LtCol Victor H. Krulak Navy Cross Citation

The Navy Cross is presented to Victor H. Krulak, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism as Commanding Officer of the Second Battalion, First Marine Parachute Regiment, during operations on Choiseul Island, Solomon Islands, October 28 to November 3, 1943. Assigned the task of diverting hostile attention from the movements of our main attack force en route to Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville Island, Lieutenant Colonel Krulak landed at Choiseul and daringly directed the attack of his battalion against the Japanese, destroying hundreds of tons of supplies and burning camps and landing barges. Although wounded during the assault on October 30, he repeatedly refused to relinquish his command and with dauntless courage and tenacious devotion to duty, continued to lead his battalion against the numerically superior Japanese forces. His brilliant leadership and indomitable fighting spirit assured the success of this vital mission and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Victor H. Krulak, 1913 - 2008

Los Angeles Times December 31, 2008

Victor H. Krulak, 1913 - 2008
Marine general was a war hero

By Tony Perry

Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Victor H. "Brute" Krulak, celebrated for his leadership in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and for his authoritative book on the Marines, "First to Fight," died Monday at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. He was 95 and had been in declining health for several years.

In a career that spanned three decades Krulak displayed bravery during combat and brilliance as a tactician and organizer of troops.

"Brute was very forgiving of young Marines who made mistakes," said retired Col. G.I. Wilson, a combat veteran. "But he was hell on senior officers who preferred careerism and bureaucracy over decisive action. He detested those who lost sight of looking after their enlisted Marines and young officers."

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-krulak31-2008dec31,0,3033208.story
or http://snipurl.com/9auir [www_latimes_com]

Despite uproar, officials say all well at WTU

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Dec 23, 2008 22:14:04 EST

At a recent gathering in a small auditorium at Fort Lee, Va., wounded soldiers listened as everyone in their chain of command up to a full colonel reassured them that life in the post’s Warrior Transition Unit remained good.

Capt. David Payne, their company commander, reminded them that Fort Lee had ranked in the top five of 35 WTUs for 15 straight months, according to monthly online polls. The barracks are "rated the top in the Army." Three members of the cadre are former wounded soldiers themselves.

Lt. Col. Robert Lather told them the hospital is being revamped, with more space dedicated to active-duty soldiers so they don’t have to wait in long lines with troops going through Advanced Individual Training.

"Your mission is to heal," said Col. Donna Diamond, head of Fort Lee’s Kenner Army Health Clinic. "We’re here to make sure your needs are addressed."

In the back of the room, Sgt. Loyd Sawyer shook his head.

"We’re having another dog-and-pony show," he said.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/military_lee_warriortransition_122308w/

Defense lays groundwork for new management chief

By Elizabeth Newell enewell@govexec.com
December 22, 2008

While it will be up to President-elect Barack Obama to fill a congressionally mandated deputy chief management officer position at the Defense Department, the Pentagon already is making preparations for the new official's arrival.

The nomination and Senate confirmation of a management chief is statutorily required in both the 2008 and 2009 Defense authorization bills. But creating a new office to consolidate business leadership across the massive agency does not happen overnight, so the Office of the Secretary of Defense is getting a jump-start on the process.

Beth McGrath, principal deputy undersecretary at Defense's Business Transformation Agency, was appointed assistant deputy chief management officer in October and has begun coordinating business management across offices and military departments. Defense Deputy Secretary Gordon England, who also holds the chief management officer title, has developed a charter, timelines, and scope and responsibility papers for the incoming nominee.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41679&dcn=todaysnews

Reserve policy board to be overhauled

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 19, 2008 13:03:44 EST

The Reserve Forces Policy Board that advises Pentagon leaders on NationalGuard and reserve issues would be revamped with fewer service members and moreindependence, under a plan approved by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The initiative, which requires congressional approval, revises membership in away that makes active and reserve officers, who compose a majority of thecurrent 24-member panel, would be in the minority on the slightly smaller20-member panel.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/military_reserveboard_121908w/

Army creates organization to oversee civilian training

By Katherine McIntire Peters kpeters@govexec.com
December 12, 2008

The Army this week announced it was standing up a civilian university to better manage employee education and training. With plans for a staff of 15, however, the university is less a physical entity than a governing headquarters that aims to better coordinate education programs.

