RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
Chief petty officers man the rails aboard the amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) as the ship departs Lisbon, Portugal, at the conclusion of a four-day port visit. Mount Whitney, homeported in Gaeta, Italy, is the U.S. 6th Fleet flagship and operates with a combined crew of U.S. Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Collin Turner (Released) 130530-N-PE825-068

A landing craft air cushion (LCAC) enters the well deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3). Kearsarge is the flagship for the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and, with the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Corbin J. Shea (Released) 130530-N-SB587-098

U.S. OFFICIAL SAYS FURLOUGH DECISIONS DIFFICULT

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Furlough Decision 'Arduous,' Official Says
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2013 - The Defense Department continues to look at ways to reduce or avoid furloughs, the acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness said today, but she added that "right now, unfortunately, the department will furlough civilian employees for up to 11 days."

"The decision to furlough the civilian employees was a very hard, arduous decision," Jessica L. Wright said, but it was based on preserving the readiness of the force.

"About 85 percent of our [civilian] force will be furloughed," Wright said, including teachers at Department of Defense Education Activity schools.

But preserving the integrity of the academic year was the central concern for the department, she added. Teachers will be furloughed for five days at the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year, she explained, but it is up to each superintendent to decide what days will be furlough days. Schools will be closed to students on those days, she said, and extracurricular activities scheduled for a furlough day will not be held that day.

"But, it's important to note that our summer school will be held this year, and that children will get a good academic year," Wright added.

The department has about 767,000 appropriated fund employees, said Navy Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, a Pentagon spokeswoman. About 652,000 are scheduled to be furloughed, she said, but that total will change as employees respond to furlough notices and final determinations are made. Appropriated fund employees include those employees who are not appointed by Congress or the president and who are paid by funds designated by Congress.

According to the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service website, nonappropriated fund employees may be furloughed for business-based reasons "if the reduction in appropriated fund resources leads to a curtailment in [morale, welfare and recreation] or exchange business operations. ... Furloughs of NAF employees are processed under DOD NAF human resources policies and component procedures."

Furlough notices starting going out to appropriated fund employees May 28, Wright said.

"They will either be hand-delivered," she said, "because the employee must sign that they've received the furlough notice, or, if the employee is on leave, it could be sent [via] certified mail."

Civilians excepted from furloughs generally fall into specific categories, Wright said. Examples include civilians working in combat zones, personnel with safety-of-life responsibilities, wounded warrior caregivers and full-time sexual assault prevention and response coordinators and sexual assault victim advocates for the active and reserve components.

Employees who receive a furlough notice will have seven days to respond if they believe their duties fall into one of the excepted categories, Hull-Ryde said. Otherwise, furloughs will start no later than July 8. The furlough days will be spread over the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Wright said she urges employees with furlough questions to reach out to their human resources department and to read the detailed guidance about furloughs on the Office of Professional Management's website.

The websites for the Labor Department and OPM can assist employees with questions about eligibility for unemployment compensation, Wright said. Those eligibility requirements differ from state to state, Hull-Ryde noted.

Not all states will be affected equally, Wright said. "The majority of our workers work outside the Washington, D.C., area," she noted.

More than 80 percent of the federal workforce is based outside the national capital region, Wright said. According to Defense Department figures, in the five states with the most federal employees -- California, Georgia, Maryland, Texas and Virginia -- workers will lose $819 million in wages due to furloughs.

Every employee's situation is unique, Wright said, but the bottom line is this decision was made to preserve readiness of the military force as a whole.

"Readiness is not a service-specific thing," she said, "It's a joint, departmental thing. "We made a very collective decision to be collective on this furlough -- that we would furlough the department as a whole."

Senior defense officials have stated that the effects of sequestration will be long-lasting. Uncertainty over whether sequestration will continue has made it difficult to know whether furloughs will continue into fiscal year 2014, Wright said.

"I think that next year is going to be a difficult year," she said. "We are in the process -- the department as a whole -- of working through some of the options for next year's budget. ... If sequestration is in effect, it will be very difficult, but we have not made a decision."

