Bill Would Create Medal of Honor Monument
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Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) have introduced the National Medal of Honor Monument Act. Senate Bill 4433 would create a monument to honor the more than 3,500 medal recipients who have performed extraordinary valor in combat, reports Military Times. No federal funds would be used to create the monument, reports the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, which would be responsible for raising funds to cover expenses.
DefSec Mark Esper said that about 5,000 US troops would remain in Afghanistan by the end of November, reports The Hill. Esper cautioned troop reduction would be “conditions-based” and carried out as long as the Pentagon felt it could proceed with missions in the region with fewer troops.
A traditional Afghan council agreed Sunday to free 400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistan’s warring sides, reports The Associated Press. The move looks to bring the US a little closer to bringing home its troops.
The Mount Vernon Lee Chamber has renewed its partnership with Fort Belvoir, reports Virginia Connection Newspapers. The decade-old Army Community Covenant is designed to foster and sustain effective community partnerships with the US Army to improve the quality of life for soldiers and their families stationed there.
Fort Belvoir is awaiting the opening of a new National Museum of the US Army, reports WJLA ABC7. For more than a dozen years volunteers have been donating time and money to build this museum on Fort Belvoir.
The number of new cases of COVID-19 among service members shows a drop is the virus’ rate of spread, reports Military Times. With 2,856 new positives last week, a 10% bump, the military showed a continued downward trend for new cases, after spikes in June and July.
US troops looking to travel on temporary duty, for a permanent change-of-station, or for vacation will have to complete a risk assessment, and possibly a restriction-of-movement before and/or after, reports Military Times. DoD released its Force Health Protection Guidance last week.
With confirmed coronavirus cases in the US hitting 5 million Sunday, reports The Associated Press, the failure of the most powerful nation in the world to contain the scourge has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe. Patch.com reports the number of children testing positive for COVID in the US continues to rise. Much remains unknown about the risk the virus causes to children, reports The Washington Post.
The Defense Logistics Agency is giving state and local government organizations a new option for purchasing non-medical personal protective equipment through the COVID-19 Contingency Corridor in FedMall, the government e-commerce platform, reports globenewswire.com.
The $765M federal government loan to support pharmaceutical production by Eastman Kodak is on hold, POLITICO reports, after the agency reviewing the deal said it wants to address “recent allegations of wrongdoing.”
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week that the veterans unemployment rate fell for a third month in a row in July but still is nearly double the level recorded before the pandemic started, reports Military Times.
Virgin Galactic unveiled a concept for a new civilian high-speed aircraft, reports The Aviationist. The aircraft — with no official name yet — is said to be capable of continuous Mach 3 flight at an altitude above 60,000 feet.
Northrop Grumman is expected to be awarded a delivery order to provide analysis support for demonstration activities involving the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial system, reports GovConWire.
United Launch Alliance and SpaceX are the winners in the Space Force’s National Security Space Launch program, reports Breaking Defense. ULA’s award is $337M for two launches, and SpaceX’s award is $316M for one launch.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Aug. 7, 2020) Chief of Naval Operations ADM Mike Gilday addresses the US Naval Academy Class of 2024 in Alumni Hall. ADM Gilday’s visit comes toward the end of the class’ Plebe Summer, which is a summer training program designed to “turn civilians into midshipmen.” (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Raymond D. Diaz III)
The US Naval Academy is bringing students back to for the fall semester, reports Stars and Stripes, with a mix on in-person and online learning.
On the auction block today, Aug. 11 … a Cold War-era missile silo in North Dakota, near the Canadian border. The defunct site, one of many built to protect the US from Soviet attacks over the Arctic, was armed at one time with defensive missiles intended to shoot down any indirect fire, reports Military Times. Online bidding begins at 10 am, according to Pifer’s.com.
A soldier and an ex-federal employee have pleaded guilty to stealing and selling more than $1 million in military gear on eBay, reports Army Times. The property had been taken from a Texas National Guard camp.
A series of small earthquakes occurred Monday morning on the southern San Andreas fault, reports The San Diego Union-Tribune. The quakes appear to be occurring on a fault that runs perpendicular to the San Andreas near the Salton Sea, northeast of San Diego, and could affect movement on the fault, a local seismologist said.
