Saturday, March 31, 2012

DTN News - CANADA TODAY: Toronto Weather Report - March 31, 2012 By K. V. Seth

Defense News: DTN News - CANADA TODAY: Toronto Weather Report - March 31, 2012 By K. V. Seth
Source: DTN News - - K. V. Seth
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 31, 2012: The whole month of March, 2012 - we had almost spring type weather even though a bit earlier that than expected also confusing the beautiful red Canadian Cardinal bird - I have seen singing on a tree in our garden. Believe or not, last night we had some snow, the white layer of snow looks so calm and serene with a fairy of sweet coolness in the environment.
On the other hand keeping in view with global climate changes, any thing is possible.

This winter we saw heavy snow in Europe and Japan, Romania had snow upto 15 feet covering entire villages and dwellings, the inhabitants had hard time digging themselves out from the white wintery snow for a fresh breath of  air or to see the blue sky. On the other side of the world, Aussieland ~ Australia was underwater with floods. The abnormal global climate changes are man made, we should implement and respect the resources of this planet and mother nature., else the cycle of unpredictment  will continue to drive changes in climate with heavy losses to human and materials.

In conclusion with a brighter day a ahead, we wish all our near and dear, friends on FB and acquaintances a HAPPY SPRING with lots of JOY and HAPPINESS.

Best wishes to all from Karam, Carina Seth & Family.

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*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth
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Friday, March 30, 2012

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Israeli Forces Deploy For Protests At Borders

Defense News: DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Israeli Forces Deploy For Protests At Borders
*Israeli security forces in riot gear Friday confronted Palestinian demonstrators after deploying in high numbers along Israel's frontiers on an annual protest day
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources The Telegraph UK
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 30, 2012: By midday, minor skirmishes had broken out between thousands of protesters and security forces in the Jerusalem area. Palestinians threw rocks and Israeli troops responded with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber pellets. No serious injuries were reported.
In Gaza, Palestinians said Israeli forces shot and wounded two men who approached the border during a demonstration by about 15,000 people, organized by Gaza's Hamas rulers. The Israeli military said soldiers shot and wounded one protester Elsewhere, it were calm.
The "Land Day" rallies are an annual event marked by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who protest what they say are discriminatory Israeli land policies.

Supporters in neighboring Arab countries also planned marches near the Israeli frontier, but organizers said they would keep protesters away from the borders.
Last year, demonstrators from Lebanon and Syria tried twice to break across the borders into Israel, setting off clashes with Israeli troops in which at least 38 people were killed.
In southern Lebanon Friday, more than 3,000 Lebanese and Palestinians gathered outside the Crusader-built Beaufort castle 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Israel. Lebanese security forces kept them from moving any closer to the border.
Sobhiyeh Mizari, 70, said she always taught her 12 children "never to forget Palestine."
"We will liberate our land against the will of Israel and its backers," said Mizari, who said her husband was killed in Israeli shelling of Lebanon in 1978.
Security forces were preparing for demonstrations in northern Israel, where a large portion of Israel's Arab minority lives.
Several dozen Palestinians who live in east Jerusalem waved their national flag outside Jerusalem's walled Old City. "One, one homeland!" they chanted.
Palestinians were banned from entering from the West Bank except for medical emergencies, and police barred Palestinian men under 40 from praying at a volatile Jerusalem holy site, citing security concerns.
The demonstrators performed their communal Muslim Friday prayers where they stood, praying on their flags instead of traditional mats.
They were surrounded by what appeared to be an equal number of Israeli security forces.
"Israel has no trouble with peaceful protest and respects the rights of people to demonstrate peacefully," said government spokesman Mark Regev.
Many Palestinians, energised by Arab Spring uprisings that have overturned decades-old authoritarian regimes, see massive, coordinated marches as one of the most effective strategies to draw attention to their cause.
"After the Arab revolutions, there's awareness of the importance of popular participation," said Arab activist Jafar Farah. "This has rattled the Arab regimes, and now it's frightening the Israeli government."

 


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources The Telegraph UK
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DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: Pyongyang Fires Short-Range Missiles

Defense News: DTN News - KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: Pyongyang Fires Short-Range Missiles
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources SMH / AFP
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 30, 2012: North Korea has fired two short-range missiles off its west coast amid international alarm at its planned long-range rocket launch, South Korean newspapers say.
The North fired what appeared to be two KN-01 ground-to-ship missiles with a range of up to 120 kilometres from a missile base near the western port of Nampo, Chosun Ilbo newspaper said.

