Airstrikes in Syria, Iraq Destroy ISIL Positions

From a U.S. Central Command News Release

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 28, 2014 - U.S. military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria yesterday and today, using attack and fighter aircraft to conduct four airstrikes, U.S. Central Command officials reported.

Separately, officials said, U.S. and partner-nation military forces conducted nine airstrikes in Iraq yesterday and today using attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL terrorists.

In Syria, four airstrikes near Kobani destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and a small ISIL unit.

In Iraq, two airstrikes near Fallujah destroyed a small ISIL unit and an ISIL tank. Four airstrikes near Mosul Dam destroyed a small ISIL unit, an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL logistics base.

Also in Iraq, an airstrike west of Baghdad destroyed an ISIL-occupied building and a small ISIL unit, a strike on an ISIL fighting emplacement near Sinjar struck destroyed six vehicles, and a strike northwest of Haditha destroyed an ISIL-occupied building used as a staging area.

Assessments based on initial reports

All aircraft departed the strike areas safely, Centcom officials said, noting that airstrike assessments are based on initial reports.

The strikes were conducted as part of Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the terrorist group ISIL and the threat it poses to Iraq, the region and the wider international community.

The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project power and conduct operations, Centcom officials said.

Among the coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq are the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain.

Resetting Pakistan’s Relations with Afghanistan

As Pakistan seeks to consolidate its fragile democracy, it should seize the moment to improve relations with its Afghan neighbour. Its biggest challenge comes from within. The civilian government has to regain control over national security and foreign policy from the military.

In its latest report, Resetting Pakistan’s Relations with Afghanistan, the International Crisis Group examines the opportunities and constraints faced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government as it attempts to improve a deeply troubled relationship with Kabul. Realising that his goal to stabilise Pakistan’s faltering economy will remain elusive in the absence of security, Sharif has reached out to Afghanistan, hoping to reduce bilateral tensions and contribute to stabilising post-transition Afghanistan, and thus improving Pakistan’s own stability. But Sharif’s approach, welcomed by the incoming Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, faces serious challenges at home.

The report’s major findings and recommendations are:

• As the Sharif government attempts to reduce bilateral tensions, much depends on its will and ability to wrest political space from the military. The military high command continues to hedge its bets, either actively or tacitly supporting a revived insurgency, which threatens to undermine Afghanistan’s transition. Recent anti-government demonstrations have strengthened the military’s ability to extract concessions, likely including with regard to policy toward Afghanistan.


• While the military’s control over security policy remains an impediment, there are nevertheless significant opportunities for improved relations. Pakistani-Afghan economic ties could be strengthened to mutual benefit if both countries improved and expanded their infrastructure, including road and rail links connecting the two countries; reduced cumbersome security measures; and eased cross-border movement. Both sides should furthermore increase anti-corruption measures and begin talks on a free-trade agreement.


• Pakistan should ease the uncertain and insecure lives of the millions of Afghan refugees on its territory. It should sign and ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. Until it does, it should enact a national law for refugees that codifies long-term protections and rights, and respects the principle of non-refoulement.
  

“Pakistan’s civilian leadership is well aware that the country’s security is best served by a stable Afghanistan. It has taken some initial steps toward stronger bilateral ties and should continue on this path”, says Samina Ahmed, South Asia Project Director and Senior Asia Adviser. “If Afghanistan stabilises, so will its economy, with the resultant expansion in bilateral and transit trade benefiting Pakistan”.

“The civilian leadership’s preference for peace with Kabul sharply contrasts with the military’s hedging strategies”, says Jonathan Prentice, Chief Policy Officer and Acting Asia Program Director. “As the democratic transition consolidates, stronger civilian control over national security and foreign policy will create fresh opportunities to more constructively reset the relationship with Afghanistan”.

Why Retirees Don’t Need a Nest Egg

4 Reasons Why Retirees Don’t Need a Nest Egg

Conventional Wisdom Has Its Flaws for 

Middle America, Says President of Advisory Firm

We are quickly coming to a reckoning in this country regarding the well-being of retirees, says Jeff Bucher, a financial advisor who helps working-class Americans plan their golden years.

“I suppose it’s cliché for the head of a financial firm to say that he cares for his community, but we really do put our money where our mouth is,” says Bucher, who, through his firm, Citizen Advisory Group, (www.citizenadvisory.com), has contributed to the local Boys & Girls Club, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and to development of an Olympic training center for wrestling at Ohio State University, his alma mater, where he earned a wrestling scholarship.

