Department of Defense December 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On Tuesday, January 24, 2006, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., the Committee will discuss various aspects of the military pay and benefits system, such as compensation that recognizes danger, risk, and hardship that members experience; the appropriate balance between in-service and post-service compensation; the appropriate balance between cash and non-cash compensation; and the structure, level, and relevance of compensation for the Reserve and Guard, considering their changed utilization. Members of the Public may attend but participation in Committee discussions by the Public will not be permitted. Written submissions of data, information, and views may be sent to the Committee contact person at the address shown. Submissions should be received by close of business January 16, 2006 to allow time for distribution to the committee members prior to the meeting. Persons attending are advised that the Committee is not responsible for providing access to electrical outlets.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense is amending a system of records notice in its existing inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

The Defense Science Board Task Force on Nuclear Capabilities will meet in closed session on January 4, 2006, at the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA), 4850 Mark Center Drive, Alexandria, VA. This meeting will be an Executive Session for draft report writing and discussion. The mission of the Defense Science Board is to advise the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics on scientific and technical matters as they affect the perceived needs of the Department of Defense. At these meetings, the Defense Science Board Task Force will: Assess the current plan for sustaining the nuclear weapons stockpile and make recommendations for ensuring the future reliability, safety, security, and relevance of the nuclear weapons stockpile for the 21st century; examine the DoD role in defining needs in the nuclear weapons stockpile and recommend changes in institutional arrangements to ensure an appropriate DoD role; assess progress towards the goal of an integrated new triad of strike capabilities (nuclear, advanced conventional, and non-kinetic) within the new triad of strike, defense and infrastructure; examine a wide range of alternative institutional arrangements that could provide for more efficient management of the nuclear enterprise; examine approaches to evolving the stockpile with weapons that are simpler to manufacture and that can be sustained with a smaller, less complex, less expensive design, development, certification and production enterprise; and examine plans to transform the nuclear weapons production complex to provide a capability to respond promptly to changes in the threat environment with new designs or designs evolved with previously tested nuclear components. In accordance with Section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended (5 U.S.C. App. II), it has been determined that these Defense Science Board Task Force meetings concern matters listed in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(1) and that, accordingly, the meetings will be closed to the public.

Under the National Environmental Policy Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a notice of availability in the Federal Register, 70 FR 68443 on November 10, 2005, for the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Draft SEIS) for the Department of the Navy's deployment of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) sonar systems (EIS No. 20050460). This notice announces the extension of the public comment period from December 27, 2005 to February 10, 2006.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is considering an application for Section 404 and Section 10 permits to conduct dredge and fill activities to redevelop and consolidate two existing container terminals for the construction of a 342-acre marine terminal including redevelopment of 294 acres of existing land and the placement of dredged material in open water to create 48 acres of new land. The primary reason for the revised notice of intent is because the proposed terminal expansion project has been modified to utilize additional existing land to reduce the amount of fill in open water by approximately 20 acres. The primary Federal concern is the dredging and discharging of materials within waters of the Unites States and potential significant impacts to the human environment. Therefore, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Corps is requiring the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prior to consideration of any permit action. The Corps may ultimately make a determination to permit or deny the above project, or permit or deny modified versions of the above project. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Port of Long Beach will serve as Lead Agency for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for its consideration of development approvals within its jurisdiction. The Corps and the Port of Long Beach have agreed to jointly prepare a Draft EIS/EIR in order to optimize efficiency and avoid duplication. The Draft EIS/EIR is intended to be sufficient in scope to address both the Federal and the State and local requirements and environmental issues concerning the proposed activities and permit approvals.

The next meeting of the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) Board of Visitors (BoV) will be held at Defense Acquisition University- Fort Belvoir, VA. The purpose of this meeting is to report back to the BoV on continuing items of interest.

The Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel (ORRAP) is soliciting nominations for new members.

The Department of the Navy hereby gives notice of the availability of exclusive or partially exclusive license to practice worldwide under the following pending patent. Any license granted shall comply with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR Part 404. Applications will be evaluated utilizing the following criteria: (1) Ability to manufacture and market the technology; (2) manufacturing and marketing ability; (3) time required to bring technology to market and production rate; (4) royalties; (5) technical capabilities; and (6) small business status. Patent application Serial Numbers 11/090,916 and PCT/US05/010061 entitled ``ANTI-MUCOLYTIC AND ANTI-ELASTASE COMPOUNDS AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF'' filed on March 24, 2005. The present inventions relate to the use of a compound containing a dithiol active site, preferably in reduced state, to induce, enhance and/or increase the liquefaction of mucus or sputum through mucolysis, and/or to inhibit elastase.

