Berry Aviation Inc., San Marcos, Texas, has been awarded a $10,725,000 fixed-priced, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for Trans-Sahara short take-off and landing (STOL) services.  The contract provides for casualty evacuation (CASEVAC), personnel airlift, cargo airlift, and air drop services.  Services will be performed throughout the recognized political boundaries of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, South Sudan, Tunisia, and Uganda, with an expected completion date of June 27, 2017.  The value, including the base period and three one-year option periods, is $49,092,472.  The contracting activity is U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., (HTC711-13-D-C013)

The automatic budget cutting set for March 1 would hamper the government’s ability to protect the public in a range of areas, according to several warnings that were sounded Wednesday.

A bipartisan group of United States Senators led by Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Mary L. Landrieu (D-Louisiana) were successful in adding an amendment to bolster contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2013 (S. 3254).   The measure would eliminate a current-law restriction on the dollar amount of a contract that women-owned small businesses can compete for, putting them on a level playing field with the other federal small business socio-economic contracting programs.  The federal government has consistently failed to meet its annual women's contracting goal of five percent, and this provision will assist in satisfying, if not exceeding that goal.  The amendment was cosponsored by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), Scott P. Brown (R-Massachusetts), Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland), Mark Kirk (R-Illinois), and Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania). 

"Simply put, women-owned small businesses have yet to receive their fair share of federal contracting dollars, and as the fastest growing segment of our economy, women-owned small businesses will play a critical role in helping our nation recover from the recent recession," the Senators said.  "This inequity was the impetus behind the women's contracting program that Congress authorized on December 21, 2000, and over a decade later, the program was finally implemented by the SBA.  While we applaud this Administration's efforts to finally put in place a functioning program, the unfortunate fact is that women-owned small businesses will still face a disadvantage when compared to HUBZone, 8(a), and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses.  Our amendment will help put women-owned firms on a level playing field with these other socio-economic groups to ensure their maximum participation in the federal contracting process."

Women-owned small business advocates and leaders praised the news.

"This is a very important step toward bridging the gap for women entrepreneurs who wish to do business with the world's largest consumer - the federal government," said Barbara Kasoff, President of Women Impacting Public Policy. "We would like to thank Senator Olympia Snowe and her colleagues for their commitment to building a better partnership between government and the women-owned small business community."

"Implementing a women-owned small business procurement program but limiting the size of the awards was akin to opening the door of opportunity only part-way," said Julie R. Weeks, chair of the board of the Association of Women's Business Centers and president & CEO of Womenable.  "This amendment not only will provide more opportunities for WOSB contractors, it will increase competition and provide greater value to federal agencies."

"We congratulate this bipartisan group of Senators on their leadership moving forward the first of the several modifications that are needed to improve the effectiveness of the Women's Procurement Program," said Margot Dorfman, Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce.  "Removing the cap on federal contracts for women is an important first step to bring parity to the set aside programs. We hope that Congress will build on the Senators' efforts to bring the rest of the needed changes to provide fair access to federal contracts for women-owned firms."  Read full article.

Women are changing the face of America's economy, the Bureau of the Census has reported. Women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) are increasing in number, range, diversity and earning power. As women business owners expand their companies, they contribute to the growth of our national economy.

Annually, the DoD awards nearly $2 billion in prime contracts and $2.4 billion in subcontracts to WOSB concerns. All DoD subcontracting plans are required to have a separate goal for awards to WOSBs. The DoD considers the extent of participation by small business concerns when awarding contracts.

The focus of the DoD WOSB program is the provision of effective outreach, training and technical assistance in order to increase the accessibility of WOSB concerns to DoD procurement opportunities. Reference Article.

A majority of the initiatives GAO reviewed (26 of 30) met, or expected to meet, the Department of Defense’s (DOD) expectation for fielding a capability in response to joint urgent operational needs within 2 years. However, performance in meeting schedule estimates varied, and more than half of the initiatives experienced schedule delays.

Unified Combatant Command Spotlight: EUCOM | September 7, 2011

WHO?

