Admirals Leave Villas Behind, Move Back on Base

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 reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

Admirals are moving into on-base housing overseas to cut Navy housing costs, reports Military.com. A 2013 Congressional report criticized several overseas military commands for the high cost of housing for some officers, villas in Naples were noted in the report.

Two cases impacting federal procurement rules and procedures are on the Supreme Court docket, FCW reports the decisions could have big implications for federal contractors, but will be slow coming due to the recent death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.

Fox News posts satellite images of an advanced surface-to-air missile system deployed by China to one of its contested islands in the South China Sea.

In a show of force against North Korea, the US flew four F-22 stealth fighters low over South Korea Wednesday, AP reports, a day after South Korea’s president warned of the North’s collapse as a result of its nuclear and missile ambitions.

Robots modeled on cockroaches can access and survive a disaster area that would put a person at risk. Defense Systems reports, Berkeley researchers at the University of California-Berkeley used Army support to develop a prototype.

The US Coast Guard began a 10-day hearing this week regarding the El Faro sinking that killed all 33 crew members aboard during a hurricane Oct. 1, 2015. Reuters reports, the ship’s owners place the responsibility upon the captain, which the USCG board questions. The National Transportation Safety Board will try again in April to recover the ship’s voyage data recorder still in the wreckage at the bottom of the Atlantic.

Navy to fire electromagnetic rail gun at sea, reports Warrior. The rail gun uses electromagnetic current to fire warheads up to 100 miles at more than 5,000 mph, at least three times faster existing weapons. The Navy is looking to future configurations on destroyers, the weapon’s operating technology is considered too large for the Littoral Combat Ships.

Radioactive material stolen in Iraq  raises security fears that Isis could acquire it. Reuters reports, Iraqi officials are searching for “highly dangerous” radioactive material stolen last year.