Condor to repeat NOLA flights

Condor Airlines will continue its twice-weekly, summertime non-stop flights from New Orleans to Germany in 2018. The flight, launched in May, was one of two new European connections for the Crescent City. Officials announced the renewal service Oct. 10 after the airline wrapped up its 2017 seasonal flights. The last Condor flight from Louis Armstrong International Airport to Frankfurt, Germany, for this year departed Oct. 4. Next year's Condor flights from New Orleans to Frankfurt will launch May 17 and run through Sept. 30. A 259-seat Boeing 767-300ER will fly the route. The flights are to depart NOLA on Thursdays and Sundays. Flights from Frankfurt will leave midday on Thursdays and Sundays. (Source: NOLA.com 10/10/17)

AHI delivers Army’s 400th Lakota

Airbus Helicopters Inc. delivered the Army’s 400th UH-72A Lakota helicopter fulfilling its contract requirements to date. The UH-72A is one of the key helicopter models the Army will operate for the foreseeable future, including for training at Fort Rucker, Ala. The platform is a twin-engine aircraft with a digital glass cockpit, flight controls, and navigation systems. Army and Army National Guard units operate the UH-72A in a variety of missions, including flight training, surveillance and reconnaissance, medical evacuations, border security, VIP transport and disaster response. The UH-72A is assembled at the AHI’s facility in Columbus, Miss. (Source: Defense World 10/09/17)

Orbital ATK to expand Iuka facility

Orbital ATK has plans to expand its Iuka, Miss., and begin production of the Antares, Pegasus, and Minotaur launch vehicles and a large national aerospace and defense program. The company plans to begin production on the new composite launch vehicle structures and aerospace components in the third quarter of 2017, and fill 50 new jobs by the close of 2018. The expansion investment is $10.48 million. The Mississippi Development Authority provided assistance for infrastructure and facility improvements. Tishomingo County also provided assistance. The Iuka facility currently has more than 100 employees producing large composite structures for United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles. (Source: Mississippi Business Journal 10/10/17)

Swinging doors at VA

The leader of the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system unexpectedly resigned effective Oct. 7 leaving three top VA positions unfilled by permanent undersecretaries. Dr. Poonam Alaigh, the acting undersecretary for health since May, sent a message to VA employees last week informing them of the resignation, due to family reasons. Alaigh will be replaced by Dr. Carolyn Clancy, who will take the position in an interim capacity. Clancy has been with the VA for more than 10 years and will oversee a health system of more than 160 medical centers and 1,000 clinics that serves some nine million veterans. The chiefs of two other VA sectors - benefits and cemeteries - are also temporarily filled. President Trump nominated Randy Reeves as the VA undersecretary for memorial affairs on Sept. 1. Reeves is executive director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board. He was questioned by the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee last week and must be confirmed by the full Senate before taking the post. (Source: Stars and Stripes 10/06/17) Reeves served as past president of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs. He served in the Navy, retiring with the rank of commander. Prior to his Navy stint, Reeves was an enlisted airman in the Air Force.

New boss for Vicksburg’s 412th EC

The chief of staff of the Army announced Oct. 6 that Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Daniel J. Christian, deputy commander (Troop Program Unit) of the 412th Engineer Command (Mission Support Element) at Vicksburg, Miss., was assigned to the billet of Commander (Troop Program Unit) of the 412th EC at Vicksburg. (Source: DOD 10/06/17)

SECDEF warns DOD against leaks

WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a new warning in an Oct. 3 internal memo to all U.S. military and Defense Department civilians against leaking information, and directed personnel to report suspected leaks. Mattis reminded DOD personnel that “it is a violation of our oath to divulge, in any fashion, non-public DOD information, classified or unclassified, to anyone without the required security clearance as well as a specific need to know in the performance of their duties.” He also reinforced obligations to report leaks. Transparency advocates freaked out at the memo. Non-public, but unclassified DOD information can include internal memos, trip itineraries or administrative guidance the Pentagon decides it does not want in the public record, even if the information is not sensitive enough to classify (i.e. “for official use only”). “No single incident triggered this,” said DOD spokesman, Army Maj. Audricia M. Harris. (Source: Defense News 10/05/17) Mississippi Note: There are a number of military installations, active duty personnel (9500-plus) and DOD civilians (2300-plus) serving across the Magnolia State, including at NAS Meridian, Columbus and Keesler AFBs, Naval Construction Battalion Center, and Stennis Space Center.