The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of ten Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers 21,000,000 square miles (54,000,000 km2) and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia, Iceland, Greenland, and Israel. The Commander of EUCOM simultaneously serves as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) within NATO.  The current Commander of EUCOM is Admiral James G. Stavridis.

WHAT?

With national and international partners, U.S. European Command’s primary purpose to conduct military operations, international military partnering, and interagency partnering to enhance transatlantic security and defend the United States forward.

WHERE?

In early 1951, NATO established Allied Command Europe and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). General Dwight D. Eisenhower was called from retirement to become the first Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The United States sent massive reinforcements to Europe designed to deter the Soviet Union.  The EUCOM was formed shortly in 1952.

During the Cold War and the Kosovo War, EUCOM was the lead command for potential operations. During the Gulf War and Operation Northern Watch, EUCOM controlled the forces flying from Incirlik Air Base.

WHEN?

EUCOM was established on 1 August 1952, to provide "unified command and authority" over all United States forces in Europe.

WHY?

America's rapid post-war demobilization, followed by the end of the occupation of Germany in 1949, led many to question the United States' commitment to defend Western Europe against the spread of communism. Western nations questioned how they could provide for the common defense and simultaneously questioned America's role in such defense. In 1948–1949, the Berlin Blockade motivated Western Europe and the United States to create a military alliance. In 1949, the allies established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

From 1950 to 1953 United States military personnel in Europe grew from 120,000 to over 400,000. 

EUCOM and its components continued to provide military assistance throughout Europe, as well as humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, noncombatant evacuation, support to peacekeeping operations, and other non-traditional missions in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. For example, after the Congo became independent in 1960, EUCOM joined in several multinational operations in that country, including peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and noncombatant evacuation in 1960, 1964, 1967 and again in 1978. In the Middle East, EUCOM provided military assistance to Israel as well as noncombatant evacuation of American citizens in 1967, 1973, and 1982–1984.

The military has tested many new technologies in the past and the most recent are iPads and e-books. The main reasons to test these specific types of technologies are for the field manuals. If there any updates in the manuals the iPads or e-books would directly receive the updates reducing printing costs and distribution time.

The military is also testing smart phones. Smart phones have lots of memory, reception, applications and new operating systems. The smart phones are used in during basic training as a learning tool. There are also military affiliated contests for new iPhone Apps. The top 5 winning Apps are: a physical training program, a telehealth mood tracker, a disaster relief application, a movement projection tool for mapping routes and a program to provide information to prospective soldiers.

A huge drawback is the potential risk that the iPads, e-book and Smart Phones could get hacked as other military equipment has in the past.

The Defense Department’s need for unmanned aircraft continues to increase but the technology to operate them is reaching its limitation.

The automation will increase the number of platforms and missions while minimizing the number of personnel. Fewer pilots will be able to manage several unmanned aircrafts on missions using autonomous fight software. The new technology will also allow large amounts of data to be transmitted to personnel in the US instead of needing onsite analysts.

Initial reports estimate total spending over the next 10 years to be approximately $80 billion. 

The Department of Defense is proposing to standardize the process of distributing orders electronically and posting them on a central site for all contractors to access.

Currently the DoD has this capability and the proposal would officially standardize the process. The benefit and belief is the new rule will help small businesses.

If there are any concerns from small businesses or other parties, officials are taking comments on this proposal until November 30 2010.

For more information click here.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates today released a 23-point memorandum for reforming defense acquisition processes, aiming for increased efficiency and productivity and proclaiming a new era in defense spending and acquisition strategy.

To read the whole article click here.

The Department of Defense has issued an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement section 814 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. The effective date was July 13, 2010.

The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) command responsible for land, air and sea transportation. With its people, trucks, trains, aircraft, ships, information systems and infrastructure USTRANSCOM provides the most responsive strategic mobility capability the world has ever seen. USTRANSCOM currently controls a fleet of military assets valued in excess of $52 billion, including: 87 ships; 1,269 aircraft; 2,150 railcars and assorted equipment, and $1.4 billion in infrastructure, as well as access through commercial partners to more than 1,001 aircrafts and 360 vessels in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) and Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA) programs.

