MSU grad earns SWE award

DAHLGREN, Va. - Navy engineer Brandie Jackson, a Mississippi State University undergraduate in Industrial and Systems Engineering, was named the 2014 Society of Women Engineers (SWE) ‘Member at Large Outreach Award’ last month. Jackson pursued Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) to become an industrial and systems engineer at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren (Va.). The former Navy electronics technician discovered a myriad of ways in her government civilian career to share her knowledge as a STEM mentor. The ward honors an SWE member at large (collegiate or professional) who has made outstanding contributions toward informing school-age girls, parents, educators, counselors and/or the public of opportunities available in engineering during the previous year. (Source: Navy News Service, 11/27/14)

CAFB pilot earns 2nd wings

COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. – Flight surgeon Capt. William Smith, under training with the 14th Flying Training Wing’s Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training program, has taken another step to becoming the Air Force’s 14th ever pilot-physician. Capt. Smith became the first pilot to earn his “Silver Wings” in the new pilot-physician selection process at CAFB during graduation Nov. 21. The path to becoming a pilot-physician in the AF requires obtaining pilot wings, serving an operational tour as an aviator and be a licensed physician and serve at least one year as a flight surgeon. "I always wanted to be a flight surgeon,” said Smith, “but I had never thought of being a pilot-physician until I got to Tyndall Air Force Base.” It was only after hearing about one pilot-physician's story he decide to pursue the unique career path. (Source: Columbus AFB, 11/25/14) Gulf Coast Note: At Tyndall, former flight surgeon Lt. Col. (Dr.) Jay Flottmann was a fully qualified F-22 pilot and the 325th Fighter Wing’s chief of flight safety. He encouraged Smith to apply for the dual-specialty program. Tyndall AFB, Fla., has the largest contingent of operational Raptors of any AFB in the country. Once Flottmann completed medical school, he was assigned to Keesler AFB for post-graduate training. While at Keesler, he decided to become a flight surgeon.

Stark CEO: Army testing ArrowLite

Stark Aerospace, one of Israel Aerospace Industries’ North American subsidiaries located in Starkville, Miss., made an October announcement that the U.S. Army was conducting evaluation trials of the firm’s new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle – ArrowLite - developed by IAI for tactical applications. ArrowLite is a competitor to Skylark MUAV developed by Elbit Systems under the designation of Sky Rider. When evaluation trials are concluded, the Army will announce whether they intend to purchase the new Israeli-American UAV. "ArrowLite can take off and land automatically and perform any tactical mission beyond a hill or a building,” says new IAI North America CEO Robert “Doc” Foglesong. Source: Israel Defense, 11/26/14) Central Mississippi Note: Foglesong, a retired U.S. Air Force 4-star general, also serves as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Stark Aerospace in Mississippi.

GT employment improving

The Golden Triangle’s Clay and Noxubee counties have the highest unemployment in Mississippi – 15.1% and 14.1% respectively. While a far cry from the state’s average rate of 7.7 percent last month, Clay and Noxubee counties have shown a 3% improvement since October 2013. Percentage wise, Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties are faring better. (Source: Columbus Dispatch, 11/26/14)

Delta-Memphis cuts flights

Delta Air Lines is planning to lay off 84 employees from its operation at the Memphis (Tenn.) International Airport; and is cutting four cities from its non-stop flight destinations list. Beginning Jan. 5, Delta will scrap MIA’s non-stops to New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Dallas/Fort Worth. In April, Delta will no longer fly non-stops between Memphis and Reagan-Washington National Airport. Delta has been cutting Memphis flights due to low traffic counts. The airline also confirmed plans for seasonal non-stops to Las Vegas starting March 4; Salt Lake City on June 5; and from Dec. 20-Jan. 10, weekly non-stops to Cancun, Mexico. (Memphis Business Journal, 11/21/14)

ATK-Iuka’s safety milestone

IUKA, Miss. – Alliant Techsystems’ (ATK) Iuka-based aerospace structures manufacturing composite structures facility for next-generation commercial aircraft and engine components has gone more than six years without a major work-related accident - about 2 million work work-hours. “We are proud of our Iuka employees and their continued focus on safe operations and diligence in safety practices and processes,” said Joy de Lisser, VP and GM of ATK’s Aerospace Structures division. “Safety affects every aspect of our business, including our bottom line.” The Virginia-based HQ manufactures large composite aerospace structures for the Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles used by NASA. (Source: Northeast Mississippi Journal, 11/21/14).

Making way for the Lakotas

FORT RUCKER, Ala. - On one of the coldest days of the year in southeast Alabama, three OH-58D Kiowa Warriors Army aviation training helicopters geared up for their final flights from Fort Rucker. But despite of their departure, “aviators will continue to be trained to top standards at the home of Army Aviation,” said Lt. Col. Mark Gillespie, 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment commander, an OH-58D pilot for 20 years. The Army is developing AH-64D/E helicopter models as well as continuing to develop pilots at nearby Hanchey Army Airfield using the UH-72A Lakota helicopter as the primary training aircraft. (Source: Fort Rucker, 11/21/14) Central Mississippi Note: Airbus Helicopters Inc. of Columbus, Miss., produces the U.S. Army's UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter.

