Month: July 2022

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Defense News: USS Nitze Departs on Deployment

Source: United States Navy

The ship’s departure comes after months of training, maintenance, and certification events, which ultimately prepared the ship for a multitude of operations.

“The Sailors, chiefs and officers of USS Nitze represent the finest fighting force ever assembled,” said Cmdr. Sam T. Sareini, Nitze’s commanding officer. “There is no other crew on Earth with whom I would rather go to sea. I am extremely proud of my team, and they are ready to answer the nation’s call.”

Last month, Nitze sailed with ships in Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 26 and the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWBCSG) during a composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX). Led by commander, Carrier Strike Group 4, COMPTUEX is the final deployment certification event. COMPTUEX lasts several weeks, during which units are tested on their proficiency and readiness for deployment through scenario-based, live training that increases in complexity and intensity.

Unique to this exercise was the virtual integration of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit into a CSG COMPTUEX and the live integration of Italian destroyer ITS Caio Duilio (D554), which provided the opportunity to train in high-end warfighting with a close NATO ally.

The strike group also conducted the fourth iteration of the NATO vignette, developed by CSG 4 and Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence (CJOS COE).

NATO vignette refers to a period of time during which a NATO command exercises command and control of exercise participants. The GHWBCSG team rehearsed a transfer of authority (TOA) between U.S. 2nd Fleet and Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), NATO’s rapidly deployable joint headquarters in Portugal. NATO vignettes support the development of interoperability requirements for future force generation and improve allied maritime command and control linkages that are vital in all phases of warfare.

“Our team trained hard for the past year, preparing to face any challenge ahead and execute whatever mission our country asks of us,” Sareini said. “Our crew is resilient and ready to deliver superior combat capability to deter, and if necessary, defeat America’s adversaries in support of national security.”
The Vipers of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 48, Detachment 5, deployed aboard Nitze.

“HSM 48 will execute and support any and all missions assigned to the ship and stands firm in our commitment to integrate with Nitze’s talented crew,” said Lt. Cmdr. Kyle Stewart, Nitze’s air operations officer.

Nitze is equipped to operate in high density, multi-threat environments either independently or as an integral member of a carrier strike group or expeditionary strike group. She is a multi-mission warship that is incredibly capable across more than 24 mission areas.

The ship, whose motto is “Vision, Courage and Determination,” was commissioned in 2005 as the 44th destroyer of the Arleigh Burke-class. She bears the name of Secretary of the Navy Paul H. Nitze who served under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

For more information on USS Nitze (DDG 94), please visit the ship’s website at https://www.surflant.usff.navy.mil/ddg94/.

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Defense News: U.S. and Partner Nations Conduct SINKEX as Part of RIMPAC 2022

Source: United States Navy

Units from Australia, Canada, Malaysia and the U.S. participated in the sinking exercise (SINKEX) to gain proficiency in tactics, targeting and live firing against a surface target at sea.

Live-fire events provide realistic training that refine partner nations’ abilities to plan, communicate and conduct complex maritime operations such as precision and long-range strike capabilities.

“This exercise provided a great opportunity for the extremely talented sailors, soldiers, and aviators who comprise the RIMPAC 2022 team to hone their skills in a live-fire setting,” said Royal Canadian Navy Rear Adm. Christopher Robinson, deputy commander of the RIMPAC Combined Task Force. “There is nothing that really replaces the training value of opportunities such as this, which enable us to test our weapons and their associated combat systems with as much realism as possible. These live fire exercises are vital for maintaining our proficiencies, building our interoperability, and increasing our readiness for future operations.”

Former Navy vessels used in SINKEXs are prepared in strict compliance with regulations prescribed and enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency under a general permit the Navy holds pursuant to Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act. Each SINKEX is required to sink the hulk in at least 1,000 fathoms (6,000 feet) of water and at least 50 nautical miles from land. Surveys are conducted to ensure that humans and marine mammals are not in an area where they could be harmed during the event.

“The coordinated firing of anti-ship munitions is a complex activity. This SINKEX demonstrates the interchangeability of the capable and adaptive RIMPAC partners,” said Royal Australian Navy Commodore Paul O’Grady, commander of the RIMPAC maritime forces component. “In doing so, significant measures were taken to protect the maritime training environment.”

Prior to the vessel being transported for participation in a SINKEX, each vessel is put through a rigorous cleaning process, including the removal of all polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), transformers and large capacitors, all small capacitors to the greatest extent practical, trash, floatable materials, mercury or fluorocarbon-containing materials and readily detachable solid PCB items. Petroleum is also cleaned from tanks, piping and reservoirs.

Ex-Rodney M. Davis was the first ship to bear the name of the United States Marine Corps sergeant who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor after being mortally wounded in the Vietnam War. The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate was commissioned on May 9, 1987, and conducted multiple joint operations with embarked Coast Guard law enforcement detachments, disrupting illegal human trafficking and drug routes. The ship was decommissioned on January 23, 2015.

Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft, more than 30 unmanned systems and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

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Security News: Statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Capture of Rafael Caro-Quintero

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today released the following statement on the capture of Rafael Caro-Quintero, one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Caro-Quintero was wanted for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985.  

“There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures, and murders American law enforcement. We are deeply grateful to Mexican authorities for their capture and arrest of Rafael Caro-Quintero. Today’s arrest is the culmination of tireless work by DEA and their Mexican partners to bring Caro-Quintero to justice for his alleged crimes, including the torture and execution of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. We will be seeking his immediate extradition to the United States so he can be tried for these crimes in the very justice system Special Agent Camarena died defending.

“We join in mourning the 14 Mexican servicemembers who gave their lives in service to their country and extend our condolences to the loved ones they left behind.”

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Security News: Maryland Man Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison For Sex Trafficking and Firearms Charges

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

            WASHINGTON — Terrell Armstead, 31, formerly of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced today to 23 years in prison for sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion and a related firearms offense.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Armstead was found guilty in March 2020, following a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion. In a related case, he pleaded guilty in September 2019 to conspiracy to resell firearms illegally, and to unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

            The Honorable Amit P. Mehta sentenced Armstead to 23 years in prison on the sex trafficking charge, and sentenced him to a concurrent 10-year prison term on the firearms charges. Following his prison term, Armstead will be placed on 20 years of supervised release.  Armstead was also ordered to pay $28,644 in victim restitution.

            A second defendant, Anthony Gray, pleaded guilty in January 2022 to one count of transportation of minors, related to his activities with Armstead. Gray, 39 of Cheverly, Maryland, was sentenced on July 13, 2022, to 10 years in prison for his role in the crimes. He was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release following his prison term and ordered to pay $15,000 in victim restitution.

            According to evidence presented at trial, from March 2015 until September 2019, in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and elsewhere, Armstead trafficked several young women for commercial sex, including one who was only 16 years old. He was found guilty of a charge involving an adult woman. He used social media to lure this victim across the country based on false promises of fantastic success and financial comfort and security. Instead, after three months of being forced to work in Armstead’s commercial sex enterprise for his profit, she left the Washington, D.C. area with nothing.

            Armstead operated his enterprise by recruiting young women as commercial sex workers, then advertising them in online forums (like Backpage.com), having them work in strip clubs to meet “customers,” and coercing them to engage in commercial sex on “the blade,” the track in downtown Washington, D.C. Armstead promoted himself on social media, purporting to live a life of luxury with the money he took from the women in his commercial sex enterprise. He controlled and manipulated the victims, including by threats of force; brandishing various weapons, including large automatic weapons; taking and controlling all the proceeds from their commercial sex work; limiting their contact with friends and family, such as smashing a cellphone; and by controlling their access to transportation and even their own identification documents.

            During the course of the investigation into Armstead’s activities, law enforcement determined that Gray joined Armstead in bringing victims to hotels in Alexandria, Virginia and Lusby, Maryland in March 2015, for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex. On one of these occasions, Gray took pictures of two of the victims and then posted these pictures as advertisements online, offering them for commercial sex. Gray determined who the clients could be and the prices that could be charged.

            This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves, Special Agent in Charge Jacobs, and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI and MPD. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Justice Department, including Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant, the Witness Security Section of the Victim/Witness Assistance Unit, and former Paralegal Specialist Kenny Nguyen.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Larson and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenya Davis, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Elizabeth Hutson of the Justice Department Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

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Security News: Coweta Man who Fraudulently Obtained Almost $200,000 in Loans from the Small Business Administration Pleads Guilty

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Coweta man who received $192,071 from the Small Business Administration after fraudulently applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EDIL) and a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan pleaded guilty in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Scott Wayne Jarman, 49, pleaded guilty to two counts of false statement to the United States Small Business Administration.

Jarman faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years of imprisonment and a fine of not more than $250,000. A federal judge will determine appropriate sentences and restitution amounts at the defendants’ sentencing hearing, which will be scheduled by the court.

In his plea agreement, Jarman stated that he submitted false statements and documentation in loan applications to the Small Business Administration on behalf of the business SKT Concessions, which he claimed to own and operate. He further stated that he knowingly certified all the information in the applications and supporting documents were true and correct when he knew the information to be incorrect.

On March 30, 2020, Jarman made false representations about SKT Concessions when applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, to include when the business was operational, gross revenue, annual operating expenses, cost of goods sold and number of employees. Jarman was able to secure a loan in the amount of $146, 171 based on the information submitted.

On April 24, 2020, Jarman made false representations about the business when applying for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, to include gross sales, cost of goods sold, gross profits, and car and truck expenses. As a result of the fraudulent information, he secured a loan in the amount of $45,900.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Office of Inspector General; Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cymetra M. Williams is prosecuting the case.

To learn more about the Justice Department’s COVID response and to report COVID-19 fraud, visit: https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.  For further information on the Criminal Division’s enforcement efforts on PPP fraud, including court documents from significant cases, visit the following website: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.