Wednesday, August 22, 2012
TAIWAN'S STATE DEPARTMENT FACT SHEET
In 1979, the United States changed its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. In the U.S.-P.R.C. Joint Communique that announced the change, the United States recognized the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and acknowledged the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China. The Joint Communique also stated that within this context the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people on Taiwan.
The United States does not support Taiwan independence. Maintaining strong, unofficial relations with Taiwan is a major U.S. goal, in line with the U.S. desire to further peace and stability in Asia. The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act provides the legal basis for the unofficial relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan, and enshrines the U.S. commitment to assisting Taiwan in maintaining its defensive capability. The United States insists on the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait differences and encourages dialogue to help advance such an outcome.
U.S. Assistance to Taiwan
The United States provides no development assistance to Taiwan.
Bilateral Economic Relations
U.S. commercial ties with Taiwan have been maintained and have expanded since 1979. Taiwan enjoys Export-Import Bank financing, Overseas Private Investment Corporation guarantees, normal trade relations status, and ready access to U.S. markets. The American Institute in Taiwan has been engaged in a series of trade discussions that have focused on protection of intellectual property rights and market access for U.S. goods and services. The United States and Taiwan have concluded a bilateral investment agreement and have signed a trade and investment framework agreement.
Taiwan's Membership in International Organizations
Taiwan and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and Asian Development Bank; statehood is not a requirement for membership in these organizations. The United States supports Taiwan's meaningful participation in appropriate international organizations where its membership is not possible.
Bilateral Representation
The U.S. maintains unofficial relations with the people on Taiwan through the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a private nonprofit corporation, which performs citizen and consular services similar to those at diplomatic posts. The Director of AIT is Christopher J. Marut; other principal officials are listed on AIT's site.
STAYING FOCUSED IN FIRST FIREFIGHT
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSEMarine Corps Pfc. Timothy Workman outside his tent at Patrol Base Paser Lay, Afghanistan, Aug. 19, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Timothy Lenzo
Face of Defense: Marine Stays Focused in First Firefight
By Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Brian Buckwalter
Regimental Combat Team 6
PATROL BASE DETROIT, Afghanistan, Aug. 21, 2012 - It's a moment of truth for many Marines: the first time they are in combat and their training is put to the test.
When his squad took enemy contact during a recent patrol through Trek Nawa, Marine Corps Pfc. Timothy Workman found his moment.
"I could hear rounds cracking over my head," said Workman, a mortarman with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, Regimental Combat Team 6. "The adrenaline started pumping right away."
This was Workman's first firefight. A year ago, he was standing on the yellow footprints at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., to start basic training, a tradition every Marine recruit goes through. Now, with the mid-morning sun beating down, he was crouched in a ditch, his M16 assault rifle ready.
Workman and his fellow Marines were engaged in fighting six to eight enemies. The insurgents fired from several different positions, shooting through small holes in walls several hundred meters away. Marines took cover in mud compounds and behind mounds of debris.
Workman's squad split into two units during the firefight. Workman, from Peebles, Ohio, went with Marine Corps Staff Sgt. David Simons, his platoon sergeant, as they moved forward to return fire.
"At one point, I witnessed Workman moving up into position to engage the enemy," recalled Simons, from Sidney, Mont. "He fired on the enemy, and when the enemy returned fire, it allowed us to open up with our machine gun."
The morning sounds of birds and farmers were replaced with the sudden burst of rifles and the "rat-ta-tat-tat" of machinegun fire. An hour later the fight was over, and the Marines returned to their patrol base.
"Since we've been out here, it's pretty common for [the other Marines] to engage in firefights," Workman explained. "These [insurgents] will stick around and [fight] for awhile."
Workman's company patrols the volatile Trek Nawa area of Afghanistan, located between the Marjah and Nawa districts in Helmand province.
The Marines engaged enemies in firefights ranging from isolated pot shots to three–day battles. For Workman, the fighting hit home six months before he left for boot camp. In December, his friend's older brother, Luke, was killed while serving near this same area of Afghanistan.
"I had gone to school with Luke's brother since the 6th grade," Workman said. "At the time [of Luke's death], I had already decided to join, but this motivated me to continue the work that Luke gave his life for."
In addition to Luke, Workman said, he's lost a couple other friends to the war. But despite those losses, Workman said, he remembered his training and focused on his job during the fight.
