Reserve @ MindSay

Ok everyone. I gave one whole extra day!
The bidding is NOW CLOSED.

I'll post the results in a new blog!

March 12 2008 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's latest attempt to alleviate seized-up credit markets marks his most direct effort yet to repair the mortgage meltdown that poses the biggest threat to the economy

The Fed pledged yesterday to lend, in return for mortgage debt, $200 billion of Treasuries to the securities firms that trade directly with the central bank. Officials told reporters later that the program may escalate from there as the central bank seeks to break the logjam in the home-loan market.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a6aFI7RKVhEA&refer=news

The Fed said it would lend up to 200 bln usd in Treasuries for up to 28 days against a wide range of collateral, including asset-backed securities that private lenders have been shunning recently.

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/03/12/afx4761665.html

Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke

12/3/2008    12 Mar at 12:29 GMT       ooia time 9:13pm

Fed Hopes to Ease Strain on Economic Activity
New York Times - 49 minutes ago
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS WASHINGTON - Impelled to take extraordinary measures for the second time in less than a week, the Federal Reserve moved on Tuesday to subdue the deepening crisis in credit markets by stepping up as lender of last resort.
European govt bonds remain softer in wake of central bank ... Forbes
SUSAN TOMPOR Fed offers relief, and Wall St. goes wild Detroit Free Press
Reuters - Washington Post - Bloomberg - Wall Street Journal
all 272 news articles »

ooia @ pg 12/3/2008 tuesday 9:13pm

By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2006 – The National Guard and Reserve play a vital role in supporting the U.S. European Command mission, filling critical roles in the command's headquarters and in operations around the world, EUCOM's commander said here today. "Reserve component forces are ever-present across EUCOM's 92-country area of responsibilities," Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones said at a hearing of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserve. "The many skill sets and capabilities resident in the Guard and Reserves are of significant importance to the success of our theater security cooperation programs."

Every day, an average of 4,500 National Guard and Reserve troops serve in EUCOM's region, performing missions such as command and control, airlift, airborne tankers, engineering, force protection, special operations and intelligence, Jones said. Additionally, members of the Reserve components make up more than 10 percent of the uniformed personnel of the EUCOM headquarters, he said.

EUCOM is a major hub for troops and equipment deploying forward to U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility, Jones said. Reserve and Guard members are managing logistics requirements, flying airlift missions and operating on airfields to keep the flow of personnel and materials moving forward, he said.

Reserve component members bring tremendous analytical skills to theater intelligence assets, Jones said. More than 560 Reserve and Guard members support EUCOM's joint intelligence operations center, intelligence mission operations center and the joint analysis center. Reserve component members at the joint analysis center produce more than 30 percent of the intelligence products in support of operations throughout the command, he noted.

The National Guard and Reserve also contribute greatly to NATO's operations, said Jones, who also serves as NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe. Reserve component personnel provide staff support to the NATO Response Force, and reservists serve as an integral core of the U.S. delegation to the NATO Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium, he said.

On the operational side, Air National Guard tankers provide the majority of airborne tanker support for NATO's aircraft, and the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command provide lift support to U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Jones said. Additionally, the Maritime Domain Awareness/White Shipping Tracking Cell is manned entirely by reservists.

"National Guard and Reserve personnel provide significant U.S. leadership to NATO, and in so doing, strengthen the transatlantic relationship immeasurably," he said.

The Reserve components are a major player in peacekeeping operations in the Balkans and in Africa, Jones said. Bosnia and Kosovo operations are virtually exclusively executed by the Army National Guard and Army Reserve, and Guard and Reserve members also serve as mentors to the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance program, he said.

One program that provides tremendous returns on EUCOM's efforts to build bilateral relationships is the state partnership program, Jones said. This program brings together National Guard leaders from a particular state to develop a relationship with specific countries, enhancing not only military contacts but also civilian-to-military contacts, he said. Currently, 20 states are partnered with European nations and five are partnered with nations in Africa.

