Military milestones 1st Black fighter pilot
After 110 Years of Aviation,
Navy Gets Its First Black Female
Fighter Pilot
The U.S. Navy has its fi rst Black
female tactical jet pilot.
Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle recently
completed the service’s Tactical Air
(Strike) training program in the T-
45C Goshawk,
An Army National Guard soldier
marked a new milestone in the
U.S. military Thursday by graduating
from the grueling Special
Forces Qualifi cation Course (Q
14 AIRPORT VOICE, JULY 2020
Course) to become the fi rst woman
to join the Green Berets. Forreasons
unknown, the name of the
soldier was not released. but confi
rmed that she graduated from
the 53-week course in a ceremony
at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according
to a USASOC release. It is
USASOC’s policy “to not release
the names of service members in
training or assigned to U.S. Army
Special Operations Command due
to unique missions assigned upon
graduation.”
Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle
NYCAR holds virtual meeting
Covid, FAA Act on agenda
The New York Community
Aviation Roundtable (NYCAR)
met virtually on June 24 with presenters
from US Customs & Border
Patrol and the FAA. Customs
Border Protection (CBP)TennaVel
Thomas, JFK Assistant Director,
described some of the measures
the agency has implemented to
prevent the spread of COVID-19 at
the airports. Thomas explained
partnering with CDC to conduct
temperature checks for travelers
arriving from the Schengen zone,
EU, China and Iran. Any person
identifi ed as a potential risk is
referred to the CDC for further
follow-up. From the high point
of screening travelers from over
8,000 fl ights, Thomas described
passenger volume decreasing by
97% during the pandemic. Alternate
work schedule is also in effect
to minimize employees’ risk
and exposure. Customs & Border
Protection are currently in a
resumption plan, working closely
with stakeholders at JFK installing
Plexiglas, protecting passengers
and offi cers in the Federal
Inspection Area (FIS). Social distancing
in the FIS is a challenge
and CBP has been asking stakeholders
to time fl ights to avoid
concurrent airport operations.
Thomas responded there are
signs throughout the FIS indicating
that face coverings are mandatory.
CBP will provide a mask
to anyone in need and there are
markers for social distancing
with signs offering both written
and visual cues. Passengers with
an elevated temperature are referred
to the CDC who will question
international travelers about
their medical and travel history.
Passengers who quarantine must
do so for 14 days after they arrive
at JFK and these measures
are in place until further notice.
In response to NYCAR’s concern
about who does the temperature
screening, Thomas explained that
CWMD (Countering Weapons of
Mass Destruction) works closely
with the CDC. Noteworthy are the
3,000,000 passengers from Europe
arriving on 13,000 overseas fl ights
at JFK from January to March
making New York the epicenter of
virus infections in the US. When
pressed about misunderstandings
about health screenings, Thomas
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explained the CBP takes direction
from a Presidential Proclamation
and travel bans are part of the decree.
Thomas assured NYCAR
that Customs and Border Protection
as well as the government are
always looking at different virus
hotspots.
The second half of the meeting
focused on a presentation by
Veda Simmons, FAA Community
Engagement Offi cer and Regional
Ombudsman, who updated NYCAR
on questions posed by the
NYCAR in October 2019. Simmons
reviewed eight sections of
Provisions in the FAA 2018 Reauthorization
Act including alternative
airplane noise metrics,
NEXTGEN, lead emissions, airport
noise mitigation and safety
study, mandatory use of the
New York NorthShore helicopter
route, State II aircraft study, DNL
sound levels, and potential health
impact on overfl ight noise. While
some FAA reports are available,
others will be completed and submitted
to Congress later in 2020.
Noteworthy is that New York will
not be a Metroplex. It was evident
that NYCAR had many additional
concerns and questions following
the FAA presentation and the
Airport Roundtable was urged to
continue its long history of working
with the Congressional delegation.
Sketchy
sanitizers
FDA releases banned list
Covid 19 has
brought more
than illness to
the world, but
also bad hand
sanitizers to the
U.S.
The Customs
Border Protection
with the
FDA at airport
have been intercepting
sketch
sanitizers that
are made with
Ingredients that can be harmful to
humans.
In the gold rush of money from
health products allegedly claiming
unrealistic and false claims, there are
many products entering the U/S. now
bad hand sanitizers, especially from
Mexico with unsafe components such
as methanol.
According to an FDA inspector at
JFK Airport, all these products fall
under the health category and are subject
to FDA regulations. Manufacturers
must have submitted their products
to the FDA, and been approved
for importation.
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