Month: April 2022

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Defense News in Brief: CIWT Restores Language Testing in Hawaii and Japan

Source: United States Navy

11 April 2022

From Center for Information Warfare Training’s Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture Team

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Center for Information Warfare Training is pleased to announce the restoration of testing under the Navy Defense Foreign Language Testing Program (N-DFLTP) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Yokosuka, Japan.

Appointments are now available for the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) and the Defense Language Proficiency Tests (DLPTs) at Navy Language Testing Centers (NLTCs) in Pearl Harbor and Yokosuka.  To schedule a language test for you or for a Sailor in your charge, please, use the scheduling tool at https://www.mnp.navy.mil/group/training-education-qualifications/appointment-scheduler.
 
For more information contact:
NLTC Hawaii – LanguageTesting_Pearl_Harbor@us.navy.mil
NLTC Yokosuka – LanguageTesting_Yokosuka@us.navy.mil
 
The Center for Information Warfare Training is working to restore N-DFLTP testing at NLTCs in the following locations:  Naples, Italy; Rota, Spain; Sasebo, Japan and will release additional information as these new sites become operational.
 
For information about Navy’s Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture (LREC) program and language testing, please visit: https://www.netc.navy.mil/LREC.
 

Contact

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Defense News in Brief: Legalman is Joint Command Shore Sailor of the Year

Source: United States Navy

Rosado, a Navy JAG Corps member since 2015, previously was named Joint Staff Navy Element Sailor of the Year, as well.  She now is in the running for Navy Shore Sailor of the Year, which will be announced in June.  If selected, Rosado would meritoriously advance to chief petty officer.
 
“My biggest take away from this tour is that you can remain competitive without being in competition,” said Rosado.  “When we maintain our authenticity and focus on the unique talents each person brings to the team, we all succeed.  I hope to represent our community well at the next level of competition.”
 
Rosado earned the awards because of her superb work, outstanding leadership, and positive impact upon the Legal Counsel, the Joint Staff, and the Combatant Commands.  She was selected from among 13 other Joint Command candidates, all with impressive performance and qualifications.
 
“The competition was extremely tough … We are proud that Petty Officer Rosado surpassed her peers with her outstanding professionalism, leadership and technical knowledge,” said Senior Chief Yeoman Coby Cleon Turner, the Navy element senior enlisted leader in the Office of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (OCJCS).  “This is a significant milestone in a Sailor’s career!  We are grateful for her exceptional dedication and hard work.”
 
Rosado was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and she immigrated to the U.S. at age six.  She graduated from Hyde Park High School and then subsequently earned a biology degree at Boston University.  Acting upon a lifelong interest in the military, she enlisted in the Navy in January 2013 as a Machinist Mate.  She graduated at the top of her training class and was meritoriously advanced to a Third Class Petty Officer upon reporting to her first command, the USS George Washington (CVN 73), which was homeported in Yokosuka, Japan.
 
Shortly after arriving in Yokosuka, Rosado learned about the Legalman rating and decided to convert.  She was accepted into the Legalman program, and, upon graduation, she received orders to the Region Legal Service Office in Manama, Bahrain.  During her time there, she was selected as the Naval Legal Service Command Junior Sailor of the Quarter.  She subsequently was assigned to OCJCS at the Pentagon.
 
Rosado said she would not have achieved so much during her tour without support and mentorship from her Chief of Staff, Mr. Paul Kiamos.
 
“He has taught me to make the success of those around me a priority no matter what,” Rosado said. “I also want to thank my mentors and LN leadership for helping me prepare for board after board.”
 
Bravo Zulu!

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Defense News in Brief: CNATT Spring 2022 offsite event strengthens unity, camaraderie within leadership

Source: United States Navy

Firm handshakes, hugs and smiles filled the conference room where the CNATT unit commanding officers and detachment officers in charge spent two days.  They sharpened their leadership skills and learned more about how the CNATT headquarters and directorate staffs, as well as other entities like legal and medical, can help them continue to provide highly-trained Sailors and Marines to the fleet.
 
Over the past few years, the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited travel and meetings of this nature, so with COVID transmission rates low and vaccinations abundantly available across the country, current CNATT leaders were able to get together in person for the first time as a group.
 
