. (#1, Feb. 19, 2012; #2 October 10, 2012)
“If a way to the Better there be, it exacts a full look at the Worst.” ― Thomas Hardy.
GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES COMMITTEE TO
ENHANCE ARKANSAS’ MILITARY INSTALLATIONS
Industrial Engineering Faculty Member Named Editor-in-Chief of Military
Operations
Research Journal
Nuclear Weapons Transport Training
HOT SPRINGS
Radius
Aerospace Produces Titanium for Lockheed F-35
The
military-business-government-MEDIA COMPLEX. The close alliance of Pentagon, business,
finance, and political parties would not be so unified and influential without
the aid of media. For of course, the
statewide newspaper—the Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette-- is a supporter of the MIC The Arkansas MIC should receive
ever-watchful, critical reporting, but AR media are boosters of neoliberal profit,
growth, development, and inequality.
Similarly, all the newspapers and magazines in the state defend the
system in which the combat fighter wing at Ebbing is named for the Go-Razorback!football
team. The Media Complex needs a thorough
examination ongoing by dissertations, theses, columns, lte, if we are to keep
our democracy.
Talk
Business & Politics - Daily
Business & Political News for ...
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Talk Business & Politics is a news website that covers business, politics and culture
in Arkansas.
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Arkansas Money & Politics: AMP
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industry › govern...
11-24-21: “In response to my Facebook post
about war contracts in Arkansas, Cindy Sheehan wrote: ‘When I was researching a book many years ago, I found out that
if you live in the US, you don't live more than 50 miles from a war profiteer,
war installation, or recruiting office. That's why the war machine is
entrenched in this society.’”
Here’s an abstract way of conceptualizing the domination
she describes: the USA is composed of multitudes of militarized crevices
(cracks, splits, fissures, clefts, chinks, niches). Any force that occupies and controls the most
significant interstices controls the government or nation and the
populace.
We see this played out by Adolph Hitler in
Benjamin Hett’s The Death of Democracy:
Hitler’s Rise to Power and the Downfall of the Weimar Republic (2018)
during the years 1928 to 1934 (plus some earlier contexts). Hitler gradually gained control of the
institutions of Weimar both large and small until at last he took the
Chancellorship and Presidency and above all the army. One by one, he replaced the established
interstices of power—Germany’s conservative political elites, the business
leaders, the military commanders-- with members of the Nazi Party.
But
almost to the very last Hitler’s ascension to the highest power in Germany was
not a foregone conclusion. Although “after
1929, there was no viable antidemocratic coalition that did not include Hitler
and the Nazis,” who “proved to be the most skillful politicians at capturing
the resentments” of the electorate, and “one after another the conservatives
found themselves outmaneuvered and sidelined” (234), still Hitler had to murder
one of his “few friends,” Ernst Rohm, and destroy Rohm’s Storm Troopers, the SA—on
the Night of the Long Knives--to ensure the
country was his. Leading up to that
moment, Hitler faced opposition from major parties and leaders, which he had to
defeat and replace with his Party followers, the Nazis. And high level Weimar military insurgents
were still resisting Hitler during WWII in their attempted assassination of
Hitler in Operation Valkyrie of 1944.
Hett
addresses his final remarks to his audience of 2018. Thinking of the end of the Weimar democracy
“as the result of a large protest movement colliding with complex patterns of
elite self-interest, in a culture increasingly prone to aggressive mythmaking
and irrationality—strips way the exotic and foreign look of swastika banners
and goose-stepping Stormtroopers.
Suddenly the whole thing looks close and familiar. . . .few people could
imagine the worst possibilities. A
civilized nation could not possibly vote for Hitler. . . .” But “it is hard to blame them for not
foreseeing the unthinkable.”
Fortunately for us, “We who come later
have one advantage over them: we have their example before us” (235).
Winter
2021 | Armed Forces Alumni Society
Quarterly
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Armed Forces Alumni Society afas@arkansasalumni.org via uark.edu
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6:01 AM (8 hours ago)
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to me
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ICYMI: The AFAS held a
tailgating event last month to engage with its members before the
football game versus the Missouri Tigers. WPS!
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Have you heard? AFAS is offering a scholarship beginning fall 2022!
What is it? The
University of Arkansas Armed Forces Alumni Society Award is a one-year
nonrenewable, academic scholarship.
How can I contribute to the scholarship?
Donate online at: onlinegiving.uark.edu
OR
Make check payable to:
U of A Foundation
Mail to:
Arkansas Alumni
Association
PO Box 1981,
Dept. 2759
Fayetteville, AR 72702
Who is eligible?
• Recipients must be full-time students in good standing
• Recipients must have a 3.0 minimum cumulative GPA
• Recipients must be current or former members, or dependents of a
current or former member, of the Armed Forces of the United States and
have verifying documentation on file with the VRIC OR
• Recipients must be current members, or dependents of a current
member, of the Armed Forces Alumni Society.
Students may reapply each year.
Additional Notes:
• Reserve Officer
Training Corps cadets are only eligible if they are prior military
service members with a verifiable DD214 Member 4.
• Military service members with a dishonorable discharge or
their family member(s) are not eligible.
When are applications due? The application opens on Jan. 1, 2022 and closes
on Feb. 15, 2022. The Armed Forces Alumni Society will make selections
the spring 2022 for award in the fall 2022 semester.
How do I apply? Complete
the online application at: arkansasalumni.org/scholarships.
Email alumnisp@uark.edu for
information.
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REMEMBERING AN ALUMNI VETERAN
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MARCH 26, 1932 – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
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If This Walk Could
Talk Documentary Premiere
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Join us in person or virtually for the
premiere of If This Walk Could Talk! It
tells the story of the U of A, from personal reflections
through time, by those whose names are etched in stone. The
film is directed by Larry Foley, journalism professor and
chair of the School of Journalism and Strategic Media. The
event will be held in the Faulkner Performing Arts Center.
Schedule
(subject to change)
6 p.m. Reception
7 p.m. Viewing
Q & A and Dessert to Follow
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GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES COMMITTEE TO
SUPPORT, ENHANCE ARKANSAS MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, Sept. 21, 2015.
https://armoneyandpolitics.com/governor-announces-committee-to-support-enhance-arkansas-military-installations/
Gov. Asa
Hutchinson announced today, Sept. 21, the creation of a new statewide
initiative aimed at supporting and promoting Arkansas’ military installations.
The Governor’s Military Affairs Committee will be a public-private initiative to support and advocate for the state’s
military institutions and installations, both at the national and state level
to accomplish short- and long-term economic objectives.
At a press
conference, held at the Arkansas Military Aviation Support Facility at Camp
Robinson in North Little Rock, Hutchinson said altogether, the state’s military installations contribute
$1 billion to the state’s economy each year….Continued:
https://armoneyandpolitics.com/governor-announces-committee-to-support-enhance-arkansas-military-installations/
“Arkansas arms sales jump nearly 500% in 2018,
Saudi Arabia near the top of state export marketplace” by Wesley Brown (wesbrocomm@gmail.com), May 15, 2019.
https://talkbusiness.net/2019/05/arkansas-arms-sales-jump-nearly-500-in-2018-saudi-arabia-near-the-top-of-state-export-marketplace/
Civilian aircraft parts, ammunitions and rice were the
top Arkansas exports purchased by U.S. trade partners in 2018, representing
more than 25% of the $6.5 billion in homemade goods shipped from the Natural
State to other countries, according to new data compiled by the U.S. Census
Bureau on foreign trade.
At the same time, oil- and cash-rich Saudi Arabia
leapfrogged reliable U.S. trading partners in Europe and Asia such as France,
China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom to land among the top three purchasers
of Arkansas-made goods. In 2018, the Middle Eastern country bought $397 million
of Arkansas commodities, which represents 6.1% of the state’s global export
market.
The stark increase in exports to Saudi Arabia is directly
attributed to the Middle Eastern nation’s long-term relationship with U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin. In
2017, Saudi Arabia expressed its intent to procure more than $28 billion in
integrated air and missile defense, combat ships, tactical aircraft and rotary
wing technologies and programs with the Bethesda, Md.-based defense contractor.
Part of that deal includes the U.S.
Army’s $1.1 billion foreign military sales contract to deliver Patriot, or
PAC-3 missiles, interceptors, launcher modification kits, associated equipment
and spares to the Kingdom, South Korea and Qatar. Not only is Lockheed’s sprawling industrial site in south Arkansas
responsible for final assembly of the high-velocity interceptors, but fellow
Camden-based defense contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne also manufactures the rocket
propulsion systems that allow the PAC-3 to shoot down enemy
missiles….Continued: https://talkbusiness.net/2019/05/arkansas-arms-sales-jump-nearly-500-in-2018-saudi-arabia-near-the-top-of-state-export-marketplace/
Arkansas War Contractor Lists by City United
States Government Contracts
296 Cities out of 605 received defense contracts!!!
The largest recipient
is Camden:
But other even towns
and hamlets are receiving large amounts; for example:
I have barely scratched the surface of this gargantuan money
saturation of Arkansas by the military.
Please someone make a study of this data.
https://www.governmentcontractswon.com/department/defense/arkansas_cities.asp
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State
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Arkansas (AR)
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Dollar Amount of Defense
Contracts Awarded to Contractors in this State from 2000 to 2020
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$7,585,647,368
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Number of Defense Contracts
Awarded to Contractors in this State from 2000 to 2020
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57,594
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Number of Defense
Contractors in this State
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3,303
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Number of Cities in this
State
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605
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Defense Contract Totals
for Contractors in this State
Contract Count/Contract Dollar Amount
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2020
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11,003/
$260,566,083
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2019
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9,600/
$176,114,954
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2018
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9,481/
$242,216,688
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2017
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2,390/
$130,194,321
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2016
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2,061/
$158,159,744
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2015
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1,715/
$185,296,693
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2014
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1,249/
$229,773,465
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2013
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1,156/
$237,101,905
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2012
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1,364/
$446,138,846
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2011
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1,546/
$632,056,398
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2010
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1,866/
$606,602,021
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2009
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1,958/
$497,758,238
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2008
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2,139/
$332,378,258
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2007
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1,993/
$310,413,759
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2006
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1,831/
$570,244,686
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2005
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1,881/
$511,225,445
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2004
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1,342/
$378,392,405
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2003
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1,256/
$443,082,569
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2002
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990/
$686,300,944
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2001
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401/
$342,988,757
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2000
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372/
$208,641,189
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Map of Aerospace/Military
Weapons Contractors in Arkansas
Camden,
Arkansas Military Weapons Manufacturing
https://www.teamcamden.com/industry/
https://www.teamcamden.com/industry/
OUR TARGET INDUSTRIES
We’re big on
a strong national defense because it’s in our blood. The defense industry is
the life line of our economy. For us, it is jobs and pride and an awareness
that what our defense workers do to deliver the very best in workmanship makes
the difference between life and death.
