VT-4 SAU changes command

The “Warbucks” of Training Squadron (VT) 4’s Squadron Augment Unit (SAU) held a change-of-command March 5 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla. Cmdr. Melissa Dillard relieved Cmdr. Sara Taylor as commanding officer during the ceremony. VT-4 is the Navy’s only advanced naval flight officer (NFO) training squadron that prepares student-NFOs for follow-on training in the E-2 Hawkeye, E-6 Mercury, EP-3 Aries, and P-8 Poseidon aircraft. VT-4 is Chief of Naval Air Training’s only squadron that includes no aircraft, but instead uses state-of-the-art multi-crew simulators with combined fleet-derived sensors and realistic adversarial problems-sets to develop NFOs. Dillard, a native of Galloway, N.J., and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, earned her Wings of Gold in 2005. She deployed with VFA-211 the aboard aircraft carrier USS Enterprise in direct support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In 2011, she joined the Naval Reserve as part of the VT-86 SAU. Dillard has accumulated more than 2,000 flight hours in the F/A-18 Hornet, T-1 Jayhawk and T-39 Sabreliner. (Source: US Navy 03/08/21) 

Fed grant for Miss. gas expansion

SHANNON, Miss. - A $429,000 federal Community Development Block Grant will allow the City of Shannon to expand natural gas service past its city limits. Phase 1 of the project will add more than 140 residences in Pine Grove; and later into SW Lee County, Monroe and Chickasaw counties. The project will serve low-to-middle income residents, many of whom are on fixed incomes. Shannon will not be required to provide matching funds. Officials said the new gas lines could save residents as much as 50 percent on heating bills, compared to electric or propane. Shannon will begin the process of bidding the construction project to lay lines within a few months. A separate bid will deal with repairing a leak in the old gas main south of town. Shannon Mayor Ronnie Hallmark hopes to start hooking up houses in late summer or early fall. Since the city will be providing utilities to customers outside city limits, the gas prices must be approved by the state Public Service Commission. (Source: Daily Journal 03/08/21) Federal grant gives Shannon, Lee County gas expansion the green light | News | djournal.com 

GA-Miss.: EMALS reset button

From the flight deck “bubble” of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the new catapult that launches aircraft looks better now to critics than after early delays and cost overruns of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS). It doesn’t need as many sailors to operate and maintain as do steam-powered catapults of the Nimitz-class carriers that have served since the 1970s. Aviation Boatswains Mate 1st Class Fiona McMahon, whose job is to work side by side with the officer who launches planes (“the shooter”), it’s much easier to monitor glitches from her computer monitor than previous experiences on Nimitz class ships. “Basically, down below, they can press a button ... it’s like a reset and we’re ready to go,” she said. (Source: Daily Press 03/08/21) MISSISSIPI NOTE: Originally built to help test and assemble EMALS for the next generation of aircraft carriers, the General Atomics facility in Shannon, Miss., has expanded its operations and capabilities, including the manufacturing of the advanced arresting system that helps land aircraft on those carriers. On USS Gerald R. Ford’s flight deck, all the expensive new gear means school is always in session - The Virginian-Pilot (pilotonline.com)

Austal’s EPF-15 details emerge

After the Navy awarded a $235M modified contract to Austal USA to build its latest multi-purpose Expeditionary Fast Transport ship, new details are emerging. A Naval Sea Systems Command spokesperson told USNI News the ambulance variant of the EPF will have both an intensive care unit and other medical accommodations. “Beginning with EPF-14, the EPF Flight II configuration enhances current EPF capabilities by including health services (resuscitative care capability with a limited ICU and medical ward) to the ship while maintaining most of the original mission requirements of the ship,” Alan Baribeau said in the statement. DoD issued the contract modification Feb. 26. EPF-15 is the second ambulance variant, now called Flight II, of the Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport vessel that Austal is building for the Navy in Mobile, Ala. (Source: USNI News 03/05/21) https://news.usni.org/2021/03/05/new-details-of-austals-epf-hospital-ship-emerge

