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Of course, we all know about Ted Williams - even Ed McMann - but I never knew Jerry Coleman was a Marine. I just knew him as a #&%! Yankee whose team beat my Brooklyn Dodgers way too often.

If that was sarcasm, it was probably deserved. The Neptune was a medium bomber in the (primary) ASW role. But it was a bomber: research the history of VO-67 (ObsRon-67) in VN, or even the role of the P-2 used by the Army (yes, Army) then.

Thanks for posting pic, Malo. We used to shoot 2.75" rockets off the wings of our P-2s. If memory serves, the Tacco had to set the intervalometer to space the firing sequence for the pilots .

We lost another real Navy hero today with the death of Scott Carpenter. Based on what we know of the Mercury & Apollo astronauts. you have to wonder if any of them could have survived in today's Navy. And, God bless him, Scott was a P-2 driver during his 1st sea tour (he later went to TPS and...

Airlines are dumping the Airbus 340 a/c like yesterday's shrimp. Governments, however, now have a great opportunity to pick-up a large, long-range presidential/prime minister a/c at a fraction of the cost of a new one. This may be the highest & best-use of these early-stage dinosaurs. Just...

. . . and those must be brand spanking new E-2As in that photo, as the old Stoof -with-a-Roof (E-1B) was still prevalent then.

Likely, but as a non-insider I would wager that the USMC never replaces all its AV-8s & Legacy F-18s w/ F-35Bs. If they do, it will be a fraction of the current inventory numbers. My bet is that they get a certain numbe of Super Hornets to replace the Legacy F-18s that are literally falling...

Too bad they couldn't have used it on that North Korean freighter down in Panama. Just sayin' . . .

I've been in both VP & VF. Go Super Hornets or Growlers and be part of the tip of the spear. The real Navy goes to sea. JMHO.

To be more precise, there are now slightly more than 175 A400Ms on order. They still need to double that number before the program can hope to break-even. The A350 won a bag of orders at the Paris Air Show, but it is still 2 yrs+ from 1st delivery. In the meantime, Boeing will likely deliver...

You also have to wonder just how much $$$ Airbus/EADS will lose on the A400M, A380 and the A340 programs - and remember that the A350 (a new program) is still very much in development and a very looong way from initial deliveries. The A400M is billions over-budget, 3 years late (due primarily to...

Well, I hope you get more than that. Weren't 27 C-27Js the original purchase quantity? Where did the other 13 go? Anyway, based on reading specs, etc., the C-27 is the best & most versatile of the twin-engine, European-made light transports out there - and, hell, it fits right in w/ the CG love...

Not what I said. What I said is that the "odds on being selected" are better for females. I'm sure all 4 ladies selected are eminently qualified for astronaut training. My point, if I have one, is that the universe of "highly qualified" female candidates is probably considerably fewer than that...

There is no hate in my posts, and this is not about straight white males. Aviation & engineering are 2 career paths that have been dominated for a long time by males. I find it "interesting" that astronaut selection (which presumably would require skills, education and experience in those 2...

OK: There are 4 men and 4 women in this astronaut class. Unless the number of female aviators equals or exceeds the number of male aviators, then women have better odds of being selected than men. Political Correctness is one thing: refusing to address reality is something else - and much more...

Fantastic footage and story. This greatly improved my opinion of the USAAC.

Looks like the odds of becoming an astronaut are much better for females. Just sayin' . . .

. . . and what's more, the new CO might be surprised to learn that it is technologically possible to extend the length of runways at NASs. It has been done before when there were appropriate reasons for doing so. Just sayin'.

Thanks. I was at Pax River way back when it was VR-1 (TACAMO) w/ a few C-130s: definitely a long time ago. Would love to see the 2 squadrons at Forrest Sherman Field to give some operational flavor to the Pensacola area. But I guess Offutt wouldn't allow that - and you'd have the ocassional...

Tangential question: The Navy's 2 (E-6B) Tacamo squadrons are at Tinker AFB & have been for a long time. Other than being located at a 707-airframe OMR site are there any compelling Navy operational reasons to keep them in Oklahoma?? Would appreciate viewpoints & info from those more current...

True, but never forget the VID requirement from 'Nam. In the PC world we inhabit, our guys may not be allowed to shoot someone not positively ID'ed. Just sayin'.

Well, it is the "big" airplane: Beats the hell out of trying to keep your eyeballs on the A-4 after the merge.

. Mean-looking aircraft. Pray that they have shitty radars & 200hr pilots.

Gee . . .

131X, 132X: can you say the beginning of the end? Mark the date.

. . . not to mention his extensive management experience in government and the private sector - oh, wait

Morocco & Jordan are both benevolent monarchies where the king is the ultimate ruler. Both have been reliable allies to the US historically. Turkey was an exception in the Muslim world, but it has trended towards fundamentalist Islam during the past decade. They're in NATO, but religious freedom...

