Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO identified 56 contracts and task orders that were active during fiscal year 2010 and the first three quarters of fiscal year 2011 under which contracting offices obligated roughly $35.2 million on Arlington’s behalf. These contracts supported cemetery operations, construction and facility maintenance, and new efforts to enhance information-technology systems for the automation of burial operations. The Army has taken a number of steps since June 2010 at different levels to provide for more effective management and oversight of contracts, establishing new support relationships, formalizing policies and procedures, and increasing the use of dedicated contracting staff to manage and improve its acquisition processes. However, GAO found that ANCP does not maintain complete data on its contracts, responsibilities for contracting support are not yet fully defined, and dedicated contract staffing arrangements still need to be determined. The success of Arlington’s acquisition outcomes will depend on continued management focus from ANCP and its contracting partners to ensure sustained attention to contract management and institutionalize progress made to date. GAO made three recommendations to continue improvements in contract management. The Department of Defense (DOD) partially concurred and noted actions in progress …

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

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "DOD incorporated results-oriented management practices into the planning and development of the four ongoing DSO improvement efforts. Additionally, it appears that DOD is incorporating those practices into its planning for the fifth effort—strategic network optimization—which is still under development. On the basis of our assessment of DOD’s key planning documents and other information for the process improvement, surface optimization, air optimization, and supply alignment efforts, we found that DOD addressed the six characteristics found in the framework. For example, DOD identified the main purpose of the improvement efforts, their scope, and the resources needed to execute individual efforts. Preliminary observations of DOD's planning for strategic network optimization indicate that agency officials are also incorporating results-oriented management practices for this effort. For example, DOD has developed a mission statement and established mechanisms to coordinate with stakeholders. However, because planning is still underway for strategic network optimization, we were unable to fully assess the extent to which DOD has used result-oriented management practices to develop and implement this improvement effort. For example, DOD has not yet decided how to implement the effort nor developed specific performance measures to assess progress."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The five agencies varied in the extent to which they collected the over 100 land and resources, revenue, and federal land use designation data elements that GAO asked them about. Specifically, all five agencies collected data on four basic data elements, which related to total surface acres managed, total acres managed within each state, the number of special use permits generated for filming activities on federal land, and the number of cultural and historic sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In contrast, none of them collected information for 33 other data elements, such as the percent of total acres under oil, gas, or coal leases that have surface disturbance or where the surface disturbance has been reclaimed, or information on the potential quantities of oil, gas, and coal resources on federal land. Agency officials cited various reasons why the agencies did not collect certain information, such as believing another federal agency collected it, it was inconsistent with the agency’s mission, or they lacked the authority or resources to do so."

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's simulations continue to illustrate that the federal government is on an unsustainable long-term fiscal path. In both the Baseline Extended and Alternative simulations, debt held by the public grows as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) over the long term. While the timing and pace of growth varies depending on the assumptions used, neither set of assumptions achieves a sustainable path. In the Baseline Extended simulation, which assumes current law, including the discretionary spending limits and other spending reductions contained in the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 and expiration of certain tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003, debt as a share of GDP declines in the short term before turning up again. In the Alternative simulation, in which these laws are assumed to not take full effect, federal debt as a share of GDP grows throughout the period. Discretionary spending limits alone do not address the fundamental imbalance between estimated revenue and spending, which is driven largely by the aging of the population and rising health care costs. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) slows the growth of health care …

The second Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF2) will be deployed aboard the Horizon Lines cargo container ship merchant vessel (M/V) Spirit for MAGIC, the Marine ARM GPCI1 Investigation of Clouds. The Spirit will traverse the route between Los Angeles, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii, from October 2012 through September 2013 (except for a few months in the middle of this time period when the ship will be in dry dock). During this field campaign, AMF2 will observe and characterize the properties of clouds and precipitation, aerosols, and atmospheric radiation; standard meteorological and oceanographic variables; and atmospheric structure. There will also be two intensive observational periods (IOPs), one in January 2013 and one in July 2013, during which more detailed measurements of the atmospheric structure will be made.

