General Discussion Thread

[Wolfman]

And we had a LIVE one today out by Wendover.

Utah State Police were on a armed robbery pursuit north of I-80, and the driver decides to go onto BLM land. Pursuit continues on dirt roads until the state cops see the "PUBLIC LAND ACCESS CLOSED FOR NATIONAL SECURITY -- USE OF DEADLY FORCE AUTHORIZED BEYOND THIS POINT" signs on the shoulder.

They called the Wing Command Post at Wendover and let them know the score.

In the meantime, the armed robber manages to get thoroughly lost, and ends up driving straight into a Midgetman convoy box. Without getting into classified stuff, suffice to say that the new tools for convoy security allowed us to ensure the missile TELs stayed secure and allowed a LAV-AD to flank the idiot.

25mm Gatling, they used the training ammo magazine. Buzzsawed the truck in half behind the cab. Guy got about fifty yards on the front wheels...

I have suggested naming the LAV-AD involved "Blue Thunder."

Does that count as being arrescued?

I don’t know…

[Poohbah]

And we had a LIVE one today out by Wendover.

Utah State Police were on a armed robbery pursuit north of I-80, and the driver decides to go onto BLM land. Pursuit continues on dirt roads until the state cops see the "PUBLIC LAND ACCESS CLOSED FOR NATIONAL SECURITY -- USE OF DEADLY FORCE AUTHORIZED BEYOND THIS POINT" signs on the shoulder.

They called the Wing Command Post at Wendover and let them know the score.

In the meantime, the armed robber manages to get thoroughly lost, and ends up driving straight into a Midgetman convoy box. Without getting into classified stuff, suffice to say that the new tools for convoy security allowed us to ensure the missile TELs stayed secure and allowed a LAV-AD to flank the idiot.

25mm Gatling, they used the training ammo magazine. Buzzsawed the truck in half behind the cab. Guy got about fifty yards on the front wheels...

I have suggested naming the LAV-AD involved "Blue Thunder."

Does that count as being arrescued?

Not sure. But Boss-Ma'am is already in Wendover, she's going to coin everyone in the convoy when they get in tomorrow.

[jemhouston]

1. I'm surprised they had training ammo.

2. They actually used.

[Bernard Woolley]

To me that's a cautionary tale of how mobile missiles are perhaps not as safe and secure as their proponents claim.

[Poohbah]

1. I'm surprised they had training ammo.

2. They actually used.

1. We call it "not quite as lethal." Will reliably kill soft-skinned vehicles without making a smoking hole in the ground.

2. 20AF Combat Security Police Rules of Engagement Rule Zero, written by Boss-Ma'am Herself: "Engage Your Brain Before Engaging Your Weapon."

[Poohbah]

To me that's a cautionary tale of how mobile missiles are perhaps not as safe and secure as their proponents claim.

And I'm not going to disagree with you on that. Mobile missiles do carry some additional security risk relative to fixed silos.

Two years ago, this would have ended a lot more badly than it did, with a extremely dead perp (likely turned into overcooked chunky salsa), and a lot of tough questions about how he ended up that way. In all likelihood, we wouldn't have been able to give good answers to those questions.

Instead, we captured the perp alive with minor injuries and no small amount of humor, we handed him off to the US Marshals, and he's going to be spending a lot of time in federal and state prisons to contemplate the error of his ways. And we did this while maintaining a much improved level of security for the missiles.

America's political masters have decreed a tetrad of boomers, bombers, silo-based missiles, and mobile missiles for the foreseeably foreseeable future. Every one of these systems has one or more major problems in terms of survivability, security, mission performance, et cetera. Thank God, they're all different problems.

[Wolfman]

Of the four, I think the boomers have the fewest problems, though if someone could enlighten me about that, I’d listen…

[Poohbah]

Of the four, I think the boomers have the fewest problems, though if someone could enlighten me about that, I’d listen…

C2 is a pain in the ass.

[Wolfman]

True, but they’re not intended as a potential first strike platform and I will remind you of the E-6 Mercury TACAMO platform (which is also capable of helping handle the LOOKING GLASS mission)…

[Matt Wiser]

Day one of the Mountain Home show has wrapped, and things went very well. When it was time for the Heritage flying, Kara was in the 366th's Wing King bird, an F-51 (the owner had it painted up in Korean War-era markings), an A-26 invader (yes, an A-26 as it was in WW II markings), and yours truly and Goalie in 512. Major "Beo" Wolfe was there with her F-24, and the Thunderbirds were their usual professional selves.

