Tag Archives: iraq

U.S.

Biden’s War: ‘Rebellious’ Snake River (Idaho, Oregon) deploys! Politician begs Idahoans to resist the Will of Biden!

Video

05 November 2021 (15:11-UTC-07 Tango 06) 14 Aban 1400/29 Rabi ‘al-Awwal 1443/01 Ji-Hai (10th month) 4719

05NOV2021, Gowen Field/Boise Airport, troops with the 116th Cavalry Brigade board a charter airliner bound for Kuwait. Idaho National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur.

Idaho National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur.

Some of you might remember the spat between the Idaho gov’na and lieutenant gov’na, you know, about deploying Idaho National Guard to the U.S. border with Mexico.  Now we know the reason that was canceled (and by the way, the gov’na and lieutenant gov’na are still bickering over the failed deployment to the border with Mexico).

My Idaho National Guard ‘alma mater’.

As I warned back in August, Idaho based 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (aka Snake River Brigade, The Snake) is being deployed to The Middle East (Southwest Asia) for the next 12 months.  However, on 05NOV2021 KLIX News Radio reported that even more 116th Cav militia personnel will be sent to relieve other military units in Southwest Asia, in Summer of 2022!

04NOV2021, Senior NCO’s of B-Co, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment, take part in deployment ceremony in Hermiston, Oregon. Oregon National Guard photo by John Hughel.

Oregon National Guard photo by John Hughel.

Army National Guard troops from Idaho and Oregon, as well as Guard militia from Florida, Montana and Nevada, conducted deployment ceremonies between 02NOV and 04NOV2021, just a couple of days after an eighth Oregon county voted to leave The Beaver State of Oregon and join The Gem State of Idaho.

Delta Company, 1st Squadron, 221st Cavalry at their deployment ceremony, 02NOV2021, in Las Vegas. Nevada National Guard photo by Specialist Adrianne Lopez.

KIFI TV report, 04NOV2021:

The Idaho-Florida-Montana-Nevada-Oregon troops will be taking part in the U.S. Army’s Task Force Spartan, which is part of Operation Enduring Freedom’s Operation Spartan Shield.  The operation is based in Kuwait, and focuses on actions in Iraq and Syria.  It should be noted that Idaho Air National Guard’s 124th Fighter Wing (operating A-10Cs) deployed to the same area at the beginning of Summer 2020.

05NOV2021: Anti-federalist Idaho politician reacts to deployment, asks “When do we get to use the guns?”

Cavalry is pronounced Cav-All-Rie, not Cal-Va-Rie.

September 2021: Why has Biden ramped up military giveaways and build-up of troops regarding the Mother of all Money Pits (Iraq)?

Biden’s War, August 2021:

IDAHO GETS ‘SMART’ ARTILLERY ROUNDS, REVEALS “UPCOMING MOBILIZATIONS”

AFGHANISTAN SNAFU, U.S. MILITARY KILLED IN “BLOODBATH”!

Technology

Cold War Battle Damage: USS Tripoli LPH-10 Desert Storm

Image

The amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LPH-10) ships-out of Naval Station Subic Bay, Philippines, sailing for Operation Desert Shield/Storm. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate Senior Chief Petty Officer McColley.

On 18FEB1991, the United States Ship (USS) Tripoli (aka Tripoli-2) LPH-10 (not to be confused with the new LHA-7 Tripoli) struck an Iraqi mine while sailing the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm.  Four crewmembers were injured, and the Tripoli went into drydock for repairs.

This U.S. Navy photo claims to show the Tripoli being tugged into a dry dock in Bahrain, after the mine incident, however the date on the photo is two weeks prior to the incident. Photo by Journalist First Class Petty Officer Joe Gawlowicz.

Tripoli was sailing (news reports conflict, some say Tripoli was the flagship for a minesweeping operation while others say only specialized minesweepers conduct such operations, USN sources say Tripoli was acting as a “mine clearing platform”) along with USS Princeton, both hit mines.  Tripoli was hit first, early in the morning before dawn (again conflicting times, some reports say 04:36, others say 04:40), two to three hours later Princeton was hit.  The ships were more than 60 miles apart when they hit mines.  Both ships were able to continue under their own power (one report says it took the crew of Tripoli seven hours to restore power).

As the water is drained from the dock, the damage is revealed. USN photo by Journalist First Class Petty Officer Joe Gawlowicz.

USN photo by Journalist First Class Petty Officer Joe Gawlowicz.

USN photo by Journalist First Class Petty Officer Joe Gawlowicz.

Size comparison of damage with puny humans. USN photo by Journalist First Class Petty Officer Joe Gawlowicz.

USN photo by Journalist First Class Petty Officer Joe Gawlowicz.

There are photos of the Naval Broadcast Service conducting video interviews about the Tripoli’s repairs, for Navy News This Week,  but unfortunately I couldn’t find the videos.

USN photo by Journalist First Class Petty Officer Joe Gawlowicz.

