NAVFAC Southeast Contract to Help Marines Save Energy, Money

From Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast Public Affairs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast awarded a $5.2 million utility energy services contract (UESC) June 30, to TECO Peoples Gas Energy Systems Group, LLC for energy improvements to facilities at U.S. Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island.

The improvements will save the installation nearly $497,000 annually.

"We recognize that as residents of the Jacksonville community, Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island has a responsibility to do our part to conserve energy," said Blount Island base commander Col. Steven Peters. "This project puts us on the path to meet the goals of the Commandant of the Marine Corps Campaign Plan, increases our use of renewable energy, and reduces energy to meet executive order goals."

Projects under the UESC will include high efficiency lighting retrofits; heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) improvements; controls upgrades, motor upgrades, transformer replacements, metering, compressed air system repairs, insulation, and solar hot-water and geothermal energy systems.

"We are always looking ahead to find ways to conserve energy," said NAVFAC Southeast energy program manager Brad Clark. "When the analysis was complete we found many buildings that could use upgrades to conserve energy."

Thirteen facilities and five non-facility areas will see some type of energy saving improvements.

Solar hot water panels are to be installed on Building 100 to augment its existing electric water heating system.

Solar powered (photovoltaic) systems include solar powered water circulators in two retention ponds to maintain proper oxygen levels. Solar powered car charging systems will be installed at Buildings 350, 351, 390 and 450 to relieve 44 electric vehicles from the utility system.

Geothermal energy systems work will include replacing building 450 cooling equipment with a water-cooled chiller and water-source heat pump. Ground-source heat pumps and new air handling units will replace existing heating and cooling equipment in Building 150.

"The Department of Defense (DoD) has imposed strict guidance to reduce consumption," claims Clark.

The DoD has mandated that electric and natural gas consumption be reduced at least 30 percent by 2015. In addition, executive order (EO) 13514 was signed in 2009 by the President which intensifies the energy savings requirements even more.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps has provided a campaign plan called, "Ten by '10 -- Top ten things to do by 2010 to reduce USMC Energy Risks."

Construction on the UESC Phase II projects for Blount Island will begin in August and is expected to be completed during the third quarter of fiscal year 2012, approximately June 2012.

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Energy and Environmental Projects Highlighted to Assistant Secretary of the Navy

By Andrew Revelos, Naval Support Activity South Potomac Public Affairs

INDIAN HEAD, Md. (NNS) -- Major projects in support of critical infrastructure and environmental protection at Naval Support Facility (NSF) Indian Head were discussed in-depth during a June 27 visit to the installation by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment.

The tour for Jackalyne Pfannenstiel began with a briefing from Naval Support Activity South Potomac (NSASP) and Naval District Washington (NDW) officials on the progress of NSF Indian Head's planned "nodal" steam generation plants, the proposed Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) aboard base property, upgrades to the installation's sewage treatment facility and the shoreline stabilization project.

A military construction project 222, currently slated for funding in FY12, will replace NSF Indian Head's aged coal-burning Goddard Steam Plant, in operation since 1957, with a more efficient "nodal" system consisting of two primary and nine secondary steam plants. The Goddard plant currently supplies the installation's steam and provides back-up power generation for commands aboard Indian Head.

The new, natural gas-powered system's design will offer an estimated 35 percent reduction in the installation's yearly energy costs. Abandoning coal-generated energy will avoid the increasing costs of keeping up with environmental regulations, which mandate expensive steam-scrubbing operations.

In addition to reducing greenhouse gas and other pollution, the project will fund construction of an eight-mile long natural gas line to the base, and see the removal of approximately 14 miles of old steam lines on the Navy installation.

"One distinction we have here at Indian Head that we'd like to lose, is [having] the last coal-fired power plant in the Navy," said Capt. Rame Hemstreet, commanding officer for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Washington.

"We really can't have any interruptions in service," said Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) commander, Capt. Andy Buduo. The de-centralized nodal system will mitigate power reliability problems currently experienced by NSWC IHD as its works to accomplish its vital mission.

"Clearly, you have unique needs in terms of [power] reliability," said Pfannenstiel while addressing the group.

Officials also updated the assistant secretary on the EUL, which provides an opportunity for a more efficient use of Navy-owned property through cooperation with the private sector. The proposal could also benefit the community surrounding NSF Indian Head by adding jobs to the region.

Two lease sites have been proposed on NSF Indian Head, one for power generation and the other for commercial or light industrial use. The Navy requested proposals in April and is currently in a review period.

The upgrade to NSF Indian Head's Sewage Treatment Plant, scheduled to be completed this fall, was necessitated by stringent new state and federal environmental regulations intended to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The rules require Maryland jurisdictions and wastewater treatment facilities to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous pollutants, and strengthen measures to control pollution in storm water run-off.