To give you an idea of the size and scope, USTRANSCOM conducts more than 1,900 air missions, with 25 ships underway and 10,000 ground shipments operating in 75% of the world's countries. The command has moved more than 1.9 million passengers; 1.1 million tons by air, 3.7 million tons by sea; and delivered more than 53.7 billion barrels of fuel by ship.

What does this mean for transportation contractors? USTRANSCOM, like all other federal agencies, need to meet their small business goals. Currently, these goals are not being met. Why? Most of the requirements are being filled by large businesses because small businesses are not responding to request for information (RFI) postings, sources sought notices, market research notices, and/or request for proposals (RFP).

USTRANSCOM Directorate of Acquisitions: Who are They and What do they Do?

USTRANSCOM's Directorate of Acquisition mission is to provide acquisition capability to include contracting and program management functions in support of transportation and distribution for the DoD. They act as a business advisor to their commander. USTRANSCOM's Acquisition division has recently gone through a reorganization. Their direct customers include UNSTRANSCOM, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), Military Sealift Command, Air Mobility Command (AMC), and Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Below is a summary of each division and what they do.

 TCAQ-R National Transportation - provides responsive contracting and business advisory support for the national and regional transportation programs serving the DoD customers worldwide.

 TCAQ-I International Scheduled Services -provides procurement of international multimodal transportation services in support of DoD's peace and wartime worldwide movement of cargo.

 TCAQ-M Program Management - provides expertise on acquisition program management policies, procedures and strategies to the commander, staff and components.

 TCAQ-C International Charters - provides procurement and worldwide administration of international charter airlift requirements supporting DoD passengers and cargo during war and peace.

 TCAQ-P Business Support/Policy - provides expertise on acquisition policies, procedures and strategies. They ensure that USTRANSCOM maintains the highest ethical procurement standards while achieving world class, global warfighter support.

 TCAQ-SB - Small Business Programs - provides advices and counsel to commander on small business matters. Assist in developing strategies to ensure maximum participation and opportunities for small business concerns.

 TCAQ-S Specialized Services - provides responsive contracting and business advisory support for specialized services and research and development programs serving DoD customers worldwide.

 TCAQ-D Distribution Process Owner (DPO) Support - provides responsive contracting and business advisory support for USTRASNCOM DPO support services, as well as contracting support for SDDC national level transportation systems requirements.

Small Businesses: USTRANSCOM WANTS YOU

If you are a small business and want to do business with USTRANSCOM, contact Michelle Mendez, Director of Small Business Programs immediately at (618) 256-9619 or michelle.mendez@ustranscom.mil. Be sure to have a capabilities brief ready to reference for talking points and follow up with an email. USTRANSCOM is interested in learning of all small qualified business, the more information you provide before an RFP is constructed, increases the chances of having small business set-aside requirements. Do not be afraid to request a face-to-face meeting. The small business program office will always be able to meet with contractors and will include contracting officers for specific contracts of interest. However, they are unable to discuss open solicitations.

ALWAYS respond to request for information, sources sought and market analysis so USTRANSCOM is aware that there are qualified small business vendors. Never assume the requirement is already earmarked for a specific contractor. The more information USTRANSCOM is provided, the more they are able to set-aside requirements for small businesses.

USTRANSCOM is a very lucrative customer. Significant programs (awarded to contractors) include:

Defense Personal Property System (DPS): Joint end-to-end web based IT System managing over 500,000 personnel property movements annually. Contract value is in excess of $50 million annually.

Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF): Provides worldwide movement of troops and cargo- Valued at $2.5 billion annually.

Hero Remains (HR): Provides movement of HR from the continental United States CONUS to final destination for fallen service members and is valued at $24 million annually.

Universal Services Contract (USC): Single point, door-to-door cargo transportation, service via ocean carriers and is valued at $1 billion annually.

Defense Transportation Coordination Initiative (DTCI): Provides transportation coordination services to improve the reliability, predictability, and efficiency of DoD material moving throughout the CONUS. After Phase III implementation, this contract is valued at $258 million annually.

