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Commentary Search

  • From a mentor's view: Execution of Pamir Airways Flight 112 crash recovery

    The execution of the recovery plan began at 5:00 a.m. on Ramp 9, which is the parking apron which services the Afghan National Army Air Corps of the Afghan Ministry of Defense, and some Afghan Ministry of Interior police aircraft. It is on the north side of the Kabul International Airport. Brig.

  • Afghan Air Corps delivers hope to a Northern Province

    On May 19, 2010, a half Afghan and half American team set out on a two-day, four part humanitarian mission to Badakshan province flying in two ANAAC Mi-17 transport helicopters.The first priority on this trip was to return the remains of two Afghan National Army Air Corps soldiers to their families

  • Memorial Day; what will you give?

    It's Memorial Day in Baghdad, Iraq. Every Memorial May, since 1991, I remember a wedding celebration that happened in July of 1987. The wedding line consisted of eight women and eight men. Seven of the eight men were young Air Force pilots. The wedding was mine, and the seven men I asked to stand

  • Memorial Day Tears

    This Memorial Day in Iraq, I have shed many tears for a Soldier I never met.I was asked to videotape a memorial service for an Army major killed in action Monday, May 24, when an Improvised Explosive Device pierced his MRAP (Mine Resistant-Ambush Protected) vehicle near Numaniyah in southern

  • A Witness to Tragedy - Reflections on the Recovery Mission

    I showed up Friday morning to the Afghan National Army Air Corps flightline just after 5 A.M. Anyone that's lived in Afghanistan would ever expect to see the number of people up mission-ready when there is no actual combat. But there it was, several dozen Afghan soldiers with their backpacks filled

  • Improvise, adapt, overcome

    We recently eclipsed an important anniversary not only in the U.S. Air Force, but in the great heritage of joint operations. Sixty-eight years ago, then-Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, avenged the Japanese attack on the U.S. by leading 16 B-25s off the deck of a carrier and on to his famous raid against

  • Doing what's right: Taking a lesson from Delaney

    Online shopping can be addictive in the deployed environment - whether it's ordering books, CDs, or games to help pass whatever off-duty time is available after a 12- or 14-hour shift. Of course, one should remember that, if married, your spouse will see those charges in the monthly bank

  • Knowing what is at stake all the way to the strategic level

    "An Advisor's success may involve knowing what is at stake all the way to the strategic level and being able to estimate how military force applied at specific times and places will effect, or interact with, host nation political, economic, and informational initiatives."-- Jerome KlingamanWhen I

  • Honoring Fallen Warriors on their way home

    "There will be a brief ceremony today on the Main Ramp to honor our Fallen Warriors. All personnel are invited to attend and pay tribute to these heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice.For those unable to attend, please observe a moment of silence in your respective work areas."The above

  • Five minutes to impact

    It was March 12 -- a day after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited my deployed base here and spoke to the hundreds of servicemembers of my wing and base units.I took a look at my watch and it read 5:55 p.m. plus a few seconds. We had five minutes to the start of our weekly wing retreat