Wednesday, February 13, 2013
CONGRESSMAN DAVE CAMP PUSHES THROUGH "NO BUDGET NO PAY ACT" FOR CONGRESS
FROM: CONGRESSMAN DAVE CAMP'S WEBSITEFor the last two years the House of Representatives has passed a federal budget. However, the Senate has failed to do so for four years in a row – more than 1,300 days have passed without any budget from the Senate. It is time for both chambers of Congress – the House of Representatives and the Senate – to make the tough choices necessary to get Washington spending under control. If employees don’t do their jobs, their employer won’t pay them. It’s time for Congress to start living by that same simple rule.
BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM HAS A POSITIVE TEST
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE,
Aegis Missile Defense System Intercepts Target in Test
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2013 - The Missile Defense Agency and sailors aboard the USS Lake Erie conducted a successful flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system today, resulting in the intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean by a Standard Missile-3 Block IA guided missile.
At 4:10 a.m. EST, a unitary medium-range ballistic missile target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. The target flew northwest toward a broad area of the Pacific Ocean.
The in-orbit Space Tracking and Surveillance System-Demonstrators, or STSS-D, detected and tracked the target, and forwarded track data to the USS Lake Erie. The ship, equipped with the second-generation Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense weapon system, used "Launch on Remote" doctrine to engage the target.
The ship developed a fire control solution from the STSS-D track and launched the SM-3 Block IA guided missile about five minutes after target launch. The SM-3 maneuvered to a point in space and released its kinetic warhead. The warhead acquired the target re-entry vehicle, diverted into its path, and, using only the force of a direct impact, engaged and destroyed the target.
Initial indications are that all components performed as designed, officials said. Program officials will assess and evaluate system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test, they added.
Today's event, designated Flight Test Standard Missile-20, or FTM-20, was a demonstration of the ability of space-based assets to provide mid-course fire control quality data to an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ship, extending the battle space, providing the ability for longer-range intercepts and defense of larger areas, officials said.
FTM-20 is the 24th successful intercept in 30 flight test attempts for the Aegis BMD program since flight testing began in 2002. Across all Ballistic Missile Defense System programs, this is the 58th successful hit-to-kill intercept in 73 flight tests since 2001.
Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense is the sea-based component of the Missile Defense Agency's Ballistic Missile Defense System. The Aegis BMD engagement capability defeats short- to intermediate-range, unitary and separating, midcourse-phase ballistic missile threats with the SM-3, as well as short-range ballistic missiles in the terminal phase with the SM-2 Block IV missile.
The MDA and the Navy cooperatively manage the Aegis BMD program.
Aegis Missile Defense System Intercepts Target in Test
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2013 - The Missile Defense Agency and sailors aboard the USS Lake Erie conducted a successful flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system today, resulting in the intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean by a Standard Missile-3 Block IA guided missile.
At 4:10 a.m. EST, a unitary medium-range ballistic missile target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. The target flew northwest toward a broad area of the Pacific Ocean.
The in-orbit Space Tracking and Surveillance System-Demonstrators, or STSS-D, detected and tracked the target, and forwarded track data to the USS Lake Erie. The ship, equipped with the second-generation Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense weapon system, used "Launch on Remote" doctrine to engage the target.
The ship developed a fire control solution from the STSS-D track and launched the SM-3 Block IA guided missile about five minutes after target launch. The SM-3 maneuvered to a point in space and released its kinetic warhead. The warhead acquired the target re-entry vehicle, diverted into its path, and, using only the force of a direct impact, engaged and destroyed the target.
Initial indications are that all components performed as designed, officials said. Program officials will assess and evaluate system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test, they added.
Today's event, designated Flight Test Standard Missile-20, or FTM-20, was a demonstration of the ability of space-based assets to provide mid-course fire control quality data to an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ship, extending the battle space, providing the ability for longer-range intercepts and defense of larger areas, officials said.
FTM-20 is the 24th successful intercept in 30 flight test attempts for the Aegis BMD program since flight testing began in 2002. Across all Ballistic Missile Defense System programs, this is the 58th successful hit-to-kill intercept in 73 flight tests since 2001.
Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense is the sea-based component of the Missile Defense Agency's Ballistic Missile Defense System. The Aegis BMD engagement capability defeats short- to intermediate-range, unitary and separating, midcourse-phase ballistic missile threats with the SM-3, as well as short-range ballistic missiles in the terminal phase with the SM-2 Block IV missile.
The MDA and the Navy cooperatively manage the Aegis BMD program.
NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR FEBRUARY 13, 2013
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| Partoling Afghanistan. Credit: U.S. Army. |
Combined Force Kills Taliban Leader in Nangarhar Province
From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release
KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 13, 2013 - A combined Afghan and coalition force killed a Taliban leader in the Khugyani district of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province today, military officials reported.
Mojib, also known as Mansoor, conducted direct-fire attacks against Afghan government officials and Afghan and coalition forces. He was directly associated with Taliban senior leadership operating in Khugyani district and procured rocket-propelled grenades to be used in an attack on a coalition aircraft, officials said.
The security force seized assault rifles with associated gear as well as several grenades and a pistol in the operation.
Also today, a combined force in Khost province's Terayzai district arrested a Haqqani network leader who is accused of conducting attacks and kidnappings.
The security force also detained two suspected insurgents and seized grenades, an assault rifle with associated ammunition, an Afghan army uniform and two Afghan army identification cards in the operation.
In Afghanistan operations yesterday:
-- Afghan and coalition forces called in a precision airstrike in Helmand province's Nad-e Ali district that killed a Taliban leader responsible for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also helped insurgents obtain heavy weapons. A post-strike assessment determined no civilians were harmed and no property was damaged in the operation.
-- A combined force called in a precision strike that killed two insurgents in Kunar province's Ghaziabad district. A post-operation assessment determined no civilians were harmed and no civilian property was damaged in the operation.
-- In Kandahar province's Maiwand district, a combined force arrested a Taliban facilitator believed responsible for coordinating and conducting insurgent operations.
LANDSAT DATA CONTINUITY MISSION PRELAUNCH
FROM: NASA
Landsat Data Continuity Mission Prelaunch
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket with the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) spacecraft onboard is seen on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) mission is a collaboration between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey that will continue the Landsat program's 40-year data record of monitoring the Earth's landscapes from space. The spacecraft launched Feb. 11.
Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
MAN GETS 30 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR SMUGGLING KICKBACK PROCEEDS FROM AFGHANISTAN
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICEFormer Department of Defense Contractor Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Smuggling Kickback Proceeds from Afghanistan to the United States
Former employee of a Department of Defense contracting company at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison for attempting to smuggle $150,000 in kickback proceeds he received for steering U.S. government subcontracts to an Afghan company, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom of the District of Kansas.
Donald Gene Garst, 51, of Topeka, Kan., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julie A. Robinson in Topeka. In addition to his prison term, Garst was sentenced to serve one year of supervised release and was ordered to pay a fine of $52,117. The department previously forfeited the $150,000 Garst had attempted to smuggle into the United States.
Garst pleaded guilty on Nov. 9, 2012, to a one-count information charging him with bulk cash smuggling. According to court documents, Garst was employed by a private U.S. company that was contracted by the U.S. government and its armed forces at Bagram Airfield from January 2009 to May 2011. Garst was involved in identifying, evaluating and monitoring subcontracts awarded to Afghan companies by his employer, and he used his position to meet executives of an Afghan construction company called Somo Logistics. Garst then entered into an agreement with the Afghans under which he would receive kickback payments on a contract-by-contract basis in return for treating Somo Logisitcs favorably in the contracting process.
In December 2010, Garst accepted a kickback for $60,000 on the first subcontract awarded to Somo Logistics. The subcontract was for the term lease of heavy equipment meant to be used for construction on Bagram Airfield. Garst hand-carried approximately $20,000 of the kickback proceeds into the United States, and he received the remainder via a series of structured wire transfers from Somo Logistics executives.
In May 2011, Garst accepted a $150,000 kickback for a second subcontract for the lease of heavy construction equipment. Garst shipped the $150,000 in cash to the United States, and his failure to declare the value of the shipment was discovered by law enforcement.