As for the Red Lawyers and their friends (about two dozen in all)? They had a "die-in" at the turnoff to the base, but the SO and Idaho State Police presence made sure they didn't try anything foolish-like trying to block the way into the base. They did have the usual signs-"Fascism Won, the People Lost", "War Criminals Flying Here", "The Soviets Were Liberators", that sort of nonsense. Even if everyone in town and at the base despises them-a fair assessment, IMHO, they still have a First Amendment right to make total fools of themselves.

[Poohbah]

Day one of the Mountain Home show has wrapped, and things went very well. When it was time for the Heritage flying, Kara was in the 366th's Wing King bird, an F-51 (the owner had it painted up in Korean War-era markings), an A-26 invader (yes, an A-26 as it was in WW II markings), and yours truly and Goalie in 512. Major "Beo" Wolfe was there with her F-24, and the Thunderbirds were their usual professional selves.

As for the Red Lawyers and their friends (about two dozen in all)? They had a "die-in" at the turnoff to the base, but the SO and Idaho State Police presence made sure they didn't try anything foolish-like trying to block the way into the base. They did have the usual signs-"Fascism Won, the People Lost", "War Criminals Flying Here", "The Soviets Were Liberators", that sort of nonsense. Even if everyone in town and at the base despises them-a fair assessment, IMHO, they still have a First Amendment right to make total fools of themselves.

Boss-Ma'am held the first Warren AFB Air Show.

Well, all right, we tried to have golf balls do precision flybys on the fairways.

[Matt Wiser]

Easier said than done.

You never would have found me or Goalie (or Kelly Ray, or Kara, for that matter) on the Golf Course. On the tennis courts is another question.

[Poohbah]

Easier said than done.

You never would have found me or Goalie (or Kelly Ray, or Kara, for that matter) on the Golf Course. On the tennis courts is another question.

I happen to enjoy the game. I don't play it especially well, but I do enjoy playing it badly.

And at the VFW tonight, we're playing cassette era classics and dancing the night away. Party on!

And Roberta has come to agree with the Mercury-May Theory of Planetary Rotation.

[Matt Wiser]

Day two of the Mountain Home AFB Air Show and Open House is in the books. Things went well, almost an exact copy of yesterday. Another Heritage flight, MAJ Wolfe in her F-24, and another great performance by the Thunderbirds. I say almost because some of those knotheads picketing outside tried to block the road leading to the base. Needless to say, County SO and the Idaho State Police took a dim view of that. About half of 'em got run in. Including one of the lawyers, at least that's what I heard.

[Wolfman]

‘Bout time they got sent to jail…

[Poohbah]

And in other news, another proud day in the Mantell family: my daughter-in-law Cindy just got her first PIT! High speed pursuit of an armed robbery suspect just south of Colorado Springs.on I-25, and she made the PIT at about 85 MPH, her dashcam made it look easy. Spun out the suspect vehicle (Nissan Altima), and as she was slowing down, the suspect dismounted, pulled a Glock with an extended mag and a giggle switch, and starts spraying bullets in her general direction (well, within 30 degrees of bearing and elevation) while running across the highway.

The backup pursuit unit was another trooper, and when he saw what was happening, he decided to work smarter, not harder.

"Hey, I'm driving a 4,000-pound chunk of metal with 375 horsepower by Mopar on tap! Why stop and get out?"

Smacked the suspect at 35 MPH, sent him skidding down the highway about fifty feet. Suspect learned the hard way to check six, and to dress for the slide, not for the ride!

Suspect actually asked why the second trooper ran him over...

[Matt Wiser]

‘Bout time they got sent to jail…

Not what we're looking for: they just spend the night in jail, see the judge in the morning, fined for disorderly conduct and blocking a public highway, and that's that.

[Johnnie Lyle]

Easier said than done.

You never would have found me or Goalie (or Kelly Ray, or Kara, for that matter) on the Golf Course. On the tennis courts is another question.

I happen to enjoy the game. I don't play it especially well, but I do enjoy playing it badly.

A major career enhancing ability in uniform or on civvie street.

[Johnnie Lyle]

‘Bout time they got sent to jail…

No thanks. Jail medical has enough problems with syphilis, penicillin and coordination of medical care.

[Matryoshka]

Suspect actually asked why the second trooper ran him over...

And presumably got an answer to the effect of “Because the instant you fire on a sworn officer, all bets are off, dumbass!”

I know crims aren’t exactly a demographic known for high-end cogitation, but mate, seriously? What did he think that was going to get him, a ticker-tape parade and Scarlet Johansen dropping by to polish his shillelagh?