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U.S. Expects Agreement on Korean Wartime Control of Forces 
To: DEFENSE-PRESS-SERVICE-L@DTIC.MIL 
    By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2006 - U.S. Defense officials expect an agreement 
at the upcoming U.S.-Korean Security Consultative Meeting on the 
process of turning over operational control of Korean forces in wartime 
to South Korea.

Currently, South Korean forces come under command of the Combined 
Forces Korea.

Richard Lawless, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian and 
Pacific affairs, said in a news conference today that by Oct. 20, the 
start of the talks, U.S. and Korean negotiators will finalize the 
plan.

The meetings, held yearly, will be an opportunity for Defense 
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and South Korean Minister of National Defense 
Yoon Kwang-woong to reaffirm the U.S.-South Korean alliance, Lawless 
said.

President Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun agreed to the 
basics of the plan when they met in September.

Underlying the move to give operational control to the Republic of 
Korea is how the country has developed economically, politically and 
militarily, Lawless said. The South Korean military already bears the 
lion's share of defense for the nation, he said.

The United States proposes moving from a "supported force" to a 
"supporting force." In other words, land defense for South Korea would be 
the responsibility of the South Korean military - a force Lawless 
said is perfectly able to handle the threat from North Korea.

"It is a reflection of the incredibly robust capabilities of the 
Republic of Korea itself," Lawless said. "We're not talking just about 
military capabilities, but the fact that the military has behind it the 
infrastructure and strength of the entire Republic of Korea economy.

"The place that the Republic of Korea has arrived at today underlines 
the fact that this is a mature relationship and one in which the 
Republic of Korea should be very comfortable in assuming the lead 
responsibility for the conventional defense of the country," he continued. 
"It's a natural progression, and it is something that both nations 
believe whose time has come."

The two nations have been discussing the possibility for 20 years, 
the deputy assistant secretary said. South Korea has two full armies in 
the Demilitarized Zone. U.S. forces will shift to other parts of the 
peninsula.

All this will happen without a lessening of American commitment to 
the Republic of Korea, Lawless said.

The main difference between the U.S. and South Korea goals for the 
new arrangement boils down to timing. The United States would like the 
Koreans to assume wartime control of their forces in 2009. The 
Koreans would like it to be 2012.

The United States would like to take the existing Combined Forces 
Korea structure and morph it into one with the Koreans in the lead. The 
Koreans would like more time to develop more capabilities before 
taking control. Lawless said the positions are not that far apart and 
should be resolved in time for the consultative meeting.

[Web Version: 
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1403]

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at 
http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are 
doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and 
abroad.

Legal Tips: Creating A Military Family Checklist 
Source: Captain Christopher Patterson, Installation Judge Advocate

It is important for families to have in their possession certain documents and family records. Should an emergency arise, you may need some or all of those documents. Some of the documents listed below may be used often, even when an emergency does not exist.

Gather this information and these documents now and put them in a special container or a safe place so you and your spouse or someone outside of your household know where they are. Use the checklist below to identify the documents or information you need to have in your possession.

In order for family members to obtain identification cards and legal benefits upon your deployment, you must provide to your unit or organization the documents indicated by an asterisk (*). If original documents are unavailable, certified copies should be obtained. The documents should be located now and kept available at all times. There may not be time to find them later.

*1. Marriage certificates. 
*2. A recent photograph (full face, light background, about 1 x 1 1/2" including all of the person's head) for each dependent family member 10 years of age or older. 
*3. Birth certificates for all family members. 
*4. Adoption and legal guardianship documents. 
*5. Court orders awarding legal custody of any children. 
*6. For illegitimate children, court orders declaring the natural parent, written admissions of paternity, and related documents. 
*7. Statements from licensed doctors or medical officers for dependent children over 21 years of age who are mentally or physically disabled. 
8. Name and location of places where unmarried children over 21 but under 23 years of age are enrolled in a full-time course of instruction. 
9. Death certificates of deceased members of the immediate family. 10. Immunization/shot records for all family members.
11. Armed forces identification cards for all dependent family members over 10. 
12. Citizenship records for the sponsor and family, if anyone was born outside the United States. 
13. With respect to the parents of the sponsor and spouse, full legal names, places of birth, and location of marriage records. 
14. Chronological list of places of residence (including dates). 
15. Names and addresses of schools the sponsor attended, with dates of attendance and graduation dates. 
*16. A list of social security numbers for the sponsor and sponsor's spouse, children, and other dependent family members. 
17. The sponsor's and spouse's wills. 
18. All powers of attorney. 
19. A list of all credit card accounts, account numbers, and addresses. 
20. A Leave and Earnings Statement (LES), DA Form 3686-1, from within the past year.
21. Copies of Federal and state income tax records for the last 6 years. 
22. For insurance policies, a list of companies, policy numbers, types of insurance, addresses, and phone numbers. 
23. List of names, addresses, and account numbers of your savings and loan associations, banks, trust or holding accounts, safe deposit boxes, and institutions holding certificates of deposit. 
24. Names and addresses of fraternal and service organizations, with lists of benefits receivable from membership. 
25. Deeds and other title documents relating to real estate, including mortgages, deeds of trust, abstracts of title, title insurance policies, and notes payable. 
26. Certificates of title and registration, warranties, and tax receipts for automobiles, boats, recreational vehicles, and other personal property. 
27. Stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, savings and credit union passbooks, notes receivable, and other evidence of income-producing properties. 
28. Business agreements including partnership documents, agency contracts, sales contracts, royalties, and residual agreements, and employment contracts. 
29. Evidence of beneficial interests in business and joint ventures. 
30. Documents designating the sponsor or spouse as an executor or a trustee. 
31. Documents relating to bankruptcy proceedings. 
32. Military and other employment records. 
33. Divorce and annulment decrees from prior marriages of the sponsor and spouse, together with documents relative to alimony and child support. 
34. Address of the sponsor's registrar of voters (after deployment you will want to arrange for absentee ballots to be sent to your military/home address). 
35. Names and addresses of important people who are not listed elsewhere (family members' attorneys, business associates, etc.). 
36. Consider recording specific instructions regarding the place and manner of burial. If not in your will, such instructions should be left with your family.

Iraq-Bound Troops Getting New Digitized Uniforms

August 9, 2005
By Terry Boyd 
Stars and Stripes Mideast edition

Germany-based soldiers headed for Iraq are the first in Europe to get the new digitized, permanent press Army Combat Uniform, or ACU. 
The new uniform replaces both battle dress uniforms, or BDUs, and desert camouflage uniforms, or DCUs, said Paul Rivera, team leader for Program Executive Officer Soldier. 
PEO Soldier, which is based at Fort Belvoir, Va., arms and equips soldiers. 
�This is the uniform for all environments � jungle, urban and desert,� Rivera said. �There will be no BDUs or DCUs. They'll all be gone,� Rivera said. �All war fighters will wear one uniform.� 
That will happen sooner rather than later in Europe, where soldiers with the 1st Armored Division and V Corps are getting ACUs. Units from the 1st AD, as well as V Corps troops, are scheduled to deploy to Iraq this year. 
Two teams are issuing the new uniforms, one at H.D. Smith Barracks in Baumholder, and one in Grafenw�hr Training Area, Rivera said. Baumholder is home to the 1st Armored Division's 2nd Brigade and Division Artillery, and V Corps units are at Grafenw�hr, one of the Army's main training areas. 
As of Monday afternoon, his 11-person team has issued ACUs to 4,950 soldiers at Baumholder since Aug. 1, Rivera said, averaging about 705 per day. Each soldier gets four sets of the uniform. 
About 7,400 soldiers in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Baumholder will get the uniforms, he said. New hot-weather boots are issued separately by Rapid Fielding Initiative teams. 
The teams distributing the uniforms will be on the move Thursday, with the Baumholder group heading to Darmstadt and the Graf group going to Hanau. 
The first soldiers to get the new uniforms � the first major Army uniform redesign since the early 1980s � were Fort Stewart-based troops with the 48th Infantry Brigade of the Georgia National Guard, Rivera said. 
The uniforms are radically different than the uniforms they replace, most distinctly their lack of black, according to Army documents. Black is omitted because it's not commonly found in nature. 
Instead, ACU colors are green �woodland,� gray �urban environments� and sand brown. The new uniform also has �Mandarin� collars with Velcro fasteners, as well as zippers for tops, rather than buttons. Pants have knee pouches for kneepad inserts. 
Bottom pockets found on DCUs are gone, replaced by pockets on the sleeves a la Special Forces uniforms so soldiers can use them while wearing body armor. 
The uniforms cost about $80, compared with about $30 for BDUs. 
ACUs were designed by a team of noncommissioned officers and tested by soldiers at U.S. bases, as well as in Iraq. 
http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,SS_080905_Uniforms,00.html?ESRC=army-a.nl

Kitchen Builders Serve Up Safer Humvees 
To: DEFENSE-PRESS-SERVICE-L@DTIC.MIL

By Capt. Steve Alvarez, USA
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2005  - If there is a government building here in 
the nation's capital, said James Phillip Poole of American Metal 
Fabricators Inc., chances are his company has built its food-service 
equipment.

The Prince Frederick, Md., company opened nearly 60 years ago by 
Poole's father has even built kitchen equipment for the Pentagon and more 
recently for the White House.

But Poole's company stands out in another way: If there is a Humvee 
driving the sometimes mean streets of Iraq, odds are good that Poole's 
company had something to do with the protection of the soldiers inside.

In spring 2004, a military supplier with a long professional 
relationship with Poole approached him and asked if his company could produce 
armor plating to frame a bulletproof windshield. The supplier had won a 
bid to help bulletproof the glass on Humvees.

The two companies had worked together on past projects, but never on 
anything like the Humvee project. The Humvee plan would require that a 
100-plus-pound bulletproof glass stay in place if the vehicle hit an 
eight-inch curb at 80 miles an hour, and it would also have to deflect 
small arms and shrapnel.

"We use a lot of glass to build salad bars," Poole said. "We've done a 
lot of government work, and some weird things, but none of this I would 
have imagined from the start," he said.

Poole agreed to give the Humvee project a try, motivated mostly by 
patriotism, but also fueled by entrepreneurial spirit and boredom.

"The norm is just salad bars. What's good about something that isn't 
normal is that it breaks the routine," Poole said. "You get tired of 
building the same thing."

AMFAB had begun experimenting with 3-D computer modeling in 2004, 
around the time the supplier approached them. Poole and his team knew they 
needed to place a Humvee windshield model into a 3-D modeling computer 
program.

The program they found would help design a windshield frame using the 
base Humvee 3-D model and specifications inputted by Poole's team. That 
data would move through multiple computer systems, ending up with a 
machine that would turn a flat piece of steel into a custom armored 
windshield frame.

"We built one and (the supplier and military) tested it. ... They set a 
blast off between some vehicles that would blow the vehicles apart," 
Poole said. "The windows held up through the test and (the military) 
started to order them, and we've been doing it ever since."

The military had a quick turnaround requirement for the windshield 
frames and the deadline was tight, only several weeks to deliver more than 
1,000 kits.

"We were starting to get real busy in the commercial food equipment 
business and we had to work some overnight shifts," Poole said, noting 
that in the spring and summer time his employees like to vacation and 
participate in recreational activities. But when he asked his team to work 
on the Humvee parts, "everyone was volunteering to work over the 
weekends."

. Since last year, nearly 8,000 vehicles have received AMFAB's 
bulletproof Humvee kits, Poole says. Nearly 3,000 this year alone have shipped 
to the supplier and to units in the field.

"Everybody wants to help the country. Some of us are too old to go 
serve, so this is the least we can do," Poole said.

Only six persons in the 100-employee company work on the Humvee 
windshield project. More than half are veterans of the Army, Marine Corps and 
Air Force. According to Poole, some work only a few hours a day on the 
Humvees, while welders have been working steadily on the Humvee frames 
for two to three months. The rest of the time is devoted to creating 
the company's main source of income - custom kitchen equipment - that 
earns AMFAB more than $10 million yearly.

"It makes me feel good," said employee Jim Taylor. He said he served in 
the Marines for four years, wishes he could re-enlist, but he's "too 
old" now. "I can't go over there. It's a good thing that we're doing 
something to keep them safe over there."

Poole's son, Jimmy, was in the Army's 82d Airborne Division and served 
four years as a radio operator. He said the military veterans in the 
shop feel this is their way of still doing their part.

"Everyone in here is really enthused about doing this. It feels good to 
have something to do with it," the younger Poole said.

Soldiers in Iraq have written AMFAB and expressed their gratitude to 
the company. One letter from a lieutenant, Poole said, credited AMFAB's 
windshield kits for protecting his soldiers from injuries in small arms 
and improvised explosive device attacks.

Another soldier wrote and sent pictures of his team's damaged Humvee. 
Soldiers inside survived the IED attack, which destroyed most of the 
vehicle except for the windshield and door window frames built by AMFAB 
that shielded the soldiers from the blast.

"It feels like you're doing something to save lives," said Charlie 
Denney, a welder at AMFAB and former Air National Guardsman. "I know we've 
had to save some lives putting in these windshields."

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2005/20050617_1753.html.

New Law to Affect SGLI Payments, Premiums  
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2005  - Defense and Veterans Affairs officials are 
ironing out details of programs that will expand benefits provided 
through Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance.

The $82 billion supplemental legislation signed into law by President 
Bush May 11 increases maximum SGLI coverage to $400,000 and provides 
payouts of up to $100,000 for servicemembers with traumatic injuries, 
explained Stephen Wurtz, the VA's deputy assistant director for insurance.

