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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
ARTICLE 3
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Pentagon may fund Gallo's Alcoholism Research
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Ed.: No money for fuel and spare parts but $ 8.5 million to research the
effect of booze on brains and genes. Any politician ought to be voted out for
such kind of waste while many Americans are desperately trying to make ends
meet. Article from the 7 August Sacramento Bee.
***********************************************************
By Sacramento Bee Staff
WASHINGTON -- A Pentagon budget best known for bombs and bullets now will be
financing alcoholism research at a center started by the late Modesto
winemaker Ernest Gallo.
The $8.5 million in new Defense Department funding marks another coup for
scientists at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, who are probing
the chemically complex relationship among booze, brain and genes. But the
funding also irritates some lawmakers who consider it simply another serving
of federal pork.
"What in the world does a Gallo research center have to do with anything that
is regarded as defense?" questioned Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a former
presidential candidate.
In fact, endowed with public funds and overseen by a high-powered scientific
advisory board that includes two Nobel Prize winners, the Gallo Clinic and
Research Center is among the most prominent of its kind. Its focus on
genetics instead of social behavior is controversial in some circles but
considered cutting edge in others.
"I think that addiction in general and alcoholism specifically are tremendous
problems in our society," Dr. Ulrike Heberlein, a University of California,
San Francisco, researcher formerly associated with the Gallo clinic, said in
an e-mail interview Friday. "I strongly believe that research is crucial to
understanding the problem and for eventual treatment."
Where those research funds come from provokes some debate.
McCain cited the Gallo research funds repeatedly throughout his most recent
attack on the $287.8 billion Defense Department spending bill. Calling the
fiscal 2001 bill one of the "two or three most outrageous pork-barrel
spending bills that I have observed in my years here," McCain charged the
extra funding inserted at the last minute deprived more worthy military
projects.
"You risk and deserve the condemnation and criticism of average citizens when
you use their taxpayer dollars in such a fashion," McCain said during final
debate on the bill July 27. "(It's) a bill that says 'defense appropriations
bill,' and we give money to some Gallo outfit. It may be a good and worthy
cause, but so much of this has nothing to do with national defense."
Most lawmakers, though, savor the Defense Department measure as it is. The
Senate approved it 91-9, and President Clinton is expected to sign it soon.
Each of the provisions criticized by McCain also has its own congressional
defender. The Gallo research center, for instance, is backed by California
Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both Democrats.
Last year, too, Feinstein and Boxer helped secure $7 million in Pentagon
funds for the center. This year, they sought $17.3 million.
Founded in 1980 with the help of a $6.5 million contribution from Ernest
Gallo, the Gallo Clinic and Research Center is associated with UC San
Francisco and has a staff of 150. The center, which moved into a
77,000-square-foot facility in Emeryville last year, describes itself as the
nation's only alcoholism-research institute that's associated with a
university's neurology department.
Gallo funds continue to help; in 1997 and 1998, the Ernest Gallo Foundation
contributed $400,000 to UC San Francisco. Federal research funds from the
National Institutes of Health also support Gallo clinic work, which can be
far ranging.
One scientist, for instance, is looking at the biological common ground of
American Indian alcoholics. Another is using mice to study genetic links to
alcoholism, while others use fruit flies for the same purpose. Flies, it
seems, get drunk much as humans do -- though instead of drinking their
alcohol, they inhale it as ethanol vapor.
"Flies become hyperactive and agitated at first, gradually become more
uncoordinated, sedated and eventually pass out," Heberlein, who worked with
flies in her former post at the Gallo clinic, told a House funding panel last
year. "They develop tolerance when given alcohol chronically, and get the
'shakes' when alcohol is withdrawn."
Researchers can thus see how the drunken behavior changes when different
genetic strains of the fruit fly belly up to the bar. For instance, the
researchers have isolated some mutant fly strains that become drunk more
easily, and others that stay steadfastly sober. In time, researchers will
seek related genetic links in humans.
Despite McCain's unhappiness, moreover, such health-related research is
becoming an increasing part of the Pentagon's budget. Next year's Pentagon
budget is also providing $160 million for breast cancer research, more than
any other federal agency except the National Cancer Institute.
