Free Republic

he U.S. Navy is sending the supercarrier USS Nimitz and the rest of its strike group to the Middle East amid a new buildup of forces in the region ostensibly for defensive purposes, U.S. officials have told TWZ. Overnight, dozens of U.S. Air Force KC-135R and KC-46A tankers had already been tracked heading east over the Atlantic Ocean. That has prompted speculation about the potential start of a major contingency operation, possibly around a shift in U.S. policy toward the ongoing Israel-Iran war, as you can read about in more detail here.U.S. air, naval, and ground forces have already been...

BISHKEK, September 26 (Itar-Tass) -- Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek has been closed until 6:00 a.m. local time (4:00 a.m. Moscow time) because of a Tuesday collision of two planes, an airport source told Itar-Tass. All the departures are delayed. A Tu-154 commercial jetliner hit a tanker aircraft of the international anti-terrorist coalition while taking off at Manas Airport. The jetliner returned to the airport for an emergency landing. The U.S. tanker aircraft burned down, but people were not hurt. According to the preliminary information, the tanker aircraft came to the runway at an inappropriate time. A final conclusion...

ZHUKOVSKY, Russia, Aug. 18, 2005 – As far as security forces troops are concerned, protecting aircraft in one location is like protecting aircraft in another. The scenery may change, but the procedures don't - unless, of course, the aircraft are in the former Soviet Union. For the 17 members of the 48th Security Forces Squadron from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, protocol in protecting U.S. aircraft at the Moscow International Air Show and Space Salon at Ramenskoye Airfield here is a bit different from what they're used to following. The security forces members here are not armed, as part of...

Gentlemen, I just wanted to share with all of you my most recent Air Force Reserve trip. As most of you know, I have decided to go back into the Air Force Reserves as a part time reservist and after 6 months of training, I have recently been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and have been fully mission qualified as an Aircraft Commander of a KC-135R strato tanker aircraft. On Friday of last week, my crew and I were tasked with a mission to provide air refueling support in order to tanker 6 F-16's over to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey....