Wednesday, June 7, 2017 - Today is
Union Dissolution Day in Norway
Gunman kill one guard and injure two inside Iran's
Parliament
Two shooting incidents have been
reported this morning inside Iran's Parliament, killing one. Three armed men
charged at security officers guarding the front gate of Iranian Parliament this
morning. Armed men also opened fire at the shrine of Ayatollah
Khomeini in the capital city of Tehran.
Family says Australian nanny killed in London terror
attack
Relatives of Australian Sara Zelenak
have confirmed she was killed in the London attacks over the weekend.
The British police have identified the
three men behind Saturday night's terror attack in London as Khuram Shazad Butt
and Rachid Redouane. And the third terrorist behind the London Bridge attack has
been named and identified as Moroccan-Italian Youssef Zaghba.
London's Mayor Sadiq Khan is calling on
the British government to cancel a state visit from President Trump after Trump
criticized his response to this weekend's terror attacks in London.
And British Prime Minister Teresa May
says human rights laws will be changed "if they get in the way" of the country's
fight against terror.
Police attacked at Notre Dame
Cathedral
A hammer-wielding assailant shouting,
"This is for Syria!" attacked police outside Notre Dame Cathedral yesterday,
setting off a security scramble at one of Paris' best-known landmarks.
Strikes continue against ISIS in
Iraq
U.S. and Coalition military forces
continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday,
Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve
officials reported today.
In Iraq,
Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 35 engagements
against ISIS targets. Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical
unit and destroyed three ISIS staging areas and two vehicles; Near
Mosul, four strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units, destroyed 20 fighting
positions, two heavy machine guns, a supply cache, a mortar system, a vehicle
and a rocket-propelled grenade system, damaged a command-and-control node, an
ISIS supply route and a fighting position, and suppressed a mortar team; and
near Rawah, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed
four ISIS staging areas, an ISIS headquarters and an ISIS
ware-house.
U.S. Department of Defense releases
report on military and security developments in
China
The U.S. Department of Defense's annual report,
Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic
of China, is now available here . This report informs
Congress of the Department of Defense's assessment of military and security
developments involving China.
As stipulated by law, the report is a DOD product
and is transmitted to Congress by the secretary of defense. It is coordinated
with other agencies and departments across the U.S. Government, and it is the
authoritative assessment from the United States Government on military and
security developments involving China.
The body in the river
London's Metropolitan Police have
confirmed they have found the body of a man in the Thames River, believed to be
that of missing Frenchman Xavier Thomas, who has become the eighth victim of the
London Bridge terror attack.
Japan has its home-built F-35
Mitsubishi has rolled out its first
Japanese-made F-35 stealth jet fighter plane.
Kuwait steps in to mediate in
Qatar
Kuwait tried to mediate a resumption of
diplomatic and commercial ties between Qatar and several of its Arab neighbors
yesterday, while President Trump appeared to back those isolating the
energy-rich nation.
Obama says Paris accord will
succeed
Former U.S. President Obama yesterday
praised public and private entities for vowing to press ahead with the goals of
the Paris accord on climate change, despite his successor's decision to abandon
the landmark global agreement. But the momentum of climate change efforts and
the affordability of cleaner fuels will keep the United States moving toward its
goals of cutting emissions despite the Trump administration's withdrawal from
the Paris global accord, U.S. business leaders say.
And David Rank, the top-ranking diplomat
at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, has abruptly resigned, telling
colleagues he is leaving the foreign service over disagreements with Trump
administration's climate change policy.
Syrian Democratic Forces launch battle to liberate
Raqqa
By Lisa Levine, News of the Force Tel Aviv
The Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF), with the help of Coalition forces airstrikes, have launched the
battle to liberate the Syrian city of Raqqa from the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria.
Coalition forces destroyed
additional pro-Syrian regime forces that advanced inside the well-established
deconfliction zone in southern Syria yesterday. Despite previous
warnings, pro-regime forces entered the agreed-upon deconfliction zone with a
tank, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, armed technical vehicles and more than
60 soldiers posing a threat to Coalition and partner forces based at the At Tanf
Garrison.
