NAVIES OF CHINA AND U.S. PARTICIPATE IN COUNTER PIRACY EXERCISE

An MH-60S Seahawk helicopter assigned to the "Swamp Foxes" of Maritime Helicopter Combat Squadron 74 departs the guided-missile destroyer USS Mason during a U.S.-China cross-deck landing exercise with the Chinese navy destroyer Harbin in the Gulf of Aden, Aug. 24, 2013. The operation was part of a two-day counter piracy exercise between U.S. 5th Fleet and the Chinese navy. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Rob Aylward 

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
U.S., Chinese Navies Exercise Counter Piracy in Gulf of Aden
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2013 - After concluding an ambitious counter piracy exercise yesterday with the Chinese navy, members of the U.S. 5th Fleet expressed hope it will lay groundwork for closer future cooperation in ensuring freedom of movement in the Gulf of Aden, other regional waters, and beyond.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Mason joined the Chinese destroyer Harbin and Chinese auxiliary replenishment oiler Weishanhu for the two-day exercise in the Gulf of Aden, Navy Capt. Joseph Naman, commander of Destroyer Squadron 50 and Task Force 55, said during a phone interview from Bahrain.
The Chinese oiler played the role of a pirated vessel, as crew members from the Mason and Harbin conducted a combined visit, board, search and seizure drill that included a night boarding, reported Navy Cmdr. D. Wilson Marks, Mason's commanding officer.

Simulated medical emergencies and hostage scenarios required the sailors to work together to provide a coordinated response.

In addition, the crews demonstrated synchronized maneuver techniques during a live-fire proficiency exercise, engaging an inflatable target with the 5-inch MK-45 lightweight gun and 3.9-inch ENG deck guns, Marks said.

Another "significant milestone," Naman said, was the landing of a helicopter from each country aboard the deck of each other's ship.

The exercise represented a big step beyond the first counterpiracy exercise between 5th Fleet and the Chinese navy, conducted in September near the Horn of Africa, Naman said. The 2012 exercise, which involved the USS Winston S. Churchill and the Chinese frigate Yi Yang, lasted only about six hours and was limited to a basic visit, board, search and secure exercise, follow-on discussion and crew lunch.

Throughout this week's mission, Marks said, he was struck by how similarly the two navies operate.

"What my crew found out is they are sailors like we are," practicing many of the same techniques as they confronted the same challenges, he said.

Both the United States and China recognize the importance of freedom of access and movement in the maritime environment, uninhibited by piracy or other illicit activity, Naman noted.

"I think both China and the U.S. share the common goal to make that happen," he said.

Both navies, for example, regularly conduct counterpiracy operations in the Gulf region.

The United States is part of a multinational coalition task force that works collaboratively in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. China, in contrast, operates independently. Naman said he would like to see that change, and that he hopes exercises like the one conducted over the weekend will encourage China to consider joining the coalition.

International cooperation and measures taken by the civilian shipping industry to discourage pirates have brought a dramatic drop in piracy compared to just three to four years ago, he reported.

"The sum of the parts is greater than the one, which is what the coalition brings in," Marks said. "You can share best practices, build on each other's strengths [and] capitalize on those strengths. ... We are all working toward that shared goal of freedom of movement in the maritime [domain]. So if we all share the same goal, we ought to be working together, and that is what we are really trying to do."

In the meantime, he said, exercising together helps to increase interoperability between the U.S. and Chinese navies that they can draw on in the future, anywhere in the world.

"As we have learned in the past, military-to-military engagement pays big dividends, because we operate in the same environment and ... share the same common goals for that maritime environment," Naman said.

Marks, who called the exercise "one of those once-in-a-career experiences," said he and his crew hope for more opportunities to work with the Chinese navy.

For one of the participants, Navy Seaman Yi An, the exercise was particularly memorable. A naturalized U.S. citizen, the culinary specialist was born in China's Quingdao province -- which the Harbin's crew calls home.

Yi served as an interpreter during the exercise, generating a lot of excitement among the Chinese sailors as he shared hometown stories, Marks said. He was treated as an honored guest aboard the Harbin during a luncheon yesterday that concluded the exercise.

But exercising with their Chinese counterparts gave the entire Mason crew new insights, Marks said.

