Archive for the ‘Military Life’ Category
My friend Sagar Pathak has done it again. Some astounding and beautiful photography captured during a military exercise in Florida. Here's a sample. Just amazing work again. Well done, Sagar!
His blog is linked here, but you can also check him out at http://horizontalrain.com
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Well, these have waited too long to be posted, but here they are. Some not-too-bad images of the Jones Beach air show from Memorial Day.
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AFRC just released today a story I finished about a week ago. Here's the link:
http://www.afrc.af.mil/newsreleases/story.asp?id=123097905
Angle was recruiters who brought in their sons, daughters and spouses.
Let me know what you think.
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Thanks to photographer and all around good guy Rick Vasquez at Stars & Stripes. He let me know that a photo of me holding up a child from the Make-A-Wish foundation. The Air Force did a number of charity events while in Santiago, Chile, and this was one I was involved in as the photographer. Here's the link:
http://www.stripes.com/08/apr08/SOUTHCOM/index.html
On a side note, S&S has really transformed it's operations over the last 10 years. And it's still a great read.
Thanks, Rick!
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I just got this note from the National Museum of the United States Air Force:
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will be opening an exhibition of photographs by Air Force, Air Force News and Joint Operations photojournalists on 1 May 08. We are trying to locate all of the photographers whose work will be featured in this exhibit to send out formal invitations very soon.
Your name matches one on the list as a photographer who will be featured in this exhibit ...
Also, I got my invitation in the mail today! The premiere is May 1. I won't be able to make it, but, if you're in the area and can stop by, do and let me know what photos they used, have a peek at the photo I shot, which is also shown above. The photo, taken in New Orleans just a few days after Hurricane Katrina, is of an Airmen attending to a woman who would later be medivac'd out! Thanks Air Force Museum!
Here's a link to the museum's Web site: http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/ ETA: Also adding a link sent to me by the museum of the full collection of photos, here.
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Now that I’ve got some distance between me and the Chile trip, I thought I’d offer a few reflections on things. I didn’t necessarily have time or energy to write about these things along the way, and felt they should be mentioned. So, without further adieu, here’s my “South to Santiago” wrap-up and some random notes as well as a few bonus photos:
-- The City. It’s difficult to make a full judgment on the city. Literally, my time was split between the middle of downtown (in an area called Providencia) and the airport with FIDAE and Newen. So, I saw some of the inside of a major metropolitan city. Traffic jams. Smog. Lots of smog. And that’s too bad. The city is stuffed in between a series of mountains. If I could have seen them, I would tell you that they are lovely. :) Admittedly, one day (a Sunday) the skies were fairly clear. Probably because no one was on the road.
There are a number of town homes, condos and hotels. Facilities are mostly modern – in the center of the city. Along the highway we traveled to get to the airport, a huge aqueduct snakes alongside the road. On the edges of the aqueduct live people in tin houses and ramshackle lean-tos. Lots of poor people and piles of garbage. As you get out of the city toward the airport, the neighborhoods are crowded and there’s graffiti everywhere. In any case, I viewed most of this from a van to and from. Mostly, the city reminded me of Los Angeles in both sprawl, climate and surrounding vistas.
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(Photo courtesy Sagar Pathak)
FORT WORTH, Texas -- I've just finished an 11-hour airplane ride from Santiago to here, NAS JRB Carswell, just on the fringes of Fort Worth. I'll catch a flight home from DFW tomorrow. Then take a a few days off.
This TDY had a number of pluses and minuses. The pluses? The location. The missions. And a few others. The minuses? Not being able to release anything until almost eight days after the fact. No sense grumbling about it any longer, however. Worse has happened and ultimately, the photos and video did get released. Unfortunately, none of it will be used. One image used out of about 45. Again, the delay delivering them hampered any chance of publication.
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FORT WORTH -- I've spent most of the day at airports waiting for either airplanes, buses or media people. I love Fort Worth and that's where we're waiting for our flight to South America. Bad news: it boards VERY early in the morning. Good news: I can sleep on the plane ride. In about 20 minutes, I have to leave and pick up the last media member accompanying us on the trip. Surprisingly cold in Texas today. :)
I'll have more details on what's going on when I arrive and get a link. For now, greetings from Texas!
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On March 19, 2003, I was inside the first B-52 that would launch, carrying the first cruise missiles that would be fired on Iraq -- the opening shots. I crawled into the flight deck, which has two levels, while it was parked and taxied with it to the end of the runway. It stopped, I shook every member of the crew's hands, got quotes from each one, ran about 500 yards from the jet and it launched. After another five hours, I delivered three 700-word stories and 250 photos to our news service, which got released worldwide. It culminated a 33-hour stretch being awake the entire time. Two other reporters covering other beats worked with me. As a reporter, I've never done better journalism. As someone supervising and, really, working alongside two fantastic noncommissioned officers, I've never been prouder. In my little niche of military execution, the work has never gone smoother.
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Yes. I've been conspicuously silent lately. So, let's start Spring with something good.
Today, some folks were talking about reasons for a draft. The person said a draft would boost the economy and solve current military shortfalls. I disagreed on a number of levels. Including:
The military is at or above capacity in almost all areas. All services have ceilings for recruiting. Some cannot be met for various reasons. Some of those reasons have been discussed on AW Forums. Congress sets the ceilings. Until those ceilings are raised, they can be filled by current recruiting practices.
The military -- Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy -- are running at capacity and there is very little money to be spent in any arena. From the outside looking in, you are giggiling like a loon at that statement, I know. But from the inside out, many of the people, leaders and workers alike, are wondering where money is coming from. Budgets are tight. Supplies are at their waterline. And so on.
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