CASSINO CHEATER GETS 36 MONTHS FOR ROLE IN DEFRAUDING 29 CASSINOS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

WASHINGTON – Van Thu Tran was sentenced today in San Diego to 36 months in prison for her role in a scheme to cheat casinos across the country out of millions of dollars, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy for the Southern District of California.

In addition to her prison sentence, Van Thu Tran, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Houston in the Southern District of California to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $5,753,416 in restitution, payable to several casinos. The court ordered the forfeiture of her interests in various assets, including jewelry and bank accounts.

Van Thu Tran entered her guilty plea in San Diego on Jan. 14, 2011.

In her plea agreement, Van Thu Tran admitted that in approximately August 2002, she, along with co-conspirators Phuong Quoc Truong, Tai Khiem Tran and others, created a criminal enterprise defined as the Tran Organization, based in San Diego and elsewhere, for the purpose of participating in gambling cheats at casinos across the United States. In her plea agreement, Van Thu Tran also admitted that she and her co-conspirators unlawfully obtained up to $7 million during card cheats.

The investigation of the Tran Organization led to the filing of three separate indictments in 2007, 2008 and 2009. A three-count indictment was returned in San Diego on May 22, 2007, and unsealed on May 24, 2007, which charged Van Thu Tran and 13 others each with one count of conspiracy to participate in the affairs of a racketeering enterprise; one count of conspiracy to commit several offenses against the United States, including conspiracy to steal money and other property from Indian tribal casinos; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment also charged five separate individuals each with one count of conspiracy to commit several offenses against the United States, including conspiracy to steal money and other property from Indian tribal casinos; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to court documents, the defendants and others executed a "false shuffle" cheating scheme at casinos in the United States and Canada during blackjack and mini-baccarat games. Court documents also show that members of the criminal organization bribed casino card dealers and supervisors to perform false shuffles during card games, thereby creating "slugs" or groups of unshuffled cards. Court documents also show that, after tracking the order of cards dealt in a card game, a member of the organization would signal to the card dealer to perform a "false shuffle," and members of the group would then bet on the known order of cards when the slug appeared on the table. By doing so, members of the conspiracy repeatedly won thousands of dollars during card games, including winning several hundred thousand dollars on one occasion.

Court documents also show that the members of the organization used sophisticated mechanisms for tracking the order of cards during games, including hidden transmitter devices and specially created software that would predict the order in which cards would reappear during blackjack games.

To date, 42 defendants have pleaded guilty to charges relating to the casino-cheating conspiracy: Van Thu Tran, Phuong Quoc Truong, Tai Khiem Tran, Anh Phuong Tran, Phat Ngoc Tran, Martin Lee Aronson, Liem Thanh Lam, George Michael Lee, Tien Duc Vu, Son Hong Johnson, Barry Wellford, John Tran, Willy Tran, Tuan Mong Le, Duc Cong Nguyen, Han Truong Nguyen, Roderick Vang Thor, Sisouvanh Mounlasy, Navin Nith, Renee Cuc Quang, Ui Suk Weller, Phally Ly, Khunsela Prom, Hop Nguyen, Hogan Ho, Darrell Saicocie, Bryan Arce, Qua Le, Outtama Keovongsa, Leap Kong, Thang Viet Huynh, Don Man Duong, Dan Thich, Jimmy Ha, Eric Isbell, Brandon Pete Landry, James Root, Jesus Rodriguez, Jason Cavin, Nedra Fay Landry, Connie Holmes and Geraldo Montaz. These defendants admitted to targeting, with the aid of co-conspirators, a combined total of approximately 29 casinos in the United States and Canada during the course of the conspiracy:

1) Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, Miss.;
2) Casino Rama, in Orillia, Ontario, Canada;
3) Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn.;
4) Gold Strike Casino in Tunica, Miss.;
5) Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City, La.;
6) Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in Tunica, Miss.;
7) Isle of Capri Casino in Westlake, La.;
8) Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Ind.;
9) Mohegan Sun Resort Casino in Uncasville, Conn.;
10) Palace Station Casino in Las Vegas;
11) Resorts East Chicago Hotel and Casino in East Chicago, Ind.;
12) Sycuan Casino in El Cajon, Calif.
13) Cache Creek Indian Bingo and Casino in Brooks, Calif.;
14) Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash.;
15) Imperial Palace Casino in Biloxi;
16) Argosy Casino in Baton Rouge, La.;
17) Trump 29 Casino in Coachella, Calif.;
18) Isle of Capri Casino in Bossier City;
19) Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, Calif.;
20) Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs, Calif.;
21) Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif.;
22) L'Auberge du Lac Casino in Lake Charles, La.;
23) Nooksack River Casino in Deming, Wash.;
24) Barona Valley Ranch Casino and Resort in Lakeside, Calif.;
25) Caesars Indiana Hotel and Casino in Elizabeth, Ind.;
26) Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas;
27) Harrah’s Casino in Lake Charles;
28) Golden Moon Casino in Choctaw, Miss.; and
29) Viejas Casino in Alpine, Calif.

Two other defendants, Ha Thuy Giang and Tammie Huynh, pleaded guilty to tax offenses stemming from the investigation, and Khai Hong Tran admitted to the offenses alleged in a 2007 U.S. indictment when he pleaded guilty to casino-cheating offenses in Canada.

On Dec. 15, 2010, defendant Mike Waseleski, a former casino card dealer, was found guilty by a federal jury in San Diego for his role in the Tran Organization’s cheating scheme to steal approximately $1.5 million from Resorts East Chicago Casino.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s San Diego Field Office; the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; the San Diego Sheriff’s Department; and the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Gambling Control. The investigation has received assistance from federal, state, tribal and foreign authorities, including: the Ontario Provincial Police; the National Indian Gaming Commission; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington; FBI Resident Agencies in Gulfport, Miss., Tacoma, Wash., and Toledo, Ohio; the Indiana State Police; the Rumsey Rancheria Tribal Gaming Agency; the Sycuan Gaming Commission; the Barona Gaming Commission; the Mississippi Gaming Commission; and the Washington State Gambling Commission.

U.S. ARMY RIGHT-SIZING ENERGY PRODUCTION WITH ADVANCED MOBILE POWER SYSTEMS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE- ARMED WITH SCIENCE PUBLICATION 
The U.S. Army’s new tactical generators, known as Advanced Medium Mobile Power Systems, or AMMPS, are being fielded to Afghanistan as part of an energy "right-sizing" plan that includes a comprehensive assessment of current equipment on hand, the amount and type of power required, and the operational status of each power-generating system. (Photo by the U.S. Army)
Afghanistan Power That's Just The 'Right Size'

By jtozer
As the  U.S. ARMY changes its energy culture through policy and new technologies, it is already fielding its next generation of streamlined operational energy systems to Afghanistan.

In August, the newest fuel-saving generators, known as Advanced Medium mobile power systems, or AMMPS, were delivered to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat team in Afghanistan.

But they’re not arriving alone.

