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Get ready for a good amount of aerial combat from new GOT show
It's been four months since the kinda disappointing Game of Thrones finale, but HBO is trying to make it up to us with new shows set in the same universe. Filming on a pilot starring Naomi Watts has already wrapped, and now the network appears close to ordering another.
The as-yet-untitled series would take place 300 years before Thrones and focus on the origins of House Targaryen, that of the Mad King, the Mother of Dragons, and — outdated spoiler alert — Jon Snow himself.
Putin critic uses drone to fly hard drives to safety
A critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin used a drone to fly his hard drives out of his high-rise apartment shortly before police raided his home.
A video posted to YouTube shows Sergey Boyko operating the drone as police try to enter his apartment in the city of Novosibirsk, Siberia, to confiscate his electronics around 10 a.m. Sept. 12, 2019, local time.
Boyko is an ally of Alexei Navalny, Putin's most vehement critic whose Anti-Corruption Foundation (FKB) was placed under investigation for money laundering on Sunday. He came third in the mayoral race in Novosibirsk Sept. 8, 2019.
Combat controller goes up against 350 ISIS fighters
A special operations airman from the Kentucky Air National Guard will receive the nation's second-highest medal for combat valor for his actions on an Afghanistan battlefield.
Gen. David L. Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, will present the Air Force Cross to Tech. Sgt Daniel P. Keller, a combat controller in the Kentucky Air Guard's 123rd Special Tactics Squadron, in a ceremony Ept. 13, 2019. The award — second only to the Medal of Honor — is given to members of the armed forces who display extraordinary heroism while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States.
Beware the unit Cartoonist lurking nearby; Red Light Randy Strikes
There is a saying among the airborne forces (words to the effect): "The sky, even more so than the land or the sea, is terribly unforgiving to even the slightest mistake."
The 13 funniest military memes for the week of September 13th
This week marked the 18th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and the beginning of the longest war in American history. Chances are, you've probably had the same conversation with your comrades, coworkers, friends, or whomever about where you were when you heard about the attacks.
Now that it's been 18 years, that means that if you're still in the military, you could now have that same conversation with a young private/airman/seaman and be greeted with the response of, "Oh, I wasn't even born yet!"
Man — now I feel old when I tell people I was skipping some middle school class to play Pokemon on my Gameboy in the bathroom and came back to everyone watching the news. I can honestly say that I've never skipped class since that day.
Warrior shares why he stayed in the Army after injury
Taking care of others, and showing love and appreciation for others, is a core reason why retired Maj. Dennis "DJ" Skelton chose to stay in the Army. He continued to serve for 21 years, even after suffering grievous wounds during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004.
Skelton told his story to a large crowd of soldiers, veterans, and Army civilians during the "Why We Serve" ceremony hosted by the Army's chief information officer/G-6, Sept. 5. During the event, 30 young men and women from the Baltimore and Richmond areas raised their right hand to take the Oath of Enlistment.
"I was kind of a punk kid growing up in a small farming community in South Dakota," he said. "I barely graduated high school and had absolutely no discipline whatsoever, which is why I had a hard time holding down a job."
Navy carrier strike group is weirdly deploying without its aircraft carrier
Ships from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group are deploying without their carrier and accompanying air wing after the flattop suffered an unexpected electrical problem that required maintenance, the Navy revealed Sept. 12, 2019.
The destroyers USS Lassen, USS Farragut, and USS Forrest Sherman, along with the cruiser USS Normandy, will set sail from their homeports in Norfolk, Virginia, and Mayport, Florida, in the near future. These ships will be accompanied by helicopters from Helicopter Maritime Squadron 72 out of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, however, will remain behind.
Hoaxer threatens Coast Guard with 'nuclear attack' calls
A Coast Guard detachment in Florida is asking for tips that may help investigators track down a person making fake "mayday" calls on marine band radio and describing a military response to a nuclear attack.
The calls and threats originate off the Gulf Coast of Florida, according to a news release from Coast Guard Public Affairs Detachment Tampa Bay. The pattern of threats and false alarms has continued for some time; the release, issued Sept. 12, 2019, states that Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg received the latest threat Aug. 13, 2019, via VHF channel 22A.
"In this call, the male caller makes threats against the Coast Guard personnel, aircraft, and vessels," officials said in the release. "The broadcast sounds like the same person who has made other radio broadcasts that start with MAYDAY three times and then talks about, 'scrambling all jets we are under nuclear attack.'"
Two US Air Force F-15s nearly took out some free-falling skydivers
A pair of skydivers nearly had an unfortunate run-in with two US Air Force F-15 fighter jets in the skies above southern England earlier this year, a British air safety board reports.
The US fighters out of RAF Lakenheath, home to the US 48th Fighter Wing, were flying at 345 mph above Cambridgeshire on April 17, 2019. Above Chatteris airfield, a popular skydiving location the fighter pilots were not aware was active, two parachutists were in freefall at roughly 120 mph, Stars and Stripes reported, citing a UK Airprox Board report released this past summer.
The skydivers captured video footage of the fighters passing beneath them.
