Senate confirms deputy DoD Norquist

The U.S. Senate confirmed President Trump's pick, David Norquist, to become Deputy Defense Secretary by voice vote on July 30. Norquist had been acting as the deputy since January, but stepped aside for the confirmation process. He has been DoD’s comptroller since 2017. He was the latest Pentagon official to be confirmed as senators hurried to wrap up work before the August recess. They’ll be out of D.C. until early September. (Source: The Hill 07/30/19)

SEAP summer internship at NSWCPC

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Six NW Florida high school students completed summer internships through the Navy’s Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) on July 26 after spending eight weeks at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla. SEAP provides opportunity for high school students to participate in STEM-related research at a Navy laboratory during the summer. This is the first time the SEAP internship has been available to high school students in NW Florida for more than a decade. Capt. Aaron Peters, commanding officer at NSWCPC, said it was crucial to grasp the attention of the future generations and “pique their interest” in STEM related fields. Internships allow students to see the immense impact their work can have for the Navy, said Peters. Internships allow students a hands-on collaboration with Navy scientists to develop potential innovative tools and to see the “immense impact their work can have,” he continued. Students participating in the 2019 internship were North Bay Haven High School, Bay High School, Mosley High School, and Rutherford High School. SEAP provided competitive research internships to 250 high school students across the county this year. There are 28 participating Navy labs offering internships, including the Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center, Miss. For more information about SEAP internships, or to apply for summer 2020, please visit: https://seap.asee.org/. The 2020 application window opens Aug. 1. (Source: NSWCPC 07/28/19)

Keeping ‘wild dolphins’ wild

Dauphin Island (Ala.) Sea Lab’s University Programs’ summer students used what they learned in their Marine Mammals course to create public service announcements (PSAs) on the dangers of hand-feeding dolphins. It’s the second year Dr. Jennifer Lewis - director of the Tropical Dolphin Research Foundation - has incorporated the project into that course. Science education should be more than memorizing and learning about data collection, Lewis said via DISL’s website. “It should also be about using that education it to move things ahead. The course is also about giving students the “chance to really dig into a conservation issue, and then do something about it,” she’s quoted. The course covers marine mammals’ anatomy, physiology, behavior, and conservation/management. Students took what they learned to survey the public by directly watching eco-tours and how dolphins react to the by-catch of shrimp fisheries. “Creating media to help educate the public requires students to thoroughly understand it. “Creating something that can be used to enact change is a wonderful lesson because they take ownership and become invigorated when they have the power to actually do something,” she continued. Since January, several dolphins have died as a result of human interaction, says Mackenzie Russell, Stranding Coordinator for the Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network (ALMMSN), which responds to sick, injured, and deceased marine mammals in coastal Alabama. Those interactions include hand-feeding dolphins or stowing debris improperly, which can lead to animals becoming entangled. ALMMSN provides a tip sheet, Keep Wild Dolphins Wild, that can be downloaded Click here. (Source: DISL 07/22/19)

USNS Comfort completes mission

PUNTARENAS, Costa Rica - The military hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) held its closing ceremony at Gimnasio el Coloso de Barranca on July 27 symbolizing the completion of its third medical mission to Central and South America, and the Caribbean. During Comfort’s five-day mission in Costa Rica, some 320 medical professionals from the Air Force, Army, and Navy, alongside six partner- nations – Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru - provided care for more than 5,500 patients at two separate shore-based medical sites and performed more than 130 surgeries aboard the ship. This marks the Comfort’s seventh deployment to the region since 2007. The ship is returning to its homeport in Norfolk, Va., and included some staff from Naval Hospital Pensacola, Fla. (Source: USNS Comfort 07/31/19)

No ‘Kidd’-ing, La. scout becomes XO

Like many Baton Rouge, La., Boy Scouts before and after him, Navy Cmdr. Matt Noland spent many a night aboard the WWII-era USS Kidd (memorial moored on the river in BR) during elementary school. Unlike all others, he’s going to be spending a great deal of time aboard its modern namesake. Noland, born and reared in Baton Rouge, will become executive officer of the current USS Kidd (DDG 100) in September. If all goes as expected, he will become its commanding officer in about 18 months. For Noland, it’s a special assignment. “It is a very cool coincidence,” he told The Advocate. “There are between 250 and 300 ships in the Navy. For me to get the USS Kidd and to be from Baton Rouge and not just be from there but also be interested in that ship from the time I was a little kid is pretty cool. It is not lost on my family.” (Source: The Advocate 07/28/19) USS Kidd is an Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer that was built at HII-Pascagoula, Miss., during the timeframe of Hurricane Katrina.

CG probing Auger off-shore deaths

Rear Adm. John Nadeau, who just recently took command of the Eighth Coast Guard District in New Orleans, convened a formal investigation last week involving the June 30 death of two crewmembers of the Auger offshore production facility located about 210 miles SW of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico. The Auger crew was testing the facility’s lifeboat recovery system when a malfunction occurred resulting in the loss of lives. “The Coast Guard is committed to finding the facts that led to this tragedy,” said Nadeau. “Our intent is to ensure the safety and security of the personnel who work on these facilities and to reduce the likelihood that any similar incidents could occur in the future.” The CG’s Eighth District is responsible for ensuring that firefighting, life-saving and stability systems are operational onboard oil production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: Marine Link 07/30/19) Back in 1994, Auger was the world’s first tension leg platform, operating in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Shell’s website, which also called it a “true deep-water pioneer, it was the first to float in water, moored to the sea floor (2,720 feet) below.”

Austal EPF conducts fleet experiments

KEY WEST, Fla. - The Military Sealift Command’s expeditionary fast transport vessel USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1) recently completed a two-day underway period off Key West to conduct fleet experiments with multiple unmanned aerial and undersea systems, to include the V-BAT vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Scan Eagle UAV and Knifefish unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV). Dr. Christopher Heagney, Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet science advisor, coordinated the fleet experimentations. “The purpose for these underway (periods) is to get new capabilities that are under development by warfare centers, program offices, original equipment manufacturers and academia out in the fleet environment so we can do at-sea testing,” he said. Some of the experiments conducted included testing the Knifefish UUV’s mine countermeasures missions (MCM) from an EPF, operating the V-BAT and Scan Eagle to provide improved detection and monitoring to support counter-narcotics missions and testing the position, navigation and timing (PNT) system for navigation in GPS denied/degraded environments. Among 30 scientists onboard Spearhead was Holly Gardner, Program Executive Office (PEO) Unmanned & Small Combatants (USC) Science & Technology (S&T) Mine Warfare (MIW) Warfare Center Lead at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla. She called her time underway was “incredibly valuable.” Gardner sat with active duty Minemen embarked from Littoral Combat Squadron (LSCRON) 2. “(L)istening to their problems and trying to empathize with them and see things from their perspective, instead of assuming what their needs are. is so important ... (and) gives us a much better understanding of what the fleet needs ... and be in touch with what our sailors need.” Source: U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command 07/29/19) Gulf Coast Note: USNS Spearhead was originally built for the Army by Austal USA shipyards of Mobile, Ala. NSWC Panama City’s mission is to conduct research, development, test and evaluation, and in-service support in Mine Warfare, Naval Special Warfare, Diving and Life Support, and Amphibious and Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare Systems, as well as other missions in the littoral battlespace.

Shooter drill 7/31: Port of NOLA

NEW ORLEANS- The Coast Guard, local, state and national agencies are scheduled to hold an active shooter drill at the Port of New Orleans Cruise Terminal on July 31 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Residents and community members around the cruise terminal should expect large numbers of public safety personnel, equipment, sirens and simulated gunfire. This is a test of staff and equipment and will not pose a threat to the public. Organized by the Coast Guard, this important drill will simulate a full-scale response to a large-scale attack. It will include coordination between the following responding agencies: CG, FBI, Customs and Border Protection, Louisiana State Police, local and state offices of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Port of New Orleans, New Orleans Police, Fire, and EMS, and parish sheriff’s offices. (Source: Coast Guard 07/29/19)

Update: CG recovers boaters

MOBILE, Ala. - Coast Guard Sector Mobile is searching for an overdue vessel with four people aboard Monday (July 29). The vessel, 'Still Rummin', is a 30-foot white Contender with a blue t-top, blue trim, and blue bottom paint. The vessel left from Orange Beach, Ala. Sunday morning to go fishing and has not been heard from since. Overdue are Hunter McCutcheon, Butch McCutcheon, Cary Miller, and Brent Baker. Orange Beach, Alabama, at 7:30 a.m., Sunday, to go fishing and has not been heard from since. CG Sector Mobile received the report at 9:37 p.m. Sunday. Anyone with information about these boaters are asked to contact CG command center at (251) 441-5976. (Source: Coast Guard 07/29/19) UPDATE: The CG located the four people aboard an overdue vessel about 55 nautical miles offshore Orange Beach around 9 a.m., Monday. There were no reported injuries. The people were stranded after their vessel’s battery died. A CG HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew launched from Aviation Training Center, Mobile, located the vessel.

