The Insider

Hypersonic Hit
By Jason Sherman
November 17, 2011 at 2:44 PM

The Army launched and successfully guided an innovative hypersonic vehicle to its intended target in the Pacific today in a test flight intended to demonstrate technologies necessary for a Conventional Prompt Global Strike capability, the Pentagon said in a statement.

Army Space and Missile Command/Army Forces Strategic Command conducted the maiden flight of the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon earlier this morning, according to the Defense Department, which called the prototype “a first-of-its-kind glide vehicle, designed to fly within the earth's atmosphere at hypersonic speed and long range.”

The vehicle was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii to the Reagan Test Site, U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll.

According to DOD:

The objective of the test is to collect data on hypersonic boost-glide technologies and test range performance for long-range atmospheric flight. Mission emphasis is aerodynamics; navigation, guidance, and control; and thermal protection technologies.

A three-stage booster system launched the AHW glide vehicle and successfully deployed it on the desired flight trajectory. The vehicle flew a non-ballistic glide trajectory at hypersonic speed to the planned impact location at the Reagan Test Site. Space, air, sea, and ground platforms collected vehicle performance data during all phases of flight. The data collected will be used by the Department of Defense to model and develop future hypersonic boost-glide capabilities.

The AHW program is managed and executed by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command program office in Huntsville, Ala. The booster system and glide vehicle were developed by Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M. and the thermal protection system by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, Huntsville, Ala.

The Department of Defense is using AHW to develop and demonstrate technologies for Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS). As part of the CPGS effort, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency conducted boost-glide flight tests in April 2010 and August 2011, results from which were used in planning the AHW flight test.

China Watch
By John Liang
November 16, 2011 at 9:48 PM

One lawmaker is using China's increased military buildup as a pretext for not cutting any more funds to the Defense Department. Citing the latest "U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Report To Congress," Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) says in a statement:

"This year's U.S.-China Commission report to Congress further confirms that China is strategically positioning itself to militarily and economically challenge U.S. influence and capabilities in the Asia Pacific.  China remains steadfast in its commitment to build up the Chinese military, increasing its defense budget to bolster regional dominance and intimidate its neighbors.  In addition, the report makes it abundantly clear that China is actively seeking to exploit the United States' military vulnerabilities as the U.S. government fails to stop the theft and voluntary forfeiture of American technology to Chinese state-owned companies.

"And while China is building aircraft carriers, stealing American technology, and actively seeking 'space supremacy,' Congress is busy dismantling the United States military with arbitrary budget cuts that could total a trillion dollars, diminishing its Navy to World War I levels, and effectively forfeiting U.S. leadership in space.  Those eager to gut the defense budget ought to think twice before ceding U.S. regional influence in the Pacific to an authoritarian nation that violates basic human rights, flagrantly disregards the very notion of intellectual property, and routinely disregards the sovereignty of other nations," said Forbes.

Take Two
By Jason Sherman
November 15, 2011 at 10:42 PM

The Senate Armed Services Committee today revised its fiscal year 2012 defense authorization bill, wringing $21 billion from an earlier version the panel passed on June 16, according to committee statement. The spending reductions were imposed to bring the committee's version of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY-12 in line with discretionary spending limits set in August as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011.

The highly unusual second mark-up of the authorization bill was agreed to unanimously, according to the statement, which does not identify which programs were cut from the previous version of the bill. From the committee release:

The new bill would also clarify a number of provisions addressing detainee matters in an effort to address concerns raised by the Administration and others.  As requested by the Administration, the new bill would clarify that the section providing detention authority does not expand the existing authority to detain under the Authorization for Use of Military Force Force and make Guantanamo-related restrictions one-year requirements instead of permanent restrictions.

