2nd US Aircraft Carrier Deploys to Mediterranean
Five thousand sailors are headed to the Mediterranean Sea aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the flagship of the Ike carrier strike group. The ship deployed Saturday from Norfolk, VA. The Eisenhower’s deployment comes amid rising tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. The strike group will join the USS Gerald R. Ford already in international waters off of Israel.
Hamas Holds American Hostages
At least 14 Americans were killed in the attacks by Hamas militants that plunged Israel into war. That number could rise along with the overall death toll in Israel. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Israel and at least 830 in Gaza by retaliatory strikes. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said there are 20 American citizens unaccounted for, at least some of whom are believed to be Hamas hostages.
Morning Coffee Is Off the Burner
Morning Coffee, a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community, is off the burner for a fall break. We’ll be back Thursday, October 12, 2023.
Where DoD Spends Its Defense Dollars
The Defense Department’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation’s latest report on where the Pentagon spends it defense dollars has Maryland in the No. 6 spot. According to the fiscal 2022 report, $26.4 billion was spent on defense contracts and personnel in the state. Virginia claimed the top spot on the list.
Lawmakers Try to Protect Troops’ Paychecks
While seeking ways to avoid a government shutdown, some lawmakers are working to exempt the paychecks of troops if a furlough of government workers does occur. Legislators accomplished this in 2013 just before a16-day shutdown.
DoD Funds 8 New Microelectronics Commons Hubs
The US Defense Department will award $238 million to eight regional “innovation hubs” around the country which will be a part of the new Microelectronics Commons. The hubs are expected to spur development of a domestic microelectronics manufacturing industry. Three of the hubs are located on the East Coast in Massachusetts, North Carolina, and New York.
Un-Piloted F35B Lost and Found
The crash over the weekend in South Carolina of the $100M aircraft leaves questions about why the pilot ejected and how the F35 flew pilotless for 60 miles before crashing. One answer might be that only the Marine’s variant of the F35 has an auto-eject function on its ejection seat.
CNO: Navy 7,000 Short on New Recruits
The US Navy is likely to miss its recruiting goals this year, acting Chief of Naval Operations ADM Lisa Franchetti told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week. “We’re going to be about 7,000 short,” she said.
Candidate Chatbots Go Live
Chat2024 unveiled this week the AI-powered avatars of 17 leading presidential candidates. Each chatbot is trained on reams of data generated from at least a hundred sources. Users can query the bots individually, ask the same question of all 17 at once, or set any two of them against each other in one-on-one debates directed by user input.
Nation Commemorates 9/11 22nd Anniversary
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City will host its annual commemoration ceremony honoring the people killed in the 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93, reports ABC7 New York on MSN.com. The ceremony begins at 8:30am.