Tripoli was an Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship, commissioned on 06AUG1966, and based in San Diego, California. Tripoli served several tours of duty off the coast of Viet Nam from 1967 to 1972. The assault ship had continuous problems with its propulsion system, in the first six months of 1977 Tripoli underwent propulsion system upgrades. Tripoli was decommissioned and stricken from USN records in September 1995. Tripoli got new life with the U.S. Army, from June 1997 to April 2015. Tripoli was scrapped sometime after 2018. For some strange reason, the USN History and Heritage Command does not mention Tripoli’s action during Operation Desert Storm on its official history page for the ship, the only ‘conflict’ they mention is Viet Nam.  However, they do mention Tripoli’s mine incident on its February 1991 chronology page.

Captain Bruce McEwen, commanding officer of the amphibious assault ship USS TRIPOLI (LPH-10), removes a symbolic band-aid after the mine damage was repaired. USN photo by Journalist Second Class Petty Officer Hatzakos, photo dated 01APR1991.

The Combat Action Ribbon was awarded to the crew of LPH-10 on 17MAR1991.

USN photo by Journalist Second Class Petty Officer Hatzakos.

USN photo by Journalist Second Class Petty Officer Hatzakos.

Operation Desert Shield/Storm can be considered the last battle of the undeclared/unofficial Cold War.

LPH-10 departs Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on its way home to San Diego, July 1991. USN photo by Operations Specialist-2 John Bouvia.

Home again, Naval Station San Diego, 08AUG1991, USN photo by Journalist First Class Petty Officer Joseph F. Lancaster.

08AUG1991, USN photo by Journalist First Class Petty Officer Joseph F. Lancaster.

Robot Wars: SEAHAWK & SEA HUNTER

USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), 2020: INTO THE STEEL INFERNO!

Recovery Ops, 2018: USS/DKM PRINZ EUGEN

Cold War Battle Damage: THE HIND-END OF DESERT STORM

International

Mother of all Money Pits: Debt Ceiling vs Million $ giveaways!

Video

29SEP2021 Kudistan24 interview with Netherlands Council General about so called Peshmerga Reforms agreed to by Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States, and of course funded by the taxpayers, as well as upcoming elections in Iraq:

While the U.S. Congress debates raising the debt limit of the U.S. government (again), another nearly $20-million was given away to the Iraqi military!

U.S. Army photo by Specialist Clara Soria-Hernandez.

On 24SEP2021, $18-million worth of vehicles were given to the Iraqi Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency, on Al Asad Air Base.

USA photo by Specialist Clara Soria-Hernandez, 24SEP2021.

Mother of all Money Pits, 22-23SEP2021: MORE TAXPAYER MILLIONS PUMPED INTO IRAQ! U.S. OIL COMPANY GETS THE HELL OUT, WHILE FRENCH OIL COMPANY MOVES IN FOR THE KILL!

13-20SEP2021: MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER DAY GIVEN AWAY IN IRAQ, BIDEN DEPLOYS MORE TROOPS! PREPS FOR WAR WITH ISIS, OR SYRIA, OR IRAN?

08-09SEP2021: YET ANOTHER MASSIVE GIVE-AWAY OF U.S. MILITARY MIGHT, IN IRAQ! TURKEY CRIES FOUL!

18AUG2021: U.S. taxpayers could owe $6.5-trillion for occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, just in interest alone!

04AUG2021: M4 GIVEAWAY, IN IRAQ!

MAY-26JUL2021: YET MORE TOYOTAS FOR IRAQ, COURTESY OF YOU! $50-MILLION IN PAYCHECKS FOR KURDS!

20MAY-11AUG2021: MORE U.S. FUNDED TRUCKS, GUNS & BUTTER FOR IRAQ!

JAN2021: U.S. TAXPAYERS FUND JAPANESE MILITARY VEHICLES FOR IRAQ, AGAIN!

International, Technology

Vehicle I-D: Armură România

Video

Former Soviet Bloc member Romania became a member of NATO in 2004.

One of the first operations as a member of NATO was to deploy troops to Iraq in 2007.  Video of Romanian TAB-B33 Zimbru (Romanian built BTR-80) heading out for patrol in Iraq, April 2007:

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Brendan Stephens, 15OCT2008.

In 2008, Romanian troops operated U.S. made armored HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), as well as their BTR-80s (aka TAB-B33 Zimbru [Aurochs, or wild cattle]) while patrolling outside the city of Nasariyah, Iraq.

Camp Dracula, Dhi Qar, Iraq, 01DEC2008. USA photo by Specialist Donte Baltimore.

Since July 2006, Romanian troops have also been working alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan.  U.S. Army video from 16OCT2010, showing Romanians training for deployment to Afghanistan:

U.S. Army (USA) video report from 2009, revealing that the U.S. Army has expanded into Romania:

The UROVESA VAMTac (Vehículo de Alta Movilidad Táctico) looks like a U.S. HMMWV, but it is actually made in NATO-Spain.

Tennessee Army National Guard learns to shoot the Cold War era Soviet 12.7mm heavy machine gun on the Babadag Training Area, Romania, 13AUG2009. Photo by Sergeant Marla Keown.

