Romanian Mig-21

The Romanian Air Force is one of the last 4 Mig-21 users in Europe. There Mig -21 were upgraded a number of years ago by Elbit to the lancer standard, The upgrade including new avionics suite, an improved radar and the ability to deliver precision weapons. Next year Romania is scheduled to start taken deliver of refurbished F-16's from both the Portuguese and the U.S. Air Force.
But for now we can still enjoy the very clean old school jets.

B-52's in Britain

Earlier this year B-52's from Minot AFB deployed to RAF Fairford for and exercise. Here are some great pics by Tom Osborne.

New Eagle pics

Two new ones at least for me of the F-15.

Russian Fighters in Syria

In the various video's and articles about the Russians in Syria I've seen at least three different kinds of jets, SU-25 Frogfoots, SU-24 Fencers and SU-34 Fullbacks.
A very intersting group of jets, hers are some pics.

SU-25 Frogfoot

SU-34 Fullback

SU-24 Fencer

199th DeployingF-22 Raptors to the Middle East

Without much fan fair the 199th FS has apparently deployed F-22 Raptors to the Middle East on Sept 30.
Here is what was attached to the video

U.S. F-22 Raptors deploy from Hawaii headed to the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility, which includes Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and all of the Middle East. Filmed On September 30, 2015. Unit - U.S. Air Force, 199th Fighter Squadron, 19th Fighter Squadron, 154th Wing, 15th Wing

F-22 of the 199 FS

Alabama Back? They Never really left, AL 38 - GA 10

The Georgia Bulldogs offered nothing in yesterdays game between the hedges as Alabama's Crimson Tide ran them off the field. The best parts was watching the GA fans start to stream out with 11 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Like a herd of thundering elephants the Crimson Tide has taken the field.

The Battle of Mogadishu

22 years ago this weekend the Battle of Mogadishu occurred.
This battle is another example of of the insanity of allowing DoD civilians to dictate and limit how on scene Commanders handle their  mission.

The simple fact of the matter is that Secretary of Defense Les Aspin and the Clinton administration decided that giving the Commanders what they asked for USAF AC-130 gunship coverage and the USMC M-1 Abrams tanks would make us look too imperialistic.

I've read some of the apologists analyst paper on the use of tanks and APC's in this operation and how it would not have made much of a difference. I heartily disagree with all of them. Having the heavy fire power in support and armor protection by these tracked vehicles in my opinion would have prevented many of the deaths and and decreased the number of wounded. Anyone who would argue this point should apologize to the widows and family of the men who were KIA.

Mogadishu is another example that shows how dedicated and brave our Armed Forces members are. It also shows how our politicians will task our military with ridiculous missions but then limit their support, kind of like a boxer fighting with one arm tied behind his back. If your wondering how Afghanistan is going to end look no further than Somalia.

IN MEMORUIAM

1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta

MSG Gary Gordon

MSG Tim Martin

SFC Randy Shughart

SFC Earl Filmore

SFC Matt Rierson

SSG Daniel Busch

160th Special Operations Aviation Detachment

CWO Raymond Frank

CWO Clifton Wolcott

CWO Donovan Briley

SSG William Cleveland

SSG Thomas Field

3rd Ranger Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment

Sgt Casey Joyce

Sgt Dominick Pilla

Sgt Lorenzo Ruiz

Cpl Jamie Smith

Spc James Cavaco

PFC Richard

2nd Battalion 14th Infantry Regiment 2nd Brigade 10th Mountain Division

Sgt Cornell Houston

PFC James Martin

19th Battalion Royal Malay Regiment

LCPL Mat Aznan Wang

Hillary Lawyering Up?

All I can say is its about time.
In my 22 years in the service I held multiple clearances and handled classified material on a regular basis. During this time we had recurrent training on how to handle material and most importantly what types of punishment we could expect if classified information was  mishandled. When I retired I was giving a briefing on non disclosure of what I knew. Shoot I still won't talk about installed avionic systems even though I know the systems have been upgraded over the years.