The increased SGLI coverage will take effect Sept. 1, and the so-called 
"traumatic SGLI" benefit, December 1. Wurtz said the legislation 
directs that both benefits will be retroactive to Oct. 7, 2001.

Traumatic SGLI benefits will be retroactive for troops who have lost 
limbs, eyesight or speech or received other traumatic injuries as a 
direct results of injuries received during Operation Iraqi Freedom or 
Operation Enduring Freedom. The benefit does not apply to servicemembers 
suffering from disease.

The retroactive coverage increase is payable as a result of deaths in 
either operation, or under other conditions prescribed by the secretary 
of defense, Wurtz said.

Servicemembers enrolled in the SGLI program will notice an increase in 
their premiums when the increases take effect. The traumatic SGLI 
benefit will be rolled into the basic SGLI program and will likely cost 
about $1 a month, Wurtz said.

Troops opting for maximum SGLI coverage -- $400,000 vs. the current 
$250,000 - will see their monthly premiums increase from $16.25 to $26, 
Wurtz said. This is based on the rate of 6.5 cents per $1,000 of 
insurance coverage.

SGLI coverage is currently available in $10,000 increments, but as of 
Sept. 1, the increments will increase to $50,000.

Because the rates have not changed, servicemembers who retain $250,000 
or less coverage will see no increase in their premiums, Wurtz said, 
except for the $1 "traumatic SGLI" premium.

While these expanded benefits will be provided retroactively, affected 
servicemembers won't be charged retroactive payments, he said. DoD will 
absorb that cost.

In a new twist introduced through the supplemental legislation, troops 
with dependents must get their spouse's approval to purchase less than 
the full amount of SGLI coverage. In the case of members who are not 
married, notice will be provided to the designated beneficiary when the 
member purchases less than the maximum coverage.

The new traumatic SGLI benefit is designed to provide "a quick infusion 
of cash" for cash-strapped families of troops recuperating from 
traumatic injuries received in the line of duty, Wurtz said.

Compensation will range from $25,000 to $100,000, and is designed to 
help families of severely wounded troops leave their homes and jobs to be 
with their loved one during recovery. "These families incur a lot of 
expenses, and this is designed to help them financially," Wurtz said.

While VA staff members consult with DoD to write regulations that will 
put the new SGLI benefits into effect, Wurtz said, "lots and lots of 
details have to be worked out."

Among outstanding issues is the fact that the expanded SGLI coverage is 
part of the supplemental legislation package that funds operations only 
through Sept. 30. That's 30 days after the new SGLI limit takes effect 
and two months before the traumatic SGLI benefit begins.

Wurtz said VA is confident Congress will resolve this issue before 
there's any lapse in coverage.

VA will continue to oversee and control the SGLI program.

Related Site:

Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance 
[http://www.insurance.va.gov/sgliSite/SGLI/SGLI.htm]

INFORMATION ON TRICARE

TRICARE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY NATIONAL TOLL FREE PHONE NUMBERS
(http:www.tricare.osd.mil/main/tollfree.cfm)
 
 
 
Hours of operation for the following phone numbers are Monday - Friday, 8 am - 8pm, Eastern time (excluding Federal holidays). Calls will be answered in English only.
Note: Some telephone numbers have prefixes other that 800. To avoid misdialed calls when dialing, please pay special attention to this listing, before dialing, for those prefixes that do not contain 800 within the number. For a look at the different websites, copy website address in your browser�s location address bar at the top of the browser. 
TRICARE For Life (http://www.tricare.osd.mil/tfl/default.cfm)
 1.888.DOD.LIFE (1.888.363.5433)
 
TRICARE Active Duty Programs (http://www.tricare.osd.mil/tpr/)
(active duty and family members) 1.888.DOD.CARE (1.888.363.2273)
OR 1-800-242-6788 (For Active Duty-Tricare Prime Remote...Updated: 08/09/04)
US Family Health Plan (http://www.ddpdelta.org)         1.800.74U.SFHP (1.800.748.7347)
 
Other National Toll Free Numbers
For hours of operation for each of these numbers, copy website address in your browser�s location address bar at the top of the browser. 
 
TRICARE Retiree Dental Plan - Deltal Dental   (http://www.ddpdelta.org/)
 1.888.838.8737
 
TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) - United Concordia (http://www.tricare.osd.mil/dental/default.cfm) 
CONUS            1.800.866.8499
OCONUS         1-888-622-2256
 
Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting Systems (DEERS) (https://www.tricare.osd.mil/deers/)
 1.800.538.9552
 
Active Duty Claims (MMSO)    (http://mmso.med.navy.mil/)
 1.888.647.6676
 
TRICARE Online   (http://www.tricareonline.com/)
 1.800.538.9552 
 
 
 
TRICARE Regional Toll Free Numbers
The following numbers are operational 24 hours (All Below in Tricare Picture):
 
North , South , West , TRICARE Overseas 
  
  
 
TRICARE Builds Its Uniform Formulary 
 The TRICARE has announced the addition of 11 new medications to the TRICARE Uniform Formulary. Additionally, they approved moving seven medications to non-formulary status. The following medications have been added to the Uniform Formulary: Levitra (PDE-5 Inhibitor); nystatin, clotrimazole, ketoconazole, miconazole, Mentax, Naftin (Topical Antifungals); and Rebif, Avonex, Copaxone, Betaseron (Multiple Sclerosis Disease Modifying Drugs). The non-formulary medications include: Viagra, Cialis (PDE-5 Inhibitors); and ciclopirox, econazole, Oxistat, Ertaczo, Exelderm (Topical Antifungals). Formulary alternatives are available for these medications at a co-pay of either $3 or $9. Beneficiaries will pay $22 for up to a 30- or 90-day supply for non-formulary medications, depending on whether they fill the prescription at a TRICARE Retail Network Pharmacy (TRRx) or through the TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy (TMOP). Beneficiaries will pay the higher of $22 or 20 percent in retail non-network pharmacies. The implementation date of the $22 co-payment for the topical antifungal medications is Aug. 17, 2005, and the implementation date for PDE-5 Inhibitors is Oct. 12, 2005. Patients currently using the newly designated non-formulary medications may wish to consult their doctor about formulary alternatives or if a medical necessity is appropriate for them. If medical necessity is established for using non-formulary medications, patients may qualify for the $9 co-payment for up to a 30-day supply or up to a 90-day TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy (TMOP) supply. Medical necessity forms are available on the TRICARE Pharmacy Website. Procedures for completing and submitting medical necessity information may be found on these forms. For more information about TMOP, eligible beneficiaries may visit the Express-Scripts Inc. Website, or they may call (866) DOD-TMOP, (866) 363-8667. Beneficiaries may also contact the TRICARE Retail Pharmacy Program TRRx customer service line at (866) DOD-TRRX, (866) 363-8779, or visit the TRICARE Pharmacy Website. For additional information about various medications, their availability and cost, beneficiaries may use the TRICARE Formulary Search Tool. For general information on TRICARE, see the TRICARE Overview. (http://www.military.com/MilitaryReport/0,12914,75243,00.html?ESRC=miltrep.nl)

TRICARE Survivor Benefits: Overview 
 TRICARE-eligible family members, whose sponsor dies while on active duty will continue to receive TRICARE benefits. During the three years following a sponsor's death, surviving spouses and children under 21 years of age (23, if enrolled in a full-time course of study in an institution of higher learning) remain eligible for TRICARE Prime without enrollment fees and copayments. Surviving family members may enroll in TRICARE Prime where offered, but lose eligibility for TRICARE Prime Remote for Active Duty Family Members, if enrolled in that program at the time of the sponsor's death. Surviving family members who are not enrolled in TRICARE Prime may use TRICARE Extra or Standard, but are subject to the appropriate active duty cost shares and annual deductible requirements for each program. During the three-year survivor benefit period, surviving family members are protected from having to pay out-of-pocket expenses of more than $1,000 per fiscal year for TRICARE allowable charges for covered services. Active duty family members who accompanied their sponsor on orders outside of the continental United States (OCONUS) and reside in that location at the time of their sponsor's death are eligible for three-year transitional health care benefits under the TRICARE Overseas Program Prime. Surviving family members who are enrolled in the TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) at the time of the servicemember's death remain eligible for dental care under the TDP Survivor Benefit program. Under this survivor program, the Government will pay 100 percent of the premium for three years from the month following the sponsor's death. For additional information on dental survivor benefits, beneficiaries may refer to the TRICARE Dental Program Survivor Benefit fact sheet. It is extremely important for survivors to update their TRICARE eligibility in DEERS. Surviving family members may go to the nearest Uniformed Services identification card-issuing facility , which can be found at the RAPIDS Site locator, or contact the Defense Manpower Data Center Support Office Telephone Center at (800) 538-9552. Surviving spouses must contact the ID card-issuing facility in advance to determine the range and scope of available services. For general information on TRICARE, see the TRICARE Overview. (http://www.military.com/MilitaryReport/0,12914,75244,00.html?ESRC=miltrep.nl) 
 
 
TRICARE to All Reservists 
 Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), chairman of the Senate armed services subcommittee on military personnel, says he will be "adamant" during negotiations with House conferees on a final defense authorization bill that it include his Senate-approved amendment to open a premium-based military health insurance plan to any drilling Reservist or National Guard member. For more details, see Graham Vows Fight to Open Tricare to All Reservists. (http://www.military.com/MilitaryReport/0,12914,75249,00.html?ESRC=miltrep.nl) 
 
 
Congress Seeks to Expand Death Benefits 
 The House has passed the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) Enhancement Act of 2005 (H.R. 3200), which permanently increases SGLI and Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI) from $250,000 to $400,000. SGLI and VGLI were increased earlier this year through emergency war supplemental appropriations, but the increases were due to expire 30 September 2005. The legislation also requires the DoD to notify a servicemember's spouse should the member decline SGLI or choose an amount less than the maximum. The spouse must also be notified should the member designate someone other than the spouse or dependent child as a beneficiary. The Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) and other veterans' groups have expressed concern over this requirement, citing concerns about compromising the servicemembers' right to privacy in designating a beneficiary of his or her choice. The Senate's FY 2006 National Defense Authorization Bill (S. 1042), which will not be acted on until September, increases SGLI to $400,000 as well; however, the legislation fails to make the increased SGLI retroactive - which means that if a servicemember died on active duty in 2003, his or her family would receive the one-time retroactive death gratuity payment of $100,000, but would not be eligible for the increased SGLI payment of $400,000 (up from $250,000). The Senate also voted to permanently increase the death gratuity benefit paid to families of servicemembers killed while on duty to $100,000 (up from $12,420), and makes the payment retroactive to 7 October 2001 -- the day operations began in Afghanistan as part of the Global War on Terror. Contact your representative and let your voice be heard on this important legislation. (http://www.military.com/MilitaryReport/0,12914,75247,00.html?ESRC=miltrep.nl)

Plans For Vet Care Disappointing 
Cox News Service 
February 15, 2005 
WACO, Texas - If proposed federal Department of Veterans Affairs budgets fail to make you happy, then you may not jump for joy over the 2006 version. 
Plans to double prescription copayments and impose enrollment fees for certain veterans are back again as part of the new budget submitted by President Bush. And while the budget calls for $33.4 billion in discretionary funding that is mostly for health care, it also proposes slashing millions for nursing home care needed by an aging veterans population. 
These total discretionary funds proposed are an increase of 2.7 percent more than this year's levels, according to the VA. The department also points out that with this plan the VA will have increased veterans medical funding by 47 percent since Bush took office in 2001. 
But veterans advocates say the VA health-care budget is habitually underfunded and that what they see as a miserly increase would be paid for out of the veterans' pocket. 
"This budget proposal is bad news for the nation's veterans, made even more distressing in light of the war in Iraq and military operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere," said James E. Sursely, the national Disabled American Veterans commander, in a news release.