Meeting the tough new requirements has been a "big hurdle," according to one NSASP official, but NSF Indian Head is on schedule to meet the December 2011 compliance deadline.

NSF Indian Head's shoreline stabilization continues its successful status as a major environmental step forward for the Chesapeake Bay area. First conceived in 2002 in response to severe shoreline erosion, the project involves the construction of breakwaters, sills and an intertidal wetland environment designed to protect seven miles of the base's shoreline along the Potomac River and Mattawoman Creek. The initiative, undertaken by Navy in partnership with several conservation agencies, features a "living shoreline" design now serves as a model for restoration projects across the Bay region.

Following her briefing, Pfannenstiel toured all the project sites, with the shoreline restoration serving as the grand finale.

"Being good stewards of the environment continues to be a priority of the Department of the Navy," said Pfannenstiel. "Indian Head's Shoreline Stabilization project is a prime example of how we are protecting and restoring the environment in conjunction with other federal departments, state agencies, and private sector organizations. The incredible success of this project can serve as a model for similar projects throughout the Navy."

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Solar Power System Expected to Bring Significant Savings to Naval Shipyard

From Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) completed installation of a $1.7 million photovoltaic (PV) system, June 1.

The new system is anticipated to reduce the facility's electric bill by $89,000 per year.

Nearly 1,300 solar panels were installed on the rooftop of Building 167, generating at least 250 kilowatts of power during peak daylight hours, or more than 455,000 kilowatt hours of energy annually.

"Hawaii depends on petroleum for nearly 90 percent of its energy requirements," said Shipyard Commander Capt. Brian Osgood. "This photovoltaic system uses the power of the sun as a long-term source of environmentally clean, renewable energy. It's another step toward making the shipyard and the Navy less dependent on oil."

PHNSY & IMF Other Procurement, Navy, Program/Project Manager Tiffany Nekota said the PV system has a life of more than 25 years and will maintain a minimum of 80 percent of its peak output even at the end of the system's lifespan.

Nekota said the new system is "grid-tied," meaning power generated by the system feeds into the building's existing electrical system. A weather station, DC-to-AC power conversion, monitoring, safety, interlock and shut-off capabilities are all part of the system.

About 20,000 square feet of rooftop are covered with solar panels, but pedestrians at ground level will barely notice the change.

"One of the considerations in the design was to preserve the historical nature of the building," Nekota said.

PHNSY & IMF Energy Conservation Manager Fred Nelson said the PV project helps the shipyard support secretary of the Navy's goal to have at least half of shore-based energy come from alternate sources; and helps meet federal regulations requiring agencies to reduce per-square-foot energy consumption in buildings by 3 percent per year.

PHNSY & IMF, one of four naval shipyards, is a full-service naval shipyard and regional maintenance center for the Navy's surface ships and submarines. It is a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command that engineers, builds, buys and maintains naval ships, submarines and their combat systems. Strategically located in the mid-Pacific, PHNSY & IMF is about a week of steam time closer to potential major regional contingencies in East Asia than sites on the West Coast.

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Top Pentagon Doctor Lauds Overseas Labs

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2011 – The Defense Department’s overseas medical research laboratories will play a key role in ensuring the readiness of deployed U.S. military forces well into the future, while also contributing to global health and U.S. partnership-building around the world, the Pentagon’s senior health affairs advisor said.

Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, called the overseas Army and Navy labs that have helped protect deployed service members for the past 60 years -- and civilians around the world as well -- “a national investment and a national treasure.”

Woodson addressed a Center for Strategic and International Studies forum June 28 as its Global Health Policy Center released a new report, “The Defense Department’s Enduring Contributions to Global Health -- The Future of the U.S. Army and Navy Overseas Medical Research Laboratories.”

These labs include the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit in Nairobi, Kenya; the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences in Bangkok; the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit 3 in Cairo; NAMRU-6 in Lima, Peru; and NAMRU-2 Pacific, temporarily headquartered at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

A sixth laboratory, U.S. Army Medical Research Unit Europe, in Heidelberg, Germany, conducts psycho-social research; and the precursor to a new U.S. Army laboratory, the Central Public Health Reference Library, opened in March in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Woodson echoed the CSIS report’s finding that the laboratories, while “exceptional” in their contribution to military readiness as well as scientific research and global health, are “surprisingly under-recognized and undervalued” outside the research community.

“For relatively little dollars, we get a huge benefit, not only in terms of protecting the citizenry of this nation,” he said. “But the added value to the world is just incredible.”

