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SOUTH CHINA SEA (Oct. 3, 2019) Seaman Justin D. Underwood, from Nampa, N.D., assigned to Beachmaster Unit (BMU) 1, sits on the starboard side of a landing craft, air cushion (LCAC), attached to Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 5, during Tiger Strike 2019. Malaysian Armed Forces were joined by U.S. Marines and Sailors for exercise Tiger Strike 2019 where both forces participated in jungle survival, amphibious assault, aerial raids, and combat service support training and cultural exchanges. The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to support regional stability, reassure partners and allies, and maintain a presence to respond to any crisis ranging from humanitarian assistance to contingency operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alexander C. Kubitza)
intersection traffic signal flashing yellow lights on and off modification controlled by Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Special Traffic Operations, Transportation and Traffic Management Plan Contingency Engineers during the operation of the Homeboy Industries 5 km Run Race Course Route, and College Street intersection traffic signal green lights, left turn protected permissive green arrow lights and pedestrian crosswalk crossing white walking lights, the following intersections are Alpine Street, Ord Street and Cesar E. Chavez Avenue intersections have traffic signal red yellow green lights on located at Chinatown Los Angeles, California 90012. Right hand side is the landmarks of Bamboo Plaza and Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.
The former G.D.P. route was on Northbound Broadway (ended here until 2000) from Cesar E. Chavez Avenue to Bernard Street and Southbound Hill Street at Ord Street took place here until 2006 then the new current G.D.P. route travelled Southbound Broadway and made a left turn at East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and ENDED at New High and Spring Streets for parade floats disbanding zone since February 2007 to February 2012 but now this Golden Dragon Parade route on Southbound Broadway turns right to Westbound Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and ENDS at North Hill Street overpass bridge for parade floats disbanding zone since February 2013 to present.
Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker 10k Run event race route will reach 0.1 mile = 160 meters ahead to the finish line festival
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This is where L.A. Chinatown Firecracker 10k run race route continues to Elysian Park uphill, Dodger Stadium, back to finish line.
這裡是洛杉磯中國城唐人街華埠火爆竹跑參加比賽路線將會剩下一百六十米公尺前往終點結束完畢在北百老滙街, 巴納街及和羅省洛市華埠中央廣場孟歐之風塔門
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This is the 5k Run Race Route of the Homeboy - Homeboyle Industries Chinatown, Solano Canyon, Naud Industrial Junction and Outer Los Angeles State Historic Park.
這裡是5公里小家子 (家仔) 工業跑步比賽路線跑往洛杉磯華埠, 蘇蘭諾山峽谷, 諾德工業樞紐及外洛杉磯州立歷史公園區.
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#chinatownla #lachinatown #chinatownlosangeles #losangeleschinatown #northbroadway #broadwaybernard #bernardbroadway #bernardstreet #royalpagodamotel #lachinesechamberofcommerce #chinesechamberofcommerce #chssc #chinesehistoricalsocietyofsoutherncalifornia #saigonbeautyandbarbershop #977northbroadway #chinatowncentralplaza #firecrackerla #firecracker10k #firecracker10krun
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Air Force Master Sgt. Paul Edwards of the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group establishes satellite communications for the Joint Operations Center at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, Oct. 5, 2014, in support of Operation United Assistance. More than 80 Kentucky Air Guardsmen stood up an Intermediate Staging Base at the airport that will funnel humanitarian supplies and equipment into West Africa as part of the international effort to fight Ebola. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)
AIM-9L/M Sidewinder
AIM-7F/M Sparrow
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The 142nd Fighter Wing's rich history began just prior to World War II as the United States increased its military readiness while war raged across Europe and Asia.
Today, as a vital Air National Guard asset to Air Combat Command and Air Expeditionary Force structures, the 142nd Fighter Wing conducts Air Sovereignty Alert operations 24/7 in the Pacific Northwest. The wing also participates in contingency operations in support of state and federal authorities.
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The Oregon Air National Guard and the 142nd Fighter Wing's history began just prior to World War II when the United States, monitoring the war raging in Europe and China, began focusing less on neutrality and more on preparedness. Answering the call to arms was Major G. Robert Dodson, an Oregonian serving with the 321st Observation Squadron, U.S. Army Reserve at Pearson Field in Vancouver, Washington. He requested the National Guard Bureau's authorization to form an Oregon flying unit. His short, official request -- "We've got people, we've got a place, and we're ready!" -- launched the 123rd Observation Squadron on April 18, 1941. The newly formed unit began operations with two officers, 108 enlisted men and two aircraft, a North American BC-1A (like the AT-6) and a Douglas O-46A.
Five months later, on September 15, 1941, the squadron was federally activated and deployed to Gray Field at Fort Lewis, Washington from which it conducted coastal patrol and training operations in the Pacific Northwest with the North American O-47. This included one of the first missions flown from a U.S. base on December 7, 1941. In March 1943 the 123rd was redesignated as a Reconnaissance Squadron, and redesignated again in August 1943 as the 35th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (PRS). From September 1944 to August 1945 the unit flew the F-5 reconnaissance variant of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning in combat operations in the China-Burma-India theatre as part of the Fourteenth Air Force, the famous "Flying Tigers." The squadron received credit for participation in seven campaigns in World War II. Not all 123rd personnel served with the 35th PRS, as some were diverted to other units as early as 1942 and served elsewhere in the Pacific and in Europe. As part of the large drawdown of forces after the war, the 35th PRS inactivated on November 7, 1945 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.
Less than a year later, the 35th PRS was revived, redesignated as the 123rd Fighter Squadron (Single Engine, SE) and allocated to the State of Oregon National Guard, effective 26 June, 1946. At a similar time, and as part of a larger ANG reorganization, the 371st Fighter Group was allocated to the State of Oregon, and redesignated as the 142nd Fighter Group on May 24, 1946. The 123rd FS (SE) fell under the 142nd Fighter Group at Portland Air Base. The 142nd inherited the lineage and honors of the 371st FG, which flew combat missions with the P-47 Thunderbolt in the European Theater of Operations in World War II and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for exceptional heroism in 1945. Thus the 142nd FG began fighter operations for the first time in the North American P-51D Mustang with 75 officers and 800 enlisted. men.
Beginning in 1950, the group mobilized in response to the Korean War. Individually activated pilots of the 123rd FS flew over 1,000 combat missions with active duty squadrons of the 18th Fighter Bomber Wing in the F-51D Mustang. The 142nd Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron deployed to Alaska to bolster ground radar coverage in remote areas against the growing Soviet bomber threat, while the 142nd Fighter Group performed the air defense mission as part of the Continental Air Command. In 1952 both the group and squadron were redesignated Fighter Interceptor units.
After supporting the Korean conflict the 142nd Fighter Interceptor Group remained very active in air defense matters through the Cold War years. In the summer of 1958, the 142nd began standing 24-hour air defense alert and continues to this day. As an example of the unit's readiness and capability, in 1976, the unit won top honors at a pair of Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) competitions, the Weapons Loading Competition and the famous William Tell Air Defense Competition. SMSgt Alan Kaser, TSgt Lane Hoffman, TSgt Mark Wiebold and TSgt Joe Woodburn won the Weapons Loading Competition with two near perfect loads, a high test score and maximum points on the tools and equipment checks. In William Tell 1976, the 142nd garnered first place in the F-101 category and Lt. Col. Don Tonole and Maj. Brad Newell captured the overall "Top Gun" title flying the McDonnell F-101B Voodoo. Success came again at William Tell 1984 when the unit placed first in the F-4 category flying the McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom II and beat many of its F-15 Eagle and F-106 Delta Dart rivals in the overall competition. Majors Ron Moore and Bill Dejager were the overall F-4 "Top Guns" of the competition. In the 50th Year of William Tell Anniversary Competition held in 2004, the 142nd Fighter Wing was rated first in Maintenance, Element Attack and Gun categories. These William Tell successes demonstrate Oregon's long history of excellent performance and readiness to accomplish the real world mission.
Since the end of the Cold War, the 142nd has served as the principle air defense unit of the Pacific Northwest. In 1992, as part of a large USAF reorganization, both the group and squadron were redesignated yet again as the 142nd Fighter Group and the 123rd Fighter Squadron, respectively. In 1995 the group was elevated to wing status, beginning its current designation as the 142nd Fighter Wing. The wing participated in a wide variety of expeditionary and humanitarian assistance missions in the turbulent post-Cold War environment while providing air defense of the Pacific Northwest. These included major deployments to Turkey in 1998 for Operation NORTHERN WATCH and to Saudi Arabia in 2000 for Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, patrolling the no-fly zones then in place over Iraq. The wing deployed aircraft to Panama in 1998 in support of counterdrug missions, helping stem the flow of the drug trade by air. Wing personnel deployed on various other missions, sending medical troops to Belize, civil engineers to Macedonia, and to such places around the globe as Curacao, Denmark, Germany, Guam, Kuwait, Spain and the United Kingdom.