Former military members who have no service-connected illness or injury and whose incomes are above a certain threshold would pay a $250 enrollment fee annually for VA health care. Prescription copayments for a 30-day supply of medicine would increase from $7 to $15 for those veterans. 
Affected would be those folks who are sometimes portrayed as "wealthy" veterans. But that is far from the stuff of champagne wishes and caviar dreams. 
Area-specific income levels determining federal housing program eligibility are what the VA uses to determine who pays a copayment for drugs. Where I live, this is $26,200 for a single person and $37,450 for a family of four. Such income levels are may be useful in deciding who gets what federal dollars. But people with such incomes are hardly rolling in dough. 
"It's not a lot of money to live on. But it is a cutoff for a lot of programs," said Michael Morris, an economics professor at the University of New Orleans. 
VA officials say the hike in prescription copayments and the user fees from higher-income veterans would help treat 100,000 more patients under the 2006 budget than in the current fiscal year. 
"We expect those two revenue proposals - user fee and increased copay for outpatient prescriptions _ will generate $424 million which we will plow back into the medical-care program to extend the reach of our health-care services to more veterans in the high-priority categories: service-connected veterans and veterans of modest means," said Terry Jemison, a VA spokesman at the department's Washington headquarters, in a reply by e-mail to questions I posed. 
Jemison emphasized that these proposals only pertain to the two lowest of the eight priority groups the VA uses in apportioning health care to veterans. 
Let Your Voice Be Heard!
Do you agree with the actions of your representatives? Let them know how you feel -- your voice matters! Visit our Legislative Center for the latest action alerts or contact your representatives NOW! 
Such proposals to help fund VA health care have been tried before, only to fail in Congress. But it is a new budget and a new day in Washington, so your guess is as good - or probably better - than mine as to what funding for veterans programs will ultimately look like. 
Susan Edgerton says that perhaps more alarming than the fee and copayment plans are the proposed cuts in nursing home care for veterans. Edgerton is staff director for the Democratic side of the House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee. 
Funding for such programs under the Bush budget would be cut by $351 million. Budget figures indicate 28,851 fewer patients would be treated in VA-operated nursing homes, in private facilities that contract with the VA, and in those operated by states that the VA helps fund. 
"They are cutting on nursing-home beds already at a peak for the World War II generation and the Korea and Vietnam veterans will soon appear," Edgerton told me recently. 
Those cuts could particularly be troublesome for the program in which the VA can provide up to 65 percent of funding to build state nursing homes for veterans. 
"I think it means closure at a lot of state homes," Edgerton said. 
The new chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee has said that he wants to see the VA return to its "core constituency" of caring for disabled and indigent veterans. But an aide to the chairman, Republican Steve Buyer, of Indiana, did not offer any insight into his thoughts on the budget. 
"Over the next few weeks the whole committee will be going over testimony to see if the needs of veterans coming home today and in the past are met," Laura Zuckerman, a committee spokeswoman, told me. 
The tentative 2006 VA budget also would provide $750 million for the program realigning VA medical care known as CARES, for Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services. 
Under the 2006 budget for CARES, 28 new outpatient clinics are proposed as well as funding for design work for two new medical facilities in Biloxi, Miss., and Fayetteville, Ark. The total investment into the program to date is $2.5 billion, according to the VA, and the new dollars also would help fund five other major construction projects in Las Vegas, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Gainesville, Fla., and Anchorage, Alaska. 
Health care for veterans seems to be wracked with uncertainty each year. But Rep. Lane Evans, the ranking Democrat on the House veterans committee, is among some congressional and veterans leaders who say such uncertainty can be eliminated. 
The Illinois congressman recently introduced a bill that would establish mandatory dollars for veterans health care rather than depending on the crapshoot of discretionary funds from Congress. The large veterans service organizations support mandatory funding. Whether enough support can be mustered in Congress is the big question. 
Overall, the administration is seeking $70.8 billion for the VA. This includes $37.4 billion in mandatory funding that is mostly for compensation, pension and various benefit programs. The VA also is asking for about $290 million in the 2006 budget for its cemetery system, which includes burial benefits. This amount is about $17 million, or 6.4 percent, more than in the funding level for this year. 
Are you jumping for joy yet? 
 
 
 
 
When you go to a participating Tricare Pharmacy (the pharmacy actually has to take Tricare for it to be a participating pharmacy...), you can get your prescriptions filled for $3 and $9.
Non-Brand Name prescriptions are filled for $3 a piece. Brand Name prescriptions are filled for $9 a piece, if there is no generic of the Brand Name Drug available. 
It is possible for a person to be charged, as much as $22 while using Tricare to fill Prescriptions, if that person picks the Brand Name over the Generic drug available.
Most large, chain store pharmacies take Tricare. (You can take your prescriptions there and will have no problem getting them filled. If your doctor wishes to give you a brand name (drug) prescription and the doctor wants you to NOT get the generic available, that doctor will have to call Tricare for an Authorization at 1-866-684-4488.

TRICARE Updates

TRICARE Standard beneficiaries who live within a 40-mile radius of a military medical treatment facility (MTF) will no longer be required to obtain a non-availability statement or pre-authorization from an MTF before receiving inpatient care (other than mental health services) or maternity care from a civilian provider. The rule exempting these beneficiaries was published in the Federal Register 12 April 2005. DoD, however, is still authorized to make exceptions under certain conditions through a waiver process.

TRICARE also announced a new pharmacy Formulary Search Tool, which allows beneficiaries to find medication-specific information using either the drug name or medical condition. The Formulary Search Tool can be accessed through the TRICARE website at www.tricare.osd.mil/pharmacy.

TRICARE Improves Information Access 
Marine Corps News 
August 19, 2004
 
MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. - In an effort to improve the way service members access the information regarding their benefits, TRICARE's new contracts have recently undergone a few changes. 
Once the new contracts were set in place Aug. 1, TRICARE began to make changes to their system of providing information to their members. Gone are the local numbers that one would call to find out information about benefits. Now any member can call a regional line for TRICARE South. 
"The benefits haven't really changed as far as what the program covers, it is more of how to access them," said Linda Seigler, TRICARE marketing manager. 
These changes are there to make it a more efficient process, allowing easier access to the beneficiaries and to simplify the administrative process, said Seigler. Where there were once 12 contract regions, now there are three and that should simplify the processing of information. 
"With the new contract, life has been simplified for you as a beneficiary," she said. "There is now one number for you to call with all of your questions. When you call that number, you can access healthcare information, find out whether any referrals have been approved and enroll online." 
While the process has changed, there is a sense of optimism about the changes that have taken place. 
"[The new numbers] could be good because a lot of the times the local office will redirect you to the regional office to answer your questions," said Sgt. Mary Jo E. Turner, H&SBn. G-1. "I know that TRICARE has always taken good care of my daughter and me. Personally, I have had no problems and hope with the new system in place, it will continue that way." 
The process has been simplified, making it easier to get an appointment that is more convenient for an individual rather than just when an appointment is open. 
"This number replaces the local TRICARE Service Center number," said Seigler. "It is used if your doctor gives you [or anyone in your family] other than the TRICARE for life member, a referral and you want to find out if it has been approved." 
In the past, a doctor wrote a referral and the active duty members were not able to make their own appointments, but now they can. Individuals will be sent a letter from Humana Military Healthcare Services stating that thier referral has been approved, and from there it is in the individuals' hands to set an appointment. 
"You will be given the name and phone number of a provider to call to schedule an appointment," said Seigler. "They can make an appointment after they get authorization. That is very important - they can't just access care without a referral from their Primary Care Provider and an authorization from Humana." 
If someone does not wish to take care of their business online or over the phone they can still utilize the walk-in service for TRICARE's beneficiaries. 
In addition to the changes made to access beneficiary information, TRICARE members in the local area can also call an after hours Nurse Information Line, which allows for 24-hour Primary Care Provider contact and access to information that may save the member and the hospital time in assessing the kind of care necessary. 
"There used to be a 1-800 number that people could call, and then with the new contract coming on line August 1, that 1-800 number went away," said Patricia Binns, Naval Hospital Beaufort Public Affairs officer. "So each Military Treatment Facility had to figure out how they were going to provide the same information to beneficiaries. So what we did here was to come up with a what we called a, 'Nurse Information Line.'" 
During the day you can still get a hold of the clinics and your primary care manager team, said Binns. None of those numbers have changed, central appointments is still the same, and everything is the same as far as that goes. 
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. You can find this article on the "military.com" website.

America Supports You: New England Group Keeps Troops Warm 
To: DEFENSE-PRESS-SERVICE-L@DTIC.MIL 
    By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2006 - A group from Massachusetts worked 
diligently on the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to keep 
the nation's servicemembers warm.

"I really wanted to have something on Sept. 11 to honor the victims, 
and what better way than to send care packages?" Jim Sereigo-Wareing, 
founder of "New England Caring For Our Military," said.

Those care packages contained fleece blankets donated by Malden 
Mills, Sereigo-Wareing's former employer. The company invented Polartec, a 
synthetic fleece fabric, which is used in the cold weather systems it 
designs for U.S. Special Forces, according to the Malden Mills Web 
site.

Class Incorporated, an organization that helps the disabled get into 
the workforce, and a local senior citizens center provided some 
volunteers to help box the blankets. Middle school students worked 
alongside the other volunteers to fill out address labels for the boxes that 
included a letter explaining how these small pieces of home found 
their way to the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We were trying to get a community effort in sending that one item to 
the (servicemembers)," Sereigo-Wareing said. "It was pretty 
successful."

Sereigo-Wareing held back about 150 of the 1,200 blankets for a 
special project, he said. He's hoping to deliver the blankets, along with 
letters of thanks from area students, to servicemembers recovering at 
Washington-area military hospitals for Veterans Day.

While New England Caring For Our Military doesn't focus on blankets, 
it does work to make sure servicemembers around the globe get "warm 
fuzzies" from home.

The organization, which hopes to expand to every New England state 
within a year, is a member of America Supports You, a Defense 
Department program highlighting ways Americans and the corporate sector are 
supporting the nation's servicemembers.

"Our care packages are usually specific to an individual," 
Sereigo-Wareing said. "Usually (servicemembers) go to the America Supports You 
Web site and find our organization, ... then they go to our Web site 
and submit their information."

Area classrooms generally take a couple of boxes each. The class 
works from a servicemember's wish list to fill the boxes with 
entertainment, food and comfort items, he said.

"I don't do very much other than organize it," Sereigo-Wareing said.

These collection efforts aren't the only things Sereigo-Wareing is 
organizing these days. He's also working on a new way for the nonprofit 
group to raise funds to cover the cost of shipping the boxes overseas 
-- a new Massachusetts license plate. His design depicts a bald eagle 
with a "Support Our Troops" ribbon in its beak.

The commonwealth waived the $100,000 bond it usually requires. 
Instead, Sereigo-Wareing and his organization must secure 3,000 prepaid 
applications for the plate, double the usual number.

"That's a big, big venture, and it's going, unfortunately, very 
painstakingly slow," Sereigo-Wareing said. "We only have a couple hundred, 
and we've been doing it for seven months."

He approached the legislature in hopes of speeding up the process. 
Because the new plate would directly benefit the troops, they've agreed 
to work with him after their recess.

When the plates are authorized, Sereigo-Wareing's group will see $28 
of the $40 fee from the first 3,000 plates. After that, the entire 
$40 will go to the group. Based on other plates that support nonprofit 
groups, he said the income could be significant.

"The whale plate in Massachusetts makes approximately $1 million a 
year," he said, adding that even a quarter of that would be huge for 
his organization. "What we plan on doing is keeping a small portion of 
(the profits), say 25 percent, and then the other 75 percent, giving 
it out to any nonprofit in Massachusetts that supports the military 
in similar ways that we do."

He said he hopes this will reduce the stress of fundraising for 
troop-support groups.

[Web Version: 
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1446]

====================================================

'Freedom Walk' Announced

The Defense Department today announced the first "America Supports You Freedom Walk" to honor the victims of 9/11 and America's military personnel, as well as to celebrate freedom. The Freedom Walk will begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 11 in the Pentagon South parking lot, near the site where the airliner crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. The walk route will consist of a two-mile trek through Arlington National Cemetery, over the Potomac River, and will end by the reflecting pool on the National Mall, where a free concert featuring country music star Clint Black will take place. To avoid long lines, America Supports You Freedom Walk participants are encouraged to arrive at the Pentagon South parking lot between 7 and 8 a.m. According to the Freedom Walk Website, the first 1,000 people to arrive will receive an official America Supports You campaign lapel pin. Participants also are encouraged to take the Metro to either the Pentagon or Pentagon City stations and follow the signs to the Freedom Walk staging area. Those wishing to walk in this year's Freedom Walk can register online by visiting the America Supports You Freedom Walk website. (http://www.asyfreedomwalk.com/) Volunteer opportunities also are available online. Registration is open until 10 a.m. Sept. 9. To check out other programs and events that support our troops, visit Support the Troops (http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent1/?file=support_troops) at Military.com.

TRICARE Builds Its Uniform Formulary

The TRICARE has announced the addition of 11 new medications to the TRICARE Uniform Formulary. Additionally, they approved moving seven medications to non-formulary status. The following medications have been added to the Uniform Formulary: Levitra (PDE-5 Inhibitor); nystatin, clotrimazole, ketoconazole, miconazole, Mentax, Naftin (Topical Antifungals); and Rebif, Avonex, Copaxone, Betaseron (Multiple Sclerosis Disease Modifying Drugs). The non-formulary medications include: Viagra, Cialis (PDE-5 Inhibitors); and ciclopirox, econazole, Oxistat, Ertaczo, Exelderm (Topical Antifungals). Formulary alternatives are available for these medications at a co-pay of either $3 or $9. Beneficiaries will pay $22 for up to a 30- or 90-day supply for non-formulary medications, depending on whether they fill the prescription at a TRICARE Retail Network Pharmacy (TRRx) or through the TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy (TMOP). Beneficiaries will pay the higher of $22 or 20 percent in retail non-network pharmacies. The implementation date of the $22 co-payment for the topical antifungal medications is Aug. 17, 2005, and the implementation date for PDE-5 Inhibitors is Oct. 12, 2005. Patients currently using the newly designated non-formulary medications may wish to consult their doctor about formulary alternatives or if a medical necessity is appropriate for them. If medical necessity is established for using non-formulary medications, patients may qualify for the $9 co-payment for up to a 30-day supply or up to a 90-day TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy (TMOP) supply. Medical necessity forms are available on the TRICARE Pharmacy Website. Procedures for completing and submitting medical necessity information may be found on these forms. For more information about TMOP, eligible beneficiaries may visit the Express-Scripts Inc. Website, or they may call (866) DOD-TMOP, (866) 363-8667. Beneficiaries may also contact the TRICARE Retail Pharmacy Program TRRx customer service line at (866) DOD-TRRX, (866) 363-8779, or visit the TRICARE Pharmacy Website. For additional information about various medications, their availability and cost, beneficiaries may use the TRICARE Formulary Search Tool. For general information on TRICARE, see the TRICARE Overview. (http://www.military.com/MilitaryReport/0,12914,75243,00.html?ESRC=miltrep.nl)

