition sets a course toward the peaceful, democratic, inclusive future that the people of Syria deserve. We are working with other nations to further isolate the regime and support the Syrian people’s calls for President Assad to step down. We and our international partners actively supported the efforts of the Syrian people to launch the Syrian Opposition Coalition in Doha in November. On December 12, the Friends of the Syrian People meeting in Marrakesh helped to ensure that our assistance responds to the most pressing needs of the Syrian people in coordination with the Syrian Opposition Coalition and Syria-based unarmed opposition groups.

Humanitarian Assistance

The Assad regime’s war on its own civilian population over the past two years has precipitated a critical humanitarian crisis. The United States is providing $210 million in humanitarian aid to assist conflict-affected Syrians inside Syria and those who have fled to neighboring countries, the majority of whom are residing among local communities. Assistance is channeled both through contributions to U.N. and other international agencies as well as partner non-governmental organizations. We continue to develop ways for humanitarian assistance – provided on the basis of need and not political affiliation – to reach previously inaccessible areas inside Syria where continuing violence has created urgent humanitarian needs, especially growing shortages of food and fuel.
The United States is providing relief supplies, such as plastic sheeting to repair damaged buildings, warm clothes, mattresses, blankets and heaters to help conflict-affected families in Syria survive the winter. An estimated 130,000 people have already received relief supplies, a number that will grow to nearly 515,000 people in some of the hardest-hit locations. U.S. contributions to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are providing 75,000 winter clothing kits and 320,000 blankets to children in Syria.
U.S.-funded medical assistance is saving lives in some of Syria’s hardest-hit locations – treating more than 410,000 patients in Syria, including 22,370 surgeries. U.S. funding of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supported the delivery of essential medical supplies to treat tens of thousands of sick or wounded Syrians in 2012.
U.S. funding for ICRC, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP), and the U.N. Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has supported food distributions for more than 3 million people and essential household items for more than 500,000 people, as well as assisted local Syrian water authorities to ensure access to safe water for 10 million people, Funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has opened schools and other buildings to some 10,000 displaced Syrians as well as assistance to Palestinian refugees in Syria affected by the crisis.
U.S. funds are providing urgently needed food, clean water, medical supplies and emergency medical care for thousands of Syrians living in neighboring countries through UNHCR, WFP and UNICEF and through non-government organizations.

Transition Support to the Unarmed Opposition

The United States is also providing approximately $50 million in non-lethal support to the unarmed Syrian opposition and civil society groups, including local councils and grassroots organizations. This assistance provides training and equipment to the Syrian non-violent opposition to build up a nation-wide network of ethnically and religiously diverse civilian activists, which will help promote unity among the Syrian people and accelerate the country’s democratic transition. Our assistance seeks to build the capacity of local councils and grassroots organizations and supports their efforts to respond to the needs of their communities and mobilize ongoing non-violent protest movements. These resources aim to help Syrian non-violent opposition groups sustain their activities through strengthening civil society, media and democratic transition planning.

Support to civil society groups and local councils includes efforts to train, equip and build the capacity of grassroots activists and opposition groups – including women and youth – primarily inside the country; develop existing and emerging groups’ abilities to mobilize citizens, share information and build networks, provide services to their communities, and undertake civic functions; support interreligious and communal dialogues to encourage strong citizen participation in shaping the transition’s trajectory; develop women’s leadership capacity to play a robust role in the transition; support professional human rights documentation and transitional justice workshops, and prepare for Syria’s political transition and lay the foundation for future accountability efforts.

Support to independent media projects includes community radio stations providing information for refugees about available services, training for networks of citizen journalists, bloggers, and cyber-activists to support their ability to document, package, and disseminate information on developments inside Syria and provide independent news reporting; and technical assistance and equipment to enhance the information and communications security of Syrian activists within Syria.

Assistance in support of democratic transition planning includes efforts to facilitate linkages between unarmed opposition elements inside Syria with supporters outside the country; resources to help establish the Syria Justice and Accountability Center as an independent entity that documents human rights abuses and coordinates transitional justice and accountability efforts among Syrian and international groups; and facilitating Syrian activists’ participation in political and economic transition planning, to facilitate the active engagement of the business community in transition processes, and technical assistance to emerging political parties within the country.

