Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur, 09AUG2022.
In August 2022, more than 6-hundred additional militia personnel deployed from Idaho. The 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s Task Force Rattler spent the past two years preparing for the deployment to The Middle East (South West Asia), as part of the never ending Operation Spartan Shield.
Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur, 09AUG2022.
The Idaho based Task Force Rattler also includes National Guard personnel from Montana, Ohio, Oregon and South Carolina.
Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur, 09AUG2022.
This is the second time, since November 2021, that the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team deployed to support Operation Spartan Shield.
Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur, 09AUG2022.
The 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team also deployed to Iraq in 2004 and 2010. This year, Idaho Army National Guard’s State Aviation Group C-12 Huron aircraft and crew deployed to Africa. The Idaho Air National Guard’s 124th Fighter Wing has deployed many times as well. In June of this year, the 124th Civil Engineer Squadron was deployed to Oklahoma, because of flooding.
Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur, 09AUG2022.
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar.
Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing (FW) trained with U.S. Marines, on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, in California. But this year might be the last time.
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 14AUG2022.
In August 2022, Oregon’s F-15C Eagles (along with 125th FW F-15s out of Florida) played ‘bad guy’ against USMC F/A-18C/D Hornets from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 (VMFAT-101), and the F-35B Lightning-2 from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 502 (VMFAT-502).
Oregon Air National Guard video report by Staff Sergeant Emily Copeland:
Oregon Air National Guard video interview by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 23AUG2022:
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 14AUG2022.
For almost 40 years the 173rd FW’s Kingsley Field served as the only F-15C training base for the U.S. Air Force! But starting in 2024, the 173rd will be using the brand new F-15EX Eagle-2.
Oregon Air National Guard music video, by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, point of view of an F-15C Crew Chief:
06 October 2022 (09:58-UTC-07 Tango 06) 14 Mehr 1401/10 Rabi ‘al-Awwal 1444/11 Geng-Xu 4720/06 октября 2022 года
I’ve noticed a trend this year, Humanitarian Daily Ration (HDR) clearly marked as “Food Gift From The People Of The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” are being sold in stores here in Eastern Idaho.
Such a statement indicates the item was already paid for by U.S. taxpayers. So how can this item be resold, to the very same taxpayers, in a retail setting?
One HDR is being sold in a local Southeast Idaho ‘reselling’ store for $5.99, a case of faux MREs is being sold for more than $50!
Apparently they are made by a company in South Carolina.
The DLA website explains that at some point in the past, they were ordered by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency-Humanitarian Assistance/Demining Activities to stock up on MRE style rations “In order to provide the widest possible acceptance from the variety of potential consumers with diverse religious and dietary restrictions from around the world…”.
I noticed that the stores selling these, apparently expired, HDRs are calling them MREs (Meal Ready to Eat). The DLA website clarifies that while these rations look like military style MREs, they are technically not because they are not produced to the same standard.
So yes, these have already been paid for by all you happy taxpayers, and yes, apparently they can be resold to happy taxpayers once they are past their ‘use-by’ date! It also is proof that there is no food shortage, because obviously the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency was able to overstock on HDRs! Or maybe that is why there has been food shortages at the grocery stores, it has all been going to the DLA?
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 01MAR2022.
On 01MAR2022, an F-15C Eagle named Sandman took part in a training session with the Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing.
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 01MAR2022.
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Jacob T. Stephens, 25JUN2022.
Excerpt from 173rd Fighter Wing’s March 2022 video report, by Major Nikkie Jackson, explaining how Oregon’s F-15 Eagles are a key part of U.S. airspace defense, and revealing that Oregon will be home for the new “Eagle-2” (aka F-15EX):
Sandman flies over Crater Lake, Oregon, along with a restored B-17 Flying Fortress from World War 2. Oregon Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Penny Snoozy, 24JUN2022.
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Penny Snoozy, 24JUN2022.
Then after a five years hiatus, on 24-25JUN2022, Oregon Air National Guard held its Sentry Eagle Open House and Airshow, over Kingsley Field. Of course, Oregon’s F-15C Eagles were the main attraction, especially the one named Sandman.
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jacob T. Stephens, 25JUN2022.
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jacob T. Stephens, 25JUN2022.
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jacob T. Stephens, 25JUN2022.
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jacob T. Stephens, 25JUN2022.
