Pentagon identifies soldier killed in Afghanistan
The Pentagon has released the name of a U.S. soldier who died of wounds sustained in a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan.
The Oct. 27 crash in Logar province killed Jacob M. Sims — a 36-year-old chief warrant officer from Juneau, Alaska. He was assigned to 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
The U.S. military has said six other crew members aboard the helicopter were injured in the crash. The Defense Department has provided no details about the crash other than saying it wasn’t caused by enemy fire. AP
UK navy discharges nine nuclear sub crew members for drug use
Britain’s Royal Navy has discharged nine service personnel who tested positive for drugs while they were assigned to a nuclear submarine.
The nine were dismissed following compulsory drugs tests on HMS Vigilant — one of four British submarines that carry Trident nuclear missiles. A Royal Navy statement says the service does “not tolerate drugs misuse by service personnel. Those found to have fallen short of our high standards face being discharged from service.”
The Daily Mail reported that the drug involved in this case was cocaine. The newspaper alleged the personnel took part in drug-fueled parties while docked in the United States to pick up nuclear warheads.
The submarine has also recently been embroiled in controversy over allegations of an inappropriate onboard relationship between a male and female. AP
Report: Engine installation issue caused F-16 crash near D.C.
The Air Force says a fighter jet crash near the nation’s capital in April was caused by an issue involving the engine.
The Baltimore Sun reports that Air Force investigators on Oct. 26 said a problem with how the engine was installed caused the F-16 to crash in Prince George’s County, Md.
The D.C. Air National Guardsman piloting the plane ejected safely after guiding the $22 million jet toward a wooded area about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from Joint Base Andrews. It was one of four fighter jets flying from Maryland to a shooting range in Pennsylvania for a training exercise.
About 20 homes near the crash site were briefly evacuated at the time and nobody was hurt.AP
Putin takes part in Russian military drills, fires missiles
The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin has taken part in major military drills and personally launched four ballistic missiles as part of the exercises.
Russian news agencies quoted Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Oct. 27 as saying that Putin participated in the Oct. 26 training which was aimed at testing Russia’s strategic nuclear arsenal.
The Defense Ministry said Thursday that three ballistic missiles were fired from nuclear submarines and one from a launchpad in Russia’s northwest as part of the drills.
Earlier this month, Russia conducted exercises involving intercontinental ballistic missile launchers.
The maneuvers follow massive war games conducted last month by Russia and Belarus that caused jitters in some NATO countries, including Poland and the Baltics. AP