PRESIDENT SIGNS DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Obama Signs $633 Billion Defense Authorization Act

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2013 - President Barack Obama signed the $633 billion fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act into law yesterday.

The legislation, which cleared Congress last month, authorizes the department to act in any number of instances. "There are certain things that cannot be done without [the authorization act]," said a senior defense official speaking on background.

The act allows the department to institute pay raises, bonuses and incentive pay for personnel. "All military construction has to be authorized under this act," the official said.

It includes a 1.7 percent pay raise for military personnel, and contains $527.5 billion for DOD's base budget, $88.5 billion for overseas contingency operations and $17.8 billion for national security programs in the Energy Department and Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.

It also extends the Commanders' Emergency Response Program that has been used in Afghanistan and Iraq. It authorizes a one-year extension of the Afghan Infrastructure Fund and extends the Coalition Support Fund and the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund. In Iraq, the law authorizes U.S. training activities, the official said.

The law also authorizes changes needed to deter sexual assault in the military.

In addition, it establishes the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission which will examine all aspects of military compensation. Officials stress that any possible changes to military retirement benefits that the group recommends will not affect current service members.

Air Force structure was of some concern to the department going into the process, but officials say they were pleased with the outcome. The Air Force also received 32 more C-130 aircraft than requested.

"But the Air Force is allowed to do everything else. They are allowed to do their divestures and moves," the official said. "The only thing kept out of service's force structure plan was we had to keep the Global Hawk Block 30 [unmanned aircraft]."

The act raises the co-pay for medications under TRICARE through 2022. The legislation also limits any annual increases in pharmacy co-payments to increases in retiree cost of living adjustments.

"It is a little bit toward what we need to start paying for how much health care is costing," the official said.

The authorization also provides DOD funds for servicewomen who need abortions in case of rape or incest. "So they don't have to take leave and come home or go out on the economy," the official said. "This is the first time this has been approved."

Among other programs, the act authorizes the defense biofuel initiative as well as counternarcotic authorities. "We use this a little bit in Afghanistan, but it's mostly in the southern border and Colombia," she said. "It has to get done."

Passage of the legislation is particularly important this year because the department is operating on a continuing resolution through March which may be continued again through the rest of the fiscal year. The resolution maintains funding at 2012 budget levels. Without this authority, "Things really do shut down," the official said.

"It actually is things that keep the war going and things that ... keep the economy going because it is pay, recruiting, military construction," the official said.

NEW U.S. CITIZENS TAKE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE AT WHITE HOUSE ON JULY 4, 2012

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
President Barack Obama listens as Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano administers the Oath of Allegiance during a military naturalization ceremony for active duty service members in the East Room of the White House, July 4, 2012. White House Photo by Pete Souza

Obama Honors New Citizen Service Members at White House
By Lisa Daniel
WASHINGTON, July 4, 2012 - Twenty-five U.S. service members filed through the White House East Room today in dress uniforms, proudly displaying their service and sacrifices to America, and took their citizenship oath before their commander in chief.
They were among more than 4,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who became U.S. citizens during Independence Day ceremonies also held at U.S. military installations in Kandahar, Afghanistan; Seoul, South Korea; Las Vegas; Miami; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and San Diego.

Obama said it brought him "great joy and inspiration" to conduct the ceremony on America's 236th birthday. "It reminds us that we are a country that is bound together not simply by ethnicity or bloodlines, but by fidelity to a set of ideas," he said.
"As members of our military, you raised your hand and took an oath of service," he continued. "It is an honor for me to serve as your commander in chief. Today, you raised your hand and have taken an oath of citizenship. And I could not be prouder to be among the first to greet you as 'my fellow Americans.'"

Obama addressed the service members and their families in a late morning ceremony as White House staff prepared for an evening barbeque for military members and their families that will include viewing the annual Fourth of July fireworks over the Washington Monument.

The president noted various evolutions throughout the nation's history, and pointed out that what began as "a ragtag army of militias and regulars" –has become "the finest military that the world has ever known."

The service members arrived in America in different ways – some as children, and some as adults, Obama noted. "All of you did something profound," he said. "You chose to serve. You put on the uniform of a country that was not yet fully your own. In a time of war, some of you deployed into harm's way. You displayed the values that we celebrate every Fourth of July: duty, responsibility and patriotism."

