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1530 Dunwoody Village Parkway Suite 203
Atlanta, GA 30338
Phone: 770.396.2101
Fax: 770.396.2198
imcea@imcea.com
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Bush signs $162 billion war spending bill
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On Monday, June 30, President Bush signed into law a war supplemental spending package that includes nearly $162 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to an increase in veterans' education benefits and a 13-week extension of unemployment insurance.
"This is a responsibility we all share, not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans, and I want to thank the leaders of the House and Senate for getting this bill to my office," Bush said after signing the measure.
The Senate approved the package late Thursday, a week after the House gave its endorsement.
Approval came after months of partisan wrangling and negotiations between House leaders and the White House. An agreement was reached about two weeks ago.
The bill's first part includes $161.8 billion for the wars, which will cover the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30 and should last until next summer. The second section includes funding initiatives not directly related to the wars.
The boost in veterans' education benefits can be transferred to spouses and children. It is estimated to cost $62.8 billion over 11 years. The White House initially rejected inclusion of the increased benefits in the package because of retention concerns, but changed course under the compromise struck with House leaders, who agreed to allow the benefit to be transferable.
The package's extension of unemployment benefits is expected to cost $8.2 billion over 11 years. The legislation would retain a requirement that beneficiaries must work at least 20 weeks to be eligible for benefits.
Bush praised other funding in the bill, including $465 million for the Merida Initiative, a partnership with Mexico and nations in Central America to crack down on violent drug trafficking gangs; and nearly $2.7 billion to help states facing natural disasters.
In addition, the package includes language to block implementation of six of seven White House-proposed regulations for Medicaid that were designed to curb fraud and abuse, and it would ensure that Israel would get $170 million in aid for fiscal 2009 if Congress does not finish work on the appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year. Under a continuing resolution, Israel would not receive a White House-requested $170 million increase in aid, and the legislation would provide that funding in that event.
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DoD Submits Reprogramming Action to Cover the Absence of Supplemental Funding
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The Department of Defense yesterday (May 28, 2008) submitted to the Congress reprogramming actions proposing to transfer a total of $9.7 billion to the Army and defense-wide accounts by borrowing the funds from other service accounts. This emergency action was necessary to extend Army and defense-wide operations in the absence of requested supplemental appropriations funds.
The two reprogramming requests would use transfer authority the Congress has provided the department and, if approved, would allow operations to continue until late July. The first reprogramming action would transfer $5.7 billion from the military personnel accounts of the other services to the Army's military personnel account; the second would transfer $4 billion from the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) accounts of the other services and the DoD Working Capital Fund to the Army and Special Operations Command (SOCOM) O&M accounts.
The department previously outlined the steps that would be necessary to take to sustain operations, including maximizing the use of all available transfer authority as represented in these reprogramming actions. Without the ability to transfer these funds, the Army will run out of military personnel funds necessary to pay its soldiers by June 15. Accordingly, the department is requesting that the appropriate Congressional committees act on the reprogramming action by no later than June 9.
Congressional approval of this $9.7 billion reprogramming will only allow another few weeks of operations until the department as a whole runs out of critical funding. Should Congress fail to pass the GWOT supplemental appropriations legislation by mid-July, the department will have exhausted all military personnel and operations funding and will, at minimum, be unable to make payroll for both military and civilian personnel throughout the department. Service members and selected essential civilian employees, including those engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, would continue to serve, but without pay. Non-essential civilian employees would be furloughed pursuant to applicable personnel procedures
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Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Delayed Again
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Implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative for land and sea ports of entry has been delayed from January 2008 until June 2009. Wording to that effect was included in the omnibus spending bill passed by Congress on the night of December 17 by a vote of 253-154. In addition to delaying the WHTI, which requires U.S. travelers returning from Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean to carry a passport, Congress is withholding the $75 million required by the Department of Homeland Security to implement the program until the DHS can report on current driver's-license and technology trials, and on its port-by-port infrastructure and staffing plans.
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Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Crowe Dies at 82
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By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2007 – Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. William J. Crowe died early today at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He was 82.
Crowe served as chairman from 1985 to 1989 under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
His Navy career spanned the entirety of the Cold War, from his entry to the service following graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946 to his retirement as the highest-ranking officer in the military in 1989 as the Soviet Union began to crumble.
“Every man and woman of the U.S. military joins me in mourning the death of retired Admiral William Crowe, Vietnam and Cold War veteran and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” said Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “We extend humbly to his family our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies in their time of grief and sorrow.
“As we mourn his passing, so too should we reflect on his contributions to our national security -- of the thousands of lives he guided, the careers he mentored, the difference he made simply by virtue of his leadership,” Mullen continued. “We are a stronger, more capable military today in large part because of his efforts to make us so. We would all do well to remember that and to never forget the remarkable legacy of this truly humble, truly noble man.”
The Soviet Union and terrorism dominated Crowe’s tenure as chairman. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced perestroika and glasnost – literally, “restructuring” and “openness” -- to his nation. Gorbachev meant for the policies to strengthen the Soviet Union and make the country economically competitive with the West.
The openness that Gorbachev wanted included military relations. Crowe was at the epicenter of these changes. The admiral hosted Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Akhromeyev during a visit to the Pentagon in 1987. Akhromeyev, the chief of the Soviet General Staff, even attended a meeting with the Joint Chiefs in “The Tank,” the secure room the chiefs use to discuss military matters.
The admiral also confronted the plague of terrorism. Palestinian terrorists were active, with the most famous terrorist act being the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985. Navy fighters intercepted an Egyptian airliner flying the terrorists to safety and forced the plane to land in Sicily, where Italian authorities took the men into custody.
In addition, Crowe confronted the threat posed by Libya’s Muammar Qadhafi. The state sponsored terrorism and proclaimed a “Line of Death” in the Mediterranean’s Gulf of Sidra. On April 5, 1986, the oil-rich nation sponsored terrorists who bombed a disco in West Berlin, killing two soldiers and a Turkish woman. Ten days later, U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft attacked military targets in Tripoli and Benghazi.
The admiral was a devotee of the TV show “Cheers,” and played himself in a short appearance on the hit show.
A career submariner, Crowe was born in Kentucky and grew up in Oklahoma City. Following graduation from the Naval Academy, he served aboard the USS Carmick, USS Flying Fish and USS Clamagore. He was executive officer of the USS Wahoo and commanded the USS Trout from 1960 to 1962.
At 44, Crowe volunteered to serve in Vietnam as the senior advisor to the South Vietnamese Riverine Force from 1970 to 1971.
Crowe became a rear admiral in 1973 and held a number of staff jobs in the Pentagon before becoming the commander of the Middle East Force in Bahrain in 1976. After pinning on his fourth star, Crowe commanded Allied Forces Southern Europe from 1980 to 1983 and then served as commander in chief of U.S. Pacific Command in 1983.
Crowe was the first chairman to serve under the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Department Reorganization Act of 1986. The act made the chairman the principal military advisor to the president, defense secretary and the rest of the National Security Council.
Along the way, Crowe received a master’s degree from Stanford University and a doctorate from Princeton.
After his retirement, the admiral served as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom and on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. The admiral taught political science at the Naval Academy. His book “The Line of Fire” was a memoir of his time in the military.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Shirley, his daughter, Bambi, and his sons, Brent and Blake.
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SABMiller and Molson Coors Announce US Joint Venture
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SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company have announced that they have signed a letter of intent to combine their US and Puerto Rico operations. The new company, which will be called MillerCoors, will have combined net revenues of approximately $6.6 billion, and beer sales of 69 million US barrels. The transaction is expected to generate approximately $500 million in annual cost savings by the end of the third full year of combined financial operations.
Leading the MillerCoors management team will be Molson Coors Vice Chairman Pete Coors, who will serve as chairman. SABMiller CEO Graham McKay will serve as vice chairman, and Molson Coors Chief Executive Leo Kiely will be the CEO of the joint venture. SABMiller and Molson Coors will have a 50 percent voting interest in the joint venture, and five representatives each on its Board of Directors. SABMiller will also have 58 percent economic interest, while Molson Coors will have 42 percent economic interest.
