22 January 2009

Early Bird summary
Thursday’s Early Bird leads off with a story from the Washington Post (with similar stories from the New York Times and Miami Herald in its wake), about how President Obama moved swiftly yesterday to begin rolling back eight years of his predecessor's policies, ordering tough new ethics rules and preparing to issue an order closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which has been at the center of the debate over the treatment of U.S. prisoners in the campaign against terrorism.Acting to address several promises he made during the campaign, Obama met with top generals about speeding the withdrawal from Iraq and gathered his senior economic advisers as he continued to push for a massive spending bill to create jobs.He also signed a series of executive orders and directives intended to slow the revolving door between government service and lobbying, and ordered his administration to more freely share information with the public.Today, he will issue another order calling for the closure of the Guantanamo prison within a year, an immediate case-by-case review of the 245 detainees remaining there, and the application of new rules governing the treatment and interrogation of prisoners, including compliance with international treaties that the Bush administration deemed inapplicable to suspects in terrorism cases.
The Associated Press reports that Rep. John Murtha, a House Democrat who is a leading critic of the Iraq war, says he would have no qualms about transferring Guantanamo detainees to a prison in his Pennsylvania district.Suspected terrorists at the military's detention center in Cuba are "no more dangerous in my district than in Guantanamo," Rep. John Murtha told Fox News on Wednesday.Murtha, who heads the powerful House subcommittee that funds the military, said he was encouraged by the president's proposal. He said there was "no reason not to put 'em in prisons in the United States and handle them the way they would handle any other prisoners."
European Stars and Stripes reports about how President Obama pledged to serve military troops and their families at Tuesday’s Commander-In-Chief’s Ball.When the president emerged waving from a giant backdrop lit with stars and stripes, the troops, including 300 invited wounded warriors from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and their families, erupted in jubilation. Obama shook hands with the senior enlisted advisers of the five services before taking the podium, pledging to work hard for the military and their families, while continuing his call for national unity and service."Every single day that I am in the White House, I will try to serve you as well as you are serving the United States of America," the president said.Obama called the day a "celebration of our military and our military families," noting to a big cheer that first lady Michelle Obama already has begun working with military families."Every time a servicemember deploys, there’s an empty seat at the table back home and a family that has to bear an extra burden," said Obama."So tonight we celebrate, but tomorrow we work together."
In a related story, the Chicago Tribune reports that President Barack Obama chatted with Illinois National Guard troops in a live TV broadcast to a ballroom in Washington.The president thanked seven of his home state's troops at the Camp Phoenix base in Kabul for serving their country. But first, he grilled them on their true loyalties."This is an important test: White Sox or Cubs?" Obama asked the mostly Chicago soldiers assembled on screen for the entire U.S. to see."Cubs fan, Mr. President," responded Staff Sgt. Eric Olvera, 33, followed by another soldier with the same answer."Terrible," Obama said, before one soldier said she rooted for the Sox."No matter where you are from, we are all grateful to you," Obama said. "I will see you either back home, or out where you guys are."
The New York Times reports that the Taliban are everywhere the soldiers are not.And that is a lot of places.For starters, there is the 550 miles of border with Pakistan, where the Taliban’s busiest infiltration routes lie.“We’re not there,” said Brig. Gen. John W. Nicholson, the deputy commander of NATO forces in southern Afghanistan. “The borders are wide open.”Then there is the 100-mile stretch of Helmand River running south from the town of Garmser, where the Taliban and their money crop, poppy, bloom in isolation.“No one,” General Nicholson said, pointing to the area on the map.Then there is Nimroz Province, all of it, which borders Iran. No troops there. And the Ghorak district northwest of Kandahar, which officers refer to as the “jet stream” for the Taliban fighters who flow through.Ditto the districts of Shah Wali Kot, Kharkrez and Nesh, where the presence of NATO troops is minimal or nil.“We don’t have enough forces to secure the population,” General Nicholson said.The general is going to get a lot more troops very soon. American commanders in southern Afghanistan have been told to make plans to accept nearly all of the 20,000 to 30,000 additional troops that the Obama administration has agreed to deploy.
