'Al Qaeda' Under Every Bed, NEADS, Israel Drill, +

* This almost defies parody, bogeymen in caves - elusive to a trillion dollar military apparatus,...soon every American will look like an 'Al Qaeda' operative, this is even too stupid for a SNL skit. Next, let's have kids turn in their parents if they say bad things about the Government...

Al Qaeda recruits ‘western' fighters: CIA
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=410876
Passengers wait to pass through a security checkpoint in Texas. CIA Director Michael Hayden said Al Qaeda was training 'operatives that wouldn’t attract your attention if they were going through the customs ...

WASHINGTON -- Al Qaeda is training fighters that "look western" and could easily cross U.S. borders without attracting attention, CIA Director Michael Hayden said Sunday.
The militant Islamist group has turned Pakistan's remote tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan into a safe haven, and is using it to plot further attacks against the United States, Mr. Hayden said.
"They are bringing operatives into that region for training -- operatives that wouldn't attract your attention if they were going through the customs line at Dulles (airport outside Washington) with you when you were coming back from overseas," Mr. Hayden said during an interview on NBC's Meet the Press.
"(They) look western (and) would be able to come into this country without attracting the kinds of attention that others might," Hayden said, without offering further details.
The United States went to war in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities in order to to crush al Qaeda and hunt down its chief, Osama bin Laden, who Hayden confirmed was still believed by the United States to be hiding in the rugged Afghan border area.....

Northeast Air Defense Sector Receives New Commander (NEADS)http://readme.readmedia.com/news/show/Northeast-Air-Defense-Sector-Receives-New-Commander/117873

The current vice commander of the Northeast Air Defense Sector, Col. John Bartholf, will become it's next commander in a ceremony at 2 p.m., April 4 at the Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome, N.Y.
Col. Dawne Deskins, currently the deputy commander of support at NEADS, was selected by the New York Air National Guard to become the next vice commander of the unit. Colonel Deskins will assume vice commander duties during the April 4 change of command ceremony as well.
The vice commander's job is held by a member of the New York Air National Guard (NYANG), while the commander is an Active Duty Air Force Officer.
Colonel Bartholf was selected by leadership at NEADS’ higher-headquarters, located at First Air Force at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. He will replace the outgoing commander, Col. Clark Speicher, who will retire in a separate ceremony April 5 at 3 p.m. at Griffiss.
According to First Air Force, the competition for this coveted position was stiff. The senior officer applicants were top-quality Airmen with many accolades and accomplishments to their credit.
NEADS manages air defense in the United States east of the Mississippi.
The future of NEADS is bright, Col. Speicher said. As the current NEADS vice commander, Col. Bartholf has the requisite experience and demonstrated leadership to lead the organization into the future as an indispensable partner of the U.S. Theater Air Control System as we work collectively to protect our citizens from threats of all types.
In August 2003, Col. Bartholf was selected to be the NEADS operations group commander and served in that capacity for over a year. April 2005, he was selected to be the NEADS vice commander.
He deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq, as the deputy operations group commander of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing where he earned a Bronze Star. The colonel is a command pilot with more than 2,700 flight hours.
In 1995, Col. Deskins separated from active duty Air Force and joined NEADS and the NYANG. At NEADS, in a variety of positions including Mission Crew Commander, flight commander, assistant director, Sector Operations Control Center and chief, Exercise and Analysis. Col. Deskins currently serves on the Sector Battle Staff as a NORAD Battle Commander.
NEADS is one of two North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) air defense sectors in the Continental United States (CONUS) and reports directly to First Air Force and the CONUS NORAD region, both collocated at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.
NEADS is responsible for the aerospace defense of the eastern United States and supports NORAD’s Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment and NORTHCOM’s homeland defense missions.....

Barak authorizes nationwide emergency drill (Iran prep)http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3525509,00.html

Defense establishment, government and cabinet all to participate in exercise simulating crisis situation as part of upcoming national emergency drill to be held in April. Drill part of implementation of lessons from Second Lebanon War
Defense Minister Ehud Barak authorized on Sunday evening the plans for a national emergency drill, which is scheduled to take place in two weeks time.

The exercise, which will be led by Barak's deputy Matan Vilnai, was conceived as part of the lessons learned following the Second Lebanon War in 2006 and will incorporate all government offices and public bodies.

The drill will simulate a series of emergency situations and require those participating – ranging from localmunicipalities, schools, firefighters and paramedics, the IDF Home Front Command and even the cabinet itself – to respond to the developing events.

The Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv took part in a drill simulating a chemical missile attack several days ago.

Both Home Front Command and Health Ministry officials stressed the importance of preparing for any possible scenario


Russia to Hold Strategic Aviation Exercise (update)
http://www.plenglish.com/Article.asp?ID=%7B93973A32-D629-4458-8C20-8AED6EBFCA09%7D&language=EN

Moscow, Mar 30 (Prensa Latina) Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers will conduct military exercises in northern Russia from March 31 to April 4, a military source confirmed Sunday.
Russian Air Force spokesman Colonel Alexandr Drovishevski said the maneuvers will include high-risk flight drills.

Russian expert warns of bird flu pandemic
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080328/102434951.html

Today is my Birthday! I am sipping pink champagne, my favorite, My birthday wish? Not to need a blog like this anymore....