FederalDaily - May 18, 2006

DHS Details National Guard Border Support

Government officials detailed plans to deploy as many as 6,000 National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border to support the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at a press conference Tuesday. Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense, explained that the costs of using Guard personnel would be paid by the Department of Defense (DoD) on a reimbursable basis. According to McHale, missions carried out by guard members would include:

• surveillance,
• medical support,
• logistics support,
• linguistics support, and
• construction.

Those rotational assignments—expected to be two to three weeks in duration—are similar to annual training conducted by the National Guard along the Mexican border for the past two decades, McHale said. DoD, McHale added, expects to receive a detailed list of mission requirements from the Department of Homeland Security this week.

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GAO Makes Recommendations for DoD Disaster Response

While applauding the military’s efforts in responding to Hurricane Katrina, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the Department of Defense (DoD) still needs better planning to guide disaster recovery efforts. DoD’s emergency response plan, GAO found in a new report, lacked the following:

• details on the full range of assistance the military can provide;
• established response time frames; and
• division of tasks between the National Guard and other federal responders.

In addition, DoD did not conduct comprehensive exercises to test the military’s ability to conduct a large deployment for a catastrophic disaster, the report said. DoD generally concurred, but faulted the report for not addressing the balance between the department’s primary mission—overseas warfighting—and providing civilian support. Also, though DoD expects to improve planning efforts, the department felt that the report did not adequately recognize the many improvements made through 2005. To read the report, go to www.gao.gov/new.items/d06643.pdf.

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USPS Unveils First Hybrid Delivery Van

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) unveiled its first hybrid mail delivery van during a ceremony at the Boston General Mail facility on Tuesday. Walter O’Tormey, vice president of engineering for USPS, said at the ceremony, “We expect hybrid delivery trucks to significantly improve our nation’s fuel economy and reduce our reliance on foreign oil.” The Postal Service said it will monitor the vehicle to determine the emissions and fuel economy improvements. According to USPS, each one-cent increase in fuel prices creates an additional $8 million in annual expenses. The agency, O’Tormey said, drives 1.1 billion miles and uses 125 million gallons of motor fuel each year.

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Call for Nominations for Leadership Award

American University’s School of Public Affairs announced it is taking nominations for the 2006 Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership. The award is presented to outstanding federal employees nominated from all agencies and across the nation. The award is presented in two categories:

• Career Excellence – Honoring a career of superior leadership in the federal government at senior executive levels including a strong commitment to the training and education of managers and executives.
• Extraordinary Effectiveness in a Single Mission or Project – Honoring an outstanding single accomplishment in the federal government.

Nominees must be GS-13 and above. Nominations are accepted online at http://spa.american.edu/roger_jones.php until June 16, 2006. Nominations may be made by an agency colleague or supervisor, or by a private sector colleague. Awardees will be honored in a special awards ceremony in fall 2006 and will each receive $2,500.

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