Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Jacqueline Marshall.
“This is an exercise evolution of the Rally in the Valley 2020 exercise conducted in West Virginia. Our efforts will prepare Reserve and National Guard units to execute at the speed and range required to take on near-peer adversaries. Additional training included combat airlift as well as multi-capable mobility Airmen who are able to refuel and re-arm aircraft in austere locations with minimal support.”-Major Christopher Acs, 327th Airlift Squadron, U.S. Air Force Reserve (USAFR)
WANG photo by Jacqueline Marshall, 13SEP2021.
U.S. Air Force Reserve photo by Major Ashely Walker, 13SEP2021.
13SEP2021 saw a dramatic opening to wargame Rally in the Rockies 2021; for the first time a C-130J Super Hercules intentionally landed on U.S. Route 287, in the middle of nowhere rural Wyoming (near Rawlings)!
U.S. Air Force Reserve video by Major Ashely Walker, 13SEP2021:
WANG photo by Jacqueline Marshall.
So far, all the news outlets reporting this landing are calling it Highway 287 which is incorrect. It is officially U.S. Route 287 (aka US287). It would be okay if they wrote highway with a lower case ‘h’, but they use an upper case ‘H’ which indicates an official title.
Cowboy State Daily’s quick slo-mo video of landing:
WANG photo by Jacqueline Marshall.
Anybody thinking about the Cold War era movie Red Dawn, supposedly taking place in next-door-from-Wyoming Colorado?
USAFR photo by Major Ashley Walker.
Rally in the Rockies is scheduled to run from September 13th through the 16th. It involves 12 military units from various state National Guards and the USAFR, as well as the Wyoming Department of Transportation. The wargame is preparation for combat operations within the United States, for ‘contested areas’!
USAF photo by Lieutenant Colonel Marnee A.C. Losurdo, 14SEP2021.
C-130H from Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, drops supplies near Rifle Garfield County Airport, Colorado.
USAF photo by Major Ashley Walker, 13SEP2021.
The first day of Rally in the Rockies also involved USAFR C-130Hs operating from a Landing Zone near Guernsey, Wyoming. The wargame simulating conflict inside the United States involved the states of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.
USAF photo by Major Ashley Walker.
Cold War era (late 1960s) film of C-130 and C-160 landing on European highway:
03SEP2021 Al Jazeera video report, Mexico begs Biden to help them deal with massive increase in migrants heading to the U.S. (by granting more work visas):
U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection personnel search a boat that was captured by the U.S. Coast Guard. On 02SEP2021, the USCG transferred eight illegals from Haiti to authorities in the Bahamas.
OREGON: 04SEP2021 NewsChannel 21 video report, illegal marijuana farm is operated by Mexican drug lords using slave labor from Mexico:
PUERTO RICO:
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ricardo Castrodad.
On 03SEP2021, the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge offloaded approximately 1-thousand-7-hundred kilograms of cocaine at Coast Guard Base San Juan. The cocaine was captured off the coast of the British Virgin Islands, near Anegada.
U.S. Coast Guard reports capturing illegals on 02SEP2021 in the Mona Passage, with the help of the Caribbean Border Interagency Group. The USCG also reports returning 91 illegals to the Dominican Republic.
Welcome to borderland hell under the new U.S. President, this includes links to local news reports:
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched Operation Allies Welcome, which is actually being carried out by U.S. Northern Command. Locations across the United States (mainly military bases) will be prepped to ‘welcome’ refugees being brought into the country as part of Operation Allies Refuge which I revealed back in July, which also includes refugees from unnamed African countries. The taxpayer funded ‘welcome’ is supposed to include transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for as many as 50-thousand Afghan refugees at each location! By the way, the Department of Defense doesn’t call them refugees, it calls them “evacuees”.
The Idaho Office of Resettlement reports that for fiscal year 2021 (which ends on 30SEP2021) Afghans are the second most ‘resettled’ group into The Gem State. But that might change for fiscal year 2022, with Operations Allies Refuge and Allies Welcome.