TWO KPMG AUDITORS CHARGED FOR FAILURE TO FIND HIDDEN LOAN LOSSES

FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SEC Charges Two KPMG Auditors for Failed Audit of Nebraska Bank Hiding Loan Losses During Financial Crisis

Washington, D.C., Jan. 9, 2013 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two auditors at KPMG for their roles in a failed audit of a Nebraska-based bank that hid millions of dollars in loan losses from investors during the financial crisis and eventually was forced to file for bankruptcy.

The SEC previously charged three former TierOne Bank executives responsible for the scheme. Two executives agreed to settle the SEC’s charges, and the case continues against the other.

The new charges in the SEC’s case are against KPMG partner John J. Aesoph and senior manager Darren M. Bennett. The SEC’s investigation found that they failed to appropriately scrutinize management’s estimates of TierOne’s allowance for loan and lease losses (known as ALLL). Due to the financial crisis and problems in the real estate market, this was one of the highest risk areas of the audit, yet Aesoph and Bennett failed to obtain sufficient evidence supporting management’s estimates of fair value of the collateral underlying the bank’s troubled loans. Instead, they relied on stale information and management’s representations, and they failed to heed numerous red flags when issuing unqualified opinions on TierOne’s 2008 financial statements and the bank’s internal controls over its financial reporting.

"Aesoph and Bennett merely rubber-stamped TierOne’s collateral value estimates and ignored the red flags surrounding the bank’s troubled real estate loans," said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. "Auditors must adhere to professional auditing standards and exercise due diligence rather than merely relying on management’s representations."

According to the SEC’s order instituting administrative proceedings against Aesoph, who lives in Omaha, and Bennett, who lives in Elkhorn, Neb., the auditors failed to comply with professional auditing standards in their substantive audit procedures over the bank’s valuation of loan losses resulting from impaired loans. They relied principally on stale appraisals and management’s uncorroborated representations of current value despite evidence that management’s estimates were biased and inconsistent with independent market data. Aesoph and Bennett failed to exercise the appropriate professional skepticism and obtain sufficient evidence that management’s collateral value and loan loss estimates were reasonable.

According to the SEC’s order, the internal controls identified and tested by the auditing engagement team did not effectively test management’s use of stale and inadequate appraisals to value the collateral underlying the bank’s troubled loan portfolio. For example, the auditors identified TierOne’s Asset Classification Committee as a key ALLL control. But there was no reference in the audit work papers to whether or how the committee assessed the value of the collateral underlying individual loans evaluated for impairment, and the committee did not generate or review written documentation to support management’s assumptions. Given the complete lack of documentation, Aesoph and Bennett had insufficient evidence from which to conclude that the bank’s internal controls for valuation of collateral were effective.

The SEC’s order alleges that Aesoph and Bennett engaged in improper professional conduct as defined in Section 4C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 102(e)(1)(ii) of the Commission’s Rules of Practice. A hearing will be scheduled before an administrative law judge to determine whether the allegations contained in the order are true and what, if any, remedial sanctions are appropriate pursuant to Rule 102(e). The administrative law judge will issue an initial decision no later than 300 days from the date of service of the order.

The SEC’s investigation of the auditors was led by Mary Brady and Michael D’Angelo of the Denver Regional Office. Barbara Wells and Nicholas Heinke will lead the Enforcement Division’s litigation in the administrative proceeding.

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON RETURNS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Remarks at a Flag Ceremony for United States Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Monroe Room
Washington, DC
January 9, 2013

QUESTION: (In progress) All right. Madam Secretary, just on behalf of the press corps, welcome back to work.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, Matt. I must – I have to say, Matt, I really missed you all. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: I find that a little hard to believe.

SECRETARY CLINTON: I know. I wouldn’t say that under normal circumstances.

QUESTION: (Laughter.) I find it – well, as you know, Ambassador Rooney knows a thing or two about contact sport injuries, and I’m sure –

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes. That’s why I now have a helmet (inaudible).

QUESTION: I’m sure he wishes it was a Steelers helmet. It wasn’t, though. But how does it feel to be back? Were you frustrated to be cooped up, not out?

SECRETARY CLINTON: No, Matt, I am thrilled to be back. And I am also incredibly grateful for this fabulous team that I have here at the State Department who never missed a beat for the time that I was away. And we are focused on continuing our work, finishing up everything that we can, and helping Senator Kerry with his transition.

