Some of the top robots in the world competed last week in a competition that tested their ability to respond to disasters. There were some contenders that succeeded and will be remembered as trailblazers in disaster response. These other robots performed … well, Skynet will need to keep looking before it builds its army.
The annual Navy-Air Force football game is coming up this Saturday, so it’s time for the inter-service rivalry videos.
Navy has fired a devastating shot at Air Force with a newly discovered “documentary” showing a short-lived exchange program where Chair Force cadets attempted Navy training.
The Air Force cadets were tested in six areas but only succeeded in musical chairs.
But you may not know that Stewart has been an advocate for troops throughout his tenure, and has used his show on occasion to advocate for veterans and veteran-related causes. Here are five times in recent years he tried to make a difference:
When he brought on Eric Greitens, CEO and Founder of The Mission Continues, to discuss how returning veterans could transition into service and leadership roles in the civilian world.
When he sent out Samantha Bee to investigate an Iraq war veteran’s benefit claim — stuck in the 900,000 case backlog at the VA — in a segment called Zero Dark 900,000.
When he spoke with war correspondent Sebastian Junger about his film “Korengal,” and how soldiers could positively impact society after they return from war.
When Jason Jones was sent out to speak with Vietnam veterans who were dishonorably discharged due to PTSD who can’t get treatment because they were dishonorably discharged due to PTSD.
Few places on the face of the earth can be as unforgiving or as deadly as the frozen Arctic.
Because of the dangers of the Arctic environment, coupled with the growing strategic importance of this part of the world, the US Air Force runs the Arctic Survival School out of Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.
Each year, this five-day intensive training program, also known as Cool School, teaches over 700 servicemembers the survival skills necessary to fight back against nature and survive in the Arctic.
“Mother nature does not like you in this situation,” Survival Instructor Staff Sgt. Seth Reab, tells his students in the morning freeze. “She’s violent. She’s harsh. Your job is to survive until help comes; her job is to find a way to take your life.”
The Air Force’s Cool School, which brings in more than 700 participants every year across all service branches, takes place outside Eielson Air Force Base, deep inside Alaska. Temperatures average about 30 degrees below zero.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Vernon young Jr./USAF
At the start of the course, all participants are given the emergency equipment they would have depending upon what plane they would be flying.
Photo: YouTube
The emergency equipment usually works. But everything else in the Arctic will try to kill the participants. This includes subzero temperatures …
Photo: YouTube
… and even dehydration. Despite the abundance of snow, it is extremely difficult to drink enough water under harsh Arctic conditions.
Photo: YouTube
One of the first things students are taught is to harvest snow in parachutes, in order to melt it down for water.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Vernon young Jr./USAF
This supply of snow can then be moved into tin cans, in which the snow can be mixed until it melts enough to easily drink.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr./USAF
Warmth is just as important as water. Students are taught to find tender wood with which to build a fire.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr./USAF
In Cool School, students are taught the ideal way to split wood into longer thin splints that will burn more easily and evenly.
Photo: YouTube
Servicemembers learn to create sparks with a metal match. Though somewhat antiquated, metal matches can be used indefinitely.
Photo: YouTube
Once students create a fire, it can be used for signaling, heat, and food preparation.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr./USAF
Students also learn more basic practical skills — they have to change socks in order to keep feet dry so as to avoid hypothermia.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr./USAF
On the first night of school, students are taught to create open primitive shelters that provide little insulation from the elements.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr./USAF
Staff Sgt. Joseph Reimer unpacks his duffle bag during the first night of arctic field training near Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The course is five days in duration with instruction in familiarization with the arctic environment, medical, personal protection, sustenance and signaling. Reimer is an explosive ordnance disposal technician assigned to the 354th Civil Engineer Squadron
During the second day, instructors teach students to make more complex A-frame shelters out of wood and a parachute or tarp.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr./USAF
Airman 1st Class Ray Simon prepares the cover for his thermalized A-frame shelter during arctic survival training at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The A-frame shelter is designed to keep the survivor warm and dry to endure harsh arctic nights. Simon is a 3rd Maintenance Support Squadron crew chief.
The A-frame is then covered with almost a foot of snow to provide insulation.
Photo Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr./USAF
Airman 1st Class Ray Simon looks out of his thermalized A-frame tent during Arctic Survival School training. The thermalized A-frame is designed to keep survivors warm and dry in arctic environments. Simon is a 3rd Maintenance Support Squadron crew chief and also a member of a crash disable damage recovery team responsible for retrieving downed aircraft in emergency situations.
Another vital principle of survival students learn is how to create an effective signal fire by placing a flare inside a base of kindling and smoke-generating tree limbs.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr./USAF
Staff Sgt. Seth Reab ignites a flare in the middle of tender wood to create a smoke signal during a field training lesson at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The signal flare can be seen for up to 10 miles away and much further when rescue help is coming through the air. Reab is an Air Force Arctic Survival School instructor assigned to Det. 1, 66th Training Squadron at Eielson AFB.
Next to the smoke signal, students create a giant letter ‘V’ to alert passing pilots that they are in need of rescue.
photo: YouTube
You can watch a recap of the Arctic Survival School below.
Delta Force goes by many official and unofficial names. It is most commonly referred to as “The Unit,” but those in the inside call it CAG (Combat Applications Group). Whatever you call it, no one ever speaks of Delta Force officially and such, no one really knows exactly what instructors are looking for in future operators.
“It’s not always the best guy that makes it,” said former Delta Force operator Pat Savidge in this Military Channel video. “It’s the right guy.”
Delta Force operators are the toughest of the tough. The group is made up of elite soldiers and special forces troops from all branches of service, including the National Guard and Coast Guard.
This video shows what it takes to try out for Delta Force:
Everyone remembers the 1980s film classic “Top Gun,” featuring awesome dogfighting sequences and a look at the fighter pilot lifestyle, but we found an awesome video of what the movie would look like in 2014, minus the weird beach volleyball scene.
For a generation of naval aviators, “Top Gun” was their introduction to Navy flying. Whether it was looking up to the characters of “Maverick” or “Goose,” or perhaps the F-14 Tomcats, the air-to-air dogfights, or the need for speed, the film is perhaps the single motivator for inspiring young men and women to become Navy pilots over the past three decades.
While the Tomcats were a beast of a jet, they don’t compare to the capabilities of today’s F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornets, which are faster, lighter, and more reliable. If Top Gun were made today, it would be made with Super Hornets.
That’s the idea behind the “Hornet’s Ball 2014” video, which is a real-life version of “Top Gun” set in 2014 — minus the cheesy lines and beach volleyball scene.
“Hornet Ball 2014” is a compilation of video footage captured by ship cameras and pilot GoPros over a bed of dubstep tunes. Sorry guys, no “Danger Zone.” The awesome footage includes catapult launches from carriers, aerobatics, dogfights, explosions, fly-bys and more.
The video is just over 10 minutes long, but it’s worth watching. Check it out:
The ad begins with a slow build as images of young people, whose options are limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic, few job prospects and skyrocketing tuition, are projected on the screen.
“Who do you think is going to fix all this?’’ the narrator asks.
In a recruiting campaign called “The Next Greatest Generation is Now,’’ which launched last week, the Army National Guard is trying to reach Generation Z.
Gen Z, generally defined as people born between 1997 and the early to mid-2010s, comprises about 20% of the 331 million Americans.
“Ultimately, the ARNG hopes to connect with young people who are interested in making a difference for their communities and our nation, but haven’t considered part-time ARNG service as a means to accomplishing their own life goals and staying true to their other interests,’’ spokeswoman Cheryle Rivas said in an email.
Kathryn Bigelow produces and directs the spots. Bigelow, 69, won the 2010 Academy Award for best director for “The Hurt Locker,’’ a film about the Iraq War starring Jeremy Renner. She was selected after submitting a bid to the Army’s advertising agency.
Three ads were produced in varying formats and will appear on national and local outlets, Rivas said. Ads will be produced in different lengths; one minute is the longest, six seconds the shortest.
“The campaign will employ a mix of youth-targeting advertising media to reach Gen Z prospects across their preferred platforms and areas of interest, including esports and college sports,’’ Rivas said.
The ads began appearing on Monday, Jan. 26, on several online video channels, including CBS, ESPN and Fox Sports, and Hulu. Digital media is slated for Bleacher Report, Twitch, CNN and Gamespot, among others, with a social media push slated for Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and Reddit.
The campaign will appear during regular-season college basketball games and through March Madness. In hoops terminology, the Army National Guard is planning a full-court press to entice new recruits from Gen Z.
“The ads include actual Army National Guard soldiers who are currently serving and are the same age demographics of Gen Z,’’ Rivas said. “Activities depicted in the ads range from the soldiers’ civilian pursuits to their military occupations and scenarios related to the Army National Guard’s federal and domestic missions.’’
More than 100 pieces of contents have been created, Rivas said. The Army National Guard expects them to be in use for up to two years, she said.
It’s an ambitious program — and not a subtle one.
As the action picks up in the one-minute ad, Guard members are shown in rapid-fire sequences as the narrator discusses the opportunities potentially awaiting Gen Zers.
He mentions building bridges and hospitals, saving families from disaster and assisting others in need.