The move is part of a broader plan to centrally manage career development for the Army's 250,000 civilian employees, about 60 percent of whom do not have established career paths. By centralizing management the service plans to level the playing field for all civilians and gain a better understanding of the skills it must develop to meet long-term needs.

Eventually, the service expects to create eight broad career tracks that will provide employees with a clear path for promotion and give them more visibility into opportunities elsewhere in the Army.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41620&dcn=todaysnews

Defense Officials Address Sexual Assault Reporting Issues

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
Dec. 17, 2008

Three years of data and study have helped Defense Department officials determine that unreported occurrences -- not frequency of assaults -- is the main issue concerning sexual assaults within the three U.S. service academies, the deputy director of the department’s sexual assault prevention and response program said.

“There’s a gap between the number of incidences … being reported to us anonymously on survey and the actual number of cadets coming forward and reporting those incidences to the authorities at the academies,” Air Force Lt. Col. Nathan Galbreath said. “And that gap is what we’re most concerned about.”

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52374

Judge rejects bid to force quicker VA payments

By Hope Yen
December 17, 2008

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected a bid by veterans groups to force the Veterans Affairs Department to speed up handling of its disability claims, saying it was not the court's role to impose quicker deadlines.

Vietnam Veterans of America and Veterans of Modern Warfare, which represent roughly 60,000 military veterans, had filed the lawsuit asking the VA process initial disability claims within 90 days and resolve appeals within 180 days. If the VA failed to do so, the two groups were seeking interim payments of roughly $350 a month.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1208/121708ap3.htm

Naval Academy asks for diversity push

The Associated Press
Dec 16, 2008

The board of trustees for the Naval Academy is hoping to boost efforts to attract minority students.

The Board of Visitors, which includes members of Congress, is in the process of drafting a letter to Congress pointing out the importance of recruiting top-notch minority candidates through the congressional nomination process.

Over the past year, the academy has approached 23 members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss the academy’s goal of attracting more minorities.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_naval_academy_diversity_121508w/

GAO backs boost in oversight of executive pay-for-performance

By Brittany R. Ballenstedt
December 16, 2008

The government should improve the certification process for federal agencies with performance-based pay systems for members of the Senior Executive Service, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

The report (GAO-09-82) found that while oversight of the systems by the Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget generally was satisfactory, the two could identify ways to further improve and streamline the certification process for the SES pay system and provide agencies with the guidance, tools and training needed to implement those systems.

Currently, agencies are allowed to raise the SES pay cap from $158,000 to $172,200 if OPM and OMB agree that an agency's appraisal system meets nine certification criteria. Those include a requirement that SES performance is linked to the organization's goals.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1208/121608b1.htm

Recruiting Still Challenging Despite Job Market, Official Says

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
Dec. 16, 2008

Although military recruiting is less difficult in a waning economy and low job market, attracting recruits remains an ongoing challenge, a Defense Department official said here today during an interview with the Pentagon Channel.

“Military recruiting is always a challenge, regardless of what the unemployment rate is,” Curt Gilroy, accession policy director for the Defense Department, said.

Unemployment in the United States rose to 6.7 percent in November and is projected to continue its increase in 2009, the Labor Department reported last month. For the military, however, high unemployment typically means more recruits and higher retention rates.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52355

Budget analyst: Recent funding approach masks true costs of war

By Katherine McIntire Peters
December 15, 2008

The Bush administration's novel approach to budgeting for and financing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has made it very difficult to discern the true costs of the conflicts, a new report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments concludes.

Historically, the United States has covered the costs of war through the annual appropriations process. Supplemental appropriations were used to cover only initial, unanticipated phases of major conflicts. But the Bush administration relied exclusively on supplemental appropriations to cover the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan until 2008 -- seven years after U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan and five years after they entered Iraq.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1208/121508kp1.htm

Officials Set Military Housing Allowance Rates for 2009

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
December 15, 2008

Housing allowances for military members will go up an average of 6.9 percent in 2009, Defense Department officials announced today.