Garst had further agreed to receive $400,000 on a third subcontract, but his scheme was discovered by law enforcement before he could receive that payment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag and Trial Attorney Wade Weems of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by Special Agents with the Army Criminal Investigations Division and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, with assistance from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and the FBI.
TPC - Videos
TPC - Videos: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Commander in Chief Barack Obama's decision to bring 34,000 troops back from Afghanistan was based on reccomendations from former ISAF Comamnder Gen John Allen.
FROM RUSSIA WITH CARGO
FROM: NASA
Russian Cargo Ship Heads to Station
The ISS Progress 50 resupply ship launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:41 a.m. EST (8:41 p.m. Kazakhstan time) Monday on an accelerated, four-orbit journey to rendezvous with the International Space Station.
GENERAL ODIERNO TELLS SENATE COMMITTEE THAT SEQUESTRATION WOULD HARM MILITARY READINESS
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSEOdierno: Sequestration Would Impact Army Readiness
By Cody Starken
Army News Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2013 - Furloughs, budget cuts and curtailment of training would significantly impact Army readiness if the billions of dollars in spending cuts triggered by sequestration are allowed to take place March 1, Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Ray Odierno told lawmakers Tuesday.
Odierno, along with other senior defense and military leaders testified on the impact of sequestration before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "The fiscal outlook that the Army faces in fiscal year 13 is dire, and to my knowledge, unprecedented," Odierno said.
Since 2008, the total Army budget will have been reduced by 37 percent. If sequestration is enacted, it will be greater than 45 percent. This reduces the ability to reset the force, and delays modernization programs the Army currently funds, he said.
"We simply cannot take the readiness of our force for granted. If we do not have the resources to train and equip the force, our soldiers, our young men and women, are the ones who will pay the price, potentially with their lives," Odierno said.
The Army will also have constraints on military training and readiness, Odierno said. Even though current military personnel are spared, civilian employees will be affected through layoffs and furloughs. An Army-wide hiring freeze is already in effect, and about 3,100 temporary and term employees have been terminated.
Sequestration will mean curtailing training of 80 percent of ground forces, affecting basic war-fighting skills. It could also introduce a critical shortfall in areas such as aviation, intelligence and engineering, Odierno said.
Local business will be affected as well. "In the Army, we are going to have to reduce purchase orders from 3,000 small companies," said Odierno. "From an Army perspective, it will hit the small companies" an impact that he predicted would be devastating.
Gen. Frank Grass, chief of the Army National Guard told lawmakers "In the area of personnel: a government, civilian, and military-technician hiring freeze compounded by a 22-day furlough will limit our ability to train and maintain our National Guard forces."
Those testifying Tuesday urged lawmakers to prevent sequestration from occurring.
"I know what it takes to prepare this nation's sons and daughters for war. I know what it takes to grow leaders in our Army. I know what is required to send Soldiers into combat, and I've seen the consequences when they are sent unprepared," said Odierno.
U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK TO FINACE EXPORT OF AIRCRAFT TO RUSSIA
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| Peter And Paul Fortress. Credit: CIA World Factbook. |
Ex-Im Approves more than $500 million to Finance Export of U.S. Aircraft to Russia
Washington, D.C. – The board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) voted to guarantee a loan of more than $500 million provided by Apple Bank for Savings to OJSC VEB Leasing (VEBL) of Moscow for the export of a fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft to Russia to be operated by Aeroflot Russian Airlines (Aeroflot).
Boeing delivered the first of the aircraft earlier this month.
Ex-Im Bank’s financing will support approximately 3,200 U.S. jobs, according to Bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology.
"The transaction showcases once again the wealth of opportunities for U.S. exporters in Russia," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "Moreover, the aircraft sale will support thousands of high-paying American jobs and provide Aeroflot with a top-of-the-line product."
VEBL, a subsidiary and leasing arm of the state-owned Vnesheconombank Group (VEB), will lease the aircraft to Aeroflot. It is the largest leasing company in the Russian Federation both in terms of its existing lease portfolio and new business volume. In line with VEB’s mandate, VEBL aims to increase the competiveness and diversification of the Russian economy and promote investment activity in key industries. Its portfolio is diversified over a number of different sectors, including, aviation, rail, sea and river vessels, heavy machinery, and automobiles.
"Aircraft financing is one of the main business activities of Vnesheconombank," said Vnesheconombank Deputy Chairman and Member of the Board Alexander S. Ivanov. "With this transaction we are happy to step into a promising and mutually beneficial partnership with Ex-Im Bank in this field."
Aeroflot, also of Moscow, is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation. The company, which dates back to 1923, boasts one of the youngest fleets in Europe and is a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, which was founded by Delta Air Lines, Aeroméxico, Air France, and Korean Air. The new acquisition of the aircraft will contribute to the airline’s fleet renewal and route-network expansion. Additionally, the Aeroflot aircraft will share routes and flights with other members of the SkyTeam Alliance as part of the Alliance’s codeshare agreement.
"Boeing is very pleased that Aeroflot becomes Russia’s first airline to add the 777-300ER to its fleet," said Marty Bentrott, Boeing Commercial Airplanes sales vice president for the Middle East, Russian and Central Asia. "Russia is an important and growing market for aviation and aircraft financing. Ex-Im Bank's innovative financing structuring in this transaction facilitates Aeroflot selecting U.S.-built airplanes to help it succeed, while supporting U.S. exports and sustaining good-paying, high-skilled American aviation manufacturing jobs."
VIETNAM: 40 YEARS SINCE THE HOMECOMING
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Operation Homecoming for Vietnam POWs Marks 40 Years
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2013 - Forty years ago today, a C-141A Starlifter transport jet with a distinctive red cross on its tail lifted off from Hanoi, North Vietnam, and the first flight of 40 U.S. prisoners of war began their journey home through Operation Homecoming.
By the day's end, three C-141A aircraft would lift off from Hanoi, as well as a C-9A aircraft from Saigon, South Vietnam. In a steady flow of flights through late March 1973 under terms set through the Paris Peace Accords, 591 POWs returned to American soil.
Americans were spellbound as they watched news clips of the POWs being carried in stretchers or walking tentatively toward U.S. officers at the awaiting aircraft for the first flight from Hanoi's Gia Lam Airport.
The POWs ranged from privates first class to colonels, all wearing new gray uniforms issued by the North Vietnamese just before their release.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. James R. Cook, who suffered severe wounds when he bailed out of his stricken aircraft over North Vietnam in December 1972, saluted the U.S. colors from his stretcher as he was carried aboard the aircraft. Also on the first flight was Navy Cmdr. Everett Alvarez Jr., the first American pilot to be shot down in North Vietnam and, by the war's end, the longest-held POW there. He spent eight-and-a-half years in captivity.
Celebration broke out aboard the first aircraft -- nicknamed the "Hanoi Taxi" -- as it lifted skyward and the POWs experienced their first taste of freedom.
Historian Andrew H. Lipps captured the magnitude of the moment in his account, "Operation Homecoming: The Return of American POWs from Vietnam."
"Imagine you're imprisoned in a cage; imagine the cage surrounded by the smell of feces; imagine the rotted food you eat is so infested with insects that to eat only a few is a blessing; imagine knowing your life could be taken by one of your captors on a whim at any moment; imagine you are subjected to mental and physical torture designed to break not bones but instead spirit on a daily basis. That was being a prisoner of North Vietnam," Lipps wrote.
"Then imagine one day, after seemingly endless disappointment, you are given a change of clothes and lined up to watch an American plane land to return you home. That was Operation Homecoming."
Aeromedical teams assigned to each aircraft tended to the former POWs during the two-and-a-half hour flight to Clark Air Base in the Philippines, the first stop on their trip home. Meanwhile, many of the POWs joked and smoked American cigarettes as they caught up on all they'd missed while in captivity: fashion trends and the women's liberation movement, among them.