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas presided over the White House ceremony, and noted that he was a refugee who became a naturalized U.S. citizen. "These 25 exceptional individuals took an oath to support and defend the Constitution before sharing fully in the rights and opportunities it provides," he said. "We are all inspired by their commitment to freedom and service to preserve our great nation."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano delivered the Oath of Allegiance. "Today, you have earned all the rights and responsibilities that come with being a citizen of the United States," she said. "America is now your country. You have worked so hard to get here. You should be just as proud of this achievement as I am to call you my fellow citizen."

More than 80,000 U.S. service members have become American citizens since 2001, Napolitano said. "Our nation thanks you for your service," she told the new citizens. "We owe the freedoms we all enjoy to the sacrifices of men and women like you."
The Homeland Security Department is working with the Defense Department to expand a process that began in 2009 to offer noncitizen enlistees the opportunity to become naturalized citizens before completing basic training "so that they can graduate as naturalized citizens," Napolitano said.
"We will continue to do all that we can to expedite the naturalization process for those like you who have sacrificed so much," she added.

Army Spc. Oluwatosin Akinduro immigrated to Houston from Lagos, Nigeria, with his parents when he was 6. He said he is the first in his family to become a U.S. citizen and that he hopes to lead by example, both in the military and in his personal life.
"My family is very proud of me today," he said. "I'm a little nervous, speechless. This is something I'm doing for myself and my family."

After graduating from high school, Akinduro played football for Rutgers University in New Jersey and hoped to play professionally. When that goal wasn't realized, he said, he joined the Army and plans to make it his career.

"I have my head up, my chest out, and I'm just so proud of what I'm doing," he said. I come from a very proud background. I don't believe in fear too much. With my background, I always believed I could do anything I put my mind to."

PRESIDENT OBAMA DEPLOYS RESOURCES TO FIGHT WESTERN WILDFIRES

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Air Force Senior Airman Dustin Johannsen and Senior Airman Barry Logan pull a flame retardant filler hose from a Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped C-130 aircraft at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., June 29, 2012. The airmen are part of the interagency mission to fight devastating wildfires in Colorado. MAFFS-equipped aircraft are capable of carrying 3,000 gallons of flame retardant and can disperse it in five seconds. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher  

Obama: Employ All Resources to Fight Colorado Wildfires
WASHINGTON, June 30, 2012 - As President Barack Obama thanked firefighters and volunteers, and met with impacted families in wildfire-devastated areas in and around Colorado Springs, Colo., yesterday, he also vowed to marshal all federal resources -- including military -- to combat the fires.

"We're going to continue to make sure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Forest Service, our military and National Guard and all the resources that we have available at the federal level are brought to bear in fighting this fire," Obama said today in his weekly video address to the nation. He recorded this week's address during his Colorado visit.

The federal government has marshaled thousands of firefighters, hundreds of fire engines, and more than 100 aircraft, including 19 air tankers, to support firefighting efforts in a number of Western states including Colorado, White House officials noted.
Meanwhile, four Department of Defense C-130 aircraft equipped with U.S. Forest Service Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems and under the command and control of U.S. Northern Command are assisting in the efforts to control fires in the Rocky Mountain region at the request of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, according to a Northcom news release issued today.

Northcom, based at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., partners with other agencies to conduct homeland defense, civil support and security cooperation to defend and secure the United States and its interests.

Four additional MAFFS-equipped aircraft will be arriving later today to assist with firefighting efforts within the Rocky Mountain region, the Northcom release said.
As of early today, DOD aircraft have flown the following wildfire fighting missions in Colorado:
-- Waldo Canyon Fire, near Colorado Springs, : Fifty air drops, employing approximately 133,500 gallons of flame retardant;
-- Flagstaff Fire, near Boulder, : Five air drops, employing about 13,200 gallons of flame retardant; and

-- Arapahoe National Forest Fire, : Six air drops, employing approximately 13,250 gallons of flame retardant.

Military units that conducted those missions are the 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and the Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing based in Cheyenne. Both units are currently flying missions out of Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

The California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing, from Channel Islands, and the North Carolina Air National Guard's 145th Airlift Wing, from Charlotte, will soon join the 153rd and the 302nd, military officials said.

This is the first time since 2008 that all eight military aircraft have been activated at one time, said Air Force Col. Jerry Champlin, 153rd Air Expeditionary Group commander. In that year, the aircraft were stationed at McClellan Airpark in Sacramento, Calif., to fight fires in that state.

Champlin, a member of the Wyoming Air National Guard, has tactical control over the MAFFS aircraft.

Although all eight C-130s will operate from Peterson Air Force Base for now, where they will drop fire retardant depends on the daily situation in the region, officials said. The Forest Service also may choose to base one or more aircraft in other operating areas.