Most of our
defense contractors are located in the Highland
Industrial Park – a privately-owned 17,000-acre industrial park located
close to Camden in Calhoun County. Among the products produced at the Highland
Industrial Park are the PAC-3, THADD, HIMARS, MLRS and Guided MLRS, Standard
Missile-3, Evolved Sea-Sparrow Missile (ESSM), Hydra-70 rockets, Modular
Artillery Charges (MACs), pressed warheads, infra-red flares and other
countermeasures, practice round munitions, including “green” training grenades,
Hellfire/Javelin Tactical Missiles, and tactical rocket motors and warheads for
use in Javelin, PAC-3, Tomahawk, Standard Missile, Army TACMS, and
GMLRS…Continued:
https://www.teamcamden.com/industry/
HIGHLAND INDUSTRIAL PARK
Another article on Highland Industrial
Park in Camden, warmaking details:
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/highland.htm
Highland Park,
Camden and Arms Trade:
https://talkbusiness.net/2020/08/contract-changes-provide-more-work-to-lockheed-operations-in-camden/
Camden’s War Economy
March/April 2015 Issue
https://armoneyandpolitics.com/feature-camdens-war-economy/
Photos courtesy
of Spectra Technologies and Highland Industrial Park
Top photo: A large sign
at the entrance to the park’s more than 15,000 acres displays the names of the
organizations with a presence there — Fortune 500 companies like General
Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon, among many others.
Camden, Ark., is an old, historic city.
The Ouachita River lies still as a serpent where it curves against the bluff
upon which the town is built. The streets and buildings of downtown seem to
exist under a spell from the past. Life feels slow and easy.
But in 2001,
when International Paper’s Camden mill closed, there was a danger that slow and
easy might become — as it has for some towns in south Arkansas — death and
decay. Camden, however, had a secret weapon. As ground wars heated up in
Afghanistan and Iraq, nearby Highland
Industrial Park (HIP), home to numerous defense contractors making munitions,
heated up with money and jobs. Now, with large-scale fighting by U.S. forces
winding down and defense budget cuts kicking in, can the park continue to fuel
the local economy?....Continued: https://armoneyandpolitics.com/feature-camdens-war-economy/
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin Announces
New $560 Million Pentagon Production Contract For Camden
https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2019-06-26/lockheed-martin-announces-new-560-million-pentagon-production-contract-for-camden
Only days after Gov. Asa Hutchinson returned from a European
trade mission where Lockheed Martin announced a multimillion-dollar deal to
expand its operations in Camden, the Pentagon awarded the defense giant another
blockbuster contract to manufacture warheads at its South Arkansas military
industrial complex.
On Tuesday, Lockheed Martin announced it received a $561.8
million production contract for the U.S. Army’s MGM-14O Tactical Missile System
(ATacMS) missiles for the so-called Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. The
two-year contract calls for new production of the Army’s tactical guided
missile systems, as well as upgrading older ATacMS variants as part of the
Pentagon’s so-called Service Life Extension Program….
In the bid award specifications released by the U.S. Department
of Defense (DoD) on Monday, the hybrid contract notes that the Army’s
long-range missile system will be sold under the Pentagon’s foreign military
sales program to allies in Bahrain, Poland and Romania. The newest version of
the surface-to-surface missile system has a range of over 150 miles and can be fired
from multiple rocket launchers….Continued: https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2019-06-26/lockheed-martin-announces-new-560-million-pentagon-production-contract-for-camden
“Camden Site to Build Part of Saudi System.” ADG
(3-7-19).
LM’s branch will participate in the $945.9 million contract to build a Terminal
High Altitude Area Defense system to defend against short-and medium-range
ballistic missiles.
“Camden
plant to get Raytheon parts work” NADG (3-27-20).
Arms-maker Raytheon Co.
has reached a $1 billion, five-year strategic deal with a key supplier that
operates a rocket motor production plant Arkansas.
Raytheon's deal
with Aerojet Rocketdyne -- which has
a rocket motor production operation in Camden -- is for the production of
propulsion and control systems over a five-year period for several of Raytheon's key missiles, according to a
news release.
"Aerojet
Rocketdyne has supported one or more variants of the Standard Missile program
for more than three decades; we are proud of our contributions to these vital
defense products," said Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne chief executive
and president. "This significant agreement on multiyear contracts
strengthens our current relationship and positions Aerojet Rocketdyne favorably
for future business opportunities and continued growth."
Aerojet
Rocketdyne is a subsidiary of publicly traded Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings.
Several Aerojet
Rocketdyne sites will do the work for the project, including the Solid Rocket Motor Center of Excellence in
Camden.
-- John
Magsam
Camden
plant to get Raytheon parts work - PressReader
www.pressreader.com
› usa › arkansas-democrat-gazette
8
hours ago - Arms-maker Raytheon Co. has reached a $1
billion, five-year strategic deal with a key supplier that operates a rocket
motor production plant ...
Camden plant key facility in Raytheon's $2.4
billion Patriot ...
www.magnoliareporter.com
› news_and_business › local_business
Dec 20, 2014 - Camden plant key
facility in Raytheon's $2.4 billion Patriot missile contract
with Qatar ... to build 10 Patriot fire units and spare parts for
the State of Qatar. ... Work for the $2,397,211,870
fixed-price-incentive, foreign military ...
Sep 30, 2018 - Two years ago, Lockheed
Martin's Camden manufacturing plant was the
... to produce and deliver Standard Missile-6 all-up round missiles and
spare parts. ... 31% of the contract work would be
done at Raytheon's East Camden factory. ...
Smaller industrial and defense suppliers and manufacturing have ...
Spectra
Technologies (Warhead/Explosives Manufacturer)
BOOMING BUSINESS: ARKANSAS’ DEFENSE
COMPANIES, A GROWING ECONOMIC SEGMENT by Dwain
Hebda March 25, 2019
https://armoneyandpolitics.com/booming-business-arkansas-defense/pectra Technologies kes warheads from the
Calhoun …Spectra
Technologies is one of the more modestly-sized firms – just 200 employees –
that’s part of a 10,000-job, $1.8 billion industry in The Natural State,
according to the Arkansas Aerospace and Defense Alliance. Spectra makes
warheads, the explosive payloads that range from a few milligrams to 500 kilos,
as well as hand-thrown grenades, 40mm grenades and assorted demolition
products….Continued:
https://armoneyandpolitics.com/booming-business-arkansas-defense/
American
Rheinmetall Munition Inc., (German
Subsidiary)
Multi-million
dollar Pentagon awards boost Arkansas’ defense sectorMANUFACTURING
by Wesley Brown (wesbrocomm@gmail.com) September 30, 2018 8:20 am 858 views
https://talkbusiness.net/2018/09/multi-million-dollar-pentagon-awards-boosts-arkansas-defense-sector/
Arkansas’ fast-growing defense sector got another big
boost this week after two global defense contractors with state ties won
contract awards or extensions on work that will be completed at East Camden’s
sprawling industrial munitions complex.
On Thursday, American
Rheinmetall Munition Inc., based in Stafford, Va., was awarded a firm-fixed
price contract worth $59.7 million firm to supply the U.S. Marine Corps with
2,135,026 high-velocity practice grenade holders, known as MK281 MOD 3 cartridges.
According to contract specifications published each week by the U.S. Department
of Defense, work will be performed in American Rheinmetall’s munitions factory
in East Camden, Ark. with delivery expected to be complete by Sept. 25, 2022.
American Rheinmetall Munitions, Inc. (ARM) is the U.S.
operating subsidiary of European defense giant Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH,
a publicly traded company in Düsseldorf, Germany that has nearly 24,000
employees across the globe and annual sales of more than $6.8 billion. Talk
Business & Politics reached out to ARM officials in Camden, Virginia and at
their global headquarters in Germany, but did not get a response…
https://talkbusiness.net/2018/09/multi-million-dollar-pentagon-awards-boosts-arkansas-defense-sector
[Of course these are not all of the war
profiteers in Camden.]
$95,114,742
“Designer of Circuits Lands $1m in Grants. ADG (July 19, 2017). For developing control systems in jets
detectors and high temperature electronics.
The money builds on previous work.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS RESEARCH AT University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
[Honeywell/UAF]
From
Abel 12-18-19
Dear
friends,
Last
month, the Nobel Prize winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear
Weapons (ICAN) published a detailed report called, Schools of Mass Destruction:
American Universities in the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex.
This report shows the University of Arkansas made a deal with the devil by signing
a collaboration agreement with the war profiteering corporation Honeywell to
help build nuclear weapons. This is part of Obama-Trump's illegal nuclear
arsenal "modernization", which is costing over $1 trillion
and terroristically threatening every human. I am sending this to ask you all
for ideas of what might be done to confront the University and see if we can
pressure them into canceling this agreement? What form of protest would be most
effective? What are other ways pressure can be placed on the UA Administration?
Please forward this message to anyone else that would be interested in this.
Below
are 3 sources, a news story from Common Dreams, ICAN's report, and a primary
source on UA-Honeywell collaboration.
1. 'Schools of Mass Destruction': Report Details 49 US Universities
Abetting Nuclear Weapons Complex
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/11/13/schools-mass-destruction-report-details-49-us-universities-abetting-nuclear-weapons
2.
Schools of Mass Destruction: American Universities in the U.S. Nuclear Weapons
Complex.
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/ican/pages/430/attachments/original/1574113227/ICAN-Schools-of-mass-Destruction_nov2019.pdf
3.
