This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Hondo

  • ISIS May Have MANPADS Now

    Remember that Syrian airbase that ISIS overran the other day?  Well, it looks like they might have obtained a few useful things when they took it.

    What kind of useful items?  Try advanced MANPADS, for starters.  The Washington Post is reporting that a cache of MANPADS were among the items ISIS obtained when they took that Syrian base.  The MANPADS obtained were reportedly SA-16s, although at least one photo released may be that of an SA-18.

    Along with MANPADS, ISIS reputedly obtained MIG-21s and AIM-9 Sidewinders as well when it captured the base.

    They’ll need qualified pilots, facilities, and maintenance personnel to use the latter two items of course.  But MANPADS aren’t that difficult to use – and if they captured the systems, presumably ISIS also captured a number of Arabic-language manuals as well.  And they’re, well, man-portable.

    If true, this is not good news.

  • 70 Years Ago Today

    On this day in 1944, US and French forces completed the liberation of Paris.

    The liberation of Paris began with a general strike starting on 15 August 1944, while still under German control. On 19 August, French Forces of the Interior (FFI, AKA La Résistance) in Paris began operations against German forces.

    On 24 August, Allied forces entered Paris, reinforcing the FFI. The French 2nd Armored Division entered the western part of the city; the US 4th Infantry Division entered the eastern portions.

    On 25 August, remaining German forces in Paris surrendered.

    Militarily, the capture of Paris was probably of minor importance. Psychologically, however, it was hugely important – especially for our French allies.

    Tonight, perhaps over dinner or during the evening, take a moment to remember those events of 70 years ago. On that day freedom was restored to the capital our oldest ally – one instrumental in securing our own freedom over 160 years earlier.



  • More About That Menace, “Global Warming”

    Here’s a few new interesting bits regarding that threat to the planet, “global warming” – courtesy of the folks at whatsupwiththat.com:

    Yeah, that “global warming” is truly a menace to society – and humanity. We gotta do something – right away!  OMG, the sky’s about to fall!!  Aieeeeee!!!!!

    (I do hope that last paragraph’s sarcasm was obvious.)

    Sheesh. What we need do is admit that mankind really doesn’t yet really understand Earth’s climate anywhere near as well as our “climate warming”   propagandists   proponents claim. And we also need to admit we really don’t know if the Earth’s climate is staying about the same, warming, or cooling – and if it’s changing, what’s causing the change.

  • Cold War Overflights of Russia – the Peripheral Missions

    My article the other day provided a pointer to information concerning US deep penetration overflights of the Soviet Union between 1950 and 1956 – before the U2 was flying.  Needless to day, these weren’t the only overflights of Soviet territory conducted by US aircraft during the “Cold War”.  Nor were they the only ones during which shots were exchanged.

    Far more numerous were peripheral missions – those that flew along the Soviet Union’s land or maritime borders.  I also found an article that gives a fairly good (if perhaps not fully comprehensive) rundown of this far more numerous type of Cold War Soviet overflight mission.

    You can find that article here.  It also seems to be of good quality, and I’d assess it as being reliable as well.  Also highly recommended.

  • Two for Sunday Morning

    I’ve mentioned before that some tunes seem – for me, anyway – to hint of future events. Most don’t.

    Here are two that are IMO special. One fits a time and place perfectly; the other, a situation. One seemed to foretell the future; one didn’t.

    No, I’m not going to identify which is which. Not sure which is which really matters, anyway – except to me.

    In any case, both are IMO apropos for a late-summer Sunday morning. Enjoy.



     

    (PS: if you’re wondering why the sound on the first tune is so exceptionally clean – especially for 1976, when it was released – Alan Parsons was the engineer.  It was also recorded at a place with a name you might recognize:  Abbey Road Studios.

    And yeah – some of the imagery in Plant’s video is heavy-handed, overdone, and seems a bit narcissistic. They did that a lot in music videos from the early 1990s. [smile])

  • USAF Overflights of Russia

    I ran across a fascinating article this morning.  I thought I’d share it.

    The article deals with USAF involvement in overflights of the Soviet Union between 1950 and 1956.  And no, not just quick in-and-out “border dashes”.  Some of the missions were indeed deep penetration overflights.