USA Today covers a story reported in the MARFORCOM Media Summary several days ago, detailing how tens of thousands of U.S. Marines in Southern California have new orders from the brass that amount to: Baghdad si, Tijuana no.Citing a wave of violence and murder in Mexico, the commanding officer of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton has made the popular military "R&R" destinations of Tijuana and nearby beaches effectively off-limits for his Marines.The order by Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland restricts travel into Mexico by the 44,000 members of the unit, many of whom have had multiple tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat zones under their belts — or are there now.
The Washington Post reports that two wheelchair-accessible duck blinds for disabled hunters will be dedicated at the base Saturday morning as part of the Marine Corps' Wounded Warrior program for injured veterans and their families."A lot of Marines enjoy the outdoors, and we wanted to provide an opportunity for Marines who otherwise wouldn't have the chance to do this," said Col. Wade C. Hall, the battalion commander at the base. He's also an avid duck hunter and member of Ducks Unlimited.Hall described Quantico as "an oasis of natural conservation" in Northern Virginia, saying that officials from the base have been working with biologists and conservation groups to expand and preserve habitat for waterfowl.
The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. spy agencies' sensitive data should soon be linked by Google-like search systems, nearly five years after the intelligence community was rebuked by the 9/11 Commission for failing to "connect the dots" and detect the attack.Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell has launched a sweeping technology program to knit together the thousands of databases across all 16 spy agencies. After years of bureaucratic snafus, intelligence analysts will be able to search through secret intelligence files the same way they can search public data on the Internet.
USA Today reports that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has a suggestion for President Obama: Give Osama bin Laden a chance to make peace.Gadhafi told students at Georgetown University in Washington by videoconference Wednesday that bin Laden shows signs that he is open to dialogue."I think Osama bin Laden is a person who can be given a chance," he said in Arabic through an interpreter. "Maybe he wants peace."
Media summary
1. Leading newspaper headlines: All the papers give top billing today to stories on President Barack Obama's busy first full day in office. (Slate Magazine)
2. Fighting in eastern Afghanistan kills 22 rebels: NATO-led forces killed 22 militants in ground and air assaults in Afghanistan's eastern province of Khost overnight, the alliance said on Thursday. (Reuters/International Herald Tribune)
3. Top Pakistani militant ‘killed’: Pakistani security forces say they have killed a top militant leader in the north-west of the country. (BBC)
4. Wide rifts on show at Arab summit: Arab divisions over the Gaza crisis have re-emerged at a summit in Kuwait. (BBC)
5. Crunch costs Arabs $2.5 trillion: Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah told reporters in Kuwait City that oil-rich Gulf Arab states had postponed or cancelled 60% of development projects. (BBC)
6. Aurora selected by Sikorsky Aircraft to provide CH-53K engine nacelles: Aurora Flight Sciences announced today that it has been selected by Sikorsky Aircraft to manufacture the engine nacelles for the latest-generation heavy-lift military helicopter, the CH-53K that Sikorsky is developing for the U.S. Marine Corps. (CNNMoney.com)
7. Wife of Camp Lejeune Marine up for Military Spouse of the Year: Gunnery Sgt. Jose Queiro has no doubt his wife deserves the title of Marine Military Spouse of the Year. (Jacksonville [NC] Daily News)
8. Two Marines die in traffic wreck in Pennsylvania: Two Camp Lejeune Marines died Tuesday after a wreck in Pennsylvania. (Jacksonville [NC] Daily News)
9. Some civilian MPs guard Quantico gates: There are new guards manning the gates at Quantico Marine Corps base. (Richmond Times Dispatch)
Leading newspaper headlines
All the papers give top billing today to stories on President Barack Obama's busy first full day in office. The New York Times leads with Obama's plans to sign an order today calling for the shutdown of the CIA's network of secret prisons abroad and the closing of the detention camp in Guantanamo Bay within one year. The Washington Post leads with the expected order and tough new ethics rules on lobbying and document disclosure ordered by Obama yesterday. The Los Angeles Times focuses on Obama pushing military leaders for a plan to withdraw from Iraq. The Wall Street Journal highlights a pay freeze for top staffers. In its rundown of yesterday's presidential doings, USA Today declares that "the change began" shortly after Obama entered the Oval Office.