U of A, Honeywell to Collaborate on National Security Technology
https://news.uark.edu/articles/38766/u-of-a-honeywell-to-collaborate-on-national-security-technology?fbclid=IwAR13Vpj_NzBg1DOhaY-vfWkyoi3qFaqjnD74X5XseTcme1qNm2YMqtZZd8k
Thank
you,
Abel Tomlinson
OMNI
Peace Action Committee, Chair
Arkansas Nonviolence Alliance, Founder
AbelTomlinson.com
Facebook | Twitter
(479)283-5762
[C-130s at
Little Rock, Drones and F-16 and F-35 in Ft. Smith: Arkansas at the front and a mainstay of US
aggression around the world, as a look at the histories of these planes reveals.]
“Drones, Cops, and the Unaccountable Machinery
of Death.” https://www.thenation.com › Article
Apr 29, 2015 — From signature strikes in Pakistan to police violence in
Baltimore.]]
GOV. HUTCHINSON’S Building on Guard Site Starts”
Project
to house 3 wing missions” By Dave Hughes.
Posted: February 14, 2018 at 1:01 a.m.
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2018/feb/14/building-on-guard-site-starts-20180214/?news-arkansas-nwa
FORT
SMITH -- The Arkansas Air National Guard broke ground Tuesday on construction
of a 40,000-square-foot building that will put all three of the 188th Wing's
major missions under one roof.
In
a ceremony at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, the 188th's commander, Col.
Robert Kinney, said the $14.2 million
building that will house the wing's remotely
piloted aircraft, distributed ground station
and intelligence surveillance reconnaissance missions in one structure is
expected to be completed in 2020.
"Upon
completion, this Razorback Operation
Center, as this facility will be known, will be the only facility in the world which will house all three mission sets,"
Kinney told the crowd of about 100 military officials, congressional
representatives, community leaders and airmen.
Among
those present Tuesday were Arkansas Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Mark Berry,
Arkansas Air Guard Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Joe Wilson, Col. [Ret.] Steve
Eggensperger representing Gov. Asa
Hutchinson, and Fort Smith Mayor
Sandy Sanders.
Berry
said he believed the 188th's missions were important in maintaining the
nation's national security, an asset that will employ many airmen and
guarantee the long-term survival of the Arkansas National Guard.
Combining
the three missions under one roof, Kinney said, will lead to innovations,
efficiencies and synergies that will help operators and analysts collaborate to
solve problems in carrying out their missions around the world.
"This
just didn't happen," Sanders said. "It took a lot of support from the
governor's office, the congressional
delegation, and it demonstrates the confidence in the leadership of the
188th."
The
188th's missions are more important today given the complicated world for the
military to navigate. Kinney said the newly released National Defense Strategy,
among other things, refocuses attention on strategic competitors Russia, China,
North Korea, Iran and transnational groups such as ISIS and al-Qaida.
They
will challenge the United States, short of armed conflict, he said, and blur
the lines between civil and military force.
"We
here at the 188th are primarily focused day to day on the counter-insurgency
fight," he said. "In parallel, we will continue to prepare for the
strategic fight as the National Defense Strategy provides."
The
188th took on the new missions after losing its long-held flying mission in
2014 when the wing's A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, nicknamed the Warthogs, were
reassigned.
Kinney
said the wing was put on a tight schedule to transition to the new missions,
completing six years of hiring in six months and training more than 500
personnel in two years.
The
remotely piloted aircraft mission moved into a 5,000-square-foot classified
facility where combat missions took place around the clock. The distributed
ground station targeting mission is in a 3,500-square-foot classified space. A
renovated 20,000-square-foot operations space houses the intelligence
surveillance reconnaissance group headquarters.
Putting
those missions into action was accomplished in three years, Kinney said.
"We
do support combat and command requirements 24/7/365 around the world,"
Kinney said. "I can't talk about where those are, but we certainly have
that capability."
NW News on 02/14/2018
|
Nick Mottern, KNOW DRONES (an online magazine started by
Mottern and sponsored by Veterans for Peace)
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2-17-18
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10:27 AM (10 minutes
ago)
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Hi Dick:
Thank you for writing. What
you describe as the mood in Arkansas is prevalent across the country as far as
I can tell. That is certainly true in metropolitan NYC. I will
consider coming to visit Fort Smith. However, it is a major time, money
and energy commitment, and I think it is very likely that I would not be able
to do this until the fall.
I really appreciate your sending
me the article about the Fort Smith drone base. This is an indicator, to
be added to others, that the U.S. is dramatically expanding its killer drone
capability and operations. VERY, VERY, in my view, disastrous for
humankind.
Here is an extremely important
quote from Albert Speer, mastermind of Hitler's industrial war machine, from
his book Inside the Third Reich:
"The catastrophe of this war," I wrote in my cell in
1947, "has proved the sensitivity of the system of modern civilization
evolved in the course of centuries. Now we know that we do not live in an
earth-quake-proof structure. The build-up of negative impulses, each
reinforcing the other, can inexorably shake to pieces the complicated apparatus
of the modern world. There is no halting this process by will
alone. The danger is that the automation of progress will depersonalize
man further and withdraw more and more his self-responsibility."
We are seeing what drone
assassination is doing in Yemen and Afghanistan, among other places, in
destroying the fundamental ability of societies and cultures to be peaceful
and self-sustaining. We are seeing an advance in killer drone
technology that is spreading this plague, a plague that will clearly engulf our
supposedly safe world and bring it into the violent chaos that we have so
carelessly visited on others.
We will be running more cable TV
ads in Fort Smith within the next few months. I will send
preliminary versions to get your comments before we run the final ads.
Thank you Dick for your inspiring
persistence,
Nick
Fort
Smith's Ebbing Air National Guard Base chosen as the site for multi-
national fighter jets by John Lovett,, Fort Smith Times Record
After a year-long competition with several other
cities, Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith was chosen as the location to
host a multi-national training site for F-16 Falcon and F-35 fighter jets.
The new mission would come with an estimated $800 million –
$1 billion economic impact, according to the Fort Smith Regional Chamber
of Commerce.
The Air Force Secretary announced Thursday that Ebbing Air National Guard
Base was chosen to host the training site.
Ebbing exceeded the minimum bidding requirement for military
airspace. The base had also previously housed F-16s from 1988-2005 under the
188th Fighter Wing.
Singapore's F-16s would be housed for a security initiative
in Pacific Indochina. About two dozen F-35s would be for a multi-national
contingent for the air forces of Finland, Poland, Switzerland, and Singapore.
A “rising threat” from China was
cited in August by a spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton as
one factor in creating the allied training base. Staff members for Cotton and
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack said the delegation had petitioned the Federal Aviation
Administration to increase military airspace over the River Valley. Col.
Jeremiah Gentry, vice commander of the 188th Wing at Ebbing, noted in August
the military airspace around the Fort Smith airport exceeded the minimum
required for the training site bidding process.
Singaporean delegates visited Fort Smith in
March as part of the competition that was announced in July
2020 and was narrowed down from five to three airbases late last
year. The four other sites in the competition included Buckley
Air Force Base in the Aurora, Colorado area; the Joint Base San
Antonio-Lackland; Hulman Air Field just west of Indianapolis;
and Selfridge Air National Guard Base in the Detroit area.
An August 2020 Times Record Facebook poll showed 93% of
readers were in favor of having Fort Smith serve as the fighter jet training
site. There were 288 votes.
Fort Smith has a long history with fighter jets. According to the 188th Wing, in the early
1950s the T-6D “Texan” trainers were flown out of Fort Smith, followed by
the TB-26B “Invader.” Also in the 1950s, the Fort Smith base was home to RF-80
and RF-84F fighters. The RF-101, F-100 and F-4Cs fighters were flown out
of Fort Smith in the 1970s. F-16 Falcons were flown by the 188th Fighter Wing
from 1988 through the 2000s. The 188th then flew the A-10 “Warthog"
before changing over to an unmanned flight
mission with remotely piloted aircraft. The last A-10 flew out of Ebbing Air
National Guard Base in June 2014.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Cotton,
and Womack applauded the U.S. Air Force announcement that Ebbing Air
National Guard Base in Fort Smith was selected.
“The selection committee recognized that Arkansas is one of the
most military-friendly states in the nation," Hutchinson said in a news
release. "Our tax exemption for military retirement income and our
licensing reciprocity initiatives are valuable tools for recruiting qualified
employees and their families to Fort Smith."
The governor noted the progress toward building
expansive fifth-generation airspace over Ebbing and an aerial range
4 miles from the base. In his meeting with the Singaporean delegation and
the U.S. Department of Defense, Hutchinson said it was clear they understood
"the River Valley would wholeheartedly welcome the fighter-jet
training."
Hutchinson also credited members of the military affairs
committee for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission in winning the new
mission for Ebbing.
"We already are prepared to provide a first-rate quality of
life for the families who will move here," the governor noted.
"Congratulations to Major General Kendall Penn, Colonel Leon Dodroe,
188th commander, other USAF leaders, the Air Force and the community leaders
whose thoughtful efforts and hard work to sell Fort Smith landed a project that
will pay dividends for years."
Nuclear Weapons Transport Training in
Fort Smith,
Arkansas
Nuclear Weapons Transport Training in Fort
Smith, Arkansas
Local
News Report: Fort Chaffee A Training Ground For Nuclear Transport
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHtgDCodWgQ
Office
of Secure Transportation
National Nuclear
Security Administration
https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/office-secure-transportation
This troubled, covert agency
is responsible for trucking nuclear bombs across America each day
MARCH 10, 2017 3 AM PT
The unmarked 18-wheelers ply
the nation’s interstates and two-lane highways, logging 3 million miles a year
hauling the most lethal cargo there is: nuclear bombs. The covert fleet, which
shuttles warheads from missile silos, bomber bases and submarine docks to
nuclear weapons labs across the country, is operated by the Office of Secure
Transportation, a troubled agency within the U.S. Department of Energy so
cloaked in secrecy that few people outside the government know it exists.
The $237-million-a-year
agency operates a fleet of 42 tractor-trailers, staffed by highly armed
couriers, many of them veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, responsible
for making sure nuclear weapons and components pass through foggy mountain
passes and urban traffic jams without incident.
The transportation office is
about to become more crucial than ever as the U.S. embarks on a $1-trillion
upgrade of the nuclear arsenal that will require thousands of additional
warhead shipments over the next 15 years….Continued: https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-nuclear-couriers-20170310-story.html
National
Nuclear Security Administration.
August 19, 2021.
Despite pandemic, Arkansas personnel of
NNSA’s Office of Secure Transportation (OST) remain focused on training its
future federal agents.
https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/despite-pandemic-arkansas-personnel-nnsas-office-secure-transportation-remain-focused
The
most recent Nuclear Material Courier Basic Academy graduating class at Fort
Chaffee, Arkansas.
Last month, a
new class of federal agents graduated from NNSA’s Nuclear Material Courier
Basic Academy, another example of how the agency’s Office of Secure
Transportation (OST) has kept up its critical mission to securely transport
government-owned special nuclear materials in the contiguous United States
throughout the COVID-19 pandemic….Continued:
https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/despite-pandemic-arkansas-personnel-nnsas-office-secure-transportation-remain-focused
HOT SPRINGS
Noel Oman. “Hot
Springs’ Radius to Break ground on Titanium Plant.” NADG (11-22-19). “Radius Aerospace, a 53-year old aerospace fabricator and
supplier [headquarters in] Hot Springs, is almost as stealthy as the Lockheed
F-35 Lightning II, the U.S. Air force’s new multirole fighter jet, for which
the company supplies complex titanium parts.”
(“The company may operate with a low profile in Arkansas, but it is
well-known in the aerospace industry.”) At present “Radius operates in 359,000 square
feet of space in the city,” and it is breaking ground “on its new titanium
Operations facility, an investment worth $24.5 million.” Radius also supplies parts for the F-15
Eagle, a U.S. Air Force all-weather tactical fighter, and the F/A-18 Hornet, a
U.S. Navy multirole combat jet.” “The
company is growing, having recently acquired two British facilities now known
as Radius Europe.”
“Raytheon
partners with Ducommun to build Naval Strike Missile fire control systems. Contract to add
new manufacturing business in Arkansas.”
https://raytheon.mediaroom.com/2017-09-11-Raytheon-partners-with-Ducommun-to-build-Naval-Strike-Missile-fire-control-systems
TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/
-- “Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has selected Ducommun (NYSE: DCO) to build
fire control systems for the Naval Strike Missile, or NSM, an advanced weapon
that Raytheon is offering for the U.S. Navy's over-the-horizon requirement for
its littoral combat ships and future frigates.
The partnership will support manufacturing jobs at Ducommun's Berryville and Huntsville,
Arkansas, operations…” continued: https://raytheon.mediaroom.com/2017-09-11-Raytheon-partners-with-Ducommun-to-build-Naval-Strike-Missile-fire-control-systems (Note on “littoral” ships: “Littoral” means
seashore or region along the shore.
These “littoral combat ships and future frigates” are designed for
attack, for aggressive war, and are already deployed in the South China Sea.)
JACKSONVILLE: C-130J
Arkansas
Military-Corporate-Government-Media Complex Seizes the Profitable Cold War
Opportunity
Rex Nelson. “The Next Big Thing.” NADG (June
9, 2018, Column). Gives a thumbnail history of the creation of the Little Rock AFB
near Jacksonville through the joint efforts of the USAF and SAC, money raised
to purchase the land by Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce, County Judge
Archibald Campbell, Pulaski County businessmen (Raymond Rebsamen, Everett
Tucker, Harry Pfeifer, Ike Teague) , and the Army Corps of Engineers that
constructed the base. The base was activated Oct. 9,
1955. “Approximately 85,000 people attended.” Now the
base is the home of the C-130J, mighty flying boxcars of Empire. And Mr.
Nelson is oblivious to the MCGM, which keeps the Complex flying. -- Dick
PINE
BLUFF:ARSENAL IN WHITE HALL
(needed here
is a history of this old Army facility)
69 500 $1,136,836,589
ROTC
“Springdale High School launched a Marine Corps Junior ROTC program in 2006.” (Jordan 11-21-21, 1B).
I wrote her 11-22-2021
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Cheryl
Simon <sherrysimon54@me.com>
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4:01 PM (17
minutes ago)
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to me 11-17-19
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Hi Mr. Bennett,
This is Dr. Sherry Simon. I was excited to see that you seem to be keeping
track of and publishing information about different peace groups. I am the
current president of Pax Christi Little Rock. Would love to talk with you at
some point about your involvement in the peace movement. You know Jean, so I
don’t doubt that you are an activist with a heart! Please feel free to contact
me either at this email address or you can text or call at 501-268-8653.
Blessings of Peace,
Sherry
Sent from my iPhone
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4:18 PM (0
minutes ago)
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to Cheryl
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My Peace
Movement Directory was published in 2000, and then in 2001 I
started the OMNI Center for Peace Justice and Ecology, and since then like Jean
I have worked for those values ever since. We have a coalition
of peace and justice organizations, mainly in LR (APCJ, WAND, and now PAX
Christi) and Fayetteville (and we also have a growing military-industrial
complex mainly in Camden especially, Jacksonville, Fort Smith (drone squadron),
Whitehall/PB, and Fayetteville (UAF research, ROTC). We have much at least to expose in
Arkansas. Maybe some day we can resume our annual meeting of
Arkansas/regional peace groups.
Thanks for
writing, Dick Bennett, Prof. Emer. UAF
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Dick Bennett <j.dick.bennett@gmail.com>
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11:27 AM (4 hours
ago)
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to Gladys, Still, Taylor, kimberly,
bcc: Karen, bcc: Gerald, bcc: Sonny
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UAF
has the ROTC, this weekend, military financed research, and more.
The
peace movement has occasional marginal events.
What
to do?
Perhaps
the first thing to do is to make this war making complicity known to the
faculty, staff, and students.
I
copied the following 2 Contents into Culture of War newsl doc 3-1-2020
US
Military-Industrial (Corporate-Wall Street--White
House- Congressional) Complex (Dems and Repubs One War Party)
TEXTS FOR ARKANSAS MIC
PENTAGON: MILITARY FORCES
The
key method to militarize a representative democracy is to proceed gradually and
thus invisibly to the unenquiring, undiscerning majority, by inserting it throughout
each state, not only in every interstice possible, but in every thing and
life. Some are large and significant,
but it’s the thousands of little things that make, eventually, the military
perception of reality seem natural and normal. Consequently, this newsletter
and all of my newsletters on the subject offer only an introduction to the
gargantuan reality.
US MILITARISM
OMNI US
MILITARISM, EMPIRE NEWSLETTER # 16, May 17, 2015.
http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2015/05/us-imperialism-and-
militarism.html US
Military Budget
ARKANSAS MILITARISM
Consider Arkansas: The Attorney General’s
special protection of military service employees. The cash-cow military-industrial town of
Camden, AR, supplies steel rain to
the men, women, and children of the Middle East. The state’s main newspaper’s
reality-softening vocabulary—our troops not killed but only fallen.
U.S. Companies Censor Anti-War
Billboards. By David
Swanson, World Beyond War. Companies in Syracuse,
NY, and Fort Smith, AR, are refusing to rent billboards for messages opposing
drone wars. These are the billboard
images they are censoring:
No company has questioned the facts of the messages or even raised that
topic in any manner. It is hardly disputable that drones make orphans, or that they
kill innocent children. That drone
wars make us less safe ought to be obvious after what the
"successful" drone war has done to Yemen, following the April 23,
2013, testimony of Farea al-Muslimi before the
U.S. Congress that drone strikes were building support for terrorists. But
don't take it from him or me, when a leaked CIA document admits
that the drone program is "counterproductive," and numerous recently
retired top U.S. officials agree.
Censorhip in Syracuse
I signed a contract with Lamar Advertising,
working with one of their people in Virginia, where they had previously
accepted one of our billboards. We have a signed agreement to put up seven
billboards for two months each in Syracuse, for a cost of $10,325. But they
sent me this email:
"The Syracuse office did not approve the copy that you sent over, however
they are much more comfortable with the design that you used with us
previously. Would you like to use the design from Charlottesville (attached) or
do you have any other copy that you would like to run by us. I have attached
our copy acceptance policy as well."
This was the design that Lamar had permitted us to use in Charlottesville, and
Clear Channel had permitted us to use in Baltimore as well:
See explanation of the 3% calculation here. Neither company ever
asked for any explanation or expressed any concerns. Here is what Lamar's
"acceptance policy" says: "Lamar
reserves the right to reject advertising copy for any reason, but rejects copy
for the following specific reasons:
• The copy is factually inaccurate, misleading, fraudulent or deceptive.
• The copy is obscene, offensive or otherwise inconsistent with local community
standards.
• The copy promotes an illegal activity.
• Advertisers who have a pattern of using provocative and critical copy to
create negative impressions of other entities may be barred from posting copy.
. . .
"Lamar will not accept or reject copy based upon agreement or disagreement
with the views presented.
"When a website address is contained in advertising copy, the content of
the website will be considered in Lamar’s process of deciding whether copy is
acceptable." The line claiming
that the company will not reject content because it disagrees with it seems to
be false, given that it is rejecting content but willing to accept other
content it is "much more comfortable" with, and given that it has not
attempted to allege that any reason other than its discomfort applies. I asked
for further explanation and got none.
Censorship in Fort Smith
Meanwhile in Fort Smith, Arkansas, a company called Billboard
Source agreed (though we hadn't yet signed a contract) to put
our images on two digital billboards for 11 weeks for $10,000. That was right
up until they saw the images. Then they said:
"This is what I was told by my management after reviewing
the artwork. Management collectively discussed this campaign and it is not
something our inventory can support at this time. I apologize for the
inconvenience."
I asked for a better explanation and received none.
Also in Fort Smith, I contacted RAM
Outdoor Advertising, and they were helpful until they saw the
images, and then said:
"Thanks for sharing your potential creative. I’ve shared it
with the owners and they have decided that your creative will violate our lease
agreements. We will have to decline your ads. Ashby Street Outdoor has the most
boards in town. You might give them a shot at earning your business."
I requested to see the "lease agreements" and received
no reply. I also contacted Ashby Street Outdoor,
but saved time by sending them the images right away. I received no reply.
Freedom of Speech
World Beyond War billboards are funded entirely by contributions made by
supporters of ending war who want to help put up more billboards. We will
continue to solicit such contributions and to work to overcome censorship.
One of the more common, if ludicrous, defenses of war making is
that it somehow defends one's rights. Yet, freedom of speech and of press is
routinely restricted in the name of protecting the war making.