In fielding AMMPS, the Army’s Project Manager Mobile Electric Power is also delivering a new approach to power management and power distribution as a model for the Department of Defense on how to right-size energy requirements for military operations.

The tactic includes four phases: plan, assess, equip and train. Already PM MEP completed the planning and assessment stages during the months prior to delivering the AMMPS. In August, they began shipping the equipment and in September training began.

"This approach of plan, assess, equip and train is how delivery of AMMPS should be done," said Lt. Col. Michael Foster, product manager for medium power sources at PM MEP. "This is not just ‘rack and stack.’ We do an assessment and look at everything that runs on power, then right-size the generator to meet the amount of power needed. We’re also providing the training so soldiers are comfortable operating the equipment."

Power distribution and power management, tailored to each location, are approached through a comprehensive assessment that includes a review of current equipment on hand, the amount and type of power required and the operational status of each power-generating system.

In August, PM MEP put three teams of five people each, including senior management, on the ground to provide operational energy solutions to six combat outposts, one patrol base and one forward operating base in support of an airborne brigade combat team with 3,500 soldiers.

AMMPS can cut fuel consumption by as much as 21 percent across the fleet of generators, and they are 95 percent more reliable than the generators currently in use. However, if the AMMPS are not right-sized for proper power distribution, efficiency is reduced.

Cutting down on fuel consumed on the battlefield is not just a cost and energy savings, but it also reduces the number of convoys needed to supply that fuel. Since these supply convoys are often targeted by enemy attacks, taking them off the roads removes soldiers from harm’s way.
"The more reliable they are and the more efficient they are, the less fuel they burn and the less need for resupply," said Foster. "Through proper power management and power distribution, we’ll demonstrate that not only are they going to save fuel, but that soldiers will also have more reliable clean power."
When fully fielded, this new line of tactical generators is expected to save about 250,000 gallons of fuel each month in Afghanistan. With these fuel savings the Army will be able to remove 1,000 fuel tankers each year from supply convoys traveling to remote outposts.

"That’s the significance of power management and power distribution," said Col. Brian Cummings, project manager for MEP. "AMMPS give combat power back to the soldiers who can spend less time transporting fuel, maintaining generators or conducting combat operations."

At a time when the DOD is pursuing efforts to cut fuel consumption and leverage alternative energy sources, AMMPS serve as an operational energy model.

"Soldiers need power to run communications gear, weapons systems, tactical operations centers and more," said Foster. "Especially in Afghanistan, units cannot depend on clean and reliable power that operates in austere conditions; therefore, they have to take power with them. To be able to do that in an efficient way allows soldiers to focus on combat operations instead of tactical power."

So far the effort is well received.

"The AMMPS are brand new and have arrived in OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) at the perfect time to replace the old Tactical Quiet Generators," said Chief Warrant Officer Jose Cruz, the Bravo Company, BSB, 173rd ABCT Power Generation Maintenance Officer. "The AMMPS offer less fuel consumption, and the power output does not fluctuate when a load is applied. It is a lot better than the current TQGs we have here in theater."

AMMPS, being fielded by PM MEP in partnership with the Rapid Equipping Force and the 249th Engineer Battalion, also greatly reduce maintenance costs and time. Once fully implemented, the new generators are expected to reduce maintenance manpower by 346,000 hours per year in Afghanistan. Ranging in size from 5 kilowatts to 60 kilowatts, AMMPS offer a 10 percent reduction in size and weight.

PM MEP, assigned to Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical, continues to field innovative power solutions that better leverage energy efficiency and ultimately help protect soldiers on the battlefield. As they complete the mission with the 173rd, they will shift support to the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, providing a similar power generation, distribution and right-sizing power plan.

By Nancy Jones-Bonbrest, PEO C3T

CLIMATE CHANGE AND FALL COLORS

 


Photo:  Fall Colors.  Credit:  Wikimedia. 

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
The Colors of Fall: Are Autumn Reds and Golds Passing Us By?

The falling leaves drift by the window, the autumn leaves of red and gold ...

It was 1947 when Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics to the popular song "Autumn Leaves." Sixty-five years ago, Mercer likely didn't think the reds and golds of fall might someday fade.

But that's what's beginning to happen in U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Autumn colors were different there a century, or even a half-century, ago, and they will likely continue to change, says ecologist David Foster, principal investigator at the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site in Massachusetts.

Harvard Forest is one of 26 such NSF LTER sites around the world in ecosystems from forests to deserts, grasslands to coral reefs.

"The brilliant fall foliage so emblematic of New England forests was not always so, as the history of Harvard Forest shows," says Saran Twombly, NSF LTER program director.

"Today the current, rapid changes linked with climate are unpredictable," says Twombly, "threatening both the forests and our deep appreciation of them."

The changes are largely a result of human activity: land-use change, introduced pests and diseases that affect forests, and climate change from fossil fuel emissions.

To date, the timing of leaf color change has stayed fairly consistent from year to year, says Foster, although out-of-sync weather conditions can advance it or hold it back.

At the start of the 20th century, much of the New England landscape south of Maine, famed for its brilliant maples, was covered by white pine forests that filled in abandoned fields and pastures left fallow.

As the white pines were harvested, they were succeeded by broadleaf, or deciduous, trees: maples, oaks, birches and others.

Autumn color flared across the landscape.

American chestnuts, whose leaves turn yellow in fall, were common trees in these forests, says Foster. But mature chestnuts were killed by an introduced fungal disease, Chestnut Blight.

Now only small chestnut sprouts linger. "Our forests would have produced more yellows and fewer reds with chestnuts in the mix," says Foster.

With many sugar maples, the forests turned a striking red. The trees' abundance in eastern Massachusetts and coastal southern New England is a result of extensive planting along roadsides during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Sugar maples provided a source of sap for maple sugar, important in the commerce of the day.

The maples are near the southern end of their range in Massachusetts. It's likely, says Foster, that they will move north over the next century, thanks to increasing temperatures.

Massachusetts may one day seem like Virginia to the trees--and to the September and October people who come to see them.

"Over time," Foster says, "the autumn colors of our forests may fade as conditions become less favorable for northern trees such as sugar maples."

The result will reverberate not only through forest ecosystems, but through a region economically dependent on fall foliage tourism.

Trees that are left behind, such as ashes, dogwoods and others, may face diseases already spreading through the forest. These diseases may be exacerbated by warmer temperatures.

For some trees, however, the yellows and reds of fall appear to offer a defense mechanism. The colors may repel insects and keep them from laying eggs on leaves, reducing damage to forests the following year.

Birches' bright yellow may be a "go away" sign to egg-laying insects: the color is a clue that the leaves are unpalatable or toxic. Insects move on, attracted to plants without defenses.

Deciduous trees aren't the only ones affected by environmental change and diseases. The loss of evergreen trees may also have an effect on autumn colors.

Hemlocks--conifers common in valleys, on steep slopes and along streams--are disappearing from Northeastern forests. The culprit is an introduced insect pest, the woolly adelgid.