La. group files suit: O&G rollback regs

The Louisiana-based conservation group Healthy Gulf filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California federal court challenging the Trump administration’s rollback of offshore oil-and-gas drilling regulations that relaxed requirements on blowout preventers and real-time monitoring. Healthy Gulf and nine other environmental groups filed the suit June 11 against Scott Angelle - a former Louisiana lieutenant governor, and current director of the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). The lead plaintiff in the suit is the Sierra Club, based in Oakland, Calif. BSEE was formed weeks after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster to oversee safety and environmental protection in offshore energy development. The lawsuit alleges the government is weakening measures deemed necessary after the disaster to reduce the risk of workers' deaths and oil spills. The changes ease new regulations on some of the practices that led to the spill. The bureau did not provide adequate reasons for relaxing its rules, Cyn Sarthou, executive director of Healthy Gulf, told NOLA.com. In 2017, the president issued an executive order directing BSEE to reexamine the so-called Well Control Rule, which was imposed in the wake of the 2010 spill to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence. The order directed the bureau to find ways to encourage energy exploration and production on the Outer Continental Shelf that extends more than 200 miles offshore. The order called for reducing unnecessary regulations while ensuring energy exploration would stay safe and environmentally responsible. The rule changes went into effect this month. BSEE estimates the changes will save the industry $152M in compliance costs annually, over a decade, according to the final rule published in the Federal Register. (Source: NOLA.com 07/28/19)

Vessel fire extinguished in GoM

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard responded to a vessel on fire, with eight passengers aboard, about four nautical miles south of Perdido Pass, Ala., around 2 p.m. July 27. Coast Guard Sector Mobile received a report that the charter vessel Hoss Fly III was afire off the coast of the Orange Beach area in the Gulf of Mexico. All of the passengers were transferred to a good Samaritan's vessel. There were no injuries reported. The CG launched a 45-foot Response Boat crew from CG Station Pensacola, Fla., to the assist Orange Beach Fire Department in the response. The was extinguished about 2:59 p.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation. (Source: Coast Guard 07/27/19) Perdido Pass forms a water passage that connects Perdido Bay with the Gulf of Mexico to the south in Alabama, two miles west of the Alabama-Florida state lines.

Feds to assess O&G on GoM habitats

A 2018 federal lawsuit against the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service ended last week in a July 19 settlement that requires the agency to prepare a years-over-due assessment of the impacts of oil and gas development on federally protected species and critical habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. Under the agreement, NMFS is to complete a legally-required (under the Endangered Species Act) biological (assessment) opinion by Nov 5. Under the Act, the fisheries service is required to gauge the impacts of federally authorized oil and gas operations on species listed as threatened and endangered, as well as habitat designated as critical. It’s been 12 years (2007) since the fisheries service did such an analysis of energy development in the GoM. The assessment was intended to cover a five-year period from 2007-12. Since that last assessment, there was the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, which poured an estimated 4.9M barrels of crude oil into the GoM. “We hope this long-overdue assessment will inject some accurate facts and science into the government’s offshore drilling decisions,” said Earthjustice attorney Chris Eaton. The suit was filed in Florida by Earthjustice, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and Healthy Gulf. (Source: Kallandish News 07/25/19) Kallanish Energy is a daily energy news publication offering coverage of the North America, South American, and European Oil and Gas markets, with focuses on Natural Gas, Unconventionals, Crude Oil.

GIS to build newest named T-ATS

WASHINGTON - Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announced July 26 that the newest Towing, Salvage, and Rescue ship (T-ATS 8) will be named ‘Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek’ in honor of the history, service and contributions of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. The Saginaw Chippewas are comprised of Saginaw, Black River, and Swan Creek bands. Ojibwe is also referred to as Chippewa and Anishinabek, which means “original people.” The future USNS Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek honors the original people of modern day Michigan, said SECNAV, and is the first ship to bear the name Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek, and the fifth U.S. ship to be named in honor of the Saginaw Chippewa people. “It’s a great honor to have the name and language of our people on a Navy ship,” said Chief Ronald Ekdahl, chief of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. “We hold our veterans in high regard, and we have a proud tradition of having many of our men and women provide service to our country." Louisiana-based Gulf Island Shipyards (GIS) was awarded a $64.8M contract option for the detail design and construction of T-ATS 8. The future USNS Cherokee Nation is the second ship in the new class of Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ships and will be designated T-ATS 7. The contract includes options for potentially six more vessels, and each additional ship will be named in honor of prominent Native Americans or Native American tribes. The ship will be built at GIS’ Houma, La., shipyard, and is expected to be completed in July 2021. (Source: SECNAV office 07/26/19)

CG airlifts injured man to hosptial

Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report at 1:47 a.m. July 26 that a 34-year-old man aboard the motor vessel UBC Stockholm fell about 10 feet onto the deck suffering a head injury. CG Air Station New Orleans launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew. The injured man was hoisted aboard the helo and transferred to University Medical Center Louisiana in stable condition. (Coast Guard 07/26/19)

CG stops 8 illegally operating charters

DESTIN, Fla. -- The Coast Guard terminated the voyages of eight charter vessels operating illegally near Destin, Fla., during boardings from July 17-22, and for operating outside the regulations set forth by the Vessel Passenger Safety Act. “Every charter vessel is required to meet safety standards set by the Coast Guard,” said Ens. Trevor Vallet of CG Sector Mobile, Ala. “We enforce these standards with local agency partners to ensure charter passengers have safe options to enjoy our nation’s waterways.” The following violations were noted: Invalid Certificate of Inspection; invalid credentialed mariner in control while operating a small passenger vessel; failure to have a valid stability letter; and failure to be enrolled in a drug consortium. One of the vessel operators was found to be boating under the influence and was arrested. Law enforcement personnel from CG Sector Mobile, Coast Guard Station Destin, and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office participated. Owners and operators of illegal charter vessels can face maximum civil penalties of more than $50,000 for illegal passenger-for-hire operations. (Source: Coast Guard 07/26/19)

USM prof testifies at Senate hearing

The Subcommittee on Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation held a hearing July 23 on America’s waterfronts. The “America’s Waterfronts: Addressing Economic, Recreational, and Environmental Challenges” hearing focused on the state of American waterfronts, balancing stakeholder needs, and maximizing benefits from the nation’s water and coastal resources. “The economic and environmental (and) well being of all our nation’s waterfronts benefit us all and the shared stewardship is a responsibility we should accept,” Mike J. Friis of the National Working Waterfront Network, testified. Local, state, tribal and federal collaboration and cooperation is “necessary to be able to revitalize and enhance our working waterfronts and build local capacity. Coordination allows for sharing of expertise and resources to realize the most successful impact, he said. Dr. Monty Graham of the University of Southern Mississippi said the timing of the hearing was “fortuitous” for Mississippi in that it is currently working to strengthen its coastal communities and waterfronts to create a “resilience-based” economy. “Mississippi is at the critical point of making large decisions that will move the coastal working waterfront away from a disaster-based economy to a resilience-based economy through workforce and economic diversification,” Graham said. (Source: Work Boat 07/25/19) Graham is the Associate Vice President for Research, Coastal Operations at USM (USM’s Graham, full testimony is linked to his name in the story above.)

Miss. CG cutter change of command

NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard Cutter Jacob Poroo is scheduled to hold a change of command ceremony on Singing River Island, Miss., July 26. Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin Litts, commanding officer, will transfer command to Lt. Cortland Gazda. The Jacob Poroo is a Sentinel class cutter based at Pascagoula, Miss., with a mission that includes search and rescue, port security, and enforcing the economic zone for commercial fisheries. The event is not open to the public. (Coast Guard 07/25/19) https://www.dvidshub.net/image/5617741/coast-guard-cutter-jacob-poroo-holds-change-command-ceremony

LCS 20 commissioning in Gulfport

CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Navy has approved an Oct. 5 commissioning date in Gulfport, Miss., for the future Littoral Combat Ship USS Cincinnati (LCS 20). Commissioning signifies the acceptance for service and the entrance of a ship into the active fleet. Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, a Chicago billionaire appointed by President Obama, is the ship's sponsor. As sponsor, she leads the time-honored Navy tradition of giving the order to “man our ship and bring her to life!” At that moment, the commissioning pennant is hoisted and Cincinnati becomes a ship of the fleet. Indianapolis, Ind., native Cmdr. Kurt Braeckel is the commanding officer of LCS 20. Cincinnati is an Independence variant LCS built at Austal USA shipyards in Mobile, Ala. The ship will be homeported at Naval Base San Diego. (Source: U.S. Pacific Fleet 07/25/19)

HII DDG to be commissioned in Fla.

