DoD housing survey to launch

W. Jordan Gillis, assistant secretary of defense for sustainment and the Defense Department's chief housing officer, is inviting DoD housing residents to voluntarily participate in its annual housing satisfaction survey scheduled to launch in December. DoD annually surveys current residents of government-owned, government-leased, or privatized family housing and current residents of privatized unaccompanied housing. The goal is to obtain feedback regarding their living experience. A link to the survey will be sent via e-mail to each household by one of two third-party consulting firms administering the feedback collection, tabulation and analysis. Only one person per address will receive the invitation e-mail. All respondent information will be kept confidential. Survey results will help inform plans for near-term and future improvements to housing, resident services and community amenities. Each military service will announce the specific date in December when its survey will launch. (Source: DoD 11/20/20)Defense Department's Annual Housing Satisfaction Survey Begins Soon > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE > Defense Department News

Columbus gearing up for new H145

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Airbus Helicopters Inc.’s new five-bladed H145 has received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration. The certification covers the full range of capabilities, including single-pilot instrument flight rules (IFR) and single engine operations (Cat.A/VTOL), along with night vision goggle capability. This newest version of the H145 family received EASA certification this past summer and was delivered to launch customer Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation in September. The first five-bladed H145 delivery in the U.S. is set to take place early next year. AHI has begun updates to the current H145 final assembly line at its Columbus, Miss., plant with new wiring testing capabilities for the five-blade variant. Technicians are also undergoing training in preparation for receipt of the first kits of the new version later this year. (Source: AHI 11/30/20) Five-bladed Airbus H145 receives FAA type certification - Press Release - Airbus US

AF to move AC-130J training to NM

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Air Force is planning to move training for one of its special operation gunships (AC-130J) from Hurlburt Field, Fla. - home to the AF Special Operations Command – to Kirtland AFB in New Mexico. The AF views Kirtland a preferred site for the relocation of the Ghostrider Formal Training Unit because of factors that include increasingly crowded airspace in NW Florida. Seven aircraft and 372 personnel would go to Kirtland, the AF announced. The first AC-130J Ghostrider arrived at Hurlburt in July 2015 after testing at Eglin AFB, Fla. Col. Michael D. Curry, vice commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt said during a news conference that other factors were also involved - similarities of New Mexico’s terrain and the geography of many places where the aircraft is deployed, and proximity to two training ranges (Melrose Air Force Range and White Sands Missile Range). The 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland already does training in variations of C-130J aircraft, which are similar to the AC-130J gunships. The fourth-generation gunships provide close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance in support of special operations around the globe. The modified ‘J’ gunships were built at a cost of about $115M apiece. (Source: The AP 11/29/20)

MS using new antibodies therapy

JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi hospitals are administering a new monoclonal antibodies therapy to COVID-19 patients with hope of improved outcomes and limite hospitalizations while the virus is back on the rise, again. Monoclonal antibodies were approved Nov. 21 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The therapy can be used for high-risk patients who have tested positive, but not yet been hospitalized. The one dose is administered intravenously and can be used in individuals ages 12 and older. George Regional Hospital in Lucedale administered the treatment for the first time for two COVID-19 positive patients on Nov. 24. Days later, both patients were doing well, according to GRH Chief of Staff Dr. Jay Pinkerton. The treatment is the latest in a string of "good science" coming out to help physicians fight the virus, he said. (Source: The AP 11/28/20)

 

Zeta wreaks $90M havoc on MS

BILOXI - Hurricane Zeta left a trail of destruction and nearly $90M in damage across Mississippi back  in late October, state officials have documented. There has been $10M in damage to individual homes, $79M in damage to public infrastructure, according to Emergency Management Agency Director Greg Michel said. The state is applying to FEMA for both individual and public assistance, as well as business assistance through the Small Business Administration. Individual and SBA assistance is being sought for George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Stone counties. Public assistance is being sought for those counties plus Perry and Wayne counties. (Source: The  AP 11/28/20)

Sanders to head power association

Bud Tumlinson of West Point, Miss., a veteran board member of the 4-County Electric Power Association, has retired from his duties as a director. Bruff Sanders will fill Tumlinson's unexpired term. Tumlinson represented District 3 (Clay and Monroe counties) for 27 years. Sanders is executive VP for the Bank of Commerce in Columbus. Sanders lives in West Point. Sanders holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi State University. Within the community, he serves on the GTR Link Executive Board, Growth Alliance Board, and East Mississippi Community College Foundation Board. (Source: The Dispatch 11/25/20)