At Harvard Forest, hemlocks are infested with woolly adelgids. The trees will begin to die over the next few years.

"It's not clear how far north these insect pests will move," says Foster. But as hemlocks fall, they will be replaced by black birches, whose leaves turn yellow in autumn.

Lack of rainfall in summer, such as this year's extensive drought, also affects trees and their ability to produce the shades of autumn.

They may lose their leaves prematurely or start to turn color earlier than usual. Their hues may look dull and washed out when they should be vibrant.

If April showers bring May flowers, July and August rains lead to the bright reds and yellows of September and October.

The Northeast is becoming a place of warmer temperatures, increasing droughts, changes in land use, and tree diseases and insect pests. All are on-the-march through the forest.

NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY AWARENESS MONTH

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Deputy CIO: Computer Users Must Practice Cyber Security
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2012 - National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October lasts just 31 days, but practicing good cyber security is important 365 days a year, the Defense Department's deputy chief information officer said yesterday.

Because users engage with the network on a daily basis, good cyber security practices should be second nature, Robert J. Carey, DOD's deputy chief information officer, said during a joint American Forces Press Service and Pentagon Channel interview.

This means "changing our culture to be more mindful of the fact that the information needs to only be transmitted to those who are fit to consume it [and] who are authorized the right accesses," he said.

Specific cyber security practices vary depending on the type of users, but Carey said there is one overriding concept: everyone is responsible for protecting information.

Commanders rely on information relayed through electronic networks to make life-and-death decisions, but, Carey asked, what if they couldn't trust that information?

"What if [they] trusted it but it was wrong?" he said.

Understanding how that information traversed the network -- whether it came from the person it's supposed to have come from -- is essential to commanders, he said.

And while information technology can be a complicated subject, with an equally complicated lexicon, Carey said his office is working to ensure that DOD adopts policies and strategies that help users at all levels to understand exactly why cyber security is so important. This way, he said, they can be confident that they're taking the right steps to protect information.

"The most important link is the user. Each of us, when we engage the network, is either an asset or a vulnerability, depending on our actions," he said. "The human becomes the weakest link, and so the more we can strengthen that weakest link, the better we will be."

Responsible network access means users are aware of what they're clicking on, Carey said.

"If you click on a link that you don't know where it came from and suddenly bad things happen ... well the link has already provided the information to your computer," he said, "so now you have bypassed a lot of the protections that the system has."

The Department of Homeland Security has adopted "Stop. Think. Connect" as the motto for National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Carey said the program asks users to consider their actions and remember that what they do online may affect others.

"If you're ... cutting corners and you're doing the wrong things, you can be a vulnerability to this big thing called the network," he said. "People don't realize the extent of it. They think if my machine has a problem that that's the extent of it. It's generally not the extent of it."

Network users should ask themselves if they're doing the right things or exhibiting the right behaviors to perform risk management of the information they're going to access, he said.

This thought process should continue even when people aren't accessing the network from their workplace, Carey added.

"At home you don't think about security," he said. "When you get on your computer at home and you engage the internet, it's highly unlikely that you have a firewall [and] it's highly unlikely that you have a smart card to log on, so the layers that afford us security aren't generally present."

People may feel annoyed when security layers are added to the home experience, but, Carey said, "that operational overhead is a necessary evil to ensure that the information stays protected."

"If we can keep the information secure, the layers, they're just a necessary part of the accessing process," he added.

Carey said that every user is front and center in the battle to ensure networked information remains secure.

"It is ... a cost of doing business in the information age; you just have to be aware," he said.

U.S. GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO LIBYA

Photo: Roman Theatre at Sabratha Libya. From: CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

August 14, 2012

The United States has a strategic interest in a stable and prosperous Libya, and is supporting Libya’s democratic transition in cooperation with the UN and other international partners. Recognizing Libya’s own substantial resources, the United States has focused on building Libyan institutions and increasing its capacity to govern effectively, hold free and fair elections, and manage public finances transparently and responsibly. We have also provided targeted assistance to support the development of Libyan civil society and its security forces. Investing modestly in Libya’s future will help further advance Libya’s democratic transition, promote stability, and strengthen the U.S.-Libya partnership.

Since February 2011, the United States has provided $170 million in assistance, mostly in response to urgent humanitarian and security challenges in the immediate aftermath of the beginning of the conflict. We have also focused on supporting capacity building efforts within government institutions, developing civil society, and facilitating free and fair elections. All programs advance key U.S. interests by filling critical capacity gaps within U.S.-Libya identified transition priorities. All projects are being coordinated with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

The United States has also resumed a full range of people-to-people programming and exchanges, to include scholarships, fellowships, English-language education, educational advising, cultural preservation, and short term visits and training in the United States.

Democracy, Governance, Rule of Law, Human Rights

Constitutional Development: The United States, in coordination with the UN, is working with civil society, government, and the media to ensure the process of constitutional development is transparent and participatory to ensure broad public support for the final document. A particular focus will be ensuring the constitution guarantees rights for minorities and women.

Election Management and Administration: The United States provided technical assistance and support for election management and administration, including developing legal electoral frameworks, creating a voter registry, and strengthening the election management body, all in close cooperation with the Government of Libya, the European Union and the UN.

Independent Media: The United States is working to strengthen local and independent media, and to provide training that improves journalistic standards and enhances the ability of Libyan media to report on the activities of government.

Elections Monitoring: The United States contributed support to an international elections observation mission to help ensure electoral transparency and credibility during Libya’s first national elections. The U.S. also provided technical assistance to a network of Libyan partners to organize nationwide domestic elections monitoring efforts.

Political Party Development and Voter Outreach: The United States is providing technical assistance to new political parties as they work to develop the platforms, messages, and core skills needed to effectively participate in public discussion and debate. The United States is also supporting civil society efforts to launch country-wide civic and voter education initiatives.

Supporting New Representative Bodies: The United States is developing programming to support representative bodies at the national and local level, including on developing outreach mechanisms for engaging the public..

Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration: The United States is assisting the Government of Libya in navigating the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of militia members. Together, the civilian and military elements of the U.S. government are working with the Government of Libya to help them formulate this critical area of programming.

Justice and Security Sector: The United States is working with Libyan authorities to develop ways to support the delivery of justice and security in a manner that promotes democratic values now and as constitutionally determined structures build themselves.

Transitional Justice: The United States is working with government, civil society, and other informal community leaders to build transparent systems for justice and reconciliation in the wake of the revolution. This includes working with the UN Commission of Inquiry's ability to catalogue its documentation of human rights abuses .

NGO Development: The United States is providing technical assistance to NGOs throughout Libya to bolster their administrative, financial, and programmatic capacities. This includes bolstering the ability of local bar associations and advocacy groups to advocate for rule of law reform during the democratic transition.

Forensics and Mass Graves: The United States is providing forensic technical assistance, including mapping human rights and international humanitarian law abuses and preserving evidence by: mapping the number and extent of mass graves; providing technical expertise on forensic-based exhumations; providing training and capacity building to civil society organizations on human rights documentation practices and the use of forensic evidence; and engaging and empowering victims’ groups and families of the missing to ensure that they are a supportive part of the transitional justice process.

Economic Revitalization

Public Financial Management: The United States is providing targeted technical assistance to the Government of Libya to promote financial transparency and improve governance of Libya’s financial and economic resources.

Economic Growth and Trade Facilitation: The United States is providing technical advice to the Government of Libya on public infrastructure-related projects and facilitating meetings with US businesses who can source services and equipment for reconstruction.

Africa Diaspora Marketplace: The United States added Libya to the 2012 African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM) initiative. This public-private partnership encourages sustainable economic growth and employment by supporting U.S.-based diaspora entrepreneurs with startups and established businesses on the African continent.

Women’s Economic Empowerment: The United States is developing an assistance program to bolster economic empowerment opportunities for women by providing business skills training activities to women and key actors in the business community.

Security Assistance

Presidential Drawdown Authority for Non-Lethal Equipment: The United States has provided non-lethal assistance, including personnel protective gear, uniforms, and halal Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), to Government security forces through the Presidential drawdown authority.

Conventional Weapons Destruction: The United States is supporting international mine action NGOs to clear unexploded ordnance and destroy unsecured conventional weapons, including man-portable air defense systems (MANPADs).

Weapons Abatement: The U.S. committed significant assistance for conventional weapons mitigation efforts, including the survey, inventory and disposal of known weapons and ammunition storage sites in Libya.

Border Security Training: The Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) program is resuming engagement with the Government of Libya (GOL) with targeted technical assistance focused on land border security. As part of an overall U.S. Government effort, EXBS developed an approved list of immediate deliverables for near term border security assistance.

Ministry of Defense Advisory Support: The Department of Defense is providing advisory support through the Defense Institution Reform Initiative (DIRI) to the Libyan Ministry of Defense to assist in the process of establishing defense institutions and armed forces that are unified, capable, and subject to civilian control and the rule of law. This effort supports other USG and international initiatives aimed at broader security sector reform.

Chemical weapons security and destruction: The United States has provided support for improving the near-term security of Libya’s chemical weapons and is working closely with the Libyan authorities to facilitate the eventual destruction of these weapons with the oversight of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons..

Health

Support for the War Wounded: The United States facilitated collaboration between the Government of Libya and U.S. hospitals to provide advanced medical treatment to warriors who were severely injured in combat. Currently, the U.S. is assisting the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs in improving the management and technical capacity of the Libyan health care system to care for the war wounded. This assistance includes the development of pairing relationships with U.S. based institutions.

Humanitarian Assistance

Refugee and IDP Relief: In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, the United States provided humanitarian assistance to international organizations and NGOs aiding internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrants in Libya and neighboring countries through health, humanitarian protection, logistics, water, sanitation, and hygiene activities, as well as the distribution of emergency relief supplies and food assistance.

People-to-People Exchanges

Higher Education Task Force: In May 2012, the United States and Libya launched the U.S.-Libya Higher Education Task Force to expand educational exchanges and cooperation.

Fulbright: Libyan students who were scheduled to participate in the Fulbright program prior to the revolution have had their candidacies restored. In the 2012-2013 academic year, Libya will send 14 Fulbright students to the United States—double the size of the previous cohort. Approximately 1,700 Libyans submitted applications for the 14 grants.

Educational Advising: EducationUSA is expanding its virtual and on-the-ground presence to provide educational advising to Libyan students interested in studying in the United States.

English Language: The English Access Microscholarship Program has three active programs in Libya—one in Tripoli and two in Benghazi—with a total of 80 Libyan students ages 14-18. Embassy Tripoli is currently exploring partnerships to further expand the Access Program, as well as other means of meeting the substantial nationwide demand for classes in English as a Second Language.

Cultural Preservation: The United States is providing resources toward a partnership between Oberlin College and the Libyan Department of Antiquities to document and preserve endangered archaeological sites.

International Visitor Leadership Programs (IVLP): Approximately 30 Libyan government officials, youth and civil society representatives, women leaders, and journalists will participate in three-week professional development IVLPs during the FY 2012 fiscal year.

Youth Leadership Program: Libyan high school students will join participants from Egypt and Tunisia for a three-week leadership and cross-cultural exchange in the United States in August 2012.

NEW WAYS TO MAKE COMBAT RATIONS TASTE GOOD

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Lauren Oleksyk at the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center's Combat Feeding Directorate, is working to revolutionize what warfighters eat on the battlefield. U.S. Army photo by Bob Reinert

Military Explores New Processes, Packaging for Combat Rations
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

NATICK, Mass., Sept. 28, 2012 - When a warfighter bites into a combat ration, Lauren Oleksyk wants it to taste as good as if it had been cooked up that morning at a local bistro -- even if it's been stored for years, transported thousands of miles in sweltering or bone-chilling temperatures and airdropped by parachute from 100 feet overhead.

"Our mission is to provide warfighters with near-fresh, high-quality, shelf-stable rations," said Oleksyk, team leader for food processing, engineering and technology at the Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center here.

"What we are really going for is that, even if they get something that may be three years old, for them to feel like it was made yesterday, or even that same day," she said.

In the quest to produce "fresh-like" combat rations and broaden the array of foods they can deliver, Oleksyk and her team are working with their industry and academic partners to push the envelope in food processing and packaging.

Meals, Ready to Eat, the individual combat ration that's the centerpiece of the combat feeding program, are processed using retort thermosterilization, The process is similar to canning, Oleksyk explained, with items cooked at high temperatures and under pressure for as long as three hours to kill any bacteria.

"You get the sterilization that you need," she said. "But because it involves cooking a product for a long period of time, it can be detrimental to the product itself." Foods typically become stew-like, with mushy textures, bland colors and little flavor after extended cooking. The nutritional value drops, too.

That led Natick engineers to explore new processing methods that commercial food service companies are emulating.

One of the most promising technologies the Natick center pioneered is microwave-assisted thermal sterilization. The process uses giant commercial microwaves that kill bacteria within just eight minutes and heats packaged foods uniformly in a way that traditional microwaves don't.

The result is higher-quality products, Oleksyk said, with firmer textures, more natural colors and fresher-tasting flavors. It's also expanding the possibilities in terms of what foods can be included in combat rations.

Pasta, for example, tends to get mushy and lumpy using the retort method. The protein in fish and seafood breaks down, giving entrees a soft texture and an unpleasant "fishy" flavor and odor. Eggs take on a greenish cast. Fruits and vegetables become the consistency of baby food.

But a new developmental dish Oleksyk and her colleagues are advancing, Cajun chicken pasta, shows the difference microwave sterilization makes. When presented side-by-side with the same recipe processed using the retort method, the microwaved entree features al dente noodles, juicy chicken pieces and a just-cooked consistency and flavor.

"When you taste the microwave sterilized chicken, you really wouldn't know that it was processed two years ago," Oleksyk said. "You would think it was just prepared. And that is the goal."