Following the recent school shooting in Florida, we pointed out that the shooter had
been trained by the U.S. military in a JROTC program funded by the NRA, and
that this information was publicly available and not disputed. Major media
outlets chose to avoid that story in order to focus, instead, on the undocumented
(and, as it happens, false) claim that the shooter had worked with right-wing
groups.
Google, Facebook, and other big forces on the internet are
working hard to steer ever more traffic toward big corporate outlets and away
from voices of dissent.
Whistleblowers are now up against the risk of prison time.
Protesters at inauguration parades face felony charges.
In my town in Virginia, Charlottesville, we are still forbidden
to take down any war monuments, and still have no peace monuments.
In some airports, this story will be blocked on the grounds that
it constitutes "advocacy."
Is this the "freedom" for which all the wars endanger
and impoverish and indebt us?
Add your voice
We're starting a petition that we will deliver to the following
companies, which you might also want to phone. Please remember that it is most
effective to be polite. SIGN THE PETITION HERE [Link Coming].
Lamar Syracuse office: 315-422-5174
Billboard Source: 940-383-3500
RAMOutdoor: 479-806-7735
Ashby Street Outdoor: 479-221-9827
Support this project here.
Don’t let our antiwar message opposing drones be silenced by
systemic acceptance of war as inevitable!
We must amplify our antiwar voices! Please help WBW spread
the news by contributing to our billboard fund today!
No amount is too small or too large to share the news that there is an
alternative to wars and drones. And since we are all impacted by senseless wars
and we all share this same beautiful planet, no matter where you call home,
please contribute to our billboard fund now!
David Swanson is an
author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and
campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson's books include War Is
A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org.
He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015,
2016, 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee. Longer bio and photos and videos here.
Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswansonand FaceBook, and sign up for:
Activist alerts.
Articles.
David Swanson news.
World Beyond War news.
Charlottesville news.
ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD
Hunter
Field. “80 State Guardsmen Bound for
Kuwait.” NADG (Feb. 6, 2017).
These “aviation support personnel” of the
77th Combat Aviation Brigade” augment “about 300 helicopter
maintenance and operations” Guardsmen “already on the ground.” “The deployment is part of the United States’
longstanding cooperation with Kuwait to promote “’security, stability, and our
mutual interests in the region.’” What are
those “mutual interests”? Besides
ensuring a steady flow of oil from Kuwait and other regional oil countries (not
mentioned), they will “support combat missions targeting the Islamic State
group” and, quoting Governor Hutchinson, prevent “terror attacks” on the US
(“’because our military men and women are forward deployed’”). Our Governor’’s brain has been captured by
fossil fuel capitalist imperialism.
We also learn that “about 700 soldiers in
the Arkansas Guard’s 39th Infantry Brigade” are preparing to deploy
to “the Horn of Africa”; that is, to Somalia, across from Yemen, where the US
supports Sunni Saudi Arabia bombings against the Shi’a Houthi insurgency. Well, that’s the story from the Arkansas
Guard and Governor. If you wish to see
through that Pentagon/White House/Congress official rationale that sustains
public fear and the military industrial complex, read Andrew Bacevich’s America’s War for the Greater Middle
East. And if you want the NADG to stop reporting Pentagon
propaganda about the Middle East, tell them what Bacevich reveals. This applies equally to the new
assassination/collateral damage drone base at Fort Smith (the 188th
Air National Guard), and the C-130 base at Jacksonville (without those flying
boxcars the empire would soon implode).
But that’s not all! The reporter is bursting with pride also over
the Guard’s “additional deployments planned in the spring and summer to Central
America and Kosovo”! In conclusion he
describes one of the deploying soldiers who wanders alone following the
ceremony. And he quotes Maj. Gen. Mark
Berry, adjutant general of the ANG, who “assured the soldiers their families
would be looked after. ‘We won’t forget
about them while you’re gone,’ he told the 80 volunteer soldiers standing in
formation.’”
So why can’t our state fund our colleges or our medical system adequately? Even the NADG recently rebuked the Republican
legislature for its inconsistency regarding public needs and tax cuts. (Check
out the military conversion movement: Economic Conversion | Public Sphere
Project; Sawmill River
Productions - Economic Conversion Now - Military ...; Economic
conversion - Wikipedia; [PDF]Economic
Conversation: Conversion & the Labor Movement).
MAIN ARKANSAS MILITARY BASES
MEDIA
PART OF THE MIC
Arkansas’ Leading Newspaper
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
EUPHEMISMS: “FALLEN,” NOW
SLEEPING
We are so saturated in the softening of the brutality and horror
of war we hardly notice. Our state
newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,
especially likes “fallen.” Today May
31, 2016, on page one, after three days of celebrating Memorial Day (support
the troops no matter what they do), we are regaled with a color photo of a dad
and his two young daughters visiting the grave of a relative at Fayetteville
National Cemetery: “Remembering the
Fallen.” So girls it’s really not so
bad. Of course, how the relative died is
not reported, and we can assume the dad employed the national cover-up word for
leg or arm or head blown off, 50-caliber machine gun bullet exploding the
stomach, drowned with full pack—“fallen.”
So girls, don’t worry about the next war, your uncle, brother, cousin
just fell down and is now peacefully sleeping.
Dick 5-31-16
AETN > Engage > Blog > “Arkansans Ask: Veterans History Project”
“Arkansans Ask: Veterans History
Project”
https://www.aetn.org/engage/blog/arkansans_ask_veterans_history_project
The
Library of Congress houses the Veterans History Project, which “collects,
preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war
veterans.” Learn how Arkansans can take action to preserve the histories
of Arkansas veterans in a special episode of “Arkansans
Ask” Thursday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m.
In
addition to offering information about the Veterans History Project effort in
the state and providing guidance for Arkansans to participate in the project,
the episode will also discuss the various aspects of the “AETN Salutes Arkansas
Vietnam Veterans” initiative.
Panelists
include: retired Col. Anita Deason, military and veterans affairs liaison for
U.S. Senator John Boozman; Olivia Olson, Library of Congress Veterans History
Project volunteer; Dillon Vick, Library of Congress Veterans History Project
volunteer; and Julie Thomas, AETN marketing and outreach director. Veteran
journalist Steve Barnes will serve as host.
Col.
Anita Deason served 33 years in the Army National Guard before retiring in
2013. She became involved with the Library of Congress Veterans History Project
in July 2015 after being informed that Sen. Boozman wanted more Arkansans to be
made aware of the project and involved in preserving our veterans' experiences.
When
Boozman introduced Col. Deason to the Veterans History Project, he shared the
story of how his own father served as a waist gunner in the U.S. Army Air Corps
during World War II and later retired from the U.S. Air Force as a master
sergeant. However, after his father died, Boozman wished he had asked his
father more about his military service experiences.
The senator's comments basically gut-kicked me. My father died
shortly after my 19th birthday; he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II
in the Philippines. I regret I never really talked to him much about his time
in the military. And I failed to even thank him for his service. - Retired Col.
Anita Deason
Olivia
Olson is a retired teacher and author of two children’s books, “Eva’s Gift” and
“Window of Time.” She is also a long-time member of the Daughters of the
American Revolution. Olson was previously involved with the Veterans History
Project and became reengaged after attending a workshop conducted by Sen.
Boozman's office. To date, Olson has submitted 55 interviews: 39 that are
featured on the Veterans History Project website and 16 that are still being
processed.
Dillon
Vick is a graduate of North Little Rock High School. He served in the U.S. Navy
for 5 1/2 years as a hospital corpsman third class. Vick is now a junior at the
University of Central Arkansas. He became involved with the Veterans History
Project while interning for Sen. Boozman’s office during the summer of 2017.
Viewers
may submit questions and comments at 800-662-2386, paffairs@aetn.org or
on Twitter with
#ARAsk.
What can we do about this militarizing
of our educational tv?
Protest to Boozman and his staff.
They won’t change, but they must not be allowed to think his
constituency agrees with military values.
Study your children’s social sciences textbooks, and let the Principal
know what you think. Check your
college’s curriculum to see if it offers a course on US militarism and
imperialism. --D
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August 12, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Judd Deere, (501) 317-9880
Judd.Deere@arkansasag.gov
Consumer
Alert: Protecting Those Who Serve
LITTLE
ROCK –
Federal laws protect our active-duty servicemen and women and their
families from mortgage foreclosures and exorbitant interest
rates.
Arkansas
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge issued today’s consumer alert to
educate Arkansas’s active-duty servicemen and women and families about
safeguards that are in place if they plan to buy or currently own a
home.
“Our
military men and women put their lives on the line to protect us, and
they have unique needs because of their service,” said Attorney General
Rutledge. “Laws are in place to protect their homes while they are
deployed, and they need to know about these programs.”
The
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
of 2003 (SCRA) protects active-duty service members from
potentially harmful civil legal matters. These protections cover
insurance, mortgage payments, interest rates, leases, contractual
arrangements and civil judicial proceedings. . .
.
In
April, Rutledge launched the first-ever Military and Veterans
Initiative at the Attorney General’s Office. This initiative seeks to
assist active-duty military service members, reservists, veterans and
their families with consumer related issues, Veterans Treatment Courts,
the Hiring Heroes Program and many other collaborative efforts.
Arkansas
military service members, veterans and families should file consumer
complaints with the Attorney General’s Office on ArkansasAG.gov or
by calling (800) 482-8982.
For
more information and tips to avoid scams and other consumer related issues,
call the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office at (800) 482-8982 or
visit ArkansasAG.gov or facebook.com/AGLeslieRutledge.
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Rutledge
employs one of the many linguistic triumphs that promote militarism: service, servicemen, servicewomen. I can think of a hundred kinds of deserving
citizens who perform dedicated service to our nation, from firemen to fishermen
and women, but when anyone, asks “What service were you in?” you know it refers
to the military.
CAMDEN,
ARKANSAS
Stephen Steed.
“Camden Plant to Get
Navy-missile Work.” NADG (9-27-19).
Raytheon
Missile Systems, based in Tucson, Ariz., has been awarded a $22,121,560
modification to a previously awarded contract to produce missiles for the U.S.
Navy.
The U.S. Department of Defense, in an announcement of contract
awards Thursday, said 68% of the work will be done at Raytheon's plant in
Camden. Smaller portions of the work will be at Raytheon facilities in Arizona
and California, with contract expected to be finished by November 2021.
The missile work specifically is for the Navy's Standard Missile-2
and Standard Missile-6 program.
