#blackhawk pilot | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bekolxeram · 1 month ago

Text

Long sigh......

I've heard that one of the most problematic bnf from the other side of the fandom claimed on Tiktok that Tommy wouldn't be part of the emergency landing rescue because "the controls (of a helicopter and a jet airliner) are different". I know I made a whole thing out of Tommy being a helicopter pilot instead of a fixed wing one. (I even made up a sunshiny airplane pilot ex boyfriend for Tommy, that was fun while it lasted) I have no idea how that bnf makes the logical leap that if Tommy isn't physically solo flying that plane, then he won't be involved at all. He's still a firefighter working with aircrafts at an airport. Unless the writers for some reason don't want Tommy to be in the episodes at all and pull the "not on duty" card, it would actually make less sense for him not to be there.

You know the drill. Don't read further if the discussion of Tommy not being able to fly everything bothers you. Block the tag #aviation realism if this whole topic doesn't interest you. I've hesitated a lot whether I should post my thoughts on this, but I guess this is the last chance to speculate, so here goes nothing. This is my specs for Tommy's involvement in the plane disaster.

First, I want to clarify something. I never said Tommy wasn't on the plane in 2x14. If by flying that plane, you mean actually taking the pilot seat, grabbing the yoke and executing risky low altitude maneuvers over mountainous terrain, no, I don't think Tommy can do it. The thing is, operating an aircraft that size requires a whole team, up to 5 in this case. I can totally imagine Tommy onboard sitting behind the pilots, helping out with navigation or precise drop coordination.

youtube

It's possible, even common to transition from flying rotary to fixed wing. JetBlue and Frontier both provide rotor transition programs to veterans, I've also seen a former Army Blackhawk pilot now flies the C-130 for the Coast Guard. Training ex-military pilots to become commercial airliner pilots has a higher success rate and takes less time than training a regular civilian. But you see the problem, none of them have been working as an active firefighter for the past 20 years.

Let's cut to the chase, I don't think Tommy will be landing that plane. In the original film, they decide transferring an Air Force pilot into the crippled 747 is the only option, because they think woman dumb Nancy can't handle it. Aviation technology has come a very long way since the 70s. This MythBusters episode from 2007 proves that not only is it possible for a complete novice to land a jet airliner by following verbal instructions, modern planes are so advanced that they can practically land themselves.

Sure, there probably will be some major damages to the systems needed for a normal landing (landing gear, flaps, brakes, thrust reversers) rendering an autoland impossible, because drama. But then you run into the problem of where the hell is the Air Force. Last season, the Coast Guard was busy rescuing other ships stranded at sea so some LAFD firefighters had to steal a helicopter to search for a cruise ship that didn't call for help. This time, a passenger airliner without its flight crew has a very real possibility of crashing in a densely populated urban area, the whole incident is also reported live on TV news, how can they explain the absence of the Air Force? Even assuming no commercial pilots in the area, including the ex-military ones are willing to do such a dangerous stunt and tether into the cockpit from outside, what's stopping the AIr Force pilots?

I don't think Tommy will be the one instructing Athena through the landing either. You run into basically the same problem. There are plenty of flight instructors of that exact model of aircraft out there better suited for the job. Flying a modern airliner, especially an Airbus, is more like flying a computer than an actual plane. You need someone with intimate knowledge of the plane's flight control systems in order to talk a non-pilot through operating it.

I know, I know, I'm being a killjoy right now, I'm worse than the Tommy haters and I should shut the fuck up, but even if we're going 100% realistic, referring to real life aviation incidents of this scale (Yes, I'm talking about JetBlue 292 again), Tommy is especially going to be part of the rescue.

Real!LAFD deployed a few helicopters in the JetBlue sideway nose gear incident to monitor the airfield and to help coordinate ground personnel/equipment, with a couple more standing by on the ground in case anyone on the plane needed emergency medevac.

I think the first officer might need a chopper ride if they want to save his femoral artery.

In the same incident, a local news copter also helped survey the landing gear issue from the outside. Tommy's helicopter can do that as well.

It's getting too long, but I have a few out-of-universe reasons for why Tommy will likely not play a super major part in this plane disaster arc, I'll just speed through them: Tommy's not a main character when screen time is already tight for the mains (I'd prefer to see him more in later Buck centric eps), he's already saved the day last season, I think production has blown all their budget on the airplane sets, the new trucks and the CGI bees already that they can't fit a helicopter in. (Let alone to replicate the original pilot transferal scene, it was a real stunt, they really got an AIr Force helicopter to dangle a stuntman in front of a flying 747. It was dangerous and hella expensive)

I actually hope Tommy would be working on the ground this time, I would kill to see him working with Buck and the 118, and not in the sky doing his own thing.

#Just want to let it all out at the last possible moment #I'm queuing this for later and logging off for the rest of the night not sure I want to face to music yet #sharing aviation stuff related to Tommy now fills me with dread #911 speculation #911 spoilers #911 meta #bucktommy #tommy kinard #aviation realism #911 abc

63 notes · View notes

oliveroctavius · 11 months ago

Text

I got this ask on main but thought I'd pick it up here, my comics history/fashion ramble blog. I'd been wondering this exact same thing recently, and Google initially wasn't much help—Rocketeer replica jackets describe themselves only as "Rocketeer jackets" and the one Lobster Johnson cosplay thread just suggested ordering one of those.

The most curious part is the double seam and horizonal row of buttons that mark out the entire front as possibly being an unbuttonable "bib", like a plastron front. (Please don't ask how late in the game I worked out that "plastron" is the right word for that.)