The Navy will commission its newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the future USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), during a 9 a.m. CDT ceremony Saturday, July 27, at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The service can be watched online. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., delivered the ship to the Navy on Feb. 22, 2019. (Source: DoD media release 07/24/17)

Tank barge deliveries spiking

The number of inland tank barge deliveries for the first six months of 2019 was up 52 percent over same timeline 2018 deliveries, according to River Transport News. Its mid-year survey of delivery activity shows “the inland barge industry operating on the Mississippi River System and its connecting waterways took delivery of 50 new inland tank barges” from January through June. For the first six months of 2018, 33 tank barges were delivered. There was a “dramatic shift” in favor of 30,000 bbl. equipment, aggregate barge deliveries measured in bbls. increased 181 percent - growing from 390,000 bbls. in 2018 to 1.097M bbls. of capacity in the first half of 2019, RTN reported. Barge companies took delivery of 27 new 30,000 bbl. tank barges through June. There were 20 30,000 bbl. tank barges delivered during 2018. But deliveries of 10,000 bbl. inland tank barges dropped significantly in 2019. There was 51 10,000 bbl. tank barges delivered during 2018. Three 15,000 bbl. and three 24,000 bbl. barges have been delivered by mid-year 2019 - compared to “zero” in 2018, the newsletter reported. “Mandeville, La.-based Maritime Partners purchased the largest number of new inland tank barges by mid-year 2019, RTN reported. “Maritime Partners, however, charters q great deal of this equipment to others. Given that info, Devall Towing of Sulpher/Lake Charles, La., was the most prolific operator of this year with respect to new inland tank barges entering its fleet. Devall took delivery of 10. Other operators taking delivery of inland tank barges this year included Canal Barge Co. of New Orleans (seven), Enterprise Marine of Houma, La. (five), and NGL Marine of Houston (four), according to the survey. (Source: Boat Work 07/24/19)

Senate confirms new SECDEF

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly (90-8) approved Mark Esper to be the country’s 27th Secretary of Defense ending 200-plus days to find a permanent Pentagon leader. (Source: Defense News 07/23/19)

Former CNO chairs Fincantieri

Former Chief of Naval Operations, Gary Roughead, was elected chairman of the board of directions of Fincantieri Marinette (Wis.) Marine Corp. on July 10. (Source: Marine Week 07/23/19) Gulf Coast Note: Marinette Marine builds the Freedom class Littoral Combat Ship. Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., builds the Independence class LCS.

GOMA pilot projects for coastal states

ATLANTA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) a $297,816 grant to improve coastal resilience in the Northern Gulf of Mexico with new pilot projects in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The goal of the project is to increase coastal community resilience by improving stakeholder access to information on regional sediment resources that can be used to create and restore habitats. The objectives are to expand the Louisiana Sand Availability and Allocation Program into a regional Northern Gulf Sand Availability and Allocation Program with new pilot projects in all four states; host training events for natural resource managers and stakeholders explaining use of the tool and encouraging its use; habitat creation and restoration projects for reducing risk and vulnerability, and sustainable ecosystem restoration; and improved and more effective coastal resilience use of limited sediment resources. GOMA works to provide data and tools to GoM stakeholders to improve the efficient implementation of restoration actions and coastal resilience. GOMA is a Regional Ocean Partnership working to sustain the resources of the Gulf of Mexico. Led by the five Gulf States (includes Florida), the broad partner network includes federal agencies, academic organizations, businesses, and other non-profit organizations in the region. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. (Source: EPA 07/22/19)

Ala.-born commander in rare air

BATH, Maine - Cmdr. DonAnn Gilmore is in rarified air as commanding officer of the future Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer, USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118). Of all the commanding officers in the Navy (1,110+), there are only 75 women, according to the Defense Department. Until 1993, women weren’t allowed to serve on combat ships, but that changed in 1993, when all Navy ships were opened to women. Capt. Kathleen McGrath became the first woman to command a warship in 2000. Originally from Anniston, Ala., - west of Birmingham - Gilmore’s father was in the military, which gave her the fervor to join up since a kid. She fell for the ships when her father took her to tour them when she was young. Gilmore attended Penn State University where she commissioned through the ROTC program. As a commander, Gilmore says she didn’t think about the fact she’s a woman, and had previously captained an all-male crew. But, she says she didn’t realize it until no one else ever used the women’s “head.” “A magical thing happens when you put on a uniform and work in an organization that values diversity,” she added. “If we all thought the same we’d never be able to problem solve the way we do coming from different backgrounds.” Her role as commander is to “facilitate growth, development, leadership, and empower the people who work below you,” Gilmore added. Gilmore and her crew of some 300 are currently training to take control of the destroyer, which is tentatively scheduled to leave the Bath shipyard for its homeport in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Sen. Inouye’s home state), sometime in 2020. (Source: Times Record 07/22/19)

 

Sen. plans bill to help seafood workers

U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) plans on introducing a bill that may help seafood workers on the Gulf Coast after a devastating season due to the 114-plus day opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway along the Mississippi River in Louisiana, and the invasion of algae bloom in the Mississippi Sound. Sen. Hyde-Smith plans on introducing the Commercial Fishing and Aquaculture Protection Act of 2019, a bill that would establish a revenue-based disaster program to “either replace or serve as an alternative to the fishery disaster relief provided by the Department of Commerce. If the bill is given the thumbs-up, industry workers who qualify would receive a payout of 85 percent of the average total gross revenue for three previous years, minus actual total gross revenue during the loss year. (Source: Sun Herald 07/23/19)

Future LCS 24 launched from Austal

WASHINGTON -The future USS Oakland (LCS 24) was launched July 21 from Austal USA’s shipbuilding facility in Mobile, Ala., according to the Naval Sea System Command’s Program Executive Office-Ships Unmanned and Small Combatants. This marked the first time the ship floated in water as it is prepared for delivery in 2020. Oakland is the 12th of 19 Independence-variant littoral combat ships that will join the fleet. Ship sponsor Kate Brandt, Google’s sustainability officer, christened the vessel in Mobile on June 29. She previously welded her initials onto a steel plate included in Oakland’s hull during a keel-laying ceremony last July. Brandt is a recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest award the U.S. Navy can give to a civilian. Four additional LCSs are under various stages of construction at Austal’s Alabama shipyard. The future USS Kansas City (LCS 22) is preparing for sea trials. The future USS Mobile (LCS 26), Savannah (LCS 28) and Canberra (LCS 30) are under construction, and Austal has four more LCSs under contract. (Source: Seapower 07/22/19)

MS intermodal grants: $10.1M

Department of Transportation (MDOT) has announced $10.1M in grants from the Mississippi Transportation Commission for intermodal projects for regional and municipal airports, ports, railroads and public transit systems throughout the Magnolia State. Eight ports received funding, including the Port of Pascagoula, $480,000 for improvements at South Terminal; Lowndes County Port, $739,000 for crawler crane replacement; Port of Greenville, $396,000 for port property and facility renovation; and the Port of Itawamba, $316,818 for equipment for bulk material handling. Four railroads received funding, including the Rail Authority of East Mississippi, $247,500; Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission, $350,00; Mississippi Alabama Railroad Authority, $297,000. Twenty-three airports received funding, including the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission, $345,800 – Stennis International Airport; City of Columbia and Marion County, $169,062 – Columbia-Marion County Airport; City of Columbus and Lowndes County, $199,712 – Columbus-Lowndes County Airport; Golden Triangle Regional Airport Authority, $199,782 – Golden Triangle Regional Airport; Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport Authority, $130,321 – Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport; Laurel Airport Authority, $125,369 – Hesler-Noble Field; Meridian Airport Authority, $68,725 – Key Field; Hinds Community College, $575,000 – John Bell Williams Airport; City of Starkville, $71,540 – George M. Bryan Field; Tunica County Airport Commission and Tunica County Board of Supervisors, $52,146 – Tunica Airport; and City of Vicksburg, $67,320 – Vicksburg Airport. Funding comes from the Multimodal Transportation Improvement Fund. Money from this fund is allocated specifically to support multimodal grants annually. (Source: MS News 07/20/19)