It quoted an unidentified Seoul government official as saying the launch on Thursday was apparently aimed at improving the performance of the projectile and was unrelated to the rocket launch scheduled for next month.

South Korea's defence ministry declined to confirm the reports.

The Stalinist North frequently conducts such short-range tests but the timing sometimes coincides with periods of tension.

Analysts say new leader Kim Jong-un has been trying to burnish his military credentials by conducting short-range missile tests since the death of his father.

The North reportedly test-fired two short-range missiles off its east coast on December 19, the same day it announced the death of leader Kim Jong-il.

On January 13 South Korean officials said that the North fired three short-range missiles off its east coast in an apparently routine exercise.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources SMH / AFP
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DTN News - AL QAEDA NEWS: French Police Arrest 20 Suspected Islamists

Defense News: DTN News - AL QAEDA NEWS: French Police Arrest 20 Suspected Islamists
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources AFP
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 30, 2012: French police arrested about 20 suspected Islamists in dawn raids on Friday, most of them in the hometown of an extremist who was shot dead by police last week after a killing spree.
Agents from France's DCRI domestic intelligence agency swooped in to carry out the arrests, most of them in the southern city of Toulouse a day after Al-Qaeda-inspired gunman Mohamed Merah was buried there, sources close to the investigation said.
The arrests were "not directly linked" to the Merah investigation, but were aimed at dismantling Islamist networks, one source said.
Some of the arrests also targetted people in the western city of Nantes.
The arrests came a day after Merah, who was shot dead by a police sniper on March 22 at the end of a 32-hour siege at his flat in Toulouse, was buried in the city under heavy police watch.
The 23-year-old had shot dead three soldiers, and three children and a teacher at a Jewish school in a killing spree that shocked the country.
The man branded a "monster" by French leaders was laid to rest in Toulouse's Cornebarrieu cemetery after his family's homeland Algeria refused to accept the body, citing security concerns.
French authorities have charged Merah's brother Abdelkader with complicity in the attacks and said they were looking for other accomplices.
Abdelkader Merah was charged with helping his sibling steal the powerful Yamaha scooter used in the shootings and police have said they were seeking a third person who may have been involved in the theft.
Merah recorded his killings with a camera strapped to his body and police have said an accomplice may have been involved in mailing a montage of the videos to Al-Jazeera.
The video was reportedly sent to the channel's Paris bureau from outside Toulouse while Merah was already besieged in his flat by police.
President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday that France was shaken by the shootings, likening the trauma from the murders to that of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
"What must be understood is that the trauma of Montauban and Toulouse is profound for our country, a little -- I don't want to compare the horrors -- a little like the trauma that followed in the United States and in New York after the September 11, 2001 attacks," he told Europe 1 radio.
On Thursday France banned four Muslim preachers from entering the country to attend an Islamic conference, saying their "calls for hatred and violence" were a threat to public order.
Saudi clerics Ayed Bin Abdallah al-Qarni and Abdallah Basfar, Egyptian cleric Safwat al-Hijazi and a former mufti of Jerusalem Akrama Sabri are banned from entering France, a statement said.
"These people's positions and statements calling for hatred and violence seriously damage republican principles and, in the current context, represent a serious threat to public order," said the statement from Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and Interior Minister Claude Gueant.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources AFP
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Thursday, March 29, 2012

DTN News - 2012 BRICS SUMMIT: BRICS Countries Ink Pact To Trade In Local Currencies

Defense News:  DTN News - 2012 BRICS SUMMIT: BRICS Countries Ink Pact To Trade In Local Currencies
*Announce joint working group on common development bank
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Nayanima Basu / New Delhi Mar 30, 2012, 00:26 IST - Business Standard
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 29, 2012: A major outcome of the fourth BRICS summit, which concluded here on Thursday, was the signing of an agreement on providing credit facility in local currencies. 
This would seek to reduce the demand for fully convertible currencies for trade transactions among BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The leaders of these five rapidly emerging economies also agreed to explore ways to establish a development bank for financing projects in these, as well as other developing countries.
Addressing the media after the conclusion of the summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, “The agreement signed today by development banks of BRICS countries will boost trade among us by offering credit in our local currencies.”

