Honor & Reflect
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Monday, May 25th is Memorial Day in the USA. DID honors those who have given all of their tomorrows in American military service; we will not be publishing.

Readers are urged to peruse the US Department of Defense’s Memorial Day features, including this address by Adm. Mullen. They are also reminded that in America, the Memorial Day moment of silence takes place at 3:00 pm.

Col. John Boyd

“In the mid to late fifties, a fighter pilot could earn himself a quick forty bucks and perhaps a nice steak dinner in Vegas – not to mention everlasting renown, which is to fighter pilots what oxygen is to us lesser beings – by meeting over the Green Spot at thirty thousand feet and taking position just 500 feet behind an arrogant and unpleasant man with precisely zero air-to-air victories to his credit. From that perfect kill position, you would yell “Fight’s on!” and if that sitting duck in front of you was not on your tail with you in his gunsight in forty seconds flat then you would win the money, the dinner and best of all, the fame…. To be challenged in such a manner is an irresistible red flag to men like this, and certainly no less of one because the challenger was a rude, loud, irreverent braggart who had never been victorious in actual air-to-air combat. And yet that forty dollars went uncollected, uncollected for many years against scores of the best fighter pilots in the world.

That is more than luck. That is more than skill. That is more than tactics.”

The most important American military figure of the 20th century will not be named Eisenhower, or Patton, or even Marshall. Instead, that title is likely to belong to a man who never made it past Colonel. Yet John Boyd is justly credited with inspiring America’s victory over Iraq in Desert Storm, 5 years after his death. He continues to inspire a number of prominent figures in America’s military reform community, and in April 2008 US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates cited Boyd as an exemplar to officers in all services – someone who wanted to “accomplish something” more than he wanted to “be somebody” [Pentagon DefenseLINK | see video]. Who is this guy?

Worthwhile books have been written on that subject, but for a quicker set of takes, Bill Whittle (yes, Frank Whittle’s grandson) offers a compelling snapshot in “Pope John and the Supersonic Monastery.” Fast Company magazine’s “The Strategy of the Fighter Pilot” offers an accessible introduction from a business strategy standpoint. Readers can also get a flavor of the man himself by watching a short video excerpt of Boyd discussing doctrine, listening to audio of his “conceptual spiral” presentation [Quicktime], and reading transcripts. A copy of his “Patterns of Conflict” slides is also reproduced in Power Point, though people who know Boyd would be the first to tell you that his presentations went far beyond what was written on his slides – as good presentations ought.

SDV Team 1
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Oct 28/08: Service-Disabled veteran owned small business qualifier Assessment and Training Solutions Consulting Corp. of Virginia Beach, VA received a $26.8 million firm fixed price contract for a base year to provide medical instruction and medical support services in support of U.S. Army Special Forces Command’s Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center and U.S. Army Special Operations Command’s Acquisitions and Contracting Office. The contract has 4 one-year options. Work will be performed at Fort Bragg, NC, and is expected to be complete by July 31/13. This contract was awarded through a small business set-aside (H92239-09-C-0001).

The trainees will have a lot to live up to. The Navy photo above depicts SEAL SDV Team 1, which became the focus of action during Operation Redwing on June 28/05. Lt. Murphy would later earn a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions. A combination of freak circumstances, great personal determination, and the steadfast honor of local Afghan villagers made hospital corpsman Luttrell (highlighted) the only surviving team member. From left to right: Sonar Technician – Surface 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew G. Axelson, 29, of Cupertino, CA; Information Systems Technician Senior Chief (SEAL) Daniel R. Healy, 36, of Exeter, NH; Quartermaster 2nd Class (SEAL) James Suh, 28, of Deerfield Beach, FL; Hospital Corpsman Second Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell; Machinist Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Eric S. Patton, 22, of Boulder City, NV; and LT (SEAL) Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, NY.

Sept 11, 2001

General Dynamics Network Systems in Needham, MA received a $6 million firm/fixed price contract for continuing efforts to survey, plan, design, install, and implement the Information Technology Systems and Infrastructure (ITS&I) for wedge 2-5 tenants as part of an ongoing modernization of the Pentagon IT infrastructure. Work will be performed in Arlington, VA with an estimated completion date of Dec 31/10. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. by the Pentagon Renovation & Construction Program Office in Arlington VA (MDA947-98-C-2002).