Need Help? GovPartners can be your advocate. We can put together a comprehensive capabilities brief and connect you with USTRANSCOM decision makers. Our team has a long standing relationship with their team. Contact us today to get started. Alternatively, connect and team with contractors with existing contracting vehicles.

Useful Links:

http://www.transcom.mil/
Quick Search for business opportunities HTC711 @ https://www.fbo.gov/
USTRANSCOM Directory and Phone #s http://www.transcom.mil/pubs2/pubs/2598-VA33-1.pdf
 

Over $3.5B total awards were made. UNITED STATES TRANSPORTATION COMMAND (USTRANSCOM) awarded the FY10 contractor teams to provide airlift support for the Civil Reserve Airlift Program (CRAF).  The teams are awarded business based on the Mobilization Value Points (MVP) of the aircraft committed to Stages I, II, and III of the CRAF program.  In order to participate in the CRAF program, carriers must hold an FAA Part 121 certificate and undergo an audit conducted by the DoD Air Carrier Survey and Analysis Office and approved by the Commercial Airlift Review Board. Participants can either team with the current primes as a "point seller"  meaning they will get credit for their MVP points and CRAF committments, or they can be be a designated "operator" for their category of business. The following teams and independant operators received awards:

Alliance Contractor Team of Leesburg, Va., is being awarded an estimated $1,580,619,789 firm fixed-price contract for international airlift services with a minimum guarantee of $327,824,214. Team members include: American Airlines, Inc. of Ft. Worth, Texas, Arrow Air, Inc., of Miami, Fla., ASTAR Air Cargo, Inc., of Florence, Ky., Delta Air Lines, Inc. of Atlanta, Ga., Evergreen International Airlines, Inc., of McMinnville, Ore., North American Airlines, Inc., of Jamaica, N.Y., Northwest Airlines, Inc., of St. Paul, Minn., United Airlines, Inc. of Elk Grove Village, Ill., US Airways, Inc., of Phoenix, Ariz., and World Airways, Inc., of Peachtree City, Ga. Work will be performed at worldwide locations, and is expected to be completed September 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and 30 proposals received. The contracting activity is USTRANSCOM, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. (HTC711-09-D-5004).

Federal Express Charter Programs Team Arrangement of Memphis, Tenn., is being awarded an estimated $1,510,516,838 firm fixed-price contract for international airlift services with a minimum guarantee of $222,565,273. Team members include: Air Transport International LLC of Little Rock, Ark., Atlas Air, Inc. of Purchase, N.Y., Continental Airlines, Inc., of Houston, Texas, Federal Express Corporation of Memphis, Tenn., Omni Air International, Inc. of Tulsa, Okla., and Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Inc., of Purchase, N.Y. Work will be performed at worldwide locations, and is expected to be completed September 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and 30 proposals received. The contracting activity is USTRANSCOM, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. (HTC711-09-D-5005).

Lynden Air Cargo LLC of Anchorage, Alaska, is being awarded an estimated $51,739,903 firm fixed-price contract for international airlift services with a minimum guarantee of $3,700. Work will be performed at worldwide locations, and is expected to be completed September 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and 30 proposals received. The contracting activity is USTRANSCOM, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. (HTC711-09-D-5009).

Miami Air International, Inc. of Miami, Fla., is being awarded an estimated $38,232,127 firm fixed-price contract for International Airlift Services with a minimum guarantee of $1,003,700. Work will be performed at worldwide locations, and is expected to be completed September 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and 30 proposals received. The contracting activity is USTRANSCOM, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., (HTC711-09-D-5010).

The UPS Contractor Team of Louisville, Ky., is being awarded an estimated $331,662,972.56 firm fixed-price contract for International Airlift Services with a minimum guarantee of $74,394,266.69. Team members include: ABX Air, Inc., of Wilmington, Ohio, Alaska Airlines, Inc., of Seattle, Wash., Kalitta Air LLC of Ypsilanti Mich., National Air Cargo Group, Inc, dba National Airlines, of Ypsilanti, Mich., Northern Air Cargo of Anchorage, Alaska, Ryan International Airlines, Inc., of Rockford Ill., Southern Air, Inc. of Norwalk, Conn., and United Parcel Service Company of Louisville, Ky. Work will be performed at worldwide locations, and is expected to be completed September 2010. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Electronic proposals were solicited and 30 proposals received. The contracting activity is USTRANSCOM, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. (HTC711-09-D-5006).