The closest genuine Golden Age example of a plastron jacket I found was the military tunic style uniform of Blackhawk, created in 1941.

(Pics from the '52 movie serial (right) really show how awkward it is to combine open lapels + plastron. On a double breasted coat, that chest panel IS the bottom lapel, folded shut.)

Here's the thing: This outfit mirrors that of the Nazi ace pilot he fights in the origin issue, von Tepp (middle). And compare further to the far right: real life WWI flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, AKA the Red Baron, in imperial German Uhlan (lance cavalry) uniform.

"The Germans had designed such great costumes, we decided to use them ourselves," co-creator Cuidera is quoted as saying in Steranko's History of Comics, which (more dubiously, in my opinion) compares the look to the Gestapo or SS. Breeches or jodhpurs weren't strictly a Nazi thing at the time, but they do add to the overall effect.

Compare two other military tunic themed costumes from 1940, on Captain Marvel and Bucky Barnes. These are asymmetrically buttoned, and switch to a more classic circus strongman look below the waist.

But somewhere around 1975, with the Invaders book, Bucky gets a buttoned bib! There's something infectious about it—the symmetry, maybe. (Even re: the characters we started with; Mignola didn't draw Lobster Johnson with buttons down the right side, but every artist after does. And Spider-Noir wore a sweater under his coat until Shattered Dimensions introduced the double-breasted vest.)

If it didn't reach his belt, Barnes' button-on front + shirt collar combo would resemble a bib-front western shirt, like the one that became the Rawhide Kid's signature look in '56. (Or Texas Twister's in '76.)

This shirt entered the old-West-obsessed public imagination in the 1940s/50s largely because John Wayne wore it in several cowboy movies. In reality it was rare among cowboys, more common with firefighters and civil war era militia.

Military tunics, Western shirts, alright, but does anything match the style and material and era, or are these jackets a total anachronism? I tried looking into 1930s leather flight jackets and was surprised when the closest-looking results were marked as Luftwaffe.

It took me a bit to work out why: USAF and RAF issued standard flight jackets with a center closure. The Luftwaffe instead let their pilots buy non-standardized ones. The 'weird' double-breasted black German flight jackets were in fact fairly normal (but repurposed) motorcycle racing jackets.

Far left is an English biker's jacket that dates back to the 1920s. Even without the bib, this may be as close as you'll get to an authentic Rocketeer. The jodhpurs were pretty common to complete the look. (What was an early motorcycle anyways, if not a weird metal horse?) The first biker jacket with the now iconic off-center diagonal zip was designed in America in 1928 and yet as far as I can tell, not a single actual pre-war pulp hero wore one.

The greatest weakness of this post is that I haven't been able to find any of these artists' notes on how, exactly, they arrived at similar versions of this iconic Pulp Front Panel Jacket. I'm sure I've missed some things. But as far as I can tell, this jacket is an odd bit of convergent stylistic evolution from the above influences that's picked up enough momentum to now be self-perpetuating.

The problem with pulp heroes is that for the most part, they just wore clothes. The appeal of this jacket is actually very similar to what the 1940s thought the appeal of the bib-front shirt in westerns was: It's alien enough to feel "old". It looks like something invented before zippers or synthetic fabrics. It looks formal and militant but also renegade, rebellious. It also looks a little mad-sciencey*. It's a costume, but you can nearly fool yourself into thinking the past was weird enough that you could find something this cool on the rack.

If I wanted to end on some grand point, I could try to argue that there's a thematic throughline between fascist fashion, John Wayne movies, and throwback pulp. A manufactured aesthetic valorizing the violence of a fictional golden age... but I think the noir stylings of the post-Rocketeer comics in this lineup mean that, at least on some level, they know the "good guys" didn't dress like this.

*If I had another couple weeks of time to burn, I'd try to trace the visual history of the Howie coat in popular culture and investigate its possible connections to this. Alas, I do actually have a life.

#thank you for reading. also don't read golden age blackhawks the racism is awful even by era standards.#comics history #costume taxonomy #<- forgot I had that tag.#not to be like ''in MY favorite comics...'' again but may I point out that Hellboy and Robo and Tom Strong just wear... clothes #like. yknow. A pulp series that had confidence in itself rather than trying to cosplay as eras it thinks were cooler might do-#[I am yanked offstage before I can restart that rant]#the rocketeer

140 notes · View notes

militarymenrbomb · 9 months ago

Text

U.S. Army Warrior Fitness Team Member

Capt. Brian Harris

Capt. Brian Harris, was born in Edmond, Oklahoma and graduated from Edmond North High School in 2009. He was a member of the high school’s baseball and wrestling teams throughout high school. He enlisted in the Oklahoma Army National Guard in August of 2009 as a firefinder radar operator (13R) in field artillery. While serving in the Guard from 2009 to 2013, Harris attended the University of Oklahoma and actively participated in the Army ROTC program. During this time, he was introduced to functional fitness and began competing at a high level at various competitions around the country. In 2013, Harris commissioned into the Regular Army as a Medical Service Corps officer and that year was selected as one of twenty two medical service officers to attend flight training and be trained as an aeromedical evacuation officer (67J) / UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot.

