California Air National Guard, 144th Fighter Wing, 194th Fighter Squadron’s F-15C Eagle #84-004 preps to take-off from Fresno Yosemite International Airport, California, to participate in the Orange Flag wargame, along with aircrews from Edwards Air Force Base and China Lake Naval Air Station, 10DEC2019.
Photo by Captain Jason Sanchez.
Photo by Captain Jason Sanchez.
2019 California Capital Airshow at Mather Airport near Sacramento.
Photo by Technical Sergeant Charles Vaughn.
84-004 lands at Starokostiantyniv Air Base, Ukraine, for wargame Clear Sky, 06OCT2018.
Photo by Technical Sergeant Charles Vaughn.
#84-004 was painted in an eagle motif for the 194FS’s 75th Anniversary, which was officially in 2018. The 194FS was established in 1946, but was not federally recognized until 1948.
Clear Sky video explainer by Staff Sergeant Christian Jadot:
Photo by Technical Sergeant Charles Vaughn.
A California Eagle taxis past Ukrainian Sukhoi 27s, 09OCT2018.
Video report by Staff Sergeant Christian Jadot, a happy California Eagle pilot talks about “finally” being in Ukraine:
U.S. Ramey Sector Border Patrol agents, with the assistance of a U.S. Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew, apprehended two male Dominican Republic nationals and seized 157 pounds (71 Kilos) of cocaine near Villa Montana in Isabela, Puerto Rico, 23JAN2021.
Photo by Petty Officer Second Class Amanda Wyrick.
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spencer (WMEC 905) credited with capturing more than $10-million of illegal drugs.
During May 2016, the Oregon Air National Guard spread their F-15C Eagle (Kotkat) wings all the way to Finland (Suomi), for NATO’s Operation Atlantic Resolve.
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Jefferson Thompson, 10MAY2016.
One of the 173rd’s Eagles was decked-out with a special one year only paint scheme in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Oregon Air National Guard.
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Jefferson Thompson, 10MAY2016.
Oregon’s 173rd Fighter Wing operated out of Finland’s Rissala Air Base, aka Kuopio Airport.
Finnish Defense Forces video of Oregon’s visit:
Kuopio Airport/Rissala Air Base is home to Finland’s Karelia Air Command. This is the flag of Karelia Air Command.
Oregon Air National Guard explainer video report:
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Jefferson Thompson, 10MAY2016.
Oregon’s F-15Cs flew alongside Finland’s F/A-18s, fighting against Swedish Saab aircraft during the NATO wargame.
Photo by Petty Officer Third Class John Hightower.
On 09JAN2021, the USCGC Stone found itself off the coast of South American country Guyana. The U.S. Coast Guard is now working with the Guyana Coast Guard to fight ‘illegal activities’, as per a September 2020 agreement.
Puerto Rico:On 07JAN2021, the U.S. Coast Guard transfers custody of a fugitive, with a standing warrant for an alleged murder, to U.S. Marshals agents in Mayaguez.
The primary identifying feature between Mil 8 and 17 versions is; the Mil 8 has the tail rotor on the pilot’s right side, the Mil 17 has the tail rotor on the pilot’s left side. All other details are subject to change.
Video by Bob Ditchey, Hip door gunner live-fire, 13MAY2018:
2014 video, Mil 17B(V)-5 helicopters inflight over Afghanistan:
2014 video, by Senior Airman Brandi Hansen, of NATO member Czech Republic advisers on a training flight, with live-fire door gunning, in an Afghan Mil 17B(V)-5 helicopter. Czech Republic has a long history of using Mil helicopters and was sent to help train Afghans:
2013 NATO video report; Uruzgan based 4th Brigade of the Afghan National Army conducted resupply and casualty evacuations:
Forward Operating Base Shank in Logar province, 04AUG2012. U.S. Army photo by Specialist Austin Berner.
Photo by Technical Sergeant Dennis Henry.
In 2012, NATO member Czech Republic deployed air-crews to Afghanistan. They got acquainted with the terrain by taking rides in Afghan Mil 17B(V)-5.