As the U.S. military in Europe and Africa transforms from a static, forward-deployed force to a more dynamic expeditionary force, numerous opportunities will arise to increase the use of the Reserve and National Guard in innovative and resourceful ways during their annual training periods, Jones said. He said he sees two major initiatives that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Reserve components in their support of EUCOM's missions.

The first initiative is creating a single integrated pay and personnel system for the active and Reserve components, Jones said. "Having separate pay and personnel system creates unnecessary complexities, which significantly slow both the mobilization process and our ability to reach out to the Reserve component volunteers across all service lines on a day-to-day basis," he said.

The second initiative is to reduce the number of Reserve component duty statuses to improve operations and to achieve equality in pay and benefits with the active component personnel serving in EUCOM, Jones said. "I would suggest that the labyrinth of duty statuses for Reservists and Guardsmen serve as a major impediment to effectively and efficiently access operational and support forces," he said.

Reserve components are active in every aspect of EUCOM operations, Jones said. They are fully integrated in the daily battle rhythm, are assigned to critical positions and are essential in achieving EUCOM's theater goals, he said.

"The wide scope and unpredictable nature of this new security landscape compels us to develop new strategies to better harmonize the full spectrum of national influence," he said. "This harmonization should include maximizing the full potential of our Reserve components as a ready operational volunteer force, not just a strategic asset for mobilization."

By Gerry J. Gilmore

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2006 – A U.S. railroad freight firm has earned the right to blow its locomotives' whistles in celebration of Defense Department recognition for superb support of its employees in the National Guard and Reserve.  BNSF Railway, with headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, is one of 15 U.S. businesses selected to receive the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award for 2006.

"BNSF is very pleased to have been nominated and selected to receive this award," said Connie McLendon, BNSF's military staffing manager. "This is an important distinction that very few companies receive, recognizing outstanding support for our National Guard, Reserve and veteran employees."

Today, more than 175 of BNSF's 40,000 employees are serving on active military duty, McLendon noted, with more than 485 having been called up for service since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States.  McLendon said her company provides "enhanced and extended benefits for those employees called to active duty in the war on terrorism." That includes company-provided differential pay to supplement an employee's military salary, as well as extended health-care benefits.

Additionally, BNSF organizes welcome-home celebrations and provides care packages for employees who are called up for active military service, McLendon said. The company also dedicates resources to assist employees' transitions when they depart for duty and after they return.  The railway also has an aggressive veterans' hiring program, McLendon said, noting her firm hired more than 750 former servicemembers in 2005. And BNSF has hired more than 700 veterans so far this year, she said, amounting to about 20 percent of all hires.

In a recent statement, Matthew K. Rose, BNSF's chairman, president and chief executive officer, summed up his company's philosophy of supporting employees who are past or present members of the U.S. military.  "We recognize and appreciate the sacrifice and service not only of the citizen-soldiers who are members of Team BNSF," Rose said, "but of all of America's heroes who have answered the call to serve and defend our country since Sept. 11, 2001."

John Lanigan, BNSF's executive vice president and chief marketing officer, will accept the DoD award at a Sept. 21 ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award recognizes U.S. employers that rise above the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a DoD agency, manages the award process.

ESGR assists Guard and Reserve members and their employers understand employee eligibility and job entitlements, employer obligations, benefits and remedies under the act.

In February, BNSF underlined its commitment to those who serve in the National Guard or Reserve, McLendon said, by signing ESGR's "5-Star Statement of Support." Very few employers of National Guardsmen and reservists have achieved such status, which recognizes patriotism and high standards of employee support, she said.

Formerly known as Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, BNSF Railway is one of America's largest railroads. Its more than 6,000 locomotives and 220,000 freight cars ship automobiles, timber, minerals, food, chemicals and metals over 32,000 miles of track, serving 28 western states and two Canadian provinces, company officials said.