Videos

U.S.

Black helicopters swarm Super Bowl-54

Video

U.S. Customs and Border Protection photo by Ozzy Trevino, 23JAN2020.

Since at least 23JAN2020, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Air and Marine Operations, Miami-Dade Police, and other government agencies have been training-up for Super Bowl-54.  Every year so much taxpayer funded security is heaped upon the Super Bowl you might as well put the military in charge of the NFL.

U.S. CBP photo by Ozzy Trevino, 23JAN2020.

Among the assets being used are the CBP’s black and gold UH-60 Black Hawks, oh, and their little AS350 A-Star ‘copters. CBP video by Dusan Ilic, 27JAN2020:

U.S. CBP photo by Jerry Glaser, 27JAN2020.

CBP video by Dusan Ilic, 27JAN2020:

U.S. CBP photo by Ozzy Trevino, 29JAN2020.

CBP video by Dusan Ilic, 27JAN2020:

CBP video by Dusan Ilic, 27JAN2020:

CBP video by Jerry Glaser, 27JAN2020:

VEHICLE I-D: CBP’S BLACK HELICOPTERS DEPLOY TO PUERTO RICO, QUICK MINICRAFT KIT REVIEW

BLADE FOLDING ARMY BLACK HAWKS

International, Technology

U.S. taxpayers to rescue “donated” C-130

Video

24 January 2020 / 21:35 UTC-07 Tango 06 (05 Bahman 1398/29 Jumada l-Ula 1441/01 Ding-Chou 4718)

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Sarah Brice, 14JAN2020.

“The U.S. commitment to this partnership is stronger than ever, and I look forward to building upon it in the days ahead.”-Michael Raynor, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, during the June 2018 C-130E hand-over, he obviously didn’t realize the Ethiopians couldn’t handle the U.S. taxpayer funded ‘gift’

Poorly thought-out hand-over of donated C-130E, June 2018.

A year-and-a-half ago the U.S. government “donated” a C-130 Hercules to the struggling Ethiopian air force, and without much forethought, it turns out, as it was discovered that the Ethiopian military personnel lacked the knowledge to maintain or operate the transport.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Sarah Brice, 14JAN2020.

In January 2020, U.S. military officials realized the Ethiopians needed help with their U.S. taxpayer funded gift, so the U.S. Air Force’s 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron (MSAS) went in.

U.S. Air Force maintenance personnel check-out the landing gear on the donated C-130E. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Sarah Brice, 14JAN2020.

Explainer video, 23JAN2020:

So far the old C-130E has completed taxi runs, hopefully will be flying soon.

Between 1998 and 2014, Ethiopia got two C-130Bs, and a C-130E.  The above pic is of tail #1562 seen wasting away.  The other B model and the E model are listed as active, which is hard to believe since Ethiopia had so much trouble maintaining the C-130E donated in June 2018.

In the cockpit, USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Sarah Brice, 14JAN2020.

In the cargo bay, USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Sarah Brice, 14JAN2020.

The intent of the donation of the C-130E was to help Ethiopia conduct ‘peacekeeping’ missions in Africa.

Taxpayer rip-offs: U.S. TAXPAYERS DELIVER MD-530F CAYUSE WARRIOR TO KENYA

BARE METAL: C-130 PAINT PREP, OR THE EMPEROR GETS SOME NEW CLOTHES

Technology

NATO Vehicle I-D: Challenger vs Leclerc

Video

NATO’s 2020 anti-Russia training was held in the eastern European country of Latvia (right on Russia’s border).

NATO promo-video, NATO’s Adazi Training Base, Latvia, 23JAN2020:

LECLERC, NATO-France:

French Leclercs invade NATO-Germany, 29MAY2018. U.S. Army photo by Kevin S. Abel.

U.S. Army (USA) video by Kevin S. Abel, May 2018, France ‘invades’ Germany for Strong Europe Tank Challenge:

The Leclerc does not have a bore evacuator (fume extractor) on its NATO compatible 120mm F1 smoothbore main-gun.  It uses interior overpressure, or a compressed air system, for gun-tube fume extraction.

USA photo by Specialist Craig Carter, 05JUN2018.

USA video by Matthias Fruth, Leclercs blasting away during NATO’s Strong Europe Tank Challenge at the 7th U.S. Army Training Command’s Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, June 2018:

Simulated CBRN attack. USA photo by Specialist Craig Carter, 05JUN2018.

Push-me-pull-you action, towing away a ‘broke-dick’ Leclerc. USA photo by Specialist Craig Carter, 05JUN2018.

Leclerc’s butt. USA photo by Lacey Justinger, 04JUN2018.

Leclerc has a single exhaust that looks like a giant water-pipe elbow pointing skyward. The ‘things’ on the back-end of the tank are racks for external fuel drums, à la Soviet style.