Then, in September 2022, it was officially revealed that Oregon’s Air National Guard was retiring all of its F-15C Eagles!
Quick excerpt from 173rd Fighter Wing video report, by Staff Sergeant Emily Copeland, even though it is dated 09SEP2022, and boasts of how great the F-15C is, it does not mention the 2022-23 retirement of those aircraft:
There will still be Eagles in the air over Oregon, the F-15Cs are being replaced with new build F-15EXs (aka Eagle-2), hopefully starting in 2024.
Brian Kim reveals who the ‘mystery buyer’ is, driving up stock markets, it’s the same organization over seeing the destruction of your ‘free market system’; your leftist-liberal controlled government!
“It died; I say died because that’s how it feels.”-Master Sergeant Charles Fleek, Oregon Air National Guard, talking about tail number 78-0511, one of the lucky F-15Cs that actually flew under its own power to The Boneyard, in April 2022
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 01APR2022.
Just a few months before the 50th Anniversary of the first flight what is probably the best combat aircraft ever employed by the U.S. Air Force, the state of Oregon decided to cannibalize one of its F-15Cs.
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 01APR2022.
It is no April Fool’s Joke, after stripping the F-15C of usable parts, on 01APR2022, personnel with Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing loaded the worn out Eagle onto a flatbed trailer, to be hauled-off to the ‘Boneyard’ of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, in Arizona.
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 01APR2022.
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 01APR2022.
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 01APR2022.
Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 01APR2022.
On 13SEP2022, the Oregon Air National Guard revealed that, after 24 years of service, all its F-15C Eagles were on the chopping block! Not all of them; on 11SEP2022, eight Oregon Eagles were transferred to the Israeli air force, under the guise of Foreign Military Sales (which are usually taxpayer subsidized).
173rd Fighter Wing at Kingsley Field, Klamath Falls, Oregon. Oregon Air National Guard photo via Master Sergeant Jefferson Thompson, 19JUN2018.
In July 2022, tail number 78-0515 was sent to work for NASA (National Aeronautics Space Administration). It is hoped that most of the Eagles will end up with the National Museum of the United States Air Force, for public displays, however, the reality is most will end up in the Boneyard.
David R. Kingsley Memorial, an F-15A is displayed by the 173rd Fighter Wing at Kingsley Field. Oregon Air National Guard photo Master Sergeant Jefferson Thompson, 13APR2018.
Oregon’s 173rd FW has operated the A, B, C and D version of the undefeated-in-combat Eagle. But wait, it’s not over for Oregon Eagles after all; the retiring F-15Cs are being replaced with the new build F-15EX.
The first combat use of the F-15 Eagle was by Israel in 1979, followed by Saudi Arabia in 1984. First combat use of the F-15 by the U.S. Air Force was during Operation Desert Storm, in 1991.
Five months before Desert Storm, the build-up was called Desert Shield. These F-15C Eagles are patrolling the sky over Saudi Arabian oil operations. U.S. Air Force/33rd Tactical Fighter Wing photo.
Desert Shield: 02AUG1990 to 16JAN1991
Somewhere in Saudi Arabia, a 1st Tactical Fighter Wing (out of Virginia) F-15D Eagle waits for a mission during Desert Storm, 23JAN1991. Notice the Patriot missile batteries in the background.
F-15E Strike Eagles waiting for another mission during the last weeks of Desert Storm, 01FEB1991. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Robert Jackson.
A Kuwaiti A-4KU Skyhawk and a USAF 1st Tactical Fighter Wing F-15C Eagle about to take off from an airfield in Saudi Arabia, during the last weeks of Desert Storm, 02FEB1991.
Desert Storm: 17JAN1991 to 28FEB1991
Notice the kill marking on this 58th Tactical Fighter Squadron F-15C. The USAF info says this photo was made during Desert Storm, yet the official date of the photo is December 1991! Photo by Technical Sergeant Fernando Serna.
An F-15C Eagle over the desert during the cease-fire between coalition and Iraqi forces, March 1991. USAF photo.
The USAF info that came with this photo is highly dubious. 1st, it states the photo was made in May 1992, more than a year after Desert Storm, yet claims this F-15C is being prepped for a mission during Desert Storm. 2nd, as you will see in the photo below, this Gulf Spirit does not have the kill markings that were applied after Desert Storm. Possibly this photo was made during Desert Storm, but not released until May 1992? Photo by Senior Airman Chris Putnam.
Kill markings on a F-15C Eagle named Gulf Spirit. The Gulf Spirit had just returned to the U.S. from Desert Storm, May 1991. USAF photo by Don S. Montgomery.
USAF photo by Don S. Montgomery.
After Desert Storm, France, the United States, and United Kingdom, imposed a ‘no fly zone’ over Iraq. This Operation Southern Watch would last more than a decade, and help the U.S./NATO invade Iraq in 2003. Even though the invasion was rationalized by the claim of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), which would later be proven false, the invasion of Iraq was dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom (a major clue that it was not about WMDs). This was followed by Operation Inherent Resolve in 2014, supposedly to fight religious extremism that had taken over Iraq as a result of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Even though Operation Inherent Resolve was declared a success in Iraq, in 2019, U.S./NATO forces continue to operate in Iraq. This means the taxpayers of U.S./NATO have been funding direct military involvement in Iraqi affairs for more than three decades, and the result the leaders of the so called free world promised has yet to materialize.
For many decades after Desert Storm was declared finished, Eagles would continue to patrol over, and even bomb, Iraq. The relatively new F-15E Strike Eagle somewhere in Saudi Arabia, 20MAY1992. USAF photo.
Southern Watch: 27AUG1992 to 19MAR2003
An F-15C Eagle, normally based in NATO Germany, takes off from Incirlik Air Base in NATO Turkey, for a no-fly-zone mission over Northern Iraq, under the guise of protecting Kurds. USAF photo by Senior Airman Gudrun Cook, May 1995.
Two F-15C Eagles patrol the no fly zone over Southern Iraq, in support of Operation Southern Watch, 14JAN2002. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Jack Braden.
Iraqi Freedom: 20MAR2003 to 15DEC2011
A Washington based KC-135 refuels an Idaho based ‘Bold Tiger’ F-15E for its deployment to Iraq during the first months of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 29DEC2003. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Suzanne M. Jenkins.
A ‘Bold Tiger’ F-15E Strike Eagle (from Mountain Home, Idaho) was one of many Eagles deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Suzanne M. Jenkins, 29DEC2003.
Inherent Resolve: 15JUN2014 to present day
On 23SEP2014, F-15E Strike Eagles used Iraqi airspace to conduct a dawn airstrike on Syria. USAF photo by Senior Airman Matthew Bruch.
USAF video report by Senior Airman Daniel Asselta, explaining the rational behind deploying F-15s to NATO Turkey to bomb Iraq and Syria, November 2015:
Video by Staff Sergeant Michelle Di Ciolli, of fully armed Idaho based ‘Bold Tiger’ F-15Es, getting refueled over Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve, 17MAR2016:
An F-15E Strike Eagle somewhere over Iraq 06SEP2017. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Trevor T. McBride.
Night vision video, by Senior Airman Nathaniel Stout, of KC-10 Extender refueling F-15E Strike Eagles over Iraq, December 2017:
An F-15E Strike Eagle gets refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker, somewhere over Iraq, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, 05OCT2018. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Keith James.
On Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, a USAF F-15E gets ‘bombed-up’ with GBU-31 bombs, for an air strike on the Salah ad Din Province of Iraq, 10SEP2019. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Chris Thornbury.
Yet again, another F-15E Strike Eagle gets refueled over Iraq, and even The Pandemic has no affect on military operations. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Taylor Harrison, 09FEB2021.
To many people, the Antonov 2 is something that harkens back to the First World War’s biplanes, but it was developed after the Second World War (first flight 31AUG1947), soldiered on through the undeclared Cold War and continues flying for militaries on both sides of the Ukraine Crisis.
A proud Oleg Antonov stands between the crew that flew the An-2 on its first flight. Photo via Antonov Company.
The crop duster was a top loader. Photo via Antonov Company.
Photo via Antonov Company.
Round them doggies up! There’s almost as many ‘Colts’ as there are cows! Photo via Antonov Company.
Silly music video by Antonov Company:
Photo via Antonov Company.
Since 1948, the ‘Maize’ has been produced in several dozens of factories in dozens of countries, with at least six official modifications resulting in dozens of silly-vilian (civilian) and military variants. The NATO reporting name is Colt. Colt = An-2, 3, 4, 6, plus many other variants. In China it is known as Y-5, and they even built a pilotless/robot version called Feihong 98.
