March 28, 2024

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Donations for the placement of Memorial Day flowers at the gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery are significantly short of the target goal, according to a national florist organization that has been placing the flowers at the grave sites for more than a decade.

Reaper Drone Gave Soleimani Little Chance

Reaper

General Atomics’ Reaper drone had Soleimani in its sights upon his commercial plane’s arrival in Baghdad. The $64 million drone is armed with laser-guided Hellfire air-to-surface missiles used in attacks on high-value terrorists.

Gilday, New Navy CNO, Takes Command

Gilday

New Chief of Naval Operations ADM Michael Gilday took over as the highest uniformed office in the sea service last week. He says the Navy “will think differently.”

Misconduct Allegations Stall DoD’s Cloud Contract Award

cloud computing

President Trump’s concern that the DoD $10B cloud-computing contract is biased toward Amazon prompts DefSec Mark Esper to order another review of the acquisition process. The competition is between Amazon and Microsoft.

UK to Join US Navy in Strait of Hormuz

Strait of Hormuz

Britain will join a US-led naval security mission in the Strait of Hormuz, raising tensions in the region. Iran’s foreign minister calls the US ratcheting up of sanctions a “failure” for diplomacy.

Might a Fitness Band Replace Fitness Tests?

fitness

The technology exists to make a fitness band for sailors that could replace the semi-annual fitness test and create a “culture of fitness,” says Juan M. Garcia III, the former assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs and retired Navy Reserve captain.

$738B for DoD Not Enough, Says GOP

DoD

The nearly $1.4 trillion spending plan — which would prevent a government shutdown this fall and do away with the final two years of budget caps known as sequestration — includes about $738 billion for DoD in FY2020, a 3 percent increase from current year levels.

F-35 Will Miss Readiness Mark

F-35

Presumptive DefSec Mark Esper says the F-35 won’t hit 80 percent readiness this year, held back by a cockpit part that improves stealth performance.

China Lake at Epicenter of Quakes

China Lake

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake was identified as the epicenter of the two major July 4 and 5 earthquakes and many more smaller quakes. The base remains “not mission capable” and closed to all but essential personnel. Water and power had been restored to most of the base by Tuesday.

Will Hefty Bonuses Get Pilots to Stay?

Bonuses

The Marine Corps’ fiscal 2020 aviation bonuses are aimed at enticing pilots to sign eight-year contracts and plug the flood of Marine aviators trading in their military wings to fly civilian skies.