In
Syria yesterday, Coalition military forces conducted 21 strikes consisting of 35
engagements against ISIS targets: Near Abu Kamal, two strikes
destroyed three vehicles and a front-end loader. Near Raqqa, 17
strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units and destroyed seven fighting positions,
two ISIS bridges, two vehicles, an ISIS boat and an ISIS communications tower.
Near Tabqah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit. And
near Tanf, a strike engaged a pro-Syrian regime tactical unit,
destroyed two artillery systems and an anti-air artillery system, and damaged a
tank.
A Palestinian citizen
of Israel was shot dead by a private security officer in the town of Kafr Qasim
late on Monday night amid clashes between police and Palestinian
citizens.
And Israel has
enthusiastically welcomed America's ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, to the
country. She's the most outspoken supporter of Israel in a Trump administration
that boasts many friends of the Jewish state.
Couzin Gym's Thought for the
Day: I am becoming increasingly worried that there isn't enough
anxiety in my life.
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps
After eight days of bilateral training
events ashore and at sea, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Thai
Navy (RTN) concluded the 23rd-annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training
(CARAT) exercise, at Sattahip Naval Base in Thailand, yesterday.
The crew of the Arleigh Burke-class
guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) recently
completed the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) assessment and received an
overall assessment score of 92% - well above the class average.
Rear Adm. Paul D. Pearigen, commander,
Navy Medicine West (NMW), and chief of the Navy Medical Corps, paid an official
visit to the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) in San Diego, Calif.,
on June 2nd, to learn more about the command's medical research
initiatives.
Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Keithley was
presented with the U.S. Navy League's Scroll of Honor, on June 2nd, in Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, recognizing his efforts in developing a pair of concepts to
use unmanned aerial and underwater vehicles in innovative ways at sea and in
port. Jeff Brown, president of the U.S. Navy League Pacific Region, presented
the award during the Commander, Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT) Commander's
Conference. This was the first time the Navy League has presented the award for
innovation.
The new Submarine Bridge Trainer (SBT)
officially opened at the Trident Training Facility (TRITRAFAC) in Bangor,
Wash., during a ribbon cutting ceremony, on June 5th. Rear Adm. John
Tammen, commander, Submarine Group 9, Capt. John Fancher, commanding officer of
TRITRAFAC Bangor, and Rear Adm. Moises DelToro, commander, Naval Undersea
Warfare Center, cut the ribbon to officially open the new trainer.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) earned its Flight Deck Carrier (FDC)
qualifications while underway in the Atlantic Ocean, June 1st-12th. The
certification ensures that Abraham Lincoln's flight deck as well as the Sailors
who conduct flight operations is capable of safely launching and recovering
aircraft. The last jet landing aboard Abraham Lincoln occurred
on Aug. 6, 2012, just prior to the ship entering a four-year Refueling and
Complex Overhaul (RCOH). The certification is a major milestone on the ship's
way to becoming fully mission ready.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile
destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) has departed Palma de Mallorca, Spain,
after a three-day scheduled port visit. The ship's presence in the Mediterranean
Sea is a demonstration of the U.S.' continued commitment to the collective
security of the European region.
The Los Angeles-class attack submarine
USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) arrived at Busan, Republic of Korea (ROK)
yesterday for a routine visit during a regularly scheduled deployment to the
Western Pacific.
Six Navy veterans from the Battle of
Midway, along with more than 200 active duty service members, veterans and
civilians, attended the 75th Anniversary Battle of Midway Celebration on June
5th, held at the United States Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. Rear Adm.
Charles "Chip" Rock, commandant, Naval District Washington (NDW), began the
official ceremony by placing a wreath in remembrance of the sailors and Marines
who fought and died in the battle.
The George H.W. Bush Carrier
Strike Group (GHWBCSG) resumed strike missions in support of Operation Inherent
Resolve (OIR) from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, yesterday. The GHWBCSG entered
the Mediterranean Sea on June 5th after conducting operations in support of OIR
and maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet's area of operations. The
GHWBCSG previously operated in the U.S. 6th Fleet's area of operations and last
conducted strikes in from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in support of OIR from
March 6th-8th. The GHWBCSG operations in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in
support of OIR demonstrate the capability of the U.S. Navy to conduct precision
strikes on ISIS targets from multiple theaters, highlighting the flexibility of
the Navy's globally deployed force.
