Pearl Harbor’s Water Still Unsafe
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The Navy urged residents to conserve water after a fourth water main break near Pearl Harbor occurred on its system Monday, adding to the list of problems for some 93,000 nearby residents who faced a fuel contamination crisis last year, reports CivilBeat.org. Military officials advised drinking and cooking water should continue to be boiled and estimate it will be seven to 10 days before the system is fixed. Three breaks occurred Friday at: the Hawaiian Electric Co. power station on Kamehameha Highway; Salt Lake Boulevard and Namur Road; and the Joint Base Annex at West Loch. Monday’s break occurred at Pearl City.
The Army updated an Oct. 15 story on its Army.mill website, nothing an Oct. 17 lifting of the boil water advisory for military housing at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham. Water quality tests at Aliamanu Military Reservation and Red Hill had shown “your water is clean and safe to drink, it says.
The water main break has delayed the start of the Red Hill pipeline defueling on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham, reports USNI News. The removal of 1.16 million gallons of fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility also on JBPHH was to begin Monday, but the Friday water main break affected the systems that were to be used for removing the fuel.
Marijuana use is becoming a new normal among young adults, reports The Hill. More than two-fifths of young men and women now use cannabis at least on occasion. Young women are a big part of the growth as a gender gap on the use of marijuana closes. Across the entire adult population, marijuana use may have hit an all-time high.
US Transportation Command favors buying used sealift ships, reports Defense News, recapitalizing used vessels over designing and building new ones. The command says 37 of the 50 large roll-on/roll-off vessels in the sealift fleet — many converted car carriers that would haul heavy platforms and gear into theater — are set to retire in the next decade.
The US may require electronic warfare defenses for commercial planes and ships conducting military lift operations, reports c4isrnet, the technology would lets them navigate and communicate even when an adversary is trying to jam their systems. The consideration is part of the US Transportation Command effort to mature its joint force sustainability in a contested environment.
A UN report finds plastics contaminate soil across the world, reports UPI. “We are starting to understand that the build-up of plastic can have wide-ranging impacts on soil health, biodiversity, and productivity, all of which are vital for food security,” said the report’s co-author, Elaine Baker of the Univ. of Sydney. Plastics can break down into shards that affect soil’s water retention and interfere with the ability of plants to absorb water from their roots. The report identifies agricultural plastics such as seed casings, protective films, and products that are added to biosolid fertilizer, as major contributors to the increase in plastic contamination.
President Joe Biden touts Monday’s launch of the student loan forgiveness website, reports FCW. “It’s easy, simple and fast,” he said. “No forms to upload. No special login to remember. It’s available in English and in Spanish on desktop and mobile.”
The Army’s ‘mixed reality’ goggles left troops with headaches, reports Army Times. The report, which was obtained by Bloomberg News, said soldiers complained of headaches, eyestrain, and nausea, with 80% of those who experienced discomfort noting that their symptoms started after less than three hours of using the goggles.
L3Harris wants to add drone data streams to night vision goggles, reports Defense One. The Army selected in 2020, L3Harris and Elbit Systems of America to develop night-vision goggles to fit over a soldier’s helmet and give key information, such as location and map data, thermal imaging, target finding, connected to a soldier’s weapon for accurate shooting. L3Harris wants its version of the goggles to include data from more sources, including unmanned systems.
Bird flu kills close to a record number of chickens and turkeys in the US, reports Reuters. This year’s outbreak of avian flu is a different form of the virus than farmers battled before and has infected more wild birds that then transmit the disease. More than 47 million birds have died due to infections and cullings. This has spurred export bans, lowered egg and turkey production, and contributed to record prices.
The US Air Force tests an exoskeleton to give cargo-loading porters a boost, allowing aerial porters to load cargo onto aircraft with fewer injuries and less fatigue, reports Defense News. The Forge System exoskeleton is designed to augment the leg strength of aerial porters, who are in charge of managing and loading passengers and cargo on and off mobility aircraft, with pneumatically-powered leg braces and a backpack.
The US Navy tests reloading missiles on a destroyer in San Diego Bay, open ocean tests will be a tougher task, reports USNI News. This is the first time the Navy has used an offshore support vessel to reload the vertical launch system aboard a warship. It was the latest test in the Navy’s quest to best resupply its warships during a high-end conflict.
Lawmakers seek emergency powers for the Pentagon’s Ukraine war contracting, reports Defense News. Bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate would grant the Pentagon wartime procurement powers, allowing it to buy high-priority munitions using multi-year contracts to help Ukraine fight Russia and to refill US stockpiles. The Senate Armed Services Committee’s chairman, Jack Reed (D-RI) and ranking member Jim Inhofe (R-OK) proposed the legislation as an amendment to the annual defense authorization bill, which the Senate is expected to vote on in November.
Russia and Ukraine just completed one of the war’s biggest prisoner swaps, Russia freed 108 Ukrainian women in exchange for 110 Russians , reports Business Insider. Of the 108 Ukrainian women released, 37 were evacuees from the Avostal steel plant in Mariupol, 11 were officers, and 85 were privates and non-commissioned officers, tweeted Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
On Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022, Earth will experience a partial solar eclipse that will be visible from parts of Europe, western Asia, and northeast Africa. For the rest of us, we can watch the last solar eclipse of the year, Oct. 25, 2022, online for free, reports Space.com. The sun will appear as if a monstrous bite has been taken from it – but only from some parts of the planet. The partial solar eclipse will begin at 4:58am EDT on Oct. 25 when the moon passes in front of the sun and will end at approximately 9:01am EDT.
Contracts:
AOC Solutions Inc.,* Fairfax, Virginia (SP4704-23-A-0500); Blake Willson Group LLC,* doing business as BWG, Arlington, Virginia (SP4704-23-A-0501); Integrated Finance and Accounting Solutions LLC,* Woodbridge, Virginia (SP4704-23-A-0502); Lynch Consultants LLC,* Arlington, Virginia (SP4704-23-A-0503); MDC Global Solutions LLC,* Manassas, Virginia (SP4704-23-A-0504); and New River Systems Corp.,* Ashburn, Virginia (SP4704-23-A-0505), are sharing an estimated $181,125,713 firm-fixed-price blanket purchase agreement under solicitation SP4704-21-Q-0004 for financial improvement and audit readiness support services. This was a competitive acquisition set aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses with 11 responses received. These are five‐year contracts with no option periods. Location of performance is Washington, D.C., with an Oct. 17, 2027, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2023 through 2027 defense working capital funds and various other funding. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Contracting Services Office, Richmond, Virginia.
