INSTALLATION NOTES – 17 September 2010
GARRISONS / INSTALLATIONS / FACILITIES
17 September 2010
Federal Times
Senate panel lops $8.1 billion off 2011 Defense
budget
The Senate Appropriations Committee lopped $8.1 billion off the 2011
Defense budget on Thursday, mainly by cutting two top-priority Air Force
and Navy weapons programs, and trimming dozens of smaller programs.
The appropriators approved cutting Joint Strike Fighter production from 42
planes to 32, and to build just one Littoral Combat Ship instead of two in
fiscal 2011, which begins Oct. 1.
The JSF cut could save about $3 billion. It leaves in the budget six planes for
the Navy, 10 for the Marine Corps and 16 for the Air Force. The LCS cut is
worth $615 million, according to the committee.
Senate appropriators saved another $450 million by not funding
development of a second or "alternate" engine for the JSF.
Sen. Daniel Inouye, Appropriations Committee chairman, called the cuts
"tough measures." But he said, "We believe in total the package is not only
fair, but presents a carefully balanced set of recommendations" that meet
security needs for 2011.
The appropriators approved spending $670 billion in defense, which includes
$158 billion for fighting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But it does not
include $18 billion to be spent on nuclear weapons and $14 billion for
military construction. Those are funded in other budget bills.
President Obama asked the Appropriations Committee for $678 billion,
including $159.3 billion to pay for the wars. Overall, he proposed a $726
billion Defense budget for 2011.
The Senate appropriators and their House counterparts are especially
budget-minded this year. In July, the House Defense appropriations
subcommittee cut Obama's request by $7.2 billion. With elections six weeks
away, the $1.4 trillion budget deficit and the $13.5 trillion debt have
emerged as volatile issues. Interest payments on the debt have risen to
$400 billion a year.
Inouye, D-Hawaii, said the Senate committee's JSF cuts are warranted
because the program is behind schedule. "I would inform my colleagues that
the Defense Department has not yet awarded a contract to build 30 aircraft
which the Congress funded nearly a year ago."
Similarly, with the Navy's LCS, Inouye said that "two ships funded in 2010
have not yet been contracted. Under the new plan, the Navy would seek to
award four ships to a single contractor in the coming year. There is virtually
no way that the winning contractor would be able to begin construction of
four ships in 2011."
Funding for one ship in 2011 "is more than adequate," he said.
Similar reductions were made to "dozens of programs where the requested
funding level is above what is required to meet adjusted schedules," Inouye
said.
The THAAD missile interceptor program, for example, was cut by $425
million because of production delays.
Inouye said his committee cut support for Iraq Security Forces in half —
from $2 billion to $1 billion. The subcommittee also cut funding for the
Commander's Emergency Response Program from $1.3 billion to $900
million.
Senators approved $167.3 billion in operations and maintenance spending;
the Obama administration requested $200.3 billion.
And they set procurement spending at $104.8 billion — the 2010 level. The
administration wanted $112.9 billion.
It wasn't all cuts, though. The administration wanted $76.1 billion for
research and development spending; the committee approved $76.2 billion.
The subcommittee also added money for buying more search-and-rescue
helicopters for the Air Force and Army, and added $121 million to buy 13
more Standard Missile interceptors for the Navy's missile defense ships. The
National Guard and service reserves received $500 million to buy new
equipment.
An extra $450 million is allocated for Stryker double-V hull modifications,
and $125 million is to go to alternative energy research.
The $158 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan includes money for 24 additional
Reaper UAVs, 19 helicopters to replace battle losses, and $1.7 billion to buy
ammunition and missiles.
JIEDDO, the organization set up to defeat roadside bombs, is to receive $2.8
billion.
Senators boosted spending on health care by $600 million to care for
wounded troops and conduct medical research. Total spending on health
care is $31.5 billion.
Inouye included a scolding for Pentagon finance managers. While some cuts
were made because programs are far behind schedule, others, particularly
those in operations and maintenance accounts, were made "because of lax
budgeting practices by the military departments."
Inouye said the Defense Department "has not yet recovered from years of
neglect in financial management." The Pentagon's effort to eliminate
wasteful spending ought to start with "improving its budget preparation," he
said.
17 September 2010
El Paso Times
El Paso seeks to annex Fort Bliss
City officials might try to take over Fort Bliss without firing a shot.
When Mayor John Cook and City Manager Joyce Wilson meet today with Maj.
Gen. Dana Pittard, commander of Fort Bliss, they will discuss annexing part
or all of one of the largest military posts in the United States.
City officials are considering annexation and other measures so they can
collect a portion of the 8.25-percent sales tax collected at Freedom Crossing
-- a shopping center under construction as part of the expansion of the Army
post to 34,000 soldiers by 2013.
If annual sales projections of $350 million for the shopping center are
realistic, the city would collect $350,000 a year from Freedom Crossing.
Mayor Cook on Thursday said that he would rather not annex the massive
military post.
"My first preference is we do a legislative fix," Cook said.
The mayor said he has asked state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, to determine
what changes to state law would be necessary to collect sales tax without
annexing Fort Bliss. Pickett was not available late Thursday afternoon for
comment.
When Fort Bliss announced plans for Freedom Crossing, it said stores other
than the PX and the commissary would not have a competitive advantage
because they would be subject to sales tax.
"The presumption has been that Freedom Crossing will generate revenue for
the city of El Paso," Cook wrote to State Comptroller Susan Combs last week.
"Most people do not realize that Fort Bliss is outside the limits of the city of
El Paso and therefore not subject to municipal sales tax."
The comptroller said that under current law, annexation is the only way to
get a slice of the sales tax generated at Fort Bliss.
Army officials declined to comment on the possibility that Fort Bliss might
become part of El Paso.
"They're not going to speculate until something happens," post
spokeswoman Donita Kelley said Thursday.
Annexation would have political consequences if it includes soldiers'
residences. Once inside city limits, the city would have to allow them to
register to vote and maybe have to redraw City Council districts.
City of El Paso spokeswoman Julie Lozano said it is too early to say how the
city might handle the changes.
Recent uncontested annexations have been completed in as little as six
months.
More complicated matters have lingered for longer than 1½years.
