Rockefeller Center - "Wisdom" by Lee Lawrie (1933), Art-Deco wall relief on RCA building.

 

The architectural relief depicts a man holding a set of calipers above the text, Wisdom and Knowledge Shall be the Stability of the Times. The Art Deco style is reflected in the angular body of the man as well as his long and geometric beard, the crown on his head and the cloud shapes behind the man.

  

Rockefeller Center was named after John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who leased the space from Columbia University in 1928 and developed it from 1930. Rockefeller initially planned a syndicate to build an opera house for the Metropolitan Opera on the site, but changed his mind after the stock market crash of 1929 and the Metropolitan's continual delays to hold out for a more favorable lease, causing Rockefeller to move forward without them. Rockefeller stated "It was clear that there were only two courses open to me. One was to abandon the entire development. The other to go forward with it in the definite knowledge that I myself would have to build it and finance it alone." He took on the enormous project as the sole financier, on a 27-year lease (with the option for three 21-year renewals for a total of 87 years) for the site from Columbia; negotiating a line of credit with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and covering ongoing expenses through the sale of oil company stock. The initial cost of acquiring the space and razing some of the building and construction of new building was an estimated $250,000,000 dollars; a staggering sum in 1930.

 

It was the largest private building project ever undertaken in modern times. Construction of the 14 buildings in the Art Deco style (without the original opera house proposal) began on May 17, 1930 and was completed in 1939. Principal builder, and "managing agent", for the massive project was John R. Todd and principal architect was Raymond Hood, working with and leading three architectural firms, on a team that included a young Wallace Harrison, later to become the family's principal architect and adviser to Nelson Rockefeller.

 

It was the public relations pioneer Ivy Lee, the prominent adviser to the family, who first suggested the name "Rockefeller Center" for the complex, in 1931. Junior initially did not want the Rockefeller family name associated with the commercial project, but was persuaded on the grounds that the name would attract far more tenants.

 

What could have become a major controversy in the mid-1930s concerned the last of the four European buildings that remained unnamed. Attempts were made by Ivy Lee and others to rent out the space to German commercial concerns and name it the Deutsches Haus. Junior ruled this out after being advised of Hitler's Nazi march toward World War II, and thus the empty office site became the International Building North.

 

This subsequently became the primary location of the U.S. operations of British Intelligence, British Security Coordination (BSC) during the War, with Room 3603 becoming the principal operations center for Allied intelligence, organized by William Stephenson, as well as the office of the future head of what was later to become the Central Intelligence Agency, Allen Welsh Dulles.

 

The Center is a combination of two building complexes: the older and original 14 Art Deco office buildings from the 1930s, and a set of four International-style towers built along the west side of Avenue of the Americas during the 1960s and 1970s (plus the Lehman Brothers Building). (The Time-Life Building, McGraw-Hill and News Corporation/Fox News Channel headquarters are part of the Rockefeller Center extension now owned/managed by the major private real estate firm, Rockefeller Group.)

 

In 1985, Columbia University sold the land beneath Rockefeller Center to the Rockefeller Group for 400 million dollars. The entire Rockefeller Center complex was purchased by Mitsubishi Estate, a real estate company of the Mitsubishi Group, in 1989, which fully bought out Rockefeller Group. In 2000, the current owner Jerry Speyer (a close friend of David Rockefeller), of Tishman Speyer Properties, L.P., together with the Lester Crown family of Chicago, bought for $1.85 billion the older 14 buildings and land from the previous syndicated owners: Goldman Sachs (which had 50 percent ownership), Gianni Agnelli, Stavros Niarchos, and David Rockefeller, who organized the syndicate in 1996 and is historically associated with the other partners.

 

The centerpiece of Rockefeller Center is the 70-floor, 872-foot (266 m) GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza ("30 Rock", also the name of a comedy television show) formerly known as the RCA Building—centered behind the sunken plaza. The building is the setting for the famous Lunchtime atop a Skyscraper photograph, taken by Charles C. Ebbets in 1932 of workers having lunch, sitting on a steel beam, without safety harnesses. The 840-foot (260 m) drop lies below.

 

The building was renamed in the 1980s after General Electric (GE) re-acquired RCA, which it helped found in 1919. The famous Rainbow Room club restaurant is located on the 65th floor; the Rockefeller family office covers the 54-56th floors. The skyscraper is the headquarters of NBC and houses most of the network's New York studios, including 6A, former home of Late Night with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien and current home of The Dr. Oz Show; 6B, home of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon; 8H, home of Saturday Night Live; plus the operations of NBC News, MSNBC and local station WNBC. NBC currently owns the space it occupies in the building as a condominium arrangement.

 

Unlike most other Art Deco towers built during the 1930s, the GE Building was constructed as a slab with a flat roof, where the Center's newly renovated observation deck, the Top of the Rock is located, which was first built in 1933. The $75 million makeover of the observation area was carried out by the Center's owner, Tishman Speyer Properties and was finally completed in 2005. It spans from the 67-70th floors and includes a multimedia exhibition exploring the history of the Center. On the 70th floor, reached by both stairs and elevator, there is a 20-foot (6.1 m) wide viewing area, allowing visitors a unique 360-degree panoramic view of New York City.

 

At the front of 30 Rock is the Lower Plaza, in the very center of the complex, which is reached from 5th Avenue through the Channel Gardens and Promenade. The acclaimed sculptor Paul Manship was commissioned in 1933 to create a masterwork (see below) to adorn the central axis, below the famed annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, but all the other original plans to fill the space were abandoned over time. It wasn't until Christmas Day in 1936 that the ice-skating rink was finally installed and the popular Center activity of ice-skating began.

 

Rockefeller Center represents a turning point in the history of architectural sculpture: it is among the last major building projects in the United States to incorporate a program of integrated public art. Sculptor Lee Lawrie contributed the largest number of individual pieces — twelve — including the statue of Atlas facing Fifth Avenue and the conspicuous friezes above the main entrance to the RCA Building.

 

Paul Manship's highly recognizable bronze gilded statue of the Greek legend of the Titan Prometheus recumbent, bringing fire to mankind, features prominently in the sunken plaza at the front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The model for Prometheus was Leonardo (Leon) Nole, and the inscription from Aeschylus, on the granite wall behind, reads: "Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends." Although some sources cite it as the fourth-most familiar statue in the United States, behind the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty, Manship was not particularly fond or proud of it.

 

A large number of other artists contributed work at the Center, including Isamu Noguchi, whose gleaming stainless steel bas-relief, News, over the main entrance to 50 Rockefeller Plaza (the Associated Press Building) was a standout. At the time it was the largest metal bas-relief in the world. Other artists included Carl Milles, Hildreth Meiere, Margaret Bourke-White, Dean Cornwell, and Leo Friedlander.

 

In 1932, the Mexican socialist artist Diego Rivera (whose sponsor was Museum of Modern Art and whose patron at the time was Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, the wife of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.), was commissioned by their son Nelson Rockefeller to create a color fresco for the 1,071-square-foot (99 m2) wall in the lobby of the then RCA Building. This was after Nelson had been unable to secure the commissioning of either Matisse or Picasso. Previously Rivera had painted a controversial fresco in Detroit entitled Detroit Industry, commissioned by Abby and John's friend, Edsel Ford, who later became a MoMA trustee.

 

Thus it came as no real surprise when his Man at the Crossroads became controversial, as it contained Moscow May Day scenes and a clear portrait of Lenin, not apparent in initial sketches. After Nelson issued a written warning to Rivera to replace the offending figure with an anonymous face, Rivera refused (after offering to counterbalance Lenin with a portrait of Lincoln), and so he was paid off and the mural papered over at the instigation of Nelson, who was to become the Center's flamboyant president. Nine months later, after all attempts to save the fresco were explored—including relocating it to Abby's Museum of Modern Art—it was destroyed as a last option. (Rivera re-created the work later in Mexico City in modified form, from photos taken by an assistant, Lucienne Bloch.)

 

Rivera's fresco in the Center was replaced with a stunning, larger mural by the Spanish Catalan artist Josep Maria Sert, titled American Progress, depicting a vast allegorical scene of men constructing modern America. It contains the figures of Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it is wrapped around the west wall of the Grand Lobby at 30 Rock.

 

In 1962, a plaque was placed at the plaza with a list of principles in which John D. Rockefeller Jr. believed, first expressed by him in 1941. It reads:

 

"I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.

I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master.

I believe in the Dignity of labour, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.

I believe that thrift is essential to well ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs.

I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order.

I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man's word should be as good as his bond; that character not wealth or power or position - is of supreme worth.

I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free.

I believe in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individuals highest fulfilment, greatest happiness, and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His Will.

I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might."

PHILIPPINE SEA (Aug. 12, 2020) The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) conducts a replenishment at sea with the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14). America, flagship of the America Expeditionary Strike Group, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Matthew Cavenaile)

PHILIPPINE SEA (Sept. 14, 2020) Sailors work with Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to move pallets of dry goods during an underway replenishment aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18). New Orleans, part of the America Amphibious Ready Group assigned to Amphibious Squadron 11, along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kelby Sanders)

U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Davis

 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.

 

The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.

 

The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”

 

The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.

 

“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.

 

Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.

 

“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.

 

African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.

 

“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.

 

U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.

 

“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.

 

He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.

 

“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.

 

“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.

 

“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.

 

He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.

 

“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.

 

Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.

 

Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.

 

“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.

 

He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.

 

“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.

 

“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.

 

“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.

 

“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”

 

The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.

 

“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.

 

“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.

 

Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.

 

“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.

 

“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.

 

“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.

 

“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.

 

“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?

 

“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.

 

Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.

 

“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.

 

Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.

 

“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”

 

“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.

 

“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.

 

“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”

 

The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.

 

“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.

 

“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.

 

“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.

 

Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.

 

“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.

 

“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.

 

“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.

 

“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.

 

“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.

 

Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.

 

“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.

 

“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.

 

“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.

 

“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.

 

Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.

 

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

 

TAIWAN STRAIT (June 4, 2020) - The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Russell (DDG 59) transits the Taiwan Strait, June 4, 2020. Russell is deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sean Lynch) 200604-N-CU072-3002

 

** Interested in following U.S. Indo-Pacific Command? Engage and connect with us at www.facebook.com/indopacom | twitter.com/INDOPACOM |

www.instagram.com/indopacom | www.flickr.com/photos/us-pacific-command; | www.youtube.com/user/USPacificCommand | www.pacom.mil/ **

 

Stability was better than yesterday, but transparency wasn't as good due to very thin and wispy clouds. The NEB looks turbulent. There is a long barge on the SEB that I've heard is a result of a merger of two smaller barges. Oval BA is setting on the bottom right.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

BEWARE: nothing you see here is real, even though many conversions and their respective background stories were built upon historical facts.

 

The Messerschmitt Me 510 was a further development of the Me 410 Hornisse ("Hornet"), a German heavy fighter and Schnellbomber used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. The 410 itself had a troubled start, because it essentially had only been a straightforward modification of the Me 210, which had suffered from serious stability flaws and had a bad reputation among its crews.

 

The 410 handled better but did not show much improvement in performance, though. Me 410 deliveries began in January 1943, two years later than the original plan had called for, and continued until September 1944, by which point a total of 1.160 of all versions had been produced by Messerschmitt Augsburg and Dornier München. When it arrived, it was liked by its crews, even though its performance was not enough to protect it from the swarms of high performance allied fighters they faced.

 

Still not giving up on the original construction (and with the jigs and tools still available), Messerschmitt started in early 1944 with research into further means of improving the Me 410's performance. One direction was the addition of one or two jets under the fuselage as boosters for combat situations.

Another design path, which eventually led to the Me 510, was the development of turboprop and compound engines as propulsion options, which were based on the respective pure jet engines but offered much better performance and fuel economy than the pure jets. It would also be the more efficient solution compared to added turbojets for pure piston planes, since no dead weight had to be carried, and the overall system was less complex than a mixed powerplant system.

 

This turboprop concept, as best compromise between performance and short-term readiness for service, was chosen and the modified aircraft, called Messerschmitt Me 510, came to be. The design target was to outperform the Me 410 with as little change to the overall construction as possible, so that old tooling could be used for new aircraft cells. Alternatively, old aircraft should potentially be converted to the improved standard.

 

Core of the new development was the compact HeS 021 turboprop, a PTL development of the HeS 011 jet engine which was also planned for Focke Wulfs FW P.0310226-127 fighter (a turboprop version of the light 'Flitzer' day fighter). This engine was theoretically to deliver up to 3.300hp (2.426 kw) shaft output, plus 1.100kg (2.424 lb) additional thrust, even though serial types would produce less power under the aspect of reliability.

 

In order to incorporate this engine into the modified Me 410 a new main wing with laminar profile and new engine nacelles had to be designed. The HeS 021sat in the front part of the engine nacelles above the wings, driving four-bladed propellers. The landing gear retracted into the nacelle's lower section, rotating 90°, much like the Me 410, with the exhaust running above the landing gear wells.

 

In order to improve directional stability further, the tail surfaces were slightly enlarged, receiving characteristic, square tips. The fuselage was more or less taken from the original Me 410, since it offered a very good field of view and appropriate aerodynamics. With this package, the idea of retrofitting former Me 410 cells was kept, even though later flight tests showed that some more detail modifications had to be made. Most of these concerned the internal structures, the most obvious external change was the nose section, where the original glazing had to be reinforced and finally replaced by solid material – an experience similar to the modification from Douglas’ piston-driven XB-42 to the faster, jet-driven XB-43 of the same era.

 

Maiden flight of the first prototype took place in Augsburg on 6th of May 1945, with little problems. As benchmark, the Me 410's maximum speed was 625 km/h (388 mph), a cruise speed of 579 km/h (360 mph) and a combat range of 2.300 km (1,400 mi) with up to 1.000 kg (2,204 lbs) of disposable stores carried in- and externally.

 

The overall flying characteristics of the Me 410 did not change much, but rate of climb and top speed were considerably improved. In level flight, the third prototype Me 510 V3 reached a top speed of 812 km/h (504 mph), and even the serial version with added armament and equipment easily reached 750 km/h (465 mph) top speed and a cruising speed with no external stores of 650 km/h (405 mph). At its time, the Me 510, which quickly received the rather inofficial nickname "Bremse" (Horsefly), was superior to its pure piston engine and turbojet rivals, even though it was clear that the turboprop was only a preliminary solution.

 

Due to its high speed and under the pressure of Allied bomber raids, the Me 510 was primarily used as a Zerstörer against daylight bombers. Many aircraft received additional weapons, both directly incorporated at the factory but also as field accessories. Popular modifications included two extra 30mm guns (MK 108 or 103) in the bomb bay, or provisions for guided and unguided air to air missiles. A camera equipment package (Rüstsatz 'U3') allowed the fast aircraft to be used for daylight reconnaissance.

 

Many equipment packages from the earlier Me 410 could be fitted, too, including the massive 50mm BK 5 auto cannon against allied bomber groups. Initially, this package (‘U4’ Rüstsatz) comprised the original autocannon which fired at 45 RPM, with 21 shells in a drum magazine.

 

This weapon soon was replaced by the even more effective MK 214 B gun of 55mm caliber (Rüstsatz 'U5'). The BK 214 B fired at 180 RPM and proved to be a highly effective weapon at long ranges, outside of the bombers’ defensive armament range. As a drawback the heavy system (the gun plus the ammunition belt with 96 shells weighed 1.124 kg/2.475 lb) filled the whole internal bomb bay and precluded heavy external stores. Therefore, the 13mm machine guns in the nose were frequently removed in order to save weight, sometimes the weapons in the side barbettes, too. But: a single hit with one of the 1.54kg (3.4 lb) shells was enough to bring down a four-engined bomber, so that the fast Me 510 with this weapon became a serious threat in the course of late 1946.

  

510 general characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 42 ft (12,60 m)

Wingspan: 49 ft (14.69 m)

Height: 13 ft 1½ in (4.0 m)

Wing area: 480.11 ft² (44.78m²)

Empty weight: 10.665 lb (4.842 kg)

Loaded weight: 14.405 lb (6.540 kg)

Max. take-off weight: 18.678 lb (8.480 kg)

 

Maximum speed: 790 km/h (490 mph) at 7.200m (23.500 ft)

Range: 1.400 mi (2.300 km ) with full combat TOW

Service ceiling: 40.900 ft (12.500 m)

Rate of climb: 4.635 ft/min (23,6 m/s)

Wing loading: 29.8 lb/ft² (121.9 kg/m²)

Power/mass: 0.24 hp/lb (0.39 kW/kg)

 

Engine:

2× Heinkel-Hirth HeS 021 turboprop engines, 1.438 kW (2.500 hp) plus 980 kp (2.158 lb) residual thrust each

 

Armament: Varied, but typical basic equipment was:

2× 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons with 350 rpg, fixed in the nose

2× 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 500 rpg in the nose flanks

2× 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 500 rpg, each firing rearward from FDSL 131/1B remote-operated turret, one per side;

Up to 1.200 kg (2.643 lb) of disposable stores in- and externally

 

In the field, many modifications were made and several additional weapon packages with guns, guided and unguided missiles or special weapons were available (so-called ‘Rüstsätze’).

  

The kit and its assembly:

I am not certain when inspiration struck me for this fantasy aircraft - I guess it was when I tinkered together the Hü 324 whif, which was itself based on a 1:72 scale Il-28 bomber. When I browsed for a respective donation kit I also came across the 1:100 scale kit of the Soviet light bomber from Tamiya, and that stirred something: The Il-28's vintage contours would perfectly suit a Luft '46 aircraft, and with some calculations it was clear that the 1:100 wings would be suitable for something in the class of a 1:72 DH Mosquito or Bf 110. Then, the ill-fated Me 410 came to the scene as a potential late war basis aircraft, and from this starting point the idea of an evolutionary next step of the type, the Messerschmitt Me 510, was born.

 

Basically this model is a kitbashing of a Tamiya Il-28 in 1:100 (wings & engine nacelles) and the fuselage of a Matchbox Me 410. The IL-28's wings were turned upside down, so that the nacelles would now ride on the wings' top.

This not only looks cool and 'different', it's also plausible because the landing gear could retract into the wings under the nacelles (with the main landing gear doors closed, just like the original Me 410), it would also reduce the angle of the aircraft on the ground to a sensible degree - with the engines under the wings plus the landing gear would have been much to steep!

 

Fitting the wings to the fuselage was pretty easy, even though the original Me 410 wing profile was much thicker than the slender Il-28 wings. Cleaning and blending the wing root areas was a bit tricky, but the parts get together well.

 

As a design twist and for a uniform look I also replaced the whole tail section, matching the angular look of the thin new main wings. The horizontal stabilizers are wing tips from a Matchbox Me 262, the vertical fin is a modified outer wing part from a Matchbox Grumman Panther.

 

The engine nacelles were taken OOB. I just filled the Il-28's landing gear wells and their covers with putty, since they'd end on top of the new engines.

 

The propellers come from Matchbox P-51 Mustangs, outfitted with pointed spinners and held by a metal pin in a polystyrene tube which runs through the original intake splitter. Looks pretty martial, even though the nacelles ended up a bit close to the fuselage. The overall look reminds of the Short Sturgeon, but is not inplausible. A compact aircraft!

 

The cockpit received some side panels, news seats and some equipment, since the original Matchbox kit features almost nothing beyond a floor plate, two broad benches as seats and pilot figures. I also opened the cockpit hatches, since the aircraft would be built for ground display, with the landing gear extended.

 

From the original kit the BK 5 cannon installation was taken over, but I added a scratch-built, bigger muzzle brake. Since the aircraft was to become a high speed interceptor/Zerstörer for daylight operations, I did not add any further external ordnance.

  

Painting and markings:

I pondered about a potential livery for a long time. Almost any Me 410 was delivered in RLM 74/75/76 livery, and some at the Western front in France were operated in RLM 70/71/65, with a low waterline. But I found this pretty... boring. So I made up a fantasy livery which I found suitable for high altitude operations and based on my knowledge of late Luftwaffe paint scheme - pretty complex:

 

The aircraft was to be light in color, primarily camouflaged for aerial combat. I ended up with something that was planned as something that could have almost been called 'low-viz': all lower surfaces received a basic tone of RLM 76 (from Testors), with a raised waterline on all flanks. This light blue-grey would blend into a slightly darker FS 36320 on the higher flanks, almost up to the upper surfaces.

 

But in the end, the flanks received more spots than intended, and I ended up with a rather conservative livery - but it ain't bad at all. But so it goes...

 

The upper wing surfaces received a wavy scheme in RLM 71 (Drak Green) and 75 (Middel Grey). These are not typical late war colors, I rather used them due to the lighter shades. On the fuselage, just the fuselage crest was painted with more or less dense blotches of these tones, blending into more patches of RLM 02 on the flanks.

 

To add some more unconventional detail, the fuselage sides and undersides also received large, cloudy patches of RLM 77 - a very light grey. This detail was featured on some late-war He 177 bombers, but you can hardly tell these extra blotches because they have only little contrast to the RLM 76.

 

The tail fin was painted all white - a formation sign for a squadron leader, typical for German late WWII fighters. The black and white fuselage stripe is the ID of Jagdgeschwader 26 (which operated Fw 190D-9 from airfields in northern Germany, Flensburg was one of them), the red number abd the "+" code identify the machine as being part of the eighth Staffel.

 

In the end, a very subtle whif. The new engines are most obvious, and they change the look of the Me 410 dramatically. But only on second glance you recognize the other changes. The new wings/stabilizers with their square-shaped tips create a very slender and elegant look, the aircraft just looks fast and agile like a true heavy fighter should. Mission accomplished!

PHILIPPINE SEA (Sept. 10, 2020) Deck department Sailors lower a rigid-hull inflatable boat from the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) for a visit, board, search and seizure exercise. Germantown, part of the America Amphibious Ready Group assigned to Amphibious Squadron 11, along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility to enhance interoperability with allies and partners, and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Taylor DiMartino)

Frenchman Roland Magallon developed a microlight aircraft called the Mosquito in 1979 to fill the need for an aircraft combining the simplicity and maneuverability of hang gliders with the stability and flexibility of more traditional powered, fixed-wing aircraft. As the unique configuration became popular, it acquired the nickname 'trike' in reference to the distinctive three-wheeled enclosure suspended beneath the wing and containing the cockpit and engine. Thirteen years the Mosquito, another French designer named Renaud Guy introduced the Cosmos Phase II in 1992. He marketed the aircraft to pilots who wished to operate from airfields, snow, or water, and to those who wanted a good training aircraft. The trike soon found favor as a stable platform for aerial photography, and for towing aloft hang gliders. The pilot flying a Phase II could takeoff and land in less than 61 m (200 ft) and expect to fly approximately 322 km (200 miles) under most conditions. The ultralight cost about $14,000 in early 2004. Production ended in 2005 after dealers sold more than 800.

