#Elmendorf Air Force Base

[pedroam-bang]

Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald - Two F-22 Raptors fly over the Pacific Ocean during a theater security mission (2009)

[usafphantom2]

A U.S. Air Force F-117 Nighthawk near Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK during Northern Edge 23-1, May 10, 2023. (sheila deVera usaf)

@kadonkey via X

[military1st]

Locked, loaded, and ready for action!

This U.S. Marine is pushing through the wilderness during the intense 4th Marine Division Super Squad 2019 competition at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

Days of pure grit, endurance, and teamwork – proving that when the going gets tough, the Marines just keep going.

The United States Air Force photo by Alejandro Peña (2019).

[dangerousthingobservation]

A U.S. Air Force F-117 Nighthawk prepares to land during Northern Edge 23-1 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 10, 2023. Photo by Airman 1st Class Quatasia Carter, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Public Affairs

[aviationgeek71]

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor assigned to the 3rd Wing takes off above Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, March 13, 2024.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.22 (after 1930)

1934 – The Gresford disaster in Wales kills 266 miners and rescuers. 1939 – World War II: A joint German–Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk is held to celebrate the successful invasion of Poland. 1941 – The Holocaust in Ukraine: On the Jewish New Year Day, the German SS murders 6,000 Jews in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Those are the survivors of the previous killings that took place a few days earlier in which about 24,000 Jews were executed. 1948 – Gail Halvorsen officially starts parachuting candy to children as part of the Berlin Airlift. 1948 – Israeli-Palestine conflict: The All-Palestine Government is established by the Arab League. 1953 – The Four Level Interchange, first stack interchange in the world opened in Los Angeles. 1957 – In Haiti, François Duvalier is elected president. 1960 – The Sudanese Republic is renamed Mali after the withdrawal of Senegal from the Mali Federation. 1965 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 between India and Pakistan over Kashmir ends after the United Nations calls for a ceasefire. 1966 – Twenty-four people are killed when Ansett-ANA Flight 149 crashes in Winton, Queensland, Australia. 1975 – Sara Jane Moore tries to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford, but is foiled by the Secret Service. 1979 – A bright flash, resembling the detonation of a nuclear weapon, is observed near the Prince Edward Islands. Its cause is never determined. 1980 – Iraq invades Iran, sparking the nearly eight year Iran–Iraq War. 1981 – During a military exercise, a Turkish Air Force Northrop F-5 crashes in Babaeski as a result of pilot error, killing one crew member and also 65 soldiers on the ground. 1991 – The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time. 1993 – A barge strikes a railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama, causing the deadliest train wreck in Amtrak history. Forty-seven passengers are killed. 1993 – A Transair Georgian Airlines Tu-154 is shot down by a missile in Sukhumi, Georgia. 1995 – An E-3B AWACS crashes outside Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska after multiple bird strikes to two of the four engines soon after takeoff; all 24 on board are killed. 1995 – The Nagerkovil school bombing is carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force in which at least 34 die, most of them ethnic Tamil schoolchildren. 2006 – Twenty-three people were killed in a maglev train collision in Lathen, Germany. 2013 – At least 75 people are killed in a suicide bombing at a Christian church in Peshawar, Pakistan.

[67-romeo]

A U.S. Army AH-64D Apache assigned to 1-25th Attack Battalion, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, flies during the Joint Forces Demonstration at the Arctic Thunder Open House at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, last month.

📸 U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Julia Lebens, JB Elmendorf-Richardson

⁠

#ah64 #ah64d #ah64apache #apachehelicopter #attackhelicopter #combathelicopter #heli #helicopter #helicopters #boeing #militaryaviation #military #armyaviation #aviation #avgeek #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #airplane #instaaviation #instapilot #helicopterpilot #instagramaviation #aviationpictures #aviationdaily #helicoptersofinstagram #usarmy #usarmyaviation #25CAB #attack #attackaviation

[georgemcginn]

