Congressional Medal Of Honor Society Art Gallery.

You really should check out the artwork at the Congressional Medal Of Honor Society's website.

Aviation Week tries to play nice. Amy (Wonder Woman) saves the day...again!

I once asked on the boards over at Aviation Week's blog Ares...how come you guys never report the good news on the F-35 program?

I was told (and I'm paraphrasing here) that we don't report the routine...only the important.

Well looks like the 'editorial' stance has changed.  Wonder Woman (also known as Amy Butler) has two stories out on it today...

Check the stories out here and here.

This is tooo sweet.  I would love to be a fly on the wall for those meetings!  Lockheed Martin still should MAN UP AND CANCEL THEIR ADVERTISING....Ares declared war.  Ares drew first blood.  Time for Lockheed Martin to strike back!


UPDATE.


Sweetman's not happy.  This is a comment that he left on Wonder Woman's story about staff changes..

Nothing confirms that the program is going tickety-boo like the second big management shake-up in seven months, bringing in a new deputy with no ties to Aeronautics, Fort Worth, Navair or USAF.

Oh and if you're like me and have no idea what "tickety-boo" means then have no fear.  The definition is here...

Told ya he wasn't happy! 

Hawaii plays hardball...US Army play nice.

This story from Hawaii perfectly illustrates the issues for the military when it comes to training and the power that environmentalist are using to deny training areas.  To sum it up, Hawaii plays hardball ..and the US Army plays nice even though the state is doing its best to screw them.

The Army is shifting at least some high-altitude helicopter training from Hawaii to Colorado — at a taxpayer cost of up to $11 million — following an additional environmental review imposed by the state.

The regulatory process has already delayed training by four months, creating a tight deadline for Wheeler Army Airfield pilots preparing for a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan in January.

Now Gov. Neil Abercrombie has informed the Army it must conduct a state environmental assessment in addition to a federal environmental assessment to use six existing landing zones high on the slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Read the entire article but if this doesn't highlight the issues with liberal states and military training then nothing will.

MV-22 Osprey's in Afghanistan Helmand province

AgustaWestland AW159 Lynx Wildcat

The AgustaWestland AW159 Lynx Wildcat (previously called the Future Lynx) is an improved version of the Westland Super Lynx military helicopter.
The AW159 will serve in the battlefield utility, search and rescue and anti-surface warfare roles. The helicopter has been ordered for the British Army and Royal Navy. It is to enter service with the Army in 2014 and with the RN in 2015.

F-35C starts carrier suitability testing

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- Flown by test pilot Lt. Cmdr. Eric "Magic" Buus, F-35C test aircraft CF-2 lands at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey June 25. CF-2 and the F-35 integrated test team from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. are at the NAVAIR facility in Lakehurst for the first jet blast deflector (JBD) testing, in preparation for carrier shipboard testing in 2013. The team is at the JBD test facility to evaluate deck heating, JBD panel cooling, and vibro-acoustic, thermal, and hot-gas ingestion environments. The F-35C is the carrier variant of the three-service Joint Strike Fighter, and has larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear to perform in the demanding carrier environment. The F-35C and F-35B are undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to eventual delivery to the fleet. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin)

 

 

Wow.


The F-35 is moving right along.


You know that certain parties (Sweetman...Wall...APA....fellow travelers) are banging there heads saying please make it stop!


I love it!

F-35 arrives at Lakehurst

F-35 carrier variant CF-2 flies to NAVAIR at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., June 25 for Jet Blast Deflector testing.

Russia's Army can't be in this bad a shape can it?

English Russia has a pretty damning photo expose' on the Russian Army.  If things are this bad then the Russians are a threat only to themselves.

Gates still placing foot in European ass.

via AFP.

"The Libya air war has exposed serious shortcomings among NATO allies and European governments will have to agree on joint defense budget priorities to rectify the problem, Gates told AFP in an interview.
The Pentagon chief, who is due to retire this week after more than four years in the post, reiterated views he expressed in a blunt speech in Brussels earlier this month, in which he warned the alliance faced a potentially "dismal" future.
"The truth is, as I said in Brussels, there is a lot of military capability and a lot of money being spent in Europe," Gates said on Thursday."

Of course the designer and main cheerleader for this fiasco in Libya, the President of France had this to say...Translation by Google...

THE PRESIDENT - Mr. Gates was retiring, apparently it does him no pleasure. So do not blame someone who is retiring to be a little bitter. I think his retirement did not have to closely observe what was happening in Libya, because you can say whatever you want but I do not feel in Libya most of the work done by our American friends. You were speaking of Libya at the same time is to say that our American friends have two drones, a number of tanker aircraft, we are very sensitive but it would not come to the idea of ​​a man as responsible and intelligent than President Obama to say that it is America that is the main work in Libya.
This was especially moved by Mr. Gates saying that. And more completely wrong, given what is happening in Libya. There were certainly other moments in history when he could have said it, but not when the Europeans, bravely took the case of Libya, where mainly the French, the English and their allies are the work! I will not allow me to make this statement when, after 15 days the Americans have decided to reduce their aircraft. So it's a statement that is unfair for them falls ill and does not correspond to reality.

