BREAKING NEWS!
May 15, 2012
NHDF Announces Grants of $48,800
The National Homeland Defense Foundation (NHDF) announced that it has made grants of $48,800 to various military programs in Colorado through the Homeland Defender’s Fund™ that the Foundation administers.
Programs receiving grants at Ft. Carson include rehabilitation for wounded warriors, family programs on marriage counseling, domestic violence seminars, and support for the Fallen Heroes Center and the Family Readiness Center. The Colorado National Guard was awarded a grant to support child care programs, and the US Air Force Academy received a grant for their Airman and Family Readiness Center program.
“We are grateful to the many citizens of our community who have so generously donated to the Fund that allows support of these very worthy programs for our military members and their families. The State of Colorado continues to be very supportive of our men and women in service to our nation,” said Don Addy, President of NHDF.
The Homeland Defender’s Fund is a charitable non-profit fund that receives donations from citizens and corporations who want to support military programs. Donations and gifts to the fund are combined with others and then contributed to various support programs at Colorado military installations. For more information on how to contribute, click on www.thehdfund.org or call 719-577-7417.
April 27, 2012
Northeastern University wins top award; USMA West Point is second; University of Calgary third
Northeastern University captured the top prize of $10,000 for their entry in the 2012 National Security Innovation Competition held at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs on Friday, April 27, 2012.
Congratulations to all the finalists for a job well done. We look forward to seeing you in 2013.
Russians move to bolster Arctic forces
Gen. Walt Natynczyk meets Russians in Moscow for 3 days but no details released
By Brian Kemp, CBC News Posted: Sep 23, 2011 12:21 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 23, 2011 4:32 PM ET Read 530 comments530 Accessibility Links
Just days after Gen. Walt Natynczyk, Canada’s chief of defence staff, left Moscow after meeting his counterpart last weekend, a Russian official announced that the country would be increasing its Arctic military presence, a move that could increase tensions in the resource-rich area.
Anton Vasilev, a special ambassador for Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was quoted this week by the Interfax news agency as saying his country would be beefing up its presence in the Arctic, and that NATO was not welcome there.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was in Iceland this week meeting with the country's leaders, with the Arctic being at the top of the agenda, local media reported. Putin, according to the Moscow Times, then announced that Russia would be ordering three nuclear and six diesel icebreakers to be delivered by 2020, with the goal of expanding transportation in the Arctic.
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| Gen. Walt Natynczyk, Canada's chief of defence staff, met with his Russian counterpart in Moscow last weekend. Reuters |
In July, Russia said it would create two specialist brigades to be based in the Arctic. It’s not known if the latest announcement is tied to that declaration or if additional forces will be moved to the region.
The Canadian military said in a news release that the purpose of Natynczyk’s three-day visit to Moscow last weekend was “to gain the Russian perspective on a range of issues to improve and develop Canada’s bilateral military relationship with Russia.”
Natynczyk told CBC News after the visit that it was a “good relationship-building event.”
The Moscow visit by a Canadian chief of defence was the first in
almost a decade.
The military highlighted the counter-terrorism training exercises the two countries have been involved in, as well as a number of training programs, but made no mention of the Arctic.
The Defence Department was asked to provide details of the meeting and what was discussed in Moscow, and whether the Arctic issue was part of the discussions, but no information was provided. Officials pointed to a press release that was issued prior to the meetings.
Arctic a priority for Harper
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made a priority of increasing Canada’s presence in the North, as the countries that border the Arctic region eye the vast amount of oil and other resources in the area.
The North Pole itself is considered an international site and is administered by the International Seabed Authority. But if a country can prove its underwater shelf is an extension of its continental border, then it can claim an economic zone based on that.
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A NASA image from 2007shows Arctic summer sea ice. |
There has been tension as countries wait for the UN to rule on legal claims in the resource-rich area. In that vein, a military presence is also seen as a way to stake an even higher claim in the Arctic region.
Since 1994, the Russians have staffed year-round a research base called Ice Station Borneo on the deep Arctic ice, only 60 kilometres from the pole. Their planes have sometimes approached Canadian airspace and jets have been scrambled to shadow them.
The Canadian Forces, on its website, said it has a “real, growing, and long-term presence in its Arctic region,” and has been in the North since 1898.
In August, Canada held one of its largest military exercises, dubbed Operation Nanook, in the North. The month-long operation involved more than 1,000 troops.
Canada, along with Russia, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the U.S. belong to a group called the Arctic Council, which was created by the Arctic nations in 1996 and is billed as a high level intergovernmental forum.