Cities annexing military bases is not unprecedented. The city of Glendale,
Ariz. annexed Luke Air Force Base in 1995.
17 September 2010
Dayton Daily News
Alabama seeks to move jobs from Wright-Patterson
By John Nolan, Staff Writer
Alabama legislators have asked the director of the Defense Intelligence
Agency to move intelligence jobs from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to an
Army-operated arsenal in Alabama, a request that has alarmed WrightPatterson advocates.
Alabama’s congressional delegation sent a letter Aug. 27 to Army Lt. Gen.
Ronald Burgess, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, requesting
relocation of an unspecified number of jobs from Wright-Patterson’s National
Air and Space Intelligence Center. The Alabama lawmakers proposed it as a
consolidation of ballistic missile and space analysis functions within the
Missile and Space Intelligence Center at the Army-operated Redstone
Arsenal near Huntsville, Ala.
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, a member of the House Armed
Services Committee, sent letters Thursday to President Obama and Burgess
opposing the Alabama proposal.
“This attempt to take jobs from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and ship
them to Alabama does not support our national security or our national
intelligence community,” Turner wrote. “This is only about one state trying
to steal jobs from another.”
“No decisions have been made,” Betsy Hawkings, Turner’s chief of staff, said
of the issue.
About 3,100 people work in the NASIC building at Wright-Patterson,
including military and civilian personnel and employees of partner
organizations housed there, the Defense Intelligence Agency and National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
There have been periodic proposals over the years to shift jobs either from
NASIC to the Missile and Space Intelligence Center (MSIC), or from Alabama
to NASIC, because their missions are somewhat similar.
NASIC bills itself as the primary Defense Department source for air and
space intelligence. NASIC uses information available to the U.S. intelligence
community to prepare reports evaluating foreign military capabilities and
weapon systems for the president, senior U.S. military advisers and others.
MSIC employs about 650 people and is managed by the Defense Intelligence
Agency. The center is responsible for intelligence analyses of adversaries’
surface-to-air missile and ballistic missile capabilities.
“This is a very serious threat to NASIC jobs,” said Michael Gessel, the
Dayton Development Coalition’s vice president for federal government
programs. “We have seen this kind of play before, a little bit more subtly.”
Employment in the intelligence community is increasing, so any loss of
current jobs from Wright-Patterson could cost the Dayton region future job
growth, Gessel said.
17 September 2010
Maryland Business Gazette
Fort Detrick guards' suit goes to federal court
Workers seek $5 million from Eagle Technologies
by Chris Huntemann | Staff Writer
A $5 million class-action lawsuit filed by security guards at Fort Detrick in
Frederick will now be heard in federal court.
The guards, employees of contractor Eagle Technologies of Lanham, filed the
suit in Prince George's County Circuit Court in March. The suit now includes
Protection Strategies of Arlington, Va., which recently acquired Eagle
Technologies, according to court documents.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday Eagle Technologies filed for Chapter 7 liquidation
in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. It listed assets of up to $50,000, debts of $1
million to $10 million and from 50 to 99 creditors.
The guards claim they were cheated out of promised pay and benefits and
that they worked 12-hour shifts during holidays but were paid for only eight
hours. They also claim that Eagle Technologies and Protection Strategies
failed to compensate them for training; to set up 401(k) accounts after
collecting money for them; and to provide the plaintiffs with proper uniforms
or equipment.
The guards are seeking more than $5 million in punitive damages, plus
compensatory damages and legal fees.
The armed guards work at Fort Detrick's National Biodefense Analysis and
Countermeasures Center. Eagle Technologies has more than 600 employees,
according to Protection Strategies' website.
Last month, the defendants rebutted the guards' claims in court documents,
saying the guards were properly paid and were entitled to only eight hours,
not 12 hours, of pay for holiday shifts. The employers also deny the claims
regarding reimbursement for uniforms and equipment and the 401(k)
accounts.
The case recently was moved to U.S. District Court at the defendants'
request.
The guards' attorney, John Hermina of Hermina Law Group of Laurel, said
the case could be shifted back to state court but that he is "satisfied having
it in federal court." No trial date has been set.
Since the lawsuit was filed, seven of the 12 original plaintiffs have been fired
or barred from the biodefense center at Fort Detrick, said plaintiff William
Shank of Hagerstown in an e-mail to The Gazette.
Shank added that his project manager met him in the center's parking lot
and told Shank he had been fired, but would not tell him why.
Eagle Technologies is represented by Richard C. Daniels of Daniels & Daniels
of College Park, who did not immediately return phone calls seeking
comment. Eagle Technologies referred questions to Protection Strategies,
which did not immediately return a phone message.
Protection Strategies is represented by Joseph E. Schuler and Paul DeCamp
of Jackson Lewis of Reston, Va. Schuler declined to comment and DeCamp
did not immediately return a phone message.
17 September 2010
Fairbanks Daily News Miner
Thousands of dollars believed taken from Fort
Wainwright post store
by Chris Freiberg
FAIRBANKS — A North Pole woman has been accused of embezzling nearly
$8,000 from Fort Wainwright’s Army and Air Force Exchange Service earlier
this year.
April L. Robertson, 23, has been charged with one count of second-degree
theft, a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
A manager at AAFES, as it is commonly known, contacted police in February
after discovering $7,849.43 missing from deposits. AAFES is a department
store-like center on post catering to service members and their families.
Incorrect amounts reportedly had been entered on deposit slips eight times
between Jan. 10 and Feb. 10. The missing amounts each day varied
between $200 and nearly $2,000.
Robertson worked alone on six of those days, and a large vault door often
blocked a surveillance camera’s view of her, according to charging
documents.
Robertson at first denied any involvement when contacted by Fairbanks
police about the thefts. Later, she reportedly told police that she used
between $5,000 and $6,000 to pay medical expenses for her husband and
daughter but that she could not recall what the rest of the money was used
for.
Fort Wainwright spokeswoman Linda Douglas said Robertson left her job
with AAFES in February, but she did not elaborate on whether Robertson quit
or was fired.
Robertson has no prior criminal history in Alaska.