Each side of the Pentagon has multiple layers of buildings in it, and so each set of layers on a side are referred to as a wedge. Seven years ago, on Sept 11/01, American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the Pentagon by al-Qaeda, doing extensive damage to wedges 1 and 2. A $2.1 billion renovation of the 60-year-old Pentagon had been underway since 1993, and Wedge 1 was just 5 days away from completion. Those renovations had to start all over again; fortunately the ‘new’ Wedge 1 had a number of safety improvements made that saved lives. One improvement was a new sprinkler system, which put out the Wedge 1 fires in a matter of hours. Wedge 2, with no sprinklers, burned for more than 2 days.

See the Pentagon’s 9/11 memorial web site; a new physical memorial on the grounds will be opened to the public for the first time between 7:00-9:00 am on Sept 11/08. See also Popular Mechanics excellent engineering analysis: Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can’t Stand up to the Facts | Book site, incl. reviews and ongoing coverage.

Honor & Reflect
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Monday, May 26th is Memorial Day in the USA. DID honors those who have given all of their tomorrows in American military service; we will not be publishing. Readers are urged to peruse the US Department of Defense’s Memorial Day feature.

Jesse Brown, DFC
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Because Monday, Jan 21/08 was Martin Luther King Day in the USA, DID is repeating Monday’s articles for the benefit of our many readers in the American military who would have missed them.

Readers interested in reading some military-themed material concerning this day can peruse Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates’ speech at the Pentagon’s 23rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Observance, or read the Korean War saga of Lt. Tom Hudner (Congressional Medal of Honor) and Ensign Jesse Brown (Distinguished Flying Cross).

Ensign Jesse Leroy Brown was the US Navy’s first black pilot, receiving his Wings on October 21, 1948. Hudner earned his medal for crash-landing in enemy territory in order to come to Brown’s aid. Capt. Hudner was a featured speaker at the USA’s 10th Annual Veterans Center Conference in 2007.

On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, the guns ceased. Today, the British Commonwealth countries remember those who came before, and those who came after, and all who have given in their nation’s service. A number of European countries know it as Armistice Day. Americans celebrate it as Veteran’s Day.

That day is a non-publishing day for Defense Industry Daily, but this year it fell on a Sunday. DID hopes our readers had a meaningful day, taking time to pause and give their thanks to those whose sacrifices made our todays possible. If not – go ahead and take a moment now.

“Killer Chick”
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The American Office of the Secretary of Defense sent this on to DID, and we thought we’d pass it on to all of our readers in the Washington area. The American Veteran Center’s 10th Annual Conference begins today, and will take place November 8-10 at the Renaissance Washington Hotel. there is still time to register and attend.

The AVC conference is one of the largest annual gatherings of decorated military combat veterans, and will host some of the greatest heroes of WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan. It features 3 days of speaker panels, wreath laying ceremonies at the World War II, Korea, and Vietnam memorials and an awards banquet. The conference also features salutes to Medal of Honor recipients and service members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of the participants include:

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Paul MacCready
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Due to technical difficulties, today’s issue of DID will be abbreviated, and the newsletter will not publish.

For Labour Day on Monday, DID salutes all of the people who work every day with their tools, in order to give the people on the front lines the tools they need to do a difficult and dangerous job. The late Dr. Paul MacCready (1925-2007) was one such individual, who pushed the frontiers of science and design in pursuit of his love of flight and discovery. From the Gossamer Albatross to the hand-held RQ-11 Raven UAV, the things he helped create made a difference in our world. He will be missed.

Honor & Reflect
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Monday, May 28, 2007 is Memorial Day in the USA. DID honors those who have given all of their tomorrows in American military service; we will not be publishing. Carmella LaSpada is executive director of the White House Commission on Remembrance which was set up by Congress in 2000, and urges Americans to remember and honor the true spirit and purpose of Memorial Day:

“The national Moment of Remembrance is a time for Americans to contemplate those things that bind us together by remembering the legacy of those who died to better our country… We encourage all Americans, no matter where they are and what they are doing, at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, to stop and give thanks [via a moment of silence, or something symbolic like ringing a bell].”

Nov. 11, 2007, known most frequently as Remembrance Day around the world, will also be a non-publishing day except for a memoriam post. Thank you to those who are serving, those who have served, and those who give their all so that the people at the tip of the spear have the right tools to do a difficult, dangerous… and vitally necessary job.

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