Boeing agrees to buy Aurora

Boeing Co. and Aurora Flight Sciences Corp., an innovator, developer and manufacturer of advanced aerospace platforms, have signed an agreement allowing Boeing to acquire AFS. Aurora specializes in autonomous systems technologies to enable advanced robotic aircraft for future aerospace applications and vehicles. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. The transaction is anticipated to close after receipt of regulatory approvals. Once acquired, Aurora will be a subsidiary under Boeing Engineering, Test & Technology. AFS will retain an independent operating model while benefiting from Boeing's resources and position as a provider of aerospace products and services. AFS is headquartered in Manassas, Va., and has a production facility in Columbus, Miss. (Source: NASDAQ 10/05/17) Golden Triangle Note: The Columbus facility is an Aerostructures Manufacturing and Final Assembly plant located at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport. The Mississippi facility fabricates and performs final assembly of composite aerostructures for defense and commercial aerospace customers, including Aurora’s Orion Medium Altitude-Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

NASM’s VT-7 pilots identified

MONROE COUNTY, Tenn. - The Navy has identified the two Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss., pilots that were killed in an Oct. 1 crash of a T-45C training jet in the Tellico Plains of the Cherokee National Forest in northeast Tennessee. Federal investigators identified the pilots as Lt. Patrick L. Ruth, 31, of Metairie, La., and student-pilot Lt. j.g. Wallace E. Burch, 25, of Horn Lake, Miss. The pilots were assigned to the "Eagles" of Training Squadron Seven (VT-7) based at NASM. (Source: WVLT 10/03/17) Golden Triangle Note: Training squadrons VT-7 and VT-8 were in a stand-down mode Oct. 2, but resume flying the next day, according to the Chief of Naval Air Training in Texas.

NASM T-45s standdown after crash

MERIDIAN, Miss. - Training Air Wine One of NAS Meridian, Miss., confirmed about 9:40 a.m. on Oct. 2 that a T-45 belonging to Training Squadron Seven (VT-7) base at NASM, which had been gone missing since the day before, had crashed in East Tennessee. An instructor and student pilot aboard the aircraft did not survive the crash. Names of the two were being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified. An investigation will commence to determine the cause of the mishap. Training Air Wing One is one of five training wings that belong to the Chief of Naval Air Training, headquartered at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. (Source: CTW-One 10/02/17) UPDATE: VT-7 observed a stand-down on Oct. 2, according to Lt. Elizabeth Feaster, a spokeswoman for CNATRA. Cmdr. Jason Gustin, commanding officer of the squadron will determine Oct. 3 whether the squadron needs to extend the stand-down.

L-3 garners $54M-plus contracts

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC of Madison, Miss., was awarded two DOD contracts worth more than $54M-plus on Oct. 1. A $27,689,184 firm-fixed-price modification (P00165) for logistics support of T-1A aircraft. Services include contractor-operated maintained supply, over and above, on-equipment maintenance, data and field service representatives. Work will be performed at Vance Air Force Base, Okla.; Columbus AFB, Miss.; Laughlin AFB Texas; Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas; Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.; and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2018. FY 2018 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $27,689,184 are being obligated at time of award. Tinker AFB Oklahoma is the contracting activity. Secondly, L-3 was awarded a $26,816,547 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the repair of 16 T-1A hail-damaged aircraft. Work will be performed in Waco, Texas, and Madison, Miss., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2018. FY-18 O&M funds are being obligated at time of the award. Air Force Life Cycle Management of Tinker AFB Okla. is the second contracting activity. (DOD 10/02/17)

$8.7M Trimark contract for NOLA

Trimark Constructors LLC of Metairie, La., was awarded an $8,739,400 firm-fixed-price contract to replace the Squadron Operations Facility at the Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, located in Belle Chasse. The project will include demolition of the old facility and construction of a new one. The contract also contains 13 unexercised options and one planned modification, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $10,286,550. Work will be performed in Belle Chasse, La., and is expected to be completed by August 2019. FY 2016 Air National Guard military construction contract funds in the amount of $8,739,400 are obligated on this award. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website. Seven proposals were received. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast of Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 09/29/17)