 

Trike ultralights such as the Phase II is well-suited to lead the migrations of large birds. Pilots can safely match the bird's cruising speed, which for Whooping cranes is about 24 km/h (38 mph). Trikes are highly maneuverable, they provide excellent visibility, and a guard is fitted easily to the aircraft to shield the birds from the spinning propeller. Direct control of the wing via the crossbar allows a pilot to concentrate more attention on the flock's position relative to the ultralight.

 

Operation Migration is a member of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, along with seven organizations dedicated to saving the Whooping crane from extinction. For many bird species, the ability to migrate is a learned process. Canadian Bill Lishman founded Operation Migration as a non-profit charitable organization in 1994 to develop methods for teaching captive-reared birds to migrate by following ultralight aircraft. Lishman got the idea after watching John Moody fly his Easy Riser at Oshkosh in 1976. Another Canadian, Bill Carrick had trained Canada geese to fly alongside his motorboat using methods pioneered by the 1973 Nobel Prize-winning animal behaviorist, Konrad Lorenz. Carrick encouraged Lishman who in 1988 succeeded in training geese to fly with his own Easy Riser ultralight during short flights near his farm. Lishman teamed with Joe Duff in fall 1993 and the two Canadians led 18 Canada geese from Port Perry, Ontario, to Warrenton, Virginia. Thirteen of the birds proved that the idea worked when they returned to Ontario from Virginia the following spring.

 

Standing at 1.5 m (5 ft), Whooping cranes are the tallest birds in North America. Their wings span 2.1-2.4 meters (7-8 ft) and they prefer to sleep standing in shallow water to deter predators. They feed on clams, frogs, crabs, and aquatic plants and they mate for life. Whooping cranes are the rarest of the world's 15 crane species. Biologists have estimated they once numbered between about 500 and 1,400 before European settlement began to alter their habitat in 1870. The population had dwindled to just 15 Whooping cranes by 1941 but rebounded to 200 wild birds by 2004. Despite their recovery, a single catastrophe such as a hurricane, avian disease, or a chemical spill could extinguish the species.

 

Teaching the cranes to follow the ultralights begins before they hatch when aviculturalists expose the eggs to the recorded sound of an ultralight engine. At around 5-7 days old, a silent and disguised aviculturalist wearing a hand puppet that looks like the head and neck of an adult crane introduces each chick to an ultralight aircraft, accompanied by recorded crane brood calls to reassure the youngster. A bird seeing a human face or hearing a human voice while under the staff's care could 'imprint' on humans, losing its natural fear and dramatically decreasing its odds of surviving in the wild. As the bird matures, it will after a few years lose interest in the ultralight. By eight weeks, the bird is following the ultralight as it taxis and flying with the aircraft when the crane is 80-90 days old. Training flights can last as long as a half-hour and each chick can require an average of more than 11 hours to train.

 

The ultralight pilots lead the Whooping cranes along a migration route that stretches 1,932 km (1,200 miles) across seven states, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. In 2005, the Operation Migration staff arranged accommodations for the birds at 38 sites spaced from 32 km (20 miles) to 113 km (70 miles) apart, each one selected to avoid populated areas. The migration that year lasted 50 days, split about evenly between flying with the birds and waiting for flyable weather. With the help of a tail wind, a single flight leg can cover 322 km (200 miles) in just over 3 hours. When either weather or cranes refuse to cooperate, a flight can cover less than 37 km (23 miles).

 

After taking off, the Whooping cranes jockey for the best position and then 'surf'' the strong wing tip vortex generated by the ultralight. A bird can fly with considerably less effort from this coveted position. The other birds maneuver into a diagonal line, wingtip to wingtip, each surfing a similar but less intense vortex generated by flapping wings. The flock settles down and all goes well until, without warning, the crane surfing the ultralight (which it considers another crane thanks to months of careful imprinting) decides to challenge aircraft for the right to lead the formation. The other birds follow and quickly envelope the aircraft. The pilot is suddenly "IFR in cranes" with no choice but to back away from the gaggle, climb above it, and then drop back into the lead. A particularly aggressive bird will sometimes repeatedly challenge for the lead until the ultralight pilot is nearly exhausted.

 

Crossing the Appalachian Mountains is the most difficult part of migrating with the birds because of the elevation but there are other hazards in the air and on the ground. The birds will follow the ultralight as it descends to treetop height or climbs to several thousand feet, however, low flying is dangerous. Cranes have been injured and killed in collisions with power lines and aircraft. One year during an overnight stop, a Whooping crane succumbed to a bobcat. Another year, a crane probing mud for food lodged its beak inside a spent shotgun shell. An ultralight pilot noticed the bird's predicament during flight and plucked the shell after landing. The birds can tire, break formation, and land, often taking several flight mates with them. When this happens, one of the two ultralight pilots supporting the lead aircraft gives chase, rounds up the stragglers, and then reunites them with the main flock as soon as possible. As John Christian of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service said, Operation Migrations' work "is the wildlife equivalent of putting a man on the moon."

 

A significant step toward establishing what biologists believe is necessary to insure species survival - two independent groups of 25 wild breeding pairs that can migrate on their own - occurred in March 2006 after a Whooping crane trained using the Operation Migration ultralights migrated on its own from Florida to Wisconsin, the first to do so in more than 100 years. Yet the year also saw the program threatened by land development. Pilots noted a significant increase in the number of houses and businesses occupying once wild habitat along the migration route. The staff must abandon a regular stop in Tennessee because developers had planned to build 1,000 new homes adjacent to the site in 2007. A crane nest site in Florida is also threatened. Despite many difficulties, Operation Migration has developed one of the most innovative and important wildlife conservation programs in history. They are well on their way to saving a species from extinction, and their efforts have boosted public interest in wildlife conservation. Joe Duff's role was critical to the program's success. He led the organization from its inception and developed the training protocols. By 2007, Duff had flown with birds longer than anyone had. He and his staff also led migrations of Trumpeter swans and Sandhill cranes.

 

Pilots volunteering for Operation Migration flew the Phase II now belonging to the NASM. Using this aircraft, they led Canada geese to South Carolina in 1995, Trumpeter swans to the Chesapeake the following year, Sandhill cranes in 1997, 1998, and 2000, and the first Whooping cranes from Wisconsin to Florida in 2001. In 1996, the aircraft also appeared in the Columbia Pictures film Fly Away Home, starring Anna Paquin and Jeff Daniels. The trike is equipped with a custom-built bird guard enclosing the propeller; radios, GPS navigation, and a sound system to broadcast adult crane calls while flying with the birds.

 

From 1933 to 1990, Reimar Horten, assisted by his brother, Walter, designed and built a series of swept-wing aircraft without fuselages or tails and they did not use any other surfaces for control or stability that did not also contribute lift to the wing. The National Air and Space Museum owns a Horten II L, Horten III f, Horten III h, Horten VI V2, and the Horten IX V3 turbojet interceptor.

Reimar Horten continued to refine the all-wing sailplane with his third design, the Horten III. Compared to the H II, the wingspan grew about 4 m (13 ft 3 in) but the root chord decreased by .25 m (9 in). By narrowing the root chord and lengthening the wings, Horten increased aspect ratio and this trend continued with Horten's next two sailplane designs. Like the Horten II, the H III center section consisted of welded steel tubes covered with plywood and sheet metal. Horten built the wings entirely from wood. He refined the flight control system by adding a second set of elevons.

 

From July 1938 until October 1944, at least eighteen Horten III aircraft were constructed at Köln, Berlin, Fürth, Giebelstadt, Minden, Bonn, and Göttingen. This model was built in greater numbers than any other Horten design and both Horten brothers and other pilots flew Horten III gliders in the German national glider competition in 1938 and 1939. Reimar successfully motorized several Ho III sailplanes using a variety of powerplants including Walter Mikron and Volkswagen engines. Horten also modified an Ho III b to carry ammunition in support of Operation Sealion, the proposed invasion of England.

 

Horten fitted the NASM Horten III f with a flat-prone couch for the pilot. This wing, the Horten VI-V3, and the Wright brothers 1903 Flyer are the only aircraft in the NASM collection configured for prone pilotage. Other nations built aircraft to test this unique layout but these NASM artifacts are among the few examples known to exist today. Horten had experimented with seating position to reduce drag as early as 1935 when he designed the first Horten II with supine seating and flew it in May. At first the seatback in the Horten II was inclined just 18º to the horizon but a 23º position became standard. Even with the pilot's head more upright at this setting, visibility was dangerously limited particularly in the slow speed/high-angle-of-attack regime sailplane pilots often operated in. As Reimar put it, the "main drawbacks are poor forward visibility (even worse to the rear), the pilot's knees being in the field of vision, and difficulties developing proper [control] feel and coordination" (quoted in Reimar Horten, "Flying Wing Pilot Position and Design Options," "Soaring," August 1980, translated by Jan Scott, 23).

 

Supine seating proved a dead end until the postwar revival but in 1938, work at the Akademische Fliegergruppe Stuttgart led Horten in a new direction. The institute built the all-wood Fs 17 with a flat-prone cockpit to conduct aero medical research on pilots subjected to high-G maneuvers. Reimar saw in the new layout intriguing possibilities for drag reduction. In 1941 he completed the Horten IV, the first all-wing aircraft equipped for prone pilotage. Reimar and Walter Horten intended to acclimate pilots to the prone position by using gliders such as the NASM Horten III f. They hoped to smoothly transition pilots to high-performance Horten aircraft equipped with prone cockpits. These "hot rod" Hortens included the H IV and H VI sailplanes, and the jet-propelled H X.

 

In spring 1944 at Göttingen, a young mathematician named Karl Nickel sampled the prone layout when he flew a Horten III f (it is not known if this same airplane is now in the NASM collection). Nickel's skeptical friends sounded the alarm. How could a pilot maintain proper 'feel' for the aircraft, whether it was banking slightly left or right, while lying on his stomach? It would be impossible, they claimed, to fly instinctively! The controls could not be moved unless the pilot carefully considered each movement beforehand. What of the pilot's personal comfort? Cross-country glider flights often lasted for hours. Even a thick-necked flyer could not hold his head, particularly in high-G thermalling turns. Blood would pool and the limbs would fall asleep! After landing the stiff, immobile pilot would be unable to hoist himself from the prone couch!

 

Dr. Nickel's fascinating report appears in Karl Nickel and Michael Wohlfart, "Tailless Aircraft in Theory and Practice (AIAA, 1994) on pages 351-355. It conveys his thoughts and feelings as he flew an all-wing Horten glider from the prone position. "I climb from behind [the aircraft] on the center-section of the flying wing to step inside and lie down in it." His parachute hung across his chest and the packed canopy pillowed his torso. The "lying-trough," he continued, "is well-upholstered with foam rubber and artificial leather. . . there is the chinrest which is easily adjustable. The designer has thought of everything and wants to accommodate the pilot in comfort." Horten had fitted seat belts but their operation was unorthodox. "They are fastened over the back and are released automatically as soon as the cockpit is opened. How Practical!"

 

The prone position demanded a novel control system. Reimar designed one and installed it in all his prone aircraft. He used a yoke-type wheel to transmit pitch and roll inputs to the elevons. Nickel continues: "For fore and aft movements [the wheel] slides back and forth on almost frictionless bearings along a horizontal tube. Will it be possible," he wondered, "to get quickly accustomed to this?" Once airborne, Dr. Nickel had the answer.

 

"All of a sudden I am completely baffled: there is nothing unusual, it's exactly as flying while sitting in a seat! I feel the stick force, the sailplane reacts to the smallest control movements. I completely forget that I am lying horizontally in space, that the control column [wheel] looks so strange, that the H III is no normal aircraft."

 

"[It is as though] I had been flying in prone position for years. . . The first gusts are felt and are counteracted automatically, without thinking. I see my hands moving to act in the correct way, but there is no conscious command from the brain. The bird feels good . . . [and this] reaction comes so strong and unexpected that I wish to sing at once. . . I am so delighted . . . there is nothing to learn about prone flying and everything is so simple. But don't start celebrating too early! We [glider and towplane] just crossed the airport boundary as some heavy gusts arrived. No problem to counteract them, but the result is astonishing: suddenly the tow-rope approaches me at full speed, collides with the canopy and disappears aft [the towpilot released his end of the tow rope]. Instinctively my arm shoots up to protect my head, even though it's unnecessary. Next reaction, release the rope too. In front of me lies an "inviting" high-tension line. Hence push [the wheel to maintain speed], [execute a] 180° turn and with the aid of a tailwind, [fly] back over the fence [airport boundary]. Is there enough altitude for a second turn into the wind [to set up for landing]? There better be; carefully "scraping" the turf a flat turn [at very low altitude] is achieved, [landing] skid lowered, no brake necessary, hold off, and here we are back at the starting point of the flight. Ugh!!!"

 

A half-hour later he was back in the air: "I am floating again in the air . . . flying over the houses and streets of Göttingen. Wonderful, this marvelous view down through the acrylic glass pane. Exactly as on a street map I can track the roads and alleys with my finger. Seemingly just in front of my face there is that hive of activity. Magnificent to soar and glide high over the rooftops, horizontal in space like a bird. This sort of flying really is the only natural way, how could anybody doubt it ever? The view is unobstructed on all sides through the large canopy, but the most astonishing aspect is the excellent view downward. Slowly we are losing altitude. It's time for a thermal to appear. Oops, here it is. Rudder and aileron, slowly pull up, it's just the same as with any other sailplane. Only the banking at first seems to be excessively large . . ."

 

Nickel initially made excessively shallow, flat turns but after two hours of practice, he adjusted. His mind began to accept and trust the new sight-picture of a standard turn presented by the Horten III f prone position. Banking turns of 60° became easy and "remained the only difficulty I encountered and it didn't occur anymore during later flights." As he built time flying prone, Nickel considered the problem of pilot comfort on long flights.

 

"Well, after two hours no bodily strain could be felt, but this could perhaps come with longer flights? . . . on the 7th of August 1943, a comparision test was made. . . Hermann Strebel made the first motorless flight of more than 10 hours in prone position with the Horten H IV over the Wasserkuppe mountain. At the same time I myself [flew] for 7 ½ hours in the [Olympia Meise glider]. [Strebel and I were] quite happy together up there, even though he could often out-fly me because of the better performance of his sailplane. After landing I went to him limping with aching backside. But he approached me laughing and completely fresh and could only shake his head to my envious questions: "No, no bruises, no limbs which went to sleep, no stiffness of the neck, nothing!"

 

Nickel found other reasons to like the prone pilot position. " . . . for tailless sailplanes the prone position is appropriate. . . The main reason for this is the better view of the outside world . . . This is important in particular during aero-tow. Especially with tailless sailplanes a good view of the towing aircraft can be decisive against flying too low and, consequently, being dragged down by the downdraft behind the tow aircraft."

 

The H III also had good handling qualities and this no doubt boosted Nickel's enthusiasm for the prone layout. He often witnessed Heinz Schiedhauer putting the Horten III d motorglider through its paces at Göttingen in 1943-44. During Schiedhauer's routine, "he did a flyby a few meters above the ground and, just in front of the onlookers, pulled back the stick abruptly. This created a 'whip stall' with a nearly vertical attitude. There was no tail-slide or roll-off, but rather the flying wing fell down into the normal flying position without loss of altitude and continued her horizontal flight."

 

Horten assigned Werk Nr. 32 to a Horten III f built in 1944 at Göttingen. The NASM III f may be the last of three 'f' subtypes built. All three aircraft featured prone cockpits for minimum drag. The pilot stretched flat on his stomach, bent slightly at the waist and knees, feet resting on rudder pedals hinged above his heels. A padded chin rest supported his head, which projected into the leading edge of the wing. Clear plastic panels formed the leading edge for several feet above, below, and to either side of the pilot. Visibility was excellent and drag greatly reduced. The wing had a maximum speed of 210 km/h (130 mph) and a best glide speed of 63 km/h (39 mph).

  

Details about the operational history of this glider remain unknown. One month after the war ended, a team of aviation experts working for the C. I. O. S. (Combined Intelligence Objectives Subcommittee) found both the NASM H III f and the H III h. The gliders were recovered "in perfect condition in trailers, with a [sic] full set of instruments" at Rottweil, Germany, on the Neckar River, approximately 60 miles (100 km) southwest of Stuttgart on June 11, 1945.

 

For a time, the United States Army Air Forces' Air Technical Intelligence (ATI) branch was interested in Horten flying wing aircraft. ATI assigned inventory control numbers to track the thousands of pieces of German military aircraft, equipment, and hardware obtained during and after the war. The following numbers identified Horten gliders now part of the NASM collection:

 

Horten II L - T2-7

Horten III f - T2-5042

Horten III h - T2-5039

Horten VI V2 - T2-5040

 

Inexplicably, ATI lost interest and declared "the Horten Tailless Gliders are of no value to us," according to the "Weekly Activity Report - Technical Intelligence - Week Ending 26 June 1945." The H III f and 'III h vanish into an historical black hole for the next two years. The story resumes on October 22, 1947, when Stanley A. Hall wrote a report called "Horten Tailless Sailplanes." Hall explained that the U. S. Air Force loaned the Horten III f, III h, and VI V2 to the Northrop Aeronautical Institute, across the road from the Northrop Aircraft Company in Hawthorne, California. This loan answered a "joint petition of Northrop Aircraft Inc., and the Southern California Soaring Association [SCSA]." The two organizations wanted the sailplanes "for purposes of inspection by West Coast engineers who, in interests of the development of all-wing aircraft, sought for evidence of similarity between the design practices of American and German engineers."

 

Northrop personnel planned to test-fly the two Horten III gliders but they arrived "damaged beyond reasonable repair [and] too badly damaged to make photography worthwhile." Despite their condition, a throng of aeronautical professionals turned out to inspect them. Among the curious crowds were Northrop engineers and students of the Northrop Aeronautical Institute, members of the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences. Many SCSA members turned out too, including engineers from Douglas, North American, Lockheed, and Consolidated. Much attention fell on the Horten VI V2. The sailplane was intact and in fair condition and Northrop considered flying it but decided not to because of safety issues.

 

The Air Force reclaimed the gliders in 1948 and stored them at the Chrysler's World War II aircraft assembly plant at Chicago Orchard Airport, Park Ridge, Illinois. This huge building also housed more than 80 other World War II Allied and Axis airplanes.

 

In 1950 hasty preparations for war in Korea forced the eviction of more than fifty of these priceless artifacts, including the Horten gliders. Air Force personnel shipped the aircraft by rail and any too large to fit a boxcar surrendered to the cutting-torch. The collection went to an open plot of land near Silver Hill, Maryland, across the Anacostia River south of Washington. For more than 10 years, most of the collection remained outdoors. In 1962, the site started to take the form we know today as the Paul E. Garber Restoration, Preservation, and Storage facility.

 

In January 1994, NASM shipped the Horten glider collection (H II L, III f, III h, and the VI V2) to the Museum für Verkehr und Technik Berlin, later renamed the Deutsches Technikmuseum (DTM), and that museum worked to restore and preserve these artifacts until 2004.

 

Wingspan 20 m (66 ft)

Center Section Length 5 m (16.4 ft)

Height 1.6 m (5.4 ft)

Weight Empty 250 kg (550 lb)

Weight Flying 360 kg (792 lb)

 

Reference Sources and Suggested Further Reading:

Horten, Reimar. "Flying Wing Pilot Position and Design Options," "Soaring," August 1980.

Lee, Russell. "The National Air and Space Museum Horten Sailplane Collection: Horten II L, III f, III h, and VI-V2," "Bungee Cord," Vol. XXIII No. 4, Winter 1997.

Myhra, David. "The Horten Brothers and Their All-Wing Aircraft." Atglen, Penn.: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1998.

Nickel, Karl, and Wohlfahrt, Michael. "Tailless Aircraft in Theory and Practice." Reston, Va.: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1994.

Selinger, Peter F., and Horten, Reimar. "Nurflugel: Die Geschichte der Horten-Flugzeuge 1933-1960." Graz, Germany: H. Weishaupt Verlag, 1983.

Beckh, Harald J. "The Development and Airborne Testing of the PALE Seat."

Horten, Reimar. "Flying Wing Pilot Position and Design Options," "Soaring," August 1980, 23.

 

Russ Lee, 9-2-04

 

www.usaraf.army.mil

 

United States Army Africa

 

MEDFLAG 09: Partnership strengthens ties and friendships

 

By Staff Sgt. Lesley Waters

CJTF-HOA Public Affairs

 

MANZINI, Swaziland – Partnership was the key to success during MEDFLAG 09, a U.S. Army Africa exercise held this August that benefited thousands of people in Swazi villages.

 

That partnership was built on cooperation between the U.S. military and government of Swaziland, said Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett III, commander of U.S. Army Africa.

 

“Our pledge is to continue to serve side-by-side with our national and international partners to promote security, stability and peace in Africa, and of course in Swaziland,” Garrett said. “MEDFLAG 09 has been an important demonstration of our commitment to our African and partnered nations.”

 

The exercise included the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force, the Swaziland Ministry of Health, U.S. Army Africa and U.S. Africa Command.

 

Swazi medical staff got firsthand tips from U.S. medical officers. Meanwhile, the U.S. troops learned how to overcome the challenges to offering healthcare in rural African villages, Garrett said.

 

At a medical professional exchange, a dozen Swazi military and civilian medics took part in a seminar with U.S. medical officers – sharing ideas that build capacity to work together in the future. Through “first responder” mentoring, 25 Swazi medics from the USDF and the health ministry gained important tools that can help them in a crisis.

 

Overall, 16 Swazi medics, both military and civilians, took part in joint medical missions in local communities that helped Swazi people in need.

 

“Our Soldiers learned important lessons about how to operate in Africa, while the Swazi medical staff increased their capabilities through our interaction,” Garrett said. “As an added benefit, the people of Swaziland received quality care from this partnership effort.”

 

During the two-week exercise, roughly 2,400 medical and dental treatments were performed during visits to Swazi villages. At veterinary clinics, nearly 10,500 animals received treatment.

 

While in Swaziland, Garrett visited the joint U.S.-Swazi medical teams and spoke at the closing ceremony, held Aug. 14 at USDF headquarters.

