Arlington’s namesake U.S. Navy ship has a new commanding officer.
Navy Capt. Vince Libasci relieved Capt. Ian Scaliatine as commander of the USS Arlington during a Nov. 14 ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk.
Navy
Arlington’s namesake U.S. Navy ship recently hosted a cruise for first responders and family members of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Participating 9/11 first responders included active and retired personnel from Arlington County and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Also invited on the trip from Norfolk Naval Station were several members from the Arlington Emergency Communications Center who supported rescue efforts at the Pentagon.
Arlington’s recent commemoration of World War II hero Doris “Dorie” Miller came with a homework assignment.
Miller, from whom one of Arlington’s American Legion posts takes name, was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. But likely owing to the prevailing racial attitudes of the time, he did not receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration.
American Legion Dorie Miller Post 194 and its auxiliary will celebrate their namesake during a special event in Arlington on Friday, Oct. 11.
The second annual “Dorie Miller Day” commemoration ceremony will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. at the county government’s headquarters at 2100 Clarendon Blvd.
Hundreds of K-5 students at Oakridge Elementary School packed 200 gift boxes to seamen and Marines serving on the USS Arlington.
The boxes sent to those aboard the 684-foot-long amphibious transport ship, named after Arlington County in memory of those who lost their lives here on 9/11, included handwritten cards as well as candy, chips, crackers, chewing gum, toothbrushes, challenge coins, ear plugs and other items.
‘BLM’ on Fairlington Bridge Restored — Residents of the Fairlington area used ties to restore a Black Lives Matters message on the bridge over I-395 over the weekend. The letters “BLM” had previously been placed on the bridge’s fence but later removed by an unknown party. Also this weekend, below the BLM letters someone scrawled “Trump 2020,” but that was later covered and “Black Lives Matter” written over it in chalk. [Twitter]
ACPD Details De-Escalation Training — “In response to community questions, ACPD has created this fact sheet highlighting how we train officers to de-escalate incidents and safely resolve situations.” [Twitter]
Long-time Arlington civic activist Jim Pebley died earlier this week after a battle with cancer.
A Navy veteran, Pebley was best known recently for his close involvement in the festivities around the naming of the USS Arlington. We interviewed him about that and other community issues in 2018.
The USS Arlington, named for the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, is soon bound for its second overseas deployment.
The U.S. Navy vessel is currently at sea preparing for the deployment, away from its base at Naval Station Norfolk, according to a news release. The ship is one of three named for the victims of 9/11, and was commissioned back in 2013.
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(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) Jonathan Blyth, a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve who spent the last nine months overseas, promised his son he’d be home by the time school let out.
Blyth made it home today (Tuesday), with one day to spare.
Per Student Spending Questioned — Arlington Public Schools is again being questioned about why it has the highest per-student costs — $18,957 — of any suburban D.C. jurisdiction. Fairfax County, the largest school system in the state, has a per-student cost of $14,432. [InsideNova]
Woman’s Tireless TSA Protest — Alyssa Bermudez, a former Army staff sergeant and Bronze Star recipient, has been tirelessly protesting in front of Transportation Security Administration headquarters in Pentagon City, claiming that she was sexually harassed and fired for complaining about it. Other complaints and a lawsuit point to an alleged culture of harassment within the agency. [Washington Post]
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Car on Fire Spotted Driving Down Street — Yesterday evening, an Arlington County Fire Department unit radioed dispatch to report that they had just seen a car with flames visible from the engine compartment drive past them on Carlin Springs Road, its driver oblivious to the fire. The fire engine was able to turn around, catch up with the driver near the intersection of Wilson and Glebe, pull the car over and extinguish the flames. [Twitter, Twitter]
Wrong Man on Iwo Jima Memorial? — The Marine Corps is investigating claims that a Navy corpsman identified as one of the men who raised the flag in a moment depicted by Arlington’s Iwo Jima Memorial was not, in fact, in the original photo. [USA Today, Associated Press, New York Times]
A suspicious substance in a package caused a scare at a government facility in the 700 block of S. Courthouse Road.
A hazmat team from the Arlington County Fire Department responded to the call of a package in the mail room at the Naval Support Facility (NSF) Arlington that reportedly contained a light colored powdery or crystal-type substance. The Arlington County Police Department was also at the scene to offer support.