THREATWATCH
The Turkish government has begun cracking down on radical leftist extremists that participated in arranging a suicide bombing outside the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.
Bahrain has uncovered and dismantled an Iranian espionage and paramilitary operation with an unstated objective, based in Bahrain but with support from bases in Iraq.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is so great that the Defense Threat Reduction Agency is soliciting help from industry to combat the trafficking and movement of weapons of mass destruction.
ON THE DRAWDOWN
Afghanistan’s air force has successfully executed its first casualty evacuation:
In another historic step for the Afghan Air Force, an AAF Cessna 208 configured for battlefield casualty evacuation successfully transported a seriously injured solider and three minor casualties from Kandahar, Afghanistan to Kabul International Airport Feb. 11.
“CASEVAC is the heartbeat of battlefield medical airlift support and this is the first time ever that the Afghan Air Force has been able to transport a litter patient on a C-208,” Col. Michael Paston, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Wing surgeon general, stated when asked of the importance of this event. “This is adding a capability that will increase the morale, not only in the Afghan air force, but in the entire Afghan National Security Forces. It provides Afghans with a sense of security to know that if hurt on the battlefield, they will be taken care of quickly.”
ON THE FORCE
General Allen is out, and will not pursue the nomination for Supreme Allied Commander / Commander, U.S. European Command. Foreign Policy has a list of possible alternative nominees.
The Army’s troubled Human Terrain System was taken to the woodshed by USA TODAY. Among the allegations: payroll fraud, ineffectiveness, and financial irresponsibility.
The Pentagon has approved full-rate production of the U.S. Navy’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, following a successful operational test and evaluation phase. “With the Navy’s E-2D program of record at 75 aircraft, this decision by OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] enables the production of the remaining 55 aircraft over the next 10 years and provides the opportunity for a cost-effective, multiyear procurement,” says Bart LaGrone, Northrop’s vice president for the E-2 program.
AL.com’s Leada Gore, on COOLS:
An upgrade to the Chinook by the Cargo Helicopters Project Office at Redstone Arsenal will soon make it easier to quickly load and unload the Army’s workhorse helicopter. The project office has developed the Cargo On/Off Loading System, known as COOLS. Chinook helicopters originally had a flat floor system until a bolt-in one with rollers was developed to help with loading and unloading. The roller system took several hours to remove or install, Hoecherl said, and was not easily reconfigured to meet mission requirements. The new multi-purpose COOLS system can accommodate the 463 L Pallet Cargo Systems, the standardized pallet system used for transporting military cargo. Each 463L hold up to four wooden pallets and COOLS can load three of the 463L systems, as well as a combination of large and small pallets.
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Stanley McChrystal, with a blockbuster interview in Foreign Affairs magazine.
ON SECRECY – OR LACK THEREOF
What sequestration? U.S. Special Operations Command is hiring a budget analyst in the “Intelligence Branch of USSOCOM Comptroller’s Special Programs Division” to “[monitor] budget execution over the command’s Intelligence funding which includes the National Intelligence Programs and the Military Intelligence Program.”
Jane Harman, the former Chairwoman of the House Permanement Select Committee for Intelligence, seems to think that a so-called “national security court” would be a splendid idea.
CONTRACT WATCH
Atlas Advisors is hiring linguists and native speakers to support an unspecified U.S. Special Operations Command project. Among the languages desired: Dari & Pashto, Polish, Farsi, Arabic, Urdu, Kurdish, Somali, Tuareg (Tamahaq/Tamashek / Tamasheq) and Hausa.
Naval Special Warfare Development Group in Virginia Beach is on the hunt for a newer, better video-teleconferencing system.
