Here are five news stories and events to start your week:
US Navy Destroyer Collides with Merchant Ship in Pacific
Via Military.com: "Search-and-rescue efforts were underway in the Pacific after a U.S. Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship in the second such incident in two months. The USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) collided with the Alnic MC, an oil and chemical tanker from Liberia, around 6:24 a.m. Monday in the South China Sea east of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca, according to a statement from 7th Fleet. The incident, which occurred while the ship was headed for a port visit in Singapore, caused damage to the port side aft, or left back part, of the destroyer, the Navy said. The accident comes just days after the Navy fired the top three officials from the USS Fitzgerald for their role in a deadly collision in June."
Trump to Address Nation on New Strategy for Afghanistan
Via Fox News: "President Trump is set to address U.S. troops and the nation about the war in Afghanistan Monday night, the White House announced on Sunday, as the president considers whether to take a new approach to the conflict that has stretched on for 16 years. Trump will 'provide an update on the path forward for America’s engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia' at 9 p.m. ET, the White House said. The president is scheduled to speak from Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia. The president hinted Saturday that he and top U.S. generals have agreed on a new strategy for America's longest war, after huddling Friday at the presidential Camp David retreat. 'Important day spent at Camp David with our very talented Generals and military leaders,' Trump tweeted. 'Many decisions made, including on Afghanistan.'"
New Global War On Terrorism Memorial in DC Approved
Via Richard Sisk at Military.com: "President Donald Trump signed a bill Friday night authorizing the construction of a privately funded Global War on Terrorism Memorial in Washington, D.C. In signing the "Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act" passed by the House and Senate, Trump did not designate a site but authorized a memorial somewhere on “federal land in the District of Columbia,” the White House said. Trump also authorized the non-profit Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation to raise funds and oversee the project." The bill to establish the memorial was sponsored by Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, an Army veteran of the Iraq War, and Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia.
Inside the Air Force's Largest Fuel Farm in Fight Against ISIS
Via Oriana Pawlyk at Military.com: "It's one of the largest fuel farms in the world, from which U.S. military planes guzzle while flying operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The 380th Air Expeditionary Wing's fuel farm -- which houses 25 fuel bladders outdoors in the sweltering desert heat -- offloaded 255 million gallons of fuel in 2016 to refuel tankers such as the KC-10 Extender, fighters and even drones. "We're the number one supply to combat sorties in the entire Air Force," said Airman Ellis with the 380th Expeditionary Logistics and Readiness Squadron's fuels management team. "On an average day, we issue 383,000 gallons (or 2.5 million pounds) of fuel to various aircraft."
Wreckage of Sunken Warship USS Indianapolis Discovered
Via Carlos Bongioanni at Stars & Stripes: "The Navy announced on Saturday that the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis was found in the Philippine Sea at a depth of more than 18,000 feet below the water's surface. The heavy cruiser sank just past midnight on July 30, 1945, days after the ship delivered to the island of Tinian components for the atomic bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. The Indianapolis, with roughly 1,200 people on board, was on its way to the Philippines when torpedoes from a Japanese submarine struck the ship, causing it to sink in about 14 minutes. Nearly 300 people went down with the ship and of the 900 who abandoned ship, only 317 would survive after four to five days in the water suffering from exposure, dehydration, drowning and shark attacks."
-- Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.
