Navy Investigation of Roosevelt Carrier Suicide Finds Faults with Shipyard Climate, Shipboard Suicide Prevention

A Navy investigation of a suicide aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier last year has revealed deadly shortcomings in the service's peer-based method of addressing mental health.


http://dlvr.it/T11YRW

ONR-Sponsored Research Could Potentially Lead to Millions of New Materials

Extraordinarily rugged with a melting temperature of several thousand degrees Fahrenheit. That describes the results of research into new ceramic materials sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and recently published in the Journal Nature.

A research team, led by ONR’s Principal Investigator, Dr. Stefano Curtarolo, Duke University, developed a computational method for creating new types of ceramics using transition metals – carbonitrides or borides – through a process called Disordered Enthalpy-Entropy Descriptor (DEED).

The applications are endless, said Dr. Eric Wuchina, a research materials engineer who was the program officer with ONR’s Sea Warfare and Weapons department when Curtarolo’s research team was awarded the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI).

According to Wuchina, the variety of new compositions could create potentially millions of new materials.


http://dlvr.it/T115tq

B-1B Lancer Bomber Crashes at Air Force Base in South Dakota During Training Mission

A B-1B Lancer bomber crashed while trying to land Thursday evening in South Dakota at Ellsworth Air Force Base.

Jan. 4, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

A B-1B bomber crashed as it was attempting to land at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., on Jan. 4.

All four crew members ejected safely from the aircraft and survived, Ellsworth Air Force Base said in a statement.

The incident occurred during poor weather in below-freezing temperatures with dense fog limiting visibility, according to local weather reports. Radio traffic from local first responders said there was an “active fire” after an “explosion.”

“An Air Force B-1B Lancer assigned to Ellsworth Air Force Base crashed at approximately 5:50 p.m. today while attempting to land on the installation,” the base’s 28th Bomb Wing said in a Jan. 4 statement. “At the time of the accident, it was on a training mission.”

The airbase is closed to flight operations, according to a Notice to Airmen/Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) advisory issued soon after the incident. The NOTAM was extended on Jan. 5.

One Airman is currently being treated at a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries, the 28th Bomb Wing said in a Jan. 5 statement. The other three crew members were treated on base for minor injuries.

A spokesperson for the wing told Air & Space Forces Magazine they could not provide further details of the incident.

Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Ellsworth Air Force Base is near Rapid City. It is one of only two B-1 bases. The 28th Bomb Wing operates over 20 B-1s, according to the base. The Air Force has 45 B-1s in its inventory.

The aircraft was initially designed to operate as a supersonic, nuclear-capable bomber with variable-sweep wings. But the fleet has been used hard over the last two decades in the Middle East after being converted to a purely conventional bomber. The aircraft is known to have a poor mission-capable rate.

Ellsworth is slated to receive the first operational B-21 Raider stealth bombers, which are scheduled to fully replace the B-1.

“The Air Force will conduct a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the accident,” the 28th Bomb Wing said.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated Jan. 5 with additional details.

http://dlvr.it/T10nDZ

Mother and Uncle of a US Serviceman Are Rescued from Gaza in a Secret Operation

The U.S. has coordinated with Israel, Egypt and others in rescuing the mother of a U.S. serviceman and her American brother-in-law who were pinned down during heavy fighting in Gaza City.


http://dlvr.it/T0yYMR

U.S. Army helicopter unit conducts rescue from Tok, Alaska

Soldiers assigned to Charlie Company, 1-52 General Support Aviation Battalion, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, performed an aeromedical evacuation of a civilian adult from the community of Tok, Alaska, on New Year’s Eve.


http://dlvr.it/T0x07R