On February 28, 2008, USS Russell, USS Paul Hamilton, USS Chafee, USS Hopper, USS Lake Erie and other Pearl Harbor-based ships were awarded the Battle “E” award by Commander, Naval Surface Forces.  The Battle “E” is annually awarded to ships and crews that present the maximum condition of departmental readiness and superior capability to perform their wartime tasks. The Battle “E” award does not go to the ship itself, but the crew.   According to Cmdr. Jeff Weston, Russell’s commanding officer,

“It’s a great honor for the ship, but it’s not the ship that deserves it, it’s the crew.  The Battle “E” belongs to the crew and is a compliment to the job they’ve done all year.”

The Battle “E” eligible ships are the best ships throughout the fleet and must maintain a high level of excellence throughout the year.  Lt. j.g. Kate Suthers, Russell’s training officer said,

“We’ve had a great year.  The crew responded to every challenge and met and exceeded every one of them.  The Sailors motivate and look out for each other to ensure that everyone does what they’re supposed to do and that is what helps a ship win the Battle “E”.

The Battle “E” award recognizes sustained superior performance in the following six excellence categories: Maritime warfare, engineering and survivability, command, control, communications and information warfare, logistics management, Commander Naval Surface Force Safety Award and the Efficiency Award.    

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On March 5, 1958 at 18:28 UTC, Explorer 2 (EXPLR2) was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (now Kennedy Space Center) by a Jupiter-C launch vehicle. Explorer 2 was to be a repeat of the Explorer 1 mission. However, due to a malfunction in the Jupiter-C launch vehicle, the fourth stage did not ignite. Subsequently, Explorer 2 did not reach orbit.

Explorer 2 was equipped with a Geiger counter for the purposes of detecting cosmic rays. The spacecraft was also equipped with a wide grid array and an acoustic detector for the purpose of micrometeorite detection.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact, single-engined jet fighter aircraft manufactured for the United States Air Force (USAF). Though designed as a lightweight fighter, it has evolved into a successful multirole aircraft. It is highly maneuverable and has proven its worth in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. The Falcon is the largest Western fighter program with over 4,000 aircraft built since its production in 1976. Though no longer produced for the Air Force, it is still being made for export. Its relatively low cost and high performance has made it popular worldwide, serving a total of 24 countries.

From the very beginning, the Falcon was intended to be a cost-effective workhorse that could perform various missions. Advanced aerospace science and proven reliable systems from other planes were integrated into the F16. These simplified the aircraft and reduced its size, weight, purchase price and maintenance costs. The F-16 has excellent acceleration, being one of the few jets with a thrust-to-weight ratio greater than one. It can also be armed with a wide variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, rockets or bombs. An all-weather capability allows it to accurately deliver ordnance during non-visual bombing conditions. The F-16C is the upgraded version of the F-16A, with the latest cockpit control and display technology.

The Falcon has participated in numerous conflicts, mostly in the Middle East. Since the end of Operation Desert Storm, it patrolled the Iraqi no-fly zones. Two air-to-air victories were scored in Operation Southern Watch, the first one by an F-16D and the second by an F16C. On January 17, 1993, an F-16C destroyed an Iraqi MiG-23 with an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). The F-16 was also employed by NATO during Operation Allied Force over Yugoslavia, conducting air-to-ground sorties and achieving one or two aerial victories, one by a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16A and another possibly by a USAF F-16C. A Yugoslavian MiG-29 may have been shot down by an F-16C with two AMRAAMs, but the Serbs subsequently found fragments of a Strela-2M MANPAD in the wreckage of the MiG-29.