QUESTION: So things – you’re ready – you’re back in the swing of things --

SECRETARY CLINTON: I am back --

QUESTION: -- even though it’s closing down your operation?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yeah. It’s obviously somewhat bittersweet, because I’ve had the most extraordinary experience, and I work with just an amazing team of people. But I’m very much looking forward to doing everything we can these last few weeks to resolve and finish up wherever possible and then to have a very smooth, seamless transition to Senator Kerry to continue the work.

QUESTION: And then retirement?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I don’t know that that’s the word I would use, but certainly stepping off the very fast track for a little while.

QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thanks, Matt. Great to see you.

QUESTION: Great to see you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, all.

Herschel intercepte l’astéroïde Apophis

Herschel intercepte l’astéroïde Apophis

Weltraumturnier auf der ISS

Weltraumturnier auf der ISS

Weltraumturnier auf der ISS

Weltraumturnier auf der ISS

HOSPITALITY COMAPANY SETTLES UNFAIR EMPLOYMENT CHARGES WITH DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Monday, January 7, 2013
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with South Carolina Food Service Provider to Resolve Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Centerplate Inc., resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Centerplate, based in Spartanburg, S.C., is one of the largest hospitality companies in the world. With over 10,000 employees nationwide, Centerplate provides food service to over 250 stadiums, convention centers and entertainment venues across the country.

The Justice Department’s investigation was initiated based on a referral from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under a memorandum of agreement between the Civil Rights Division and USCIS. The department’s investigation concluded that, for at least the past three years, Centerplate engaged in a pattern or practice of treating work-eligible non-U.S. citizens differently from U.S. citizens during the INA’s employment eligibility verification processes, including E-Verify, by requiring specific documents issued by the Department of Homeland Security from non-U.S. citizens, while not making similar requests of U.S. citizens.

Under the terms of the agreement, Centerplate has agreed to pay $250,000 in civil penalties, the third highest amount paid through settlement since enactment of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision in 1986. Centerplate has also agreed to fully compensate any victims who lost wages as a result of Centerplate’s practices, undergo Justice Department training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for a period of three years. The case settled prior to the Justice Department filing a complaint in this matter.

"Work-eligible applicants – citizens and non-citizens alike – deserve fair and equal treatment in the eligibility verification process," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Therefore, we will continue to vigorously enforce the anti-discrimination provision of the INA."

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with South Carolina Food Service Provider to Resolve Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call the OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2525, TDD for hearing impaired), call the OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-362-2735, TDD for hearing impaired), sign up for a no-cost webinar at www.justice.gov/about/osc/webinars.php , email osccrt@usdoj.gov or visit the website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc .

THE U.S. MODERNIZATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS INFRASTRUCTURE

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise Infrastructure Modernization
Fact Sheet
Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance
January 8, 2013

Key Point: The U.S. Government is committed to the modernization of the nuclear weapons infrastructure in order to support a safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons stockpile in the absence of nuclear explosive testing.

In accordance with the Nuclear Posture Review, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) identified a path for sustaining the nuclear deterrent while modernizing the supporting infrastructure without nuclear explosive testing. This modernization is implemented by focusing on recapitalization and refurbishment of existing infrastructure for plutonium, uranium, tritium, high-explosive production, non-nuclear component production, high-fidelity testing and waste disposition. In addition, the modernization effort preserves and enhances essential science and technology tools for assessing and certifying weapons without nuclear explosive testing. These investments in science, technology, engineering, manufacturing, and information technology infrastructure will sustain the capabilities that underpin the stockpile and other national security missions.

Modernization of the nuclear weapons infrastructure requires a balanced application of the following elements:
Construction of replacement facilities;
Sustainment of existing facilities; and
Decommissioning and disposition of excess facilities
The NNSA is also addressing needs in uranium and plutonium infrastructure to support the Stockpile Stewardship mission. To address the operational and programmatic risk associated with current uranium facilities, NNSA will accelerate construction plans for the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee. To maintain continuity in plutonium capabilities, NNSA is using existing infrastructure across the Nuclear Security Enterprise in addition to the first phase of the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) project — the new Radiological Laboratory, Utility, and Office Building at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico. Consistent with feedback from an independent Department of Defense review of plans for UPF and the CMRR Facility, NNSA is deferring construction of the final phase of CMRR, the CMRR-Nuclear Facility, for at least five years, and accelerating UPF construction.