The inventions listed below are assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Navy and are made available for licensing by the Department of the Navy. U.S. Patent No. 6,873,961: Method and Apparatus for Identifying and Tracking Project Trends//U.S. Patent No. 6,801,655: Spatial Image Processor//U.S. Patent No. 6,785,623: Business to Business Electronic Test Monitoring Information System//U.S. Patent No. 6,768,815: Color Sensor//U.S. Patent No. 6,735,579: Static Memory Processor//U.S. Patent No. 6,718,816: Monolithic I.C. Implemented Calibration Circuit//U.S. Patent No. 6,718,316: Neural Network Noise Anomaly Recognition System and Method//U.S. Patent No. 6,694,049: Multimode Invariant Processor// U.S. Patent No. 6,618,713: Neural Directors//U.S. Patent No. 6,618,324: Track Quality Indicator with Hysteresis//U.S. Patent No. 6,597,634: System and Method for Stochastic Characterization of Sparse, Four- Dimensional, Underwater-Sound Signals//U.S. Patent No. 6,594,382: Neural Sensors//U.S. Patent No. 6,590,833: Adaptive Cross Correlator// U.S. Patent No. 6,580,314: Demodulation System and Method for Recovering a Signal of Interest from a Modulated Carrier Sampled at Two Times the Phase Generated Carrier Frequency//U.S. Patent No. 6,577,268: Outboard Radio Signal Test System and Method//U.S. Patent No. 6,571,598: Calibration Circuit for Use with a Differential Input Preamplifier in a Sensor System//U.S. Patent No. 6,566,895: Unbalanced Three Phase Delta Power Measurement Apparatus and Method//U.S. Patent No. 6,560,582: Dynamic Memory Processor//U.S. Patent No. 6,546,045: Method for Communication Using Adaptive Modem//U.S. Patent No. 6,507,827: Adaptive and Intelligent Modem//U.S. Patent No. 6,466,516: System and Apparatus for the Detection of Randomness in Three Dimensional Time Series Distributions Made up of Sparse Data Sets//U.S. Patent No. 6,430,522: Enhanced Model Identification in Signal Processing Using Arbitrary Exponential Functions//U.S. Patent No. 6,430,107: Computerized Auditory Scene Analysis Particularly Suited for Undersea Applications//U.S. Patent No. 6,421,620: Test Data Processing System//U.S. Patent No. 6,401,050: Non- Command, Visual Interaction System for Watchstations//U.S. Patent No. 6,400,647: Remote Detection System//U.S. Patent No. 6,397,234: System and Apparatus for the Detection of Randomness in Time Series Distributions Made up of Sparse Data Sets//U.S. Patent No. 6,397,202: System and Method for Monitoring Risk in a System Development Program// U.S. Patent No. 6,304,885: Digital Data Retrieving, Organizing and Display System//U.S. Patent No. 6,392,959: Contact Data Correlation with Reassessment//U.S. Patent No. 6,304,833: Hypothesis Selection for Evidential Reasoning Systems//U.S. Patent No. 6,105,015: Wavelet-Based Hybrid Neurosystem for Classifying a Signal or an Image Represented by the Signal in a Data System//U.S. Patent No. 6,765,541: Capacitively Shunted Quadrifilar Helix Antenna//U.S. Patent No. 6,714,481: System and Method for Active Sonar Signal Detection and Classification//U.S. Patent No. 6,703,917: Resettable Fuse/Circuit Interrupter with Visual Fault Indication//U.S. Patent No. 6,681,016: System for Transfer of Secure Mission Data//U.S. Patent No. 6,559,632: Method and Apparatus for Determining Linear and Angular Velocity of a Moving Body//U.S. Patent No. 6,525,990: Target Simulation System and Method//U.S. Patent No. 6,411,566: System and Method for Processing an Underwater Acoustic Signal by Identifying Nonlinearity in the Underwater Acoustic Signal// U.S. Patent No. 6,407,720: Capacitively Loaded Quadrifilar Helix Antenna//U.S. Patent No. 6,389,229: Optical FSTOP/Resolution Apparatus and Method for Specified Depth-of-Field//U.S. Patent No. 6,344,834: Low Angle, High Angle Quadrifilar Helix Antenna//