INSTALLATION SERVICES / PROGRAMS
17 September 2010
Stars and Stripes
Army extends restricted sexual assault reporting
for USAREUR civilians
The Army’s vice chief of staff on Wednesday approved U.S. Army Europe’s
request to extend its program allowing civilians to file confidential, or
restricted, reports of sexual assaults, according to an Army news release.
Restricted reporting allows victims to report an assault and receive medical
care and advocacy services without triggering a criminal investigation.
The Defense Department is working to allow restricted reporting of sexual
assaults throughout the services. Experts maintain that sexual assault
victims throughout U.S. society are reluctant to report an assault, forgoing
medical and psychological care, to maintain their privacy and avoid being
themselves blamed.
USAREUR, which allows soldiers to file restricted reports, offered the option
to civilians in a six-month pilot program that ended on Aug. 31. The
command had suspended the option for civilians while it awaited Army
approval to extend the pilot program.
Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli approved the extension on Wednesday, the USAREUR
release said. Civilians now may file restricted reports through Feb. 28.
Kaye Whitley, director of the DOD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
Office, said this week that an oversight manager from her office was in
Europe to determine the status of USAREUR’s sexual assault prevention and
response efforts, with a focus on the results of the civilian pilot program.
According to USAREUR officials, some 200 sexual assault reports have been
filed annually for the past several years. Most of them are “unrestricted,”
which triggers a police investigation and requires commanders be notified.
In the six months of USAREUR’s pilot program, just three civilian women
made restricted reports.
But the military estimates 80 percent of all sexual assaults go unreported.
17 September 2010
Fayetteville Observer
Conference looks at ways to help kids cope with
war stress
Two million children have seen a parent leave for war - many more than
once - since 2001.
Those children are more likely to have problems at school, problems at
home and problems with their emotions.
Joyce Raezer, executive director of the National Military Family Association,
told a group of 200 counselors, teachers and faith leaders that researchers
are beginning to publish data to verify what many military families have
known all along: when dad or mom leaves for war, everybody in the family
feels the stress.
Raezer spoke Thursday at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church during a two-day
conference aimed at improving the support systems for military families
struggling with deployments.
Military and civilian professionals - from school teachers to psychologists to
Fort Bragg's top leaders - met to discuss how war is impacting the
community and how the military and civilians can work together to provide a
strong safety net for families.
Called "Forward March: Moving Children Forward During Challenging Times,"
the conference is the first of its kind in the Cape Fear region. After speeches
Thursday morning, the conference attendees broke into small groups to
discuss issues such as building resiliency in families and the effects of
deployments.
A RAND Corp. study sponsored by Raezer's association found that military
children score better than civilian counterparts in academic engagement and
peer relationships, but worse in family relationships, anxiety and emotional
difficulties.
Children whose parent remaining at home isn't coping well report the
highest levels of stress.
"As we focus on helping children during deployments, we can't just focus on
the children," Raezer said. The study shows that "if mama ain't happy, ain't
nobody happy," she said.
Eva Hansen, president of the Partnership for Children of Cumberland County,
said she hoped the conference would help bring another layer of
understanding to the people who help soldiers and their families.
"We'll feel the effects of war for years to come," Hansen said. "What today is
about is what makes a difference."
It's a complex topic, but helping can be as simple as being a good neighbor,
said Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, commander of Fort Bragg and the 18th
Airborne Corps. Most military families live off post, side by side with their
civilian counterparts.
The Partnership for Children was one of several sponsors of the event.
Others include Cumberland County schools, Snyder Memorial and the
Southern Regional Area Health Education Center
Patricia Shinseki also spoke Thursday. She is on the board of directors of
The Military Child Education Center. Her husband is Eric Shinseki, a retired
Army general who is the current secretary of Veterans Affairs.
She applauded efforts by the military and civilian community to identify and
help those impacted by deployments, but emphasized that the need remains
great.
"There's much more to do, and that's why we're here," Shinseki said. "The
importance of educating communities across the country is critical."
17 September 2010
Morris County Daily Record
Picatinny Arsenal gives National Guardsman a new
trailer
By MATT MANOCHIO • STAFF WRITER •
When Private First Class James Stanly returned from his tour of duty in Iraq
as a member of the New Jersey Army National Guard, he lived in a rotting,
mold-laden trailer, that not only presented a health hazard to him, but also
to his 3-year-old daughter.
Even though he now lives in upstate New York, Stanly, 27, is a Guardsman
based out of Jersey City. And thanks to the work of several organizations,
Picatinny Arsenal will be sending one of its decommissioned trailers to the
Empire State for Stanly and his daughter.
"When I was shown the trailer house, I could not say a word," Stanly said
during a Wednesday phone interview from his home in Chateaugay, N.Y. "I
was speechless. It was just so overwhelming seeing that kind of kindness
shown to me. I've never seen that before. I thought saying 'thank you'
would've been insulting because of all they had done. I didn't think
'thank you' would have been enough."
Stanly, who has been to the arsenal several times, served south of Baghdad
from 2008 through 2009. The trailer home in which he currently lives is
rotting at the base, has mold, no air conditioning, and a leaky roof. He'll
soon be living in a three-room unit with air conditioning. The process started
when he contacted his base's
family assistance office, which in turn reached out to New Jersey's Family
Readiness Council, a non-profit group that assists the National Guard. A
request was made to see if it was possible to get a grant to make his home
livable.
Lt. Col. Richard W. Eastman Jr., (Ret.), a member of the Morris County
Chamber of Commerce, who sits on the FRC's grant committee, also has ties
with Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway Township, and that's where things began
falling into place.
Lee Moreau, the arsenal's director of Family, Morale, Welfare & Recreation
office, told Eastman the base was decommissioning a roughly 25-year-old
trailer used at times by Army families who need a place to stay when they're
traveling. Moreau said the trailer, and those like it, are being replaced by log
cabins that will be used as living quarters for traveling personnel.
The Family Readiness Council spent $4,500 to obtain the trailer and arrange
for its transportation to Upstate New York, more than 400 miles away.
"The perspective that I see (is) there are so many people who come back
from serving who encounter various hardships, and that's the reason the
state Family Readiness Council goes about setting up grants," said Eastman,
who'll be accompanying the trailer on its journey north.
"The story really is about community, helping National Guard soldiers,"
Eastman said.
