Employment of retired commissioned officers by contractors of the Department of Defense and the Armed Forces : report (to accompany H.R. 10959)

"March 21, 1960."

Department of Defense authorization for appropriations for fiscal year 2007 : hearings before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, second session, on S. 2766, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2007 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe personnel strengths for such fiscal year for the armed forces, and for other purposes.

"March 7, 29, April 4, 6, 2006"--Pt. 7.

Department of Defense appropriations for 1982 : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session : military personnel entitlement bill referred under section 401(b), Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 : H.R. 3380 Armed Forces Pay Act of 1981 /

Item 1011, 1011-A (microfiche)

Wartime health and education : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor, United States Senate, Seventy-eighth Congress, first session, pursuant to S. Res. 74, a resolution authorizing an investigation of the educational and physical fitness of the civilian population as related to national defense.

Claude Pepper, chairman of subcommittee.

Capabilities of Police and Military Forces in Central America -- A Comparative Analysis of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras an d Nicaragua

A difficult transition to a new paradigm of Democratic Security and the subsequent process of military restructuring during the nineties led El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua to re-consider their old structures and functions of their armed forces and police agencies. This study compares the institutions in the four countries mentioned above to assess their current condition and response capacity in view of the contemporary security challenges in Central America. This report reveals that the original intention of limiting armies to defend and protect borders has been threatened by the increasing participation of armies in public security. While the strength of armies has been consolidated in terms of numbers, air and naval forces have failed to become strengthened or sufficiently developed to effectively combat organized crime and drug trafficking and are barely able to conduct air and sea operations. Honduras has been the only country that has maintained a proportional distribution of its armed forces. However, security has been in the hands of a Judicial Police, supervised by the Public Ministry. The Honduran Judicial Police has been limited to exercising preventive police duties, prohibited from carrying out criminal investigations. Nicaragua, meanwhile, possesses a successful police force, socially recognized for maintaining satisfactory levels of security surpassing the Guatemalan and El Salvadoran police, which have not achieved similar results despite of having set up a civilian police force separate from the military. El Salvador meanwhile, has excelled in promoting a Police Academy and career professional education, even while not having military attachés in other countries. Regarding budgetary issues, the four countries allocate almost twice the amount of funding on their security budgets in comparison to what is allocated to their defense budgets. However, spending in both areas is low when taking into account each country's GDP as well as their high crime rates. Regional security challenges must be accompanied by a professionalization of the regional armies focused on protecting and defending borders. Therefore, strong institutional frameworks to support the fight against crime and drug trafficking are required. It will require the strengthening of customs, greater control of illicit arms trafficking, investment in education initiatives, creating employment opportunities and facilitating significant improvements in the judicial system, as well as its accessibility to the average citizen.

A Model of Cerebellar Adaptation of Grip Forces During Lifting

We investigated adaptive neural control of precision grip forces during object lifting. A model is presented that adjusts reactive and anticipatory grip forces to a level just above that needed to stabilize lifted objects in the hand. The model obeys priciples of cerebellar structure and function by using slip sensations as error signals to adapt phasic motor commands to tonic force generators associated with output synergies controlling grip aperture. The learned phasic commands are weight and texture-dependent. Simulations of the new curcuit model reproduce key aspects of experimental observations of force application. Over learning trials, the onset of grip force buildup comes to lead the load force buildup, and the rate-of-rise of grip force, but not load force, scales inversely with the friction of the gripped object.

Civilian casualties – do we really care? The failure of the revolution in military affairs of non-lethal weapons in the U.S., Russia and Israel

Causing civilian casualties during military operations has become a much politicised topic in international relations since the Second World War. Since the last decade of the 20th century, different scholars and political analysts have claimed that human life is valued more and more among the general international community. This argument has led many researchers to assume that democratic culture and traditions, modern ethical and moral issues have created a desire for a world without war or, at least, a demand that contemporary armed conflicts, if unavoidable, at least have to be far less lethal forcing the military to seek new technologies that can minimise civilian casualties and collateral damage. Non-Lethal Weapons (NLW) – weapons that are intended to minimise civilian casualties and collateral damage – are based on the technology that, during the 1990s, was expected to revolutionise the conduct of warfare making it significantly less deadly. The rapid rise of interest in NLW, ignited by the American military twenty five years ago, sparked off an entirely new military, as well as an academic, discourse concerning their potential contribution to military success on the 21st century battlefields. It seems, however, that except for this debate, very little has been done within the military forces themselves. This research suggests that the roots of this situation are much deeper than the simple professional misconduct of the military establishment, or the poor political behaviour of political leaders, who had sent them to fight. Following the story of NLW in the U.S., Russia and Israel this research focuses on the political and cultural aspects that have been supposed to force the military organisations of these countries to adopt new technologies and operational and organisational concepts regarding NLW in an attempt to minimise enemy civilian casualties during their military operations. This research finds that while American, Russian and Israeli national characters are, undoubtedly, products of the unique historical experience of each one of these nations, all of three pay very little regard to foreigners’ lives. Moreover, while it is generally argued that the international political pressure is a crucial factor that leads to the significant reduction of harmed civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure, the findings of this research suggest that the American, Russian and Israeli governments are well prepared and politically equipped to fend off international criticism. As the analyses of the American, Russian and Israeli cases reveal, the political-military leaderships of these countries have very little external or domestic reasons to minimise enemy civilian casualties through fundamental-revolutionary change in their conduct of war. In other words, this research finds that employment of NLW have failed because the political leadership asks the militaries to reduce the enemy civilian casualties to a politically acceptable level, rather than to the technologically possible minimum; as in the socio-cultural-political context of each country, support for the former appears to be significantly higher than for the latter.