 

“American and Swazi medics worked side-by-side to improve our readiness and enhance our ability to work together in combined medical operations,” Garrett said.

U.S. and Swazi teams carried out six veterinary civil assistance projects (VETCAPs), including a two-day visit to Hhohho Village in Zinyane Province, one-day at Shiselweni Village in Mkhwakhweni Province, one day at Manzini Village in Matufseni Province and a two-day visit in Lubombo Village in Maloma Province. During the VETCAPs, the veterinary team treated 6,792 cattle, 3,381 goats, 195 sheep, 195 dogs, one horse and one pig.

 

They also operated and successfully removed a benign tumor growing on the throat of a cow on the first day of VETCAPs.

 

“It was an unexpected surprise,” said U.S. Army Maj. Michael Simpson, of the Fort Dix, New Jersey-based 404th Civil Affairs Battalion, who was leading veterinary efforts during MEDFLAG 09. “Even though the tumor was benign it was near the throat. If it continued growing, it would have cut off the cow’s air passage and it would have suffocated.”

 

As the U.S. and Swazi veterinary teams treated the Swaziland livestock, medical and dental teams treated the local villagers.

 

The medical teams, which consisted of members from the 212th Combat Support Hospital, the U.S. Army Center for Health and Preventive Medicine and the 21st Sustainment Command, treated 1,519 patients during the six medical civil assistance projects (MEDCAPs).

 

“We saw patients who had everything from the basic cold to an elderly woman who had a goiter,” said 2nd Lt. Matthew McCreery, MEDFLAG 09’s executive officer.

 

The dental team, which consisted of members from the 920th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, Patrick AFB, Fla.; 59th Medical Wing, Wilford Medical Hall, Texas; and 212th CSH, treated 262 patients and extracted 273 teeth during the six dental civil assistance projects (DENCAPs).

 

“We were able to gain the trust of the Swazi villagers,” said Air Force Col. Dean Whitman, oral and maxillofacial surgeon. “Conducting these sorts of missions is important so the Swazis know we have good intentions and our primary concern is to help.”

 

During MEDFLAG 09, both U.S. and Swazi personnel conducted classes on disaster medical planning and operations, a mass casualty exercise and humanitarian and civic outreach to local communities. Classes included first responder familiarization, disaster relief, preventive medicine and tropical medicine.

 

“The health of the Swazi people and their livestock is clearly very important,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael Money, co-director of MEDFLAG 09. “It is our distinct privilege to have worked side-by-side with our new found friends from the USDF and the Ministry of Health, to deliver medical and veterinary care in all four regions of this beautiful land.”

Cleared for public release.

 

Photos by Air Force Staff Sgt. Lesley Waters. CJTF-HOA Public Affairs

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Army Maj. Sean Fortson, 212th Combat Support Hospital emergency medicine physician, checks a patient during the second of a two-day combined medical and dental civil assistance project (MEDCAP and DENCAP) as part of exercise MEDFLAG 09 in Lubombo Village, Swaziland on Aug. 13.

 

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

  

U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Davis

 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.

 

The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.

 

“The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”

 

The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.

 

“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.

 

Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.

 

“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.

 

African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.

 

“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.

 

U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.

 

“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.

 

He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.

 

“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.

 

“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.

 

“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.

 

He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.

 

“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.

 

Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.

 

Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.

 

“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.

 

He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.

 

“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.

 

“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.

 

“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.

 

“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”

 

The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.

 

“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.

 

“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.

 

Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.

 

“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.

 

“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.

 

“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.

 

“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.

 

“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?

 

“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.

 

Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.

 

“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.

 

Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.

 

“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”

 

“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.

 

“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.

 

“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”

 

The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.

 

“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.

 

“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.

 

“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.

 

Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.

 

“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.

 

“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.

 

“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.

 

“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.

 

“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.

 

Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.

 

“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.

 

“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.

 

“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.

 

“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.

 

Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.

 

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

 

PHILIPPINE SEA (Oct. 22, 2019) The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) fires its 5-inch gun during a live-fire gunnery exercise. Chancellorsville is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jeremy Graham)

Sukha *Freedom of flexibilty* + Sthira *Stability* =

 

Sthira sukham asanam: the posture is steady and comfortable.

 

An opportunity to find the right balance between being powerful and flexible in your everyday life :)

   

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SASEBO, Japan (Oct. 27, 2020) Fire fighters from Commander, Fleet Activities Sasebo (CFAS) rest after fighting a mock fire during a Federal Fire integrated firefighting drill aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18). The fire drill integrates Federal fire fighters from CFAS with Sailors aboard the ship to train on fighting in-port fires. New Orleans, part of the America Amphibious Ready Group, along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kelby Sanders) 201027-N-KL617-1128

 

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My 1996 Civic HX CVT is approaching its Sweet Sixteenth, and while it still more or less runs fine, it is not what it once was and there are modern amenities I long for.

 

Chief among these are the safety innovations of the last two decades – in terms of safety the Civic HX wasn’t state-of-the-art even in 1996 – including anti-lock brakes, traction control, stability control, more than two airbags, improved crumple zones, etc. Almost as important are advances in fuel efficiency and emissions. Finally, there’s the electronics: MP3 players, navigation systems, keyless entry, hands-free dialing, etc.

 

I am one of the biggest gearheads I know and yet unlike traditional gearheads, well, I don’t put much stock in tradition. Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy racing cars in GT5 as much as the next guy. It’s just that when it comes to handing over actual money, I cannot justify spending significantly more simply to get to the next stoplight a second faster or go faster around a track.

 

What I will spend (a modest amount) on is new tech. This was the case when I got my Civic, which was a proto-hybrid-smugness moment for me. The Civic was the first car with a real engine (not counting the Subaru Justy) to sport a continuously-variable transmission – more or less the same one still used in Honda hybrids. This delivered nearly the acceleration and efficiency of a manual transmission but the convenience of an automatic. It helped that the engine was also new: a VTEC tuned not for performance, but for fuel efficiency. Also that it was a Honda – back when Hondas were more cart-like than the competition. And all this was available for maybe $1200 more than a very affordable Civic LX. I was in geek heaven.

 

Fast-forward to April 5, 2012. The early adopter car of the moment is the Prius c, and I test-drove my second one (pictured) today.

 

First, a brief rundown of the Prius c. Marketed in the U.S.A. as an entry-level Prius, in fact it more closely resembles a Yaris Hybrid - while it does have a real (albeit three-quarters-scale) Hybrid Synergy Drive, in terms of physical dimensions a Prius c is clearly a Yaris. It is not even made on the same assembly line as the Prius and Prius v. It is also $3-4k less than a Prius Liftback (the retronym for the Prius now that there’s four Priiuseses).

 

What you give up for that extra few grand in your pocket is surprisingly little. It gets similar (class-leading) fuel economy; still has five doors and five usable seats; and most of the electronic wizardry is intact, as is the basic design. Actually, I don’t think I’m alone in thinking the Prius c is more attractive than its Poppy (Prius) and Mommy (Prius v). (What does that make the Plug-in Prius? Uncle Fester?)

 

Personally, it’s not so much what I’m willing to give up to make the Prius affordable, but what I positively gain with the Prius c. I like small cars. I’ve always thought my Civic Coupe was a little too big. The Civic is roughly the same size (only not nearly as tall) as the Gen-II Prius, which is somewhat smaller than the current Prius Liftback. The Prius c is almost a foot and a half shorter (lengthwise) than my Civic – and that should come in handy looking for parking in San Francisco.

 

Hand-in-hand with the smaller size is less weight – roughly 500 pounds less than the Liftback. It’s still around 145 pounds heavier than my Civic (it’s hard to get reliable specs for a car so long out of production), 185 more than the Yaris, and about the same weight as the Fit, but none of those cars have to lug around the extra motors, electronics, and batteries of the Hybrid Synergy. Undoubtedly, if they have not already done so, JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) tuners will gut the Aqua (their name for the Prius c) and transform it into an outright sports car.

 

That will be a big transformation, though, because the stock car is anything but sporty. While it drives essentially like a normal car at low speeds (if “normal” is a Yaris), once you get much past 30mph the accelerator doesn’t have a whole lot of effect on the world outside the engine bay. It seems to be enough to keep up with traffic, though.

 

It’s not half bad in corners, either. While my Civic’s springs have seen better days, it has noticeably more body roll than the Prius c. And, as other reviewers have pointed out, the c feels more planted than its 2587-pound weight and 175mm-wide tires might have you think. It also has a considerably smoother ride than the Civic has.

 

Considerably quieter too. While it ain’t no Lexus, it’s remarkably calm for a subcompact – even the Prius’ own “blind pedestrian” noisemaker is difficult to discern from the front seat.

 

Neither is the overall driving experience a 90s Honda, and that can be good or bad depending on your tastes. Honda is not what it used to be either: the CR-Z I drove in Dec 2010 felt almost as dead as the Prius c - which is fairly lively for a mainstream Toyota, if one can say that without risking oxymoronity.

 

Somewhat surprisingly, even the passenger space is better than my Civic’s, despite the shorter wheelbase and much shorter length. True, the Civic has a fraction of an inch more headroom in the front, but I don’t use all the headroom anyway (I’m 5’10”). Only with the sunroof option does my hair brush the ceiling of the Prius c. Without the sunroof (which I don’t want anyway), I have more than enough room.

 

Driver position is more adjustable in the Prius c too. In addition to a seat height adjustment on trim levels Two and up, all Prius c’s have a tilting-telescoping steering wheel. The total travel is barely an inch or so, but that inch is nice for someone who’s driven 16 years in a car whose steering wheel is an inch too far away.

 

The seat itself comes in two models and three upholstery types. The One’s seat fabric is a cheap-feeling material that evokes 80s Corollas. The Two/Three seats (pictured) are two-toned and two-textured – the center of the seats being a modern, smooth synthetic, and the outer parts a rougher woven synthetic remarkably similar to that of my task chair at home. Finally the Four is upholstered in SofTex, which is a (faux) faux leather which evokes more of an aquatic origin (appropriate!) than bovine provenance.

 

The One trim has an older seat design, while Two and up have a “next-gen” seat. The difference is subtle – the headrest is different and the side bolsters deeper in the next-gen seat - but I personally found the next-gen substantially more comfortable. It practically fits me like a glove - although my smaller female friend who test-drove the car with me found the deep bolsters got in the way of her arms. The seats are reason enough for me to upgrade to Two.

 

Where the Prius c really shines is in the back seat. It has noticeably more head, leg and hip room back there than my Civic – enough to make the difference between feeling cramped and contorted in the Civic and perfectly comfortable in the Prius c. There’s even a cupholder back there in the c. And a three-point belt for the humpsitter.

 

Where the c comes up short, literally, is in the cargo area. I’ve measured it to be less than half the size of my Civic’s trunk – which is already one of the smaller trunks of my friends’ and family’s cars. Even for a single person like me, I doubt the c has enough space for a typical Costco run without folding the rear seats. (Which would be ironic, since, if I bought one, it would probably be through Costco.) Then again, the c appears to have about the same amount of cargo space as the Mazda 3, and more than the Yaris Hatch, so I guess it doesn't bother people too much.

 

As for the gadgets, they leave me cold. Then again, I’m a smartphone/GPS Luddite. Still, even diehard iPhoners – especially diehard Apple fans – will likely agree with me that the Prius’ GUI design is about a decade behind the times. Not unusable by any means; I just didn’t feel invited to try it out. Whatever.

 

I did plug in my old iPod Photo to test out the stereo, though. I probably didn’t find all the controls (then again, I don’t think the Two trim level has all the controls the Three trim level I was testing had), but it looked like the car just treated the iPod as a USB HDD, and played the songs in order – but, again, I wasn’t really concentrating on that.

 

I was concentrating on the sound quality. Which is okay. Distortion rears its ugly head early in the walk up the volume dial - it's already noticeable at normal-for-me volumes and overwhelms the music at anything approaching loud. The driver-side speaker on my Civic’s entry-level OEM stereo is not working, and yet the sound quality is still noticeably better. I had previously tested a c One, albeit only with FM, and the even cheaper stereo in there was downright muffled. As if the speaker drivers were made of cardboard – which I wouldn’t put past them. Clearly, Toyota designed these stereos to be replaced.

 

Which introduces us to the topic of build quality. Which is as cheap as I should have expected: in short, Yaris-like. The CR-Z, while definitely not luxurious, has a more cohesive, techo-modern feel to its interior. It has a familiar ring to it, as my Civic HX CVT filled a similar niche back in 1996. While the HX was only a step-and-a-half above the bargain basement, the overall design and quality of the materials does not scream cheap. Basic, but not cheap. And even, when it comes to the speedo, slightly sporty.

 

Conversely, I wouldn't call the Prius c basic - with its busy center console and USB port - but it is a little cheap. Parts (e.g., the glovebox) are noticeably flimsier than in the HX. Most everything is made of semi-glossy hard plastic, with occasional bright bits that burn spots into my retina on a sunny day. (I hate that about my mom’s Camry, although they seem to have toned it down a bit with the c.) By comparison, the HX is mostly soft plastics and all matte. Even after sixteen years, the Civic’s interior still looks down its nose at the Prius c.

 

To make a long story less long(er), the Prius c is amazing at one thing – fuel efficiency for the money – and competent at everything else. Which makes my (and others’) buying decision relatively simple: including all the externalities you feel are worth including, what is your break-even point? For me, the result is the Prius c is a slam-dunk versus the Yaris or Fit (let alone the practically obsolete Insight), but a dubious value versus my still-okay Civic HX.

 

With my typical 65-mile commute (63 of which are on freeways), I’d only save a few hundred a year in gas versus my current Civic. The question is what value do I place on the psychological benefits of increased safety, lower pump anxiety, and saving the world on the way to work?

 

If I do decide to pull the trigger (probably not a good analogy since I'll likely have to wait months to get one – not to mention the fact that Piercey Toyota is across the street from the county correctional facility), the final questions are trim and color. For me, the obvious choice is Two. It fixes the cheapest aspects of the One, for only $950 more, while avoiding the overly expensive gadgets of Three and Four, which are roughly $2k and $4k more, respectively.

 

And then there's color. For me, it basically comes down to same-old-spontaneous-combustion-black (both my cars have been black), absolutely unspontaneous white, or Habanero (pictured). Which for some reason I should probably see a shrink about is exciting me. Unfortunately, it's probably the only thing about this car that's exciting me now that I've driven it.

 

P.S. The photos above represent as close as I can get to the real Habanero color. The colors shown in the brochure are both inconsistent and wildly misrepresentative of real life. Of course, the photos above will only be accurate if you have a calibrated monitor.

Oesterreichische Nationalbank

Logo of the Austrian National Bank

Headquarters Vienna, Austria

Central Bank of Austria

Currency€

To ISO 4217 EUR

website

www.oenb.at/

Previous Austro- Hungarian Bank

List of Central Banks

Oesterreichische Nationalbank, at Otto-Wagner -Platz No. 3, Vienna

The Austrian National Bank (OeNB), Austria's central bank as an integral part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Eurosystem. It is instrumental in the design of the economic development in Austria and in the euro area. Legally, the OeNB is a public limited company.. However, it is also subject to further enshrined in the National Bank Act regulations resulting from its separate position as a central bank. In the framework of the Eurosystem, the OeNB contributes to a stability-oriented monetary policy. At the national level, it cares about the preservation of financial stability and the money supply and manage foreign exchange reserves to hedge against the euro in times of crisis. The guideline values in terms of the tasks of the Austrian National Bank are "security, stability and trust".

Contents

1 History

1.1 1816 to 1818

1.2 1818 to 1878

1.3 1878 to 1922

1.4 1922 to 1938

1.5 1938 to 1945

1.6 1945 to 1998

1.7 From 1999

2 The OeNB as a modern central bank

3 Legal form and organs

3.1 Legal framework

3.2 organs

3.2.1 General

3.2.2 General

3.2.3 Board of Directors

4 Tasks

4.1 Monetary policy strategies and monetary policy decision-making process

4.1.1 Economic analysis

4.1.2 Production of statistical information

4.1.3 Contribute to international organizations

4.2 Implementation of monetary policy

4.2.1 use of monetary policy instruments

4.2.2 Reserve Management

4.2.3 Money Supply

4.3 Communication of monetary policy

4.4 ensure financial stability

4.4.1 Financial Stability

4.4.2 Payment System Stability and payments

5 The OeNB in the European System of National Banks

6 President / Governors

7 See also

8 Literature

9 links

10 Notes and references

History

1816-1818

As long as 50 years before the founding of the National Bank the Habsburgs carried out first experiments with securities in the form of paper money. Finally, in the 18th Century the issue of banknotes transferred to a state independent institution, while the issue of paper money called "Banco notes," founded in 1705 by the "Vienna City Bank" took place in 1762.

In wartime governance took back control of the money issue, so there was an inflation of Banco-Zettel 1796-1810. The state ordered the forced acceptance of paper money in private transport, which led to a fast-growing discount on bills in the market. 1799 was therefore one for 100 guilders paper money only 92 guilders in silver coins, and at the end of 1810 the value of the paper florin had fallen to 15 % of the nominal value of the Banco-Zettel. Later, the Habsburgs declared a devaluation of the Banco-Zettel in the ratio of 5:1. This act was considered by the business community as a sovereign default, which the paper money experienced a rapid devaluation.

At the end of the Napoleonic wars the Habsburg multinational state ( → Habsburg Monarchy) faced a new challenge: the restoration of a European balance. Church, the nobility, the army and the bureaucracy as elements in the Ancien Régime were not sufficient to solve this problem, a well -founded economic situation was needed. Moreover, one could not ignore readily the laws of supply and demand.

In this regard, were the first June 1816 by Emperor Francis I two patents issued (later to distinguish the "main patent" or "bank patent"), the "privileged Austrian National Bank", conceived as a public company, had to constitute itself as soon a possible, propose the emperor three of its directors for selection of the governor and take up their activity provisionally on 1 July 1816.

The National Bank had henceforth a monopoly on the issuance of paper money, which led to a slowdown in the Austrian monetary system and an increase in the value of paper money. The economy was again a solid source of money keeping constant the value of money regardless of the spending plans of the State. The equity of the Bank justified this by share issues.

Initially comprised the activities of the bank - under temporary management - the redemption of paper money and the issuance of shares. The full effectiveness attained the National Bank until after the issue of 1,000 shares and the associated possibility of shareholders to set the management themselves.

1818-1878

On 15 July 1817 recieved the National Bank as the "first Bankprivilegium" the exclusive right to unrestricted issue of banknotes and in this context a special position in terms of Rediskontgeschäfts (rediscount business). Beginning of 1818 the definitive bank management was ready. Part of it were among leading figures of Viennese society, including the banker Johann Heinrich von Geymüller and Bernard of Eskeles. From 1830 to 1837 the Office of the Governor was held by Adrian Nicholas Baron Barbier.

In the countries of the Habsburg Monarchy, which were characterized in large part by an agricultural oriented activity pattern, some regions showed a lively commercial-industrial growth. The goal now was to create a system of economic exchange between these areas. Successively established the National Bank branch network and thus guaranteed a uniform money and credit supply. From its headquarters in Vienna this network extended over early industrial areas and commercial centers in Eastern and Central Europe to the northern Mediterranean.

Trade bills and coins were preferred assets of the National Bank, less the supply of money to the state. With the exchange transactions, the National Bank supported the economic growth of the monarchy and secured at the same time the supply of silver coins in the event that the need for these increases in exchange for bank notes, contrary to expectations. 1818 was the National Bank, however, by increasing public debt, due to high spending in times of crisis, not spared to make an increase in the government debt positions on the asset side of its balance sheet.

The patent provisions of the founding of the National Bank not sufficiently secured against the autonomy of governance. At the center of the struggle for independence, this was the question of the extent to which the issue of banknotes must be made on the basis of government bonds. In 1841, a renewal of Bankprivilegiums got a weakening of the independence by pushing back the influence of the shareholders in favor of the state administration. During the revolution of 1848/49 followers of constitutional goals received great support from senior figures in the National Bank. For about a hundred years, the Austrian branch of the Rothschild bank (from which from 1855, the "Royal Privileged Austrian Credit-Institute for Commerce and Industry", the later Creditanstalt, was born) was playing a leading role in the banking center of Vienna. Salomon Mayer von Rothschild was involved during the pre-March in all major transactions of the National Bank for the rehabilitation of the state budget.

Special focus the National Bank was putting on the development of the premium that was payable at the exchange of banknotes into silver money in business dealings. The increase, which corresponded to a depreciation of the notes issued by the Bank should be prevented. From an overall state perspective, the increase of the silver premium means a deterioration in terms of the exchange ratio towards foreign countries, influencing the price competitiveness of the Austrian foreign trade adversely. The stabilization of the premium were set some limits. Although the height of the emission activitiy was depending on the Bank, but also the price of silver and the potential effects of increased government debt materially affected the silver premium. Especially the 1848 revolution and conflicts in the following years caused an increasement of the silver premium.

Mid-century, the private banking and wholesale houses were no longer able to cope with the rapidly growing financial intermediation of the Habsburg monarchy. New forms of capital formation were required. From an initiative of the House of Rothschild, the first by the government approved and private joint-stock bank was created. This formation was followed in 1863 and 1864 by two other joint-stock banks, whose major shareholders included important personalities of the aristocracy, who possessed large liquid funds. Overall, grew with these banks the money creation potential of the "financial center of Vienna".

The central bank faced another difficult task: with its limited resources it had to secure sufficient liquidity on the one hand and on the other hand prevent the inflationary expansion of the money supply. Through close contacts with the shareholders of Vienna was a financial center (informal) ballot, especially in times of crisis, easily dealt out. In contrast, it gave differences of opinion in the Fed Board, which required enforcement of decisions.

In 1861, Friedrich Schey Koromla became director of the National Bank. On 27 December 1862 experienced the Bankprivilegium another innovation. The independence of the National Bank of the State was restored and anchored. Furthermore, was introduced the direct allocation of banknotes in circulation by the system of "Peel'schen Bank Act", which states that the fixed budget of 200 million guilders exceeding circulation of banknotes must be covered by silver coins. In 1866, when the German war ended in defeat for Austria, the compliance of the system was no longer met. The state felt itself forced to pay compensation for breach of privilege. This balance was supported by a law of 1872, after the National Bank may issue notes up to a maximum of 200 million guilders and each additional payment must be fully backed by gold or silver.

