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Airforce Times said:

Airstrikes keep pressure on Gadhafi regime

By Ryan Lucas - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Mar 30, 2011 12:53:29 EDT

AJDABIYA, Libya — Moammar Gadhafi’s ground forces recaptured a strategic oil town Wednesday and were close to taking a second, making new inroads in beating back a rebel advance toward the capital Tripoli. Western powers kept up the pressure to force Gadhafi out with new airstrikes to weaken his military, hints that they may arm the opposition and intense negotiations behind the scenes to find a country to give haven to Libya’s leader of more than 40 years.

Airstrikes have neutralized Gadhafi’s air force and pounded his army, but those ground forces remain far better armed, trained and organized than the opposition. The rebels, with few weapons more powerful than rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, can attack targets three to four miles away, but the loyalists’ heavy weapons have a range of 12 miles.

That disparity was obvious as government forces pushed back rebels who just two days earlier had been closing in on the strategic city of Sirte, Gadhafi’s hometown and a bastion of support for the longtime leader. Under heavy shelling, rebels retreated from Bin Jawwad on Tuesday and from the oil port of Ras Lanouf on Wednesday.

Gadhafi’s forces were shelling Brega, another important oil city to the east. A rebel soldier, Col. Abdullah Hadi, said he expected the loyalists to enter Brega by Wednesday night.

“I ask NATO for just one aircraft to push them back. All we need is air cover and we could do this. They should be helping us,” Hadi said.

NATO planes flew over the zone where the heaviest fighting was underway earlier Wednesday and an Associated Press reporter at the scene heard explosions, but it was unclear whether any airstrikes hit the area. U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Clint Gebke, a spokesman for the NATO operation aboard the command ship Mount Whitney, said he could not confirm any specific strikes but Western aircraft were engaging pro-Gadhafi forces in areas including Sirte and Misrata, the rebels’ last significant holdout in western Libya.

The retreat Wednesday looked like a mad scramble: Pickup trucks, with mattresses and boxes tied on, driving east at 100 mph.

Many rebels regrouped east of Brega at the green, arching western gate of Ajdabiya, sharing water, dates and tuna sandwiches on a sandy, windswept plain next to two burned-out tanks and two burned-out cars from the airstrikes last week that drove Gadhafi’s forces back. Three anti-aircraft guns mounted in back of pickup trucks pointed west down the road.

“There’s something strange about the way he attacked us today,” said Abdullah Abdel-Jalil, a 31-year-old ambulance driver. “The Grad rockets, the tanks, the quantity of it all, he’s stronger than we thought. It’s way too intense.”

Dozens of civilians were seen heading north to Benghazi, and streets on the western side of Ajdabiya were deserted and silent. Among the rebels, the lack of air support was a common lament.

“We don’t know why they’re not here,” said Moftah Mohammed, a 36-year-old rebel soldier. “Our forces are mainly on the side of the main road. We’ve heard Gadhafi’s forces are pushing deep into the desert” in an attempt to head off rebel forces. “We don’t want to be stuck in the middle of that.”

Mohammed, however, thought loyalist forces would stop pursuing the rebels. “Gadhafi aims to take back Ras Lanouf and Brega because he’s running out of oil. I think he’ll stop there,” he said.

As Gadhafi’s forces push rebels toward their de-facto capital Benghazi, some 140 miles northeast of Brega, pressure is growing for NATO members and other supporters of the air campaign to do more.

Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain believes a legal loophole could allow nations to supply weapons to Libya’s rebels — but stressed the U.K. has not decided whether it will offer assistance to the rebels.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that Washington also believes it would be legal to give the rebels weapons. As to whether the country would do so, President Obama told NBC, “I’m not ruling it out, but I’m also not ruling it in.”

France, one of the strongest backers of international intervention in Libya, believes arming rebels would require a new U.N. resolution; the existing one includes an arms embargo. But Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said, “We are ready to discuss it with our partners.”

Under the U.N. resolution authorizing necessary measures to protect civilians, nations supplying weapons would need to be satisfied they would be used only to defend civilians — not to take the offensive to Gadhafi’s forces.

Cameron spokesman Steve Field said British and other diplomats were involved in negotiations with the rebel leadership in Benghazi partly to gauge if the opposition would be trustworthy allies.

“We are in the process of talking to those people and learning more about their intentions,” Field told reporters.