Live prep & fire video, by Sergeant Ellis McDaniels, TR-85M1 Bizonul (The Bison) invade Grafenwoehr, Germany, June 2014:

TR-85M1 blasting away on Grafenwoehr, Germany, 13JUN2014. USA photo by Captain Sandra Stover.

Romanian Armed Forces video of tank live-fire, from point of view of the top of the turret: https://fb.watch/3b_7nPPEy8/

Romanian MLI-84M on Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, 27JUN2014. USA photo by Gertrud Zach.

A modified BMP, the Romanian MLI-84M Jder (Marten), in Germany, 2014.

In 2015, the U.S. issued MRAPs to Romanian troops operating in Kandahar, Afghanistan. USA photo, 02MAR2015.

 In 2015 Romania expanded its NATO role by deploying additional troops to Afghanistan.  Romanian troops operate U.S. made Oshkosh M-ATV MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected).

Photo by Sergeant William Tanner, 18APR2015.

TR-85, Smardan Training Area, Romania, April 2015.

Video, PMA T-55 bridge layer in action, 2015:

Romanian Armed Forces video of bridge tank operation: https://fb.watch/3bZYmB3S-C/

USA photo by Sergeant William Tanner, 18APR2015.

MLI-84Ms drive around a German made Gepard (Cheetah) anti-aircraft tank, April 2015.

USA photo by Sergeant William Tanner, 18APR2015.

TABC-79/ABC-79M on Smardan Training Area, Romania. USA photo by Sergeant William Tanner, 18APR2015.

Once called the TABC-79, the Scout/Recon vehicles are now called ABC-79M.

DMT-85M1. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Melanye Martinez, 07DEC2015.

A DMT-85M1 engineer vehicle, based on the TR-85M1, December 2015.

(Click/tap here to see my alma matter Idaho/Montana/Oregon National Guard’s M1A2 SEP live fire in Romania, from 2016)

T-55. USMC photo by Sergeant Kirstin Spanu, 28SEP2016.

From September 2016, a T-55AM (aka TR-77-580).

USA photo by Sergeant Timothy Villareal, 15JUL2017.

Romanian BMP ambulance conversion, July 2017.

Video by Staff Sergeant Michael Zahnow, how to cross a Romanian river (the Danube):

 

TAB-71/BTR-60. USA photo by Specialist Emily Houdershieldt, 19JUL2017.

BTR-60 (TAB-71) just outside Ramnicu Valcea, July 2017.

Video, BTR-70 (aka TAB-77) from 2017 maneuvers:

Video, by Specialist Jacob Banuelos, TR-85 live fire, Smardan Training Area in December 2017:

 

USA photo by Sergeant Jeremiah Woods, 30MAY2019.

TAB-77 (BTR-70), May 2019.

USA photo by Staff Sergeant True Thao, 20JUN2019.

Piranha-3 crosses the Danube river during Saber Guardian 2019.

Video, by Specialist Drake Chandler, of NATO Saber Guardian 2019 wargames, Romanian Swiss made Piranha cross a pontoon bridge:

Saber Guardian 2019 music video, by Michigan National Guard Specialist Brian Pearson and Romanian Captain Mariana Dinu:

More live fire video, Saber Guardian 2019, TR-85 and T-55 (TR-77-580):

Photo by Sergeant H. Marcus McGill. Piranha joins a U.S. convoy to the Black Sea for Exercise Rapid Falcon, 19NOV2020.

More Romanian Armed Forces videos: www.facebook.com/Romanian.Armed.Forces/videos

Soviet era tanks in use by NATO:  POLAND

NATO: MiG-21 

World War Three, 2016: SNAKE RIVER Militia M1A2 SEP, LIVE FIRE ROMANIA!

MONTANA Militia ENJOYS BEING THE ‘BAD GUY’ IN ROMANIA!

Influenza

Going Viral: The new Task Force 31

Video

The name Task Force 31 isn’t new, in 2008 a U.S. Army Task Force 31 was a medical unit that served in Iraq.  That Task Force 31 (TF-31) was home-based at the 31st Combat Support Hospital on Fort Bliss, Texas.  TF-31’s mission in Iraq was to provide medical care to Iraqis held prisoner by U.S. forces.  Their mission in Iraq ended on 10JUN2008, being transferred to another U.S. Army medical unit.

The new Task Force 31 refers to National Guard units specifically tasked with detailed disinfecting of schools, nursing homes, clinics and hospitals in the United States.

12MAY2020, Guam National Guard begins Task Force 31 ops in local government offices.

On 12MAY2020, Texas National Guard personnel descend upon a nursing home in Austin, one day after the governor ordered the Texas National Guard to begin so called Task Force 31 operations.

Texas Task Force 31 video:

Alabama’s Task Force 31 is staffed by Air and Army National Guard personnel, and work at the direction of Alabama’s State Department of Veterans Affairs.

