Latest news with #Brittin
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
This soldier gave his last full measure of devotion on a hill in Korea
Since the North Korean invasion of the South on June 25, 1950, United Nations forces had managed to reverse the situation by September, retaking the capital of Seoul and driving a routed Korean People's Army (KPA) back into its home territory. The newly established communist China, however, could not tolerate a united pro-Western Korea on its Manchurian border, and in late October, the so-called People's Volunteer Army (PVA) intervened in the conflict, crossing the Yalu River into Korea. By mid-November the PVA had thrown the U.N. forces back, retaking Seoul and giving the North Koreans a chance to regroup. In February 1951, however, the Chinese supply lines were overextended and recovering U.N. forces brought their offensive to a halt in the Battle of Chipyong-ni on Feb. 13-14 and Operation Killer nearly a week later. On March 7, the U.N. launched another offensive, dubbed Operation Ripper, conceived by Gen. Matthew Ridgway to flank Seoul and destroy the PVA and KPA. Ridgway achieved the first objective, with his troops advancing an average of 30 miles of frontage, flanking Seoul and encountering virtually no opposition as the South Korean capital changed hands for the fourth — and last — time on March 15. By the declared conclusion of the offensive on March 23, the communist armies suffered thousands of casualties, but a well-executed fighting retreat kept them intact for the fighting yet to come — which for the next two years would see even greater casualties but no decisive battles on either side. It was at the very beginning of Operation Ripper that Sfc. Nelson Brittin experienced the sort of savage hill fighting that became the norm for the rest of the Korean War. Nelson Vogel Brittin was born in Audubon, New Jersey, on Oct. 31, 1920, and was drafted into the U.S. Army on July 7, 1942. Brittin served in Italy during World War II and discharged in 1946. He briefly attending the University of Florence, Italy, before deciding to reenlist in 1948, serving in the occupation forces in Japan. He had risen in rank to sergeant first class when he was shipped to the Republic of Korea with I Company, 3rd Battalion, 19th Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was wounded in December 1950 and February 1951, but had returned to his unit in time for Operation Ripper. On March 7, 1951, U.N. forces on either side of Seoul crossed the Han River, encountering small, often stubborn pockets of Chinese resistance whose sole purpose proved to be slowing down the U.N. offensive while the bulk of their armies withdrew northward to more defensible ground. Near Yonggong-Ni that day, I Company crossed the Han and encountered a pocket of resistance in the form of fortified machine gun positions on a hill. Brittin volunteered to lead a squad to secure the hill and due to the meager cover it afforded, he ordered his men to cover him while he moved up alone. He threw a grenade at the first enemy position he engaged, but the enemy returned it in kind with a grenade of their own, which knocked him down and wounded him. Refusing medical attention, Brittin replenished his grenade supply, which he hurled at several enemy positions until their occupants abandoned them and he shot them as they fled. As he approached one defensive position, Brittin's rifle jammed, but without hesitation he leaped into the hole and killed all its occupants using his bayonet and his rifle butt. At that point, Brittin noticed one of his squads pinned down by an enemy machine gun, so he rushed it from behind, threw a grenade into it, then ran around to the front to kill the emerging three-man crew with his rifle. As they resumed their climb, Brittin and his squad had not advanced 100 yards before coming under fire with what his citation described as a 'camouflaged, sandbagged machine gun nest well-flanked by supporting riflemen.' As his citation continued, 'Brittin again charged this new position in an aggressive endeavor to silence this remaining obstacle and ran directly into a burst of automatic fire which killed him instantly. In his sustained and driving action, he had killed 20 enemy soldiers and destroyed four automatic weapons, the conspicuous valor, and noble self-sacrifice displayed by Sfc. Brittin enabled his inspired company to attain its objective.' Brittin's body was returned home in November 1951 and buried at Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, New Jersey. On Jan. 16, 1952, his parents received a posthumously awarded Medal of Honor from then-Defense Secretary Robert Lovett. The roll on/roll off Military Sealift Command cargo ship ESB-4, built in 2002, is named Nelson V. Brittin in his honor.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump telework reversal undermines aviation security, ex-TSA official says
