-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! 1081. DOD balancing risks, missions by Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The size of the U.S. military might not change much, but the way it is configured and the missions it addresses will change, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Aug. 6. Force sizing would be one aspect of the Quadrennial Defense Review that will be released in September, he said. The military "may not be different in numbers, but in how they are organized." The threat-based strategy of the past is over, he said. For years the United States organized forces to combat the Soviet Union. Now Rumsfeld envisions a force that is threat-based for the near term -- to address risks in Southwest Asia and North Korea, for example -- and a combination of threat-based and capabilities-based in the medium- and long-term. Driving this effort is the current state of the Defense Department, he said. The United States fields the best military in the world, but there are problems. "If I can come in here and look under every rock and find a multibillion-dollar problem that has not been tended to, something is wrong," Rumsfeld said. "We've got to get it fixed. It didn't get that wrong in one year, and we're not going to get it fixed in one year, but we've got to get it on the right path. "We have to begin with the reality that we have had a strategy-resource mismatch for the better part of a decade," he said. When Rumsfeld arrived six months ago, he said, "I was told we do not have forces, or the airlift or the various other assets to meet what we currently say is our strategy and force-sizing construct." The "construct" since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 has been for the U.S. military to be able to fight and win two near-simultaneous major regional contingencies. Given this picture, Rumsfeld outlined some of the risks. "We knew we had an operational risk because of our strategy-resource shortfall," he said. "We also see we have a risk to our force from decay and from shrinkage and from age." Infrastructure had not been repaired, aircraft were aging at unacceptable rates, maintenance backlogs were soaring, and "the shipbuilding budget had been put on a trajectory so that it was diving down to 230 ships," he said. The situation risks people's lives and safety, and also their morale, he said. "They're told they need to fly old airplanes, and they are not going to have the maintenance parts to keep them in the air, and they are told they are going to be working and living in infrastructure that's old and decrepit," Rumsfeld said. The last risk is the future risk. "The president says the 21st century is different (from) the 20th century, and we ought to begin thinking about transforming that force at a bit better rate," he said. The military needs information dominance and information interoperability and the means to address the asymmetrical threats potential foes would most probably use. The effects of all these risks on force structure are unclear, he said. In the QDR, civilian and military officials are assessing those risks and looking for balance. "We face risks we can't identify by country," Rumsfeld said. "That's why we need this capability-based strategy." U.S. military planners can envision the types of threats the United States may face. The military must be arranged to deal with and deter those threats "regardless of where they come from," he said. 1078. Thule begins cleanup after flood by Staff Sgt. Gino Mattorano 21st Space Wing Public Affairs THULE AIR BASE, Greenland (AFPN) -- Extensive cleanup operations began here, following flooding Aug. 1 to 3 that disrupted the base water supply and threatened operations here. Heavy rains combined with melting polar ice wiped out roads and bridges and threatened to overwhelm the base's utility services. "The significant efforts of our military members and civilian contractors have enabled us to restore all utilities and services to the base," said Col. Craig Whitehead, 12th Space Warning Squadron commander. "In addition, we've maintained 100 percent of operational mission capability throughout and we've had no report of injuries or accidents." As a result of the flooding, any fuel lines that might have been affected were drained and the fuel rerouted to prevent the possibility of an environmental incident in the event they were damaged. "Rerouting the fuel enabled us to support re-supply missions to Thule as well as other Greenland and Canadian bases that use our airfield," Whitehead said. "It's critical to bring in supplies at this time of the year to enable us to maintain operations throughout the winter months." While road and bridge repair have started, some of the work required assistance from outside sources. The 62nd Engineering Battalion, from Fort Hood, Texas, and members of the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., quickly responded to the base and are assessing the damage and planning needed repairs. "We're very grateful to the Army, the 21st Space Wing and higher headquarters for responding so quickly to the dilemma," Whitehead said. "Their assistance, coupled with the heroic effort of all base personnel, should have the base back to normal relatively soon." Despite the repairs made to the roads here, they will require additional work to prevent future flooding. "Currently, the roads to our missile warning radar site and to our fuel storage areas have been temporarily repaired," said P.E. Sorensen, site manager for the Greenland contractors who are responsible for maintaining the base infrastructure and facility management. "We have requested the assistance of civil engineer experts from Copenhagen to take the lead on assessing the extent of the damage and helping us to prevent future flooding of Thule." Long-term fixes will include the repair of damage to communications cables and the addition of more culverts to divert water from roads and bridges. 1082. Command changes coming for AMC SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFPN) -- Air Force Gen. Charles T. "Tony" Robertson, the current commander-in-chief of U.S. Transportation Command and commander, Air Mobility Command, will be retiring following 33 years of service. The exact date of the retirement has not been set. The president nominated Gen. John W. handy, currently Air Force vice chief of staff, to replace Robertson. The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation. Robertson has served concurrently as USTRANSCOM and AMC commander since Sept. 1998. In a ceremony to be held Sept. 22 at the Gateway Conference Center near Scott Air Force Base, the noncommissioned officers of AMC will bestow their highest honor on Robertson by inducting him into the AMC Order of the Sword. Chief Master Sgt. Ken Van Holbeck, AMC command chief master sergeant, presented Robertson his invitation Aug. 1 on behalf of the more than 20,000 active-duty NCOs in AMC who voted unanimously to induct Robertson into the Order of the Sword. "Despite the rigors of commanding two major commands, General Robertson has dedicated himself to continually improve quality of life and quality of service for our enlisted people and their families," Van Holbeck said. "Anyone who has met the general knows of his passion for our mission and our people," Van Holbeck said. "Not only is he a dynamic and caring leader, he's truly a gentleman in every respect. Our command themes during his tenure, the Year of the Enlisted Force, Year of the Family, and Year of Retention and Recruiting have all focused on people. That should tell you something about his commitment to the total force men and women who are Air Mobility Command." 1077. New AFN channels separate news, sports MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- U.S. military television viewers around the world are being offered two new services by the American Forces Radio and Television Service Broadcast Center here. American Forces Network NewSports, the channel formerly providing both news and sports programming, split into AFN News and AFN Sports, which offer comprehensive news coverage and around the clock sports. "The new channels finally offer the expanded services viewers requested," said Melvin Russell, AFRTS director. "As long as I can remember, AFN audience members have asked for an all-sports channel and more stateside news. Our improved satellite and digital compression delivery system now allows us to offer it." AFN News offers continuous and comprehensive international and stateside news coverage and analysis from the major broadcast and cable news networks and military news sources. Overseas viewers will also see a variety of new information and analysis programs not previously aired by the AFN. "Sports enthusiasts will get a wall-to-wall service with the most up-to-the-minute scores, highlights, and late breaking sports news," Russell said. "AFN Sports will also feature expanded sports analysis programs and additional sports events from the broadcast networks and cable sports channels. Encore presentations of big events will also be rebroadcast for fans unable to catch the live airings." The AFN Sports channel began its first broadcast Aug. 7 with the live major league baseball match-up between the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians. Launching the AFN News and AFN Sports channels culminates years of planning and technological changes at the broadcast center here and affiliate stations around the world. New equipment was installed at the broadcast center expanding its television channel capacity. The center's programmers also sought and acquired the added television programs to accommodate the additional schedule. "It's a major undertaking," said Col. Ray Shepherd, commander of the AFRTS broadcast center. "AFRTS is confident our viewers will enjoy the new services. The audience is our number one priority and the work we've done is a result of their expressed desires." Audience members leasing or renting AFRTS decoders will automatically receive the two new channels. "However, viewers receiving AFRTS via a military cable system should check with their local cable provider for availability of the new channels in their region," Shepherd said. With the expanded services, overseas viewers will be able to tune in anytime, night or day, and be assured of up to the minute national, international and regional news, information and analysis from America's top television news providers. 1080. Academy firefighters tackle Combat Challenge by Supunnee Ulibarri U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AFPN) -- U.S. Air Force Academy firefighters here are pushing training limits to the max as they prepare for the annual regional Firefighter Combat Challenge scheduled for Aug. 11 in Cheyenne, Wyo. "We've trained for three months now," said Tech. Sgt. Craig Hall, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of training at the department, and Firefighter Combat Challenge coordinator here. Some competitors train all year long for the event that encourages firefighter fitness and demonstrates the profession's rigors to the public, he said. The team is made up of five members and two alternates. The academy's team comes from its 510th Civil Engineering Squadron. Each team member is required to finish five events while clad in more than 70 pounds of full-fire response gear. Events in which the team will compete include the high rise pack carry, hose hoist, forcible entry, hose advance and victim rescue. The three best times of each team member are totaled. The combined times must be under seven minutes to qualify for the worldwide competition on Oct. 31 in Memphis, Tenn. "We've had to really condense our training because of the short time we had to train, but we have had an incredible amount of support from people on base," Hall said. The team trains eight-hours-a-day, five days-a-week. The team will dedicate its participation in the challenge to Blake and Jade Weinreich, 6-year old daughters of base firefighter Dean Minneman's fiancée, Michelle. The twins were involved in car accident in which Jade was killed. 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