Senators Seek Info on Sequestration's Impact: A group of seven senators, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), sent a letter to 15 major defense companies to gain perspective on how sequestration would affect the defense industry. The letter seeks answers to questions, including what the impact would be on the companies' employees, suppliers, and bottom line, and how many contracts the companies would have to restructure or terminate. "Significant questions exist regarding the implementation of these automatic budget cuts and how they will impact federal government operations, our economy, and the defense industrial base," wrote the senators in the June 29 missive, the text of which is included in a July 5 release from McCain. One of the contractors, Lockheed Martin, has announced it is already preparing for sequestration's effects, as CEO Bob Stevens said the company would notify its 120,000 employees this fall that some of them would lose their jobs. Also signing the letter were GOP Senators Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), John Cornyn (Tex.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), and Jim Inhofe (Okla.). (See also Sequestration Could Cost More than One Million Defense Jobs by 2014.)
The Critical Military Vote
(Army Times) There are red states and there are blue states and then there are the swing states -- the ones that hold the key to who wins the election in November. And what five of these have in common is this: Sizable military populations that make up more than 10 percent of the voting-age population in states where the margin of victory in the last election averaged slightly more than 4 percent.
Top General Sees Progress
(U-T San Diego) Camp Pendleton commander makes tour of the war zone.
DoD Dismisses Call For Valor Awards Database
(Army Times) The Pentagon appears unmoved by the recent Supreme Court recommendation that a publicly accessible database of valor awards would be a viable way to deter military fakers.
Women Tough It Out As Sappers
(Washington Times) Capt. Armstrong is one of only a few women to undertake the sapper course since the Army in mid-May allowed female soldiers to serve in combat support jobs below the brigade level, placing women closer to the battlefield though still barring them from combat.
A Grueling Course For Training Marine Officers Will Open Its Doors To Women
(New York Times) Under the searing sun of one of the worst heat waves in decades, a sweat-drenched Marine second lieutenant stepped from the woods on the base here and reported to an infantry captain standing on a dirt road.
Navy Ramps Up Crackdown On Drug Use
(U-T San Diego) Widens testing for synthetics, alcohol, prescription drugs.
B-1 Bomber Takes Us 'Back To The Future'
(USA Today) Air Force repurposes its workhorse and shifts plane's focus to Asia-Pacific.
PTSD Study Halfway Finished
(U-T San Diego) The largest research project in U.S. military history aimed at studying the long-term effects of post-traumatic stress disorder has now passed the halfway point.
Veteran Discusses PTSD
(CNN) Thousands of U.S. troops are heading home from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But now many of them are fighting a war after the war. We're talking about post-traumatic stress disorder, also called PTSD.
Military Cuts Loom As Late Campaign Issue
(Wall Street Journal) For all the focus on the unemployment rate heading into the November elections, the layoffs that could most complicate President Barack Obama's re-election prospects wouldn't take effect until early next year.
Old Battleship Reopens, Its Future Course Unclear
(Wall Street Journal) While the economic downturn dried up government and private dollars for historic preservation generally, some historic vessels are having a particularly tough time because their ages, sizes and locations on the water make them difficult to maintain, experts say. "It's a very costly undertaking," said Chris Johnson, a spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command, a division of the Navy charged with handling decommissioned ships.
Defense Firms Fear U.S. Budget Cuts
(Wall Street Journal (wsj.com)) A specter is haunting Washington--the specter of sequestration.
US Defence Industry Warns Of Paralysis
(Financial Times) The looming $500bn US defence budget cut is already paralysing company investment and hiring decisions and would have a devastating effect if it came into force at the start of next year, defence industry executives warned on Sunday.
13 Minutes To Doomsday
(Washington Post) Today, two decades after the end of the Cold War, one-third of U.S. strategic forces, including almost all land-based missiles and some sea-based, are still on launch-ready alert.
A Treaty On Conventional Arms
(New York Times) Last Monday, after a decade of lobbying by human rights groups, United Nations members began negotiating a global treaty to regulate international trade in conventional arms. Agreeing on a strong treaty will not be easy. The pact is supposed to be adopted by consensus at the end of the month, and a single country could block any deal
Army Privatizing Base Hotels
(Capital Business) The Army is privatizing its hotels, turning their renovation, development and operations over to the private sector in an effort to improve their quality and consistency.