The new Trump administration's directive that federal employees return to the office full time will drive away skilled professionals who are protecting the aviation system from terrorist threats, a former Transportation Security Administration official warned Friday. Douglas Brittin, who headed the TSA's air cargo division a decade ago, said in a letter to the House Homeland Security Committee that the the mandate to phase out remote work without sufficient planning or accommodation will lead to 'significant attrition, including the loss of irreplaceable institutional knowledge and expertise' and undermine the agency's ability to recruit and retain specialized personnel. A self-inflicted brain drain would hurt current air cargo security programs, such as third-party canine inspections, as well standard security screening processes and adoption of new screening technologies for passenger checkpoints and cargo, that the TSA is working to upgrade and improve with the Airforwarders Association and other industry stakeholders, Brittin said. 'Losing experienced personnel during these important initiatives will jeopardize their success and, by extension, our national security,' he said. Aviation remains a high-profile target for terrorists and rogue nations. Air cargo security recently came under scrutiny after Western intelligence agencies alleged Russia's military intelligence unit was behind a plot to smuggle booby-trapped incendiary devices onto DHL Express cargo jets in Europe last summer. The packages caught fire on the ground at DHL's air facility in Leipzig, Germany, and a logistics hub in Birmingham, United Kingdom. U.S. and European security officials say they believe the parcel bombs were a test run for future attacks against U.S.-bound aircraft. Skilled professionals experienced at security operations, planning and risk mitigation are needed to address such threats to cargo and passenger security, Brittin stressed. He urged Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., and ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., to press the administration to extend the return-to-office deadline by six months for key divisions such as air cargo and canine inspections so the TSA can retain talent and ensure program continuity. President Trump last week signed an executive order instructing agencies to stop remote work practices and directing workers to return to their desks. A subsequent directive from the Office of Personnel Management provides details on how agency heads are to implement the return to in-person work. Trump campaigned on a platform of increasing federal workforce efficiency and accountability. According to the administration, telework has resulted in empty offices, diminished performance and challenges in supervision and training. Many federal workers disagree that they aren't working hard or doing quality work for taxpayers. The previous rules allowed subject-matter experts to build careers on flexible work arrangements and TSA to recruit and retain specialized personnel, according to Brittin. He added that the recent relocation of TSA's headquarters from Arlington, Virginia — across the Potomac River from downtown Washington, D.C. — to Springfield, Virginia, makes it more difficult to house an influx of workers. 'The new facility lacks the capacity to accommodate the volume of personnel currently teleworking, making the return-to-office transition logistically impractical and likely to create an untenable work environment,' Brittin said. The security situation, he added, is also undermined by the recent departure of the Air Cargo Division director and the vacancy left by Trump's firing of TSA Administrator David Pekoske. The deputy administrator's position at TSA is also vacant. Ben Currier served as executive director of TSA's air cargo security division until his abrupt departure three weeks ago to take a position at the Department of Defense. His successor has yet to be named. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has effectively suspended the operation of key federal advisory committees involved in aviation and cross-border freight security. Private-sector members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC) and the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), which supports Customs and Border Protection, were advised in a Jan. 20 memo from then-DHS Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman that the department is revoking membership in all advisory committees as part of a 'commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security.' The Federal Railroad Administration also has an advisory committee. The ASAC was mandated by Congress in 1988 after the PanAm 103 bombing. Congress also established COAC. The decision on the TSA's advisory body 'eliminates a vital platform for collaboration between government and industry stakeholders, undermining efforts to safeguard the flying public and protect our nation's commerce,' the Airforwarders Association said in a statement. 'Disbanding this committee at such a critical time weakens our collective ability to respond to evolving threats. We urge the President and his administration to reconsider this decision immediately and reinstate ASAC as an essential advisory body.' Click here for more FreightWaves stories by Eric Kulisch. Air cargo goes crazy for K-9 security The post Trump telework reversal undermines aviation security, ex-TSA official says appeared first on FreightWaves.
