No. 562-07 IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 10, 2007Media Contact: (703) 697-5131/697-5132Public/Industry(703) 428-0711 Flag and General Officer Announcements Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced today that the President has made the following nominations: Navy Vice Adm. Eric T. Olson has been nominated for appointment to the grade of admiral and assignment as commander, U.S. Special Operations Command,…
Lord, guard and guide the men who flyThrough the great spaces in the sky,Be with them always in the air,In dark’ning storms or sunlight fair.O, Hear us when we lift our prayer,For those in peril in the air. (Update 22 Apr):More details at Tailhook Daily Briefing, also you need to head over to Lex’s place…
Bit of a surprise as most folks had expected a “safe” initial deployment in support of HOA ops: Osprey Aircraft to Make Combat Debut in Iraq By John J. KruzeAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, April 13, 2007 – A Marine aircraft with dual personalities — part airplane, part helicopter — will soon buzz and hover…
Nope — not the JFK, rather the INS Viraat. The Viraat is fast approaching her 50th anniversary (put in commission in 1959 as the HMS Hermes) and recently completed a SLEP (still, recalling life onboard a 40+ yr old conventional CV, even after SLEP it left something to be desired…). While never having had the…
One of the “experiences” sampled during time in the yard is the replacement of the ship’s screws. Here, IKE’s have just been remounted prior to her being refloated and moved out of drydock (yes, YHS is in the pic). Prior to flooding the drydock, the hull board walks the length and breadth of the visible…
A feature wherein YHS dips into his photo-locker of some 40+ years. YHS’ VT-10 class, circa July 1978. Some of the more seasoned among us will recognize a few of the folks here, including some who are no longer with us. Yes, we were all wearing (ugh) black shoes and we have the token shoe…
A feature wherein YHS dips into his photo-locker of some 40+ years. TFOA: Things Falling Off Aircraft Spend enough time in aviation and sooner or later you are going to lose something — a refueling access panel, landing gear door, maybe a drop tank or MER. Other than the odd TWA (Trailing Wire Antenna) drogue…
The phrase "assassin’s mace" is the English translation of "shashou jiang," a term of ancient Chinese strategy. "Shashou jiang" was a club with which the "assassin" incapacitated his enemy, suddenly and totally, instead of fighting him according to "the rules." To summarize from Part I – a Chinese strike using Theater BM’s has been conducted…
Announced today — story follows. While YHS wishes the name had been reserved for use on another class as part of a return to tradition and convention, one hopes CVN 79 will be Enterprise, America, Intrepid or Coral Sea. (ed. note: The model unveiled at yesterday’s announcement also showed a more, *ahem* complete airwing than…
A new feature wherein YHS dips into his photo-locker of some 40+ years. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. The Battle “E” Bluetails (VAW-121) — 6+months into deployment, 3 more to go. We *thought* we were leaving the next day for only our 2nd port visit that deployment — Perth, Australia. Iraq…
