Forrest gets 45% of Navy contract

Raytheon Co. of Goleta, Calif., is awarded $29,790,677 for modification (PZ0001) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-18-C-1055). This modification provides for Lot 14 full-rate production of 82 F/A18 CD-108B/ALE-50(V) Control, Dispenser, Decoy, Countermeasures Integrated Multi-platform Launch Controllers. Work will be performed in Forrest, Miss. (45%); Andover, Mass. (25); Goleta (20); and various locations within the continental U.S. (10), and is expected to be completed in February 2022. FY 2017 and 2019 Navy aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $29,790,677 will be obligated at time of award - $26,850,000 of which will expire at the end Sept. 30. Naval Air Systems Command of Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 08/08/19)

VT-2 aerial change of command

NAS WHITING FIELD, Fla. - Coast Guard Capt. Mark Jackson will relinquish command of Training Squadron Two (VT-2) to Navy Cmdr. Wes Barnes on Aug. 9 in an aerial change of command onboard Naval Air Station Whiting Field. The two captains will change command in the air over the radio with each flying a T-6 trainer aircraft. Training Air Wing 5 deputy commodore Col. Jeffrey M. Pavelko will act as the senior reporting official. Once they land, a completion of the ceremony will occur inside a hangar on base. Barnes is currently executive officer of the squadron. VT-2 is one of three fixed-wing squadrons at NASWF that trains prospective pilots in primary aviation, whereupon successful completion, aviators receive their follow on aircraft assignments. Follow-on jet training is conducted at NAS Meridian, Miss. Whiting Field supports about 60 percent of all primary fixed-wing flight training, and 100 percent of all initial helicopter training for the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. (NASWF media advisory 08/08/19)

No-see bombers inspire Eglin units

EGLIN AFB, Fla. - While conducting operational test sorties over the Gulf of Mexico, members of the 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron from Dyess AFB in Texas and the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron from Barksdale (La.) AFB brought a B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress, respectively, to Eglin Air Force Base on July 30. Due to 53rd Wing’s diverse and dispersed mission at Eglin, many airmen across the wing work on software and systems related to both aircraft, but have never interacted with plane or crew in person. Eglin’s 16th Electronic Warfare Squadron works with both aircraft. In the AF, there’s a focus on ensuring every airmen knows how to “fit into the larger mission and the purpose of what they do,” said Lt. Col. Robert Mathis, commander of the 16th EWS. “It’s a huge morale boost and definitely inspiring for my airmen to be able to see, touch and engage with the jets and aircrew they have spent years supporting.” 2nd Lt. Andrew Ervin, a B-1 Defensive Systems Engineer at Eglin, develops mission data files for the B-1, but prior to this tour, he had never seen one of the aircraft. “It’s easy to forget that the endless ocean of numbers we put into mission data actually are loaded onto a jet and sent into combat,” he exclaimed. “Getting to see and tour the platform my work goes into was an exciting opportunity and re-invigorated my professional drive at work.” Despite being an Air Combat Command wing, the 53rd Wing is responsible for the operational Wing testing, evaluating and optimizing, using electronic warfare, every bomber, fighter, remotely piloted aircraft in the Air Force. (Source: 53rd Wing 08/06/19)

