United States Central Command: Military News from Northeast Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia AOR

Michael Yon Online

Dear Bos'un, I couldn't get the musical video to work, so I removed it. If you can fix it, please use 450px width and 250px height. :)
Yellow Ribbon Greetings-Patriotic & Military greeting cards-2006 Christmas Collection now available!

TailRank, find other news!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

NGAUS Legit: 10 June 07

What’s Happening In Congress?

House Armed Services Committee Holds Hearing on Body Armor
On Wednesday, the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing relating to Pinnacle Dragon Skin, a form of body armor that was the subject of a recent investigative report by NBC. Murray Neal, President of Pinnacle Armor, appeared with Phillip Coyle, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense, who observed the testing conducted by NBC, to discuss their claim that Dragon Skin is a superior product to the Interceptor body armor that is currently utilized by U.S. service members in combat.

In his opening statement, Mr. Neal made reference to a history of “anti-Dragon Skin misinformation” coming from the Department of Defense and members of the committee, in turn, accused Mr. Neal of impugning the integrity of the Army, badmouthing Armed Services committee staff, alarming service members and their families, and hyping his company’s product. “Everywhere you go,” said Representative Duncan Hunter, “you leave the implication that everybody is the devil.” While Mr. Neal said it was not his intention to do so, he could not provide an answer as to why the Department of Defense would intentionally seek to mislead the public and the Armed Forces on the issue of Dragon Skin body armor.

Members of the committee also heard testimony from Pentagon officials, who noted discrepancies in the tests performed by NBC. Lt. General Ross Thompson III, Deputy Director of the Army Acquisition Corps, noted that, “body armor that was provided for the NBC test was not from one of the six certified and tested producers of the body armor that is used by the military.” General Brown, commander of the Soldier Systems Center in Natick Massachusetts, stated that, “in Honorable Coyle's own testimony, he said they were using the 7.62-by-54 round, which is not the test round. The 7.62-by-63 APM two round is the test round which we specifically selected to put in a wider margin of safety into the plates.”

Mr. Douglas Thomas, executive director for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations also informed the committee that Pinnacle Armor is currently the subject of a criminal investigation. The Air Force is currently investigating Pinnacle’s claim that its Dragon Skin body armor had been certified by the National Institute of Justice in April 2006. According to a letter read by Chairman Skelton, this certification did not actually occur until December 2006. Pentagon officials noted the seriousness of such a fraudulent claim. “It is my hope,” said Lt. General Thompson, “that the investigation results in the appropriate consequences.''

Despite an admission by Mr. Coyle that the armor was “not ready for prime time”, Rep. Hunter said that the technology “may be of some value” and urged further comparison testing. He was ready, he said, to get “an M-14 and some 7.62 stuff to the Marine Corps lab and try to get some shots off in the next week or so.”

House Appropriations Committee Approves Military Construction-VA Spending
The House Appropriations Committee unanimously approved $109.2 billion in funding for military construction and veterans affairs programs. This amounts to $4 billion more than that requested by President Bush and includes increases in spending for healthcare and claims processing.

Senate NDAA Status
As of today, no information has been made available regarding the Senate version of S.1547, the FY 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). While the bill passed out of the Armed Services Committee two weeks ago, a report on its contents is still forthcoming. On June 5, 2007, it was reported to the Senate as an original bill and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar. NGAUS will provide an update on the bill as soon as possible.

What’s Happening at NGAUS?

NGAUS President Attends Alaska Conference
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Stephen Koper, President of NGAUS, attended this week’s Adjutants General Association of the United States conference in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss issues of importance to the National Guard. The conference runs from June 4 to June 8, 2007.

2008 NGAUS CACO Conference
The 2008 NGAUS Congressional Action Contact Officer (CACO) conference will be held March 3 and 4 at NGAUS. Please mark your schedules. More information will follow on lodging arrangements for attendees.

What Can You Do?
Capwiz Update

17,071 messages sent this year.
239 messages sent this week.
3663 messages on Guard Empowerment.
4292 messages on TRICARE fee increases.
7646 messages on retirement.
881 messages on JCA

Top 5 States:

1. Georgia – 2209 messages
2. Tennessee – 2131 messages
3. Mississippi – 1182 messages
4. Ohio – 665 messages
5. Indiana 555 messages

Our Goal for 2007: 54,000 messages

Only 36,929 messages to go!

NGAUS Legislative Staff
Rich Green, Director
Pete Duffy, Deputy Director
Chris DeBatt, Army Programs
Emily Breitbach, Air Programs
Bernie Phelps, Senior Legislative Analyst
Gareth Vaughan, Legislative Analyst


For more information on NGAUS, check out our website here.

Labels: