Four Canadians killed by U.S. friendly fire in Afghanistan were honoured by their American fellow soldiers of 187th Infantry Regiment. Amid the echoing strains of a lone bugler and the sharp report of a 21-gun salute, the men’s names were unveiled in a granite block, part of the 187th’s memorial to members who have died in conflicts dating back to the Second World War.
Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Pte. Richard Green and Pte. Nathan Smith died April 18, 2002, when an American fighter pilot mistakenly dropped a bomb on Canadians who were conducting a night exercise near Kandahar, Afghanistan. The four men, who served alongside U.S. soldiers as part of Task Force Rakkasan, are the first non-Americans ever included on the memorial wall.
As part of his Memorial Day weekend features, MilBlogger “Greyhawk” offers “Per Liberta,” a memoriam to Italian Brigadier Giuseppe Coletta. Coletta, a Sicilian officer in the 13th Regiment of the Carabinieri (military police) of Gorizia, was killed in a Nov. 12, 2003 bomb blast in an-Nasiriyah, Iraq. “Greyhawk” is an active duty 20-year veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Sovereign Council of the Order of Malta has posthumously conferred on Brigadier Giuseppe Coletta the Gold Medal of Merit with Swords. The decoration acknowledges the value of the Brigadier’s work to the Order’s assistance to the Iraqi population, in particular to the children and families who received essentials such as food, medicine and scholastic materials.
“This morning I spoke at a Memorial Day ceremony held at the Travis County International Cemetery. A group of Hispanic vets tends the graves of indigent American veterans buried in the cemetery. The place is one of those plots of ground with a decidedly checkered past. In the 19th century it was a “paupers graveyard.” The county buried small pox victims at the site, and – according to one of the officers in Tejanos in Action – victims of a plague that struck in the early 20th century were buried there as well. I suspect the land served as “a Negro cemetery” and “a Mexican cemetery.”
Approximately twenty years ago Tejanos in Action started fixing up the cemetery and handling the burials of indigent veterans…”
In the wake of the U.S. Secretary of Defense’s FY 2006 budget requests for $419 billion after making a number of significant program cuts, the U.S. House of Representatives (Congress) passed H.R.1815, a $441 billion defense budget for FY 2006. The legislation passed on a 390-39 vote, but the budget will not be final until the U.S. Senate passes its own bill after June 6; the two bills must then be reconciled in committee before the U.S. President can sign a final budget.
Highlights of the Congressional Pentagon budget include:
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. on Wednesday said it received a $212 million contract from Britain’s Ministry of Defense that authorizes production of Arrowhead sensor kits by its subcontractor Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Orlando, FL.
Arrowhead is an advanced electro-optical & fire control system that AH-64 Apache helicopter pilots use for combat targeting of their missiles and other weapons, as well as safe flight in day, night, or bad weather missions. It is the successor to TADS/PNVS. Arrowhead’s forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensors use advanced image processing techniques to give pilots the best possible resolution to avoid obstacles such as wires and tree limbs during low-level flight.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Stratford, CT received a $24.9 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price advance acquisition contract (N00019-04-C-0115) for long lead material and effort associated with the FY 2006 production and delivery of 12 full rate production MH-60R Multi-Mission helicopters. This award is similar to a recent $25.5 million long lead material advance acquisition contract issued to Lockheed Martin (N00019-04-C-0113).
Lockheed Martin is the mission systems integrator for the MH-60R Seahawk Multi-Mission Helicopter, and also provides the digital cockpit, which is common to all MH-60R and H-60S Knighthawk helicopters. Sikorsky designs and manufactures the MH-60R and H-60S aircraft, and is responsible for the mechanical and electrical modifications on the airframe.
Boeing Helicopter in Ridley Park, PA is being awarded an $8.8 million ceiling-priced order for manufacture of blade assemblies used on the U.S. Navy and Marines’ H-46 Sea Knight helicopters. This venerable aircraft’s primary mission areas in the Navy as the UH-46D include Combat Logistics Support and Vertical Replenishment (VERTREP), Search and Rescue, and Special Operations. As a Marine Corps platform, the CH-46E is used primarily during cargo and troop transport. The pictured aircraft in this post is a CH-46E.
TYBRIN Corp. in Fort Walton Beach, FL received a $36 million cost-plus award-fee contract. This action is a modification to extend their period of performance at the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, CA.These services include system engineering and technical assistance services in support of aerospace research, development, test and evaluation programs, training, and related support activities. Work will be complete by January 2006. The Headquarters Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, CA issued the contract (F06411-00-C-0001, P00097).
Alcoa Wheel and Forged Products in Cleveland, OH received a delivery order amount of $9.6 million as part of a $19.2 million firm-fixed-price contract for blank road wheels for the M1A1 Tank. This contract comes at a time when there is an AIM rebuild program underway that returns used M1A1 tanks to “zero-mileage” condition. Work will be performed in Cleveland, OH and is expected to be complete by May 19, 2006. There were three bids solicited on Dec. 30, 2003, and two bids were received. The Directorate for Contracting in Texarkana, TX issued the contract (W911RQ-05-D-0006).
Dynamic Gunver Technologies in Manchester, CT is being awarded a $5.7 million firm fixed price contract to provide a convergent seal liner, which protects the F-15 aircraft’s convergent seal assemblies from high exhaust gas temperatures. Quantities involved are 8,187 in FY 2006 and 8,375 in FY 2007. Solicitation began March 2005, and negotiations were completed May 2005. The Headquarters Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, OK issued the contract (FA8104-05-D-0032).
