humor

The proposal appeared on the 23RD TFW Flying Tigers Facebook page and aimed to save the legendary Warthog.

As the media outlets recently reported, the Pentagon’s fiscal 2021 budget request increases spending on nuclear modernization, space, cyberspace, and multi-domain operations in preparation for great power competition, while proposing to cut dozens of aircraft from the fleet and reducing overseas contingency operations funding for the wars in the Middle East.

“We had to make additional tough choices, major cuts in some areas, to free up money to continue to invest in preparing for the high-end fight,” Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist said during a Feb. 10 budget briefing at the Pentagon.

According to Air Force Magazine, many of these cuts will hit US Air Force (USAF) flight lines directly, with the service requesting authority to cut 17 B-1B Lancers, 21 RQ-4s and three EQ-4 Global Hawk variants, 44 A-10s from both the Guard and Reserve and 24 C-130Hs from the Air National Guard.

However, the budget also includes $56.9 billion for 79 F-35s of all variants, 24 F/A-18E/Fs, 12 F-15EXs, 320 support, and logistics aircraft, 167 rotary-wing aircraft, and 703 unmanned aerial systems, plus the development of aircraft-related technology and modifications to existing aircraft.

Noteworthy, despite multiple efforts to push the A-10 Warthog‘s retirement date further into the future, the USAF is now slated to shelve dozens of Warthogs in the upcoming fiscal year.

Military.com reports: ‘In 2016, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter delayed the A-10 retirement until 2022 after lawmakers such as then-Rep. Martha McSally, a Republican from Arizona, and the late Sen. John McCain, also of Arizona, complained that retiring the iconic Hog would rid the military of a “valuable and effective” close-air-support aircraft.

‘Nevertheless, fiscal 2017 budget request documents show the USAF had still planned to remove A-10 squadrons in increments between 2018 and 2022 to make room for F-35A Lightning II squadrons coming online. As a result, McSally included a provision in that bill that would prohibit the retirement of the Warthog until the Air Force could prove that the F-35 is able to perform similar missions as effectively on the battlefield.

‘To date, the Air Force has 281 A-10s in its inventory (two A-10s were destroyed in a collision in 2017), but has repeatedly stressed it can maintain roughly six of its nine A-10 combat squadrons through 2032, which is why officials have not committed to buying new wings for the entire fleet.

‘The Air Force finished re-winging 173 A-10s in 2019 through the Enhanced Wing Assembly program, which began in 2011. One of the destroyed aircraft had received the upgrade.

‘Through the next iteration of the effort, the “A-10-Thunderbolt II Advanced-Wing Continuation Kit,” or “ATTACK” program, the service will begin re-winging the rest “of the A-10s that remain in the inventory” after 44 planes are cut.

‘The reduction means only 65 aircraft would need the wing fix, down from 109.’

Hence, the proposal appeared on the 23RD TFW Flying Tigers’ Facebook page to save the legendary Warthog.

‘Instead of dumping the Hog… why not “double down”?’ the post says.

The post also features an image of a new variant of the Thunderbolt II, the A-10AA Close-Support Attack Aircraft, a sort of Twin-Warthog.

Just a joke, of course. But that proves the A-10 is one of the most loved aircraft ever made.

Photo by Don Urban / U.S. Air Force via 23RD TFW Flying Tigers Facebook page

We’re happy to report that while Santa wasn’t quite his usual jolly self after this too-close encounter with S-3 BuNo 160124, he was unhurt and only had the wind knocked out of him.

A tabloid reporter with a cheap camera caught the photos in this post minutes after it happened in 2000.

We’re happy to report that while Santan wasn’t quite his usual jolly self after this too close encounter with S-3 BuNo 160124, he was unhurt and only had the wind knocked out of him. (Besides, do you really think a mere airplane can hurt Santa Claus? Come on….).

There was no damage to the sleigh, and the reindeer generally escaped unscathed, but the team’s navigational beacon (i.e. Rudolf’s nose) required an adjustment.