On September 11, 2001, the wing was one of the first units to respond to the dastardly terrorist attacks on the east coast with increased air defense to enhance security on the west coast, and subsequently participated in Operation NOBLE EAGLE, the national military response to homeland defense. In 2004, unit personnel provided humanitarian aid in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the 2007 floods in Vernonia, Oregon. The wing also supported ongoing contingency operations in Southwest Asia, including Operations IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM, such as in the 2004 deployment of medical personnel to Qatar and the 2009 deployment of Security Forces Squadron personnel to Iraq.
From its creation, the 142nd Fighter Wing has flown the P-51/F-51 Mustang, F-86 Sabre, F-94 Starfire, F-89 Scorpion, F-102 Delta Dagger, F-101 Voodoo, F-4 Phantom II fighter planes and a host of support aircraft.
Today, the fighting "Redhawks" are proud to continue service as a vital part of the Total Force team, defending our nation with the F-15 Eagle, providing both continuous air defense and air superiority capabilities. With more than 1,000 officers and airmen, the 142nd Fighter Wing guards the Pacific Northwest skies from northern California to the Canadian border, on 24-hour Air Sovereignty Alert as part of Air Combat Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The wing also stands ready to participate in state and federal contingency missions as required.
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Kyle Mohsenzadeh, security forces, 123rd Contingency Response Group, Kentucky Air National Guard patrols an airfield during Exercise Arctic Eagle-Patriot 22, in Nome, Alaska, Feb. 26, 2022 . Joint Exercise Arctic Eagle-Patriot 2022 increases the National Guard’s capacity to operate in austere, extreme cold-weather environments across Alaska and the Arctic region. AEP22 enhances the ability of military and civilian inter-agency partners to respond to a variety of emergency and homeland security missions across Alaska and the Arctic. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. LeAnne (Ian) Withrow
Royal Marines from 42 Commando Boarding RFA Mounts Bay
Members of 42 Commando Fleet Contingency conducting high vertical assaults on RFA Mounts Bay as part of the Autonomous Advance Force 4.0 trials. 42 Commando Royal Marine’s Fleet Contingency Troop have been conducting high vertical assault drills onto RFA Mounts Bay in Portland Harbour, supported by Offshore Raiding Craft and Coxswains from 47 Commando RM.
The training forms part of the Autonomous Advance Force 4.0 trials, utilising modern communication systems and autonomous capabilities, including mobile ad hoc networking radios MPU5, Ghost drone, which provides a live feed to ground commanders and the MADFOX unmanned surface vessel, used to provide deception and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).
Photos: LPhot Joe Cater
Members of the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group prepare to unload a Wyoming Air National Guard C-130 Hercules at Amedee Army Airfield, Calif., on March 8, 2016. The 123rd CRG is working in conjunction with the U.S. Army’s 688th Rapid Port Opening Element and a team from the Defense Logistics Agency to operate Joint Task Force-Port Opening Sangala during the week-long exercise. The objective of the JTF-PO is to establish an aerial port of debarkation, provide initial distribution capability, and establish warehousing capability for distribution beyond a forward node. (Kentucky Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Phil Speck)
Photographer - Cpl Wes Calder RLC
Pictured - A General Purpose Machine Gunner(GPMG) from The 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (1PWRR).
Exercise BAVARIAN CHARGER is the first of three large contingency operation exercises being undertaken by 20th Armoured Brigade between May – October 2013. Contingency Operations training is known as Hybrid Foundation Training or HFT.
The aim of this exercise is to train the 5 Rifles, The Queens Dragoon Guards (QDG) Battle Groups and 1 Logistic Support Regiment in combined arms manoeuvre.
The exercise is split into 3 main phases. The first phase consists of a two week live firing exercise in Grafenwoer, Southern Germany, that enables the units and soldiers to refine their skills with their equipment and weapons. Training is constructed to develop skills from the individual level through to the Battlegroup level and culminates in a final attack that sees the use of helicopters, tanks, artillery and infantry combined.
The second phase will see all the exercising units transition from Grafenwoer to Hohnfels, some 100 km further south and simulates the kind of movements that are undertaken when moving an Armed force into hostile territory.
The third, and final phase is designed to test the planning and execution of combined arms manoeuvre operations in a hostile environment. The units will execute orders based on the delivery of Brigade Orders to defeat the enemy within the scenario.
2100 personnel with upto 768 vehicles ranging from Landrover, to Tanks to Apache helicopters are being exercised from 20th Armoured Brigade whose Headquarters are based in Sennelager, Germany. Approximately 500 personnel are required to support those training to ensure that supplies are maintained, vehicles are fixed and soldiers fed.
NOTE TO DESKS:
MoD release authorised handout images.
All images remain crown copyright.
Photo credit to read - Cpl Wes Calder RLC
Email: wescalder@mediaops.army.mod.uk
richardwatt@mediaops.army.mod.uk
shanewilkinson@mediaops.army.mod.uk
Richard Watt - 07836 515306
Shane Wilkinson - 07901 590723
Royal Marines from 42 Commando Boarding RFA Mounts Bay
Members of 42 Commando Fleet Contingency conducting high vertical assaults on RFA Mounts Bay as part of the Autonomous Advance Force 4.0 trials. 42 Commando Royal Marine’s Fleet Contingency Troop have been conducting high vertical assault drills onto RFA Mounts Bay in Portland Harbour, supported by Offshore Raiding Craft and Coxswains from 47 Commando RM.
The training forms part of the Autonomous Advance Force 4.0 trials, utilising modern communication systems and autonomous capabilities, including mobile ad hoc networking radios MPU5, Ghost drone, which provides a live feed to ground commanders and the MADFOX unmanned surface vessel, used to provide deception and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).
Photos: LPhot Joe Cater
Royal Marines from 42 Commando Boarding RFA Mounts Bay
Members of 42 Commando Fleet Contingency conducting high vertical assaults on RFA Mounts Bay as part of the Autonomous Advance Force 4.0 trials. 42 Commando Royal Marine’s Fleet Contingency Troop have been conducting high vertical assault drills onto RFA Mounts Bay in Portland Harbour, supported by Offshore Raiding Craft and Coxswains from 47 Commando RM.
The training forms part of the Autonomous Advance Force 4.0 trials, utilising modern communication systems and autonomous capabilities, including mobile ad hoc networking radios MPU5, Ghost drone, which provides a live feed to ground commanders and the MADFOX unmanned surface vessel, used to provide deception and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).
Photos: LPhot Joe Cater
From left, Sgt. 1st Class Jack Hahne, Capt. Paula Moore and Staff Sgt. Amanda Galdo, members of the 1978th Contingency Contracting Team, South Dakota Army National Guard, stand to be recognized during their welcome home ceremony Sept. 24, 2013, in Rapid City, S.D. The 1978th returned from a nearly 10-month deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Beck/Released)
Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group carry whole blood to a waiting U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, Oct. 22. The blood is being sent to Liberia to support U.S. troops deployed for Operation United Assistance, the U.S. Agency for International Development-led, whole-of-government effort to respond to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. (U.S. Army Africa photo by Maj. Dale Greer)
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Royal Marines from 42 Commando Boarding RFA Mounts Bay
Members of 42 Commando Fleet Contingency conducting high vertical assaults on RFA Mounts Bay as part of the Autonomous Advance Force 4.0 trials. 42 Commando Royal Marine’s Fleet Contingency Troop have been conducting high vertical assault drills onto RFA Mounts Bay in Portland Harbour, supported by Offshore Raiding Craft and Coxswains from 47 Commando RM.
The training forms part of the Autonomous Advance Force 4.0 trials, utilising modern communication systems and autonomous capabilities, including mobile ad hoc networking radios MPU5, Ghost drone, which provides a live feed to ground commanders and the MADFOX unmanned surface vessel, used to provide deception and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).
Photos: LPhot Joe Cater
PHILIPPINE SEA (Feb. 03, 2019) Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Ralph Giansanti, from Avon, Conn., gives a command to the stern gate operator in the well deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) during combat rubber raiding crafts (CRRC) recovery operations. Ashland, part of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is operating in the Indo-Pacific region to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force for any type of contingency. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Markus Castaneda)
NOVO SELO TRAINING AREA, Bulgaria – U.S. Army Europe's Contingency Command Post Company Commander Capt. William Shakespeare Jackson Jr. and Detachment Sergeant Sgt. 1st Class James Irwin, hold a Saber Guardian 2014 banner as the unit poses for a photo during this year's exercise. The CCP was established as a rapidly deploying forward command and control element in support of missions directed by USAREUR. Saber Guardian 2014, hosted by USAREUR and the Bulgarian Land Forces, is a multinational military exercise involving approximately 700 military personnel from twelve participating nations including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, Turkey and the U.S., as well as representatives from NATO. The exercise, which runs until April 4, 2014, is designed to strengthen international agency and military partnering while fostering trust and improving interoperability between NATO and partner nations involved in foreign consequence management and peace support operations with U.S. forces. Saber Guardian 2014 is part of the U.S. Army Europe annual training and exercise program and has been planned for since 2013. Last year’s iteration of the training exercise was conducted at the Romanian Land Forces Combat Training Center in Cincu, Romania. The training at Saber Guardian 2014 will reinforce USAREUR commitment to increasing regional flexibility, preserving and enhancing NATO interoperability, and facilitating multinational training. (Photo by Sgt. Brooks Fletcher, U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs)
Royal Marines from M Coy hone their skills during Royal Marine Boarding Course
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The Marines of M Coy, 42 Commando RM, have been consolidating their tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) on the final exercise of the RM Boarding Course at Bovington Training Area, Dorset.
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The arduous 8-week course will qualify the Commandos to take the mantle as the Fleet Contingency Troop (FCT) and will see them being held at a high state of readiness for potential deployments to key areas of national interest.
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Image: POPhot Paul Hall
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Technical Sgt. Rebecca Diloreto (r) gets assistance with her gas mask from Staff Sgt. Robert Uyematsu, during MOPP level training March 4, 2001, in preparation for an upcoming Operational Readiness Inspection. Both are assigned to the 571st Global Mobility Readiness Squadron. (U.S. Air Force Photo/MSgt. Stan Parker)
"The wicked spies upon the righteous and seeks to kill him." - Psalms 37:32
In a bag store on ancient Jinli Street in Chengdu China there is a newspaper article bearing the image of Che Guevara and chinese characters which states "Never Negotiate".. S.P.E.C.T.O.R./G.H.O.S.T.S. (STS) took this as an omen that the time is near:
"Time to go to War" by STS
Che Guevara was right and Einstein was wrong!!
The City of CHEngdu China was named after CHE Guevara though the city's name has never changed since it was first founded.
Marco Polo first arrived here in the 13th Century and STS followed the path leading the way of european ancestry unity with the asiatics for a common interest.
It was here that STS chose to come and establish the revolutionary base for the creation of "The Black Berets Manifesto" and bond with the Chinese Contingency Army.
Although STS was offered Beijing, Hong Kong, ShangHai, Nanjing, a better association for starting a new counter-revolution with a name that had the same word within it as the world's great revolutionary hero, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, for the history books when it would be decided to re-write it.
Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China houses 14,047,625 combatants. One of the most important economic, transportation, and communication centers in Western China and for Best Chinese Cities for Investment, Chengdu was chosen as one of the top ten cities to invest in out of a total of 280 urban centers in China. Recently named China's 4th-most livable city.
Known as the headquarters of the Chengdu Military Region administrative command located in southwest China, also includes some of the Kunming Military Region..
This military region includes two army groups, the 13th and 14th and the Tibetan 52nd and 53d Mountain Brigades, as well as the 149th Motorized Infantry Division, 2 Mobile Armed Police Divisions, the 38th 'parallel' and 41st, and the 2nd Army 'Aviation' Regiment.
What's really interesting is the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group which
produces the Jian-10 (Chengdu J-10) fighter considered to be one of the
most advanced in China's inventory, as well as the FC-1/JF-17 (Super-7
Fighter).
The J-10 "Annihilator-Ten" known in the West as the "Vigorous Dragon"
can track 10 targets at once thanks to israeli consultants and their
canceled Lavi technology which they sold to China. The first J-10
rolled out on 11/97 first delivered to the 13th Test Regiment. The last
part of the test flight program was the live firing of air-to-air
missiles carried out by test pilot Xu Yongling.
The Tomb of Wang Jian named Yongling Mausoleum is located in Chengdu as
well. The tomb of Wang Jian is much smaller compared with the Ming Tomb
in Beijing, however, it's much older built during the Five Dynasties
and Ten States Period.
www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSmcid=4708...;
www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&GSmcid=4708...;
Wang Jian was the first emperor of the former Shu Kingdom during the
Five Dynasties and Ten States Period. It was during this period that
the Tang dynasty collapsed.
It was said Yongling was a rascal when he was young, slaughtering cows,
robbing donkeys, and smuggling salt. Joining the army he was promoted
to troop officer because of his bravery and cleverness. Towards the end
of the Tang Dynasty he took charge of the emperor’s palace guards.
The PAC JF-17 Thunder (CAC FC-1 Xiaolong) "Fierce Dragon" had started
as a combined program between China and Grumman but Grumman left the
project when sanctions were placed on China following the political
fallout from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. As recent as May 2011
China offered 50 JF-17s to Pakistan on an urgent basis at no cost.
The first JF-17 squadron, No. 26 Black Spiders first saw service in the
anti-terrorist operation in South Waziristan "Operation Rah-e-Nijat".
There is also The Chengdu J-20 (Jian-20) "Annihilator-Twenty" stealth
fighter prototype also developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group for
the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force expected to be
operational in 2017–2019. It's cost to build will be 50-80% less than
US.
I believe that China may have adopted some stealth technology from the
F-117 Nighthawk shot down by the Serbs in 1999.
The J-20 may become the first operational combat aircraft that carries
sufficient fuel to super-cruise throughout its missions, doubling it's
sortie rate to operate as a heavy interceptor, destroying opposing
AWACS and tanker aircraft, this combination of forward sector stealth
and long range will allow the J-20 to make attacks on surface targets
while the United States lacks sufficient bases for F-22s in the area to
counter and allies have no comparable aircraft. The Pentagon's 2011
report on the Chinese military agrees that the J-20 is "a platform
capable of long range, penetrating strikes into complex air defenses".
The aircraft is in development, estimates are from available only from
images.
Where is the Tomb of Ghenghis Khan and what lies within China's first emperor's tomb..Qin Shi Huang?
Marco Polo 1254-1324 died at age 70 - traveled across asia and made it as far as Chengdu China.
In Beijing he met Kublai Khan and like Alexander the Great before him he sailed home instead of overland returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned, and dictated his stories to a cellmate (Rustichello da Pisa) which is why the Tower of Pisa leans southeast. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married, and had 3 children. He died in 1324, and was buried in San Lorenzo to fulfill the prophecies of 1964.
The chinese poet Tao Qian also known as Tao Yuanmin came from a notable family which fell into poverty. When he was young he was torn between ambition and a desire to retreat into solitude. His great-grandfather was the famous Eastern Jin general and governor, Tao Kan. He served in a series of minor posts but the death of his sister and disgust at the corruption and infighting of the Jin Court prompted his resignation, convincing him that life was too short to compromise on his principle.
He lived in retirement for his last 22 years.
STS came to Chengdu as the resurrection of the second coming of Che Guevara but was received as the Return of Marco Polo.
He read poems by Li Bai, theories by Liu Shaoqi, learned about Liu Bei's military conquests, and Lin Biao's failed military coup to oust Mao..
Chinese culture must be implemented with Western culture if both are to survive..
The Chinese are a much stronger culture than the americans.. with over 5,000 years of history far out reaching the Romans and the Greeks.. Only they will over thrown this regime.. but by then they'll be nothing worth saving.
Che Guevara after his meeting with Chairman Mao had emerged as a prominent symbol of self-sacrifice, armed struggle, internationalism and uncompromising opposition to U.S. domination. His death stands as a glaring example of the role the U.S. and its agents play in the brutal repression of humanity’s highest aspirations.
Che is a highly romantic martyr of the people’s cause. But he was also a revolutionary leader and thinker in a particular complex time; he was associated closely with a specific series of approaches and strategies.
Che (and the Cuban movement he was part of) had a particular line on the role of the people in their own emancipation. It was a view that exalted the actions of small military groupings of “heroic guerrillas” (called focos) in galvanizing revolution. Unlike the Maoists at that same time, Che and Fidel Castro were not advocates of a “land to the tiller” agrarian revolution, but sought to nationalize the existing plantation structure of Cuba and similar countries.
The fact that so many people revere him is a testimony to the deep desires for liberation throughout the world. And at the same time, revolution is not made by symbolism alone. The controversies surrounding Che’s strategies have contemporary significance.
New CIA-run armies were organized. The Green Berets were founded. U.S. training schools were cranking out torturers, coup-makers and counterrevolutionaries. Many places throughout the world were seeded with U.S.-trained agents and killers.
Over the last 30 years, Che Guevara has been seen by many as a symbol of resistance to all that–to U.S. domination and military power. And today, in 2011, the fight against all that remains the burning issue–just as it was 41 years ago.
How do we fight the oppressors today in a way that can actually defeat them, overthrow them and create a new liberated society?
That is the issue that confronts this new generation. The revolutionary process needs dreams of a better world and heroes that people can look up to. But it also needs a serious evaluation of historical experience. The people need revolutionary theory and strategy that can win.