"Watching U.S. and Chinese sailors working side by side was amazing," he said. "We may come from different places and speak a different language, but at the end of the day, we all share a common interest in protecting the maritime environment."

(Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Rob Aylward contributed to this article.)

U.S. TO SELL APACHE HELICOPTERS TO INDONESIA

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Hagel Announces U.S. Deal to Sell Helicopters to Indonesia
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Aug. 26, 2013 - In a first-of-its-kind deal worth about $500 million, the United States has agreed to sell eight new Apache AH-64E attack helicopters and Longbow radars to Indonesia, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said here today.

Hagel announced the deal during a joint news conference with Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro after productive meetings this afternoon with Yusgiantoro and earlier today with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The secretary is visiting Indonesia as part of an eight-day, four-nation trip that has included a stop in Malaysia and will take him this week to Brunei and the Philippines.

"Providing Indonesia these world-class helicopters is an example of our commitment to help build Indonesia's military capability," Hagel said.

The U.S. military will train Indonesian pilots and help in developing tactics, techniques and procedures for operating in the Southeast Asian security environment, a senior defense official said, adding that details of the delivery and training timeline are being determined.

The agreement represents a significant advance in military capabilities by a key U.S. partner and is the sort of investment the United States believes is prudent to support security in the Asia-Pacific region, the official said.

The new capability "will help Indonesia respond to a range of contingencies, including counterpiracy operations and maritime awareness," he added.

"The United States is committed to working with Southeast Asian nations to grow defense capabilities and deepen military-to-military cooperation with all of our partners," the official said.

During the news conference with Yusgiantoro, Hagel said it has been impressive to watch a democratic Indonesia emerge as one of the most important contributors to peace and prosperity, not only in Asia, but also globally.

"Helping ensure the region's security and prosperity is a goal the United States strongly shares," the secretary said. "The strong and enduring security partnership that has been built between the United States and Indonesia is a relationship the United States greatly values."

Hagel said President Barack Obama looks forward to his October visit to Indonesia and to deepening ties between the two countries.

Progress on security includes increasingly complex exercises between the two militaries, and growing defense, trade and high-level policy engagement, the secretary added.

The two militaries recently launched an initiative to share best practices in defense planning and management to increase Indonesian military capability, Hagel said, and next month the United States and Indonesia will cohost a counterterrorism exercise under the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus.

ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose 10 member states are Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Defense ministers from these nations attend the annual ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting, or ADMM. And the ADMM-Plus is made up of ASEAN members and eight dialogue partners: the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand and Russia. This year's ADMM-Plus meeting will be start tomorrow in Brunei.

Hagel said the United States welcomes Indonesia's leadership in promoting regional security cooperation through ASEAN and regional forums such as the East Asia Summit.

"The United States is committed to further strengthening the U.S.-ASEAN relationship and I look forward to meeting with my counterparts this week at the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting- Plus in Brunei to address the many security challenges we face in this region," he said.

Developing long-term and enduring solutions to challenges like maritime security, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, counterterrorism, and the peaceful management of disputes in the South China Sea calls for greater cooperation and respect for rules and norms among all parties and the institutions that underpin them, the secretary noted.

"I am also pleased to be able to announce that the U.S. and Indonesia have pledged mutual support and cooperation on the search and recovery of U.S. personnel missing from World War II," Hagel said.

Several Indonesian ministries have oversight of such requests, including defense, education and culture, and research and technology. All have agreed to process future requests from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, a joint task force within the Defense Department whose mission is to account for Americans listed as prisoners of war, or missing in action, from all past wars and conflicts.

The United States believes that about 1,800 U.S. personnel are still missing in action from World War II in the waters and lands of Indonesia, a senior defense official said, adding that while not all are recoverable, current research indicates that hundreds ultimately may be found and brought home.

"The United States commitment to this effort is important to our personnel serving today," Hagel said, "to make clear that we stand by our pledge to leave no one behind."

A REAL CRIMESTOPPER

FROM:  U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE 
1 Man Crime Stopper Team

Albuquerque, NM – On August 6, 2013, Detective Jesse Carter of the Albuquerque Police Department’s Special Investigation Unit, made his 36th arrest this year to date from crime stopper tips. Detective Carter is assigned full time to the United States Marshals Service’s South West Investigative Fugitive Team (SWIFT) task force. Detective Carter’s mission on the task force is to follow up on leads and tips generated by the Albuquerque Metro Crime Stopper unit.