A ‘multilateral letter of credit confirmation facility agreement’ was signed among the five participating banks — Brazil’s Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economic e Social, Russia’s State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank), Export-Import Bank of India, China Development Bank Corporation and Development Bank of Southern Africa.
“We have agreed to examine in greater detail a proposal to set up a BRICS-led South-South Development Bank, funded and managed by the BRICS and other developing countries,” Singh said, adding the five BRICS countries had directed their respective finance ministers to set up a joint working group for an in-depth analysis of the proposal.

The joint Delhi Declaration, issued after the meeting, underscored the concerns of the BRICS countries — “the slow pace of quota and governance reforms in the IMF(International Monetary Fund.” The leaders agreed on giving more powers in the form of greater voting rights to developing economies. The leaders said the process of selecting candidates for the top posts in the World Bank or the IMF should be an “open and merit-based” one. “The new World Bank leadership must commit to transform the Bank into a multilateral institution that truly reflects the vision of all its members, including the governance structure that reflects current economic and political reality. Moreover, the nature of the Bank must shift from an institution that essentially mediates North-South cooperation to an institution that promotes equal partnership with all countries as a way to deal with development issues and to overcome an outdated donor-recipient dichotomy,” the leaders stated.

Earlier, Prime Minister Singh had highlighted the need to prioritise easier business visa norms to take full advantage of such a group. “We should promote greater interaction amongst our business communities. Issues such as easier business visas must be prioritised. As large trading countries, BRICS have a strong interest in removing barriers to trade and investment flows and avoiding protectionist measures,” he said.
The leaders said volatility in commodity prices posed risks, especially in food and energy. They called for improved regulation of the derivatives market to avoid destabilising impacts on food and energy supplies.

The leaders also agreed to make the UN Security Council more effective, efficient and representative.

They said the situation in Iran should not be allowed to escalate into a full-fledged conflict and expressed concern on the human rights violations in Syria.

Related Stories 

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Iran shrouds BRICS trade ministers meet
-'Can't just rupture' ties with Iran: Anand Sharma
-Bangalore Metro gets $250 mn ADB loan
-BRICS eyes common development bank
-Brazilian Prez to pay 2-day visit to India
-Russia to take up SSTL matter at BRICS summit

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Nayanima Basu / New Delhi Mar 30, 2012, 00:26 IST - Business Standard
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DTN News - FOAL EAGLE 2012: US, South Korean Forces Joint Military Exercise Foal Eagle Largest Of Year In South Korea

Defense News:  DTN News - FOAL EAGLE 2012: US, South Korean Forces Joint Military Exercise Foal Eagle Largest Of Year In South Korea
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 29, 2012: The annual combined field training exercise, part of Foal Eagle 2012, is conducted between the Republic of Korea and United States forces and is one of the largest annual military training exercises in the world. In the past, this annual training has caused tensions with North Korea.


The primary purpose of Foal Eagle is to demonstrate ROK-US military resolve to deter war on the Korean peninsula and to improve the combined and joint operational posture of those forces. Foal Eagle is a purely defensive exercise which tests the capability of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to defend itself, assisted by U.S. armed forces, and it is also primarily a rear area security and stability operations, onward movement of critical assets to the forward area, special operations, ground maneuver, amphibious operations, combat air operations, maritime action group operations and counter special operations forces exercises (CSOFEX)

United Nations Command informs the Korean People's Army in North Korea that the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States would be conducting the routine defensive exercise. The United Nations Command also reassured the Korean People's Army at general officer-level talks that these exercises, conducted annually in or around March, are purely defensive in nature and have no connection to ongoing or current events. The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission monitors the exercise to ensure that there are no violations of the Korean Armistice Agreement.

Since 2001, Foal Eagle combined with the annual ROK-US Reception, Staging, Onward movement, and Integration (RSOI) combined exercises, with RSOI being re-named Key Resolve in 2008.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith - DTN News
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DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Japan Prime Minister Meets Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Defense News: DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Japan Prime Minister Meets Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith 
 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 29, 2012: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (L) shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in front of a monitor displaying a facebook page of Prime Minister's Office of Japan as they meet at the latter's official residence in Tokyo on March 29, 2012. 
Facebook has more than 800 million users around the world and is the leading social network in all but six countries, notably Russia, where local rivals are preferred, and China, where it has been banned since 2009.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith - DTN News
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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 28, 2012

Defense News: DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 28, 2012
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 28, 2012: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued  March 28, 2012 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS
AIR FORCE
            Lockheed Martin-Information Systems & Global Services, Colorado Springs, Colo., is being awarded a $78,200,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, and cost-reimbursement contract for the Shared Early Warning System Program, which provides near real-time missile event information to partner nations as agreed upon through existing or newly negotiated bilateral agreements, and provides situational awareness information to U.S. theater combatant commander headquarters.  The location of the performance is Colorado Springs, Colo.  Work is to be completed by September 2016.  ESC/HSIK, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., is the contracting activity (FA8722-12-D-0003, TOs 0001--0011).