PRESIDENT OBAMA DECLARES DISASTER FOR WEST VIRGINA

FROM:  FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that federal emergency aid has been made available to the state of West Virginia to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from severe storms beginning on June 29, 2012, and continuing.

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in all 55 counties in the State of West Virginia.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.  Emergency protective measures limited to direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding.

Donald L. Keldsen has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

PRESIDENT OBAMA SUBMITS DEPLOYMENT REPORT TO CONGRESS

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Submits Deployment Report to Congress

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2012 - As part of executive branch efforts to keep the U.S. Congress and the American people informed about the activities of the U.S. military, and consistent with the War Powers Resolution, President Barack Obama submitted a report to Congress today about deployments of the U.S. armed forces, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.

"This report contains information about U.S. military deployments to Afghanistan, Central Africa, and Kosovo," Little said in a statement issued today. The report also makes clear that the U.S. military is engaged in a robust range of operations to target al-Qaida and associated forces, including those in Somalia and Yemen.

In Somalia, the U.S. military has taken direct action against members of al-Qaida, and al-Qaida associated elements of al-Shabaab, Little said. In Yemen, he said the U.S. military has engaged with the Yemeni government in joint efforts to dismantle and defeat Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, an active and dangerous al-Qaida affiliate.

"In all cases we are focused on those al-Qaida members and affiliates who pose a direct threat to the United States and to our national interests," Little said, adding that the report contains information about these operations and their growing significance in the overall U.S. counterterrorism effort.

"Going forward, the American people should know that we will do what is necessary to defend our country against those who would threaten us," Little said.

MATH TEACHER AT DEFENSE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE-SCHOOL RECEIVES PRESIDENTIAL AWARD

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Baumholder Math Teacher Receives Presidential Teaching Award
By Lisa Daniel
WASHINGTON, June 15, 2012 - A high school math teacher at the Defense Department's Baumholder Middle-High School in Germany has been chosen to receive the 2011 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
Spencer Bean found out this week he has been selected among 97 middle and high school math and science teachers to receive the award, which is administered by the National Science Foundation. He plans to travel with his wife here on June 27 for an all-expense paid, three-day session for the winners. The foundation gives a $10,000 grant to each recipient, who will attend a ceremony at the White House and possibly meet President Barack Obama, according to award officials.

"It is great honor," Bean told American Forces Press Service. "It really is the highest honor a teacher can win in our field."

Bean credited his success to his collaboration with others at Baumholder, saying the award "feels a little misplaced" by recognizing only an individual.

But Bean is not the first Baumholder teacher to receive the award. In fact, his recognition marks the second consecutive win for a teacher from Baumholder, a 7th- through 12th-grade school with 380 students in Germany's Kaiserslautern district.
Indeed, Bean said it was his good friend and fellow Baumholder math teacher, Timothy Kelly, who received the award in 2009, who nominated him.

The awards are granted in alternating years between elementary and secondary teachers. Teachers -- one each from math and science -- are nominated from each state, four territories, and Defense Department Education Activity Schools. More than 4,000 teachers have received the award since it began in 1983.
The national judging panel did not choose a science teacher among the DOD teachers, Bean said.

Bean, who teaches algebra II, pre-calculus, and advanced-placement calculus, said it is his collaboration with Kelly and others and their ability to know all the students and faculty that has made him successful. Bean and Kelly are in their mid-30s and both started teaching at the Baumholder school in their 20s, Bean said.

"We're real excited about finding out the best ways to do things," he said, "and we're really excited about technology."

The pair created a "vertical team" in which teachers from fifth grade through high school collaborate on the best ways to teach individual students, Bean said. "We all talk together about the issues we face with our students," he said. "We target individual students and their needs. Because we are a small school, we can do that easier."

The citation for Bean's award credits him with "stretching all students' abilities" by reinforcing basic math skills, while also helping them progress to advanced math.
"He built a program of reinforcing basic skills while still helping students progress," Bean's award said. "As a result, his school increased course offerings in advanced mathematics from one to three. With his mathematics department, Spencer created a vertical team to ensure a better education and more seamless transition between grade levels."

Bean also was the lead evaluator for developing an online course in math analysis and was chosen for the school's textbook selection committee. He has given presentations to educators and administrators on vertical teaming, mastery learning, and building a rigorous school mathematics climate, the award's website says.

Bean, who holds degrees in history and education, said he had planned in college to go into accounting or business. It was only after a mentor urged him to go into a field he would enjoy every day that he chose teaching.