The Viking crew from Sea Control Squadron 35 (VS-35, the Blue Wolves), deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) at the time of the incident, was also unhurt and the aircraft was undamaged.

Lockheed S-3A Viking 160124 C/N 3106 converted to a “B” spent time with VS-21 “Redtails” as NH-701, with VS-35 “Blue Wolves” as NK-700 and with VS-22 “Swordsmen” AC-703. With VS-35 “Blue Wolves” CAG aircraft wore a unique tail paint scheme of a Blue Wolf dressed like an Old West gunslinger wearing a holstered gun. VS-35 gave this CAG Viking a humorous Christmas paint scheme “Santa Tracker” for their cruise in 2002. In 2005 marked as AC-703 160124 arrived at AMARC and 4 months later, it was SOC.

Designed to meet the US Navy’s VSX requirement for an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) aircraft to replace the S-2 Tracker, the S-3 was first flown on January 21st, 1972. Designed for long-endurance missions, the aircraft features a wide low-swept wing and under-wing mounted, high-bypass turbofan engines that produce a distinctively low-pitch sound, earning the plane the nickname “Hoover” (after the vacuum cleaner). After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the ASW role became less significant, and the S-3 was increasingly used for surface warfare, surveillance, and aerial refueling missions before being retired from service in 2009.

Photo by U.S. Navy

“The pilot hovered at about 50 feet, kicking up a lot of dust and making a racket. All the Air Force guys came running out to see what was going on, and that’s when we bombed them with the condiment bottles. They ran in every direction imaginable!,” Alex Landi former CH-46 Phrog Crew Member.

Alex Landi, a former Marine and crew member aboard the legendary CH-46 “Phrog” transport helicopter told this incredible (and funny) story.

Landi recalls:

“I bombed Vandenberg Air Force Base with red and yellow, plastic ketchup and mustard bottles from my CH-46, and I was only an E-4. Two CH-46s carried out this bombing raid on the transient parking snack shack on the flight line at Vandenberg. We were provoked and counterattacked, as all good Marines should. Was really funny stuff! At least the Air Force didn’t shoot us down.

“True, and there is a story behind this.

“Only successful bombing raid on a USAFnmissile base in American history.

“General details are thus:

“Two CH-46 choppers took off from our base in Southern California. Can’t remember if it was Los Alamitos or the big Tustin helo base. Was about 1970 or so. We were headed to the bay area; (Alameda?) routine training mission.

“We stopped at Vandenberg to refuel. After we did, the pilot in charge said we could get lunch at the flight line snack shop. We four enlisted Marines went in and ordered our food. Almost immediately, a bunch of Air Force guys started ragging on us. Just penny-ante interservice rivalry stuff. We started jaw jackin’ back. Just then, one of the co-pilots came in, saw what was happening, and, not wanting any problems, told us to take our food and go eat on the choppers.

“We got our food and took a bunch of plastic, red and yellow, ketchup and mustard bottles with us to assemble our burgers. We ate on our birds and were just finishing up when the pilot in charge returned and asked why we were eating on the bird. We told him what happened, and we could see he was a bit pissed. He told us to get ready. We fired up the birds, taxied a very short way from our parking spots, and lifted off.

“The pilot hovered at about 50 feet, kicking up a lot of dust and making a racket. All the Air Force guys came running out to see what was going on, and that’s when we bombed them with the condiment bottles. They ran in every direction imaginable!

“It was hilarious, and those boys found out you don’t mess with Marines without getting some ‘feedback.’ As I said; had to be the only bombing raid on a US missile base in American history. It was highly successful, too. It still makes me laugh!

“As far as I know, there were no serious repercussions. Never heard of any. Nobody got impeached.
It was about 50 years ago. Me and my Phrog were cutting-edge technology then. We’re both museum pieces, now.

“Don’t remember the pilot’s name, but will always think of him fondly. A real Marine!