The CSIS report noted some of the labs’ contributions: the first vaccine for Japanese encephalitis virus; the first isolation of the Rift Valley Fever virus; the first identification of new strains of dengue fever in Peru; the demonstrated efficacy of several drugs to treat and prevent malaria; and in Thailand, the first successful HIV/AIDS vaccine trial, among them.

Woodson cited the research laboratories’ long history of addressing disease that rendered troops ineffective, with decades of work that helped develop a robust inventory of vaccines and therapeutics.

These and other efforts have helped elevate the state of military medicine to its highest levels ever, particularly during the last decade. “We have the lowest rate of disease and nonbattle injury ever witnessed in the history of warfare,” Woodson said. “That success started in our research laboratories.”

The laboratories’ achievements have extended far beyond the military, helping to reduce human suffering and promoting stability around the world, Woodson said.

“Building healthy populations is a worthy strategic engagement approach,” he said. “In fact, utilizing medicine and building healthy populations is a way of preserving the peace so we don’t have to get into these kinetic wars” and can focus on building stable societies.

Woodson emphasized the importance of partnerships in advances made to date and called for closer collaboration in the future: between government agencies, government, academia and the private sector, and the world health community.

He paid tribute to the professionals who work largely behind the scenes to advance the labs’ work.

“Make no mistake: their contributions and expertise are really valued, and they know that their work matters,” Woodson said. “But their work is done without fanfare and with real modesty and with a deep respect for the science and data and discipline of their art and their practice.”

Woodson emphasized the importance of strategic communication that helps build broader understanding and appreciation for the laboratories’ contributions to global health. This will be particularly important during times of budget constraints, when cost-sharing will become increasingly important, he said.

The laboratories have roots dating back to the 19th century, the CSIS report noted. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, which oversees the Army’s international network of laboratories, traces its institutional heritage to the Army Medical School, founded in 1893 by U.S. Army Surgeon General Brig. Gen. George Miller Sternberg.

Sternberg established the Army’s first two overseas laboratories in Cuba and the Philippines to investigate outbreaks of typhoid fever and yellow fever that were undermining U.S. military efforts during the Spanish-American War.

The Navy established its first domestic naval medical laboratory in 1953 on the grounds of the Brooklyn Naval Hospital in 1983.

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Navy Energy Program Goes Blue to Green

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stephen D. Doyle II, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Members of the California Energy Commission toured shore facilities in Navy Region Southwest, June 27, in an effort to strengthen commitments and ties with the Navy regarding renewable, green energies.

The group toured facilities onboard Naval Base Coronado, and Naval Amphibious base Coronado. Energy efficient commodities such as solar powered street lamps and training classrooms that use green energy were a few of the main draws.

"Today was an opportunity to have some people from the California energy commission come and visit the Navy and discuss energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunities in the state of California and an opportunity to show up close the Navy's projects and installations," said Bernie Lindsey, Navy Region Southwest utilities & energy program manager.

Of interest to the group were the Navy's photovoltaic systems that convert heat from the sun into electricity, solar panels located on top of streetlights and long-term parking.

"We wanted to see the Navy's energy facilities and its commitment to renewable and energy efficiency and look for ways we can work together on that," said Dr. Robert Weisenmiller, California Energy Commission chair. "What was most impressive was the Navy's dedication on trying to get the energy use down and the renewable energy production up."

The Navy and the state of California have been working together for many years to help develop and implement green technologies throughout its shore facilities within the state.

"Some of the stuff we've seen so far resulted form the partnership we have," said Weisenmiller. "We do a lot of research and development and we need someplace to test those products and this is a good opportunity down here."

As the Navy continues to implement renewable energy in its existing facilities, it is also looking into the future as new projects begin construction.

"Their (California Energy Commission's) interest across the state is improving energy efficiency in existing buildings and helping insure that new buildings that get constructed are the most energy efficient possible," said Lindsey. "They are also very interested and involved in renewable energy development across the state of California. And so all of those issues and objectives that they have are very compatible with the Navy's requirements, goals and objective."

Both the state of California and the Navy have been very dedicated to integrating renewable energy systems wherever it is possible. Many existing programs and utilities were developed in California.

"Our goals and objectives are very similar, one of their (California Energy Commission's) objectives is to facilitate and promote California companies that make technologies to improve energy efficiency," said Lindsey. "One of their main goals is to help get California technologies more prominently to the market, so they see the Navy as obviously a large, potential customer that needs a lot of energy efficient technologies.".

Because of their similar interest in renewable energy technologies, the partnership between the Navy and the state of California is one that will continue to grow stronger as both parties strive to alleviate dependency on less efficient energy sources.

"I think the major thing is that we both have the same goals to get much more secure energy system by using energy wisely and also using green energy," said Weisenmiller. "They're greening the Navy, I'm trying to green the state."