Agree w/ Bubba. Based on my reading of Islamic history, culture and the current world status, I do not believe anything resembling democracy & freedom can exist w/in Islam. When Assad is killed & overthrown, we will have another terror-sponsoring nation in the Mideast and Israel will have aa...

So a member calls me racist, and the Eminent Moderator has no comment. But Mumbles & I get slammed for the things we don't know because you work for a 3-star in the Pentagon. Well, I had a TSC clearance & worked for SOG/CIA as an ensign in RVN - and I'm not gonna tell you crap about what I did...

(a) Federal deficit spending, (b) foreign policy, (c) Benghazi, et al., you get the idea. Take a better shot, Marine. Race has nothing to do w/ where our nation is headed, and if you don't know that may Heaven help you.

Brett: If you don't think this president has an uncommon (even among presidents) issue with hubris and pomposity that renders him incapable of working w/ Congress or effectively managing the Executive branch of the federal government, then you might live in a river in Egypt. JMHO.

Never in American history have the words "I" and "my" been used more by an incumbent president than by our current leader. Self-centeredness aside, if he wants all the glory, he will also get all the blame from future historians if things don't work out as he hopes. Unlike Mav, so far it ain't...

. This administration's handling of Sequester cuts reminds me of a saying I first heard in Naval Air: "Please don't piss on my ankles and tell me it's raining!".

2 comments: (a) I'm no attorney, but U.S. citizenship does not protect you if you are acting as an enemy combatant in actions against the United States of America. We executed a US citizen for assisting the Nazi spies who were dropped off on Long Island by a U-Boat during WWII; (b) All...

Maybe so, but keep buying Ospreys & F-35Bs and the entire USMC will be a few wings of OV-22s & F-35Bs w/ no money for anything else, ground or air. Just sayin' .

Hope you're right, but in Jan, Feb & Mar there were many a/c in the pattern all day on the weekends. T-6, T-39, T-1, Fleet F-18s & various AF a/c not assigned to NPA. Today at NAS was similar to being in downtown Boston on Friday: Where the Hell are all the people? The quiet is deafening!

Played 18 holes at AC Read GC at NAS Pensacola this Saturday (today) afternoon. Beautiful severe clear day, 70F and not one aircraft, Navy, otherwise, VT or fleet, was seen or heard between noon & 5PM. This is a first. This is depressing. FWIW.

This is 6 of 10 in my winging class, we all just qualified on the Shitty Kitty and are having beers at the I-Bar in North Island. There are two current Skippers in this pic, one of which is an east coast VAW squadron. We all were about to get knocked on our ass in the soft winging ceremony...

JMHO, but we would be sadly mistaken to compare the fighting ability (or lack thereof) of the Iraqi army to that of the North Koreans. If they come - and I also don't think they will - they will fight ferociously. Ask any living vet of the Korean War what that fight was like. 60 years later...

. . . and we can all sleep well knowing that the USAF in Japan, Guam & Okinawa will protect us.

With 4 squadrons of attack-capable jets + Prowlers, they can do a little more than 6 Harriers supporting a Marine Battalion trying to get ashore somewhere. Just sayin' . .

I will. An Aegis cruiser & another small boy don't get it: Do we have a CVN in the area? A flight of B-2s & some F-22s won't turn a Korean War around if the North launches first and catches the RKAF & ours on the ground.

Back in the 70's, Delta had some CV-880s & 990s. They were fast - cruised at M.90 or something. Inside they were skinny and carried only about 2/3 the pax load of a B-707. IOW, they were $$ losers and were gone w/in 10 yrs.

Why is he taxiing w/ the probe out? SOP in the IAF?

What would an S-3 tanker's give amount be in lbs of gas? How does that compare w/ Buddy Stores or whatever we're doing now?

Apparently, there's a P-51D & a B-17 at Pensacola Muni (excuse, me the mayor says International) today. You can get a hop in the jumpseat of the P-51 for $200 simolians. I'm not sure how much a ride in the Flying Fortress goes for. FWIW.

I don't think so, as the news item I used as a source was a "Motley Fool" article dated Sunday, March 3. If I could link, I would. Being techno-retarded is difficult.

FWIW, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), an arm of the DOD I assume, has informed the U.S. Congress of Australia' s purchase of [up to] 24 more Super Hornets. It seems the sale will be made up of 12 F/A-18E/Fs and 12 EA-18Gs. Australia is doing this because they don't expect F-35s...

The Army could use it to great effect (if the AF would step aside - which is not historically likely). Finding roles & ways to operate this a/c surely is preferable to wearing out the remaining hours on F-16s & F-18s on AF, Navy & MC airframes.

Apologize for somewhat changing the subject, but the Canucks would be crazy not to cash-in their As for Super Hornets. In addition to all the similarities & lower costs (buy & operate), they're never going to downtown Beijing or Pyongyang, either. The E/F give them all the air defense & attack...