MRO work at bases along GC

SupplyCore Inc., Rockford, Ill. (SPE8E3-21-D-0001, $90,000,000); and Noble Supply and Logistics, Rockland, Mass. (SPE8E3-21-D-0002, $90,000,000) have each been awarded a firm-fixed-price contract under solicitation SPE8EG-13-R-0002 for facilities maintenance, repair and operations. These were sole-source acquisitions using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. They are 365-day bridge contracts with no option periods. Locations of performance are Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, with a Nov. 28, 2021, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is FY 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa. (Source: DoD 11/25/20)

V-22 mod work at Stennis

Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is awarded a $12,861,992 modification (P00004) to cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price order N00019-20-F-0315 against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-17-G-0002. This modification exercises options to modify the V-22 aircraft to the government of Japan’s unique configuration requirements.  Additionally, the modification exercises options for the production and delivery of nine traffic collision avoidance systems, technical support representation and preservation of aircraft post completion of unique modifications. Work will be performed in Stennis, Mississippi (75%); Ridley Park, Pennsylvania (15%); Fort Worth, Texas (5%); and Tokyo, Japan (5%), and is expected to be completed in August 2024.  Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $12,861,992 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 11/24/20)

ACL launches newest riverboat

American Cruise Lines launched its 328-foot American Melody last week at Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Md. American Melody is the fourth new riverboat in ACL’s Modern Series, and is on schedule for its inaugural Mississippi River cruise season in the summer of 2021. The company will also debut American Jazz in March 2021 (its third brand new modern riverboat which was delayed from cruising in 2020 due to Covid-19). ACL’s fifth, yet to be named, modern riverboat is due in 2022, and the line plans to continue its rapid building plans; releasing one to two new modern riverboats each year going forward. (Source: Work Boat 11/23/20)

Conrad delivers 2 tank barges

Conrad Shipyard, Morgan City, La., has delivered two 30,000 bbl. asphalt tank barges to Parker Towing, Company (PTC) of Tuscaloosa, Ala. PTC 2001 and PTC 2002 are each double skin 30,000 bbl. capacity asphalt barges, measuring 297 feet. Each barge is outfitted with one Volcanic thermal fluid heater unit rated for 8 million btu; one 99-kw John Deere generator; three Nabrico deck cranes; four Patterson 40-ton winches and a Bergan alarm system. PTC 2001 was built at Conrad’s Deepwater South facility in Amelia, La., and the PTC 2002 was constructed at Conrad’s Front Street facility in Morgan City, La. (Source: Work Boat 11/23/20)

Bollinger delivers La. flood gate

LOCKPORT, La. - Bollinger Shipyards delivered an 84-foot Bayou Teche flood gate to the St. Mary Parish Levee District. The steel flood gate is designed for a 25-year rain event and to provide flood risk reduction for a 10-foot storm surge. New flood structure will help mitigate heavy rain and storm surge flooding in St. Mary Parish. The Bollinger-built gate is the heart of the Bayou Teche Flood Control Structure project announced in January. The structure is designed to reduce the risk of a heavy rain event and hurricane storm surge flooding when water comes through the Charenton Canal into Bayou Teche. It is the first of two projects Bollinger is contracted to build for the levee district and the fifth overall flood control structure built by Bollinger Shipyards. (Source: Bollinger 11/23/20)

Vertex T-1A $65.6M contract

Vertex Aerospace, Madison, Miss., has been awarded a $65,603,271 firm-fixed-price contract for contractor operated and maintained base supply of the Air Education and Training Command fleet of 178 T-1A trainer aircraft. Work will be performed at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas; Laughlin AFB, Texas; Vance AFB, Okla.; Columbus AFB, Miss.; and Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., and is expected to be completed Nov. 30, 2021. This award for Option Three is the result of a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount $17,946,903 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker AFB, Okla., is the contracting activity (FA8106-18-C-0001). (Source: DoD 11/23/20)

Harris: Harvard student body prez

Noah Harris, a 20-year-old Mississippian has become the first Black man to be elected student body president at Harvard University. Harris was elected president of Harvard's Undergraduate Council on Nov. 12, according to the Hattiesburg American. The junior government major from Hattiesburg co-chairs the Undergraduate Council's Black Caucus. (Source: The AP 11/23/20)

