Page 15 - World Airnews Magazine May 2020 Edition

NEWS DEFENCE

SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE DEFENCE FIRMS TO VIE

FOR VIRUS AID

very month, we honour a military
Emember or veteran as our Serving
Those Who Serve "Hero of the Month."
This month, we're travelling farther
than we ever have before to hand out the
award.
Some 6,000 miles from home, to the
eastern European country of Kosovo.
That's where Colorado National Guard

Blackhawk helicopter pilot Rob Bingham is
currently on assignment.
He was deployed a few weeks ago,
along with about 150 other local guard
members, to Camp Bondsteel. It's a
NATO military base near the border of
Kosovo and North Macedonia, where
the Colorado National Guard helicopter
crews are training alongside forces from out. But in the back of my head I thought our Serving Those Who Serve Hero of the
other nations. wouldn't it be great to be a commander Month for March 2020.
When danger is on the horizon, there are and actually be able to make change and "This is an honour. Thank you," he said, as
people who run from it, and people who fly create a good environment for my sol- he was handed a plaque on the flight line at

toward it. Bingham is one of the latter. diers. So I decided to stay in. I'm now at 17 Camp Bondsteel earlier this month.

He's been behind the controls of a Black- years and I'm making my goals and doing Hero is a deserving title for someone

hawk helicopter for years, helping fight what I can," Bingham said. who serves his state, both at home and

wildfires in our state and helping protect Bingham goes by a lot of titles: com- overseas. Doing his part to make everyone

our nation. mander in the Colorado National Guard, in Colorado a little safer. Along with the

"This is basically like manually operating and founder and CEO of Colorado Veter- award, Bingham receives a $750 Visa gift

a locomotive. So everything inside of it is ans Project, the non-profit that organises card from our Serving Those Who Serve

very manual. We use steam gauges. It is Denver's Veterans Day Parade and the sponsors, Rocky Mountain Honda Dealers
the workhorse of the Army," Bingham said, annual Memorial Day walk and run in and the Leo Hill Charitable Trust. Q BOEING’S OPTIONS
describing the Blackhawk. Castle Rock. MNUCHIN DECIDES

This isn't his first deployment. Other titles he answers to: husband, Article courtesy: https://kdvr.com/news/ S defence contractors and a huge Boeing is keeping its options open as it Mnuchin confirmed earlier this month that

"I was a Sergeant on my last rotation leader and friend. But "hero" is the title we problem-solvers/serving-those-who- Unetwork of their suppliers are explores raising (US) $10 billion to (US) $20 he will decide who gets what, unlike the

in Iraq and I was thinking about getting wanted to give him. So we're naming him serve/ expected to seek some of the (US) $17 billion to ride out the pandemic, according rest of the stimulus package. The Federal

to a person familiar with the matter.

Reserve is the primary vehicle for keeping
billion pool of federal money designated The company is discussing financing credit flowing from lenders to large and

for companies vital to national security and terms and conditions with Treasury offi- medium-sized businesses that need help to

DRONES contending with corona virus disruptions. cials, whether it seeks help through the maintain payrolls and pay rent.

Problem is, no one knows who will qualify national security fund or a broader, (US) The Small Business Administration is

for the funds, what the application process $454 billion pool that’s also part of the (US) overseeing lending to firms with fewer than

will be, or when Treasury Secretary Steven $2 trillion stimulus package. 500 employees.
RESCUE HELICOPTERS PLEA FOR Mnuchin will distribute the money. Federal Reserve to help investment-grade the (US) $17 billion for national-security

Another option is financing offered by the

But Mnuchin has direct authority over

An even bigger unknown is whether

Boeing Co., the No. 2 US defence contractor, companies access the capital markets, said firms and another (US) $29 billion for air-
the person, who asked not to be identified

DRONE USERS TO COMPLY will tap - and possibly exhaust - the nation- as the discussions are confidential. lines and cargo carriers.

The Treasury Department, said recently
al-security fund. The money comes with a

condition that could turn the Chicago-based Boeing could even ask for aid under a that it will issue guidance on national-se-

company away from seeking some of the combination of programmes, the person curity financing “in the near future,” but

“While we are taking every precaution that,” said James Tayler who had been (US) $17 billion pot: It must give the US an said. The company has retained investment declined to comment further. Treasury

available to us to protect our crew, pa- piloting the helicopter. equity stake in return for the money. banks Lazard Ltd. and Evercore Co. to help has hired Wall Street advisory firm Perella

tients and families from Covid-19 we are "At times like this, an accident in it sort through the options.

ccording to Alert Level 4 lock- at the mercy of drone operators wanting Whether Boeing applies for some of the Weinberg Partners to work on the nation-

Adown regulati ons, drones can to capture images of greater Auckland, the air is the last thing our community fund will determine how much money is President Donald Trump has already pre- al-security loans.
needs."

only be flown inside the boundaries of a Coromandel and the Gulf communities left for hundreds of thousands of other dicted Boeing would seek federal help, with- DEFENCE BASE

According to Tayler, the helicopter had
person’s property and to a height of no during lockdown.” already climbed above 400 feet and was defence contractors that may be vying for out specifying what form that might take.
more than 400 feet. In one earlier incident, one of the flying at a speed of around 230 kilome- help amid the virus outbreak. The (US) $2 trillion rescue package Con- The defence supply chain counts about

300,000 companies, from the biggest

Michelle Boag, acting CEO of the Auck- rescue helicopters experienced a tres when a drone flew passed a mere “The number of companies this will affect gress adopted in late March includes loans weapons-system contractors to the more

land Westpac Rescue Helicopters (ARHT) “near-miss” from a rogue drone when three or four metres away. is going to be very significant,” said Hawk and loan guarantees specifically for compa- numerous, lower-tier suppliers of every-

said their crew are at risk from both taking off to attend a serious car crash in Boag said they can’t afford to be Carlisle, president of the National Defence nies “critical to maintaining national security.” thing from software to uniforms.

private and commercial drone operators Northland where several patients were placing lives at risk with drone flying Industrial Association, a trade group of de- Yet more than two weeks after Trump

flying outside the boundaries that have in need of help. outside the strict limits in place during fence contractors whose members include signed the measure, procurement experts It’s those smaller companies,

been put in place. “We certainly don’t need a repeat of the lockdown. Q Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing. say they know little about how it will be which lack the access to capital
and the large balance sheets
disbursed. Many also doubt the (US) $17
“I think demand will be outrageous, and

it’s not going to be enough,” he said. billion will be enough. that major corporations have, To page 14
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