Prostate cancer research -- pushed by senators who are prostate cancer
survivors -- has likewise been folded into the Pentagon health research
budget. Ovarian cancer and other diseases are also being targeted, so that,
from only $25 million in 1992, the Pentagon's Congressionally Directed
Medical Research Program has since grown to $1.5 billion a year.
California already is putting its own money into the Gallo clinic. Then-Gov.
Pete Wilson, a longtime ally of the Gallo family, pledged in 1998 that the
research center would receive $143 million in state funds over five years.
===========================================================
ARTICLE 4
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Rescue Readiness: U.S. Navy about to Retire One of Two Top Rescue Subs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ed.: In light of the recent Russian submarine rescue debacle, the US is
reducing its own rescue capabilities. I hope the Pentagon will ensure that we
can get to our submariners if something happens to their boat. Excerpt from
the NY Times, August 18, 2000.
***********************************************************
By Christopher Drew
Although the tragedy with Russia's Kursk submarine has placed an urgent
spotlight on the need for rescue craft, the United States Navy is planning to
retire one of its two best undersea rescue vehicles at the end of August in a
cost-cutting move that could make it harder to save stricken American
submariners...
Rear Adm. Craig R. Quigley, a Pentagon spokesman, confirmed that one of the
mini submarines, the Avalon, is to be retired at the end of this month. The
decision was made long before the Kursk sank last weekend, and Navy officials
said they had no plans to reconsider.
The Navy plans to build a new generation of rescue vehicles in the next five
years. The officials said they could get help from other Western nations if a
crisis taxed their other rescue capabilities.
But critics said there could be pressure from Congress to keep the Avalon in
use until the new equipment is ready. After the Kursk disaster, Norman
Polmar, an independent Navy analyst, said, "I think the decision demands a
re-evaluation."
The Avalon and its sister craft, the Mystic, have been based in San Diego for
nearly 30 years but have never been needed for a rescue operation. The United
States has lost only two nuclear-powered submarines, the Thresher and the
Scorpion. Both sank in the 1960's in such deep waters that there was no
chance of saving anyone.
As a result, even many submariners take little comfort in the idea that the
vehicles were available. The Avalon and the Mystic theoretically can rescue
24 men at a time at depths of up to 2,000 feet, while in most areas of the
oceans, a stricken submarine would plunge tens of thousands of feet,
disintegrating along the way.
Both craft operate under their own battery power and can maneuver themselves
onto the hatches of sunken submarines to rescue the crew.
Under the Pentagon's plan, the Mystic will remain in use until 2005, when the
next rescue devices are scheduled to be completed.
But the rescue craft require periodic overhauls, and critics worry about what
might happen if a submarine were to sink when the Mystic is not available.
The Navy's backup would be two old diving bells similar to some tested by the
Russians this week, though American officials say they could also seek help
from Britain and other countries.
Some Navy veterans also fear that the next generation of rescue equipment may
be less capable in some ways. No one questions that the Avalon and the Mystic
are aging and need to be replaced...
=============================================================
ARTICLE 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not Ready, SIR!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ed.: The Pentagon proclaims we're "readier than ever!"...our grunts in the
field tell us the TRUTH. A frontline report from a deployable light infantry
division...another TF Smith in the making?
***********************************************************
By a concerned 25Th Infantry Division Grunt
Our unit was kicked out of the barracks about 2 weeks ago and all things
inside have been declared contaminated with asbestos inside the barracks.
This includes all weapons and other MTOE equipment. The leaders were forced
to find places for all soldiers to live, but we could not get them hotel
rooms while space was made available in the barracks. They were forced to
stay in other soldiers' rooms and their buddies' houses without any
compensation. Time and again we were told that there wasn't enough money to
do anything else. Yet, things went on like there was no change for the "PPs"
like helicopter rides and things as such.
The biggest thing that happen is that the Brigade assumed Division Ready
Force (DRF-1) with two battalions worth of equipment to include weapons
unavailable. There is no plan to actually tell the commanding general that we
are unprepared to assume the mission or anything like that. Life goes on here
as normal with all people just ignoring the fact that we are not prepared to
do anything.
