Connecticut Firm Loses Appeal over Denial of Army Contract

A federal watchdog agency has denied Connecticut-based Sikorsky Aircraft’s appeal of the U.S. Army’s rejection of the company’s bid to build the next generation of long-range assault helicopters. 

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, had filed a formal protest asking the U.S. Government Accountability Office to review the Army’s decision to reject their bid to produce its Defiant-X helicopter under a military contract. 

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Connecticut-Based Helicopter Firm Appeals Army Contract Rejection

With backing from Gov. Ned Lamont, a Connecticut-based company is appealing the U.S. Army’s rejection of its multimillion dollar bid for a defense contract to build long-range helicopters.

Sikorsky Aircraft, maker of the iconic Blackhawk helicopters, had submitted a proposal to the U.S. Army to produce its Defiant-X helicopter as part of the next generation of long-range helicopters. But the Army announced earlier this month that it was awarding the $1.3 billion contract to Bell Textron, a Texas-based company.

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Ohio Secretary of State Looks to Identify Areas for Improvement in Ohio Elections

One week after another successful statewide election, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is taking action to keep Ohio ahead of the curve.

Beginning immediately, The Secretary of State’s Office will work in conjunction with Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections to conduct an After-Action Review (AAR) of the statewide 2022 midterm election to evaluate overall performance and identify opportunities for improvement.

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Commentary: With Recruitments at Record Lows, Our Sons and Daughters May Soon Be Feeling the Draft

This year the U.S. Army missed its annual recruiting goal by 25 percent, or 20,000 soldiers. That’s more than an entire division, which includes 10,000-20,000 troops. The National Guard missed its target by 9,000 recruits and applications are down more than 20 percent at Annapolis and West Point. This has the Pentagon looking for new ways to fill the ranks, but an old one might get the nod.

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Former U.S. Military Pilot Admits He Spied for China, Sold U.S. Secrets

A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot admitted to serving as a paid agent of the Chinese government, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.

Shapour Moinian pleaded guilty to making false statements during security background checks and also admitted to accepting payment in exchange for passing aviation secrets obtained from his defense contractor employer to Chinese agents, the DOJ announcement stated. Moinian now faces 15 years in prison and a fine up to $500,000 for his crimes at his August 29 sentencing.

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Tennessee Politicians Celebrate 247 Years of the U.S. Army and Flag Day

June 14 marked the 247th birthday of the United States Army and Flag Day, and Tennessee’s politicians posted messages on social media marking both observances.

U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) shared the following message on Tuesday, “Our Nation has remained free, secure, and prosperous because of 247 years of great bravery, service, and sacrifice by our U.S. Army and its generations of selfless troops. Happy Birthday, @USArmy!”

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Commentary: Defund the Capitol Police

U.S. Capitol police uniform

The new intelligence chief of the U.S. Capitol Police is off to a rough start.

Ravi Satkalmi, a former high-ranking NYPD official, took over the Capitol Police’s expanding intelligence unit this month. But his agency suffered a major humiliation Wednesday night after it forced the evacuation of the Capitol and surrounding buildings after spotting “an aircraft that poses a probable threat.” Staff scrambled to exit the buildings in a panic, and news outlets interrupted coverage with “breaking news” bulletins about the suspicious aircraft.

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U.S. Army Disputes Report Which Inaccurately Claimed COVID-19 Vaccine Under Development Was Tested on Omicron

The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) said in a Wednesday statement that some information in a report about its vaccine production is inaccurate. 

“Some recent reports about Walter Reed Army Institute of Research’s COVID-19 Vaccine Development have led to inaccurate representations which require clarification,” WRAIR said in a statement provided to The Star News Network. “Last week, the preclinical results of the Army COVID-19 vaccine, SpFN, were published in Science Translational Medicine. The Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle platform is designed to protect against an array of SARS-CoV-2 variants and SARS-origin variants but was not tested on the Omicron variant.”

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Rep. Mo Brooks Calls for Investigation After U.S. Army’s Chaney Pickard Sends Race-Baiting Email, Labels ‘MAGA’ Slogan and More ‘White Supremacy’

US Army

by Debra Heine   The U.S. Army sent an email to its military and civilian members after the Fourth of July that included a graphic that claimed innocuous words and phrases like “colorblind,” “all lives matter” and the Trump Campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” are evidence of “white supremacy.” The graphic also listed “Celebration of Columbus Day,” the “Denial of White Privilege,” “Talking about ‘American Exceptionalism,’” and saying “There’s Only One Human Race” as behaviors that are indicative of white supremacy. After Army personnel brought the offensive email to the attention of a U.S. Congressman, the Army said the material was “unapproved” and sent out “in error.” A U.S. Army employee on Monday sent an email invite to likely thousands of military and civilian members for a U.S. Army 'Operation Inclusion' listening tour, which included a graphic that said saying "MAGA" is evidence of white supremacy. The Army says it was "sent in error." pic.twitter.com/NUvm0lMVMh — Kristina Wong 🇺🇸 (@kristina_wong) July 9, 2020 According to Breitbart’s Kristina Wong, the email invited “all soldiers and (Department of the Army) Civilian Personnel” to attend the U.S. Army’s “Operation Inclusion” seminars on July 8 and 9 at the Redstone Arsenal Army Base in Alabama.…

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Southern Baptist Ethics And Religious Liberty Commission Speaks Out Against Military Transgender Policy

  Southern Baptist leaders object to the U.S. Army’s new mandatory transgender sensitivity training, reports Baptist Press. The training follows last year’s repeal of a ban on transgender men and women serving openly in the armed forces. Former President Obama’s defense secretary set a deadline of July 1 for fully implementing the new policy across all branches of service. Current Secretary of Defense James Mattis recently announced a six-month delay in enlisting transgender people, but those currently enlisted are allowed to transition. Soldiers are being told they must accept soldiers of the opposite sex who feel they have a different gender in barracks, bathrooms and showers. Andrew Walker, director of policy studies for the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), told Baptist Press that Army leaders’ acquiescence “to the demands of transgender activists is misguided.” “Most problematically, the Army is complicit in advancing a worldview that tells fundamental distortions about what it means to be a man or a woman,” Walker said. “The Army’s actions overlook the protests of dissenting soldiers uncomfortable with the idea of sharing private spaces with members of the opposite sex, which also pose risks to religious liberty. “It is unfortunate and lamentable that a venerable…

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