GoM lease sale: $120.8M

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced last week that Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 256 generated $120.8M in high bids for 93 tracts covering 517,733 acres in federal waters. A total of 23 companies participated in the lease sale, submitting $135.5M in total bids. Lease Sale 256 included 14,862 unleased blocks located from three to 231 miles offshore, in the Gulf’s Western, Central and Eastern Planning Areas in water depths ranging from 9-feet to more than 11,115 feet. Lease Sale 256, which was live-streamed from New Orleans, was the seventh offshore sale held under the 2017-22 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. (Source: Work Boat 11/19/20) Gulf of Mexico lease sale brings in over $120 million in high bids | WorkBoat

Damning NASP shooting probe

A 260-page Navy investigation, signed off on by CNO in July, has determined that the Saudi student-pilot who killed three sailors in December 2019, when he opened fire onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., was self-radicalized. But, the report also found that Navy leadership should have picked up on a pattern of negative behaviors exacerbated by the "toxic" command climate at the aviation training base. (Source: Military.com 11/20/20) Navy Investigation of Pensacola Shooting Points to ‘Toxic’ Command Climate as Factor (yahoo.com) A vigil, marking one year since the shooting, will be held at Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola at 6 p.m. on Dec. 6. The public is invited. Additional info at: 1 Year anniversary of the NAS Pensacola shooting candlelight vigil | Facebook

Politics may put Mil.pay raise at risk

WASHINGTON – The annual defense authorization measure, which has passed Congress every year since the early 1960s, is in danger of hitting rock bottom in December over a move by Democrats to rename military bases, such as Fort Rucker, Ala., and Fort Hood, Texas, that are named after Confederate officers. President Donald Trump opposes renaming those bases and has threatened to veto the defense bill, which was placed into both the House and Senate versions of the defense authorization bill this summer. Republicans are vowing not to send the broader bill to Trump if it includes language requiring those bases being re-named. Trump used the debate this summer to appeal to Southern voters, and is still relevant due to two Senate runoff elections in Georgia that will determine control of the senior chamber during the first two years of President-elect Joe Biden’s tenure. The bill has to pass next month to avoid breaking a 59-year streak of enacting the annual measure, which sets policy across DoD and would awards the military with a 3 percent pay raise starting Jan. 1, among its other provisions. “I am concerned that there is at least the potential that political concerns, especially with the Georgia runoffs, are going to play a bigger role,” said House Armed Services Committee Republican Mac Thornberry (R-Texas). “I have no doubt that we can reach an agreement. The question is whether the politics above us will allow us to.” (Source: Military.com 11/19/20) https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/11/19/military-pay-raise-at-risk-in-dispute-over-confederate-bases/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+navy-times%2Fnews%2Fpentagon-congress+%28Navy+Times+-+Arc+RSS+-+Pentagon+and+Congress%29

CG medevacs mariner & his dog

A Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 aircrew medevac’d a mariner and his dog from an aground vessel on Nov. 18 near Yellow Cotton Bay in the area of Buras, La. The aircrew arrived on scene and hoisted the duo and delivered them to the Plaquemines Medical Center in stable condition. (Source: Coast Guard/Photo 11/18/20) https://www.dvidshub.net/image/6429074/coast-guard-medevac-one-mariner-and-one-dog-near-yellow-cotton-bay-louisiana

Vertex Aero a Top 10 Miss. firm

Madison, Miss-based Vertex Aerospace is about to begin its second year as a stand-alone company and has become tied as the ninth largest private company in Mississippi. In the rankings compiled by the Mississippi Business Journal, Vertex Aerospace has annual revenues of $1B. (Source: Daily Journal 11/17/20) The stand-alone Vertex Aerospace firm got its beginnings after American Industrial Partners acquired two components of L3 Technologies - VA, which included L3 Crestview (Fla.) Aerospace) and TCS. Vertex provides aviation logistics and aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services. TCS provides engineering services and logistics support. https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2104732176374/vertex-aerospace-continues-to-grow-its-business-around-the-world-providing-support-repair-and-maintenance-services

