We Fear Russia More than China
“This is Russia” by Piotr Drabik; Creative Commons licensed
Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Leader’s owners or staff.
Russia is our most feared enemy, according to Foreign Policy. Last year it was only our third most feared while China topped the list. But they swapped places in the latest Gallup Poll. Both last year and this year North Korea held second place.
Researchers found a particular form of short-term cognitive-behavioral therapy reduced suicide attempts by 60 percent in active-duty personnel, reports Military Times. The results are deemed significant, although not necessarily applicable to veterans, who were not part of the study.
The undersized missile bay on the F-35B was detailed last week by Inside Defense and picked up by the Daily Mail, which describes the F-35B as “the centerpiece of the British Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier-based fleet” and calls the B version “the most expensive and most troublesome to get off the ground.”
DARPA is leading efforts to launch satellites from the Air Force’s F-15 fighter jets to help DoD lower the cost of sending satellites into space, reports Defense Tech, and provides video.
The Navy Times reports, a 300-ship Navy by 2020 is the goal, Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition tells the House Armed Service Committee’s Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces.
Maj. Gen. Linda L. Singh became the first woman and the first African-American to take command of the Maryland National Guard. She accepted the colors of command from Gov. Hogan, reports the Baltimore Sun.
Shorter deployments are already implemented for some sailors and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jon Greenert said seven-month deployments would become the norm for the Navy over the course of the next two years, reports Navy Times.
About 600 Marines face a high-profile deployment to assess how male and female Marines perform side-by-side in various elements of a large ground combat unit. For each assessment – infantry, artillery and mechanized – Marines will be randomly divided into three groups: one of all-male Marine volunteers; one with a “high density” of female volunteers; and one “low-density female” group. The task force includes about 100 female volunteers, reports Marine Corps Times.
As news that Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) would not seek a sixth term in 2016, a growing field of Democratic also-rans in the 2014 election are already fueling speculation in the Baltimore Sun, which quoted the Senator, “Do I spend my time raising money or raising hell to meet your day-to-day needs? Do I spend time focusing on my election or the next generation? The more I thought about it, the more the answer became really clear.” Congressman Steny H. Hoyer issued a statement praising her work to “ensure that the most vulnerable in our country are protected from poverty, hunger, and disease and that the opportunities inherent in the American Dream are open to as many of our people as possible.”
