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Pakistan successfully tests Hatf-IV missile
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Monday conducted successful test-launch of Intermediate Range Shaheen-1A (Hatf-IV) Ballistic missile which is capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads to a range of 900 kilometres.
The launch was aimed at revalidating various design and technical parameters of the weapon system. According to ISPR, Shaheen-1A with its highly accurate and indigenously-developed guidance system is one of the most accurate missile systems.
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah, who witnessed the launch, congratulated the scientists and engineers for their dedication, professionalism and commitment towards achieving Pakistan’s Full Spectrum Credible Minimum Deterrence Capability. He reiterated Pakistan’s desire for peaceful co-existence in the region.
The naval chief appreciated the professional attributes of all concerned towards accomplishment of the sacred mission. He showed his full confidence in armed forces’ capability to safeguard security of the motherland against any aggression.
The successful test-launch was also warmly appreciated by the president and the prime minister of Pakistan who congratulated the participating troops, the scientists and engineers on their outstanding achievement.
Monday’s launch, with impact point in the Arabian Sea, was also witnessed by Strategic Plans Division Director General Lt-Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Commander Army Strategic Forces Command Lt-Gen Obaid Ullah Khan, Vice Admiral Zafar Mehmood Abbasi, Commander Pakistan Fleet, NESCOM Chairman Mr Muhammad Irfan Burney, senior officers from the strategic forces, scientists and engineers of strategic organisations.

09:18 | Category: , , , , | 0 comments

MiraCosta College expands veterans center

Ceremony also maks Marine Corps 239th birthday
MiraCosta College held a dual celebration for the military at its Oceanside campus Monday with a cake to recognize the 239th anniversary of the Marine Corps and a ribbon-cutting to open a new Veterans Center.
The number of veterans enrolled in colleges and universities has been steadily increasing in recent years as service members return from Afghanistan and Iraq.
At MiraCosta, the new 1,600-square-foot Veterans Information Center will serve about 1,500 veterans, family members and active-duty military members enrolled at the school. That’s up from about 900 in 2004, said public information office Cheryl Broom.
The college kept the cost of the new center to $75,000 by using money from its general fund to refurbish the school’s old arts building, which had been slated for demolition. Furniture for the space was donated by Bill Kuhner of BKM Officeworks.
“We have here a place for veterans to relax,” said MiraCosta interim President Dick Robertson. “A place for veterans to study. A place for them to know that MiraCosta College cares for them.”
The new center is about four times the size as the old one, which had been in the office of Gilbert Hermosillo, former dean of administration and student support services.
Inside, students can watch TV on two large couches in a 540-square foot lounge, work on eight computers in a 180-square-foot lab or meet with peer advisers in one of several rooms to discuss class schedules, benefits and other issues.
Besides opening the new Veterans Information Center, MiraCosta College in Oceanside celebrated the 239th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps on Monday. Following tradition, the oldest Marine vet on campus, 57-year-old Brenda Olsen, sliced the cake and served the youngest Marine vet, Alex Stephens, 24. — Charlie Neuman
Peer adviser Nate Bond, who served 10 years in the Marine Corps before coming to MiraCosta last year, said the extra room provides more privacy to talk with students about their problems transitioning into civilian life.
“They go from doing specifically one thing every single day, and then they have to change that to doing something else every single day,” he said. “Everyone thinks it’ll be an easy transition, but it’s not.”
Aaron Kumada, who has been enrolled at MiraCosta off and on since leaving the Marine Corps in 2010, said veterans are very self-reliant people who can find it hard to ask for help. He's glad he asked for help from the peer advisers, though.
"They're experienced students, so they let me know which classes I should take before others," he said. "They let me know the sites I could go to to track my benefits. "I probably would have wasted two semesters if I didn't have the guidance from the counselors who were working here."
This was the second veterans center to open on a North County college campus this year. Cal San Marcos Marcos University opened a center in September, Mesa and Mira colleges opened centers about a year ago and a veterans center is under construction at San Diego City College.



21:28 | Category: , , , , , | 0 comments