Here are five news stories and events to start your week, from the editors at Military.com:
Alcohol, Liberty Ban for US Troops in Japan After Deadly Car Crash
Via Hope Hodge Seck at Military.com: "Less than a day after a 61-year-old Japanese citizen was killed when a Marine collided with his car in Okinawa, U.S. Forces Japan announced it was cutting off local liberty for all troops in the region and prohibiting the consumption of alcohol until further notice. The deadly crash occurred around 5:30 a.m. local time Sunday in Naha. According to Associated Press reports, a Marine driving a truck collided with a smaller truck at an intersection, killing the Japanese driver. The AP reported the Marine, who came away with slight injuries, had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit at the time of the incident."
Navy Grounds Whidbey Crew After Lewd Skywriting Incident
Via Hal Bernton at Seattle Times: What were they thinking? Was the giant phallus sketched by a Navy aircrew in the sky above Okanogan, Washington, on Thursday intended as some sort of testosterone-fueled art? Or, amid all the sexual scandals unfolding in recent weeks about men behaving badly, could this have been a kind of defiant, politically incorrect statement? We may never know the motives. But Navy brass are not amused, and the crew of the EA18-G Growler -- based at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station -- appears to be in big trouble."
Satellite Signals Offer Hope in Hunt for Missing Argentine Sub
Via Sonia Avalos at Agence France Presse: "Hopes of finding survivors from a missing Argentine submarine with 44 crew members on board have been revived after the navy said it had detected what could be distress calls. There has been no contact with the ARA San Juan since early Wednesday, prompting Buenos Aires to launch an air and sea search with help from countries including Brazil, Britain, Chile, Uruguay and the United States. The search has, however, been complicated by stormy conditions, Argentine navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said on Saturday."
Navy Destroyer Collides with Tugboat off Japan, No Injuries Reported
Via Military.com: "A U.S. Navy destroyer sustained minimal damage after colliding with a Japanese tugboat off the coast of Japan, the service said. The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) was participating in a towing exercise in Sagami Wan when the tugboat lost propulsion and drifted into the ship, according to a release from U.S. 7th Fleet. 'No one was injured on either vessel and Benfold sustained minimal damage, including scrapes on its side, pending a full damage assessment,' the statement reads. The destroyer remained at sea under her own power, while the Japanese commercial tug was towed by another vessel to a port."
Video Shows Nurses Laughing as World War II Veteran Dies
Via The Associated Press: "Two nurses lost their licenses after a television station persuaded courts to unseal a video secretly recorded by the family of a man who died in their care. The video shows the World War II veteran repeatedly calling for help, saying he can't breathe. It also shows the nurses failing to take life-saving measures and laughing as they try to start an oxygen machine. The family of 89-year-old James Dempsey of Woodstock, Georgia, sued the Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation Center in 2014. Dempsey's family declined to comment, citing a settlement with the nursing home, the station said."
-- Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.