First-of-kind LNG ATB sea trials

Texas-based Q-LNG Transport LLC awarded a contract in November 2017 to VT Halter Marine of Pascagoula, Miss., to build a U.S. first-of-its-kind liquid natural gas (LNG) articulated tug/barge (ATB) unit. This week, Q-LNG announced the successful sea trial completion of the VTHM-built LNG Articulated Tug and Barge unit. The vessel is currently underway for Elba Island, Ga., where it is to load LNG, and to complete a series of proving trials. It is the first ATB unit to attain a DPS-1+ notation from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Q-LNG officials said. Shane Guidry, Q-LNG's principle owner, said: “We believe this vessel’s DPS-1+ notation raises the bar in safety, efficiency, and compatibility in the LNG bunkering market (and) is another moment in maritime history we are proud to be part of.” The Q4000’s DPS-1+ notation adds flexibility to deliver LNG fuel in open water and other conditions not accessible to vessels without this notation. Upon successful gas proving trials, the ATB will be delivered to Shell Trading (U.S.) Co. on a long-term time charter. (Source: Work Boat 11/18/20)

Chickasaw kicks off econ campaign

HOUSTON, Miss. - The Alliance Economic Development team kicked off its 30-month development campaign for Chickasaw County with a presentation to the board of supervisors on Nov. 9. The group laid out its long-range approach to economic development and growing businesses. The initial step for the team, which has already been set in motion, includes a community-wide assessment. Step II is to conduct a myriad of assessments on resource assessment, incentive policies and programs, business recruitment and retention, land use policies, and workforce development. These all serve to develop an overall strategic plan for the Houston’s economic development. Once the plan is developed, there will a need to coordinate economic development activities, provide advice and policy recommendations, market the county, expand industrial opportunities, liaise between the county and businesses, and develop relationships with other economic development organizations. Progress will be slow, team member Ronnie Bryant said., but that’s normal. “This is an ocean liner, not a speed boat.” This is going to change “the way people think about Chickasaw County,” proclaimed Bryant, and it’s going to increase the number of businesses and jobs. “This is a new beginning for Chickasaw County when it comes to economic development,” said District 3 Supervisor and Board President Russell Brooks. (Source: Chickasaw Journal 11/18/20) https://www.djournal.com/chickasaw/a-new-beginning-for-chickasaw-county-the-alliance-economic-development-team-kicked-off-last-week/article_9cc5d102-06c2-5274-be84-b62f005ea40c.html

Biden: ‘America First’ must go

WASHINGTON - President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. makes no bones about the speed with which he plans to dispatch with the Trump Administration’s “America First” slogan as a guiding principle for foreign policy. He plans to re-join the Iran nuclear deal. He wants another five years on the nuclear arms treaty with Russia; and wants provide U.S. commitments to NATO. At the same time, Biden says he will make Russia “pay a price” for attempts to influence American elections, including this year’s vote. Biden told the NY Times he – most of all - wants to bring an end to “American First” slogan. For four years, Trump has poked his “finger in the eye of democratic allies, and that’s another reason respect for American leadership is in free fall,” he said. However, it’s easier to promise an internationalist approach than it is to execute one. The world is not the same since Biden was at the White House. Democracies have retreated. China has bulked up. The race for a vaccine has created new rivalries. (Source: NY Times 11/18/20) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/us/politics/biden-foreign-policy.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article 

La. rep to be Biden's Sr. Adviser

President-elect Joe Biden formally confirmed that U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), a national co-chair of the campaign, will leave Congress to serve as a senior adviser to the president and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Richmond, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, is expected to be one of the highest-ranking Black officials in Biden’s White House. (Source: Wall Street Journal 11/18/20) https://www.wsj.com/articles/joe-biden-names-senior-white-house-staff-11605629103 

MSU prof talks democracy, Trump

Mississippi State University assistant professor of International Studies, Dr. Vasabjit Banerjee, talked with National Security Podcast presenter Chris Farnham on Nov. 17 about President Trump, American democracy, social unrest, and the President’s lasting impact on U.S. politics. Listen here: https://bit.ly/32TJmcG. Banerjee specializes in comparative politics, electoral competition, contentious politics. National Security Podcast is connected to the Asia and the Pacific Policy Society (APPS) – a community of scholars, public policy practitioners, people working at every level of public policy design and implementation, and the policy-engaged public. (National Security Policy 11/17/20) https://pod.link/1395131021/episode/MjkzZjZmOWMtYzFiMS00YjJlLWJlYTQtODI5MDczOWQ3ZGVj

Petraeus: MSU Civil War colloquy

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State University historian John Marszalek will discuss the partnership of Civil War generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman during an online colloquy hosted on Nov. 19 by the Grant Monument Association. In addition, retired Army General and former CIA Director David Petraeus will examine the relationship between the two key figures of the Civil War. Marszalek is the executive director and managing editor of the Ulysses S. Grant Association and the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library and Museum, which is housed in MSU’s Mitchell Memorial Library. The colloquy will be streamed live on YouTube beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWklNpMWvxg. It can also be viewed through Zoom by registering at https://kkr.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_42IJNY8jQcK9OnlsnqVHnw. (Source: MSU 11/17/20)

