Base-Closing Panel Wraps Up Work

A federal commission wrapped up its review of the Defense Department's plan to close and consolidate domestic military bases, having made changes that it acknowledged would save billions less than the Pentagon's nearly $50 billion estimated savings. Chairman Anthony Principi said the panel successfully balanced "proposals to restructure military infrastructure against the human and painful impact of those proposals." Commissioner Harold Gehman added, "We worked really hard to find the right answers." Only five of the nine commission members were present to make closing remarks on the final day of four days of deliberations. The Saturday session, simply a formality, lasted only 30 minutes. The hard work was completed Friday, as the panel took up two of the Pentagon's most contentious proposals. It dealt the Pentagon setbacks in both cases. Rejecting Air Force proposals, the commission crafted its own shake-up of the Air National Guard and voted to keep open Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. By Sept. 8, the panel must send its final report to President Bush, who can accept it, reject it or send it back for revisions. Congress also will have a chance to veto the plan in its entirety, but it has gone along with four previous rounds of base closings. If ultimately approved, the changes would occur over the next six years. The Pentagon proposed closing or consolidating a record 62 major military bases and 775 smaller installations to save $48.8 billion through 2025, make the services more efficient and reposition the armed forces. But the commission - which cast doubt on the Pentagon's savings projections - said its changes would lower the estimated savings to $37 billion over two decades. Commissioners said the estimate could be as low as $14 billion when dollars the Pentagon says would be saved by the transfers of military personnel from one base to another were excluded. The commission has long questioned that accounting method, saying it didn't free up real dollars that could be spent elsewhere. Principi called the numbers "very preliminary." He and his panel worked into the evening Friday as members concluded the high-stakes decisions that brought sighs of relief or exasperation from communities across America. Dealing with Air Guard proposals, commissioners shuffled personnel and aircraft around dozens of units - both large and small - in states from coast to coast as they saw fit. They said their plan distributed aircraft around the country more evenly to ensure homeland security is not hampered. "We have established more flying units than the secretary recommended, but we still could not get a flying unit in every state," Gehman said. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's plan had called for nearly 30 Air Guard units scattered around many states to lose their aircraft and flying missions, prompting howls of protests from governors and a few lawsuits. The commission's proposal restored planes to some units, and in doing so, kept open some Air Guard and Reserve bases that would have closed under the Pentagon plan. Weeks ago, the panel - worried about negative impacts on homeland security - asked that an alternative plan be crafted jointly by the Air Force, the National Guard and state adjutants general who oversee Air Guard units on behalf of governors. When that effort failed, commissioners said they had no choice but to come up with a solution on their own. The panel began work on the Air Guard plan just as a federal judge in Philadelphia ruled that the Pentagon lacks the authority to close a unit located at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station in Pennsylvania without Gov. Ed Rendell's approval. The judge declared the plan for that unit "null and void." Aware of the ruling, the commission labored on anyway - and twice voted on the fate of Willow Grove. Ultimately, it decided to close the base, but to keep intact the Air Guard unit that was subject to the lawsuit and create an Army Guard and Reserve center. However, that unit would have no aircraft. Commissioners denied that the lawsuit affected their ruling. The decision to spare Ellsworth Air Force Base was a blessing for South Dakotans, who feared losing some 4,000 jobs, and a victory for Republican Sen. John Thune and the state's other politicians, who lobbied vigorously against closure. Thune unseated then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle last year partly on the strength of his claim that he would be better positioned to help save the base. "This fight was not about me," Thune said after the vote. "This whole decision was about the merits. It had nothing to do with the politics." The commission found that closing Ellsworth wouldn't save any money over 20 years and actually would cost nearly $20 million to move the planes to the Texas base. The Pentagon had projected saving $1.8 billion over two decades.

