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Most people make the New Years resolution to try and get into better shape. Most people stick with that for a few weeks and then give up. But there are ways to work hard in order to succeed with this. Making achievable goals rather than just saying, I want to lose 30 pounds is a good start. Planning out your health goals and committing to moving more and doing more cardio makes a lot of sense. Echelon Fitness has plenty of equipment that can help you reach the gains you want.

Echelon Fitness has workout equipment for all kinds of people looking to exercise. With reasonable pricing and plenty of availability, you can find an option thats right for you. As 2022 approaches, there are great deals and products offered by Echelon Fitness that you need to know about. Here are some of the best, starting with the latest exercise bike.

Starting in 2022, the Echelon EX-8S will be available to customers and it is sure to impress. This is a stationary bike but also so much more. It is a first-of-its-kind connected bike with an immersive curved 24 touchscreen display. The flywheels illuminate, so it gives you the ability to turn your home into a spin studio.

Created by Eric Villency, the same designer who designed the original Peloton and SoulCycle bikes, this gives you an easier way to change the resistance. This is the first bike with resistance buttons in the handlebars (patent-pending), so you dont have to reach down to the knob while youre in standing up and pedaling. This features a solid platform that moves minimally, so the bike wont shake as youre cycling.

Youll be able to enjoy live and on-demand classes with a wide variety of difficulties and music choices. There are 32 levels of motorized magnetic resistance, a USB charging port, mounted dumbbell and water bottle holders, and pedals. The screen can be rotated 180 for extended workouts off the bike. This is available to pre-order right now on sale for $1,999, which includes shipping and white glove delivery. That deal is only good through Jan. 15, 2022. You will need a membership that costs $34.99 per month to use this.

While the EX-8S is the newest option when it comes to exercise bikes, there are plenty of other options Echelon has to offer for more workout equipment. The Stride-5S is also currently on sale, allowing you to set up a treadmill in your home. This is a premium connected treadmill with an impact-absorbing running deck and steel frame. It is made to withstand high-impact use and it accommodates a variety of running styles.

The 24 HD touchscreen is simple to utilize and you can set your speed and incline settings from it or the handlebar. One of the best parts about this treadmill is that its easy to fold up and store. You can follow your performance stats in real-time and track your health metrics with integrated heart rate sensors. This is 22% off right now. Get it for just $1,950.21.

More cardio and strengthening exercises are available with the Echelon Row-S Connected Rowing Machine. This offers a low-impact, total body workout that targets 85% of your muscles. There are engaging rowing classes that you can take, as well as scenic waterway workouts with destinations around the world. You can adjust the resistance from the handlebars, letting you customize your workout more easily. The 22 touchscreen flips 180 for more workouts. With 32 levels of resistance and a wide range of licensed music, this is a great rowing machine for you. Its also 22% off, selling for only $1,247.01.

You can also choose the Echelon Reflect Touch Smart Fitness Mirror. This is an update on the original Reflect mirror, as the touchscreen display is now 50. Get access to over 2,000 studio-quality fitness classes on the mirrored surface that allows members to view their form while following the instructor. HIIT, Core, Yoga, Pilates, and other class types are available. You can install this on your wall or with a stand thats sold separately. Get it for only $1,170 while its on sale.

Echelon Fitness is growing its global presence with studios in the US, France, Germany, South America, and the UK. The ability to get Echelon products is simple, as they are sold at Walmart, Target, Amazon, Kohls, Dicks, and more. There is exclusive content from partners like Pitbull, Old Dominion, Disney, and Warner Brothers, allowing you to vary up your workouts.

There is a wide range of products available in different price ranges, so you can find options that fit your budget. Also, with a monthly membership ($34.99/month), anyone can enjoy the exciting classes and content to use with your equipment. There are new fitness Programs and Challenges to target specific member goals. The multimedia experience with music videos, musical performances, artist spotlights, and more makes you feel like youre in a club or studio while youre in the comfort of your home.

Choosing between exercise classes, guided meditations, prenatal classes, outdoor run sessions, boxing, circuit training, cardio dance, Zumba party rides, and more are just some of what Echelon Fitness is offering in 2022. Now is a great time to focus on your fitness. Echelon Fitness can aid you in that.

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Start 2022 off right with great workout deals from Echelon Fitness - BGR

Antionio Garreton, known locally as Tony Dancer, rang in the new year in Bath by ringing the citys centuries-old Paul Revere bell at noon on New Years Eve.

Standing atop city hall looking down on downtown Bath, Garreton said he never thought hed be recognized as Baths 2021 Citizen of the Year when he moved to Maine, but Bath has proved to be one of the most welcoming places he has ever lived.

After living in New York and Washington DC, moving to Bath was a very radical and strong change, said Garreton. Looking around and not seeing another person of my race or culture was shocking in my mind. Eighteen years ago, I thought I would be unable to live here being Afro-Latino and gay, but it was not like that.

Garreton spoke to his family in Peru over the citys livestream on Facebook Live before pulling the rope that made the centuries-old bell toll. Garreton said he counted in Spanish as he made the bell chime 12 times to mark the hour, because its the language of my heart.

With every toll of the bell, Garreton said he made a wish that his community will continue getting along and building our community stronger, not to regret 2021, and instead to be grateful for surviving it, and learn if we had any bad experience, to make 2022 better.

Garreton was born and raised in Peru and moved to the United States when he was 17 years old. Garreton made a name for himself in Bath when he opened Tony Dance Fiesta, a dance studio on Centre Street in Bath, where he offers dance and Zumba exercise classes. He used his classes as a way to share his culture and inspire his students to love themselves as they are, but Garreton began volunteering and organizing fundraisers after a student took their own life in 2015.

In the new year, Garreton said he wants to continue working with the Midcoast Youth Center in Bath, which provides a host of resources, free of charge, such as after-school programs, adult mentors, homework clubs, snacks and hot meals, and clothing and school supplies if needed. The nonprofit also connects students in need with any resources outside the center, such as healthcare, mental health support or substance use treatment.

Previously, Garreton gathering school supplies for the Midcoast Youth Centers Set for Success event by holding dance classes and asking participants to bring school supplies to donate to the event in lieu of payment.

Garreton also organized a grocery drive and cooked meals to bring to elderly Bath resident during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though residents were discouraged from gathering below city hall or carol when the bell tolled to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19, Bath Marketing Communications Specialist Lindsey Goudreau said the city was still determined to continue the tradition of ringing the citys Paul Revere bell at noon on New Years Eve to add a sense of normalcy in the community.

This is an event that not only celebrates this historical piece of Bath, but it also celebrates this tradition of selecting a citizen of the year and the good they do for the community and giving them an opportunity to do something special, said Goudreau.

Baths Paul Revere bell was cast over 200 years ago and is one of four Paul Revere bells in the state. Though Reveres family-run metalworking business cast nearly 400 bells, Baths was created during Reveres lifetime.

