100% ID Check at Pax River
NAS Patuxent River has instituted a 100 % ID check policy for all personnel entering the base. While the Trusted Traveler Program remains in effect, all vehicle passengers must present valid state or federal government ID in order to gain entry to the base.
Sky Watchers Await Rare Celestial Event
A total solar eclipse will sweep across North America today, April 8, blocking out the sun momentarily for millions of viewers along a path stretching from northern Mexico to Maine. 2017 was the last time the US experienced a total solar eclipse, and there will not be another until 2044.
Win a Spot Aboard USS Constitution
A free lottery has opened to win a spot aboard the USS Constitution’s July 4, 2024, underway demonstration. The lottery will select, at random, 150 people to join the crew as they set sail in Boston Harbor. Each person selected will be allowed to bring one guest. The Constitution remains a ceremonial and training ship of the Navy’s, served by active-duty sailors.
Army Corps Leads Effort on Bridge Cleanup
The US Army Corps of Engineers is deploying more than 1,100 personnel to Baltimore, following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge into the Patapsco River on Tuesday. Naval Sea Systems Command is contracting out a variety of vessels to the harbor to help with clearing and reopening of the channel after a tanker struck the bridge.
Army Practices Combat Alongside Robots
The US Army’s experimenting with human-machine warfare included a combat simulation with an overwhelming group of air- and ground-based machine fighters, including a four-legged dog robot, who fought alongside troops. The military posted video of the collaboration.
It’s Show Time for the Navy’s Elite Pilots
The US Navy’s Blue Angels in a flyover across the Navy-Marine Stadium in Annapolis, MD, in 2020. (DoD photo) 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. The US Navy’s elite pilots are headed for the big screen again. “The Blue Angels,” a new documentary, will make its way to Amazon Prime and IMAX theaters, reports NBC News. The film follows the service’s flight demonstration squadron as it enters its 78th year….
Lawmakers Question Biden’s Gaza Pier
Lawmakers from both parties question how building a pier to deliver aid to Gaza will work, including assurances of safety for troops and aid delivery as well as whether the venture is necessary, even as five US Army vessels set sail for Gaza from the East Coast this week.
Navy’s Ospreys Are Back in the Air
The US and Japan have resumed flights of the Osprey aircraft in Japan after completing the necessary maintenance and training following a fatal crash that killed eight airmen in southern Japan last year.
F-35s Certified to Carry Nukes
In addition to carrying conventional weapons, the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter has been operationally certified to carry the B61-12 thermonuclear gravity bomb, making it the first 5th generation nuclear capable aircraft ever, and the first new platform (fighter or bomber) to achieve this status since the early 1990s.
MD Air Guard Going Cyber
Maryland’s Warfield Air National Guard Base at Martin State Airport in Middle River is the preferred location to transition from a flying mission with aging A-10 aircraft to a cyber wing mission. The 175th Cyberspace Operations Group also operates at Warfield.
