DOD CONTRACTS

AIR FORCE

The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, California, has been awarded an $811,607,999 modification (P00015) to previously awarded contract FA8802-14-C-0001 for planning, systems definition, and technical specification support, analyze user needs, design and design alternative, interoperability, manufacturing and quality control, and assist with test and evaluation, launch support, flight tests, orbital operations and integration of space systems into effective systems of systems. Work will be performed at El Segundo, California, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2015. No funds are being obligated at time of the award. The Space and Missile Systems Center/PKE, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity.

L-3 Communications Corporation DBA Communication Systems West, Salt Lake City, Utah, has been awarded a $31,159,640 firm-fixed-price undefinitized contract action for production, modification and integration of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities onto three Cessna 208B aircraft, spares and training. Work will be performed at Salt Lake City, Utah, and Titusville, Florida, with an expected completion date of Sept. 30, 2015. This award includes foreign military sales for the countries of Niger, Kenya and Mauritania. Fiscal 2014 building partnership capacity funds in the amount of $31,159,640 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-14-C-4020).

Intelligent Decisions, Inc., Ashburn, Virginia, has been awarded a $14,612,066 modification (FY01-02) to previously awarded contract FA8732-13-D-001 for Enterprise Land Mobile Radio Trunking System upgrade. This modification provides for the exercise of pre-priced optional contract line items for the purchase of ELMR infrastructure equipment at nine Air Force Reserve Command locations, and 3,151 new portable and 304 new mobile radios, in support of the AFRC mission under the basic contract, as a result of a competitive negotiated procurement. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $20,055,287. Work will be performed at Ashburn, Virginia, with an expected completion date of June 20, 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,362,759, and fiscal 2012, 2013 and 2014 National Guard and Reserve equipment and defense funds in the amount of $4,249,306, are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Reserve Code/A7KA, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity.

Telspan Data, LLC, Concord, California, has been awarded a $9,967,063 basic indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for data replay systems (DRS) for the Air Force Test Center. The DRS system is used to configure, compile and replay telemetry captured from various sources during flight testing. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, with an expected completion date of Oct. 6, 2014. This contract was a sole-source acquisition under the authority of justification and approval. Fiscal 2012 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $39,790 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Test Center/PZIE, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA2487-14-D-0120).

Calculex, Inc., Las Cruces, New Mexico, has been awarded a $9,752,281 basic indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to support existing airborne data recorders (ADR) for the Air Force Test Center. The ADR system is used to capture, record, and relay various inflight telemetry feeds during flight testing. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, with an expected completion date of Jan. 31, 2015. This contract was a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $52,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Test Center/PZIE, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA2487-14-D-0104).

Herrick Technology Laboratories, Inc., Manchester, New Hampshire, has been awarded a $9,704,228 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for prototype hardware and software to develop new radio frequency technology, including research, development, integration and demonstration of novel radio frequency technology to improve warfighter outcomes in the field. Work will be performed at Germantown, Maryland, with an expected completion date of Sept. 18, 2018. This award was a competitive acquisition, with offers solicited electronically; 10 proposals were received. Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $696,792.00 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory/RIKF, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-14-C-0086).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Amherst Systems Inc., Buffalo, New York, has been awarded a $9,600,000 basic indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (FA2487-14-D0233) and the first delivery order (0001) at $1,011,704, for spares and system engineering support. Work will be performed at Buffalo, New York, and Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, with an expected completion date of Sept. 15, 2015. This contract was a sole-source. Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,011,704 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Test Center/PZIE, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, California, has been awarded an $8,990,905 modification (P00093) to previously awarded contract FA8810-09-C-0001 for six-month fiscal 2015 on-orbit support and sustainment of the Defense Support Program constellation. Work will be performed in Redondo Beach, California, with an expected completion date of March 31, 2015. Fiscal 2015 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $8,990,905 will be obligated when they become available. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Infrared Space Systems Directorate, Contracts Division, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity.

ARMY

Purcell Construction Corp., Watertown, New York, was awarded a $40,036,480 firm-fixed price contract to build two barracks/company operations buildings, a running track and a general purpose storage building at Joint Base Langley-Fort Eustis, Virginia. Facility will be constructed to meet a surge capacity of 450 people. This is phase three of a four phase Advanced Individual Training Barracks complex. Work will be performed in Hampton, Virginia, with an estimated completion date ofJune 23, 2017. Bids were solicited via the Internet, with four received. Fiscal 2014 military construction funds in the amount of $40,036,480 are being obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91236-14-C-0046).

Millennium,* Arlington , Virginia (W15QKN-14-D-0033); Subsystem Technologies, Inc.,* Arlington, Virginia (W15QKN-14-D-0034); WisEngineering, LLC,* Dover, New Jersey (W15QKN-14-D-0035); and International Logistics Systems, Inc., Glen Rock, Pennsylvania (W15QKN-14-D-0107), were awarded a $29,967,029 firm-fixed-price, multiple award contract to provide weapon system and munitions life cycle supportability services in support of the Army Research Development and Engineering Command. Funding and work location will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 18, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet, with 13 received. Army Contracting Command, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, is the contracting activity.

The Nutmeg Companies,* Norwich, Connecticut, was awarded a $19,908,520 firm-fixed-price contract, with options, to construct one 25,913 square-foot educational facility and one 32,125 square-foot billeting facilityfor the Massachusetts National Guard. Work will be performed in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, with an estimated completion date of April 15, 2016. Bids were solicited via the Internet, with six received. Fiscal 2014 military construction funds in the amount of $19,908,520 are being obligated at the time of the award. National Guard Bureau - Massachusetts, Milford, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (W912SV-14-C-0008).

HGL Construction, Inc.,* Midwest City, Oklahoma, was awarded a $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price, single award task order contract for design/build and construction services in support of various military and civil works. Funding and work location will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 27, 2015. Bids were solicited via the Internet, with 14 received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (W912BV-14-D-0013).

Bukkehave, Inc.,* Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was awarded an $11,607,670 firm-fixed-price, requirements, foreign military sales contract for Toyota Land Cruiser truck variants (in both left-hand drive and right-hand drive): 2-door pickup, 4-door pickup, sport utility vehicle, ambulance, mobile maintenance truck, and common spare parts. Funding and work location will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 29, 2017. Countries involved in this foreign military sales are Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Tunisia and Uganda. Bids were solicited via the Internet, with 10 received. Army Contracting Command - Tank and Automotive, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-14-D-0134).

