Tag Archives: employment

Weapon I-D: Mark 82, Cold War & beyond

Bombing-up an S-3A Viking with Mk82s. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class Michael D.P. Flynn, 01FEB1988.

The Mark 82 (aka BDU) is a 5-hundred pound/227-kilogram unguided ‘vehicle’ (practice bombs about 400lbs/181kg) designed to hit your enemy with 192 pounds/87-kilograms of Tritonal high explosive. It was first used during the U.S. occupation of Vietnam.  It’s part of the Mark 80 series of low-drag bombs, from Mk81 to Mk84, of similar shape but increasing size.

Mark 82s on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Stephen Schester, 27APR2010.

The shape and size of the standard fins have changed over the decades, and the type of fins used changes the nomenclature (the various fins/tail cones have their own nomenclatures as well).

They’ve even been fitted with nose fuse extensions.

This video is about the history of the F-4 Phantom-2, but it has a couple of scenes from Vietnam in which F-4s off-load massive amounts of Mk82s:

Most ‘live’ Mk82s are painted olive drab with yellow markings and trim.  Some are light grey with yellow trim.  Yellow indicates it is a ‘live’ bomb.

“Bombs can be filled by conventional explosive or other explosive compositions (TNT, Tritonal, Comp B) with a wide range of fuzes (M904-M905, FMU-139, FMU-152, FBM 21, ID 260).”

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Ryan Callaghan, 25JAN2017.

This live Mk82 has a nose mounted M904 fuse.

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Don Sutherland, 01FEB1981.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Zachary Heal, 05FEB2020.

Many bombs have varying shades of paint from one to the other, depending on how they were stored, exposure to sunlight, etc.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Zachary Heal, 05FEB2020.

This live Mk82 has a rear mounted M905 fuse.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Jacob M. Thompson, 27JAN2021.

Some tail cones have ‘pinwheels’ (ATU-35A/B tail mounted fuse drive assemblies) that have an arming wire connected to the bomb release mechanism.  The ATU-35 is for both the M904 nose fuse and the M905 rear mounted fuse.

Pinwheels on the tail cones of these practice bombs, denoted by the blue stripe around the nose. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Ken Hammond, 27JUN1987.

These Mk82s have the M904 nose fuse with the ATU-35 tail drive. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Ken Hammond, 27JUN1987.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Steven Walls, 28JAN2020.

The live Mk82s (BSU-33s?) on this AV-8B Harrier are grey with yellow trim.  Note the USMC fins are the similar to the USAF fins.

USMC photo by Lance Corporal James Marchetti, 14JAN2014.

Mark 82s onboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Tracy Lee Didas, 01OCT1989.

Same aircraft carrier, but in 1993. Mark 82s onboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Hayhurst, 01OCT1993.

For those model builders who are worried that they’ve hit their Mark 82s/BDUs with a paint bomb, most U.S. Navy/USMC bombs have a thick stucco looking coating of paint.

USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Tracy Lee Didas, 04NOV1987.

Mark 82s being transferred from ship-to-ship during Desert Storm. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Charles W. Moore, 01FEB1991.

Video, 726th EABS Munitions Systems team shows you how to build a Mk82, November 2019, Djibouti:

An F-4E Phantom II off-loads a bunch of blue bombs onto the Bardenas Bombing Range in Spain. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant David Nolan, 25MAR1986.

Practice bombs are painted blue, or O-D with blue trim and fins.  Some are so old the blue paint is extremely faded.  Some practice bombs have spotting charges in the fin section to make it easier to spot where it impacts on the target field.

BDU-45 mounted on P3C Orion. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Harry J. Rucker the Third, 25OCT2009.

The U.S. Navy calls their practice Mk82 bomb the BDU-45.  Note there is a difference between USN fins and USAF fins.

BDU-45 mounted on P3C Orion. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Harry J. Rucker the Third, 25OCT2009.

USAF photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Araos, 02JUL2012.

Blue bombs.

Georgia Air National Guard F-105G gets bombed-up with a cement filled Blue Bomb. Photo by Airman First Class Sheryl D. Barnett, 10APR1981.

Video, Davis Monthan, Arizona, Operation SnowBird 2013, Idaho National Guard bombs-up their A-10s with Maverick missiles and Mk82s:

An Iranian F-14 tomcat bombed-up with Iranian made Mk82s on Iranian designed bomb rack.

