Army helo cuts concern Cochran

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, raised concerns about proposed cuts to Army aviation based on the Defense Department’s FY 2017 budget requests. Cochran wants an explanation for a 38 percent decrease in Army aircraft procurement, including Apaches, Black Hawks, Chinooks and Lakota helicopters. Reductions, according to Cochran, would likely affect now-deployed Army combat, training and support aircraft. (Source: WVTA 02/26/16) Central Mississippi Note: UH-72A Lakota helicopters are built at Airbus Helicopters Inc. in Columbus, Miss., and are to be the Army’s newest trainers of helo pilots.

AF undergrads selected for training

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas - Fifty-three company grade officers and one major have been selected for the Air Force's Undergraduate Flying Training program. Those selected will attend pilot, remotely piloted aircraft, combat systems officer or air battle manager training. Some of those selected for specialized undergrad pilot training will go to Columbus AFB, Miss. ABM candidates will attend training at Tyndall AFB, Fla. CSO candidates will attend training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. (Source: Air Force Personnel Center 02/25/16)

GTRA hosts drone experts session

The Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Columbus, Miss., was the site of an experts’ meeting Feb. 18 regarding unmanned aircraft systems regulations and safety tips for new drone-hobbyists. Among the experts providing information were representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration, Aurora Flight Sciences, Mississippi State University's Raspet Flight Research Center, and Columbus Air Force Base. There are FAA regulations for both hobbyists and drones used for commercial purposes. MSU’s Dallas Brooks, who works on researching UAS, talked about a drone-operation knowledge test (Part 107), similar to a driver's license, that is likely to come out from the FAA this summer. CAFB safety officer Capt. Jason Greer discussed ways drone operators could avoid interfering with air operations around the base – warning that some student-aviators fly as low as 500 feet at times. Other airfields fly at lower altitudes, he added. (Source: Columbus Dispatch 02/19/16)

Canine EOD collaboration

COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. - Military Working Dog teams from Columbus Air Force Base, alongside other units from Lowndes County, the Highway Patrol, Fire Marshal’s office, South Haven and Mississippi State University, met with the FBI on Feb. 16 to perform joint explosives detection training on MSU’s campus in Starkville. FBI bomb technician Brandon Grant led the training to improve the canines’ detection of improvised and commercial explosives. A major focus of the event was improving relationships – and collaboration - between various units. “Without that collaboration, the ability to detect explosives at venues like this would be greatly diminished,” said Grant. (Source: Columbus AFB 02/18/16)

Aldrin highlights teamwork at MSU

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, one of the two NASA space explorers to first walk on the moon in July 1969, was guest speaker at Mississippi State University’s Global Lecture Series on Feb. 9. It was a NASA team effort, which got Apollo 11 into orbit and the landing module onto the surface, he told the audience – a number close to 400,000. While reminiscing about the moon walk with Neil Armstrong, Aldrin highlighted the power of teams working together to achieve success. “The true value of the Apollo program is the amazing story of teamwork that overcame many obstacles to make it to the moon.” The 86-year-old former astronaut is a bestselling author of biographies and children’s books. He continues to advocate for broadening space exploration. The Apollo 11 crew received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2011. (Mississippi State University 02/09/16) Central Mississippi Note: MSU’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory is a leading-edge research, development, and does testing of manned/unmanned flight vehicles and aviation composite materials.

Fight brewing over Jackson airport

Despite its miniature size, the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Mississippi. It’s metro area has a population of about 500,000. It’s been an untapped resource. In early February, state Sen. Josh Harkins (R-Flowood) indicated plans to file a modified bill to change who sits on the airport board; and replacing the 5-member Jackson Municipal Airport Authority with a 7-person board—(two each from Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties) - appointed by the governor. Now, there’s a fight brewing as to who gets to do the tapping. The City of Jackson, which controls the 3,381 acres that the airport sits on is bracing for a battle for governance and control against the state. Are there racist tones to this battle? The Business Ministerial Alliance of Mississippi spoke out against the "hostile takeover" of the airport. On Jan. 15, alliance chairman Dwayne Pickett, pastor of New Jerusalem Church, argued that changing the governance of the airport would spur a major outcry from the city and its citizens. (Source: Jackson Free Press 02/03/16)