Obama Campaign sues to restrict voting by the military

Let me get this straight - The President and his Democratic allies will do anything they can to allow access to vote, including making sure that laws are in place that likely allow people who are non-citizens to vote BUT they have gone to court to limit access to voting for our US Military members???  Really ???

If you have served our country or have someone you love who defended this country in uniform, you need to VOTE the unethical, shallow hypocrite out of office.

The President has proven to be unfit to command and undeserving of the support of anyone who cares about the defense of our country.

August 3, 2012

Obama campaign sues to restrict voting by military
Rick Moran - The American Thinker
If requiring a citizen to show a picture ID to vote is "suppressing the vote," what does it mean when the Obama campaign really makes an effort to prevent our soldiers from voting?

President Barack Obama, along with many Democrats, likes to say that, while they may disagree with the GOP on many issues related to national security, they absolutely share their admiration and dedication to members of our armed forces. Obama, in particular, enjoys being seen visiting troops and having photos taken with members of our military. So, why is his campaign and the Democrat party suing to restrict their ability to vote in the upcoming election?

On July 17th, the Obama for America Campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and the Ohio Democratic Party filed suit in OH to strike down part of that state's law governing voting by members of the military. Their suit said that part of the law is "arbitrary" with "no discernible rational basis."

Currently, Ohio allows the public to vote early in-person up until the Friday before the election. Members of the military are given three extra days to do so. While the Democrats may see this as "arbitrary" and having "no discernible rational basis," I think it is entirely reasonable given the demands on servicemen and women's time and their obligations to their sworn duty.

The National Defense Committee reports:

[f]or each of the last three years, the Department of Defense's Federal Voting Assistance Program has reported to the President and the Congress that the number one reason for military voter disenfranchisement is inadequate time to successfully vote.

I think it's unconscionable that we as a nation wouldn't make it as easy as possible for members of the military to vote. They arguably have more right to vote than the rest of us, since it is their service and sacrifice that ensures we have the right to vote in the first place.

I would disagree that the military has "more right" to vote than anyone. Everyone has an equal right to vote as long as they're registered and a citizen, and by saying that some have a greater right to vote, it means that others have a lesser right to vote -- and that's unacceptable.

Not really important, except it appears the Obama administration is buying that argument. With the suit, they are saying that our soldiers have a lesser right to vote than others. The law is designed to give military personnel an equal opportunity to cast their ballot. and by fighting that notion, the Obama campaign is seeking to suppress the military vote, knowing that it usually goes 2-1 Republican

MEMORIAL DAY - May we never forget those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom

A good article from the National Geographic about how Memorial Day has been changed by our society and how there is movement to change the date back to the original date of May 30th, regardless of where it falls on the calendar.

It is my hope that our citizens never forget how much others have sacrificed for our freedom.

The enclosed picture was one I took when I visited Arlington National Cemetery in 2010 for the funeral of a fallen US Marine.

Memorial Day: How It's Changed, Why Some Oppose 3-Day Weekend

Day of remembrance lost in swirl of summer kickoff?

Brian Handwerk

for National Geographic News

Published May 25, 2012

Every year Memorial Day brings people together in the United States to honor fallen service members on the last Monday in May.

Since its post-Civil War beginnings, the holiday has changed considerably and now may be best known as the start of summer vacation season—prompting some critics to call for moving the date away from a three-day weekend.

Unlike Veterans Day on November 11, which honors all who have served their country, Memorial Day is set aside for special remembrance of those who laid down their lives for U.S. national defense.

Despite the modern spirit of patriotic camaraderie, Memorial Day has its roots in one of the most divisive events in U.S. history: the Civil War.

Soon after the bloody conflict ceased, General John A. Logan—commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans—called for a holiday to be observed every year on May 30.

At the time, that holiday was known as Decoration Day, because Logan wanted to honor the fallen by "strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating, the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion."

But many Civil War memorial ceremonies actually predated Logan's first Decoration Day, which was held at Arlington National Cemetery in 1868. More than two dozen U.S. cities claim to have hosted the first Decoration Day or Memorial Day.

In 1966, the U.S. Congress and President Lyndon B. Johnson recognized Waterloo, New York, as the "birthplace" of Memorial Day, based on a May 5, 1866, service held to honor local veterans, which included citywide events and the closings of local businesses.
The first national Memorial Day holiday, designated by Congress, was held in 1971.

