05 August 2016 (00:43 UTC-07 Tango 01) 15 Mordad 1395/01 Dhu I-Qa’da 1437/03 Bing-Shen 4714
Crews of the expensive, and long delayed, F-35 completed extensive mission training at Eglin AFB, Florida:
TAXPAYER PARIAH F-35A CALLS IDAHO HOME!
Videos
Brand new Black Hawks: Canucks join Snake River militia, Air Assault Move to Contact, Romania!
01 August 2016 (17:12 UTC-07 Tango 01) 11 Mordad 1395/26 Shawwal 1437/29 Yi-Wei 4714
Idaho Army National Guard photo by Private First Class Jessica L. Pauley, 31JUL2016.
Saber Guardian 2016: British empire’s Charlie Company, 1st Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment, links up with Snake River’s Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 1/116th CBCT in Sibu, Romania. FYI, the British empire spells Saber S-A-B-R-E.
The new UH-60M had almost everybody’s attention. Oregon Army National Guard photo by Captain John Farmer, 30JUL2016.
UH-60M Air Assault load up:
The below boring Move to Contact Vid is mainly Snake River guys, the Canucks wearing the darker green camo. Move to Contact is usually boring, unless you actually make contact:
Oregon Army National Guard photo by Captain John Farmer, 30JUL2016.
Black Hawk pilot explains the brand new UH-60M (and the company commander gives the usual ‘It’s so great to work with other country’s militaries’ speech):
Oregon Army National Guard photo by Captain John Farmer, 30JUL2016.
MONTANA MILITIA ENJOYS BEING THE ‘BAD GUY’ IN ROMANIA!
VEHICLE ID: SNAKE RIVER IFVs INVADE ROMANIA!
VEHICLE ID: OREGON CAPTAIN EXPLAINS WHY IDAHO BASED MILITIA INVADED ROMANIA!
BLACK HAWK DOWN JAPAN: U.S. ARMY TRAINS YOKOHAMA TO RESCUE DOWNED UH-60 CREWS
SIGN OF THINGS TO COME: KENTUCKY MILITIA BLACK HAWKS TRAINS FOR WATER RESCUES IN INDIANA!
116TH SNAKE RIVER’S 2015 NTC ROTATION, with CALFEX video
World War Three, 2016: Montana militia enjoys being the ‘Bad Guy’ in Romania!
31 July 2016 /22:47 UTC-07 Tango 01 (11 Mordad 1395/26 Shawwal 1437/29 Yi-Wei 4714)
U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Corey Baltos, 30JUL2016.
Company D, 1st Battalion, 163rd Infantry Regiment, Montana Army National Guard playing Opposing Forces (OpFor) at the Romanian Land Force Combat Training Center.
National Guard M1A2 SEP(System Enhancement Package) plays the ‘Bad Guy’ in Romania:
USA photo by Staff Sergeant Corey Baltos, 30JUL2016.
How to hide your M1A2 SEP in Romania.
“This is kind of neat for our unit. This is the first time the National Guard has been asked to conduct Saber Guardian as the OpFor, and for them to call on the state of Montana it means a lot to us, it makes us proud. We take a lot of pride where we are from, and to come here and provide a legitimate challenge to the BlueFor for this mission is challenging and rewarding. We are proud for our unit and proud for our state.”-First Sergeant Mathew Kemp, Delta Company, 1/163 Infantry, Montana National Guard
Montana OpFor Bradley’s (and a M113) ‘invading’ Romania. USA photo by Staff Sergeant Corey Baltos, 30JUL2016.
Montana’s 1/163 Infantry Regiment is part of the National Guard’s ‘Snake River’ 1/116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s ‘invasion’ of former Warsaw Pact member Romania.
USA photo by Staff Sergeant Corey Baltos, 30JUL2016.
Montana’s Bravo and Delta infantry companies are playing the role of Opposition Forces (OpFor, OPFOR) during Saber Guardian 2016. The U.S.-NATO wargame concludes by 07 August 2016.
