Tailhook Daily Briefing

US Marines Not Welcomed in Berkeley California

Usually I try to avoid becoming too politically entangled here on TDB, but seriously, is anyone surprised by this? 

From the Contra Costa Times:

Berkeley Council Says Marine Recruiting Center is not Welcome

BERKELEY, Calif.—Local officials in this liberal city say it's time for the U.S. Marines to move out.

The City Council voted 8-1 Tuesday to tell the Marines their downtown recruiting station is not welcome and "if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome guests."...

Not surprising to readers of this site, our Marines are pretty accustomed to the status "Uninvited and Unwelcomed Guests". Seldom however is this the prevailing opinion anywhere between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans! 

...In a separate item, the council voted, also 8-1, to give protest group Code Pink a parking space in front of the recruiting office once a week for six months and a free sound permit for protesting once a week.

..."I believe in the Code Pink cause. The Marines don't belong here, they shouldn't have come here, and they should leave," said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates....

The entire Bay Area of the great state of California has melded into a melting pot of pacifists and the more vile, "passive aggressive's" toward those who CHOOSE to defend the freedoms we all enjoy in our great nation.

Must be nice to relax in the Barko-Lounger of freedom provided by those who serve!  And then snipe at those who do!

But alas I would not worry about our Brother's in Green.  They are fairly used to, and conditioned to be amidst Hostile Situations!

I think Chesty said it best:

It is a good thing our Marines understand Semper Fidelis because the self proclaimed intellectuals of Berkeley obviously need to study up on their Latin.

Good Night Chesty Wherever You Are...

More on this from one of our favorite military reads:  InstaPinch understanding that he's "Been there done that... has the t-shirt!"

Can Someone please turn the frigg'n runway into the wind!

A little fun??? Maybe not for all involved in these harrowing Crosswind approaches, wave-offs, landings and "Poopy-suit" generators! 

Who cares that we can't understand the music the video is worth it all!

Enjoy... [Video Link]

Any of our brethren want to lay claim for the FCLP gone bad?

Efficiency In the Days of Tomcats

Get 'em in the air!

Video Link:

Not Quite G-LOC

In an official Navy statement, it appears that Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis, the Blue Angel killed in last April's tragic accident, suffered the onset of high G induced tunnel-vision and probable disorientation.

From AP

"In his final turn to attempt to rendezvous with the other Blues, he put a very fast, high-G turn on the aircraft. A real aggressive turn," Capt. Jack Hanzlik, a Navy spokesman and former aviator, told the AP on Monday.

There is more from the AP article that is quite critical (most likely unnecessarily so, about the Blue Angles no G-Suit Waiver, that yhs will not dig into at this time but if you would like to comment on the rest of the AP article cited in this piece, feel free to do so in our comments.)

More Here from the Savannah Morning News... [link]

An investigator reviewing flight data found Davis never lost total control of the flight stick in the turn at six times the force of gravity. A temporary decrease in blood flow to his brain caused by the G-forces likely caused Davis to experience tunnel vision and become disoriented, the report found.

..."In his final turn to attempt to rendezvous with the other Blues, he put a very fast, high-G turn on the aircraft. A real aggressive turn," said Capt. Jack Hanzlik, a Navy spokesman and former aviator. "Kevin had performed these maneuvers in training and in the fleet. He had done them in similar situations, and he had a history of performing them well without any problems."

Guadagnini said Davis did not black out and was in control of the FA-18 Hornet until it crashed near the intersection of Shanklin and Pine Grove roads in northern Beaufort County.

Blue Angels 2008 Schedule

The Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron has released their upcoming 2008 performance schedule.  

Looks like some good old regular stops return to the schedule for this season; MCAS Miramar for one, and it looks like the Colorado Tailhookers (of which yhs is a member) will get the opportunity to view the Blues at Grand Junction, which if you haven't been there is a great venue to watch the Blues!

To some, probably one of the biggest surprises is the return of the Blue Angels to San Francisco (Oct. 11-12), where every year the opposition to the annual performance gains a louder and louder voice.  However, by most factual accounting that voice is of an extremely vocal minority.

So find a show nearest you and bring the friends and family! 