The new bill would also modify a provision requiring military custody of al Qaeda members who attack the United States (subject to a national security waiver) to clarify the President’s authority to decide who makes determinations of coverage, how they are made, and when they are made.  As modified, the provision makes it clear that these determinations will not interfere with any ongoing law enforcement operations or interrogations.  Under the modified provision, the Executive Branch has the flexibility to keep a covered detainee in civilian custody pursuant to a national security determination, or to transfer a military detainee for trial in the civilian courts. The Administration agreed to have military custody apply to al Qaeda members captured outside the United States (subject to a national security waiver) but disagrees with the committee decision not to preclude the application of the provision inside the United States.

'Boiling Frog'
By John Liang
November 15, 2011 at 7:53 PM

While at least one Wall Street analysis firm doesn't think Congress and the Obama administration will end up with the maximum 23 percent cut to defense programs by next week's deadline, more cuts could still come in future years. According to a research note just published by Credit Suisse analysts:

We view maximum sequestration as unlikely, but recognize that time is running out & political agendas within the committee remain divided. We think that a deal is still possible, and could extend the recent relative outperformance in the stocks. However, we see limited longer-term sector upside due to continued incremental negative news flow and potential for further declines in consensus estimates. Regardless of what is decided this year, we think fiscal reality will require further cuts later, leading to a "boiling frog" scenario for where cuts are $1T+ over a longer period . . .

The note was published in the wake of a letter sent this week by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to lawmakers -- the Pentagon's most detailed response yet to the question of what would happen to the Defense Department budget should "sequestration" result from a congressional supercommittee's inability to meet the terms of a budget-cutting agreement with the president. As InsideDefense.com reported yesterday:

Panetta said the Joint Strike Fighter program would receive minimal life extensions and upgrades, saving DOD $80 billion, while the Air Force's nascent bomber program would be shelved until the mid-2020s, saving $18 billion. LCS, along with its associated mission modules, would be cut, saving the Pentagon $22 billion.

Under maximum sequestration, Panetta wrote, the reduction in defense spending could soar up to 23 percent beginning in FY-13, with the exact percentage dependent on whether President Obama chooses to exercise his authority to exempt military personnel from cuts.

"A cut of this magnitude would be devastation in itself, but it gets worse," Panetta wrote. "Under current law, that 23 percent reduction would have to be applied equally to each major investment and construction program. Such a large cut, applied in this indiscriminate manner, would render most of our ship and construction projects unexecutable -- you cannot buy three quarters of a ship or a building -- and seriously damage other modernization efforts."

Panetta wrote the Nov. 14 letter in response to questions he received from McCain and Graham on Nov. 3. The two lawmakers asked Panetta to describe the specific options and types of actions DOD would be required to take should a sequester result from the supercommittee's inability to reach an agreement by Nov. 23. McCain and Graham wrote in their letter to Panetta that it was imperative that Congress "be fully informed of the effects of a sequester on our military" -- stating "concrete information" was necessary for Congress to do its job.

SBIRS Delay
By John Liang
November 15, 2011 at 4:31 PM

The Pentagon's second-generation satellite missile warning system -- the Space Based Infrared System -- suffered a six-month development delay, according to the Defense Department's latest Selected Acquisition Reports released yesterday:

SBIRS High is an integrated system of multiple space and ground elements, provides global infrared coverage, satisfying requirements in the following mission areas: Missile Warning, Missile Defense, Technical Intelligence, and Battlespace Awareness.

This quarterly exception SAR was submitted to report a schedule slip in the Mission Control Station Increment 2 Certification from December 2015 to June 2016 caused by the Flight Software System (FSS) recovery. This milestone is being revised to align with the revised ground delivery strategy.

Since the last SAR, the program successfully launched the first SBIRS High satellite (GEO 1) on May 7, 2011, and all activities are on path to bring GEO 1 into formal operations in the fall of 2012.

On Nov. 4, Inside the Air Force reported that service officials had recently defined the data universe for assessing the SBIRS program's audit readiness. Further:

Service officials achieved the milestone on Sept. 15, which is 15 days earlier than originally scheduled, according to Doug Bennett, the associate deputy assistant secretary for financial operations for the service's office of the assistant secretary for financial management and comptroller. Air Force officials defined the scope of the effort on June 23, according to Bennett.