This is what makes the Clinton story so outrageous, Anyone who is has a security clearance is given substantial training. Every email that was on the unsecured server or sent to people without a need to know over this server is a separate charge. What I want to know is what is the FBI and the Justice department waiting for? In my own career I've seen people make bone headed mistakes and get charged and punished. So the bottom line is we either have rule of law or we don't.

Her continued candidacy and support from the left goes to show how far we have sunk as a nation and how the left is truly nothing but  partisan hacks.


Here is a link to today's story from the New York Post.

http://nypost.com/2015/10/03/hillary-clintons-legal-adviser-warns-her-time-to-lawyer-up/

Great Statement

This guy is 110% correct. So much criticism from so many media and political people who not in a million years would stand up and fight.
If the S**t ever hits the fan they will be victims praying to be helped by a sheepdog.

F-22

After the alleged intercept of Israeli F-15's by the Russians I've been checking various blogs and aviation pages to gauge the reaction.  What I read was the usual fan boy crap of how great the Russian planes are so on and so forth. What they fail to realize is the last C model Eagle was built in 1987 with the original A models built back in 1973. So the Russians today field aircraft like the and SU-34 which finally entered service in 2006 that is about on parity with the F-15C. This in from my point of view is still doubtful because of continuing avionics mods to the Eagle.

Being an old retired Eagle Keeper I'm somewhat biased but realistic in the sense the the Eagle is one old airfame now but still has tremendous capability as seen with Strike Eagle and its variants.

One thing you never hear anyone discuss is how these same Russian jets would fare against the Raptor, a true 5th generation super maneuverability fighter in service today. It too bad the current administration chose to halt production at 189 aircraft. Maybe the next President will get it together and we can get the F-22C in production.

Here is a nice video of the F-22

Russian Jets in Syria

A short report on the Russian fighters in Syria. As you can see it a lot more than a handful of SU-25 that had been previously reported.
Our current administration has been owned by the Russians at this point and as far as can be seen there is no solution. The Russians have no established themselves as a big player in the Middle East much like the during the 70's.

Mr. Bones at Sphangdahlem

F-22 Raptors from the 95th Fighter Squadron, Mr Bones deployed last week to Sphangdahlem Air Base, Germany from Tyndall AFB, Fl. 

I believe this deployment would fall under the Air Combat Commands Rapid Raptor deployment plans that have been exercised in the pacific. This deployment marks the first one of its kind to USAFE.

I for one am glad to see Mr Bones activated again.

Roll Tide

College football is back and the Crimson Tide looked good. Derick Henry simply out muscled and shredded the Wisconsin defense. The Alabama defense line showed the wall that they are shutting down what is usually one of the top NCAA rushing teams, they were totally dominate.
With a defense that should only get better maybe the fear will start creeping back into opponents hearts.

Roll Tide!

Japan Surrenders!

This was the headline 70 years ago today when Japan surrendered to the Allies on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri.

Iranian Nuclear Deal

The Obama administration has now lit the fuse for a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Their desperation has led to a deal which is no deal for the United States and our western allies.
The press conference this morning was laughable to say the least, here are some of the money quotes from Obama

"Iran's path to a nuclear weapon has been cut off"

I have been president and commander in chief for over six years now. Time and again I have faced decisions about whether or not to use military force. It’s the gravest decision that any president has to make. Many times in multiple countries I have had to use force, and I will never hesitate to do so when it is in our national security Interest,” Obama said. “I strongly believe that our national security interest now depends on preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, which means that without a diplomatic resolution, either I or a future U.S. president would face a decision about whether or not to allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon or whether or not to use our military to stop it. But simply, no deal means a greater chance of more war in the Middle East. Moreover, we give nothing up by testing whether or not this problem .

Obama said that the deal “is not built on trust, it is built on verification

There are many more but you get the general idea of were this is going with the fool in the White House.

After reading numerous articles from both left and right publications and news wires the general impression I get from the deal is we the west will effectively give Iran over 100 billion dollars with the lifting of sanctions. There will be no dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program, no inspection of its program, no stopping of its missile development program, no long term continuous of the arms embargo and no stopping Iranian sponsorship of international terror groups.

