Free Republic

PICTURE: Poland unveils first modernised Orlik trainer By Bartosz Glowacki Poland's first modernised PZL-130 Orlik trainer was unveiled at the PZL Warszawa - Okecie facility of Airbus Military on 22 September. Dubbed the Orlik TC-II, the aircraft features a Pratt & Whitney PT6-25C engine, which replaces its original Walter M601T, plus new wings, Garmin avionics and rearranged cockpit instruments. The upgrades result in the Orlik TC-II having an improved climb rate, an increased top speed of 246kt (456km/h), a claimed 40% improvement in manoeuverability and a 20% reduction in fuel consumption. Poland will have 16 aircraft upgraded to the Orlik...

US Air Force, industry prepare for T-38 replacement By Stephen Trimble The US Air Force may be within months of launching a contest to replace the Northrop T-38 Talon trainer that was introduced in 1962. At least five companies are plotting potential bids to win the contract to replace 450 T-38s and become the go-to trainer option worldwide for Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation fighters - the F-22 and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. With fewer new contract opportunities available over the next decade, the T-X programme is shaping up as a must-win battle. In terms of quantity, the deal represents the single...

  By Spc. Blair Neelands 1st Brigade Combat TeamKABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. Soldiers are being changed from inexperienced, nervous privates in the United States Army basic combat training one day, to knowledgeable, qualified mentors for soldiers in the Afghan National Army basic warrior training the next. Many young Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, now find themselves in this new role of teaching basic soldier fundamentals to ANA privates. “Triple Deuce has a unique role here,” said Capt. Brian Retherford, a battalion plans officer. “We are at 19 locations throughout the...

FORT HOOD, Texas, April 1, 2010 – After four years of preparing thousands of Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers for deployment at the Division West mobilization training center here, Army Capt. Brent Middleton soon will be preparing for his own deployment at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., center. Army Capt. Brent Middleton, left accepts his unit's flag from his battalion commander in a change-of-command ceremony at Camp Mabry, Texas, March 20, 2010. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Marvin J. Baker  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Middleton, a member of the Texas National Guard’s 36th Infantry Division who...

The first serial combat-trainer aircraft Yak-130 transferred to the Air Force of Russia has arrived at the 4th Center of combat application and retraining of the flight personnel of the name of V.P.Chkalov. The Commander-in-chief of the Russian Federation Air Force the colonel general Alexander Zelin said: «It is the first Yak-130 from those planned on this year. The plane opens new opportunities for effective trainings of the Air Force cadets. This combat-training complex will allow the young pilots to adapt faster to operate Russian Air Force fighters». The new generation aircraft Yak-130 is developed by Yakovlev Design Bureau, part...

The Orange County Sheriff's Office has confirmed a Sea World employee died Wednesday after being attacked by a killer whale. Emergency officials arrived just before 2:00 pm Wednesday (02/24/2010) and found the person unresponsive. Witnesses are reporting that the victim was a trainer who was dragged into the tank and drowned by the whale.

Meet Obama's Trainer. Pay is probably low, but the guy in the white house is a fast learner.

An athletic trainer at Tustin High School has been arrested on suspicion of engaging in unlawful sex acts with a student at the school, an Orange County sheriff's spokesman said Wednesday. Hope Jacoby, 23, who has worked with athletes at the school for the last year, was arrested last week on suspicion of oral copulation of a minor and unlawful sex with a minor, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

/29/2008 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- Training medical personnel as a member of the 59th Logistics and Readiness Squadron's Medical Readiness Training team was not the path that George Torres had planned to pursue when he trained as an Air Force Pararescueman. A broken back and compound fracture to his ankle, caused by a combat-related incident, ended his Air Force career. However, thanks to the Helping Airman Recover Together, or Palace HART, program he is now working for the 59th Medical Wing. "I knew shortly after the accident my career in the Air Force was over. After five combat deployments...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2008 – A senior member of the team working to grow and professionalize the Iraqi police force briefed online journalists and “bloggers” on progress and challenges in a conference call yesterday. Air Force Col. John Probst, deputy director of plans and assessment for the Civilian Police Assessment Training Team, said the team is working toward Iraqi police being able to control provinces and cities independently of coalition and Iraqi army forces. The team works with Iraq’s Interior Ministry, and “our goal is, day to day, to see (Iraqi police) get stronger; our goal is to see the...

