New Personnel System Presents Opportunity, Program Officer Says

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2006 - The Defense Department's new National Security Personnel System is on track for initial implementation, the system's program executive officer told the human resources specialists attending the a symposium here yesterday.

"Were still on track to deploy folks into Spiral 1.1 in April," Mary Lacey told attendees. "We've got over 11,000 (non-union) employees that are going in."

The NSPS Program Executive Office designed the system for a staggered implementation based on a spiral model, she said. The approach has lead to delays, she noted, but this has given the office a chance to tweak the program as it builds it.

The purpose of the spiral model to introduce NSPS was to build a little, test a little and learn a lot, Lacey said. "I'm actually confident that we're doing this the right way," she added.

The most recent implementation delay was caused by a need to take another look at the system's evaluation system. Lacey said it was robust but hard to understand and to put into operation. The NSPS has spent the last six weeks reworking that portion of the system, she said.

Some whom NSPS will affect have expressed hesitation over changes it will bring, even if the changes are good for them, Lacey said. She added that communication and training will help ease these fears.

"Conversations need to happen very, very frequently. Employees will be demanding more of supervisors' time. They'll be demanding more thoughtful conversations," she said. "If you find the time, while it's painful the first year, you will get paybacks forever."

One thing supervisors should be communicating to their employees is results.

"We're not just going to measure transactions," she said. "Transactions are interesting, but they're not necessarily something that compel us to action or the only thing that helps us achieve our (objective)."

Supervisors also should set and level expectations for employees, Lacey said. Employees need to realize not everyone is a star performer every year.

"When supervisors are giving their people feedback throughout the year, you need to talk in NSPS terms," she said. "A '3' is not a bad evaluation. That's a great, solid evaluation."

NSPS evaluation ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 5, with the former number being an unsuccessful evaluation and the latter a 'role model' assessment.

Under NSPS, evaluations will determine an employee's compensation. The system's three pay bands allow flexibility to adjust salaries and compensation to be competitive with the civilian sector, Lacey said.

"It's an important flexibility that we think we need to have in the department," Lacey said. "But we need to watch it. It needs to be fair (and) we need to make sure that in the process of being fair we don't ... price ourselves out of business."

Also important is that employees feel the system is being applied fairly, she said, adding that feeling will come from continuous conversations with supervisors so that employees know what's expected. These conversations, and the formal evaluations, need to be conducted with a measure of sensitivity, she said.

"People's feelings are important in this," Lacey said. "The people are the appreciating assets in the Department of Defense."

Biography:

Mary Lacey [http://www.cpms.osd.mil/nsps/mary_lacey.html]

Related Site:

National Security Personnel System [http://www.cpms.osd.mil/nsps/]

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Bush Thanks Poles for Supporting Iraqi Democracy

By Steven Donald Smith
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2006 - The United States and Poland are friends in liberty, President Bush said while hosting Polish President Lech Kaczynski at the White House today.

"I thank the president and the Polish people for their support of the democracy movement in Iraq," Bush said. "We're strong allies and friends. We're friends in liberty, and we believe in peace."

Poland has troops serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In September 2003, the Poles assumed command of the Multinational Division Central South in Iraq, and along with their multinational partners have helped train Iraqi forces and stabilize the south central part of the country, officials said.

The two presidents also spoke today about issues related to freedom in Europe. "President (Bush) and myself have discussed issues relating to freedom in the Ukraine and Belarus," Kaczynski said, "and the support of the United States for all actions that are leading to freedom in Ukraine and Belarus are very important for Poland at the same time."

Bush remarked that he was amazed to be sitting next to a man who had once lived under a totalitarian regime in communist Poland. "And now he's the president of a free country," he said.

In 1989, communism in Poland crumbled, and the following year, Lech Walesa, a Solidarity movement leader, became the first popularly elected president of Poland. Every Polish government since has been a strong supporter and ally of the United States.

Aside from the global war on terrorism and democratization, Poland has worked closely with the U.S. on issues ranging from nuclear proliferation to human rights and regional cooperation in Europe, according to the U.S. State Department Web site.

The two countries are also both NATO members. The U.S. was one of the 12 founding members of the defense alliance in 1949; Poland became a full NATO member in 1999.

This was Kaczynski's first visit to the White House since taking office Dec. 23.

Related Sites:

Transcript of Meeting Remarks [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060209-1.html]

State Department Background Notes on Poland [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2875.htm]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2006/20060209_4164.html.

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Leaders Assess Katrina Successes, Lessons Learned

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2006 - The Defense Department is applying lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina to build its capabilities to respond to similar or even bigger catastrophes within the United States, defense and military leaders who oversaw the military response told Congress today.

U.S. military forces executed "the largest, fastest, most comprehensive and most responsive civil support mission ever," Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

He credited the 72,000 active-duty, National Guard and reserve members who responded, particularly at a time of large-scale deployments supporting the war on terror, as a testament to the readiness, agility and professionalism of the force.

DoD prepared its initial response to Katrina while it was still swirling in the Caribbean and moved in to the afflicted region within hours after it made landfall, McHale told the committee.

U.S. Northern Command, the DoD command responsible for homeland missions, began tracking Katrina while it was still a tropical storm, Navy Adm. Timothy Keating, NORTHCOM commander, told the senators. Even before the hurricane made landfall last Aug. 29 or federal agencies requested help, NORTHCOM received DoD authority to deploy the forces needed to save lives and reduce suffering, Keating said.

"We were extremely proactive," McHale told the committee.

A General Accountability Office report issued Feb. 1 confirms McHale's assessment. While the federal government generally waited for the affected states to ask for help, the report notes, "some federal responders such as the Coast Guard and DoD did 'lean forward' in proactive efforts anticipating a major disaster."

National Guard soldiers and airmen were on duty as quickly as hurricane-force winds cleared the area, Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, reported. Within 24 hours, 9,700 Guard members were in New Orleans alone, and within 96 hours of the storm's passing, more than 30,000 more Guard troops had deployed, he said.

"We did not wait. We anticipated needs, we responded immediately, and I feel, very effectively," Blum said. "The National Guard delivered when and where we were needed."

Ultimately, more than 50,000 National Guard troops from all 50 states and several U.S. territories responded in what Blum called "the largest National Guard domestic response force in the history of our nation."

"It wasn't by accident that the Guard forces got there in large numbers ahead of the active forces," McHale told the committee. "For domestic missions, it makes a great deal of sense to rely primarily on the National Guard" and to augment it with active-duty forces as needed, he said.

More than 22,000 active-duty members also supported Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

"The ability of our armed forces to react to such a devastating hurricane speaks volumes to the readiness, professionalism and training of our active-duty, Reserve and National Guard forces," Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, commander of Joint Task Force Katrina, told the committee.

These troops performed efficiently and effectively, in collaboration with local, state and federal agencies under extremely austere conditions, he said.

Army Maj. Gen. Bennett Landrenau, adjutant general for Louisiana, expressed gratitude to all who came to his state's aid in its time of need. "In the face of our nation's greatest natural disaster, the heart and soul of this country launched the greatest response and outpouring of support ever witnessed on American soil," he said.

Landrenau praised the cooperative spirit with which each military component operated during the crisis. He dismissed suggestions that the response might have gone smoother with a single, "dual-hatted" commander controlling both "Title 10,"or federal, and "Title 32," or state, forces.

"We did, in fact, reach unity of effort, each component working toward a common goal, while maintaining unique chains of command," Landrenau told the committee. "We had developed a multicomponent command operating under the legal authorities of Title 10, 14 and 32 of the U.S. Code, all in support of the governor of Louisiana." The Coast Guard operates under Title 14 of the U.S. Code.

While the Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the capabilities of the military in disaster response, it also demonstrated some shortcomings, McHale said. "We did very well," he said. "But we must do better."

McHale recommended that DoD:

Get faster, more accurate ways to conduct damage assessments;
Achieve a unity of effort when multiple federal agencies converge on an affected area;
Improve communication with first responders and emergency management personnel;
Integrate both active- and reserve-component capabilities into planning for catastrophic events as well as on-the-scene operations; and
Re-examine the roles DoD could foreseeably be asked to carry out following a disaster and what resources might be needed to support that effort.

The GAO report echoes many of McHale's recommendations, including one to further define and leverage military capabilities that could be needed in a major catastrophe in the planning process.

