On 21DEC2022, NATO’s Czech Republic (aka Czechia) received its first rebuilt Leopard (Leo) 2A4 battle tank from NATO-Germany.
Photo via Czech Ministry of Defense.
It was part of a deal in which Czech Republic agreed to buy new-build Combat Vehicle (CV)-90 ‘tanks’ from Sweden, and gave Ukraine older Soviet era military equipment: “We got the tanks for supporting Ukraine. The support of Ukraine is absolutely correct and necessary, I am proud of it.”-Major General Karel Řehka, Chief of the General Staff of the Army Czech Republic (ACR)
Photo via Czech Ministry of Defense.
Officials from NATO Member Germany, and NATO Partner Austria, observed the ceremony. Czech Republic is getting 13 additional Leo 2A4 battle tanks (along with spare parts) by the end of 2023, and one Leopard recovery vehicle by the middle of 2024.
07 July 2023 (21:41-UTC-07 Tango 06) 16 Tir 1402/18 Dhu l-Hijja 1444/20 Ji-Wei 4721/07 июль 2023 года
While Serbia is not a member of NATO, it is a ‘partner’ in NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. Alliances between Serbia and Russia can be traced all the way back to the 14th Century.
Photo by Sergeant First Class Zach Sheely, 07JUN2023.
U.S. National Guard Bureau General Daniel Hokanson shakes hands with Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vučić, 07JUN2023.
On 16JUN2023, it was announced that a Serbian Sergeant First Class had been killed in a vehicle accident near the disputed boundary line with Kosovo and Metohija, in the village of Drenovac. Metohija is the province claimed by Serbia, yet disputed by Kosovo and NATO. Apparently, rumors were being spread that the accident actually happened during the Platinum Wolf wargame.
Ministry of Defense Republic of Serbia photo of Ohio Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk, 22JUN2023.
It should be realized that U.S./NATO wargames almost always have a scenario involving social collapse, where the public turns against the government! Ministry of Defense Republic of Serbia video, Platinum Wolf VIP (very important person) display, 22JUN2023:
Serbia has hosted Platinum Wolf since 2014. This year’s wargame ended on 27JUN2023.
Ministry of Defense Republic of Serbia photo of U.S. Ambassador Christopher R. Hill, 22JUN2023.
U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher R. Hill, attended the VIP ceremony.
A new study says the ‘batch number’ of Pfizer’s mRNA determines the amount and severity of adverse reactions!
The European Journal of Clinical Investigation published a damning ‘research letter’ concerning production standards for Pfizer’s mRNA vaccines that were injected into the people of NATO-Denmark. This apparently non-standardized production, which apparently lacked any quality control, is likely the cause of literally thousands of different adverse reactions to the Pland-emic vaccine!
John Campbell interviews Vibeke Manniche, lead researcher in Pfizer ‘batch’ study, who states that a rushed vaccine process, along with censorship of actual science, means that there is no way people could have been properly ‘informed’ about possible adverse reactions:
Incomplete (tip of the iceberg) list of U.S. state National Guard developments (which should prove that the National Guard has become the ‘crutch’ for the Regular/active duty Army and Air Force), for the month of June 2023:
NATO-Europe is conducting the largest airpower wargame, ever, and multiple U.S. states have deployed their National Guard units to take part in Air Defender 2023.
On the African Continent, the largest wargame there was concluded in mid-June, several U.S. states deployed their Guard units to take part in African Lion 2023.
There was also the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NorAD) wargame called Noble Defender, as well as a cyber security wargame called Cyber Shield 2023.
CALIFORNIA: The Air National Guard’s 146th AW/146th Contingency Response Flight helped with loading of cargo planes, and air traffic control, for Air Defender 2023.
For the first time since the United Nations ordered the Korean Police Action (as requested by the United States in 1950), California has deployed an entire division! On 11JUN2023, a deployment ceremony was held for the 40th Infantry Division, which is being sent to the Middle East for the ongoing operations Inherent Resolve and Spartan Shield. Video by Sergeant Marla Ogden:
COLORADO:
Colorado Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Amanda Geiger, 11JUN2023.
The Air Guard’s 140th Wing deployed F-16 Falcons to Schleswig-Jagel Air Base, NATO-Germany, for Air Defender 2023.
GEORGIA:
Georgia Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Caila Arahood, 12JUN2023.
The 165th Airlift Wing deployed a C-130 Hercules to the Siauliai International Airport, NATO-Lithuania, during Air Defender 2023 (AD23).
