Proactively “From the Sea”; an agent of change leveraging the littoral best practices for a paradigm breaking six-sigma best business case to synergize a consistent design in the global commons, rightsizing the core values supporting our mission statement via the 5-vector model through cultural diversity.
Dirk VanEnkevort wanted to take advantage of a shipbuilding boom when his family's company leased one of the largest dry docks in the Great Lakes region in 2005. But now he is so short-handed he has turned to robots to help keep up.
His company, Erie Shipbuilding LLC, has since hired about 150 workers and equipped the facility on Lake Erie with sophisticated metalworking tools — including robots. It now has orders to build eight oceangoing barges and plans to hire additional workers as needed.
But as his order book fills, VanEnkevort faces a problem hampering dozens of other midsize commercial shipyards across the country: a shortage of skilled, experienced workers capable of assembling and welding freight ships.
...and it ain't getting better.Get it right so we can have a stable industrial base - or you will never be able to build a fleet you need.
Retired Rear Admiral (that is 2-stars Joe), now Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA) looks like he has a challenger.
So, it’s going to be the Admiral vs. the Lieutenant Colonel.
Joe Sestak vs. W. Craig Williams.
No, that W doesn’t stand for Who? But it may as well.
However, if the voters care to find out just who Wendell Craig Williams is, they might be pleasantly surprised.
The affable 43-year-old Glen Mills resident, is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who is stepping down to take on the rookie congressman.
He is also a decorated U.S. Marine lieutenant colonel who flew 56 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm.
After that war, Williams, a graduate of Duke University, went to Columbia law school (where I’m told he graduated with a 3.8 grade-point average).
He put his law degree to work for the Marine Corps as a prosecutor in California, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Colorado and Philadelphia, then as deputy legal counsel for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A military brat, Williams grew up mostly in Alaska where his stepfather was stationed. Both his dad and stepdad were Vietnam vets.
After leaving active duty in 2000, Williams was working in a New York City law firm on Sept. 11, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North tower of the World Trade Center. Advertisement
What struck him most was the eerie calm that settled over the city the next day.
“I imagined more chaos and panic than I saw,” he said.
The question foremost in Williams’ mind was “So what are we going to do now?”
Instead of getting back into an F-18, Williams eventually ended up in Washington working on legal issues concerning the handling of captured terrorists and detainees at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.
When he mentioned that he had worked for Admiral Mike Mullen (now chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) I pointed out that it was Mullen who fired Joe Sestak citing “poor command climate.”
Williams was quick and emphatic.
“I got nothing to say about that. I don’t know anything about it and I’m not going to go find out.”
But Williams does have something to say about Sestak’s seemingly shifting position on the war in Iraq.
“I see a great softening of his position,” Williams says. “During the (2006) campaign it was ‘get out and get out now.’ His first piece of legislation was ‘get out, get out’ and that died in committee. And since then there has been a softening of his position.”
This has been true of many Democrats and no less true of Sestak.
But with the tide turning on the ground in Iraq, the surge working, and violence down significantly, now is not the time to talk about cutting our losses and leaving, says Williams.
“This is predominately a Republican district. And I don’t think the district believes or will accept a cut-and-run policy, especially right now.”
In mid-2004, competition for arming the Type 45 came from United Defense, who proposed their 5"/62 (127 mm) Mark 45 Mod 4 for these ships. As part of this proposal, United Defense would sub-contract much of the assembly work to British firms, similar to what they have done for other nations.
In response to the United Defense proposal, in December 2004 BAE Systems made a proposal to use the existing gun house for the 4.5" (114 mm) Mark 8 Mod 1, but use the same 155 mm/39 gun barrel being used on the Army's AS90 Braveheart self-propelled howitzer. BAE called this proposal the 155 mm TMF (Third generation Maritime Fire support). BAE claims that this arrangement would not create recoil forces beyond the capability of the Mod 1 mounting and estimates that this design would weigh 24.5 tons compared with 22.5 tons for the 4.5" (114 mm) Mark 8 Mod 1 and 26.4 tons for the original Mod 0. BAE foresees that the largest modification would be changing to a double-stroke loading cycle needed to handle modular charges. BAE estimates that this change would reduce the rate of fire to about 12 rounds per minute. There would also need to be a modification of the gun shield to allow for higher elevation angles.