Maersk Line Ltd., Norfolk, Virginia, was awarded a $10,610,996 modification (0001) to cost-plus-fixed-fee contract W52P1J-14-G-0023 for maintenance of the storage environment for all watercraft (including supply operations), watercraft care of supplies in storage maintenance, and preparation of watercraft for activation/exercises at Watercraft Equipment Base-Yokohama North Dock, Yokohama, Japan. Specific tasks to be performed include: base support activities, preservation of watercraft for long-term storage, inspection and correction of faults on vessels prior to completion of on condition cyclic maintenance, schedule maintenance, and support over and above 30/40/50 level fault repair. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $10,610,996 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Aug. 27, 2015. Work will be performed in Japan. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.

BAE Land and Armament Systems L.P., Santa Clara, California, was awarded a $10,506,287 modification (P00024) to cost-plus-fixed-fee contract W56HZV-13-C-0018 for system technical support and sustainment system technical support for the Bradley family of vehicles. Fiscal 2012 and 2013 other procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $9,808,656, and fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $697,631 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Dec. 17, 2015. Work will be performed in Santa Clara, California ($9,635,316; 92 percent); Sterling Heights, Michigan ($515,859; 5 percent); and York, Pennsylvania ($355,112; 3 percent). Army Contracting Command Tank and Automotive, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC, Oak Brook, Illinois, was awarded a $9,953,434 firm-fixed-price contract, with options, for beach fill and initial construction in Oakwood Beach, New Jersey, with an estimated completion date of March 17, 2015. Bids were solicited via the Internet, with four received. Fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $9,953,434 are being obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (W912BU-14-C-0031).

UPDATE: CB&I Federal Services LLC, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (W9128F-14-D-0034) and Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc., Arlington, Virginia (W9128F-14-D-0035), have been added as awardees to the multiple-award Rapid Disaster Infrastructure (RDI) Response Contract announced July 16, 2014 in response to solicitation W9128F-14-R-0002.

NAVY

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training, Manassas, Virginia, is being awarded an $117,767,647 cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost reimbursement modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-6247) to exercise an option for engineering services and support of the AN/BVY-1 Integrated Submarine Imaging System and on board repair part kits. Services will include design, development, testing, reverse engineering, technology insertion/refreshment, engineering services, field engineering services, and system support. The Integrated Submarine Imaging System provides mission critical, all-weather, visual, and electronic search, digital image management, indication, warning, and platform architecture interface capabilities. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (74 percent); Virginia Beach, Virginia (9.2 percent); Northampton, Massachusetts (6.1 percent); Arlington, Virginia (4.6 percent); Fairfax, Virginia (4.6 percent); and Newport, Rhode Island (1.5 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2015. Fiscal 2013 and 2014 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation contract funds in the amount of $8,731,096 will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

Phoenix International Holdings Inc.,* Largo, Maryland, is being awarded a $75,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-award fee contract for worldwide undersea deep ocean search and recovery operations and associated services to support the Director of Ocean Engineering, Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV). This contract allows the Navy to meet its responsibility for deep ocean search and recovery established under the Salvage Facilities Act. In addition to providing support for a wide variety of search, recovery, and rescue operations, the contract includes services to warehouse, maintain, deploy and operate a wide variety of Navy-owned equipment. The contract also provides a vehicle for SUPSALV to obtain commercial systems, as needed, to supplement the Navy's equipment capabilities. Work will be performed in Largo, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by August 2015. No funding will be obligated at time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-14-D-4102).

General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Michigan, is being awarded a $61,196,977 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract (M67854-14-C-5501) for production of 1,067 Cougar egress upgrade kits in support of the Program Executive Officer Land Systems, Program Manager, Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle program. The egress upgrade kit includes upgrades to four existing vehicle systems: 1) front doors; 2) rear doors; 3) rear steps; and 4) exhaust. The egress upgrades are needed to increase the survivability for the user in the case of an attack or accident. Work will be performed in Ladson, South Carolina, and work is expected to be completed in April 2016. Fiscal 2012 and 2013 other procurement (Marine Corps); fiscal 2013 other procurement (Navy and Air Force); and fiscal 2014 other procurement (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $61,196,977, will be obligated at time of award. Fiscal 2012 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $30,598,489 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract modification is a sole-source procurement to the competitively awarded contract and was advertised via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one response received. The Marine Corps Systems Command Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is being awarded a $14,764,403 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-14-C-0032) for aircraft armament equipment items in support of the F/A-18E/F and E/A-18G aircraft. The equipment being procured includes 342 station control units for the U.S Navy (245) and the government of Australia (97); six Ariel Refueling System (ARS) air probes, six ARS fuel probes, 12 ARS suspension lugs, 11 advanced launch system (ALR) -67 mounting bases, and 11 ALR-67 retainers for the U.S Navy; and 39 centerline feed thru plates for the U.S. Navy (24) and the government of Australia (15). Work will be performed in Clearwater, Florida (99 percent), and St. Louis, Missouri (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2016. Fiscal 2013 and 2014 aircraft procurement (Navy), and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $14,764,403, are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchase for the U.S. Navy ($10,630,370; 72 percent) and the government of Australia ($4,134,033; 28 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Mississippi, is being awarded an $11,961,245 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery requirements contract (N00019-12-D-0016) to exercise an option for maintenance, repair, and logistics support for the chief of Naval Air Training Aircraft's intermediate maintenance departments located at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. Support to be provided includes labor, equipment, tools, services, and direct and indirect material. Work will be performed at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida (60 percent), and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas (40 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2015. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated against individual task orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

AAI Textron Systems, Hunt Valley, Maryland, is being awarded a $9,931,778 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N68936-13-C-0161) for the procurement of additional radio frequency electronic warfare systems integration test environment system (RF EW SITE) equipment including shipping and set-up in support of the Electronic Combat Systems Evaluation Laboratory/Weapons System Simulation Laboratory at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Point Mugu, California. The RF EW SITE equipment being procured includes 70 synthetic source instruments, nine radio frequency switch matrix, and three stimulus cabinets. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in March 2016. Fiscal 2014 operation and maintenance (Navy), and 2014 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,931,778, are being obligated on this award, $3,979,778 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Pentaq Manufacturing Corp.,* Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $31,895,125 modification (P00110) exercising the first option period on a one-year base contract (SPM1C1-13-D-1073), with four one-year option periods. This is a firm-fixed-price contract for Army physical fitness uniform trousers. Locations of performance are Puerto Rico and Mississippi, with a Sept. 23, 2015, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Pentaq Manufacturing Corp.,* Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $18,499,172 modification (P00110) exercising the first option period on a one-year base contract (SPM1C1-13-D-1074), with four one-year option periods. This is a firm-fixed-price contract for Army physical fitness uniform trousers. Locations of performance are Puerto Rico and Mississippi, with a Sept. 23, 2015, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Raytheon Company, McKinney, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $13,214,320 firm-fixed-price contract for gimbals. This contract was a sole-source acquisition. This is a two-year base contract, with one six-month option period. Location of performance is Texas, with a June
16, 2016, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2015 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-14-C-0105).

Fuel Services DL JV,* Clover, South Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $9,160,940 firm-fixed-price contract for fuel management services that provides all personnel, equipment, vehicles, tools, materials, supplies, and supervision to manage all aspects of petroleum and cryogenic products. This is a five-year base contract, with one five-year option and six one-month extension periods. Locations of performance are South Carolina and Ohio, with a Sept. 30, 2019, performance completion date. Using service is Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (SPE600-14-C-5417).

DEFENSE COMMISSARY AGENCY

Hoar Construction, LLC, Birmingham, Alabama, is being awarded a $30,785,045 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a new commissary at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Work will be performed in Virginia with an estimated completion date of April 2016. This was a competitive acquisition, and six offers were received. Fiscal 2014 defense commissary surcharge funds in the amount of $30,785,045 are being obligated at award. The contracting activity is the Defense Commissary Agency, Enterprise Acquisition Division, Construction Design Branch, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas (HDEC03-14-C-0001).

Summit Construction, Inc., Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, is being awarded a $10,604,051 firm-fixed-price contract to perform an architectural/refrigeration project on the commissary at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Work will be performed in Hawaii with an estimated completion date of February 2016. This was a competitive acquisition, and two offers were received. Fiscal 2014 defense commissary surcharge funds in the amount of $10,604,051 are being obligated at award. The contracting activity is the Defense Commissary Agency, Enterprise Acquisition Division, Construction Design Branch, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas (HDEC03-14-C-0002).

Hagel Says Anti-ISIL Coalition Continues to Grow

By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2014 - The coalition to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is growing, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today.
Hagel told the House Armed Services Committee that more than 40 nations have said they will participate, with more than 30 nations offering military support. And U.S. leaders will continue to expand the community of nations taking on ISIL's brutality, he added.
Secretary of State John F. Kerry participated in a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, along with foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. Saudi Arabia offered to host training for the moderate Syrian opposition, Hagel said.
"All 22 nations of the Arab League adopted a resolution at their summit in Cairo calling for comprehensive measures to combat ISIL," he added.
Earlier this week, French President Francois Hollande hosted a conference attended by U.N. Security Council permanent members, European and Arab leaders, and representatives of the European Union, Arab League and United Nations. "They all pledged to help Iraq in the fight against ISIL including through military assistance," Hagel said. "Other key allies, such as Australia, Canada, France and the United Kingdom are already contributing military support. And other partners have begun to make specific offers."
Hagel said he expects the issue to be debated at the United Nations General Assembly session next week.
Retired Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, a man with experience in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout Central Command, has agreed to serve as special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter ISIL.
"General Allen will work in a civilian diplomatic capacity to coordinate, build and sustain the coalition, drawing on his extensive experience in the Middle East," Hagel said.

President Lays Out the U.S. Plan to Degrade and Destroy ISIL

5 Things to Know: The President Lays Out the U.S. Plan to Degrade and Destroy ISIL

September 17, 2014 at 02:58 PM EDT

Watch on YouTube

President Obama travelled to Tampa, Florida to speak to service men and women at MacDill Air Force Base about the U.S. strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL, a terrorist organization that is killing innocent, unarmed civilians  in both Iraq and Syria. ISIL, also known as ISIS or the Islamic State, is also responsible for the brutal murders of American journalists Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.
"In a world where technology provides a small group of killers with the ability to do terrible harm, it is America that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against terrorists,” he told servicemembers. To effectively do so, the U.S. will execute a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy that will empower the international community and local leaders to decimate these terrorists. 

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"If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven."

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Here are the key points the President made today regarding ISIL and our strategy to defeat their forces:
1. ISIL is threatening America and our allies.
Our intelligence community has not yet detected specific plots from ISIL against our homeland, but they have repeatedly threatened our core interests, including our personnel, our embassies, our consulates, and our facilities in Iraq, Syria, and in the broader Middle East. "If left unchecked, they could pose a growing threat to the United States," he said.
2. The U.S. continues to conduct targeted airstrikes against ISIL.
The U.S. Air Force has conducted more than 160 airstrikes against ISIL, successfully protecting our personnel and facilities, killing ISIL fighters, and giving space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory. “They’ve helped our partners on the ground break ISIL sieges; helped rescue civilians cornered on a mountain; helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children,” the President said.
3. American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission.
"As your Commander-in-Chief, I will not commit you, and the rest of our Armed Forces, to fighting another ground war in Iraq," the President told servicemembers. Along with our airstrikes, U.S. forces will train, equip, advise, and assist local partners on the ground "so that they can secure their own countries’ futures."
4. This is not and will not be America's fight alone. 
The U.S. will lead a broad coalition of countries who have a stake in this fight. France and the UK are already flying with us over Iraq, and other countries have committed to join this effort. Saudi Arabia has agreed to host American efforts to train and equip Syrian opposition forces. Australia and Canada are going to send military advisors to Iraq, while Germany is sending paratroopers to help offer training.  Arab nations have agreed to strengthen their support for Iraq’s new government, a key ally in our strategy to defeat ISIL.  
International partners will help us cut off ISIL funding, gather intelligence, and prevent foreign fighters from entering -- or leaving -- the Middle East. And  nearly 30 nations have joined American humanitarian relief to help civilians, including Sunni, Shia, Christian, Yezidi, or other religious minorities, that ISIL has driven from their homes.  
5. Congress should provide the authorities and resources the U.S. military needs to succeed. 
The President has called on Congress to support our military with the necessary resources to train and equip Syrian opposition fighters. As he has said, America’s leadership position is strongest when the President and Congress work together and show a united front.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Short Fitness Center, U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., Sept. 17, 2014.

"Sending our servicemembers into harm’s way is not a decision I ever take lightly," the President said. "It is the hardest decision I make as President. Nothing else comes close."
But this strategy will require the best military force in the world:

Frankly, there just aren’t a lot of other folks who can perform in the same ways -- in fact, there are none.  And there are some things only we can do.  There are some capabilities only we have.
That’s because of you -- your dedication, your skill, your work, your families supporting you, your training, your command structure. Our Armed Forces are unparalleled and unique.  And so when we’ve got a big problem somewhere around the world, it falls on our shoulders. And sometimes that’s tough. But that’s what sets us apart. That’s why we’re America. That’s what the stars and stripes are all about.

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"In an uncertain world full of breathtaking change, the one constant is American leadership."

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And, because of the strength and dedication of America’s military, the President made clear that we will send an unmistakable message to ISIL:

Whether in Iraq or in Syria, these terrorists will learn the same thing that the leaders of al Qaeda already know: We mean what we say; our reach is long; if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven. We will find you eventually.

See more about , , Foreign Policy  

Hagel Says ISIL Threats Real, Must Be Dealt With

By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2014 - The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant poses a real threat to the countries of the Middle East and perhaps to Europe and the United States, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the House Armed Services Committee today.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel testifies on U.S. policy regarding the threat from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIL, before the House Armed Services Committee in Washington, D.C., Sept. 18, 2014. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Hinton (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Hagel thanked the committee for its work in passing the bill to authorize actions against ISIL that provide $500 million to train and equip moderate Syrian forces. The bill goes to the Senate today.
The terror organization must be confronted and destroyed, Hagel said. He charted the terror group's recent history to show how this threat emerged.
"In the last few months, the world has seen ISIL's barbarity up close as its fighters advanced across western and northern Iraq and slaughtered thousands of innocent civilians, including Sunni and Shia Muslims and Kurdish Iraqis and all religious minorities who stood in their way," Hagel said.
The group filmed the beheading of two American reporters, and over the weekend beheaded a British journalist.
"ISIL now controls a vast swath of eastern Syria and western and northern Iraq, including towns and cities in these areas," the secretary said. The group has taken advantage of the Syrian civil war, he added, and has turned it into a sectarian jihad.
A violent combination of tactics
And as it advanced, ISIL took weapons and supplies from defeated foes, Hagel said. "As it has seized territory across both countries and acquired significant resources and advanced weapons, ISIL has employed a violent combination of terrorist, insurgent and conventional military tactics," he told the panel.
The world has not seen a terror group act this way, the secretary said, noting that the group also fights a cyberwar "employing technology and social media, employing this to increase its global profile and attract tens of thousands of fighters."
The goal of the group is to re-establish the Caliphate and spread it from Syria across the Middle East, Hagel said. "It considers itself the rightful inheritor of Osama bin Laden's legacy," he added.
ISIL is a threat to the Middle East now, but thousands of foreign fighters have joined the terror group, and they are potential time bombs that can be planted in Europe and North America, Hagel said. These Europeans and Americans are citizens of their respective countries, and have passports that give them relative freedom of movement, he noted. They can use the ISIL safe haven in Syria to plan, coordinate and carry out attacks against the United States and Europe, he said.
Hagel stressed there is no information indicating such a plot exists, but that ISIL clearly has global aspirations. "And, as President Obama has made clear, ISIL's leaders have threatened America and our allies," he said. "If left unchecked, ISIL will directly threaten our homeland and our allies."

California Confirms Enterovirus D68

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Health (CDPH) has confirmed 4 enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) cases in patients in San Diego (3) and Ventura (1) counties it was announced today by Dr. Ron Chapman, CDPH director and state health officer.  These are the first confirmed cases in California in 2014 due to EV-D68. There are other specimens from throughout the state being tested at CDPH labs.

More cases are anticipated in the coming weeks. CDPH has asked local health departments to submit samples from all rhinovirus/enterovirus positive specimens from hospitalized children less than 18 years of age or from clusters of cases of any age to CDPH for further typing. Several specimens have been received by CDPH for testing, and testing is underway. 

“We are not surprised to find EV-D68 causing some illnesses in California given the apparent widespread nature of this virus in other parts of the country,” said Dr. Chapman.   

EV-D68 causes respiratory illness and the virus likely spreads from person to person when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or touches contaminated surfaces.  Symptoms of EV-D68 include fever (although fever may not be present), runny nose, sneezing, cough, and body and muscle aches.  Some children have more serious illness with breathing difficulty and wheezing, particularly children with a history of asthma.

Parents should seek medical attention immediately for children who are having any breathing difficulty (wheezing, difficulty speaking or eating, belly pulling in with breaths, blueness around the lips), particularly if the child suffers from asthma. There is no specific treatment for persons with EV-D68, nor is there a vaccine to prevent it. However, everyone six months of age and older should receive influenza vaccine every year to protect themselves against that important cause of respiratory disease. 

Healthcare providers should consider EV-D68 as a possible cause of acute, unexplained severe respiratory illness, even if the patient does not have fever, and consider laboratory testing of respiratory specimens for enteroviruses when the cause of respiratory illness in severely ill patients is unclear.

The best way to prevent transmission of enteroviruses is to:

·         Wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after changing diapers.

·         Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

·         Avoid kissing, hugging, and sharing cups or eating utensils with people who are sick.

·         Disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as toys and doorknobs, especially if someone is sick.

Additional information about EV-D68 can be found on the CDC website at: http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/ev-d68.html

General Officer Announcement

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced today that the president has made the following nomination:

Air Force Brig. Gen. Derek P. Rydholm has been nominated to the rank of major general. Rydholm is currently serving as director, plans, programs and requirements, Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.
 

Latest Airstrikes Target ISIL Assets, Ammunition

From a U.S. Central Command News Release
TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 18, 2014 - U.S. military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Syria and the Levant terrorists in Iraq, using bomber and fighter aircraft to conduct airstrikes yesterday and today, U.S. Central Command officials reported.
One airstrike near an ISIL training camp southeast of Mosul destroyed an ISIL armed vehicle, two ISIL-occupied buildings and a large ISIL ground unit. Another airstrike southeast of Baghdad damaged an ISIL ammunition stockpile, officials added, noting that all aircraft exited the strike areas safely.
Centcom has conducted a total of 176 airstrikes across Iraq, officials said.

LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD TRUSTEE MIKE ENG ENDORSES BEN ALLENFOR STATE SENATE

Allen Receives Support of Well-Respected Asian-American Legislator

Santa Monica, CA -  In his bid for State Senate, UCLA Law School Lecturer and Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board Member Ben Allen has earned the endorsement of Los Angeles Community College Board Trustee Mike Eng. "As a former Mayor and Assemblymember, I understand what it takes to be an effective leader and legislator and the importance of working closely with local residents. Ben Allen has proven to me that, without a doubt, he will work for the people of the 26th State Senate District and make decisions in their best interest. For that reason, I am supporting Ben as the next State Senator, and I hope the people will do the same on Election Day," said College Board Trustee Mike Eng. "I am humbled by the support and confidence of Los Angeles Community College Board Trustee Mike Eng. I am eager to fulfill his confidence in me in serving my community, once elected to State Senate. Mike has been a great leader in Los Angeles County, and I aspire to Mike's depth of wisdom and effectiveness in advocating for affordability of our education and sustainability of our environment," said Ben Allen. Mike Eng's career began on Monterey Park's City Council, where he served as a councilmember from 2003 to 2006, and the Mayor of the City from 2004 to 2005. In 2006, Eng was elected with overwhelming support to the California State Assembly, where he served until 2012, earning 67.2% of the vote in 2008 and 68.9% in 2010. During his tenure, Assemblymember Eng sponsored numerous bills and chaired three of the Legislature's most critical policy committees: Transportation, Banking and Finance, and Business and Consumer Protection. He was also a member of the Assembly's Education Committee for three terms. Eng termed out of the Assembly with a stellar legislative record, including authoring the law that made California the first state to declare water as a human right. In 2013, Eng was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District, after placing first in his race with 64% of the vote. The district is the largest community college district in the U.S., serving more than 250,000 students from 40 cities, which span over 800 square miles.   With his endorsement, Eng joins a long list of well-respected elected officials who are backing Allen for State Senate, including former U.S. Representatives Howard Berman and Mel Levine; Los Angeles County Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Don Knabe; former Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman; State Senators Jerry Hill and Fran Pavley; former State Senators Tom Hayden and Alan Sieroty; Assemblymembers Richard Bloom, Steven Bradford, Ian Calderon, Isadore Hall, III, and Adrin Nazarian; former Assemblymembers Terry Friedman, Warren Furutani, Richard Katz, Tony Mendoza, and George Nakano; and Los Angeles City Councilmembers Paul Koretz, Paul Krekorian, and Tom Labonge. For a full list of Allen's endorsements, please visitwww.benallenforsenate.com/endorsements. Ben Allen placed first among a crowded field in the open primary for the 26th State Senate District, held on June 3, 2014. The 26th State Senate District consists of the cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, El Segundo, Avalon, Lomita, Torrance, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills; the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Westchester, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Westwood, Westwood Village, Bel Air, Holmby Hills, Little Holmby, Sunset Hills, Beverly Grove, Mar Vista, Mid City West, Miracle Mile, Larchmont Village, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Fairfax, Carthay, Fremont Place, Hancock Park, and Windsor Square; and the unincorporated Los Angeles County communities of Marina Del Rey, San Clemente Island, Santa Catalina Island, Franklin, Centinela, and Ocean View.

NASA Looks Twice at Former Hurricane Odile's Rainfall

The Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM mission observatory analyzed rainfall rates on Hurricane Odile as it made landfall in Mexico. NOAA's GOES-West satellite tracked the rainy remnants over the southern U.S. three days later where flood advisories were issued on September 18.

NASA-JAXA's GPM Satellite Captures Hurricane Odile's Rainfall

On September 15, 2014 the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's Core Observatory flew over Hurricane Odile as it made landfall on the Baja peninsula. At this point, Hurricane Odile is category 2 with maximum sustained winds at 98 miles per hour (mph) and gusts reaching 121 mph. Odile caused major damage to several Mexican beach resorts including Cabo San Lucas, and has the potential to cause flash flooding as far as Phoenix, Arizona.

The GPM Core Observatory carries two instruments that show the location and intensity of rain and snow, which defines a crucial part of the storm structure – and how it will behave. The GPM Microwave Imager sees through the tops of clouds to observe how much and where precipitation occurs, and the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar observes precise details of precipitation in 3-dimensions.

For forecasters, GPM's microwave and radar data are part of the toolbox of satellite data, including other low Earth orbit and geostationary satellites that they use to monitor tropical cyclones and hurricanes.

The addition of GPM data to the current suite of satellite data is timely. Its predecessor precipitation satellite, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, is 18 years into what was originally a three-year mission. GPM's new high-resolution microwave imager data and the unique radar data ensure that forecasters and modelers won't have a gap in coverage. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. All GPM data products can be found at NASA Goddard's Precipitation Processing Center website.

NOAA's GOES-West Sees Odile's Rainy Remnants Over Southwestern U.S.

As Odile weakened, it moved north into the southwestern U.S. where it was on September 18. NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured an image of the clouds associated with the remnant low pressure area that has triggered flood and flash flood watches, warnings and advisories for east central and southeastern Arizona, the southern half of New Mexico and portions of extreme western Texas.

The clouds associated with Odile's remnants covered the U.S. southwest in an image taken at 14:15 UTC (10:15 a.m. EDT) from NOAA's GOES-West satellite. The image was created by NASA/NOAA's GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center that the center of Odile on Sept. 18 at 4 a.m. EDT was located near latitude 31.5 north and longitude 110.0 west. Maximum sustained winds are near 25 mph (40 kph). The remnant circulation of Odile continues to move eastward across extreme southeastern Arizona.

Radar data on the ground has shown that rain is falling mostly east of the circulation center across southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico and western Texas. Some of the rainfall was moderate or heavy. Heavy rains are expected to reach eastern New Mexico by later today and the Texas Panhandle by early Friday morning.

The low-level circulation is expected to dissipate later in the day on Sept. 18, but the rain will continue through Friday.

For additional imagery of Hurricane Odile from the GPM satellite, visit:  http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=4213

mypubliclands: Celebrating Grand Staircase-Escalante National...

mypubliclands:

Celebrating Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument’s Golden Birthday! 
The vast and austere landscape of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) offers a spectacular array of scientific and historic resources. Encompassing 1.9 million acres, the Monument was created on September 18, 1996 by presidential proclamation – the first monument entrusted to BLM management. World-class dinosaur excavations have yielded more information about ecosystem change at the end of the dinosaur era than almost any other place in the world. Among the fossil finds, paleontologists have identified dinosaurs not previously known to have inhabited this region, as well as several new species.
The vast landscapes of GSENM offers visitors a variety of recreational opportunities for a wide range of users. From the solitude of lonesome canyons to the excitement of winding rugged backways, the Monument is truly a treasure.
Plan your visit and learn more: http://on.doi.gov/1fJIy7a
Photos by Bob Wick, BLM 

Is Obama winning his game?

Obamal or Obama – ISIL or ISIS  

One of Obama’s favorite games is ‘shift the word and meaning game.’  It reflects his deepest beliefs that lies, chaos and distraction are transformation strategies that an emerging ‘star dictator’ needs.  The game goes like this:  Always lie to the masses, insert cheat cards through out the deck without the players knowing and redefine what is really going on right in front of your ‘stupid’ opponent’s eyes.  When the few who don’t accept or believe your trick  rise up in the first round of the game…you know nothing, deny everything, then throw your enemy opponent a cherry “I will get to the bottom of this.”  Obama is a master at this game and uses its Communist, Muslim, New World Order strategies to confuse, terrorize and destroy who is left in this great nation.  He always thinks he is winning and so does much of the brain dead media.  America has allowed Obama and the progressive/communistic agenda to win way too many rounds.

A few of Obama’s pet word games and changes – ‘Children are now up to age 23 if they are illegal aliens’  ‘ISIS’ - linking this blood thirsty Islamic group to Syria is now called ISIL - minimizing its connection to Syria (Thank you Glenn Beck for pointing this out).  “ISIS is NOT Islamic.” I’m confused…did they magically convert to Catholicism or become Baptists?

We have watched Obama change everything of substance for America.  Freedom is no longer reflected and protected by our Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence.  Obama just flips these off and pretends they are not there.  Sadly so does the HOUSE and SENATE most of the time.  The American attributes of ‘achievement’ ‘inventiveness’  ‘Judeo-Christian values’ ‘international leadership from a position of strength’ have been redefined and replaced.  A great American according to Obama is a dependent worker; welfare recipient, illegal alien, Muslim and criminal who want to destroy American  freedom and Judeo-Christian values.   The American mutant that Obama is building is dependent on him as god. The Obama-American adores big Government, submits to redistribution of wealth and high taxes.  They understand targeting of Christians and conservatives and are trained to simply obey, look the other way, be immoral and act out.  Obama adores playing with his controls.  Forget X box, now we are forced to play  ‘Obama box.’  If Obama wins this game, we will lose America, our freedom, lives and be sold into slavery.  

Obama has rewritten what freedom, danger, enemies and religion are.  Freedom is now oppressive service and redistribution of wealth; Danger and enemies aren’t Muslim radicals but Christians and conservatives who persecute and speak out ‘hate’ against Muslims.  We cause them to behead, torture and constantly threaten us.  Religion has been redefined on the game board as well.  If we must be remotely defined as a quasi-Christian nation, then we have to change what Christian means.  It must be nothing but a Unitarian, watered down, ‘love everyone and let all religions and people express themselves no matter what.’  While Obama continues to attack and water down our real Christian roots in America he inserts Islam and moves the caliphate dramatically forward. Things are going as planned.

The ‘Obama box’ game is one we cannot afford to lose.  Obama has won many rounds but ‘narcissist n’chief’ will not win the game.  He is playing Americans and the majority of us believe in the real God and pray to the Lord Jesus for guidance and strength.  We will win if we vote right in the fall elections and pay attention. Everyone must vote this time.   All progressives and leftists who have supported Obama, Obamacare and other UN Constitutional rubbish MUST be thrown out.

We must draw lines in the sand and group together with local and state wide militias, Tea Party groups and others that will stand up for our rights and freedoms.  There can be no compromise by turning in or registering any of our guns.  There can be no compromise with our right to free speech.  There can be no accepted attacks on states 10thamendment rights to stand against the UN Constitutional encroachments of Obamacare, illegal alien dispersals, Common Core and other assaults on the people.

Focus your anger and energy in regular prayer and ask God for help and deliverance and He will give it.  He is waiting to hear from us.  Remember, one with God – the real God IS the majority.  Intimidation belongs to losers and we are winners.  Obama does not have the spirit of the Lord Jesus with him  -- but Americans who are humble before God and seek HIM DO.  

Game over and you lose Obama.

Join me on my national radio show as I take on these issues each day from 7-10pm PAC.  You can listen in at:www.ksbn.net or catch the free archives at:www.therothshow.com.  

Secretary of the Navy Mabus Names Virginia-Class Submarine USS Vermont

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus hosted a ship-naming ceremony today to announce that SSN 792, a Virginia-class attack submarine, will bear the name USS Vermont. Mabus named the submarine to honor the long-standing partnership its namesake state has had with the Navy. "From our nation's beginning, the people of Vermont have tirelessly supported our Navy, enabling us to become the unparalleled fighting force we are today," said Mabus. "I am here on the banks of Lake Champlain, to once again honor the sailors and Marines who have come from this great state, and to honor your support of our Navy and Marine Corps and your naval history." Vermont's Lake Champlain was the site of two critical historic naval battles. Under the command of Commodore Benedict Arnold, the 1776 Battle of Valcour Island had a profound impact on the outcome of the Revolutionary War, and during the War of 1812, the U.S. defended Lake Champlain against invasion from Great Britain in the Battle of Plattsburgh. "The name USS Vermont has a long history in our Navy," said Mabus. "In honor of the victories on Lake Champlain, following the War of 1812, the first USS Vermont was laid down and became one of our nation's largest and most powerful ships. The second USS Vermont was one of our great battleships in the years before World War I, and was one of the ships that led the Great White Fleet around the world." This is the first ship named for Vermont since 1920 when the second USS Vermont was decommissioned. Virginia-class submarines provide the Navy with the capabilities required to maintain the nation's undersea supremacy well into the 21st century. They have enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities, and special warfare enhancements that enable them to meet the Navy's multi-mission requirements. Virginia-class submarines have the capability to attack targets ashore with highly accurate Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters or other sea-based forces. Other missions include anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare; mine delivery and minefield mapping. They are also designed for special forces delivery and support. Each Virginia-class submarine is 7,800-tons and 377 feet in length, has a beam of 34 feet, and can operate at more than 25 knots submerged. It is designed with a reactor plant that will not require refueling during the planned life of the ship, reducing lifecycle costs while increasing underway time. The submarine will be built in partnership with General Dynamics/Electric Boat Corp. in Groton, Connecticut.

USDA Invests $68 Million in 540 Renewable Energy and Energy EfficiencyProjects Nationwide

Funding includes loan guarantees and grants for solar energy to create jobs, promote energy independence and advance the use of renewable fuels

 

BUNN, N.C., Sept. 18, 2014 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is investing in 540 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide.

  

“These loan guarantees and grants will have far-reaching impacts nationwide, particularly in the rural communities where these projects are located,” Vilsack said. “Investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency will continue the unprecedented increase in home-grown energy sources and American energy independence we’ve seen in recent years. This is creating jobs, providing new economic opportunities and leading the way to a more secure energy future.”

  

Secretary Vilsack made the announcement while in North Carolina to highlight USDA's investments in rural renewable energy projects, as part of the Obama Administration's 'all-of-the-above' energy strategy. It is the most recent of a series of USDA actions to strengthen the country’s energy sector. Two weeks ago, Vilsack announced a $105 million loan guarantee to a company that will produce jet fuel from municipal solid waste.

  

Today’s funding is being provided through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). REAP was created by the 2008 Farm Bill and was reauthorized by the recently passed 2014 Farm Bill.

The announcement comes on a day when President Obama is announcing new executive actions to further advance the development of solar technologies across the country. These new investments in solar will reduce America's energy consumption, cut carbon pollution by nearly 300 million metric tons – equivalent to taking more than 60 million cars off the road for a year – and save businesses nearly $45 billion on their energy bills. The renewed effort to invest in solar energy also includes commitments from a broad coalition of 50 public and private sector partners, including leading industry, community development organizations and housing providers in 28 states. To learn more about this new Obama Administration initiative to increase the use of solar power, visit the White House website.

  

“USDA is proud to play a key role in Obama Administration’s efforts to promote the use of solar technologies," Vilsack said. "Of the REAP projects funded today, 240 projects are for solar investments of $5.2 million in grants and $55.3 million in loans.”

  

During Secretary Vilsack's trip to North Carolina, he visited Progress Solar in Bunn, N.C., which received a $3.4 million REAP loan guarantee in 2012 for installation of a solar array. Progress Solar now produces enough solar energy to power 540 average-sized homes each year. The 4.5 megawatt array was developed by North Carolina-based O2 Energies, Inc. The Progress Solar site is a dual-use solar power plant and a working farm where a 10th generation farming family raises free range sheep and lambs. The project serves as a test site for herd management best practices on a solar farm, and the goal is to model future collaborative efforts that marry solar-energy production with agriculture production. This is the seventh solar farm venture that O2 Energies has developed in North Carolina.

  

In North Carolina alone, Vilsack announced $55.3 million in new REAP program loan guarantees and grants for 22 solar energy projects. For example, USDA is awarding a $3 million loan guarantee to Broadway Solar Center, LLC to help finance a 5 megawatt solar array in Columbus County, a $4.9 million loan guarantee for a similar project in Hertford County and a $2.1 million guarantee for a project in Warren County.

  

In total, Vilsack announced $68 million in REAP loan guarantees and grants today. Funding is contingent upon the recipients meeting the terms of the loan or grant agreement.

  

Eligible agricultural producers and rural small businesses may use REAP funds to make energy efficiency improvements or install renewable energy systems including solar, wind, renewable biomass (including anaerobic digesters), small hydroelectric, ocean energy, hydrogen, and geothermal.

  

Since the start of the Obama Administration, REAP has supported more than 8,800 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide. During this period, USDA has provided more than $276 million in grants and $268 million in loan guarantees to agricultural producers and rural small business owners.

President Obama’s historic investments in rural America have made our rural communities stronger. Under his leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America's economy, small towns and rural communities.

#

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users)

What Can Judaism Teach Us about Reforming Organized Religion?

Faith-based Traditions Must Adapt to Stay Relevant, 

Says Former Temple President

As we approach Yom Kippur on Oct. 4, also known as the Day of Atonement – the holiest day of the year in Judaism – Martin Vesole, former president of Temple Menorah in Chicago, and author of a well-regarded novel about the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, says his religious tradition must adapt or risk fading into irrelevance.
“Twenty percent of Americans describe themselves as ‘spiritual but not religious’ – they’re part of the 46 million religiously unaffiliated adults in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center,” says Vesole, a former attorney and author of the Jewish-themed novel “Sleeping Truth,”www.martinvesole.com.
Of religiously unaffiliated adults, more than two thirds say they believe in God, and one in five say they pray daily. Only 13 million are self-described agnostics or atheists. “To me, this says that faith is alive and well in 2014,” Vesole says.
“However, particularly for younger people, the compulsory traditions of organized religion are viewed as archaic, though the need for purpose and meaning in life remain strong. Organized religion can be doing more to remain relevant to the millions who are hungry for spiritual significance.”
Organized religions have adapted and evolved throughout history, Vesole notes, citing examples in the history of the Jews:

•  Fundamental aspects of Judaism changed to meet changing needs. 
Judaism began as a family religion with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and become a tribal one following the Exodus from Egypt. It evolved from rulership by wise men to rulership by kings. The building of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and then its destruction; the writing of the Talmud, formerly an oral tradition; and the Reform Movement in Europe which allowed Jews to better integrate secularly into the modern world.
•  The Age of Enlightenment marked a step away from tradition and a step toward individualism.
Both Judaism and Christianity saw many of their faithful distance themselves somewhat from religious tradition as they embraced reason in the 17th and 18th centuries. This led to significant contributions to academia and the secular tradition by the likes of such iconic figures as Galileo, Newton, Descartes and Freud.

Vesole cites Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: “…Religion declined not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant … when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion — its message becomes meaningless.”
Confronted by the science and religious pluralism of the 21st Century, Judaism needs to change again, Vesole says. Dissatisfied with the “truths” taught to them by the Judeo-Christian religions, people are looking to the Eastern religions and to such other sources of comfort and enlightenment such as yoga, meditation, The Secret, and the like.
“If secular Jews delegate Judaism to the province of the Orthodox, the religion will fade into irrelevant obscurity,” he says. “We will become more like the Amish than a player on the world stage.”
Just one example of the arbitrary laws limiting Judaism’s scope and future is the one that says only those born of a Jewish mother are considered Jewish, he says. As a result of that, countless numbers of genetically Jewish individuals have been dismissed from the faith because their Jewish parent happened to be the father.
“Hitler said you were Jewish if you had one Jewish grandparent,” Vesole says. “I think those who were Jewish enough for Hitler should be Jewish enough for us as well,”
Yom Kippur is a time for forgiveness, repentance and to try to change one’s ways,” he says.
“It's a time to look at the larger picture; our religion needs reform,” he says. “I see no reason why we shouldn’t seriously consider plausible ideas from other traditions, such as reincarnation, which aligns with our spiritual tenets more than many of us realize. The Jewish mystical book, the Kabbalah, teaches us about reincarnation, so there are even Jewish roots for this belief which has been exclusively associated with the Eastern religions.” 

About Martin Vesole

Martin Vesole is a retired attorney and former president of Temple Menorah in Chicago. Founder of the Shalomist Movement to save Judaism in America, Vesole earned his degree at DePaul College of Law after studying history at Washington University in St. Louis. While enlisted in the U.S. Army, he served in Vietnam. Vesole went on to live in Israel for two years, first taking classes in Judaic Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and then working at Kibbutz Naot Mordechai in the northern region of the country. He is the author of Sleeping Truth, The Book of Emet: The TRUE Story of Jesus, and the upcomingChanging Judaism. His website and blogs are located atwww.martinvesole.com.

Iran Prepares for a Leadership Transition

Summary

Though Iran has been broadcasting pictures and videos of top state officials and noted foreign dignitaries visiting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the hospital, the health of the man who has held the most powerful post in the Islamic Republic remains unclear. The unusual public relations management of what has been described as a prostate surgery suggests Tehran may be preparing the nation and the world for a transition to a third supreme leader. Iranian efforts to project an atmosphere of normalcy conceal concerns among players in the Iranian political system that a power vacuum will emerge just as the Islamic republic has reached a geopolitical crossroads. 

Analysis

Any transition comes at the most crucial time in the 35-year history of the Islamic Republic due to unprecedented domestic political shifts underway and, more importantly, due to international events.
Pragmatic conservative President Hassan Rouhani's election in June 2013 elections led to a social, political and economic reform program facing considerable resistance from within the hard-right factions within the clerical and security establishments. The biggest issue between the presidential camp and its opponents is the ongoing process of negotiations with the United States over the Iranian nuclear program. 

Nuclear Talks and Syria

After an unprecedented breakthrough in November 2013 that saw an interim agreement, the negotiation process has hit a major snag, with a final agreement not reached by a July 20, 2014, deadline, though the deadline for negotiations was extended to Nov. 24, 2014. Some form of partial agreement had been expected, with talks kicking into high gear ahead of the opening session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York on Sept. 18.
A mood of pessimism in Tehran has since been reported, however, with senior Foreign Ministry officials prepping the media for the eventuality that the talks might fail. The risk of failure comes from the fact that Rouhani can only go so far in accepting caps on Iran's ability to pursue a civilian nuclear program before his hawkish opponents will gain the upper hand in Iran's domestic political struggle. Stratfor sources say Rouhani did not want to attend this year's General Assembly, but Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif reportedly convinced the president that his visit might help the negotiating process.
As if the negotiation itself was not enough of a problem for Rouhani, the U.S. move to support rebel forces in Syria that would fight both the Islamic State and Iran's ally, the Assad regime, is a major problem for Tehran. U.S. and Iranian interests overlapped with regard to the IS threat in Iraq. But in Syria, the United States must rely on anti-Iranian actors to fight IS and the Obama administration seeks to topple the Assad regime. Accordingly, less than a year after the two sides embarked upon a rapprochement, tensions seem to be returning.

A New Supreme Leader

On top of this stressor, uncertainties surrounding Khamenei's health have shifted Iran's priorities to the search for a new supreme leader. The unusual manner in which Tehran continues to telegraph Khamenei's hospitalization to show that all is well -- while at the same time psychologically preparing the country and the outside world for the inevitable change -- coupled with the (albeit unverified) 2010 release by WikiLeaks of a U.S. diplomatic cable reporting that the supreme leader was suffering from terminal cancer suggests the political establishment in Tehran is preparing for a succession. Khamenei himself would want to prepare a succession before he can no longer carry out his official responsibilities.
Before Khamenei was elected supreme leader in 1989, the idea of a collective clerical body was in vogue among many clerics. The country's second-most influential cleric, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, on several occasions has proposed a "jurisprudential council" consisting of several top clerics as an alternative to the supreme leader's post. His proposal has not gained much traction, but with succession imminent, it might seem more attractive as a compromise should the competing factions prove unable to reach a consensus.
Constitutionally, an interim leadership council takes over should the incumbent supreme leader no longer be able to carry out his duties until the Assembly of Experts elects a successor. Considering the factionalized nature of the Iranian political elite, it is only normal to assume that the process to replace Khamenei will be marred by a major struggle between the various camps that make up the conservative establishment. After all, this is an extremely rare opportunity for those seeking change and for those seeking continuity to shape the future of the republic. 
For the hardliners, already deeply unnerved by what they see as an extremely troubling moderate path adopted by Rouhani, it is imperative that the next supreme leader not be sympathetic to the president. From their point of view, Khamenei has given the government far too much leeway. For his part, Rouhani knows that if his opponents get their way in the transition, his troubles promoting his domestic and foreign policy agenda could increase exponentially. 

Possible Successors

The country's elite ideological military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, will no doubt play a key role in who gets to be supreme leader. Likewise, the religious establishment in Qom will definitely have a say in the matter. The revolutionary-era clerics who have long dominated the political establishment are a dying breed, and the Assembly of Experts would not want to appoint someone of advanced age, since this would quickly lead to another succession. 
Stratfor has learned that potential replacements for Khamenei include former judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, a cleric close to Khamenei and known for his relative moderate stances. They also include Hassan Khomeini, the oldest grandson of the founder of the republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He is close to the president's pragmatic conservative camp and the reformists, but pedigree may not compensate for his relatively left-wing leanings and his relatively young age of 42. Finally, they include current judiciary chief Mohammed-Sadegh Larijani, the younger brother of Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani who some believe is the preferred candidate of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The key problem that has surrounded the post of the supreme leader since the death of the founder of the republic is the very small pool of potential candidates to choose a replacement from: Most clerics either lack political skills, while those that do have political savvy lack requisite religious credentials. Khamenei was a lesser cleric to the status of ayatollah shortly before assuming the role of supreme leader, though he has demonstrated great political acumen since then. Khomeini was unique in that he had solid credentials as a noted religious scholar, but also had solid political credentials given his longtime leadership of the movement that culminated in the overthrow of shah in 1979. Since Khomeini fell out with his designated successor, Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, in 1987, no one has had both qualities. Whoever takes over from Khamenei will be no exception to this, even though he will need to be able to manage factional rivalries at one of the most critical junctures in the evolution of the Islamic Republic.

" Iran Prepares for a Leadership Transition is republished with permission of Stratfor."

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel Newsom, filmmaker, and thefounder and CEO of The Representation Project, joint statement on the49ers decision to continue to play Ray McDonald

"The City and County of San Francisco and the entire Bay Area has long stood staunchly on the forefront of domestic violence awareness and prevention.  That's why the 49ers’ continued insistence on playing Ray McDonald during his ongoing criminal investigation is a painful affront to every victim of domestic violence and sends a troubling message to our community and especially our children that 'zero tolerance' are empty words, not real actions.  In light of the increased public awareness of this issue in the wake of the horrific Ray Rice assault and today's decision by the Carolina Panthers to deactivate Greg Hardy, we strongly urge the 49er organization we grew up revering to do the right thing -- right now -- and bench Ray McDonald, pending the outcome of his felony domestic violence investigation by San Jose law enforcement."