While I don't always agree with the Israeli Prime Minister in this case he got it right.

"From the initial reports we can already conclude that this agreement is an historic mistake for the world. "Far-reaching concessions have been made in all areas that were supposed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability. In addition, Iran will receive hundreds of billions of dollars with which it can fuel its terror machine and its expansion and aggression throughout the Middle East and across the globe.

Lynn Russel Op Ed

Lynn Russel the former CNN host and her husband survived a criminal assault because of her legal carry pistol. Her op ed is awesome and should be a reminder to everyone that criminals are exactly that, animals that do not obey laws to start with. For all of us that believe in our absolute right to self defense her op ed really hits home.
The left is always trying to ban the private ownership of firearms, be it pistols, AR's, AK even semi auto shotguns. What they should do is just shut up, if you don't want a gun fine don't own one if you do get trained and be responsible.
They are so determined to get our firearms in makes you question what the real motive is and why they are scared of an armed trained law abiding populous.

Here as a piece of her op ed I'll provide a link at the bottom of the page.

Here's the truth:

1. Criminals will always have guns, this is not about them. 

2. Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms. Humans have a right to defend themselves. If we didn't have the Second Amendment, we would create it.  

3. You can't control everything; but if it makes you feel better, go with a simple law preventing violent offenders from buying firearms. Make it "violent" offenders rather than "white collar" offenders, or most of Capitol Hill won't be allowed to own them. 

4. Get a gun, get legal, be responsible, trust yourself. Don't trust yourself? Then don't carry. But for God's sake then, shut the f**k up about it, because that's where your involvement ends. 

Chuck and I were married one year ago, on the Fourth of July. Sure, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary in a hospital. But thanks to the Second Amendment, my crack-shot husband and the pistol he used, we were able to have a first anniversary.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/07/08/theres-no-debate-about-guns-im-alive-and-so-is-my-husband-because-had-one-in-my-purse.html

USA Jobs

I saw today on Zero Hedge and had to share it and a link to a good article. The Labor Department just like the Treasury and ever other useless government agencies has been lying about employment and inflation stats for years. this cartoon brings it all into focus,
Enjoy!

Here is a link to the article, America the land of the pat time or unemployed.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-02/part-time-jobs-surge-161000-full-time-jobs-tumble-349000

Mig 29 Copies RAF Typhoon, Still a cool shot

Here is a video that's making the rounds of a Mig 29 easing up behind the ramp of a cargo plane. It reminds me of the RAF Typhoon that did it in 2007.

Canadian Top 10 List of Stupid American Actions

A friend sent me this link and it is hilarious and sadly true at the same time.
Hat tip Conservativebyte.com

This is so sad; from a proud, strong country to a laughing stock of the world…

Canadian’s Version of David Letterman’s Top 10. Just makes you want to shake your head in disbelief, and, just maybe choke someone in charge…

Of course we look like idiots we are…

# 10 Only in America… could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 per plate Obama campaign fund-raising event.

# 09 Only in America… could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when they have a black President, a black Attorney General and roughly 20% of the federal workforce is black while only 14% of the population is black, 40+% of all federal entitlements goes to black Americans – 3X the rate that go to whites, 5X the rate that go to Hispanics!

# 08 Only in America… could they have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner (the head of the Treasury Department) and Charles Rangel (who once ran the Ways and Means Committee), BOTH turn out to be tax cheats who are in favor of higher taxes.

# 07 Only in America… can they have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash.

# 06 Only in America… would they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege, while they discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just ‘magically’ become American citizens. (probably should be number one).

# 05 Only in America… could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country’s Constitution be called EXTREMISTS.

# 04 Only in America… could you need to present a driver’s license to cash a check or buy alcohol, or board a commercial aircraft, but not to vote.

# 03 Only in America… could people demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. Oil company (Marathon Oil) is less than half of a company making tennis shoes (Nike).

# 02 Only in America… could you collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year – for total spending of $7 Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn’t have nearly enough money.

# 01 Only in America…. could the rich people – who pay 86% of all income taxes – be accused of not paying their “fair share” by people who don’t pay any income taxes at all.

