DOD: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a
soldierwho was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Spc. Andrew Velez, 22, of Lubbock, Texas, died on July 25
in Sharona, Afghanistan, from a non-combat related injury. Velez was
assigned to the Corps Support Battalion, Theater Support Command, Fort Irwin,
Calif.
This incident is under investigation.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a
soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Capt. Jason M. West, 28, of Pittsburg, Pa., died on July 24
in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, when he encountered enemy forces using small arms fire.
West was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg,
Germany.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a
soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Capt. Jason M. West, 28, of Pittsburg, Pa., died on July 24
in ArRamadi, Iraq, when he encountered enemy forces using small arms fire.
West was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg,
Germany.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a
soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Christopher W. Swanson, 25, of Rose Haven, Md.,
died on July 22 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries sustained when his patrol
encountered enemy forces small arms fire. Swanson was assigned to the 2nd
Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense
_CONTRACTS
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
HUPP Aerospace*, New Have, Ind., is being awarded a maximum
$20,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for parts kit, seal replacement
to
support the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. This is an
indefinite-delivery,
indefinite-quantity contract exercising option period four of a
five-year
contract. Proposals were Gateway-solicited and two responded.
Contract funds
will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of
performance
completion is July 31, 2007. Contracting activity is Defense Supply
Center
Richmond, Richmond, Va. (SP0420-02-D-0087).
_NAVY
InterSystems Corporation (ISC), Cambridge, Mass., is being
awarded
an estimated $14,750,960 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity,
firm-fixed-price, commercial type contract to provide cache' enterprise
multi-server platform specific licensed database software for the
Department
of Defense, Health Affairs, Composite HealthCare System (CHCS). ISC is
the
manufacturer of the digital software multi user multi processor system
application/database platform on which CHCS is built. The contract
includes
five one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the
cumulative
value of this contract to an estimated $63,018,104. Work will be
performed in
Cambridge, Mass., and is expected to be completed July 24, 2007 (July
2012
with options). Contract funds will not expire at the end of the
current
fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured because it
is a
sole source acquisition. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center
Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity (N65236-06-D-6259).
Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Conn., is being awarded a
$6,300,000
modification to previously awarded contract for procurement of long
lead time
special hull treatment material in support of USS Texas (SSN 775) post
shakedown availability. Work will be performed in Groton, Conn., and
is
expected to be completed by December 2007. Contract funds will not
expire at
the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding,
Conversion and Repair, Groton Conn., is the contracting activity.
_ARMY
DRS Test & Energy Management Inc., Huntsville, Ala., was
awarded
on July 25, 2006, a delivery order amount of $6,900,000 as part of a
$6,900,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for direct support electrical
systems
test sets components. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., and
is
expected to be completed by July 26, 2007. Contract funds will not
expire at
the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract
initiated
on June 23, 2006. The Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Rock
Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52H09-06-G-0001).
* Small Business
Experts with the Military Child Education
Coalition are working to help military children deal with the death of a
parent through a new initiative: "Living in the New Normal; Supporting
Children through Trauma and Loss."
"In the schools, the children are able to enjoy a predictable
environment. The educators are certainly able to assist children in very
compassionate and caring ways," Patty Shinseki, a member of the coalition's
Board of Directors, said.
The primary loss military children experience when a parent dies is
often compounded by secondary losses, such as the need to relocate, the
loss of the familiar military community and culture, and changes to their
support network and friends, Shinseki wrote in a recent article.
Shinseki chairs the committee working on the initiative. She said MCEC is
grateful for the volunteers working on the project.
"The bottom line is that death is such a tough topic," committee member
Marlene Lee said. "It makes people uncomfortable. It's difficult to
talk about. It's something a lot of people avoid. ... How do you take this
really tough, really uncomfortable topic that needs to be discussed and
break that communications down in a way that helps educate people?"
Lee is an expert in "thanatology," the study of death, dying and
grieving. Her book, "The Hero in My Pocket," is aimed at children affected by
the loss of a member of the armed forces. "Whether we like it or not,
we have to talk about issues related to death, dying and, as
importantly, positive recovery," Lee said.
