Morning Coffee: Bad Landing Sends Global Hawk to PAX

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Leader’s owners or staff.

U.S. Air Force photo by Brad White

NAS Pax River, MD, is in anticipation of delivery of a badly broken Global Hawk, according to Edwards Air Force Base News. The remotely piloted aircraft was damaged in an emergency landing in 2009 and declared excess. This month it left storage and the result of an Air Force-Navy transfer agreement will be received by the PMA-262 program at Pax for use “in MQ-4C Triton device development and maintenance training,” said Julie Cagle, 412th Test Support Squadron program manager.

Lee Hall is the Navy civilian who used a Naval Research Laboratory warehouse in Chesapeake Beach, MD, to store  $10,000 worth of illegal silencers the Navy paid $2 million to have manufactured; he was indicted last week, reports the Washington Post. “The no-bid contract [for the silencers] was awarded to the brother of Hall’s boss in Navy intelligence at the Pentagon,” writes Craig Whitlock who began reporting the story in November 2013 after the brother, Mark Landersman, was arrested. Why the Navy would order illegally manufactured silencers remains a mystery.

North Carolina legislators are pushing NavSec Ray Mabus to return funding in the Navy’s budget  for a F-35B vertical lift fan repair facility at Fleet Readiness Center East at Cherry Point, reports Havelock News. It was to be constructed in 2012, but fell prey to delays and budget cuts which ultimately moved it out of planning altogether. The legislators seek its reinstatement in 2018, counseling against reliance upon industry alone for testing and repair.

Well timed for President Barack Obama’s Asian visit next month, the Philippines agreed last week to allow the US access to its military bases, reaffirming the nations’ allegiance as China asserts itself in disputed waters of the South China Sea, Reuters reports on ongoing “enhanced defense cooperation” talks between Washington and Manila.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (NH) introduced  The Veterans Hiring Act to cut business payroll taxes for hiring  vets and The Veterans Entrepreneurship Act to lower SBA loan costs for vets starting small businesses. The bills additionally focus on female vets who are under-represented in veteran-owned businesses, reports The Navy Times.

The Naval Academy midshipman accused of aggravated sexual assault and making false statements to investigators chose a judge rather than a jury in his court-martial proceedings begun Monday at the Washington Navy Yard, reports The Baltimore Sun.

In a cyber-security drill gone awry, an Army commander sparked panic among some government employees and anger from the company that manages their savings plans, reports the Washington Post. Nonetheless, increasing cyber drills are likely as the federal government struggles with cyber security.

The heads of the Navy and Marine Corps continue to repeat their message to legislators, they can just manage to maintain within the restraints of the proposed budget for the upcoming year,  but the subsequent reductions built into the next years will severely impact fleet readiness, reports Seapower Magazine.

FedWeek reports a $1.4 billion salary loss by federal employees last year, based upon an assessment conducted by the General Accounting Office. The loss is the result of furloughs and reductions in advancements, benefits, and pay caused by government belt tightening.

In the mid-term elections, the bigger the win for Republicans, the larger the DoD budget cuts,  says Defense News. If both houses shifts to GOP control, Tea Party members are anticipated to force more severe federal cuts.  “I think you’ll see sequestration on steroids,” Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) member Tim Kaine, (D-VA) told Defense News.

Only a quarter of active-duty troops believe DoD’s proposal to offer more cash incentives and smaller pension checks has merit, according to a survey of 2,737 active-duty troops on the Military Times subscriber list and contacted individually by email, reports the publication.