Alabama National Guard TF-31 explainer video:

26APR2020, Oklahoma National Guard disinfect a buffet at a nursing home (as well as the rest of the nursing home) in Tulsa.

Oklahoma National Guard promotional disinfection video:

West Virginia National Guard enter a child care center, 04MAY2020, to disinfect common areas with chemical sprays.

West Virginia National Guard was instructed how to use Aerosolized Hydrogen Peroxide (AHP) systems to disinfect rooms.

West Virginia National Guard video showing disinfecting operations at state Higher Education Policy Commission office in Charleston:

13APR2020 video of Georgia National Guard disinfecting nursing home in Warner Robins:

02APR2020, a Georgia Army National Guard member pours liquid disinfectant (Hydrogen Peroxide?) into a ‘fogger’ for aerosol use in a Georgia nursing home.

The aerosolized chemical is claimed to be 99.9% effective at killing pathogens within 20 minutes.

Going Viral: LOCKDOWNS ALLOW OTHER KILLER VIRUSES TO GO WILD?

Operation CoViD-19: National Guard Title 32 Ops

 

Technology

Vehicle I-D: Iraqi Huey

Video

According to a 2007 Reuters report, the neighboring country of Jordan donated their old UH-1H helicopters to Iraq, but the U.S. taxpayers paid to rebuild the Hueys at a cost of $3.5-million, each! 

U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Randy Redman, 18APR2011.

April 2011, Exercise Lion.

U.S. Army photo by First Lieutenant Jason Sweeney, 18MAY2011.

Air Assault training on Camp Mejid, photo by Staff Sergeant Tanya Thomas, 11NOV2010.

Prior to 2010, the Iraqis used a smaller flag on their Hueys.

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Michael Keller, 14JUL2009.

Here’s the smaller flag.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Michael Keller, 17JUL2009.

Iraqi Bell UH-1H Huey take-off from Taji Air Base, July 2009.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Michael Keller, 17JUL2009.

Their mission is to pick-up a soldier, who is considered recovered enough from being gut-shot, at the Air Force Theater Hospital at Balad Air Base.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Michael Keller, 17JUL2009.

U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer First Class Carmichael Yepez, 31JUL2009.

The same Iraqi Huey (#206) is taking off from Forward Operating Base Diamondback in Mosul, at the end of July 2009.

USN photo by Petty Officer First Class Carmichael Yepez, 31JUL2009.

Video, pre-flight checks:

U.S. Army photo by Specialist Chuck Gill, 28SEP2008.

Al Taji Air Base, 11SEP2008.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Paul Villanueva the Second, 11SEP2008.

Flaming engine start.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Paul Villanueva the Second, 11SEP2008.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Paul Villanueva the Second, 12SEP2008.

Door gunner uses Soviet era PK-C machine gun.

Camp Taji, USAF photo by Senior Airman Julianne Showalter, 28APR2008.

Video, over-fly Taji:

Vehicle I-D: IRAQI ARMOR, AFTER THE INVASION

RECOVERING UH-1 SKELETONS

Technology

Vehicle I-D: Iraqi Armor, after the invasion

Video

On 13JUN2019, the Iraqi army unveiled a new tank; the al-Kafeel-1.  Note that it uses an M2 .50 caliber machine gun in a remote controlled mount.  Russian news sources say the tank is based on Iraq’s experience fighting Islamic extremists, and Iraq’s use of the M1A1M.   It is strange that most ‘western’ news sources didn’t report about the Iraqi developed tank until more than a year after its unveiling.  Speculative reports say it was developed with help from China.

Inside of BTR-80.  9th Iraqi Army Division Warrant Officer explains to U.S. troops how it works.
U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Mary S. Katzenberger, 27SEP2010.

 

Ukrainian made BTR-94, 2018.

Ukrainian made BTR-94 blocks 14th of July bridge in Baghdad, 15AUG2004. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Jacob N. Bailey.

Ukrainian made BTR-4, reports say Iraq was not happy with the BTR-4, claiming they were not ‘new builds’ and had corroded bodies (Ukrainian investigation links the defective BTR-4s to the now infamous corruption scandal plaguing the Office of the U.S. President).

BTR-4 variants, the BSEM-4K ambulance and BTR-4 armored personnel carriers with 30mm gun turrets.

‎U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Kalie Jones Frantz, 06FEB2016.

A mystery modified M113 seen at Camp Taji, February 2016.  It’s not a ACV or YPR765.  A homegrown modification?

U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Kalie Jones Frantz, 06FEB2016.

U.S. Army photo by Specialist William Lockwood, 11FEB2016.

Camp Taji, February 2016.

M113 ACAV, U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Kalie Jones Frantz, 07FEB2016.

M113, U.S. Army photo by Sergeant David Strayer, 28APR2011.

M113, Kirkush Military Training Base, April 2011.

Notice the use of wide ‘snow’ tracks. Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Maria Mengrone, 12MAY2005.

MTLB, May 2005.

Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Maria Mengrone, 06MAY2005.

This one has the standard width tracks. Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Maria Mengrone, 06MAY2005.

