Current Conditions: Buffalo, NY - Wet

National Weather Service:

Short Term Forecast

Short Term Forecast

SHORT TERM FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY


NIAGARA-ORLEANS-NORTHERN ERIE-GENESEE-WYOMING-CHAUTAUQUA-
CATTARAUGUS-ALLEGANY-SOUTHERN ERIE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...NIAGARA FALLS...MEDINA...BUFFALO...
BATAVIA...WARSAW...JAMESTOWN...OLEAN...WELLSVILLE...
ORCHARD PARK...SPRINGVILLE
913 PM EDT TUE OCT 26 2010

.NOW...

THE SHORT TERM FORECAST FOR WESTERN NEW YORK. RAIN WILL CONTINUE
ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH 11 PM. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF A TENTH TO
A QUARTER OF AN INCH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE HEAVIEST RAIN ACROSS
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR PONDING ON AREA ROADS.
SOUTHERLY WINDS OF 10 TO 20 MPH CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED WITH SOME
HIGHER GUSTS.

Afghan Air Force Arms Helicopters

B-roll of how prior to a mission, Afghan and U.S. Airmen equip an AAF MI-17 helicopter with 57mm rockets for the first time, allowing the Afghans to provide for their own mission security without reliance on ISAF aircraft for assistance in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Sound bites include Senior Master Sgt. Kirk Manring from High Point, N.C., USAF Maintenance Superintendent, 442nd AEAG, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan and Col. Khan Aziz, Support Group Commander, Kandahar Air Wing, Afghan Air Force. Produced by Spc. Bryan Spradlin. Also available in High Definition.

Afghan, Coalition Troops Capture Haqqani Leader

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2010 - An Afghan and coalition security force captured a Haqqani network leader who handled the command and control of insurgent attacks during an overnight operation in Afghanistan's Paktiya province, military officials reported.
The captured leader also was involved in attacks against coalition force checkpoints.
Intelligence reports led the security force to a remote compound in Zurmat district to search for the man. Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to call for occupants to exit the buildings peacefully, then the security force cleared and secured the area. After initial questioning at the scene, the force identified and detained the man, along with one of his associates.
The security force also discovered and destroyed an automatic weapon along with multiple grenades at the scene.
In yesterday's operations:
-- A combined Afghan and coalition patrol came under small-arms fire from insurgents after the patrol struck an improvised explosive device in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province. The patrol returned fire after positively identifying the insurgents' positions. During the engagement, two Afghan men driving a vehicle near the convoy failed to respond to the patrol's warning signals to stop. The coalition force saw rounds impacting near the convoy that came from the direction of the vehicle. Perceiving the vehicle to be a threat, the combined force engaged the vehicle with small-arms fire. One of the men was shot and died while waiting to be medically evacuated by helicopter. Coalition forces then transported the men to a local Afghan police station.
-- ISAF troops repelled an insurgent attack while conducting a dismounted patrol in the Sangin district of Helmand province. Initially coming under attack from small-arms fire, coalition forces identified the firing position as a building and returned fire. After the insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades, coalition forces called for close-air support. The insurgent position was engaged with precision weapons with all ordnance was observed impacting upon the intended target. Initial reports indicate more than five insurgents were killed with no civilian casualties.
-- Coalition forces conducted a precision airstrike in Takhar province, killing Qari Mahmad Umar, an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan senior leader, who was serving as the Taliban district leader for Khwajah Bahawuddin. Umar was an IED expert and trainer also involved in moving supplies. Acting on intelligence tips, coalition forces tracked Umar to an open area in the Bahawuddin district. After careful planning to ensure no civilians were present, coalition forces conducted a precision airstrike. Although a ground force was unable to conduct an immediate assessment of the area, they confirmed Umar, along with one of his associates, was killed in the strike.
-- In Nimroz province, an Afghan and coalition security force targeting the Taliban shadow governor for Khash Rod district of Nimroz province, detained two suspected insurgents. Intelligence reports led the security force to a remote compound in Khash Rod district to search for the district governor. The joint security force cleared and secured the compound before conducting initial questioning of the residents at the scene. Afterward, the security force detained the suspected insurgents.
-- A separate security force targeted a Taliban IED senior leader known to construct suicide vests and conduct IED attacks in Kandahar City. The force detained two suspected insurgents during the operation in Kandahar province. After clearing and securing a compound, the force conducted initial questioning at the scene. Afterward, they detained the suspects.
-- Afghan and coalition forces in Khost province continued tracking a Haqqani network mid-level leader overnight, detaining two suspected insurgents without incident. The targeted man coordinates attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and places explosives in Afghan residences. Intelligence information led the force to a compound in the village of Paru Kheyl in the Sabari district to search for the targeted man. Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to call for all occupants to exit the buildings, then the force cleared and secured the compound. After initial questioning at the scene, the security force detained the suspects, and seized multiple automatic weapons at the scene.
-- A combined force captured a Taliban senior leader responsible for indirect fire attacks against Forward Operating Base Shank and IED attacks in the Baraki Barak district in Logar province. The senior leader reportedly played a role in the kidnapping and subsequent murder of two U.S. sailors in July. Based on intelligence tips, the force targeted a compound in the Pul-e 'Alam district to search for the man. Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to call for occupants to exit the buildings, then the force cleared and secured the area. After initial questioning at the scene, the force identified and detained the senior leader along with two of his associates.

