Det-4 Military Symposium

By a slight margin Det 4 Members preferred New Orleans for our next Military Symposium.  Now we have to choose a date and then a hotel.

It will of course be hard to get a date that works for everyone.

How does November 14-16, 2014 work for everyone? If not propose an alternate date. And we can always push it to the spring of 2015. 




Vote early and often, the Chicago way.

Drones

Just months ago (July 10, 2013 ) the Navy successfully conducted

take-offs and landings from a fairly new nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS George W. Bush, with a new stealth jet called the X-47B.

What is so different about this plane is the fact that it is a 'drone'.  Yes, it is completely unmanned.  Drones come in all sizes, and the X-47B is likely one of the larger ones.

What is so ironic about all of this is, the fact that the enemy cannot detect a plane like this in the first place.  In the unlikely event they get lucky at shooting one down, there will be no human loss of life or captivity.  

As you view the flight deck crew signaling the plane, they are simply signaling the on-board cameras, who in turn are being manned by staff inside the command intelligence center ( CIC ) onboard the ship.

Also check out the short distance this plane needs for a takeoff.  Impressive

indeed.

We have come a long way from MASS-3 in the 1960's  Air Control has changed a bit also.


Click below for the video.

X-47B UCAS Aviation History Under Way - YouTube

Thanks to Colonel Byron Hill for submitting this.

Some Interesting Information About the Vietnam War

cc.gatech.edu/fac/Thomas.Pilsch/Vietnam.html


cc.gatech.edu/fac/Thomas.Pilsch/Vietnam/books.html


cc.gatech.edu/fac/Thomas.Pilsch/Vietnam/

US Military Help in the Philippines After the Typhoon

USAF Emergency Evac Flight C 17 Tacloban to Manila

Published December 4, 2013 | By John Vervoort

If you feel ‘cramped’ flying in coach on your next trip — remember this picture!

(Tacloban is the city in the Philippine Islands where over 5000 died when Typhoon Haiyan came ashore in early November)

This is onboard one of the US Air Force’s C-17 on one of the evacuation trips from Tacloban to Manila.

Thanks to Colonel Byron Hill for sharing.

Well done, Air Force.  I am retired military and we can fly Space Available on US Military Airplanes. My wife and I often fly this aircraft. We came back from Spain last week on a C-17. It was not quite this crowded, although it was carrying a C-47 Helo.

Our Photos at:

http://ruhu12.com

1. How Philippines typhoon aid helps USA: Column - USA Today

   www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/11/.../philippines...us.../3500637...‎

    

   Nov 14, 2013 - The United States immediately dispatched relief and troops to aid the ... The storm that ravaged the Philippinesthis weekend was off the charts,  ...

2. U.S. Typhoon Aid In The Philippines Underscores Countries ...

   www.huffingtonpost.com/.../us-typhoon-aid-philippines_n_4298054.ht...‎

    

   Nov 18, 2013 - By Manuel Mogato and Aubrey Belford MANILA/TACLOBAN, Philippines, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. military's response to the devastation ...

3. US military relief effort for Philippine typhoon winding down - Stripes ...

   www.stripes.com/us-military-relief-effort-for-philippine-typhoon-windin...‎

    

   Nov 25, 2013 - The U.S. military's assistance for survivors ofTyphoon Haiyan appears to be rapidly winding down as responsibility for relief efforts in a number ...

4. News for philippines hurricane us military

   

   Newsday
   1. Justin Bieber raises funds for Philippines' Typhoon Haiyan victims

      CBC.ca ‎- 21 hours ago

      Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber arrived Tuesday in thePhilippines, ... by the Philippine and U.S. militaryfrom typhoon-ravaged provinces of Leyte ...

5. US military footprint on Philippines could grow after typhoon Haiyan ...

   www.csmonitor.com/.../US-military-footprint-on-Philippines-could-grow...‎

    

   Nov 13, 2013 - The aftermath of typhoon Haiyan is showing Filipinos the benefits of a robust US military presence. That could help a US-Philippines military ...

6. US role in typhoon relief boosts new military deal with Manila - Reuters

   www.reuters.com/.../us-philippines-usa-typhoon-idUSBRE9AO08D2013...‎

    

   Nov 25, 2013 - MANILA (Reuters) - Emergency relief provided byU.S. troops in areas devastated by typhoon Haiyan in the centralPhilippines makes a strong ...

7. US Military to Aid Typhoon-devastated Philippines - United States ...

   www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=121094‎

    

   WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2013 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel directed U.S. Pacific Command yesterday to support U.S.government humanitarian relief ...

8. US Pledges More Aid To Philippines Typhoon Recovery - World - Time

   

   world.time.com/.../typhoon-haiyan-u-s-pledges-more-aid-to-phi...‎

    

   by Charlotte Alter - in 43 Google+ circles

   Nov 18, 2013 - Typhoon Haiyan survivors help carry USAID donated food after a U.S. military helicopter unloaded it in the de

Marine Thanksgiving Spain

Thanksgiving With The Marines 

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

We are goofing off in Spain, having a great time. As Thanksgiving approached we decided to stop by at the Moron Air Base for an American Thanksgiving Dinner.

Great dinner in the chow hall - we were surprised to see that almost everyone there were Marines in their green cammies. Officers and Staff NCO's were serving the food and cleaning up the mess hall.