A U.S. Marine's emotional support
dog has bitten a passenger aboard a Delta Airlines flight. A police report said
that the dog's owner, Ronald Kevin Mundy, Jr., of North Carolina, was a military
service member with the U.S. Marine Corps.
Vice Adm. Kevin M. Donegan has been
nominated for reappointment to the rank of vice admiral and for assignment
as director, the Navy Staff, N09B, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, the
Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Donegan is currently serving as commander, U.S. Naval
Forces Central Command and commander, 5th Fleet, Bahrain.
Rear Adm. Matthew J. Kohler has been
nominated for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and for assignment as
commander, Naval Information Forces, Suffolk, Va.
Rear Adm. Andrew L. Lewis has
been for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and for assignment as
deputy chief of naval operations for operations, plans, and strategy, N3/N5,
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Lewis is
currently serving as vice director for operations, J3, the Joint Staff, the
Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
Rear Adm. (lower half) Ann M. Burkhardt
has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral. Burkhardt
is currently serving as director, Department of Defense Sexual Assault
Prevention and Response Office, Arlington, Va.
The story of the Wake Island
defenders in December 1941 has inspired generations of Americans, but the island
is so remote that few ever get the chance to see the site of their courage.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff remedied that for his
staff on his way back from the Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultation in Sydney
today. "We had to have a fuel stop for the plane, so I thought 'Why
not at Wake?'" Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford told reporters traveling with him.
Dunford had been to the island before when serving as the senior
aide to Gen. Carl Mundy, the commandant of the Marine Corps from 1991 to 1995 -
the period covering the 50th anniversary of World War II. "General Mundy used to
say that the defense of Wake and the story of Jimmy Devereux was what really
inspired him to join the Marine Corps," the general said. The
then-six-year-old future commandant was not the only one inspired by the defense
of Wake Island - Americans everywhere were electrified by the efforts of the
service members there. Then-Marine Corps Major James Devereux was
the commander of the 1st Defense Battalion on the island when Japanese forces
attacked just a few hours after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The
Japanese destroyed eight of 12 Marine Corps Grumman Wildcat fighters on the
island and raided several more times. Civilian contractors joined with the 450
Marines to hold off any attempt to take the island. On Dec. 11,
1941, they did just that, holding fire with their coastal artillery until the
Japanese approached the island. The gunners sank a Japanese destroyer and a
submarine and the four Wildcats sank another Japanese
destroyer. Japan's South Seas Fleet beat a hasty
retreat. But the Japanese came back on Dec. 23rd with many
more ships, including two of the aircraft carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor.
They stayed outside the range of Devereux’s guns and hammered their positions as
more than 1,500 Japanese Marines stormed the beaches. The Wake Island defenders
had no choice but to surrender. "I thought it would be a great
place to stop and share the history of Wake Island with the rest of the team,"
Dunford said. Dunford and his staff donned exercise gear and ran
the four-mile course, stopping at various World War II sites along the way. Air
Force personnel based on the island accompanied the party, pointing out the
sites of interest. "What affected all of us was the rock with the 98 carved into
it," the general said. The rock is a boulder of coral with "98 PW
5-10-43" carved into it. The Japanese killed 98 prisoners of war on the island
on Oct. 10, 1943. One of the prisoners escaped, swam the mile-and-a-half channel
and carved the inscription. He was later captured and beheaded by the Japanese
admiral commanding the captured base. The general’s run began at
the 98 Rock and ended at the Marine Memorial near the airport terminal.
"For me, whenever I go back to those World War II battlefields, you
see what 400 Marines did with some sailors, some soldiers, some contractors," he
said. "They killed 700 enemy, they sank a submarine, they sank a couple of
ships, they held out under unbelievable conditions. They endured being held as
POWs. My commitment as we're leaving here is we are not going to
soil the colors on our watch," he continued. "We’re proud to follow in your
footsteps, we're not going to let you down and we're going to do you
proud."
U.S. Navy anti-submarine warfare
(ASW) experts are adding towed-array sonar systems to the fleet to enable
surface warships to hunt and attack quiet enemy submarines lurking at a variety
of ocean depths.