DOD Featured Photos

Stronger Together Marines participate in a squad competition at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 20, 2023, to test … Photo Details > Lights on the Layup Air Force Airman 1st Class Romer Ferguson shoots a layup during the Washington Wizards’ Military App… Photo Details > Heavenly Hues Soldiers participate in airborne operations over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Dec. 8, 20… Photo…

[ultrajaphunter]

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor assigned to the 3rd Wing conducts flight operations at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Sept. 28, 2023. (by SrA Julia Lebens)

[heathermehf]

DVIDS – Video – B-52s in JBER: Arrival

[militarymetalart]

Protect our homeland, project joint forces, and power the joint base! Stood up in 2010, the 673d Air Base Wing today comprises over 5,500 joint military and civilian personnel, supports and enables America’s Arctic Warriors and their families. In addition, the wing provides medical care to over 35,000 joint service members, dependents, Veterans Affairs patients, and retirees throughout Alaska. The 673d ABW maintains $15 billion in infrastructure encompassing 85,000 acres, ensuring Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson remains America’s premier strategic power projection platform. https://www.instagram.com/p/CpoZlOdMiCY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[usafphantom2]

F-22s conduct a missing man formation flyover in remembrance of Air Force Staff Sgt. Charles A. Crumlett at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, March 22, 2024. (lebens)

@kadonkey via X

[military1st]

U.S. Army paratrooper during Exercise Arctic Aloha at Malemute Drop Zone, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

The U.S. Air Force photo by Alejandro Peña (2023).

[defensenow]

One joint base, two Air Force wings, 240 Airmen: how relationships helped form an AEW to validate ACE in the Pacific

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Public Affairs | Story by Maj. Clay Lancaster | Tuesday, March 7, 2023

[opedguy]

Biden on Roll, Shoots Down UFO

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Feb. 10, 2023.--On a roll from his Feb. 7 State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress, 80-year-old President Joe Biden ordered the shoot-down of another Unidentified Flying Object [UFO] this time over icy waters in Deadhorse, Alaska on Prudhoe Bay.  Biden was notified of the UFO Thursday morning, deciding, unlike the shoot-down of a 2,000-poind Chinese balloon Friday, Feb. 10, Biden acted decisively ordering the downing of the unmanned aerial vehicle.  Once the Pentagon determined the balloon-like object was unmanned, Biden wasted no time ordering an F-22 from Join Base Elmendorf to take doown the unknown object, about the size of a small car, with a sidewinder missile, the same one used last Saturday Feb. 4.  Biden was rejuvenated by his State of the Union, getting high marks from Democrats, but, more importantly, showed he can still work a crowd at his advanced age.

Last weeks delayed response, letting the Chinese spy balloon drift methodically over Alaska, Canada, Idaho, Montana all the way across the U.S. generated much-deserved criticism, especially with the spy-craft monitoring U.S. nuclear Air Force bases across the continental United States.  Biden said he didn’t want to jeopardize any civilians on the ground, before shooting down the balloon over shallow waters in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Biden faced criticism from his GOP colleagues for not acting more decisively, though Democrats pointed out quickly that similar Chinese spy balloons flew into U.S. air space during the Trump administration.  Trump didn’t order a shoot down because the balloon quickly left U.S. air space.  Biden ordered the shoot down today over Deadhorse, Alaska, claiming that the UFO presented a danger at 40,000 feet to commercial air flights.

Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby didn’t have much to report, other than a UFO was shot down over Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.  “All I can say is that it wasn’t flying with any sort of propulsion, so if that is ‘balloon like’—we just don’t enough at this point,” Kirby said.  “It came in, inside our territorial waters, those waters right now are frozen, but inside territorial air space and over territorial waters.  Fighter aircraft assigned to the U.S. Northern Command took down the object with the last hour,” Kirby reported.  No country, including China, has claimed responsibility for what looks like another spy balloon, prompting Biden to shoot first, wait to see whether any recovered debris identifies the country of origin.  Two spy balloons in one week certainly raises eyebrows, even if the Pentagon can’t confirm the nature or origin of the flying object.  “We don’t know who owns this object,” Kirby said.