Memorial Day a "Sacrosanct" Observance

In the years just after the Civil War, Northern and Southern Memorial Day services didn't necessarily honor the same soldiers.

But since World War I, the holiday has gathered the nation together to honor all men and women who've lost their lives in conflict, from the American Revolution to the present day battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Over the decades the name of the holiday has shifted as well, with Memorial Day gradually becoming the common moniker.

Now in cemeteries across the United States veterans and citizens alike hold ceremonies, and the graves of the fallen are adorned with flowers and U.S. flags.

"We believe that Memorial Day is a sacrosanct national observance for the entire country," said John Raughter, communications director for the American Legion, a nonprofit organization of veterans helping veterans.

Smaller local observances, in which citizens honor veterans known to their communities, remain as links to the original spirit of Decoration Day, he said.

"Thankfully most communities in this country recognize this, and we are grateful that they have observances and ceremonies on the local level. Those are very important."
An End to Memorial Day Weekend?

Due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968—which moved observances of several holidays to create long weekends—Memorial Day has for decades been held on the last Monday in May.

But some groups, including the American Legion, hope for a return to the original May 30 observance, to truly set the day apart.

"The majority of Americans view Memorial Day as a time for relaxation and leisure recreation rather than as a solemn occasion and a time to reflect and pay tribute to the American servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives in defense of our Nation," according to an American Legion resolution issued at the group's 2010 National Convention.

Instead of being part of a long weekend, the resolution asks that Congress "restore the official observance of Memorial Day to May 30 and that all American institutions toll their bells for one minute, beginning at 11:00, on that date in remembrance of those who died defending the Nation."

Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, has several times introduced legislation favoring a shift of Memorial Day back to May 30.
(Related pictures: "World War II 'Time Capsule' Fighter Found in Sahara.")
And some communities still observe the original date with solemn parades and other services of remembrance.

Since 2000 people across the U.S. have also been asked to observe a national moment of remembrance at 3:00 p.m. local time on the official national holiday. Flags are flown at half staff until noon, to signify a day of mourning.

"I think people are realizing again that Memorial Day is not about picnics, ball games, or going to the beach," the American Legion's Raughter said.

"There's nothing wrong with those things and enjoying the lifestyle that we have," he added. "But remember that the lifestyle that we have in America—the ability to enjoy a long weekend—was made possible by the nearly one million men and women who have died in service to this country since the American Revolution."

Perhaps the fact that so many of today's U.S. troops are in harm's way, serving in dangerous overseas deployments, has sparked a bit more solemnity, no matter which date is observed, Raughter suggested.

"We seem to remember when we see young men and women come back wounded, amputees, or hear of people we know who made the supreme sacrifice," he said.
"It's a shame that it sometimes takes a war to remind us of the heroes that we have, because even during peacetime, the vets are still with us, and they should be remembered at all times, not only when the guns are firing."

The real 1% - Those who defend our nation.

This author makes the case for the 1%. The 1% she is highlighting is not the uber-rich, but those who are serve in uniform defending our nation and their families who support them from the homefront. I agree with her point-of-view.


Two members of a different 1% on Afghanistan, politics and privilege.
By ANNE JOLIS - Wall Street Journal
Zhari District, Afghanistan

U.S. service-members make up less than 1% of the American population. But the occupiers of Afghanistan do have a few, superficial similarities with the self-described "99%" occupying Western financial districts: Their endeavors both involve tents and have gone on far longer than first expected; both elicit mixed reactions in the areas they occupy; and both at times struggle to explain what their occupations are meant to accomplish.

Otherwise, the soldiers here in southern Afghanistan could not pose a starker contrast to their agitating peers back home. Take Spc. Anthony Webster, 32, of Portland, Maine and Sgt. Matthew Montville, 24, of Worcester, Massachusetts. They serve as their command group's security detachment in the Fourth Squadron, Fourth U.S. Cavalry Regiment, First Infantry Division—the "Pale Riders."

In late November, straightening their tent after a day of patrols, Sgt. Montville recalls taking leave in October to find himself "appalled" at the Occupy Boston crowd. The impish blond, who enlisted at 17 because "the idea of college never excited" him, observes: "Most of those 'Occupy' people wouldn't know hard work if it jumped up and punched them in the throat."

Not so the Pale Riders. They've had a particularly wretched war even for a particularly wretched part of Afghanistan, which has the ignoble distinction of being the Taliban's birthplace. Since arriving with 517 soldiers in late February, the Pale Riders have buried seven and been awarded 134 living Purple Hearts.

***
After 2001, the U.S. largely left this stretch of the Arghandab River valley to Afghan forces. By 2006 the Taliban was resurgent, and a Canadian-led contingent was sent to level entire neighborhoods here. But they never had the manpower to hold the area and by 2007 had effectively retreated, leaving the valley to de-facto Taliban control once again.

President Obama's surge increased U.S. troop presence here by roughly six-fold. The Second Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division spent much of 2010 redoing the Canadians' bloody work. When the Third Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division arrived with its Pale Rider attachment, they expanded the 101st's so-called security bubble while consolidating those gains with local outreach.

"We came at the beginning of the fighting season, and there was no bulls— about it," says Spc. Webster, a former construction and private-security entrepreneur whose tattoos cover about 85% of his body. "When it started, it started."

Spc. William A.T. Phillips, 4th Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
The Pale Riders patrol through Charkusa, southern Afghanistan.

It hasn't really stopped. On a routine patrol a week before I met them, the Pale Riders entered a house that turned out to be rigged with explosives. The blast brought the house down on top of two of them, who survived but were critically injured. "I've never heard screaming like that in my life," says Sgt. Montville.

"You can't justify any of the losses," says Spc. Webster after a long pause. "But we're here to do our jobs, we know what we signed up for. The mission is what we live by, that's priority No. 1."

Sgt. Montville summarizes: "We continued the push and at the same time started talking to the locals to find out what they need from us and actually start to implement it—roads, schools, clinics."

"Anyone can go in and blow a place up. We're trying to do the right thing," he adds. "I'm proud of what we've done."

"We see more kids now, more of their women out, people able to farm their land—we've accomplished a lot in a short period of time," adds Spc. Webster. But "it's frustrating, too. Ultimately it's up to the Afghans. We go to these shuras [meetings of local elders] and we hear them arguing about dumb stuff."

Earlier on the day of our interview we patrolled through the neighborhood of Charkusa, where only weeks before the Pale Riders had been taking regular fire from mazes of grape walls and marijuana gardens. Now Charkusa is quiet, though nearly deserted. Over tea with several elders who had fled during the Canadian offensive, the old men acknowledged that security had improved and said they're prepared to work with their imperfect government, return home and fill the vacuum that insurgents would be happy to re-occupy. But some remained focused on what the Americans haven't done for them lately: They want their mud huts rebuilt and this time with doors and windows; they want their irrigation canals repaired and reinforced with brick or cement; they want their relocation expenses covered. Pale Rider Commander, Lt. Col. Michael Katona of Michigan, listened patiently, his soldiers fanned around us, nodding: "We can do all that."

Their aim is to do so by the end of the year, when the Pale Riders will start to leave. But "it's their community, at some point they need to own it," Spc. Webster says. "If not, our efforts will have been futile. I'd like to believe they weren't, I know my friends who have passed away, their families—I know they hope they weren't."

Another crucial variable over which the Pale Riders have little control is the development of the Afghan National Army, which Spc. Montville says is "definitely improving. But for a lot of them, it's their first time having their own money, so they have cell phones and they want to hang out and talk on them, weapons flopping around—sometimes they smoke hashish on patrol."

Like most of the U.S. soldiers with whom I spoke, Spc. Webster and Sgt. Montville have taken it upon themselves to informally train the ANA they work with—though ostensibly they've already received NATO training.

Sgt. Montville tells me that, for instance, their ANA counterparts were recently issued .50-caliber machine guns. But "a lot of them didn't know how to clean them, take them apart—they just didn't know what they were doing. So instead of us getting shot in the back accidentally, [Spc.] Webster and I went over to the ANA side [of Forward Operating Base Pasab] and brought our .50-cals over and had them bring theirs out. We showed them how to take them apart, clean them, make sure they work right, put them back together—basic soldiering skills. . . . Eventually they do start taking stuff seriously."

He flicks on his laptop to show me a recent video of U.S. soldiers defusing an IED set against a grape wall. While everyone else waits, frozen, an ANA soldier wanders into the frame, ignoring the others' warning shouts, steps on the pressure-point and loses half his face and a foot. "Luckily, they're getting better."

"Yeah, but that really is how undisciplined some of these guys are. It's a liability every time we go out with them," adds Spc. Webster.

Both agree that Washington's 2014 combat-withdrawal date doesn't make their work easier.