Heading Off Sequestration
(Defense News) There is no doubt the U.S. faces a diverse set of challenges abroad -- from the Asia-Pacific region and Iran to a host of emerging threats. And yet, discussions of future investment within the Pentagon and Congress are set against a backdrop of budget uncertainty and looming sequestration, which could cripple the ability of our armed forces to fulfill its strategic priorities.
What Our Sons Can Teach America
(USA Today) This spring, the Obama administration threatened to veto the 2013 Defense Authorization Act. Of all the reasons given for the threat, the objection to granting the Purple Heart to Pvt. Andy Long stands out as strange. That is, unless you know the story
Questions Surround U.S. Deaths In Mali
(Washington Post) In pre-dawn darkness, a Toyota Land Cruiser skidded off a bridge in North Africa in the spring, plunging into the Niger River. When rescuers arrived, they found the bodies of three U.S. Army commandos alongside three dead women. What the men were doing in the impoverished country of Mali, and why they were still there a month after the United States suspended military relations with its government, is at the crux of a mystery that officials have not fully explained even 10 weeks later.
Officials: Feared Al-Qaida Offshoot Neutralized
(Yahoo.com) It's being hailed as a key success in the fight against al-Qaida: a determined Algerian clampdown that has pulled the teeth from one of the terror network's deadliest offshoots and could be a model for elsewhere.
Donors Pledge $16 Billion In Aid To Afghanistan
(Washington Post) The United States remains the largest donor to Afghanistan. Japan promised up to $3 billion through 2016, and Germany said it would maintain its current funding level of about $550 million a year until at least 2016. That is about the same amount pledged by Iran, which has been accused by the United States and NATO of destabilizing Afghanistan and which committed to $500 million for road and railway construction, among other projects mainly in the western part of the country.
Civil War Feared In Unstable Iraq
(Washington Times) A dramatic uptick in violence and political instability in Iraq have raised fears that Baghdad once again is tilting toward civil war.
UN Envoy Annan Visits Syria To Present Transition Plan
(McClatchy Newspapers (mcclatchydc.com)) His mission to Damascus provides the first major test of a week-old plan, backed by the United States, Russia and China, for a Syrian-led process to install a transitional government with full
U.S. General Apologizes For Dispute In Seoul
(New York Times) The top United States military commander in South Korea apologized Sunday for an episode last week during which American military police officers handcuffed three South Koreans in a dispute over a parking violation, inciting protests from civic groups.
Safety Top Priority For Osprey Operation In Japan: Clinton
(Japan Times) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday pledged to ensure the safe operation of Osprey military aircraft to be deployed at a base in Japan later this year, suggesting there is no change in Washington's schedule for the transfer, despite strong local opposition.
Seventy Years After Deadly Raid, Japanese Submarines May Partner Australian Fleet
(Sydney Morning Herald) AS PLANNING for Australia's next generation of submarines gears up, the former enemy that sent its submarines on a deadly mission to penetrate Sydney Harbour in 1942 is now emerging as a potential partner in building the Royal Australian Navy's next underwater fleet.
Diversity May Help Raytheon Avoid Cuts
(Arizona Daily Star (Tucson)) Looming defense budget cuts - including the possibly of deep, automatic cuts come January - have raised the prospect of massive layoffs by defense contractors, including Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems. But the diversity of Raytheon's military electronics and missile business makes the company less vulnerable to the budget ax than other defense companies, analysts say.
. Russia Reaps A Record Year With U.S. Contracts On Helicopters, Space Rides
(Bloomberg Government) The Russian government more than doubled its U.S. contracts last year by providing helicopters for Afghanistan and rides to the International Space Station.
Sikorsky, US Sign $7.3 Billion Black Hawk Order
(Reuters.com) Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp, has signed a five-year $7.3 billion agreement that will provide the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force with more H-60 Black Hawk helicopters and other versions of the utility aircraft, according to several sources familiar with the deal.
Conservatives And The Law Of The Sea Time Warp
(Wall Street Journal) The treaty has been improved in ways Reagan wanted and it's time the U.S. signed on.
Coping With China's Strategic Rise
(Singapore Straits Times) GIVEN their recent disputes with China over the the South China Sea, Vietnam and the Philippines must be kicking themselves for what they did to the United States years ago.