Report: Nation's troubled beaches

LOS ANGELES - Gerry Klatt looks across the beach toward a peaceful bay at Cabrillo Beach in the port town of San Pedro, seemingly a good place for a daily dip, but he won’t be going swimming. Instead, he walks the length of a football field to the salt-water side of the bay facing the Pacific Ocean, He thinks it’s cleaner. He may be right. The inner side of Cabrillo Beach leads the list of California beaches that saw the highest percentage of days with a bacteria count deemed potentially dangerous. It is part of a new report released July 23 by the Environment America Research and Policy Center, a non-profit environmental and advocacy group. The report lists the most troubled beaches in 29 coastal and Great Lakes states. The study looked at the number of days in 2018 that the water had bacteria counts exceeding federal environmental standards. The EARPC report says the high counts can sicken up to an estimated 75,000 swimmers annually. Most days, the beaches are considered safe. But researchers found bacteria counts can spike on certain days with fecal matter being the No. 1 culprit. In Chicago, 19 of 19 beaches sampled had at least one day last year when beaches were considered potentially unsafe for swimming. One, South Shore Beach, showed contamination on 93 of the 98 days of the sampling period. Other examples included Gulfport (Miss.) East Beach, which showed high levels on 44 out of 66 days; and Tanner Park in Suffolk County, N.Y., registered high on 48 out of 71. Many counties and states are good about closing beaches when pollution levels are too high, and posting warning signs. Beachgoers are urged to check water-quality reports. The top five Gulf Coast sites by state, according to the report: In Alabama, four Baldwin County sites, including the Fairhope Public Beach; In Florida, two in Escambia County and two in Sarasota; In Louisiana, two in Cameron Parish and Fontainebleau State Park in St. Tammany; and in Mississippi, four in Harrison County, which includes Gulfport East. Source: USA TODAY 07/23/19)

LHA 7 completes builder’s trials

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced July 22 that the amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7) has successfully completed builder’s trials. The second ship in the America class spent four days in the Gulf of Mexico testing the ship’s main propulsion, combat and other systems before returning to HII-Pascagoula. “We have an excellent leadership team,” said HII-Pascagoula President Brian Cuccias. “They will now be focusing on getting the ship ready for acceptance trials and delivery to the Navy. The flight deck modifications to support the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft provide an increased aviation capacity and demonstrate how an experienced team can evolve the platform to meet the current threats across the globe,” he stated. Ingalls is currently the sole builder of large-deck amphibious warships for the Navy. (Source: HII-Pascagoula 07/22/19)

CG 8th district change of command

NEW ORLEANS ­­– The Eighth Coast Guard District headquarters is scheduled to hold a change of command ceremony at 10 a.m. July 23 here at the Julia Street Cruise Terminal. Rear Adm. Paul Thomas, commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District, will transfer command to Rear Adm. John Nadeau, assistant commandant for prevention policy. (Source: Coast Guard 07/22/19)

CoE starting to close La. spillway

The Bonnet Carré Spillway e in Louisiana, used to keep the Mississippi River below 17 feet above sea level at the Carrollton Gauge in New Orleans, could be completely closed by the upcoming weekend – weather permitting. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it will begin to close 10 of the 168 open bays starting July 22, according to a CoE media release. The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority tweeted that the CoE plans to have the spillway totally closed by the weekend. The Bonnet Carre has been open for 118 days, the longest in its history. When it’s closed, it will take some 10 days to completely stop pumping fresh water into the Mississippi Sound, Department of Marine Resources Executive Director Joe Spraggins told the Sun Herald. The spillway opening has hurt the Gulf Coast’s seafood industry because fresh water threatens coastal ecosystems that thrive in salt water. The CoE has sole authority to open/close the spillway. “The state of Mississippi wants a seat at the table when these decisions are made,” Spraggins told the Sun Herald. “We want the Corps and the state of Louisiana to consider the environmental and economic impacts on the state of Mississippi.” The Mississippi River also brings blue-green alga as a result of the spillway opening, which has closed all of Mississippi’s beach. Spraggins said the state will feel the effects of algae bloom until mid-fall, but once it dies off and decomposes it will deplete oxygen from the water, and possibility set up a major fish kill. (Source: Sun Herald 07/22/19)

Study: 'Off-the chart' heat days

The Union of Concerned Scientists - a non-profit group founded in 1969 by scientists and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a mission to combat climate change - predicts that the rise in extreme heat days will be difficult for even those used to hot, sweaty summers, according to Kristina Dahl, lead author on a UCS study. Heat is already the top cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. According to the analysis, by late century, with no reduction in global emissions, multiple cities in Texas, and Alexandria, La., would be among those expected to experience the most “off-the-charts” heat days. One of the report's findings indicate that if the goal of the Paris Agreement is met, and future global average warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius, by late century the U.S.. would see half the number of days per year with a heat index above 105 degrees Fahrenheit, on average, and almost 115M fewer people would experience the equivalent of a week or more of “off-the-charts” heat days. (Source: Union of Concerned Scientists 07/16/19) New Orleans was also highlighted in the study, and according to its maps the western coastal areas of Mississippi, and the eastern coastal areas of Florida would be among the high-end temps – but somewhat lessened for the Alabama and NW Florida coastline. Above-to much-above-average June temperatures were observed across 11 states, along Pacific, Mid-Atlantic, and New England coasts, and the Gulf Coast where Florida experienced its third warmest June on record.

GoM munition dump and mammals

EGLIN AFB, Fla. – Beginning in pre-WWI through the 1970s, tons of military munitions has been dumped into coastal waters of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. The GoM continues to be a repository for munitions, but under federally-monitored safety and environmental controls. About 120,000 square miles of the eastern GoM, along with 724 square miles on land, is the Eglin Gulf Test & Training Range managed by the 96th Test Wing at Eglin AFB. It is the test and training range used by all of the military services. The 96th TW is responsible for development, acquisition, testing, deployment and sustainment of all air-delivered non-nuclear military weapons. The Gulf range hosts air-to-air missile testing, hypersonic weapons testing, bomb testing, drone targeting, space launches and high-altitude supersonic air combat training. “Weapons testing and training at Eglin Air Force Base over the Gulf of Mexico is vital to the success of the war-fighter, the Air Force, and our nation,” Eglin officials noted in an email to the NW Florida Daily News. Discharges into the GoM are conducted with strict attention to human safety, and federally regulated protection of certain species of marine life; specifically, bottlenose dolphins and sperm or baleen whales. (Source: NW Florida Daily News 07/20/19) The AF expends about 550 bombs, 580 missiles, 1,218,000 rounds of ammunition, and 637,000 countermeasures into the range, according to a May 2018 report from the Secretary of Defense. Those levels are within (87%) of established federal regulations authorized under the National Environmental Policy Act. The range extends from Hurlburt Field east to Tyndall AFB and Carrabelle, Fla., and more than 100 miles south into the GoM.

Disaster aid extended to 41 parishes

Gov. John Bel Edwards’ request for a federal emergency disaster declaration for flooding and storm damage in Louisiana be expanded to six additional parishes was approved by President Trump. The parishes were added to 35 other parishes include Allen, Beauregard, Catahoula, Concordia, Evangeline and Vernon. “I’m very thankful to the Trump administration for approving this request so quickly,” said Gov. Edwards. In addition, teams from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness are preparing to travel to various parishes, and will continue the formal process of assessing storm damage. The emergency declaration provides Direct Federal Assistance for emergency protective measures in 41 parishes. The initial 35 parishes included in the declaration are Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Ouachita, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana. (Source: La. Governor’s Office 07/17/19)

Closing Grand Isle's breakwater gap

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced July 18 that the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) signed a partnership with the Grand Isle Independent Levee District to close a large gap in the protective breakwater alignment on the bayside of Grand Isle. The $6.5M estimated project will be fully funded by CPRA. The Levee District will manage the construction of segmented breakwaters, closing an approximately one-mile gap in protection infrastructure along the island. The Levee District will construct an access channel and lay down an estimated 28,651 square yards of geotextile fabric on the bayside water bottom as the base for 62,426 tons of rock riprap that will form 17 breakwater structures, each measuring 350 feet long. An additional segment will be placed adjacent to the La. Highway 1 Bridge at the entrance to Grand Isle. The construction is tentatively slated to begin in September. (Source: La. Governor’s Office 07/18/19)

Methanex to build 3rd plant in La.