Like the Chinese spy balloon shot down Feb. 4, the object did not to have any guidance or propulsion.  “It did not appear to have maneuverability capability, “ Kirby said.  “It was virtually at the whim of the wind.” Kirby confirmed that a fighter pilot was up in the sky on Feb. 9, determining the that the balloon-like object had no human on board, before Biden gave the order Friday, 1:45 p.m. to shoot it down.  “We were able to get some fighter aircraft up and around it before the order to shoot it down.  And the pilots’ assessment was that this was not manned,” Kirby said.  “There was a limit to how much they could divine,” including whether the object was booby-trapped with explosives.  Pentagon officials hoped to recover the debris off the ice and determine the nature and origin of the UFO.  Biden’s decision to shoot it down stemmed directly from last week’s delay in taking down the Chinese balloon.

Pentagon officials think last week’s shoot down of the Chinese spy balloon won’t impact U.S.-Chinese relations in the scheme of things.  China reacted harshly to the shoot down, saying the U.S. showed “indiscriminate aggression.”  China insisted that it’s weather balloon posed no threat at all to U.S. national security.  Pentagon officials haven’t yet determined or said publicly what if any national security issues were compromised by the spy-craft that spend six days flying over U.S. nuclear and stealth bomber bases in Montana and Missouri.  No one knows what, if anything, the Chinese got after from the surveillance balloon.  Pentagon officials said the Chinese already monitor U.S. air bases from a network of space-based satellites, not sure they would get more intel from a spy balloon.  Two balloon incidents in one week suggest a correlation between the events.

Biden has a wind at his back following a commanding performance at the State of the Union speech.  If there’s anything to glean from today’s shoot down, Biden has more confidence than ever as he prepares to announce he’s running for reelection in 2024.  Anyone listening to the speech knows that it was a campaign speech, not a typical State of the Union message.  Biden touted his big spending bills that he claims have benefited the U.S. economy, despite the runaway inflation that makes life harder for most working people.  Biden cast himself as a champion of U.S. workers, despite the economic challenges from rising prices.  Shooting down the UFO over Alaska reflects Biden’s new confidence after Tuesday night’s speech. Pentagon officials should know soon the nature and origin of the car-sized balloon.  Shooting it down without hesitation speaks volumes about Biden’s future plans.

About the Author    

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.22 (after 1940)

1941 – The Holocaust in Ukraine: On the Jewish New Year Day, the German SS murders 6,000 Jews in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Those are the survivors of the previous killings that took place a few days earlier in which about 24,000 Jews were executed. 1948 – Gail Halvorsen officially starts parachuting candy to children as part of the Berlin Airlift. 1948 – Israeli-Palestine conflict: The All-Palestine Government is established by the Arab League. 1957 – In Haiti, François Duvalier is elected president. 1960 – The Sudanese Republic is renamed Mali after the withdrawal of Senegal from the Mali Federation. 1965 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 between India and Pakistan over Kashmir ends after the United Nations calls for a ceasefire. 1966 – Twenty-four people are killed when Ansett-ANA Flight 149 crashes in Winton, Queensland, Australia. 1975 – Sara Jane Moore tries to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford, but is foiled by the Secret Service. 1979 – A bright flash, resembling the detonation of a nuclear weapon, is observed near the Prince Edward Islands. Its cause is never determined. 1980 – Iraq invades Iran, sparking the nearly eight year Iran–Iraq War. 1991 – The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time. 1993 – A barge strikes a railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama, causing the deadliest train wreck in Amtrak history. Forty-seven passengers are killed. 1993 – A Transair Georgian Airlines Tu-154 is shot down by a missile in Sukhumi, Georgia. 1995 – An E-3B AWACS crashes outside Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska after multiple bird strikes to two of the four engines soon after takeoff; all 24 on board are killed. 1995 – The Nagerkovil school bombing is carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force in which at least 34 die, most of them ethnic Tamil schoolchildren. 2006 – Twenty-three people were killed in a maglev train collision in Lathen, Germany. 2013 – At least 75 people are killed in a suicide bombing at a Christian church in Peshawar, Pakistan.