Vantagens e desvantagens da estrutura de holding na administração pública: um estudo de caso do Ministério da Defesa

Esse estudo buscou identificar vantagens e desvantagens da estrutura de holding na Administração Pública a partir da análise da constituição e organização do Ministério da Defesa. Realizamos um estudo de caso e, para a preparação do mesmo, partimos de referenciais teóricos que nos permitissem entender a estrutura de holding e controladas, a administração privada, a pública e a diferença entre elas. Foram realizadas doze entrevistas em duas etapas. A primeira abrangeu consultas a especialistas sobre holdings, e a segunda, pessoas com conhecimento sobre o Ministério da Defesa e Forças Armadas. As respostas das entrevistas foram analisadas tomando como base o que foi apresentado no Referencial Teórico. De forma geral, os entrevistados apresentaram como vantagens de uma holding na administração pública: facilitar maior integração e diálogo entre as partes; centralizar o poder norteando o rumo da organização; facilitar o desempenho estratégico e a visão; fomentar a governança; intensificar o diálogo, pensamento conjunto e atuação sistêmica; identificar maior poder de barganha e representatividade política; gerar maior eficácia por conta do entendimento entre as partes e melhor aproveitamento dos recursos; permitir a tradução de objetivos em diretrizes; aumentar a possibilidade de reduzir as desigualdades quando não pensa só no lucro; e buscar o benefício público. Como desvantagens foram citados o aumento de problemas no compartilhamento entre as controladas; a intensificação da possibilidade de choques de culturas diferentes; a possibilidade de cada gestor se voltar mais para sua organização quando os recursos são limitados; o maior esvaziamento da discussão de assuntos importantes na controlada; brecha para a ocorrência de retrabalho; possibilidade de atrasos na entrega das compras, que agora são centralizadas; maior exposição à politização e influência política; insuficiência de mecanismos de controle de desempenho; limitação das decisões e da gestão pelo que é estabelecido pela lei; existência de Forças políticas atuando e negociando; inexistência de carreiras civis em certas áreas aumentando essa exposição; falta de blindagem política e ingerência política; capacitação e estruturação não satisfatórios.

Relações civis-militares e as leis de acesso a informação na América Latina e no Brasil

Na América Latina, um vasto legado de regimes militares tem contribuído para o fortalecimento de uma cultura de sigilo nos governos. Além da defesa da pátria contra a ameaça comunista, a maioria destes golpes se deveu a um senso de dever das Forças Armadas em preservar o Estado. Deste ponto de vista, os próprios militares seriam os mais qualificados para determinar quando e como intervir na ordem política interna. No entanto, justificar a intervenção militar na ordem política interna é sempre um empreendimento repleto de contradições e riscos graves para a liberdade. Este contexto levou os estudiosos e autoridades a repensarem o controle civil sobre os militares, e a redefinirem os papéis das forças armadas. Neste processo de consolidação da democracia, os militares ainda mantêm alguns poderes políticos e de veto dentro dos governos civis. O controle civil democrático das Forças Armadas na América Latina enfrenta a falta de incentivos políticos para os civis a se envolverem e se especializarem no assunto, já que não há ameaças internas, quer externas observadas. De fato, a região tem sido considerada como uma "zona de paz", onde os esforços diplomáticos prevaleceriam sobre conflitos armados. A promulgação de leis de acesso à informação pública (LAI) abre uma maneira inteiramente nova de escrutínio público – uma democracia monitorial, que afeta diretamente a autonomia militar e sua cultura organizacional. No estudo do surgimento e da força legal das LAI na América Latina, as relações entre civis e militares não foram consideradas em profundidade como um fator influente. Buscou-se traçar uma relação entre, por um lado, a existência de LAI, a data de aprovação da LAI e sua força geral e exceções, e por outro lado, as relações civis-militares na América Latina. Um número considerável de países suporta que as relações civis-militares influenciam a regulamentação das exceções e o momento em que a lei foi aprovada. Há uma tendência geral na América Latina a adotar LAI fracas na regulamentação de exceções. Também foi feito um estudo de caso do Brasil, país muito representativo da influência militar na política. Concluiu-se que as relações entre civis e militares no Brasil foram um fator de grande influência na aprovação final da LAI no país. Este estudo contribui para a construção de uma ponte entre as agendas de pesquisa de transparência e de relações civis-militares, com várias possibilidades de estudos de casos comparados.