"Everything seemed like heaven," recalled Air Force Capt. Larry Chesley, who, after being shot down over North Vietnam, spent seven years in the notorious "Hanoi Hilton" and other POW prisons. "When the doors of that C-141 closed, there were tears in the eyes of every man aboard," he said.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Ed Mechenbier, the last Vietnam POW to serve in the Air Force, recalled the emotion of his own journey out of North Vietnam on Feb. 18, 1973. "When we got airborne and the frailty of being a POW turned into the reality of freedom, we yelled, cried and cheered," he said.
The POWs arrived to a hero's welcome at Clark Air Base, where Navy Adm. Noel Gayler, commander of U.S. Forces Pacific, led their greeting party. Joining him were Air Force Lt. Gen. William G. Moore Jr., who commanded 13th Air Force and the homecoming operation at Clark, and Roger Shields, deputy assistant secretary of defense for POW/MIA affairs.
Speaking to the crowd that lined the tarmac to welcome the aircraft, returning POW Navy Capt. Jeremiah Denton -- who would go on to earn the rank of rear admiral and later was elected to the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama -- elicited cheers as he thanked all who had worked for their release and proclaimed, "God bless America."
Air Force Lt. Col. Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, who spent almost eight years as a POW after being shot down over North Vietnam, joined the many other POWs who echoed that sentiment. "My only message is, 'God bless America,'" he said, dismissing assertions in the media that the POWs had been directed to say it.
"With six, seven or eight years to think about the really important things in life, a belief in God and country was strengthened in every POW with whom I had contact," he said. "Firsthand exposure to a system which made a mockery of religion and where men are unable to know truth made us all appreciate some of the most basic values in 'God bless America.'"
Air Force Col. Robinson Risner, the senior Air Force officer at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" honored today by a statue in his likeness at the U.S. Air Force Academy, choked back emotion as he arrived on the second C-141 flight from Hanoi.
"Thank you all for bringing us home to freedom again," he told the crowd.
After receiving medical exams and feasting on steak, ice cream and other American food, the former POWs received new uniforms for their follow-on flights home. Their aircraft made stops in Hawaii and California. The first group of 20 former POWs arrived at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., on Feb. 14, 1973.
News clips of the arrival reveal the deep emotion of the freed POWs as they arrived on the U.S. mainland. Navy Capt. James Stockdale, who went on to become a vice admiral and vice presidential candidate, was the first man to limp off the aircraft.
Stockdale paused to thank his countrymen for the loyalty they had showed him and his fellow POWs. "The men who follow me down that ramp know what loyalty means because they have been living with loyalty, living on loyalty, the past several years -- loyalty to each other, loyalty to the military, loyalty to our commander-in-chief," he said.
Of the 591 POWs liberated during Operation Homecoming, 325 served in the Air Force, 138 in the Navy; 77 in the Army and 26 in the Marine Corps. Twenty-five of the POWs were civilian employees of U.S. government agencies.
In addition, 69 POWs the Viet Cong had held in South Vietnam left aboard flights from Loc Ninh. Nine other POWs were released from Laos, and three from China.
Forty years after their release, two of the former POWs serve in Congress: Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas.
A dinner and ceremony being planned for late May at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in California will honor the POWs, recreating the dinner the president hosted for them at the White House in 1973.
Operation Homecoming for Vietnam POWs Marks 40 Years
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2013 - Forty years ago today, a C-141A Starlifter transport jet with a distinctive red cross on its tail lifted off from Hanoi, North Vietnam, and the first flight of 40 U.S. prisoners of war began their journey home through Operation Homecoming.
By the day's end, three C-141A aircraft would lift off from Hanoi, as well as a C-9A aircraft from Saigon, South Vietnam. In a steady flow of flights through late March 1973 under terms set through the Paris Peace Accords, 591 POWs returned to American soil.
Americans were spellbound as they watched news clips of the POWs being carried in stretchers or walking tentatively toward U.S. officers at the awaiting aircraft for the first flight from Hanoi's Gia Lam Airport.
The POWs ranged from privates first class to colonels, all wearing new gray uniforms issued by the North Vietnamese just before their release.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. James R. Cook, who suffered severe wounds when he bailed out of his stricken aircraft over North Vietnam in December 1972, saluted the U.S. colors from his stretcher as he was carried aboard the aircraft. Also on the first flight was Navy Cmdr. Everett Alvarez Jr., the first American pilot to be shot down in North Vietnam and, by the war's end, the longest-held POW there. He spent eight-and-a-half years in captivity.
