This report provides a legal analysis of the various constitutional challenges that have been brought against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)".

This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages for countering mines, small boats, and diesel-electric submarines, particularly in littoral (i.e., near-shore) waters.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program, which is carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy, and gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations. Congress's decisions on the Aegis BMD program could significantly affect U.S. BMD capabilities and funding requirements, and the BMD-related industrial base.

This report discusses the causes, processes, and effects of federal government shutdowns, including potential issues for Congress.

This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) class aircraft carrier program. Congress's decisions on the CVN-78 program could substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements and the shipbuilding industrial base.

This report focuses on potential Navy shipboard lasers for countering surface, air, and ballistic missile threats. It does not discuss the use of lasers on Navy aircraft or submarines, or the use of lasers by other military services.

This report discusses waste excluded from the regulatory definition of hazardous waste pursuant to amendments to Subtitle C in the Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments of 1980.

Report containing a brief overview of the role of strategy in conducting the business of national security. It reviews the major statutory and non-statutory mandates for national security activities as well as other key issues relating to executive strategy-making

This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Navy's irregular warfare (IW) and counterterrorism (CT) operations. The Navy's IW and CT activities pose a number of potential oversight issues for Congress, including the definition of Navy IW activities and how much emphasis to place on IW and CT activities in future Navy budgets.

This report presents background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Navy's Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and Zumwalt (DDG-1000) class destroyer programs. Decisions that Congress makes concerning these programs could substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) program. The Navy's proposed FY2014 budget requests $5,285.3 million in procurement and advance procurement (AP) funding for the program. Decisions that Congress makes on procurement of Virginia-class boats could substantially affect U.S. Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.

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This report intends to support Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Nuclear Energy Research and Development Roadmap and industry stakeholders by evaluating optical-based instrumentation and control (I&C) concepts for advanced small modular reactor (AdvSMR) applications. These advanced designs will require innovative thinking in terms of engineering approaches, materials integration, and I&C concepts to realize their eventual viability and deployability. The primary goals of this report include: 1. Establish preliminary I&C needs, performance requirements, and possible gaps for AdvSMR designs based on best available published design data. 2. Document commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) optical sensors, components, and materials in terms of their technical readiness to support essential AdvSMR in-vessel I&C systems. 3. Identify technology gaps by comparing the in-vessel monitoring requirements and environmental constraints to COTS optical sensor and materials performance specifications. 4. Outline a future research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) program plan that addresses these gaps and develops optical-based I&C systems that enhance the viability of future AdvSMR designs. The development of clean, affordable, safe, and proliferation-resistant nuclear power is a key goal that is documented in the Nuclear Energy Research and Development Roadmap. This roadmap outlines RD&D activities intended to overcome technical, economic, and other barriers, which currently …

Minutes for the August 6th meeting of the Dallas Way including details on ongoing reports within the organization and their projects.

Daily newspaper from Ennis, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Emory, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

At the end of 2012, U.S. wind turbines in distributed applications reached a 10-year cumulative installed capacity of more than 812 MW from more than 69,000 units across all 50 states. In 2012 alone, nearly 3,800 wind turbines totaling 175 MW of distributed wind capacity were documented in 40 states and in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with 138 MW using utility-scale turbines (i.e., greater than 1 MW in size), 19 MW using mid-size turbines (i.e., 101 kW to 1 MW in size), and 18.4 MW using small turbines (i.e., up to 100 kW in size). Distributed wind is defined in terms of technology application based on a wind project’s location relative to end-use and power-distribution infrastructure, rather than on technology size or project size. Distributed wind systems are either connected on the customer side of the meter (to meet the onsite load) or directly to distribution or micro grids (to support grid operations or offset large loads nearby). Estimated capacity-weighted average costs for 2012 U.S. distributed wind installations was $2,540/kW for utility-scale wind turbines, $2,810/kW for mid-sized wind turbines, and $6,960/kW for newly manufactured (domestic and imported) small wind turbines. An emerging trend observed in 2012 was an increased use …

Spectroscopy, kinetics and dynamics of jet cooled hydrocarbon transients relevant to the DOE combustion mission have been explored, exploiting i) high resolution IR lasers, ii) slit discharge sources for formation of jet cooled radicals, and iii) high sensitivity detection with direct laser absorption methods and near the quantum shot noise limit. What makes this combination powerful is that such transients can be made under high concentrations and pressures characteristic of actual combustion conditions, and yet with the resulting species rapidly cooled (T ≈10-15K) in the slit supersonic expansion. Combined with the power of IR laser absorption methods, this provides novel access to spectral detection and study of many critical combustion species.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Malford Heimer. Heimer joined the Army in December 1942. In early 1943, he began serving as rifleman with the 87th Infantry Regiment. They traveled to the Aleutian Islands as part of Task Force 9 moving material up to the area. In 1944, Heimer joined the 10th Mountain Division and deployed to Italy, fighting in the Apennine Mountains during the Italian Campaign. After receiving a shell fragment injury, surgery and recovery, Heimer was sent back to the US in early 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Carlile. Carlile enlisted in the Army Air Forces in January, 1942 and went to California for flight training. After an injury ended his flight training, he volunteered to go overseas. In April, 1943, Carlile went to England where he trained to become a flight control officer. Afterward, he was assigned to the 306th Bomb Group at Thurleigh in January 1944. He remained there for the balance of the war in Europe.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Wolf. Wolf joined the Army in March, 1944 and went to basic training in Florida. After training, Wolf proceeded overseas to France in February, 1945 and was assigned as a rifleman in the 341st Infantry Regiment, 86th Infantry Division. They moved into Germany and fought at Hagen. When the war in Europe ended, Wolf was sent to the Philippines for garrison duty, arriving after the war was over. He returned to the US in April, 1946. He joined the Air Force in October, 1949 and stayed in for four years.