Lawyers for Barry Bonds' personal trainer say he'd rather go back to prison for a third time than take part in the grand jury investigation of his childhood friend for tax evasion and perjury. Fresh off a 15-day jail term for refusing to cooperate in an earlier phase of the probe, Greg Anderson is expected to be called Thursday before a new grand jury investigating the San Francisco Giants slugger. But the trainer is expected to renew his vow of silence. "He's resigned to do whatever it takes to maintain his integrity," said Paula Canny, an attorney and close friend...

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (May 05, 2006) -- Currently at the Combat Center’s Battle Simulation Center is a personal computer-based stand alone trainer designed to allow an individual to develop proficiency with the Arabic language. This simulated program is known as the Tactical Iraqi Language Trainer. The program uses a mixture of skill building lessons and practice “talk-em-up” missions. It is intended for all skill levels and uses voice recognition systems to enable speaking practice. Unlike most simulation systems, this generally requires a significant investment in time for anything beyond the most basic language skills....

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, April 25, 2006 – Civilian opinion leaders visiting here today got to take a whirl -- literally -- in a new training device that's teaching troops how to survive a rollover in top-heavy up-armored vehicles. JCOC participants look on as the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer - or HEAT - simulates a Humvee rollover at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, April 25. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Larry Chambers, USCG  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Participants in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, traveling through the U.S. Central Command operating area to observe military operations and meet troops,...

Trainer Rescues Dog from Fire Sergeant low-crawls through smoke to save his military working dog from blaze. By Chrissy Zdrakas 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga., March 16, 2006 — It was a clear, cool night at Forward Operating Base Wilson near the city of Tikrit in central Iraq. Staff Sgt. Christopher F. McCleskey gave his canine partner, Katja, food and water and left her in their quarters after a mission.      He ducked into a dining hall shortly before 9 p.m. Jan. 28 for a quick bite to eat.  A half hour later,...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2006 – The Iraqi National Police Commando Division is on track to replicate other elite national police units, the division's American training commander said during a briefing from Iraq today. "We think that the future is to take them to a true national police force, to where they're badge-carrying and qualified officers enforcing the Iraqi rule of law," said Army Col. Jeffrey Buchanan, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 75th Division, likening the force to the Italy's Carabiniere or France's Gendarmerie. "That's the future. That's not where we are right now." To date, the division has been operating...

Military plane crashes near Laguna Shores By Beth Wilson/Caller-Times January 27, 2006 A U.S. Navy trainer plane with an instructor pilot and student pilot from Naval Air Station Corpus Christi crashed about three miles south of the base near Laguna Shores Road at about 9:42 a.m. today killing both occupants, a spokesman for the Navy said.

The motorcycle trainer - another safety first from Honda (Jan 27, 2006) Honda has committed to getting its new Motorcycle Rider Trainer in every dealership within the next three years. The aim of Honda's Motorcycle Riding Trainer is similar to that of a flight simulator. For years these have been used in aviation to train and test pilots in complete safety, teaching them what to do in emergency situations so that - when it happens for real - they instinctively know what to do. Back in 1989 Honda had developed a prototype motorcycle simulator, which by 1993 had become Honda's...

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz.(July 21, 2005) -- People all over the world can get thrills from the video arcade flight simulators found in nearly any mall, and these games might be the closest these people will get to flying a multi-million dollar jet. The Marine Corps, however, has spent top dollar on flight simulators that people at the mall could not even imagine. The Radar Night Attack Weapons System Trainer is used to train station AV-8B Harrier pilots. It is a fully functional Harrier cockpit and canopy, which works the exact same as the actual aircraft, said Capt....

A LEADING al-Qaeda operative who once ran a training camp in Afghanistan has been arrested in the United Arab Emirates and handed over to Pakistani officials. Qari Saifullah Akhtar is now in custody, marking the latest in a string of breakthroughs against the al-Qaeda network, according to Pakistan’s information minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. Akhtar allegedly ran an al-Qaeda training camp in Rishkhor, Afghanistan, where terrorists learned kidnapping and assassination techniques, as well as traditional combat skills used by Taleban fighters in their war to win control of the country before they were ousted in 2001. "We can confirm that we...

I am a technical trainer and am about to be laid off from a silicon valley semiconductor capital equipment firm. I need some advice... I am considering going to school to learn how to do something in the medical field. I was thinking about one of the people who does sonograms, or mri's, or cat scans, or something like that. I am asking for any help as to how much those kind of jobs pay in California. What is involved in getting an education/training for these types of positions, etc. I have a A.A. degree in general education. I would...