Karla Shinners, a counselor and expert in risk prevention for children,
said the project will provide guidance to people around children who
experience such a loss. "How do you explain it to the whole class if this
child has experienced a loss?" Shinners said. "How long should the
child be away from school? Should you send them right back to the
classroom, or should they stay home for a little while? Should the child attend
the memorial service?
"We have to look at the factors as to how to make that best decision to
help a child," she said.
The initiative promotes "an environment of resilience and
non-victimization of the military child," said Army Maj. Jeff Bergmann, who teaches
psychology at the U.S. Military Academy, at West Point, N.Y. He is also
a member of the program's committee.
"Since I'm in the military, I ... educate the officers, noncommissioned
officers and the future leadership about resources available from MCEC
and specifically this initiative, 'Living in the New Normal,' because
it's going to become increasingly important based on the global war on
terrorism," he said.
The death of a military members leads to transition and dramatic change
in families' and children's lives, retired Army Dr. (Col.) Stephen J.
Cozza said. Also a member of the committee, Corza is associate director
for child and family programs at the Center for Traumatic Stress, a
part of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, in
Bethesda, Md.
"During that change, there are certain vulnerabilities that families
and children may be exposed to," Cozza said. "They have to figure out how
to tolerate and reestablish their families in new places or new
situations with the loss of a loved one."
Cozza said MCEC wants to support such children and families so they
come out on the other end healthy, happy and adapted. "Part of what we
want to do is to help rally the resources around children," he said. "MCEC
is naturally well-suited for that because the educational setting is
the setting of kids. The teachers will be the ones that kids spend most
of their days with."
Cozza said he'd like to develop a transition packet that parents,
children and schools can complete that transfers information from one school
to the next. "The worse-case situation would be that a child goes to a
new school and no one is aware of the special challenges or changes
that have that have occurred in that family," he said.
He said some educators don't recognize that a child's behaviors,
difficulty in learning or emotional state may be related to adverse events in
their life.
Shinseki said the program will lead to a system of resources for
educators and parents. "Some of the themes we're following acknowledge the
wonderful positive attributes of our children."
DoD Announces Units for Next Operation Iraqi Freedom Rotation
The Department of Defense announced today additional major
units
scheduled to deploy as part of the next Operation Iraqi Freedom
rotation.
This announcement involves four Army brigades and two Marine Regimental
Combat
Teams consisting of approximately 25,000 service members. This is a
follow-on
announcement to the Nov. 7, 2005,
[http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2005/nr20051107-5075.html] and
June 20,
2006,
[http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060620-13303.html] press
releases identifying other units for deployment. The scheduled rotation
for
the forces identified in this announcement will begin in late-2006.
Force levels in Iraq continue to be conditions-based and
will be
determined in consultation with the Iraqi government. Deployment
decisions
are made at the recommendation of military commanders in Iraq. Based
on
ongoing assessments of the conditions on the ground, changes may be
made that
could affect units now being identified and advised to prepare to
deploy as
has occurred in the past.
This rotation continues the U.S. commitment to OIF, yet is
flexible and adaptable in order to meet the evolving requirements for
the
mission in Iraq.
For Operation Iraqi Freedom, the major units announced
today
include:
1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
Regimental Combat Team 2, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Regimental Combat Team 6, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart,
Georgia has
been placed in a prepare-to-deploy status for possible deployment later
this
year.
Additionally, the Secretary of Defense approved a request
by the
Commander of Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I) to extend the
deployment of
the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team operating in Iraq for up to 120
additional days.
The Department recognizes the continued contributions of
the 172nd
Stryker Brigade Combat Team and their family members. This extension
reflects
the continued commitment of the United States to the security of the
Iraqi
people.
The individual services will announce the smaller,
supporting
units for this rotation.
In consultation with the new Iraqi Government, commanders continue to
assess
the situation to ensure sufficient forces levels to best support the
Iraqi
government. U.S. force rotations may be tailored based upon changes in
the
security situation. Iraqi security forces continue to develop
capability and
assume responsibility for security in Iraq.