The increase comes to an average of about $95 per month across the board for the 950,000 servicemembers expected to draw basic allowance for housing, or BAH, in 2009, but some servicemembers will not see any increase at all, and others will see less than that the average increase, Susan A. Brumbaugh director of the Defense Department’s BAH program, said in a Pentagon Channel interview.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52340

Murtha targets military bonuses for fiscal 2010 cuts

By Chris Strohm CongressDaily
December 11, 2008

Faced with immense pressure to trim its budget, the Pentagon should cut enlistment bonuses to military personnel, end its reliance on emergency supplemental spending and get serious about reforming its acquisition processes, a top congressional appropriator said Wednesday.

"What I'm saying is, there's going to be less defense spending," House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pa., said in a speech at the Center for American Progress on defense priorities.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41610&dcn=todaysnews

Defense launches personal health record application test

From Nextgov.com: By Bob Brewin

The Defense Department began testing an application on Friday that allows soldiers, veterans and their families to manage their personal health records online using programs provided by Google and Microsoft.

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41585&dcn=e_ndw

Anthropologists debate ethics of aiding troops

By Dan Vergano and Elizabeth Weise - USA Today
Posted : Monday Dec 8, 2008 22:14:49 EST

SAN FRANCISCO — The military for years has enlisted anthropologists, depending on their expertise to write up analyses of distant places and cultures.

But debate is growing among those scientists over whether it is appropriate for them to work alongside soldiers in combat or to contribute to the growing field of counterterrorism research.
At the just-concluded American Anthropological Association meeting here, the question of whether anthropologists should take part in military operations took the stage, though not for the first time. In 2007, the AAA’s executive board expressed “disapproval” of anthropologists’ work in Afghanistan and Iraq, arguing that they helped in “identifying and selecting specific populations as targets of U.S. military operations.”

The debate is more than academic. Two social scientists with the U.S. Army Human Terrain System were killed in bombings this year in Afghanistan and Iraq.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/gns_anthropoligists_military_120808/

Court clarifies MSPB role in reserve cases

By STEPHEN LOSEY
November 28, 2008

Federal employees who are military reservists or National Guard members have the right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board if they lose their jobs or incur other adverse job actions because of their active-duty military service, a federal appeals court has ruled.

MSPB had previously ruled it lacked jurisdiction to hear Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) claims when a collective bargaining agreement provides a grievance procedure.

The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 18 that MSPB must hear the case of Ermae Russell, an Army Reserve officer and trial attorney with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Jackson, Miss. Russell was transferred to EEOC’s Birmingham, Ala., office after spending almost two years on active duty.

http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3841583

DOD launches Web-based system to help with moves

By Doug Beizer Federal Computer Week
Published on November 24, 2008

A new Web-based system is available to military service members to help them manage moves to new posts.

The U.S. Transportation Command’s Defense Personal Property System encompasses all aspects of the military move process, the Defense Department said, adding that It lets family members, government managers and moving companies to plan, move and receive shipments. DOD announced the system Nov. 19.

The system lets service members begin planning moves by using any computer with an Internet connection, said Army Lt. Col. William Carberry, the joint program manager for the DPS system.

http://www.fcw.com/online/news/154486-1.html

Appointees: Sharpen Your IT Know-How

BY ALLAN HOLMES 11/25/08 1:54 P.M. ET

To give senators some fodder to use when confirming soon-to-be President Barack Obama's political appointees, the Government Accountability Office released a report on Monday outlining the major management problems federal agencies face and some suggested questions senators can ask to learn if the nominees have any idea how to solve them. The report is similar to one GAO released in 2000, right before President Bush's nominees were vetted. But there are some big differences, not the least of which is that the latest report is 155 pages -- almost 10 times longer than the 2000 version. (Either GAO has become more adept at identifying management problems, or there are just a lot more of them.)