"It's more pressure on us and especially our commanders, to try and get everything in place to make sure it doesn't all fall apart once we leave, to make sure these people aren't bullied all over again," explains Spc. Webster. He says even after 2014, he expects the U.S. and its allies to keep a significant overwatch presence in Afghanistan for a long time, "for the safety of the whole world. If not, [Afghanistan] would go to hell again."

But he also sees their work now as more humanitarian than U.S. defense. Which is why the pre-set timeline is "the right thing to do. We've got a lot of problems at home. How many more lives and money can we really afford to lose here?"

Spc. Montville, on the other hand, characterizes the timeline as "a nice goal," but also akin to telling the insurgents "'Hey, guess what guys, we're leaving in 2014, you just got to hold on till then. Then you can come back and do whatever the f— you want.'"

Unlike Spc. Webster, Sgt. Montville claims "honestly, I don't care. Once I go home, I'm going to try my best not to think about this place and some of the s— I've seen."

Why? "Because I'm a spoiled American."

Turns out that after nine months dodging rockets and IEDs, without alcohol, flush toilets or their respective wife and girlfriend, Spc. Webster and Sgt. Montville's tour has left them preoccupied with how good they have it.

"If you grew up in a mud hut, went to school for maybe one or two years, you might not be the smartest dude either, but you'd be a hard worker," says Sgt. Montville. "You see kids here hauling three, four times their body weight, going 15 miles an hour on some [beaten-up] one-speed bicycle. I absolutely have a lot of respect for them. You've got to."

***
Which brings us back to America's "occupiers." "Yeah okay, a lot of them have jobs, they work a crappy nine-to-five, they've got student loans," concedes Sgt. Montville. "And I have a car payment. I'm not getting financial aid for my cell-phone bill. Everyone has to work. Deal with it."

Of their own unenviable salaries, Spc. Webster shrugs: "No one's ever going to get paid enough to do this job. That's not why we do it."

"I love what I do, I can't see myself doing anything else," adds Sgt. Montville. But when Washington politicos were threatening earlier this year to suspend military pay, his initial reaction was: "They train us to kill people, to drive tanks, use explosives, fight in the dark, to engage in hand-to-hand-combat; they give us all these guns, all this cool gear to do this—and then they're going to take our pay? Are they stupid?"

Memo to the humorless: He's kidding. Upon hearing of the budget brinkmanship, "a lot of guys here said '[Forget] it then, I'm not going to go out on patrol!' But I don't know anyone who would actually do that."

And while neither voted for the current President, "[Mr.] Obama is my boss," says Spc. Webster. "If he sends us orders tomorrow to go to Pakistan, Iran, wherever—done. I'd pack my bags and go."

As the U.S. drawdown proceeds, Spc. Webster predicts, safely, that 2012 campaigns will bring claims of "'I did this, I brought the troops home.'" He laughs and lets Sgt. Montville finish his thought: "We're the ones watching each others' backs out here. The ones who survive—we'll have brought ourselves home."

Miss Jolis is an editorial page writer for The Wall Street Journal Europe.

Picture of the month

Here is the picture of the month.

November is more than half over and it is the week before Thanksgiving, the most American of all holidays.

Next week, you will likely be sitting down with family for the annual Thanksgiving Day feast. Military men & women will be doing their jobs and serving overseas away from family. Most will get a hot meal and the DFACs in Afghanistan will put on a feast. I have been there on the holiday and have seen how well our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines & Airmen get fed on this special day.

At the same time, there are those who will be at the point of the spear, like the soldier pictured here. He & his troops along with their K-9 mates will likely spend the day doing their job and hoping that a pre-packaged holiday meal finds it's way to their COP (Combat OutPost) as not all troops can be back at base to use the DFAC, regardless of the day.

Something to think about as you head to the mall, go shopping or have a drink with friends. They are out there, 24/7/365 allowing you the ability to enjoy your freedoms. Make sure they are in your thoughts and prayers. This week, Thanksgiving Day and always.

Air Force Pulls the Ejection Handle on more than 400 Officers

Looks like some of the Air Force's officers will be looking for new jobs next year.

Right sizing, down sizing, need to reduce overhead.....terms that only applied to the private sector but now are part of the "battle" being played out by our government & military leaders.

Hope they get a better landing than the average worker has gotten over the last few years. It is a rough time to be without work and many of our Veterans are finding that out. Unemployment is higher among Veterans than other groups of people seeking work.