Che Guevara advocated a particular path for the struggle against U.S. domination. And today, Guevarism–and the historical experience of those who followed it–needs to be critically evaluated. As a veteran communist once said, “We have to want revolution bad enough to be scientific about it.”
Che Guevara was right in the middle of these developments. He made several criticisms of the Soviet Union–for not firmly backing national liberation struggles and for their trade policies with countries like Cuba.
In the early 1960s, Mao Tsetung made a startling and penetrating analysis of developments within the Soviet Union. A fundamental change of power had happened, Mao said, in 1956 when Nikita Khrushchev seized power in the Soviet Union. Capitalist-roaders within the Communist Party there had carried out a restoration of capitalism. The Soviet Union, which had been a socialist country for decades, was now a social-imperialist power (socialist in name, imperialist in essence).
Mao warned about the danger of driving the tiger out the front door while letting the wolf in the back. Relying on this new imperialist power, he said, was extremely dangerous for the masses of people. The new rulers of the Soviet Union represented a new bourgeoisie–fundamentally opposed to liberation.
Today such issues may seem “a thing of the past” to a generation that lives in a world where the Soviet bloc has collapsed and the U.S. is top dog of the imperialist heap. But it is impossible to evaluate the historical experience of Che and the “Cuban Road” without understanding the nature of Soviet social-imperialism and the negative impact that alliances with the Soviet Union had on the national liberation struggles of Latin America and around the world.
The path to power advocated by Maoists was radically different from the one formulated by Che Guevara. The Maoists argued that power won through shortcuts would not be able to resist the pressures of imperialism or lead to an all-the-way revolutionary society. For that, the masses needed to be mobilized and trained in the course of a protracted class struggle, led by the proletariat.
In the Third World, Maoists argued the armed struggle needed to take the form of a protracted people’s war–that was waged by relying on the masses of people, surrounding the cities from the countryside and building up a new power within revolutionary base areas. Though this approach was based on the rich experience of the Chinese revolution, Mao warned revolutionaries around the world not to copy that experience but to creatively apply this strategic orientation to their own conditions.
In the beginning, Mao had hopes of possibly winning the Cuban leadership to a better path, and he personally met with Che during his 1960 trip to China. But Che Guevara remained convinced of his foco strategy and convinced that the Soviet Union should be embraced as a potential ally of the people’s movements.
Many other issues were raised by this famous ideological struggle of the 1960s and 1970s: Whether to forge new, revolutionary, communist parties to lead the revolutionary struggle, the role of armed struggle in revolution and how to organize the people for revolutionary war, how to evaluate different class forces in the world–including especially the peasantry in the world’s semi-colonial, semi-feudal countries–and how to continue the revolution after the seizure of power.
In this process, a new clarity emerged, based on advances in communist ideology–Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Today, 41 years after the murder of Che, there have been many changes in the world. Major transformations have happened–including increased “shantytownization” in the Third World–and new leaps have taken place in the linkages of the international production and world market. With these changes have come new questions of how people can liberate themselves from imperialism. But for several billion dispossessed, poor and uprooted people across the planet, imperialist development and technology is nothing but a nightmare. For them the future is either going to be desperation or revolution. And for those in the oppressed nations, the Maoist path of protracted people’s war remains an urgent and practical solution to the problems of today.
There are many today, among the youth in the U.S. and Latin America, who have been attracted to Che Guevara–because they see in him a symbol of self-sacrifice, armed struggle and internationalism in the fight against U.S. imperialism. For all those motivated by deep love for the people, it is extremely important to dig deep into the historical experiences, to seriously struggle to grasp the differences between different lines and roads. Today, this is a life-and-death issue. It has everything to do with whether we can turn our revolutionary dreams into reality.
Chinese have a powerful past culture and unlike other vanished empires China is the only culture that is resurrecting itself once again.. only the germans were able to do this during the 1930's and 40's.. the chinese empire will rise to haunt the western world.. just like the former japanese empire once did.
The United States Corporate Government's religious practice of Corporate Flight created this imbalance beginning in Post-World War II to appease it's allies as well as maximizing corporate profit and tax exemptions.
Now, not so much a 'recession' or 'depression' but more Apocalypse/Armageddon.
'Divide and Rule' Masonic Philosophy
21st December 2012 to those who use the Gregorian calendar.
Year of the Dragon to the Chinese.
Dragon = Dinosaur of the Church.
Xanadu - Present day Beijing
Return of the Dragon (STS)
Enter the Dragon (The Black Berets)
Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard's 123rd Contingency Response Group offload cargo from a Kentucky Air Guard C-130 Hercules during Capstone '14, a homeland earthquake-response exercise at Fort Campbell, Ky., on June 18, 2014. The 123rd CRG joined forces with the U.S. Army's 688th Rapid Port Opening Element to operate a Joint Task Force-Port Opening here from June 16 to 19, 2014. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Phil Speck)
Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group carry whole blood to a waiting C-130 Hercules at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, Oct. 22, 2014. The blood is being sent to Liberia to support U.S. troops deployed for Operation United Assistance, the U.S. Agency for International Development-led, whole-of-government effort to respond to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer/Released)
Tanks maneuver into position.
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – Two M1A2 Abrams tanks maneuver to their firing positions on Memorial Range near Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, July 27, 2011. Tank crews from Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, zeroed their 120mm main guns and machine guns during the exercise in support of Operation New Dawn.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Quentin Johnson, 2nd AAB PAO, 1st Cav. Div., USD – N)
Best to let the superlative ALSJ do the “talking”:
“The black shadow of the LM is silhouetted against the Moon's surface in this photograph taken out Neil's window. Impressions in the lunar soil made by the lunar boots of the two astronauts are clearly visible.
Journal Contributor AwE130 has provided an enhanced detail
www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/a11/a...
which shows the Contingency Sample Collector (CSC) ring, which had been previously identified in EVA photo AS11-40-5864
www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/a11/A...
by Eric Jones. In the 5505 detail, we see a light-colored “stem" on the outside of the ring which, as is suggested by the comparison with pre-flight photo S68-54939,
www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/tools...
fit in the Sampler handle to secure the ring in place. Journal Contributor Karl Dodenhoff has provided a photo of a CSC on display at the Kennedy Space Center. The base of the stem is marked. See also, procedures for CSC use
www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/a11/a...
from the Apollo 11 Final Lunar Surface Procedures volume, in which we learn that the "ring" was part of the "lip/bag assembly". AwE130 notes that the ring can also be seen in post-EVA photos AS11-39-5798-5800
www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/a11/A...
www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/a11/A...
www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/a11/A...
and in EVA photo AS11-40-5871
www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/a11/A....
Note that, because this image was taken out Neil's window, we now realize that that the ring flew a few meters from the spot near the MESA, on the other side of the spacecraft, where we see Neil tossing the ring in 16-mm film shot out Buzz's window. See a discussion following 109:36:07
www.nasa.gov/history/alsj/a11/a11.step.html#1093607.”
The toss can be seen here:
Credit: Steve Packard/YouTube
A minor 'ridge' in the lower right of the photo image (interpreted by the scanner as the thin light blue squiggling) does not detract. Otherwise a bright, clean & high-gloss image.
LADOT - Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Special Traffic Operations, Transportation and Traffic Management Plan and Program Contingency Engineers during the operation of the Ciclavia Meets The East, Central and West Hollywoods Open Streets for the People Powered Bikes and Pedestrians with Non-Motorized Vehicular Traffic in the Cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood Open Streets Bicycle Route followed by La Brea Avenue is a (Anti-Gridlock Zone and Do Not Block Intersection signage) general crossing point for automobiles and bikes to cross traffic for automobiles intersection traffic signal green lights, left turn protected permissive yellow green arrow lights (No U Turn signage), pedestrian crosswalk crossing white walking lights located at Hollywood area in Los Angeles, California 90038 and the City Limits of West Hollywood, California 90046 - 90069.
This is the continuous Ciclavia Meets The Hollywoods between East and West Hollywood Bike Route.