1873 the economic boom of the Habsburg monarchy was represented in a long-lasting rise in the share price. A now to be expecting break could by the behavior of the Vienna Stock not be intercepted, so it came to the "Great Crash of 1873". The in 1872 fixed restrictions of the circulation of notes for a short time have been suspended. Contrary to expectations, the money supply in crisis peak but only outgrew by nearly 1% the prescribed limit in the bank acts. The banks and the industrial and commercial companies survived the crash without major losses, although the share prices significantly lay below the initial level.

The years with high growth were followed by a period of stagnation.

1878-1922

As part of the compensation negotiations between Austria and Hungary in 1867, the National Bank was able to exercise fully their Privilegialrechte, the Kingdom of Hungary but now had the certified right, every ten years exercisable, to found an own central bank (bank note). As resulted from the first 10 -year period that furthermore none of the two parts of the monarchy wanted to build an independent money-issuing bank (Zettelbank), was built on 28 June 1878, initially to 31 December 1887 limited, an Austro-Hungarian Bank, and equipped with the Fed privilege. The first privilege of the new bank was a compromise in which on the one hand, regulations on liability for national debts as well as regulations limiting the influence of the government on banking businesses were included. 1878 Gustav Leonhardt was Secretary of the Bank.

The General Assembly and the General Council formed the unit of the bank management. Two directorates and major institutions - in Vienna and Budapest - represented the dual nature of the bank. 1892-1900 followed a long discussion finally the currency conversion from guilders (silver currency) to the crown (gold standard) with "Gold Crown" said coins.

Since the new banknotes were very popular in the public, now many gold coins piled up in the vaults of the Austro-Hungarian Bank. This period was characterized by a balanced combination of price growth and damping, the "per capita national product" grew while prices remained mostly stable. Against this background, it was easy for the Fed to encourage a new wave of industrialization.

With a third privilege in 1899 conditions were established under which the bank could be put into the financial services of the two countries, on the other hand there have been important innovations that paved a good exchange policy. By 1914, the exchange ratio of the Austro-Hungarian currency was unchanged with only minor fluctuations. In contrast, was the by conflicts marked political development.

The expansive foreign policy quickly led to high costs from which had to be shouldered by the central bank a significant part. The stability of the currency was in danger. Shortly after the beginning of World War I in 1914, laid down the Military Command to indemnify any seized property with double the price. There was an increasing scarcity of goods, connected with an ongoing expansion of the money supply and finally the increase in the price level on the 16-fold.

The resulting cost of the war of the Dual Monarchy were covered to 40% on central bank loans and 60% through war bonds. Over the duration of the war, the power force built up in recent decades has been frozen at the end of the conflict in 1918, the real income of the workers had fallen to one-fifth of the last year of peace.

With the end of the war the end for the old order had come, too. The decay of Cisleithania and Transleithania caused in several successor states, despite the efforts of the central bank to maintain the order, a currency separation (see Crown Currency in the decay of the monarchy, successor states). First, a separate "Austrian management" of the bank was introduced. It was encouraged to shoulder the shortcomings of the state budget of the Republic of Austria founded in 1918.

The new South Slav state began in January 1919 stamping its crown banknotes. The newly founded Czechoslovak Republic retained the crown currency (to date), but their printed banknotes in circulation as of February 1919 with indications that now these ar Czechoslovak crowns. (The country could an inflation as experienced by Austria avoide.) In March 1919, German Austria began to stamp its crown banknotes.

The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye of 10 September 1919, by Austria on 25 October 1919 ratified and which on 16 July 1920 came into force, determined the cancellation and replacement of all crown banknotes of all successor states of Austria-Hungary as well as the complete liquidation of the Austro-Hungarian Bank under the supervision of the war winners. The last meetings of the Bank took place mid 1921 and at the end of 1922.

After a period of overvaluation of the crown the dollar rate rose from 1919 again. 1921, had to be paid over 5,000 Austrian crowns per dollar. In addition to the significant drop in the external value existed in Austria rising inflation. End of 1922 was ultimately a rehabilitation program with foreign assistance - the "Geneva Protocol" - passed which slowed down the inflation.

1922-1938

With Federal Law of 24 July 1922 the Minister of Finance was commissioned to build a central bank, which had to take over the entire note circulation plus current liabilities of the Austrian management of the Austro-Hungarian Bank. With Federal Law of 14 November 1922, certain provisions of the law were amended and promulgated the statutes of the Austrian National Bank. By order of the Federal Government Seipel I 29 December 1922, the Board of the Austrian Austro-Hungarian Bank issued authorization for the central bank union activity with 1 January 1923 have been declared extinct and was made ​​known the commencement of operations of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank this day.

The statutes of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) secured the independence from the state, the independence of the Bank under exclusion of external influences and the corresponding equity. First, the stabilization of the Austrian currency was at the forefront. With the Schilling Act of 20 December 1924 was the schilling currency (First Republic) with 1 Introduced in March 1925, it replaced the crown currency. For 10,000 crowns now you got a shilling.

As an important personality in terms of the order of the state budget, Dr. Victor Kienböck has to be mentioned. He was in the time from 1922 to 1924 and from 1926 to 1929 finance minister of the First Republic and from 1932 to 1938 President of the Austrian National Bank. Through his work remained the Austrian Schilling, also beyound the global economy crisis, stable. Under this condition, the Fed was able to cope with the large number of bank failures of the past.

1938-1945

According to the on 13th March issued Anschlussgesetz (annexation law) , the Reichsmark with order of the Fuehrer and Chancellor of 17 was March 1938 introduced in the country Austria and determines the course: A Reichsmark is equal to one shilling fifty pence. On the same day, the Chancellor ordered that the management of the to be liquidated National Bank was transferred to the Reichsbank.

With regulation of three ministers of the German Reich of 23 April 1938, the National Bank was established as a property of the Reichsbank and its banknotes the quality as legal tender by 25 April 1938 withdrawn; public funds had Schilling banknotes until 15th of may in 1938 to accept. All the gold and foreign exchange reserves were transferred to Berlin.

The Second World War weakened the Austrian economy to a great extent, the production force after the war corresponded to only 40% of that of 1937 (see also air raids on Austria). To finance the war, the Reichsbank brought to a high degree banknotes in circulation, which only a great victory of the kingdom (Reich) actual values ​​would have been opposable. Since prices were strictly regulated, inflation virtually could be "banned" during the war.

1945-1998

In occupied postwar Austria about 10 billion shillings by Allied military occupying powers were initially printed, which contributed to significant price increases.

With the re-establishment of the Republic of Austria by the Austrian declaration of independence of 27 April 1945, it came to the resumption of activities of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank. By the "Fed Transition Act" of July 1945 preliminary legal regulations for the operations of the Bank have been established. The restoration of the Austrian currency was their first big job. The goal was the summary of all currencies, which at the time were in circulation, and their secondment to a new Austrian currency. The "Schilling Act" of November 1945, the basis for the re-introduction of the Schilling (Second Republic) as legal tender in Austria. The next step was to reduce excess liquidity to make necessary funds for new business investment available and to make the external value of the shilling for the development of the economy competitive. First, however, less changed the inflationary situation and also the shilling was still significantly undervalued in relation to other currencies.

The "Currency Protection Act" of 1947 brought a significant change in the monetary overhang. Some deposits have been deleted without replacement, others converted into claims against the Federal Treasury. The following exchange operations also significantly reduced the amount of cash: banknotes from 1945 were canceled and exchanged for new schilling notes in the ratio 1:3. Only 150 shillings per person could go 1-1.

To control inflation, the social partners came to the foreground. The associations of employers and employees set in 1947 prices for supplies, wages were also raised. This was the first of the five "wage-price agreements" of the social partners. In 1952, inflation was held back by limiting the use of monetary policy instruments by the National Bank. Also, the external sector slowly relaxed after the end of the Korean War.

In 1955, the Austrian National Bank was re-established by the new National Bank Act as a corporation and the by the National Bank Transition of Authorities Act (Nationalbank-Überleitungsgesetz) established provisional arragement abolished. The National Bank Act stipulated that each half of the capital should be situated at the federal government and private shareholders. In addition to the independence of bank loans of the state, the new National Bank Act also contained an order that the central bank must watch within their monetary and credit policies on the economic policies of the federal government. From now on also included within the instruments of the National Bank were the areas open market and minimum reserve policy.

The Austrian economy increasingly stabilized, through good fiscal and monetary policy a high growth could be attained, with low inflation and long-term maintenance of external equilibrium.

1960, Austria joined the European Free Trade Association and participated in the European integration.

In the sixties came the international monetary system based on gold-dollar convertibility into currency fluctuations and political reforms were necessary. First, the loosening of exchange rate adjustments between several states was an option. However, U.S. balance of payments problems brought with it restrictions on capital movements, and then the Euro-Dollar market was born. In 1971, the convertibility of the U.S. dollar was lifted.

1975 interrupted a recession increasing growth time. International unbalanced ayments caused very extensive foreign exchange movements, whereby the intervention force of Austrian monetary policy has been strongly challenged. Their task now was to control the effect of foreign exchange on domestic economic activities to stabilize the shilling in the context of constantly shifting exchange rates and to control the price rise appropriately. Since the inflow of foreign funds reached to high proportions, so that the economic stability has been compromised, the policy went the way of the independent course design in a pool of selected European currencies.

The collapse of the economy forced the policy makers to a new course with active mutual credit control, subdued wage growth, financial impulses in supply and demand, and interest rates are kept low. This system of regulation, however, kept back the need for structural change, so it had to be given up in 1979. In the same year a fire destroyed large parts of the main building of the Austrian National Bank in Vienna. The repairs lasted until 1985.

Target in the eighties was to strengthen the economic performance using a competitive power comparison. The findings from the seventies stimulated the Austrian monetary policy to align the Schilling course at the Deutsche Mark to ensure price stability in the country. In addition, the structural change was initiated by inclusion in a large area. Stable, if not necessarily comfortable environment of monetary policy was a prerequisite, to secure the companies long-term productivity gains and thus safeguard their position in the economy.

Initially, this development stood a high level of unemployment in the way. Growth until the second half of the decade increased, at the same time increased the competitiveness and current accounts could be kept in balance.

In the nineties, the annexation of Austria took place in the European Community. 1995 Austria became a member of the European Union (EU) and joined the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System. In 1998, the Central Banks (ESCB) have established the independence of institutions or bodies of the European Community and the governments of the EU Member States through an amendment to the National Bank Act of the Austrian National Bank to implement the goals and tasks of the European System. Thus, the legal basis for the participation of Austria in the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was created in 1999.

As of 1999

The Austrian National Bank, and other national central banks including the European Central Bank ( ECB), belongs to the European System of Central Banks.

On 1 January 1999 was introduced in the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union in Austria and ten other EU Member States, the euro as a common currency. The European Central Bank is henceforth responsible for monetary and currency policy, decisions in this regard will be taken in accordance with the Council of the European Central Bank.

Since May 2010, the OeNB is in full possession of the Republic of Austria, after originally lobbies, banks and insurance companies were involved with 50 % of the share capital in it. In 2011, the National Bank Act was adapted by an amendment (Federal Law Gazette I No. 50 /2011) in this circumstance, a renewed privatization is thus excluded by law.

The OeNB as a modern central bank

With the withdrawal from the retail business in the sixties as well as the first major internationalization and implementation of a strategic management in the seventies, the OeNB went on the way to a future-oriented central bank. Another major reform of banking began at the end of the eighties.

In terms of global development, the OeNB established in 1988 as a service company and expanded its guiding values ​​- "security, stability and trust" - to the principles of " fficiency" and "cost-consciousness". The business center was optimized and strategic business experienced through targeted improvements a reinforcement. Be mentioned as examples are intensifying domestic cooperation in the area of ​​payments by encouraging the creation of the Society for the Study co-payments (STUZZA), the liberalization of capital movements, the professional management of foreign exchange reserves, the improvement of the supply of money through the construction of the money center and the internationalization of business activities through the establishment of representative offices in Brussels (European Union), Paris (OECD) and the financial center of New York.

After Austria's accession to the EU in 1995, the OeNB participated in the European Monetary System (EMS ) and its Exchange Rate Mechanism. The integration in the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was the next step towards further development of policy stability. Since the conclusion of the Maastricht Treaty, the Austrian National Bank has very fully considered its role in the ESCB and created a basis for inclusion in the community. The profound economic and monetary policy of Austria was also a reference that qualified the OeNB to actively participate in the monetary future of Europe, a greater harmonization of the statistical framework and monetary policy instruments with a view to the euro system, the preparation of the issue of European banknotes, and the establishment of operational processes and organizational integration of business processes within the ESCB being specific objectives of the OeNB.

In the following, it came, inter alia, to the establishement of an economic study department, of an education or training initiative and to strengthen the position of payment transactions through the TARGET system.

A in 1996 created "OeNB master plan" provided important points for the upcoming transition to the euro.

In May 1998, a new pension system came into force, by which new employees were incorporated into a two-pillar model.

1999, Austria's participation in the third stage of EMU was manifest. The Austrian National Bank - as part of the ESCB - became the owner of the European Central Bank and received new powers in this context in the sense of participation in the monetary policy decision-making at the level of the European Community. With the introduction of the euro, monetary policy functions of the General Council have been transferred to the Governing Council. However, the implementation remains the responsibility of national central banks.

Activities of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank were or are, for example, the further professionalization of asset management, the expansion of the network of representative offices by opening a representative office in the financial center of London, preparation of the smooth introduction of euro cash in 2002 and the participation of the OeNB on the creation of the "A-SIT" (Center for secure Information Technology Center - Austria) and the "A-Trust" (society of electronic security systems in traffic GmbH ) in order to promote security in information technology.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oesterreichische_Nationalbank

OKINAWA, Japan (Aug. 21, 2020) Sailors man the rails on the fo’c’sle as the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) gets underway during a sea and anchor evolution. Germantown, part of America Expeditionary Strike Group, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit team is operating in the 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners, and serves as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Taylor DiMartino)

The Aggregate Stability Comparison display, (left) using two clear pipes with water, demonstrate the structural stability of healthy soil that has organic matter from cover crops and aeration created by worms and roots, verses soil that is mechanically tilled on a regular basis and falls apart in water, during the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS soil health demonstration event “The Bundled Benefits of Soil Health” on Thursday, September 18, 2014 in the People’s Garden, at the USDA headquarters, in Washington, D.C. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

Almost two years after the presentation of the EU Global Strategy and more than a year after Jean Claude Juncker’s white book on the future of Europe, the European Union still struggles with major challenges and threats that seem to undermine the stability of the security environment within its borders and in its neighbourhood. In the aftermath of Brexit and with the proximity of to the European Parliament elections in 2019, the third International Conference Europe as a Global Actor (Lisbon, May 24 & 25, 2018) will discuss the role the EU can play in the current global transformations, as well as the domestic and external obstacles it faces as a global actor.

The Center for International Studies of ISCTE-IUL organized the third edition of the International Conference “Europe as a global actor”, on 24 and 25 May.

The opening lecture was given by the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, on May 24, at 09:30 am.

The Conference Program also included a debate on the state of the Union with the presence of Portuguese MEPs, panels and round-tables on the challenges of the Common Security and Defense Policy, the future of European security and defense, the EU’s relationship with other global players and the future of the European Union as a global player. In addition to the presence of several invited scholars, in plenary sessions moderated by Portuguese journalists, the program also included the presentation of communications by around 40 international researchers in this area of knowledge.

 

May 24th

 

9h00 | Registration – Floor 2, Building II

 

09h30 | Opening Remarks (Aud. B203) – session in Portuguese

 

Keynote Speaker: Augusto Santos Silva, Portuguese Minister for Foreign Affairs

Helena Carreiras (Director, School of Sociology and Public Policies, ISCTE-IUL)

Luís Nuno Rodrigues (Director, Center for International Studies, CEI-IUL)

 

10h45 – 11h00 – Coffee Break

 

11h00 | Round Table I: CSDP: challenges and opportunities (Aud. B203)

 

Moderator: António Mateus (RTP)

 

Laura Ferreira-Pereira (Universidade do Minho)

Jochen Rehrl (EEAS – ESDC)

Ana Isabel Xavier (CEI-IUL)

  

12h30 – 14h00 – Lunch

  

14h00 – 15h45 | Parallel Sessions I

 

Panel 1 –The future of European Security and Defence (Room C201)

 

Moderator: Ana Isabel Xavier (CEI-IUL)

 

Stefano Loi (CEI-IUL): “The PESCO agreement and the future of the European common defence”

Lorinc Redei & Michael Mosser (University of Texas at Austin): “The European Union as a Catalyst in European Security”

Patricia Daehnhardt (IPRI-NOVA): “The EU and transatlantic relations: the end of the Euro-Atlantic security community?”

   

Panel 2 – The European policy on migration and asylum (Room C301)

 

Moderator: Giulia Daniele (CEI-IUL)

 

João Barroso (CEI-IUL): “The EU and the refugee crisis: a literature review”

Tommaso Emiliani (College of Europe): “EU Migration Agencies: More “Guarding”, Less “Support for Asylum”? An Assessment of How the European Board and Coast Guard and the European Asylum Support Office Pursue Their Relations with Third Countries in Light of the So-Called ‘Refugee Crisis’.”

Emellin de Oliveira (NOVA): “The Securitization of Migration through Technology: an analysis of the PNR Directive”

   

Panel 3 – The state of the Union and the future of Europe: reflections and scenarios (Room C302)

 

Moderator: Ana Lúcia Sá (CEI-IUL)

 

Luís Machado Barroso (CEI-IUL; IUM) & Marco António Ferreira da Cruz (IUM): “It is not enough to be… It needs to be seen”: the analysis of EUGS implementation 1st Year report”

Ricardo Alexandre (CEI-IUL): “The Western Balkans Euro-fatigue and the impact on EU of potential alternatives to integration”

Dina Sebastião (University of Coimbra): “The persistence of Portuguese Atlanticism as a block for a supranationalization of European defence policy”

   

15h45 – 16h00 – Coffee Break

   

16h00-18h00 | Round Table II – The EU & other global players (Aud. B204)

 

Moderator: Helena Tecedeiro (Diário de Notícias)

 

Thomas Diez (University of Tübingen)

Maria Raquel Freire (CES-UC, Coimbra)

Luís Tomé (Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa)

Bruno Cardoso Reis (CEI-IUL, Lisbon)

  

18h00 – 20h00 | Parallel Sessions II

 

Panel 4 – Brexit (Room C401)

 

Moderator: Bruno Cardoso Reis (CEI-IUL)

 

Sanja Ivic (Institute for European Studies, Serbia): “The Question of European Identity in Light of Brexit”

Allan F. Tatham (Universidad San Pablo-CEU): “‘Breaking up is Hard to Do’: The evolution of the EU’s withdrawal criteria”

Christopher Pitcher (ISCTE-IUL): “‘I voted remain’ a look at the social and political divides within Brexit Britain through qualitative analysis of the narratives and attitudes of British citizens who voted remain”

Luana Lo Piccolo (ISPI – Milan): “Brexit: an increasing fragmentation of the international architecture”

   

Panel 5 – The EU and its Neighbourhood (Room C402)

 

Moderator: Cátia Miriam Costa (CEI-IUL)

 

Petar Georgiev (Council of the EU): “Pursuit of greener pastures in the Eastern neighbourhood: reconciliation of EU’s security interests and normative ambitions”

César García Andrés (Universidad de Valladolid): “The role of Ukraine within the European neighborhood policy and its effects on relations with Russia”

Mónica Canário (CEI-IUL): “Why do we need a real gender policy in the EU?”

Filipe Lima (CEI-IUL): “The EU and Israel and Palestinian Conflict”

   

Panel 6 – Transnational threats (Room C502)

 

Moderator: Ana Margarida Esteves (CEI-IUL)

 

Sofia Geraldes (ISCTE-IUL): “Digital Battlefields: Assessing the EU soft security actorness countering social media information warfare activities”

Marc de Carrière (Amarante International): “Going beyond NATO’s Article 5: A EU-NATO Blockchain to deter cyber warfare”

Davoud Gharayagh-Zandi (IRS; Shahid Beheshti University) & João Almeida Silveira (FCSH-NOVA): “The European Union security actorness within EU-Iran relations in the Post JCPOA Era”

Henrique Miguel Alves Garcia: “Radicalization in Belgium and EU security environment”

 

Susana Pedro

I revisited Donmouth Nature Reserve today 2/3/2018, prompted by the severe weather conditions that the so called "Beast From The East" has brought to the UK in the past few days, I decided to visit and capture any impacts it may have had along the coastline.

 

I found that the walk paths have eroded due to the heavy tides and tall waves that have battered the shore over the past few days, you can see the pathway clumps of grass that previously sat above the coastline now laying on the shore waiting for the sea to drag them off to the bottom of the North Sea.

 

Today was bitterly cold, the sea raged though I enjoyed a magnificent walk along the shore capturing what lay before me.

 

Check out my photos previously posted to appreciate the impact this "BFTE" has had on this beautiful nature reserve.

 

Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or sand dunes sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, drainage or high winds (see also beach evolution). Waves, generated by storms, wind, or fast moving motor craft, can cause coastal erosion, which may take the form of long-term losses of sediment and rocks, or merely the temporary redistribution of coastal sediments; erosion in one location may result in accretion nearby.

 

The study of erosion and sediment redistribution is called 'coastal morphodynamics'.

 

It may be caused by hydraulic action, abrasion, impact and corrosion by wind, water, and other forces, natural or unnatural.

 

On non-rocky coasts, coastal erosion results in dramatic (or non-dramatic) rock formations in areas where the coastline contains rock layers or fracture zones with varying resistance to erosion.

 

Softer areas become eroded much faster than harder ones, which typically result in landforms such as tunnels, bridges, columns, and pillars.

Over time the coast generally evens out. The softer areas fill up with sediment eroded from hard areas, and rock formations are eroded away.

 

Also abrasion commonly happens in areas where there are strong winds, loose sand, and soft rocks.

 

The blowing of millions of sharp sand grains creates a sandblasting effect. This effect helps to erode, smooth and polish rocks.

 

The definition of abrasion is grinding and wearing away of rock surfaces through the mechanical action of other rock or sand particles.

 

Examples

 

Small-scale erosion destroys abandoned railroad tracks

A place where erosion of a cliffed coast has occurred is at Wamberal in the Central Coast region of New South Wales where houses built on top of the cliffs began to collapse into the sea. This is due to waves causing erosion of the primarily sedimentary material on which the buildings foundations sit.[2]

 

Dunwich, the capital of the English medieval wool trade, disappeared over the period of a few centuries due to redistribution of sediment by waves.

