RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
A ground crew member from Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 132 signals to an EA-18G Growler as it returns from a flight during heavy snows at Naval Air Facility Misawa. VAQ-132 is finishing up a six-month deployment in support of U.S. 7th Fleet. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kenneth G. Takada (Released) 130110-N-VZ328-444

A helicopter assigned to the Eightballers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 delivers supplies to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) as it makes its approach alongside the Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10) during a replenishment-at-sea. John C. Stennis is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Armando Gonzales (Released) 130108-N-LV331-577

PANETTA PRAISES SUCCESSOR HAGEL

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Panetta Praises Hagel as 'Right Person' to Lead Department

By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2013 - Panetta spoke today during a press briefing with Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The secretary expressed confidence in Hagel's experience and his projected ability to lead the department through budget uncertainties and the 2014 Afghanistan transition.

"I've known Chuck a long time," Panetta said. "He is the right person to lead the department, not only because he's a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, but [because] he understands Washington; he understands the issues that confront our national defense."

Panetta said topics during meetings with Hagel included a range of general issues facing the DOD. The two also had a meeting specifically to focus solely on budget challenges.

"I'm confident that he wants to do everything possible to try and deal with the challenges we face," Panetta said.

The secretary also noted that he and his successor agree about the future of the department.

"Despite a lot of very severe budget pressures ... we need to maintain -- and I believe he believes we need to maintain -- the world's most powerful and ready force to deal with the challenges we're going to confront in the 21st Century," Panetta said.

ISS WEEKLY RECAP FOR WEEK ENDING 01-11-2013

FROM NASA

DVIDS - Video - Joint Press Brief: President Obama and Preseident Karzi

DVIDS - Video - Joint Press Brief

Air Force News Briefing by Secretary Donley and General Welsh on the State of the Air Force in the Pentagon Briefing Room

Air Force News Briefing by Secretary Donley and General Welsh on the State of the Air Force in the Pentagon Briefing Room

REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER AND HEART CENTER TO PAY $4.4 MILLION TO SETTLE FALSE CLAIMS ACT ALLEGATIONS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

EMH Regional Medical Center and North Ohio Heart Center to Pay U.S. $4.4 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

EMH Regional Medical Center (EMH) has agreed to pay the United States $3,863,857 and North Ohio Heart Center Inc. (NOHC) has agreed to pay the United States $541,870 to settle allegations that they submitted false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today.

EMH is a non-profit community hospital system located in Lorain County, Ohio. During the relevant time period, NOHC was an independent physician group located in Lorain County that practiced at EMH. The settlement resolves allegations that between 2001 and 2006 EMH and NOHC performed unnecessary cardiac procedures on Medicare patients. Specifically, the United States alleged that EMH and NOHC performed angioplasty and stent placement procedures on patients who had heart disease but whose blood vessels were not sufficiently occluded to require the particular procedures at issue.

"Billing Medicare for cardiac procedures that are not necessary or appropriate contributes to the soaring costs of health care and puts patients at risk. The settlement demonstrates the Department of Justice’s efforts both to protect public funds and safeguard Medicare beneficiaries," said Stuart F. Delery, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

" Most doctors act responsibly," said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. " These few didn't. Patient health and taxpayer dollars have to come before greed."

This matter was initiated by the filing of a whistleblower complaint under the False Claims Act (FCA). Under the FCA, private citizens can bring suit for false claims on behalf of the United States and receive a share of the recovery obtained by the government. The whistleblower in this matter, Kenny Loughner, was the former manager of EMH’s catheterization and electrophysiology laboratory. As a result of the settlement, Mr. Loughner will receive $660,859 of the United States’ recovery.

This resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover more than $10.1 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 are over $13.8 billion.

The investigation was jointly handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services Cleveland Field Office and the FBI. The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

FEMA AID REGISTRATION EXTENED FOR RHODE ISLAND RESIDENTS

Warwick, R.I., Jan. 7, 2013 -- Representatives from the state of Rhode Island and local government agencies attended at two-day seminar at the Warwick, Rhode Island, Joint Field Office on January 7-8, 2013. The seminar on benefit cost analysis provided training on the use of FEMA software to complete applications for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grants. These competitive grants are funded by FEMA and awarded by the state to fund projects that will prevent damage from future disasters like Hurricane Sandy. Photo by Nancy Helmick.

FROM: FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANGEMENTAGENCY
FEMA Aid Registration Extended, Federal Support More than $9.8 Million in R.I.Release date:
January 11, 2013

WARWICK, R.I. – With total federal support to date for Hurricane Sandy damage in the The Ocean State now exceeding $9.8 million, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended the deadline for Rhode Islanders with losses from Sandy to register for assistance until February 13.