Baths bell was ordered by the old North Meetinghouse congregation, according to Jack Martin, a reference librarian in the Patten Free Librarys Sagadahoc History and Genealogy Room. The bell was hung in the spire of North Church, the citys meeting house on the corner of High and Centre streets in 1803.

Over time, the bell bounced around various churches in Bath, but the city finally bought it in 1928 and it was moved to the belfry of city hall where it sits today, according to Martin. Now, the bell is only rung on New Years Eve by the Bath Citizen of the Year.

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Originally posted here:
'Tony Dancer' rings in 2022 with Bath's historic Paul Revere bell - pressherald.com

A year and a half after transitioning to a remote or hybrid workplace, many of us have mastered the stay-at-home lifestyle. As far as compensating for the physical activity that gets lost in acommutelesslandscape goes, the work-from-homeforce tends to fall into two camps: P90Xing off the walls or rolling from bed to desk every day.

If you fall into the latter camp and still havent managed to make peace with going to the gym in a pandemic, the good news is making your own at-home space is simple.(Finding the willpower to use it, however, is sold separately.) Creating a gym space in your home can be manageable and tailored to your unique needs if you incorporate elements to inspire activity, not just house it.

Figure Out Your Needs and Goals

Theres no blanket solution to making your lifestyle more active. Age, weight, medical conditions and schedules all complicate the best laid plans. If the first thing you do isnt setting an intention to adopt something you can do roughly 150 minutes a week, you may just become one of those people with a lot of weights collecting dust under the bed.

For able-bodied people who sit in front of a computer for hours a day, a routine ofhigh-intensity interval training (HIIT)for 15-45 minutes at least three times a week might be enough. Someone who needs accommodations due to injury or disability might benefit more frompilates, yoga and vigorous walking. More activity-driven at-home exercisers might find they need dance fitness or virtual group classes.

Whatever your speed, figure out whats best for your life and body,and incorporate it into your schedule with a goal of gradually reaching the World Health Organization-recommended 2.5 hours a week.

Fitness artist Walter Kemp advisedcreating a strong support system before working toward your fitness goals.

The most important thing before starting any wellness journey is being mentally prepared, he said. Have people who support your goals. If youre home and you have kids, get the kids involved. Get your spouse involved. Make it fun, it should not be miserable, and if that means including family, thats what you should do.

Universal Must-Haves

Regardless of what you calculate in terms of needs and ability, there are a few pieces of equipment that everyone should keep handy: a fitness mat, dumbbells and resistance bands.

We recommendanadjustable dumbbell set for anyone short on space but long on motivation.A good mat is arguably the most important piece of equipment because no matter what youre doing, youll almost always use one. Top it off with resistance bands, or any bands you prefer, and youre on your way to health at home.

Optional: Kemp saidthat looking good is feeling good and encourages finding workout clothes that you look forward to wearing.

Maximizing Your Space

Theres no getting around the fact that,for many people, at-home exercise is an activity relegated to basements or wedged into the corners of small apartments. That doesnt have to mean you cant turn your designated workout space into one that invites you in rather than demands your time.

Kemps top tip to getting your space set up is declutter, declutter, declutter. That might mean incorporating itemsfromyour home into your routine, like coffee tables, chairs and gallon jugs. Kemp co-created a method called Casa that takes this exact approach and encourages his clients to get creative.

Its fun when you use the things you have around your house to create a workout, like, lets see what I can do with this chair. Ive used a coffee table to do incline pushups, decline pushups, Kemp said.

If your workout space is a living room, bedroom or office most of the time, consideratiered rolling cart that can store all your essentials. You can also make your space appear larger while checking out your form witha homegymmirrorwe recommendatile workout mirror for spaces used mostly for exercise.

Get With the Program

The biggest hurdle youll face in starting a new fitness program is sticking to it, so you may want to invest in virtual classes or pre-recorded videos to keep you on track.

If you dont have a TV in your workout space, device stands can prop up your phone or tablet.When picking programs,ObFitness, where you can take classes with Kemp and other instructors in a plethora of strength and cardio classes, dominates the market. Its $199 for the annual plan, $19 per month or $65 every quarter, and youll have options ranging from dance HIIT to miniaturetrampoline class to yoga andpilates.

There are also tons of free options on YouTube, like POPSUGAR Fitness, Bodybuilding.com, Tracy Anderson and 305 Fitness. Whatever you choose, just make sure its something you enjoy.

M.E. Lewis is a Jersey tomato currently growing on a Brooklyn vine. She has covered South Jersey, Union County and Newark and spent a copious amount of time uncovering all things weird and cool about her home state.

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2021 issue of Jerseys Best. Subscribeherefor in-depth access to everything that makes the Garden State great.

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Get ahead of winter inactivity with an inspired home workout space - Jersey's Best

As Oprah Winfrey mulls her New Years resolutions for 2022, WW International might have one to suggest: Sell more diet plans.

The company formerly known as Weight Watchers saw its sales and membership shrink in 2021 despite a forecast for growth from chief executive Mindy Grossman last spring. While WW blamed the flop on consumer habits during the pandemic, industry experts noted that Winfrey was remarkably quiet during the slide.

Now, as WW enters its peak selling season, the Big Apple-based company is pinning its hopes on a revamped diet program and a boost from Winfrey, its lead pitchwoman, who is also an investor and board member at the company.

The 58 year-old firm, which offers a subscription- and point-based program and sells packaged foods, shed customers last year despite the fact that people packed on extra pounds during the pandemic and CEO Grossman was quick to deflect blame.

People wanted to focus more on their enjoyment than immediately going into a weight-loss program, particularly in the summer months, Grossman insisted on an August earnings call when it was clear that WWs hot streak was over.

Another explanation for the summer doldrums: Winfrey had stopped her seasonal shilling for WW last May. Its a far cry from her early days with Weight Watchers in 2015, when she took a 10 percent stake, scooping up 6.4 million shares at $6.79 apiece and sending them soaring each time she dished about her weight loss online.

Its not the first time that Winfrey has gone silent while the company flailed. The media mogul has a marketing contract with the company until 2023 and has agreed to serve as an adviser through May 2025. Her stake in WW, however, has lately shrunk to just 2 percent, according to securities filings.

She has the capability to help the business, Michael Stone, chairman of the Beanstalk Group, told The Post.

But Winfrey likely took a step back from publicly shilling for WW beyond the companys peak recruitment period, Stone said, over concerns about the credibility of her own brand.

She has to be careful not to commercialize herself too much, according to Stone.

Reps for Winfrey didnt respond to requests for comment.

Celebrity endorsements have long been key for WW. In recent years, it variously has tapped DJ Khaled, Robbie Williams, Kate Hudson and Sarah Ferguson to pitch its diet programs. Late Show host James Corden, who became a brand ambassador in 2021, has said he lost 35 pounds after six months with WW.