 

Human interference can also increase coastal erosion:

 

Hallsands in Devon, England, was a coastal village that washed away over the course of a year, an event directly caused by dredging of shingle in the bay in front of it.

 

The California coast, which has soft cliffs of sedimentary rock and is heavily populated, regularly has incidents of housing damage as cliffs erodes .

 

The Holderness coastline on the east coast of England, just north of the Humber Estuary, is one of the fastest eroding coastline in Europe due to its soft clay cliffs and powerful waves.

 

Groynes and other artificial measures to keep it under control has only accelerated the process further down the coast, because longshore drift starves the beaches of sand, leaving them more exposed. The White Cliffs of Dover have also been affected.

  

Fort Ricasoli in Kalkara, Malta already showing signs of damage where the land is being eroded Fort Ricasoli, a historic 17th century fortress in Malta is being threatened by coastal erosion, as it was built on a fault in the headland which is prone to erosion.

 

A small part of one of the bastion walls has already collapsed since the land under it has eroded, and there are cracks in other walls as well.

 

Wave action

 

Hydraulic action

 

Hydraulic action occurs when waves striking a cliff face compress air in cracks on the cliff face. This exerts pressure on the surrounding rock, and can progressively splinter and remove pieces. Over time, the cracks can grow, sometimes forming a cave. The splinters fall to the sea bed where they are subjected to further wave action.

 

Attrition

 

Attrition occurs when waves cause loose pieces of rock debris (scree) to collide with each other, grinding and chipping each other, progressively becoming smaller, smoother and rounder. Scree also collides with the base of the cliff face, chipping small pieces of rock from the cliff or have a corrasion (abrasion) effect, similar to sandpapering.

 

Solution

Solution is the process in which acids contained in sea water will dissolve some types of rock such as chalk or limestone.

 

Corrasion

 

Corrasion or otherwise known as abrasion occurs when waves break on cliff faces and slowly erode it. As the sea pounds cliff faces it also uses the scree from other wave actions to batter and break off pieces of rock from higher up the cliff face which can be used for this same wave action and attrition.

 

Corrosion

Corrosion or solution/chemical weathering occurs when the sea's pH (anything below pH 7.0) corrodes rocks on a cliff face. Limestone cliff faces, which have a moderately high pH, are particularly affected in this way. Wave action also increases the rate of reaction by removing the reacted material.

 

Factors that influence erosion rates

 

Primary factors

The ability of waves to cause erosion of the cliff face depends on many factors.

 

The hardness (or inversely, the erodibility) of sea-facing rocks is controlled by the rock strength and the presence of fissures, fractures, and beds of non-cohesive materials such as silt and fine sand.

 

The rate at which cliff fall debris is removed from the foreshore depends on the power of the waves crossing the beach. This energy must reach a critical level to remove material from the debris lobe. Debris lobes can be very persistent and can take many years to completely disappear.

 

Beaches dissipate wave energy on the foreshore and provide a measure of protection to the adjoining land.

 

The stability of the foreshore, or its resistance to lowering. Once stable, the foreshore should widen and become more effective at dissipating the wave energy, so that fewer and less powerful waves reach beyond it. The provision of updrift material coming onto the foreshore beneath the cliff helps to ensure a stable beach.

 

The adjacent bathymetry, or configuration of the seafloor, controls the wave energy arriving at the coast, and can have an important influence on the rate of cliff erosion. Shoals and bars offer protection from wave erosion by causing storm waves to break and dissipate their energy before reaching the shore.

 

Given the dynamic nature of the seafloor, changes in the location of shoals and bars may cause the locus of beach or cliff erosion to change position along the shore.

 

Coastal erosion has been greatly affected by the rising sea levels globally.

Donmouth Local Nature Reserve is a beach site in the historic Old Aberdeen part of the City where the River Don meets the sea.

 

A great place to see seals and a range of interesting birds. The beach area has changed over time as the river has changed its course. There are lots of interesting plants in the dunes and beach area. Bird hide is an excellent shelter from which to watch the wildlife. The paths run across King Street to the Brig 'o Balgownie., the original bridge in to the City from the North, then down the other side of the river to the sea.

 

The site was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 1992

 

Paths are good although wheelchair access to the beach would be difficult as the boardwalk can get covered with sand.

 

There is plenty of free car parking on the Beach Esplanade and at the car park in Donmouth Road. There are cycle racks on Beach Esplanade

 

Bridge Of Don has five spans of dressed granite, and rounded cutwaters that carry up to road level to form pedestrian refuges. The spans are 75 feet (23 m), with a rise of 25 feet (7.6 m).

 

It was widened in 1958-59, from 24 feet (7.3 m), to 66 feet (20 m) by the construction of a new concrete bridge adjacent to the old one.

 

It now carries four lanes of the A956 road, and is the last bridge on the River Don before it meets the sea. The bridge is just downstream from a substantial island in the river. Around the area of the bridge is the Donmouth Local Nature Reserve, designated as a LNR in 1992.

Near to the bridge are a number of World War II era coastal defences, including a pill box.

Mudflats

Mudflats are formed when fine particles carried downstream by the river are deposited as it slows down before entering the sea, and to a lesser extent by fine particles washed in by the tide. The sand spit at the mouth of the Don provides shelter from the wind and waves allowing this material to build up. The mud flats are a very rich and fertile environment. Despite their rather barren appearance they support a surprisingly diverse invertebrate fauna which includes; worms, molluscs and crustacea. These invertebrates are vitally important to wildfowl and wading birds within the estuary.

 

Salt marsh

Along the upper shore of the south bank saltmarsh has developed. This habitat would once have been much more extensive prior to the tipping of domestic and other refuse in the area and the formation in 1727 of an artificial embankment to prevent flooding of the river into the Links. This habitat is now reduced to a narrow strip of vegetation along the river margins upstream from the Powis Burn.

 

The species composition of the salt marsh varies according to the salinity of the water i.e. the proximity to the sea. Close to the Powis Burn this habitat is dominated by reed sweet-grass (Glyceria maxima) with reed canary-grass (Phalaris arundinacea), sea club-rush (Scirpus maritimus), spike-rush (Eleocharis palustris), hemlock water-dropwort (Oenanthe crocata) and common scurvygrass (Chochlearia officinalis).

Further inland reed sweet-grass continues to dominate but hemlock water-dropwort is more abundant with meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) and valarian (Valariana officinalis),

 

Sand dunes

Sand dunes are found in the more exposed parts of the estuary at the river mouth. Again, this habitat was once much more extensive in this locality with dune grasslands stretching from Aberdeen Beach inland as far as King Street, southwards from the estuary of the Dee, northwards to the Sands of Forvie and beyond. Many of the dunes formed part of Seaton Tip, and following tipping the area was grassed over. Other areas have been formally landscaped to form golf courses or planted with native trees in 2010 to create a new woodland area.

 

Some remnants of the natural dune flora can be seen in the 'roughs' on the Kings Links golf course and near the mouth of the river.

 

Above the high water mark, fore dunes with thick clumps of the pioneer grass species including sea lyme grass (Elymus arenarius) and marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) occur. Few other species are able to cope with the shifting sand. The largest area of these young dunes is to the north and west of the headland. Further inland where the dunes are sheltered from the actions of the wind and waves, and soils are more developed, more stable dunes are present supporting a more diverse grassland habitat.

 

Strand line plants which are able to tolerate occasional coverage by sea water include sea rocket (Cakile maritima), frosted orache (Atriplex laciniata), sea sandwort (Honkenya peploides) and knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare). Bur-reed (Sparganium sp.) has been recorded; presumably washed down by the river.

 

Marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) and sea lyme grass (Elymus arenarius) dominate the fore dunes. The latter species is not native to this area but appeared in 1802. It is thought to have been unintentionally introduced into the area by fishing boats. For a number of years it remained uncommon but from 1870 onwards it spread rapidly along the coastline (Marren, 1982).

 

In the more stable dunes red fescue (Festuca rubra), sand sedge (Carex arenaria), yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor), wild pansy (Viola tricolour), harebell (Campanula rotundifolia), bird's-foot-trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and lesser meadow-rue (Thalictrum minus) are abundant. Small amounts of kidney vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and spring vetch (Vicia lathyroides) are present.

 

Scattered willows (Salix sp.) and sycamore (Acer pseudoplantanus) have seeded into this area. Gorse (Ulex europaeus) scrub has colonised the dunes in some areas and appears to be spreading.

 

Scrub

This habitat is almost entirely artificial with only the gorse scrub on the inner dunes being a semi-natural habitat. Alder and willow were planted along the south bank of the river in about 1970 and these shrubs are now generally well established. Further shrub planting on the south bank was carried out in 1990.

 

Willow (Salix sp.) and alder (Alnus glutinosa) were planted in the 1970's along the south bank of the River Don eastwards of the Bridge of Don. The trees to the west of this strip are doing considerably better than those to the east. More recent planting was carried out in 1990 with hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) elder (Sambucus nigra), goat willow (Salix caprea) and alder.

 

Underneath the scrub neutral grassland is present with cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata), false oat-grass (Arrhenatherum elatius), cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris), sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata), hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica) and hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium).

 

Grassland

Much of the grassland within the reserve is formed on imported soil and is intensively managed. This includes grassland on the north and south sides of the Esplanade. Daffodils are present in the grassland on the north side of the road. On the north bank to the east of the Bridge of Don is rank grassland on a steep south-facing slope. This is unmanaged and contains some patches of scrub.

 

Rough grassland is present on the headland. This area has been modified by tipping, with rubble to the east and with grass cuttings to the west. The grassland contains a mixture of neutral grassland, dune grassland, ruderal, and introduced garden species. This area attracts flocks of seed eating birds in late summer and autumn.

 

Improved grassland is present on the headland and along the south bank of the estuary downstream from the bridge of Don. Much of this vegetation has developed on imported soil and contains a high proportion of ruderal species and garden escapes. On the headland, broadleaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius), nettle (Urtica dioica), coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare), cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris), hemlock (Conium maculatum) and hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) are abundant. Sweet cicely (Chaerophyllum bulbosum) is widespread and in late summer fills the air with the scent of aniseed.

 

To the south of the Esplanade the grassland is managed with an annual cut.. The grassland does flood to form pools. Early in the year cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis) is common, meadow foxtail (Alopecuris pratensis)is known to occur around the margins of these pools.

 

Woodland

Semi-mature woodland is present on the steep sided south bank of the river upstream from the Bridge of Don. Most of this woodland has been planted in the mid 1930's though some older oak and elm trees are present. These may be relicts of former woodland cover. The woodland in the reserve is part of a strip of woodland along the River Don corridor which continues upstream from the Brig 'o' Balgownie.

 

Woodland is present on the south bank upstream from the Bridge of Don.

 

Much of the woodland consists of even aged stands with willow (Salix sp.), sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), ash (Fraxinus excelsior), beech (Fagus sylvatica) and alder (AInus glutinosa).

 

At the top of the slope mature oak (Quercus sp.) and elm (Ulmus glabra) are present. The ground flora contains tufted hair-grass (Deschampsia caespitosa), red campion (Silene dioica), ramsons (Allium ursinum) and lady fern (Athyrium felix-femina) .In a few areas dense shading is caused by the trees and in these areas the ground flora is poor.

 

On the north bank scattered trees are present, mainly willow and sycamore with some scrub.

   

Stability graph

www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Borinqueneers Open Doors to Peace and Security

Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa

 

Story by Master Sgt. Ruby Zarzyczny

Date: 10.23.2009

 

ENTEBBE, Uganda—"Borinqueneers" from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa opened the doors to its seventh Counter Terrorism Course for the Ugandan People's Defense Force, July 30, at the Kasenyi Military Training center.

 

The four-month course is being taught by "Borinqueneer" Soldiers from the 1/65th Infantry Battalion, Puerto Rico National Guard. According to historical records, the men of the 1/65th IN BN came up with the nickname "Borinqueneer" during a long sea voyager while serving in the Korean War. It is a combination of the words Buccaneers and Boriquen which is the name the Tainos Indians called the island (Puerto Rico) before the arrival of the Spaniards.

 

This is not the first time the 1/65th IN BN has been deployed to Africa. According to 1/65th IN BN historical documentation, they were deployed during WWII to North Africa in 1943. In 1944, they moved forward from Casablanca, Morocco to Italy and then France to join the 3rd Battalion and defeated Germany's 34th Infantry Division's 107th Infantry Regiment.

 

Sixty-six years later, the 1/65th IN BN is once again deployed to Africa. This time, they are deployed to Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti to support the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa's mission to foster regional stability, build security capacity, and forge relationships with our African partner nations.

 

In July, the 1/65th IN BN open the doors to teach the counter terrorism course for the first time in Africa. During the course the instructors and assistant instructors from the UPDF (soldiers who have graduated from previous courses) will partner to share their knowledge and skills with the UPDF student soldiers to help the UPDF develop counter terrorism practices to increase peace and security in Uganda, said Sgt. 1st Class Heriberto Crespo CJTF-HOA Counter Terrorism Course non-commissioned officer in charge.

 

Before deploying, most of the instructors received additional training in Puerto Rico to become instructors and some have experience mentoring Afghani soldiers during the unit's previous deployment to Afghanistan.

 

"It's a great experience to be able to mentor the UPDF students by giving them the knowledge I have as an infantryman," said Specialist Jose Alicea, 1st Platoon instructor. "It's a great feeling knowing you're able to help someone be more proficient at their job. I'm not only teaching them, I'm also learning from them as I see their progress."

 

The course is taught using UPDF equipment, supplies and weapons used by the Soldiers to perform their duties. The instructors received additional training on the AK-47 rifle used during the course. Private Kamba Boaz, UPDF soldier and 1st Platoon assistant instructor, works with the instructors and helps keep communication flowing during the classes.

 

"It's a very good opportunity for me because I am learning more and have the opportunity to bring my skills to the training," said Pvt. Boaz. "Working with the men from the 1/65th (IN BN) from Puerto Rico is the most wonderful thing. They are good friends. They are real professionals. Through our friendship, we are able to learn more from them and they are able to learn more from us."

 

Before the students start learning counter terrorism techniques, they will learn basic soldier skills during the first eight weeks of training. Some of the skills include individual movement, map reading, land navigation, first aid, search techniques, improvised explosive devices recognition, HIV prevention and human rights. Once these skills are mastered, the students will progress to squad operations and learn to work as a team.

 

Each squad is made up of nine soldiers. During this section of the training they will learn to move as a team to maneuver through danger areas and identify details as a group. Supervised by the instructors, the students practice these skills in training scenarios called training lanes. Using the standard operating procedures the students are evaluated to ensure they understand the basic skills before moving to the second phase of the course Military Operation Urbanized Terrain training.

 

"We train to standards not to time," said Crespo. "We will take as much time as needed until each student performs to standard. We move as fast as the slowest soldier and the training platoons move forward at the same time."

 

The course is divided up into four platoons of 40 students each having four to five instructors and an assistant instructor. The training is progressing at a steady pace as the UPDF students are fast learners and some have already faced combat in the Congo, said Crespo. Despite the language barriers and slow supply lines the students are motivated to learn.

 

"Both students and instructors face the challenge of English as a second language," said Crespo. "We all understand English, but we add different accents to the language. After about three weeks, we were able to understand each others accents and now we are sharing languages. Many of the students are learning our language, Spanish."

 

The instructors anticipate the MOUT training to start sometime in late October. The UPDF leaders have asked the CJTF-HOA to provide the students with realistic training. The 1/65th instructors have created a MOUT site to resemble an urban environment similar to a Ugandan village.

 

"Terrorist don't fight in the open with soldiers," said Crespo. "They attack cities, hospitals, churches, schools, urban areas with innocent people. That's where terrorists attack. We will build a MOUT site resembling a city in Uganda and train the UPDF students to detect and respond to terrorist attacks."

 

These instructors from the 1/65th are the tip of the spear for their unit. The course is expected to finish later this year and will end with a graduation ceremony attended by UPDF and CJTF-HOA military leaders. Successful completion of this course will open doors for similar training opportunities for the 1/65th IN BN with CJTF-HOA's African partners throughout the Horn of Africa, said Sergeant Crespo.

 

www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Photo Caption:

 

ENTEBBE, Uganda--During a break at the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Counter Terrorism, Spec. Jose Alicea, 1/65th Infantry Battalion 1st Platoon instructor discusses search procedures with a Ugandan People's Defense Force student Sept 23, 2009. (Photo/Released Master Sgt. Ruby Zarzyczny)

As stability advances, the population in the AAA are rebuilding their homes but do not necessarily have livelihood opportunities to get back to. To support agriculture, FAO delivered seeds and tools to farmers in order to support self-sufficiency and reinforce their food security status.

 

Read more about FAO and the crisis in South Sudan.

 

Photo credit must be given: ©FAO/Lieke Visser. Editorial use only. Copyright FAO

Houston, Texas

Lamborghini Veneno

 

In the year of its 50th anniversary Automobili Lamborghini is presenting an extremely exclusive model at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. Only three unique units of the Lamborghini Veneno will be built and sold. Its design is consistently focused on optimum aerodynamics and cornering stability, giving the Veneno the real dynamic experience of a racing prototype, yet it is fully homologated for the road. With a maximum output of 552 kW / 750 hp, the Lamborghini Veneno accelerates from 0-100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds and the top speed for this street-legal racing car stands at 355 km/h. It is priced at three million Euros plus tax - and all three units have already been sold to customers.

 

The Lamborghini Veneno features a twelve-cylinder power unit with a displacement of 6.5 liters, an extremely fast-shifting 7-speed ISR transmission with 5 driving modes and permanent all-wheel drive, as well as a racing chassis with pushrod suspension and horizontal spring/damper units. Above all, however, the Veneno benefits from the very special expertise that Automobili Lamborghini possesses in the development and execution of carbon-fiber materials - the complete chassis is produced as a CFRP monocoque, as is the outer skin of this extreme sports car. The inside, too, features innovative, Lamborghini-patented materials such as Forged Composite and CarbonSkin.

 

Fully in keeping with the tradition of the brand, the name of the Veneno originates from a legendary fighting bull. Veneno is the name of one of the strongest and most aggressive fighting bulls ever. He is also famous for being one of the fastest bulls in the history of bullfighting. His name became popular in 1914, when he fatally wounded the famous torero José Sánchez Rodríguez during the bullfight in the arena Sanlúcar de Barrameda's, Andalusia, Spain.

 

Lamborghini Veneno (2013)

2013 Lamborghini Veneno

  

The Design

 

The Lamborghini Veneno brings the aerodynamic efficiency of a racing prototype to the road. Every detail of its form pursues a clear function - exceptional dynamics, optimum downforce with minimal drag and perfect cooling of the high-performance engine. Yet the Veneno is unmistakably a Lamborghini; it sticks firmly to the consistent design philosophy of all the super sports cars from Sant'Agata Bolognese. That includes the extreme proportions, as well as the powerfully arrow-shaped front end and the interplay between razor-sharp lines and precise surfaces.

 

The entire front end of the Lamborghini Veneno has been laid out for perfect airflow and downforce. The front end works as a large aerodynamic wing. Large channels guide the air to the outlets in the front hood and in front of the windshield, as well as to the front wheels. Characteristic for Lamborghini is the Y shape of the angular headlamps that reach well into the fenders as well as the scissor doors.

 

The division of the fenders from the car body is a reference to the world of sport prototypes and optimizes at the same time the aerodynamic flow. The side line of the Veneno is therefore dominated by enormous sills and the mighty wheel arches front and rear. Here, too, sophisticated aerodynamics ensure perfect airflow to the large openings for engine cooling and intake air.

 

Just like the front end, the rear of the Lamborghini Veneno has also been optimized for underbody aerodynamics and high speed cornering stability. The smooth underbody transitions into a substantial diffuser framing the four sizable exhaust pipes divided by a splitter to increase the level of downforce peak. Large openings serve to ventilate the engine bay and manage the airflow to the rear wing, with the only sealed area at the rear being reserved for the license plate. The rear lights, including brake lights, indicator lights and fog lights, pick up the Y theme as well. The engine cover sports six wedge-shaped openings, with the focus here, too, on optimum dissipation of heat from the engine. The engine cover extends into a large central "shark" fin, which improves efficiency during braking and rear-end stability, by delivering additional downforce at high yaw angles and thus increasing the high-speed cornering performance.

 

The adjustable rear wing's design is the product of Motorsport experience and extensive aerodynamic simulation to ensure the best performance of rear wing interaction with rear diffuser air flow.

 

The exclusive alloy wheels measure 20 inches at the front and 21 inches at the rear and are equipped with center mountings. Their design is also determined by aerodynamic functionality - a carbon-fiber ring around the wheel rim works like a turbine to deliver additional cooling air to the carbon-ceramic brake discs.

 

The Lamborghini Veneno is painted in an all-new, grey metallic-look color with individual parts gleaming in the black of the visible carbon-fiber structure. The only car to display all three colors of the Italian flag as an accent is the car shown at Geneva, the unit which will remain property of Lamborghini. The three cars sold to customers each feature a single color of the Italian national flag, together a triology in green, white and red accents and thus representing each a unique piece.

 

The Technology

 

The Veneno is further proof of Automobili Lamborghini's unique competence in CFRP-based lightweight design. A monocoque made from carbon-fiber reinforced polymer forms the basis of the Veneno. It is largely similar to the Aventador monocoque - as are the aluminum sub-frames front and rear - although its form has been adapted to the new design. All exterior parts are made from CFRP. The Lamborghini Veneno meets all safety and registration requirements worldwide, and naturally also incorporates a full complement of safety systems from airbags through to the adapted ESP handling system.

 

Carbon fiber dominates the interior of the Lamborghini Veneno, too. The carbon fiber monocoque becomes visible inside the car in the area of the central tunnel and the sills. The two lightweight bucket seats are made from Lamborghini's patented Forged Composite. The woven carbon-fiber CarbonSkin® is used to clad the entire cockpit, part of the seats and the headliner. This unique material is soaked in a very special kind of resin that stabilizes the fiber structure, while allowing the material to remain supple. Like a hi-tech fabric, this extremely fine-looking carbon-fiber matting fits perfectly to any form, and it reduces weight.

 

The racing personality has been transferred also to the instrument panel. It has been completely redesigned and now, thanks to an aggressive graphics and to the introduction of some additional features like the G-meter, provides all necessary information to the driver for control of the car.

 

The systematic, carbon-fiber, lightweight design of the Lamborghini Veneno is not only visible, it is also evident on the scales: With a dry weight of just 1,450 kilograms (3,190 pounds), the Veneno is even 125 kilos (275 pounds) lighter than the already extremely lean Aventador. The highly beneficial power-to-weight ratio of 1.93 kg/hp (4,25 lbs/hp) guarantees a performance that is nothing short of mind-blowing. Even the stunning acceleration figure of 2,8 seconds cannot adequately describe it. Despite an aerodynamic setup configured for extreme downforce, the Veneno possesses exceptionally low wind resistance which allows it to reach a top speed of 355 km/h (221 mph).

 

The twelve-cylinder with a displacement of 6.5 liters is a thrilling combination of absolute high-revving frenzy and phenomenal pulling power. Its output has been raised to 552 kW / 750 hp, facilitated through enlarged intake paths, optimized thermodynamics, a slightly higher rated rpm and an exhaust system with even lower back pressure. The ISR manual gearbox, permanent all-wheel drive and pushrod suspension have all been specifically adjusted to meet the demands of the Lamborghini Veneno.

 

The Lamborghini Veneno celebrates its first public appearance at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The vehicle on show is the number 0, the Lamborghini test vehicle. Its future has not been determined yet, but it will allow Lamborghini to continue its activity of testing and innovation, both on the road and on the race track. The trilogy made of three unique vehicles will be produced in the course of the year 2013 and handed over to their future owners.

 

The Aggregate Stability Comparison display, (left) using two clear pipes with water, demonstrate the structural stability of healthy soil that has organic matter from cover crops and aeration created by worms and roots, verses soil that is mechanically tilled on a regular basis and falls apart in water, during the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS soil health demonstration event “The Bundled Benefits of Soil Health” on Thursday, September 18, 2014 in the People’s Garden,at the USDA headquarters, in Washington, D.C. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

The stability controls on these vehicles are amazing.

U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Davis

 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.

 

The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.

 

“The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”

 

The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.

 

“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.

 

Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.

 

“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.

 

African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.

 

“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.

 

U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.

 

“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.

 

He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.

 

“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.

 

“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.

 

“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.

 

He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.

 

“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.

 

Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.

 

Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.

 

“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.

 

He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.

 

“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.

 

“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.

 

“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.

 

“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”

 

The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.

 

“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.

 

“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.

 

Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.

 

“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.

 

“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.

 

“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.

 

“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.

 

“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?

 

“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.

 

Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.

 

“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.

 

Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.

 

“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”

 

“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.

 

“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.

 

“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”

 

The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.

 

“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.

 

“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.

 

“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.

 

Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.

 

“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.

 

“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.

 

“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.

 

“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.

 

“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.

 

Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.

 

“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.

 

“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.

 

“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.

 

“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.

 

Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.

 

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

 

U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Davis

 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.

 

The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.

 

“The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”

 

The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.

 

“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.

 

Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.

 

“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.

 

African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.

 

“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.

 

U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.

 

“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.

 

He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.

 

“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.

 

“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.

 

“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.

 

He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.

 

“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.

 

Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.

 

Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.

 

“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.

 

He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.

 

“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.

 

“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.

 

“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.

 

“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”

 

The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.

 

“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.

 

“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.

 

Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.

 

“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.

 

“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.

 

“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.

 

“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.

 

“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?

 

“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.

 

Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.

 

“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.

 

Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.

 

“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”

 

“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.

 

“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.

 

“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”

 

The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.

 

“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.

 

“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.

 

“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.

 

Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.

 

“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.

 

“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.

 

“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.

 

“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.

 

“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.

 

Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.

 

“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.

 

“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.

 

“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.

 

“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.

 

Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.

 

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

 

TWITTER users are being asked to #nameourpups as West Midlands Police turns to its social media followers to name a new litter of spaniels.

 

Nine Springer puppies – the force’s future search specialists – arrived safely at the Dog Unit’s Balsall Common base when mum Grace gave birth in the early hours December 8.

 

The three boys and six girls make up ‘O’ Litter which means all their names must begin with that letter – and followers of the @WMPolice Twitter feed are, for the first time, being asked what each should be called.

 

Suggestions using the hashtag #nameourpups must be tweeted in before December 28.

 

Breed Scheme Manager Dave Raymond, said: “These are the only spaniel pups born through our in-house breed and training scheme this year so it’s an exciting time for us…and we’d like Twitter users to join in the fun by helping come up with names.

 

“When it comes to naming puppies litters are like hurricanes: we go through the alphabet and each one must have a name beginning with that letter. And these little fellas, and girls, are O litter – so hopefully we’ll receive some novel, interesting O names that the pups can take through their police careers.

 

“The only other rule is that the name can’t be offensive or in anyway misinterpreted.”

 

Springer spaniels are trained by West Midlands Police as specialist search dogs – hunting for weapons, drugs, cash, stolen items or explosives – and the evidence they uncover is often crucial in securing court convictions.

 

The force runs the largest, most successful police dog breed scheme in the UK with more than 80 per cent of all dogs going through the training programme becoming operational. Any that don’t make the grade are sold as working dogs or given to good homes.

 

It’s also achieved Assured Breeder accreditation by the Kennel Club in recognition of its commitment to dog welfare.

 

Dave Raymond, added: “Brood bitches are selected for their exemplary search skills, stability, responsiveness and temperament…they have blood and eye tests to make sure they don’t pass on any hereditary conditions.

 

“Mum Grace was born into the breed scheme in August 2009. This is her second litter and, in line with Kennel Club guidelines, she’ll have no more than four in her lifetime and only one in any 12-month period. In between, she enjoys life at home with volunteers as a family pet.”

 

O Litter’s dad is West Midlands Police Dog Tom, a five-year-old explosives search specialist.

U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Davis

 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.

 

The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.

 

The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”

 

The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.

 

“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.

 

Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.

 

“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.

 

African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.

 

“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.

 

U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.

 

“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.

 

He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.

 

“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.

 

“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.

 

“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.

 

He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.

 

“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.

 

Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.

 

Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.

 

“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.

 

He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.

 

“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.

 

“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.

 

“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.

 

“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”

 

The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.

 

“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.

 

“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.

 

Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.

 

“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.

 

“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.

 

“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.

 

“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.

 

“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?

 

“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.

 

Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.

 

“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.

 

Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.

 

“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”

 

“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.

 

“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.

 

“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”

 

The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.

 

“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.

 

“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.

 

“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.

 

Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.

 

“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.

 

“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.

 

“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.

 

“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.

 

“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.

 

Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.

 

“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.

 

“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.

 

“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.

 

“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.

 

Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.

 

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

 

Stability, especially loaded.

International Monetary Fund Financial Economic Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department Tobias Adrian (C), Deputy Division Chief Evan Papageorgiou (L), Division Chief Anna Ilyina (2nd L), Deputy Director Fabio Natalucci,(2nd R) and Senior Communications Officer Randa Elnagar (R) hold a press conference on the Global Financial Stability Report at the IMF Headquarters during the 2019 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings, October 16, 2019 in Washington, DC. IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe

U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Davis

 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.

 

The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.

 

“The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”

 

The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.

 

“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.

 

Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.

 

“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.

 

African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.

 

“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.

 

U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.

 

“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.

 

He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.

 

“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.

 

“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.

 

“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.

 

He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.

 

“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.

 

Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.

 

Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.

 

“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.

 

He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.

 

“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.

 

“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.

 

“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.

 

“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”

 

The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.

 

“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.

 

“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.

 

Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.

 

“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.

 

“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.

 

“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.

 

“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.

 

“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?

 

“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.

 

Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.

 

“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.

 

Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.

 

“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”

 

“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.

 

“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.

 

“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”

 

The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.

 

“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.

 

“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.

 

“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.

 

Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.

 

“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.

 

“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.

 

“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.

 

“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.

 

“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.

 

Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.

 

“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.

 

“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.

 

“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.

 

“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.

 

Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.

 

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

 

Elephants - symbolise stability, patience and dignity, all essential qualities for maintaining a long term relationship. Elephants are known to partner for life (some experts believe)

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (griffin) is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. In 1979, the Swedish government began development studies for an aircraft capable of fighter, attack and reconnaissance missions to replace the Saab 35 Draken and 37 Viggen. The preferred aircraft was a single-engine, lightweight single-seater, embracing fly-by-wire technology, canards, and an aerodynamically unstable design. The powerplant selected was the Volvo-Flygmotor RM12, a license-built derivative of the General Electric F404−400; engine development priorities were weight reduction and lowering component count. A new design from Saab was selected and developed as the JAS 39, first flying in 1988.

 

The Gripen is a multirole fighter aircraft, intended as a lightweight and agile aerial platform with advanced, highly adaptable avionics. It has canard control surfaces that contribute a positive lift force at all speeds, while the generous lift from the delta wing compensates for the rear stabilizer producing negative lift at high speeds, increasing induced drag. It is capable of flying at a 70–80 degrees angle of attack.

Being intentionally unstable and employing digital fly-by-wire flight controls to maintain stability removes many flight restrictions, improves manoeuvrability and reduces drag. The Gripen also has good short takeoff performance, being able to maintain a high sink rate and strengthened to withstand the stresses of short landings. A pair of air brakes are located on the sides of the rear fuselage; the canards also angle downward to act as air brakes and decrease landing distance

 

To enable the Gripen to have a long service life, roughly 50 years, Saab designed it to have low maintenance requirements. Major systems such as the RM12 engine and PS-05/A radar are modular to reduce operating cost and increase reliability. The Gripen’s systems were designed to be flexible, so that newly developed sensors, computers and armaments could be easily integrated as technology advances. The aircraft was estimated to be roughly 67% sourced from Swedish or European suppliers and 33% from the US.

To market the aircraft internationally, Saab formed partnerships and collaborative efforts with overseas aerospace companies. One example of such efforts was Gripen International, a joint partnership between Saab and BAE Systems formed in 2001. Gripen International was responsible for marketing the aircraft, and was heavily involved in the successful export of the type to South Africa; the organisation was later dissolved amidst allegations of bribery being employed to secure foreign interest and sales. On the export market, the Gripen has achieved moderate success in sales to nations in Central Europe, South Africa and Southeast Asia.

 

The Swedish Air Force placed a total order for 204 Gripens in three batches. The first delivery of the JAS 39A/B (single seat and two seat variants) occurred on 8 June 1993, when aircraft “39102” was handed over to the Flygvapnet during a ceremony at Linköping. The final Batch three 1st generation aircraft was delivered to FMV on 26 November 2008, but in the meantime an upgraded Gripen variant, the JAS 39C/D already rolled off of the production lines and made the initial versions obsolete. The JAS C/D gradually replaced the A/B versions in the frontline units until 2012, which were then offered for export, mothballed or used for spares for the updated Swedish Gripen fleet.

 

A late European export customer became the nascent Republic of Scotland. According to a White Paper published by the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 2013, an independent Scotland would have an air force equipped with up to 16 air defense aircraft, six tactical transports, utility rotorcraft and maritime patrol aircraft, and be capable of “contributing excellent conventional capabilities” to NATO. Outlining its ambition to establish an air force with an eventual 2,000 uniformed personnel and 300 reservists, the SNP stated that the organization would initially be equipped with “a minimum of 12 interceptors in the Eurofighter/Typhoon class, based at Lossiemouth, a tactical air transport squadron, including around six Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules, and a helicopter squadron for transport and SAR duties”.

 

According to the document, “Key elements of air forces in place at independence, equipped initially from a negotiated share of current UK assets, will secure core tasks, principally the ability to police Scotland’s airspace, within NATO.” An in-country air command and control capability would be established within five years of a decision in favor of independence, it continued, with staff also to be “embedded within NATO structures”.

This plan was immediately set into action with the foundation of the Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm (Republic of Scotland Air Corps/RoScAC) after the country's independence from Great Britain in late 2017. For the fighter role, Scotland was offered refurbished F-16C and Ds from the USA, but this was declined, as the type was considered too costly and complex. An offer from Austria to buy the country’s small Eurofighter fleet (even at a symbolic price) was rejected for the same reason.

Eventually, and in order to build a certain aura of neutrality, Scotland’s young and small air arm initially received twelve refurbished, NATO-compatible Saab JAS 39 Gripen (ten single-seater and two two-seaters) as well as Sk 90 trainers from Swedish overstock. These second hand machines were just the initial step in the mid-term procurement plan, though.

 

Even though all Scottish Gripens (locally called “Grìbhean”, designated F.1 for the JAS 39A single seaters and F.2 for the fully combat-capable JAS 39B two-seaters, respectively) were multi-role aircraft and capable of strike missions, its primary roles were interception/air defense and, to a lesser degree, reconnaissance. Due to severe budget restrictions and time pressure, these aircraft were almost identical to the Flygvapnet’s JAS 39A/B aircraft. They used the PS-05/A pulse-Doppler X band multi-mode radar, developed by Ericsson and GEC-Marconi, which was based on the latter's advanced Blue Vixen radar for the Sea Harrier that also served as the basis for the Eurofighter's CAPTOR radar. This all-weather radar is capable of locating and identifying targets 120 km (74 mi) away and automatically tracking multiple targets in the upper and lower spheres, on the ground and sea or in the air. It can guide several beyond visual range air-to-air missiles to multiple targets simultaneously. Therefore, RoScAC also procured AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM as primary armament for its Grìbhean fleet, plus AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles.

 

The twelve Grìbhean F.1 and F.2s formed the RoScAC’s 1st fighter (Sabaid) squadron, based at former RAF base Lossiemouth. Upon delivery and during their first months of service, the machines retained the former Swedish grey paint scheme, just with new tactical markings. In 2018, the RoScAC fighter fleet was supplemented with brand new KAI/Lockheed Martin TA-50 ‘Golden Eagle’ armed trainers from South Korea, which could also take over interceptor and air patrol duties. This expansion of resources allowed the RoScAC to initiate an update program for the JAS 39 fleet. It started in 2019 and included in-flight refueling through a fixed but detachable probe, a EuroFIRST PIRATE IRST, enhanced avionics with elements from the Swedish JAS 39C/D, and a tactical datalink.

With these updates, the machines could now also be externally fitted with Rafael's Sky Shield or LIG Nex1's ALQ-200K ECM pods, Sniper or LITENING targeting pods, and Condor 2 reconnaissance pods to further improve the machine’s electronic warfare, reconnaissance, and targeting capabilities.

The aircraft’s designations did not change, though, the only visible external change were the additional IRST fairing under the nose, and the machines received a new tactical camouflage with dark green and dark grey upper surfaces, originally introduced with the RoScAC’s TA-50s. However, all Grìbhean F.1 single seaters received individual fin designs instead of the grey camouflage, comprising simple red and yellow fins, the Scottish flag (instead of the standard fin flash) and even a large pink thistle on a white background and a white unicorn on a black background.

 

Despite being 2nd hand aircraft, the Scottish JAS 39A and Bs are expected to remain in service until at least 2035.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: one

Length: 14.1 m (46 ft 3 in)

Wingspan: 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)

Height: 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)

Wing area: 30 m2 (320 sq ft)

Empty weight: 6,800 kg (14,991 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (30,865 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Volvo RM12 afterburning turbofan engine,

54 kN (12,000 lbf) dry thrust, 80.5 kN (18,100 lbf) with afterburner

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 2,460 km/h (1,530 mph, 1,330 kn)/Mach 2

Combat range: 800 km (500 mi, 430 nmi)

Ferry range: 3,200 km (2,000 mi, 1,700 nmi)

Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)

g limits: +9/-3

Wing loading: 283 kg/m2 (58 lb/sq ft)

Thrust/weight: 0.97

Takeoff distance: 500 m (1,640 ft)

Landing distance: 600 m (1,969 ft)

 

Armament:

1× 27 mm Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 120 rounds

8 hardpoints (Two under the fuselage, one of them dedicated to FLIR / ECM / LD / Recon pods plus

two under and one on the tip of each wing) with a capacity of 5 300 kg (11 700 lb)

  

The kit and its assembly:

Nothing spectacular – actually, this build is almost OOB and rather a livery what-if model. However, I had the plan to build a (fictional) Scottish Gripen on my agenda for some years now, since I started to build RoScAC models, and the “Back into service” group build at whatifmodlers.com in late 2019 was a good motivation to tackle this project.

 

The starting point was the Italeri JAS 39A kit, a rather simple affair that goes together well but needs some PSR on almost every seam. Not much was changed, since the model would depict a slightly updated Gripen A – the only changes I made were the additional IRST fairing under the nose, the ejection handle on the seat and a modified ordnance which consists of a pair of AIM-9L and AIM-120 (the latter including appropriate launch rails) from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapons set. The ventral drop tank is OOB.

  

Painting and markings:

The motivation a behind was actually the desire to build a Gripen in a different livery than the usual and rather dull grey-in-grey scheme. Therefore I invented a tactical paint scheme for “my” RoScAC, which is a modified RAF scheme from the Seventies with uppers surfaces in Dark Green (Humbrol 163) and Dark Sea Grey (164), medium grey flanks, pylons, drop tank and a (theoretically) grey fin (167 Barley Grey, today better known as Camouflage Grey) plus undersides in Light Aircraft Grey (166), with a relatively high and wavy waterline, so that a side or lower view would rather blend with the sky than the ground below. The scheme was designed as a compromise between air superiority and landscape camouflage and somewhat inspired by the many experimental schemes tested by the German Luftwaffe in the early Eighties. The Scottish TA-50 I built some years ago was the overall benchmark, but due to the Gripen’s highly blended fuselage/wing intersections, I just painted the flanks under the cockpit and the air intakes as well as a short portion of the tail section in Barley Grey. That’s overall darker than intended (esp. in combination with the fin decoration, see below), but anything grey above the wings would have looked awkward.

 

As a reminiscence of the late British F-4 Phantoms, which carried a grey low-viz scheme with bright fins as quick ID markings, I added such a detail to the Gripen, too – in this case in the form of a stylized Scottish flag on the fin, with some mild 3D effect. The shadow and light effects were created through wet-in-wet painting of lighter and darker shades into the basic blue (using Humbrol 25, 104 and ModelMaster French Blue). Later, the white cross was added with simple decal stripes, onto which similar light effects were added with white and light grey, too.

  

Even though this one looks similar to my Scottish TA-50, which was the first model to carry this paint scheme, I like the very different look of this Gripen through its non-all-grey paint scheme. It’s also my final build of my initial RoScAC ideas, even though I am now considering a helicopter model (an SAR SA 365 Dauphin, maybe?) in fictional Scottish markings, too.

U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Davis

 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.

 

The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.

 

“The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”

 

The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.

 

“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.

 

Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.

 

“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.

 

African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.

 

“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.

 

U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.

 

“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.

 

He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.

 

“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.

 

“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.

 

“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.

 

He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.

 

“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.

 

Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.

 

Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.

 

“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.

 

He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.

 

“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.

 

“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.

 

“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.

 

“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”

 

The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.

 

“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.

 

“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.

 

Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.

 

“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.

 

“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.

 

“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.

 

“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.

 

“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?

 

“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.

 

Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.

 

“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.

 

Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.

 

“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”

 

“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.

 

“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.

 

“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”

 

The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.

 

“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.

 

“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.

 

“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.

 

Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.

 

“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.

 

“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.

 

“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.

 

“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.

 

“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.

 

Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.

 

“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.

 

“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.

 

“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.

 

“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.

 

Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.

 

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

 

Hosts and guests of the U.S. AFRICOM C4ISR Senior Leader Conference tour a winery in the hills above Vicenza, Italy, Feb. 3, 2011.

 

U.S. Army Africa photo by David Ruderman

 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.

 

The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.

 

The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”

 

The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.

 

“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.

 

Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.

 

“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.

 

African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.

 

“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.

 

U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.

 

“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.

 

He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.

 

“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.

 

“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.

 

“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.

 

He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.

 

“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.

 

Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.

 

Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.

 

“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.

 

He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.

 

“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.

 

“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.

 

“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.

 

“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”

 

The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.

 

“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.

 

“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.

 

Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.

 

“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.

 

“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.

 

“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.

 

“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.

 

“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?

 

“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.

 

Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.

 

“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.

 

Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.

 

“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”

 

“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.

 

“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.

 

“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”

 

The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.

 

“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.

 

“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.

 

“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.

 

Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.

 

“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.

 

“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.

 

“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.

 

“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.

 

“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.

 

Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.

 

“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.

 

“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.

 

“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.

 

“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.

 

Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.

 

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

  

Financial Counselor and Director of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department Jose Vinals at the High Level Conference on Latin America “Rising Challenges to Growth and Stability in a Shifting Global Environment” on June 1, 2015 at International Monetary Fund Headquarters in Washington, DC. ©IMF Photo

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

BEWARE: nothing you see here is real, even though many conversions and their respective background stories were built upon historical facts.

 

The Messerschmitt Me 510 was a further development of the Me 410 Hornisse ("Hornet"), a German heavy fighter and Schnellbomber used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. The 410 itself had a troubled start, because it essentially had only been a straightforward modification of the Me 210, which had suffered from serious stability flaws and had a bad reputation among its crews.

 

The 410 handled better but did not show much improvement in performance, though. Me 410 deliveries began in January 1943, two years later than the original plan had called for, and continued until September 1944, by which point a total of 1.160 of all versions had been produced by Messerschmitt Augsburg and Dornier München. When it arrived, it was liked by its crews, even though its performance was not enough to protect it from the swarms of high performance allied fighters they faced.

 

Still not giving up on the original construction (and with the jigs and tools still available), Messerschmitt started in early 1944 with research into further means of improving the Me 410's performance. One direction was the addition of one or two jets under the fuselage as boosters for combat situations.

Another design path, which eventually led to the Me 510, was the development of turboprop and compound engines as propulsion options, which were based on the respective pure jet engines but offered much better performance and fuel economy than the pure jets. It would also be the more efficient solution compared to added turbojets for pure piston planes, since no dead weight had to be carried, and the overall system was less complex than a mixed powerplant system.

 

This turboprop concept, as best compromise between performance and short-term readiness for service, was chosen and the modified aircraft, called Messerschmitt Me 510, came to be. The design target was to outperform the Me 410 with as little change to the overall construction as possible, so that old tooling could be used for new aircraft cells. Alternatively, old aircraft should potentially be converted to the improved standard.

 

Core of the new development was the compact HeS 021 turboprop, a PTL development of the HeS 011 jet engine which was also planned for Focke Wulfs FW P.0310226-127 fighter (a turboprop version of the light 'Flitzer' day fighter). This engine was theoretically to deliver up to 3.300hp (2.426 kw) shaft output, plus 1.100kg (2.424 lb) additional thrust, even though serial types would produce less power under the aspect of reliability.