The data universe for the SBIRS program involves the examination of about 59 contracts, according to Bennett. Service officials are now working to create a reconciliation process for those contracts, he said.

"We have had some discussions about the appropriate methodology for asserting that, whether it is the 100 percent reconciliation or sampling," Bennett said during a Nov. 1 interview with Inside the Air Force.

The SBIRS program has become the pilot program for developing an approach to audit readiness, according to Bennett. The program was chosen because it is a major acquisition and a newer program. The first geosynchronous satellite was launched on May 7 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. ULA is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, and Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for SBIRS.

GE-AVIC Anxiety
By Amanda Palleschi
November 14, 2011 at 10:04 PM

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) today sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta expressing support for a national security review of the recently announced joint venture between General Electric and the Chinese firm AVIC. Wolf's letter follows one sent by House Armed Services Committee member Randy Forbes (R-VA).

Both Wolf and Forbes want a Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of the venture in addition to a national security review.

Wolf calls the joint venture “troubling for a number of reasons.”

“The GE-AVIC joint venture could provide the Chinese with years, if not decades, worth of U.S. avionics technology and will fuel their aeronautics capabilities, potentially at great expense to our national and economic security,” Wolf writes.

Forbes’ Oct. 17 letter to Panetta says the General Electric-AVIC team aims to develop an Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) hardware and software system for jets to be manufactured in the United States, which would compete with American defense contractors.

“Given its military origin, I am deeply concerned, once in the PRC, it will wind up aiding the military aviation programs of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), which is even now at work developing its J-20 fifth generation fighter that appears to be intended to threaten U.S. air supremacy in East Asia,” Forbes wrote.

Safe Lasers
By John Liang
November 14, 2011 at 7:37 PM

Acting Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall issued a memo last week that sets up Defense Department policy "and assigns responsibilities for the DOD Joint Services Weapon and Laser System Safety Review Processes."

The Nov. 9 memo sets out the following DOD policy on laser system reviews:

a. Address safety throughout the acquisition process.

b. Protect DoD personnel from accidental death, injury, or occupational illness.

c. Protect the public from risk of death, injury, illness, or property damage because of DoD activities.

d. Conduct safety reviews for joint weapon and laser systems through the collaborative meetings of the Services' existing safety boards and the Joint Laser Approval Process, respectively.

e. Conduct the Joint Weapon Safety Review Process and the Joint Laser Approval Process for joint weapon and laser systems in conjunction with, not in addition to, the existing Service weapon safety and laser safety review processes. These joint reviews include the Services' existing weapon, fuze, ignition system, software, and laser safety review boards working collaboratively to provide one set of joint weapon or laser safety findings for a joint system.

Policy Meet-Up
By John Liang
November 11, 2011 at 4:53 PM

The Defense Policy Board plans to hold its quarterly meeting at the end of this month, according to a Federal Register notice.

During the meeting, the board will swear in its new members, which include Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state; Jamie Gorelick, former deputy attorney general; Jane Harman, former congresswoman (D-CA); retired Gen. James Cartwright, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and retired Adm. Gary Roughead, former chief of naval operations. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced their membership on Oct. 4.

According to the Nov. 14 Federal Register notice, published today due to the Veterans Day holiday, the purpose of the meeting is as follows:

To obtain, review and evaluate classified information related to the DPB's mission to advise on: (a) Issues central to strategic DoD planning; (b) policy implications of U.S. force structure and force modernization and on DoD's ability to execute U.S. defense strategy; (c) U.S. regional defense policies; and (d) other research and analysis of topics raised by the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary or the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

As for the meeting's agenda:

Beginning at 8:30 a.m. on November 29 through the end of the meeting on November 30, the DPB will have secret level discussions on national security matters that will deal with U.S., and Allied force structure, potential threats and broad national security issues within the Pacific Rim, the Eastern Mediterranean, NATO, and nuclear deterrence.