It seems we have plenty of money to take care of businesses that were " too big to fail" but not enough to take care of those who defend our country. Anyone else see something wrong with this picture??


Air Force Pink Slips More Than 400 Officers
November 02, 2011 - FoxNews.com

The Air Force is laying off 436 captains and majors as part of a multiyear program to adjust its staffing levels after its retention rate hit its highest level in 16 years.

Although the cuts are aimed at meeting congressionally mandated targets, they are not related to the $450 billion that the Pentagon will slash from its budget over the next decade, officials told FoxNews.com.

The Air Force must limit its workforce to 332,800 officers and enlisted airmen by the end of this fiscal year, or Sept. 30, 2012. As of October, the workforce numbered 329,000 people. But the reductions are based on projections made at the beginning of the fiscal year and monthly numbers wildly fluctuate, officials told FoxNews.com.

The layoffs were made by the Reduction-in-Force Board, which reviewed the records of 8,832 officers.

“The objective of the board was to retain the best-qualified officers according to the ‘whole-person’ concept used in promotion boards,” the Air Force said in a press release.

A spokeswoman for the Air Force told FoxNews.com that the Air Force is now on pace to meet its workforce target by the end of the fiscal year and no more layoffs will be necessary, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Air Force officials attribute its high retention rate to a sluggish economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down and the stability and benefits of working in the military.

The 436 officers getting the pink slip – 367 captains and 69 majors – will receive full separation pay and six months of medical benefits after they leave in March 2012. The Air Force says it will offer those officers support through family readiness centers and veterans’ benefits seminars.

The announcement comes as the Pentagon braces for $450 billion in cuts over the next 10 years that were part of the deficit-reduction deal President Obama struck with Congress in August. Panetta has said that the $450 billion in cuts won’t threaten national security, but he warned U.S. lawmakers last month that any more than that would.

The deficit-reduction deal struck over the summer led to the formation of a so-called congressional Super Committee to find $1.2 trillion in savings over the next decade. If the 12-member panel fails to reach a deal by Thanksgiving or Congress rejects it, $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts will be triggered across the board, with half hitting defense.

Air Force officials told FoxNews.com that it’s not clear how those cuts will affect the Air Force because they have await the president’s annual budget

Memorial Day 2011

ARMED FORCES DAY - "United in Strength" - MAY 21st, 2011

I have no need to add any other words to the enclosed article but to say, " THANKS !" to all our Armed Forces.

One of the perks of my present job is that I get to be among the nation's finest warriors each day I am here.....they are the best & brightest....regardless of the tripe you read from the media, morale is high and they are focused on doing what they need to to help others....they are dedicated to selfless service.


Armed Forces Day: Oh, what we ask of our troops
By Al Neuharth, USA TODAY Founder

"Saturday's Armed Forces Day should spur all of us to think more seriously about the role and rewards of our military men and women.

Because all our troops are volunteers, many of us don't give them the attention we would if there were a draft that involved family or close friends.

Their scope:

•There are 1,432,400 active duty military personnel and 846,200 reserve troops.

•About 300,000 serve overseas, about 100,000+ in Afghanistan.

Armed Forces Day, officially the third Saturday in May since 1949, began as Army Day in 1936. Appropriately, it now salutes all branches of the military.

.....Fortunately, the pay has become more appropriate than some of the assignments.

The lowest annual pay grade now is $35,386. As a private in the Infantry in World War II, I earned $720 a year, which with inflation is equivalent to $9,200 now.

Army generals and top officers of the Navy, Air Force and Marines now can earn more than $220,000 a year. In the olden days of World War II that was $15,000.

On Armed Forced Day, I'll be proud of all our military and pleased that we reward them more properly financially....."

Meanwhile in Afghanistan.....24/7/365

At the same time today while you may have been upset because of traffic jams, not getting a parking space where you wanted it, or that your job has been stressing you out,etc., the US Military was out there, doing their job, under the harshest of conditions and in a manner that demonstrates why we are the protectors of Freedom around the world.

Just take a moment and think about it next time you have a bad day.....somewhere in the world, the US Military is having a bit of a tough time ensuring your Freedom to conduct your life as you would like to......24/7/365.


Just a little perspective....courtesy of the US Military and all who serve and all who have served the greatest Nation in the World.

The Workday....has begun.....24/7/365

The A-10 "It's been around forever. Not a lot of cars the same age are used as much as this plane."