NATO officials and diplomats said the alliance had given no consideration to arming the rebels. Any alliance involvement would require support from all 28 members, a difficult task, and an alliance official who could not be named under standing regulations said NATO “wouldn’t even consider doing anything else” without a new U.N. resolution.

NATO is in the process of taking over control of the airstrikes, which began as a U.S.-led operation. Diplomats said they have given approval for the commander of the NATO operation, Canadian Gen. Charles Bouchard, to announce a handover on Thursday.

Another possibility to help the rebels is to ramp up airstrikes, which so far have been conducted with the stated goal of helping civilians. But even the airstrikes conducted so far have been criticized by some world powers.

Chinese President Hu Jintao called for an immediate cease-fire and admonished French President Nicolas Sarkozy, an ardent proponent of the bombing campaign, at a diplomatic meeting in Beijing. Hu called for peaceful efforts to restore stability, expressed China’s concern that Libya may end up divided and said force would complicate a negotiated settlement.

Diplomats were attempting to persuade Gadhafi to leave without military force.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said negotiations on securing Gadhafi’s exit were being conducted with “absolute discretion” and that there were options on the table that hadn’t yet been formalized.

“What is indispensable is that there be countries that are willing to welcome Gadhafi and his family, obviously to end this situation which otherwise could go on for some time,” he said.

But the Italian diplomat insisted immunity for Gadhafi was not an option. “We cannot promise him a ‘safe-conduct’ pass,” he stressed.

Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa visited Tunisia briefly, but there was no word if this was linked to the secret talks.

Uganda appeared to be the first country to publicly offer Gadhafi refuge. The spokesman for Uganda’s president, Tamale Mirundi, told AP on Wednesday that he would be welcome there. Uganda, however, is a signatory to the statute that created the International Criminal Court, whose chief prosecutor is deciding whether to seek an indictment against Gadhafi.

The group Human Rights Watch said Gadhafi’s forces laid land mines in the eastern outskirts of Adjabiya, an area they held from March 17 until March 26, when airstrikes drove them west.

The group cited the electricity director for eastern Libya, Abdal Minam al-Shanti, who said two anti-personnel mines detonated when a truck ran over them, but no one was hurt. Al-Shanti said a civil defense team found and disarmed 24 anti-vehicle mines and an estimated 30 to 40 plastic anti-personnel mines in what Human Rights Watch described as a heavily traveled area.

“Libya should immediately stop using anti-personnel mines, which most of the world banned years ago,” said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch.

France — which was the first nation to formally recognize the Libyan rebels — confirmed that a diplomatic presence was established in Benghazi on Tuesday. Juppe stressed that Antoine Sivan will not be a formal ambassador but rather a diplomat there to establish relations with the Council in Benghazi.

Britain, meanwhile, said it expelled five Libyan diplomats loyal to Gadhafi, including the country’s military attaché, because of their intimidation of opposition supporters and their potential threat to the U.K.’s national security.

Associated Press writers David Stringer in London; Slobodan Lekic in Brussels; Angela Charlton in Paris; Godfrey Olukya in Kampala, Uganda; Christopher Bodeen in Beijing; and Pauline Jelinek in Washington contributed to this report.

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Air force times said:

P-3C, A-10 fire on Libyan patrol vessels

Staff report
Posted : Tuesday Mar 29, 2011 21:13:25 EDT

A Navy P-3C Orion crew on Monday fired Maverick missiles at a 12-meter Libyan patrol craft suspected of attacking merchant vessels in the port city of Misrata, the Navy said.

The P-3C targeted the Libyan Coast Guard vessel Vittoria with AGM-65F air-to-surface missiles, “forcing it to be beached,” officials said in a statement issued Tuesday by Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn.

The Orion was joined by the Norfolk, Va.-based destroyer Barry and an Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft in the mission.

The Navy said the strike was prompted by “confirmed reports that Vittoria and accompanying craft were firing indiscriminately at merchant vessels” near Misrata, where rebels and forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are fighting.

The A-10 fired its 30mm GAU-8 Avenger cannon at two smaller craft, destroying one and forcing the crew to abandon the other vessel, as crews aboard Barry handled maritime and air traffic control.

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air force times said:

Event allows glimpse at AFSOC’s new MC-130J

By Dave Majumdar - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 29, 2011 18:51:51 EDT

Lockheed Martin on Tuesday rolled out Air Force Special Operations Command’s first MC-130J Combat Shadow II, a multirole tanker-transport plane. The event kicked off an effort to partially replace an increasingly geriatric fleet of older MC-130 models.