NNSA will continue to modernize and refurbish the balance of its physical infrastructure over the next ten years on the basis of mission need, safety and security requirements, and lifecycle cost reduction. As it strives to consolidate its operations to a scale appropriate to support the reduced stockpile, NNSA will sustain its assets, identify opportunities to reduce operating costs, and prioritize maintenance to focus on its most mission critical facilities.

The final key element of NNSA’s modernization is the elimination of facilities that have no future mission and are considered excess. Disposing of excess facilities will help facilitate new construction over the next decade, which should help control operating costs and allow available resources to be applied to areas that more directly support the mission of maintaining a safe, secure and effective U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear explosive testing.

Veteran Unemployment Still Below National Average; Post-9/11 Annual Rate Falls to 9.9

Veteran Unemployment Still Below National Average; Post-9/11 Annual Rate Falls to 9.9

NORTHERN COMMAND UPGRADING BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSES

Technicians prepare a ground based Interceptor for emplacement into Missile Field 2 at the Missile Defense Complex at Fort Greely, Alaska, Feb. 25, 2012. U.S. Northern Command is collaborating closely with the Missile Defense Agency to improve the capability of systems designed to counter threats to the homeland. Missile Defense Agency photo by Ralph Scott.

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ARMED WITH SCIENCE
Northcom to Upgrade Ballistic Missile Defenses
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., Jan. 9, 2013 - While refining the systems that protect the homeland against long-range ballistic missile attacks, the United States is advancing technologies to counter the growing threat of short- and medium-range missiles launched by rogue states or terrorists, a top U.S. Northern Command officer told American Forces Press Service.

North Korea's successful long-range missile launch last month in violation of U.N. resolutions, and Iran's reported testing of a new, mid-range surface-to-air missile last week represent two ends of the spectrum that U.S. missile defenses must be prepared to address, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Kenneth E. Todorov, Northcom's deputy operations director.

Toward that end, Todorov said he envisions an integrated system capable of detecting and intercepting the full range of ballistic missile threats, conceivably within the decade. And ideally, he said it will dovetail with NATO's European Phased Adaptive Approach Missile Defense System being phased in to counter short-, medium- and long-range missiles, primarily from the Middle East.

Almost since its inception more than a half-century ago, North American Aerospace Defense Command has focused primarily on long-range ballistic missile threats. However, in light of proliferation, and the willingness of bad actors to deliver sophisticated missile technology to countries or organizations hostile to the United States, it also recognizes the threat posed by shorter-range missiles, Todorov said.

NORAD commander Army Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr. and his staff monitor the half-dozen space launches that take place around the globe every day and assess if any pose a threat to the U.S. or Canada. But because NORAD's mission is missile warning -- not missile defense -- Jacoby would act in his capacity as Northcom commander to authorize an engagement, Todorov explained.

"General Jacoby refers to this mission as part of the sacred trust he has with the American people," Todorov said. "He, and we as a command, are responsible for defending the U.S. homeland against ballistic missile threats."

That capability is delivered through the Ballistic Missile Defense System. Todorov described it as a "system of systems architecture" of networked space-based and terrestrial sensors able to detect and track missile threats to North America.

Currently arrayed toward both the Atlantic and Pacific, the deployed sensors are postured to identify inbound threats from either theater, he said. Based on well-rehearsed protocols, the system is designed to destroy threat missiles in space before they reach their intended targets.

Members of the Alaska National Guard's 49th Missile Defense Battalion stand on 24/7 alert at Fort Greeley, Alaska, ready to launch the 26 ground-based interceptors there at a moment's notice. Other members of the Colorado National Guard's 100th Missile Defense Brigade maintain and man four additional interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

"These are 300 National Guardsmen defending 300 million citizens of the United States, Todorov said. "They are the no-kidding, 24/7 watch, watching for threats and waiting for them to come. And if they come, they are going to shoot them down."

Jacoby said he's confident in Northcom's ability to leverage existing capabilities to defend the United States against limited long-range ballistic missile threats. But as these threats evolve, he said ballistic missile defenses must evolve, too.

That, Tordov said, requires building on existing ballistic missile defenses to keep a step ahead of potential adversaries.

Much of the United States' missile defense focus has been on the NATO system that will offer broad protection to Europe once it is fully deployed in 2020 -- and by extension, to the United States and Canada.

Meanwhile, Northcom is collaborating closely with the Missile Defense Agency to improve the capability of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System, which is designed to defeat long-range ballistic missiles.