A-10A on Sembach Air Base, Germany, being bombed-up with a Mk82 Snake Eye. USAF photo by Sutherland, 22APR1982.

The Mk82 can be fitted with low-drag fins or the infamous high-drag fins called Snake Eye.  The Snake Eye, or Mark 14 Tail Retarding Device, was developed because aircraft making low-level bombing runs would get hit by the shrapnel from the low-drag Mk82s.

A-7 Corsair II releasing Mark 82 hi-drag (Snake Eye) bombs on bombing range in Florida. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Frank Garzelnick, 01MAY1980.

The Iranians love the Snake Eye, using it during low-level high-speed bombing runs against invading Iraqi forces in the 1980s and still using it today.

Iranian Thunderbolts (twin tailed F-5s) dropping snake eyes.

U.S. Navy A-6 Intruders dropping snake eyes.

Snake Eye outside the U.S. Air Force 88th Operations Support Squadron, Munitions Flight, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 03MAR2021. USAF photo by Ty Greenlees.

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Dennis L. Carlson, 07DEC1978.

GBU-12 Paveway II is a ‘smart’ Mk82 with laser guidance system.

Canadian CF188 (F-18) being bombed-up with a Paveway in Kuwait, 13JAN2015.

This Mk82 is equipped with the Air Inflatable Retarder (AIR) tail.

FB-111A off-loads Mk82-AIR bombs, USAF photo by Master Sergeant Ken Hammond, 17NOV1990.

VEHICLE I-D: F-22 RAPTOR

“Haven’t got one wrong yet”: Immigrant Invasion U.S.A., 26-31 January 2020

Incomplete (tip-o-the iceberg) list of main-stream-news links about global immigrant/border operations affecting the United States taxpayers, days of 26 to 31 of Gregorian January 2020.

U.S. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) report on nonimmigrant students in U.S.

U.S. DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) National Drug Threat Assessment

ALABAMA:  Illegal immigrants arrested for abusing toddler

ARIZONA: GoDaddy founder pays the tuition for illegals attending Arizona State University

Gang of 11 arrested for drug running

  Man sent to prison for human trafficking

The first 30-foot panel for the Yuma 10/27 project is placed at Barry M. Goldwater Range.  Yuma 10/27 will be a 31 miles ‘secondary’ wall, behind the first wall seen in the background.

CALIFORNIA:  Governor Newsom Expands taxpayer funded Health Care Coverage for Illegal Immigrants

Longest cross border tunnel yet, discovered 

FLORIDA: Illegal from United Kingdom dies in ICE custody

Illegal from Cuba dies in ICE custody

 Illegal from Cuba goes to prison for human trafficking

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE)-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) captured more than 176-thousand counterfeit (fake) sports-related items heading to the Super Bowl, worth an estimated $123-million (MSRP, Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price).

BLACK Border Patrol HELICOPTERS SWARM SUPER BOWL-54

Video, Super Bowl truck scanning:

Video, U.S. Coast Guard Super Bowl boat patrol:

GEORGIA: 31 people sentenced for arraigning false marriages to avoid immigration laws

ILLINOIS: Illinois Tech offers MAP funding to illegals

MARYLAND: State legislature overrides governor’s veto of a bill that provides in-state college tuition for illegals

MASSACHUSETTSMan wanted for wartime rape crimes in his home country, was deported by ICE

ICE deports illegal wanted for attempted murder in Brazil

MICHIGAN: MSU informs all students are eligible of its resources “regardless of immigration status.” 

MINNESOTA: Judge finds county was breaking law by holding immigrants for ICE

NEW YORK: ICE arrests illegal accused of child rape

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 75 undocumented immigrants 

Illegal man wanted for drug crimes in Spain, deported 

Man sent to prison for gun running from Kosovo

Two Mexicans accused of killing a Mexican soldier and running drugs into the U.S.

OHIO:  judge uses a hunch to call ICE on undocumented defendants: “Haven’t got one wrong yet”

PENNSYLVANIA: ICE arrests illegal who has been repeatedly arrested and released by local immigrant loving law ‘enforcement’

Chester County is or is not a sanctuary county?

PUERTO RICO:  U.S. Coast Guard captures 37 illegals from Dominican Republic on 29JAN2020, bringing the one week total to 69 illegals captured.