TRICARE Survivor Benefits: Overview

TRICARE-eligible family members, whose sponsor dies while on active duty will continue to receive TRICARE benefits. During the three years following a sponsor's death, surviving spouses and children under 21 years of age (23, if enrolled in a full-time course of study in an institution of higher learning) remain eligible for TRICARE Prime without enrollment fees and copayments. Surviving family members may enroll in TRICARE Prime where offered, but lose eligibility for TRICARE Prime Remote for Active Duty Family Members, if enrolled in that program at the time of the sponsor's death. Surviving family members who are not enrolled in TRICARE Prime may use TRICARE Extra or Standard, but are subject to the appropriate active duty cost shares and annual deductible requirements for each program. During the three-year survivor benefit period, surviving family members are protected from having to pay out-of-pocket expenses of more than $1,000 per fiscal year for TRICARE allowable charges for covered services. Active duty family members who accompanied their sponsor on orders outside of the continental United States (OCONUS) and reside in that location at the time of their sponsor's death are eligible for three-year transitional health care benefits under the TRICARE Overseas Program Prime. Surviving family members who are enrolled in the TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) at the time of the servicemember's death remain eligible for dental care under the TDP Survivor Benefit program. Under this survivor program, the Government will pay 100 percent of the premium for three years from the month following the sponsor's death. For additional information on dental survivor benefits, beneficiaries may refer to the TRICARE Dental Program Survivor Benefit fact sheet. It is extremely important for survivors to update their TRICARE eligibility in DEERS. Surviving family members may go to the nearest Uniformed Services identification card-issuing facility , which can be found at the RAPIDS Site locator, or contact the Defense Manpower Data Center Support Office Telephone Center at (800) 538-9552. Surviving spouses must contact the ID card-issuing facility in advance to determine the range and scope of available services. For general information on TRICARE, see the TRICARE Overview. (http://www.military.com/MilitaryReport/0,12914,75244,00.html?ESRC=miltrep.nl)

TRICARE to All Reservists

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), chairman of the Senate armed services subcommittee on military personnel, says he will be "adamant" during negotiations with House conferees on a final defense authorization bill that it include his Senate-approved amendment to open a premium-based military health insurance plan to any drilling Reservist or National Guard member. For more details, see Graham Vows Fight to Open Tricare to All Reservists. (http://www.military.com/MilitaryReport/0,12914,75249,00.html?ESRC=miltrep.nl)

Congress Seeks to Expand Death Benefits

The House has passed the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) Enhancement Act of 2005 (H.R. 3200), which permanently increases SGLI and Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI) from $250,000 to $400,000. SGLI and VGLI were increased earlier this year through emergency war supplemental appropriations, but the increases were due to expire 30 September 2005. The legislation also requires the DoD to notify a servicemember's spouse should the member decline SGLI or choose an amount less than the maximum. The spouse must also be notified should the member designate someone other than the spouse or dependent child as a beneficiary. The Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) and other veterans' groups have expressed concern over this requirement, citing concerns about compromising the servicemembers' right to privacy in designating a beneficiary of his or her choice. The Senate's FY 2006 National Defense Authorization Bill (S. 1042), which will not be acted on until September, increases SGLI to $400,000 as well; however, the legislation fails to make the increased SGLI retroactive - which means that if a servicemember died on active duty in 2003, his or her family would receive the one-time retroactive death gratuity payment of $100,000, but would not be eligible for the increased SGLI payment of $400,000 (up from $250,000). The Senate also voted to permanently increase the death gratuity benefit paid to families of servicemembers killed while on duty to $100,000 (up from $12,420), and makes the payment retroactive to 7 October 2001 -- the day operations began in Afghanistan as part of the Global War on Terror. Contact your representative and let your voice be heard on this important legislation. (http://www.military.com/MilitaryReport/0,12914,75247,00.html?ESRC=miltrep.nl)

Contracts

Contracts, Friday Jun. 17, 2005 
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense

No. 615-05
FOR RELEASE AT
Jun 17, 2005
(703)697-5131(media)
(703)428-0711(public/industry)

Friday, June 17, 2005 - 5:00 PM
Contracts, Friday, June 17, 2005

CONTRACTS

f         ARMY

Allison Transmission Division General Motors Corp., 
Indianapolis, Ind.,
was awarded on June 15, 2005, a $31,699,006 modification to a 
firm-fixed-price
contract for new production of X200-4A transmissions.  Work will be 
performed in
Indianapolis, Ind., and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2006.  
Contract
funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This was 
a sole
source contract initiated on May 20, 2005.  The U.S. Army 
Tank-Automotive and
Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity 
(W56HZV-05-C-0233).

JKS Industries Inc.*, Mulberry, Fla., was awarded on June 
15, 2005, an
$11,089,740 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for M918 
Projectile
Assemblies.  Work will be performed in Mulberry, Fla., and is expected 
to be
completed by Sept. 30, 2006.  Contract funds will not expire at the end 
of the
current fiscal year.  There were an unknown number of bids solicited 
via the World
Wide Web on April 5, 2001, and three bids were received.  The U.S. Army 
Field
Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity 
(DAAA09-01-C-0033).

Seyer Industries*, Saint Peters, Mo., was awarded on June 
15, 2005, a
delivery order amount of $8,925,200 as part of an $8,925,200 
firm-fixed-price
contract for an aircraft hoisting unit.  Work will be performed in 
Saint Peters,
Mo., and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2010.  Contract funds 
will not
expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  There were two bids 
solicited on
Aug. 30, 2004, and one bid was received.  The U.S. Army Aviation and 
Missile
Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity 
(W58RGZ-05-D-0319).

United Defense L.P., Santa Clara, Calif., was awarded on 
June 15, 2005,
an $8,000,000 modification to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for 
systems technical
support and logistics services in support of the Bradley Fighting 
Vehicle and
multiple launch rocket systems and their derivative vehicles.  Work 
will be
performed in Santa Clara, Calif., and is expected to be completed by 
Nov. 30,
2006.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal 
year.  This
was a sole source contract initiated on Dec. 28, 2000.  The U.S. Army
Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the 
contracting activity
(DAAE07-01-C-M011).

Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Chantilly, Va., was awarded 
on June 15,
2005, a $7,807,466 modification to a fixed-price-incentive contract for 
completion
of the market basket adjustment for the Pentagon Wedge 3 construction.  
Work will
be performed in Arlington, Va., and is expected to be completed by 
October 2007.
Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  
This was a
sole source contract initiated on Jan. 19, 2001.  The Pentagon 
Renovation &
Construction Program Office, Arlington, Va., is the contracting 
activity
(MDA947-01-C-2001).

United Defense L.P., Santa Clara, Calif., was awarded on 
June 15, 2005,
a $7,596,000 modification to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for systems 
technical
support and logistics services in support of the Bradley Fighting 
Vehicle and
multiple launch rocket systems and their derivative vehicles.  Work 
will be
performed in Santa Clara, Calif., and is expected to be completed by 
Nov. 30,
2006.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal 
year.  This
was a sole source contract initiated on Dec. 28, 2000.  The U.S. Army
Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the 
contracting activity
(DAAE07-01-C-M011).

Raytheon Co., Bedford, Mass., was awarded on June 15, 2005, 
a
$6,367,814 modification to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for fiscal 
2005 PATRIOT
engineering services.  Work will be performed in Burlington, Mass. (12 
percent),
Huntsville, Ala. (1 percent), Andover, Mass. (2 percent), Tewksbury, 
Mass. (71
percent), El Paso, Texas (1 percent), Bedford, Mass. (12 percent), and 
Orlando,
Fla. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by Jan. 9, 2009.  
Contract funds
will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This was a sole 
source
contract initiated on Aug. 26, 2003.  The U.S. Army Aviation and 
Missile Command,
Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-04-C-0020).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Rogers Petroleum Inc., Morristown, Tenn., * is being 
awarded a minimum
$12,450,575 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for 
gasoline and
diesel fuel for the Navy, Air Force, and federal civilian agencies.  
Other
locations of performance are various locations in Ariz., Calif., and 
Utah.
Performance completion date is Aug. 31, 2009.  Contract funds will not 
expire at
the end of the current fiscal year.  There were 228 proposals solicited 
and 33
responded.  The contracting activity is the Defense Energy Support 
Center (DESC),
Fort Belvoir, Va. (SP0600-05-D-4537).

AIR FORCE

General Corp., Sacramento, Calif., is being awarded a 
$5,014,884
cost-plus fixed-fee contract modification.  The contract modification 
exercises the
option contract line item number 0006 to continue the research Upper 
State Engine
Technology (USET) effort.  The objective of the USET effort is to 
enable the rapid
and successful design, development, and test of liquid rocket 
propulsion
Turbopump.  This will be accomplished through developing and/or 
improving upon
current engineering design, physical modeling and component performance 
simulation
tools, in order to exceed the Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion 
Technology
Cryogenic Upper Stage Phase I goals and strive for Phase II goals.  
This option is
for the turbopump preliminary design.  No funds have been obligated.  
This work
will be complete by September 2006.  The Headquarters Air Force Flight 
Test Center,
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity 
(FA9300-04-C-0008,
P00012).

* Small Business

[Web Version: 
http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/2005/ct20050617.html]

Contracts, Thursday Jun. 16, 2005 
To: DODCONTRACTS-L@DTIC.MIL

CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense

No. 608-05
FOR RELEASE AT
Jun 16, 2005
(703)697-5131(media)
(703)428-0711(public/industry)

Thursday, June 16, 2005 - 5:00 PM
Contracts, Thursday, June 16, 2005

CONTRACTS
                               f         ARMY
            AM General L.L.C., South Bend, Ind., was awarded on June 
13, 2005, a
$120,817,716 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for M1114 High 
Mobility
Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle Chassis.  Work will be performed in South 
Bend, Ind.,
and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2005.  Contract funds will 
not expire
at the end of the current fiscal year.  This was a sole source contract 
initiated
on July 17, 2000.  The U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, 
Warren,
Mich., is the contracting activity (DAAE07-01-C-S001).

Tug Hill Construction Inc.*, Watertown, N.Y., was awarded 
on June 15,
2005, a $30,187,075 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a 
Digital
Multipurpose Range Complex.  Work will be performed at Fort Carson, 
Colo., and is
expected to be completed by Dec. 22, 2007.  Contract funds will not 
expire at the
end of the current fiscal year.  There were 17 bids solicited on April 
13, 2005,
and five bids were received.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, 
Neb., is the
contracting activity (W9128F-05-C-0012).

BAE Systems Ordnance Systems Inc., Kingsport, Tenn., was 
awarded on
June 15, 2005, a delivery order amount of $27,970,796 as part of a 
$100,503,130
firm-fixed-price contract for production and supply of CXM-7 to support 
bomb
production.  Work will be performed in Kingsport, Tenn., and is 
expected to be
completed by July 27, 2006.  Contract funds will not expire at the end 
of the
current fiscal year.  This was a sole source contract initiated on May 
9, 2005.
The U.S. Army Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the 
contracting activity
(DAAA09-03-D-0007).

MPRI Inc., Alexandria, Va., was awarded on June 14, 2005, a 
delivery
order amount of $18,480,045 as part of a $434,604,872 time and material 
contract
for the Rapid Fielding Initiative Supply Chain Services.  Work will be 
performed in
Middle River, Md. (80 percent) and Kuwait City, Kuwait (20 percent), 
and is
expected to be completed by June 30, 2009.  Contract funds will not 
expire at the
end of the current fiscal year.  There were an unknown number of bids 
solicited via
the World Wide Web on Oct. 14, 2004, and three bids were received.  The 
U.S. Army
Research, Development, and Engineering Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, 
Md., is the
contracting activity (W91CRB-05-D-0023).

DynCorp International L.L.C., Fort Worth, Texas, was 
awarded on June
14, 2005, a $10,953,926 increment as part of a $574,937,337 
firm-fixed-price
contract for an upgrade of 20 UC-35A aircraft to the UC-35A1 
configuration.  Work
will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed 
by Feb. 27,
2007.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal 
year.  There
were an unknown number of bids solicited via the World Wide Web on 
March 8, 2000,
and two bids were received.  The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile 
Command,
Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting activity (DAAH23-00-C-0226).

D&A (Joint Venture)*, Fairbanks, Alaska, was awarded on 
June 10, 2005,
a $9,836,028 firm-fixed-price contract for Infrastructure Support to 
Modularity.
Work will be performed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, and is expected to 
be completed
by Jan. 30, 2006.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the 
current fiscal
year.  This was a sole source contract initiated on May 20, 2005.  The 
U.S. Army
Engineer District, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting 
activity
(W911KB-05-C-0013).

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., was awarded on 
June 13,
2005, a $7,291,242 firm-fixed-price contract for inlet assembly engines 
for the
UH-60 Aircraft.  Work will be performed in Montreal, Quebec, and is 
expected to be
completed by Jan. 31, 2008.  Contract funds will not expire at the end 
of the
current fiscal year.  This was a sole source contract initiated on Nov. 
6, 2003.
The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is 
the
contracting activity (W58RGZ-05-C-0229).

Systems and Electronics Inc., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded 
on June 14,
2005, a $7,234,801 modification to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for 
systems
technical support and logistics services in support of the M707 Knight 
Vehicle
System.  Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to 
be completed
by Oct. 31, 2005.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the 
current fiscal
year.  This was a sole source contract initiated on Dec. 8, 2004.  The 
U.S. Army
Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the 
contracting activity
(W56HZV-05-C-0003).