Photo by Technical Sergeant Dennis Henry.
Photo by Technical Sergeant Dennis Henry.
Photo by Technical Sergeant Dennis Henry
U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer Second Class Jonathan David Chandler. Sun rises on a Mil-8 helicopter on Camp Bastion, Helmand province, 23OCT2011.
Video by Sergeant Bryan Spradlin, October 2010, showing U.S. and Afghan forces refueling and rearming a Hip:
During Afghan national elections Hip helicopters are used to deliver empty ballot boxes, and then retrieve full ballot boxes after voting. These pics are from September 2010.
Maybe it’s time the United States use its military to control ballots during national level elections?
Photo by Petty Officer Second Class Ernesto Hernandez Fonte.
August 2010, U.S. advisers fire the rockets of a Mil 17. U.S. advisers were prepping to train-up Afghan aircrews in using the Hip as a gunship.
Photo by Staff Sergeant Teddy Wade. Contracted Mil Mi-8 helicopter lands at FOB Airborne, 25NOV2009.
Hip door gunners, 03OCT2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Angelita Lawrence.
By November 2008, Afghanistan had received three new U.S. taxpayer funded Mi-17 Hips. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Keith Brown, 25NOV2008.
NATO Romania’s armored river gunboats are operated by a unit called Division 88. Romania has been operating river gunboats on the Danube River since 1860, making Romania the oldest ‘modern’ navy to do so.
Photo via Naval Forces Romania, October 2021.
This Shield of Dobrogea video, posted in March 2021, shows gunboat ops during exercise Danube Protector:
Arizona Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Adrian Borunda, 15JUL2017.
Romanian armored gunboat F-178 Smârdan in action on the Danube (Dunăre), during NATO’s Saber Guardian 2017.
NATO video, quad 23mm anti-aircraft guns blazing on the Smârdan during Saber Guardian 2017:
Mihail Kogălniceanu class F-47 gunboat, U.S. Army photo by Private First Class Nicholas Vidro, 16JUL2017.
Romanian river monitor F-47 Lascăr Catargiu, Saber Guardian 2017.
NATO video of river patrol boat, armored gunboats, and larger monitors, supporting Danube river crossing operations, big guns firing (wait for it):
Smârdan class F-176 Rohave, USA photo by Specialist Christopher Estrada, 22JUN2019.
Armored gunboat F-176 Rahova provides cover for Danube river crossing, Saber Guardian June 2019.
NATO video of Danube river crossing, armored gunboats and a monitor, Saber Guardian 2019:
Romania has three Mihail Kogălniceanu class river monitors, beginning operations in the 1990s:
F-45 Mihail Kogălniceanu, photo via Naval Forces Romania, February 2022.
Photo via Naval Forces Romania, October 2021.
Photo via Naval Forces Romania, October 2021.
F-47 Lascăr Catargiu.
F-47 on public display, photo via Naval Forces Romania, August 2021.
Photo via Naval Forces Romania, August 2020.
Photo via Naval Forces Romania, August 2020.
F-46 Ion C. Brătianu.
Mihail Kogălniceanu class and Smârdan class launching rockets. Photo via Naval Forces Romania, October 2021.
Five Smârdan class armored river gunboats, beginning operations in the late 1980s-early 1990s:
F-176 Rohave, photo via Naval Forces Romania, June 2021.
F-177 Opanez, photo via Naval Forces Romania, May 2021.
F-177 Opanez, photo via Naval Forces Romania, May 2021.
Rocket launchers are optional, photo via Naval Forces Romania, April 2021.
F-178 Smârdan, photo via Naval Forces Romania, June 2021.
Photo via Naval Forces Romania, September 2021.
Photo via Naval Forces Romania, July 2021.
F-179 Posada, photo via Naval Forces Romania, May 2021.
F-179 Posada, photo via Naval Forces Romania, May 2021.
F-179 equipped with two optional rocket launchers, photo via Naval Forces Romania, October 2021.
Photo via Naval Forces Romania, August 2020.
F-180 Rovine, photo via Naval Forces Romania, July 2021.
Photo via Naval Forces Romania, October 2021.
