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

Category: Air Force

  • Meanwhile, Down In the Silos . . . .

    Seems as if things didn’t go that well when a USAF Missile Wing received a periodic inspection.

    Turns out in one area they barely passed.  What area?  “Minuteman III missile launch operations.”

    Maybe it’s just me, but  I’d say that’s a rather critical task for a USAF Missile Wing.

    The unit CO still has a job – for now, anyway.  But 17 launch officers have been pulled from their assignments for at least 60-days and relegated to “bench warmer” status.  Presumably that will include some extensive retraining.

    The USAF has had some high-profile nuclear incidents over the past decade or so.  In 2008, things got so bad that the SECDEF fired some of the USAF’s civilian and military leadership due to a series of incidents, including one in which a bomber armed with live warheads flew cross-country without authority.   And a report that same year by a Pentagon advisory group indicated that there had been a “dramatic and unacceptable decline” in the Air Force’s commitment to the nuclear mission.

    Looks like some of those same problems might remain 5 years later.

    Yeah, using nuclear missiles has always been something no one liked to think about.  It’s also probably something that’s extremely unlikely.

    But it’s still a critical mission.  And IMO, it’s just a bit too important to “back burner” and take less than deadly serious.

  • AF’s sex assault response officer arrested for…sexual assault

    LTC Jeffrey Krusinski

    Fox News reports that LTC Jeffrey Krusinski, who led the Air Force’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response unit was arrested by Arlington County police in Crystal City this weekend;

    Arlington County Police said Monday that they charged Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski of Arlington with misdemeanor sexual battery after an alleged assault about 12:30 a.m. Sunday in the Crystal City section of the county.

    A police report says that the 41-year-old Krusinski was drunk and grabbed a woman’s breast and buttocks. Police say the woman fought him off and called police.

    Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck says Krusinski did not know the woman involved.

    Who needs to write satire when real life is more ironic? The article says that the Air Force has fired him from that job.

  • Three USAF Personnel Feared Lost in Kyrgyzstan

    Two members of the USAF have died in an incident in northern Kyrgyzstan.  A third is missing and feared dead.

    A USAF KC-135 based at Manas AB departed yesterday on an aerial refueling mission in support of operations in Afghanistan.

    Takeoff was normal.  Sometime afterward, a witness reported hearing an explosion, followed several seconds later by a second explosion and the breakup of the aircraft.  The aircraft then crashed, scattering debris over an area with radius of approximately 1-km.

    At least one individual calling in to a hotline reported seeing a parachute during the aircraft’s breakup and crash.  Remains from two individuals have been reported recovered; they have not yet been identified.  Portions of the debris field extends over relatively rough terrain.

    The third airman on board remains missing.  The incident is under investigation.  Names of the aircrew and other details relating to the incident have not yet been released.

    Rest in peace, my late brothers-in-arms.  May God comfort your surviving friends and families.

     

    Update:  according to this article, the aircraft itself was apparently based at McConnell AFB, KS.  However, the crew flying the aircraft that day appears to have been assigned to Fairchild AFB, WA.  The aircraft apparently went down approximately 100mi west of Manas AB, near the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border.

  • Female airman charged in sex scandal

    Tom sends us a link to an article from Reuters which reports that a female drill instructor at Lackland’s training facility has been charged in the huge sex scandal there;

    Staff Sergeant Emily Allen admitted to having a sexual relationship with a male technical trainee, attempting to have a sexual relationship with another man, and having or trying to develop social relationships with two female and one male technical trainees.

    “She pleaded guilty to having a relationships with all four of the technical school Airmen,” Lackland spokesman Brent Boller said.

    I don’t what is going through these people’s minds – there is a war going on and there are other things on the planet that deserve attention more than having sex with everything wearing a reflective belt. But, apparently, the problem crosses gender lines.

  • Airman Injured at Boston Marathon

    The Military Times reports that a member of the USAF was seriously injured at the Boston Marathon bombing.  The name of the individual has not been released.

    Rest easy, my brother- or sister-in-arms.  Recover fully and quickly.

    If you’re so inclined, please ask CINC-All to speed this Airman’s recovery and comfort their family.

  • TSO embedded

    I sent TSO on another embed this week (although this is the first one I hooked him up with). He’s with the Air Force and last I heard, he’s in Tucson, although, because it’s the Air Force, he’s going to be in several places out on the West Coast. But here’s a picture he sent. Don’t ask me where it is (I’m guessing it’s Tucson);

    TSO embed with AF

    We’ll probably get to hear more about it, because he’s supposed to get to observe PJs and aircrews while they do their business. So look for more.

  • DFC for “Killer Chick”

    Major Kim Campbell

    At Defense.gov, they tell the story of Air Force Major Kim Campbell who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for her actions over Baghdad on April 7, 2003 when after flying her A-10 Warthog in support of an Army unit which was pinned against the Tigris River by republican Guard units, she discovered that her air craft had been devastated by ground fire;

    With numerous caution lights flashing, the one that worried Campbell the most was the hydraulic lights. A quick check confirmed her suspicions: Her hydraulic system had been fried. She would later discover that one of her engines was badly damaged and the fuselage was riddled with hundreds of bullet holes.

    Campbell quickly switched to manual inversion, allowing her to fly her Warthog under mechanical control. She then had a decision: try to fly 300 miles back to base, or parachute into hostile territory. This was dicey terrain, so she decided she had to make the flight. Despite the heavily damaged aircraft and terrible weather – including massive dust storms – “Killer Chick” persevered.

    Our heart-felt congratulations to this true warrior and we’re glad that she’s still among us to receive the award. And, thanks for flying support for the folks on the ground – an A-10 is a most welcomed sight in a firefight, and it takes a special kind of pilot to fly into the maw of incoming fire from the ground.

  • “We . . . pushed our luck one day too long”

    The Air Force is often ribbed about being the least military of the services, and about being the least “hardcore”.  Frankly, there’s an element of truth to that.  Life in the USAF appears to be closer to civilian life than any of the other services.  USAF facilities and working conditions are generally better than in the other services.  It’s a running joke that when building a base the USAF first builds the clubs, MWR facilities, and housing, starts building the runways – then runs out of money and asks Congress for a supplemental appropriation to finish the runways and buy the planes.  (smile)

    Still, elements of the USAF serve at risk like the other services.  At times, they serve valiantly – and tragically.

    What follows is a short version of one such incident.  The story was suppressed for years, and though now public it is still is not well known.  It is the story of the fall of Lima Site 85 – a facility that did not at the time officially exist.

    (more…)