Transcript of an oral interview with Joesph B. Brown. He discusses going to Guadalcanal, various guns and artillery he used, the battle of Tarawa and getting malaria just before it, then going to Hawaii for more training before returning to the South Pacific and fighting on Saipan and Tinian. He also discusses being wounded on Saipan, getting a bayonet run through his forearm and keeping the bayonet as a souvenior after the war and talks about some of his experiences and travels after the war.

This article deals with the honor that will be bestowed on Antonio Lozano Hiojosa by the Federation of Zacatecas of Texas. Both the original Spanish article and the English translation are included.

Interview with Ethel Reisburg Schectman of Fort Worth, Texas, who was born in New York City during the Great Depression to Jewish Polish immigrant parents. The interview includes Hill's personal experiences of World War II on the home front, including memories of D-Day, iron metal scrap drives, victory gardens, rationing, V-E and V-J Days, and what it was like being Jewish in Dallas during that time.

Transcript of an oral interview with Bill Graham. He begins by discussing joining the Navy and becoming a corpsman, then being transferred to the 2nd Marine Division after the Pearl Harbor attack. He discusses being in the first wave on Guadalcanal and various things that happened during the six months there, contracting a severe strain of malaria, getting shipped back to the States and stationed near his home in Fort Worth, then to training in Virginia preparing for an invasion of Japan.

Official statement issued by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States describing preliminary findings regarding the use of intelligence agencies in countering terrorism. This statement focuses on the role of of the Central Intelligence Agency as an instrument of national policy.

Transcript of the eighth public hearing held by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States held March 23-24, 2004 in Washington, D.C. The two-day hearing investigated the formulation and conduct of U.S. counterterrorism policy, with particular emphasis on the period from the August 1998 embassy bombings to September 11, 2001. The Commission heard from current and former top-level administration officials. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet, and Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage testified, as did former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, former National Security Adviser Samuel R. Berger, and former National Counterterrorism Coordinator Richard A. Clarke. In addition to witness testimony, four staff statements were delivered during the course of the proceedings.

Transcript of the eighth public hearing held by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States held March 23-24, 2004 in Washington, D.C. The two-day hearing investigated the formulation and conduct of U.S. counterterrorism policy, with particular emphasis on the period from the August 1998 embassy bombings to September 11, 2001. The Commission heard from current and former top-level administration officials. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet, and Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage testified, as did former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, former National Security Adviser Samuel R. Berger, and former National Counterterrorism Coordinator Richard A. Clarke. In addition to witness testimony, four staff statements were delivered during the course of the proceedings.

The radiography and ultrasonic calculation workbooks are intended to assist Level I, II and III NDE personnel in calculations used in routine job applications. These workbooks are an upgraded version of Microsoft Excel{reg_sign} spreadsheets, which were originally set up in October 1988, using a Macintosh Plus{reg_sign} computer and Microsoft Excel{reg_sign} version 1.5. A description of these was released as ''Computerized Calculations for Radiography and Ultrasonics'', UCRL-JC-105419 in November 1990 and published in Materials Evaluation, Volume 49/Number 4, in April 1991. Over the years as Microsoft improved the capabilities of the Excel program to include the abilities to make sketches and to have multiple tabbed pages in a document called a ''workbook'' we have now modified the calculation spreadsheets to include these enhancements. Following is a short description on how to install and use these workbooks on a Macintosh or PC.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ethel Reisberg Schectman. She begins by discussing her family background: her parents were Jews born in Poland and emigrated to the United States. Ethel's European aunts, uncles and grandparents all likely died in the Holocaust. As a first grade student, she taught her mother, a Polish immigrant, how to read and write English. She recalls, wartime rationing, Victory Gardens, scrap drives, and antisemitism among her school-aged classmates in Dallas, Texas, and the end of the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with William Steele, Sr. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee on January 6, 1924. He enlisted into the Marines in February, 1943 and was assigned to 2nd Marine Division, M Company, 3rd Battalion 8th Marines, as a machine gunner. He describes his experiences while landing at Tarawa in LCVPs (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel) also known as Higgins Boats. During the landing he recalls being wounded by shrapnel. After Tarawa, he recounts returning to Hawaii where he received training for the invasion of Saipan. He recalls the landing at Saipan and being once more wounded by shrapnel from an artillery round. After being treated for his wounds, he recalls returning to the island and providing machine gun cover. After ten days on Saipan he describes his third landing on Tinian and his unit taking a Japanese Air Force airfield. Steele recalls that he returned to the States on December 7, 1944, with other veterans who had received multiple wounds.

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 Exchange of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies® are "authorized insurers" that are required to file withdrawal plans under article 21.49-2C of the Texas Insurance Code; whether their proposed refusal to renew policies of homeowners in Texas would violate state law; and whether the Commissioner of Insurance may impose a moratorium on the approval of a plan for withdrawal (RQ-0620-JC)

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 common-law doctrine of incompatibility prohibits a city council member from simultaneously serving as a member of the board of directors of a tax increment reinvestment zone created by his or her municipality under chapter 311 of the Tax Code (RQ-0120-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 state representative may represent a criminal defendant in an administrative license revocation hearing (RQ-0126-GA)

BASE REDEVELOPMENT AND REALIGNMENT MANUAL. March 1, 2006. OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE(INSTALLATIONS AND ENVIRONMENT)

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the role of chief information officers (CIO) in the federal government."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In January 2003, we issued two reports that provide insight regarding the share-in-savings (SIS) provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002: one on critical elements of training for new acquisition initiatives and one on commercial practices that foster successful SIS contracting. As follow-up to these reports, we are writing to underscore the need for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) to ensure (1) that members of the federal acquisition workforce understand and appropriately apply this new authority and (2) that appropriate data are collected and available to meet mandated reporting requirements regarding the effective use of SIS contracting. SIS contracting represents a significant change in the way the federal government acquires information technology. In our report on improving training for new acquisition initiatives, we emphasized the importance that industry and government experts place on training to successfully implement such change. Training on this information technology acquisition initiative will be essential to its effective implementation. In our report on SIS contracting, we highlighted the federal government's limited experience with SIS contracting as well as conditions that fostered successful implementation in commercial SIS contracts."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "One of the five priorities in the President's Management Agenda is the expansion of electronic (e-) government--the use of Internet applications to enhance access to and delivery of government information and services. To this end, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has sponsored 25 high-profile e-government initiatives. The initiatives were selected on the basis of value to citizens, potential improvement in agency efficiency, and the likelihood of being deployed within 18 to 24 months. In May 2002, a total of 91 objectives were set for these initiatives. At the request of Congress, GAO assessed the progress of the initiatives in addressing these 91 objectives as well as key challenges they have faced."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the tax expenses associated with building the Department of Energy's Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) project, focusing on whether it would be less expensive to build the project at any of the participating national laboratories."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. military has deployed high numbers of active duty and reserve troops to fight the global war on terrorism and for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ensuring that U.S. military forces are adequately compensated and that the morale of deployed troops remains high have been priorities for the Congress and the Department of Defense (DOD). In response to congressional mandates, GAO has reviewed a number of issues concerning military personnel. For this hearing, GAO was asked to provide the results of its work on military compensation for National Guard and Reserve personnel and on the Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB) program, a tool DOD can use to enhance retention of military personnel in critical occupational specialties. In addition, GAO was asked to provide its preliminary views, based on ongoing work, concerning mail delivery to troops stationed in the Middle East."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Cold War, the Department of Defense (DOD) has increased its reliance on prepositioned stocks of military equipment and supplies, primarily because it can no longer plan on having a large forward troop presence. Prepositioned stocks are stored on ships and on land in the Persian Gulf and other regions around the world. Prepositioning allows the military to respond rapidly to conflicts. Ideally, units need only to bring troops and a small amount of materiel to the conflict area. Once there, troops can draw on prepositioned equipment and supplies, and then move quickly into combat. Today's testimony describes (1) the performance and availability of Army and Marine Corps prepositioned equipment and supplies to support Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); (2) current status of the stocks and plans to reconstitute them; and (3) key issues facing the military as it reshapes these programs to support DOD's force transformation efforts."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "About 7,500 Peace Corps volunteers currently serve in 70 countries. The administration intends to increase this number to about 14,000. Volunteers often live in areas with limited access to reliable communications, police, or medical services. As Americans, they may be viewed as relatively wealthy and, hence, good targets for crime. In this testimony, GAO summarizes findings from its 2002 report Peace Corps: Initiatives for Addressing Safety and Security Challenges Hold Promise, but Progress Should be Assessed, GAO- 02-818, on (1) trends in crime against volunteers and Peace Corps' system for generating information, (2) the agency's field implementation of its safety and security framework, and (3) the underlying factors contributing to the quality of these practices."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The appraisal and mortgage lending industry has changed dramatically since the passage of Title XI of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989. Some have concluded that the problems Title XI was intended to address--the risk to the federal deposit insurance funds and the lack of uniform standards and qualifications--no longer exist. This statement is based on GAO's May 14, 2003, report and discusses the roles of private, state, and federal entities that oversee the appraisal industry; the challenges that Title XI presented to these entities; and industry participants' concerns about the effectiveness of the Title XI regulatory structure."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the effectiveness of information system general controls and computer security at the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) New Mexico VA Health Care System (NMVAHCS), focusing on the weaknesses GAO identified at NMVAHCS and the status of corrective actions."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has a large body of work examining government agencies' approaches to managing their large acquisition projects. GAO has noted that without sufficient knowledge about system requirements, technology, and design maturity, programs are subject to cost overruns, schedule delays, and performance that does not meet expectations. The Deepwater Program, intended to replace or modernize 15 major classes of Coast Guard assets, accounts for almost 60 percent of the Coast Guard's fiscal year 2009 appropriation for acquisition, construction and improvements. GAO has reported over the years on this program, which has experienced serious performance and management problems such as cost breaches, schedule slips, and assets designed and delivered with significant defects. To carry out the Deepwater acquisition, the Coast Guard contracted with Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS) as a systems integrator. In April 2007, the Commandant acknowledged that the Coast Guard had relied too heavily on contractors to do the work of government and announced that the Coast Guard was taking over the lead role in systems integration from ICGS. This testimony reflects our most recent issued work on Deepwater, specifically our June 2008 report, Coast Guard: Change in …