From: Wayne Gatewood, Jr
Subject: Veterans News for Wednesday , July 18, 2012
Defense Cuts ? Sequester Frenzy
(FNC) Americas ability to deal with the kinds of problems weve just discussed is in question tonight because right now the clock is ticking down to some extremely hard choices regarding your national defense.
Panetta: Syria Situation "Spinning Out of Control"
07/18/2012 12:27 PM CDT
Nuclear Deterrence Vital in Complex World, General Says
07/12/2012 05:08 PM CDT
Dempsey Meets With Russian Counterpart at Pentagon
07/12/2012 07:39 PM CDT
DOD Leads Drive Toward Healthier Lifestyles
07/17/2012 03:12 PM CDT
Sequestration Threatens FY 2013 Funds, Official Says
07/17/2012 04:23 PM CDT
Hicks Praises Guard's State Partnership Program
07/17/2012 05:02 PM CDT
DIA Five-Year Plan Updates Strategic Warning Mission
07/18/2012 08:50 AM CDT
VA Improves Online Access to Benefits Information
07/18/2012 01:37 PM CDT
Panetta Lauds First International F-35 Delivery to UK
07/18/2012 01:59 PM CDT
Study: Federal Cuts Could Cost 207,000 Virginia Jobs
(Newport News Daily Press (dailypress.com)) Virginia would bear much of the pain if Congress allows deep budget cuts to take effect in January, according to a new study: a potential loss of more than 207,000 jobs that ranks it second only to California. Most losses would hit Virginia's defense community, a main economic pillar in Hampton Roads.
Defense Industry Says Budget Cuts May Cost 2 Million Jobs
(Bloomberg.com) Across-the-board cuts to federal programs may cost the U.S. 2.14 million jobs and reduce the gross domestic product by $215 billion next year, according to a study funded by defense contractors lobbying to forestall the reductions.
Israeli Military Official: Assad's Fall A Certainty
(Miami Herald) The head of Israeli military intelligence told his countrys parliament on Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad wont be able to defeat the armed uprising thats spread throughout Syria and that the conflict there has allowed what he called radical Islam to gain ground on Israels northern border.
The Pentagon's Energy Crusader
(Greenwire (eenews.net)) Obama has invoked the Pentagon's energy efforts frequently, especially as election politics have ramped up in recent months. And at each stop, one man has been at Obama's side: Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, the Pentagon's zealous energy crusader.
Defense And VA Can?t Track PTSD Treatments, Report Finds
(NextGov.com) Neither the Defense nor the Veterans Affairs department -- which operate the worlds largest electronic health records systems -- tracks treatments used for post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a report the Institute of Medicine issued last week. Whats more, Defense does not even know how many PTSD treatment programs it or the services provide.
Some States Praised For Aiding Military Voters
(Miami Herald) With both a tradition of helping service members get their votes counted as well as a tight turnaround between its primary and general elections this year, Washington state officials decided to move up its primary date a few weeks, from late August to early August.
Navy Ship Helps Recover More Than $95 Million In Drugs
(Norfolk Virginian-Pilot) The guided-missile frigate Nicholas delivered about $93 million worth of cocaine and marijuana today to the Navy's base in Mayport, Fla., after seizing the drugs during a multinational interdiction operation called Operation Martillo.
Backlog Of VA Disability Claims Growing
(USA Today) Although the Obama administration has stepped up efforts to process medical disability claims by U.S. veterans, a top Department of Veterans Affairs official is set to tell lawmakers Wednesday that the agency's backlog continues to grow
Jordan Moving To Ward Off Syrian Chemical Attack
(Yahoo.com) Jordan has taken precautions to ward off a possible Syrian chemical attack, Jordan's foreign minister said Tuesday, reflecting concern that Syria might use such weapons if the uprising there threatens the regime.
Iran Hit By New Cyber Attack
(Los Angeles Times) Security experts have identified a cyber espionage attack that apparently chiefly targeted Iran but they say differs from previous efforts believed to be part of a covert U.S. and Israeli campaign to monitor and delay the nation's nuclear development program.
Pentagon: 20 Nations Plan Exercise In Mideast
(Yahoo.com) In a move to bolster military strength against Iran, 20 nations will stage an anti-mining exercise in Mideast waterways.
Air Force Sex Probe Gets First Trial
(Wall Street Journal) A U.S. Air Force trainer was a "consummate predator" of female recruits, military prosecutors said in opening arguments in his court martial at Lackland Air Force Base.
Judge Denies Request To Recuse Himself
(Miami Herald) The chief war court judge Tuesday declined to disqualify himself from presiding at the USS Cole capital murder case, dismissing defense objections to his post-retirement status and choice to preside at all the former CIA captives trials at Guantnamo.
Amendment Would Ban Military Sponsorships
(USA Today) Jack Kingston, R-Ga., and Betty McCollum, D-Minn., plan to present a second amendment banning military sports sponsorships Wednesday in the House of Representatives to ensure a vote.
