IMPROVING U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONTRACTOR MANAGEMENT

Photo:  Alan F. Estevez.  Credit:  U.S. DOD.

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

DOD Pursues Improvement in Operational Contractor Management

By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2012 - Efforts to improve management of civilian contractors performing critical mission support functions are creating a cultural shift in the way the military prepares for battle, senior Defense Department officials told the House Armed Services Committee today.

Alan F. Estevez, assistant secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness, and Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Craig C. Crenshaw, the Joint Staff's vice director of logistics, testified along with other experts at a hearing held to examine the Defense Department's planning and management of contractors on the battlefield.

Lessons learned in the combat theater over the last decade can optimize management and oversight of operational contract support in future operations, they said.

Estevez said that as the DOD has increasingly embraced operational contract support, he has seen a cultural shift in the way the military prepares for contingency operations.

"The lessons we have learned from recent operations are being incorporated and applied ... across all echelons of the department, including the military services and the combatant commands," he added.

Operational contract support capabilities and planning have become significant in the stand-up of joint contingencies and combatant commands, and the development and updates of policy and doctrine with an eye on increased visibility and accountability, Estevez told the House panel. Improvements in training and education in both the acquisition and nonacquisition workforce responsible for contingency contract management also are part of the program's evolution, he added.

As an example, Estevez cited a critical lesson learned following the nuclear reactor failure that resulted from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

"[U.S.] Pacific Command established the Air Force as the lead service for contracting," Estevez said. "This meant that all forces deploying to Japan had a clear understanding of the contracting authority and would not be competing against each other for scarce resources."

To sustain these advances, Estevez added, DOD needs to maintain its focus, secure and solidify gains, and continue its momentum in implementing the operational contract support capability.

"To lose such capability now would be truly wasteful," he said.
Crenshaw agreed, explaining that the Defense Department began a "deliberate effort" in 2007 to significantly improve strategic operational contract support guidance.

"I am confident that ongoing efforts will ensure that we meet the warfighter's current and future needs while judiciously managing DOD resources and balancing risk," Crenshaw said.

The heart of the plan, the general said, involves closer links of contracts and contractors to operational effects to more rapidly and decisively achieve the joint force commander's intent.

"In the past decade, we have recognized that contractors leverage important support to our troops while advancing operation objectives," he said.

U.S.-BURUNDI RELATIONS

Map Credit:  U.S. State Department.
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

The United States established diplomatic relations with Burundi in 1962, following its independence from a Belgian-administered trusteeship. From 1993 to 2006, the country saw civil war driven by ethnic tensions. The 2000 Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Accords provided a negotiated settlement to the conflict. National elections in 2010 were judged by domestic and international observers to be free and fair. Democratic consolidation remains critical, as does the need to demonstrate peace dividends to the population. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world.

U.S. Government goals in Burundi are to help the people of Burundi realize a just and lasting peace based on democratic principles and sustainable economic development. The United States encourages political stability, ongoing democratic reforms, political openness, respect for human rights, and economic development. In the long term, the United States seeks to strengthen the process of internal reconciliation and democratization within all the states of the region to promote a stable, democratic community of nations that will work toward mutual social, economic, and security interests on the African continent. As the situation in Burundi normalizes, the United States seeks to facilitate its integration into regional and international markets, as a means to promote sustainable economic development.

U.S. Assistance to Burundi

U.S. foreign assistance aims to promote private sector-led economic growth, emphasizing agricultural production and trade (particularly within the East African Community Common Market); improve health care delivery; combat HIV/AIDS; reduce malnutrition in children under the age of 2 years; strengthen good governance and government effectiveness; and build the capacity of Burundi to maintain peace and security both at home and elsewhere in Africa. All development assistance programs seek to prioritize women and youth.

Bilateral Economic Relations

Burundi is eligible for preferential trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The United States has signed trade and investment framework agreements with the East African Community and with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. Burundi is a member of both regional organizations. U.S. exports to Burundi include iron and steel products, baking-related products, pharmaceutical products, wheat, and furniture and bedding. The primary import from Burundi to the United States is coffee.

Burundi's Membership in International Organizations

Burundi and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.

SEC. OF DEFENSE PANETTA'S GOALS DURING ASIAN TRIP

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta gives an in-flight press briefing while flying to Tokyo, Sept. 15, 2012. Panetta is on an eight-day trip to meet with defense counterparts in Japan, China and New Zealand. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo
Panetta Lists Goals for Asia Trip, Assesses Mideast
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT, Sept. 16, 2012 - Defense Secretary Leon E Panetta yesterday told traveling reporters about the importance of the three countries he's going to visit: Japan, China and New Zealand.

This trip, Panetta said, offers "an opportunity to further advance our strategy of rebalancing towards the Asia-Pacific."

Panetta said the strategy calls for expanding the U.S. naval presence in the region, deepening military engagement with partners and allies, and establishing rotational troop deployments in areas throughout the Asia-Pacific as outlined in his speech at the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore in June.

The U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy involves not just defense issues but diplomatic and economic concerns as well, he said.

"Secretary [of State Hillary Rodham] Clinton ... spent the last 10 days in the region," the secretary said. Panetta noted that U.S. Pacific Command's top officer, Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, was in China in June and that Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter spent 10 days traveling in the Asia-Pacific region in July.

These visits, Panetta said, along with this current trip, bolster the U.S. position that rebalancing focus to the Asia-Pacific region ensures stability there.

The strategy "is really about maintaining and strengthening, not just our presence, but also ... a system of rules and norms and institutions in Asia that have brought decades of security and prosperity" that allowed many nations to thrive, Panetta said.

The U.S. alliance with Japan, the first stop on this trip, is a cornerstone of regional security, Panetta said. Topics to be discussed with Japanese leaders, such as Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto, include ballistic missile defense, relocating some U.S. Marines now in Okinawa to Guam and others to another more remote site on the island, and the roles, missions and capabilities of Japan's Self Defense Forces, the secretary said.

The "realignment roadmap" for U.S. Marines in Japan is an issue that has been under discussion between the two countries for many years, he noted.

"We have worked with them closely ... and we were able to work out an agreement, and we are putting that into effect," Panetta said.

"Japan is making new investments for the 21st century, as are we," the secretary said. Japan's "extremely cooperative" support to U.S. troop deployments to the Asia-Pacific in the region is significant, he said.

Panetta said he looks forward to the opportunity on his first visit to China as defense secretary to deepen American-Chinese military-to-military relations. He is scheduled to meet with China's top military and civilian leaders including Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie.

"I recognize the challenges that we have in the relationship," the secretary said. "But I think it is in both of our nations' interest to work towards a healthy, stable, reliable and continuous military-to-military relationship."

Regular senior leader visits between Beijing and Washington have led to important progress toward that goal, Panetta said, adding that he views his trip to China "as an opportunity to advance that relationship even further."

Panetta acknowledged he expects the current territorial disputes over some islands in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the region involving China, Japan, the Philippines and other Asia-Pacific nations will be part of the discussions. The secretary said he will continue to urge the U.S. policy of peaceful resolution for territorial disputes, in which the United States does not take sides.

Panetta said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, has developed a code of conduct that can serve as the basis for a forum aimed at resolving such territorial disputes peacefully. Issues involving freedom of navigation and mineral or fishing rights may complicate resolution of the dispute over the islands, but Panetta said his central message is that all states involved should refrain from provocative actions.

"Countries are searching for resources; there's going to be questions raised as to who has jurisdiction over these areas," he said. "What we don't want is any kind of provocative behavior resulting in conflict."

The secretary added that issues involving nuclear proliferation, piracy, trade and humanitarian assistance are all areas in which the United States and China can work together.

That work, he said, can foster security in the Asia-Pacific and "enhance the ability of that region to really ... prosper in the future."

Panetta's final stop will be New Zealand, where, he noted, his visit will be the first by a U.S. defense secretary in 30 years.

In his experience, the secretary said, New Zealand is "a very steadfast and a very valued partner to the United States. We deeply appreciate the role that they've played in Afghanistan, and the sacrifice that they've made."

The recent deaths of New Zealand troops serving in Afghanistan is tragic, Panetta said. Yet, New Zealand remains "committed to a strong and continuing role in Afghanistan," he added.

The secretary said his central purpose in traveling to New Zealand is "to see what opportunities exist to try to deepen our defense cooperation."

Even as he sets out on a trip aimed at advancing the U.S. strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, Panetta said, recent events "remind all of us of the need to maintain a strong presence in the Middle East as well."

The United States has a robust troop presence in the region and has deployed more forces to a number of areas there to respond if the State Department requests defense assistance "to protect our personnel and American property," Panetta said.

Panetta said Libyan authorities are making a strong effort "to respond to the crisis and deal with the issues involved" following the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that left U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead.

The secretary said defense leaders remain concerned about al-Qaida affiliates in Yemen, Somalia, North Africa and elsewhere, although any al-Qaida involvement in the Benghazi attack remains to be determined.

"We have to ... go after al-Qaida wherever they are, and wherever they try to hide," Panetta said. The terrorist group is still working to inspire violence and undermine stability, he said, and continues to represent a threat to the United States.

Panetta said he and other U.S. defense leaders have developed a strategy and budget that can address threats around the world while cutting spending by $487 billion over 10 years.

"We are able to respond to the threats that we confront, both in the Middle East and elsewhere," he said. "Obviously, we continue to monitor ... our resources and the costs involved, and to keep the Congress informed."

DOD has "great support from Congress for the work that we're doing," Panetta said, "and I feel very confident we can respond to any contingency we face."

The secretary noted that while some anti-American demonstrations continue in the Middle East, they seem to have leveled off.

"I suspect these demonstrations ... are likely to continue over the next few days, if not longer," Panetta said. His primary concern, he added, is to "make sure ... our people are protected, and we don't have a recurrence of what happened in Libya."

CHILE'S NATIONAL DAY

Map Credit: CIA World Factbook.
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Chile's National Day
Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC

September 14, 2012
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Chile as you celebrate your independence this September 18th.

This year, we celebrate 200 years of U.S.-Chilean friendship and reflect on a relationship based on shared values, including a commitment to the rule of law, respect for human rights, and prosperity through open trade. Whether we are working together to monitor earthquakes and glaciers, or looking into deep space from Chile’s world-class observatories, our joint efforts continue to advance scientific knowledge and improve the lives of people around the world. And our relationship is enriched by the many long-standing educational and professional exchange programs that build bridges between Chilean and U.S. students, scholars, and professionals.

As you celebrate with family and friends, know that the United States is a partner and friend and we look forward to continued friendship and collaboration.

Cape Horn, named after a city in the Netherlands, is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in southern Chile. It is frequently referred to as the "sailors' graveyard" because the waters around the area are particularly hazardous due to strong winds, large waves, strong currents, and icebergs. Photo Credit: CIA World Factbook


U.S.-CHILE RELATIONS

From 1973 to 1990, Chile was ruled by a military government that came to power in a coup. The U.S. Government applauded the rebirth of democratic practices in Chile in the late 1980s and early 1990s and sees the maintenance of a vibrant democracy and a healthy and sustainable economy as among the most important U.S. interests in Chile. The two countries consult frequently on issues of mutual concern, including in the areas of trade, multilateral diplomacy, security, culture, and science. The U.S. Government and the Government of Chile have frequent high-level interaction.

U.S.-Chile collaboration on the environment includes sustainable development, climate change, energy efficiency, conservation and wildlife management, marine protected areas, environmental law enforcement, glacier monitoring, and agricultural best practices. Many U.S. technical agencies are actively engaged in Chile, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. The two countries have three sister park agreements.

The U.S.-Chile Equal Opportunities Scholarship Program was established to sponsor English and academic studies for Chilean PhD students who come from disadvantaged and rural areas that have not traditionally had access to English language schools or study abroad opportunities. The program has become a model for other international scholarships programs with Chile.

Under the U.S.-Chile Trilateral Development Cooperation initiative, the two countries have worked together on development projects in several countries. These projects have focused on issues such as citizen security, social inclusion, improving agricultural standards, and export promotion.

At the U.S. state level, the Chile-California Partnership for the 21st Century fosters collaboration between individuals, government, and the private sector in areas such as agriculture, energy efficiency, environmental resource management, and education. Chile and Massachusetts have entered into a similar agreement.

U.S. Assistance to Chile
The United States provides no foreign development assistance to Chile.

Bilateral Economic Relations
The United States has a bilateral free trade agreement with Chile. The agreement eliminates tariffs and opens markets, reduces barriers for trade in services, provides protection for intellectual property, ensures regulatory transparency, guarantees nondiscrimination in the trade of digital products, commits the parties to maintain competition laws that prohibit anticompetitive business conduct, and requires effective labor and environmental enforcement. The United States and Chile participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations that seek to develop a regional trade agreement.

Chile's Membership in International Organizations
Since its return to democracy in 1990, Chile has been an active participant in the international arena. Chile and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, Organization of American States, Community of Democracies, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization. Chile is also a member of the Pacific Alliance, Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

BRAZILA AT NIGHT AS VIEWED FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

 

FROM: NASA/CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Whether seen at night or during the day, the capital city of Brazil is unmistakable from orbit. Brasilia is located on a plateau - the Planalto Central - in the west-central part of the country, and is widely considered to be one of the best examples of 20th century urban planning in the world. One of its most distinctive design features - as seen from above - suggests a bird, butterfly, or airplane traveling along a northwest-southeast direction, and is made dramatically visible by city light patterns (image center right, between Lake Paranoa and the airport). Following the establishment of Brasilia in the early 1960s, informal settlements began to form around the original planned city. Ceilandia was one such settlement. In 1970, Ceilandia was formalized by the government and is now a satellite city of Brasilia with its own distinct urban identity. The developed areas of Brasilia and its satellites are clearly outlined by street grids and highway lights in this photograph taken from the International Space Station. The large unlit region to the upper right is the Brasilia National Park. Image courtesy of NASA.

GEN. CALDWELL'S REMARKS REGARDING PROBLEMS AT DAWOOD HOSPITAL IN AFGHANISTAN

Photo:  Bazaar In Afghanistan.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Caldwell: Troubled Afghan Hospital Got Transparent Review
by Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2012 - A three-star general who commanded the NATO and U.S. training missions in Afghanistan told a House subcommittee yesterday that his command conducted a transparent investigation into alleged patient neglect, mismanagement, theft and corruption at the Afghan-run Dawood National Military Hospital in Kabul.

Appearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's national security, homeland defense and foreign operations subcommittee, Army Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV testified that he became the first commander of the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan and commander of the U.S. Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan on Nov. 21, 2009.

The NATO command was established to coordinate and synchronize the multinational efforts to raise, equip, train and sustain an Afghan national security force, the general said, and the U.S. command was responsible for the oversight of U.S. funding, training and ministerial development.

Caldwell told the panel that he recognized early on that his command faced immediate challenges, including issues within the Afghan medical system.

"This was a unique challenge, as we had three simultaneous tasks," Caldwell said. "First, we had to establish a new multinational command; second, we had to train, generate and sustain an enduring Afghan national security force that included the Afghan army, police and air force and all of their associated support systems; and third, we had to develop, advise and mentor at all levels of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior."

The Dawood Hospital treats wounded Afghan soldiers. It is largely U.S. funded but staffed by Afghan medical personnel who are mentored by U.S. military doctors.

"Allegations began to surface regarding widespread theft, mismanagement and patient neglect at the hospital" during the summer of 2010 and as early as 2006, subcommittee chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah said at the hearing. Evidence, he said, indicates that wounded Afghan soldiers endured starvation, bedsores and gangrene. Some patients, he added, were "extorted for medical care, while others were abused, neglected and made to suffer."

Caldwell recalled the state of Afghan medical care at the time of his assumption of command in November 2009.

"Afghanistan is a sovereign nation where their medical care was ranked in the bottom 10 percent globally by the World Health Organization," Caldwell said. "This poor medical care presented issues that were complex and required a high degree of coordination with our Afghan partners, coordination that was necessary and critical in order to have any chance of this care being established and enduring beyond our presence there."

By the summer of 2010, Caldwell said, "it was becoming apparent to us that there was corruption in the [Afghan medical] system, and we were then trying to establish whether, is it just going into warehouses? Is it corruption where people are making a profit off it? And so we internally started looking very hard at the whole corruption issue."

Caldwell testified that he'd also recognized early on that there were problems at the hospital.

"Part of our challenge was we didn't have the number of people in the hospital really providing the oversight inside the hospital until about August of 2010, when we really put our first two mentors in on the wards and started giving us some real day-to-day look at what was going on in that, because we just didn't have the depth," the general said.

Caldwell also told the subcommittee that he'd "supported all investigations, audits and assessments into any aspect" of his command in Afghanistan.

"At one time during my tenure, we had in excess of 27 simultaneous audits or assessments by multiple government agencies external to our command, ongoing," Caldwell said. "We embraced these so we could remain transparent as possible and to demonstrate sound stewardship of the resources that had been entrusted to us by the American people and the U.S. Congress."

At all times, he added, he and his command team addressed issues aggressively and immediately as they were presented to them.

Caldwell now commands U.S. Army North and 5th Army, and he's senior commander of Fort Sam Houston and Camp Bullis in San Antonio. He was accompanied at the hearing by Army Maj. Gen. Gary S. Patton, who served with Caldwell in Afghanistan as the NATO mission's deputy commander for army training and as commander of the U.S. transition command, and Ambassador Kenneth P. Moorefield, the Defense Department's deputy inspector general for special plans and operations. Patton is now the director of DOD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.

Patton said the problems associated with the Dawood Hospital "were highly complex ones, complicated by elements of Afghan corruption, failed Afghan leadership and hospital staff apathy, worsened by the inherent problems of national illiteracy and the historic inadequacy of Afghan health care."

The hospital's operations also were burdened by the consistent flow of wartime casualties, he added.

Patton said the NATO training command stepped up to the challenge and devoted considerable time and energy to improving the medical care and management of the hospital while simultaneously manning, building, training, developing and equipping the Afghan army while at war.

"We took very seriously our role as advisors to drive positive change at the hospital through active, persistent and firm engagement with our Afghan partners," he added.

It was important to conduct a partnered effort, Patton said, "because in our experiences working with other Afghan systems, although a coalition solution to a problem would usually yield an immediate fix, only a partnered or Afghan-led solution would produce an enduring result."

Moorefield told the subcommittee that in late October 2010, the Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan inspector general requested DOD IG assistance in addressing possible discrepancies concerning the distribution of and accounting for pharmaceuticals distributed to the Afghan National Army.

On November 10, 2010, Moorefield said, Caldwell sent him a message reconfirming his command's request for DOD IG medical logistics mission assessment, adding that with the assistance of a recent increase in personnel, he had become increasingly concerned about "possible illicit activities and inadequate accountability measures concerning pharmaceuticals supplied.".

His team deployed to Afghanistan on Nov. 28, Moorefield said. After visiting the Dawood National Military Hospital and three of four regional hospitals and associated medical depots, he told the panel, the IG team briefed the command on deficiencies related to dysfunctional medical logistics that negatively affected hospital management and patient care at Afghan National Army hospitals. The team also found and reported a lack of strategic planning to better focus joint efforts by the NATO and U.S. commands and the Afghan army to make effective use of scarce resources and noted that hospital mentoring teams were staffed at only 50 percent of authorized personnel, among other issues.

In February 2011, as a result of the November assessment mission, Moorefield said, his team "held an inspection of just the [Dawood facility] focused on unacceptable conditions reported by the command concerning hospital management, medical personnel conduct, sanitation, and patient care, and supply and inventory issues." This inspection, he added, also resulted from a joint series of inspections by the NATO training command and the U.S. transition command of the national military hospital.

Although the state of general sanitation and medical supplies had improved at Dawood, Moorefield said, "a number of the other concerns were confirmed, and we made recommendations to the command for corrective actions."

This June, the DOD IG again inspected the Dawood military hospital and the Afghan national security forces medical care system and a number of key areas necessary to create an independent, sustainable system, Moorefield said.

"We found that development had advanced in the areas of planning and mentoring, leadership and management, and logistics, and patient care," he said. And there is "evident commitment" by the new Afghan army surgeon general and the Dawood hospital commander to continue work on improving whatever needs improvement, he added.

Significant challenges still remain with respect to the development of the Afghan national security forces medical system and Dawood's capacity-building initiative, Moorefield said, noting that as U.S. and coalition forces draw down, the decreasing numbers of medical mentors will focus on priority medical areas requiring improvement.

At Dawood, he said, these areas include emergency room, anesthesia, physical therapy, preventive medicine and radiology. "And improving medical logistic support for the [Afghan forces] and its medical care system is critical and is expected to require attention through 2014 and perhaps beyond.

Reinforcing the Afghan security forces' commitment to the enduring stewardship of the health care system "will need to remain a priority of both the command and the Afghan government," Moorefield said.

Moorefield emphasized the DOD IG is committed to continued oversight of the development of Afghan national security forces health care, including at the national military hospital.

Chaffetz said he was "encouraged by more recent reports of progress at Dawood hospital and the Afghan medical system."

"Our men and women in uniform have an exceptionally difficult task [in Afghanistan] and should be commended for their efforts," he added.

SMUGGLERS PLEAD GUILTY TO ILLEGAL TRAFFICKING IN RHINO HORN

Photo: Rhinoceros. Credit: CIA World Factbook

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Friday, September 14, 2012
Members of Smuggling Ring Plead Guilty in Los Angeles to Crimes Relating to Illegal Trafficking of Endangered Rhinoceros Horn

WASHINGTON – Three defendants pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiracy, smuggling, Lacey Act violations, money laundering and tax fraud for their roles in the international illegal trafficking of rhinoceros horn. All of the defendants were charged in February 2012 as part of "Operation Crash," a nationwide U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service crackdown on those involved in the black market trade of endangered rhinoceros horn.

The guilty pleas were announced by Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice; André Birotte Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California; and Dan Ashe, Director of the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

Vin h Chung "Jimmy" Kha, 49, and Felix Kha, 26, both of Garden Grove, Calif., each pleaded guilty to five felony counts related to their roles in the smuggling conspiracy. Win Lee Corp., owned by Jimmy Kha, pleaded guilty to two felony counts charging smuggling and Lacey Act trafficking.

Two other defendants linked to the Khas – J in Zhao Feng, 45, of China and Jarrod Wade Steffen, 32, of Hico, Texas – previously pleaded guilty to federal charges in Los Angeles related to rhino horn trafficking.

In their plea agreements, Jimmy and Felix Kha each admitted purchasing White and Black rhinoceros horn in interstate and intrastate commerce, knowing that animals were protected by federal law as endangered and threatened species. Both defendants stated that they purchased the horns in order to export them overseas to be sold and made into libation cups or traditional medicine. Both acknowledged making payments to Vietnamese customs officials to ensure clearance of horn shipments sent to that country. In addition, Jimmy and Felix Kha each admitted to failing to pay income tax owed in 2009 and 2010.

In an earlier plea agreement, which was filed with the court on Aug. 15, 2012, Feng admitted to fraudulently and knowingly attempting to smuggle a black rhinoceros horn, an endangered species, from the United States to China. Steffen, who used money provided by the Khas to buy horns for them, pleaded guilty on June 14, 2012, to charges of conspiracy, smuggling, Lacey Act violations and money laundering.

"The Khas conspired to violate numerous federal laws, including those enacted by Congress to protect endangered species like the rhinoceros, a species that faces extinction in our time," said Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno. "This prosecution and continuing investigation should send a clear message that we will vigorously investigate and prosecute those who are involved in this egregious and illegal trade."

"It is unconscionable that a species as ancient and majestic as the African Black Rhino has been hunted to the brink of extinction by unscrupulous profiteers," said U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. "The rhino horn smuggling ring dismantled by Operation Crash contributed to the soaring increase in the trade of rhino horns both domestically and internationally and this illegal trade leads directly to increased poaching of the species in the wild. Operation Crash represents a giant step forward in the global fight to save a beautiful species like the Black Rhino from extinction."

"These individuals were interested in one thing and one thing only – making money," said FWS Director Dan Ashe. "They didn’t care about the law or about driving a species to the brink of extinction. We will continue to aggressively investigate and pursue traffickers who threaten the future of rhinos and other imperiled species."

Rhinoceros are an herbivore species of prehistoric origin and one of the largest remaining mega-fauna on earth. They have no known predators other than humans. All species of rhinoceros are protected under United States and international law, and all black rhinoceros species are endangered.

Since 1976, trade in rhinoceros horn has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by over 170 countries around the world to protect fish, wildlife and plants that are or may become imperiled due to the demands of international markets. Nevertheless, the demand for rhinoceros horn and black market prices have skyrocketed in recent years due to the value that some cultures have placed on ornamental carvings, good luck charms or alleged medicinal purposes, leading to a decimation of the global rhinoceros population. As a result, rhino populations have declined by more than 90 percent since 1970. South Africa, for example, has witnessed a rapid escalation in poaching of live animals, rising from 13 in 2007 to a record 448 rhinos in 2011. As of Aug. 27, the total for 2012 stood at 339 rhinos, with a predicted loss of 515 by year end if current poaching rates continue.

Operation Crash (named for the term used to describe a herd of rhinoceros) is an ongoing effort to detect, deter and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful trafficking of rhinoceros horns. The investigation is being led by the Special Investigations Unit of the FWS Office of Law Enforcement and involves a nationwide task force of FWS special agents focused on rhino trafficking.

The first superseding information, plea agreements and statements made during court proceedings document the following facts:

During the conspiracy, beginning in January 2010 and continuing to February 2012, Felix Kha would contact Steffen and others regarding individuals located throughout the United States who were willing to sell white or black rhinoceros horn. On various dates, Jimmy Kha met with others who traveled to Long Beach, Calif., from various locations to provide compensation for previous rhinoceros horn purchases and shipments and to provide money to fund future purchases and shipments of rhinoceros horn. Jimmy and Felix Kha received, bought, sold and facilitated the transportation of black rhinoceros horn, prior to exportation, knowing that such rhinoceros horn was intended for exportation and that it was illegal under U.S. law to do so. Jimmy Kha paid, on average, between $5,000 to $7,000 per pound of rhinoceros horn. The black and white rhinoceros horn acquired by the defendants has a fair market value between, at a minimum, $1 million to $2.5 million.

Feng attempted to export a black rhinoceros horn, which he had obtained from the Khas, from the U.S. to China, by concealing the horn at the bottom of a package. The package, which was deposited with the U.S. Postal Service, contained a single black rhinoceros horn concealed under a layer of chocolates, cigarettes, biscuits, candy, sponges and packing materials. F eng falsely declared on a U.S. Postal Service Customs Declaration that the package contained "handcraft decorations" with a value of $25, "chocolate" with a value of $46, and "candy" with a value of $15.

As a supplier for the Khas, Steffen bought and mailed dozens of rhino horns to the pair and made at least 10 trips to California to pick up payment and collect money for additional purchases. On the last of these trips, Transportation and Security Administration officers, acting at the FWS’s request, stopped Steffan and two travel companions at the airport in Long Beach before they boarded their homebound flight and retrieved $337,000 from their luggage.

In February 2012 at the time of the arrest of Jimmy and Felix Kha, FWS agents seized, among other items, rhinoceros mounts, rhinoceros horns, an additional $1 million in cash, approximately $1 million in gold ingots, jewelry, watches, precious stones, a 2009 BMW 759 Li Sedan and a 2008 Toyota Forerunner.

Jimmy and Felix Kha each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy (maximum penalty of five years in prison), one count of smuggling goods from the United States (maximum penalty of ten years in prison), one count of Lacey Act trafficking (maximum penalty of five years in prison), one count of money laundering (maximum penalty of twenty years in prison), and one count of tax evasion (maximum penalty of five years in prison). Win Lee Corp. faces additional penalties, including fines totaling up to $1 million. Under the terms of their plea agreements, all of the items recovered from their residence, person, and Jimmy Kha’s business will be forfeited. In addition, Felix Kha will pay a tax fraud penalty and assessment of approximately $109,000, and Jimmy Kha will pay a tax fraud penalty and assessment of $76,000.

Jimmy and Felix are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder on Dec. 10, 2012 at 2:30 p.m. Feng will be sentenced on Oct. 10, 2012, and Steffen will be sentenced on Oct. 15, 2012.

U.S. Attorney Birotte Jr. and Assistant Attorney General Moreno commended FWS and its partners for their outstanding work on this investigation. Assisting agencies included the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph O. Johns and Dennis Mitchell and Shennie Patel, a Trial Attorney with the Environmental Crimes Section, are in charge of the prosecution.

BROKER CHARGED WITH STEALING INVESTOR FUNDS

FROM: SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Charges Connecticut-Based Broker for Stealing Investor Funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it has charged Stephen B. Blankenship, a resident of New Fairfield, Connecticut, and Deer Hill Financial Group, LLC, a Connecticut limited liability company under Blankenship’s control, with a scheme to defraud investors. The Commission’s Complaint alleges that, from at least 2002 through November 2011, Blankenship misappropriated at least $600,000 from at least 12 brokerage customers by falsely representing that he would invest their funds in securities through defendant Deer Hill.

The SEC alleges that until November 2011, Blankenship was a registered representative of Vanderbilt Securities, LLC, a registered broker-dealer based in Melville, New York. According to the complaint, Blankenship lied to his brokerage customers and in many instances, lured customers to withdraw money from their brokerage accounts with promises that they could obtain a greater rate of return by investing through Deer Hill. The complaint alleges that Blankenship assured his customers that he would invest their money in established securities such as publicly traded mutual funds. When customers requested account statements, Blankenship provided the customers with fictitious statements from Deer Hill that falsely represented that Blankenship had invested their money in a variety of investments.

According to the SEC’s Complaint, Blankenship never invested the customers’ money. Instead, Blankenship used the customers’ money for personal expenses, business expenses and to make Ponzi-like payments to other customers who requested a return of all or part of their investment.

The action was filed in federal court in Connecticut on September 13, 2012, and the Complaint alleges that the defendants violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. The Commission also alleges that the defendants violated Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act. In its action, the Commission seeks the entry of a permanent injunction against the defendants, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains by the defendants plus pre-judgment interest thereon, and the imposition of civil monetary penalties.

Based on the same misconduct, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut charged Blankenship with criminal violations. The Connecticut Department of Banking‘s Securities Division has obtained, by consent, a revocation of Blankenship’s registration and has barred Blankenship and Deer Hill from operating in Connecticut. The SEC thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, the Connecticut Department of Banking’s Securities Division, and the police department in Danbury, Conn., for their assistance in this matter. The Commission’s investigation is continuing.

WATCHING THE BROKEN SEA

Image Credit: NASA
FROM:  NASA

Broken Sea


The partially broken sea ice pack below NASA's ER-2 can be clearly seen through the pilot's cockpit viewing sight during one of the MABEL laser altimeter validation flights.

NASA's high-flying ER-2 Airborne Science aircraft has concluded its four-week deployment to validate data acquired by the Multiple Altimeter Beam Experiment Lidar (MABEL) laser altimeter over the Greenland ice cap and surrounding sea ice fields.

After an almost 10 and one-half hour transit flight from its deployment base in Keflavik, Iceland, NASA ER-2 pilot Stu Broce landed ER-2 806 April 27 at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif. The lengthy flight from Iceland included data collection by the MABEL instrument over a portion of broadleaf deciduous forest in Wisconsin. The ground support and science crew that supported the flights returned several days later.

"We completed 100 percent of the science flights," said Broce, noting that they were able to acquire data on several additional ad hoc targets that were not in the original plan. "The weather cooperated, the plane worked well as did the science instruments."

The ER-2 flew more than 100 hours on 16 flights in the MABEL validation campaign, including 14 data collection flights over Greenland and surrounding sea ice areas and two transit flights between Keflavik and its home base in Palmdale. Several of the flights were conducted concurrently and on the same flight tracks as flights of other NASA environmental science aircraft involved in the Arctic IceBridge campaign in order to compare data being recorded by the MABEL with instruments on the other aircraft.

Broce had one word to describe the areas of Greenland over which the ER-2 flew: desolate.

The partially broken sea ice pack below NASA's ER-2 can be clearly seen through the pilot's cockpit viewing sight during one of the MABEL laser altimeter validation flights. (NASA photo) A former Air Force pilot, Broce had not flown in this area of the world before the MABEL mission. He noted that one flight took him to 84 degrees north latitude where, he commented, the sun is at a very low angle.

Targets of the flights included wide areas of Greenland's ice sheets and surrounding sea ice fields, the Jacobshavn, Svalbard and East Glaciers, and a volcano in Iceland.

NASA ER-2 research pilot Tim Williams, Dryden's senior representative on the deployment, noted that more than 5.5 terrabytes of data was collected by the MABEL laser altimeter, the Cloud Physics Lidar and other instruments on board the ER-2 during the mission.

MABEL was developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to simulate a similar instrument planned for NASA's IceSat-2 environmental satellite that is scheduled for launch in 2016. Scientists consider laser altimetry from satellites or aircraft to be the most accurate method of gauging changing elevations over a period of time, and thus determine the thickening or thinning of Arctic or Antarctic ice fields and sea ice related to climate change.

Flight and science team members participated in a number of public and educational outreach activities during their stay in Iceland, including briefings on MABEL and IceSAT-2 during a speech on climate by Iceland's president, to the U.S. ambassador and embassy personnel, and to middle- and high-school students, the University of Reykjavik and the Keiler Aviation Academy in Keflavik.

Alan Brown/Beth Hagenauer, Public Affairs
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

　

　

　

　



　

EPA PARTNERS WITH STATE CAPITALS FOR GREEN DESIGN

Photo:  Rooftop Garden in Washington, DC.  Credit: U.S. EPA.
FROM: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL
EPA Partnering with State Capitals on Green Design
Program will strengthen local economies, protect health

 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the capital cities of Kentucky, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana and Indiana will be awarded design assistance from EPA to create healthy, prosperous communities through green development. EPA’s Greening America’s Capitals (GAC) program will help these capital cities stimulate economic development, provide more housing and transportation choices, and reduce infrastructure and energy costs. Through this project, EPA will provide design assistance from private-sector experts to help these capital cities demonstrate sustainable designs that create vibrant neighborhoods while strengthening the local economies and protecting people’s health.

The following five cities were selected through a national competition for assistance.

• Frankfort, Ky. will receive assistance to enhance walkability and add bike lanes between the historic downtown and the State Capitol. The project will also connect the downtown with the proposed Kentucky River trail.

• Des Moines, Iowa will receive assistance to incorporate green infrastructure elements into a proposed streetscape plan for a one-mile segment of 6th Avenue. The project will revitalize the commercial street that serves as the northern gateway to the city’s downtown.

• Baton Rouge, La. will receive assistance to incorporate green infrastructure elements into a proposed walking and biking trail that connects Louisiana State University with the city’s downtown.

• Helena, Mont. will receive assistance to improve the walkability and add bike lanes along Last Chance Gulch, a street that connects the northern part of the Helena business district with the historic downtown. The project will also explore design alternatives for a five-way intersection to enhance walkability.

• Indianapolis, Ind. will receive assistance to make streets more pedestrian-friendly and revitalize public plazas within and adjacent to the Market Square redevelopment area. The project will tie in with the city’s larger plan to develop businesses in a new green cultural district.

GAC is a project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities among EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The partnership is helping communities across the country create more housing and transportation choices, reinforce existing investments, and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract businesses. This is the third year of the Greening America’s Capitals program. Capital cities selected in the first two years included Boston, Mass.; Charleston, W.Va.; Hartford, Conn.; Jackson, Miss.; Jefferson City, Mo.; Lincoln, Neb.; Little Rock, Ark.; Montgomery, Ala.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Washington, D.C.

A MOVE FORWARD ON THE SMALL BUSINESS NETWORK OF THE AMERICAS

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Department of State and U.S. Trade Representative Move Forward On President Obama's Small Business Network of the Americas
Media Note
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
September 15, 2012
The U.S. Department of State, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Small Business Administration participated in a signing event for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Brazil’s Micro and Small Business Support Service (SEBRAE), the U.S. Association of Small Business Development Centers, and the University of Texas at San Antonio Institute for Economic Development. The MOU links the organizations’ online trade platforms for small businesses their networks serve, and is a key step forward under the United States – Brazil Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ATEC). Under the ATEC, the United States and Brazil are exploring greater cooperation on a variety of issues, including small business.

President Obama has noted that "small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the cornerstone of our nation’s promise." The same is true throughout the Western Hemisphere, where the small business sector plays a critical role in job creation and broad-based economic growth. The Administration's Small Business Network of the Americas (SBNA) will promote business development and entrepreneurship by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) and encourage greater trade among these businesses throughout the Hemisphere. SBNA will promote the expansion of the SBDC model in partner countries; connect the more than 2,000 SBDCs and similar small business support centers throughout the Hemisphere that already serve approximately two million small business clients; and promote MSME trade through virtual trade platforms like SBDCglobal.com that can help SBDCs and their small business clients expand international partnerships.

Photo: Iguazu Falls. Along Brazil/Argintine border. Credit: CIA World Factbook.

At the MOU signing, which took place on September 11, 2012, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Matthew Rooney represented the Department of State and Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Small Business and Market Access Christina Sevilla represented the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk has stated that "increasing exports is crucial to the economic and job growth potential of America’s small businesses. Small businesses that export more tend to grow faster, add more jobs, and pay higher wages than small businesses that serve purely domestic markets." During the MOU signing, Mr. Rooney noted that the SBDC network is a "critical part of the Administration’s policy for greater economic cooperation and partnership in Latin America."

　

 

WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACK AS SEEN FROM SPACE ON 9-11

Photo Credit:  NASA
FROM: NASA
New York City on September 11, 2001
Visible from space, a smoke plume rises from the Manhattan area after two planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center. This photo was taken of metropolitan New York City (and other parts of New York as well as New Jersey) the morning of September 11, 2001. "Our prayers and thoughts go out to all the people there, and everywhere else," said Station Commander Frank Culbertson of Expedition 3, after the terrorists' attacks.


World Trade Center After 9-11 Attack.  Credit:  U.S. Navy  

The following day, he posted a public letter that captured his initial thoughts of the events as they unfolded. "The world changed today. What I say or do is very minor compared to the significance of what happened to our country today when it was attacked."


Upon further reflection, Culbertson said, "It's horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point. The dichotomy of being on a spacecraft dedicated to improving life on the earth and watching life being destroyed by such willful, terrible acts is jolting to the psyche, no matter who you are."




MILITARY CHIEFS DISCUSS THE TRANSFORMATION IN AFGHANISTAN




U.S. MARINE CORPS. PHOTO BY LANCE CPL. JASON MORRISON

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

NATO Military Chiefs Discuss Afghanistan, Transformation
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

SIBIU, Romania, Sept. 15, 2012 - NATO chiefs of defense are fleshing out the post-2014 role for alliance forces in Afghanistan while planning how the alliance will reshape itself to face future threats during a meeting of the Military Committee here today.

The plan, agreed to at the Chicago Summit in May, calls for NATO to continue to train and support Afghan national security forces after the NATO combat mission ends in December 2014.

"The new NATO mission will not be ISAF with another name," said Danish Army Gen. Knud Bartels, the chairman of the committee. "It will be about making sure that the Afghans have the skills to do the job, and not about NATO doing that job for them." Bartels spoke at a news conference following the meeting.

The committee, which includes Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, heard from Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, via video-teleconference.

Allen told the committee there is no denying there has been security progress in the country. He said Afghan forces are getting stronger and more confident and that Afghan forces are "genuinely" in the lead.

Afghan security forces will reach 352,000 members in the next few weeks, Bartels said, and they are making qualitative progress as well. Afghan forces now have the lead for protecting 75 percent of the Afghan population, Bartels said.

There are 27 months until the ISAF mission ends, and Bartels expects hard fighting in the future. NATO and coalition forces will continue to work with and train Afghan forces during that time, he said. Then the new alliance training, advising and assisting mission will begin. The chiefs of defense are planning for the enduring NATO commitment to Afghanistan.

The committee meeting here will inform alliance political leaders of the requirements in Afghanistan post-2014.

"This is a process that will engage all troop-contributing nations, which of course is based on the strategy," Bartels said. "At this stage there is no capping or ceiling or description for what the contingent will be. But it will be a totally different mission than ISAF, and will be a train and assist mission of supporting the Afghans in supporting their own country."

Bartels also addressed the problem of the insider threat. The chiefs are "cooperatively and individually looking at all possible steps to minimize the insider threat, even though we will never be able to eliminate it completely," he said.

"We are moving ahead steadily on this issue," Bartels said, "and it is definitely our perception that it will not derail the strategy that was ... confirmed in Chicago."

The Romanian host of the meeting, Air Force Lt. Gen. Stefan Danila, said his country will participate in the post-2014 mission in Afghanistan, but he could not name the size of the contingent. Romania currently has around 1,800 troops in Afghanistan.

The NATO chiefs also looked at the way the nations can support alliance transformation and put in place the "smart defense" policy agreed to in Chicago. This is necessary, Bartels said, because the alliance must maintain interoperability and must change with the times.

Transformation does not have a start and end date, he said, and planners will keep pushing "so the alliance can face any threat in the future."

CAMP BASTION ATTACKED BY INSURGENTS

Map Credit:  CIA World Factbook 

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

ISAF Troops Defeat Camp Bastion Attackers

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 15, 2012 - Nearly 20 insurgents infiltrated the perimeter of Camp Bastion in Helmand province, Afghanistan, yesterday and attacked International Security Assistance Force personnel and facilities using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and suicide improvised explosive device vests, military officials reported.

The attack, which began yesterday shortly after 10 p.m., killed two ISAF service members, wounded several and caused damage to multiple aircraft and structures along the base's flight line, officials said.

ISAF forces reacted to the assault, returned fire, and killed all but one of the known insurgents, defeating the attack, officials said. The remaining wounded insurgent attacker is in ISAF custody and is being treated in a medical facility.

Camp Bastion is currently secure, officials said. ISAF personnel cleared the large base of attackers early today.

ISAF is in the process of fully assessing damages to aircraft and structures on the installation's airfield, officials said.

However, ISAF has determined that despite the damage, there will be no impact to ground or air operations from Camp Bastion, officials said.

An investigation is ongoing.

12 SITES ADDED TO EPA SUPERFUND'S NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST

FROM: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA Adds 12 Hazardous Waste Sites to Superfund’s National Priorities List
Eight Other Sites Proposed To Be Added
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding 12 new hazardous waste sites that pose public health and environmental risks to the National Priorities List (NPL) for cleanup under the Superfund program. EPA is also proposing to add another eight sites to the list.

Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country. For each of the 20 sites announced today, EPA has received letters of concurrence from state officials supporting the NPL listing.

"Cleaning up contamination is vitally important to the health of America’s communities," said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "Putting clean land back into productive use leads to increases in property values, generates new jobs and creates a stronger local economy that will strengthen these communities for years to come."

Since 1983, 1,676 sites have been listed on the NPL. Of these sites, 360 sites have been cleaned up resulting in 1,316 sites currently on the NPL (including the 12 sites added today). There are 54 proposed sites (including the eight announced today) awaiting final agency action.

Contaminants found at the sites include acetone, arsenic, benzene, cadmium, chromium, copper, dichloroethene (DCE), hexavalent chromium, lead, mercury, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), pentachlorophenol (PCP), trichloroethane (TCA), trichloroethylene (TCE), xylene and zinc.

With all NPL sites, EPA works to identify companies or people responsible for the contamination at a site, and requires them to conduct or pay for the cleanup. For the newly listed sites without viable potentially responsible parties, EPA will investigate the full extent of the contamination before starting significant cleanup at the site. Therefore, it may be several years before significant EPA clean up funding is required for these sites.

The following 12 sites have been added to the National Priorities List:

• Alabama Plating Company, Inc. (former electroplater) in Vincent, Ala.
• Cedar Chemical Corporation (former chemical manufacturer) in West Helena, Ark.
• Fairfax St. Wood Treaters (former wood treating operation) in Jacksonville, Fla.
• Bautsch-Gray Mine (former lead and zinc mine) in Galena, Ill.
• EVR-Wood Treating/Evangeline Refining Company (former wood treating operation) in Jennings, La.
• Leeds Metal (abandoned scrap metal facility) in Leeds, Maine
• Holcomb Creosote Co (former wood treating operation) in Yadkinville, N.C.
• Orange Valley Regional Ground Water Contamination (contaminated ground water plume) in Orange/West Orange, N.J.
• Peters Cartridge Factory (former ammunition manufacturer) in Kings Mills, Ohio
• West Troy Contaminated Aquifer (contaminated ground water plume) in Troy, Ohio
• Circle Court Ground Water Plume (contaminated ground water plume) in Willow Park, Texas
• U.S. Oil Recovery (former used oil recovery operation) in Pasadena, Texas

