SNAFU!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

All photos by Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Villalovos

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Peglow, diver, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5, rappels off a tower while training with members of the Australian Northern Territory Tactical Response Group during exercise Talisman Sabre 2011. Talisman Sabre is a bilateral exercise intended to train Australian and U.S. forces in planning and conducting combined task force operations.

Lt. Ryan Ramsden, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5, rappels off a tower while training with members of the Australian Northern Territory Tactical Response Group during exercise Talisman Sabre 2011. Talisman Sabre is a bilateral exercise intended to train Australian and U.S. forces in planning and conducting combined task force operations.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Peglow, diver, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5, participates in small arms weapons training with members of the Australian Northern Territory Tactical Response Group during exercise Talisman Sabre 2011. Talisman Sabre is a bilateral exercise intended to train Australian and U.S. forces in planning and conducting combined task force operations.

Petty Officer 1st Class Karen McMillan, explosive ordnance disposal, from Los Angeles, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5, participates in small arms weapons training with members of the Australian Northern Territory Tactical Response Group during exercise Talisman Sabre 2011. Talisman Sabre is a bilateral exercise intended to train Australian and U.S. forces in planning and conducting combined task force operations. (Damn! This chick has guns! And I mean besides the one she's firing! Damn!)

Sikorsky S-92 Helicopter ...NH-90 Killer?

Sikorsky will move away from the S-70 Black Hawk series Helicopter sooner or later and waiting in the wind is the S-92. The NH-90's issues are well documented, the EH-101 is larger, the V-22 is expensive which leaves the S-92 as my dark horse to capture the future military helo market.

British Apache night time carrier ops.

An Apache helicopter waits to take off from HMS Illustrious.

A seaborne exercise saw two Apache helicopters from 664 Squadron, Army Air Corps, carry out deck landing practice onboard HMS ILLUSTRIOUS recently.
They embarked for a two week training package to enable pilots and ground crews to acclimatise to working in a maritime environment.
Photographer: POA(Phot) Ray Jones

An Apache helicopter takes off from HMS Illustrious.

An Apache helicopter waits to take off from HMS Illustrious.

Neptunus Lex makes a trench run on F-35 critics...

Neptunus Lex nails it.

He makes a trench run on F-35 critics with his latest post but instead of me telling you about it, just go over to his house to read it yourself. But to wet your whistle, here's a bit...

In the opening hours of Operation Odyssey Dawn, B-2 bombers flew from their base in the United States to Libya and back to provide the “unique capabilities” necessary to kick down the door for the NATO campaign. What if instead of a twenty hour mission requiring a billion-dollar asset and millions of pounds of jet fuel – you had an aircraft that could do the same mission in twenty minutes from the deck of a ship just off the coast? Whether operating in the denied airspace of an integrated air-defense system or striking fleeting targets in a failed state, the future of tactical aviation is about being readily available and flexible.

Monday, July 25, 2011

ANGLICO conducts close air support

All Photos by Cpl. Gene A. Ainsworth III

Marines with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company watch an explosion here July 21. A detachment of Marines and sailors from the company performed close-air support training in preparation for their upcoming deployment with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Navy Lt. James E. Lamb, a joint terminal attack controller serving with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, or Anglico, climbs to position before the day's training here July 20. A detachment of Marines and sailors from the company performed close-air support training in preparation for their upcoming deployment with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Navy Lt. James E. Lamb, right, relays target areas to Sgt. Ryan J. Eskandary during close-air support training here July 20. Lamb, a joint terminal attack controller, and Eskandary, a forward observer, serve with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, or Anglico, with a detachment deploying with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit later this year. Lamb is from Minneapolis and Eskandary is from St. Paul, Minn.

Sgt. Ryan J. Eskandary, a forward observer serving with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, or Anglico, watches the explosion from a bomb dropped by an F/A-18 Hornet here July 20. A detachment of Marines and sailors from the company performed close-air support training in preparation for their upcoming deployment with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Eskandary is from St. Paul, Minn.

A CH-46 Sea Knight, flown by pilots from 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, unloads gear during a close-air support training event with 1st and 3rd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison companies here July 21.

Marines with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company wait for bombs to be dropped here July 21. A detachment of Marines and sailors from the company performed close-air support training in preparation for their upcoming deployment with the 11th Marine

ISAF Helicopter Crashes in Eastern Afghanistan...ISAF mum.

First we had this release on the 25th from ISAF. I didn't post it because frankly I'm tired of their bullshit when it comes to information about incidents. I don't even know why they even have a Public Affairs Office. You can get more info by following the individual services websites...and when you contact a unit PAO, they're more than happy to help...regardless of the blog size. Prizes in this category go to the 101st, Rangers, 11th MEU, 13th MEU and 1st MEF.

ISAF isn't even in the top fifty. But I digress. This is the paltry information they put out....

ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan
2011-07-S-071
For Immediate Release

KABUL, Afghanistan (July 25, 2011) – An International Security Assistance Force helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan today.

As coalition rescue forces approached the crash site, they came under enemy fire. Coalition forces returned fire, with small arms, while working to secure the site of the crash. All passengers and crew members have been secured and safely transported to a nearby base.

ISAF is currently assessing the incident to determine further facts.

Quite honestly, when I read that rescue forces came under fire, an eyebrow was raised but I knew better than to even ask...the bastards....but today we have this from Stars and Stripes....

U.S. helo downed by RPG in Pech; none killed

Stars and Stripes

Published: July 25, 2011

FORWARD OPERATING BASE JOYCE, Afghanistan — Minor casualties were reported after a rocket-propelled grenade downed a Chinook helicopter carrying U.S. and Afghanistan soldiers as it attempted to land at a coalition forces base in eastern Afghanistan early Monday.
The crash happened shortly after midnight when the rocket hit the rear of the helicopter on its descent into Nangalam Base in the Pech River Valley of Kunar province.
At least two soldiers suffered non-life-threatening shrapnel wounds. Some 20 people were on board, including soldiers and crew.
A rescue team that responded to the crash came under small-arms fire, drawing return fire from U.S. and Afghan soldiers. No further coalition casualties were reported.
There was no immediate word on who was responsible for the attack.
The Pech River Valley and several adjoining valleys, including the Korengal and Shuryak, are considered Taliban strongholds, and attacks on coalition forces remain a regular occurrence as the Afghanistan war approaches the 10-year mark.
A battalion of the Afghanistan National Army is stationed at Nangalam Base, formerly known as Forward Operating Base Blessing. The U.S. military handed over control of the base to Afghan forces earlier this year.
From staff reports

Thank God, no one was killed, but it brings me back to the ISAF PAO .... why no updated info?