Lockheed May Fire 10,000 Under Budget Cuts, Stevens Says
(Bloomberg.com) Lockheed Martin Corp. may have to dismiss about 10,000 of its 120,000 employees if Congress doesnt avert $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts to federal spending, according to Robert Stevens, the companys chief.
Looming Defense Budget Cuts Worry Mayors, Cheney
(Reuters.com) Former Vice President Dick Cheney told Republican lawmakers on Tuesday that looming defense cuts could have a serious impact on the U.S. military, even as a new analysis predicted the budget reductions that begin in January could cost 2 million jobs.
House GOP Calls On Military Contractors To Testify On Potential Defense Cuts
(Washington Post) House Republicans will call on the leaders of major military contracting firms Wednesday to detail how they plan to deal with the roughly $500 billion in defense spending cuts set to take effect over the next decade.
Pentagon Official: No Plan To Counter Sequestration
(DefenseNews.com) Despite the dire consequences to U.S. national security of congressionally-threatened budgetary sequestration, the Pentagon has no plans to mitigate anticipated damage to domestic and international cooperative programs, a DoD official said.
Automatic U.S. Cuts Get Both Parties? Spins
(Philadelphia Inquirer) Republicans and Democrats seized on a new report estimating that automatic budget cuts will cost the economy two million jobs to level election-year charges that underscored the deep political divide over how to avert the looming crisis.
U.S. Offers Condolences To Fishermen's Families
(Wall Street Journal) The U.S. expressed condolences to the relatives of fishermen who were fired on by a U.S. Navy ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, in a statement that also offered a defense of the Navy's actions.
Will Be Transparent In Sharing Probe Details With India: US
(Press Trust of India) The US has said it will share with India transparently the results of its probe into the naval ship shooting incident that killed an Indian fisherman in UAE waters, even as the survivors disputed the Pentagon's claim that they were forewarned.
Iraq Warns Turkey Against 'Violations' Of Territory
(Yahoo.com) Iraq's government on Tuesday warned Ankara against "any violations" of its territory and airspace, and instructed the foreign ministry to register a complaint at the UN Security Council.
Sen. DeMint Blocks Bill For Marines? Lejeune Water Victims
(McClatchy Newspapers (mcclatchydc.com)) Thousands of sick Marine veterans and their families may be on the verge of taking a giant leap toward receiving health care for illnesses they suffered from decades of water contamination at Marines Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Senators Gird For Fight Over U.S. Navy's 'Green Fleet'
(Reuters.com) Senators who support the Pentagon's push to expand its use of biofuels said they have a plan to answer critics who argue the fuel is far too expensive to help develop at a time when the military faces massive cuts.
North Korea?s Kim Jong-Un Takes Title Of Marshal
(New York Times) North Korea announced on Wednesday that its leader, Kim Jong-un, had assumed the title of marshal, a move widely seen as aimed at bolstering his authority over the military, which analysts say he has been trying to tame through a reshuffling of top generals.
Russia And Tajikistan Agree On Terms For Base
(Washington Post) Russia and Tajikistan have agreed in principle to extend Moscow's lease on a military base in the strategically located country for 49 more years, Russian and Tajik officials said, ending bitter recriminations over delays. Under the terms of the agreement, Russia will pay no rent in return for supplying discounted weapons to Tajikistan.
Osprey Faces Challenges Before Full Operations Begin In October
(Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan)) U.S. Marine Corps' MV-22 Ospreys are scheduled to arrive in Japan on Tuesday, but some challenges must be overcome before full operations of the tilt-rotor aircraft can begin in October.
Navy Proceeding With Alternative Fuel Plan
(Stars and Stripes (Japan)) The Navys plan to use alternative fuels for half of its fleet by 2020 is proceeding, despite defense bill markups in both houses of Congress that could block all military spending on such forms of power, the services top civilian said Monday.
All Quiet On The Front
(Los Angeles Times) Here's an important fact you haven't heard much about in the presidential campaign: The armed forces of the United States are at war in at least four countries, and that number could increase any day.
Withdrawal From Iraq Shouldn?t Equal Abandonment
(Politico.com) The last contingent of U.S. forces left Iraq in December, ending almost a decade of costly, controversial warfare. The fledgling Iraqi democracy is now taking its first steps as a sovereign state. Unfortunately, even as increased tension looms there, U.S. political leadership is focused on our domestic elections, ready to let Iraqs fate slide out of sight and out of mind. This should not be allowed to happen.
What America Gets For Its U.N. Blank Check
(Wall Street Journal) Leave it to a small, little-known agency to prove just how out of control the United Nations can get.
The Syrian Civil War
(Wall Street Journal) For over a year, we've heard from Obama Administration officials that Western intervention would push Syria into a civil war, kill thousands and put the Assad regime's stockpile of WMD at risk of falling into terrorist hands. The U.S. hasn't intervened, and all of this has happened.
Victory Or Defeat With Law Of The Sea Treaty?
(Washington Times) The 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea - the instrument that created the overarching governance framework for nearly three-quarters of the Earth's surface and what lies above and beneath it - has been signed and ratified by 161 countries, but not by the United States. The convention and the 1994 agreement on its implementation have been in force for 18 years, yet the United States, a nation with over 12,000 miles of coastline and the dominant world maritime power by any measure, joins an embarrassing short list of holdouts that includes North Korea, Syria and Iran.