On its website, Raytheon called the Missile-2 system "the
world's premier fleet-area air defense weapon, providing superior anti-air
warfare and limited anti-surface warfare capability against today's advanced
anti-ship missiles and aircraft out to 90 nautical miles." The Missile-6
program, the company said, is "the only missile that supports anti-air
warfare, anti-surface warfare and sea-based terminal ballistic missile defense
in one solution."
A
Google Search for the preceding item also turned up the following.
Camden
plant gets 11 percent of $304 million missile ...
www.magnoliareporter.com
› news_and_business › local_business
Dec 30, 2016
Camden,
AR | Lockheed Martin
https://www.lockheedmartin.com
› business-areas › missiles-and-fire-control
Why
Raytheon dumped a decades-old way to make missiles ...
https://www.cnet.com
› news › why-raytheon-dumped-a-decades-old-way-...
Jun 16, 2014 -
Arkansas:
Missile Plant to Launch Expansion | Site Selection ...
https://siteselection.com
› issues › jul › arkansas-missle-plant-to-launch-ex...
Jul 15, 2019 -
Lockheed
Martin announces $142M investment, 326 new jobs ...
https://www.arkansasedc.com
› newsroom › detail › 2019/06/17 › lockhee...
Jun 17, 2019 -
Raytheon's
New Plant Set To Produce First SM-3 Block 2A ...
https://spacenews.com
› 41670missile-defense-raytheons-new-plant-set-to-...
World
War II Ordnance Plants - Encyclopedia of Arkansas
https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net
› entries › world-war-ii-ordnance-plants...
Jul 4, 2017 -
Raytheon:
Customer Success Is Our Mission
https://www.raytheon.com
US
Army Awards $1.13 Billion Contract to Lockheed Martin for ...
https://news.lockheedmartin.com
› 2019-03-28-U-S-Army-Awards-1-13-B...
Mar 28, 2019 - U.S. Army
Awards $1.13 Billion Contract to Lockheed Martin for
Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Production, Support
Equipment.
Multiple
Launch Rocket System (MLRS M270A1) | Lockheed ...
https://www.lockheedmartin.com
› en-us › products › multiple-launch-roc...
Lockheed Martin is
under contract to incorporate two new upgrades to the current MLRS system.
The new M270A1 launcher appears identical to existing M270s ...
Rocket Motor Plant Expansion,
Google Search 4-27-19
Camden
rocket motor plant expansion - Fox16
https://www.fox16.com/news/state-news/camden-rocket-motor-plant.../1953191885
1.
2 days ago - Aerojet Rocketdyne breaks ground on large solid rocket motor development facility.
Aerojet
Rocketdyne breaks ground on large solid rocket motor ...
https://www.myarklamiss.com/...rocketdyne...ground...rocket-motor...facility/195462...
1.
2 days ago - ... leaders broke ground on a large solid rocket motor development facility. ... "We're very
excited for Camden and really all of South Arkansas.
Aerojet
Rocketdyne Breaks Ground on New Expansion in Camden
https://amppob.com/aerojet-rocketdyne-breaks-ground/
1.
3 days ago - Aerojet Rocketdyne Breaks Ground on New Expansion in Camden. ... On Thursday April
25, Aerojet Rocketdyne's leadership team and state and local officials broke ground on the new facility in Camden, which is to be used for
the development of large solid rocket motors within the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program.
Ground broken on
rocket-motor plant - PressReader
https://www.pressreader.com/usa/arkansas-democrat-gazette/.../282333976319161
2 days ago - Ground broken on rocket-motor plant. Construction has begun on a $50 million rocket motor engineering,
manufacturing and development plant scheduled to open next spring at the Highland Industrial
Park in East Camden. ... Its 800 employees produce solid rocket motors for missiles and
other applications.
News in brief -
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/apr/26/news-in-brief-20190426/
1.
2 days ago - Ground broken on rocket-motor plant. ... and development plant scheduled to open next spring at the
Highland Industrial Park in East Camden.
Aerojet
Rocketdyne's New Camden Facility Looks to Future Contracts ...
https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/.../aerojet-rocketdynes-new-camden-facility-looks-t...
1.
2 days ago - Aerojet Rocketdyne's New Camden Facility Looks to Future
Contracts ... East Camden plant Thursday as the company broke ground on a new facility ... presence since
1979 and now makes 75,000 solid rocket motors a year.
Solid rocket
motors | | magnoliareporter.com
www.magnoliareporter.com/image_8bdd4950-68d1-11e9-8795-fb9e56ec297b.html
1.
15 hours ago - ... Manufacturing and Development (EMD) facility for solid rocket motor design at Aerojet
Rocketdyne in Camden. ... Aerojet Rocketdyne starts construction on solid rocket motordevelopment site in Camden. CAMDEN -- Aerojet
Rocketdyne officials joined state and local leaders to break ground Friday…
Aerojet
Rocketdyne expanding Arkansas facility; adds 140 jobs
https://www.arklatexhomepage.com/news/local...rocketdyne...facility.../1373299771
1.
Aug 15, 2018 - Aerojet Rocketdyne recently relocated its Solid Rocket Motor Center of ...
to Camden, resulting in growth for
the Arkansas plant in Camden, ...
By Amy
Riggin - 7/9/2008 10:59:01 AM
California-based National Technical Systems Inc. has
purchased about 650 acres adjacent to land the company leases in Camden.
Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Raffy Lorentzian,
senior VP and CFO, said NTS leases about 260 acres in Camden, bringing the total available space to
roughly 900 acres. He said the company has been in business there for more than
15 years.
"The
additional land gives us two distinct advantages," Jack Lin, chairman of
NTS said in a news release. "First, combined with our present property at Camden, we will have
ample space to perform testing previously not allowed due to space limitations.
Secondly, we will enhance our capability to meet anticipated future demand for munitions and ordnance
testing."
The company's
backlog at Camden
has risen to a record high of more than $10 million. NTS has recently obtained
several U.S. Army contracts, including contracts from the Army's Armaments,
Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Surface
Warfare's Center in Fallbrook, Calif.,
and Indian Head, Md.
"We
will be adding two additional large test ranges immediately to further enable
the Camden
facility to service all of our clients' needs quickly and efficiently,"
said William McGinnis, CEO of NTS. "We
believe Camden's expanded capacity and increased efficiency will result in
increased revenues and improved margins."
The military-industrial town of Camden, AR.
Brian Fanney, “Camden Area, Making Arms Go Way Back.” ADG (June
2, 2015).
“Over the years, workers from this city
have made some of the most potent weapons in the world.
In World War II, they supplied the
workforce for the world’s largest rocket assembly unit.
During the Cold War, they manufactured a
rocket system that could take on Soviet Union forces.
After Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait,
south Arkansas-made munitions pummeled Baghdad . Iraqis referred to them as ‘steel rain.”
It is such a patriot money-cow for
Arkansas, that Gov. Asa Hutchinson tossed in $87.1 million bond issue for
Lockheed Martin to bolster its bid for a U.S. Department of War contract.
It’s a long article. The Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette and, at least they think, all Arkies are very proud of
Camden. Oh, what a lovely war….and
profit!
Stephen Steed. “2 E. Camden Plants Given Defense
Work.” NADG (10-2-18).
Brief
report (6”, 4 paragraphs) on 2 contracts: to American Rheinmetall Munition Inc.
$59.7 million for practice grenades for Marines, and to Raytheon Missile
systems $395 million to increase a previous contract for US Navy missiles on
cruisers and destroyers.
Find my analysis of Steed’s report in
NADG—anything about AR in it?
So nothing has changed (policy
wise) since the Titan-2 Missile madness?
From: Dick Bennett
<j.dick.bennett@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2018
5:11:16 PM
To: Sr. Rosalie Ruesewald; Sandra
Lee-Shirley; Jean Gordon; Bob Estes; Gladys tiffany; Still on the Hill; Steve
Holst; Kuzmarov, Jeremy; Carl Barnwell; Sue Skidmore; Gerald H. Sloan
The
answer is: nothing has changed. This is
the subject of Ellsberg's new book, The
Doomsday Machine:
"...my basic theme, otherwise
hard to absorb: that the same type of heedless, shortsighted, and reckless
decision-making and lying about it has characterized our government's nuclear
planning, threats, and preparations, throughout the nuclear era, risking a
catastrophe incomparably greater than all these others together"
(349). Turning Trump into the
monstrous monster of all monsters is forgetting all the other US presidents. The US has Titan III and a trillion dollars
appropriated to develop and perfect all our nuclear warheads and delivery
systems. Dick
NW ARKANSAS MIC EXPANDING
365 More Cheerleaders for US Militarism
“Berryville, Huntsville Plants Adding Jobs,” NADG (9-12-17).
“Ducommun
Inc., based in Santa Ana, Calif., will add 190 employees at its plant in
Berryville and 175 jobs at Huntsville to handle a contract for Raytheon Co. . . . .to build the Naval
Strike Missile[‘s] fire control systems.”
“[The contract] will provide long-term continuing support of jobs,” said
Raytheon. [Raytheon, in the past
protested by anti-war groups at its Waltham, Mass., headquarters, knows how to
prevent protest, though that’s not much of a danger in pro-war jobs
Arkansas. –Dick]
“Berryville, Huntsville Plants Adding Jobs.” NADG (Sept.
12, 2017).
HIGHER EDUCATION: ROTC
1. ROTC Programs - todaysmilitary.com
Adwww.todaysmilitary.com/
Home | Army ROTC |
University of Arkansas
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Cadet information,
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Faculty
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Faculty
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uca.edu/rotc/cadre-staff/
University
of Central Arkansas
Edit Quick Links. Reserve Officers Training
Corps (ROTC) ... University of
CentralArkansas · 201 Donaghey Ave.,
Conway, AR 72035 · (501) 450-5000.
Debra
Hale Shelton. “State Funds Short. UCA Making Cuts. Maintenance, Capital Projects Pared.” NADG (Feb.
6, 2017).
Another in the increasing
number of reports of austerity because not enough money. Why is that?
What are these universities not talking about?
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, FAYETTEVILLE
Veritate Duce Progredi (Latin), To Advance with
Truth as our Leader. –Dick
UAF
NEWSWIRE, MAY 9, 2018
U of A Professor Takes Whirlwind Tour to Learn About Military
Paul
Calleja recently visited the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier John C. Stennis 100
miles off the coast of San Diego to learn about military experience and the
opportunities it affords to young people.