106 C-130s cleared

SCOTT AFB, Ill. - Gen. Maryanne Miller, commander of the Air Mobility Command, ordered the temporary removal of 123 of 450 Total Force C-130 Hercules from service on Aug. 7 after atypical cracks were discovered on the lower center wing joint or “rainbow fitting” during programmed depot maintenance. In consultation with aircraft maintenance and engineering experts, Gen. Miller directed an immediate time compliance technical order (TCTO) inspection to identify and correct any cracking to ensure airworthiness of these C-130 aircraft. In accordance with the TCTO, in-depth visual and modified non-destructive inspections of the wing box will be conducted on affected C-130H and J-model aircraft that have not received the extended service life center wing box and have greater than 15,000 equivalent flight hours. If cracking is identified during the 8-hour inspections, a depot-level replacement of the rainbow fitting will be required. Aircraft that are inspected and determined to have no cracking will be immediately returned to service. The Air Force takes the safety of its Airmen and aircraft very seriously and is working diligently to identify and repair affected aircraft as soon as possible. At this time, it has been assessed that this temporary removal of service will not impact ongoing C-130 support to overseas contingency operations. (Source: Air Mobility Command 08/08/19) Gulf Coast Note: Though GC regional AF command C-130H/J aircraft were not specified as part of this TCTO inspection, there are commands in NW Florida and south Mississippi that fly variants of these aircraft. Mississippi: The combined eight C-130J-30 assigned to 815th Airlift Squadron and 10 WC-130J assigned to 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron ("Hurricane Hunters") make up more than 95 percent of Keesler AFB's total flying mission. Florida: The 413th Flight Test Squadron’s C-130 Combined Test Force became its own entity last September at Eglin AFB when it was designated as a detachment, encapsulating more than a decade’s worth of specialized developmental tests on the C-130 Hercules. As the AF’s hub for all C-130 acquisition developmental testing, the newly minted 96th Operations Group Det. 1 performs testing of everything from small aircraft parts and software to major weapons system acquisitions – nose to tail. The C-130 has been in production since 1954 and been modified countless times since. The amount of expertise needed to fly these different variants is vast. The Eglin detachment is called the face of C-130 developmental testing. Over at Hurlburt Field, the 15th Special Operations Squadron (15th SOS) is one of nine flying squadrons within the 1st Special Operations Wing. The squadron flies the MC-130H Combat Talon IIs. The 1st Special Operations Group Det. 2 - the newest flying unit within the 1st SOW - employs the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship. The detachment is tasked to support developmental and operational testing of the AC-130J. Neither the Navy nor Marine Corps have taken C-130s offline. Those services fly the C-130T, KC-130T and KC-130J versions of the aircraft. UPDATE 08/09/19: Two C-130 variants of the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla., were inspected for unusual wing joint cracks and returned to service after no defects were discovered, an AFSOC spokeswoman said Aug. 9. The EC-130J Commando Solo, an information and psychological operations plane, and an AC-130W Stinger II gunship were the only two "spec ops" aircraft that required a closer look. UPDATE2: The AF has inspected, and cleared to fly again, most of the 123 C-130 Hercules that were grounded last week due to concerns about potential cracking in a crucial wing joint. Air Mobility Command has returned 74 C-130 variants to service as of Aug. 9. Just one of the grounded C-130s has been found to have a defect so far. It is not clear how long the remaining 48 C-130 variants might take to be inspected, since the pace depends on base capacity. The inspections take about eight hours. UPDATE3: AMC has inspected 107 of the 123 C-130s pulled from service earlier this month. One of 107 was discovered to have the “atypical cracks” on the wing joint. As of Aug. 16, 106 of inspected aircraft have returned to service. There is no specific timeline for when the entire fleet will return to service, though the inspection process, which began less than two weeks ago, has moved quickly. (Source: AF Magazine 08/19/19)

$400M VA grants include Ala. & La.

WASHINGTON - Thousands of low-income Veterans and their eligible family members will continue to have access to crucial homelessness services as a result of $426M in grants to be awarded under the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program. This funding includes $62M in new SSVF awards that support outreach, case management and other flexible assistance to rapidly re-house Veterans who become homeless or prevent Veterans from becoming homeless. The grants will be awarded to 271 non-profit organizations in all 50 states, including new grants in Alabama and Louisiana’s northern Gulf Coast regions. “Ending Veteran homelessness remains a high priority and (SSVF) has proven to be remarkably effective” temporary assistance for (Vets/families) to overcome housing crises,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. In addition to conducting outreach and case management, these non-profit grantees will assist with benefits that may include health care, financial planning, child care, legal, transportation, and housing counseling services. In FY 2018, SSVF grantees served 125,878 Vets and children. As a result of efforts, the number of homeless Vets has been cut by 50 percent since the 2010 launch of the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The applicants to whom grants will be awarded competed under a Notice of Fund Availability published Dec. 19, 2018. The funding will support SSVF services for FY 2020, beginning Oct. 1. (Source: Department of Veterans Affairs 08/01/19) Grantees include: Housing First Inc. via Mobile City/County and Baldwin County (Ala.) Chambers of Commerce: $1.185M; Volunteers of America of Greater New Orleans via Lafayette/Acadiana Regional CoC; Shreveport, Bossier/Northwest Louisiana CoC; New Orleans/Jefferson Parish CoC; Monroe/Northeast Louisiana CoC; Slidell/Southeast Louisiana CoC; Alexandria/Central Louisiana CoC; Houma-Terrebonne, Thibodaux CoC; and Louisiana Balance of State CoC: $2.08M. No new funding for either Florida or Mississippi’s northern Gulf Coast regions.