The main objective of this project was to continue research to develop carbon cycle relationships related to the land biosphere based on remote measurements of atmospheric CO2 concentration and its isotopic ratios 13C/12C, 18O/16O, and 14C/12C. The project continued time-series observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide and isotopic composition begun by Charles D. Keeling at remote sites, including Mauna Loa, the South Pole, and eight other sites. Using models of varying complexity, the concentration and isotopic measurements were used to study long-term change in the interhemispheric gradients in CO2 and 13C/12C to assess the magnitude and evolution of the northern terrestrial carbon sink, to study the increase in amplitude of the seasonal cycle of CO2, to use isotopic data to refine constraints on large scale changes in isotopic fractionation which may be related to changes in stomatal conductance, and to motivate improvements in terrestrial carbon cycle models. The original proposal called for a continuation of the new time series of 14C measurements but subsequent descoping to meet budgetary constraints required termination of measurements in 2007.

Minutes for the April 3rd meeting of the Dallas Way including current reports on organization projects.

Agenda for the April 3rd meeting of the Dallas Way, including topics such as current reports and new Dallas Way business.

Interview with Richard Clay McBryde, a rancher from Kerrville, Texas. Mr. McBryde discusses his life as a rancher, his rodeo career, his education, and his short-lived football career. The interview transcript includes photos of Richard Clay McBryde, his rodeo years, and his family, on pages 16-21.

Under the leadership of the Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cells program, Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) educated and worked with state leaders to encourage wider deployment of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies. Through outreach to state policymakers, legislative leaders, clean energy funds, energy agencies, and public utility commissions, CESA worked to accomplish the following objectives of this project: 1. Provide information and technical assistance to state policy leaders and state renewable energy programs in the development of effective hydrogen fuel cell programs. 2. Identify and foster hydrogen program best practices. 3. Identify and promote strategic opportunities for states and the Department of Energy (DOE) to advance hydrogen technology deployment through partnerships, collaboration, and targeted activities. Over the three years of this project, CESA, with our partner National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), was able to provide credible information on fuel cell policies, finance, and technical assistance to hundreds of state officials and other stakeholders. CESA worked with its membership network to effectively educate state clean energy policymakers, program managers, and decision makers about fuel cell and hydrogen technologies and the efforts by states to advance those technologies. With the assistance of NCSL, CESA gained access to an effective …

