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DOD IDENTIFIES ARMY CASUALTY The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. Hai Ming Hsia, 37, of New York, N.Y., died Aug. 1 during combat operations in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Hsia was assigned to the 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany

DOD IDENTIFIES MARINE CASUALTY The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Cpl. Joseph A. Tomci, 21, of Stow, Ohio, died Aug. 2 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

DOD IDENTIFIES ARMY CASUALTY The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Dustin D. Laird, 23, of Martin, Tenn., died on Aug. 2 during combat operations in Rawah, Iraq. Laird was assigned to the Army National Guard 913th Engineer Company, 46th Engineer Battalion, Union City, Tenn.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Ryan D. Jopek, 20, of Merrill, Wis., died in Tikrit, Iraq on Aug. 2 of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy. Jopek was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment, Waupun, Wis.

Two soldiers and a Marine were killed in Iraq today, and the Defense Department released the identities of three Marines who were killed recently supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. A soldier and a Marine, both assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, and a soldier assigned to 9th Naval Construction Regiment died due to enemy action in Anbar province today. The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Meanwhile, DoD released the identities of three Marines who were killed July 29 in Anbar province: Sgt. Christian B. Williams, 27, of Winter Haven, Fla.; Cpl. Phillip E. Baucus, 28, of Wolf Creek, Mont.; and Lance Cpl. Anthony E. Butterfield, 19, of Clovis, Calif. All three Marines were assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

General Officer Announcement Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced today that the President has nominated Army Col. Simeon G. Trombitas for the appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Trombitas is currently serving as commander, Special Operations Command, Korea.

This announcement involves a combat brigade, headquarters element, and combat support and combat service support units totaling approximately 11,000 service members as presently envisioned. The scheduled rotation for these forces will begin in late-2006. Decisions made by the secretary of defense at the recommendation of military commanders in Afghanistan may result in changes to this rotation and may affect units now being identified and advised to prepare to deploy. This rotation continues the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan, yet is flexible and adaptable in order to meet the evolving requirements for the mission. The major units announced today include: 82nd Airborne Division Headquarters, Fort Bragg, N.C. 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C. The individual services will announce the smaller, supporting units for this rotation. In consultation with the Afghan government, commanders continue to assess the situation to ensure sufficient forces levels to best support the Afghan government. The U.S. force rotations may be tailored based upon changes in the security situation. Afghan National Army forces continue to develop capability and assume responsibility for security in Afghanistan.

_CONTRACTS _NAVY Bell-Boeing Joint Program Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded a $200,100,000 undefinitized contract action to begin fabrication and delivery of three MV-22 tiltrotor production aircraft. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pa. (35 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (35 percent); and Amarillo, Texas (15 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Systems Command Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-06-C-0292). National Technologies Associates, Inc.*, Alexandria, Va., is being awarded an $8,243,053 modification to a previously awarded time and materials indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00421-02-D-3205) to exercise an option for engineering, technical and administrative services in support of the Naval Air Systems Command's comptroller competency in the areas of management studies; program records/library support; operational security program analysis; training systems technology and financial analysis. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md. (90 percent); Lakehurst, N.J. (5 percent); and St. Inigoes, Md. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. Alliant Integrated Defense Co., LLC, Clearwater, Fla., is being awarded a $6,119,800 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-priced contract (N00019-98-C-0006) to retrofit 1,654 AAR-47 (V)1 sensors to an AAR-(V)3 configuration for the Navy (1,008) and the Air Force (646). Work will be performed in Clearwater, Fla., and is expected to be completed in July 2008. Contract funds in the amount of $569,800 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. _DOD HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING MODERNIZATION PROGRAM OFFICE The University of Alaska Fairbanks is being awarded a cost-reimbursable contract to a non-profit organization with a cumulative value of $99,955,349.00. The contract will consist of a base, plus four option years. The base value is $14,874,746.00. The University of Alaska Fairbanks will provide high performance computing resources and support in computational research in science and engineering that emphasize high latitudes associated with the artic region. The award will provide an initial funding increment of $5,924,438.36 of FY06 RDT&E funding for the base year. This is a sole source award. The contracting activity is General Services Administration, Federal Technology Service, IT Solution Division, 4890 University Square, Suite 3F, Huntsville, AL 38516. Point of Contact is Mona Neal. Task Order Number: 4THO07064562. _ARMY Raytheon, McKinney, Texas, was awarded on July 29, 2006, a $95,696,430 firm-fixed-price contract for horizontal technical integration second generation forward looking infrared. work will be performed in McKinney, Texas (60 percent), and Palm Bay, Fla. (40 percent), and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on June 20, 2006. The Army Communications-Electronics Command, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-06-C-M029). Madison Research Corp.*, Huntsville, Ala., was awarded on July 31, 2006, a $35,883,441 firm-fixed-price contract for chaparral missile shelf life items for the Egypt missile system. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Jan. 31, 2006. The Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-06-C-0436). James Benvenuto & Associates*, Falls Church, Va., was awarded on July 28, 2006, a $24,457,240 increment as part of a $108,923,619 cost-plus-award-fee contract for programmatic and support services to the InnoVision directorate of NGA. Work will be performed in Reston, Va. (89 percent), Bethesda, Md. (7 percent), Chantilly, Va. (3 percent), and Fort Monmouth, N.J. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the World Wide Web on Jan. 4, 2006, and one bid was received. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Reston, Va., is the contracting activity (HM1582-06-C-0014). Nova Group Inc., Napa, Calif., was awarded on Aug. 1, 2006, a $15,682,795 firm-fixed-price contract for a hydrant fuel system. Work will be performed at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., and is expected to be completed by Feb. 21, 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the World Wide Web on March 6, 2006, and three bids were received. The Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Mo., is the contracting activity (W912DQ-06-C-0043). Honeywell International, Tempe, Ariz., was awarded on July 31, 2006, a $7,189,665 firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for digital control units. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Dec. 12, 2005. The Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-06-C-0513). * Small Business