Department of External Affairs

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Foggy Bottom, Nyman, DC

Good afternoon. I have a statement to read you. I'll start out with that.

"The Atlasian Government condemns the Burmese regime's arrest of Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and several other pro-democracy activists on August 22nd for organizing peaceful demonstrations to express public concern about recent increases in the price of fuel. Atlasia calls for the immediate release of these activists and for an end of the regime's blatant attempt to intimidate and silence those who are engaged in peaceful promotion of democracy and human rights in Burma. We call on the regime to engage in a meaningful dialog with the leaders of Burma's democracy movement and ethnic minority groups and to make tangible steps toward a transition to civilian democratic rule."

Next.  As you've noticed, this place has new management.  I hope to be a somewhat active Secretary, though careful observers may notice a bit of cut and paste in some of my presentations.  I anticipate my next briefing will be Monday, after this weekend's elections when I shall present some bills for contemplation by the next Senate.  I also plan to announce then an itinerary of visits abroad, concentrating first on the Americas, which have been somewhat neglected.

[SPC]

Good luck as secretary, Ernest.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I have three military related bills to present for consideration by the Twenty-First Senate.  They are official recommendations of the Secretary of External Affairs and approved by the President.


The first bill disentangles our military somewhat from international sporting events for the reasons given in the findings section.

Demilitarization and Security of Sports Act

§1. Findings
   (a) Training for international sporting events at a competitive level requires a degree of specialization and training that is generally incompatible with the expectations of service in today's military, except in events directly related to military skills.
   (b) The ability of the Atlasian Olympic Committee to raise funds is sufficient as to not require a subsidy in the form of enlistment of athletes as members of the military services primarily to enable them to compete in athletic competitions.
   (c) Provision of military assistance to law enforcement agencies with security arrangements to sporting events should be conditioned solely on the security needs determined by the Attorney General and not by the type of sporting event.

CHAPTER 1 - DEMILITARIZATION OF SPORTS

§11. Participation
   The Secretary of External Affairs is directed to spend no funds under section 717 of title 10 for the participation of members of the armed forces in the Winter Olympic Games after 2010, the Pan-American Games after 2011, and the Summer Olympic Games in 2012 or any other international sports competition concluding more than five years after the date of the passage of this Act.  The Secretary of External Affairs is directed to spend no funds under said section for the participation of members of the armed forces in preparatory competitions, unless such competition is preparatory to an international sports competiton for which funds may be spent under the preceding sentence.

§12. Repeal
   As of the later of five years after the date of the passage of this chapter or the date of the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, section 717 of title 10, subsection (b)(3)(B) of section 1033 of title 10, subsection (d) of section 406c of title 37, and section 420 of title 37 are repealed.

§13. Construction
   This chapter shall not be construed as preventing the Secretary of External Affairs from granting leave under applicable law to members of the armed forces for the purpose of enabling them to compete in international sporting events or preparatory competitions thereto.

CHAPTER 2 - SECURITY OF SPORTS

§21. Provision of support for certain sporting events
   (a) Subsection (a) of section 2564 of title 10 is amended to strike ", the Goodwill Games".
   (b) Subsection (c) of section 2564 of title 10 is repealed and subsections (d) through (f) of said section are redesignated subsections (c) through (e) respectively.


This second bill makes all females members of the militia on the same basis as males.

Gender Neutral Militia Act

   Section 311(a) of Title 10, Armed Forces, is amended by -
      (1) replacing the word "males" with the word "individuals", and
      (2) striking the words "and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard".


And finally a bill that owes its existence largely because I couldn't resist the idea of a having a literal omnibus bill.

Military Omnibus Procurement Act

§1. Findings
   (a) It is reasonable and proper that to ensure the ability of Atlasia to provide a common defense for the people of Atlasia that certain defense-related items be subject to restrictions on procurement to ensure that Atlasia is able to produce them for its own needs regardless of any interruption in foreign commerce that may happen in the future.
   (b) Applying restrictions on such procurements to non-military articles that apply only to the armed forces dilutes the respect and gravitas that the principle of self-reliance in defense matters embodied by subsection (a) should command.