Awesome.

Gates brings up a legitimate shortcoming in the alliance and instead of being taken seriously, is accused of being a tired, retiring old man.

This outcome is predictable.  This 'war' will drone on for a while (unless someone gets lucky and kills Khadaffi) and both sides will sue for peace.

The alliance will be exposed for the sham that it is but everyone will continue to pretend that it isn't and will continue business as usual --- building bigger and more elaborate headquarters buildings...doing dog and pony exercises that serve no real purpose....and creating staff billets for generals and admirals.

NATO is useless.  When they go against a second tier military its lights out.  NATO will be routed unless the US participates in full.

F-22's still grounded.

From ASD News.

WASHINGTON - The US Air Force has grounded its entire fleet of F-22 fighters, the most sophisticated combat aircraft in the world, after problems emerged with the plane's oxygen supply, officials said Friday.

The radar-evading F-22 Raptors have been barred from flying since May 3 and Air Force officials could not say when the planes would return to the air.

Wow.

Bad news for the F-22 program.  Worse news for the USAF.

I know that the problem will be solved but while they're doing it I hope they go back and take another look at the F-22 crashes...particularly the one involving the Lockheed Test Pilot that they blamed a loss on.  I think it was ruled partial G-Loc.  If nothing else his record needs to be cleared and these planes fixed and put back into service.

YAT-YAS onboard the USS Whidbey Island.

An amphibious assault vehicle with Marines assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit returns to the well deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island. The Whidbey Island is deployed as part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, participating in the Spanish Amphibious Landing Exercise off the coast of Spain. (Photo by: Petty Officer 3rd Class Desiree D. Green)

An amphibious assault vehicle with Marines assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit returns to the well deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island. The Whidbey Island is deployed as part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, participating in the Spanish Amphibious Landing Exercise off the coast of Spain. (Photo by: Petty Officer 3rd Class Desiree D. Green)

An amphibious assault vehicle with Marines assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit returns to the well deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island. The Whidbey Island is deployed as part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, participating in the Spanish Amphibious Landing Exercise off the coast of Spain. (Photo by: Petty Officer 3rd Class Desiree D. Green)

An amphibious assault vehicle with Marines assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit returns to the well deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island. The Whidbey Island is deployed as part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, participating in the Spanish Amphibious Landing Exercise off the coast of Spain. (Photo by: Petty Officer 3rd Class Desiree D. Green)

Team Timberwolf...the extended video.

Team Timberwolf has released an extended video with better views of their vehicle.  Interesting.

USAF Maj. Gen. C.D. Moore upbeat on F-35 test progress.

Pound sand Air Power Australia!  Your prediction of program failure is wrong again.

Northern Command continues it legacy of failure.

The below pics are from the flooding in the midwest.  If this had occurred in some far off land then you would see the US Navy sending ships at flank speed to the crisis.

Even if everyone involved knew that they could do very little.

The USMC would be assembling a SPMAGTF to deal with the situation and Marines would be brought back from leave or schooling to make sure that it was filled out...

The US Army would be gathering a Brigade Task Force to help out.

The USAF would be boasting of how its C-17's are flying supplies into the trouble spot while other forces are getting assembled.

This is happening in the center of the US and it barely gets mentioned.  Celebrations are held for 'gay rights'...the so called budget impasse is debated...but people who have or are in the process of losing all their worldly possessions are ignored.

America, you attempt to take care of the world yet ignore your own.  We should be ashamed.

The Souris River is swelling in size and breaching dikes built to contain the water here, June 24. By June 29, Mouse River pressures and heights will reach unprecedented levels seven to ten feet higher than the all time record with pressures reaching approximately 16,000 cubic feet per second. On June 22, the river breached the levees and the warning sirens sounded requiring the immediate evacuation of over 11,000 Minot residents to include nearly 1,000 Minot Air Force Global Strike Command airmen.

North Dakota Army National Guard soldiers from the 817th Engineer Company, from left to right, Spc. Ryan Lindberg, Spc. Michael Young, and Staff Sgt. Jason Lothspeich wade through flood water to sling-load one-ton sandbags from a flatbed truck onto a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter June 24, at a flood levee near 13th Street and Railway Avenue, Minot, N.D. The North Dakota National Guard helicopter is being loaded with the large sandbags from a flatbed truck parked in flood water near the levee and placing the sandbags on an area of concern in the flood water of the Souris River. National Guard dump trucks are also responding to the site as they haul flood levee building material in an effort to create a flood barrier for a residential area, which has not yet been flooded. Several residential areas of Minot were inundated with flood water on June 24, leaving thousands of people homeless.