What is CRAF and how do you become a CRAF carrier?  GovPartners personnel has over 9 years of experience leading, managing and/or sourcing teaming partners for the largest CRAF team. Please contact us today to find out how we can help you become a CRAF carrier. 

The Department of Defense (DoD) is one of the largest purchasers of products and services in the world. The DoD awards contracts valued at $5 million or more each business day (source: www.defenselink.mil )If you are a small business looking to capture government opportunities, the DoD is a good place to start.

Government contracting can seem like a intimidating business development strategy for many small businesses. Many often mistakenly believe that only the top prime contractors can really compete for DoD business. The old saying is always true, if you can’t beat them, join them. But, in this case, you can beat them and join them.

The reality is that the government designates a significant amount of procurement contracts to small businesses each year. In fiscal year 2009 (Oct 01, 2008 -Sep 30, 2009) the DoD set aside over 22% of its prime contracts to small business and over 37% of its sub-contracting opportunities (source: www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/statistics/goals.htm ). This doesn't include funds set aside for small businesses owned by veterans, women, minorities and disadvantaged businesses.

That's a BIG revenue opportunity! How do you get in on the action?

Whether you are selling a service or a product to the federal government, the procurement process can be challenging for a small business to navigate. Many times, the procurement process allows 30 days or less for the vendor to respond to the request for proposal and it may take the majority of that time for a small business to understand the requirements, terms and conditions.

Defense contracting can be a viable long term business strategy. However, there are many other considerations that you will need to work through on the way to getting your share of what can be a very profitable line of business. It is important that small businesses understand the overall government contracting process. Partnering with other prime and subcontractors can help ease the pain. Sign up for SubTeamPartners to find your DoD teaming opportunity govpartners.com

A sample or recent awards:

Raytheon is awarded a Navy Research Contract. Raytheon Co. won a $7 million follow-on contract from the Office of Naval Research to continue work on a project to develop a new semiconductor for the Defense Department. Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems is partnering with Raytheon Systems Limited, Glenrothes, Scotland; Soitec, Bernin, France; Teledyne Scientific Imaging Company, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.; Paradigm Research LLC, Windham, N.H.; IQE, Bethlehem, Pa.; and Silicon Valley Technology Center, San Jose, Calif.

Black Construction Corp., /MACE International Joint Venture, GMF Barrigada, Guam, is being awarded a $19,180,000 firm-fixed price contract for upgrades to the existing air ops water treatment plant and air ops wastewater treatment plant, and to construct a one-story warehouse and wharf utility improvements at Naval Support Facility, Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory. Work will be performed in Diego Garcia, and is expected to be completed by July 2011.

Ikhana/Choate -1 LLC, Mt. Pleasant, S.C., is being awarded a $13,385,855 firm-fixed price construction contract for the construction of two child development centers at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, N.C., and is expected to be completed by June 2011.

Consigli Construction Co., Inc., Milford, Mass., is being awarded $9,039,438 for firm-fixed price task order for construction of a consolidated emergency control center at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The work to be performed provides for the construction of a three level, steel framed reinforced concrete facility with the ground level located below grade to directly support radiological emergency response as required. This facility will house the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard radiological emergency response organization and will serve as its command and control center during an emergency.

Head, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, is being awarded a $6,783,933 firm-fixed-price construction contract to repair Runways 13L/31R and repair taxiways at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas, and is expected to be completed by August 2010.

Air BP a division of BP Products North America, Inc., Warrenville, Ill. is being awarded a maximum $112,125,808 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract for fuel. There are multiple locations of performance. Using service is the Defense Energy Support Center.
Frank Gargiulo & Son Inc., Hillside, N.J., is being awarded a maximum $13,050,000 fixed price with economic price adjustment, total set aside contract for full line fresh fruit and vegetable support.