PLEASE DON’T KEEP THIS – SEND IT OUT TO YOUR ENTIRE LIST.

Read more at http://conservativebyte.com/2015/07/canadas-top-10-list-of-americas-stupidity/

787 Dreamliner

Here is a sensational video of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner Paris Airshow rehearsal, this aircraft is powered by the General Electric GEnx-1b. 
The GEnx offers 15 percent better fuel burn than the CF-6 it was designed to replace, Key technologies that make this happen are the new high pressure compressor, the twin annular pre swirl combustor and the use of lightweight  and durable composite materiel throughout. The GEnx is the fist jet engine to have both front fan case and fan blades made of composite material. The GEnx is the quietest engine that we have produced.

Shameless plug, I'm in charge of the team that produces the large spool the core of the engine

F-15 Silent Eagle South Korea Pitch

This is what the the USAF needs  to order yesterday and kill off the Allied World Air Force killer the F-35.
The silent Eagle offers many advantages since pure stealth is becoming a zero sum game with new multi-band AESA radars and new technology IRST coming on line. For the USAF there is already a robust infrastructure in place to include the Depot at Warner Robbins, GA.

The F-15's legendary performance combined with the new technology offered in the Silent Eagle will give the air war commander many options not available with the F-35. Little things like range, speed, payload, duel engine capability, a second crew member ect. I could go on but why bother.

Bottom line any decision by the politicians and the Air Staff that does not include recapitalizing the Tactical Air Forces with F-15 Silent Eagle will prove once again that they are corrupt and without ethics. For the Air Staff it points to a complete lack of integrity and leadership.

Strike Eagles on the Mach Loop

48 FW F-15E Strike Eagles low level training on the Mach loop in the UK.
These guys arr really hauling the mail!

Hat Tip Foxtrot Alpha

Memorial Day

Words simply fail me after a video like this. Everyone of our useless leaders in D.C. need to be sent this  so they can see the  pain of the families of the lost warriors.

After the fall of Ramadi I'm now convinced that no one in the Obama administration has a clue and has sold old not only this country but turned its back on the Armed Forces along with the usual suspects in congress.

My prayers for the fallen
Semper Fi

F-15C Working as a Strike Aircraft

The IAF pioneered the use of F-15 A-D models as an ad hoc ground attack aircraft back in the early 80's. While the Eagle always had a rudimentary ability to deliver iron bombs the USAF never pursued the course. In its initial development the IAF used F-15 D's to carry AGM-15 glide weapons with the C dropping Mk-82 conventional  bombs. This was the combination used during Operation Wooden Leg the attack on a PLO headquarters located  in Tunisia. (Hat Tip Foxtrot Alpha)

Later the IAF utilized CFT's on the C and D models and with this have extended the ground attack capability of these Eagles. Today they have this home grown capability that can be used in conjunction with their F-15I Ra'am aircraft.

To my knowledge the only USAF C model unit that routinely used CFTs was the 57th Fighter Squadron at Keflavik Iceland for the extra fuel that is carried.

F-15C Baz with CFT's and JDAMS

57 FIS C models with CFT's

A-10 The King of CAS

Beyond the shadow of a doubt the A-10 is the best close air support aircraft in the world today.
The Air Staff arguing for its early retirement shows that they to the man are without honor and do not really believe in supporting the Grunt on the ground. Their lack of leadership is simple unbelievable.
But that aside here is an excellent A-10 video.

American Airlines Boeing 787

Here is an excellent shot of American Airlines newest 787. What is amazing about the 787 in flight shots is the unbelievable flex of the wings. American's 787 are powered by the outstanding General Electric GEnx turbofan.

Downed Marine Helicopter Found

The downed USMC UH-1Y Huey that went down while flying rescue missions in Nepal has been found.
Unfortunately all aboard appear to have been killed in the crash.

Here is the link to the Fox News article

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/05/15/nepal-says-wreckage-missing-us-marine-helicopter-found/

UH-1Y Super Venom

Airmen Badassery,3 Combat Controllers to be decorated

Three USAF Combat Controllers will be decorated for their actions on Sept 27, 2014 in Afghanistan.
These Airman along with their Special Operation Force comrades along with Afghanistan commandos fought a pitched battle against a determined insurgent enemy force.

The three:

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew J. Greiner, left, and Senior Airman Goodie J. Goodman, right, will receive the Silver Star on Wednesday, May 6, for heroism in Afghanistan in September 2014. Senior Airman Dustin H. Temple, center, will receive the Air Force Cross. (Photos released by the Air Force)

For the full article click the link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/05/05/in-pitched-afghan-battle-insurgents-wanted-to-take-u-s-troops-hostage/?tid=hpModule_9d3add6c-8a79-11e2-98d9-3012c1cd8d1e&hpid=z12

Rafale

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for French Mirage fighter jets, there is just something elegant in their design. I've always wondered why the Rafale has not made it to the export market considering how many countries have flown Mirages over the years. Well this has all changed in the last 8 weeks, the Rafale is now been sold to the Egyptian Air Force with 24, Qatar with 24 and the Indian Air Force a current Mirage 2000 user will by initial 36 with a potential follow on for up to a total of 126 airframes.
This is good for the French but does show a problem with the U.S government getting in the way of advanced F-16 sales to Egypt and holding back on equipment for what could have been Super Hornets for the Indian AF.

SR-71, The Sled

Although long retired from the active USAF but still flying with NASA, the Sled is still a wonder of the air. To think that Clarence Kelly and the Skunk Works had to invent many of the systems for this aircraft all in the early sixties is amazing.

Today with all the computers and  technology that's available we can't get a functioning F-35. But enough of that here is some SR-71 glory.

F-15E on Target

Here is a short video of 101 Airborne unit coming under sniper fire and a Strike Eagle terminating the threat.

Lest We Forget

Today marks the 46 anniversary of the downing of a U.S.Navy EC-121 by North Korean Mig-17 aircraft. The EC-121 Warning Star call sign Deep Sea 129 was flying from Japan and was assigned to VQ-1. The mission was typical for the Warning Star. It cruised off the North Korean coast conduct SIGNET evaluations.
Sometime around 1 PM local the crew radioed that they  were under attack and a few minutes later the EC-121 disappeared off off radar scopes. After the shoot down the North Koreans boasted of the act. The aircraft and all 31 crew members were lost, may the rest in peace.

Bad Assery, Gunnery Sergeant Brian Jacklin USMC

Gunnery Sergeant Brian Jacklin will be awarded the Navy Cross for his actions in Afghanistan on June 14.

That morning, the Marine special operations team was in a village compound when it suddenly found itself the target of heavy enemy gunfire. The attack left the team leader and another Marine critically wounded.

“Without hesitation, Gunnery Sergeant Jacklin seized control and orchestrated a counterattack,” his medal citation states.

With the team’s primary communications link inoperable, Jacklin worked to set up alternative communications with a nearby supporting unit. He called in direct and indirect fire and aircraft strikes on the enemy position, while working at the same time to coordinate an evacuation to get the wounded to safety.

Jacklin then led the team members out of their compound to set up a landing zone for a casualty evacuation aircraft, a task that required the team to cross open terrain under fire. When ongoing enemy fire forced the aircraft to wave off on its first attempt to land, Jacklin remained there, “raining M203 grenades on the enemy and directing the fires of his team” until the aircraft could safely land and evacuate the wounded.

Though the rest of the team would be relieved by another special operations unit that evening, Jacklin opted to stay behind and fight the enemy.

“Throughout a raging battle all the next day, he provided vital intelligence, tactical assistance and deadly accurate personal fires,” his citation reads. “Throughout 48 hours, he inspired all around him as he led a vicious fight to defeat a determined enemy force.”

Hat Tip: thisainthell, article from Marine Corps Times

Why We Fight

As the Obama administration played deal with any cost with Iran here is a little film of Reagan with some updated film. I don't agree with everything the war on terror has become but one thing for sure you do not cannot appease the Islamic terrorists.