Related Sites:
NATO International Security Assistance Force

Today's Government Contracts

U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

CONTRACTS NAVY                 RLF Transystems, LLC, Inc., Winter Park, Fla. (N62470-11-D-1008); Stanley Consultants, Inc., Muscatine, Iowa (N62470-11-D-1009); and Clark Nexsen CH2M Hill, Norfolk, Va. (N62470-11-D-1010), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contract for engineering and design services for design projects located throughout the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Europe Africa Southwest Asia (NAVFAC EURAFSWA) area of responsibility (AOR).  The maximum dollar value, including the base period and four option years, for all three contracts combined is $50,000,000.  No task orders are being issued at this time.  Work will be performed primarily within the NAVFAC EURAFSWA AOR which includes Africa (40 percent), Europe (35 percent), and Southwest Asia (10 percent).  However, tasks associated with this contract may be assigned anywhere else in the world (15 percent).  The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of October 2015.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 15 proposals received.  These three contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract.  The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.                  Logistics Services International*, Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded an $18,187,500 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N61339-06-D-0001) to exercise an option for site surveys, training plan and curriculum development, aircrew and maintenance training, publications review/update, and other support services at various sites.  These services -- which are in support of the governments of Pakistan, Germany, Norway and Thailand under the Foreign Military Sales program -- will provide aircrew and maintenance personnel with technical proficiency in their respective positions.  Funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued.  Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Fla. (70 percent); Karachi, Pakistan (25 percent); Cuxhaven, Germany (4 percent); and Pattaya City, Thailand (1 percent).  Work is expected to be completed in October 2013.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Fla., is the contracting activity. *Small business

Afghans Begining to Feel Pride of Ownership, General Says

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2010 – It wasn’t long ago that Afghans living in the Helmand province were wary of police, largely because of their bad experiences with Taliban rulers. Today, however, Afghans are more open to relying on their own police force, and even tip them off to Taliban insurgents.
That was the message Marine Brig. Gen. Joseph Osterman delivered to reporters today via a video new briefing from Task Force Leatherneck in Regional Command Southwest, which he took command of in March.

Osterman’s troops are spread throughout Helmand, with some forces in Nimroz province’s Khash Rod area, he said. The three key districts in the Helmand River Valley for which he’s responsible are the highly populated Marja, Nawa and Garmsir.

