Sources: US Navy photo, Nimitz photo
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Uniformity
Sources: US Navy photo, Nimitz photo
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
In a Semi-Dark Kind of Mood ...
PxHere |
Monday, November 4, 2024
Bones
Bones
So, There I was......* Flight Commander at Kadena, flying F-15s, dodging Typhoons, F-5s and communists. In general, having a good time. Being a Flight Commander didn't involve any real "command" things. I didn't have any UCMJ authority, and issuing an Order to one of my flight members would almost undoubtedly have reduced them to tears from laughing so hard. Based on that, my leadership style was based on example, I would work hard to be the best I could at my job and treat my people with the respect they deserved. In general, it worked pretty well. I did get the occasional call from the Squadron Commander inviting Lt Schmuckatelli and myself to his office for a "chat". Usually followed by a second private "chat" between the Boss and myself. Fortunately, both Squadron Commanders during my time at Kadena followed the same leadership style that I was trying to emulate.
I get the call one afternoon to stop by the Bosses office. He invites me in and says he's got some good news, bad news. I'm getting a new member to my flight, a Captain in his first tour in an F-15. Now, this usually meant one of a few things. He could be a fairly senior Captain who's had a couple of tours in an older fighter, then performed a "pay your dues" tour (say an AT-38 to Holloman) and finally got an Eagle. He could be a First Assignment Instructor Pilot (FAIP) from ATC and got an Eagle out of there, or he could be a WSO who'd been selected for Pilot training. Most WSOs I knew were fairly proficient at flying the jet and would have had no problem graduating near the top of the class, which was a requirement for getting an Eagle or Falcon.
The good news is I'm not getting a Lt. I've already got 3 and while they are gaining proficiency and judgement at an astonishing rate, I've still got to keep close watch on them. We had a D model come on the schedule when one of them was scheduled for Duty Officer. He came and asked me if he could take it out for an advanced handling ride. The hairs on my neck started standing up. Then came the Kicker, he asked if one of his Lt buddies could ride along. Now this Lt was not in my flight, but he was positive that he was the Sierra Hotel-ist of all the Sierra Hotel Fighter Pilots in the squadron, and he wanted to show my Lt a couple of tricks he knew about Advanced Handling.
The hair on my neck is standing straight up. I told them, Yes, they could take the sortie and fly together. That started a bit of wink wink, nudge nudge going on between them. I then told them they were not to exit the Radar Pattern and that I expected them to have completed their semiannual instrument approach requirements by the time they landed. "Mannnnnn!" Little bit later, I get a call from the Boss asking why I had done that. I responded "Sir, I didn't want the last words on the tape to be "Let me show you how to do THIS!". He responded "Good Call."
Anyhow, as Sarge is wont to say, I digress. So, I'm not getting a Lt. Good. "Wonder what the Bad News is?" The Boss hands me his flight records. He wasn't a WSO or FAIP but he was coming out of a "Pay your Dues" tour. He'd done 3 years flying a T-33 as a target for the Air Defense guys.
"Oooh Boy!" Target flying involves a lot of straight and level and not much else. Not a good workup to flying Air to Air in an Eagle. To compound that, he's come out of the short qualification course since technically he was an experienced pilot. Getting him up to speed will be challenging.
A couple of days later, I pick him and his wife up at Naha. "Good Afternoon, I'm Juvat." He says, "Hi Juvat, I'm Bones." Now lots of guys come to a squadron with a tactical callsign that they had at a previous location, or that they would like to be called, but very few of those call signs survive first contact with a raucous squadron. So, I'll humor him until his Eagle Baptism.
Very nice guy. Personality wise, he's going to fit in. No sweat. But that's not what it takes to make it in a fighter squadron.
I get him settled in and on the schedule with an IP to regain landing currency. They go out do a little advanced handling to get down to landing weight, then come back in the pattern for some instruments and touch and goes. Afterwards I asked the IP how it went. No sweat, instruments were like glass, landings were fine. All well and good, but that also is not what it takes to make it in a fighter squadron.
I decide that he is going to be "my" wingman and for better or worse, he's going to be the guy entrusted to keeping my butt out of trouble if the fecal matter starts flying. I get him scheduled with me the next day for a BFM ride. The ride goes pretty well. He makes the usual new guy mistakes, but flies the jet pretty well. We go up again the next day and I can see that he has learned some from the previous ride. Improvement is always good. The third ride, we've got a little added bonus, we're going to hit the tanker. He'd gotten two tanker hits during RTU, one Day, one Night. I asked him how those went and he hemmed and hawed a little. OK. We talk about refueling a bit more, but tanking in the Eagle is Easy!
Contact Position. (I know for a fact that I have flown the closest jet on the left) Source: commons.wikimedia.org |
Ok, maybe not so much. He gets stable in the pre-contact position and moves it forward into the contact position and is floundering all around. The boomer sticks him and promptly pulls out as Bones slides out the front of the box. (Potentially very dangerous if the boomer doesn't disconnect in time, the boom is not able to retract further and can be driven into one or both aircraft. That's bad). Bones moves back into the Pre-contact and tries again. Basically the same thing. He doesn't have the picture for flying formation with the larger tanker. Try a third time, no dice. There are other flights on the tankers wing, so we clear off and head out to the area. BFM is good, not great. Debrief is long and lots of time spent drawing pictures of what a KC-135 looks like in the various refueling positions.
I go and talk to the Boss about it and what my plan to get him through this is. Basically, I'm going to get him on a tanker every chance I can get. On scheduled tanker sorties, and on drive by's. The tanker track was right next to the airspace and you could usually talk your way to a dry hook up or maybe even a couple of hundred pounds if they weren't actively refueling others. The Boss approves.
We do this for a couple of months. I get him across a tanker 3-4 times a week. (This was the Reagan Build up years, we flew a lot!) and he's settling in ok, but never to the point that I can relax while he's on the boom. and the first night tank was, shall we say, interesting.
We've got a wing wide exercise scheduled, "Defend the Island against all comers".
The Aggressors are in town. They're playing Mig-21s.
F-5s as Mig-21s (small, turn on a dime, hard to see) Source:commons.wikimedia.org |
RF-4C as Mig 23 (fast as greased lightning, can't turn for squat) Source:commons.wikimedia.org |
and the SR-71 is playing a Mig-25 (They called it a low slow flight for some reason).
SR-71 as Mig-25 (high fast flyer) Source en.wikipedia.org |
Obviously, NOT F-15s in Fighting Wing, but this is approximately the formation Source: U. S. Air Force File Photo |
Loaded for Bear with war shots Source:ru.wikipedia.org |
Suffice it to say, Bones developed into a fine Fighter Pilot, an excellent wingman and an even better Flight Lead. And, unlike most guys, actually kept his call sign. (Which, may or may not really have been "Bones")
Sunday, November 3, 2024
The Biggest Battle You've Never Heard Of¹ ...
The French and the Piedmont-Sardinians were allied against the Austrians. The goal of Victor Emmanuel II was to drive the Austrians out of Italy and unite the country, under his rule of course. (Spoiler alert, Victor Emmanuel II became King of Italy in 1861, the first time Italy had been united under one monarch since the 6th Century.)
Napoléon III's goal was not in conflict with that of Victor Emmanuel II's, driving Austria out of Italy was his goal as well. Something his uncle the Napoléon would have understood. Napoléon III also wanted to destroy the system created at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 which he felt denied France her rightful place in European affairs.
This was the last battle at which the armies in contention were led by their sovereigns, in person. (To date, I doubt any modern "leaders" will ever be bothered to lead their troops in battle ever again.) An interesting note is that after this battle, an Austrian defeat, Franz Joseph I decided that he would leave future wars to his generals. He was still Emperor when World War I broke out. (He died in 1916.)
A quick video of Solferino (sorry it's in French, but it does have English subtitles) -
Saturday, November 2, 2024
That Was the Week That Was ...
Après la Bataille Paul Louis Narcisse Grolleron Source |
Friday, November 1, 2024
John Blackshoe Sends: Serendipity History – Halloween 1898- “Who Stole the Beer?” - Part IV
Regimental Flag of the 3rd Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Courtesy: Kentucky Museum, Western Kentucky University Source |
3rd Kentucky in Newport News, VA Source |
A soldier's letter home from the 3rd Kentucky Source |
Camp of the 3rd Kentucky at Matanzas, Cuba during occupation duty in 1899. Source |
PVT Cecil Trotter's grave, Biloxi, MS Source |
Losses By Unit All started with about 50 officers and 1,000 enlisted, with some replacements arriving during their service period. Source |
Thursday, October 31, 2024
John Blackshoe Sends: Serendipity History – Halloween 1898- “Who Stole the Beer?” - Part III
Part 3 of 4- The Perps- the 160th Indiana Volunteer Infantry
This is the rifle issued to 26 year old
Private Melvin W. Minear, the Wagoner for Company M of the 160th
Indiana.
Biographical info from various Ancestry.com sources
No one would suspect that the 160th Indiana
would be involved in a beer theft. After
all:
“It
may be a pleasure of the friends of the 160th Regiment to know that
it was one of the few regiments in which the sale of intoxicating liquors was
prohibited.
For this credit is due Col. Gunder, as he desired to shield his command from
the evils of intoxicants and so preserving the health and character of his
men.”
Source:
After initial mustering into federal service the regiment went to Camp Thomas at Chickamauga, TN, arriving on May 16th, 1898, with dozens of other Regiments and inadequate water, food or preparation.