We are going to the National Training Center (NTC) in Sept and will not live
fire because the previous battalion commander and brigade commander did not
plan for platoons to meet all readiness requirements--which includes
certification for NTC.
If we don't complete ranges during load out of the unit, we will become
non-deployable until qualifications are re-established on all weapons. The
light at the end of the tunnel is that our battalion commander is honest and
reported things as they are in our un-prepared state. It seems as though
those above him choose to ignore the serious state of this unit.
The "PPs" will tell you that we don't really have a mission and we will never
go anywhere in less than 30 days so why should we be ready for deployment.
Well, I guess they have all forgotten about the Korean War in which no one
expected the North Koreans to attack...
Recently another unit's Live Fire Exercise was cancelled indefinitely because
it was so screwed up. One of the Observer Controllers (OC) said that he
wouldn't let the unit live fire even after two weeks of training. Total lack
of leadership, planning, training and resources!
===============================================================
ARTICLE 6
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Combat Readiness - Rounds out of Impact!
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Ed.: The growing number of training mishaps is clearly an indicator of our
declining readiness. We all remember the Ft. Hood incident in which state of
the art artillery fired into the private property of Mr. Shoaf. Compiled from
multiple sources, here is an update. Besides several key players in the
chain, the Army bears some responsibility for the incident. The unit had just
returned from Bosnia and was desperately catching up on training proficiency
for an upcoming NTC rotation. Maybe someone should have told the Truth: "Sir,
we're not yet ready!"
****************************************************************************
>From multiple sources
The unit that fired the rounds (11x High Explosive/ 1x Illumination) was
3-82FA in the 1st Cavalry Division, a Paladin equipped unit. They had
recently returned from Bosnia and were in a train-up cycle prior to deploying
for NTC. They were executing a platoon level qualification. A week or two
prior to this, they had executed gun crew level certification.
Incident findings: One gun was oriented on an azimuth of fire of 6000mils
when it was supposed to be on an azimuth of fire of 2000mils. This gun was
responsible for firing all 12 rounds into Mr. Shoaf's property over a period
of 11/2 hours.
This gun was 100-150 meters away from a second gun of the same platoon that
was oriented correctly and firing into the impact area. Several secondary
checks and safety procedures were violated, not just during this incident,
but habitually by this unit.
The unit was outright dangerous. It was only a question of time when
something serious would happen, involving this firing unit.
Indications are that there was a leadership failure of the highest order,
from the battalion commander on down. During the incident, the battalion
commander and executive officer, who were supposed to be the senior
Observer/Controllers, were at the operations center receiving a briefing.
The battery commander, first sergeant and platoon leader were all on the
firing point that night during the incident but none of them visited the gun,
checked on it, or verified that it was firing in the right direction which is
a cardinal sin in the artillery branch. The fire direction officer (FDO) did
not compute safety limits for the howitzer and did not have a secondary check
of the firing data he sent down to the gun.
The battery commander, platoon leader and FDO all knew that this howitzer was
operating degraded (no digital communications) but none of them knew the
procedures to follow for degraded ops. The howitzer section chief knew he was
firing off his back deck (opposite to where his vehicle had been traveling)
and called that fact into the FDO who told him to fire the missions anyway.
In a common sense scenario, the battery commander, platoon leader and FDO
should have been relieved. They all should have known better, and should have
taken greater safety precautions based on the units level of training.
Instead, as far as SFTT was informed, only the section chief was relieved.
Several others, including brigade commander, battalion commander and battery
commander supposedly received general officer letters of reprimand.
The battery commander's case was probably helped by the fact that his father
is a general officer, supposedly the highest-ranking artilleryman in the
Army. Mr. Shoaf was paid, but he has filed a lawsuit in excess of seven
figures.
It doesn't seem that the Army was trying to hide anything and but it is clear
that the unit in question was NOT ready for combat.
============================================================
ARTICLE 7
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Navy - a Saga of two Squadrons sharing one Plane and a lack of Spare Parts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ed.: Hmm...what did the SecDef and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs report
about readiness?