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, 
Burlington, Vt., was
awarded on June 13, 2005, a $5,289,536 firm-fixed-price contract for M2 
Receiver
Cartridges.  Work will be performed in Saco, Maine, and is expected to 
be completed
by Dec. 29, 2006.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the 
current fiscal
year.  This was a sole source contract initiated on Jan. 12, 2005.  The 
U.S. Army
Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the 
contracting
activity (W52H09-05-C-0210).

NAVY
            Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc., Arlington, Va., is 
being awarded
$30,000,000 for Task Order 0013 under a cost reimbursement,
indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity construction contract 
(N62470-04-D-4017)
for construction of Detention Camp #6 and Security Fence at U.S. Naval 
Base,
Guantanamo Bay.  The work to be performed provides for a two-story, 
220-man
facility, consisting of day rooms, exercise areas, medical/dental 
spaces, and a
security control room.  The project also will include site work, 
heating
ventilation and air conditioning, plumbing, and electrical work.  Work 
will be
performed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and is expected to be completed by 
July 2006.
Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  
The basic
contract was competitively procured with 59 offers solicited, three 
proposals
received and award made on July 26, 2004._ _ The total contract amount 
is not to
exceed $500,000,000, which includes the base period and four option 
years.  The
Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the 
contracting
activity.

URS Group Inc., Seattle, Wash., is being awarded a not to 
exceed
$20,000,000 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity
architect-engineer contract, with a guaranteed minimum of $100,000, for
environmental restoration projects to support the Engineering Field 
Activity (EFA)
Northwest, Naval Facilities Engineering Command.  The work to be 
performed provides
for environmental restoration under the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act and similarly complex local and state 
environmental
investigations.  Work will be performed at various installations within 
the EFA
Northwest area of responsibility including, but not limited to, 
Washington (75
percent); Alaska (22 percent); Oregon (1 percent); Idaho (1 percent); 
and Montana
(1 percent).  The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with 
an expected
completion date of June 2006.  Contract funds will expire at the end of 
the current
fiscal year.  This contract was competitively procured via the NAVFAC
e-solicitation website with five offers received_._  The Engineering 
Field Activity
Northwest, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Poulsbo, Wash., is the 
contracting
activity (N44255-05-D-5100).

AIR FORCE
            Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems and Solutions, is being 
awarded a
$18,132,288 cost-plus award-fee contract modification to provide for 
range safety
functions including telemetry processing, metric data processing, 
acquisition data
processing, debris and hazard analysis processing, pre-mission flight 
analysis and
command and flight destruct processing.  Flight Operations and Analysis 
provides
the software and hardware architecture necessary to implement a fully 
automated,
reliable and effective life cycle cost design.  A common hardware and 
software
baseline across both ranges enable common processes, procedures and 
training.  At
this time, $6,134,446 of the funds has been obligated.  This work will 
be complete
by November 2007.  The Headquarters Space and Missile Systems Center, 
Los Angeles
Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity (F04701-95-C-0029, 
P00194).

Honeywell International Inc., Redmond, Wash., is being 
awarded a
$12,095,323 firm fixed price contract.  This contract action is for 75 
Terrain
Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) TPS-81A processors, 131 TCAS Mode 
S/IFF Control
Panels, 85 TCAS AN/APX-119/RT-1853 Mode S/IFF Digital Transponders 
without Crypto,
75 TCAS Displays and 100 TCAS, Antennas for the C-130 System Program.  
Honeywell
International will perform this effort in Redmond, Wash.  Total funds 
have been
obligated.  This work will be completed by November 2006.  Solicitation 
began May
2005.  The Headquarters Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force 
Base, Mass.,
is the contracting activity (F19628-02-D-0014)

Lockheed Martin System and Sensors, Syracuse, N.Y., is 
being awarded a
$6,216,421 cost-plus incentive-fee and firm fixed price contract 
modification.
This contract modification will install the second of two pacific 
Alaska Range
Complex Long Range Radar System; providing a transportable radar which 
includes one
TPS-77 Radar, microwave equipment, peculiar support equipment.  The 
TPS-77 radar is
composed of a three dimensial L-Band primary surveillance radar and 
monopulse
secondary surveillance radar.  The system provides air surveillance 
information to
be used in the conduct of air sovereignty operations.  The location of 
performance
is Taylor Mountain, Alaska Nugget Construction Inc.  Total funds have 
been
obligated.  This work will be complete by September 2006.  Negotiations 
were
completed May 2004.  The Headquarters Electronic Systems Center, 
Hanscom Air Force
Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (F19628-03-C-0049, P00019).

*Small Business

[Web Version: 
http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/2005/ct20050616.html]

CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense

No. 575-05
FOR RELEASE AT
Jun 09, 2005
(703)697-5131(media)
(703)428-0711(public/industry)

Thursday, June 9, 2005 - 5:00 PM
Contracts, Thursday, June 9, 2005

CONTRACTS

_NAVY
_

L-3 Communications Ocean Systems Division, a division of 
L-3
Communications Corp., Sylmar, Calif., is being awarded a $49,109,364
cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite 
quantity
contract for support, repair, and upgrade services for the TB-23/BQ 
thinline towed
array system and support equipment.  Work will be performed at L-3 
Communications
Ocean Systems Division, Sylmar, Calif. and is expected to be completed 
September
2010.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal 
year.  The
contract was not competitively procured.  The Naval Sea Systems 
Command,
Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-05-C-6237).

United States Marine, Inc., New Orleans, La., is being 
awarded an
$18,826,099 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of three 27 
meter Fast
Patrol Boats (FPB), with technical data, training, and spare parts for 
the Royal
Oman Police Coast Guard (ROPCG) under the Foreign Military Sales 
Program.  The FPB
will be constructed of fiberglass reinforced plastic and conform to 
American Bureau
of Shipping high-speed naval craft requirements.  The primary mission 
of the FPB is
to perform ROPCG operations within waters to include law enforcement, 
and local
patrol operations.  Work will be performed in New Orleans, La., and is 
expected to
be completed by May 2007.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of 
the current
fiscal year.  The contract was not competitively procured.  The Naval 
Sea Systems
Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity 
(N00024-05-C-2210).

Raytheon�s Network Centric Systems, St. Petersburg, Fla., 
is being
awarded an $8,400,000 modification to previously awarded contract
(N00024-03-C-5118) for investigation and study of the radio waveform 
used by the
Navy�s Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) Program.  CEC is a 
sensor netting
system that significantly improves battle force anti-air warfare 
capability by
extracting and distributing sensor-derived information such that the 
superset of
this data is available to all participating CEC units.  Work will be 
performed in
St. Petersburg, Fla. (65 percent); and Largo, Fla. (35 percent) and is 
expected to
be completed by February 2006.  Contract funds will not expire at the 
end of the
current fiscal year.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., 
is the
contracting activity.

_DLA_

_           _ U.S. Foodservice Lexington, Lexington, S.C., is being 
awarded a
maximum $37,500,000 firm fixed price contract for Army, Navy, Air 
Force, Marine
Corps, Job Corps, and National Guard for prime vendor food and beverage 
support.
This is an indefinite quantity contract exercising the first of four 
one-year
options.  Performance completion date is June 19, 2006.  Contract funds 
will not
expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  There were forty-nine 
proposals
solicited and four responded.  The contracting activity is the Defense 
Supply
Center   Philadelphia (DSCP), Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM300-05-D-3057).

Carter Industries Inc., Olive Hill, Ky.*, is being awarded 
a maximum
$10,300,750 firm fixed price contract for the Army for coats and 
trousers.
Performance completion date is April 5, 2006.  Contract funds will not 
expire at
the end of the current fiscal year.  There were five proposals 
solicited and three
responded.  The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center 
Philadelphia (DSCP),
Philadelphia, Pa. (SP0100-05-R-0053).

AIR FORCE

_           _ Honeywell, Albuquerque, N.M., is being awarded an 
$11,090,000 firm
fixed price contract.  This acquisition is a part of the Cordwood 
Module Program
that involves a complete retrofit of the entire B-1B fleet, including 
installs and
spares.  The requested hybrid microcircuit quantities are to be 
immediately
installed on the B-1B fleet upon receipt.  The location of performance 
is Aeroflex
Inc., Plainview, N.Y.  Total funds have been obligated.  This work will 
be complete
by June 2006.  Solicitation began May 2005 and negotiations were 
completed June
2005.  The 448th Combat Sustainment Wing, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., 
is the
contracting activity (FA8103-05-C-0132).

Boeing Satellite Systems, Los Angeles, Calif., is being 
awarded a
$6,500,000 firm fixed price contract modification to provide the 
warfighter
flexible, high capacity communications supporting voice and data 
transmission.
This action authorizes Satellite 3 launch services to provide launch 
support and
early operations, including orbit-raising on-orbit checkout for 
Wideband Gapfiller
Satellite Flight 3.  Boeing Satellite Systems will accomplish this work 
at their El
Segundo, Calif. facility, Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, Fla. and at 
other
locations, as required.  This action will not lengthen the period of 
performance
beyond the current overall period of performance on contract.  Total 
funds have
been obligated.  This work will be complete by January 2007.  The 
Headquarters
Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., 
is the
contracting activity (F04701-00-C-0011, P00105).

*Small Buisness

CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense

No. 570-05
FOR RELEASE AT
Jun 08, 2005
(703)697-5131(media)
(703)428-0711(public/industry)

Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 5:00 PM
Contracts, Wednesday, June 8, 2005

CONTRACTS

_MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY_

The Raytheon Co., Waltham, Mass., is being awarded an 
indefinite
delivery/indefinite quantity contract to provide logistics support 
services to
operate and maintain up to four forward based X-Band Radar � 
transportable radars
to support the Ballistic Missile Defense System.  The principal place 
of
performance will be at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Woburn, 
Mass., and
the period of performance is from 26 May 2005 through 25 May 2010.  The 
maximum
potential value of the contract is $260,900,000.  The Missile Defense 
Agency is the
contracting activity (HQ0006-05-C-0016.)

f         ARMY

_           _ Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle System L.P., Sealy, 
Texas, was
awarded on June 3, 2005, an $184,981,156 modification to a 
cost-reimbursement and
firm-fixed-price contract for Family of Medium Tactical Vehicle trucks.  
Work will
be performed in Sealy, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 
15, 2008.
Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  
There were
two bids solicited on Aug. 15, 2002, and two bids were received.  The 
U.S. Army
Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the 
contracting activity
(DAAE07-03-C-S023).

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., was awarded on 
June 3, 2005,
a $72,158,252 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for project 
systems
management for the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters.  Work will be 
performed in
Stratford, Conn., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2007.  
Contract funds
will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This was a sole 
source
contract initiated on Oct. 4, 2000.  The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile 
Command,
Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (DAAH23-02-C-0006).

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., was awarded on 
June 3, 2005,
a $35,070,665 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for plus-ups 
of the
UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters.  Work will be performed in Stratford, 
Conn., and is
expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2007.  Contract funds will not 
expire at the
end of the current fiscal year.  This was a sole source contract 
initiated on Oct.
4, 2000.  The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, 
Ala., is
the contracting activity (DAAH23-02-C-0006).

MPRI, Alexandria, Va., was awarded on June 6, 2005, an 
$18,717,634
firm-fixed-price contract for Staff Recruiter Services.  Work will be 
performed at
Fort Knox, Ky., and is expected to be completed by Jan. 6, 2006.  
Contract funds
will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  There were two 
bids
solicited on May 2, 2003, and two bids were received.  The Army 
Contracting Agency,
Fort Eustis, Va., is the contracting activity (DABJ01-03-F-0538).

General Dynamics C4 Systems Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz., was 
awarded on
June 2, 2005, an $8,552,250 increment as part of a $28,176,442 
firm-fixed-price
contract for Land Warrior-Stryker Interoperability Systems and 
associated support
equipment.  Work will be performed in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is 
expected to be
completed by March 30, 2006.  Contract funds will not expire at the end 
of the
current fiscal year.  This was a sole source contract initiated on May 
19, 2005.
The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, Fort Monmouth, N.J., 
is the
contracting activity (W15P7T-05-C-F201).

BAE Systems Ordnance Systems Inc., Kingsport, Tenn., was 
awarded on
June 6, 2005, a delivery order amount of $6,625,384 as part of a 
$32,856,522
firm-fixed-price contract for production and supply of explosives to 
support the
M112 demo blocks program.  Work will be performed in Kingsport, Tenn., 
and is
expected to be completed by April 27, 2006.  Contract funds will not 
expire at the
end of the current fiscal year.  This was a sole source contract 
initiated on May
2, 2005.  The U.S. Army Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill, is the 
contracting
activity (DAAA09-09-D-0007).

NAVY

Digital Authentication Technologies, Inc.*, Boca Raton, 
Fla., is being
awarded a not-to-exceed $25,000,000 Phase III, Small Business 
Innovative Research
(SBIR) program contract for Topic N04-024 entitled �Strong 
Location-Specific
Authentication for Mobile Users and Devices.�  The objective of the 
topic is to
develop a prototype Location Specific Digital Fingerprint System for 
use by the
U.S. Joint Forces Command Joint Experimentation Directorate.  Work will 
be
performed in Boca Raton, Fla., and is expected to be completed in June 
2010.
Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  
This
contract was competitively procured using SBIR Program Solicitation 
under Topic
N04-024; 21 offers were received.  The Naval Air Warfare Center 
Aircraft Division,
Lakehurst, N.J. is the contracting activity (N68335-05-D-0012).