“Oorah!”

Photo by U.S. Marine Corps and Matt Udkow/Santa Barbara County Fire Department

The Royal Malaysian Air Force F/A-18D Hornet joined Tetris Challenge on Sep. 27, 2019.

The interesting pictures in this post feature armed forces and emergency service personnel from around the world taking part in a funny “Tetris Challenge.”

There’s something so satisfying about organizing colorful objects into neat grids like a game of Tetris, but there’s a new trend among emergency service workers that playfully brings the 1980s video game to real life.

According to Know Your Meme, the Tetris Challenge dates back a couple of years when the New Zealand Police posted such an image, but it picked up steam this month when some Swiss police officers posted their own take on the idea and it went viral. The classic videogame callback moniker comes from the grid-like pattern that all the gear, and the personnel that use it, are laid out in.

The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) joined the challenge on Sep. 27, 2019. While fire engines, police cars, and ambulances are the norm in Tetris Challenge, the RMAF F/A-18D Hornet jet fighter featured in the main image of this article definitely blows away the competition.

Six RMAF personnel, a F/A-18D with Sidewinder, AMRAAM, and Sparrow missiles, along with other weapons, various equipment, and flight suit items, were laid out in the creative effort.

On Sep 28, 2019, a Hungarian Air Force SAAB JAS-39 Gripen joined the RMAF Hornet in the competition.

As the trend is going viral, probably other military services worldwide will soon join the Tetris Challenge.

Here are some other Tetris Challenge Memes:

 

Royal Malaysian Navy Super Lynx. Photo: RMN #tetrischallenge pic.twitter.com/EP4tGi2Mws

— Alert 5 (@alert5) September 27, 2019

Photo by Royal Malaysian Air Force and Hungarian Air Force

“I walked out there and said, ‘You’re in the ‘Danger Zone,’” Kenny Loggins

Taken on Apr. 15, 2015, the impressive video in this post shows a massive 100-foot-long U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter doing an emergency landing in Solana Beach in southern California.

The CH-53E from Marine Heavy HelicopternSquadron 466 (HMH-466) based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) had to land on the beach after a low oil-pressure indicator light went on in the cockpit.

The precautionary landing came during a training exercise; there were no damages or injuries, but residents, Gunnery Sgt. Donald Bonner said, and beachgoers got to experience quite a spectacle. Four hours after landing, the helicopter took off and headed back to the Miramar base.

According to NBC 7, among the witnesses was musician Kenny Loggins, who said in a video post on Facebook that he had been out for a walk.

“I walked out there and said, ‘You’re in the ‘Danger Zone,’” he said about his hit song, which was featured in the movie “Top Gun.”

As the Marine Corps heavy-lift helicopter designed for the transportation of heavy material and supplies, the Sikorsky CH-53EnSuper Stallion is compatible with most amphibious class ships. With four and one-half hours of endurance, the helicopter can move heavy equipment over rugged terrain in bad weather and at night. The MH-53E Sea Dragon fills the Navy’s need for long-range minesweeping missions, in addition to heavy-lift duties. The H-53E has consistently proven its worth to fleet commanders with its versatility and range.

The CH-53E will be replaced by the Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion.

“People say, ‘Well didn’t you want a t-shirt?’ and I say, well when there’s a Harrier out there for 7 million Pepsi points, why not aim your sights a little higher,” John Leonard.

In the mid-90s, one of the Pepsi-Colan commercials sparked controversy while the company was airing its Pepsi Stuff promotional campaign.

According to CBS, the campaign was simple: you could collect points from Pepsi labels by buying Pepsi products. Once you collected points, you could claim prizes like t-shirts, sunglasses, or – for 7 million points – a Harrier Jet.

“Sure beats the bus,” says the actor in the commercial, while landing on campus in a computer-animated Harrier jump jet. That scene would later prove to be key in sorting the ensuing legal debacle.