While Lockheed is currently under contract to build 15 of the four-engine turboprops, the Air Force is authorized to acquire up to 20 MC-130Js. The service hopes to eventually buy up to 37 of the aircraft.

“The MC-130J is one of the most versatile tactical airlifters in the world. Its multi-mission capabilities will increase the combat performance of special operations forces worldwide,” said AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster.

The new MC-130J is based on the Marine Corps’ KC-130J aerial-refueling tanker, and it will have a new wing designed with an extended fatigue life, a better cargo-handling system and more powerful electrical generators.

The MC-130J also is equipped with an electro-optical/infrared camera system and has a station for a combat systems operator in the cockpit.

“The MC-130J’s advanced sensors, expanded avionics and universal aerial refueling capability will enable the highly skilled airmen of AFSOC to operate under difficult conditions with unmatched speed and capability,” Wurster said.

The new plane also has room for the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures System.

AFSOC hopes the new MC-130J variant will be operation by 2012.

It joins several other variants of the C-130 Hercules in service with AFSOC, including the MC-130E Combat Talon I and MC-130H Combat Talon II, as well as the MC-130P Combat Shadow and the MC-130W Combat Spear.

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Navy Times said:

Navy considers future of desert cammies

By Sam Fellman - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 29, 2011 11:09:01 EDT

The Navy is considering replacements for the aging tricolor desert combat uniform, the service’s top officer acknowledged March 23.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead added that whatever sailors end up wearing, it will not be the new digital brown-and-tan version of the Navy working uniform. That uniform will be worn only by sailors belonging to Naval Special Warfare Command.

“The uniform that the SEALs and those in support of SEALs are using is a uniform that for a variety of reasons, I’m keeping specifically to those communities,” Roughead told reporters. “We are in the process now of determining what the rest of the force will use.”

Right now, the rest of the force is wearing the legacy DCU. But the Navy’s contract for this uniform runs out at the end of next year. The service must either extend DCU production, choose a new design or outfit its Seabees, explosive ordnance disposal technicians and other conventional land-based sailors with an existing uniform.

“I’ll be getting some proposals on which way we want to go — particularly the desert uniform that we’ve been wearing now for decades,” Roughead said. He didn’t go into further details about the style, patterns or colors being considered.

“Alternatives regarding the DCU are in a pre-decisional phase and it is premature to speculate prior to the CNO’s final decision,” Capt. William Park, who handles uniform matters for the chief of naval personnel, wrote in a reply to questions.

One option under consideration is for sailors assigned to the 5th Fleet area — but not on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan — to wear the woodland-pattern NWU, a source familiar with the matter said. Under this option, it wasn’t clear which uniform sailors would wear in Iraq or Afghanistan. The source spoke on condition of anonymity as the Navy’s uniform deliberations continue.

Both the digital desert and digital woodland NWUs are organizational clothing, meaning they are issued by the commands, unlike the blue-and-gray NWU. Both uniforms await approval, after which fielding will begin.

Roughead said the digital desert NWU will be limited to SEALs because it has some “special features” — including a reduced infrared signature. But there are competing explanations. Sources told Navy Times last year that the Marine Corps objected to rank-and-file sailors wearing the digital desert uniform because it looked too much like theirs, an accusation Roughead has denied. There is no such restriction on the new woodland cammies.
Contract clock is ticking

In the meantime, the Navy’s DCU contract is running out.

“We’ve agreed to support the DCU through 2012,” said Stacey Hajdak, a spokeswoman for the Defense Logistics Agency, which buys uniforms for the services. Hajdak said DLA would continue to order DCUs, as needed, until the end of 2012, when the current contract expires.

This leaves the Navy with a desert uniform dilemma: The service can stick with the legacy tricolor uniform after every other service has designed new uniforms to better camouflage their personnel in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan; it can undertake an expensive redesign; or it can adopt an existing uniform from somewhere else.

The Navy already has paid $8.4 million to design the NWU’s digital desert and woodland versions, according to a 2010 Government Accountability Office report. Designing and fielding another will cost much more.

“Even though it may not sound like a lot of money in the general scheme of things, uniforms are hugely expensive and the numbers of changes and the numbers that you have, you go through a lot of money,” Roughead said. “What I’m trying to do is to get the number of uniforms as lean as we can.”