 

In order to incorporate this engine into the modified Me 410 a new main wing with laminar profile and new engine nacelles had to be designed. The HeS 021sat in the front part of the engine nacelles above the wings, driving four-bladed propellers. The landing gear retracted into the nacelle's lower section, rotating 90°, much like the Me 410, with the exhaust running above the landing gear wells.

 

In order to improve directional stability further, the tail surfaces were slightly enlarged, receiving characteristic, square tips. The fuselage was more or less taken from the original Me 410, since it offered a very good field of view and appropriate aerodynamics. With this package, the idea of retrofitting former Me 410 cells was kept, even though later flight tests showed that some more detail modifications had to be made. Most of these concerned the internal structures, the most obvious external change was the nose section, where the original glazing had to be reinforced and finally replaced by solid material – an experience similar to the modification from Douglas’ piston-driven XB-42 to the faster, jet-driven XB-43 of the same era.

 

Maiden flight of the first prototype took place in Augsburg on 6th of May 1945, with little problems. As benchmark, the Me 410's maximum speed was 625 km/h (388 mph), a cruise speed of 579 km/h (360 mph) and a combat range of 2.300 km (1,400 mi) with up to 1.000 kg (2,204 lbs) of disposable stores carried in- and externally.

 

The overall flying characteristics of the Me 410 did not change much, but rate of climb and top speed were considerably improved. In level flight, the third prototype Me 510 V3 reached a top speed of 812 km/h (504 mph), and even the serial version with added armament and equipment easily reached 750 km/h (465 mph) top speed and a cruising speed with no external stores of 650 km/h (405 mph). At its time, the Me 510, which quickly received the rather inofficial nickname "Bremse" (Horsefly), was superior to its pure piston engine and turbojet rivals, even though it was clear that the turboprop was only a preliminary solution.

 

Due to its high speed and under the pressure of Allied bomber raids, the Me 510 was primarily used as a Zerstörer against daylight bombers. Many aircraft received additional weapons, both directly incorporated at the factory but also as field accessories. Popular modifications included two extra 30mm guns (MK 108 or 103) in the bomb bay, or provisions for guided and unguided air to air missiles. A camera equipment package (Rüstsatz 'U3') allowed the fast aircraft to be used for daylight reconnaissance.

 

Many equipment packages from the earlier Me 410 could be fitted, too, including the massive 50mm BK 5 auto cannon against allied bomber groups. Initially, this package (‘U4’ Rüstsatz) comprised the original autocannon which fired at 45 RPM, with 21 shells in a drum magazine.

 

This weapon soon was replaced by the even more effective MK 214 B gun of 55mm caliber (Rüstsatz 'U5'). The BK 214 B fired at 180 RPM and proved to be a highly effective weapon at long ranges, outside of the bombers’ defensive armament range. As a drawback the heavy system (the gun plus the ammunition belt with 96 shells weighed 1.124 kg/2.475 lb) filled the whole internal bomb bay and precluded heavy external stores. Therefore, the 13mm machine guns in the nose were frequently removed in order to save weight, sometimes the weapons in the side barbettes, too. But: a single hit with one of the 1.54kg (3.4 lb) shells was enough to bring down a four-engined bomber, so that the fast Me 510 with this weapon became a serious threat in the course of late 1946.

  

510 general characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 42 ft (12,60 m)

Wingspan: 49 ft (14.69 m)

Height: 13 ft 1½ in (4.0 m)

Wing area: 480.11 ft² (44.78m²)

Empty weight: 10.665 lb (4.842 kg)

Loaded weight: 14.405 lb (6.540 kg)

Max. take-off weight: 18.678 lb (8.480 kg)

 

Maximum speed: 790 km/h (490 mph) at 7.200m (23.500 ft)

Range: 1.400 mi (2.300 km ) with full combat TOW

Service ceiling: 40.900 ft (12.500 m)

Rate of climb: 4.635 ft/min (23,6 m/s)

Wing loading: 29.8 lb/ft² (121.9 kg/m²)

Power/mass: 0.24 hp/lb (0.39 kW/kg)

 

Engine:

2× Heinkel-Hirth HeS 021 turboprop engines, 1.438 kW (2.500 hp) plus 980 kp (2.158 lb) residual thrust each

 

Armament: Varied, but typical basic equipment was:

2× 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons with 350 rpg, fixed in the nose

2× 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 500 rpg in the nose flanks

2× 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 500 rpg, each firing rearward from FDSL 131/1B remote-operated turret, one per side;

Up to 1.200 kg (2.643 lb) of disposable stores in- and externally

 

In the field, many modifications were made and several additional weapon packages with guns, guided and unguided missiles or special weapons were available (so-called ‘Rüstsätze’).

  

The kit and its assembly:

I am not certain when inspiration struck me for this fantasy aircraft - I guess it was when I tinkered together the Hü 324 whif, which was itself based on a 1:72 scale Il-28 bomber. When I browsed for a respective donation kit I also came across the 1:100 scale kit of the Soviet light bomber from Tamiya, and that stirred something: The Il-28's vintage contours would perfectly suit a Luft '46 aircraft, and with some calculations it was clear that the 1:100 wings would be suitable for something in the class of a 1:72 DH Mosquito or Bf 110. Then, the ill-fated Me 410 came to the scene as a potential late war basis aircraft, and from this starting point the idea of an evolutionary next step of the type, the Messerschmitt Me 510, was born.

 

Basically this model is a kitbashing of a Tamiya Il-28 in 1:100 (wings & engine nacelles) and the fuselage of a Matchbox Me 410. The IL-28's wings were turned upside down, so that the nacelles would now ride on the wings' top.

This not only looks cool and 'different', it's also plausible because the landing gear could retract into the wings under the nacelles (with the main landing gear doors closed, just like the original Me 410), it would also reduce the angle of the aircraft on the ground to a sensible degree - with the engines under the wings plus the landing gear would have been much to steep!

 

Fitting the wings to the fuselage was pretty easy, even though the original Me 410 wing profile was much thicker than the slender Il-28 wings. Cleaning and blending the wing root areas was a bit tricky, but the parts get together well.

 

As a design twist and for a uniform look I also replaced the whole tail section, matching the angular look of the thin new main wings. The horizontal stabilizers are wing tips from a Matchbox Me 262, the vertical fin is a modified outer wing part from a Matchbox Grumman Panther.

 

The engine nacelles were taken OOB. I just filled the Il-28's landing gear wells and their covers with putty, since they'd end on top of the new engines.

 

The propellers come from Matchbox P-51 Mustangs, outfitted with pointed spinners and held by a metal pin in a polystyrene tube which runs through the original intake splitter. Looks pretty martial, even though the nacelles ended up a bit close to the fuselage. The overall look reminds of the Short Sturgeon, but is not inplausible. A compact aircraft!

 

The cockpit received some side panels, news seats and some equipment, since the original Matchbox kit features almost nothing beyond a floor plate, two broad benches as seats and pilot figures. I also opened the cockpit hatches, since the aircraft would be built for ground display, with the landing gear extended.

 

From the original kit the BK 5 cannon installation was taken over, but I added a scratch-built, bigger muzzle brake. Since the aircraft was to become a high speed interceptor/Zerstörer for daylight operations, I did not add any further external ordnance.

  

Painting and markings:

I pondered about a potential livery for a long time. Almost any Me 410 was delivered in RLM 74/75/76 livery, and some at the Western front in France were operated in RLM 70/71/65, with a low waterline. But I found this pretty... boring. So I made up a fantasy livery which I found suitable for high altitude operations and based on my knowledge of late Luftwaffe paint scheme - pretty complex:

 

The aircraft was to be light in color, primarily camouflaged for aerial combat. I ended up with something that was planned as something that could have almost been called 'low-viz': all lower surfaces received a basic tone of RLM 76 (from Testors), with a raised waterline on all flanks. This light blue-grey would blend into a slightly darker FS 36320 on the higher flanks, almost up to the upper surfaces.

 

But in the end, the flanks received more spots than intended, and I ended up with a rather conservative livery - but it ain't bad at all. But so it goes...

 

The upper wing surfaces received a wavy scheme in RLM 71 (Drak Green) and 75 (Middel Grey). These are not typical late war colors, I rather used them due to the lighter shades. On the fuselage, just the fuselage crest was painted with more or less dense blotches of these tones, blending into more patches of RLM 02 on the flanks.

 

To add some more unconventional detail, the fuselage sides and undersides also received large, cloudy patches of RLM 77 - a very light grey. This detail was featured on some late-war He 177 bombers, but you can hardly tell these extra blotches because they have only little contrast to the RLM 76.

 

The tail fin was painted all white - a formation sign for a squadron leader, typical for German late WWII fighters. The black and white fuselage stripe is the ID of Jagdgeschwader 26 (which operated Fw 190D-9 from airfields in northern Germany, Flensburg was one of them), the red number abd the "+" code identify the machine as being part of the eighth Staffel.

 

In the end, a very subtle whif. The new engines are most obvious, and they change the look of the Me 410 dramatically. But only on second glance you recognize the other changes. The new wings/stabilizers with their square-shaped tips create a very slender and elegant look, the aircraft just looks fast and agile like a true heavy fighter should. Mission accomplished!

Building Strong States, Economies & Societies in the Western Balkans -

 

President Josipovic, distinguished guests, thank you for inviting me to speak to you this morning as part of this important forum for discussing Southeastern Europe. I am delighted to be back in the beautiful city of Dubrovnik. I am pleased to be joined here by Congressmen Gallegly, Green and Long as well as so many prime ministers and foreign ministers from across Europe and the Mediterranean region.

 

I arrived last night from Paris, where I accompanied Secretary Clinton to the third meeting of the Friends of the Syrian People. She asked me to send her warmest regards to all her counterparts here, and to carry a strong message of support from the United States for your efforts to advance stability, democracy and prosperity in this region.

 

As you all know – particularly those who were also in Paris yesterday – we are facing a world filled with complex challenges. In addition to Syria, we are preparing for transition in Afghanistan, working to hold Iran accountable to its international commitments, assisting ongoing reform efforts across North Africa, and wrestling with a global financial crisis. This doesn’t lessen U.S. interest in the Balkans, a part of the world where we have invested so much and have so many friends and interests. Indeed, this weekend’s summit provides a welcome opportunity to reaffirm American commitment to ensuring the full integration of this region into Europe. However, it does mean that regional leaders will have to do even more to ensure that the Balkans do not fall behind or off the radar screens. We want strong, stable, democratic and prosperous partners who can help us address these global challenges. But that means overcoming the divisions, narrow nationalism, and inflexible economies that have no place in the 21st century.

 

I first attended this summit in July 2009, along with then Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg. In the three years since then, the countries of Southeastern Europe have made tangible progress in a number of key areas. Croatia completed its membership negotiations with the European Union. We are delighted that Croatia will become the EU’s newest member next year and hope for timely ratification by all EU members before July 2013. Serbia and Montenegro have become EU candidate countries. Montenegro, only six years after obtaining independence, was just invited to begin EU accession negotiations, and has joined NATO’s Membership Action Plan. Bosnia and Herzegovina also was invited to join MAP, and needs only to register defense property under state ownership in order to activate its membership. NATO reaffirmed at the Chicago Summit that Macedonia can join the Alliance as soon as its name dispute is resolved. And Secretary Clinton reaffirmed her conviction that NATO’s door must remain open to those aspirants, including several who are represented here this morning, who make the needed reforms and are in a position to contribute to our common security.

 

Another indicator of progress is the extent to which Balkan countries have joined with our EU and NATO partners to become providers rather than consumers of security. Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro all have troops serving alongside American and European soldiers in Afghanistan. Last fall, a small group of Adriatic Charter country trainers deployed together – exhibiting a degree of military-to-military cooperation that would have been unimaginable a decade ago. And we appreciate these countries’ commitments to help sustain the Afghan National Security Forces after NATO concludes its combat mission in 2014.

 

I also want to acknowledge the progress made between Kosovo and Serbia. While much more needs to be done, the very fact that the two countries began sitting down together across a negotiating table is itself a step toward the recognition that the only way forward is reconciliation. Agreement was reached on important issues such as cross-border freedom of movement, a customs stamp, recognition of university diplomas, and a range of other issues. We look forward to full implementation of these agreements.

 

More work needed

 

While we applaud the considerable efforts across the region to overcome past enmity and reform dysfunctional institutions, we have also seen disappointing setbacks and frustrating intransigence. Clearly more must be done before the whole of Southeastern Europe can be considered fully integrated into the Euro-Atlantic community. Let me be frank about how the United States views the current challenges and opportunities in the countries of the region.

 

Croatia

 

Croatia has become a true leader in the region, as its rapid political reform process led to early membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions. Croatia’s success demonstrates the possibility of progress, albeit with hard work and sacrifice, to advance the interests of its citizens. As Secretary Clinton said last June following the completion of accession talks, “Croatia has shown by example that European and Euro-Atlantic integration is not only a worthy goal – but is also attainable – for all Western Balkan countries.” The momentum resulting from Croatia’s transition should be cultivated as a model throughout the region. Croatia’s success after many years should demonstrate to other candidate countries that for all the talk of “enlargement fatigue”, the EU’s Open Door really is open – reform your economies, reconcile with neighbors, meet democracy and human rights standards, and you will ultimately join the Union.

 

Despite these achievements, we trust that Croatia will not rest on its laurels but continue its efforts to strengthen the rule of law – especially on prosecution of official corruption and remaining war crimes cases – and make necessary reforms to its business and investment climate.

 

Montenegro

 

Montenegro has made solid progress toward NATO membership and recently opened EU accession negotiations. The country has also made important improvements in the areas of democratic governance, rule of law and media freedom. However, the fight against corruption and organized crime at all levels of society must continue to be addressed by Podgorica.

 

Albania

 

Albania quickly adopted necessary reforms to join NATO. However, the two year political stalemate in the parliament after the 2009 elections has delayed progress toward EU candidacy status. While the opposition’s boycott of parliament has formally ended, lack of political will has prevented the conclusion of parliamentary and electoral reforms. The process by which the parliament elected a new president was a lost opportunity to demonstrate the sort of political consensus that helped Albania gain NATO membership. Such a zero-sum approach to politics is hindering progress on EU integration, as well as internal stability and economic development. After this lengthy period of stasis, it is time for political leaders to move past personal squabbles and brinksmanship in order to make tangible progress on the reform agenda.

 

Macedonia

 

Macedonia’s name dispute with Greece continues to thwart its aspirations for NATO membership and the start of EU accession talks. We were disappointed that NATO was unable to welcome Macedonia at the Chicago Summit. But as NATO is a consensus organization, Macedonia and Greece must first resolve their bilateral disagreement before the Alliance can fulfill the membership offer extended at the Bucharest Summit. The U.S. supports the ongoing UN process on this issue and will embrace any mutually acceptable solution that emerges.

 

The United States has invested heavily in Macedonia’s success, supporting the growth of civil society and strong democratic institutions as well as efforts to institutionalize principles of diversity and inclusion throughout government and society. Although Macedonia has made progress in inter-ethnic relations, we are alarmed by signs of growing tensions between communities. We also remain troubled by developments that affect the independence of the judiciary and the media. We have encouraged the government to redouble its efforts to implement the letter and spirit of the Ohrid Framework Agreement.

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina

 

When I spoke at a conference in Sarajevo last June, I said that Bosnia and Herzegovina could only move forward if leaders made progress in three areas: government formation, respect for state institutions and the Dayton Framework, and governmental reform.

 

The country appeared to be getting back on track earlier this year after a 16 month political stalemate with the formation of a government and adoption of key laws needed to advance its Euro-Atlantic integration. However, there have been troubling signs of regression in recent weeks. Narrow personal and political agendas as well as attempts to stoke ethnic fears are again impeding progress on necessary reforms. Ongoing efforts to reshuffle the state and federation governments are an unwelcome distraction from the economic and political priorities – including EU and NATO membership – that all of the main political parties profess to support.

 

Work needs to resume immediately on meeting the requirements necessary for submitting a credible EU candidacy application and beginning NATO’s Membership Action Plan this year. In order for Bosnia to keep pace with positive developments elsewhere in the region, it must also be able to function as a state that can deliver results for all its citizens.

 

Rhetoric challenging Bosnia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity continues to raise doubts about whether Republika Srpska’s leaders are truly committed to the Dayton Agreement and EU integration. The U.S. strongly supports a framework of one state, two entities, and three constituent peoples. Republika Srpska is, and must remain, a constituent part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

As we approach the 17th anniversary of Srebrenica, let me be clear: given the well-documented record of atrocities and war crimes, historical revisionism where the victims are to blame will not succeed and cannot be tolerated. Regardless of ethnicity, whoever wins Srebrenica’s election in October will have an obligation to respect the memories of the victims and promote reconciliation for all of Srebrenica’s current residents.

 

Kosovo and Serbia

 

Finally, let me turn to Kosovo and Serbia. The United States strongly supports the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of both countries. We were encouraged by the EU’s decision earlier this year to grant candidate status to Serbia, as well as to give Kosovo a roadmap toward visa liberalization and undertake a Feasibility Study for a Stabilization and Association Agreement. In addition, we welcomed the progress made by the two sides as part of the EU-facilitated Dialogue. Despite significant domestic political criticism, leaders reached agreements on a range of issues affecting people’s daily lives. Now we look forward to the full implementation of these agreements.

 

Our position on the way forward, which has been developed in cooperation with the EU and NATO, is clear: we expect to see Kosovo and Serbia continue to move toward normalizing relations. Neither we nor the EU expect Serbia to recognize Kosovo at this point – it won’t. However, Serbia will have to come to terms with the reality of a democratic, sovereign, independent, multi-ethnic Kosovo with its current borders. We can and will help with this process. To that end, Belgrade must end its support for the illegal parallel security and judicial structures in northern Kosovo and ensure freedom of movement for all. In addition, Belgrade should not block efforts by Kosovo to implement decentralization measures that will give people living there a normal life for the first time in 13 years. Partition is not an option: neither for Serbia and Kosovo nor for any other country represented here today.

 

We welcome statements by Serbian President Nikolic regarding his desire to maintain Serbia’s path toward the EU and to implement in full the agreements reached in the Dialogue. We hope to build a constructive relationship with the new president and his new administration.

 

Turning to Kosovo specifically, the country has considerably strengthened its political institutions over the last four years. Having weathered a series of tests to the stability of its constitutional order, Kosovo needs to continue the hard work of building a cohesive state and developing its multi-ethnic, democratic institutions. A vital part of this process includes ensuring respect for the rights of all of Kosovo’s communities – including Kosovo Serbs – and the preservation of their cultural and religious heritage. In addition, Kosovo should continue improving its governance while also tackling unemployment, barriers to investment, corruption and organized crime. We look forward to Kosovo fulfilling the final steps needed to end supervised independence later this year.

 

Conclusion

 

In closing, let me mention a final over-arching challenge: the global financial crisis. We all know that economic forces are transforming foreign policy realities. The political reforms of the Arab Spring were sparked by the desperate act of a fruit seller; governments across Europe have been toppled by the negative impact of the downturn on voters; and countries are gaining influence due to the growth of their economies rather than the size of their militaries.

 

There is no doubt that the outstanding political issues that I’ve just outlined are exacerbated by the poor economic situation that is affecting the entire Euro-Atlantic community. However, rather than motivating Balkan leaders to concentrate on these domestic challenges, the crisis has led to a worrying increase in nationalist rhetoric and the re-emergence of chauvinism as a political rallying point.

 

Instead of wasting time on pan-nationalist pursuits and inflammatory speechifying, political leaders should be focused on explaining the necessity of hard reforms and then making those reforms - particularly on rule of law issues - to promote a stable investment climate. Foreign investors have a wide range of options and will continue to bypass countries plagued by corruption, weak state structures and political instability. By strengthening their economies as well as their political institutions, western Balkan countries will become the kind of democratic, prosperous and capable allies that we need in the Euro-Atlantic community in order to confront today’s pressing global challenges.

 

The United States, in close partnership with the European Union, still has an important role to play in completing the ‘unfinished business’ of Europe. And we remain committed to staying the course. However, the main responsibility falls on regional actors. Local political leaders must be willing to move past ethnic divisions and personal interests to focus on delivering the genuine reforms and compromises demanded by their citizens. We need partners who share this vision, who are prepared to put the interests of the people ahead of their own, and who are willing to compromise for the greater good. The international community cannot want progress and reform more than the leaders of this region do.

****************

  

Remarks

Philip H. Gordon

Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs

Remarks at the Croatia Summit 2012

 

Dubrovnik, Croatia

 

July 7, 2012

 

------------------------------------------------------

As Prepared for Delivery

   

A view looking northwest over floating bridge construction near Medina.

Oesterreichische Nationalbank

Logo of the Austrian National Bank

Headquarters Vienna, Austria

Central Bank of Austria

Currency€

To ISO 4217 EUR

website

www.oenb.at/

Previous Austro- Hungarian Bank

List of Central Banks

Oesterreichische Nationalbank, at Otto-Wagner -Platz No. 3, Vienna

The Austrian National Bank (OeNB), Austria's central bank as an integral part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Eurosystem. It is instrumental in the design of the economic development in Austria and in the euro area. Legally, the OeNB is a public limited company.. However, it is also subject to further enshrined in the National Bank Act regulations resulting from its separate position as a central bank. In the framework of the Eurosystem, the OeNB contributes to a stability-oriented monetary policy. At the national level, it cares about the preservation of financial stability and the money supply and manage foreign exchange reserves to hedge against the euro in times of crisis. The guideline values in terms of the tasks of the Austrian National Bank are "security, stability and trust".

Contents

1 History

1.1 1816 to 1818

1.2 1818 to 1878

1.3 1878 to 1922

1.4 1922 to 1938

1.5 1938 to 1945

1.6 1945 to 1998

1.7 From 1999

2 The OeNB as a modern central bank

3 Legal form and organs

3.1 Legal framework

3.2 organs

3.2.1 General

3.2.2 General

3.2.3 Board of Directors

4 Tasks

4.1 Monetary policy strategies and monetary policy decision-making process

4.1.1 Economic analysis

4.1.2 Production of statistical information

4.1.3 Contribute to international organizations

4.2 Implementation of monetary policy

4.2.1 use of monetary policy instruments

4.2.2 Reserve Management

4.2.3 Money Supply

4.3 Communication of monetary policy

4.4 ensure financial stability

4.4.1 Financial Stability

4.4.2 Payment System Stability and payments

5 The OeNB in the European System of National Banks

6 President / Governors

7 See also

8 Literature

9 links

10 Notes and references

History

1816-1818

As long as 50 years before the founding of the National Bank the Habsburgs carried out first experiments with securities in the form of paper money. Finally, in the 18th Century the issue of banknotes transferred to a state independent institution, while the issue of paper money called "Banco notes," founded in 1705 by the "Vienna City Bank" took place in 1762.

