Raytheon's fighting obesity : Melbourne Indymedia

Raytheon Recognized for Promoting Healthy Lifestyles for its Employees
Wednesday June 22, 11:00 am ET

WALTHAM, Mass -- The Raytheon Company received a Gold Award today for its commitment to combating obesity and promoting healthy lifestyles for its employees from the National Business Group on Health.

Raytheon was among 22 employers who received the "Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles" award at the Obesity Leadership Summit sponsored by the Business Group's Institute on the Costs and Health Effects of Obesity, Tuesday, June 21.

Launched in 2002, the Raytheon Health and Wellness Program focuses on evidence-based programming to reduce health risks by encouraging healthy behaviors including proper nutrition, physical activity, tobacco cessation, stress management, and healthcare consumerism. Raytheon drives a healthy culture by leveraging the expertise of both internal and external partners, providing an integrated and targeted approach to programming. The company's goal is to optimize healthy behaviors and to link those behaviors to an improved health status for employees.

The Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards program was created by the Institute on the Costs and Health Effects of Obesity to honor those who recognize the urgent need to improve their workers' health, productivity and quality of life. The underlying goal of the program is to serve as a catalyst to encourage all employers to take action.

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN - News), with 2004 sales of $20.2 billion, is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 80,000 people worldwide.

With the awarding of $13,172,200 in Common Missile contracts, the PEO for Tactical Missiles is moving forward in its CM development efforts. Raytheon, Tucson, Ariz., Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, Fla., and the Boeing Company, Huntsville, began risk reduction, concept and technology development work which was completed in fiscal 2003. At that time the Program Executive Office evaluated the capabilities to build the Common Missile. The Army's inventory of TOW 2A, TOW 2B and Hellfire missiles will be replaced by 73,000 Common Missiles, with low-rate initial production scheduled for fiscal 2008 and first unit equipped in fiscal 2010.

The Joint Common Missile (JCM) program will be the first Missile program to reach a Milestone B decision without conducting a live fire test. This is due to the dependence they have placed on Modeling and Simulation (M&S) as opposed to a full prototype test. Previously in 2002 Ahmed Hijazi and five other suspected al Qaeda operatives were killed by a five-foot long Hellfire missile launched from a remote controlled CIA Predator aircraft as they rode in a vehicle 100 miles east of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

Hijazi held U.S. citizenship and was also a citizen of an unidentified Middle Eastern country, a senior administration official confirmed.
In some cases since Sept. 11, American citizens have been arrested and afforded traditional legal rights in the criminal justice system. In others, they have been captured and held indefinitely in military brigs as "enemy combatants." Now, at least in Hijazi's case, a citizen has been killed in a covert military action.

What's more, Hijazi was killed in a country considered at peace with the United States, although U.S. officials say the strike was carried out with the approval and cooperation of Yemen's government.

"This is an extraordinary change of threshold," said one former intelligence operative who praised the tactic as particularly effective.

"Raytheon is honored to accept this award," said Keith Peden, Raytheon senior vice president of Human Resources. "We believe that promoting healthy lifestyles for our employees helps to create a healthier, more productive workforce."