Roughead said he will be looking at DCU options over the next few months. Despite all the jockeying by Navy communities, such as EOD and Seabees, for their own uniform, Roughead said his aim is to choose one for all hands.

“You eventually get to the point where the term ‘uniform’ is obsolete because everybody wants their own.”

Mark D. Faram contributed to this report.

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Military times said:

Senators say ‘spice’ use could affect readiness

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 29, 2011 21:18:12 EDT

The military’s struggle to come to grips with the marijuana-like synthetic cannabinoids collectively known as “spice” have raised alarms with two influential senators who say that the products “pose a risk to the operational readiness of our armed forces.”

In a letter sent Tuesday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., expressed particular concern over high-profile spice busts by the Navy, reported in Navy Times and other news outlets, on spice abuse aboard the amphibious assault ship Bataan and at the Naval Academy. They also pointed to Navy statistics cited in one of the stories showing that 151 sailors had been accused of using or been caught with spice during the first four months of the fiscal year.
Related reading

“We share the concern of Fleet Forces chief Adm. John Harvey when he called the number of K2/spice incidents ‘alarming,’ ” the senators wrote. “While we applaud recent efforts by the Department of Defense to address the growing use of K2 [a brand of spice] and spice by members of the armed forces … we are afraid that K2 and spice pose a risk to the operational readiness of our armed forces.”

Feinstein and Grassley are chairman and co-chairman, respectively, of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, and they asked Gates to provide witnesses at an April 6 caucus hearing on synthetic cannabinoids. Both also serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has oversight on spice-related legislation, and both have introduced a bill banning compounds found in spice.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, recently introduced a similar proposal that would make permanent a one-year ban imposed by the Drug Enforcement Administration, effective March 1, on five of the compounds used to formulate spice-like products.

The senators specifically asked Gates for written testimony about the Bataan and Naval Academy incidents, “the dangers K2/spice use poses for the armed services in general, and about actions the Department has taken to address use and abuse of K2 and spice by members of the armed forces.”

The substances, produced by a variety of manufacturers, generally produce a marijuana-like high, although the actual ingredients and potency vary widely; in worst-case scenarios, officials report, users have experienced symptoms ranging from agitation and anxiety to vomiting and seizures.

The Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force have all banned spice possession and use, and the Air Force has introduced a urine test for spice. While now illegal to sell at retail within the U.S., the products remain widely available on the Internet.

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Marine corps Times said:

New task force in works for Africa

By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 29, 2011 17:35:05 EDT

PANZER KASERNE, Germany — Military planners here are preparing to launch a new special-purpose Marine air ground task force that will deploy to Africa, partnering with countries there that are fighting terrorism and violent extremism.

Deployment orders have not yet been cut for the task force, but about 100 Marines will initially be assigned to the command, said Master Sgt. Grady Fontana, a spokesman here with Marine Corps Forces Africa. It still needs approval at top levels of the Pentagon to be launched, but some reservists could begin receiving notification of the assignment as soon as this month, Marine officials said.

A Marine planner said the task force could eventually grow into a “battalion-minus,” which would likely see it growing to include hundreds of troops. However, Fontana said planning is still in a conceptual phase and the unit’s size will be determined based on the needs of U.S. Africa Command, led by Army Gen. Carter Ham. It’s unknown what percentage of the force will be reservists.

The task force will be used to handle missions for two major operations: Operation Enduring Freedom-Horn of Africa and OEF-Trans Sahara. OEF-HOA is based primarily in northeastern Africa and has a strong presence in Djibouti, where U.S. troops are stationed at Camp Lemonier, a joint expeditionary base just north of Somalia, an extremist hotbed. OEF-TS is concentrated in countries like Mali, Chad and Niger, and focuses on fighting terrorism and developing native security forces.

Personnel here with MARFORAF headquarters said in early March that they expect the task force’s command structure will be established by the fall. Its command element will be based in southern Europe, they said in a command brief to Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, the Corps’ top enlisted Marine. They did not get more specific, and Marine officials declined to provide additional details about its planned location.

MARFORAF’s chief of staff, Col. James Bright, declined to comment on the formation of the task force, but said the Corps already has a continual presence in Africa through missions conducted by security cooperation teams. They commonly include active reservists assigned to MARFORAF in Germany, and deploy from here for up to two months at a time to work with the militaries of friendly nations in Africa. About 20 to 30 Marine reservists at a time typically make up the SC force in Germany, with smaller teams deployed from here to several countries at a time. MARFORAF’s entire staff comprises about 75 Marines.