The task force’s job is to improve competence and ability of Afghan National Security Forces. “To be quite frank with you, they've been doing very well,” the general said.
In the Sangin area, one of the biggest security challenges is around the district center, Osterman said, where troops are “expanding the security bubble” out from the district center into the upper Sangin Valley, and also to the west and east, as well as some down to the “southern green zone.”
Marja, which now has more than 300 police officers, is one area where Osterman sees quite a bit of progress.
While the task force is in the “hold” phase of security operations, they are beginning to see “literally thousands of people in the bazaars on Bazaar Day,” the general said. “We're seeing a lot of freedom of movement on the roads with families moving about, you know, unescorted or anything like that. We've recently seen the governor and government official traveling by road from Lashkar Gah into Marja and back, unescorted.”
The police force in Marja did not exist even two months ago, he said. “Most of the people from Marja would tell you they would want nothing at all to do with police, and that was because they had such a terrible time with the police under the previous Taliban regime,” he said.
Recently, when a child was lost, the Afghans went to their own police officials rather than the U.S. military, and the child turned up fine, Osterman said.
“The Afghan government and the provincial government has made Marja their effort,” he said. “We have, obviously, the district governor in there. We've got a prosecutor in there. We've also got a director of education who has just recently gone out to help with the building of the Marja high school and the vocational center that we're putting in there right now. So there are those governmental functions that are working well in Marja.”
Even insurgent incidents in Marja have dropped to about one per day, Osterman said, and mostly to small-arms fires. “We call them ‘shoot and scoot,’ meaning it may be an insurgent, but they'll just shoot a few rounds off to … try to get some attention, and then they move on,” he said. “So we're in a very positive sense, seeing very few incidents that we would call troops in contact.”
Osterman’s Leatherneck team is mentoring and giving advice to the new police forces in all the districts, he said, for security and governance.
The general refers to two groups of Taliban: the "Big-T" of leadership financiers and insurgents; the "Little-T" of local residents who cooperate with Taliban.
Members of the Little-T group, “for whatever reason, whether it be monetarily or for just vendettas or whatever it might be, decide to join the insurgency,” he said. “Some of these, particularly like in Marja, are left over from previous days.”
Another show of progress is how the Afghan people are conducting a system of neighborhood watches, Osterman said. People who otherwise might have joined the insurgency “are essentially reintegrating into their communities” to form local police and neighborhood watch-type programs that take issues of local concern, he said.

One of the biggest lessons learned so far centers on perception management, the general said. “The people truly are the prize in the counterinsurgency fight. And in fact, when you make the perception of something happening, then basically they expect that to happen and want you to live up to it.”
The way coalition troops apply lessons learned “has to be pretty sophisticated and can't necessarily be a cookie cutter [approach] because of geographical differences, tribal differences, and time,” Osterman said. “Every three months or so I really see it as a different battlefield. So those are all factors that tie in to that.”
And, the general said, he’s seen that sophistication in the young servicemembers serving in Afghanistan.
“I really call it being a sophisticated Marine,” he said. “We have young troops out there who aren't much more than 19 or 20 years old. They're doing everything from teaching classes to helping with governance to working microeconomics, and it really is astounding to watch the kinds of things that they're doing and what they're capable of.”