First female Marine to fly F-35C

Marine 1st Lt. Catherine Stark earned her Wings of Gold as a Marine aviator at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, on Aug. 2, and is now preparing to begin training with the fifth-generation F-35C Navy stealth fighter. She’s been in training since early 2016 after graduating from the Naval Academy in aerospace engineering. After officer school, she reported to NAS Pensacola, Fla., for initial flight training. After more than two years of training in the T-6B Texan II primary flight trainer and the T-45C Goshawk advanced training jet, she has been selected to be the first female Marine to fly the F-35C (Navy) variant. There are three variants of the F-35s: Air Force (A), Marines (B), and Navy (C). The Marines’ F-35B has short and vertical takeoff capabilities. The F-35C has greater range and stealth capabilities, and operates from aircraft carriers. Stark is scheduled to begin training with the “Rough Raiders” of VFA-125 Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) at NAS Lemoore, Calif. The FRS takes pilots who have recently completed training and transitions them to their assigned fleet aircraft. The “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 became the Navy’s first operational F-35C fleet squadron this year. The Marine Corps does not yet have an operational F-35C squadron, however Stark’s selection marks the beginning of that integration. (Source: CNATRA 08/02/19) Stark is the fourth of eight children in her Erie, Pa., family and among three in the military. Her brother, Lt. Joseph Stark, is a Naval Supply Systems Command logistics director for Seal Team 4, and Zofia Stark, who, like her sister, graduated from the Naval Academy in 2016, and is a first lieutenant in the Marines.

VP gives F-35A go-ahead to Tyndall

Vice President Mike Pence and Acting Air Force Secretary Matt Donovan both announced Aug. 6 through their Twitter accounts that the Air Force has completed its basing study and have given the go-ahead for F-35A Joint Strike Fighters to begin operation from Tyndall AFB, Fla., starting in 2023. The AF had said back in December that it was proposing to allow F-35s to fly at Tyndall after the base’s F-22 Raptor squadron left following an October 2018 “Cat 5” hurricane and damaging nearly all of its buildings. Tyndall officials are working on a plan to design a flexible installation that can welcome the F-35 as well as MQ-9 drones and possibly other aircraft without major modifications. (Source: Air Force Magazine 08/06/19)

OIG report on Biloxi VA patient care

Four behavioral health unit RNs at the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System facility in Biloxi, Miss., did not fulfill their duties and responsibilities after finding an unresponsive patient in 2017 according to a VA inspector general report. The RNs did not act with a sense of urgency to perform timely CPR, locate and bring an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to the patient’s room, or activate an emergency response system as required by policy. The facility could not provide the IG team with basic life support (BLS) certification for two of the four nurses. Based on available facts, the OIG was unable to determine whether initiating full resuscitation would have been successful. The unit (25-A) nurse called the medical officer of the day to “pronounce a patient” deceased. The MOD documented a nurse had examined and deemed the patient dead. VHA policy states only medical doctors can pronounce a patient death while under the care of the VA. The behavioral health unit nursing staff did not document accurate and complete 15-minute patient observation checks. A behavioral health assessment treatment provider was not available when the patient presented to the emergency department. Emergency department providers did not document hand-off communication or with the behavioral health admission provider. The OIG reviewed facility leaders’ response to the event and found facility leaders removed the involved staff from patient care and completed a fact-finding review and Root Cause Analysis. Facility leaders did not pursue reporting staff to the state licensing boards and did not conduct an institutional disclosure. During the site visit in January 2018, the OIG found an expired tubing package on the behavioral health unit’s emergency cart although staff had signed the cart’s checklist verifying that there were no expired supplies. The designated facility committee did not review the resuscitation as the unit RNs did not complete the required cardiopulmonary arrest record. (Source: VA Inspector General 08/06/19)