Talk is Not Cheap
By Dan Dupont
November 10, 2011 at 10:45 PM

The Defense Department made a big contract announcement today in the area of foreign language services:

CWU, Inc., Clearwater, Fla. (W911W4-12-D-0008); Buffalo Group, Reston, Va. (W911W4-12-D-0007); Global Executive Management, Hudson, Fla. (W911W4-12-D-0006); Multi Lingual Solutions, Inc., Rockville, Md. (W911W4-12-D-0005); Strategic Intelligence Group, Fairfax, Va. (W911W4-12-D-0004); Strategic Solutions Unlimited, Inc., Fayetteville, N.C. (W911W4-12-D-0003); Szanca Solutions, Inc., Bedford, Pa. (W911W4-12-D-0002); and Valbin Corp., Bethesda, Md. (W911W4-12-D-0001), were awarded a $9,700,000,000 fixed-price and cost-reimbursable-task-order contract between 14 contractors. The award will provide for the procurement of foreign language services in support of the Defense Language Interpretation Translation Enterprise program. Work location will be determined with each task order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 26, 2016. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with 11 bids received. The U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity.

The announcement comes on the heels of a GAO report and subsequent hearing on language training, as Inside the Army reports this week:

The Army struggles to maintain and update records on language and culture training and has yet to develop a solid plan to sustain language skills among soldiers, according to a Government Accountability Office report issued last week.

The service admitted to these difficulties at a Nov. 3 House Armed Services emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee hearing. "We think the GAO report [is] not untrue in terms of there is work to do, but we believe we have grown substantially," the Army's strategy, plans and policy director, Maj. Gen. Peter Bayer, told lawmakers.

On the irregular warfare spectrum, the Army has to "have increased cultural and language capability, so we initiated a number of programs to do it," Bayer said. Discussing one of the limiting factors for units deployed to theater, Bayer said "when you are gone a year and when you are home a year, to try and create the type of language capacity we are talking about in the general purpose formations is quite challenging."

In examining the practices of both the Army and the Marine Corps, GAO found the Army hasn't "fully captured information within the service-level training and personnel systems on service members who completed training or their corresponding proficiency," due to incomplete data fields leading to inconsistencies, according to a summary of the Oct. 31 report. Additionally, there are "multiple opportunities" for hard-copy forms often used in tracking language proficiency "to be lost or human error in data entry," the report states.

The Army established a task force in January 2011 to improve the system, the report said, and is at "varying stages of completing its work."

Because the Army's tracking system for language and culture training is flawed, the service doesn't have the information it needs to assess the progress of individuals or future operational needs, according to the report.

The report also found the Army has not developed plans to sustain acquired language skills, although the service has made "considerable investments to provide service members with extensive predeployment language training." The Army has invested about $12 million in predeployment Afghan language training since 2009, the report states.

GAO found that much of the follow-on language training was voluntary and that the Army hadn't figured out which service members would get additional training to keep them fresh, nor had it determined how much training they would need.

Shipbuilding Dispute
By Christopher J. Castelli
November 10, 2011 at 5:38 PM

Huntington Ingalls Industries President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Petters said today the shipbuilder is disputing the Navy’s decision to limit progress payments on a multimillion-dollar destroyer contract.

During a conference call on corporate earnings, Petters was asked by Citigroup analyst Jason Gursky about Inside the Pentagon's report today that the Navy will withhold 5 percent of progress payments for the $698 million contract awarded in September for the construction of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer (DDG-114) at Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi. The Navy's decision follows revelations earlier this year that Ingalls was breaking more than half of the Defense Department's rules for delivering weapons on time and on budget.

"In all of our contracts, we usually end up with several kinds of disputes with our customer over various issues," Petters said. "And this particular one, I think, has to do with earned value management systems." He said the company has "engaged with" the Navy on the subject and "will continue" to do so. Petters said he does not expect the Navy's decision to impact the outlook and cash flows for the business.

Suspicious Activity
By John Liang
November 9, 2011 at 7:54 PM

The Pentagon last week issued an instruction on how to manage reporting "suspicious activities" that take place on military bases.

