Taking our “Here’s Why” from the paper to the blog. An explanation for why something is the way it is in the Air Force/military. Whether you’re riding on a jet ski or are an Air Force aircrew flight equipment journeyman, life vests are part of protocol. During World War II, life vests were nicknamed “Mae Wests” after the popular 1930s and 40s actress Mae West. Could you guess why? Linguist and author Henry Alexander explains that members of the Royal Air Force and Army Air Forces who were issued flight gear began calling their life vests — manufactured by Peter…
Browsing: Royal Air Force
Sesame Street’s Elmo walks into the crowd during the Sesame Street/USO Experience at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, Aug. 10, 2013. The Sesame Street/USO Experience for Military Families is the USO’s longest-running, free-traveling tour based on Sesame Street’s military family initiative. The tour is traveling to 42 installations in eight countries in the European and Pacific regions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dana J. Butler/Released) Check out more photos from the event here.
Reviewing history in the military, the Air Force and triumphs and misadventures in airpower. On the night of July 24, 1943, over 750 Royal Air Force bombers descended on Hamburg, Germany. “Operation Gomorrah” became a mission for the RAF by night, the Americans by day, which we called “Blitz Week.” The goal? The series of raids were tasked to gain air superiority, cripple German industrial production and to inflict severe material damage on what Air Chief Marshal Arthur T. Harris called the “second city of the Reich.” According to Air Force Magazine, Harris’s Bomber Command “threw 2,355 sorties at Hamburg…
From Edmonton to Winnipeg, Canadians are weighing in on a potentially contentious decision to change the Canadian Air Force back to the Royal Canadian Air Force. According to reports, the conservative government wanted to highlight historic and traditional ties with the British crown and bring a bit of history back to the Canadian military. The Navy will also go back to being the Royal Canadian Navy. Reuters report that the Canadians dropped the “royal” from their name in 1968 when they combined into The Canadian Forces. General Walter Natynczyk, chief of the defense staff, said in the story: “The initiative…
Today is the 100-day mark for operations over Libya and all is not well in the coalition. Initially tasked with enforcing a UN resolution to protect civilians threatened by Moammar Gadhafi’s regime, the international coalition is beginning to crack under the strain of a mission that seemingly has no end in sight. Here in the U.S. there is a tense debate over the legality of the operation since the Obama administration has not sought Congressional approval for the operation, which some argue violates the 1973 War Powers Resolution. Most, however, support the goal of regime change in Libya. In Britain,…
