Air Force awards $38M in contracts for upgrades to airfield in Iceland

Sept. 24 (UPI) – The Air Force has awarded three contracts totaling $38 million to improve the airfield at Naval Air Station Keflavik in Iceland.

The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center's Detachment 4 will direct the construction project with support from Naval Facilities Engineering Command Europe Africa Central, the Air Force said Thursday.

The work includes expansion of the airfield's parking aprons, beddown site preparation and an upgrade to the airfield's hazardous cargo pad for the safe unloading and unloading of explosives.

"We are upgrading infrastructure at Naval Air Station Keflavik to provide a high level of readiness for U.S. Air Forces in Europe," said Col. David Norton, director of AFCEC's Facility Engineering Directorate. "We have incorporated innovative design and construction techniques to build resilient facilities to ensure the longest lifespan at the overall lowest life cycle cost."

The construction projects support the European Deterrence Initiative implemented by U.S. European Command – an initiative intended to increase the responsiveness of U.S. Air Forces and NATO members and allies in Europe.

The EDI includes military exercises and training including the annual Dynamic Mongoose exercise, which this year was held off the coast of Iceland as well as a rotational presence of U.S. forces in Europe.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/09/24/Air-Force-awards-38M-in-contracts-for-upgrades-to-airfield-in-Iceland/6351600969330/

3 fall Army brigade deployments to Afghanistan, South Korea and Europe announced

The Department of the Army announced deployments for three brigades rotating this fall to Afghanistan, South Korea and Europe.

The 2nd Infantry Brigade, from 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York, will deploy approximately 1,600 personnel to Afghanistan this autumn to support the U.S. commitment to Operation Freedom Sentinel.

The unit is replacing another 10th Mountain unit, the 1st Brigade, as part of a regular rotation of forces to Afghanistan.

Combat involving U.S. forces has trickled off in the country, as the Taliban and the Afghan government have entered into peace talks for the first time.

There were two U.S. soldiers killed in an improvised explosive device attack this January and another two soldiers killed in an insider attack in February, but as a tentative peace agreement emerged, hostile action against U.S. forces trickled off. There have still been six noncombat deaths, such a vehicle rollovers, in Afghanistan in 2020.

The 1st Armored Brigade from 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, will deploy approximately 3,500 personnel this autumn to the Republic of Korea.

The unit is replacing 1st Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade as part of a regular rotation of forces there.

Finally, the 1st Armored Brigade from 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas, will deploy approximately 3,500 personnel to Europe.

The unit is replacing 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade and will participate in Atlantic Resolve operations alongside NATO allies and partners in the region.

Atlantic Resolve involves a series of exercises that have grown to span multiple countries including the three Baltic states, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. The mission steadily grew following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula in 2014.

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/09/24/3-fall-army-brigade-deployments-to-afghanistan-south-korea-and-europe-announced/

DOJ recommends at least 3 years in prison for retired Navy Capt. John Nettleton

ACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Justice has recommended that retired Navy Capt. John Nettleton be sentenced to more than three years in prison on charges stemming from the 2015 death of a civilian employee at Guantanamo Bay – the base Nettleton commanded.

In January, a federal jury in Jacksonville convicted Nettleton on six of the eight charges he faced. The charges included obstruction of justice, concealment of material facts, falsification of records and making false statements. The charges stem from the death and disappearance of Christopher Tur. Nettleton and Tur were in a fight two nights before the Coast Guard found Tur’s body floating in the bay.

In a sentencing memo filed Thursday, the DOJ recommended Nettleton serve between 37 and 46 months. The defense has yet to file its recommendation.

“There is no question that John R. Nettleton (“Defendant”) misled, concealed, and lied about facts he knew regarding the disappearance and death of Christopher Tur (“Tur”),” the memo states. “Although the Defendant was not tried for or convicted of involvement in the death of Tur, the inescapable reality is that if the Defendant did what he should have done—what his legal duty and common human decency commanded—and reported his interactions with Tur when they happened, Tur may still be alive today.”

The COVID-19 pandemic led to multiple delays in the federal sentencing of Nettleton. His sentencing was set for August, but it has since moved to Oct. 8.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2020/09/24/doj-recommends-at-least-3-years-in-prison-for-retired-navy-capt-john-nettleton/