“I think that with Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan and all these countries that have been getting attention … it places a lot more emphasis on Africa Command and Marine Forces Africa,” Bright said.

Gen. William Ward, the recently retired AFRICOM commander, told Kent during a visit to AFRICOM headquarters that interaction between the U.S. military and militaries in Africa has led to progress.

“Because we spend time with them, they get to know about how militaries act legitimately in a society in an apolitical way,” he said. “But it doesn’t happen overnight. It happens when they go to our schools, it happens when they go to our mil-to-mil training, and you see behavior then being modified in more professional ways based on that.”

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Army.Mil said:

Picatinny fields first precision-guided mortars to troops in Afghanistan

Mar 29, 2011

By Audra Calloway, Picatinny Public Affairs

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- This month, U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan received 120mm GPS-guided mortar precision capability.

The Program Executive Office for Ammunition fielded Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative cartridges, or APMI, to one Infantry Brigade Combat Team, or IBCT, earlier this month, and is scheduled to field cartridges to the seven other IBCTs in Afghanistan within six months.

"APMI is a 120mm GPS-guided mortar cartridge that provides the infantry commander precision-strike capability, which he has never had before," said Peter Burke, PEO Ammunition's deputy product manager, Guided Precision Munitions and Mortar Systems.

Mortars are an indirect firing capability used to defeat enemy troops, materiel, bunkers and other infantry-type targets.

"Typically mortars are fired in volleys against an area target because of their inherent inaccuracy, but with APMI, you have the potential to destroy a target with only one or two rounds," Burke said.

The APMI cartridge has a requirement of 10 meters CEP, or Circular Error Probable, but Burke said the program is exceeding this requirement. Ten meters CEP means that if you drew a circle around a target at 10 meters radius, the rounds have to fall inside the circle 50 percent of the time.

Current CEP for 120 mm mortars at their maximum range is 136 meters. Mortars with the most advanced features, such as precision position and pointing systems, can achieve a 76 meter CEP, which still makes APMI seven times more accurate than any formerly fielded mortar.

While APMI will not replace standard 120mm mortars, its accuracy will allow a commander the ability to defeat a target with precision if there is danger of collateral damage, Burke explained.

Insurgents deliberately plan attacks in populated areas in the hope that opposing forces don't want to retaliate and risk accidental harm to civilians or damage to non-military property.

"Sometimes, if the risk of collateral damage is too high, you might not be able to fire (a standard 120mm) at all," Burke said of enemy engagements. "In that case, instead of firing a mortar from a protected position, you would have to send troops in to engage with direct-fire weapons, exposing them to more risk."

But because of APMI's GPS-technology, which provides an accurate, first-round fire-for-effect capability, troops will have opportunities to employ APMI's precision where they previously would not, such as nearer to friendly forces or in urban areas.

Besides reducing risk to the local population and keeping U.S. servicemembers out of harm's way, APMI reduces the logistical burden of ammunition resupply.

A mortar unit typically carries 25 High-Explosive, or HE, rounds with them, Burke said, and they will now carry a mixture of standard and APMI rounds. Instead of firing large quantities of HE rounds, troops can fire one or two APMI and eliminate the target, so their resupply needs should be reduced.

The APMI, Inside and Out

The APMI XM395, cartridge uses a standard M934 high-explosive 120mm projectile body. In the nose, a GPS receiver and computer controlled aerodynamic directional fins keep the round on its programmed trajectory. Folding fins in the tail provide stability.

APMI also has a multi-functional fuse, which allows the round to be programmed to explode in the air, once it hits a hard surface or after it penetrates inside a target.

In order for the autonomous flight and fuse control to function properly, operators must input mission and GPS data from a fire control computer into the round using a setting device.

Earlier PEO Ammunition program investments contributed to APMI's development by providing technological building blocks and by paving inroads, including the 155mm Excalibur round and the Precision Guidance Kit, referred to as PGK. PGK is a low-cost, GPS-guided fuse kit that improves the accuracy of existing 155mm artillery rounds.