An-2CX, photo via Antonov Company.
Even Santa Claus uses the Maize/Colt to transport his reindeer! Photo via Antonov Company.
An-6 fire fighter, photo via Antonov Company.
This odd looking Maize/Colt is the An-6 Meteo, high altitude weather tracker. Notice the cockpit in the tail, and the supercharged radial engine. Photo via Antonov Company.
Mount McCauley, Antarctica, 1973. Photo via John Sheraton.
A Warsaw Pact Polska (Poland) built PZL Maize/Colt floatplane, known as An-2M or An-2W in Poland (in the Soviet Union it is An-2V). What is realy interesting is that the NATO info published with this photo (in 1978) actually stated that the floatplane version was “rather rare”.
Sometime during the Cold War, in Warsaw Pact Deutsche Demokratische Republik (aka East Germany) fighter pilots were required to learn how to jump from a Colt.
In Warsaw Pact Československo (Czech-o-Slovakia), silly-vilian (civilian) parachute clubs were the rage, and the Colt was a major player. Photo made sometime in 1979.
SlovAir operated Colts were used by silly-vilian parachute clubs in Warsaw Pact Czech-o-Slovakia. Photo made sometime in 1980.
Czech-o-Slovaks loved parachuting so much they even jumped during Winter. Photo from Winter of 1979/80.
A Soviet agriculture Maize gets dusted. Photos by V. Jukl, sometime in 1980.
Ready for dusting. Photo by V. Jukl, sometime in 1980.
Antonov Company video, sometime towards the end of the undeclared Cold War, a mini-documentary was made about O. K. Antonov’s love of designing aircraft (in his own words), including his Maize:
Cold War: Approximately 1947 (due to U.S. President Harry Truman’s Truman Doctrine) to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm, collapse of Soviet Union). The Western NATO (North Atlantic treaty Organization) must not have considered the Colt a significant aircraft, I have several books concerning Soviet aircraft, published in the United States and United Kingdom in the 1970s, only two slightly mention the An-2 and only one has a photo of it.
Last days of a former Warsaw Pact-East German Colt. In 1990, East & West Germany officially became one, but many East German aircraft continued to carry their Cold War insignia. East German An-2s were quietly retired.
Colt cargo aircraft on display U.S. Air Mobility Command Museum on Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Zachary Cacicia, 15NOV2014.
Video report from 2016, about conversion of old Russian Colt/Maize to U.S. turbo-prop engines (made by Honeywell) and redesigned wings:
The composite winged TVS-2DT, Rostec photo.
Video report from 2016, about the new build TVS-2DT, an attempt to modernize the An-2:
Antonov Company video, An-2-100 turbo-prop sets lift record, April 2017:
Antonov Company video, celebrating 70 years of An-2, September 2017:
This Russian civilian Maize crashed in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, December 2017. It was loaded with 13 crew and passengers, three of which did not survive.
CGTN video report of Feihong-98 (FH-98) cargo UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), October 2018:
In 2018, Russia’s Rostec State Corporation for Assistance to Development, Production and Export of Advanced Technology, announced production of a new ‘An-2’, called the TVS-2DTS. First deliveries were expected in 2021, but oh that darn Pandemic lockdown.
Composite wing and fuselage TVS-2DTS, Rostec photo 2018.
The difference between the TVS-2DT and the TVS-2DTS is that the 2DTS has all composite wings and fuselage, whereas the 2DT has composite wings.
A Colt makes an ‘after hours’ drop to U.S. and Latvian Special Forces units during a wargame. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Garrett L. Dipuma, 22NOV2020.
Latvian Defence Ministry photo by Gatis Dieziņš, 05MAR2021.
Serbian paratroops make their first jump from a Colt, February 2022. Photo via Serbian Defence Ministry.
NATO Latvian An-2, notice the large muffler on the exhaust. Latvian Defence Ministry photo by Gatis Dieziņš, 03MAY2022.
Latvian Defence Ministry photo by Gatis Dieziņš, 03MAY2022.
Latvian Defence Ministry photo by Gatis Dieziņš, 03MAY2022.
Latvian Defence Ministry photo by Gatis Dieziņš, 03MAY2022.
Latvian Defence Ministry photo by Gatis Dieziņš, 03MAY2022.
A privately owned An-2 performs during the Sivrihisar Airshow in NATO Turkey, 17SEP2022. Photo by Mustafa Kaya via Xinhua News.
A child of California seems excited to in the cockpit of an old Colt/Maize, part of the air show on Edwards Air Force Base. USAF photo by Lisa Dixon, 15OCT2022.
On 14NOV2022, a Cold War era Cuban An-2 crashed while taking off from Florida, U.S. It was later discovered that the same Antonov had arrived in Florida the prior month, possibly the pilot was trying to defect to the U.S.:
A bigger Antonov, this time in use by the United States?:
FEMA’s Virginia Task Force 2 deploys to search for survivors on Palm Island, Florida, 30SEP2022. FEMA photo by by Wesley Lagenour.
U.S. Coast Guard personnel from Air Station Clearwater search for survivors in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, 29SEP2022. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Third Class Gabriel Wisdom.
U.S. Customs & Border Patrol-Air & Marine Operations UH-60 flies along the Florida coast to assess damage, 29SEP2022. Photo by Ozzy Trevino.
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) MH-65 Dolphin crew conduct rescues in Sanibel, Florida, 29SEP2022:
U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) operations inside the FEMA Region-4 Emergency Operations Center in Doral, Florida, 29SEP2022. CBP photo by Glenn Fawcett.
Anther USCG rescue video, Sanibel, 29SEP2022:
USCG MH-60 Jay-Hawk over Sanibel, Florida, 29SEP2022. USCG photo by Auxiliarist Joey Feldman.
On 29SEP2022, Tennessee Army National Guard deployed to Florida, video by Sergeant First Class Timothy Cordeiro:
Video of FEMA National Response Coordination Center in Washington DC, 29SEP2022:
Louisiana Army National Guard deploys ground vehicles to Florida, 29SEP2022, video by Staff Sergeant Garrett Dipuma:
Mississippi Army National Guard loaded equipment onto CH-47 Chinooks, for deployment to Florida, 29SEP2022. Mississippi National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Justin Brown.
Florida Air National Guard video surveying of Bradenton, 28SEP2022:
Evacuees were served catered dinner by while sheltered at Navy Gateway Inns and Suites, 28SEP2022. U.S. Navy photo by Danette Baso Silvers.
Louisiana Army National Guard deploys UH-60 Black Hawk to Florida, video by Staff Sergeant Garrett Dipuma, 28SEP2022:
USCG video, responds to grounded boat off Fleming Key, 27SEP2022:
Florida Air National Guard Video by Senior Airman Jesse Hanson, 202nd RED HORSE Squadron deploys on 27SEP2022:
Florida Army National Guard video report, 27SEP2022, explaining satellite communication equipment that will be used during hurricane response:
Florida Air and Army National Guard prep and deploy for Hurricane Ian, 27SEP2022, video by Private First Class Victor Mejia-Jeronimo:
FEMA staged tractor trailers filled with food/water on Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, video by Airman First Class Greydon Furstenau, 27SEP2022;
FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 2, video report by Lameen Witter, 27SEP2022:
On 28SEP2022, the Arkansas Army National Guard’s 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team had to deliver 2-thousand gallons of potable (think of it as water clean enough you can put in a pot for cooking and eating, pot-able) water to the Bald Knob School District in White County, Arkansas.
Arkansas Army National Guard photo by Sergeant First Class Jim Heuston, 28SEP2022.
Many reports say only that the water supply line to the school/city was “compromised”. Classes were canceled on 27SEP2022, and a boil order was also issued for the area south of U.S. Highway 67 and in the Bald Knob North Water Association (boil order ended on 29SEP2022). The water pipe must be repaired. The National Guard will continue their water supply operation as long as necessary, and requested by local officials.
Arkansas Army National Guard video by Sergeant First Class Jim Heuston:
According to one local news source, a private sector cable boring crew accidently cut through the main water line, but it was not their fault as they had consulted with local water officials before cutting. It turns out that the water line is so old it is not listed on any of the water district’s maps! 75% of the city of Bald Knob was affected by the cut line, which is being repaired. The line also serves people living outside the city limits.
IDAHO AIR GUARD PREPS FOR SOCIAL COLLAPSE!
‘REBELLIOUS’ SNAKE RIVER (IDAHO, OREGON) DEPLOYS! POLITICIAN BEGS IDAHOANS TO RESIST THE WILL OF BIDEN!