Stanly, who's attending North Country Community College to become a
licensed practitioning nurse said he's "honored" by the gesture.
"I've been telling people from my unit what's been going on," Stanly said.
"There are people out there that will find a way to help you out if you're in
need."
17 September 2010
Fort Gordon Signal
School liaison officers work with military children,
parents
Charmain Z. Brackett
Correspondent
There are many programs in place designed to help ease transitions for
military families, and for families of school-aged children, school liaisons
offer extra support.
“We help through in-processing and let them know what they need to
transition post to post,” said Melissa Drinnen, one of two school liaison
officers, who work to link school systems and military families.
Helping families find out the schools they are zoned for, what immunizations
are required and when to register are a few of the basic questions the school
liaison officers are prepared to answer.
Drinnen focuses mainly on Richmond County and Aiken County, S.C., while
Sharon Beaver is the liaison with Columbia County.
The school liaison officers have many varied functions from helping with bus
problems to assisting a student who is ready to graduate, but their credits
don’t match up with the state school system’s requirements.
“Any transportation issue, I take directly to the director of transportation,”
said Drinnen.
Not only do parents call her about late busses or questions on bus routes,
Fort Gordon’s public safety department may also call to alert her about a
speeding bus.
Drinnen said the system of parents calling her first works well.
“We get an immediate response,” she said.
Some problems are more complex than a late bus and require more
intervention. Sometimes, it even leads to policies being changed for military
families, according to Beaver.
Through the Secondary Educations Transition Study, which has led to the
signing of agreements with the three main counties, Beaver and Drinnen are
able to work on behalf of students at a deeper level.
Beaver pointed to the example of one student who had spent several years
in one school system, but when the family transferred during the student’s
senior year of high school, there were some discrepancies in the Georgia
required items. The student was allowed to receive a diploma from the
previous school.
Other conflicts which have led to policy changes include the inclusion of
children in the gifted program. Rather than require additional testing for
children who have been in a gifted program in another state, Columbia
County now accepts the tests from the other state, said Beaver.
The school liaison officers also work to link Soldier-volunteers with schools
who need volunteers.
Units often adopt area schools, according to Drinnen.
Throughout the year, units help schoolchildren with tutoring, coaching and
mentoring or help with inspections for Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.
They also assist with special events such as field day, Veterans’ Day and
career days.
Drinnen said there are several schools that have requested to be adopted;
however, there are not enough units signed up for the program.
HOUSING / RCI / BARRACKS
17 September 2010
Fayetteville Observer
Fort Bragg officials say infants not in danger
SPOUT SPRINGS - Military parents need not fear for their children's health
while living at on-post housing, Fort Bragg officials told a crowd of concerned
families during a town hall forum Thursday.
Military leaders called for the community meeting in the Linden Oaks
neighborhood to answer questions about the ongoing Army investigation into
the unexplained deaths of 10 infants whose families were living in Fort Bragg
housing units in recent years.
About 70 people attended the forum at Gordon Elementary School, but only
a dozen or so spoke out.
A few parents told officials they were concerned conditions inside their
homes might be causing breathing problems in their children. One mother
complained of funny smells and mold inside her home. Another asked
officials if she should move her 2-week-old child off post.
"I don't want to take a risk," the mother said, speaking into a microphone
inside the school gymnasium.
In each case, officials with Fort Bragg and Picerne Military Housing - the
private firm that manages housing on the installation - assured parents
there is nothing to fear and offered to visit and test each individual home to
be certain.
"We're here to make sure you all feel safe in the homes you live in," said
Brig. Gen. Michael Garrett, chief of staff of the 82nd Airborne. "I've got a
family. I live on post, and I am absolutely confident in the quarters we are
putting you in."
Military investigators announced at a news conference two weeks ago they
have been testing building materials, air quality and other environmental
factors to determine if the infant deaths might be connected to conditions
inside the houses.
Since then, at least 70 families who live on post have asked officials to
conduct environmental tests inside their homes, said John Shay, program
manager with Picerne. The company will begin those tests in the coming
weeks, he said.
"We honestly believe there is not a danger," Shay told the crowd. "But we're
willing to work and conduct as many tests as we need to bring you up to our
comfort level."
Drywall worries
The Consumer Product Safety Commission - the lead federal agency looking
into claims related to tainted Chinese drywall - is conducting its own tests at
each of the homes where infants died.
The agency reportedly got involved after receiving a call earlier this year
from Krystyna Duke and her husband, Spc. Nathanael Duke. The couple's 6week-old son died suddenly in March in their former house in the Linden
Oaks community.
Military investigators visited the home afterward and removed chunks of
drywall and carpeting before returning weeks later and telling the couple the
samples had tested positive for toxic drywall from China.
Subsequent tests at the home, according to military investigators, were
negative for the imported building material, which is known to emit harmful
sulfur gases.
A few families, including the Dukes, asked questions during the forum
Thursday about the drywall inside military houses. Those concerns are
unfounded, said Col. Stephen Sicinski, garrison commander at Fort Bragg.
"Folks, do not fear Chinese drywall until we have some evidence it is in our
houses," Sicinski said. "There's no evidence of that."
Sicinski, who serves as a city manager of sorts for the installation,
responded to most of the questions and complaints during the meeting. He
said he would work with anyone who has concerns, but he also charged
residents to take more "personal responsibility" for upkeep at their homes.
The first response if someone finds mold growing on the wall, Sicinski said,
should be to try to clean it themselves.
"Living on an installation is a privilege, it is not a right," Sicinski said. "If you
are truly uncomfortable living on post after we've done our due diligence
(conducting tests) ... you can always live off post."
About 18,000 people live in 6,200 housing units on Fort Bragg.
Mother lashes out
The formal investigations into the infant deaths began earlier this summer,
when base officials learned that two babies had died three months apart
after living at different times in the same home in the Ardennes
neighborhood. A third child who had lived in the house died suddenly two
years earlier at an off-post baby-sitter.
Pearline Sculley, the mother of the infant who died off post, attended the
town hall meeting. She lashed out at Fort Bragg officials who, she said,
never told her they were reviewing her son's death as part of the ongoing
probe. Sculley said she has been waiting three years for some straight
answers.