Looking to solidify the current Mideast ceasefire, Obama placed calls to the leaders of Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority. The president also met with military and national security advisers to discuss the situation in Iraq and plans for troop withdrawal in 16 months, according to the WP. On the home front, the Post reports that yesterday's ethics order will prohibit former appointees of this administration from lobbying the federal government while Obama is still in office. The LAT provides a nice summary of three executive orders signed by Obama yesterday to increase the transparency of the executive branch.
The NYT says today's expected orders will be the first steps in "undoing" the detention policies of the previous administration. The order to close Guantanamo will call for an immediate case-by-case review of each of the 245 detainees there. Obama will also order the shutdown of the CIA's network of secret detention facilities abroad and new prisoner-treatment rules to comply with international treaties.
The NYT devotes a full Page One story to Obama's re-taking the oath of office yesterday after he and Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed it on Inauguration Day. Roberts brought his robe over to the White House for a mid-evening redo in the presence of four aides, four reporters, and one photographer. A White House lawyer said they thought the do-over unnecessary but went through with it anyway out of "an abundance of caution."
All the papers front or tease stories on Caroline Kennedy's abrupt withdrawal last night from consideration for Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat. Kennedy cited "personal reasons" for the withdrawal in a statement, which an NYT source says must mean she dropped out over uncle Ted Kennedy's flagging health. A WP source casts doubt on the ill-uncle explanation. The LAT says Gov. David Paterson may have been irked by Kennedy's aggressive pursuit of the job.
The tech-savvy Obama team confronted a series of technological obstacles after arriving in the White House yesterday, according to a Page One WP story, which says that if Team Obama represents an "iPhone kind of future," the first day of the new administration was downright "rotary-dial." Phone lines were disconnected, e-mail accounts inaccessible, and the White House Web site went un-updated throughout the day. Worst of all, Mac-accustomed Obama staffers were apparently chagrined to discover that they would be forced to use Windows XP: They "found computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software."
Speaking of Macs, the WSJ reports that Apple Inc. bucked the recession and posted strong sales and profit for the holiday quarter, thanks to those fab computers and that nifty phone. The bad news for Apple is that the Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an inquiry into the accuracy of previous statements on CEO Steve Jobs' health.
Cleaner air causes longer lives, according to a front-page USAT story on a new medical survey. Life expectancy in the United States increased by nearly three years from just two decades ago, and a portion of that increase may be due to improved air quality in urban areas.
Bad news from Afghanistan: The NYT reports a Taliban presence in every area short on NATO forces. But American commanders have been told to make plans for 20,000 to 30,000 additional troops that the Obama administration plans to deploy there.









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Fighting in eastern Afghanistan kills 28 rebels
Reuters
Published: January 22, 2009
KABUL: NATO-led forces killed 22 militants in ground and air assaults in Afghanistan's eastern province of Khost overnight, the alliance said on Thursday.
A NATO-led patrol was attacked by Taliban insurgents and foreign forces retaliated with close-air and ground support, killing 22 militants in Babrak Tana district, which is close to the Pakistani border, the alliance said.
Earlier a statement from the Ministry of Defence said Afghan troops killed eight insurgents and wounded two more in a fierce battle in the same district of Khost province overnight.
More than 5,000 people and nearly 300 foreign troops were killed last year in Afghanistan, UN and aid agencies have said, making it the worst year of violence since the U.S.-led invasion of 2001.
Military experts say fighting in Afghanistan will increase in 2009 with the arrival of 30,000 extra U.S. troops, which newly sworn-in President Barack Obama is expected to approve.
Meanwhile, U.S.-led coalition troops killed six militants and detained one more during an operation targeting a roadside bomb network in the Dai Chopan district in the southern Zabul province on Wednesday, a U.S. military statement said.
The Taliban could not be immediately reached for comment about any of the reports.
(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)



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Top Pakistani militant 'killed'
There has been fierce fighting in the region recently
Pakistani security forces say they have killed a top militant leader in the north-west of the country.
Abdul Wali, also known as Umer Khalid, was killed in Mohmand tribal district, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said. Militants deny the claim.
Mohmand district near the Afghan border has been at the centre of militant activity since 2006.
Meanwhile, five people have been killed and a girl's school and a factory damaged in the nearby region of Swat.
The army says that seven militants - including two "high value" targets - have also been arrested near the city of Peshawar.
The latest violence came as Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visited Islamabad and said that the alliance and Pakistan should both step up efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan.
'Effective leader'
If his death is confirmed, Mr Wali, who headed the Taleban in Mohmand, would be the most senior local militant leader to be killed in the region.
"The most effective leader of Taleban in Mohmand has been killed. His name is Abdul Wali," the prime minister's interior adviser, Rehman Malik, said.
Earlier media reports quoting unnamed security officials said that Mr Wali's deputy had been injured in the same military operation in the area.
Security officials say they have killed a large number of Taleban militants, including some important local commanders, in two days of operations in Mohmand.
However a spokesman for the Mohmand Taleban, Ikramullah Mohmand, told the BBC Urdu service that Mr Wali was still alive and in constant touch with his followers.
The spokesman also rejected a claim by security forces two days ago that more than 60 militants had been killed in recent military operations in Mohmand. He said that only 14 Taleban members had died.
Our correspondent says that Mr Wali's forces are also believed to have linked up with militants in the nearby Bajaur tribal district to stage attacks against Nato troops in the adjacent Afghan province of Kunar.
'Total chaos'
Officials in Swat in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) say that there is no obvious motive for the murders of five people in recent days, but in the past such killings have been blamed on the Taleban who routinely kill people suspected of being spies.
Schools have been repeatedly targeted by militants in Swat
Officials say that a girls' school in Swat's main town of Mingora was only slightly damaged, but a blanket factory was completely destroyed.
The latest incidents follow a decision by the government to re-open talks with militants in Swat, where militants are now openly attacking civilians.
Meanwhile, Mr de Hoop Scheffer told journalists in Islamabad that Pakistan was vital to Western efforts to defeat the intensifying insurgency in Afghanistan.
He said that both the US and Nato relied on Pakistan to stop the Taleban from infiltrating into Afghanistan and to defend their supply lines.
"We can all do more and we can all do better, Nato very much included," he said during a news conference in Islamabad.
Mr de Hoop Scheffer's visit follows the visit of US Central Command chief Gen David Petraeus earlier this week.
He said a new supply path to Afghanistan had been agreed with Central Asian states and Russia as an option to the troubled Pakistan route. The route through the Khyber Pass has been closed several times in recent months after militants attacks.


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Wide rifts on show at Arab summit
Arab leaders remain as deeply divided as ever over the Palestinian question
Arab divisions over the Gaza crisis have re-emerged at a summit in Kuwait.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Hamas had invited the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip by refusing to extend a truce that expired in December.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Arab leaders should adopt a resolution declaring Israel a terrorist entity, and support Palestinian resistance.
Reports say the Saudi king hosted a lunch for five other leaders on the summit sidelines to try to heal rifts.
They included the Qatari and Syrian leaders, among the sternest Arab critics of Israel's military campaign, and Egypt and Jordan, who have long-standing alliances with Israel.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim al-Thani said the Saudi lunch achieved its goals towards reconciliation, but gave no further details.
Earlier, the Saudi king, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, said his country would donate $1bn to finance reconstruction in the heavily-bombed Gaza Strip.
The sum is about half of what Arab officials have said they hope to raise.
"I call on you in the name of God... that we rise above our difference and defeat the expectations of our enemies and we take an honourable stand," King Abdullah said at the opening session.
Rival summit
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas - whose Fatah faction was ousted by Hamas from control of Gaza in 2007 - called for immediate reconciliation talks.
"What is required today... is to form a national unity government which will then conduct presidential and legislative elections simultaneously," he said.
Mr Assad said: "We should show our clear support for the Palestinian resistance. I suggest this summit officially call the Zionist entity a terrorist entity."
Mr Mubarak warned that regional powers were trying to exploit Arab differences and reiterated that a peaceful settlement remained the only option.
"It should be taken seriously by Israel and international big powers... Middle East peace is an urgent necessity," he said.
The two-day summit had been billed as a chance for Arab leaders to sidestep political divisions and focus on economic matters.
Subjects for discussion included a pan-Arab common market and customs union, and ambitious joint infrastructure projects.
Correspondents say several pro-Western Arab leaders have faced strong criticism from their citizens, outraged both by Israel's attacks on Gaza and their governments' inability to end the violence.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia shunned a summit hosted by Qatar last week which called for freezing ties with Israel. Syria pronounced the 2002 Arab peace initiative as dead.
Cairo has faced particularly angry criticism that it co-operates with Israel's blockade of Gaza.
Sinking ship
Sheikh Hamad told the Qatari-owned al-Jazeera channel that there had been misunderstandings in Doha and expressed the hope "we can put our hands together... to strengthen the Arab position".
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa told Arab leaders it was time for the body he chairs to demonstrate it had a role.
"The Arab ship is really sinking and Kuwait's summit... might save it," Mr Moussa said.
Israel launched its attack on Gaza on 27 December after a six-month ceasefire with the Hamas movement lapsed.
More than 1,250 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, were killed, as well as 10 Israeli soldiers and three civilians.
Israel and Hamas have each declared a ceasefire, but it remains very shaky, analysts say.




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Crunch 'cost Arabs $2.5 trillion'
Kuwait City's stock exchange lost 38% of its value last year
The global economic crisis has cost Arab countries $2,500bn (£1,690bn) in the last four months alone, according to Kuwait's foreign minister.
Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah told reporters in Kuwait City that oil-rich Gulf Arab states had postponed or cancelled 60% of development projects.
He did not give details for his figures, which were released days before an Arab Economic Summit.
Stock market falls and a low oil price have contributed to the losses.
The biggest loss was an estimated 40% drop in the value of Arab investments abroad, which had previously totalled around $2.5tn, AFP news agency reports.
"The Arab world has lost $2.5 trillion in the past four months," Mr Sabah said after meeting fellow foreign and finance ministers.
Kuwait City is due to open a two-day Arab Economic Summit on Monday, the first of its kind.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa earlier described the meeting of 22 heads of state as "the largest and most important" Arab event of 2009.















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Aurora Selected by Sikorsky Aircraft to Provide CH-53K Engine Nacelles
January 21, 2009: 10:56 AM ET
Aurora Flight Sciences announced today that it has been selected by Sikorsky Aircraft to manufacture the engine nacelles for the latest-generation heavy-lift military helicopter, the CH-53K that Sikorsky is developing for the U.S. Marine Corps. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
The Engine Nacelles' assembly is one of the major propulsion sections and houses the CH-53K's No. 1 and 3 engines. Made primarily of composite and titanium materials, the Nacelle will be fabricated by Aurora Flight Sciences of West Virginia and shipped to Sikorsky for integration into the U.S. Marine Corps helicopter.
The three-engine CH-53K will be the world's premier heavy-lift helicopter. It is a new design leveraging the lessons learned from almost half a century of manufacturing and operating the earlier CH-53E SUPERSTALLION helicopter.
In April 2006, Sikorsky Aircraft was awarded the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) contract for the CH-53K Heavy Lift Replacement Aircraft Program. The SDD contract could lead to the production of 156 CH-53K aircraft. The CH-53K's maximum gross weight will increase to 88,000 pounds versus 73,500 pounds for the CH-53E.
"Aurora Flight Sciences designs and builds lightweight composite aircraft structures for manned and unmanned aircraft. Our role in designing and building the Nacelle for the CH-53K is a logical extension of our current work on the CH-53K Main Rotor Pylon (MRP) which was awarded in May 2007," said Aurora President John Langford.
The SDD phase of the program begins immediately. Nacelle assemblies will initially be built for five test and certification aircraft (four Engineering Development Models and one Ground Test Vehicle). The CH-53K SDD program schedule runs through the end of 2015.
About Aurora Flight Sciences
Aurora Flight Sciences develops and provides robotic aircraft and other advanced aerospace vehicles for scientific and military applications. Aurora is headquartered in Manassas, VA and operates production plants in Bridgeport, WV and Columbus, MS and a Research and Development Center in Cambridge, MA. Please visit our web site at www.aurora.aero.
About Sikorsky Aircraft
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, CT, is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture and service. Its mission statement reflects the company's long commitment to safety and innovation: "We pioneer flight solutions that bring people home everywhere... every time(TM)." More information is available at the interactive www.sikorsky.com Web site. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, CT, provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems
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Tanya Queiro won the title of Marine Military Spouse of the Year
Related Multimedia
Wife of Camp Lejeune Marine up for Military Spouse of the Year
January 21, 2009 - 6:35 PM
AMANDA HICKEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Gunnery Sgt. Jose Queiro has no doubt his wife deserves the title of Marine Military Spouse of the Year.
It's why the Marine, deployed with 2nd Marine Division Special Operations Battalion in Afghanistan, nominated Tanya Queiro in the first place.
"She does what she does without any desire for fame. She does it because she understands she has a responsibility to the community, environment and law," he said.
It was Tanya Queiro's desire to make a difference, Jose Queiro said, that made her a stand out among nine other military spouses competing for the title.
"I applaud all military spouses, as it is a demanding and sometimes thankless job. In my eyes, my wife stands out because she is a respectful leader who dares to seek more in life. She is not satisfied with the life ‘norms.' She always asks how she can become a better person, leader, volunteer, spouse, mother and how she can better assist others," Jose Queiro said in an e-mail to The Daily News.
Tanya Queiro, who won the popular vote for the Marine Corps portion of the contest, first heard about it from her husband in October.
"He was so vague about it. ... He e-mailed and said he nominated me for a contest; he didn't tell me what it was," Tanya Queiro said.
When she received the call saying that she was one of the top 10 Marine spouses and might earn the title of Marine Military Spouse of the Year, she was honored but uncertain if it was what her husband had in mind.
"I e-mailed him back and said ‘Is this the contest?'" she said with a laugh. "I really didn't have a clue what the contest was."
The Marine Military Spouse of the Year contest started in 2008 and is sponsored by Military Spouse Magazine. This year's winner will be the second military spouse to hold the title.
Beginning today, Tanya Queiro will compete against the top spouses from the Navy, Air Force, Army and Coast Guard for the title of Military Spouse of the Year for 2009. The candidate with the most votes will win.
"It was an honor just to be selected for the Marine Corps," Tanya Queiro said. "I'm a very laid-back person. I don't seek publicity and fame. I just do what I do because I have a responsibility."
Those responsibilities range from taking care of her family to serving on the Onslow County Council for Women to supporting women's events.
The Queiros' three children were proud to hear of their mom's new distinction.
"I was so happy and excited for her," said 10-year-old Marcus.
Adrianna, 7, is also happy - but for a different reason.
"I was very excited that we get to go to Washington D.C.," she said.
"When I found out she won, I was shocked," said 12-year-old Jose Jr.
Jose Queiro said his wife embodies the three characteristics Military Spouse Magazine was looking for in contestants: sacrifice, patriotism and altruism.
"She views all challenges as opportunities to further grow and mature," Jose Queiro said in the e-mail.
Before she met her husband in 1996, Tanya's plans were a bit different.
As a Marine, she planned to leave the military after her four-year tour and then study law. Instead, she stayed in the Marine Corps for 12 years and nine months and separated as a staff sergeant.
But then she met Jose Queiro at a club in Jacksonville. Eight months later, they were married, she said.
"We just happened to be the designated drivers for both of our groups. We struck up a conversation ... and that led to dating, which led to marriage which led to our beautiful family," she said.