TEXAS: Company hit with $3-million fine for knowingly hiring illegals 

Illegal from Mexico goes to prison for human trafficking

UTAH:  Illegal ‘Dreamers’ can now become attorneys in Utah

VERMONT: Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement Takes Hold, to counter illegal immigrant sanctuary cities

VIRGINIA: ICE arrests gang member wanted for crimes in El Salvador

WASHINGTON:  A legal resident, from Bosnia, going to prison for gun running

ICE, along with state and local law enforcers, arrest seven people for child sex trafficking

WYOMING: ACLU says privately run ICE prison is illegal 

Immigrant Invasion U.S.A., 19-25 January 2020: “THIS IS NOT A REQUEST, IT’S A DEMAND!”

 

Going Viral, 26-29 January 2020

Incomplete list of links to news reports about viral outbreaks during the days of 26 to 29 of the Gregorian month of January 2020.

Kansas girl latest to die from flu

With 8,000-Plus Deaths in U.S. Alone, Flu Far More Deadly Than Coronavirus

New Jersey says its top concern is still influenza

Two Utah Military Academy students die from flu

Digging deeper into this year’s flu vaccine & its effectiveness

Apparently some people in the U.S. think coronavirus is related to Corona brand beer!

More proof they only care about the money: Cruise ship industry cries about losing U.S.$4-billion for every cruise halted by the epidemic!

Global coronavirus map

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U.A.E. admits viral outbreak bad for oil industry

China’s Supreme People’s Court blames police for trying to cover-up virus outbreak!

U.S. wants to send medical team to China

240 Americans airlifted from China diverted from original destination of Ontario Airport in California to U.S. military base

 

Operation Sudden Response: Climate Change, 19-25 January 2020

Incomplete list of links to news articles concerning climate change events during the days of 19 to 25 of the Gregorian month of January 2020.

“People are tired of hearing about climate problems. We need solutions, especially farmers whose families, livestock and livelihoods depend on them.”-Oluyede Ajayi, Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation

 

 

France And Germany Miss EU Climate Plan Deadline

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AUSTRALIA: Bushfires, ash rain, dust storms and flash floods: two weeks of apocalypse

BRAZIL:   Brazil Listed Among Climate Change Culprits

CANADA:  Taxpayers funding CAD$20-million climate change think tank

CHINA:  China Suspends Tours Abroad as Xi Jinping Warns of ‘Grave Situation’ from new virus

  the world’s largest greenhouse gas emission emitter

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ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt are moving towards resolving disputes in order to build the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

FRANCE: New killer virus from China arrives

GERMANY:  Youth lawsuit challenges newest climate law

 15 personnel heading to operations with U.S. Africa Command (USAfriCom) went through humanitarian aid training at Kelley Barracks/Helenen-Kaserne: “We provide training to units like AfriCom to prepare them for when they might be called to provide humanitarian assistance to help the allies and partners that are within their area of operations as opposed to other military operations which are their main mission.”-Jenny Caruso, Humanitarian Assistance Response Training manager

GREENLAND:  For more proof climate change is a constant, scientists now say the demise of Viking colonies, in the Gregorian 15th Century, was the result of depleted resources and volatile prices, exacerbated by climate change.

Climate change resulting in skyrocketing cod fish:  “The Cod is coming back to Greenland strong.”-Bo Lings, fishing boat owner

HAITI: Scientists warn the next quake will be worse than the 2010 quake

ISRAEL:  UBQ Materials is an Israeli company which has developed a process to convert unsorted household waste into a plastic substitute, Germany’s Diamler agrees to test the household waste plastic in new cars. 

IVORY COAST:  How climate change has altered cocoa farming

SPAIN: Storm Gloria claims 12 lives in Spain, four missing

 Sea foam floods streets during deadly storm

TAJIKASTAN: 5.5 quake, 23JAN2020

TURKEY:  NEW earthquake hits already quake-devastated E. Turkish province

At Least 4 Killed, Buildings Collapse in Strong Earthquake

UGANDA:  Reforestation project considered a success, as forest employees live off revenues from Carbon Credits

UNITED KINGDOM:  Tremor shakes homes on Teesside

Taunton’s £6m flood defense plan approved

UNITED STATES:  Is climate change making it easier to get syrup from the rare Pacific Northwest Big Leaf Maple?  Production is on the rise.

