Air Force lost a drone, and a fisherman towed it in for them. All well and good (except for the fisherman not claiming salvage), right? Well, you see, it’s not the first time this has happened. I don’t what’s worse, the Air Force losing these things, or losing enough of them that they’ve quit searching for them.
The Air Force fact sheet. Take a look at the price tag… and the fact that there’s only 37 36 35 in the fleet. (If, of course, neither of these can be made usable again.)
(H/T Uncle)
I was going to write about Pvt. Rodger W. Young, and the new video of his ballad I had found:
I went to the Army’s Medal of Honor listing to get the text of his citation, and my eyes fell across the next name on the list… ZEAMER, JAY JR.
I had been meaning to do something on Capt Zeamer and 2d Lt Sarnoski ever since I saw an episode of Dogfights on the History Channel that covered his last mission in Old 666. I can’t say much beyond what actually happened, so I’ll just put the texts of all three citations here.
ZEAMER, JAY JR. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: Over Buka area, Solomon Islands, 16 June 1943. Entered service at: Machias, Maine. Birth: Carlisle, Pa. G.O. No.: 1, 4 January 1944. Citation: On 16 June 1943, Maj. Zeamer (then Capt.) volunteered as pilot of a bomber on an important photographic mapping mission covering the formidably defended area in the vicinity of Buka, Solomon Islands. While photographing the Buka airdrome. his crew observed about 20 enemy fighters on the field, many of them taking off. Despite the certainty of a dangerous attack by this strong force, Maj. Zeamer proceeded with his mapping run, even after the enemy attack began. In the ensuing engagement, Maj. Zeamer sustained gunshot wounds in both arms and legs, 1 leg being broken. Despite his injuries, he maneuvered the damaged plane so skillfully that his gunners were able to fight off the enemy during a running fight which lasted 40 minutes. The crew destroyed at least 5 hostile planes, of which Maj. Zeamer himself shot down 1. Although weak from loss of blood, he refused medical aid until the enemy had broken combat. He then turned over the controls, but continued to exercise command despite lapses into unconsciousness, and directed the flight to a base 580 miles away. In this voluntary action, Maj. Zeamer, with superb skill, resolution, and courage, accomplished a mission of great value.
*SARNOSKI, JOSEPH R. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 43rd Bomber Group, Place and date: Over Buka Area, Solomon Islands, 16 June 1943. Entered service at: Simpson, Pa. Born. 30 January 1915, Simpson, Pa. G.O. No.: 85, 17 December 1943. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty. On 16 June 1943, 2d Lt. Sarnoski volunteered as bombardier of a crew on an important photographic mapping mission covering the heavily defended Buka area, Solomon Islands. When the mission was nearly completed, about 20 enemy fighters intercepted. At the nose guns, 2d Lt. Sarnoski fought off the first attackers, making it possible for the pilot to finish the plotted course. When a coordinated frontal attack by the enemy extensively damaged his bomber, and seriously injured 5 of the crew, 2d Lt. Sarnoski, though wounded, continued firing and shot down 2 enemy planes. A 20-millimeter shell which burst in the nose of the bomber knocked him into the catwalk under the cockpit. With indomitable fighting spirit, he crawled back to his post and kept on firing until he collapsed on his guns. 2d Lt. Sarnoski by resolute defense of his aircraft at the price of his life, made possible the completion of a vitally important mission.
*YOUNG, RODGER W.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, 148th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division. Place and date: On New Georgia, Solomon Islands, 31 July 1943. Entered service at: Clyde, Ohio. Birth: Tiffin, Ohio. G.O. No.: 3, 6 January 1944. Citation: On 31 July 1943, the infantry company of which Pvt. Young was a member, was ordered to make a limited withdrawal from the battle line in order to adjust the battalion’s position for the night. At this time, Pvt. Young’s platoon was engaged with the enemy in a dense jungle where observation was very limited. The platoon suddenly was pinned down by intense fire from a Japanese machinegun concealed on higher ground only 75 yards away. The initial burst wounded Pvt. Young. As the platoon started to obey the order to withdraw, Pvt. Young called out that he could see the enemy emplacement, whereupon he started creeping toward it. Another burst from the machinegun wounded him the second time. Despite the wounds, he continued his heroic advance, attracting enemy fire and answering with rifle fire. When he was close enough to his objective, he began throwing handgrenades, and while doing so was hit again and killed. Pvt. Young’s bold action in closing with this Japanese pillbox and thus diverting its fire, permitted his platoon to disengage itself, without loss, and was responsible for several enemy casualties.
Two different branches, the same theatre, but right next to each other on the rolls.
Shines the name, shines the name, of Rodger Young…
Went to the Eglin 75th anniversary Open House Saturday. Excellent show– the Thunderbirds, as always, are awesome– great displays, and some awesome people to chat with. I even got to chat with some EA-6B crewmen from VAQ-139. (Note: I really wanted a T-shirt they were selling. Not the “I HEART COUGARS” one, but another design.)
Watched the F-22 (I’ve seen Pugachev’s Cobra, and it awesome…) and the Corsair demonstrate while I waited in line for the Virtual Army Experience. The VAE is not bad, but it’s not great, either– the guns look like M-4s, but they’re pintle mounted and semi-auto only. Had that been a real mission, my convoy would’ve been dead, oh… 10 seconds in. Saw the Coast Guard do a simulated SAR mission, and even got to watch a C-17 go through its paces.