The following eight sites have been proposed for addition to the National Priorities List:

• Pike and Mulberry Streets PCE Plume (former dry cleaner) in Martinsville, Ind.
• Former United Zinc & Associated Smelters (former zinc smelter) in Iola, Kan.
• Creese & Cook Tannery (former tannery and finishing facility) in Danvers, Mass.
• Walton & Lonsbury Inc. (former chrome plating operation) in Attelboro, Mass.
• Matlack, Inc. (former chemical transportation business) in Woolwich Township, N.J.
• Riverside Industrial Park (former paint manufacturer) in Newark, N.J.
• Clinch River Corporation (former pulp and paper mill) in Harriman, Tenn.
• 700 South 1600 East PCE Plume (ground water plume) in Salt Lake City, Utah

EPA is also withdrawing its earlier proposal to add the Evergreen Manor Ground Water Contamination site in Winnebago County, Illinois to the NPL because remedial action has been completed. Affected residences have been connected to the public water supply, a county ordinance is in place which restricts the installation of private wells in the affected area, and contaminants of concern have remained below cleanup standards since 2006.

LAST F-51 MUSTANG

FROM: U.S. AIR FORCE NATIONAL GUARD

1957 - The last F-51 Mustang in squadron service with the Air Force is retired from the West Virginia Air National Guard to serve as a museum piece at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 27 January 1957.

RECENT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
A U.S. Air Force airman keeps an eye out for role players portraying enemy fighters after he and his team members participated in a mock ambush during a route-clearance mission for an exercise in Thetford, England, Sept. 4, 2012. The airman is assigned to the 100th Security Forces Squadron, based at Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall, England. U.S. Air Force photo by Karen Abeyasekere 　

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Bobby Heimovitz fires a .50-caliber machine gun at an MK-25 smoke target in the Atlantic Ocean, Sept. 5, 2012. Heimovitz is a naval aircrewman helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 9. The squadron is under way with the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman to support carrier qualifications. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Mick DiMestico

Steven Peace, a U.S. Navy veteran and U.S. Paralympic road cyclist, rides past fans while negotiating a hill as he completes the first of three laps for the 24-kilometer road race during the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, Sept. 8, 2012. DOD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

  

   U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Patrick McCall, left, receives a high five from an Afghan boy during a security patrol in the Sangin district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Sept. 6, 2012. McCall is a rifleman assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jason Morrison

STATEMENT ON IRAN BY U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Statement on Iran

Press Statement

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
September 14, 2012
The United States is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and has pursued a dual-track policy to do so. Yesterday, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that clearly reflects the international community’s concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Iran must take concrete steps to address those concerns. Iran must cooperate fully and immediately with the IAEA on all outstanding issues. We welcome the resolve of the international community to make clear the onus is on Iran to abide by its international obligations, honor its commitments to the IAEA, and prove that its intentions are peaceful.

The international community is also determined to make significant cuts to Iranian oil revenue, which funds not only the nuclear program but Iran’s support for terror and destabilizing actions in the region and around the world. I am pleased to announce that Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom have again qualified for an exception to sanctions outlined in Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, as amended (NDAA), based on reductions in the volume of their crude oil purchases from Iran.

As of July 1, the European Union implemented a full ban on Iranian crude oil and petroleum products, strengthening the comprehensive measures it has taken to hold Iran accountable for its failure to comply with its international nuclear obligations. Japan has also taken significant steps to reduce its crude oil purchases, which is especially notable considering the extraordinary energy challenges it has faced in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. As a result, I will report to the Congress that the exception to sanctions pursuant to Section 1245 of the NDAA will apply to the financial institutions based in these countries for a renewable period of 180 days.

These renewed exceptions result from our extensive cooperation with the international community since the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, reducing Iran’s oil revenues and isolating its Central Bank from the international financial system. We have brought significant pressure to bear on the Iranian regime, and we will continue to work with our partners to ratchet up the pressure on Iran to meet its international obligations.

POSTER FOR NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Peter Hemmer's poster highlights the Defense Department's participation in National Hispanic Heritage Month. Graphic courtesy of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute 
DOD Artist Creates Hispanic Heritage Month Poster
By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2012 - When artist Peter Hemmer channeled his creative process to produce a poster highlighting the Defense Department's participation in this year's National Hispanic Heritage Month, he knew he wanted a one-of-a-kind design.

"I wanted to find something bright, colorful and vibrant," said Hemmer, an illustrator with the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.

"Every observance has challenges built into it," Hemmer said, noting he wanted this year's Hispanic Heritage Month poster to be different and interesting.

Hemmer said he didn't want to repeat what's been done in years past, or produce a poster "that's so specific, it alienates certain subgroups of that ethnic group."

He conferred with DEOMI research editor Dawn Smith to develop ideas for the Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 observance, which is themed, "Diversity United, Building America's Future Today."

The consistent factor Hemmer and Smith found in different Hispanic cultures was vibrant colors, they said.

"In the Hispanic population, some other strong qualities are embracing their past, family, celebration and tradition," Smith added.

And through her research for the culturally diverse observance, Smith found a common theme among the many Hispanic cultures: the traditional dress.

"She brought out some pictures of Latina dresses for fiestas, and I was struck by them," Hemmer said. "The more I looked at them, the more I thought about abstract shapes that showed motion. It came together fairly quickly."

In just two days, he said, he was finished with his acrylic abstract creation.

"My thought was that [the observance] encompasses such a huge group of people," Smith said, "we wanted to make sure we used something that spoke to the entire population of Hispanic Americans."

"Observances are designed to enhance cross-cultural awareness for harmony among all our military members, their families and our civilian work force," said Bryan Ripple, DEOMI public affairs officer.

Taking a bit of artistic license, Hemmer felt the poster should embrace the word "American" for Hispanic U.S. citizens.

"Although Hispanic people come from several different countries in the world, we honor them as valued American citizens," Ripple said of the poster's inclusion of the word "American."

"What I like about Pete's posters is they cause you to stop and look at them and contemplate what he's trying to do with his artwork," Ripple said, adding that the poster is made available to all federal government agencies.

An illustrator with DEOMI for more than 11 years, Hemmer said he often uses mixed media to design his creations, from paint and photography to sculpture and calligraphy.

Hemmer's work has become so popular, that DEOMI dedicated a "Diversity Hall" to display 53 framed pieces of his work -- each one measuring 30 inches by 40 inches, Ripple said.

"Doing this job is wonderful for me to be able to use my talent -- not only to create art, but to create art that's useful to other people and furthers DEOMI's mission," Hemmer said. "That's worth something."