(Los Angeles Police Department Hollywood Division Patrol Station Number 6, LAPD West Traffic Division Station Number 27, LADOT - Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s Parking Enforcement Hollywood Division Agency 54 on 411 North Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles, California 90004-3512, Los Angeles City Council District 13 Office of Councilmember Mitchell O’Farrell transitioning into Hugo Soto-Martinez)
(Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department West Hollywood Division Sheriff’s Station Patrol Station Number 9, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor Sheila Kuehl District 3, West Hollywood City Hall Government Administrative Offices with Mayors and City Councilmembers)
#Ciclavia
#CiclaviaMeetsTheHollywoods
#MeetTheHollywoods
#CaliforniaStateHighwayJunctionRouteCA2
#SantaMonicaBlvd
#SantaMonicaBoulevard
#OrangeDrive
#Hollywood
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#LosAngelesCalifornia
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#LaBreaAvenue
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#WestHollywood
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#WestHollywoodCalifornia90046
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@Ciclavia
@CiclaviaMeetsTheHollywoods
@MeetTheHollywoods
@CaliforniaStateHighwayJunctionRouteCA2
@SantaMonicaBlvd
@SantaMonicaBoulevard
@OrangeDrive
@Hollywood
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@LosAngelesCalifornia
@LosAngelesCalifornia90038
@LaBreaAvenue
@CityofWestHollywood
@WestHollywood
@WestHollywoodCalifornia
@WestHollywoodCalifornia90046
@WestHollywoodCalifornia90069
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Feb. 26, 2022) - Airmen of the 123rd Contingency Response Group, Kentucky Air National Guard, prepare to offload materiel from a U.S. Air Force C-130J from the California Air National Guard during Exercise Arctic Eagle-Patriot 2022. Joint Exercise Arctic Eagle-Patriot 2022 increases the National Guard’s capacity to operate in austere, extreme cold-weather environments across Alaska and the Arctic region. AEP22 enhances the ability of military and civilian inter-agency partners to respond to a variety of emergency and homeland security missions across Alaska and the Arctic. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. LeAnne (Ian) Withrow) 220226-A-VL305-0046
** Interested in following U.S. Indo-Pacific Command? Engage and connect with us at www.facebook.com/indopacom | twitter.com/INDOPACOM |
www.instagram.com/indopacom | www.flickr.com/photos/us-pacific-command; | www.youtube.com/user/USPacificCommand | www.pacom.mil/ **
Staff Sgt. Daniel Guy, 736th Security Forces Squadron fire team leader, collects his parachute Aug. 21, 2013 after a static line jump over the Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, flight line. As the integrated force protection element of the 36th Contingency Response Group, members of the 736th SFS provide a quick-response airborne capability that serves as an advance echelon team for contingency and humanitarian missions all over the Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Marianique Santos)
Djiboutian Army 1st Rapid Action Regiment Squad Leader, Abou Bakr Housein, draws a sand table for his fellow squad members during a break from instruction on basic infantry movements, as part of a training course held in Ali Oune, Djibouti, Feb 2, 2011.
Photo by Master Sgt. Dawn M. Price
ALI OUNE, Djibouti– Under an overcast sky, nearly 200 members of the Djiboutian Army’s elite 1st Rapid Action Regiment honed their infantry skills, mentored by members of the U.S. Army National Guard’s 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment.
The training included instruction on squad movements, convoy operations, contact drills, camp security and marksmanship, and was part of a one-month course which began Jan. 16 and culminated with a graduation Feb. 10. The instruction included mortar crew training and a combat engineering course, according to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Nelson Perkins, mission commander and member of Charlie Company.
“Our mission here is to mentor the Djiboutian military as they prepare for upcoming missions. We’re trying to help them so they are capable of preventing conflict, establishing regional stability, and protecting coalition interests here,” said Staff Sgt. Travis Elder, an infantry squad leader with the 137th, who is a sheriff’s deputy in his hometown located near Topeka, Kan.
“My team and I are out here mentoring the soldiers and helping them along, basically giving them more tools for their toolbox. We’re showing them things that have helped us get through certain operations, and we want to help them so they can get through their future missions without any problem,” he said.
One of the biggest challenges the instructors faced was the language barrier due to few Djiboutian soldiers speaking English, according to Sgt. Jonathan Moyer, a team member with Echo Company. Instructors relied heavily on 2nd Lt. Omar Ali, Djibouti Army 2nd Company commander, who is fluent in four languages, and Mohamed Said, a Somali-born U.S. Army interpreter.
Throughout the morning, the small groups practiced team movements, and communicated contact and direction of fire. Loud whistle bursts signified enemy contact, and the Djiboutian soldiers moved succinctly, went into the prone position and assumed their staggered firing positions.
The regiment, which was established in 1991 and is comprised of a number of 20-year combat veterans, is the first unit in the Djiboutian Army called to deploy during a contingency, according to Ali. The regiment also provides border security on the Somaliland border located approximately seven miles from the camp.
“The goal for my soldiers is to prepare them for their mission and especially for a deployment under the United Nations, like they did in Haiti and Central Africa,” Ali said, who has been in the army since 2001. He attended an officer’s course with Germany’s mountain troops from 2004-2008 and will soon attend the Infantry Career Captain’s Course at Fort Benning, Ga.
According to Ali, the training is part of a continuation of training that began in September 2010 that included effective methods of instruction, commander operation skills course, a command post exercise, and company grade and noncommissioned officer courses.
Just one month ago, the newly-formed training camp consisted of just six concrete pads. Today the camp consists of about 12 tents, a mosque and a large covered classroom area.
“Camp Ali Oune is actually the first of its kind. The Djiboutians don’t have any bases here on the Somali border, and this camp is supposed to be here for quite a while. They will be utilizing the camp as a training area and for continuing operations to keep this region safe,” he said.
About two miles away in the shadow of a steep hill, other members of the Rapid Action Regiment sharpened their marksmanship skills using the Russian PKM 7.62-mm machine gun, which is the equivalent of the M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon. Automatic gunfire and the ricochet of rounds echoed from the large rock-covered hill as each two-man team practiced firing in staccato bursts of three and five rounds.
“Very well done,” one of the instructors exclaimed after seeing a bullseye on the target of one team.
Ali said the training and mentoring provided by the 137th is beneficial because the cadre of instructors bring real-world operational experience.
“We already had a good relationship with the U.S. Army, and I have to say it’s a good thing and we have a good image of the U.S. Army,” Ali said.
To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil
Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica
Official Vimeo video channel: www.vimeo.com/usarmyafrica
U.S. Army interpreter, Mohamed Said, instructs soldier of the Djiboutian Army’s 1st Quick Reaction Regiment his sector of fire during a training scenario at Camp Ali Oune, Djibouti, Feb. 2, 2011.
Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Lindsey
ALI OUNE, Djibouti– Under an overcast sky, nearly 200 members of the Djiboutian Army’s elite 1st Rapid Action Regiment honed their infantry skills, mentored by members of the U.S. Army National Guard’s 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment.
The training included instruction on squad movements, convoy operations, contact drills, camp security and marksmanship, and was part of a one-month course which began Jan. 16 and culminated with a graduation Feb. 10. The instruction included mortar crew training and a combat engineering course, according to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Nelson Perkins, mission commander and member of Charlie Company.
“Our mission here is to mentor the Djiboutian military as they prepare for upcoming missions. We’re trying to help them so they are capable of preventing conflict, establishing regional stability, and protecting coalition interests here,” said Staff Sgt. Travis Elder, an infantry squad leader with the 137th, who is a sheriff’s deputy in his hometown located near Topeka, Kan.
“My team and I are out here mentoring the soldiers and helping them along, basically giving them more tools for their toolbox. We’re showing them things that have helped us get through certain operations, and we want to help them so they can get through their future missions without any problem,” he said.
One of the biggest challenges the instructors faced was the language barrier due to few Djiboutian soldiers speaking English, according to Sgt. Jonathan Moyer, a team member with Echo Company. Instructors relied heavily on 2nd Lt. Omar Ali, Djibouti Army 2nd Company commander, who is fluent in four languages, and Mohamed Said, a Somali-born U.S. Army interpreter.
Throughout the morning, the small groups practiced team movements, and communicated contact and direction of fire. Loud whistle bursts signified enemy contact, and the Djiboutian soldiers moved succinctly, went into the prone position and assumed their staggered firing positions.
The regiment, which was established in 1991 and is comprised of a number of 20-year combat veterans, is the first unit in the Djiboutian Army called to deploy during a contingency, according to Ali. The regiment also provides border security on the Somaliland border located approximately seven miles from the camp.
“The goal for my soldiers is to prepare them for their mission and especially for a deployment under the United Nations, like they did in Haiti and Central Africa,” Ali said, who has been in the army since 2001. He attended an officer’s course with Germany’s mountain troops from 2004-2008 and will soon attend the Infantry Career Captain’s Course at Fort Benning, Ga.
According to Ali, the training is part of a continuation of training that began in September 2010 that included effective methods of instruction, commander operation skills course, a command post exercise, and company grade and noncommissioned officer courses.
Just one month ago, the newly-formed training camp consisted of just six concrete pads. Today the camp consists of about 12 tents, a mosque and a large covered classroom area.
“Camp Ali Oune is actually the first of its kind. The Djiboutians don’t have any bases here on the Somali border, and this camp is supposed to be here for quite a while. They will be utilizing the camp as a training area and for continuing operations to keep this region safe,” he said.
About two miles away in the shadow of a steep hill, other members of the Rapid Action Regiment sharpened their marksmanship skills using the Russian PKM 7.62-mm machine gun, which is the equivalent of the M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon. Automatic gunfire and the ricochet of rounds echoed from the large rock-covered hill as each two-man team practiced firing in staccato bursts of three and five rounds.