"We have focused very hard on improving GMD system capabilities since it became operational in 2006," Todorov said. "But as we go forward as a command, one thing that we will change will be our emphasis and focus on short- and medium-range missile defense of the homeland."

Instead of developing new independent systems to address these threats, Todorov said the better approach is to build on existing defense capabilities.

"Rather than looking at these systems independently -- the GMD system to fight the long-range threat and another system that might fight the medium-range one and another that might fight the short range -- let's try to build them into an interconnecting group of systems that we can refer to as an integrated air and missile defense," he said.

"The same sensors won't be able to do it all," he acknowledged. "But hopefully there will be some connects and shared data, with shared information and shared situational awareness between the sensors. Each of those will help us tie the picture together."

With work on this integrated system already under way, Todorov anticipates "cylinders of capability" that will be fielded as they are developed, probably within the next few years.

"Then as it develops and matures, I think we will start to knit the capabilities together to strengthen the numbers, if you will, and overlapping sensors from the short-range to the medium-range to the long-range," he said.

Within the next 10 years, Todorov said he hopes to have an interconnected and overlapping system of systems that provides stronger, more reliable defenses than any individual systems could. "With the synergy among all of it, one plus one will equal three," he said.

The success of that endeavor will be vital to the United States' long-term security, he said.

"We can't take anything for granted," Todorov said. "There are adversaries out there and groups of people and nation states that would like to do us harm."

The 9/11 Memorial outside the NORAD and Northcom headquarters, built of rubble from the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon and soil from the Shanksville, Pa., crash site, offers a daily reminder to workers here of the gravity of their homeland defense mission.

"I think it is our job, every day, to walk past that 9/11 Memorial as we come in here and think, 'We are not going to let anybody do harm to us like they did on that day,'" Todorov said.

Media Roundtable in The Hague, The Netherlands

Media Roundtable in The Hague, The Netherlands

PREPARING AN ORION SPACE-CAPSULE

FROM: NASA

Orion Spacecraft
Technicians prepare to fit a special fixture around an Orion capsule inside the high bay of the Operations & Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fixture is designed to enable precise pre-launch processing of the Orion spacecraft.

Orion will be the most advanced spacecraft ever designed and carry astronauts farther into space than ever before. It will sustain astronauts during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space and emergency abort capability. Orion will be launched by NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS will enable new missions of exploration and expand human presence across the solar system.

Image Credit: NASA

ISS UPDATE-JANUARY 9, 2013

FROM: NASA

 

U.S. SECRETARY OF LABOR HILDA L. SOLIS RESIGNS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Statement by US Department of Labor on resignation of Secretary Hilda L. Solis

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis this afternoon sent the following letter to employees at the U.S. Department of Labor:

"Over the Christmas and New Year holidays with my family in California, I enjoyed my first opportunity in years to reflect on the past and my future, with an open mind and an open heart. After much discussion with family and close friends, I have decided to begin a new future, and return to the people and places I love and that have inspired and shaped my life.

"This afternoon, I submitted my resignation to President Obama. Growing up in a large Mexican-American family in La Puente, California, I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to serve in a president’s Cabinet, let alone in the service of such an incredible leader.

"Because President Obama took very bold action, millions of Americans are back to work. There is still much to do, but we are well on the road to recovery, and middle class Americans know the president is on their side.

"Together we have achieved extraordinary things and I am so proud of our work on behalf of the nation’s working families. It has been more than an honor to work alongside you in fulfilling the department’s mission. Working with all of you as the nation’s 25th secretary of labor, I have come to learn that the work we do every day is indeed a labor of love.

"I am humbled by the commitment of every single employee of this department – from the folks here in Washington to those who directly touch communities out in the field. Each of you brings passion to your work, and collectively, that makes a significant difference in the lives of our nation’s working families.

"We have much to be proud of. In the past four years, more than 1.7 million people have completed federally-funded job training programs; of those, more than one million have earned industry-recognized credentials. In addition, Labor Department investments in our community colleges have expanded their capacity to provide local, flexible, employer-specific job training to millions of Americans, and transformed these institutions into engines of economic growth.

"Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we were the steward of more than $67 billion for unemployment insurance benefits, job training and placement, and worker protection. With ingenuity and integrity we ensured that these monies were carefully targeted to maximize job creation so that working people received the help they needed and deserved.

"We also played an important and active role in crafting regulatory actions to implement key aspects of the Affordable Care Act. Our work will help make President Obama’s vision of a health care system that works for America a reality for millions of people.