But three months into his contract, Corden in April admitted on Instagram he was confused by WWs SmartPoints system for keeping track of food intake and exercise.

All the time Im thinking about points, how many points is that, scanning points. Im under points, over points. Ive got my free points and Ive realized that I dont know what a point is, Corden said in an Instagram video.

2021 was the first time in many years that WW is expected to have ended a year with fewer members, DA Davidson analyst Linda Bolton Weiser told The Post. Subscribers were down 4.3%, to 4.5 million, in the quarter ended Oct. 2. Revenues were down 8.5%, to $293.5 million, although profits rose on cost cutting.

Meanwhile, WWs competitors have expanded rapidly. Baltimore-based Medifast, which sells pre-packaged powders and bars combined with personal coaching advice, reported a 52% spike in sales in the third quarter to $413 million. Nutrisystem, a privately held company that sells pre-packaged meals and snacks, is also growing healthily according to Bolton Weiser.

Other privately held diet companies, including Atkins Nutritionals and SlimFast are having a banner year Goldman Sachs analyst, Jason English, said on a WW earnings call this summer, even as he questioned WWs explanation for its slowing growth.

English, for his part, said in August that WWs bigger challenge is not getting consumers focused on losing weight. Its getting them focused on paying for a subscription-based service to lose weight.

Winfrey will reemerge in ads this month on TV and online, when WW ramps up a new marketing push that assigns new point values to foods and activities like dog walking which counts as exercise now and eating non-starchy veggies which allows dieters to raise their point caps.

Oprah and James will be amplifying the new program, highlighting what makes WW different, Grossman said in a November statement, and motivating others to join WW and commit to their health and well-being to weight loss.

But WW is also among the few diet companies with the exception of Jenny Craig that has grappled with money-losing real estate. The company has slashed its chain of WW Studios in-person meeting venues that became an albatross during the pandemic to 450 locations from 800, saying it will rely instead on renting out churches and community centers.

WW has had to more swiftly pivot to a digital model where clients meet up online in groups, but those subscriptions generate half the sales as the in-person memberships, according to analysts.

After its growth came to a screeching halt just two weeks into the second quarter, WW dialed back its marketing investment sometime in the third quarter, the company said on earnings calls, to ensure that it had enough powder in December to push its new program.

The dramatic miscalculation cost 64-year-old Grossman her job of nearly five years and tanked the companys stock, which is down 30 percent over the past 12 months.

Given the poor recent financial and stock performance, Grossmans exit was not totally unexpected, Bolton Weiser said in a research note.

Grossman, a respected retail veteran who hailed from the Home Shopping Network, said in October that she will step down in early 2022 and help the company find a successor.

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WW failed to cash in on the diet craze in 2021 - New York Post

As the population grows, so does the number of seniors in need of assistance. The simple act of getting out of bed or walking across the room can be difficult for those recovering from surgery or dealing with dementia.

While in previous years, looking for longterm care eligibility for your loved ones was the only viable option. These days, technology has made it easier for seniors to maintain their independence and stay active in their homes. This blog will discuss how technology can help seniors live independently during their golden years.

Technology has changed the way we live by making our lives easier. From the newest iPhone to a smart home, technology is changing how seniors can maintain independence and stay active at home. There are currently many options for senior care, but what will make your seniors life more accessible than any other option?

A perfect senior care package would enable them to maintain their independence throughout the day. A basic example of this would be an automated door lock or a robot that can help with daily tasks like washing dishes or vacuuming. However, if you need a more customized solution for your senior, plenty of other options are available for you.

You could install a smart home system with voice control, so they dont have to get up from bed to operate lights and appliances. You could also add safety features like smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors that allow them to relax without worrying about their health. Finally, make sure your senior has access to high-speed Wi-Fi so they can keep up with family and friends easily through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Technology is a lifeline for seniors. It has provided them with the opportunity to continue living independently in their homes, even after being diagnosed with dementia or surgery. Technology has also given seniors the ability to stay in touch and be active with friends and family, which is especially important during those difficult moments when they need support.

We are living longer and becoming more reliant on technology to stay connected. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found that the number of people 65 years old or older is projected to increase by 24 percent by 2030. This means the demand for technology will only increase.

One of the many ways technology has helped seniors is by making it easier to maintain independence. Technology allows seniors to stay active in their homes without worrying about physical limitations. An easy-to-use automated walker can help a senior safely cross their room, while a smartphone can be used as an alarm system and even as a watch if needed.

The possibilities are endless with this age group, which is why its so important to adopt technology into your home.

Technology makes it easier for seniors to live independently and maintain their independence. Many seniors find it challenging to keep up with the speed of life these days as they age. Technology has played a massive role in staying active in a fast-paced society.

Communication is one fundamental way technology can assist seniors during their golden years.

People need to have a safe and reliable means of communication when theyre out and about during their day-to-day lives: For example, if someone needs assistance walking across the street or at home, you want them to be able to reach you easily and quickly. Technology can help seniors stay connected with family and friends by creating apps like FaceTime or Skype that are easy to use and simple to use consistently.

As the population ages, the number of seniors needing assistance is expected to grow. While many people believe that elderly people are frail and immobile, this isnt so. Seniors physical activity levels are on par with their younger counterparts.

Being active can decrease with age due to several factors, such as injuries or medications. Technology has helped seniors maintain their independence and stay active in their homes by providing a range of exercise options and rehabilitation programs.

Seniors need to keep up with regular exercise routines to stay physically fit. Its also essential for them to target specific muscle groups when exercising. That way, they can work out those muscles without overstimulating other parts of the body.

Technology has also made it possible for patients recovering from surgery or dealing with dementia to take part in rehabilitation programs on their own time framewithout having to leave home. This technology allows patients to use features like automated voice prompts to complete specific exercises at home without any additional help from others.

Staying active during a seniors golden years is important for living independently and staying healthy. Technology makes it easier for seniors to maintain their independence and remain active in their homes. One method that can help seniors live independently is by using a virtual coach.

A virtual coach can help seniors stay motivated because they can see their progress through the video feed on their tablet or smartphone screen. They can also communicate with their coach through text messages, audio recordings, or even video chat.

These tools allow the seniors to exercise on their own terms. If they have enough energy and motivation, they can work out at home throughout the day. If they need assistance, they can ask for it with minimal impact on daily life. The benefits of this type of technology are endless from increased motivation to improved health outcomes but the decision for how much technology you want your elderly loved one to use is yours alone.

One of the most significant ways technology can help seniors is through virtual trainers. These programs offer a way for seniors to stay active and not have to rely on others for assistance.

Seniors can do activities with a virtual trainer, including walking, running, tennis, and golf. These activities provide an opportunity for seniors to get out of their homes or apartment without having to worry about traffic or crowds.