Pentagon officials will do "everything in our power" not to have to furlough employees, she added.

BOUYS RELEASED TO INCREASE ACCURACY OF WEATHER FORCASTS



130528-N-HA376-137 PACIFIC OCEAN (May 28, 2013) Lt. j.g. Jeffrey Grabon launches a global drifter buoy into the Pacific Ocean from the amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) while underway for Pacific Partnership 2013. The buoy, belonging to the UCSD Scripps Institution of Oceanography, is used to measure ocean currents up to 15 meters in depth, sea surface temperatures, and atmospheric pressure. Pacific Partnership is the largest disaster response-preparation mission in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Lowell Whitman/Released)

FROM: U.S. NAVY
Global Drifter Buoys Released in Pacific Ocean
By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Samantha J. Webb

PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- Sailors from the office of Naval Meteorology and Oceanography released ten global drifter buoys belonging to the University of California, San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography from the amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52), May 28, during Pacific Partnership 2013.

The buoys measure ocean currents up to 15 meters in depth, sea surface temperatures and atmospheric pressure. All are important elements in creating an observation network, allowing for more accurate weather forecasts.

"The mission of Pacific Partnership is disaster relief preparedness," said Lt.j.g. Jeffrey S. Grabon, Pacific Partnership Mobile Environment Team division officer. "Most of the disasters that are going on in this region are from typhoons and tsunamis, so if we have observations that we can use to help forecast typhoons, that benefits the area."

The buoys were deployed at specific coordinates while USS Pearl Harbor transited the Pacific Ocean to Samoa, the first mission port of Pacific Partnership.

Both Scripps and the Navy seek to benefit from the buoy drop and subsequent data to be collected.

The global drifter buoys provide real-time data in support of both civilian and DoD activities. That data can be used to improve forecasts, which can benefit the effectiveness of activities like search and rescue missions and disaster response operations.

"I think it is absolutely crucial we have the ability to engage with the U.S. Navy and work in a synergistic way to collect useful data and create deployment opportunities in regions that are hard to access with commercial and scientific vessels," said Luca Centurioni, scientist, Scripps physical oceanography research division. "We really welcome the opportunity to work together with the U.S. Navy 3rd Fleet. "

Grabon said that much of the ongoing research has the potential to impact the Navy.

"Because the Navy is a sea-going, war-fighting force, the better the universities understand the ocean, the better the Navy will understand it," said Grabon.

Pacific Partnership is about bringing people together. The collaboration of the University of California, San Diego Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the United States Navy demonstrates a cooperative approach to both disaster preparedness and prevention by working to understand the many variables that contribute to the long history of natural disasters that have earned the whole region the moniker, "The Pacific Ring of Fire."

U.S. CONDEMNS RACIALLY MOTIVATED ACTS IN MALI

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

U.S. Condemns Racially Motivated Acts and Supports Negotiations in Mali
Press Statement
Jen Psaki
Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
June 5, 2013　

The United States supports an urgent negotiated resolution to Kidal that will permit the return of civil administration so that presidential elections can be carried out in the entire Malian territory on July 28. We also condemn the racially motivated acts of detention and expulsions in Kidal and call on all parties to respect human rights and fully comply with their obligations under international law. The United States is fully committed and providing financial assistance for the holding of free, transparent and credible elections throughout Mali. This is a vital part of restoring peace and stability in Mali and in the region and will set the stage for a broader process of national reconciliation in a unified Mali. The United States commends the leadership of ECOWAS mediator President Blaise Compaoré, and the support of the United Nations, the African Union, and other regional and international partners in this effort.

DVIDS - Video - NATO Press Conference

DVIDS - Video - NATO Press Conference

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL WELCOMES SUSAN RICE AS NEW NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Hagel Welcomes Rice's Selection as National Security Advisor

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2013 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today said he looks forward to working with Susan Rice in her new role as national security advisor.

In a statement released after President Barack Obama announced that he had selected Rice -- currently the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations -- to succeed Tom Donilon, Hagel said he strongly supports the president's choice.

"Susan Rice has been a very important leader on President Obama's national security team who has helped galvanize the international community to act on some of the toughest security challenges facing the United States," he said. "I also look forward to working with President Obama's nominee to succeed her, Samantha Power. She brings years of experience at the White House, in academia, and as a journalist to this critical position."

Hagel also expressed thanks to Donilon for his "strong leadership and tireless efforts."

"For the past four and half years, both in my capacity as co-chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board and now as secretary of defense, I have greatly valued Tom's intellect, skill, and dedication to an honest and open process that provides the president with the best advice on the toughest issues," the secretary said. "I wish Tom and his family the very best for the future."

U.S. State Department Daily Press Briefing - June 5, 2013

Daily Press Briefing - June 5, 2013

Department of Defense News Briefing with Secretary Hagel at NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium

Department of Defense News Briefing with Secretary Hagel at NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium

Media Availability with Gen. Dunford in NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium

Media Availability with Gen. Dunford in NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium

ISAF NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR JUNE 5, 2013



U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas Banner leads his squad on a dismounted presence patrol near Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, June 2, 2013. Banner, a squad leader, is assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment. The soldiers were on patrol to meet area farmers and project force posture. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Shane Hamann 　

  FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Afghan, Coalition Forces Kill Enemy Fighters in Helmand Province

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 5, 2013 - A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed three extremists and arrested a Taliban facilitator and another extremist in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Afghanistan's Helmand province today, military officials reported.

The facilitator procures weapons and equipment for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and helps to coordinate and execute those attacks. He also maintains several weapons caches.

During the operation, enemy fighters set up a fighting position against the security force. The force engaged them, killing three. The security force also seized an assault rifle and two magazines.

Also today, a combined force in Kandahar province's Zharay district arrested a Taliban facilitator who builds and places improvised explosive devices targeting Afghan and coalition forces. He also finances local Taliban cells. The security also arrested three enemy fighters in the operation.

In an operation yesterday, a combined force killed a senior Taliban leader and two other enemy fighters in Wardak province's Sayyidabad district.

The Taliban leader controlled a group responsible for ambushes and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also facilitated the movement of weapons and equipment to local Taliban cells and was involved in the construction and placement of IEDs.

In other news from Afghanistan, more than 600 members of the Afghan national security force gathered in Laghman province June 3 to execute a clearing operation in the areas surrounding Nawrah and Hakimabad villages. Supported by the provincial police chief and coalition advisors, they uncovered and neutralized 12 IEDs.

HHS TOUTS "SECURE HEALTH DATA" AS AN IMPROVEMENT IN CARE

FROM: U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Secure health data helping patients, doctors improve care and health

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the release of new data and new opportunities for researchers and developers at the beginning of Health Datapalooza IV. This is the fourth annual national conference on health data transparency, which brings together government, non-profit, and private sector organizations to look at the potential for open data from HHS and other sources to help improve health and health care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today released new data – including county-level data on Medicare spending and utilization for the first time, as well as selected data on hospital outpatient charges. In addition, the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released additional information on the adoption of specific electronic health record (EHR) systems, as well as the winners of new opportunities for building innovative tools that build off health data.

"A more data driven and transparent health care marketplace can help consumers and their families make important decisions about their care," said Secretary Sebelius. "The administration is committed to making the health system more transparent and harnessing data to empower consumers."