KBOI video report saying that Operation Allies Refuge is actually making it more difficult to resettle Afghans to Idaho:
INDIANA:
Indiana National Guard photo by Sergeant Tackora Farrington.
02SEP2021, evacuees arrive on Indianan National Guard base Camp Atterbury.
WKLB video report, Indianans who leave near Camp Atterbury say they haven’t been told anything about the evacuee operation:
MICHIGAN: WXYZ video report, non-profit organization makes major announcement:
NEW JERSEY:
U.S. Army photo by Specialist James Liker.
Contractors with Joint Task Force Liberty construct a temporary housing facility for Afghans at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, 30AUG2021.
NEW MEXICO:
First Afghans arrive on Holloman AFB, 31AUG2021. U.S. Army Private First Class Anthony X. Sanchez.
31AUG2021, U.S. Air Force (USAF) video (by Senior Airman Skyler Combs) of C-130J full of the first ‘evacuees’ to arrive on Holloman Air Force Base:
The massive Fort Bliss Doña Ana Complex in New Mexico. U.S. Army photo by Private First Class Luis Santiago, 30AUG2021.
31AUG2021, U.S. Army (USA) personnel on Fort Bliss’ (which straddles the Texas/New Mexico border) Doña Ana Complex had to create a special ‘welcome’ in-processing area just for women, as well as a special Female Engagement Team!
On 30AUG2021, Airman from Sheppard Air Force Base (AFB) were deployed to Holloman AFB in New Mexico, for Operation Allies Welcome.
KTSM 9 video report, evacuee complains about Fort Bliss (remember, Fort Bliss actually stretches across Texas and New Mexico) and says it is obvious the U.S. government wasn’t prepared for evacuating Afghans:
KTSM 9 (which broadcasts to TV viewers in both Texas and New Mexico) video report, filthy conditions for evacuees on Fort Bliss:
VIRGINIA:
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Brian Bolin Junior.
Marine Corps Base Quantico, new buildings are being constructed to in-process thousands of refugees from Afghanistan.
29AUG2021, USA video (by Specialist Froyland Grimaldo) of Op Allies Welcome preparations on Fort Picket:
USA photo by Keith Pannell.
Fort Picket contractors begin work on facilities for evacuees, 30AUG2021.
King 5 video report, King County to use their vacant hotel as evacuee center:
WISCONSIN:
As of 04SEP2021, the U.S. Department of Defense says as many as 5-hundred evacuees have passed through the Fort McCoy welcome center since the last days of August.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection-Air and Marine Operations photo.
On 21AUG2021, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol spotted a boat with 24 Cubans onboard, near Elbow Cay, Bahamas. The U.S. Coast Guard then captured the boat and the illegals were sent back to Cuba.
On 11AUG2021, a U.S. Coast Guard aircrew spotted 48 Hatians who somehow got stranded on Monito Cay. On 12 AUG2021, Puerto Rico police helped capture them and turned them over to Border Patrol.
On 24AUG2021, eighty Washington National Guard personnel were issued wild-land fire fighting gear. They are deploying to assist the Washington State Department of Natural Resources fight the more than 45-thousand acre Summit Trail Fire near Inchelium.
Washington National Guard video by Peter Chang, with interview at the end:
Lightning started the fire on 12JUL2021, as of August 24th it was 45% contained. Evacuation orders have been rescinded.
“The fire was moving at 20-25 mph; the fire traveled a mile and a half in 20 minutes to jump into ‘our’ property. With the pasture field grass that we have out here, that’s how fast it can move. The fire was eating up ground, all we can do was carrel it and defend it from jumping on county land, basically keep it on Army land.”– Steven Coloma, Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA) Fire and Emergency Services
From July 30th to August 4th, 2021, the Waimea wildfire grew to become the largest in Hawaii’s modern history. Hawaii’s Army National Guard, and the U.S. Army’s 25th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), joined the fight.