A U.S. flag waves above nearly 10 feet of water in Minot, N.D., June 26. The Souris River has inundated the city and reached a historic height. Minot Mayor Curt Zimbelman estimates 4,000 homes have been damaged by the flooding.

The scene from inside the levee system around Minot leaves little question as to the devastating effects of flood waters on homes here, June 24. With water levels continuing to rise and the Lake Darling Dam increasing the flow of water it releases to 29,000 cubic feet per second, many around Minot wonder how much of the city will have to be evacuated and how many people will be left without a home. 

Kevin Neish Blogspot.

Kevin Neish's blog is worth reading even if you're like me and strongly disagree with the guy.  I can't properly describe his politics or his view points.  You'll have to go to his blog for that, but what will be interesting is his 'inside' coverage of the Flotilla 2 on course to Israel.

The Israeli Commandos got a bit of rough handling the first time. 

I'll be watching to see how they handle it this time.  Ole' Kevin will be my inside, twisted point of view, reporter on this.

Interesting stuff and interesting times we live in.

The Marine Corps turns towards Asia.

Thanks for the article Heidi.

This article by Nathan Hodges is titled "Marines aim to avoid post-war identity crisis" is in my opinion a rehash of subjects already debated.

Nothing new in it at all but here are some highlights.

Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos, the service's top officer, sees renewal in the region where Marines experienced their most devastating losses and most heroic victories: "We're going to reorient in the Pacific," he said during a recent swing through bases in Japan and South Korea.
The reorientation is in part because of the coming contraction of the defense budget, in part because of the shifting balance of power in the world, and in part because of a historical fear embedded in Marine culture.

and this...

In meetings with Marines, Gen. Amos said it was his intent, post-Afghanistan, to return the Corps to its mission as a crisis-response force in the Pacific. The commandant envisions keeping about 20,000 Marines stationed at Pacific Ocean bases, plus another 3,000 at an air station in Japan. About 5,000 Marines are based in Hawaii, tens of thousands more in California.
Shifting back to the Pacific would be in line with U.S. strategic objectives. Military planners note that the region is an economic center of gravity—80% of the world's shipping passes through the geographic area covered by the U.S. Pacific Command—and preserving power in the region is a national-defense priority. "We are a Pacific power and intend to remain a power in the Pacific," Mr. Gates said on a recent visit to Asia.

This debate has been had and the answers already found.

Once the war in Afghanistan is wound down then you'll see a move toward the Pacific. 

Nothing to see here.  Move along.

First Operational Test P-8A Arrives at NAS Patuxent River

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – The Navy has received its first P-8A production representative operational test aircraft June 24.

The new P-8A arrived at NAS Patuxent River and it will join three developmental test aircraft already undergoing integrated testing in preparation for initial operational test and evaluation of the P-8A Poseidon.

The Navy entered into Low Rate Initial Production of the first six Poseidon aircraft in January 2011. These aircraft will be used to form the first operational P-8A squadron, which is scheduled for initial operational capability in 2013.

German Army is combat IN-effective.

That's right.  According to an article in the Daily Beast the German Army is combat in-effective.

Thanks Jonathan!  Much appreciated.  Read the entire article but here's some highlights.

First this...

"German soldiers mostly don’t know how to use their weapons.” They “have no or little experience driving armored vehicles.” For German field commanders, “the necessity and ways [to protect their units from roadside bombs] are to a large extent either unknown or incorrect.”

Then this...

The secret reports bemoan German soldiers’ outdated training and antiquated, insufficient equipment. German forces could not operate if it weren’t for Ukrainian cargo planes and American helicopters and their U.S. Army crews, most crucially the Chinook troop transports and Black Hawk MedEvac helicopters that ensure Bundeswehr soldiers can get into and out of their battles quickly and safely. Considering Obama’s announcement about the beginning of the pullout of U.S. forces, the Bundeswehr couldn’t even fight in terrain like Afghanistan’s if it wanted to. “If the Americans pull out of the north, the Germans will stand there in very short skirts,” says Bundeswehr General and former NATO Commander Egon Ramms.

I wish I could lay my hands on the actual report. This is damning. 

The most powerful economy in Europe is no longer capable or willing to defending itself.

AMAZING.

Hyundai Rotem's Wheeled Armored Vehicles.

The Koreans have been busy developing and expanding their armored vehicle lines.  Everyone pays attention to the K-21 and the K-1 MBT but Hyundai is attempting to meet its competition when it comes to Wheeled Armored Vehicles.

I wondered why no wheeled vehicle from the West has turned up in Asia.  Now I know.  Between the offerings from Singapore, Taiwan and S. Korea...not to mention China, this market is closed. 

KW1

KW2

Army Humor.

This guy is funny as hell.  Check him out here.