***********************************************************
By a Navy flier who is leaving service
After my squadron got back from the cruise after the last one I did, it
traded all 4 of its planes with a squadron in Japan. The guys in Atsugi
needed to be upgraded to the latest version of the plane, so instead of
getting new ones, they got our "slightly used" (only 3 deployments on 'em)
airplanes. We then promptly turned in the old Japan birds to be scrapped or
put in the bone yard.
For six months, two E-2C squadrons in Pt. Mugu shared one, that's one (1)
airplane between the two of them. With the lack of maintenance funding and
spare parts, the combined pull of two squadrons, who should have had a total
of eight flying aircraft between the two of them, couldn't get the parts to
make that one airplane fly for almost the entire time they shared it.
Another tidbit along those lines: The E-2C Hawkeye and C-2R Greyhound both
use a propeller assembly manufactured by Hamilton Standard, who has been
making propellers for the US military since before WWII. Both aircraft use
the same prop, which is unique for its fiberglass composition, size, weight,
etc. Hamilton Std stopped making those several years ago, and the supply of
spares has been steadily shrinking.
There is a new prop design for an 8-bladed j-hook prop that will do wonders
for the plane, especially in weight, ease of maintenance, safety, fuel
efficiency, and vibration (big problem in the E-2). But that prop is behind
schedule and probably won't hit the fleet for several more years. The kicker
in this little story is who is at the top of the priority list for receiving
remanufactured props. Now you'd think it would be the USN Hawkeye squadrons
who defend the fleet, participate in counter drug missions for months on end,
and are called on to provide 24 hour radar coverage to our naval and air
forces in hazardous areas of the world...But its not.
The top priority for that dwindling supply of propellers are America's
foreign customers who fly the E-2, which includes Singapore, Taiwan, Japan,
and France. Now I wonder where our priorities really are.
===========================================================
ARTICLE 8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Air Force Mentoring - cultivate Experience
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ed: Good mentors are taking care of their people. They are preparing them for
the mission and combat.
***************************************************************************
By Thomas L. Carney, ex-USAF
Recently I had dinner with an Air Force colonel whom I used to work when he
was a major 20 years ago. I had not seen him in 17 years, even though we had
kept in touch by phone calls, letters or email. This gentleman was and still
is a true leader. He understood that true loyalty is a two way street. His
whole focus was two fold: accomplishing the mission and taking care of his
people.
We talked about the times we were together, and things that have happened
since then, what has happened to people that we know and worked with back
then, normal stuff. Then he told me about something he had never told me
about: when he a young wet-behind-the-ears lieutenant, his commander had
assigned him to a good NCO and told him flat out, "Learn from and listen to
him." He told me about how this E-6 had shown him the ropes, how to get
things done right, how to take care of tough situations and other things that
ROTC and college didn't teach him.
At the end of it telling me about this man he said with a heavy tinge of
regret, "It sure doesn't happen like that anymore."
I read your article you wrote of August 14 and it sure slammed home for me. I
was a young, hot headed, go for broke enlisted man who ran without thinking.
He had my boss and also the NCOIC of the work center rein me in and teach me
the ropes just like his commander did for him many years ago.
Mentoring is for everyone. OCS, Basic Training, ROTC and the academies can
only teach what's on paper. Unfortunately many so-called "professors" and
instructors have never or rarely been in the field. I cannot describe the
value of what these men who had a lot more experience did for me but I know
that it made me a better airman and a better man.
One thing I would like to see at least for the enlisteds in the Air Force is
that all instructors need to have at least 50% of their career consist of
being in the field. When I was at Keesler AFB, MS most of my instructors had
less than 25% and some 0% of their careers in the field. Air Force
Communications Command established their own school over Air Training
Command's objections to get people ready for the field because ATC was just
"teaching the test," not teaching maintenance of communications equipment. I
am sure situations like this exist in the other services.
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A vote for Bush or Gore is a vote to continue Clinton policies!
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Therefore a vote for Gore or Bush is a wasted vote for America!
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Today, candor compels us to admit that our vaunted two-party system is a
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nothing but two wings of the same bird of prey...
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