Virtual trainers are also suitable for those who want a more intense workout than what they can do on their own. Some programs even allow participants to compete against each other as they track their progress in real-time. This is an excellent way for seniors to work on specific skills and improve their scores.

Physical activity has always been important to seniors, but the ability to maintain physical independence while staying active is more important than ever. Technology can help seniors remain physically active in their homes. One of the ways technology allows seniors is through virtual reality fitness.

Virtual reality uses head-mounted displays, such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Playstation VR, to immerse users into a digital world thats interactive like real life. In a recent study, 88 percent of participants reported increased motivation and interest in exercising after using the technology for two weeks.

Virtual reality also provides a sense of presence that makes it difficult for users to distinguish between real and virtual. This allows for more immersive experiences with exercise routinesbecause when youre immersed in an experience, your brain starts producing more dopamine, which leads to improved moods and motivation levels.

Technology has been an excellent tool for seniors in their golden years. Some apps allow seniors to monitor their home security; there are smart doorbells for alerts when visitors come, and smart lighting systems help seniors stay safe and independent.

Technology can also be helpful for those who need assistance with daily activities like cooking, cleaning, shopping, and more. Assistive technologies like voice-activated assistants can be beneficial for seniors who want help with day-to-day tasks but cant read or write as well.

The problem is that not all assistive technologies are created equally. If youre looking for a way to keep your loved one safe and secure during their nighttime routine, you need an app thats specifically designed to do just that (like Home Security).

Technology has evolved to the point where its possible for seniors to stay active in their homes while theyre recovering from surgery or living with dementia. Technology allows seniors to stay connected, even when they are limited in mobility.

Technology can also help seniors develop life skills and engage them through memory games, trivia contests, and even interactive movies.

Technology has become a lifeline for seniors as it provides them with a way to stay connected with the world. As technology advances at a rapid rate, it is important to keep up with the newest trends and advancements to help seniors stay active and present in the world. Make sure to check out the benefits of different types of technological aids to ensure you get the best support possible for your needs.

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The Benefits of Using Technology for Senior Care What You Should Know - The Future of Things

Turning back the biological clock is just the stuff of science fiction, right? Not quite. Recent studies have found that you can literally make yourself younger and increase your lifespan by making certain simple lifestyle choices. You can start doing some right now, right where you are. Read on to find out moreand to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID.

A study recently published in the journal Cell Metabolism found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may reverse the aging of cells and muscles in older people. "Based on everything we know, there's no substitute for these exercise programs when it comes to delaying the aging process," says Sreekumaran Nair, MD, the study's lead author. "These things we are seeing cannot be done by any medicine."

He added: "We encourage everyone to exercise regularly, but the take-home message for aging adults that supervised high-intensity training is probably best, because, both metabolically and at the molecular level, it confers the most benefits."

Danish researchers recently found that regularly playing certain sports could extend your life expectancy by yearsin one case, by nearly a decade. The top contributors to longevity: tennis (9.7 years), badminton (6.2 years), and soccer (4.7 years). The 25-year study, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, noted that all three sports are highly socialpotentially reinforcing previous research that's found social isolation and loneliness are associated with chronic illness and a shorter lifespan.

RELATED: Over 50? Don't Do This 5 Things Ever Again

This summer, researchers at Columbia University published a study that found gray hair really is caused by stressand aging might be paused or even turned back. The scientists observed stressed-out people with graying hair; they found that hair regained its color when the source of stress was removed. "Our data add to a growing body of evidence demonstrating that human aging is not a linear, fixed biological process but may, at least in part, be halted or even temporarily reversed," said Martin Picard, Ph.D., associate professor of behavioral medicine.

RELATED: I'm an ER Doctor and Here's What Omicron Feels Like

And on that note: "People who are in happier, more satisfying relationships live longer," Dr. Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, told CNN recently. The study, which has been ongoing for nearly a century, tracks the effect of various life changes on longevity. One major finding: "The most important predictor of who was going to be a healthy, happy octogenarian was how satisfied they were in their relationships," said Waldinger. Experts say you should consider social interaction to be as important to your health as diet and exercise.

RELATED: How to Smooth Out Your Wrinkles, Say Experts

Might be time to reschedule that dentist's appointment you've been avoiding for two years. According to a study published in the journal BMJ Open, people with high levels of dental plaque are 80 percent more likely to die prematurely of cancer than those who have a small amount of plaqueeven after adjusting for other major risk factors. The potential culprit: Bodywide inflammation, which can start in gums irritated by plaque. Cancer isn't the only potential dangerinflammation is so linked with the aging process that it's spurred the nickname "inflammaging." And to get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don't miss these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.

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How to Turn Back the Clock on Aging, Say Experts Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

The Penacook Community Center will dissolve and become a division of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire early this year.

The afterschool and before school programs for Penacook Elementary School and Washington Street Elementary School will transfer to the Boys and Girls Club location at 55 Bradley Street beginning on Jan. 3. The Penacook infant program will also move to Bradley Street, while toddlers and preschoolers will go to Eastman Early Learning Center on 15 Shawmut Street.

At some point after the merger is finalized, the plan is to return the centers childcare programs to Penacook.

Rates for the centers early childcare programs will increase by $10 a week, while afterschool program fees will stay the same.Boys and Girls Club CEO ChristopherEmond said that a $25,000 grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation kept fees from going up more forparents.

I wanted to make sure that the transition was as painless as possible, Emond said. Weve made the commitment that the fee will not exceed that increase for the year.

Elderly adults who participated in the senior program at Penacook Community Center can enroll in the free programatGoodlife Programs and Activities at 254 N. State St in Concord. Participants had their annual $45 membership fee from Penacook Community Center refunded.

The initial financial hit of the pandemic, the prospect of expensive building repairsand difficulty hiring a newexecutive director all led to the decision to dissolve Penacook Community Center, saidCathy Furlong, president of the organizations board of directors.

The easiest way to say it: COVID was the final straw for us, Furlongsaid. Halting programsin March 2020 led toa loss in revenue. Even when the center was allowed to open months later, required staffing ratios meant the organizationcouldaccept only half its regular capacity for children while at the same time, it needed to payallits staff.

Although federal grants, donations andPaycheck Protection Programmoneyhelped keep the organization afloat, Furlong said the community center was still playing catch-up from last yearslosses.

The tired conditionof the centers four buildings made the financial outlook even worse. One buildinghassignificant structural issues, while others are more than 100 years old and need upgrades to theirelectrical, plumbing and heating systems.

Team Engineering of Bedford has evaluated all the buildings andwill be working with the Boys and Girls Club and the Penacook Community Centerboardto establish the full extent of the renovations required.

Faced with looming new expenses and unable to hire anew executive director, the board had to consider other options to avoid closing its doors completely.