Gulfport CRTC change of command

GULFPORT, Miss. – Colonel Joe Reid relinquished command of the Mississippi Air National Guard’s Combat Readiness Training Center in Gulfport to Lt. Col Berry McCormick. The incoming commander is an electrical engineering graduate of Mississippi State University. Prior to taking command, he had been CRTC’s director of support since September 2014. McCormick enlisted in the Mississippi Air National Guard in 1988 as a Search Scope Operator with the 255th Tactical Control Squadron at Gulfport. In May 2005, he assumed command of the 209th Civil Engineer Squadron at Gulfport. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; and in November 2010, he transferred to the 253rd Air Support Squadron at Meridian, Miss., where he served as a director. In May 2013, McCormick deployed to the United Arab Emirates as commander of the 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron. The CRTC hosts regular deployments of Air National Guard units, and offers offshore airspace that is fully instrumented (ACMI) for recording air-to-air engagements. Nearby Camp Shelby, Miss., features an air-to-ground range and sufficient low-altitude MOA airspace to provide realistic ground attack scenarios. Outgoing commander, Col. Reid was to take command of the 186th Air Refueling Wing in Meridian. He called it “going back to his home roots.” One of the duties of the 18th ARW is to perform maintenance on KC-135 refueling aircraft. (Source: WLOX 08/03/19) The CRTC has two Mississippi ANG tenants on base: 255th Air Control Squadron (ACS) and 209th Civil Engineering Squadron. The 209th began augmenting an Air Force "Silver Flag" Training Program at Tyndall AFB, Fla., in 2000. When activated for active-duty service, the 209th falls under the jurisdiction of the Air Force Special Operations Command, headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

McQueen to head EPA Region 6

DALLAS – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Aug. 5 the appointment of Ken McQueen of New Mexico to become regional administrator for EPA Region 6. McQueen will oversee environmental protection efforts in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas and in 66 Tribal Nations. (Source: EPA 08/05/19) EPA Region 4 covers the Gulf Coast states of Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi, plus Georgia, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and 6 Tribal Nations.

Buffett does ‘kindred spirit’ concert

NORFOLK - Sailors and Marines with the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), including its embarked units that recently returned from a 7-month deployment July 18 were treated to a rare shipboard performance Aug. 2 by legendary “Margaretville” music artist Jimmy Buffett. Buffett, who is in Virginia Beach for a concert, learned that the ship had recently returned from deployment and performed for the crew to show his appreciation for their sacrifice and service. “Welcome home,” said Buffett . “Both Kearsarge and I were born in Pascagoula, Miss., so I feel a kindred spirit to your wonderful ship.” (Source: USS Kearsarge 08/05/19) LHD-3 was launched March 26, 1992, in a ceremony attended by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell. The warship was christened May 16, 1992, and commissioned Oct. 16, 1993, from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Pascagoula shipyard.

3 Airmen injured at Ohio shooting

Three active-duty airmen from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, were treated for minor injuries while evacuating an area near a mass shooting that killed at least nine people and injured at least 27 in Dayton on Aug. 4, according to Col. Thomas Sherman, 88th Air Base Wing and Wright-Patterson base commander. No AF personnel were killed. "While we are profoundly grateful that none of our fellow airmen were seriously injured, the base and the entire community are heartbroken over this senseless taking of life," Sherman told Air Force Magazine through a spokesman. (Source: AF Magazine 08/02/19) The Air Force has not identified the airmen.

Barrett continues prep for hearings

Former chairman of The Aerospace Corporation Barbara Barrett's formal nomination to be Secretary Air Force remains held at the White House while officials finish the ethics paperwork required to send her nomination to the Senate, two sources tell Air Force Magazine. “They are in the final stages of completing all of the ethics paperwork,” a source close to Barrett said in an e-mail. “There are no showstoppers.” It takes time to unwind a nominee’s extensive business resume, a Senate aide said. President Donald Trump announced his intent to pick former deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to lead the AF in May. She “looks forward to a confirmation hearing as early as … September,” the source close to the family said. (Source: AF Magazine 08/02/19)