The new policy "establishes DOD policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures for the documentation, storage, and exchange of suspicious activity reports (SAR) through law enforcement channels to improve the protection of DOD personnel, facilities, and forces in transit," according to the Nov. 1 memo, signed by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy.

Flournoy's new policy covers the following:

a. DoD efforts to counter terrorism and terrorist threats shall address protection of DoD personnel, facilities, and activities.

b. The eGuardian system shall serve as the exclusive DoD law enforcement SAR system and shall be employed by DoD LEOs, analysts, and technical contractors assigned, attached, or detailed to law enforcement agencies. The eGuardian system may not be employed by non-DoD LEO personnel as defined in the Glossary.

c. SARs and other force protection threat information guide DoD efforts to:

(1) Identify and address threats to the DoD at the earliest opportunity.

(2) Implement information-driven and risk-based detection, prevention, deterrence, response, and protection efforts immediately.

(3) Identify persons involved in terrorism-related activities and threats to the DoD.

d. To strengthen DoD efforts to fight terrorist threats:

(1) Those responsible for protecting DoD resources must have timely access to properly acquired force protection threat information, particularly information that indicates a potential threat regarding those who want to attack the United States, their plans, capabilities, and activities, and the targets that they intend to attack.

(2) SAR and force protection threat information shall be immediately available to, administered by, and shared among appropriate DoD law enforcement and security personnel in support of DoD missions to the maximum extent permitted by law, regulation, Executive order (E.O.), and DoD issuances for force protection purposes.

(3) This information shall be made available to other DoD personnel to the maximum extent permitted by law, regulation, E.O., and DoD issuances for force protection purposes.

e. Personally identifiable information concerning individuals shall be handled in strict compliance with section 552a of title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.) also known as "The Privacy Act of 1974" (Reference (e)), DoD Directive 5400.11, and DoD 5400.11-R, (References (f) and (g)), other applicable laws, and regulations and policies in accordance with Director of Administration and Management (DA&M) Memorandum (Reference (h)). The collection, use, maintenance, and dissemination of information critical to the success of the DoD efforts to counter terrorist threats must comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies regarding the safeguarding of personal freedoms, civil liberties, and information privacy.

f. When proposing, developing, and implementing DoD-proposed legislation or DoD issuances pertaining to suspicious activity reporting that retain or enhance a particular authority, the DoD Component shall balance the need for the authority with the need to protect privacy and civil liberties; provide adequate guidelines and oversight to confine properly its use; and ensure adequate protections and training exist to protect privacy and civil liberties in accordance with applicable law, including Public Law 110-53 (Reference (i)).

The new policy does not cover Pentagon intelligence and counterintelligence component activities, according to the memo.

National Guard Cleanup
By John Liang
November 8, 2011 at 6:38 PM

The Pentagon is preparing a legislative proposal for the fiscal year 2014 budget that would reverse a ban on using defense cleanup funds to pay for remediation at contaminated Army National Guard sites where the property was never owned by the Defense Department, Defense Environment Alert reports today.

Given the budgetary constraints, a DOD official told state regulators late last month it would nonetheless be a challenge to get the measure passed and told the regulators DOD will need help in making the case for the change in law. Further, DEA reports:

At issue is the cleanup of what are known as Non-Department of Defense Owned, Non-Operational, Defense Sites (NDNODS) --federal, state, tribal and privately-owned lands where Army National Guardsmen trained but where the property was never owned by DOD. While DOD has been able to fund the preliminary site assessment work at these sites through its Defense Environmental Restoration Account (DERA), "the [DOD] lawyers have said you can't do any more work at these sites under the DERA account," Maureen Sullivan, DOD director of environmental management, told the Association of State & Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials at its annual meeting Oct. 26 in Bethesda, MD. Current law governing DERA prohibits the military from using its DERA funds to clean up these types of sites, she said in a follow-up interview.

