The Mission Aviation Fellowship blog has an impressive blow-by-blow day in the life of an MAF pilot in the Amazon. With a 0635 show at the airport and an 1805 last landing (2 minutes prior to sunset), the day is filled not only with a variety of sorties, but also with challenges from the weather, diversion, passengers, and emergencies.
Though abbreviated, it makes for an extremely educational peek into the work of mission aviation.
On September 15th, former US Marine Sergeant Dakota Meyer was presented the Medal of Honor for his actions in a pitched battle in Afghanistan.
There has been a frequently mentioned, though just as frequently passed over, detail to Meyer’s story (emphasis added):
Former Marine Corps Cpl. Dakota Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor…for disregarding orders in Afghanistan. [1]
President Obama…bestowed the nation’s highest military honor on Dakota Meyer, a young and humble Marine who defied orders… [2]
Defying orders, Meyer drove into a firestorm Read more
A recent Military.com article renews the prior discussion about the US Air Force Academy’s plan to reduce its cadet wing by about 10%, down to about 4,000 from its current strength of about 4,400.
Since USAFA was first authorized 40 cadet squadrons and a size of about 4400 cadets in the late 1960s, it has occasionally dipped and re-grown. For example, four squadrons (37-40) were deactivated in 1999 when the wing downsized; they were reactivated in 2006 when the wing was reauthorized the higher number.
A variety of previous articles have covered the celebration and recognition of Ramadan by the US military in Afghanistan. A recent article noted the same, with an interesting comment from one of the participating Afghans.
“I am very happy to have shared tonight with [American soldiers],” said Haji Tor Jan, local leader and organizer of villages surrounding [US Camp Nathan Smith.] “I know it is not your celebration but we are grateful to share it with you…”
“We have a bond together and if it’s your Christmas we will do the same celebration for you guys; we will bring you food, music and everything,” Tor Jan said.
Now that would be kind of interesting.
According to an international paper called, interestingly enough, The Hindu, Dawat-e-Islami has attracted the attention of the Pakistani military after a policeman apparently from that group was accused of assassinating a governor. As a result, the military has
decided to curtail the activities of a proselytising organisation in their ranks after intelligence reports warned that its growing influence in the armed forces would have serious implications.
Dawat-e-Islami, which literally means “invitation to Islam,” claims Read more
According to the New York Times, the Obama administration has decided against allowing Taiwan to purchase new F-16C/Ds, but it will allow them to purchase the material to upgrade their existing fleet of F-16A/Bs. Some have called this “buckling to pressure from China,” which generally criticizes military support for what it considers a breakaway state.
“If the reports are true,” Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said in a written statement on Friday, “today’s capitulation to Communist Read more
General Edward Rice, commander of the Air Force Air Education and Training Command, has made (the foreseeable) statement that UAV pilots will someday outnumber all other pilots in the Air Force.
Of course, the birth of the nuclear age foretold the end of the fighter pilot era, and the demise of the dedicated close air support aircraft has been predicted (and proven false) repeatedly. The future is anything but entirely certain.
Jews in Green has a picture of the groundbreaking in Arlington for the upcoming installation of the Jewish memorial on Chaplain’s hill.
As previously noted, the 14 Jewish Chaplains who died in the service of their country were the only faith not represented on Arlington’s Chaplains’ Hill.
The bronze plaque that will eventually be mounted on the monument is apparently on a nationwide tour, stopping last week at Pensacola Naval Air Station. In Pensacola, local Jewish leader, Vietnam Vet, and retired Navy Captain Fred Levin noted the value of Chaplains, and the risk they assumed: Read more