Hamilton Sundstrand, Windsor Locks, Conn., is being awarded 
a
$14,257,144 modification under previously awarded contract 
(N00383-95-G-004A) to
exercise an option for procurement of NP2000 propeller systems for the 
C-2
aircraft.  Work will be performed in Windsor Locks, Conn., and work is 
expected to
be completed by December 2007.  Contract funds will not expire at the 
end of the
current fiscal year.  This contract was not competitively procured.  
The Naval
Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity (Mod 0036).

L. C. Gaskins Construction, Inc. C Construction Co., Inc. A 
Joint
Venture, Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded an $8,655,305 
firm-fixed-price
contract for construction of a Naval Aviation Maintenance Training 
Marine Unit at
Marine Corp Air Station, New River.  Work will be performed in 
Jacksonville, N.C.,
and is expected to be completed by February 2007._ _ Contract funds 
will not expire
at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was competitively 
procured
with 108 proposals solicited and three offers received.  The Naval 
Facilities
Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting 
activity
(N62470-05-C-2040).

ALION Science and Technology Corp., Chicago, Ill., is being 
awarded a
$5,626,819 ceiling-priced delivery order against a previously awarded
cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract
(N61339-03-D-0300) to provide specialized modeling and simulation (M&S) 
services in
support of the Directorate of Capabilities Integration, Prioritization, 
and
Analysis, G3 Headquarters, Department of the Army, Advanced Concepts 
and
Requirements M&S Domain.  These services consist of providing M&S tools 
and
analysis for strategic direction, concept development, requirements 
determination,
force planning, and experimentation.  Work will be performed in 
Washington D.C.,
and is expected to be completed in May 2009.  Contract funds in the 
amount of
$388,800 will expire at the end of the fiscal year.   The Naval Air 
Warfare Center
Training Systems Division, Orlando, Fla., is the contracting activity.
- -
                                     AIR FORCE

_           _ ATK Tactical Systems Co. LLC, Rocket Center, W. Va., is 
being awarded
a $14,496,884 firm fixed price contract modification to provide for the 
DSU-33B/B
proximity sensor, a nose-mounted radio frequency proximity sensor used 
on M117 and
MK-80 series general-purpose bombs and the Joint Direct Attack Munition 
(JDAM).
The sensor is qualified for use on the following aircraft and each 
variant in their
series:  Marine AV-8, Navy/Marines F/A-18, and Air Force A-10, F-15, 
F-16, F-22,
B-52, B-1 and B-2 including foreign military sales versions.  This 
action is for
procurement of 12,675 additional DSU-33B/B proximity sensors and cables 
for the
Navy and 350 sensors and cables, 20 D-2 trainers and 6 D-5 trainers for 
foreign
military sales under Option 4 of the contract.  Total funds have been 
obligated.
This work will be complete by March 2007.  The Headquarters 
Air-to-Ground Munitions
Systems Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity
(F08635-02-C-0049, P00015).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Paul Canavan, General Electric Aircraft Engines, Lynn, 
Mass, is being
awarded a maximum $9,182,183 firm fixed price contract for Navy, and 
Air Force for
adding 6 NSNs to existing contract for commercial items on engine lines 
T64, T58,
TF39, TF34, F118, F118, F404, T700, F110, and F101.  This is a 
requirements-type
contract for ten years with a two-year base and four, two-year options.
Performance completion date is March 31, 2007.  Contract funds will not 
expire at
the end of the current fiscal year.  There was one sole source 
solicited and one
responded.  The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center 
Richmond,
Richmond, Va. (SP0400-00-D-9403).

* Small Business

CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense

No. 559-05
FOR RELEASE AT
Jun 06, 2005
(703)697-5131(media)
(703)428-0711(public/industry)

Monday, June 6, 2005 - 5:00 PM
Contracts, Monday, June 6, 2005

AIR FORCE

McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the 
Boeing Co.,
Saint Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $31,361,338 contract to convert 
9,000 Joint
Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) selective availability anti-spoofing 
module (SAASM)
guided vehicles procured under JDAM Lot 9 contract to selective 
availability
anti-spoofing module/anti-jam (SAASM/AJ) configuration and procure 
anti-jam
non-recurring equipment.  The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) 
weapon system
provides the Air Force and the Navy with an improved aerial delivery 
capability for
existing 500,1000 and 2000-pounds bombs.  The JDAM is a strap-on kit 
with Inertial
Navigation System (INS)/Global Positioning System (GPS) capability.  
The location
of performance is Honeywell Inc., Motion and Sensor Products Operation,
Minneapolis, Minn., (approx 25%).  Total funds have been obligated.  
This work will
be complete February 2007.  Solicitations began and negotiations were 
complete June
2005.  The Air-to-Ground Munitions Systems Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, 
Fla., is the
contracting activity (F A8681-05-C-0033).

McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the 
Boeing Co.,
Long Beach, Calif., is being awarded a  $6,917,366 contract 
modification to provide
fiscal year 2005 omnibus spares Phase II. The government will procure 
readiness
spares, landing gear management spares and communication open system 
architecture
spares.  Total funds have been obligated.  This work will be complete 
December
2006.  The Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force 
base, Ohio, is
the contracting activity (FA8614-04-C-2004, P00064).

NAVY

_           _ Cascade General, Portland, Ore., is being awarded a 
$5,093,945
firm-fixed-price contract for the mid-term availability of USNS Rainier 
(T-AOE 7).
USNS Rainier (T-AOE 7) is a Naval Fleet auxiliary force ship owned and 
operated by
Military Sealift Command.   This contract contains options, which if 
exercised,
will bring the total cumulative value of the contract to $5,690,419.   
Work will be
performed in Portland, Ore., and is expected to be completed by October 
2005.
Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  
This
contract was competitively procured with six potential proposals 
solicited and four
offers received. The U.S. Navy�s Sealift Logistics Command Pacific is 
the
contracting activity (N62383-05-C-2300).

f         ARMY

_           _ CAS Inc.*, Huntsville, Ala., was awarded on June 2, 2005, 
a
$3,200,000 increment as part of a $7,772,882 cost-plus-fixed-fee 
contract for
system acquisition, testing, operator training, fielding, product 
improvements, and
field and depot maintenance support of elevated sensors, platforms, and 
related
equipment.  Work will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., and is expected 
to be
completed by May 31, 2006.  Contract funds will not expire at the end 
of the
current fiscal year.  This was a sole source contract initiated on May 
20, 2005.
The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Huntsville, Ala., is 
the
contracting activity (W9113M-05-C-0134).

LECON Inc.*, Houston, Texas, was awarded on May 31, 2005, a 
$2,000,000
increment as part of a $10,830,538 firm-fixed-price contract for 
channel
rectification.  Work will be performed in Harris, Texas, and is 
expected to be
completed by May 31, 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of 
the current
fiscal year.  There were 33 bids solicited on Feb. 4, 2005, and four 
bids were
received.  The U.S. Army Engineer District, Galveston, Texas, is the 
contracting
activity (W912HY-05-C-0016).

* Small Business

Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day 2005 Message From the Secretary of Defense 
  
WASHINGTON, May 20, 2005  - I am pleased to join millions of Americans 
in honoring the brave men and women in uniform  -- those who serve 
today, those who have fallen in battle, and those veterans who proudly 
served in the past.

My father volunteered to serve in the Navy after the surprise attack on 
Pearl Harbor. Millions enlisted to battle against the tide of tyranny 
then threatening the world. And I was privileged to serve in the Navy 
some 50 years ago. Now, more than 50 years later, I count my time in 
uniform as a most important period in my life. Thousands, if not millions, 
of others who have served undoubtedly feel the same way.

Military service has always been one of our country's most noble 
callings.  America has long been the defender of liberty -- the country that 
has stepped forward to defend those who could not defend themselves. 
This was true from our country's early days at Lexington and Concord, 
where the earliest citizen soldiers defended their farms and homes, their 
new country, and the cause of freedom.

In the years that followed, the U.S. armed forces have become freedom's 
champion -- at Gettysburg; in the forest of the Argonne; on the beaches 
of Normandy and Iwo Jima; in the air during the Berlin blockade; and 
today in places like Kabul and Baghdad.

This new war we face has required our military to adapt its thinking, 
and challenged us to prepare in new ways. Yet whatever the mission, 
whatever the challenge that lies before us, each of you who are serving our 
country are confronting it with grit and courage. I thank each of you 
and your families for your service to our country.

When my father passed away some 30 years ago, I found a letter in his 
papers that he had received from then secretary of the Navy, James 
Forrestal -- who later became the first secretary of defense.    Secretary 
Forrestal apparently sent this letter to all those who served to arrive 
after they had returned to civilian life. Noting the historic 
achievements made by the U.S. military, he wrote: "You have served in the 
greatest Navy in the world. ... It crushed two enemy fleets at once, 
receiving their surrenders only four months apart.    It brought our land-based 
air power within bombing range of the enemy and set our ground armies 
on the beachheads of final victory. ... For your part in these 
achievements you deserve to be proud as long as you live. The nation you served 
at a time of crisis will remember you with gratitude."

That letter to my father now hangs on my office wall in the Pentagon.    
It is a reminder to me of our country's fighting spirit. And I see that 
same spirit in the actions of the men and women in uniform every day. 
It is that spirit that we honor on this holiday:  the selfless duty and 
devotion passed down from generations who served before, and the 
courage of those who sacrificed their lives in service to our country.

Our country is proud of every member of our armed forces -- volunteers 
all -- and we are deeply grateful to those who have sacrificed for the 
cause of liberty. May God bless each of you, may God bless your 
families, and may God bless our wonderful country.

Donald H. Rumsfeld

Army Announces Combat Action Badge

A Combat Action Badge will soon be available to all Soldiers who engage the enemy in battle. Although the Close Combat Badge was once considered an option, Army leadership created the CAB instead to recognize all Soldiers who are in combat. For more information on the CAB, see the U.S. Army Combat Badges Web site.

You Might be a Tanker, If. . . 
1. You've ever been fined for riding with your head sticking out your car's sun roof. 
2. Your wife complains because the kitchen junk drawer is full of MILES keys and heater parts. 
3. You giggle when your hunting buddies talk about the awesome stopping power of the . 308 Winchester. 
4. You named your son Roger. 
5. You drive a '59 Caddy because you like "the feel of a lot of American iron. " 
6. You announce "On the way!" before you break wind. 
7. Instead of meeting you at the door with a cold beer after work, your wife meets you with a can of degreaser and orders to strip before you touch the furniture. 
8. After returning from the field it takes you a while to get used to food without the "diesel smoked" flavor. 
9. After sex you make your wife wipe down the breech. 
10. When you go duck hunting you give your dog the command "ducks! left duck!" 
11. You've ever refered to a infantryman as a crunchie. 
12. When buying a new car you make the salesman lay out the BII. 
13. During intercourse you announce "On the way. " 
14. You refer to General Patton as Him. 
15. You consider cheating on your wife Permissive TDY. 
16. You refer to the Gulf War as "The big one of 91. " 
17. You think of ground troops as a speed bump. 
18. You think bad sex may just be a boresight problem. 
19. You consider a sand table exercise as a middle east deployment. 
20. You consider a hasty defense just aiming the gun. 
21. When working on your car you fill out a DA 2404. 
22. A pillow is nice, but a CVC is better. 
23. You think 19Kilo should be 19Sweep. 
24. You wish your POV had Tac Idle. 
25. You get mad when NOMEX is refered to as the tanker suit. 
26. You volunteer to fuel up a car. 
27. You have a BBQ and invite all three of your friends. 
28. You rank monster trucks between a Bradley and a M1 tank. 
29. You carry a tanker bar in your POV. 
30. You think hot spots are targets, not clubs. 
31. You wish Suburbans weren't so expensive. 
32. Before your son/daughter can use your car they must complete a request for dispatch. 
33. You think PT means Persona Training. 
34. You always set 4 places at the dinner table. 
35. You don't buy gas for your car, instead you "top off" 
36. Your kids call the sandbox "NTC". 
37. Your older kids call the youngest one "Cherry". 
38. When your family gets together you call them "Slice Elements". 
39. Your dog's name is Sabot.

Army Wedding Vows (humorous)

Dear family and friends, we are gathered here today in the sight of God and the Department of the Army to Witness this exchange of vows, and see the love that these two dedicated, loving people have for one another.

"Wilt thou, Ricky, take Lucy (who was once referred to as the 'dependent'), as your Family Member. To dwell together in so far as the Department of the Army will permit? 
Wilt thou love her, comfort her via Postal Service or over the phone, make sure she knows where the commissary, PX, and church are and what time she is scheduled to use the laundry room the day she arrives, wherever you are stationed? 
Wilt thou attempt to tell her more than 24 hours in advance that you will be leaving for two weeks, beginning the next morning? This especially applies to the years you live in a foreign country!"

"Wilt thou, Lucy, take this soldier as thy wedded husband, knowing that he is depending on you to be the perfect (well, almost perfect) Army Wife, running the household as you see fit and being nice to the Commander's Wife? Further, do you understand that your life with your husband (little that you may have together) will not be normal, that you may have to explain to your children, not once, but twice, and more often in the same day, that mothers do have husbands, that children do have daddies, and that the picture of the man on the refrigerator is not the milkman, but the same individual who tucks them in at 2200 hours, long after they are asleep. This soldier is their daddy, who loves them very, very much. 
"Wilt thou love, respect and wait for him, preparing his favorite meals when he does come home, freezing them when he doesn't, send him all his favorite cookies and pictures of yourself and the children, so he can remember what you look like? And last, but not least, put on the outside of your door his "Welcome Home" sign when he's due to arrive?"

