Here are five news stories and events to start your week, from the editors at Military.com:
More Than 50 Dead in Las Vegas Shooting
Via The Associated Press: "At least 50 people were killed and more than 200 wounded when a gunman opened fire on an outdoor music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Authorities have identified the suspected gunman in the Sunday night shooting as Stephen Paddock. Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said officers confronted Paddock on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street from the concert. Paddock is dead."
Navy T-45 Jet Crashes in Tennessee National Forest
Via The Associated Press: "Officials say a U.S. Navy plane crashed in the Cherokee National Forest in southeastern Tennessee. Monroe County Emergency Management Director David Chambers tells the Knoxville News Sentinel the crash occurred Sunday afternoon in Tellico Plains, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southwest of Knoxville. Chambers says the field of debris is estimated to be at least a half-mile long. The Navy confirms in a statement that a T-45C Goshawk aircraft was training in the area and had not returned to its Mississippi base by late Sunday. The statement says two pilots were on board and their status is unknown. In April, the Navy grounded a fleet of T-45C Goshawks amid reports of problems with the cockpit oxygen systems."
Pentagon Adds USS Wasp to Puerto Rico Response
Via Corey Dickstein at Stars & Stripes: "Two U.S. Navy ships are now cruising toward Puerto Rico to bolster the U.S. response to the island, left devastated last week by a direct hit from Hurricane Maria, officials said Friday. The Defense Department on Friday tasked the USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship, to move from its location near the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica toward Puerto Rico to expand rescue and relief operations there in the wake of the Category 4 storm that struck Sept. 20, defense officials said. Meanwhile, the USNS Comfort, a 1,000-bed hospital ship, left port from Norfolk, Virginia, on Friday."
ISIS Claims Responsibility for Slayings in France
Via Associated Press: "The Islamic State group is claiming links to a knife attack in the southern French city of Marseille that left two women and the assailant dead. The claim was carried in a statement Sunday night by the ISIS-affiliated Aamaq news agency. It said the attacker on Sunday was one of its 'soldiers' who acted in response to the group's calls to target countries involved in the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq. It did not elaborate on the attacker's alleged IS links. French counterterrorism authorities are investigating the attack Sunday at the main Marseille train station and any possible links to Islamic extremism."
First Female Marine AAV Officer Set to Graduate Training
Via Hope Hodge Seck at Military.com: "Days after the Marine Corps welcomed its first female infantry officer, the service is set to mark another milestone. A female officer enrolled in the Corps' assault amphibian officer course aboard Camp Pendleton, California is set to graduate Oct. 3, Capt. Joshua Pena, a spokesman for Marine Corps Training and Education Command, told Military.com. When she does, she'll be the first woman to earn the military occupational specialty of 1803, assault amphibian officer, qualified to be a platoon commander for Marine Corps amphibious assault vehicles, better known as AAVs or Amtracks."
-- Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.