Cysteine-proteases and cystatins from barley: molecular and functional characterization in housekeeping and defense processes

Plant cysteine-proteases (CysProt) represent a well-characterized type of proteolytic enzymes that fulfill tightly regulated physiological functions (senescence and seed germination among others) and defense roles. This article is focused on the group of papain-proteases C1A (family C1, clan CA) and their inhibitors, phytocystatins (PhyCys). In particular, the protease–inhibitor interaction and their mutual participation in specific pathways throughout the plant's life are reviewed. C1A CysProt and PhyCys have been molecularly characterized, and comparative sequence analyses have identified consensus functional motifs. A correlation can be established between the number of identified CysProt and PhyCys in angiosperms. Thus, evolutionary forces may have determined a control role of cystatins on both endogenous and pest-exogenous proteases in these species. Tagging the proteases and inhibitors with fluorescence proteins revealed common patterns of subcellular localization in the endoplasmic reticulum–Golgi network in transiently transformed onion epidermal cells. Further in vivo interactions were demonstrated by bimolecular fluorescent complementation, suggesting their participation in the same physiological processes.

The Mirage of the State: Why the West has failed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Mali and Central African Republic? Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 14 No. 15, July 2014

The state still matters. However, the members of the Euro-Atlantic community may be misinterpreting this crucial baseline prior launching their military interventions since 2001. The latest violence and collapse of the state of Iraq after the invasion of Northern Iraq by a radical Sunni Muslim terrorist group, so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), demonstrate once again the centrality and requirement of a functioning state in order to maintain violent forces to disrupt domestic and regional stability. Since 2001, the US and its European allies have waged wars against failed-states in order to increase this security and national interests, and then have been involved in some type of state-building.1 This has been the case in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Mali, and Central African Republic (CAR). France went into Mali (2012) and CAR (2013), which preceded two European Union military and civilian Common Security and Defense Policy missions (CSDP), in order to avoid the collapse of these two states. The threat of the collapse of both states was a concern for the members of the Euro-Atlantic community as it could have spread to the region and causing even greater instabilities. In Mali, the country was under radical Islamic pressures coming from the North after the collapse of Libya ensuing the 2011 Western intervention, while in CAR it was mainly an ethno-religious crisis. Failed states are a real concern, as they can rapidly become training grounds for radical groups and permitting all types of smuggling and trafficking.2 In Mali, France wanted to protect its large French population and avoid the fall of Mali in the hands of radical Islamic groups directly or indirectly linked to Al-Qaeda. A fallen Mali could have destabilized the region of the Sahel and ultimately affected the stability of Southern European borders. France wanted to avoid the development of a safe haven across the Sahel where movements of people and goods are uncontrolled and illegal.3 Since the end of the Cold War, Western powers have been involved in stabilizing neighborhoods and regions, like the Balkans, Africa, and Middle East, which at the exceptions of the Balkans, have led to failed policies. 9/11 changes everything. The US, under President George W. Bush, started to wage war against terrorism and all states link to it. This started a period of continuous Western interventions in this post-9/11 era in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Mali and CAR. If history has demonstrated one thing, the members of the Euro-Atlantic community are struggling and will continue to struggle to stabilize Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Mali and Central African Republic (CAR) for one simple reason: no clear endgame. Is it the creation of a state à la Westphalian in order to permit these states to operate as the sole guarantor of security? Or is the reestablishment of status quo in these countries permitting to exit and end Western operations? This article seeks to analyze Western interventions in these five countries in order to reflect on the concept of the state and the erroneous starting point for each intervention.4 In the first part, the political status of each country is analyzed in order to understand the internal and regional crisis. In a second time, the concept of the state, framed into the Buzanian trinity, is discussed and applied to the cases. In the last part the European and American civilian-military doctrines are examined in accordance with their latest military interventions and in their broader spectrum.

Directions for defense /

Shipping list no.: 95-0231-P.

Department of Defense authorization for appropriations for fiscal year 2010 : hearing before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, first session, on S. 1390, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2010 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.

"May 20 and June 3, 2009"--Pt. 6-7.

Department of Defense authorization for appropriations for fiscal year 2013 and the Future Years Defense Program : hearings before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, second session, on S. 3254, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.

Shipping list no.: 2013-0201-P (pt.1), 2013-0185-P (pt. 2), 2013-0213-P (pt. 3), 2013-0212-P (pt. 4), 2013-0140-P (pt. 5), 2013-0148-P (pt. 6), 2013-0209-P (pt. 7).

National defense migration : hearings before the Select Committee Investigating National Defense Migration, House of Representatives, Seventy-seventh Congress, first[-second] session, pursuant to H. Res. 113, a resolution to inquire further into the interstate migration of citizens, emphasizing the present and potential consequences of the migration caused by the National Defense Program. pt. 11-[34].

Continues the numbering and the pagination of Interstate migration, hearing before the Select Committee to Investigate the Interstate Migraion of Destitute Citizens, which Committee was the predecessor of the Select Committee Investigating National Defense Migration.