But even as a kid I got a hint. One memory that stands out is a parade in our town in New York, when my Dad was driving a shiny new Lincoln convertible – it wasn’t ours – from the dealership where he worked. In the back were local dignitaries, waving to everyone. I didn’t know who they were, nor did I care.
For me, all I saw was the driver, my very own dignitary, a World War II veteran who fought for our country then came home to work hard raising a family. Later in the parade there was a group of soldiers from a nearby Army base. I focused on just one of them, the man who was dating and would soon marry my sister.
Yes, you can have an elaborate national celebration, it’s all part of what we do in this country to mark the day we declared independence from Great Britain. But look around you. It’s those who are close to you, those who defended us and those who were defended, who make us understand the significance of the day.
Happy birthday, America. We are one people, and should act like it more often.
Now for your week in review:
Airbus
Airbus Canada Limited Partnership marked its first anniversary on July 1, a year after Airbus became the majority partner in the A220 aircraft program.
Highlights of this first anniversary include orders and commitments signed for more than 230 A220 aircraft, the ground-breaking for a new A220 manufacturing facility in Mobile, Ala., and expansion at the Mirabel manufacturing facility in Canada.
In total, the A220 ends the first year of Airbus leading the program with a firm order book of over 500 aircraft, plus 80 additional commitments announced at this year’s Paris Air Show. (Post)
Space
Mississippi is starting a new economic development effort to lure companies connected to space exploration. The announcement came less than a month after California-based Relativity announced it would build its Terran 1 space rockets using 3D print technology at Stennis Space Center, where it has already been testing rocket engines.
Gov. Phil Bryant announced the Space Initiative early in the week during an event at Infinity Science Center, near Stennis Space Center in coastal Hancock County. SSC is where NASA and many commercial space companies test rocket engines.
The leader of the economic development effort will be Patrick Scheuermann, former head of Stennis Space Center and Marshall Space Flight Center. Bryant also announced formation of a Mississippi National Guard Space Directorate. (Post)
This is not the first effort by Mississippi to leverage technologies at Stennis Space Center. In 1998 Mississippi formally began an effort to create a geospatial technology cluster. It created the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative, which in 2003 became the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions.
That was a highly targeted effort, and this one appears to be far more inclusive.
Contracts
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded $348.2 million for a modification to a previously awarded contract. This modification is for production non-recurring, special tooling and special test equipment in support of low-rate initial production Lot 12 F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) partners and foreign military sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in multiple locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada, and Turkey. Work is expected to be completed in August 2022. … The Rockhill Group Inc., Molino, Fla., was awarded a $12.2 million contract for Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) aircrew instruction instructor support required by the 492 Special Operations Wing and operational wings. Work will be performed at Hurlburt Field, Fla.; Duke Field, Fla.; Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.; and Royal Air Force Mildenhall, United Kingdom, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2019. The 765th Specialized Contracting Flight, Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Hurlburt Field, is the contracting activity.
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