Minutes for the January 3, 2012 TXSSAR meeting, held by the McKinney chapter.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Marian Kelly. Kelly joined the Army Medical Corps in October 1944 and was assigned to the hospital in Manila. There were two dozen women and 3,000 men aboard the transport ship, so Marines were stationed as guards to protect the women. At the hospital, she treated wounded soldiers from all over the Pacific. As a physical therapist, she found spinal cord injuries particularly frustrating because there weren’t known techniques for rehabilitation at the time. She spent her spare time exploring nearby islands and found Corregidor to be full of artifacts. While in the Pacific she also served on Morotai. Kelly married a captain in the Army and was discharged in 1945, as married women were prohibited from serving. She and her family returned to the States in 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lewis A. Smith. Born in 1924, he joined the Army Air Force in 1942. After twenty-two months of flight training at various locations, he flew a B-17 aircraft to Scotland. He was sent to England and assigned to the 385th Bombardment Group at Great Ashfield station 155. He describes a mission to bomb the airfield at Grossostheim, Germany during the Battle of the Bulge as well as a mission to bomb Berlin. He tells a story about a mid-air collision involving two other planes that occurred during a mission to bomb a tank factory in Ulm, Germany. Only the tail gunner, Joe Jones, survived the collision. He also describes engine problems and an emergency crash landing when he was returning from a mission to Frankfurt, Germany. He discusses flak; flak suits; the experience of flying a B-17 airplane on a bombing mission; some of the specific planes that he flew; USO entertainment; and buzz bombs. He shares an anecdote about his tail gunner and the relief tube on a mission to bomb an oil refinery in Hamburg, Germany. He left the Air Force in 1945 after flying thirty-five …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Owen Fluckey. Fluckey joined the Navy in April 1944. Fluckey recalls hearing the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor when he was 16. He trained at Great lakes, Illinois and recalls a few humorous incidents. Fluckey served at a weather station on Clipperton Island for nine months before transferring to a submarine tender. While assigned to Clipperton Island, Fluckey witnessed USS LST-563 running aground there. Fluckey's job was to tend to the salt water evaporators on the island. When he transferred off Clipperton, he was assigned to the USS Nereus (AS-17), a submarine tender. After the war, Fluckey went to Japan for some occupation duty. He was discharged in June, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Walter Pittman. Pittman grew up in Texas and joined the Navy in 1941. Once he finished training, he was assigned to a Merchant Marine vessel as a 3.5 inch gun operator. His first assignment was shipping planes and aviation fuel to Australia with a stop at Hawaii. Pittman also tells a story of delivering crude oil to Britain after dropping the airplanes off at Australia. He also discusses his routine, the food and the life aboard the merchant vessel. Pittman mentions spending time in China shortly after the war ended and going back to the US aboard the USS Hornet (CV-12). While on board, he found a cousin who was headed for home, too.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert W. Wells. When Wells finished high school in Nebrasks, he joined the Marine Corps in June, 1944. From San Diego, he sailed aboardthe USS Bayfield (APA-33) to Guadalcanal to join and train with the Sixth Marine Division prior to invading Okinawa. He landed on Okinawa off the USS Clay (APA-39) on 1 April 1945 and fought for a month until his appendix had to be removed. His surgery occured just behind the front lines and then he was sent aboard the USS Hope (AH-7). He was evacuated to Saipan just before his unit made an assault on Sugar Loaf Hill. He returned to his unit on Okinawa in time for the island to be declared secure. His unit then proceeded back to Guam. Wells also recalls training experiences on Guadalcanal, then provides more details about his combat experiences on Okinawa, where he operated a fifty caliber machine gun. On Guam, while training to invade Japan, the war ended and Wells was sent to Tsingtao, China for occupation duty. In China, Wells drove the car for the battalion's colonel. Wells was discharged in August, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ervin Vernon. Vernon joined the Navy in September of 1942. He served as a Fireman and Machinist Mate aboard USS Claxton (DD-571). They traveled to New Caledonia, Manus Island in New Guinea and participated in the invasion of the Philippines and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in late 1944. Vernon shares numerous details of his work in, and the function of, the boiler room. In May of 1945, they conducted radar picket duty off the coast of Okinawa. Vernon was discharged in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Keteik. Keteik was working as a railroad engineer when he was drafted into the Navy in 1942. He was assigned to the USS Claxton (DD-571) as a seaman, working his way up to boatswain's mate. Operating the whaleboat was easy for him, as he was accustomed to communicating with whistles and bells, from his time on the railroad. His battle station was as a loader on turret four. He received a citation from Nimitz for remaining at his station and claims to have lived at the gun for a month at a time. A crewmate beside him fell asleep there and was killed when the gun changed directions abruptly. After colliding with another ship, the Claxton was sent to San Francisco for repairs, where Keteik enjoyed liberty with his good friend, New York Yankee Bob Cerv. Keteik also survived a kamikaze strike. He was discharged and returned to his old job, enjoying a 42-year career as a railway engineer.

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Robert E. Lee High School, in Baytown, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, original application, narrative, floor plans, and photographs.

News release about the opening of two more DART light rail segments and the agency's plan to connect directly to DFW International Airport.

Agenda for the April 3rd meeting of the Dallas Way listing the order in which topics will be discussed in the organization's meeting.

Agenda for the legal roundtable at the 2012 International Internet Preservation Consortium General Assembly.

News release about a series of public meetings to gather public input on proposed route and service changes intended to accompany the opening of DART's Orange Line in July and Blue Line extension in December.