Each year the fighter communities hold galas/balls to celebrate their craft and renew friendships. This is the 2015 opening video for the strike fighter ball held on the east coast. It is nine and a half minutes long, but worth the watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4s3OaGWh7s A high definition version can be seen here.
Want to get fired up for the weekend? Watch this video: In a more pensive mood? Here is one for you (I found this one to be particularly well made): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa_fnFxN5fs Want some laughs? Here is a video that shows why you should never fall asleep in the military.
Here is a video that captures what I loved about being on a ship, courtesy of USS CURTS (FFG 38). The credits say this was shot in 2012, a year before she was decommissioned. I did notice that the engineering department was underrepresented – no mystery really, since the film was put together by an Operations Specialist. Segue cartoon: If you are a carrier fan, here is a short but well done and satisfying video of carrier operations. The video notes say that it was shot on board USS CARL VINSON (CVN-70) in 2012. This was my perspective of carrier…
Underway replenishments, universally known as UNREPS, are uniquely Navy and one of the most dangerous evolutions ships go through on deployment and when underway for extended periods of time. Thousands of tons of steel cruise through the pitching ocean about 150 feet apart as they transfer fuel, ammunition, spare parts and food to ships on the pointy end of the spear. They often take several hours to complete. This is a video of two destroyers (ROOSEVELT (DDG 80) and MASON (DDG 87) according to the clip) conducting simultaneous UNREPS with USNS LARAMIE (T-AO 203) in the FIFTH Fleet AOR (Middle…
DARPA, the organization used by the military to develop new technologies (from its website: to make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for national security.), recently released photos of an autonomous vessel that it built called the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessl (or ACUVD). It is specifically designed to track diesel submarines. Click here for the DARPA website that describes how it works. Here is a time lapse of it under construction – it gives a hint as to what is inside. Link up a few of these babies on SKYNET and we’re all set!
Although there are Americans in harm’s way right now, and although we vow to never forget, I think that some of us do. And then, unexpectedly, we stumble upon a video that brings it all back again and renews our commitment to remember those who have fallen, those who bear the scars, and those who still serve in dangerous, far away places. Click on the video to watch a touching, dignified airport ceremony for a fallen Soldier. We who were in the military sometimes forget that there is an American spirit that resides within all of us – not just…
Marine Corps veteran and buddy David sent this to me. This is a list of the ten most popular military TV comedy shows, along with some short clips. I think this is probably an unofficial rating from the folks at wearethemighty.com, but off the top of my head I can’t think of any they missed. Click on the picture to see the list.
There are few things in life that make you feel like wrestling a grizzly or grabbing an ax and splitting some logs, but this is one of them. C-130s used to be known only as slow moving cargo planes. No more, by a long shot. Click on the photo of a C-130 to see the video. Sent to me by my buddy David, a Marine Corps veteran.
[Animated flag courtesy of bestanimations.com]
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 and officially continues to this day. It is the story of a lightning fast surprise invasion by more than 100,000 North Korean soldiers that engulfed almost all of South Korea within a few days. It is also the story of a stubborn and desperate resistance in the southern tip of South Korea – the Puson Perimeter – after the initial invasion. The refusal to surrender prevented the North Koreans from consolidating their hold on the country, and kept the door open for the Inchon invasion in September. Other storylines emerged too. One…