While I was in country, I LOVED the A-10s that flew over us as there is no better protection for those on the ground than having an A-10 overhead....Only the Apache Attack Helicopter comes close to making sure the Taliban get what is coming to them....

Great overview on what is required to keep these machines flying.....I am glad they are there. 40 years old and still taking it to the enemy....awesome.

Combing the A-10 keeps “Sharks” in the air Login to Vote!
451st Air Expeditionary Wing
Story by Capt. Penelope Carroll &Tech Sgt. Emily F. Alley

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Every 500 flight hours, each A-10 must go through a phase inspection. In the five months the current inspection team of the 451st AEW has been at Kandahar Airfield, they've completed twenty phase inspections and repaired more than 6,000 total discrepancies.

The inspection might find hairline cracks, missing bolts or chafed hydraulic lines. The inspection is especially necessary for an aircraft that may be older than the pilot flying it.

"This guy could use some dental work," remarked Tech Sgt. Thomas Breining, running his hand over the gray nose of an A-10 where the teeth of this "Tiger Shark" had been chipped away from previous repairs.

Breining and his crew rotate through a different aircraft about every six days at the airfield, which is half the time they would normally take for inspection back at their home station, Moody Air Force Base, Ga. The break between aircraft inspections at KAF has ranged from one week to thirty minutes.

"We take off the panels, look at every item from engines, to flight controls, to each rivet holding on a nutplate for a panel," he described. "The aircraft drives the rest of it."

The specific needs of the aircraft, any discrepancies, merit the attention of the subject matter experts. Fuels, avionics, engines, sheet metal, egress and armament will each send technicians to the phase dock to repair any discrepancies that were identified. Additionally, the non-destructive inspection, repair and reclamation, metals technology and electrical and environmental will take part in phase inspection. Armament inspectors, for example, are responsible for both the gun of the A-10 and munitions racks that are capable of supporting 2,000 pound bombs. Every phase inspection guts the huge ammunition-carrying drum from the plane to inspect it and clean the gun bay.

"We see stuff we don't see at home-- buildup of carbon, wear," described Staff Sgt. Christopher Deem, a combat armament support chief.

In fact, the 451st AEW A-10s set a record for their Area of Responsibility, Afghanistan. From the combined guns of those aircraft, more than 100,000 total rounds were fired within two months in support of troops on the ground in October and November of 2010. Tech. Sgt. Donovan Stinson, a combat armament team chief, estimated that they've seen the heaviest usage in the history of the A-10.

"We're seeing things nobody has seen before," he concluded.

In addition to their primary responsibility in phase inspections, Sgts. Stinson and Deem also respond to emergencies in their aircraft system.

One of the most challenging moments they recalled during their deployment was a weapon malfunction. During a mission, the pilot's gun had a sudden stoppage and wouldn't clear. Once he landed, Stinson and Deem met the aircraft and began to carefully inspect the gun. With live rounds in the chamber, the wrong movement could have caused it to fire at any moment.

The gun is only designed to be fired during flight. The shot is so powerful that if it was fired while the plane was sitting on the ground, the entire aircraft could be knocked on its tail.

"The nose would go up and everyone around would be bleeding from the ears," Sgt. Stinson described.

Finally, they found the problem. The stoppage, they found, was caused by several bolts that had become loose and backed out. The gun is designed to fire almost four thousand rounds a minute and, during training and within the United States pilots try to avoid firing for continuously for more than three seconds.

"In combat, they'll go a lot longer than three seconds," said Sgt. Deem.

After fixing the weapon, they submitted a correction to their technical orders, which are universal books used by all crew chiefs, suggesting the bolts be secured to keep them in place.

The extraordinary amount of wear that Stinson and Deem, and other phase inspectors see at Kandahar Airfield gives them an opportunity to see how the aircraft will respond under the stress, and how it can improve.

Between their hard work at Kandahar Airfield and the maintainers they left at the 23rd Equipment Maintenance Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., the crew chiefs were recognized with the Hog Star Award on Feb. 8, 2011. It is an annual prize given by the Air Force A-10 System Program Office that recognized the maintainers' innovation and hard work.

"It's a good system," said Sgt. Stinson of the A-10. "It's been around forever. Not a lot of cars the same age are used as much as this plane."

Despite the quality of the aircraft, or any improvements, the inspectors are still meticulous. Unlike a 40-year old car, an aircraft can't just pull over when something breaks

USAF prepares to deploy "Gorgon Stare" - " Being able to watch an entire city... is going to have a huge impact on operations in the war zone."