Smart munitions experts at the
Raytheon Co. are making plans to flight-test a powered and extended-range
version of the data-linked AGM-154C-1 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) to attack
moving maritime targets like enemy surface warships.
U.S. Navy radio communications
experts are making plans to upgrade existing VHF-UHF radios with 721S fixed-site
VHF-UHF radio transceivers from Rockwell Collins, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
There are currently not enough Marines
for a permanent Marine Corps presence in South Korea, their commander
says.
And two people in North Carolina have
been sentenced after targeting Marines and their wallets in online dating
scam.
DOD launches Blended Retirement System Comparison
Calculator
The tool walks
members through five screens, allowing users to adjust 12 data fields and
compare benefit scenarios under both systems, Air Force Major Michael Odle, the
Defense Department's assistant director of military compensation policy,
explained. The calculator is aimed at helping eligible members make
the best decision about whether to remain in the current retirement plan, known
as the High-3 System, or opt into the Blended Retirement System, which goes into
effect on Jan. 1st, he said. Eligible service members have
until Dec. 31, 2018, to enroll in the new system. Military members who enter
service on or after Jan. 1st will automatically be enrolled in the
BRS.
The tool is meant to
provide flexibility so members can compare estimated benefits under a variety of
situations, said Steve Galing, the lead analyst in the Defense Military
Personnel Policy Analytical Directorate. Members are advised to
consult with a financial professional, he said. "This is a personal decision,"
he added. "There are a lot of various resources available to our members, but
ultimately it is up to the member."
The calculator is a
comprehensive tool designed to take into account the unique financial situations
of all who serve - active duty, National Guard members and reservists, Odle
said, and it's designed to be used in conjunction with the mandatory BRS opt-in
course. This comparison calculator is the only comparison tool
endorsed by the DOD, he added.
The opt-in BRS course
is available with a common access card through Joint Knowledge Online or through a
service's learning management system. Military OneSource offers the
course without a CAC. Military OneSource is hosting a Blended Retirement System
question-and-answer session on June 8th at 1 p.m., EDT, on its Facebook page.
Additionally, an optional training course for the calculator will
be available in the next weeks, Odle said.
An information box
will pop up when users hover over underlined text in the calculator, providing
further information on that topic, Odle explained. Further information is
available through the links in the "more info" section under each page of the
calculator. After a user inputs all the information, the calculator
will generate a results page. Service members are encouraged to go through the
process several times to see how their projected benefits change under various
situations, Odle said.
The comparison
calculator does not take into account optional Thrift Savings Plan service member
contributions under the legacy plan, and it does not account for optional
monthly automatic Treasury Direct Government Savings Bonds purchased under the
legacy retirement plan, he explained.
All currently serving
members are grandfathered under their legacy retirement plans. Active component
service members with fewer than 12 years of service as of Dec. 31, 2017, and
reservists in a pay status with fewer than 4,320 retirement points as of Dec.
31, 2017, are covered under the existing system, but are eligible to opt into
the Blended Retirement System.
A moment for remembrance
By Doug Abruzzo, NOTF Staff Writer
Here's a little history most people
will never know: Interesting veterans statistics off the Vietnam Memorial
Wall:
There are 58,267 names now listed on
that polished black wall, including those added in 2010. The names are arranged
in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the
names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe how long it's been since
the last casualties.
The first known casualty was Richard B.
Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass., listed by the U.S Department of Defense as
having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of
his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon, III, who was killed on
Sept. 7, 1965. There are three sets of fathers and sons on the
Wall. Thirty-one sets of brothers are on the Wall. Thirty-one sets of
parents lost two of their sons. Eight women are on the Wall, who were nursing
the wounded.
997 soldiers were killed on their first
day in Vietnam . 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. The
most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968: 245 deaths. The
most casualty deaths for a single month was in May 1968: 2,415
deaths.
39,996 persons named on the Wall were
just 22 or younger. 8,283 were just 19 years old. The largest age group, 33,103,
were 18 years old. Twelve soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.
Five soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old. One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock,
was just 15 years old.