The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 (MEJA) establishes Federal criminal jurisdiction over whoever engages in conduct outside the United States that would constitute an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year (i.e., a felony offense) while employed by or accompanying the Armed Forces outside the United States, certain members of the Armed Forces subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and former members of the Armed Forces.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will hold the second public meeting of the Veterans' Advisory Board on Dose Reconstruction (VBDR). The VBDR was established at the recommendation of the National Research Council report, entitled ``Review of the Dose Reconstruction Program of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.'' The report recommended the need to establish an advisory board that will provide suggestions for improvements in dose reconstruction and claim adjudication procedures. The goal of VBDR is to provide guidance and oversight of the dose reconstruction and claims compensation programs for veterans of U.S.- sponsored atmospheric nuclear weapons tests from 1945-1962; veterans of the 1945-1946 occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan; and veterans who were prisoners of war in those regions at the conclusion of World War II. In addition, the advisory board will assist VA and DTRA in communicating with the veterans. Radiation does reconstruction has been carried out by the Department of Defense under the Nuclear Test Personnel Review (NTPR) program since the 1970s. DTRA is the executive agent for the NTPR program which provides participation data and actual or estimated radiation dose information to veterans and the VA. Board members were selected to fulfill the statutory requirements mandated by Congress in Section 601 of Public Law 108-183. The Board was appointed on June 3, 2005, and is comprised of 16 members. Board members were selected to provide expertise in historical dose reconstruction, radiation health matters, risk communications, radiation epidemiology, medicine, quality management, decision analysis and ethics in order to appropriately enable the VBDR to represent and address veterans' concerns. The Board is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), Public Law 92-463, which sets forth standards for the formation and conduct of government advisory committees.

DoD is revising the name of 48 CFR Chapter 2 from ``Department of Defense'' to ``Defense Acquisition Regulations System, Department of Defense.'' This change will facilitate the Government's implementation of the Federal Document Management System, as it will permit the DoD regulations issued under 48 CFR Chapter 2 to be indexed separately from other DoD regulations.

DoD has issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to update text pertaining to contract financing. This rule is a result of a transformation initiative undertaken by DoD to dramatically change the purpose and content of the DFARS.

In compliance with 37 CFR 404 et seq., the Department of the Army hereby gives notice of its intent to grant to Akoura Biometrics Incorporated, a corporation having its principle place of business at 9990 Waterford Trail Chagrin Falls, OH 44023, an exclusive or partially exclusive license relative to ARL patents U.S. Patent 6,557,103 B1 entitled, ``Spread Spectrum Steganography''; April 29, 2003, Boncelet, Jr., et al. and U.S. Patent 6,831,990 B2 entitled, ``System and Method for Image Tamper Detection via Thumbnail Hiding''; December 14, 2004; Marvel et al.

This rule proposes to revise DoD regulations to prohibit the sale or rental of sexually explicit material on property under DoD jurisdiction. It establishes responsibilities for monitoring compliance, establishes a review board to determine whether a material offered for sale or rental is sexually explicit as consistent with the definition in 10 U.S.C. 2489a, and delineates review board procedures.

The inventions listed below are assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Navy and are made available for licensing by the Department of the Navy. U.S. Patent Number 6,546,798, entitled ``Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Resonant Optical Gyroscope,'' issue date April 4, 2003. U.S. Patent Number 6,550,330, entitled ``Differential Amplification for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Ultra-Sensitive Accelerometer,'' issued April 22, 2003. U.S. Patent Number 6,581,465, entitled ``Micro-electro- mechanical systems ultra sensitive accelerometer,'' issued June 24, 2003. U.S. Patent Number 6,763,718, entitled ``Micro-Electro-Mechanical Ultra-Sensitive Accelerometer with Independent Sensitivity Adjustment,'' issued July 20, 2004. U.S. Patent Pending, entitled ``Integrated Circuit Porphyrin-Based Optical Chemical Sensor,'' Navy Case Number 84715. U.S. Patent Pending, entitled ``Wireless Remote Sensor and Method for Making Same,'' Navy Case Number 84769. U.S. Patent Pending, entitled ``Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Magnetic Vibration Power Generator,'' Navy Case Number 84774.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense is altering a system of records to its existing inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to adjust acquisition-related thresholds for inflation. Section 807 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108-375) requires that the FAR Council periodically adjust all statutory acquisition-related dollar thresholds in the FAR for inflation, except the statute does not permit escalation of acquisition-related dollar thresholds established by the Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, or trade agreements. This rule also proposes to amend other acquisition-related thresholds that are based on policy rather than statute. Inflation adjustment of Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) thresholds in the CAS regulations is simultaneously addressed in a separate case.

DoD has issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to update text pertaining to the environment, occupational safety, and a drug-free workplace. This rule is a result of a transformation initiative undertaken by DoD to dramatically change the purpose and content of the DFARS.