AlaDefense.com

POW/MIA agency continues search for American personnel missing since WWII, including Tuskegee Airmen

December 28, 2024

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AIR FORCE, ARMY, MARINES, NAVY

The remains of Tuskegee Airman Fred Brewer were found in Europe and returned to the U.S. From the Department of Defense The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on Aug. 10, 2023, identified the remains of 2nd Lt. Fred L. Brewer Jr., missing from World War II. Brewer, who joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from North…
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University of Alabama in Huntsville lands $49 million DOD contract

December 18, 2024

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ARMY, CONTRACTS

By Troy Turner [email protected] HUNTSVILLE — The U.S. Army has awarded an almost $49 million contract to the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) for research work and engineering and aviation development services. The Department of the Defense announced the contract Wednesday (Dec. 18). Work locations and funding will be determined with each order for…
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DOD taps Auburn research, Coosa County minerals to help with a critical supply chain need

December 9, 2024

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AIR FORCE, ARMY, CONTRACTS, MARINES, NAVY, SPACE FORCE

(A U.S. Army unmanned, eight-wheeled, all-electric, all-terrain transport vehicle equipped with an enhanced surveillance package. U.S. Army photo.) By Troy Turner [email protected] AUBURN – The U.S. Navy is looking for ways to arm its warships at sea with weapons that don’t run out of ammunition. The Marine Corps and Army are developing ground warfare models…
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Alabama National Guard pins its first female Army Ranger

December 8, 2024

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ARMY

By Spc. Angelina Tran Alabama National Guard FORT MOORE, Ga.— Surrounded by friends, family, mentors and peers, U.S. Army Capt. Allison Miller, a logistics officer for the Alabama National Guard’s 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), became the first female Alabama National Guard soldier to graduate from U.S. Army Ranger School. The ceremony, Dec 6, 2024,…
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Agency accounts for all Sailors, Marines from USS Oklahoma sunk at Pearl Harbor

December 7, 2024

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NAVY

Editor’s note: Several Alabamians were killed while serving on board the USS Oklahoma when it was attacked at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, including Julius Ellsberry, a Birmingham native who was the first African American and Alabamian to die in World War II. Others lost that day included: Navy Chief Warrant Officer John A. Austin…
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Space Command HQ should be decided… sans politics

November 28, 2024

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AIR FORCE, ARMY, COAST GUARD, CYBERSECURITY, MARINES, NAVY, OPINION, SPACE FORCE

COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS By Troy Turner Editor, senior consultant AlaDefense.com A multi-billion-dollar question of national security sits on the table. Along with its answer comes a critical influence on the direction of future warfare and an accompaniment of defense industries that will solidify the mecca of American military space technology. It is time to bring the U.S.…
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Columbus, Ga., veteran-owned company lands $600 million Air Force contract

November 26, 2024

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AIR FORCE, ARMY, CONTRACTS

*********************** STORY UPDATE: Similar details reported in this 2023 story were presented in a renewed contract announcement made by the Department of Defense on Nov. 20, 2024, for ELB Services LLC, of Columbus, Georgia, thus continuing the 11-year, $600 million contract set to expire in 2034. *********************** By Troy Turner [email protected] ELB Services LLC, of…
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The movie Gladiator’s small but meaningful connections to Alabama

November 26, 2024

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NAVY

(Editor’s note: This story originally published in May 2024.) By Troy Turner [email protected] Movie goers are reveling this month over the 24th anniversary of the smash hit and Best Picture winner “Gladiator,” released May 5, 2000; and perhaps more so with the announcement of its sequel, “Gladiator 2,” set for release in November 2024. Both…
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USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park names former Navy commander as new executive director

November 19, 2024

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NAVY

MOBILE — The USS Alabama Battleship Commission announced Tuesday evening that Commander Mark J. Fields, U.S. Navy (Ret.) of Tuscaloosa, will become the ninth executive director of USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park. Fields takes the helm effective Jan. 1, 2025. He follows Maj. Gen. Janet L. Cobb, U.S. Army (Ret.), who retires on Dec. 31…
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Missile Defense Agency taps Auburn University for latest in string of DOD-Auburn research partnerships

November 14, 2024

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AIR FORCE, ARMY, CONTRACTS, CYBERSECURITY, MARINES, NAVY, SPACE FORCE

(Photo: The Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus, located at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville.) By Troy Turner [email protected] AUBURN – The Department of Defense has awarded Auburn University an $11.4 million contract for work and specialized infrastructure access connected to new research for the Missile Defense Agency, which works to protect the U.S. and its…
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Mobile company Waterman Transport will service two Navy-chattered vessels for Antarctica mission

November 12, 2024

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COAST GUARD, CONTRACTS, NAVY

By Troy Turner [email protected] The Navy has awarded Waterman Transport Inc., based in Mobile, two contracts totaling more than $17 million for a variety of services on two large U.S.-flagged container supply ships, the Ocean Gladiator and the Ocean Giant. Work on the ships will be performed in Antarctica and on the East Coast. Both…
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Rep. Mike Rogers is on the shortlist for secretary of defense, and that could bode well for Alabama

November 9, 2024

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AIR FORCE, ARMY, COAST GUARD, CYBERSECURITY, MARINES, NAVY, SPACE FORCE

(Photo: Rep. Mike Rogers, center, during a 2017 visit to Ukraine. DOD photo.) STORY UPDATE: President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday evening announced in a social media post that he is nominating Pete Hegseth for the secretary of defense post. Hegseth has served in the Army National Guard and as a host on FOX News. (Updated…
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