"I was trying to get positive identification on the enemy, trying to find where they were firing from, looking for spotters and just covering my brothers," said Workman.
Now that his first firefight is over, Workman's platoon will monitor his behavior.
"The main thing we look for is a Marine's mindset after their first time in combat," Simons said. "We are a family, so we can tell when one of our brother's is acting differently. We watch for it and take care of each other."
Simons said Workman seemed mentally strong before and after the firefight. He is proud of Workman and the discipline he showed on the battlefield.
The Marines have more operations planned through Trek Nawa and expect more firefights before they return to the United States.
"I can say there's nothing else like the Marine Corps," Workman said. "I'll continue picking my sergeants' and seniors' brains, trying to be better prepared for the next fight."
U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES NEW CIVIL RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT UNIT
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez Speaks at Press Conference Announcing Civil Rights Enforcement Unit
Birmingham, Ala. ~ Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Good morning, and thank you all for joining us for this important announcement. It is an honor to be here with Joyce and her staff in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Joyce is deeply committed to protecting the civil rights of the communities she serves. And the attorneys and professionals in her office have been invaluable partners to the Department of Justice throughout my tenure at the Civil Rights Division. Today’s announcement commemorates that partnership, and will strengthen it for years to come.
I extend my sincere congratulations to everyone in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the civil rights advocates and stakeholders on the ground, and the communities throughout Northern Alabama who worked so hard in recent months to make this Civil Rights Unit possible.
This announcement is all the more special because of where we are today. I first toured the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute two years ago. I had the opportunity then to see what a great and living monument this Institute is to Birmingham’s rich history in the civil rights movement. It is important that we are here together now, during the 20th anniversary of the Institute, to look back at that history – and to look forward together to how far we have to travel to realize the vision of the brave men and women memorialized on these walls.
The eyes of the world watched as centuries of our nation’s troubled history of race relations played out in these streets a half century ago. Residents of Birmingham, many of them children, marched through this city demanding access to the promise of our founding documents. They exposed themselves to great physical violence, and far too many lives were stolen by that fight. But their struggle was not in vain. This city was the eye of the storm that sparked revolutionary change.
To visit these sacred sites is a reminder of how far we have come. Our nation has made great progress toward the promise of equal opportunity and equal justice. Just days ago, we watched as thousands of young people lined up request consideration for temporary relief from removal . These are people who came to this country as children, with loved ones who sought to give them a chance at a better life. They are students and veterans who represent the best of what America has to offer. More than anything, they want to pursue their dreams and contribute to this country, a country that they know and love as their own.
Given the progress we’ve made, it is not surprising that I frequently encounter people who wonder why, in 2012, we still need a Civil Rights Division. Like all of us, they are proud of the progress we’ve made as a nation. They see an African-American President and an African American Attorney General. They see a growing number of minorities and women serving in Congress. They see an African American and a Latina on the Supreme Court. And they assume that these great symbols of progress mean that our journey is complete.
But this morning, I had the opportunity to meet with 21st century civil rights advocates who remind us all that the fight is not finished. They understand that, for so many of our neighbors, true equal opportunity and true equal justice remain just out of reach. Far too many of our brothers and sisters still live in the shadows of life.
Even as thousands of young immigrants to the United States are reaching for a second chance, thousands of schoolchildren in Alabama are starting the school year under the specter of H.B. 56. Thirty years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe that all students, no matter their immigration status, must be welcome in our nation’s schools. Yet far too many children are being kept from the classroom, just as far too many children have yet to see the truly equal educational environment they were promised in perhaps the most well known Supreme Court ruling in our nation’s history more than five decades ago.
CRASH!!!
FROM: NASA
Hubble Watches Star Clusters on a Collision Course
Astronomers using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope caught two clusters full of massive stars that may be in the early stages of merging. The 30 Doradus Nebula is 170,000 light-years from Earth. What at first was thought to be only one cluster in the core of the massive star-forming region 30 Doradus has been found to be a composite of two clusters that differ in age by about one million years.
The entire 30 Doradus complex has been an active star-forming region for 25 million years, and it is currently unknown how much longer this region can continue creating new stars. Smaller systems that merge into larger ones could help to explain the origin of some of the largest known star clusters. The Hubble observations, made with the Wide Field Camera 3, were taken Oct. 20-27, 2009. The blue color is light from the hottest, most massive stars; the green from the glow of oxygen; and the red from fluorescing hydrogen.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and E. Sabbi (ESA/STScI)
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
U.S.-ALGERIA RELATIONS
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
The United States established diplomatic relations with Algeria in 1962 following its independence from France. Algeria severed relations with the United States in 1967, in the wake of the Arab-Israeli War. Relations were reestablished in 1974.
The United States and Algeria consult closely on key international and regional issues such as law enforcement cooperation, both in the field of counterterrorism and in countering more conventional transnational crimes. The two countries have finalized language for a customs mutual assistance agreement and have signed a mutual legal assistance treaty. The United States and Algeria have conducted bilateral military exercises. Exchanges between the Algerian and U.S. militaries are frequent, Algeria has hosted senior U.S. military officials and ship visits, and the United States hosted an Algerian port visit for the first time this year.
Algeria has remained relatively stable despite the turmoil that has engulfed the region beginning in 2011. While there have been sporadic demonstrations, they have remained primarily socio-economic in nature, with few calls for the government to step down. The United States viewed legislative elections held in 2012 as a welcome step in Algeria's progress toward democratic reform.
U.S. Assistance to Algeria
U.S. bilateral foreign assistance to Algeria is designed to strengthen Algeria's capacity to combat terrorism and crime, and support the building of stable institutions that contribute to the security and stability of the region. Foreign assistance supports Algeria's ongoing fight against al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and other hostile actors in the region.
Funding through the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) has been allocated to support the work of Algeria's developing civil society through programming that provides training to journalists, businesspeople, female entrepreneurs, legislators, legal professionals, and the heads of leading nongovernmental organizations. MEPI also has provided funding for economic development programs, and U.S. outreach programs support education in Algeria.
Bilateral Economic Relations
The United States is one of Algeria’s top trading partners, and Algeria is one of the top U.S. trading partners in the Middle East/North African region. Most U.S. direct investment in Algeria has been in the hydrocarbon sector. The main U.S. import from Algeria is crude oil. The two countries have signed a trade and investment framework agreement, establishing common principles on which the economic relationship is founded and forming a platform for negotiating other bilateral agreements. The U.S. Government encourages Algeria to make necessary changes to accede to the World Trade Organization, move toward transparent economic policies, and liberalize its investment climate. The United States has funded a program supporting Algerian efforts to develop a functioning, transparent banking and income tax system.
Algeria's Membership in International Organizations
Algeria and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank. Algeria also is a Partner for Cooperation with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, an observer to the Organization of American States, and an observer to the World Trade Organization.
WHO IS GETTING DEFENSE CONTRACTS
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
CONTRACTS
Defense Logistics Agency
Science Application International Corp., Fairfield, N.J., was issued a modification on contract SPM500-04-D-BP15/P00025. The award is a firm fixed price, prime vendor, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract with a maximum $105,033,859 for maintenance, repair and operations for the Northwest Region. There are no other locations of performance. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. There were five responses to the FedBizOps solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2013 Defense Working Capital funds. The date of performance completion is August 17, 2013. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Frank Gargiulo Produce*, Hillside, N.J., was issued a modification on contract SPM300-08-D-P027. The award is a fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite quantity contract with a maximum $18,909,453 for fresh fruit and vegetable support in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania zone. There are no other locations of performance. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and USDA school customers. There were six responses to the web solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012-2014 Defense Working Capital funds. The date of performance completion is February 27, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Air Force
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems of San Diego, Calif. (FA8620-10-G-3038 0013) is being awarded an $87,338,761 firm fixed price, cost plus fixed fee contract for MQ-9 Reaper FY10/11 retrofit kits and installations for up to 80 aircraft. The location of performance is San Diego, Calif. Work is to be completed by August 17, 2016. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WIIK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio.