The Arms Race That Won't Happen
(Chicago Tribune) But there is no reason to think Iran would ever use such weapons, and there is little reason to think it would spur other countries to get them. If all it takes to unleash regional proliferation is one fearsome state with nukes, the Middle East would have gone through it already -- since Israel has had them for decades.
Iran Has No 'Right' To Enrich Uranium
(Wall Street Journal) The U.S. and its allies should make clear what the Nonproliferation Treaty says.
Exploiting Iran's Vulnerabilities
(Washington Post) Western policymakers, buoyed by their success in reducing Iran's oil exports , appear content to give sanctions more time to work, in the hope that once Tehran feels their full effect negotiators will return to the table, more ready to compromise. The evidence, however, suggests that sanctions' effect on oil exports will not increase over time.
A Do-Over With Egypt
(Washington Post) Lobbying by Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta may have prevented the council from handing the presidency to its favored candidate, a former prime minister. But it infuriated the generals, Egyptian Christians and some U.S. supporters of Israel, who fear the Islamists more than the old regime.
The Dogs Of War
(San Francisco Chronicle) Man's best friend has a special role in the U.S. military. About 650 canines are serving with U.S. combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They sniff for bombs, search for narcotics and pull sentry duty. These dogs save precious American lives, yet the military designates them as "equipment." As a result, human handlers have to raise thousands of dollars if they want to return home with their four-legged friends.
A New Approach to Reserve Compensation: Can the US military maintain the size of its reserve forces and cut costs? It can, according to a new study by RAND. Every four years, federal law calls on the Defense Secretary to assess military compensation. The 11th quadrennial review, released in June, proposes compensating Reserve Component members like their Active Duty counterparts, including regular military compensation based on days of reserve service, regardless of duty status, according to RAND. "Using this new approach, the service branches also can use various incentive pay categories to improve retention in jobs with particular skill sets or high-demand categories," said Michael Mattock, the study's lead author. Rand's verdict: "We conclude that the approach is not only cost-effective but also fairer vis-à-vis the compensation for AC members, and it improves the transparency and simplicity of the overall military compensation system," reads the study's summary. The study is dated June 28.
Air Frame: A pilot assigned to the 104th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron enters the cockpit of an A-10 Thunderbolt II at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, June 30, 2012. (Air Force photo by Capt. Raymond Geoffroy) (Click on image above to reach wallpaper version.)
National Guard to host virtual Diversity update
06/29/2012 12:52 PM EDT
The office of Diversity and Special Emphasis Programs is gearing up to host their semi-annual National Guard Bureau Virtual Diversity Update, viewable online beginning July 24...
Officials outline progress in protecting troops financially
06/28/2012 12:52 PM EDT
Defense Department leaders recognize that service members burdened with financial problems can't reach full mission effectiveness, and they've made strides to help, a senior Pentagon official told a Senate committee yesterday...
Morin Appointed Air Force Acting Undersecretary: President Obama appointed Jamie Morin to serve as acting undersecretary of the Air Force. Morin temporarily fills the leadership void now that Erin Conaton, Air Force undersecretary since March 2010, has moved on to become the Pentagon's new undersecretary for personnel and readiness issues. "I appreciate the opportunity to make a difference for the Air Force and our nation while also digging more deeply into critical issues like space programs, energy efficiency, [Department of Defense] management reform, and the Air Force budget," said Morin in a July 5 release. The appointment came on July 3. Morin has served as the Air Force's assistant secretary for financial management and comptroller since 2009. He will serve in the acting position until the President nominates a new undersecretary and the Senate confirms the nomination, according to the release. Marilyn Thomas, the principal deputy in the Air Force Secretariat's budget office, will assume many of Morin's assistant secretary duties during this time, states the release.