The closing transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2007 and subject to clearance from US trading authorities, regulatory clearances, and third-party consents as required.
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Defense Department Blocks Internet Sites to Protect Grid
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By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 14, 2007 – The Defense Department is blocking access to many popular Internet sites from department-owned computers due to bandwidth issues, U.S. Strategic Command officials said today.
Joint Task Force Global Network Operations, which directs the operation and defense of the Defense Department's global information grid to assure timely and secure capabilities in support of the department's warfighting, intelligence, and business missions, blocked 12 popular sites on government computers today.
The sites are: youtube.com, pandora.com, photobucket.com, myspace.com, live365.com, hi5.com, metacafe.com, mtv.com, ifilm.com, blackplanet.com, stupidvideos.com and filecabi.com.
The popularity of the sites has not affected operations yet, but blocking them prevents them from causing such a problem, officials said . "It is a proactive measure: we do not want a problem with demand for these sites clogging the networks," a U.S. Strategic Command official said.
The blocks affect only Defense Department computers and local area networks that are part of the department's global information grid. The department has more than 15,000 local and regional networks and more than 5 million computers in the grid.
Department officials stress they are not making a judgment about the sites. Blocking the sites "is in no way a comment on the content, purpose or uses of the Web sites themselves," the official said. "It is solely a bandwidth/network management issue."
Offices with a need to access these sites from government computers can request exceptions to the policy. Global network operations officials will continue to assess the stresses and strains on the global information grid, and may add or subtract sites as needed, officials said.
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Fiscal 2008 Department of Defense Budget Released
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President George W. Bush today sent to Congress his defense budget for fiscal 2008. The budget requests $481.4 billion in discretionary authority for the Department of Defense base budget, an 11.3 percent increase over the projected enacted level for fiscal 2007, for real growth of 8.6 percent; and $141.7 billion to continue the fight in the Global War on Terror (GWOT) in fiscal 2008.
The fiscal 2008 Defense base budget sustains the President's commitment to ensure a high state of military readiness and ground force strength; to enhance the combat capabilities of the United States Armed Forces; to continue the development of capabilities that will maintain traditional U.S. superiority against potential threats; and to continue the Department's strong support for service members and their families.
The fiscal 2008 Global War on Terror request funds urgent needs associated with Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and other costs of the Global War on Terror; including the costs of repairing, replacing or replenishing equipment lost in combat by both the Active and Reserve Components.
The fiscal 2008 Global War on Terror request is consistent with the direction of Congress to include the cost of ongoing operations in the Global War on Terror with the fiscal 2008 Department of Defense Base Budget.
Accompanying the fiscal 2008 Defense base budget and the President’s GWOT request is a request for $93.4 billion in emergency supplemental funding to cover equipment reconstitution and the cost of operations in the Global War on Terror for the remainder of fiscal 2007.
Check http://www.dod.mil/comptroller/defbudget/fy2008/index.html for more details of the fiscal 2008 budget request.
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Army activates IMCOM to improve support to Soldiers
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The Army activated the Installation Management Command Oct. 24 to consolidate and strengthen installation support services to Soldiers and their families through the full authority of command.
Lt. Gen. Robert Wilson assumed the IMCOM command at a Pentagon ceremony hosted by Lt. Gen. James Campbell, Director of the Army Staff. The new command places the former Installation Management Agency, the former Community and Family Support Center and the Former Army Environmental Center under a single command as a direct reporting unit.
“Today we take the next step in the evolution of Army installation management … in order to create a more efficient, effective and agile organization to ensure the best Army in the world is supported by the best installations in the world,” Wilson said.
In keynote remarks, Campbell drew a parallel between the IMCOM and the new Army advertising slogan, “Army Strong.” He defined “strong” as the ability to take stand up for oneself, while “Army Strong” is the ability to stand up for everyone else.