I sent
the following comment on the above to these people: Gerald Sloan
<gsloan@uark.edu>, Kelly Mulhollan <still@stillonthehill.com>,
Sandra Lee-Shirley <sandyleeshirley@gmail.com>, Carl Barnwell
<cbarnw@centurytel.net>, Ruth Francis <rfranciscats@gmail.com>, Ted
Swedenburg <tsweden@uark.edu>, John Duval <jduval@uark.edu>, Jeremy
Kuzmarov <jeremy-kuzmarov@utulsa.edu>, Michael Lieber
<mikelieber1@yahoo.com>, Karen Lentz Madison <kmadison@uark.edu>,
Karen Thom <karen@troutmusic.com>, Art Hobson <ahobson@uark.edu>,
Aubrey Shepherd <aubreyshepherd@hotmail.com>
Militarism is so pervasive, I suspect it never
occurred to the Prof. that recruiting for the military might not be one of his
duties, or that his purpose to the contrary was Veritate Duce Progredi, UAF's
motto. Dick.
TED’S REPLY
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11:03 AM (1 hour ago)
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to me, Gerald, Kelly, Sandra, Carl, Ruth, John, Jeremy, Michael, Karen, Karen, Art, Aubrey
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I had the same reaction, Dick.
Here's his profile. I don't know him, he's in another
college.
https://hhpr.uark.edu/faculty-staff/uid/pcallej/name/Paul-Calleja/
MILITARIZING THE ALUMNAE
|
NEWSWIRE
Friday, November 09, 2018
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|
Veterans Resource and Information
Center that functions actively to promote war and warriors.
Veterans Week Events Coincide with 100th Anniversary
of the End of WW I
Nov. 05, 2018
Photo Submitted
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A week of
events are scheduled on and around Nov. 11 at the University of Arkansas and in
the Northwest Arkansas community, to honor U.S. veterans of military service.
This year Veterans Day also marks the 100th anniversary of the end of fighting
in World War I.
Beginning in 1919, Nov. 11 was
celebrated as “Armistice Day” in the U.S. and many other countries, to mark the
day an armistice agreement was signed, ending fighting in World War I. The
holiday was changed to “Veterans Day” in the U.S. a few years after the end of
World War II – and broadened into a day to honor all military veterans. [From
celebrating peace and the end of war(s) to celebrating the troops and endless
wars. –D]
This year the U of A Veterans
Resource and Information Center is coordinating several events during a
campus-wide Veterans Week. Community events are also included.
- Tuesday, Nov. 6: At noon Marine Corps veterans,
and third year law students, Kevin Flores and Ty Bordenkircher will host a
cake-cutting ceremony at noon in the E.J. Ball Courtroom as an early
celebration of the 243rd birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps – which
actually falls on Nov. 10. Marines across campus are invited to attend,
along with other veterans and the rest of the campus community.
- Thursday, Nov. 8: The Veterans Resource and
Information Center will host it’s annual Veterans Day Breakfast
Celebration, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the center, in the Garland Center.
All U of A students, staff, and faculty who are military veterans are
invited.
- Friday, Nov. 9: The Associated Student
Government presents a Veterans Day Commemoration from 2-3 p.m. in the
Reynolds Center Auditorium, with a guest speaker from Veterans
Affairs.
- Saturday, Nov. 10: The the Armed Forces Alumni
Society and the Master of Science in Operations Management Alumni Society
are hosting a catered meal for veterans during the Hog Wild Tailgate at
the Arkansas Alumni House, about two and a half hours before the
Razorbacks take on LSU. Veterans can register here by Nov. 7 to attend.
- Sunday, Nov 11: A ceremony marking the 100th
anniversary of the Armistice will be held at 6 a.m. at the National
Cemetary in Fayetteville.
- Sunday, Nov. 11: A screening of the classic
silent film Wings will be held at 2 p.m. in the Jim and
Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center, hosted by the Department of
Communication’s Film Appreciation Society and its partners. The film
portrays men who flew during the “Great War”, and is being shown to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of that war’s end. Wings, was the
first film to win an Oscar as Best Picture – and the only silent film to
win it. This screening will feature live music by the Mont Alto Motion
Picture Orchestra, a group of classically trained musicians from Boulder,
Colorado.
- Tuesday, Nov. 13: The Armed Forces Alumni
Society will honor veterans at a reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the
Arkansas Alumni House. The group will be collecting food items for the
Veterans Resource and Information Center Food Pantry and suggests
contributions such as single serve mac and cheese cups, cookies, snack
packs, meal kits and water or other drinks.
TOPICS
CONTACTS
Erika Gamboa, director
Veterans Resource and Information Center
479-575-8742, egamboa@uark.edu
I sent the following invitation and my note to THE FOLLOWING
GRADS OR PROFS. AT UA
Anne
Wright, Gerald Sloan, Ted Swedenburg, Karen Madison, Sam Totten
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Inaugural Reception:
RSVP by March 2
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Armed Forces Alumni Society societies@arkansasalumni.org via imodules.com
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11:30 AM 2-23-18 (22
hours ago)
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YOU ARE CORDIALLY
INVITED TO ATTEND THE
Armed Forces Alumni Society Inaugural Reception
Thursday, March 15,
2018
Janelle Y. Hembree
Alumni House
491 N. Razorback Road, Fayetteville, AR 72701
FEATURED
SPEAKER
Chancellor
Joseph E. Steinmetz
Please RSVP by Friday, March 2, 2018
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Arkansas Alumni Association -
P.O. Box 1070, Fayetteville, AR 72702 - 1-888-275-2586
If you wish to be removed from this group's mailing list, click here
David Swanson, World Beyond War
The University of Arkansas is
taking another step backward in Arkansas’ militarization (Ebbing ANG AFB done
base at Ft. Smith, C-130s at Jacksonville (LRAFB), military industry at
Camden, several JR and college ROTC units).
Have you worked on this?
Thanks, Dick Bennett
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o Ann, Gerald, Ted, Karen, Samuel
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You are connected with UAF past
or present in some way, and I believe you would want to resist this augmented
militarization of our university if you have the time at present. I
have just now received this notice, so I have no suggestions yet about how we
might oppose this one more intensification of US militarism, but I know I must
not keep silent, and perhaps you share my feelings. What might we
do? Let's pick one action at least, and do it.
Please forward to someone you
know related to UAF who might want to resist these misguided alums. As
you see, I cannot at this moment recall many alums I know who might join
us.
Dick
Gerald
Sloan <gsloan@uark.edu>,
Ted Swedenburg <tsweden@uark.edu>,
Carl Barnwell <cbarnw@centurytel.net>,
"Sr. Rosalie Ruesewald" <rosruese@hotmail.com>,
Karen Lentz Madison <kmadison@uark.edu>,
Art Hobson <ahobson@uark.edu>,
Merlee Harrison <merlee.harrison@gmail.com>
|
Join
the Armed Forces Alumni Society in celebrating Veterans Week
|
Danielle
Wood-Williams and Erika Gamboa
10-26-18 afas@arkansasalumni.org via imodules.com
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4:06
PM (1 hour ago)
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to me
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View this email in a web page
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Dick,
We are pleased to invite
you to two very special Armed
Forces Alumni Society events to celebrate Veterans Week.
For the first event we are
joining with the Master of Science in Operations Management Alumni
Society to gather at the Hog Wild Tailgate on November 10. We have
come together to pay for your catered meal ticket. Help us Call
those Hogs before the Razorbacks take on LSU for the Battle
for the Golden Boot.
On November 13, we will
gather at the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House for a Veterans Week
Reception.
Your Connection
Starts Here,
Danielle Wood-Williams BA'98, BS'01, MEd'02, EdD'09
Life Member
President - Armed Forces Alumni Society
Erika Gamboa MEd'06, MS'14
Annual Member
Vice President -
Armed Forces Alumni Society
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November
10
Hog Wild Tailgate
You
are invited to a special alumni societies tailgate during the Hog
Wild Tailgate for the LSU game. The Armed Forces Alumni Society and the Master of Science in
Operations Management Alumni Society are coming together for this
event.
2.5 Hours before Game Start
Janelle Y. Hembree House
491 N. Razorback Road
Fayetteville, AR 72701
The
two societies are joining together to cover the cost of your catered
meal ticket. Register by November 7 to
make sure we have your space reserved.
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November
13
Veterans Week Reception
The
Armed Forces Alumni Society
will honor veterans at a reception on November 13.
Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
We are collecting food items for the Veterans Resource and Information Center Food Pantry
which provides support to our nutrition initiative.
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EXAMPLES OF
MILITARY RESEARCH UAF
Tiny Antennas Show Promise in
Defense Sector
Aug. 24, 2018. https://news.uark.edu/articles/42541/tiny-antennas-show-promise-in-defense-sector?utm_source=Newswire&utm_medium=email2018-08-24&utm_campaign=tiny-antennas-show-promise-in-defense-sector
MILITARIZING POLICE
AZIZA
MUSA. “ÁCLU REQUESTS DATA ON SWAT.” ADG
(March 14, 2013), 1B, 3B. “The Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union joined
about two dozen other chapters Tuesday in a nationwide investigation to measure
the scope of the so-called militarization of local police.”
“’Equipping
state and local law enforcement with military weapons and vehicles, military tactical
training and actual military assistance to conduce traditional law enforcement
erodes civil liberties and encourages increasingly aggressive policing,
particularly in poor neighborhoods and communities of color,’ the Center for
Justice. . . .”
Special Tax Favors for Military Personnel (see separate
newsletters on grassroots militarism in Arkansas: http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2016/12/grassroots-militarism-newsletter-2.html)
Brian Fanney and Michael Wickline.
“Bill Seeks Exemption for Military Retirees.” NADG
(Nov. 16, 2016). Legislation to exempt
retired armed forces from the income-tax, to add to the $6,000 income-tax
exemption they already enjoy.
MEDIA FOR WAR
Dick’s EDITORIAL #17 (Sat. Feb. 17 get year broadcast date) (War
#9) Presidential/Media
Complex for War. Norman Solomon, War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits
Keep Spinning Us to Death (2005).