“Very well done,” one of the instructors exclaimed after seeing a bullseye on the target of one team.
Ali said the training and mentoring provided by the 137th is beneficial because the cadre of instructors bring real-world operational experience.
“We already had a good relationship with the U.S. Army, and I have to say it’s a good thing and we have a good image of the U.S. Army,” Ali said.
To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil
Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica
Official Vimeo video channel: www.vimeo.com/usarmyafrica
Transportation and Traffic Management Plan Contingency Engineers during the operation of the Homeboy Industries 5 km Run Race Course Route located at Chinatown and Solano Canyon Los Angeles, California 90012. This is the beginning of the Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker 5k and 10k Run Race Route.
If you look left, there is a Bamboo Plaza and C.H.S.S.C. site.
Left turn to State Highway Junction Route CA-110 Arroyo Seco Parkway NORTH.
The new current G.D.P. route travelled Southbound Broadway and made a left turn at East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and ENDED at New High and Spring Streets for parade floats disbanding zone since February 2007 to February 2012 but now this Golden Dragon Parade route on Southbound Broadway turns right to Westbound Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and ENDS at North Hill Street overpass bridge for parade floats disbanding zone since February 2013 to present.
The former G.D.P. route was on Northbound Broadway (ended here until 2000) from Cesar E. Chavez Avenue to Bernard Street and Southbound Hill Street at Ord Street took place here until 2006.
This is the Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker Bicycle Race Route is used right here for Firecracker 10k events since 1978, www.firecracker10k.org/.
Left turn is the Bamboo Plaza, Chinese Historical Society of Southern California and State Highway Junction Route CA-110 NORTH Pasadena Freeway ramp entrance.
洛杉磯中國城華埠北百老滙街及和巴納街, 這裡是火爆竹跑十公里跑步賽開始路線.
________________________________________________
This is the 5k Run Race Route of the Homeboy - Homeboyle Industries Chinatown, Solano Canyon, Naud Industrial Junction and Outer Los Angeles State Historic Park.
這裡是5公里小家子 (家仔) 工業跑步比賽路線跑往洛杉磯華埠, 蘇蘭諾山峽谷, 諾德工業樞紐及外洛杉磯州立歷史公園區.
________________________________________________
#chinatownla #lachinatown #chinatownlosangeles #losangeleschinatown #northbroadway #broadwaybernard #bernardbroadway #bernardstreet #chssc #chinesehistoricalsocietyofsoutherncalifornia #firecrackerla #firecracker10k #firecracker10krun #firecracker10k2019 #homeboy #homeboyindustries #homeboy5k #homeboy5krun @lachinatown
Photographer - Cpl Wes Calder RLC
Pictured - Soldiers from B Company 2 Riles conduct house clearing through a village.
Exercise BAVARIAN CHARGER is the first of three large contingency operation exercises being undertaken by 20th Armoured Brigade between May ñ October 2013. Contingency Operations training is known as Hybrid Foundation Training or HFT.
The aim of this exercise is to train the 5 Rifles, The Queens Dragoon Guards (QDG) Battle Groups and 1 Logistic Support Regiment in combined arms manoeuvre.
The exercise is split into 3 main phases. The first phase consists of a two week live firing exercise in Grafenwoer, Southern Germany, that enables the units and soldiers to refine their skills with their equipment and weapons. Training is constructed to develop skills from the individual level through to the Battlegroup level and culminates in a final attack that sees the use of helicopters, tanks, artillery and infantry combined.
The second phase will see all the exercising units transition from Grafenwoer to Hohnfels, some 100 km further south and simulates the kind of movements that are undertaken when moving an Armed force into hostile territory.
The third, and final phase is designed to test the planning and execution of combined arms manoeuvre operations in a hostile environment. The units will execute orders based on the delivery of Brigade Orders to defeat the enemy within the scenario.
2100 personnel with upto 768 vehicles ranging from Landrover, to Tanks to Apache helicopters are being exercised from 20th Armoured Brigade whose Headquarters are based in Sennelager, Germany. Approximately 500 personnel are required to support those training to ensure that supplies are maintained, vehicles are fixed and soldiers fed.
NOTE TO DESKS:
MoD release authorised handout images.
All images remain crown copyright.
Photo credit to read - Cpl Wes Calder RLC
Email: wescalder@mediaops.army.mod.uk
richardwatt@mediaops.army.mod.uk
shanewilkinson@mediaops.army.mod.uk
Richard Watt - 07836 515306
Shane Wilkinson - 07901 590723
Airmen with the 108th Contingency Response Group of the New Jersey Air National Guard train for technical rescue situations at the PATRIOT 2014 exercise at Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center, Wis. July 20, 2014. Several units of the Air National Guard, Army National Guard and Reserve units from various states are working with local, state and national organizations to train on, perform and assess their ability to respond to multiple emergencies. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jenna V. Lenski/Released)
I couldn't help myself and I had to photograph me alongside the foamer contingency from Arkansas. They had been chasing 1943 longer and farther than I had and this was their last stop before returning home. Idk how these A&M guys do it. They run trains for their job and then come out and do stuff like this. What a bunch of weirdos......
Col. Timothy Brown, 435th Contingency Response Group commander, executes an airborne jump out of a C-17 Globemaster III over the drop zone in Alzey, Germany, June 14, 2010. Five NATO countries participated in the annual event to support one of U. S. Air Forces in Europe's top priorities, building partnerships. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Grovert Fuentes-Contreras)
Master Sgt. Stephen Nelson, 435th Contingency Response Group contingency air traffic controller, instructs Bulgarian paratroopers on the correct way to use a standard U.S. parachute during a flying training deployment, July 17, 2013, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. American and Bulgarian paratroopers exchanged parachutes for the opportunity to conduct a wing exchange at the end of FTD Thracian Summer. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Trevor Rhynes)
Airmen assigned to the 621st Contingency Response Wing at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., tear down their air mobility forward support base at the edge of the Geronimo Landing Zone at Fort Polk, La., at the end of their Joint Readiness Training Center rotation 13-09, Aug. 24, 2013. The CRW specializes in rapidly establishing air mobility support operations in disaster-stricken, austere or hostile environments in response to natural disasters or combat operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Parker Gyokeres/Released)
Hosts and guests of the U.S. AFRICOM C4ISR Senior Leader Conference tour a winery in the hills above Vicenza, Italy, Feb. 3, 2011.
U.S. Army Africa photo by David Ruderman
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.
The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.
The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”
The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.
“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.
Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.
“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.
African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.
“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.
U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.
“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.
He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.
“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.
“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.
“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.
He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.
“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.
Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.
Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.
“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.
He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.
“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.
“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.
“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.
“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”
The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.
“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.
“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.
Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.
“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.
“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.
“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.
“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.
“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?
“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.
Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.
“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.
Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.
“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”
“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.
“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.
“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”
The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.
“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.
“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.
“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.
Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.
“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.
“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.
“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.
“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.
“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.
Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.
“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.
“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.
“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.
“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.
Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.
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KATHMANDU, Nepal (May 9, 2015) - Nepalese army soldiers and U.S. Air Force 36th Contingency Response Group Airmen work with Republic of Singapore Air Force members to unload relief supplies from an RSAF C-130 Hercules at the Tribhuvan International. The Nepalese army and Airmen worked together to process 537,816 pounds of cargo in a 24-hour period from 13 aircraft delivering relief supplies delivered in response to a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the nation April 25, 2015. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Melissa B. White/Released) 150509-F-XN788-053
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Tech. Sgt. Brian Angell, 435th Contingency Response Group senior jumpmaster, watches as two Bulgarian paratroopers strap into a standard U.S. parachute during a flying training deployment July 17, 2013. American and Bulgarian paratroopers exchanged parachutes for the opportunity to conduct a wing exchange at the end of FTD Thracian Summer. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Trevor Rhynes)
U.S. Army Africa command team visit peacekeeping training sites in Rwanda, Burundi
Story and photo by Sgt. Maj. Kimberly Williams
U.S. Army Africa
ENTEBBE, Uganda – Capacity building is a top priority for U.S. Army Africa. Therefore, during a visit to Rwanda and Burundi Oct. 19-20, Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett III and Command Sgt. Maj. Gary Bronson, the command team for U.S. Army Africa, seized the opportunity to see Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance sites in both countries.
“I was very impressed by the ACOTA programs in Rwanda and Burundi, where we are working closely with our partners to increase their capacity to support peacekeeping operations,” said Garrett.
Managed and funded by the Department of State, ACOTA is an initiative designed to improve African ability to respond quickly to crises by providing selected militaries with the training and equipment required to execute humanitarian or peace support operations.
At each site, civilian facilitators work closely with U.S. military noncommissioned officers, sent to the countries as mentors, in order to provide the most up-to-date and realistic learning experience possible.