A salmon-in-alfredo-sauce MRE under development using microwave sterilization delivers a firm texture and fresh-caught taste. "It's a very high-quality product, but also shelf-stable for three years," said Jeremy Whitsitt, technology integration analyst for the center's Department of Defense combat feeding directorate.

But the Natick team isn't putting all its proverbial eggs in one basket. They're working with industry and academia to advance a process using high pressure rather than intense heat to sterilize combat rations. "We're not quite as far along with this as microwave sterilization, and we haven't yet achieved the pressures necessary for full sterilization," said Oleksyk. "But we are at the point where we are getting pasteurization using pressure, and pursing this [technology]."

A Natick research program still in its infancy is using supercritical carbon dioxide -- essentially, carbon dioxide that's been heated and pressurized so it's somewhere between a gas and a liquid -- to sterilize foods.

The commercial food industry uses this process to extract caffeine from coffee. But what Oleksyk found particularly interesting was learning that the medical field uses supercritical carbon dioxide to sterilize bone fragments, tendons and other tissue samples for transplant surgeries.

"When we found out it was being used for that, we said, 'Why not look at it to see if it can sterilize foods?'" she said.

The Natick center partnered with a company that uses the process for medical sterilization to see if that's feasible. "The program is still in the early stages of the research and development, but it is very promising," Oleksyk said.

Osmotic drying is another new process being explored. This involves grinding up meat or vegetables, using a conveyor to roll them into a sheet, then running them through an osmotic tank that removes the moisture. The product remains in its raw form until the end, when it can be put into a smoker or otherwise cooked.

The result, unlike beef jerky in a combat ration that gets hard and brittle over time, is closer to the sliced deli meats one might find at the local supermarket.

"We are thinking of all kinds of applications for this product," Oleksyk said. One is a "combat sandwich" of osmotic-dried meat, and shelf-stable cheese and -bread. Another is osmotic-dried pepperoni that could be used on a shelf-stable pizza.

Working with a large commercial meat producer in South Carolina, the team plans to prototype "all kinds of products" using this technology within the next fiscal year, Oleksyk reported.

While researching novel ways to process combat rations, the staff continues to investigate better packaging methods that will stand up to combat rigors and shelf-life requirements.

One program is looking into a variety of ways to keep combat rations sterile: controlling the amount of moisture in them, increasing their acidity and adding nisin, a proven antimicrobial compound. Another project involves injecting oxygen scavengers into food packages to reduce spoilage and extend shelf life. That process, Oleksyk said, could enable packaged bread to last in an MRE for as long as three years.

Oleksyk said she and her team are driven to provide warfighters the tastes of home, no matter where they may be deployed.

"We want them to have the kinds of foods they want, with the best quality possible," Oleksyk said. "That's the inspiration behind everything we do here."

　

NIGERIA NATIONAL DAY

From:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Nigeria National Day Message
Press Statement

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
September 28, 2012

I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Nigeria as you celebrate your Independence Day this October 1.

From:  CIA World Factbook.

The strong ties between Nigeria and the United States are grounded in our shared values and mutual interest in fostering good governance, increasing economic growth, and promoting regional stability. We value this partnership and remain dedicated to working together to meet the challenges of the future.

On the 52nd anniversary of your independence, I wish all Nigerians a peaceful and prosperous year.

ADDITIONAL: FROM CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

British influence and control over what would become Nigeria and Africa's most populous country grew through the 19th century. A series of constitutions after World War II granted Nigeria greater autonomy; independence came in 1960. Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The government continues to face the daunting task of reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In addition, Nigeria continues to experience longstanding ethnic and religious tensions. Although both the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections were marred by significant irregularities and violence, Nigeria is currently experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence. The general elections of April 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history.

ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Map Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
　
Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
September 27, 2012
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of China as you celebrate your National Day this October 1. The United States and China share close ties between our students, business leaders, scientists and scholars, and their ideas, talent, and energy strengthen our cooperation in ways large and small.

As we continue to expand our work on the consequential issues of our time, we must continue to build on this historic opportunity to deepen our relationship, because a thriving China is good for America and a thriving America is good for China. As you celebrate this day with family, friends and loved ones, I wish the people of China continued prosperity and a joyous National Day.



The Mao Zedong Mausoleum (or Chairman Mao Memorial Hall) was constructed in 1977 on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Mao's body lies in a crystal casket for public viewing.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

From: CIA World Factbook.
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. China since the early 1990s has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.
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A crenellated walkway on top of the Great Wall. The Wall stretched for many thousands of miles linking fortresses. Signal towers were used for communication. Credit: CIA World Factbook

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U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK GUARANTEES PNC $6.4 MILLION LOAN TO FINANCE SOLAR POWER IN BARBADOS

BARBADOS MAP CREDIT:  CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

FROM: U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK

Ex-Im Guarantees PNC Loan to Finance Solar Power in Barbados;

Supports Small Business Jobs in Five States
 Washington, D.C. – Ex-Im Bank provided a $6.4 million loan guarantee to finance the export of solar modules from West Coast-based SolarWorld Americas to Williams Industries Inc.-Williams evergreen Ltd. of St. Thomas, Barbados. This project, one of the largest in the Caribbean, includes engineering services and solar-system racking exported from two American companies.


"Ex-Im export financing for this deal supports several American businesses and helps support jobs in five states, including California, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, and Washington," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "Our financing is good for American jobs, boosts American manufacturing and supplies clean, renewable energy to Barbados."

Williams Industries-Williams evergreen Ltd will use the solar-power system to provide 1.4 megawatts of on-site power to ten sites within the Williams Group portfolio. The immediate savings in power costs will also furnish a hedge against future increases in electricity prices. Williams Industries, established in 1972, controls 13 wholly owned and 17 joint venture companies in Barbados, St. Lucia and other Caribbean islands. These companies are active in manufacturing, electrical engineering, construction, agriculture, tourism waste recycling, real estate development, and water desalination.

"Without the assistance of Ex-Im Bank, Williams Industries through its subsidiary Williams evergreen would not have been able to build 1.4 megawatts of solar capacity over the last six months," said Williams Industries chairman Ralph "Bizzie" Williams. "As a Feed In Tariff is legislated for Barbados, we are looking forward to working with the Ex-Im Bank to build a very significant expansion of our output of electricity from the sun."

SolarWorld Americas, a subsidiary of SolarWorld AG, employs about a thousand U.S. workers at its headquarters manufacturing facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, and its sales and marketing hub in Camarillo, California. Engineering corporation CH2M HILL of Colorado provided engineering services to the project. The Tucson, Arizona manufacturing plant of Schletter Inc. US exported the necessary solar-system racking.

"With its sun-drenched tropical setting and reliance on imported oil for energy generation, the Caribbean is an ideal location for solar," said Raju Yenamandra, vice president of sales and business development for Solar World. "In Williams Industries, we found a perfect partner for island solar development. By combining SolarWorld’s high-quality solar equipment with Williams’ knowledge of the Caribbean electrical sector, we can provide significant oil savings to the island and lower payments for Williams. With Ex-Im Bank financing, this project makes good economic and environmental sense."