Gov. John Bel Edwards and Methanex executive Mark Allard announced July 19 that the company will make up to $1.4B in capital investments to construct a third methanol plant in Geismar, La. The project will join two existing methanol plants there that represent a cumulative capital investment of more than $2.5B for the methanol facilities in Ascension Parish, about 25 miles south of Baton Rouge. The project will create 62 new direct jobs. The Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in another 301 new indirect jobs for the Capital Region. The three Methanex plants will represent one of the largest methanol complexes in the world. (Source: La. Governor’s Office 07/19/19)

Perplexing physics of oil dispersants

Scientist and author M. Mitchell Waldrop accompanied researchers, funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, who were conducting the largest experimental simulation to-date of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil intrusion. Researchers are hoping to provide solid science on the dispersant(s) effectiveness in the aftermath of Deepwater Horizon. The June 2018 experiment took place at the New Jersey-based Ohmsett facility, which was designed for testing oil cleanup methods. Researchers are investigating still unknown factors regarding dispersant effectiveness, specifically the first-time-ever deep-sea injection of dispersants during the spill. Researchers discovered through lab experiments and computer modeling that a closer-to-true-scale experiment mimicking conditions during the oil spill is what was needed to get more complete answers. In the 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' (PNAS) feature, entitled The perplexing physics of oil dispersants, Waldrop captures the increasingly complex cascade of questions, answers, and more questions as scientists grappled with underlying physical and chemical processes involved with the use of sub-surface chemical dispersants. (Source: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative 07/18/19)

New Ala. bridge, tolls & commuters

MOBILE, Ala. – Alabama is planning to charge tolls - as much as $6 each way - to finance construction of a $2B bridge that would reroute Interstate 10 over Mobile River and Mobile Bay and avoiding the Wallace Tunnel. The bridge would be one of the nation's largest. State officials say tolls are needed to finance construction. About 75,000 vehicles per day currently use the Wallace Tunnel via I-10. Transportation Director John Cooper says the state can't afford to finance or pay for the entire project. Opponents say tolls would cost more than $1,000 a year for thousands of commuters who cross the bay each day, especially for Baldwin County residents working in Mobile. Construction is slated to start in 2020. The tolls won't start until work is completed, tentatively in 2025. (Source: WKRG 07/20/19)

GoM lease sale coming Aug. 21

WASHINGTON – In support of President Trump’s ‘America-First Offshore Energy Strategy’, the Department of Interior’s Land and Minerals Management and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will offer a region-wide lease sale Aug. 21 of 77.8M million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas exploration and development. The sale would include all available unleased areas in federal waters of the GoM. Lease Sale 253, scheduled to be live-streamed from New Orleans, will be the fifth offshore sale under the 2017-22 National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program. This lease sale will include about 14,699 unleased blocks, located from three-to-231 miles offshore in the Gulf’s Western, Central and Eastern planning areas in depths ranging from nine-to-more than 11,115 feet. Excluded areas include blocks subject to congressional moratorium established by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006; blocks adjacent to or beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in the area known as the northern portion of the Eastern Gap; and whole blocks and partial blocks within the current boundaries of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. The Gulf’s OCS, covering about 160M acres, is estimated to contain about 48B barrels of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and 141T cubic feet of undiscovered technically recoverable gas. Until August 2017, the DoI held separate lease sales for the Gulf's tracts off Texas. (Source: The AP 07/18/19) Terms and conditions for Sale 253 are detailed in the Proposed Notice of Sale information package. Copies of the maps can be requested from the Gulf of Mexico Region’s Public Information Unit at 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd., New Orleans, LA, 70123, or at 800-200-GULF (4853). The Notice of Availability is available for inspection in the Federal Register.

GoM ‘newbie shark’ is a new species

NEW ORLEANS - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ichthyologist Mark Grace and collaborators have identified a new species of the pocket shark found in the Gulf of Mexico. Its mysterious pockets, for which it is named, squirt little glowing clouds into the ocean. Researchers from around the Gulf Coast and New York have named the species the American pocket shark, or Mollisquama (mah-lihs-KWAH-muh) mississippiensis (MISS-ih-sip-ee-EHN-sis). It's only the third of more than 500 known shark species that may squirt luminous liquid, according to R. Dean Grubbs, a Florida State University scientist who was not involved in the research. Like the only other pocket shark known to science - a 16-inch adult female found in the Pacific Ocean off Peru and called Mollisquama parini - this new discovery is a 5.6-inch newborn male fished out of the Gulf and has a pouch next to each front fin. Those muscular glands are lined with pigment-covered fluorescent projections that indicate they squirt luminous liquid, NOAA’s Grace and collaborators wrote in the journal "Zootaxa." The differences between the two specimens include a possible pressure-sensitive organ in the new species that could be used to detect motion hundreds of feet away, and differences in teeth. Grace, based in Pascagoula, Miss., said the baby shark was among specimens collected during a 2010 survey about what GoM sperm whales eat by trawling at a depth where tagged whales were feeding. He spent three years identifying those collected specimens. The “newbie shark” was showing an umbilical scar, and was in the last bag he opened to study. "I've been in science about 40 years ... I can usually make a pretty good guess" about a marine animal's identity, he said. "I couldn't with this one." (Source: The AP 07/19/19)

MS seafood safe; algae questionable

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR) says it’s safe to eat the seafood coming from the Mississippi Sound. It’s the first sign of positive news this summer for coastal Mississippi. “The seafood is safe to eat,” Joe Spraggins, executive director of the DMR, told the Mississippi Business Journal on July 16. The concern has been about algae forming from non-saline waters being dumped into the Gulf of Mexico from the Bonnet Carre Spillway in Louisiana, which has been open since Feb. 27, to protect upstream land from flooding. The spillway’s water dump comes from the Mississippi River into Lake Pontchartrain and then the Gulf of Mexico. The state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) closed all 21 beaches in June to protect the public from blue-green algae that can cause rashes, vomiting and diarrhea. State epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said July 16 that he “would imagine if there had been an outbreak we would have heard about it.” The absence of an outbreak evidently is the result of the state agencies’ continuous testing and closing the beaches. As an aside, beachside waters evidently are safe to use, though no one in an official capacity has made a public announcement. Restaurants and dealers are providing safe seafood because it is “monitored and tested regularly,” according to a Coastal Mississippi media release. Most of the coastal seafood restaurants are reaching beyond the Gulf Coast for fish. “Recreational and commercial fishing off-shore in Mississippi waters remains unaffected by the algal bloom and is safe for consumption,” Spraggins said. Shrimp numbers are down significantly. The five-year average for the Mississippi shrimp harvest in June is 2M pounds. This year, it’s around 500,000, Spraggins said. Gov. Phil Bryant and Mississippi’s congressional delegation have asked for federal disaster assistance due to the fresh-water intrusion and its consequences. The Army Corps of Engineers was expected to start shutting down the Bonnet Carre in mid-July, but Hurricane Barry’s soaking of the Gulf Coast has changed that outlook. (Source: Mississippi Business Journal 07/18/19)

Option 4 for NCBC Gulfport work

PC Mechanical Inc. of Santa Maria, Calif., is awarded a $19,000,000 firm-fixed-price modification under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N39430-15-D-1604) to exercise Option 4 for inspection, overhaul, repair, refurbishment, preventive maintenance and logistics management information services to reconstitute the force of civil engineer support equipment (CESE) and civil engineer end items (CEEI) under the CESE/CEEI Life Extension Program (CLEP) of Naval Base Ventura County, Calif. Work to be performed provides for management of CLEP to obtain inspection; overhaul; repair; refurbishment; preventive maintenance; and logistics management information services for automotive vehicles, construction equipment (motorized and non-motorized), special military construction and commercial support equipment, material and weight handling equipment, water well drilling equipment, mineral products and plant facility equipment, international standard organization shipping container assets, power production and environmental control unit equipment, fire and emergency response vehicles, and small boats and watercraft to support the Navy and other Department of Defense components worldwide. The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $95,000,000. No task orders are being issued at this time. Work will be performed at NCBC Port Hueneme, Calif. (60%); and NCBC Gulfport, Miss. (40%) Seabee bases, and is expected to be completed July 2020. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Task orders will be primarily funded by FY 2019 Navy operations and maintenance funding. Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center of Port Hueneme is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 07/19/19)

Textron: SSC contract by year’s end

Textron executives expect to win a production contract by the end of 2019 for the Navy’s new Ship-to-Shore Connector. The first SSC is about halfway through builder’s trials in south Louisiana, and delivery is expected by the end of this summer, said Scott Donnelly, Textron’s CEO. Textron’s SSC looks like the existing Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) currently used by the Navy and Marines to deliver personnel and equipment ashore. Textron’s version has a fly-by-wire control system, a new drive and propulsion system and more powerful engines, and is built with fewer parts, which is supposed to make manufacturing and maintenance easier. The Navy requested two Ship-to-Shore Connectors for $128M in the FY 2017 budget, three for $212M in FY-18, and five for $325M in FY-19. Since April, the House put $84.8M in its version of the FY-20 defense authorizations for SSCs. The Senate authorized $40.4Mn. A conference committee will determine the final funding level. (Source: USNI News 07/18/19) Gulf Coast Note: The first SSC (LCAC 100) got underway in a bayou near Textron’s Slidell, La., shipyard in April 2018. Official builder’s trials would soon follow. Textron Marine & Land Systems and L-3 Communications entered a deal to develop the next-generation landing craft in October 2009.

