On Patrol

Navy Petty Officers Third Class Christopher Barton and Charles Miramonti play with a boy during a community service project at the Bukit Harapan Orphanage in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, on April 5, 2012. Navy photo by Petty Officer Second Class Chris Williamson

Three good reads to start your Friday:

• Unmanned aerial vehicles—or drones, as most of us refer to them—have become an essential piece of the war on terror. Now, the Navy is looking at unmanned vessels for dangerous tasks like minesweeping.
  
  
• Brazilian-born Army Sergeant Felipe Pereira was presented the Distinguished Service Cross—the military’s second-highest honor—for saving two lives during an attack in Afghanistan after being wounded himself.
  
  
• The Camp Pendleton, California, cross site—made famous after a group of atheists complained over the religious nature of the memorial on public land—is back in the news. Fox News profiles the continuing standoff between the sides, and adds several details of what it’s like to be standing on the hill next to the slew of makeshift tributes families and friends leave behind. 

Army Sergeant Nathan McLaughlin, right, rescues Army Staff Sergeant Christian Larsen - who was posing as a lost hiker - duringm an April 3, 2012, training exercise on Camp W.G. Williams in Riverton, Utah. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Dennis Henry

The Army thinks about gas prices, too.

As the Pentagon continues its push toward efficiency, a new lab in Warren, Michigan, is set to help the service get more miles to the gallon. The Ground Systems Power and Energy Lab opened Wednesday. According to Fox News, government officials say the facility at the Detroit Arsenal is unique because it has both significant technology and a space that can test vehicles.

Read more in U.S. Army opens lab to research hybrid technology.

In other news around the military:

• First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden announced the The Joining Forces Community Challenge winners on Wednesday. USO President Sloan Gibson was on the panel that judged the contest, which recognized smaller charities dedicated to improving the lives of military families. The announcement coincided with the one-year anniversary of the Joining Forces initiative.
  
  
• You won’t encounter many men as brave as Air Force Captain Barry F. Crawford Jr. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions during a battle with insurgents May 4, 2010. Here’s the Washington Post’s take on Crawford’s story.

Army Sergeant Michael Trevino uses a foot bridge to cross a swollen river April 4, 2012, outside of the village of Marzak in Afghanistan's Paktika province. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Charles Crail

A U.S. sailor looks up at Friendship Bridge from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise on April 4, 2012, while transiting the Suez Canal. Navy photo by Seaman Randy J. Savarese

Apparently, there’s now a science to airdrops.

Wired’s Danger Room blog has an interesting story this morning on how the accidental 1999 killing of a boy in East Timor—an Australian aid package fell on him—led to the re-imagination of how to deliver relief supplies from the sky.

Thirteen years later, the U.S. Air Mobility Command (AMC) is adopting this new thinking—depending on the situation. Wired says the U.S. is still using the Tri-wall Aerial Delivery System in Afghanistan. That method employs a box weighing up to 2,000 pounds and hits the ground at 50 mph. With less population density in Afghanistan, this is still seen as a reasonable method of delivery.

But in urban areas, the AMC has turned to dropping thousands of small foam packages filled with single-serving forms of sustenance in order to avoid an East Timor-like incident.

Read more in Air Force’s New Tactic: ‘Blanketing a City’ With Energy Bars.

In other news around the military:

• At least 63 people were left temporarily homeless after an F/A-18D Hornet crashed into a Virginia Beach, Virginia, apartment complex last week. Seven people on the ground were injured in the accident, but no one was killed. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Navy has started dispersing emergency relief checks to the displaced residents, including a $2,300 payment for temporary housing, meals and clothing.
  
  
• The legal team for alleged Fort Hood shooter Army Major Nidal Hasan is requesting Hasan’s pending trial be delayed again. 

Air Force Captain Trisha Loede, left, hugs Air Force Master Sergeant Ann Mitchell on March 31, 2012, after completing the Women's History Month Ultimate Dirty Dash at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. Seventy-five teams participated in the event, which gave members of the base a chance to compete in physical activities while answering women's history trivia questions. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Clayton Lenhardt

The Navy has deployed a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf region to help patrol key oil shipping routes. The move will likely be seen as a pre-emptive security move against any Iranian actions to cut off shipping routes. Iran has openly discussed blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

The move also comes as gas prices continue to rise in the United States.

Read more in U.S. has two carriers in the Persian Gulf.

In other news around the military:

• The U.S. and Afghanistan signed a deal giving the Afghan government veto power over controversial night raids, according to CNN.