The Armament Research Development and Engineering Center, or ARDEC, co-located here, develops advanced fire control systems that help mortar operators improve the speed of their operations and the accuracy of their fires. These include the Lightweight Hand-held Mortar Ballistic Computer and the Dismounted 120mm Mortar Fire Control System, which were modified for the APMI fielding to ensure mortar operations remain streamlined.

"There were many difficult technological hurdles we crossed previously during our development of digital fire control systems requiring interface with smart projectiles that culminated in the APMI," said Patti Alameda competency manager, of ARDEC's Mortar and Common Fire Control Systems Division. "The ability of people to work as a team and integrate all of the sophisticated technology in a way that reduces the burden on the Soldier is really how we achieve this leap forward in capability."

The APMI cartridge is fired from the M120 mortar system, which is compatible with the M326 Mortar Stowage Kit. Also developed at ARDEC, M326 Mortar Stowage Kits are now in full scale production and will be fielded to IBCTs over the next several years.

As of right now, Burke said there is no requirement for precision capability for 81mm and 60mm mortars.

The Army's requirements for larger caliber precision munitions allow technology to be more easily adapted to these larger rounds, he said.

"The 120 gives you a lot more room to work with," Burke said. "To fit all the electronics into smaller cartridges, with today's technology, is not feasible. They started with the biggest size to give us the most room to work with. Plus, you're getting the lethality of a 120, which is leaps and bounds above what a 60mm HE round can do."

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SAN DIEGO -- The engine of a fighter jet preparing to take off from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific exploded and injured 10 Sailors, the military says.

The F/A-18C Hornet was starting a training exercise when the accident occurred about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday on the flight deck of the USS John C. Stennis, according to Cmdr. Pauline Storum.

Four Sailors were flown to Naval Medical Center San Diego, where they were in stable condition. The six others were treated for burn injuries onboard the carrier. None of the injuries was life threatening, Storum said.

The pilot was not hurt.

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From Commander Naval Air Forces Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Ten Sailors aboard the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) were injured March 30 when an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 101 suffered a catastrophic engine failure and subsequently caught fire.

The injured Sailors were working on the flight deck near the jet when the incident occurred at 2:50 p.m. They were initially treated by the ship's medical personnel.

Four Sailors have been flown to Naval Medical Center San Diego where they are in stable condition. The pilot was not injured.

The fire was quickly extinguished, and there is no significant damage to the ship.

"I am extremely proud of our crew," said Stennis Commanding Officer Capt Ronald Reis. "The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is an inherently dangerous place, but our personnel are well-trained to operate safely in this environment. They responded quickly, professionally and with purpose, extinguishing the aircraft engine fire."

The cause of the mishap is under investigation.

USS John C. Stennis is homeported in Bremerton, Wash., and was conducting Fleet Replacement Squadron Carrier Qualifications in the Southern California operating area at the time of the mishap. VMFAT-101 is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

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Army.mil. said:

WASHINGTON, APRIL 1, 2011 -- In a fingertip-to-the-brim nod to its American frontier history, the Army is changing hats again - returning to the tumultuous days of the horse Cavalry in the wild west and adopting a dark blue Stetson as the official headgear for the current force of 1.1 million Soldiers.

"We figure the Stetson will be popular with the troops," said Sgt. Maj. Bob S. Stone, Army Uniform Board headgear task force president. "It's been a while since we have changed the headgear, so it's time. Plus a Stetson is functional and down right American."

But reminiscent of the controversial switch from the garrison cap to the black beret, the Army faces opposition from one community deeply opposed to losing its special identity with the Stetson - the Armor branch.

"Why in the heck are they doing to us what they did to the snake-eaters?" asked one officer familiar with the board's deliberations. "If you ain't Cav, you ain't ought to be wearing a Cav hat. That just ain't right."

But the sheer functionality of the wide-brimmed American-classic Stetson won over the majority of the board.

"You can keep the sun out of your eyes, the hat won't melt to your head on a sunny day, and female Soldiers can tuck long hair under a Stetson a lot easier than with the current beret," says Stone. "Plus we've already gone back to blue jackets for the service dress uniform. The Stetson actually completes the look."

The voting of the board fell along predicable lines, but was completed weeks ahead of schedule. In a surprise move representatives from Forts Bragg, Campbell and several undisclosed forward locations around the world pushed the vote for the Stetson to a head.