Our top priority was childcare for the families and jobs for our staff, Furlong said.We came to the decision that it was probably going to be difficult to get the money to do the repairs we needed, so we made the decision to look into merging with someone else.

Opened in 1954, the center has served many purposes throughout the years, hosting dances, sports games, summer camps and exercise classes.

It's always been evolving, it never stayed the same,Furlong said.Itsalways looking at, what does the community need,and then its building from there.

The centers gym, one of the buildings that needs repairs, was built by the labor of Penacookvolunteers during nights and weekends.

Its really Penacook,said Ward 1 Councilor Brent Todd.The community really built that organization from the ground up.

Emond said that the Boys and Girls Clubhas experience merging with other childcare organizations while allowing them to run their own operationsand retain their titles, like it did withLakes Region Child Care.

Whats important to us as an organization is that they not lose their identity, Emond said.It'll continue to operate as thePenacook Community Center.

Over the next few months, the two organizations will nail down the details of the merger, hire and onboard staff and determine the extent of the construction needed on the centers old buildings.

The goal is definitely to have a presence in Penacook,were just not sure what thats going to look like right now, Furlong said. Thetimeline for returning the childcare programs to Penacook coulddepend onbuilding repairs and how quickly staff can be hired.

Theres a sadness because we know a part of PCC is ending, Furlong said.It's a transition for everybody but I feel that its going to bewonderful. When the dust settles, its going to be great for everybody.

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Penacook Community Center to merge with Boys and Girls Club - Concord Monitor

AP photographers reflect on major 2021 stories

Associated Press photographers describe their experiences during a year marked by the pandemic, the impact of climate change, immigration, the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

AP

Resolving to get moreactive and engage in healthy exercise in the new year isn't exclusive to adults.

As January rolls around and adults begin their annual gym memberships and diets, children also have an opportunity to take action about their health. In Louisiana, the child obesity rate is one of the highest in the country, according tothe 2016-17 National Survey of Childrens Health. In the state,19.1%of Louisiana children ages 10 to 17 are clinicallyobese. The national childhood obesity average is 15.8%.

More: Ouachita Parish School Board votes on redistricting, extended COVID leave

For kids and families looking for opportunities to get active in Northeast Louisiana in 2022, here are a few ideas worth looking into that don't involve just going to the park:

The Boys and Girls Club of North Louisiana offers an afterschool program starting up again Jan. 10. Participants in the program get a hot meal Monday through Friday and are able to partake in various activities, including physical recreation, arts and crafts and homework help, according toChief Programming Officer Sabrina Love.

The program takes place from 2:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 500 Evergreen St. in West Monroe. Folks interested in the program can visitbgcofnl.orgto learn more.

Love said spots will still be limited to 100 kids due to the pandemic.

More: More families are enrolling their kids in local sports programs in Monroe, around the U.S.

The Northeast Louisiana Soccer Association begins its spring season around the second week of February, giving families enough time in January to sign up.

The youth recreational league ranges from under age 4 to under age 14. Costs for the league vary between age groups. For Under-4, the cost is $50. All other age groups cost $99 to join.

The season lasts about eight weeks, and teams play six games. Practices last roughly an hour and occur about twice each week. Learn more atbit.ly/3yDlatH.

In West Monroe, The Rec sports center offers several activities fit for the entire family.

The Rec, which costs $2 for each person to enter, has open courts for people to play on and classes to try out. Twice a weekthere's a Zumba class that costs $5.

There are also recreational team sports offered for kids and adults. There is an adult softball league that opens registration in early May, andvolleyball tournamentsbegin in the summer. Later in the year when November rolls around, kids can tryout for basketball. Learn more about monthly deals and other programming atbit.ly/30AzAhA.

Follow Sabrina LeBoeufon Twitter @_sabrinakayeand on Facebook athttps://bit.ly/3B8sgHo.

Support local journalism by subscribing athttps://cm.thenewsstar.com/specialoffer.

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Here's how Northeast Louisiana kids can get active, healthy in 2022 - The News Star

THE 1970s

The U.S. Navy emerged from the Vietnam War into a different world than that preceding the 1964 Tonkin Gulf incident. In some ways it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Elmo Bud Zumwalt was one of the most energetic and thoughtful officers to occupy that position, to be followed by two equally astute leadersAdmirals James Holloway and Thomas Hayward. Navy Secretary Graham Claytor (197779), a decorated World War II destroyer escort commander, was a powerful naval influence on Defense Secretary Harold Brown.

They and their staff officers developed and published their visions and concepts in a succession of cogent documentsProject Sixty, Missions of the U.S. Navy, Sea Plan 2000, Strategic Concepts of the U.S. Navy (NWP-1), the Sea Strike Strategy, and The Future of U.S. Seapowerthat stimulated intense debate within the naval service (often in the pages of Proceedings) and would serve as springboards for the Maritime Strategy efforts of the 1980s. Vice Admiral Stansfield Turners transformation of the strategy curriculum at the Naval War College was sustained by subsequent CNOs and War College presidents, all of whom strove to boost Navy student officer attendance as well.

But successive Congressestransfixed by wrongheaded notions of dtente, peace dividends, and a narrow focus on only a few areas of the globeoften pushed back against the Navys views and refused to allocate sufficient funding to implement them.

Having for decades accepted overwhelming Soviet superiority on the ground in central Europe, U.S. defense planners worried that the capability gap there between the Warsaw Pact and NATO had only grown during the Vietnam War, destabilizing the overall East-West military balance. Likewise, U.S. nuclear superiority over the Soviets had given way to parity. In such a situation, reestablishing U.S. maritime superiority was critical to maintain overall stability. Yet Pentagon planners themselves helped the Soviets chip away at that superiority, as they sought to trade resources needed by U.S. maritime forces for an obsessive focus on central Europe and land-based forces.

The Navys ship designers, naval architects, aviation engineers, and associated contractors fashioned a new generation of fast, lethal, and sophisticated warships, aircraft, and weapons, including Nimitz-class carriers, Los Angelesclass submarines, Spruance-class destroyers, and Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates. Force levels plummeted, however, as worn out and obsolete hulls and airframes from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam were retired.

The Navy was populated by operators who were seasoned in forward operations under the sea, in the air, and in combat close to shore. But its mess decks were roiled by racial tensions, and drug abuse was rampant. The service honed scores of smart officers skilled in operations analysis, politico-military affairs, and strategic planning, whodue to demanding repeat staff tours and appropriate high-level educationunderstood the nature and benefits of the Navy in keeping the country safe. But the CNOs staff (OpNav) was riven by community stovepipes and intraservice budget battles as defense spending tumbled and shipbuilding costs soared.