More Mil.Dorm inspections coming

Dormitory inspections are coming to Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field, Fla., following the discovery of mold in 1,100 rooms most recently Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas. The two Florida bases will inspect dormitories for signs of mold, according to public information officials. The inspections come in the wake of massive mold problems in dormitories at SA-Lackland where photographs of moldy dorms surfaced on social media this past week, and a subsequent inspection found mold in more than 1,100 in Texas, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Hundreds of JBSA-Lackland personnel have been moved to hotels, according to The Associated Press. Eglin and Hurlburt are on an Air Force list of installations to be inspected and the base is determining how to address the newest inspection, Mike Spaits, of Eglin’s public affairs office, told the NW Florida Daily News. Base commanders and first sergeants are already required to do a monthly walk-through both Eglin and Hurlburt Field. Eglin dorm residents have been able to download a cell phone ‘app’ to report mold, he said, which sets up an automatically-generated work order. “(W)e have no reason to believe that there are life, health, or safety issues in our dormitories,” said 1st Lt. Steven Bodovinitz, officer in charge of media relations for the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt. However, a “cross-functional team of experts” will be inspecting all of the dorms within the next several weeks that will enable Hurlburt officials to identify potential mold issues or other deficiencies that “may impact” airmen’s quality of life. (Source: NW Florida Daily News 08/03/19) The dormitory issues are obviously separate from privatized military housing unit issues across Gulf Coast regional commands at the Army’s Fort Rucker, Ala., and Fort Polk, La.; and Air Force bases in Florida at Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field. Balfour Beatty manages regional base housing at NAS Meridian (Miss.), NAS Pensacola (Fla.), NAS Whiting Field (Fla.), NCBC Gulfport (Miss.), NSA Panama City (Fla.). The Hunt Companies have initiated a ‘Moisture Remediation Plan,’ to be overseen by the 81st Medical Support Group, at Keesler AFB privatized base housing. There are 1,188 residential housing units for Keesler - three in Biloxi and one in Gautier, Miss.

DoD surveillance balloons over US

Americans know they're being watched by cell phones and smart home devices, but there may be a new privacy threat just above your head: Video-outfitted mass-surveillance balloons to capture every moving object across a 25-mile swatch beneath it from 65,000 feet. These experimental devices are being tested, from mid-July through Sept. 1, above six Midwest states – South Dakota, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Missouri – as part of a Defense Department program temporarily authorized by the Federal Communications Commission for the Sierra Nevada Corp., an aerospace and defense company. The project involves as many as 25 solar-powered balloons, according to a report in The Guardian newspaper in the U.K. The technology is meant to “provide a persistent surveillance system to locate and deter narcotic trafficking and homeland security threats,” according to the FCC filing. Experts are now cautioning that all kinds of data are likely being collected, Jay Stanley, an analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union, told The Guardian. (The FCC’s “Special Temporary Authorization” was granted upon the express condition that it may be terminated by the commission at any time without advance notice.) The U.S. Southern Command commissioned the test, though the end goals are unclear. SOUTHCOM’s HQ is in south Florida, and includes resources from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and other agencies. Among the command’s missions are tracking and blocking drug shipments heading to the U.S., and protecting the Panama Canal. SOUTHCOM has been using light aircraft to conduct surveillance, but these balloons would be less expensive alternative: Hovering for months without a flight crew. The balloons appear to be carrying “satellite-like vehicles housing sophisticated sensors and communication gear,” the Guardian reported from FCC documents, making them able to share data with themselves and ground receivers. One of the sensors “is a synthetic aperture radar intended to detect every car or boat in motion” within a 25-mile swath beneath it, and because it’s recording, it allows users to travel back in time to re-watch an event (and) who was involved, and where they came from, according to Arthur Holland Michel, co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New York. The recording ability has led to the system’s nickname of “combat TiVo,” he said. The aerial camera system is called the Gorgon Stare, made by Sierra Nevada, and owned by the Air Force. Its invention was literally inspired by the 1998 sci-fi film Enemy of the State. Gorgon Stare is named for the Greek figures whose gaze could turn a person into stone, and used by the AF, though exactly where or how is classified. It’s unclear where the data is being stored or going, says ACLU’s Stanley, but it’s time to be cautious: “We should not go down the road of allowing this to be used in the United States … (and) being carried out, by the military no less.” (Source: The Guardian 08/03/19)

SeaGrant grads fellowship finalists

Three graduate students from Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium member universities have been named finalists for the competitive 2020 Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. Leanne Poussard of the University of Southern Mississippi, Christine Bassett of the University of Alabama, and Aaron Macy of University of South Alabama will interview in the fall in Washington, D.C., with potential host agencies and offices in the legislative and executive branches of government. The interviews will determine where they will be placed during their fellowship year, which begins in February. As Sea Grant Knauss Fellows, they will actively transfer science to policy and management through their appointments with federal government offices. Poussard is a graduate student and research assistant studying coastal sciences at USM’s Gulf Coast Research Lab. She is using mathematical modeling to measure efficiency of National Marine Fisheries Service shellfish survey gear. Bassett is a Ph.D. candidate studying geological sciences at UA. Her research uses geochemistry to examine geologically-recent ocean conditions and climate changes in the Pacific to better understand the current ocean and climate conditions and events. Macy, a Ph.D. candidate in marine science at USA and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, is also an extension program associate at Mississippi State University. His dissertation investigates impacts on ecosystem services as marshes transition to black mangroves in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, and engaging high schools in wetlands stewardship. (Source: Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium 07/26/19)