This is where we get our ROI (Return on investment) for the millions that we have spent on making sure our Military is well protected....AWESOME use of the technology !!


This is a good ROI (Return on Investment) to the millions we have spent on new systems to see what cannot be seen otherwise.....AWESOME use of the techonology !


With Air Force's new drone, 'we can see everything'

By Ellen Nakashima and Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, January 2, 2011; 12:09 AM
In ancient times, Gorgon was a mythical Greek creature whose unblinking eyes turned to stone those who beheld them. In modern times, Gorgon may be one of the military's most valuable new tools.

This winter, the Air Force is set to deploy to Afghanistan what it says is a revolutionary airborne surveillance system called Gorgon Stare, which will be able to transmit live video images of physical movement across an entire town.

The system, made up of nine video cameras mounted on a remotely piloted aircraft, can transmit live images to soldiers on the ground or to analysts tracking enemy movements. It can send up to 65 different images to different users; by contrast, Air Force drones today shoot video from a single camera over a "soda straw" area the size of a building or two.

With the new tool, analysts will no longer have to guess where to point the camera, said Maj. Gen. James O. Poss, the Air Force's assistant deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. "Gorgon Stare will be looking at a whole city, so there will be no way for the adversary to know what we're looking at, and we can see everything."

Questions persist, however, about whether the military has the capability to sift through huge quantities of imagery quickly enough to convey useful data to troops in the field.

Officials also acknowledge that Gorgon Stare is of limited value unless they can match it with improved human intelligence - eyewitness reports of who is doing what on the ground.

The Air Force is exponentially increasing surveillance across Afghanistan. The monthly number of unmanned and manned aircraft surveillance sorties has more than doubled since last January, and quadrupled since the beginning of 2009.

Indeed, officials say, they cannot keep pace with the demand.

"I have yet to go a week in my job here without having a request for more Air Force surveillance out there," Poss said.

But adding Gorgon Stare will also generate oceans of more data to process.

"Today an analyst sits there and stares at Death TV for hours on end, trying to find the single target or see something move," Gen. James E. Cartwright, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a conference in New Orleans in November. "It's just a waste of manpower."

The hunger for these high-tech tools was evident at the conference, where officials told several thousand industry and intelligence officials they had to move "at the speed of war." Cartwright pressed for solutions, even partial ones, in a year or less.

The development of Gorgon Stare began about 18 months ago. It is based on the work of Air Force scientists who came up with the idea of stitching together views from multiple cameras shooting two frames per second at half-meter resolution. Currently full-motion video is shot at 30 frames per second from one camera mounted on a Predator or the larger Reaper drone. That makes for more fluid video, but also more difficulty in assembling frames quickly to get the wide-area view.

Technological advances now make it possible for a soldier on the ground to receive any portion of a panoramic view in real time, streamed to a portable device about the size of an iPad, Poss said. At the same time, nine other soldiers can get the same or a different view. The images will be stored so analysts can study them to determine, for instance, who planted an improvised bomb or what the patterns of life in a village are.

The Air Force has also taken tips from the purveyors of pop culture. It is working with Harris Corp. to adapt ESPN's technique of tagging key moments in National Football League videotape to the war zone. Just as a sportscaster can call up a series of archived quarterback blitzes as soon as a player is sacked on the field, an analyst in Afghanistan can retrieve the last month's worth of bombings in a particular stretch of road with the push of a button, officials said.

The Air Force placed a contractor on the set of a reality TV show to learn how to pick out the interesting scenes shot from cameras simultaneously recording the action in a house. And taking a page from high-tech companies such as Google, the Air Force will store its reams of video on servers placed in used shipping containers in Iowa.

The Air Force is looking to mount wide-area surveillance cameras on airships that can stay aloft for up to two weeks.

"This is all cutting-edge technology that is being fielded in a short period of time," said retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, who served as deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

"If you look into the not-too-distant future, what these technologies will allow us to do is remove more and more ground forces and replace them with sensors where we normally would have to rely on people going somewhere to find something out," he said.

But other military officials caution that a counterinsurgency requires an understanding of the local population.

"That really only comes from human intelligence or boots on the ground," said Army Col. Steven A. Beckman, the former intelligence chief for coalition forces in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.

"We can get the 3-D geo-intelligence that tells us what every building, what every street looks like in Marja," he said at the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation conference in New Orleans in November. But such intelligence needs to be "underpinned by a degree of local knowledge . . . to enable us to maximize that."

