FederalDaily - June 5, 2006

Values Training Follows Allegations of Military Killings

The top coalition operational commander in Iraq has directed his subordinate commanders to conduct training in “core warrior values” for all coalition forces, focusing on the importance of adhering to legal, moral and ethical standards on the battlefield, military officials announced. The order comes as the military investigates allegations of servicemembers killing unarmed Iraqi civilians. Officials said Army Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, Multinational Corps Iraq commander, ordered the training to reinforce and sustain training that servicemembers received prior to their deployment to Iraq. Unit leaders will get training packages that emphasize Iraqi cultural expectations and professional military values and the importance of disciplined, professional conduct in combat, officials said. Units will conduct the training over the next 30 days.

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Government Spending Oversight Proposed

Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn., recently introduced legislation he said would make federal agencies accountable to Congress for how they spend taxpayer money. Nineteen of 24 federal agencies cannot show an accurate audit of their financial books, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Tanner stated. Tanner’s legislation, H. Res. 841, would:

• require congressional hearings within 60 days of inspector general reports that identify waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement over $1 million;
• require congressional hearings and testimony from agency officials when the GAO identifies a federal agency as “high risk” for mismanagement;
•  require Congress to hold hearings and question cabinet secretaries when agency auditors issue disclaimers or corrections to an agency’s audit; and
• require Congress to hold at least two hearings a year on performance reviews by the Office of Management and Budget’s Program Assessment Rating Tool.

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Army Training Flight Kills Four in Georgia

The Army announced that one of its MH-47 Chinook helicopters crashed in Colquitt County, Ga., at approximately 8 a.m. EST on June 1 during a training flight. Four soldiers were killed in the accident. A fifth crew member was injured and transported to a local medical facility. An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway. The soldiers’ names and unit of assignment will not be released until after 24 hours after next of kin notification is complete, according to current Department of Defense policy. The Army said additional details on the incident will be posted to http://news.soc.mil as the information becomes available.

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TSP Monthly Returns for May 2006

Rates of Return were updated on June 1, 2006.

The monthly G, F, C, S, and I Fund returns represent the actual total rates of return used in the monthly allocation of earnings to participant accounts. The returns are shown after deduction of accrued TSP administrative expenses. The F, C, S, and I Fund returns also reflect the deduction of trading costs and accrued investment management fees. The most current G, F, C, S, and I Fund rates of return are shown above. Returns are updated after the monthly allocation of earnings, usually by the fourth business day of the month.

For more information on TSP, click here.

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