Harris’ assignment history includes Fort Rucker, Alabama where he attended Army flight school followed by Fort Carson, Colorado as a section leader, platoon leader and staff operations officer for the 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade. During his time with 4th CAB, Harris participated in several full-scale training exercises and served one nine-month deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation’s Freedom Sentinel and Resolute Support providing aeromedical evacuation services across RC-East and RC-North. In 2016, he was named the 4th Infantry Division’s “Junior Officer of the Year” for his efforts both in combat and garrison. After his time in Colorado, Harris returned to Fort Rucker to serve as the operations officer for their Air Ambulance Detachment (110th Aviation Brigade) known as “Flatiron” providing 24/7 crash rescue support to the Aviation Center of Excellence, as well as, routine support to 6th Ranger Training Battalion at Eglin Air Force Base and support to the local civilian population in accordance with the Wiregrass Letter of Agreement.

Harris is a CrossFit Level 2 certified trainer and master fitness trainer (phase 1) and has accumulated more than 700 hours of one-on-one and group coaching time teaching functional fitness methodologies to servicemembers and civilians enabling them to reach their fitness and lifestyle goals. He has competed at the local, regional and national level in functional fitness competitions. Under the old CrossFit season format, Harris was a 2 time regional qualifier and recently represented the United States of America as a member of the national team at the International Federation of Functional Fitness World Championships in Malmo, Sweden (2018).

His awards and decorations include the Air Medal with “C” device, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal with 2 bronze oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement Medal with 3 bronze oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Unit Citation (2-4 GSAB, 4CAB), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Combat Action Badge, Basic Army Aviator’s Badge, Parachute Badge, and the Air Assault qualification badge.

74 notes · View notes

mariacallous · 17 days ago

Text

The collapse of the Afghan state amid the United States’ withdrawal in 2021 gifted the new Taliban government with more than $7 billion worth of U.S. military equipment. Afghanistan’s new overlords suddenly found themselves with fleets of Humvees, mountains of machine guns, and forests of radars and satellite dishes. The vast hardware hoard also included dozens of aircraft: a motley mix of Hind and Blackhawk helicopters, cargo planes, and close air support props.

Before the Taliban even had time to inventory their new arsenal, Egyptian filmmaker Ibrahim Nash’at arrived in Kabul. From his home in Berlin, he had seen the scenes of civilians storming Kabul’s international airport in a desperate attempt to flee, and he had managed to obtain permission to come to Afghanistan and film. But his plan—to record the suffering of ordinary Afghans—was swiftly dashed. Accompanied by a Taliban minder at all times and forbidden to film anyone other than a Taliban commander and his men, Nash’at was forced to switch tack. That commander happened to be Mawlawi Mansour, the Taliban fighter in charge of creating a new Taliban air force from the equipment and pilots who were left behind.

Under orders from Mansour, Nash’at became the unexpected chronicler of a high-profile facet of Afghanistan’s regime change. The result is Hollywoodgate, a 90-minute documentary named after the sprawling U.S. base in Kabul, where the Taliban created their new air force after U.S. forces fled. In a total of seven months in the new Afghanistan and assisted only by a lone translator, Nash’at shot 220 hours of footage, later culled down with a team of five producers and nine Afghan translators. Overcoming his subjects’ extreme suspicion, Nash’at managed eventually to blend into Taliban meetings, inspections, and military missions, becoming so invisible that his subjects forgot about his camera and relaxed.

Mansour takes command of the former U.S. air base and immediately sets to work. He inspects his new force and is impressed by the scale of U.S. resources. But he is appalled by their Spartan aesthetics; “plant some trees here” is a constant command to scurrying subordinates as Mansour strides across the base. Taliban conversations show a sudden inversion: Off-screen holdouts against the new regime are “the insurgents” opposed by “our special forces.”

For Mansour’s men, the order of the day is repairing aircraft, many of which were purposely disabled by departing U.S. forces. After a perfunctory grilling, a handful of pilots from the old Afghan air force are welcomed into the new force. (Many others had fled with their aircraft to neighboring countries.) Training new Taliban pilots will take time, but Mansour gets a course up and running, his lecturers aided by a cardboard mock-up of a cockpit.

Women are immediately pushed to the margins of the new Afghanistan. With a whiff of amusement at their past effrontery, Mansour dictates that women in his ministry may return to work, but only if they are veiled. His own wife, he brags to his staff, is a doctor, but he restricted her to the home upon marriage.

The mood among Mansour’s future Taliban airmen is upbeat. We see low-ranking fighters exulting in their victory over the Americans and “the Jews.” An ambitious lieutenant is showered in confetti to celebrate his acceptance into the new air force academy. A gleeful door guard flags every comrade passing him in the hall with his U.S.-made M-4 rifle—the cocktail of frivolity and danger that characterizes many an insurgency or militia in the poorest parts of the world.

At times, the new overlords can verge on endearing. Mansour and his men visit the base’s well-appointed gym, where one Talib struggles to press a pair of dumbbells above his head. The boss steps on a treadmill and happily plods along, ordering one sent to his home “to make my belly smaller.”

I witnessed a very similar scene when I was deployed to Afghanistan as a U.S. Marine more than a decade ago. When we handed over a coalition patrol base to one of the Afghan government’s paramilitary forces, the incoming commander breezed by the fortifications, operations center, and mess hall. But a derelict elliptical trainer in our sandy outdoor gym fascinated him. He hopped aboard with a big grin and churned away, to the bemusement of the handful of watching Marines.

Outside the tight circle in which he was permitted to film, Nash’at was far less welcome, he told me in an interview this summer. In his wordless brushes with Afghan civilians, he felt indicted by their stares. He was convinced that they saw him as an Arab propagandist—a voyeur who had come to Afghanistan to see and celebrate the Taliban’s triumph.