"It's more like cover up this, cover up that," Sculley said. "It's like they're
looking for a quick fix, and I don't understand it."
Like the other two infants who died at the Ardennes neighborhood home,
Sculley said her 2-month-old had been experiencing cold-like symptoms
while living at the house. She asked why investigators weren't releasing
environmental tests conducted inside the homes.
Chris Grey, spokesman with the Army Criminal Investigative Command, said
the tests have so far come back negative and will be released once the
investigation is complete.
"I can assure you," Grey said, "if there is anything we can release to warn
the public and keep you safe, we will release it immediately."
The forum, which also addressed concerns about an unsafe crossing outside
Linden Oaks and other community concerns, lasted about two hours.
Reporters were allowed to attend the meeting but were otherwise barred
from recording video, taking photos or approaching residents for interviews.
Fort Bragg officials have scheduled two other town hall meetings to address
the infant deaths to be held Tuesday and Thursday next week at Murray and
Bowley elementary schools on post.
"We honestly don't feel like there is any reason to be afraid," Sicinski said
toward the end of the meeting. "But again, we will work with you if you have
concerns."
ENVIRONMENT / ENERGY / SAFETY
17 September 2010
Stars and Stripes
Thousands of ammo rounds found on former
military golf course on Okinawa
KITANAKGUSUKU, Okinawa — Sand traps aren’t the only hazards being
found on a former Marine Corps golf course here.
As of Friday, a World War II land mine and almost 8,940 rounds of various
other munitions had been discovered during an ongoing magnetic survey of
the 116 acres that was once the Awase Meadows Golf Course. According to
Japan’s Ministry of Defense Okinawa Bureau, the ordnance was detected in
preparation for building what will be Okinawa’s largest shopping mall.
Thirty-five 75 mm to 155 mm artillery rounds, 5,480 rounds of small-arms
ammunition, and 26 signal flares, much of it corroded, were found on the
site, an Okinawa police spokeswoman said.
About 2,500 rounds have already been removed by a Japan Ground SelfDefense Force disposal team.
Awase Meadows Golf Course was built in 1948 by the U.S. Army and was
most recently operated by Marine Corps Community Services. It was closed
in February and turned over to Japanese control in June as part of a 1996
agreement to return 21 percent of the U.S. military property on the island.
The discovery of unexploded ammunition dating from the Battle of Okinawa
in the spring of 1945 is common on Okinawa, where the 83-day battle is
called the “Typhoon of Steel.”
“This is what we expected,” said a spokesman for the Okinawa Bureau of
Japan’s Ministry of Defense. “That is why the survey is part of the restoring
operation.”
The ordnance was found between 18 to 40 inches underground throughout
the golf course.
We were shocked at the huge amount of ammunitions found through the
magnetic survey,” said Kanehiro Nakadomari, chief of the Awase Gold
Course Re-development Project Promotion Team. “No one knows what may
lay deeper underground.”
The area is scheduled to be developed in several phases and will be centered
around a shopping mall that will cover 46.8 acres, said Noboru Yamakawa of
the Awase Landowner’s Association. The mall will include a three-story
building to include more than 150 shops and a movie theater. A hospital and
housing developments also are planned.
Munitions recovery should be completed by the end of September, after
which a cultural assets survey will be conducted, officials said.
“If all goes well, the re-development project should begin in 2012,”
Yamakawa said.
However, he remains troubled by the discovery of the ammunition and is
worried soil might also be tainted by chemical waste. “We must make sure
that all the hazardous materials are removed by the government,” he said.
Okinawa officials say such concerns are a reminder that their demands for
changing the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement have yet to be
answered.
The SOFA exempts the U.S. military from any responsibility for the
environmental cleaning of base property slated to be returned, said Susumu
Matayoshi, director general of the governor’s executive office.
“The [U.S.] military should be responsible,” he said, adding that the
Japanese government should also compensate landowners when the
discovery of munitions and hazardous materials result in delays in reutilizing
their land.
17 September 2010
Newport News Daily Press
No public use at Plum Tree Island on the horizon
A feasibility study will identify future clean-up options and identify
potential uses
By Jon Cawley
POQUOSON — — Poquoson native Bill Leary remembers with a smile going
out to Plum Tree Island as a kid. He'd love to see the former military
bombing range rendered safe and opened for recreational opportunities.
"It would be nice to have the beach out there," Leary said last week. "It
would be great, I'd love it. Plenty of people go to Factory Point (a sand spit
near Hampton accessible only by boat) from Poquoson."
Still others, like seafood wholesaler Bill Forrest, say the 3,275 acre salt
marsh — that he too fondly recalls visiting as a child on family outings —
should remain off-limits even if the danger posed by left-behind military
ordnance could be removed.
"The younger generation now days would destroy it," Forrest said, standing
outside his Messick Point business located just across a channel from Plum
Tree Island. "I'd say leave it alone. Leave it be."
Like Leary and Forrest, many Poquoson residents are watching and waiting
as state and federal officials mull the future of the 3,275 acre salt marsh
where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages a wildlife refuge and public
access is restricted.
The Plum Tree Island bombing range was owned by the Department of
Defense from 1917 to 1972 and used for military bombardment and training
exercises through the late 1950s. It was transferred to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service in 1972.
Even though live munitions were not found during nearly about eight months
of work to locate and remove military ordnance, recreational opportunities at
the former bombing range aren't likely to open up for at least several years
— if ever at all. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say it's premature at this
time to even ponder it.
Officials from Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the city of Poquoson, and
from Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure Inc. met for more than four hours
Sept. 9 to discuss project developments and next steps. Shaw, the company
performing the work, and has done similar jobs at other Department of
Defense sites.
Work is scheduled to begin next week to expand Shaw's ordnance sweep to
offshore areas where munitions are believed to exist underwater. Beyond
that, the project is now moving into a feasibility study phase where the
prospects for further cleanup work and human uses will be explored.
The feasibility study is expected to be completed and presented for public
comment in 2011, with remedial work scheduled to start in 2012 once a plan
is adopted.
