Public affairs crews at multiple bases and major commands are doing what they can to keep airmen safe, notably uploading a series of awkward public safety announcements to YouTube. PA folks at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., have produced a series of great safety videos, with very high production and puppet value, called “Awkward Puppet Moments.” The one above reminds airmen to drink enough water while exercising in the Nevada heat. I recommend watching all of their videos. The videos focus on the typical summer safety issues: hydration, bicycle safety, water safety, etc. Air Combat Command’s entry, posted today, is…
Browsing: Offbeat
By now, you’ve probably gone out and seen the smash hit remake of Godzilla, featuring not one, not two, but three authentic Navy aircraft carriers. But we know what you’re thinking: How would the Air Force do against the King of the Monsters? Fortunately, the good people at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space magazine took a trip to Kadena Air Base in Japan to put the question to members of the 18th Wing. The video below contains the Air Force’s strategy for fighting off a 350-foot kaiju with F-15s, Super Cobra attack helicopters, Segways and slingshots, and it’s pretty classic. 18th…
Santa Claus will not get an armed escort from the North American Aerospace Defense Command this year. When NORAD launched its yearly Santa tracker online, the Boston Globe reported that the site featured a video showing the jolly old elf being escorted by US fighters “bristling with missiles.” This caused a minor earthquake in the Twitterverse about why Santa would need an armed escort. The answer: Russia. But a NORAD spokesman confirmed to FlightLines’ weapons/Santa expert that the “missiles” are actually fuel tanks. “Guilty as charged, we tried to give it a more operational feel this year; that was purposefully…
By day, he’s Gen. Mark Welsh, the mild-mannered Air Force chief of staff, but at night he assumes his alter ego: Captain Airpower! Pictures went viral when Welsh first donned his Captain Airpower mask at September’s Air Force Association Air and Space Conference. Not all of the responses were kind. “So, I am supposed to [counsel] airman on respecting their uniform and wear it correctly, but 4 stars are walking around with masks on … got it,” one person posted under the photo on Air Force Times’ Facebook page at the time. At a recent speech to Air Force Academy…
By day, he’s Gen. Mark Welsh, the mild-mannered Air Force chief of staff, but at night he assumes his alter ego: Captain Airpower! Pictures went viral when Welsh first donned his Captain Airpower mask at September’s Air Force Association Air and Space Conference. Not all of the responses were kind. “So, I am supposed to [counsel] airman on respecting their uniform and wear it correctly, but 4 stars are walking around with masks on … got it,” one person posted under the photo on Air Force Times’ Facebook page at the time. At a recent speech to Air Force Academy…
Some at March Air Reserve Base in California say so. “It’s creepy. It’s like somebody’s watching you,” base security guard Michael Diaz said about walking along the base’s museum. NBC 4 in Los Angeles has this post-Halloween story about reported paranormal activity on the base, including strange noises and odd figures in the base library. A group of airmen are investigating the sightings, according to NBC4. “Everybody on base has different stories about things they hear, knocks. They notice somebody in the corner of their eye,” said Joe Mora, an Air Force reservist who works with paranormal investigative group Ghost…
Air Force bases must be prepared in the event of many contingencies, and at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, that also means zombies. Col. Glen Vanherck, commander of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess, addressed this issue during an online Q&A that was posted online in late June and has since made the rounds in social media. In the Facebook Q&A, Brittany asked: “What is the wing king’s zombie preparedness plan? I’m curious to see how he plans to survive if there ever is one.” And the answer was quite detailed. “Please rest assured that if a terrorist attack is…
The Air Force is taking a page from the Cold War playbook to plan for deployments to the Asia-Pacific region. You can read how rotations to Australia and elsewhere in the Pacific will be modeled after the “Checkered Flag” deployments. While the Air Force is increasing its presence in the region, budget cuts have forced Pacific Air Forces to curtail exercises. See which exercises have been put on hold. Facing decreasing defense budgets for the foreseeable future, the Air Force is looking into how many aircraft and bases it needs and making big changes in the active-reserve mix to save…
The Air Force is taking a page from the Cold War playbook to plan for deployments to the Asia-Pacific region. You can read how rotations to Australia and elsewhere in the Pacific will be modeled after the “Checkered Flag” deployments. While the Air Force is increasing its presence in the region, budget cuts have forced Pacific Air Forces to curtail exercises. See which exercises have been put on hold. Facing decreasing defense budgets for the foreseeable future, the Air Force is looking into how many aircraft and bases it needs and making big changes in the active-reserve mix to save…
Last year, Flightlines wrote about military “Bronies” – guys who are really into “My Little Pony – some of whom like to wear “Pony” patches on their military uniforms. To be clear, Bronies do not advocate wearing “My Little Pony” regalia on military uniforms, but one class of airmen learning how to fly incorporated the Brony ethos into its temporary class patch. The website “Equestria Nightly” first reported about the patch, which includes the words “My Little Pilot.” Like all class patches, the Brony patch for Class 14-05, which is training at Vance Air Force Base, Okla., is unofficial and…
