Mississippi R. Bottoming-Out

Photo courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory

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.

Critically low water levels in the Mississippi River tighten limits in a key US export hub.  The US Coast Guard have limited vessel drafts to 41 feet upriver of the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, the nation’s eighth-largest by tonnage, according to gCaptain. That’s down from 45 feet, a level at which vessels are encountering problems as drought dries up the waterway.

Military exchange is teaming up with Home Depot to sell and deliver appliances, reports Military Times. Military exchange customers shopping for major appliances such as refrigerators, washers, and dryers are gaining more options such as  improved delivery and installation services by spring, 2023, via the new partnership the exchange is establishing with Home Depot.

Military Times reports a person is in custody after a day-long ‘barricade situation’ on Sunday at Fort Belvoir. WUSA9 reported that the situation was inside a home on the base in Fairfax County, VA. The base is home to several Army command headquarters, elements of the Army Reserve and National Guard, nine DoD agencies, 2,154 family housing quarters, and seven child youth service facilities..

The littoral combat ship Jackson wraps up its first deployment with decommissioning on its horizon, reports Navy Times. The Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan also calls for decommissioning  fellow Independence-class littoral combat ship Montgomery. The two ships, commissioned in 2015 and 2016, are slated for decommissioning in 2024, although the Navy seeks to expand the littoral combat ship’s presence in the Pacific to six.

The National Guard continues to struggle with duty status and benefits reform as suicide rates refuse to decline, reports Military Times. The Guard’s suicide rate has remained relatively unchanged for a decade as Pentagon planners are seemingly unable to get proper resources to part-time troops, and that’s partly due to the various duty statuses they operate under. While on state orders or off duty, they have limited access to resources such as behavioral health specialists. “We see them two-three days a month, and it’s a challenge for us. We try to provide the resources,” MAJ GEN Eric K. Little, director, National Guard Bureau Manpower and Personnel.

 

 

 

Customs and Border Protection, the largest law enforcement agency in the nation – 64,000 employees – pledges to hire a lot more women, reports vexec.com, becoming the second federal agency to commit to ensuring at least 30% of its annual recruit class by 2030 is female. CBP noted it has a long way to go to meet the target as it joined more than 200 state, local, and federal agencies to make the commitment. The organization leading those entities is known as the 30X30 Initiative.

A Marine boot camp study calls for mixed-gender drill instructor teams, reports Marine Corp Times, but the Marines aren’t sure they can do it. The Marine Corps has received the findings of a detailed independent study on gender-integration at boot camp, but leaders say they may not be able to implement a top recommendations: making sure every recruit is trained by both male and female drill instructors.

New Pentagon abortion policy draws criticism from Republicans and praise from Democrats, reports Military Times. The DoD plans to provide leave and cover travel costs for troops seeking abortions.

NASA orders three more Orion spacecraft from Lockheed Martin, reports Joint-Forces.com. The spacecraft are for NASA’s Artemis VI-VIII exploration missions which seek to carry astronauts into deep space and around the Moon. “The order includes spacecraft, mission planning, and support, and takes us into the 2030s,” said Lisa Callahan, vice president and general manager for Commercial Civil Space, Lockheed Martin.

A new NATO surveillance operation in the Mediterranean establishes closer ties with Australia and other Indo-Pacific partners, reports Stars and Stripes. The new NATO partnership with the Australian air force enhanced allied surveillance this month over the Mediterranean Sea, where maritime patrol aircraft adept at anti-submarine warfare took flight. The deployment was an outgrowth of efforts by NATO to establish closer ties with Indo-Pacific partners such as Australia.

Sir Salman Rushdie has lost sight in one eye, reports BBC, and also has about 15 more wounds in his chest following his stabbing in New York in August, according to his agent Andrew Wylie, who did not disclose the novelist’s location. Sir Salman has faced death threats since publication of his 1988 novel THE SATANIC VERSES, which some Muslims regard as blasphemous. The man charged over the August attack, US-born Hadi Matar, 24, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.

China’s Xi expands his powers and promotes his allies, reports AP News. President Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful leader in decades, was named on Sunday to another term as head of the ruling Communist Party in a break with tradition. He promoted allies supportive of tighter control over society and the struggling economy.

A prototype air defense interceptor for Marine Corps passes its third and final live-fire test, reports Marine Corp Times.com.  The success of the medium-range air defense prototype using Israeli-made Iron Dome Tamir missiles is a promising sign for the interceptor system, coming months after the Corps announced plans to procure it. In the recent trial, as in the previous two trials, Marines tested whether the Tamir missiles could shoot down a variety of targets in the air when launched from the Corps’ Medium-Range Intercept Capability, or MRIC, system prototype.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros will advance to the World Series, reports CNN. The Houston Astros are once again heading for the World Series after sweeping the New York Yankees in the best-of-four League Championship Series. The Astros advanced to the World Series for the fourth time in six years and will now face the Philadelphia Phillies, who beat the San Diego Padres to win the National League Championship Series earlier on Sunday.

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