“It’s really been great to have these leaders here,” Capt. Vence Logan, CNATT commanding officer, said. “The feedback has been great, the presentations have been great.  The event came together very well.  It’s been a lot of fun over the past two days.”
 
A few CNATT domain leaders shared their thoughts on the event.
 
“This week’s workshop gave us the opportunity to develop, enhance, strengthen relationships with leadership, CNATT staff, and the other commanders,” Marine Lt. Col. Marc Blankenbicker, CNATT Unit New River commanding officer, said. “You can start relationships remotely, and they may be effective enough to get by.  It’s intangible and immeasurable, but what you gain from looking at your teammates in the eye is irreplaceable.”
 
Cmdr. David Sweet, CNATT Unit Whidbey Island commanding officer, agreed.
 
“I had a great time meeting my fellow commanding officers, officers in charge and executive officers in person,” Sweet said.  It’s good to know that we are not alone and are all working through the same issues. I look forward to making this a yearly, in-person event.”
 
CNATT leadership would like to thank all staff members who helped make the offsite event a success.
 

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Security News: Army Soldier Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography and Threatening Pretrial Services Officer

Source: United States Department of Justice News

TUCSON, Ariz. – Jahara William Byfield, 23, of Sunrise, Florida, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 60 months in prison. Byfield previously pleaded guilty to Possession of Child Pornography and Threatening to Assault or Murder a Federal Employee. 

Byfield was a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona for training when he was arrested on August 28, 2020, after an investigation revealed he had used his cellphones to obtain images and videos depicting children, including pre-pubescent minors, engaging in sexually explicit conduct. After his arrest, Byfield was placed on pretrial release with conditions that included computer monitoring. On December 3, 2020, Byfield pleaded guilty to one count of Possession of Child Pornography.

On April 15, 2021, while on release pending sentencing, Byfield threatened to kill everyone involved with the computer monitoring program. His pretrial release was subsequently revoked, and on June 23, 2021, Byfield was charged in an indictment for the threats he made towards those supervising him. On December 20, 2021, Byfield pleaded guilty to a charge of Threatening to Assault or Murder a Federal Employee.

Upon release from prison, Byfield will be placed on lifetime supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and to complete a sex offender treatment program.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Homeland Security Investigations, Sierra Vista Police Department, Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the U.S. Marshals Service conducted the investigations in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carin C. Duryee and Brian E. Kasprzyk, District of Arizona, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-20-02748-TUC-JGZ; CR-21-01461-TUC-JGZ
RELEASE NUMBER:    2022- 040_Byfield

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest new

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Security News: Former Caltrans Contract Manager Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging and Bribery

Source: United States Department of Justice News

First Guilty Plea in Ongoing Investigation at the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)

A former contract manager for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) pleaded guilty today for his role in a bid-rigging and bribery scheme involving Caltrans improvement and repair contracts.

According to a plea agreement filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, Choon Foo “Keith” Yong and his co-conspirators engaged in a conspiracy, from early 2015 through late 2019, to thwart the competitive bidding process for Caltrans contracts to ensure that companies controlled by Yong’s co-conspirators submitted the winning bid and would be awarded the contract. Yong is also charged with accepting bribes while working for Caltrans, a California state agency that receives significant federal funding. Yong received the bribes in the form of cash payments, wine, furniture and remodeling services on his home. The total value of the payments and benefits Yong received exceeded $800,000. In addition to his guilty plea, Yong agreed to pay restitution and cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

“Today’s guilty plea is the first in the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation into bribery and bid rigging at Caltrans,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Given the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s $1.2 trillion authorization and the critical role of transportation infrastructure in our nation, rooting out bid-rigging schemes that cheat the competitive bidding process remains a top priority for the division and its Procurement Collusion Strike Force partners.” 

Yong received more than $800,000 of bribes in the form of cash payments, wine, furniture, and remodeling services on his home. 

Yong is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 22 by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. For the bid-rigging conspiracy, Yong faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1 million or twice the gross pecuniary gain or twice the gross pecuniary loss resulting from the offense. For bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, Yong faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or twice the gross pecuniary loss resulting from the offense. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

Today’s guilty plea is the first to result from a joint investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, and the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office as part of the Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). 

In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. In fall 2020, the Strike Force expanded its footprint with the launch of PCSF: Global, designed to deter, detect, investigate and prosecute collusive schemes that target government spending outside of the United States. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to defense-related spending.