Representatives from various garrison activities and the Human Resources Command tried in vain to keep the beret, citing the cache it brings to wearers as well as practicality. According a dissenting member, "at least you can fold a beret and put it in your pocket. Where are you going to put your ten-gallon hat in your cubicle?"

The beret is not completely leaving the Army inventory, as communities who previously wore berets will return to or keep their traditional colors of maroon (airborne), black (Ranger) and green (Special Forces). Additionally Rangers will be allowed to keep the tan beret for use in desert climates. "We've at least earned that, for all grief we took in losing the black beret in the last go-round," said one unidentified tab-wearing board member.

Stone refused to address rumors that the Army Uniform Board will next consider adoption of a black western-style or 'cowboy' boot to replace the current inventory of black low quarters for wear with the Army Service Uniform. Sources expect that if the board moves toward boots, the Armor community will likely push for the return of cavalry-use-only jodhpurs and spurs, as a concession for having lost its prior if informal and exclusive right to wear a Stetson.

There will be some restrictions on wear. In a nod to other dress blue uniform traditions, general officer Stetsons will be black and must have a completely flat brim. All other wearers of dark blue Stetsons will be allowed any combination of opposing but matching curls of the side brims, up-to-twenty-degrees up or down. However no single-side flapping of any portion of the brim will be allowed.

The Army's official adoption date of the Stetson will be April Fool's Day, 2012.

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Air force times said:

U.S. ending its air combat role in Libya

By Robert Burns - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Apr 1, 2011 12:20:26 EDT

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is about to pull its attack planes out of the international air campaign in Libya, hoping NATO partners can take up the slack.

The announcement Thursday drew incredulous reactions from some in Congress who wondered aloud why the Obama administration would bow out of a key element of the strategy for protecting Libyan civilians and crippling Moammar Gadhafi’s army.

“Odd,” “troubling” and “unnerving” were among critical comments by senators pressing for an explanation of the announcement by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen that American combat missions will end Saturday.

“Your timing is exquisite,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said sarcastically, alluding to Gadhafi’s military advances this week and the planned halt to U.S. airstrikes. “I believe this would be a profound mistake with potentially disastrous consequences.”

Gates and Mullen, in back-to-back appearances before the House and Senate armed services committees, also forcefully argued against putting the U.S. in the role of arming or training Libyan rebel forces, while suggesting it might be a job for Arab or other countries. The White House has said repeatedly that it has not ruled out arming the rebels, who have retreated pell-mell this week under the pressure of a renewed eastern offensive by Gadhafi’s better-armed and better-trained ground troops.

“My view would be, if there is going to be that kind of assistance to the opposition, there are plenty of sources for it other than the United States,” Gates said.

The White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said he saw no contradiction between Gates’ remarks and President Obama’s statement that “he has not ruled it in or out.” As yet, none of Obama’s top advisers have publicly advocated a significant expansion of the U.S. role aiding the opposition.

Gates and Mullen were early skeptics of getting involved militarily in Libya, and Gates made clear Thursday that he still worries about the possibility of getting drawn into an open-ended and costly commitment. That explains in part his view that if the rebels are to receive foreign arms, that task — and the training that would necessarily go with it — should not be done by Americans.

Gates said no one should be surprised by the U.S. combat air pullback, but he called the timing “unfortunate” in light of Gadhafi’s battlefield gains. He noted that the air attacks are a central feature of the overall military strategy; over time they could degrade Gadhafi’s firepower to a point that he would be unable to put down a renewed uprising by opposition forces, he said.

The other major source of U.S. firepower during the two weeks of combat in Libya has been the Navy’s Tomahawk cruise missile, launched from ships and submarines in the Mediterranean. None were fired overnight Thursday, U.S. defense officials said Friday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss such details.

It was not clear whether the U.S. would continue attacks with Tomahawks beyond Saturday.

Mullen and Gates stressed that even though powerful combat aircraft like the side-firing AC-130 gunship and the A-10 Thunderbolt, used for close air support of friendly ground forces, will stop flying after Saturday, they will be on standby. Mullen said this means that if the rebels’ situation become “dire enough,” NATO’s top commander could request help from the U.S. aircraft. The U.S. also has used Marine AV-8B Harrier attack jets as well as Air Force F-15 fighters and B-2 and B-1 long-range bombers.

As of Sunday, France, Britain and other NATO countries will handle the task of conducting airstrikes on Libyan military targets, Mullen said. The remaining U.S. role will be support missions such as aerial refueling, search and rescue, and aerial reconnaissance.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., suggested the pullback might jeopardize congressional support for the Libya mission.

