News 6 Mashup: Feb. 1, 2021
Here are the top stories for the week of Feb. 1, 2021, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Jolene McNutt:
Record Number of Women Graduate from Test Pilot School
A record number of five women graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California, reported CNN. The five captains are among legends to have graduated from the program, including General Chuck Yeager, who was the first pilot to break the sound barrier, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin. CNN said, “Current students and instructors have the same barrier-breaking mentality as they push the envelope of flight tests, putting themselves at great risk every day.” Past classes have averaged just one or two women.
Air Force Using Ultrasonic Cleaning Machines
Stars & Stripes reported on a rifle cleaning system the Air Force is using that the Army says is doing, “too good a job.” At Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, a unit was tasked with cleaning factory oil from new M4 rifles. Leading up to an inspection, “110 airmen had worked in 8-hour shifts for a month, but couldn’t remove all the excess corrosion protectant, known as Cosmoline, caking the factory-new rifles. Any trace in hard-to-reach spots, like the iron sights, resulted in an automatic failure [at the inspection].” Of the 2,700 rifles all but five percent failed the inspection. After the failed inspection, Tech Sgt. Kyle Deconnick decided to purchase two ultrasonic cleaning systems. The systems not only could remove the grease in places that humans couldn’t reach, but it also improved cleaning time by 1,800 percent and reduced labor costs by about 95 percent. There is a discrepancy between the Air Force use of the ultrasonic cleaning machines and the Army—Air Force regulations allow it, but Army regulations do not. All of the rifles that have been cleaned using the ultrasonic machines have passed inspection to date.
Naval Officer Saves Life
A naval officer saved a life while on his way home from work in Agat, Guam. Petty Officer 1st Class Josephus G. Alleyne saw “a dented pole and smoke rising from the jungle,” reported Task & Purpose. He found another sailor, Chief Petty Officer Ken Mabon, on the scene, and the two managed to get the car door open. The driver had a broken femur and was losing blood. The two used a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. “‘I’ve served for 18 years,’ said Alleyne, ‘I wanted to be a corpsman because it is the most challenging and rewarding rate there is: to save lives. … At the end of the day, I feel like this is something every sailor with a good moral compass, sense of leadership, understanding of duty, and devotion to service would have done.’”
‘An everyday hero’ — Navy Corpsman saves a man’s life after serious car accident
This Week in History
On Feb. 1, 1898, The Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, issued the first automobile insurance policy. Dr. Truan Martin of Buffalo, New York, paid $11.25 for the policy, which gave him $5,000 in liability coverage.
This might seem like a strange historical fact to share with you, but today, Travelers Insurance has a commitment to hiring military spouses and veterans. In fact, in December, Travelers Insurance announced that it was hiring 100 remote military spouses. Get a leg up when you join the VirtForce facebook group. VirtForce was an Army Wife Talk Radio guest in episode #742 from June 2020.