Last night, the task force arrested fugitive Meghan Clark on charges of Robbery and Kidnapping. Clark’s boyfriend Tom Deforest was also arrested; he was booked on charges of Domestic Battery. Clark and Deforest mark arrests 35 and 36 for the year that have been the result of Crime Stopper tips. District of New Mexico, United States Marshal, Conrad Candelaria said “Detective Carter----- known by the United States Marshals Service for the District of New Mexico as Special Deputy United States Marshal Carter, is part of what defines “Force Multiplier”, whereby the task force is comprised of many law enforcement agencies, across many jurisdictions within New Mexico, because dangerous and violent fugitives do not recognize jurisdictional boundaries. The “Force Multiplier” is relied upon in order to achieve the important mission of fugitive apprehension, through collaboration, cooperation that is combined with exceptional investigative skill and it is through these efforts that our many communities in New Mexico are safer.”

IMAGE OF NEAR-EARTH OBJECT 1998 KN3

FROM:  NASA 

This image shows the potentially hazardous near-Earth object 1998 KN3 as it zips past a cloud of dense gas and dust near the Orion nebula. NEOWISE, the asteroid-hunting portion of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, mission, snapped infrared pictures of the asteroid, seen as the yellow-green dot at upper left. Because asteroids are warmed by the sun to roughly room temperature, they glow brightly at the infrared wavelengths used by WISE. Astronomers use infrared light from asteroids to measure their sizes, and when combined with visible-light observations, they can also measure the reflectivity of their surfaces. The WISE infrared data reveal that this asteroid is about .7 mile (1.1 kilometers) in diameter and reflects only about 7 percent of the visible light that falls on its surface, which means it is relatively dark. In this image, blue denotes shorter infrared wavelengths, and red, longer. Hotter objects emit shorter-wavelength light, so they appear blue. The blue stars, for example, have temperatures of thousands of degrees. The coolest gas and dust appears red. The asteroid appears yellow in the image because it is about room temperature: cooler than the distant stars, but warmer than the dust. JPL manages the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The principal investigator, Edward Wright, is at UCLA. The mission was competitively selected under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. Science operations and data processing take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S REMARKS ON CHEMICAL WEAPONS ATTACKS BY SYRIA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Remarks on Syria
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Press Briefing Room
Washington, DC
August 26, 2013

Well, for the last several days President Obama and his entire national security team have been reviewing the situation in Syria, and today I want to provide an update on our efforts as we consider our response to the use of chemical weapons.

What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. It defies any code of morality. Let me be clear: The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders, by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard it is inexcusable, and despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured, it is undeniable.

The meaning of this attack goes beyond the conflict in Syria itself, and that conflict has already brought so much terrible suffering. This is about the large-scale, indiscriminate use of weapons that the civilized world long ago decided must never be used at all – a conviction shared even by countries that agree on little else. There is a clear reason that the world has banned entirely the use of chemical weapons. There is a reason the international community has set a clear standard and why many countries have taken major steps to eradicate these weapons. There is a reason why President Obama has made it such a priority to stop the proliferation of these weapons and lock them down where they do exist. There is a reason why President Obama has made clear to the Assad regime that this international norm cannot be violated without consequences. And there is a reason why no matter what you believe about Syria, all peoples and all nations who believe in the cause of our common humanity must stand up to assure that there is accountability for the use of chemical weapons so that it never happens again.

Last night after speaking with foreign ministers from around the world about the gravity of this situation, I went back and I watched the videos, the videos that anybody can watch in the social media, and I watched them one more gut-wrenching time. It is really hard to express in words the human suffering that they lay out before us. As a father, I can’t get the image out of my head of a man who held up his dead child, wailing while chaos swirled around him; the images of entire families dead in their beds without a drop of blood or even a visible wound; bodies contorting in spasms; human suffering that we can never ignore or forget. Anyone who can claim that an attack of this staggering scale could be contrived or fabricated needs to check their conscience and their own moral compass.