Minuteman III Test Launch

Ther was much hang wringing on different internet forums after the fact the USAF test launched a Minuteman III ICBM early Monday. The hand wringers seem to forget that this is a routine test as we have done for years. The Air Force will pick a bird and random from one of the Strategic Missile Wings, transport it to Vandenberg AFB, CA and fire it to the Kwajalein Test Range.

Back in the day when we still tested MIRVS it made for some spectacular pictures as the reentry vehicles streaked in.

Here is the launch from Vandenberg.

MIRV's at the impact range

F-35 Still a failure

I have discussed the F-35 and its ongoing problems a few times over the last years. The F-35 program remains a great example of what not to do and is a shining trophy to show corruption beyond belief in not only the military high commanded but be symbiotic relation ship between the MIC and oor congressional leaders.

No other aircraft program in the history of the world has cost more and delivered less. Like I have said before the lack of leadership in today's Air Force has allowed the current tactical air fleet to age with no viable alternative in site. In fact the disingenuous comment by program supports use the fact that the F-15 and F-16 is old and even though the F-35 has issues we need to press on.

I say bull, one thing we could do right now is cancel this albatross right now. Use the money in the program to recapitalize the F-15 and F-16 fleet by buying new build F-15 Silent Eagles and F-16 Block 60's. At the same time we could restart the F-22 line and bring the SDB and other weapons mods into the new build.

Why you may ask? Stealth is a zero sum game, while back when the F-117 and B-2 were new it was earth shaking but after 30 years there have been teams of folks out there designed counters that will increase the detection capability of stealth aircraft. Do we need stealth? Yes for sure on day one when the door needs to be kicked in. After that and the initial SEAD not so much, Stealth SEAD by using an F-22 platform will allow the more conventional aircraft to operate in a less lethal environment.

The continued funding of a failed platform will continue to degrade the USAF ability to conduct itself in any future conflict. The people responsible for this be Generals or politician needs to held in account for the collapse of American Air Power

For a great read on F-35 continuing problems and the scandal of lies check out POGO. A lot of people blow off their opinion but never seem to be able to point out were they are wrong and the never refute the facts that are put forth.

http://www.pogo.org/our-work/straus-military-reform-project/weapons/2015/not-ready-for-prime-time.html

The jet that does nothing well and never will
 

Obama on guns, Incapable of telling the truth

Obama was doing another town hall on Friday and telling nothing but fabrications about guns and our nuder rate. With two years to go the far left President who hates guns and the second amendment will do anything to try an usurp the 2nd amendment by whipping up hysteria.

Here os the money quote:

Increased gun control measures would go a long way toward cutting down on America’s homicide rate, President Obama said during a town-hall event on Friday.

“Our homicide rates are so much larger than other industrialized countries, by like a mile,” he said during a speech at Benedict College in South Carolina.

“Most of that is attributable to the easy, ready availability of firearms, particularly handguns.”

Here is Bill Whittle with another one of his excellent responses, wake up America to the lies of this government. If they get the 2nd amendment they can get all of them.

Bush the latest loser

It looks like the MSM and the country club Republican party leadership is trying whatever they can to foist Jeb Bush upon us as the nominee of the party. I can nor think of a single worse candidate expect of course for Hillary or Warren.

Jeb who was a terrible governor and has been a Wall Street insider for most of the last decade doubled down on his immigration stand during a speech in Florida yesterday he maintained his position that is hugely unpopular with the base. One of the money quotes:


"If I go beyond the consideration of running, I'm not backing down from something that is a core belief,

For the fall article check out the Washington Examiner
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/jeb-bush-im-not-backing-down-from-immigration-stance/article/2560810

This guy needs to go to were he came from as he is nothing but a Rhino fraud the will only support the growing fascist status quo that passes for leadership in Washington these days.

We need another Bush like we need more snow

Gates of Vienna

On July 14,1638 forces of the Ottoman Empire under  Kara Mustafa Pasha laid siege to Vienna , Austria. Vienna was defended at the time by fewer than 20, 000 soldiers under the command of Count Ernst Rudiger von Starhenberg. After refusing the offer to surrender Von Starhenberg and his troops held on during the siege until mid September.
On  September 12, 1638 Polish Winged Hussars under King Jan Sobieski made a sweeping flank attack which devastated the Ottoman troops and forced their withdrawal into Hungary.
This battle ended once and for all the treat of Islamic expansion into Europe.

