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Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (July 27, 2023): The United States enjoys air superiority, not just because of its advanced aircraft, but also through the skillful use of the shovel and the trowel. Because of U.S. advanced air power, the enemy will likely target our airfields to keep the fleet on the ground. In this photo by Senior Airman Madelyn Keech, an Airmen assigned to the 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron, the 151st, and 176th CES put out a controlled fire on an F-15 Eagle replica during the Air Force Silver Flag mission qualification course.
Silver Flag teaches civil engineers the skills to do a large-scale base recovery and rapid airfield damage recovery operations (RADR).
RADR is a process that ensures that if a major airfield is attacked, Airmen will have the tools and knowledge to get the airfield back in operation as quickly as possible. The task is complicated by unexploded bombs that must be neutralized before repairing craters or facility damage can begin.
The Silver Flag course teaches Airmen the skills to respond to a base attack including simulated dummy artillery shells representing unexploded ordnance scattered across the airfield. Participants begin with an initial site survey using sophisticated Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to scan the runway mapping damage and to locate explosives for disposal. Next, civil engineers develop a plan to rapidly return the airfield to full operation while minimizing the risk to field personnel.
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Coral Sea.(July 23, 2023): In this photo by MC2 Matthew Cavenaile, Lance Corporal Alejandro Pelayotafolla, assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, loads a high-explosive rocket onto an AH-1Z Cobra helicopter from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 on the flight deck of the amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay. These amphibious warships have a similar design and purpose as an aircraft carrier, but their reduced size allows the Navy to mass produce them. These vessels are used primarily to provide air power for amphibious assaults but they can also shuttle humanitarian supplies ashore in a disaster.
During World War II, the Navy realized there were many missions in which a full fleet carrier group was unnecessary. A much nimbler carrier was needed to support amphibious assaults or to escort convoys of ships across the Pacific. The Navy created “escort carriers” that were the forerunners of today’s amphibious assault ships.
America currently has eleven aircraft carriers, as many as the rest of the world combined, but they are slow and costly to build. These amphibious assault ships almost double the size of America's carrier fleet as they carry helicopters, fighter jets, and even hovercraft for beach landings. They are designed to sail into hostile waters close to shore to deliver significant combat power in the face of determined opposition.
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Tuskegee Airmen Honored 75 Years After Desegregation Of Military
Join Base Andrews, Maryland. (July 26, 2023): In this photo by Senior Airman Tyrone Thomas, Retired Colonel Carl C. Johnson, a Tuskegee Airman, is interviewed during a ceremony celebrating the 75th anniversary of the desegregation of America’s armed forces.
Colonel Johnson was born in Bellaire, Ohio in 1926.He attended Ohio State University until he was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force in 1945. In October 1946, he and fourteen other African American draftees entered the Tuskegee Army Air Force aviation cadet program. He served as a member of the 477th Bombardment Group Composite’s 617th Bomber Squadron and was discharged in 1947.
Johnson later returned to active duty as a U.S. Army aviator during the Korean War.
During the Vietnam War, Johnson commanded a seven-company aviation battalion and later Commanded a US Army Aviation Battalion in the Republic of South Korea. Johnson retired from the US Air Force with the rank of Colonel after 31 years in the U.S. military.
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks, and other support personnel. The Tuskegee pilots received praise for their excellent combat record earned while protecting white American bombers from enemy fighters. The group was awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations.
When the Tuskegee aviators painted the tails of their P-47s Mustang planes red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined as the nickname for the first African American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. During World War II, black Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to Jim Crow laws and the American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subjected to discrimination, both within and outside of the army, during their service.
Read more: TUSKEGEE AIRMEN HONORED 75 YEARS AFTER DESEGREGATION OF MILITARY
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Pacific Ocean. (July 27, 2023) In this photo by MC2 Joshua Samoluk, Sailors assigned to the amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Expeditionary Support Unit 1 launch the Vehicle Advanced Demonstrator for Emergency Recovery, or VADR, during an Underway Recovery Test at sea. VADR is a replica of the crew module that will be used during NASA's Artemis II mission to send four astronauts to the Moon and beyond.
NASA and the Navy will conduct a series of tests to demonstrate and evaluate the processes, procedures, and hardware used in these recovery operations for lunar missions. The U.S. Navy has unique capabilities that make it an ideal partner to support NASA, including its amphibious capabilities and the ability to deploy helicopters, launch and recover small boats, three-dimensional air search radar, and advanced medical facilities.
Artemis II is the second scheduled mission of NASA’s Orion spacecraft due to launch in November 2024. This will be the first crewed spacecraft to travel beyond earth’s low orbit to return to the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
Artemis II will carry four astronauts, including the first woman, first person of color, and first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit. The first woman is to be Christina Koch, who will serve as a mission specialist and the first person of color is to be Victor J. Glover, who will pilot the aircraft. The non-American is Jeremy Hansen from Canada.
This will be the second flight into space for Astronaut Koch who set a record for the longest single space flight by a woman (328 days) and she participated in the first all-female space walks.
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Queensland, Australia.(July 24, 2023): In this photo by Corporal Brayden Daniel, Marine 1st Lieutenant Joshua Watson, executive officer with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment watches as an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft lands during Exercise Southern Jackaroo 23. Southern Jackaroo is a trilateral exercise involving the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, observers from South Korea, and the Australian Defense Force.
Each year, hundreds of Australian soldiers, troops from the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force, and U.S. Marines conduct major warfighting exercises at Queensland’s Shoal Water Bay training area. The goal is to share tactics, techniques, and procedures while also improving interoperability among their military capabilities. This year’s event featured shooters cycling through training lanes consisting of small arms close combat, patrolling, and infantry live fire and tank integration involving the three distinct forces.
Unique to Southern Jackaroo 23 was the addition of a long-range casualty evacuation from Shoal Water Bay to Darwin using a care team aboard an MV-22 Osprey to transport and treat a simulated casualty. The Osprey flew from the Queensland training area back to RAAF Base Darwin using aerial refueling and staffed by a critical care team from MRF-D’s Role II facility.
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Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. (July 25, 2023): In this photo by Air Force Captain Katie Tamesis, a 45th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler and K9 partner conduct fast rope insertion and extraction training from a HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter. The 45th Security Forces Squadron, based at Patrick Space Force Base, came to the 93rd Air Ground Operations Wing headquarters at Moody AFB to train with the 820th Base Defense Group. The goal was to bolster air mobility employment capabilities of military working dog teams.
Most dog owners have witnessed their pet’s fear and anxiety brought on by sudden loud noises like thunder or fireworks on the 4th of July. There are even companies that sell “thunder shirts” to calm pets during these noisy events.
Which begs the question; “How in the world do these military K-9 teams get their dogs to join them as they fast rope to the ground amid the roar of helicopter blades and bombs exploding all around?”
That is the specialty of the Air Force Dog Handler Team program which trains the 1300 working dog teams worldwide including those from the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. In addition to traditional explosives and drug detection duties, the Dog Handler Team Program exposes K-9s to the sight, sound, smell, feel, and raw environment of a helicopter while its handler rappels the team to the ground.
The teams begin by familiarizing their dog with the entry and exit of the aircraft and, once they are comfortable with moving in and out of the chopper, the pilot fires up the engines and the real challenge begins. Both working dogs and handlers are equipped with hearing protection and as they practice boarding and exiting the chopper multiple times before the helicopter blades come to a stop.