GT residents seek PR info

Golden Triangle area residents in Columbus and Starkville have spent days online viewing Hurricane Maria’s Sept. 20 destruction of their native Puerto Rico. Daria Rodriguez spent days without a word about her 10-year-old son, who was on the island. She cried on Sept. 22 when her son, Cerame, called her to say he was OK. His father had driven him to San Juan, the nearest place they could find cell reception. Daria's friend Beatriz Velez, both veterinary medicine students at Mississippi State University, also got positive words from home. Columbus AFB Airman First Class Alberto Becerril, who grew up in Puerto Rico, has only heard from his family once, just as the hurricane hit. They seemed to be okay, he said. Fellow CAFB Airman First Class Kiara Rodriguez, also a PR native, had slightly better luck when her aunt called with news that her grandmother was safe, but running out of medicine and can’t get to a hospital. She has not heard from her paternal grandparents. Nearly two weeks after the storm, airports are reportedly (partially) closed and boxes of supplies sitting in ports, Kiara said. None of the four know when they'll see family in Puerto Rico again. Kiara is trying to arrange for her grandmother to join her in Mississippi to get access to medical care. Daria is determined to get to Puerto Rico by at least December and bring her son upon returning to Mississippi. (Source: Columbus Dispatch 09/30/17)

Forging stronger EM partners

COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. - Representatives from the Navy, Air National Guard, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, AmeriCorps, Federal Aviation Administration, and Monroe, Clay and Oktibbeha counties in Mississippi, gathered to discuss ways to forge stronger emergency management (EM) relationships between regional and state agencies. The product is of the Secretary of the Air Force’s Public-Public, Public-Private Partnership initiative. The community has been working with the “P4” initiative since early summer workshops facilitated by a Pentagon team. The 1st Air Force’s (AF Northern, which is based at Tyndall AFB, Fla.) Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer briefed here to capitalize on an opportunity to share the Defense Support to Civil Authorities topic with state and civil emergency management counterparts. The goal was designed to help involved agencies have a better understanding of operations between federal and civil assistance during a large scale disaster. MEMA response team provided an overview of its operations and after-action report from the Marine Corps’ KC-130 crash in Leflore County, Miss., back on July 10. The FAA's Aviation Safety Inspector also shared information on policy for unmanned aerial systems (drones) and how they can legally be used in support of emergency situations. (Source: 14th Fighter Training Wing 09/26/17)

‘Fat Albert’ remains in limbo

After more than two months since the crash of a Marine Corps KC-130T transport plane that killed all 16 personnel aboard on July 10 in northern Mississippi, the Navy and Marine Corps have yet to lift a no-fly order for 23 similar grounded aircraft. Those aircraft includes the Marines’ C-130T “Fat Albert” aircraft crew that provides logistics and transportation to the Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron based out of NAS Pensacola, Fla. Since the crash, Fat Albert has been absent from seven shows across the country. Similar Navy and Marine Corps Reserve unit aircraft have also been grounded. For the Blue Angels, the absence of “Fat Albert’s” presents a logistics and transportation issue. The C-130T flies some 35,000 pounds of gear, and a 40-person maintenance technician team to those show locations. Blue Angels spokesman Lt. Joe Hontz said the team is currently utilizing C-130J Super Hercules from various Marine squadrons to transport equipment and personnel, and some Navy C-40 Clipper aircraft for longer hauls. It remains unclear when the aircraft will resume normal operations. The investigation into the crash over Mississippi, which officials said occurred after something went wrong at cruising altitude, remains ongoing. No findings have been made public. (Source: Military.com 09/28/17) Gulf Coast Note: The Marine Corps crash occurred between the communities of Itta Bena and Moorhead, in the Mississippi Delta.

GC Navy sailors join Comfort

The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) is gearing up with supplies and personnel to respond to the humanitarian needs in Puerto Rico. The ship is preparing to get underway by Sept. 30, according to a Defense Department spokesperson. Comfort is taking on supplies and boarding personnel at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. The ship is an afloat, mobile, acute surgical facility, providing a level of medical care found at a major shore-base Navy medicine hospitals. Comfort’s homeport is in Baltimore, Md. During normal pier side operations, Comfort has some 50 personnel who crew the ship, keeping it ready to deploy. When activated, according to the Navy, Comfort’s crew grows to about 1,200 personnel. (Source: Maritime Herald 09/27/18) Gulf Coast Note: The Naval Hospital Pensacola, Fla., command has 19 sailors, including numbers from its Naval Branch Health Clinics at Meridian, Miss., and Millington, Tenn., joing up with Comfort in Norfolk. The Gulf Coast NavMed specialties include nurses, corpsmen, pediatrician, family medicine physician, and culinary specialists. The senior officer and senior enlisted person are Cmdr. Kathryn Garner, a medical-surgical nurse, and Chief Hospital Corpsman Jonathan Pruss., according to a spokesperson with NH Pensacola.