§2. Repeal
   Subsection (a)(1) of section 2534, title 10, Armed Forces, requiring that multipassenger motor vehicles (omnibuses) acquired for the armed forces be made only by Atlasian firms, is repealed as of the end of the current fiscal year.

§3. Construction
   This Act shall not be construed as repealing or modifying any other "Buy Atlasian" provision of law that applies to such acquisitions.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

To be published in the Federal Register:

Memorandum to the President and the Attorney General
27 August 2007
While undertaking a review of the laws applicable to my post, I have determined that two provisions of law not marked as superseded in the Atlasian Statutes have been superseded by the action of the Foreign Aid Reduction Act [F.L. 10-4].

• Section 1 of the Pacific Defense and Taiwanese Protection Act [F.L. 5-1].
• Section 6 of the Promotion of Democracy Act [F.L. 6-7].

This memorandum is intended to notify you that I believe that under the Foreign Aid Reduction Act I have authority to reprogram the funds called for under the affected Acts.  This memorandum is not intended to undertake any reprogramming of said funds at this time.

Ernest
Ernest
Secretary of External Affairs

[Hash]

What is the SoEA's reaction to the Nauruan election results?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

:YAWN:

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Before a fourth billion is sunk into the project, may I kindly request, if possible, a status report on the construction of the missile defense shield mandated by F.L. 3-5, the Missile Defense Initiative Act?

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Also, if possible: a progress report on the $4.5 billion/year F.L. 4-1, the F22 Act?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Also, if possible: a progress report on the $4.5 billion/year F.L. 4-1, the F22 Act?

A $500 million contract was let for FY 2005 to determine whether as a result of advances in materials technology, the weight problems that caused the F-22N swing-wing variant to be not pursued in the 1990's could be resolved.  The remaining $4 billion for FY 2005 was used primarily to accelerate development of the F-35B STOVL and F-35C carrier versions of the Joint Strike Fighter.

The FY2005 contract determined that a F-22N design, while improved, would still not be able to meet the minimum range requirements specified by the Navy for a new naval fighter.  Accordingly, FY 2006 and later funds have been used to accelerate development of the F-35 program with an emphasis on the naval variants.

The 524th Fighter Squadron "Hounds of Heaven" is beginning workups now with the F-35A and is expected to be ready to deploy sometime in mid-2009

VMA-214 Blacksheep will begin workups early in 2009 with the F-35B and is expected to be ready to deploy sometime in early 2011.

VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet will soon begin workups with the F-35C and is expected to be ready to deploy sometime in late 2009.

This represents approximately a two year acceleration of the introduction schedule for the F-35 program overall.  Acceleration of the F-35B variant has proven troublesome due to its having the least tolerance for deviations in weight goals for the aircraft.

Funds for FY 2009-2013 will be used primarily to accelerate initial acquisition of the F-35 by some 80 aircraft each year.

FY 2014 may see a second study of the practicality of an F-22N variant in light of further technological advances, assuming that design of a sixth-generation fighter has not yet begun.  Funds not allocated to such a study will be used for F-35 acquisition.

Disclaimer: We have no GM, but I have been a GM in the past, and if I were a GM now, the above represents what my take on the F-22 Act would have and will accomplish.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Before a fourth billion is sunk into the project, may I kindly request, if possible, a status report on the construction of the missile defense shield mandated by F.L. 3-5, the Missile Defense Initiative Act?

$1 billion a year is considerably below the real world budget of the Missile Defense Agency of $7.7 to $9.4 billion (MDA funding FY 1985-2007), but the context of the debate on the bill indicates that this was to fund just the R&D on Ground-Based Midcourse Defense component.  However, even that is significantly below real life appropriations of around $2.5 billion per year (link).

Therefore, in my estimation, testing of the missile has continued much as in real life, but SBX-1, the Sea-based X-band Radar has not been built and no interceptors have been deployed at Fort Greely, Alaska.