Here's the show schedule:

MARCH

08          NAF El Centro, California
15 - 16   Sacramento, California
29 - 30   NAS Meridian, Mississippi

APRIL

05 - 06   NAS Kingsville, Texas
12 - 13   Smyrna, Tennessee
19 - 20   Peoria, Illinois
26 - 27   Vidalia, Georgia

MAY

10 - 11   Barksdale AFB, Bossier City, Louisiana
16 - 18   Andrews AFB, Maryland
21          USNA, Annapolis, Maryland
23          USNA Fly-By, Annapolis, Maryland
24-25     Jones Beach, New York

JUNE

07 - 08   MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina
14 - 15   Quebec City
21 - 22   Davenport, Iowa
28 - 29   Huntsville, Alabama

JULY

05 - 06   Traverse City, Michigan
12          Pensacola Beach, Florida
19 - 20   Duluth, Minnesota
26 - 27   Twin Falls, Idaho

AUGUST

02 - 03   Seattle, Washington
08 - 10   Fairchild AFB, Spokane, Washington
16 - 17   Chicago, Illinois
30          Cleveland, Ohio

SEPTEMBER

01          Cleveland, Ohio
06 - 07   NAS Brunswick, Maine
13 - 14   Eau Claire, Wisconsin
20 - 21   NAS Oceana, Virginia
27 - 28   Grand Junction, Colorado

OCTOBER

04 - 05   MCAS Miramar, San Diego, California
11 - 12   San Francisco, California
18 - 19   Little Rock, AFB, Arkansas
25 - 26   NAS Jacksonville, Florida

NOVEMBER

01 - 02   Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas
08 - 09   Kennedy Space Center, Florida
15          NAS Pensacola, Florida

Schedule is subject to change without notice and is
weather permitting, for everyone's safety.

 

What Is It?... Or Simply, "Is It?"

After last week's creative writing episode, very nice Spike!  But alas, indeed Parrothead Jeff had the gouge!  Well done Jeff!

I figured I'd present you with something a little different...

Ok, What is it?  Provide your replies, creative or actual in the "comments" section.

Raw Video of the Iranian Boats Threatening US Navy Ships in the Persian Gulf...

Raw Video from the AP of the Iranian "Go Fast" Boats Harassing US Navy Ships in the Persian Gulf!

Video Link

From News My Way:

By SEBASTIAN ABBOT and LOLITA C. BALDOR

...Video and audio recordings clearly show Iranian boats confronting U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, and a voice speaking in heavily-accented English can be heard threatening that the American vessels were going to explode, military officials said Tuesday.

The incident, which President Bush denounced Tuesday as a "provocative act," was videotaped by a crew member on the bridge of the destroyer USS Hopper, one of the three ships that faced down five Iranian boats in a flare-up early Sunday...

...The top U.S. Navy commander in the Gulf said an Iranian fleet of high-speed boats charged at and threatened to blow up the Navy convoy as it passed near but outside Iranian waters on Monday. The Iranian fleet "maneuvered aggressively" and then fled as the American ship commanders were preparing to open fire, Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff said. No shots were fired.

How this force commander restrained from firing any shots is amazing.  The question is... Should he have?

In Tehran, Iran's Foreign Ministry suggested the Iranian boats had not recognized the U.S. vessels. Spokesman Mohammed Ali Hosseini played down the incident. "That is something normal that takes place every now and then for each party," he told the state news agency IRNA... [more]

"...Iran's Foreign Ministry suggested the Iranian boats had not recognized the U.S. vessels..."

Uh... Yeah!  What? Don't they watch the Discovery Channel?  Or CNN?  Trust me, the silhouette of a "Tycho Boat" is not one that can be mistaken for any other vessel!  Yep that's a Warship!  Of course, being over 600 feet long, painted Haze Gray, and flying the Old Glory from the Main might also be a clue!

French Rafale Pilot Puckers!

 

I'm thinking this wasn't in the brief. [Video Link]

Flightdeck Friday - Fleet Air Arm Edition: “Hurricats”

Desperate times call for desperate measures…

In 1940 Britain was in a desperate fight for survival.  Isolated from the Continent, Britain was relying on a lifeline extended from the States via merchant convoys.  Plying the North Atlantic, out of range of land-based air cover, the convoys were subject to attack from German submarines, operating singly at first and later in wolf-packs, and from the air – He 111’s and Ju 88’s to be sure, but primarily from the long-range Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor.  The Condors, first operating from Norway and later from France, were able to range far out into the North Atlantic, well out of the range of the RAF’s shore-based Spitfires and Hurricanes.  Without being threatened, the Condors could range freely to provide detailed reports on convoy positions to waiting wolf packs as well as attack the un- or under-armed merchants and their few escorts on their own with bombs.  Between June 1940 and February 1941, Condors alone accounted for sinking over 365,000 tons.  Obviously something had to be done.

Reading Materials

From the Rand Corp written for the Blue Suiters so it is in BIG PRINT!

Full Report Here: http://rand.org/pubs/monographs/2007/RAND_MG655.pdf

HT: IntelliBriefs and this article.