F-180 with one optional rocket launcher, photo via Naval Forces Romania, October 2021.
Photo via Naval Forces Romania, October 2020.
Division 88 operates about a dozen of these non-named VD-141 river patrol boats. The VD-141 class began operations in the 1980s:
Patrol boat F-147, February 2022, photo via Naval Forces Romania.
Shield of Dobrogea video posted in January 2020, Division 88’s smaller river patrol boats:
Guns of a VD-141 class, photo via Naval Forces Romania, June 2021.
Shield of Dobrogea video of Division 88 river gunboats in action, posted November 2019 (although a lot of the video is actually from 2017):
Official Romanian Navy promotional video about Division 88 river gunboat operations, posted April 2019:
River gunboat ops, posted by Shield of Dobrogea, May 2018:
More gunboat action, posted April 2018:
River gunboat report posted April 2017:
A long video about Romania’s river gunboats, from 2015:
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 UROVESAVAMTac (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-85M1Bizonul (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.
Photos from NATO’s Trident Juncture 2018, in Norway.
NATO video, taxi-takeoff, heading to Trident Juncture 2018 in Norway:
Photo by Chris Okula.
They flew all the way to Edwards Air Force Base, in California, to refuel one of their own F-35s! According to the press info, at the end of March 2016, the Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht) was used to prove the viability of refueling F-35s with KC-10s.
Moldova is not a member of NATO, but has joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council making it an official NATO ‘partner’. NATO ‘partner’ countries are located all across the Earth, not just in the North Atlantic (the original justification for the creation of NATO was to form a joint defense system for countries in the North Atlantic).
Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.
BTRs during wargames, December 2020. The flag on the first vehicle is the national flag, the flag on the second vehicle is the flag of the Ministry of Defense.
Official Moldovan Ministry of Defense video showing training with BTRs, towed D-20 artillery, various types of MTLBs, culminating in live fire, December 2020:
Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.
Engineer vehicle based on T-72 hull, November 2020.
Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.
Video of engineer vehicles in action, November 2020:
Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.
BMP artillery radar vehicle followed by 2S9s and BMD-1s, November 2020.
Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.
Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.
An Antonov-2 flies over MTLBs, October 2020.
Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.
T-72 engineer vehicle, July 2020.
Video of vehicle review, and some live fire, July 2020. Sadly, that’s about it for the Moldovan National Army. At the end of the video the Minister of Defense, Alexandru Pinzari, admits they are working with “obsolete” equipment:
North Carolina Army National Guard photo by Sergeant First Class Robert Jordan, 12SEP2019.
Loading anti-tank missile (9M113 Konkurs, NATO codename AT-5 Spandrel) onto a BRDM-2-Anti-Tank armored car, Bulboaca Training Area, September 2019.
North Carolina Army National Guard photo by Sergeant First Class Robert Jordan, 12SEP2019.
Moldova used to be a part of Romania, called Bessarabia. Under Soviet rule Bessarabia became the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moldova declared independence in August 1991.
North Carolina Army National Guard photo by Sergeant First Class Robert Jordan, 14SEP2016.
BMD based 2S9 Nona self propelled airborne artillery gun, Bulboaca Training Area, September 2016.
Since 1996, the North Carolina Army National Guard has been training with the Moldovan army, through the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Guard State Partnership Program.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Ryan Young, 12DEC2014.
BRDM-2 over-watch as U.S. Marine launches a Javelin anti-tank missile in Balti, December 2014.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Ryan Young, 12DEC2014.
An old BTR gets taken out by a Javelin.
Video, BTR dies:
Video explainer report, USMC anti-armor training in Moldova, 2014:
Video of various anti-tank weapons being used, December 2014:
From what I’ve researched, Moldova has between zero and possibly a whopping three Main Battle Tanks (MBT), all T-64BV.
Photo by Neil Brennan.