As Climate Risks Worsen, U.S. Government Flood Buyouts Fail 

Residents of Minnesota urged to get flood insurance after warning of massive flood from National Weather Service

Pennsylvania lumber mill shutdown due to three years in a row of flood damage

  It was revealed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a training session on how to deal with a “hypothetical scenario” with Youghiogheny River Lake, in Pennsylvania.

More flooding predicted for Iowa 

Puerto Rico’s Air National Guard’s (PRANG) 156th Mission Support Group are the ‘gateway’ for all U.S. military support entering the territory for quake relief.  The above pic shows PRANG  personnel explaining the Joint Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration process at Muñiz Air National Guard Base.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducted ‘door-to-door’ wellness checks in Yauco, Puerto Rico, 19JAN2020.

More than 1-thousand-3-hundred military personnel supporting quake relief in Puerto Rico

Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, 19JAN2020.

Volunteer veterinarians from the Clinica Veterenaria tend to earthquake survivors’ pets, Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, 19JAN2020.

 Rescued pets from earthquake-ravaged Puerto Rico end up at East Coast shelters

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In Mississippi, loud booms hear, authorities say it’s not an earthquake

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2.7 quake in Pecos County, Texas, 24JAN2020

Exercise ‘Sudden Response’, involving military units located at Killeen, Austin and Fort Hood, Texas.  The exercise preps military responders for equipment deployment, life-saving operations and web-based command and control.
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CLIMATE CHANGE, 12-18 JANUARY 2020: “ON SCALE WE’VE NOT SEEN BEFORE”

U.S. taxpayers deliver MD-530F Cayuse Warrior to Kenya

24 January 2020 (01:55 UTC-07 Tango 06) 04 Bahman 1398/28 Jumada l-Ula 1441/30 Yi-Chou 4717

Handover Ceremony at Embakasi Barracks, Kenya, 23JAN2020.

It’s a few months late (first promised delivery was for mid-2019, then pushed back to the end of 2019) but the first six of 12 taxpayer funded MD-530F Cayuse Warrior helicopters are now in Kenya.

The helicopters will be used against ‘extremists’ in Somalia.  MD Helicopters was issued a five years  U.S.$1.4-billion IDIQ contract from U.S. Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal-Multinational Aviation Special Project Office.

IDIQ means Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity, it is a U.S. government phrase referring to contracts that require unknown quantities over a specified time period.

Multinational Aviation Special Project Office states on its website that it “provides aircraft procurement and support activities for customers around the world and services a fleet that includes a wide variety of rotary and fixed wing aircraft such as the Mi-17s, MD-500Es, MD-530Fs, MD-600Ns, AH-1Fs, AH-6i’s, IA-407s, Bell 412s, S-333s, Bell 206s, UH-1s, Huey IIs and AW-139s.”  In other words, taxpayers are paying for other countries’ helicopters.

MD Helicopters claims the upgraded MD-530 has the Rolls-Royce 250-C30 650shp turbine engine, advanced all-digital glass cockpit, ballistically tolerant crash-worthy fuel system, Harris RF-7850A tactical radio, Rockwell Collins HF-9000D, FN Herstal Weapons Management System, DillonAero Mission Configurable Armament System (MCAS), DillonAero Fixed-Forward Sighting System, 62mm ballistic armor protection, FN Herstal .50 caliber HMP 400 Machine Gun Pods, and M260 7-shot rocket pods.

VEHICLE I-D video: MD-530F CAYUSE WARRIOR, AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISTAN GETS MORE U.S. TAXPAYER FUNDED HELICOPTERS & GUNS!

Vehicle I-D: Cold War and beyond, C-2A to C-2A(R) Greyhound, now ‘On Final’! Can you get a kit of it?

Nice, Italy, 1970. Photo via U.S. Navy’s VR-24.

The Grumman C-2A Greyhound has been around for a long time, joining the U.S. Navy in 1966 (production started in 1965).

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, October 1990. USN photo by Don S. Montgomery.

Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, February 2005. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Justin Blake.

It was developed from the E-2 Hawkeye early warning aircraft, and eventually replaced the older C-1 Trader.

C-1A Trader, Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia, August 1983. USN photo by Journalist Senior Chief Petty Officer Kirby Harrison.

C-2 Greyhound somewhere over the Indian Ocean, Summer of 1980. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class David Maclean.

Somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea, Summer 1988. USN photo by Commander Leenhouts.