Today HHS released data and tools that will help researchers and consumers take advantage of health information:
Building on the release last month of the average charges for the 100 most common inpatient procedures, CMS today released selected hospital outpatient data that includes estimates for average charges for 30 types of hospital outpatient procedures from hospitals across the country, such as clinic visits, echocardiograms, and endoscopies.
CMS today released new data sets for the first time at the county level: one on Medicare spending and utilization, and another on Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions. Both data sets will enable researchers, data innovators and the public to better understand Medicare spending and service use, spurring innovation and increasing transparency, while protecting the privacy of beneficiaries. The data will also be available through an interactive state level dashboard based on the spending information, allowing users of any skill level to quickly access and use the data.
ONC released data today from the Regional Extension Centers about the different brands of EHR products used by 146,000 doctors by state, specialty, and each doctor’s stage in meaningful use attestation.
HHS is also co-sponsoring a national competition – known as a "code-a-palooza" – to design an innovative app or tool using Medicare data that primary care providers can use to help manage patient care. The national competition, sponsored by ONC, the Health Data Consortium
, and the cloud software company Socrata, will give $25,000 in prizes to the teams of coders and medical experts that build the best tools or apps by the end of Datapalooza.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is demonstrating the latest applications of its two powerful health databases, the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). HCUP is the largest collection of longitudinal hospital care data in the U.S., representing 97 percent of all inpatient hospital discharges. MEPS is the most complete source of U.S. data on the cost and use of health care services and insurance coverage, obtained through large-scale, annual surveys of families, individuals, medical providers and employers.
ONC in coordination with the Health Resources and Services Administration selected the winners of the Apps4TotsHealth Challenge, which was launched to help parents and caregivers of young children better manage their nutrition and physical activity. The winning developers, researchers, and other innovators make use of Healthdata.gov data to strengthen these tools and make them more user-friendly. More on the winners here.
ONC also announced today the launch of the Blue Button Co-Design Challenge, designed to spur the creation of new applications that will allow patients to better use their own health data to improve their own care. The challenge will ask the public to vote on ideas from which developers will build tools to address health priorities determined by public voting.

Pacific Fleet Commander Connects History with Today in Remembering Midway

Pacific Fleet Commander Connects History with Today in Remembering Midway

REMARKS BY U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER NALBANDIAN

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian Before Their Meeting

Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Treaty Room
Washington, DC
June 4, 2013

SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning, everybody. It’s my pleasure today to welcome Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian from Armenia. And for me, it is a particular pleasure to welcome him because I think everybody knows Massachusetts is home to one of the largest populations of Armenians outside of Armenia, so we’re very happy. I have many, many friends in the Armenian community, and for years, have worked with my friends in Armenia on a number of different issues.

Armenia today is an important partner with United States in a number of initiatives. Importantly, they’re helping us in Afghanistan with ISAF, they’ve played a key role in Kosovo helping to keep peace there. And one of the most issues, obviously, that we all really want to try to see resolved one day is the frozen conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is critical that all the parties – when I say all the parties, I mean, obviously, the Azerbaijanis, but also Turkey, Russia, Iran, others – try to find a way to help break the impasse that has kept this struggle alive and always potentially dangerous. So my hope is that we will talk about that a little bit today.

We also have other issues of great importance to us: the economic partnership, the development of the economy and strengthening of democracy, and the security of our friends, the Armenian people. So Mr. Foreign Minister, we’re very, very happy to welcome you here today. Thank you. Good to have you.

FOREIGN MINISTER NALBANDIAN: Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be in Washington. Thank you very much for a warm welcome. I’m very glad to be back to Washington to meet you, Secretary, and to have a conversation on perspectives of enhancement of the friendly partnership between Armenia and the United States.

Both countries have a good interaction in the international arena covering international regional security, proliferation, fight against terrorism, as you mentioned, peacekeeping operations from Kosovo to Afghanistan, other challenges, who are sharing vision – same vision – that it is important to continue efforts to find exclusively peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on the principles and norms of international law, particularly non-use of force, excessive force, self-determination, territorial integrity who are sharing the vision that the relations between Armenia and Turkey should be normalized without preconditions, who are sharing the same values of democracy, fundamental freedoms, liberty, human rights, market economy, who are very thankful that during the last two decades since our independence, United States extended very important support for Armenia, and we are thankful for that.

I would like to use also opportunity to express our gratitude to the President Obama Administration for remarkable contribution to the strengthening of Armenian-American relations, which are today in their highest point. And I’m sure and confident that with our joint efforts, we could elevate that to new heights. And the trust and understanding between our two countries is – are the best pillars to extend further our relations.

Thank you again very much. Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much, Edward. Thank you, sir. Thank you all very much. Thank you.