            Chugach Management Services, J.V., Anchorage, Alaska, is being awarded a $37,378,554 firm-fixed-price with cost-reimbursable contract line item numbers contract for civil engineering management services.  The location of the performance is Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.  Work is to be completed by Sept. 30, 2013.  AFNWC/PKOC, Albuquerque, N.M., is the contracting activity (FA9401-12-C-0006).

            Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, Austin, Texas, is being awarded an $11,200,000 firm-fixed-price and requirements contract to provide full food services to 14 dining facilities located at Lackland Air Force Base, the Training Annex, and Camp Bullies in San Antonio, Texas.  This contract provides for approximately 8,400,000 meals annually for all trainees.  This action will be awarded as a new, follow-on contract with a six-month base period and on six-month option period.  The location of the performance is Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.  Work is expected to be completed by April 1, 2012.  802d Contracting Squadron, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3047-12-D-0008).

            Spectrolab, Inc., Sylmar, Calif., is being awarded an $8,293,046 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to improve the manufacturing processing capabilities and space qualify state of the art solar cells (>33 efficiency).  The productization and qualification of high efficiency, flexible or rigid, multi-junction space solar cells will improve critical performance, mass and volume budgets for war-fight-specific satellite payloads.  The location of the performance is Sylmar, Calif.  Work is expected to be completed Dec. 18, 2028.  AFRL/PKMT, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-12-C-5501).

NAVY
            Northrup Grumman Systems Corp., Electronic Systems Sector, Land and Self Protection Systems Division, Rolling Meadows, Ill., is being awarded an undefinitized contract action with an estimated value of $25,500,000 to procure 110 sensors, 200 upgraded processors, and associated technical data in support of the Advanced Threat Warning System, a subsystem of the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures System.  Work will be performed in Rolling Meadows, Ill., and is expected to be completed in March 2015.  Contract funds in the amount of $10,980,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-12-C-0074).

            Advance Engineering & Sciences, Annapolis Junction, Md., is being awarded a $25,292,042 modification to previously awarded contract (N00174-11-D-0002) for continued procurement of post-production maintenance support of counter radio-controlled improvised explosive device fixed-site systems and procurement and support of the transmitting set, countermeasure AN/PLT-4 systems.  Work will be performed in Boalsburg, Pa., and is expected to be completed by March 2013.  Contract funds in the amount of $45,000 will be provided at time of contract award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, Indian Head, Md., is the contracting activity.

            ArmorWorks Enterprise, L.L.C.*, Chandler, Ariz. (N62583-10-D-0323); Southern California Gold Products, Inc.*, Oxnard, Calif. (N62583-10-D-0346); and American Defense Systems, Inc.*, Hicksville, N.Y. (N62583-10-D-0347), are being awarded option year two under a firm-fixed-price multiple award contract for armor solutions designed for civil engineer support equipment in support of the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center, Port Hueneme.  The combined total value for all three contractors is $10,000,000.  No funds will be obligated with this award.  The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $30,000,000.  No task orders are being issued at this time.  All work will be performed at various contractor sites within the continental United States, and is expected to be completed March 2013.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Specialty Center Acquisitions, Port Hueneme, Calif., is the contracting activity.

            Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded a $9,000,000 modification to the previously awarded V-22 Lot 17 advance acquisition contract (N00019-12-C-2001) to provide additional funding for long lead components required for the manufacture and delivery of four, fiscal 2013 Lot 17 CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft for the Air Force.  Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pa. (50 percent), Forth Worth, Texas (25 percent), and Amarillo, Texas (25 percent).  Work is expected to be completed in December 2012.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
            Avox Systems, Lancaster, N.Y., was awarded a fixed-price with economic price adjustment, sole-source contract with a maximum $20,000,000 for breathing apparatuses.  There are no other locations of performance.  Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.  There was one response to the Web proposal.  Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012 through 2014 Defense Working Capital Funds.  The date of performance completion is March 26, 2014.  The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM8EG-12-D-0006).