C-2A over Naval Air Station Norfolk, September 1989. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Third Class Stephen L. Batiz.

Seven little Greyhounds over Naval Base San Diego, California, August 1990. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Patrick Muscutt.

News media board a C-2A Greyhound, during Operation Desert Shield, August 1990. USN photo by Journalist Petty Officer Second Class Bartlett.

Hurghada, Egypt, a Greyhound being loaded with supplies for an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, post Operation Desert Storm. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Savage, May/April 1991.

Official USN website history of the C-2A Greyhound: C-2A Greyhound Logistics Aircraft

Operation Enduring Freedom logo painted on the underside of the tail-end of a C-2A. Naval Air Station Norfolk, July 2002. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class Shawn P. Eklund.

Naval Air Station Norfolk, July 2002. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class Shawn P. Eklund.

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Jacqueline Diaz, 18MAR2009.

It has gone through many upgrades, the current Greyhounds are known as C-2A(R) and are identifiable by their NP2000 propellers.

U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. USN photo by Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Nistas, 15JAN2010.

USN video,  Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) testing aboard USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78), 17JAN2020:

Another Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) testing aboard USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) video:

Video, Rawhindes of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40 conduct their first flight operations from aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), April 2019:

Carrier Onboard Delivery, aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) November 2017:

More Rawhides video from February 2017,  operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69):

Video, Horsemen of Detachment IV of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40, takes off and lands on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) October 2016 (warning, includes slow-mo-video, do not adjust your set):

Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, video of Greyhound prepping for trip to USS George Washington (CVN-73), September 2014:

Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California, 11DEC2013. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Stacy Atkins Ricks.

On Final: The U.S. Navy has tried several times to replace the Greyhound, but potential replacements failed to measure up, or never materialized. In 2015, the USN stated that it intended to replace the Greyhound with the much more expensive, less load carrying ability, tilt-rotary wing CMV-22B Osprey, possibly starting in 2024.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Steve Wolff/Paul Lagasse.

On 19MAR2020, C-2A Greyhound Bureau Number (not ‘build number’ as many people/authors incorrectly call it) 162142 took its final flight.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Erik Hildebrandt/Paul Lagasse.

BuNu 162142 had flown with VX-20 for just short of 30 years.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Erik Hildebrandt/Brittany Dickerson.

BuNu 162142 retired to the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.

USN photo by Christopher D Nette, 18AUG2020.

On 17AUG2020, the last C-2A(R) to undergo planned maintenance interval three (PMI-3) arrived on Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW), North Island Naval Air Station, California. PMI-3 for the Greyhound costs just under $4-million: “Other C-2s will induct for the much smaller PMI-1 and 2 events and most likely will also have in-service repairs. Field events for PMI-1 and 2 are scheduled out to Fiscal Year 2022.”-Jorge Gutierrez-Lopez, FRCSW Props IPT program scheduler

28NOV2020, somewhere over the Arabian Sea. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Keenan Daniels.

28NOV2020, somewhere over the Arabian Sea. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Keenan Daniels.

In 1:72 scale; I-D Models made a vacform kit in the mid-1970s.  Falcon began issuing a Triple conversion set in the 1990s that included a C-2A fuselage for the Fujimi or Hasegawa E-2 Hawkey.  Resin kit maker RVHP Models currently has an outrageously expensive full-kit (you can buy a couple of the 1:48 Kinetic kits for one RVHP kit).

Trumpeter offers a detailed 1:350 scale kit for your aircraft carrier.

Fox One Design Studio offers 1:144 scale versions.

In 1:48 scale the rare resin Collect Aire kit comes with four blade prop, while Kinetic’s more affordable plastic kits come with either four or eight blade props.

VEHICLE I-D: USN GOSHAWK T-45

Vehicle I-D: USN Goshawk T-45

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Connor Loessin, 20JAN2020.

The U.S. Navy (USN) is currently testing its new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG), and the venerable T-45 Goshawk is one of the guinea pigs.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Zack Guth, 18JAN2020.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Connor Loessin, 20JAN2020.

USN video, Goshawk touch-n-go (wait for it) aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), 18JAN2020:

 

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jesus O. Aguiar, 18JAN2020.

The T-45 is now an old plane, its origins go back to the 1970s British empire Hawk trainer.  The USN asked for a navalized version and began using it in 1991, calling it the T-45 Goshawk.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Zachary Melvin, 18JAN2020.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Zachary Melvin, 18JAN2020.