Celebration broke out aboard the first aircraft -- nicknamed the "Hanoi Taxi" -- as it lifted skyward and the POWs experienced their first taste of freedom.
Historian Andrew H. Lipps captured the magnitude of the moment in his account, "Operation Homecoming: The Return of American POWs from Vietnam."
"Imagine you're imprisoned in a cage; imagine the cage surrounded by the smell of feces; imagine the rotted food you eat is so infested with insects that to eat only a few is a blessing; imagine knowing your life could be taken by one of your captors on a whim at any moment; imagine you are subjected to mental and physical torture designed to break not bones but instead spirit on a daily basis. That was being a prisoner of North Vietnam," Lipps wrote.
"Then imagine one day, after seemingly endless disappointment, you are given a change of clothes and lined up to watch an American plane land to return you home. That was Operation Homecoming."
Aeromedical teams assigned to each aircraft tended to the former POWs during the two-and-a-half hour flight to Clark Air Base in the Philippines, the first stop on their trip home. Meanwhile, many of the POWs joked and smoked American cigarettes as they caught up on all they'd missed while in captivity: fashion trends and the women's liberation movement, among them.
"Everything seemed like heaven," recalled Air Force Capt. Larry Chesley, who, after being shot down over North Vietnam, spent seven years in the notorious "Hanoi Hilton" and other POW prisons. "When the doors of that C-141 closed, there were tears in the eyes of every man aboard," he said.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Ed Mechenbier, the last Vietnam POW to serve in the Air Force, recalled the emotion of his own journey out of North Vietnam on Feb. 18, 1973. "When we got airborne and the frailty of being a POW turned into the reality of freedom, we yelled, cried and cheered," he said.
The POWs arrived to a hero's welcome at Clark Air Base, where Navy Adm. Noel Gayler, commander of U.S. Forces Pacific, led their greeting party. Joining him were Air Force Lt. Gen. William G. Moore Jr., who commanded 13th Air Force and the homecoming operation at Clark, and Roger Shields, deputy assistant secretary of defense for POW/MIA affairs.
Speaking to the crowd that lined the tarmac to welcome the aircraft, returning POW Navy Capt. Jeremiah Denton -- who would go on to earn the rank of rear admiral and later was elected to the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama -- elicited cheers as he thanked all who had worked for their release and proclaimed, "God bless America."
Air Force Lt. Col. Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, who spent almost eight years as a POW after being shot down over North Vietnam, joined the many other POWs who echoed that sentiment. "My only message is, 'God bless America,'" he said, dismissing assertions in the media that the POWs had been directed to say it.
"With six, seven or eight years to think about the really important things in life, a belief in God and country was strengthened in every POW with whom I had contact," he said. "Firsthand exposure to a system which made a mockery of religion and where men are unable to know truth made us all appreciate some of the most basic values in 'God bless America.'"
Air Force Col. Robinson Risner, the senior Air Force officer at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" honored today by a statue in his likeness at the U.S. Air Force Academy, choked back emotion as he arrived on the second C-141 flight from Hanoi.
"Thank you all for bringing us home to freedom again," he told the crowd.
After receiving medical exams and feasting on steak, ice cream and other American food, the former POWs received new uniforms for their follow-on flights home. Their aircraft made stops in Hawaii and California. The first group of 20 former POWs arrived at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., on Feb. 14, 1973.
News clips of the arrival reveal the deep emotion of the freed POWs as they arrived on the U.S. mainland. Navy Capt. James Stockdale, who went on to become a vice admiral and vice presidential candidate, was the first man to limp off the aircraft.
Stockdale paused to thank his countrymen for the loyalty they had showed him and his fellow POWs. "The men who follow me down that ramp know what loyalty means because they have been living with loyalty, living on loyalty, the past several years -- loyalty to each other, loyalty to the military, loyalty to our commander-in-chief," he said.