"I, Ricky, take thee Lucy, as my independent wife from 1900 to 2000 hours or as long as allowed by my commanding officer, (subject to change without notice) for better or worse, earlier or later, near and far, and I promise to look at the pictures you send me, maybe not when they get to me in the field, but before I turn the lights out. I will also send a letter if time permits, and if not, to somehow, some way, make time."

"I, Lucy, take thee Ricky, as my live-in/live-out husband, realizing that your coming and going and 0330 staff meetings are a normal (although absurd to me) part of your life as a soldier. I promise not to be shocked or taken by surprise when you inform me that, although we've just arrived at our new duty station, (and our household goods have not), we will be leaving within the month (and our household goods will not! Yes, I'll have you as my husband as long as, while you are away, my allotment comes through regularly, and you leave me a current power of attorney and the check- book at all times. I am a Family Member and proud of it, dependent upon myself and my resources. Although I miss you when you are away, I know I can handle whatever comes across my path."

"Now then, let no man or woman put asunder what God and the Department of the Army have brought together, only for them too soon to say 'Goodbye' to one another. Ricky leaves for his duty assignment in Germany tomorrow, Lucy, will be joining him whenever approval arrives.  The Army hereby issues this lovely, dedicated, independent woman, knowing that she'll be an asset not only to your marriage, but also to the Mission of the United States Army, which is, as you all know, to remain in a state of 'Readiness' by the authority vested in the Bible, elaborated in the regulations, and subject to current directives concerning the aspects of marriage in the Army, you are now a Soldier with Family Member. Best Wishes and Good Luck."

By Debbie Ann Stohlman

Free Father's Day Messages to be Hosted by Stripes.com

Stars and Stripes, the daily newspaper of the U.S. military, will host a free Father's Day Message online posting service at Stripes.com beginning May 9 and ending May 27 at 5 p.m. EDT. A selection of messages sent to those stationed in the Middle East will appear in a special printed edition to be inserted in Stars and Stripes Middle East Sunday edition, June 19. All messages received by the May 27 deadline will be published online at Stripes.com beginning on Father's Day, June 19, including those sent to recipients in the Middle East. To send a free message, visitors may go to Stripes.com and click on the Father's Day Messages button, any time from May 9 to May 27. Stars and Stripes will publish all messages online, as long as they are received via its online message board by the May 27 deadline. Only messages received online will be published.

PRAYER OF THE ARMY SPOUSE

Dear God,
I am proud to be wed to one who defends freedom and peace. My challenges are many and I pray for your love and guidance to meet them.

Special to me are the symbols representing my religion, country, community, and home. I pray for the wisdom and grace to be true to their meaning.

You are the symbol of my religious beliefs and the source of my strength. Because my life is full of change, I cherish the solid and constant spiritual foundation that you provide. Help me Lord, to be an example of your teachings.

My national flag represents freedom. Let me never forget, or take for granted, the hope it shows to the world. Bless those who have made sacrifices for freedom.

As I enter the gateway to a military community, guide me to reach out to others, and keep it a wholesome place. May my charity be given without thought of personal rewards.

My wedding ring represents eternity and never ending love. Let me celebrate all of the joys of our togetherness and find comfort in them during times of separation. I pray also we are spared the ultimate sacrifice of duty to country.

My house is a symbol of our family and its unity. It is the place where we share memories of the past and build dreams of the future. Make willing my heart and hands to do even the smallest tasks that will make our house a better home.

Thank you God for daily being with us as we live in the Army. Please grant us your continued blessings, increased strength, and infinite guidance, as we live to your honor and glory.

Amen 
Author Unknown

DoD Issues Guidance for Medical Personnel Dealing With Detainees 
To: DEFENSE-PRESS-SERVICE-L@DTIC.MIL

By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2005  - DoD officials this month issued new 
guidelines for military medical personnel dealing with detainees.

The new rules deal with patient care, interrogations and medical-record 
confidentiality, among other issues, the Defense Department's top 
doctor said today.

Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health 
affairs, outlined the new guidance in a media roundtable in his 
Pentagon office. He said the memo, which he issued to the military services 
and other DoD agencies June 3, consolidates "principles and procedures 
for U.S military medical personnel when working with detainees under 
control of U.S. armed forces."

In general, the new guidance specifies that military medical personnel 
must be guided by medical ethics, make medically appropriate decisions 
and report inhumane treatment.

Specifically, Winkenwerder explained, the new policy states military 
healthcare professionals must "be guided by professional judgment and 
standards similar to those that would be applied to members of the U.S. 
armed forces, including duty to protect the physical and mental health of 
the detainee" and "will not participate in any activity that is not 
consistent with applicable law."

The new policy also provides for the creation and distribution of 
medical records, which must be complete and accurate, but do not carry any 
guarantee of "absolute confidentiality," he said.

Winkenwerder said U.S. and international law and accepted standards of 
medical care carry no guarantee of complete confidentiality. Even in 
the civilian medical establishment there are circumstances in which 
patient confidentiality could legally and ethically be breached, and the 
policy concerning detainees' records follows a similar standard.

Circumstances in which medical-record confidentiality could be breached 
include "to prevent harm to any person, to maintain public health and 
order in detention facilities, and any lawful law enforcement-, 
intelligence-, or national security-related activity," Winkenwerder said.

However, even under these circumstances, there are specific procedures 
medical professionals must follow and document. The disclosure must be 
approved by the local medical unit commander, and commanders must keep 
detailed records on specific information disclosed, the person to whom 
it was disclosed, the purpose of disclosure, and the name of the 
commander who approved the disclosure.

The new procedures also separate individuals who are providing care 
from healthcare professionals who work in other capacities in detention 
operations. Medical personnel who are in a provider-patient relationship 
with detainees -- those who actually provide treatment -- "shall not 
and will not undertake detainee-related activities for purposes other 
than to provide health care," Winkenwerder said.

"Such healthcare personnel shall not actively solicit information from 
detainees for purposes other than healthcare purposes," he added.

Conversely, medical professionals in other roles in detention 
operations should not provide actual care for detainees. Such individuals might 
include behavioral-science specialists, such as FBI profilers; forensic 
psychiatrists, who are often appointed by a court to evaluate the 
mental competency or sanity of an individual; prison psychologists, who 
evaluate the potential danger of somebody to society; or public-health 
experts, who evaluate potential for disease outbreaks.

"It's separating these roles to make very clear that there's not to be 
mixing of the roles," Winkenwerder said.

He said the new guidelines came about as the result of a review of 
procedures begun after allegations of medical personnel assisting in 
abusing prisoners surfaced. "What got the ball rolling was an awareness from 
all the information coming out of Abu Ghraib and the various 
allegations," he said.

DoD officials surveyed medical personnel who have served in detainee 
operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and solicited 
input from the military services and the Joint Staff.

Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the Army's surgeon general, has undertaken a 
separate review of allegations that military medical personnel took part in 
abuses and assisted in interrogations. Winkenwerder didn't discuss the 
ongoing review except to say that "only a very, very small number of 
reports of observation of possible abuse" have been recorded.

The doctor explained that the new rules don't change current guidelines 
for medical personnel, just provide more specificity.

"What we are issuing ... goes beyond existing standards and it 
represents, in our view, a real improvement to the existing guidance," he said.

Throughout the military, standards of care for detainees is required to 
be the same as that of care provided military personnel. At Guantanamo 
Bay, detainees receive care at a state-of-the-art detention hospital 
dedicated to their treatment.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, detainee care is not separate from that 
provided troops and civilians. In Iraq, for instance, detainees receive 
medical care at the combat support hospitals in Balad and Baghdad or at the 
medical facility at Abu Ghraib.

Winkenwerder noted that he returned earlier this week from a visit to 
Iraq, where he visited medical-care facilities. "I witnessed our people 
taking care of detainees in one hallway, and in the next hallway were 
Iraqi civilians, and the next hallway were U.S. soldiers," he said.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, detainees don't just receive the same standard 
of care as U.S. troops do, but actually the same care, from the same 
providers in the same facilities.

While he was in Iraq, Winkenwerder said, he spent time with military 
healthcare providers, including some involved in caring for detainees 
there.

"To a person, they offered their views that they must care for these 
individuals as they would care for U.S. servicemembers, and what I 
observed is that they're doing just that," Winkenwerder said. "Their 
professionalism, if you could only see it, would make all Americans proud."

Biography:

Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr. 
[http://www.ha.osd.mil/ha/winkenwerder-bio.cfm]

America Supports You: Open House Showcases Support for Troops 
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., May 21, 2005  - Nine-year-old Karinne 
Clester was inside a vast aircraft hanger here today, sending her best 
wishes to U.S. servicemembers deployed worldwide in the fight against 
global terrorism.

Americans "need to support our troops; ... they're fighting for freedom 
-- for us," Karinne declared, as she typed her message of support onto 
a laptop at the Defense Department-sponsored "America Supports You" 
information booth, part of this year's Joint Service Open House activities 
here.

Karinne's mother, Kelly, remarked that her husband, Dale, is a sergeant 
in the Maryland National Guard. The "America Supports You" program, she 
noted, is a wonderful conduit "to let our troops know how much we 
appreciate them."
This year marks the 55th Armed Forces Day, where thousands of citizens 
across America are visiting military bases as part of an annual salute 
to U.S. servicemembers.
Held May 21-22, the Andrews AFB Open House is free and open to the 
public. The event features static displays of aircraft and other U.S. 
military hardware, as well as flying demonstrations by the Air Force 
Thunderbirds and other aerial groups. Myriad food and souvenir concessions are 
dotted across the tarmac, where attendees can buy as much food, drink 
-- and as many t-shirts -- as they like.
Air Force Maj. Jeremy Sloane, a member of the Thunderbirds' team, was 
meeting and greeting Open House attendees. Sloane said the Thunderbirds 
fly F-16 Fighting Falcon jets, an aircraft that's served admirably in 
combat missions over Afghanistan and Iraq.
Armed Forces Day venues like the Open House, Sloane noted, lets the 
public "see the pride and professionalism that is in our Air Force, and we 
like to showcase it with the Thunderbirds."
Dave Evans, the deputy director of community relations and public 
liaison for DoD public affairs, was one of the people manning the "America 
Supports You" booth today at Andrews. "America Supports You" is the 
theme for this year's Joint Service Open House, he noted.

Evans said it's important for servicemembers to realize that their 
efforts are appreciated and supported by the American public. ASY 
encourages private citizens, the business community and veterans organizations 
to get involved and support the U.S. military, he explained.

For example, Marvel Comics is sponsoring ASY by publishing a special 
edition comic book that's dedicated to the U.S. military, Evans noted. 
The comic displays the ASY program's logo on its front page, he said, and 
is available, free, to visitors at the booth.

"We're certainly supporting the troops," Evans observed. But ASY is 
"also about their families," he declared, noting, "A lot of times you'll 
get National Guard (members) or Reservists that are deploying to a 
forward location."

Families of reserve-component members may not have as much experience 
with deployments as active-duty families, Evans pointed out, so "we're 
trying to reach out to them, also."

Baltimore resident Peggy Welsh, the daughter of a retired Army master 
sergeant, stopped by the ASY booth to thumb through one of the 
special-issue comic books. "It's an absolute must," she emphasized, that 
Americans support their military.

Servicemembers put their lives on the line to protect all Americans 
from harm, Welsh said. "It's always good to have support for the troops, 
in whatever form," she said.

Related Sites:

Joint Service Open House 
[http://public.andrews.amc.af.mil/jsoh/show.html]

America Supports You [http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/]

America Supports You: DoD, Nationals Meet to Discuss Future Cooperation 
To: DEFENSE-PRESS-SERVICE-L@DTIC.MIL 
    By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2006 - The Washington Nationals, a strong 
supporter of the U.S. military since the Major League Baseball franchise 
moved to the nation's capital from Montreal before the 2005 season, met 
here today with Defense Department officials to discuss future 
cooperation as the team prepares to build a new stadium next to the 
Washington Navy Yard.

"Before they build a ballpark, this is just an opportunity to get 
together to see how we may collaborate, how we may cooperate, what the 
opportunities may be - both the Nationals supporting us and how we 
might support them," Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England said before 
a lunch meeting with Nationals officials.

The Nationals have done a lot for the military, mainly through their 
support of DoD's "America Supports You" program, which highlights the 
ways American citizens and the corporate sector support the troops, 
England said. The Nationals have hosted wounded troops at games and 
involved servicemembers in the first pitch and other aspects of the 
games, he noted.

The Nationals support the troops because it is the right thing to do, 
and the team's leadership feels it is their corporate responsibility, 
said Alphonso Maldon, the Nationals senior vice president for 
external affairs.

"We really respect and value the contributions and the sacrifices 
that are made by our military forces day in and day out," he said. "We 
feel very, very strongly about that."

The Nationals leadership always has believed it's important to keep 
the team involved in the community and to give back as much as 
possible, Maldon, a retired military officer, said. Supporting the military 
is a key part of that philosophy, he said.

Through the team's community relations program, Nationals players 
have visited the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and the 
Pentagon, Maldon said. He said the team looks forward to continuing 
its support of the military.

"Our players are really beginning to have a much greater appreciation 
for the military; we want them to have that appreciation," he said. 
"We believe that we can help spread the word throughout the 
communities about why it's so important to support the military forces who are 
giving us the freedom and protecting this country of ours."