What is before us today is real, and it is compelling. So I also want to underscore that while investigators are gathering additional evidence on the ground, our understanding of what has already happened in Syria is grounded in facts informed by conscience and guided by common sense. The reported number of victims, the reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, the firsthand accounts from humanitarian organizations on the ground like Doctors Without Borders and the Syria Human Rights Commission – these all strongly indicate that everything these images are already screaming at us is real, that chemical weapons were used in Syria.

Moreover, we know that the Syrian regime maintains custody of these chemical weapons. We know that the Syrian regime has the capacity to do this with rockets. We know that the regime has been determined to clear the opposition from those very places where the attacks took place. And with our own eyes, we have all of us become witnesses.

We have additional information about this attack, and that information is being compiled and reviewed together with our partners, and we will provide that information in the days ahead.

Our sense of basic humanity is offended not only by this cowardly crime but also by the cynical attempt to cover it up. At every turn, the Syrian regime has failed to cooperate with the UN investigation, using it only to stall and to stymie the important effort to bring to light what happened in Damascus in the dead of night. And as Ban Ki-moon said last week, the UN investigation will not determine who used these chemical weapons, only whether such weapons were used – a judgment that is already clear to the world.

I spoke on Thursday with Syrian Foreign Minister Muallim and I made it very clear to him that if the regime, as he argued, had nothing to hide, then their response should be immediate – immediate transparency, immediate access – not shelling. Their response needed to be unrestricted and immediate access. Failure to permit that, I told him, would tell its own story.

Instead, for five days, the Syrian regime refused to allow the UN investigators access to the site of the attack that would allegedly exonerate them. Instead, it attacked the area further, shelling it and systematically destroying evidence. That is not the behavior of a government that has nothing to hide. That is not the action of a regime eager to prove to the world that it had not used chemical weapons. In fact, the regime’s belated decision to allow access is too late, and it’s too late to be credible. Today’s reports of an attack on the UN investigators, together with the continued shelling of these very neighborhoods, only further weakens the regime’s credibility.

At President Obama’s direction, I’ve spent many hours over the last few days on the phone with foreign ministers and other leaders. The Administration is actively consulting with members of Congress and we will continue to have these conversations in the days ahead. President Obama has also been in close touch with the leaders of our key allies, and the President will be making an informed decision about how to respond to this indiscriminate use of chemical weapons. But make no mistake: President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world’s most heinous weapons against the world’s most vulnerable people. Nothing today is more serious and nothing is receiving more serious scrutiny.

Thank you.

KEY PART OF CLIMATE ACTION PLAN BEGINS

FROM:  ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 
EPA Launches Online Green Sports Resource Directory

WASHINGTON — The U. S. Environmental Protection agency (EPA) is unveiling a new online Green Sports Resource Directory that can help teams, venues, and leagues save money and reduce carbon pollution through increased energy efficiency, a key part of President Obama's Climate Action Plan.

Additionally, the new directory contains information that can help teams reduce waste and gain recognition for their programs that reduce the environmental impact of their events. EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe made the announcement today during the third annual Green Sports Alliance summit in New York City.

“As a founding partner of the Green Sports Alliance, EPA is committed to working with its members to help teams and sports venues green their operations, and engage fans,” said Deputy Administrator Perciasepe. “EPA’s new Green Sports Resource Directory will provide easy access to information on Agency tools and programs along with success stories to serve as examples of what can be achieved with a winning game plan for going green.”

Currently, the Green Sports Alliance has more than 180 members and is working with more than 75 teams at both the professional and collegiate levels and over 100 stadiums and sports venues across the country, with participation increasing daily. This week’s Summit includes a number of EPA speakers as well as leaders from across the sports community who recognize the potential for real environmental benefits from greening sports events and venues, and the potential for teams to inspire fans to adopt greener practices in their daily lives.

The Green Sports Resource Directory brings together Agency resources to support teams and their fans, stadiums, and venues, who want to improve their waste management, water and energy conservation, and other sustainability efforts.

EPA compiled a Green "Scoreboard" that highlights a number of winning efforts across numerous sports leagues and some statistics on the environmental and saving benefits. The Scoreboard is available on the Green Sports Resource Directory.

