airforce
With powerful aircraft and fearless fighters, the Air Force is always armed and ready to lift off and fight from above.
RAF Days Pt 6
More escapades from my RAF days as recounbted in my biography "Do or do not". In the sticky hot summer of 1972 I had a very close call one day when an emergency exercise was called. Every Nimrod had to be airborne as soon as possible and my assigned place was with one of the engine Sergeants who would start the engines on the aircraft, then go to start another as I waited for the crew to arrive from the mess on the main camp at which point I would put on my ear defenders, pick up the marshalling bats and guide the aircraft from the pad to the taxiway. Mine was the last aircraft in the row and as I waved it on I would normally have left my ear defenders on until they were clear, but it was so hot and sticky that I took them off early only to hear the sergeant shouting “Davies Hit The Deck”, so training kicking in I dived for the ground as the aircraft I had just marshalled opened up its throttles full sending waves of heat over me. Had I been standing I would probably have been blown head over heels, but I survived with only a few scratches. On debrief the pilot claimed that he felt a vibration and wanted to test the engines, but was disciplined as he should only do that at the end of the runway so I was informed. On a positive side the aircraft were all up in 11 minutes, and the sight of 11 Nimrods taking off one after the other was unforgettable.
By Len Davies5 years ago in Serve
RAF Days Part 5
More teenage memories of my days in the RAF from my biography 'Do or Do Not'. 1971 only had 8 weeks to go as I settled in and I was to experience my first Christmas away from home, which really hurt, but I must admit the mess did a good job on Christmas dinner, which must have been bittersweet for them as they no doubt wanted to be home too. As 1972 came in I discovered the RAF St. Mawgan radio station that was piped into every billet and selectable on a speaker above the door in every room. I didn’t have much of a private life so I decided to check it out and was doing regular radio shows pretty soon. The station controller was a guy called Keith Oliver who had a strong love of American radio stations and used to get as many radio jingles as he could from them. I had a ball as musically there was so much good stuff coming out and we used to get a lot of the latest music provided into the radio library. My musical tastes have always been a huge mixture from Classical through Soul through pop to hard rock, and this year saw some of the best music around. Argent, The Sweet, The Detroit Spinners, Carole King, The Strawbs, T Rex, Electric Light Orchestra, The O’Jays, The Osmonds, The Jackson Five, Alice Cooper, the list just goes on, and even to this day the music of the time brings back totally sharp memories of every event. I can still see the layout of the radio station with its antequated turntables and slipmats, old fashioned mixer and typical RAF Microphone and headphones, but I loved it. I even opted to do the breakfast show one day at 6am, and thought “If they wanted to be woken up this should do it” and promptly opened with ‘Schools Out’ by Alice Cooper. People left the radio switched on if they wanted it to be used as an alarm so I guess a few people got a rude awakening that day.
By Len Davies5 years ago in Serve
RAF Days
I had decided from a very early age that I wanted to join the Royal Air Force, and from the age of 13 I served with 30F squadron of the Air Training Corps in Ely, Cardiff (my home town). While my parents were away on summer holiday in 1969 I signed up and left school at Christmas that year. Here's a segment about the first days from my biography "Do or do not".
By Len Davies5 years ago in Serve
Airman within 11 1/2 Weeks
In 2013, I never thought of becoming an airman until I was on the bus with my bag and paperwork. Fully motivated, I was ready to receive the biggest challenges that was going to be chucked at me like a pitcher's fastball. In these challenges however, I found one giant struggle that temporarily blocked my progression. It's true that the greatest battles would be given to the strongest knights as a test from God. In this story, you will know what and how I overcame my greatest struggle.
By StarzNStripes085 years ago in Serve
MISSION FAILED
May 2, 2005, USS Carl Vinson's resting gear and catapults went down, making it impossible to launch or recover any aircrafts. All aircrafts were redirected to Al Asad Iraq. All aircrafts were accounted for, all but two. VMFA 323 aircrafts 210, piloted by Major John Spahr, and 201, piloted by Captain Kelly Hinz.
By Darren Garcia6 years ago in Serve
What Exactly Is A B-52 Bomber?
On January 6th, 2020, the tensions between the United States and Iran continued to escalate when the United States decided to send B-52 bombers to help with tightness in Iran. To be more specific, the United States sent B-52 bombers to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Diego Garcia is a British Indian Ocean Territory located near the Maldives and the Seychelles, south of India, and Sri Lanka. All of this means that they were not sent anywhere near Iran, but let’s put all of that aside. Many things can make someone scratch their head and ask, “is all of this really necessary?” It is people and questions like these that make it very important to keep in mind the B-52 bomber and what they are and what they are capable of.
By A. Alexis Kreiser6 years ago in Serve
That Others May Live
"That Others May Live" that is the motto of the United States Air Force Pararescue Team. These guys are bad MFs who won't stop until the mission is done and lives have been saved. They are without a doubt the most elite Special Forces Unit in the Nation and perhaps the world.
By Dominic Berning6 years ago in Serve
Launch on Warning: A Novella (Pt 4)
NOVEMBER 11 OSCAR-01 0633 HOURS LOCAL 1233 HOURS ZULU Howe rose early, his head finally feeling somewhat better. Olerud had re-bandaged it last night, and a couple of tranks had kept the guilty nightmares at bay. All he could remember was a dream of a pleasant summer stroll to the Stave Church in Minot, holding hands with Sheree, while Dotty chased birds and chattered incessantly.
By Grant Patterson7 years ago in Serve
