Bodies of two paratroopers killed in Afghanistan return to US
The bodies of two soldiers killed by a car bomb in Afghanistan have been returned to the United States. Supporters raised tens of thousands of dollars for their families.
The Fayetteville Observer reports that the men’s bodies were returned Aug. 4 to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
The Army previously said two paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division were killed Aug. 2 near Kandahar. A news release identifies them as 25-year-old Spec. Christopher M. Harris, of Jackson Springs, N.C.; and 23-year-old Sgt. Jonathon M. Hunter, of Columbus, Ind. The 82nd Airborne is stationed at Fort Bragg.
A fundraising site to assist Harris’s wife was set up, as were sites for Hunter’s wife and family. The donations totaling around $80,000 as of Aug. 6 will go for funeral expenses and other bills. AP
Search called off for three U.S. Marines who crashed off Australia
U.S. military officials called off a search and rescue operation Aug. 6 for three U.S. Marines who were missing after their Osprey aircraft crashed into the sea off the east coast of Australia while trying to land.
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps suspended the rescue operation and launched a recovery effort instead, the Marine base Camp Butler in Japan said in a statement, essentially confirming the military does not expect to find the missing Marines alive.
The Marines’ next of kin had been notified, and Australia’s defense force was assisting the Americans with the recovery effort, the statement said.
The MV-22 Osprey had launched from the USS Bonhomme Richard and was conducting regularly scheduled operations Aug. 5 when it crashed into the water, Camp Butler said. The ship’s small boats and aircraft immediately responded in the search and rescue efforts, and 23 of 26 personnel aboard the aircraft were rescued.
“Recovery and salvage operations can take several months to complete, but can be extended based on several environmental factors,” Camp Butler’s statement said. “The circumstances of the mishap are currently under investigation, and there is no additional information available at this time.”
The Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but flies like an airplane. They have been involved in a series of high-profile crashes in recent years.
The aircraft was in Australia for a joint military training exercise held by the U.S. and Australia last month in Shoalwater Bay in Queensland state. The Talisman Sabre exercise, a biennial event between the two nations, involved more than 30,000 troops and 200 aircraft.
Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said Saturday’s incident occurred off the coast of Shoalwater Bay.
“I can confirm no Australian Defence Force personnel were on board the aircraft,” Payne said in a statement.
Payne said she had spoken with U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis “to offer Australia’s support in any way that can be of assistance.”
A White House official said President Donald Trump had been briefed by chief of staff John Kelly on the mishap of an aircraft off the east coast of Australia.
In 2015, a U.S. Osprey crashed during a training exercise in Hawaii, killing two Marines. Last December, a U.S. military Osprey crash-landed off Japan’s southern island of Okinawa. Its five crew members were rescued safely. And in January, three U.S. soldiers were wounded in the “hard landing” of an Osprey in Yemen. AP
Air Force signs contract for two presidential aircraft
The Air Force, which has been looking for ways to lower the cost of new Air Force One planes, agreed Aug. 4 to buy two jumbo jets from Boeing that were ordered but never delivered to a now-defunct Russian airline.
Two people close to the matter confirmed earlier this week that the Air Force and Boeing were in talks about the two planes that were still in the company’s inventory. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been publicly announced.
The contract details, including costs, were not provided on Friday. But President Donald Trump has complained about the high cost of new presidential planes, even threatening at one point to cancel the order.
“This award is a significant step towards ensuring an overall affordable program,” said Darlene Costello, the Air Force’s principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition. “As we move forward, we will continue to seek and implement cost savings opportunities.”
The list price for a Boeing 747-8 is $386.8 million, according to Boeing’s website. It was not clear whether that price would apply to planes that are already built and sitting in Boeing’s inventory. Modifications to accommodate security, communications and other presidential requirements would have to be done, and would increase the final price.
Last December Trump complained on Twitter about the cost of new Air Force One planes. “Costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” the president-elect tweeted.
A month later, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg met with Trump and declared they had made “great progress” in discussions about holding down the program’s cost. That led to talks between the company and the Pentagon.
The two Boeing 747-8 aircraft were ordered by Russian carrier Transaero but never delivered because the airline filed for bankruptcy protection in 2015, according to the people familiar with the matter. Aircraft makers like Boeing and Airbus routinely try to resell planes that are ordered but never delivered.
The aircraft are expected to be in service in 2024. AP