IDAHO: Deploying to the continents of Africa and Europe:
Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur, 13JUN2023.
A ‘Gem State’ 124th Fighter Wing A-10C arrives on Lechfeld Air Base, NATO-Germany, for wargame Air Defender, 13JUN2023.
ILLINOIS:
Illinois Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Paul Helmig, 19JUN2023.
The 182nd Airlift Wing (AW) deployed their C-130 Hercules cargo plane to Wunstorf Air Base, NATO-Germany.
Louisiana Air National Guard photo by Major Larissa Lambert, 12JUN2023.
159th Fighter Wing (FW) F-15C Eagles on Hohn, NATO-Germany, for Air Defender, 12JUN2023.
MARYLAND:
Maryland A-10Cs equipped with long range external fuel tanks, about to take-off for NATO-Europe, 04JUN2023. Photo by Senior Airman Rachel Underwood.
The 175th Wing/104th Fighter Squadron deployed A-10C Thunderbolt-2s to Air Defender 2023.
MASSACHUSETTS:
Photo by Staff Sergeant Hanna Smith, 23JUN2023.
104th FW on Hohn Air Base, NATO-Germany, 23JUN2023.
Photo by Master Sergeant Bryan Hoover, 26JUN2023.
The 104th FW also took part in NorAD’s Noble Defender, over the Canadian-U.S. region.
MICHIGAN: Air National Guard’s 127th Wing A-10C Thunderbolt-2s get bombed-up & fueled-up (aka Integrated Combat Turn) on Lielvārdi Air Base, Latvia, 13JUN2023 (the video was not released until 16JUN2023). The militaries of Michigan and Latvia have been working together for more than 30 years. Video by Technical Sergeant Andrew Schumann:
MINNESOTA:
Photo by Staff Sergeant Jared Bounds, 05JUN2023.
133rd AW deployed a C-130 to Wunstorf Air Base, NATO-Germany, for Air Defender.
MISSISSIPPI: The 172nd AW/172nd Contingency Response Flight helped with loading of cargo planes, and air traffic control, for Air Defender 2023.
MISSOURI:
Photo by Master Sergeant Caila Arahood, 05JUN2023.
139th AW on Wunstorf Air Base, NATO-Germany, for Air Defender.
MONTANA:
Photo by First Lieutenant Jaycee Baker, 07JUN2023.
The Air Guard’s 120th Medical Group, out of Great Falls, provided dental care to Moroccans during African Lion 2023.
NEVADA: Nevada Air National Guard’s 152 Wing ‘High Rollers’/152nd Civil Engineer Squadron deployed to NATO-Spain. Video interview, recorded on 21JUN2023 by Staff Sergeant Michelle Brooks, explains why:
NEW YORK: Titan search;
OKLAHOMA: More than 25 U.S. states, territories, and five countries with the State Partnership Program, took part in Cyber Shield 2023. Video (by Mireille Merilice-Roberts) explaining how Oklahoma helped grade this year’s Cyber Shield:
PUERTO RICO: The 156th Wing/156th Contingency Response Group helped with loading of cargo planes, and air traffic control, for Air Defender 2023.
SOUTH DAKOTA:
Photo by Technical Sergeant Sarah M. McClanahan, 15JUN2023.
114th Fighter Wing on Jagel Airfield, NATO-Germany, during exercise Air Defender 2023 (AD23).
TENNESSEE:
Photo by Staff Sergeant Laura Weaver, 08JUN2023.
164th AW used their C-17 Globemaster-3 cargo planes to delivery Air Guard personnel to NATO-Estonia, for Air Defender 2023.
The Tennessee National Guard also took part in a cyber security wargame called Cyber Shield 2023. It was run from the Professional Education Center in Little Rock, from 11 to 15JUN2023.
UTAH:
Photo by Sergeant James J. Bunn, 08JUN2023.
Army National Guard CBRN (Chemical Biological Radioactive Nuclear) personnel train the Ghana Armed Forces during African Lion 2023.
Photo by Technical Sergeant Nicholas Perez, 05JUN2023.
The Air Guard’s 151st Medical Group helped operate a field hospital for sily-vilians, in Morocco.
Video by Specialist Shae Cox, Utah Air National Guard band playing in Morocco during this year’s African Lion wargames. It might be the last time as the U.S. Air Force is shutting down Air National Guard bands;
WISCONSIN: 128th Air Refuel Wing explains their role in Air Defender, video report by Staff Sergeant Josh Halverson;
A video was released on an anonymous Ukrainian ‘Telegram’ channel of a firefight involving recently delivered U.S. made M2A2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV). The video was recorded by an onboard camera, on what I believe is probably the platoon commanders Bradley.