U.S.-RUSSIA MILITARY-TO-MILITARY COOPERATION IN TERRORIST HIJACKER EXERCISE

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
Vigilant Eagle Continues Closer U.S.-Russian Cooperation
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2013 - Beginning tomorrow, fighter jets from the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Russian air force will scramble to track and intercept "hijacked" aircraft during an air defense exercise viewed as a steppingstone toward closer military-to-military cooperation in additional areas.

Vigilant Eagle 13 kicked off today, with scenarios that present the United States, Canada and Russia with a common enemy: terrorist hijackers, Joseph Bonnet, director of joint training and exercises for NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, said during a telephone interview with American Forces Press Service.

The exercise is the fifth in a series, based on a 2003 agreement between the sitting U.S. and Russian presidents to strengthen the two militaries' relationship and their ability to work together. The threat of international hijackers served as a foundation to help advance that effort, resulting in an exercise program that addresses a recognized threat, Bonnet explained.

Vigilant Eagle began in 2008 as a command post exercise. At Russia's request, it now alternates between CPXs that test out principles and procedures in a computer-based setting and "live-fly" exercises that apply those principles and procedures the following year.

This year's exercise is the third in the series to incorporate actual aircraft, Bonnet reported. A Russian Tupolev and a commercial aircraft contracted by the United States will simulate commercial airliners seized by terrorists. The U.S. Air Force's Airborne Warning and Control System and Russia's A-50 Beriev will serve as command-and-control platforms.

Live fighter jets -- Canadian CF-18 Hornets and Russian Sukhois -- will track, identify, intercept and follow the hijacked aircraft, and both Canada and Russia will conduct air-to-air refueling operations. The Canadian air force has been integral to past Vigilant Eagle exercises, but is contributing aircraft for the first time this year, Bonnet said.

In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration and its Russian equivalent are participating.

The scenario involves two "hijacked" commercial aircraft that challenge participants on the ground and in the sky to provide a coordinated response, Bonnet explained. The first flight, to originate tomorrow from Anchorage, Alaska, will travel into Russian airspace. The following day, a Russian aircraft will take off from Anadyr, Russia, toward U.S. airspace.

When the aircraft fail to respond to communications, NORAD, the U.S.-Canada command that safeguards U.S. skies under Operation Noble Eagle, and the Russian air force will move into action. Both will launch or divert fighter jets to investigate and follow the suspect aircraft headed toward each other's airspace. At that point, they will hand off the missions to each other to complete.

Working together in Anchorage and Anadyr and at the NORAD headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., participants will cooperate in escort and handoff procedures using two distinct communications, command-and-control and air traffic control systems, Bonnet said.

Vigilant Eagle has become more ambitious and valuable with each iteration, Bonnet said, noting that this year's exercise will be no different.

"This is the culmination of everything that has gone on in previous exercises, and we expect it to continue to mature," he said. "Like us, the Russian Federation air force is eager to expand the scope and complexity of the exercise, and to look into other areas," such as related search-and-rescue and airfield operations.

Bonnet called continuation of Vigilant Eagle, particularly at a time when budget costs have caused the cancellation of many other exercises, a success in itself. With fewer than 100 people directly involved from the United States, Vigilant Eagle offers tremendous "bang for the buck," he said.

"This is a small, relatively inexpensive exercise with a huge payoff," he said. "It doesn't cost any of the countries a lot of money, but it is building things that have immediate value for all of them. When you have procedures and a means of communicating information between both sides, that has a lot of value."

Another big success, Bonnet said, is that the exercise has transcended leadership changes both in the United States and in Russia, as well as recent political tensions between them.

Both countries recognize the importance of continued cooperation to keep their international borders safe, he said.

"It is one of the biggest single areas where the Russian Federation, U.S. and Canada can truly cooperate," he said. "All three countries share a common objective in thwarting, combating and cooperating against terrorism."

As their militaries work together to confront terrorist hijackers, Bonnet said, they are laying the foundation for future cooperation in other areas.

"What we are trying to do is continually build and expand the exercise and use this as a basis for moving the relationship forward," he said. "That, to me, is the biggest value of Vigilant Eagle."

European Space Agency United Kingdom (EN) Update

European Space Agency United Kingdom (EN) Update