Of the 591 POWs liberated during Operation Homecoming, 325 served in the Air Force, 138 in the Navy; 77 in the Army and 26 in the Marine Corps. Twenty-five of the POWs were civilian employees of U.S. government agencies.
In addition, 69 POWs the Viet Cong had held in South Vietnam left aboard flights from Loc Ninh. Nine other POWs were released from Laos, and three from China.
Forty years after their release, two of the former POWs serve in Congress: Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas.
A dinner and ceremony being planned for late May at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in California will honor the POWs, recreating the dinner the president hosted for them at the White House in 1973.
ANTARTICA: OPERATION DEEP FREEZE
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| Military Sealift Command-chartered container ship MV Ocean Giant, prepares to leave Port Hueneme, Calif., with nearly 7 million pounds of supplies, vehicles and electronic equipment and parts, Jan. 17, 2013. The ship is slated to begin offloading at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, as part of Operation Deep Freeze's support to the National Science Foundation. U.S. Navy photo |
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Supply Ships Arrive in Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2013 - A hulking Military Sealift Command-chartered tanker ship is expected to begin offloading millions of gallons of fuel in Antarctica today as part of the Defense Department's Operation Deep Freeze mission, which supplies the National Science Foundation at one of the world's most remote scientific outposts.
MT Maersk Peary, which left Europe in December, is scheduled to begin discharging more than 6 million gallons of diesel and jet fuel and gasoline at McMurdo Station, Sarah Burford, a Military Sealift Command spokeswoman, told American Forces Press Service.
A container ship that left California in January, MV Ocean Giant, then will deliver nearly 7 million pounds of frozen and dry food, building supplies, vehicles, electronic equipment and parts, and other supplies. Sailors from Navy Cargo Handling Battalion 1 are preparing to work around the clock for eight days to offload the supplies at a 500-foot-long ice pier that juts into the Antarctic Ocean, Burford said.
The deliveries represent 100 percent of the fuel and about 80 percent of the supplies the researchers and support personnel in Antarctica will need to survive and work over the course of a year, she said.
Air Mobility Command augments this support, airlifting passengers, perishable goods and time-sensitive materials in and out of Antarctica, and between sites within the continent, explained Air Force Col. Howard McArthur, U.S. Transportation Command's West Division operations chief.
For this year's Operation Deep Freeze mission, C-17 Globemaster III and ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules aircraft began air support missions in the fall.
The air and surface deliveries, conducted by Transcom in support of U.S. Pacific Command, are part of a historic Defense Department mission in one of the world's coldest, windiest, highest and most inhospitable environments.
Operation Deep Freeze has been supporting the National Science Foundation, which manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, for almost 60 years. It's an extension of a mission the Navy started almost 200 years ago. In 1839, Navy Capt. Charles Wilkes led the first U.S. naval expedition into Antarctic waters. Navy Adm. Richard E. Byrd followed in his footsteps, establishing naval outposts on the Antarctic coast in 1929, and later that year, he made the first flight over the South Pole.
In 1946, Byrd organized the Navy's Operation Highjump, which included more than 4,000 people and numerous ships and other craft operating in the Ross Sea.
In 1955, the Navy conducted the first Operation Deep Freeze.
Today, Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica, led by Pacific Air Forces at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, brings together active, reserve and National Guard assets from the Air Force, Navy, Army and Coast Guard, as well as Defense Department civilians. This year's task force includes C-17 support from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; LC-130 support from the New York Air National Guard; sealift support from the Coast Guard and Military Sealift Command; engineering and aviation services from Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and cargo handling from the Navy.
Together, this team provides the aircraft, shops and logistical expertise needed to support research in what may well be the most isolated and challenging part of the globe, officials said. They coordinate strategic intertheater airlift, tactical deep field support, aeromedical evacuation support, search and rescue response, sealift, seaport access, bulk fuel supply, port cargo handling and transportation requirements.
Last year alone, they delivered more than 3,250 passengers, 10,000 short tons of cargo and 5 million gallons of fuel in support of the National Science Foundation, Transcom officials reported.