The following is a summary as of January 10, 2013, of federal support for individuals, families and public entities with losses from Hurricane Sandy:
590 households have registered with FEMA for some form of disaster assistance, including financial grants, loans and other disaster-related services.
$368,374 has been approved in grants to cover repairs to homes and rental assistance
$22,086 has been approved to help Rhode Islanders with other disaster-related needs such as lost personal property and loss of transportation.
71 applicants have requested aid from the Public Assistance Program. For these applicants FEMA has prepared 97 separate public assistance projects totaling $2,370,404, of which $347,793 has already been obligated to the state to reimburse local, county, and state government entities and
$631,400 in low interest, disaster recovery loans to homeowners has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The National Flood Insurance Program estimates that approximately 1,000 claims have been filed related to Superstorm Sandy in Rhode Island and around $6.5 million has been paid out to survivors.
Rhode Islanders have until midnight February 13 to register online at www.DisasterAssistance.govHYPERLINK "http://www.disasterassistance.gov" or via smartphone at m.fema.gov. Individuals may also register by calling FEMA at 800-621-FEMA (3362) daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Multilingual recovery specialists are available. Those with a speech disability or hearing loss who use a TTY can call 800-462-7585 directly; or 800-621-3362 if using 711 or Video Relay service.

FEMA-state assistance may include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, uninsured vehicle damage, lost or damaged personal property and many other costs incurred because of Hurricane Sandy. Even people who have insurance may qualify for FEMA aid to help with expenses their insurance does not cover, such as temporary housing during home repairs.

Low interest disaster loans are vital to full recovery for many who had storm damage. The U.S. Small Business Administration provides these loans, not just for small businesses, but also for homeowners, renters, businesses of any size and some private nonprofits to cover uncompensated real or personal property losses. The deadline to apply for an SBA loan is February 13.

SBA disaster loan information and application forms may be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for people with speech or hearing disabilities) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or by sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Applications can also be downloaded from www.sba.gov or completed on-line at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/

Rhode Islanders who lost income because of Hurricane Sandy and are ineligible for regular unemployment benefits may be eligible for special disaster unemployment benefits. The deadline to apply is February 4, 2013. File a claim online at http://www.dlt.ri.gov/ui/.

Find tweets about Sandy recovery at www.twitter.com/femaregion1. For Rhode Island specific information go to http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4089. Other online resources include http://blog.fema.gov, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for medical and dental expenses, funeral and burial expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, applicants who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA loan officers to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.

West Wing Week: 01/11/13 or "The Interests of Our Country" | The White House

West Wing Week: 01/11/13 or "The Interests of Our Country" | The White House

U.S. Department of Defense Armed with Science Update: Follow Me Robot Video

U.S. Department of Defense Armed with Science Update

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR JANUARY 11, 2013

Photo:  On Patrol In Afghanistan.  Credit:  U.S. DOD.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Afghan, Coalition Force Arrests Taliban Leader in Baghlan
From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 11, 2013 - A combined Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader in the Burkah district of Afghanistan's Baghlan province today, military officials reported.

The leader planned and executed attacks against Afghan and coalition forces for both the Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and both insurgent groups used him to root out people in their organizations thought to be disloyal, officials said.

Also today, a combined force in Khost province's Sabari district arrested a Taliban leader who was assisting in the preparation of a vehicle-borne bomb and the acquisition of ammunition for an upcoming attack against Afghan and coalition forces.

Yesterday, an Afghan army patrol found three homemade bombs and more than 800 pounds of explosives in Helmand province's Garm Ser district. The Afghan soldiers secured the site, and a coalition explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the cache.

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

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

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Recruiting Remains Strong Through November
American Forces Press Service

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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

Medicine in a storm

Medicine in a storm

CASSIOPEIA A: THE REMAINS OF A SUPERNOVA

 

FROM: NASA

Sizzling Remains of a Dead Star

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

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

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

The starry background picture is from the Digitized Sky Survey.


Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/DSS

KEEPING AIRCRAFT IN THE AIR

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

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MAKING MATERIAL MISTATEMENTS DURING FINANCIAL CRISIS

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

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

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

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

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

IN DEEP MAGMA

Credit:  Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IRAQ HOSTILITIES HISTORICAL NAVAL PHOTOS

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

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

 

ISS UPDATE FOR JANUARY 10, 2013

FROM:  NASA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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