CHALLENGER:  No, not my (snow)drifting Challenger!

NATO-United Kingdom:

USA photo by Gertrud Zach, 07JUN2018.

This is the Challenger I’m talking about, the United Kingdom’s Challenger-2.  The Challenger has a ‘coffee-can’ bore evacuator on its non-NATO compatible 120mm L30A1 rifled-bore main-gun.

USA photo by Gertrud Zach, 07JUN2018.

It also has fuel drum racks on its butt.  The exhaust ports are square looking boxes towards the rear on each side of the vehicle.

Pistol shoot. USA photo by Gertrud Zach, 06JUN2018.

Video, shooting a pistol from the turret of a Challenger-2, Strong Europe Tank Challenge,  Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, June 2018:

USA photo by Gertrud Zach, 07JUN2018.

Somebody lit a fire under this Challenger-2’s ass!  I suspect that it is one of the smoke grenades used to simulate a CBRN attack.

USA silent video, by Elliott Banks, of Royal Red Coats uploading their unique three-part-ammo:

USA video of Challenger-2 blasting away (this time Elliott recorded the audio), 06JUN2018:

VEHICLE I-D: MODEL T & WHITE MOTOR WARRIORS

JOIN THE U.S. MILITARY GET A CLASSIC CAR?

 ZOMBIE TANK T-55, THEY’RE EVERYWHERE! (and they keep coming back from the dead)

Kit Bashing, Technology

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

Video

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

Technology

Vehicle I-D: USN Goshawk T-45

Video

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.

International

“The fire breathing dragon of clouds.”: Pacific Ring of Fire, 12-18 January 2020

Video

Incomplete list of links to seismic/natural disaster reports from around the Pacific Ring of Fire, days 12 to 18 of Gregorian January 2020.

According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, the overwhelming majority of volcanic eruptions taking place the third week of January are on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

ARGENTINA: 5.0 quake near border with Chile

AUSTRALIA: ‘Experts’ say murderous Mega Fire was preventable!

Fires followed by floods

Australia and Japan sign hydrogen agreement

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CHILE:   “It is clear to many of us that the Coquimbo region has an unusual, increasing seismicity that may be preparing the area for a very large earthquake near the end of the present century.” 

ECUADOR: Galapagos volcano eruption spews lava 

FIJI: 5.2 mag quake recorded in Ono-i-Lau region

INDONESIA:  Krakatau volcano explosive activity continues

JAPAN: Slow-motion interplate slip detected in the Nankai Trough

 Japan military planes arrive in Australia to help fight bushfires

Court halts nuclear reactor restart citing volcano, earthquake risks

Wildlife Is Still Reeling from the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami

MEXICO:  Yet another quake hits the Oaxaca area

NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand Volcano Eruption Death Toll Rises to 20

What will the next decade of quakes look like?

Early morning 4.2 magnitude earthquake felt by many in lower North Island
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PHILIPPINES:  Taal;

Gray pineapples: Volcano devastates farms

Imagine this is what SuperVolcano Yellowstone will do to most of the entire North American continent!

RUSSIA:  5.5 quake hits near Kamchatka

THAILAND: Japanese scientists observe ‘plasma bubbles’ in upper atmosphere

UNITED STATES:

Pic by Cassandra Eichner of a Pyrocumulonimbus Cloud (PyroCB) taken over the Pacific Northwest on 08AUG2019, during the FIREX-AQ field campaign from the cockpit of the NASA DC-8 aircraft. 

Between July and September 2019 the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, NASA, and other federal agencies, conducted studies of pyrocumulonimbus (PyroCbs) clouds.  The PyroCbs (pyro means fire) are formed by intense wildfires, NASA calls them “the fire-breathing dragon of clouds.”  

PyroCbs were first identified in the late 1990s, while scientists were trying to find out what was causing clouds in the upper atmosphere when the ‘natural’ weather conditions weren’t correct for such formations and there was no volcanic activity.  Since then studies show such dragon clouds can pump as much particulates into the upper atmosphere as a volcano: “They act as giant chimneys, transporting smoke from the ground to high altitudes. Intense PyroCbs can inject smoke into the lower stratosphere, where it can persist for weeks or months.”-Dave Peterson, Naval Research Laboratory, one of the first meteorologists to notice the PryoCbs phenomenon in the late 1990s

The data collected from the 2019 FIREX-AQ missions is now being studied to see how cloud water droplets and ice particles change in the presence of smoke.

Alaska;  3.7 quake 15JAN2020

  School district considers rejecting millions in FEMA earthquake funding due to required insurance!

California; Tech company spent U.S.$30-million to see if ‘earthquake lights’ could warn of temblors. It didn’t work

Magnitude 3.3 earthquake jolts Gilroy, Aromas area

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Warnings of future flooding in burn areas of Santa Barbara County

Hawaii; Flooding Event Greatest Since Hurricane Lane

Oregon;  Can Scappoose Industrial Airpark survive a major disaster?