Shaw did remedial investigations of the Plum Tree Island Range and its
inland water bodies from January to March 2009, and from October 2009 to
February 2010. According to data provided at the meeting, that work
uncovered 263 Jet Assisted Take-Off (JATO) bottles that had been jettisoned
from aircraft, 10 bomb or bomb fragments (some of which dated to World
War I) and 13 aerial rocket parts.
Analysis for the presence of munitions-related chemicals found
concentrations in and around the bombing range were consistent with levels
found at unaffected areas.
"None of what we recovered was live — that surprised us," said Alex Smith,
Shaw's project manager. "A lot of what we found we couldn't get to." He
added that the contents of six JATO bottles could not be determined and
were detonated on-site as a precaution.
But Smith and others affiliated with the investigation believe more munitions
— possibly dangerous unexploded bombs or rockets — still lurk below the
surface.
"I would never be comfortable walking around out there without a metal
detector telling me where I can step," said George Follett, the Army corps'
program manager for the Plum Tree Island cleanup.
Follett said a thorough investigation of off-shore areas is also warranted.
"There is no doubt in anyone's mind, we think stuff is out there."
Shaw's sweep with high-tech equipment found a total of 476 anomalies with
metal signatures. Of those, 74 were located in water and couldn't be
investigated. Another 50 were buried in the marsh more than four-feet-deep
and could not be reached since no heavy equipment was used. Those
anomalies are believed to represent "large munitions," according to the
company.
Follet would like to break down the overall project area into a number of
smaller parcels where further remediation work could take place as money
becomes available. Follett said he believes clearing the shoreline to a depth
of three to four feet at low tide is "definitely do-able" while clearing offshore
areas represents a "monumental problem" because adequate technology is
not yet available, although it is developing.
But before the meeting broke-up, Fish and Wildlife officials put the brakes on
prospects for a total clean-up and granting of public access.
Cyrus Brame, of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said he wouldn't support
"evasive removal" including use of heavy equipment in a clean-up project of
the salt marsh and area where threatened tiger beetles live.
As for recreation opportunities, Fish and Wildlife Service requires that a 15year comprehensive conservation plan be developed before public uses are
decided. The process takes a couple of years to complete, Brame said.
"The reality is shorebird use will be affected by public use — that has to be
addressed," Brame said. "There will be a tremendous interest in beach
access, but if it doesn't conform to our mission I don't know how it can be
granted."
17 September 2010
Philadelphia Inquirer
Military Blasted In Base Pollution
WASHINGTON - Military leaders cared more about fending off bad newsmedia attention than helping Marines sickened by tainted water at Camp
Lejeune, a North Carolina lawmaker alleged at a hearing Thursday on health
concerns at the sprawling Marine base in his state.
Democratic Rep. Brad Miller told a House Science and Technology
subcommittee that Navy and Marine Corps leaders have been "relying on the
advice of lawyers, hiding behind science that is slow and uncertain, and
spending more energy on public relations than on helping Marines and their
families."
Wells at the base were contaminated by fuel leaks, and health officials
believe as many as one million people were exposed to tainted water before
the wells were closed two decades ago.
Peter Devereaux, who developed cancer after living at the base, testified
that the Marines knew about the contamination but said nothing and he was
denied disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs until
winning an appeal last month.
17 September 2010
Richmond Register
Demil Plant 25% Complete
Five years to go
By Bill Robinson Senior News Writer
RICHMOND — Construction of the chemical weapons destruction plant at the
Blue Grass Army Depot is 25 percent complete, but the completion of the
massive complex is still five years away, said Craig Williams, co-chair of the
Chemical Destruction Citizen’s Advisory Board, at the board’s quarterly
meeting Tuesday evening.
After years of debate and delay, the project is moving forward with
relentless momentum, Williams said as both the military and civilian project
managers reported attainment of several progress milestones.
The first wall of the destruction complex’s blast containment structure was
set in place on Sept. 11 using two giant cranes, according to Jeff Brubaker,
the Defense Department’s onsite manager for the project.
While some engineering work remains, all design work on the destruction
complex and its equipment has been completed, said Mark Seely, project
manager for Bechtel Parson Blue Grass, the civilian contractor for the
construction.
Fabrication of the plant’s three neutralization reactors, by a Louisville
subcontractor, has been completed, and they have been installed at the
depot, Seely said. Other equipment has been fabricated and will be shipped
to the depot and installed when appropriate, as other equipment building
continues.
On a less positive note, Seely said the project suffered its first-ever lost-time
accident in April when an iron worker slipped and blew out his knee,
requiring arthroscopic surgery.
Construction also is progressing on the foundation of the super-critical
water-oxidation plant that will convert neutralized nerve and mustard
weapons into ordinary hazardous waste, Brubaker said.
Last week, the head of the international treaty organization that monitors
destruction of chemical weapons visited Kentucky to tour the depot and
meet local officials, Brubaker said.
Ahmet Uzumcu, director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons, and Robert Mikulak, the U.S. ambassador designate to
OPCW, and others also inspected igloos where chemical weapons are stored
as they await destruction, Williams said.
Although the United States will not have all of its chemical weapons
destroyed by the 2012 treaty deadline, neither will the Russian Federation,
Williams said.
The Russians also probably will not meet their goal of complete destruction
by 2015, he said.
The Kentucky depot will be the last U.S. facility to complete destruction of its
chemical weapons, probably in 2021, Williams said.
Army depots in Alabama and Arkansas, which used incineration rather than
chemical neutralization, have destroyed all of their nerve-agent weapons,
Williams said. They continue to destroy mustard-agent weapons.
As destruction nears completion in those states, local officials have begun to
be concerned about the economic impact when highly skilled workers,
engineers and others are no longer needed, Williams said.
Kentucky can learn by their example, he said, and a branch of the CDCAB,
dormant since 2007, has been revived to plan for after-use of the chemical
weapons destruction plant in hopes of retaining the high-paying jobs
associated with it.
“There is some advantage to being last,” Williams said.
Several members of the CDCAB questioned Seely and Brubaker about the
number of employees from “Madison and surrounding counties” working on
the construction project.
They admitted their statistics may include workers from anywhere in
Kentucky, many of which may be members of Lexington-based labor unions.
CDCAB members were promised that at the next CDCAB meeting, on Dec.