Segue em direto o lançamento do ATV-4 Albert Einstein, quarta-feira, 5 de Junho 23:52 CEST

Segue em direto o lançamento do ATV-4 Albert Einstein, quarta-feira, 5 de Junho 23:52 CEST

TWO BUSINESSMEN SENTENCED FOR ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBTION REIMBURSEMENTS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Friday, May 31, 2013
Two Virginia Businessmen Sentenced for Illegally Reimbursing Campaign Contributions

William P. Danielczyk Jr. was sentenced today to 28 months in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for illegally reimbursing $186,600 in contributions to the Senate and Presidential campaign committees of a candidate for federal office and then obstructing the subsequent law enforcement investigation.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris in the Eastern District of Virginia.

On Feb. 26, 2013, Danielczyk, 51, and Eugene R. Biagi, 78, both of Oakton, Va., pleaded guilty to making illegal conduit campaign contributions. Biagi was sentenced to two months’ supervised probation for his role in Danielczyk’s scheme.

According to court records, Danielczyk was the chairman of Galen Capital Corporation and Biagi served as the corporation’s secretary. In September 2006, Danielczyk co-hosted a fundraiser for a candidate’s campaign for the U.S. Senate and in March 2007 he co-hosted a fundraiser for the same candidate’s 2008 campaign for the President of the United States.

Danielczyk admitted that he recruited individuals, including Biagi and other corporate employees, to serve as "straw donors" to the campaigns, assuring the donors that they would be reimbursed for their contributions. Danielczyk’s assistant collected the contributions, and Danielczyk and Biagi then reimbursed the straw donors for their contributions using Galen Capital Corporation’s corporate funds.

Biagi admitted that he disguised the nature of the reimbursement payments by falsely identifying the purpose of the reimbursement checks on the memorandum line of the check itself and by issuing the checks for amounts slightly larger than the campaign contributions. As part of the obstruction scheme, Danielczyk directed the creation of back-dated letters addressed to individual contributors, which falsely characterized the reimbursement payments to them as "consulting fees." One set of the letters contained a check for $1,500 in order to further the charade that the reimbursement checks were consulting fees. Biagi furthered the scheme by, among other means, signing the back-dated letters and the checks, thereby supporting Danielczyk’s aims at covering up the true conduct and obstructing the investigations focused on the reimbursement scheme.

Danielczyk and Biagi admitted they used corporate funds to reimburse a total of $186,600 to the two campaigns. The campaigns unwittingly reported them as lawful contributions from the individual "straw donors."

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark D. Lytle and Timothy D. Belevetz from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Eric L. Gibson of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

Press Briefing | The White House

Press Briefing | The White House

Background Briefing en Route to Guatemala

Background Briefing en Route to Guatemala

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
130522-N-OV434-142 CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan (May 22, 2013) Seabees assigned to the Convoy Security Element of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 15 construct a bunker project in support of the Afghan National Army. NMCB-15 is deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and is an expeditionary element of U.S. Naval Forces that supports various units worldwide through national force readiness, civil engineering, humanitarian assistance, and building and maintaining infrastructure. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Garas/Released)

DOD Daily Press Briefing - June 4, 2013

Daily Press Briefing - June 4, 2013

ISAF NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR JUNE 4, 2013

 

U.S. Special Forces team members pull security on the roof of a compound during a meeting with an Afghan local police checkpoint commander in the Zharay district of Kandahar province, Afghanistan, May 21, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kaily Brown

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

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 4, 2013 - A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed five enemy fighters who opened fire on them during a search for a senior Taliban leader in the Archi district of Afghanistan's Kunduz province today, military officials reported.

The Taliban leader builds improvised explosive devices and suicide vests and has directed and coordinated attacks that have killed numerous Afghan national security force personnel, officials said.

The security force also seized a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, four RPG rounds and an assault rifle.

In Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- Afghan commandos and uniformed police and coalition forces killed seven enemy fighters and wounded four others during a clearing operation in Kunduz province's Imam Sahib district.

-- A combined force in Kandahar province's Panjwai district killed a Taliban intelligence operative who coordinated attacks in the area. He directed ambush attacks and placement of IEDs targeting Afghan and coalition forces. He also facilitated the movement of weapons and IEDs in the district.