The Bank partnered with PNC Bank to provide the $6.4 million, 10-year loan guarantee. Barbados accounted for approximately $ 3.8 million of the Bank’s worldwide credit exposure as of the end of FY 2011. The Bank’s Environmental Export Program offers enhancements such as repayment terms of up to 18 years for eligible U.S. exports to renewable energy and water-related projects.

TRANSFORMING CYBER OPERATIONS INTO CLOUD COMPUTING

Photo Credit:  U.S. General Services Administration 

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Officials Discuss Cybernet Transformation EffortsBy Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2012 - Defense officials gathered at the National Press Club yesterday discussed DOD efforts to transform its cyber operations into cloud computing technology that's envisioned to provide added agility, security and cost effectiveness.

Robert J. Carey, DOD's principal deputy chief information officer; Grant M. Schneider, Defense Intelligence Agency deputy director for information management and CIO; and Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr., Defense Information Systems Agency director, comprised the discussion panel at the 3rd Annual Billington Cybersecurity Summit here.

The discussion included presentation of the DOD's cloud computing strategy that transforms the department's redundant and costly current network applications silos to an end state that ideally fosters a more agile, secure, and cost effective service environment.

Cloud computing is a converged infrastructure that allows greater application set-up and speed with improved manageability and reduced maintenance, enabling technicians to more quickly adjust to and protect against threats, officials said. DISA has been named enterprise cloud service broker maintaining mission assurance and information interoperability within the strategy.

The speakers agreed that an enterprise cloud environment offers tangible benefits.

"There's a great recognition in the importance of this space in our business," Carey said. "Going to cloud computing is a product of consolidating and standardizing the infrastructure and [enables us to] really thrive off those savings."

Though developed in an era of fiscal constraint, the strategy also offers a roadmap to the creation of department core data centers, he said, and future budget cycles should include appropriate funding for ongoing cybersecurity growth and training.

"The resources are drawing down and drying up," Hawkins said of current budget concerns. "The true issue ... is that there is ... an initial start-up cost to get there."

Both a consumer and provider of infrastructure services across the intelligence community and DOD, Schneider examined what will likely be required in years to come in order to optimize cloud computing and data consolidation.

"As we drive towards more standardization and more normalization ... at a very tactical level [with] more interconnectivity ... doing it in ways that [are] generally headed in the same direction from enterprise architecture is absolutely critical," Schneider said.

Equally important are the people who will be implementing these strategies and methods, Hawkins said.

"[We've got to] look at standing up the right academic setting," Hawkins said. "We are trying to build that capability from a joint perspective within the cyber workforce."

In training, the overall goal is to teach people to react in what Carey calls "internet speed" with a sharper focus on skill sets rather than rank or professional origin.

"We're moving toward proficiency-based training," Carey said. "Training a defender like an attacker and an attacker like a defender is a really important skill set. It works in football and it'll work in this game too."

U.S. STUDENT LOAN DEFAULT RATES

 

Photo Credit:  U.S. DOD.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
First Official Three-Year Student Loan Default Rates Published

Department continues efforts to help students better manage their debt.
September 28, 2012
The U.S. Department of Education today released official FY 2010 two-year and official FY 2009 three-year federal student loan cohort default rates. This is the first time the Department has issued an official three-year rate, which was 13.4 percent nationally for the FY 2009 cohort, a slight decrease from the trial three-year rate of 13.8 percent for the FY 2008 cohort. For-profit institutions had the highest average three-year default rates at 22.7 percent, with public institutions following at 11 percent and private non-profit institutions at 7.5 percent.

"We continue to be concerned about default rates and want to ensure that all borrowers have the tools to manage their debt," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "In addition to helping borrowers, we will also hold schools accountable for ensuring their students are not saddled with unmanageable student loan debt."

The Department is in the process of switching from a two-year cohort default rate to a three-year measurement as required by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. The national two-year rate rose to 9.1 percent for the FY 2010 cohort, from 8.8 percent in FY 2009.

Congress included this provision in the law because there are more borrowers who default beyond the two-year window, and the three-year rate captures a more accurate picture of how many borrowers ultimately default on their federal student loans. In particular, for-profit colleges demonstrate a large increase in borrowers who defaulted during year three.

To help students access the tools and resources they need to avoid the negative consequences of defaulting on their student loans, the Department has redoubled its efforts to make borrowers aware of their student loan repayment options, including plans like Income-Based Repayment, which allows borrowers to cap their monthly student loan payments at 15 percent of their discretionary income. The Department also recently released an interactive financial aid counseling tool that helps borrowers with their college financing decisions, including information on flexible loan repayment options.

Calculation and breakdown of the rates
The two-year cohort default rates (CDRs) announced today represent a snapshot in time, with the FY 2010 cohort consisting of borrowers whose first loan repayments came due between Oct. 1, 2009, and Sept. 30, 2010, and who defaulted before Sept. 30, 2011. More than 4.1 million borrowers from nearly 6,000 schools entered repayment during this window, and almost 375,000 defaulted for an average of 9.1 percent.

The two-year CDR increased over last year’s rates for both the public and private non-profit sectors, rising from 7.2 percent to 8.3 percent for public institutions, and from 4.6 percent to 5.2 percent for private non-profit institutions. CDRs decreased for for-profit institutions from 15.0 percent to 12.9 percent, though the sector still has the highest average two-year rate.

The FY 2009 three-year rates announced today capture the cohort of borrowers whose loans entered repayment between Oct. 1, 2008, and Sept. 30, 2009, and who defaulted before Sept. 30, 2011. More than 3.6 million borrowers from over 5,900 schools entered repayment during this window of time, and approximately 489,000 of them defaulted.

Sector differences also exist when comparing the increase in the CDR from the two-year to the three-year rates for the FY 2009 cohort, with for-profit schools displaying the biggest jump in rates from year two to year three. The Department reported the two-year CDR for the FY 2009 cohort last year. The increases from the two-year to the three-year rates were 7.2 percent to 11 percent for public institutions, 4.6 percent to 7.5 percent for private non-profit institutions, and 15.0 to 22.7 percent at for-profit schools.

Sanctions
Two schools are subject to sanctions for having two-year default rates of 25 percent or more for three consecutive years: Centro de Estudios Multidisciplinarios in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Tidewater Tech in Norfolk, Va. As a result, these schools face the loss of eligibility in federal student aid programs, unless they bring successful appeals.

No sanctions will be applied to schools based on the three-year rates until three annual rates have been calculated. During this transition period, sanctions will continue to be based on the two-year CDR. However, any school with a three-year CDR of 30 percent or more must establish a default prevention task force and submit a default management plan to the Department. There were 218 schools that had three-year default rates over 30 percent, and 37 schools had three-year default rates in excess of 40 percent.