The battle happened in Zaporizka Oblast (aka Zaporizhzhia), on 08JUN2023, the platoon of Bradleys made contact with enemy forces, which apparently were too powerful as the IFVs are attempting to fall back. The platoon commander is using the 25mm gun to provide covering fire as M2A2s retreat, unfortunately the retreating IFVs are driving in front of the Bradley providing covering fire!
Impressively, the gunner is able to control his trigger pulls missing the retreating vehicles, but one of the retreating Bradleys is either hit by enemy fire, or runs over a land mine. You might think the crew are dead, but amazingly the crew emerges from the back with their M4 assault rifles. A smoke grenade is thrown, then the platoon commander fires-off his smoke grenade launcher, the homeless IFV crew uses the smoke as cover while they scramble onto the platoon commander’s Bradley.
The anonymous poster of the video added crappy music, so I edited out the audio:
Interestingly, while Russian news sources made fun of the Ukrainians’ apparently failed attempt to use M2A2 Bradleys in battle, some Russian news sources also praised the Bradleys for ‘crew survivability’ admitting that the crews operating Soviet/Cold War era BMPs (Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty, Боевая Машина Пехоты, Combat Vehicle Infantry) would not have survived the same incident!
When I first joined the U.S. military during the last decade of the Cold War, crew survivability was one of the main drivers of ‘Western’/NATO combat vehicle design.
02 July 2023 (12:40-UTC-07 Tango 06) 11 Tir 1402/13 Dhu l-Hijja 1444/15 Ji-Wei 4721/02 июль 2023 года
U.S. Army photo by Samantha Treadway, 01JAN2023.
Every year, units from the Regular Army (active duty U.S. Army [USA]), Army Reserve, and National Guard, spend time on the Corpus Christi Army Depot in Texas, learning the latest in rotary wing aircraft maintenance. This year, they are learning about the new ‘V’ variant of the old UH-60 Black Hawk, even though the ‘V’ upgrade program suffered setbacks.
The first UH-60V delivered to a U.S. unit overseas, on Wiesbaden Airfield, NATO-Germany, 04JUN2023. USA photo by Staff Sergeant Todd Strobel.
Despite the setbacks, by June 2023, upgraded UH-60Vs began to be deployed to bases in the European Union. Northrop Grumman states that the ‘V’ upgrade replaces the old UH-60L cockpit “with a fully open, digital and integrated avionics suite”.
Kentucky Army National Guard Lieutenant Colonel Daniel S. Cooper gives the official explanation of why Ecuador currently has UH-60 Black Hawk maintenance crews in Kentucky. There is no mention of the recent Black Hawk crashes. Video interview by Sergeant First Class Benjamin Crane, 29JUN2023:
Video (by Sergeant First Class Benjamin Crane) of Ecuadorian UH-60 Black Hawk maintenance crews’ visit to Kentucky, 29JUN2023:
Some UH-60 (and other rotary wing aircraft) maintenance is performed at the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site, on Muir Army Airfield in Pennsylvania. Video by Erik Sandbakken, 05JUN2023:
Georgia Army National Guard HH-60M gets a 40-hour preventive maintenance check on Inezgane Airfield, Morocco, during African Lion 2023. Photo by Sergeant Cameron Boyd, 31MAY2023.
‘Pumped’ UH-60 helicopter repairers with the Connecticut Army National Guard, tear into a hydraulic pilot assist module during a maintenance competition at the 1109th Theater Aviation Support Maintenance Group, Groton, Connecticut, 21APR2023. Photo by Sergeant Matthew Lucibello.
In March 2023, during wargame Cobra Gold, the Washington Army National Guard conducted joint UH-60 maintenance with the Royal Thai Army, in the Kingdom of Thailand.
This is the Arizona Army National Guard’s Western Arizona Army National Guard Aviation Training Site, where they teach how to repair the UH-60L/M Black Hawk. Photo by Sergeant First Class Brian A. Barbour, 24FEB2023.
In 2022, using the ‘Pland-emic supply shortages’ as an excuse, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) began something called ‘additive manufacturing’. Additive manufacturing is an industry phrase referring to the use of 3D printing to create your own parts. This December 2022 DLA video report (by Nutan Chada) is about creating 3D printed fuel elbows for the UH-60:
Assigned to the Texas Army National Guard on Camp Buehring, Kuwait, a Black Hawk maintainer from New York torques a nut on the pitch control rod of a UH-60M. Photo by Specialist Jason Lo, 06SEP2022.