USN video, fueling the Goshawk, take-off & landing aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), 18JAN2020:

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jesus O. Aguiar, 18JAN2020.

Interestingly, model kit builders were able to get a Goshawk before the USN officially started using it.  In 1989, Italeri (eh-taal-ery) began selling 1:72 scale kits of the T-45A Goshawk.  In 1990, Testors reboxed the Italeri kit.  Italeri reissued the kit in 2019.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Ryan Carter, 17JAN2020.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Ruben Reed, 17JAN2020.

Another fueling video:

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Ryan Carter, 17JAN2020.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Ryan Carter, 17JAN2020

VEHICLE I-D: MODEL T & WHITE MOTOR WARRIORS

NEW F-16 WRAITH! NIGHT FIGHTER WW-2 STYLE!

F-8 DFBW, OR ANOTHER REASON WHY TODAY’S TECHIE GENERATION OWES THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX!

NEW TAIL FEATHERS FOR OREGON EAGLE, B-17 BOMBER STYLE! PLUS, MINI-EAGLE.

Failed state: New York deploys its militia to save Puerto Rico!

15 January 2020 (11:55 UTC-07 Tango 06) 25 Dey 1398/19 Jumada l-Ula 1441/21 Yi-Chou 4717

The state of New York activated it’s National Guard, not in response to natural disasters in The Empire State, but to response to the recent earthquakes in Puerto Rico.

New York’s 105th Airlift Wing preps pallets of equipment for flight to Puerto Rico, 13JAN2020.

There are a lot of political reasons for this, like the fact that most Puerto Ricans escaping their natural disaster ravaged island end up in New York (more than one million so far).  Another reason is that apparently New York’s governor sees an opportunity to advance his political career (President of the U.S.?).  Governor Andrew Cuomo is in Pureto Rico right now, his seventh public relations trip since Hurricane Maria in 2017, you’d think he was the governor of Puerto Rico!

Cuomo ordered 115 of New York’s National Guard personnel to deploy to Puerto Rico for three months, despite that fact that New York’s National Guard is also deploying to the Middle East!

Cuomo, April 2018, one of his many taxpayer funded trips to a place he supposedly doesn’t govern.

It should be noted that at the end of 2018, Syracuse.com reported that for some reason Cuomo’s own staff have no idea how much New York state taxpayers are being forced to spend helping Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria!

12JAN2020, New York’s 105th Airlift Wing personnel hitch a large generator to a dump-truck, to be flown to Puerto Rico.

According to Stars and Stripes, Puerto Rico has 650 of its own National Guard personnel working full time building tent cities for now homeless Puerto Ricans.  As of 13JAN2020, they’ve distributed more than 72-thousand bottles of water and 30-thousand meals.

It should be a sign of failed state-ism when the governor of a state can spend his constituent’s state tax-dollars helping an area of the country that the national government should be dealing with.

Failed State: A state/country whose political/economic system has become so weak that the government is no longer in control.

ARMY RESERVE DEPLOYS FOR PUERTO RICO QUAKE RECOVERY

OBAMA LEGACY: ILLINOIS NOW AN “EXCEPTIONAL” FAILED STATE, BLAME OBAMACARE!

UNITED FAILED STATES: ILLEGALS GIVE BIRTH TO 275,000 BABIES IN 2014!

New Tail Feathers for Oregon Eagle, B-17 Bomber style! Plus, Mini-Eagle, Kawaii!

A large VFW mural honoring the 173rd Fighter Wing and its namesake, Lt. David R. Kingsley, in downtown Klamath Falls.

“We wanted to put mil-spec paint on the jet instead of the automotive paint that we dealt with last time. They don’t really make B-17 colors anymore so we had to put a special order. They have to shut down the production line and then do spray-outs and testing to make sure they are matching our federal paint standard codes.”-Master Sergeant Paul Allen

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar, 07JAN2020.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar, 07JAN2020.

Official video report:

For Xmas 2019, Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing got a new paint job for their F-15C “Sandman” Eagle, but they had to go to Edwards Air Force Base, in California, to get it.  Supposedly it’s because the paint facilities in Oregon couldn’t handled the custom paint job.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Paul Allen, 20DEC2019.