Panetta Accelerates Stennis Carrier Strike Group Deployment
07/16/2012 01:14 PM CDT
New Acquisition Chief Describes Goals, Challenges
07/16/2012 05:07 PM CDT
DOD Officials Continue Work to Avoid Sequestration
07/17/2012 08:12 AM CDT
VA Grants Will Aid Homeless Veterans
07/17/2012 01:34 PM CDT
July 12, Washington Post – (National) Postal workers participate in bioterrorism response drill. Escorted by a police officer, a total of 2 million households in 5 cities will have a surprise visit from their letter carrier the summer of 2012, and they will deposit up to 2 bottles of emergency doxycyclene in each mailbox, first responders to a fictional anthrax, or other bioterrorist attack, the Washington Post reported July 12. Although the pill bottles will not actually contain real drugs, it is a scenario designed to prepare local officials for a biological terror attack with a quick strike delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. The mail carriers, all volunteers, are the lynchpin of a pilot program launched with a dry run May 6 in Minneapolis-St. Paul and will continue until the end of September in Louisville, Kentucky, San Diego, Boston, and Philadelphia. With a $10 million budget, the postal service is teaming up with the Department of Health and Human Services, State, and local health officials and law enforcement agencies to devise a program that would deliver antibiotics to thousands of households in each city within hours of an attack. Officials said the mail carriers could be deployed as soon as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the order to local health officials to release medicine. Source: http://www.salemnews.com/nationworld/x1447682109/Postal-workers-participate-in-bioterrorism-response-drill
July 11, Agence France-Presse – (International) Mexico kills 2.5 mn poultry to contain bird flu. Officials have slain 2.5 million birds at poultry farms in western Mexico over the past 3 weeks to contain a bird flu outbreak, the agriculture ministry said, Agence France-Presse reported July 11. The virus responsible for Mexico’s current bird flu outbreak, H7N3, has occasionally caused human disease in various parts of the world, according to the United Nations but has not shown itself to be easily transmittable between humans. Officials said they have visited 148 poultry farms. Of those, bird flu was found in 31 farms, while 34 came up negative, and results for the remainder were pending. Of the 3.4 million affected poultry, “the number of birds that have been sacrificed as a control and eradication measure as of (July 9) is 2.5 million,” the ministry said in a statement. The outbreak was first detected June 20 in Jalisco state, and the Mexican government declared a national animal health emergency July 2. After importing 1 million vaccines from Pakistan, farming officials said they have developed a seed-based vaccine that they will deliver to 4 laboratories to produce more than 80 million doses initially. Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hOw9R4VYbA_zOTbfr3uKSNNrmxUw?docId=CNG.e3bb940ba7cd96953abc2a7998969c09.261
Court-martial to begin in Lackland sex scandal
SAN ANTONIO undefined Military officials say the initial flirtations that Staff Sgt. Luis Walker directed at the women he trained at a Texas Air Force base became something more sinister: threats and intimidation that led to sex and eventually rape. Walker is among 12 instructors at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio who are being investigated in a widening sex scandal that has rocked one of the nation's busiest military training centers. [ Read More ]
Survey: Most Americans support defense cuts
A new survey shows a large majority of Americans support cutting defense spending, including military personnel costs. While they don’t support cutting military pay raises, they do want to raise Tricare and pharmacy fees, slow down growth in tax-exempt allowances, and cut military retirement benefits, according to a survey of 665 adults conducted by the Program for Public Consultation, the Center for Public Integrity and the Stimson Center. [ Read More ]
DoD may expand breadth of military lending law
Defense officials are considering broadening their interpretation of a law that placed a 36 percent interest rate cap on small loans to troops and their families. The 2007 Military Lending Act put certain limits on credit extended to military personnel for loans that aren’t secured by mortgages or by cars. But the Defense Department, in setting up the rules to implement that law, limited regulations to payday loans, vehicle title loans and refund anticipation loans. The DoD also limited the law to “closed-end” loans undefined a single advance of credit over a fixed term. Open-end credit, including all credit cards, bank overdraft lines of credit and any open-end payday or vehicle title loans, are not restricted by DoD. [ Read More ]
Troops’ tax break meant for low-income families
Thousands of troops undefined including many high-level officers undefined are pocketing extra cash each year by invoking a federal tax credit that was designed to help low-income families.[ Read More ]
60 years later, man’s remains may come home
ST. LOUIS undefined Missouri relatives of a man killed in the crash of an Air Force cargo plane 60 years ago in Alaska are hopeful that his remains could soon be returned. [ Read More ]
Improved sensors, images let drones fight IEDs
WASHINGTON undefined Images from spy planes and sensors that detect wires that trigger explosives have helped to mitigate the No. 1 threat to U.S. troops in Afghanistan undefined roadside bombs undefined over the past year. [ Read More ]
Godspeed all......Wayne
A welcoming home for our Troops.