200 new Americans’ dream

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Nearly 200 new American citizens recited, “I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America…,” at a naturalization ceremony Aug. 1 at the National Naval Aviation Museum aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. The museum’s atrium was converted into a courtroom for the ceremony that included four judges from U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Florida. For the participants, coming from 58 countries, their dreams of becoming a citizen was realized. The new citizens navigated the naturalization process and now share the common bond of being an American. “Your representation as an American citizen is not based on race or where you came from,” said Judge Hope T. Cannon, whose family moved from Vietnam to the United States when she was a young child. “We are all Americans.” More than 7.4M naturalized citizens were welcomed into the country over the past decade, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (Source: NAS Pensacola 08/01/19)

KAFB housing meetings ‘positive’

BILOXI, Miss. - Keesler Air Force Base (KAFB) and its private-housing base contractor Hunt Companies are making progress on solving problems residents have experienced, according to officials at a pair of town-hall like meetings with base residents this week. The meetings come after the release of military family surveys following a 2018 U.S. Senate committee hearing that included testimony from Crystal Cornwall, a former resident at Keesler AFB and a 2017 lawsuit filed against Hunt Companies, the contractor that manages Keesler housing. Cornwall went on to found the non-profit Safe Military Housing Initiative. Col. Paul Fidler, deputy commander of the 81st Mission Support Group (81st MSG), said there were “very high emotions” at meetings on the issue, but showed positive change. “I think that process is starting to take effect, and our goal with all of that is (A) we resolved their issues in a very timely manner, and (B), we start to rebuild that trust,” he told WLOX. There was a great deal of “poor communication” among the players in base housing, from the residents, command and contractor, which led to problems that centered on recurring mold issues; and that residents claimed that Hunt was not correcting. Hunt has initiated a ‘Moisture Remediation Plan’ being overseen by the 81st MSG. There are 1,188 residential housing units for Keesler - three in Biloxi and one in Gautier. Fidler is hoping the survey results and meetings will help solve all housing issues, not just mold. (Source: WLOX 08/01/19)

AF pilots first to rate in AW-139

Test pilots from the Duke Field, Fla.-based 413th Flight Test Squadron became the first Air Force pilots to receive a Type rating on the AW-139 helicopter on July 29. Majors Zach Roycroft and Tony Arrington completed the five-week contracted course in New Jersey on the civilian counterpart to the AF’s new MH-139 helicopter. The aircraft is to replace the UH-1N Huey. “This puts our team one step closer to flight testing the new aircraft when production is completed,” said Roycroft, lead test pilot for the squadron. A Type rating is an FAA qualification for a specific aircraft. As test pilots were training, the 413th FLTS and Air Force Global Strike Command airmen were completing the maintenance technician course on the aircraft. Those Airmen are also being trained on the aircraft’s unique systems. The MH-139 delivery marks the first, in recent history, that the AF will receive a rotary wing asset not previously used by another branch of the military. The AF plans to purchase 84 MH-139 helicopters over the next decade. The first aircraft delivery to Duke Field - the 413th FLTS is scheduled for late November. The 413th FLTS is affiliated with the 96th Test Wing at nearby Eglin AFB. (Source: Eglin AFB 08/01/19)

USM 4th to offer MNG tuition

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The University of Southern Mississippi is partnering with the Mississippi National Guard (MNG) to offer free tuition to the state’s citizen soldiers and airmen. USM President Dr. Rodney Bennett and Maj. Gen. Janson D. Boyles, the adjutant general of Mississippi, signed a memorandum of understanding July 31 establishing the Golden Eagle Free Tuition Program. The tuition bill will be split between USM and the National Guard. With the agreement, USM becomes the fourth university in Mississippi to offer free undergraduate tuition for Mississippi National Guardsmen. Mississippi State, Jackson State, and the Mississippi University for Women offer similar programs. (Source: WDAM 07/31/19)