Although the mission takes place during the Antarctic summer, harsh and unpredictable weather has always been a challenge, McArthur said. Ships typically must arrive between January and March, and require an icebreaker to cut a channel through a thick ice shelf for them to reach McMurdo Station.
Surprisingly, bitter cold isn't always the biggest operational hurdle.
"During the past couple of years, the warmer temperatures have actually been more of a challenge than the cooler temperatures," McArthur said. It made the ice pier too unstable to support dry cargo operations last year, requiring soldiers from the 331st Transportation Company to build a floating dock. This year, volcanic dirt that blew onto the ice runway during a December storm absorbed solar energy, causing extensive snow melt, McArthur said.
"But they are working around that and providing the support that is needed," he said, calling it an example of Transcom's commitment to deliver for its customers -- in this case, interagency partners at the National Science Foundation.
"Whether it is in the Antarctic or some other location in the world, we stand ready to provide flexible support ... and ensure that the mission is executed," he said.
Demanding, unpredictable conditions require planning and teamwork, said Tom Broad, the team lead for Military Sealift Command Pacific's sealift pre-positioning and special missions.
"We can't always know what will happen," Broad said. "Because of this, we really have to function as a team, not just within the Navy, but with all the other organizations who participate in this mission, to ensure that we get the critical cargo onto the ice, and on time, to support the people who live and work there."
That's what makes Operation Deep Freeze so important to the U.S. Antarctic Program, said Army Capt. Sylvester Moore, commander of Military Sealift Command Pacific.
"Without this resupply mission, all operations in Antarctica would end, and the scientific community would lose the opportunity to conduct research and study not only the continent of Antarctica, but its impact on our global climate," he said.
(Sarah Burford of Military Sealift Command contributed to this article.)
U.S. AND ALGERIA MEET REGARDING COOPERATION TO STOP NUCLEAR SMUGGLING
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| A beach used by tourists west of Algiers. Credit: CIA World Factbook. |
United States and Algeria Consult to Prevent Nuclear Smuggling and Strengthen Strategic Trade Controls
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
February 12, 2013
Officials from the United States and Algeria met in Algiers February 10-11, 2013, to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation to counter nuclear smuggling, and border security. These discussions furthered a first round of bilateral consultations initiated in January 2012 to explore ways and means to advance capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to nuclear and radiological material smuggling incidents, consistent with the Work Plan adopted by members of the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit, held in Washington, D.C.
At the two-day meeting, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation Programs Simon Limage and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Political Affairs and International Security Taous Feroukhi reaffirmed their readiness to cooperate more closely to prevent terrorists and other criminals from acquiring black market nuclear material. Recognizing the importance of a coordinated whole-of-government response to nuclear smuggling, meeting participants included representatives from several ministries within the Government of Algeria, and representatives from the U.S. Government interagency.
During the meeting in Algiers, both sides exchanged views and shared information on current smuggling threats and trends, and discussed best practices in the areas of border security, and nuclear detection, nuclear forensics, law enforcement, and other tools to prevent, detect, and respond to incidents of nuclear smuggling.
Officials from the United States presented an overview of best practices in border security, and strategic trade controls through cooperation with the Department of State’s Export Control and Related Border Security program aimed at joining efforts to prevent the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and illicit transfers of conventional weapons including MANPADS and related criminal activities by strengthening national control systems over the export, import, transit, and transshipment of strategic items.
These discussions pave the way for future cooperation between the United States and Algeria to strengthen national, international and regional capabilities to counter illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials.
RESEARCHERS SAY KID'S WEIGHT LINKED TO TIME AT DINNER TABLE
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| Credit: NIH |
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
Researchers say families who spend a bit longer together at the dinner table tend to have kids with a bit better weight. Barbara Fiese of the University of Illinois saw it in data on low-income families.
In the study, researchers observed 200 family mealtimes. They say the difference was only three or four minutes – families with healthier-weight children spent about 20 minutes at the table. But Fiese says the minutes add up, and family time may reduce mindless eating, when the calories go in without people really thinking about them:
"They mean that families are sort of keeping track of what their kids are doing. They’re also monitoring what they’re eating."
The study in the journal Economics and Human Biology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
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