Amchitka Island is near the western end of the Aleutian Island chain and is the largest island in the Rat Island Group that is located about 1,340 miles west-southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, and 870 miles east of the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia. The island is 42 miles long and 1 to 4 miles wide, with an area of approximately 74,240 acres. Elevations range from sea level to more than 1,100 feet above sea level. The coastline is rugged; sea cliffs and grassy slopes surround nearly the entire island. Vegetation on the island is low-growing, meadow-like tundra grasses at lower elevations. No trees grow on Amchitka. The lowest elevations are on the eastern third of the island and are characterized by numerous shallow lakes and heavily vegetated drainages. The central portion of the island has higher elevations and fewer lakes. The westernmost 3 miles of the island contains a windswept rocky plateau with sparse vegetation.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

News release promoting the use of DART transportation options to the 2012 TicketCity Bowl football game.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the use of the term “Nationally Certified School Psychologist” by a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology is a violation of the Psychologists’ Licensing Act (RQ-0947-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a member of the El Paso County Ethics Commission who is a practicing attorney or former judge may be appointed to serve as the review officer of a preliminary screening committee (RQ-0978-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Jurisdiction of the Texas State Cemetary over a state highway, the majority of which is located within the boundaries of the Cemetary (RQ-0979-GA)

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Presented is GAO's Performance and Accountability Report for fiscal year 2011. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual report informs the Congress and the American people about what we have achieved on their behalf. The financial information and the data measuring GAO's performance contained in this report are complete and reliable."

HEATS Project: Sheetak is developing a new HVAC system to store the energy required for heating and cooling in EVs. This system will replace the traditional refrigerant-based vapor compressors and inefficient heaters used in today’s EVs with efficient, light, and rechargeable hot-and-cold thermal batteries. The high energy density thermal battery—which does not use any hazardous substances—can be recharged by an integrated solid-state thermoelectric energy converter while the vehicle is parked and its electrical battery is being charged. Sheetak’s converters can also run on the electric battery if needed and provide the required cooling and heating to the passengers—eliminating the space constraint and reducing the weight of EVs that use more traditional compressors and heaters.

Minutes for the November 15th meeting of the Dallas Way including what each member in attendance discussed.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the central human resources agency for the federal government and, as such, is tasked with ensuring the government has an effective civilian workforce. As part of its mission, OPM defines recruiting and hiring processes and procedures; provides federal employees with various benefits, such as health benefits; and administers the retirement program for federal employees. The use of information technology (IT) is crucial in helping OPM to carry out its responsibilities, and in fiscal year 2011 the agency invested $79 million in IT systems and services. For over 2 decades, OPM has been attempting to modernize its federal employee retirement process by automating paper-based processes and replacing antiquated information systems. However, these efforts have been unsuccessful, and OPM canceled its most recent retirement modernization effort in February 2011. GAO was asked to provide a statement summarizing its work on challenges OPM has faced in managing its efforts to modernize federal employee retirement processing. To do this, GAO relied on previously published work as well as a limited review of more recent documentation on OPM's retirement modernization activities."

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frederick Waigand. Waigand joined the Marine Corps just after the attack on Pearl Harbor and received basic training at Parris Island. Upon completion of mechanic training, he became a plane captain and was assigned to VMO-155. After serving on Midway, he transferred to VMF-311 as the executive officer’s crew chief for the invasion of Okinawa. There he shot a Japanese soldier who charged him in a banzai attack springing from an enemy bomber that crash-landed near the flight line. After the island was secured, Waigand oversaw Okinawan work crews, noting that the natives were incredibly jovial. When it came time for his return to the States, he transferred ships after the first one was struck by a kamikaze. Waigand remained in the Marine Corps into the 1950s and retired as a master sergeant.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Kenneth Niles. Niles joined the Marine Corps in 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. He received radio operator and repairman training at Texas A&M. Upon completion, he was assigned to VMF-155, working on the F4U Corsair. At Midway he serviced John Glenn’s plane but didn’t meet him until years later at reunions. Niles served at the Marshall Islands and gathered rainwater off his tent for showers. Seabees fashioned a spear for Niles so that he could hunt fish to be cooked in the galley. He returned to the States and was awaiting further assignment when the war ended. Niles later served in Korea and retired from the Marine Corps in 1963.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Graef. Graef joined the Marine Corps in 1942 and was called to active duty in July 1943. He received basic training in San Diego and was served as an MP attached to various divisions. He landed at Saipan in the third wave, wading ashore under enemy fire, the sharp coral cutting his boots away. He later sustained a concussion during a kamikaze attack, and much of his memory as to the details of his service were clouded as a result. He recalls detaining an Army general who disobeyed orders to advance. At Okinawa, he witnessed the mass suicide of natives. After serving in China with the 3rd Marine Regiment, Graef returned home and was discharged in January 1946. When he visited his best friend's parents to tell them that their son had been killed in action, they were overcome with grief and lashed out in anger. Graef himself was traumatized by the war and experienced lasting PTSD.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Potter. Potter joined the Marine Corps in August 1942 and received basic training in San Diego. Upon completion, he was assigned to VMF-124 and sent to Guadalcanal. His duty was to replenish oxygen in the cockpits of the F4U-1 Corsairs. The island was mostly secured by the time he arrived in February 1943, but there were still snipers in the trees, and Potter saw Japanese POWs being marched to secured areas. He remembers intense rain, mud, and mosquitoes on the island. When the Seabees arrived, conditions improved, and they shared their freshly baked bread with the Marines, who didn’t have comparable rations. He returned to the States and worked in supplies at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. During the Korean War, he was stationed in Japan, coordinating supplies sent to Korea. He left the Marine Corps in 1956 and managed manufacturing services for a steel company. There he cultivated strong relationships with distributors and ultimately opened his own trucking company to serve their needs. Potter retired in 2009.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses small business participation in Gulf Coast rebuilding after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Federal agencies directly awarded $20.5 billion in contracts nationwide between fiscal years 2005 and 2011 for recovery efforts related to these hurricanes. These contracts are subject to federal procurement regulations and, in most cases, are generally subject to certain goals to increase participation by small businesses. This statement is based on a report we issued in July 2010, which discussed the extent to which Gulf Coast small businesses received federal contract funds for recovery efforts, with data on contract funds updated through fiscal year 2011 where possible. More specifically, the statement discusses (1) the amounts that small businesses nationwide and small businesses in four Gulf Coast states received directly from federal agencies through contracts for relief and recovery efforts related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; and (2) the extent to which four agencies--the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Defense (DOD) excluding the Corps, and General Services Administration (GSA)--monitored subcontracting accomplishment information as required for selected contracts."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has initiated several efforts over the years to address its long-standing financial management weaknesses and ultimately achieve unqualified (clean) opinions on its financial statements. In 2005, the DOD Comptroller first issued the Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) Plan for improving financial management and reporting. In May 2010, the DOD Comptroller issued the FIAR Guidance to provide standardized guidance to DOD components for developing Financial Improvement Plans (FIP) to implement the FIAR Plan. GAO's testimony focuses on (1) progress made by the DOD Comptroller in developing and issuing the FIAR Guidance, (2) challenges faced by DOD components in implementing the FIAR Guidance, and (3) improvements needed in DOD's oversight and monitoring of FIAR implementation efforts. This statement is based on four audits that were undertaken at the request of this subcommittee and other congressional requesters to evaluate the progress DOD is making in implementing its FIAR Plan and FIAR Guidance. GAO addresses findings and recommendations from two reports being issued this week (GAO-11-830 and GAO-11-851) and preliminary information from two ongoing audits. Each audit demonstrates some of the challenges DOD faces in improving …