Despite the restrictions placed on him as an outsider, Nash’at managed to get glimpses of ordinary Afghan life. Children occasionally appear onscreen, and we get a sense of the extent to which they have been formed and traumatized by a lifetime of war. Hanging on a tow ring of a hulking mine-resistant vehicle, one boy in a camouflage shalwar kameez mumbles that he will “take a weapon and kill you all.”

After months of maintenance, training, and reorganization, Mansour gets his triumph. Toward the end of Nash’at’s filming, the Taliban stage a military parade for their own men and a handful of Russian, Chinese, and Iranian dignitaries. After a show of marching infantry, armored vehicles, and a battalion intended for suicide bombing on motorcycles, Hinds and Blackhawks fly past the grandstand. It’s a successful first operation for the Taliban’s new air force, even if the fly-by is bit too fast for Mansour’s liking.

In the film’s final scene, Mansour is seen on his cell phone berating an official at the Tajikistan Defense Ministry for harboring the Taliban’s enemies. Nash’at told me he believes that many Taliban have aims beyond Afghanistan’s borders. One high-ranking leader told him, “I can’t wait until we conquer Egypt.” The Taliban believe they and their forebears have turned Afghanistan into the graveyard of empires, defeating the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and now the United States. One fighter exults that “with American weapons we will rule the world!”

Whatever their intentions, the film also leaves viewers skeptical of the Taliban’s ability to wield meaningful military power. Like many journalists since then, Nash’at immediately picked up on the boredom among the Taliban fighters that followed on the heels of military victory. While negotiating Kabul’s traffic in a sedan just weeks after the city’s fall, one of Mansour’s lieutenants tells the filmmaker that he already longs for war: the return of the Americans, 500 bullets, and martyrdom. Late in the film, an enthusiastic crowd of Taliban tries to pile into an aircraft for a VIP test flight and are beaten off with curses by Mansour’s men. Afghanistan’s new rulers are likely to have their hands full just keeping discipline among their own former fighters.

Nash’at likened the realities of governing after fighting to coming down from a narcotic high. Building a bureaucracy seems much harder work than winning a war. Staff meetings and wrangling over budgets are a poor substitute for ambushes and assaults. Early in the film, one Talib waxes nostalgic for the life of an insurgent, showing Nash’at the cave he and a few other men took refuge in.

Despite his fear and disgust of the Taliban, Nash’at believes that the West should engage them. He said that if they are ignored, they will act out for the world’s attention, to the detriment of their own people and the region. But he harbors no illusions that such engagement will yield swift changes in the character of the Taliban.

With Hollywoodgate, now streaming after a limited theatrical release, Nash’at may not have made the film he originally set out to make. The suffering of the Afghan people was walled off from him. The Taliban’s strictures confined him to a narrow lane and, as he notes in an introductory voice-over, to the story they wanted to tell the world. But if the Taliban thought that they had put Nash’at on a short enough leash to force him to produce a piece of propaganda for the new regime, they were mistaken, too.

After Mansour’s air show, Taliban secret police demanded that Nash’at come to their office and show them all of his footage. As he told IndieWire in an interview, he knew then that his work was done: “I was filming the transformation of a militia into a military regime, and I realized at that moment the transformation was complete.” Through empathy, patience, and not a little audacity, Nash’at succeeded in capturing a story of Afghan nation-building—but a far different one than almost any Westerner could have imagined 20 years before.

8 notes · View notes

67-romeo · 3 months ago

Text

Capt. Heni, attached to Charlie Company, 3-82 General Support Aviation Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, stands for portraits on Al Asad Airbase, Iraq, May 01, 2024. The 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. (photo by Sgt. Vincent Levelev)

#cool pics #blackhawk #female helicopter pilot

3 notes · View notes

skjam · 17 days ago

Text

Pulptober 2024 Day 24: The Blackhawks/Team of Elites

Action/adventure fiction lends itself to stories featuring a single hero. But omnicompetent as they may be, most solo heroes can't be in two places at the same time. Thus, sidekicks, from the nearly useless comic relief character, to the person who is actually just as competent as the hero in their own way but isn't a leader type. And then there's what we're talking about today, where there's an entire team of competent people sharing the adventure.

Some of these, like Doc Savage's Fabulous Five or the Avenger's Justice, Inc., were the support team for the big-name hero. (The Shadow's agents are a step below this--he respects them, but they're not his personal friends.) Others, like the pulp versions of the Suicide Squad and Secret Six, were more equal teams of people with their own specialties. They would have a leader, but he (always a "he" back in the day) didn't stand out as much.

The Blackhawks are somewhere between those two approaches. Yes, Blackhawk is the leader, and the team is named after him, but they're pretty equal as a band of brothers, all ace pilots. It's their secondary skills that distinguish them. Well, except Chop-Chop, the one non-white member, who gets stuck with outdated (but well-meant) racial stereotypes.

The Blackhawks were published for a surprisingly long time, 1941 to 1968, gaining a movie serial and a hit theme song in the process. DC Comics periodically revives them, but air adventure is kind of a dead subgenre, and it's all limited series.

Here's a review of the early DC version of the Blackhawks.