Sneaky ‘Sneaker’ Waves?

Utah;  4.0 quake in Beaver County

Washington; PacifiCorp to lower Yale Reservoir because earthen dam is “likely to liquefy in the event of an earthquake” 

Despite threat from Cascadia Event, Seattle has big plans for a new city extension, right along the coast line!

VANUATA:  What is Early Action Rainfall Watch?

Disposable diapers were banned at the end of 2019 (to “save the world”), now there’s a push to re-educate people how to use old fashioned washable diapers!

PACIFIC RING OF FIRE, 06-11 JANUARY 2020: MEGA-FIRE!

CLIMATE CHANGE, 12-18 JANUARY 2020: “ON SCALE WE’VE NOT SEEN BEFORE”

International

“on scale we’ve not seen before”: Climate Change, 12-18 January 2020

Video

Incomplete list of links to news articles concerning climate change events during the third week of the Gregorian month of January 2020.

Weather shows evidence of climate change every single day since 2012

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Proof evolution is working; study reveals human body temp is adjusting downward, in possible anticipation of a warmer planet?

Spy Satellite Uncovers Staggering Mount Everest Ice Loss

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UN warns hunger crisis in southern African continent “on scale we’ve not seen before”

European Union’s one trillion Euro climate finance plan

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A perfect storm for Asia’s food prices: swine fever, climate 

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Asia’s Great Rivers: Climate crisis, pollution put billions of people at risk of losing food source

As many climate freaks freak-out about losing food sources, scientists discover the warmer temps are actually causing more plants to grow at higher altitudes

Ecotourism: How Marketers Can Ethically Promote Travel Amid The Climate Crisis

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AUSTRALIA:  Why Australia’s fires are linked to floods in Africa

 Aussies to become climate change refugees?

BRAZIL: Brazil rebuilds burned-out base in Antarctica

Revealed; it was actually China that rebuilt the base

CHINA: Second death reported from mystery virus

COLOMBIA: Farmers blame ‘global warming’ for unusually low temps, which are killing off their crops

EGYPT:  More rain expected, but less will end up in Nile River

Tourism industry the biggest climate change fear-monger?

GERMANY: Taxpayers forced to pay coal mines to shutdown, tens of thousands of jobs will be lost

Long convoys of farm vehicles blocked roads in the states of Bavaria, Baden Württemberg and Bremen, as well as the city of Berlin. Farmers are angry at ever increasing environmental regulations.

GREENLAND:  The real reason why President Trump, and even China, want to buy the giant island; climate change is making it easier to get at the resources, like rare earth metals, such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, as well as the usual stuff. 

HAITI:  Revealed; comments by U.S. ‘christian’ evangelical leaders resulted in Haitian Voodoo (Vodou) practitioners being denied medical help, and were even attacked, after the earthquake of 2010.

ITALY:  Video; U.S. Army personnel thanked for helping clean-up sinking Venice:

ISRAEL: Why have at least 350 people from U.S., European Union, Japan, Australia, and the African continent, converged on Israel for a massive earthquake drill?

MEXICO:  NGO works to ensure food security and seed diversity

NIGERIA: Climate change could be prime motivator for violent extremism

PHILIPPINES: Was the Taal volcano eruption large enough to influence the climate?

UNITED KINGDOM:  Hackney Council criticize Thames Water over repeated floods

UNITED STATES: As climate change freaks freak out about losing food sources, Idahoans are complaining about an explosion of non-native/invasive wild turkeys!

As many climate change freaks freak out about losing food sources, the new Marine Recreational Information Program surprisingly discovered that ocean fish stocks are actually much larger than first thought.

California City Bans Coal, Blocking Key Export Route to Asia

Teens’ Climate Change Suit Against U.S. Blocked by Judges

 Group rescues dogs from Puerto Rico

 NASA’s ARIA Team Helps in Puerto Rico Quake Response

5.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Puerto Rico, 15JAN2020
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NEW YORK DEPLOYS ITS MILITIA TO SAVE PUERTO RICO!

ARMY RESERVE DEPLOYS FOR PUERTO RICO QUAKE RECOVERY

Earthquake hits South Carolina, fourth in past two months

Earthquake hits New York

New York insurance sellers review changes to flood insurance policies

New flood risk model reviewed by academia will negatively affect home prices and insurance

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control creates new flood map for New Castle County, negatively affecting property owners, takes effect next week

Mississippi River threatens three cities with flooding

Pear River also threatens people in Mississippi

Idiot property developers in Missouri want to build in known flood zone

Nebraska’s governor promises to extend flood relief

Iowa’s governor begs for U.S.$20-million for flood relief

Texas releases U.S.$1.4-billion to start-up the newly created Flood Infrastructure Fund

On 12JAN202, the USAF at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, evacuated personnel on at least five C-130 aircraft due to an impending storm.  The operation is known as a Weather Evacuation (WX Evac).

