SoMd Engineers Find Inexpensive Ventilator Work-Around

Southern Maryland engineers Grant and Brandi Gerstner and Rachel Labatt devise a cheap work-around to provide ventilators needed in the coronavirus pandemic. The business incubator at  St. Mary’s Aviation Park seeks additional support for the work.

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.

Southern Maryland engineers were spotlighted on NBC Channel 4 News in Washington for a game changer in saving lives during the coronavirus pandemic — rewiring breast pumps to serve as ventilators. The team of engineers Grant Gerstner, Brandi Gerstner, and Rachel Labatt  included Tom Luginbill, director of the TechPort UAS business incubator at St. Mary’s Aviation Park helping to facilitate the work. To find out how you can contribute, or potentially help get the device into a biomedical simulation lab, contact them at [email protected].

The biggest threat to US national security is a lack of trust in senior military leadership, reports Military Times, citing the firing of Navy Capt. Brett Crozier’s as another toxic example of a pattern growing at an increasing pace for the past several years. The associated resignation of Acting NavSec Thomas Modly has capped a 24-hour public relations fiasco, says Navy Times. Mr. Modly’s resignation follows his handling of the firing of Capt. Crozier for making public the COVID-19 threat in the carrier he commanded. The captain has since tested positive for the virus.

The Pentagon’s supply chain is under siege as companies close and work at fractional capacities, reports Defense News. One example is a week’s closure quietly announced by Eaton Aerospace, a mid-tier supplier of parts such as fuel pumps and hydraulics to defense primes for aircraft like the KC-46 tanker and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Veteran Affairs coronavirus cases top 3,000 nationwide and deaths approach 150, reports Military Times. Across all VA sites, 3,038 patients have tested positive, about 11% of all of the cases tested by the department, a tripling in the past 10 days.

A sailor aboard a fourth carrier tests positive for coronavirus as USS Nimitz prepares to deploy, reports Politico. The sailor isolated and removed from the ship and those who came into contact with the infected sailor — was done in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Afghanistan peace deal: Taliban walk out of “fruitless” talks, reports BBC. It was meant to be a step toward ending the war, but the Taliban say Afghan officials are trying to delay the release, while officials say the militants’ demands are unreasonable.

 

 

China ended Wednesday its lockdown of Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus first emerged, reports  The New York Times. The city was closed more than 10 weeks and will be watched worldwide for lessons on how populations move past pain and calamity of such staggering magnitude.

The launch of three US spy satellites is delayed due to COVID-19, reports C4ISRNET. The launch from New Zealand is delayed at least until April 23.

The Army plans to issue “black or camouflage” non-surgical face masks to soldiers, reports Military.com to help control the spread of the novel coronavirus. Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston said that soldiers should follow the face-covering guidance the service issued Monday evening until it can provide masks for them. “We are going to get you the masks,” he said. “In the near term, we will get you something either black or camouflage to put on.”

Army astronaut accused of committing crime in space is cleared; ex-wife charged with making false statements, reports Army Times. The ex-wife of an Army helicopter pilot and astronaut has been charged with making false statements to authorities after she alleged the Army officer unlawfully accessed her bank account from the International Space Station, federal prosecutors said in an indictment unsealed Monday.

Glenn Fine, the acting Defense Department inspector general and a veteran watchdog, was removed as part of a conflict between President Donald Trump and the watchdog community tasked with identifying mismanagement and problems inside government agencies. The move threatens to upend the rigorous oversight that Democrats in Congress demanded for the huge sums of money being pumped into the American economy because of the virus.

DoD’s longest-serving employee passes away after 77 years of service, reports Federal News Network. Sarkis Tatigian joined the Navy in 1942 and remained until his death this week at the age of 96. He enlisted as a radio inspector at the now-defunct Philadelphia Naval Shipyard — went on to become the small business advocate at Naval Sea Systems Command.