14, more specific employment statistics, including the number of minority
hires and minority contractors, would be reported.
17 September 2010
Fort Leavenworth Lamp
A few tips to keep life from getting too wild
Fort Leavenworth, Kan. — As the story goes, Henry Leavenworth chose the
Kansas side of the Missouri River because of its advantageous position on
the bluffs.
A variety of wild animals call Fort Leavenworth home for many of the same
reasons. Its lush landscape coupled with its proximity to the Missouri River
makes it an attractive place to reside.
New construction is thought to be driving some of the wild animal population
into the residential areas of Fort Leavenworth. Issues often arise when
wildlife and humans meet.
Included below are a list of the more common species found on post and
how to avoid unpleasant altercations.
Omnivores
The omnivores of Fort Leavenworth — namely skunks, raccoons and
opossums — are resourceful and mischievous. This combination can cause
headaches for residents, particularly when steps to discourage their hunt are
not taken.
Two species of skunks are found in Kansas — the eastern spotted skunk and
the more common striped skunk.
Skunks can cause many problems in urban areas. They damage lawns by
digging for grubs, den under patios and buildings, release an unpleasant
scent and can carry rabies. In Kansas, skunks are the primary wildlife carrier
of rabies.
Keeping skunks away can be accomplished by removing exposed pet food,
putting garbage in sealed containers and carrying off woodpiles that may
harbor mice and rats.
Raccoons are a common sight in Kansas, and they prefer wooded areas near
streams, rivers or other water sources. Fort Leavenworth’s proximity to the
Missouri River makes it an attractive spot for raccoons.
They can be particularly destructive in urban environments by raiding
garbage cans and may nest in attics and fireplaces. Like skunks, raccoons
carry a number of diseases, although only about 5 percent of raccoons in
Kansas have been exposed to rabies.
Unlike the other omnivores, opossums rarely cause humans much trouble.
While they may sometimes get into basements, sheds or garages, opossums
are usually not aggressive and are easily scared off.
Bats
Out of about 900 species of bats found in the world, 15 are found in Kansas.
Although they cause little damage to buildings, the presence of bats is
commonly unwanted. Their droppings and urine have a strong, persistent
odor that can cause histoplasmosis, an airborne disease caused by
microscopic soil fungus.
If a live bat should make its way into a building or residence, do not attempt
to capture it. If the bat is in a residence, contact Frontier Heritage
Communities to remove the bat. In other on-post buildings, notify the
building manager so that Entomology can remove the animal. Often, a bat
will leave at dusk if a door or window is left open.
Attic-dwelling bats can often be coaxed out by placing one or two bright
lights in the area. If possible, watch the outside of the house around dusk to
find areas where bats are exiting. After all bats have left, close the openings.
If self-removal is necessary, don’t attempt to do so without heavy leather
gloves or a net.
Predators
Coyotes are the most common predator in Kansas. Two subspecies of coyote
are found in Kansas: the plains coyote, found in the western two-thirds of
Kansas, and the southeastern coyote, found in the southeast and extreme
eastern portions of the state.
Only a small proportion of coyotes are livestock predators; however, steps
should be taken to ensure that they do not threaten domesticated animals.
Like skunks and raccoons, coyotes are sometimes attracted by garbage or
pet food left outdoors.
Coyotes have been known to cross with domestic dogs, forming a hybrid
known as the “coydog.” Keeping pets indoors can help to prevent
domesticated animals from having unwanted interaction with a coyote.
Fox and bobcats are common on Fort Leavenworth, but tend to avoid human
contact more than coyotes. Mountain lions have been reported in the area,
but none have been confirmed on Fort Leavenworth.
Prevention
FHC and the Kansas State Research and Extension Service offer tips to help
keep wildlife in the wild:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Do not feed wild animals, including birds, squirrels and mice. Bird feeders
often spill feed on to the ground, which attracts squirrels and other
mammals.
Do not leave pet food or dishes outside the home.
Close ground floor windows at night. Raccoons have been known to smell
pet food inside homes and tear open screens to gain entry.
Do not place garbage outside until the morning of scheduled trash pickup.
Residents are permitted to place garbage on the curb the night before
pickup, but it may attract wild animals. Keep food waste in tightly covered
garbage cans.
Use an over-the-counter repellent to discourage squirrels from
approaching the home.
Toss a few mothballs under porches, in storage sheds and in crawl spaces
to discourage skunks, raccoons and other animals from moving in.
Residents of Fort Leavenworth are reminded that wild animals often carry
parasites and disease. To protect pets from contact with wild animals, FHC
requires that dogs and cats be kept indoors, confined within a fence or
restrained on a leash.
Residents of Fort Leavenworth Frontier Heritage Communities are not
authorized to contract a private pest control company. If a wild animal gains
entry into a home and cannot be chased out, contact the FHC office at 6826300 during business hours, or 651-3838 after hours.
Editor’s note: Fort Leavenworth Frontier Heritage Communities and the
Kansas State Research and Extension Office in Leavenworth contributed to
this article.
PINON CANYON
NSTR
BRAC / REDEVELOPMENT
17 September 2010
Washington Post (Blog)
Hundreds cry foul at BRAC town hall
Hundreds of Fairfax County residents, worried about increased traffic
congestion near the Defense Department's new facility set to open next year
in Alexandria, pleaded with federal and local officials Thursday night to delay
the move.
About 6,400 people are slated to start work at Alexandria's Mark Center, a
$1.4 billion facility located near Interstate 395, on Sept. 15, 2011. The site
was selected by Army planners and engineers chiefly out of security
concerns and was part of the government's 2005 Base Realignment and
Closure Commission plan.
An environmental dispute stalled plans for an exit ramp at I-395 and the site
selection of the Mark Center, which lacks nearby public transit, has
prompted a sizable backlash by local officials and residents who say it will
overwhelm already-clogged roadways.
"It will be wholly intolerable for that number of people attempt to move (to
Alexandria's Mark Center)," U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) told about
200 gathered at the town hall meeting, which was held in the auditorium of
Francis C. Hammond Middle School on Seminary Road in Alexandria.
Jennifer Porter, who lives in Alexandria about two miles from the Mark
Center, said her neighborhood would become nearly impossible to navigate
when the flood of new Defense workers arrive next fall.