The Military Spouse of the Year will have a monthly column in Military Spouse Magazine, a blog to keep up until his or her reign ends in May 2010 and the opportunity to make public appearances, according to contest information.
"I'm looking at (the blog) as an information outlet to help military spouses with some of the difficulties they face," Tanya Queiro said, adding that transferring duty stations and being separated from family can affect a spouse's career and educational goals, she said.
"I'm just looking at that as another tool to be a mentor in one sense, to maybe put out some things that have worked for me."
Voting will begin today for the national winner and continue until March 4. To vote, visit http://msoy.milspouse.com. The winner will be announced May 7.
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Two Marines die in traffic wreck in Pennsylvania
January 21, 2009 - 4:41 PM

DAILY NEWS STAFF
Two Camp Lejeune Marines died Tuesday after a wreck in Pennsylvania.
Pfc. Caleb A. Rushing, 19, and Pfc. Justin F. Clayton, 18, were traveling back to Camp Lejeune when the crash happened, according to a 2nd Marine Division press release.
The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown, Md. reports the men were involved in a multiple-vehicle crash on the northbound lanes of U.S. 81 and were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the vehicle was flown to a hospital, according to the newspaper. The crash involved two passenger vehicles, four tractor-trailers and a passenger bus carrying 37 people, police told the Herald-Mail. No one else appeared to be injured.
Rushing was an infantryman with 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. He joined the Marine Corps on July 8, according to the Marine Corps release.
Clayton was an infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. He joined the Marine Corps on July 15.





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Some civilian MPs guard Quantico gates
The Marine Corps made the decision last year to hire more than 1,000 civilian police officers to supplement its military police force at bases throughout the country. {Submitted photo}
By Aileen StrengPublished: January 21, 2009
There are new guards manning the gates at Quantico Marine Corps base. They are civilians and though they wear a different uniform, they are still military police.
"These are civilian Marine police officers, not contractors. They will be on every Marine installation in the continental United States," said Col. Richard Anderson, Quantico commanding officer of Security Battalion.
The Marine Corps made the decision last year to hire more than 1,000 civilian police officers to supplement its military police force at bases throughout the country. This will get rid of Fleet Assistance Programs, which had required other Marine units aboard a base to provide Marines for military police duty.
"This is completely different than what the other services are doing. I see it as more professional," Anderson said.
While the other services decided to hire contractors to guard their installations, such as Fort Belvoir, Anderson said the Marine Corps didn't want to go that route.
It wanted more control over who would guard its gates, to include requiring the civilians to give proper military greetings and respect.
"[With this civilian military police program], we really wanted to emphasize the customs, courtesies and traditions because our senior officers have been reluctant to take Marines off the gate because they like that Marine touch there," Anderson said. The civilian MPs salute cars with officers' stickers and greet all those who pass through the gates.
So far, there are 20 civilian military police officers and plans are to hire a total of 93 over the next three years.
To be eligible, applicants need to meet standards and requirements including passing the Physical Agility Test and meeting Body Mass Index standards as well as having a minimum of one year of law enforcement, security experience or educational equivalent.
Their pay grades upon acceptance range from GS-7, beginning at about $32,000, to GS-13, starting at about $67,000.
"Most of those who we have hired are former or retired Marines," Anderson said
"They get all the training and then some in terms of law enforcement and law and order operations that Marine MPs get," Anderson said. "It's very similar to a police academy."
The civilian MPs have the same duties and law enforcement authority as their military counterparts.
"They can do anything a Marine MP can do," Anderson said. "They have the exact same authority, the exact same jurisdiction and powers of arrest. They carry the same weapons. They testify in court just like we do."
They also answer to the same boss.
"They are in the Provost Marshal Office. I have full operational control over them," Anderson said.
Anderson said he is not having any trouble finding applicants especially from retired or former Marines who want to get back to working with Marines.
"That's what a lot of them want to do," Anderson said.
For more information, visit the Marine Corps Civilian Police Program Web site at http://www.usmccle.com
Staff writer Aileen Streng can be reached at 703-878-8010.
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