“We’re going to do all this and more, because we have an appointment with destiny,’’ the narrator said. “We invite you to join us.’’
Early returns are that this recruiting mission is having an impact.
After viewing the ad online, one commenter said he was 19 and was motivated to “help my fellow citizens.’’ He said he plans to join the Guard.
That’s exactly what the Army National Guard wants to hear.
“‘The Next Greatest Generation Is Now’ campaign lets Gen Z know that the ARNG understands that they are the future of our organization and is confident that Gen Z’s energy, creativity and determination will solve the complicated problems facing our nation and its communities,’’ Rivas said.
Remember that time Stephen Colbert tried going through Army basic training?
The comedian and star of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” ends his nine-year run on Thursday, so we figured it was a good time to look back at one of his more memorable segments: “Stephen Strong – Army of Me.”
“No special treatment, just like any other recruit,” Colbert says in the hilarious clip, hopping out of a limo and sporting a red tracksuit. He is, of course, greeted by a drill sergeant who starts screaming at him and takes him through various physical exercises.
There were plenty of wonderful questions from the private-for-a-day:
— “I’m here for the Army. Is this the Army?”
— “I have a question about tanks. Do they have bathrooms in there, or do you just pee out the barrel?”
Mickey Ireson, a Marine Corps veteran in rural America, struggled with all the worse elements of the VA system. He drove three hours each way to appointments, struggled to reach doctors, and had to juggle his medical needs with school and a full-time job. He kept fighting to stay on an even footing, but he slowly gave way. Eventually, he was homeless, jobless, and kicking a drug habit.
Some vets who have learned to deal with the bureaucratic nightmare are helping out their peers. An Army veteran who knew the problems of getting care from the VA in the country met Ireson through a non-profit and helped him out. Ireson is now back in school with a 3.8 GPA, president of his student veterans club, and employed.
Still, Ireson’s story is not unique. Check out the full story on America’s rural veterans from from James Clark at Task and Purpose
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian Su-27 “Flanker” fighter scrambled to intercept a pair of US Air Force B-1B Lancer supersonic bombers on a training mission over the Baltic Sea on Wednesday, underscoring Moscow’s discontent with a more assertive American airpower presence in the Arctic and on NATO’s eastern flank.
According to Moscow, the US bombers approached but never violated Russian sovereign airspace. The scrambled Su-27 “shadowed” the two B-1Bs over the Baltic Sea, Russia’s National Defense Control Center announced Wednesday.
“The flight of the Russian fighter jet took place in strict accordance with international airspace rules,” the Russian military said in its statement.
The US Air Force acknowledged the incident in a statement to Coffee or Die Magazine.
“Yesterday, U.S. B-1B aircraft were conducting operations in international airspace exercising our freedom of navigation and overflight when the aircraft had routine interaction with the Russian aircraft operating in the region,” a representative for US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa wrote in an email, adding that the US bombers obeyed all international air traffic rules.
Highlighting how the Arctic region has risen to the top rung of the US military’s geographic priorities, B-1B bombers from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas are currently deployed to Norway’s Ørland Air Station for a month of training exercises; this is the first time US bombers have operated out of Norway.
A B-1B Lancer assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron takes off from Ørland Air Force Station, Norway, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Colin Hollowell.
Two of the deployed American bombers took off from Norway on Wednesday as part of Bone Saw, a NATO training mission over the North Sea and Baltic Sea. (The B-1B is commonly known among US pilots as the “Bone.”) Danish and Polish F-16s, as well as Eurofighter Typhoons from Germany and Italy, also participated in the flight, the US Air Force said in a release.
“This mission sends a clear message that our commitment to our NATO allies is unshakeable,” Gen. Jeff Harrigian, US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa commander, said in a statement. “We’re in this together to get after the mission and pursue our shared goal of regional security.”
Russia has also stepped up its military presence in the Arctic with reopened Soviet-era bases, new radars, an expanded Northern Fleet, and the redeployment of airpower assets farther north. This week, for example, Russian Tu-22M3 “Backfire” supersonic, long-range bombers conducted training missions in the country’s northwestern Murmansk Oblast. Located on the Kola Peninsula extending into the Barents Sea, the oblast’s capital city of Murmansk is located only about 60 miles from the border with Norway.
