US Naval Special Warfare: Training Families

This can be
the easy part…

Deployments aren’t easy for active personnel. They can be even harder on families, and the impacts don’t end when the deployment does. In recent years, the US military has recognized the effect family difficulties have on its all-volunteer force, and placed a higher priority on family assistance programs. The priority is especially urgent with respect to special forces, who are deployed more often because they’re in such high demand. That means trouble if family problems cause them to decide to do something else. Even if replacing existing operators is possible, it’s time-consuming, difficult, and costly.

One example of the US military’s response is the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Resiliency Program, which recently issued a contract worth up to $44.4 million to Loving Couples Loving Children, Inc. in Seattle, WA. This LCLC program was originally developed by John and Julie Gottman for low-income couples expecting a child…

Rapid Fire 2011-07-28: High Altitude Long Endurance-Demonstrator (HALE-D) Launch

• Northrop-Grumman reports second quarter 2011 sales of $6.56 billion compared with $7.26B for the previous year’s period. Lower US Department of Defense (DoD) outlays among the factors identified as contributing to reduced quarter sales.

• Meanwhile, General Dynamics’ Second Quarter 2011 Results saw revenues totaling $7.9 billion, a decline from 2010’s figure of $8.1 billion. Orders for defense materiel contributed to a total backlog of $57.1 billion across all the company’s products.

• Following Beijing’s recent confirmation of its aircraft carrier program, a number of Asian countries reiterate their concerns over China’s naval buildup. Australia’s Minister of Defence uses his visit to the United States to re-emphasize the importance of India to the wider region.

• Lockheed Martin announces the launch of its High Altitude Long Endurance-Demonstrator (HALE-D) airship from the Airdock in Akron, Ohio. Despite a successful launch, a technical anomaly eventually forced the flight to be abandoned.

• Rolls-Royce’s Half-Yearly 2011 Results reveal that underlying profit before tax is up by 28% to £595 million ($973 million). The engine-maker also benefited from one-off contract termination settlements resulting from the UK’s Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR).

• BAE Systems is also confident that it has delivered a robust set of half year results in the face of challenging market conditions. The company reports headline sales of £9.2 billion ($15 billion), down from £10.6 billion ($17 billion) in 2010, and underlying earnings of £968 million ($1.6 billion).

• Thales’ 2011 first half results show a 48% increase in underlying earnings in comparison with last year’s figures. However, defense and security orders declined by 3% over the same time period.

• Russia test fires a RSM-54 Sineva submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in the Barents Sea. The SLBM was launched from the Yekaterinburg nuclear powered submarine.

• A Filipino man is expected to plead guilty to trying to sell a US Government-owned RQ11-A/B Raven UAV for $13,000 on eBay.

• As the UK announces its recognition of Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) as the ‘legitimate governing authority’, pictures show the ‘Free Libyan Air Force’s’ MiG-21 fighters seemingly contravening the NATO no-fly zone.