No Krasni Flag: Russia won't be participating in an Air Force Red Flag exercise this year, according to an exercise spokesman at Eielson AFB, Alaska. What? Russia at Red Flag? Several media outletsundefinedincluding the Voice of Russia radio network's English-language websiteundefinedran stories last week suggesting Russia would indeed be sending fighters to a Red Flag exercise in October, either at Nellis AFB, Nev., or in Alaska. This would be an extraordinary first if true, and a watershed development in US-Russian relations. But, alas, no red-starred Flankers and Fulcrums will be populating the ramps at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Eielson, or anywhere else. Air Force officials told the Daily Report on July 6 that Russia had requested sending observersundefinednot aircraftundefinedto a Red Flag exercise this fall, but it won't be happening. While it would have been interesting to see those Sukhoi and MiG fighters at Red Flagundefinedplaying Red Air, perhaps?undefinedmodern Russian-designed fighters have already played in a Red Flag. In 2008, India brought its Su-30s MKI fighters to Nellis.
undefinedJohn A. Tirpak
The importance of maintaining trust: Civil-Military Relations and the Profession of Arms
06/25/2012 12:52 PM EDT
I talk about the importance of “trust” at every opportunity. Trust is the cornerstone of our profession. It binds us with those we serve-the American people and the elected officials who represent them. This trust relationship cannot be taken for granted. We must continually earn and re-earn it every day...
Study presented at suicide prevention conference offers glimpse into suicide motives
06/22/2012 12:52 PM EDT
Why? What makes people attempt suicide? It’s a vital question, as the answer could help mental health professionals and even friends and family better recognize when they need to step in to help to save a life...
Indiana National Guard takes part Bold Quest 12-1, tests digital communication technologies to reduce fratricide incidents and enhance combat effectiveness
06/18/2012 12:52 PM EDT
Indiana Army and Air National Guard members have been taking part in Bold Quest 12-1, a two-week air combat assessment exercise that focuses on testing digitally aided close air support technologies to reduce friendly fire incidents, enhance combat effectiveness, and increase situational awareness on the battlefield...
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The Issue: The Recommendation of the 11th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation to cut National Guard drill pay in half.
Immediate Action Required: Contact your senators and representative and ask them to oppose the recommendation of the 11th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation to cut National Guard and Reserve drill pay in half.
NGAUS welcomes the recommendations from the QRMC that would reduce from 30 to six the authorities for calling members of the Guard and Reserve to duty and would allow our members to receive their retired pay upon their 30th anniversary of service after having attained 20 qualifying years of service.
However, the QRMC is totally off base with its recommendation to cut drill pay in half in order to equate a drill day with one day of “regular military compensation,” which the QRMC claims would “ensure equitable pay for similar service” with the active component. This reduction of pay would also reduce the number of retirement points from four to two for a drill weekend and the potential retirement pay arising from that service.
Although the QRMC discusses the possibility of incentive pay options to bolster its recommended reduction in drill pay, it makes no clear recommendation and provides no illustrative pay charts for easy understanding. The current drill pay structure is fair and much simpler in comparison.
The QRMC reflects no understanding that the MUTA four-drill weekend pay already attempts to equitably compensate most drilling members who work a 12-day “work week” with the drill weekend sandwiched between full-time 40-hour-plus work weeks. In most states, this would trigger overtime compensation, even double time in California on the seventh straight day of work.
There is also no recognition in the QRMC of the vast difference in service between the reserve components and the actives. Unlike the active forces, the National Guard member bears the expense in time and money for travel to drills, physical training, medical readiness care, family care and attending to many unit administrative responsibilities. Our members do so while observing the minuteman ethos of being always ready to be called from family, civilian employment or school to state or overseas duty as the situation may warrant.
In assessing equitable pay for similar service, there was also no mention of the fact that active duty forces in stateside assignments commonly do not work on weekends, but receive full pay and allowances for four nonduty weekends as well as 2 ½ days of leave per month. This translates to the active forces receiving pay for more than one third of a month for down time. Our drilling members, of course, are not similarly paid for their off-duty weekends
A just and more comprehensive recommendation from the QRMC would not only justify the current drill pay structure, but drive a recommendation to increase benefits to “ensure equitable pay for similar service.”
We need to speak out strongly against the recommendation that promises to gut our recruitment and retention efforts throughout the reserve components.
TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTION:
By using the Write to Congress feature on the NGAUS website at www.ngaus.org, you can email your elected representatives. A sample letter is included. You can email the prewritten message or edit the sample letter as you desire. This is the quickest and most effective method of expressing your views to Congress. Also, contact your friends and family and urge them to use Write to Congress. For further information and background, visit our website atwww.ngaus.org. Please direct any questions concerning this issue to Pete Duffy, NGAUS acting legislative director, at 202-454-5307 or via email at pete.duffy@ngaus.org.
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A welcoming home for our Troops.