So now we fast forward 377 years to the present day and what do we find. We find a EU that ignores the a spreading or islamification of their countries, while in this country we have an administration that will not call out jihad for what it is.

Who will save us from these people.

For excellent  commentary check out the Gate of Vienna blogroll at.

http://gatesofvienna.net/

CZ- P07

A few months ago I read an article about the CZ P07 polymer framed compact pistol written by Mike Pannone. He had good things to say about it and with his service a member of the USMC Force Recon, U.S, Army Special Forces and 1st SFOD-D and current owner of CTT Soutions he is a expert in reviewing what works and what doesn't

I had a chance to test fire a CZ P07 a few days ago and I was really impressed. for me it was very ergonomic and was a soft shooter regardless of what was fed through it. I fired a variety of both FMJ and hollow points even mixing the ammo in the mags and never had an issue. I like the decocking feature feature but like its big brother you can interchange the decocker with a manual safety.
It has an oversize trigger guard which is nice for cold weather use with gloves. It also includes a 1913 picatinny rail for those who would like to add a white light or a laser. It also includes two 15 round magazines

Overall I really liked this pistol, so much so this will be my next purchase in the near future.
CZ has always had a reputation for great reliability and with with a street price of around 450.00 locally it in my opinion offers a great value for those looking for an affordable good quality concealed carry pistol.

European Central Bank and the Greeks, Stand off at the OK corral

The ECB and their minions have basically threatened the Greeks with a funding cutoff on Feb 28 if they don't abide by a previous agreement to accept  7 billion dollars in bailout money.

As much as I don't like socialist's in general in this case I hope that the new Greek government stand firms and continues to refuse. The way that these central banker's in Europe along with their sorry ass leadership in Brussels and major capitals act are even worse than the U.S. fed and the current administration.

With luck this will blow the whole darn ponzi scheme up and we will finally get the reset that is required to get the markets and the world economy back in some kind of reality.
I'm well aware of the problems that can and probably will happen in conjunction with any action like this, but if not now when? The situation will only get worse as all central banks around the world do nothing but control P funny money and pray for inflation to cover up what their failed policies have brought us, both high unemployment and a system that rewards on a select few and forgets the middle class around the world. Our founding fathers at least some of them knew the dangers about having a central bank, in our case the privately run Federal Reserve. But we went ahead with the sorry ass progressive Wilson and did anyway in 1913.

Sooner or later the massive debt around the world will have to be cancelled because there is no way any austerity program will pay the bill. As the ancient used to say , burn it to the ground and salt the earth.

For an in depth look at this issue check out today Zero Hedge article, the comments are great.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-31/ecb-threatens-athens-bank-funding-cutoff-if-no-deal-one-month-february-28-now-d-day-

Blast from the past, Dassault Mirage IV

Even though I'm a retired USAF SNCO I enjoy aircraft made not only in the U.S. but also overseas. This is why I'm a big fan of the SAAB JAS-39 NG Gripen as the replacement fighter for the NATO F-16's instead of the absolutely sorry F-35, but more about that later.

One group of aircraft that has always caught my attention are the combat aircraft made by Dassault. Of the various jets the Mirage IV is one I'm glad I got to see fly when I was stationed in Europe during the 80's and 90's.

The Mirage IV was designed in the late 50's as a high speed intermediate range strategic nuclear bomber.  It entered service in 1964 with the French Air Force and served in in both a strategic bomber and a deep reconnaissance  roles until it was retired in 2005. The Mirage IV was comparable in mission and performance to he USAF F-111 and USN A-5 Vigilante that are of the same era.