#pulp heroes #pulptober 2024 #air adventure #Blackhawk #blackhawks #quality comics #dc comics

3 notes · View notes

mysterymanjoseph · 5 days ago

Text

No Need for Speed: mysterymanjoseph and justabunchofocs

Joseph wonders how often this sort of thing happened to other corporations, but, it was handled somewhat more 'quietly'. Once again, another group of 'nefarious' individuals had taken some overseas employees of his corporation hostage. This time, they were engineers and heavy equipment operators, building a hospital in a Southeast Asian country. Joseph orders his private 'rescue' force into action. The entire force idea was started by his grandfather, decades ago, establishing a base of operations on a small Caribbean island to handle matters in the Atlantic, and laying down the groundwork for another to handle matters in the Pacific. Joseph, after returning from his time serving in the Marine Corps in Afghanistan, finished up getting the Pacific force ready, after reading a secret letter left for him by his grandparents when he returned after being medically discharged. The force is now off the coast of the small nation in question, the repurposed cargo ship, now troop transport/helicopter carrier Edson's Ridge, launching highly evolved AH-1 Cobra gunships, and UH-1 Huey troop carrier helicopters. Off in the distance, the pride of the force, the air craft carrier, formerly USS Kittyhawk, now just Kittyhawk, saved by Joseph's grandfather from the scrapyard, launches her strike force of F-8 Crusader fighters for top cover, and A-7 Corsair 2 ground attack aircraft for suppression of hostile ground forces. Joseph, in full battle rattle, sits in the open doorway of one of the Hueys, feet dangling in the air as he had done from Blackhawk helicopters when still in the Corps. He checks his customized M1-A rifle as his men do the same, checking other gear as well. After some time all elements will converge on the compound where the friendlies have taken refuge, the on site security force holding off the hostiles in a desperate firefight. The door gunner of the Huey, hearing a message from the pilot over his headphones, taps Joseph on the shoulder, holds up five fingers twice, indicating 10 minutes to target. Joseph nods, then he slaps the back of the co-pilot's chair to get the man's attention. When the co-pilot looks back, Joseph holds his index finger up in the air, drawing a circle. The co-pilot, nods in understanding, then radios out a message to the force, followed by hitting a switch on the instrument panel on his side. Over loudspeakers mounted on the skids of every Huey, and speakers mounted on poles at the besieged compound, the rescue team's choice of music to fight, and confuse the hostiles with, begins to blare out, CCR's 'Fortunate Son'. After passing over a tourist resort on the last turn to target, Joseph turns to look at his team, getting a thumb's up from each one, grim, serious looks on each man's face.

@justabunchofocs

#Charlotte

6 notes · View notes

usafphantom2 · 11 months ago

Text

Ukraine is now calling for THAAD air defense system, F-18 fighters, MQ-9 drones and helicopters

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 12/07/2023 - 17:40in Military, War Zones

The latest list of U.S. weapons that Ukraine says it needs to fight the Russian military includes sophisticated air defense systems, F-18 "Hornet" fighters, drones, Apache and Blackhawk helicopters, according to documents seen by Reuters.

Officials from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense presented a “arms list to meet the needs of Ukraine's defense forces” during a closed-door session of a conference in Washington on Wednesday, with the presence of government officials and defense industry executives.

The comprehensive list included weapons that Ukraine already has in stock, such as Abrams tanks and 155-millimeter artillery, as well as some weaponry, as well as F-16 fighters, drones and long-range ATACMS missiles that it has requested in the past.

But the list has some surprises, including expensive items such as C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft manufactured by Boeing and the C-130 Super Hercules manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Boeing's Apache attack helicopters entered the list, as did the Black Hawk helicopter manufactured by Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky unit.

THAAD system being disembarked from a C-17.

But the Ukrainians didn't stop there. The documents show that Ukraine is also looking for F-18 Hornet fighters, three types of drones manufactured by General Atomics, including the MQ-9B Sky Guardian and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) air defense system manufactured by Lockheed.

Ukrainians know that they must guarantee Western military aid to continue the fight.

Legislation that would provide billions of dollars in new security assistance for Ukraine and Israel was blocked in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, as Republicans pressed their demands for tougher measures to control immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. President Joe Biden made the Ukrainian victory a foreign policy goal while campaigning for re-election in November 2024.

Ukraine's list reflects what would easily be equivalent to billions of dollars in arms purchases or donations.

Source: Reuters

Tags: Military AviationF/A-18 HornetWar Zones - Russia/Ukraine

Sharing

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

Related news

MILITARY

Italian Air Force flies with new GA-ASI MQ-9A Reaper Block 5

12/07/2023 - 2:00 PM

HELICOPTERS

Boeing targets more exports of Chinook helicopters to South Korea

12/07/2023 - 1:00 PM

SAAB

EXPODEFENSA: Saab presents full-scale model of Gripen seeking to win competition in Colombia

12/07/2023 - 07:51

AERONAUTICAL ACCIDENTS

Bell 412 helicopter from Guyana disappears in area claimed by Venezuela

07/12/2023 - 00:05

MILITARY

Argentina does not pay and Norway delays delivery of Orions aircraft

06/12/2023 - 23:55

MILITARY

U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines order suspension of flights with V-22 Osprey after fatal accident

06/12/2023 - 23:41

12 notes · View notes

maryannecrimsworth · 1 year ago

Text

Against All

Pairing: Hailey Upton x Single Father! Former FBI profiler! OC! Kristoff "Kris" Aller

Summary:

Nine corpses, nine burnt buildings, nine victims --- no connections.

The Intelligence unit of District 21st had been unable to find anything. All the clues were dead ends, all the people murdered were different - there was no pattern, no connection.

The only thing in common in all the cases: the modus operandi.