“In my mind, the Installation Management Command shows that it is Army Strong each and every day,” Campbell said, “with the strength to make an installation a community; a set of quarters a home; and complete strangers, friends.
“[IMCOM has the strength] to ease separation and connect the Soldier on point with a family at home; the strength to genuinely care for the loved ones back home so that young Soldier facing life and death can focus on the mission at hand.”
As IMCOM commander, Wilson is dual-hatted as the Army’s Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, reporting directly to the Army Chief of Staff. Brig. Gen. John A. Macdonald, former IMA director, became IMCOM’s deputy commander.
Under IMCOM, CFSC is renamed the Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command, and becomes a subordinate command of IMCOM, commanded by Brig. Gen. Belinda Pinckney, with its own flag. The AEC is now the Army Environmental Command—also a subordinate command, commanded by Col. Michael O’Keefe, and with its own flag.
The flag casings and uncasings were a symbolic focal point of the activation ceremony and the three gold and red flags, standing together in a rank, seemed to further underscore the unity of purpose inherent in the new organization.
“The Army has never been in greater need of installations as flagships of readiness than it is now,” Wilson said, citing the construction, personnel and equipment realignments required to support Base Realignment and Closure, Army Modular Force, and Global Defense Posture Repositioning. He said BRAC alone accounts for more than 1,200 actions that impact the IMCOM mission.
The Army announced the establishment of the Installation Management Command as a direct reporting unit in August. This initiative is part of Army efforts to reorganize its commands and specified headquarters to obtain the most agile command and control structures to support the expeditionary, modular force.
The full authority of command is vital to effectively direct the vast resources necessary to support troop deployments while meeting the needs of their families, Army officials said in announcing the decision to form IMCOM. Consolidating the installation management structure under IMCOM optimizes resources, protects the environment and enhances well-being of the Army community. IMCOM will provide fast, efficient and agile support to commanders in the performance of their tactical and strategic missions.
The new command, currently headquartered in Virginia and Maryland, will relocate in 2010 to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in accordance with requirements of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round. The deputy commanding general will locate in Texas, while the commanding general and ACSIM functions remain at the Pentagon.
The new command also will consolidate the four Installation Management Agency regions within the continental United States into two as required by BRAC. The Western Region will stand up in November at Fort Sam Houston, with consolidation taking place
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Guidance for Civilians Nearing Retirement
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The Air Force Personnel Center's Benefits and Entitlement Service Team encourages civilians who want to retire in the next few years to plan ahead and seek counseling early. Potential retirees should contact BEST at least one year before retirement to receive one-on-one counseling over the phone, and to request a counselor-prepared estimate. Employee information is available to benefits counselors who are able to cover issues important to retirees. More information is available on the BEST Webpage. Click the "Retirement" link on the far left side of the page and select from the available items. More detailed instructions on reaching a counselor are available at the BEST Telephone Menu. http://ask.afpc.randolph.af.mil/best/default.asp?prods3=272&prods2=264&prods1=44
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DVDs Wanted for Troops
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"AMVETS, Operation DVD" is an appeal to patriotic Americans to donate their new and used DVDs, which will then be shipped to our fighting men and women overseas. DVDs will be distributed to Troops in audiences of USO tours and ultimately "Children Titles" will be provided to Boys & Girls Clubs located on military bases around the world. For more information on donating, visit the AMVETS, Operation DVD Website. "AMVETS, Operation DVD" is an official program of AMVETS, a nationally chartered veterans organization in existence for over sixty years. http://www.operationdvd.us/
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Be Aware of myPay Look-a-Likes
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DFAS-Denver myPay officials have advised all DoD organizations and members to beware of copycat or look-a-like websites being developed to make people think they are accessing official sites. These websites may use the words "myPay" as part of their web address. Members are advised to use caution against mistakenly providing personal information to copycat, look-a-like, or other websites that use "myPay" in their web address. While they may be legitimate business concerns, they are not in any way affiliated with DFAS and myPay. The official myPay website is https://mypay.dfas.mil.
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