New NavAv program graduates 33

The Navy graduated its first group of “newbies” from a new aviation program - Naval Introductory Flight Evaluation (NIFE) - aimed at better preparing Student Military Aviators and flight officers for the rigors of the entire flight training pipeline. NIFE opened its doors at the Naval Aviation Schools Command at NAS Pensacola, Fla., in September. Eight-and-a-half weeks later, 33 graduated on Oct. 14, according to a media release from the Naval Education and Training Command. NIFE combines and replaces Aviation Preflight Indoctrination (API) and Introductory Flight Screening (IFS) programs, which have been in place for decades. Under the new program, students still get initial flight hours in civil aircraft under the guidance of a mostly civilian instructors. It is designed to provide students with aviation fundamental knowledge, introduce students to military procedural-based aviation training and performance standards, conduct aeronautical adaptability screening, and decrease drop on request (DOR) and flight attrition and improve performance in primary flight training. “Students are briefing, pre-flighting and executing procedures in flight just like they would in Primary, Advanced and the fleet,” NITE director Cmdr. Mark Yates is quoted. “We have essentially moved the learning curve to the left with expectations of higher performance in Primary.” (Source: NETC 11/09/20)

NTSB reports on lift boat accident

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued Marine Accident Brief 20/36 on Nov. 17 for its investigation into the overturning of the lift boat M/V Kristin Faye in the Gulf of Mexico on Sept. 8, 2019. One crewmember was injured. The accident resulted in the discharge of about 120 gallons of diesel fuel. The vessel was declared a total loss. The accident occurred while the self-propelled lift boat was elevated from above the Gulf of Mexico to provide service to an oil production platform in 35-feet of water about eight miles east of Venice, La. When the extending/telescoping boom cranes on the vessel was lifted, the lift boat began tilting to port and overturned in less than one minute. Marine brief notes once the 22,500-pound port crane boom was moved from its horizontal to vertical position, the boom’s center of gravity shifted about 17 feet. The company’s manual did not include guidance for changes in the position of the crane booms once the vessel was elevated. Investigators determined the probable cause of the accident was the inadequate preload procedure that did not account for crane movements or the planned loads to be lifted. (Source: Work Boat 11/17/20)  The lift boat was property of Mitchell Liftboats of New Iberia, La.

1st woman to fed bench in MS

ACKSON, Miss. - The U.S. Senate on 53-43 on a confirmation vote to approve the first woman to be named a federal judge for the Southern District of Mississippi on Nov. 17. Kristi Haskins Johnson of Brandon is a former assistant U.S. attorney for the southern half of Mississippi. She was named state solicitor general earlier this year. President Donald Trump announced Johnson’s nomination to the federal bench March 30. Johnson will serve in the southern half of Mississippi, with courthouses in Jackson, Hattiesburg, Natchez and Gulfport. Johnson earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi and a law degree from Mississippi College. Johnson has been an adjunct professor at Mississippi College. “This is a significant day for Mississippi as Kristi makes history for the second time this year” said Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch. (Source: The AP 11/17/20)

NCBC 1st responders awards

NCBC Gulfport, Miss., Lead Firefighter Frank Koger and MA2 Travis Harman were presented with the quarterly first responder award from the MS Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce at City Hall on Nov. 17. (NCBS Gulfport video 11/17/20)

DoD: Troop drawdown by Jan. 15

The Defense Department formally announced Nov. 17 its plan to withdraw thousands of forces from Afghanistan and Iraq, just under two months before President Donald Trump is to leave office Jan. 20. The forces are expected to leave by Jan. 15. Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller, who has been on the job for eight day, announced the plan in remarks at the Pentagon. The plans is to withdraw about half of the forces from Afghanistan and 500 troops from Iraq. It is the “next phase of the campaign to defeat terrorists,” which has lasted almost 20 years, and is “consistent with our established plans and strategic objectives,” Miller said. DoD officials would did not provide details on the specific timeline or which forces would leave by Jan. 15. (Source: AF Magazine 11/17/20) https://www.airforcemag.com/its-official-thousands-of-troops-returning-from-afghanistan-iraq/