More murders were happening as the unit remained stagnant -- the cases were increasing, and they weren't getting any closer to having even one suspect.

Voight had no choice: he called the most efficient criminal profiler that he knew - who had also left the Bureau after a terrible event.

Kris Aller didn't want to go back, he didn't want to look a monster in the eye ever again, not after what had happened to his daughters.

But the sergeant needed him. This case - all the murders - were linked to the tragedy of his life. A tragedy that Hank couldn't avoid.

A tragedy that only Hailey Upton would understand --- and uncover.

Chapter One: Benjamin Cooper

— God, I hate this song — the teenager complained in a grunt. Even though she was sitting in the passenger seat, she could hear the younger girl singing from the back. — Can you tell her to shut up?

— No way. — The man driving replied quickly. — Amber's expressing herself, I can't tell her off for that.

— So tell her to express herself with another song! I swear to God if I hear — the girl on the back sang loudly: I was good she was hot — Argh! — The teen grunted. — I gave up. My ears will bleed forever.

— Blackhawks won yesterday, let her cheer. — He looked at the girl by his side, worry present in his semblance. — Is there something—

— Billy's here! — Amber shouted, making both the man and the teenager flinch. He stopped the car.— Papa, can I go? Please, I need to talk to him—

— At least she stopped singing.

— I heard that, Tess! — He stared hardly at the older girl before turning to the other. — Yes, you can, Amber, but behave in class, ok?

— Thank you! — She freed herself from the belt, kissed and hugged her father, and held the door of the car. — Bye, papa. Bye, Tessa. See ya later! — she dropped off and ran into the school. Her shirt of the Chicago Blackhawks got the attention of some girls around but she didn't mind.

They watched the little girl go as they waited inside the car in complete silence.

— Oh, no. — Tess suddenly spoke. — Mother Alert, we gotta go.

A woman appeared on the horizon: it was too late, she had reached the car and was already asking for the teen to lower the window.

— you're a terrible getaway pilot. — she mouthed to the man before rolling down the glass and allowing the woman to come even closer.

— Kris! How good to see you! — the woman screamed.

— Hello, Margaret. — only Tess could tell his smile was fake. — How are you?

— Oh, dear, I'm suffering because of you! — Tess widened and moved away from the window. Being between the two now should be her punishment for complaining. — My boys won't stop asking for your pretzels! My house is a mess.

— I'm sorry to hear that. You haven't tried the recipe yet? — Kris kept his hand on the wheels. He wanted to leave as much as Tess did.

— I have, but I don't have the magic hands you do, dear! Would you like to stop by tomorrow and teach the boys how to make it? I think it's the only way to calm them down.

— Oh, no, I wouldn't like to bother you. — One of Kris' hands fell to the gearbox. — I'll bring some more to their training, don't worry. — the car started to move. — Sorry, I gotta go. See ya!

The woman was left behind in sidewalk as both Kris and Tess started to breathe easily again.

— Was she smelling? — Tess asked.

— Don't be mean. It was just some cologne...I guess.

— It's paradoxal, you know. The mothers love a single dad but are crazy to make you no longer single.

— This is the conversation you want to have right now?

Tess' smile faded away. Kris wouldn't miss a thing, would he?

— I don't want to talk about it.

— Okay.

— It's just silly stuff from school.

— If it's bothering you, then it's not silly — he started, and Tess finished the sentence with him, her voice was filled with impatience and discomfort.

— I know, I know. — she sighed. — Still, I don't feel like talking right now.

— Sure. — Kris kept driving. — Do you want to get some ice cream?

— I have class.

— It's okay, we have time. — He turned the wheel to the right and started to look for an ice cream parlor. They arrived at a commercial street very quickly. — Here it is.

— It can't be open.

— It is! — he parked without any problem. At this time in the morning, no one was driving or passing by a street like that, but, thankfully, the parlors and cafeterias were open — still empty, but open.

— So, — he turned off the car. — ice cream?

— I hate when you do this

Kris smiled.

— you hate many things but you love ice cream, don't you?

— yes.

— So let's go.

Kris made her smile — well, she was smirking but it counted —, and they approached the parlor with joy.

The man was about to crack a joke when a man showed up by the empty street corner.

Kris' steps slowed down, recognizing him immediately. He, however, didn't allow Tess to have the chance to look at the other man.

— Tessa. — He turned her over to him. — I'll be right after you, ok? Here, get the one you want. — Tessa noted something was wrong, but she obeyed and walked over to the parlor, keeping distance from the other man.

As she reached the shop, Kris waited for the man to come closer.

— Sergeant Voight. — Kris spoke with a tense voice. He already knew what this was all about. He knew what he was going to ask. That's why he didn't take any of Voight's calls. — How can I help you?

— You know how. — Voight was holding a file. — I need a profiling, off the books.

— The feds would be happy to help you with this.

— No. — Hank stepped closer, — they can't know. We still don't know the length of this and...

— Maybe one of them can be involved. — Kris grunted under his breath. He looked away and remained in silence for many minutes.

— We've got 9 victims so far. — Hank would say whatever he needed to convince the man. — It's a clear M.O but we cannot predict too much besides that. My team and I—

— Okay. — Kris spoke suddenly. This time, when he looked back at the Sargent, his eyes shone discreetly. — I'm in. — His look jumped to the girl in the parlor, now appreciating her ice cream. — With one condition. My daughters have to be safe , no matter what.

— Nothing will happen to them. — Voight handed him the file. — I already spoke with your boss, he said he'll take care of the center until you're done helping us.