Admiral Zumwalt dealt brilliantly with the services racial issues. He also refocused the Navy on the Soviet threat, expressing particular concern over the Soviet Navys capability to interdict sea lines of communications between the United States and its allies across the Atlantic and Pacific. Analysts at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), the Navys federally funded research and development center, shared the CNOs concern but believed that the main wartime Soviet naval effort would be to deploy ballistic-missile submarines as a strategic reserve in far-northern ocean bastions, protected by most of their remaining warships (which would deploy at ever-greater distances from the bastions as their capabilities improved, effectively severing the western sea lines of communication as a secondary effect). Late in the decade, the Intelligence Community, including the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), using some stillhighly classified data and analyses, sided with CNA and began to educate the Navys operators.

Through it all, in response to national tasking, the Navy continued to deploy forward as much of the fleet as it could to enhance deterrence against the Soviets, reassure global allies, help resolve crises, and maintain its combat edge. Meanwhile, the Soviets continued their massive naval building program; developed worrisome naval employment concepts of their own; increased their combat reach from their home bases; and developed advanced naval bases in Cuba, east and west Africa, the Middle East, andmost galling of allCam Ranh Bay, in what was now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Soviet design bureaus developed imaginative new submarine and surface warship designs, and Soviet shipyards built them in quantity, along with a new generation of offensive, long-range, land-based naval aircraft.

The U.S. Navy had its own string of advanced bases around the world that it could use, and it was allied with most of the worlds other naval powers. Despite the defeat in Vietnam, most of those bases remained available, with a new base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean showing great promise. Allies, for the most part, stuck by the United States, although many of their fleetsespecially in Europegrew progressively smaller. With the increased sophistication of evolving C3 systems, however, interoperability among the navies of the western alliance required constant tending by the leading power, the U.S. Navy. Transfer of precious but essential technological secrets was a growing issue, andunbeknownst to the United States and its alliesspies were poking holes in the blankets of secrecy that cloaked many of their activities.

Throughout the 20th century, the U.S. Navy had become famous for the quantity and quality of its at-sea exercises. The Cold War reoriented the services exercise program to the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, and northeast Pacific, to improve combat readiness, experiment with new tactics and gear, reassure allies, and signal resolve to the Soviets. Throughout the Vietnam War, the Navy continued this rigorous exercise program, but by the late 1970sin the interests of dtente and false economiesit pulled in its horns. The U.S. Navy even began treating the Norwegian Sea as if it were a Soviet lake, much to Moscows delight.

Since the 19th century, the Navy had developedat the Naval War College and elsewherea considerable war-gaming competence, gaining insights in ways not possible on the high seas. By the 1970s, however, the gaming was focused on examining discrete tacticsa worthy focus but neglectful of global maritime strategy. Fortunately, Naval War College professor Francis J. Bing West and others at Newport realized this shortcoming, andonce they were done working on Seaplan 2000turned their attention to creating and implementing a new annual Global War Game, starting in 1979.

All of these developmentspositive and negativewere magnified as the Carter administration entered its final years. Defense Secretary Harold Brown continued to support Navy development of extraordinary new systems, including the Aegis combat system, the SLQ-32 electronic warfare system, and others, but he did not provide enough funding to procure them in numbers. The Navys ship count continued to drop, but demands for deployments increased. Crisis after crisis required emergency deployments and repositioning naval power worldwide. But the administration continued to focus mostly on building up military power in West Germany, until the Iranian revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan illustrated the limits of such a narrow perspective.

Meanwhile, the intellectual ferment in the U.S. Navy began to have positive second-order effects. Successive CNOs built on the ideas of their predecessors. Admiral Holloways Naval Warfare Publication 1, Strategic Concepts of the U.S. Navy (NWP-1), emphasized the importance of seeing the Navy as an integrated body of warfare areasstrike, antisubmarine, antisurface, antiair, and amphibiousinstead of a series of semiautonomous subsurface, surface, air, and special warfare stovepipes. This was reinforced by Admiral Haywards encouragement of the composite warfare commander (CWC) concept for carrier battle group command and control. CNO Hayward created a Directorate for Naval Warfare, organized by warfare areas, within OpNav, to help shape the Navys program objective memorandum (POM) and annual budget proposals and to foster better integration of platforms and weapons systems within the fleet. Admiral Hayward also reacted favorably to a recommendation by Robert Murray, the outgoing Under Secretary of the Navy, to set up a small cell of front-running officers, fresh from major command, to develop tactical and operational concepts that would be useful to OpNav and the fleet. As important, it would improve those officers own strategic and operational acumen, anticipating that many would later become influential flag officers. This group was established in Newport, Rhode Island, and called the Strategic Studies Group (SSG). Its first iteration was in 1981.

At the same time, the Navy continued to populate plans offices, especially in OpNav OP-06 and on fleet staffs, with appropriately educated and experienced experts in politico-military affairs and strategic planning. In 1978, Rear Admiral Robert Hilton, the Director for Strategy, Plans, and Policy (OP-60), reshuffled his team and put several leading strategists and NATO experts into a new Strategic Concepts Branch (OP-603), reporting directly to Hilton. His successor, Rear Admiral Arthur Moreau, continued this practice with enthusiasm.

Some OP-603 midgrade officers, along with denizens of other OpNav divisions, periodically came together on their own to argue about optimum approaches to address naval issues of the day. These meetings were professional but unofficial, informal, and not recorded. They were, however, yet another manifestation of the intellectual excitement within the naval officer corps of the time, in the face of a rising Soviet naval threat and U.S. administrations that did not appear to be responsive to the needs of the serviceor the countryin maintaining maritime superiority.

As the 1970s ended, the American people had had enough of the false promises of too-narrow objectives, dtente, and peace dividends, as well as falling force levels and rising defense costs. The election of President Ronald Reagan in November 1980 ushered in an era of peace through strength. I was fortunate to be named Secretary of the Navy in the new administration. The President, a strong bipartisan group in Congress led by Senators John Tower and Scoop Jackson, and I were determined to refocus the Navy on three major efforts:

Articulate an aggressive, forward-leaning, global maritime strategy, involving not just the U.S. Navy, but also the other services and our naval allies, as part of a new national security strategy to reestablish maritime supremacy. The goal was to demonstrate to the Soviets that they could not win a war against NATO and would bankrupt their economy if they tried to keep up.

Increase the U.S. Navy force goal to 600 battle force ships, including 15 carrier battle groups, 100 submarines, and amphibious lift for one Marine amphibious force and one Marine amphibious brigade. These requirements were derived directly from the operational needs of each theater surrounding the Soviet Union.

Reduce defense costs, especially for procurement, by fostering and enforcing competition among suppliers.

When the administration took office, we were able to use the institutions and processes already in placebut denied funding by the previous administrationto reestablish U.S. global naval superiority. Combined with simultaneous improvements in Army and Air Force resources and fighting concepts, these efforts stabilized overall global military deterrence in our favor. We also added a number of key new innovations.

