Category Archives: Fighter Pilot

US Military Fights Extremists…Online, Foreign and Domestic

A recent article at the New York Times highlighted an effort by the US military to engage in an information campaign with those who might be, or might be recruiting, “militant adversaries in cyberspace.”

The “war” they’re fighting?

In recent months, Mr. [Ardashir] Safavi and his teammates spotted posts that included doctored photographs of Osama bin Laden purporting to prove that Al Qaeda’s leader had not died in an American commando raid. They turned up blogs stating that the Pentagon was accelerating war plans for invading many Muslim nations, and others amplifying Taliban accusations that American troops rape with impunity across Afghanistan.

These targeted sites mentioned in the article appear to be primarily foreign language and are apparently foreign run:  Read more

Report: Pilot Blacked Out, Crashed in Nevada

The Air Force Times reports on the Air Force investigation into the June crash of an F-16C out of Nellis AFB, Nevada.  Capt Eric Ziegler was killed in the mishap.

Investigators found no maintenance problems or other issues that could have caused the accident.

Ziegler apparently experienced a G-LOC, or G-induced loss of consciousness.  He blacked out and did not recover prior to impacting the ground.

The report had an interesting comment that reflects on the fighter pilot culture:  Read more

Veterans’ Day 2011

Some may have forgotten that Veterans’ Day actually began as Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I on 11 November 1918.  Through the years it developed a meaning for all veterans, though it continues to recall the cost of The Great War.

Right now hundreds of thousands of US troops are stationed around the world in support of the military’s mission.  Many more have returned home from war Read more

Join the Navy. Fly a Blimp.

The Military Times notes the unveiling of a Navy airship at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.

The MZ-3A is the Navy’s scientific test platform for surveillance cameras, radars and other sensors…[used] “to prove LTA [lighter-than-air] has a place in our military construct,” said Cmdr. Jay Steingold.

The slow, long-endurance vehicles are variations on the blimp/dirigible and could fill a variety of roles.  The Navy isn’t the only one to have such a program:  Read more

Army Chief of Staff Supports Women in Combat

The US Army Chief of Staff, General Ray Odierno, has said he wants an expanded role for women in combat units:

“We need them there. We need their talent,” he said. “This is about managing talent. We have incredibly talented females who should be in those positions.”

As with prior discussions, the article seems to place more emphasis on the “lost opportunities” for career advancement due to the lack of combat experience Read more

Former SecNav Accuses Navy of Sinking in Political Correctness

Last month the Washington Times covered an article by former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman entited “Is Naval Aviation Culture Dead?”:

[He] wrote that the swagger and daring of yesterday’s culture has given way to a focus on integrating women and, this year, gays.

Pilots constantly worry about anonymous complaints about salty language, while squadron commanders are awash in bureaucratic requirements for reports and statistics, he added.

“Those attributes of naval aviators — willingness to take intelligent calculated risk, self-confidence, even a certain swagger — that are invaluable in wartime are the very ones that make them particularly vulnerable in today’s zero-tolerance Navy,” said Mr. Lehman, Read more

CG Helo Pilot Charged with Homicide in Crash

In a somewhat unusual turn of events, the co-pilot (and lone survivor) of a 2010 Coast Guard helicopter crash has been charged with two counts of negligent homicide and other UCMJ violations.

[Lt. Lance] Leone was one of two pilots flying the MH-60 Jayhawk, which crashed off La Push. The crash killed all three other passengers on board.

In addition to the negligent homicide charges, Leone faces two counts of dereliction of duty and destruction of government property, Kip Wadlow, a Coast Guard spokesman, said.

The helicopter flew into power lines Read more

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