Last Chance for Petraeus

The Seattle World Affairs Council is presenting General David Petraeus in its Global Leadership Series. Gen. Petraeus will address: The Military and U.S. Foreign Policy: An Evening With General David Petraeus

Last Chance to Pre-Register!

Posed as questions for Gen. Petraeus to address are:

• What are the most valuable lessons from the US counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq that will help the US troops being sent to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan?
• What is the strategy to prevent Pakistan from falling into a state of anarchy and to prevent Pakistan's nuclear arsenal from falling into the hands of the Taliban?
• Does the defeat of the Tamil Tigers by the Sri Lankan army's offensive operations call into question the modern theory of counterinsurgency, which calls for winning over populations as the key to long-term peace?

The Global Leadership Series brings members of the Puget Sound community together with senior diplomatic, political, cultural, and thought leaders, including current and former heads of state. The Series also provides a forum for leading innovators who have improved or revolutionized global perspectives and practices.

The World Affairs Council presents General David Petraeus, the final speaker in the 2009 Global Leadership Series and the Commander of United States Central Command.

For a full biography and more information, please click here!

DATE: 07/08/2009
RECEPTION TIME: 6:00 p.m. LECTURE TIME: 7:00 p.m., Registration begins at 6:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Town Hall at Eighth and Seneca, Seattle
LECTURE PRICE:$20 members/students
$40 non-members
RECEPTION PRICE: SOLD OUT

Click here to register now!

USAF 2010 Force Structure

Today the U.S. Air Force announced its proposed force structure realignment for fiscal 2010. It reflects adjustments which will provide adequate resources to accomplish the Air Force mission.

For more details about the fiscal 2010 Force Structure realignment go to the PowerPoint formatted pdf (Washington info on page 115-116) and/or a pdf memo-style document (Washington info on page 42).

Noteworthies With a Local Link

Colonel Kevin J. Kilb takes command of the 62nd Airlift Wing from Col. Jeffrey L. Stephenson in a change of command ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday.

Colonel Kilb arrives at McChord from Headquarters, United States Air Force in Washington, D.C., where he served as Chief of Global Mobility Division and Chair of Global Mobility Panel, Directorate of Programs, Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Programs.

C-17s Going Up

Congress has approved $2.2 billion for eight more C-17 cargo planes.

Good news for Boeing and especially its suppliers.

The U.S. House of Representatives had recommended the eight additional C-17s.

It also mandated that the Defense Department maintain a strategic airlift fleet of 316 aircraft, which is the current size of the fleet given a program of record for 205 C-17s plus 111 C-5s. It added no money for more C-17s. (HASC bill summary)

Yet, the Senate did not. Wonderful things...conference committees!

Smooth Cruise News

A most excellent opportunity was taken by perhaps the biggest crowd ever - and definitely the biggest crowd in memory!

About 250 business, civic and military leaders enjoyed a convivial atmosphere designed to introduce and develop amicable relationships within the community. The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, along with the Tacoma Yacht Club's members, organized the Cruise around the South Sound and a picnic (by Gallucci's Catering) at the TYC's Wollochet Bay Outstation.

In addition to a fabulous day in which numerous Chamber members and the Joint Base Financial Alliance served as hosts aboard the skipper's yachts, Coinforce.com provided commemorative challenge coins.

Want to see what you missed? It'll be motivation for you to be involved next year!

Noteworthies With a Local Link

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
June 15, 2009

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced today the following assignments:

Rear Adm. (lower half) Timothy M. Giardina, who has been selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as director, readiness and training, N4/N7, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Va. Giardina is currently serving as commander, Submarine Group Nine/commander, Submarine Group Ten, Silverdale, Wash.

HASC Moves on Budget

A House Armed Services subcommittee today approved a measure authorizing a significant boost in spending for special operations as part of a bill setting national security policy for fiscal 2010.

The Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities — the first of six panels to act on the bill — approved by voice vote provisions authorizing spending for science and technology programs, cybersecurity and, perhaps most notably, for everything U.S. Special Operations Command sought in the budget and more.

“We wanted to give them the tools and capabilities they need to do the things we ask them to do,” said Adam Smith , D-Wash., the subcommittee’s chairman, said of the U.S. special forces.

Defense (Installations) – Defense (Schools) – Defense (Roads)

Defense was the watchword for the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber’s 24th annual Washington-to-Washington, D.C. visit. The local delegation was focused on defense issues with extended visits in the Pentagon and with most of the state’s Congressional delegation.