Aviation among Cares Act winners

Restaurants, concert venues, airplane manufacturers and the aerospace industry stand to benefit from the $1.9T coronavirus relief package the Senate approved over the weekend, and sent to the House for a vote as soon as March 9. They are among the few industries that would win from passage of the proposal that focuses federal funding for state and local governments and schools and extra support for individuals. The aviation/aerospace sector fared well primarily appealing to lawmakers from areas that are home to heavy concentrations of those types of companies. An array of lobbying groups for the industry joined with unions representing workers to ask for $15B for payroll support program funding, with the industry bearing 50 percent of the cost. Lawmakers trimmed that sum to $3B and cut the length of the program from 12 to six months. (Source: Washington Post 03/07/21) MISSISSIPPI NOTE: The Magnolia State is home to an array of aircraft/aerospace companies, including, but not limited to, Airbus Helicopter Inc., Vertex Aerospace, Orbital ATK, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics, Stark, Space X, and Aurora Flight Sciences. Restaurants, concert venues and aviation manufacturers secured billions in the new covid relief package - The Washington Post

MS senators decry stimulus bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Mississippi’s Republican U.S. senators, Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker, decried the Senate’s decision to exclude amendments from a $1.9T stimulus package that would have prevented taxpayer money from being used for abortions. Wicker said the bill was “full of unnecessary spending that will overheat the economy at a time when infections are dropping nationwide.” He also claimed that less than 10 percent of the bill’s provisions would go to immediate COVID-19 needs. The bill passed in the Senate on a 50-49 vote. It will provide $1,400 stimulus checks to many Americans. Republicans tried adding more pro-life amendments to the measure, including the Hyde Amendment, which would prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to fund most abortions. “The Democrats’ vote to dismiss the Hyde Amendment to allow taxpayer-funded abortions is more evidence of how off the rails this so-called COVID relief bill is,” Hyde-Smith tweeted. (Source: WLBT 03/07/21) Wicker, Hyde-Smith decry Senate’s decision to exclude pro-life amendments from relief bill (wdam.com)

Alcorn to make history in April

LORMAN, Miss. - Alcorn State University will make history in mid-April when it welcomes alumna Dr. Felecia M. Nave. She will become the 20th president of ASU, but the first woman. Nave has spent more than 18 years in higher education. “I am Alcorn, and I hope the students and the university community will see me as a daily reminder of what an Alcorn education can do,” Nave told WLBT. Nave replaces Dr. Alfred Rankins Jr. who resigned in 2018. Dr. Donzell Lee has been serving as interim president. Nave's inauguration is April 16. It will be live-streamed to all three Alcorn campuses in Lorman, Vicksburg and Natchez. (Source: The AP 03/7/21) Alcorn State to Inaugurate First Female President | Mississippi News | US News

La. firm's $15.7M Houma pact

Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors LLC, Lockport, La., awarded a $15,778,147 firm-fixed-price contract to acquire a new diesel electric-hybrid vessel for the New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Houma, La., with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2023. FY 2021 revolving funds in the amount of $15,778,147 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity. (DoD 03/05/21) 

New exec director for Tupelo airport

TUPELO, Miss. - The Tupelo Airport Authority (TAA) board of directors announced March 4 that Joseph Wheeler will become the new executive director of the Tupelo Regional Airport beginning April 1. Wheeler replaces Cliff Nash, who retired in January. Wheeler has 15 years of airport experience, including his current position as the Airport Director for at the Greater Lafourche (Parish) Port Commission in Galliano, La. (Source: Daily Journal 03/04/21) Joe Wheeler named new executive director at Tupelo Regional Airport | News | djournal.com

Wilkinson: HII Ingalls division prez

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced March 5 that its Board of Directors has elected Kari Wilkinson to serve as executive vice president of HII and president of HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss., effective April 1. She will succeed Brian Cuccias, who will retire April 1. Wilkinson currently serves as Ingalls’ vice president of  program management. (Source: HII 03/05/21) Photo Release — Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces the election of Kari Wilkinson as Ingalls Shipbuilding President as Brian Cuccias Plans for Retirement | Huntington Ingalls Industries