Beckman called full-motion video "the crack cocaine of our ground forces" - but often, he said, it's a technology that is poorly utilized.

He noted in an interview that he is an advocate of the technology but that in some cases, other tools might be a better solution for a commander's needs.

Marine Capt. Matt Pottinger, who collaborated on "Fixing Intel," an official critique of the intelligence effort in Afghanistan issued a year ago, said he found a disconnect between the intelligence requests for aerial surveillance issued by commanders in regional headquarters and the needs of the soldiers or Marines at the platoon level.

"Often what the guys need it for is not to stare at some highway for five hours because they want to drop a bomb on some guy they see coming out to dig a hole in the ground to plant an IED," he said. "Oftentimes, the questions that the soldiers and Marines need answered are 'Where's the traffic? Where are the cars going? Are they actually using this strip of desert or completely bypassing this district?' "

Pottinger, a visiting fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said analysts in regional headquarters should meet with troops in the field to understand their needs, otherwise all the "whiz-bang" gear will never be used to its full potential.

Gorgon Stare is being tested now, and officials hope it will be fielded within two months. Each $17.5 million pod weighs 1,100 pounds and, because of its configuration, will not be mounted with weapons on Reaper aircraft, officials said. They envision it will have civilian applications, including securing borders and aiding in natural disasters. The Department of Homeland Security is exploring the technology's potential, an industry official said.

Poss said he would "never denigrate the need for good, solid human intelligence because even watching an entire city means nothing unless you can put context to it."

But, he said, "being able to watch an entire city, I'm convinced, is going to have a huge impact on operations in the war zone."

nakashimae@washpost.com whitlockc@washpost.com

" I will never leave an Airman behind " - Chief Master Sgt. Antonio Hickey, Kandahar Airfield

Here's one for the Air Force....Their work at keeping the troops supplied and protected in AFGHN cannot be underestimated...They perform a herculean effort and get the job done....Keep them flying and know you are appreciated by all who need the services provided by the USAF.


I will never leave an Airman behind
Commentary by Chief Master Sgt. Antonio Hickey
451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

12/3/2010 - KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- One of the things I love most about the Air Force, and the military for that matter, is that we have a sense of community that is unmatched in any other profession. We view our profession as a way of life, and our sense of community extends far beyond our working relationships and into our personal lives. I'm proud to say that we take care of our Airmen and their families like no other organization in the world.

Some of this is the result of many years of close living quarters, which necessitated the need to get along well with each other and understand each other's strengths and limitations. That requirement diminished somewhat throughout the years as our living environment changed, but the need for a strong sense of community is still critical to the military, even today.

One of the ways we build and demonstrate this sense of community is through the wingman concept.

The term wingman comes from the pattern in which combat aircraft fly in two-ship formations. The lead aircraft prosecutes the attack while the second aircraft flies off the right wing and slightly behind lead. This trailing aircraft is referred to as the wingman, and his primary role is to protect the lead's back and provide mutual support.

The end result with this type of formation is increased firepower, improved situational awareness and the ability to employ more dynamic combat tactics.

The late Col. Francis "Gabby" Gabreski , who is credited with 34 kills in World War II and the Korean War, said, "The wingman is absolutely indispensable. I look after the wingman. The wingman looks after me."

He went on to say, "Wars are not won by individuals; they're won by teams."

This is the heart of the wingman concept and it is as true in our everyday lives as it is in air warfare.

With today's operations tempo and challenging social environment, the need for us to take care of each other has probably never been greater. As leaders, we must always be engaged with our fellow Airmen and extend the tried-and-true combat principles of the wingman concept into our personal lives.

Don't get me wrong, the best wingmen are not our Airmen's supervisors or leaders, although all supervisors and leaders are wingmen by definition. Our best wingmen are our Airmen's peers and close friends. These individuals work, and often live, side-by-side, placing them in the best position to offer timely and effective backup.

We've seen some recent demonstrations of outstanding applications of the wingman concept. Take a look at this recent article.

Now, I don't know Senior Airman Jordan Gunterman, but his actions demonstrate the heart and soul of the wingman concept. His story is just one of many great examples of how to apply the concept appropriately.

So, take some time and make sure all of your Airmen, including yourself, have a wingman and they fully understand the concept.

If you do, I'm sure you'll find an improved sense of community, better mission accomplishment and an organization that truly leaves no Airmen behind