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Liverpool, N.Y., (FA8707-12-C-0018) is being awarded a $35,980,000 firm fixed price contract for the continued technology development of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar system and Preliminary Design Review and Capability Demonstration of the radar prototype. The location of performance is Liverpool, N.Y. Work is to be completed by Nov. 20, 2013. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/HBDK, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Electronic Systems Division of Linthicum Heights, MD (FA8707-12-C-0019) is being awarded a $34,748,186 firm fixed price contract for the continued technology development of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar system and Preliminary Design Review and Capability Demonstration of the radar prototype. The location of performance is Linthicum Heights, MD. Work is to be completed by Nov. 20, 2013. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/HBDK, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Sudbury, Mass. (FA8707-12-C-0020) is being awarded a $35,195,000 firm fixed price contract for the continued technology development of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar system and Preliminary Design Review and Capability Demonstration of the radar prototype. The location of performance is Sudbury, Mass. Work is to be completed by Nov. 20, 2013. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/HBDK, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
Navy
Offshore Service Vessels, L.L.C., Galliano, La., is being awarded $47,420,000 to exercise an option under a previously awarded contract (N00033-05-C-3300) to purchase vessels and flexible piping equipment that comprise the Offshore Petroleum Distribution System (OPDS). The vessels include a U.S.-flagged self-sustaining vessel, MV VADM K.R. Wheeler and one tender vessel, MV Fast Tempo. The OPDS has been under long-term charter to Military Sealift Command since 2005, and has the capability to operate as an at-sea pumping station, quickly and efficiently delivering fuel to soldiers and Marines operating ashore where port facilities are inadequate or non-existent. The ship transfers to U.S. government ownership on Aug. 20, 2012, and will continue to operate worldwide. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00033-05-C-3300).
Acosta, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded a $7,850,597 indefinite-delivery requirements contract with fixed-price and economic price adjustment provisions to provide for various resale items in support of Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) Ship Store Program. The contract shall provide NEXCOM with a vehicle for placing orders for the various supplies required by the command, which will then be placed in the inventory of Ship's Store for the purpose of resale to the ship's crew. The contract contains four one-year option periods, which if exercised, will bring the contract value to $39,252,985. Work will be performed in the following pre-determined zones: Zone A - Alameda, Calif.; Concord, Calif.; Oakland, Calif.; San Francisco Bay Area, Calif., and Richmond, Calif., Zone B - Chino, Calif.; Long Beach, Calif.; Port Hueneme, Calif. and San Diego, Calif., Zone C - Portland, Ore.; Bremerton, Wash.; Everett, Wash, and Seattle, Wash., Zone G - Little Creek, Va.; Newport News, Va.; Norfolk, Va.; Portsmouth, Va. and Yorktown, Va. Work is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2013. If all options are exercise, work will continue through Dec. 31, 2017. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. Funding will be at the delivery order level. The requirement was not available for competition as Acosta, Inc., is the wholesaler/distributor authorized by the various manufacturers it represents to serve as the sole distribution channel to NEXCOM, and the Ship's Store Program. The Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (N00189-12-D-0044).
POULTRY PLANT CONVICTED OF VIOLATING CLEAN WATER ACT
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICEMonday, August 20, 2012
North Carolina Poultry Processing Plant Convicted for Knowing Violations of Clean Water Act
WASHINGTON – A federal jury today found House of Raeford Farms Inc., the owner and operator of a poultry slaughtering and processing facility located in Raeford, North Carolina, guilty of 10 counts of knowing violations of the Clean Water Act.
House of Raeford allowed plant employees to bypass the facility’s pretreatment system and send its untreated wastewater directly to the city of Raeford’s wastewater treatment plant, without notifying city officials. In addition, House of Raeford failed to prevent employees from sending thousands of gallons of wastewater into a pretreatment system that did not have the capacity to adequately treat the wastewater before it was discharged to the city plant. The untreated wastewater that was discharged directly to the city plant was contaminated with waste from processing operations, including blood, grease and body parts from slaughtered turkeys. A House of Raeford former employee admitted that the facility would continue to "kill turkeys" despite being warned that the unauthorized bypasses had an adverse impact on the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The city plant was responsible for treating industrial, commercial and residential wastewater before it was discharged to Rockfish Creek in Hoke County.
The bypasses and failure to report them violated House of Raeford’s pretreatment permit as well as the city’s sewer use ordinance. Many of the bypasses took place while House of Raeford was subject to a consent order with the city that required it to construct a new pretreatment system and comply with all requirements of its pretreatment permit. A number of the bypasses were recorded in log books kept by House of Raeford Inc. wastewater operators, and were never revealed to the city.
"The convictions today demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment to prosecuting those who knowingly violate pretreatment permits and the Clean Water Act by releasing untreated and contaminated wastewater to municipal wastewater treatment plants," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. "The violations here are especially egregious and will not be tolerated. The evidence showed that House of Raeford allowed overflows of untreated wastewater to bypass a critical part of their pretreatment system. Many of these bypasses were not disclosed to the city of Raeford, and placed an additional burden on the city’s wastewater treatment plant."