The Naval War College and the Naval Instituteand their fora and mediaprovided the Reagan administration ready-made outlets to reach the Navy and Marine Corps officer corps and beyond with the concepts of a maritime strategy and maritime superiority. So too did routine hearings on the Hill convened by the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, mostly to explain and gain support for the 600-ship force goal. We were fortunate that President Carters Defense Secretary, Harold Brown, had continued critical Navy research, development, prototyping, and testing programs on new platforms and systems. Except in a few cases, all we had to do was fund and procure many more of these items in the fleet, and fast. We used other gatherings and media as well to spread the logic of the buildup, and many of these concepts and explanations were picked up and reported by the trade press and broader mainstream media.

When the CNOs SSG convened its first annual cohort in Newport, called SSG I, six front-running officers were handpicked by CNO Hayward, each from a different warfare community. They were directed to examine a NATO sea campaign against the Soviet Unions vulnerable Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, and Mediterranean flanks, and they established links with the Naval War Colleges War Gaming Center and the Navys recently repurposed Washington-based Advanced Technology Panel (ATP). A robust travel schedule had the SSG visiting and exchanging ideas with unified and fleet commanders and their staffs. Once the groups work was underway, I met with them and their successors periodically to glean what they had learned and ensure they knew my views on the operational and tactical subjects they were studying. I also met on occasion with the informal naval discussion group of mid-level officers that was functioning as a precursor to the current Strategy Discussion Group. And in a widely reported speech at the National Press Club in August 1981, I laid out important policies to increase affordability and decrease costs, which we were already pursuing vigorously.

Most important, I ensured that three of the Navys most aggressive, offensive-minded, and tactically astute flag officersVice Admiral James A. Ace Lyons Jr. and Rear Admirals Hank Mustin and Jerry Tuttlestarted to prepare for a seminal at-sea exercise in the fall of 1981. In this exercise, called Ocean Venture, the U.S. Second Fleet, NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic, and other forces would surge into the northern Norwegian Sea to demonstrate and practice what a forward maritime campaign entailed, including imaginative cover and deception tactics, techniques, and procedures. Similar exercises would follow every year in the Mediterranean, northeast Pacific, and Arcticnot just talking the talk but walking the walk of a global, forward, offensive campaign against the Soviets.

In 1982, things really came together. Forward exercises were conducted in the northern Pacific and Mediterranean. For the first time in 20 years, two U.S. Navy attack submarines surfaced together at the North Pole. SSG I war-gamed their hypotheses and presented their findings to the Navy leadership, then went to fleet and staff assignments to use what they had learned about strategy and operational art. SSG II convened and began to examine ingenious new offensive Mediterranean and Pacific campaigns. The annual Global War Game reconvened at Newport, with a Mediterranean-focused scenario. And the Intelligence Community published a widely usable National Intelligence Estimate at the secret level that laid out its consensus view of Soviet naval strategy and policy, which U.S. naval planners could use to develop countermeasures.

Meanwhile, the Navys uniformed leaders tasked the strategy whizzes in OP-60 to create the first public version of a maritime strategy brief for widespread circulation within the defense establishment. It was then used to kick off the annual POM build in the fall. OP-60 put together a classified briefing that exceeded all expectations. I approved the brief and used it enthusiastically. Admiral Haywards Warfighting Directorate (OP-095) used it in its warfare appraisals, which informed the next stage of POM development, made easier by the briefings focus on CWC warfare areas and by the assignment to OP-095 of numerous SSG alumni.

That strategy briefing became the basis for hundreds of briefings, usually by OP-603 strategists, to appropriate audiences at war colleges, service academies, congressional committees and subcommittees, academic and U.S. Naval Institute fora, and Washington, fleet, and allied staffs. By 1984, having murder-boarded, honed, and presented the briefing, OP-603 reformatted it as a printed classified OpNav document, with text and graphics, which was signed out by CNO Admiral Watkins. It was updated and expanded in 1985 and joined that year by a classified Amphibious Warfare Strategy, drafted by a NavyMarine Corps team and signed by the CNO and the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) jointly. In 1986, the CNO, CMC, and I published an unclassified version of the strategy in a special edition of Proceedings. The message was the same as that of my early speeches, articles, and testimony: (1) We have an appropriate and effective maritime strategy that will ensure our nation maintains its vital maritime superiority; (2) The minimum force needed to execute the strategy is 600 ships, including 15 carrier battle groups; and (3) We have instituted new procurement policies that are bringing down the cost to the American taxpayer of naval systems needed to build and sustain a 600-ship Navy and carry out the strategy.

The Navy of the 1980s began to include numerous new systems, notably, reengined F-14s, Aegis cruisers, Tomahawk land-attack and antiship cruise missiles, improved Los Angelesclass submarines, four recommissioned battleships, vertical launch systems, close-in weapons systems, SLQ-32, and more. Force levels went from 521 battle force ships in 1981 to 594 in 1987. The Navy also instituted and refined new operational and tactical organizations, concepts, and procedures, including O-6-level carrier air wing commanders (also known as Super CAGs), the Naval Strike Warfare Center in Fallon, Nevada (a.k.a. Strike U), outer air battle tactics, and operational maneuver from the sea, to name a few.

I left office as Secretary of the Navy in 1987. The forward maritime strategy, the 600-ship force goal, annual global exercises, and constant tactical innovation were firmly in place. My successors Jim Webb and Will Ball subscribed to them. So, too, did CNO Admiral Watkins successor Admiral Carl Trost, who published three Proceedings articles on the continued validity of the strategy, even as the Soviets began to buckle and Congress began again to slash defense budgets.

In fact, the largest of the global, aggressive, forward at-sea exercises was the enormous Pacific Exercise 89 led by Admiral David Jeremiah. The Global War Games at Newport also continued, with an ever-expanding number of participants. Successive SSGs continued to respond to CNO tasking, including SSG VII, which evaluated the strategy in the Pacific for Admiral Trost in 198687, and SSG IX, which recommended that the CNO repurpose the group, since they saw the Soviets as finished as an enemy. OP-603 strategists continued to brief the strategy around the clock, and Admiral Trost signed the last updated version of the OpNav strategy document in 1989.

Throughout this entire period, President Reagan called on elements of the Navy to help him deal with a global array of wars, crises, incidents, and diplomatic issuesin Grenada, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, the Arabian Gulf, and elsewhere. As each of these operations wound down, the Navy hastened to capture, disseminate, and use lessons learnednot only to improve future performance in similar circumstances, but also to refine tactics, techniques, procedures, and systems intended for use against the Soviets in accordance with the strategy. Lessons from the Falklands War were studied in particularand used.

