Air Force Archives
Drone's and the USAF
By Townie 76
In today's Washington-Post there is an interesting article on the drone pilots in the USAF. Unpinning this article is the tension between Jet Pilots and the newly minted Drone Pilots. It is also about culture and potential to radically alter the fighter-bomber centric pilot culture of the USAF. One quote stands out,
""Why does the country need an independent Air Force?" the senior civilian assistant to General Norton A. Schwartz the service's chief of staff, had written. For the first time in the 62-year history of the Air Force, the answer isn't entirely clear."continue.
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Why Not VMI?
By Lt Col P
Colin Banks can talk to you about World War I and World War II planes until you're not interested anymore. He likes to TiVo aerial dogfights on the History Channel. The 17-year-old can't drive the distance from Maryland to Richmond by himself, but he's flown it.As a young black man with a passion for flying, Colin is an anomaly. The teen, a senior at South County Secondary School in Fairfax County, has his sights on the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and dreams of becoming a fighter pilot.
I do hope that he has gotten a call from a (540) 464-7xxx number to talk about admissions. Feel free to dial up Smith Hall and clue them in.
Gaze In The Military
By Lt Col P
I've spent a lot of time with the Army of the United States, not to mention the Navy, but this is, I think, the first time I've been shoulder-to-shoulder with the Air Force in large numbers.
Allow me to state, in the most professional terms I can muster, that the US Air Force has enlisted and commissioned a, uhhh, very high quality of young American. And they, uhhh, present a most striking appearance in uniform. All in the strictly professional sense of course. Yes, well. Ahem!
So if you pass a stall in the men's room one day, see a pair of USMC boots under the door and hear someone whistling "Wild Blue Yonder," it might be someone you know.
(And all kidding aside, they're all doing a damn fine job out here on the pointy end of the spear, in a host of assignments and missions.)
A Flying Tiger Passes
By Lt Col P
One of the last of a true dying breed has passed on:
In September 1941, he left the Army Air Forces to volunteer for service in China as part of a secret program, the American Volunteer Group, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, under Gen. Claire Chenault. Made up of about 400 pilots and ground personnel and based in Burma, the Flying Tigers protected military supply routes between China and Burma and helped to get supplies to Chinese forces fighting the Japanese.The group's exploits became legend. Flying the P-40 aircraft, their fuselages painted with a toothsome tiger, the Flying Tigers were credited with shooting down 299 enemy planes and destroying 200 on the ground, even though the Japanese at times outnumbered Chenault's group 15 to 1. On one day in late February 1942, the Flying Tigers downed 28 Japanese planes while losing none.
During one of the 1942 engagements, Gen. Bond destroyed three Japanese I-97 planes while piloting his P-40B. He was credited with nine kills in all.
There was a great Dogfights episode on the Tigers. (I also like what he did with his bounty money.)
We salute you, Major General Bond.
A Sensible Plan for an Afghan Air Force
By Lt Col P
The WaPo reports on an entirely sensible and feasible plan to field an Afghan Air Force.
"Our goal is by 2016 to have an air corps that will be capable of doing those operations and the things that it needs to do to meet the security requirements of this country," Brig. Gen. Walter Givhan told Pentagon reporters recently in a teleconference from Kabul, the Afghan capital. Even then, the Afghans will not be able to perform functions other air forces do, he said, adding, "The long-term goal beyond that envisions a continued partnership."
Read the whole thing-- it's a modest, realistic plan. We want them to be able to fly Mi-17s, Mi-35s, and turboprop cargo planes. Those are the essential things they need, and will have the capability to employ and maintain. I saw no mention of high-performance fighters. Why? Because we will fill in that blank for them.
Right now, this is the right plan to fit the circumstances. I'm not an airman, but I think I know a workable, reasonable structure when I see one. Tell me if I'm wrong.
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The Ploesti Raid
By Lt Col P
With a Hotel Tango to a commenter at MMM, we take you to Red State's outstanding remembrance of the Ploesti Raid, sixty-six years ago today.
Go read it all. It's an amazing tale.
Who is at War and Who Is Not?
By Townie 76
I don’t have all the facts, nor do I have all the names, but I have it on good authority, that an Army Official who is the designated Army Representative to meet the remains at Dover Air Force Base was told, by the Operations Wing Commander, that instead of landing his helicopter at Dover he would have to land at the Regional Airport about twenty miles away and then drive to Dover to meet an Air Force C17 carrying the remains of two Army Soldiers. Why was this request made? Because Dover Air Force Base is having an Air Show this weekend, and the arrival of the Helicopter would disrupt the events at the Air Show. Earlier the same Operations Wing Commander attempted to have the C17 diverted to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey because it would interfere with the Air Show; apparently someone thought maybe there was something wrong with this.