The Navy is partnering with state agencies around the country to reduce its energy usage and increase its renewable and green energy production, both at sea and at shore-based facilities.

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Defense Department, Services Monitor Arctic Melting

By Lisa Daniel

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2011 – With the number of geopolitical hotspots in the world today, the Arctic is not an area that comes quickly to mind for possible defense operations. But it is a place of great national security and strategic importance that the Defense Department and services are monitoring closely.

In a report sent to Congress earlier this month, DOD officials say the Arctic is a place they and the services are paying attention to because of rapid climate change there that likely will open the area to greater human inhabitation and possible threats to U.S. interests.

The polar icecap and harsh Arctic environment have long enhanced U.S. security by acting as a northern barrier to the United States, the report says. The melting of the icecap already is causing increased human activity, such as with oil and gas exploration and tourism, that could affect U.S. interests there and raise issues about maritime travel, it says.

Navy Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, explained the level of U.S. interests in the Arctic during a June 16 Arctic seminar here. The region is “extraordinarily important for our Navy, for our military, and for our nation,” he said.

“There is a phenomenal event taking place on the planet today,” Roughead said, referring to the opening up of the Arctic Ocean from melting polar ice caps. “We haven’t had an ocean open on this planet since the end of the Ice Age. So, if this is not a significant change that requires new, and I would submit, brave thinking on the topic, I don’t know what other sort of physical event could produce that.”

Roughead established a task force to consider climate change’s impact on the Navy and how it should respond. Some things to consider is how melting ice and warming oceans will cause fish to travel north, opening up a fishing industry in the Arctic, as well as create more maritime traffic, in general. Within 25 years, he said, the Arctic could become a profitable sea route from Asia to Europe.

Besides the occasional battle at sea, the admiral said, “navies exist to grease the intercourse of commerce globally.”

The Army also is taking steps to reassess its Arctic capabilities and plan for changing conditions in the region, the report says. The renewed military interest follows years of drawdown in the Arctic that followed the end of the Cold War with Russia.

According to the report, the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of planet, resulting in increased human activity in the area, and presenting the opportunity for multilateral cooperation in shaping the future there.

The report stops short of advising a renewed military buildup in the Arctic, citing the lack of scientific consensus on long-term environmental changes there, the expectation that growth will be gradual and uneven, and the long lead time needed to develop capabilities there -- all of which occur at a time of strict budget constraints.

Despite the warming, the Arctic still is an inhospitable climate, making defense capabilities difficult, the report says. Also, it notes, communications and the performance global positioning systems are limited in the area by magnetic and solar phenomena and poor satellite geometry and ionospheric effects, respectively.

The report notes there is low risk of military hostilities in the Arctic. The United States is part of the eight-member Arctic Council, along with Russia, Canada, Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. All are publically committed to working within a common framework of international laws and diplomacies, and have demonstrated that commitment for 50 years, it says.

Still, DOD officials say the report and the department’s careful monitoring of the Arctic is important so the United States can be on the leading edge of protecting its interests there. Because the changes are slow-onset, one DOD official told American Forces Press Service, “We have the ability to shape how that happens and ensure it happens in a cooperative fashion. It gives us the ability to move forward in a measured and strategic way.”

As the department assesses the situation, officials are mindful of the national interests of its partner nations in the Arctic, namely Russia, which has some 4,350 miles of Arctic coastline, and garners 12 percent of its gross domestic product from the region, the report says.

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Bowditch Completes U.S./Vietnam Oceanographic Survey Mission

By Edward Baxter, Military Sealift Command Public Affairs

DANANG, Vietnam (NNS) -- Military Sealift Command oceanographic survey ship USNS Bowditch (T-AGS 62) marked the conclusion of a month long, bilateral survey mission in Vietnam by hosting Vietnamese military and government officials in Da Nang, Vietnam, June 21.

The reception was co-hosted by Navy Rear Adm. Jonathan White, commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, and Bowditch's civilian master, Capt. Mike Farrell.

"This joint U.S.-Vietnam mission to investigate underwater crash sites is using one of naval oceanography's world-class survey ships to augment the efforts of JPAC," said White. "The level of cooperation is a great example of the strengthening relationship between our two nations."

Guests at the reception included representatives from the Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam Department of Survey and Mapping, Vietnam Administration for Seas and Islands, and the Vietnam People's Navy.

With its embarked team of 12 oceanographers and hydrographers from the Naval Oceanographic Office, or NAVOCEANO, Bowditch conducts a wide range of survey operations covering the disciplines of physical oceanography, hydrography and bathymetry, acoustics, and geophysics. The Hawaii-based JPAC focuses on continued efforts to locate, recover and identify U.S. service members unaccounted for from past conflicts.