Gilday nominated for next CNO

WASHINGTON – Rear Adm. Michael Gilday has been nominated by President Trump to be the next Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), according to a senate announcement July 17. Gilday, a three-star admiral, is the director of the Joint Staff. If confirmed, he would be promoted to a Vice Admiral, a four-star rank. Gilday's nomination comes after Trump's first selection for CNO, Adm. William Moran, abruptly retired following reports he had continued a professional relationship with Chris Servello, a former colleague who was removed from his position as a public affairs adviser to CNO Adm. John Richardson in 2017 following accusations of sexual misconduct, according to The Associated Press. Servello had worked for Moran as a public affairs officer. Gilday, a native of Lowell, Mass., is the son of a career sailor and has served as a surface warfare officer in the Navy since graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1985. He has served in Navy and joint senior leadership positions, including as director of operations for NATO's Joint Force Command Lisbon and U.S. Cyber Command. (Source: Stars and Stripes 07/1819)

NOLA firm’s $21M work in Mo.

Crowley Holdings LLC of New Orleans was awarded a $21,053,340 firm-fixed-price contract for shot rock to support the temporary repair of levees at Mill Creek and Big Tarkio in Missouri. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Craig, Mo., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 19, 2019. FY 2019 civil flood control and coastal emergencies funds in the amount of $21,053,340 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of Kansas City, Mo., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 07/18/19)

Miss. CBs complete Poland mission

ZAGAN, Poland - Seabees (CBs) assigned to the Gulfport, Miss.-based Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133 concluded its Exercise Resolute Castle 2019 mission July 12 here in Poland. Detail (DET) Zagan’s task was to work directly in support of the British Army’s 71st Royal Engineer Regiment in the construction of a sheet metal building (K-Span), K-Span foundation, and a plumb and sync ramp. The ultimate goal was to exchange professional skills and knowledge while highlighting each unit’s capacity for interoperability. K-Spans were a staple of contingency construction during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, enabling units to quickly establish forward operating bases. Along the vein of resolving conflict, DET Zagan was employed as part of a much larger mission: Operation Atlantic Resolve, meant to deter aggression towards NATO allies. Multinational training events like these promote trust, and strengthen relationships with America’s allies. (Source: NMCB 133 07/18/19)

Pascagoula LNG export project OK'd

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave Kinder Morgan the go-ahead to build its billion-dollar Gulf liquid natural gas (LNG) export project in Pascagoula, Miss., overcoming Democrat opposition concerns about the impact on climate change. Kinder Morgan originally developed the site as an LNG import terminal in 2009. But with record U.S. production creating a surplus of natural gas, the Houston firm filed application with FERC in July 2015 seeking permission to redevelop part of the site as an export terminal. The FERC okayed the project in a 3-1 vote July 16. It is the fifth LNG export project that the FERC has approved this year. The proposed project would add 11.5M metric tons of new capacity to KM's terminal at Pascagoula, which would include two liquefaction plants. The 230-acre LNG site would be located off Mississippi Highway 611 that includes more than 38 acres of wetlands. KM pledged to create 50 acres of tidal salt marsh to mitigate those impacts. (Source: Houston Chronicle 07/17/19)

NSWCPC collaborating with NASA

LARGO, Fla. - Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, Fla., scientists, engineers and key partners are collaborating, by taking an NSWCPC technology, originally designed for diving from the seabed to space. The Diver Augmented Vision Device (DAVD) team from NSWCPC, and partners, recently joined forces with NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas during NEEMO-23, the 23rd voyage of NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations held at the Aquarius Reef Base underwater habitat 5.4 miles off Key Largo. The Aquarius Reef Base, operated by Florida International University, is the only undersea laboratory in the world. Aquarius, and its surroundings, provides ideal training for space exploration by providing buoyancy similar to walking on the Moon. DAVD is a high-resolution, see-through head-up display (HUD) embedded directly inside of a Kirby Morgan-37 dive helmet. This unique system provides divers with high-resolution visual displays of everything from real-time topside view of a diver's location and dive site, text messages, diagrams, photographs, and even augmented reality videos. NSWCPC designed, developed, and tested the original DAVD prototype. (Source: Naval Sea Systems Command 07/16/19)

Hurricanes & a growing Gulf Coast

The Atlantic-Gulf Coast 2019 hurricane season got off to a quick start this past weekend with the first of the season, Cat 1 Barry, which made landfall on July 13 in Louisiana. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastline communities had their faces mussed up with 13 hurricanes that caused more than $10B in damage from 2000-17. Seven occurred in just two years (Ivan: 2004 and Katrina: 2005). Coastline counties are grouped into Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific regions. The number of people living in some of these vulnerable coastline regions is also growing. About 94.7M people - about 29.1% of U.S. population - lived in coastline counties in 2017 – up 15.3 percent since 2000. The two regions are most vulnerable to hurricanes. The two regions added 8.3M people from 2000-17 (16 percent increase). But the GoM region was the fastest growing coastline, adding 3M from 2000-17 (26.1 percent increase). The nation as a whole grew by only 15.7 percent in the same timeline. (Source: Census Bureau 07/2019)

SECDEF nom papers arrive @ Senate

The White House sent its official paperwork to the Senate in the afternoon of July 15 nominating Dr. Mark Esper for Secretary of Defense. “At 3:04 p.m. (EDT), the Senate received the President's formal nomination of Dr. Mark T. Esper to be Secretary of Defense,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said in a DoD statement. This move requires Esper to step down from his current role as acting SECDEF, and temporarily heading back to his former Army Secretary post. Esper is set to go before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the morning of July 16 to begin his confirmation hearing. In keeping with line of succession, Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer will temporarily become acting SECDEF, according to Hoffman’s statement. (Source: DoD 07/15/19)

‘CHAMP’ award to VTHM: $2.9M

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - VT Halter Marine, a company of ST Engineering North America, was one of four firms to be awarded contracts from the Naval Sea Systems Command under the Common Hull Auxiliary Mission Platform (CHAMP). VT Halter Marine’s contract award was nearly $2.9M. In 2018, the Navy implemented the CHAMP study to find a replacement for several types of auxiliary ships, which were approaching end-of-service lives – hospital ships, command and control ships, submarine tender and aviation logistics ships, and sealift ships. (Source: VT Halter Marine 07/11/19)

GoM rigs to be inspected after Barry

Thirty-nine Gulf of Mexico offshore oil and gas companies evacuated their platforms and rigs in response to Tropical Storm/Hurricane Barry last weekend, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Based on BSEE survey data released July 15, offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 a.m. (CDT), personnel were evacuated from a total of 267 production platforms - 39.91 percent of the 669 GoM manned platforms. BSEE’s Hurricane Response Team is monitoring those activities. The team will continue to work with offshore operators, states and federal agencies until operations return to normal, after the storm is no longer a threat to oil and gas activities. As part of the evacuation process, personnel activate applicable shut-in procedures, which can frequently be accomplished remotely. It involves closing the sub-surface safety valves located below the surface of the ocean floor to prevent the release of oil or gas. Shutting-in oil and gas production is a standard procedure conducted by industry for safety and environmental reasons. From those operator reports, BSEE estimated about 69.08 percent of the current oil production in the GoM was shut-in, which equates to 1.3M barrels a day. It also estimated that about 60.5 percent of natural gas production (1.684M cubic feet per day) was shut-in. After the storm has past, facilities will be inspected. Once all standard checks are completed, production from undamaged facilities will be brought back on line. Facilities sustaining damage will likely make longer. (Source: Work Boat 07/15/19)

Stud welder coming to Mississippi

The stud-welding company Image Industries will invest $3M to relocate cold forming manufacturing operations from Illinois to Clarksdale, Miss., and expects to create 50 jobs over the next four years. The Mississippi operation will be at the former Metso facility in Clarksdale. There, the cold forming process will enable the company to economically produce hundreds of custom parts per minute, such as threaded weld studs, shear connectors and concrete anchors, hydraulic weld ports and cable management studs, even at relatively low volumes. The company expects to begin operations this coming fall. (Source: Area Development 07/15/19) Image Industries was chosen one of the Top Technologies of the Year by the readers of SAE Off-Highway Engineering Magazine for our Stud Weld Hydraulic Ports. Image also offers a wide range of fasteners to meet the shipbuilding industry’s stud welding needs.