On June 7, 1898- “Each soldier was issued a Springfield
rifle, cartridge belt, canteen, haversack, knapsack and shelter half. Previous to receiving the rifles, sentinels
stood guard around the camp with clubs.”
The brief unit history published April 28, 1899 by the Huntington, Indiana Weekly Herald was the first public mention of the beer incident I was able to find.
“While [in Lexington]the Pabst
and Schlitz companies lost several hundred cases of beer. The 160th Indiana have the credit
of drinking the beer whether they were the ones who took it or not. Co. K must have gotten a little of the beer
at least.”
Source:
Later, the published unit history more candidly revealed more details, such as would only be known by the perpetrators:
“Halloween came and we were
yet in Camp Hamilton. On that night the
boys were full of prank and one was committed that did not seem to be much of a
joke to Pabst and Schlitz, but it has since proven to be a cheap
advertisement. Three car loads of beer
intended for the Twelfth New York canteen were on the siding in the rear of the
camp of the Third Kentucky and 160th Indiana.
The beer so near proved too great a temptation and the boys
decided they must sample a little of it, and it being Halloween, it
would be no crime to use the beer.
During the night the 160th Indiana and Third Kentucky unloaded two
hundred and fifty cases of bottled beer and one and a half cars of keg
beer. With so much beer on hand it was
difficult to find enough hiding places.
Holes were dug beneath the tent floors kegs were weighted and put in the
bottom of the creek, bottles strung on wires and suspended in the water, indeed
there was beer anywhere and everywhere.
Pabst and Schlitz were infuriated, bringing action to recover damages at
once. An investigation was ordered and
it was decided that the Twelfth New York was liable. In the meantime the papers far and wide
contained accounts of the joke, as it proved to be. Thousands of buttons have been printed and
distributed as souvenirs, thus proving a cheap advertisement, .so satisfactory
that the beer manufacturers have come to regard the matter as a joke and have
withdrawn their claim for damages.”
But, life in the 160th was not all beer and skittles.
“While at Lexington, the provost
guards had little trouble to maintain order.
The two principal events of the 160th were the killing of a
Negro soldier by a priate of Co. G., and the other by Private Chilcot shooting
a private of the Second Mississippi, which resulted in the loss of a leg. Both casualties occurred in the line of
duty.”
About a week after the beer theft, they left for Columbus,
GA, where they set up Camp Conrad, awaiting occupation duty in Cuba. With the war officially over as of December
12th, the regiment was finally officially selected for occupation
duty in Cuba. On December 19, 1898- bolt
action .30 caliber Krag rifles were issued to replace the single shot .45-70
trapdoor rifles.
Leaving Columbus by train, the SS Saratoga took them to Cuba in three sections during January 1899.
Occupation duty in Cuba was interesting, and something of an adventure, albeit lacking what Sir Winston Churchill described from his own experience about this time. "There is nothing more exhilarating than being shot at and missed.” Duty was mainly show the flag, keep the not yet departed Spaniards from bullying local officials, and general police and public works tasks. Compared to a winter in Indiana, a ten week trip to a Caribbean island was not a bad deal, especially if not shot at, and not malaria season!
Determined to get all troops off the island before the tropical disease season
started, the 160th left aboard the U.S. Army Transport Thomas on
March 27, 1899 and arrived in Savannah, GA , March 29. Ironically, General George H. Thomas, “the
rock of Chickamauga” was the namesake of both their first and last contacts
with the state of Georgia.
U.S. Army Transport THOMAS with a load of
passengers circa 1901.
Source:
Men of the 160th
Indiana in the mess shack in Savannah, GA, 1899. The happiest guy is the one peeling the
potato. Do these guys look like they
might steal some beer? Yes, yes they do!
Source: Courtesy Indiana State
Library.
The 160th Indiana Volunteer Infantry mustered out April 25th 1899, after one year of service, and the men proceeded home. So, the 160th Indiana served their full terms of enlistment, including about two months on occupation duty in Cuba.
Losses by unit. All started with about 50 officers and 1,000 enlisted, with some
replacements arriving during their service period. Source:
|
12th |
160th Indiana |
3rd
Kentucky |
OFFICER
losses |
|
|
|
Resigned or discharged |
30 |
7 |
7 |
|
|
|
|
ENLISTED
losses |
|
|
|
Transferred |
13 |
69 |
27 |
Discharged-disability |
47 |
59 |
60 |
Discharged- courts martial |
- |
- |
8 |
Discharged by order |
210 |
117 |
129 |
Death from disease |
23 |
11 |
17 |
Death- accidental |
1 |
- |
2 |
Murder or homicide |
- |
1 |
1 |
Suicide |
1 |
- |
- |
Deserted |
91 |
15 |
56 |
TOTAL
ENLISTED LOSSES |
386 |
272 |
300 |
|
|
|
|