All my pics are still being processed, but here’s some videos –
Only three things marred this show.
1) Sunburn. I don’t know if it’s just me, or a new runway coating, but I’ve never been sunburned at an airshow before. I’m red like the Kool-Aid man…
2) Too few static display aircraft. The only aircraft you could get inside were a couple of C-130s (a C-130, a AC-130, and a MC-130), the CV-22, a few helicopters, the DHC-4, and the Lear Jet. No C-5, no C-17, no KC-135 or other transport. Not even that many booths with information from the Air Force– they usually have tons of history and tactical displays.
3) Bus snafus. The gates opened at 9 AM and closed at 3 AM when the Thunderbirds started engines. At 5 PM everyone was told “show’s over.” Now, it took 6 hours for the buses to ferry everyone in… how long will it take to ferry them out? I was in parking lot Blue Alpha, the smallest and closest of the lots– but nobody else knew which lot they were in, which led to me taking two long bus rides with groups that thought they were Blue Alpha, but really weren’t. However, the Air Force worked everything out in style.*
However, it was a good show. Two tidbits I found interesting– the flag and decal vendors sold out of Gadsen flags, and Thunderbird 6 did his “slow roll” to the opening strains of Muse’s “Uprising.” That song’s a bit… odd for an Air Force demonstration team… I enjoyed it. I found a good seat (a vehicle barrier under a shelter) and watched the show while I ate a ice cream bar.
* Yes, they made it up to me. After the second snafu, I was handed off to a Sergeant and told that the next available bus would take me to the vehicle. Moments later, a Dodge Charger pulls up, and the Sergeant practically levitates in a 90 degree turn and snaps a salute. Oh sh*t, I think– officer. Then the Sergeant bends at the waist (he didn’t approach the vehicle at all) and addresses the driver. Oh sh*t, field grade officer, I think.
I get in, close the door, and as my driver leans over to talk to the Sergeant, I flick my eyes down and see one of these on my driver’s collar. (Yes, I snapped to. I come from a long line of enlisted men.) So I got chauffeured back to my car by a full-bird Colonel and got to chat with him about the Thunderbirds, the Block 70 F-16, and the show.
(I just looked him up, and I’m impressed. He earned a B.S. in psychology before I was born, holds multiple Master’s, and his last job was as a tech. Here I thought he was just in charge of the SFs… {chuckle})
This modern conglomerate that calls itself the military is getting more and more absurd by the moment. Major Hasan, who warned of problems by Muslims in the military, and even gave a PowerPoint presentation on the subject, killed 13 people at Fort Hood. Even though he emailed Al Qaeda members, he belonged to no “extremist” organizations.
The government’s response is to try to create more gun regulations and restrict membership in “extremist” organizations.
So, let me get this straight. A man who essentially did everything but walk around base with a “Born to Kill (For Allah)” T-shirt on buys a gun because you didn’t sack him, and you want to make another pass at gun regulation? Umm… how’s about you just use some common sense? To quote Nicki: “We had SCREAMING warning signs that Hasan was a terrorist piece of festering shit.”
Seriously, DoD and DoJ… next time you get somebody who is constantly dropping hints that are “fart in church during the prayer” obvious, just… I dunno, investigate them.
Weer’d Beard has a post up about assault rifles that got me thinking. I agree with his point– the small-caliber assault rifle concept is essentially the answer to an unasked question. Some of the stories coming from Afghanistan and Iraq about the effectiveness of the 5.56MM round are disturbing.
I think the best solution is a semi-auto bullpup in a major caliber, like 7.62 x 51 NATO, for the troops, and a good automatic weapon in the same caliber for the two “swing men” in a squad. I say “in the same caliber” because two types of ammo in a squad would wreak havoc, and if push comes to shove, the riflemen can break down the belts (or unload the mags) for the automatics for their own rifles.
So, for the standard eight man Army squad, you would have two automatic rifles and six semi auto rifles, with both derived from the same weapon, so that parts and training would be standardized. The FAL operated like this– the squad automatic simply had a heavier barrel than the rifle version.
Also, I consider the argument that some people just won’t be able to operate a major caliber rifle to be utter bull– physical size has no bearing on competence. Go take a look at some of the men who were in the Airborne in WWII– some of those guys were small framed, but they were able to operate major caliber weapons. For a visual, here’s Breda operating an M-14.
A librarian who stands 5′ 4″ is able to put rounds on target with a gun that most modern American males wouldn’t shoot… a second time. So why have we equipped our troops with a round that is usually delegated to varmint shooting?
Name the countries we have offended recently. Okay, good, yes… them, too… But you forgot Poland. I mean, I know we pulled our missile shield and all, but they weren’t really mad, they just didn’t want to talk to Hillary. Well, I think they might be mad now.
Remember, “do not point your gun at anything you do not wish to destroy.”
(H/T David Codrea)
Caution: strong language, and Patton quotes. Purchase of the song at iTunes donates the profits to the Armed Forces Relief Trust.
(H/T Gun Free Zone)