Two hundred and forty-four soldiers were
awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the
Wall.
West Virginia had the highest casualty
rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.
Beallsville, Ohio, with a population of
475, lost 6 of her sons. Fifty-four soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison
High School in Philadelphia, Pa.
The Marines of Morenci led some of the
scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona
copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed
roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado
Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest, and in the patriotic
camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci
High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on
Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.
The Buddies of Midvale, Le Roy Tafoya,
Jimmy Martinez, and Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three
consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on 5th, 6th and 7th avenues. They lived
only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And
they all went to Vietnam. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three
would be killed. Le Roy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22nd, the fourth
anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours
later on Thanks-giving Day. And Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on
Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
For most Americans who read this they
will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who
survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we
feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we, too, pass away,
haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands,
wives, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble
warriors.
According to DOD and VA records and census
data, of the 2,709,981 service members who actually served "in country" (the
combat zone) estimates are that roughly 850,000 were still alive (as of April
2016). That is about 31 percent; meaning about two -thirds of us are already
gone. Enjoy life while you still have it in you.
Homeland insecurity
For the small fraternity of people who
make their living coaxing musical notes out of vulnerable pieces of wood and
metal, few things are more terrifying than seeing an expensive, defenseless
instrument disappear on that little conveyor belt at the airport. Horror stories
abound. A musician checked his $45,000, 75-year-old cello, which airport workers
promptly placed beneath somebody's golf clubs, snapping its neck. A noted German
soloist said airport workers roughed up his cello case. After his flight, he
found his $20,000 bow broken in half. A Florida State University music student
on a flight to Tallahassee found splinters of wood where her cello used to be.
Those stories and many, many more have converged into an unwritten musician's
rule: Never trust an airline with your instrument. So when a Houston-based gate
agent at United Airlines told Yennifer Correia that she would have to check her
17th-century violin, which costs more than her car, the first words out of her
mouth were: "What are my other options?" The situation soured from there, her
attorney says, resulting in what is becoming another black eye for an airline
industry that dragged a bleeding man off an overbooked flight this spring and
allegedly booted a family from a flight over a birthday cake. Correia, a
classical violinist on her way to Columbia, Mo., to play in the summer season at
the Missouri Symphony Orchestra, asked for an airport supervisor. But the
supervisor said there were no other options. The violin had to be checked. Her
attorney, Phil MacNaughton, recounted what happened from there. Correia told the
supervisor, "I can't not take my violin on board. I'll pay the money. I'll take
another flight. Just tell me what I can do." As the altercation intensified,
Correia told the agents that she would appeal to their bosses and asked the
supervisor for her name, MacNaughton said. The supervisor said she wanted
Correia's name and reached for the tag on her luggage. "Without provocation, the
supervisor for the Chicago-based carrier then lunged for Ms. Correia's case and,
incredibly, tried to wrestle it away from the musician," said a statement
written by MacNaughton. "I start screaming, 'Help, help, help, can somebody
record what's happening because this lady's trying to take my personal suitcase
from me,'" Correia told Houston NBC affiliate KPRC. The supervisor said she was
going to call security, and Correia apparently responded, "Please do." Then the
supervisor dashed off. That was the last Correia saw of her. During the scuffle,
MacNaughton said, Correia's hand was injured. She doesn't believe there is
permanent damage, but she went to see a hand specialist "because the stakes are
high." United Airlines didn't offer an account of what happened. Charles Hobart,
a spokesman, emailed a statement to The Washington Post: "We're
dis-appointed anytime a customer has an experience that does not live up to his
or her expectation. We are reaching out to Ms. Correia to gain a better
understanding of what occurred and to offer assistance."
For the first time in the city's
history, Buffalo, N.Y., is hosting the National Homeland Security
Conference.
An investigation has been launched by
the DHS into reported attempts of compromising electronic poll software on
Election Day in North Carolina.
What was in two "suspicious" duffel bags
that prompted the evacuation of a St. Louis, Mo., police station overnight?