U.S. Army photo, 31JULY2021.
25th CAB used their CH-47 and HH-60 helicopters:“…the priority was some threatened and endangered species that reside on PTA. Once we got that initial assessment from the PTA firefighters, we started hitting the areas around the threatened and endangered species. That was PTA garrison commander’s number one priority—fire management on federal land, and ensure we saved the threatened and endangered species.”-Major Lee Jones, 3rd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment
USA photo, 31JULY2021.
Armed with Bambi buckets, the Chinook and Black Hawk ‘copters made 268 drops on the fire, more than 169-thousand gallons of water. The Waimea wildfire burned at least 40-thousand acres (16187 hectares).
On 16AUG2021, the Minnesota Army National Guard deployed two UH-60M Black Hawks to fight the fires spreading across The North Star State. Video by Staff Sergeant Sydney Mariette:
Photo by Senior Master Sergeant Ralph Kapustka.
On 17AUG2021, Minnesota Air National Guard deployed a fuel truck to support Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fire crews.
On 12AUG2021, twenty three Wisconsin Army National Guard personnel took three UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to California to help fight the fires, for the second year in a row.
Wisconsin ANG Black Hawk practices using the Bambi Bucket, 12AUG2021, prior to leaving for California. WANG photo by Greg Mason.
WANG video by Greg Mason, of Bambi Bucket training on Fort McCoy, 12AUG2021:
It wasn’t Just Wisconsin sending their militia to help The Golden State; Arizona, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma sent Air National Guard TACPs (Tactical Air Control Party Specialists) and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) aircrews at the request of the Boise, Idaho, based National Interagency Fire Center: “The entire fire service lacks fire fighters, equipment, and especially intelligence capable assets. Being able to utilize TACPs and the ISR aircraft during fire suppression efforts is filling a large gap that we, in civilian government lack. The expertise TACPs bring truly makes our jobs much easier, safer, and can translate into our mission objectives.”-George Violante, National Interagency Fire Center
Arizona Air National Guard ISR wildland fire mapping RC-26 flying out of Eugene Airport, Oregon, 01AUG2021. Nevada ANG photo by Airman First Class Thomas Cox.
Pennsylvania & Oklahoma TACPs set-up near Chester, California, 25JUL2021. PANG photo by Master Sergeant Brent Hill.
The National Interagency Fire Center says military TACPs are perfect for the job of wildland fire fighting from the air: “They require limited training and can engage right into providing real-time critical decision-making information for the incident management personnel. The constant demand for this type of support speaks for itself. We appreciate their time away from their families and the long hours they work to support the Interagency National Fire Center and fire staff on the ground.”-George Violante
Pennsylvania TACP somewhere in Nevada, 13JUL2021. PANG photo by Lieutenant Colonel Angela King-Sweigart.
U.S. Army photo by Sergeant First Class Ernest Henderson.
On 11AUG2021, the U.S. military handed Iraqi-Kurdish Peshmerga forces an additional 21 trucks, worth US$5.3 million. The ‘divestiture’ took place on Erbil Air Base.
USA photo by Sergeant First Class Ernest Henderson.
On 08JUL2021, Peshmerga got $741-thousand-584 worth of weapons and ammo. It’s all part of the never ending Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund (CTEF) program.
USA photo by Sergeant First Class Gary A. Witte.
On 12JUN2021, Iraqi Border Guards got $4.5 million worth of barbed wire, pre-fab guard towers, generators, water tanks and shower trailers.
USA photo by Specialist Trevor Franklin.
On 03JUN2021, Peshmerga got an undisclosed amount of U.S./NATO funded Russian made/designed weapons.
USA photo by Specialist Angel Ruszkiewicz.
On 20MAY2021, Peshmerga also got truck-loads of barbed wire and uniforms.