U.S. Army photo by Specialist Sean Hanson.

March 2007.  This tank is a Chinese Type 69 (Iraqi designation for Chinese Type 69 is T-55B), as denoted by the headlights on both fenders and the camera/laser sighting system on the mantlet.

Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Maria Mengrone, 12MAY2005.

May 2005, Type 69/T-55B.

Notice the U.S. antenna. Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Maria Mengrone, 12MAY2005.

BMP-1, October 2005:

Rebuilt BMP-1s on Camp Taji, 07OCT2005.

BMP-1, January 2007:

BMP-1, Camp Taji. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Jon Cupp, 17JAN2007.

Video Camp Taji boneyard, T-72 turret lift, 2009:

T-62, March 2010:

T-62s in the ‘Bone Yard’. Tennessee Army National Guard photo by First Lieutenant Desiree Pavlick, 17MAR2010.

Graveyard of T-62 and T-72, October 2005:

Camp Taji ‘boneyard’, 10JUL2005.

T-72, Camp Butler/Butler Gunnery Range, February 2006:

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Brent Hunt, 16FEB2006.

Low quality video from February 2006, supposedly it was the first time Iraqis were able to fire their T-72s since the U.S. invasion:

T-72, Forward Operating Base Hammer, October 2008:

U.S. Army photo by Private First Class Evan Loyd, 31OCT2008.

U.S. Army photo by Private First Class Evan Loyd, 31OCT2008.

2008 Besmaya Range gunnery video (by U.S. Army Specialist Neil A. Stanfield):

T-72, Besmaya Range Complex, April 2010:

U.S. Army photo by Private First Class Jared Eastman, 14APR2010.

Checking out a ‘newer’ T-72, apparently donated by NATO-Czech Republic, April 2016:

U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Paul Sale, 05APR2016.

Iraqis began training on U.S. M1A1 Abrams in 2008-09:

Besmaya Range Complex, 31MAR2009. U.S. Army photo by Captain Thomas Avilucea.

According to a U.S. Defense Department news release, between August 2010 and the end of 2011, 140 M1A1M Abrams tanks were delivered to Iraq as part of a 2008 military sales agreement.

According to the the U.S. Army, these were the last of the 140 Abrams delivered to Iraq:

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Edward Daileg, 29AUG2011.

In 2016, BMP-1s were positioned for the Mosul Offensive against so-called Islamic State:

U.S. Army photo, 18OCT2016.

In February 2018, it was revealed that an Iraqi militia unit funded by Iran acquired nine of the M1A1Ms.

Blurry image showing Iranian funded Iraqi militia hauling an M1A1.

In June 2018, Iraq announced it was trading the M1A1M for the Russian T-90S.

The first T-90S and T-90SK were delivered by November 2019.

M109A1, Firebase Saham, December 2018.

U.S. Army photo by Captain Jason Welch, 03DEC2018.

For some strange reason the official U.S. Army information that accompanied the pic states this is a “M109 Paladin”, but it is clearly not an M109A6 Paladin (which is a radical upgrade of the M109 series), it is a M109A1.

In 2008, U.S. Army officials decided to allow Iraq to refurbish several M109A1s abandoned in the ‘boneyard’ of Camp Taji: “Last fall, our brigade commander was given guidance by the 9th IA commander to pull out of the Taji boneyard roughly a battalion’s worth of M109A1 howitzers.”-Major Matthew DeLoia, Military Transition Team-Pennsylvania National Guard’s 109th Field Artillery Regiment, July 2009

VEHICLE I-D: UKRAINIAN ARMOR

VEHICLE I-D: GEORGIAN T-72 & BMP

International

Welcome to BEC Hell! Baghdad Embassy Compound

Video

“We are going to have to stop being the policemen of the world.”-Donald Trump, August 2015 interview with Hugh Hewitt

“They’re fighting for 1,000 years, they’re fighting for centuries. I want to bring our soldiers back home.”-President Donald Trump, October 2019, regarding U.S. occupation of Middle East

“This will not be a Benghazi………This will never, ever be a Benghazi!”-President Donald Trump, 07JAN2020

Video, U.S. Army AH-64 Apache overflies the BEC, 31DEC2019:

U.S. Marines work alongside contractors to install bullet resistant Kevlar panels at the BEC, 02JAN2020.

BEC means Base Education Center, but it also means Baghdad Embassy Compound.

Video, U.S. Marines (2nd Battalion, 7th Marines assigned to the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command) in Kuwait prep for emergency deployment to the BEC, 31DEC2019:

U.S. Marines upload on MV-22 Ospreys, heading for BEC, 31DEC2019.

This video, dated 31DEC2019, shows U.S. Marines deploying to the the BEC as it is under attack by Iraqis:

01JAN2020, protesters and militia inside the BEC.

01JAN2020, Marine checks out the rock strewn BEC.

01JAN2020, smoke from the homemade fire bombs tossed into the BEC the night before.

Iraqi security forces (driving black trucks & wearing red berets) talk with Iraqi militia members (wearing black uniforms) surrounding the BEC.