Title: Challenging US Pro-War Myths
The US is a nation of war. It began by war; it conquered
continental USA--some 500 Indian nations--by war; it grabbed a third of Mexico
by war; it subdued the Philippines by war; in WWI it joined one side in a
colonial war of massive slaughter; since WWII its wars—some 40 interventions
and invasions-- have been virtually ceaseless.
As one historian wrote, the US has killed thousands of “enemy” soldiers
and millions of civilians by war.
How was that possible? When a warrior hawk president and his
advisors, whether liberal or conservative, want war, the president begins by
besieging the public. From the outset,
warrior presidents, all of whom represent themselves as the Commander in Chief, seek the impression
of consensus behind The President.
His
main weapon is media spin. A media
campaign for hearts and minds at home, means going all out to persuade us that the next war is as good as a war can
be—necessary, justified, righteous, and worth any number killed.
US leaders follow 2 steps to war: The
first is this battle over public opinion, and support for
war is the
first victory. Conquest is the second—since WWII, to name a
few of the invaded countries: Haiti, Guatemala,
Dominican Republic, Chile, Grenada, Nicaragua, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq, War
on Terror! The people of the US have
been sold a succession of wars, in their names and with their tax dollars, time
after time.
Among all the methods of propaganda, one of
the most obvious is fear-mongering. The president’s interventionists, his congressional supporters, and mainstream media enablers insist that military action is necessary to
prevent a whirlwind of calamities.
Less obvious is the deployment of
unexamined myths repeated so often for so many years, for so many
generations, most citizens take them for
granted. The march to war has been a
24-7 advertising campaign inseparable from the constant US self-aggrandizement
and cultural reinforcement for war. Here are a dozen of the many MYTHS that keep
us ready for war:
The US
is a Fair and Noble Superpower
Our
Leaders Will Do Everything they Can to Avoid War
Our
Leaders Would Never Lie to Us
The
Enemy Is a Modern-Day Hitler
The US
Stands for Human Rights
The
War Is Not about Oil or Corporate Profits
We Had
to Invade to Protect US Citizens
The
Enemy Is the Aggressor, Not Us
Opposing
the War Means Siding with the Enemy
Even
if the War is Wrong We Must Support Our Troops
The
Pentagon Fights Its Wars as Humanely as Possible
Our
Soldiers Are Heroes, Theirs Are Inhuman
Withdrawal
Would Cripple US Credibility
These have been features of US self-branding as a good nation and
people, and therefore as good war-makers.
But they have not always been successful, especially if the war is
lengthy. The US was defeated in Vietnam
after over fifty thousand US troops and some 3 million Vietnamese were
killed. The US invasion of Cuba was
stopped at its shores, which intensified the US economic invasion.
Hermann Goering offers a partial
explanation of public war acquiescence:
“…of course, the people don’t
want war. . . .But it is a simple matter to drag the people along. . . .the
people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders [for war]. That is easy.
All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce
[opponents] for lack of patriotism.”
But Goering was generalizing from a nation
lacking robust democratic institutions.
The US has had those institutions, and Goering unintentionally suggested
how we might strengthen them to prevent or stop wars, at least to make it less easy for our leaders to be sheepherders.
Challenging fear-mongering wherever and
whenever by vigorous application of knowledge through the First Amendment can
be a safeguard against falsehoods and manipulations by war demagogues. Sturdy critical thinking in the public
schools, questioning all the leaders and myths that grease the wheels of war,
can be another bulwark against the Democratic/Republican War Party. 674 the
editorial we recorded today is 7 minutes
14 seconds long.
References:
Norman Solomon, War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits
Keep Spinning Us to Death (2005).
Film
based on the book directed by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp.
War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death. Written and directed by
Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp. Produced by Loretta Alper. Based on the book
by Norman
Solomon.
Narrated by Sean Penn.
The
Military-Industrial-Media Complex | FAIR
https://fair.org/extra/the-military-industrial-media-complex/
But on the large TV
networks, such voices were so dominant that they amounted to a virtual monopoly
in the “marketplace of ideas.” This article is excerpted from Norman Solomon's book, War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death (John Wiley &
Sons, 2005). The first chapter of
the book can ...
Norman Solomon: War Made Easy -
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNyBEw93NrA
Nov 3, 2008 - Uploaded by
University of California Television (UCTV)
William Blum. Killing
Hope and Rogue State. Gives a chronology of US interventions
and invasions. Source of my statement
regarding millions killed by US aggressions.
ARKANSAS
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
On September 10, 2013, the ADG editorialized for empathy—for the
people of rural Guatemala
who lack electricity. The editorial
focused mainly on the laudable Arkansas
electric linemen who are dedicating their time to help the people of Huehuetenango, Guatemala. “Heroes are always welcome in the news.” But needs of the villagers are made
clear. The heroes here are not the US
troops around the world applying the armed force of the superpower, but
generous citizens helping the needy around the world. And the editorialist hopes to support them in
their noble and lonely tasks by quoting Jimmy Webb’s song “Wichita Lineman”
made famous by Arkansan Glen Campbell.
Let us praise the newspaper for this rare
glimpse of international compassion. In
contrast, it has supported invasion and intervention after invasion and
intervention—over forty since the end of WWII, and none of them constitutional,
just, or necessary (in Latin America alone: Guatemala, Dominican Republic, El
Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile, and more; see William Blum’s books: Killing Hope, Rogue State, America’s
Deadliest Export: Democracy.) --Dick
STEPHENS
PAPERS SERIES OF COMBAT HEROES FIND
Misc. Patriotism, Supporting the Troops, Athletics and Military, the
Flag
Special Tax Favors for Military Personnel (see separate
newsletters on grassroots militarism in Arkansas: http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2016/12/grassroots-militarism-newsletter-2.html)
Brian Fanney and Michael Wickline.
“Bill Seeks Exemption for Military Retirees.” NADG
(Nov. 16, 2016). Legislation to exempt
retired armed forces from the income-tax, to add to the $6,000 income-tax
exemption they already enjoy.
Bentonville Students Produce Video to Honor U of A
Student Who Served Country
Sep. 26, 2017
Photo Submitted
James
LaRocco shares some of the mementoes from his military service.
University
of Arkansas student James LaRocco was inspired by the 9/11 terrorist attacks to
enlist in the Army, and he spent nine years on active duty that included two
deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. This month, for the 16th anniversary of
9/11, students at Bentonville High School produced a video featuring LaRocco as a
tribute to him and others who answered the call to service.
LaRocco
began volunteering with the coaching staff of the Bentonville football team in
July 2016 and this fall is continuing as an intern with the team. He expects to
graduate in December with his bachelor's degree in kinesiology and hopes to continue
to coach in Northwest Arkansas.
In the
video, students and coaches talked about LaRocco's impact on the team. LaRocco
talked about similarities between a military unit and an athletic team.
"In
our summer workouts and our offseason program, we sweat and bleed together and
that's what really builds their bond," he said later. "It's the same
way with us in the military. We train and train and train and build our bond.
We do it for a purpose; they do it for a purpose, although a different purpose."
For him,
working with the team also eased his transition from military to civilian life.
"The
video was a chance for me to speak for others," LaRocco said. "I was
in almost nine years. Not only we, but our families, sacrificed a lot. We come
home, and adjustment to civilian life is rough. For me, finding football and
this kind of environment was great. I don't think I could have found a better
place."
Last
year, he brought the U.S. flag that flew over his base in Iraq for a student to
run onto the field at the start of a game near Veterans Day. He plans to do
that again.
"The
flag was given to me by my brigade commander and that was the first time it was
out of the case since I brought it home," LaRocco said. "It's
something special for the kids to do."
TOPICS
· Points of Pride
· College of Education and Health Professions
· Kinesiology
CONTACTS
Heidi S. Wells, director
of communications
College of Education and Health Professions
479-575-3138, heidisw@uark.edu
RESISTANCE
COUNTER-RECRUITING,
WAR RESISTERS LEAGUE
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Produced by Project YANO, this recently updated pamphlet is absolutely
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Know
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A collaboration with the Ya-Ya Network (Youth Activists-Youth Allies), this
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military, and stop-loss. Created by youth, it is accessible to everyone!
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Counter-Recruiting
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Written for girls, queer and trans youth, youth of color and
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CONVERSION MOVEMENT
“Thursday Thumbs.” NADG
(Feb.9, 2017). “The state has devoted
$8.5 million in annual tobacco settlement proceeds to provide services to 500
to 900 people on the list [of 3,000 persons waiting for in-home services for
the developmentally disabled], but state officials say meeting the needs of the
entire list would cost about $43 million a year. . . .but when tax-cutting
Republicans suggest the state has plenty of money and can afford a tax cut,
remember this list of people with developmental disabilities….” Where has our state’s money gone when there
are so many urgent needs here? See all
of the above. Speak up for converting
imperial money to human, species (extinctions!), planetary needs.
PUT FOLLOWING AT END OF NEWSLETTER #3
CONTACT
INFORMATION FOR ARKANSAS FEDERAL DELEGATION
1-23-17
U. S. Senator John Boozman
(Republican)
Washington, D.C.
141 Hart Senate
Office Building
Washington,
D.C. 20510
(202)224-4843
Little Rock
1401 W.
Capitol Avenue, Suite 155
Little
Rock, AR 72201
(501)372-7153
U.S. Senator Tom Cotton
(Republican)
Washington,
D.C.
124 Russell
Senate Office
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202)224-2353
Little Rock
1401 West
Capitol Avenue, Suite 235
Little Rock, AR 72201
U.S. Representative Rick Crawford
(Republican-1st District)
Washington, D.C.
2422
Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202)225-4076
Jonesboro
2400 Highland Avenue, Suite 300
Jonesboro, AR 72401
(870)203-0540
U. S. Representative French Hill
(Republican-2nd District)
Washington, D.C.
1229 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202)225-2506
Little Rock
1501 N. University, Suite 150
Little Rock, AR 72207
(501)324-5941
U.S. Representative Steve
Womack (Republican-3rd District)
Washington,
D.C.
2412 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-4301
Rogers
3333 Pinnacle Hills, Suite 120
Rogers, AR
(479)464-0446
U.S. Representative
Bruce Westerman (Republican-4th District)
Washington,
D.C.
130 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202)225-3772
El Dorado
101 N. Washington St.,
Suite 406
El
Dorado, AR 71730
(870)864-8946
END MILITARISM IN ARKANSAS NEWSLETTER #3