The Tu-22M3 is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and strike bomber developed in the 1960s. A staple of the Soviet Union’s air force, the Tu-22M3 has a maximum speed of about Mach 1.88 and a combat range of roughly 1,500 miles. Based on its performance and general mission set, the Tu-22M3 is roughly analogous, although technologically inferior, to the US B-1B.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=coffeeordiemag&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1367019410892988416&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcoffeeordie.com%2Frussia-fighter-shadowed-us-bombers%2F&siteScreenName=coffeeordiemag&theme=light&widgetsVersion=e1ffbdb%3A1614796141937&width=500px
The B-1B Lancer is a Cold War-era, supersonic heavy bomber. As America’s vanguard long-range bomber, the B-1B carries the largest conventional payload of guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory. On Friday, B-1B bombers conducted a joint mission with Norwegian F-35s and naval units, marking the first mission of the historic American bomber deployment to Norway.
“This type of interoperability is especially critical in the Arctic where no one nation has the infrastructure or capacity to operate alone,” Harrigian said.
Norway shares a 122-mile border with Russia. The headquarters of Russia’s Northern Fleet in the port city of Severomorsk is situated along the Murmansk Fjord less than 70 miles from Norway’s border.
A US Marine with Kilo Company, Marine Rotational Force Europe 21.1, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, provides suppressive fire during a live-fire range in Setermoen, Norway, Feb. 23, 2021. US Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Patrick King, courtesy of DVIDS.
James Stavridis, a retired US Navy admiral who formerly served as NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, warned that the Arctic is a “zone of competition” that could devolve into a “zone of conflict.”
To bolster its military reach in the Arctic, the Pentagon has cultivated closer ties to Norway, including plans to use the country’s northern port city of Tromsø to service US nuclear submarines. According to an Air Force statement: “Department of Defense cooperation with allies and partners in the Arctic strengthens our shared approach to regional security and helps deter strategic competitors from seeking to unilaterally change the existing rules-based order.”
Some 1,000 US Marines deployed to Norway in January for extreme cold-weather training. However, due to coronavirus concerns the Norwegian government canceled what was to be an international Arctic warfare training exercise.
For its part, the Kremlin has pushed back against America’s defense relationship with Norway. According to Moscow, the US has unnecessarily increased tensions by pre-positioning military hardware closer to Russia’s borders.
“One can hardly talk about ‘tranquility’ when tensions are increasing near Russian borders, and when an extremely powerful bridgehead for conducting hostilities against Russia is being established,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a Feb. 11 press briefing.
Zakharova added: “We believe that such activities on the part of Oslo threaten regional security and put an end to Norway’s traditional policy not to deploy permanent foreign military bases on its territory in peacetime.”
Today, Russia has at least 34 military installations in or near the Arctic.
Tanks have certainly cemented their place in the military history books, but back in World War I no one knew quite what to make of them.
A great example of this comes in this newspaper clipping from The Evening Herald (now defunct) in Klamath Falls, Oregon. The headline on Sep. 21, 1916 reads: “U.S. Army to Have Land Dreadnought Tank Cars,” a story which announces the Army’s intention to start building 27 Caterpillar tractors similar to the British D1, the first tank which was used in battle for the first time just one week prior.
The $4,775-a-piece “tractors,” according to The Herald, were to be used primarily to haul guns and maintain a defensive role. With nearly 9,000 tanks in the U.S. arsenal these days, it might be time for The Herald to issue a correction.
Besides getting caught up on an absolute steal of a price-tag — roughly $105,000 in today’s dollars — for a tank, our new favorite phrase is Land Dreadnought. Here’s the clip and the full page below:
What started as a way for Soviet ground troops to take out German tanks in World War II has since turned into a global weapons phenomenon: The rocket-propelled grenade.
While the original anti-tank technology was meant to have a one-off use, the modern RPG is a reloadable weapon, with a shaped-charge explosive used by militias and official military forces alike.
“The Russians were extremely impressed by the panzerfaust,” said Will Fowler, an explosives expert, in the video below. “It was the basis for their RPG-2 program which went on to the now-famous RPG-7.”
With varying degrees of celebration.
When an RPG is fired, it leaves the barrel at 383 feet per second. An additional rocket fires and deploys stabilizing fins as the shell spins toward a target.
The RPG’s cone shape forms a jet of explosive energy outward when the shell strikes its target. That’s where the weapons gets its armor-penetrating power.
The RPG is a simple, cheap, and efficient system that can completely destroy a soft-skinned vehicle and can cause grievous harm to some up-armored ones.
Troops who encounter an RPG round in combat are lucky to survive to tell the tale.
“When I was in Iraq, the RPG was a deadly weapon,” Staff Sgt. Matthew Bertles, a U.S. Army M240 gunner, told the show Weaponology. “An RPG struck my 240, blew me back, destroyed our vehicle, and injured me.”
On the flight deck of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, different colored jerseys mean different responsibilities. Certain personality types are best suited for certain jobs. What color best matches yours? Take this quiz and find out!
