AlaDefense.com

Air Force awards Tyonek a $98 million contract for cyber training; $46 million in support of C-130 fleet

March 5, 2025

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AIR FORCE, CONTRACTS

By Troy Turner [email protected] MADISON, Alabama — The U.S. Air Force has awarded Tyonek Technical Services LLC, via its Madison site, a $98 million contract for cyber operations training support. The Air Force in a separate, unrelated transaction also awarded Tyonek a nearly $46 million contract for the company to provide depot maintenance support for…
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Pentagon deploys Stryker brigade, aviation battalion to southern border

March 2, 2025

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ARMY

Anniston Army Depot plays vital role with Army’s Stryker vehicles Editor’s note: Anniston Army Depot’s Stryker Exchange program, which began in 2012 through a partnership with General Dynamics Land Systems, works with the Army and assists in efforts to modernize the Army’s fleet of combat vehicles. The Stryker vehicles are planned to be in the…
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‘Crimson Tide’ actor Gene Hackman served in the Marine Corps

February 27, 2025

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MARINES, NAVY

Editor’s note: The following is a file story from the Department of Defense in a series spotlighting well-known entertainers with military experience. It is being reposted upon news today of Hackman’s death, at age 95. By David Vergun, DOD News Actor Gene Hackman, who starred as the captain of the USS Alabama in the film “Crimson…
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Alabama National Guard medics train for combat during exercises in Germany

February 24, 2025

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ARMY

By: Staff Sgt. Jaccob Hearn Alabama National Guard For two weeks in Germany, no one saw the sun. Each new bitter morning, the unending gray, heavy skies of U.S. Army Garrison Hohenfels only promise more cold and rain. The sharp chills, harsh winds, and muddy earth may be the norm for soldiers of the 1st…
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Battle of Iwo Jima: 80 years later, lessons learned

February 19, 2025

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MARINES, NAVY

(Marines raise the flag on Iwo Jima, Japan, Feb. 23, 1945. Photo ccurtesy of Joe Rosenthal, via DOD) By David Vergun DOD News The Battle of Iwo Jima took place from Feb. 19, 1945 to March 26, 1945. The island, only 8 square miles in area, was considered crucial to the strategy of the Pacific campaign…
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A match made in service: Mississippi Air Guard’s kidney donation finds recipient in Alabama Airman

February 15, 2025

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AIR FORCE, ARMY

Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Sargent (middle with maroon shirt) and family visit with Master Sgt. Ron Bohl (second from left) and his family celebrating one month after a successful kidney transplant for Sargent and Bohl’s brother. Bohl, a Mississippi Air National Guardsman, donated a kidney to Sargent, an Alabama Air National Guardsman. Nicole Brannon (second…
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Alabama’s 117th Air Refueling Wing returns from Indo-Pacific deployment

February 11, 2025

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AIR FORCE

By Troy Turner [email protected] The Alabama National Guard’s 117th Air Refueling Wing recently returned from a planned deployment in support of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. The 117th is based at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base in Birmingham and flies the KC-135R Stratotanker. (U.S. Air National Guard photos by Senior Airman Kasie Faddis) “Our airmen…
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Navy extends Austal USA contract for work on littoral combat ships

February 8, 2025

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CONTRACTS, NAVY

Austal USA LLC, based in Mobile, recently received a contract extension with the U.S. Navy to continue “emergent repair and continuous maintenance on the fleet’s littoral combat ships deployed to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans and the countries and ports therein.” Austal was granted a $48 million modification to a previously awarded contract, bringing the…
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UPDATED LIST: DOD’s contracts with Alabama-linked companies bring $billions in defense spending

February 7, 2025

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CONTRACTS

(Laser warfare development is among the many fields of research taking place in Alabama. DOD photo.) By Troy Turner [email protected] The Department of Defense in the past several months has awarded dozens of Alabama-connected companies – many of which are headquartered here – major contracts to support a wide array of military projects, involving almost…
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Audie Murphy: Hero, movie star, veteran

February 2, 2025

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ARMY

Audie Murphy shown relaxing during a 1954 stay at the Tutwiler Hotel in Birmingham. Murphy often toured the nation giving speeches at war memorial dedications, and he did so in Alabama. (Photo via Alabama Department of Archives and History.) Editor’s note: World War II hero and post-war movie star Audie Murphy was in Alabama and…
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Navy singer goes from Auburn to NFL mega-audience on way to social media fame

January 29, 2025

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NAVY

By Troy Turner [email protected] AUBURN – Basketball fans fortunate enough to attend last Saturday’s hard-fought Auburn-Tennessee game briefly may have turned their heads before tipoff to notice the man singing the national anthem. A day later for those who joined millions of others to watch the NFL’s nationally televised AFC Championship football matchup in Kansas…
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Alabama Congressional delegation wastes no time in making pitch to Trump for Space Command Headquarters

January 22, 2025

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Uncategorized

By Troy Turner [email protected] The 119th Congress began its first session on Jan. 3, and within days members from Alabama introduced resolutions in the House and Senate calling on President Trump in his return to office to “immediately proceed in establishing a permanent headquarters for United States Space Command at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.” The resolutions were introduced on…
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