"I've never regretted it," he said. "I've loved it ever since. I'm 13 years in and I've rarely ever missed a day of work; I just love it that much."

PRESIDENT OBAMA ANNOUNCES TRANSITION PROGRAM FOR SERVICE MEMBERS LEAVING MILITARY

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Obama Announces Military-to-Civilian Skills Certification Program

By Claudette Roulo

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2012 - President Barack Obama today announced a new presidential initiative aimed at preparing service members for civilian employment.

Obama provided details about the military-to-civilian certification program during his visit to a Honeywell International Inc. plant in Golden Valley, Minn. Defense contractor Honeywell reportedly has hired hundreds of military veterans at its plants and facilities since early 2011.

"Let me tell you something -- if you can save a life on the battlefield, you can save a life in an ambulance. If you can oversee a convoy or millions of dollars of assets in Iraq, you can help manage a supply chain or balance its books here at home," Obama said at the plant. "If you can maintain the most advanced weapons in the world, if you're an electrician on a Navy ship, well, you can manufacture the next generation of advanced technology in our factories like this one. If you're working on complex machinery, you should be able to take those skills and find a manufacturing job right here -- right here at home."

But unfortunately, Obama said, many returning veterans with such advanced skills "don't get hired simply because they don't have the civilian licenses or certifications that a lot of companies require."

At the same time, the president noted, business leaders often say they can't find enough workers with the skills necessary to fill open positions.

"Eighty percent of manufacturers say this, according to one survey," Obama said. "So think about it -- we got all these openings and all these skilled veterans looking for work, and somehow they're missing each other."

That doesn't make any sense, the president said, noting it's time to fix it.

"Today, I'm proud to announce new partnerships between the military and manufacturing groups that will make it easier for companies to hire returning service members who prove they've earned the skills our country needs," Obama said. "Soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, Coast Guardsmen -- if they've got skills in machining or welding or weapons maintenance, for example, you'll have a faster track to good-paying manufacturing jobs."

"Service members with experience in logistics or maintenance on the front lines" will "have a faster track to jobs in those fields here at home," he added.

The initiative will enable up to 126,000 service members to obtain civilian credentials and certifications in a number of high-demand industries, officials said.

"I applaud President Obama's initiative to help thousands of service members obtain industry-recognized certifications for the trade skills they have learned and worked hard to master while in uniform," Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said in a statement issued today.

The Defense Department has created a military credentialing and licensing task force as part of the initiative, officials said. It developed partnerships with major manufacturing credentialing agencies to expand certifications to active duty military personnel in the fields of engineering, logistics, maintenance and welding.

"Supported by the efforts of the Defense Department's military credentialing and licensing task force, these certifications will give our returning troops a leg up in a competitive job market, and they will make it easier for veterans to transition to civilian life," Panetta said.

Service members can earn these credentials free of charge. The services will also explore how credentialing opportunities can be integrated into existing military training programs and expanded to include everyone with relevant skills and training, the officials said.

The initiative was developed in response to a report on veterans' employment by the President's Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council. The report, Military Skills for America's Future: Leveraging Military Service and Experience to Put Veterans and Military Spouses Back to Work, describes the difficulties faced by veterans and military spouses in transitioning their military experience to civilian employment.

Three such partnerships will begin this summer, the officials said.

The first, a partnership between the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council and the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, will involve a pilot program for a limited number of service members. They will be eligible to "achieve industry-recognized credentials that can support a transition from military service to frontline jobs in the growing fields of advanced manufacturing and logistics," according to a statement issued by the White House.

The second partnership, among the Army, the American Welding Society and the National Institute for Metalworking Skills, will provide unlimited certification testing at the U.S. Army Ordnance School at Fort Lee, Va., for soldiers in certain machinist and welding specialties.

The school trains about 20,000 service members each year to develop, produce and maintain weapons. Service members who acquire these specialties will automatically receive the equivalent civilian credentials.

The third partnership, between the Army and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, will expand certification opportunities for officers and warrant officers at the Army's Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. The school will conduct a one-year pilot program for students to qualify as Certified Manufacturing Technologists and earn Lean Bronze Certification -- industry-standard manufacturing engineering certifications.

"Going forward, the president and I will remain committed to addressing the full range of challenges our troops and their families face as they leave the service, and to making sure that these men and women have the support they so richly deserve," Panetta said in his statement. "They are a national asset, and they stand ready to continue making our country great in their civilian careers."