Bowditch is operated and navigated by 24 merchant mariners who work for a private company under contract to MSC.

Bowditch surveyed pre-determined sites off Vietnam's coast May 20 - June 20, looking for U.S. military losses from the Vietnam conflict in underwater environments.

"For the crew of Bowditch, it has been a rewarding experience working with the JPAC and Vietnamese liaisons to complete a mission that has so much meaning to the American people," Farrell said.

Bowditch completed 15 survey missions off the coast of Da Nang City, Quang Nam, Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri provinces in deep and shallow waters.

Bowditch's embarked Hydrographic Survey Launch; a 34-foot, 15,000-pound craft that resembles a commercial yacht but carries state-of-the-art survey equipment, was deployed to survey waters close to shore. Three

JPAC personnel and five of their counterparts from the Vietnamese Office for Seeking Missing Persons embarked Bowditch for the mission and provided the data collected from underwater surveys to the government of Vietnam.

"The synergy amongst the U.S. and Vietnamese team has been superb," said Ron Ward, JPAC team leader embarked aboard Bowditch. "The Vietnamese government has been very flexible throughout the mission in allowing us to collect as much data as possible."

Once all data has been collated, JPAC analysts, including underwater anthropologists, will review the survey results. If warranted, JPAC will schedule future underwater investigations to further define the nature of the targets of interest or conduct underwater recovery operations.

Bowditch's survey mission is the second JPAC-sponsored mission by a Pathfinder-class ship to Vietnam, following USNS Bruce C. Heezen's search for sunken U.S. aircraft in 2009.

"Our survey crew was eager to participate and very proud to execute this humanitarian mission along with our Vietnamese colleagues," said Robert Delgado, the senior NAVOCEANO representative aboard Bowditch.

NAVOCEANO is the largest subordinate command within the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, and is responsible for providing oceanographic products and services to all elements of the Department of Defense.

MSC operates approximately 110 noncombatant, U.S. merchant mariner-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, conduct specialized missions, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world, and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces and coalition partners.

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Astronaut Mark Kelly Announces Plans To Retire From NASA

Joshua Buck

Headquarters, Washington

 

Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters

Johnson Space Center, Houston

HOUSTON -- NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy Capt. Mark Kelly has announced his plans to retire from the agency on Oct. 1. He is a veteran of four space shuttle missions.

"We salute Commander Mark Kelly and his contributions to NASA as an extremely accomplished member of the astronaut corps and the final commander of the space shuttle Endeavour," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "We deeply respect his achievements and his decision to focus on his family. We continue to send out our thoughts and prayers to Mark and his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, as she makes a remarkable recovery. We know that Mark will continue to do great things for his country no matter what he chooses to do next. He has helped us build a space program poised to take advantage of the many opportunities in our bright future."

Kelly announced his retirement Tuesday on Facebook and via his Twitter account. On Facebook, he wrote, "This was not an easy decision. Public service has been more than a job for me and for my family." He added, "I know that as our space program evolves, there are those who will question NASA's future. I am not among them. There isn't a group more dedicated to its mission or more capable than the outstanding men and women of NASA."

Kelly commanded the STS-134 flight in May and STS-124 in 2008. He served as the pilot on STS-121 in 2006 and STS-108 in 2001. He joined NASA as an astronaut candidate in 1996.

For Kelly's complete biography, visit http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/kellyme.html.

To follow Kelly on Twitter and Facebook, visit http://www.twitter.com/ShuttleCDRKelly and http://www.facebook.com/Capt.MarkKelly.

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CNO Addresses STEM Forum, Cites Advances, Need for Continued Effort

By Geoff Fein, Office of Naval Research Corporate Communications

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (NNS) -- The Chief of Naval Operations addressed attendees of the Office of Naval Research's (ONR) Naval Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Forum June 16, the last day of the two-day conference held in Alexandria, Va.

Adm. Gary Roughead said that while the Navy has made great strides in recognizing the need to actively promote STEM education awareness, there is more work to be done.

"Now, we need to be clear-eyed about what it will take over time to realize the naval STEM workforce goals the [Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus] discussed yesterday," Roughead said.

On June 15, Mabus outlined the Navy's plan to double STEM funding, from the current $54 million, on initiatives that included an effort to inspire, engage and educate students; employ, develop and retain naval STEM professionals and collaborate across the service and with other organizations to maximize the benefit to the Navy and Marine Corps.

In addition to the secretary's proposal, Rear Adm. Nevin Carr, chief of naval research, detailed a new $8 million STEM Grand Challenge seeking ideas aimed at boosting K-12 educational performance in the sciences, on the conference's opening day.

