https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hi1VkNPJHA The aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman is cruising the Persian Gulf as we speak, launching strikes against ISIS in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, and a video posted to 360 Fly shows just what that looks like from the inside. The clip sent into the digital video gadget company shows an F/A-18F Super Hornet launch with one of the pilots from the Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia-based Strike Fighter Squadron 103 “Jolly Rogers.” VFA-103 is deployed on the Truman. The pilot recorded the take-off in 360 degrees, which means viewers can get a full view of what’s happening in the cockpit at…
Browsing: Iraq
This year’s Bob Feller Act of Valor Awards go to……………. Major League Baseball’s Nick Swisher, a Cleveland Indians outfielder; Baseball Hall-of-Famer Tommy Lasorda, former Dodgers manager; and Senior Chief Aviation Electronics Technician Carl Thompson, the calibration laboratory lead chief petty officer on the carrier George Washington. “This is a tremendous honor and such a humbling experience for me,” Thompson said in a statement after the awards were announced Oct. 10. “I am overwhelmed and extremely excited at the same time. I would have never dreamed that I would receive an award for the way I live my life, but I am…
[HTML1] The aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush is getting ready to wrap up its Persian Gulf deployment, but before they head home, they’re lending a hand to American operations against the Islamic State in Iraq. In this official Navy video, ordnancemen pack explosives to assemble bombs for the strikes. In the clip below, you’ll see what happens after they’re loaded onto F/A-18 Hornets and dropped onto targets. The video shows an airstrike in northern Iraq on Friday. [HTML2] The Bush carrier strike group and Carrier Air Wing 8 left Norfolk back in February and are scheduled to make their way…
Since the first military burial on May 13, 1864, Arlington National Cemetery has become the final resting place for more than 400,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and their families. Those who on Sept. 11, 2001, died only a few hundred yards away at the Pentagon are buried here, as are the Challenger astronauts. Fifteen thousand soldiers from the Civil War — Union and Confederate — rest in Section 27 and Section 13, known as the Field of the Dead. Four thousand freed slaves, many identified only as “Citizen,” and two presidents also are buried at Arlington. Section 60 is the…
Tens of thousands of Iraqis served as translators for coalition forces during the Iraq War. But only one was deemed a “bad ass” by America’s deadliest sniper. “Code Name: Johnny Walker,” the story of that translator’s journey — catching on with U.S. forces as a way to feed his family, serving alongside Navy SEALs, and beating the odds (click the link above) to reach the U.S. — will be turned into a movie, according to multiple reports. The book, co-written by “Walker” and Jim DeFelice, is on the tail end of the New York Times best-seller list for hardcover nonfiction. DeFelice…
Earlier today, BuzzFeed posted a snapshot of the front page of 51 newspapers around the country ten years ago on March 20, 2003, the first day of the Iraq War. As a weekly publication, Navy Times didn’t publish the first day of the war, but the following Monday, this was our front page: We had a special 12-page section, titled the “War on Iraq.” The collection of six articles told the stories of the first missiles launched from ships in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, oil well fires started by Iraqis and airstrikes taking off from the flight decks…
More than 90,000 sailors have served in individual augmentee assignments — largely in Iraq, Afghanistan and environs — and Tuesday, Fleet Forces Command launched a web site honoring those who’ve “performed above and beyond the call of duty.” The site pays tribute to the 1,416 IAs awarded the Bronze Star, the 10 given the Bronze Star with Combat “V” device, the 48 awarded Purple Hearts, the one sailor awarded the Silver Star and the 14 killed in the line of duty as of Aug. 9. The page also lists the totals, but not the IA recipients, for every meritorious service…
Many Navy veterans from the current conflict have memories of this place. The Al Basra and Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminals are two main arteries of the Iraqi economy and many a good sailor has spent long hours doing circles around their perimeter or manning an M60 machine gun on their creaky decks. By all reports the Iraqis, despite their government struggling to function, have good news for their economy. The Iraqi oil minister released data that places their oil reserves at a quarter above what was previously thought. Iraq estimates it is the proud owner of 143 billion barrels…