"I have difficulty getting out onto Seminary Road now," Porter said. "If I
didn't have to earn a living, I guess I could take on the Army myself."
At various points, those in attendance yelled, booed and hissed at several
Army representatives, including L. Jerry Hansen, the deputy assistant
secretary of the Army. Hansen said plans for shuttle bus service, slug lines,
staggered work hours, carpooling and at-home or satellite tele-working will
help alleviate traffic.
17 September 2010
Mount Vernon Gazette
BRAC on the Horizon for Commuters
Tidal wave of commuters expected at multiple sites in southern
Fairfax.
This is part of an occasional series of articles about the effect of the Base
Realignment and Closing Orders (BRAC) is having on southern Fairfax
County.
Some 75,000 vehicle trips pass through Fort Belvoir’s gates every working
day, carrying the base’s 30,000 employees as well as military retirees,
family trips of service personnel living on the base and the sundry other
traffic serving a small city.
The bulk of this traffic enters and exits from U.S. Route 1, an old, winding
portion of the national route unchanged for decades and often so crowded
that it adds 30 and 45 minute delays to any trip.
To accommodate the thousands of additional cars anticipated after the Sept.
15, 2011 Base Realignment and Closing Orders (BRAC) takes effect, the
Army has widened and reconstructed many roads within Fort Belvoir and
built vast new parking areas, but U.S. Route 1 remains unimproved.
This is in a sense the core controversy between civilian officials of Northern
Virginia and a Defense Department carrying out a five-year-old decision by
then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
"The Army Corps of Engineers own studies have shown that severe
congestion at the Engineer Proving Ground would last three to four hours
each rush hour, and that traffic waiting to access Fort Belvoir would back up
onto I-95 and extend morning congestion between one and two hours. …
These effects would lead to reduced employee productivity and degradation
of quality of life," U.S. Rep. James Moran (D-8), told Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates in a letter last year.
He and other Virginia leaders believe DOD and the Bush and Obama
administrations should have authorized the $600 million to $1 billion to
improve the region’s road structure.
In July, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Sharon Bulova (DAt-large) and Supervisors Jeff McKay (D-Lee) and Gerry Hyland (D-Mount
Vernon) signed a letter asking the Congressional delegation to make good
on a commitment of $150 million to widen and improve Richmond Highway.
The Route 1 corridor will be a major thoroughfare responsible for bringing
many of the 3,500 new workers to the main post at Fort Belvoir. Upgrading
it is critical to alleviate increased volume on an already heavily congested
road, the letter said.
Now, as the last 12 months ticks off before the Sept. 15, 2011 deadline,
Moran is conducting a public hearing on Sept. 16 in hopes getting attention
to the crisis.
But the traffic difficulty facing the region is far more complex that just the
thousands of cars passing through Tulley Gate at Fort Belvoir each evening.
FORT BELVOIR is a vast military reservation, stretching across U.S.
Interstate 95 from south of Springfield, east to the Potomac River, and south
to Pohick. The bulk of the land is several miles from any public
transportation, a road locked sea served for years by cars and intermittent
bus trips.
When it was a fairly remote training base during World War II, young GIs
shared cabs and hitch hiked from Alexandria, to get back to the base. Now
Belvoir is in the center of one of the most populous and richest counties in
the United States.
When the Defense Department decided to move some 19,000 jobs to Fort
Belvoir, the lay out of the actual transfers impacted on a lot more than
Tulley Gate and Route 1.
Fort Belvoir is in a sense the administrative name for several enormous
projects.
The largest transfer is some 8,500 employees of the National Geospatial
Agency (NGA) to a part of an 800-acre site, the former Engineering Proving
Ground, which is west of Interstate 95 and 3 miles from any public
transportation. NGA will ask 40 percent of those employees to forego
parking and get to work by other means and has agreed to provide shuttle
buses to the Springfield-Franconia Metro Station and Virginia Railway
Express’ Backlick Station.
On Monday, Sept. 13, Fairfax and Virginia authorities opened a $198 million
expansion and extension of the Fairfax County Parkway. With strong support
from U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D), Moran and U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D11), stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA) allowed the completion of the project.
The extension of the parkway from Rolling Road to Interstate 95 is the
largest and most critical road improvement project the Fairfax County has
undertaken to prepare for the transfer of employees to Fort Belvoir.
The first phase completes a 2-mile, four-lane section between Rolling Road
and Fullerton Road. This portion of the Parkway will carry employees to the
new headquarters of the NGA.
The second largest transfer of government workers, 6,400, is from Crystal
City and Pentagon offices, to the Mark Center at Seminary Road and
Interstate 95 in Alexandria.
This decision rankled congressional and local critics because it moved these
employees from offices on the Metro subway system to a complex that has
little public transportation. The site was selected and constructed in
controversy. It is three to four miles from Metro or VRE stations and
unconnected even to any major bus line.
The offices are two 15- and 17-floor towers, totally 1.7-million-square feet
and costing $1 billion to build. It's the tallest project ever erected by the
Army Corps of Engineers.
Travis Edwards, a public information officer for BRAC, said BRAC officials
believe the warnings of massive gridlock may be overstated.
He said that BRAC shifts away from Fort Belvoir to other locations took an
estimated 14,500 cars off the road. He said that Army surveys find that 60
percent of Fort Belvoir’s current employees "live south of the Occoquan
River" and the Army believes that about the same number of new arrivals at
Mark Center and Fort Belvoir also live in Prince William County and in effect
will have a shorter commute than to the Pentagon and Crystal City.
But the figures are all estimates and there are unfathomable numbers of
travelers as well. The Army has built a brand new and much larger hospital
at Fort Belvoir to take over part of the services offered by Walter Reed Army
Medical Center, which is being closed.
Patients south of the Potomac River will come to Fort Belvoir and those living
north of river will go to an expanded National Naval Medical Center in
Bethesda, Md. There are some half a million military retirees as well as
active service personnel in the Washington area and how many will head for
Fort Belvoir for medical services or commissary and post exchange privileges
is unknown. The post exchange and commissary, however, are planning to
double the size of the operations now on Fort Belvoir.