Bronson, as U.S. Army Africa’s senior NCO, took the opportunity to meet with the U.S. facilitators and mentors in both countries to determine the road ahead. In the future, said Bronson, U.S. Army Africa needs to develop a process to prepare U.S. Army mentors for their role and to match up the right individuals with the skills needed.
But, Bronson said he is very impressed with what he has seen so far in both Rwanda and Burundi.
The ACOTA program is Rwanda is focused on preparing soldiers for peacekeeping operations while deployed in Darfur, Sudan. The site in Rwanda also has a computer simulation lab, which is the only simulation center for peacekeeping support operations in Africa.
“The partnership is doing great,” said Col. Aloys Muganga, commandant of the Rwanda Military Academy at Gako, which hosts the ACOTA in Rwanda. “They have trained my people so well that we can now train ourselves.”
Similar to Rwanda, the ACOTA program in Burundi focuses on preparing soldiers for peacekeeping operations, but in this case, to Mogadishu, Somalia.
This is the seventh iteration of ACOTA in Burundi.
The four-week program in Burundi includes individual skills, collective skills, lane evaluations, weapons familiarization and live fire ranges.
The 1st Battalion of the Burundi Land Forces took part in the first ACOTA rotation in 2007 and just recently returned from deployment to Mogadishu. Now, the Burundi Land Forces are bringing in these experienced soldiers to train the next rotations.
Sgt. Norberto Ramos, from the U.S. Army National Guard’s Co. B, 165th Infantry Battalion from Puerto Rice, is in Burundi along with two other NCOs to provide mentorship during the four-week program. Ramos said he believes the ACOTA program is successful.
“This has been great,” he said. “You can see the Burundi soldiers’ eagerness to learn in their eyes. “They are a beautiful people.”
“I’m happier and more satisfied with what I’m doing here than any time before,” Ramos said. “It builds me up as a leader and a person. It is a pleasure and an honor to be here.”
CAPTION: Brig. Gen. Cyprien Ndikuriyo (left), Burundi Land Forces commander, describes the outstanding efforts of Capt. Nicolas Bashizimpaka (right), who recently returned from peacekeeping operations in Mogadishu, Somalia, as Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett III, U.S. Army Africa commanding general, presents a coin to Bashizimpaka. Bashizimpaka attended the first Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance program in Burundi and will now pass on his first-hand knowledge to train battalions before they deploy.
A German Panzerhaubitze 2000 awaits orders from the fire direction center June 11, 2015 at the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area in Poland as German and U.S. artillery and mortar units train together during Saber Strike 15, a long-standing U.S. Army Europe-led cooperative training exercise. This year’s exercise takes place across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, and is designed to improve joint operational capability in a range of missions as well as preparing the participating nations and units to support multinational contingency operations. There are more than 6,000 participants from 13 different nations. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Marcus Floyd, 13th Public Affairs Detachment)
Airmen assigned to the 621st Contingency Response Wing at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., tear down their air mobility forward support base at the edge of the Geronimo Landing Zone at Fort Polk, La., at the end of their Joint Readiness Training Center rotation 13-09, Aug. 24, 2013. The CRW specializes in rapidly establishing air mobility support operations in disaster-stricken, austere or hostile environments in response to natural disasters or combat operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Parker Gyokeres/Released)
Djiboutian Army 2nd Company 1st Rapid Action Regiment, 2nd Lt. Omar Ali (center), 2nd Company commander, properly positions his soldiers during a soldier techniques class as part of a training course held in Ali Oune, Djibouti, Feb 2, 2011.
Photo by Master Sgt. Dawn M. Price
ALI OUNE, Djibouti– Under an overcast sky, nearly 200 members of the Djiboutian Army’s elite 1st Rapid Action Regiment honed their infantry skills, mentored by members of the U.S. Army National Guard’s 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment.
The training included instruction on squad movements, convoy operations, contact drills, camp security and marksmanship, and was part of a one-month course which began Jan. 16 and culminated with a graduation Feb. 10. The instruction included mortar crew training and a combat engineering course, according to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Nelson Perkins, mission commander and member of Charlie Company.
“Our mission here is to mentor the Djiboutian military as they prepare for upcoming missions. We’re trying to help them so they are capable of preventing conflict, establishing regional stability, and protecting coalition interests here,” said Staff Sgt. Travis Elder, an infantry squad leader with the 137th, who is a sheriff’s deputy in his hometown located near Topeka, Kan.
“My team and I are out here mentoring the soldiers and helping them along, basically giving them more tools for their toolbox. We’re showing them things that have helped us get through certain operations, and we want to help them so they can get through their future missions without any problem,” he said.
One of the biggest challenges the instructors faced was the language barrier due to few Djiboutian soldiers speaking English, according to Sgt. Jonathan Moyer, a team member with Echo Company. Instructors relied heavily on 2nd Lt. Omar Ali, Djibouti Army 2nd Company commander, who is fluent in four languages, and Mohamed Said, a Somali-born U.S. Army interpreter.
Throughout the morning, the small groups practiced team movements, and communicated contact and direction of fire. Loud whistle bursts signified enemy contact, and the Djiboutian soldiers moved succinctly, went into the prone position and assumed their staggered firing positions.
The regiment, which was established in 1991 and is comprised of a number of 20-year combat veterans, is the first unit in the Djiboutian Army called to deploy during a contingency, according to Ali. The regiment also provides border security on the Somaliland border located approximately seven miles from the camp.
“The goal for my soldiers is to prepare them for their mission and especially for a deployment under the United Nations, like they did in Haiti and Central Africa,” Ali said, who has been in the army since 2001. He attended an officer’s course with Germany’s mountain troops from 2004-2008 and will soon attend the Infantry Career Captain’s Course at Fort Benning, Ga.
According to Ali, the training is part of a continuation of training that began in September 2010 that included effective methods of instruction, commander operation skills course, a command post exercise, and company grade and noncommissioned officer courses.
Just one month ago, the newly-formed training camp consisted of just six concrete pads. Today the camp consists of about 12 tents, a mosque and a large covered classroom area.
“Camp Ali Oune is actually the first of its kind. The Djiboutians don’t have any bases here on the Somali border, and this camp is supposed to be here for quite a while. They will be utilizing the camp as a training area and for continuing operations to keep this region safe,” he said.
About two miles away in the shadow of a steep hill, other members of the Rapid Action Regiment sharpened their marksmanship skills using the Russian PKM 7.62-mm machine gun, which is the equivalent of the M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon. Automatic gunfire and the ricochet of rounds echoed from the large rock-covered hill as each two-man team practiced firing in staccato bursts of three and five rounds.
“Very well done,” one of the instructors exclaimed after seeing a bullseye on the target of one team.
Ali said the training and mentoring provided by the 137th is beneficial because the cadre of instructors bring real-world operational experience.
“We already had a good relationship with the U.S. Army, and I have to say it’s a good thing and we have a good image of the U.S. Army,” Ali said.
To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil
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U.S., Polish, German and Danish soldiers raise country flags at the opening ceremony of Saber Strike 15, a multinational training exercise, June 8, 2015 at the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area in Poland. Saber Strike is a long-standing U.S. Army Europe-led cooperative training exercise. This year’s exercise objectives facilitate cooperation amongst the U.S., Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to improve joint operational capability in a range of missions as well as preparing the participating nations and units to support multinational contingency operations. There are more than 6,000 participants from 13 different nations. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Marcus Floyd, 13th Public Affairs Detachment)
Maj. Mike Welch, 621st Contingency Response Wing air mobility liaison officer assigned to the U.S. Army’s 1st Theatre Sustainment Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., sets up a marker for a C-130 Hercules circling over the drop zone at Fort Polk, La., Aug. 17, 2013, during Joint Readiness Training Center rotation 13-09. Air Mobility Command AMLOs are rated pilots or navigators assigned to U.S. Army and Marine units who coordinate with joint and coalition partners for Air Force air mobility services. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Parker Gyokeres/Released)
Sgt. Victor Aguirre, 509th Signal Battalion (rear), observes Spc. James Lagerstrom adjust cables on a satellite dish on communications gear associated with the U.S. Army Africa Forward Command Element.
Photo by Rich Bartell, U.S. Army Africa Public Affairs Office
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When the U.S. Army Africa Forward Command Element rolls onto a C-130 to head to Ghana in August, it will be with state of the art electronics allowing worldwide communications.
The USARAF FCE, similar to a tactical operations center with sophisticated internet and video teleconference capabilities, is a flexible command post that responds to deployment requests through U.S. Africa Command.
“The USARAF FCE can move out and be in any given African country in less than 72 hours,” said Sgt. Maj. Aaron Miller, non-commissioned officer in charge of the USARAF Contingency Command Post.
During a recent tour of the mobile command center, USARAF Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg saw firsthand the power and flexibility of the mobile command post.
