Here are five stories and events to start your week from the editors at Military.com:
1. Navy SEAL Killed in Somalia Firefight Identified
Via Lauren King at Stars & Stripes: "The Navy SEAL killed in Somalia last Thursday has been identified as Senior Chief Petty Officer Kyle Milliken of Falmouth, Maine. He was 38. Two other SEALs were also injured in the firefight during a raid targeting a remote al-Shabab compound just outside Mogadishu, a defense official told Stars and Stripes Friday. The official was not authorized to identify the service branch to which the U.S. troops belonged and spoke on condition of anonymity. Milliken is the first American service member killed in action in Somalia in decades, likely since the notorious 1993 Battle of Mogadishu."
2. Cockpit Oxygen Episodes Sideline Navy Pilots Fighting ISIS
Via Hope Hodge Seck at Military.com, reporting from the USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf: "The U.S.S. George H. W. Bush in January became the first East Coast-based carrier to deploy with a specialized piece of medical equipment aboard: a hyperbaric chamber, or 'transportable recompression system,' designed to treat pilots who experience hypoxia-like symptoms in the cockpit. Fewer than four months into the deployment, it has already been used twice for that purpose ... And though the aviation community aboard the carrier has found new and innovative ways to treat and detect cockpit incidents, they continue to happen."
3. Army Kills Contract for Shoulder-Fired Airburst Weapon
Via Matthew Cox at Military.com: "U.S. Army's senior leadership has ended an agreement with Orbital ATK Inc. that spanned two decades over the XM25 25mm airburst weapon, a move that could put the troubled weapon system's future into jeopardy. The service's XM25 Counter-Defilade Target Engagement System is a semi-automatic, shoulder-fired weapon that fires 25mm high-explosive, air-bursting ammunition. Nicknamed 'the Punisher' and designed by Orbital ATK and Heckler & Koch, XM25 has long been the Army's attempt to field a 'leap-ahead' weapon designed to give infantry units a decisive edge against enemies hiding behind cover."
4. Army Secretary Nominee Withdraws Amid Fierce Opposition
Via Oriana Pawlyk at Military.com: "The Republican state senator from Tennessee picked by President Donald Trump to be Army secretary has withdrawn from consideration. Mark Green quickly saw opposition from Democrats who became worried his personal views wouldn't bode well for soldiers or potential recruits. A few Republicans, such as Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, also noted their concern. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, said in a statement that had Green been confirmed, it 'would send the wrong message to brave and selfless Americans who simply wish to serve their nation.'"
5. Naval Officer's Career Derailed by Arrogance, Recklessness
Via Courtney Mabeus at The Virginian-Pilot: "When federal agents stopped Lt. Cmdr. Edward C. Lin in the Honolulu airport on Sept. 11, 2015, he was about to board a plane to China to meet a woman with whom he had been communicating online since April. But Lin, 40, who held a top secret security clearance and was assigned to a secretive Hawaii-based patrol squadron at the time, had lied to the Navy about where he was going. Instead, he had told his command he planned to spend 10 days in Alexandria ... because telling his leadership he was going to Virginia rather than the communist adversary required a less rigorous approval process.