Terex Corporation, Fredericksburg, Va., is being awarded a maximum $5,624,730 fixed price with economic price adjustment contract for rock crusher jaw plant. 

GovPartners News Brief: 31 Aug 2009: By Cynthia Karnik

The Defense Department will launch a new homepage Aug.15 that incorporates Web 2.0 technologies as part of a militarywide and governmentwide effort to use new media capabilities, a DOD official said today.

The Web site, at www.defense.gov, will be a complete overhaul of the site that now exists, said Les Benito, public Web director at DOD’s Defense Media Activity office. The site will include new modes of user participation, and interactivity will be a driving factor in the site’s shaping, he said. Benito outlined the plans for the new site at the Open Government and Innovation Conference in Washington.

Users will be able to post questions for high-ranking military officers or the defense secretary, give their own feedback about DOD services and take advantage of other similar interactive features, he said.

“We’ll be basing a lot on things like user feedback and search results,” Benito said. “It’s like a portal to the Defense Department – how to do business with us, how to get involved. Some of it will be similar to Google monitoring,” a feature that tracks Internet traffic.

Benito hopes the new features will tap into the social media’s explosive popularity and help capture the coveted demographic of persons ages 18 to 24 years that has eluded DefenseLink, DOD’s current departmentwide homepage. Users in that age group account for only about 4 percent of DefenseLink’s visitors, while most fall into the age range of 48 to 5.  Full article published at tr.im/ueye

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates commended Army Gen. David D. McKiernan’s leadership at every military level during a retirement ceremony for the former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan here today.

McKiernan returned the favor, calling Gates “the finest secretary of defense in my lifetime.

Gates replaced McKiernan as the commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan after the general spent less than a year in Kabul. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal now holds the position.

McKiernan addressed this early in his remarks. “If you had asked me 30 days ago if I would be here at my retirement ceremony, I probably would have said no,” the general said. “Make no mistake I was dismayed, disappointed, more than a little embarrassed. But, as so often in life … I received some candid coaching that said, ‘McKiernan, this is not about you. It’s about paying respect to your profession and those around who know you.’”

Gates said it was an honor to be asked to participate in the ceremony marking the end of McKiernan’s 37-year Army career.

“He has handled everything the Army and his commander in chief have thrown at him with supreme professionalism, intelligence and dedication to our nation and the men and women under his command,” the secretary said.

The general commanded the coalition land forces and launched the attack into Iraq in March 2003. Gates praised McKiernan for having the “skill and the will to keep the march to Baghdad on track through ‘Fedayeen’ attacks and furious sandstorms. [It was] a march that in less than three weeks brought Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime to an end.”

The general’s experience in Iraq served him well in Afghanistan, where he led an international military effort to secure and rebuild the country, the secretary said. McKiernan dedicated himself to recalibrating the International Security Assistance Force’s mission to better protect the Afghan people, the secretary said. He also oversaw a major expansion in Afghan security forces and brought about better coordination between military and civilian efforts in the country.

McKiernan made the NATO force better at counterinsurgency by ensuring its members were better trained. He worked diligently to improve cooperation among Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO, Gates said.

McKiernan believed “the Afghan people deserve better than the last 30 years of conflict,” Gates said. “While the Taliban and other terrorist groups offer only lies and fears, our continued effort promotes freedom and hope.”

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. hosted the retirement review on Summerall Field here and spoke highly of McKiernan’s command and operational experience.

Casey praised the general for his service in the Cold War, during Desert Storm, in the Balkans, as the ground commander of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and finally, as the commander of the NATO in Afghanistan.

“I can’t think of another officer who has contributed so much and given so much to the men and women of this Army,” Casey said.

The general received the Distinguished Service Medal from Casey and the Defense Distinguished Service Medal from Gates. In addition, his wife, Carmen McKiernan, was presented the Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Medal.

McKiernan has said that he and his wife plan on living in the Boston area and on staying involved in the support of soldiers. Read more tr.im/sx7H