Pepsi’s spot caught the eye of a 21-year-old business student, John Leonard. He was only interested in one prize.

“People say, ‘well didn’t you want ant-shirt?’ and I say, well when there’s a Harrier out there for 7 million Pepsi points why not aim your sights a little higher,” said Leonard.

Leonard noticed some fine print. In place of labels, consumers could buy Pepsi points for ten cents each. He did the math and quickly figured out that it’d take him $700,000 to buy the Pepsi points he needed for the Harrier Jet. Then Leonard hit the phones and convinced five well-off investors to give him $700,000.

He sent Pepsi 15 labels and a check and waited for his jet.

But the Harrier never came. Pepsi said the ad was just a joke.

“Tens of millions of Americans, and people around the world, saw the spot, got the joke, and laughed,” said John Harris of Pepsi-Cola. “Mr. Leonard saw the spot, hired business advisers and lawyers, and decided to take legal action.”

After Pepsi went to court asking that Leonard’s claim be declared frivolous, he filed his own lawsuit, demanding the Harrier.

“People point out that this Pepsi generation they’re trying to sell to is me,” said Leonard.

“Someone who’s taking advantage of the legal system doesn’t really typify the Pepsi generation,” countered Harris.

So the question became: Was John Leonardnamong the best and brightest of the Pepsi generation, or was he just a nuisance? BBC correspondent John Blackstone posed the question to several folks on the street who seemed to all support Leonard.

“I think he should get the jet,” said one man.

“Well, if he drank that much Pepsi, then he probably should,” said a young boy.

“Maybe he is goofy, but I mean, they are making those claims, if they can’t back them up then they shouldn’t be putting them on air,” said another man.

Advertising executive David Verklin said that a customer like Leonard should be celebrated, not sued.

“You have a guy here who’s done something pretty clever,” said Verklin. “I’d give him a tour across the country in a Harrier jet. I’d turn it into a TV commercial.”

Pepsi did no such thing. Beyond its legal action, it updated its commercial by raising the number of points needed for the Harrier from 7 million to 700 million.

In the end, Leonard’s lawsuit fizzled out. A court granted a summary judgment in favor of Pepsi and ruled that “no objective person could reasonably have concluded that the commercial offered consumers a Harrier Jet.”

The court also added this gem of a reason in its dismissal of the case: “The callow youth featured in the commercial is a highly improbable pilot, one who could barely be trusted with the keys to his parent’s car, much less the prized aircraft of the United States Marine Corps.”

And that’s the way it was on Thursday, Aug. 8, 1996.

The following clip shows the infamous Pepsi commercial where they asked for 7,000,000 Pepsi Points for a Harrier jet.

The ladies, who were in their kitchen preparing breakfast when they got a visit from the An-2, were injured. The pilot was also injured.

As shown by the pictures in this post, an Antonov An-2, without a certificate of airworthiness, was flown without permission, collided with some powerlines, and subsequently crashed on a house in Novoschedrinskaya village in Chechen Region, 35 km from Groznyj (Russia).

As reported by Scramble Facebook News Magazine, on the ground, two women and a girl were injured. The ladies were in their kitchen preparing breakfast when they got a visit from the An-2. The pilot was also injured.

The plane, with registration RA-3098K, was badly damaged.

The Antonov An-2 (NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet-era mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bureau. The aircraft performed its maiden flight on Aug. 31, 1947.

Its remarkable durability, high lifting power, and ability to take off and land from poor runways have ensured the aircraft’s long service life. Noteworthy 18,000 An-2s were produced until 2001. The Colt, which is dubbed ‘kukuruznik’ (corn crop duster) in Russia, is still in service with military and civilian operators around the world.

Photo Credit: Groznyj press

“Area 51 is an open training range for the US Air Force, and we would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces,” said a USAF spokeswoman.

It started as a bit of a joke, but the US Air Force (USAF) told people not to go near Area 51.

As we reported previously more than a million people have RSVP’d to an event on Facebook, planning a raid on Area 51 in southern Nevada to “see them, aliens.”

The event, titled “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us,” saw a group of alien hunters meeting at 3 a.m. on Sep. 20, 2019, near the top-secret USAF Base to coordinate a plan of attack to reveal the truth behind the curtain. Thousands have commented on the page, which reads: “We will ‘Naruto run’ with our arms stretched behind us like Naruto Uzumaki in the Japanese anime series “Naruto.” We can move faster than their bullets.”

A spokeswoman for the Air Force told The Washington Post it was “ready to protect America and its assets”.

Facebook user Jackson Barnes wrote on the event page: “Hello US government, this is a joke, and I do not actually intend to go ahead with this plan”.

“I just thought it would be funny and get me some thumbs uppies on the Internet. I’m not responsible if people decide to actually storm Area 51.”

But the Air Force wasn’t seeing the funny side.

“[Area 51] is an open training range for the US Air Force, and we would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces,” the spokeswoman said.

Area 51 has been the focus of enormous interest among a significant segment of the public for decades—an interest that inevitably spawned books, articles, and a variety of documentaries. For some enthusiasts, Area 51 was a clandestine site for UFOs and extraterrestrials, but it is better understood as a U.S. government facility for the testing of many U.S. secret aircraft projects — including the U-2, OXCART, and the F-117. Declassified documents help demonstrate the central role that Area 51 played in the development of programs such as the F-117, and the operational employment of the aircraft. Other declassified documents reveal Area 51’s role in testing foreign radar systems and, during the Cold War, secretly obtained Soviet MiG fighters.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

The event saw a group of alien hunters meeting at 3 a.m. on September 20, 2019, near the top-secret U.S. Air Force Base to coordinate a plan of attack to reveal the truth behind the Area 51 curtain.

According to Fox News, more than 250,000 people signed up to attend a Facebook event planning a raid on Area 51 in southern Nevada to “see them aliens.”

The event, titled “StormnArea 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us,” saw a group of alien hunters meeting at 3 a.m. on Sep. 20, 2019, near the top-secret U.S. Air Force (USAF) Base to coordinate a plan of attack to reveal the truth behind the curtain.

From there, the group “Naruto run” moved with their arms stretched behind them like Naruto Uzumaki in the Japanese anime series “Naruto,” and therefore “move faster than their bullets.”

The joke event was hosted by “S***posting cause im in shambles,” a page that posts memes, and SmyleeKun, a guy who streams video games on Twitch.

Another 283,000 people said they were “interested” in attending.

“Let’s see them, aliens,” the event hosts wrote in an apparent effort to rally the troops.

The USAF facility, commonly known as Area 51, is a highly classified remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), within the Nevada Test and Training Range. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the correct names for the facility are Homey Airport (ICAO: KXTA) and Groom Lake, though the name Area 51 was used in a CIA document from the Vietnam War.

The facility has also been referred to as Dreamland and Paradise Ranch, among other nicknames. The special-use airspace around the field is referred to as Restricted Area 4808 North (R-4808N).

The base’s current primary purpose is publicly unknown; however, based on historical evidence, it most likely supports the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems (black projects). The intense secrecy surrounding the base has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component of unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore. Although the base has never been declared a secret base, all research and occurrences in Area 51 are Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI). On June 25, 2013, following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in 2005, the CIA publicly acknowledged the existence of the base for the first time, declassifying documents detailing the history and purpose of Area 51.

Area 51 is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western US, 83 miles (134 km) north-northwest of Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield. The site was acquired by the USAF in 1955, primarily for the flight testing of the Lockheed U-2 aircraft. The area around Area 51, including the small town of Rachel on the “Extraterrestrial Highway”, is a popular tourist destination.

Did anyone take the “Storm Area 51” Facebook event seriously and show up at the heavily guarded site with 24-hour surveillance?

Photo by USAF