Assateague Island, Virginia, is known for its population of wild horses, which every year are rounded up and brought across the channel to Chincoteague Island, where some are auctioned off to keep the numbers under control. But in order to get there, they have to swim, so the Chincoteague Wild Pony Swim enlists the help of the Coast Guard to keep the horses safe. Several 24-foot Special Purpose Craft-Shallow Water boat crews from Station Chincoteague maintained a safety perimeter from other boats and people as they swam the channel, with thousands of spectators looking on Wednesday. The tradition dates back…
Browsing: Virginia
Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford began testing the ship’s new electromagnetic aircraft launch system in Virginia’s James River on June 5, but before they can launch real aircraft, they have to practice. It’s not quite like a real, live flight deck, but it’s close. Gone are the cargo pants, brightly colored turtlenecks and helmets. Instead, a sailor in blueberries and a hard hat mimics the signals of a deck handler before the catapult launches a weight sled out over the river in a graceful swan dive. The slow motion impact with the water at the end is rather dramatic. EMALS testing began June 5, the latest step…
A woman pleaded guilty in Ohio Wednesday of scamming millions of dollars from Navy veterans, the Roanoke Times reports. Blanca Contreras, associated with an alleged booster group calling itself the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, pleaded guilty in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas to corruption, theft and money laundering. She faces 25 years in jail. Still at large is her alleged partner, Bobby Thompson, who Ohio authorities say used a false identity to raise millions, supposedly on behalf of Navy veterans. Virginia officials say the “group” — its only presence in the state was a mail drop — raised more…