Shooting Incident Likely Was Random, Pentagon Says

Shooting Incident Likely Was Random, Pentagon Says

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service
– An early morning shooting at the Pentagon’s exterior walls today likely was a random event, the director of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency said.
No one was injured, and the threat level at the Pentagon has not been increased as a result of what Steven E. Calvery called “an isolated event.”
At about 4:55 a.m., Calvery said, Pentagon officers said up to seven shots rang out from the area of the Pentagon’s south parking lot. Access was halted to the lot and all building entrances.
“Pentagon police, Virginia State Police and Arlington County Police conducted sweeps of the area, with no initial findings,” he said The reservation was declared safe and reopened at 5:40 a.m.”
A subsequent interior search revealed that bullets shattered exterior windows on the Pentagon’s third and fourth floors, but did not penetrate them, Calvery said. As a result, he added, Virginia State Police shut down portions of Interstate 395 and its high-occupancy vehicle lanes to look for any potential evidence.
The offices where the bullets struck are under renovation and were unoccupied, Calvery said.
The Pentagon Force Protection Agency is working jointly with officials from Arlington County and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Calvery said, adding that a crime-scene search was under way to determine whether more bullets struck the building.
The FBI is looking into the possibility of a connection to a similar incident at the National Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va., over the weekend, Calvery said.
Law enforcement officers aren’t sure what type of weapon was used, and investigators had found no shell casings, Calvery said. No suspect description was available, and officials know of no specific threats, he added. Surveillance video is being reviewed for evidence, he said.
Meanwhile, Calvery told reporters, witness interviews continue, and the FBI is performing ballistics tests on the bullet fragments.
The Pentagon Force Protection Agency acted quickly, he noted.
“We took prompt action at immediately closing down the reservation [and] vehicular access, as well as access to the building pretty quickly once the shots were verified,” he said. During the 40-minute shutdown, officers swept the parking lot for clues. “We weren’t sure what was going on out there, and we wanted to make sure it was safe,” Calvery said.
Security recently was beefed up at the Pentagon’s Metro entrance, which Calvery said is a result of an after-action review from a March 4 shooting at the Pentagon.
“We made those changes and we think it provides a higher level of protection of people transiting in and out of the Pentagon,” he said.
Officials are evaluating whether more security measures are needed, Calvery said, but he expressed confidence in the protective posture that already was in place.
“I personally think our security is pretty robust at normal times,” he said.
An investigation into the incident continues.

FBI Opens Investigation into Pentagon, Marine Site Shootings

 News Article

FBI Opens Investigation into Pentagon, Marine Site Shootings American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2010 – FBI officials today announced they are opening an investigation into three recent shootings in Northern Virginia targeting the Pentagon and two Marine Corps sites. Investigators have confirmed that shots fired at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va., on Oct. 17, and those fired at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Oct. 19 involved a single weapon, officials said in a news release. Both shootings happened in predawn hours. Ballistics tests are underway for a similar overnight shooting that occurred today or yesterday at the Marine Corps Recruiting Station in Chantilly, Va., they said. FBI officials declined to name a potential weapon or the caliber of ammunition pending the investigation. The FBI’s Washington Field Office Joint Task Force is handling the investigation. It includes the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, as well as county police departments from which the shootings occurred. Anyone who may have seen a suspicious vehicle or person related to the shootings are asked to contact Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS/8477 or text “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES/274637.

Related Articles: Shooting Incident Likely Was Random, Pentagon Says

WX ALERT: Severe Thunderstorm Warning

Severe Thunderstorm Warning

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NYC029-063-262230-
/O.NEW.KBUF.SV.W.0057.101026T2128Z-101026T2230Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
528 PM EDT TUE OCT 26 2010

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BUFFALO HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  ERIE COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK
  NIAGARA COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK

* UNTIL 630 PM EDT

* AT 523 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS IN
  EXCESS OF 60 MPH.  THESE STORMS WERE LOCATED ALONG A LINE EXTENDING
  FROM 10 MILES WEST OF LEWISTON TO 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF LAKE ERIE
  BEACH...AND MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...
  YOUNGSTOWN...
  GRAND ISLAND...
  NIAGARA FALLS...
  BUFFALO...
  LACKAWANNA...
  HAMBURG...
  SANBORN...
  COLDEN...
  PENDLETON...
  ELMA...
  EAST AURORA...
  ALDEN...
  MIDDLEPORT...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THIS LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTAINS VERY LITTLE
LIGHTNING. DO NOT WAIT FOR THE SIGHT OF LIGHTNING OR SOUND OF
THUNDER TO SEEK SHELTER.