“My clients represent the bulk of America: honest, hard-working and typically blue collar or middle class. Most of them weren’t executives at Fortune 500 companies, and many are stressed out when they first come to us because they’ve been sold this idea of needing x-amount for a retirement nest egg.”

In reality, you don’t need a hulking nest egg to get by in retirement, and you may be better off without one, says Bucher, who explains why.

•  Lifetime income vs. nest egg; reconsider what wealth means to you. What’s preferable to you: stockpiling money throughout the entirety of your earning years so that you can have a large nest egg for retirement, or investing your money wisely so that you can both use it during your younger years and receive paychecks during retirement?

“Two million dollars in savings is not the optimal perspective for true wealth,” Bucher says. “True wealth is not serving money; it’s having your money serve you. I’m more interested in offering folks true wealth via ethical financial structures suited to individual goals.” 

•  Obsession with a nest egg prevents you from doing things.Consider the mentality of an obsessive nest-egger: Hoard your hard-earned money your entire life, decade after decade, straight through retirement. Don’t spend anything on travel, or a vacation home, or anything else you may enjoy, because you have to protect the egg.

Life is short, and by the end of it, these folks haven’t done anything but work and save money.

“You don’t have to be a millionaire to do so many things for yourself, family and community with your money,” he says.

•  Consider supplementing a smaller savings with a part-time job – seriously. You hear the scare tactics – Grandma doesn’t want to spend her golden years greeting shoppers at Walmart.

“That’s nonsense; retirees are some of the most talented people in our country, working as a greeter is not their only option,” he says. “Most of us have something we’d like to do that we couldn’t during our earning years. Retirement is the perfect time to indulge that passion! People are better off staying active, no matter who or how old they are.”

Supplemental income through a fun, part-time job cuts the income needed from a retirement next egg and adds healthy activity. Teach swimming at the local YMCA, work at a golf course or as an usher at a sports venue. Or start a small business selling the crafts you’ve developed a skill for creating.

•  Volunteering actually saves retirees money. When you’re at a job, you don’t have much opportunity to spend money. You won’t run up the electric bill at home, nor go to the movies, amusement parks, shopping or use much money getting there. While working, you’re too busy, and the same is true when folks volunteer somewhere. Volunteering at the hospital or elsewhere gives retirees purpose, engages their minds and bodies, gives them the happy knowledge that they’re helping others, and prevents them from spending money on entertainment to keep from being bored!

About Jeff Bucher

Jeff Bucher is president of Citizen Advisory Group, (www.citizenadvisory.com), and is an Investment Advisor Representative of AlphaStar Capital Management, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. He has a life and health insurance license with the state of Ohio. His membership affiliations include the exclusive Ed Slott's Master Elite IRA Advisor Group™, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), the National Association of Fixed Annuities (NAFA) and the Forum 400. He has earned Top of the Table honors through the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). Bucher is a former standout wrestler at The Ohio State University, where he earned an athletic scholarship and honed his leadership skills en route to earning four varsity letters.

'Chip and PIN' Credit Cards Coming to DoD Travelers

By Claudette Roulo
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2014 - Starting in January, Defense Department government travel card holders will begin receiving new "chip and PIN" cards, the director of the Defense Travel Management Office said.

In December, the department is due to wrap up a pilot program that started in February and involved about 600 users, Harvey Johnson said in a DoD News interview, adding that the pilot program has been successful so far.

The chip and PIN system already has been adopted in many parts of the world, because it offers additional security to credit card users and merchants. Transactions involving these cards work something like an ATM withdrawal, in that the user inserts the card into a point-of-sale machine, and rather than signing for the purchase, the customer enters a four-digit personal identification number.

Point-of-sale machines read a chip embedded in the card -- rather than the magnetic strip on the back -- and the cardholder never has to hand the card off to a merchant. This two-step system protects against identity theft more effectively than the relatively easy-to-counterfeit magnetic strip and signature system.

Rollout to DoD users will begin with cardholders who have cards that will expire soon, Johnson said.

"So, as your card expires, you'll receive a chip and PIN," he explained. "If you're new to the Department of Defense, you'll receive a chip and PIN card."

Next up are cardholders who travel frequently, Johnson said.

"It used to be that we considered it frequent travel if you travel three times a year," Johnson noted, "but now we're sort of moving away from that, and if you travel [at all], we're going to recommend that you use a chip and PIN card and that you get a [government travel] card."

By late summer of 2015, all Defense Department travelers will have the chip and PIN card, Johnson said.

For now, chip and PIN cards are limited to people in the test population, but beginning in January, travelers will be able to request one if they will be traveling to a location where chip and PIN cards are dominant, Johnson said.

"Once we have an implementation plan, we will spell out how we actually do that," he said. With about 1.3 million government travel card users, Johnson noted, "if everybody wants it in January, we probably can't get there. So there needs to be a methodical deployment."

CHINOOK DESCENDS

10/28/2014 10:15 AM CDT

A U.S. CH-47 Chinook helicopter descends as U.S. and Afghan national army soldiers prepare to board it for a partnered air assault mission to the town of Mirugal Kalay, near Camp Hero, Afghanistan, Oct. 23, 2014.

DoD Urges Flu Shots to Maintain Unit Health, Readiness

By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2014 - Flu season is underway and the Defense Department is making sure service members get flu shots because the illness, often considered mild, has a significant potential to affect operational readiness in unvaccinated units, an expert from the Defense Health Agency said this week.

A colorized transmission electron micrograph shows H1N1 influenza virus particles. Surface proteins on the virus particles, which are targeted by flu vaccines, are shown in black. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Air Force Lt. Col. Amy Costello, a pediatrician who specializes in public health, is chief of the Immunization Healthcare Operations Section in the Defense Health Agency Immunization Healthcare Branch. She spoke about flu vaccines at the Pentagon with DoD News.

"We always like to advocate for flu vaccine," Costello said. "It's that time of year and military treatment facilities all have most of their flu vaccine supply. So now, before flu season really kicks off, it's a great time to go get vaccinated."

Influenza, or flu, is a contagious disease that spreads nationwide every winter, usually between October and May, according to information posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Anyone can get the flu

Flu is caused by flu viruses and spreads mainly by coughing, sneezing and close contact. Anyone can get flu, but the risk of getting flu is highest among children. Symptoms come on suddenly and may last several days. They can include fever or chills, sore throat, muscle aches, fatigue, cough, headache and runny or stuffy nose.

Flu can make some people much sicker than others, including young children, people 65 and older, pregnant women and people with health conditions, such as heart, lung or kidney disease, nervous system disorders, or a weakened immune system, the CDC said.

Flu vaccination is especially important for these people and anyone in close contact with them. Flu also can lead to pneumonia and can make existing medical conditions worse, the CDC said, and it can cause diarrhea and seizures in children.

Thousands of people in the United States die every year from flu and many more are hospitalized, according to CDC figures. Flu vaccine is the best way to protect against flu and its complications and it also helps prevent the virus from spreading.

Potential to impact operational readiness

"Flu is a bad disease," Costello said. "It killed millions of people during World War I and it has a significant potential to impact operational readiness in unvaccinated units. That's why the Department of Defense is so focused on getting everybody their flu shot every year."

In April 2009, an H1N1 swine flu began infecting people in Mexico and in June of that year was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. According to the CDC, 60.8 million people were infected in the United States alone, nearly 275,000 were hospitalized and 12,469 died from this flu strain. Worldwide, the World Health Organization and others estimate that it killed 284,500 people.

In 2005, CDC researchers and their colleagues reconstructed the flu virus that caused the 1918-1919 World War I pandemic, which killed as many as 50 million people worldwide. It turns out that contagion was also an H1N1 swine flu virus.

Costello said there are different kinds of flu vaccine -- one is a nose spray that protects against four strains of flu, one is a shot with a vaccine that protects against three different strains of flu, and the other is a shot that protects against four different strains.

Multiple flu strains in a vaccine

The spray is recommended for people between ages 2 and 49, she said, "and there are some other restrictions - we don't give it to pregnant women and we don't give it to people who have asthma or people with egg allergies."

The spray is bad for people with egg allergies because standard methods used to produce flu vaccines rely on eggs to serve as a growth medium for the virus before it is harvested.

This method, developed more than 50 years ago and still in use today, first involves identifying which virus strains will go into a vaccine.

Virus strains are chosen for the vaccine each year depending on which ones are in common circulation. The 2014-2015 four-strain, or quadrivalent, vaccines include two influenza A strains, H1N1 and H3N2, and two influenza B strains.

Next, the strains are grown in millions of raw, fertilized chicken eggs before the viruses are harvested, purified and killed, then used in vaccines, according to a report on pandemic flu by the National Academy of Sciences.

Pandemics tend to be a problem

"The difference between [influenza] A and B is that they're two different genetic families of influenza," Costello said.

"Influenza A viruses tend to mutate faster, so every year it's a little bit of a scramble to keep up with what the virus is doing and to counter it," she said. "But influenza B viruses mutate more slowly and are more stable over time."

Pandemics tend to be a problem when virus strains mutate into a new strain of virus and people are less immune to them, she added.

About the pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus, the pediatrician said, "We've all gotten H1N1 shots for a few years now and we have some good immunity to it. If we suddenly had an [easily transmitted, highly pathogenic avian] H5N1 virus that came out next year, none of us would have immunity and it would have the potential to become pandemic, meaning that a lot of people get infected with it."

Because influenza B viruses mutates more slowly, she added, "We're less likely to be surprised by it. Our immune systems should recognize it and so it doesn't necessarily have the potential to catch the human race by surprise and cause a pandemic."

Ever-changing surface proteins

Another thing that makes influenza A viruses different is that they are divided into subtypes based on two proteins on the virus surface - hemagglutinin, or HA, and neuraminidase, or NA.

The subtypes are named according to their HA and NA surface proteins, which is what the letters H and N refer to in subtype names like H1N1, or H3N2, another swine-origin virus first detected in people in July 2011, according to the CDC. And these ever-changing surface proteins are targets for vaccines.

"Flu is dangerous," Costello said, "and the more people who are vaccinated the better. We think of flu as sort of a mild illness and we say it all the time - I had stomach flu or I had the flu - but unless you've had a fever for a week and haven't been able to get out of bed, it probably wasn't actually the flu."

Army Surgeon General Praises Medical Team Members Training to Fight Ebola

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Oct. 27, 2014 - Military health professionals  training to be part of the medical support team that may be called upon to respond to new cases of Ebola in the U.S. can take pride that the nation turned to military medicine when faced with a potentially devastating virus, the Army's top doctor said.

Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, center, answers concerns from members of the Defense Department's 30-member medical support team designated for response to any potential U.S. outbreaks of Ebola during training at the San Antonio Military Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 24, 2014. DoD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

The Army surgeon general met with the Defense Department's 30-member team here last week to express her appreciation for their willingness to be part of the response to Ebola virus concerns.

Army Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho visited the San Antonio Military Medical Center, where the team is receiving specific and deliberate training, on Oct. 24, 2014. She took questions and lauded the group for their participation in DoD's unprecedented mission.

"I just wanted to be able to come by, to be perfectly honest, to look everyone in the eye and say 'thank you,'" she said. "Thank you very much for your agreement to do this...'"

Greatly Appreciative

Horoho said she, and fellow service surgeons general, Navy Vice Adm. Matthew L. Nathan and Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Travis, were "greatly appreciative" of their efforts.

"We are very, very proud of those who are serving in military medicine," Horoho said, "and I think you should be proud that the nation, when it was most concerned, turned to military medicine."

"I think that speaks volumes," she said. "I think it really shows not only do you have the reputation on the battlefield ... you have the reputation in the United States to be able to deliver the highest quality of care."

That is done, Horoho said, "by what you do each and every day so I really just wanted to come by and say thank you very much."

The general encouraged the team, as it continues to train to proficiency, to "really focus on the team steps and communication."

Get used to communicating the nuances, Horoho said, and learning each other's strengths and weaknesses, and really keep an eye on each other.

"[That's] how you're going to be successful, and how you're going to come back healthy," she said. "So thank you very much and Godspeed to you."

Leader Commitment

Following the day's training, two team members expressed their gratitude for senior military leaders' commitment to ensuring they are trained and well supported.

Army Capt. Justin Kimmel, an Army nurse based at Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii, said the team felt reassured by visits from Horoho and the earlier visit from Army Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., commander of U.S. Northern Command and NORAD.

"The biggest thing is knowing that the higher command is basically supportive of us and is willing to give us whatever resources we need to get the mission accomplished," he said.

"That they're thinking about not only how we're going to take care of the patients," Kimmel said, "but also if something were to happen for us, how we're going to be supportive and how our families are going to be supported."

Reassuring

It's reassuring, he said, so that the team is able to focus more on the mission than having to worry about how they and their families are going to be taken care of.

Kimmel said he felt "honored" that the nation has called upon military medicine in its time of need.

"I feel honored that America's putting that kind of trust in us," he said. "We're kind of like the 911 responders being called. It's one of those things that you pray it doesn't happen but you prepare -- 'plan for the worst, hope for the best.'"

"So hopefully we never get that call," Kimmel said, "but it's better to have that kind of back up; that responsiveness."

Air Force Capt. Stacey Morgan, a clinical nurse and Baltimore native based at SAMMC, San Antonio Military Medical Center, said she feels better as the team's proficiency continues to grow.

Overwhelming at First

"I'm feeling better every day," she said. "The first day was overwhelming putting on all of the gear. It's a little nerve wracking to think about the potential for infection and things like that."

"After another day of practice putting on all the gear and taking it all off," Morgan said, "I think everyone was feeling a lot better. I know I am for sure."

Morgan said she was pleased to have the opportunity to be a part of the specialized joint team of DoD medical professionals.

"I'm very honored to be on this team, and I think that it is a mission that America is really looking at," she said.

"I hope that we can kind of calm some of the nerves and some of the stigma that's going on," Morgan added. "So hopefully we can kind of smooth things over a little and make the nation feel a little safer."

Hagel Congratulates Ukraine's New Defense Minister

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2014 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke by phone today with Gen. Col. Stepan Poltorak to congratulate him on his recent appointment as Ukraine's defense minister, Assistant Pentagon Press Secretary Carl Woog said.

In a statement summarizing the call, Woog added that Hagel also congratulated the people of Ukraine for holding successful parliamentary elections yesterday.

"Secretary Hagel discussed with Minister Poltorak the types of security assistance that the United States is providing to address Ukrainian defense requirements," Woog said. "Minister Poltorak also discussed Ukraine's efforts to reform its military and thanked Secretary Hagel for U.S. support in this area."

Bilateral discussions

The U.S.-Ukraine Joint Commission recently held its inaugural meeting in Kyiv, building upon earlier meetings between military officials from U.S. European Command and Ukraine, the assistant press secretary noted, adding that both leaders agreed to continue to build on bilateral discussions in the near future.

"Finally, Secretary Hagel and Minister Poltorak discussed the need for Russian authorities and the separatists to immediately implement all of their obligations under the Sept. 5 ceasefire agreement," Woog said.

Obama congratulates Ukraine

Earlier today, President Barack Obama issued a statement on Ukraine's parliamentary elections.

"Despite a challenging security environment in certain regions, millions of Ukrainians turned out across the country to cast their ballots in an orderly and peaceful manner," he said. "I commend the government of Ukraine for the conduct of the campaign and election day vote, which international monitoring organizations assess to have been largely in line with international standards.

 

"At the same time," he continued, "it is clear that Russian authorities occupying Crimea and Russian-backed separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine prevented many Ukrainian citizens from exercising their democratic rights to participate in national elections and cast their votes."

Obama called on Russia to ensure that its proxies in eastern Ukraine allow voters in the parts of Donetsk and Luhansk subject to the Special Status Law to choose their representatives in legitimate local elections Dec. 7, in keeping with the agreement that Russia and separatist representatives signed in Minsk, Belarus, on Sept. 5.

"The United States will not recognize any election held in separatist-held areas that does not comport with Ukrainian law and is not held with the express consent and under the authority of the Ukrainian government," the president said.

SIGNAL LIGHTS

10/27/2014 03:46 PM CDT

Air Force Staff Sgt. Chris Olmsted directs a C-17 Globemaster III during Operation United Assistance on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Oct. 24, 2014. Operation United Assistance is a U.S. military operation providing command and control, logistics, training and engineering support to the U.S. government's efforts to contain the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa.

FORMATION FLYING

10/27/2014 03:46 PM CDT

U.S. Marine Corps and British helicopters fly in formation after departing Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2014. The Marine Corps ended operations in Helmand province and transferred the base to the Afghan national army.

ORANGE OCTOBER

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush travels through the Gulf of Aden, Oct. 23, 2014. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is returning to Naval Station Norfolk, Va., after supporting maritime security operations and strike operations in Iraq and Syria.

ROLLING TANKS

10/27/2014 03:50 PM CDT

U.S. soldiers maneuver tanks on Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, Oct. 26, 2014. The soldiers are assigned to 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment.

ARTILLERY TRAINING

10/27/2014 03:51 PM CDT

U.S. soldiers conduct rearm, resupply and refuel operations on Hohenfels Training Area, Germany Oct. 26, 2014. The soldiers are assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment.

President to Present Medal of Honor for Civil War Heroism

DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2014 - During a Nov. 6 ceremony at the White House, President Barack Obama will present the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army 1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for the soldier's conspicuous gallantry during the Civil War. The Union Army lieutenant was commanding officer of Battery A, 4th United States Artillery, Artillery Brigade, 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac, during combat operations near Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1863. During Longstreet's Assault, also known as Pickett's Charge, Cushing's battery took a severe pounding by Confederate artillery. As the Confederate forces advanced, he manned the only remaining, and serviceable, field piece in his battery. During the advance, Cushing was wounded in the abdomen and the right shoulder. Refusing to evacuate to the rear despite his severe wounds, he directed the operation of his lone field piece, continuing to fire. With the Confederate forces within 100 yards of his position, Cushing was shot and killed. His actions made it possible for the Union Army to successfully repel the assault. Cushing's cousins, Frederic Stevens Sater and Frederic Cushing Stevens III, will be on hand for the ceremony with their families.

CHUCK HAGEL'S CALL WITH UKRAINE'S MINISTER OF DEFENSE

READOUT OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE CHUCK HAGEL'S CALL WITH UKRAINE'S MINISTER OF DEFENSE GENERAL COLONEL STEPAN POLTORAK

Assistant Press Secretary Carl Woog provided the following readout:

 

"Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel spoke today by phone with Ukraine's Minister of Defense General Colonel Stepan Poltorak, to congratulate him on his recent appointment as minister of defense. Secretary Hagel also congratulated the people of Ukraine for holding successful parliamentary elections yesterday.
 

"Secretary Hagel discussed with Minister Poltorak the types of security assistance that the United States is providing to address Ukrainian defense requirements.
 

"Minister Poltorak also discussed Ukraine's efforts to reform its military and thanked Secretary Hagel for U.S. support in this area. The U.S.-Ukraine Joint Commission recently held its inaugural meeting in Kyiv, building upon earlier meetings between military officials from U.S. European Command and Ukraine. Both leaders agreed to continue to build on bilateral discussions in the near future.
 

"Finally, Secretary Hagel and Minister Poltorak discussed the need for Russian authorities and the separatists to immediately implement all of their obligations under the Sept. 5 ceasefire agreement."

Operation Atlantic Resolve

10/27/2014 03:26 PM CDT

The United States is demonstrating its continued commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure NATO allies and partners of America's dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region, in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine.

Face of Defense: Air Force Officer Earns Army Ranger Tab

By Air Force Airman 1st Class Ryan Callaghan
23rd Wing

FORT BENNING, Ga., Oct. 27, 2014 - On average, more than 4,000 soldiers go through the U.S. Army Ranger School here each year. Just more than 300 Air Force airmen have completed the course since its inception in 1950.

Air Force 1st Lt. Casey Garner, left, before graduation from U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Ga., Oct. 17, 2014. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ryan Callaghan  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Of these 300 Ranger-qualified airmen, 1st Lt. Casey Garner is the first of his kind.

Garner, an air liaison officer with the 7th Air Support Operations Squadron at Fort Bliss, Texas, became the first ALO to graduate from Ranger School, completing the rigorous 61-day course.

Wearing the Ranger tab on his shoulder will give Garner an unprecedented advantage among ALOs while working to supply air support to the Army units he will be attached to, he said.

Instant credibility

"As an ALO, you work around a lot of Army officers -- infantry, particularly," Garner said. "If they see that Ranger tab on your shoulder, you have instant credibility. That allows me to take better care of my [joint terminal attack controllers], because it incorporates me into the planning more. It just [earns] me that respect amongst the Army [when] they see that I'm willing to go and put myself through that with my Army brothers."

Garner said he knew it would be a challenge, given the course's 40 to 50 percent completion rate, but his inclination for leadership was a driving force that helped him through the adversities and challenges.

"I had heard about the challenges of the school," Garner said. "I knew it would mentally and physically test me to [my] ultimate limit. I wanted to prove to myself, and prove to the men that I was going to lead, that I could acquire that leadership -- [that] I could lead them through the most trying times."

Garner said being the lone airman in a sea of soldiers was an obstacle at first.

"The most challenging part was learning the operation order process for how you brief your squadron on the upcoming mission," he said. "It's a very specific [process]. Infantry officers are taught this at a very early stage, and as an Air Force officer, I was thrust into that role. I had to learn on the run.

"My squadron really helped me out with the skill sets that I didn't know at that time," Garner continued. "It was a really neat experience bringing that other-branch mentality into it. I was known as 'Air Force,' but I made some really good, lifelong friends."

Emphasis on developing leadership abilities under stress

The course averages 19 hours of training per day, seven days a week. It creates students proficient in tactics and techniques for operations in wooded, mountainous, jungle and swamp environments. In addition to the strenuous training, said Army Lt. Col. Thomas Sager, the 4th Ranger Training Battalion commander, the emphasis is developing leadership abilities under conditions of mental and emotional stress.

"These men have all learned to be to be technically and tactically sufficient at patrolling, small unit and infantry tactics," Sager said. "Most importantly, they learned about themselves. They learned about their strengths and weaknesses when they were tired, wet, cold and hungry. They will leave here feeling confident in their ability to lead soldiers in the most difficult and arduous conditions."

The endeavor was worth it, Garner said.

"It feels wonderful," he added. "It feels great to finally be done and to have made it through on the first go. It changes your life once you get the tab. You're a different man, a different person. It's worth all the pain, everything you put your body through is worth it."

Breaking the 7-Figure Ceiling

4 Secrets for Breaking the 7-Figure Ceiling

Million-Dollar Business Coach Shares Tips for Taking It

 to the Next Level on YOUR Terms

Can both recent reports on the economic muscle of black women in the United States be correct?

On the one hand, businesses owned by women of color – 42 percent of them African American – have skyrocketed since 1997, far surpassing even the impressive growth rate of businesses owned by all women. And they’ve grown far faster in terms of revenues and employees than the average for all women.

On the other hand, compared to other U.S. women, black women are less likely to be employed or insured, to hold college degrees or be represented in elected office – all indicators of prosperity.

“It appears to be a paradox, unless you understand black women,” says Dr. Venus Opal Reese, CEO of Defy Impossible, Inc. (www.DefyImpossible.com), a coaching business that helps black women -- and men and women of all ethnicities -- break the seven-figure ceiling.

“The survival strategies our ancestors learned from slavery are passed down to us and become our ‘normal.’ We’re taught that to feel good about ourselves, we have to work hard, sacrifice for others, prove ourselves, overcome; those are survival skills for which we’re socially rewarded. But when we allow society to dictate our inherent value, our self-worth, we will always come up short.”

That’s why so many smart, successful black women stay in jobs they hate – jobs that pay well but will never allow them to achieve their financial potential. That’s why they sacrifice for their children, their church, their community, but not for themselves. It’s why they can accomplish a great deal but still feel emotionally and financially impoverished. 
“Our self-worth and our mindset around money are our biggest barriers to breaking the million-dollar mark,” Dr. Venus says.

What do black womenmillionaires do differently? Dr. Venus shares some of their secrets, which are lessons for men and women of every ethnicity:

•  Make money from what you “know” instead of from what you “do.”
As employees, we rent out our behaviors for a certain number of hours each day. We’re paid to use our skills and accomplish tasks that benefit our employer. We all know how to make survival money from what we do.

Give up the working-class mentality of making money from what you “do” and start making money from what you “know.” Everyone has a skill, but not everyone has your story and your unique perspective on life – what you’ve learned from walking through fire. You have a million-dollar message that can be monetized to launch your entrepreneurial dream or take the dream you’ve launched to impossible new heights. First, you must identify it.

•  DON’T leave your day job until you have replaced your income.
Keep the job that’s paying the bills while you work on the side to market your message and build your revenue stream.

If you’re panicking about keeping the lights on, you’re not going to have the enthusiasm and creativity necessary to give your entrepreneurial dream your full, amazing power. Plus, having the lights on makes it a lot easier to get things done!”

Once you’re making enough money to replace that salary or hourly wage, give up the day job!

•  Don’t position yourself as a low-cost leader. 
Imagine being a Kia and then trying to be a Bentley. The market won’t believe you. If you want to go high-end, you have to stop charging low. It takes clarity, trust and confidence to up your rates, but it also forces you to get crystal clear on why people should pay top dollar to work with you. If you start low with the intention of going high, you will attract all the people looking for a deal. These people will never want to pay more. So don’t build your business on low-end items.

•  Trade on value instead of volume.
Another pitfall of charging low ticket is that it is dependent upon a high volume of people buying in order for you to earn a living. When you move into the world of high-end leadership, you don’t make your money from volume. You make your money from the value you bring your clients. The more value you provide, the more you can charge. Value can be tangible, emotional, prestige, exclusivity, or customization. When you build your business around value instead of volume, you naturally charge more -- and get more -- high-end clients.

About Dr. Venus Opal Reese

Dr. Venus Opal Reese, CEO of Defy Impossible, Inc. (www.DefyImpossible.com), is an acclaimed international speaker; CEO Mindset, Messaging and Marketing Mentor; and entrepreneur coach. She holds two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from Stanford University, and worked as a university professor before investing in herself by testing her entrepreneurial skills. Her business, Defy Impossible, grossed $1.2 million less than three years after launching.

NASA’S Chandra Observatory Identifies Impact of Cosmic Chaos on Star Birth

Chandra observations of the Perseus and Virgo galaxy clusters suggest turbulence may be preventing hot gas there from cooling, addressing a long-standing question of galaxy clusters do not form large numbers of stars.

Image Credit: 

NASA/CXC/Stanford/I. Zhuravleva et al

The same phenomenon that causes a bumpy airplane ride, turbulence, may be the solution to a long-standing mystery about stars’ birth, or the absence of it, according to a new study using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Galaxy clusters are the largest objects in the universe, held together by gravity.  These behemoths contain hundreds or thousands of individual galaxies that are immersed in gas with temperatures of millions of degrees.

This hot gas, which is the heftiest component of the galaxy clusters aside from unseen dark matter, glows brightly in X-ray light detected by Chandra. Over time, the gas in the centers of these clusters should cool enough that stars form at prodigious rates. However, this is not what astronomers have observed in many galaxy clusters.

“We knew that somehow the gas in clusters is being heated to prevent it cooling and forming stars. The question was exactly how,” said Irina Zhuravleva of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, who led the study that appears in the latest online issue of the journal Nature. “We think we may have found evidence that the heat is channeled from turbulent motions, which we identify from signatures recorded in X-ray images.”

Prior studies show supermassive black holes, centered in large galaxies in the middle of galaxy clusters, pump vast quantities of energy around them in powerful jets of energetic particles that create cavities in the hot gas. Chandra, and other X-ray telescopes, have detected these giant cavities before.

The latest research by Zhuravleva and her colleagues provides new insight into how energy can be transferred from these cavities to the surrounding gas. The interaction of the cavities with the gas may be generating turbulence, or chaotic motion, which then disperses to keep the gas hot for billions of years.

“Any gas motions from the turbulence will eventually decay, releasing their energy to the gas,” said co-author Eugene Churazov of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Munich, Germany. “But the gas won’t cool if turbulence is strong enough and generated often enough.”

The evidence for turbulence comes from Chandra data on two enormous galaxy clusters named Perseus and Virgo. By analyzing extended observation data of each cluster, the team was able to measure fluctuations in the density of the gas. This information allowed them to estimate the amount of turbulence in the gas.

“Our work gives us an estimate of how much turbulence is generated in these clusters,” said Alexander Schekochihin of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. “From what we’ve determined so far, there’s enough turbulence to balance the cooling of the gas.

These results support the “feedback” model involving supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxy clusters. Gas cools and falls toward the black hole at an accelerating rate, causing the black hole to increase the output of its jets, which produce cavities and drive the turbulence in the gas. This turbulence eventually dissipates and heats the gas.

While a merger between two galaxy clusters may also produce turbulence, the researchers think that outbursts from supermassive black holes are the main source of this cosmic commotion in the dense centers of many clusters.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, controls Chandra's science and flight operations.

Marines, Brits Turn Over Helmand Bases to Afghan Forces

By Marine Corps 1st Lt. Skye Martin Regional Command Southwest HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2014 - U.S. Marines and service members from the United Kingdom left Regional Command Southwest in Afghanistan's Helmand province today, turning their facilities over to the Afghan security forces. Marines and sailors with Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan load onto a KC-130 aircraft at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Oct. 27, 2014. The Marine Corps ended its mission in Helmand province the day prior. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. John Jackson  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The lift-off followed a ceremony held at the former command post of Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan at Camp Leatherneck, signifying the transfer of Camps Bastion and Leatherneck to the control of the Afghan National Army's 215th Corps. Regional Command Southwest is the first of the International Security Assistance Force commands to transfer authority to the Afghan national security forces as ISAF moves toward the Resolute Support mission that begins in 2015. During the past year, Bosnia, Estonia, Denmark, Georgia, Jordan and Tonga ended their operations in Regional Command Southwest. 'A very, very tough area' Army Gen. John F. Campbell, ISAF commander, acknowledged that Helmand has been a "very, very tough area," and he expressed confidence in the Afghan forces. "We feel very confident with the Afghan security forces as they continue to grow in their capacity and they continue to work better between the police and the army," he said. Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, commander of ISAF Joint Command, echoed that confidence. "We lift off confident in the Afghans' ability to secure the region," he said. "The mission has been complex, difficult and dangerous. Everyone has made tremendous sacrifices, but those sacrifices have not been in vain." Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Daniel D. Yoo, commander of Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan, said today's transfer is a sign of progress. "It's not about the coalition," he said. "It is really about the Afghans and what they have achieved over the last 13 years. What they have done here is truly significant." The Marines, sailors and British service members flew to Kandahar Airfield after the ceremony and will return home in the coming weeks.