Military Affairs & History

[Shyster]

I haven't watched it yet, but Montemayor just put out a new video:

[DigitalGypsy66]

He actually released three videos today, the other two are unlisted bonus coverage related to the first. Very high quality, as always.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Revolutionary War Hero Casimir Pulaski Was Intersex

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-ne ... 180971907/

[DigitalGypsy66]

[dodint]

Beautiful.

[shafnutz05]

Yeah, that's good.

[Kaiser]

We had a butterbar tell everyone they'd be court martialed if they damaged their eyes...by looking at a lunar eclipse.

[dodint]

I was running on the PFT trail at lunch one day. A 2LT drove out in his personal vehicle to tell me the commanding officer wanted to see me immediately. Then he drove away.

Thanks, sir. Guess I'll just run the mile back and step into the CO's office sweating and out of breath.

[Shyster]

[Kaiser]

I'm probably the last to know about this, but veterans and gold star families can get a lifetime national parks pass for $10. Takes about five minutes to verify.

https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/veter ... access.htm

[tifosi77]

Following the discussion of the F-35B mishap in South Carolina

This was the third Class-A mishap Marine Aviation suffered in six weeks, resulting in a two-day safety standdown. The other two:

- An MV-22 crashed on a training sortie in Australia with 20 people on board (3 fatalities, 8 hospitalized)

- An F/A-18D crashed near MCAS Miramar (pilot fatality; the D is a two-seater but I believe the mishap pilot was the only crew flying). What is potentially of note is that the mishap aircraft belonged to VMFA(AW)-224, which is garrisoned at..... MCAS Beaufort, same as the FRS/RAG squadron that just lost the F-35B. (I'm not sure what they were doing in San Diego.)

[tifosi77]

Happy birthday! (You know who you are.) Have some cake, gents.

[dodint]

Yut yut.

[Kaiser]

rock or something

[NAN]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... 393175007/

Good read. Out of the 16.1M americans that served in WWII, only about 119K are alive today, and we lose approx 131 a day. The article talks about how this group is trying to get the final stories out of these vets that are still with us before they pass.

I don't know, WWII has always stuck with me, mainly because (and I think most of us are around the same age on here), but my grandparents, great uncles, etc were all that generation. And growing up they were "old" in their late 50s, 60s, 70s, but there were many, many of them. I did talk to them and get stories from them about WWII. I have my grandfathers Navy year book and a few other things while he served. But I wish I would have listened a little more closely, and appreciated those stories a little more.

But now all of mine are gone, and it won't be long until that entire generation is gone.

Also, didn't realize the last WWI vet died in 2011.

[Shyster]

Interesting. Sierra Nevada is buying five of Korean Air's 747-8s in order to turn into the replacement for the Air Force's E-4B
"Nightwatch" aircraft (aka the "Doomsday planes"). The four existing E-4Bs are based on 747-200s that were bought in the 1970s and are old as heck at this point, although at some point they were re-engined to use the newer GE CF-6 engines rather than their original P&W JT9D engines.

[DigitalGypsy66]

We actually saw a WWII vet out at a restaurant this weekend. We were eating at Mission BBQ, which is veteran owned and hires veterans etc. This guy was like a minor celebrity (and got to eat for free). Walked in without assistance and ate a full plate at 98. Navy veteran.

[tifosi77]

The E-4s are based in Missouri or Nebraska or something, but they will occasionally make airshow appearances around the country. Which I always thought was odd.