God and Country

According to MSNBC, the VMFA-122 Crusaders were “ordered to reverse” their decision to return to the “Crusaders” moniker.

“The deputy commandant for aviation [Lt. Gen. Terry Robling] directed VMFA 122 to maintain the unit identification as the Werewolves,” said Marines public information officer Lt. Col. Joseph Plenzler. “I called down there to confirm that they have changed the tail markings, squadron patches” and other places the squadron logo appears, he said.

The Marines gave no reason for the order, giving Michael Weinstein — who had called the Marines a “national security threat” for the move — the blood in the water he needed to claim victory and make further demands:  Read more…

The F-15C Eagle is an air-to-air fighter.  That’s what it does, and that’s what its pilots love.  In fact, saying the air-to-ground “b-word” (bomb) is even forbidden in the community (among other linguistic games).

That isn’t stopping the Eagles from trying out some of the air-to-ground toys.

The Air Force Times reports a National Guard F-15C unit has been testing a Sniper pod, an air-to-ground targeting pod, on its Eagles:  Read more…

News reports were aghast recently that the Air Force has decided to choose a Light Attack aircraft for delivery to the Afghan Air Force — which has undergone an arduous contract dispute already – without conducting a flyoff.

The Air Force will choose a winner in its troubled Light Air Support competition without actually flying the two contending planes, the Embraer Super Tucano and the Hawker-Beechcraft AT-6…

The decision puts the Air Force acquisition process back in the spotlight, where it has only suffered in the past.

The US Naval Academy at Annapolis won a Boeing-sponsored inter-service academy competition to design a futuristic aircraft cockpit:

The competition, now in its second year, required each academy’s team to design the cockpit of an aircraft for a mission nearly 30 years Read more…

The Air Force announced two F-22 pilots who spoke in uniform and without permission to 60 Minutes, Maj. Jeremy Gordon and Capt. Josh Wilson, will be granted protection under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act.

Lt. Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger…said the service considers the two pilots who have refused to fly the Raptor to be whistle-blowers and protected under the federal whistle-blower act.

The act protects members of the military who make a protected communication to a member of Congress, one of whom was present with them on the set.

While the widow of Capt Jeff Haney sues the Air Force, two other pilots appeared on the CBS show 60 Minutes with a Congressman, seeking military whistleblower status to publicize their complaints against the F-22.

Maj. Jeremy Gordon and Capt. Joshua Wilson have chosen to stop flying the F-22 because they say during some flights they and other pilots have experienced oxygen deprivation, disorientation, and worse…

They are so concerned they have taken the extraordinary step of risking their careers by appearing on 60 Minutes in uniform — and without permission — to blow the whistle on a plane they love to fly…

The pilots could face further disciplinary action for speaking to us which is why this man was seated just off to the side throughout the interview. He’s Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, an Air Force pilot himself, who Josh and Jeremy went to with their concerns in order to gain protection under the Military Whistleblowers Act.

The Air Force had only recently acknowledged that a “small number” of pilots Read more…

The Air Force reported that an F-15E Strike Eagle crashed “in Southwest Asia” on a local training mission.  Both crew members were reported safe.  This is the second F-15E crash in the AOR since the March crash that killed pilot Capt Francis Imlay.

In Utah, the Air Force said an F-16 crashed, with the pilot successfully ejecting.

As is the norm, the crashes will be investigated by a board, and the results released some months from now.

As predicted, it didn’t take long for Chris Rodda to read last week’s write-up on the VMFA-122 Crusaders and manufacture some outrage.  She called the renaming of the unit from the recent “Werewolves” back to the “Crusaders” “sheer stupidity” and a “constitutional issue.”  Of course, everyone is aware of the clause in the Constitution that prohibits military units from having a cross on their patches.  It must be in there somewhere…she said so.

Michael Weinstein was in regular form.  Eliminating the unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, which constituted about half his statement:

“This…action…is…unconstitutional[] and…stupid[]. It [is]…propaganda…for our…Islamic foes and…a…national security threat…It will…hasten the maiming and deaths of our armed forces members…We’ll be seeing you in Federal Court, chump.”

“See you in court” from Michael Weinstein is about as threatening as “see you on the field” from the 2011 Indianapolis Colts.  Being a perpetual loser kind of undermines your credibility.

Michael Weinstein, again, says that America’s extremist adversaries — not the US Constitution nor “Nature” nor “Nature’s God” — are the barometer by which Read more…

Col Andrew Toth, the wing commander at Eglin, called the first F-35 sortie there a “milestone for the program.”

In perhaps the most ironic of circumstances, the flight was cut short by an in-flight emergency on the vaunted new Read more…

You can now see the entire National Museum of the US Air Force not just online, but with “audio and video hotspots” and “interactive materials.”

The virtual tour features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles on display at the museum amid more than 17 acres of indoor exhibit space. Thousands of personal artifacts, photographs and documents further highlight the people and events that comprise the Air Force storyline, from the beginnings of military flight to today’s war on terrorism.

The museum, located in Dayton, Ohio, houses an expansive and Read more…

The Airborne Laser Test Bed, officially the YAL-1A, was part of a 15-year, multi-billion dollar research program that ultimately shot down a surface-launched missile.

It has now been retired to the Air Force’s Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group near Tucson, Arizona — more commonly known as “the boneyard:”  Read more…

The Air Force Times notes that in Congressional testimony, Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz said the Air Force did not blame Capt Jeff Haney, pilot of the F-22 that crashed in Alaska — despite the public report apparently to the contrary.

Schwartz [said] the Air Force did not blame Capt. Jeff Haney for the…crash in Alaska, despite the service’s own report that said Haney was at fault.

“We did not assign blame to the pilot,” Schwartz said Read more…

The much ballyhooed attempt by the US Air Force to provide Afghanistan with a light attack aircraft recently hit another roadblock.

Prior to December, there were two contractors vying for the award — Hawker Beechcraft’s AT-6 and Embraer’s Super Tucano. In December, the Air Force removed Hawker from the competition and awarded the contract to the sole remaining bidder.

Hawker protested, and then sued.  The Air Force Read more…

Despite ongoing budget issues, the US Air Force intends to develop and field a new bomber colloiqually known as the Long Range Strike Aircraft.

The Air Force has already set aside $292 million in research dollars for the bomber in their fiscal 2013 budget request. The service plans to spend $6.3 billion into the effort over the next five years. Once developed, the new bomber will replace B-1Bs and B-2s. The new plane will be designed to evade advanced aerial defense systems, employ stealth Read more…

The US Air Force chose its top fighter squadron, naming the 67th Fighter Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan, as the 2011 Raytheon Trophy winner.

The annual award, originally started by the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1953, is now sponsored by Raytheon Systems Corporation and is given Read more…