An African American sailor from Omaha hailed as a hero during World War II for swimming through shark-infested waters to rescue his wounded shipmates could get a local post office named in his honor. Nebraska Reps. Don Bacon, Jeff Fortenberry and Adrian Smith have co-sponsored a bill — H.R. 4168 — to rename Omaha’s Benson-area post office in honor of Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Jackson French,... Read more »
A U.S. House resolution introduced by all three Nebraska congressmen seeks to honor Charles Jackson French by naming the Benson post office for the man who rescued 15 injured shipmates during World War II. French, a First Class Petty Officer, swam for nearly eight hours through shark-infested waters off Guadalcanal towing a life raft to save the sailors from a sinking ship. As KETV NewsWatch 7 has... Read more »
Washington, DC -On Friday, Rep. Don Bacon (NE - 02) and Reps. Jeff Fortenberry (NE-01) and Adrian Smith (NE-03) introduced H.R. 4168 to name the U.S. Post Office in Omaha’s Benson area, 6223 Maple St., after Petty Officer First Class Charles Jackson French, a World War II hero with ties to Omaha, who rescued fifteen of his injured shipmates by swimming for hours through shark-infested waters off ... Read more »
The Army Ranger Creed reads: I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy. I lived by these words. That includes the day a suicide bomber hit and killed four men in my patrol in Asadabad, Afghanistan: Sergeant Major Kevin J. Griffin, Major Thomas E. Kennedy, Major Walter D. Gray, and USAID Foreign Service Officer Mr. Ragaei Abdelfattah. I think about them every day. The ... Read more »
Nearly 100 people attended an evening Memorial Day service at Papillion’s Veterans Park, presented by American Legion Post 32. The ceremony featured the dedication of a new obelisk memorial, honoring five special military heroes from Papillion. After a delay in production and transport, the obelisk arrived in mid-May in time for installation before the service. “No one celebrates Memorial Days an... Read more »
Ahead of an anticipated request from Israel for supplemental aid to replenish the Iron Dome missile defense system following the conflict between Israel and Palestinian terrorist groups, a bipartisan group of House members plans to express support for the aid. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz will meet later this week with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and is expected to request $1 billion in... Read more »
Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE 2), retired brigadier general in Air Force and member of the House Committees on Agriculture and Armed Services, joins Julie Mason to talk his Back the Blue Act, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and his fears for Afghanistan after US troop withdrawals are complete. Listen to the full interview here. Read more »
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Farewell, hangar queen. Offutt Air Force Base’s 45th Reconnaissance Squadron said goodbye last week to one of its most trouble-prone jets, an OC-135B that logged 36,064 flight hours and 6,135 takeoffs and landings in nearly 60 years of military use. “Jets get old, people get old,” said Lt. Col. Andrew “Tripper” Maus, the squadron’s commander. “Bittersweet’s probably the best wo... Read more »
Two key lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee said they will push the Pentagon to designate a flag officer on the Joint Staff and a senior civilian to take charge of electromagnetic spectrum warfare. Speaking Tuesday at the Hudson Institute, Rep. James Langevin (D-R.I.) – who chairs the HASC cyber, innovative technologies and information systems subcommittee – said “we sure do need someo... Read more »
The U.S. military has fallen behind China and Russia in electromagnetic spectrum warfare, and one of the key ways to start pulling even again is to create a position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense with the clout to manage the joint electronic warfare enterprise, experts said on a Hudson Institute webinar. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), co-chair of the House electromagnetic spectrum operat... Read more »