WX ALERT Hazardous Weather Outlook -

Hazardous Weather Outlook

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
313 PM EDT TUE OCT 26 2010

NYZ001>003-010>013-021-085-271915-
NIAGARA-ORLEANS-MONROE-NORTHERN ERIE-GENESEE-WYOMING-LIVINGSTON-
ALLEGANY-SOUTHERN ERIE-
313 PM EDT TUE OCT 26 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN NEW YORK.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING WINDS ARE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING ACROSS
WESTERN NEW YORK. A SQUALL LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE
RAPIDLY EAST AND ENTER WESTERN NEW YORK EARLY THIS EVENING. IF THE
LINE OF STORMS MAINTAINS ITS INTENSITY WHEN IT REACHES WESTERN NEW
YORK...DAMAGING WINDS ARE POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

IT WILL REMAIN BREEZY TO WINDY ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...WITH
GUSTS TO 45 MPH POSSIBLE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

STORM ARRIVAL: City of Tonawanda

Continuing News:
TONAWANDA NEW YORK
High WINDS HAVE NOW ARRIVED AT THIS MOMENT in CITY OF TONAWANDA

CBP Kicks Fake NFL, NBA, MLB Jerseys Out for Season

CBP Kicks Fake NFL, NBA, MLB Jerseys Out for SeasonMore than $60,000 of Counterfeit Sports Apparel Seized

Los Angeles — Cracking down on unlicensed merchandise arriving from China, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and import specialists confiscated fifteen parcels containing counterfeit NFL, NBA and MLB jerseys with an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $61,333.

CBP officers and import specialists in Los Angeles confiscated fifteen parcels containing counterfeit NFL, NBA and MLB jerseys with an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $61,333.

“Counterfeit sports apparel typically looks similar to brand name jerseys but are cheaper and of poorer quality. CBP officers and import specialists are highly specialized on product identification, detection and interception of trademark violators,” said CBP Acting Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles, Carlos Martel.

CBP officers discovered the infringing parcels at air cargo consignment locations at Los Angeles and Ontario international airports in a string of seizures in the last three weeks. The combined domestic value of the seized merchandise is $25,534.

The theft of intellectual property and the trade in counterfeit and pirated goods threatens America’s innovation based economy, the competitiveness of our businesses, the livelihoods of U.S. workers, and, in some cases, national security and the health and safety of our consumers.

The trade in these illegitimate goods is associated with smuggling and other criminal activities, and often funds criminal enterprises. In Fiscal Year 2009, 14,841 seizures of counterfeit and pirated goods with a domestic value of $270.7 million were intercepted at U.S. ports of entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws

October 25 - October 29, 2010 U.S. Department of Homeland Security Scheduled Events Update

October 25 - October 29, 2010

Time	Event
Monday, October 25
9:00 a.m. EDT	Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis Caryn Wagner will deliver keynote remarks at the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement's Border Management Summit. Arlington, Va.
9:15 a.m. EDT	National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) Director of Software Assurance Joe Jarzombek will participate in a panel discussion, entitled, "Securing the Cyber Supply Chain" at the American Council for Technology (ACT) Industry Advisory Council (IAC) 2010 Executive Leadership Conference. Williamsburg, Va.
10:00 a.m. EDT	Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deputy Administrator Rich Serino will deliver remarks highlighting FEMA's ongoing preparedness and emergency response efforts to the International Association of EMS Chiefs. Washington, D.C.
10:40 a.m. EDT	Secretary Napolitano will deliver remarks highlighting the Department's continued partnership with the law enforcement community to combat violence and prevent terrorist attacks at the IACP Annual Conference. Orlando, Fla.
11:30 a.m. EDT	U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas will lead a naturalization ceremony and highlight USCIS' ongoing efforts to ensure the integrity of the U.S. immigration system. Baltimore, Md.
1:15 p.m. CDT	NPPD Office of Infrastructure Protection Geospatial Production Team Geospatial Analyst Carol McCaig will deliver remarks about the Infrastructure Information Collection Division's infrastructure visualization capabilities at the 2010 Geospatial Information and Technology Association Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) for Oil and Gas Conference. Houston, Texas
1:45 p.m. EDT	NPPD Director of Federal Network Security Matt Coose will participate in a panel discussion about optimizing information technology at the ACT IAC 2010 Executive Leadership Conference. Williamsburg, Va.
Tuesday, September 26
	Events TBD
Wednesday, September 27
	Events TBD
Thursday, September 28
9:00 a.m. EDT	NPPD Director of Software Assurance Joe Jarzombek will participate in a panel discussion about mitigating cybersecurity risks at ACM's Annual International Conference on Ada and Related Technologies. Fairfax, Va.
2:45 p.m. PDT	United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team Director Randy Vickers will participate in a panel discussion about the evolution of cybersecurity at the Premier Business Leadership Series conference. Las Vegas, Nev.
Friday, September 29
11:00 a.m. CDT	NPPD Director of Software Assurance Joe Jarzombek will participate in a panel discussion about utilizing application security to mitigate business risks at the Lonestar Application Security Conference 2010. Houston, Texas