NOLA port conditions normal

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard captain of the port for Sector New Orleans cancelled port condition Zulu and set port conditions back to normal as of 6 a.m. Sunday (July 14), allowing vessel movement into and out of the river and the Port of New Orleans with some restrictions. (Source: Coast Guard 07/14/19)

CG rescues 12 from La. high waters

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard and local agencies rescued 12 people and two pets from flooded areas of Terrebonne Parish, La., on Saturday (July 13) as Hurricane Barry was beginning to make landfall. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received its first call for assistance at 4:30 a.m. CGAS New Orleans launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew, and CG Marine Safety Unit Morgan City boat crew members assisted as on-scene coordinators rescuing 11 people and two pets. Later in the morning, the CG responded to a distress call from a 77-year-old man in Dulac, La., who was trapped in his home in four feet of water. Aircrews responded, hoisted the man and transported him to safety. An area command was established July 12 at CG Base New Orleans and remains fully staffed and operational, and assets had been pre-staged in New Orleans, Houston, Mobile, Ala., Covington and Alexandria, La. (Source: Coast Guard 07/13/19)

CG rescues five near Gulfport

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard rescued five people Friday morning from a vessel that ran aground about 20 nautical miles southwest of Gulfport, Miss. Coast Guard Sector Mobile, Ala., received a distress call over VHF channel 16 about the boaters' plight. CG Air Station New Orleans launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew. They recovered all five in stable condition (see video link). Hurricanes and tropical storms can be deadly, and the Coast Guard's ability to conduct rescues can be diminished or non-existent at the height of a storm. Boaters should be prepared, stay informed and heed storm warnings. (Coast Guard 07/12/19)

Farmers: Deepen Ms. River

American soybean farmers are putting up $2M to assist in financing of state-federal initiative to deepen the Lower Mississippi River from Baton Rouge, La., to the Gulf of Mexico – a distance of 256 miles. Dredging the river from 45-to-50 feet would permit access of larger ships and allow current vessels to be loaded with greater quantities of grains, according to the Soy Transportation Coalition. The group cites a report it commissioned that said a deeper channel would increase competitiveness and revenues for U.S. soybeans in the export market; and estimated that shipping costs for soybeans from Mississippi Gulf Coast export terminals would drop 13 cents a bushel ($5 per metric ton) if the river channel was dredged to 50 feet. The 200-plus mile stretch of the Mississippi from Baton Rouge to the Gulf accounts for 60 percent of American soybean exports and 59 percent of corn exports, as well as petroleum, chemicals and other freight, the coalition said in a statement. (Source: Work Boat 07/11/19)

Barry: Port condition websites

The Coast Guard is adjusting port conditions and pre-staging response assets in the U.S. Gulf Coast region due to Tropical Storm Barry. Port conditions change based on weather forecasts, and current port conditions can be viewed on the following View CG homeport web pages for Sector Mobile, Ala.: https://homeport.uscg.mil/port-directory/mobile; Sector New Orleans: https://homeport.uscg.mil/port-directory/new-orleans; Sector Houston-Galveston: https://homeport.uscg.mil/port-directory/houston-galveston; Sector Corpus Christi, Texas: https://homeport.uscg.mil/port-directory/corpus-christi; Houma Captain of the Port Zone: https://homeport.uscg.mil/my-homeport/safety-Notifications/MSIB?cotpid=38; Port Arthur and Lake Charles Captain of the Port Zone: https://homeport.uscg.mil/my-homeport/safety-Notifications/MSIB?cotpid=41; Lower Mississippi River Captain of the Port Zone: https://homeport.uscg.mil/my-homeport/safety-Notifications/MSIB?cotpid=34 (Source: Coast Guard 07/11/19)

NOLA firm $8M river contract

Pontchartrain Partners LLC of New Orleans was awarded an $8,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Mississippi River stone bank paving, Mississippi River and tributaries flood control, and channel improvement project. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2020. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of Vicksburg, Miss., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD 07/11/19)

EPIC dismantling on Mobile River

The Noble Amos Runner, an ultra-deep water semi-submersible oil rig retired in 2018, but in late April, it made its way up the Mobile (Ala.) Ship Channel to EPIC’s Alabama Shipyard. The rig is thought to be the largest U.S. Gulf production rig of record to enter the Port of Mobile - 348 feet x 328 feet x 316 feet above the water line. EPIC is dismantling the rig at its Mobile County facility to be recycled into Alabama and other domestic steel mills for new steel production. Crescent Towing, Cooper Marine & Timberlands, and Seabulk Towing provided assistance up the channel to EPIC’s berth. In October, EPIC announced the purchase of the former BAE Systems Southeast Shipyard, including the U.S. Gulf of Mexico’s largest drydock at the Port of Mobile. (Source: Mobile Chamber 07/2019)

Prez may nominate 3-star as CNO

President Donald Trump may reach into the three-star ranks to nominate Vice Adm. Mike Gilday to be the next Chief of Naval Operations following Adm. Bill Moran's sudden retirement, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Trump met with Gilday and other Navy officials July 10, according to WSJ. The paper cited three unnamed officials in confirming the president's intended plan to nominate the career surface warfare officer. The move follows the unexpected retirement of Moran, who was confirmed by the Senate and scheduled to take over in Aug. 1. Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said this week that Moran's judgment was called into question after he maintained a professional relationship with a former Navy officer who'd been accused – but never charged - of sexual harassment. Trump nominated Gilday in May to become director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Before that, he served as the head of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command. Gilday, a Naval Academy grad, holds master's degrees from the Harvard Kennedy School and National War College. Navy analysts speculated this week that the president could nominate a three-star to the CNO post. Retired Navy Capt. Jerry Hendrix, a defense analyst, named Gilday as one of three vice admirals likely to be in the running. "All of these officers have reputations for taking a fresh look at our Navy's problems," he said. Arleigh Burke was a rear admiral when President Dwight Eisenhower nominated him to be CNO. The last two Marine Corps commandants have been pulled from the three-star ranks. (Source: Military.com 07/10/19)

MARAD: EIS plans for TX VLCC port

The U.S. Maritime Administration published a Notice of Intent (NoI) July 3 in the Federal Register that both MARAD and the U.S. Coast Guard will be preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of an environmental review of Phillips 66’s (PSX) Bluewater Texas Terminal LLC’s Deepwater Port License application. The port would be located in federal waters about 15 nautical miles off the coast of San Patricio County, Texas. The deepwater port would allow for the loading of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and other sized crude oil cargo carriers via a single point mooring buoy system. PSX announced in June that the port would be an expansion of the company’s logistics business and would compete with other export terminals planning to dispatch domestic oil across the globe. The only current oil terminal on the Gulf Coast that can handle VLCCs is the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), located 18 nautical miles off the coast of Fourchon, La. LOOP's onshore facilities, Fourchon Booster Station and Clovelly Dome Storage Terminal, are located just on-shore at Port Fourchon and 25 miles inland at Galliano, La. The Bluewater Texas Terminal may commence operations by 2021, following approvals from Texas regulators, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Maritime Administration. There will be a public meeting in connection with Bluewater’s application in Corpus Christi, from 6-8 p.m., on July 22 at the Omni Corpus Christi Hotel. Materials submitted in response to this request on the application must reach the Federal Docket Management Facility in Washington, D.C., by July 31, 2019. Comments may also be sent electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. (Source: Federal Register 07/03/19)

Offshore drawdown in face of storm

HOUSTON - Exxon Mobil Corp and Anadarko Petroleum Corp joined several other U.S. oil producers withdrawing staff from deepwater platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as a major storm begins to churn Gulf’s waters. The withdrawals helped push oil futures up 3.8% to more than $60 a barrel, and lifted gasoline prices. The GoM produces 17% of U.S. crude oil and 5% of natural gas. A tropical depression has a potential to strengthen to a hurricane by the weekend. Exxon evacuated non-essential staff from three platforms in the Gulf, but anticipates little effect on production, spokesperson Julie King told Reuters. Anadarko is stopping oil and gas production and removing workers from four facilities. Royal Dutch Shell expanded offshore evacuations to seven platforms and shut more production. The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the only U.S. port where the largest crude tankers can load and unload, was normal July 10. Oil refiners Motiva Enterprises and Marathon Petroleum were monitoring the storm and prepared to implement hurricane plans. Chevron, Phillips 66, and Exxon were preparing for heavy rain and winds. Exxon reported operations at its Gulf refineries normal July 10. Chevron shut production at five platforms and has begun to evacuate all workers at those facilities. BP is shutting production at four Gulf platforms, which produce more than 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. BHP Group was removing staff from two offshore energy platforms. Independent offshore producers Fieldwood Energy and LLOG Exploration declined comment. (Source: Reuters 07/10/19)

Elmer's Island, La., temp closing

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will temporarily close Elmer's Island beginning on Thursday, July 11, at 9 a.m., due to the anticipated impacts of the tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico. As a precautionary and preparedness measure Elmer's Island will remain closed until further notice. The island is 4 miles from Grand Isle, La. (Source: La. Department of Wildlife & Fisheries 07/10/19)

SOUTHCOM: LCS to deploy

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) expects to receive a Littoral Combat Ship in its area of responsibility this fall, Adm. Craig Faller told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee July 9. Faller declined to name a specific LCS, but he did say: “The Navy is committed to deploying one in October. … And we look forward to that.” Faller assumed command last November. “It’s a capability we need (and) we don’t have it,” he said. Earlier this month, the future USS Indianapolis (LCS-17) finished acceptance trials, and the Mobile, Ala.-built future USS Cincinnati (LCS-20) was delivered to the service in late June. The even-numbered hulls are built by Austal USA. SOUTHCOM “needs more assets particularly for monitoring the ongoing political leadership crisis in Venezuela, as well as for the “global counter-narcotic fight,” he said. (Source: Defense Daily 07/10/19) LCS have forward deployed four times - all to the Indo-Pacific region. Currently, USS Montgomery (LCS 8) is forward deployed and homeported out of Singapore.