DOD has "used" the NDNOD sites in training the Army National Guard -- allowing the sites to fall within the definition of "defense sites" for meeting prioritization requirements under the FY02 Defense Authorization Act, which required DOD to establish a prioritization protocol for response actions at munitions cleanup sites, a DOD spokeswoman says in an email response. "As such we could use DERA funds to do the Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection (PA/SI) so that we had the information to do the prioritization," she says. But since the NDNOD sites were not owned, leased or possessed by DOD, "they do not fall within the parameters of the [Defense Environmental Restoration Program] under 10 U.S.C. 2701 and therefore [are] not eligible for DERA funding," she says. In general, 10 U.S.C. 2701 relates to federal requirements governing DOD's DERP.

As a result, DOD plans to try to change the law through a legislative proposal it will attempt to include in the FY14 budget, Sullivan said, noting that DOD staff missed the window for including it in the FY13 budget proposal that will be released this February.

"I'll be honest with you, this is going to be a challenge, given today's fiscal environment. So we're going to have to make a case, and I hope that we'll all work together on this on why this is worth Department of Defense dollars being invested," she said. "We're relying on everybody to help us make that case but we're going to work hard to try and do it."

In response to FY02 defense authorization legislation, state Army National Guards compiled inventories of land and water areas where state Guards may have trained, controlled or used munitions in the past, as a way to determine potential munitions cleanup sites, according to 2009 reports from state Army National Guards.

OH-58D OK
By Jen Judson
November 7, 2011 at 8:59 PM

The OH-58D Kiowa fleet grounded at Ft. Rucker, AL, on Oct. 18 was back in the air very shortly thereafter, according to Army spokeswoman Kelly Pate.

Inside the Army reported late last month that the fleet was grounded due to an issue with a newly installed flight control component. The problem did not affect any other Kiowa fleet in the service.

The fleet has been back in the air for two weeks. “It was a quick fix,” Pate said, adding that a systematic review of the issue is under way.

Sequestration Moves
By Jordana Mishory
November 7, 2011 at 7:15 PM

There is "sufficient support" to undo legislation designed to slash the Defense Department's budget by nearly $600 billion if a new supercommittee fails to agree on a deficit-reduction deal, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said today.

The 12-lawmaker supercommittee has until Nov. 23 to produce a bill that would find at least $1.2 trillion in savings over 10 years. If the supercommittee fails, it triggers a sequestration mechanism that would automatically find half of those savings from Pentagon coffers.

But because of national security concerns, lawmakers are rallying around undoing that mechanism, said McCain, the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said he and his colleagues are working on ways to find reductions in spending that the Pentagon, Congress and the president can agree upon.

"Congress cannot bind the actions of future Congresses," McCain said. "So the sequestration is not engraved on the golden tablets."

Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) said although the results of sequestration would be "terrible," he did not want to comment on what would happen if the supercommittee fails. He said the goal of this mechanism is to put pressure on the supercommittee to reach an agreement.

Cyber Defense
By Amanda Palleschi
November 7, 2011 at 4:11 PM

The Defense Department must "change the paradigm" of how it responds to cyber threats, according to a top Pentagon official.

"We see a disturbing track from exploitation to disruption to destruction," Gen. Keith Alexander, the commander of U.S. Cyber Command, said today.

Speaking at a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency conference in Arlington, VA, Alexander said he would like to see the Pentagon change the way it reacts to cyber threats from a defense that responds when they occur to an approach that does not wait for an attack to take place.

"The way we set up our defense is much like the Maginot line," Alexander explained, referring to the defensive fortifications built by France that were flanked by Germany during World War II. "The adversary looks at it for vulnerabilities. They find the vulnerability, they penetrate the network . . . we beat the system administrator, we diagnose the malware, we set up the signature, we clean our systems. . . we wait for the next exploitation, and they come."

"We've got to change the paradigm of waiting for that software," he said, adding that the department is creating "hunting teams" to find malware in networks "as quickly as possible." This concept is part of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) pilot the department is testing.

"The partnership is a great way to set forward," Alexander said of the partnership with industry. "It gets you hunting within [industry] networks and it sets up a boundary."