            Jianas Brothers Packaging Co.*, Kansas City, Mo., was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $7,288,420 for various flavors of instant juice pouches.  There are no other locations of performance.  Using services are Marine Corps and Army.  There were two responses to the Web proposal.  Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012 Defense Working Capital Funds.  The date of performance completion is March 27, 2014. Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Richmond, Va., is the contracting activity (SPM3S1-12-D-Z198).
*Small business

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources U.S. DoD issued No. 215-12 March 28, 2012
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: South Korea Mission Strategically Important, Officials Say

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: South Korea Mission Strategically Important, Officials Say
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Karen Parrish - American Forces Press Service
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 28, 2012: U.S. forces in South Korea help to sustain an important alliance, deter an unpredictable threat and support the national defense strategy’s shift toward the Asia-Pacific region, senior defense officials told Congress today.
Peter Lavoy, acting assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, testified along with Army Gen. James D. Thurman, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, before the House Armed Services Committee in a hearing examining the security situation on the Korean peninsula.
“For over 60 years, the United States has maintained a presence on the Korean peninsula to deter aggression against … [South Korea] and to fight and win, should deterrence fail,” Lavoy said.
The U.S.-South Korean alliance continues to be a cornerstone of U.S. regional strategy, and department and military leaders will continue to strengthen that alliance, make U.S. forces there more efficient and effective, and enhance presence, power projection and deterrence in the region, he added.
Lavoy said North Korea's “provocative behavior” continues to present a serious threat to the United States, its allies, and the region. He noted that North Korea has a large conventional military and is pursuing ballistic missile and weapons-of-mass-destruction programs, including uranium enrichment.
In response to that threat, he said, the U.S. and South Korean governments and militaries are working to strengthen strategic capabilities, further integrate operations and work from an alliance perspective to meet current and emerging threats.
The two countries have a comprehensive plan under the Strategic Alliance 2015 framework to transition wartime operational control from the U.S.-South Korean combined forces command to the South Korean joint chiefs of staff by December 2015, Lavoy told the panel. The transition will allow South Korea to lead its national defense while maintaining an enduring U.S. defense commitment and capability, he said.
In line with the strategic agreement, U.S. forces will consolidate and relocate from the metropolitan area of the South Korean capital of Seoul to centralized locations south of the city, he said. The move will improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance force protection by placing most service members and equipment outside the effective range of North Korean artillery, Lavoy told the committee.
Thurman said the U.S.-South Korean relationship is “the finest military partnership I have experienced in my 37-year career.”
As the democratic, wealthier southern neighbor of a closed-off North Korea, Thurman said, South Korea faces the threat of attack or provocation that can come with little or no warning.

“Our deterrent capability is based on U.S. and [South Korean] military readiness, and this is my primary focus,” the general said. “I have conducted a thorough review, including two combined exercises, and I have determined our forces remain ready to defend the … Korean peninsula.”
Both militaries are well-equipped, well-trained and professional, Thurman said, while the alliance is strong and the U.S. presence provides a stabilizing influence in the region.
“I think just by having a forward presence, that is a calming effect,” he added.
His forces train to respond to chemical and biological as well as conventional weapons attacks, Thurman said, and work hand in hand with South Korean forces on cyber defense.
“I have come to realize that cyber is a key warfighting domain,” he said. “It is [as] important as our air, maritime and ground operations.”
Thurman said he would welcome productive talks between the United States and North Korea, “but my sense is the [approach they have] taken with their military-first policy is not going to change.”
Thurman said his force numbers and equipment are able to meet the mission, but he acknowledged he’d like to see some adjustments. While he has enough troops, the standard one-year tour junior service members serve in South Korea creates a “churn” of 600 to 700 men and women arriving or leaving each month, he said.
“So I have asked [Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Army chief of staff] and the Army to look at how we can build readiness at best value, and see what we can do,” he said. “And I'm very mindful of the cost, and I don't want to create a requirement that is not operationally focused.”
The general said he’d also like to increase his air capabilities.
“We do not have a full combat aviation brigade there,” Thurman noted. “I have asked the department as well as the Department of the Army and back through [U.S. Pacific Command] and the Joint Staff to look at adding that battalion back that was repositioned out of there to meet requirements for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Thurman emphasized his forces feel a sense of satisfaction in their mission.
“I think what makes Korea unique is we have a threat to the north. We have a well-stated mission. And I have not seen a decline [in] any morale issues,” he said. “This requires active leaders, leaders that are sensitive to the needs of their service members. And that's where I put my effort in making sure that, if there [are] any quality-of-life issues, then we quickly try to resolve that.”

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Karen Parrish - American Forces Press Service
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