The reason for little or no MBTs in Moldova is apparently because of a cease fire agreement between Moldova and a former territory called Transnistria (Transnistria actually declared independence one year before greater Moldova, yet the ‘NATO’ world refuses to recognize it because it is one of the last few Soviet Republics that still believes the Soviet Union is alive and well). The Sweden based OSCE has been overseeing arms control agreements including the destruction of heavy military vehicles like MBTs. Moldova has complied, but not Transnistria (meaning tiny Transnistria has more armored vehicles than much larger Moldova).
The majority of Moldova’s existing armor are Soviet era armored cars of various types, then tracked utility vehicles like MTLB, and tracked self propelled artillery guns/rocket launchers.
Moldovan news pic of a supposed T-54? (note the spokes on the road wheels) that had been hidden by a family in a disputed district.
Al Hussein (aka Challenger 1 FV4030/4) and AH-1S/F Cobra. Photo via Jordanian Armed Forces.
German made Marder 1A3 Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Photo via Jordanian Armed Forces.
Marder 1A3, photo via Jordanian Armed Forces.
South African made Ratel, on UN ‘peacekeeping’ duty. Photo via Jordanian Armed Forces.
Jordanian Armed Forces promotional video, November 2021:
Photo via Royal Hashemite Court.
Jordan’s King Abdullah the Second, and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein, inspect one of at least 80 ‘donated’ (from United Arab Emirates) French-made Leclerc tanks, October 2020.
Photo via Royal Hashemite Court.
Old U.S. made M60A3 tanks during wargames, October 2020.
Official Royal Hashemite Court video:
USA photo by Sergeant First Class Kenneth Upsall.
A U.S. Army Staff Sergeant finds out what it is like driving a Jordanian Challenger-1, called Al Hussein (الحسين), January 2017.
U.S. Army photo by Sergeant First Class Kenneth Upsall, 08JAN2017.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sergeant Vitaliy Rusavskiy, 17MAY2017.
Jordanian M113A2MK-1J mingling with U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Assault Vehicle-P7/A1, May 2017.
USMC photo by Corporal Jessica Y. Lucio, 17MAY2017.
USA photo by Sergeant Youtoy Martin, 17JAN2016.
M113A2MK-1J, January 2016. Video report, U.S. Army trains with Jordanian M113A2 unit, January 2016:
Al Hussein, aka Challenger Mark 1, aka FV4030/4. USA photo by Specialist Ian Valley, 24MAY2016.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Sean Searfus, 18MAY2015.
M60A3 tank fires during a combined live fire demonstration as part of Exercise Eager Lion in Wadi Shadiya, Jordan, 18MAY2015.
USMC photo by Corporal Sean Searfus, 18MAY2015.
USMC photo by Corporal Sean Searfus, 18MAY2015.
Photo by Captain Viet Nguyen.
Jordanian YPG-765 during Eager Lion 2015.
USMC photo by Corporal Sean Searfus, 18MAY2015.
USMC photo by Corporal Sean Searfus, 18MAY2015.
USMC photo by Sergeant Austin Hazard, 29MAY2014.
YPG-765 during Eager Lion, May 2014.
USMC photo by Sergeant Austin Hazard, 29MAY2014.
USMC photo by Sergeant Austin Hazard, 29MAY2014.
Videos, Jordanian Al Hussein (الحسين), conducting live fire during Eager Lion, Summer of 2013:
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sergeant Richard Blumenstein, 07MAY2012.
Al Hussein (الحسين) fire during Eager Lion, May 2012.
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Scott Stewart, 01SEP1987.
A Jordanian M113 is off-loaded from a U.S. Air Force C-141 Starlifter, during wargame Bright Star, in the North African country of Egypt, September 1987.
Finland: OREGON KOTKAT LENTÄÄ SUOMEN YLI
Kuopio Airport/Rissala Air Base is home to Finland’s Karelia Air Command. This is the flag of Karelia Air Command.
On 07JAN2021, the U.S. Coast Guard transfers custody of a fugitive, with a standing warrant for an alleged murder, to U.S. Marshals agents in Mayaguez.
During Afghan national elections Hip helicopters are used to deliver empty ballot boxes, and then retrieve full ballot boxes after voting. These pics are from September 2010.
Maybe it’s time the United States use its military to control ballots during national level elections?
Fellow NATO member 
