5 Things to Start Your Week

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An MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft sits on the flight deck of the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) during Exercise Talisman Saber 17 while underway in the Pacific Ocean, June 10, 2017. (U.S. Marine Corps photo/Lance Cpl. Amy Phan)
An MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft sits on the flight deck of the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) during Exercise Talisman Saber 17 while underway in the Pacific Ocean, June 10, 2017. (U.S. Marine Corps photo/Lance Cpl. Amy Phan)

Here are five news stories and events to start your week:

3 Marines Lost in MV-22 Osprey Crash Off Australia

Via Hope Hodge Seck at Military.com: "The search-and-rescue effort for three Marines lost when an MV-22 Osprey crashed off the coast of Queensland, Australia, earlier Saturday has turned into a recovery mission, officials with III Marine Expeditionary Force said. The search was called off at 3 a.m. local time, 11 hours after the Osprey went down following a launch from the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, officials said in the release. The aircraft was conducting regularly scheduled operations at the time. Aboard the Osprey were 26 Marines attached to the deployed 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit."

Camp Pendleton Marine Killed in Accident On Base

A 20-year-old Marine was killed in an accident Friday at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California, the service announced in a release on Saturday. Lance Cpl. Cody J. Haley, of Hardin, Iowa, was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel, the release states. No details about the incident were given. Officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident. Haley, who was assigned to the 1st Marine Division, deployed with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in March 2016. His awards include the National Defense Service medal, Global War on Terrorism Service medal and the Sea Service Deployment ribbon.

Army Launches Competition for More Powerful Combat Rifle

Via Matthew Cox at Military.com: U.S. Army weapon officials [on Friday] opened a competition for a new 7.62mm Interim Service Combat Rifle to arm infantry units with a weapon potent enough to penetrate enemy body armor. … The service plans to initially award up to eight contracts, procuring seven types of weapons from each gunmaker for test and evaluation purposes. Once the review is concluded, the service "may award a single follow-on Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) based contract for the production of up to 50,000 weapons," the solicitation states.

Airmen Phase Out Predator in Move to MQ-9 Reaper

Via Oriana Pawlyk at Military.com: "It's no secret that the reign of the Air Force's MQ-1 Predator drone is slowly coming to an end. So crews with the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance and Attack Squadron have been overlapping their launch and recovery missions with the MQ-9 Reaper as the larger, more lethal drone comes into its own. 'It's in the process, Air Force-wide. We're just going to continue to see less MQ-1 lines and more MQ-9,' said Lt. Col. Jason, commander of the 46th ERAS, inside an MQ-1 hangar. Military.com spoke with the commander and a pilot with the squadron, part of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, on a recent trip to the Middle East."

Do Families of the Fallen Deserve to Be Notified First?

Via Amy Bushatz at Military.com's SpouseBuzz: "When U.S. service members are killed two things traditionally happen right away. First, officials publicly announce that there has been a death or deaths, giving no details other than that those killed were U.S. troops, the troops’ general location and sometimes their service affiliation. Simultaneously, military officials work to notify in person the families of the fallen, a task that can sometimes take several days. Only after those notifications are done are other specifics publicly released, including the names of the fallen, their units and how they were killed."

-- Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.

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