During his address, Roughead also acknowledged a new summer STEM academy led by Temple University to be held on the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The program, set to open this summer, will leverage naval engineering and medical experts to be mentors for junior high and high school students considering more advanced STEM pursuits.

While the CNO acknowledged other STEM efforts underway across the service, he said more could be done.

"There is room for wider participation, for more coordination between our various initiatives, for new partnerships, and for better methods to assess what types of outreach really build the interest we aim to achieve," Roughead said.

Attendees praised the Navy for gathering the diverse cross-section of leaders to collaborate on ways to kindle a national interest in STEM.

Jennifer Hsu, partnerships and operations director of Iridescent, a nonprofit organization that has developed learning centers and programs to reach youth in under-represented communities, said the forum was the perfect size to enable networking opportunities and keep the focus on STEM.

The forum showed "an incredible amount of foresight and investment by ONR," Hsu said.

"The conference has been highly successful," said Dr. Mariano R. Sto. Domingo, a research associate and program coordinator in the department of psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. "They were able to gather individuals with the influence and know-how, and that's very important."

Domingo said the STEM conference gave him hope for his 9-year-old daughter who has an interest in engineering. He said the schools are not designed to encourage her interest.

"I am hopeful things will be more accessible."

Nathan Hagen, who works in material sciences for Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock and was a speaker on the forum's student panel, said "It's good to see so many programs dedicated to [furthering STEM awareness]."

About the Office of Naval Research

The Department of the Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR) provides the science and technology necessary to maintain the Navy and Marine Corps' technological advantage. Through its affiliates, ONR is a leader in science and technology with engagement in 50 states, 70 countries, 1,035 institutions of higher learning and 914 industry partners. ONR employs approximately 1,400 people, comprising uniformed, civilian and contract personnel, with additional employees at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C.

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SPAWAR Tests Emerging Technologies to Improve Warfighter Readiness

By Nicole Collins, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) participated in the 2011 Coalition Warrior Interoperability Demonstration (CWID) with coalition and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) partners in San Diego, June 16.

Using real-world inspired scenarios, CWID 2011 conducted technology trials ranging from web-based situational awareness tolls, enhanced wireless technology, blue force tracking systems, maritime surveillance, translation devices and enhanced information assurance and validation innovations.

"This event allows coalition partners to test and evaluate their industry's technology and fielded C2 systems with ours," said Jay Iannacito, Systems Center Pacific CWID project manager.

The global interoperability event provides an environment for U.S. warfighters, NATO and coalition forces to demonstrate new and emerging technologies in a realistic operational environment, addressing information sharing capability gaps in theater. Upon returning from Afghanistan, several coalition warfighters functioned as operators throughout the two-week demonstration.

"Cooperation with [coalition] allies is very important; whenever and wherever," said Finnish Navy Lt. Cmdr. Juha Ravanti. "The only way to accomplish interoperability is to move away from national systems to multinational systems and procedures."

Warfighters and operators evaluated each technology solution for their operational utility while technical experts assessed technical interoperability and information assurance with existing U.S. and coalition systems.

SPAWAR System Center Pacific assessed and demonstrated 30 technologies designed to improve and enhance command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities (C2ISR), providing first hand analysis of the technologies.

Upon completion of the CWID trial assessments, the data will report the results to coalition, service and agency acquisition decision makers as well as combatant commanders.

CWID is a chairman of the joint chiefs of staff directed annual event that engages cutting-edge information technology, focusing on operational shortfalls identified by combatant commanders and government agencies.

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Navy Tests "Green" Hybrid Diesel Trucks

By Darrell E. Waller, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Public Affairs

PORT HUENEME, Calif. (NNS) -- Navy engineers in San Diego and Bangor, Wash., began testing diesel powered hybrid vehicle technology June 15, for possible deployment to Navy and Marine Corps bases worldwide.

The program kicked off with the delivery of two vehicles to the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest Coastal Integrated Product Team (IPT) in San Diego, May 12. A second pair of trucks will be pressed into service with the recycling team in Bangor, Wash., this month.

The Navy has commissioned a total of four test vehicles - two diesel hybrids and two conventionally powered trucks - that will be compared side by side for six months at Bangor and the California site. Each location will receive a single hybrid to be tested against a similar, non-hybrid model. Both sites will operate the trucks under normal conditions, and the results will be compared at the end of the test period to determine potential fuel savings for the Fleet.

"The testing in this phase will be compared to earlier baseline tests to determine how well the hybrids match up in the real world against their conventional counterparts," said Capt. Paz B. Gomez, Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center commanding officer. "This has the potential to save millions of dollars for the fleet and taxpayers, enabling the Navy to move closer to achieving the SECNAV's energy goals of 50 percent reduction in petroleum used in naval vehicles by 2015."