Marine reserve NOLA nominations

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced March 4 that the president has made the following nominations: Marine Corps Reserve Brig. Gen. Mark A. Hashimoto has been nominated for appointment to the rank of major general.  Hashimoto is currently serving as commanding general, Force Headquarters Group, U.S. Marine Forces Reserve, New Orleans, La.; and Marine Corps Reserve Col. Sean N. Day has been nominated for appointment to the rank of brigadier general. Day is currently serving as deputy commander, Force Headquarters Group, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, New Orleans, La. (Source: DoD 03/04/21)

ET2 nominee for ATC tech of year

Electronics Technician 2nd (ET2) Isaac Marble will be representing Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base (NAS/JRB) New Orleans and Navy Region Southeast as a nominee for the Navy-wide Vice Admiral William P. Lawrence Naval Air Traffic Control Technician of the Year Award. The annual award singles out the most outstanding performers in air traffic control and aviation support. (Source: Currents 03/2021) 

CG medevacs tug crewman

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard medically evacuated a 35-year-old man from a tug boat about 18 miles southwest of Atchafalaya Bay in Louisiana on March 3. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a call via VHF-FM radio from the tug boat Lady Loren stating a crewmember was reportedly suffering chest pains and shallow breathing. The CG launched an Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew to assist. The crew safely hoisted the man and took him to Terrebonne Medical Center in Houma, La., for further medical care. (Source: Coast Guard 03/03/21)

Lower material readiness for ships

Navy ship readiness has trended downward in the last three years with several ship systems on submarines and surface ships showing lower readiness scores in FY 2020 compared to a recent average, according to the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) annual report March 3. INSURV conducts material readiness inspections on new ships before they join the fleet to ensure they were built properly, as well as periodic inspections on existing ships in the fleet to ensure they’re still in good working condition. In FY-20, INSURV conducted 55 inspections, including 36 material inspections, on ships in the fleet and 15 sea trials for new ships being delivered. “The overall Fleet material condition shows a negative trend over the last three years, but it is within a standard deviation of the 6-year average,” read the report. Out of 21 functional areas, surface ships were marked as degraded in 11 areas, compared to just six areas six years ago. Fourteen of the 21 areas, ships in FY-20 tested below the six-year average. “The surface force showed a declining trend in average IFOM (INSURV Figure of Merit), but this decline is within a standard deviation of the 6-year average,” the report reads. Only information systems improved readiness. The report notes that three Ticonderoga-class cruisers, 16 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, one Freedom- and one Independence-variant of Littoral Combat Ship, one Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, one Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship, one Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship and one Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship were inspected. Two DDGs from Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula., Miss., USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117) and the future Delbert Black (DDG-119) underwent trials with INSURV. For Delbert Black, the acceptance trials improved from the prior year’s ship. DDG 119 achieved the highest IFOM score out of six ships presented for AT since 2016. “The ship completed AT with no significant construction (starred) deficiencies.” On the Freedom-variant LCS, USS St. Louis (LCS-19) and the future Minneapolis-St. Paul (LCS-21) went through acceptance trials at the Fincantieri Marinette (Wis.) Marine. At Austal USA yard in Mobile, Ala., the future Oakland (LCS-24) and Mobile (LCS-26) went through acceptance trials, and USS Cincinnati (LCS-20) went through final contract trials. “The program’s AT performance continued its strong record over the past 2 years,” read the report. (Source: USNI News 03/03/21) https://news.usni.org/2021/03/03/insurv-inspections-found-lower-material-readiness-on-surface-ships-subs

MSU prof earns nat'l teaching award

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State University assistant clinical professor Athena Owen-Nagel is the recipient of a University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPOCEA) national award for innovative and dedicated distance learning teaching methods. UPCEA is the leading association for professional, continuing and online education. Owen-Nagel, an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Geosciences, will formally accept the 2021 UPCEA Excellence in Teaching Association Award at the national UPCEA conference that is to be held virtually in April. (Source: MSU 03/03/21)