A man's personal items, apparently dumped outside after he had an argument with
his girlfriend. Someone may have found them by a trash bin and taken them to the
North Patrol Division, where they prompted the evacuation. They were left there
at about 12:30 a.m. yesterday. The police station is at 4014 Union
Boulevard, south of Interstate 70. The bags were first deemed suspicious, and
Police Major John Hayden told reporters that bomb and arson technicians disposed
of the bags without incident. Authorities later determined the bags contained a
man's personal papers and items. The man told police he had an argument with his
girlfriend, and that she put his belongings near a trash bin outside an
apartment they shared. He told police he suspects someone found the bags and
dropped them off at the police station. Police shut down Union Boulevard for
about two blocks while they investigated. The road was reopened by 5 a.m. No
charges are pending, police said.
President Trump yesterday nominated
David P. Pekoske, the former vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, to be the
next administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA).
And the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) has announced a REAL ID enforcement grace period through July 10,
2017.
U.S. Coast Guard
USCGC Valiant
(WMEC-621)
With the rising opioids epidemic in
Western New York State, the U.S. Coast Guard's Buffalo
Sector is worried about boaters using them.
The U.S. Coast Guard has admitted losing
track of a catamaran from the last place Florida mother-of-one
Isabella Hellmann was seen before she vanished.
The USCGC Valiant
(WMEC-621)'s crew returned home to Naval Station Jacksonville,
Fla., yesterday after a successful 63-day patrol. The crew seized approximately
$147 million worth of cocaine.
A 18-year-old man is missing after
attempting to rescue a swimmer near Frisco, Va., and the Coast Guard is
searching for him.
One person is missing and one has been
rescued after their boat capsized on the Merrimack River, near Boston,
Mass.
The U.S. Coast Guard is looking for
information about a sailboat found off Chincoteague, Va. The boat was found
completely submerged about 12 miles off the coast.
The U.S. Coast Guard says it has called
off the search for a possible person in the water off Dauphin Island, Ala.,
after the man was found safe.
The city of Astoria, Oregon, has
"re-upped" with the Coast Guard. Astoria is home to more than 1,000 members of
Team Coast Guard, including active duty, reserve, civilian and Auxiliary
members, and their families.
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is
reminding boaters to make safety "Priority One" on the water. Drinking and
inattention are the two major causes of boating accidents.
And the Coast Guard is searching for a
man reported missing off North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Pentagon's spending levels to reach highest amount
since 2012
Leaders of the U.S. Department of
Defense (DOD) are seeking an overall increase of nearly 9 percent to the fiscal
2018 Pentagon spending for next year. The proposed DOD budget, submitted to
Congress late last month, is for $639.1 billion, which represents an 8.9 percent
increase over this year's request of $586.7 billion, and is the largest DOD
topline budget request since 2012.
Meanwhile however, U.S. military
spending in substantial electronics accounts is set for slight reductions
next year as trims are expected for pro-curement and research in military
communications, electronics, tele-communications and intelligence (CET&I)
technologies.
News from the U.S. Marshals
Service
Deputy U.S. Marshals have found and
recovered a 5-year-old kidnapped child in Darlington County, S.C. A press
release from the U.S. Marshals task force states Willard Thomas, 49, was
wanted by the Harrisburg (Pa.) Police Department for kidnapping and was
arrested.
Shani Laine Nichols, 32, was arrested by
the United States Marshals yesterday in Muleshoe, Texas, on a felony
warrant in connection with a deadly Feb. 25th car crash in Lubbock,
Texas.
The U.S. Marshals arrested Margarito
Lopez, 33 early this morning in Wilmington, N.C., on two sex
crimes charges.
Local charges have been drooped, but
federal charges have been filed against Nicholas Olsen, of Ammon, and Chanel
Bistodeau, of Blackfoot, in Idaho, who were arrested on April 15th
following a U.S. Marshals manhunt.
U.S. Marshals in bulletproof vests
raided a building down the block from the shooting scene on Washington Ave. near
E. 167th St. in Morrisania, N.Y., where the suspected shooter of a 5-year-old
Bronx, N.Y., boy was arrested.
And Roger Arechiga, of Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, a retired chief in the U.S. Marshals Service, has a
mug shot of Panamanian dictator Gen. Manuel Noriega displayed in his home
office. Arechiga was involved in Noriega's 1990 capture.
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