    The article is not sourced, and the author appears to desire anonymity.  I thus can’t give a good assessment of how credible the article is based on sources or author’s reputation.

    However, the article does generally square with other accounts generally accorded to be of high-reliability. It also provides details that lead me to believe the author had access to some . . . very good documentation.  My assessment is that very likely quite accurate.

    The CIA and the U2 generally get the bulk of the credit for overflying the Soviet Union. But the CIA weren’t the only “players” in that deadly Cold War game – which was at times neither “cold” nor played for low stakes.

    Fascinating reading.  Highly recommended.

    . . .

    (Note:  it’s been my experience that sites such as the one to which this article is posted are often ephemeral.  I’ve captured the article to PDF in the case it disappears.) 

  • Regarding USAF Personnel Cuts

    One of our readers of the USAF-persuasion recently provided a link regarding USAF personnel issues.  So thought I’d write about that too.

    As has been the case with the Army and Navy, members of the USAF are also being scrutinized for involuntary separation. The USAF recently completed a records review of 7,121 individuals in the ranks of Senior Airman through Senior Master Sergeant in “over-manned specialties”.   Of that group, 5,700 were retained – a retention rate of just over 80%. The remaining 1,421 individuals will be discharged, will be offered the opportunity to retire under temporary early retirement authority (TERA), or will be allowed to retire normally (but involuntarily) NLT 1 February 2015.  And individual’s time-in-service will determine which option(s) they can use.

    Little information was provided regarding current USAF officer force-shaping measures. The article did mention that due to voluntary losses there would be no reduction-in-force of USAF medical officers by the reduction-in-force board to be held in October.

    To put things in perspective: the number enlisted personnel selected for involuntary discharge by the USAF this year is approximately the same as the number of CPTs and MAJs that the Army has selected this year for involuntary separation.  And while I have no idea how many enlisted personnel have/will be been identified by the Army to get their walking papers this year, I’d guess that number will be somewhat larger than the number of O3s and O4s combined.  But I could be wrong.

    Still – for those selected, I’m sure they’re thinking “Bless Our Hearts, It’s Christmas Almost. Or at least thinking the acronym.

    And, yeah – being told to “hit the bricks” is one helluva Christmas present from Uncle Sam.

  • More “Government Transparency”? Sure Looks Like It.

    Remember a month ago or so, when the TSA flatly denied news reports that illegal immigrants were being allowed to board US commercial flights without proper ID? You know, after Border Patrol union officials had disclosed the practice, flatly stated it was occurring, and questioned it?  When TSA said, in a press release to multiple media outlets,

    “These reports are false. A Notice to Appear, issued by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), is not an acceptable form of ID at the TSA checkpoint.”

    Do I really have to tell you what they’re saying today? After all, haven’t we seen this Administration backpedal enough since January 2009 to know what’s coming next?

    Hell, I’m gonna tell you anyway. Here’s a quote from a 7 August 2014 letter from TSA to Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-TX:

    …” If a passenger does not have an acceptable form of identification, then the passenger is allowed to present two other forms of identification. One of the two forms of identification must bear the individual’s name and other identifying information such as photo, address, phone number, social security number, or date of birth. TSA may assess a variety of government issued documents to establish passenger identity. The I-862 form may be used along with another form of identification in this instance. As part of the issuance process for Form I-862, the person undergoes a biographic systems check, and a biometric systems check against both the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System and the Automated Biometric Identification System prior to the issuance of Form I-862. TSA needs to be able to assess a wide range of information proffered by a passenger in order to investigate the passenger’s identity and make sure that watchlist matching has occurred.”

    “If a passenger can only present a Form I-862, TSA will attempt to establish the passenger’s identity through DHS partner Components, such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). If other DHS Components are able to provide corroborating information (such as that the I-862 was issued to an individual with the name provided) to permit TSA to verify an individual’s identity when taken together with all other information available, the passenger is permitted into the screening checkpoint to undergo screening.

    Yep.  If the claimed name matches and the individual can present no other info, the guy or gal flies.  Gee, you don’t suppose someone could POSSIBLY use someone else’s name or fake such a form, do you?  Especially since the form is allegedly available on the Internet?

    Sheesh.  Ya know, I really wish the current Administration would quit p!ssing on my leg and telling me it’s raining.

    It’s getting old.  And I can tell p!ss from rain.