U.S. Army SAW gunner watches the action on the street outside of the BEC.

Iraqi counter terrorist units show up to ‘secure’ the BEC.USMC BEC Video, 02JAN2020:

Video, U.S. Army 82nd Airborne arrives in Kuwait from North Carolina, and then deploys to Iraq:

Security overwatch, 03JAN2020.

Hauling sand bags for reinforcement, 05JAN2020.

Washington Post: Iraq’s Prime Minister says ‘urgent measures’ should be taken to remove U.S. forces

Army Times: U.S. not going to leave Iraq

Irony as President Trump’s 2016 campaign promise to get out of Obama nuke deal with Iran comes true; Business Insider: Iran withdrawing from Obama era nuclear deal

Is this really about saving the U.S. oil industry by jacking up prices? OilPrice: The Year Of The Oil Bankruptcies  “The industry has been teetering on the verge of mass hysteria for much of 2019 as a record number of energy companies folded.”  

Remember when; ICE fines ‘christian’ Hobby Lobby for stealing Sumerian artifacts from Iraq

NEW YORK MILITIA personnel KILLED IN IRAQ!

GREAT RENEGER: DEPLOYMENTS SO COMMON EVEN BEERS ARE NAMED AFTER THEM

SYRIA, 09 OCTOBER 2015 (when Obama was President):  IRANIAN GENERAL KILLED WHILE DEFENDING AIRBASE!

From 2012; RED HORSE, LEVIATHAN & WORLD WAR 3: THE REAL REASON FOR WAR WITH IRAN IS THE HUGE OIL/GAS RESERVES FOUND IN THE MEDITERRANEAN!

Kit Bashing, Technology

Vehicle I-D: Cold War Zombie tank T-55, they’re everywhere!

Video

I calls it a zombie tank because it’s six decades old and refuses to die.

People’s Republic of China, 2021:

CHINA’S TYPE 59D, UPDATED COLD WAR T-54/55, TO LIVE-ON AS A ROBOT TANK?

CHINA STILL USES THE NATO GUNNED TYPE 88 WARSAW PACT BASED T-54/55 TANK

Lost your hull?  No problem, mount your turret on a truck trailer:

Syria 2012 to present:

Date and location unknown, possibly inside Syria, a T-55 somehow ended up on its turret!

Government T-55s.

Insurgent T-55.

With a mine-roller.

Iraq 2020: They still like those Chinese Type 69s. See more in Iraqi Armor after the Invasion.

Romanian T-55s taking part in NATOs Saber Guardian, June 2019:

U.S. Navy photo by Lieutenant Alex Cornell du Houx, 13JUN2019.

Video August 2018, Afghan government T-55 Boom Stick in action in Sangin District, while U.S. Marines watch:

Kurdish Peshmerga T-55, Iraq, May 2016: 

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Sergio Rangel, 29MAY2016.

Click here to watch extremist insurgents execute captured Syrian soldier with a T-55 tank!

Romanian T-55s, April 2016:

African Union T-55AMV, 2015:

African Union female T-55 crew:

Bamyan, Afghanistan, 2012:

An old T-54.

See more in Steel Skeletons of Soviet Afghanistan.

Daymirdad, Afghanistan, 2011: 

T-55, U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Sean Casey, 09JAN2011.

Iraq 2010:  U.S. BRINGS DEAD IRAQI T-55 BACK TO LIFE!

Iraqi T-54/55 ARV, Salman Pak, November 2008:

U.S. Army photo by Specialist Chase Kincaid, 15NOV2008. 

U.S. Army photo by Specialist Chase Kincaid, 15NOV2008.

T-55 Salman Pak, Iraq, November 2008:

U.S. Army photo by Specialist Chase Kincaid, 15NOV2008.

Al Ja’ara village, Iraq, January 2008:

U.S. Defense Department photo, 14JAN2008.

Iraq 2003:

Chinese Type 69 (‘upgraded’ T-55). USN/USMC photo.

See more in Iraq 2003 Battle Damage.

Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, 2002:

Ventilator on turret top and small hole for bow machine gun on front slope indicates this was a T-54. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class Arlo K. Abrahamson, 29MAY2002.

Cambodia: 

Iraqi Chinese made T-55 assaults Iranian infantry line during Iran-Iraq War:

Vietnam, T-54:

Supposedly upgraded Nicaraguan T-55:

Bosnia & Herzegovina 1996-98:

Croat (HVO) T-55 crew fires-off their 12.7mm gun, on the Barbara Range in Glamoc, Bosnia and Herzegovina. U.S. Department of Defense photo by Staff Sergeant Kim Price, October 1998.

A U.S. Army First Lieutenant tries to keep flames from spreading. This Serbian T-55 was deliberately blown-up with C-4 plastic explosive by the U.S. Army, on Camp Dobol, Bosnia-Herzegovina. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Angel Clemons, 15MAR1997.

T-55 ‘upgraded’ with vulcanized rubber armor, Broko area of Bosnia-Herzegovina. U.S. Department of Defense photo by Staff Sergeant Jon E. Long, January 1996.