GoM disturbance upgraded

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has upgraded the disturbance in the northern Gulf of Mexico to Potential Tropical Cyclone Two. The system is expected to strengthen into a tropical depression or tropical storm by late Wednesday or Thursday; and potentially a hurricane by the weekend. NHC also has issued the first forecast track (the cone of uncertainty). At this time, its track is hard to predict. But the storm has become better-organized and formed deeper into the Gulf of Mexico than initially forecast, which gives it fuel to strengthen. The good news for the Mississippi, Alabama, and NW Florida coastline is that the latest models show the storm swinging more southwestward around the tip of Louisiana before making landfall as a possible Category 1 hurricane near the Texas/Louisiana border. A tropical depression has wind speeds of less than 39 mph; tropical storm 39-73 mph; and a hurricane between 74-110 mph. It’s expected to become a hurricane Saturday morning (July 13) and make landfall near Lake Charles that evening, according to meteorologist Megan Williams with the National Weather Service office in New Orleans. Crown Weather Services indicates the storm is likely to make landfall between Houston-Galveston, Texas, and Vermillion Bay/New Iberia, La., as a hurricane with 80 to 100 mph winds. (Source: Sun Herald 07/10/19) The Navy's Blue Angels' Pensacola Beach, Fla., airshow may be spared cancellation. Stay tuned.

Cat 5-themed STEM camp

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Navy physicists and engineers collaborated with NW Florida area teachers to host an annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Summer Camp here for rising 9th to 12th grade high school students June 24-28. Panama City STEM Institute Director Ginger Littleton said it was second camp, which followed a previous week’s camp for rising 6th to 9th grade students. The camps are a partnership between the Navy and local schools, colleges and universities, according to Littleton said. The camps are designed to help produce more science-related graduates to fill the nation’s need for STEM career-professionals. The theme for this year’s camps was the study of Category 5 hurricanes, their destructive forces, and engineering-based cleanups required from a storm’s aftermath. The students attending the camp are “still living with the cleanup and rebuilding caused by Hurricane Michael” that made landfall in the area in October. “We structured our curriculum based on that because it’s something most students will never forget,” said Littleton. Dan Flisek, physicist for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, and a Master Teacher at this year’s camp says the hurricane theme allows teaching several STEM-related sciences. “We have several areas of learning that we can relate to these storms and much of the post-storm cleanup that is required,” said Flisek. “For instance, our classes this year include: meteorology, electrical engineering, civil engineering, chemistry, and physics.” (Source: NSWC Panama City 07/01/19)

MiNo design, La.-build towboat

MiNO Marine of New Orleans announced July 8 that the second vessel based on its new 6,000-hp inland towboat design will be built at the Conrad Amelia Shipyard in Morgan City, La. It will be built for an unnamed operator. The MiNO 6000-class towboat design is propelled by two conventional propellers within Kort nozzles each driven by a 3,000-hp, Tier 4 compliant engine. The first vessel is fitted with EMD engines, while the second will be fitted with GE engines. The hull was developed through extensive engineering analysis using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to yield an efficient form suitable for a wide range of operating conditions while also minimizing potential for flow induced vibrations. Extensive structural vibration analyses using finite element (FE) techniques were made so as to minimize resonant structural vibrations. MiNO Marine, a naval architecture and marine professional services firm, that provides design and analysis services to a wide range of clients including shipyards, vessel operators, and other engineering firms on both commercial and government projects. (Source: Work Boat 07/09/19)

Predicting diver vulnerability

SILVER SPRING, Md. - Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) scientists presented their findings during the annual Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine Annual Scientific meeting June 27 in Puerto Rico, and how expired nitric oxide (NOexp) can be used as a non-invasive physical indicator of hyperbaric (high-pressure) oxidative stress to divers. Navy Special Operation Divers use closed circuit underwater breathing devices that operate at high oxygen levels. These levels limit mission length and may cause lung problems. NSMRL has led a series of human oxygen exposure testing, and developed an experimental model of the temporary changes that occur in expired nitric oxide following diving stress, for more than 12 years. Exhaled expired nitric oxide was studied as an indicator of airway inflammation and oxidative stress in a variety of lung diseases, according to Dr. David Fothergill, science director of the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory. Initially, the importance of expired nitric oxide was not clear, he says. “To be useful to our war-fighter, we needed to establish a well-defined relationship between oxygen exposure and the changes in expired nitric oxide.” Fothergill and his colleagues – including Dr. John Florian, a senior research physiologist and the head of Warfighter Human Performance at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit in Panama City, Fla. - explained how they can accurately predict the relative change in expired nitric oxide after prolonged dry and immersed dives. “For the first time we now have a non-invasive biomarker, which will allow us to predict a diver’s vulnerability to respiratory oxygen toxicity,” said Ross. (Source: NSMRL 07/03/19)

HII-built LPD celebrates 4th at sea

GULF OF ADEN - U.S. Sailors and Marines celebrated the Fourth of July with a “Firecracker” fun run and steel beach picnic while at sea aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26). “It’s not every day you get to celebrate holidays while on a deployment,” said Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Earnest Hightower, president of the ship’s First Class Petty Officer Association. “(W)hen that opportunity arises, we make the best of it,” he said. “I think (we) succeeded, in making this feel like a day back home as best we could.” John P. Murtha is currently on its first deployment and part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit team. It is deployed to the 5th Fleet area of operation in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points. (Source: Amphibious Squadron Five 07/08/19) Gulf Coast Note: The John P. Murtha was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., and commissioned in October 2016.

Endangered turtles nesting at Eglin

EGLIN AFB, Fla. – Air Force biologists have documented four species of sea turtle nests, including two that are rare – Leatherback and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, both on endangered species’ lists - marking the first time the four species have been on the base’s beaches at the same time. The other two species include the loggerhead and green sea turtles, both considered on a threatened species list, Kathy Gault, an Eglin AFB civilian biologist, told the NW Florida Daily News. “It’s a great feeling … Everybody gets really excited about it, and it really is a cool thing,” the excited biologist gushed. The Kemp’s ridley nests are the rarest. (Source: NW Florida Daily News 07/07/19)

Ocean's Alive DISL adventure

The Gulf of Mexico offers a wealth of material for developing minds and curious senses in the Dauphin Island (Ala.) Sea Lab’s Ocean's Alive, a half-day adventure for children ages 5 through 8 and their parents and grandparents. Combining arts and crafts with a beach walk adventure, the educators at the DISL usher participants into a deeper appreciation of the Alabama Gulf Coast. Lessons in marine biology, ecology, and zoology are introduced in hands-on activities so fun, the children will discover that learning’s a blast. Next Ocean’s Alive adventures are July 19 & July 25. Register online. (Source: DISL 06/2019)

Comfort comes to Peru

CALLAO, Peru – Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrived in Callao, Peru, July 8 for its second port visit of a 2019 deployment. While in Callao, U.S. service members and medical professionals will work alongside international partner and host nation medical professionals to provide much-needed medical assistance in communities with urgent health care needs, including local populations and vulnerable Venezuelans who have fled to Peru from the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. “Our team will work side-by-side with hundreds of doctors, nurses and surgeons throughout the region to build medical readiness, disaster capacity and lasting relationships,” said Adm. Craig S. Faller, Commander U.S. Southern Command. Comfort’s team consists of military and civilian personnel from America and partner nations of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru, creating a dynamic team capable of delivering a variety of services. “Our team will work together toward a common goal of alleviating stress placed on the country’s medical systems,” said Capt. Brian J. Diebold, commander, Task Force 49. “We’re committed to increasing partner nation capacity to provide medical assistance and disaster relief.” Among the staff is dental officer Lt. Elias Gonzales of Pensacola, Fla. This marks the fourth Comfort visit to Peru and the seventh to the region since 2007. The embarked medical teams will provide care on board Comfort and at two land-based medical sites. (Source: Navy Support Element East 07/08/19)