BAE states that the Mark 8 Mod 1 gunhouse could also be used for a Fourth generation Maritime Fire support weapon (FMF) using the longer-barrel 155 mm/52, but this combination would require strengthening of the gunhouse in order to meet the added recoil forces.
The United Defense proposal was rejected by the Royal Navy in early 2005 as being too expensive. The acquistion of United Defense by BAE Systems in June 2005 has made any competition between BAE and United Defense moot.
The UK Defense Ministry has awarded BAE a research contract to pursue their TMF design. If successful, land-based firing trials could be carried out late in 2008.
Because it is good news where both Republicans and Democrats are working together against Communists and retrograde Unions - you may not have heard about SECSTATE's visit with members of Congress to Colombia.
The Bush administration is mounting an "unprecedented campaign" for Congress to pass the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement, concerned that foot-dragging could send a message abroad that Washington can't keep its commitments to allies.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice led a delegation of Democratic lawmakers to Colombia this weekend to promote the agreement.
In all, six Cabinet secretaries are slated to lead lawmakers to the South American nation through March to push the accord that was signed in 2006 but still lacks congressional approval, U.S. officials said.
Colombian officials also are making the U.S. rounds, with South Florida a key stop. Vice President Francisco Santos met Monday with officials from Miami-Dade County, which passed a resolution last fall backing the pact to boost commerce with a key business partner.
Colombia ranked as South Florida's fourth-largest trade partner in 2006, with $4.4 billion in goods traded, up 11.3 percent from the previous year, according to the latest full-year data from the U.S. Commerce Department.
U.S. unions, including the AFL-CIO, have rejected free trade with Colombia, citing violence against labor leaders there. Many Democrats have withheld support because of union concerns.
But Chris Padilla, assistant secretary of commerce for export administration, said violence has dropped in Colombia in recent years, both against labor leaders and in general. Under conservative President Alvaro Uribe, the Andean nation of 44 million residents has transformed, with murders and kidnappings down, investment up and the economy posting its best performance in decades.
"It would be a foreign policy mistake of colossal proportions if we are to turn our back on an ally that has made such remarkable progress," Padilla said during a Miami visit Thursday. "It would send a message that those committed to freedom and democracy in this hemisphere can't rely on the United States as a friend."
South Florida's trade community and many U.S. business groups also back the agreement as a way to expand U.S. exports, noting that recent free trade accords with Chile, Mexico and other nations have energized U.S. sales to those nations.
Advocates note that Colombia already sells most of its goods duty-free to the United States under existing trade laws, so the pact would mainly expand market access for U.S. goods and services in Colombia. Many also cite strategic reasons to support a U.S. ally.
"We're pulling out all the stops for the Colombia free trade agreement," Frank Vargo, vice president at the National Association of Manufacturers, said Monday. "There will be a lot of fireworks, lightning and thunder, but I believe it can pass before the elections."
Colombia is a solid democracy, a good friend, and the Colombian people love Americans. The fact they, by their economy, freedom, and progress put the lie to Hugo next door, just makes them more deserving of a Free Trade Agreement. Ask Walter and Patricia at The Latino Grill. Video here.
Here is a good example I have such little patience with the MSM Monday morning QB'n anything we do/did in Iraq.
For the last 4 years CBS, more than most - never gives up a chance to throw the WMD "challenge" in the face of any who had to plan for the invasion of Iraq.
Don't focus on teh "Air to Air UAV" BS - at about the 1-minute point, CBS makes my point quite well. Heal thyself.
Some people forget what the past was like - I try to wallow in it.