In wartime governance took back control of the money issue, so there was an inflation of Banco-Zettel 1796-1810. The state ordered the forced acceptance of paper money in private transport, which led to a fast-growing discount on bills in the market. 1799 was therefore one for 100 guilders paper money only 92 guilders in silver coins, and at the end of 1810 the value of the paper florin had fallen to 15 % of the nominal value of the Banco-Zettel. Later, the Habsburgs declared a devaluation of the Banco-Zettel in the ratio of 5:1. This act was considered by the business community as a sovereign default, which the paper money experienced a rapid devaluation.

At the end of the Napoleonic wars the Habsburg multinational state ( → Habsburg Monarchy) faced a new challenge: the restoration of a European balance. Church, the nobility, the army and the bureaucracy as elements in the Ancien Régime were not sufficient to solve this problem, a well -founded economic situation was needed. Moreover, one could not ignore readily the laws of supply and demand.

In this regard, were the first June 1816 by Emperor Francis I two patents issued (later to distinguish the "main patent" or "bank patent"), the "privileged Austrian National Bank", conceived as a public company, had to constitute itself as soon a possible, propose the emperor three of its directors for selection of the governor and take up their activity provisionally on 1 July 1816.

The National Bank had henceforth a monopoly on the issuance of paper money, which led to a slowdown in the Austrian monetary system and an increase in the value of paper money. The economy was again a solid source of money keeping constant the value of money regardless of the spending plans of the State. The equity of the Bank justified this by share issues.

Initially comprised the activities of the bank - under temporary management - the redemption of paper money and the issuance of shares. The full effectiveness attained the National Bank until after the issue of 1,000 shares and the associated possibility of shareholders to set the management themselves.

1818-1878

On 15 July 1817 recieved the National Bank as the "first Bankprivilegium" the exclusive right to unrestricted issue of banknotes and in this context a special position in terms of Rediskontgeschäfts (rediscount business). Beginning of 1818 the definitive bank management was ready. Part of it were among leading figures of Viennese society, including the banker Johann Heinrich von Geymüller and Bernard of Eskeles. From 1830 to 1837 the Office of the Governor was held by Adrian Nicholas Baron Barbier.

In the countries of the Habsburg Monarchy, which were characterized in large part by an agricultural oriented activity pattern, some regions showed a lively commercial-industrial growth. The goal now was to create a system of economic exchange between these areas. Successively established the National Bank branch network and thus guaranteed a uniform money and credit supply. From its headquarters in Vienna this network extended over early industrial areas and commercial centers in Eastern and Central Europe to the northern Mediterranean.

Trade bills and coins were preferred assets of the National Bank, less the supply of money to the state. With the exchange transactions, the National Bank supported the economic growth of the monarchy and secured at the same time the supply of silver coins in the event that the need for these increases in exchange for bank notes, contrary to expectations. 1818 was the National Bank, however, by increasing public debt, due to high spending in times of crisis, not spared to make an increase in the government debt positions on the asset side of its balance sheet.

The patent provisions of the founding of the National Bank not sufficiently secured against the autonomy of governance. At the center of the struggle for independence, this was the question of the extent to which the issue of banknotes must be made on the basis of government bonds. In 1841, a renewal of Bankprivilegiums got a weakening of the independence by pushing back the influence of the shareholders in favor of the state administration. During the revolution of 1848/49 followers of constitutional goals received great support from senior figures in the National Bank. For about a hundred years, the Austrian branch of the Rothschild bank (from which from 1855, the "Royal Privileged Austrian Credit-Institute for Commerce and Industry", the later Creditanstalt, was born) was playing a leading role in the banking center of Vienna. Salomon Mayer von Rothschild was involved during the pre-March in all major transactions of the National Bank for the rehabilitation of the state budget.

Special focus the National Bank was putting on the development of the premium that was payable at the exchange of banknotes into silver money in business dealings. The increase, which corresponded to a depreciation of the notes issued by the Bank should be prevented. From an overall state perspective, the increase of the silver premium means a deterioration in terms of the exchange ratio towards foreign countries, influencing the price competitiveness of the Austrian foreign trade adversely. The stabilization of the premium were set some limits. Although the height of the emission activitiy was depending on the Bank, but also the price of silver and the potential effects of increased government debt materially affected the silver premium. Especially the 1848 revolution and conflicts in the following years caused an increasement of the silver premium.

Mid-century, the private banking and wholesale houses were no longer able to cope with the rapidly growing financial intermediation of the Habsburg monarchy. New forms of capital formation were required. From an initiative of the House of Rothschild, the first by the government approved and private joint-stock bank was created. This formation was followed in 1863 and 1864 by two other joint-stock banks, whose major shareholders included important personalities of the aristocracy, who possessed large liquid funds. Overall, grew with these banks the money creation potential of the "financial center of Vienna".

The central bank faced another difficult task: with its limited resources it had to secure sufficient liquidity on the one hand and on the other hand prevent the inflationary expansion of the money supply. Through close contacts with the shareholders of Vienna was a financial center (informal) ballot, especially in times of crisis, easily dealt out. In contrast, it gave differences of opinion in the Fed Board, which required enforcement of decisions.

In 1861, Friedrich Schey Koromla became director of the National Bank. On 27 December 1862 experienced the Bankprivilegium another innovation. The independence of the National Bank of the State was restored and anchored. Furthermore, was introduced the direct allocation of banknotes in circulation by the system of "Peel'schen Bank Act", which states that the fixed budget of 200 million guilders exceeding circulation of banknotes must be covered by silver coins. In 1866, when the German war ended in defeat for Austria, the compliance of the system was no longer met. The state felt itself forced to pay compensation for breach of privilege. This balance was supported by a law of 1872, after the National Bank may issue notes up to a maximum of 200 million guilders and each additional payment must be fully backed by gold or silver.

1873 the economic boom of the Habsburg monarchy was represented in a long-lasting rise in the share price. A now to be expecting break could by the behavior of the Vienna Stock not be intercepted, so it came to the "Great Crash of 1873". The in 1872 fixed restrictions of the circulation of notes for a short time have been suspended. Contrary to expectations, the money supply in crisis peak but only outgrew by nearly 1% the prescribed limit in the bank acts. The banks and the industrial and commercial companies survived the crash without major losses, although the share prices significantly lay below the initial level.

The years with high growth were followed by a period of stagnation.

1878-1922

As part of the compensation negotiations between Austria and Hungary in 1867, the National Bank was able to exercise fully their Privilegialrechte, the Kingdom of Hungary but now had the certified right, every ten years exercisable, to found an own central bank (bank note). As resulted from the first 10 -year period that furthermore none of the two parts of the monarchy wanted to build an independent money-issuing bank (Zettelbank), was built on 28 June 1878, initially to 31 December 1887 limited, an Austro-Hungarian Bank, and equipped with the Fed privilege. The first privilege of the new bank was a compromise in which on the one hand, regulations on liability for national debts as well as regulations limiting the influence of the government on banking businesses were included. 1878 Gustav Leonhardt was Secretary of the Bank.

The General Assembly and the General Council formed the unit of the bank management. Two directorates and major institutions - in Vienna and Budapest - represented the dual nature of the bank. 1892-1900 followed a long discussion finally the currency conversion from guilders (silver currency) to the crown (gold standard) with "Gold Crown" said coins.

Since the new banknotes were very popular in the public, now many gold coins piled up in the vaults of the Austro-Hungarian Bank. This period was characterized by a balanced combination of price growth and damping, the "per capita national product" grew while prices remained mostly stable. Against this background, it was easy for the Fed to encourage a new wave of industrialization.

With a third privilege in 1899 conditions were established under which the bank could be put into the financial services of the two countries, on the other hand there have been important innovations that paved a good exchange policy. By 1914, the exchange ratio of the Austro-Hungarian currency was unchanged with only minor fluctuations. In contrast, was the by conflicts marked political development.

The expansive foreign policy quickly led to high costs from which had to be shouldered by the central bank a significant part. The stability of the currency was in danger. Shortly after the beginning of World War I in 1914, laid down the Military Command to indemnify any seized property with double the price. There was an increasing scarcity of goods, connected with an ongoing expansion of the money supply and finally the increase in the price level on the 16-fold.

The resulting cost of the war of the Dual Monarchy were covered to 40% on central bank loans and 60% through war bonds. Over the duration of the war, the power force built up in recent decades has been frozen at the end of the conflict in 1918, the real income of the workers had fallen to one-fifth of the last year of peace.

With the end of the war the end for the old order had come, too. The decay of Cisleithania and Transleithania caused in several successor states, despite the efforts of the central bank to maintain the order, a currency separation (see Crown Currency in the decay of the monarchy, successor states). First, a separate "Austrian management" of the bank was introduced. It was encouraged to shoulder the shortcomings of the state budget of the Republic of Austria founded in 1918.

The new South Slav state began in January 1919 stamping its crown banknotes. The newly founded Czechoslovak Republic retained the crown currency (to date), but their printed banknotes in circulation as of February 1919 with indications that now these ar Czechoslovak crowns. (The country could an inflation as experienced by Austria avoide.) In March 1919, German Austria began to stamp its crown banknotes.

The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye of 10 September 1919, by Austria on 25 October 1919 ratified and which on 16 July 1920 came into force, determined the cancellation and replacement of all crown banknotes of all successor states of Austria-Hungary as well as the complete liquidation of the Austro-Hungarian Bank under the supervision of the war winners. The last meetings of the Bank took place mid 1921 and at the end of 1922.

After a period of overvaluation of the crown the dollar rate rose from 1919 again. 1921, had to be paid over 5,000 Austrian crowns per dollar. In addition to the significant drop in the external value existed in Austria rising inflation. End of 1922 was ultimately a rehabilitation program with foreign assistance - the "Geneva Protocol" - passed which slowed down the inflation.

1922-1938

With Federal Law of 24 July 1922 the Minister of Finance was commissioned to build a central bank, which had to take over the entire note circulation plus current liabilities of the Austrian management of the Austro-Hungarian Bank. With Federal Law of 14 November 1922, certain provisions of the law were amended and promulgated the statutes of the Austrian National Bank. By order of the Federal Government Seipel I 29 December 1922, the Board of the Austrian Austro-Hungarian Bank issued authorization for the central bank union activity with 1 January 1923 have been declared extinct and was made ​​known the commencement of operations of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank this day.

The statutes of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) secured the independence from the state, the independence of the Bank under exclusion of external influences and the corresponding equity. First, the stabilization of the Austrian currency was at the forefront. With the Schilling Act of 20 December 1924 was the schilling currency (First Republic) with 1 Introduced in March 1925, it replaced the crown currency. For 10,000 crowns now you got a shilling.

As an important personality in terms of the order of the state budget, Dr. Victor Kienböck has to be mentioned. He was in the time from 1922 to 1924 and from 1926 to 1929 finance minister of the First Republic and from 1932 to 1938 President of the Austrian National Bank. Through his work remained the Austrian Schilling, also beyound the global economy crisis, stable. Under this condition, the Fed was able to cope with the large number of bank failures of the past.

1938-1945

According to the on 13th March issued Anschlussgesetz (annexation law) , the Reichsmark with order of the Fuehrer and Chancellor of 17 was March 1938 introduced in the country Austria and determines the course: A Reichsmark is equal to one shilling fifty pence. On the same day, the Chancellor ordered that the management of the to be liquidated National Bank was transferred to the Reichsbank.

With regulation of three ministers of the German Reich of 23 April 1938, the National Bank was established as a property of the Reichsbank and its banknotes the quality as legal tender by 25 April 1938 withdrawn; public funds had Schilling banknotes until 15th of may in 1938 to accept. All the gold and foreign exchange reserves were transferred to Berlin.

The Second World War weakened the Austrian economy to a great extent, the production force after the war corresponded to only 40% of that of 1937 (see also air raids on Austria). To finance the war, the Reichsbank brought to a high degree banknotes in circulation, which only a great victory of the kingdom (Reich) actual values ​​would have been opposable. Since prices were strictly regulated, inflation virtually could be "banned" during the war.

1945-1998

In occupied postwar Austria about 10 billion shillings by Allied military occupying powers were initially printed, which contributed to significant price increases.

With the re-establishment of the Republic of Austria by the Austrian declaration of independence of 27 April 1945, it came to the resumption of activities of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank. By the "Fed Transition Act" of July 1945 preliminary legal regulations for the operations of the Bank have been established. The restoration of the Austrian currency was their first big job. The goal was the summary of all currencies, which at the time were in circulation, and their secondment to a new Austrian currency. The "Schilling Act" of November 1945, the basis for the re-introduction of the Schilling (Second Republic) as legal tender in Austria. The next step was to reduce excess liquidity to make necessary funds for new business investment available and to make the external value of the shilling for the development of the economy competitive. First, however, less changed the inflationary situation and also the shilling was still significantly undervalued in relation to other currencies.

The "Currency Protection Act" of 1947 brought a significant change in the monetary overhang. Some deposits have been deleted without replacement, others converted into claims against the Federal Treasury. The following exchange operations also significantly reduced the amount of cash: banknotes from 1945 were canceled and exchanged for new schilling notes in the ratio 1:3. Only 150 shillings per person could go 1-1.

To control inflation, the social partners came to the foreground. The associations of employers and employees set in 1947 prices for supplies, wages were also raised. This was the first of the five "wage-price agreements" of the social partners. In 1952, inflation was held back by limiting the use of monetary policy instruments by the National Bank. Also, the external sector slowly relaxed after the end of the Korean War.

In 1955, the Austrian National Bank was re-established by the new National Bank Act as a corporation and the by the National Bank Transition of Authorities Act (Nationalbank-Überleitungsgesetz) established provisional arragement abolished. The National Bank Act stipulated that each half of the capital should be situated at the federal government and private shareholders. In addition to the independence of bank loans of the state, the new National Bank Act also contained an order that the central bank must watch within their monetary and credit policies on the economic policies of the federal government. From now on also included within the instruments of the National Bank were the areas open market and minimum reserve policy.

The Austrian economy increasingly stabilized, through good fiscal and monetary policy a high growth could be attained, with low inflation and long-term maintenance of external equilibrium.

1960, Austria joined the European Free Trade Association and participated in the European integration.

In the sixties came the international monetary system based on gold-dollar convertibility into currency fluctuations and political reforms were necessary. First, the loosening of exchange rate adjustments between several states was an option. However, U.S. balance of payments problems brought with it restrictions on capital movements, and then the Euro-Dollar market was born. In 1971, the convertibility of the U.S. dollar was lifted.

1975 interrupted a recession increasing growth time. International unbalanced ayments caused very extensive foreign exchange movements, whereby the intervention force of Austrian monetary policy has been strongly challenged. Their task now was to control the effect of foreign exchange on domestic economic activities to stabilize the shilling in the context of constantly shifting exchange rates and to control the price rise appropriately. Since the inflow of foreign funds reached to high proportions, so that the economic stability has been compromised, the policy went the way of the independent course design in a pool of selected European currencies.

The collapse of the economy forced the policy makers to a new course with active mutual credit control, subdued wage growth, financial impulses in supply and demand, and interest rates are kept low. This system of regulation, however, kept back the need for structural change, so it had to be given up in 1979. In the same year a fire destroyed large parts of the main building of the Austrian National Bank in Vienna. The repairs lasted until 1985.

Target in the eighties was to strengthen the economic performance using a competitive power comparison. The findings from the seventies stimulated the Austrian monetary policy to align the Schilling course at the Deutsche Mark to ensure price stability in the country. In addition, the structural change was initiated by inclusion in a large area. Stable, if not necessarily comfortable environment of monetary policy was a prerequisite, to secure the companies long-term productivity gains and thus safeguard their position in the economy.

Initially, this development stood a high level of unemployment in the way. Growth until the second half of the decade increased, at the same time increased the competitiveness and current accounts could be kept in balance.

In the nineties, the annexation of Austria took place in the European Community. 1995 Austria became a member of the European Union (EU) and joined the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System. In 1998, the Central Banks (ESCB) have established the independence of institutions or bodies of the European Community and the governments of the EU Member States through an amendment to the National Bank Act of the Austrian National Bank to implement the goals and tasks of the European System. Thus, the legal basis for the participation of Austria in the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was created in 1999.

As of 1999

The Austrian National Bank, and other national central banks including the European Central Bank ( ECB), belongs to the European System of Central Banks.

On 1 January 1999 was introduced in the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union in Austria and ten other EU Member States, the euro as a common currency. The European Central Bank is henceforth responsible for monetary and currency policy, decisions in this regard will be taken in accordance with the Council of the European Central Bank.

Since May 2010, the OeNB is in full possession of the Republic of Austria, after originally lobbies, banks and insurance companies were involved with 50 % of the share capital in it. In 2011, the National Bank Act was adapted by an amendment (Federal Law Gazette I No. 50 /2011) in this circumstance, a renewed privatization is thus excluded by law.

The OeNB as a modern central bank

With the withdrawal from the retail business in the sixties as well as the first major internationalization and implementation of a strategic management in the seventies, the OeNB went on the way to a future-oriented central bank. Another major reform of banking began at the end of the eighties.

In terms of global development, the OeNB established in 1988 as a service company and expanded its guiding values ​​- "security, stability and trust" - to the principles of " fficiency" and "cost-consciousness". The business center was optimized and strategic business experienced through targeted improvements a reinforcement. Be mentioned as examples are intensifying domestic cooperation in the area of ​​payments by encouraging the creation of the Society for the Study co-payments (STUZZA), the liberalization of capital movements, the professional management of foreign exchange reserves, the improvement of the supply of money through the construction of the money center and the internationalization of business activities through the establishment of representative offices in Brussels (European Union), Paris (OECD) and the financial center of New York.

After Austria's accession to the EU in 1995, the OeNB participated in the European Monetary System (EMS ) and its Exchange Rate Mechanism. The integration in the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was the next step towards further development of policy stability. Since the conclusion of the Maastricht Treaty, the Austrian National Bank has very fully considered its role in the ESCB and created a basis for inclusion in the community. The profound economic and monetary policy of Austria was also a reference that qualified the OeNB to actively participate in the monetary future of Europe, a greater harmonization of the statistical framework and monetary policy instruments with a view to the euro system, the preparation of the issue of European banknotes, and the establishment of operational processes and organizational integration of business processes within the ESCB being specific objectives of the OeNB.

In the following, it came, inter alia, to the establishement of an economic study department, of an education or training initiative and to strengthen the position of payment transactions through the TARGET system.

A in 1996 created "OeNB master plan" provided important points for the upcoming transition to the euro.

In May 1998, a new pension system came into force, by which new employees were incorporated into a two-pillar model.

1999, Austria's participation in the third stage of EMU was manifest. The Austrian National Bank - as part of the ESCB - became the owner of the European Central Bank and received new powers in this context in the sense of participation in the monetary policy decision-making at the level of the European Community. With the introduction of the euro, monetary policy functions of the General Council have been transferred to the Governing Council. However, the implementation remains the responsibility of national central banks.

Activities of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank were or are, for example, the further professionalization of asset management, the expansion of the network of representative offices by opening a representative office in the financial center of London, preparation of the smooth introduction of euro cash in 2002 and the participation of the OeNB on the creation of the "A-SIT" (Center for secure Information Technology Center - Austria) and the "A-Trust" (society of electronic security systems in traffic GmbH ) in order to promote security in information technology.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oesterreichische_Nationalbank

U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Davis

 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.

 

The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.

 

“The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”

 

The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.

 

“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.

 

Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.

 

“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.

 

African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.

 

“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.

 

U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.

 

“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.

 

He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.

 

“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.

 

“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.

 

“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.

 

He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.

 

“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.

 

Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.

 

Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.

 

“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.

 

He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.

 

“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.

 

“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.

 

“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.

 

“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”

 

The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.

 

“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.

 

“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.

 

Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.

 

“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.

 

“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.

 

“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.

 

“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.

 

“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?

 

“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.

 

Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.

 

“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.

 

Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.

 

“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”

 

“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.

 

“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.

 

“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”

 

The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.

 

“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.

 

“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.

 

“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.

 

Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.

 

“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.

 

“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.

 

“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.

 

“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.

 

“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.

 

Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.

 

“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.

 

“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.

 

“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.

 

“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.

 

Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.

 

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

 

Stability Diffusion

Must attribute with link to: www.ptpioneer.com

Girl doing stability ball press with dumbbells on a graffiti wall exercising.

HMS Montrose, a Type 23 Frigate, performed a series of tight turns, during Marstrike 05.

 

The long-planned series of exercises, entitled Marstrike 05, were designed to demonstrate Britain's ability to deploy, operate and sustain a maritime strike force and to reinforce the Government's commitment to the stability and security of the Mediterranean and Gulf regions.

Marstrike 05s main objective was to develop the operational capability of the participating units - in particular HMS Invincible strike role conducted with her tailored air group. Major focus of the deployment was Exercise Magic Carpet, a joint and combined exercise based in Oman with participation by the Omani, US and French forces.

 

This image was submitted as part of the Peregrine 06 Photographic Competition.

 

Photographer:POA(Phot) Mick Storey

From: www.defenceimages.mod.uk

U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Davis

 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.

 

The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.

 

“The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”

 

The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.

 

“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.

 

Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.

 

“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.

 

African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.

 

“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.

 

U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.

 

“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.

 

He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.

 

“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.

 

“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.

 

“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.

 

He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.

 

“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.

 

Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.

 

Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.

 

“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.

 

He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.

 

“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.

 

“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.

 

“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.

 

“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”

 

The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.

 

“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.

 

“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.

 

Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.

 

“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.

 

“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.

 

“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.

 

“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.

 

“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?

 

“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.

 

Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.

 

“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.

 

Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.

 

“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”

 

“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.

 

“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.

 

“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”

 

The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.

 

“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.

 

“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.

 

“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.

 

Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.

 

“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.

 

“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.

 

“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.

 

“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.

 

“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.

 

Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.

 

“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.

 

“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.

 

“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.

 

“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.

 

Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.

 

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