"Publicly owned wastewater treatment plants must be protected from companies that cut corners by discharging wastewater illegally," said Maureen O’Mara, Special Agent in Charge of of EPA Region 4, which covers the southeast United States including North Carolina. "The defendants in this case deliberately discharged turkey parts, blood and grease into the wastewater plant for over 16 months, bypassing treatment. Today’s conviction sends the message that the American public will not tolerate companies putting profit ahead of compliance."
"Families and businesses depend on having clean water. Our SBI agents will continue to work closely with their federal partners to protect the safety of our water supply and hold polluters accountable," said North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper.
House of Raeford Inc. faces a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the gain or loss resulting from the offenses, whichever is greater, per count. Sentencing has been scheduled for Nov. 28, 2012.
The case was prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and was investigated by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
AIR NATIONAL GUARD HISTORY AND HEROS
FROM: U.S. AIR FORCE
Captain Russell "Rusty" Schweickart was the first astronaut with an Air Guard background, selected for astronaut training in October 1963 while serving as an F-86 pilot in the 101st Tactical Fighter Squadron, Massachusetts Air National Guard. In March 1969, Schwieckart was the Lunar Module Pilot on the Apollo 9 mission, which tested the Apollo moon-landing systems in low Earth orbit.
Major Donald J.Strait with P-51D "Jersey Jerk" in Europe, 1945. Enlisting in the New Jersey National Guard before World War II, Strait went to flight school, becoming one of two fighter aces with National Guard backgrounds with 13.5 victories. Postwar, Strait commanded the New Jersey Air National Guard, retiring in 1978 as a major general.
NATIONAL GUARD PARTNERSHIPS IN AFRICA
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSEHam to Seek More National Guard Partnerships in Africa
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
THEBEPHATSHWA AIR BASE, Botswana, Aug. 20, 2012 - As the North Carolina National Guard builds on successes of the Southern Accord 12 exercise that wrapped up here last week with Botswana, the commander of U.S. Africa Command said he'll press to expand the State Partnership Program on the continent.
Amy Gen. Carter F. Ham, who calls himself "a big fan" of the National Guard program, said he hopes to increase the number of partnerships in Africa to as many as a dozen within the next two years.
"The State Partnership Program is one of the most important tools that we have in our collective kit bag," Ham said during an interview here with Soldiers Radio and Television Service correspondent Gail McCabe. "And we see that certainly here between North Carolina and Botswana, where it is hugely powerful."
Ham said he has asked the National Guard Bureau chief, Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, to consider additional partnerships. "I would like to get two more this year, and maybe two more next year, and then see how that might unfold," he said. Ham told the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this year Libya could be a good candidate for the program.
The State Partnership Program has grown dramatically since it was formed 20 years ago to support former Soviet bloc countries after the Soviet Union collapsed. Today, the program includes partnerships with 63 countries around the world.
Africom currently has eight state partnerships. The California National Guard is partnered with Nigeria, the New York Guard with South Africa, the North Dakota National Guard with Ghana, the Michigan National Guard with Liberia, the Vermont National Guard with Senegal, the Utah National Guard with Morocco, and the Wyoming National Guard with Tunisia.
The North Carolina Guard has partnered with Botswana since 2008.
Based on its partnership with Moldova since 1995, the North Carolina Guard applied lessons learned to quickly build a productive relationship with Botswana, Army Maj. Gen. Gregory A. Lusk, North Carolina's adjutant general, told American Forces Press Service.
"We had the benefit of a partnership with Moldova that was a very mature relationship," he said. "So based on that experience, we knew where we could go in fostering a partnership with Botswana, and we were able to do it more efficiency and much quicker."
Lusk, on his third trip to Botswana over the past year, said relationships forged with the Botswana Defense Force went a long way toward increasing the effectiveness of Southern Accord 12, U.S. Army Africa's largest-ever exercise on the continent.
The exercise, which ran Aug. 1 to 17, brought together almost 700 U.S. soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors and an equal number of their Botswana Defense Force counterparts for classroom and field exercises as well as humanitarian outreach projects.