BP PRODUCTS NORTH AMERICA AGREES TO IMPROVE SPILL RESPONSE PREPAREDNESS AT OIL TERMINALS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Thursday, September 27, 2012
BP Products North America to Improve Spill Response Preparedness at Oil Terminals Nationwide

Company Also Agrees to Pay $210,000 Penalty for Oil Spill Response Violations at Maryland Facility

BP Products North America, Inc. will pay a $210,000 penalty and implement an enhanced oil spill response program at its oil terminals nationwide, as well as a comprehensive compliance audit to resolve alleged violations of oil spill response regulations at its Curtis Bay Terminal in Maryland, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced today. The enhanced oil spill response program will help ensure that BP Product’s oil terminals are better prepared to respond to oil spills that could impact human health and the environment.

EPA alleged that BP Products violated federal regulations requiring oil storage facilities to conduct drills and exercises to respond to oil spills at its Curtis Bay Terminal. The civil penalty is EPA’s highest to date for violations of oil drills and exercises requirements where there was no discharge of oil.

"This agreement will help BP Products strengthen its spill response capabilities across the nation at 33 onshore oil terminals, implementing enhanced oil spill response measures, and requiring an independent auditor to evaluate a dozen high-risk onshore facilities for their readiness to respond to oil spills," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. "Taking these steps will help instill a culture of readiness and preparedness that will help protect many communities, and the natural resources upon which they rely, from future harm."

"Being prepared to respond to an oil spill can be the difference between dealing with a small, contained event or a full-blown environmental disaster," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "After twice failing to pass oil spill response exercises at its Curtis Bay facility, under the settlement, BP is required to put preventative measures into place at all of its terminals nationwide that will reduce the threat of oil spills and protect our nation’s valuable waterways. These measures also raise the bar for forward-looking companies seeking to ensure that their facilities are ready to respond quickly in the event of a spill."

Under the settlement filed today in federal court by the U.S. Department of Justice, BP Products will implement a first-of-its-kind program of spill prevention measures at its 33 non-refinery petroleum products terminals across the country.

As part of this program, the company will review and revise response plans for these facilities to ensure safeguards are tailored to the conditions at each facility. BP Products will also perform enhanced training, drills and exercises, exceeding regulatory requirements, and will repeat any failed drills and exercises within 90 days.

In addition, BP Products has agreed to an independent compliance audit of 12 of its marine and high-risk petroleum product terminal facilities. The audits will ensure that each audited facility is in compliance with spill response requirements, and to evaluate whether the facilities have resources to respond to major spills. The results of the compliance audits will also be incorporated into the enhanced spill prevention and response program being implemented at all of BP’s petroleum terminals.

EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard twice conducted unannounced government-initiated oil spill response exercises at the Curtis Bay Terminal. During these exercises, BP Products was required to demonstrate its response to a small scale discharge of fuel oil from the facility into Curtis Creek by being prepared to deploy 1,000 feet of oil containment boom within one hour and subsequently deploying the boom. On both occasions, the company did not complete the exercise in the allotted time and failed to adequately deploy the containment boom.

The Curtis Bay Terminal, which can store about 22 million gallons of oil, is located less than a quarter mile from Curtis Creek, a tributary of Curtis Bay, the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay.

High-risk onshore facilities that store oil, such as the Curtis Bay Terminal, must have a plan for responding to oil spills that includes employee training, spill response equipment, and a "worst case" contingency plan for containing and cleaning up spills.

Based on the failed drills, EPA cited the company for failing to adequately implement a response plan, failing to identify sufficient spill response resources at the facility, and deficiencies in the facility’s training, drills and exercises program.

Weekly Address: It’s Time for Congress to Help Responsible Homeowners | The White House

Weekly Address: It’s Time for Congress to Help Responsible Homeowners | The White House

RECENT OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTOS

President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, in the Oval Office, Sept. 28, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and Burmese Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi pet Bo, the Obama family dog, at the conclusion of their meeting in the Oval Office, Sept. 19, 2012. Danny Russel, Senior Director for Asian Affairs, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton watch at left. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

MILITARY RETIREMENT AND THE ROTH THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Roth Contributions to Open to All Active-duty Troops

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2012 - Beginning Oct. 1, 2012, active-duty members of the Army, Navy and Air Force will be able to contribute to the Roth Thrift Savings Plan as part of their investment planning, Defense Financing and Accounting Service officials said today.

The after-tax contributions will be electronically deducted from service members' pay accounts.

Active-duty service members also can start their Roth TSP contributions now through their online MyPay accounts, which offer the fastest, easiest and most secure method to manage both Roth and traditional TSP contributions. The second option open to service members is to submit a TSP-U-1 form to their finance office.

Active-duty Marines, Guardsmen, reservists and civilians paid by DFAS were able to begin making contributions to the program in June, officials said.

Additionally, the other branches of the National Guard and reserves will be able to make Roth TSP contributions by mid- to late 2013.

The timeline difference between active-duty and other service members resulted from an interim solution for reserve component members, which didn't meet Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board requirements, according to DFAS.

While work continues for options that will be available more quickly and satisfy the law and FRTIB requirements at the same time, the new schedule will allow time to make systems changes and electronic deductions that meet all requirements. DFAS officials said.

To begin making Roth TSP contributions, service members should determine how much of their pay is eligible. A Roth TSP worksheet can help make the calculations.

Military members are required to contribute an amount equaling 1 percent of their eligible pay to begin TSP contributions. For those who are not participating in traditional TSP investments, the initial Roth TSP election must meet this 1 percent requirement. The IRS maximum contribution to Roth TSP is $17,000 per year, DFAS officials said.

Military members can use pay earned in combat zones, and are excluded from federal taxes to contribute to Roth TSP.

U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY CARTER VISITS F-16 INTERNATIONAL TRAINING SCHOOL

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, left foreground, shakes hands with multinational F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft training students while visiting the U.S. Air Force's 162nd Fighter Wing at the Air National Guard base at Tucson International Airport in Arizona, Sept. 26, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

Carter Visits F-16 International Training School
By Air Force Lt. Col. Christine Rhodes
162nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TUSCON, Ariz., Sept. 27, 2012 - Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter visited the 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson International Airport here yesterday to learn about international F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft pilot training.

The Arizona Air National Guard was one of several stops Carter made throughout the Tucson area.

"It was very good for our airmen to see a senior Department of Defense leader visit our installation," said Air Force Col. Mick McGuire, 162nd Fighter Wing commander. "Dr. Carter left with a strong understanding of our mission and the impact of our global training success."

Carter and his staff met with students and exchange pilots from Iraq, Singapore, Japan, Denmark, Poland, South Korea, Norway and the Netherlands.

Air Guardsmen here train more than 70 international student pilots per year, offering several training programs that range from initial F-16 training to qualify new pilots to an advanced weapons course, officials said.

The 162nd is the "face of the USAF to the world" providing the best-trained coalition warfighting partners for the U.S. Air Force, officials said. The wing has trained pilots from 28 countries that fly the F-16, while developing strategic partnerships and building strong international relationships based on performance, friendship and trust.

SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON'S REMARKS AT MEETING WITH CENTRAL AMERICAN FOREIGN MINISTERS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Remarks at her Meeting With Central American Foreign MinistersRemarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
New York City
September 27, 2012
So I thank you all very much and I hope that you’ve had some lunch. I’m well aware that running around (inaudible) New York the week of the General Assembly, there’s hardly a moment to breathe, let alone to eat, so I hope you will not be in any way deterred from getting some nourishment.

I want to welcome all of you to our third Central American Citizen Security meeting. I’m pleased so many of our partners are here today to review our progress and discuss the path forward. We established this group because we all have an interest in enhancing stability and security across Central America. For the United States, this is very personal. These are our friends and our neighbors and our partners on so many important issues. We count a lot of our own people with origins from Central America. So we wanted to – and I particularly made it a priority – to do everything we could to deal with crime and violence and help people live safer and more prosperous lives.

Where governments have struggled to meet these challenges on their own, we want to build the partnerships that will allow us to do this better together. And since the Groups of Friends first met last June, we’ve seen real progress. In the first six months of this year, versus the first six months of 2011, homicide rates are down 10 percent in Guatemala, 25 percent in Honduras, and 26 percent in El Salvador. In some communities, we are told that the fear of violence is beginning to fade for the first time in many years.

Now, we have a lot more work to do, because still the rates of violence remain too high, rampant crime threatens to undermine citizens’ faith in their governments, and so we have to keep up the momentum. First, we need to double down on efforts that are making police more responsive and more effective. For instance, the United States has funded model police precinct programs in El Salvador and Guatemala. This program provides training and equipment to get local police more involved in their communities, to build trust between citizens and law enforcement, and to target the zones of impunity where criminals operate.

In these three precincts, homicide rates have declined even more than the national average – 35 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent. And we should expand this proven, successful program and other measures that have brought down crime and built up law enforcement, making it both more professional but also, frankly, more connected, more sensitive to the needs of the people in the communities.

Second, we should build on the success of violence prevention programs that target those who are most vulnerable to being recruited by criminal gangs, namely young people and marginalized populations. USAID is at work in 12 high crime areas in El Salvador partnering with civil society, municipal leaders, and businesses to provide education and vocational training for these at-risk groups. And in these communities, the feedback we are getting from residents is that they feel more confident making reports to local authorities, and crime rates have in fact gone down.

Third, we need to maintain the political will that has driven change from within Central American governments and societies themselves. Since last year, Honduras has passed a law permitting the extradition of drug traffickers, and we thank you. Costa Rica has strengthened its police forces and courts. Guatemala has ramped up its efforts to seize drugs and arrest criminals at the border with Mexico. Now we need to be sure that the new laws are enforced and that the new initiatives are given the resources they need to succeed.

Finally, we hope to keep strengthening partnership and collaboration. Donor countries such as ourselves need to continue to coordinate so we focus resources where they’re needed most without duplicating our efforts. Regional governments need to share effective practices and launch joint efforts, because crime, of course, doesn’t stop at borders, and we have to continue to work together.

For our part, the United States is committed to being a strong partner. Our Central American Regional Security Initiative is designed to help make streets safer, disrupt criminal networks, support the development of strong government institutions, bring services to at-risk communities, and promote greater collaboration among the region’s governments, not only within Central America but with Mexico, with Colombia, and beyond.

This year we are providing $135 million for these efforts, which brings our total in the last four years to nearly half a billion dollars. And we think, based on the evidence, this has been money well spent. We are very proud to be partnering with you, because our partnership is not simply about reducing crime. It is about building safe and stable communities that will allow entire societies to thrive and prosper.

So again, I want to thank all of you for your commitment to this effort. I look forward to hearing from people around this table who are on the front lines doing the hard work. And let me now turn to the Nicaraguan Foreign Minister – Minister Santos, welcome – to please provide an update on the efforts that have been made by Central American governments to reduce crime and violence and to engage the international community in supporting the region’s most pressing security challenges.

PROBLEM: A COMPLEX TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IN THE MILITARY SUPPLY CHAIN

　

EUCOM Airmen, Marines support Turkey with earthquake relief

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Panelists Brainstorm to Buffer Against Supply Chain Threat

By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2012 - Defense Department and National Security Agency officials met with members of academia and industry today to discuss managing and protecting an ever-more-global, commercial and financially complex supply chain.

As National Cyber Security Awareness month approaches in October, panelists framed dialogue at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies to explore how its significant investment in cyberspace supports global missions.

Brett Lambert, deputy assistant secretary of defense for manufacturing and industrial base, and Dennis Bartko, special assistant for cyber at NSA, were part of the panel.

The defense industrial base, Lambert said, comprises a diverse set of companies that provide products and services directly and indirectly to the military and NSA.

He added that the industrial base is not a monolithic entity. Rather, it includes companies that run the gamut from major companies to garage start-ups.

While some companies deal directly with the federal government, Lambert said, the vast majority of suppliers, subcontractors and providers are in a value chain that leads to those private contractors, often 10 to 15 times removed.

"Some products and services are sold by companies in the defense industrial base that are truly unique to defense applications, he said, "but most have substantial levels of nondefense demand or even [are] sold exclusively on commercial terms." Just as some suppliers may not realize their product is used in a military system, he added, DOD, in turn, may not realize it depends on a commercial component.

"For decades, the United States has commanded a decisive lead in the quality and quantity of the defense-related research and engineering conducted globally," Lambert said. He also noted the critical role the U.S. defense industrial base supply chain plays in equipping the military with superior and "technically vibrant" capabilities.

"We rely on our industrial supply chain to develop, build and ultimately maintain the goods and services upon which our warfighters' lives depend, as well as the lives of the citizens they defend," Lambert said.

However, DOD and NSA are concerned about protecting the valuable information that's contained within cyberspace, the experts said.

"Cyberspace is where our nation stores its treasure and its wealth -- our treasure being the intellectual property of our nation ... and our wealth, not being so much the money that we print or the coins that we mint, but the bits and databases that actually represent that," Bartko said.

The use of cyberspace, he added, has enhanced national security, economic competiveness, public safety and civil liberties, but challenges and threats remain and derive from various origins, tools and techniques.

Insider threats through cyber networks over remote access are one example of things that could jeopardize critical supply chains, Bartko said, and determining solutions requires a recognition and understanding of cyberspace's main attribute: convergence.

Media such as video, telephone systems, text messaging and email were separate before the advent of smartphones, tablets and similar devices, Barkto noted.

"Cyberspace was created from separate elements that were converging over time increasingly [and] became [what] we call the Internet and ... cyberspace," he said, resulting in a need for integration in buffering supply chains. And continual change also is critical, as information contained in cyberspace exponentially increases, Bartko said.

"We know that cyberspace is not going to be the same tomorrow as it is today," he said. "Our response needs to be highly agile."

U.S. POSITION ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION