
Thursday, April 14, 2011
DTN News - FESTIVE NEWS: Happy Vaiskhi

Wednesday, April 13, 2011
DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated April 13, 2011
CONTRACTS
NAVY
Northrop Grumman Corp., Integrated Systems, Bethpage, N.Y., is being awarded a $94,629,000 modification to definitize a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-10-C-0044) to a fixed-price. In addition, this modification provides for the manufacture and delivery of four low rate initial production Lot 4 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. Work will be performed in Syracuse, N.Y. (46.8 percent); Bethpage, N.Y. (13.5 percent); El Segundo, Calif.(2.6 percent); Potez, France (2.4 percent); Edgewood, N.Y. (1.9 percent); Menlo Park, Calif. (1.6 percent); Woodland Hills, Calif. (1.4 percent); Owego, N.Y. (1.2 percent); St. Augustine, Fla. (1.2 percent); Marlborough, Mass. (1.1 percent); Brooklyn Heights, Ohio (1 percent); Greenlawn, N.Y. (.6 percent); and various locations within the United States (24.7 percent). Work is expected to be completed by December 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-10-C-0044).
ARMY
Chugach Federal Solutions, Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded on March 31 a $41,974,155 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The award will provide for the installation support services for Redstone Arsenal, Ala. Work will be performed in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W9124P-11-C-0010).
AgustaWestland, Inc., Reston, Va., was awarded on April 1 a $37,656,065 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of AW139 helicopters, spare engine, spare parts, tools and ground support equipment, search and rescue equipment, crewmember personal equipment, medical equipment kits, transportation and pilot and maintenance training. Work will be performed in Reston, Va., and Egypt, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, AMCOM Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-11-C-0091).
Science and Technology Corp., Hampton, Va., was awarded on April 11 a $29,000,000 time-and-materials contract. The award will provide for the data collection services for U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center. Work will be performed in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2011. The bid was solicited through the Internet with four bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity (W91CRB-05-D-0007).
Navistar Defense, LLC, Warrenville, Ill., was awarded on April 1 an $18,493,192 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of 42 general transport trucks, 34 lubricant trucks, and 25 water tanker trucks. Work will be performed in West Point, Miss., with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2011. The bid was solicited through the Internet with one bid received. The U.S. Army TACOM LCMC, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-D-G097).
CACI-WGI, Chantilly, Va., was awarded on April 11 a $17,035,534 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The award will provide for the modification to exercise the surge option for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization Special Operations Forces Support Team supplemental. Work will be performed in Arlington, Va.; Afghanistan; Iraq; and Pakistan, with an estimated completion date of July 14, 2013. The bid was solicited through the Internet with two bids received. The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, Contracting Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity (W91CRB-08-D-0027).
Science and Engineering Services, Inc., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded on April 1 a $13,795,306 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the modification for the aircraft overhaul of five MI-17 aircraft variant models. Work will be performed in St. Petersburg, Russia, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-09-D-0130).
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., LLC, Oak Brook, Ill., was awarded on April 1 a $9,850,460 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the dredging in support of the Panama City Beach Renourishment Project. Work will be performed in Panama City Beach, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 1, 2011. Four bids were solicited with three bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W912EP-11-D-0004).
BAE Systems Land & Armaments, L.P., Ground Systems Division, York, Penn., was awarded on April 11 an $8,005,627 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the settlement of all costs associated with engineering changes impacting the six program of record engineer variant vehicles detailed in a previous version of this contract. Work will be performed in York, Penn., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 18, 2015. The bid was solicited through the Internet with four bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-D-0041).
Radiance Technologies, Inc., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded on April 1 a $7,233,348 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The award will provide for the procurement of the Weapon Watch - Gunfire Detection System for AH-64D Apache Ground Fire Acquisition Systems. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2013. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, Fort Eustis, Va., is the contracting activity (W911W6-10-D-0013).
L-3, Garland, Texas, was awarded on April 1 a $6,974,660 firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. The award will provide for the procurement of 2,588 Enhanced Third Generation Image Intensification Ground Night Vision Imaging Systems. Work will be performed in Garland, Texas, with an estimated completion date of May 22, 2014. Two bids were solicited with two bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity (W91CRB-11-D-0083).
U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
iGov Technologies, McLean, Va., received a $20,000,000 ceiling increase for the U.S. Special Operations Command tactical local area network contract providing system acquisition, design, integration, production, and delivery in support of special operations forces mission requirements. The new contract maximum is $470,000,000. The period of performance was increased by six months with three one-month option periods to allow the government time to complete the recompetition action. U.S. Special Operations Command is the contracting activity (H92222-08-D-0017).
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Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Asian Defense News: Singapore News ~ Is The PAP Finding It Harder To Recruit?

This contrasts with the past when it enjoyed widespread popularity with little problem in persuading high achievers from private and public organisations to rally to its banner.
The relative failure comes at a time when opposition parties have made significant gains in attracting quality candidates.
It is posing a setback — at least temporarily — to the PAP's plan to use the election, which is expected next month, to produce the next Prime Minister and Cabinet leaders.
Of the 18 newly-recruited PAP candidates announced, only five hailed from the private sector — an assistant professor, two lawyers and two bankers, one of whom is an executive in the government-controlled DBS Bank.
The remaining 13 — or 72 percent — were top people who had served and resigned from public office to contest under the PAP banner.
They were from the civil service, the army, the statutory boards or PAP-controlled unions. The PAP-controlled National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) contributed five.
Two army generals gave up their stars to take up politics and are tipped to be core members of the fourth generation Cabinet.
The political leaders have described it as a good, diverse team but it is obvious that the inability to attract private talent weighs heavily on officials' minds.
The paucity was confirmed by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong who admitted that the PAP had difficulty attracting private-sector high flyers to join efforts to form the PAP leadership team.
Extensive efforts, which included 200 "tea sessions" (interviews) to recruit election candidates from the private sector "have not been that successful," he admitted.
For the PAP, which has not lost a single election in the last 50 years, it is a dismal show especially in the face of a resurging opposition which seems to have less difficulty in this area.
Few analysts are predicting this will be a permanent PAP dilemma or that it will cause the PAP to lose the election, but it may have adverse consequences for the party in future.
Bringing together a diverse team comprising the best candidates is fast becoming an impossible task.
The trouble is that some of the targeted high-flyers either do not support the PAP's current strategy for Singapore or some of its political, economic and social policies.
The potential slate would include successful managers, businessmen, academicians and professionals, people that recruiters have paid special interest to.
How will it affect the future? Firstly, it could erode some of the PAP's support among voters which is already in decline over the mass intake of foreigners.
And, secondly, the reduced number of MPs from the private sector could lower the PAP's performance in Parliament.
"To have too many people with civil service or army background may not be a good idea. Parliament may lose touch with the people," one surfer said.
"What about diversity? Where are the professional social workers, the musicians and poets?" she asked.
The issue, which has become a hot topic, has prompted a National University of Singapore (NUS) undergrad to raise it with PM Lee Hsien Loong during a campus dialogue last week.
How is it, he wanted to know, that despite the high salaries, the PAP had not attracted private talents — but the opposition had.
Lee replied: "I'm not sure whether we're looking for exactly the same people. We're looking for a certain type of person ... (one with) commitment, integrity and purpose."
The preferred people, he added, were already set in their careers and not keen to change tracks or face the high risk of a political life.
Not everyone agrees with his explanation. One commentator said: "The real reason is that many of them refused to join because they disagreed with PAP policies. "They don't want to degrade themselves by having to toe the party line."
The fast expanding social media which alternates between being informative to punishing people it doesn't like, also adds to the reluctance of people to seek election for public office. Many successful people are not prepared to have their private lives or their family members be subjected to critical scrutiny or even insults.
What is putting paid to this is the opposition's apparent success in attracting quality candidates to contest, despite all the arguments about privacy and risks.
By entering politics, an opposition candidate is generally seen as facing a higher risk of defeat or failure and financial losses than the one who stands for the PAP, with its superior resources.
"Yet they are pushing ahead with their principles, unfazed," said an admiring female undergrad — a little too innocently to describe the tough world of politics. Not every politician who fights for the weaker team — or who joins the winning one — does so for a selfless cause.
The reward in Singapore that comes with political success can be very large — for all aspirants.
The high Cabinet salaries, which exceed those of even the richest nations in the world, have attracted top talent to help build Singapore's collective wealth.
But as the public backlash rises, it may be contributing to dissuading successful high flyers from joining the government for fear of becoming a target of criticism and even insults.
In other words, this high pay system may even deter a few potential leaders from joining the political arena.
Related Article:
A former Reuters correspondent and newspaper editor, the writer is now a freelance columnist writing on general trends in Singapore. This post first appeared on his blog, www.littlespeck.com, on 9 April 2011.
*Source: By Elena Torrijos | SingaporeScene
DTN News - PAKISTAN NEWS: Pakistan Tells U.S. It Must Sharply Cut C.I.A. Activities

Pakistani and American officials said in interviews that the demand that the United States scale back its presence was the immediate fallout from the arrest in Pakistan of Raymond A. Davis, a C.I.A. security officer who killed two men in January during what he said was an attempt to rob him.
In all, about 335 American personnel — C.I.A. officers and contractors and Special Operations forces — were being asked to leave the country, said a Pakistani official closely involved in the decision.
It was not clear how many C.I.A. personnel that would leave behind; the total number in Pakistan has not been disclosed. But the cuts demanded by the Pakistanis amounted to 25 to 40 percent of United States Special Operations forces in the country, the officials said. The number also included the removal of all the American contractors used by the C.I.A. in Pakistan.
The demands appeared severe enough to badly hamper American efforts — either through drone strikes or Pakistani military training — to combat militants who use Pakistan as a base to fight American forces in Afghanistan and plot terrorist attacks abroad.
The reductions were personally demanded by the chief of the Pakistani Army, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, said Pakistani and American officials, who requested anonymity while discussing the delicate issue.
The scale of the Pakistani demands emerged as Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the head of Pakistan’s chief spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, or the ISI, arrived in Washington on Monday for nearly four hours of meetings with the C.I.A. director, Leon E. Panetta, and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Two senior American officials said afterward that General Pasha did not make any specific requests for reductions of C.I.A. officers, contractors or American military personnel in Pakistan at the meetings.
“There were no ultimatums, no demands to withdraw tens or hundreds of Americans from Pakistan,” said one of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the tensions between the two spy services.
A C.I.A. spokesman, George Little, called the meetings “productive” and said the relationship between the two services “remains on solid footing.”
The meetings were part of an effort to repair the already tentative and distrustful relations between the spy agencies. Those ties plunged to a new low as a result of the Davis episode, which has further exposed the divergence in Pakistani and American interests as the endgame in Afghanistan draws closer.
The Pakistani Army firmly believes that Washington’s real aim in Pakistan is to strip the nation of its prized nuclear arsenal, which is now on a path to becoming the world’s fifth largest, said the Pakistani official closely involved in the decision on reducing the American presence.
On the American side, frustration has built over the Pakistani Army’s seeming inability to defeat a host of militant groups, including theTaliban and Al Qaeda, which have thrived in Pakistan’s tribal areas despite more than $1 billion in American assistance a year to the Pakistani military.
In a rare public rebuke, a White House report to Congress last week described the Pakistani efforts against the militants as disappointing.
At the time of his arrest, Mr. Davis was involved in a covert C.I.A. effort to penetrate one militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has ties to Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment, has made deepening inroads in Afghanistan, and is perceived as a global threat.
The C.I.A. had demanded that Mr. Davis be freed immediately, on the grounds that he had diplomatic immunity. Instead, he was held for 47 days of detention and, the officials said, questioned for 14 days by ISI agents during his imprisonment in Lahore, infuriating American officials. He was finally freed after his victims’ families agreed to take some $2.3 million in compensation.
Another price, however, apparently is the list of reductions in American personnel demanded by General Kayani, according to the Pakistani and American officials. American officials said last year that the Pakistanis had allowed a maximum of 120 Special Operations troops in the country, most of them involved in training the paramilitary Frontier Corps in northwest Pakistan. The Americans had reached that quota, the Pakistani official said.
In addition to the withdrawal of all C.I.A. contractors, Pakistan is demanding the removal of C.I.A. operatives involved in “unilateral” assignments like Mr. Davis’s that the Pakistani intelligence agency did not know about, the Pakistani official said.
An American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said without elaborating that the Pakistanis had asked “for more visibility into some things” — presumably the nature of C.I.A. covert operations in the country — “and that request is being talked about.”
General Kayani has also told the Obama administration that its expanded drone campaign has gotten out of control, a Pakistani official said. Given the reluctance or inability of the Pakistani military to root out Qaeda and Taliban militants from the tribal areas, American officials have turned more and more to drone strikes, drastically increasing the number of attacks last year.
The drone campaign, which is immensely unpopular among the Pakistani public, had become the sole preserve of the United States, the Pakistani official said, since the Americans were no longer sharing intelligence on how they were choosing targets. The Americans have also extended the strikes to new parts of the tribal region, like the Khyber area near the city of Peshawar.
“Kayani would like the drones stopped,” said another Pakistani official who met with the military chief recently. “He believes they are used too frequently as a weapon of choice, rather than as a strategic weapon.” Short of that, General Kayani was demanding that the campaign return to its original, more limited, scope and remain focused narrowly on North Waziristan, the prime militant stronghold.
A drone attack last month, one day after Mr. Davis was released, hit Taliban fighters in North Waziristan, but also killed tribal leadersallied with the Pakistani military, infuriating General Kayani, who issued an unusually strong statement of condemnation afterward.
American officials defended the drone attack, saying it had achieved its goal of killing militants. But there have been no drone attacks since then.
General Kayani’s request to reduce the number of Special Operations troops by up to 40 percent would result in the closing of the training program begun last year at Warsak, close to Peshawar, an American official said.
Informed by American officials that the Special Operations training would end even with the partial reduction of 40 percent, General Kayani remained unmoved, the American official said.
American officials believed the training program was essential to improve the capacity of the nearly 150,000 Pakistani soldiers deployed to fight the Taliban in the tribal region.
The C.I.A. quietly withdrew all contractors after Mr. Davis’s arrest, the Pakistani official said.
Another category of American intelligence agents, declared operatives whose purpose was not clear, were also being asked to leave, the Pakistani official said.
In a sign of the severity of the breach between the C.I.A. and the ISI, the official said: “We’re telling the Americans: ‘You have to trust the ISI or you don’t. There is nothing in between.’ ”