The F-15 was painted with colors as close as possible to a World War Two Boeing B-17 bomber, which required olive drab, green and grey colors with a catalyst.  It also has invasion stripes and star-n-bar insignia as seen on WW-2 USAAF fighters.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar, 08JAN2020.

Relying on ground shipping services turned out to be a losing deal as only half the paint and half the catalyst was delivered.  The paint supplier was located in the Los Angeles area so the team, who drove all the way down from Oregon, drove out to LA to get the orange color (as in OrANG, Oregon Air National Guard?).  Turns out the paint shop at Edwards had enough of the other colors in stock to get the rest of the job done.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Paul Allen, 23DEC2019.

The paint job crew included Drew Sorlien, Tim Bodner, Cameron Curtin, Jeff Southern, and Derek Larman.  It’s dedicated to Second Lieutenant David R. Kingsley, a radio operator on B-17s, killed in action on 23JUN1944, after a bombing mission over the oil fields at Ploesti, Romania.  He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for taking off his parachute and strapping it on a wounded member of the crew.  The 173rd Fighter Wing is based at Kingsley Field, named in honor of David Kingsley.

Here’s video from April 2019, unveiling the all new Mini-Eagle:

173rd and 142nd F-15s formate along the Oregon coast.

Another F-15 painted to celebrate 75 years of the Oregon Air National Guard.

2016 video of the 75th Anni OrANG Eagle:

2016 video report 20th Anni 173rd Fighter Wing:

D-DAY F-15E STRIKE EAGLE

MOUNTAIN HOME AFB F-15E WALK-AROUND

Slave Houses?: Immigrant Invasion U.S.A., 06-11 January 2020

Incomplete (tip-o-the iceberg) list of main-stream-news links about global immigrant/border operations affecting the United States taxpayers, second week of Gregorian January 2020.

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Illegal immigrant appointing U.S. citizens as guardians for their children

Actress appearing in new Disney owned Freeform TV show came to the U.S. as a tourist a decade ago 

PBS Newshour Weekend: Yielding to U.S. pressure, Mexico clamps down on migrants from Africa

ARIZONA: I learned I was undocumented at 18, after trying to join the Marines. Now, I’m the subject of a musical

Business owner arrested for being an illegal from Canada

ARKANSAS:  Adoption scammers used climate change to scare people off Marshal Islands and into a human trafficking operation.

CALIFORNIA:  76-thousand children crossed into the U.S. by themselves!   California politician wants to stop a housing project for them, not because he’s against housing the child immigrants but because the tax-sucking contractor has a reputation of evil!

Meet an illegal, illegal immigrant attorney

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More illegal students to get more taxpayer funded assistance under new law

Arrogant spoiled students at UC San Diego says California taxpayers aren’t doing enough for illegals!

1-thousand-6-hundred illegals in Fresno County now qualify for free (taxpayer funded) healthcare

COLORADO:  More rural DMVs issuing drivers’ licenses to illegals

CONNECTICUT: Welcoming Hartford Ordinance could block police from working with ICE 

IDAHO:  State politician is pro-drivers’ licenses for illegals

ILLINOIS:  New state law favors transgender and undocumented college students 

KENTUCKY: State Attorney General supports making Kentucky an anti-sanctuary state

MINNESOTA:  Illegal woman pleads guilty to scamming both illegals and citizens 

NEW YORK:  Unexpected result of giving drivers’ licenses to illegals, state taxpayers forced to hire 3-hundred new DMV workers!

Illegal man held in New York jail for seven months, at taxpayer expense, still no court date

OHIO:  Illegal arrested for domestic disturbance

SOUTH CAROLINA: Illegal arrested for raping six years old girl

TEXAS:  Tye City PD and U.S. Border Patrol detain undocumented smuggler, he was attempting to bring in eight illegals 

More proof undocumented immigration isn’t about giving immigrants a better life; Webb County deputies rescue illegals from slave house, vicitms said the smugglers took their money (in the thousands) and demanded even more money

U.S. Border Patrol reports discovering numerous slave/stash houses near the border, most filled with people from Central America

Woman to be sentenced for operating stash/slave houses

The U.S. Coast Guard got a new boat, a cutter called Daniel Tarr.  It’s mission is to patrol the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas.

Washington DC: Border apprehensions drop again in December

Immigrant Invasion U.S.A., 01-05 January 2020: HAPPY NEW YEAR!