March 29, 2024

Wind Farm “Jeopardizes” NAS Pax River

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 necessarily reflect those of the Leader’s owners or staff.Morning Coffee logo

The proposed $200-million Great Bay Wind Center is sparking strong resistance due to the project’s potential aesthetic, environmental and economic costs, according to The Washington Times. The commentator believes that any economic benefits derived from the wind farm project will be overshadowed by the damage the facility could inflict on the Chesapeake Bay region, including jeopardizing NAS Pax River by interfering with its flight testing radar. The base has more than 20,000 employees and provides indirect jobs to thousands more, in addition to adding $7.5 billion annually into Maryland’s economy. The Times concludes, “Subsidized by taxpayers and sanctioned by a governor eager to burnish his green credentials for a possible presidential bid, the project is tailor-made to harm wildlife and people alike, and to despoil one of the nation’s natural treasures.”

A DoD website has helped the government gain insight into the defense industry’s research-and-development projects and improved face-to-face meetings between contractors and their military counterparts, according to DefenseNews. The “Defense Innovation Marketplace” website allows the Pentagon to post what types of technology it is seeking and companies can post the types of research they’re conducting. The information is not shared between companies.

President Obama informed Congress last week that he plans to cap 2015’s military basic pay raise at 1 percent, unless Congress comes up with an alternative idea, reports Military Times. This is the second consecutive time that Mr. Obama offered service members a pay hike that lags behind expected private-sector wage growth. The 2014 pay raise was also 1 percent. Those are the lowest basic pay raises since the beginning of the all-volunteer era in 1973.

Pratt & Whitney will begin testing a design change this week to fix the problem that caused a massive engine failure on a F-35 fighter jet in June, reports Reuters. The F135 engine failure grounded the entire F-35 fleet for several weeks this summer and prevented the newest and most advanced US warplane from making its international debut at two UK air shows. Flights have resumed but with restrictions on speed and other maneuvers.

The 2014 Navy Retention Study cited a “widespread distrust of senior leadership” as its “most troubling” key finding, report SEAPOWER Magazine. The study found that “37.2 percent regard senior leadership as marginal or poor,’’ 51.3 percent don’t believe senior leaders care what they think, and 50.1 percent of sailors do not believe senior leaders hold themselves accountable.

USNI News takes a detailed look at the John Walker spy ring and “the US Navy’s biggest betrayal.” The notorious spy died in prison on August 28, twenty-five years after the FBI finally arrested him and shut off the most damaging espionage leak in Navy history.

Military families plan to spend more on back-to-school shopping than they did last year, even as widespread concerns about sequestration and defense downsizing continue to prompt many of them to curb everyday spending, according to BusinessWire.

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