“Our C-130 version of a crisis command headquarters makes USARAF capable of deploying anywhere in the world if needed, but more specifically, anywhere in Africa. We can roll off the plane and within two hours have a fully operationally command and control system to cover any environment, Army pure, joint or inter-agency. We have tremendous capability now,” Hogg said.
Hogg expressed his gratitude to Soldiers of the USARAF G-6, Communications and Information Services and higher headquarters.
“Colonel Joe Angyal and his G-6 staff have done a wonderful job and none of this would have happened without the support of Headquarters Department of the Army. So we definitely want to thank them,” Hogg added.
NEW COMMUNICATIONS GEAR GIVES WORLDWIDE REACH
Recently, USRAF communications Soldiers with the FCE took on the challenges that new electronics can pose. The new system provides worldwide communications capability along with the added ability to work from a remote location with few amenities.
“We have about two weeks of training to smooth out some of the wrinkles” said Maj. Gary Philman, the USARAF signal operations officer and acting chief of the CCP. “We’ve been fortunate to get the new communications package and we’re integrating it with some of our existing systems.”
Philman said the FCE is the deployable headquarters for USARAF, and can be the first organization to hit the ground in advance of a joint task force.
“The FCE staff size depends on the mission request and can vary from eight to more than 20 personnel,” Philman said. “Our commanding general comes with the FCE when requested by an ambassador, [but] it can be commanded by a USARAF staff colonel or the CCP chief,” Philman said.
USARAF Spc. James Lagerstrom, information technology specialist with the CCP, deploys with FCE as one of the Soldiers ensuring the command element’s communications gear is up and running.
“Wherever we go … we can communicate,” Lagerstrom said. “We have internet and even have video teleconference ability [as well as] highly mobile.”
In August the FCE will get a chance do a live shakedown test of its communications equipment in the Republic of Ghana.
AIM-9L/M Sidewinder
AIM-7F/M Sparrow
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The 142nd Fighter Wing's rich history began just prior to World War II as the United States increased its military readiness while war raged across Europe and Asia.
Today, as a vital Air National Guard asset to Air Combat Command and Air Expeditionary Force structures, the 142nd Fighter Wing conducts Air Sovereignty Alert operations 24/7 in the Pacific Northwest. The wing also participates in contingency operations in support of state and federal authorities.
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The Oregon Air National Guard and the 142nd Fighter Wing's history began just prior to World War II when the United States, monitoring the war raging in Europe and China, began focusing less on neutrality and more on preparedness. Answering the call to arms was Major G. Robert Dodson, an Oregonian serving with the 321st Observation Squadron, U.S. Army Reserve at Pearson Field in Vancouver, Washington. He requested the National Guard Bureau's authorization to form an Oregon flying unit. His short, official request -- "We've got people, we've got a place, and we're ready!" -- launched the 123rd Observation Squadron on April 18, 1941. The newly formed unit began operations with two officers, 108 enlisted men and two aircraft, a North American BC-1A (like the AT-6) and a Douglas O-46A.
Five months later, on September 15, 1941, the squadron was federally activated and deployed to Gray Field at Fort Lewis, Washington from which it conducted coastal patrol and training operations in the Pacific Northwest with the North American O-47. This included one of the first missions flown from a U.S. base on December 7, 1941. In March 1943 the 123rd was redesignated as a Reconnaissance Squadron, and redesignated again in August 1943 as the 35th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (PRS). From September 1944 to August 1945 the unit flew the F-5 reconnaissance variant of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning in combat operations in the China-Burma-India theatre as part of the Fourteenth Air Force, the famous "Flying Tigers." The squadron received credit for participation in seven campaigns in World War II. Not all 123rd personnel served with the 35th PRS, as some were diverted to other units as early as 1942 and served elsewhere in the Pacific and in Europe. As part of the large drawdown of forces after the war, the 35th PRS inactivated on November 7, 1945 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.
Less than a year later, the 35th PRS was revived, redesignated as the 123rd Fighter Squadron (Single Engine, SE) and allocated to the State of Oregon National Guard, effective 26 June, 1946. At a similar time, and as part of a larger ANG reorganization, the 371st Fighter Group was allocated to the State of Oregon, and redesignated as the 142nd Fighter Group on May 24, 1946. The 123rd FS (SE) fell under the 142nd Fighter Group at Portland Air Base. The 142nd inherited the lineage and honors of the 371st FG, which flew combat missions with the P-47 Thunderbolt in the European Theater of Operations in World War II and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for exceptional heroism in 1945. Thus the 142nd FG began fighter operations for the first time in the North American P-51D Mustang with 75 officers and 800 enlisted. men.
Beginning in 1950, the group mobilized in response to the Korean War. Individually activated pilots of the 123rd FS flew over 1,000 combat missions with active duty squadrons of the 18th Fighter Bomber Wing in the F-51D Mustang. The 142nd Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron deployed to Alaska to bolster ground radar coverage in remote areas against the growing Soviet bomber threat, while the 142nd Fighter Group performed the air defense mission as part of the Continental Air Command. In 1952 both the group and squadron were redesignated Fighter Interceptor units.
After supporting the Korean conflict the 142nd Fighter Interceptor Group remained very active in air defense matters through the Cold War years. In the summer of 1958, the 142nd began standing 24-hour air defense alert and continues to this day. As an example of the unit's readiness and capability, in 1976, the unit won top honors at a pair of Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) competitions, the Weapons Loading Competition and the famous William Tell Air Defense Competition. SMSgt Alan Kaser, TSgt Lane Hoffman, TSgt Mark Wiebold and TSgt Joe Woodburn won the Weapons Loading Competition with two near perfect loads, a high test score and maximum points on the tools and equipment checks. In William Tell 1976, the 142nd garnered first place in the F-101 category and Lt. Col. Don Tonole and Maj. Brad Newell captured the overall "Top Gun" title flying the McDonnell F-101B Voodoo. Success came again at William Tell 1984 when the unit placed first in the F-4 category flying the McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom II and beat many of its F-15 Eagle and F-106 Delta Dart rivals in the overall competition. Majors Ron Moore and Bill Dejager were the overall F-4 "Top Guns" of the competition. In the 50th Year of William Tell Anniversary Competition held in 2004, the 142nd Fighter Wing was rated first in Maintenance, Element Attack and Gun categories. These William Tell successes demonstrate Oregon's long history of excellent performance and readiness to accomplish the real world mission.
Since the end of the Cold War, the 142nd has served as the principle air defense unit of the Pacific Northwest. In 1992, as part of a large USAF reorganization, both the group and squadron were redesignated yet again as the 142nd Fighter Group and the 123rd Fighter Squadron, respectively. In 1995 the group was elevated to wing status, beginning its current designation as the 142nd Fighter Wing. The wing participated in a wide variety of expeditionary and humanitarian assistance missions in the turbulent post-Cold War environment while providing air defense of the Pacific Northwest. These included major deployments to Turkey in 1998 for Operation NORTHERN WATCH and to Saudi Arabia in 2000 for Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, patrolling the no-fly zones then in place over Iraq. The wing deployed aircraft to Panama in 1998 in support of counterdrug missions, helping stem the flow of the drug trade by air. Wing personnel deployed on various other missions, sending medical troops to Belize, civil engineers to Macedonia, and to such places around the globe as Curacao, Denmark, Germany, Guam, Kuwait, Spain and the United Kingdom.
On September 11, 2001, the wing was one of the first units to respond to the dastardly terrorist attacks on the east coast with increased air defense to enhance security on the west coast, and subsequently participated in Operation NOBLE EAGLE, the national military response to homeland defense. In 2004, unit personnel provided humanitarian aid in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the 2007 floods in Vernonia, Oregon. The wing also supported ongoing contingency operations in Southwest Asia, including Operations IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM, such as in the 2004 deployment of medical personnel to Qatar and the 2009 deployment of Security Forces Squadron personnel to Iraq.
From its creation, the 142nd Fighter Wing has flown the P-51/F-51 Mustang, F-86 Sabre, F-94 Starfire, F-89 Scorpion, F-102 Delta Dagger, F-101 Voodoo, F-4 Phantom II fighter planes and a host of support aircraft.
Today, the fighting "Redhawks" are proud to continue service as a vital part of the Total Force team, defending our nation with the F-15 Eagle, providing both continuous air defense and air superiority capabilities. With more than 1,000 officers and airmen, the 142nd Fighter Wing guards the Pacific Northwest skies from northern California to the Canadian border, on 24-hour Air Sovereignty Alert as part of Air Combat Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The wing also stands ready to participate in state and federal contingency missions as required.
A convoy of vehicles from 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade 1st Cavalry Division, arrives on Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, Oct. 7. The unit, which is the first self-redeploying unit to leave Iraq, passed through COB Adder to allow soldiers to rest and refuel before heading on to Kuwait.