Meeting minutes from the September 15th meeting of the Dallas Way including what each member in attendance discussed.

Meeting minutes of the Dallas Way for the September 15th meeting including the agenda and members in attendance.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Carl Crandall. Crandall joined the Navy at age 17. After basic training at Great Lakes, he was trained on running ship’s boilers. Crandall was then assigned to USS Warrick (AKA-89) as a third class watertender. While running the boilers, he would occasionally clean the insides, which required holding his breath for up to three minutes. Crandall was in battle zones in the Philippines for a year and suffered hearing damage from a kamikaze attack on a nearby destroyer. While ashore, he traded with the natives to acquire fresh coconuts. At Iwo Jima, Crandall sat atop the smokestack and watched the flag being raised on Mount Suribachi. After the war, Crandall participated in disarmament of the Japanese by dumping their arms and ammunition into the ocean. While in Japan, he was surprised by the hospitality of the Japanese, having been invited into their homes. Crandall returned to the States after occupation duty and returned home to finish high school.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Loy Smith. Smith joined the Navy in 1943 and received basic training in San Diego. He then attended gunnery school and further training in electrical and hydraulic systems. Upon completion, he was assigned to an attack cargo auxiliary ship as a gunner’s mate. Smith recounts that his ship would pick up supplies on New Guinea and Guam and deliver them to invasions. At Lingayen Gulf, there were so many kamikazes and so many ships that it was impossible to know who was responsible for shooting a plane down. At Iwo Jima, the ship was anchored close to shore for five weeks, sending equipment in LCVPs and LSMs that were often lost in the soft sand and large swells. The ship was loaded for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. They brought supplies instead to the occupation forces. Smith felt the younger Japanese civilians appeared frightened of Americans, probably due to propaganda, whereas the older generation was friendly and eager to ask about their relatives in the States. The ship sailed on to Okinawa, which had been devastated by a typhoon. So desperate for supplies were the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our recent work on the federal government's efforts to increase contracting opportunities for small businesses. This work covered (1) the Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) at federal agencies, (2) federal mentor-protege programs, and (3) the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Procurement Center Representatives (PCR) and Commercial Market Representatives (CMR). More specifically, to increase small businesses' visibility within federal agencies, in 1978 Congress amended the Small Business Act to require that all federal agencies with procurement powers establish an OSDBU, which would advocate for small businesses in a variety of ways. The act further requires that OSDBU directors be responsible only to and report directly to agency heads or their deputies. The purpose of this provision is to help ensure that OSDBU directors have direct access to their agencies' top decision makers in order to advocate effectively. The functions an OSDBU may perform include administering a mentor-protege program. Under such programs, mentors--businesses, typically experienced prime contractors--provide technical, managerial, and other business development assistance to eligible small businesses, or proteges. In return, the programs provide incentives for mentor participation, such as credit toward subcontracting goals. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Morris. Morris joined the Army in 1939. He served with the 369th Infantry Division, also known as the Harlem Hellfighters, consisting mainly of African Americans. He served in the motor pool, during the European and Pacific Theaters. In May of 1942, Morris and his united worked in labor and security operations in the Southwest Pacific Area. He returned to the U.S. and was discharged in 1945.