NAVFAC ESC is working with the sites to monitor critical operating data on the truck use and hybrid system status for the duration of the test period. The trucks will be required to undergo weekly inspections of the hybrid systems. The fleet managers, operators and service teams will provide input on the truck status throughout the demonstration period.

"Both the NAVFAC Southwest Base Support Vehicles and Equipment Core team and the Coastal Integrated Product team worked closely with NAVFAC ESC and the manufacturer to make this happen," said Luann Benson, NAVFAC Southwest Base Support Vehicles and Equipment product line coordinator. "We are looking forward to reviewing the results and hopefully implementing more heavy hybrid vehicles."

One demonstration truck includes an innovative hybrid platform known as a hydraulic hybrid system, which works by charging an on-board gas accumulator. Its simple layout allows for rigorous use and frequent stops while delivering lower costs through high volume production. This type of technology becomes increasingly important with the rising costs of petroleum.

Hybrid electric systems will reduce noise, allowing quiet engine-off operation at low speeds or idling for work modes. This not only enhances environmental quality of life, but also improves safety and productivity. Line workers can better communicate without having to compete with diesel engine noise, and crews can work normal shifts without concerns about additional noise disturbance.

While improved fuel efficiency is a critical driver for this demonstration, the hybrid systems offer unique environmental benefits. The hybrid trucks' regenerative braking system will significantly eliminate the use of a conventional brake system. This not only avoids the downtime and cost of brake replacement, but it also avoids the fine particulate matter generated with each application of the brakes, better protecting air and water resources.

"This is just one small example of the Navy's many contributions to how our government is leading the charge toward a healthy and sustainable future," said Ken Furra, NAVFAC Southwest Coastal IPT Public Works Business Line team leader.

Test data will be released to other Department of Defense components and federal government organizations by 2012, and the technology may eventually benefit warfighters in all theaters.

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Navy Medicine Study Seeks New Participants

From U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Navy Medicine's Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) research team announced June 14, it expects to expand its number of study participants by 50,000 this year and is currently seeking new volunteers to participate.

The MCS is designed to combine survey data with vaccination, personnel, deployment, and military health system information, to evaluate the impact of military service, including deployment, on various health measures. The study is the largest prospective military health study in the U.S. and captures data from personnel across all branches of the military.

"The Millennium Cohort Study is poised to provide critical information toward understanding the long-term health of future generations of military members, thus contributing to force health protection; a DoD priority," said Dr. Nancy F. Crum-Cianflone, the study's principal investigator. "In addition to the enrollment of service members in this cycle, we hope to enroll about 10,000 military spouses as part of the Millennium Cohort Family Study."

MCS is being conducted by the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC), and the team hopes to add 50,000 U.S. service members to reach a total goal of more than 200,000 participants this year. Enrollment cycles, which occur every three years, have been timed to assess the occupational exposures and health outcomes that may be related to deployment. The study is in its tenth year and is scheduled to continue until 2022.

MCS is designed to get a better sense of how military families are coping with military life after nearly a decade of war. The anticipated 10,000 spouses who enroll will be contacted every three years to complete a follow-up survey, even if their sponsor is no longer in the service. Findings from this study will help to understand the emerging and changing needs of military families, as well as the cumulative effect of multiple deployments.

In response to concerns about the health effects of deployments following the 1991 Gulf War, Congress and the Institute of Medicine recommended DoD conduct prospective epidemiological research to evaluate the impact of military exposures, including deployment, on long-term health outcomes.

MSC, with more than 150,000 participants at present, meets this critical need. Although the original designers of the study could not foresee the post-2001 military conflicts, the project is positioned to address health outcomes related to these operations.

More than forty percent of MCS participants have deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their input will enable investigators to prospectively evaluate detailed data from before, during, and long after these deployments. Current areas of analyses include post traumatic stress disorder, depression, alcohol misuse, respiratory illnesses, and traumatic brain injury.

For more information on the Millennium Cohort Study visit millenniumcohort.org.

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SECNAV Stresses Alternative Energy at Current Strategy Forum

From Naval War College Public Affairs

NEWPORT, R.I. (NNS) -- Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus spoke on the importance of pursuing alternative energy during a keynote speech at the U.S. Naval War College's 62nd annual Current Strategy Forum (CSF) in Newport, R.I., June 8.

Mabus discussed how the Navy and Marine Corps have made strides towards seeking alternative energy sources, but must continue to push ahead to be less reliant on fossil fuels. This challenge, he said, is a strategic issue that is important to U.S. national security.

"We use too much fossil fuel," he said. "We have to change the way we use, produce, get energy. We have to do it strategically, we have to do it tactically."

