2013-12-16 Shortly after the return of the 36th Contingency Response Group from the Philippines, we had a chance to talk with the Commander of the Group. The 36th CRG and the USMC worked closely together at the Tacloban Air Base to re-open the base to allow for insertion of relief…
2013-12-16 by Ed Timperlake On December 14 2013, I was asked to give remarks at a Wreaths Across America ceremony at the veteran’s cemetery in Richmond Virginia. The honor of the day goes to the fallen and recognition of those present, many veterans, their families and loved ones, all came…
We have argued for some time that the introduction of fifth generation aircraft into legacy fleets was part of a process we have called the “re-norming” of airpower. We have even published a book with that title. When we discussed the time when Lt. Col. “Chip” Berke came to Nellis…
2013-12-13 In a phone interview with Lt. Col. Berke, the Commanding Officer, VMFAT-501, the continued progress of the F-35B towards its initial operating capability or IOC in 2015 was underscored. Recently, the 33rd Fighter Wing, highlighted a four hour sortie generation training exercise. According to the 33rd FW the F-35 enterprise…
2013-12-13 by Robbin Laird In spite of economic difficulties in the U.S. and Europe, the decade ahead will be a significant one in the purchase and deployment of new fighter aircraft. No countries are more important in this evolution outside of Europe and the Asian Rim than India and Brazil.…
2013-12-13 by Kenneth Maxwell President Francois Hollande has just completed a two day State Visit to Brazil. He was returning from South Africa where he had attended the ceremonies in Pretoria for Nelson Mandela. He stopped over in the Central African Republic on the way to Brazil where he has committed French troops.…
2013-12-13 South Africa has one of the most capable naval forces on the continent, but it is geared towards battles and not patrol capability, argues Magnus Lewis-Olsson, chief executive of Saab Grintek Defence (SGD) South Africa. This year, with the SA National Defence Force’s (SANDF) mission in the Democratic Republic of…
2013-12-12 One hundred and thirty-five Chinese peacekeepers arrived in Mali’s capital Bamako last week in China’s first deployment of forces for a peacekeeping mission. The personnel complement that arrived last Tuesday includes 35 engineers, 65 medical staff and 35 soldiers. They are the first of 395 personnel that China is sending…