Iraq 1991:

What’s left of an Iraqi Type 69, a Chinese ‘upgrade’ of the T-55. U.S. Department of Defense photo by Staff Sergeant Robert Reeve, March 1991.

Smoldering Iraqi T-55 on the border with Kuwait. U.S. Army photo by Specialist Joel Torres, 28FEB1991.

CzechoSlovakia 1989:

Just a few years before the end of the unofficial Cold War, Czechoslovakia upgraded their T-55s with ‘Western-NATO’ targeting systems.

CzechoSlovak T-54, date and photographer unknown.

Egypt 1985:

Notice the ‘Western’ style square search light. U.S. Department of Defense photo by Captain Mark Beberwyck, August 1985.

U.S.A. 1987:

Captured T-54/55, Foreign Materiel Intelligence Group Training Detachment, Fort Irwin, California. U.S. Army photo by Donna Fulghum, 10MAR1987.

Peru 1983:

Factory fresh/parade ready T-54 (indicated by the bow machine gun hole in the front slope), 1983(?).

U.S.A. 1984:

Photo taken by ‘yours truly’, while on a California Army National Guard drill weekend on Fort Irwin, National Training Center, California.  You can see the hole in the front slope of the hull for the bow machine gun, which is typical of the T-54.  Early T-54s also had a ventilator on the turret top.

T-54 (it has a ventilator on top of the turret) captured by Israel then turned over to the United States, notice the U.S. military antenna mast mounted on top of the turret. Photo dated November 1984.

Israel 1974:

Photo dated May 1974, location unknown, however it appears to be captured T-55s put to use by the Israeli Defense Forces.

Being cannibalized for parts.

Egypt 1974:

Egyptian T-55 destroyed by Israel, 1974. Notice somebody marked the penetration hole in the turret.

Iraq, November 1963:

Iraqi T-54 during coup led by pro-Egyptian (Nasserists) against the Ba’ath Party, November 1963.

Germany 1961:

U.S. Embassy photo. The then brand new T-54/55 is deployed in response to the U.S. deploying its then brand new M48A1, which were deployed in response to older T-34-85s being deployed in what became the Berlin Crisis which led to the creation of the Berlin Wall.

See (photos & film), and read, more in BERLIN KRISE, ‘GAME OF CHICKEN’ M48A1 VS. T-54/55!

This is a terrible Cold War era U.S. Army vehicle I-D image of a T-54.

Soviet Union:

Cold War film, late 1950s or early 1960s, Soviet T-55s getting decontaminated in NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) exercise:

A variety of variants:

So many model kits, so little time!

 

T-55 data @ ArmyRecognition.com

VEHICLE I-D: IRAN BUILDS ITS OWN MRAP

IRAN BUILDS ITS OWN ‘JEEP’

HOW TO BUILD A 1/1 SCALE TIGER-1 TANK

Technology

Vehicle I-D: M4 Sherman, WW2 to Iran-Iraq War

Video

March 1981, my father W. L. Hutchins checking out the Sherman in front of the Ely, Nevada, VFW Post.

The M4 Sherman is the iconic U.S. tank from World War 2.  It was also used after WW2 by many countries across the world.  There are many variants, and to make things more difficult for kit bashers there were many field modifications.

1-116th Cav, 1-148th FA, Pocatello, Idaho. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

Video report 03NOV2021, Museum Support Center–Anniston Army Depot is about to attempt to restore a recovered sunken ‘DD’ Sherman from Operation Overlord June 1944:

U.S. Army Central, Sumter, South Carolina, welcomes the arrival of a M4A3(76)W HVSS Sherman tank, 15JUL2021. U.S. Army photo by Michael Clauss.

It was originally on display on Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. U.S. Army photo by Specialist Amber Cobena.

In December 2020, the U.S. Army’s Army Maneuver Center of Excellence used examples of WW2 Sherman tanks to demonstrate the ingenuity/inventiveness of U.S. military personnel.

October 2020 promotional video, the National Army Museum’s Cobra King Sherman:

July 2020, volunteers with the Selfridge Military Air Museum take a restored Sherman for a spin, before parking it for its new ‘gate guard’ duty. Michigan Air National Guard photo By Munnaf H. Joarder.

Harrodsburg, Kentucky, 07MAY2020. The tank memorializes the Harrodsburg Tankers, which were captured by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War Two. Kentucky Army National Guard photo by First Lieutenant Cody Stagner.

Reenactment of Battle of the Bulge, 14DEC2019, Belgium.
U.S. Army photo by Corporal Kevin Payne.

Pennsylvania ‘gate guard’, 05NOV2019. Pennsylvania Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Bryan Hoover.

Texas Military Forces Museum Sherman takes part in a reenactment, 13APR2019. Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Tom Lamb.

Chièvres Air Base, Belgium, 11SEP2018. U.S. Army photo by Pierre-Etienne Courtejoie.