‘This is very strange’: Rare early emergence of influenza B virus puts children at higher risk
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CLIMATE CHANGE, 06-11 JANUARY 2020: MONEY IS BEING MADE!

PACIFIC RING OF FIRE, 06-11 JANUARY 2020: MEGA-FIRE!:

U.S.

Failed State: Ohio joins New York in deploying Militia to Puerto Rico

Video

16 January 2020 (23:44 UTC-07 Tango 06) 27 Dey 1398/21 Jumada l-Ula 1441/23 Yi-Chou 4717

“Our Ohio Air National Guard Airmen at the 200th RED
HORSE Squadron are ready and anxious to support earthquake relief efforts in Puerto Rico. This is what we do.”-Major General John C. Harris Jr., Ohio adjutant general

What Major General Harris said is true, but in the past each state’s National Guard took care of their own, deploying National Guard units across state lines might be unprecedented: “Being able to support another state for domestic response is exciting.”-Colonel Michael Hrynciw, commander 200th RED HORSE Squadron

Ohio is sending its Air National Guard’s 179th Airlift Wing and 200th RED HORSE Squadron to Puerto Rico.

They’re taking ‘beddown units’ which contain organic power and potable water (potable means you can use it in a cooking pot for consumption).  Each beddown unit can hold 150 people.

In 2017, the 200th Red Horse deployed to the U.S. Virgin Islands in response to Hurricane Irma.

Video:

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

FAILED STATE: NEW YORK DEPLOYS ITS MILITIA TO SAVE PUERTO RICO!

Kit Bashing, Technology

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

Video

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

International

Welcome to BEC Hell! Baghdad Embassy Compound

Video

“We are going to have to stop being the policemen of the world.”-Donald Trump, August 2015 interview with Hugh Hewitt

“They’re fighting for 1,000 years, they’re fighting for centuries. I want to bring our soldiers back home.”-President Donald Trump, October 2019, regarding U.S. occupation of Middle East

“This will not be a Benghazi………This will never, ever be a Benghazi!”-President Donald Trump, 07JAN2020

Video, U.S. Army AH-64 Apache overflies the BEC, 31DEC2019:

U.S. Marines work alongside contractors to install bullet resistant Kevlar panels at the BEC, 02JAN2020.

BEC means Base Education Center, but it also means Baghdad Embassy Compound.

Video, U.S. Marines (2nd Battalion, 7th Marines assigned to the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command) in Kuwait prep for emergency deployment to the BEC, 31DEC2019:

U.S. Marines upload on MV-22 Ospreys, heading for BEC, 31DEC2019.

This video, dated 31DEC2019, shows U.S. Marines deploying to the the BEC as it is under attack by Iraqis:

01JAN2020, protesters and militia inside the BEC.

01JAN2020, Marine checks out the rock strewn BEC.

01JAN2020, smoke from the homemade fire bombs tossed into the BEC the night before.

Iraqi security forces (driving black trucks & wearing red berets) talk with Iraqi militia members (wearing black uniforms) surrounding the BEC.

U.S. Army SAW gunner watches the action on the street outside of the BEC.

Iraqi counter terrorist units show up to ‘secure’ the BEC.USMC BEC Video, 02JAN2020:

Video, U.S. Army 82nd Airborne arrives in Kuwait from North Carolina, and then deploys to Iraq:

Security overwatch, 03JAN2020.

Hauling sand bags for reinforcement, 05JAN2020.

Washington Post: Iraq’s Prime Minister says ‘urgent measures’ should be taken to remove U.S. forces

Army Times: U.S. not going to leave Iraq

Irony as President Trump’s 2016 campaign promise to get out of Obama nuke deal with Iran comes true; Business Insider: Iran withdrawing from Obama era nuclear deal

Is this really about saving the U.S. oil industry by jacking up prices? OilPrice: The Year Of The Oil Bankruptcies  “The industry has been teetering on the verge of mass hysteria for much of 2019 as a record number of energy companies folded.”  

Remember when; ICE fines ‘christian’ Hobby Lobby for stealing Sumerian artifacts from Iraq

NEW YORK MILITIA personnel KILLED IN IRAQ!

GREAT RENEGER: DEPLOYMENTS SO COMMON EVEN BEERS ARE NAMED AFTER THEM

SYRIA, 09 OCTOBER 2015 (when Obama was President):  IRANIAN GENERAL KILLED WHILE DEFENDING AIRBASE!

From 2012; RED HORSE, LEVIATHAN & WORLD WAR 3: THE REAL REASON FOR WAR WITH IRAN IS THE HUGE OIL/GAS RESERVES FOUND IN THE MEDITERRANEAN!