"More detailed planning would provide greater visibility and understanding of the types of support DoD will be expected to provide following a catastrophic incident - including the types of assistance and capabilities that might be provided, what might be done proactively and in response to specific requests, and how the efforts of the active duty and the National Guard would be integrated," the report said.

Noting that the 2006 hurricane season is just 111 days away, Honore offered the senators his own 11 "quick fixes" to improve the military's disaster response.

Like McHale's and the GAO reports, Honore's recommendations focused heavily on planning before a catastrophe to ensure a more efficient response when one occurs. He urged DoD to establish a unified command-and-control organizational structure in advance and pre-position a mobile disaster cell and common interoperable communication assets.

Honore also advised designating a single DoD point of contact to coordinate requirements with the federal coordinating office, and pre-allocating space in state emergency operations centers to integrate federal and other agency responses. To ensure continuous operations, he suggested establishing external support to fill common resource shortfalls, ensuring power-supply capabilities and getting industries to commit to re-establish critical services.

In addition, the general recommended developing a plan that sustains government functions 24/7 and implementing a disaster clause for local and state employees that authorizes and prepares them to fill key disaster-support manning gaps.

"Improvements can and should be made to ensure our responses to future natural or manmade disasters meet the challenge," Honore said.

DoD was working to bring more realistic and challenging scenarios into its catastrophic response planning even before Hurricane Katrina, McHale told committee. Scenarios being studied equaled or exceeded Katrina's destruction - from a Category 5 storm hitting a major U.S. city to multiple nuclear explosions, to multiple radiation attacks, he said.

Biographies:

Paul McHale [http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/mchale_bio.html]

Adm. Timothy J. Keating, USN [http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/keating_bio.html]

Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, USA [http://www.ngb.army.mil/ngbgomo/library/bio/blum_sh.html]

Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, USA [http://www.first.army.mil/CommandInfo/Bio/lgbiorh.htm]

Maj. Gen. Bennett Landrenau, USA [http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/hlspersonnel/landreneaubio.htm]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
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U.S., Iraqi Soldiers Find Roadside Bombs, Weapons Caches

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2006 - American and Iraqi soldiers found multiple roadside bombs and weapons caches during anti-terrorist operations in Iraq over the past several days.

In fact, Iraqi army and coalition soldiers discovered three separate roadside bombs without incident over the past 24 hours.

Iraqi soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 8th Army Division, along with U.S. soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, found the first roadside bomb near Iskandariyah. The bomb consisted of four 82 mm rounds, one 155 mm round and three rockets.

A second roadside bomb was discovered near the same area and consisted of four 82 mm rounds, one 155 mm round, three rockets and 17 75 mm rounds.

An Iraqi explosive ordnance disposal team dismantled both roadside bombs and transported the materials to a local Iraqi police station for detonation.

And U.S. soldiers from 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd BCT, along with Iraqi soldiers from 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division, discovered a third roadside bomb in Jurf-El Saker. That bomb was made up of two 155 mm rounds, two fuel cans, one 100 mm round, one 120 mm round, one 130 mm round, one nine-volt battery and blasting caps. An American EOD team blew up the contraband ordnance at the discovery site.

Yesterday, Iraqi soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Army Division, found another roadside bomb near Jamissa, Iraq, and reported it to authorities. That bomb consisted of a 155 mm South African-manufactured artillery round with a radio attached as a detonation device. The bomb was safely removed to be destroyed at another site. No injuries or damages were reported.

Also yesterday, Iraqi military members with the 5th Strategic Infrastructure Battalion found and seized a weapons cache northwest of Kirkuk. The cache consisted of 13 122 mm mortar rounds, three 40 mm anti-personnel rounds, four 155 mm artillery rounds and an assortment of fuses. The munitions were removed for disposal.

And elements of the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, found a weapons cache during a patrol west of Baghdad on Feb. 7. The cache was located in a field near a house. It consisted of one anti-tank mine, an unknown quantity of homemade explosives, one 55-gallon plastic drum containing small bean bags filled with BB-sized crystals, six grenades, one dismantled RPK, one 60 mm mortar tube, two 60 mm mortar systems and two rocket-propelled grenade rounds.

An explosive ordnance disposal team was dispatched and cleared the unknown crystals. The incident is under investigation.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq news releases.)

Related Sites:

Multinational Force Iraq [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/]

Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq [http://www.mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2006/20060209_4162.html.

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Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

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