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The Candy Bomber
By Lt Col P
Yesterday I had the great privilege of seeing and hearing Colonel Gail Halvorsen, the famous "Candy Bomber" of the Berlin Airlift.
... While flying missions during the airlift, Halvorsen began dropping chocolate bars with tiny parachutes to Berlin’s children. His actions earned him the love and gratitude of Berliners and the acclaim of people in the United States and throughout the free world.Halvorsen was on hand to help to dedicate the corridor, and he also spoke during the ceremony. He reminisced about his experiences and how he was inspired by some German children he met at the Berlin fence in 1948 who told him, “Someday, we’ll have enough to eat. But if we lose our freedom, we’ll never have it back.”
A great piece of living history, and a real character too, from one of the Air Force's finest hours. I'm glad I was there to see it.
Moving Beyond the F22
By Townie 76
From Today's Washington Post
Whew
By John
Four years flies...
Ode to the Warrior Class
By Slab
Our good friend and fellow Institute man Michael Solovey is working on yet another print honoring our warriors. This one, titled "Ode to the Warrior Class", is a tribute to our heritage and the warriors who have gone before. To quote Michael:
This main image could be a Marine or Soldier. He looks off into battle with allusions to other great warrior cultures in the background--Vikings, Spartans, and Romans. Across the sky, there are silhouettes of Blackhawks, Hueys, and Cobras flying into battle. This future print will be a watercolor with the intent of celebrating the Warrior Class and what we do as a profession.
Here is the concept sketch he sent me. Continue to check the Solovey art website for updates.
Additionally, I created a Military Artwork category for more posts about the work of Michael Solovey and his fellow artists.
Previous work by Michael Solovey:
MARSOC Artwork*
Thus Ever To Tyrants
* Also, Michael posted an update on his MARSOC print, titled "Precision Pride" in the comments section.
All the prints are signed & numbered and ready for release next week. This print is also in memory of Corpsman Luke Milam (Upper left-hand corner). I spoke with his family this week and have given the original to them. Please keep them in your prayers. If interested in one of these prints (they are going quickly already) please send me an email at soloveyart@earthlink.net. Appreciate the support. Semper Fi!
Michael Solovey VMI '96
Good Gawd...
By John
...the Air Force sure is stupid sometimes.
John-- Please Tell Us You've Been Here!
By Lt Col P
A fine article in NRO on what has to be one of the smallest, strangest military museums in the U S of A, at least since the Marine Raider Museum packed up and moved out of Richmond. (Not that a museum for the Raiders was strange in and of itself, it's just that what it was doing there, I never knew.)
The Titan II missile was the largest nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile ever in the U.S. fleet. Just over 100 feet long, powered by two liquid-fuel rocket engines, it was the same vehicle used to launch the Gemini manned space missions in the mid-1960s. The warhead was also the biggest ever on an American missile, the nine-megaton load dwarfing anything in the U.S. arsenal today.
Sheee-it.
John Noonan-- please tell us you make an annual pilgrimage! Honestly, sounds like a nifty place and a destination all its own.
(And don't make fun of no damn dial phones.)
Join the Air Guard!
By Charlie
...and go to Antarctica! I can see the recruiting ad already:
STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y. , Oct. 15, 2008 – The 109th Airlift Wing is preparing to begin its 20th year of Operation Deep Freeze, supporting the National Science Foundation in Antarctica.Two ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules transports will take off Oct. 27, followed by two more LC-130s and a C-5 Galaxy from the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard Base, N.Y., on Oct. 28.
The aircraft will carry maintenance equipment, such as engines and propellers. Crews will spend a few days in New Zealand setting up their base of operations, and then will head down to McMurdo Station in Antarctica to get things going there, said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joe Axe, a loadmaster with the 139th Airlift Squadron who works in the Antarctic Operations Office.
“Once we’re established in Antarctica, the first mission we’ll do is to open the South Pole,” Axe said. “We’ll take about 50 people. That first day will be about three or four trips just to get the South Pole going.”
errr... I guess this is motivating... kind of.... We are the "Best Air Force Blog" for some reason, so might as well keep up appearances...