Video of ‘IN THE MOOD’ gate guard being moved from Belgium to Germany for restoration, 09JUL2019:

See more about IN THE MOOD: PAINTING & DECALING A 1:1 SCALE M4 SHERMAN

D-Day reenactors June 2019, Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Ryan Rayno.

U.S. military video by Staff Sergeant Draeke Layman, Sherman Tanks in Mons, Belgium, 2019:

M4A1 Battle of the Bulge commemorations in Belgium, December 2018. U.S. Army photo by Pierre-Etienne Courtejoie.

Sainte Mere Eglise, 04JUN2017. USA photo by First Lieutenant Victoria Goldfedib.

This tank looks ‘crody’ because it was salvaged from the sea off United Kingdom, in 1984. It’s now part of commemorations for Operation Tiger. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Timothy R. Smithers.

Pennsylvania National Guard ‘living’ memorial, February 2016. Pennsylvania Army National Guard photo by Private First Class Hannah Baker.

December 2015, the town of Clervaux, Luxembourg, dedicates a Sherman tank memorial to a little known part of the Battle of the Bulge:

New York National Guard personnel spent 22 months renovating this Sherman. Put on display in Saratoga Springs, September 2015. New York Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Major Corine Lombardo.

Restored Sherman taking part in D-Day celebrations in France, June 2015. USA photo by Sergeant Austin Berner.

Sherman loaded for transport to the Fort Polk Museum, Louisiana, 12SEP2012.

This April 2011 photo shows three versions of the M4 Sherman, taking part in a Texas Military Forces World War Two reenactment on Camp Mabry. Texas Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Josiah Pugh.

A Sherman tank war memorial in Cassino, Italy. Texas Army National Guard photo by Sergeant First Class Daniel Griego, March 2010.

Silent U.S. Army film, dated 23APR1945, Sherman tanks enter the city of Leipzig, Germany.  Combat action, civilians wounded, civilians welcome U.S. troops, German officer surrenders:

New York Army National Guard M4A3 Sherman, Fort Drum, during the 1950s.

An Easy Eight Sherman in Kumchun area, Korea, October 1950.

Believe it or not, this is a 70 years old Iraqi Sherman! It was ‘appropriated’ by U.S. Army forces and ‘repatriated’ to the U.S. towards the end of 2011. The pic was taken on Camp Virginia, Kuwait, as it awaited ship-out.

Iranian M36B1 Jackson version of the Sherman, used against Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war. Captured by Iraq and put on display, only to be ‘captured’ by U.S. forces and supposedly ‘repatriated’ to the United States.

A U.S. Marine checks-out a stripped Sherman in Beirut, Lebanon, April 1983.

Photograph from World War Two, 03JUN1944. The Sherman in the foreground has the rounded cast hull, while the Sherman behind it has the welded hull.

USMC vet Kenny White checks out a Marine Sherman gate guard at Twentynine Palms, California, December 2014. USMC photo by Lance Corporal Medina Ayala-Lo.

In Virginia, reenactors playing Marines fighting the Japanese stand aside for an approaching Sherman, August 2013. USMC photo by Corporal Paris Capers.

My grandfather, O.G. Hutchins, on his newly arrived USMC Sherman, sometime before shipping out against the Japanese.

My grandfather O.G. Hutchins, tank commander in the USMC during World War Two. Note the snow tracks used as sand tracks in the Pacific Theater (also indicative of some 75mm gunned Shermans, that is not saying they were the only Shermans that used them, obviously not). Also, notice the final-drive cover is different from the M4 in the above photo. He’s smiling because prior to getting Shermans his USMC unit was using tiny Stuart tanks (note how tall he is, even in the Sherman he had trouble ‘buttoning up’).

My grandfather’s old helmet. O.G. ‘Hutch’ Hutchins.

See my grandfather’s 1st Marine Division unit citations for actions in World War Two and Korea in LAST RIDE FOR 1ST, 2ND & 4TH TANK.

It has become dry and brittle due to decades of improper storage on my father’s property in the Mojave Desert of Southern California.

The hardened leather helmets were called ‘football helmets’ because they were directly based on the old style American football helmet.

Photo by Richard C. Ferguson, September or October 1950. Inchon, Korea, Easy Eight ‘Candy Ass’ decided to take a swim after off-loading from LST. It appears there’s only one cable (attached to front tow hook) keeping Candy Ass from going under.

U.S. Marine Corps photo, dated October 1950. It’s not Korea, it’s a pass-in-review of Shermans and F7F Tigercats at Cherry Point, North Carolina.

Argentinian Shermans waiting for new homes, or the scrapper.

Argentine hybrid-hull Sherman with French 105mm gun in what looks like a Firefly turret, and powered by a diesel motor.

Chile used Israeli M51 Super Shermans as live-fire range targets.

Chilean M60, a M4A4 Sherman with Israeli designed 60mm high velocity gun.

I can’t remember where this photo was taken (Fort Irwin?), sometime mid-late 1990s.  Me in front of a Sherman based Recovery Vehicle.

IDAHO VEHICLE I-D:  1-148 FIELD ARTILLERY GATE GUARDS