Moving into a new stadium in 2008 will be a big opportunity for the 
Nationals, and through it, the team's officials look forward to 
strengthening their partnership with the military, Maldon said.

"We want to really continue to build on the partnership that we have 
and the relationships that we have with the military," he said. "We 
want to get the military more involved in what we do now, and we want 
to be more involved with what the military does."

[Web Version: 
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1421]

====================================================

DoD, Congress Making Progress on Tricare Changes 
To: DEFENSE-PRESS-SERVICE-L@DTIC.MIL 
    
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2006 - The Defense Department has been working 
hard with Congress for the past several months and has reached some 
conclusions about how the fee system for military health care should be 
changed, a top DoD official said here yesterday.

"It's universally agreed that there is a serious issue, a serious 
problem, with the growing health care costs within the Department of 
Defense, and the potential adverse impact that that might have to 
sustain our great health benefit," Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant 
secretary of defense for health affairs, said in an interview.

DoD has had a lot of good, transparent dialogue with members and 
committees of Congress, along with beneficiary organizations, 
Winkenwerder said. There has been emerging agreement in some areas, he said, 
specifically in the area of pharmacy costs. All parties agree that 
changes need to be made in the pharmacy co-payment system, and DoD has 
received some good feedback to modify its proposal, he said.

Congress is debating DoD's proposed Tricare fee adjustments as part 
of the Fiscal Year 2007 National Defense Authorization Act.

A persistent rumor that the increase in Tricare fees for military 
retirees will eat up 50 percent of their cost-of-living allowance is not 
true, Winkenwerder said. He asserted that the increases in Tricare 
fees will be dramatically less than the increases in retiree pay.

All the senior DoD and military leadership support the Tricare fee 
increase as a necessary means to sustain the military health care 
system, Winkenwerder said. The chairman and vice chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff, all the chiefs of staff, vice chiefs of staff, and 
surgeons general wrote a letter to Congress supporting DoD's efforts and 
asking Congress to work with the department, he said.

"Within the department, there's almost universal agreement about the 
problem and the proposal," he said. "But having said that, it's 
important that members of Congress and others get a comfort level or some 
level of agreement about what we're doing, and that we move forward 
together."

Changes to the Tricare fee system are essential if the military is 
going to sustain its health benefit at the current level, Winkenwerder 
said. Unless financing continues to flow into the system now and in 
the future, it will be impossible to keep up the quality of care the 
military has grown accustomed to, he said.

"Something's gotta give; so, unless you can have that financing 
coming in, we're concerned that the system would really run into trouble," 
he said. "That's why taking action now or in the very near future is 
important, and waiting two years or beyond would not be a good idea, 
because it just makes the problem harder to solve."

Winkenwerder and other DoD officials have said that if the fee system 
is not changed, the health system will take up 12 percent of the DoD 
budget, at $64 billion, by 2015.

The discussion so far about the Tricare fee increases has been 
spirited and heartfelt, but always professional, Winkenwerder said. A lot 
of good ideas have been exchanged, he said, and he is confident about 
the future.

"We're optimistic about being able to make changes over the next 
months and into next year that would be the right thing to do and 
certainly very important to do," he said.

Biography:

Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr. 
[http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/winkenwerderjr_bio.html]

Adjustments Essential to Maintaining Tricare, Official Says 
[http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2006/20060202_4078.html]

====================================================

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against 
terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

Loving A Soldier

Loving a solider is not always gay, 
For with the price you have to pay 
It's mostly loving, but not to hold, 
It's being young and feeling old.

It's sending a letter with an upside down stamp 
To a faraway lover in a faraway camp. 
Being in love With merely your dreams 
Bring thoughts of heaven when love's light gleams.

You wish it were possible for him to phone, 
You want him to say, "I'm on my way home." 
And when he comes in, the laughing together, 
Unconscious of people, of time and of weather.

It's having him whisper his love for you,
It's whispering back that you love him too. 
Then comes a kiss, a promise of love, 
Knowing you're watched by God above.

Reluctantly, painfully, letting him go 
While you're crying inside wanting him so. 
Days go by, no mail for a spell, 
You wait for a word that he is well.

And when the letter comes you shiver with joy 
And act like a child with a new shining toy, 
It's loving a soldier, the boy you adore, 
And hating the world, yourself and war.

And it's going to church to kneel and to pray, 
And really meaning all the things that you say. 
And though you know he's far away, 
You love him more and more each day.

Loving a soldier is bitterness and tears,
It's loneliness, sadness and unfounded fears. 
Loving a soldier is sometimes no fun,
But it's worth the price when the battle is won. 
Author Unknown

Pentagon Does Not Favor Deadline for Troop Withdrawal 
To: DEFENSE-PRESS-SERVICE-L@DTIC.MIL

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2005  - A deadline on pulling out U.S. troops from 
Iraq would simply encourage the enemy, defense leaders said today.

Nothing would make terrorists happier than a U.S. deadline on pulling 
troops from the country, said Pentagon spokesman Larry Di Rita and Joint 
Staff Operations Chief Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway.

The men spoke at a Pentagon press conference.

Conway said U.S. commanders in Iraq would not welcome an artificially 
imposed deadline. "They have their plan; it's a plan for victory," he 
said. "And forces will be withdrawn when victory is accomplished between 
U.S. and Iraqi forces."

Since the start of the global war on terrorism, U.S. officials 
maintained that troop withdrawals will be event driven and not dependent on a 
deadline. Di Rita pointed out that U.S. troops in Bosnia were supposed 
to be withdrawn after one year in country. There are still some 200 U.S. 
servicemembers there.

Conway said the enemy studies the U. S. just as it studies them. "They 
see where we have withdrawn previously -- in Vietnam, in Beirut, in 
Somalia," he said. "Nothing would make them happier, I suppose, than to 
think that there is a deadline out there, there's a time and distance 
factor associated with it, and then ... they simply are able to wait us 
out."

The insurgents' tactics keep changing, Conway said. They first launched 
attacks against coalition bases, but that tactic failed, he said. They 
next targeted Iraqi security forces and had some success, but the ISF 
now can defend itself. "They are, unfortunately, able to succeed in even 
greater rates against defenseless women and children forming in lines 
at the bank or in the marketplace," he said.

The insurgents succeed when they commit a spectacular attack, but the 
tactic is backfiring. More and more Iraqis are appalled at the carnage 
the insurgents commit and are turning in the insurgents. "We have seen 
some evidence of that," Conway said. "The issue is ... that people are 
getting fed up with the attacks on civilians, and even the insurgent 
groups are warring amongst themselves over this continuous slaughter of 
Iraqis. So there is some fragmentation that we're seeing."

Biographies:

Larry Di Rita [http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/dirita_bio.html]

Lt. Gen. James Conway, USMC 
[http://www.usmc.mil/genbios2.nsf/0/24f33df7bf06b3a2852568030060440a?OpenDocument&Click]

Household Goods Weight Allowances Legislation Introduced

Representative Tom Latham (Iowa), has introduced H.R. 1406, which would increase the authorized weight allowances for the shipment of baggage and household effects of senior enlisted personnel of the uniformed services. This is another aspect of much needed PCS reform and the Fleet Reserve Association sent a letter of support to Rep. Latham and also posted the information on its website as an Action Alert. Current weight allowances for senior enlisted leaders are inconsistent with their time in service, increased responsibilities, family size, personal status, and the respect they have earned. Servicemembers can visit the FRA's Legislative Action Center for more information.

The Dining In/Dining Out: A Time-Honored Military Tradition

The Dining In represents the most formal aspects of military social life. This tradition is very old, although its origin is not clear. Formal feasts to honor military victories and individual achievements have been customary from pre-Christian Roman legions to King Arthur's knights in the sixth century. 
The custom of the Dining In is not exclusively a military one. In England, it was a custom in monasteries. Later, it was adopted by the early universities and spread to the military when the officer's mess was established. With the adoption of the Dining In by the military, these feasts became more formalized. British soldiers introduced the custom to colonial America, where it was borrowed by George Washington's Continental Army. 
These dinners have become traditional in all the branches of the armed forces. In the Air Force and Navy, these dinners are called the Dining In. In the Army, they are called the Regimental Dinner. In the Marine Corps and Coast Guard, the dinners are known as Mess Night.
The Rules of the Mess 
The following is a list of the rules that must be observed. The rules are designed to preserve the tradition and promote levity. Violators of the rules are subject to the wrath and mischievousness of Mr. or Ms. Vice. All assigned punishments and penalties will be carried out before the membership. 
1. Thou shalt arrive within 10 minutes of the appointed hour. 
2. Thou shalt make every effort to meet all the guests. 
3. Thou shalt move to the mess when thee hears the chimes and remain standing until seated by the President of the mess. 
4. Thou shalt not bring cocktails or lighted materials into the mess. 
5. Thou shalt smoke only when the smoking lamp is lit. 
6. Thou shalt participate in all toasts unless thyself or thy group is honored with the toast. 
7. Thou shalt not leave the mess while convened. 
8. Thou shalt ensure that thy glass is always charged when toasting. 
9. Thou shalt keep toasts and comments within the limits of good taste and mutual respect. Degrading or insulting remarks will be frowned upon by the membership. However, good-natured needling is ENCOURAGED. 
10. Thou shalt not murder the Queen's English. 
11. Thou shalt always use the proper toasting procedures. 
12. Thou shalt not open the hangar doors. 
13. Thou shalt fall into disrepute with thy peers if the pleats of thy cummerbund are not properly faced. 
14. Thou shalt also be painfully regarded if thy clip-on bow tie rides at an obvious list. Thou shalt be forgiven, however, if thee also rides at a comparable list. 
15. Thou shalt consume thy meal in a manner becoming a gentle person. 
16. Thou shalt not laugh at ridiculously funny comments unless the President first shows approval by laughing. 
17. Thou shalt express thy approval by tapping thy spoon on the table. Clapping of thy hands will not be tolerated. 
18. Thou shalt not question the decisions of the President. 
19. When the mess adjourns, thou shalt rise and wait for the President and guests to leave. 
20. Thou shalt enjoy thyself to the fullest.

These rules are both serious and all in fun. Someone designated as Mr. or Ms. Vice enforces the rules. This person sits either at the rear of the room or at one end of the head table. Mr. or Ms. Vice customarily instigates jokes and tricks for the amusement of all. �Punishments� for disregarding the rules may be any number of activities such as consuming a revolting concoction called Grog or Infantry Punch, placing dinnerware on one�s head, or performing a tribute to the Army or unit.
Again, this is all in good fun and is not intended to dishonor or harm anyone. The events at a Dining In typically remain secret. At a Dining In, these activities are, if used at all, significantly tamer and never involve a service member�s spouse or guest.

Sealed Military Documents To Be Opened 
Associated Press 
June 9, 2005

OVERLAND, Mo. - When Elvis Presley entered the Army, a fretful public launched a letter-writing campaign.

"Will you please, please be so sweet and kind as to ask Ike to bring Elvis Presley back to us from the Army? We need him in our entertainment world," pleaded one 1958 letter from a Sacramento, Calif., couple to then-first lady Mamie Eisenhower.

The anxious missive is among documents included in the 1.2 million military personnel files the National Archives will open to the public Saturday for the first time.

Among the documents are records related to famous politicians, military leaders - and at least one rock 'n' roll star. The bulk, however, relate to former enlisted personnel in the Navy from 1885 to 1939, or in the Marines from 1906 to 1939.

The National Personnel Records Center, located in this St. Louis suburb, is highlighting the files of 150 prominent people who served in the military and died at least a decade ago, including several presidents, famous writers, professional athletes and military figures.

Elvis' time in the military sparked high interest. Parents of enlisted men wrote letters, too, worried the star would get preferential treatment or early release.

"I am sure us poor people can do without his singing and rock and roll until he serves his country just like my son has to," an Oak Park, Ill., mother wrote to a congressman.

While the files provide a glimpse of social history, they also cross into the world of politics, literature, sports and entertainment.

John F. Kennedy's file, for instance, has an account from the much-studied sinking of the PT 109, the Navy patrol torpedo boat he commanded as a lieutenant that sank after being rammed by a Japanese destroyer off the Solomon Islands.

Writer Jack Kerouac, who enlisted in the Navy, was confined to a military hospital for a time in 1943 while psychiatrists tried to determine if he had a mental disorder.

"Patient's father, Leo A. Kerouac, states that his son has been `boiling' for a long time," one entry notes.

Years before filming "The Great Escape," Terrance Steven McQueen was placed under military arrest for being AWOL while in the Marines. Lt. Jackie Robinson's file captures racial barriers he encountered, noting he checked with the Special Service Branch and learned there were no openings for black officers there.

Bryan McGraw, the center's assistant director for archival programs, said there are about 56 million records relating to inactive military personnel at the center. They usually are available only to the veteran, next of kin, the agency that created the record, or by approved special request.

The Defense Department and the National Archives Records Administration agreed in 1999 to work to release some documents because of interest from the public and researchers.

"I think those records will help the average American trying to explore genealogy, a family past," said Michael Pavkovic, the diplomacy and military studies director at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu.

Military Spouse Career Center Launches

A new Military Spouse Career Center commissioned by the Department of Defense Office of Military Community & Family Policy launched at Military.com. The new resource connects America's 1 million military spouses with education options, scholarships, training programs, career planning tips and employment opportunities. The new Military Spouse Career Center was developed under contract by Monster, the leading global online careers property, and its Military.com business unit. Visit the Military Spouse Career Center online.

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