Every dollar rise in the price of a barrel of oil costs the Navy and Marine Corps $31 million, he said, noting that oil-price increases in fiscal year 2011 will result in a $562 million addition to the operating budget of both services - more than the cost of a littoral combat ship.

"We don't have that money to spare. We certainly don't have it to spare in this fiscal environment," he said.

The reliance on fossil fuels affects the Navy and Marine Corps at the tactical level as well. He used the complex process to transport fuel to Afghanistan as a costly example, from monetary costs to manpower resources, to lives lost in attacks while providing security.

To combat this issue, the secretary issued five energy goals, one of which is to ensure at least half of all energy used by the Navy and Marine Corps will come from non-fossil fuels no later than 2020. This type of challenge, he said, is not new to services that transitioned from sails to coal-fired steam in the 19th century, switched to oil 50 years later, and then added nuclear power to the fleet in the 1950s.

"I think we're right on the edge of another energy revolution," Mabus said, pointing out how quickly such change happens. He compared the potential for energy developments with the recent emergence of iPads, smart phones and other devices transforming the way we communicate.

"We have the opportunity to help create the new energy future and the new energy economy for this country," said Mabus.

In the energy arena, progress has been made, including completion of solar-power projects, energy-efficient buildings, and smart meters across the Department of the Navy.

Mabus described how private industry will play a key role in future developments in partnership with the Department of the Navy. Specific parameters, such as ensuring that energy alternatives are compatible with already existing platforms and equipment, and that any developments do not compete with food production, will need to be considered.

"Because while the military can lead, it's going to have to be industry that expands the market," he said.

Attended by the Naval War College community and participants from throughout the country, this year's two-day Current Strategy Forum explored the theme of "Energy and the U.S. National Security: Vulnerability and Opportunity."

The event featured speakers from military, academia and industry, discussing the critical role of energy in international security, the current and future impact of increasing global demands on natural resources, and the related vulnerabilities and opportunities for the nation and the maritime services in a more energy constrained environment.

The Current Strategy Forum is hosted annually by the Secretary of the Navy.

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First Mobile MRI Systems to be Sent to Afghanistan Theater

From Navy Medicine Public Affairs

FORT DETRICK, Md. (NNS) -- Naval Medical Logistics Command (NMLC) announced the award of a contract for two mobile Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems to Philips Healthcare June 7, to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury of wounded warriors in Afghanistan.

The Navy has been working closely with the Army and Air Force to field an unprecedented MRI capability for deployed forces as part of the overall comprehensive approach to diagnosing and treating concussive injuries.

The procurement of the MRI systems has been a joint initiative between NMLC's technical and operational partners including: Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, U.S. Army Medical Material Agency, Chief of Mobility Command, the Veterans Administration, and the Army's Rapid Equipping Force.

While there is no clinical requirement for MRI systems in battlefield trauma care, they will be informative and may lead to cutting-edge discoveries in the diagnosis, treatment and enhanced follow-up care for wounded personnel with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).

"The acquisition of an MRI system for use in a combat theater is something new and provides some interesting challenges but it's amazing to see those challenges being overcome so quickly," said James B. Poindexter, commanding officer of NMLC. "This is a complex and unprecedented acquisition issue and our team is working hard to field this equipment as soon as possible while ensuring it will do the job we intend it to do, taking care of our men and women in uniform close to the battlefield."

According to Poindexter, the MRI systems destined for Afghanistan are unlike anything commercially available. The units need to be self-contained, requiring that they be designed from the ground up to account for the many unique and challenging working environments that will be encountered in combat theater such as vast temperature differences, fine blowing sand and power issues. They must also meet size and weight requirements to be capable of being airlifted into theater.

"We are taking prudent measures to ensure successful deployment of this important equipment by late summer," said Poindexter. "We continue to aggressively address every element involved including engineering, logistical and technical issues."

The contract to build the MRI systems was awarded to Philips after a competitive, best value acquisition process.

"We are honored to help improve access to care by bringing advanced medical technologies to Afghanistan as part of our longstanding efforts to support soldiers and veterans," said Joe Robinson, senior vice president, Government and Enterprise Solutions, Philips Healthcare.

NMLC is the center of logistics expertise for Navy Medicine, designing, executing and administering individualized state-of-the-art solutions to meet customer's medical material and healthcare needs. Headquartered at Fort Detrick, Md., NMLC supports the U.S. Navy with acquisition and logistics systems training, healthcare services strategies, operational forces support, medical equipment and logistics solutions, acquisition management, deployable platforms and eye wear fabrication. NMLC has responsibility as technical manager of the Navy's Direct Healthcare Services Contracting Program and has formal agreements with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard to provide medical logistics and materiel management information and medical mobilization planning assistance.

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