“The idea that the AC-130s and the A-10s and American air power is grounded unless the place goes to hell is just so unnerving that I can’t express it adequately,” Graham said. “The only thing I would ask is, please reconsider that.”

Asked by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., whether he was confident that NATO could sustain airstrikes alone, Gates replied, “They certainly have made that commitment, and we will see.”

Many lawmakers were angered by what they said was the administration’s lack of candor with Congress ahead of the Libya mission. Several complained that the mission is expensive and ill-defined. Gates defended it, asserting that a potential humanitarian disaster was averted when the U.S.-led intervention stopped Gadhafi’s forces as they closed in on Beghazi, the de facto rebel capital in eastern Libya. Gadhafi’s forces initially were driven back, but they have since regained their lost ground.

Mullen revealed that a major factor in Gadhafi’s ability to drive back the rebels — essentially eliminating the territorial gains they had made last week with the help of international air strikes — was bad weather. He said it grounded most combat missions earlier this week.

Obama had made clear that once U.S. air power silenced Gadhafi’s air defenses, permitting the establishment of a no-fly zone over the North African country, the U.S. would reduce its role and let NATO take the lead. On Thursday, NATO assumed control of all aspects of the international campaign — including enforcing the no-fly zone and attacking Gadhafi’s military.

The U.S. now finds itself in the unusual position of a back-seat partner in the Libya operation, with no clear path to empowering the rebels. A retired Army general, James Dubick, wrote Thursday in a war commentary that a necessary next step is to place NATO combat air controllers on the ground — to include Americans — to precisely direct air power. Trainers also are needed, he wrote.

“Right now, they (the rebels) are more like ‘guys with guns’ than an organized force and they need help,” Dubick wrote. He is a former commander of U.S. training mission in Iraq and is now a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank.

Mullen said Gadhafi’s army had lost as much as 25 percent of its firepower, although his ground forces still outnumber the rebels by about 10-to-1.

———

Associated Press writers Donna Cassata and Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.

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Air force times said:

A-10 crashes in western Germany

By Jill Laster - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Apr 1, 2011 11:36:49 EDT

The pilot of an A-10 ejected before the single-seat gunship crashed in western Germany on Friday, the Air Force said.

The pilot, whose name was withheld until family members are notified, was being treated for injuries, according to a statement from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. No other details about the pilot were available, said Spangdahlem spokeswoman Airman 1st Class Brittney Frees.

The A-10 crashed about 3:57 p.m. local time north of the city of Wittlich near Laufeld, during a routine training mission, the statement said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

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Navy times said:

Navy now says 11 hurt in Hornet engine fire

By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 31, 2011 14:10:56 EDT

SAN DIEGO — Eleven people, including one Marine and two civilian workers, were injured Wednesday when a Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet jet engine caught fire aboard the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, the Navy said Thursday.

The Navy initially reported that 10 sailors were hurt in the incident, which remains under investigation.

Medical personnel aboard Stennis initially treated the injured, and four sailors were flown to Naval Medical Center San Diego, where one of them was treated and released, said Lt. Aaron Kakiel, a Naval Air Forces spokesman in Coronado, Calif. Three others were stable on Thursday, Kakiel said.

Seven other people — four sailors, one Marine and two civilians assisting Navy Electronic Attack Squadron 129 — remained aboard the ship and were receiving treatment for their injuries from the ship’s medical personnel, Kakiel said. The Hornet pilot, assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101, was not injured.

Personnel were working on the flight deck near the single-seat fighter jet about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday when the jet “suffered a catastrophic engine failure and subsequently caught fire,” Naval Air Forces said in a statement.

“The fire was quickly extinguished, and there is no significant damage to the ship,” officials said in the statement.

Flight operations aboard the carrier resumed Thursday.

Stennis, which is based in Bremerton, Wash., was operating off southern California conducting fleet replacement squadron carrier qualifications at the time of the mishap. VMFAT-101 is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

“I am extremely proud of our crew,” the carrier’s commander, Capt. Ronald Reis, said in a statement. “The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is an inherently dangerous place, but our personnel are well-trained to operate safely in this environment. They responded quickly, professionally and with purpose, extinguishing the aircraft engine fire.”

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The Army's official adoption date of the Stetson will be April Fool's Day, 2012.

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