EPA environmental grants up to $6M

DALLAS - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the availability of up to $6M in grant funding under The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program and The Environmental Justice Small Grants (EJSG) Program. "These grants are crucial to supporting vulnerable and overburdened communities disproportionately affected by environmental health risks," said Environmental Justice Director Matthew Tejada. EPA will be giving special consideration to the following focus areas: Addressing COVID-19 concerns faced by low-income communities and communities of color; Climate Change and Natural Disaster Resiliency outreach and planning; New applicants to either opportunity; Ports Initiative to assist people living and working near ports across the country; and small non-profits. The EJCPS Cooperative Agreement Program's total estimated funding is about $3.2M. EPA anticipates awarding two cooperative agreements of $160,000 each within each of the 10 EPA Regions. To learn more about pre-application assistance calls and how to apply for funding, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmental-justice/environmental-justice-collaborative-problem-solving-cooperative-agreement-0. The EJSG Program estimates approximately $2.8M will be awarded to five applications per EPA region in amounts of up to $50,000 each. This includes the EPA's Ports Initiative program which anticipates funding up to six additional projects that address clean air issues at coastal and inland ports or rail yards. To learn more about pre-application assistance calls and how to apply for funding, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-small-grants-program. Applicants interested in either opportunity must submit proposal packages on or before May 7, 2021 to be considered for the available funding. Applicants should plan for projects to begin on October 1, 2021. For more information on environmental justice grants, funding, and technical assistance: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-grants-funding-and-technical-assistance. (Source: EPA 03/03/21)

Austal names new VP of biz

MOBILE, Ala. - Austal USA named business development executive Larry Ryder as the company’s new VP of Business Development and External Affairs on March 2. Ryder is to be responsible for all of Austal’s business development efforts, state and federal legislative activities, customer relations with the U.S. military as well as coordinating external communications and media relations. Ryder has experience with shipbuilding programs and served as the first director of the U.S. Marine Corps’ High Speed Vessel (HSV) program office, where he helped develop the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) program. He also served as the deputy program manager for the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) in the Navy’s Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. (Source: Austal USA: 03/02/21)

MS 'guv' lifts mask mandate

TUPELO - Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves will lift all county mask mandates; and businesses will be able to operate at full capacity without imposed rules starting March 3. “Our hospitalizations have plummeted, and our case numbers have fallen dramatically as well," Reeves said during a March 2 media conference. Reeves advised citizens to continue listening to State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs and other health advisors for "the best possible wisdom regarding how you can personally stem any risk of catching COVID." The only restrictions that will remain is Executive Order 1549 where a capacity limit of 50 percent on indoor arenas and those that govern K-12 schools. (Source: Daily Journal 03/02/21) Reeves lifting Mississippi mask mandates, says businesses can operate at full capacity | News | djournal.com UPDATE: The City of Columbus' mask mandate will remain in place until at least the next city council meeting in two weeks. Council members voted 3-2 to keep the mandate and other requirements, including for businesses to post signage reminding customers to wear masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines, at March 2 meeting. (Source: The Dispatch 03/03/21) UPDATE2: With a 5-2 vote on March 2, Starkville aldermen upheld its requirement for people to wear protective face coverings in businesses and other buildings where social distancing may not be possible. (Source: The Dispatch 03/03/21) Additionally, Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker announced the city’s mask order will remain in effect for the “foreseeable future.” (Source: WDAM 03/03/21)

Weeks Marine lands AL harbor job

Weeks Marine Inc., Covington, La., was awarded a $24,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to furnish all the equipment, materials, supplies, and manpower necessary to perform dredging of the Mobile (Ala.) Harbor Navigation Project. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 2, 2022. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 03/02/21)

New CO for NFO primary squadron

Navy training squadron VT-10, located at NAS Pensacola, Fla., held a change-of-command ceremony at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., on Feb. 25 where Cmdr. Jason “Jay” Agostinelli relieved Cmdr. Charles “Bernie” Dennison as commanding officer. VT-10 is the only primary squadron in the naval flight officer training pipeline. Agostinelli is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who has accumulated over 3,000 flight hours in the P-3C Orion, T-43A, T-34C Turbo Mentor, and T-6A Texan II aircraft. “What an honor to come full circle in my flight officer career” to lead VT-10, the incoming CO said. Cmdr. John “Jackie” Gleason will assume the role of executive officer. (Source: Chief of Naval Air Training 03/01/21)