CAFB tops aviation safety award

COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. – Columbus Air Force Base’s 14th Flying Training Wing safety office was the top recipient of the 2014 Air Education and Training Command’s Lahm Trophy for the most effective Flight Safety program. It was the fourth time in CAFB’s history to win the award. The award was based on the 14th FTW's mishap prevention programs, initiatives, innovations and improvements in the area of flight safety. CAFB last won the Lahm Trophy in 2010. (Source: Columbus AFB, 11/21/14)

CAFB tops aviation safety award

COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. – Columbus Air Force Base’s 14th Flying Training Wing safety office was the top recipient of the 2014 Air Education and Training Command’s Lahm Trophy for the most effective Flight Safety program. It was the fourth time in CAFB’s history to win the award. The award was based on the 14th FTW's mishap prevention programs, initiatives, innovations and improvements in the area of flight safety. CAFB last won the Lahm Trophy in 2010. (Source: Columbus AFB, 11/21/14)

AHI offering severance packages

COLUMBUS, Miss – Airbus Helicopters Inc., citing a downturn in sales, is offering voluntary severance packages to its Golden Triangle workers. Airbus employs about 250 people at its plant at the Golden Triangle Industrial Park in Lowndes County, where it assembles Army UH-71A Lakota and commercial AS350 AStar helicopters. There are no plans to implement layoffs. The last day for employees to volunteer to leave the company is Dec. 31. (Source: Clarion Ledger, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 11/20/14)

NASM earns ‘gold’

Sec­retary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the Fiscal Year 2014 Energy and Water Management Award winners. Several regional commands earned recognition. The awards program recognized commands with gold or blue levels of achievement. Gold indicates a very good to outstanding energy pro­gram; and Blue indicates a well-rounded energy program. Gulf Coast commands earning certificates were: Gulfport Naval Construction Battalion Center (Gold); Meridian Naval Air Station (Gold) and New Orleans Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base (Blue). (Source: Whiting Tower, 11/19/14)

ExpressJet numbers up at Key Field

There has been an increased in passenger service out of Key Field, at the end of Week 1 for ExpressJet flights out of Meridian - over 400 passengers. In comparison, there were only 550 passengers for the month of October alone. ExpressJet is an air carrier operating regional flights for American Airlines under the American Eagle brand. It has a two-year contract with the Meridian Airport Authority. The firm replaced the air service previously provided by Silver Airways, which had daily flights to Atlanta. ExpressJet flies daily to and from Dallas. (Source: Meridian Star, 11/16/14)

NASA ‘Challenge’ registration

NASA has opened team registration for its 2015 NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge being organized by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The event is April 16-18 at the Alabama-based U.S. Space & Rocket Center. The ‘Challenge’ engages high school, college and university students in hands-on, experiential activities, and testing of potential technologies needed for future deep space exploration. Both U.S. and international teams may register. For U.S. teams, registration closes Feb. 6, 2015. (Source: NASA, 11/14/14)

Contract: Airbus D&S, $18.5M

Airbus Defense and Space Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded an $18,541,542 modification (P00858) to contract W58RGZ-06-C-0194 for contractor logistic support to include flying hours, mission equipment packages and direct labor support. Fiscal 2015 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $18,541,542 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Dec. 31, 2015 .Work will be performed in Columbus, Miss. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/17/14)

Miss. biz team back from Israel

Gov. Phil Bryant declared a Mississippi business development mission to Israel this week as the state’s best trade trip since he’s been governor. Two state business leaders landed mega-orders; and the team met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a 45-minute sit-down discussion. That meeting produced interests from the PM about Ingalls shipbuilding - where HII had built three ships for Israel in the 1990s - and in an electromagnetic rail-gun missile defense system at General Atomics in Shannon, Miss., a suburb of Tupelo. Ten state firms and two research officials from Mississippi State and Southern Miss were on the trip. Those college reps explored research and development opportunities in aerospace and the unmanned systems arenas. (Source: Clarion Ledger, 11/14/14). Central Mississippi Note: Gov. Bryant is planning an “Israel/Mississippi Business Summit” in Jackson in April to bring Israeli companies to the state. USM and MSU reps explored research and development opportunities in aerospace, unmanned systems while in Israel. Stark Aerospace, located in Starkville, is a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, that manufactures and produces drones.