‘Combatants’ are using MILES (multiple integrated laser engagement system), it’s one of the first laser tag systems, developed by the military decades ago: “The MILES gear provides a realistic force on force training opportunity. This realistic training gives our guys an idea of what they need to work on, what skills they need to develop and what they are proficient at.”-Staff Sergeant Joseph Thacker, Delta Company, 1/64th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
Me at a rare Pocatello Airport air show, in 1999, wearing my OPFOR shirt that I got after Idaho’s NTC wargame at Fort Irwin in 1998.
“THIS IS WHERE ARMOR FIGHTS!” IDAHO NATIONAL GUARD
National Guard spends U.S. tax dollars fixing dilapidated Soviet kindergarten in Latvia!
31 July 2016 (17:17 UTC-07 Tango 01) 10 Mordad 1395/25 Shawwal 1437/28 Yi-Wei 4714
EuCom (U.S. European Command) Humanitarian Civic Assistance Program:
45 years of C-130 MAFFS ops. Who would’ve known wildfires would become such a problem?
31 July 2016 (14:35 UTC-07 Tango 01) 10 Mordad 1395/25 Shawwal 1437/28 Yi-Wei 4714
IDAHO WILDFIRES 16 AUGUST 2012: MAFFS C-130s RETURN TO POCATELLO AIRPORT
MAFFS 2 & 6: USAF RESERVE & NATIONAL GUARD C-130 WATER BOMBERS @ POCATELLO AIRPORT
Me sleeping on Idaho militia C-130 mattress, on the way back from a ‘friendly’ with Canadian armor in Alberta, 2002.
Some of my other C-130 trips (click pics to make bigger):
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- 1971: Preppin’ for our first C-130E trip, Rhein Main AFB, Germany. You might be able to make out my younger sister’s (Tina) head in lower right corner. Photo by William L. Hutchins.
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- 1977: My little brother, Ernie, enjoying his tour of a C-130 during the Edwards AFB ‘Open House’. Photo by William L. Hutchins.
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- 1986: C-130H on the flight line, Dyess AFB, where I was a C-130 IsoDock Crew Chief.
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- 1995: Me and fellow Delta Company 1/185th Armor personnel loading up C-130 for our trip to Idaho, for M1 Abrams Transition training.
“C-130 rolling down the strip!
Airborne Ranger gonna take a little trip!
We gonna stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door!
We gonna jump right out, and then count to four!
My main don’t open, I use my reserve!
My reserve don’t open, I loose my nerve!”-U.S. Army running cadence I used to sing during Army Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood in 1982
World War 3: Obama deploys Indiana Blacksnakes to Slovakia
Indiana Air National Guard’s 122 Fighter Wing deploys A-10 Thunderbolt 2s to Slovakia. No, those are not ‘warthog’ art painted on their noses, they’re supposed to be snakes. And there’s some vid of Slovakian MiG-29s.
Vehicle I-D: C-17 dumps HMMWVs on South Carolina, awesome vid!
Hummvees look like toys being tossed out the back of a C-17, includes point of view from a HUMMWV:
Vehicle I-D: Arctic Thunder 2016 air show Alaska
World War Three, 2016: Snake River I-F-Vs invade Romania!
IFV=Infantry Fighting Vehicle
116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team Bradley IFV, 30JUL2016. Oregon Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Corey Grogan.
30 July 2016 (17:08 UTC-07 Tango 01) 09 Mordad 1395/24 Shawwal 1437/27 Yi-Wei 4714
Video of National Guard 116th CBCT (Idaho, Montana, Oregon) M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and M113 support vehicles, as well as Snake River mech-infantry inside Romania:
U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Corinna Baltos, 28JUL2016.
Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team, Idaho Army National Guard.
Wearing the Snake River patch. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Corinna Baltos, 28JUL2016.
Montana chapter of the 116th Cav plays ‘bad guy’ in Romania. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Corinna Baltos, 30JUL2016.
M2A3 of 1st Battalion, 163rd Infantry Regiment, Montana Army National Guard, at the Romanian Land Force Combat Training Center.
OREGON CAPTAIN EXPLAINS WHY IDAHO BASED MILITIA INVADED ROMANIA!
Black Hawk Down Japan: U.S. Army trains Yokohama to rescue downed UH-60 crews
30 July 2016 (16:47 UTC-07 Tango 01) 09 Mordad 1395/24 Shawwal 1437/27 Yi-Wei 4714
Video report by U.S. Army Garrison Japan