"We have helped businesses big and small see the value of hiring returning military service members, and have fostered innovative efforts to help women and homeless veterans.

"And I am particularly proud to say that, as a result of our enforcement efforts, we have saved workers’ lives.

"Calendar year 2011 saw the fewest-ever mine fatalities. Fatalities in general industry and construction are at historic lows.

"Because of our work, more people are receiving the wages they are owed. Last year we conducted the largest number of investigations in recent memory, collecting the most back wages in our history (more than $280 million on behalf of more than 300,000 workers denied their rightful pay, overtime or leave benefits). In these recoveries, what may seem to some as "small change" makes a huge difference for those who live paycheck-to-paycheck. In addition, our enforcement and informal resolution programs resulted in the recovery of almost $5 billion dollars for retirees and their families.

"Leaving the department is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made, because I have taken our mission to heart. As the daughter of parents who worked in factories, paid their union dues and achieved their goal of a middle class life, and as the first Latina to head a major federal agency, it has been an incredible honor to serve.

"It has been my privilege to call you colleagues and friends. Thank you for all you have done and will continue to do to make life more just and safer for workers across this country.

"I am counting on you to keep up the good work. God bless you. And I will miss all of you.

"Sincerely,

"Hilda L. Solis
"U.S. Secretary of Labor"

CYBERDEFENSE EXPERTS DISCUSS FUTURE

Credit:  U.S. Air Force

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Cyber Officials Weigh Opportunities, Challenges
By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2013 - The joint information environment will define the future as the services move closer to a common foundation, Defense Information Systems Agency officials said during a panel discussion here yesterday.

The panel -- moderated by Anthony Montemarano, DISA's director for strategic planning and information -- was part of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association's monthly luncheon meeting for cyberdefense experts.

"It's about bringing everyone together so that we have a common infrastructure to [develop] new technologies," Montemarano said.

David Mihelcic, DISA's chief technology officer and principal director for global information grid enterprise services engineering, said the agency will focus on Internet protocol, client server computing, cloud computing and the "spiral" family of software development processes, among other technologies.

"DISA has focused on leveraging leading-edge, but commercial, technologies and putting those together in a manner that supports the warfighters' needs," he said. "We have a long history of trying to bring capability to the warfighter securely."

With most military and government agencies facing possible deep spending cuts, officials said, DISA and the Defense Department will continue to collaborate with industry to develop unified communications and mobility innovations in the face of shrinking information technology budgets.

"We're not looking at trying to reinvent the wheel. We're trying to exploit the best wheel out there," Mihelcic said. "We're not going to develop unique technologies, [so] we're looking at industry to develop innovation that we can leverage."

Whatever budget constraints may loom, he added, one aspect must not waver. "We cannot give up the security, the confidentiality or the pedigree of our data at the unclassified or classified levels," he said.

From a cyberdefense perspective, Mark Orndorff, DISA's program executive officer for mission assurance and network operations, said that while his agency and DOD have Web content filtering and log-on security capabilities, he'd like to further develop them.

"One of our primary efforts is to look across the existing infrastructure to better leverage those technologies," Orndorff said.

Although areas such as mobility and cloud computing will create certain unavoidable gaps as technology matures, Orndorff said, training and minimizing duplication will be important in creating the optimal security architecture.

"A key piece of this is the cyber workforce and developing the right training, lab and range environments to fully develop [the right architecture]," Orndorff said.

That training, he explained, will help to ensure new technologies are developed with the best knowledge of the potential risks and outcomes.

"We need to test [the technology], validate it and make sure we aren't going to do something that'll leave us exposed," he said. "But there are real benefits from an economic and cyberdefense effectiveness standpoint. As we build out the analytics, we're moving into the open-source, 'big-data' environment, and we're looking for solutions that will coexist in that big-data environment."

Jennifer Carter, DISA's component acquisition executive, said that while efficiencies should be a main consideration in the way ahead, a common approach to the security posture can lead to process improvements and better long-range planning to stay current with technology and industry advances.

"The underlying fundamentals should have that core component available for the services to leverage," she said. "We want to get the capabilities to the warfighters faster."

Expediting certification and product validation will pave the way for DISA's endeavors in cloud computing, with a focus on mobile technologies and network operations, Carter said.

"DISA has been designated the cloud broker for DOD, ... [and] we'll be looking at industry to develop interoperable technologies with an integrated suite of capabilities warfighters can access," she added.