Family Matters Blog:Blogger Touts Reading Program

By Heather Forsgren Weaver  American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2010 - Heather Forsgren Weaver  of American Forces Press Service is a regular contributor to Family Matters. In this blog, Heather urges military families with a deployed parent to take advantage of the United Through Reading program. U.S. Marine Cpl. Thomas Crysler, whose first child is due in November, reads a book while being videotaped for the United Through Reading Program while at sea on the USS Ponce, Sept. 23, 2010. Crysler is a radio operator with Service Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 26 of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution imageavailable. Want Your Child to Love Reading? When I was a little girl there was a set of very special books on the bookshelf in my parent's living room – a set of Disney story books. These books were for special story times when my parents would read to us. I still love Snow White and Cinderella and I am totally addicted to Mickey Mouse. But most of all I love to read. Those story times which were rare since my father worked three jobs, showed me the worlds that could open up in your imagination by opening a book. My parents still have that set of Disney books and now as an adult I really look forward to reading them when I visit. Reading that set of Disney books, takes me back to a time when we would laugh our way through an activity. Reading to your children is important because it will bring them many benefits later in life, such as life-long learning, being active in the community and having an inspiring career. That's what inspired the creators of United Through Reading a program which works with the military to connect deployed parents with their kids through reading. "Research shows that reading aloud to children appears to be the single most important activity for building earliest emergent reading skills," according to the United Through Reading website. The program is geared toward the "Sesame Street set," children two to five years old, but it also works well for older children. The deployed parent reads a book aloud to their child while being digitally recorded on DVD. The DVD is then sent to the servicemembers' child, who can read along with a hard copy of the book in their hands while watching the video. The non-deployed parent or a guardian then takes a picture of the child reading along with the DVD and sends it to the deployed parent. The servicemember can then start the process by reading another book. While no one believes that reading via a DVD can take the place of actually reading to your child in person, I think this program is great alternative and I urge all military families to take advantage of it. To comment on this blog, please visit the Family Matters blog.

CBP U.S. Border Patrol Agents Seize Black Tar Heroin

Yuma, Ariz. – U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Yuma sector seized approximately 22 pounds of black tar heroin and arrested one suspected smuggler Sunday.

Agents discover more than 22 pounds of black tar heroin in engine compartment.

Border Patrol agents assigned to the Wellton station checkpoint on Interstate 8 referred a suspicious vehicle to secondary inspection following a cursory inspection by a canine team. The vehicle, a green Chevrolet Silverado Extended Cab, was occupied by one male Mexican national. Further investigation revealed several packages of black tar heroin located inside the engine’s manifold.

The heroin, with an estimated street value of $1,792,000, was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration along with the vehicle and driver.

To report suspicious activity, contact the Yuma Sector Border Patrol’s toll free telephone number at 1-866-999-8727.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

DOD Identifies Army Casualty Spc. Steven L. Dupont, 20,

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Spc. Steven L. Dupont, 20, of Lafayette, La., died Oct. 24 at Rangrizan, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

DOD Identifies Army Casualty NY Sgt. 1st Class Charles M. Sadell

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Sgt. 1st Class Charles M. Sadell, 34, of Columbia, Mo., died Oct. 24 at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., of wounds suffered Oct. 5 at Arif Kala, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.