I enjoyed watching the officers working in the chow hall since I own the record for days of mess duty in the Marine Corps. I had 100 days of mess duty, the last 30 days for punishment. Glad to see officers learning the ropes.

Fun talking to these Marines. They are not talking of course, but they have been put here to deal with things like the unfortunate Libyan killing of the US Ambassador. Marines were always used for that from Embassy Security 

and a Battalion afloat, but these guys should be able to get there a little faster - C-130's and Ospreys.

They look so young. And they are.

________________

We went to the club Thanksgiving evening. These clubs are now all hands - few bases have enough people to have separate clubs for officers, NCO's and troops.

Most of the troops in the bar were young first term troops. We bought the bar a couple of rounds for Thanksgiving. It was fun. I spent a lot of time talking to a Cpl and Lance Corporal swapping stories about boot camp and the Marine Corps.

They make a lot more money than when we were troops. One guy is getting out to go to college. The other guy is going for 20 or 30 years.

Boot camp and infantry training are roughly twice as long as we spent back in the day. We made up the difference in on the job training.

Great young Marines, the age of our grand children, if we were old enough to have them. And of course these young men thought we were older than dirt. And we are.  Although I regaled them with some stories about my WWII father who is still going strong.

_______________________

MORON DE LA FRONTERA, Spain --

Approximately 500 Marines and sailors arrived aboard Moron Air Base, May 5- 13, to serve as Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response, a new expeditionary unit positioned forward to respond to limited crisis within the Mediterranean and African area-of-responsibility.

SP-MAGTF Crisis Response is a rotational force of Marines and sailors sourced from a variety of units from II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C., temporarily positioned on Moron Air Base, Spain, capable of decisive action across a range of military operations.

“The reason we are here is to provide a scalable force to respond to unexpected crisis,” said Major Zane Crawford, the SP-MAGTF Crisis Response operations officer. “We can rapidly deploy to support missions, such as embassy reinforcement, tactical recovery of aircraft, and personnel and non-combatant evacuation operations.”

A Marine Air-Ground Task Force is a balanced, expeditionary force with built-in command, ground, aviation and logistics elements and, while this is nothing new for the Marine Corps, a SP-MAGTF is organized, trained and equipped to accomplish a specific mission, according to Crawford.

The SP-MAGTF CR gives U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Africa a broad range of military capabilities to respond to crises in its area-of-responsibility including conducting non-combatant evacuation, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and support to U.S. embassies, and other operations, missions and activities as directed by national and command leadership.

_________________________________________

You should mention that Spanish Marines who guard the two bases we lease in Spain are the oldest Marine Corps in the world.  The Spanish Marine Corps (Infanteria de Marina) was founded on 27 Feb 1537 by King Charles I.  They celebrate their birthday every year on this date.  Miguel de Cervantes who authored “Don Quixote de la Mancha” was a Spanish Marine and a prisoner of the Barbary pirates.  

Bob Dart

____

More photos at ruhu12.com

WW II and the Great Lakes

World War II and the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes provided vital support for the war effort in WWII, from building 28 fleet subs in Manitowoc, Wisconsin to providing the bulk of US industrial output, we could not have won the war if not for the benefits of the Great Lakes and their related industry. However there was another benefit of the lakes that is often overlooked. Japan quickly lost the war because, among many other things, its navy could not replace its carrier pilot losses. We could.

How did we train so many pilots in both comfort (calm seas) and safety (no enemy subs)

We took two old side-wheel Great Lakes passenger steamers and turned them into training carriers on Lake Michigan! Virtually every carrier pilot trained in the war got his landing training on these amazing ships! Sadly nothing but these great photos and the wrecks of the aircraft that ditched alongside them remain to tell their fascinating story! Check this out! USS Sable and USS Wolverine.

During World War II merchant ships were converted to aircraft carriers to train Navy pilots. The USS Sable (IX-81) was a training ship of the United States Navy during World War II. Originally built as the 'Greater Buffalo', a sidewheel excursion steamer, she was converted in 1942 to a freshwater aircraft carrier to be used on the Great Lakes. She was used for advanced training for naval aviators in carrier takeoffs and landings. One aviator that trained upon the Sable was future president George H. W. Bush. Following World War II, Sable was decommissioned on 7 November 1945. She was sold for scrapping on 7 July 1948.

The steamship 'Greater Buffalo' before it was converted to the USS Sable (IX-81).

Overhead view of the training aircraft carrier Sable (IX 81) underway on Lake Michigan with an FM Wildcat making a deck launch from the flattop 1945

The USS Sable (IX-81) lies at anchor in Lake Michigan 1943

training aircraft carrier Sable (IX 81) moored alongside a pier on the shore of Lake Michigan during a break in training operations.

Click below for many more great photos and the rest of the story.

  ... http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=48962

Pilot crashes while attempting a landing on the USS Wolverine. The plane is an SNJ, the Navy version of the USAAF's T-6 trainer.

American Recon Spitfire Video

Here is a real cool video about Spirfire photo recons in WW2. This guy found some 16MM film never seen before and takes it back to the pilot who had never seen it, it's great! 

Don't miss this great story-

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=ie3SrjLlcUY&sns=em

1. LiveLeak.com - 83 year old American Spitfire pilot sees his crash ...

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   www.liveleak.com/view?i=759_1370809886‎

   
   

   83 year old American Spitfire pilot sees his crash landing for the first time. For aviation history fans. Hero (won the DFC) recon pilot flew Spitfires  ...