Another significant change: the kinds of questions GAO suggests senators ask nominees. The questions are much more nuanced and detailed in the 2008 report.

Read More: http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2008/11/appointees_sharpen_your_it_kno.php

Merit board links employee engagement and productivity

By Brittany R. Ballenstedt

Employees who are fully engaged tend to work in offices that achieve better program results, call in sick less often and stay with their agencies longer, according to a new report by the Merit Systems Protection Board.

The report, which is based on results from a 2005 survey of nearly 37,000 employees at 24 federal agencies, found that despite dwindling resources and increased pressure to improve programs, agencies can thrive if managers connect with their employees.

"Federal supervisors and managers have an important role to play in engaging employees," said MSPB Chairman Neil McPhie. "Those who are successful in engendering these attitudes will lead a more engaged workforce that will produce better outcomes for their agencies."

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41448&dcn=e_wfw

‘Sentinels of Freedom’ Scholarships Help Wounded Veterans

By Sharon Foster
Dec. 3, 2008

Thanks to a recommendation from the Army Wounded Warrior Program at Fort Riley, Kan., retired Army Sgt. Victor Thibeault of San Ramon, Calif., will study general education with the help of a “Sentinels of Freedom” scholarship that also benefits his family.

“The Sentinels of Freedom scholarship has helped me to secure gainful employment [and] a rent-free living space and a minivan for my family, not to mention the unwavering support of the local community,” Thibeault said.

The Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation provides four-year “life scholarships” to help severely wounded veterans become self-sufficient.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52157

Study reveals the success of Pentagon personnel system is unclear

By Brittany R. Ballenstedt
December 1, 2008

It's too early to tell whether the Pentagon's new personnel system has met the department's goals of motivating employees and creating more flexibility in hiring and pay decisions, according to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office.

The report, released on Wednesday, said implementation of the National Security Personnel System was not yet complete and not enough time had elapsed since the first employees were converted to the system to determine its effectiveness.

The department has added more than 181,500 nonbargaining unit employees to NSPS since 2006 and plans to add 20,000 more into the system by the end of 2008, bringing it close to converting all 205,000 nonbargaining unit employees. In September, the department announced it would not place its 270,000 bargaining unit employees under NSPS.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1208/120108b1.htm

National Resource Directory Helps Wounded Warriors

By Jamie Findlater
Nov. 26, 2008

A Web-based network of support for wounded warriors, veterans and their families, as well as the families of the fallen, has sprung from a collaborative effort by the departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs.

The National Resource Directory will include information on care coordinators, health care providers and support partners, Dr. Lynda Davis, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy, said during an “ASY Live” interview today on BlogTalkRadio.com.

“Working with wounded ill and injured servicemembers and their families, there [are] many resources and individuals available to help them,” Davis said. “We needed one source that can tell us where everyone in the country is who wants to help our wounded warriors and their families.”

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52108

DoD Joins With VA to Resolve Gulf War Veterans’ Health Issues

By Gerry J. Gilmore
Nov. 26, 2008

The Defense Department continues to work with the Department of Veterans Affairs to resolve veterans’ health issues, including maladies associated with the Gulf War, a senior DoD official said here today.

“We work very closely with the VA for those who’ve separated” from military service, Dr. Michael E. Kilpatrick, deputy director of health affairs for force health protection and readiness, told American Forces Press Service and Pentagon Channel reporters.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52107

Warrior Care: Army Chief Partners with Civilian Medical Community

By D. Myles Cullen
Nov. 26, 2008

As part of November’s Defense Department focus on warrior care, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and key members of his medical team met this week with independent experts in psychology, mental health and resiliency training.

The experts included former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona, former President of the American Psychological Association Dr. Marty Seligman, U.S. Military Academy professor Dr. Michael Matthews, and Dr. Larry Dewey, chief of psychiatry at the Boise, Idaho, Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Casey told the panel that he invited them to Washington to discuss innovative approaches in support of resilience and comprehensive fitness training for an Army stretched and stressed by the increasing demands of an era of persistent conflict.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52103