Month: July 2010

Air Force Pilots told to Save Fuel

According to an Air Force Times article, the Air Force is directing its pilots to plan and conduct their missions more efficiently to save fuel.

Interestingly, while the article focuses on fighter pilots, fighter pilots are the ones least able to contribute to the fuel-saving effort.  LtGen William Rew noted that the restrictions on fuel consumption did not apply to the “combat phase of a training sortie.”  For a fighter, that would mean that the fuel-savings mentality would be valid for only a few minutes on each flight.

In addition, the “efficient” flying suggestions won’t necessarily change fuel consumption.  For example, the article notes that pilots are told to return home at 300 knots rather than 350 — but that assumes pilots were flying at the faster airspeed to begin with.  It also assumes the relative fuel burn between those two speeds is large enough to be Read more

Articles Highlight Incoming Military Academy Classes

A slew of recent articles were recently published on the entrance of the new military academy classes into their summer training sessions.  It was interesting to see a pattern emerge with reference to each of the institutions:

Class of 2014 most diverse in USNA history
This year’s plebe class is the most diverse in Naval Academy history, officials said…

CG Academy: Outreach pays off in diverse class
The Coast Guard Academy’s incoming class of freshmen is one of the most diverse in school history, according to academy officials…

Class of 2014 joins Long Blue Line
The diversity of the incoming [USAFA] class is unprecedented, said…the director of Admissions.

Of course, the military benefits from the integration — not the suppression Read more

Unmanned Capsule Misses Space Station

In an unusual incident, the Progress 38 resupply capsule from Russia, flew by the Space Station instead of docking with it.  The huge capsule was supposed to deliver 2.5 tons of materials to the station.  A second attempt a few days later was successful.

UAVs do occasionally have issues with communication or control, though most of the time failsafe devices enable the safe return of the vessel (or at least its safe destruction).

UAVs are becoming more ubiquitous, however, as more people are persuaded of their generally safe record.  If there are still concerns, however, with the “mishap” involving the huge “space UAV,” perhaps nano-UAVs the size of a hummingbird or smaller would be more comforting.

Independence Day 2010: Remember

As the United States of America celebrates 234 years since it declared its independence, let us not forget the sacrifices made by hundreds of thousands of US military servicemembers in the name of the freedoms of their fellow countrymen.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions…

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence…

The Declaration of Independence, as well as the Constitution of the United States and other relevant documents, can be found at the ChristianFighterPilot.com Religion and the Military page of this site.

Chaplain Brings Religious Perspective to Trainees

Chaplain (Ens) Asif Balbale is a Muslim Chaplain — in fact, the only one — at Camp Pendleton.  He shares his unique religious position at the base with Chaplain Shin, the Navy’s only Buddhist Chaplain.

The Chaplain seems to have a solid grasp of his role, which includes religious training of military members:

Part of my job is to educate people on what it means to be a Muslim.

He’s absolutely correct, of course, just as other Chaplains’ jobs include Read more

Muslim Joins Military Because of His Faith

The Youngstown (Ohio) news covers the story of local Falak Mir Shafi, an immigrant from Pakistan who became a US citizen in the fast-track process provided by service in the US military. The article notes Shafi’s faith — he is a Sunni Muslim — and also attempts to highlight the “problems” of being a Muslim in the US military:

In some cases, Muslims and noncitizens have filed discrimination complaints against military branches. Atty. Mikey Weinstein, director of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says such discrimination is as omnipresent as gravity.

The discrimination is so ubiquitous, apparently, that there are precisely zero examples provided in the article.  In fact, the counterexample is presented instead:  Read more

Gulf Oil Spill Impacts Pilot Training

It might not seem intuitive, but the burgeoning oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has actually impacted training of US Air Force pilots.

Primary water survival training for Air Force pilots is conducted at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.  Every pilot who goes through Air Force training spends a few weeks at Pensacola undergoing the open water training of the Gulf of Mexico.  It is also home to one of the more unique sights in the service: a boat with “US Air Force” on the side.

As of June 4, oil was discovered inside the training area; as a result, Read more

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