Daily News
by Gail Helmer

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Wednesday December 04, 2002

PC News
New Screens: Wolfenstein Enemy Territory
We have new screens from the upcoming sequel to Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. Enemy Territory features both a squad-based single player and multiplayer game. Enlisting players as the leader of an elite Allied force throughout a series of mission-based scenarios that range from Western Europe to the deserts of Egypt. With multiplayer support for as many as 64 players and 2-player co-operative play, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory challenges gamers to the ultimate test of teamwork and strategy. Each of the five character classes is critical to a team's ultimate victory or defeat on the battlefield. The stand-alone game is expected to be available in the first-half of 2003.

New Screens: Battlefield 1942 Road to Rome
We have new screens from the upcoming expansion pack, Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome. The multiplayer-focused expansion pack will give players more of what they have grown accustomed to with the original BattleField 1942 title, including more maps, more vehicles, and more fighting forces.

The Road to Rome will focus exclusively on the largely underpublicized Italian and Sicilian campaigns of WWII. Players can choose to fight on six new maps including Operation Husky (Sicily) and the battles for Anzio and Monte Cassino. The Road To Rome will feature eight new vehicles in addition to the more than 30 in the original title. These include the German BF-110 and British Mosquito twin-engined fighter-bombers. Also debuting are Italian and new British and German tanks and anti-tank guns. New hand-held weapons include the Italian Breda assault rifle, British Sten SMG and bayonets on rifles. The Road To Rome will support up to 64 players (on select maps) and give them the ability to fully experience World War II combat.

Scheduled to be released in early 2003. The original Battlefield 1942 is required to play The Road to Rome.

Military News
Raptor Program On Track Despite Challenges
Despite recent changes in the F/A-22 Raptor program, the aircraft's future remains bright, Air Force officials said recently. Service officials recently announced they were appointing two new senior F/A-22 program officials soon after learning that there could be potential cost overruns, up to $690 million, in the engineering, manufacturing and development phase of the program.

Brig. Gen. Richard B. H. Lewis and Col. Thomas J. Owen were selected to take over the program because they have the right operational requirements expertise and technical backgrounds to bring the F/A-22 program into its next phase by the summer of 2003, according to Dr. James G. Roche, secretary of the Air Force.



Lewis, currently the director of the Joint Theater Air and Missile Defense Organization at the Pentagon, will become the new program executive officer for fighters and bombers at the Pentagon, replacing Brig. Gen. William J. Jabour.

Owen, selected for promotion to brigadier general, currently is the system program director of the C-17 Globemaster III program for the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He will become the system program director for the F/A-22, also located at Wright-Patterson AFB, replacing Brig. Gen. Mark D. Shackelford.

"Jay Jabour and Mark Shackelford are extremely committed officers who helped manage the program during a very challenging period of testing and development." said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper.

However, because of demands on the program schedule plus the Air Force's overall intent to align major acquisition efforts closely with operational acumen, Roche, Jumper and Dr. Marvin R. Sambur determined that new leadership was necessary to achieve the service's objectives. Sambur is assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition at the Pentagon.

"(Jumper) and I have been involved personally in reviewing all aspects of this program, and when necessary, we've made changes to ensure the success of (the F/A-22, a) critical contributor to America's joint warfighting capabilities," Roche said.

Sambur appointed a team of technical and financial experts to investigate the reports of a potential cost overrun in the EMD phase of the F/A-22 program. They are tasked with determining its magnitude and recommending steps to lessen further problems.

The team of industry and Air Force experts, lead by Jon S. Ogg, director of the ASC's engineering and technical management directorate at Wright-Patterson AFB, will report their initial findings to Air Force leaders in the coming weeks.

The potential overrun appears to be related to meeting the developmental schedule on budget and not associated with the aircraft's technology or performance.

"The F/A-22 program is doing very well," Sambur said. "This exceptional plane is working superbly and we're meeting or exceeding all performance-related key performance parameters."

The Raptor has evolved dramatically into a multi-role strike system with broad applications for 21st century warfare as a result of new technologies, doctrine and concepts of operation, according to Roche.

"(It's) essential to America's security in the 21st century and we will get to the bottom of this issue," Jumper said.

WWII Sub Commander and Author Dies at 84
Legendary WWII submarine commander, retired Capt. Edward L. "Ned" Beach Jr., died Dec. 1 at his Washington, D.C. home. Beach graduated second in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1939, following the footsteps of his father in choosing a life of service.

As a member of the Navy’s "Silent Service," he completed 12 war patrols aboard various attack submarines.

Beach served on the submarines USS Trigger (SS 237) and USS Tirante (SS 420). He also commanded USS Piper (SS 409) during World War II. During his time aboard, these ships were credited with sinking or damaging 45 enemy ships, earning him 10 decorations for gallantry in combat, including the Navy Cross.

Beach received the Navy Cross, the second-highest decoration a Sailor can be awarded next to the Medal of Honor, for his role on Tirante in destroying Japanese ships in shallow waters just miles from the enemy coast.

Later in his career, Beach commanded USS Triton (SSRN 586) during its record-setting 84 day, 41,500 mile submerged circumnavigation of the globe – a record that still stands today.

He retired from the Navy in 1966 after 27 years of dedicated and selfless service. In addition to his superb naval career, he was an accomplished author and wrote extensively about the submarine force and the Navy he loved.

His first book, "Submarine," was published in 1952, where he recollects on the exploits of his submarine Trigger (SS 237). In 1955, his first acclaimed piece of literature, "Run Silent, Run Deep," was published. In 1962, his third book, "The Voyage of the Triton," was published. The book chronicled his landmark underwater circumnavigation of the world.

After his retirement, Beach went on to write a dozen more books, including his memoir, "Salt and Steel: Reflections of a Submariner."

"Capt. Beach was a hero and an extraordinary submariner, commanding both diesel and nuclear submarines," said Vice Adm. John J. Grossenbacher, Commander, Naval Submarine Force. "He was also a true patriot and his presence, counsel, and example in our submarine family will be missed."

Beach is survived by his wife Ingrid, three children and four grandchildren.

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