30 June 2023 (20:30-UTC-07 Tango 06) 09 Tir 1402/11 Dhu l-Hijja 1444/13 Wu-Wu(5th month) 4721/30 Июнь 2023 года
U.S. Air Force (USAF) F-15E Strike Eagles from the ‘Bold Tigers’ 391st Fighter Squadron(FS)/366th Fighter Wing(FW), based on Mountain Home Air Force Base (AFB), Idaho, arrived on U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, 29JUN2023. They will be taking part in wargame Northern Edge 2023-2 (NE23-2), which will take place during most of the month of July. USMC video by Corporal Evan Jones:
This isn’t the first time this year that the Bold Tigers were in Japan. Video by Airman First Class Jonathan R. Sifuentes, 391st FS Strike Eagles take off from Okinawa, for wargame Southern Beach, 16MAY2023:
Airmen load their gear onboard a C-5 Galaxy, for the trip from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, to Kadena AB, Japan, 24APR2023. USAF photo by Airman First Class Krista Reed Choate.
On 28JUN2023, the first production T-7A Red Hawk trainer took off from Saint Louis, Missouri, after being accepted for service with the U.S. Air Force.
USAF video report by Giancarlo Casem:
Photo by Chase Kohler, 22JUN2023.
Taxi testing the first production T-7A, 13JUN2023. Video by James West, edited by me:
In July 2022, it was revealed that an additional $562-million would be needed to upgrade existing infrastructure to support the “beddown” of the T-7A! The estimated cost for building T-7A infrastructure just at Joint Base San Antonio/Randolph Air Force Base, in Texas, is estimated at $72-million!
T-7A ejection seat test, Holloman AFB, New Mexico, June 2021.
The Lockheed C-130H Hercules is a Cold War era cargo plane still in use today. The first C-130s began arriving for military service in 1956, the ‘H’ version of the Hercules began service in the mid-1970s.
1971: Prepping for our first ‘Space Available’ C-130E trip, Rhein Main AFB, West Germany. You might be able to make out my younger sister’s (Tina) head in lower right corner. Photo by William L. Hutchins.
In the early 1970s I got my first ride on a U.S. Air Force C-130E, flying from West Germany to Iran with my parents (part of the Space Available service offered by the USAF).
1977: My little brother, Ernie, enjoying his tour of a C-130 during the Edwards AFB ‘Open House’. Photo by William L. Hutchins.
In the mid-1980s I was an Iso-Dock Crew Chief for C-130Hs on Dyess Air Force Base, in Texas. Even after my time in the USAF, as a California, and later a Idaho, Army National Guardsman I continued to catch rides on the C-130H.
Last ride on a C-130H, this time as a M1A2 TC with the Idaho Army National Guard, on the way back from a ‘friendly’ with Canadian armor in Alberta, 2002.
U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Steven Adkins, 10JUN2023.
In the above photo you see two types of C-130H; one is the older type used by the Kingdom of Morocco, the other is an upgraded type used by the United States. The older C-130H has four propeller blades per engine, the upgraded type has eight.
94th AW’s upgraded C-130H sits on the flightline of Kenitra AFB, Morocco. USAF photo by Senior Airman Jan K. Valle, 14JUN2023.
African Lion is the largest wargame on the African continent, involving the United States and other NATO members, as well as Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, from 13MAY-18JUN2023.
The 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, help show you how to setup a C-130 for medical evacuation. U.S. Air Force (USAF) video by Technical Sergeant Steven Adkins, 07JUN2023:
Emergency medical treatment onboard a C-130H. USAF video by Technical Sergeant Steven Adkins, 08JUN2023:
Moroccan C-130H cargo planes take part in para-drop during African Lion 2023, USAF video recorded by Technical Sergeant Steven Adkins, 10JUN2023:
USA video by Sergeant Christian Dela Cruz, 10JUN2023:
U.S. Air Force Reserve’s Cold War era C-130H based on Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, flew all the way to Morocco to play in the dirt! USA video by Sergeant Christian Dela Cruz, 15JUN2023:
94th Airlift Wing, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, USAF report by Senior Airman Jan Valle:
For all you happy taxpayers, African Lion wargames have been conducted since 2008.
RUSSIAN ALLY SERBIA ALLOWS NATO WARGAME? OHIO SENDS TROOPS!
U.S. NATIONAL GUARD PREPS FOR GLOBAL WAR!
NATO-