Kris laughed.

— You're a step ahead, as always. — Kris walked away from the Sargent. — See you there.

Voight nodded and left.

And Tess was watching everything when Kris finally came to the parlor.

— You're getting back, aren't you? — Tess sounded suspicious. Her hands were squeezing the bowl of ice cream with strength.

— You don't have to worry about it. — Kris said, helding one of her hands in an attempt to calm her down. Her expression slowly softened. — I made sure you and Amber we'll be safe and... — He showed a mischievous smile. — you have your own high school drama to live now, forget about me.

Tess rolled her eyes at his words.

— I'm not telling you anything.

— Yeah? I doubt it. I think you will come up with five profiles by next week.

— God, you make me sound creepy.

Kris laughed proudly and loudly.

— What can I say? It's our family thing.

Arriving at the police station would never be discreet: as soon as Kris left his car, half a dozen officers turned to him. Some smiled, some widened their eyes, but the loudest of all was Ruzek, who cheered and shouted as he came closer.

— Can't believe you're here, man — Adam hugged Kris and tapped his back. — I always thought you'd come back

— Hold on, I'm not back — "yet", Adam whispered, interrupting Kris while they walked to the unit floor — Voight asked for help and that's it. Don't get too excited.

— I'm not, but Kim will be. She's been curious about you since Myk and Amber started playing together.

— But she already knows me… — Kris was confused, he couldn't understand the reason behind Adam's excitement in time

— But she doesn't know ‘Bishop’! — Kris grunted in distress — It's good to have you back, Bishop

Adam walked away laughing as they came upstairs and met with the rest of the unit. Voight, Upton, Torres, Burgess and Atwater stared at Kris immediately.

— Team, that's Aller, former FBI profiler. — Voight introduced him — He’s going to help us with this case, so bring him up to date.

The man nodded respectfully and came closer as Torres stepped in and showed him the board.

— We have 9 corpses, 9 places and 9 crime scenes. All of these men were killed between 9 p.m to 3 a.m, with chains and inner burns.

Inner? Kris frowned at the words and stared attentively at the photos.

— They were cooked. — Kim explained with a choked voice. — Tortured during the whole night. We can’t get why, we don’t have any suspects…We don’t even have images. Only the bodies.

— And we don’t have much more of them, either…They had to be identified by their dental arch.

— It’s cruel. — Kevin said.

— It’s personal. — Kris spoke. — The victims had any enemies in common?

— No one. Nothing, to be honest. — Adam approached the board with the photos of the victims. — Different jobs, different homes, different colors and ages…But the same way of death.

Silence took over the room. Again, confusion and tension paired in the air as the new member of the unit stared at all the data, and all the other members watched him. He was totally still, eyes frozen on one name on the board.

— Benjamin Cooper. — Adam broke the silence with anxiety, pointing at the name that Kris so determinedly looked at. — No criminal record, but he testify years ago in—

— I know him. — Kris cut him off, and his eyes finally moved: his gaze landed on Voight. His expression, even though still as before, focused on the sergeant for too long. — He’s the reason why I’m here.

Voight looked away: the discomfort made him move around the room as Hailey watched them both suspiciously.

— Why do you mean? — Kim inquired.

— I…I worked on the case he testified in. — Aller explained. — Thanks to him…it all went wrong.

— I want you to talk with his family. — Voight demanded. — They know something, but didn’t tell us anything. They’ll talk to you.

Kris crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t take long to agree with the sergeant.

— Is this a pattern? — He asked before walking away from the board. — The other victims were involved in the case too?

— No. None of them had ever testified. — Torres replied.

— Cooper was a dead loss, the testimony was the only thing that could get him killed. — Kris went on. — He might be our connection.

— You heard him. Investigate the man, make a timeline of the night he was murdered, discover every single contact of his and find a connection. Every little detail can be important. — Voight gave the orders as he followed Kris.

They were about to walk downstairs when a strong voice stopped them.

— If Benjamin was a ‘dead loss’ as you said — Upton spoke up — why waste our time on him? The killer might act again tonight and we have to—

— Do we have any better leads? — Voight’s voice was sharp, his reaction was abrupt and harsh. His voice would grow louder if Kris hadn’t held him. — What? — He screamed at Aller.

— Calm down.

— I am perfectly calm for this case, Kristoff, but I cannot bear to see another dead body because of him .

Kris’ expression went dark. He bended over Voight.

— You’re not thinking straight….— Kris whispered. — Stay here. Remember what we talked about. I’m going to talk with the Coopers.

Voight walked back to the unit floor, and, before going into his office, he ordered again:

— Upton, you go with him.

She opened her mouth to protest, but Hank had already shut the door close.

Hailey picked up her coat and walked away with Kris, in complete silence.

They went downstairs and passed by Platt's balcony with a quiet goodbye. Even though the Sergeant clearly tried to talk with Kris, the man walked across the entrance and ignored all her glances.

Again, Hailey watched his behavior in silence and kept her way to the car.

— I'm sorry about Voight. — Kris said before getting closer to the passenger side. — This case is…. complicated to him.

They got into the car and Hailey asked:

— Yet, he won't tell us anything about it.

— It's a confidential case. — He argued.

— So confidential that you think everyone involved in it's a target. — She started the car.

— You need a connection. That might be it.

— Is this your profile? Or just a guess?

Kris responded with a snort.

— You're better off without knowing much about this case, believe me. — He shrugged in his seat. — Are we going to the Coopers or not?