Prof’s wind-turbine UAS research

Embry-Riddle Aeronautics University in St. Lucie County, Fla., used a small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to study the effects of wind turbines at two Midwestern farmlands. Research found that wind turbines can impact soil, crops and livestock. He and colleague Adrian Sescu, an assistant professor of aerospace engineering at Mississippi State University, published those findings in the International Journal of Green Energy. Farmers can earn extra income by allowing wind turbines to be placed in fields. Based on data collected from the drone, researchers discovered weather conditions and the direction of spinning blades can positively or negatively impact crops, including inhibiting crop disease during wet weather or speeding up moisture loss during droughts. The drone was equipped with GPS and a suite of instruments to capture temperature and relative humidity levels. Most prior research of wind-turbine impacts on near-surface meteorology have been based on computer modeling. The use of the drone “provides proof of concept for a platform that can also be used for the measurement of other atmospheric parameters with high spatial resolution,” the researchers wrote. (Source: UAS Magazine 09/27/17)

Flag of many firsts to retire

NAPLES, Italy - Adm. Michelle Howard, the first woman to become a four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy, will end her 35-year naval career when she retires by January. Howard, 57, will relinquish command of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples to Vice Adm. James Foggo, who will be promoted to admiral, when he takes command Oct. 20. Howard has commanded naval forces in Africa and Europe since June 2016. Her career is filled by many Navy firsts. In 2014, she became the first four-star flag officer when she took the reins of Vice Chief of Naval Operations. Two years later, she was head of the the Europe-and-Africa command becoming the first female four-star to command operational forces. She was the first black woman to achieve two-star rank. In 1999, Howard was the first African-American woman to command a Navy combat ship, the dock-landing ship USS Rushmore. Howard also planned the 2009 mission to rescue Capt. Richard Phillips from Somali pirates who seized his cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden. (Source: Stars and Stripes 09/26/17) Gulf Coast Note: Howard was a junior officer aboard the training aircraft carrier USS Lexington (AVT 16) when it was based out of Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. NAS Meridian, Miss., flight students used the 'Lady Lex' for landing qualifications. USS Rushmore was built at Avondale (La.) Shipyards.

L3 protesting Army contract loss

NEW YORK - L3 Technologies announced Sept. 25 that it has filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) related to the selection of an aviation maintenance and support contract at Fort Rucker, Ala. L3 has been the contractor since 2003. “We are convinced our proposal represents the best value to both the military and the U.S. taxpayers,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, L3’s President/CEO. “We look forward to the GAO’s review.” Mark Von Schwarz, L3’s senior VP and president of the Aerospace Systems business segment, added that “L3 remains fully committed to serving the U.S. Army and Air Force at Fort Rucker, and the protest will not affect current operations.” Despite the apparent loss, the company still expects to record an impairment charge during the quarter ending Sept. 29, 2017, for a substantial portion of the Vertex Aerospace business goodwill asset of $187 million. The company is assessing the impact of the re-competition loss on the fair value of Vertex, which will ultimately determine the goodwill impairment charge. L3 Technologies employs some 38,000 people worldwide. (Source: Digital Journal 09/25/17) Gulf Coast Note: L3 has regional facility sites at the Army Fleet Support center at Fort Rucker; Crestview, Fla., Aerospace, and Vertex Aerospace in Madison, Miss.

Oxford firm earns hangar pact

Carothers Construction Inc. of Oxford, Miss., was awarded a $22,667,877 firm-fixed-price contract for renovation of three existing hangars at the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Air Reserve Station. Work will be performed in Coraopolis, Pa., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2018. FY 2017 Army operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $22,667,877 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 09/21/17

AF to conduct S&T review

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, speaking here at the Air Force Association's annual Air, Space and Cyber conference Sept. 18, announced the AF will conduct a 12-month Science and Technology (S&T) review to update its research priorities and strategy. The review will focus on how the service conducts and manages research, and where the service should prioritize research for the next decade and beyond. The Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, will lead the review. The Air Force Scientific Advisory board will conduct a parallel effort and provide feedback and advice throughout the process. The Air Force Studies board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine will also conduct at least one workshop to provide input to the effort. All efforts are intended to be input for an updated science and technology strategy. The AF will also provide small grants to universities to sponsor regional workshops in partnership with American universities to gather input from academic researchers. (Source: Secretary of the Air Force 09/18/17) Gulf Coast Note: Mississippi State University has been working with the Defense Department over many years. In May 2017, MSU was awarded a $9,843,755 contract to continue Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Command’s simulation-based reliability and safety program of modeling and simulation, and vehicle reliability prediction. Work is ongoing in Starkville, Miss. The estimated completion date is May 2022.