Cong. Dicks On Tap for Military Affairs Forum

MILITARY AFFAIRS FORUM

CONFIRM: CONG. DICKS WILL ATTEND THIS MEETING.
Event Speaker: Congressman Norm Dicks

Congressional Update from Congressman Norm Dicks, Chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee

The House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee has jursidiction of the
Departments of Army, Navy (including Marine Corps), Air Force, Office of Secretary of Defense, and Defense Agencies including activities related to military personnel; operation and maintenance; procurement; research and development; and the Military Health System. Also includes intelligence activities such as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency.

(Jurisdiction excludes Department of Defense-related accounts and programs under the Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army ((Civil Works)).)

In addition to prepared remarks, Cong. Dicks will respond in a Q& A session.

Date & Time: WEDNESDAY, August 18, 7:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Place: Hotel Murano, 1320 Broadway, Tacoma 98402
Price: $20.00 pre-paid on or before August 13, noon
$25.00 pre-paid after August 14-17
$30.00 walk-ins/at the door
Information: Monique Shields, (253) 627.2175
RSVP: DUE 12 noon, August 13 (Friday) 
Register: Online Link

If you have reserved for others, please share this confirmation with them.
Cong. Dicks will depart promptly AFTER this meeting to attend the funeral service for Sen. Ted Stevens.

Noteworthies With a Local Link

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced today the following assignments:

Capt. Kelvin N. Dixon, who has been selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as director, International Transition and Advisory Mission - Navy, Umm Qasr, Iraq. Dixon is currently serving as deputy reserve commander, Navy Region Northwest, Silverdale, Wash.

VACATION = WORK = VACATION

It all started with an invitation to join the Washington State National Guard for a "Guard For A Day" event, any one of six days - my choice.

Well, it was all either a weekend (how like the Guard) or a Friday vacation day.  So, I decided on the vacation day - both to "reserve" my weekend for family and to fulfill a sense of obligation to learn more about Washington's National Guard.  So, what started as a vacation day had become a work day.

Quickly, once involved in the "Guard For A Day," the newly designated work day became a vacation day again.  Yes, I know that it really is work for Guardsmen on their weekends or their two weeks required annual duty.  And, because of this "Guard For A Day" opportunity, I could see that it was serious business. 

The professionalism was evident, with the initial boarding and flight of the C-23 Sherpa from Olympia to Yakima (and return later).  Once in Yakima, the required educational effort proved just that - educational.  Still, talking with our Guardsmen in the vehicle maintenance bays was a pleasure.  And, anyone would be delighted at the smile of a young Guardsman, when asked who got to fly the Shadow UAV, as she said she did. 

But, the excursions to the firing range where soldiers qualified for unstabilized firings of M2s and Mk 19s, impressed one of the serious business soldiers are about. 

What changed it all into pure delight was the UH-60 Black Hawk flight.  Remember that video popular some years back: "Over Washington" where an aerial camera follows the fields and terrains, including the dramatic flight over an escarpment of the Columbia River basin?

Reception Honors Col. Kevin Kilb

For its continuing tradition of welcoming the commander of the 62nd Airlift Wing to the community, the Military Affairs Committee presented a welcome reception to Col. Kevin Kilb, Cdr., 62nd AW, hosted by TriWest Healthcare Alliance.

The 62nd AW is the largest U.S. Air Force unit in the community. Until recently, the 62nd AW Commander was also responsible for McChord AFB, prior to the consolidation of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The welcome reception for Col. Kilb had been delayed until now due to his demanding training and 0perations schedule.

Lakewood Subchapter of the Association of the United States Army

July 15, 2010

The 4th Stryker Brigade is coming home! You may have heard 17,000 soldiers from Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) are returning from the War over the summer months. The JBLM commanding general has assigned the 4rd Stryker Brigade to the city of Lakewood as a community connector unit. There are approximately 5,000 soldiers in this brigade; yes, 5,000!

Recently, the Association of the United States Army’s Fort Lewis Chapter established a Lakewood Subchapter to provide long term financial and welfare support to the 4rd Stryker Brigade. The Lakewood Subchapter currently has the task of raising $50,000 for an upcoming “Welcome Home Bar-B-Q” event, which is scheduled for early October. We need everyone’s help to welcome our hometown heroes home! If each business contributes $1,000 or more, just think how much quicker we can achieve the $50,000 goal!

We sincerely hope you’ll help us with this fundraising. This is a Win-Win opportunity for all of us. The Association of the United States Army is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Therefore, your contributions are tax deductible. If you have any questions or require more information, please contact Carlene Joseph at (253)312-9279.

We appreciate your consideration!

Respectfully,
Larry Saunders
President
AUSA Lakewood Subchapter

SSBR Spotlights Redeployment

The South Sound Business Report (SSBR), with host Jeff Rounce, reviewed with guests the redeployment of about 15,000 soldiers back to Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) now underway.

This SSBR program will be showing on KBTC-TV (PBS Tacoma) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 13, and 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 15. It will also show on KSTW-TV (CW-11) the next two Sunday mornings at 9 a.m.

Guests are Carlene Joseph, Pres., Capt. Meriwether Lewis AUSA Chapter and Gary Brackett, Mgr., Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and staff of its Military Affairs Committee.

Boeing's Offer for KC-X

The Right Attitude

The expectations for most of us is that the military takes its job seriously.

Our course, we also expect that the rest of us don't, as evidenced by Bill Maudlin, Beetle Bailey, MASH, Dr. Strangelove and Catch-22.  (So, it's alright to admit that you too do tell "war stories.")

But, to the point of this particular blog:

PC World, among others, recently reported on the effort by Wired magazine to decode the code on the U.S. Cyber Command seal. On the seal’s inner gold ring is a code: 9ec4c12949a4f31474f299058ce2b22a

Wired magazine challenged its readers to be the first to decode the cryptic message and offered a prize of a Danger Room T-shirt or a ticket to the International Spy Museum for the first to do so.

As it turns out, the real meaning of the cypher isn't very exciting at all, unless government gobbledygook gets your adrenaline flowing. Accordingly, the figures in the gold ring translate into this:

"USCYBERCOM plans, coordinates, integrates, synchronizes and conducts activities to: direct the operations and defense of specified Department of Defense information networks and; prepare to, and when directed, conduct full spectrum military cyberspace operations in order to enable actions in all domains, ensure US/Allied freedom of action in cyberspace and deny the same to our adversaries."

Now if this combination of geekiness humor and bureaucratic messaging isn't just so appropriate to that oxymoron "military intelligence," I don't know what isn't.

Noteworthies With a Local Link

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced today the following assignments:

Rear Adm. (lower half) Douglas J. Asbjornsen, will be assigned as reserve deputy commander, Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command, San Diego, Calif. Asbjornsen is currently serving as deputy commander, Navy Region Northwest, Reserve Component Commander, Silverdale, Wash.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Samuel Perez Jr. will be assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group One, San Diego, Calif. Perez was previously announced as commander, Carrier Strike Group Three, Bremerton, Wash. Perez is currently serving as deputy commander, Joint Interagency Task Force, U.S. Southern Command, Key West, Fla.

Air Expo 2010