Hailey grunted and drove away from the police station.

The house of the last members of the Cooper family was simple and humble. The garden looked abandoned, the grass was tall and the fence was almost completely broken. The car parked in the open garage was lowered, with empty tires and cracked windows.

They did not look simply poor — they looked like they had given up on life itself.

— I think it’s better if you stay here. — Kris spoke before Hailey could exit the car. Luckily or not, she froze for a second, giving him time to leave and walk over to the house.

After collecting herself, Upton got out of the car and ran after him.

— Excuse me? — She grabbed his arm and made him turn to her. — Who do you think you are?

— Look, don’t make this personal. Just — He cut her off before she could argue back — Just look around. They won’t talk to you.

— But to you they will? You're as arrogant as any shrink who's never been in the streets.

Kris watched her speak in silence: with his hands in his hips, he only waited for the woman to be done.

She stopped talking very quickly — after all, it was useless to say anything to his blank, strained expression — and the man enjoyed the silence of the street before finally replying:

— They will talk to me because they know me. — He stepped back. — Now, if you excuse me…

Ignoring his arguments, Hailey followed Aller close behind. He didn’t utter another word to her, and finally knocked on the house’s door.

— Anna? — Kris called. — It’s Kristoff. Can we talk?

Unlike the reception Upton and Voight received a few days ago, the woman answered him quickly and promptly. Her eyes were widened when she opened the door, but she frowned at Hailey. Anna’s face dropped, and she muttered to Kris a few words.

Kris signed to Hailey and they both followed the woman into the house.

— Can I see Benjamin's room?

— She already did — Anna replied before Upton could — They took all his gadgets and notebooks.

— I know. — Kris smiled gently. — I just want to check one thing up

Anna stared at him for too long — her gaze was heavy, not suspicious, but, somehow, sad. It carried so much guilt that she eventually showed him the room.

— I'm waiting in the kitchen. — she told them before opening the door of Benjamin's bedroom.

Kris stepped in as Anna walked away.

— As she told you, we already searched in here. You won't find anything useful.

— Maybe not. — Kris replied with a whisper, his whole being focused on analyzing the room. The walls were empty, and so was the bed and the dressers. — Looks like a prison cell.

— Or he was just minimalist. — Hailey argued. — Cooper's never been in jail.

— Yes. — Aller came closer to a drawer. — But he also had three records for criminal harassment. He was a stalker. — Kris wandered through the drawer and collected a few flyers. — Here it is.

— What?

— Our connection.

He didn't give Hailey time to question — Aller stormed out the room and came to Anna.

— Thank you for your help, Anna — He held out his hand to her. — We're already leaving.

The woman shook his hand and blinked slowly, as if gathering courage to say something.

— I have to tell you something. — Anna admitted.

Hailey saw Kris' expression drop — he stepped back and prepared to leave right away.

— You'd already told everything you needed. — He tried to be polite, but Hailey purposely stood in his way. He stomped on the detective and was obligated to stop.

— I did thank you. — Anna came closer, but Aller didn't look her in the eye. — But I never apologized for leaving you there. I shouldn't—

— It's okay. — He cut her off. — You don't have to. It's already gone. I don't resent you.

He smiled at her for a brief moment — only enough time to make her feel forgiven and understood.

Then he shook his head and left the house after saying a quiet goodbye.

Hailey stood there without understanding much — where was 'there'? What was Anna talking about? why would she thank him?

Upton followed him keenly — she wasn't going to stay in the dark again.

The way to the police station was silent: the tension stretched the air, making the atmosphere too heavy to even breathe. Kris shifted in his seat, his eyes were either moving to the window or to the driver's side. Hailey, on the other hand, kept her gaze on the streets.

When they parked and got out of the car, Platt was already waiting for them — for him.

The look that the Sargent gave Hailey showed her why the garage was completely empty. Trudy was furious.

— Have you gone mad? — She stomped over to Aller, and the man stepped back immediately. — What are you even—

— I guess your best ability is pissing the sargents off. — Hailey’s smile dropped as soon as Platt's gaze landed on her.

Kris spoke before Trudy could shout.

— This isn't the best place to talk about this. — He made Platt look at him again. — And you don't have to worry about it. — He held the sergeant's shoulders. — No one does. No one knows.

— Voight shouldn't have called you. You shouldn't be involved in any of this—

— Trudy, please— His eyes, shining with exasperation, turned to Upton for a brief second. — Don't—

— You can't help him! — She screamed.

And Hailey was watching and listening to everything. Maybe the whole station was.

— I can. — Kris' voice was still low, stable. Serene, the complete opposite of his face. — I will. Please, you—

— Aren't you thinking about your girls? How can you? He did—what he did was monstrous! — Platt would not stop. She could not stop. — He spanked you.

— I know. — Kris whispered as his arms involved the older woman. She was trembling under his hands.

— He raped you. — Platt sobbed, her tears were falling nonstop. — And you're being used again, you're ruining your life again for what? For him?

— I'm going to be fine, Trudy. I can do it.

— Voight's using you. — She pleaded again: — You can't—

— It's okay. — He hugged her tighter. — It's okay.

They stayed in the garage until the Sargent was able to stop crying. Until she was able to stop trembling.

And Hailey stayed there too.

She now had — at least a few — answers for all her questions about him.

#hailey upton x original character #hailey upton x oc #hailey upton #adam ruzek #hank voight #kim burgess #kevin atwater #original female character #single father #single dad oc

18 notes · View notes