AE debuts at Hattiesburg airport

American Eagle airlines made its debut at the Hattiesburg-Laurel (Miss.) Regional Airport on Nov. 6. AE is an American Airlines connector to and from the Hattiesburg-Laurel and Meridian regional airports and its parent carrier’s Dallas-Fort Worth hub. AE replaces Silver Airways as the Pine Belt’s commercial carrier. (Source: Hattiesburg American, 11/06/14)

Vets Day: Time to listen

Not all of America’s veterans’ storylines are retold on the big screen, but it doesn’t make them any less heroic or significant. They all have a proud heritage to share. On Veterans Day (Nov. 11), let’s make a chance to listen. Recently aboard Columbus AFB, Miss., Bradford Freeman, one of the members of the renowned WWII unit known as the "Band of Brothers" paid a visit. He is one of 18 surviving members of the Army's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment – “Easy Company” – of the 101st Airborne Division. The unit was made famous by the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers." Freeman, born in Artesia, Miss., in 1925, lived and fought through it all beginning on D-Day 1944. Easy Company pushed through France and into Germany fighting in every major conflict - including the Battle of Bastone - and playing a key role in the rescue of 125 British paratroopers and five American pilots in Holland. The 501st fought all the way to Hitler's mountain fortress (Eagle's Nest). Fifty years later he was in a preview of the movie sitting next to Tom Hanks. Freeman served as a narrator and advisor for the film. “They kept us busy over there" in WWII, he told members of the 14th Flying Training Wing at CAFB. (Source: Columbus AFB, 11/07/14)

AETC team impressed by CAFB

COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. – Senior leadership of the Air Education and Training Command’s headquarters were onboard Nov. 3-4 for an overview of the base’s mission and to determine aspects of its overall future. Among discussions was the 49th Fighter Training Squadron, with its over-grown student training Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals mission requirements, and the 14th Mission Support Group - and its new Logistics Readiness Squadron. AETC team leader Gilbert Montoya was making his first visit to CAFB. On Day 2, Montoya spent it with the L3 Communications Systems field support program manager regarding the base's aircraft maintenance contract. Afterwards, Montoya told leadership that CAFB “did very well competing for end of fiscal year 2014 funds, because you were ready." The AETC team leader was impressed with the amount of CAFB’s operations tempo of about 270 daily sorties. “I am reassured the future of the Air Force is strong (and) Columbus should be very proud of the good work they're doing every day." (Source: Columbus AFB, 11/07/14)

IAI starts F-35 wing production

TEL AVIV, Israel - Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) officially inaugurated its production line of wings for Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The production line began manufacturing its first pair of F-35 wings in September; and scheduled to produce four wings per month, according to a Nov. 6 Israeli Air Force announcement. IAI is under contract with LM to manufacture 20 pairs of F-35 wings. Under a memorandum of understanding, production will increase to a total of 811 wings. LM's F-35 is slated to enter service with the Israeli Air Force in 2017. (Source: UPI, 11/06/14) Central Mississippi Note: Stark Aerospace in Starkville, Miss., a subsidiary of IAI International, manufactures and assembles Hunter unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) it sells through Northrop Grumman.

Contract: Airbus D&S, $71.4M

Airbus Defense and Space, Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded a $71,358,549 modification (P00857) to firm-fixed-price contract W58RGZ-06-C-0194 to acquire UH72A Lakota helicopters with ARC 231 radios. Fiscal 2015 other procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $71,713,665 were obligated at the time of the award. The cumulative total for the contract, with this modification, is $2,734,932,786. Estimated completion date is June 30, 2016. Work will be performed in Columbus, Miss. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal (Aviation), Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/06/14)

186th part of Southern Strike 15

GULFPORT, Miss. - Military aircraft and vessels from across the country are participating in a two-week training exercise at the National Guard's Trent Lott Combat Readiness Training Center at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport. More than 52 units are reportedly involved in the war games. Called Southern Strike 15, the exercise involves no large land force, but does involve special operations units calling in mock air strikes. The exercise has grown each of its first three years, first involving just the Air National Guard and then expanding across the U.S. military branches over the following two years to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, FBI and Special Operations Forces. (Source: Meridian Star, 11/04/14). Central Mississippi Note: The 186th Refueling Wing at Key Field in Meridian was among the SS15 participants; as well as AF and Army personnel from Eglin and Hurlburt Field, Fla., and NG units as far away as New York and Pennsylvania.

L3 garners $22M C-12 pact

L3 Communications Corp., Systems Field Support, Madison, Miss., has been awarded an estimated $22,354,202 firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursement modification (P00028) to previously awarded contract (FA8106-11-D-0002) to exercise the option for C-12 contractor logistics support. Work will be performed at Accra, Ghana; Andrews AFB, Md.; Ankara, Turkey; Bangkok, Thailand; Bogota, Columbia; Brasilia, Brazil; Budapest, Hungary; Buenos Aires; Cairo; Edwards AFB, Calif.; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; Gaborone, Botswana; Holloman AFB, N.M.; Islamabad, Pakistan; Manila, Philippines; Nairobi, Kenya; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; San Angelo, Texas; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Yokota Air Base, Japan, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2015. Fiscal 2014 and 2015 aircraft procurement; fiscal 2015 operations and maintenance; and fiscal 2015 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $187,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD, 11/03/14)