The Congressional Medal of Honor Society will present its highest civilian award, the National Patriot Award, to Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Tex.) on Oct. 10 during a gala dinner in Dallas with at least 34 living MoH recipients in attendance. Johnson is a 29-year Air Force veteran who spent nearly seven years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, where he was subjected to torture and spent more than half of his time in solitary confinement. According to a release from Johnson’s office, the award is meant to honor him for “his tireless work to support America’s men and women in uniform as well as his efforts on behalf of veterans.” Past recipients of the National Patriot Award include retired Army Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf (2002) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) (2005). (Medal of Honor Society Web site) (For more, see the Dallas Morning News’ Oct. 3 report.)
Australia’s military will help the Pentagon pursue so-called “air-breathing” hypersonic weapons and more under the U.S.-run Allied Prototyping Initiative, the U.S. Defense Department said Nov. 30. The Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) initiative “will be essential to the future of hypersonic research and development, ensuring the U.S. and…