We discussed with our Congressional Delegation and various Departments in the Executive Branch, support for Boeing with the tanker issue, school facilities at Fort Lewis and growth impacts of Fort Lewis.

The delegation was comprised of Pierce County business leaders and civic officials ranging from corporations and family-owned businesses along with officials from the Port of Tacoma and the cities of Tacoma and Lakewood.

The trip took place over the course of a three-and-half day period in mid-May. During that time, the Chamber met with most of the congressional delegation members for Washington State, officials from the Pentagon including Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley, and the Association of the United States Army. Those meeting included appointments with Installation Management Commands for the Army and the Air Force as well as the DoD agency, the Office of Economic Adjustment.

It is evident the Chamber’s constant and continuous communication over the last twenty-four years with these officials and congressional members in Washington, D.C. has resulted in funding for our infrastructure, security, transportation and military bases.

The Chamber especially thanks this year’s sponsors for their commitment and dedication to making our organization and our advocacy at the federal level better: Waste Connections, Simpson, The Boeing Company, Comcast and Totem Ocean Trailer Express.

This year’s trip to Washington, D.C. was the 24th taken to the nation’s capital by the Chamber. If you are interested in participating in next year’s trip – the Chamber’s silver anniversary trip – please contact Mike Weinman.

Cyber Threats Hare Raising

With the assessment by the GAO (glad someone's accountable) that the nation's information security is "at risk" from cyber threats, also comes an assessment on how difficult it is to do non-kinetic cyber activity, like shooting behind the rabbits.

Maj. Gen. William Lord, commander of the USAF Cyber Command (Provisional), statement that: it is easier to get approval to do a kinetic (read "bomb") strike with a 2,000 lb. bomb than it is for us to do a non-kinetic (no "boom!") cyber activity. Lord, who has been nominated to become the AF Chief of Warfighting Integration was speaking to an industry association recently.

The Cyberspace Policy Review is a 76-page report released with a White House announcement that the president will be creating a new cybersecurity office and czar, as well as a privacy and civil liberties official to oversee the government’s cybersecurity plans. The cybersecurity report provides a list of wide-ranging guidelines advising President Barack Obama on how the government should proceed in its national plan to secure cyberspace.

It touches on everything from establishing communication networks for emergency response teams to the role government should play in the protection of critical infrastructure networks and whether or not entities that experience a breach should have to notify governments and law enforcement agencies. Privacy and civil liberties concerns receive a repeated nod, with privacy being mentioned in the report more than five dozen times.

Getting Money Out of Your House

The Department of Defense (DoD) has issued eligibility rules for military homeowners who need to apply for assistance through the Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP) due to the housing crisis.

The DoD HAP has been providing financial assistance for many years, and most recently provided benefits to personnel at Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) sites.

The Stimulus Bill aka American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) included funding in legislation of $555 million for a program to help military personnel forced to sell their homes in the midst of the current real estate crisis. The funding from the 2009 ARRA will allow the DoD to temporarily expand the program in order to partially reimburse home sale losses in the following priority order:

• Wounded Servicemembers relocating for treatment or medical retirement, and for the survivors of those who have died while on deployment.


• Military & DoD civilians affected by the 2005 BRAC round, without the need to prove that the base closure caused the local market decline.


• Normal military permanent change of station (PCS) moves, on a temporary basis.

For more information read the news release.

Evergreen Fleet Cruise June 17

The Chamber’s annual Evergreen Fleet Cruise, June 17, sponsored by the Joint Base Financial Alliance (Harborstone Credit Union and America's Credit Union) is inviting hosting couples (spouses, business associates) to register.

The purpose of the Evergreen Fleet Cruise is to foster networking and community links between civilian and military leaders. The Chamber reserves the right to invite all military guests.

The Cruise, presented by the Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee, in collaboration with the Tacoma Yacht Club, is a cruise of Puget Sound aboard private yachts and a picnic (Gallucci's Catering) at the Club’s Wollochet Bay Outstation. Commemorative challenge coins are to be provided by Coinforce.com.

This year will again feature a welcoming reception. The purpose of this reception is to afford participants an opportunity to meet in a comfortable atmosphere prior to beginning the Cruise at 10:00 a.m. The reception will be between 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. at the Tacoma Yacht Club. Arrival time at the reception is permitted to be variable. Yachts will depart by 10:00 a.m.

Please refer to the linked invitation The Chamber wishes to have all guests confirmed by June 3. Please consider Gary Brackett, at 253/627-2175, the contact for you about this project.


To register to host, please download and return to the Chamber.