One-Year Open Enrollment For SBP

The Department of Defense announced today that military retirees, who opted out of some or all their Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) coverage, will have another opportunity to elect coverage during a one-year open enrollment period from Oct. 1, 2005 through Sept. 30, 2006. Upon a retiree’s death, SBP provides an annuity of up to 55 percent of the military retired pay. Until recently, the annuity for a surviving spouse age 62 or older was reduced to 35 percent to reflect the availability of Social Security benefits. This reduction will phase out by April 2008, and the full 55 percent benefit will be paid regardless of the spouse’s age in accordance with the Fiscal 2005 National Defense Authorization Act. Current non-participants will be able to elect any coverage they could have elected previously upon retiring from active service or upon receiving notification of eligibility for reserve retired pay at age 60. If they have a reduced election, they may increase their coverage. A participant with child only coverage may add a spouse or former spouse to their coverage, and a member may add child coverage to spouse or former spouse coverage. But those who took SBP coverage and later elected to terminate that coverage are not eligible to make an open enrollment election. Open enrollment elections require a lump sum buy-in premium as well as future monthly premiums. The lump sum equates to all back premiums, plus interest, from the date of original eligibility to make an election plus any amount needed to protect the Military Retirement Fund. The latter amount applies almost exclusively to those paying fewer than seven years of back payments. The lump sum buy-in premium can be paid over a two-year period. Monthly premiums for spouse or former spouse coverage will be 6.5 percent of the coverage elected, the same premium paid by those currently enrolled. Reserve component members under age 60 and not yet eligible for retired pay do not pay back premiums or interest, but must pay a monthly SBP premium "add-on" once their retired pay starts. Elections are effective the first day of the month after the election is received, but no earlier than Oct. 1, 2005. An election is void if the retiree dies in the two years following an election and all premiums are refunded to the designated survivor. To make an open enrollment election, a retiree must complete and submit a DD Form 2656-9, "Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) Open Enrollment Election." The form is available electronically at www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/infomgt/forms/eforms/dd2656-9.pdf For assistance with the form, members should contact the retiree activities office for their service. Mail the completed form to the address specified on the form. Applicants will be formally notified of their cost and have 30 days from the date of the notice to cancel the election by notifying the Defense Finance and Accounting Service or the reserve component, as applicable, in writing.

Coast Guard Special Missions Training

Coast Guardsmen of the Special Missions Training Center at Camp Lejeune, N.C. recently trained servicemembers from throughout the Coast Guard on Maritime Security tactics to prepare them for possible real-world endeavors both in the United States and abroad. A port security instructor for the SMTC said they are trying to transition these people from doing their normal day-to-day jobs, such as being mechanics and electricians, into becoming operational port security Coast Guardsmen. It was not exactly a smooth transition in the beginning, but it turned out well in the end. “It is a difficult task to take your everyday Coast Guardsman whose background is law enforcement or a job in the mechanic field and make him or her think about topics such as locating, closing with, and destroying the enemy,” said PS2 Emilio Quintana, Port Security Division, SMTC. Other training given at the SMTC included an Over The Horizon course and a Transportable Port Security Boat course. This TPSB course is the first of its kind handled by the SMTC. Until recently, the majority of the courses put on by the training center have been Coast Guard courses with Coast Guard students, taught by Coast Guard instructors. However, due to some drastic changes in today’s world, the idea of using force protection and antiterrorism tactics has become more frequent, and interoperability between services has become paramount while operating in a real world environment. “Our number one rule here is ‘all of us are better than one of us,’” said BM1 Bill Eppright, lead TPSB instructor at SMTC. “The Navy guys, like the Coast Guard guys, want to be the best at what they do.” “I believe that we here at SMTC feel that interoperability is the key to the military’s future. It’s a crucial aspect of our efforts to effectively guard our assets both within the United States and abroad,” said BM3 Scott Brown, SMTC. “More likely than not, we [Coast Guard/Navy] will be running into each other in the future and it’s important to be on the same sheet of music so we can accomplish the mission.” The Over The Horizon course wrapped up with students from two West Coast-based cutters, the CGCs Munro and Sherman. “One of the most important things these people can take away from this training is to know how to execute any mission they’ll be given,” said BM2 Robert Truttier, Fast Boat Division, SMTC. “More importantly, this course is about confidence building, not only for the guys driving the boat, but for the entire crew including the engineers, the gunner’s mates and the other crewmembers.” “The training we received here is top of the line,” said BM3 Corey Bradshaw, CGC Sherman. “As for the rest of the students and for myself, I can guarantee that we all now have the ability to chase down a fast mover in any condition.”
Coast Guard Enlisted Job

AMT -
Aviation Maintenance Technician

AST -
Aviation Survival Technician

AV -
Avionics Technician

BM -
Boatswain's Mate

DC -
Damage Controlman

EM -
Electrician's Mate

ET -
Electronics Technician

FS -
Food Service Specialist

GM -
Gunner's Mate

HS -
Health Services Technician

IT - Information
Systems Technician

IV -
Investigator

MK -
Machinery Technician

MST -
Marine Science Technician

MU -
Musician

OS - Operations
Specialist (OS)

PA -
Public Affairs Specialist

PS -
Port Security Specialist

SK -
Storekeeper

YN -
Yeoman

Base-Closing Panel Struggles With Plan

The Pentagon does not need the consent of governors to move Air National Guard units in their states, the Justice Department has concluded, less than two weeks before an independent commission must decide which parts of the Defense Department's base-closing plan to change. Giving governors what would amount to veto power over the Pentagon's plans, at least with respect to National Guard units, would undermine a process created by Congress to reduce the role of politics in deciding which bases to close, the department said in response to a lawsuit filed by the state of Pennsylvania. Illinois has filed a similar lawsuit, arguing that the Pentagon doesn't have the authority to move units without the approval of the governors, who share control with the president over the units' use. In siding with the Pentagon, Justice lawyers said Pennsylvania is asking to return "to a system in which local politics, rather than national planning, determined which facilities were closed and which were spared." The proposed Air Guard changes have emerged as the most contentious part of the base-closing plan. When the nine-member commission meets later this month, Chairman Anthony Principi said it "will be compelled to exercise its best judgment" on whether to sign off on the plan to shake up dozens of Air Guard units. During a hearing Thursday, Principi questioned whether the Air Guard plan would mean new risks for the United States' domestic security. "We're proposing taking aircraft out of a number of states, eliminating all of the assets out of certain states and dramatically reducing them in other states," he said before asking Pentagon officials to consider the consequences to security on the homefront. Defense officials tried to reassure Principi and other skeptical commissioners. "Our responsibilities to support the Department of Homeland Security in their homeland security mission are not impacted adversely by this beyond a level of acceptable risk," Peter Verga, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, told commissioners. Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said: "It poses no unacceptable risk." Commissioners appeared unconvinced. "That's not exactly a wholehearted endorsement," Harold Gehman, a retired Navy admiral, said. The Air Guard proposal has emerged as the most contentious part of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's proposal to close, shrink or expand hundreds of military bases and other installations nationwide. So Principi gave the Pentagon and states one last chance to argue their cases about it before the panel sends its final report to President Bush next month. The plan calls for shifting people, equipment and aircraft among at least 54 sites where Air Guard units now are stationed. Roughly two dozen sites would expand, while about 30 would be closed or downsized. In many cases, units would continue to exist but no planes would be assigned to them. The Air Force says units without planes would receive new non-flying missions and also would retain their roles in supporting the needs of governors during statewide emergencies. For their part, state adjutants general, who oversee the Air Guard in the states, argued that the plan would prevent units from fulfilling their homeland security missions, including protecting the skies and supporting governors in state emergencies. Maj. Gen. Roger Lempke, president of the Adjutants General Association of the United States, said the proposal would take the Air National Guard down an uncertain path, leading to a "ripple effect on personnel, readiness and an inability to support homeland security needs, which in our view would be irreversible." He urged the commission to review an alternate proposal the group offered. The Pentagon says the Air Guard changes are part of an overall effort to reshape the Air Force - which is to have a smaller but smarter aircraft fleet in the future - into a more effective and efficient force by putting active duty, Air Reserve and Air Guard units to work alongside one another.

Navy LST Was Island In Ocean Of Racism

As an African-American during World War II, Vernon Thompson felt he had a haven from racism aboard the Navy ship where he served as cook. The prejudice Thompson experienced off ship -- such as having his Naval service delayed until enough eligible blacks enlisted or being shooed from places that served his white colleagues but not blacks -- wasn't allowed on board by his captain, Gordon Moore, of Vicksburg. ``The guys I was with on the LST (landing ship tank) 529 had no prejudice,'' said Thompson, now 80 and a resident of the Kalamazoo area for nearly 60 years. ``They would eat with you, talk with you,'' he said. ``I never experienced racial problems.''
Moore was part of setting that tone, and the two forged a friendship that lasted decades until Moore died in 1990. But whatever camaraderie individuals might have had during World War II, Thompson and others experienced the limits placed on blacks and other minorities by the military establishment. The segregation that pervaded civilian life was also prevalent in the armed forces. There were separate units for black soldiers. Or, depending on the branch of the service, blacks were often limited to menial jobs. At the time Thompson joined the Navy in 1943, minorities ``could be stewards, cooks, domestic workers, things like that,'' he said. Of 130 people aboard the 529, Thompson was one of five blacks. Though he loved to cook and wanted that job, the imposition of such strictures ``would concern me now, but there was nobody to fight for you then, so you accepted that and you tried to make the best of it,'' he said. The war hit during a time when America was also ``a domestic battleground where arrests and riots occurred simultaneously with foreign service,'' according to Christopher Paul Moore's 2005 book ``Fighting for America: Black Soldiers -- The Unsung Heroes of World War II.'' Moore's book called the participation of blacks in the country's wars ``one of the richest veins of historic contributions to be mined by supporters of equal rights.'' In the 1940s, black leaders of the day campaigned for a ``double V'' victory, urging ``African-Americans to support the war effort as a way to fight racism,'' according to Moore. Thompson, who is from Baltimore, waited months after enlisting before there were enough other eligible black enlistees to train together. The Navy didn't mix racial groups during training of servicemen, he said, and afterward only reluctantly. Twenty-five was the magic number, and Thompson was told, ```When we get 24 more, you can come in.' ... That was their rule.'' In the book ``The Invisible Soldier,'' author Mary Penick Motley writes, ``The black soldier was invisible in the U.S. Army during World War II because he was not mentioned; he was invisible in the Navy because, until President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9279 in December 1942, the black American was hardly there.'' Following the order, the Navy began to accept an increasing number of black enlistees and draftees, according to Motley's book. In 1939, fewer than 4,000 blacks served in the military, according to Moore's book; by 1945, the number had swelled to 1.1 million. Thompson doubts whether today's men and women in the military know their history. Go ``in the service now and you mix with whites, everybody,'' he said. ``... The younger people don't realize what we went through to make it that way. (Now) you can follow your education wherever it will take you.''

Military Idol

The first round of "Military Idol" competition began this week on U.S. Army installations around the world. The program, based on Fox Television's "American Idol" series, will select the inaugural Military Idol after a final week of singing competition Oct. 17 through 23 at Fort Gordon, Ga. To reach the finals, military vocalists must first win a competition on one of 36 installations. Depending on the number of local competitors, that process could take from one to eight weeks, competition officials said. The Military Idol program is the brainchild of Coleen Amstein, who works in business programs for the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center, and Victor Hurtado, artistic director for the U.S. Army Soldier Show, one of several programs offered by Army Entertainment Division. "I had been working with the ('American Idol') folks for a while, and in the back of my mind I had wondered how we could put something together for our soldiers," Hurtado said. "I got an e-mail ... from Coleen Amstein asking what I thought about doing an Idol promotion and asking if I could help. She had no idea about my connections with 'Idol.'" While visions of Soldier Idols were forming in Hurtado's head, Amstein and the CFSC business programs team were brainstorming events for Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities. "We thought: 'Wouldn't it be great if we could bring something like 'American Idol' into our clubs?' Amstein said. "But we didn't really have the talent or the connections to do something like that." She sent an e-mail to Hurtado, who contacted officials at FremantleMedia, which holds the rights to "American Idol." "The concept of what we could do was the easy part," Amstein said. "The reality of the execution was certainly much more difficult than what we had expected." A licensing agreement was contracted with FremantleMedia, and the idea evolved into a program within a year. "It was a matter of working with legal and business affairs, making sure that 'Idol' leadership and the legal arm agreed that we could go forward and do 'Military Idol,'" Hurtado said. "My role in this has been to make sure that the soldiers and the Army got the most out of this project." During the first round of "Military Idol" installation-level competition, contestants must sing without musical accompaniment. Three judges, who may include garrison commanders, command sergeants major and local celebrities, will narrow the field of talent. In the second round of local competition, judges and audiences will determine who advances. Spectators will submit written ballots after the performers are finished and judges have completed their critiques. The audience vote and judges' vote each will count 50 percent in determining who advances. During the local semifinal and final rounds, judges will critique each performance but will not vote, leaving determination of the installation winners to the audiences. When entering the venue, everyone will receive a ballot to vote once. An additional ballot can be obtained with each purchase of an appetizer or meal during the event. The number of local rounds of competition - not to exceed eight weeks - will be determined by the installation's MWR director based on the number of contestants. Installation-level prizes for the winner at each participating location include $500 and temporary duty costs covered by USACFSC to compete in the Armywide finals. The winning vocalist's unit also will receive $500. Second-place contestants will receive $250, and third-place performers will receive $100. Army wide finals prizes include $1,000 to the winner, who Hurtado hopes will become an ambassador for Army entertainment. "If they can represent the Army in a positive way with something that's exceptional, it just reflects on the Army as a whole," he said. During the finals, which are scheduled for a live, 90-minute telecast on the Pentagon Channel, the runner-up will receive $500 and the third-place performer will receive $250.

Rumsfeld Applauds Air Force Progress In Adapting To Fight Terrorists

Airmen worldwide have been filling nontraditional roles to contribute to the fight against a multifaceted, adaptive insurgency, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said. Addressing a meeting of the Air Force Sergeants Association, Secretary Rumsfeld highlighted the different jobs Airmen have been doing in the war on terrorism including manning gun trucks, escorting supply convoys and working on Army vehicles.On a recent trip to Balad Air Base, Iraq, Secretary Rumsfeld said he was impressed by the work of these Airmen, especially the Air Force doctors and nurses who treat coalition forces and Iraqi civilians. This change in the Air Force is part of the overall military strategy needed to combat the insurgency there, which is unconventional and does not face the same limits coalition forces do, he said. "We face enemies (who) have no territory to defend," he said. "They have no treaties to bind; they're unencumbered by laws, by bureaucracy, by regulations. They have a significant advantage -- they need to succeed only occasionally." To defend against this insurgency, the coalition must be on the offensive and be successful all the time, Secretary Rumsfeld said. "Our coalition must be on the attack, rooting out the terrorists wherever they are," he said. Besides fighting the terrorists directly, the coalition needs to help other countries develop tools to fight them as well, Secretary Rumsfeld said. These countries must be strengthened so they do not become havens for terrorists, he said. Iraqis continue to make significant progress toward democracy, Secretary Rumsfeld said, adding that the resolve of the Iraqi people and the dedication of coalition troops will ensure a victory. "Let me say that I have every confidence in the world that we will win this test of wills (in Iraq)," he said.

How to Survive Boot Camp

Boot camp can be a scary experience. Here's how to make that once-in-a-lifetime experience a little easier:*Start getting into shape before you leave. Boot camp is physically intensive. Work especially on running and pushups.

*If you know someone who's been in the military, ask him/her to teach you some simple marching and facing movements.

*Memorize your particular service's rank structure (both officer and enlisted) before you leave.

*Inform your family and friends that it's very important that they write often. Boot camp can be very lonely.

*Practice making your bed with "hospital corners."

*Don't arrive "standing out in the crowd." Cut your hair short, and wear conservative clothes. You don't want the D.I.s to remember you.

*Bring ONLY what is on the list. Anything extra will be confiscated and will give the D.I. an excuse to chew you out.

*Go in with the right attitude. Remember, EVERYONE messes up in boot camp, and EVERYONE gets chewed out. The "real military" won't be this way.

*Never, ever, make excuses.

*Do exactly what you're told to do, when you're told to do it, and how you're told to do it. Don't be inventive.

*When speaking to a D.I., always stand at rigid attention, eyes locked forward.

*Don't volunteer. You're much better off in boot camp if the D.I. hardly remembers your name. Those who are "remembered" often get "special attention."

*If you're "on time," then you're late. Always be where you're supposed to be five minutes early.
*Remember, boot camp is mostly a mind-game. It's designed to tear-down your civilian self and replace it with a military sailor, airman, soldier or marine.

*Read everything you can about the military service you're going into. The more you learn before-hand, the less you'll have to learn in boot camp (where you'll be tested).

U.S. Territories Hotbed For Army Recruits

The United States Army recruiters, facing dwindling enlistment numbers in the states, are finding success in U.S. territories. High school graduates from places like Micronesia and the Philippines are signing up in droves, looking for a good paycheck. The Army has a $5,000 minimum signing bonus and starting pay for a private is over $17,000. Per capita income in Micronesia is about $2,000, $8,000 in American Samoa and $12,500 in the Northern Marianas. Based in Guam, First Sgt. Olympio Magofna oversees Pacific recruiting. He sees his counterparts in the states hurting for recruits while he has time to play golf every other day. Per capita, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa have the highest enlistment numbers in the nation.