In addition, the Air Force integrated its annual Medlite exercise into Southern Accord for the first time this year, with members of the North Carolina Air National Guard teaching aeromedical evacuation techniques to Botswana Defense Force medical personnel.
Army Col. Randy Powell, commander of the North Carolina Guard's 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, credited the State Partnership Program with ensuring that when he arrived here to serve as the joint task force commander for the exercise, he didn't have to start at square one to get the lay of the land.
"This is my forth visit to Botswana, and each one builds on the next, creating better understanding and closer collaboration," Powell said. "That foundation has been vital to getting this exercise under way smoothly and making it such a big success."
Regular engagement between the North Carolina Guard and the Botswana Defense Force, with members of both militaries traveling between the two countries for training, has created a model of cooperation and synchronization, he said. Botswana has "such a professional military that you feel like you are working with someone in your own military," Powell said. "We have a lot in common in terms of interoperability, and we continue to build on that."
"It's all about continuity and enduring relationships," said Army Maj. Gen. Timothy J. Kadavy, deputy director of the Army National Guard, as he watched U.S. and Botswanan forces conduct the final field training exercise during Southern Accord. "You don't get those relationships unless you come back again and again and again. That is important in understanding and building trust."
As the State Partnership Program celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, Kadavy said he's enthusiastic about plans to expand in Africa.
"The Guard wants to support Africom to the best of our ability," he said, recognizing that Africom and U.S. embassy teams are in the best position to judge which countries want to form partnerships and are prepared to do so.
With Southern Accord now concluded, Lusk said he looks forward to seeing the North Carolina National Guard take progress made during the exercise to the next level.
"To be able to do an exercise of this magnitude now shows, very visibly, that we have turned the corner in terms of where this partnership has gone," he said. "It allows us to jumpstart our efforts and accelerate where we are bound."
"The sky is really the limit of what you can do with the engagements, and tying them together with what the Army service components and the geographical combatant commanders are doing," agreed Kadavy.
"It is just a matter of coordination, and thinking through and seeing how we can synchronize and gain the synergy of what they want to do and what we can provide through State Partnership Programs to assist and empower those types of engagements and exercises," he said.
U.S. JUSTICE GOING DIGITAL: WATCH OUT CROOKS
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICEOn May 23, 2012, the White House released the Federal Digital Strategy that outlined the use of "modern tools and technologies to seize the digital opportunity and fundamentally change how the Federal Government serves both its internal and external customers–building a 21st century platform to better serve the American People." That means making sure information and services are easily accessible on the internet anytime, anywhere, and on any device. It means you will be able to find and share information that is important to you, your family and your community.
In the past few years, the Department of Justice has taken many steps to make the department’s information more available and accessible. We’ve added hundreds of data sets to data.gov, have begun using social media to bring information directly to you, and added more information to our website than ever before. But we know we can do more. As we begin to formulate our digital strategy, we want your input on which information and services you’d like us to prioritize and make more tech and mobile-friendly. There are two areas where we’d like your input:
What Justice Department information, data, or applications would you like to us make available via APIs (Applied Programming Interface)?
Send us your thoughts on digital strategy at opengov@usdoj.gov.
We’ve come up with a few possibilities for each area. You can see the list on our Digital Strategy web page, justice.gov/digitalstrategy.
We welcome your feedback on the possible candidates for improvement, or other opportunities we may have overlooked. Your feedback, combined with other internal and external conversations, will guide our digital plan in the coming months and years.
ISAF NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN AUGUST 21, 2012
An A-10 Thunderbolt II is refueled over Afghanistan during overseas contingency operations, August 2, 2012. The 22d Expeditionary Air Refueling Sq. (EARS) conducts missions out of Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, and plays an integral role in keeping air assets refueled in support of U.S. and coalition ground forces. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Clay Lancaster)
Airstrike Kills Insurgents in Kunar Province
From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release
KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 21, 2012 - An airstrike in the Watahpur district of Afghanistan's Kunar province yesterday killed several insurgents, including an al-Qaida affiliated Taliban leader, military officials reported.
Targeted was Mutaqi, also known as Mullah Amir Muhammad or Malik, who was responsible for passing critical information among senior al-Qaida-associated Taliban leaders in the province, officials said, and was involved in planning suicide bombing attacks in the region.
A post-strike assessment by a combined Afghan and coalition security force confirmed no civilians had been injured and no civilian property had been damaged during of the operation.
