www.flagshipnews.com | The Flagship | Section 1 | Thursday, November 30, 2023
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IN THIS ISSUE
The Department of the Navy releases inaugural Cyber Strategy
The strategy features seven distinct lines of effort focused on enhancing the naval services’ cyber posture in alignment with the National Defense Strategy and Department of Defense Cyber Strategy. PAGE A2
VOL. 31, NO. 42, Norfolk, VA | flagshipnews.com
November 30-December 6, 2023
Katherine Burgess, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory geologist, sits in the control room for the Nion UltraSTEM-200x microscope in Washington, D.C., November 16, 2023. Burgess studies lunar grains that were collected during Apollo missions to the moon. (U.S. NAVY PHOTOS BY JONATHAN STEFFEN)
Hydrogen detected in lunar samples, points to resource availability for space exploration By Susan Guth
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
WASHINGTON — U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) researchers have discovered solar-wind hydrogen in lunar samples, which indicates that water on the surface of the Moon may provide a vital resource for future lunar bases and longer-range space exploration. Space-based resource identification is a key factor in planning for civilian- and government-led space exploration. “Hydrogen has the potential to be a resource that can be used directly on the lunar surface when there are more regular or permanent installations there,” said Dr. Katherine D. Burgess, geologist in NRL’s Materials Science and Technology Division. “Locating resources and understanding how to collect them prior to getting to the Moon is going to be incredibly valuable for space exploration.”
The Apollo lunar soil samples were provided by a NASA-funded research mission to NRL scientists for investigation and testing. The research team, led by scientists in NRL’s Materials Science and Technology Division, continues to study lunar surface and asteroidal samples to gain understanding of how surfaces interact with the space environment, which is known as space weathering. Previous testing from additional Apollo samples confirmed location of solar wind helium in lunar soil grains. “This is the first time scientists have demonstrated detection of hydrogen-bearing species within vesicles in lunar samples,” said Dr. Burgess. “Previously, the same team at NRL used state-of-the-art techniques such as scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy to detect helium in lunar samples, and other researchers have found water in other planetary samples, but this is the
first publication to show hydrogen in-situ in lunar samples.” The research article was published to the “Communications Earth & Environment” journal on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory: NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C., with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, Key West, Florida, and Monterey, California, and employs approximately 3,000 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel. Katherine Burgess, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory geologist, places a magazine holding several transmission electron microscopy samples into a Nion UltraSTEM200x microscope in Washington, D.C.
Fighting for the right to fight: Louisiana Montford Point Marines posthumously awarded Congressional Gold Medal By 1st Lt. Gregory Dreibelbis Marine Forces Reserve
NEW ORLEANS — Seven African-American Marines originally from Louisiana were posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal at the Algiers Auditorium here on Nov. 13 for their service during World War II. Montford Point Marines Granville Alexander Sr., George A. Dupré Sr., Andrew J. LeBlanc, Nolan A. Marshall Sr., Melvin O. Parent Sr., Gilbert O. Smith Sr. and Lloyd B. Wills Sr, were honored at the gathering for their selfless service to the Nation and for their role in the advancement of civil rights. These Marines were among the first of approximately 20,000 African Americans to serve in the Marine Corps since the American Revolution. While white recruits attended basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depots in Parris Island and San Diego, black recruits from 1942 to 1949 were sent to the segregated training facility at Montford Point Camp in Jacksonville, N.C. “These 20,000 men fought to be accepted into an organization that didn’t want them,” said Mr. Jackie Robinson, president of the Granville Alexander Chapter #7 of the National Montford Point Marine Association. “As with all the great battles in Marine
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Corps history, the Montford Point Marine battle to endure the mistreatment, prejudices and harsh conditions to be part of an organization is a testament to the resilience and character and strength of these men.” The Marine Corps resisted efforts to integrate its ranks and only did so when President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Executive Order 8802, which prohibited discrimination in the Defense Industry, according to the National Archives. Black recruits trained at Montford Point for seven years, enduring prejudice and discrimination on their journey to the training facility and then overcame the challenges of Marine Corps boot camp to earn the title Marine. “It is so significant from what they went through, the fact that they were in the first group of black folks who integrated the Marine Corps and thinking of the sacrifices that they made,” said Michael LeBlanc, who was present to receive the award on behalf of his father, Andrew LeBlanc. “I cannot tell you how proud I am, what they overcame. And it was outstanding.” President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948, banning segregation in the Armed Forces. This led Turn to Fighting for the right, Page 2
U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Sean Day, mobilization assistant to Deputy Commander of USSPACECOM with Senior Leader Management Branch, presents the Congressional Gold Medal to family members of Montford Point Marines at the Algiers Auditorium in New Orleans, Nov. 13, 2023. Seven African American Marines were posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their service World War II. They were among the first African American Marines to serve in the Marine Corps since the American Revolution and trained at the segregated Montford Point Camp in Jacksonville, North Carolina. (U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTO BY CPL. RYAN SCHMID)
First ever Gator Dawn field exchange spotlights Navy partnerships with African militaries The Navy Entomology Center of Excellence successfully launched its very first Gator Dawn: a preventive medicine field exchange with participation from the armed forces of Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya. PAGE A4
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