Finally, the Navy had once more become an elite calling Americans were proud to support and in which they were proud to serve. Popular culture reflected this attitude, from the success of books such as The Hunt for Red October to movies such as Top Gun, TV series including Winds of War, documentaries on finding the Titanic, the stage revival of South Pacific, and Chers unforgettable music video If I Could Turn Back Time.

As the decade ended, Navy morale andwarfighting competence were high, and the American people and their elected leaders again accepted maritime superiority as a strategic deterrent and war-winning necessity for the nation. Plus, of course, the Navy had helped win the Cold War itself.

So, how did the Navy recover and rebuild from the Vietnam War and improve in both quantity and quality to be the dominant Navy in the world by the end of the 1980s? It:

Built well on the foundation of existing official and unofficial Navy institutions, including the geographic and numbered fleets, OpNav, Advanced Technology Panel, Naval War College, CWC concept, strategic planning subspecialty, the Naval Institute, and CNAand fostered interorganizational synergies among all those elements

Created new institutions, organizations, and purposeful activities as needed, including the SSG, Global War Games, Naval Strike Warfare Center, and Super CAGsand fostered synergies among them

Developed, promulgated, and refined a global, offensive, joint, and allied strategy

Identified the most aggressive experts in strategy, operations, tactics, force planning, and cost-cutting; fostered their development; and placed them in critical positions to take advantage of their energy and effectiveness

Focused intelligence efforts, including open-source analyses, on determining the Soviets strategy, operational concepts, vulnerabilities, and weaknesses, and disseminated them throughout the Navys operational leadership and the fleet, to counter the Warsaw Pact military decisively

Expanded and learned from robust programs of at-sea exercises, war games, real-world operations, conferences, murder boards, and historical naval analyses

Adopted justifiable and achievable force goals, consistently sticking to them and ensuring they were resourced

Cut procurement costs, especially through competitive, firm fixed-price contracts, while opposing gold plated design changes

Upgraded existing designs and systems and did not chase research & development rainbows

Accomplished and integrated all these efforts through strong presidential, secretarial, CNO, and CMC leadership

The Navy and Marine Corps today face challenges similar to those of the late 1970s. The force is tired from 20 years of nonstop operations in the Central Command area of responsibility. Procurement has been insufficient to build and maintain a force needed to meet the demands levied against it. And the American people do not have a strong, visceral connection to the Navyhaving been told by successive generations of political leaders from both parties that their country has the strongest, best military in the world, while they were at the same time cutting budgets and increasing demands year after year. All is not lost, however. We have been in such a situation before, and with strong political and military leadership, we can rebuild the Sea Services.

Maritime Strategy for the 21st Century by Thomas Mahnken

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Getting Back On Top: How to Rebuild the Navy - USNI News

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md.

Here are some of U.S. Cyber Commands (CYBERCOM) most impactful moments of 2021:

Over the last year, the cyber security community has encountered new challenges and worked to adapt and respond in innovative ways. Ransomware is no longer considered just criminal activity, but a threat to national defense and infrastructure; deterrence is conducted across multiple domains simultaneously; and the value of cyber defense partnerships across nations is reasserted again and again.

This year started with the dissemination of vaccines to essential workers as well as vulnerable populations.Pictured here is U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William J. Hartman, commander of the Cyber National Mission Force, receiving his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Jan. 11, 2021. Despite a global pandemic, CYBERCOM still conducted cyber operations vital to the Nations defense. Read more about the Commands early vaccination approach here.

This year also saw a rise in cyber challenges that CYBERCOM rose to meet and overcome through various means, including full-spectrum cyber operations.

CYBERCOM Commander U.S. Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone recently highlighted the work both CYBERCOM and the National Security Agency (NSA) have performed against foreign ransomware actors, including conducting successful offensive cyber operations that disrupted their malicious activity. CYBERCOM focuses on the away game, executing operations in foreign spaces against foreign actors.

For example, when Russian intelligence actors compromised a supply chain of cybersecurity vendors to conduct espionage, CYBERCOM deployed an elite defensive cyber unit, called a hunt forward team, to hunt for additional Russian activity. They found and disclosed new malware that was being used to enable malicious cyber activity. That malware was shared with our partners to stop the actors and mitigate the ongoing compromise. These operations were conducted by the Cyber National Mission Force, the Commands national offensive and defensive cyber unit. Read more about this mission and the benefit of hunt forward operationshere.

ere.

AsGeneral Nakasone said this year, partnerships are the lifeblood that makes us so different than our adversaries. The Command has benefited from a historic partnership with the Five Eyes, but there are other partnerships with likeminded nations that we will continue to work.

Cyber is a team sport, and training and working along with our partners ensures we know how each of our cyber operations teams would respond in any situation. We accomplish this through CYBERCOMs bilateral exercise programs.

Cyber Fort III With our partners from Frances Cyber Defense Forces, cyber defenders from the two countries exercised with more than 70 participants, 400 simulated users, 450 simulated networks and subnets, and 1,000 different simulated systems.

Cyber Dome VI Brought our partners from the Israel Defense Forces Joint Cyber Defense Directorate (JCDD) for a hands-on-keyboard defensive cloud-based training exercise. The exercise brought together joint defensive cyber operators from the two countries and involved more than 75 participants.

Both bilateral exercises simulate the relevant tactics, techniques, and procedures of advanced persistent threats that we confront both today and in the future.

Read more about Cyber Fort IIIhere.

Integrated Deterrence is a key aspect of our Nations success in the era of strategic competition. Strategic competition is alive and well in cyberspace, and the Command does its part every single day via persistent engagement efforts. How does CYBERCOM stay persistently engaged in multi-domain and multi-capable operations? One example is by sending a U.S. Air Force Cyber Protection Team to defend vital networks on a B-1 Lancer during a U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. European Command strategic deterrence mission. Cyber defense is one part of integrated strategic deterrence, achieved by denying any malicious cyber actor access to critical platforms like the B-1 Lancer. Read morehere.

Pictured here are two Estonian defensive cyber operators, wearing the insignia of the Estonian Defence Forces Cyber and Information Operations Centre, testing their skills and ability to detect enemy presence, expel it, and identify solutions to harden simulated networks during CYBERCOMs CYBER FLAG 21-1 exercise. More than 200 cyber operators from 23 countries participated in the Department of Defenses largest multinational cyber exercise, designed to help us bolster our collective defense against cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructure and key resources. Defensive cyber teams from Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and others participated in CYBER FLAG 21-1 using CYBERCOMs real-time virtual training environment. Read more about this exercisehere.

We wrapped up the year with our Commander, Gen. Nakasone, who provided ABC News and the public with an exclusive look into our Joint Integrated Cyber Center and insight into how we defend the nation in cyberspace. It was a great opportunity to showcase how CYBERCOM and NSA workwith our interagency, industry and international partners.You can view ABCs special reporthere.

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2021: A Year in Review > US Cyber Command > News - United States Cyber Command

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