In operations today:
-- A combined force in Ghazni province's Gelan district arrested an al-Qaida-associated Taliban insurgent who assisted in the movement of al-Qaida fighters throughout the region and conducted attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. Prior to his arrest, he was attempting to acquire explosives for future attacks. The security force also detained another suspected insurgent and seized bomb-making materials.
-- An Afghan and coalition security force detained two suspected insurgents in Logar province's Baraki Barak district during a search for a Taliban leader who plans and executes attacks against coalition patrols.
In other news, a combined force in the Kabul district of Kabul province yesterday arrested the insurgent leader responsible for a July 12 bomb attack that killed Hanifa Safi, the Afghan minister for female affairs. The attack occurred in Lagham province's Mehtar Lam district.
In an Aug. 19 operation, an Afghan crisis response unit supported by coalition troops arrested several insurgents in Wardak province's Sayyid Abad district. The insurgents are responsible for recent attempts to abduct Afghan interpreters working for the International Security Assistance Force, and were planning to kidnap Afghan and civilian ISAF employees.
NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES IN SOUTH DAKOTA AWARDED $4.6 MILLION IN SUICIDE PREVENTION GRANTS
Photo: HHS Secretary Kathleen SebeliusFROM: U.S. HEALTH AN D HUMAN SERVICES
SAMHSA awards up to $4.6 million in youth suicide prevention grants to tribes through South Dakota
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced that four tribes in South Dakota were being awarded a combined total of up to $4.6 million over the course of the next three years to promote suicide prevention efforts in their communities. Secretary Sebelius announced the awards during her visit to South Dakota today.
"Suicide is the third leading cause of death among American adolescents. In fact, more children and young adults die from suicide each year than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, and chronic lung diseases combined and American Indian communities have been particularly hard hit by this public health menace," said Secretary Sebelius. "The most tragic aspect of this is that suicide is preventable. These grants will help states, tribes and communities across our nation build on and strengthen their youth suicide prevention programs so that they can reach more at-risk youth, giving them the help and hope they need to live long, productive lives."
The grants are being provided through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, which provides authorization and funding for grants fostering youth suicide prevention efforts.
The Oglala Lakota College Campus Suicide Prevention Program is receiving up to $102,000 each year for up to three years in Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention grant funds to serve the 1,800 students of Oglala Lakota College living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation and in Rapid City, S.D. These areas have a combined American Indian population of over 50,000.
Three other tribes will receive Garrett Lee Smith State-Sponsored Youth Suicide Prevention Program grants.
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe Wiconi Wakan Health and Healing Center will receive up to $480,000 each year for up to three years to provide culturally relevant and appropriate youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies to its community. The Wiconi Wakan Health and Healing Center's overall goal is to increase the number of at-risk youth who are receiving referrals and treatment for behavioral health services.
The Oglala Sioux Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention/Sweetgrass Project will receive up to $480,000 each year for up to three years to develop and implement a comprehensive and sustainable program to prevent suicide among tribal youth, ages 15-24. This project has been designed to increase community awareness and support, strengthen capacity and resources for early identification of at-risk youth, and develop comprehensive and sustainable systems to prevent youth suicide.
The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of South Dakota will receive up to $479,300 each year for up to three years to reach youth aged 12 to 24 living on the Crow Creek Reservation. This project will advance the goals and objectives laid out in the Tribe’s suicide prevention plan as well as those in the South Dakota Strategy for Suicide Prevention. The goals and objectives of the project include enhancing suicide awareness in the community and school system, building service provider’s capabilities, strengthening collaboration among stakeholder groups, and increasing capabilities of local partners involved in suicide prevention.
The actual grant award amounts for all of these programs will depend on the availability of funds.
MARINE EOD TECHNICIAN ATTRIBUTES REASON FOR SUCCESS
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSEMarine Corps Staff Sgt. Christopher P. Lukas stands before his two great passions of motorcycles and the explosive ordnance disposal insignia for his unit at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Aug. 10, 2012. He credits the mentorship of his leaders in the EOD field for his success. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Paul Peterson
Face of Defense: Marine Credits Success to Mentorship
By Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Paul Peterson
2nd Marine Logistics Group
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., Aug. 14, 2012 - He plays a cat-and-mouse game with explosives for a living, but accepting credit for his achievements makes him shift uneasily in his seat.
Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Christopher P. Lukas, an explosive ordnance disposal team leader with 2nd EOD Company, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, swept the field to receive the Marine Corps Engineer Association's 2012 EOD Technician of the Year award. It is for "the most outstanding contribution as an EOD Marine," but Lukas isn't sure it is solely his to accept.
For him, working with explosives is a family affair.
"We end up closer than brothers because of the way we have to operate in our career field," said Lukas, who spent his youth traveling as part of a military family. "You basically know what the other individual thinks."
He credits his achievements to the mentorship of fellow Marines such as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher West and Gunnery Sgts. Jonathan Key and William Isele. The names, Lukas said, are more than just past mentors -- they reflect how he thinks and who he is as a team leader today.
Their example taught him to step forward while others are backing away, Lukas explained. Leadership at all levels showed him how to think like his opponents and approach each situation with a plan. His leaders, he added, gave him the ability to adapt when the situation changed.
"We rely on each other so much that I think their names need to be on [the award]," said Lukas, struggling to explain why his name came out on top. "I'm not going to sit here and say I deserve something or not. I started out as Gunnery Sergeant Key's team member for the last deployment, and all I did was what he trained me to do."
His modest tone hid the fact that Lukas found a calling in the EOD field, which he joined after nearly eight years calibrating and repairing aviation equipment. The lessons of Key, West, Isele and many others found an open mind in Lukas, who claims a desire to learn as one of his greatest strengths.
"At the end of the day, I learned everything I know from those guys," said Lukas, who found himself a team leader halfway through his last deployment. "The tables have somewhat turned. We're sitting here, and I'm training some new guys. I continually find myself saying, 'I learned this from that guy, or I learned that from this guy.'"
All that information came to a crossroads when he took on the role of team leader in Afghanistan, where strategy and the safety of his team members became his top priority. Lukas worked in an area rife with improvised explosive devices. He said he couldn't turn away when the call to lead came.
"You live with them every day, and get to know their personalities," said Lukas as he recalled the brotherhood and tragedies that thrust him into a leadership role. "Some of the best moments were just sitting and talking with those guys. Obviously, the worst were whenever someone got hurt."
Lukas' leadership responsibilities weighed heavily upon him. He took Key's example to heart as he led Marines through the IED threats of Afghanistan, where Lukas found himself tempted to take on each hazard his team faced.
"Everybody looks at somebody else and thinks, 'I could never do that,'" he said. "It basically boils down to your training and the people who are going to teach you what you need to know."
Every name has a place on that award, Lukas said, adding that he could not do his job without the support of his EOD family in the field, just as he could not do it without the support of his wife and children at home. Each, he said, helped to shape and protect the Marine who received the award.
PRESIDENT OBAMA CONCERNED ABOUT INSIDER ATTACKS IN AFGHANISTAN
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Obama 'Deeply Concerned' About Afghanistan Insider Attacks
By Amaani LyleAmerican Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2012 - President Barack Obama said today that he, senior coalition military leaders and their Afghan counterparts will continue intensifying measures to thwart the spate of insider attacks by people wearing Afghan military and police uniforms.
During a White House news conference, the president said he spoke with Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was in Afghanistan today, and plans to speak with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
"[Dempsey] is having intensive consultations not only with our commander, [Marine Corps Gen.] John Allen, on the ground, but also with Afghan counterparts," Obama said. "And I'll be reaching out to President Karzai as well, because we've got to make sure that we're on top of this."
Some of the attackers, the president said, are members of the Afghan security forces, and others have donned Afghan military or police uniforms to carry out their attacks. Coalition forces already have a range of successful vetting measures in play, he added, and pressure needs to remain.
As of yesterday, there have been 32 insider attacks this year that have resulted in 22 deaths, a senior defense official said. In all, 40 coalition personnel had been killed and 69 others have been wounded in such attacks. Over the same period in 2011, the official added, 16 attacks resulted in 28 deaths and 43 wounded.
The security transition under way in Afghanistan includes navigating the complexities that stem from closer contact with Afghan troops as coalition trainers prepare them to take responsibility for security throughout the country, Obama said.
"Part of what we've got to do is to make sure that this model works, but it doesn't make our [troops] more vulnerable," he added. "In the long term, we will see fewer U.S. casualties and coalition casualties by sticking to our transition plan and making sure that we've got the most effective Afghan security force possible."
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