Powered by a pair SNECMA ATAR 9K-50 afterburning turbojets the Mirage IV could reach a maximum speed in of mach 2.2 and had a combat radius in excess of 800 miles, or longer when aerial refueling was used. The base Mirage IV A flew until the late 70's when it was decided that a free fall weapon dropping bomber was to vulnerable too advanced SAM systems. The French Air Force made the decision to modify 18 examples to the Mirage IVP were it could carry either a ASMP stand off missile or a CT-52 recon pod on the centerline. By 1996 the Mirage IV was relieved of its nuclear strike mission but is flew on until 2005 as a recon jet.

The Mirage IV has the classic Dassault delta wing configuration and is flown by a pilot and a bombardier/navigator. One cool thing was while preforming the nuclear strike alert role the Mirage IV was equipped with JATO bottles for take off.

JATO take off

Recon pod on the centerline

One Progressive Party Member get its

At least one Democrat gets it.


Check out the quote from
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/01/28/dem-congresswoman-obama-not-recognizing-that-islamic-extremism-is-the-enemy/

Target Ex CEO Golden Parachute

A lot of people failed to notice the going on at Target north of the border. Target has announced that it is closing all 133 Canadian  stores which will result in over 17,000 people losing their jobs.
With this announcement they also announced a package that will be give each worker 16 weeks of pay at a tab of around 56 million dollars to the company.

Now on the surface this looks OK, company not doing so well in a region so they decide to shut down and attempt to take care of the workers. What most people don't know or remember is the fact that last year when they got rid of the CEO Gregg Steinhafel for his nonperformance he was rewarded with a package that was north of 61 million dollars including over 15 million in severance pay.

I understand that big companies sign contracts that include a golden parachute in most cases. But this time its completely outrageous, since Steinhafel's piss poor performance is one of the things that led up to the Canadian stores closing.

I can't think of any worse example of CEO and board abuse since GM, or what is going on at JC Penney. I wonder what the stock holders think?

AR-15

A colleague at work asked the other day what I thought about the various modifications that some people do to an AR-15 platform. I see guys at the range that have so many accessories hung on their sporting rifles it makes them look like something out of Star Wars and adds weight that tells me they have never had to hump it ant farther than the car to the range.

I agree with Kyle Lamb and Larry Vickers, only add accessories that enhance functionality and the ability to deliver accurate fire.

The AR below is a good example of this, it has a Aim Point PRO red dot with a Daniel Defense A2 back up site,  Magpull MOE carbine stock, Tango Down vertical grip, Bravo Company improved charging handle and a Troy railed fore end. The only I might add is a white light for home defense illumination. This rifle is almost identical to one of the ones I have configured.

This is of course my own personal opinion, there is know wrong thing to add or modify with the unbelievable number of parts that are available.  So do what you like and enjoy the sport.

Aircraft Maitenance

As a long time Air Force aircraft technician this poster speaks volumes of how we feel about the pilots quite a bit of the time.

Canadians in contact

Yesterday in Iraq elements of the Canadian infantry while in a training and planning session with Kurdish and Iraqi units came under fire by ISIS forces.

Brigadier General Michael Rouleau, commander of special operations command] said the Canadians used sniper fire and “neutralized” the machine gun and mortar without taking any casualties.

“My troops had completed a planning session with senior Iraqi leaders several kilometers behind the front lines,” Rouleau said. “When they moved forward to confirm the planning at the front lines in order to visualize what they had discussed over a map, they came under immediate and effective mortar and machine gun fire.”

The general said that while Canadian soldiers are not participating in active combat, they have the right to fire back if fired upon.

Good on the Canucks.

What Global Warming?

Well fat chance any of my long haired tree hugging buddies will understand this  but I had to laugh.

Over 1700 private jets are descending on Davos, Switzerland for the world economic forum among the topics is of course the non existent global warming.

Global warming and carbon dioxide have for years been a scam to shear the sheeple once again. I have discussed this in the past and maybe someday the unwashed masses will get a clue on this.

Here is the link for the full article
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/01/20/1700-private-jets-fly-to-davos-to-discuss-global-warming/



Here is a shot of a couple of Gulfstream G-500 and 600 series jets. I see jets like these in and out of ILM all the time. I laugh and think that these are the hard time kids riding along.
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